It is quite possible with all the hype about the letter he received...

• New Evil Hippie Spitter Legend - Gadfly
  • I'm sorry, there just simply is no excuse under any circumstances for spitting on a veteran. sm - Brunson
    • I certainly do not think it - Lurker
      • I would agree with that.... - Observer
        • congratulations to both of you. Behind every great man... - Lurker
          • congratulations... - Observer
    • Spitting is disgusting no matter who spits. sm - LVMT
      • No kidding! - Gadfly
        • Why is it strange? SM - MT
          • You read my post wrong - Gadfly
            • Yep, I know, I can read. NM - MT
            • It is quite possible with all the hype about the letter he received... - Observer
    • Yes, I scrolled through the pictures... - Observer

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu

nm

a political survey. I went Obama all the way.  I love to respond to telephone surveys, but wish I knew who was gathering the data. They asked me if I was borned again.

Below is a copy of an e-mail that was sent to me by a friend.  The friend who sent this to me is an independent and very impartial.  She is a lawyer and almost always researches things before she sends them.  I checked it out on snopes.com and it lists it as true.  It is information and opinion on Palin written by a woman who knows her from Wasilla. 

Here is the snopes.com link if you would like to check it out. 

 www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/kilkenny.asp

Dear friends,
>
> So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .
>
> Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in common: their gender and their good looks. :)
>
> You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts with my name and email address attached, but please do not post it on any websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .
>
> Thanks,
> Anne
>
> ABOUT SARAH PALIN
>
> I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
> father was my child's favorite subst itute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
> residents of the city.
>
> She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because she is a 'babe'.
>
> It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.
>
> She is 'pro-life'. She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.
>
> She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
>
> She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just 'puts things out there' and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit. Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.
>
> Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
>
> She's smart.
>
> Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.
>
> During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
> gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had give n rise to a recall campaign.
>
> Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a 'fiscal conservative'. During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.
>
> The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.
>
> While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once.
>
> These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
>
> As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state. In this t ime of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus, borrow for needs.
>
> She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.
>
> While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
>
> Sarah complained about the 'old boy 's club' when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of 'old boys'. Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below).
>
> As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he 'intimidated' her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired,pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.
>
> She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn't like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
>
> Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.
>
> When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jo bs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the 'old boys' club' when she dramatically quit, exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).
>
> As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the 'bridge to nowhere' after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
>
> As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as 'anti-pork'.
>
> She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal
> conservative.
>
> Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her 'Sarah Barracuda' because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team.
>
> When Sarah's mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.
>
> As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as 'AGIA' that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.
>
> Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned 'as a private citizen' against a state initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State's lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's decision to list polar bears as threatened species.
>
> McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President. There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she.
>
> However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.
>
> CLAIM VS FACT
> - 'Hockey mom': true for a few years
> - 'PTA mom': true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since
> - 'NRA supporter': absolutely true
> - social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
> - pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.
> - 'Pro-life': mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation
> - 'Experienced': Some high schools have more st udents than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.
> - political maverick: not at all
> - gutsy: absolutely!
> - open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
> - has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
> -'a Greenie': no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
> - fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
> - pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
> - pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents
> - pro-small government: No. O versaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla's history.
> - pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
>
> WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
> First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you Google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
>
> Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that 'Bad things happen when good people stay silent'. Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.
>
> Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that's life.
>
> Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's attempt at censorship.
>
> Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
>
> CAVEATS
> I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
> Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall--they are swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.
>
> You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the populat ion of Wasilla, ranging from my 'about 5,000', up to 9,000. The day Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90's.
>
> Anne Kilkenny
> annekilkenny@hotmail.com
> August 31, 2008

was equivalent to the response you gave, which was nothing more than whining like a 4 year old -- hence, the simplicity of my response.

Did you read the other story on that page regarding the U.S. plans to invade Venezuela?  Is the administration so stupid to think that people will actually believe that troops were sent there for R&R?  Gimme a break!

It's really a shame when a socialist leader has more honesty and integrity than an American president.  Given the choice, who would you believe, Bush or Chavez?  Not much of a contest, is it?

this email from my cousin and there is some truth in it. I don't know where he got it from. Has anyone else received something like this?

Fw: Racist thoughts
  I have been wondering about why Whites are considered racists,  and no
other race is. Proud to be White.

  Michael Richards makes his point...Michael Richards better known as Kramer from TVs Seinfeld does
  make a good point.

  This was his defense speech in court after making racial
  comments in his comedy act.

  He makes some very interesting points...


  Someone finally said it... How many are actually paying attention to
this?

  There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab
Americans, etc.  And then there are just Americans.

  You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You call me 'White
boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,' 'Whitey,' 'Caveman' .. and that's OK.

  But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger, Camel
Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink ... You call me a racist.

  You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you... so why are
the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?

  You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther
  King Day. You have Black History Month. You have Cesar Chavez Day. You
have Yom Hashoah. You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi. You have the NAACP.
  You have BET...

  If we had WET (White Entertainment Television) we'd be racists.

  If we had a White Pride Day,  you would call us racists.

  If we had White History Month, we'd be racists.

  If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance' OUR lives we'd
be racists.

  We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and
then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce.

  Wonder who pays for that??

  A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any
color can be in the Miss America pageant.

  If we had a college fund that only gave white students
scholarships...You know we'd be racists.

  There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US .

  Yet if there were 'White colleges' That would be a racist college.

  In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your
race and rights.

  If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.

  You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not
afraid to announce it.

  But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.

  You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police
officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug-dealer running
from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.

  I am proud...But you call me a racist.

  Why is it that only whites can be racists??

  There is nothing improper about this e-mail...

  Let's see which of you are proud enough to send it on.

  I sadly don't think many will. That's why we have lost most of
  OUR RIGHTS in this country. We won't stand up for ourselves!

Frist Recieved Many Updates From Trustee

By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer Sat Sep 24, 5:33 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Blind trusts are designed to keep an arm's-length distance between federal officials and their investments, to avoid conflicts of interest. But documents show that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist knew quite a bit about his accounts from nearly two dozen letters from the trust administrators.

Frist, R-Tenn., received regular updates of transfers of assets to his blind trusts and sales of assets. He also was able to initiate a stock sale of a hospital chain founded by his family with perfect timing. Shortly after the sale this summer, the stock price dived.

A possible presidential contender in 2008, Frist now faces dual investigations by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and the

Securities and Exchange Commission into his stock sales.

Sheldon Cohen, who was the trustee for Democrat Walter Mondale's blind trust when he was vice president, and drafted Democrat Lyndon Johnson's blind trust for Johnson's presidency, said that in the executive branch,You don't tell them how it's composed. He said Frist, like any federal official, absolves himself of conflict by not knowing what he owns.

Cohen said that when Mondale left office, he told Cohen to sell his assets. He had no idea what I was holding, the Washington attorney and former

Internal Revenue Service commissioner said.

Frist spokesman Bob Stevenson said the senator received approval from the Senate Ethics Committee before he initiated the stock sale. All the information Frist received complied with federal law and Senate ethics rules, Stevenson added.

The stock was in HCA Inc., a chain of hospitals founded in the late 1960s by Frist's father and brother. At the time of the sale, insiders also were selling. Shortly after that sale, the stock price dipped because of a warning that earnings would not meet Wall Street expectations.

If, in fact, Frist was actively involved in this decision, he certainly has to supply an explanation of how that's consistent with a blind trust, said Bob Bauer, a Washington attorney who has set up blind trusts for Democratic members of Congress.

Bauer said he has no knowledge of Frist's dealings with the trustees of his investments.

Whether Frist knew too much about his investments, or took advantage of insider trading, is not known. But the potential political damage increased in recent days.

Frist also knows first hand how a Senate leader's career can suddenly roll downhill. His predecessor, Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record), R-Miss., lost his leadership post after praising the late Sen. Strom Thurmond's segregationist campaign for the presidency in 1948.

Documents on file with the Senate show the trustees for Frist and his immediate family wrote the senator nearly two dozen times between 2001 and July 2005.

The documents list assets going into the account and assets sold. Some assets have a dollar range of the investment's value and some list the number of shares.

The trust is considered blind because eventually, through the sale of transferred assets and the purchase of new assets, the official will be shielded from knowing the assets he owns. The knowledge Frist learned about his holdings potentially makes it more difficult to avoid a conflict of interest.

Frist's 2005 financial disclosure form lists blind trusts valued between $7 million and $35 million.

Fist, a heart surgeon, has been the Senate's leader as the chamber has considered Medicare legislation and many other issues that would affect HCA's hospitals and doctors.

Another political problem for Frist: His own statements suggest he had no knowledge of his blind trust investments.

Asked in a television interview in January 2003 whether he should sell his HCA stock, responded, Well, I think really for our viewers it should be understood that I put this into a blind trust. So as far as I know, I own no HCA stock

Frist, referring to his trust and those of his family, also said in the interview, I have no control. It is illegal right now for me to know what the composition of those trusts are. So I have no idea.

Stevenson, the Frist spokesman, said there limited instances where federal law and Senate ethics regulations call for the disclosure of certain transactions or events to the Ethics Committee and to Senator Frist as the trust's owner.

Except in these very limited instances, Senator Frist does not receive information related to the disposition of his assets under the control of the trustee.

Frist sold the HCA stock at a time when insiders in the company also were selling off shares worth $112 million from January through June of this year. Aides to the senator said he acted to avoid a conflict of interest, and that he had no information about the company that wasn't available to the public.

CIA Agents Letter to US Senate and House

18 July 2005

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

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,

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.

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

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=11061

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

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!

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

Here is a link to "A Letter to My Republican Father" that I came across yesterday.  I think it makes some awfully good points about John McCain.  It may be helpful for anyone who is undecided about him: 

http://web.me.com/davidvwhite/Site/Welcome.html

http://www.rense.com/general83/openn.htm

Michael Steele, Chairman

Republican National Committee

310 First Street, Southeast

Washington, DC 20003

Mr. Steele,

In response to your urgent ''roll call'' of Americans... (and solicitation of a donation) I can assure you that I certainly am fed up with the Obama administration and congressional Democrats.  But I must inform you that I am equally fed up with the Republican party as well.  What’s more, I feel great sense of betrayal because I expect Democrats to act exactly as they have, but not Republicans.

TARP and other bailouts were not a good idea just because they were begun by Bush.  The further bailouts, stimulus, deficit increase, nationalization of American business, universal healthcare and other travesties against capitalism are not bad ideas simply because Obama owns them.  These are wrong, no matter who is in charge.  Bush threw the ball, Obama knocked it over the fence.  Way to go.

Only in Washington, DC does it make sense to say, ''I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system.''   What makes our free market possible is the freedom of  losers to fail and winners to succeed.  No one and nothing is too big to fail. It’s how we weed out bad ideas.  You might remember this next time you are tempted to run a RINO for president.

The Republican party allowed Obama to be elected by fielding such a poor presidential candidate.  McCain:  Heck of a guy, admirable character, but not a true Republican.  By the time I voted in my state Ohio primary, any other appealing Republican candidate had dropped out.  In November I was forced simply to vote the NObama ticket.  I did not want a candidate who would ''reach across the aisle.''  I wanted a conservative Republican candidate.  Had it not been for Sarah Palin, I might as well have stayed home. 

I will not be attending the Republican ''listening tour.''  Listen to this:  The dismantling of the American way of life is on Republican as well as Democrat heads.  I now consider myself an Independent.  In 2012, if the Republican party manages to run a strong conservative candidate I will vote for that candidate. If the party persists in ''moving to the center'' and watering down its traditionally conservative principles, it will find itself in this identical situation.

Thanks for asking,  I feel much better now.

Michael Steele, Chairman

Republican National Committee

310 First Street, Southeast

Washington, DC 20003

Mr. Steele,

In response to your urgent ''roll call'' of Americans... (and solicitation of a donation) I can assure you that I certainly am fed up with the Obama administration and congressional Democrats.  But I must inform you that I am equally fed up with the Republican party as well.  What’s more, I feel great sense of betrayal because I expect Democrats to act exactly as they have, but not Republicans.

TARP and other bailouts were not a good idea just because they were begun by Bush.  The further bailouts, stimulus, deficit increase, nationalization of American business, universal healthcare and other travesties against capitalism are not bad ideas simply because Obama owns them.  These are wrong, no matter who is in charge.  Bush threw the ball, Obama knocked it over the fence.  Way to go.

Only in Washington, DC does it make sense to say, ''I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system.''   What makes our free market possible is the freedom of  losers to fail and winners to succeed.  No one and nothing is too big to fail. It’s how we weed out bad ideas.  You might remember this next time you are tempted to run a RINO for president.

The Republican party allowed Obama to be elected by fielding such a poor presidential candidate.  McCain:  Heck of a guy, admirable character, but not a true Republican.  By the time I voted in my state Ohio primary, any other appealing Republican candidate had dropped out.  In November I was forced simply to vote the NObama ticket.  I did not want a candidate who would ''reach across the aisle.''  I wanted a conservative Republican candidate.  Had it not been for Sarah Palin, I might as well have stayed home. 

I will not be attending the Republican ''listening tour.''  Listen to this:  The dismantling of the American way of life is on Republican as well as Democrat heads.  I now consider myself an Independent.  In 2012, if the Republican party manages to run a strong conservative candidate I will vote for that candidate. If the party persists in ''moving to the center'' and watering down its traditionally conservative principles, it will find itself in this identical situation.

Thanks for asking,  I feel much better now.

    Monday 19 September 2005

For reasons spelled out below, the poet Sharon Olds has declined to attend the National Book Festival in Washington, which, coincidentally or not, takes place September 24, the day of an antiwar mobilization in the capital. Olds, winner of a National Book Critics Circle Award and professor of creative writing at New York University, was invited along with a number of other writers by First Lady Laura Bush to read from their works. Three years ago artist Jules Feiffer declined to attend the festival's White House breakfast as a protest against the Iraq War (Mr. Feiffer Regrets, November 11, 2002). We suggest that invitees to this year's event consider following their example.
- Editors, The Nation

    Laura Bush
    First Lady
    The White House

    Dear Mrs. Bush,

    I am writing to let you know why I am not able to accept your kind invitation to give a presentation at the National Book Festival on September 24, or to attend your dinner at the Library of Congress or the breakfast at the White House.

    In one way, it's a very appealing invitation. The idea of speaking at a festival attended by 85,000 people is inspiring! The possibility of finding new readers is exciting for a poet in personal terms, and in terms of the desire that poetry serve its constituents - all of us who need the pleasure, and the inner and outer news, it delivers.

    And the concept of a community of readers and writers has long been dear to my heart. As a professor of creative writing in the graduate school of a major university, I have had the chance to be a part of some magnificent outreach writing workshops in which our students have become teachers. Over the years, they have taught in a variety of settings: a women's prison, several New York City public high schools, an oncology ward for children. Our initial program, at a 900-bed state hospital for the severely physically challenged, has been running now for twenty years, creating along the way lasting friendships between young MFA candidates and their students - long-term residents at the hospital who, in their humor, courage and wisdom, become our teachers.

    When you have witnessed someone nonspeaking and almost nonmoving spell out, with a toe, on a big plastic alphabet chart, letter by letter, his new poem, you have experienced, close up, the passion and essentialness of writing. When you have held up a small cardboard alphabet card for a writer who is completely nonspeaking and nonmoving (except for the eyes), and pointed first to the A, then the B, then C, then D, until you get to the first letter of the first word of the first line of the poem she has been composing in her head all week, and she lifts her eyes when that letter is touched to say yes, you feel with a fresh immediacy the human drive for creation, self-expression, accuracy, honesty and wit - and the importance of writing, which celebrates the value of each person's unique story and song.

    So the prospect of a festival of books seemed wonderful to me. I thought of the opportunity to talk about how to start up an outreach program. I thought of the chance to sell some books, sign some books and meet some of the citizens of Washington, DC. I thought that I could try to find a way, even as your guest, with respect, to speak about my deep feeling that we should not have invaded Iraq, and to declare my belief that the wish to invade another culture and another country - with the resultant loss of life and limb for our brave soldiers, and for the noncombatants in their home terrain - did not come out of our democracy but was instead a decision made at the top and forced on the people by distorted language, and by untruths. I hoped to express the fear that we have begun to live in the shadows of tyranny and religious chauvinism - the opposites of the liberty, tolerance and diversity our nation aspires to.

    I tried to see my way clear to attend the festival in order to bear witness - as an American who loves her country and its principles and its writing - against this undeclared and devastating war.

    But I could not face the idea of breaking bread with you. I knew that if I sat down to eat with you, it would feel to me as if I were condoning what I see to be the wild, highhanded actions of the Bush Administration.

    What kept coming to the fore of my mind was that I would be taking food from the hand of the First Lady who represents the Administration that unleashed this war and that wills its continuation, even to the extent of permitting extraordinary rendition: flying people to other countries where they will be tortured for us.

    So many Americans who had felt pride in our country now feel anguish and shame, for the current regime of blood, wounds and fire. I thought of the clean linens at your table, the shining knives and the flames of the candles, and I could not stomach it.

    Sincerely,
    Sharon Olds