and she is from the coolest state too. Get it?
Posted By: nm on 2008-09-04
In Reply to: yeah, she seems cool - nm
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Wouldn't it be just be the coolest thing
if everyone voted? I don't understand why so many relinquish this right under their own free will. I wonder how many would protest if that right were suddenly taken away? I bet more would come out of the woodwork then, wouldn't they!
Two Border State Governors Declare Illegal Immigration State of Emergency
Two Border State Governors Declare Illegal Immigration State of Emergency
SIGN THE PETITION!
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You can have our federal money along with a new state motto: "Michigan - The Slave State". n
NM
Laws vary state-to-state
Many people were confined against their will just because someone wanted them "out of the way." These were normal people with no mental illness - that is why it is so difficult - don't blame the liberals. Blame your state.
CONFINING THE MENTALLY ILL
In the legal space between what a society should and should not do, taking action to restrict the liberty of people who are mentally ill sits in the grayest of gray areas.
Our notions about civil and constitutional rights flow from an assumption of "normalcy." Step beyond the boundaries and arrest and prison may legally follow. Short of that, government's ability to hold people against their will is severely and properly limited. Unusual behavior on the part of someone who is mentally ill is not illegal behavior. Freedom can't be snatched away on a whim, or on the thought that a person is hard to look at, hard to hear, hard to smell.
It was only a few decades ago that the promise of new medications and a change in attitude opened the doors of the mental hospitals and sent many patients into society. There, they would somehow "normalize" and join everyone else, supported by networks of out-patient facilities, job training, special living arrangements and regular, appropriate medication. But the transition has been imperfect, long and difficult.
In some parts of urban America there is little professional support for those with mental health problems. A new generation of drug and alcohol-fueled mental illness has come on the scene. People frequently end up on the street, un-medicated and exhibiting a full range of behaviors that are discomforting at the very least and threatening at their worst.
Red state, blue state?
Written last Thanksgiving: "Some would argue that two different nations actually celebrated: upright, moral, traditional red America and the dissolute, liberal blue states clustered on the periphery of the heartland. The truth, however, is much more complicated and interesting than that.
Take two iconic states: Texas and Massachusetts. In some ways, they were the two states competing in the last election. In the world's imagination, you couldn't have two starker opposites. One is the homeplace of Harvard, gay marriage, high taxes, and social permissiveness. The other is Bush country, solidly Republican, traditional, and gun-toting. Massachusetts voted for Kerry over Bush 62 to 37 percent; Texas voted for Bush over Kerry 61 to 38 percent.
So ask yourself a simple question: which state has the highest divorce rate? Marriage was a key issue in the last election, with Massachusetts' gay marriages becoming a symbol of alleged blue state decadence and moral decay. But in actual fact, Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the country at 2.4 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants. Texas - which until recently made private gay sex a criminal offence - has a divorce rate of 4.1. A fluke? Not at all. The states with the highest divorce rates in the U.S. are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. And the states with the lowest divorce rates are: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Every single one of the high divorce rate states went for Bush. Every single one of the low divorce rate states went for Kerry. The Bible Belt divorce rate, in fact, is roughly 50 percent higher than the national average.
Some of this discrepancy can be accounted for by the fact that couples tend to marry younger in the Bible Belt - and many clearly don't have the maturity to know what they're getting into. There's some correlation too between rates of college education and stable marriages, with the Bible Belt lagging a highly educated state like Massachusetts. But the irony still holds. Those parts of America that most fiercely uphold what they believe are traditional values are not those parts where traditional values are healthiest. Hypocrisy? Perhaps. A more insightful explanation is that these socially troubled communities cling onto absolutes in the abstract because they cannot live up to them in practice.
But doesn't being born again help bring down divorce rates? Jesus, after all, was mum on the subject of homosexuality, but was very clear about divorce, declaring it a sin unless adultery was involved. A recent study, however, found no measurable difference in divorce rates between those who are "born again" and those who are not. 29 percent of Baptists have been divorced, compared to 21 percent of Catholics. Moreover, a staggering 23 percent of married born-agains have been divorced twice or more. Teen births? Again, the contrast is striking. In a state like Texas, where the religious right is extremely strong and the rhetoric against teenage sex is gale-force strong, the teen births as a percentage of all births is 16.1 percent. In liberal, secular, gay-friendly Massachusetts, it's 7.4, almost half. Marriage itself is less popular in Texas than in Massachusetts. In Texas, the percent of people unmarried is 32.4 percent; in Massachusetts, it's 26.8 percent. So even with a higher marriage rate, Massachusetts manages a divorce rate almost half of its "conservative" rival.
Or take abortion. America is one of the few Western countries where the legality of abortion is still ferociously disputed. It's a country where the religious right is arguably the strongest single voting bloc, and in which abortion is a constant feature of cultural politics. Compare it to a country like Holland, perhaps the epitome of socially liberal, relativist liberalism. So which country has the highest rate of abortion? It's not even close. America has an abortion rate of 21 abortions per 1,000 women aged between 15 and 44. Holland has a rate of 6.8. Americans, in other words, have three times as many abortions as the Dutch. Remind me again: which country is the most socially conservative?
Even a cursory look at the leading members of the forces of social conservatism in America reveals the same pattern. The top conservative talk-radio host, Rush Limbaugh, has had three divorces and an addiction to pain-killers. The most popular conservative television personality, Bill O'Reilly, just settled a sex harassment suit that indicated a highly active adulterous sex life. Bill Bennett, the guru of the social right, was for many years a gambling addict. Karl Rove's chief outreach manager to conservative Catholics for the last four years, Deal Hudson, also turned out to be a man with a history of sexual harassment. Bob Barr, the conservative Georgian congressman who wrote the "Defense of Marriage Act," has had three wives so far. The states which register the highest ratings for the hot new television show, "Desperate Housewives," are all Bush-states.
The complicated truth is that America truly is a divided and conflicted country. But it's a grotesque exaggeration to say that the split is geographical, or correlated with blue and red states. Many of America's biggest "sinners" are those most intent on upholding virtue. In fact, it may be partly because they know sin so close-up that they want to prevent its occurrence among others. And some of those states which have the most liberal legal climate - the Northeast and parts of the upper MidWest - are also, in practice, among the most socially conservative. To ascribe all this to "hypocrisy" seems to me too crude an explanation. America is simply a far more complicated and diverse place than crude red and blue divisions can explain.
I don't know what state you live in but in my state
they are adding police and only in the big cities do they have paid firemen. The rest are volunteers.
I look at it this way: If a state can't stay in the black, then they have to cut spending some place that wouldn't jeopardize the safety of the citizens. Threats of cutting essential services like Barney Fife stated today are unjustified. Cut the non-essential services first.
Our governor talks about cutting back on services, laying off government workers, which I think is a good idea because government is too big anyway, but then he turns around and spends more money on non-essential items. Doesn't make sense.
I'm from that state and...
He paid for his Senate campaign with the earnings from one malpractice suit.
In my state......
the welfare reform has gotten so rigid - it isn't worth it. $115 per person per month and adults have to work a 40-hour week to get it. I WOULDN'T live in the low income housing areas - crime is too high, get knifed getting the mail. The unemployment rate is at an all time high in this state.......so getting a job is really tough and then you are lucky to get minimum wage which would prevent you from any type of subsidy (food stamps) from the government. The help on the heat bill? Well you might get some help at the beginning of winter, but by January the funding has run out, so you're screwed on that one. They can't shut your heat off in the winter, but by spring they can and they won't turn it back on until you pay the whole amount due. So those lucky welfare recipients are just having a ball at the expense of us self-righteous, key-pounding, pull yourself up by your bootstraps gods. Indeed, why work?
And in a state that had.........sm
over 860,000 new registrations or changes of address filed this year alone. The estimated population of people over the age of 18 in 2006 (last year data available) is 8,711,807. I think 860,000 is a significantly large portion of that population.
as far as state goes
I do know there is some truth to some states having sent out IOUs as some people have actually gotten them, but I just didnt know for sure about federal. I guess as far as states go, it would depend on the financial stability of each state? I have read a news article that 46 states are on their way and in serious danger of being bankrupt within the next few months to a year. Go ahead and flame me any of you, but it is the truth.
We are having them in my state also.....
In fact, I am on the organizing committee for the one in the town where I live. It will be on 4/15/09.
I doubt it will do much good, but it is time to take back our country from the "anointed one" and his cronies and become the great country that people once looked up to.
If we do not act now, America will become just another 3rd world country complete with universal health insurance that includes forced coverage for abortions, firing of the health care people who listen to their conscience, and refuse to perform abortions, and (by extrapolation) euthanasia or worse for the people who are older and not in good healthhave who have been deemed not as important as a younger, healthier person, and therefore should not have access to the best health care around.
This is a ramble, but it needs to be said. We have been thrown under the proverbial bus.
Name the city and state this happens in? sm
I'm sorry this is foreign to me.
The US is becoming a police state.sm
It is not full-fledged yet, but 95% there. There is a rush to incarcerate (1 in 136 Americans are in jails and prisons). National ID card by 2010, RFID chips, face scanners installed at high schools, those who disagree with government are called homegrown terrorists (another false flag) or traitors. It is very well known that both Bush presidents support the one world government (NWO). The USA no longer resembles the Constitutional Republic it is supposed to be. Land of the free is an illusion.
Sad state of affairs.
So very very sad.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0704-04.htm
Are you governor of a state? sm
if you are, then run. Bill Clinton had only been a governor when he ran. Obama has only been a senator. At least she has actually run a government. Her #2 opponent has not. The #1 on the Dem ticket has not.
Somehow I don't think the American people are going to lose any sleep because you think they are stupid. :)
it is either state and local's
responsibility and he should stay away until things calm down OR he blew it last time and he doesn't that memory to to influence the election. You can't have it both ways.
you state "probably" and then
go off on your own fantasy with nothing to support it!!! DailyKos is merely a website where people go to express liberal opinions. The AIP is a radical group that is involved with weapons. There leader was MURDERED or he would be on the govt terrorist list. Research, research, research. Or else clearly label your posts "my fantasy about what ...... probably. said or did or thought ......"
Let me categorically state that
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if he is indicted and found guilty. The evidence so far looks pretty convincing. I will be reserving further comment until the story has matured a bit, other than to say that if he did what they say he did, he gives all liberal democrats a bad name (fair or not) and deserves to go down.
For the sake of clarity, I am an AVID Obama supporter and am as left as they come. I think Illinois and Chicago should continue to strive to clean up their plates (as they have been trying to do) until they get it right. Having said that, let's not pretend here that the GOP is squeaky clean in this arena:
1. Ted Stevens, AL senior senator, abuse of power, failure to repot gifts, making false statements, possible misuse of federal funds.
2. Tom DeLay, TX former representative and majority leader, money laundering
3. Bob Ney, OH rep, bribery.
4. Randy Cunningham, CA rep, bribery.
5. Scooter Libby, Cheney Chief of Staff, assistant to president, obstruction of justice, perjury, making false statements.
6. J. Seven Guile, Deputy Sect of the Interior for W, obstruction of justice.
7. Mark Foley, FL rep, sex scandal involving 16-year-old white house page.
8. Bill First, TN senator, conflict of interest in stock holdings
9. Curt Weldon, PA rep, trading political influence for lobbying contracts
10. Dennis Hastert, former speaker of the house and IL rep, Mark Foley coverup, taking illegal contributions.
I could go on and on, but I think you get the general drift.
My state already is using almost the same plan as....sm
Obama's and it seems to be working just fine.
SOCIALIST STATE
I agree with you 100%.
How do you know 'gimmeabreak's' state is
ESP?
At least your state is not last on the list. LOL (nm)
x
I know and it's a sad state of affairs that is already
happening.
I don't know about Arizona, but in my state
if you have not voted in so many years, you have to re-register, and you cannot vote until you have, and you CANNOT do it at the polling place. There is a deadline for that a month before the election.
No, no. Of course Obama won the state....
not what I meant. What I meant was that California is a generally very liberal state, and they have passed this ban twice now...once as a proposition that was overturned by the california supreme court, and now as an amendment to the state constitution. And the majority of those who supported Obama were liberals also. I just found it odd that they voted for a far left liberal for President, and also voted in the majority to ban gay marriage, which most liberals support. That's all I meant.
What's different is that on a state level in CA,
in the form of ballot measures, ballot initiatives, propositions or referendums. They can be heard in the California Supreme Court on any or all of these bases and are entitled to seek relief.
My state has legalized
same sex marriage since 2004. It has not made one bit of difference to me, my marriage, or my children.
Secretary of State....(sm)
She's more than qualified and is already respected worldwide. I think it would do wonders in the effort to improve foreign relations.
Did she state a reason? sm
I just wonder from a Muslim perspective what fueld her belief?
I, too, first heard of Obama about 2 years ago in an email that someone had sent me. I didn't think anything of it at the time and, of course, didn't keep the email because I didn't think it meant anything. I remember the email painting him a very good light, though.
Has anyone noticed that the YouTube that was posted yesterday or the day before about the NY Daily News interview with Rahm Emanuel was done in 2006 and not (for example) last week? More to the fact that this has been in process for a number of years????
sad state of affairs
Good grief!!! "CHANGE??" I think not!!! and Hilly for SECRETARY OF STATE -- well, we transcriptionists are in deep poop -- we have a new Prez -- NO track record and I have been involved with "Illlinois politics" all of my life -- what people don't realize and it is this way in ANY major city, is that THAT particular city RULES -- look at the "print media" -- I come from DeKalb, which last Valentines Day was the LAST massive campus shooting but the media reported "downstate Illinois" while we are 60 miles to the west ---
Regressing and living in Laramie WY when Matthew Shepard was MURDERED -- I typed his preliminary reports -- I could not go out and get groceries without the press HOUNDING -- the day after Matt died, I was watching Dateline and here was MY apartment with my curtains open on NATIONAL television -- thing of it was, I found out they took shots from I-80 -- FIVE miles from my home!!!!
Think about it and the press and SENSATIONALISM!!!!
Since the Constitution does not state
That to be POTUS the parents of a US born child also has to be US born themselves....then that's what I mean. Maybe you should study up on the Constitution. It was written for a reason.
blame your state
Many people were confined against their will just because someone wanted them "out of the way." These were normal people with no mental illness - that is why it is so difficult - don't blame the liberals. Blame your state.
CONFINING THE MENTALLY ILL
In the legal space between what a society should and should not do, taking action to restrict the liberty of people who are mentally ill sits in the grayest of gray areas.
Our notions about civil and constitutional rights flow from an assumption of "normalcy." Step beyond the boundaries and arrest and prison may legally follow. Short of that, government's ability to hold people against their will is severely and properly limited. Unusual behavior on the part of someone who is mentally ill is not illegal behavior. Freedom can't be snatched away on a whim, or on the thought that a person is hard to look at, hard to hear, hard to smell.
It was only a few decades ago that the promise of new medications and a change in attitude opened the doors of the mental hospitals and sent many patients into society. There, they would somehow "normalize" and join everyone else, supported by networks of out-patient facilities, job training, special living arrangements and regular, appropriate medication. But the transition has been imperfect, long and difficult.
In some parts of urban America there is little professional support for those with mental health problems. A new generation of drug and alcohol-fueled mental illness has come on the scene. People frequently end up on the street, un-medicated and exhibiting a full range of behaviors that are discomforting at the very least and threatening at their worst.
From a neighboring state...(sm)
I think first and foremost, you should look into the history of the Trail Maids. I'm not so sure they have anything to do with slavery or racism. That being said, I doubt too many people will actually look any further than the costumes, which, as you have pointed out, reek of the plantation era. I agree they need to be pulled from the parade because of the image it gives Alabama as a whole. I can't wait to see TN's contribution. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if there was a rebel flag in there somewhere. ARRRRGGGG!!!!
http://www.johnstrange.com/edm310summer07/hinds/history.html
Maybe this is like the preacher issue for the inauguration. First, he picks a preacher that is about as far right as you can get, and then picks a gay bishop. I think he's trying to appeal to all people across the board. However, I don't really see how he's going to fix the trail maid thing.
Let's not forget why we really voted for Obama. Yeah, there are some who voted for him simply because he's black, but the majority of America (including myself) voted for him because we believe he represents the change this country needs and can deliver that change. The preacher thing as well as this issue are hard pills to swallow, but there will be many more important things to worry about than a parade or a prayer, and those are the things that will count. Hang in there.
I know! Such a disgusting state! nm
nm
In my state, they reassessed every
house in the county about 15 years ago. We have 2.5 acres and they put the value at $25,000 an acre. We also had a trailer on it for DH's mother. So, the home we built for $25,000 plus the acreage and trailer took our assessement up to $125K from $55,000. We appealed because the appraisal for the trailer was $0. (It was a 1967 trailer). Still, because it was liveable, they wouldn't accept the appraisal, but we did manage to get it down to $100K.
Our county taxes have not gone up in a while, but that will probably change this year....BUT, the school taxes go up every year and we don't have kids in school. Right now, school taxes are 3x the county taxes. We also pay $252 per person a year for the priviledge of living and $50 per person for the priviledge of working.
We tore down the trailer last year. County said it would take $500 off the bill. Sure enough, the school taxes went up $500 more. It's a losing situation with the school, and now they want to remodel 2 of the schools to the tune of $150 million.
Relief from property taxes was supposed to start LAST YEAR, but no one, in this county at least, has seen any difference in the amount they pay, except that they always go up.
In our state, they don't even deport
the illegals if only 1 or 2 are caught. They let them go. Half the time, ICE doesn't even show up to verify if our police catch are illegals.
We have a whole town being populated by Hispanics, unknown if illegal or legal, opening businesses catering to their foods and lifestyle. The town has a population of around 6,000, and there are 2,400 Hispanics now living there.
Not in my state. The governor gives
the money to the casinos and sports arenas. PA, believe it or not, is off the "50 Worse Roads in the Country" put out by Overdrive magazine every year. We're #3 this year. That's because they rebuilt part of the turnpike.
BTW, roads need tri-axles to do the work. Tri-axle owners have to go through a broker. If the broker has his own trucks, his trucks work, the owners don't. Although a broker is not supposed to use his trucks because of prevailing wages on these jobs unless he pays prevailing wages, they get away with it somehow...one broker used to make up fake lease/owner papers so his trucks could work. Theyall leave the owner/operators in the dust and cut them out of the jobs. I'm talking from experience.
With the state governments...
it's really a matter of mismanagement, same as with the banks and the car companies. They spend the money on stupid stuff and when the budget comes up short, they start cutting the really important stuff in order to get the attention of the people who live there or the government so they can really cry that they have no money and they need to raise taxes or they need a big handout from the government.
They know exactly what they are doing when they start cutting police jobs and clinics - what they don't tell you is why they don't have the money to pay for that stuff anymore and it's because they paid $500,000 to fix the walkways on the bike trail, etc.
Every state is involved in some way
with political corruption, just not everyone is caught.
What is happening in my state.
Greetings!
In just the past six weeks, a phenomenon has occurred across America. By now you have heard of the Boston Tea Party style of tax protest called Taxed Enough Already (TEA). It is truly a decentralized grassroots movement that has been joined by a wide spectrum of fiscal and social conservative organizations. Such varied groups as American Family Association, FreedomWorks, Resistnet, Americans for Prosperity, the Republican Party and other conservative parties, as well as Concerned Oregonians, have joined with the "engaged and enraged" across America. As you read this newsletter, please identify a party near you where you can join in to make your voice heard!
To add to the occasion, I have written and recorded a humorous tax protest song called "Taxed Enough Already", which you can listen to and read on the ConcernedOregonians.com website. The lyrics are also included below.
JOIN US for TAX DAY TEA PARTIES
Craig Myers of Concerned Oregonians, will be speaking at the following two events. In Salem, he will be joining a group of speakers including House Minority Leader Bruce Hannah, Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli, Oregon FreedomWorks Chair Russ Walker, Americans for Prosperity Oregon President Jeff Kropf, Marion County Republican Party Chair Pat Hazell, and others.
State Capital Steps
April 15th
11:00 to 2:00 pm
Portland's Main Pioneer Courthouse Square
April 15th
6:00 to 7:30 pm
See below for complete list of Tax Day Tea Party locations throughout Oregon.
People in cities and towns across the country are joining together to protest the obscene bailouts, wasteful spending, earmarks, and "porky little projects" that our government is passing through with little deliberation and no accountability, and promising more to come. This spending is putting our nation into staggering debt and creating a crippling bill that our children and grandchildren will be forced to pay.
It's time for all who care about the direction of our country to stand up for the future of America and let our voices be clearly heard - Silent Majority No More!
Consider it a civic duty, just as voting, to become personally involved to preserve America, Our Freedom, Our Liberty. JOIN US
taxdayteaparty.com
Should we bring signs?
Yes, please. Here are some resources to use in construction:
Suggested slogans are available here: http://oregonteaparty.com/private/89624584/BttUTSxXJlh7u20rUsQS94pS
A video on how to make a wind-proof protest sign taught by those with the most experience -- union members is available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0tXmzAWiVk&feature=player_embedded
I want to execute a Tax Day Tea Party in my city, what do I need to do?
To help you plan and execute the Tax Day Tea Party event in your area, here are the official resources you can consult:
Guide to starting new tea parties: http://taxdayteaparty.com/guide.html
Tea Party Team Planning wiki (you'll have to request access):
http://teapartyteam.pbwiki.com/
What's a wiki? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
Has a page just for Oregon where you can access and post Oregon specific information.
Also has resources such as press release templates, graphics, photos ...
Fresh Tea Blog: http://taxdayteaparty.com/teaparty/
How to get off-line organizations involved in your events: http://taxdayteaparty.com/teaparty/2009/03/how-to-get-help-from-existing-organizations/
Additionally, your event will benefit by creating a facebook event page and, promoting your event via the friend networks that facebook automates. http://www.facebook.com is a free-access social networking website. Users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves. Here is a link to a page that explains how to create a facebook event: http://www.ehow.com/how_2031207_event-facebook.html
To get your event listed on OregonTeaParty.com and TaxDayTeaParty.com, please submit the following to Geoff Ludt at geoffludt@gmail.com ASAP:
City: %%City%%
Date: April 15th, %%time%%
Location: %%Street%%
Organizer: %%Organizer%%
Contact: %%Email%%
P. %%Phone%%
Other info: %%facebook event URL, web page URL, instructions, etc.%%
"Taxed Enough Already"
Sung to the tune "Oh, Susanna"
Lyrics by; Craig Myers 3-21-09 Copyright 2009 Craig Myers
Recorded and printable versions available at: www.concernedoregonians.com
MAIN THEME
1.
We are from through-out A-mer-ica, the land of lib-er-ty
With a her-i-tage of Min-ute-men, home of the brave and free.
We're a na-tion born in free-dom, a - light for all to see
Now the so-cial-ists and thought po-lice, are(en)-slav-ing you and me.
Chorus:
"We the Peo-ple", are(the) ru-lers of this land
And we're Taxed E-nough Al-rea-dy, so were mak-ing this our stand.
2.
The peo-ple rule this coun-try - , it's(the) found-ing fa-thers' plan
Ov-er time a troop of ren-e-gades, have kid-napped Un-cle Sam.
Now were vic-tims of ex-tor-tion, and we miss what we now lack
So if it's all - the same to you, we'll take our coun-try back!
Chorus:
"Give me free-dom", or lay me in my grave
For I'm Taxed E-nough Al-rea-dy, and(my) na-tion I must save.
3.
We are men like Boone and Croc-kett and, we stand for what is right
We op-pose nine thou-sand tons of pork, sold in the dead of night.
Ba-il-outs and bo-nu-ses re-ward, the most in-com-pe-tent
And pro-tect the gree-dy from their sin, rather than make them re-pent.
Chorus:
Stop law-mak-ers, who steal from those who work
Re-dis-trib-u-ting our na-tion's wealth, with wel-fare plans and pork.
4.
They pro-mised lots of good-ies - , to those who'd vote them in
Then taxed and robbed the rest of us, to fi-nance their aw-ful sin.
It is time to rise, Ye Pa-tri-ots, we'll be crushed if we don't try
Let's in-sist on ho-nest can-di-dates, that money can-not buy.
Chorus:
Stand for virtue, it's(the) on-ly thing that lasts
Sell-ing out to spe-cial in-terests, ne-ver blessed us in the past.
ENVIRONMENT
5.
We have toiled and sweat, and risked and died for our pos-ter-it-y
Now op-pres-sive reg-u-la-tions work, to end pros-per-it-y.
We have sub-si-dized new ener-gy, and im-port in-stead of pump;
And we're hos-ta-ges of cli-mate freaks, who'd make our land a dump.
Chorus:
"Give me free-dom", or lay me in my grave
For I have a god-ly her-i-tage, and(a) na-tion I must save.
6.
We're a-bout to pay a car-bon tax, to tran-sfer lots more cash
As our dreams of pri-vate en-ter-prise, are head-ed for the trash.
They think they run the plan-et - , and all the CO2 -
And plan to tax the very breath - , exhaled by me and you.
Chorus:
Stop global-goverment, for we want our sovereign-ty
It is glob-al dom-in-ation and, it leads to ty-ran-ny.
OBAMA
7.
Joe Bid-en said - , "just wait and see, this job will make you slip - "
But halo-wear-ing rock stars - , ne-ver fail be-cause their hip.
They said they'd found our sav-ior - , down at M-S-N-B-C
The Of-fice of the Pres-E-lect, was su-pris-ing news to me.
Chorus:
Lib-ral med-ia, your(re) port-ing is-n't fair
The same soap op-era e-very night - , "A Slob-bring Love A-ffair."
8.
Eve-ry-thing's im-proved e-no-rmous-ly, since just three months ago
Now-we've crowned our mon-arch King Hu-ssein, and(a) spend-ing he will go!
We-don't-know what land he comes from, a cer-ti-ficate he does lack
But per-haps in just a short time they'll, a-gree to take him back.
Chorus:
Flush this stimu-lus, a-long with all this tea
For it is A-bama-nation and, its out-right ty-ran-ny
CORRUPTION
9.
They say Chi-ca-go pol-i-tics, is-a mod-el for our land
It'-ll bring us so-cial justice of, the na-tion-shred-ding brand.
Now the hon-or-able Har-ry Reid, with(the) Sen-ate he is sweet
I wish he'd run - for pres-i-dent, so I could buy his seat.
Chorus:
"We the Peo-ple", must take this mess in hand
We are fed up with cor-rup-tion so, were ma-king this our stand.
10.
They say an A-CORN ne-ver falls - , far from the par-ent tree
And ima-gin-ary votes count in, e-lections that are free.
So let's sub-si-dize the en-e-mies, of all that we hold dear
And pa-tro-nize Big Bro-ther whose - , in-tol-er-ance we fear.
Chorus:
Stop this mad-ness, its got-ten out of hand
It is time for mass re-tire-ment of, Pe-losi and her band.
HEALTH CARE
11.
I en-vy all those fine Can-uks - , with health care that is free
They may have to wait for seve-ral years, but(it's) bet-ter than a fee.
When health-care czars and bureau-crats, are de-ciding on our fate
They'll add the costs sub-tract our age, and de-cide that we must wait.
Chorus:
Health-care re-search, it's ne-ver worth the bread
With un-funded man-dates grow-ing, you are less ex-pen-sive dead.
12,
I am sure we would - all glad-ly trade, for what our vete-rans share
At Wal-ter Reed - its par-a-dise, like stand-ard Com-mie care.
In Eur-ope where it's so-cial-ized - , the pop-u-la-tions shrink
Sur-vi-val of the fit-test - , must be what those peo-ple think.
Chorus:
Univer-sal health care, will prob-ly fin-ish me
Thro-ugh fund-ing euth-an-asia - , that is com-pul-sor-y.
EDUCATION
13.
They pol-lute the minds of our own kids, all(but) Dar-win they de-spise
It's a mod-el ed-u-ca-tion, guar-an-tee-ing they're not wise!
Voo-doo-sci-ence is our pas-sion, no in-tell-i-gence al-lowed
We a-rose from ooze by ac-ci-dent, and of(that) were ver-y proud.
Chorus:
I've no mas-ter, there's no God ov-er me
I'm an ar-ro-gant di-saster, a threat to so-ci-ety.
14.
We know there's no cre-a-tor - , who we'll an-swer to some-day
So we have no need of mor-als, nor the right to stand and pray.
Let's pro-tect our youth from all i-deas, of God in whom we trust
And hide the fact there's some-thing more, when their bod-ies turn to dust.
Chorus:
Public ed-u-cation, not what it used to be
It's be-come in-doc-trin-a-tion, and re-writes our his-tor-y.
CONCLUSION
15.
We are from through-out A-mer-i-ca, our home-land for to save
Let's all stand firm, for what is right, not be-come its grove-ling slave.
We've been send-ing folks to Wash-ing-ton, to rep-re-sent all us
But they shred the Bill of Rights so much, it makes us want to cuss.
Chorus:
If they arrest me, for sing-ing out this song
You can be darn sure they'll come for you, and(it) won't be very long.
16.
Our land was born in right-eous-ness, and de-clared its li-ber-ty
For the Lord af-firms our con-science, and His Truth will set us free.
We're com-pelled to pay our taxes, to sup-port what is not right
So please join us in this tax re-volt, caus' were ready for a fight!
Chorus:
Don't lose heart friend, you're(a) true A-me-ri-can
We'll re-place un-fit in-cum-bents, in the year two-thou-sand-ten!
Concerned Oregonian Suzanne Galligher shared the following:
It takes a student to tell us what is happening to our COUNTRY. Somehow, this needs to get to the Halls of Congress and the Supreme Court to read. Thanks,
WRITTEN BY A 15 yr.. Old SCHOOL KID IN Arizona :
New Pledge of Allegiance (TOTALLY AWESOME) !
Since the Pledge of Allegiance
And
The Lord's Prayer
Are not allowed in most
Public schools anymore
Because the word 'God' is mentioned. ..
A kid in Arizona wrote the attached
NEW School prayer :
Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice..
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.
We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks..
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong..
We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess..
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen
If you aren't ashamed to do this,
Please pass this on.
Jesus said,
'If you are ashamed of me,
I will be ashamed of you before my Father..'
Dear friends,
Please share this newsletter with your friends and urge them to sieze this historic moment to
reclaim their heritage as citizens of America. This is a republic, "...of the people, by the people, and for the people...", which will not perish!
Sincerely,
Craig Myers
Execultive Director, Concerned Oregonians
She ran our state into debt.
SHE is an extremist.
It is a rather sad state of affairs
a comedy show has greater basis in reality than the so-called news networks.
You state in yur psot....
......'Since coming into power he has not kept his promises. He instituted programs he never talked about on the campaign trail.'
Did it ever occur to you that O when campaigning did not have thorough insights about certain issues yet and gained only access to those when he became the acting President, and based his decisions on those?
BTW, this applies to all presidents.
You state in your post...nm
nm
what you state, I quote........
'The people can't do anything on their own because they have NO WEAPONS!!!! Only the military have weapons. You think rocks alone will stop this evil?'
is exactly what the Palestinian people are facing in Gaza and the Westbank.
I think you are confused.
Why are you telling me to wake up? I know better than you what is going on in Iran and in Palestine. I keep myself updated.
I am a political independent.
Regarding what you state that the IQ depends
solely on the DNA, similar to the color of the eyes, height, etc.... ..I disagree. disagree. Therr is this theory that the realtive IQ score is already set at the age of 7 and cannot be improved. In my opinion it can be improved by ongoing education.
You should definitely try it.
I just heard Ted Kennedy's state
 took 100 displaced persons today. Does he have enough room?
Oklahoma was never a slave state. sm
And I don't even think Texas was. Obese people. Ever watch Dog the Bounty Hunter? I never saw a skinny person on his show and he is in Hawaii. This was probably meant to be witty. It isn't. I have a great sense of humor and it isn't funny either, but it is exactly something I would think you would find delightful. Sad.
Sad state of affairs - see New Yorker
UP IN THE AIR
by SEYMOUR M. HERSH
Where is the Iraq war headed next?
Issue of 2005-12-05
Posted 2005-11-28
In recent weeks, there has been widespread speculation that President George W. Bush, confronted by diminishing approval ratings and dissent within his own party, will begin pulling American troops out of Iraq next year. The Administration’s best-case scenario is that the parliamentary election scheduled for December 15th will produce a coalition government that will join the Administration in calling for a withdrawal to begin in the spring. By then, the White House hopes, the new government will be capable of handling the insurgency. In a speech on November 19th, Bush repeated the latest Administration catchphrase: “As Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.” He added, “When our commanders on the ground tell me that Iraqi forces can defend their freedom, our troops will come home with the honor they have earned.” One sign of the political pressure on the Administration to prepare for a withdrawal came last week, when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Fox News that the current level of American troops would not have to be maintained “for very much longer,” because the Iraqis were getting better at fighting the insurgency.
A high-level Pentagon war planner told me, however, that he has seen scant indication that the President would authorize a significant pullout of American troops if he believed that it would impede the war against the insurgency. There are several proposals currently under review by the White House and the Pentagon; the most ambitious calls for American combat forces to be reduced from a hundred and fifty-five thousand troops to fewer than eighty thousand by next fall, with all American forces officially designated “combat” to be pulled out of the area by the summer of 2008. In terms of implementation, the planner said, “the drawdown plans that I’m familiar with are condition-based, event-driven, and not in a specific time frame”—that is, they depend on the ability of a new Iraqi government to defeat the insurgency. (A Pentagon spokesman said that the Administration had not made any decisions and had “no plan to leave, only a plan to complete the mission.”)
A key element of the drawdown plans, not mentioned in the President’s public statements, is that the departing American troops will be replaced by American airpower. Quick, deadly strikes by U.S. warplanes are seen as a way to improve dramatically the combat capability of even the weakest Iraqi combat units. The danger, military experts have told me, is that, while the number of American casualties would decrease as ground troops are withdrawn, the over-all level of violence and the number of Iraqi fatalities would increase unless there are stringent controls over who bombs what.
“We’re not planning to diminish the war,” Patrick Clawson, the deputy director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told me. Clawson’s views often mirror the thinking of the men and women around Vice-President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. “We just want to change the mix of the forces doing the fighting—Iraqi infantry with American support and greater use of airpower. The rule now is to commit Iraqi forces into combat only in places where they are sure to win. The pace of commitment, and withdrawal, depends on their success in the battlefield.”
He continued, “We want to draw down our forces, but the President is prepared to tough this one out. There is a very deep feeling on his part that the issue of Iraq was settled by the American people at the polling places in 2004.” The war against the insurgency “may end up being a nasty and murderous civil war in Iraq, but we and our allies would still win,” he said. “As long as the Kurds and the Shiites stay on our side, we’re set to go. There’s no sense that the world is caving in. We’re in the middle of a seven-year slog in Iraq, and eighty per cent of the Iraqis are receptive to our message.”
One Pentagon adviser told me, “There are always contingency plans, but why withdraw and take a chance? I don’t think the President will go for it”—until the insurgency is broken. “He’s not going to back off. This is bigger than domestic politics.”
Current and former military and intelligence officials have told me that the President remains convinced that it is his personal mission to bring democracy to Iraq, and that he is impervious to political pressure, even from fellow Republicans. They also say that he disparages any information that conflicts with his view of how the war is proceeding.
Bush’s closest advisers have long been aware of the religious nature of his policy commitments. In recent interviews, one former senior official, who served in Bush’s first term, spoke extensively about the connection between the President’s religious faith and his view of the war in Iraq. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the former official said, he was told that Bush felt that “God put me here” to deal with the war on terror. The President’s belief was fortified by the Republican sweep in the 2002 congressional elections; Bush saw the victory as a purposeful message from God that “he’s the man,” the former official said. Publicly, Bush depicted his reëlection as a referendum on the war; privately, he spoke of it as another manifestation of divine purpose.
The former senior official said that after the election he made a lengthy inspection visit to Iraq and reported his findings to Bush in the White House: “I said to the President, ‘We’re not winning the war.’ And he asked, ‘Are we losing?’ I said, ‘Not yet.’ ” The President, he said, “appeared displeased” with that answer.
“I tried to tell him,” the former senior official said. “And he couldn’t hear it.”
There are grave concerns within the military about the capability of the U.S. Army to sustain two or three more years of combat in Iraq. Michael O’Hanlon, a specialist on military issues at the Brookings Institution, told me, “The people in the institutional Army feel they don’t have the luxury of deciding troop levels, or even participating in the debate. They’re planning on staying the course until 2009. I can’t believe the Army thinks that it will happen, because there’s no sustained drive to increase the size of the regular Army.” O’Hanlon noted that “if the President decides to stay the present course in Iraq some troops would be compelled to serve fourth and fifth tours of combat by 2007 and 2008, which could have serious consequences for morale and competency levels.”
Many of the military’s most senior generals are deeply frustrated, but they say nothing in public, because they don’t want to jeopardize their careers. The Administration has “so terrified the generals that they know they won’t go public,” a former defense official said. A retired senior C.I.A. officer with knowledge of Iraq told me that one of his colleagues recently participated in a congressional tour there. The legislators were repeatedly told, in meetings with enlisted men, junior officers, and generals that “things were fucked up.” But in a subsequent teleconference with Rumsfeld, he said, the generals kept those criticisms to themselves.
One person with whom the Pentagon’s top commanders have shared their private views for decades is Representative John Murtha, of Pennsylvania, the senior Democrat on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. The President and his key aides were enraged when, on November 17th, Murtha gave a speech in the House calling for a withdrawal of troops within six months. The speech was filled with devastating information. For example, Murtha reported that the number of attacks in Iraq has increased from a hundred and fifty a week to more than seven hundred a week in the past year. He said that an estimated fifty thousand American soldiers will suffer “from what I call battle fatigue” in the war, and he said that the Americans were seen as “the common enemy” in Iraq. He also took issue with one of the White House’s claims—that foreign fighters were playing the major role in the insurgency. Murtha said that American soldiers “haven’t captured any in this latest activity”—the continuing battle in western Anbar province, near the border with Syria. “So this idea that they’re coming in from outside, we still think there’s only seven per cent.”
Murtha’s call for a speedy American pullout only seemed to strengthen the White House’s resolve. Administration officials “are beyond angry at him, because he is a serious threat to their policy—both on substance and politically,” the former defense official said. Speaking at the Osan Air Force base, in South Korea, two days after Murtha’s speech, Bush said, “The terrorists regard Iraq as the central front in their war against humanity. . . . If they’re not stopped, the terrorists will be able to advance their agenda to develop weapons of mass destruction, to destroy Israel, to intimidate Europe, and to break our will and blackmail our government into isolation. I’m going to make you this commitment: this is not going to happen on my watch.”
“The President is more determined than ever to stay the course,” the former defense official said. “He doesn’t feel any pain. Bush is a believer in the adage ‘People may suffer and die, but the Church advances.’ ” He said that the President had become more detached, leaving more issues to Karl Rove and Vice-President Cheney. “They keep him in the gray world of religious idealism, where he wants to be anyway,” the former defense official said. Bush’s public appearances, for example, are generally scheduled in front of friendly audiences, most often at military bases. Four decades ago, President Lyndon Johnson, who was also confronted with an increasingly unpopular war, was limited to similar public forums. “Johnson knew he was a prisoner in the White House,” the former official said, “but Bush has no idea.”
Within the military, the prospect of using airpower as a substitute for American troops on the ground has caused great unease. For one thing, Air Force commanders, in particular, have deep-seated objections to the possibility that Iraqis eventually will be responsible for target selection. “Will the Iraqis call in air strikes in order to snuff rivals, or other warlords, or to snuff members of your own sect and blame someone else?” another senior military planner now on assignment in the Pentagon asked. “Will some Iraqis be targeting on behalf of Al Qaeda, or the insurgency, or the Iranians?”
“It’s a serious business,” retired Air Force General Charles Horner, who was in charge of allied bombing during the 1991 Gulf War, said. “The Air Force has always had concerns about people ordering air strikes who are not Air Force forward air controllers. We need people on active duty to think it out, and they will. There has to be training to be sure that somebody is not trying to get even with somebody else.” (Asked for a comment, the Pentagon spokesman said there were plans in place for such training. He also noted that Iraq had no offensive airpower of its own, and thus would have to rely on the United States for some time.)
The American air war inside Iraq today is perhaps the most significant—and underreported—aspect of the fight against the insurgency. The military authorities in Baghdad and Washington do not provide the press with a daily accounting of missions that Air Force, Navy, and Marine units fly or of the tonnage they drop, as was routinely done during the Vietnam War. One insight into the scope of the bombing in Iraq was supplied by the Marine Corps during the height of the siege of Falluja in the fall of 2004. “With a massive Marine air and ground offensive under way,” a Marine press release said, “Marine close air support continues to put high-tech steel on target. . . . Flying missions day and night for weeks, the fixed wing aircraft of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing are ensuring battlefield success on the front line.” Since the beginning of the war, the press release said, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing alone had dropped more than five hundred thousand tons of ordnance. “This number is likely to be much higher by the end of operations,” Major Mike Sexton said. In the battle for the city, more than seven hundred Americans were killed or wounded; U.S. officials did not release estimates of civilian dead, but press reports at the time told of women and children killed in the bombardments.
In recent months, the tempo of American bombing seems to have increased. Most of the targets appear to be in the hostile, predominantly Sunni provinces that surround Baghdad and along the Syrian border. As yet, neither Congress nor the public has engaged in a significant discussion or debate about the air war.
The insurgency operates mainly in crowded urban areas, and Air Force warplanes rely on sophisticated, laser-guided bombs to avoid civilian casualties. These bombs home in on targets that must be “painted,” or illuminated, by laser beams directed by ground units. “The pilot doesn’t identify the target as seen in the pre-brief”—the instructions provided before takeoff—a former high-level intelligence official told me. “The guy with the laser is the targeteer. Not the pilot. Often you get a ‘hot-read’ ”—from a military unit on the ground—“and you drop your bombs with no communication with the guys on the ground. You don’t want to break radio silence. The people on the ground are calling in targets that the pilots can’t verify.” He added, “And we’re going to turn this process over to the Iraqis?”
The second senior military planner told me that there are essentially two types of targeting now being used in Iraq: a deliberate site-selection process that works out of air-operations centers in the region, and “adaptive targeting”—supportive bombing by prepositioned or loitering warplanes that are suddenly alerted to firefights or targets of opportunity by military units on the ground. “The bulk of what we do today is adaptive,” the officer said, “and it’s divorced from any operational air planning. Airpower can be used as a tool of internal political coercion, and my attitude is that I can’t imagine that we will give that power to the Iraqis.”
This military planner added that even today, with Americans doing the targeting, “there is no sense of an air campaign, or a strategic vision. We are just whacking targets—it’s a reversion to the Stone Age. There’s no operational art. That’s what happens when you give targeting to the Army—they hit what the local commander wants to hit.”
One senior Pentagon consultant I spoke to said he was optimistic that “American air will immediately make the Iraqi Army that much better.” But he acknowledged that he, too, had concerns about Iraqi targeting. “We have the most expensive eyes in the sky right now,” the consultant said. “But a lot of Iraqis want to settle old scores. Who is going to have authority to call in air strikes? There’s got to be a behavior-based rule.”
General John Jumper, who retired last month after serving four years as the Air Force chief of staff, was “in favor of certification of those Iraqis who will be allowed to call in strikes,” the Pentagon consultant told me. “I don’t know if it will be approved. The regular Army generals were resisting it to the last breath, despite the fact that they would benefit the most from it.”
A Pentagon consultant with close ties to the officials in the Vice-President’s office and the Pentagon who advocated the war said that the Iraqi penchant for targeting tribal and personal enemies with artillery and mortar fire had created “impatience and resentment” inside the military. He believed that the Air Force’s problems with Iraqi targeting might be addressed by the formation of U.S.-Iraqi transition teams, whose American members would be drawn largely from Special Forces troops. This consultant said that there were plans to integrate between two hundred and three hundred Special Forces members into Iraqi units, which was seen as a compromise aimed at meeting the Air Force’s demand to vet Iraqis who were involved in targeting. But in practice, the consultant added, it meant that “the Special Ops people will soon allow Iraqis to begin calling in the targets.”
Robert Pape, a political-science professor at the University of Chicago, who has written widely on American airpower, and who taught for three years at the Air Force’s School of Advanced Airpower Studies, in Alabama, predicted that the air war “will get very ugly” if targeting is turned over to the Iraqis. This would be especially true, he said, if the Iraqis continued to operate as the U.S. Army and Marines have done—plowing through Sunni strongholds on search-and-destroy missions. “If we encourage the Iraqis to clear and hold their own areas, and use airpower to stop the insurgents from penetrating the cleared areas, it could be useful,” Pape said. “The risk is that we will encourage the Iraqis to do search-and-destroy, and they would be less judicious about using airpower—and the violence would go up. More civilians will be killed, which means more insurgents will be created.”
Even American bombing on behalf of an improved, well-trained Iraqi Army would not necessarily be any more successful against the insurgency. “It’s not going to work,” said Andrew Brookes, the former director of airpower studies at the Royal Air Force’s advanced staff college, who is now at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, in London. “Can you put a lid on the insurgency with bombing?” Brookes said. “No. You can concentrate in one area, but the guys will spring up in another town.” The inevitable reliance on Iraqi ground troops’ targeting would also create conflicts. “I don’t see your guys dancing to the tune of someone else,” Brookes said. He added that he and many other experts “don’t believe that airpower is a solution to the problems inside Iraq at all. Replacing boots on the ground with airpower didn’t work in Vietnam, did it?”
The Air Force’s worries have been subordinated, so far, to the political needs of the White House. The Administration’s immediate political goal after the December elections is to show that the day-to-day conduct of the war can be turned over to the newly trained and equipped Iraqi military. It has already planned heavily scripted change-of-command ceremonies, complete with the lowering of American flags at bases and the raising of Iraqi ones.
Some officials in the State Department, the C.I.A., and British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government have settled on their candidate of choice for the December elections—Iyad Allawi, the secular Shiite who served until this spring as Iraq’s interim Prime Minister. They believe that Allawi can gather enough votes in the election to emerge, after a round of political bargaining, as Prime Minister. A former senior British adviser told me that Blair was convinced that Allawi “is the best hope.” The fear is that a government dominated by religious Shiites, many of whom are close to Iran, would give Iran greater political and military influence inside Iraq. Allawi could counter Iran’s influence; also, he would be far more supportive and coöperative if the Bush Administration began a drawdown of American combat forces in the coming year.
Blair has assigned a small team of operatives to provide political help to Allawi, the former adviser told me. He also said that there was talk late this fall, with American concurrence, of urging Ahmad Chalabi, a secular Shiite, to join forces in a coalition with Allawi during the post-election negotiations to form a government. Chalabi, who is notorious for his role in promoting flawed intelligence on weapons of mass destruction before the war, is now a deputy Prime Minister. He and Allawi were bitter rivals while in exile.
A senior United Nations diplomat told me that he was puzzled by the high American and British hopes for Allawi. “I know a lot of people want Allawi, but I think he’s been a terrific disappointment,” the diplomat said. “He doesn’t seem to be building a strong alliance, and at the moment it doesn’t look like he will do very well in the election.”
The second Pentagon consultant told me, “If Allawi becomes Prime Minister, we can say, ‘There’s a moderate, urban, educated leader now in power who does not want to deprive women of their rights.’ He would ask us to leave, but he would allow us to keep Special Forces operations inside Iraq—to keep an American presence the right way. Mission accomplished. A coup for Bush.”
A former high-level intelligence official cautioned that it was probably “too late” for any American withdrawal plan to work without further bloodshed. The constitution approved by Iraqi voters in October “will be interpreted by the Kurds and the Shiites to proceed with their plans for autonomy,” he said. “The Sunnis will continue to believe that if they can get rid of the Americans they can still win. And there still is no credible way to establish security for American troops.”
The fear is that a precipitous U.S. withdrawal would inevitably trigger a Sunni-Shiite civil war. In many areas, that war has, in a sense, already begun, and the United States military is being drawn into the sectarian violence. An American Army officer who took part in the assault on Tal Afar, in the north of Iraq, earlier this fall, said that an American infantry brigade was placed in the position of providing a cordon of security around the besieged city for Iraqi forces, most of them Shiites, who were “rounding up any Sunnis on the basis of whatever a Shiite said to them.” The officer went on, “They were killing Sunnis on behalf of the Shiites,” with the active participation of a militia unit led by a retired American Special Forces soldier. “People like me have gotten so downhearted,” the officer added.
Meanwhile, as the debate over troop reductions continues, the covert war in Iraq has expanded in recent months to Syria. A composite American Special Forces team, known as an S.M.U., for “special-mission unit,” has been ordered, under stringent cover, to target suspected supporters of the Iraqi insurgency across the border. (The Pentagon had no comment.) “It’s a powder keg,” the Pentagon consultant said of the tactic. “But, if we hit an insurgent network in Iraq without hitting the guys in Syria who are part of it, the guys in Syria would get away. When you’re fighting an insurgency, you have to strike everywhere—and at once.”
Every state funeral is that long
as its been for every deceased president. It's the same whether its a Democrat or Republican. They are tiresomely long, but Coretta Scott King's service was one long tiresome bash of anything white, conservative or Republican. I'm sure Coretta would've not wanted it to be that way, the wonderful woman she was. I'm sorry you're so jaded as to think every memorial service should be an opportunity to bash Bush, Republicans, or conservatives. Have a nice day.
Have you ever lived in police state?
Because if you had you'd definitely be able to see the VAST difference between a police state and the American state.
Also, your one-world government theory about the Bush's doesn't sync with your view that Bush is alienating the rest of the world, but I guess you think because Bush wants democracy for the world he somehow is planning to take over the world.
Wow, you are very steeped in conspiracy theory I'll give you that.
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