Don't You Just Love the Smell of Vietnam Throughout Your Day?

Is there any end to the chaos, maelstrom, malice, and violence that has become Iraq? How many out there in pundit land still think that attacking this country was a good idea? Is this Bush's idea of democracy? Is it anyone's?

More U.S. troops have been killed in the opening days of this month then all of last month, and the blood letting show no signs of letting up. Iraqis too are dying at record numbers as it appears old scores are settled between the two opposing factions of Islam. If this keeps up, there will not be a country left saving, nor Army or Marines Corps left to police it with. That of course is a gross exaggeration of the case but, how many more American men and women have to die to establish democracy in a region that has never know it, nor shows any sighs that they will ever embrace it?

In continuing violence, the United States military announced today that four American soldiers were killed on Tuesday and six others were wounded when insurgents attacked a patrol near Baiji in northern Iraq. Two Iraqi policemen and four civilians were killed in a suicide car bombing today in western Baghdad, the Interior Ministry said.

Lets fact it, the invasion of Iraq was a fool's errand from the beginning, instigated by a supercilious dullard whose grasp of the world is confined the back of Crackerjack box. And what he can gleam from the Where in the World is Matt Lauer segments of the Today Show. Is my anger and distain for Bush, his Administration, and this life-wasting enterprise they are calling the War on Terror showing? I hope so!

Our men and women are dying for nothing and Iraqis are loosing their lives because our President (and I use the term very, very loosely) wanted to show the world how big an idiot he really was, as if opening his mouth and speaking of that which he knows not of, wasn't enough. I still scratch my head and wonder that Bush won re-election. That two men, or women kissing, and loving one another enough to want to create a family (you know that thing conservatives claim is the backbone of American society, yet they undermine every chance they get), was more important to half the electorate than their sons, daughters, wives, husbands, cousins, and in-laws dying in grand numbers for an unjust cause in a desert thousands of miles from home. And that championing the rights of the un-conceived and just-conceived were more important then the millions of children at risk because they lack decent, affordable healthcare. Or more important than their mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and grandfathers have to go to another country for affordable medichine...but I digress.

The Task Force Liberty soldiers were investigating a rocket-propelled grenade incident when an anti-tank mine exploded and hit an armored Humvee, a military spokesman in Mosul said.

Iraq has now become this generations' Vietnam, only without the protests (college students, returning soldiers, others, where are you?), the anger at home, the burning flags, or the spit at the airport. But the senseless violence and dying are the same, as is the failed policies that took this nation to war once more without a plan to win, and the wanton disregard for the rule of law. And now it appears as though Iran has joined the fray, if we can trust anything Rummy has to say. So many lives lost for what? For what? FOR WHAT?

They're Not Stupid?They're Lazy - The real reason American high-schoolers have such dismal test scores. By Alexandra?Starr

They're Not Stupid They're Lazy - The real reason American high-schoolers have such dismal test scores. By Alexandra?Starr

And they suffer from an acute lack of pride!

CNN.com - Mother missed signs of 'choking game' - Aug 10, 2005

CNN.com - Mother missed signs of 'choking game' - Aug 10, 2005

Don’t we parents have enough to worry about without our children inventing new ways to excite, harm and ultimately kill themselves? But we (adults) are partially to blame for cultivating a society where life is thirty second commercial filled with moving images too fast for the human eye to digest. Life is not to be lived at a pace that does not promote excitement. Woo onto thee who is boring!

I never even thought of doing something like this to myself when I was growing up. The most excitement we had on my block was playing kiss and feel hide and seek, which is pretty tame compared to the games children now seem to be playing. Sometimes I feels are though or society is on the road to Hell and there is precious little room to turn about. Whatever happened to curling up with a good book and letting your mind get lost in words? That to me is a rush, a high that stays with me well into the day, or fosters dreams when I rest at night if I read right before bed. I rather that then have my magnificent, wondrous, and fantastical brain drown in a pool of alcohol or choke and slowly die for lack of air!

Are we as a race of beings getting stupider by the generation?

CNN.com - Chavez: U.S. will 'bite the dust' if it invades - Aug 9, 2005

CNN.com - Chavez: U.S. will 'bite the dust' if it invades - Aug 9, 2005
As if the United States didn’t have enough countries hating us, Venezuela decides to step into line. Ever feel surrounded? Hasn’t the world realized the pure socialism as prescribed by Karl Marx will not work? Does Chavez really believe what he is saying or is he just trying to remain in power by casting the U.S. as the ultimate villain?

CNN.com - Justice: 'Serious flaws' in death penalty - Aug 7, 2005

CNN.com - Justice: 'Serious flaws' in death penalty - Aug 7, 2005

Missouri death sentence case gets another look - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

Missouri death sentence case gets another look - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

It was only a matter of time...

And the Quagmire Grows Ever Murkier

My heart is heavy and my soul is angry, seething in fact as they both come to grips with the death of 24 more Marines in just the past week at the hands of these pesky, backwards, insurgents, whom we are this close to overwhelming. Can you feel the heat from the fire of Rome's hallowed halls?

As a Veteran of fifteen years in the U.S. Navy, I feel a deep affinity for my brethren still wearing the uniform, still under arms. When one of them dies in the line of duty, a profound sadness pervades my soul and I have to pause and in remembrance and reflect upon what it means to be an American, less I fail to grasp the significance of their sacrifice. And in my own way I honor each one in my heart, and my deeds.

Yesterday Bush stood before a crowd in Texas and stated that these young men and women (they are not kids and it dishonors them to refer to them as such), are not dying in vain, that they are dying for a just and noble cause, and that their struggle was selfless one. I agree that their devotion to duty and country is selfless, but I highly disagree that the cause they are dying for (and being maimed for in large numbers) is just or noble. I wonder how long the cause would remain just, and the mission noble, if one of the Presidents daughters were to join the all volunteer force and find herself in Baghdad, or Haditha? Of course there is little to no chance that one of Bush's daughters would undertake so selfless a sacrifice for their country. That measure of devotion to country is left to those of lesser (economic) means, and higher moral purpose. The Bush twins are about as shallow and witless as they come.

That aside we don’t belong in Iraq and we never did. Invading Iraq was a glaring mistake made by a man and Administration with a limited grasp on reality, intelligence, and vision. It is an invasion that squandered-and continues to squander-limited resources and diverted our Armed Forces attention from the real threat hundreds of miles to the East.

With each passing day, the quagmire that is now Iraq grows ever deeper and the terrorist who now openly use the country as their own private how-to-be-a-terrorist proving ground, grow ever stronger. We have after all swelled their ranks with our stupefying and habitual disregard for the rule of International Law, and complete respect for any human life not wearing an American flag on his or her arm. Iraq has now become what our government claimed it was, but wasn't before we invaded: a terrorist training facility, complete with ready made live targets for them to practice their evil craft upon. Why shoot at a plywood dummy or sandbags when a multitude of real American soldiers and helpless, hapless, powerless Iraqi civilians are at your disposal?

Yesterday's IED was the largest yet; powerful enough to penetrate the armor of a Marine Corps Amphibian Assault Vehicle and flip it on its side. Fourteen men died at the hands of an insurgency that in the mind of the Vice President of the United States, is taking its last breath. And how did six Marine snipers get wiped out if the insurgents, the terrorist were not tracking them? The attacks bespeak of an enemy who is become more cunning with each attack. We are now stuck in a hell of our own design, how can we even think of drawing down troop strength under such circumstances?

What we need now is bold insightful leadership to help get us out of this mess; what we have instead is Bush and his fumbling, arrogant band of neo-conservative idiots whose vision is marred by the dark clouds of stupidity that hang perpetually over their heads. And now and for the foreseeable future, I have to steal myself for more death, and sadness, and anger, and hope that it does not permanently sour my already astringent soul.

Bush: Schools should teach intelligent design - Politics - MSNBC.com

Bush: Schools should teach intelligent design - Politics - MSNBC.com

If ever one needed further proof that Bush is intellectually challenged, the events of the last tow day should edge you along in the right direction. So Bush actually believes that Rafael Palmeiro took steroids by accident! Please! And teach Intelligent Design? Where are the scientific underpinnings of this speculative musings on the origins of man and the Universe? And yet Bush believes its okay to teach our children. How much further back in learning do we want to be as compared to other societies?

Frist breaks with Bush on stem cell research - Politics - MSNBC.com

Frist breaks with Bush on stem cell research - Politics - MSNBC.com

Senator Frist the flip-flopper. But it is about time the man found his own voice, and stopped being the mouthpiece of the President on the Senate floor. Do you suppose he finally read the Constitution and figured out that he is in a separate branch of government?

This (Pharmacists) Madness Must Be Stopped

Several states allow pharmacists to decline to fill prescriptions based on their conscience. Other states are trying to require that pharmacists provide medicines that doctors have prescribed. Now federal lawmakers are holding hearings on so-called 'duty to fill' laws.

So went the introduction to a story on NPR's Morning Edition I listened to this morning.

In my mind this debate can have only one outcome: the doctor/patient relationship should be upheld in every case. No third party should be allowed to insert their moral judgment into the doctor/patient relationship, period, unless invited to do so! Pharmacists, like the rest of us, have a right to their opinions, however misguided, but they should not be allowed to let those opinions adversely affect the people they are supposed to be serving. And yes, they have a right to their individual principles, but those principles should not be allowed to interfere with patient care.

And make no mistake, they are in the service industry, all they do it dispense drugs, and occasionally dole out advice. Pharmacist, though a valuable link in the chain medical chain of care in America, are not indispensable, and are certainly not specialist, like doctors. Who, after all, is a Pharmacist to substitute his or her judgment for that of the doctor or the patient? Frankly, I find the whole business of refusing to dispense drugs because of you religious beliefs repugnant and just another sign of how far the falsely righteous will go to foist their belief system on us all.

If they are morally opposed to birth control and might be required by their employers to pass out prescription birth control pills or the morning after pill, then their professionalism and duty to their customers should prevail. If they still object, then they should find another profession, one in which their conscience will not be overly burdened. Or at least have to decency to refer the customer to another Pharmacist whose brain is not clouded with self-righteous religious dogma.

Will a bill pass out of Congress that will end this madness once and for all and compel Pharmacist to fill prescriptions or find another job? Its doubtful, and even if the a Bill did manage to pass both houses with its common sense still intact, Bush would never sign it into law because he lacks; well he is just lacking so much its hard to know where to begin.

Bill Wouldn't Wean U.S. Off Oil Imports, Analysts Say

Bill Wouldn't Wean U.S. Off Oil Imports, Analysts Say

Would be too much to ask for real leadership and vision from Washington on this issue? If other nations can put together a coherent energy policy; e.g. France and Japan, why can’t the United States? Must we bicker and fight about everything?

CNN.com - Roberts faces questions - Jul 25, 2005

CNN.com - Roberts faces questions - Jul 25, 2005

I don’t think there is any doubt that in the long run Roberts will be confirmed as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, all questions aside.

Pakistan?s religious schools in spotlight again - World News - MSNBC.com

Pakistan?s religious schools in spotlight again - World News - MSNBC.com

Does anyone else get the feeling that we shall be fighting this war against terrorism for many generations to come?

CNN.com - Suicide car bomb kills?22 near police station - Jul 24, 2005

CNN.com - Suicide car bomb kills?22 near police station - Jul 24, 2005

Yes, we are continuing to turn the tide of against the insurgency in Iraq, we have them on the run, they have no place to hide; we are routing them out, rounding them up and ending their rein of terror. The people of Iraq should rejoice, shouldn’t they?

Al Qaeda leaders seen in control - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

Al Qaeda leaders seen in control - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

It doesn’t sound to me as if terrorism is on the run, on the wane, contained, or bottled. We are failing; we are loosing this war, which is more about ideas than it is about weapons. George W. Bush was not the man to lead us in this fight; he has not the leadership ability, intellect, vision, or wisdom to see us through this phase in American history.

We have been ill served by his bumbling attempts the stem the tide of terrorism across the globe; indeed he and his conceited minions have managed to swell their murderous, ideological ranks. It is only a matter of time before bombs and blood, murder and mayhem re-visit American shores. Thank you George Bush for your unflagging devotion to naiveté, myopic world vision, stupefying arrogance, and the lack of vision that now finds the world besieged by terrorism.

CNN.com - Small?blasts hit London transport - Jul 21, 2005

CNN.com - Small?blasts hit London transport - Jul 21, 2005

Plame's Identity Marked As Secret

Plame's Identity Marked As Secret

Rick Santorum; Poster Boy for Intolerance and Ignorance

Rick Sandorum (R) Pennsylvania could be the poster boy for the intolerance and ignorance that has infested the body politic of the Republican Party like a cancer unchecked by common sense and a firm grasp for the principles of freedom that are supposed to provide the foundation for our Republic. What hateful people those in Republicans Right are turning out to be.

Was Senator Kennedy right to call Santorum on the carpet for his nonsensical remarks? I say yes. And just how does choosing an alternative life-style aid and abed the priest sex-abuse scandal? The fact that the wide-spread abuse came to light in Boston is just happenstance. What if the scandal had sprung to life in Philadelphia, would the good Senator have painted his own with the same sanctimonious brush?

And is the good Senator insinuating that all priests who molested children were homosexuals, are homosexual? If memory serves, children of both sexes were molested with equal vigor and vulgarity. And aren't most sex offenders heterosexual? Is their deviant behaviors caused by alternative life-styles as well, or is there another more heterosexual cause for their behaviors, like a dysfunctional family life, or bad parents?

What's the next step Santorum would have society take? Ban and or separate homosexuals and lesbians from heterosexuals? Should we create a state just for them, or perhaps banish them to Midway Island? Should be codify into law what so many conservatives advocate by word and deed, and relegate homosexuals and lesbians to second class citizenship once and for all for having the gall to love someone from the same sex?

Perhaps Senator Santorum's opinions and observations would not chaff as much if they were not drawn from the deep well of ignorance that almost every conservative seems to drink from. And if the source of that well water were not the Holy Bible, a tome that any reasoned person will admit is full of contradictions, and is little more then a really good book of fiction, none of which can be proved. On this I have to side with Senator Kennedy form the great state of Massachusetts. And by the way I love Boston!

Durbin Cries, Iraqis Die, Afghanistan Fries, and Bush Continues to Lie

While Senator Dick Durbin (from my state) breaks down in tears on the Senate floor, woefully decrying his remarks about Guantanamo Bay, and the insurgents poke a finger in the eye of the Administrations assertions that their daily carnage is winding down, the war in Afghanistan, which was supposed to be almost at an end, is flaring anew.

Is the Taliban coming back after having regrouped, refinanced, and gained new recruits from the ranks of those Muslims who now see America as a defiler of their sacred text? Does anyone with a rational functioning mind, the ability to use deductive reasoning and foresight, really believe that the ongoing debate surrounding our little Cuban holiday spot is doing no harm to America in the minds of those who need very little reason to do us harm? Even naiveté has it bounds?

Barely reported on the evening news cast(s) is the fact that all over Afghanistan, the war is flaring up, but it is particularly brutal in the south and east of the country where scores on both sides continue to die. Just yesterday the Pentagon reported that five American soldiers were wounded in fierce fighting in the southern Afghanistan. Talk of 11-hour gun battles does not sound like a situation that is well in hand from a military standpoint. How much longer is going to take to stabilize a country that would have been a done deal, if not for the lack of U.S. troops, concentration of effort, and adequate attention from the Bush Administration?

In hindsight (and foresight for that matter) how smart was it to invade Iraq with the job in Afghanistan incomplete? Now we seem to be fighting a two front war with insurgents whose numbers are seemingly limitless; there are after all over a billion practitioners of Islam.

Pretty soon Iraq is going to run out of cars to blow up; how long before the insurgent start importing them pre-rigged with explosives, if they are not already doing so?

The Bush Administration has lost all creditability with me and mine; the lies, half-truths, and just plain preposterous rhetoric that ooze from the White House on a daily basis make me ill. Do they (The Bushies) really believe half of the words that leach from their mouths like so much sludge from the Anicosta River? After Secretary Rice made a speech the other day in Egypt, on the importance of free, open and just elections, and opened the floor for questions, they all seemed to be about the desecration of the Muslim Holy Book. I wonder if her message got through? And Rice spent her time explaining how the U.S. respects all religions.

Actions, as they say, speak loader then words, and our action thus far when it comes to the treatment of those in Gito Bay send a very powerful message to the rest of the world: America and American are above the law; we believe in the rule of law, until it gets in the way of revenge and then, well, there is no rule of law. American life is sacred, all other life is well expendable, until we deem it worthy, and justice belongs to Americans; we are the law until further notice.

Anyone else feel as uncomfortable with the direction the "shining beacon on the hill" is headed. Our light seems considerable less bright, less comforting, less judicious, these days.

Understanding The Stem Cell Debate Part II - In-vitro Fertilization

The maelstrom swirling around stem cells seems to be one I cannot disengage myself from, probably because the arguments against using stem cells to research cures for some of the world's most vexing decease's, are so morally vapid, and devoid of common sense.

Those who oppose the use of embryos for stem cell research totally disregard the harm In Vitro Fertilization—the process that creates the embryos in the first place—does to unwanted embryos and those that do not take in the uterus and die as part of the process.

How many embryos are killed during the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process for just one couple trying to conceive a baby? Isn’t that the destruction of life? And yet not one Republican lawmaker and very few on the Christian Right have spoken out against the process. Dubya (President Bush) recently had a multitude of "snow-flake" babies (those babies conceived of donated embryos) to the White House for a photo opportunity to demonstrate that frozen embryos can still create life. But missing were the numbers of embryos that were destroyed in the process of creating the cute little snowflakes.

Up to four embryos can be implanted in the uterus during a typical IVF procedure; this is to ensure that at least one attaches itself to the uterine wall and becomes a viable baby. If the other three embryo's do not take, they die. Again isn't this the destruction of life? And aren't couples that engage in IVF destroying life in order to make life? How many embryos does the average couple go through before conceiving a child or children, in the case of multiple births?

According to the CDC—the government agency charged compiling national statistics for all Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) procedures performed in the U.S., IVF only has an average 30.9% success rate. The ART report (from Year 2002) also found that about 69% of the IVF cycles carried out did not produce a pregnancy, and as the age of a woman increases, the chances IVF will work drop dramatically. And that even when IVF was performed on women under the age of 35 the success rate was less then 50%; I invite you to read the report entitled 2002 Assisted Reproductive Technology Rates National Summary and Fertility Clinic Reports.

How many dead embryos do these statistics represent nationwide? And again, where is the outcry from the conservative camp about this brazen-and some might call it cavalier-disregard for human life? Where is the moral outrage from the Christian Right about this abomination; where is the indignation; where is Rick Santorum? Oh the hypocrisy is palatable and tastes oddly bitter, especially to those suffering from chronic diseases (like myself) who might find hope in a cure from research done with embryonic stem cells.

Perhaps it's because I am personally affected by the outcome of embryonic stem cell research that I feel so passionately about the debate. Or perhaps it's because I loath hypocrisy as one of the lowest forms of intellectual laziness, and self-induced ignorance. Or perhaps it’s because I value science over religious dogma (make no mistake this in a debate that springs from the fertile yet misguided minds of the religiously inclined); or perhaps it's a combination of all three reasons and many more I cannot name. But this remains a debate I cannot lay down because it insists on standing up and shouting that this issue stinks of wrong-headed politics and conservative religious doctrine. And we the American people lose once again.