Sunday, October 30, 2005

Source of the Outting?

The "outting".

Libby three times mentioned to Judith Miller that Joe Wilson's wife, aka, Valerie Plame, worked at the CIA. This never became publicn knowledge until Judith Miller testified before the Grand Jury in September, 2005, more than two years after the fact that Valerie Plame's name became public knowledge.

On the flip side "Official A" in the indictment met with Novak, and provided Novak information regarding Joe Wilson's wife, aka, Valerie Plame. The public disclosure, the official outting, came as a result of conversations between "Official A" and Novak. This is THE outting.

Fitz is doing his homework, because he's trying to see if he has enough evidence for TREASON charges against "official A", instead of lesser charges.Who is this mysterious "official A"?

Mr. "frog march to the gallows himself".

Republican Value = Alzheimer's

Lying about sex with an intern, a crime against humanity, and punishable by impeachment.

Obstructing justice, damaging National Security, lying to a Grand Jury...all in a day's work and not really a crime, because Scooter was so busy supporting our Country, he got so confused about who told who what, that less than 2 months after the Novak article came out, and interviewed by the FBI, he said the Reporters did it. Despite the facts that his own notes from his meeting with his boss, the VP of the USA, had told him in early June that Mrs. Wilson, aka, Valeria Plame worked at the CIA.

Let's see, this is an issue of National Security, nothing more important to this Nation, and you are sitting before a Federal Grand Jury, and you know you have to do your homework to prepare, and your reply is "my dog ate my homework".

Right.

Monday, October 24, 2005

Consider this.....

Here we have the Iraqi people trying to ratify a constitution to represent the entire populace of this rebuilding nation. What scares our country is that Islamic fundamentalists will assume power, and their policy will be driven by Religious principles and motivations.

The big problems in Iraq relate to the Religious intolerance in that Country. Most of the fighting and deaths in that Country relate to battles between the various Islamic sects.

The U.S. government is pushing hard to ensure there is separation of church and state in Iraq.

Yet, in the U.S. the Religious right is using it's muscle to modify our laws, is taking over the Republican party, trying to get Prayer in schools, promoting Intelligent Design as Science, trying to get an Amendment to our Constitution banning Gay Marriage, and trying to place Christian or Evangelical Christians on our Supreme Court. This nation was founded by people's leaving Europe to escape Religious intolerance. Our country is a melting pot of various cultures, and we enjoy a freedom of Religion.

Instead of "live and let live", we are being bombarded with increasingly Fundamentalist, hard line views, and preaching intolerance.

How can it be wrong in Iraq and Iran, yet right (pun intended) in the U.S. Yes, the Religious teachings are different but the principle is the same.

Why are we breaking down the walls of Church and State in the U.S., yet building them up abroad.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Time to get real

Our good friend and buddy, Roseville Conservative, has had a record number of replies to his post that had an article that somehow connected the Nazi party under Hitler's reign with being left wing extremists.

At last count there were 55+ posts, and yours truly must have 8 - 10 of those posts. The Conservative argument is taking an educational/intellectual approach comparing Political spectrums of Absolute Government control vs No government control at all. The argument being the Nazi's being totalitarian, are left of center in this spectrum. Socially however they are almost of far right as our Neo-Con brotherhood (humor, but closer to the truth than I would like).

You might ask yourself why is this conundrum being posed at all? Is there Political motivation behind it?

Ok. Let's look for a moment at the extremists in the U.S. today, and let's at least one of us, take an honest view of their social leanings?

ACLU, ok, I'm giving the Neo-Con's a cheapee up front. Left and Liberal of course. However, whenever you point out to the Rightee's (wrongee's) that the sole purpose of the ACLU is to defend the Bill of Rights, you get absolute silence. Ok, just wait a minute, and listen. Did you ever hear a Conservative comment on the fact that it was the ACLU that actually filed a court ruling on behalf of the biggest Neo-Con gasbag to hit the airwaves since Joe McCarthy? You do know who I'm talking about don't you? Yes, the one and only Rush (to judgment) Limbaugh. Yes that recovering Drug Addict, who if he followed his own philosophies, would have turned himself over to the authorities and would be serving hard time as an known felon.

KKK. Right as rain.
American Nazi party. Hate to tell you rightees, but in your ball court again.
Skinheads. Right again.
Unibomber? Anti-intellectual, right again.
Abortion Center bomber/Atlanta Olympic bomber. Better dead than Red.
Timmy McVeigh. Righto.

Save the Seals. Damn lefties.
Sierra Club. Left. The heck with those spotted owls, or the fish habitat's.
Eco-Nazi's. Here's the connection. The heck with a healthy balanced eco-system, clean, water, clean air, heck no. We want company's to rape the land, make BIG profits. Profits GOOD.

The funniest thing about this whole thing is that on the subject of Nazi's & the left, they want to discuss this in a scholarly, intellectual fashion, but bring up Evolution, and intelligent design, and suddenly this scholarly approach suddenly goes out the window.

Monday, October 10, 2005

Our National Guard?

Why do we have National Guard units still over in Iraq? Given the fact that the War was started under false pretences such that the Guard could be pulled into the conflict, and now that we are there just for "Freedom and Democracy", why aren't these troops at home?
There is no clear and present danger to the United States in Iraq.

Somebody please explain that to me.

It is unconscionable to leave these people there.

We all know why though. Our Armed Forces are having recruiting difficulties because the young people aren't buying the "stay the course", "bring it on", "mission accomplished", "we're turning the corner" rhetoric.

We need to take care ofand supportthe Guard, and all of our Soldiers in the conflict but that Quagmire isn't going away anytime soon. That nation is in the grips of a Civil War, and we're trying to hold it together.

Propoganda

The American Public is constantly bombarded with Political Spin, and very carefully
filtered information (Propoganda).

Too much critical information is hoarded or hidden from the American public for
National Security reasons, or is it just because the truth is too embarrassing to the failure
of our policies and political actions?

A simple analysis of the Iraq war/"War on Terror" using a common sense approach and reason would clearly show the shortsightedness of those who believe we can eliminate the threat from Islamic radicals by a continuation of the same policies that contributed to their radical behavior in the first place? In many respects we are dealing with irrational (in western terms) people's, but there are some "cause and effects" to our actions or lack of actions.

How can we honestly believe we are fighting a war on terror, when our borders are wide open
to the wave of illegal aliens flooding our country. Can our Administration really not comprehend
the concept that people walking across the border every day are more than capable of setting off attacks inside our borders.

We have way too much disinformation, filtering of information, fake news stories, all carefully crafted to reinforce decisions by our Government.

Saturday, October 08, 2005

A series of questions

First of all I want to say that we are all Americans, and that we have to say we have to work together to solve our Nations ills, as well as we have to work together to build upon the strengths of this Nation.

That said, I have some comments to make. I have some dialogue to pursue about the differences between "conservative thinkers", and "liberal thinkers". You will note I have chosen not to label by Political affilation. Ok. I think "conservative thinkers" view the world primarily in black or white terms. What I mean by this is that they view issues in absolutes. It is either one way or the other. On the flip side, I believe "liberal thinkers" may view some things in absolute terms but on the whole they view the world in "grey" terms. This means that there are few pre-determined answers to questions or issues, and that the facts must be evaluated to make a decision. Conservatives take great joy in poking fun at this.

It reminds me of a joke. Here is the background:

Both a conservative, and a liberal are faced with an identical situation.

An armed man, with a crazed expresssion is approaching your family, and verbally threatening to kill you, what do you do?

First the Liberal from the Conservative point of view: "Oh this poor man, maybe he was abused as a child, or came from poor upbringings, maybe society is at fault, we have to help him". Blam, Blam, Blam, Blam, the entire liberal family is killed on the spot.

Second the Conservative from the Liberal point of view: "Blam, Blam, Blam, Blam, Blam, Blam".
Hey Dad he's still moving! "Gotta reload son", "Blam, Blam, Blam, Blam, Blam, Blam". "Nice grouping Dad!" Thanks Son. Wait a minute, I have to make sure my family is safe, Blam, Blam, Blam, Blam, Blam, Blam".

Obviously extreme perspectives right? You would think so, but this is the stereotype constantly perpetuated by the Pug's, and Crat's.

I see no attempt in the slighest to close this gap. Here is my first potshot, and I have a lot of them for our President. "I am a uniter not a divider". "Compassionate Conservatism". "You are either with me or against me".

Here is what gets me, Conservative thinkers will go way out of their way to defend this Adminstration, no matter what they do, no matter how outlandish it is, no matter how dishonest it is, no matter how the story, and spin continues to change, they defend it almost to the death.

On the flip side, Liberal thinkers will say, "you know that was really stupid". Neo-Con's love to pull the Clinton card (hey guys, get OVER IT, he was a HORNY BASTARD. Aaron if you check in that may offend you, but this is my website, and sometimes this vernacular is necessary). I view myself as a moderate, but whenever Bill, or Al, or Hillary, or John, or any other Crat does something bonehead, I am the first to say, "you know that was bonehead".

The Pug's line up behind everything the Prez does, and it is considered great, visionary, or leadership at it's best. If you really press them, then they pull the Clinton card. If they pull the Clinton card, then you know you've backed them into a corner, but they still NEVER admit that what the Prez or his Cabinent did was bonehead.

I'll try to do a series of posts over the next few days. They may involve Cronyism, Intolerance, Gays, Social Security, Swift Boat Veterans, Delay, Frist, Halliburton, Cheney, Rove, Iraq, Osama, there is way too much to talk about.