Remember Especially the Aftermath for those who Survived
First, of course, we should remember and honor the lives of all who died in that tragedy, the victims as well as the heroes who died that day and in that rememberance, let us also remember the living who were left behind. And let us remember as we wave our American flags and declare the pledge of allegiance how this Republican Administration has treated them:
From a February 26, 2008 Article by Mike Hall:
http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/02/26/911-first-responders-protest-bush-health-care-funding-cuts/
“Today, three weeks after President Bush cut health care funding by 77 percent for Sept. 11 first responders, many of whom are developing serious and deadly illnesses because of their work at Ground Zero, some 200 9/11 workers rallied on Capitol Hill this morning, calling on Congress to restore the health care money.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates the cost of treating Ground Zero workers is about $218 million year and is expected to grow as the workers’ illnesses worsen and as more firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and rescue and recovery workers develop Ground Zero-related diseases.
Last year, Congress appropriated $108 million toward health care for 9/11 workers, but in his fiscal 2009 budget, Bush cut that by 77 percent—to $25 million. Also last year, as part of an emergency spending bill, Congress approved an additional $50 million for first responder health care.
Shortly before Bush’s cuts were announced, a White House spokesman told reporters the president’s budget would “reflect his continued commitment to World Trade Center workers.” Interpret that as you wish–but I have one word for it: Republican newspeak. If you want more of the same: Vote for McCain and Palin.
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Read More »It is a foregone conclusion that multi-national corporate interests own the federal government lock, stock, and barrel, with Big Oil as the majority shareholder. George Bush is a president with no leverage over these entities in fact; he invited them to the party. When Bush proclaims, "we must protect American interests abroad," it is these corporate interests to which he refers. The lobbyists who represent these interests have written any and all legislation passed within the last eight years. The Republican hierarchy has embedded within it, individuals in key positions who steer all government policies to favor these groups. If John McCain and the Republican Party remain in power, this situation will not change. Furthermore, if some tragedy were to befall McCain, Palin has left no doubt in anyone's mind that she is completely capable of reading the commands issued by these individuals. While the McCain/Palin Campaign portrays itself as the reform ticket, these same multi-nationals are pouring money into the effort directly and through 527 provisions to insure its success. This phenomenon can be compared to the scenario in which a drug kingpin who has already bought-off key players in law enforcement and the judiciary, finances the campaign of the 'law and order' candidate who is secretly also on his payroll.
This reality is understood throughout the world (except among the religious right which is, by the way, neither) so much so that the European Union was formed in large part to insulate governments on that continent from this same corruption. Any and all candidates running for political office in democracies throughout Europe who have ties to our corrupt administration are handily voted down. The impact of this unified agreement has resulted in a blockade of many American products to a consumer base of nearly half a billion and the subsequent loss of countless American jobs. The distrust of American enterprise has facilitated a rapid increase in the demand for Russian oil and natural gas causing the current tension between the oil friendly Bush Administration and the neo-capitalist Russian government. It is no wonder that the Republican Party will never support successful programs for public education. It is to its advantage for its core electorate to remain oblivious to its true priorities and their consequences. Anyone interested in the future of these great United States must focus on the interview in which Dick Cheney openly admitted that the Republican Party, "will say what we need to, to get elected," and then pursue, with reckless indifference, the policies agreed to prior to the campaign.
Barack Obama must reinvigorate his campaign by simply implementing the truth. In plain terminology, Obama must educate the American people in how it works, how it got this way, and how it can be fixed. He must loudly proclaim that this Republican Administration has not only undermined the Democratic process through trickery and fraud, but has nullified the legislative process by expanding the powers of the presidency which has led to the paralysis of Congress. America is not only crying for change but is also starving for truth. Somebody has to go first.
One more reason why Bush and Cheney should have been impeached over a year ago. These two are working behind the scenes, sweeping up the mess and making agreements without Congess's consent (just in case McCain and Palin don't get elected). Now we has this as among their latests behind the scenes trickery:
A leaked draft of the US-Iraq status of forces agreement indicates that there is no intent to set a deadline for the withdrawal of "noncombat" troops from Iraq. (Photo: Ceerwan Aziz / Reuters)
NO INTENT TO SET A DEADLINE FOR WITHDRAWAL OF NONCOMBAT TROOPS FROM IRAQ
A leaked version of last month's draft of the proposed US-Iraq status of forces agreement (SOFA) suggests that the Iraqi parliament may not be consulted before it is signed, despite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's promises to do so. The pact would govern the future US presence in Iraq. The draft indicates no intent to set a deadline for withdrawal of "noncombat" troops from Iraq. It also grants immunity from Iraqi law to US military personnel, no matter where they are located. The draft was translated and provided to Truthout by Raed Jarrar, Iraq consultant for the American Friends Service Committee.
GO HERE FOR REST OF STORY:
http://www.truthout.org/article/us-iraq-agreement-leaked
Immediately following George W. Bush's re-election victory in 2004, Britain's Daily Mirror expressed the world's shock with the cover you see at right. "How can 59,054,087 people be so DUMB?" the headline screamed in exasperation, the subheadings calling the news an "election disaster" and a "no brainer" (as in "no brain"). "Doh...!" Homer Simpson seems to say in a banner at the top of the front page, "...4 more years of Dubya!" (click here or image at right to see larger view).
I wonder how dumb the world will think we are if 51% of us in 2008 vote to elect John McCain and Sarah Palin. My guess: Pretty gosh-darn dumb. Dumb as a fencepost. Thicker than two short planks. Just plain stupid. Could it possibly get any dumber than that?
Last week, the Democratic National Convention delivered us a stellar pair of candidates for the office of President and Vice-President of the United States: Barack Obama, a visionary leader who, seemingly out of nowhere, has answered the need to remove Republicans from power with an all-out mass movement for change; and Joe Biden, who complements Obama's vision and ability to inspire with a tough, pragmatic style and a wealth of national and international experience. Should any tragedy or incapacity befall President Obama while in office, Vice-President Biden would be more than ready to step in and fulfill the duties of the president.
This week, the Republican National Convention rolled out a very different package to voters: a bitter and befuddled old war-horse at the top of the ticket, and in the second slot a snarky religious zealot with zero experience in national or international affairs. Following a Democratic National Convention strong on style as well as substance - offering not only an inspiring slate of speakers but also a detailed plan for the economy, health care, energy independence, and foreign policy - the Republicans gave us four nights of smug, self-righteous posturing and snarling rage against "liberals." No plan for the economy or for anything else, just a lot of red meat for the base, a lot of flag-waving, and a lot of lies.
In any other modern democracy the outcome of such a contest would be a foregone conclusion, and the smart, progressive side would have little if any reason to fear. Only in America, for some strange reason I have yet to fully untangle, does the Dumb Ticket actually have a chance of winning. After all, who else in the world would have re-elected Bush/Cheney in 2004? Nobody, that's who.
Make no mistake: the editors at the Daily Mirror were not saying that all Americans are dumb, only those who voted for Bush despite overwhelming evidence that his administration was a disaster of global proportions. Almost as many Americans voted for Kerry/Edwards as for Bush/Cheney in 2004, but as we know, almost doesn't pay the rent or put intelligence in the White House.
After eight years of dumb, Americans have no excuse this year for doing something even dumber than what 51% of us did in 2004. Let's try and get it right this time.
Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com
Michael Collins: Not One Dime for Georgia
The president of the Republic of Georgia eats his tie on national television. BBC
$1.1 Billion Giveaway for the Republic of Georgia Announced:
"The United States Supports The Recovery, Stability,
And Continued Growth Of Georgia's Economy"
The White House, Sept. 3, 2008
(Wash. DC) We're not talking about the great state of Georgia, which deserves everything it has coming to it and more. We're talking about the Republic of Georgia, a nation of 4.5 million people wedged between Russia and Turkey.
On Wednesday, September 3, the White House announced a comprehensive aid package valued at $1.1 billion dollars to help the Republic of Georgia recover from the whipping it took after it attacked Russian peace keeping forces in South Ossetia, a breakaway province of Georgia near the Russian border. That region experienced a major war in 1991 and varying tensions since.
Russian personnel were in Georgia as part of a multi-national peace keeping regime created by the United Nations and endorsed by the European Union in 2006.
Read More »
The Republicans are running around scrambling and trying their best to tie up all the loose ends dangling from 8 years of George Bush’s reign like snags on an old sweater. Frankly, I don’t think that it is possible, but I’ll give them an A for effort.
CLEANING OUT GUANTANAMO BAY PRISON
I read in today’s Pakistan News that three detainees were transferred from Guantanamo. Two were taken to Afghanistan and the third one to Pakistan. The Queen predicts that by the third week of October that Guantanamo will be empty and we will never know the stories of at least 80% of the people who were imprisoned there–many of whom will be disappeared forever.
I am watching the Republican Convention and what I see looks a gathering from a monthly nursing home birthday celebration. Only instead of 75% of the crowd being women over the age of 80, it is old white men over the age of 75.
Do you believe that the man speaking on behalf of John McCain has the unfortunate last name of "Swindle". There is something hilarious about that to me. The men standing up for McCain can barely stand up they are so old. I suppose that is OK but no one could argue that is the image of strength.
Bush is now speaking. He is helping from Washington DC--right.
Babs barely clapped when George said the John McCain was ready to serve. Daddy Bush clapped a little more enthusiastically.
I had to mute it. I really cannot stand to hear another word out of George Bushs mouth with flashes to Cindy McCain.
Interesting body language. Laura is making closing remarks and as Laura began to congratulate Cindy on her work in Vietnam with getting land mines removed, Daddy Bush who is seated next to Cindy crossed his leg in the direction away from Cindy McCain.
Oh lord, now they are dragging out a tribute ro Reagan--what an ass. I've seen enough now. Bye. I'm going to have a beer.
COMMENTS ON REPORTS THAT U.S. RETURNS CONTROL OF ANBAR TO IRAQIS
I just read this morning in the Arab News the announcement that the US had returned control of Anbar to the Iraqis. It was touted as marking a major milestone in Americas plan to eventually send its troops home.
Of course, and as a C.Y.A., American officials warned that the struggle against Al-Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents was not over in the western region, the scene of some of the bloodiest battles in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion. “This war is not quite over, but it’s being won and primarily by the people of Anbar. Al-Qaeda has not been entirely defeated in Anbar, but their end is near and they know it,” said Marine Maj. Gen. John Kelly, the top US commander in Anbar, during the handover ceremony.
Read More »[I've had time to cool down and gather my thoughts, but I'm still mad as H.]
I hope that Americans are smart enough to learn the right lessons from Gustav–the lessons that they did not learn from Katrina:
1. The Bush Administration do not represent ordinary Americans.
2. The Army Corps of Engineers is not a failure because it is a “government agency” but rather because it is an organization whose work is largely done by PRIVATE GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS who pad their contracts and bilk the taxpayers at every turn. No better example do we have of the need to return to true civil service and government management than the Army Corps of Engineers.
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If the Bush administration did represent ordinary Americans, our infrastructure would not be crumbling around us. We would not have Americans dying here on our own soil because of collapsing bridges or lack of healthcare.
The Bush Administration’s answer for government has been to privatize. It is part of their economic neo-liberal stance. Americans need to be educated that privatization of our government leads to MORE corruption, MORE waste and MORE cronyism–not less.
One of the solutions to failures such as the response to rebuilding infrastructure in New Orleans is for our elected officials in Washington DC to put a lid on the corruption of government contractors and bring most of these jobs back under the umbrella of civil service where BOTH the workers AND the taxpayer will be protected from the unchecked greed of corporate America.
Aug 31 is an annual commemoration day that was created to call attention to the fate of individuals at places and under poor conditions unknown to their relatives. The Federacion latinoamericana de Asociaciones de Familiares de Detenidos Desparecidos is a non-governmental organization that was formed in 1981 in Costa Rica as an association of groups actively working against secret imprisonment and forced disappearances in a number of Latin-American countries [and I guess today we can include those held in Guantanamo as numbering among these people].
Wiki says that the day is the 30th but I think they have it wrong. They certainly do for Colombia anyway.
Colombia, it should come as no surprise, numbered among the Latin American countries who had ceremonies for the Disappeared.
Read More »All right-wing leaders are the same. They all think they know best. I wonder if the USA will have to turn into a total banana republic before Americans realize this.
I read this morning yet more articles in Colombian newspapers regarding President Alvaro Uribe's attempts to be the supreme decider, judge and jury of his friends and I thought about how Uribe's behavior mirrors that not only of George Bush, but of all conservative right-wing leaders who think that they have the right to decide for the people.
McCain would be no different--nor the person whom he has chosen for Vice President. Both of them, like all right-wing leaders are autocratic deciders for the people. In Palin's case, she is even a clearer threat to democracy since she obviously believes herself to be a decider who is doing God's will. (Ironic, isn't it, how people like that fail to see how very much alike they are to the radical Islamists against whom they rail.)
When will we ever learn that extreme right-wing conservative governments never represent the people. They always represent a small minority of ruling class. This is true of all governments, even the United States of America. I hope the the people of the USA have seen enough of the Bush Administration to know enough to not elect another one.
Read More »By his own admission, McCain is a man of great ambition. The lure of easy money can erase a man's integrity faster than the click of a mouse but McCain would not understand that analogy. I have often been referred to as a keen observer of human nature yet, I have a difficult time understanding supporters of the Cheney-Bush-McCain regime. Then again, I still don't understand how Jimmy Jones was able to convince more than 900 people to stand in line and voluntarily consume a lethal dose of poison.
With the addition of Joe Biden to Obama's team, I feel confident that the revitalized Democratic Party now has a capable navigator. The effectiveness of a captain is determined by the proficiency of his crew. Obama must continue to exercise similar sound judgment with Cabinet appointments to insulate himself from a corrupt political machine that was installed during the Reagan administration and has had free rein for the last eight years.
70. BUSH-MCCAIN-ROMNEY
Potential McCain running mate Mitt Romney matches McCain's commitment to Bush and more of the same failed Bush-Cheney policies. Read More »
The Constitution of the United States states that if we have a bad government in place (Bush, Cheney, Congress), we have the right to abolish the present government and replace each and every one! Us, the American people have to make a stand. Please join me in this fight.
"Please let your friends and family know about this important campaign. There are over 1,000,000 signers who have voted for impeachment. Please ask all those you know to come to the http://www.impeachbush.org/ website and vote to impeach as well as send a message to Congress demanding that they take the proper course of action and introduce articles of impeachment.
Your support is making the impeachment campaign a major force in U.S. politics. Please help us seize the momentum and continue this work, including placing major newspaper ads, at this critical juncture by contributing to this effort. You can make a donation easily online by clicking here, where you can also get information to write a check." (www.votetoimpeach.org) Read More »