Thursday, November 13, 2003

Bush: Covering Blair's Sorry Bum

Bush: Covering Blair's Sorry Bum


So Bush will meet with familes of dead British soldiers to help his buddy Tony Blair.

Yet this is what Bush has allegedly said of his predecessor Clinton: Some close to the president say another reason he has not expressed more public sympathy for individual soldiers killed in Iraq is his determination to let families have their privacy. He was offended, his friends say, by what he saw at times as President Bill Clinton's exploitation of private grief for political gain. link
(Bush the bloody hypocrite)

Bush has shown full willingness to meet with victims of Saddam Hussein (from 20 years ago) for access to the political keys to justifying the driving of his war machine. link
(Bush the war whore).

But so far, unless anyone can correct me, I count families of FIVE dead American soldiers with whom Bush has met
(Camp LeJeune in early April 2003..photo-op). Yes, I said FIVE.
(Five out of 400 and thousands more wounded.)

He wouldn't even mention the fifteen who died on that Chinook helicopter in public on the day it happened.

He likes to keep them hidden.

I hope he thinks about that while covering Tony Blair's political back during his UK visit.


Snapshot in Time...
Six months After 9-11 / NYC




photo by iddybud

"My Dad"

I see a face, a face of God
He's smiling down on me and my mom.
My dad is up there smiling too.
When his tower collapsed he was trapped
Inside a fiery inferno with nowhere to go
Except heaven.

Hilary Strauch, at 12 years old




Mom Finds Out About Blog!

The Funnies:
When Moms get wired..
Oh, Nooooooooo!


"....Really, the blog is just a record of what I think about the world and how I spend my free time," Widmar said. "In other words, exactly the sort of information that no 30-year-old wants his mom to have access to..."


Take a peek at Blogger's answer- "What to Do When Your Mom Discovers Your Blog"! :)

Chickenhawk Down by Tom Tomorrow-A must-see! ;)

Army sacks Translators-We're foolish to let them go

Looking back:
What FOOLS we were to let them go...
"One year ago: "US army sacks gay Arabic experts""


We are approaching the one-year anniversary of the sacking of two Arabic translators from the U.S. Army.

This, to me, is a very sad and disturbing story. As stated in the BBC article, 'the decision comes when American military and intelligence services are suffering from an acute lack of translators and interpreters needed for their war on terror'
and 'the US Government has been frantically trying to recruit more Arabic speakers.'

I wish Mr. Gamble and Mr. Hicks great success in their personal and professional civilian lives.

Their removal is a shame and a loss for this nation, especially in light of all that has occurred this past year.
The services of these men would have been very valuable at such a dangerous time for our troops.
Ask yourselves:
Why do we place a higher value on the focus of what people
do in their bedroom vs. what they could have done to avert terror and save lives?

GOP Wishes to Sacrifice Balance of Power in Order to Win

Changing the rules When the Games Don't Go Your Way-
The Mark of People Who Lack Character;
the Mark of UnAmerican Political Leaders
Who Will Allow the Balance of Power to Suffer In Order to Win



The Republicans are on the floor of the Senate as we speak... attempting to change long-standing traditions that will make it certain that the Dems (at this time) will not be able to filibuster to keep a judge from getting an easy up/down vote in a majority Senate.

It shouldn't be that easy.
Face it.

The balance of power between all branches should always be the primary concern, and when you take away the power from the Judiciary committee, you offset the balance of power between the Executive and the Judiciary.

The current make-up of the Senate (regardless of majority) will prove there is no clear mandate for such a drastic change in the delicate balance of power.

I mean, it's a complete "NO-DUH" that the majority Republicans will
allow these ideolgues to sail in on the partisan breeze if they succeed in changing a rule (since they couldn't win any other way...the awful babies).

*This is Mitch McConnell:*


It will work to the GOP's complete detriment should the Senate balance be shifted to Dems and a bunch of left-wing extremists are given an easy ticket to the higher-court benches. They would not want this to happen, I'm sure. They'd best be careful what they wish for.





photo by Iddybud

My son with President Clinton




photo by Iddybud

My son..six months after 9-11 in New York

Get your Iraq news straight from a U.S. citizen

Here's some real news from Iraq.
You may bypass the media filter altogether by going here.



Ed Kinane is a mamber of the Syracuse Peace Council who works with Voices in the Wilderness in Iraq. He returned there in August to experience the US “liberation” firsthand. 'Voices' is a grassroots network based in Chicago that relays the voices of the Iraqi people back to the U.S.
Ed returned home to Syracuse in November and was one of many political activists who spoke to a large group of citizens at a townhall meeting in Syracuse last night.
I was there.

Not one Federal representative chose to attend or send a representative to listen to what Syracuse had to say.
I found that very, very disappointing.

Besides the SPC, others represented at last night's meeting of concerned Syracuse citizens:
AFSC (American Friends Service Committee)...NYCLU ..NOW..CCA..Syracuse United Neighbors..Planned Parenthood..CAN (Citizens Awareness Network)..SEIU 1199..Pax Christi..Sierra Club..ASLF(Atlantic States Legal Foundation)..the Muslim Community (supporters of Dr. Rafil Dhafir, a local pediatrician who has been wrongly imprisoned for 10 months-a story I plan to tell very soon)... our good (outgoing) city auditor Minch Lewis..and many more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some excerpts from Ed Kinane's website writings:

"....Very few soldiers I've met truly want to kill. It's not a question
of bravery. They're some of the bravest people I've ever seen. But few want
to be here. Most are reservists who signed up for the job and tuition benefits,
hoping not to have to go to war."

Joel Preston Smith, photojournalist


"..there are things that come out in interviews with Iraqis that I don't write
about. This is out of consideration for them and sometimes out of a
concern for their security. If it weren't so cumbersome, I'd be
tempted to keep a separate set of books."

Ed Kinane, Syracuse Peace Council



"...What happened to you – the supporters and the followers of the Christ (peace be upon him).
What happened to you – the followers who love peace, what happened to you? …”

From “Call of Peace
Sayed Muktade Al-Sadur, spiritual/political leader in Iraq





Syracuse Peace Council Newsletter available here