democratforchrist2020's Xanga

Premature Entry, because time is of the essence

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:22:56 GMT

I remain appalled by the lack of initiative by the Obama Administration to adequately address the healthcare crisis by seriously taking into consideration the broad support for a belated expansion of Medicare, otherwise known as TRUE Universal Healthcare (despite his acknowledgement of single payer being the only adequate way to cover everyone). His reluctance is fueled by his somewhat naïve willingness to lend an ear to the outright lies and distortions of out of touch Repugs - who think that the middle class youngsters are wasting their money instead of buying insurance - and the Insurance Companies that remain the core of our crisis and are struggling to convince the American people and their pets in Washington to let them remain in place, and with pathetic offers - that they’re now not so sure about - to trim FUTURE increases in premiums as was extended this past May, it’s no wonder that they remain so unpopular.

They are unwilling to make any concessions, but are - instead – demanding the only reforms that they have ever sought: dump the poor and “clinical train wrecks” solely on taxpayers and make everyone else pay outrageous premiums for lackluster coverage. Mr. President, you MUST bring an end to this crisis by eradicating the cancer of our healthcare system; the Insurance Companies! After all, what’s the worst that could happen? We may very well end up sharing with the overtaxed Danes (by American standards), a mutual joy in life. Might I briefly add, God Bless Ted Kennedy for devoting the energy he has left to see to it that the deficit-neutral/surplus producing reform he’s sought throughout most of his career will be realized.

A Neoconservative Activist coalition of representatives for companies tied to profits from greenhouse gases had a little problem when it came to Global Warming; they couldn’t refute the anthropogenic influence therein. LOL!! BTW, Cong. Dana Rohrabacher’s theory about there being no human-influenced warming because of evidence that Mars and Venus are warming as well seems to have been blown to bits. Just check out the article that isn’t only well-written, but backed up with a ton of scientific facts as well.

Before the President’s mediocre environmental legislation was even passed, a report came out portending a new outsourcing problem that involves the exodus of green jobs to India. This is where one should feel compelled to finally address the root causes of outsourcing as a whole, and rectify it once and for all.

I want to make this perfectly clear; there is NOTHING substantial available to prove that ACORN has acted unethically or illegally. The few people who got caught committing registration fraud are no longer working for, nor will they be legally represented by ACORN, and they were mostly just lazy cheaters who didn’t want to canvass certain neighborhoods.

So, the government is talking about “medical malpractice reform” again; guess who gets the shaft. If you raised your eyebrows curiously and pointed at yourself, you guessed correctly. See, even in times when it seems like we’re leaping forward, we always tend to slide a few steps back. It’s such a shame that these so-called public servants fail to see the real issue, which isn’t when patients sue after procedures go horribly wrong, but rather when not enough is done to curb the incompetence of a doctor and their nurses that warrant said suit!

In the midst of this hectic crisis (the financial one), credit card companies have taken it upon themselves to cut the spending limits on people’s cards, even cutting so far as to lower the bar below what you may already owe them at that point! Talk about being classy. I recently watched a documentary called “Maxed Out” about families that are suffering and have sacrificed tremendously for debts accumulated from credit cards. Now, with new laws in place that are aimed at preventing the very profit-driven tactics mentioned earlier in this paragraph, the angered card companies now plan to overwhelm their good customers to make up for the profit they stand to lose as a result of the new laws.

You know, for all of the flack they receive for being Socialists, people like Bernie Sanders sure do have a knack for standing up on behalf of the people and the economy’s well being. Sen. Bernie Sander of Vermont, an admitted Socialist (and proudly so) has taken it upon himself to stall the confirmation of an Obama nominee to the Trading Commission on Commodity Futures. Why has he done so? Probably because Gary Gensler, a former employee of Goldman Sachs, helped set the stage for the economic meltdown that would put us in the bind we find ourselves in now. A socialist Obama is not. Obama is closer to being a corporatist than a socialist, let alone a (LOL) communist!

Be prepared, once our economy turns around, a possible energy crisis awaits. Just another incentive for investing in alternative sources of energy and fuel.

Did you know that last year, prior to the collapse, the federal agency that insures the pensions of millions of Americans poured a significant percentage of those funds into speculative investments in the stock market? Might want to check into that.

I’m not an expert on history; I’m still a student thereof. Therefore, the debate on taxes remains an area in which I’m in the process of learning to develop a better understanding. However, I know enough to be able to say that Clinton and Obama’s tax policies are rather modest when compared to Presidents before the 1990s. From FDR-Reagan, the top marginal tax rate was significantly higher than Clinton’s. So, all of this bickering over tax hikes is ludicrous. Your taxes aren’t going “sky high” as Hannity likes to claim, nor are they going to be raised for even the rich any time soon. Well over 90% of the country won’t see tax increases AT ALL; so, calm down. As for the spending, bear in mind that we were well in the ditch before Obama took office, when we might have seen the national debt paid off by now before BOOsh completely obliterated that possibility with his penchant for ridiculous spending coupled with abandoning pay-as-you-go. At least Obama is spending money with a plan to produce potentially positive results later that could initiate a rebound and get us back on track towards fiscal responsibility.

Thank you, President Obama, for standing up in opposition to those who choose to violate our laws against unbridled monopolies, because over the course of our unfortunate initial eight years in the third millennium; monopolies were permitted by the Regime to roam freely, unabated, while consumers and weaker competitors received the shaft and were ignored in antitrust disputes. In fact, not one such lawsuit pertaining to antitrust violations was filed by the Regime against a “dominant” firm. For shame…He – the President – is also taking on the tax evading offshore accounts of the wealthy; he is no socialist, just a realist who recognizes the civic responsibility of every American. Were I able to afford it, I’d proudly join the middle class and the rich in paying my part in federal and state taxes.

As a customer of Time Warner Cable’s vast monopoly over the phone, cable and internet service in Newark, Ohio; I am troubled to learn about a recent scheme devised by TWC and a number of other companies that run similar monopolies across the country. Apparently, their proposal of charging for the use of bandwidth (a plan not unlike how cell phones are charged for over use) could spell out the ultimate demise of net neutrality, and thusly the internet itself. This is what the special interests desire, for the end of the internet would undeniably result in the end of the people’s ability to communicate and organize with no barriers. Make sure that Congress protects the neutrality of the Internet and our right to free speech, assembly and free press in the process.

There are a few admirable members of Congress amidst the ocean of corruption. One of them is Rep. Grayson; whom has proposed mandatory vacation time to employees (who work with 50 or more co-workers) within a three year period of time following the bill’s passage in addition to an audit of the Federal Reserve to determine where the tax dollars recently spent have gone. Quite frankly, I strongly support both efforts.

Just how safe from government surveillance do you think you are? Do you really believe in small government? If you know, as I do, that we are losing our rights to privacy as a result of government encroachment; you might be interested in fighting the National or “Real” Identification Card. Not only does this product of the former BOOsh Regime and the cowardly lapdog 109^th Congress pave the way for greater surveillance by big brother, but it also provides identity thieves with a goldmine! By the way, for anyone who believes that Obama is above the BOOsh practice of spying on Americans and claiming that we can’t sue for violations of our privacy; Obama voted to authorize BOOsh’s spy program in 2008, voted for the Patriot Act’s Re-Authorization in 2006, asserts a state’s secrets/executive privilege excuse in the aforementioned lawsuits and even goes further than BOOsh by claiming “sovereign immunity” that is supposedly provided to the executive by the two aforementioned laws! BTW, what the hell is up with the adoption of genetic surveillance by the authorities?

I must say that I was satisfied in watching on as President Obama managed to successfully push through his budget without pandering too much to the right. It does feel good to have a President who I can feel free to be proud of, let alone a PRESIDENT as opposed to an un-elected dictator at all!!

The imperfections and capitulations of the Obama Administration will soon get on my last nerve, but that fine line appears to be thinning out much sooner than I expected with actions taken by such officials as CIA Director Leon Panetta, when he basically issued blanket amnesty from prosecution for every CIA participant in the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques (a.k.a.: torture) in response to the announcement of Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont of an impending series of hearings on the legality of such actions (as well as the implications they hold for the BOOsh Cabal). Furthermore, certain right-wing Demugs such as Senator Dianne Feinstein of California are going out of their way to stave off any real attempt to bring justice to those who so carelessly denied such to others! This is precisely what needs to change if we are really going to turn that corner as a nation.

New Demug turncoat, Specter, is going to have a hard time winning in 2010. Not because of the right, but the left. Why? Pennsylvania is a blue-collar state through and through and is in a dire position where it needs jobs more now than it has in a long time. These voters with a memory longer than that of a fish will remember his flip on the Employee Free Choice Act and will ultimately decide whether or not he deserves his umpteenth term in office. The best part, it is us Democrats who’ll have the ability to send him packing; despite the determination of the pathetic and so-called Democrats in the White House, Senate, State Government and the state party to preserve his lousy representation for 2011-2017. Welcome Specter, I hope you like your near two year tour of caucusing with us, because that’s as long as we’re going to allow it (short of a party intervention that defies public will).

There is an effort to strip special interests of their influence over our congress by pressing for public-funded congressional campaigns as opposed to those regularly financed by the very interests these so-called “public servants” sell us out to most of every time they cast a vote in the House of Representatives. It certainly makes sense, given that we hold these servants accountable every two years, and the proposed measure would only strengthen our clout in steering the direction in which our nation is taken. I suggest you check out the proposal and support it; democracy and liberty can only benefit thereby. It may not be exactly what we need (a universal public financing of EVERY campaign), but it is definitely a step in the right direction. Plus, it’ll be interesting to see which members of congress are too cowardly to tackle such an effort by defying their corporate masters and facing their constitutional masters once and for all.

Is the Obama Administration cutting corners for banking institutions? This trend of continuing down a path of circumventing the law that his predecessor loved so much is beyond aggravating at this point.

Now that Indiana has started to wake up from their long walk in political darkness, I’ve one little bit of advice; oust Evan Bayh from the Senate in the next Democratic Primary for his Senate seat. The man is a burden to the country’s collective well-being in his opposition to true progress. Please, do us all a favor and elect a more progressive candidate to the United States Senate; where it is sorely needed.

I must hand it to the President; despite my many differences with him, he is working hard to help rectify the economic crisis created by Repugs (with the help of complicit Demugs and probably not averted in small part due to inept and corrupt SEC officials) and thusly avert a full-fledged collapse thereof that could even drag all the foreign investments within (including that of the Chinese, who happen to be genuinely and rightly concerned) along for the ride. His efforts include proposals to enact tougher policies that are designed to prevent a reoccurrence of this in the future. Entering the White House, he inherited the worst economy seen in decades that happens to be suffering the worst recession since the 1930s and saw the most severe shrinking of the GDP in roughly a quarter century. Should he pull this off and play a major role in our economy’s recovery, it would only be appropriate to reward him with a second term (provided that said recovery is maintained, and other matters are successfully addressed).

What do Fred Koch, the John Birch Society, Rick Santelli, CNBC and Tax Day Tea Parties have in common? They were all a part of a grand organized scheme – or conspiracy if you will – to derail the President’s economic agenda, and even possibly stifle the recovery of our economy in the process by launching an intense opposition campaign to Obama’s every effort to resolve the many crises facing this nation. Yes, Santelli’s infamous and heralded rant about the policies of this President was staged, and if you fell for it; all I can say is wake up, because you’ve merely asserted yourself as just another pawn in the sick and self destructive game being played by the very corporate masters who helped bring about this mess to begin with.

The fruits of the grand hoopla scheme to frighten the masses about the “socialist un-American dictator” they purport President Obama to be are now beginning to spring all about. Should this matter not be adequately addressed soon, we could have a lot more than a mutated flu strain to worry about.

How does a man like Timothy Geithner go from protégé of Henry Kissinger, to heading the Federal Reserve of New York (where he dropped the ball in effectively carrying out his responsibilities, thusly giving rise to the present economic crisis) and then to running the Department of Treasury? He essentially got promoted for shirking his responsibility to supervise the actions of New York’s banking institutions. Did he try to fix the matter when all went to hell? Yeah, but he didn’t do enough. Geithner didn’t enforce the laws and – as a direct consequence – the banking industry collapsed. I guess that’s what happens when regulations set up in the wake of the great depression aimed at averting a repeat of what led to that disaster are scrapped by Congress and President Clinton in the first year of this century. Furthermore, does it strike anyone else as a “conflict of interest” that six of the commercial banks that are supervised by the New York Fed hold positions in the board that plays a key role in selecting the Fed leader? From what I’ve gathered by reading this article; the board (with 2/3rds of its member chosen by the supervised) chose a man as leader who didn’t use every tool at his disposal to ensure stability in the institutions he oversaw. The leader (Geithner) was (along with the institutions themselves) heavily reliant upon the assurances and intuition of the executives who ran the institutions for information on matters ranging from self-analyzing to solvency. Either way, it is going to take a while, with heavy scrutiny, before I come to trust Geithner.

Are the Chinese trying to kill us? Tainted toys were last year, but now we are hearing about drywall that could be in up to 100,000 homes (many of which may have been among those built in the aftermath of Katrina)? WTF?

Has it occurred to anyone else that the rhetoric amongst those in the extremist realm of the right-wing is plunging further and further into the insanity? Seriously, when you have Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, and Beck (and others) suggesting that we are headed toward a socialist dictatorship; how low have our politics sank? These people aren’t just your typical crazies, but highly influential figures instead. They promulgate their misleading mantra to the masses on the Radio and on Television; both markets of which were used in promoting the so-called tea parties (sort of dismantling their claims – on Fox – of being “Fair and Balanced” in the process). “Obama’s a fascist/Marxist/socialist/racist!!” There are those within their ranks who actually suggest dragging elected officials out of their offices and nearly beating them to death!! Before the end of next month; I fully intend on calling those who I regularly subject my ears to, and debating their twisted mindset before all of their loyal listeners, because it is imperative to not permit their lies to continue unabated.

That's all for now, more to come soon; TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS

Why blind loyalty to a political party is detrimental to democracy, liberty and peace

Sun, 24 May 2009 02:35:16 GMT

(From an email I recently sent out)

"THE reason I advocated, FERVENTLY, the impeachment of the Bush Regime...

...was the prevention of a dangerous precedent becoming forever engrained within the fabric of this great nation and how it's government conducts itself. Well, as of (Thursday), President Obama has just confirmed the worst of my fears.

By not acting on, or merely addressing adequately, Bush's egregious violations of the rule of law and overreaching usurpation of non-executive powers; Congress, the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the Supreme Court, the media, lawyers, and everyone else who either chose not to act, or didn't know they should've (due to a lack of information) have paved the way for an era in America that sees post-Bush dictatorial rule.

Right-wing talk radio has been claiming that President Obama is a dictator ever since he was inaugurated, but Obama's new proposal to go beyond what Bush ever achieved or even attempted in asserting a power to detain people ("terrorists") for preventative measures actually confirms their claims. The right-wing may support the president in this move as being "tough" on terror, or oppose it just because he's a Democrat (or claims to be one).

Obama's comments in 2007 in opposition to the effort to impeach Bush now makes more sense...or it should to all of you reading this. I predicted that Obama would be a danger to our constitution, and am afraid that his actions here, in addition to his support - both in the Senate and now in the White House - for warrantless wiretaps on Americans, military commissions, as well as his concealing - in defiance of a judicial order - photos that depict heinous acts perpetrated at the behest of a twisted regime, his refusal to acknowledge, investigate, and prosecute same said regime's crimes, and his pussyfooting on Iraq (with a not-so-secret plan that circumvents the will of Iraqis and embeds our forces permanently in their midst, thusly giving rise to concerns about whether the occupation is really coming to an end) may very well affirm that prediction.

He is actually a greater danger to our constitution, than was Bush, because he - unlike Bush - is outrightly proclaiming his right to carry out these illegal acts. He enjoys public support well in the 60s, and is therefore undetered. How can he be? How can Congress or even the media hold him accountable for continuing the practices of the previous regime, who they let get off scot-free?

Look, I voted to give Obama and Biden their sound victory over McCain and Palin. This was reluctant and due to my fears of what the prospect of a McCain or even a Palin administration held for us, but now those fears mean nothing. I distrusted Obama's willful ignorance to the rule of law and how Bush's actions violated such, but no one listened to me. This certainly would not have been an issue with a President Kucinich, but I digress.

I don't fear Obama's economic policies, nor do I fear his environmental policies. He's alright on those fronts thus far (though, I don't feel as if he went far enough with the stimulus). On healthcare, I've seen all that I expected to see (in that, the option of single-payer is off the table, and the corporate interest win out as a result) from him. His foreign policies are about half and half. I'm supportive of the diplomatic approach to our rivals and enemies, rather than the jump to hostility, but his policies on Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan concern me gravely.

Should Obama carry out his plans for this new and controversial proposal, fail to reverse the numerous Bush policies that he has adopted, and refuse to direct the Justice Department to investigate everyone involved in the war crimes of the previous regime; I'll be forced to respond by drafting and circulating a petition that would demand the impeachment of our President. Doing so may well be required to protect our liberties and founding principles from further erosion.

Tyranny should never be tolerated, whether hosted by a Democrat or a Republican, and it is OUR responsibility to demand strict adherence to the Constitution and thusly the rule of law.

I leave you now with a series of quotes, by our founding fathers:

"Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly prove a deliberate, systematic plan of reducing [a people] to slavery."

"Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day."

"Force is the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism."

Thomas Jefferson

"Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations; but, on a candid examination of history, we shall find that turbulence, violence, and abuse of power, by the majority trampling on the rights of the minority, have produced factions and commotions, which, in republics, have, more frequently than any other cause, produced despotism. If we go over the whole history of ancient and modern republics, we shall find their destruction to have generally resulted from those causes."

"Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged against provisions against danger, real or pretended from abroad"

James Madison

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty."

"A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever"

John Adams

"The origin of all civil government, justly established, must be a voluntary compact, between the rulers and the ruled; and must be liable to such limitations, as are necessary for the security of the absolute rights of the latter; for what original title can any man or set of men have, to govern others, except their own consent? To usurp dominion over a people, in their own despite, or to grasp at a more extensive power than they are willing to entrust, is to violate that law of nature, which gives every man a right to his personal liberty; and can, therefore, confer no obligation to obedience."

Alexander Hamilton

"Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness"

"If men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences that can invite the consideration of mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter"

George Washington

"Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power."

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety"

Benjamin Franklin

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS"

59 Days into 2009, and I deliver as promised...

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 06:05:38 GMT

In the waning days of his dictatorship, BOOsh purged a list of disloyal federal employees, including whistleblowers. What’s disturbing about this is that one of those whistleblowers from the EPA, who became a hero to all who serve their country by exposing the crimes of the agencies within which they serve, was terminated, only to find out that the administrator she blew the proverbial whistle about was poised to become Obama’s Environmental Czar! We...must…stop…this!

Repug solution to poverty? Sterilize the poor and encourage the wealthy to procreate!!

Why continue the present framework of our healthcare system? Why not truly reform it in a manner that would provide a genuine solution to this grand crisis? Over 63% of Americans polled support a Canadian-style Universal Healthcare System, even if it means RAISING TAXES!! Obama, heed our word!!

If you are approaching retirement and depend on a pension to pave your way to a successful “golden age”; there is no doubt in my mind that you must be rather concerned with the alarming prospects of a severe budget shortfall with respect to the organizations that are charged with handling said pensions. *Sigh*, just think about what I’m thinking while reading this; you at least can HOPE that your pension will STILL exist, I’m not sure I’ll even have that when I’m your age.

To act or not to act on the Employee Free Choice Act, that is the question (for President Obama). Let it be known, Mr. President, shirk your commitment to ensure the passage of this bill into law by acquiescing to the demands of the financial institutions who are using the bailout tax dollars to sponsor the opposition thereto and the Repugs will be the least of your concerns in 2012!

On January 20^th, 2009, BOOsh’s invasive surveillance program became President Obama’s. In October, it was unveiled by two former intercept operators of the NSA that BOOsh’s explanation and justification was – for the most part – grounded in falsehood., as it became increasingly obvious to these operators that the program’s “net” was far too broad to just spy on suspected terrorists. Reportedly, their former colleagues even made a habit of circulating intercepted private conversations that often times involved intimate discussion. Disgusting, and deplorable!

As a devout Christian who was once persecuted in an Apostolic Church for my very public stance as a liberal who supported Kerry in 2004, stories about church-goers who are singled-out for political reasons hits home for me. It is a despicable act, and an immoral one. Christ would NOT approve!

Just how badly will the Middle Class suffer from Obama’s proposed pathetic tax increase on all those who make 250,000 or more? Not at all. Small Businesses? Well, those of whom make a private profit from said business that amounts to 250k won’t be getting a tax increase that’ll force them into paying out more, but rather one that’ll result in a reduced deduction. Awww, how terrible.

The Following is a video of a programmer describing how he helped steal a Senatorial Election:

How’s this for BOOsh’s legacy? Roberts’ Supreme Court issued a controversial ruling on a case that will permit the police to search your house on an expired search warrant. Next step, abandoning search warrants and thusly the Fourth Amendment altogether, unless – of course – it benefits Repugs to preserve such. Then again, maybe we should all follow BOOsh’s lead and ignore this ruling, because – in all probability – that’s precisely what that son of a bitch did when he was instructed to preserve and/or recover millions of his regime’s e-mails.

If you see Repugs pitching a fit over “waste” in the Stimulus that was signed into law by the President in the coming months, disregard it as simple political drivel. Reason being, Sen. Susan Collins used her clout as the deal maker to influence the elimination of a provision that was designed to provide better protection for whistleblowers who would be relied upon to ensure that the kind of waste these nimrods will bitch about doesn’t occur. So, before you jump on the bandwagon to complain about waste – in the event it occurs – make sure to flog the horses pulling the wagon for their having no sense of direction beyond obstructionism.

This past fall, PNAC’s ambitions of spreading its imperial war to Iran hit a snag, with an in-depth IAEA report that shone some light upon Iran’s purported intentions of developing a nuke in two years. In said report, the IAEA admitted that Iran hadn’t been as forthcoming as they would’ve liked, but that they hadn’t made any significant progress towards said weapon development. The Iranians have apparently been targeted for pursuing the enrichment of uranium; whether it is for weapons or energy is irrelevant in the eyes of the hawks who want to deal with them. Quite honestly, as a nation that utilizes nuclear energy, possesses and plans on modernizing our nuclear weapons stockpile, in what position are we to legitimately tell another nation not to emulate us? Then again, when our government takes an unnecessary action that empowers the “rogue” nation at issue; part of the motive begins to surface, and it is EXACTLY what we in the liberal left suggested it was, covering up the quagmire in Iraq with an expansion of the empire. Diplomacy is the ONLY solution to this crisis, and an attack by Israel against Iran shouldn’t be encouraged either, even if it is by the likes of the hawkish Secretary Hillary Clinton.

During the tumultuous tenure of the BOOsh Regime, powers were expanded, most especially in the surveillance department. It turns out that the investigative arms of our federal government now no longer need just cause beyond political activity, religion and race to initiate an intrusive investigation!

Memo to President Obama: BOOsh authorized the use of torture in the CIA’s interrogations, Cheney and Rumsfeld pushed for and authorized it otherwise, investigate and prosecute the bastards NOW!! Leon Panetta is dead wrong, if he – as the Director of the CIA – believes what he said in regards to your lack of intentions to pursue said investigations. In the event that he is correct, you will be in violation of the law yourself! Complicity and Perpetration are synonymous in the eyes of the law.

Can you believe that the BOOsh puppet-president of Afghanistan is now asking the international community to establish an official timeline for the conclusion of our military campaign there? Well, when you consider the full weight of his nation’s suffering; can you blame him?

Obama has fulfilled a number of campaign promises, including the order to shut down Guantanamo, but what now? Some say that he may devise an alternative court system to try the detainees who aren’t released or tried in criminal courts, but is this really what we want? Hell, there were even reports that his inner circle discussed the possibility of permitting torture through loopholes in the CIA’s guidelines (an idea probably suggested by our new Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair)! Do we want a standard set, for future cases involving international criminals or even Americans suspected of conspiring against other countries, in defiance of Habeas Corpus or our other founding principles? Think about it.

Speaking of defying our basic principles, have you heard about a BOOsh parting-scheme wherein the military’s role has been expanded to include the mobilization and deployment of federal troops on our soil, for what purpose? In the name of “protecting” the homeland. The truth is that it was apart of the broader effort by the BOOsh Regime to further expand the power of the executive branch! Long live the American Dictatorship!!

To all of you out there who served in and have since suffered from your participation in the Persian Gulf; your suffering has been recognized and your voice has been heard. The government that for so long ignored your strife, has finally acknowledged it; let’s hope that said acknowledgement comes with the appropriate action.

When pressed in an out-going interview about the fact that Al-Qaeda wasn’t in Iraq until after the invasion, BOOsh simply said “So what?” Really? Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the true W. Reckless and Inconsiderate, the Decider made abundantly clear his contempt for the truth and those who preach it.

Prior to handing the reigns of the most powerful and secretive Vice Presidency in the history of the office to Joseph R. Biden, Cheney inadvertently dug his hole deeper by confessing to the FBI that he altered talking points in a manner that was intent on exposing a covert agent for political gain!

Can the Pentagon really be poised to disobey its Commander-in-Chief?

A stark reminder of where we stand as the world’s “wealthiest” nation; bear in mind what China could do to supposed “wealth” at the drop of a dime…literally. Don’t forget how the 110^th Congress and BOOsh destroyed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by passing a deal with India, that allows them to circumvent any moral or political obligation to join said treaty as well as providing them access to our nation’s nuclear secrets, for profit. As expected, the move only led Pakistan to react – in defense – by announcing plans to secure a similar agreement with China. Pakistan – like India – is a Nuclear power that has not signed the NPT, and it is a likely candidate for any rebel or extremist group to visit for the potential acquisition of information pertaining to the developments of a nuke. Thank you!!

Some of the numerous decisions made during the BOOsh years that will forever be engraved in his legacy was every diplomatic effort he shirked, including an accord in Oslo, Norway that sought a phased-in prohibition on the use of cluster munitions. Thanks to BOOsh, we joined the likes of Russia and China in snubbing this international effort; thusly our image was further scarred.

The tyranny of Israel over the people of Palestine must end, NOW!! I’m a staunch supporter of the Israeli people, but as it pertains to their authoritarian government; I say that the time to unclench the fist has come.

I dare to wonder how we – as a capitalist society – can denounce communism or deny the significance of Karl Marx’s foresight when reviewing a quasi-prediction of the crisis we now find ourselves in. As executed, communism was an epic fail, but had it been administered correctly – in strict accordance with Marx’s theory – the Soviet Union may very well have thrived and be laughing at us today. We must fix litany of loopholes in our society before we share the Soviet’s fate.

This winter, at least in Ohio, has been a mild one, with spikes of wintry weather amidst all of the unseasonable weather. However, the one semi-major ice-storm we endured earlier this year created such a difficult task for Newark’s snow and ice removal effort that reports about “experimentation” with toxic ash produced from coal-fired power plants to fill-in for the lack of the costly de-icing salt peaks my interest. Which brings me to ask President Obama: what the F**k is “clean coal”, and why are you following BOOsh’s lead in pressing for it?

We Christians have a bit of a dilemma. Not only is it that most of us have been raised to observe Pagan festivities and rituals, but somewhere along the line, someone put in our ancestors’ heads that eating filthy animals was somehow permitted in the New Testament. Well, just like with the abomination of observing holidays we stole from the “unholy”, having permission to consume what those of Jewish and Muslim faith are forbidden to is based on a LIE. Plain and simple, it is time to wake up.

Tonight's Conclusion

Let it be known, that should President Obama fail to direct Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the egregious crimes of the BOOsh Regime by the end of his first 100 days on April 30th, I will initiate an effort to demand the impeachment of our new President for his failure to uphold the oath of office he took at the outset of said 100 Days. That effort will then proceed relentlessly until such an investigation, inevitable prosecution and subsequent conviction transpire.

Until Next Time...

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS

Expect a full length posting...soon.

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 22:57:04 GMT

By the end of (February...edited 1/29/09, due to unforeseen circumstances), I will be posting an ordinary entry full of summarized analyses that will consist of news articles that have been set aside by yours truly since prior to the election. In the "Conclusion" section, I'll be reviewing 2008, discussing Christmas and Ham, as well as expectations for the looming Obama Years.

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS

Sgt. Major J.D. Pendry (USMC - Retired) = Ill-informed

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:10:18 GMT

(The Original Chain-letter prompted by Mr. Pendry)

'The Axis of Idiots'

Jimmy Carter, you are the father of the Islamic Nazi
movement. You threw the Shah under the bus,
welcomed the Ayatollah home, and
then lacked the spine to confront the terrorists when
they took our embassy and our people hostage.
You're the runner-in-chief.

Bill Clinton, you played ring around the Lewinsky while
the terrorists were at war with us. You got us into a fight with them in Somalia and then you ran from it. Your weak-willed responses to the U.S.S. Cole and the First Trade Center Bombing and Our Embassy Bombings emboldened the killers.

Each time you failed to respond adequately,
they grew bolder, until 9/11/2001.

John Kerry, dishonesty is your most prominent attribute.
You lied about American Soldiers in Vietnam .
Your military service, like your life, is more fiction than fact..
You've accused our military of terrorizing women and children in Iraq .
You called Iraq the wrong war, wrong place, wrong time, the same words you used to describe Vietnam . You're a fake. You want to run from Iraq and abandon the Iraqis to murderers just as you did the Vietnamese. Iraq , like Vietnam , is another war that you were for, before you were against it.

John Murtha, you said our military was broken. You said we can't win militarily in Iraq . You accused United States Marines of cold-blooded murder without proof and said we should redeploy to Okinawa . Okinawa, John? And the Democrats call you their military expert! Are you sure you didn't suffer a traumatic brain injury while you were off building your war hero resume? You're a sad, pitiable, corrupt and washed up politician. You're not a Marine, sir. You wouldn't amount to a good pimple on a real Marine's ass. You're a phony and a disgrace. Run away, John.

Dick Durbin, you accused our Soldiers at Guantanamo of being Nazis, tenders of Soviet style gulags and as bad as the regime of Pol Pot, who murdered two million of his own people after your party abandoned Southeast Asia to the Communists. Now you want to abandon the Iraqis to the same fate. History was not a good teacher for you, was it? Lord help us! See Dick run.

Ted Kennedy, for days on end you held poster-sized pictures from Abu Ghraib in front of any available television camera. Al Jazeera quoted you saying that Iraqi's torture chambers were open under new management. Did you see the news, Teddy? The Islamic Nazis demonstrated another beheading for you. If you truly supported our troops, you'd show the world poster-sized pictures of that atrocity and demand the annihilation of it. Your legislation stripping support from the South Vietnamese led to a communist victory there. You're a bloated, drunken fool bent on repeating the same historical blunder that turned freedom-seeking people over to homicidal, genocidal maniacs. To paraphrase John Murtha, all the while sitting on your wide, gin-soaked rear-end in Washington .

Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Carl Levine, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Russ Feingold, Hillary Clinton, Pat Leahy, Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, the Hollywood Leftist morons, et al, ad nauseam: Every time you stand in front of television cameras and broadcast to the Islamic Nazis that we went to war because our President lied, that the war is wrong and our Soldiers are torturers, that we should leave Iraq, you give the Islamic butchers - the same ones that tortured and mutilated American Soldiers - cause to think that we'll run away again, and all they have to do is hang on a little longer. It is inevitable that we, the infidels, will have to defeat the Islamic jihadists. Better to do it now on their turf, than later on ours after they have gained both strength and momentum.

American news media, the New York Times particularly: Each time you publish stories about national defense secrets and our intelligence gathering methods, you become one united with the sub-human pieces of camel dung that torture and mutilate the bodies of American Soldiers. You can't strike up the courage to publish cartoons, but you can help Al Qaeda destroy my country. Actually, you are more dangerous to us than Al Qaeda is. Think about that each time you face Mecca to admire your Pulitzer...

You are America 's 'AXIS OF IDIOTS.' Your Collective Stupidity will destroy us. Self-serving politics and terrorist-abetting news scoops are more important to you than our national security or the lives of innocent civilians and Soldiers. It bothers you that defending ourselves gets in the way of your elitist sport of politics and your ignorant editorializing.

There is as much blood on your hands as is on the hands of murdering terrorists. Don't ever doubt that. Your frolics will only serve to extend this war as they extended Vietnam . If you want our Soldiers home as you claim, knock off the crap and try supporting your country ahead of supporting your silly political aims and aiding our enemies.

Yes, I'm questioning your patriotism. Your loyalty ends with self. I'm also questioning why you're stealing air that decent Americans could be breathing. You don't deserve the protection of our men and women in uniform. You need to run away from this war, this country. Leave the war to the people who have the will to see it through and the country to people who are willing to defend it.

No, Mr. President, you don't get off the hook, either. Our country has two enemies: Those who want to destroy us from the outside and those who attempt it from within. Your Soldiers are dealing with the outside force. It's your obligation to support them by confronting the AXIS OF IDIOTS.

America must hear it from you that these self-centered people are harming our country, abetting the enemy and endangering our safety.
Well up a little anger, please, and channel it toward the appropriate target.
You must prosecute those who leak national security secrets to the media.
You must prosecute those in the media who knowingly publish those secrets.

Our Soldiers need you to confront the enemy that they cannot.
They need you to do it now.

Semper Fi,

J. D. Pendry - Sergeant Major, USMC, Retired

(My Response)

J. D. Pendry, you sir, are an imbecile. Allow me to dissect you nonsensical rant piece by piece:

"Jimmy Carter, you are the father of the Islamic Nazi
movement. You threw the Shah under the bus,
welcomed the Ayatollah home, and
then lacked the spine to confront the terrorists when
they took our embassy and our people hostage.
You're the runner-in-chief."

The Shah you speak of was an undemocratically appointed dictator like Pinochet. The Iranians had every right to rise up against him and Western Imperial influence. Carter did what he could in handling the crisis and even fought for the release of the hostages after his electoral loss in 1980. In fact, his efforts led to the aforementioned sought after release. The Sunni Fundamentalists of Al Qaeda have nothing to do with the Shiite-ran government of Iran, so your charge that Carter's handling of the hostage crisis birthed the fundamentalist movement we find ourselves faced with today is laughable.

"Bill Clinton, you played ring around the Lewinsky while
the terrorists were at war with us. You got us into a fight with them in Somalia and then you ran from it. Your weak-willed responses to the U.S.S. Cole and the First Trade Center Bombing and Our Embassy Bombings emboldened the killers."

Um, Bush 41 was responsible for the deployment of our troops to Somalia as part of a UN Mandated peacekeeping mission in the midst of the country's Civil War. The UN and the US withdrew from Somalia when it became clear that foreign presence was no longer welcome. Weak-willed responses to the U.S.S. Cole attack and the Bombing of our Embassies in Africa?

The embassy bombings were responded by airstrikes in Afghanistan that were meant to target Bin-Laden and Al-Qaeda. Not to mention the stern warning from Clinton to the Taliban that any further acts of terrorism perpetrated by AQ would rupture relations between Afghanistan and America, even leading to a military incursion.

The results of an investigation conducted by our intelligence agencies didn't attribute blame to Al-Qaeda for the attacks on the Cole until late December of 2000. Since the country was in the midst of a transition of power from one president to a successor; Clinton didn't want to boggle Bush down in a military conflict before taking the reigns of power. So, Clinton's team communicated this intelligence to Bush's team, and the rest is history.

"Each time you failed to respond adequately,
they grew bolder, until 9/11/2001."

Hmm, so, Clinton sends his counterterrorism chief to Bush and Bush demotes said official. He ignored Clinton's warnings and advice regarding the high priority counterterrorism efforts were. Sub-Cabinet level meetings were held on counterterrorism for much of the year prior to 9/11, then on 9/10/2001, the Bush Regime cut funding to those efforts all the while receiving briefs on Al-Qaeda's movements, intentions and recruiting, and you blame Clinton?! Wake the fuck up!

"John Kerry, dishonesty is your most prominent attribute. You lied about American Soldiers in Vietnam . Your military service, like your life, is more fiction than fact..
You've accused our military of terrorizing women and children in Iraq . You called Iraq the wrong war, wrong place, wrong time, the same words you used to describe Vietnam . You're a fake. You want to run from Iraq and abandon the Iraqis to murderers just as you did the Vietnamese. Iraq , like Vietnam , is another war that you were for, before you were against it."

For the sake of not repeating myself, I'll postpone responses to your ignorance on Iraq until later. Kerry has not lied about anything regarding his service. The Swift Boat attacks on him were thoroughly debunked years ago, and the charge that he was for the Iraq war before he was against it (whilst claiming he felt the same about Vietnam) is misleading.

Kerry, like many Democrats facing reelection in 2002, chose to sell out the constitution to grant Bush the unconstitutional authority to initiate military action at will largely due to the politically inconvenient timing of said vote. They were all led to believe that Hussein posed an imminent threat to the country and voted to grant Bush his overreaching powers of war on the precondition that he sought out a diplomatic solution to the purported "crisis".

Furthermore, your sentiments reference to comments made by Kerry at a rally that were taken out of context that referenced to his vote for a difference version of an appropriations bill than the one in question that had passed without his vote. Kerry, did say, on the campaign trail in 2004, that he would've still supported going into Iraq with all we knew at that point. Then again, this was all half a year prior to the conclusion drawn by our own weapons inspectors that there were no WMDs in Iraq.

"John Murtha, you said our military was broken. You said we can't win militarily in Iraq . You accused United States Marines of cold-blooded murder without proof and said we should redeploy to Okinawa . Okinawa, John? And the Democrats call you their military expert! Are you sure you didn't suffer a traumatic brain injury while you were off building your war hero resume? You're a sad, pitiable, corrupt and washed up politician. You're not a Marine, sir. You wouldn't amount to a good pimple on a real Marine's ass. You're a phony and a disgrace. Run away, John."

In your assault on the incredible character of this American hero, you left out the recognition of his more than 30 years of service in the Marine Corps as well as having partaken in no less than two theaters of war during that time period.

Now, the man's status as a corrupt and washed up politician is debateable, his sentiments regarding a redeployment to Okinawa were not sincere but hypothetical. He was merely remarking on the amazing capabilities in troop and armament deployment our military now enjoys. Again, remarks on Vietnam and Iraq will be delayed until later...

"Dick Durbin, you accused our Soldiers at Guantanamo of being Nazis, tenders of Soviet style gulags and as bad as the regime of Pol Pot, who murdered two million of his own people after your party abandoned Southeast Asia to the Communists. Now you want to abandon the Iraqis to the same fate. History was not a good teacher for you, was it? Lord help us! See Dick run."

Argh, this delay in response is killing me...

"Ted Kennedy, for days on end you held poster-sized pictures from Abu Ghraib in front of any available television camera. Al Jazeera quoted you saying that Iraqi's torture chambers were open under new management. Did you see the news, Teddy? The Islamic Nazis demonstrated another beheading for you. If you truly supported our troops, you'd show the world poster-sized pictures of that atrocity and demand the annihilation of it. Your legislation stripping support from the South Vietnamese led to a communist victory there. You're a bloated, drunken fool bent on repeating the same historical blunder that turned freedom-seeking people over to homicidal, genocidal maniacs. To paraphrase John Murtha, all the while sitting on your wide, gin-soaked rear-end in Washington ."

Gee, I can't wait to speak in defense of one of the greatest servants the people of this nation has ever had. God be with him in these waning days of his life.

"Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Carl Levine, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Russ Feingold, Hillary Clinton, Pat Leahy, Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, the Hollywood Leftist morons, et al, ad nauseam: Every time you stand in front of television cameras and broadcast to the Islamic Nazis that we went to war because our President lied, that the war is wrong and our Soldiers are torturers, that we should leave Iraq, you give the Islamic butchers - the same ones that tortured and mutilated American Soldiers - cause to think that we'll run away again, and all they have to do is hang on a little longer. It is inevitable that we, the infidels, will have to defeat the Islamic jihadists. Better to do it now on their turf, than later on ours after they have gained both strength and momentum."

...and...

"American news media, the New York Times particularly: Each time you publish stories about national defense secrets and our intelligence gathering methods, you become one united with the sub-human pieces of camel dung that torture and mutilate the bodies of American Soldiers. You can't strike up the courage to publish cartoons, but you can help Al Qaeda destroy my country. Actually, you are more dangerous to us than Al Qaeda is. Think about that each time you face Mecca to admire your Pulitzer..."

Wait a second...are kidding me? Publishing religiously offensive cartoons is far less important than covering an unconscionable story about how our country is transforming into a police state not unlike those that we once referred to as our ENEMIES. I believe in confidentiality, but not when that secrecy endangers the constitution and the individual liberties of every American. I'm going to steal a line from you ignorant neocons and suggest that if you don't appreciate these liberties or our constitution, then you should consider moving to China or Russia!

"You are America 's 'AXIS OF IDIOTS.' Your Collective Stupidity will destroy us. Self-serving politics and terrorist-abetting news scoops are more important to you than our national security or the lives of innocent civilians and Soldiers. It bothers you that defending ourselves gets in the way of your elitist sport of politics and your ignorant editorializing."

At first, the first three sentences of this section appear to be an address to morons of your ilk or even the complicit media that helped bring this country into an unnecessary war, but it is obvious that you are beyond help. What, may I ask you, were we defending ourselves against in Iraq? IN what way did Saddam pose a viable threat to our land, freedom, families? Please avoid using Bush's lies to respond.

"There is as much blood on your hands as is on the hands of murdering terrorists. Don't ever doubt that. Your frolics will only serve to extend this war as they extended Vietnam . If you want our Soldiers home as you claim, knock off the crap and try supporting your country ahead of supporting your silly political aims and aiding our enemies."

Not one member of the media, government or peace movement supports or wishes to aid our enemies. Your equation of dissent with treason is as old as Nationalism itself. In seeking out the truth and demanding an end to this God-forsaken occupation, we ARE supporting our country, and furthermore by doing all of that in addition to fighting for the return home of our soldiers, we are supporting THEM.

"Yes, I'm questioning your patriotism. Your loyalty ends with self. I'm also questioning why you're stealing air that decent Americans could be breathing. You don't deserve the protection of our men and women in uniform. You need to run away from this war, this country. Leave the war to the people who have the will to see it through and the country to people who are willing to defend it."

Yes, I'm questioning your sanity and intelligence. Your grasp on reality ended the moment you started listening to those who so willingly spew bullshit at the rate villains like Karl Rove, Condi Rice and George W. Bush have. You seem to suggest that anyone who dares to disagree with you or the man you call "president" not only deserves to be deported, but to die as well. You claim that we who seek the truth and an end to pointless wars are aiding those who oppose our freedoms whilst you go out of your way to assist those actively eroding them. Whose the traitorous one now?

"No, Mr. President, you don't get off the hook, either. Our country has two enemies: Those who want to destroy us from the outside and those who attempt it from within. Your Soldiers are dealing with the outside force. It's your obligation to support them by confronting the AXIS OF IDIOTS."

I must confess, when I initially read this part of your rant, I honestly believed you were going to at least ridicule Bush for his mishandling of the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, but, I sit here a disappointed American. For the most part, your calls for Bush to "deal" with us dissenters echoes the same calls by Hitler's supporters to deal those who dared to question his intentions. Tread carefully dear soldier.

"America must hear it from you that these self-centered people are harming our country, abetting the enemy and endangering our safety."

Images of Hitler's rousing speeches to adoring crowds come to mind...

"Well up a little anger, please, and channel it toward the appropriate target."

Are you a Hitler-loyalist reincarnate?

"You must prosecute those who leak national security secrets to the media."

Not only do you speak like a true brownshirt, but now you openly advocate the suppression of the First Amendment?

"You must prosecute those in the media who knowingly publish those secrets."

Being redundant now...

"Our Soldiers need you to confront the enemy that they cannot. They need you to do it now."

If Bush or Obama approaches your doorstep, you have yourself to blame.

---

In response to your lack of knowledge as to what is transpiring in Iraq and what occured in Vietnam:

John Kerry's testimony regarding proceeds in Vietnam were both heartfelt and spoken on behalf of fellow veterans who witnessed, or even partook in those atrocities. There is now documented evidence that would be fairly easy to find with a simple google search of the numerous allegations of Vietnam Vets, Vietnamese citizens and even the press, among many others. You live in a fantasy world where this country is a God-send for the oppressed around the world, wake the f*ck up already.

As mentioned before, Kerry was never fully supportive of war in Iraq, but that is where his unconstitutional vote took us. Iraq was exactly what Kerry described it to be: wrong war, wrong place, wrong time. Given the FACT that 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi, maybe Saudi Arabia should've assumed a more central standing in our focus in response to those horrible attacks, but NOT ONE hijacker had any connection to Iraq.

Saddam was an ENEMY of Al-Qaeda, he feared their intentions as per his government and they detested his secular rule. Remember that one of the many reasons he was so admonished was that he was a monster of the CIA's creation. WE launched two coups that installed Hussein at the helm of power in the former colony of England. The first failed as that goverment collapsed shortly after he was placed in control, and the second was successful only after our government took a more active role in sustaining his power.

We supplied him with the weapons he used on his enemies both domestic and foreign, but we didn't complain about his crimes until it became politically expedient to shift sides.

Our military is broken. Your denial of such is evidence of your stupidity. We don't have a grand military like we did during World War Two, so it is incredibly strenuous for our military personnel to contend with two occupations as well as the litany of our obligations throughout the globe. That's why a draft reinstitution is not far from a reality if the present course is kept.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ARE OVER!! The former in May 2003 and the latter in December 2001. We are presently dealing with an insurgency against our occupations of those countries. We diverted our focus from the real problem in Afghanistan - to our detriment considering the resurgent movement there - to an unrelated "enemy" where we bear over 90% of the burden on every front. The peace CAN'T be won militarily, because it is counterproductive to wage war to win peace.

Peace is won diplomatically with economic aid. We know full well that schools must be built, good jobs created, services restored, people fed and housed, and finally the power and oil returned to the rightful owners: the Iraqis.

There is ample proof of war crimes being commited on a large scale in Iraq, Afghanistan and in Guantanamo Bay. Just research it, because the preponderance of said crimes are too great to enumerate here.

You forget that the people demanded an end to the Vietnam War, which was another illegal and unnecessary war born out of the political ambitions of a desperate President amidst a myriad of lies. Congress cut off funding for the Vietnam War because that was their responsibility for having given Johnson the unconstitutional power to invade in the first place, just as that is the responsibility of Congress now.

It is obvious that your history lessons were either lax, or ignored by you.

Informing the world of the atrocious crimes commited at Abu Ghraib was vital to maintain our credibility as an opponent of war crimes and other acts of an inhumane nature. Your misguided comparison of the Islamic fundamentalists with the tyrannical Nazis is further proof of your detached view of the world. Nazis were created by a political party, hell bent on control, whereas the members Al-Qaeda are rejecting policies of the western world, its meddling with Arab affairs and defiling of Muslim holy ground. Nazis wanted to rule the world, Al-Qaeda's members merely want to "save" theirs.

You advocate the "annihilation" of those who oppose our society, but - once again - that is reminiscent of Nazi sentiments towards the "enemies" of Germany, especially those as perceived from within.

Our departure from Iraq and even Afghanistan would be an inspiration to the people of those countries, and would be a deadly blow dealt to Al-Qaeda because their biggest recruiting tool will have disintegrated. Members who've joined since the war in Iraq began would lose their incentive to remain, unless conditions continue to crumble with poor/no jobs, education, services, etc.

We are all well aware by now that Bush lied us into this quagmire, so your refusal to even accept that baffles me. Your parroting of the tired repug mantra "fighting them there so we won't have to here" sickens me. WE created the battlefield in Iraq and have only galvanized anti-American sentiment in the region by doing so. The irony is that we are now more likely to be attacked due to Iraq than we were after 9/11.

I'm puzzled by this notion that those who seek peace, justice and truth are responsible for acts of terrorism, when it is the government you have so supported that put our soldiers in the wrong place to begin with. If anything, it is YOU and YOUR F**KING PRESIDENT who has the blood on YOUR filthy hands. You helped get us in this mess, and therefore bear your share of the blame.

Semper Fi...or Semper Fidelis: translated to "forever faithful". Must that eternal faith and devotion be to a band of criminals or to the best interest of this country? I prefer the latter as you appear to blindly hold to the former belief.

In closing, J.D., I want to wish you a pleasant roasting, because that's all you are going to remember once the depths of hell swallows you whole.

Go F**k yourself Sergeant.,

Daniel H. Crawford III

Tonight's Conclusion

How troubling it is to witness this level of ignorance put on display and circulated through the internet. My next regular update will be by year's end. I need to get some things in order in my life before I get back in the groove of posting regular updates. Let's not assume that our 44th President's election marks the end of our struggle. Now, we must strive to prevent him from failing to deliver on his promises. It is up to us to amp up the pressure and maintain it until we get the reform we deserve. There is no such thing as a time out for politicians, they run for office to serve us; let's remind them of such.

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS

Election Day Coverage (well...from my perspective)

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:59:45 GMT

5:49pm EST: Here I am, with my wife, son and daughter, preparing to witness history unfolding before our very eyes. I'm holding Madison while Pam cooks a delicious meal for dinner and Austin sits - restrained (lol) - in his high chair in anticipation. Watching an election-themed episode of Simpsons, we anxiously await the first poll closings. I've already started documenting (by video camera) the events of the day in my house and will do so throughout the night, as I record my thoughts every once and a while throughout the course of the night. I'll be right back, I need to change my daughter :).

6:17pm: Steven the Gopher called a moment ago, wanting input on the latest exit polls...err..I've been watching Simpsons...LOL. So, after we hung up, I humored him by flipping over to MSNBC to get the aforementioned info and alas, Obama's chances appear good so far. Olbermann and Matthews discuss the significance of this election and how people voting for the first time could potentially reflect on it in the 22nd Century. They scoff at the idea of someone not voting in this important election (Steven and Melissa, that means you, although Steven negated to do his civic duties for political reasons). I'm eating at the moment (corn, shells and cheese and pork chops...mmmm). I'll be back.

6:50pm: Exit polls still appear to favor Obama. Indiana shows promise as Obama has maintained a steady lead over McCain since the numbers therefrom started pouring almost half an hour ago. I'm calling Kentucky for McCain (then again, McCain's lead there has narrowed incredibly).

7:24pm: Indiana is too close to call (Mitch the Bitch wins re-election, if only you people in the "Boyhood Home of Lincoln" knew that Mitch - as Budget and Office Management Secretary - cut anti-terror funds from the FBI's budget the day before the attacks). A number of other important and traditionally Repug states are either Too Early or Too Close to call...this is remarkable!! Ohio's numbers are coming up!

7:47pm: It doesn't surprise me that the first state to secede from the Union and the last to join (SC) has gone to McCain, and it looks as if Georgia will as well.

8pm: PENNSYLVANIA GOES FOR OBAMA!! McCain's path to victory has been demolished!!

8:24pm: Florida may very well f**k it up again. The vote in West Palm Beach is so unnecessarily confusing.

8:39pm: Bye bye Senator Dole!! I had already called Georgia for McCain (for shame), and McCain has picked up some more of the former confederacy...whoop-ti-doo!

8:53pm: The MSNBC pundits are already attempting to downplay the significance of Obama's amazing grassroots campaign all the while same said campaign has turned formerly faithful "red states" like Indiana into battleground states. More to come soon...

9:27pm: OHIO GOES FOR OBAMA!!! No Repug has EVER won the presidency without my state!! Come on Indiana, North Carolina, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico (@ 9:31, this state has joined Obama's column), Arizona, California and others...lets give our 44th President a LANDSLIDE!!

10pm: Texas has been called for McCain, just adding to the list of confederate states to his column. Iowa goes to Obama!! Montana and Nevada (Repug held states last time around) are too early/close to call!

10:11pm: Mississippi has gone to McCain, the confederate coalition grows. Lets hope North Carolina and Virginia break the cycle.

10:45pm: I'm going to gamble a bit and project McCain the winner of his own state (AZ) after a bit of a scare for that campaign and Obama the winner of this election. In 15 minutes, the deal will be sealed!

11:03pm: Thank you America, you've just made history and taken the first step in the right direction! I'll be back upon learning the results of Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia (add this state to the list!!!), let's hope for a grand landslide!!

11:15pm: Our 44th President has just added Colorado and Florida to the coalition for progress!!

11:18pm: At this moment as McCain delivers his concession speech, I feel a new sense of love for my country. We've matured, and have completed a journey in transcending issues of bigotry. I watch Jesse Jackson, presidential candidate of 1984 and 1988, watch in tearful glee as he witnesses the realization of a dream In many ways, the election of Obama is a giant leap towards the fulfillment of that famed dream spoken by one of God's greatest servants; Rev. Martin Luther King J.R.!!

11:28pm: John McCain shows what an honorable and graceful concession should look like (video below).

11:38pm: Thank God Almighty, Nevada joins the coalition!!!

12:16am: If words can seduce the soul, I've just been subjected to such a seduction and have succumbed. Tonight, the United States of America reclaimed the dream that drove our founding fathers and the Continental Army to victory. Tonight, the 44th President of these UNITED States of America delivered a magnificent speech (video below), captivating a nation on its way out of a long political darkness with the promise that brighter days are just around the corner. Barack Hussein Obama J.R. is our President-elect, he is MY president and I couldn't feel more relieved to say that. May we never doubt the bonds created by our affection or common interests, and may the long awaited healing begin...now. May God Bless the United States and everyone else!!

1:56am: Approximately half an hour ago, Alaska was called for McCain (unofficially entering Palin in the 2012 Repug Primaries). Montana, North Carolina, Missouri and Indiana - all usually reliable Repug territory - remain "too close to call". This is astonishing, to say the least. What a message it will send if all four go to Obama. Obama presently has 5 million more popular votes than McCain, officially making this victory a MANDATE! I will remain awake until every state has been decided...

2:44am: Shortly after the previous update, Indiana made history by joining this broad coalition...thank you HOOSIERS!!

3:02am: Montana goes to McCain, as expected. Obama's popular vote lead is unwavering @ 5 million-plus. Obama leads by 12,000 votes in NC and McCain by roughly 2-3,000 in Missouri.

3:51am: Fatigue sets in. It is unconscionable for the AP to not call Missouri for McCain and NC for Obama by this point. What haven't they counted? Both are reporting 100% of their precincts, but there hasn't been any final decision as to who'll win those states. Here's hoping a victor is declared soon in both. I'm just pulling for Obama to gain 15 more EVs to expand his majority and so I can get some much needed rest.

Thursday (11/6/08) 6:24pm: On Tuesday, I had vowed to remain awake and liveblog the election until all 50 states were reported. Unfortunately, I became so fatigued by this daunting task that I gave up about two hours after the last update. Besides, Missouri and North Carolina had yet to be announced. Missouri wouldn't be called until near noon yesterday, and NC was just called for Obama today. Just like that, Obama has defied the odds of a black man, let alone a Democrat, winning two states of the former confederacy.

He made history on numerous fronts, becoming the first African-American president, the first Democrat to win 11 of the 13 colonies since Johnson in 1964, the first Democrat to win the presidency without a Southerner on the ticket since Roosevelt/Wallace in 1940, the first Democrat to win Indiana since Johnson in 1964, and the first President to have had a foreign parent since Woodrow Wilson in 1912-1919! Now that the Election is over, Mandate is huge, and the countdown to inauguration commenced, the hardest part of our job has passed. Now, it is up to us to keep the pressure on Obama and the Democratic Congress to deliver on the change we were promised!! More on this in another post.

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS

In 13 Days...our nation will either face darker days or a glimmer of hope

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:47:42 GMT

Have Health Insurance? I don’t, but if you want to keep it or see it improve, don’t permit McCain – the tortured torturer - to win his bid for president. Reason being that the geriatric candidate seems too senile to comprehend the ramifications for deregulation. Now that we all know the deregulation of the banking industry helped create the present economic crisis; McCain’s pledge to deregulate the health care industry simply boggles the mind. One more note, if you thought the effort to privatize Social Security would die with the departure of BOOsh, guess again, his elder clone wants to continue that campaign, just think of where those benefits would be now had BOOsh succeeded given the multiple crashes of wall street in the past month.

For those out there who believe that Socialist Palin – a radical-fundamentalist, who’ll inject her twisted interpretation of the bible and the constitution to push for an unprecedented amendment to restrict rights afforded us Americans, and who’s managed to coerce the misogynistic McCain to shift positions on Abortion and is now desperately attempting to link Obama to terrorism in order to arouse the electorate’s inner held reservations about a man with an unfamiliar name - will bring a fundamental change to our federal government; guess again. Like BOOsh, Palin is hell bent on criminalizing Abortion, denies Global Warming, the importance of science and goes out of her way to suppress dissent, especially amongst her own ranks, and information regarding her corruption and reserves a hidden disdain for minorities. Gov. No-clue, as I’ll probably call her from now, on suggests that Obama pals around with a collegiate professor and rehabilitated former domestic terrorist he barely knows whilst campaigning with a man who pals around with those who paled with Saddam!!

She – like BOOsh – abuses executive powers (while in denial), transformed a budget surplus (as Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska) into a deficit. If anything, she’s more incompetent than BOOsh – God Help Us – in that she has displayed her ignorance to what the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailout entails (not to mention that they were privately ran as opposed to public funded), willingness to lie about the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” and her record on earmarks, inability to comprehend her ticket positioning, eagerness to fabricate tales about her judgment, lack of knowledge on Nuclear weapons (something else she has in common with BOOsh, alongside the ridiculous mispronunciation of the word “Nuclear”, in fact, she required the intentional misspelling of the word on the convention teleprompter…LMAO!!), on McCain’s so-called “Maverick” record among many other things. No wonder why the McCain campaign had attempted to shelter her from the mean old media, because she hasn’t any more credibility to squander.

Think McCain outdoes Obama when it comes to bipartisanship? Guess again. A thorough analysis paints a very different picture than the one we’ve been presented since the outset of this crazy campaign. Maybe the “maverick” angle isn’t really what the McCain campaign of lies is depending on, but rather the efforts by those in states like Virginia to suppress the vote of college students.

Things aren’t going well in Afghanistan, or the region for that matter, just look at everything that has gone down in a front of the War to Terrorize that now sees a higher death rate for our soldiers than in Iraq and a mounting casualty rate for civilians. Pakistan is now threatening retaliation for the recent Imperial raids and airstrikes into their country by BOOsh’s forces, even going as far to instruct their police, citizens and soldiers to fire upon any invading force, and our military commanders in the region as well as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have all voiced their frustration with the abysmal handling of this situation. Can we be safe in concluding that the occupation of Afghanistan has failed miserably?

The lack of willingness on the part of the repugs to own up to the occupations they created is despicable. At their convention, a video of a soldier’s funeral was featured, but the only problem with that is that the “soldier” and his/her “grieving family” were all actors. Pathetic. Furthermore, allowing Repugs to steer the debate on the failed troop surge into Iraq is a grave mistake. Attributing the decline in violence solely to the surge is misleading and many of said surges core objectives have yet to come. Maybe that’s why BOOsh’s purported plan to reduce troop presence in Iraq to pre-surge levels is a farce, because he plans to keep more troops in Iraq than were there prior to the surge. Their treatment of veterans, despite all of their rhetoric, is no less abysmal. Just look for yourself to find how McCain’s views his obligations and that of our country to those who’ve served this nation bravely.

Our relations with Russia have dampened in the past few months. Severely. Why be concerned? Let’s look at how the U.S. cast the Russian government for doing what we did in the Persian Gulf War and at the recent military exercises conducted by Russia on our side of the globe in Venezuela (it’s in South American, not the Middle East as McCain believes) coupled with the U.S. ambassador expulsions from Venezuela and Bolivia, and the recall of their ambassadors from D.C. If this doesn’t create a cause for concern then I don’t know what should. Then again, maybe - if McCain wins - our focus will be directed towards the Spanish, since – according to him – they’re located in South America…err, no, Europe is the correct answer.

Tonight's Conclusion

In light of the quickly approaching election on the fourth, I elected (no pun intended) to post a final entry prior thereto. For the purpose of informing the electorate, before the fact. This is a vital issue, we must vote to spare this nation anymore damage. I IMPLORE my fellow Americans to remain steadfast and VOTE, do so now if you can to free up time to help others on Election Day and if you can't, PLEASE show up!! If you don't trust Obama on the issues, but distrust McCain either as much or more; just consider Palin's lack of grasp on what it is the Vice President does, her promise to continue Cheney's efforts to expand the powers extra-constitutionally, and her ambitious approach to intentionally or ignorantly mislead children on what the constitution affords the office she seeks. If her take on the office was accurate, I don't think John Adams would've been so dissatisfied with it when he called it: "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."

Until next time...

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS - VIVA LOS PERSONAS

Brokenhearted...on the verge of ranting

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:36:20 GMT

Today, as I moved to proudly announce the birth of my daughter on the 8th on Democrats.com, I was reminded of my limitations in account activity. Earlier this year, I openly declared my distrust for Clinton and Obama because of their "centrist" views. Pandering to the "center", or the "right" for that matter, is unacceptable when doing so requires a shift in one's political agenda. If you are going to target the center or even the right for appeal, that's all good, but do it from a resolute and unwavering political position. Don't compromise your principles or beliefs to get elected, instead you should promote those positions proudly unless you learn that you are WRONG.

After posting a response (that included my last letter to the editor of this election cycle) to a forum created to reveal the intentions of a fellow former Nader supporter who switched to Obama out of hope for the best and to prevent the disastrous election of McCain/Palin, my sentiments in concurrence with the forum's author had apparently struck a nerve with the site's moderators. Either it created a divisive debate or it was just unfavorable because of my outright repudiation of Obama and the Democratic Party, their capitulations on BOOsh policies, and selling out their base or it was my refusal to plead with fellow Liberals to switch their votes from Nader or McKinney to Obama.

In the end, the moderators removed my comments (for the UMPTEENTH TIME). This is reflective of their unwillingness to live up to the core motto of Democrats.com: "The Aggressive Progressives." How can a so-called aggressive progressive claim to be such when they won't stand up to yellow backs of their own ranks...where it counts: the ballot. These people don't care about our donations, they can just pander to the same corporate interests the repugs do (just google ""Democratic Convention Sponsors" to see what I mean). For a community of fellow liberals who regularly rail against the actions of BOOsh, repugs and DINOs, they sure are hesitant to truly pressure these unAmerican bastards by withholding a vote therefore.

Don't try to spout off that bullshit to me about "voting your principles" giving the elections to Repugs. Maybe those traitorous Democrats in Name Only need another slew of political losses dealt by their base in order to whip them into shape. We've seem to become dependent on the destruction BOOsh and his allies reap for this country to attain victory, but what shall we do when we're in power with this record of backing down from challenge after challenge to counter the BOOsh Agenda?

In 2002, the Democrats controlled the Senate, but folded for the sake of political expediency when voting to unconstitutionally grant BOOsh a blank check to invade an unthreatening sovereign nation. In 2001, Democrats controlled the Senate, but overwhelmingly approved of the unconstitutional USA PATRIOT ACT. In 2005, senate Democrats, with the power to filibuster an extreme agenda, caved to the commands of the BOOsh Regime and their Senate minions by compromising said right to block the appointment of extreme ring wing ideologues to our federal courts (eventually leading to the confirmations of Alito and Roberts to the Supreme Court to shift the court one vote away from majority theocratic control). In 2006, the congressional Democrats succumbed to the increasingly unpopular BOOsh by reauthorizing the aforementioned and politically named "Patriot Act" and later approving the unconstitutional Military Commissions Act. In 2001, they caved in granting an astronomical 1.35 Trillion Dollar tax cut mostly for the wealthiest of citizens, and followed up with numerous tax cuts in the wake of 9/11.

The 110th Congress hasn't improved much, right wing judges still go unchallenged, the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are still funded (through to next summer), MoveOn.org has been condemned for warning against the potential of a military official lying on behalf of a corrupt regime to advance said regime's agenda contrary to the interests of this country, an unconstitutional domestic surveillance program has been validated alongside a nice package of pardons for all those telecommunications companies that violated the law in cooperation with BOOsh, 700 Billion Dollars has been added to the debt to bailout the incompetent institutions that are running our economy into the ground, the path to war with Iran had been paved and the criminal regime that stole power (twice, thanks to the inaction of the Democrats in congress) continue to violate statute after statute (federal and international), erode our constitution and escape accountabilty and justice.

Remaining silent at this pivotal time in our history is not an option. I've already voted, punishing my congressman for his lack of a backbone by leaving that part of the ballot blank. I may have caved by voting Obama to avoid a McCain/Palin disaster, but I will NOT cease to address his shortfalls, nor those of the party that he represents. I am an American FIRST and a Democrat SECOND! That is how I justify challenging the ineptness of my party and highlighting their imperfections, and that is how I intend to continue my activism. If it costs Democrats a few elections, so be it, maybe they'll learn to regret taking us Liberals for granted!

A traditional entry to come prior to the election...

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS

Who do you want as the next U.S. Senate President?

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 18:36:45 GMT

AND THIS is precisely one of the MANY reasons I'm casting a vote for Obama; to avoid the McCain/Palin capture of the world's most powerful offices! Mobilize and speak out...we MUST stop them!!

Country First

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:50:42 GMT

Recent events have led me to reassess my position on this election. While I view the election of Obama as President to be an endorsement of the numerous things he has capitulated on (not to mention his selection of a running to the right of him); the selection of Sarah Palin (along with the endless list of troubling positions she holds that happen to be to the right of BOOsh) as McCain's running-mate coupled with the plethora of lies that campaign insists upon spreading and their dangerous rhetoric that threatens global tranquility and promises a new conflict with Russia and God-knows who else.

We must choose country first by detering McCain/Palin from hijacking this nation and its promise by casting a vote - even if reluctantly - for Obama. It may not be exactly what this nation needs (like an end to the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the BOOsh Doctrine, the expansion of Medicare to cover every American and repudiation as well as a rollback of BOOsh's policies), but it is at least a baby-step in the right direction.

Never cease striving for what is right, we must enact true change in the nation from top to bottom, but first, we need to ensure that things don't get worse, because they will if McCain is elected.

Oh yeah, forward this video to EVERYONE you know:

Take Care and God Bless