Be INFORMED

Saturday, May 14, 2011

An American Gothic: The Rapture Edition

It is one of those rainy miserable days with nothing to do other than to rag on an idiot group or two. So, I am going to take a poke at those groups who believe that the biblical rapture will begin taking place on May 21,2011.  This group has an interesting take on things via their very own special crystal ball.

1988 AD—This year ended the church age and began the great tribulation period of 23 years (13,000 years from creation).

1994 AD—On September 7th, the first 2300-day period of the great tribulation came to an end and the latter rain began, commencing God’s plan to save a great multitude of people outside of the churches (13,006 years from creation).

2011 AD—On May 21st, Judgment Day will begin and the rapture (the taking up into heaven of God’s elect people) will occur at the end of the 23-year great tribulation. On October 21st, the world will be destroyed by fire (7000 years from the flood; 13,023 years from creation).

Another group:

May 21 2011 will come, and go, but the world will never be the same after the Rapture.  Christians tend to refer to the Rapture as Judgement Day, as they intend to be saved by Jesus in the Second Coming.  Non-Believers in Christ refer to it as May 21 Doomsday.  Doomsday seems an appropriate term for those who will not be saved, as they will be left behind until the End of the World.  During this time, the Apocalypse, the Book of Revelations tells us that they will be tormented, and beg for death.  With End Times conditions being so difficult, October 21 End of The World will most likely welcomed by those left.

  So, what if you and/or I are still here on May 22?

skip945 has created some rules that some of you may wish to keep in mind in order to make it bearable.

1. Logistics
I wouldn't be on the highway at 6PM on May 21st.  If there are a bunch of driver-less cars, I think it will be a problem.  For that reason, I'll be at the beach, sipping a margarita, staying clear of any boats or jetskis.
I think sunblock SPF 100 might be in order... not sure how bright that light is going to be.   Should I get a higher SPF?

2. Reditribution of wealth
Still trying to figure out how soon afterward I can go grab the cars of those who have left.  I'm thinking that the Mercedes SLK down the street with the fish on the back is looking mighty tempting.  I don't want to be an asshole, so how long is the appropriate waiting period?

3. Till death us do part
The SLK owners, my neighbors, have been divorced before, so according to the bible, they are adulterers

Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
Luke 16:18

I would think that they would not make the cut.  Is there an expiration date on divorcees being considered adulters?  If not, then I guess I'll start to check out the BMW on the other street.

4. He ain't heavy, he's my brother-in-law
There is this couple down the street.  The guy is pretty religious, but I think his wife is a slut.. and they don't have any kids... According to the bible:

If a man die childless, his brother shall marry his widow, and raise up a family for him.
Mark 22:24

So if the guy gets taken, should I start looking out to see if his brother is around and screwing his sister-in-law before I try to get their motorcycle?

They also have a really nice boat that I would like, but if the brother comes into the picture, should I let him have it or should I focus on stoning him if she doesn't get pregnant?

5.  He sells sea shells
Now that I think about this, we had a crab boil in the neighborhood a couple of years ago.  As we all know, this is an abomination.

They (shellfish) shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination.
Leviticus 11:11

It's the same word, "abomination", that they use to ensure that all of us queers know that we're going to hell and can't get married, so I'm thinking that the application should be the same.  Eating a shrimp or a cock is exactly the same thing based on the bible rules... Isn't it?

Now that I think about it, that stupid fucker with the SLK was there and ate both crayfish and shrimp.  Oh well, no SLK for me.  That cocksucker... er... shrimpsucker.

6. I want my baby back, baby back, baby back...

And there is a Chili's in the neighborhood, so I'm thinking that anyone who had the baby back ribs or even a bacon cheeseburger ain't going either...

and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you.
Leviticus 11:7

So bacon and eggs and gay sex are kinda the same thing?  Is that why they call it "porking"?

7. Selective Memory
All the preachers and people that hypocritically select what to enforce from the bible are not going either.   Once again from the new testament which is, well, you know, new and all, so therefore more applicable than the old testament...

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17-19

Emphasis added by me, not god.

So if they relax on a single law of the prophets, they don't get in... right?

8. The Big Ten
and we can't forget the 10 commandments

1.  You are to have no other gods before God
2.  You are not to make any graven images.
3.  Don't use the Lord's name in vain
4.  Keep the Sabbath holy
5.  Honor your mother and father
6.  Do not kill
7.  Do not commit adultery.
8.  Don't steal
9.  Don't bear false witness.
10.  Don't covet the neighbor's house.

And remember:  Divorce = Adultery
and Adultery is one of the big ten.

I'm only bringing all this up because you know that the bible rules are cast in stone and never changing.  I mean, rules are rules, right?

So who will leave?
OK, so based on all these rules, anyone that has played football, or ate baby back ribs at Chili's, or ate a shrimp or a cock, or worked on Sunday, or swears on a bible, or curses at their parents, or looks longingly at the brickwork on the house next door,  can't go.

Even if they buy a nice new cotton/poly pantsuit at Wal-mart for their Sunday go-to-church clothes, they don't get to go either.

Do not wear material woven of two kinds of material.
Leviticus 19:19

And don't get me started on the mullet, which is so wrong on so many levels.

Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
Leviticus 19:27

You know the rules:  Once an abomination, always an abomination.

Shit... based on all these rules, no one is leaving.

And so...
if no one qualifies to go,
and the rapture actually happens on May 21st,
how do we know?

I'm so confused. 

I guess I'll just make an extra pitcher of margaritas and book the jet skis for Sunday...

Can you put a little sunblock on my back? 

Just in case...

====
Update:  OK... technically, footballs are made of leather and just called pigskin.
So please forgive the error in the original diary... I know...I'm going to hell for the error... I'll just add it to the list...

    The sad thing is that if we are still after on May 22, we will still be tormented by the Republican Party American Taliban. If that isn’t hell, what is?

 

Obama Helping GOP/Big Oil

    President is going to give big oil another financial shot in the arm with his plans to let them drill for oil in the Gulf in more areas than they do at the current time. He also plans to conduct annual lease sales in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, as well as some areas off of Alaska’s coast.

  Those plans are what he put forth in his weekly radio address on May 14.

 

Second, we should increase safe and responsible oil production here at home. Last year, America’s oil production reached its highest level since 2003. But I believe that we should expand oil production in America – even as we increase safety and environmental standards.

To do this, I am directing the Department of Interior to conduct annual lease sales in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, while respecting sensitive areas, and to speed up the evaluation of oil and gas resources in the mid and south Atlantic. We plan to lease new areas in the Gulf of Mexico as well, and work to create new incentives for industry to develop their unused leases both on and offshore.

We’re also taking steps to give companies time to meet higher safety standards when it comes to exploration and drilling. That’s why my Administration is extending drilling leases in areas of the Gulf that were impacted by the temporary moratorium, as well as certain areas off the coast of Alaska. And to streamline that permitting process, I am establishing a new team to coordinate work on Alaska drilling permits.

Finally, the third step we should take is to eliminate the taxpayer subsidies we give to oil and gas companies. In the last few months, the biggest oil companies made about $4 billion in profits each week. And yet, they get $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies each year. Four billion dollars at a time when Americans can barely fill up their tanks. Four billion dollars at a time when we’re trying to reduce our deficit.

This isn’t fair, it makes no sense. Before I was President, the CEOs of these companies even admitted that the tax subsidies made no sense. Well, next week, there is a vote in Congress to end these oil company giveaways once and for all. And I hope Democrats and Republicans come together and get this done.    Complete Transcript

Click here to watch the May 14, 2011 Weekly Republican address delivered by Martha Roby of Alabama, via GOP.gov discussing the “importance of increasing American energy production which will help lower gas prices, create jobs, and increase security in America” as well as the need to address the federal debt crisis, noting that “American people will not tolerate an increase in the debt limit unless it is accompanied by real spending cuts and reforms.”

 

Iranian Justice: An Eye For An Eye

    In 2004, Ameneh Bahrami  was returning home after a days work when she was attacked by a man ( Majid Movahedi ) who threw acid in her face blinding and disfiguring her. The woman had turned down his marriage proposal.

  The attacker admitted to the attack and  in the best interest of justice he will have acid dropped into both of his eyes by his victim who had asked the court for an eye for an eye retribution, which is allowed under Islamic law.

The court did so in November 2008, calling for five drops of sulfuric acid to be placed in each of his eyes.   MSNBC

  Naturally, human rights groups are upset about this and they have asked Bahrami to pardon Movahedi, which she has said that she is not going to do.

  This will take place on Saturday, May 14 at noon.

The lawyer said that at noon Saturday, Ameneh Bahrami would drop acid in both eyes of Majid Movahedi, 30, after he is rendered unconscious at a judiciary hospital in Tehran, The Guardian newspaper reported, citing Iranian media.

  That is real justice people, and we could use justice such as this right here in the United States. An eye for an eye? Many of the criminals in this country would think twice about the heinous crimes which they commit if they knew the victim or their families would have the option of doing the same thing to them as they have done to the victim when caught and convicted.

 

Friday, May 13, 2011

American Taliban Is After The Voters

  Nothing new in that regard,  only now, with the GOP American Taliban on the defensive after the blowback from voters over the calamities in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and elsewhere, they have to come up with some other ways to keep voters from putting those bums back out into the streets. As is usual for the Republican Party, the voter disenfranchisement  option is always in hand. The plan is to make voting for minorities and the poor as difficult as humanly possible. Oh yes, let’s not forget that they are also targeting collage students, and those groups who go out and get citizens registered to vote, such as the League Of Women Voters.  Republicans know that they cannot win a fair election if the people are allowed to exercise their voting rights without having to jump through many hoops to do it.

  The Republican Way to win an election.

After examining the plethora of bills introduced in statehouses this year that, among other things, would reduce poll hours and require voters to show photo ID, it seems clear that Republicans are trying to make it harder for certain groups to vote. The Advancement Project, an advocacy group of civil rights attorneys, called the push “the largest legislative effort to scale back voting rights in a century.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Republican legislators have introduced bills that would diminish access to the voting booth in over 40 states. All of these Republican proposals focus on one apparent goal: restrict ballot access and shrink the electorate—often in ways that would decrease Democratic votes.

Many of the proposals are in the form of voter ID legislation, which would require potential voters to present specified forms of identification in order to cast a ballot. Republicans supporting these measures claim they’re necessary to prevent “voter fraud.”

    In case you have been in a coma over the past few decades,  voter fraud is practically non-existent, and is nothing but another " cry wolf " episode of the GOP.

   On the photo identification laws in many states.

Does it leave a substantial loophole (e.g. absentee ballots)? In 2005, the Georgia legislature passed a law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. A 1996 county vote-buying scheme was cited as justification, despite the fact that the 1996 scheme involved absentee ballot fraud, which the new photo-identification law would do nothing to prevent.[25] Indeed, by exempting absentee ballots entirely, the Georgia photo-ID law left open the most commonly cited vehicle for the occasional acts of voter fraud that have been proven.

  Of the voters who do not have a government-issued photo ID:

• 25 percentof African American voting age citizens

• 15 percent of those earning less than $35,000 a year

• 18 percent of those age 65 and above

• 20 percent of young voters 18-29

In sum, GOP legislators may be using baseless allegations of fraud to make voting more difficult for constituencies not known for their reliable GOP vote.

   See what else the GOP is doing, HERE.

Koch Brothers Theatre Gets A Little Artwork

 

image

 

Friday? Funnies: Maybe Not

  I put that question mark in my title because at the time that I am doing this, my blog-host ( Blogger ) has been down for maintenance problems for 30 hours or so. 

UPDATE:  it would seem that Blogger is working at the present time.

  Newt Gingrich

Stephen Colbert: "Newt Gingrich is so pro-marriage, he can't stop doing it. He is so morally upright, that he's only had sex after he was married. Just not always to the woman he was married to.''

Jay Leno: "Newt Gingrich is running for President. Every 6 months we'd have a different First Lady. Newt's slogan is, 'At least I'm not Trump.'"

David Letterman: "Newt Gingrich announced that he's running for president on Twitter and Facebook. I think his concession speech will be on YouTube."

Tommy Bahama (M):  In an interview with Faux News, Newt Gingrich said "Well, I think, first of all, I just can't be president alone — we need 12 more Republican seats in the Senate — and we need about 40 more Republican seats in the House."  Then he added " I also need a new trophy wife, a new supply of Viagra and the arrival of the Great Pumpkin."      DailyComedy

Newt Makes Presidential Running Announcement

  If you listen to all of the experts then the Newt has no chance of becoming the American Taliban presidential nominee.  Someone should maybe tell those experts that Americans have a short attention span and even less of memory.

  Anyway. The Progressive response to the Gingrich announcement.

One of the slimiest politicians in U.S. history announced a presidential bid today, prompting involuntary gag reflexes throughout the human and animal communities.

Newt Gingrich, noted right-wing amphibian, wriggled into the race for the Reptilian nomination, vowing to return America to a time when hypocrisy reigned supreme -- a time when a soulless douche could get famous by trying to run the president out of Washington for fooling around with an intern while he himself was also cheating on his wife.

Critics say Gingrich's re-emergence signals the need for America to have an "adultery conversation" -- specifically about the four-legged contender's utter lack of morals.

Political analysts say Gingrich distinguishes itself from the rest of the GOP presidential field with its ability to regenerate limbs, eyes, intestines, and upper and lower jaws.

Supporters say Newt can also secrete enough tetrodotoxin to kill a 180-pound liberal.

Voters are urged to avoid allowing Gingrich to come into contact with mucous membranes. In the vent of accidental contact, vigorous hand-washing techniques should be employed.

Ex-House Speaker secretes hat into ring -- ILLUSTRATED VERSION HERE

FoxNews Upset Over Rapper “Common”?

  This is only a big deal because flakes such as Sarah Palin and the entire FoxNews team have nothing better to do with themselves. FoxNews is trashing Common now after having had praise for the man only 6 months ago.

“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” got in on the FoxNews bitching and actually looked into Fox’s claims. The results? The second part of this will have Stewart doing his version of rap to Fox.

  Part 1

 

Part 2

 

Thursday, May 12, 2011

A New Twist To An Online Chat

… This story isn’t funny,but, it is funny.

    An unidentified suspect in the country of Slovakia was shot 5 times by the police after law enforcement stopped what would have been a case of cannibalism by the suspect who had planned on killing and then eating a Swiss citizen whom he had met online.

   That is not all of it folks. It gets better.

Investigators say the suspect used the Internet to search for a person who wanted to commit suicide or be killed and would agree to let him eat the body. A Swiss man initially agreed but later changed his mind and informed authorities, police said.

"He (the Swiss citizen) wanted to die, and agreed to have his body quartered and subsequently consumed by a person whose identity we did not know," Interior Minister Daniel Lipšic told media at a briefing, The Slovak Spectator reported.

According to plan, the Swiss man had agreed to be drugged, stabbed in the heart and butchered in a wooded area, according to Police Commissioner Jaroslav Spišiak, the Spectator reported. His body, hidden under brush and then doused with black pepper, would be consumed over time.

  The suspect, who is still alive, has not been able to speak to the police yet. Hmmm. 5 bullets in you would tent to quiet you down a bit, don’t you think?

  I’m not so sure if the suspect is short an oar, but the idiot who had agreed to be stored away and eaten over time should most certainly have a date with the rubber room.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

A Taste Of Their Own Medicine Has GOP Upset

  Oh those poor winey Republicans. The Democrats have finally grown some balls since President Obama successfully ordered the execution of Osama Bin Laden and now the GOP is crying fowl because their lifelong tactic of using “ fear “ to get their way and to con the American public is finally coming around to bite them in their respective asses. The Democrats, led by Obama, are on the offensive and it is scaring the hell out of the GOP American Taliban. They have even wrote a letter to the President asking him to tell the Democrats to calm down their rhetoric, and to let bygones be bygones.

   On Medicare bill that they House passed.

On Tuesday, Kinzinger and 41 of his colleagues sent a letter to President Obama, asking him to rein in Democratic attacks on GOP members who voted for the House budget, which includes a plan to privatize Medicare and cap spending on the program.

"We ask that you stand above partisanship, condemn the disingenuous attacks and work with this Congress to reform spending on entitlement programs," the letter reads.   TPM

  The GOP kind of got preempted by the DCCC before the GOP press conference happened.

To preempt the press conference, the DCCC responded to the letter with a long list of NRCC and candidate attack ads and statements from the 2010 election -- all of them targeting Democrats for cutting Medicare, all on behalf of GOP candidates who are now hoping for a truce on Medicare attacks.

  The Democratic Party should continue to tell the Republicans where they can go.

Entire letter to the President: is read here.

The Newest Ubuntu O/S and Firefox 4

  This is a rant! First off, I have been using the Linux Ubuntu operating system for about 3 years or so. I love this system very much as it generally beats anything that Microsoft has to offer. Ubuntu has always been safer, faster, and a hell of a lot more stable than Windows could ever hope to be. I have a dual-boot setup which consist of Windows 7 Ultimate and Ubuntu 11.4, which is the newest upgrade of the system.

   Why still have a Windows system if I seldom use it? Because the Ubuntu team has yet to come up with any kind of blogging software that I would deem useful. On Windows, or on anything else for that matter, Windows Live Writer beats the rest hands down.

   Anyway. I upgraded from Ubuntu 10.10 to version 11.4 a few weeks ago. It came with the new Firefox 4 installed, and I must say that I’ve had nothing but problems with this setup. I’m not sure which one is the problem, the system or the browser, but I feel as if I’m on a Windows system as of late.

   I gave up on Windows because of the many freezes that were encountered while either surfing or doing actual work. Windows users know the story so I will not elaborate any further.

   This Firefox/Ubuntu setup must have been created by some former Microsoft employees as they act the same as Windows. WTF?? Someone please remind me of why this is better than Windows.

   I’ve also run into the problem of Ubuntu deciding that it wants to shut down and reboot while I am in the middle of doing things. Whenever things freeze up, I have to pull the plug on my laptop and boot-up from scratch, and that gets very annoying to me.

   Come Ubuntu/Mozilla! Get with the program or do I have to switch to a Mac? Ubuntu could at least touch upon the subject in their forums.

 

It's On! Wisconsin Verifies Enough Signatures For First Two Recall Elections

  A little late with this one as I’ve been ill a bit. One of the joys of being a diabetic.

  By Chris Bowers        Mon May 09, 2011    at Dkos

Please, support the recall effort by contributing $5 to Democrats Jessica King and Fred Clark on Orange to Blue.

DC Protest 1

The first two recall petitions have been verified in Wisconsin:

Independent state reviews of the petitions to recall Republican Senators Randy Hopper and Luther Olsen found enough valid signatures to force an election, a Wisconsin Government Accountability Board spokesperson said Monday.

GAB staff verified 23,127 signatures to recall Hopper, R-Fond du Lac, and 22,381 signatures to recall Olsen, R-Ripon, spokesperson Reid Magney said.

Petitioners needed 15,269 signatures to recall Hopper and 14,733 signatures to recall Olsen.

This is just the beginning—verifications of the other four petitions Democrats filed against Republicans are on the way.

There are already Democrats in both of these campaigns. Oshkosh Deputy Mayor Jessica King is challenging Randy Hopper, and State Representative Fred Clark is matching up against Luther Olsen. We've added both candidates to the Orange to Blue page.

Let me reiterate the stakes in this campaign, as well as the similar campaigns in Ohio and Michigan. If we lose, political observers will continue to believe that there is no reason to take either labor or the netroots seriously as political forces. No matter how big the protests and no matter what the polls say, there are no real consequences to passing laws that make public sector labor unions illegal. And then Scott Walker clones will start winning all over the country.

This is a turning point for workers in our nation's history. We either immediately demonstrate that what Scott Walker and his buddies are doing is political suicide, or there will be basically nothing to stand in the way of people like the Koch brothers. Please, contribute $5 to Jessica King and Fred Clark now.

 

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Jon Stewart Commenting On Republican Presidential Hopefuls

  Of course, at this point in time the Republican Party American Taliban have no presidential hopefuls. Did you witness their generic debate on Fox the other night?

 

Gingrich To Announce Presidential Ambition Online…

   …. on Wednesday, May 11th. Big deal and nobody cares about his campaign to be the Republican Party American Taliban nominee for president in the first place.

  Gingrich's Tweet

Trying to tap into the spontaneity of Twitter and Facebook, Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, will announce his campaign for the Republican nomination for president on Wednesday by way of the two popular social networking sites, his spokesman, Rick Tyler, said in a Twitter post on Monday.

  This scumbag has his work cut out for him being that he is not the most popular fish in the sea.

Even in the GOP, nearly half of voters don't have an opinion of him, and he's got an unfavorable rating from one-third of those who do. And, not surprisingly, Republican women hold him in much lower regard than Republican men.

If there's any good news here for Newt, it's that there's probably no truth to the speculation that he'll also be announcing wife number 4. ( Source )

  Newt Gingrich is one of those really nasty infections that just will not go away.

Republicans Going After Children

  Here is a little bit of humor for you just to show you how ridiculous those Republicans are most of the time.

GOP Bill Targets Children, Goobers

WASHINGTON---In a move that has enraged childrens groups and their supporters, House Republicans plan to introduce legislation that, if passed, would literally allow lawmakers to take candy from a baby.

The Juvenile Confection Freedom Enhancement Act would allow members of Congress to legally confiscate Tootsie Pops, Runts, Milk Duds, holiday candy, Everlasting Gobstoppers, Skittles, Razzles and other sweets that would appear on a new federal Yummy Watch List.

House Speaker John Boehner made the announcement yesterday. "We're bored to death talking about jobs, and we're not making much headway separating seniors from their Medicare," he said. "But it's pretty hard to screw up taking a lollipop from a two-year-old."

The law would apply to all children up to age four, Boehner said, with exemptions for certain older children. "If a youngster appears capable of fighting back, either alone or by assembling a posse of pals brandishing dodgeballs, we'll look the other way out of self-preservation," he said. When asked what he would do with the confiscated candy, Boehner said he intended to store it on a really high shelf in his office.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), the primary author of the bill, said it was originally targeted at keeping candy out of the hands of so-called "terror babies." As more co-sponsors signed on---224 so far---the parameters changed, he said. "Walking up to a child and seizing his candy dovetails nicely with the spirit of our party. If we can't take health care away from old people, we'll take Heath Bars away from kids. It produces the same kind of endorphin rush, anyway."

The current draft contains exemptions for children of Republican members of Congress and the unborn. "But once the umbilical cord's cut, the Kool-Aid in their sippy cups is fair game," said co-sponsor Virginia Foxx (R-NC).

The response from juvenile advocacy groups was swift and fierce. "They'll have to pry these Sour Patch Kids from my warm, soft, tiny and adorable child hands," said Wendell Petersmith, 4, of the Center for American Num Nums.

"Just wait until we become eligible to vote," added Natalie Woolich, 6, of the advocacy group Candyless Grocery Store Checkout Counters NO! "In a dozen years, their days in office will be numbered."

A vote in the House is scheduled for Thursday afternoon. If approved, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to send the bill on a path of gumdrops to the Senate floor for a vote. "I look forward to letting America see just which Republicans are willing to lay a finger on our childrens' Butterfingers," he said.

President Obama has promised to veto the legislation if the Juvenile Confection Freedom Enhancement Act reaches his desk. He had no immediate comment, as his mouth was full of Raisinettes.

Monday, May 09, 2011

Bush Team Still In Fantasy Land…

    ….which is no surprise considering that those clowns have a gene in their bodies which prevents them from facing reality.

   The Bush team were all over the Sunday morning talk shows patting themselves on their backs for Obama being able to catch and kill Osama Bin Laden.

  The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell has the rundown on the American Taliban congratulating themselves.

  What a pathetic group of losers!

 

How Much Do The Congressional Republicans Care About The Military? Not To Much Where The SEALS Are Concerned

  Leave it to the GOP to okay a courthouse to be named after former resident George W. Bush, but then forbid the acknowledgement of the work that the SEAL team did in Pakistan. All because they did not want to waste taxpayer dollars. What a joke!

Military Noticing Congressional Snub of SEALs

by rblinne    at DKos   Mon May 09, 2011

Last week I gave the following comment to a diary that noticed how the House refused to honor the Navy SEALs bin Laden mission.

My father is a lobbyist for the Military Officers Association. This overreach could sour another reliable Republican block, military officers. So, here goes:

Dad,

It appears the failure of honoring of the last WWI vet was not a fluke. The House of Representatives showed their contempt for our men and women in uniform yet again, yesterday. On Tuesdays the House has suspension of the rules to pass non-controversial resolutions quickly. An example from yesterday is H.R. 362 which names a George W. Bush courthouse.   But, there is a new rule that "prohibit the consideration of any measure that expresses appreciation, commends, congratulates, celebrates, recognizes the accomplishments of, or celebrates the anniversary of, an entity, event, group, individual, institution, team or government program; or acknowledges or recognizes a period of time for such purposes.” Apparently this is not limited to sports teams but also our military and intelligence services.

What this means is the Senate by a 97-0 vote congratulated our brave Seals for finally killing Osama bin Laden but the House has failed to do so, presumably because who is the current CiC. I'm sure those Seals would appreciate MOA and you contacting the congressional delegations on their behalf to redress this great injustice.

In my actual letter I added the following graf:

You may have wondered why my politics have changed recently but this is part of it. The son of friends of mine at church got his legs blown off by an IED in Afghanistan. (http://www.abc15.com/...) Whiny billionaires who don't want to pay 3% more in taxes say we cannot afford to take another five minutes of time to honor people like the SEALs and Jesse. I'm sorry that's not patriotism but opportunism and it dishonors those who really are patriots.

My dad forwarded me the following response from retired Col. Michael Hayden who is the deputy director of government relations of the Military Officers Association. His response:

You are correct.  No House proclamations for the Navy SEAL Team.  We reported a few weeks ago that the House rules have changed, specifically the new rules bar commemorative legislation. [emphasis mine]

So, the military lobbyists already noticed this even prior to last week's issue with the SEAL team. This is how they put it in April:

The House of Representatives approved a number of new rules at the start of the new Congress that could significantly affect the process of considering defense and other legislation.

First, the new rules bar commemorative legislation from being considered in the House.

Nearly one-third of all bills passed by the previous Congress involved resolutions declaring National Deep Vein Thrombosis Awareness Month, honoring sports accomplishments, or commemorating other noteworthy people or events.

At a press conference announcing the new rules earlier this year, Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) said, “If Americans knew we spent this week…saluting golf legend Chi-Chi Rodriguez and commending the city of Jacksonville, Arkansas, while their taxes are about to go up and our national debt is exploding, they'd send us all packing.”

I think if Americans knew that they didn't honor the SEALs but had a George W. Bush courthouse then I am sure that they will send them rightly packing.

Col. Hayden continues:

However, that still doesn’t preclude House members from making floor speeches or commenting in hearings.  I attended a HASC MilPers committee hearing where Chairman Joe Wilson commended the SEAL Team and HASC Chairman Buck McKeon issued the following statement:

http://armedservices.house.gov/...

Here's the statement alluded to above:

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement following the President’s announcement that United States forces have killed Osama bin Laden:

“This is the news we have long waited to hear.  As Americans picked themselves up after the terrorist attacks of September Eleventh, President Bush told us that we would get Osama bin Laden.  While it has taken longer than many expected, Osama bin Laden is dead.  Bin Laden’s death is proof to those terrorists who wish to harm us that they may be able to run and hide but we will get them eventually.

“Our brave military forces and their civilian counterparts who have been working for more than a decade to capture or kill bin Laden have the gratitude of our nation.  These warriors have paid tremendous sacrifices during this time, and tonight’s announcement should help ease some of those burdens.

“While we celebrate a major victory in one battle against evil, we should recognize that the larger war against terrorism continues.  Al Qaeda affiliates in Yemen, Africa and Asia remain dedicated to killing Americans and our allies.  We know that even as they mourn the loss of their inspirational leader, they will not waver in their determination to attack us and our way of life.  As we rejoice, we must remain vigilant, and continue to support our brave men and women in uniform, as well as our courageous intelligence officers, around the world who serve on the front lines against this determined enemy." [Emphasis mine]

... Spits morning coffee .... No mention of the SEALs or President Obama and it includes the lie that we were continually looking for bin Laden when the Bush Administration disbanded the bin Laden unit in 2006 as noted by the linked 2006 NY Times article:

The Central Intelligence Agency has closed a unit that for a decade had the mission of hunting Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, intelligence officials confirmed Monday.

The unit, known as Alec Station, was disbanded late last year and its analysts reassigned within the C.I.A. Counterterrorist Center, the officials said.

The decision is a milestone for the agency, which formed the unit before Osama bin Laden became a household name and bolstered its ranks after the Sept. 11 attacks, when President Bush pledged to bring Mr. bin Laden to justice "dead or alive."

...

Michael Scheuer, a former senior C.I.A. official who was the first head of the unit, said the move reflected a view within the agency that Mr. bin Laden was no longer the threat he once was.

Mr. Scheuer said that view was mistaken.

"This will clearly denigrate our operations against Al Qaeda," he said. "These days at the agency, bin Laden and Al Qaeda appear to be treated merely as first among equals."

Col. Hayden concludes in classical military underspeak:

Not perfect.

I had a number of interesting conversations over the weekend. As I alluded to in my letter to my father, the conservative evangelical church I attend is loaded with retired military and their children and grandchildren are current active duty military. A friend of my wife's a retired SEAL (due to health reasons). She asked him on Saturday whether he knew the SEALs on the bin Laden mission. With a huge grin on his face and beaming with pride, he mentioned that he trained them. When we visited his family he told of how rigorous the SEAL training is and how over 400 sign up and only a dozen graduate. On Sunday I relayed the story about this to one of the retired military members of our church. He thanked me for doing so and his response in a VERY Republican church is classic:

"Obama made the right decision. He was very courageous."

Senator Schumer Wants A “ No-Ride “ List…

… created for Amtrak trains after evidence was found in the former Bin Laden compound that attacks were being planned against the train system.

   Schumer will also be pushing for more funding for the nations rail security, increased monitoring of stations around the United States, and added funding for more inspections of of passenger and commuters train tracks.

  I guess that with the 2012 elections coming just around the corner that it is time to play the “ fear card “ once again.

Reuters

"Circumstances demand we make adjustments by increasing funding to enhance rail safety and monitoring on commuter rail transit and screening who gets on Amtrak passenger trains, so that we can provide a greater level of security to the public," the New York Democrat said at a news conference.

  That is not all of it, folks.

He called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to expand the Secure Flight monitoring program, which cross-checks air travelers with the terror watch list in an attempt to prevent anyone on the "no-fly list" from boarding, for use on Amtrak.

   This action was recommended back in 2004 by the September 11 Commission but was not adopted. Want to place bets on how fast it implemented this time around?  Though it may be a great idea in theory, the headaches that this will cause are not worth it. Just ask anyone who has made it onto the “ no-fly “ list who shouldn’t be on it in the first place.

Schumer noted that rail and port security grant funding was cut by $50 million under last month's federal budget compromise, but he said developments warrant reconsideration and increased rail safety funding.

   It was a stupid thing to compromise away that security funding in the first, when it should have been increased regardless of threats to the system.

 

Sunday, May 08, 2011

A Few Editorial Cartoons On The Bin Laden Saga

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Stavro, Ad-Dabbour (Beirut, Lebanon), Buy this cartoon

 

 

 

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Next Tenant by Randall Enos, Cagle Cartoons, Buy this cartoon

 

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Obama Bashers in Distress by Chris Britt, see reader comments in
the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL), Buy this cartoon

 

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(Stuart Carlson, carlsontoons.com/Universal Press Syndicate

GOP Fundraisers Not Parting With Funds

  It would appear that the top cash contributors to the GOP American Taliban are playing a sit and wait game while the  GOP figures out who is running against President Obama and who is not. They have no fearless leader at this point in the game.

Christian Dem in NC at DailyKos       Sun May 08, 2011

You'd think that given the white-hot fury with which the Republican base hates Obama and with the possibility of retaking both chambers of Congress, the big donors would have long since pulled out their checkbooks for the presidential campaign.  But so far, they haven't.

So far, only former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts has assembled a strong bench of the top Republican financiers. Scores of other fund-raisers remain unaligned, waiting with their money — and contact lists — in their pockets as prospective candidates bombard them with phone calls, e-mails and in-person visits around the nation.

“It’s not at the top of the agenda for most folks right now,” said Brian Ballard, the Florida finance chairman for Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid, who has heard from all of the potential hopefuls this year but, like many of his associates, has yet to choose a 2012 candidate.

Even more telling--the only contender to have an exploratory committee already in operation in the first quarter was Tim Pawlenty.  By comparison, at this point in 2008 the four top-tier Republican candidates had already collectively raised $50 million--just two years after having their heads handed to them in the midterms.

The result is something of a vicious circle.  Many donors are waiting to see how the field shakes out, but several prospective candidates aren't willing to get in without knowing they'll have enough financing to make a serious bid.  And that's no small concern, considering they're up against a president who rewrote the book on campaign financing. 

As a result, even A-list candidates found it hard to open the spicket.  Haley Barbour, for instance, found it hard to attract the maximum $2,500 donation.  Pretty telling for a former RNC chairman.

Also, remember how much we Dems have had to worry about facing an avalanche of red-tinted outside money?  Turns out the candidates and the party are actually fighting with these outside groups for money.  You'd think that wouldn't be a concern to them, but apparently word has gone out to the outside groups to ask their donors to donate directly to candidates or the RNC.

So let's see if we've got this right.  The Republican financial situation is less stable after a Republican wave than it was after a Democratic one.  Go figure.

Cenk Uygur breaks down Fox News Rant On Obama At Ground Zero

   Leave it to the ass-wipes at Fox to come up with more bullshit concerning President Obama. They just can’t get over having a black man in the White House who isn’t serving them cocktails.  I’ll bet that they all choked when he gave the order to go after Bin Laden and then succeeded where Bush turned out to be a joke.