On Monday, October 5th, 2009, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order on Federal Sustainability – and in doing so, committed the Federal government to lead by example, practice what we preach and help build a clean energy economy through how we operate.
To harness the collective wisdom of the more than 1.8 million civilian employees and our men and women in uniform, we’re launching the GreenGov Challenge, an online participatory way for Federal employees to suggest clean energy ideas and vote on others.
Some of the top ideas will be presented to the Steering Committee on Federal Sustainability – a group comprised of a senior official from each agency who is responsible for delivering among other things, each agency’s sustainability plan.
Though anyone can see your ideas, only Federal employees can participate – so this is your chance to positively impact how your agency will meet its 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.
Be part of the GreenGov Challenge and help green our government!
The GreenGov challenge runs from Oct. 19th — 31st
Are YOU Ready for Health Insurance Reform? (Because I know that I AM)
Soooooooooooooooooo...
What do we Want?Health Insurance Reform.
When Do We want It?NOW!What Do We Want, What Do We Want?Health Insurance Reform, Health Insuraace Reform.
When Do We Want It?NOW, Now, Now, Now, Now, Now, Now, Now, Now !!
Operation swamp the streets to defend your healthcare.
match until single payer, universal healthcare for all is passed.!!!
Calling on All who voted for the Obama agenda in November to match a mile a day to hand over the torch of the United State to the next persons or groups from where you are, going until we reach whashington in a human chain, to carry the torch of humanity. We are the most prosperous nation in the world, yet there is no recourse for anyone who happen to be in a bind temporarily or not, when they get sick in our nation.
We are a God fearing nation, we profess to be a christian nation, yet the answer to a crying woman who is losing her husband to cancer for lack of insurance from the republicans was " because you are here talking to me, I would be magnanimous enough to make sure you are taken care of, but anyone else can't have the same chance."
He refused to answer her pleas for a universal single payer healthcare, yet he said "he the government" would make sure her husband receives treatment that insurance companies have rationed or denied him.
What our republican speaker was saying was that, he would used his "good office" to extend government money to take care of her husband, but if she got sick herself, then too bad she would have to call him again if he is still in office.
He didn't help her by passing a law that would ensure that she gets treatement as well as all americans in his husband's condition.
He went on to say that the job of helping people belongs to the church which all depend on the taxes we pay, to the government or to the church (donations). In effect, he is putting your life in the hands of those who can only extend their services (arbitrarily)to their frock or friends.
Many people sitting in that audience may have had cases that are worse than that of the weeping lady. Yet if they didn't have the luck to have the microphone, they were not heard, and would not be helped as the lady was promised.
We need to organize and march until the single payer universal healthcare is passed.
From OFA Director Mitch Stewart:
Every single day, special interests spend a staggering $1.4 million lobbying Congress to shut down the President's agenda for health care reform. To fix our broken system, we'll have to counter big corporate money with a grassroots network of folks like you. More than 100,000 Americans have now donated to our grassroots campaign for health care reform. Because of that support, volunteers are knocking on hundreds of thousands of doors, health care story ads are on the air, and voters are writing and calling Congress to make their voices heard. We're off to a great start, but as the pressure builds in Washington we need to ramp up our efforts to build support in every corner of the country. If you make a donation by midnight on Thursday, July 16th to power our health care campaign, you could join President Obama in Chicago so he can thank you in person. Will you make a donation of $5 or more today, and be entered for the opportunity to meet the President in Chicago? You'll also be invited to a special Organizing for America strategy briefing to discuss the latest in our campaign for real health care reform. Your donation will help fund our grassroots campaign for real care reform that reduces costs, guarantees every American the choice of plan and doctor -- including a public insurance option -- and ensures quality care for all. The chance to make this kind of fundamental change is exactly why we put it all on the line to win last year's election. Now is our moment to deliver the real progress America needs. Will you make a donation of $5 or more by midnight on Thursday, July 16th to support health care reform, and be entered for the opportunity to join the President in Chicago next week? Thanks for your support, Mitch Mitch Stewart Director Organizing for America P.S. -- Can't make a donation right now? That's ok, you can sign up here to be entered for the opportunity to meet President Obama in Chicago and join us for a special strategy briefing.
Every single day, special interests spend a staggering $1.4 million lobbying Congress to shut down the President's agenda for health care reform. To fix our broken system, we'll have to counter big corporate money with a grassroots network of folks like you. More than 100,000 Americans have now donated to our grassroots campaign for health care reform. Because of that support, volunteers are knocking on hundreds of thousands of doors, health care story ads are on the air, and voters are writing and calling Congress to make their voices heard. We're off to a great start, but as the pressure builds in Washington we need to ramp up our efforts to build support in every corner of the country. If you make a donation by midnight on Thursday, July 16th to power our health care campaign, you could join President Obama in Chicago so he can thank you in person. Will you make a donation of $5 or more today, and be entered for the opportunity to meet the President in Chicago?
You'll also be invited to a special Organizing for America strategy briefing to discuss the latest in our campaign for real health care reform. Your donation will help fund our grassroots campaign for real care reform that reduces costs, guarantees every American the choice of plan and doctor -- including a public insurance option -- and ensures quality care for all. The chance to make this kind of fundamental change is exactly why we put it all on the line to win last year's election. Now is our moment to deliver the real progress America needs. Will you make a donation of $5 or more by midnight on Thursday, July 16th to support health care reform, and be entered for the opportunity to join the President in Chicago next week? Thanks for your support, Mitch Mitch Stewart Director Organizing for America P.S. -- Can't make a donation right now? That's ok, you can sign up here to be entered for the opportunity to meet President Obama in Chicago and join us for a special strategy briefing.
You can now upload photos to your blog(s) using Blogger Images; just click the image icon in the post editor's toolbar.
When you click this icon, you'll get a window that allows you to select an image or multiple images from your computer. Click the Browse button to locate the ones you want. Alternatively, you can enter the URL of an image that's already online and insert it into your post.
If you click the link to choose a layout, you can customize the way your images will appear in your post:
The left, center and right options determine how the text of your post flows around the pictures. The size option lets you scale the pictures to different sizes within this posting area. Note that the picture will still be uploaded in its full size; this option just determines how it's scaled within the content of your post.
Alternatively, you can post images to your blog using Mail-to-Blogger. This feature allows you to email posts with image attachments directly to your blog.
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=41641
Presidential Candidate Barack Obama: Faith And Values
GREENVILLE, South Carolina (CNN) — After speaking to an evangelical church on Sunday in this traditionally conservative South Carolina city, Sen. Barack Obama said that Republicans no longer have a firm grip on religion in political discourse.
"I think its important particularly for those of us in the Democratic party to not cede values and faith to any one party," Obama told reporters outside the Redemption World Outreach Center where he attended services.
"I think that what you're seeing is a breaking down of the sharp divisions that existed maybe during the nineties, when at least in politics the perception was that the Democrats were fearful of talking about faith, and on the other hand you had the Republicans who had a particular brand of faith that often times seemed intolerant or pushed people away," he said.
During the nearly two hour service that featured a rock band and hip-hop dancers, Obama shared the floor with the church's pastor, Ron Carpenter. The senator from Illinois asked the multiracial crowd of nearly 4,000 people to keep him and his family in their prayers, and said he hoped to be "an instrument of God."
"Sometimes this is a difficult road being in politics," Obama said. "Sometimes you can become fearful, sometimes you can become vain, sometimes you can seek power just for power's sake instead of because you want to do service to God. I just want all of you to pray that I can be an instrument of God in the same way that Pastor Ron and all of you are instruments of God."
This Man is looking Out for the American People and It's All GOOD haha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Share
No Victim Groups, No Special Groups, No Ethnic Groups, and No Lobbying Groups, But Just ONE GROUP CALLED THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
One CONSTITUENCY GROUP called THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
The American People is the only Group that We need to hear about, work for, and be the voice of, for the 8 Next Years.
The train is rollingObama's coming
The steam is streamingAnd adrenaline's pumping
The temp's forbiddingYet no one stays away
Donning thick wools and downsWrapped in earmuffs and scarves
Along the tracksof every station
in every townbetween Liberty and the White House
The crowds gatherMomentum builds
The wind of hopegrips our hearts
The words of Kingsmart our eyes
Are we here at lastMartin, Malcolm, and Marley?
Your words less prophecythan faithful determination
Ringing the bell of truthAbolishing hypocrisy
resisting violence.Our common brilliance
and humanityrises as the train whistles
high and far,the insistence on love
Echoed in one sound,One name,
Obama!
THE POOR AND MIDDLE CLASS IN IRELAND WILL GET A CHECK FROM THE GOVERNMENT TO OPEN THEIR OWN BUSINESS. IN AMERICA, THE FED CHAIRMAN BEN BERNANKE IS ASKING FOR MORE MONEY TO THE RICH, THE BANKS, AND WALSTREET, THE SAME PEOPLE WHO LEAD US INTO RECESSION.
WE ARE ACTING LIKE WE HAVE DONE IN THE THIRD WORLD. GIVE MONEY TO CORPORATIONS AND GOVERNMENTS THAT HAVE EMPOVERISHED THEIR PEOPLE.
WE HAVE NOW SEEN THAT MICROPROJECT WORKS. WHY CAN'T WE IMPLEMENT WHAT WE PREACH BY GIVING EVERY TAX PAYER IN AMERICA AN AMOUNT TO OPEN THEIR OWN BUSINESS?
EMPLOYEES WHO ARE LOSING THEIR JOBS AT THE DELL PLANT ARE GOING TO BE GIVEN MONEY TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS, NOT A LOUSY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION WHEN THERE IS NO JOB IN STORE COMING, UNTIL IT RUNS OUT.
America and the world hare keeping palestinians in the largest prison in the world.
srael: positioning in israel for elections, Every leader in israel is looking out for the next election and the person who appears to destroy their enemy more will have more votes.
ethnic cleansing and genocide: Israel want to clean Palestine of its tribes and families to annex the palestine.
caving in to settlers. Israel want to clean Palestine of its tribes and families to resettle its own people.
Positioning in America: Israel wants to be the number one subject of america policy, not just policy. They want more tax dollars,and more lobby is out asking for money than they say. Reality is that Even journalists are making the case for more money to isreal. My take is that there is more problem in the world than israel. How about the congos, suddan, zimbabwe, somalia, and every place else in the world where poverty is killing people in silence?
The world has helped israel for centuries. Yet israel remain in the middle of every turn of help, despite the fact that it is the richest nation in that hemisphere.
Obama needs to tell israel that enough is enough. Obama needs to tell israel that it is high time America had other friends in the world and help the countries in the world that need American help enjoy a peaceful life, not a life of war.
America needs to start rewarding countries that exibit peaceful process to progress, to move faster, not those countries that are constantly vie for international and american attention with killings and genocide. WE NEED TO START REWARDING THE GOOD GUYS IN THE WORLD, NOT THE BAD GUYS.
I PROPOSE THAT THE US GOVERNMENT INSTITUTE A PRICE FOR ITS FOREIGN AID: 1ST PLACE GOES TO THE COUNTRY THAT HAS MADE MORE PROGRESS AND IN PEACE. AND SO ON, DOWN TO THE 5TH PLACE. NO COUNTRY WITH HUMAN RIGHT ISSUES WILL WIN, AND NO COUNTRY THAT HAD HAD A WAR IN THE PAST 5 YEARS WILL EVER WIN. EVEN IF THEY BECAME PEACEFUL, THEY WOULD HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE IF THE PEACE HELD FOR 5 YEARS.
We elected Obama for American problems, not for israeli problems.
The people's reaction is slow but steady, like a drop in the stream, or fast like a pouring deluge. Push them hard enough, and there is no stopping the resulting flood and devastation, one election rigging at a time.
Tickets to the 56th Inaugural Ceremonies will be provided free of charge and distributed through Members of the 111th Congress. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies does not provide tickets to the public. Members of the public interested in attending the Inaugural Ceremonies should contact their Member of Congress or U.S. Senators to request tickets.
The public should also be aware that no website or other ticket outlet actually has inaugural swearing-in tickets to sell, regardless of what they may claim. Tickets will not be distributed to Congressional offices until the week before the inauguration and will require in-person pick-up.
“Any website or ticket broker claiming that they have inaugural tickets is simply not telling the truth,” said Howard Gantman, Staff Director for the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. “Tickets for the swearing-in of President-elect are all provided through members of Congress, and the President-elect and Vice President-elect through the Presidential Inaugural Committee. We urge the public to view any offers of tickets for sale with great skepticism.”
Visit the official inaugural site here: http://inaugural.senate.gov/index.cfm
LINK:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-542277/How-war-hero-John-McCain-betrayed-Vietnamese-peasant-saved-life.html
hero John McCain betrayed the Vietnamese peasant who saved his life
Last updated at 01:10 23 March 2008
In all the tales of wartime courage peppering John McCain's presidential campaign trail, perhaps the most outstanding example of selfless heroism involves not the candidate but a humble Vietnamese peasant.
On October 26, 1967, Mai Van On ran from the safety of a bomb shelter at the height of an air raid and swam out into the lake where Lieutenant Commander McCain was drowning, tangled in his parachute cord after ejecting when his Skyhawk bomber was hit by a missile.
In an extraordinary act of compassion at a time when Vietnamese citizens were being killed by US aerial bombardments, he pulled a barely conscious McCain to the lake surface and, with the help of a neighbour, dragged him towards the shore.
Scroll down for more...
Reunited: Senator McCain and his Vietnamese rescuer Mai Van On in Hanoi in 1996
And when a furious mob at the water's edge began to beat and stab the captured pilot, Mr On drove them back.
Nearly three decades later, a Vietnamese government commission confirmed he was indeed the rescuer and, in a 1996 meeting in Hanoi, McCain embraced and thanked Mr On and presented him with a Senate memento.
From that brief encounter to his death at the age of 88 two years ago, Mr On never heard from the senator again, and three years after their meeting, McCain published an autobiography that makes no mention of his apparent debt to Mr On.
It is a snub Mr On took to his death.
His widow, Bui Thi Lien, 71, said: ?In his last years, my husband was very sad sometimes.
He would say, 'Mr McCain has forgotten me.'
?Mr McCain would be dead if it weren't for my husband. He would never have returned to his family and he wouldn't be in the presidential race today.?
Last week on a visit to Britain to meet Gordon Brown, McCain paid tribute to the role played by British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan - comments that carried extra weight in the light of McCain's own wartime exploits.
In his 1999 autobiography, Faith Of My Fathers, which laid the ground for his first, unsuccessful run for president in 2000, McCain wrote a Boy's Own-style narrative of his rescue: ?When I came to, I was being hauled ashore on two bamboo poles.
To the rescue: John McCain, lying on his back across a bamboo log, is saved by villagers - including Mai Van On - after his jet was shot down in 1967
?A crowd of several hundred Vietnamese gathered around me as I lay dazed before them, shouting wildly at me, stripping my clothes off, spitting on me, kicking and striking me repeatedly.?
What followed, according to McCain, was five-and-a-half years of torture and brutal beatings as a prisoner of war - an account that has given a steely edge to his candidacy by establishing him as a true American war hero.
But the story is at odds with the version uncovered by Vietnam veteran Chuck Searcy, who lives in Hanoi and is in charge of the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Fund.
?In 1995, Mr On gave me a letter he wanted me to deliver to McCain,? said Searcy.
?'It said, 'I am the guy who pulled you out of the lake and I have followed your progress over the years. I wish the best for you and your family and I hope some day you will be president of the United States.'
?I thought it was endearing. I sent the letter to McCain's office and I got back a sniffy response from some assistant saying, 'Mr McCain isn't interested in these fanciful stories.'?
Republican candidate John McCain met French President Nicholas Sarkozy this week
Indeed, claiming to have saved McCain had by then become something of a cottage industry in Hanoi.
Searcy, 63, recalled: ?There had been a lot of preposterous claims, but I asked the neighbours around the lake if it was true and they said that was exactly how it happened.?
The story was also confirmed by the Vietnamese government.
Later in 1995, Searcy met McCain at a veterans' reunion in Washington.
He said: ?I mentioned the story of Mr On to him, and told him it was true. He said, 'Hell, I would like to meet this guy - I'll set it up.'?
McCain, then a senator closely involved in rebuilding US-Vietnam relations, visited Hanoi in 1996, and a meeting was arranged with Searcy and Mr On.
Searcy said: ?Mr On was a wiry little guy. He looked as if he had only ever shaved once or twice and he had his old uniform on.
?He raced up to McCain and kept repeating his name as he embraced him.?
Then, through an interpreter, Mr On recounted the events of that day as McCain listened.
?He launched into a very emotional description,? said Searcy.
?Suddenly they saw this parachute coming down into their small lake.
?Everybody was afraid because they knew it was an American pilot and they didn't know what to do.
?He said he just instinctively grabbed this big bamboo log and threw it into the water and jumped in after it.
?One of his neighbours joined him and the two of them swam out to the parachute.
?Apparently McCain had broken both arms and one leg, and had sunk to the bottom, but they pulled him out of the lake.
?When they got to the bank, a couple of men attacked McCain, breaking his shoulder with a rifle butt and stabbing his leg, before Mr On stopped them.
?That day, he saved McCain from drowning and then from maybe being killed by the mob.
?McCain listened but there was no dramatic response. He just nodded, said, 'Thank you very much,' and gave Mr On a little Senate seal.
?It was the kind of thing you buy in the souvenir shop in the Senate basement.
?But Mr On, to the day he died, treated it as if it were a Congressional Medal of Honour.?
But although McCain appeared to believe the story, it was one he would later seem to ignore in his autobiography and there was no more contact between the two men.
When Mr On died in 2006, an email was apparently sent to McCain's office requesting a message of condolence for the family. There was no response.
Whether or not McCain believed Mr On is unclear.
But his refusal to acknowledge his heroism is likely to fuel other, more damaging allegations that McCain exaggerated elements of his PoW ordeal in Hoa Lo prison.
Phung Van Chung, 70, who was a Communist Party official at the time, claims McCain was quickly singled out for softer treatment, adding: ?I found out he was the son of an American admiral, so the top people wanted to keep him as a live witness so they could use him for negotiations.?
Mr On's son-in-law, Nguyen Ngoc Toan, said: ?Before he died, he told us not to sell the medal McCain gave him.
He said, 'If any of the grandchildren ever go to America, having it might help them.'?
In 2000, McCain, by then a presidential candidate, visited the lake that almost claimed his life.
?His entourage was outside our house but Mr McCain just passed by,? said Mr On's widow, who insists she bears no grudge.
Behind her calm words, however, lies an anxiety to right the injustice she feels her husband suffered.
As we prepared to leave she clutched my hand and said: ?Please help us to remind Mr McCain what my husband did.
?Just a few words will be enough to let the family know that he is grateful.?
Additional reporting: William Lowther, in Washington
LINK: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deanie-mills/from-a-marine-mom-the-one_b_128959.html
During the foreign policy debate coming up this Friday night, there will be one group of constituents who will be eagerly awaiting the one question I never see asked of the war-mongers.
I'm talking about Blue Star Families for Obama, an energetic group of active-duty military families who, although they respect the military service and sacrifice of John McCain, nonetheless believe passionately that Barack Obama is a far better choice for commander-in-chief.
The decision to support Obama for president by many military families is not an emotional one. It is based on careful study of his long history of supporting legislation that provides the best care and opportunities for our nation's veterans and those still in service. A comparison of Obama's senate voting record with John McCain's by major veteran's groups is not even close. He has voted in favor of veteran's benefits and attention to the troops something like 80% of the time in comparison to McCain's 20%. A case in point, as we all know by now, is the recently passed updated version of the G.I. Bill.
I would also like to point out here, for those who may not know, that Michelle Obama has adopted the needs of military families as one of her central causes. She has visited numerous military bases -- not to stick soldiers or their families up on stage as photo-op props -- but to sit down at roundtables with them and discuss, one-on-one, their biggest concerns. She says she takes all those concerns to her husband, and in her convention speech, she made a point of acknowledging their sacrifices and the strains they face daily.
I'll be liveblogging with the Blue Star Families during the upcoming debate, and will put together a blog of their impressions later for OffTheBus.
But as a Marine mom who has sent a son to Iraq to fight twice, and three nephews four other times, I know the question I would like to see asked of John McCain, because I never see anybody else ask it of him.
But then, why should they?
Less than one-half of one percent of our nation's population has been asked to fight two wars over the past seven years. And they've been asked to fight it over and over again.
They've been dragged out of physical rehab from war wounds and sent to fight it again. They've been pulled away from suicide-watch and shipped off to fight again. They've been sent to fight it, spent a year or more there risking their lives daily, and then, while in line to catch the plane for glorious home at last--been pulled away and told to remain in-country another month or two, during which time, more than a few of those who'd been ready to catch the plane home wind up doing so in a flag-draped casket.
This army has been abused in ways I've never seen in my lifetime, and their families have paid a crippling price. Divorce, spousal abuse, child abuse, suicide, cases of PTSD--every single measure of extremely high levels of stress available shows dangerously high levels of it in the military. Junior officers and non-commissioned officers, those lieutenants and sergeants who tend to be combat platoon and squad leaders and absorb some of the worst horrors of war when they not only risk their own lives, but feel responsible for the lives of everyone under them--are fleeing the service in such large numbers that a serious shortage has resulted.
Even the Joint Chiefs of Staff have expressed grave worries of the strains on our nation's military to their commander-in-chief.
Not that he cares or has listened.
And now, we've got a new election under way. I've been following the candidates closely for well over a year now, and I keep waiting for this question to be asked of the war-mongerers.
John McCain loves stories of heroism in battle. He is widely known as a war-hero in his own right, and often chokes up when mentioning the bravery of our troops.
And yet, again and again, when faced with questions about how to handle aggressive regimes overseas, he falls back on a war-like tone, in which he repeatedly offers the use of force as a solution to those problems. He seems to like the idea of himself--as valiant war-president--facing off against world leaders like Vladimir Putin. In that case, after the conflict between Russia and Georgia (in which complex analysis reveals that both countries were aggressive and share responsibility for the bloodshed), he mouthed off that the G-8 ought to kick Russia out and that, furthermore, Georgia ought to be made a member of NATO, which would guarantee this country's responsibility to possibly defend it militarily.
His hapless choice for vice-president, Sarah Palin, told Charlie Gibson that "perhaps" it would be necessary to go to war with Russia.
McCain has stated that he thinks we should remain in force in Iraq indefinitely (140,000 troops)--or at least until the next election (he said, "2013" when pressed), and that we should send an additional 12,000 troops to Afghanistan.
(Obama has promised to end the war in Iraq and has said he would then send 3500 more troops to Afghanistan.)
Also, both McCain and Palin seem to feel that military options against Iran should be the first line of defense against that country's nuclear ambitions.
McCain himself has stated repeatedly that "more wars will be necessary."
So:
Here's my question.
I hope very much that Jim Lehrer asks this question Friday night. If he does, it will be a first that anybody has ever framed it in this context:
If it is true that "more wars will be necessary," maybe even in a possible upcoming McCain/Palin administration, with a lengthening of the Iraq war and an escalation of the Afghanistan war for certain, with possibly some sort of military action against at least Iran...then...
This military mom wants to know:
WHERE YA GONNA GET THE TROOPS?
There just aren't enough troops in the current armed forces to fight all these wars, even if we're just talking about Iraq and Afghanistan. The troop escalation ordered by Bush last year damn near broke the military, with National Guard and Reserve troops being called into action--leaving our nation undefended if another major crises were to have erupted worldwide--and those troops already deployed having their deployments extended, and those scheduled to ship out being sent early, before their training was complete.
Our troops were shipping back out to war, sometimes twice in the course of one year. (My son returned from Iraq the first time in May 2005, and re-deployed to the war on January 1 of 2006, just months later.) In the army, other troops spend 15 months in Iraq, come home for maybe nine months, then get re-deployed for at least another year.
We--meaning the military overall--can't keep this up indefinitely. We're barely holding on by our fingernails now. Troops sent for multiple deployments are returning with increasingly serious physical and emotional problems with each return to war--provided they come home at all. Alive, anyway.
The idea that we can just yank troops out of Iraq and ship 'em straight to Afghanistan reveals a great ignorance about the two different wars. One is urban combat in a desert environment. Another is guerilla warfare in a rugged, mountainous, remote geographical area.
Folks, you gotta train for that stuff.
Many troops, returning from Iraq in one deployment, have been shipped off to Afghanistan before receiving that crucial mountain-guerilla training they need, and this is one of many reasons casualties have been so bloody high there.
WHERE ARE YA GONNA GET THE TROOPS FOR ALL YOUR WARS?
Nobody ever mentions the "D" word.
But I'm telling you. The army is having a tough enough time now, recruiting an all-volunteer force. They're letting in people with criminal records, those who score very low on IQ tests, those who are high-school drop-outs. They keep lowering standards because it's getting so hard to find anybody who will step up to volunteer for this madness.
Lately, they've been offering huge signing bonuses and putting pressure on these kids to sign before losing it.
It's not a mercenary force, but it is bribery, paid to those to whom a few thousand dollars is a fortune. Recruiters often lie, and promise them that they will not be sent to war.
Please don't get me wrong here. Many fine young men and women sign up to volunteer to serve their country because, like my son, they love their country.
As Dustin said when he enlisted, shortly after receiving his college degree:
"I don't feel comfortable being one of the ones who needs protecting. I'd feel better, being one of the protectors."
They sign up to fight terrorists. They sign up because they come from proud military families and want to make their own marks.
All the same, that number of volunteers is dwindling, because the strains are just so hard right now, maintaining two wars.
That only leaves one remaining way to fill up the forces:
DRAFT.
So, I just want all those pundits and pontificators and opinionists and bloggers and op-eders and editorializers who keep talking about "strong national defense" and about the need to confront aggression with equally strong aggression, to realize that
OUR TROOPS ARE NOT CHESS PAWNS ON A BOARD.
You can't just sit down in your book-lined study and move them around like some sort of intellectual game.
These are living, breathing, bleeding human beings, with families and friends and hearts and souls.
And there aren't enough of them to go around.
ANSWER THAT.
LINK:http://www.opednews.com/articles/University-of-Iowa-Student-by-Stephen-Fox-080920-773.html
Univ. of Iowa Students Interrupt McCain-Palin Rally
by Stephen Fox Page 1 of 2 page(s)
www.opednews.com
Dozens of students from the University of Iowa were kicked-out of the McCain-Palin rally for speaking out for peace and justice and against four more years of the same unacceptable policies of George Bush.
Activists from the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and the University of Iowa Anti-war Committee engaged in a steady stream of "rolling disruptions" to advocate for peace and justice and highlight their discontent with McSame's pro-Bush policies.
It should be noted that heckling is a constitutionally protected form of free speech. During Palin's rally a group of UI female students (including Megan Felt, Hannah Rounds, Laura Kacere, and Marni Steadham) advocated for women's rights, which are being seriously threatened by the outdated policies of McCain and Palin.
They chanted "our body, our choice", "equal pay for equal work", and "Palin, Palin get off our back, women's rights are under attack!" They also held up a large banner reading "War is menstruation envy!" Following this protest these women were escorted out by the local law enforcement. Shortly after, a second group of protesters (including UI students Robin Berman, Dan Rathjen, and David Goodner) called Palin and McCain out when they blatantly lied to the crowd about the current economic crisis.
In particular, Palin and McCain promised to reform our economy, even though their economic policies are no different than the current administration. These protesters were also escorted out. Toward the end of the speech McCain talked about his pro-war viewpoint. At the same time, UI graduate student, Justin Feinstein, screamed out, "John McCain, you never learn! We lost in 'Nam! We lost in Iraq! You can never win in war!"
The third wave of students (including Feinstein, Brooke Bachelder, Lara Elborno, Naomi Prager, and Anthony Carter) began loudly chanting, "Bring 'em back, from Iraq", "No justice, no peace, U.S. out of the Middle East", "Wars, wars, that's his name, 100 more years with John McCain", and "All we are saying, is give peace a chance."
All protesters were escorted out peacefully and their demonstration isa testament to the 1st amendment rights given to every US citizen. The protesters encourage all people to exercise their right to freedomof speech.
----------------------
Note from Stephen Fox: I think these students (Megan Felt, Hannah Rounds, Laura Kacere, Marni Steadham, Robin Berman, Dan Rathjen, David Goodner, Justin Feinstein, Brooke Bachelder, Lara Elborno, Naomi Prager, and Anthony Carter) deserve our commendation for their Gandhian courage and their intelligence to do what they did.
This could be in the form of letters to the editor of
1. Daily Iowan, the University Paper (diopletters@gmail.com)
2. Iowa City Press Citizen (opinion@press-citizen.com)
3. Des Moines Register (letters@dmreg.com)
4. Cedar Rapids Gazette (news@gazettecommunications.com)
plus five more listed at: http://www.usnpl.com/ianews.php (this is a "Live Blue" list of Newspapers in Iowa)
Every Saturday, from now until November, there will be carpools leaving from the rest area at Exit 5 off Rte. 3 (McDonald's, Native American totem pole) in Plymouth Mass. to help out with door to door canvassing in NH. All those from the So. Shore or Cape areas who wish to participate are asked to arrive around 7:30 AM. The parking is free for those who wish to leave vehicles there. Please bring money to help defray gas costs for drivers, food, water, pens, clipboard and energy. It is useful to dress in layers.
There will be a training session for everyone. So, if you have never canvassed door to door before, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and will be supplied with a "script" to get you started. Remember, our job as canvassers is mostly to identify Obama supporters and to help those who sincerely are undecided get the information they need from the campaign.
Please sign up on BarackObama.com for any Saturdays you can go and tell your Obama backing friends who want to help the campaign. The event name is "Plymouth Ba-Rocks" and there is one sign-up for each Saturday. Our job, besides ensuring Massachusetts goes for Obama, is to help keep the swing state of NH blue.
Time is short. Please help if you can. Link on flip.
