Riot Erupts After Kabul Traffic Accident
By RAHIM FAIEZ, AP

KABUL, Afghanistan (May 29) - A deadly traffic accident involving U.S. troops sparked a riot in the Afghan capital on Monday, with U.S. and Afghan security forces firing on protesters, police and witnesses said. At least five people were killed and 60 injured.

Hundreds of protesters marched on the palace of U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai in the city center after the incident, shouting "Death to Karzai! Death to America!"

Gunfire was also heard near the U.S. Embassy. The staff was moved to a secure location within the heavily fortified compound, said Chris Harris, an embassy spokesman.

Good Afternoon Benji,

Glad to see you here this very fine day!!!!

How is the "Battle Hymn of The Republic" uncivil?

Thanks for the new thread too Tracy, enjoy your Holliday!

Tell Dr. Dean we are rallying and are working on a strategy....

Absolutely Howard after what bush has done in this war and to our country he and the GOP will pay a big price in the midterm elections.

Good afternoon, all.

These two posts need to be repeated here. I don't think anyone but the few of us who were posting on that old thread knew about the discussion that was going on there.

It's time for the good southerners to take back their states from the confederate aristocrats and their corporate (cheap labor) appeasers (DLC).

Posted by pee-wee on May 29, 2006 at 12:52 PM

Milton Mayer, They Thought They Were Free, The Germans, 1938-45 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955)

Posted by momoaizo on May 29, 2006 at 12:41 PM

Thanks for the book recommendations, momo. I need to read that one Jen told you about. And I also need to get off my slacker ass and get going with the voter registration work.

Posted by SandyH on May 29, 2006 at 12:54 PM

The south was wrong then and the south is wrong now. They need to get over it and unite with the rest of us! (unpatriotic bastards)
Posted by pee-wee on May 29, 2006 at 12:16 PM

No one ever said the Battle Hymn of the Republic was uncivil, but calling people names because they don't believe like you is very uncivil....

This isn't the open thread, it is ONE MORE DOWN

Memorial Day Open Thread, FYI

Guantanamo hunger strikers now number 75

By BEN FOX, Associated Press Writer 50 minutes ago

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The number of Guantanamo Bay detainees staging a hunger strike has grown from three to 75, the U.S. military said Monday, reflecting increasing defiance among men who have been held for up to 4 1/2 years, most without charges and with little contact with the outside world.

Navy Cmdr. Robert Durand said the ballooning number of hunger strikers was an "attention-getting" move that may be related to a May 18 clash between 10 detainees and 10 U.S. military guards in which six detainees were injured. The same day, two detainees also overdosed on anti-depressant drugs they had been hoarding. They have since regained consciousness.

"The hunger strike technique is consistent with al-Qaida practice and reflects detainee attempts to elicit media attention to bring international pressure on the United States to release them back to the battlefield," Durand said from the base...

//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060529/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/
guantanamo_hunger_strike

I thought the hunger strike technique was used by civil disobedience leaders like Ghandi?

Well, at least the good Navy commander has it right about Afganistan. It's become a battlefield again. How come none of these folks seem to appreciate all that we do for them in the name of freedom?

Oh, I see. Those who are still fighting "the lost cause" are patriotic?

DON'T BELIEVE THE LIE!

"Unfortunately, we know that President Bush chose to ignore an abundance of evidence prior to the start of the Iraq war that pointed to the strength of the insurgency and the challenges our troops would face.

Bush continues to ignore the abundance of evidence, just read what Bush said to the graduating cadets at West Point.

and if you are too, um...busy to click the link, here is the part that is truly troubling.

In Iraq, another tyrant chose to test America's resolve. Saddam Hussein was a dictator who had pursued and used weapons of mass destruction, he sponsored terrorists, invaded his neighbors, abused his people, deceived international inspectors, and refused to comply with more than a dozen United Nations resolutions. (Applause.) When the United Nations Security Council gave him one final chance to disclose and disarm, or face serious consequences, he refused to take that final opportunity. So coalition forces went into Iraq and removed his cruel regime. And today, Iraq's former dictator is on trial for his crimes -- and America and the world are better off because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power. (Applause.)

The soldiers went to war believing that there were WMD's and that Saddam Hussein would use them. Many gave their lives. I honor them but I am having a little trouble honoring what the President is saying.

To all the soldiers that gave their lives and also to the wounded, thank you for your service.

Please come home safe soon.

I believe that the majority of our problems stem from Corporate Welfare/Regulatory Capture/Federal Taxpayers Subsidies to Business:

Corporate welfare corrupts the political process. One perverse, but predictable outcome of a $100 billion-plus corporate welfare state is that industry begins to view Congress, rather than consumers, as their real customers. Moreover, industry has done an all effective job at protecting their subsidies.

This is from a TESTIMONY of Stephen Moore
Director of Fiscal Policy Studies Cato Institute
Washington, D.C. before the Budget Committee
U.S. House of Representatives Corporate Subsidies in the Federal Budget on June 30, 1999

The OPEN THREAD IS HERE

I want to take this day to give a special {{hug}} to all my fellow soldiers (marines,navy,AF,even the guard and reservists now realizing what it's like to serve FULL time 24/7 for the cause). No more weekend warriors indeed.

I only apologize that SOME of you got caught up in this illegal invasion and brainwashed into thinking it was some kind of holy war for the good of America! And not in fact for the corporate GREED of a small percentage of the top earners in this country.

I pray those of you that wish to return HOME will be able to do so and soon. I have no sympathy for the haters who joined only to "kill some foreigners" and have little patience with the brain dead parents of those good kids who were tricked into serving in this mess!

ALL others who have served with honor and dignity for the REAL causes of protecting this nation........... I salute you!

The BUCK for this SHAM stops at the TOP! We'll be investigating this fraud for years to come. I only hope GW and Chainsaw live long enough to be properly held accountable and driven to the nearest prison in chains!! where they belong! (rummy, condi,gonzalez and the others intimately involved as well)

KING GEORGE LIED! WOMEN AND CHILDREN DIED!

The BIG Picture

May 29, 2006 | A Chicago artist builds a memorial to those killed in Iraq. US military deaths in Iraq total 2,465 to date and in Afghanistan 235, reports the Department of Defense. Ten American soldiers were killed last week.
(Photo: The Chicago Tribune)

Military Deaths
The Los Angeles Times

Sunday 28 May 2006

The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq or who died at a US hospital of their injuries:

David R. Christoff Jr., 25, of Rossford, Ohio; sergeant, Marine Corps. Christoff was one of two Marines killed Monday when a roadside bomb exploded near them while on patrol in Iraq's Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Lee Hamilton Deal, 23, of West Monroe, Louisiana; petty officer third class, Navy. Deal was killed in combat May 17 while serving with the Marine Corps' Regimental Combat Team 5, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), in Iraq's Al Anbar province. He was permanently assigned to the 2nd Marine Division Fleet, Marine Force Atlantic at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Steven W. Freund, 20, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; private first class, Marine Corps. Freund was one of two Marines killed Tuesday when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee in Iraq's Al Anbar province. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

Michael L. Hermanson, 21, of Fargo, North Dakota; specialist, Army National Guard. Hermanson was killed Tuesday when his mine-protected vehicle was attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade and then came under small-arms fire while his unit was on patrol to clear roadside bombs near Balad, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 164th Engineer Battalion, Army National Guard in Minot, N.D.

William J. Leusink, 21, of Maurice, Iowa; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Leusink was one of two Marines killed Monday when a roadside bomb exploded near them while on patrol in Iraq's Al Anbar province. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Christian Longsworth, 26, of Newark, New Jersey; staff sergeant, Army. Longsworth was killed May 19 when his convoy was attacked with small-arms fire in central Afghanistan's Oruzgan province. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Kevin A. Lucas, 20, of Greensboro, North Carolina; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Lucas was killed in combat Friday in Iraq's Al Anbar province. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Caleb A. Lufkin, 24, of Knoxville, Illinois; private first class, Army. Lufkin died during surgery Thursday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to treat injuries he suffered May 4 when a roadside bomb exploded near his mine-protected vehicle in Baghdad. Two other soldiers also were killed. He was assigned to the 5th Engineer Battalion at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo.

Robert G. Posivio III, 22, of Sherburn, Minnesota; private first class, Marine Corps. Posivio was one of two Marines killed Tuesday when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee in Iraq's Al Anbar province. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

Benito A. Ramirez, 21, of Edinburg, Texas; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Ramirez was killed May 21 when a roadside bomb exploded near him in Iraq's Al Anbar province. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

War Casualties

Total US Deaths* as of Friday:

* In and Around Iraq: 2,465
* In and Around Afghanistan: 235
* Other Locations: 57

martys58,

I agree with you, but the problem is the Democratic party. It is devided between the working democratic labor force and the rich democrats who want to keep their “Peasant Work Force in the United States” because, who would change their baby's diapers or mow their grass and for heaven sakes, they sure don't want to pay their Peasant workers any more than they have to.

Check out this site:
http://rightdemocrat.blogspot.com/2006/04/illegal-immigration-and-cheap-labor.html

Tennis, anyone?

I just want to say we should really thank the Government for the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act. That is true with any buriel. You give the proper respect. That is disgraceful of religion. How can they do that they are just horrible people for doing that. They should be arrested. Do people not have any Honor or Respect? What is this world coming to.

I also think this brings some good though that they did protest because now it shed some light. Gays will die to fight for this country. They are good people and sexual orientation doesn't matter. Love should be what matters. We need to allow them to be married legally. This isn't a Catholic/Christian country! We are a country of Religious freedom. We came here to practice our beliefs without being bothered, but now we see it all happening again.

We need to restore our countries Values. In the Declaration of Independence our Founding Fathers wrote,"
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence indeed, will dictate, that Governments long established, should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security."

"Natural Rights" is also the same thing as "Human Rights" by today's standards. So by not allowing Gays to marry is actually "violating" our the Declaration of Independence. It states in the beginning that we will follow the "Laws of Nature", a.k.a "Natural Law", and "Natures God".

This meaning Seperation of Church and State. That means The church has to follow all the Basic Laws. So not even the church can deny them from getting married there. It says right there in the Declaration of Independence! Our government is clearly in violation of our Founding Fathers laws. They don't own the country they aren't supposed to change the basic "Laws of Nature" or "Natures God"!

"That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

The government must allow them their basic rights. What that means is that even God doesn't have a say about who can marry who.

Congress Men....take time to explain things. Don't follow the Republicans and use hip hop agenda to apply to the kids. Apply intelligence and knowledge to your speeches. Don't make our kids futures easy that only leads to destruction. Teach them Respect and Honor.

Good Evening.Is anyone still up here? Did anyone watch the MSNBC Special Presentation showing both sides of the Immigration Debate? It was very enlightening.

Posted by FreedomOfSpeechForProgressiveDemocraticMajority on May 30, 2006 at 12:10 AM

I guess I missed that one. What were the two sides legal immigrants versus illegal alien invaders?

True Democrats are against the war in Iraq, and are mad as hell because they were lied to. They also are opposing the abuses of our military, both active duty and veterans, by the Bushiato.
The Republi-lite sell-outs are for the war in Iraq, and can't seem to understand that lying to start a war is a serious crime, not to mention the attendant violations of the Constitution which have occurred on a regular basis since the year 2000.

If anything, this Memorial Day should have been a recounting of the broken promises made to the veterans of past wars, and to the military personnel of this war, and a call to arms to correct this situation.
As far as I'm concerned having George W Bush speak his lies at ANY ceremony ANYWHERE on Memorial Day was a slap in the face to all veterans and members of the military.
We swore to defend the Constitution of the United States, because we believed in our Country and our Democracy. Not so some egotistical oligarch could shred the Constitution and lie how much he cares for the lives he's desroyed doing it.

What's that got to do with the issue at hand, which is the winning back of the Congress for the people of this country? And that includes dumping as many Republi-lites as possible, and getting the DNC's heads out of their collective butts.
I'll play this hand before I bet on another one.
Know this for sure, from a former middle of the road swing voter, it'll be a cold day in hell before I ever vote for another Republican.