Thursday, May 27, 2004
Summary of Kerry's Defense Cuts (Translation: the GHWBush/Cheney Peace Dividend)
Our current President's re-election committee is running ads higlighting the defense programs that Kerry supposedly voted against over his 20-year political career. A good summary of the irony, misrepresentation, and dishonesty in the ads can be found in a Florida newspaper opinion piece. In short, It was "W's" dad, George H. W. Bush, who cut these programs, Dick Cheney who touted the "peace dividend" of military cost reductions, and the timeframe of the cuts was the early 1990's, when military spending had gotten so far out of hand, there was bipartisan support for the reductions.
I wonder if we'll see a similar ad discussing how troubling we find Cheney's support of defense cuts? After all, until this coming November, he's one heartbeat away from the presidency.
Our current President's re-election committee is running ads higlighting the defense programs that Kerry supposedly voted against over his 20-year political career. A good summary of the irony, misrepresentation, and dishonesty in the ads can be found in a Florida newspaper opinion piece. In short, It was "W's" dad, George H. W. Bush, who cut these programs, Dick Cheney who touted the "peace dividend" of military cost reductions, and the timeframe of the cuts was the early 1990's, when military spending had gotten so far out of hand, there was bipartisan support for the reductions.
I wonder if we'll see a similar ad discussing how troubling we find Cheney's support of defense cuts? After all, until this coming November, he's one heartbeat away from the presidency.
Monday, May 24, 2004
Who Really Killed Nick Berg?
It's unthinkable. It suggests the highest level of betrayal of the American public by forces that support the war. It couldn't possibly be the truth.
- But WHY WAS Nick Berg dressed in an orange jumpsuit?
- WHY DID he appear so calm in the disjointed frames at the beginning of the video?
- Why wasn't the BEHEADING ITSELF included in the film?
- WHY WOULD terrorists create an edited video comprised of several clips, at least some from different cameras?
Thought-provoking comments on this topic...
It's unthinkable. It suggests the highest level of betrayal of the American public by forces that support the war. It couldn't possibly be the truth.
- But WHY WAS Nick Berg dressed in an orange jumpsuit?
- WHY DID he appear so calm in the disjointed frames at the beginning of the video?
- Why wasn't the BEHEADING ITSELF included in the film?
- WHY WOULD terrorists create an edited video comprised of several clips, at least some from different cameras?
Thought-provoking comments on this topic...
Sunday, May 23, 2004
More Army Cover-Ups
A year and a half ago, many people protested the imminent invasion of Iraq. These people were branded as anti-American, and even supporters of terrorism. But all they were really saying was, "War ain't pretty. There will be innocent deaths, American casualties, suffering refugees, invigorated terrorists, and a total breakdown of international support." War cheerleaders countered with, "The Iraqis will welcome us, and we will rid the world of a madman wielding weapons of mass destruction."
While the war drags on, we've been assured that the dangerous stockpiles of weapons will be uncovered. Recently, an artillery shell with possible contents of ricin was exploded in a roadside bombing. This discovery might be quietly put to bed by our military itself, due to the fact that Ricin can usually be traced to the site of its origin. Coupling this to the dating of the artillery shell to before the 1st Iraq war, it's probably safe to assume that the ricin has some ties (through supply, assistance, or at the very least tolerance) to the Reagan administration.
But more and more unbelievably inconceivable stories keep coming out of Iraq.
Our war prisons contain up to 90% mistakenly incarcerated Iraqis, where humiliation, abuse, and murder were part of the interrogation routine.
An Iraqi wedding party is decimated by our troops, and we immediately deny accusations that we made a horrible mistake. When asked if we had, in fact, attacked a wedding party, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said, "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too." This was just prior to the release of wedding videotapes showing the final happy moments of the celebrators later confirmed dead from the attack.
NBC reports that the White House had at least three opportunities, long before the war, to destroy a terrorist camp in uncontrolled northern Iraq run by Abu Musab Zarqawi, Jordanian militant with ties to al-Qaida, believed to be responsible for 700 deaths in Iraq, who recently beheaded Nicholas Berg, and isn't finished yet. Why was he allowed to keep running his camp, where he was making ricin and cyanide? According to military officials, the administration feared destroying his terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam.
The lone terrorist and WMD threat that Bush knew of in Iraq (which happened to be outside of Saddam's sphere of influence) was allowed to continue to terrorize, so the US would have justification to invade Iraq. But after invading, we never even got the terrorist that drove us there! He just finished beheading an American, and blowing up a car in an attempt to murder an Iraqi security official.
Maybe we were acting on a tip that he was at the wedding party we blew up. Remember, bad people have celebrations, too.
A year and a half ago, many people protested the imminent invasion of Iraq. These people were branded as anti-American, and even supporters of terrorism. But all they were really saying was, "War ain't pretty. There will be innocent deaths, American casualties, suffering refugees, invigorated terrorists, and a total breakdown of international support." War cheerleaders countered with, "The Iraqis will welcome us, and we will rid the world of a madman wielding weapons of mass destruction."
While the war drags on, we've been assured that the dangerous stockpiles of weapons will be uncovered. Recently, an artillery shell with possible contents of ricin was exploded in a roadside bombing. This discovery might be quietly put to bed by our military itself, due to the fact that Ricin can usually be traced to the site of its origin. Coupling this to the dating of the artillery shell to before the 1st Iraq war, it's probably safe to assume that the ricin has some ties (through supply, assistance, or at the very least tolerance) to the Reagan administration.
But more and more unbelievably inconceivable stories keep coming out of Iraq.
Our war prisons contain up to 90% mistakenly incarcerated Iraqis, where humiliation, abuse, and murder were part of the interrogation routine.
An Iraqi wedding party is decimated by our troops, and we immediately deny accusations that we made a horrible mistake. When asked if we had, in fact, attacked a wedding party, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said, "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too." This was just prior to the release of wedding videotapes showing the final happy moments of the celebrators later confirmed dead from the attack.
NBC reports that the White House had at least three opportunities, long before the war, to destroy a terrorist camp in uncontrolled northern Iraq run by Abu Musab Zarqawi, Jordanian militant with ties to al-Qaida, believed to be responsible for 700 deaths in Iraq, who recently beheaded Nicholas Berg, and isn't finished yet. Why was he allowed to keep running his camp, where he was making ricin and cyanide? According to military officials, the administration feared destroying his terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam.
The lone terrorist and WMD threat that Bush knew of in Iraq (which happened to be outside of Saddam's sphere of influence) was allowed to continue to terrorize, so the US would have justification to invade Iraq. But after invading, we never even got the terrorist that drove us there! He just finished beheading an American, and blowing up a car in an attempt to murder an Iraqi security official.
Maybe we were acting on a tip that he was at the wedding party we blew up. Remember, bad people have celebrations, too.
Friday, May 21, 2004
Opinions Before and After
Here's a note from a Marine Sergeant just prior to the start of the Iraq war in 2003.
Here's an interview with a Staff Sergeant after he returned from the war at the end of last year.
( ~Thanks to T.A. )
Here's a note from a Marine Sergeant just prior to the start of the Iraq war in 2003.
Here's an interview with a Staff Sergeant after he returned from the war at the end of last year.
( ~Thanks to T.A. )
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
family
Title test
Text of standard message
humor
Saturday, May 15, 2004
Limbaugh Explains the Prison Photos: Teenagers Will Be Teenagers
I couldn't ignore Rush. He's a car wreck, and I feel compelled to rubberneck.
In his latest transcripts, Rush not only gloats about his "pioneering" claims that the Abu Ghraib prison abuse photos are on the same level as youthful hi-jinx, (that's right- he's actually proud of his quotes last week describing the incidents as "a good time") but he also offers his own novel explanation for these activities.
It's hard to post an active link to Limbaugh's website, (unless you are a paid subscription member) so for those of us who aren't, here's a line where he blames the incidents on women in the military.
Limbaugh: "I'm saying these are 18 to 21-year-old people with raging hormones and nobody is watching, and you're throwing them together. Voila! We have the Abu Ghraib prison photos."
That's all it takes, folks! Unsupervised 18-21 year-olds. The volatile mix of young men and women magically (Voila!) turns into captives being tortured.
With the freedom young adults have to hold unsupervised meetings, you'd think that this chemical reaction doesn't explode more often. In fact, I'm surprised that every major university campus in America hasn't posted it's own naked, hooded, Muslim captive interrogation photos.
I couldn't ignore Rush. He's a car wreck, and I feel compelled to rubberneck.
In his latest transcripts, Rush not only gloats about his "pioneering" claims that the Abu Ghraib prison abuse photos are on the same level as youthful hi-jinx, (that's right- he's actually proud of his quotes last week describing the incidents as "a good time") but he also offers his own novel explanation for these activities.
It's hard to post an active link to Limbaugh's website, (unless you are a paid subscription member) so for those of us who aren't, here's a line where he blames the incidents on women in the military.
Limbaugh: "I'm saying these are 18 to 21-year-old people with raging hormones and nobody is watching, and you're throwing them together. Voila! We have the Abu Ghraib prison photos."
That's all it takes, folks! Unsupervised 18-21 year-olds. The volatile mix of young men and women magically (Voila!) turns into captives being tortured.
With the freedom young adults have to hold unsupervised meetings, you'd think that this chemical reaction doesn't explode more often. In fact, I'm surprised that every major university campus in America hasn't posted it's own naked, hooded, Muslim captive interrogation photos.
Thursday, May 06, 2004
It's tiring, all this nonsense...
This blog serves me, to a large degree, as an outlet for response to disturbing articles that I find on the internet. There is no lack of material. The ultra-right, elitist, hypercritical/hypocritical viewpoints are getting more and more media acceptance. To be frank, I go tired of reading the venom that is so easy to find these days. Some time ago, for example, I watched Rush Limbaugh's website, with a goal of identifying blatant lies or illogical arguments. This ended up being relatively easy to do. A keen eye can pick out a misrepresentation or illogical argument from his website virtually daily.
During the last half of 2003, I recall Rush stating the following:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger will most definitely not run for the Governor of California.
- Bustamante, the name of Arnold's competition in the Governor's race, means "Large Breasts" (it really means "bust lover," a somewhat more masculine connotation)
- The Northeast Backout last August was caused by environmentalists who somehow kept the power grid unmodernized.
- City air pollution makes trees grow better (actually, it's the lack of ozone depletion in cities that does this)
- Hydrogen fuel cells are a "nowhere idea"
- Pizza stops cancer, and eating lots of ice cream is good for you.
- The poor in America are not really poor, and can certainly afford or obtain free healthcare.
Then, Rush was booted from ESPN for claiming Donovan McNabb wasn't that good of a quarterback, and was overrated because he's black. McNabb responded by taking his team all the way to the Conference championship game, one win from the Super Bowl (and Limbaugh then claimed his challenging words spurred McNabb on to greatness!) Following that, Limbaugh became embroiled in a Oxycontin drug use scandal, (10,000 tablets!) and had to check into a rehab center for thirty days. It just wasn't fun to kick this guy when he was so far down. He holds no shame or repentance for his own actions, and continues to spew forth his bile whenever he can. There's really no need to search his website for this stuff- the man makes his own disgustingly sadistic headlines by claiming that US soliders torturing prisoners in Iraq were just blowing off steam and, "having a good time"
Statements like that don't need to be harvested from his site- they make the papers all on their own.
This blog serves me, to a large degree, as an outlet for response to disturbing articles that I find on the internet. There is no lack of material. The ultra-right, elitist, hypercritical/hypocritical viewpoints are getting more and more media acceptance. To be frank, I go tired of reading the venom that is so easy to find these days. Some time ago, for example, I watched Rush Limbaugh's website, with a goal of identifying blatant lies or illogical arguments. This ended up being relatively easy to do. A keen eye can pick out a misrepresentation or illogical argument from his website virtually daily.
During the last half of 2003, I recall Rush stating the following:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger will most definitely not run for the Governor of California.
- Bustamante, the name of Arnold's competition in the Governor's race, means "Large Breasts" (it really means "bust lover," a somewhat more masculine connotation)
- The Northeast Backout last August was caused by environmentalists who somehow kept the power grid unmodernized.
- City air pollution makes trees grow better (actually, it's the lack of ozone depletion in cities that does this)
- Hydrogen fuel cells are a "nowhere idea"
- Pizza stops cancer, and eating lots of ice cream is good for you.
- The poor in America are not really poor, and can certainly afford or obtain free healthcare.
Then, Rush was booted from ESPN for claiming Donovan McNabb wasn't that good of a quarterback, and was overrated because he's black. McNabb responded by taking his team all the way to the Conference championship game, one win from the Super Bowl (and Limbaugh then claimed his challenging words spurred McNabb on to greatness!) Following that, Limbaugh became embroiled in a Oxycontin drug use scandal, (10,000 tablets!) and had to check into a rehab center for thirty days. It just wasn't fun to kick this guy when he was so far down. He holds no shame or repentance for his own actions, and continues to spew forth his bile whenever he can. There's really no need to search his website for this stuff- the man makes his own disgustingly sadistic headlines by claiming that US soliders torturing prisoners in Iraq were just blowing off steam and, "having a good time"
Statements like that don't need to be harvested from his site- they make the papers all on their own.
Saturday, May 01, 2004
Responsible Gun Ownership is Not Wrong...
...but misrepresentations and exaggerations of proposed Senate bills is.
Today I received a phone call from the NRA, which told me that a recent Senate Bill 1807, supported by Hillary Clinton and John McCain:
(1) Claimed that closing gun loopholes for sales at gun shows would end terrorism,
(2) Will inevitably lead to registration and confiscation "...like in Australia",
(3) Was going to result in the criminalization of firearm sales and exchanges between friends and family.
Here's the text of Senate Bill 1807. I couldn't find any mention of ending (or even battling) terrorism, nor any impending or suggested firearm confiscation, nor any sponsorship by Hillary Clinton. I'm wondering why the NRA is targeting only Hillary Clinton and John McCain on this issue, since there are at least a half dozen other senators that are co-sponsors with McCain. Possibly because Clinton's and McCain's names have been mentioned as possible vice-presidential candidates for John Kerry?
One comment made by the NRA membership salesperson was true: There is no "gun show" loophole. While a loophole allowing gun sales to literally anybody does exist, it would be misleading to call it a "gun show" loophole; since the loophole encompasses so much more than just gun shows, it would be like calling laws against steroid abuse "the professional baseball crackdown."
Florida's Gun Laws can be reviewed here. They are no stricter that the prevailing federal gun sale laws. In terms of private sales and transfers, a Floridian can sell, trade, or transfer a firearm (with no waiting period) to anybody age 18 or older. This transfer or sale can take place at a gun show, gun club, gun owner's home, gun owner's vehicle or watercraft, at an agreed public meeting place, friend's home, family member's home, yard of friend, automobile or watercraft of family member, garage of anybody willing to condone the sale or transfer, or in other words, just about anywhere. There is no law stating that my selling a handgun, as quick as possible, to a crazy rabid wife-beater, previously convicted of using a handgun to shoot his first wife, dishonorably discharged from the Army for too many "friendly fire" mishaps, who is visibly intoxicated, and possibly under the age of 18, is in any way illegal.
Surprised? Here's a quote from the Firearms Law Center on federal laws governing gun sales by private sellers:
"...private collectors or hobbyists may sell firearms without conducting background checks or documenting the transaction in any way. In addition, because federal law does not require private sellers to inspect a buyer's driver's license or any other identification, there is no obligation for such sellers to confirm that a buyer is of legal age to purchase a firearm. As a result, convicted felons, minors and other prohibited purchasers can easily buy guns from unlicensed sellers. Although this private sale loophole is frequently referred to as the "gun show" loophole (because of the particular problems associated with gun shows), it applies to all firearm sales, regardless of where they occur."
This is the loop-hole that Senate Bill 1807 is designed to close. The same one the NRA wants to keep open- a loophole making it easy for felons and minors to get hold of guns.
Aren't there some people who shouldn't be allowed to have guns? According to the NRA, apparently not.
...but misrepresentations and exaggerations of proposed Senate bills is.
Today I received a phone call from the NRA, which told me that a recent Senate Bill 1807, supported by Hillary Clinton and John McCain:
(1) Claimed that closing gun loopholes for sales at gun shows would end terrorism,
(2) Will inevitably lead to registration and confiscation "...like in Australia",
(3) Was going to result in the criminalization of firearm sales and exchanges between friends and family.
Here's the text of Senate Bill 1807. I couldn't find any mention of ending (or even battling) terrorism, nor any impending or suggested firearm confiscation, nor any sponsorship by Hillary Clinton. I'm wondering why the NRA is targeting only Hillary Clinton and John McCain on this issue, since there are at least a half dozen other senators that are co-sponsors with McCain. Possibly because Clinton's and McCain's names have been mentioned as possible vice-presidential candidates for John Kerry?
One comment made by the NRA membership salesperson was true: There is no "gun show" loophole. While a loophole allowing gun sales to literally anybody does exist, it would be misleading to call it a "gun show" loophole; since the loophole encompasses so much more than just gun shows, it would be like calling laws against steroid abuse "the professional baseball crackdown."
Florida's Gun Laws can be reviewed here. They are no stricter that the prevailing federal gun sale laws. In terms of private sales and transfers, a Floridian can sell, trade, or transfer a firearm (with no waiting period) to anybody age 18 or older. This transfer or sale can take place at a gun show, gun club, gun owner's home, gun owner's vehicle or watercraft, at an agreed public meeting place, friend's home, family member's home, yard of friend, automobile or watercraft of family member, garage of anybody willing to condone the sale or transfer, or in other words, just about anywhere. There is no law stating that my selling a handgun, as quick as possible, to a crazy rabid wife-beater, previously convicted of using a handgun to shoot his first wife, dishonorably discharged from the Army for too many "friendly fire" mishaps, who is visibly intoxicated, and possibly under the age of 18, is in any way illegal.
Surprised? Here's a quote from the Firearms Law Center on federal laws governing gun sales by private sellers:
"...private collectors or hobbyists may sell firearms without conducting background checks or documenting the transaction in any way. In addition, because federal law does not require private sellers to inspect a buyer's driver's license or any other identification, there is no obligation for such sellers to confirm that a buyer is of legal age to purchase a firearm. As a result, convicted felons, minors and other prohibited purchasers can easily buy guns from unlicensed sellers. Although this private sale loophole is frequently referred to as the "gun show" loophole (because of the particular problems associated with gun shows), it applies to all firearm sales, regardless of where they occur."
This is the loop-hole that Senate Bill 1807 is designed to close. The same one the NRA wants to keep open- a loophole making it easy for felons and minors to get hold of guns.
Aren't there some people who shouldn't be allowed to have guns? According to the NRA, apparently not.
The Meaning of "Mission Accomplished!"
President Bush is going through a celebratory anniversary delusion that is on par with Iraq's ex-Minister of Information's altered reality of a year ago.
If you recall, back in early April of 2003, Iraq's information minister Mohammed Saeed al-Shahaf repeatedly presented proud statements to any media source listening, that the US forces, undeniably in control of Baghdad at the time, were, in fact, non-existent. His ongoing predictions of an Iraqi victory were described as bizarre and outlandish, because everybody could see the US military forces advancing through the city.
Another very apparent characteristic of US forces in Iraq is the frequency at which they are becoming casulaties of the war. Our most deadly months there have been the most recent months. Four times as many US soldiers have died since Bush declared a triumphant end to major combat in Iraq than prior to the declaration.
How does Bush spin this anomaly? Clearly the misson has not quite been accomplished, however, you won't hear him saying that. His response? "As a result, there are no longer torture chambers or rape rooms or mass graves in Iraq. As a result, a friend of terror has been removed and now sits in jail.''
How many corpses of US soldiers and Iraqi people are required to formally call their collective grave "massive"? 10,000 Iraqi civilians have already died from the war.
Recent pictures passed around by US soliders also show how abuse of captives has not been eliminated by the war either.
However, we do have Saddan Hussein in custody, and under constant interrogation. It is surprising how elusive the hidden weapons of mass destruction remain. America has to come to the sobering realization that, if we haven't located them as of yet, we will never locate them all. Even finding a small arsenal at this point is nearly meaningless- if there ever did exist a tiny portion of the weapons we accused Iraq of having, they are now completely out of the hands of Iraqi soldiers, out of any control of the US soldiers, and...
President Bush is going through a celebratory anniversary delusion that is on par with Iraq's ex-Minister of Information's altered reality of a year ago.
If you recall, back in early April of 2003, Iraq's information minister Mohammed Saeed al-Shahaf repeatedly presented proud statements to any media source listening, that the US forces, undeniably in control of Baghdad at the time, were, in fact, non-existent. His ongoing predictions of an Iraqi victory were described as bizarre and outlandish, because everybody could see the US military forces advancing through the city.
Another very apparent characteristic of US forces in Iraq is the frequency at which they are becoming casulaties of the war. Our most deadly months there have been the most recent months. Four times as many US soldiers have died since Bush declared a triumphant end to major combat in Iraq than prior to the declaration.
How does Bush spin this anomaly? Clearly the misson has not quite been accomplished, however, you won't hear him saying that. His response? "As a result, there are no longer torture chambers or rape rooms or mass graves in Iraq. As a result, a friend of terror has been removed and now sits in jail.''
How many corpses of US soldiers and Iraqi people are required to formally call their collective grave "massive"? 10,000 Iraqi civilians have already died from the war.
Recent pictures passed around by US soliders also show how abuse of captives has not been eliminated by the war either.
However, we do have Saddan Hussein in custody, and under constant interrogation. It is surprising how elusive the hidden weapons of mass destruction remain. America has to come to the sobering realization that, if we haven't located them as of yet, we will never locate them all. Even finding a small arsenal at this point is nearly meaningless- if there ever did exist a tiny portion of the weapons we accused Iraq of having, they are now completely out of the hands of Iraqi soldiers, out of any control of the US soldiers, and...
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: posts on the life of DavidCyrus
: posts about family and friends
