Friday, October 20, 2006

Iraq is FUBAR and They Can't Credit God



Iraq is FUBAR and
They Can't Credit God


At the Nation, Tom Engelhardt's point about Bush and current Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki is short and sweet. The fact that the Bush administration has not been able to set up an Iraqi government that has both legitimacy and that meets America's desires is not lost on those who have paid any amount of attention to the 3 1/2-year long disaster of a war.

The news headlines today might as well have have been written three years ago. President Bush should have adjusted his strategy as soon as he knew that we would not be greeted as liberators.
- Democrats Urge Bush to Change Course on Iraq
- Major Change Expected In Strategy for Iraq War
The fact that he waited so long - so stubbornly - and that he'd insinuated that his critics were just as good as traitors at every turn has been a constant reflection of his poor leadership skills.

Long undecided about which way to turn - only looking dogmatically and blindly ahead - Bush is now faced with a severe deficit of public support and no easy choices. The choices may have been far better ones for America and Iraq had he acted responsibly, quickly, and with accountability three years ago - or had he not rushed and lied us into the war to begin with. Alas, we know we cannot go back in time.

When all else fails, it's easy to blame (or credit) God for the good you claim you've tried to do..and have miserably failed to do.
Top US general Peter Pace defended the leadership of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, saying it is "inspired by God." Violent Islamic jihad is also "God-inspired." It doesn't make those who claim to be God-inspired righteous when innocent people are in the targets - or when they are caught in the crossfire in a war on terror..especially a completely unnecessary war like the war in Iraq.

Robert Scheer writes:
An occupation initially advertised as a “cakewalk” war to disarm a tyrant is now, according to our politically desperate president, a fight for the soul of the world—good versus evil, democracy versus tyranny.

But the carnage we have visited upon Iraq represents nothing of the sort. We are not building democracy, we are creating mayhem.

The evidence arrives daily in the form of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of mutilated bodies. But even the few ghastly images that actually make it onto the television actually underestimate the horror. And it is getting worse, not better: The killing of innocents is now 10 times higher than a year ago.
I am more inclined to look up to the Heavens and cry, "My God, what have they done?" than to believe God was in Rumsfeld's ear telling him what was righteous and moral for our country or for humanity. Moses sent us God's message and His commandment of 'Thou Shalt not Kill' probably meant what it said. When Jesus told us to love our enemies, it was a political statement, and it meant, at best, don't kill them. If I'm not mistaken, there was also a commandment about the sin of lying, and lies were systematically told to the American people by Rumsfeld and others to get them to accept an immoral war of choice with which even the Roman Catholic Pope could not abide. General Pace claims that Rumsfeld "leads in a way that the good Lord tells him is best for our country." I think it's ludicrous, at this stage of the game - simply ludicrous - for the good General to expect that faithful and responsible people of America will swallow this whole and not see it for the bitter pill that it is.

Pat Tillman's Brother Calls for Change



Pat Tillman's Brother Calls for Change





When it came to the war on terror, the Tillman boys signed up for the cause because they trusted the intregity of our American leadership. Pat gave everything he possessed here on this Earth for you and me...for our country. He laid it all down. His brother Kevin is speaking out about all that he has learned since those days of trust. To say that he is bitterly disappointed and disillusioned - even angry - would be an understatement.

I share every one of his concerns as well as his sorrows. He and Pat are my American brothers and I'm proud of Kevin for taking up the mantle and calling for a change before America becomes just another lost ideal in the dustbin of History.

___________


Whoever the sicko is in Washington DC coming to my blog looking for nude photos of Pat Tillman, don't expect to find any here. [Is it you, Mark Foley?]

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Senator Edwards to Speak at UB October 30



Senator Edwards to Speak at UB October 30
Former Senator John Edwards will be at the University of Buffalo on October 30th to deliver the keynote address at the Western New York Poverty Symposium being held in the Center for the Arts on the North Campus. Senator Edwards will speak at 11:05 a.m. after an introduction by President John B. Simpson. A question-and-answer session with members of the audience will follow Edwards' speech. The event is free of charge and open to the public.

The UB campus map is here. Directions can be customized for your convenience here.

I'll also be in Buffalo this weekend and will be looking around the city to see how they are faring in the aftermath of the freak snowstorm a week ago that brought 16 inches of heavy, wet snow to the city, downing tree limbs and power lines and killing several citizens. I have had no luck in finding a hotel room for the night. All hotels within a 30-mile radius of Buffalo are filled with National Grid employees who are working on the restoration of power to thousands of citizens still without electricity in the city.

National Character Counts: Bush Stumps for Philanderer



National Character Counts: Bush Stumps for Philanderer

Pennsylvania Congressman Don Sherwood may have a record of accomplishment in the House of Representatives, but according to the WaPo's Dana Milbank, he also has a police record - a record of wicked infidelity and a penchant for kinky violence against women.
While representing the good people of the 10th District, the married congressman shacked up in Washington with a Peruvian immigrant more than three decades his junior. During one assignation in 2004, the woman, who says Sherwood was striking her and trying to strangle her, locked herself in a bathroom and called 911; Sherwood told police he was giving her a back rub.
During "National Character Counts Week", Bush might have been just as well off stumping for child predator Mark Foley. (Oops- Mark Foley's no longer in the running, is he?)

National character obviously doesn't count to the Republican leadership nearly as much as retaining their naked, raw manly-man power.

NNSA Conversion Would Mean Less Highly Enriched Uranium



NNSA Conversion Would Mean Less Highly Enriched Uranium

I found this interesting news at the Student-Operated Press website. The Bush administration is making efforts to minimize the use of highly enriched uranium in civil applications around the world. Now if they could just find the diplomatic smarts to stop (idiotically) pissing off every kook in the world who has access to the highly-enriched uranium that still has the potential to exist, we might actaully get a feeling of enhanced security. Putting a gag over Bush's impulsive mouth whenever he goes to speak might be a good start.



WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has successfully converted a research reactor at the University of Florida from the use of highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium. This conversion comes on the heels of a reactor conversion at Texas A&M University that was announced last week. By the end of this year, NNSA will have converted six U.S. and international research reactors.

As a part of its nonproliferation mission, NNSA converts research reactors in the U.S. and around the world from operating on highly enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. LEU is not suitable for use in a nuclear weapon and is not sought by terrorists or criminals. The conversion is part of the Bush administration’s efforts to minimize the use of highly enriched uranium in civil applications around the world.

“Decreasing the use of highly enriched uranium in the United States and around the world is a priority for this administration,” said Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman. “Converting this domestic reactor at University of Florida and the one last week at Texas A&M University further demonstrates our commitment to limiting the spread of nuclear material.”


Hot Soup is Ready



Hot Soup is Ready

The heat under Ron Fournier's Hot Soup was switched on yesterday.

The question was asked: "What is the most important issue ignored by mainstream media and our leaders?"

Donna Brazile says it's Poverty, an issue to which Senator John Edwards has placed a public magnifying glass.

I commented about Ms. Brazile's opinion here.

I commented about Ed Gillespie's opinion here. He had the nerve to say that Democrats "would rather have everybody do worse" than to see the rich, under GOP leadership, get exorbitantly richer while the poor get extremely poorer and the middle class shrivels.

McCain Jests About Committing Suicide



McCain Jests About Committing Suicide

There are some things that will just never be funny and you wonder how high-profile leaders can make such thoughtless comments and expect that no one will notice. Suicide is all too real and mental illness is all too prevalent in our society to respect a public figure who would take the subject so lightly. Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death for all U.S. men (Anderson and Smith 2003). I'd like our leaders to take the topic seriously - at best not to be publicly flippant about it.