Ya just gotta read this article!
This week, the liberal Web site buzzflash.com noted in an unsigned editorial that “not one — not one — of any of Bush’s children or his nieces and nephews have volunteered for service in any branch of the military or volunteered to serve in any capacity in Iraq. Not one of them has felt the cause was noble enough to put his or her life on the line.”
Buzzflash is circulating a petition demanding that “Either the Bush Kids Put Their Lives on the Line for George’s ‘Noble War’ or the Troops Come Home.”
Publicity stunt or not, it does raise a question. If the sacrifice is so noble, has the president urged his own children, or enlistment-age nieces and nephews - of which there are eight - to join the military and fight in Iraq?
Click here for link.
Van Susteren, 54, who is the sister of FOX News anchor Greta Van Susteren, enters the race to replace the retiring Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D) next year as an acknowledged underdog. The Democratic primary has already drawn two established politicians, Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin and former congressman and NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume, as well as community activist A. Robert Kaufman. All are from Baltimore. Several more candidates also could soon join the race.
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Van Susteren moved to Maryland from the District less than two years ago, and the skepticism with which some view her candidacy was underscored by a reporter’s question. He asked her how many counties there are in Maryland. Van Susteren smiled and provided the correct answer: 23.
Click here for link.
You be the judge. Also, please try to read the blogs.
Click here for link.
I got this link from one of the blogs.
Katrina was still spinning northward through the United States when Germany’s environment minister, Juergen Trittin, penned a column for the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper blaming President Bush’s environmental policies for increasing the risk of killer storms and floods around the world.
“The American president closes his eyes to the economic and human damages that are inflicted on his country and the world economy by natural disasters, like Katrina, through neglected climate protection,” Trittin wrote in his opinion piece, which was published Tuesday. “When reason finally reaches the headquarters of the climate polluters, the international community will need to be able to extend a hand with an elaborate proposal for the future of international climate protection. The German government stands ready for this.”
Click here for link.
When House Speaker Hastert was asked today if New Orleans should be rebuilt, he responded;
It doesn’t make sense to me. And it’s a question that certainly we should ask.
Louisiana lawmakers were predictably upset. Former Sen. John Breaux replied;
That’s like saying we should shut down Los Angeles because it’s built in an earthquake zone. Or like saying that after the Great Chicago fire of 1871, the U.S. government should have just abandoned the city.”
But Hastert was one step ahead of Breaux;
You know we build Los Angeles and San Francisco on top of earthquake fissures and they rebuild, too. Stubbornness.
But before we are too quick to judge Hastert, we must consider that perhaps there is some rational thought behind his comments. Perhaps the Speaker has now accepted the inevitability of global warming and feels that the rising ocean levels will eventually make New Orleans untenable.
Perhaps next he will give us his thoughts on what to do with the massive territory in Bangladesh that will eventually be innundated, and where we will relocate all the people living there. (The Houston Astrodome isn’t going to be big enough.)
Certainly we can expect Hastert to propose significant measures to reduce greenhouse gas emmissions and to cut our dependence on fossil fuels.
Otherwise the guy is just a buffoon….
If you feel frustrated and think Americans are losing ground on issues like the right to choose safe and legal abortion, environmental protection, electing more progressive women to public office and civil rights—you’re right. The reason: The Do Nothing Strategy that infects many national, progressive organizations today. The Do Nothing infection has broader implications for American democracy, liberty and justice because it allows right-wing viewpoints, by default, to dominate public policy.
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In my experience, the conventional wisdom around a controversial issue usually begins with: “Political reality dictates that it can’t be done.” Ask the experts on almost any issue, they’ll tell you the same thing. Whatever reason they give, the real reason for such advice is that their funding, power and prominence comes from protecting the status quo. The next time you’re told about “political reality,” ask yourself how the expert giving the advice benefits from maintaining the status quo. Then move forward in spite of this advice. The experts told Maryland NARAL that we could not unseat anti-choice incumbent legislators from pro-choice districts. We ignored them and carried forward the momentum of our electoral victories to make history and codify Roe v. Wade.
Click here for link.
Many thanks to On Background for pointing out the article.