I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is one issue in which the Republican's and I see eye-to-eye. The illegal immigration problem in this country has been out of control for far too long and it about time Congress stepped in and did something--anything--concrete about it.
At the very base level illegal immigrants are breaking the law, so in effect they are already felons the moment they step foot in this country without the proper documentation and with benefit of a proper Customs screening, green card, Visa, passport, etc. etc. The borders of the United States are porous, but especially the Southern border, which leaks like a washer-less faucet. I am all for building a wall to keep those who would willingly break the law from doing so on U.S. soil. Yes, Mexico and Central America are hell hole’s with corrupt governments and stagnating economy’s, but we cannot continue to absorb the downtrodden masses of people that decide its better to flee their countries, then to fight to make them better places to live and raise a family. What would happen for instance of 30,000 or more people routinely took the street of Mexico City and demanded better living conditions?
And I reject the notion that illegal immigrants are essential to the U.S. economy. And I future reject the oft-repeated notion that illegal immigrants perform jobs Americans do not want. In certain sectors like agriculture where there is a long history of immigrant migrant workers performing tasks, this may be so. But this is not the case with services industry, or construction, or warehousing, or the meat-packing industry. There are plenty of Americans who could and would fill those jobs, but those companies find it far more profitable to employee easily exploitable illegal immigrants who have little recourse but to accept the long hours and low wages, and no benefit, presented to them.
And I reject the notion that illegal immigrants give back to the U.S. revenue base in the form of income taxes. If you are working here illegally with false or no documents how are you paying anything other then the occasional sales tax? If you filed a tax return using your fake SSN, you would risk getting caught, would you not? Why would I pay income tax unless I had to; if I am off the government’s income tax radar why light myself up by paying taxes?
And no, illegal immigrants should not be allowed to get drivers licenses, or get free healthcare, or other public services including education. Only those who abide the law and play by the rules should be allowed access to services my tax dollars pay for. After all I have to play by the rules; if I do otherwise I will see jail time in my future. Why should the standard be any different for a non-citizen who is in this country illegally?
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York is quoting as stating, "[T]his bill would literally criminalize the Good Samaritan and probably even Jesus himself." Note to Hillary Clinton: if Jesus were breaking the law, he too would have to be held accountable. And equating what Jesus did in helping the truly down trodden with the current situation is severely disingenuous and beneath the office you currently hold: stop pandering!
And I feel no pity for thos--charity or private citizens--hat would help illegal immigrants set up shop in this country; i.e. feed them, cloth them, house them, and find them jobs. Those who engage in such behavior are in fact aiding and abetting a crime(s) by harboring and or assisting illegal immigrants, and there should be consequences for breaking the law. Would we as a society look the other way while charities aided and abetted other know felons?
The evidence is mounting that illegal immigrants are costing far more in dollars then they contribute in the form of taxes across a broad spectrum of American society. From public schools to county hospital, to social services, to housing, to law enforcement, illegal immigrants are an ever increasing drain on the dwindling coffers of American cities.
And let us not forget, if illegal immigrants can gain such easy access to our country so can terrorists!
So I welcome House Resolution 4437 as a no nonsense beginning. It is by no means the only measure we as a nation have to take to finally put and end to the fragrant and continual violations of our immigration, tax, and labor laws. American business needs to be held accountable for hiring illegal immigrants and fined to such a degree that it is cost prohibitive for them to employ illegal immigrants if they are caught doing so. Remove the number one incentive--job--for illegal border crossing and they will stop coming in such large numbers.
I understand the human need to feed, house, and cloth ones family, and I know that America with its high standard of living, easy access to decent paying jobs, and social welfare safety net, is attractive to those south of the Rio Grande. But the influx of illegal immigrants has to stop. Our society does not have unlimited resources and at some point we have to put the welfare of the nation ahead of feel good politics and misplaced moral platitudes. That point is now...
See also these stories related to this issue:
Friday, March 24, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Sandra Day O’Conner Speaks Out Against the Dangers of Undermining the Judiciary
In a little covered speech last week former Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Conner opened up on the Republican Right, decrying their proclivity of late for calling the Federal courts on the carpet for doing their constitutional duty. Warning against the dangers of undermining the judicial branch, O'Conner stated that they (right wing Republicans)
I have long wondered what the Justices of the Supreme Court thought of the ill-informed, ignorant, and salacious attacks perpetrated by the agents of the fundamentalists’ religious right in Congress upon the federal judiciary, the third branch of government. Now I know the thoughts and feeling of at least one of the (former) members, and I share them. It's no secret that the Republican Right has little respect for the independent judiciary and would just assume see it abolished to the determent of all. Bush in his latest State of The Union address deliberately and irresponsibly snubbed the members of the Supreme Court by welcoming the members of the elected branches of government to the occasion! He didn’t even acknowledge the presence of the Supreme Court as the third branch of our federal government, and in so doing give it the respect and dignity the institution deserves.
Of course Bush failed to mention that he is the only freely elected member of the Executive Branch of government, since we do not vote for the Vice President on his or her own ticket. And of course he failed to point out that out of some 4 million plus federal workers, only 435 are directly elected by the populace and that they have a dismal record of late in representing the American people.
The Republican Right's unrelenting attack on the federal judiciary show a fundamental lack of respect and a growing distain for our system of constitutional government, and for the fundamental rights of the American people. O'Conner a moderate Republican pointed this out when she stated,
The court system in this country at all levels, but especially at the federal level, are seen by most (thinking) Americans as the last bulwark against the tyranny of the increasingly Republican Executive and Legislative branches of government, who if left to their own whims, would see the Bill of Rights shredded, and the Constitution (state and federal) replaced by the Holy Bible as the foundation of American governance. Perhaps I exaggerate the case, but perception is increasingly becoming reality within the hall of Congress (and increasingly state legislators) as (Republican) elected representatives in both houses openly attack the courts for doing their jobs.
Of this O'Conner stated:
I have often been drawn the ire of my readers by even hinting that there might be some similarities between fascists regimes of the past and the current Bush Administration (and it’s Republican Right champions) with its love for secrecy, open distain for the rule of law, rapid militarism, and thinly veiled adoption of religious dogma into the pages of foreign policy. But as Ms. O'Conner pointed out,
Like it or no, my fellow Americans the Bush Administration and it Republican Right backers are those beginnings, at least in this writers mind…
challenge the independence of judges and the freedoms of all Americans.
I have long wondered what the Justices of the Supreme Court thought of the ill-informed, ignorant, and salacious attacks perpetrated by the agents of the fundamentalists’ religious right in Congress upon the federal judiciary, the third branch of government. Now I know the thoughts and feeling of at least one of the (former) members, and I share them. It's no secret that the Republican Right has little respect for the independent judiciary and would just assume see it abolished to the determent of all. Bush in his latest State of The Union address deliberately and irresponsibly snubbed the members of the Supreme Court by welcoming the members of the elected branches of government to the occasion! He didn’t even acknowledge the presence of the Supreme Court as the third branch of our federal government, and in so doing give it the respect and dignity the institution deserves.
Of course Bush failed to mention that he is the only freely elected member of the Executive Branch of government, since we do not vote for the Vice President on his or her own ticket. And of course he failed to point out that out of some 4 million plus federal workers, only 435 are directly elected by the populace and that they have a dismal record of late in representing the American people.
The Republican Right's unrelenting attack on the federal judiciary show a fundamental lack of respect and a growing distain for our system of constitutional government, and for the fundamental rights of the American people. O'Conner a moderate Republican pointed this out when she stated,
[T]he nation’s founders wrote repeatedly that without an independent judiciary to protect individual rights from the other branches of government those rights and privileges would amount to nothing. But, as the founding fathers knew statutes and constitutions don’t protect judicial independence, people do.
The court system in this country at all levels, but especially at the federal level, are seen by most (thinking) Americans as the last bulwark against the tyranny of the increasingly Republican Executive and Legislative branches of government, who if left to their own whims, would see the Bill of Rights shredded, and the Constitution (state and federal) replaced by the Holy Bible as the foundation of American governance. Perhaps I exaggerate the case, but perception is increasingly becoming reality within the hall of Congress (and increasingly state legislators) as (Republican) elected representatives in both houses openly attack the courts for doing their jobs.
Of this O'Conner stated:
[C]ourts do have the power to make presidents or the Congress or governors, really, really angry. “But, if we don’t make them mad some of the time we probably aren’t doing our jobs as judges, and our effectiveness, is premised on the notion that we won’t be subject to retaliation for our judicial acts.
I have often been drawn the ire of my readers by even hinting that there might be some similarities between fascists regimes of the past and the current Bush Administration (and it’s Republican Right champions) with its love for secrecy, open distain for the rule of law, rapid militarism, and thinly veiled adoption of religious dogma into the pages of foreign policy. But as Ms. O'Conner pointed out,
[I]t takes a lot of degeneration before a country falls into dictatorship, she said, but we should avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings.
Like it or no, my fellow Americans the Bush Administration and it Republican Right backers are those beginnings, at least in this writers mind…
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
And the Fiddles Play Dixie
And now for those who still stick stubbornly to the belief that health care in America is still top-notch comes this study. I may sound like a broken record by now, but the sky is falling, the sky is falling, the sky is falling and the American Republic is being crushed under the weight of its own love affair with Capitalism and unchecked greed.
What further evidence do the doubting Thomas’s of the rural America need to finally admit that our country is going in the wrong direction and we need a serious course correction? Where is our national pride? Where is our national self-respect? The naysayer’s who stubbornly cling to the free-market mantra when it comes to every aspect of American culture are sowing the seeds of our American dismemberment.
American Institution after American Institution is failing and yet some among us refuse to address the issues at hand. Again what will it take for those who support "W" and his ilk and their failing free-market is the answer to every ill philosophy, to finally admit that like Communism, unfettered Capitalism is a failure? We need to strike a balance and we need to do it quickly! Because. Our country is burning, slowing and inexorably towards its demise and I can hear the fiddles plying Dixie in the background.
What further evidence do the doubting Thomas’s of the rural America need to finally admit that our country is going in the wrong direction and we need a serious course correction? Where is our national pride? Where is our national self-respect? The naysayer’s who stubbornly cling to the free-market mantra when it comes to every aspect of American culture are sowing the seeds of our American dismemberment.
American Institution after American Institution is failing and yet some among us refuse to address the issues at hand. Again what will it take for those who support "W" and his ilk and their failing free-market is the answer to every ill philosophy, to finally admit that like Communism, unfettered Capitalism is a failure? We need to strike a balance and we need to do it quickly! Because. Our country is burning, slowing and inexorably towards its demise and I can hear the fiddles plying Dixie in the background.
NBC/WSJ poll: Bush ratings keep falling - Politics - MSNBC.com
NBC/WSJ poll: Bush ratings keep falling - Politics - MSNBC.com
I’m wondering if I should feel sorry for Bush; sorry fleeting thought. It’s hard to feel sorry for a man who never should have assumed the Office of the Presidency in the first place. So feel sorry for “W” I think not. As a matter of fact we can only hope his poll number drop even lower.
I’m wondering if I should feel sorry for Bush; sorry fleeting thought. It’s hard to feel sorry for a man who never should have assumed the Office of the Presidency in the first place. So feel sorry for “W” I think not. As a matter of fact we can only hope his poll number drop even lower.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
WP: Infighting plagues intelligence panel - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com
WP: Infighting plagues intelligence panel - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com
The evidence is mounting that the Senate is indeed a broken Institution and we the American people are the losers. And it also further evidence that our Republican form of government is breaking down, fracturing, disintegrating at the very time when we need bi-partisan cooperation.
The terrorists need not strike us again in order to bring about the demise of our Republic we are quite capable of doing the deed all on our own with this senseless and pointless partisan bickering. And in defense of a man and administration that do not deserve such loyalty. We the American people do however…We need a viable third party!!
The evidence is mounting that the Senate is indeed a broken Institution and we the American people are the losers. And it also further evidence that our Republican form of government is breaking down, fracturing, disintegrating at the very time when we need bi-partisan cooperation.
The terrorists need not strike us again in order to bring about the demise of our Republic we are quite capable of doing the deed all on our own with this senseless and pointless partisan bickering. And in defense of a man and administration that do not deserve such loyalty. We the American people do however…We need a viable third party!!
Friday, March 10, 2006
Would eavesdropping bill snag reporters? - U.S. Security - MSNBC.com
Would eavesdropping bill snag reporters? - U.S. Security - MSNBC.com
And so it continues. In the name of national security they (Republican Congressman and Women) would systematically strip Americans of their freedoms. So begins the end of the American Republic; the Islamic Extremists have won the war after only one attack. We are doing what they predicted we would: destroying our beloved principles and hence our Republic from within…
And so it continues. In the name of national security they (Republican Congressman and Women) would systematically strip Americans of their freedoms. So begins the end of the American Republic; the Islamic Extremists have won the war after only one attack. We are doing what they predicted we would: destroying our beloved principles and hence our Republic from within…
Monday, March 06, 2006
CNN.com - South Dakota?law bans nearly all abortions - Mar 6, 2006
CNN.com - South Dakota'law bans nearly all abortions - Mar 6, 2006
As if we needed any further proof that America is slipping back into a religiously inspired dark ages, here we go again! What does the word freedom mean to the average Republican? Nothing apparently unless of course the freedom you are trying to exercise conforms to their version of morality.
As if we needed any further proof that America is slipping back into a religiously inspired dark ages, here we go again! What does the word freedom mean to the average Republican? Nothing apparently unless of course the freedom you are trying to exercise conforms to their version of morality.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Don’t Blame Me, I Voted for Kerry!
"In the long run, he understands that extremists can be defeated by freedom and democracy and prosperity and better education"...President Bush said of Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf on occasion of his visit to the dictators, yes dictators homeland. Yes, our president continues his trip down Quaalude lane while the world in its fascination and amazement laugh aloud.
Is our ever dimwitted President unaware that Musharraf is a dictator, a man who came to power October 12, 1999 after a coup d'état—with the full backing of the military—and assumed the title of president of Pakistan on June 2001. Ever since then he has promised to hold elections but somehow that always falls through. Oh but he has promise to try again next year.
So Bushes claim that Musharraf “understands that extremists can be defeated by freedom and democracy and prosperity and better education,” all the things the people of Pakistan lack, is hysterical and sad bordering on the ridiculous. And it invites the question: does Bush ever, ever, ever, live in the same world as the rest of us? Is it possible to be this divorced from reality and not be on some sort of mind altering drug? And yes this is a serious question, not one designed to poke fun of our somewhat intellectually hobbled head of state.
And it begs another question: if Bush and his Neo-con infested Administration are so keen on bringing democracy to the down-trodden masses of the Asia and the Middle East, why not Pakistan a place where most able-bodied terrorists are hatched? Is it that Musharraf is seeking a small measure of legitimacy for his illegitimate regime by helping the U.S. whose power, prestige, and influence slips a little more everyday Bush is in office? Any halfwit who has been paying even the slightest attention to the world knows that Musharraf is taking only baby steps toward stamping out the terrorist assembly-line now turning out aspirant Muslim extremists at an alarming pace. But not Bush.
“Only hours before Bush's appearance, the Pakistani government cracked down on political leaders and others planning to protest the president's visit. In the city of Rawalpindi, about 10 miles from Islamabad, police arrested about 20 members of Tehrik-e-Insaaf, a small political party, as they staged a noisy but peaceful demonstration, beating some of them with bamboo sticks as foreign journalists and camera crews recorded the scene.” Sounds like democracy to me…
Whenever Bush embarrasses our country before the world—and lets face it, it’s every time he opens his mouth—I used to find solace in the fact that my votes were not cast his way in either election. But as the time wears on and our country sheds it principles one-by-one and loses its moral center, I no longer find comfort in the words: “Don’t Blame Me, I Voted for Kerry!”
Is our ever dimwitted President unaware that Musharraf is a dictator, a man who came to power October 12, 1999 after a coup d'état—with the full backing of the military—and assumed the title of president of Pakistan on June 2001. Ever since then he has promised to hold elections but somehow that always falls through. Oh but he has promise to try again next year.
So Bushes claim that Musharraf “understands that extremists can be defeated by freedom and democracy and prosperity and better education,” all the things the people of Pakistan lack, is hysterical and sad bordering on the ridiculous. And it invites the question: does Bush ever, ever, ever, live in the same world as the rest of us? Is it possible to be this divorced from reality and not be on some sort of mind altering drug? And yes this is a serious question, not one designed to poke fun of our somewhat intellectually hobbled head of state.
And it begs another question: if Bush and his Neo-con infested Administration are so keen on bringing democracy to the down-trodden masses of the Asia and the Middle East, why not Pakistan a place where most able-bodied terrorists are hatched? Is it that Musharraf is seeking a small measure of legitimacy for his illegitimate regime by helping the U.S. whose power, prestige, and influence slips a little more everyday Bush is in office? Any halfwit who has been paying even the slightest attention to the world knows that Musharraf is taking only baby steps toward stamping out the terrorist assembly-line now turning out aspirant Muslim extremists at an alarming pace. But not Bush.
“Only hours before Bush's appearance, the Pakistani government cracked down on political leaders and others planning to protest the president's visit. In the city of Rawalpindi, about 10 miles from Islamabad, police arrested about 20 members of Tehrik-e-Insaaf, a small political party, as they staged a noisy but peaceful demonstration, beating some of them with bamboo sticks as foreign journalists and camera crews recorded the scene.” Sounds like democracy to me…
Whenever Bush embarrasses our country before the world—and lets face it, it’s every time he opens his mouth—I used to find solace in the fact that my votes were not cast his way in either election. But as the time wears on and our country sheds it principles one-by-one and loses its moral center, I no longer find comfort in the words: “Don’t Blame Me, I Voted for Kerry!”
WP: White House targets media leaks - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com
WP: White House targets media leaks - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com
Is there anyone left on the country that still thinks the Bush Administration is not a threat to our very way of life in this country? Nothing is off-limits to this man and his quest to morph American into a defacto dictatorship. Somehow knowing I didn’t vote for him brings me little solace…
Is there anyone left on the country that still thinks the Bush Administration is not a threat to our very way of life in this country? Nothing is off-limits to this man and his quest to morph American into a defacto dictatorship. Somehow knowing I didn’t vote for him brings me little solace…
Friday, March 03, 2006
CNN.com - New Florida town would restrict abortion - Mar 2, 2006
CNN.com - New Florida town would restrict abortion - Mar 2, 2006
Isn’t this interesting, the forces of religious fundamentalism are on the march in Florida with the blessing of the governor. And America continues down the road to fractionalization based on cultural and moral differences. We are no longer one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The battle lines are being drawn, is a religious inspired Civil War at hand?
Isn’t this interesting, the forces of religious fundamentalism are on the march in Florida with the blessing of the governor. And America continues down the road to fractionalization based on cultural and moral differences. We are no longer one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The battle lines are being drawn, is a religious inspired Civil War at hand?
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Much Ado Over Nothing?
Oh the trials and tribulations of the embattled Bush Administration; if it is not one thing its another; in this case the rising and rather rancorous debate over Dubai Ports World’s assumption of the terminal operations in six American ports. With visions of terrorists dancing in their wee little heads, Congressman and women took to the airwaves in strenuous opposition. I say it all much ado over nothing.
This all began when Dubai Ports World a state-owned company based United Arab Emirates (UAE) bought London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., which current runs the terminals in the American ports in question. Peninsular and Oriental runs commercial operations at ports in Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami.
The initial reports had had internationally helmed Dubai Ports World taking over the ports in their entire, or at least gave the impression that that would transpire. Predictably the Democrats accused the Administration of compromising America’s port security. And the Republicans not wanting to be left scratching their legacies on an issue of National Security quickly and amazingly, piled on, in (very) rare bi-cameral, bi-partisan unison, bashing Bush and threatening to pass legislation to stop the deal.
Bush quickly countered that he would, gasp, veto such a bill. And later, yesterday, we all learned that Bush knew nothing about the bill until he learned about it in the news; boy that inspires confidence in his leadership, and stewardship of our government.
But the real story of the port operations is a lot less dramatic then they would have use believe; in other words my fellow Americans we are bring duped and manipulated again.
Here is the 411 on the ports: All American ports (foreign ports as well) are divided into terminals (a pier where ships tie up and off-load and or load cargo), with each terminal then being leased to a company or set of companies to manage on a daily basis. Security is still managed by the U.S. Customs Enforcement Agency, and the U.S. Coast Guard, and the employees on the docks are overwhelmingly American.
For example, the Port of New York and New Jersey, which is jointly owned and run by the two states under the guise of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The port has six terminals, which the Port Authority leases out. Two of the terminals are leased to American companies, and the rest are leased to foreign run companies. Dubai Ports World, which runs terminals in other countries, would lease one terminal in partnership with a Danish firm which is already in place. Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. currently holds the lease. In addition Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. also holds leases to terminals in six other east coast ports.
According to a report from National Public Radio (NPR), roughly 40% of the terminals on the eastern seaboard of the United States are managed by foreign companies, while 90% of the terminals on the West coast are leased to foreign companies, including a large percentage to Communist China.
So as you can see, Dubai Ports World would hardly be “running” the ports; they would in fact be running the operations of a terminal, or terminals within the port. Much ado about nothing? You decide. It would appear to me as though Congress and the majority of the American media are getting the story wrong. For the politicians the doom-and-gloom spin is probably 70% spin and 30% ignorance. As far as the media is concerned (NPR and PBS are the exceptions), there is no excuse for the gross misinformation and resulting hysteria.
This all began when Dubai Ports World a state-owned company based United Arab Emirates (UAE) bought London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., which current runs the terminals in the American ports in question. Peninsular and Oriental runs commercial operations at ports in Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami.
The initial reports had had internationally helmed Dubai Ports World taking over the ports in their entire, or at least gave the impression that that would transpire. Predictably the Democrats accused the Administration of compromising America’s port security. And the Republicans not wanting to be left scratching their legacies on an issue of National Security quickly and amazingly, piled on, in (very) rare bi-cameral, bi-partisan unison, bashing Bush and threatening to pass legislation to stop the deal.
Bush quickly countered that he would, gasp, veto such a bill. And later, yesterday, we all learned that Bush knew nothing about the bill until he learned about it in the news; boy that inspires confidence in his leadership, and stewardship of our government.
But the real story of the port operations is a lot less dramatic then they would have use believe; in other words my fellow Americans we are bring duped and manipulated again.
Here is the 411 on the ports: All American ports (foreign ports as well) are divided into terminals (a pier where ships tie up and off-load and or load cargo), with each terminal then being leased to a company or set of companies to manage on a daily basis. Security is still managed by the U.S. Customs Enforcement Agency, and the U.S. Coast Guard, and the employees on the docks are overwhelmingly American.
For example, the Port of New York and New Jersey, which is jointly owned and run by the two states under the guise of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The port has six terminals, which the Port Authority leases out. Two of the terminals are leased to American companies, and the rest are leased to foreign run companies. Dubai Ports World, which runs terminals in other countries, would lease one terminal in partnership with a Danish firm which is already in place. Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. currently holds the lease. In addition Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. also holds leases to terminals in six other east coast ports.
According to a report from National Public Radio (NPR), roughly 40% of the terminals on the eastern seaboard of the United States are managed by foreign companies, while 90% of the terminals on the West coast are leased to foreign companies, including a large percentage to Communist China.
So as you can see, Dubai Ports World would hardly be “running” the ports; they would in fact be running the operations of a terminal, or terminals within the port. Much ado about nothing? You decide. It would appear to me as though Congress and the majority of the American media are getting the story wrong. For the politicians the doom-and-gloom spin is probably 70% spin and 30% ignorance. As far as the media is concerned (NPR and PBS are the exceptions), there is no excuse for the gross misinformation and resulting hysteria.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Accused Holocaust denier gets 3 years - Europe - MSNBC.com
Accused Holocaust denier gets 3 years - Europe - MSNBC.com
Now people are being arrested and thrown in jail for their opinions? Does this sound like the principles of a free and open society, even if it is in Europe? Denying the Holocaust ever took place certainly brands David Irving and ignoramus, but a criminal, I don’t think so.
No rational learned person will deny the German atrocities of World War II, after all they are well cataloged in photos and in (German) writings; the Germans after all kept very detailed records of what they were doing and why. Their records coupled with those of the Allies as they liberated the Nazi death camps, and the eye witness accounts of the Holocaust survivors, Jewish and otherwise, will forever mark 1938 -1945 as one of the darkest, if not the darkest, periods of man’s short existence on this planet.
But cataloging the atrocities has not been a bulwark against it happening again and again and again, while the world waits and watches, reluctant to do anything except talk about it happenstance. And while the United Nations talks, and bickers, and hesitates, millions more people have died at the hands of those who practice Genocide; do Serbia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Sudan, and Croatia ring a bell?
And it is ironic that Europe, including Austria, has historically and habitually thrown their support behind the Palestinians and other Arab groups that seek to ouster Israel from its now well established home on the banks of the Mediterranean. And correct me if I am wrong but don’t some of the group supporting the Palestinians in their cause, just or no, deny the Holocaust ever took place. Can you spell Hamas?
So excuse me if I think it a might bit hypocritical and nonsensical for the Austrians to throw a man in jail for three years because he dared write a book and made two speeches calling into question the passage of the Holocaust some 17 years ago.
Whatever happened to freedom of expression and of speech? In light of the current carton debacle this sentence is laughable. Or is derision reserved for those with brown skin? Yes, the Holocaust was horrific, but denying its rightful place in the annals of human history should brand one a criminal.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Sunday, February 19, 2006
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Abbas warns of financial crisis
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Abbas warns of financial crisis
Ahh, the old ode “you lie down with dogs you wake up with fleas,” has never been more apt. I have heard throughout the press that the poor, average Palestinian people are going to suffer because the (cash) aid will be cut off by the West. But isn’t it the poor average Palestinian people who vote for Hamas in the first place? Should the West support an avowed terrorist group that has killed hundreds of innocent Israelis and no doubt some Americans? I don’t think I want my tax money supporting such a group of murders, do you?
I think its past time for the Arab world to step up and support their Palestinian brethren with more than just angry words and empty rhetoric designed to inflame the ignorant mind.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Greenland's glaciers losing ice at faster rate - Science - MSNBC.com
Greenland's glaciers losing ice at faster rate - Science - MSNBC.com
Anyone not living under a rock will attest to the fact that this winter has been a crazy, wild ride. Just today in Chicago we had thunderstorms! Thunderstorms in the middle of February! What is it going to take before the United States starts to take this growing problem seriously, when New York City is under fifty feet of water and Long Island is all but a memory? The threat is real and it isn’t going away.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
The Real State of Our Union as Seen Through the Eyes of an Average American
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient...US CONST, Art II, § 3
The President gave his State of The Union Address on January 31, which painted an overly optimistic and largely false picture of the true state of our Republic. He said our Republic was sound when the sane among us know that it is anything but.
My fellow Americans I believe the state of our union is weak, perhaps as weak as it has been at anytime in our history save the period preceding the Civil War in 1861. The problems vexing the nation are many and complex, but our government(s) and people seem to lack the political and moral will to resolve them. As the nation becomes more culturally diversified, we are pulling further and further apart as a society, and nothing can be agreed to without a fight; the spirit of compromise and mutual respect that are supposed to mark a great working democracy, is vanishing. And this disunity of purpose across a broad range of issues leaves the nation vulnerable to all manner of negative internal and external influences that play on emotions at the expense of intellect informed by the principles that founded this nation, and the Constitution.
The Rising Threat of the Christian Right
While we fight the unending battle with Islamic fundamentalism that threatens our way of life from without, the rise of Christian fundamentalism here at home threatens our Republican Democracy from within. The continued matrimony of religion and politics across the broad spectrum of American politics threats our very way of life.
Abortion, Pray in Schools, the Pledge of Allegiance, Gay Marriage, The Ten Commandments in the public square, Stem Cell research, Intelligent Design, Abstinence only Sex Education, Terry Schivo(sp), and the Air Force religious regulations are all part of the Fundamentalists Christian Right’s crusade to fashion an America to their liking. The Christian Right see an America where the Constitution is but a quaint document whose time has come; who needs a document fashioned by flesh and blood man who is after all fallible, when we have the Holy Bible fashioned by God—a God no one has ever seen, and no one can prove even exists I hasten to add—to guide us. Sound familiar?
The irony is that the real threat to our American way of life, our American Dream, comes not so much from without, as the Bush Administration would have us all believe, but from within, which is the way all great civilizations have fallen. Fundamentalism is born of conservative thought, and conservative thought seeks the status quo in order to keep those in power, well in power. Fundamentalist hate changes in the form of progress because it weakens their power base by spreading the wealth so-to-speak. A civilization has never prospered under the thumb of Fundamentalism, and evidence of America’s backward slide is palpable in almost every facet of society.
I believe that religions were and are formed by men seeking to subjugate others (traditionally women ad minorities), and maintain power for themselves. Christianity’s noble underpinnings and principles have long been perverted by those with less than noble intent.
And as we (America) dwell on the false issues that the Fundamentalists bring to the table, which by the way are all of matter of freedom of choice, or fall well within well establish constitutionally established doctrine, the nations real problems remain unaddressed, and are allowed to fester. The doctrine of Separation of Church and State is a sound one based on history and Constitutional underpinnings, and the wall separating the two should not be allowed to be breached further.
The Culture of Corruption and Incompetence
Our president is a liar, and hence corrupted! The political talking heads on the Sunday morning talk show dance around the word by calling Bush’s statement misleading, but the man—a professed born again Christian, an Evangelical—is a lair. He lied about the reasons we went to war with Iraq; he lied about the intelligence he used to justify his little war; he lied about the cost of the Medicare Reform Act; he lied about the governments response to Hurricane Katrina; he lied about the NSA’s domestic spying program; he lied about knowing Jack Abramoff; the man is a liar. And if that were not bad enough, Bush is incompetent and the twin maladies have pervaded the entire government.
The Senate is broken and what we witnessed this past week is further evidence of its demise. –Senator John McCain
We know have a Culture of Corruption and Incompetence that seems to have pervaded the American government at all levels. If Clinton taught American teens that oral sex was no big deal, Bush has taught Republican politicians that it’s alright to lie, and be totally incompetent. But it’s alright, because apparently more then half the electorate (those with deep fundamentalist Christian roots) doesn’t seem to mind as long as you label the opposition amoral. It’s apparently more important to the Evangelicals (fundamentalists Christian) to have a candidate who opposes abortion than it is to have one who tells the truth and abides by the Constitution. Never mind that he has sinned by lying. It’s more important to talk about being moral than it is to actually exhibit the behavior yourself. It doesn’t seem to matter to more than half of the American populace that their government, on all levels, is increasingly failing them, as along as Jane Roe cannot have an abortion, and those darn Gays aren’t allowed to marry.
What was Medicare Part D? What was Katrina? What was the Energy Bill? Surely these are signs of growing government corruption and incompetence. The Senate, once widely respected as the world’s most deliberative body is dysfunctional; so too is the House of Representatives. And the federal courts are slowly declining because Congress fails to act on filling vacancies and giving the courts the funding they need; shameful!
Whatever happened to intellectual discourse guided by mutual respect and a common goal? What ever happened to shared values and the “can do” culture that used to exemplify America? What has happened to our national pride? Do our founding principles no longer matter to the vast majority of us?
What Cost Liberty?
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. –Benjamin Franklin
Across this great land our Fundamental (Constitutional) Rights as guaranteed under the federal constitution are being eroded both by the state and federal governments and by the people as we seek security at any cost. Once again, our society faces the greatest threat from within. It is not the terrorist who will strip or Constitution of its meaning and influence in the name of security, it’s our own government.
The USA Patriot Act (how ironically named), and the domestic spying debacle are just two examples of government morphing slowly into Big Brother. The NSA has been spying on Americans for some four years now without our knowledge; what else is the Bush White House up to without our knowledge? Are we as a nation really willing to sacrifice liberty at the alter of security at any cost. And once we achieve that security, what value will it be if we are not a free society?
Growing Leadership Vacuum
The signs of our demise are all around us, if we only care to look. And we lack the leadership to safety navigate the morass. Laura Bush recently stated that Senator Hillary Clinton should show some empathy when discussing the current occupant of the White House. Why? Its time to start calling a spade a spade; Bush is no leader; he is in fact a follower, a puppet, a face. The real power lies behind the man, and that is the problem. The President has to be his own man, he has to be a leader, and Bush is not; he is incompetent, inarticulate, and ill-suited to the job. Bush is a dullard, he lacks the vision and wisdom needed to fulfill the mission at hand, and We The People and the country are the losers. His Presidency should go down in history as the worse since the Grant Administration(s) following the Civil War.
And this lack of leadership does not confine itself the White House, it pervades the Congress, and the state government as well, with every few exceptions. Oh if we only had a leader! Bush is long on rhetoric and short on substance. What again is hybrid animal-human cloning?
In closing my fellow Americans, I state for the record, that the state of our nation is weak and decomposing by the day. From failing primary education to an ever increasing dependence on foreign oil; from incompetent and dysfunctional government to the rise of Evangelical Christianity and all that purports; from the War in Iraq, to the decreasing American influence abroad; from the growing immigration situation to the lack of leadership to resolve it; from the growing lower class, to the continued decay of our major cities; from the continued erosion of our manufacturing base to the growing health care crisis; from our ballooning national debt to our ballooning trade imbalance, we are a nation tittering on the edge of collapse; we are not sound by any measure…
The President gave his State of The Union Address on January 31, which painted an overly optimistic and largely false picture of the true state of our Republic. He said our Republic was sound when the sane among us know that it is anything but.
My fellow Americans I believe the state of our union is weak, perhaps as weak as it has been at anytime in our history save the period preceding the Civil War in 1861. The problems vexing the nation are many and complex, but our government(s) and people seem to lack the political and moral will to resolve them. As the nation becomes more culturally diversified, we are pulling further and further apart as a society, and nothing can be agreed to without a fight; the spirit of compromise and mutual respect that are supposed to mark a great working democracy, is vanishing. And this disunity of purpose across a broad range of issues leaves the nation vulnerable to all manner of negative internal and external influences that play on emotions at the expense of intellect informed by the principles that founded this nation, and the Constitution.
The Rising Threat of the Christian Right
While we fight the unending battle with Islamic fundamentalism that threatens our way of life from without, the rise of Christian fundamentalism here at home threatens our Republican Democracy from within. The continued matrimony of religion and politics across the broad spectrum of American politics threats our very way of life.
Abortion, Pray in Schools, the Pledge of Allegiance, Gay Marriage, The Ten Commandments in the public square, Stem Cell research, Intelligent Design, Abstinence only Sex Education, Terry Schivo(sp), and the Air Force religious regulations are all part of the Fundamentalists Christian Right’s crusade to fashion an America to their liking. The Christian Right see an America where the Constitution is but a quaint document whose time has come; who needs a document fashioned by flesh and blood man who is after all fallible, when we have the Holy Bible fashioned by God—a God no one has ever seen, and no one can prove even exists I hasten to add—to guide us. Sound familiar?
The irony is that the real threat to our American way of life, our American Dream, comes not so much from without, as the Bush Administration would have us all believe, but from within, which is the way all great civilizations have fallen. Fundamentalism is born of conservative thought, and conservative thought seeks the status quo in order to keep those in power, well in power. Fundamentalist hate changes in the form of progress because it weakens their power base by spreading the wealth so-to-speak. A civilization has never prospered under the thumb of Fundamentalism, and evidence of America’s backward slide is palpable in almost every facet of society.
I believe that religions were and are formed by men seeking to subjugate others (traditionally women ad minorities), and maintain power for themselves. Christianity’s noble underpinnings and principles have long been perverted by those with less than noble intent.
And as we (America) dwell on the false issues that the Fundamentalists bring to the table, which by the way are all of matter of freedom of choice, or fall well within well establish constitutionally established doctrine, the nations real problems remain unaddressed, and are allowed to fester. The doctrine of Separation of Church and State is a sound one based on history and Constitutional underpinnings, and the wall separating the two should not be allowed to be breached further.
The Culture of Corruption and Incompetence
Our president is a liar, and hence corrupted! The political talking heads on the Sunday morning talk show dance around the word by calling Bush’s statement misleading, but the man—a professed born again Christian, an Evangelical—is a lair. He lied about the reasons we went to war with Iraq; he lied about the intelligence he used to justify his little war; he lied about the cost of the Medicare Reform Act; he lied about the governments response to Hurricane Katrina; he lied about the NSA’s domestic spying program; he lied about knowing Jack Abramoff; the man is a liar. And if that were not bad enough, Bush is incompetent and the twin maladies have pervaded the entire government.
The Senate is broken and what we witnessed this past week is further evidence of its demise. –Senator John McCain
We know have a Culture of Corruption and Incompetence that seems to have pervaded the American government at all levels. If Clinton taught American teens that oral sex was no big deal, Bush has taught Republican politicians that it’s alright to lie, and be totally incompetent. But it’s alright, because apparently more then half the electorate (those with deep fundamentalist Christian roots) doesn’t seem to mind as long as you label the opposition amoral. It’s apparently more important to the Evangelicals (fundamentalists Christian) to have a candidate who opposes abortion than it is to have one who tells the truth and abides by the Constitution. Never mind that he has sinned by lying. It’s more important to talk about being moral than it is to actually exhibit the behavior yourself. It doesn’t seem to matter to more than half of the American populace that their government, on all levels, is increasingly failing them, as along as Jane Roe cannot have an abortion, and those darn Gays aren’t allowed to marry.
What was Medicare Part D? What was Katrina? What was the Energy Bill? Surely these are signs of growing government corruption and incompetence. The Senate, once widely respected as the world’s most deliberative body is dysfunctional; so too is the House of Representatives. And the federal courts are slowly declining because Congress fails to act on filling vacancies and giving the courts the funding they need; shameful!
Whatever happened to intellectual discourse guided by mutual respect and a common goal? What ever happened to shared values and the “can do” culture that used to exemplify America? What has happened to our national pride? Do our founding principles no longer matter to the vast majority of us?
What Cost Liberty?
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. –Benjamin Franklin
Across this great land our Fundamental (Constitutional) Rights as guaranteed under the federal constitution are being eroded both by the state and federal governments and by the people as we seek security at any cost. Once again, our society faces the greatest threat from within. It is not the terrorist who will strip or Constitution of its meaning and influence in the name of security, it’s our own government.
The USA Patriot Act (how ironically named), and the domestic spying debacle are just two examples of government morphing slowly into Big Brother. The NSA has been spying on Americans for some four years now without our knowledge; what else is the Bush White House up to without our knowledge? Are we as a nation really willing to sacrifice liberty at the alter of security at any cost. And once we achieve that security, what value will it be if we are not a free society?
Growing Leadership Vacuum
The signs of our demise are all around us, if we only care to look. And we lack the leadership to safety navigate the morass. Laura Bush recently stated that Senator Hillary Clinton should show some empathy when discussing the current occupant of the White House. Why? Its time to start calling a spade a spade; Bush is no leader; he is in fact a follower, a puppet, a face. The real power lies behind the man, and that is the problem. The President has to be his own man, he has to be a leader, and Bush is not; he is incompetent, inarticulate, and ill-suited to the job. Bush is a dullard, he lacks the vision and wisdom needed to fulfill the mission at hand, and We The People and the country are the losers. His Presidency should go down in history as the worse since the Grant Administration(s) following the Civil War.
And this lack of leadership does not confine itself the White House, it pervades the Congress, and the state government as well, with every few exceptions. Oh if we only had a leader! Bush is long on rhetoric and short on substance. What again is hybrid animal-human cloning?
In closing my fellow Americans, I state for the record, that the state of our nation is weak and decomposing by the day. From failing primary education to an ever increasing dependence on foreign oil; from incompetent and dysfunctional government to the rise of Evangelical Christianity and all that purports; from the War in Iraq, to the decreasing American influence abroad; from the growing immigration situation to the lack of leadership to resolve it; from the growing lower class, to the continued decay of our major cities; from the continued erosion of our manufacturing base to the growing health care crisis; from our ballooning national debt to our ballooning trade imbalance, we are a nation tittering on the edge of collapse; we are not sound by any measure…
Saturday, February 11, 2006
TIME.com: Miss Independent -- Feb. 13, 2006
TIME.com: Miss Independent -- Feb. 13, 2006 -- Page 1
I think Kelly Clarkson is enormously talented, but that on her second CD Breakaway that talent was somewhat eclipsed by the driving rock beats that accompanied her. The lyrics of the song themselves are worthy of mention and Ms. Clarkson shows some amazing emotional depth in their creation, but her beautiful voice was smothered loudness.
I enjoyed Thankful—Ms. Clarkson’s first release—far more than Breakaway and I only hope we get to hear more of her voice on her next release. Rock has never been to my tastes and perhaps that is part of the problem. BTW, the black jumper would work better if Kelly has a little more (well a lot more) upstairs to put in it.
Friday, February 10, 2006
CNN.com - Brown says he's been made Katrina scapegoat? - Feb 10, 2006
CNN.com - Brown says he's been made Katrina scapegoat! - Feb 10, 2006
Where it wine and cheese? But he is right and wrong.
The man was incredibly incompetent, and the bush Administration did make him the scapegoat for the unbelievable, stupefying, and embarrassing failures of leadership leading up to, during, and following Katrina. Who would have thought our government—at all levels—could fail so miserably!
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