Saturday, August 2, 2008

All's Quiet on the DC Front


They flew back home yesterday afternoon- our congressmen and women. Five weeks off and so much fund-raising to do. In fact, I often wonder how they can get their legislation done- that nasty interruption of the 24/7 fund-raising machine.


Apparently not much. Nancy Pelosi is 'pleased' with the accomplishments as is Harry Reid over there in the Senate. Mostly, though, it was partisan bickering and obstructionism. Politics as usual. Pelosi is proud that, beside not shutting down the Iraq War, the House accomplished quite a few things. Short list and mostly irrelevant stuff as this is an election year. Reid on the other end of the city mostly gave speeches on how Mitch McConnell tied the hands of the Senate.


It's time for both of these dullards to stay home. The People didn't send them to Washington to look nice and give cute speeches. In fact, it they were to be defeated this November, Congress might actually function better.


But the citizens don't know too much about all of this and frankly don't care. They are still dumbed-down from 2000 and 2004 when they drank deeply from the Kool Aid. Nope, don't care much for politics: them folks is always crooked.


Yes, them is. Want a refill on that cold drink?

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

A Whole Lotta Ugly Empowered by Stupid

[A guest editorial from Engineer of Knowledge]


A Whole Lotta Ugly Empowered by Stupid

“You better brace yourselves for a whole lotta ugly comin’ at you from a never-ending parade of stupid.” This statement made by the character, “Mabelle,” from the mind of John Waters who wrote Hairspray, was never truer this past week than with a man who had been embedded with so much hate that he decided to shoot and kill Sunday school children at play along with adult church patrons. Armed with the self righteous writings of “The O’Reilly Factor” by Bill O’Reilly, “Liberalism is a Mental Disorder” by Michael Savage, “Let freedom Ring” by Sean Hannity and a shotgun he purchased from a pawn shop; Jim David Adkisson took it upon himself to remove those who did not think as he and the neo-con media hosts he identified with. The constant drone of hate from these Neo-cons’ rantings for anyone who does not think in lock step as they do was all Jim David Adkisson needed to confirm his decision to justify killing. Adkisson believed and I quote, “That all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and the Democrats were tying the country’s hands in the war on terror and had ruined every institution in America with the aid of the major media outlets.”

O’Reilly, Savage, and Hannity did a good job getting their message across to this poor dumb soul but I also contend that maybe the authorities should implement the same laws used during the civil right’s movement of the 1960’s and have these three brought up on charges of inciting this one man riot.

The Unitarian Universalist Church is a liberal denomination that believes in the teachings of, “The inherent worth and dignity of every person.” Wow!!! You mean teachings like, “We find these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.!?!?”

Well I would say to O’Reilly, Savage, Hannity, and Jim David Adkisson, that better men than they ever hoped to be were willing and died for the these beliefs over the last 232 years. Yes, those liberal bastards who had the foresight in founding this country, those who had to fight the conservatives of the time in the original thirteen colonies who would spy on the radical liberals and reported to the armed forces of King George to make sure nothing changed in the status quo. Much like the Patriot Act that empowers these conservatives today! Those who believed you obtained your civil rights in the world by the right of birth only and tried to stop in anyway they could these radical liberals from starting their own country.

Now for those who would argue that Jim David Adkisson was a sick man and like any other angry, deranged type person who would kill Amish children, college students in their dorms and classes, killing Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, conservatives, liberals, Republicans and Democrats, and I cannot possibly blame Neo-con radio hosts for the deaths of these people attend church on that Sunday morning; I will reply that these sick people do not need any encouragement from the likes of those three empty, clueless, blowhards.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

"The biggest stupid idea was to invade Iraq in the first place."


"The biggest stupid idea," Kilcullen said, "was to invade Iraq in the first place." Kilcullen, a former Australian Army officer, who helped Petraeus design his 2007 counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq, called the decision to invade Iraq "stupid" -- in fact, he said "fucking stupid" -- and suggested that if policy-makers apply the manual's lessons, similar wars can be avoided in the future.




According to the Huffington Post, Kilcullen has written a forthcoming manual on counterinsurgency strategy. "The handbook seeks to provide a framework for considering whether Washington should intervene in foreign countries' counterinsurgency operations, raising difficult questions about whether such nations deserve U.S. support; under what conditions that support should occur, and whether success is possible at acceptable cost. No systematic approach to strategic-level questions in counterinsurgency currently exists for senior U.S. government officials."




Did he ask whether Washington should intervene in foreign countries' counterinsurgency operations? No there is a good question to ponder some 6 years after the fact. Of course, history books are littered with examples of grand powers becoming involved with the affairs of lesser states. Yet some believe that history should not stand in the way of idealistic goals.




Hence the neocons Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Norman Podhoretz, Richard Perle, William Kristoff, John Bolton, Elliot Abrams, James Woolsey, Jr. and Daniel Pipes to name but a few. A small knot of ideologues who conspired for years to invade Iraq as a base for establishing their 'new world order.' The naive and careless George W. Bush proved to be the magic lamp for unleashing their dastardly plan.




The biggest stupid idea," Kilcullen said, "was to invade Iraq in the first place."




Duh!

Obstructionist Republicans Block Aid to Victims

Senate Republicans blocked a bill yesterday that would aid victims of torture, disability, and disease, insisting the legislation would add to the deficit and demanding that Congress first act to lower soaring gas prices.

It would be funny if it were not so pathetic: these same GOP senators gave George Bush carte blanche for every military spending bill he wanted, but now these same senators worry about the deficit. Who in America still cannot see through this traitorous knot of neocons operating under the guise of being concerned legislators?

Monday, July 28, 2008

Church-killer Hated Liberals


Jim D. Adkisson, who shot and killed two parishioners during a children's play at a Tennessee church yesterday, attacked the congregation because of its outspoken socially liberal and gay-friendly beliefs, police said. The 58-year-old unemployed engineer accused in the Sunday morning attack at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, was driven to bloodshed in part by his "stated hatred for the liberal movement" as well as his hatred for gays. Blacks were on his hate list as well.


There are lots of right-wingers like Adkisson here in America: they light up the right-wing blogs with their hateful ramblings 24/7. I spent 6 weeks with them on the WTAM message board and they are a hate-filled and angry lot.


Blacks, liberals and gays along with Mexicans are the butt of their hate. According to most, the 'left' is ruining this nation and ought to be rounded up and loaded onto boxcars. Only the conservatives deserve to live in this country. Anyone to the left of them are communist, unpatriotic warts on this land.


The church seems to be an odd place to seek revenge against those evil people; hopefully the shooter wasn't affiliated with any church. Just a few weeks ago, however, the pastor of a suburban Toledo Baptist church penned a letter condemning homosexuals to hell unless they repented. No doubt the pastor has sewn seeds of hate in the minds of his faithful and who knows which of them may act out in a violent way when given the opportunity.


Jesus must weep all of the time at what has become of his "Love one another" sermons. Tears of blood.


Bush War Colateral Damage: 22,000 Calls to Suicide Hot Line

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 22,000 veterans have sought help from a special suicide hot line in its first year, and 1,221 suicides have been averted, the government says.
According to a recent RAND Corp. study, roughly one in five soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan displays symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, putting them at a higher risk for suicide. Researchers at Portland State University found that male veterans are twice as likely to commit suicide than men who are not veterans.

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I scoff at the righteous Republicans who boast that it is they who 'support the troops.' One has to wonder if the average citizen of this nation believe that bull. If they still do, then the propaganda committee of the GOP ought to get large bonuses this year.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Grinch Republicans Kill Home Heating Bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a rare Saturday session, the U.S. Senate voted against moving forward with legislation that would boost funding for a federal program that helps low- income families pay their cooling and heating bills.

The legislation would nearly double money for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, commonly known as LIHEAP, to $5.1 billion.

-----------

No doubt the 35 Republicans who voted Nay were just trying to save tax dollars from being 'foolishly' spent. Like for the War in iraq. Or the bail-out of Bears Stearns. Or Fannie May and Freddie Mac. Thanks, George Voinovich, for spending my tax dollar wisely.

It is always good to know that the GOP is looking after your tax dollar so that none of it gets wasted. Thank God for the GOP!


Nay
TN
Alexander, Lamar [R]
Nay
WY
Barrasso, John [R]
Nay
UT
Bennett, Robert [R]
Nay
KS
Brownback, Samuel [R]
Nay
GA
Chambliss, C. [R]
Nay
OK
Coburn, Thomas [R]
Nay
MS
Cochran, Thad [R]
Nay
TN
Corker, Bob [R]
Nay
TX
Cornyn, John [R]
Nay
ID
Craig, Larry [R]
Nay
ID
Crapo, Michael [R]
Nay
SC
DeMint, Jim [R]
Nay
NM
Domenici, Pete [R]
Nay
NV
Ensign, John [R]
Nay
WY
Enzi, Michael [R]
Nay
IA
Grassley, Charles [R]
Nay
NH
Gregg, Judd [R]
Nay
NE
Hagel, Charles [R]
Nay
UT
Hatch, Orrin [R]
Nay
TX
Hutchison, Kay [R]
Nay
AZ
Kyl, Jon [R]
Nay
IN
Lugar, Richard [R]
Nay
FL
Martinez, Mel [R]
Nay
KY
McConnell, Mitch [R]
Nay
AK
Murkowski, Lisa [R]
Nay
NV
Reid, Harry [D]
Nay
KS
Roberts, Pat [R]
Nay
AL
Sessions, Jefferson [R]
Nay
AL
Shelby, Richard [R]
Nay
PA
Specter, Arlen [R]
Nay
AK
Stevens, Ted [R]
Nay
SD
Thune, John [R]
Nay
LA
Vitter, David [R]
Nay
OH
Voinovich, George [R]
Nay
MS
Wicker, Roger [R]

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