A 9-letter word meaning "Thinking 'Everyone's out to get me'" 'Paranoiac.'? Nop
Posted By: And this... on 2008-11-21
In Reply to: Israel air force is ready to attack Iran - because Iran as of today is now
The security aid package the United States has refused to give Israel for the past few months out of concern that Israel would use it to attack nuclear facilities in Iran included a large number of “bunker-buster” bombs, permission to use an air corridor to Iran, an advanced technological system and refueling planes.
Officials from both countries have been discussing the Israeli requests over the past few months. Their rejection would make it very difficult for Israel to attack Iran, if such a decision is made.
About a month ago, Haaretz reported that the Bush administration had turned down an Israeli request for certain security items that could upgrade Israel’s capability to attack Iran. The U.S. administration reportedly saw the request as a sign preparations were moving ahead for an Israeli attack on Iran.
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Diplomatic and security sources indicated to Haaretz that the list of components Israel included:
Bunker-buster GBU-28 bombs: In 2005, the U.S. said it was supplying these bombs to Israel. In August 2006, The New York Times reported that the U.S. had expedited the dispatch of additional bombs at the height of the Second Lebanon War. The bombs, which weigh 2.2 tons each, can penetrate six meters of reinforced concrete. Israel appears to have asked for a relatively large number of additional bunker-busters, and was turned down.
Air-space authorization: An attack on Iran would apparently require passage through Iraqi air space. For this to occur, an air corridor would be needed that Israeli fighter jets could cross without being targeted by American planes or anti-aircraft missiles. The Americans also turned down this request. According to one account, to avoid the issue, the Americans told the Israelis to ask Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for permission, along the lines of “If you want, coordinate with him.”
Refueling planes. An air attack on Iran would require refueling of fighter jets on the way back. According to a report on Channel 10 a few weeks ago, the U.S. rejected an Israeli request for more advanced refueling tankers, of the Boeing 767 model.
The refueling craft the Israel Air Force now uses are very outmoded, something that make it difficult to operate at long distances from Israel. Even if the Americans were to respond favorably to such a request, the process could take a few years.
The IDF recently reported that it is overhauling a Boeing 707 that previously served as the prime minister’s plane to serve as a refueling aircraft.
Advanced technological systems. The Israeli sources declined to give any details on this point.
The Israeli requests were discussed during President George W. Bush’s visit to Israel in May, as well as during Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s visit to Washington in July. In a series of meetings at a very senior level, following Bush’s visit, the Americans made clear to the Israelis that for now they are sticking to the diplomatic option to halt the Iranian nuclear project and that Jerusalem does not have a green light from Washington for an attack on Iran.
However, it appears that in compensation for turning down Israel’s “offensive” requests, the U.S. has agreed to strengthen its defensive systems.
During the Barak visit, it was agreed that an advanced U.S. radar system would be stationed in the Negev, and the order to send it was made at that time. The system would double to 2,000 kilometers the range of identification of missiles launched from the direction of Iran, and would be connected to an American early warning system.
The system is to be operated by American civilians as well as two American soldiers. This would be the first permanent U.S. force on Israeli soil.
A senior security official said the Americans were preparing “with the greatest speed” to make good on their promise, and the systems could be installed within a month.
The Israeli security source said he believed Washington was moving ahead quickly on the request because it considered it very important to restrain Israel at this time.
At the beginning of the year, the Israeli leadership still considered it a reasonable possibility that Bush would decide to attack Iran before the end of his term.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in private discussions, even raised the possibility that the U.S. was considering an attack in the transition period between the election in November and the inauguration of the new president in January 2009.
However, Jerusalem now assumes that likelihood of this possibility is close to nil, and that Bush will use the rest of his time in office to strengthen what he defines as the Iraqi achievement, following the relative success of American efforts there over the past year and a half.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1019989.html
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Do you understand the meaning of the word...(sm)
racisim? Dictionaries are printed for a reason.
Do you understand the meaning of the word...(sm)
racisim? Dictionaries are printed for a reason.
Fact is just a four-letter word.
Okay. Want to keep the gloves off? Fine with me.
So, let me get this straight. The original immigrants/settlers who “wanted change from their native lands” were legitimate because they came with all this unity of vision and purpose, a better life, freedom from tyranny, etc. Of course, it was kind of hard to be an illegal immigrant back then in the absence of immigration laws. Unity. Sounds all warm and fuzzy on paper.
The ink had barely dried on the constitution before the north and south began its process of polarization. Northern colonies began to abolish slavery in 1780 (8 years before George Washington even took office) and had reached consensus by 1804. Within 57 years, less than a human lifespan, they started killing each other, a bloody rampage that was to last 4 long years. Please explain what kind or unity that is?
Let’s fast forward to this current trend. “Illegal immigrants who want to come here now...” Hello. They can’t be illegal until they get here. Careful. Your prejudice is showing. You seem to suggest that these modern-day immigrants, who also ”want change from their native lands,” are all illegal and they come here to change America and turn it into something vile. Shades of Lou Dobbs. For heaven’s sake, where do you get this information? Majority of them DO enter legally. Have you ever known an immigrant...legal or otherwise? How is it that you know so much about what motivates them and what they do or do not want?
They come here for the same reasons the early settlers came...to escape tyranny and to have a better life. Don’t you get it? None of them want to change anything about who we are or what we are. Some come for citizenship, others come for permanent residence, some to go to school, some on temporary work visas. Even the government allows for dual residence and recognizes dual identity. Many illegals come here as refugees seeking asylum, running for their lives for reasons so horrible that most among us cannot even fathom. Still others migrate due to war or poverty. If the quotas have been reached, legal entry sometimes is not an option, at least temporarily, and if you are running for your life or trying to put food in your children’s stomachs, it is probably not an immediate priority. This does not make them some sort of evil presence that threatens our very existence as Americans. Politics of fear...a real drag.
So you don’t want to be hyphenated. Don’t be. Some do. Free country = freedom of choice. Different strokes for different folks. Now that’s the American way. They care nothing about separating us from one another, but you seem to be absolutely bent on separating yourself from them. Just how united can we be if we subscribe to this kind of bigoted exclusion? 337 languages are spoken by United States citizens and residents. That’s the reality of modern day America. Deal with it. As for legalization, those who want it seek it. Those who don’t are not here for long anyway, by their own choice. Let’s not forget. In recent years it has become much more difficult to get legal status and it takes a long, long time. Quotas are arbitrary, selective and preferential.
BTW, you still have not answered my question about those 50,000 illegal Irish immigrants. Does your righteous indignation extend to them as well? Huh? I can’t hear you.
Now this thing about being an American is another whole issue. I wouldn’t touch that with a 10-foot pole. To be sure, for you to presume to define what it means to be an American for anybody but yourself and to try to impose it on others is, again, decidedly un-American. You think American culture is so attractive that everybody else really secretly wants to be just like us? Now who's being arrogant?
I'm not predicting anything...just holding onto that new 4-letter word
YES WE CAN
You cannot type it word for word, just provide a link.
.
Meaning what?
is this a veiled suggestion I move to France?
If so, I got a hot news bulletin for ya, pal: THE FRENCH WERE RIGHT!
Vive la France!
The meaning -
the woman said it was the shadow of death behind Obama...
Is there a meaning in there somewhere? nm
nm
I said *over there* meaning the C board
and you all definitely need to grow some skin. We we question you about ANYTHING you accuse us of stalking and attacking. We are talking with adult liberals over there (the C-board) who understand that true debate is about giving opposite opinions and hashing things out.. a concept which is evidently lost on most of you here.
*The bill is about when and not now, meaning NOW* HUH??
Then let's get out of there and let them control their government. Let's take off the *training wheels* (like Murtha has been saying) and let them learn to ride their *bike* while we observe from the periphery, there if they need us to *catch* them. As long as we are there doing it for them, they will never do it on their own. And by agreeing to amnesty, we're publicly telling the world that the lives of our soldiers aren't important, regardless of how you try to spin it.
And, yes, the media is eerily silent about this. The last article I read last week indicated that the Iraqi Prime Minister was AGAINST amnesty for anyone who kills an IRAQI but was in FAVOR of amnesty for anyone who kills AMERICANS. What a wonderful plan. 
There is more than one meaning for jihad...nm
I didn't come away with that meaning......sm
I read it to mean that if a woman wants an abortion and goes to a doctor or hospital to have it performed, the doctor or hospital cannot not refuse to perform it based on their own religious beliefs.
Very hypocritical, if you ask me (and not direted at you in particular), to say "keep the government out of my uterus because I can do with my body what I want" and then demand a doctor who does not believe in abortion to perform an abortion on you, in essence dragging him into your uterus where he does not want to be doing something he does not want to do.
If this is truly the meaning of the whole thing
fine. I could never have an abortion because I personally believe it is wrong. However, if people are bound and determined to terminate their pregnancy, I'd much rather it be done by a professional instead of these girls having babies in bathrooms and throwing them away, going to some whack job who does permanent damage or have some girl take poisonous things into their body to try and get rid of the pregnancy.
There are pros and cons to abortion whether people want to see it or not. Abortion will not be stopped and so I have to look at it like population control and just go on about my business.
I remember the debate. And of course this is not word for word, I NEVER said...sm
*because I'm not.* This is a LIE that I got tired of arguing with them about then. Unless you are confusing me with an old poster that went under the moniker Demo.
Sambo thinks last word=best word...
su
I think it's the meaning of "more" that evades you. SM
*No more of a radical than Jesus* IS a comparison.
True meaning of Christmas...sm
I have been watching the discussion on the conservative board about Christmas, it's origin and how it is celebrated. While there are a lot of charitable things that go on during the holiday season that are commendable, like Toys for Tots and food drives, I think it is sad how materialistic this season is. If you have kids it is hard to explain to them why one of their classmates got a Playstation 3 (600 dollars), games for the PS3 (200 dollars), laptop (1300 dollars), namebrand shoes and clothes (500 dollars), jewelry (200 dollars), etc, etc, when you can not, or have better sense than to spoil your child (and finances) like this.
My children know the value of a dollar. They also know that this season is about the birth of Christ, the spirit of giving, whether that be love or gifts.
I said all of that to ask this question. Do you think the majority of people who celebrate Christmas know the true meaning of Christmas or are they caught up in the hype of the latest best technology, the best decorations, the most expensive tree?
"present", meaning he showed up, but could not
nm
Hate to say it, but they aren't well-meaning at all s/m
They're blatantly peddling socialism..."spreading the wealth around?" So if you make more than I do, Obtama will take from you & give some to me. How can people NOT see this?
As far asa I'm concerned, these Obama fanatics can move to Canada, Cuba, etc. Look how well that's workin' for them.
Some believe O stated 57 states meaning
x
I'm not understanding the meaning of your post
Actually it almost sounds like something Hemmingway would write. HA HA. Anyway...just confused by the post. Are you talking about the record breaking snowfalls and bone chilling cold spells all over the world (oh so not global warming), or are you refering to the incoming president, and the last part of the post just lost me. Please explain.
Kruschev said they (meaning, their philosophy) would take us over from within.
One only has to imagine: Would Kruschev be laughing or crying over the direction the current administration is taking?
Not a tough question to answer, so there's no prize offered.
The real meaning of happy holidays.
Ever since I can remember, and I am 50, everyone said Merry Christmas AND/OR Happy Holidays and no one gave a flip either way. However, in my youthful naivete, little did I realize what happy holidays REALLY means. It is a code. It means that anyone who says it is really saying, I want to take Christ out of Christmas, and by the way, I hate America and I want the communists/terrorists to win. So if you hear someone say happy holidays and the other person answers back happy holidays you know you have 2 people of interest who require, at the very least, a wiretap or two and surveillance for an indeterminate amount of time. They should be reported immediately to the FBI. Happy Holidays is a serious threat and a Code Orange.
God save us from well-meaning people as my mother
.
Plus - does the Republican party understand the meaning of MAVERICK?
Agree with you - what did they expect with her zero experience (in foreign policy) AND the fact that she's under investigation?
Re: maverick. There are subtle variations of this word like "eccentric" that could apply to just about anyone, but the central meaning is 'nonconformist'
When you look at someone who has VOTED WITH GEORGE BUSH 90% OF THE time, where do you see 'nonconformist'?
And this from a man who was hammered by Bush when they went toe to toe. Please sir can I have another?
I see REPACKAGED MATERIAL, not 'maverick.'
That said, I have TONS of respect for his POW experience - all the MORE reason for him to NEVER ALLOW AMERICA TO ENGAGE IN WARS BASED ON LIES!!!
What's nonconformist about his support for our current fake war?
He should under the banner of HYPOCRITE, not maverick.
Meaning, I read and try to find informative sites
xx
Taking it to a new level meaning posting a whole new thread
I still say no response is the best response.
Hmmm...Gives new meaning to "He's an empty suit", doesn't it?
x
The Letter sm
I do not watch Glenn Beck, but this is an excellent letter. This was written by a grandmother in Arizona. Wish there was 100 million more like her.
GLENN: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership: I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.
Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.
Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.
Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.
Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.
Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?
Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.
Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idjit you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.
I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.
From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're idjits.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when he will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole darn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/26742/
meaning=history repeats...the PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE will be tested...no matter which one wins...nm
=)
CIA Agents Letter
CIA Agents Letter to US Senate and House
18 July 2005
AN OPEN STATEMENT TO THE LEADERS OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE.
The Honorable Dennis Hastert, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Dr. William Frist, Majority Leader of the Senate
The Honorable Harry Reid, Minority Leader of the Senate
We, the undersigned former U.S. intelligence officers are concerned with the tone and substance of the public debate over the ongoing Department of Justice investigation into who leaked the name of Valerie Plame, wife of former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV, to syndicated columnist Robert Novak and other members of the media, which exposed her status as an undercover CIA officer. The disclosure of Ms. Plame’s name was a shameful event in American history and, in our professional judgment, may have damaged U.S. national security and poses a threat to the ability of U.S. intelligence gathering using human sources. Any breach of the code of confidentiality and cover weakens the overall fabric of intelligence, and, directly or indirectly, jeopardizes the work and safety of intelligence workers and their sources.
The Republican National Committee has circulated talking points to supporters to use as part of a coordinated strategy to discredit Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife. As part of this campaign a common theme is the idea that Ambassador Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame was not undercover and deserved no protection. The following are four recent examples of this "talking point":
Michael Medved stated on Larry King Live on July 12, 2005, "And let's be honest about this. Mrs. Plame, Mrs. Wilson, had a desk job at Langley. She went back and forth every single day."
Victoria Toensing stated on a Fox News program with John Gibson on July 12, 2005 that, "Well, they weren't taking affirmative measures to protect that identity. They gave her a desk job in Langley. You don't really have somebody deep undercover going back and forth to Langley, where people can see them."
Ed Rodgers, Washington Lobbyist and former Republican official, said on July 13, 2005 on the Newshour with Jim Lehrer, "And also I think it is now a matter of established fact that Mrs. Plame was not a protected covert agent, and I don't think there's any meaningful investigation about that."
House majority whip Roy Blunt (R, Mo), on Face the Nation, July 17, 2005, "It certainly wouldn't be the first time that the CIA might have been overzealous in sort of maintaining the kind of top-secret definition on things longer than they needed to. You know, this was a job that the ambassador's wife had that she went to every day. It was a desk job. I think many people in Washington understood that her employment was at the CIA, and she went to that office every day."
These comments reveal an astonishing ignorance of the intelligence community and the role of cover. The fact is that there are thousands of U.S. intelligence officers who "work at a desk" in the Washington, D.C. area every day who are undercover. Some have official cover, and some have non-official cover. Both classes of cover must and should be protected.
While we are pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice is conducting an investigation and that the U.S. Attorney General has recused himself, we believe that the partisan attacks against Valerie Plame are sending a deeply discouraging message to the men and women who have agreed to work undercover for their nation’s security.
We are not lawyers and are not qualified to determine whether the leakers technically violated the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act. However, we are confident that Valerie Plame was working in a cover status and that our nation’s leaders, regardless of political party, have a duty to protect all intelligence officers. We believe it is appropriate for the President to move proactively to dismiss from office or administratively punish any official who participated in any way in revealing Valerie Plame's status. Such an act by the President would send an unambiguous message that leaks of this nature will not be tolerated and would be consistent with his duties as the Commander-in-Chief.
We also believe it is important that Congress speak with one non-partisan voice on this issue. Intelligence officers should not be used as political footballs. In the case of Valerie Plame, she still works for the CIA and is not in a position to publicly defend her reputation and honor. We stand in her stead and ask that Republicans and Democrats honor her service to her country and stop the campaign of disparagement and innuendo aimed at discrediting Mrs. Wilson and her husband.
Our friends and colleagues have difficult jobs gathering the intelligence, which helps, for example, to prevent terrorist attacks against Americans at home and abroad. They sometimes face great personal risk and must spend long hours away from family and friends. They serve because they love this country and are committed to protecting it from threats from abroad and to defending the principles of liberty and freedom. They do not expect public acknowledgement for their work, but they do expect and deserve their government’s protection of their covert status.
For the good of our country, we ask you to please stand up for every man and woman who works for the U.S. intelligence community and help protect their ability to live their cover.
Sincerely yours,
_____________________________________
Larry C. Johnson, former Analyst, CIA
JOINED BY:
Mr. Brent Cavan, former Analyst, CIA
Mr. Vince Cannistraro, former Case Officer, CIA
Mr. Michael Grimaldi, former Analyst, CIA
Mr. Mel Goodman, former senior Analyst, CIA
Col. W. Patrick Lang (US Army retired), former Director, Defense Humint Services, DIA
Mr. David MacMichael, former senior estimates officer, National Intelligence Council, CIA
Mr. James Marcinkowski, former Case Officer, CIA
Mr. Ray McGovern, former senior Analyst and PDB Briefer, CIA
Mr. Jim Smith, former Case Officer, CIA
Mr. William C. Wagner, former Case Officer, CIA
letter from a soldier
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, if you are given this story DO NOT REENLIST!
From: aaronb
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 10:42 PM
To: soldiers@michaelmoore.com
Subject: army con artist
Mr. Moore,
I would like to start by saying that I think what you are doing for the troops is probably the most supportive thing any one human being could do during this troubled time. I would like to tell you my story, and I hope that it can help other soldiers in my position.
I am a specialist in the US Army, I have served four years on active duty, and I am separating from the service later this month. Earlier this year my wife and I had a baby girl. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, which is a genetic disease which affects the lungs. Her life expectancy is about 30 years old. When she was born she required surgery which kept her in the hospital for about a month. As you can probably imagine, this was quite expensive. I wasn't worried about paying for it because I assumed military insurance (TRICARE) would cover it. I went along with that assumption for the next few months, but about 2 weeks before I was scheduled to ETS, I made a routine trip to the tricare office at the base hospital. When I arrived there and showed them an outstanding bill from the hospital where my daughter had the surgery, which showed an outstanding balance of 127,000 dollars, I was informed that that bill must be paid by me personally because I was required to pay 20% of any medical bill from any hospital or clinic not in the military system. When I asked the clerk what my options were for payment, she informed me that I either pay the bill in full, or reenlist and the bill would be paid for by the army. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, so I left the office without saying another word, went home, and called the 1 800 number for tricare. The representative assured me that the clerks statements were entirely false and that my insurance policy had a catastrophic cap of 1000 dollars. While I have no proof, I believe that the clerk from the office at the hospital (who was a civilian) was receiving some type of payment to try and con soldiers with exceptional family members into reenlisting. I am considering obtaining legal counsel on this matter, but I doubt I have a case. I just wanted to write this to make sure it never happens to anyone else. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, if you are given this story DO NOT REENLIST! Contact the tricare hotline before doing anything based on what you are told. I hope that this has not happened to anyone else, but I fear that is not true.
Thank you for your help,
A soldier for peace
letter to Congress
Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2005 13:59:37 -0800 (PST)
From: NT <nancyt1210@yahoo.com>
Subject: Open Letter to Congress from a Veteran and Military Dad
Stan Goff is Vietnam veteran and son served in Iraq. An Open
Letter to Congress from a Veteran and Military Dad On Power By STAN
GOFF, Dec. 2, 2005
(Disclaiming in advance for the rare exceptions in Congress)
If there is one thing we can always count on, it's politicians who
walk over human corpses to show fear only in the face of something as
formless and abstract as an opinion poll. Many of us in the veterans and
military families antiwar movement are well-versed on so-called
realism--and that deference we are supposed to exercise when we approach
elected officials, hat in hand, for a few crumbs of your attention and
support.
We understand power very well.
You are fighting each other for your careers, and you are retaining
your power over us through distance and guile, and trying to promote
that power by pretending you are hearing our concerns. But we have more
than concerns at stake here.
It is because we understand power that we haven't the slightest
intention of allowing ourselves to be used to promote your careers past the
2006 elections. If you fail to demand US withdrawal now, you are
supporting the war; and if you support the war, as far as we are concerned,
you can go straight to hell in 2006.
It is because we understand power that we are not going to forgive
and forget that when the war fever was up, fed by the lies of
Republicans, the war was facilitated by the eager xenophobic complicity of most
Democrats, and by the slavish obedience of the corporate press. Most of
you not only co-signed what you knew to be an illegal invasion--you have
continued to sign the checks to perpetuate the war.
You wanted to be lied to about the war, because the polls supported
the war, and you were sniffing the political air.
It is because we understand power that we know that most of you did
this out of craven opportunism and a concern for your political
ambitions--knowing full well that no one you loved was likely to be sent home
without a limb, without an eye, without a life.
It is because we understand power that we know how cynically cavalier
you are with the lives of others, and how narcissistically
self-promoting.
It is because we understand power that we understand why many of you
are backpedaling in your support for the war. You are maneuvering to be
critical of the war. You demand the administration provide an
effective exit strategy. And you haven't said a goddamned substantive
thing, as the cameras shutter away for you. And you want us to play
along--so you can beat Republicans without taking a single real position. You
don't want to stop this war. You want to win an election. By the time
you win that election, another thousand troops and another 20,000 Iraqis
could be dead. We do not calculate time the way you do.
It is because we understand power that we know most of you will stand
by while those of us with less privilege see our loved ones sent to
kill and die. The real corpses produced by the exercise of power are no
more to you than a political calculation.
We understand power, because we know what really stands behind it.
Power is embodied in the mounted cops you use to police our protests.
Power is expressed by the armed guards for your gated communities. Power
is the ability to kill and maim and get away with it, even if you dress
it up in $5,000 suits and trot it out on the talk-show circuit, on
C-Span, in your interviews with CNN.
Power is projected onto other peoples using your Cruise missiles and
A-10s and Bradley fighting vehicles and the people who join the
military. And the price of that power doesn't merely come from our pockets. We
probably wouldn't fight you about how you rob us for your pork barrel
defense contracts. The price that has us in motion right now--you really
must understand this, because it means we will never back off--is
exacted on the bodies of human beings.
The price is exacted with mortars, with IEDs, with high powered rifle
ammunition, with bombs, with the same A-10s and Bradleys; and it is
exacted on the bodies of our loved ones and the loved ones of the Iraqi
people.
That's why we are not going to grant you the power to manipulate us,
to contain us, to corral us, or to pimp our grief over this war and its
costs on behalf of your political careers or the needs of a political
party. That's why were are going to be rudely explicit when we say that
your bombast against the Bush administration--as if they did this
without your help--in calling for a more effective exit strategy and
demanding that people merely think about a plan for withdrawal from Iraq
that will take months or years this verbiage is meaningless and
manipulative. We will never stand for studying a withdrawal, for phasing a
withdrawal, for delaying a withdrawal, for setting conditions for a
withdrawal, or for partial withdrawal. Never.
Our demand from the beginning remains unchanged. It is for
withdrawal, and for immediate, unilateral, unconditional withdrawal; and if
political careers go up in smoke as a consequence, we do not give a good
goddamn. People are dying in Iraq as a direct result of this war every
single day. Go back to your fucking law offices and let our children live.
Gradual, phased, planned, strategized, conditioned, delayed, partial
withdrawals get implemented, if at all, while those military sedans
continue to roll up in front of people's houses to announce the extinction
of a human being to his or her family and while the bodies are dropped
into the fresh graves at the cemeteries of Iraq.
Gradual, phased, planned, strategized, conditioned, delayed, partial
withdrawals get implemented, if at all, while the poisons accumulate in
the soil and water and food of Iraq, and in the bodies of Iraqis and
occupation troops.
Gradual, phased, planned, strategized, conditioned, delayed, partial
withdrawals get implemented, if at all, while the hospitals fill up
with the lamed, maimed, blinded, and disfigured.
Gradual, phased, planned, strategized, conditioned, delayed, partial
withdrawals get implemented, if at all, while the grief and horror
associated with this criminal war become the daily emotional fare of more
and more people, occupation forces and Iraqis.
No member of Congress has the moral right to dither on the question
of his or her precious career while a single constituent is facing the
fear of that devastating knock on the door. We say the emperor has no
clothes; and we say we know you when you feign concern with your eye
fixed firmly on your ambition.
An exit is not a strategy. An exit is a command.
If the commander in chief won't give that command, then you in
Congress--if you want to salvage anything that looks vaguely like a
conscience or a soul--will refuse to grant this administration another penny to
continue this war. We are not hearing you when you tap dance about
political realism. The mounting mass of corpses, that you have walked
over every time you voted a cent to continue this war, is about as real as
it gets. Don't you dare ever lecture military families and veterans
about realism. And don't you doubt that we understand power.
You may think you can respond to your careerist concerns in the face
of reversing polls. You may think you can pretend to do something, that
you can bewilder us into accepting half a loaf better than none.
To the tiny handful of you in Congress who have said what we say,
Out Now!, we commend you and thank you for your principled voices.
To those of you who are openly supporting this criminal
administration, we'll see you in the street, and history will consign your names to
the chapters about imperial bullying, comb-over machismo, and cognitive
mediocrity.
To those of you who call for half measures, phases, and strategies,
you are directly in front of us now. You are standing directly in our
path, and we are not going to go around you.
We are not going to commend you on being better than the
reactionaries.
We are not going to thank you for our half a loaf.
We are not going to try and give you the political cover you need to
wiggle around those shifting opinion polls while you salvage your
careers.
We do not love you. We find your ambivalence contemptible.
We love the people who are facing the real consequences of this war
while you schmooze your way through the chicken-salad circuits of
imperial power, nattering on about realism and phases and strategies.
You will not divert our attention away from you. You will redirect
neither our anger nor our will away from you. It is you who are standing
directly in our way; and every time you try to dicker about people's
lives with us like we are in street market, every time you try to pimp
our outrage at this crime, as a mere concern that only you are entitled
to address with your careerist half-measures, we will call you to
account. We will embarrass you. We will shine a spotlight on your cowardice,
your opportunism, and your grotesque cynical hypocrisy.
November 2006 is not an election to us; it is a body count. If you
think you can take us for granted over an election, think again.
Get it right, because we have never wavered on our position. The mass
of American society is moving toward us, not you. They are listening
more and more to us, and less and less to you. We are about saving lives,
not saving face. So get it right, and get it right fast. We are looking
at your political house with an eye to pulling it down.
We understand power very well.
Stan Goff is the author of Hideous Dream: A Soldier's Memoir of the
US Invasion of Haiti (Soft Skull Press, 2000), Full Spectrum
Disorder (Soft Skull Press, 2003) and Sex & War which will be released
approximately December, 2005. He is retired from the United States Army. His
blog is at www.stangoff.com.
Goff can be reached at: sherrynstan@igc.org
My Letter to the President
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Mr. President:
Are you proud of your accomplishments as president? I have highlighted just a few for you below. You and those you surround yourself with have:
• KILLED over 3600 AMERICAN TROOPS.
• MAIMED over 25,000 AMERICAN TROOPS.
• KILLED nearly 70,000 IRAQI CIVILIANS and 650,000 IRAQIS TOTAL have died as a result of US INVASION.
• Orchestrated WAR on IRAQ when the 9/11 TERRORISTS were MOSTLY SAUDI.
• Allowed NO-BID CONTRACTS for IRAQ war reconstruction and MONEY UNACCOUNTED FOR.
• DESTABILIZED MIDDLE EAST, now wanting TO SELL WEAPONS to Arab “allies.”
• Incurred the LARGEST NATIONAL DEBT IN OUR HISTORY, nearing 9 TRILLION.
• Shown INCOMPETENCE and INEFFECTIVENESS in response to HURRICANE KATRINA.
• Shown DISRESPECT FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL, initially attempting to reduce veterans’ benefits for those who put their lives at risk for this country in the past and leaving those who serve in Iraq without needed supplies.
• Done nothing about NEARLY 50 MILLION AMERICANS UNINSURED.
• CUT EDUCATION LOANS and REDUCED PELL GRANTS.
• Shown DISREGARD for THE CONSTITUTION of the United States of America with the so-called Patriot Act.
• Shown DISREGARD for the SAFETY and HEALTH of our ENVIRONMENT, for example, withdrawing the US from the Kyoto Protocol agreement and opening public land for oil drilling.
• Shown HYPOCRISY and FAVORITISM by COMMUTING SCOOTER LIBBY’S SENTENCE. July 19, 2005, Washington Post: “PRESIDENT BUSH SAID yesterday that he will fire anyone in the administration found to have committed a crime in the leaking of a CIA operative's name.”
• ALLOWED Attorney General ROBERTO GONZALEZ, a representative of truth and justice, TO REMAIN in government office AFTER HE LIED about his presence at a meeting regarding the questionably-timed firings of eight US attorneys.
Past presidents during my lifetime have not always behaved admirably, but your behavior and record in office reveal a decidedly un-Christian lack of ethics and morality exceeding that of any except perhaps Richard Nixon. Where did you leave your oft-professed Christianity? I pray the nation survives your destructive administration, and I pray you begin to live a truly honorable life from this day on.
Sincerely,
Letter from a soldier
Here is an email I received from my cousin. Thought it interesting enough to put up here. It is a letter written by a soldier in Afghanistan.
Hello everyone,
As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on his visit to “The War Zone”. I wanted to share with you what happened.
He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the area to meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is the commander here at Bagram.
As the Soldiers where lined up to shake his hand he blew them off and didn't say a word as he went into the conference room to meet the General.
As he finished, the vehicles took him to the Clam Shell (pretty much a big top tent that military personnel can play basketball or work out in with weights) so he could take his publicity pictures playing basketball. He again shunned the opportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for their service.
So really he was just here to make a showing for the American's back home that he is their candidate for President. I think that if you are going to make an effort to come all the way over here you would thank those that are providing the freedom that they are providing for you.
I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball Players or the Dallas Cowboy Cheer leaders than from one of the Senators, who wants to be the President of the United States. I just don't understand how anyone would want him to be our Commander-and-Chief. It was almost that he was scared to be around those that provide the freedom for him and our great country.
If this is blunt and to the point I am sorry but I wanted you all to know what kind of caliber of person he really is. What you see in the news is all fake.
In service,
CPT Jeffrey S. Porter
Battle Captain
TF Wasatch
American Soldier
American by birth
MARINE by the grace of God
Semper Fi
an open letter to God
Sunday, August 31st, 2008
Dear God,
The other night, the Rev. James Dobson's ministry asked all believers to pray for a storm on Thursday night so that the Obama acceptance speech outdoors in Denver would have to be cancelled.
I see that You have answered Rev. Dobson's prayers -- except the storm You have sent to earth is not over Denver, but on its way to New Orleans! In fact, You have scheduled it to hit Louisiana at exactly the moment that George W. Bush is to deliver his speech at the Republican National Convention.
Now, heavenly Father, we all know You have a great sense of humor and impeccable timing. To send a hurricane on the third anniversary of the Katrina disaster AND right at the beginning of the Republican Convention was, at first blush, a stroke of divine irony. I don't blame You, I know You're angry that the Republicans tried to blame YOU for Katrina by calling it an "Act of God" -- when the truth was that the hurricane itself caused few casualties in New Orleans. Over a thousand people died because of the mistakes and neglect caused by humans, not You.
Some of us tried to help after Katrina hit, while Bush ate cake with McCain and twiddled his thumbs. I closed my office in New York and sent my entire staff down to New Orleans to help. I asked people on my website to contribute to the relief effort I organized -- and I ended up sending over two million dollars in donations, food, water, and supplies (collected from thousands of fans) to New Orleans while Bush's FEMA ice trucks were still driving around Maine three weeks later.
But this past Thursday night, the Washington Post reported that the Republicans had begun making plans to possibly postpone the convention. The AP had reported that there were no shelters set up in New Orleans for this storm, and that the levee repairs have not been adequate. In other words, as the great Ronald Reagan would say, "There you go again!"
So the last thing John McCain and the Republicans needed was to have a split-screen on TVs across America: one side with Bush and McCain partying in St. Paul, and on the other side of the screen, live footage of their Republican administration screwing up once again while New Orleans drowns.
So, yes, You have scared the Jesus, Mary and Joseph out of them, and more than a few million of your followers tip their hats to You.
But now it appears that You haven't been having just a little fun with Bush & Co. It appears that Hurricane Gustav is truly heading to New Orleans and the Gulf coast. We hear You, O Lord, loud and clear, just as we did when Rev. Falwell said You made 9/11 happen because of all those gays and abortions. We beseech You, O Merciful One, not to punish us again as Pat Robertson said You did by giving us Katrina because of America's "wholesale slaughter of unborn children." His sentiments were echoed by other Republicans in 2005.
So this is my plea to you: Don't do this to Louisiana again. The Republicans got your message. They are scrambling and doing the best they can to get planes, trains and buses to New Orleans so that everyone can get out. They haven't sent the entire Louisiana National Guard to Iraq this time -- they are already patrolling the city streets. And, in a nod to I don't know what, Bush's head of FEMA has named a man to help manage the federal government's response. His name is W. Michael Moore. I kid you not, heavenly Father. They have sent a man with both my name AND W's to help save the Gulf Coast.
So please God, let the storm die out at sea. It's done enough damage already. If you do this one favor for me, I promise not to invoke your name again. I'll leave that to the followers of Rev. Dobson and to those gathering this week in St. Paul.
Your faithful servant and former seminarian,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
letter to the editor
Dear Editor,
It's been said, “If you can't refute the message, attack the messenger.”
I hear certain people demean the character of Jerome R. Corsi, the author of “The Obama Nation - Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality.”
I decided to investigate the book myself, rather than just take someone's word for it.
Interestingly, I found that Mr. Corsi received a Ph.D. from Harvard University and has written many books and articles, including a number one New York Times best seller.
In addition, he is a senior staff reporter for World Net Daily.
“The Obama Nation” is thoroughly researched and documented.
Corsi meticulously sourced his material with over 600 footnotes.
He began researching Mr. Obama back in 2005.
Of note, Corsi is not a Republican or a Democrat, nor does he intend to vote for Senator John McCain.
In this comprehensive book, Corsi examines Barack Hussein Obama’s extensive connections with Islam and radical politics, his affiliation with the black-liberation theology of Jeremiah Wright, his involvement with Chicago political fixer Tony Rezko, and Obama’s cult of personality, including the derivation of the words “hope” and “change.”
Corsi also documents Obama's far-left domestic policy, his controversial votes on abortion, his history of opposition to the second amendment, his determination to raise taxes, his impractical plan to achieve universal healthcare and many other important and pertinent issues.
Obviously, it is not my place, nor anyone else's, to tell someone how to vote or who to vote for, but I would suggest that readers thinking of voting for Mr. Obama owe it to themselves, and to the future of our country, to research more of his background in order to better understand his ideology, his policies and his politics. (Another interesting book is "The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media’s Favorite Candidate.")
These books should be available at the local library and are eye-opening reads.
A letter to the editor -
From a Cuban-American, talking about "change." A real eye opener. He's been there, done that.
Letter to Obama....
http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=11061
Letter to my employees...
Not sure who wrote this letter, but its quite a good read..
To All My Valued Employees,
There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.
However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests.
First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.
However, what you don't see is the back story.
I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.
My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.
Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the Goodwill store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.
So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... You never realize the back story and the sacrifices I've made.
Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.
Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds.
Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:
I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.
The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.
The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.
Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.
When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.
So where am I going with all this?
It's quite simple.
If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.
Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.
If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about....
Signed,
Your boss
GM letter and response?
Don't know if this is true (but hope it is) received in an email:
This is one of the greatest responses to the requests for bailout
money I have seen thus far. As a supplier for the Big 3 this man
received a letter from the President of GM North America requesting
support for the bail out program. His response is classic, and has to
make you proud of a local guy who tells it like it is.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear Employees & Suppliers,
Congress and the current Administration will soon determine whether to
provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it
through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's
history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why
this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior
to the global financial crisis......................As an employee or
supplier, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most
effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have
your voice heard.
Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.
Troy Clarke
President General Motors North America
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Response from:
Gregory Knox, Pres. Check out this guy's website via Google
Knox Machinery Company
Franklin, Ohio
http://www.knoxmachinery.com/leadership.html
Gentlemen:
In response to your request to contact legislators and ask for a
bailout for the Big Three automakers please consider the following,
and please pass my thoughts on to Troy Clark, President of General
Motors North America.
Politicians and Management of the Big 3 are both infected with the
same entitlement mentality that has spread like cancerous germs in UAW
halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping
this nation, awaiting our new "messiah", Pres-elect Obama, to wave his
magic wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time
allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream"… Believe me
folks, The dream is over!
This dream where we can ignore the consumer for years while management
myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time
that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid,
arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without
paying the price for these atrocities…this dream where you still think
the masses will line up to buy our products for ever and ever.
Don't even think about telling me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not
knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW,
Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive
OEM's throughout the Midwest during the past 30 years and what I've
seen over those years in these union shops can only be described as
disgusting.
Troy Clarke, President of General Motors North America, states: "There
is widespread sentiment throughout this country, and our government,
and especially via the news media, that the current crisis is
completely the result of bad management which it certainly is not."
You're right Mr. Clarke, it's not JUST management…how about the
electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times,
making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag a$$…so
they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time…for a
job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour work week.
How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of
scare tactics…for putting out too many parts on a shift…and for being
too productive
(We certainly must not expose those lazy bums who have been getting
overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?)
Do you folks really not know about this stuff?!? How about this great
sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea: "over the last few
years …we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our
competitors." What the he11 has Detroit been doing for the last 40
years?!? Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and
efficiency between us and them? The K car vs. the Accord? The Pinto
vs. the Civic?!? Do I need to go on? What a joke!
We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the
United States auto industry for decades. It's time to pay for your
sins, Detroit .
I attended an economic summit last week where brilliant economist,
Alan Beaulieu, from the Institute of Trend Research , surprised the
crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of
"bailout money".. "Yes, he said, this would cause short term
problems," but despite what people like politicians and corporate
magnates would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next
day… and the following very important thing would happen…where there
had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient ones would pop up…that
is how a free market system works…it does work…if we would only let it
work…"
But for some nondescript reason we are now deciding that the rest of
the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work - that we need the
government to step in and "save us"…Save us my a$$, He11 - we're
nationalizing…and unfortunately too many of our once fine nation's
citizens don't even have a clue that this is what is really
happening…But, they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite
sports teams…yeah - THAT'S really important, isn't it…
Does it ever occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing
vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades in this country?... How
can that be??? Let's see… Fuel efficient… Listening to customers…
Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul…
Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr. W. Edwards
Deming four decades ago when he taught that by adopting appropriate
principles of management, organizations could increase quality and
simultaneously reduce costs. Ever increased productivity through
quality and intelligent planning… Treating vendors like strategic
partners, rather than like "the enemy"… Efficient front and back
offices… Non union environment…
Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone
anything they really don't already know down deep in their hearts.
I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of
wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten
yourself into - my children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis,
as I did when I was their age. I do for them what my parents did for
me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way) - I make them stand on
their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and
work through it. Radical concept, huh… Am I there for them in the
wings? Of course - but only until such time as they need to be fully
on their own as adults.
I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly
are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting
and government. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their
sins. Bad news people - it's coming whether we like it or not. The
newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to
"make it all go away." I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back
in" almost immediately after the final vote count was tallied…"we
really might not do it in a year…or in four…" Where the He11 was that
kind of talk when he was RUNNING for office.
Stop trying to put off the inevitable folks … That house in Florida
really isn't worth $750,000… People who jump across a border really
don't deserve free health care benefits… That job driving that
forklift for the Big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year… We really
shouldn't allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired
from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the
most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe…
That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really
shouldn't be living in that $485,000 home… Let the market correct
itself folks - it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna' be
painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the
other side of it all, is a nation that appreciates what it has…and
doesn't live beyond its means…and gets back to basics…and redevelops
the patriotic work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the
history of the world…and probably turns back to God.
Sorry - don't cut my head off, I'm just the messenger sharing with you
the "bad news". I hope you take it to heart.
Gregory J. Knox, President
Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin, Ohio 45005
Excellent letter -
She echoes my thoughts exactly. I forwared this letter to our Senators and plan to forward to others. If anyone thinks that this letter is "boring" then they must have their head in the sand (or somewhere else) because this tells it how it really is and boring it is not; how about scary!
yep. Its Fox. Just googled it. word for word. nm
nm
Not one word. One defitinion of a word.
Cult: 1. A system of religious worship or ritual.
Or how about this:
Cult: A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
Or my personal favorite:
Cult: A self-identified group of people who share a narrowly defined interest or perspective.
Rowe, Rove, only one letter
difference, and both words represent betrayal by government in one form or another.
Women who believe in choice will see their rights digress and witness history go backwards. CIA agents have already seen that they can't trust their government in a time of war.
Actually, Karl Rove has a very important job. Because of him and the heat the administration has been taking because of his actions, Bush was forced to actually do his job and nominate a replacement for Justice O'Connor. Very, very "hard work" before he spends the entire month of August in Crawford.
I think soon, though, y'all will see it didn't work. Rove can't escape the heat that easily. I believe you will find that Bush failed in getting the heat taken off of Rove, and he had to rush to do all that "hard work" for no reason at all!
You might want to read the letter on the other board.
The one from the young Marine who says that the fighting forces in Iraq feel that the antiwar movement is enabling and strengthening the forces they are fighting. If that is not putting our troops in danger, I am not sure what is.
Exclusive: Dem Letter to Bush sm
President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
The start of the new Congress brings us opportunities to work together on the critical issues confronting our country. No issue is more important than finding an end to the war in Iraq. December was the deadliest month of the war in over two years, pushing U.S. fatality figures over the 3,000 mark.
The American people demonstrated in the November elections that they do not believe your current Iraq policy will lead to success and that we need a change in direction for the sake of our troops and the Iraqi people. We understand that you are completing your post-election consultations on Iraq and are preparing to make a major address on your Iraq strategy to the American people next week.
Clearly this address presents you with another opportunity to make a long overdue course correction. Despite the fact that our troops have been pushed to the breaking point and, in many cases, have already served multiple tours in Iraq, news reports suggest that you believe the solution to the civil war in Iraq is to require additional sacrifices from our troops and are therefore prepared to proceed with a substantial U.S. troop increase.
Surging forces is a strategy that you have already tried and that has already failed. Like many current and former military leaders, we believe that trying again would be a serious mistake. They, like us, believe there is no purely military solution in Iraq. There is only a political solution. Adding more combat troops will only endanger more Americans and stretch our military to the breaking point for no strategic gain. And it would undermine our efforts to get the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future. We are well past the point of more troops for Iraq.
In a recent appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee, General John Abizaid, our top commander for Iraq and the region, said the following when asked about whether he thought more troops would contribute to our chances for success in Iraq:
I met with every divisional commander, General Casey, the Corps commander, General Dempsey. We all talked together. And I said, in your professional opinion, if we were to bring in more American troops now, does it add considerably to our ability to achieve success in Iraq? And they all said no. And the reason is, because we want the Iraqis to do more. It's easy for the Iraqis to rely upon to us do this work. I believe that more American forces prevent the Iraqis from doing more, from taking more responsibility for their own future.
Rather than deploy additional forces to Iraq, we believe the way forward is to begin t he phased redeployment of our forces in the next four to six months, while shifting the principal mission of our forces there from combat to training, logistics, force protection and counter-terror. A renewed diplomatic strategy, both within the region and beyond, is also required to help the Iraqis agree to a sustainable political settlement. In short, it is time to begin to move our forces out of Iraq and make the Iraqi political leadership aware that our commitment is not open ended, that we cannot resolve their sectarian problems, and that only they can find the political resolution required to stabilize Iraq.
Our troops and the American people have already sacrificed a great deal for the future of Iraq. After nearly four years of combat, tens of thousands of U.S. casualties, and over $300 billion dollars, it is time to bring the war to a close. We, therefore, strongly encourage you to reject any plans that call for our getting our troops any deeper into Iraq. We want to do everything we can to help Iraq succeed in the future but, like many of our senior military leaders, we do not believe that adding more U.S. combat troops contributes to success.
We appreciate you taking these views into consideration.
Sincerely,
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
It is quite possible with all the hype about the letter he received...
which at the time no one knew a white supremacist had written...the hype was still there, and perhaps he is being targeted now because people know him and know his face. Best way to get publicity is to target someone the public is familiar with. He is obviously an activist on the other side and will be at some of the same events in counterprotest...people know who he is so he is targeted. It happens to people who are known, no matter what their political affiliation. I am saying that so I do not get accused of saying only liberals target people. It is a human nature reaction, not a political one. That is why causes like to have a face on them that everyone knows...so people will pay attention, i.e. the Hollyweird bunch.
Here is one of those nasty four-letter words for you....
FACT...it was not the Republican Party who made it the thing to do to outsource to India...that was YOUR party. Here you go:
When Hillary Clinton threw her hat in the senatorial ring in 1999, one Sikh donor with business interests in India enriched her to the tune of $50 thousand-and she enriched him with access. The Sikh is a millionaire whose circumstances suggest may be living on “borrowed” wealth. The man is hotel-restaurant mogel Sant Singh Chatwal. Chatwal a naturalized citizen from India who initially raised $500 thousand for Clinton in a fundraiser in his Upper Eastside penthouse. Chatwal reportedly committed 14 entities controlled by him to donate $210 thousand of that amount to Hillary’s first campaign for the US Senate. Not in the least surprising is the fact that Chatwal is also a key Trustee of the William J. Clinton Foundation.
Chatwal, a US tax deadbeat since at least 1996 (and a debt deadbeat before that) began donating to Bill and Hillary Clinton early in the Clinton years. The Clintons reciprocated (that old political quid pro quo) by approving grants to Indian-American advocacy groups that were used to finance the outsourcing of jobs from the United States to India. Beginning in 1996 Cisco Systems (another major Clinton donor) began laying off $60 thousand-plus high tech employees and replacing them with new hires from Bangalore, India for about half the dollars. Cisco Systems justified the hirings, claiming they could not find qualified employees in the United States. By 1998 Cisco had only a handful of Infosys Technology workers overseas (Infosys is an outsourcer of jobs to India). Most of their 850 employees are now Indian. (Infosys has just launched an IT subsidiary in Monterray, Mexico to outsource outsourced jobs from India to Mexico.) In 2006 Newsweek reported that Cisco System’s R&D facility-employing 3,000 people, would be located in India. (Bill Clinton received $300 thousand from Cisco in 2006 for two speeches at $150 thousand per speech. Cisco employees-those who still had jobs-donated $39,450 to Hillary.)
Bill Clinton invested upwards of $50 thousand in an Indian bill paying company through his WJC Investments, LLP when outsourcing became a hot property. The company, Easy Bill Limited, is an Indian corporation. Easy Bill functions as a one-stop bill paying outlet for utility bills, credit card bills or any other debts you pay online. (It’s website, www.easybillindia.com (does not conceal from anyone interested in billing collection services that they are outsourcing to India).
In 2004 Congress-and several States-attempted to enact anti- outsourcing laws. In March, 2004 the Senate approved an amendment by Sen. Chris Dodd [D-CT] disallowing tax dollars from being used to facilitate the outsourcing of American jobs. A day earlier, Congressman Bernie Sanders [I-VT] (now one of Vermont’s two US Senators) introduced a bill that would deny grants or loans to any company that outsourced jobs if they laid off workers in the United States to a greater level than layoffs of employees in any other country in the world. Several industrial States attempted to enact anti-outsourcing laws that year, but those bills either failed and were defanged before passage.
As pressure mounted to kill outsourcing, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and Chuck Schumer were instrumental in creating the Senate India Caucus (which was “coordinated” by the US India Political Action committee) to lobby Senators who were attempting to derail job outsourcing. When the Caucus was formed, Hillary Clinton told Roll Call that “…[i]t is imperative that the United States do everything possible to reach out to India. This Caucus is dedicated to expanding areas of agreement with India and engaging in a candid dialogue of differences.” With their money in her pocket, what else could she say? Hillary is a co-chairman of the Caucus. On the House side, Hillary’s allies are House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Joe Crowley [D-NY]. (If your job has been outsourced, you now know who to thank.)
Yes, this is an article, but you can confirm every bit of it on line if you are inclined to do so. You are so driven by your hatred of Republicans that you would vote for the YOUR party, the party who instigated outsourcing to India. So you have THEM to thank for outsourcing your profession overseas and driving your wages into the ground.
I was actually going to make sure such a letter existed...
even murderers get innocent until proven guilty. Attack, attack, attack....sheesh.
Letter to Congress re the bailout. sm
The bailout has stalled. Please contact your reps and tell them NO to the bailout. Phone calls, emails, and letters are having an impact. People have already lost their homes and jobs. According to experts in economics, this is going to cause inflation to soar and a depression.
Letter below is from someone who is on the verge of losing their home, and gave permission to copy it.
Almost 300 years ago the founders of this country believed in freedom and liberty so much that they risked everything—their property, prosperity, comfort, honor, and even their very lives—on the near impossible gamble of taking on the world’s greatest superpower, at that time, to win the liberty that we enjoy today. That example has inspired Americans through the ages until the present day to reach for greatness despite the presence of risk and uncertainty. Against these dangers the intrepid push forward, knowing the price of failure, yet never succumbing to fear because our system is so robust in its scope that failure can be overcome and the rewards of hard work eventually achieved. In these troubled financial times, we are tempted by fear to shy away from the responsibility that liberty requires and instead hearken to the safety net of socialism. George Washington and his men had no safety net. The price of failure for them was certain death.
More money can always be made, but once we give up our freedom for socialism we can only buy it back with blood and death. CongressPerson, that is too high a price for the rescue of a few banks that should have known better. Let them suffer the consequences of their actions. Let the markets buy up their assets and redistribute them as only a free market can. Bring back sound money and the value backed currency the Constitution requires. Stop the central bankers at the Federal Reserve from ruining our country. There will be some pain, just like there was in the winter at Valley Forge, but in the spring, the economy will thrive again just as did the army that won our freedom.
I call on you now CongressPerson to fight for our freedom. Fight with all your might and strength the way our troopers did at Cowpens. Do not surrender. Do not sell us out. Fight for us and our liberty CongressPerson, as if we were about to lose it…because we are.
RJH
Norman, OK
PS I am a homeowner in distress. I stand to avoid the specter of foreclosure if you pass the bailout…but PLEASE DON’T PASS IT! I would rather lose my house than see America lose her freedom. In time I can buy another house.
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