Peace sign Christmas wreath banned

DENVER - A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan.

Some residents who have complained have children serving in Iraq, said Bob Kearns, president of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs. He said some residents have also believed it was a symbol of Satan. Three or four residents complained, he said.

“Somebody could put up signs that say drop bombs on Iraq. If you let one go up you have to let them all go up,” he said in a telephone interview Sunday.

Continued...

Source: Peace sign Christmas wreath banned - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com

Technorati tags: peace, rights, freedom, politics, news, opinion

Today's Cartoon

© Cartoonist Group, 2006

Source: Today's Cartoon

Technorati tags: American Progress, cartoons, political cartoons, Iraq

Outstanding way to show support for our Troops!

Outstanding way to show support for our Troops!

Something very cool that Xerox is doing..

If you go to this web site, http://www.letssaythanks.com/, you can pick
out a thank you card. Xerox will then print it and it will be sent to a
soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets
the card, but it will go to some member of the armed services. How AMAZING
it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! This is a great
site. Please send a card. It is FREE and it only takes a second. Wouldn't
it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Let our soldiers over there

know we are behind them.

We, The People Of The United States...(a joke)

We, The People Of The United States...

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.
His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.
"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."
"No problem, just let me in," says the man.
"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."
"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the senator.
"I'm sorry, but we have our rules."
And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.
They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.
Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes.
They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.
Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...
The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.
"Now it's time to visit heaven."
So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.
"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."
The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.
Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.
The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. "I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable.
What happened?"
The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning...today you voted."

"Alliance of Wimpiness" by Mark Fiore

"Alliance of Wimpiness"

by Mark Fiore

Demoralizing the Troops

By Dwane Powell
© © Cartoonist Group, 2006

Source: Demoralizing the Troops

Technorati tags: troops, war on terror, political cartoons, political satire, humor, cartoons

Quitting Iraq Is the Only Brave Thing to Do

By Michael Moore, MichaelMoore.com. Posted November 27, 2006.

We should demand to the Democrats that we get out of Iraq now and ask the Iraqi people for their forgiveness.

November 27 marks the day that we will have been in Iraq longer than we were in all of World War II.

That's right. We were able to defeat all of Nazi Germany, Mussolini, and the entire Japanese empire in LESS time than it's taken the world's only superpower to secure the road from the airport to downtown Baghdad.

And we haven't even done THAT. After 1,347 days, in the same time it took us to took us to sweep across North Africa, storm the beaches of Italy, conquer the South Pacific, and liberate all of Western Europe, we cannot, after over 3 and 1/2 years, even take over a single highway and protect ourselves from a homemade device of two tin cans placed in a pothole. No wonder the cab fare from the airport into Baghdad is now running around $35,000 for the 25-minute ride. And that doesn't even include a friggin' helmet.

Is this utter failure the fault of our troops? Hardly. That's because no amount of troops or choppers or democracy shot out of the barrel of a gun is ever going to "win" the war in Iraq. It is a lost war, lost because it never had a right to be won, lost because it was started by men who have never been to war, men who hide behind others sent to fight and die.

Let's listen to what the Iraqi people are saying, according to a recent poll conducted by the University of Maryland:

** 71% of all Iraqis now want the U.S. out of Iraq.

** 61% of all Iraqis SUPPORT insurgent attacks on U.S. troops.

Yes, the vast majority of Iraqi citizens believe that our soldiers should be killed and maimed! So what the hell are we still doing there? Talk about not getting the hint.

There are many ways to liberate a country. Usually the residents of that country rise up and liberate themselves. That's how we did it. You can also do it through nonviolent, mass civil disobedience. That's how India did it. You can get the world to boycott a regime until they are so ostracized they capitulate. That's how South Africa did it. Or you can just wait them out and, sooner or later, the king's legions simply leave (sometimes just because they're too cold). That's how Canada did it.

The one way that DOESN'T work is to invade a country and tell the people, "We are here to liberate you!" -- when they have done NOTHING to liberate themselves. Where were all the suicide bombers when Saddam was oppressing them? Where were the insurgents planting bombs along the roadside as the evildoer Saddam's convoy passed them by? I guess ol' Saddam was a cruel despot -- but not cruel enough for thousands to risk their necks. "Oh no, Mike, they couldn't do that! Saddam would have had them killed!" Really? You don't think King George had any of the colonial insurgents killed? You don't think Patrick Henry or Tom Paine were afraid? That didn't stop them. When tens of thousands aren't willing to shed their own blood to remove a dictator, that should be the first clue that they aren't going to be willing participants when you decide you're going to do the liberating for them.

A country can HELP another people overthrow a tyrant (that's what the French did for us in our revolution), but after you help them, you leave. Immediately. The French didn't stay and tell us how to set up our government. They didn't say, "we're not leaving because we want your natural resources." They left us to our own devices and it took us six years before we had an election. And then we had a bloody civil war. That's what happens, and history is full of these examples. The French didn't say, "Oh, we better stay in America, otherwise they're going to kill each other over that slavery issue!"

The only way a war of liberation has a chance of succeeding is if the oppressed people being liberated have their own citizens behind them -- and a group of Washingtons, Jeffersons, Franklins, Gandhis and Mandellas leading them. Where are these beacons of liberty in Iraq? This is a joke and it's been a joke since the beginning. Yes, the joke's been on us, but with 655,000 Iraqis now dead as a result of our invasion (source: Johns Hopkins University), I guess the cruel joke is on them. At least they've been liberated, permanently.

So I don't want to hear another word about sending more troops (wake up, America, John McCain is bonkers), or "redeploying" them, or waiting four months to begin the "phase-out." There is only one solution and it is this: Leave. Now. Start tonight. Get out of there as fast as we can. As much as people of good heart and conscience don't want to believe this, as much as it kills us to accept defeat, there is nothing we can do to undo the damage we have done. What's happened has happened. If you were to drive drunk down the road and you killed a child, there would be nothing you could do to bring that child back to life. If you invade and destroy a country, plunging it into a civil war, there isn't much you can do 'til the smoke settles and blood is mopped up. Then maybe you can atone for the atrocity you have committed and help the living come back to a better life.

The Soviet Union got out of Afghanistan in 36 weeks. They did so and suffered hardly any losses as they left. They realized the mistake they had made and removed their troops. A civil war ensued. The bad guys won. Later, we overthrew the bad guys and everybody lived happily ever after. See! It all works out in the end!

The responsibility to end this war now falls upon the Democrats. Congress controls the purse strings and the Constitution says only Congress can declare war. Mr. Reid and Ms. Pelosi now hold the power to put an end to this madness. Failure to do so will bring the wrath of the voters. We aren't kidding around, Democrats, and if you don't believe us, just go ahead and continue this war another month. We will fight you harder than we did the Republicans. The opening page of my website has a photo of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, each made up by a collage of photos of the American soldiers who have died in Bush's War. But it is now about to become the Bush/Democratic Party War unless swift action is taken.

This is what we demand:

1. Bring the troops home now. Not six months from now. NOW. Quit looking for a way to win. We can't win. We've lost. Sometimes you lose. This is one of those times. Be brave and admit it.

2. Apologize to our soldiers and make amends. Tell them we are sorry they were used to fight a war that had NOTHING to do with our national security. We must commit to taking care of them so that they suffer as little as possible. The mentally and physically maimed must get the best care and significant financial compensation. The families of the deceased deserve the biggest apology and they must be taken care of for the rest of their lives.

3. We must atone for the atrocity we have perpetuated on the people of Iraq. There are few evils worse than waging a war based on a lie, invading another country because you want what they have buried under the ground. Now many more will die. Their blood is on our hands, regardless for whom we voted. If you pay taxes, you have contributed to the three billion dollars a week now being spent to drive Iraq into the hellhole it's become. When the civil war is over, we will have to help rebuild Iraq. We can receive no redemption until we have atoned.

In closing, there is one final thing I know. We Americans are better than what has been done in our name. A majority of us were upset and angry after 9/11 and we lost our minds. We didn't think straight and we never looked at a map. Because we are kept stupid through our pathetic education system and our lazy media, we knew nothing of history. We didn't know that WE were the ones funding and arming Saddam for many years, including those when he massacred the Kurds. He was our guy. We didn't know what a Sunni or a Shiite was, never even heard the words. Eighty percent of our young adults (according to National Geographic) were not able to find Iraq on the map. Our leaders played off our stupidity, manipulated us with lies, and scared us to death.

But at our core we are a good people. We may be slow learners, but that "Mission Accomplished" banner struck us as odd, and soon we began to ask some questions. Then we began to get smart. By this past November 7th, we got mad and tried to right our wrongs. The majority now know the truth. The majority now feel a deep sadness and guilt and a hope that somehow we can make make it all right again.

Unfortunately, we can't. So we will accept the consequences of our actions and do our best to be there should the Iraqi people ever dare to seek our help in the future. We ask for their forgiveness.

We demand the Democrats listen to us and get out of Iraq now.

Source: AlterNet: War on Iraq: Quitting Iraq Is the Only Brave Thing to Do

Technorati tags: Iraq, war on terror, news, politics, opinion

Iraq is a Civil War: Media Dominoes Falling

NBC's decision to call the violence in Iraq a "civil war" has launched civil wars within a number of news outlets. But are they ready to challenge Bush Administration?

For months, the media have been torn over use of the term "civil war" to describe the descent into outright murder and torture in Iraq. Apparently the utter chaos and carnage of the past week has finally convinced some to use "civil war" without apology -- with NBC News and MSNBC joining in today in a major way -- but many still hold back, an E&P survey today shows.

The Los Angeles Times was one of the first newspapers to flatly describe the conflict as a "civil war" -- without the usual qualifiers of "approaching" or "near" -- and did again in the first paragraph of a news report on Saturday. The Christian Science Monitor today refers to a "deepening civil war."

But the main Washington Post story today continued to use "sectarian strife." A widely-published Reuters dispatch today adopted "sectarian conflict" and McClatchy in a report from Baghdad relied on "sectarian violence." Other papers declared that Iraq is on the verge of civil war, but has not gotten there yet, with an Associated Press story calling Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's visit to Iran an effort to prevent "Iraq's sectarian violence from sliding into an all-out civil war."

In a bombshell, however, Matt Lauer on the Today show this morning revealed that NBC had studied and perhaps debated the issue anew, and then decided that it will now use "civil war" freely. "For months the White House rejected claims that the situation in Iraq has deteriorated into civil war," he said. "For the most part news organizations like NBC hesitated to characterize it as such. After careful consideration, NBC News has decided the change in terminology is warranted and what is going on in Iraq can now be characterized as civil war."

Source: AlterNet: War on Iraq: Iraq is a Civil War: Media Dominoes Falling

Technorati tags: civil war, war on terror, Iraq, Bush, politics, news

Olbermann: 'Civil War' naming is Iraq's Walter Cronkite moment [VIDEO]

Noting that "it's the media's job to cut through [the administration's deceptive language] and call things what they are," Congressional Quarterly's Craig Crawford quipped that "If these guys were designing road signs they'd probably want to call a 'dead end' sign 'outlet free.'"

Such is the flood of tragically humorous commentary unleashed by White House winging over (MS)NBC's decision to call it a Civil War. The Daily Show also had its way with the administration's (and therefore the media's) linguistic pilates with respect to the Civil War in Iraq [VIDEO].

In the clip above, Keith Olbermann compares his employers' decision to call it a Civil War to Walter Cronkite's shift in Vietnam reporting in 1968 when he began to speak of the war as unwinnable. Many believe that was the beginning of the end for America's involvement in Vietnam...

To read more about the media conflict see today's front page story on AlterNet HERE.

Source: AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Olbermann: 'Civil War' naming is Iraq's Walter Cronkite moment [VIDEO]

Technorati tags: Iraq, civil war, war on terror, war, politics, news, Bush

I Can Miss This One...

DVD
By now, you’ve surely heard about the Michael Richards meltdown at the Laugh Factory in L.A. Suffice to say it wasn’t his career highlight. Some of the hecklers in the audience pointed that out, in fact, suggesting he really only had one successful venture in his career and that was “Seinfeld.” While Michael hires a crisis management consultant to deal with the fallout, it might be the ideal time to remember him in better days. “Seinfeld: Season 7” is out on DVD with enough extras to fit into a big salad, including Larry David’s reflections on his final season with the show. This set includes the last wave of great episodes before the series sagged in the post-David era, including “The Wink,” “The Secret Code” and, of course, “The Soup Nazi.” After watching this, I think you’ll agree that Kramer was a lot more fun when he wasn’t hurling racial epithets. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

Source: Can't Miss: This week's entertainment musts - Entertainment - MSNBC.com

Technorati tags: Micheal Richards, racism, news

War on Iraq: The Perils of Escalation in Iraq: A Grim History Lesson

Arlington West: A weekly memorial constructed byVeterans for Peace Los Angeles in San Monica, CA. Each cross represents a US soldier killed in Iraq, with new crosses added each week.

The gruesome lesson from the Korean War and Vietnam show that nothing will be accomplished by sending more troops to Iraq, other than adding to the 2,876 soldiers killed and leaving more dead civilians.

Editor's Note: Despite the clear reality that the American public is completely fed up with the occupation of Iraq demonstrated in the November 7 election, we are witnessing the shocking reality that increasing our troops and commitment, not setting the stage for withdrawal, is receiving much attention in policy discussions and media coverage post election.

While there were other factors which influenced election results like Republican corruption and economic fears brought on by neo-liberal trade policies, exit polls showed little doubt that large majorities of voters want out of Iraq... and soon, and surely not an escalation of the war, as John McCain is calling for.

This anti-Iraq occupation sentiment comes amid rising US military casualties and extraordinarily violent daily events. Public disgust with US Iraq policy comes against the backdrop of 2,876 American soldiers killed, as well as the highly professional study of Iraq civilian deaths published in the journal Lancet -- a study praised by leading epidemiologists -- which shockingly concluded that between 400,000 and 700,000 Iraqis have died in the conflict.

What will escalation do to our troops and to the people of Iraq?

The answer seems pretty clear. Escalation, as Greg Zachary points out in the following article, is often a step of military and political desperation. And as Zachary writes, when more troops get sent in they invariably get worse.

-- Don Hazen, AlterNet Executive Editor

Source: AlterNet: War on Iraq: The Perils of Escalation in Iraq: A Grim History Lesson

Technorati tags: Iraq, war on terror, politics, History, War on Iraq

Democrat pledges array of investigations

WASHINGTON - The incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is promising an array of oversight investigations that could provoke sharp disagreement with Republicans and the White House.

Rep. John Dingell (news, bio, voting record), D-Mich., pledged that Democrats, swept to power in the Nov. 7 elections, would govern "in the middle" next year. But the veteran lawmaker has a reputation as one who has never avoided a fight and he did not back away from that reputation on Sunday.

Among the investigations he said he wants the committee to undertake:

_The new Medicare drug benefit. "There are lots and lots and lots of scandals," he said, without citing specifics.

_Spending on government contractors in Iraq, including Halliburton Co., the Texas-based oil services conglomerate once led by Vice President Dick Cheney.

_An energy task force overseen by Cheney. It "was carefully cooked to provide only participation by oil companies and energy companies," Dingell said.

_A review of food and drug safety, particularly in the area of nutritional supplements.

Meanwhile, the incoming chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee said his committee would not take on contentious issues, such as extending expiring tax cuts or overhauling Social Security, at the beginning of the year. Rep. Charles Rangel (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., said Democrats do not want a fight with President Bush and want to prove they can govern.

"The first thing we're going to do is try to work together on things we know we can accomplish," Rangel said. "Rather than have the committee against the president, it's not going to happen," Rangel said.

Rep. Barney Frank (news, bio, voting record), set to lead the House Financial Services Committee, said issues such as raising the minimum wage will be popular, even thought the idea has been identified with liberals.

"In my own committee, the biggest difference you're going to see is we're going to return to try to help deal with the housing crisis that blights so many parts of our country socially and economically," said Frank, D-Mass.

Frank, who in 1987 became the first member of Congress to voluntarily make his homosexuality public, also said he wants to modify the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The current policy prohibits officials from inquiring about the sex lives of service members and requires discharges of those who openly acknowledge being gay.

"One of things I do want to address, yes, is discrimination based on sexual orientation," Frank said.

"In fact, what we have is a shortfall in the military. I think when you have people being fired who can read Arabic and understand Arabic, because of what they do when they're off duty, that that's a grave error. But that's not what we're going to begin with."

A report in 2005 by the investigative arm of Congress estimated it cost the Pentagon nearly $200 million to recruit and train replacements for the nearly 9,500 troops that had to leave the military because of the policy. The losses included hundreds of highly skilled troops, including translators, between 1994 through 2003.

Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record), who will become the Senate's second-ranking GOP leader, said Republicans still have enough clout to block legislation "if it's really bad, not in the country's best interest." But he also said he wanted to find areas where the two sides can compromise.

"The people, I think, sent us a message. I think we've got it," Lott said. "We're going to be working hard together."

Continued...

Source: Democrat pledges array of investigations - Yahoo! News

Technorati tags: politics, government, news, opinion, democrats

"Only politicians can end nation's bloodbath"

I agree. Afterall, it's politicians that started it all.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Sunday characterized the situation in Iraq as a "political crisis" and said politicians are the only ones who can stop the further security deterioration and bloodshed of innocent people.

There is no hope to save Iraq and stop the bloodbath unless politicians "realize there are no winners or losers in this battle," he said, speaking to reporters at the Political Council for the National Security.

He said acts of terrorism are a reflection of political disagreements and Iraq's government is about to "tackle" those people who are against the will of Iraq, the Iraqi people and the national reconciliation among the people.

Iraq's leaders promised Sunday to track down those responsible for the war's deadliest attack by insurgents, the string of bombings that killed at least 200 people in Baghdad's mainly Shiite Sadr City on Thursday, according to The Associated Press.

The leaders urged the country's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish politicians to stop fanning sectarian violence by arguing with one another, the AP reported.

A government spokesman read the statement on national television, surrounded by al-Maliki, a Shiite; Parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni; and President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, the AP said.

Source: Iraqi leader: Only politicians can end nation's bloodbath - CNN.com

Technorati tags: politics, Iraq, news, opinion, war

Mother Teresa Quotes

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
Mother Teresa

Source: Mother Teresa Quotes

Technorati tags: peace, quotes, quotations, Mother Teresa

Photo: Ex-spy accuses Putin after radiation death

Photo: Ex-spy accuses Putin after radiation death

Saturday November 25, 02:50 AM

Alexander Litvinenko, an ex-KGB spy, is seen lying in his hospital bed in this photograph taken November 20, 2006. Litvinenko accused Vladimir Putin of his murder on Friday in a statement read out after his slow death from radiation poisoning, but the Russian president brushed off the accusations as "political provocation". REUTERS/Handout

Source: Photo: Ex-spy accuses Putin after radiation death

Technorati tags: politics, news, Putin, Russia

Poisoned ex-spy blames Putin before death - Europe - MSNBC.com

“You may succeed in silencing me but that silence comes at a price. You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics have claimed,” Litvinenko said in the statement read by his friend and spokesman Alex Goldfarb. The former spy said “the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr. Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life.”

Goldfarb said Litvinenko had dictated the statement before he lost consciousness on Tuesday, and signed it in the presence of his wife, Marina.

Litvinenko’s father, Walter, said his son “fought this regime and this regime got him.”

“It was an excruciating death and he was taking it as a real man,” Walter Litvinenko said.

Source: Poisoned ex-spy blames Putin before death - Europe - MSNBC.com

Technorati tags: politics, news, Russia, ex-spy, Putin

Daily Kos: Massachusetts

I think you're right! They hate us for our freedom. Pretty scary thought, huh?

Massachusetts

by wwwdeadissuecom

Wed Nov 22, 2006 at 11:14:56 AM PST

Someone on the Control Congress board hit a nerve in me today, talking trash about my state. The population numbers from 2000 and 2005 show almost a 1% rise, but according to him people are leaving because of the STD infected, homosexual agenda being pushed on kids in schools. So many people in this country hope for my state to crumble, yet when it doesn't, the tactics of deception and bunk spiritless voodoo take over. You know what I think? I think they hate us for our freedom!

Source: Daily Kos: Massachusetts

Technorati tags: Massachusetts, Daily Kos, blogs, opinion, politics, news

"Thanksgiving Symbols and Traditions"

The biggest Thanksgiving symbol is the turkey, of course. Most likely, this connection goes back to Thanksgiving's very beginning. At the time of the first Thanksgiving, Governor William Bradford commented on "the great store of wild turkeys." Turkey is such a major part of the Thanksgiving holiday that more than 90 percent of Americans eat it on that day (Scripps Howard News Service).

Every year the President of the United States pardons a turkey on the night before Thanksgiving. This tradition began more than 50 years ago with Harry Truman and has continued ever since. The pardoned turkey lives its remaining days at the Kidwell Farm, a petting zoo in Virginia.

After turkey, the most significant dish on the table is corn. Most likely, the Pilgrims wouldn't have survived if the Native Americans hadn't taught them about this native crop, so corn is a symbol of the survival of the colonies, as well as the harvest and the fall season.

Cranberries were probably on the first Thanksgiving table. The American Indians taught the Pilgrims to make a cranberry sauce called "ibimi," meaning bitter berry. When the colonists saw the berry, they re-named it "crane-berry," because its flowers resembled the long-necked bird called the crane. Cranberries are still grown in New England.

Thanksgiving Stats

• Americans consume about 18.5 pounds (8.4 kg) of turkey each year.
• There are three U.S. cities named after the turkey: Turkey, TX, Turkey Creek, LA, and Turkey, NC.
• There are eight cities in the U.S. named after the cranberry.
• There are 20 U.S. cities named Plymouth.

*Source: United States Census Bureau

Apart from food, the biggest Thanksgiving traditions are football and parades. In ancient harvest festivals, people usually celebrated with games and sports, so you could argue the football tradition has very deep roots. The traditional American Thanksgiving football game was usually between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, but as football has become more popular, there are now more games on Thanksgiving day. The tradition of Thanksgiving parades goes back to the early 20th century, when urbanites started to see Thanksgiving as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. In order to attract customers, stores like Macy's sponsored elaborate parades.

Finally, because Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November and thus falls on a different date each year, the President of the United States issues a yearly proclamation to establish the date of the celebration. In 1863, President Lincoln began the tradition, and every president since has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation.

For more information on Thanksgiving and other holidays, check out the links on the next page.

Turkey Facts

• At one time, both the turkey and the bald eagle were national symbols of America.
• According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one-sixth of the 300 million turkeys sold each year are sold for Thanksgiving.
• A turkey under 16 weeks old is called a fryer; a roaster is usually five to seven months old.
• Turkeys have great hearing, but no external ears.
• Age is the most important factor in the taste of a turkey. Old males are preferable to young ones. The opposite is true for female birds.
• Turkeys are the only breed of poultry native to the western hemisphere.

*Sources: Scripps Howard News Service and FactMonster

Source: Howstuffworks "Thanksgiving Symbols and Traditions"

Technorati tags: Thanksgiving

MassResistance Watch: Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have lots of things to be thankful (and hopeful) for:

• That no one was seriously hurt in that blast in Danvers
• That Deval Patrick will be the next Governor of Massachusetts
• That Governor Mitt Romney will only be governor for about 42 days (and probably only in the state for 5 of those days)
• For those 109 Legislators who voted to recess until January 2nd and raised the ire of the absentee governor.
• That our troops in Iraq will be coming home sooner rather than later
• Massresistance: The Radio Show because next to American Idol it's one of the finest forms of entertainment today.
• That we live in the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Feel free to add your own!

posted by Boston Bud @ 5:30 AM

Source: MassResistance Watch: Happy Thanksgiving!

Technorati tags: Thanksgiving

Lebanon Mourns Slain Politician

Lebanon Mourns Slain Politician

Lebanon began three days of mourning on Wednesday for an anti-Syrian cabinet minister who was gunned down on Tuesday. Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, a Christian, was the sixth anti-Syrian politician to be killed in nearly two years. The killing will heighten tensions between the anti-Syrian government and the pro-Damascus opposition led by Hezbollah, the powerful Shi'ite Muslim guerrilla group.More on the subject...

Source: Refdesk.com ... Reference, Facts, News ... Free and Family-friendly Resources

Technorati tags: Lebanon, Syria, Hezbollah, news, politics

Still Decidin'! 11/22/06 by Mark Fiore

Link to Still Decidin'! 11/22/06

Technorati tags: political humor, political satire, political cartoon, cartoons, Mark Fiore

more Bushit...

San Francisco-area couple calls for global orgasm for peace

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two peace activists have planned a massive anti-war demonstration for the first day of winter.

But they don't want you marching in the streets. They'd much rather you just stay home.

The Global Orgasm for Peace was conceived by Donna Sheehan, 76, and Paul Reffell, 55, whose immodest goal is for everyone in the world to have an orgasm Dec. 22 while focusing on world peace.

"The orgasm gives out an incredible feeling of peace during it and after it," Reffell said Sunday. "Your mind is like a blank. It's like a meditative state. And mass meditations have been shown to make a change."

The couple are no strangers to sex and social activism. Sheehan, no relation to anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, brought together nearly 50 women in 2002 who stripped naked and spelled out the word "Peace."

The stunt spawned a mini-movement called Baring Witness that led to similar unclothed demonstrations worldwide.

The couple have studied evolutionary psychology and believe that war is mainly an outgrowth of men trying to impress potential mates, a case of "my missile is bigger than your missile," as Reffell put it.

By promoting what they hope to be a synchronized global orgasm, they hope to get people to channel their sexual energy into something more positive.

The couple said interest appears strong, with 26,000 hits a day to their website, www.globalorgasm.org.

"The dream is to have everyone in the world (take part)," Reffell said. "And if that means laying down your gun for a few minutes, then hey, all the better."

Source: San Francisco-area couple calls for global orgasm for peace - USATODAY.com

Technorati tags: Global Orgasm Day, Global orgasm, peace, event, love, unity

Global Orgasm Day - December 22nd, 2006 - Peace through Global Ecstasy

GlobalOrgasm.org Mission Statement

The mission of the Global Orgasm is to effect change in the energy field of the Earth through input of the largest possible surge of human energy. Now that there are two more US fleets heading for the Persian Gulf with anti- submarine equipment that can only be for use against Iran, the time to change Earth’s energy is NOW! Read more about the fleet buildup here.
The intent is that the participants concentrate any thoughts during and after orgasm on peace. The combination of high- energy orgasmic energy combined with mindful intention may have a much greater effect than previous mass meditations and prayers.
The goal is to add so much concentrated and high-energy positive input into the energy field of the Earth that it will reduce the current dangerous levels of aggression and violence throughout the world.
Global Orgasm is an experiment open to everyone in the world.
We hope the results will register on the worldwide monitor system of the Global Consciousness Project.
This is the First Annual Solstice Synchronized Global Orgasm for Peace, leading up to the December Solstice of 2012, when the Mayan Calendar ends with a new beginning.
More! Science-backed Dating and Sex! Women have permission to seduce men.Redefining FeminismInfo/workshops/book www.RedefiningSeduction.com

Link to Global Orgasm - December 22nd, 2006 - Peace through Global Ecstasy

Technorati tags: Global Orgasm, Global Orgasm Day, peace, love, unity

Teacher loses job for saying peace

National School Board Association (NSBA) silences all teachers

by Deb Mayer

Global Research, October 19, 2006

Global Research Editor's note
We bring to the attention of our readers the case of a community school teacher who has being fired for raising the issue of the war in Iraq in her classroom. The National School Board Association is arguing that First Amendment rights do not hold in the classroom:
1.A public school teacher’s curricular speech is per se not speech on a matter of public concern and therefore is not protected by the First Amendment
2. A teacher’s classroom speech is part of his or her official job duties and therefore is not protected by the First Amendment.
The conclusion of the amicus brief filed by the National School Board Association with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of the school district in Indiana is as follows:
"Permitting K-12 teachers to express personal opinions in class under the guise of academic freedom is less justifiable, because elementary and secondary students are more likely to be a captive audience with significantly less individual choice and control over the instruction to which they are exposed than college students. Stated more concretely, college students are better able to avoid through course selection and class attendance a professor who exercises his or her academic freedom rights in a manner the student finds offensive. In the public K-12 school district context, school boards consider parental input in setting curriculum and may allow parents to opt their children out of certain classes, such as sex education. But in general, parents and students who choose to attend public schools have more limited flexibility in selecting teachers and courses than college students. School boards and administrators assign teachers to teach specific subjects to specific grades at specific schools. In many instances, school administrators assign students to particular schools—and often particular classes and teachers. And, as the facts of this case illustrate, schools are not always able to grant parents’ requests to transfer their children from a particular teacher’s class, regardless of the parents’ reasons. It would be both impractical and impolitic for school districts to accommodate parental requests that their children only be taught by teachers who share the parents’ ideology. Not only would school districts have to spend countless hours rearranging students’ schedules, they might also be reduced to hiring teachers based on ideological viewpoint rather than professional competence. In short, a K-12 teacher deviating from the curriculum and injecting classroom discussion with personal opinions disregards parents’ expectations and robs school boards of their authority to implement a uniform curriculum of their choosing.
To date, this court has not recognized any academic freedom rights for elementary and secondary school teachers. Palmer, 603 F.2d 1271 (holding a teacher had no First Amendment right to refuse to participate in various patriotic activities); Webster, 917 F.2d 1004 (holding a teacher had no First Amendment right to teach non-evolutionary theories of creation). Even in the higher education context, this court has stated that deviating from the curriculum is not protected by academic freedom rights. Clark v. Holmes, 474 F.2d 928, 931 (7th Cir. 1972) (denying college professor’s claim that academic freedom allows him "to override the wishes and judgment of his superiors and fellow faculty members as to the proper content of the required health course"). This court should similarly decline to give constitutional significance to speech in the K-12 context where no academic freedom rights are established.

CONCLUSION

For the reasons explained above, Amici urge this court to affirm the district court decision and to preserve the authority and discretion of school boards to determine and implement curricula and ensure that teacher expression advances the adopted program of studies."

For the complete transcript click: http://www.nsba.org/site/pdf.asp?TP=/site/docs/39200/39151.pdf
The implications of this case are farreaching and we call upon people across the US to take a stand to protect freedom of speech in America's classrooms.

For details on how you can support Deb Mayer, click here

Source: No First Amendment Rights in America's Classrooms: Teacher loses job for saying peace

Technorati tags: freedom of speech, education, first amendment rights, peace race, peace

May I Quote You, Mr. President?

•A man lost in his geography:

1-"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe."

George W. Bush

2-"It's time for the human race to enter the solar system."

George W. Bush

3-"The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country."

George W. Bush

•A man lost in his logic:

4-" It isn't pollution that's harming the environment.

It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it. "

George W. Bush

5-"Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."

George W. Bush

6-"These people are trying to shake the will of the Iraqi citizens, and they want us to leave...I think the world would be better off if we did leave..."

George W. Bush

7-"I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."

George W. Bush

8-"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."

George W. Bush

9-"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

George W. Bush

10-Well, I think if you say you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness.

George W. Bush

•A man lost in space:

11-"For NASA, space is still a high priority."

George W. Bush

•A MAN WITH HEAVEN ON HIS SIDE:

12-"I believe God wants me to be president."

George W. Bush

13- [I was] "chosen by the grace of God to lead at that moment."

George W. Bush

14-"God told me to strike at al-Qaeda and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East."

George W. Bush

15-"I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn't do my job."

George W. Bush

•The man lost in his vocabulary:

16-" Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children."

George W. Bush

17-"The problem with the French is that they don't have a word for 'entrepreneur'."

George W. Bush

18-"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is, 'to be prepared'."

George W. Bush

19-'There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.'

George W. Bush

• Thoughts coming straight from George Orwell's '1984':

20-"Iraq and Afghanistan ...are now democracies and they are allies in the cause of freedom and peace."

George W. Bush

21-"Ariel Sharon ... is a man of courage and a man of peace."

George W. Bush

22-"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."

George W. Bush

•THE DECEIVING PACIFIST:

23-"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace."

George W. Bush

24-"This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the table."

George W. Bush

25-"Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction."

George W. Bush

26- “Governments accountable to the voters focus on building roads and schools—not weapons of mass destruction.” (N.B.: The U.S. has 10,000 nuclear weapons)

George W. Bush

•The Theologian:

27-"Islam, as practiced by the vast majority of people, is a peaceful religion."

George W. Bush

28-"The Islam that we know is a faith devoted to the worship of one God, as revealed through The Holy Qur'an. It teaches the value and the importance of charity, mercy, and peace."

George W. Bush

•THE Flip-Flopper:

29-"I favor leaving up to a woman and her doctor the abortion question."

George W. Bush

30-"I am pro-life."

George W. Bush

31- "The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."

George W. Bush

32- "I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."

George W. Bush

33-"We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories...for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them."

George W. Bush

•The forecaster of things to come:

34-"Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties [in Iraq]."

George W. Bush

35-"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur. "

George W. Bush

36-"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future."

George W. Bush

37-"Many Iraqis can hear me tonight in a translated radio broadcast, and I have a message for them: If we must begin a military campaign, it will be directed against the lawless men who rule your country and not against you."

George W. Bush, (speech of March 17, 2003)

38-"To the C students, I say you too can be president of the United States."

George W. Bush

•The astute observer:

39-"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls."

George W. Bush

40-"Brownie (Michael Brown of FEMA), you're doing a heck of a job."

George W. Bush

•A man and his environment:

41-"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."

George W. Bush

•The double-talker:

42-"There's a lot of suffering in the Palestinian territory, because militant Hamas is trying to stop the advance of democracy." (N.B.: The Hamas government was elected)

George W. Bush

43-"We look forward to analyzing and working with legislation that will make—it would hope—put a free press's mind at ease that you're not being denied information you shouldn't see."

George W. Bush

•THE WOULD-BE DICTATOR:

44-"In a time of war, the president must have the power he needs to make the tough decisions, including, if need be, the decision to grant himself even more power."

George W. Bush

45-"I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things."

George W. Bush

46-"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."

George W. Bush

47-"I'm the commander — see, I don't need to explain — I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being president."

George W. Bush

48- "I will not withdraw [from Iraq], even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me."

George W. Bush

49- "I'm the decider, and I decide what's best."

George W. Bush

•And, last but not least, CONSIDERING THE MESS IN IRAQ:

50-“I don’t have the foggiest idea about what I think about international, foreign policy.”

George W. Bush
Rodrigue Tremblay is professor emeritus of economics at the University of Montreal and a frequent contributor to Global Research. He is the author of 'The New American Empire'.
The above article was first published on Professor Tremblay's blog site at: www.thenewamericanempire.com/blog

Source: May I Quote You, Mr. President?

Technorati tags: quotes, quotations, funny, humor, political humor, political satire, Bush

Impeach Bush

High Crimes and Misdemeanors

The case for impeaching Bush

Press the play button to start the video

"The Misconduct of Public Men"

The Founding Fathers were crystal clear on the subject of presidential wrong doing:

The president is not above the law. Not only can a president be removed from office, he must be removed from office if he is found guilt of crimes like treason and other high crimes and misdemeanors.

Has George Bush committed impeachable offenses?

John Bonifaz, co-founder of the group "After Downing Street," asks these questions at a recent Congressional hearing on the Iraq War:

1. "Is it a high crime to engage in a conpiracy to deceive and mislead the United States Congress and the American people about the basis for taking the nation into war?

2. Is it a high crime to manipulate intelligence so as to allege falsely a national security threat posed to the United States as a means to try to justify a war against another nation?

3. Is it a high crime to commit a felony via the submission of a report to the United States Congress falsifying the reasons for launcing military action?"

To learn more, visit this site: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/.

Source: Impeach Bush

Technorati tags: Impeachment, video, Bush

Stop Unlawful Government Spying on U.S. Citizens Petition

Urgent update: President Bush just announced his plans to use the "lame duck" session of Congress to push through legislation authorizing the U.S. government to spy on unknowing citizens without a warrant.
In two months, we may be losing our right to privacy every time we write an email or call a friend. But we still have time to prevent this nightmare "Big Brother" bill from passing.
The legislation, crafted under Dick Cheney's supervision, would authorize the U.S. government to spy on unknowing citizens, even if they have not committed a crime. A federal judge already ruled that the President's surveillance program violates the Constitution, yet President Bush continues to advocate for the right to spy on unknowing Americans.
The character of our nation will be redefined if this measure passes. We must raise our voices to protect our privacy and the rule of law.

TELL CONGRESS NOT TO CONSIDER THE "BIG BROTHER" BILL ON ILLEGAL DOMESTIC SPYING!

Source: Stop Unlawful Government Spying on U.S. Citizens Petition

Technorati tags: petitions, government spying, law, privacy, unlawful government spying

Increase Resources to Combat Child Sex Tourism Petition

For many children around the world, their early years are far from the safe, supportive environment they require to give them the best possible start in life. As well as the threats from poverty, disease, violence and war, children face commercial exploitation by adults.

More than two million children are enslaved in the global commercial sex trade, and alarmingly US tourists account for quarter of child sex tourists worldwide.
Sexual exploitation is a terrible thing. These children are severely wounded physically and emotionally. Many acquire diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and almost all experience rejection by their families and communities in addition to fear, shame and despair.
Congress passed The Protect Act of 2003 that made it illegal to sexually exploit children overseas. However, this a global problem that cannot be solved by just making it illegal. Without increased resources to support efforts to identify and prosecute perpetrators sex trafficking of children will continue.
Help give children the best possible start in life - ask Congress to increase resources to combat child sex tourism.

Source: Increase Resources to Combat Child Sex Tourism Petition

Technorati tags: petitions, human rights, children, sexual abuse, child predators

Lebanese Cabinet Minister Shot and Killed

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A Christian Cabinet minister who had stood against Syrian interference in Lebanon was shot to death today, increasing the animosities in a nation already pushed to the brink of violence.

Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, 34, was gunned down as he drove through a crowded intersection in the predominantly Christian outskirts of

read more digg story

Simpson book, TV plan dropped - Los Angeles Times

News Corp. acts after resistance from stations and advertisers. Rupert Murdoch apologizes.

By Martin Miller, Meg James and Gina Piccalo, Times Staff Writers
November 21, 2006

A brewing rebellion by Fox affiliate television stations, coupled with resistance from the advertising world, prompted Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. on Monday to abandon its plan to publish a book and air a two-part TV interview with O.J. Simpson.
The interview and the book, both titled "If I Did It," were announced last Tuesday and were widely viewed as a device to bolster Fox's flagging ratings during the important November sweeps. The project had been promoted as revealing how the former football star would have killed his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman.

Source: Simpson book, TV plan dropped - Los Angeles Times

Technorati tags: OJ Simpson, news, Fox, News Corp

War on terror could last 30 years

THE fight against terrorism could last 30 years or more, according to a report published by a British think tank that specialises in international security.

"There is every prospect of the 'war on terror' extending for 30 years or more," said the report by the Oxford Research Group.

"What is required is a complete re-assessment of current policies but that is highly unlikely, even with the recent political upheavals".

The US Democrats triumphed in legislative elections on November 7 in which they reclaimed the House and the Senate, at the expense of President George W. Bush's Republicans.

"Most people believe that the recent elections mark the beginning of the end of the Bush era but that does not apply to the war on terror," said Professor Paul Rogers, who wrote the report, in a statement.

"In reality there will be little change until the United States faces up to the need for a fundamental re-think of its policies".

The report showed that the United States is now faced with a dilemma: if it withdraws from Iraq, insurgent groups will be able to operate freely in the biggest oil reserve in the world.

"If it stays, though, then US soldiers become an increasing magnet for radical factions, with Iraq becoming a training ground for new generations of paramilitaries, just as Afghanistan was in the 1980s against the Soviet occupying forces," the report said.

It said that the "fundamental mistake" was to remove the regime of president Saddam Hussein by force, which was a "gift" for Al-Qaeda and extremist groups because the deployment of 150,000 US soldiers in the heart of the Arab world is considered by many to be "an occupation force".

Source: War on terror could last 30 years: report The Daily Telegraph

Technorati tags: terrorism, war on terror, war

Police probe Bush suicide bomber reports

Police were probing unconfirmed reports that a suicide bomber was planning an attack during US President George W. Bush's visit to Indonesia, where thousands rallied against American foreign policy in the Middle East and the Iraq war.

Hundreds of anti-Bush students also tried to seal off McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Dunkin' Donut restaurants in two cities in the world's most populous Muslim nation, at times clashing with police.

A massive security cordon was thrown around Bogor, a presidential retreat on the Jakarta's southern outskirts, where Bush is scheduled to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a close ally in Washington's war on terror.

Thousands of police and rifle-toting soldiers patrolled the streets, barbed wire fences were set up along the roads and several trucks were mounted with water cannons for Bush's six-hour state visit.

Demonstrations by Islamic hard-liners, students, housewives and taxi drivers have been staged every day this month and nearly 10,000 turned out in Bogor, some holding banners that said, "Bush is a terrorist."

Source: Police probe Bush suicide bomber reports - World - smh.com.au

Technorati tags: Bush, politics, news

Today's Cartoon

Today's Cartoon: Making a Change in Iraq
© Cartoonist Group, 2006

These cartoons represent the opinions of their authors and not necessarily the official position of the Center for American Progress.

Source: Today's Cartoon

Technorati tags: political cartoons, political humor, satire, politics

I love today's quote...

Quote of the Day (November 19, 2006)
I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.
Charles De Gaulle
Visit The Quotations Page for more quotes.

Clarification for the Uses of Impeachment | Democrats.com

THERE seems to be some misapprehension about the use of impeachment in government. Impeachment is not the absolute last resort. It is not something that is to be used only when a situation has gotten so far out of hand that it’s almost a irretrievable. It is a tool to be used to keep individuals from committing breaches of public trust in the exercise of their various offices.

When our nation was founded, the founding fathers were well acquainted with the use of absolute power by despots and Kings. Europe was full of them. In forming their new government they were giving enormous power to individuals; power which could be misused if not kept in check. One of those checks was impeachment.

To get an idea of how important this was, look at the Constitution of the United States:

Article I Section 2, last paragraph
“The House of Representatives shall chuse [Sic] their Speaker and other officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment.

Article I Section 3, the last two paragraphs,
“The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the members present.
“Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States, but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to law.”

Article II Section 2,
“...and he [the President] shall have the power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” [my emphasis]

Article II Section 4,
“The President, Vice president, and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed form Office on Impeachment for and Conviction of Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

We have seen a great deal of nitpicking as to what constitutes a high crime and misdemeanor, but it is obvious from the context that one of the greatest high crimes and misdemeanors is a breach of public trust. Bribery is mentioned. What can we consider bribery to be? Could it be a lobbyist influencing a government official, say a Senator or a Representative, or even someone in the Executive, to give special consideration to their particular cause, in return for perhaps an all expense paid “fact-finding” trip to Monaco to study the administration of casinos, or perhaps the “gift” of a new home, or property in a beautiful scenic area, or a generous contribution to the person’s campaign fund or the “charity” of their choice?

When this country was founded and the government was instituted, the representatives were to be selected from the common man. At that time it was not expected to be a growth industry for the wealthy and powerful. A man who was qualified or had good ideas was chosen by his peers to represent them in Washington. He went to Washington and he served for a term or two terms or perhaps three terms, then he returned to his home and picked up his life where he left off and continued on as an honored citizen of his community. This person was expected to truly represent his people and to work for their good, not his own, when in office. If he was found violating this trust then impeachment was a way to remove him not only from that office of trust, but from any office of trust in the United States. Impeachment is a serious step but it’s not a step to be held back or shunned until the absolute last-ditch. In recent years we’ve seen impeachment used as a political weapon; for instance with Clinton, who should have been quickly censured by the Senate for embarrassing himself, his family, and the United States, by acting like a damn fool. Then the business of the country should’ve continued on. The whole thing should have occupied no more than a few days at best. Instead it dragged on for years and millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of hours of government time.

A true breach of trust; a violation of the Constitution; bribery; breaking a treaty, starting a war with another country, taking of the federal treasury and passing it on to one’s wealthy friends for instance; there should be no question that these are high crimes and misdemeanors and they should be quickly punished by impeachment.

In cases where impeachment is required there should be no opportunity for resignation to avoid punishment as in Nixon’s case.

If impeachable offenses have been committed, impeachment should be carried out swiftly, followed by the civil trials necessary to punish individuals. This should not be a process taking so long and being so costly that it is easier to let the miscreant finish his term and leave with his ill-gotten gains than it is to correct him.

Impeachment is a major tool to keep our government honest. If impeachment, dismissal and trial loomed in the background for anyone committing a breach of public trust, the lobbying industry would dry up and public projects would be initiated only for the public good.

To make this happen, transparency must be returned to the government. Breaches of public trust are much easier when everything is classified secret and the public cannot find out what is happening to them without great difficulty. The only things classified secret in a Democracy or Republic should be things that are unquestionably of strategic value and that doesn’t mean hiding the location of toxic waste dumps or power plants, or classifying the location of pork barrel “bridges to nowhere.” The operation of the government must be transparent. Any citizen should be able to see where his tax money is going, and if it seems wasteful, he should be able to bring it up to his representative with the expectation that it will be looked into and followed up.

Our representatives in government should be required to read and evaluate what they are voting into law. Part of this evaluation should be if the proposed law lies within the framework of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. If not, it should be rejected. Hearings should be open to the public. Votes on issues should be in front of the entire House or Senate, not the largely empty chambers where votes are done late on Friday nights, so no one will notice what has been done to them until it is too late.

Congress should not be reluctant to reverse bad legislation, nor to override Presidential vetoes of good legislation. If that is done regularly, soon there will be no bad legislation. It won’t be worth the time.

“I’ll vote for your pork if you’ll vote for mine,” should be censurable the first time and impeachable the second. Then we can get down to the question of, “Is this legislation beneficial to the people, or is it detrimental?” Then, once again, we may have “government of the people, by the people and for the people,” guided by our wisely and carefully written Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Source: Clarification for the Uses of Impeachment Democrats.com

Technorati tags: Bush, Impeachment, politics, news, opinion

Polls: 7 in 10 Americans Oppose Reinstatement of the Draft

Polls: 7 in 10 Americans opposed
Repeated polls have shown that about seven in 10 Americans oppose reinstatement of the draft and officials say they do not expect to restart conscription.

Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told Congress in June 2005 that “there isn’t a chance in the world that the draft will be brought back.”

Yet the prospect of the long global fight against terrorism and the continuing U.S. commitment to stabilizing Iraq have kept the idea in the public’s mind.

The military drafted conscripts during the Civil War, both world wars and between 1948 and 1973. An agency independent of the Defense Department, the Selective Service System, keeps an updated registry of men age 18-25 — now about 16 million — from which to supply untrained draftees that would supplement the professional all-volunteer armed forces.

Rangel and Graham appeared on “Face the Nation” on CBS.

Source: Rangel seeks to revive draft - Military Affairs - MSNBC.com

Technorati tags: politics, war, news, opinion

Time for Another Body Count in Iraq

Last month there was very little discussion of the study published in the Lancet, a highly respected British medical journal, which estimated that 650,000 Iraqis have died since 2003 as a result of the war. The Lancet study too was dismissed as an "October surprise," and it disappeared from the news within days of its publication. But now that the election is over, can we finally discuss it?

I was shocked myself when I saw the figure of 650,000. It seemed huge, much larger than I had imagined possible. It is approximately four times the Iraqi Health Ministry's recent estimate, and twice the figure of 300,000 that is often given as an estimate of the number of people killed by Saddam Hussein during his 23 years of brutal rule.

The Lancet study, with Gilbert Burnham as its lead author, was conducted by some of the same researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Al Mustansiriya University in Baghdad who conducted a previous study in 2004 which estimated that 98,000 people had died. The earlier study was attacked at the time by supporters of the war and was largely ignored by the mainstream news media in the United States, as John Stauber and I noted in our recent book, The Best War Ever: Lies, Damned Lies and the Mess in Iraq (for an excerpt, see the Third Quarter 2006 issue of PR Watch). The new study suggests that some half a million additional lives have been lost in the subsequent two years.

As the Lancet paper explains, this number is an estimate based on statistical sampling of Iraq's population, and due to limitations in the number of people surveyed, it has a fairly wide margin of error. The researchers followed standard scientific procedure and reported their findings using a "95% confidence interval" — a minimum and maximum value derived from statistical analysis which finds a 95 percent probability that the two limiting values enclose the true number. The minimum value in their confidence interval was 392,979, and their maximum value was 942,636, which means that although 650,000 is their most likely estimate, the true number could be substantially lower or higher. Even so, the low end of this range is nearly 400,000, while the high end is nearly a million.

Are these numbers credible? I looked at reactions to the Lancet study from several groups: American political pundits, scientists with expertise in health and mortality research, and Iraqis (as reflected in the views of Iraqis with English-language weblogs). Many of the political pundits (even those with anti-war views) either rejected the study or questioned its conclusions and methodology. The scientists, however, gave it high marks, and most of the Iraqis thought the number sounded like it was in the right ballpark.

What the Study Says

The full Lancet study is available online. Although it is a scientific paper, I found it easy to read and jargon-free. However, a couple of terms might need explanation.

The study uses a "cluster sampling" methodology that is commonly used in health and mortality research, especially in places hit by war or other humanitarian disasters such as floods or earthquakes. The methodology is somewhat less precise — but more cost-effective and practical — than simple random sampling, in which individual members of the population being studied are selected and interviewed at random. Rather than individuals, researchers interview randomly-selected clusters of individuals and use standard statistical techniques to reach conclusions about the entire population. As Daniel Engber explains in Slate magazine, "It's the same basic method used for political polls in America, which estimate the attitudes of millions of people by surveying 1,000 adults."

A survey of this type, in which researchers go out and methodically sample the population being studied, is called "active surveillance" as opposed to "passive surveillance," which relies on information collected by external sources such as government or news reports. Passive surveillance generally tends to produce unrealistically low estimates, because they miss cases in which someone has died but the death has simply gone reported. Consider, for example, the difference between the results that you would get if you attempted to estimate the health impact of tobacco smoking using passive rather than active surveillance. Epidemiologists have repeatedly and conclusively demonstrated that tobacco smoking causes several hundred thousand deaths per year in the United States, but individual cases of smoking-related death are rarely reported as such in newspapers, so you would get a much lower number if you attempted to compile statistics based on newspaper reports alone.

Currently the most comprehensive attempt to compile statistics on Iraqi death using passive surveillance is being done by the Iraq Body Count website, which as of this writing (November 2, 2006) has tallied 45,061 to 50,022 deaths — less than a tenth of the Lancet result. As the Lancet paper itself notes, "Our estimate of excess deaths is far higher than those reported in Iraq through passive surveillance measures. This discrepancy is not unexpected. Data from passive surveillance are rarely complete, even in stable circumstances, and are even less complete during conflict, when access is restricted and fatal events could be intentionally hidden. Aside from Bosnia, we can find no conflict situation where passive surveillance recorded more than 20% of the deaths measured by population-based methods."

Source: AlterNet: War on Iraq: Time for Another Body Count in Iraq

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