Get Off Your Ass and Get On My Vote!

Photo credit Cartier Bresson courtesy of Magnum Images
There's a weird vibe in the air lately, its not just Autumn about to fall, its not post-9/11 doldrums, the war, or post-Katrina depression.
Its something like 'impending doom'. That feeling you get just before something bad happens. It seems human nature to try and shush it away, calm what can be interpreted as 'irrational fear'. Just keep keeping on.
I'm a big supporter of the 'gut feeling'. I've always kept faith with my intuition. The trick is learning to be still enough to hear the quiet voice that will tell you, if you listen, the correct path for you. Not the right path for others, just the simple, direct route to your own happiness, and oftentimes, safety.

My gut is telling me that this 'vote fraud debacle' or however you prefer to phrase it, is real. Really, real. Notice how in the American venacular when we say something twice, we mean it? "Are you going shopping?"
"No, I'm going shopping shopping". Ooh hoo.


Thursday September 14th, the Princeton study story broke in the blogosphere. Barely any mention of it elsewhere. When I did a blog search for "Diebold voting machines" I got 1,092 blog posts that spoke specifically, with much detail about the Princeton study and the past successful hacking of Diebold machines. When I searched MSNBC, I got an article from 2004 about vote fraud in Chad. Hello? Is anyone besides the bloggers paying any attention? The answer is an qualified, "No". [Bradblog linked here and here, a must read.]

The blogosphere is an interesting phenomenon. It's dominated by left progressives with a potent posse of wingnuttery bringing up the rear. The Diebold story brought many people like me out trumpeting the charge, "We must do something about our votes being stolen...again". Yet In my reading around the blogosphere, I found many people up in arms as I am. People were debating, making an arguement for why this is an important an issue as war or anything else. The right-wing response was par for the course with their defensiveness and insulting poo-pooing. But the other dynamic I saw was quite a bit of, "Nothing to see here, move along", done by Democrats, Progressives, Liberals, The Left. This shocks me.

I know the Left is constantly complaining about how 'brain-dead'and 'in denial' the bushies are for following their fearless leader like lemmings, but is anyone paying attention to the paralysis on the left when things get too scary? We on the left, and in the MSM (albeit it with a GOP talking point bent), bitch constantly about our elected officials, Democrats, who act like scared puppies too frightened to make a peep even when the American public raises its hackles about the state of the union. Why when we have not only that which is decent about America on our side, but the pulse of the nation beating in sync with what we say we want? Why do we cowtow to what appears to be a force greater than ourselves, namely the conservative, rich, crazy, theocratic, neo-fascist goopers? Why, indeed.

I have no definitive answers, but I have theories as to why we seem to shy away from the obvious conflict of facing up to the criminal, evil, right-wing that rules America and is changing our very way of life unabated. The issue of 'taking on the vote' seems too overwhelming, too much to be able to do anything about. Certainly, those in power must be doing something, right? Wrong. Those with the power to make a stink about the fraudulent activities around the vote tampering are scared of losing their jobs. Better to be a sitting politician with little power than a private citizen with none. The proof in their actions , defined as inaction.

I have found in life, and all its myriad expressions, that it is better to risk making a mistake than to do nothing. For months that have now stretched into years, sitting Democrats have done next to nothing to curb the right's rampant stranglehold and usurpation of power. There exists almont NO checks and balances. Much of the political energy expended by the Left has been in the form of defense against the constantly encroaching tyranny pushed ever-forward by the right. If we do not insist that the sitting politicians, past politicians, the mainstream media and the citizenry of the USA get off their asses, a world of shit will hit us with both barrels. It is inevitable. How bad does it need to get before we do something?

I understand the ennui of overwhelm. When you are so inundated with problems that you feel paralyzed. Many of us find ourselves there now. I haven't posted in a few days because of this low-grade 'depression'. I spent two days crying on and off. Granted, watching Spike Lee's "When The Levees Broke" didn't help but when you can't get a break from the constant horror of the shape our country is taking, it gets to you. The gulf coast residents feel it, though for a different reason. They are trying to survive, while many of us are trying to give our country a fighting chance for survival. The difference of course with Katrina survivors is their energies are used up by trying to find housing, jobs, health care, schools, fairness, not to mention the criminal behavior of the insurace companies. It doesn't leave much left over to fight the government. We take for granted sometimes being grateful to not have to fight for these things on a daily basis.

People will read a small article on page 18 of the local paper or watch a 15 second blurb on the evening news about the voting machines and think," Hmm, well somebody's got to be doing something about that, afterall this is America, we have a free and fair election process." In truth some bodies are doing something but nobody is listening. The clock is ticking. Father Martin Niemoller said it well in his best known statement, "When they came for the Communists, I was silent, because I was not a communist..." If we do not contact our public officials and the media about these vote-stealing machines and raise holy hell there will be no need to "come for us" because we will already be there, trapped in a system of our own design because we did nothing.

When will enough be enough for YOU?

Additionally, if you are up to it, in a slightly off topic post, I direct you to some excellent reading by Christy Hardin Smith of firedoglake. She has posted on the disatisfaction within the republican party as well. If you still haven't had enough, then check out this "Bush Family Connections" site. It looks a little dry but as you click on the Bush pictures you can find the links between the corruption in government, the corporate interests and much, much more. This is worth a post in itself but give it a spin and see if you get a better picture of why we are where I say we are in this country.

Heartsick but Wide Awake

Your country is slipping away. This is not a joke. As surely as houses came off their foundations after the deluge of Katrina. Remember the photos? Remember the shock of seeing a huge ship beached far inland? Houses deposited atop cars? Remember the people chanting, "Help, Help, Help" in front of the convention center? Remember thinking, "This could never happen here, not here in the United States, this looks like a third-world country..." This is what is happening to your country. The 'big storm' were the attacks on 9/11, and our country began on that day, the slow, steady slip off its foundation that today threatens to be, like Katrina, devasting and beyond repair.

Last night ABC played part one of their 'mockumentary'. The drama that rewrites history and basically blames Bill Clinton for the attacks of 9/11. Chimpy's numbers are up. Gas prices are down. The 'shock and awe' dog-and-pony-show is in high gear. The troops dead in this lie called a war have surpassed those killed in the 9/11 attacks. The reconstruction of the Gulf Coast is left hanging for the poor, but rushes forward for the carpetbaggers and the 'people of influence'. And Americans are drinking lattes, talking on cellphones and tuning in to see who killed Jon Benet.

Your government is wire-tapping you without warrants and saying that its "National Security". Anytime asked questions the answers are always swathed in secrecy and "National Security". Do you feel safer? Do you? The Bush Administration is currently trying to pass a bill that will retro-actively insulate those who haven broken existing laws. Corporate interests run the the government. BushCo has begun to gear-up drumbeats to start another war. They cut benefits for Veterans after promising to take care of them. They lied about why we went to war with Iraq. They lied about the connections between Sadaam Hussein and 9/11. They lied about taking care of Katrina survivors. Lousiana, the last blue state in the south, has been stripped of its mostly African American democrat voters. They have outted an undercover CIA operative for political revenge and lied about it. They have installed voting machines manufactured by republican donors that have been proven easy to hack and have already used these blackboxs to steal two elections. They have invaded our privacy and stomped on our civil liberies with the jackboots of the fascist regimes they compare us to; Americans that stand up and want answers about what's going on in America . And the American mainstream media tells us nothing. Well here's something I found over at Nate's, it's called "The Best War Ever"



Sitting Democrats in Washington,D.C. barely say a word in protest about what is going on, afraid of 'alienating' the centrist core of America. Liberals and Progressives fight amongst themselves about the 9/11 conspiracy question, again not wanting to 'offend' anyone. If you believe that 9/11 was an "inside job" you are considered a "conspiracy nut" and are marginalized. It is becoming Nazi Germany all over again, but it is here. If you have doubts, check it out for yourself. Check the evidence for this slow but steady drift, this slide into totalitarianism. Nazi Germany didn't not happen overnight. It took 10 years from the beginning of Hitler's reign until he stormed Poland. Read your history. George Bush has the power of 21st century technology to aid him so its only taken him 6 years. Have you had enough? When is 'enough is enough' for you? I have. I've had more than enough.

Listen fof one minute to a Republican former President in his departing remarks, warning us of this very thing:



Today I post a link to an award winning documentary that is available for viewing at Information Clearinghouse. Please watch it. It can be a powerful antidote to the propaganda. It was in the theaters until recently. I post it in hopes of throwing my voice into the fray for the battle to reclaim my country. It's called

"Why We Fight"

film "Why We Fight"

Pentagon Whistle-Blower on Iran

Truthout's James Harris interviews Lt.Col Karen Kwiatkowski, USAF(ret.). If you watched the award-winning documentary, "Why We Fight" you may remember her as the outspoken critic of the pentagon who gave insider information about the 'fluffing' of pre-war intelligence on Iraq. Since her retirement, she has become prolific in her writings condemning the war in Iraq and in this interview comments how the same 'cherry-picking' may be going vis-a-vis Iran. Oftentimes I skip over reading pieces regarding the 'intel' coming out of Iran when it comes from BushCo, because I basically assume it's a pack of lies. The Bush that cried "wolf" so to speak. But Lt.Col. Kwiatkowski is someone I've read for a while and I don't agree with all of her positions (she calls herself a Libertarian), but I do think she speaks truth to power. In this short excerpt, Kwiatkowski remembers comments from a General discussing the intentions for Iraq which provides a 'set-up' for attacking Iran

We will be in Iraq, and the American people need to get with this program, we will be in Iraq like we were in the Philippines for anywhere from 20 to 30 more years. That's the time frame that we're looking at. And that is the life span of the bases that we've constructed there. Yeah, we are not leaving these bases, and a Democratic president, I don't care who they are, will keep those basses there. They will justify them and they will use them and we love that. We love it. So it's not about what the American people think is right or wrong, it's not about if we got lied to, what matters is, they did what they wanted to do, and as bush says, and as Cheney says, “it's quite the success.” And this is very frightening. Because none of this has ever been admitted to the American people, it's only been hinted at by people that know. And of course the facts speak for themself. The facts are, we are in Iraq, we have the finest military installations in the world, the newest military installations in the world, and we're not leaving them. We're not turning them over to a Shiite government, we're not turning them over to a Sunni government, we're not turning them over to a Kurdish government. We're not doing that. They are American bases. We've got our flag there. And this is kind of the way they used to do things, I guess back in the Middle Ages. Maybe the Dark Ages. A king decided he wanted to go do something, he went and did it. And this is George Bush. We call him an elected president. I mean, he's operating much as kings have operated in the past.

Read her insightful POV here.

Why We Fight (and why I hate the Bush Administration)

An incredible, must-see documentary by Eugene Jarecki. I saw Why We Fight, last year on HBO. Now the BBC has released it and YouTuber Eurasure has put it up. This documentary on the commerce of war, how the military industrial complex profits from war, and how it must continually create wars to continue the growth of its business, relevance and outrageous expenditure of public money. Required viewing for ALL Americans. Each part is about 20 minutes. Keep in mind while you watch, the same arguments for invading Iraq are being trotted out again to preemptively bomb Iran.

This documentary is stirring, poignant, prescient and right-on-target current in its message and content. Please watch it. Send it to others. Send it to your congressperson and senators. Please. We must stand together NOW.

I have posted this film previously and written related posts. If you have time, take a look at the past posts and the comments. There's still time if we join together against this fascist bush regime.


Graphic courtesy of Old American Century.org

Pravda, Da!

Well it would appear that I am a communist...I agree wholeheartedly with this OpEd from the English language edition of Pravda.

Memorial Day speech 29.05.2007

Ladies and gentlemen:

During the Memorial Day Holiday, it is customary to honor those courageous individuals who lost their lives in the numerous wars America has fought during its two hundred and thirty years of existence. But it goes without saying that nobody questions the bravery, the commitment and the sacrifice made by those intrepid men and women.

So, in today’s world, it is perhaps more fitting to devote a Memorial Day Speech to the cowards, the liars, the hypocrites and the exploiters who made many of these wars, including the current Iraqi war, possible.

First and foremost, we must thank George W. Bush, a “pro-life” warmonger who instigated the Iraqi war based upon nothing but outright lies, and who then “intrepidly” challenged Iraqi insurgents to “bring it on” from the safety of the White House in Washington D.C., one of the most fortified buildings in the world, located in one of the most fortified cities in the world.

Americans should not forget that, when the time came for Bush to serve his country during the Vietnam War, he did not hesitate to use his family’s wealth and influence to avoid combat duty, instead performing some National Guard duties, the nature of which remains nebulous to this day.

Soldiers wounded in Iraq should also remember that even though their conditions could potentially be improved through advancements in stem-cell research, Bush opposes such research, thus ensuring that such advancements will never be made.

Americans should also not forget the “heroism” of the venal Dick Cheney, who received five separate deferments to avoid combat duty in Vietnam. When asked why he took such extraordinary measures to avoid military service, Cheney replied that he had “other priorities.” Well, I’m sure that many of those who did serve in Vietnam (or who are currently serving in Iraq) had (and have) other priorities as well.

We must also not forget that paradigm of cowardice and hypocrisy, Tom Delay. Delay’s cowardice was shown by the lame excuse he gave for his failure to serve in Vietnam: That so many “minority youth” had enlisted in the military, there was no room for “patriotic folks” like him.

Delay’s hypocrisy was shown when he proclaimed during the Clinton administration that “bombing a sovereign nation for ill-defined reasons with vague objectives undermines American stature in the world,” yet announced during the Bush dictatorship that “it’s not the time to be questioning this president on how he is carrying out the war.”

Of course, this speech would be remiss if one did not mention how an apparent alliance between “The Swift Boat Veterans” and Sinclair Broadcasting Group, owner of the largest chain of television stations in the United States, resulted in hypocritical attacks on Presidential Candidate John Kerry and his conduct during the Vietnam War, particularly since, by attacking Kerry, these veterans were basically endorsing the candidacy of two cowards who avoided even serving in Vietnam.

And naturally we should not forget all those other politicians who have emulated Bush and Cheney by voting to send young men and women off to wars that neither they nor their loved ones have volunteered to participate in. After all, why demand that Bush’s twin daughters endure the rigors of fighting in a war their father illegally started when they can “productively” spend their time drinking excessively and running nude through hotel hallways in Argentina?

But war would not be war without its legion of fans, particularly the fans of country music. Performers in this genre have made the exploitation of war an art form. So thank you Tim McGraw for performing “If You’re Reading This,” at the Academy of Country Music Awards—a venue much more fitting than singing in combat fatigues from the front lines in Iraq. And thank you Toby Keith for “bravely” volunteering to “kick ass” in Iraq from the safety of the concert stage and recording studio. And we should not forget to thank Kid Rock, that transparent opportunist who suddenly began appearing on country music stations when his support of the Iraqi war lost him fans in the “rock-and-roll” arena. Nor should we forget to thank the equally opportunistic Larry the Cable Guy, who used the comedy stage to praise Toby Keith’s cowardice, while condemning the Dixie Chicks for having the courage to denounce this cowardice.

But these performers would not be possible without all those country music fans who buy their records and attend their concerts or movies, never once asking these performers why, if they are so “patriotic,” they aren’t serving their country in the military, instead of just singing about it.

Next we must thank the stars of television and movies: the Gary Sinises, the Ron Silvers, the Dennis Millers, the Bruce Willis(s), the Elisabeth Hasselbecks, and other such cowards who, like many of their country music counterparts, “fight” the Iraqi war from the safety of television and movie studios. After all, if there weren’t real soldiers actually risking life and limb, people, like Willis and Sinise, could not draw bloated paychecks playing soldiers in the “Hollywoodland” of make believe.

Then we must thank those who “support the troops,” as long as it results in cheap publicity: the Wrestling Federations who film their excursions to Iraq so they can demonstrate their “patriotism” in televised specials back home; the cast of the movie THE DUKES OF HAZZARD, who conveniently visited an army base to tell the troops “thank you,” at the same time their movie was being released; and all those other celebrities who conspicuously make a point of discussing how they’ve gone to Iraq to “entertain” the troops. Whatever happened to entertaining the troops simply for the sake of entertaining the troops, without the need for crass self-promotion?

Nevertheless, it should be remembered that the Iraqi war would not have been complete without the invaluable assistance of the world’s most famous lap dog, the soon-to-be former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who, through his fawning subservience to George W. Bush, proved that Neville Chamberlain was not the only British Prime Minister willing to appease a tyrant. At least Chamberlain was trying to avoid a war, instead of provoking one.

Lastly, Memorial Day would not be Memorial Day unless we thank the pundits, especially those “heroic” neo-conservative warmongers, almost none of whom have ever served in combat, nor even in the military. Thank you Rush Limbaugh for avoiding Vietnam because of an alleged cyst on your posterior; Thank you William Kristol for your Cheshire grin as you promote your warmongering agenda on Rupert Murdoch’s Fox “News” Channel, the network that has apparently been inspired by the Joseph Goebbels “school” of journalism; Thank you Charles Krauthammer for adding your arrogant smirk to Kristol’s grin as you hawk the war you’re too gutless to fight in; Thank you Bill O’Reilly for “courageously” telling documentary filmmaker Michael Moore you would risk your life (though not the lives of your children) “for the defense of Fallujah.” Apparently Fallujah must now be located in the Fox “News” studios, since you certainly have not relocated yourself to the city of Fallujah in Iraq; Let us also thank the Richard Perles, the Ann Coulters, the Sean Hannity(s) and others whose warmongering cowardice is an inspiration to all those people who demand that others do what they will not.

Finally, a big thank you to Rupert Murdoch for opining that the casualty figures in Iraq are “minute.” Regretfully Murdoch and the scum he supports seem inordinately unwilling to risk becoming part of this “minutiae.”

Just think about it America! If the nation had to depend upon those politicians, pundits and celebrities who instigated the Iraqi war to fight the Iraqi war, there would be no war. Strange how those who are quickest to pontificate about sacrifice and courage are the ones least likely to demonstrate these virtues in their personal lives.

This list, however, would not be complete without thanking all the Las Vegas tourists who engaged in a “pro-war” riot, after singer Linda Ronstadt took an anti-war stance during one of her concerts. I wonder how many of you have transformed your willingness to riot into a willingness to perform combat service in Iraq. Thanks to the United States Supreme Court for ignoring all ethical, moral and legal precedent in its corrupt zeal to catapult a war criminal like George W. Bush into the highest office in the land.

But most of all, thank you Americans (you know who you are) who supported, and in some cases continue to support, the Bush dictatorship. Without your short-sightedness, without your slavish obedience and reckless belief that warmongers never lie, without your support of those politicians, pundits, singers and entertainers who expect sacrifices of others they are unwilling to make themselves, many young people would be celebrating Memorial Day at home with their families, instead of risking and losing their lives in Iraq.

So as we close this Memorial Day weekend, America can be assured that many of its people will remain oblivious to the lessons of history; thus liars can still gain power, exploiters can still use war for profit and self-promotion, and Americans can still be duped into supporting unnecessary wars.

Sadly this also means that Memorial Days in the future will continue to be used to eulogize those who didn’t have to die.

David R. Hoffman
Legal Editor of Pravda.Ru

H/T to Rf for the linky

Commentary on the Sniper Shootings

Photo Courtesy of Eli @ MultiMedium
I watched the video below several times. It is obviously disturbing on many levels, but what warranted my repeat viewing was my incredulity, not of the ghoulishness of the sniper, but the slow and clumsy reaction by the American soldiers. Why didn't they hit the deck after someone was shot? Why didn't they suppress fire? Why did they continue to cross again and again in the line of fire? Why did it take so long to take cover? Why do the soldiers trying to get the downed man move at a trot while staying nearly erect, making themselves better targets?

There have been a number of news articles about extended deployments, not enough down time between deployments, soldiers being sent without adequate training and equipment, soldiers being sent on return deployment who were deemed not combat-ready, injured soldiers being sent back, soldiers with PTSD being redeployed, and now we see in real time the effects. One look at this video and the inexperience of the soldiers and the inadequacy of training becomes apparent. Maybe they're shell-shocked and exhausted, but clearly this is not a situation that can be handled militarily as so many military authorities have repeated.

If you've read any one of the articles above, it's easy to be detached from the tragedy of it. But when you SEE, see with your own eyes, the stunning consequences on real life described by the stories, it's harder to be indifferent about the impact.

And still, I do not understand the haunting silence from the American public.

I understand about denial and about people not actually knowing anyone in Iraq, but these are pointless murders of Americans and Iraqis alike. This isn't a movie about a bygone war or a fight for goodness, truth, freedom, "the American Way", all the ideals we were taught to believe in. These are our people in another pointless Hamburger Hill scenario. But this is not Vietnam. It's Bagdad, Mosul, Fallujah and Ramadi, Tikrit and Sadr City. Our people in a meat grinder that spins ever out of control so BushCo can have it's bloody oil money and Chimpy can secure his 'legacy' and a bloody, broken country with his name on it. Sometimes you get the legacy you have and not the legacy you want Mr. Bush.

There is a reason you don't see this stuff on the news or read it in American newspapers. They don't want you to feel anything but the desire to shop and watch Dancing With The Stars. Hey, is Sanjaya still safe on American Idol?

Aim High

Aviator hopes gay ban will end soon enough for him Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is posting on the Lt. Col. who wants to fly in spite of being Gay.

By JESSIE L. BONNER

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Barack Obama's campaign promise to scrap the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy gave Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach hope. Now the aviator is wondering if the president will deliver in time to save his 18-year Air Force career.

The winner of nine air medals for distinguished service in flight, including one for heroism the night U.S. forces captured Baghdad International Airport in 2003, Fehrenbach is in the process of getting kicked out of the military a year after an acquaintance told his bosses he was gay.

He thought he could hang on until the government eliminated the military's policy forcing gays and lesbians to keep their sexual orientation secret, but now he isn't so sure.

Obama "was someone who had experienced discrimination firsthand and that's why I had a lot of faith," Fehrenbach said. "I thought, OK I can fight this, and maybe by January Obama could be inaugurated and this won't matter.

"That hasn't happened."

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group seeking equal treatment of gays in the military, estimates that more than 200 service members have been discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" since Obama was sworn into office.

The White House insists officials are working to overturn the policy, but when that will happen is unclear. The reassurances mean little to Fehrenbach, who has flown on missions in Afghanistan and Iraq and is about to lose the only way of life he's ever known just two years before he would be eligible to retire.

Fehrenbach, 39, is the son of an Air Force veterans — his father was a lieutenant colonel who died when he was 9 and his mother is a former military nurse who lives in Ohio. Last week he told his relatives he is gay, was being discharged from the Air Force and was going on national television to talk about it.

"Now, I'm not hiding anything," said Fehrenbach, who has appeared on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC's talk show and remains on active duty at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in the Idaho desert, about 60 miles southeast from Boise. "For 18 years, I played by the rules and I kept my private life private."

Most of the estimated 13,000 service members discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" since the law was enacted in 1993 have opted to leave quietly and close the final chapter of their military careers in private. Groups calling for the repeal of the ban, however, say Fehrenbach is among a growing number who are going public with a newfound sense of urgency.

In September, Fehrenbach had decided to accept an honorable discharge and waive his right to a military hearing, where he would have to lie about being gay in order to stay in the Air Force. He refused.

"I just wanted this to go away, I didn't tell anyone, I didn't want anyone to know," Fehrenbach said.

He quickly changed his mind and with encouragement from five close friends, one a fellow service member, he rescinded the waiver and tried to stall the hearing that would determine his military fate.

The military hearing was delayed until April, when Fehrenbach was told he had been recommended for an honorable discharge. The process could take about five months to complete because of his record and rank, he said; he doesn't know whether he'll be able stay in the Air Force if "don't ask, don't tell" is repealed before then.

"I will fight this in uniform and I'll fight it without," Fehrenbach said. "I swore an oath to defend and support the Constitution, I'm going to speak out and fight this until the law is repealed because it is not constitutional."

He said "don't ask, don't tell" denies American service members their constitutional right to privacy, due process and equal protection, and forces them to lie about who they are when honesty is part of the code they serve under.

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which is representing Fehrenbach while he explores his legal options, wants Obama to begin working with Congress to repeal the law.

"He said he was going to fix it," said Aubrey Sarvis, the group's executive director. "We need a plan and a timeline from the White House on how we're going to get this done."

A bill that would allow gays to serve openly has been introduced in Congress.

Obama's top advisers want the president to move more slowly in overturning the policy than many gay-rights activists would like, citing other priorities including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "We have a lot on our plate right now," retired Marine Gen. James Jones, the White House's national security adviser, said this month.

On the other side of the debate, the Michigan-based Center for Military Readiness gathered signatures earlier this year from more than 1,000 retired military officers urging the president and Congress to keep the ban.

"It's really not fair to the women and men of our armed forces to be part of this social experiment," said center president Elaine Donnelly. "Military life is difficult enough without having this additional burden. This is harmful to good order and discipline and morale."

In the midst of debate over whether gays should be allowed to serve without fear of retribution if their sexual orientation is disclosed by them, or someone else, a family rooted in military tradition is mourning the loss of a career.

Fehrenbach's family supports his decision to speak out and try to get the ban repealed, said his sister, Angie Trumbauer, a 47-year-old Air Force veteran who lives in Ohio.

She said she wasn't surprised when her never-married brother told her he was gay, but when she realized he would not retire with full military honors, it was almost like there was a death in the family.

"This is the only thing he's ever known in life," Trumbauer said. "it's all he's ever wanted to do."

Don't Ask

...I'll just tell.

The 60 Minutes episode entitled, "Military Soft On Don't Ask, Don't Tell?
Is Military More Tolerant Of Gay Members In Wartime?" was a real disappointment. First, in the inimitable words of Stephen Sondheim, "It's intolerable, being tolerated." The U.S.military has become "more tolerant...and...soft," by allowing convicted felons, lowering intelligence standards, increasing age limits (42) and literally paying people to join and stay.

Why? Because George W. Bush and his legions of cronies have broken the military -- not to mention the country as a whole. The military have "relaxed" the witch hunts of previous years precisely because the current servicemembers are overworked with war on two fronts and another one looming.

The 60 Minutes piece was a joke. Representing the government was the infamous tool Duncan Hunter (R-CA). Leslie Stahl doesn't bother to call him on much, most particularly when asked about why Gay persons can't serve and he responds, "It's wartime..."and he goes on to intimate that Gays won't or can't fight. "We need hardened warriors, " says Hunter. Leslie Stahl just lets it go as if it's a given that Gays can't or won't fight.


I am sick to death of listening to Gay-bashers in and out of the service. Others agree. JOHN M. SHALIKASHVILI, former Joint-Chiefs-of-Staff says in a NYT article, "I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces." Watch the segment and then let CBS know that 75% of the public do not agree with DADT or the "60 Minute" treatment of such an important topic.

In Case I Disappear

Again today, I find myself overwhelmed by the news. I almost don't know where to begin. The past few days have been absorbed by a visit from my in-laws, which most people know can take the life out of one. It did. My in-laws are not progressive thinkers. They represent to a tee what I fight against on my blog. Suffice to say, this was not my best weekend ever.

I spent much of this past Thursday preparing for the arrival of my conservative in-laws, and crying over the loss of my country to our version of Hitler , George W. Bush. His 'torture bill' sailed through with 'nary a bit of opposition. There is debate over the current use in the blogesphere of the terms "Nazi", and "Fascist". The debate being whether it is 'useful' to use such strong terms with loaded histories in regard to the current administration regardless of the similarities in style and content. I have no such debate raging in my head. I call 'em as I see 'em. BushCo is no better than the Nazi regime and more dangerous (if you can fathom that) and I will do a post on it soon to prove what I see as the obvious, dangerous similarities.

What I found today as I opened my mailbox was this email from my friend Bob over at JABob. He included in his email a link to an essay by William Rivers Pitt from TruthOut.org about the 'torture bill'. The first bit is the email from Bob and the link is to the essay. read his essay and Bob's response to it. I give you these valuable documents and attachments to further fill your arsenal and fuel your rage. I believe that unless people are angry they will not feel empowered enough to act, and Action is our last, best hope to restore our Democracy.

In Case I Disappear…By William Rivers Pitt

Bob writes:

Because we lost our freedom this week…

Because the senate & house voted to passed bills that promotes Bush to king...

These bills allow the president of the U.S. to now declare anyone (outside or inside our country) an “enemy combatant” and to have them arrested and held without habeas corpus. Disappeared! In other words you’re imprisoned without the ability to ask why, without the ability to say you’re innocent (because you don’t know why you’ve been arrested) or to even contact anyone. They can now torture you because the president can now (in this bill) define what torture is, otherwise called “aggressive interrogation methods.”

“Well,” you say, “that will never happen to me ‘cuz I follow the law. And, besides, someone will miss me and call the police!”

I’m sorry to say they didn’t tell you what law you broke and the police will know nothing because you’ve been arrested by the C.I.A. The C.I.A. won’t tell anyone and you can be damned well sure the President won’t either. You, or your daughter, or son, or nephew, or even your Mom or Dad will have vanished off the face of the earth with no recourse. No recourse from you, or anyone you know.

Scared yet?

WAKE UP! We have lost our freedom! Corporationism (Nazism) is here! If you don’t believe me go to the Library of Congress website and read senate bill S3039 passed by the house and the senate and see what our politicians have done to us. This bill has been changed so that it does not exclude U.S. citizens and does include anyone who “supports” an enemy combatant. I know, I know, the president hasn’t signed it yet. Who do you think asked for this in the first place? They (he and his cronies) WANT to be the unitary power. That means a sovereign entity. King.

So, if I disappear, just know it wasn’t me taking off. It means I got too “political” and verbal about it. Or, I have the wrong sexual orientation or the wrong religion or even worse, no religion at all. At least I’m not a Muslim. This would apply to me especially if I organized an anti-war anything or even wore an anti-war T-shirt. If I disappear, or someone you know mysteriously disappears, just know that if that happens it’s probably too late to do anything about it.

I’m not scared for myself, just for the future of this world as I now know it.

Write this off as the ranting of a delusional man if you will, but this is what I feel and I had to say it. Please, let me know that I’m wrong about all this. I just hope I can one day look back and say, “Boy was I wrong!” But right now I think THAT’s being delusional!

Now I will sleep on this and either delete it or send it tomorrow. Bob

I slept on it. I re-read it. I still feel strongly about this. I have reached my "tipping point". I'm sending it. If you agree with this in any degree, please forward this on to everyone you know. Thanks, Bob

Please take Bob's advice to heart, I have and Am doing this post. What will you do? And if I disappear, it wasn't because I was going on a trip...

Cheney:Love Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry

NYT has some great letters to the Editor up in reaction to Herr Cheney. Here's a sample taste:

To the Editor:

Regarding Iraq, Vice President Dick Cheney said the biggest threat is that Americans may not “have the stomach for the fight.” One has to wonder if he feels that the failure in Vietnam was merely a result of the American people’s not having “the stomach” for 10 years of combat and 58,000 American dead.

In classic Republicanspeak, Mr. Cheney obfuscates the premise of why we are at war and narrows the argument to a misplaced matter of courage.

The nauseating irony of someone who did not have the “stomach” to go to war himself accusing the rest of the country of the same failing serves to reveal the extent to which this conflict is without true rationale.

Pier Giacalone
Ridgewood, Queens, Jan. 27, 2007

All I can say is thank God the people are waking.