I have a strangely hopeful feeling that the world will not annihilate itself. (see below) We must put our thoughts on the good in people, even in our "enemies". We can't spiral downward into fear or it will consume us. On that note, I am beginning to think Bush is secretly Muslim. Woudn't that explain his strange actions? Even Michael Savage is up in arms: "Something is wrong with a nation that will sell anything for few billion bucks."
WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY, SAYS GET OUT OF IRAQ NOW!! Arch-conservative, founder of The National Review, and brainiac, says we must admit defeat and get out of the way of the Civil War, which we caused. No wise leader would have taken the bait after 911 and involved our great country in a middle-east war. In fact, wasn't it Dick Cheney himself who warned never to get involved in the chaos of Iraq, back in 1991?
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Dubai reminds me of the alien bar scene in STAR WARS: a place where international crooks, thieves, arms dealers, jet-setters, billionaires and the CIA all meet to play. And I think Michael Jackson too. It's a modern-day Casablanca. Dubai represents everything glitzy about capitalism in the Arab world; I wonder why AQ & OBL leaves them alone? I heard tonight that Osama gets paid off a lot of money NOT to attack Dubai. His family is not so estranged; they all take care of each other.
I'm posting an amazing essay by Wayne Dyer about how we must try to empathize and understand our enemies, no matter how evil they seem. They are human beings. Do we really wonder why more and more "insurgents" hate us so much, they are blowing themselves up ? Would it be natural if a madman invaded us and we didn't try to fight back, even to defend our own leader, no matter how much we hated him? He may be an evil despot, but he's our evil despot! We're on their soil, trying to force them into our form of democracy!
Errol Morris' THE FOG OF WAR interviews Robert McNamara about the lessons we didn't learn from Vietnam. To this day, the Vietnamese whom we fought to liberate, view us as enslavers. We have never learned our lesson: that communication, really listening to the needs and point of view of the other side, could save countless lives & destruction. To be hell-bent on war, saying the insurgents envy us because of our freedom is a total lie and cop-out. We just don't care to look at our part as enslavers, invaders. That's how we'll be remembered by the Iraqi people. A little girl was blown to bits after her famiily's apartment suffered its 3rd bombing. How on earth have we improved matters and protected our homeland by this heinous war?
To me it always seemed that 911 happened because Osama was getting back directly at the Bush-Saudi-Carlyle relationship. I'm not blaming Bush directly for it, I'm just saying the Bush family has been in the global oil business with the Saudis for many years. See Clif's posting about James Baker, here in the comment section. Are we going to inflame passions against us even further by doing another big deal with UAE? As I said, Michael Moore was right; and I don't know if anyone thought this at the time, but I have always suspected this : Doesn't it seem odd that no one has mentioned that 911 happened directly BECAUSE BUSH WAS IN POWER? Bush and the Carlyle Group/UAE Saudi business dealings were the "thorn in Osama's side". Osama had a "daddy complex" just like Dybya. Osama waited to do his biggest attack until Bush was in power, as a double whammy: getting back at both his home country and their capitalistic interests in U.S. oil companies, mainly Bush Co. BECAUSE of his Saudi connection. Craig Unger's book "House of Bush, House of Saud" seems very timely now.
Heard about a great book written by Reagan Republican Bruce Bartlett: "Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy"
Remember the movie "The Year of Living Dangerously"? I was having thoughts about wearing khaki and going to Indonesia or the Middle East when it was mysterious and exotic. What is the cause, what's responsible for the rise in Fundamentalist extremism in the Middle-East?
All this chaos in the world is happening to bring us closer to our spirit, our humanity. We have been snowballing toward excess, materialism, style over substance, violence, porn, for years. There is never enough blood, guts and sex and drugs to fill us up. There is only one way to go: toward healing, the kingdom which is within us. The more we focus on the good in others, even our enemies, the more the good increases. This is a law of the universe, and it's the only real way to pray.
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, February 23, 2006
Monday, February 20, 2006
NO CONSPIRACY THEORY: DIEBOLD ELECTRONIC VOTING CORRUPT * UAE DEAL
We all have built into us the capacities for kindness and creativity and beauty. It's a matter of perspective. As Einstein said, "The single most important decision any of us will ever make is whether or not to believe that the universe is friendly." It's your choice. (If you're sick of all the bad news, read Wayne Dyer's amazing words below these articles.)
Think about this: UAE is a state-owned company. What happens when things change in the state -- when leadership changes or a coup takes over? Obviously this whole thing is coming down because Bush & Co. has been doing family business with these people for many years. UAE must own Bush or Bush owes these guys, and he cannot guarantee our safety unless he gives in. They must really want this deal! I wonder why. What's strange is that now I think everything is staged. Farenheit 911 was RIGHT! Michael Moore should be redeemed by all the doubters. 911 happened on Bush's watch for a reason. Think about it.
Something to think about: The backlash in Bush's own party against Bush for the UAE port deal may pay off big in the elections next year; it gives these Republican congressmen a way to look good to their constituents. Wouldn't that be weird if this was the sole reason for the "sale talk"? Just kidding, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but it almost seems too outrageous of an idea to be believed. Here's what's strange: we are handing over control of our ports to a Muslim regime. The very reason Osama Bin Laden came after us in 9/11 was that we were in bed with the Saudis for capitalistic reasons, which OBL thinks is sacrilege: a direct affront to Muslim holy scripture, at least OBL's version. If his duty is to kill all non-Muslims and those who collude with non-Muslims, what's to stop him from blowing up the UAE itself or planting people within the organization? Even if Dubai has all the safeguards, doesn't this very fact cause Al Qaeda to be more motivated to attack us again -- through our own ports? I mean, talk about bringing the enemy over to our house!! On the other hand, maybe UAE would protect its investment and hire extra forces and advanced technology to protect the ports. WHAT DO YOU THINK? He have to feel that we are living in a world that still makes sense and have hope; otherwise we are going to defeat ourselves.
* For those who don't know, I am talking about Bush selling control of our major ports to the United Arab Emirates, Dubai)
** EVERYONE: You have to read MARK CRISPIN MILLER'S AMAZING BOOK: FOOLED AGAIN: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election and How They'll Steal the Next One Too.
3. NOT A CONSPIRACY THEORY: REPUBLICANS PLANNED FOR YEARS TO TAKE OVER VOTING MACHINES BY DIEBOLD; NEVER AGAIN WILL WE HAVE PAPER BALLOTS. DIEBOLD HAS BEEN HACKED INTO.
BRADBLOG has uncovered DELIBERATE HACKING by REPUBLICAN-OWNED DIEBOLD VOTING MACHINES. Read all about it at
http://www.bradblog.com/Diebold.htm
Interview with Wayne Dyer continued:
FC: But it's a pretty violent, messy planet, isn't it?
Dyer: It is. But for every act of violence and messiness there are a million acts of kindness and goodness. It just depends where you look. And when I look around at virtually anyone or anything on the planet, I can see another face of intention - beauty.
FC: In an effort to practice kindness, you recommend viewing every human encounter as a "holy relationship," the ability to celebrate and honor others, no matter who. But what about when you encounter people who are irritating, rude or even destructive?
Dyer: Generally, I try to stop myself from getting frustrated. I'm not a hundred percent successful, but I'm a thousand times better than I used to be. Anyone who's angry, nasty or rude is really offering a plea to be loved. I play a game with myself, trying to convert them from what I call low-energy emotions that drain us - frustration, irritation, anger and impatience - into high-energy emotions that sustain us - love, caring, kindness.
FC: How do you do it?
Dyer: By asking that surly waiter or harried airline clerk something about themselves or by expressing empathy, "Where are you from? It must be tough standing on your feet for eight hours." Anything to let a person know that, in that moment, I'm thinking more about them than about myself. And you know what happens? Instantly you see a smile.
FC: So paired with kindness would be another face of intention, what you call receptivity. No one and no thing is rejected?
Dyer: Exactly. Whenever you have a thought that excludes or judges anyone else, you aren't defining them. You're defining yourself as someone who needs to judge others.
FC: But don't we all judge one another?
Dyer: Yes, we do. But doing that less is one of those things we want to practice. Anytime I judge another harshly, I always find myself feeling worse.
FC: So when you're feeling offended by others...
Dyer: Remember this rule: Stop taking yourself so seriously! Get your ego out of the way and connect back to kindness - that from which you came.
FC: In your book, you write that controlling ego is intention's enemy.
Dyer: Ego is the part of us that believes: I am what I have, I am what I do. I am what others think of me. All this is just an illusion. The problem? If you are what you do, then who are you when you don't do it any longer? If you are what you have - then when you no longer have it, you no longer have any value!
The truth is that we are all spiritual beings. And when you see yourself as a piece of God, then you see yourself as connected to everything and everyone. In the recovery movement, they call what I'm talking about letting go and letting God. (If you're uncomfortable with the word God, just add an o and make it Good. The two words are interchangeable.) It just means allowing this divine source of kindness, beauty and creativity to be the dominant force in your life - whatever you're doing. I truly believe that God writes all the books and builds all the bridges. Sure, I sit down for six or seven hours a day with my pen and pads - but the message moves though me and I just allow.
FC: And when we're able to align ourselves with the power of intention, how will our lives change?
Dyer: I think you'll experience calmness where there used to be anxiety. You'll leave others feeling energized, so people will want to be around you. You'll start seeing miracles showing up - the right person, unanticipated abundance. You'll feel like you're collaborating with the universe instead of it working against you.
FC: Finally, you write that, "Your job is not to say how - it's to say yes!" What do you mean?
Dyer: I mean that the answer to how is yes! When you say yes to life, you attract divine guidance. When you're inspired, you're collaborating with fate. Everything starts working for you.
***********************
Revote in Ohio After More Votes Than Voters Recorded on Diebold Touch-Screen Voting Machines!
Court Orders Special Re-Vote Tomorrow After 'Failure' of Montgomery County, OH's New AccuVote TSX Machines!
County one of forty-four to implement new touch-screen machines for last November's election resulting in inexplicable results...
********************
US Church Alliance: Washington is 'Raining Down Terror' with Iraq War, Other Policies: Statement from representatives of the 34 U.S. members of World Council of Churches
by Brian Murphy
PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil - A coalition of American churches sharply denounced the U.S.-led war in Iraq on Saturday, accusing Washington of "raining down terror" and apologizing to other countries for "the violence, degradation and poverty our nation has sown." We lament with special anguish the war in Iraq, launched in deception and violating global norms of justice and human rights. We mourn all who have died or been injured in this war. We acknowledge with shame abuses carried out in our name. "Hurricane Katrina revealed to the world those left behind in our own nation by the rupture of our social contract," said the statement. The churches said they had "grown heavy with guilt" for not doing enough to speak out against the Iraq war and other issues. The statement asked forgiveness for a world that's "grown weary from the violence, degradation and poverty our nation has sown."
The World Council of Churches includes more than 350 mainstream Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox churches; the Roman Catholic Church is not a member. The U.S. groups in the WCC include the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Methodist Church, several Orthodox churches and Baptist denominations, among others.
Our country responded (to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks) by seeking to reclaim a privileged and secure place in the world, raining down terror on the truly vulnerable among our global neighbours . . . entering into imperial projects that seek to dominate and control for the sake of national interests," said the statement. "Nations have been demonized and God has been enlisted in national agendas that are nothing short of idolatrous."
"The message also accused U.S. officials of ignoring warnings about climate change and treating the world's "finite resources as if they are private possessions." It went on to criticize U.S. domestic policies for refusing to confront racism and poverty.
© Copyright 2006 Associated Press
MORE ON DIEBOLD
As reported in yesterday's Middletown Journal, a special "re-vote" will be held tomorrow in Montgomery county, OH on an issue where last November's election results were set aside due to more votes being cast on Diebold's AccuVote TSX touch-screen voting machines than there were actually registered voters who voted!
MARYLAND: In a Letter to Election Board, Guv of Diebold's Model State Declares He 'No Longer Has Confidence in Their Ability to Conduct Fair and Accurate Elections. Maryland's Republican Governor Issues Devastating Blow to Diebold!
Calls for Paper Ballots, Decries Lack of Security, 1000% Increase in Maintenance Cost for Diebold Voting System!
A brutal condemnation of the MD Elections Administrator, Linda Lamone, charging that her work and that of her staff, has been "primarily on behalf of partisan legislators and their interests and not on the interests of the citizens of Maryland." Maryland was the "model state" for Diebold. It was amongst the first to roll out a near state-wide adoption of the new paperless Diebold DRE (touch-screen) voting machines after the 2000 election.
In the letter sent by Maryland's Republican governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. to the State Board of Elections on Wednesday, he declares that he "no longer [has] confidence in the State Board of Elections’ ability to conduct fair and accurate elections in 2006."
Citing the "widespread national concern about the reliability and security of electronic voting systems," the decertification and denial of certification of Diebold around the country, and the need to "get aggressive in responding to citizens' concerns over public confidence in the elections system," Ehrlich says it's time to demand paper ballots once again in the State of Maryland.
Ehrlich in a letter to BoE Chairman, Gilles Burger, "the voters of Maryland should be allowed to vote a paper ballot or have a voter verification paper-trail to electronic voting as reassurance to voters that their votes are being accurately cast."
In his excoriating letter to Burger, the Governor goes on to cite the 78% increase in base cost for the system over original estimates and the -- sit down for this -- "1000% increase for estimates of the annual maintenance costs for this system."
** WE ARE THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WITH NO PAPER BALLOTS AND NO PAPER TRAIL. DIEBOLD IS A DISHONEST SHAM.
*******************************************************
Think about this: UAE is a state-owned company. What happens when things change in the state -- when leadership changes or a coup takes over? Obviously this whole thing is coming down because Bush & Co. has been doing family business with these people for many years. UAE must own Bush or Bush owes these guys, and he cannot guarantee our safety unless he gives in. They must really want this deal! I wonder why. What's strange is that now I think everything is staged. Farenheit 911 was RIGHT! Michael Moore should be redeemed by all the doubters. 911 happened on Bush's watch for a reason. Think about it.
Something to think about: The backlash in Bush's own party against Bush for the UAE port deal may pay off big in the elections next year; it gives these Republican congressmen a way to look good to their constituents. Wouldn't that be weird if this was the sole reason for the "sale talk"? Just kidding, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but it almost seems too outrageous of an idea to be believed. Here's what's strange: we are handing over control of our ports to a Muslim regime. The very reason Osama Bin Laden came after us in 9/11 was that we were in bed with the Saudis for capitalistic reasons, which OBL thinks is sacrilege: a direct affront to Muslim holy scripture, at least OBL's version. If his duty is to kill all non-Muslims and those who collude with non-Muslims, what's to stop him from blowing up the UAE itself or planting people within the organization? Even if Dubai has all the safeguards, doesn't this very fact cause Al Qaeda to be more motivated to attack us again -- through our own ports? I mean, talk about bringing the enemy over to our house!! On the other hand, maybe UAE would protect its investment and hire extra forces and advanced technology to protect the ports. WHAT DO YOU THINK? He have to feel that we are living in a world that still makes sense and have hope; otherwise we are going to defeat ourselves.
* For those who don't know, I am talking about Bush selling control of our major ports to the United Arab Emirates, Dubai)
** EVERYONE: You have to read MARK CRISPIN MILLER'S AMAZING BOOK: FOOLED AGAIN: How the Right Stole the 2004 Election and How They'll Steal the Next One Too.
3. NOT A CONSPIRACY THEORY: REPUBLICANS PLANNED FOR YEARS TO TAKE OVER VOTING MACHINES BY DIEBOLD; NEVER AGAIN WILL WE HAVE PAPER BALLOTS. DIEBOLD HAS BEEN HACKED INTO.
BRADBLOG has uncovered DELIBERATE HACKING by REPUBLICAN-OWNED DIEBOLD VOTING MACHINES. Read all about it at
http://www.bradblog.com/Diebold.htm
Interview with Wayne Dyer continued:
FC: But it's a pretty violent, messy planet, isn't it?
Dyer: It is. But for every act of violence and messiness there are a million acts of kindness and goodness. It just depends where you look. And when I look around at virtually anyone or anything on the planet, I can see another face of intention - beauty.
FC: In an effort to practice kindness, you recommend viewing every human encounter as a "holy relationship," the ability to celebrate and honor others, no matter who. But what about when you encounter people who are irritating, rude or even destructive?
Dyer: Generally, I try to stop myself from getting frustrated. I'm not a hundred percent successful, but I'm a thousand times better than I used to be. Anyone who's angry, nasty or rude is really offering a plea to be loved. I play a game with myself, trying to convert them from what I call low-energy emotions that drain us - frustration, irritation, anger and impatience - into high-energy emotions that sustain us - love, caring, kindness.
FC: How do you do it?
Dyer: By asking that surly waiter or harried airline clerk something about themselves or by expressing empathy, "Where are you from? It must be tough standing on your feet for eight hours." Anything to let a person know that, in that moment, I'm thinking more about them than about myself. And you know what happens? Instantly you see a smile.
FC: So paired with kindness would be another face of intention, what you call receptivity. No one and no thing is rejected?
Dyer: Exactly. Whenever you have a thought that excludes or judges anyone else, you aren't defining them. You're defining yourself as someone who needs to judge others.
FC: But don't we all judge one another?
Dyer: Yes, we do. But doing that less is one of those things we want to practice. Anytime I judge another harshly, I always find myself feeling worse.
FC: So when you're feeling offended by others...
Dyer: Remember this rule: Stop taking yourself so seriously! Get your ego out of the way and connect back to kindness - that from which you came.
FC: In your book, you write that controlling ego is intention's enemy.
Dyer: Ego is the part of us that believes: I am what I have, I am what I do. I am what others think of me. All this is just an illusion. The problem? If you are what you do, then who are you when you don't do it any longer? If you are what you have - then when you no longer have it, you no longer have any value!
The truth is that we are all spiritual beings. And when you see yourself as a piece of God, then you see yourself as connected to everything and everyone. In the recovery movement, they call what I'm talking about letting go and letting God. (If you're uncomfortable with the word God, just add an o and make it Good. The two words are interchangeable.) It just means allowing this divine source of kindness, beauty and creativity to be the dominant force in your life - whatever you're doing. I truly believe that God writes all the books and builds all the bridges. Sure, I sit down for six or seven hours a day with my pen and pads - but the message moves though me and I just allow.
FC: And when we're able to align ourselves with the power of intention, how will our lives change?
Dyer: I think you'll experience calmness where there used to be anxiety. You'll leave others feeling energized, so people will want to be around you. You'll start seeing miracles showing up - the right person, unanticipated abundance. You'll feel like you're collaborating with the universe instead of it working against you.
FC: Finally, you write that, "Your job is not to say how - it's to say yes!" What do you mean?
Dyer: I mean that the answer to how is yes! When you say yes to life, you attract divine guidance. When you're inspired, you're collaborating with fate. Everything starts working for you.
***********************
Revote in Ohio After More Votes Than Voters Recorded on Diebold Touch-Screen Voting Machines!
Court Orders Special Re-Vote Tomorrow After 'Failure' of Montgomery County, OH's New AccuVote TSX Machines!
County one of forty-four to implement new touch-screen machines for last November's election resulting in inexplicable results...
********************
US Church Alliance: Washington is 'Raining Down Terror' with Iraq War, Other Policies: Statement from representatives of the 34 U.S. members of World Council of Churches
by Brian Murphy
PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil - A coalition of American churches sharply denounced the U.S.-led war in Iraq on Saturday, accusing Washington of "raining down terror" and apologizing to other countries for "the violence, degradation and poverty our nation has sown." We lament with special anguish the war in Iraq, launched in deception and violating global norms of justice and human rights. We mourn all who have died or been injured in this war. We acknowledge with shame abuses carried out in our name. "Hurricane Katrina revealed to the world those left behind in our own nation by the rupture of our social contract," said the statement. The churches said they had "grown heavy with guilt" for not doing enough to speak out against the Iraq war and other issues. The statement asked forgiveness for a world that's "grown weary from the violence, degradation and poverty our nation has sown."
The World Council of Churches includes more than 350 mainstream Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox churches; the Roman Catholic Church is not a member. The U.S. groups in the WCC include the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Methodist Church, several Orthodox churches and Baptist denominations, among others.
Our country responded (to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks) by seeking to reclaim a privileged and secure place in the world, raining down terror on the truly vulnerable among our global neighbours . . . entering into imperial projects that seek to dominate and control for the sake of national interests," said the statement. "Nations have been demonized and God has been enlisted in national agendas that are nothing short of idolatrous."
"The message also accused U.S. officials of ignoring warnings about climate change and treating the world's "finite resources as if they are private possessions." It went on to criticize U.S. domestic policies for refusing to confront racism and poverty.
© Copyright 2006 Associated Press
MORE ON DIEBOLD
As reported in yesterday's Middletown Journal, a special "re-vote" will be held tomorrow in Montgomery county, OH on an issue where last November's election results were set aside due to more votes being cast on Diebold's AccuVote TSX touch-screen voting machines than there were actually registered voters who voted!
MARYLAND: In a Letter to Election Board, Guv of Diebold's Model State Declares He 'No Longer Has Confidence in Their Ability to Conduct Fair and Accurate Elections. Maryland's Republican Governor Issues Devastating Blow to Diebold!
Calls for Paper Ballots, Decries Lack of Security, 1000% Increase in Maintenance Cost for Diebold Voting System!
A brutal condemnation of the MD Elections Administrator, Linda Lamone, charging that her work and that of her staff, has been "primarily on behalf of partisan legislators and their interests and not on the interests of the citizens of Maryland." Maryland was the "model state" for Diebold. It was amongst the first to roll out a near state-wide adoption of the new paperless Diebold DRE (touch-screen) voting machines after the 2000 election.
In the letter sent by Maryland's Republican governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. to the State Board of Elections on Wednesday, he declares that he "no longer [has] confidence in the State Board of Elections’ ability to conduct fair and accurate elections in 2006."
Citing the "widespread national concern about the reliability and security of electronic voting systems," the decertification and denial of certification of Diebold around the country, and the need to "get aggressive in responding to citizens' concerns over public confidence in the elections system," Ehrlich says it's time to demand paper ballots once again in the State of Maryland.
Ehrlich in a letter to BoE Chairman, Gilles Burger, "the voters of Maryland should be allowed to vote a paper ballot or have a voter verification paper-trail to electronic voting as reassurance to voters that their votes are being accurately cast."
In his excoriating letter to Burger, the Governor goes on to cite the 78% increase in base cost for the system over original estimates and the -- sit down for this -- "1000% increase for estimates of the annual maintenance costs for this system."
** WE ARE THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD WITH NO PAPER BALLOTS AND NO PAPER TRAIL. DIEBOLD IS A DISHONEST SHAM.
*******************************************************
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
TOMB OF SECRETS
**There are almost 800 comments on this post, and there seems to be fight going on here. Please keep the violence to a R-rating. I will do a new post tonight or tomorrow about some very eerie breaking news.
From Clif, Gulf War I Desert Storm Commander disabled Vet:
Lydia,
I stood in the desert after the end of combat in 1991 and looked around at the death and destruction that we had done to so many of saddam's troops, one scene still haunts me, It was where a low ranking enlisted soldier had been captured by an Iraqi republican guards officer and senior enlisted, they shot the soldier in the back of the head, and almost immediately were killed by some sort of US cluster bomb. I thought it was ironic that they killed a man for trying to escape the Hell that is war but ended up being killed almost in the same moment, I thought it was poetic justice until I remembered Pvt Eddie Slovic from WW2, something changed that day, I started seeing the ghost images of the "enemy" in their fighting positions, the caves they dug in the ground to escape the bombing by the US Air Force, the bomb craters next to tanks where they died, I could imagine in my mind the horror they must have felt being bombed from the air but if they tried to get away they would end up shot.
As bad as the pics of Abu Ghraib look the horror is much greater because the camera never was focused in the interrogation chambers where the real horrors are done.
I have no patience for the chicken-hawks who shill for others to go into these corners of Hell so they can be safe in their minds, because that is where their fear lives.
11:12 AM
clif also said...
If you believe that this current (Bush) government is so interested in freedom take a LONG look at the pictures of the Abu Ghraib prison and ask your self a few questions... What are these prisoners accused of? Are they being charged or just detained? Do they have any "civil rights" if they are in the custody of the US military? Is the treatment of these prisoners in line with the spreading of freedom?Hint almost every person in those pictures has been released, so their crimes must not have been that extreme, so what justified their treatment?( Keep the answers based upon the spread of freedom and the US does no wrong, not flaming about 9-11(these prisoners weren't there), or terrorism, they can't be terrorists because WE invaded their country and destroyed a large section of their society. We do more damage in a month than was done here on 9-11, and we have been there for 35 months. Remember the anger over 9-11 here, YES THE ANGER IS AND WAS JUSTIFIED, but try to imagine the anger some Iraqi's have for what the US arny, US Marine Corp and US Air Force has done to their country. These people did not sponser 9-11 Osama Bin Laden did (he's Saudi) and 15 of the 19 Highjackers were also Saudi, the base of Bin Ladens operation was Afghanistan NOT Iraq. In 1990 Osama offered the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia his services to defend the kingdom against Saddam, but the King chose the US military, and so to Osama's mind slighted him. Osama's real aim is to topple the Saudi monarchy and reestablish the muslim chiaph(sp?) and the agreement bewteen Washington and Riyahd for the US military to defend the Saudi monarchy stands in his way. That is his beef with us. We defend the Saudi monarchy in excahnge for them stabilising the world oil markets. Since this administration is so consumed with 9-11(their justification for everything) why did they remove the only Special Forces team that was fluent in the local dialects from Afganistan and move the unit to Iraq to hunt for Saddam, the SF unit that was the replacement is fluent in spanish, makes you wonder where their real priorities are.
URGENT from Lydia: These shameful pictures of Abu Gahrib somehow seem worse than before; my heart is breaking; I feel overwhelming sadness for America and what we've become. These are human beings first and foremost. No matter what color, race or tribe, we are all brothers on this planet. We must hold bush & co accountable for whatever he is doing. We must get this mad man out of office. We cannot ever allow torture of detainees or "enemy combatants" - or whatever word he uses to circumvent the Geneva Convention. How can we ever be proud of ourselves as a nation again? This is unconscionable. As Darth Worfeus said: "Its a sad day when the industrialized nations of the world we share, who have always looked to the US as a bastion of good, and freedom, now look to us with quaking fear, of our abomidable and unspeakable crimes against humanity."
I am so sick of right-wing so-called "patriots" who dare to think the left are "traitors" because we value human life and abide by deep moral imperatives. We know the difference between right and wrong. You have sold out America for a quick anger fix. Only very primitive people would take the bait, and I guess these are the ones leading our country - Lydia
The guiding principle is the Geneva Convention built from the expierences of the allied prisoners of war at the hands of the NaZis and to a lesser extent the Japanese. What happened was a Nazi or Japanese tactic in WW2 for treatment of POW's and now we are doing it. The simple test for the question of "Are the actions proper"" is does the reversal of the roles: put the prisoners in charge and the soldiers in the prisoners place, how would you feel and do you want US soldiers treated this way? If the answer is no then the actions are wrong. If we don't want it done to our troops then we don't do it to theirs plain and simple.
** THIS IS THE GOLDEN RULE (Lydia)
I don't think our troops welfare is really high on the thought process for the neo-cons both in and out of the Bushco admin, otherwise the fiasco of not enough armor both personnel and vehicle etc wouldn't be happening here. The "support the troops" makes a good campaign-slogan but hard if you have to put money in the troop protection, VA, and support to the returning Guard and reserves, instead of Halliburton, Defense weapon industries that cannot even be used in an insurgency style war, if that is what Iraq is now.
Bush, Rumsfeld don't want to listen to anything as to why the battle in Iraq is not going like they want us to believe. They ignore any historical perspective on the situation: even Churchill realized in 1919 that Iraq as well as the middle east -- was not going to be conqured militarily by any western (christian from the arabs standpoint) power: not Iraq, not Afganistan, and they got out. Also no military power has ever been able to defeat an insurgancy if the insurgants were also the native population, from the American Revolution where Washington et al were the insurgents through vietnam where Ho Chi Mihn and Giap were the insurgenta against the Japanese, French and the US. The only way to defeat an insurgancy is what we did in the 1800's to the american Indian, whole sale slaughter and putting the rest on reservations( in WW2 we called them interment camps) , hopefully we can't even think of trying that, but as the days go by I'm not sure how far the Neo-cons would go to control the energy resources of this planet.
************
Wow, we had over 680 comments on the last post (below). Thank you for all your brilliant ideas; we could solve a lot of Bush's problems with your help (but maybe not Cheney's.) Also, this blog was nominated for 2 Koufax awards. Voting starts soon; details below.
I have a feeling Cheney's initial coverup of this shooting incident was because he didn't want anyone to know that Mrs. Armstrong, the owner of 50,000 acre "quail ranch" is a Washington lobbyist giving Cheney a perk for some reason. I don't know, what do you think?
I am so sad that Paul Hackett dropped out of the Ohio race for Senate; I believe he is EXACTLY what we need and I pray he runs for President in 2008.
Many of you know about Skull and Bones, but last week I was deeply disturbed about even darker secrets I discovered about the secret society that Bush Sr. and Jr. are both members of, as well as John Kerry. I'll post here soon; I have to find it again. I always wondered why Kerry didn't fight the election results; something eerie was afoot and now I realize what it is: Skull and Bones. But what is the nature of the pact they made? What are the vows they take in that windowless tomb? So many missing pieces of the puzzle (including who runs the global economy) are found by looking into Yale's "Bonesmen". These people have very little interest in the lives of ordinary Americans.
This blog is a 2005 Koufax Award Double Nominee!! Thanks to everyone who nominated us!
BEST POST: Cornell's BradBlog article Death Is Sexier than Sex, to Ann Coulter
BEST NEW BLOG 2005 Koufax Award Nominee LydiaCornell.com
BEST POST voting will start soon at: Wampum (vote here for BRADBLOG: Death is Sexier than Sex)
BEST NEW BLOG voting at: Wampum
Be sure to check out this wonderfully generous website (Wampum) and all the nominees.
****************
Just got this from my friend Garth Bishop (Bixxo.com). It's a letter he wrote to the Guardian:
"Ironic to have to read U.S. General Peter Pace's comments in a UK newspaper re Bush administration plans for a "Long War."
This following sentence struck me as odd since Bush created the war himself through the most colossal strategic blunder in history (directed by Karl Rove and V.P Dick Cheney). To quote: "The message from General Peter Pace, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, was apocalyptic. "We are at a critical time in the history of this great country and find ourselves challenged in ways we did not expect. We face a ruthless enemy intent on destroying our way of life and an uncertain future." (my emphasis on "we did not expect")
The Iron Curtain fell more than 40 years after Pres Truman's containment strategy was launched, and any rational intelligent being would have followed the same course to stem the flow of anti-western influences. But it seems that sinister people bent on taking over power permanently have created a "war without end" to accomplish this purpose."
Garth Bishop
Los Angeles
*********************
*Outed CIA officer was working on Iran, intelligence sources say*
*Larisa Alexandrovna*
Published: February 13, 2006
The unmasking of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson by White House officials in 2003 caused significant damage to U.S. national security and its ability to counter nuclear proliferation abroad, RAW STORY has learned.
According to current and former intelligence officials, Plame Wilson, who worked on the clandestine side of the CIA in the Directorate of Operations as a non-official cover (NOC) officer, was part of an operation tracking distribution and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction technology to and from Iran.
Read the rest here:
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Outed_CIA_officer_was_working_on_0213.html
From Clif, Gulf War I Desert Storm Commander disabled Vet:
Lydia,
I stood in the desert after the end of combat in 1991 and looked around at the death and destruction that we had done to so many of saddam's troops, one scene still haunts me, It was where a low ranking enlisted soldier had been captured by an Iraqi republican guards officer and senior enlisted, they shot the soldier in the back of the head, and almost immediately were killed by some sort of US cluster bomb. I thought it was ironic that they killed a man for trying to escape the Hell that is war but ended up being killed almost in the same moment, I thought it was poetic justice until I remembered Pvt Eddie Slovic from WW2, something changed that day, I started seeing the ghost images of the "enemy" in their fighting positions, the caves they dug in the ground to escape the bombing by the US Air Force, the bomb craters next to tanks where they died, I could imagine in my mind the horror they must have felt being bombed from the air but if they tried to get away they would end up shot.
As bad as the pics of Abu Ghraib look the horror is much greater because the camera never was focused in the interrogation chambers where the real horrors are done.
I have no patience for the chicken-hawks who shill for others to go into these corners of Hell so they can be safe in their minds, because that is where their fear lives.
11:12 AM
clif also said...
If you believe that this current (Bush) government is so interested in freedom take a LONG look at the pictures of the Abu Ghraib prison and ask your self a few questions... What are these prisoners accused of? Are they being charged or just detained? Do they have any "civil rights" if they are in the custody of the US military? Is the treatment of these prisoners in line with the spreading of freedom?Hint almost every person in those pictures has been released, so their crimes must not have been that extreme, so what justified their treatment?( Keep the answers based upon the spread of freedom and the US does no wrong, not flaming about 9-11(these prisoners weren't there), or terrorism, they can't be terrorists because WE invaded their country and destroyed a large section of their society. We do more damage in a month than was done here on 9-11, and we have been there for 35 months. Remember the anger over 9-11 here, YES THE ANGER IS AND WAS JUSTIFIED, but try to imagine the anger some Iraqi's have for what the US arny, US Marine Corp and US Air Force has done to their country. These people did not sponser 9-11 Osama Bin Laden did (he's Saudi) and 15 of the 19 Highjackers were also Saudi, the base of Bin Ladens operation was Afghanistan NOT Iraq. In 1990 Osama offered the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia his services to defend the kingdom against Saddam, but the King chose the US military, and so to Osama's mind slighted him. Osama's real aim is to topple the Saudi monarchy and reestablish the muslim chiaph(sp?) and the agreement bewteen Washington and Riyahd for the US military to defend the Saudi monarchy stands in his way. That is his beef with us. We defend the Saudi monarchy in excahnge for them stabilising the world oil markets. Since this administration is so consumed with 9-11(their justification for everything) why did they remove the only Special Forces team that was fluent in the local dialects from Afganistan and move the unit to Iraq to hunt for Saddam, the SF unit that was the replacement is fluent in spanish, makes you wonder where their real priorities are.
URGENT from Lydia: These shameful pictures of Abu Gahrib somehow seem worse than before; my heart is breaking; I feel overwhelming sadness for America and what we've become. These are human beings first and foremost. No matter what color, race or tribe, we are all brothers on this planet. We must hold bush & co accountable for whatever he is doing. We must get this mad man out of office. We cannot ever allow torture of detainees or "enemy combatants" - or whatever word he uses to circumvent the Geneva Convention. How can we ever be proud of ourselves as a nation again? This is unconscionable. As Darth Worfeus said: "Its a sad day when the industrialized nations of the world we share, who have always looked to the US as a bastion of good, and freedom, now look to us with quaking fear, of our abomidable and unspeakable crimes against humanity."
I am so sick of right-wing so-called "patriots" who dare to think the left are "traitors" because we value human life and abide by deep moral imperatives. We know the difference between right and wrong. You have sold out America for a quick anger fix. Only very primitive people would take the bait, and I guess these are the ones leading our country - Lydia
The guiding principle is the Geneva Convention built from the expierences of the allied prisoners of war at the hands of the NaZis and to a lesser extent the Japanese. What happened was a Nazi or Japanese tactic in WW2 for treatment of POW's and now we are doing it. The simple test for the question of "Are the actions proper"" is does the reversal of the roles: put the prisoners in charge and the soldiers in the prisoners place, how would you feel and do you want US soldiers treated this way? If the answer is no then the actions are wrong. If we don't want it done to our troops then we don't do it to theirs plain and simple.
** THIS IS THE GOLDEN RULE (Lydia)
I don't think our troops welfare is really high on the thought process for the neo-cons both in and out of the Bushco admin, otherwise the fiasco of not enough armor both personnel and vehicle etc wouldn't be happening here. The "support the troops" makes a good campaign-slogan but hard if you have to put money in the troop protection, VA, and support to the returning Guard and reserves, instead of Halliburton, Defense weapon industries that cannot even be used in an insurgency style war, if that is what Iraq is now.
Bush, Rumsfeld don't want to listen to anything as to why the battle in Iraq is not going like they want us to believe. They ignore any historical perspective on the situation: even Churchill realized in 1919 that Iraq as well as the middle east -- was not going to be conqured militarily by any western (christian from the arabs standpoint) power: not Iraq, not Afganistan, and they got out. Also no military power has ever been able to defeat an insurgancy if the insurgants were also the native population, from the American Revolution where Washington et al were the insurgents through vietnam where Ho Chi Mihn and Giap were the insurgenta against the Japanese, French and the US. The only way to defeat an insurgancy is what we did in the 1800's to the american Indian, whole sale slaughter and putting the rest on reservations( in WW2 we called them interment camps) , hopefully we can't even think of trying that, but as the days go by I'm not sure how far the Neo-cons would go to control the energy resources of this planet.
************
Wow, we had over 680 comments on the last post (below). Thank you for all your brilliant ideas; we could solve a lot of Bush's problems with your help (but maybe not Cheney's.) Also, this blog was nominated for 2 Koufax awards. Voting starts soon; details below.
I have a feeling Cheney's initial coverup of this shooting incident was because he didn't want anyone to know that Mrs. Armstrong, the owner of 50,000 acre "quail ranch" is a Washington lobbyist giving Cheney a perk for some reason. I don't know, what do you think?
I am so sad that Paul Hackett dropped out of the Ohio race for Senate; I believe he is EXACTLY what we need and I pray he runs for President in 2008.
Many of you know about Skull and Bones, but last week I was deeply disturbed about even darker secrets I discovered about the secret society that Bush Sr. and Jr. are both members of, as well as John Kerry. I'll post here soon; I have to find it again. I always wondered why Kerry didn't fight the election results; something eerie was afoot and now I realize what it is: Skull and Bones. But what is the nature of the pact they made? What are the vows they take in that windowless tomb? So many missing pieces of the puzzle (including who runs the global economy) are found by looking into Yale's "Bonesmen". These people have very little interest in the lives of ordinary Americans.
This blog is a 2005 Koufax Award Double Nominee!! Thanks to everyone who nominated us!
BEST POST: Cornell's BradBlog article Death Is Sexier than Sex, to Ann Coulter
BEST NEW BLOG 2005 Koufax Award Nominee LydiaCornell.com
BEST POST voting will start soon at: Wampum (vote here for BRADBLOG: Death is Sexier than Sex)
BEST NEW BLOG voting at: Wampum
Be sure to check out this wonderfully generous website (Wampum) and all the nominees.
****************
Just got this from my friend Garth Bishop (Bixxo.com). It's a letter he wrote to the Guardian:
"Ironic to have to read U.S. General Peter Pace's comments in a UK newspaper re Bush administration plans for a "Long War."
This following sentence struck me as odd since Bush created the war himself through the most colossal strategic blunder in history (directed by Karl Rove and V.P Dick Cheney). To quote: "The message from General Peter Pace, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, was apocalyptic. "We are at a critical time in the history of this great country and find ourselves challenged in ways we did not expect. We face a ruthless enemy intent on destroying our way of life and an uncertain future." (my emphasis on "we did not expect")
The Iron Curtain fell more than 40 years after Pres Truman's containment strategy was launched, and any rational intelligent being would have followed the same course to stem the flow of anti-western influences. But it seems that sinister people bent on taking over power permanently have created a "war without end" to accomplish this purpose."
Garth Bishop
Los Angeles
*********************
*Outed CIA officer was working on Iran, intelligence sources say*
*Larisa Alexandrovna*
Published: February 13, 2006
The unmasking of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson by White House officials in 2003 caused significant damage to U.S. national security and its ability to counter nuclear proliferation abroad, RAW STORY
According to current and former intelligence officials, Plame Wilson, who worked on the clandestine side of the CIA in the Directorate of Operations as a non-official cover (NOC) officer, was part of an operation tracking distribution and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction technology to and from Iran.
Read the rest here:
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Outed_CIA_officer_was_working_on_0213.html
Monday, February 06, 2006
THE MORE YOU BLEED IN PEACE, THE LESS YOU BLEED IN WAR
Personally, I think Cheney, Bush, Rove used the secrets they found spying in order to blackmail and intimidate good people like Richard Clarke and Scott Ritter so they would be less ready to talk. I wonder how many others....
Questions: what do you think the possibilities are for impeachment, based on the spying program, if it's proven to be illegal? How about the Jack Abramoff scandal? Valerie Plame? The United Nations plane incident when Bush was overheard suggesting they paint the plane in U.N. colors?
I am opening this forum to hear from Recovering Republicans. You can leave anonymous messages if you don't want your identity leaked. I'm quite serious. I used to be a Republican, then I got sober on September 11, 1994. It's as if I woke up. I suddenly started looking at the world around me and put myself in others' shoes. I literally grew a new heart: did a turnaround on the death penalty, and stopped judging and fearing others. I also gradually started being less self-centered. I started giving things away. If we all just took care of our own side of the street and started nurturing those less fortunate instead of judging them, we could build an amazing world. We're all the same color and the same tribe.
Stuart Smalley is right; "It's easier to wear slippers than to carpet the whole world.
Remember, Sadaam was the one assurance that Osama Bin Laden's Al Quaeda would never get a foothold in Iraq. They were enemies and polar opposites: Sadaam was a secularist; Osama a religious fundamentalist.
There were many more creative ways to keep Sadaam from functioning. As long as we were "inspecting, hovering, talking and questioning the WMD program, we could have played this card until we smoked him out of his bunker. With our precision satellite technology -- you don't think we could have eventually made a surreptitious direct hit or contact? Or at least kept him in his luxury underground bunker for a few years, paranoid of coming outside? What good would he be then? With proper CIA plants, we could have made friends in the underground, won them over with ideas -- there had to be one or two Iraqis who eventually would turn against their leader. With satellite photos, we could see any WMD action, trucks leaving large facilities. It's one thing to bomb inanimate objects if you absolutely have to, but to announce to the world that you are going to assassinate a human being, even if he's an unofficial dictator, is not only UN-CHRISTIAN but gives the enemy a heads-up and makes us look like malicious invaders. No wonder more terrorism was created! The more we fight these guys, the more of them we create! It's like Lynn Woolsey said the other day, if you shoot at a worm, he splits in two. Wouldn't you get your cousins, aunts and uncles together to fight an invader who carpet bombs your city, and destroys schools, universites and the sewage system, to say nothing of creating toxic chemica air and a few "civilian casualties now and then." This is BARBARIC and we can't possibly be hearing the whole story. Are all the Iraqis really grateful to us as liberators? No wonder the whole world hates us. No human on earth of sound mind, thought this was a good plan! We must get together and pray for Bush to gain wisdom (which is compassion WITH intelligence.) And pray for the good in people to rise. Maybe it would be wise to understand our enemy: Al Qaeda was a fringe group, not a majority of Muslims. Not all Muslims believed all non-Muslims should be wiped out. This was not the part of the Koran normal people followed. Osama had a personal vengeance and a rinky-dink operation: terrorist hits on the WTC is not the same as missles. But now he has more friends: we've given the fence-sitting Muslims actual cause to hate us.
This blog is a 2005 Koufax Award Double Nominee!! Thanks to everyone who nominated us!
BEST POST: Cornell's BradBlog article Death Is Sexier than Sex, to Ann Coulter
BEST NEW BLOG 2005 Koufax Award Nominee LydiaCornell.com
BEST POST voting will start soon at: Wampum (vote here for BRADBLOG: Death is Sexier than Sex)
BEST NEW BLOG voting at: Wampum
Be sure to check out this wonderfully generous website (Wampum) and all the nominees.
A CALL FOR A TRUCE: I want to open up a dialogue with people who support this war. I sincerely want to know why you believe this war in Iraq is a good thing. From the bottom of my heart, I am pleading for real answers, not vicious attacks. We are all Americans here, and we have to bridge this chasm. We cannot be enemies anymore. Fopr my part, I am a mother with two sons and I never want them to fight in a war like this -- against people who are willing to blow themselves up and who "eat nuclear waste for breakfast" as I said in a prior blog. I cry almost everyday for the precious lives of our brave soldiers. These are just children we are sending off to die for a cause I honestly don't think is guaranteeing our freedom at all. Please reassure me that there is a good reason for this. Thank you and God Bless.
Regarding Iran: It is absolutely possible to prevent a world war. We must be vigilant, and you may not be ready to accept this, you may not believe me, but prayer tangibly changes things. Prayer is putting your thoughts on the good in people so intensely, that fear and negative influences are driven out. This is a "thought-universe" and what we focus on grows. Prayer is not begging some anthropomorphic (man-like) god for favors. It's actually dwelling persistently on the good, love. If you try this, you will see miraculous changes in your own life.
Commenter Moo Moo -- I've been writing two books and didn't mean to ignore you. You questions will be answered in these books and blogs coming soon, I just haven't had time to read all these comments yet as I'm raising children and am overwhelmed with work lately. Also getting ready to do standup comedy opening for Paul Rodriguez show -- with Destiny, my girlfriend. I'll keep you posted on this and our Vegas calendar.
Listen, seek and you shall find. If you're really interested in spiritual growth and the secrets of the universe, you will find them. I haven't begun to share with anyone what I absolutely know to be true yet -- but I will. But many others have: read Wayne Dyer, "You'll See it When you Believe It" Also, the BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ ABOUT THE TRUE CHRIST IS: EMETT FOX "The Sermon on the Mount" In very simple terms, he tells us how to get results from prayer, and the real meaning of Christ's mission. It is a crime what the current believers (Pharisees) have done to pervert Christ's real mission. I also love Mary Baker Eddy (very advanced spiritual thought, but it is absolutely the truth) and I love the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know". Please Google "The Miracle in the Water" and study this amazing way to put your thoughts on love. If love can change a water molecule, and we are 95% water, this is something to think about.
Thoughts are things. You say I haven't answered your questions, but if you read all my posts more will be revealed. Why don't you ask me another question, I'm not sure what it is you want answered. I will say this: I do not believe in a man-like God outside of ourselves. It's WITHIN.
I am talking about consistently taking the higher ground, resisting fighting, learning the key to life: that what we focus on expands. You don't need to fight your enemies if your thoughts are focused on your own business and the good in the "other". Charity involves stepping outside your own view and having real empathy for others' suffering. Breaking the grip of fear and depression takes a shedding of doubt, and a leap in consciousness. You can't see it until you believe it.
Questions: what do you think the possibilities are for impeachment, based on the spying program, if it's proven to be illegal? How about the Jack Abramoff scandal? Valerie Plame? The United Nations plane incident when Bush was overheard suggesting they paint the plane in U.N. colors?
I am opening this forum to hear from Recovering Republicans. You can leave anonymous messages if you don't want your identity leaked. I'm quite serious. I used to be a Republican, then I got sober on September 11, 1994. It's as if I woke up. I suddenly started looking at the world around me and put myself in others' shoes. I literally grew a new heart: did a turnaround on the death penalty, and stopped judging and fearing others. I also gradually started being less self-centered. I started giving things away. If we all just took care of our own side of the street and started nurturing those less fortunate instead of judging them, we could build an amazing world. We're all the same color and the same tribe.
Stuart Smalley is right; "It's easier to wear slippers than to carpet the whole world.
Remember, Sadaam was the one assurance that Osama Bin Laden's Al Quaeda would never get a foothold in Iraq. They were enemies and polar opposites: Sadaam was a secularist; Osama a religious fundamentalist.
There were many more creative ways to keep Sadaam from functioning. As long as we were "inspecting, hovering, talking and questioning the WMD program, we could have played this card until we smoked him out of his bunker. With our precision satellite technology -- you don't think we could have eventually made a surreptitious direct hit or contact? Or at least kept him in his luxury underground bunker for a few years, paranoid of coming outside? What good would he be then? With proper CIA plants, we could have made friends in the underground, won them over with ideas -- there had to be one or two Iraqis who eventually would turn against their leader. With satellite photos, we could see any WMD action, trucks leaving large facilities. It's one thing to bomb inanimate objects if you absolutely have to, but to announce to the world that you are going to assassinate a human being, even if he's an unofficial dictator, is not only UN-CHRISTIAN but gives the enemy a heads-up and makes us look like malicious invaders. No wonder more terrorism was created! The more we fight these guys, the more of them we create! It's like Lynn Woolsey said the other day, if you shoot at a worm, he splits in two. Wouldn't you get your cousins, aunts and uncles together to fight an invader who carpet bombs your city, and destroys schools, universites and the sewage system, to say nothing of creating toxic chemica air and a few "civilian casualties now and then." This is BARBARIC and we can't possibly be hearing the whole story. Are all the Iraqis really grateful to us as liberators? No wonder the whole world hates us. No human on earth of sound mind, thought this was a good plan! We must get together and pray for Bush to gain wisdom (which is compassion WITH intelligence.) And pray for the good in people to rise. Maybe it would be wise to understand our enemy: Al Qaeda was a fringe group, not a majority of Muslims. Not all Muslims believed all non-Muslims should be wiped out. This was not the part of the Koran normal people followed. Osama had a personal vengeance and a rinky-dink operation: terrorist hits on the WTC is not the same as missles. But now he has more friends: we've given the fence-sitting Muslims actual cause to hate us.
This blog is a 2005 Koufax Award Double Nominee!! Thanks to everyone who nominated us!
BEST POST: Cornell's BradBlog article Death Is Sexier than Sex, to Ann Coulter
BEST NEW BLOG 2005 Koufax Award Nominee LydiaCornell.com
BEST POST voting will start soon at: Wampum (vote here for BRADBLOG: Death is Sexier than Sex)
BEST NEW BLOG voting at: Wampum
Be sure to check out this wonderfully generous website (Wampum) and all the nominees.
A CALL FOR A TRUCE: I want to open up a dialogue with people who support this war. I sincerely want to know why you believe this war in Iraq is a good thing. From the bottom of my heart, I am pleading for real answers, not vicious attacks. We are all Americans here, and we have to bridge this chasm. We cannot be enemies anymore. Fopr my part, I am a mother with two sons and I never want them to fight in a war like this -- against people who are willing to blow themselves up and who "eat nuclear waste for breakfast" as I said in a prior blog. I cry almost everyday for the precious lives of our brave soldiers. These are just children we are sending off to die for a cause I honestly don't think is guaranteeing our freedom at all. Please reassure me that there is a good reason for this. Thank you and God Bless.
Regarding Iran: It is absolutely possible to prevent a world war. We must be vigilant, and you may not be ready to accept this, you may not believe me, but prayer tangibly changes things. Prayer is putting your thoughts on the good in people so intensely, that fear and negative influences are driven out. This is a "thought-universe" and what we focus on grows. Prayer is not begging some anthropomorphic (man-like) god for favors. It's actually dwelling persistently on the good, love. If you try this, you will see miraculous changes in your own life.
Commenter Moo Moo -- I've been writing two books and didn't mean to ignore you. You questions will be answered in these books and blogs coming soon, I just haven't had time to read all these comments yet as I'm raising children and am overwhelmed with work lately. Also getting ready to do standup comedy opening for Paul Rodriguez show -- with Destiny, my girlfriend. I'll keep you posted on this and our Vegas calendar.
Listen, seek and you shall find. If you're really interested in spiritual growth and the secrets of the universe, you will find them. I haven't begun to share with anyone what I absolutely know to be true yet -- but I will. But many others have: read Wayne Dyer, "You'll See it When you Believe It" Also, the BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ ABOUT THE TRUE CHRIST IS: EMETT FOX "The Sermon on the Mount" In very simple terms, he tells us how to get results from prayer, and the real meaning of Christ's mission. It is a crime what the current believers (Pharisees) have done to pervert Christ's real mission. I also love Mary Baker Eddy (very advanced spiritual thought, but it is absolutely the truth) and I love the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know". Please Google "The Miracle in the Water" and study this amazing way to put your thoughts on love. If love can change a water molecule, and we are 95% water, this is something to think about.
Thoughts are things. You say I haven't answered your questions, but if you read all my posts more will be revealed. Why don't you ask me another question, I'm not sure what it is you want answered. I will say this: I do not believe in a man-like God outside of ourselves. It's WITHIN.
I am talking about consistently taking the higher ground, resisting fighting, learning the key to life: that what we focus on expands. You don't need to fight your enemies if your thoughts are focused on your own business and the good in the "other". Charity involves stepping outside your own view and having real empathy for others' suffering. Breaking the grip of fear and depression takes a shedding of doubt, and a leap in consciousness. You can't see it until you believe it.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
MOTHER OF A DEAD SOLDIER
Can you believe we live in such paranoid times that we have to suspect spies and hackers! Thanks Mr. President.
This blog is a 2005 Koufax Award Double Nominee!! Thanks to everyone who nominated us!
BEST POST: Cornell's BradBlog article Death Is Sexier than Sex, to Ann Coulter
BEST NEW BLOG 2005 Koufax Award Nominee LydiaCornell.com
BEST POST voting will start soon at: Wampum (vote here for BRADBLOG: Death is Sexier than Sex)
BEST NEW BLOG voting at: Wampum
Be sure to check out this wonderfully generous website (Wampum) and all the nominees.
********************
Americans need desperately to understand that 95 percent of all Muslim terrorists in the world were created in the past three years by Bush's invasion of Iraq. (Paul Craig Roberts http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts144.html)
When making such an ominous decision as whether to commit young lives to war, great men question the validity of their thoughts, do not arrogantly claim they are talking to God (as Bush did.) They do not refuse to deeply weigh the consequences, the "exit strategy", the repurcussions, the enemy's wrath, the clergy's advice, the Pandora's box. Wise men do not skew the evidence, lie to the people, rush to war and claim victory before the pullout. Who in his right mind would trust this man? And you wonder why we don't trust him when he says he's only spying on international calls to Al Queda? If we had faith in him to care about the common man, the common good, we'd be on his side. I have a feeling his team wants this information to formulate a strategy -- to find out where their base is, to ostracize certain people and find out their reading/buying/voting/ habits. To maybe prevent whole communities from voting -- or even worse.
Silence is complicity. That's the reason I have to speak out, though I know that real power is in not fearing them, but somehow forgiving their weaknesses and transforming my thought about them, so I don't help create the very situations I most fear. In Christ's time, people had the same fears about government, the Pharisees. The world always feels like it's ending; but somehow the human spirit survives. That's our job.
Nothing makes sense anymore, so I may as well offer an alternative version. Here’s how I see it: it’s normal and natural to be a left-winger or Democrat and believe in Christ. In fact, "pro-war, conservative Christian" doesn't make sense; it's an oxymoron. Again, the religious right-wing so-called "Christians" are involved in the most dangerous perversion of Christianity I've ever seen. Jesus was the Prince of Peace. His entire ministry was spent caring for the poor, the lepers (todays Aids victims), the immoral "sinners", the prisoners, the downtrodden whom the religious leaders thought were too dirty to touch. By giving them love and compassion, they became whole. Whether Christian or not, it's our job as a society to care for the poor, the "least among us." People everywhere hunger for the love that passes all understanding, that heals human suffering. Liberal is a beautiful word: it means "generous, bounteous, freedom-giving". Liberals care about the things that really matter: the poor, the middle class, education, crime-prevention, the environment, peace, harmony, prosperity, diplomacy. Liberals are not "baby-killers" or" traitors" just because Ann Coulter says so. She uses the "language of extermination" and conveniently says she's "joking". Enlighten me; I don't get the joke. I don't get what's funny about an elderly Justice dying from ingesting rat-poison, do you? Coulter makes a living selling hate.
It’s okay to be bewildered at times with the ACLU, hate abortion and still be a Democrat. No one is pro-abortion. Under Clinton, the abortion rate dropped; it rose dramatically under Bush. How can you outlaw abortion? By assigning a police-watchdog to hover over every girl or woman and test them to see if they're pregnant. Then follow them around day and night to make sure they don't grab a coat-hanger or have a "back-alley" abortion which may kill them. That's all Democrats want to prevent: more needless deaths. Because history shows that unprotected sex will happen, and some women will try to get rid of it themselves. If you want to guard against this, have a Gestapo agent hold the woman down for 9 months to force her to have a baby. The guard will also have to force her to take Folic acid and to never put a chemical in her body that could hurt the fetus (junk food, caffeine, liquor). You can't stop people from smoking or damaging their own bodies. We know smoking kills. Why do we legalize smoking?
It’s okay to be offended by porn and still be a democrat who believes in free speech. Real women don't like being objectified by men's magazines and Howard Stern, and don’t think the F-word is representative of free speech. Dumb blondes are not always dumb; they are a persecuted minority and should have minority status -- so they deserve Affirmative Action. I hope you know that’s a joke.
Did you know that we have 1 million MORE hungry, poverty-striken American children than we did six years ago? According to the US Census Bureau, 35.9 million people live below the poverty line in America including 12.9 million children. (http://www.census.gov/Press
Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/002484.html)
Did you know that Dell Computers just outsourced 5,000 new jobs to India, with 10,000 already there? Did you know that Ford just cut 30,000 jobs? The STATE OF THE UNION address, showed us a president with no vision, no specifics, and no effort to discuss how he's going to pay for the endless war -- or draft soldiers to fight it once all our men are gone; how he's going to pay for Katrina & levee rebuilding, or how he's going to help the poor, middle classes and elderly afford health care. Oh yeah, I forgot -- by making them put whatever extra money they have in "medical bank accounts" that Citibank or some other Bush friend can "borrow" from to create a portfolio that will amass over 75 billion by 2010. As if the poor or the middle classes have any extra money.
_______________________________
The Democratic Party, at its best, is light years ahead of the Republican party in the things that really matter to Americans. I have great hope for the future, because we know we have good on our side. It's truth, love & kindness and you know it in your heart. It's our job as citizens of the earth to take care of "the least among us." You will know good people by what they produce. This house of cards will fall, you'll see. Benjamin Franklin said something to the effect that "you cannot trade liberty for security or you will end up with neither."
DEMOCRATS CREATE WEALTH AND JOBS
1.From Harding In 1921 to Bush in 2003
2.Democrats held White House for 40 years and Republicans for 42.5 years.
3.Democrats created 75,820,000 net new jobs -- Republicans 36,440,000.
4.Per Year Average—Democrats 1,825,200---Republicans 856,400.
5.Republicans had 9 presidents during the period and 6 had depression or recession.
6.Republicans had a recession/depression in 177 months and Democrats in 32 months.
7.DOW—grew by 52% more under Democrats.
8.GDP—grew by 43% more under Democrats. Comparing Democrat’s hero-CLINTON—versus Republican’s hero--REAGAN *************
1.JOBS—grew by 43% more under Clinton.
2.GDP---grew by 57% more under Clinton.
3.DOW—grew by 700% more under Clinton..
4.NASDAQ-grew by 18 times as much under Clinton.
4.SPENDING--grew by 28% under Clinton---80% under Reagan.
5.DEBT—grew by 43% under Clinton—187% under Reagan.
6. DEFICITS—Clinton got a large surplus--grew by 112% under Reagan.
7.NATIONAL INCOME—grew by100% more under Clinton.
8.PERSONAL INCOME—Grew by 110% more under Clinton.
SOURCES—Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.BLS.Gov)--Economic Policy Institute (EPI.org)—Global & World Almanacs from 1980 to 2003 (annual issues) www.the-hamster.com (chart taken from NY Times) National Archives History on Presidents. www.nara.gov Clarence Swinney-Political Historian Please submit comments to cwswinney@netzero.net or P.O. Box 3411-Burlington NC-27216
THE POWER OF PRAYER
I suddenly snapped back to reality and realized I had been spiraling down into fear by paying too much attention to all the negative news: the gossipy alarmist politics, the backstabbing and fear-mongering. Reality is the opposite of what we think it is. The true substance of life is the underlying beauty, the harmonious structure beneath the chaos. I was in my son's room doing yoga yesterday, on my back, and I looked up and saw a perfect rainbow on the ceiling. It all became clear that harmony, love and beauty are the fabric of reality just beneath the surface. Remember there was a time we thought the earth was flat because we trusted only our eyes? Our physical senses betray us. As Shakespeare and Christ and every great force ultimately came to express: "there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." So we better keep our thoughts on the good in life because our thoughts create our reality. What you focus on GROWS. Whatever you think about all day long, is what you create, so it's important to elevate your thoughts to gratitude, love, beauty, truth, life. What we dwell on transforms us.
"Right reaction" is the supreme art of life, and Jesus compressed the secret of that art into a sentence when he said "Resist not evil" (This means: DON'T FIGHT ANYTHING) Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. Heaven, by the way, is a state of mind, not a physical place. You create your own heaven or hell depending on the thoughts you hold.
Emmet Fox put it beautifully in his famous essay on LOVE:
There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer;
no disease that enough love will not heal;
no door that enough love will not open;
no gulf that enough love will not bridge;
no wall that enough love will not throw down;
no sin that enough love will not redeem . . .
It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble;
how hopeless the outlook;
how muddled the tangle;
how great the mistake.
A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all.
If only you could love enough you would be the happiest and most powerful being in the world . . .
The art of life is to live in the present moment, and to make that moment as perfect as we can by the realization that we are the instruments and expression of God (Love) Itself. Emmet Fox
In answer to a commenter named "Voltaire" who argued that Bush had a right to circumvent the FISA law because times and technology have changed since cell phones and electronic devices are now in use. He does have a point here, but there is something more important. I said he was using style over substance, that "the principle that the law is based on never changes."
Voltaire then mocked me with this, juxtaposing my own answers: Lydia said: "Principle never changes"/ "Bush is proud of himself for never changing his mind..."
To which I say this: WHO SAID BUSH'S MIND IS PRINCIPLED?
And I also said this: Principle never changes. Going to war is not "a principle." Being stubborn is not a "principle", does not connote good (Godly) principes.
Dictionary definition of Principle: "A basic truth, law, or assumption: the principles of democracy. A rule or standard, especially of good behavior."
Goodness, truth and beauty are actual laws (principles) of the universe, according to Einstein - wihch is why I believe he was on the verge of proving "God" (love) through his unified field theory.
Tonight I was in the kitchen making dinner for my boys, and I turned on the radio to KABC the Al Rantell show and heard this: "Tonight I have a special surprise guest, Ann Coulter." I was thinking about Coulter's remark last week at Philander Smith College where she got paid $20,000 to say this: "We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens' creme brulee," Coulter said. "That's just a joke, for you in the media." Suddenly I hear Al Rantell treating Coulter like royalty and laughing hysterically over "creme brulee" as some inside joke. He says to his listeners, "you have to be up on the news to know what we're laughing about." Then Al asks Coulter her expert intellectual opinion on the Cindy Sheehan debacle, and they both start putting Sheehan down like she's a criminal, rather than deeply talking about this from a new angle, trying to get inside the story. They parrot what CNN falsely claimed, assuming that Sheehan was there to make a scene. Then Coulter in her inimitable sarcasm says that this was "the President's show, his day where he gets to shine and Sheehan was obviously there just to upset him. Then I hear Al Rantell say, "Too bad liberals say such horrible, tasteless things, they say things Nazis would say... and Coulter chimes in, "and their jokes aren't even funny."
At this point my nerves are on edge and I'm so horrified (had nightmares after the State of the Union address, so didn't get much sleep) so I call Brad Friedman of BRAD BLOG who was the first of anyone in the mainstream or alternative media to break the Cindy Sheehan story last night - and Brad says, "Lydia you have to call in to Al Rantell and get on the air and challenge him!" I said okay, but meant "no way". Don't know why I was so nervous; I did 12 radio shows in one week after my Brad Blog article Death is Sexier than Sex broke but this time, I was "just a caller". So I thrashed through my fear and called. And guess who was already on the air confronting Al Rantell with all the lies he was spewing about Cindy Sheehan? Brad. He was magnificent, as usual: that guy is the most calm, rational, amazing voice of reason for our side, and he had Al agreeing with him about the treatment of Sheehan. Then they put me on the line - and I said, "How do you think the world views Bush talking about "freedom" while a mother who lost her son for the cause of freedom is handcuffed and marched out of her own Capitol building for wearing the number of our dead soldiers on her black shirt? Some freedom." After he said some things about the president visiting with Sheehan after Casey died, I finally got to what I really wanted to say, "Al, you let Ann Coulter get away with 'extermination-speak' and laughed about it. I'm writing a book on Ann Coulter with a conservative Christian, Dan Borchers, and I'm a liberal Democrat Christian..." to which Rantell acted shocked, "A liberal Democrat Christian!?" "Yes," I said (I should have said I'm a Democrat BECAUSE I'm a Christian as Rebecca Miller said, a woman from Ponca City, Oklahoma who left me the most wonderful message after Ann Coulter published my home number on her website, which is still up there, by the way after numerous requests to take it down.) Anyway, I went on, "Al, you were laughing with Coulter, does this mean you condone what she said about wanting to put rat poison in Justice Steven's creme brulee...and Rantell talked over me and said, "She said she was just joking..." "Yes', I said, "I know she said she was "joking" but what's so funny about an elderly Supreme Court Justice ingesting rat poison and dying? Where's the joke...?" Then Al went on to say, "What about that black lady, that black woman what's her name -- who advocated a senator dying of too much butter and cholesterol..: And I said, "That's appalling of course, but Coulter who wears a cross and claims to be a Christian...." CLICK. They hung up on me for the news. I wish I had said, "Did you invite that woman on your show and honor her hate-speak as an inside-joke with laughter? Wait a minute, now I realize he was talking about Julianne Malveaux and a comment she made to Clarence Thomas over 7 years ago! Is that the best he could come up with?
Letter from an Iraq War Vet to the chairman of Bucks County Young Republicans.
Don,
I called you to get some sort of understanding on the reason why you were upset that the Bucks County Democratic Headquarters has posted the death count of US Troops in Iraq outside their office. You had explained to me that you feel the local Democrats are trying to play politics on the issue of the Iraq war. They say they are just trying to honor our fallen troops.
I agree with you that Democrats voted right along side of Republicans to give President Bush the authority to invade Iraq. That is an undisputed fact. But in the end it was the decision of the President to
take us to war. As a veteran of that war I don't feel that it is wrong to let the public know that troops are dying every day in Iraq. It's not politics it's just plain reality.
This morning you told me that out of your whole organization (Bucks County Young Republicans) only two or three members plan to pursue military service. And at the same time you told me that your organization supports the war in Iraq. If your organization is so supportive of the war maybe more than two or three of your members should volunteer for military service. Believe me those troops in Iraq could use a little extra help. We have soldiers right now that are on their third tour of duty.
When I got home from Iraq after a year long combat tour I attended a Kerry/Edwards rally in Kansas City. At the rally I was confronted by a group of able-bodied males carrying signs that said "Students For Bush." They called me a traitor, a disgrace, and they told me to move to France. They said this because I was going to vote for Senator Kerry. They claim to be so supportive of the troops, but they were not at all supportive of me. I guess that only applies to troops who share their political ideas. I just returned home from a war that they support, but obviously don't have the courage to fight. If they did
they would be fighting it. It is much easier to support a war from your office, classroom, or from your cozy living room than from the actual battlefield.
I served with plenty of troops who are pro-Bush and pro-Iraq war. For the most part they were the majority. I had respect for them despiteour disagreements because those troops put their money where their mouth is. They have definitely earned their right to an opinion. Just as I have earned mine.
About a year ago I contacted an old friend of mine who belongs to the Philadelphia Young Republicans. I asked him how many in his group had served. He replied that he thinks that one of them served in Kosovo back in the late 90s. It seems like there is a lot of "false patriotism" going around these days. The hefty amount of "flag waving" and "chest beating" is not balancing out the low recruitment levels.
The purpose of this email is not to be confrontational or attack the Republican Party. I don't want people to misunderstand me. My motives are to try and educate as many people as I can about the reality of the situation in Iraq.
I am a strong supporter and advocate of Congressman John Murtha's resolution. My experience in Iraq has made me a critic of the war. At this point in time I feel that the US Military has done everything that can possibly be done in Iraq. The time has come to bring our troops home. Especially now that it has been established that every reason we went there never existed. And the Bush administration has conceded that as well. So why should more troops continue to die? I can't think of
one logical answer or reason.
Respectfully, John Bruhns
Iraq War Veteran
From the Comment section: False Patriotism? Try False Everything. Republican "warriors" have always sent others to die for their causes. Their SOP is to socialize costs while privatizing benefits. In the case of war, promoters are usually the beneficiaries while others pay the true costs. I wonder how many of those Young Republicans even visit the permanently maimed soldiers that lay in beds at the VA hospitals. Very few, I expect.
(Letter and comment Reprinted from Adam McKay at HUFFPO)
This blog is a 2005 Koufax Award Double Nominee!! Thanks to everyone who nominated us!
BEST POST: Cornell's BradBlog article Death Is Sexier than Sex, to Ann Coulter
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********************
Americans need desperately to understand that 95 percent of all Muslim terrorists in the world were created in the past three years by Bush's invasion of Iraq. (Paul Craig Roberts http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts144.html)
When making such an ominous decision as whether to commit young lives to war, great men question the validity of their thoughts, do not arrogantly claim they are talking to God (as Bush did.) They do not refuse to deeply weigh the consequences, the "exit strategy", the repurcussions, the enemy's wrath, the clergy's advice, the Pandora's box. Wise men do not skew the evidence, lie to the people, rush to war and claim victory before the pullout. Who in his right mind would trust this man? And you wonder why we don't trust him when he says he's only spying on international calls to Al Queda? If we had faith in him to care about the common man, the common good, we'd be on his side. I have a feeling his team wants this information to formulate a strategy -- to find out where their base is, to ostracize certain people and find out their reading/buying/voting/ habits. To maybe prevent whole communities from voting -- or even worse.
Silence is complicity. That's the reason I have to speak out, though I know that real power is in not fearing them, but somehow forgiving their weaknesses and transforming my thought about them, so I don't help create the very situations I most fear. In Christ's time, people had the same fears about government, the Pharisees. The world always feels like it's ending; but somehow the human spirit survives. That's our job.
Nothing makes sense anymore, so I may as well offer an alternative version. Here’s how I see it: it’s normal and natural to be a left-winger or Democrat and believe in Christ. In fact, "pro-war, conservative Christian" doesn't make sense; it's an oxymoron. Again, the religious right-wing so-called "Christians" are involved in the most dangerous perversion of Christianity I've ever seen. Jesus was the Prince of Peace. His entire ministry was spent caring for the poor, the lepers (todays Aids victims), the immoral "sinners", the prisoners, the downtrodden whom the religious leaders thought were too dirty to touch. By giving them love and compassion, they became whole. Whether Christian or not, it's our job as a society to care for the poor, the "least among us." People everywhere hunger for the love that passes all understanding, that heals human suffering. Liberal is a beautiful word: it means "generous, bounteous, freedom-giving". Liberals care about the things that really matter: the poor, the middle class, education, crime-prevention, the environment, peace, harmony, prosperity, diplomacy. Liberals are not "baby-killers" or" traitors" just because Ann Coulter says so. She uses the "language of extermination" and conveniently says she's "joking". Enlighten me; I don't get the joke. I don't get what's funny about an elderly Justice dying from ingesting rat-poison, do you? Coulter makes a living selling hate.
It’s okay to be bewildered at times with the ACLU, hate abortion and still be a Democrat. No one is pro-abortion. Under Clinton, the abortion rate dropped; it rose dramatically under Bush. How can you outlaw abortion? By assigning a police-watchdog to hover over every girl or woman and test them to see if they're pregnant. Then follow them around day and night to make sure they don't grab a coat-hanger or have a "back-alley" abortion which may kill them. That's all Democrats want to prevent: more needless deaths. Because history shows that unprotected sex will happen, and some women will try to get rid of it themselves. If you want to guard against this, have a Gestapo agent hold the woman down for 9 months to force her to have a baby. The guard will also have to force her to take Folic acid and to never put a chemical in her body that could hurt the fetus (junk food, caffeine, liquor). You can't stop people from smoking or damaging their own bodies. We know smoking kills. Why do we legalize smoking?
It’s okay to be offended by porn and still be a democrat who believes in free speech. Real women don't like being objectified by men's magazines and Howard Stern, and don’t think the F-word is representative of free speech. Dumb blondes are not always dumb; they are a persecuted minority and should have minority status -- so they deserve Affirmative Action. I hope you know that’s a joke.
Did you know that we have 1 million MORE hungry, poverty-striken American children than we did six years ago? According to the US Census Bureau, 35.9 million people live below the poverty line in America including 12.9 million children. (http://www.census.gov/Press
Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/002484.html)
Did you know that Dell Computers just outsourced 5,000 new jobs to India, with 10,000 already there? Did you know that Ford just cut 30,000 jobs? The STATE OF THE UNION address, showed us a president with no vision, no specifics, and no effort to discuss how he's going to pay for the endless war -- or draft soldiers to fight it once all our men are gone; how he's going to pay for Katrina & levee rebuilding, or how he's going to help the poor, middle classes and elderly afford health care. Oh yeah, I forgot -- by making them put whatever extra money they have in "medical bank accounts" that Citibank or some other Bush friend can "borrow" from to create a portfolio that will amass over 75 billion by 2010. As if the poor or the middle classes have any extra money.
_______________________________
The Democratic Party, at its best, is light years ahead of the Republican party in the things that really matter to Americans. I have great hope for the future, because we know we have good on our side. It's truth, love & kindness and you know it in your heart. It's our job as citizens of the earth to take care of "the least among us." You will know good people by what they produce. This house of cards will fall, you'll see. Benjamin Franklin said something to the effect that "you cannot trade liberty for security or you will end up with neither."
DEMOCRATS CREATE WEALTH AND JOBS
1.From Harding In 1921 to Bush in 2003
2.Democrats held White House for 40 years and Republicans for 42.5 years.
3.Democrats created 75,820,000 net new jobs -- Republicans 36,440,000.
4.Per Year Average—Democrats 1,825,200---Republicans 856,400.
5.Republicans had 9 presidents during the period and 6 had depression or recession.
6.Republicans had a recession/depression in 177 months and Democrats in 32 months.
7.DOW—grew by 52% more under Democrats.
8.GDP—grew by 43% more under Democrats. Comparing Democrat’s hero-CLINTON—versus Republican’s hero--REAGAN *************
1.JOBS—grew by 43% more under Clinton.
2.GDP---grew by 57% more under Clinton.
3.DOW—grew by 700% more under Clinton..
4.NASDAQ-grew by 18 times as much under Clinton.
4.SPENDING--grew by 28% under Clinton---80% under Reagan.
5.DEBT—grew by 43% under Clinton—187% under Reagan.
6. DEFICITS—Clinton got a large surplus--grew by 112% under Reagan.
7.NATIONAL INCOME—grew by100% more under Clinton.
8.PERSONAL INCOME—Grew by 110% more under Clinton.
SOURCES—Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.BLS.Gov)--Economic Policy Institute (EPI.org)—Global & World Almanacs from 1980 to 2003 (annual issues) www.the-hamster.com (chart taken from NY Times) National Archives History on Presidents. www.nara.gov Clarence Swinney-Political Historian Please submit comments to cwswinney@netzero.net or P.O. Box 3411-Burlington NC-27216
THE POWER OF PRAYER
I suddenly snapped back to reality and realized I had been spiraling down into fear by paying too much attention to all the negative news: the gossipy alarmist politics, the backstabbing and fear-mongering. Reality is the opposite of what we think it is. The true substance of life is the underlying beauty, the harmonious structure beneath the chaos. I was in my son's room doing yoga yesterday, on my back, and I looked up and saw a perfect rainbow on the ceiling. It all became clear that harmony, love and beauty are the fabric of reality just beneath the surface. Remember there was a time we thought the earth was flat because we trusted only our eyes? Our physical senses betray us. As Shakespeare and Christ and every great force ultimately came to express: "there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." So we better keep our thoughts on the good in life because our thoughts create our reality. What you focus on GROWS. Whatever you think about all day long, is what you create, so it's important to elevate your thoughts to gratitude, love, beauty, truth, life. What we dwell on transforms us.
"Right reaction" is the supreme art of life, and Jesus compressed the secret of that art into a sentence when he said "Resist not evil" (This means: DON'T FIGHT ANYTHING) Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. Heaven, by the way, is a state of mind, not a physical place. You create your own heaven or hell depending on the thoughts you hold.
Emmet Fox put it beautifully in his famous essay on LOVE:
There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer;
no disease that enough love will not heal;
no door that enough love will not open;
no gulf that enough love will not bridge;
no wall that enough love will not throw down;
no sin that enough love will not redeem . . .
It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble;
how hopeless the outlook;
how muddled the tangle;
how great the mistake.
A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all.
If only you could love enough you would be the happiest and most powerful being in the world . . .
The art of life is to live in the present moment, and to make that moment as perfect as we can by the realization that we are the instruments and expression of God (Love) Itself. Emmet Fox
In answer to a commenter named "Voltaire" who argued that Bush had a right to circumvent the FISA law because times and technology have changed since cell phones and electronic devices are now in use. He does have a point here, but there is something more important. I said he was using style over substance, that "the principle that the law is based on never changes."
Voltaire then mocked me with this, juxtaposing my own answers: Lydia said: "Principle never changes"/ "Bush is proud of himself for never changing his mind..."
To which I say this: WHO SAID BUSH'S MIND IS PRINCIPLED?
And I also said this: Principle never changes. Going to war is not "a principle." Being stubborn is not a "principle", does not connote good (Godly) principes.
Dictionary definition of Principle: "A basic truth, law, or assumption: the principles of democracy. A rule or standard, especially of good behavior."
Goodness, truth and beauty are actual laws (principles) of the universe, according to Einstein - wihch is why I believe he was on the verge of proving "God" (love) through his unified field theory.
Tonight I was in the kitchen making dinner for my boys, and I turned on the radio to KABC the Al Rantell show and heard this: "Tonight I have a special surprise guest, Ann Coulter." I was thinking about Coulter's remark last week at Philander Smith College where she got paid $20,000 to say this: "We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens' creme brulee," Coulter said. "That's just a joke, for you in the media." Suddenly I hear Al Rantell treating Coulter like royalty and laughing hysterically over "creme brulee" as some inside joke. He says to his listeners, "you have to be up on the news to know what we're laughing about." Then Al asks Coulter her expert intellectual opinion on the Cindy Sheehan debacle, and they both start putting Sheehan down like she's a criminal, rather than deeply talking about this from a new angle, trying to get inside the story. They parrot what CNN falsely claimed, assuming that Sheehan was there to make a scene. Then Coulter in her inimitable sarcasm says that this was "the President's show, his day where he gets to shine and Sheehan was obviously there just to upset him. Then I hear Al Rantell say, "Too bad liberals say such horrible, tasteless things, they say things Nazis would say... and Coulter chimes in, "and their jokes aren't even funny."
At this point my nerves are on edge and I'm so horrified (had nightmares after the State of the Union address, so didn't get much sleep) so I call Brad Friedman of BRAD BLOG who was the first of anyone in the mainstream or alternative media to break the Cindy Sheehan story last night - and Brad says, "Lydia you have to call in to Al Rantell and get on the air and challenge him!" I said okay, but meant "no way". Don't know why I was so nervous; I did 12 radio shows in one week after my Brad Blog article Death is Sexier than Sex broke but this time, I was "just a caller". So I thrashed through my fear and called. And guess who was already on the air confronting Al Rantell with all the lies he was spewing about Cindy Sheehan? Brad. He was magnificent, as usual: that guy is the most calm, rational, amazing voice of reason for our side, and he had Al agreeing with him about the treatment of Sheehan. Then they put me on the line - and I said, "How do you think the world views Bush talking about "freedom" while a mother who lost her son for the cause of freedom is handcuffed and marched out of her own Capitol building for wearing the number of our dead soldiers on her black shirt? Some freedom." After he said some things about the president visiting with Sheehan after Casey died, I finally got to what I really wanted to say, "Al, you let Ann Coulter get away with 'extermination-speak' and laughed about it. I'm writing a book on Ann Coulter with a conservative Christian, Dan Borchers, and I'm a liberal Democrat Christian..." to which Rantell acted shocked, "A liberal Democrat Christian!?" "Yes," I said (I should have said I'm a Democrat BECAUSE I'm a Christian as Rebecca Miller said, a woman from Ponca City, Oklahoma who left me the most wonderful message after Ann Coulter published my home number on her website, which is still up there, by the way after numerous requests to take it down.) Anyway, I went on, "Al, you were laughing with Coulter, does this mean you condone what she said about wanting to put rat poison in Justice Steven's creme brulee...and Rantell talked over me and said, "She said she was just joking..." "Yes', I said, "I know she said she was "joking" but what's so funny about an elderly Supreme Court Justice ingesting rat poison and dying? Where's the joke...?" Then Al went on to say, "What about that black lady, that black woman what's her name -- who advocated a senator dying of too much butter and cholesterol..: And I said, "That's appalling of course, but Coulter who wears a cross and claims to be a Christian...." CLICK. They hung up on me for the news. I wish I had said, "Did you invite that woman on your show and honor her hate-speak as an inside-joke with laughter? Wait a minute, now I realize he was talking about Julianne Malveaux and a comment she made to Clarence Thomas over 7 years ago! Is that the best he could come up with?
Letter from an Iraq War Vet to the chairman of Bucks County Young Republicans.
Don,
I called you to get some sort of understanding on the reason why you were upset that the Bucks County Democratic Headquarters has posted the death count of US Troops in Iraq outside their office. You had explained to me that you feel the local Democrats are trying to play politics on the issue of the Iraq war. They say they are just trying to honor our fallen troops.
I agree with you that Democrats voted right along side of Republicans to give President Bush the authority to invade Iraq. That is an undisputed fact. But in the end it was the decision of the President to
take us to war. As a veteran of that war I don't feel that it is wrong to let the public know that troops are dying every day in Iraq. It's not politics it's just plain reality.
This morning you told me that out of your whole organization (Bucks County Young Republicans) only two or three members plan to pursue military service. And at the same time you told me that your organization supports the war in Iraq. If your organization is so supportive of the war maybe more than two or three of your members should volunteer for military service. Believe me those troops in Iraq could use a little extra help. We have soldiers right now that are on their third tour of duty.
When I got home from Iraq after a year long combat tour I attended a Kerry/Edwards rally in Kansas City. At the rally I was confronted by a group of able-bodied males carrying signs that said "Students For Bush." They called me a traitor, a disgrace, and they told me to move to France. They said this because I was going to vote for Senator Kerry. They claim to be so supportive of the troops, but they were not at all supportive of me. I guess that only applies to troops who share their political ideas. I just returned home from a war that they support, but obviously don't have the courage to fight. If they did
they would be fighting it. It is much easier to support a war from your office, classroom, or from your cozy living room than from the actual battlefield.
I served with plenty of troops who are pro-Bush and pro-Iraq war. For the most part they were the majority. I had respect for them despiteour disagreements because those troops put their money where their mouth is. They have definitely earned their right to an opinion. Just as I have earned mine.
About a year ago I contacted an old friend of mine who belongs to the Philadelphia Young Republicans. I asked him how many in his group had served. He replied that he thinks that one of them served in Kosovo back in the late 90s. It seems like there is a lot of "false patriotism" going around these days. The hefty amount of "flag waving" and "chest beating" is not balancing out the low recruitment levels.
The purpose of this email is not to be confrontational or attack the Republican Party. I don't want people to misunderstand me. My motives are to try and educate as many people as I can about the reality of the situation in Iraq.
I am a strong supporter and advocate of Congressman John Murtha's resolution. My experience in Iraq has made me a critic of the war. At this point in time I feel that the US Military has done everything that can possibly be done in Iraq. The time has come to bring our troops home. Especially now that it has been established that every reason we went there never existed. And the Bush administration has conceded that as well. So why should more troops continue to die? I can't think of
one logical answer or reason.
Respectfully, John Bruhns
Iraq War Veteran
From the Comment section: False Patriotism? Try False Everything. Republican "warriors" have always sent others to die for their causes. Their SOP is to socialize costs while privatizing benefits. In the case of war, promoters are usually the beneficiaries while others pay the true costs. I wonder how many of those Young Republicans even visit the permanently maimed soldiers that lay in beds at the VA hospitals. Very few, I expect.
(Letter and comment Reprinted from Adam McKay at HUFFPO)
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