Pakistan-Bhutto

I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy, sick, and a lot of other stuff has been in front of me.

Well, when Ms. Bhutto was killed (assassinated) yesterday, I had to turn off the radio. I can't believe this country - USA - is still behind Musharref. This is totally sick!

Big talk and opposite actions by a government I no longer trust. My heart goes out to the Pakistani people. If such a thing was possible, I would take the lame-duck deluded president of the US and put him behind bars (in the prison they run at Gitmo!) - he and his full cabinet! All of them are as corrupt as the day is long. They deserve all the treatment they have been dishing out to the rest of the world.

Karma- sow/reap, say what you will. What goes around, comes around.

Congress Not Getting Anything Done????

Well, I see Bush is at it again! He says the congress is not getting anything done. How can they when every thing they do gets shot down by him and his cronies??????


I'm so sick of Bush blaming everyone else because his "advisors" don't like what is happening. S-CHIP should have passed the first time. He's shooting down a 2nd time - even though the congress wilted AGAIN and did what he wanted.


He's so full of SHIT that it just makes me sick!

Disillusioned, Dismayed

I keep listening to the news. Why, oh, why do I even try????

The congress & senate are fighting with the president, we have a child in the president's office, and nothing can get done.

The world is falling apart around our ears and we continue, as a people, to tolerate this state of affairs.

I'm so disillusioned, that I don't even want to bother. I'm apathetic. I'm dismayed at the lack of movement.

The S-Chip program, the genocide question for Armenians, lack of health care provisions for adults, social security, the credit crunch resulting from the sub-prime meltdown..... It's just too much.

I don't remember things being this bad 20-30 years ago. Yes, there was Johnson (escalation in Viet Nam and the Draft) and Kennedy (which one?), Nixon in all his "tricky dick" glory, Ford pardoning Nixon (to get the country moving again) but when did things get this impossible??? When did things get to such an impasse that nothing - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING can get done??? How did Bush put this much stranglehold on congress? What happened to the separation of powers?

Congress Prosposes a Surchage Tax for Iraq War

Oh Yeah!!!

I vote that every person who wants the war to continue pay 12% of their net income to pay for it. The rest of us can sit back and watch while you go broke.

Forget taking it off your taxes at the end of the year, too!

"Congress Unable to Stop War Funding"

This is SO SICKENING!!!! We Voted for people to STOP THE MADNESS and the Congress is totally unable to deliver. Either shit or get off the pot, people!

What the hell did we elect you for, anyway????

Blackwater Security a Symptom of Private War

Blackwater Security is just a symptom of Bush's private war against anyone who won't give in to him. He (Bush) reminds me of a child on his highchair - having a temper tantrum because the world won't give him exactly what he wants exactly when he wants it.

Cheney is supporting Bush's temper tantrum. The yelling, screaming, kicking, crying - it just goes on and on.

Barbara, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING???? You raised more than one kid, but this one is a total mess!!! Did your husband walk away because you refused to stop breastfeeding the kid at 24 months???? Did daddy completely give up on the brat???

Sure looks like it!

Now, back to the topic -
Blackwater, Private no-bid contracts, private security services, NO GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT OF EXPENSES OR BEHAVIOR which reflects VERY BADLY on the American People!

Not Just the Government here, folks! Guess what!?! Every time some idiot, fast shooting, short tempered, overpaid, over muscled, under brained, MERCENARY (Let's get real here - that's what they are!) with an AMERICAN passport steps out of line, the USA - the AMERICAN PEOPLE look bad.

Our Soldiers have a code of conduct. And they have sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

The private mercenary has no code - he can do whatever he wants to as long as the objective is met. That includes behaving very badly in foreign countries.

Take away their passports - refuse them a country. If they are for hire for who ever will pay, then treat them as men/women without a country. They have no honor, don't rubber stamp it.

Bush's Speech about Iraq

Let's face it - I don't trust him. I don't trust anything he says and I don't believe anything he says.

The "draw down" of troops just means that the troops scheduled to come home (unless he extends the tour of duty again) will be coming home - for a couple of weeks at least.

The military is over extended - not just in Iraq. There's Europe, the Pacific, Antarctic, Arctic, UN forces, and so much more. We are NOT the world's policeman, and I've heard that argument several times before. However, we always seem to get drawn in. Now we have to send folks to Darfur, too. Where are these troops (people, soldiers, individuals, sons and daughters) to come from????

Getting shot at is not a guarantee of a college education. It's better to run up debt and then go into service stateside as a teacher or working with at risk populations here at home. At least your body will remain whole! And your life and blood won't be wasted in a desert on the other side of the world for people who don't want us there in the first place.

The political problems of Iraq are not our problems. Yeah, if Bush hadn't stepped in, the discussions and problem would never have been in the first place, but hey - THEY NEED TO GET OFF THEIR BUTTS AND WORK FOR PEACE IN THEIR COUNTRY THEMSELVES. It's not our job.

Been Dealing -

There are lots of things I've wanted to write about - Blog about - recently. I have been unable to sit at the computer long enough to do so.

Boy! Do I NEED a laptop!

I've been ill, and worse, in a lot of pain. I fell again yesterday - have a beautiful purple bruise on my upper arm.

I've been yelling at the radio. Patraeus is saying nothing. Nada. Zilch. He's a Bush cronie.

Right now, I'm mostly angry about the way the war in Iraq has been privatized. At 3750 dead Americans, who knows how many Iraqis and add the other nation's dead and damaged. Then, the kicker, the "secret" injuries and dead of the private armies of "security" for all of Cheney's cronies. All those companies that swarmed over Iraq to "rebuild" it (and fill their pockets).

I watched "The Aviator" recently, and according to the movie, Howard Hughes got called before a Senate Subcommittee for $43 million. How much has been squandered in this war???

Global Warming or Class War?

I wonder how much of global warming can be ascribed to the lower classes. After all, emissions from older vehicles, the ones they can afford, are higher. The only thing these folks can do to lower their carbon footprint is recycle. How many recycling bins are in the older, cheaply built apartments on the lower east side?

Yeah, that's right. Blame the faceless working class for all the troubles of the world today! Yeah, do it!

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OK, Stop getting all in a lather. That was sarcasm, after all!

But it does seem to me that we are expecting an awful lot of folks whose main concerns are how to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. If you have those basic needs unmet, global warming seems like it isn't so important. "Yeah, it's hotter this year," or "yeah, it's colder this winter" - so what!

I need heat in winter to keep alive. I'm gonna use the most inexpensive heat source I can find. Well, maybe not always the cheapest - but certainly something I can afford - not some designer fuel that costs 3 times as much.

And I need water to keep alive during the hot months and to water my livestock and irrigate my fields. If the water isn't there, we may starve - my whole family! Maybe my whole tribe!

Sometimes I think that the only way to help this planet is to clear it off and start over. The inequalities are glaring. We expect much of those who have little and little of those who have much. It doesn't make sense.

Live with Intention

You know, what party you belong to doesn't make a difference if every one is in it for power or money. Our capitalist system is derailing our entire way of life!

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I heard a story about Vegas gambling and collegiate sports. That it's easy to corrupt our young people to change a point spread for the gambling as long as the player still gets to win his game. That's a corruption of values!

It's this kind of corruption that I'm against. The lost of veracity and truth and honor. Power and greed have taken over the government. This is where it starts. Our young people don't have a chance.

Adults - parents - please pay attention to what you teach your children. The values you live are what you teach. Go to church, learn some values and get a conscience. If you don't show it, the kids won't learn it. Even if you don't go to church or believe in God, that's up to you. But you need to listen to that still, small voice inside your head. The one that tells you right from wrong. If you aren't sure, don't do anything until you are sure. Living by default is the same as not living. Live with intention.

Gonzales Resignation -

from the "vote to impeach" webiste:

At the very moment that people from around the country are preparing to descend on Washington DC for a massive march for peace and impeachment, Alberto Gonzales announced today that he is joining Karl Rove in the mad dash to flee Bush's sinking ship.

Gonzales, like Rove, is under scrutiny for lying to Congress. Under direction from Bush and Cheney, Gonzales will be remembered in history as the infamous guardian and legal “justifier” for a regime of torture, massive secret spying of the American people and the suspension of Due Process and other cherished rights.

The crumbling of Bush’s inner circle is a sure sign that those who participated in the criminal acts of the administration are seeking to avoid the hard glare of a country that has turned against the Iraq war and the administration itself.

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I don't know that I agree with all the hoopla surrounding impeachment, but the case for impeachment is very strong. Perhaps if people would follow the law instead of their ministers, the country would be more christian and law-abiding at the same time.

I guess my biggest complaint is that people have had their blinders on for so long now. It's like the last 20 years have been sheep following a (not always ethical) sheepherder. Nobody questioning anything except for us out here in the wilderness.

I know that folks like Michael Moore have been pointing fingers and going around making a lot of noise - and there have been others - but that kind of noise and finger-pointing does no good. Every time you point a finger out, there are 3 pointing back at you...

So, if I point at the government for illegally manipulating laws and power grabbing, I have to look at myself and see where I allowed it to happen. For one, I didn't open my mouth sooner. I just yelled at the radio/tv until I was blue in the face!

That's the point of this blog, after all - to get it out in the open instead of behind closed doors. The Nazi party kept the people behind closed doors and even made them wary of discussing these issues behind closed doors lest their teenager (another easily led and manipulated mind) turn them in for not "going with the flow" of popular opinion.

Who makes opinion popular, anyway?? Isn't that supposed to be the majority? What if there is a very strong minority???

Our country is being torn apart because the minority is being ignored, and majority rules. We need to re-think that approach and negotiate a more fair outcome to disputed issues.

Compromise may not be a palatable idea, but it's certainly better than ignoring half the population. That behavior leads to coup. And impeachment of a sitting president and vice president is getting pretty close to a coup.

I've been very ill....

I've been fighting kidney issues and on antibiotics again. I'm a victim in this 60-40 split of health care - meaning that I don't have health insurance. So, I muddle along like the rest of us. I have to pay the doctor out of pocket, and I have to purchase my meds at full price. I keep fighting dehydration to avoid complications and seem to be losing. I've had tests that I'm still paying my 20% on, and the doctor couldn't tell me why I've got this condition and didn't really help me. He just ran up a lot of bills, and I quit going to him. Even with insurance paying 80% at the time, the bill was pretty high.

When I get dehydrated, the condition seems to get worse, and I need antibiotics to stop the bleeding and then I get better for a while. This has been going on for over 24 months, so now it's considered a "pre-existing condition" and no insurance company will help me with it for quite a while. My kidneys are weakened because of all the meds I take for another condition. I've been on them so long that my kidneys are just processing fluids without discernment.

So, this hot weather hit and the humidity climbed here in Tennessee, and I started having trouble keeping hydrated. I've had this trouble since I moved here just over 5 years ago. This summer seems worse than usual, and long-time residents say that it is worse. Anyway, I've been using lots of "-ade" type drinks, lots of water and still having trouble.

What this means is that I'm never feeling very good. I hurt all over, I have headaches, my digestion is messed up and I'm starting to get very grumpy. I have been eating when I'm thirsty, because I don't feel thirst, which is playing havoc with weight and blood-sugar levels. Even when I drink a lot of water, I'm still eating a lot. So, things are getting worse. My limbs are swelling a lot, even though I'm on water pills. My only hope is that the weather will break and we'll have rain. Then, maybe the temp will go down, too.

So, I'm too grumpy to pay attention to the news. I've been hearing stuff about a mine cave-in in Utah, and it sounds fishy. I'm glad the shuttle crew landing OK, but it was a nail-biter. And I've heard that Florida is getting cut out of the primary process because they want to be first instead of second for voting dates. Well, the rush to be first was won a long time ago because of a law passed in New Hampshire. Can't change another state's law, can they???

While I have my take and thoughts on all of this, I'm too short-tempered to deal with much right now. Maybe when the weather breaks, I'll be able to yell at the radio again. Meanwhile, I'm just turning it off.

Shuttle Repairs

Is NASA crazy!?! That whole crew depends on NASA engineers and the integrity of the hull to come back to earth - alive.

The "little gash" is enough to make a terrible fireball in the sky. REPAIR it, and we won't have highly trained corpses to mourn.

I'm sorry, but I don't trust them anymore - too many lives lost over bad decisions, I guess.

Seven Deadly Sins:

Rove is quitting to "be with his family."

Nit Romney won the Iowa Straw Poll and Tommy Thompson dropped out

Hilary and Barak continue slugging at each other, while the rest of the field sits back and watches

Italy found a major arms smuggling ring supplying Iraq Shi-ites and Sunnis

A Sunni cleric claims genocide by the Shi-ites.

The dems continue to stand in the way of getting Bush and Cheney put behind bars where they belong.

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I've become very dissolusioned by this government and my country. I've become cynical, when I was always an idealist. I no longer trust the government, justice system, laws, or even the American people.

Individually, the American people are great folks - generous and compasisonate. Collectively, they are the stupidest crowd I've ever seen! Easily led and never question anything. Like sheep to the slaughter - or the Jews in WW-2. Just do what they're told and if it doesn't make an immediate dent in their lifestyle, they don't care. Are they wearing blinders???

The greatest democratic experiment ever devised is fallling apart because of power, greed and pride. I wouldn't be surprised if lust and gluttony are also in play someplace. That only leaves murder and sloth out of the seven deadly sins. Sloth is portrayed by the monumental lethargy on the part of the American voter. Murder - well there's character assassination, war, outing a CIA operative and her entire network - what else do you want????

Get off your ass, America! Think and use that God given brain of yours. Stop hiding behind religion, politcal party lines, and somebody else's opinion - even Mom's opinion is based on her gernerational experiences - not yours. Think!

OK, I Found Something -

Election reform.

California is trying to break up the block of electoral votes and go more toward populist vote. I think that is a GREAT idea! The electoral college is antiquated and too often the voice of the people is not heard because of it.

I think the electronic voting machines need to go, too. It's too hard to know if the machine is working right or has been tampered with. I prefer the old, paper ballot. OK, it's not a perfect system. No system is. However, if you want to write-in a candidate, it's a lot easier with a pencil than that stupid dial!

Why I'm Quiet

I am trying very hard just to get through the days right now. I've been keeping my radio off. I only yelled at it once in the last couple of days! I'm proud of myself.

Again, though, I'm here, just keeping to myself. Now, I haven't heard the news since early this morning when everyone on the radio was talking about the heat, so anything may have happened today.

If I have something to say about it, I'll let you know.

Aah!!!! Weapons!

OK, now they can't account for weapons distributed in Iraq. A week ago, they wanted to sell to the Saudis - the Bush family friends.

Why do we sell or distribute Our technology in parts of the world known to be unsettled?

If this was the UFP (United Federation of Planets) the Prime Directive* would stop this proliferation of arms.

* from Star Trek

I found an article to share

An incredibly inciteful article about the case for impeachement and how it just might happen.

Yes, that's right, Impeachment. It lays out all the reasons to do it. It tells us why it won't happen, and how it might. To impeach would require 2 folks stepping aside and allowing - of all persons - Condie Rice! - to become the next prez. We'll see.

I think we need to cross post this article in a few places and see if it flies with the American public. What do you think???

Extended and Expanded - Lost more Privacy!

Bush signed an extension and expansion to the Homeland Security bill, and now can peek at all the email I get from around the world is now fair game. The Dems and Reps both folded to the idiot in the big chair.

Who cares if they have to stay a couple of extra days - God Forbid! Bush veto a bill he doesn't like. Hell - WHY DID WE ELECT THESE BOZOS??? Who is going to stand up that idiot??? I can understand why some folks are calling for his impeachment. Maybe we should impeach and recall everyone in Congress!

I'm just fed up with this. I run websites - by nature an international business. I answer questions online a lot - why should I put up with this invasion of privacy?

Yeah, they limited the bill to 6 months - It only takes 1 MINUTE to completely change the world. Just ask any pregnant woman!

Get out of the White House, Mr. Bush!!! Take Cheney with you! I don't want either of you lying, cheating creeps in control of my country.

Newest Bushisms . . .

Mr Bush went to Minneapolis - what a photo op!!! To show that he's in control and to hide the shortcomings of FEMA, Bush showed up in Minneapolis.

Yeah, right - when he sends the Army Corp of Engineers (currently on the frontline in Iraq) to help stabilize the wreckage so the rest of the victims can be pulled out - if there are any the current didn't already remove - then I'll believe him.

He's such a lying snake! Ewwww!!

I'm listening to WUOT

I get most of my news from WUOT, also known as NPR - National Public Radio.

I feel for the folks in Minneapolis/St. Paul about the bridge collapse. I think the government telling the states that they have to keep the NATIONAL highway system up to date is a farce! The interstate system is just that - INTER-state, not INTRA-state. The feds get enough of my paycheck, that they should be able to keep the roads and bridges working well.

I'm tired of running across potholes that take out the undercarriage of my car.

About the letter below:

I get a lot of political stuff from 2 uncles. This is from one of them. No, that is not my uncle (or Aunt) who wrote the letter. It was a friend of theirs. I found that I don't like to forward letters, so I'm going to post them here. I have a lot to say, myself, even though you may not know it yet. But, my uncles are wonderful writers, and they need more exposure, in my opinion.

So, you will see letters by other folks in this blog. You will see my rants and raves in this blog. Get ready for it! We are coming into an election, and I have lots to say.

Immigration Post

My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed. So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet.

Pass it along if you feel so inclined. Dave LaBonte (signed)

Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:

Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground.

They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home. They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.

Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people.

When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl. And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country.

I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Islandin the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling theUnited States just yet.

(signed) Rosemary LaBonte

I hope this letter gets read by millions of people all across the nation!!
Ever onward!!
MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA

Hello and welcome...

I've had enough and I'm fed up. These folks running for office have no clue.

Hillary lost the women when she stayed with a roaming husband. She looks like a man and has no clue how the poor live. Her only strength is her fame. Maybe a cute husband that everyone now knows can't keep his pants zipped. Oh, and he lies. Don't forget that. He is sooooo afraid of his wife that he's willing to put this country into a freefall. That says a lot about Hillary, now doesn't it?

Barak is cute, but he's clueless. He has no idea what to do or what to say. He has no power to broker in Washington. He has no experience and really only has dreams. The opposition is gunnin' for him, whether democrat or republican. Any little error, mis-step or badly worded sentence will spell his doom.

I'm really afraid we will be seeing President Thompson, just because no one wanted to vote for anyone else. Who wants to vote for a "known evil" when there is such a wonderful unknown???? Fred Thompson is running the greatest campaign ever! Don't say anything about anything in print. Gather support for a TV character and don't let anyone know who you are or what you believe.

I tell you, if the Dems don't get their act together, it will be a Republican controlled congress again, too.

Why do you think the Dem controlled congress has such a low rank???? STAND UP TO A PRESIDENT NO ONE APPROVES OF - EVEN IF NOTHING GETS DONE!!! Quit being a rubber stamp and folding at the smallest opposition. So what if no funding bills get approved?????

Believe me, Bush won't let his precious troops go un-funded. He'll have to come around to reason. Every single time the republicans yell "unpatriotic" the dems fold! We didn't elect them to have business as usual. I don't want to be accused of hating my own troops, but hey - I lived through Viet Nam - and I'm looking at another one! over 50,000 of the men in my generation were killed, and many more were ruined for life.

Bush is an idiot and always was one. I've been saying that since his first presidential campaign. Although I've been vindicated, I'm sorry for our country. He's a (maybe) dry drunk on a runner and out of control.

I'm new to the political commentary game and there are many more educated and well-informed folks out there. My uncles - one for each side of the fence - are among them. I'm just tired of yelling at the newscasts in my living room with no one to hear.