One Giant Leap for Mankind

It's been a long time sinse I have read something that made me happy dance about my living room. This had me doing a jig with glee!

Iowa stepped up to the plate and smacked the racist ball out of the park.

An Iowa district court ruled Thursday that same-sex couples can marry based on the state constitution's guarantee of equal treatment, court documents show.
The ruling was in response to a December 2005 lawsuit brought by six same-sex couples seeking to wed. They were denied marriage licenses and claimed such treatment violates equal-protection and due-process clauses in the Iowa constitution.
The court also struck down a state law declaring valid marriages are only between a man and woman.
The Iowa District Court for Polk County advances the case to the Iowa Supreme Court which will make a final decision on same-sex marriage, according to Lambda Legal, a gay and lesbian legal organization representing the couples.
The 63-page ruling, written by Judge Robert Hanson states: "Couples, such as plaintiffs, who are otherwise qualified to marry one another may not be denied licenses to marry or certificates of marriage or in any other way prevented from entering into a civil marriage pursuant to Iowa Code Chapter 595 by reason of the fact that both persons compromising such a couple are of the same sex."
The law describing marriage as between a man and a woman, "constitutes the most intrusive means by the state to regulate marriage. This statute is an absolute prohibition on the ability of gay and lesbian individuals to marry a person of their choosing," Hanson wrote.

My son wrote a song that has the line, "Personality is all that I see." That one line sums up my hope for the world. Can you imagine a world where we didn't see color, religion - or even the lack of, sexuality, nationality? The world would not be perfect, but it would be wonderful!

I am hoping that the rest of the states embrace what is left of the Constitution and follows suit. I am hoping that is truly a "giant leap for mankind."

A toast to Iowa!

War Oil Treason - The Real WOT

In the last few days, amid Craig news, we have been beaten with the "Benchmarks" that the Iraqi government has failed to achieve. Three out of eighteen were. Bush is demanding, without yet seeing this report, that we give his "surge" more time to work. He's also demanding another 50 billion (yep! That's dollars) for his little war, all the while eyeing Iran.
With that in mind, think about this little benchmark:

Allow two-thirds of Iraq’s oil fields to be developed by private oil corporations. In contrast, the oil industry has been nationalized in every other major Middle Eastern producer for over 30 years.

Place governing decisions over oil in a new body known as the Iraqi Federal Oil and Gas Council, which may include foreign oil companies;

Open the door for foreign oil companies to lock up decades-long deals now, when the Iraqi government is at its weakest.

Ah the pivotal benchmark that has not been met!

We are not at war with Iraq. That now is certain. We are holding them hostage. And, with Iran years from a nuclear weapon, no wonder Bush is eyeing them so closely and taking every opportunity to point at Iran and blame. No nukes and lots of oil!

The left has insisted this war was not a war of terror, but a war for oil. We have been called anti-American. We have been been told we hate the troops and do not support them. We have been laughed at and ridiculed. Even though, we were absolutely right.

If you think about it, the only ones Bush and Co. has been able to hold hostage with his wars and his fear mongering are the right wings that, unfortunately, help occupy this country.

To Tell the Truth... or Not?

I got the biggest kick out of this article and then felt compelled to share.

The big question for today’s ex-stoners: Should I tell my kid that I’ve gotten high?

I spent six years in the Navy, enlisted at seventeen. My mother, who was a saint (just ask here, she'll tell you all about it!) So, at seventeen, coming from a drinking and smoking (cigarettes) family and being told "Don't do drugs! They will make you loopy." I enlisted and breezed through boot camp (Dad was obsessive compulsive) then it was off to air crew school. I was one of seven children - smack dab in the middle to be exact. I was a mousy child, quiet (stop laughing) shy and reserved. Then I graduated.

Feeling like I had spent my entire life under a thumb, I was now, finally free with a massive ego to boot. If anyone out there thinks I was an angel, think again.

My roommate and best friend rented a little house right on Pensacola beach and I bought an older Porche 911, mint green. I was seventeen.

Now, let's fast forward. I have two sons that thanks to their disappearing dad, I raised alone. I was three months pregnant with my youngest when he split. My oldest, now a coasty, took life in stride. He never questioned, helped, got great grades and was never a moments problem. My youngest (and my retirement plan) questioned everything. He wasn't a disciplinary problem by any stretch of the imagination. But he was inquisitive and asked about my "pre-parental" life. He asked about his cocaine addicted father and several other almost embarrassing, probing questions.

Well, here's the question. What would you do if your child asked you straight out if you ever smoked pot? Anything harder? Would you lie? Would you tell the truth? I know what I did.

Poems from Gitmo

Housed at Guantanamo Bay, are a group of people, enemy combatants is what this administration likes to call them. I prefer people. Some are just poor farm workers that were in the wrong place at the wrong time, some were sold. It's a known fact that the U.S. offered cash money to those who would point out a "terrorist".

Many of these people have been incarcerated for as many as five years, never being charged, never allowed council. No hope, no future, just growing anger and resentment, fear, torture.

Their future is bleak and their forgiveness of an arrogant nation almost non existent.

This is about seventeen of those "enemy combatants."

Freedom is spent, time is up –
Tears have rent my sorrow's cup;
Home is cage, and cage is steel,
Thus manifest reality's unreal.

Moazzam Begg

This is a poem written by one of seventeen poets residing at Gitmo. A thin book has emerged containing poetry written by these detainees.

Most are refused pen and paper, some of these poets took to using pebbles to scratch words on a Styrofoam cup.


For years, the Pentagon refused to declassify any of the writing.

They described poems as "a special risk", because they could contain coded messages.

The passages in Poems from Guantanamo were cleared before the Pentagon realised they would wind up in a book.

Falkoff, who is also the editor of the book, said the Pentagon has refused to clear any additional poems in the last year or so.

He said: "We believe that they've made an effort just to keep this book from coming into print."

Commander JD Gordan, a Pentagon spokesman, said the detainees "have attempted to use this medium as merely another tool in their battle of ideas against Western democracies".

(snip)

Take my blood,
Take my death shroud and
the remnants of my body.
Take photographs of my corpse at the grave, lonely.

Other Guantanamo inmates have used poetry to express their anger with the US government that holds them captive.

Falkoff said: "There's some strong language, though, and I did not excise that. It's included in here."

An excerpt from Humiliated in the Shackles, by al-Haj, reads:

America, you ride on the backs of orphans,
And terrorize them daily.
Bush beware.
The world recognizes an arrogant liar.

These writings give us a rare glimpse into the minds of these detainees. Some have hope, some crave death, some angry, all showing their humanity, their fears and frustration.

Bedtime For Gonzo

"It has been one of my greatest privileges to lead the department of justice."

Alberto Gonzales August 27th 2007


And what a great leader he was!

He lead left leaning US Federal Prosecutors right out of their jobs.
He lead a nation, who prides itself on being moral and just, to redefine torture and not only allow it, embrace it.
He lead that same country to go against all that we stand for by banishing the term "POW" from this disaster that is called the "War on Terror". They, now being referred to as "Enemy Combatants", do not fall under the same rights as Prisoners of War. These "enemies" have no rights.

(Bush) called Gonzales a man of integrity, decency and principle. He said he had been reluctant to accept the resignation, which came after "months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction at the justice department".

He would see it that way... wouldn't he?

So, good bye Gonzo. It's nice to know that you stayed true to the bushies form. You lied, were about to get caught, then bolted and ran for cover. You Helped in the destruction of the American Constitution. You have raped and pillaged every single American right and liberty. You helped the American people feel nice and safe as you sought, and won, to remove every ounce of dignity and privacy they had. You, with your fingerprint on the detainee bill, helped this country become even more hated. You proved to those who didn't like us, that they had solid ground to hate.

Oh, sleep well Gonzo you did the kings bidding and like many before you, paid the price. I certainly hope the pay was worth the destruction of a county.

Sweet dreams, and may you and all of your destructors of human life and democracy rot in hell. May the door hit you squarely in ass on your way out.

Bushco's War on Terror Report Card

If we are to truly understand the War on Terror and it's effects, we must first understand the word.

Terror:
1 : a state of intense fear
2 a : one that inspires fear : SCOURGE b : a frightening aspect c : a cause of anxiety : WORRY d : an appalling person or thing; especially : BRAT
3 : REIGN OF TERROR
4 : violent or destructive acts (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demand


Now, we have all heard that we Americans are fighting a vital war on terror. We have heard that this war is helping us in our quest for safety.

But, is it?

Bush may not listen to the experts but I think it's a good idea none-the-less. Foreign Policy and the Center for American Progress once again turned to the very people who have run the United States national security apparatus during the past half century. Surveying more than 100 of America’s top foreign-policy experts—Republicans and Democrats alike.

This is what they had to say:

*Six years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, just 29 percent of Americans believe the United States is winning the war on terror—the lowest percentage at any point since 9/11. More than 60 percent of Americans now say that the decision to invade Iraq was a mistake.

*The world these experts see today is one that continues to grow more threatening. Fully 91 percent say the world is becoming more dangerous for Americans and the United States, up 10 percentage points since February. Eighty-four percent do not believe the United States is winning the war on terror, an increase of 9 percentage points from six months ago. More than 80 percent expect a terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11 within a decade, a result that is more or less unchanged from one year ago.

*Nearly every foreign policy of the U.S. government—from domestic surveillance activities and the detention of terrorist suspects at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to U.S. energy policies and efforts in the Middle East peace process—was sharply criticized by the experts. More than 6 in 10 experts, for instance, believe U.S. energy policies are negatively affecting the country’s national security. The experts were similarly critical of the CIA’s rendition of terrorist suspects to countries known to torture prisoners and the Pentagon’s policy of trying detainees before military tribunals.

*No effort of the U.S. government was more harshly criticized, however, than the war in Iraq. In fact, that conflict appears to be the root cause of the experts’ pessimism about the state of national security. Nearly all—92 percent—of the index’s experts said the war in Iraq negatively affects U.S. national security, an increase of 5 percentage points from a year ago. Negative perceptions of the war in Iraq are shared across the political spectrum, with 84 percent of those who describe themselves as conservative taking a dim view of the war’s impact.

*More than half say the surge is having a negative impact on U.S. national security, up 22 percentage points from just six months ago. This sentiment was shared across party lines, with 64 percent of conservative experts saying the surge is having either a negative impact or no impact at all. When the experts were asked to grade the government’s handling of the Iraq war, the news was even worse. They gave the overall effort in Iraq an average point score of just 2.9 on a 10-point scale. The government’s public diplomacy record was the only policy that scored lower.

These are just snip-its of the entire article. I'd be more that happy to send it to Bush, but I don't think he can read.

King Clueless Spins Again!

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush insisted Saturday his new war strategy in Iraq showed promise but needed more time to bear fruit as the White House fought to rebuff calls for a withdrawal of US troops.

"We are still in the early stages of our new operations," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "But the success of the past couple of months have shown that conditions on the ground can change -- and they are changing."

In a clear jab at critics demanding a drawdown of US troops, Bush added: "We cannot expect the new strategy we are carrying out to bring success overnight."

Once again, as if a broken record, this man is demanding that we give him more time. More time to do what? Kill innocent Iraqi's? Stretch our troops farther? Stash more oil for blood cash? What exactly?

And once again, we are hearing the "but this is going swimmingly" speech. But, is it?

"We cannot expect the new strategy we are carrying out to bring success overnight."Over night?

Let's see... we invaded, bombed this innocent country last night?

Unfortunately for King Clueless and it's mate, the Iraqi's and the sane beg to differ.

This year's U.S. troop buildup has succeeded in bringing violence in Baghdad down from peak levels, but the death toll from sectarian attacks around the country is running nearly double the pace from a year ago.

Some of the recent bloodshed appears the result of militant fighters drifting into parts of northern Iraq, where they have fled after U.S.-led offensives. Baghdad, however, still accounts for slightly more than half of all war-related killings — the same percentage as a year ago, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press.

The tallies and trends offer a sobering snapshot after an additional 30,000 U.S. troops began campaigns in February to regain control of the Baghdad area. It also highlights one of the major themes expected in next month's Iraq progress report to Congress: some military headway, but extremist factions are far from broken.

In street-level terms, it means life for average Iraqis appears to be even more perilous and unpredictable.


Maybe the right wing-nuts can see the justification here. I can not. Maybe for them, the evil Iraqi's deserve this, after all they did take out the twin towers... right?

How can anyone read the statistics, read the reports written by experts and still continue to follow blindly? Granted he is the least popular president in our history, but he is still perched on the high chair drooling and chanting to the dollar almighty.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

And This is the Way we Support Our Troops

Imagine living in a world or a country where doing the right thing, was wrong. Welcome to the land of Bushco!

If you saw a robbery, would you report it?

What if, in reporting that robbery, you were detained and tortured?

I know, this sounds a little too sci-fi to be real. Unfortunately, it isn't. It's happening now, today.

One after another, the men and women who have stepped forward to report corruption in the massive effort to rebuild Iraq have been vilified, fired and demoted.

Or worse.

For daring to report illegal arms sales, Navy veteran Donald Vance says he was imprisoned by the American military in a security compound outside Baghdad and subjected to harsh interrogation methods.

There were times, huddled on the floor in solitary confinement with that head-banging music blaring dawn to dusk and interrogators yelling the same questions over and over, that Vance began to wish he had just kept his mouth shut.

He had thought he was doing a good and noble thing when he started telling the FBI about the guns and the land mines and the rocket-launchers — all of them being sold for cash, no receipts necessary, he said. He told a federal agent the buyers were Iraqi insurgents, American soldiers, State Department workers, and Iraqi embassy and ministry employees.

The seller, he claimed, was the Iraqi-owned company he worked for, Shield Group Security Co.

“It was a Wal-Mart for guns,” he says. “It was all illegal and everyone knew it.”

So Vance says he blew the whistle, supplying photos and documents and other intelligence to an FBI agent in his hometown of Chicago because he didn’t know whom to trust in Iraq.

For his trouble, he says, he got 97 days in Camp Cropper, an American military prison outside Baghdad that once held Saddam Hussein, and he was classified a security detainee.

Also held was colleague Nathan Ertel, who helped Vance gather evidence documenting the sales, according to a federal lawsuit both have filed in Chicago, alleging they were illegally imprisoned and subjected to physical and mental interrogation tactics “reserved for terrorists and so-called enemy combatants.”

Why isn't this on the headline of every news station, every paper? Oh, that's right! We are living in the land of Bushco where reality does not exist. Where fear and domination reign. A kingdom that does not recognize human rights or human suffering.

The madness of King George, unfortunately, lives on.