I Love My Country

I grew up in a minuscule town in New England and my mother’s family was a military family who had settled in Boston. As such, I grew up acutely aware of the legacy of the American Revolution. Yankee children are taught from childhood that the ground they walk has been made sacred by the blood spilled by our forefathers for not only freedom from a British yoke, but by the ideals for which they lived, died and created this country to be the embodiment of.

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness..."

~

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America...

...Article I, Section 9:

The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census of Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear or pay Duties in another.

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State...

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people..."

What I was taught was that the way to uphold those American ideals was not to sell out to fear but to have true faith in our way of life. That it was just and enobling and right. No force of arms could take away our identity as Americans so long as we believed in what our forefathers gave us.

What happened today in the United States Senate (and Wednesday in the House of Representatives) is an obscenity. A dark blot on American governance that belongs in the same catagory as the the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The people who supported and who voted for this bill should hang their heads in shame for betraying the letter of the law and the very spirit with which this nation was founded. The citizens who support his bill have given up the very notions which make them Americans, as well as their humanity just as the terrorists have. This act was unworthy of the United States, as are those that support it.

If the Surveillance Bill passes it will be yet another and it just passed the House today.

The fact that the President has retroactively excused any of his actions from being prosecuted as War Crimes to September 11th, 2001 shows the true intent of this bill not to be protecting Americans, but to be protecting the President’s ass. If he truly believed what he was doing was right, he wouldn’t feel the need to try and hide behind legal boilerplate. He has proved himself not merely a bully, but a coward of the worst kind.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

Shame on you all.

The Last of the Tempest in a Teapot

The Clinton thing makes great copy, but the truth is it is yet another distraction from what really matters: Where do we go from here?

What do we do about Iraq? When is the “Mission Accomplished”? Can we sustain a very long drawn out conflict while coping with Iran and North Korea? How do we stop the Taliban from regaining power in the region? How do we really protect people from terrorists?

And there are our domestic problems: In the middle of this war, how do we fund the VA that has come up 3 billion dollars short? How do we reduce the growth of this 8.5 trillion dollar deficit? Who is going to pay for it and how? How do we reduce and eliminate our dependence on Middle East oil? How do we rebuild the Gulf Coast and protect Americans from natural disasters? How do we assure affordable healthcare and prescription drugs in this country? How do we ensure our children are well educated? How do we provide living wages for them after they are educated? How do we ensure Americans are cared for in their senior years? How do we make immigration work? How do we unlock our government from the sweaty, sticky stranglehold Corporate America has on it? How do we maintain our rights and freedoms in the Bush administration’s “War on T’rrur”?

And how are we to balance the needs of mankind and living in a sustainable relationship with the environment?

Actually, I would really like the Bush administration to go away so I can go back to worrying about this last one.

And that’s sitting here for five minutes and listing stuff off the top of my head. I’m sure there are a lot more problems that are not so readily apparent to me.

From the reactions I’ve read on the internet, the Clinton interview hasn’t changed anyone’s mind. Neo-con Bush supporters insist he lied (despite all evidence to the contrary) and are having fun mocking the spliced up interview presented on Fox and the Democrats and people who have actually read the 9-11 Commission Report think that he finally got in Faux New’s grill.

It has however created an opportunity for Condi Rice to reveal what a boneheaded liar she is.

She’s not the only one.

Does these belligerent idiots really think that no one has read the 9-11 Commission Report? Maybe they should stop screening their audiences so much and really look at what the American people are thinking rather than just their rabid supporters.

In the meantime, what do we do from here?

And why can’t someone come up with a plan for what to do from here other than the Bush administration’s “Stay the Course”?

I have checked the elections for my district, and unfortunately, neither Senator is up this November. My Congressman is, but he has not responded to any of my letters. So it maybe time to track down where he is speaking and ask some tough questions. I suggest people around the nation do the same to their officials on the campaign trial.

My thoughts and prayers are with my Brother-in-law and his fmaily.

It’s Surprising He Didn’t Snap Long Ago

For 5 years, the quickest fall back position of the far right/neo-conservative has been “B-b-but Clinton!” All this time he has kept his mouth shut and taken the high road by not acknowledging the partisan fingerpointing. He’s also kept from criticizing the current administration.

The problem is the far-right does not learn by example. They do not know what it means to conduct mature debate and when someone doesn’t say anything to check them, they just keep going. And going. And going. It’s not surprising that on the heels of “The Path to 9-11”, Clinton would be completely enraged by the neo-conservatives constant attempt to blame the failures of the this administration on him.

What is amusing is the complete lie Chris Wallace told in his own defense when he found himself at the other end of the gun. (The transcript of the interview and what Wallace actually asked, rather than what he claimed he asked later, is also here.)

Here is a list of senior Bush administration officials interviewed on Fox News Sunday since September 11, 2001. (White House press secretary Tony Snow previously hosted the program. Wallace succeeded him in December 2003.):
• Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; 9/10/06
• National Security adviser Stephen Hadley; 8/6/06
• Rice; 7/16/06
• Rice; 6/4/06
• Rice; 5/21/06
• Rice; 3/26/06
• Rice; 12/18/05
• Hadley; 12/4/05
• Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld; 11/20/05
• Rice; 10/16/05
• Rumsfeld; 6/26/05
• Rice; 6/19/05
• Hadley; 5/15/05
• Then-White House chief of staff Andrew Card; 5/1/05
• Rumsfeld; 3/20/05
• Hadley; 3/13/05
• Vice President Dick Cheney; 2/6/05
• Rice; 1/30/05
• Rice (then-National Security adviser); 10/10/04
• Rice; 6/27/04
• Rice; 6/6/04
• Rice; 4/18/04
• Rumsfeld; 3/28/04
• Card; 12/7/03
• Rumsfeld; 11/2/03
• Rice; 9/28/03
• Rice; 9/7/03
• Rice; 7/13/03
• Rumsfeld; 5/4/03
• Rumsfeld; 3/30/03
• Rice; 2/16/03
• Card; 1/26/03
• Rumsfeld; 1/19/03
• Rice; 11/10/02
• Rice; 9/15/02
• Card; 6/9/02
• Rice; 5/26/02
• Cheney; 5/19/02
• Rice; 5/5/02
• Card; 4/14/02
• Rice; 2/3/02
• Cheney; 1/27/02
• Rumsfeld; 11/11/01
In the March 28, 2004, interview with Rumsfeld, Wallace did press him on whether the Department of Defense should have "been thinking more about" terrorism prior to 9-11 and asked him to respond to the "basic charge that, pre-9-11 ... this government, the Bush administration, largely ignored the threat from Al Qaeda." Referring to Rumsfeld's testimony before the 9-11 Commission regarding the Defense Department's anti-terrorism efforts, Wallace remarked, "[I]t sure sounds like fighting terrorism was not a top priority."
But beyond this exchange, the Fox News Sunday interviews listed above have almost entirely ignored several key questions regarding the Bush administration's efforts to pursue bin Laden and Al Qaeda.”

What was really amusing is that one right-wing pundit, I forget who, said that this outburst “wouldn’t help him (Clinton)”

Help him what?
He’s not running for office.
He’s not in the government.

I just can’t believe how deeply and irrationally the far Right hates Bill Clinton, so much so that six years after the man left office, they still are scared enough of him to vilify him.

Quite frankly I found Bill Clinton’s reactions to be refreshingly in-your-face to the openly belligerent Fox news network. This is one of the two things the Democrats have to do to gain national respect (I’m not a Democrat, I’m just sayin’…)

1. Actually stand for something rather than against something,
2. Get in the neo-con GOP's face and say “You’re full of shit.”

There are thing I disagree with Clinton about: The trade agreement with China for example, Free-Speech Zones, but blaming him for 9-11 when it was clear that he was far more proactive in attempting to stop terrorism than the susquent adminstration is ridiculous.

Yes, he made mistakes, but not nearly as many as Bush and he certaintly tried harder. Since he is not in power now, chasing after him rather than the adminstration who is still in power and therefore still responsible has gotten really silly.

Good Show!

Dover 400

As annoying as the tire issues and cautions were, that was a great race with a lot of shuffling through the field to keep the audience guessing. The duel between Burton and Kenneth in the last laps was a blast to watch and while they are both good sports and I like Matt, it was so cool to see Jeff Burton in Victory lane again, especially now, leading the points in the Chase.

“Young and marketable” my ass, I love seeing the veterans get their well-earned due.

Sorry Matt’s fuel gave out on the last lap. That was something I did not want to see, though I was glad Jeff had passed him honestly before that happened.

Elliott came up to lead! Yea! But then slipped back into the 20’s for reasons unknown, finishing 16th. (I told you guys, I told you! The boyz got the skillz.) Dale also struggled, as did many, with right front tire issues. Mark Martin finished ahead of him in 14th place after flirting with the top five only a couple times early in the race.

Kennseth, Dale and Mark all stayed where they were at in the standings at 3rd, 6th and seventh respectively. Kyle’s Busch’s engine failure marks his second bad race, probably knocking him out of contention for the championship itself. Jimmie Johnson managed to scrape up a good enough finish to make up some ground from last week’s wreck. Kasey Khane took his mulligan when Tony Stewart lost control of his car (honestly) and took him out and I’m not sure what happened to Harvick but Jeff Gordon has managed to scrape up a good enough finish to land 2nd place in the standings.

Yeah, good race!

Charities

With the holidays barreling down upon us (we couldn’t fend them off if we tried) our mailboxes are flooding with catalogs and or course, requests for donations in exchange for address labels or canvas tote bags or whathaveyou.

We all have our pet causes, but before you write any checks or type in any credit card numbers, make sure to check the charity through either CharityNavigator.org or Give.org, which is part of the Better Business Bureau.

These sites will not only tell you whether or not the charity is real, but Charity Navigator also rates the charities for their effectiveness and shows you how much they spend on what. You can enter what type of charity you are interested in and then sort it by rating, so you can choose the organization that is going to make the best use of your money.

One thing I have found is that some of the best rated organizations, no matter what the cause, are your local ones. Which makes sense because these are the people on the ground with their hands on. Often larger national organizations work in conjunction with local organizations, so by donating locally, you sort of skip the middle man. So check out local charity organizations unless it is something international, like the WildAid (which works in third world countries to stop poaching of endangered species) or the Nature Conservancy (which buys up parcels of endangered biomes worldwide to prevent their being developed, including some here in the U.S.) or with a huge organizations such as the Disabled American Veterans or the USO, who work with the military. Even so, see if there are any charity groups working for your causes in your area. They don’t get the media attention the national organizations do and could certainly use your help. :)

And to keep this on a theme, here's a link to the NASCAR Foundation and the charities they support.

From the “What the F*%$ Are They Thinking” Files

Why Can’t Jimmy Keep His Pants On?

Maybe because the House just said it’s o.k. for his teacher to strip search him.

A bill approved by the U.S. House yesterday would require school districts around the country to establish policies making it easier for teachers and school officials to conduct wide scale searches of students. These searches could take the form of pat-downs, bag searches, or strip searches depending on how administrators interpret the law.

The Student Teacher Safety Act of 2006 (HR 5295) would require any school receiving federal funding--essentially every public school--to adopt policies allowing teachers and school officials to conduct random, warrantless searches of every student, at any time, on the flimsiest of pretexts. Saying they suspect that one student might have drugs could give officials the authority to search every student in the building.

What
The
Fuck?

I mean, that is so outrageous I don’t even know what to say to that.

All the Constitutional arguments aside, because it seems like there aren't many legislators that have actually read that document, in the wake of all the sexual scandals that have popped up in our public school system in the last couple years, would you really want to have a teacher (not a police officer) with the legal right to do these things to your kid?

And according to the bill, if your School Board objects they get their federal funding pulled.

Once again folks, time to write those senators.

Are the Republicans on some kind of politically suicidal binge to get all the heinous legislation they can in before November?

What the HELL is happening to our country?

Support Those Troops.

Because the Government sure as hell isn’t going to.

My Gawd.

Hey Gimlet!

Check below, sorry about the mix up. :D

Going to Hell in a Handcart

The President Just Doesn't Get It

O.K. so last week the president says he “just wants to clarify” Article Three of the Geneva Convention with his torture initiative because supposedly all it says, according to him, is it prohibits “Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment;”

Well does it?

Geneva Convention, Article 3

“In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:

1. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.
To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
(b) Taking of hostages;
(c) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment;
(d) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

2. The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.
An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.

The Parties to the conflict should further endeavour to bring into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of the present Convention.

The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal status of the Parties to the conflict.”

Further, in Part II, Article 13 it says:

“Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention. In particular, no prisoner of war may be subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are not justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the prisoner concerned and carried out in his interest.

Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity.

Measures of reprisal against prisoners of war are prohibited.”

And then there is...

"PART III

CAPTIVITY

SECTION I

BEGINNING OF CAPTIVITY

Article 17

Every prisoner of war, when questioned on the subject, is bound to give only his surname, first names and rank, date of birth, and army, regimental, personal or serial number, or failing this, equivalent information. If he wilfully infringes this rule, he may render himself liable to a restriction of the privileges accorded to his rank or status.

Each Party to a conflict is required to furnish the persons under its jurisdiction who are liable to become prisoners of war, with an identity card showing the owner's surname, first names, rank, army, regimental, personal or serial number or equivalent information, and date of birth. The identity card may, furthermore, bear the signature or the fingerprints, or both, of the owner, and may bear, as well, any other information the Party to the conflict may wish to add concerning persons belonging to its armed forces. As far as possible the card shall measure 6.5 x 10 cm. and shall be issued in duplicate. The identity card shall be shown by the prisoner of war upon demand, but may in no case be taken away from him.

No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind.

Prisoners of war who, owing to their physical or mental condition, are unable to state their identity, shall be handed over to the medical service. The identity of such prisoners shall be established by all possible means, subject to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

The questioning of prisoners of war shall be carried out in a language which they understand."

Now for those of you, like our president, who need to have the definition of “torture” spelled out for them, here is it definition based on a simply Google search.

“Definitions of torture on the Web:
•anguish: extreme mental distress
•unbearable physical pain
•agony: intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain; "an agony of doubt"; "the torments of the damned"
•torment: torment emotionally or mentally
•distortion: the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean
•subject to torture; "The sinners will be tormented in Hell, according to the Bible"
•the deliberate, systematic, or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons in an attempt to force another person to yield information or to make a confession or for any other reason; "it required unnatural torturing to extract a confession"
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
•Torture is the infliction of severe physical or psychological pain as an expression of cruelty, a means of intimidation, deterrent or punishment, or as a tool for the extraction of information or confessions.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture
•A form of play that involves intense sensation. This is not necessarily pain. It is usually directed towards a single part of the body. Teasing, which is starting then stopping a particular attention, may be considered torture
www.grimesgrafix.com/welts/glossary.html
•severe mental anguish or physical pain
encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861720977/torment.html

Somehow, I think waterboarding counts.

Unless you're into that sort of ..."play".

You get it, I get it, but our Harvard and Yale educated President seems to have a problem understanding this. He also seems to have a problem differentiating “torture” and “interrogation”, something stemming from watching Rambo movies and “24” too much.

In fact, I have to wonder if that’s where the President gets his ideas about the state of the world: Jack Bauer.

Police Departments all over this nation conduct “interrogations” every single day, they do not conduct torture. And yet they seem to enjoy a much higher success rate than their CIA counterparts.

Hm.

The argument has been made that these are a different kind of criminal, willing to go to all sorts of ends to further their goals of killing Americans (The President really loves bring that phrase up “They’re out to KIIIIIILL YOOOOU ALLLLL!”). I’m sure suspects up for Murder 1 in Death Penalty states have a pretty high imperative to keep their secrets as well, and yet…

Yes, it may be harder to crack these people with the mental approach, but given that fact that multiple sources that have experience with torture have stated that it yields highly unreliable results, maybe it’s time to let some NYPD police officers have a crack that prisoners.

Or maybe, hey, they just don’t know anything and we’re just doing this to be dickheads and spread fear...like Hussien did.

In the meantime…

Domestic Eavesdropping Bills passed Senate Panel

SB2453, the National Security Surveillance Act basically repeals the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and allow the Attorney General (y’know, the guy who likes torture) to spy on, including searches, whomever he wishes at his whim for as long as he wants.

Seems pretty up front and fucked up.

This does not mean it’s law yet, but it does mean it’s time to start writing your representatives:
Senate
Congress

BTW- Here’s an article from Time outlining the Bush Terrorism bills and the countering proposed legislation.

What seems to be more confusing is that there is a third bill out there, co sponsored by Specter, which just got past the Senate Judiciary Committee. This one doesn’t sound too bad to me.

For Kicks

While we are waiting to see if and how badly our Constitutional rights are about to be trampled, find out how much you know about that “piece of paper” with this little quiz.

I got five. *smug little dance*

Islamic Riots Over Pope's Comments

Dudes....

Thank the Gods for Indonesia.

"Muslim scholars here have praised Pope Benedict XVI's apology for his offensive remarks on Islam, and reiterated Tuesday an appeal to Muslims to let go of their anger."

What sad is that ten years ago, the most this would have garnered is an angry letter from a bunch of Islamic clerics and academics. It's just shows how exacerbated everything is now.

Photo Essay: Crikey!

Look at this lil' nippah...



I found him in my bathroom defending him/herself from the cats. (They were tres' disappointed I tool their fun new toy away.) Fiesty little thing. I went online and identified him as a juvenille black ratsnake, perfectly harmless though quite fast and determined when he had a mind to. I released him near the wood out behind the apartment just as I had little lil' beeuoooty earlier this week.



I came home and he was sitting on my front door. Y'know, there's an old superstition that if a frog enters your home of his/her free-will, it's considered good luck.

Unfortunatally, with four of these guys, it wouldn't be good luck for them...



And to close, a pic of a North Carolina sunset...



I love this place. :)

Political outrage to return tomorrow, I figured...

One Final Question Mr. President...EDITED

If this is a "battle for civilization" between "despostism" and us, between and "idealogy of hate" and "an idealogy of hope", if we are trying to shape a Middle East of "societies based on freedom and tolerance and personal dignity"....

Why are we using of torture, secret prisons, military tribunals, accusing people while refusing to show the evidence against them, spying on American citizens and using fear to try to get Americans to vote for your party?

EDIT: And now proposing to test microwave weapons on American citizens.

Why are becoming the thing we profess to be fighting against? Why are we becoming the enemy?

Dear Mr. President...

Bush Defends Iraq War, Urges Americans to Put Aside Differences to Win War Against Terrorism

WASHINGTON -- Five years after the worst attack on U.S. soil, President Bush said Monday night the war against terrorism is "the calling of our generation" and urged Americans to put aside differences and fight to victory.
"America did not ask for this war, and every American wishes it were over," Bush said in a prime-time address from the Oval Office. "The war is not over _ and it will not be over until either we or the extremists emerge victorious."
Bush also staunchly defended the war in Iraq though he acknowledged that Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Show us that for one GodDamn minute your tactics have done something to even lessen the amount of terrorism worldwide, and we’ll consider it. According to the State Department, you haven’t done jack, in fact the number of terrorist attacks worldwide have practically grown exponentially in the last five years.

Until then, consider me your smarter opponent who wants to see improved port and border/immigration security, electronic networking of CIA, FBI, NSA and Immigration systems *and* more committment to international intelligence efforts to stop terrorism as well as an honest examination of what we do to contribute to the anti-American resentment in the Middle East...like invading nations based on lies and allowing torture of prisoners, not to mention decades of politcal interference.

Sincerely,
KiplingKat

P.S. “Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone," the president said. "They will not leave us alone. They will follow us."

Nice Strawman, asshole.

And So It Begins…

Last night found our NASCAR boys at Richmond Int’l Raceway and the end of the “Race for the Chase”, which made last night’s race not quite the wild “do or die” free-for-all it has been in the last couple years, but darn close. But the last few races have been remarkable for their clean racing, so whatever mad-craziness may have infected our drivers, there was enough maturity to go around as well...except in Jeff Green's car, but that's nothing new.

Elliott sadly was not in contention, so other than being mentioned in passing a couple times, I have no idea what was going on other than him hanging around in the late teens-low twenties most of the evening. However, when he moved to Evernham he said one of the goal his team had was to make sure his teammate: Kasey Khane got in the Chase and that they have accomplished.

Mark Martin and his team never gave up, hanging on to an ill-handling car and working it practically until the end to finish 5th. He’s in *Yea!*

As...annoyed as I have been with some of the things Dale Jr. has said and done off the track, he still impresses the hell out of me behind the wheel. Last night Dale Jr.’s brakes went out, he spent half the race with just front brakes and then the final 40 laps with no brakes. Considering Richmond is only 3/4 of a mile and he continued to stay in the top twenty while threading through 41 other cars…

Day-um.

The guy is good. You cannot deny.

Great finish with Harvick going up the middle three-wide for the lead on the second to last lap (also so cool he won driving a paint scheme for BNL, one of the most unique bands with the most fun shows out there now). It is sad about Tony Stewart missing the Chase, part of me feels like it just won’t seem like a Championship run without him. But when you compare his year to that of Kasey Khane, the man he was in contention for the final spot, you can see why Khane deserves to be there this year.

The next ten races promises to be very, very interesting. Best of Luck to all the “Chasers”:

Matt Kennseth - #17 - Dewalt Tools
Jimmie Johnson - #48 - Lowes
Kevin Harvick - #29 - Mr. Goodwrench
Kyle Busch - #5 - Kellog’s
Denny Hamlin - #11 - FedEx
Dale Earnhardt Jr. - #8 - Budweiser
Mark Martin - #6 - AAA
Jeff Burton - #31 – Cingular
Jeff Gordon - #24 – DuPont
Kasey Khane - #9 – Dodge

Who are now only separated by 5 points each.

And best of luck to the guys duking it out for the 11th place million dollar payoff which includes Smoke, Carl Edwards, Gregg Biffle and Kurt Busch. Now there's an interesting crew... :D

ABC & "The Path to 9-11": Double Plus Ungood

The problem those that oppose the Bush administration have? We read and we make the mistake assuming that others read as well. We publish findings and facts in such "obscure publications" like Time and Newsweek and Newspapers while the Bush administration uses the magical hypno-box: Television. Americans obviously believe that if you see it on TV it must be true, like slaves being freed to fight in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and if the President mentions 9-11 and Hussein/Iraq in the same breath all the time, it must mean there is a connection.

Sadly, a recent survey has shown that 85% of the troops in Iraq do believe that Hussein was in some way responsible for the 9-11 attack, no matter how many bi-partisan committees tell them otherwise. The president says it, he’s on TV, ergo it must be true. What does a written report published by congress matter compared to television?

Now approaching the November elections, ABC seems to be in cahoots with the Bush administration in this latest travesty of truth: “The Path to 9-11”

Further discussion of the “docu-drama”’s gross inaccuracies can be found here.

Folks, God did not give humans brains capable of language and writing in order to have ideas spoon fed to us by a “magical” box of light. If you want to know the truth, go to the source. Don’t watch a show by a corporate entity out to make a sensationalist buck claiming to be based on the 9-11 Commission report but written by an avowed right-winger who is friendly with Rush Limbaugh and admits that critical events in the script were completely invented. Go to the actual 9-11 Commission report, read it and make up your own mind. It’s been out there for years now, only 585 pages and completely free. People pay upwards of eight bucks for novels longer than that. If you can spend time and money reading novels that long, don’t you think a non-fiction work of such importance deserves your time?

Don't listen to the TV, don't even listen to bloggers like me. Go read it and make up your own mind.

He’s At It Again…

The President is An Embarassment to Americans Everywhere

We’ve discussed Bush predilections for secret military tribunals and their role in ours and other nation's histories before. Seems that after SCOTUS told him that it goes against both U.S. and International law (damn those activist judges for caring about human freedom and American rights), he just can’t get the message.

What I want to know is what is the Bush administration so scared of the world knowing? If they actually have something on these people, shouldn’t they be crowing it to the world? I didn’t see them holding any classified information back when Zarqawi was killed. Or are they just trying to look as if they are actually doing something against terrorism while covering their own incompetence. Punishing someone, anyone, without proving to the world they actually are terrorists or insurgents in the hopes that they will not be called into account for incarcerating (possibly) innocent people.

The precedent this sets in American law is disgustingly tyrannical and exactly the sort of thing we left the U.K. about. Why don’t more Americans understand their own history, why don’t we ALL know what being American means? Why doesn’t our own president?

Think about it folks, the President of the United States is asking to have secret trials where he makes unfounded and unsupported accusations against tortured prisoners.

Does this sound like America to anyone?

RIP Steve Irwin

Given the non-stop coverage this has gained, I don’t think there is much more to say about it other than he was a terrific ambassador of nature in the tradition of Marlin Perkins and David Attenborough (albeit much louder) and he will be missed.

Recreation

Fontana

For all the pressure on numerous drivers to make the Chase for the Championship, this was a surprisingly clean and well run. Lead changes, sweet passes and some good racing. Dale Jr. made his best finish yet coming in second while Elliott took a solid shot at the lead, quickly pulling away from the field in clean air but getting mired back in teens after pitting late to top off fuel. I think that final round of pit stops came about five laps too late but “Well Done” to all the drivers for a great race.

Sharpe’s Challenge

This weekend also marked the return of Richard Sharpe to American viewers (the U.K. viewers got him in April, lucky bastards). As I have mentioned before, Sharpe is just plain good fun, swashbuckling adventure of the Napoleonic era. Bernard Cornwell series of books chronicles the rise and fall and rise again…and fall again…and so on, of Richard Sharpe, bastard son of a whore who joins the army to escape jail and eventually saved Lord Wellington’s (before he was Lord Wellington) life which catapults him into an officer’s country made up of sons of landed gentleman. “A poor fit” is an understatement, but Sharpe has his uses and his frequent missions in the Peninsula Campaign and beyond on Wellington’s behalf with the 95th Rifles and later the South Essex keep him on Wellington’s good side. Cornwell’s books gave rise to a series of BBC productions starring Sean Bean (Europe’s version of George Clooney or Brad Pitt only without the smarm or vacuity, hottest blonde alive, perhaps ever though more readily recognizable as a stock villian in U.S. films) which are a rip roaring good time of a big boys club, shooting, sneaking, killing, storming, wenching and escaping death by a hairs-breath every time (well, Sharpe and Harper do anyway). Great fun. Of the 15 films, there’s only one plunker in the bunch (avoid “Sharpe’s Gold” at all costs). But not only are they fun, there are some truly wonderful and moving moments of camaraderie and death scattered throughout the series as there should be in dealing with any real war.

An added treat was always John Tam singing the English traditional songs of war and whatnot in the background. Man had a lovely voice.

Anyway, Sharpe’s Challenge: Sharpe goes (back) to India. Thumbs up on the plot and the cast.

“Two years after the Duke of Wellington crushes Napoleon at Waterloo, dispatches from India tell of a local Maharaja, Khande Rao, who is threatening British interests there. Wellington sends Sharpe to investigate on what turns out to be his most dangerous mission to date. When a beautiful general's daughter is kidnapped by the Indian warlord, the tension mounts, leaving Sharpe no option but to pursue the enemy right into its deadly lair. Deep in the heart of enemy territory he also has to keep at bay the beautiful but scheming Regent, Madhuvanthi, who is out to seduce him.

The fate of an Empire and the life of a General's daughter lie in one man's hands...."

That’s a fairly typical example of a Sharpe plot.

You can’t have a Sharpe without a Harper and thank the Gods for it lest he drown in his practical pessimism. And there is some good BBC-style action. That’s is, if you are looking for polished Hollywood fights you aren’t going to get them here, but there is plenty of blood and booms to keep one entertained. Bean takes his shirt off (if you’re a girl) and there are plently of scantily clad women (if you’re a guy). Though will someone please, please kill Simmerson at last? I can imagine the universal groan heard across the U.K. when he came onscreen. And why was it necessary to kill off Lucille? I mean, Sharpe actually kept it in his trousers this time (a rare occurrence) and in the books she survives him…

Anyway, it was on BBC America and they will probably replay it at some point. I fully recommend it.