That was the headline for a story in the Chicago Sun Times 1-30-05 with the sub heading --
Scientists see proof of global warming, warn of future peril
Here's a summary of the story --
Up and down the icy spine of South America, the glaciers are melting, the white mantle of the Andes Mountains washing away at an ever faster rate.
In east Africa, the storied snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro are vanishing. In the icebound Alps and Himalayas of Europe and Asia, the change has been stunning. From South America to south Asia, new glacial lakes threaten to overflow and drown villages below. Orbiting satellites have helped measure this global trend, though scientists like Rajendra Pachauri have long seen what is happening on the ground.
"Ample" evidence indicates that global warming is causing glaciers to retreat worldwide, reports the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a U.N.-sponsored network of climate scientists led by Pachauri. Global temperatures rose about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the 20th century. The Bolivian Andes are warming at a half degree Fahrenheit per decade.
The Kyoto Protocol mandate cutbacks in emissions, but the reductions are small and the U.S., the biggest emitter, is not a party, arguing that the mandates will set back the U.S. economy.
In Peru, endowed with vast Andean ice caps and glaciers, 70 percent of the power comes from hydroelectric damscatching runoff, but officials fear much of it could be gone within a decade.
Ohio State University scientist , Lonnie Thompson one of the world's foremost glaciologists said, "What we see in the Andes is happening in Kilimanjaro and in the Himalayas. We've just been in southeast Alaska, and 1,987 out of 2,000 glaciers are retreating."
"It's a very compelling story." The glaciers -- "water towers of the world" -- are the most visible indicators that we are now in the first phase of global warming.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Saturday, January 29, 2005
IRAQI ELECTIONS
The elections start at about 10:00 PM Chicago time and believe they'll go on until 7:00 AM. I don't know which way this is going to go. I really think there's going to be a lot of violence but I'm not sure where the heart of the Iraqi people is. If they react the same way their police and soldiers did this is going to fall apart. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Spending Political Capital on Liars and Torturers
Condoleezza Rice won confirmation as secretary of state Wednesday despite blistering criticism from Senate Democrats who accused her of making misleading statements and said she must share the blame for mistakes and war deaths in Iraq.
The tally, though one-sided at 85-13, was still the largest "no" vote against a secretary of state nominee since 1825.
White House counsel Alberto Gonzales won Senate committee approval Wednesday to be the next attorney general even though all of the panel's Democrats voted against him, complaining that he is too close to President Bush and has countenanced torture of prisoners in the war on terror.
It won't be four more years of the same. It's going to be four more years of HELL !
The tally, though one-sided at 85-13, was still the largest "no" vote against a secretary of state nominee since 1825.
White House counsel Alberto Gonzales won Senate committee approval Wednesday to be the next attorney general even though all of the panel's Democrats voted against him, complaining that he is too close to President Bush and has countenanced torture of prisoners in the war on terror.
It won't be four more years of the same. It's going to be four more years of HELL !
THE ENVIRONMENT
On Wednesday the Bush administration embarked on a renewed effort to replace large sections of the Clean Air Act with the President's more flexible and industry-friendly Clear Skies policies.
The plan would relax controls on power plants and other pollution sources. White House attempts to get a Clear Skies package through Congress in 2002 and 2003 failed. So, with the November elections expanding Republican majorities in the Senate and House, the administration was emboldened to renew its attempt to pass the legislation.
According to Emily Figdor a policy analyst for Clear the Air --
"When it comes to power plant pollution, many of the nation's dirtiest power plants just keep getting dirtier. We know how to solve the problem, but the Bush administration's air pollution bill will set us back decades."
I don't think we have decades!!!!!!!!!
The plan would relax controls on power plants and other pollution sources. White House attempts to get a Clear Skies package through Congress in 2002 and 2003 failed. So, with the November elections expanding Republican majorities in the Senate and House, the administration was emboldened to renew its attempt to pass the legislation.
According to Emily Figdor a policy analyst for Clear the Air --
"When it comes to power plant pollution, many of the nation's dirtiest power plants just keep getting dirtier. We know how to solve the problem, but the Bush administration's air pollution bill will set us back decades."
I don't think we have decades!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Does he have a vision or is he wearing blinders?
President Bush, in his press conference today, said he has this vision to spread democracy throughout the world. Freedom is every man's dream. To a certain extent I would have to agree with that. I, personally, would prefer freedom to tyranny. I suppose I have a few questions regarding his vision.
Why are we spending unbelievable amounts of money and lives in Iraq when the money and human resources could be better served in Sudan and the Asian area where the tsunami struck? In Iraq we are killing people in a quest for freedom. In Sudan we can help the people who are being killed in what , I suppose, borders between ethnic cleansing and genocide. We sent 350 million dollars for relief efforts after the tsunami. Money spent in this region in the amounts we're spending in Iraq would energize this region out of poverty. I may be wrong but doesn't it make more sense to save lives and rebuild than it does to destroy lives, create a breeding ground for terrorists, line the pockets of companies like Halliburton (I believe Halliburton would be rebuilding the tsunami struck area in Asia if Bush had control of the finances for reconstruction), jam "democracy" down the throats of Iraqis and put everyone in jeopardy that has anything to do with Americans?
While all this money is being spent our economy is in jeopardy. Our deficit is huge and 1/3 of it is owned by China. China, by the way, has been growing it's economy at our expense and the expense of the rest of the tech world. China pirates big time. Their software, dvds, and other computer components are copied from others and sold for pennies on the dollar compared to what we sell it for. Whether they know it or not, they are positioning themselves to be one of the next great superpowers at our expense. President Bush puts the environment and global warming on the backburner with the logic that it would hurt the economy. By his approach it won't be long before we have neither an environment or an economy.
Bush speaks of spreading freedom like he was going fly up in a crop duster and sow the seeds of freedom throughout the land. Seriously, if you listen to his speeches he speaks in very broad terms. Condoleeza Rice is the right person for the job because she is just a good person and the right person for the job. Her confirmation hearings gave specifics from Democrats as to why she should not be confirmed -- she lied to get us into Iraq, remember the smoking gun being a mushroom cloud, faulty intelligence that she took for gospel. Alberto Gonzales -- he's a good man and the man for the job -- how about the guy that wrote the opinion that allowed the torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, defined torture as coming just short of organ failure or death.
I guess I just don't think you can have much of a vision when you have two empty paper towel tubes over your eyes when you see your vision. And that's what I think.
Why are we spending unbelievable amounts of money and lives in Iraq when the money and human resources could be better served in Sudan and the Asian area where the tsunami struck? In Iraq we are killing people in a quest for freedom. In Sudan we can help the people who are being killed in what , I suppose, borders between ethnic cleansing and genocide. We sent 350 million dollars for relief efforts after the tsunami. Money spent in this region in the amounts we're spending in Iraq would energize this region out of poverty. I may be wrong but doesn't it make more sense to save lives and rebuild than it does to destroy lives, create a breeding ground for terrorists, line the pockets of companies like Halliburton (I believe Halliburton would be rebuilding the tsunami struck area in Asia if Bush had control of the finances for reconstruction), jam "democracy" down the throats of Iraqis and put everyone in jeopardy that has anything to do with Americans?
While all this money is being spent our economy is in jeopardy. Our deficit is huge and 1/3 of it is owned by China. China, by the way, has been growing it's economy at our expense and the expense of the rest of the tech world. China pirates big time. Their software, dvds, and other computer components are copied from others and sold for pennies on the dollar compared to what we sell it for. Whether they know it or not, they are positioning themselves to be one of the next great superpowers at our expense. President Bush puts the environment and global warming on the backburner with the logic that it would hurt the economy. By his approach it won't be long before we have neither an environment or an economy.
Bush speaks of spreading freedom like he was going fly up in a crop duster and sow the seeds of freedom throughout the land. Seriously, if you listen to his speeches he speaks in very broad terms. Condoleeza Rice is the right person for the job because she is just a good person and the right person for the job. Her confirmation hearings gave specifics from Democrats as to why she should not be confirmed -- she lied to get us into Iraq, remember the smoking gun being a mushroom cloud, faulty intelligence that she took for gospel. Alberto Gonzales -- he's a good man and the man for the job -- how about the guy that wrote the opinion that allowed the torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, defined torture as coming just short of organ failure or death.
I guess I just don't think you can have much of a vision when you have two empty paper towel tubes over your eyes when you see your vision. And that's what I think.
GLOBAL WARMING
Antarctica
Under the surface of this vast white emptiness are profound and potentially troubling changes taking place, and at a quickened pace. It seems there has always been a certain comfort in the stories that global warming problems won't manifest the themselves for generations to come. It's seeming more and more urgent with temperatures climbing in parts of Antarctica in recent years. Melt water seems to be penetrating deeper and deeper into ice crevices, weakening immense and seemingly impregnable formations that have developed over thousands of years.
As a result huge glaciers are thinning and ice shelves the size of American states are disintegrating. Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey reported in December that in some parts of the Antarctic Peninsula large growths of grass are appearing in places that until recently were hidden under ice.
Free floating ice in the sea does not raise sea level. The ice just melts and displaces no more mass as water or as ice. But a glacier, which rests on land, can raise the global sea level if that vast volume of ice slides into the sea at a high rate. Research and striking changes that are visible to the naked eye, all point to the disturbance of climate patterns thought to be in place for thousands of years.
According to a recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters, the discharge rate of three important glaciers still remaining on the Antarctic Peninsula accelerated eight-fold from 2000 to 2003. Ice is thinning at the rate of tens of meters per year on the peninsula, with glacier elevations in some places having dropped by as much as 124 feet in just six months.
In a story out of London an international climate-change task force warns that global warming is approaching the point of no return, after which widespread draught, crop failure and rising sea levels will be irreversible.
The task force on Monday called on the Group of 8 leading industrial nations to cut carbon admissions, double their research spending on technology and work with India and China to build on the Kyoto Protocol for cutting emissions of "greenhouse gases."
The independent report was created by the Institute for Public Policy Research in Britain, the Center for AmericanProgress in the United States, and the Australian Institute.
Stephen Byers, co-chairman of the task force, said it is vital that U.S. cooperation in tackling climate change is secured. President Bush has rejected the Kyoto accord, arguing that the carbon emission cuts it demands would damage the U.S. economy. In my opinion this administration is destroying this economy with an ill-planned, unnecessary war in Iraq, tax cuts and enormous deficit, etc.
In a question presented to meteorologist Tom Skilling on Wednesday regarding if it were possible for the entire world to be flooded, he said.
"Let's assume all the water bound up as ice on land were released into the sea. Then snow and glaciers would contribute about 2 feet of ocean rise; the Greenland icecap, 21 feet; the Antarctic icecap, 223 feet. Total potential rise: 246 feet -- a worldwide catastrophe, surely but not annihilation. That's certainly comforting.
Under the surface of this vast white emptiness are profound and potentially troubling changes taking place, and at a quickened pace. It seems there has always been a certain comfort in the stories that global warming problems won't manifest the themselves for generations to come. It's seeming more and more urgent with temperatures climbing in parts of Antarctica in recent years. Melt water seems to be penetrating deeper and deeper into ice crevices, weakening immense and seemingly impregnable formations that have developed over thousands of years.
As a result huge glaciers are thinning and ice shelves the size of American states are disintegrating. Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey reported in December that in some parts of the Antarctic Peninsula large growths of grass are appearing in places that until recently were hidden under ice.
Free floating ice in the sea does not raise sea level. The ice just melts and displaces no more mass as water or as ice. But a glacier, which rests on land, can raise the global sea level if that vast volume of ice slides into the sea at a high rate. Research and striking changes that are visible to the naked eye, all point to the disturbance of climate patterns thought to be in place for thousands of years.
According to a recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters, the discharge rate of three important glaciers still remaining on the Antarctic Peninsula accelerated eight-fold from 2000 to 2003. Ice is thinning at the rate of tens of meters per year on the peninsula, with glacier elevations in some places having dropped by as much as 124 feet in just six months.
In a story out of London an international climate-change task force warns that global warming is approaching the point of no return, after which widespread draught, crop failure and rising sea levels will be irreversible.
The task force on Monday called on the Group of 8 leading industrial nations to cut carbon admissions, double their research spending on technology and work with India and China to build on the Kyoto Protocol for cutting emissions of "greenhouse gases."
The independent report was created by the Institute for Public Policy Research in Britain, the Center for AmericanProgress in the United States, and the Australian Institute.
Stephen Byers, co-chairman of the task force, said it is vital that U.S. cooperation in tackling climate change is secured. President Bush has rejected the Kyoto accord, arguing that the carbon emission cuts it demands would damage the U.S. economy. In my opinion this administration is destroying this economy with an ill-planned, unnecessary war in Iraq, tax cuts and enormous deficit, etc.
In a question presented to meteorologist Tom Skilling on Wednesday regarding if it were possible for the entire world to be flooded, he said.
"Let's assume all the water bound up as ice on land were released into the sea. Then snow and glaciers would contribute about 2 feet of ocean rise; the Greenland icecap, 21 feet; the Antarctic icecap, 223 feet. Total potential rise: 246 feet -- a worldwide catastrophe, surely but not annihilation. That's certainly comforting.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
From Sponge Bob to the Economy
It's the first post of the new year and my points will not necessariily be in chronological order but will cover events of the past few weeks of the new year.
Sponge Bob Square Pants
OK, so Sponge Bob Square Pants(SBSP) holds hands with his friend Patrick, and this is to prom0te homosexuality. Then, when that wascally wabbit Bugs Bunny kissed Elmer Fudd smack on the lips -- that must have promoted bestiality . . .
Freedom Rings
According to Bush's inauguration speech we are looking to spread freedom throughtout the world. But in some ways it seems this administration wants to redefine freedom as we are doling it out. I can't help but think as 'we' talk freedom to other countries we are losing our own. Case in point Juan Padilla, an American Citizen, arrested at O'Hare Airport in Chicago not being allowed due process. If I let that go it means it could also be me.
Bush -- Person of the Year
Bush being made Person of the Year really did make sense to me. When you consider the qualifications it makes perfect sense. You need to have made an extraordinary impact on the world. If this shmuck doesn't qualify I don't know who does.
Sponge Bob Square Pants
OK, so Sponge Bob Square Pants(SBSP) holds hands with his friend Patrick, and this is to prom0te homosexuality. Then, when that wascally wabbit Bugs Bunny kissed Elmer Fudd smack on the lips -- that must have promoted bestiality . . .
Freedom Rings
According to Bush's inauguration speech we are looking to spread freedom throughtout the world. But in some ways it seems this administration wants to redefine freedom as we are doling it out. I can't help but think as 'we' talk freedom to other countries we are losing our own. Case in point Juan Padilla, an American Citizen, arrested at O'Hare Airport in Chicago not being allowed due process. If I let that go it means it could also be me.
Bush -- Person of the Year
Bush being made Person of the Year really did make sense to me. When you consider the qualifications it makes perfect sense. You need to have made an extraordinary impact on the world. If this shmuck doesn't qualify I don't know who does.
- takes huge surplus and transforms it into a huge deficit
- takes world support for the U.S. after 9/11 from a world united behind us to a world looking at us with disdain and disgust.
- rewrote the Geneva Conventions to his administration's needs. How do we denounce their beheadings when we accept torture. It's not that they're doing worse than us. It's that we are better and more humane -- at least that's what we're supposed to be all about, right?
- Mr. "Moral Values" "Compassionate Conservative" 'Leader of the Free World' waits three days to acknowledge the fact that said "Free World" (also known as planet earth), experienced a disaster of "biblical" proportions.
- Once this disaster is acknowleged we offer the lowest financial relief , per capita, of almost any other nation. But, on the up side for some troops, the USS Abraham Lincoln (the same carrier that Bush declared "mission accomplished") was headed to Indonesia to help in the relief effort. Needless to say, they were much more upbeat on that mission.
The U.S. Economy
We are suffering from financial dependency. Our debt-financed growth and growing imbalance in the trade deficit leave us dangerously indebted to rival nations. And this is happening during a real quagmire in Iraq not to mention a crises situation in energy prices. Bottom line -- I don't think we could stand another "IRAQ" otherwise known as "IRAN" "SYRIA" "NORTH KOREA" and on and on . . .
$40,000,000 on inaugural festivities while . .
170,000 + die from tsunami disaster
troops in Iraq are dealing with no armor or "hillbilly armor"
genocide in Sudan
global warming and the environment
the $40,000,000 did not include all the security needed to protect these festivities from the wrath of . . .
Friday, December 31, 2004
W's on Vacation. Don't Bother Him. He' Busy Clearing Brush!!!
Well, George blew another chance to redeem himself and his administration. Three days after what is probably the worst natural disaster in modern times Bush is shamed into acknowledging it. Not only doesn't he interrupt his vacation in the face of this disaster he makes excuses for the minimum of interest and the minor amount of financial aid he offered.
This guy is the leader of the free world from the most powerful country in the world. Wouldn't it be his job to be the first to step up to the plate and take control of the relief effort. I mean, this is not the kind of thing that can wait until he finishes his sabatical in Crawford. Let's put this whole situation in perspective.
When 9/11 happened the world rallied around us. We heard from leaders of other countries immediately. This country grieved. I mean, even the late night shows like Leno and Letterman couldn't bring themselves to joke for about a week. That was a loss of about 3,000 people and two enormous buildings. To put this into context, the tsunami event killed, at this writing, approximately 120,000 people. Thousands are missing, thousands more are injured, tens of thousands more have no food, water or shelter. Most of the heavily devastated areas won't be rebuilt for a generation. So, George stays on his vacation and offers up $15,000,000 in aid -- raised to $35,000,000 after wind of his being stingy blew his way.
When he was accused of being stingy he starts coming up with his lame excuses. We put up the largest amount of money, we spent 2.4 billion in relief last year. There are absolute numbers and there are proportional numbers. Bush, being an MBA, knows you deal with proportional numbers. But he says 2.4 billion dollars like it's some huge amount, when that's what Iraq costs per week.
Consider the cost to be spent on his inaugural festivities -- a little more than 30 million. Consider Wall Street bonuses totalling $15.9 billion. An example of propotionate numbers -- We offer up $35,000,000 and Australia offers up $27,000,000. Absolute numbers show that we gave more. But proportional numbers read as follows: Australia -- $1.35 per person, U.S. -- $.09 per person.
He could have made a diplomatic gesture, that we need to mend our relations with Muslims, by making an emergency exit from Crawford and dealing with this head on. But the way he's dealing with this, it's as if he doesn't care because most affected are Muslims. When he had an election looming he high-tailed it down to Florida during it's hurricane seige to insure the votes he needed in his state. MORAL VALUES -- COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM or SELECTIVE VALUES -- SELECTIVE COMPASSION.
There are some people that say Bush could deal with this from Crawford -- with all the high tech services like the internet and other satellite communications. But consider the situation closer to home. You have a parent and a sibling living in a distant state. The sibling is having problems with the parent. Medical, emotional and financial. Which would be the better way of dealing with it. Mail out a couple of hundred bucks and make a few phone calls voicing your sympathy and support or would it be better to rally your family and deal with the situation in person. Seems to me the sacrifice of interrupting a vacation to deal with a disaster at your workplace might work wonders.
That's my opinion.
This guy is the leader of the free world from the most powerful country in the world. Wouldn't it be his job to be the first to step up to the plate and take control of the relief effort. I mean, this is not the kind of thing that can wait until he finishes his sabatical in Crawford. Let's put this whole situation in perspective.
When 9/11 happened the world rallied around us. We heard from leaders of other countries immediately. This country grieved. I mean, even the late night shows like Leno and Letterman couldn't bring themselves to joke for about a week. That was a loss of about 3,000 people and two enormous buildings. To put this into context, the tsunami event killed, at this writing, approximately 120,000 people. Thousands are missing, thousands more are injured, tens of thousands more have no food, water or shelter. Most of the heavily devastated areas won't be rebuilt for a generation. So, George stays on his vacation and offers up $15,000,000 in aid -- raised to $35,000,000 after wind of his being stingy blew his way.
When he was accused of being stingy he starts coming up with his lame excuses. We put up the largest amount of money, we spent 2.4 billion in relief last year. There are absolute numbers and there are proportional numbers. Bush, being an MBA, knows you deal with proportional numbers. But he says 2.4 billion dollars like it's some huge amount, when that's what Iraq costs per week.
Consider the cost to be spent on his inaugural festivities -- a little more than 30 million. Consider Wall Street bonuses totalling $15.9 billion. An example of propotionate numbers -- We offer up $35,000,000 and Australia offers up $27,000,000. Absolute numbers show that we gave more. But proportional numbers read as follows: Australia -- $1.35 per person, U.S. -- $.09 per person.
He could have made a diplomatic gesture, that we need to mend our relations with Muslims, by making an emergency exit from Crawford and dealing with this head on. But the way he's dealing with this, it's as if he doesn't care because most affected are Muslims. When he had an election looming he high-tailed it down to Florida during it's hurricane seige to insure the votes he needed in his state. MORAL VALUES -- COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM or SELECTIVE VALUES -- SELECTIVE COMPASSION.
There are some people that say Bush could deal with this from Crawford -- with all the high tech services like the internet and other satellite communications. But consider the situation closer to home. You have a parent and a sibling living in a distant state. The sibling is having problems with the parent. Medical, emotional and financial. Which would be the better way of dealing with it. Mail out a couple of hundred bucks and make a few phone calls voicing your sympathy and support or would it be better to rally your family and deal with the situation in person. Seems to me the sacrifice of interrupting a vacation to deal with a disaster at your workplace might work wonders.
That's my opinion.
2004 out HAPPY NEW YEAR ! ! ! 2005 in
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Compassionate Conservatism/Moral Values vs Support Our Troops
Donald Rumsfeld's response to the soldier that questioned the lack of proper equipment for our troops was from the heart. The problem, is it was just more proof of how cold that heart is. How can you tell our troops that when you go to war you work with the equipment you have?
This is a war of choice, not necessity. So, there was time to prepare for what you were about to face. But Rummy the Dummy wanted to do it on the cheap against the advice of his advisers in uniform.
Greg Rund was a freshman at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999, when two students shot and killeda teacher, a dozen of their fellow students and themselves.Rund survived that, but he was killed in Fallujah on December 11. Because of severe military shortages many of our troops are on more than one tour of duty. Greg Rund was one of them. He served his country and had to be sent back only to be killed.
Imagine the feeling of anticipation as you count down the days until you can go home to your family, not to mention the anticipation of your family counting those days down. So, it's two weeks and you are outta here. Then the bad news comes -- your tour has been extended. That'll take the wind out of your sails. How do you psyche yourself up for that situation? And if you are able to do it, what if it happens again?
The Army National Guard revealed last week that it had missed it's recruiting goals for the past two months by 30 percent. This translates into the back door draft being used as the tool to keep up troop strength. But you're sucking the lifeblood out of these guys by doing this. Mental health problems for our troops is going to be one of the biggest medical stories of this war.
With all the "support our troops" talk that this administration hangs onto, you have to ask if they practice what they preach. The answer is no.
Consider the tax cuts to benefit the rich but the lack of funding for armour, pay, safety and compassion. I don't think these guys know the definition of compassion. If they did Halliburton would not be getting no-bid contracts and fleecing taxpayers who are footing the bill. Weren't the Iraqis going to rebuild their country? Instead they have an extremely high unemployment rate which translates into an angry population. They can only directly or indirectly take it out on our troops. Directly by taking up arms against our troops. Indirectly by aiding and abetting the insurgency.
From the beginning the war in Iraq has been a tragic exercise in this administration's incompetence. The original reason for the war was wrong. The intelligence was wrong. The estimates for troop strength were wrong. The Iraqi response to the 'liberation' was wrong. The cost estimates were wrong. I SUPPORT OUR TROOPS. But I support them in stopping their valiant effort for an administration that administers bad faith and shoddy treatment. These guys put up with an Iraqi army that they can't really trust. We can't compound that with an administration that they can't trust. Compassion? Moral Values? Bulls--t!!!!!!!!!
This is a war of choice, not necessity. So, there was time to prepare for what you were about to face. But Rummy the Dummy wanted to do it on the cheap against the advice of his advisers in uniform.
Greg Rund was a freshman at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999, when two students shot and killeda teacher, a dozen of their fellow students and themselves.Rund survived that, but he was killed in Fallujah on December 11. Because of severe military shortages many of our troops are on more than one tour of duty. Greg Rund was one of them. He served his country and had to be sent back only to be killed.
Imagine the feeling of anticipation as you count down the days until you can go home to your family, not to mention the anticipation of your family counting those days down. So, it's two weeks and you are outta here. Then the bad news comes -- your tour has been extended. That'll take the wind out of your sails. How do you psyche yourself up for that situation? And if you are able to do it, what if it happens again?
The Army National Guard revealed last week that it had missed it's recruiting goals for the past two months by 30 percent. This translates into the back door draft being used as the tool to keep up troop strength. But you're sucking the lifeblood out of these guys by doing this. Mental health problems for our troops is going to be one of the biggest medical stories of this war.
With all the "support our troops" talk that this administration hangs onto, you have to ask if they practice what they preach. The answer is no.
Consider the tax cuts to benefit the rich but the lack of funding for armour, pay, safety and compassion. I don't think these guys know the definition of compassion. If they did Halliburton would not be getting no-bid contracts and fleecing taxpayers who are footing the bill. Weren't the Iraqis going to rebuild their country? Instead they have an extremely high unemployment rate which translates into an angry population. They can only directly or indirectly take it out on our troops. Directly by taking up arms against our troops. Indirectly by aiding and abetting the insurgency.
From the beginning the war in Iraq has been a tragic exercise in this administration's incompetence. The original reason for the war was wrong. The intelligence was wrong. The estimates for troop strength were wrong. The Iraqi response to the 'liberation' was wrong. The cost estimates were wrong. I SUPPORT OUR TROOPS. But I support them in stopping their valiant effort for an administration that administers bad faith and shoddy treatment. These guys put up with an Iraqi army that they can't really trust. We can't compound that with an administration that they can't trust. Compassion? Moral Values? Bulls--t!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, December 04, 2004
TOP TEN LIST OF CONCERNS
not necessarily in this order -- except for #1
10.) Intelligence -- unless we get this area together we're out there with blinders on.
9.) Homeland Security -- borders are porous, 95% of docks imports not checked. A lot of what
we do in this area seems to be just going through the motions.
8.) Social Security -- casino or financial adviser?
7.) The Draft -- If we keep following the leader it's inevitable. That's why we have to wake up
and see that this is a waste of lives.
6.) Direction of Government - here we have the basic problem of interlocking church and state.
This direction has to change. It's a theocracy not a democracy.
5.) Health Care -- Cut the pork and we have a healthier country. Two meanings for pork.
4.) The Economy - We need to redefine what is a good economy. Corporations are doing great
and that translates to a booming economy. But it's at the expense of the outsource refugees.
3.) Environment -- You can't depend on a great economy to invent miracles to save the planet
from the apparent dangers it faces.
2.) War in Iraq -- We, and I say we because somehow this guy's still president, are war
criminals. I hate to say it but we are. From Abu Grahb to Fallujah we've been brutal, even
discounting the Geneva Convention.
1.) How all this affects me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
From Chicago Sun Times Quick Takes-some humor
Hey, big spender
- President Bush regarding the Nov. 2 election results: "I earned capital in the campaign, and now I intend to spend it."
- President Bush regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state:
"I intend to use the next four years to spend the capital of the United States on such a state."
Did anyone at Harvard Business School teach young George W. Bush that you should never touch your capital, and spend only the interest income and dividends?
Or did someone cut class?
No dissing Dubya
Rush Limbaugh explaining the seriousness of President Bush's decision-making process:
"He is who he is, and that is why he does what he does, and the process of doing what he does is secondary to his being who he is."
We should always keep this in mind.
Sounds like Limbaugh's getting Bushismitis.
Is Ohio the new Florida?
I still can't give in to the results of this election. Ohio decided the election this year as Florida did 4 years ago. There were many discrepencies in voting in Ohio this year as was in Florida in 2000. This year the maker of many of the voting machines, the head of Diebold Co., promised to deliver Ohio for Bush(seems pretty blatant). In 2000 Katherine Harris played a dual role as does Ken Blackwell this year -- secretary of state with control over voting procedures and co-chair of Bush's campaign in Florida and Ohio respectively.
Consider that Blackwell allowed the use of electronic machines that provided no paper record of votes. Blackwell also presided over a voting system that allowed wealthy Republican precincts more voting machines for quick, easy voting while poorer Democratic precincts fewer machines and fewer polling places causing four-hour and longer waiting lines. This is deja vu all over again.
When a judge has a conflict of interest in a case he's handling isn't it in the best interest of fairness to recuse himself. It seems there should be a bi-partisan federal investigtion into the vote count in Ohio, excluding the Katherine Harris of 2004, Ken Blackwell. I can only hope.
Consider that Blackwell allowed the use of electronic machines that provided no paper record of votes. Blackwell also presided over a voting system that allowed wealthy Republican precincts more voting machines for quick, easy voting while poorer Democratic precincts fewer machines and fewer polling places causing four-hour and longer waiting lines. This is deja vu all over again.
When a judge has a conflict of interest in a case he's handling isn't it in the best interest of fairness to recuse himself. It seems there should be a bi-partisan federal investigtion into the vote count in Ohio, excluding the Katherine Harris of 2004, Ken Blackwell. I can only hope.
Latest Video Terror Threat
Osama bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman Al-Zawahri, has appeared on a new video apparently made prior to our presidential elections. Something on the tape makes me wonder about a different strategy in dealing with these guys. Here's what he said:
"You have to choose between one of two methods to deal with Muslims: either on mutual respect and exchange of interests, or to deal with them as if they are spoils of war. This is your problem and you have to choose yourself. You have to realize that we are a nation of patience and endurance. We will stand firm to fight you with God's help until doomsday."
I think that between Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Fallujah (and I feel that there is going to be a scandal coming out of Fallujah concerning the treatment and non-treatment of civilians) the Muslim population around the world is leaning toward his thinking. I think we should be concerned about that but I don't think we are. These guys don't hate us for our freedom. That's just too simple an answer. When Al-Zawahri said to either deal with them with respect and exchange of interests or if they are spoils of war, I almost see an open door for some diplomatic communication to end all this hate. Let's face it this 'war on terror' is going to accomplish about as much as the 'war on drugs'. I think that this may be an opportunity to get up on that table and look at this situation from a different angle. I think we need to abandon the arrogant 'my way or the highway' attitude and work toward peace with peace. Just a thought.
"You have to choose between one of two methods to deal with Muslims: either on mutual respect and exchange of interests, or to deal with them as if they are spoils of war. This is your problem and you have to choose yourself. You have to realize that we are a nation of patience and endurance. We will stand firm to fight you with God's help until doomsday."
I think that between Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Fallujah (and I feel that there is going to be a scandal coming out of Fallujah concerning the treatment and non-treatment of civilians) the Muslim population around the world is leaning toward his thinking. I think we should be concerned about that but I don't think we are. These guys don't hate us for our freedom. That's just too simple an answer. When Al-Zawahri said to either deal with them with respect and exchange of interests or if they are spoils of war, I almost see an open door for some diplomatic communication to end all this hate. Let's face it this 'war on terror' is going to accomplish about as much as the 'war on drugs'. I think that this may be an opportunity to get up on that table and look at this situation from a different angle. I think we need to abandon the arrogant 'my way or the highway' attitude and work toward peace with peace. Just a thought.
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Why? Part II
Why is the separation of Church and State becoming increasingly blurred?
Why don't we inspect 95% of containers entering our ports?
Why is the 9/11 reform bill in limbo?
Why does a 'war president' not take the advice of his generals?
Why does a 'war president' not appoint anyone with military experience to his cabinet?
Why is the following not an atrocity for an administration running on "moral values"?
Saddam Hussein killed 300,000 Iraqi civilians over a 24 year period. This administration
killed 100,000 Iraqi civilians in 1.5 years. That means Saddam killed 12,500 Iraqi
civilians per year and this administration killed -- and this is interesting when you divide
100,000 by 1.5 -- 66,6666.666 per year.
Why is the following based on "moral values"?
Banning abortions of any kind. Basically, forcing a pregnant woman to go full term to birth.
But once the child is born, say to a mother of multiple children on welfare and no education,
there is very little assistance or child rearing abilities to help raise that child. So for some of
these kids born in this situation, all they have to look forward to is a life of poverty and
probably an affiliation with a gang.
Why do we have such a disproportionate focus on Iraq and Afghanistan as opposed to Sudan?
Why don't we inspect 95% of containers entering our ports?
Why is the 9/11 reform bill in limbo?
Why does a 'war president' not take the advice of his generals?
Why does a 'war president' not appoint anyone with military experience to his cabinet?
Why is the following not an atrocity for an administration running on "moral values"?
Saddam Hussein killed 300,000 Iraqi civilians over a 24 year period. This administration
killed 100,000 Iraqi civilians in 1.5 years. That means Saddam killed 12,500 Iraqi
civilians per year and this administration killed -- and this is interesting when you divide
100,000 by 1.5 -- 66,6666.666 per year.
Why is the following based on "moral values"?
Banning abortions of any kind. Basically, forcing a pregnant woman to go full term to birth.
But once the child is born, say to a mother of multiple children on welfare and no education,
there is very little assistance or child rearing abilities to help raise that child. So for some of
these kids born in this situation, all they have to look forward to is a life of poverty and
probably an affiliation with a gang.
Why do we have such a disproportionate focus on Iraq and Afghanistan as opposed to Sudan?
JUST WONDERING
WHY?
Why do we have so many people inside this administration leaving and writing books condemning the actions or inactions of their former bosses?
Why are we sending someone like Warrant Officer Margaret Murray, who describes herself as "over 50," 4-foot-10, 95 pounds to Iraq? And she is one of about 4,400 Army soldiers between the ages of 24 to 62, from the Individual Ready Reserve who completed their active duty service but have been notified they must get back in uniform. Most likely, they are headed to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Why out of 535 members of Congress, eight have sons in the military, three of whom have been deployed to Iraq?
Why is it that Rush Limbaugh, who supports this war with a vengeance with chest thumping cheerleading, not once been to Iraq to "support our troops", while his counterpart, Al Franken, who did not support this administration's call to war, travel there at least once to entertain the troops?
Why, after the abuses at Abu Ghraib, do we appoint Alberto R. Gonzales as attorney general, the guy who basically justified the abuses and all but dismissed the Geneva Convention?
Why do the millions of dedicated supporters of President Bush, in the face of a dwindling military, not join the action and enlist? Put your actions where your mouth is. Talk is cheap. It really does take more than a magnetic ribbon on your car to support our troops.
Why is Halliburton still the major contractor doing business in Iraq after all the charges that have been brought against them? Most recently Halliburton's KBR subsidiary "did not effectively manage government property" and auditors could not locate hundreds of Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) items worth millions of dollars in Iraq and Kuwait this summer and fall, as reported to Congress by Inspector General Stuart W. Bowen.
Why does this administration still deny that global warming and other environmental issues are not a problem even when faced with facts proving that it is?
Why are we sending someone like Warrant Officer Margaret Murray, who describes herself as "over 50," 4-foot-10, 95 pounds to Iraq? And she is one of about 4,400 Army soldiers between the ages of 24 to 62, from the Individual Ready Reserve who completed their active duty service but have been notified they must get back in uniform. Most likely, they are headed to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Why out of 535 members of Congress, eight have sons in the military, three of whom have been deployed to Iraq?
Why is it that Rush Limbaugh, who supports this war with a vengeance with chest thumping cheerleading, not once been to Iraq to "support our troops", while his counterpart, Al Franken, who did not support this administration's call to war, travel there at least once to entertain the troops?
Why, after the abuses at Abu Ghraib, do we appoint Alberto R. Gonzales as attorney general, the guy who basically justified the abuses and all but dismissed the Geneva Convention?
Why do the millions of dedicated supporters of President Bush, in the face of a dwindling military, not join the action and enlist? Put your actions where your mouth is. Talk is cheap. It really does take more than a magnetic ribbon on your car to support our troops.
Why is Halliburton still the major contractor doing business in Iraq after all the charges that have been brought against them? Most recently Halliburton's KBR subsidiary "did not effectively manage government property" and auditors could not locate hundreds of Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) items worth millions of dollars in Iraq and Kuwait this summer and fall, as reported to Congress by Inspector General Stuart W. Bowen.
Why does this administration still deny that global warming and other environmental issues are not a problem even when faced with facts proving that it is?
JUST WONDERING?
Sunday, November 21, 2004
WAR IS HELL
You know, we're all wearing the 'support our troops' magnetic banners on our vehicles and I think that is a good thing to do. But it seems to me that we really don't have a grasp on what these guys are really going through. Imagine the post-apocalyptic scenario these guys have to walk into. Going door-to-door, not knowing whether the door you push open is going to be booby-trapped with a bomb, or a suicide bomber on the other side. When you drive your humvee past another vehicle or someone walking past your vehicle imagine not knowing when your time is up. It's knd of like you're playing a game of 'Russian Roulette' every day. So, that soldier that shot the wounded, unarmed insurgent last week was probably in the mindset I just described. I don't know that I would have done the same thing. I also believe that the blame for some of these atrocities, put on the soldier on the field of battle, is misplaced.
Consider that these soldiers are put in this situation by men that have never seen battle. I have not seen battle, but I certainly can imagine what it must be like. These guys are on double tours of duty. Some are not properly trained -- example, there was an interview with the mother of a soldier who said he was being trained as a cook and three weeks before being shipped out he was re-trained as an infantryman -- three weeks seems a bit short for such a dangerous job.
This administration will not honor these troops who give their lives for this administration -- and that is who those lives are lost to -- can't show the coffins coming home. Might help us realize the hell that is war. Then on Veteran's day we couldn't play the uncut version of "Saving Private Ryan", a movie that surely shows you the horrors of war. I don't think you can watch this film and not think of the troops that are in Iraq.
With Colin Powell gone we have no military experience in this administration. We are supposedly getting some intelligence out of Iran that might cause us to militarily act against them. The 'coalition of the willing' is going to be coming from our own back yard. And I think that as soon as the big boys can secure their offspring in deferments we will be looking at a draft. Dying for a noble cause is one thing, being sent to slaughter is totally different. Being sent to slaughter, realizing it , acting on the premise that you shoot first to save your life and having to take the full blame for it is shameful. War is hell.
Consider that these soldiers are put in this situation by men that have never seen battle. I have not seen battle, but I certainly can imagine what it must be like. These guys are on double tours of duty. Some are not properly trained -- example, there was an interview with the mother of a soldier who said he was being trained as a cook and three weeks before being shipped out he was re-trained as an infantryman -- three weeks seems a bit short for such a dangerous job.
This administration will not honor these troops who give their lives for this administration -- and that is who those lives are lost to -- can't show the coffins coming home. Might help us realize the hell that is war. Then on Veteran's day we couldn't play the uncut version of "Saving Private Ryan", a movie that surely shows you the horrors of war. I don't think you can watch this film and not think of the troops that are in Iraq.
With Colin Powell gone we have no military experience in this administration. We are supposedly getting some intelligence out of Iran that might cause us to militarily act against them. The 'coalition of the willing' is going to be coming from our own back yard. And I think that as soon as the big boys can secure their offspring in deferments we will be looking at a draft. Dying for a noble cause is one thing, being sent to slaughter is totally different. Being sent to slaughter, realizing it , acting on the premise that you shoot first to save your life and having to take the full blame for it is shameful. War is hell.
So long Colin, you'll be missed
Now that Colin Powell is gone we have no one with any military experience in this administration. We have no one to even attempt to pull in the reigns on this administration when dealing with Iran, North Korea and who knows who else. We have an administration that is going to be much more secretive in the next four years than in the last four years. Checks and balances? Pretty much gone. This administration telling the military how to handle this war on terrorism is akin to having your accountant perform heart surgery on you.
How are there going to be elections in Iraq in January? I mean, just by the way things are going on there now, don't you think polling places will be bombed, people will be threatened and intimidated. These people have rejected democracy for a long time. Maybe 7,000 years.
Let's face it we are in Iraq for the oil under the guise that we are liberating the population with democracy. If you compare where they were -- which was not in a great place under Saddam -- to where they are now, democracy does not appear to be all that great. What can possibly happen now to transform that society that hasn't occurred for 7,000 years?
Our best bet is to work our way out of there ASAP and start developing alternative energy sources so we are no longer dependent on these far off lands. Just think if we had spent the billions on the development of those energy sources instead of war. To me that is a much more productive strategy. This is what I think, but it's not what's going to happen.
How are there going to be elections in Iraq in January? I mean, just by the way things are going on there now, don't you think polling places will be bombed, people will be threatened and intimidated. These people have rejected democracy for a long time. Maybe 7,000 years.
Let's face it we are in Iraq for the oil under the guise that we are liberating the population with democracy. If you compare where they were -- which was not in a great place under Saddam -- to where they are now, democracy does not appear to be all that great. What can possibly happen now to transform that society that hasn't occurred for 7,000 years?
Our best bet is to work our way out of there ASAP and start developing alternative energy sources so we are no longer dependent on these far off lands. Just think if we had spent the billions on the development of those energy sources instead of war. To me that is a much more productive strategy. This is what I think, but it's not what's going to happen.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
ADD ANOTHER YEAR
TODAY IS A FAMILY HOLIDAY -- MY TWIN SISTERS SUZANNE AND SUZETTE TURNED 0_ORne YEARS OLD TODAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND MANY MORE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND MANY MORE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, November 14, 2004
PREPARE FOR THE WORST!
There's an old saying, hope for the best, prepare for the worst. We have another example of this administration's not anticipating problems they would run into had things not gone the rosy way they expected. First it was lack of troops strength, lackof planning to win the peace, lack of planning for armour for the troops, etc.
Now according to an article in the Los Angeles Times a mental health crisis is emerging, with one in six returning soldiers afflicted, experts say. The Pentagon did not anticipate the problem and are now scrambling to find resources to address it.
A study by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research found that 15.6% of Marines and 17.1% of soldiers surveyed after they returned from Iraq suffered major depression, generalized anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder -- a debilitating, sometimes lifelong change in the brain's chemistry that can include flashbacks, sleep disorders, panic attacks, violent outbursts, acute anxiety and emotional numbness.
The bad news is that the study did not look at reservists, who tend to suffer a higher rate of phsycological injury than career Marines and soldiers. And the soldiers in the study served in the early months of the war, when tours were shorter and before the Iraqi insurgency took shape. Since the study was completed the war has changed into a grueling counterinsurgency.
The Army initially sent far too few psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, according to an Army study released in the summer of 2003. Congress allocated no new funds to deal with the mental health effects of the war in Iraq.
I guess this will all slowly unfold as preparations -- that should have been taken just in case we weren't greeted with flowers, hug and kisses -- were not even considered. But I suppose if you don't have to be concerned about you or your loved ones being involved, why not take a shot at doing it on the cheap.
Now according to an article in the Los Angeles Times a mental health crisis is emerging, with one in six returning soldiers afflicted, experts say. The Pentagon did not anticipate the problem and are now scrambling to find resources to address it.
A study by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research found that 15.6% of Marines and 17.1% of soldiers surveyed after they returned from Iraq suffered major depression, generalized anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder -- a debilitating, sometimes lifelong change in the brain's chemistry that can include flashbacks, sleep disorders, panic attacks, violent outbursts, acute anxiety and emotional numbness.
The bad news is that the study did not look at reservists, who tend to suffer a higher rate of phsycological injury than career Marines and soldiers. And the soldiers in the study served in the early months of the war, when tours were shorter and before the Iraqi insurgency took shape. Since the study was completed the war has changed into a grueling counterinsurgency.
The Army initially sent far too few psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, according to an Army study released in the summer of 2003. Congress allocated no new funds to deal with the mental health effects of the war in Iraq.
I guess this will all slowly unfold as preparations -- that should have been taken just in case we weren't greeted with flowers, hug and kisses -- were not even considered. But I suppose if you don't have to be concerned about you or your loved ones being involved, why not take a shot at doing it on the cheap.
THE GOPHER GAME
It seems to me that the take over of Fallujah is the beginning of what would similarly happen in one of those 'whack the gopher' games, where you take a mallot and face a table with say six holes in it and the gopher takes turns popping up in different holes and when you whack him he pops up in a different hole. In my opinion, we need to take over Fallujah and keep it secure. I mean, I think the reason we did this is to take away a safe haven for terrorists. OK, now to get to my point. There has been an increase in attacks in Baghdad and Mosul and we didn't capture any high level guys. That leads me to believe that the insurgents left to fight in Fallujah were new recruits that were willing to 'die for Allah'. We need to be able to secure each town that these insurgents decide to call home. I guess the question is . . . Do we have enough troops to capture each of these towns and leave it secure? Because, if we don't, it'll play out just like that game with the gopher.
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