GIVE...

GIVE...
Originally uploaded by amiko.

I have sometimes thought that giving a little of my time was better than money. What's happening in Louisiana and Mississippi right now is proving me wrong. Please give whatever you can to the American Red Cross or any verifiable charity.

That Big, Fat Idiot...

Someone who listens to Rush told me about one of his latest diatribes against the Left. He said that they never support a Republican war but Conservatives always stand by their country in such times no matter who is the president (example being Clinton and Bosnia). May I remind Rush about the war in Afghanistan, of which I've heard no significant oppostion. May I also point out that when W's dad drove Saddam back from Kuwait, the only criticism was that he didn't finish the job. Rush, as Al Franken says, you are a big, fat idiot.

If the war in Iraq is such a noble cause...

First of all, there is nothing noble about this cause. We are there because a good percentage of us were deceived by our own government. Hollow reason after hollow reason has been given as to why we are there. I don't believe that even Bush now thinks it is was the best thing to do. It will take generations for this country to recover morally and economically from it. In a sense, the horror of 9/11 pales in comparison to what has taken place afterwards.

That said, Cindy Shaheen needs to realize that ours is a volunteer military and we cannot choose our duties. Any member of the military has volunteered to potentially be in harm's way; sad, but true. Nevertheless, I am in 100% agreement with her that if this cause is so noble, then the Bush twins should be there. They asked this country to vote for their father, so they must believe in his judgment. Or, is it possible that, like Cheney, they have "other priorities?" They certainly have disappeared since the Republican Convention. In my opinion, anyone who supports this war should be willing to involve themselves or a loved one in it. By the way, though it's been awhile, I have served honorably in the United States military.

Bait-and-Switch War

In his August 20 radio address, Bush spoke of "fighting the terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq..." While it's true that we're fighting terrorists in Iraq, we are not there because they are there, but rather the other way around. It would seem that if we invaded Iraq to fight terrorists, our president would have thought to mention that when he was giving all those good reasons why we should topple Saddam. The second most disturbing thing about his bait-and-switch tactics is that they worked.

Cindy Shaheen, the War in Iraq and President Pinocchio

Should Bush meet with Cindy Shaheen? No more than he should meet with me.

Should we pull out of Iraq now? It would be the only thing more stupid than attacking and invading the country in the first place.

What is most disturbing to me is that President Pinocchio hasn't been raked over the coals (politically and legally) for the succession of lies that he tried to feed the world in order to justify this invasion.

Pat Robertson Demonstrates His Religion

Pat Robertson: this is such an easy one that I hardly know what to write. Does it scare anyone that this man ran for president or that he is supposedly a religious leader?

The Killing of Jean Charles de Menezes

I don't know how anyone can miss the similarities the killing of this young man and and the invasion of Iraq. In the name of 9/11 and the London bombings uninvolved entities were targeted as victims.

In the case of Mr. de Menezes I believe it was overzealousness. In the case of Iraq it was dogged determination to promote an predetermined agenda. We have have been given many reasons why the invasion was necessary beginning with indisputable proof of WMDs and ending with the idea that it's better to fight them there than here. What crap!

If someone is made to step up to the plate in England then someone needs to do so here in the U.S. too. Is Bush a criminal? I guess that that would depend on what your definition of a criminal is and what kind of protection his office affords. I think that I can say this without reservation: he is a liar and an evil man.

Evil may sound very strange when applied to a man who was elected partly on his supposed morality, but a protestor's sign outside his Crawford ranch said it best: Who Would Jesus Bomb?

Gone fishin'

Be back soon.

Bush Pushing Intelligent Design: An Oxymoron

Once again religion tries to insert itself where it doesn't belong: science. Our president, who must now fancy himself an amateur scientist, says that children ought to learn both the theory of creation and intelligent design.

Specifically he states, “I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought. You’re asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes.”

That sounds good but it's certainly not consistent with his thinking on other curricular matters. Nevertheless, sticking to the subject, intelligent design is a thinly veiled attempt to get the public schools to teach religion's mythology as fact, or does intelligent design include the idea that our planet may have been seeded and nudged along by vastly intelligent extraterrestrials? I doubt it.

Here, in my mind, is the crux of the matter. Evolution can be and is subjected to scientific scrutiny. As different evidence is found, the theory is changed and becomes even more correct. Remember that it is only considered a theory because science holds itself to a much higher standard than does religion. Whereas, intelligent design can never be disproven (or proven for that matter) because it is based on faith.

I learned about creation as part of my religious training. Make no mistake, there is no difference between I.D. and creation. I have no problem with people believing it. I do, however, have a problem with indoctrinating our public school children and making religion sound like science. It is not.

August 6: Sixty Years Later

Dedicated to the innocent victims of all wars.


IMAGINE

Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...

Imagine there's no countries,
It isn't hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Imagine no possesions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.

John Lennon

What I Did On My Summer Vacation by George W. Bush

I'm sorry, Mr. President, but even though you can continue to run the country from Crawford, Texas, it's just not right. Our soldiers are in Iraq because of you. Every reason that you have given for going to war has proven to be false. Yes, at this point we cannot just leave; that would be the only thing more stupid than getting us there in the first place. While England has said, "Oops, wrong man," you have yet to say, "Oops, wrong country." You're asking men and women to sacrifice their lives. You should not be on an extended vacation. Any damn fool, and that includes you, should be able to see that it just doesn't look right and that in itself is good enough reason to not take the longest presidential vacation in 36 years and to stay in Washington and do your job there.

The Day Before Yesterday...

The day before yesterday someone commented on my blog The Pope on Islam. I can understand why she might feel that I was putting all Christians in the same box. However, I don't live my life that way. I know people of all faiths and some of no faith and I know that loving human beings come in all forms.

I think that many of my comments refer to religious extremism or the Far Right but if that's not always clear let me say that I bare no ill will to those who practice their faith as taught by their founders, whether it be Christ or Mohammed. Just as the terrorists have hijacked Islam, the radical Right has hijacked Christianity and we are all diminished by it.

The Face America Will Be Showing the World

Let me give you 2 workplace scenarios:

a) a new boss comes onto the job determined to clean house and straighten out the “existing mess.” He/She doesn’t care who is offended, as he knows best.

b) a new boss, coworker comes onto the job and in a spirit of cooperation enlists everyone’s cooperation in making positive changes.

Who do you think will be more successful? Is the appointment of John Bolton as UN Ambassador meant to finish up the job of alienating the world?

In Bush’s announcement, he blames a handful of Democratic Senators for blocking his nomination. He failed to mention that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, examined allegations against Bolton of bullying and other misconduct and withheld a favorable recommendation.

Just the title, Ambassador, begs the question: Is this who we want to represent us in the UN?