Mr. Daivd Corn,

My sympathies for the loss of a friend. I will buy a VF and read your recommendation.

Thank you for all of your work.

capt

I have learned from death.

Just as there are no problems just opportunities for solutions, there are no bad things if we can learn from them. Death is impossible to face but impossible to deny. I have learned that death is really life affirming. Our ceremonies and memorials are necessary rituals to show our respect for those that died but also a respect for the finality of death.

The only power we have over the finality of death is the memory of those that have died and the perpetual love, respect and recognition we keep.

There is a moment in all our lives when we will die. At that time we will all look back on both the good and the bad times as both are part of all of our lives. Some have suffered and lived short lives but those are not a waste as life is a gift.

Some people suffer terribly. Some have disease or conditions that cause great pain and affliction on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual being. Others suffer from causing suffering to themselves and others.

Life is a great gift and it is made more precious by death. Life is an opportunity to learn so many things. We live to love, learn and experience our world by our own determinations and choices and death just the other bookend.

Death is a gift as it always puts an end to the physical suffering and we all hope an end to the mental, emotional and spiritual suffering. Death is a great opportunity for those that survive. An opportunity to revisit the priorities and the determinations that shape the balance of our lives. An opportunity to revisit our own mortality. An opportunity to better understand ourselves and others and the value of life.

capt

Wake Up

By Cindy Sheehan
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Monday 19 September 2005

"So we have come to cash this check - a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism."
-- Martin Luther King Jr., August 28, 1963, "I Have a Dream" speech

What Bush's Katrina shows once again is that my son died for nothing. If you listen to Bush - and fewer and fewer are, thank goodness - we are in Iraq in part due to 9/11. All our president has been talking about has been protecting this country since 9/11. That's why people voted for him in the last election. Katrina shows it's all as sham, a fraud, a disaster as large as Katrina itself.

Hundreds of billions and tens of thousands of innocent lives wasted later, what have we achieved? Nothing. Casey died for nothing and Bush says others have to die for those that have died already.

Enough, George! What is disgusting is not, as the first lady says, criticism of you, but rather the crimes you've committed against this country and our sons and daughters. Stop hiding behind your twisted idea of God and stop destroying this country.

This week I arrive in Washington DC to begin my Vigil at the White House just like I did in Texas. But this time I'll be joined by Katrina victims as well. In your America we are all victims. The failed bookends of your Presidency are Iraq and Katrina.

*****end of clip*****

More words from Cindy Sheehan. She might not be "active" enough for some but words can and often do mean more than frivolous activity for the sake of action. I guess that is why books are so popular.

capt

Reid Likely to Oppose Roberts' Nomination

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON - Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has told associates he intends to oppose confirmation of John Roberts as chief justice, Senate sources said Tuesday as rank and file Democrats began staking out positions on the man named to succeed the late William H. Rehnquist.

Reid scheduled a speech on the Senate floor for mid-afternoon, at which he was expected to make his announcement public.

Roberts has strong Republican support and appears headed for easy confirmation.

As party leader, Reid had urged fellow Democrats not to announce their positions until the conclusion of last week's confirmation hearings for Roberts.

By stating his own position first, Reid likely would set the stage for strong Democratic opposition to the 50-year-old appeals court judge and former Reagan administration lawyer.

Reid's office declined comment. The sources who described his intention did so on condition of anonymity, saying they did not want to pre-empt the speech.

*****end of clip*****

This is where the rubber hits the road. Now let us see how many dempublicans break with their leadership[sic].

capt

if you aspire to write for VF you must use both "p"'s in "happy!"

Marjorie Williams' piece was extremely moving, as was her last few articles for the Post, reflecting on her children, as her death approached. Her level headed courage astonished me.

Which Democrats will vote 'yes' on Roberts?

Keeping an eye on Clinton, Bayh, and other presidential contenders

WASHINGTON - Chief justice nominee John Roberts seems to be headed for the Supreme Court with the vote on his confirmation set for next week on the Senate floor, but the question of the moment in Washington is which Democrats will vote "yes."

A couple of centrist Democrats, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, have already signaled they'll probably vote for Roberts. Even apart from Roberts's impeccable credentials and self-assured testimony, "aye" votes would make sense, given the political coloration of Nebraska and Arkansas.

But the most intense focus is on potential Democratic presidential contenders Sens. Joe Biden, Evan Bayh, Hillary Clinton, and Russ Feingold.

*****end of clip*****

Lest we forget the "SUPER-democrat-people" like Feinstein, Lieberman, and the other "republican light" dempublicans.

"Ubi concordia, ibi victoria"
(Where is the unity, there is the victory.)
Roman proverb

Now if we can only get the dems to actually vote together on something, anything. Well anything except a pay raise for themselves.

capt

David,
Cancer is a bitch. I am truly sorry to hear about your friend. As for the conservative blogs, the ones I've seen are still trying to shift blame for all the needless death in New Orleans.

We Meet Again!

Thanks CAPT #3 for the MLK quote! One of his greatest unsung quotes.

Two new books are out:Barbara Ehrenreich's "Bait and Switch" and Joe Conason's "The Raw Deal:How The Bush Republicans Plan To Destroy Social Security and the legacy of The New Deal". Just a lil' FYI.

I miss all of you! Sorry I can't post like I want, but I'm workin'like a gov't mule. Gotta keep the lights on at the crib, ya dig?
Keep fightin'those bastards!!!

your bro'man
bro.tex

Bro.Tex!

We never hear from you often enough!

Keep on kickin' butt for our cause! (pops too!)

You are the "Bro-man"!

capt

Oh yeah, me&my POPS went to Baylor Hospital in Dallas yesterday, and the doc gave him the "thumbs up". Pops is cured, he finished his last round of chemo in Aug. Like Dr. Kauffmann said about pops years ago," he's one tough ol' bastard"!

....all praises due to GOD/ALLAH!!

How can we be a "rich" country when nearly a third of the people in a city the size of New Orleans live in poverty?

America claims to fight poverty and suffering all over the planet and spend billions to address the problem in other countries?

Can we really offer hope to other countries when we have so many living in despair here?

Do we have to have poor people for the wealthy to feel better about themselves?

Do the "rich" really deserve more food, better housing, nicer cars when a third must do without?

How rich can a country be if it lets its citizens lie and die without?

Just a thought

capt

Praise to all on high!

That is damn fine news Bro.tex, damn fine and good news.

capt

HEY....Children of the Corn....long time no blog (no worries, will leave again soon and leave you to your upcoming victory against the "Vast Corporate-Fascist-Theocratic Conspiracy" (Sally and Kirk, wink, wink!)

Just curious as to ....

Why Hillary refused to meet Cindy Sheehan when she called on her in New York!?!??!?

LOL!

1975

I am not a medical doctor. I give you information as it was given to me. In 1975, there was the first of two near death experiences. My electrolytes were below 2.0. I was rushed to the emergency room. Electrolytes below 2.0 are considered fatal. The muscles were limp throughout my body. For some reason my heart was still pumping. My thought processes were present. Speech was labored.

My family doctor at the time just kept shaking his head. He brought in a colleague and his colleague was in disbelief. Why? I do not know why my number was not called. I do know that a close relationship with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the Rosary were with me in these near death experiences.

1994

On October 13, 1994 I had a massive heart attack. I was away from home and for some reason I was able to call for a taxicab to drive me to the hospital. For some reason as I laid in the emergency room I did not sense the presence of death. What I did sense was the presence of Mary, the mother of Jesus, standing near me and protecting me. October 13 was the last day that Mary appeared to the three children of Fatima in 1917, I believe. My cardiologist said that I beat the odds.

A person probably wanders why God does not call our number and pass judgment upon us. I know that I have wandered why my numbers were not called in 1975 and in 1994. Maybe God did not call my numbers because he wanted me to post my thoughts on websites and to be a thorn in the sides of American Nazis and American Taliban. I hope and pray that He is accepting of my posts and knows that my posts have a heart. At times I am relentless in my attacks of Bush but I truly believe that he is a low life scumbag. There is something about him that keeps me from being nice to him in my posts. I also believe that he is a low life slime ball. I truly believe that Bush is a depraved piece of noxious material. I may be a big time sinner in need of your prayers.

I also hope and pray that my posts in some way provide our people and the world population some common good for a better world.

Bill Clinton's Muddled Attempt to Own the Middle

Since leaving office, Bill Clinton has tried out a variety of positions: Elder Statesman, Prolix Memoirist, King of the Public Speakers, Hospital Bed Campaign Advisor, First Husband-in-Waiting, Disaster Fundraiser, Global Visionary.

But judging from his latest TV appearances, he seems to have landed on a brand new incarnation: Equivocator-in-Chief.

Forget all the nonsense you might have heard about the former president taking on the current one (Drudge linked to a story calling it "a withering attack" and right-wing blogs followed suit) -- in truth, he consistently played both sides of the fence.

On a variety of key issues -- especially Iraq and Katrina -- instead of offering clarity and leadership, he offered a steady stream of have-it-both-ways, "on the hand…†and on the other" reasoning.

Let’≥ start with the Katrina relief effort. After spending the early days of the catastrophe providing cover for Bush (including making the ludicrous claims that the flooding of New Orleans could not have been foreseen, and that we could not make any judgments on the response without being there), he belatedly decided to cast a discerning eye on the administration’≥ woeful handling of the disaster. "You can’¥ have an emergency plan that works if it only affects middle-class people up," he told George Stephanopoulos. True, but not exactly "withering".

And he took a page out of the GOP playbook by spreading the blame around, pointing the finger for the lack of an effective evacuation plan squarely where it belongs: uh, everywhere. "Maybe the mayor, maybe the governor," he said when asked who was responsible. And maybe the dog catcher too.

Of course, this is the same guy who 13 days earlier had adopted the administration’≥ talking points and counseled against playing the blame game, saying "I don’¥ think we should do it now".

*****end of clip*****

Good old Bill, is it triangulation or what? HA!

capt

David, while being pro-choice I have to admit the idea of abortion at 28 weeks, no matter how rare, is atrocious to me. But to use this as a pulpit to ban abortion in general will never fly. Even if they succeed in a federal ban it will simply shift to the individual states to decide, unless of course, the feds pull the usual trick of usurping states rights.

Bro Tex, great to hear from you!! Great news about your pops.

Capt, I read this morning that all the SS surplus is currently being used to fund the tax cuts for the rich, as well as the war against the democratically needy people in the oil laden middle east. So not only are we funding the already obscenely rich, but we are paying the same tax twice to do so. I can't help but wonder when we will reach the tipping point.

Capt, hillary is in the running, he has to court both sides. The powers that be are watching! I wonder why they haven't mentioned the fact that the people dispersed from the Gaza Strip received thousands of US tax dollars to move, but the people in N.O. can't seem to even get fresh water.

Would someone please invite Barbara Bush to Michigan? Maybe it's not too late for a 'late term abortion'

from David's article...
"You can even see the chin and the bottom lip quiver," said Ed Mitchell of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, who with two coworkers described their observations in the September issue of Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition. "I cannot believe it is anything but crying."
===========================
On second observation... "My bad! It was only a REFLEX!" I'm thinking of the picture of that fetus squeezing the Dr's finger and how they told us it was 'thanking' the dr. ughh! *hears theme song from "Outer Limits" in background*
David, why don't you write about the way they've treated Plan B. THAT could cut down on ALL abortions by half.

capt #11, you have reached the existential crux of all queries. Your answer please?

As for me, I will go forward with the best my feet can do until death, racing after me all life long, finally catches me and tosses me into the fire, where I will rejoin the Trickster.

Speaking of cancer, and the bastard that it is, I have an appointment with the lung doctor tomorrow and will know if they are going to watch me close any longer. I had a small tumor removed from the bladder a year+ ago. They say they watch for a reasonable time until there is no longer danger of metastasization (zinger-- word and deed).

Just a note on poverty, I am there. I learned I lived in poverty when I was 6, and my family was flooded out of a housing project called Vanport in Portland OR. I received a wool blanket. Ask not how knowledge spread, but society was somehow aware that I was born poor, and I could never (was never allowed to) forget. People look down on people who have no family name or family money.
At one point, shortly after my father died when I was 9, I thought I must stink with an odor that attached to the poor. I can testify that a person born in poverty gets only half a loaf, if that in many cases, in the USofA.

Heyyyy Bro Tex!! Didn't miss ya by much. Glad to hear from you, and the news about Pops was great. Post when you can my friend, we miss you.

*nods to Don Smith* Props to you too Don, for beating the bic C. Also, for showing alotta people that money/wealth is no true judge of character or IQ. You've done well with what you were dealt, my friend. We were poor too, and my father also died when I was young (14). The pall bearers were my older brother's (16) teammates on the ALL STAR baseball team my Dad coached. He was a good man. Didn't drink or do anything considered a sin.I never even heard him say a cussword. He smoked Lucky Strike cigs, the only 'negative' in his story. An ex-Marine, he fought in WWII and Korea, and made a pact with God on how he would live the rest of his life if God seen him through all the killing.
I lost what faith I had after his death because my prayers weren't answered. Why do the good ones leave us and people like Bush continue on??
I'll shuddup now...

Don,

"Your answer please?"

I have no clear cut cogent or concise answer except to lift up the poor here at home, to feed the hungry here at home, to house the homeless here at home, to provide for those without and the least of us.

People do not choose to be poor and are Americans just like the rich, the elite, the middle class, the working poor.

I have no problem with helping others from other countries and places but how can a so called "rich" nation treat their citizens with such indifference, contempt and less concern than they have for the countries they claim to be helping out of "concern" for the populations abroad.

I truly hope all goes well for you and your health.

capt

I never signed the Constitution

We are tacitly submitting to the Nazis.

New Ammo? They've already got all the emotional ammo they need with 3-d high res sonograms. What we need are facts.

Ask yourself why are late term abortions performed? Main reason-The foetus has got something terribly wrong with it. Women, much to a conservative's surprise, are not bloodthirsty babykillers who wait to inflict the most pain on their foetus and themselves. Think about what was claimed to be 'true' about what Terry Schaivo could feel and think. If people are so worried about harming a healthy foetus, why allow medically unnecessary sonograms? Why perform circumcisions on newborns when they are no longer medically needed?

Alan,
That's a good question. How and why was Bush able to do much damage to this country and the world? How does he continue to cause havoc?
At this point it's just gross. It's "take while the taking is good". The truth about who Bush is has become obvious so now he and his friends are just grabbing what they can as witnessed by this article.

Bush Helps Disaster Profiteers. There is no reasonable way to explain this behavior other than Bush and his friends don't care anymore what the poll numbers are.

"President Bush has been justly criticized for his mishandling of the Katrina disaster, for his failure of leadership and for his indecisiveness. But on two matters involving post-hurricane reconstruction, Bush has been exceedingly decisive. First, he suspended federal rules to allow FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers to extend no-bid contracts to corporations engaged in the rebuilding. In doing so, he also allowed companies with close political ties to get to the front of the line.

Second, Bush sweetened these contracts even more by suspending the federal Davis-Bacon Act, the Depression-era law that requires contractors with federal funds to pay local "prevailing wages" on construction projects. Through these actions, Bush revealed that despite all the rhetoric about compassion toward the victims of Katrina, the administration's crony capitalism and corporate agenda is never far below the surface."

I often wonder why so many people continue to believe that Roe v. Wade will not be overturned. While it is true, the Right (reich) wants to chip away at it until well...until, they drown it in the bathtub...I think once Congress enables bush to stack the Supreme Court with states' rights nominees, Roe v. Wade will be history.

Ronald Reagan campaigned for the WH on the abortion issue for his first term, and he attempted to overturn the Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision through the appointments process -- unsuccessfully. We all are aware of the changing makeup of the Court even as I say this. Scalia and Thomas remain committed to overturning Roe. Roberts says with an Eagle Scout's grin that Roe is "settled law." O'Connor has retired. O'Connor and Justice Stevens (one of the oldest members) are part of the six-justice majority for recognizing a constitutional right to abortion.

Do the math. Bush will seize the opportunity to name anti-Roe types, resulting in a SCOTUS majority for eliminating the constitutional right to abortion. But prior to that, they will work on banning all late term abortions. Done. Fini. (Unless you've got connections and money.) When bush *won* his second term, the likelihood that Congress and the state legislatures will be able to ban most abortions at some point went up exponentially.

Some posters to this blog will be high-fivin' when this closely divided Court is stacked the way bush wants it -- the current Court has been closely divided on questions of states' rights. In the last seven years, the Court has invoked states' rights to invalidate all or part of the following Acts of Congress: the Religious Freedom Restoration Act; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Violence Against Women Act; the Americans with Disabilities Act; and the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.

South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun would be proud of all the states' rightists stickin' to the guns. May he rest in pieces.

Just plain bull

And that's no bull!!!

Don Smith -- I hope you get good news at your appointment tomorrow. For what it's worth, I'll be thinking of you. Namaste.

That was a good column Gerald. It reminds us that George has always been inept even in his greatest NY minute.

OH, BUT THIS IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.... The busheviks say so....

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/national/

nationalspecial/20affirm.html

September 20, 2005
Contractors Get Affirmative Action Exemption
By JONATHAN D. GLATER

The Labor Department has temporarily suspended government requirements that its contractors have an affirmative action plan addressing the employment of women, members of minorities, Vietnam veterans and the disabled if the companies are first-time government contractors working on reconstruction in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Don,
I go to the doctor in October for my 2 year check (breast cancer). Don't you feel like you had your head in the mouth of the lion and you lived to tell about it? You know the expression - I'll be there in spirit? There won't be room in that office for all the big headed spirits from this blog that will be with you.

Farewell, Great Society

Farewell, Great America! May you rest in peace!!!

my endless efforts to move the discourse on abortion to equal access for all to all medical care will never flag. Here we have two stories, divergent at the ends of the life spectrum, yet inextricably connected by the economic status of those involved. Would the wealthiest citizens (you know the ones that got the tax cuts) feel compelled to obey restrictions and sanctions on their personal choices, or would they simply fly off to wherever it will be that will provide for them as they wish??

As w/ NOLA(et al) the wealthy leave, find new accomodations, submit huge claims, receive funds, and get on with doing what they do without interference from governments. Likewise, they fly all over the planet to receive the latest and best treatments and therapies for any and all sorts of maladies, and with this capacity they encourage other nations to develop and fund research to create technologies that will be suppressed here in the US by the arbitrary rules of zealots. When language is written in prohibiting abortions at any stage that included prohibiting them even in cases of medical problems(and there are 13 states with just such laws) it will not matter to the rich, only to the poor. The recent release of the study that showed a marked improvement in early detection of breast cancers among younger women using digital mammography will spur the wealthiest to insist on having those technologies available to them. They are disproportionately more expensive than the emulsion film techniques, so those without disposable incomes to spend casually on health care, will find it more difficult to benefit from early detection and thus successful treatments. Is this the way we want to live in our nation?

Rush lies to the troops

Another piece of noxious material lies to our soldiers.

excerpt:

EXCLUSIVE: UP IN FLAMES

Tons of British aid donated to help Hurricane Katrina victims to be BURNED by Americans

From Ryan Parry, US Correspondent in New York, mirror.co.uk

HUNDREDS of tons of British food aid shipped to America for starving Hurricane Katrina survivors is to be burned.

US red tape is stopping it from reaching hungry evacuees.

Instead tons of the badly needed Nato ration packs, the same as those eaten by British troops in Iraq, has been condemned as unfit for human consumption....

The worker added: "There will be a cloud of smoke above Little Rock soon - of burned food, of anger and of shame that the world's richest nation couldn't organise a p**s up in a brewery and lets Americans starve while they arrogantly observe petty regulations.

"It is perfectly good Nato approved food of the type British servicemen have. Yet the FDA are saying that because there is a meat content and it has come from Britain it must be destroyed....

"If they are trying to argue there is a BSE reason then that is ludicrously out of date. There is more BSE in the States than there ever was in Britain and UK meat has been safe for years."

spyder,
I agree 100 percent. How many people die of cancer that could have been caught in early stage, as in breast cancer, because they don't have health insurance? I don't think the wealthy, (those that don't care) realize that they are partly at fault for some of those deaths because they are part of the solution. Many of those people profess to be religious. Someone who really cared about the plight of mankind would care that the people in their own city had adequate health care, food, and shelter.
I firmly believe that if health insurance was nationalized many more people would be able to make it. They would get treatment for colds instead of bronchitis, high blood pressure instead of strokes, non invasive cancer instead of 3rd stage. They would get birth control instead of the costs involving pregnancy or abortion. They would be able to pay rent instead of hospital bills. And pay for food instead of high priced medicine.
As for the abortion issue, I find it of the highest hypocrisy that men so often subtly exclude women from the debate. And the "great" leaders of our nation have been making it harder and harder for women who are sexually active to get birth control. Abstinence doesn't work for all those times when the person doesn’¥ have the will power to stop a human urge.

Thanks to all for good wishes; my health has been excellent and I go forward with only a little bit of trepidation.

It seems to me that abortion is one of those events that do not belong to the law. There should never have been a question that a woman is the queen of her castle and her body is her own. Laws ought to be restricted to trade and deals and motion. Likewise there should be no law to prohibit suicide.

Alan #22, right at the end you said you lost your faith, and I'd like to differ with you. You may have transformed what you knew as faith into the knowledge of self. Please note that with the death of my father I gave up on the idea of prayer, Christianity and all other lies.

micki, Jeanne, thank you and namaste right back.

Jeanne, I think the whole purpose of this current administration is to sink what is left of the middle class and bury the rest. What is happening in N.O. is truly terrifying. I have read that the police are forcibly tackling the elderly, confiscating firearms and dragging them out of their homes. There is no justification and they don't seem to care what anyone thinks. What will they do if we suffer a nuclear "terrorist" incident? Will they bring in Blackwater goon squads to take away firearms and send people to FEMA camps? WTF is going on down there? I really believe this is the beginning of the end for our once great nation. Every crime committed by bushco goes unpunished. They seem to be above the law. I am really beginning to feel hopeless. I have no faith left in our election process, both the left and right have sent us into this strange twilight zone existence where nothing is predictable and all the nightmarish things are coming to pass. Have we missed the writing on the wall? Where is our MLK? Has the central bank bought off everyone? Has the love of the many truly gone cold?

Say Dubya,
Your good friend, Gov Goodhair Perry is calling atcha. An Ill Wind that Can Blow Texas Some Good.

Dear Friend Dubya,

You know me, pal -- your ol' buddy, governor of Texas and the man with the reelly, reelly good hair. I am writing to tell you what to do in the wake of this here Hurricane Katrina. Numero Uno, you got to send money to Texas. Yup, that is the primero responsibility you got, and since -- you don't mind my saying so -- you ain't done too good so far, I suggest you listen to me on this, instead of making another dumb mistake, like sending aid to Florida.....

Saladin,
There is going to come a point where the business owners will look for all their loot and realize the barrel is empty. You can't run a business without an educated workforce. You can't run a business without infrastructure. You can't run a business in the city without a good mass transit. You can't run a business without a healthy workforce with healthy families. You can't run a business without a healthy economy and people willing to buy. The stock market is not the market. I think that holy shit moment is upon us. I think Katrina made a lot of blind people gain their sight. But, you have to keep in mind, I'm an optimist. My kids think I'm nuts.

A man buys a new Lexus RX400h and returns to the dealer the next day telling the salesperson he was having trouble with the radio. The salesman explained that the radio is voice activated. "Watch this! He said, "Elvis!" The radio replied, "Presely or Costello?" "Presley!" He continued....and Blue suede shoes came from the speakers. He drove away happy, and for the next few days, every time he would say, "Beethoven!" He would get beautiful classical music, and if he said, "Beatles!" one of their awesome songs awesome would play. One day, a couple ran a red light and nearly smashed into his new car, but he swerved in time to avoid them. "Low life fucken jerks," he yelled.....
The French National Anthem began to play, sung by Jane Fonda and Michael Moore, backed up by John Kerry on guitar, Al Gore on drums, Hillary Clinton on tambourine, Bill Clinton on sax, and David Corn just playing with himself as usual....

He LOVES that car!

I'm on my way to a discussion with local democrats but before I head out there is a good editorial on Crooks and Liars. CNN's McCafferty. He says that before old pal Fran is finished with the report for the Prez she be saying there was no hurricane. It's on video.

Sorry, that was Cafferty.

I've seen some research which, while not definitive, indicates that children already born appear to suffer pain when they step on land mines or get hit by cluster bombs. There is also some evidence, however anecdotal, that DU is bad for kids and fetuses.
Not enough evidence to change any policies, however.

More unbelievable propaganda in the wake of Katrina:
I just can't sit here and let rank propaganda go unchallenged as most of the elite media does all day long.
Yesterday, President Bill Clinton appeared with George Stephanopoulos on ABC and said this about the
poor and Katrina.
Bill Clinton said:
This is a matter of public policy. And whether it's race based or not, if you give your tax cuts to the rich and
hope everything works out all right and poverty goes up, and it disproportionately affects black and brown
people, that's a consequence of the action made.
That's what they did in the '80's. That's what they've done in this decade. In the middle, we had a different
policy. We concentrated tax cuts on lower income working people, and benefits to low income people to
help them move from welfare to work. And we moved 100 times as many people out of poverty. We know
what works. And we had a program that was drastically reducing poverty. And they got rid of it. So -- and
they don't believe in it... END of quote
Believe in what?! What is Mr. Clinton talking about? What program did Mr. Bush get rid of?
Reporters called Mr. Clinton's office all day, looking for an answer to that very simple question. They didn't
get one. Stephanopoulos sat there like a mummy, challenging nothing. The whole thing's absurd.

If any of you Cornbots can tell me what program of Clinton'e President Bush cut, you are smarter than Clinton or
Stephanopoulos, because they can't actually think of one.

Again, here are the facts. Black home ownership is up 2 percent under President Bush. Poverty spending is
significantly higher under Bush than it was under Clinton. Educational spending for poor school districts is
higher under Bush. And the poverty rate stood at 13.7 percent halfway through Clinton's tenure. It is 12.7
percent halfway through Bush's two terms.
This "tax cuts for the rich" business is also blatantly dishonest. It's a ruse for the secular left to institute their
income redistribution scheme. Under President Clinton, the tax rate climbed higher than at any time in
history except in World War II. President Bush then came in and cut taxes for everyone. And guess what?
Federal tax revenues will be more this year than at any time during the Clinton administration!

Why? Because business is booming. That's why. Capitalism is working. And the more money corporations
and workers make, the more taxes roll in, even at the reduced rate.

So let's recap. Black home ownership up under Bush. Poverty entitlements up under Bush. Educational
spending for the poor, up under Bush. Federal tax revenues, up under Bush.

Are you ignorant fucken, Junior College drop out,
Cornbots taking this down?

None so blind than those who will not see, eh?

capt

Are you ignorant fucken, Junior College drop out,
Cornbots taking this down?

Posted by: Sammy at September 20, 2005 07:59 PM

Lifting O'Reilly's talking points nearly word for word tonight are you, straight from the bottom of the website...foxnews.com, shall I put up the link for you thief?

Irascibility: up under Peacock War President.

More Unbelievable Propaganda in Katrina's Wake
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
By Bill O'Reilly

Sammy you suck man, seriously.
You Righties need to get a tad more creative.

"a master of invective, vituperation, denunciation, humor, pathos, and all the other arts of the orator, except argument."

and Soko I like the clever conservative quickie you let fly back there, it was a joke, like your GUY, you know
the guy who spent billions over four years to improve US ready time in case of a disaster...and got thwarted by some rain and wind
funny, in't?

average conservative couldn't argue themselves out of a wet paper bag on a rainy day

rats, I'm late for troll baiting
that or they're lazy
or scared...

Ed,

They drop their . . er . . um . . troll droppings on a few boards. They will return later to see if anybody answered their neo-con-man-call.

They will always be back as long as people post an answer to their call.

capt

reds ain't going away
and I think some can be converted
the others are fun to bash because it's impossible to feel bad about it

besides he lifted O'Reilly's website story of the night nearly word for word...had to call him on it

"You know, I'm in a rather uncomfortable position of having to defend President Bush, who's being battered by partisan propaganda over Katrina. As we've stated, the president was late reacting to the storm and his hand-picked leaders did not do the job in FEMA and Homeland Security." ~ same O'Liely cut paste from above. HA!

Odd that this second paragraph would suffer an edit by the bushbot?

ROTFLMFAO - the braindead so love their messiah.

Thanks Ed you nailed 'em!

capt

anytime capt

and about that STOLEN text...
isn't it always a hoot to hear O'Reilly say he feels uncomfortable defending the president, sure he takes the occasional jab at W, but honestly he should be claiming covering Bush's ass as a part time job at minimum

I like O'Reilly the least because he's sneaky about his Bush propaghanda...at least Hume and Gibson are blatant

then again if you surf the news sites enough you do find infractions from the so called LIBERAL media, like abcnews proclaiming a 44-55 divide a mandate that the people didn't blame Bush for the Katrina fiasco...WLM?

Katrina woes temporary declares the ClintonNewsNetworks money page...tell that to the grieving families jackasses, again WLM?

Ed # 60

You don't like O'Reilly, Hume or Gibson. It appears you don't like anyone who tell you the truth. Typical liberal in your land of OZ.

and we have a winner ladies and gents
Soko step right up, thanks for stopping in
humor me with your sophmoric wit and intellect

tell me darling?
are you feeling safer now under Bush after some wind and frigging rain knocked down his house of cards...or were you one of those clever Reds that ran out and got duct tape at the government's suggestion after 9/11?

That is the scary part, these mindless ditto heads take that BS as the truth.

God, read a book the TV is rotting your brains.

It is infotainment, no "news" is reporting the truth.

Blind lemmings headed for the cliff singing praises to their Bunnypants idol.

Very tragic.

capt

OZ?
seems like the mighty Bush has been revealed to be an old man behind a curtain with a deep voice
face facts, after every dime and hour he commanded on securing the US and enhancing our response time this was the best he could do
pathetic
and your defending him is sniveling at best
are you even a decent fiscal conservative?
or just some talk radio variety redhead?

come on sugar I been waiting for one of you all night, don't be shy

I'm a liberal to the core, tax the rich and feed the poor.

But there is no doubt whatsoever that late term abortions are wrong, digusting, and evil.
It's pure poverty and destruction, and I hope it's a fight that we lose.

Could you imagine what an blow it would be to conservatives if we gave up this rediculous nonsense about abortion? Why do we fight for it so hard? Because you think we have a right to privacy? Privacy is a joke, this is the 21st cent. We all know the truth that it's destructive behavior, and the sooner we put this monster to bed the sooner our progressive ideas can take root in this country. What would the repugs appeal to their christian base with? more tax cuts for the wealthy, how about long pointless wars, or even better is that gem no gay marriage. They will fade away... but only if we can grasp our own humanity long enough to see abortion as the bruthish poverty it is. To me it ranks right up there with the same careless irresponsability that is exemplified by the name Bush.

peace
and oh yeah down with america

bueller?
bueller?

thanks ripple, I actually feel a tad dumber now

hey, soko, coward

I just called you out a bit ago on the public argument forum, you came, I'm here, either post or slink away

that's the worst part about the Trolls Capt
not that they come, but that they fear argument
debate
discourse, whether civil or not, is still somewhat productive...moreso than posting insults and slinking away without going verbal mano femano
typical Lib, nope not me, I ain't typical

Who are the lemmings, capt? The left is out of ideas, and those who try to say they're not can only offer: 1) the race card, which nobody under 40 buys anymore, 2) class warfare, a repeatedly proven loser, 3) that Christians are closed-minded, an idea that goes over really well in a mostly Christian country, 4) that free trade is bad -- see how many economists you'll get supporting that one, 5) that pacifism is a good idea -- in a post 9/11 world, not too many takers on this one. What I'm asking is this. Capt, you've got to be supporting something. Some idea other than "Bush is bad." I just want to know what it is.

at least Tim can dialogue

HA! ok, guess that was a no
back to the WLM? bit

over at at CBSNEWS Dan Rather's replacement LOL opines "To the list of casualties from Hurricane Katrina, should we now add the president's dream for Iraq?"
if that's a dream gimme Freddy Kruegar city from here on out

Hi you all:
I have just a couple of comments to make to this Blog and responses:

Moosa #45:
A very good point: what makes a fetus that has exited the womb (we don't even consider that this "womb" is a human being) for, oh say 17 years or so, immune to pain and crying? How many have cried out in pain as their limbs are blown off, or who have blown the limbs off some other former fetus? What is more special about a 25 weeks old fetus than an 25 years old human? We have a long way to go before we can call ourselves truly "civilized" and "humane". How do we leave people in attics and on roofs for lack of sufficient resources locally because we are using them to kill and destroy in a far off land?

Jeanne #41:
You also make some very rational points. Who, indeed, will make up our work force, if there are inadequate facilities in education, health care, infrastructure and social welfare? And, who will be the consumers of the goods and services produced by the corporations, if the middle class and lower classes are living at a subsistence level? In the short term, being a multi-millionaire/billionaire, may seem to have its rewards, but at some time, the cost has to be accounted for, and the debt incurred paid. There is no bankruptcy protection for the loss of human resources. If you cannot recruit qualified people for the complex and sophisticated jobs to service this global economy, then what will happen?

It is time to take account of who we are and what we are here to do, as a family, not as separate individuals. We live in an interdependent, global community of diverse, yet connected beings. We are more alike than different, so let's pay attention to these similarities, and see each other as our brothers and sisters.

May Peace Prevail on Earth,

St. John

1. Alienate ourselves from every other country and race
2. Leech the middle and lower class until there is no longer an upper class
3. Christians and close mindedness and gays...well at first they weren't big on blacks either, oops, that damn race card again
4. Free trade on a barter debt economy? LOL
5. War...always a winner
You REDS are full of ideas, all bad ones
I'd be willing to give a monkey a favor chance at running things at this rate
wanna take soko's place?

which all of your Repub ideas are working right now ?

If it weren't for abortion, the left would have enough people to win presidential elections.

liberalism as genetics
thanks casey
you don't win anything for the wrong answer but I do thank you for playing
next?

is there any chance one of you Righties can call me a commie?
it's my fav

I feel like that guy in Transporter 2 right now

I'm waiting, capt. Nice rant ed, but you didn't give me an idea. All I need is one, guys.

any big Trolls out there wanna tussle brains?
or do I have to provide snappy comebacks to low rent talk radio trolls
ask Tim, I'm a fun guy, though I have to say he's a step above what I've read so far from the Reds

St. John,

"It is time to take account of who we are and what we are here to do,"

Once again, what makes you think others have not "taken accout" of who we are and what we are here to do? What brand of intellectual superiority poppycock are you selling?

I suppose you have taken account of yourself and decided this is what you are here to do? Insult people and expose you over-inflated ego? Keep looking you have no peace in your heart and no passion in your soul to talk down to others as you do.

I beg your pardon.

"What is the first business of one who practices philosophy? To get rid of self-conceit. For it is impossible for anyone to begin to learn that which he thinks he already knows." ~Epictetus (55 AD - 135 AD), Discourses

capt

one idea
improve education in place of affirmative action in poor communities regardless of race
our worst enemies are spawned by ignorance
how bout that one?

how about two
trickle up economy
hate to say it but poor folks are poor savers
and for the economy that's a good thing

Oh, the irony capt. Who's inflating? How 'bout the guy who quotes ancient Stoics to sound smart. Also, I'm still waiting for an answer to #73.

hell yeah Capt!

the saint did sound like a blowhard

how about 3 ideas

srengthen the US before any more nation building exercises

4

Term limits and short ones at that
Puts a little more power to the people
also Voting Day as a national holiday

if Europe can afford 30 days off we can take one for voting and have public transportation free that day

6

Energy policy change
Say goodbye Papa Oil and hello American boom in technology...if we want to be world leaders this is a battle we must helm not hinder

Good start, ed. Those who disagree with you -- the "Weaken the U.S." crew, will definitely have a tough time winning elections in the U.S. Now just what do you mean by "strengthen the U.S."? We're beginning to approach rational thought.

My personal belief is that the abortion issue should be decided by only women. Men can pontificate the issue but will never face the very real and difficult decisions about maternity.

I think the women are the only ones that can make the hard decision and they can do it one women at a time. That is how the decisions are made. One solution, one point of view is far too limited.

One side of the argument is trying to impose their choice on the other side, nobody is forcing anybody to have an abortion so the balance of the equation is a given.

"Baby killer" is the oldest form of hate speech dressed up as concern in history.

The same pro-lifers could care less about uninsured children, Iraqi children or any other form of life not singing in their chorus. It makes sense the hate just flows once you wallow in it.

Everybody wants tolerance and acceptence so that is what everybody should give. Abortion is clearly a private matter and should be always.

IMHO

capt

for starters

-Afghan is on their own, they have a President and now must defend their freedom
-Iraq needs to be a three phase pull out, we cannot have a welfare country on our backs, Saddams gone...now they also must defend their freedom
-Our troops need to be back home, training and preparing for the next 9-11, they also need some down time (deserve!)
-There will have to be some border control, not just Mexico, and not for poor workers that want to pick grapes...I mean a border patrol so no one gets ballsy enough for a land assault

As a matter of fact, capt, would you care to enlighten us all on Epictetus? Maybe you've read the Enchiridion? Are you, yourself a stoic, capt? What did the ancient Stoics believe, o, enlightened one? Wait a second ... gasp ... you weren't just quoting without a clue were you?

Thank you ed.

You're doing great, ed, keep it up.

Don

-next we need to work on our foriegn policy, Lebanon and Palestine have given even conservatives something to consider in regards the impossibilty of Westing the East
-besides it's not even in our economic interest to mess with those cats, former Soviet countries can provide a ton of oil and besides we need to get off the black crack anyways
-with Islamofacists having nothing to gripe about but past East misdeeds the justification for terrorist attack becomes thinner
-We must improve our communications protocol for disaster zones, there is too much technology out there for this to be a constant issue

Bush is doing a poor job of all these things
I'm not ready to say Kerry or anyone else would be doing better
but I think someone else deserves a chance
truth is there are a lot of threats out there
I hold a lot of Liberal ideas faithfully but Ialso kinda dig being at the top of the food chain

Three steps to improving America

Term limits
War on Poverty
Global weave

New Orleans Survivor stories

Adele Bertucci, 53, hospitality worker, native of Cuba and 35-year resident of New OrleansThe worst experience for me was being alone for maybe four days in the airport. That's something I'll never forget. There were bodies. There were people bleeding. There were people lying in their own waste. One after another. If you take Gone with the Wind and the Nazi War and the Vietnam war, and visualize that in one place, that's how I would describe the airport. When you watch it on TV, it's like watching a Walt Disney versus an R-rated movie. You only see what they want you to see. You can't smell it. More...

J. Michael Brown, 52, resident of Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish, president of an electronic funds transfer companyWithin 15 minutes you had six feet of water in your home, which is about a 6,000 square foot place. In about 30 minutes I had 12 feet. Across the street there was probably 15 feet of water. I watched my BMW go down the street, my daughter's BMW go away down the street. The water was ferocious. You could see natural gas bubbling up out of the water everywhere you looked. As far as you could see, there was nothing but black water. More...

Dumas Carter, 30, eight-year veteran NOPD officer, one of six local cops who stayed on duty at the Convention Center complex in the days after KatrinaLots of people on the street were asking me where to go. I'm telling them the truth, which is I don't know, they haven't told us anything. They're telling us that somebody told them that they were told by another person who was somebody in charge of something that the Convention Center was being set up as a secondary evacuation point with food and water. Those people went to the Convention Center, and there was no food or water there for them. So now there's no water, there's no police--everybody's left the city except for the six of us. And now there's 20,000 people with no extra security down there. More...

*****end of clip*****

Well put together piece.

capt

Look at me
I'm a Liberal with ideas...LOL
anyways I think some new life needs to be breathed into our government, for that we are going to need a strong third party
something to quash the party line
and push through that term limits bit that'll force politicians to really be "of the people"

This message board just got a lot better, and I appreciate being able to see what goes on in a modern left-leaning mind. Now, ed, a more serious matter. You didn't actually pay money to see The Transporter 2, did you?

sadly, yes

another example of trickle up economics
movie theaters are struggling
Disney theme parks posting losses

the middle and lower class having more spending cash changes that

trickle up economics makes sense
combine that with the education initiaive and you can teach people to fish too through investment and personal business

imagine middle eastern cultures with no western influence in the direct

in other words allow them to watch certain ideas florish from afar without asking them to join in

create global weave economies where US cooperation can allot for more succesful individuals in foreign countries, the everyone rises together philosophy

makes selling religion and hate tougher for the osamas

outwit, outlast and outplay
we really can't just kill them all

try selling hate to young entreprenuer minded muslims...on a level economic playing field
not socialism, but capitalism with a few rules
the brilliance of the US form of government is checks and balances
imagine what a few checks and balances could do to our economy

but first we need to come back home
find common ground
rebuild our nation stronger than before 9-11
for EVERYONE
and then let's see some jackasses try and take it from us...Let's roll style LOL

otherwise we remain a divided nation
with an unsucessful administration
and a borrow economy that has infected so many aspects of our spending--both Govt and personal
we need new leadership, regardless of party even
this isn't helping post 9-11
Reds need to get critical of W
Blues need to force the Dems to focus
And the American people need to start demanding accountability from our elected officials
democracy is easy that way

Capt,
Thank you for post #93. It is so frustrated to be a woman sometimes. I appreciate a man who can understand the vulnerabilities of being a woman. We get pregnant and we can’t just walk away. We have to make decisions. When men sit on Meet the Press and spout their opinions about abortion but refuse to discuss health care and education it infuriates me.

Ed, in post 96, I think dj is asking you to shut up but you don't have to. You're the boss of you.

ed, you make some good points, but learn to quite when you're ahead, which wasn't for long... sigh.

quit

Well, Jeanne is right, you are the boss of you..just like we of the other gender SHOULD be the boss of us.

Ed, I didn't see same sex marriage. That's good. In MN we've decided that's a bullshit issue. We just don't care. If Republicans men don't want to marry men they shouldn't.
An issue that is important in MN is one of health care. We have a plan called MN Care. I know other states have it. Our Republican "we can't be best at everything" leadership decided to try and slash the funding to it. The Democrats fought it and kept the funding. Now MN Care is important for people who are pre-existing, that is have had cancer, diabetes, whatever is pre-existing. The insurance companies drop them like lepers. So the women in treatment for let's say breast cancer would have no insurance to continue treatment without the MN Care. Did the Republicans care?
dj maybe you know the answer to this. Hmmmmmmm? The answer is no. The Republicans don't give a shit about anyone but their select one percent and the wannabees who cling.
By the way dj, we have a standard request for your kind. Please enlist.

Jeanne...You go, girl! Boy oh boy, you know your stuff. Are you involved in Wellstone Action? If not, you should be.

http://www.wellstone.org/

Remember Paul Wellstone -- and what he stood for.

Capt.
I am not sure what your issues with me are. May I clarify that when I speak of taking account of ourselves, I certainly include myself. No, I am not perfect and if you feel I come off as holier than thou, it may be there is a reflection. And, the reflection thing goes both ways, so if you are seeing it in me, then there must be something there to see. So, the paradox is to communicate in such a way as to be clear and authentic, yet not trigger another's sensitivities. On the other hand, to speak so blandly as not to elicit some form of response, is not authentic. So, as I grow in understanding and compassion for myself, I grow in that way for others.

I keep referring back to what I wrote and what parts of it you quoted. I did not say "you should" take account...I said: it is time we. There is no other to pontificate to. If it sounds that way, will so be it. If I were to quote Epictetus to you, does that relieve me from the responsibility of living from that Truth? We are all in the process of self-discovery, and every exchange with our brothers and sisters is another opportunity to go a little deeper. I will continue to share what I know or feel, whether here or elsewhere, and you may read or not, accept or not, be insulted, or not. My intention is to first awaken myself, then act as a guide for others. Some will be offended, some will put aside judgment of me, and see if there is anything for them. We are always at choice. What has George Bush done but awaken us to the denial we in this country are practicing daily in not regarding each other as equals. So, once again, I say, let us all look within our own hearts for the answers; not outside for the reasons.

Peace be with each of you,
St. John

The book by Sheri Tepper called "The Fresco" put the abortion issue into a new perspective.

Transportation? WE NEED MASS TRANSIT big time in our big cities. Employers need to have a way to get the employees to work. And even you dj could use it. The SUV can stay in the garage and you can save gas and help clean the air.

No, St. John you have always sounded very full of yourself and very much a "better than thou."

That is not my fault no am I going to take the blame for it. Take responsibility for your words as I do mine.

I have no issue with you per se, just that high horse you preach from.

Watch, it is going sound like I hung up the phone but I am not, hold on the line. Brrrrrrrrrrrr

capt

St. John, I think people are on edge. I know I am. I am afraid, the world is changing so fast I can't keep up. While we look at ourselves the thieves keep plundering. Where do we turn?

Paul Wellstone actually liked to stand up to people like Bush and Cheney. I would have loved to have heard somebody call him unpatriotic. That would have been like going to the movies.

Self-conceit may lead to self-destruction.
Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC), The Frog and the Ox

The smaller the mind the greater the conceit.
Aesop (620 BC - 560 BC)

When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.
Bernard Bailey

Conceit is God's gift to little men.
Bruce Barton

******

Thanks quotationspage.com

capt

Pentagon Pushes to Hide 9/11 Mistakes

By Rory O'Connor, AlterNet.
September 20, 2005

Will the press and the public be excluded from this week's Senate Judiciary Committee hearings concerning a once-secret military intelligence unit called "Able Danger" that identified four of the 9/11 hijackers in 2000?

Yes, if the Pentagon has its way. According to Fox News, military officials have been exerting pressure to close the hearings for at least a week. But Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Penn., is said to be resisting their request to classify the "intelligence information sharing" hearings, expected to feature testimony from several Pentagon sources.

Why should you care? In addition to the fact that members of the once clandestine intelligence unit say they identified Mohammed Atta and three other 9/11 hijackers as threats a year before the attacks, former Able Danger analysts also claim that they tried to turn the information over to the FBI -- but were repeatedly ignored.

Although Pentagon officials originally cast doubt on Able Danger's very existence, they now confirm that five former members of the unit remember Atta's picture or name being on a chart in 2000.

Rep. Curt Weldon -- a Republican from Pennsylvania -- has been pushing the issue for weeks. Now he appears to have succeeded in persuading Congress to look into what the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States, (informally known as the Sept. 11 Commission) knew about the Able Danger intelligence group, and whether the Commission ignored evidence about the hijackers' presence in the United States.

*****end of clip*****

If they have nothing to hide the sunshine would not scare them.

capt

HOLY SMACKERS BATMAN.
Plamegate:The John Bolton Connection.

You don't like O'Reilly, Hume or Gibson. It appears you don't like anyone who tell you the truth. Typical liberal in your land of OZ.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

If it weren't for abortion, the left would have enough people to win presidential elections.

Right, because only leftists have abortions. Dittohead in da house!

The left is out of ideas...

*Yawn* Another Republican/conservative straw man talking point if I've ever heard one. Anyway, dj, it sounds really stupid when guys/gals like you mock the left for being "out of ideas" when you can't even live up to your own conservative principles. For example, how do you defend the fact that this administration has placed an enormous burden of debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren by borrowing billions from the Communist Chinese in a vain attempt to maintain an empire? Now we have a national disaster on the Gulf and he intends to borrow more! "Conservative" indeed.

You know, I'm what you would define as a "lefty," but if I ran my business the way Bush and his cronies have run the government for the past five years, I'd be in jail.

By the way, I'm the regular Don that posts here. Just added the "A" to differentiate myself from the "newer" Don.

120: Please do some self-reflection. Sad. Very sad.

Hollow Words from the Hollow Man

By Matthew Rothschild
September 20, 2005

Forget about Bush’s words. Watch his actions.

For all of Bush’s pious pronouncements last week about his concern for racism and poverty on the Gulf Coast, he’s already taken steps that belie that concern.

If he’s so worried about poverty, why did he lift the requirement that government contractors pay the prevailing wage on construction jobs?

If he’s so worried about racism, why did he lift the requirement that government contractors have an affirmative action plan in place?

The answer is obvious. He isn’t worried about poverty or racism. He’s worried about helping out his friends in the business community.

That the disaster vultures like Halliburton are already feasting on Katrina is shameless enough.

But that Bush would use Katrina as an excuse to rollback regulations that help the very people who were hit so hard by this storm is startling in its brazenness.

We shouldn’t be surprised, though.

This is an Administration that has neglected the concerns of the poor and derided the goals of affirmative action from day one.

This is an Administration that believes in no government regulation whatsoever.

And so it seized on Katrina to grant the oil industry a nationwide waiver for fuel blends on gasoline, something the companies have wanted for a long time.

Champion blame-throwers, the Bush people are now trying to pin Katrina on environmentalists

*****end of clip*****

This article lays bare the truth. Actions really do speak louder than words.

capt

Don "A"

Where have you been? Getting your love on another blog? HA! (kidding)

capt

So I'm having twin boys in december, and it terrifies the shit out of me. It's hard enough to make it with the both of us working.

Since we're having twins we were able to get one of those hi-tech ultra sounds that create 3-D images of the babies. It blew my mind. They were making faces and one was flipping me off. You could see them already competing for space! What is more human than that?

All I can say is that I use to be a big proponent of abortion rights because I thought that was a typical liberal idea that must be safe guarded. I regret saying some foolish things about it in the past, like it's as natural of a population control as war, and blah blah blah rationality.

But once you see the face of your own child staring back at you, a realization of the highest kind takes place. You have never seen yourself until now. Mirrors are only reflections but the eyes in that child are you. How can we continue rationalizing murder? Any murder? What's the point?

I even find it hard to wish that cold bitch Barbara aborted W.

Then again if either of our previous presidents had kept their junk to themselves we wouldn't be witnessing our country's fall(right now anyway).

Capt, One of the most important things I have taught my kids is to pay attention to the track record. Watch the actions. That's why I can't understand why people fall for Bush. His track record is comic and tragic. It's pitiful. And this country is full of lunkheads who voted for the guy.

Well, dear Capt.
I guess you have really taken offense to me, as you are spending so much of your precious time looking for quotes to put me in my place, as high as it may be. My laughter at your responses is filling the room. Methinks though protesteth too much.

Dear Saladin,
You are a voice of sanity and compassion in a world often taking itself too seriously. The answer to your question, where to turn, is Within. Look into your own heart and know the peace that resides there. The world may look bleak and dark, but it may not take the peace from you unless you allow it. Don't allow it. Be the ruler of your own mind and watch the transformation take place. It may not change what you see, but it may change how you see it. What looks like evil is a call for Love.
Be Peace,
St. John

Paul Wellstone

I love Paul Wellstone and his quote. Hopefully, Minnesota can elect another Paul Wellstone.

The late U.S. Senator said, "Politics is not about power. Politics is not about money. Politics is not about winning for the sake of winning. Politics is about the improvement of people's lives. It's about advancing the cause of peace and justice in our country and in the world. Politics is about doing well for people."

Saladin,

Is it just me, am I out of line or does St. John sound full of himself and better than us lowly posters offered his scraps of platitudes?

Just wondering, and sincerely asking.

capt

Ripple,
Congrats!!!!!!
I think most women who have abortions do so because they have very few options. They don't think of ideology. They think about their own lives. Maybe it's selfish but in that situation you tend to be selfish. I'm not saying that in an insulting way. I'm saying it in a realistic way. I can't judge.
You and your spouse are very lucky. Just like I was having three children. I always felt that I was blessed, not just because I could have children but that I could afford to have them.

John Kerry quotes James from the Bible. "Words without deeds are worth nothing." Leo Buscaglia says, "The heart sees where eyes are blind." Gerald says, "Look into Bush's heart and you will see dry rot."

St. John,
Honestly, you're sounding like Robert Carradine in Kung Foo or what ever that show was called.

Leo Buscaglia may have said it like, "The heart sees where the eyes do not see."

Anyways, my spiritual advisor says, "Do not look at the speck in our eyes when we are carrying lumber in our heart."

David,

The following is taken directly from the majority opinion in Roe V. Wade

“appellant and some amici argue that the woman's right is absolute and that she is entitled to terminate her pregnancy at whatever time, in whatever way, and for whatever reason she alone chooses. With this we do not agree.”

(a) For the stage prior to approximately the end of the first trimester, the abortion decision and its effectuation must be left to the medical judgment of the pregnant woman's attending physician.

(b) For the stage subsequent to approximately the end of the first trimester, the State, in promoting its interest in the health of the mother, may, if it chooses, regulate the abortion procedure in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health.

(c) For the stage subsequent to viability, the State in promoting its interest in the potentiality of human life may, if it chooses, regulate, and even proscribe, abortion except where it is necessary, in appropriate medical judgment, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother.

The issue shouldn't be Roe v Wade because that decision isn't even being followed anymore. Now the issue is "any abortion, anytime." And what is happening across this this country it is pretty much coming to that. Even Hillary declared abortion should be safe, legal & rare. Well, Roe made it legal in the first trimester. Safe? As far as surgical procedures are considered, it is relatively safe but there are risks with all surgeries. Rare? Over 30 million aborted babies since Roe v Wade. I would say, well done to burnt. That figure is absolutely horrific in a country that professes to value life as we do. The reason abortion will never be rare in this country is that it is relatively cheap compared to obtaining a vasectomy or getting one's tubes tied. And that is only because an abortion is taxpayer funded whereas the alternatives are considered to be "elective surgery."

Abortion shouldn't be a left/right issue or a right to privacy issue. It should be a human life issue. We should care for the unborn child as we should care for the mother. Sadly, when abortion is chosen, there is loss of life to both the child and the mother. There is not one person on this site who cannot agree that a woman who choses abortion, even though she feels it was the right decision, doesn't lose a part of herself.

I don't have the answer. I do feel strongly that a child that can live outside the womb should be given that chance. I've had 3 children arrive early in this world. 30 weeks, 34 weeks & 35 weeks. The one who arrived at 34 weeks actually started to arrive in the 23rd week. They are all strong, healthy & in spite of their father, wise. And that includes their 3 month old brother who came at 38 weeks.

That is why the trimester opinion was written in Roe v Wade. The Court was not willing to state exactly when life begins, but even medical science 32 years ago could predict viability of a baby at certain periods of gestation. Somehow, 30 million abortions and 32 years later, that decision doesn't matter anymore. Welcome to the land of the 24/7 abortion. Now taking applications for the late shift.

Kung Fu!

That's what I'm talking about.

It is not the message, it is the delivery, and the fact that St. John is not so saintly when he has a critic.

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