Saturday, April 19, 2008

THIS JUST IN! DAVID CORN-NUTS IS NUTS!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE.
 
 
DAVID CORN MADE A REAL ASS OUT OF HIMSELF -- MORE THAN USUAL IN FACT.  ON A MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL WITH THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN, DAVID CORN-NUTS INSISTEAD, "ON THE BILL AYERS FRONT, . . . JUST CALLED IT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES, YOU GUYS OBVIOUSLY KNOW, WE ALL KNOW THAT PRESIDENT CLINTON PARDONED TWO WEATHERMEN."
 
 
WE ALL KNOW, DAVID CORN?  WE ALL KNOW SOMETHING THAT NEVER HAPPENED?
 
WHEN WE FOUND DAVEY CORN-NUTS HE WAS IN A SPECIALITY STORE FLIPPING THROUGH THE LATEST ISSUE OF HONCHO AND SOBBING.
 
WHEN THESE REPORTERS ATTEMPTED TO QUESTION HIM, HE MUMBLED SOMETHING ABOUT "LOVE WAND" AND FLED THE BUILDING.
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Chris Carr (KBS Radio) reports the latest on Kyle Snyder. Before the latest, Kyle Snyder self-checked out of the military after serving in Iraq (and being lied to repeatedly -- before joining and after).  He then moved to Canada.  Following Darrell Anderson's returning from Canada to the US and turning himself in, others wondered about that.  Ivan Brobeck would be among the ones who did.  Kyle did as well.  At the end of October 2006, he came back to the US and turned himself in under the agreement that had been worked out.  The military that lied to him before had lied again.  Kyle self-checked out again.  He went on a speaking tour.  The unit that tracks AWOL and deserting soldiers (the one that doesn't exist to read most press accounts) phoned in a tip to the local police on the West Coast hoping to have Kyle arrested while speaking out.  Kyle was too smart for them and when they showed up, he showed up to speak by phone.  He went back to Canada to reclaim his life.  He was set to be married and the US military was getting antsy.  With the help of the Nelson police, they managed to get him arrested. Right before his wedding.  Drug him off in handcuffs, his robe and underwear.  The Nelson police changed their story multiple times.  Kyle had to be released because he was arrested on trumped up charges.
 
Coming at the same time as the US military crossing into Canada and posing as Canadian police to locate US war resister Joshua Key, it helped create an incident.  There would be an investigation!  And of course the best person to investigate what happened in Nelson was . . . the best friend of the Nelson police chief.  It was always going to be a white wash.
Carr reports that the white was has found charges "unbsubstantiated."  What a shocker.  Kyle Snyder did get married.  He is now the husband of a Canadian citizen.  Translation, the US military can't touch him.
 
However, in Canada, other US war resisters are waiting to find out whether they will be granted safe harbor. The Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.         

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
 
Last month Iraq Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier took place and KPFA has a live program coming up April 22nd:

Live On Air and Online at kpfa.org!           
April 22 from 10am-1pm      
Join us on April 22nd for this very important follow up to Pacifica's groundbreaking Winter Soldier live coverage. We will be following the San Francisco trial involving wounded vets and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this first class action lawsuit U.S. Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder sue the VA, alleging a system wide breakdown in the way the Government treats those soldiers.
During this special broadcast we will be bringing our listeners live updates from the San Francisco federal courthouse, we'll speak with wounded Veterans attorney Gordon Erspamer, (taking this case pro bono because his father was permanently disabled in World War II and never received proper health care) and speak with Veterans advocates including Veterans for Common Sense, and Vets for America.
Read more about the broadcast here.

 
That announcement will appear in the snapshots until the broadcast. If you missed Winter Soldier you can stream online at Iraq Veterans Against the War, at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday. Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz were the anchors for Pacifica's live coverage.
 
 
Yesterday at the Pentagon, US Defense Dept flack Geoff Morrell did a song and dance before reporters.  Reuters Kristin Roberts asked a question:
 
Can you help me understand how it is that there are 163,000 troops in Iraq now that you're even beyond the halfway point of pulling the surge brigades out?  And 163,000 is even higher than what was originally expected when the surge was announced, for all five BCTs [Brigade Combat Teams].  Now you have three out out.  How do you have 163,000 troops?
 
Yes, how does Morrell explain that?  By ignoring it and stating he isn't "the best person to ask in terms of the daily numbers as to where we are in terms of forces in Iraq."  He concluded with, "I'm sorry if that's not a satisfactory answer.  I'm just not the expert on that one."  Numbers are hard for Geoff.  No doubt they're hard for the Bully Boy as well which must why the press avoided asking him about them during his joint press conference yesterday with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Gordon Brown -- apparently chafing at his lack of nickname (Tony Blair was "poodle") -- kissed up big time: "The world owes President George Bush a huge debt of gratitude for leading the world in our determination to root out terrorism, and to ensure that there is no safe haven for terrorism and no hiding place for terrorists."  He chatted up the "special relationship" between the UK and US.  He claimed that Iraq (and Afghanistan) was the topic "of much our discussions" and went on to declare, "We praise the commitment of the troops of both America and Britain and all who serve in these two countries. And we believe that our program of overwatch in Basra in the south of Iraq is making substantial progress."  In response to a question, Brown delcared Iraq "now a democracy, that democratic rights have been restored to the Iraqi people, that we're now building schools and hospitals" -- you know, the usual lies.
 
Andrew Porter and Thomas Harding  (Telgraph of London -- link also provides video of the press conference) report, "The Prime Minister faced questions" throughout his visit, "over the decision for British troops not to get involved in the recent fighting in the city of Basra".  The Telegraph of London asks readers whether the time has come for British troops to leave Iraq?  Meanwhile Sam Coates (Times of London) finds the correct verb for Brown's brown-nosing: "lavishing" and notes how it was a "coup" for Brown to meet face-to-face with Senators Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama.  (Obama blew off Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd during his recent visit and Coates notes only Clinton met with France's president "during his visit").  At the White House press conference, Brown declared, "It is, if I might answer your second question, it is for Americans to decide who their President is going to be.  I was delighted to meet the three presidential candidates who remain in the field.  What I was convinced of after talking to each of them, and talking about the issues that concern them and concern the world, is that the relationship between America and Britain will remain strong, remain steadfast, it will be one that will be able to rise to the challenges of the future."  Yes, there are other candidates for president besides the ones offered by the Democratic and Republican Party, take it up with Gordon Brown. 
 
AP's Terry Hunt asked Bully Boy, "You said last week that Iraq was not an endless war, but others have called it an open-ended war and a war with no end in sight.  Do you agree with those descriptions?"  Bully Boy, never one to miss a chance at laughing at the deaths his illegal war caused, joked, "One of those three has a good chance of winning."  He then claimed that Iraq was "succeeding" in terms of security, "getting better" in terms of economy and "improving" with regards to politics.  Sadly, those remarks weren't also received as jokes.  In the real world, Jonathan S. Landay and John Walcott (McClatchy Newspapers) report, "The war in Iraq has become 'a major debacle' and the outcome 'is in doubt' despite improvements in security from the buildup in U.S. forces, according to a highly critical study published Thursday by the Pentagon's premier military educational institute. The report released by the National Defense University raises fresh doubts about President Bush's projections of a U.S. victory in Iraq just a week after Bush announced that he was suspending U.S. troop reductions. The report carries considerable weight because it was written by Joseph Collins, a former senior Pentagon official, and was based in part on interviews with other former senior defense and intelligence officials who played roles in prewar preparations."
 
 

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Friday, April 18, 2008

THIS JUST IN! JAKE'S GOT A SCOOP!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE.
 
FRESH OFF THE HEELS OF HIS LATEST EXCLUSIVE, ABC NEWS JAKE TAPPER REPORTS THAT 71-YEAR-OLD GRANNY MADGE JOHNSON WAS ARRESTED AND ESCORTED TO A SQUAD CAR IN DOWNTOWN BOCA RATON TODAY FOR POSSESSION OF CRACK COCAINE.
 
WHEN THESE REPORTERS CAUGHT UP WITH MS. JOHNSON, SHE INVITED US INTO HER HOME, ASKED US IF WE KNEW HOW TO PROGRAM HER VCR (SHE HAD TIVO) AND LAUGHED ABOUT HER "ARREST." 
 
"I FELT DIZZY TODAY," SHE EXPLAINED.  "THE NICE POLICE OFFICER JUST HELPED ME CROSS THE STREET."
 
WHEN REACHED FOR COMMENT, JAKE TAPPER RESPONDED, "WELL HE ESCORTED HER!  I GOT THAT PART RIGHT!"
 
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Aidan Delgado explains, in his book  The Sutras Of Abu Ghraib: Notes From A Conscientious Objector In Iraq, the mind-set in Iraq when Abu Ghraib had to be discussed:
 
There's no doubt now that everything we've heard about is true, and it must be even worse than we thought, for the commander himself to get on our backs about it. All a family? I laugh. We're only a family when the captain wants us to do his bidding or conceal some wrongdoing. The Army has tried that rhetoric before, talking about family and Army pride and everything else to try to get you to buy into what they do. When the Army talks about "handling something internally," it's only because they've done something so obviously wrong, they can't allow the rest of the country to see it. This doesn't surprise me. After all, if Americans back home saw Iraqi prisoners shot dead for throwing stones, saw the wretched conditions inside Abu, or saw the way the MPs dealt with the prisoners, what would they think of our glorious and righteous invasion? The truth about Abu Ghraib has to be concealed, has to be "kept in the family," because if the average citizen saw what we're doing to the people here, they would know in their guts that it's un-American.
 
Family is the hide-behind, the thing that is supposed to stop all discussions. War resisters have to stand up to a lot to stand up.  Is Robert Przyblski a war resister?  Who knows?  What is known is that he went missing, turned himself in and now awaits . . . what? [See here and here and here and here)]  John Vandiver (Stars & Stripes) reports that "months after being charged, his case remains in legal limbo.  No Article 32 has been held.  Futhermore, Army officials in Europe would not say whether the captain is still in Baumholder or has taken residence someplace else."
 
 
In Canada, US war resisters are waiting to find out whether they will be granted safe harbor. The Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.         

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
 
Last month Iraq Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier took place and KPFA has a live program coming up April 22nd:

Live On Air and Online at kpfa.org!           
April 22 from 10am-1pm      
Join us on April 22nd for this very important follow up to Pacifica's groundbreaking Winter Soldier live coverage. We will be following the San Francisco trial involving wounded vets and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this first class action lawsuit U.S. Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder sue the VA, alleging a system wide breakdown in the way the Government treats those soldiers.
During this special broadcast we will be bringing our listeners live updates from the San Francisco federal courthouse, we'll speak with wounded Veterans attorney Gordon Erspamer, (taking this case pro bono because his father was permanently disabled in World War II and never received proper health care) and speak with Veterans advocates including Veterans for Common Sense, and Vets for America.
Read more about the broadcast here.

 
That announcement will appear in the snapshots until the broadcast. If you missed Winter Soldier you can stream online at Iraq Veterans Against the War, at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday. Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz were the anchors for Pacifica's live coverage.
 
 
 
Yesterday, the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity reviewed proposed bills on veternas healthcare with US House Rep Stephanie Herseth chairing the committee (due to the ranking member being on the House floor) and noting that they were discussing "thirteen bills before us that seek to: protect our nation's veterans from possible foreclosure and financial burdens incurred while serving one's country; update VA housing construction guidelines; expand education programs while meeting the current retention needs of the Armed Forces; strengthen employment and reemployment rights for returning service members and veterans; and minimize recidivism among incarcerated veterans."  Along with US House Rep John Boozman, Herseth has introduced  (April 2nd) the Veterans Education Improvement Act. US House Rep John Yarmuth addressed the Second Chance for America's Veterans Act (which was signed into legislation by the White House on April 9th) that seeks to assist IVTP's (Incarcerated Veterans Transitional Program). US House Rep Robin Hayes brought up the reality that National Guard members are returning to the US to find out that their deployment did, in fact, effect their employment.  We'll zoom in on the issue of employment.
 
First, on the issue of employment itself.  US House Rep Sternes explained HR 3646, the Veterans Effective Training Job Opportunities and Benefits Act of 2007 ("or the Vets job act"):
 
I think this bill is an important step in helping our veterans gain gainful employment when retiring from the service.  When warriors return home from combat, they often face an uphill battle.  For many service members, the transition from active duty to veteran status and returning to a full, meaningful civilian life is daunting frought with many challenging obstacles and buraucratic barriers.  Many times these brave service men and women require job training for entirely new careers. . . .   My legislation would provide better information to veterans on their local job market needs.  The VET JOBS Act directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Labor to conduct a joint study on the greatest employment needs in various job markets around the country and post the results on the VA website. These results would then be updated annually to reflect the current and possibly changing needs in the local job market.  With this tool, veterans could plug in their zip code and see a list of the occupations that are most in demand within their commuting area, and subsequently use their federal job training most effectively.  The Department of Labor already has the infrastructure in place for this kind of research, so this is a practical, low cost solution.  In fact, the Congressional Budget Office has unofficially scored this proposal as having "insignificant" costs. Insignificant costs for immeasurable benefit to our veterans.
 
Rep Hayes' The National Guard Employment Protection Act of 2007 addresses the issue of jobs already held being kept while serving. Hayes' state (North Carolina) has a National Guard call up rate of 97 percent.  US House Rep Artur Davis noted Congress' actions in 1994 ensuring that jobs would be intact when those serving in the Guard returned home but USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act) is being ignored.  Davis referenced Jill Carroll's "While Reservsts Serve, Their Jobs Don't Always Wait" (Chistian Science Monitor) which examined this crisis.  Steve Duarte was among the veterans Carroll reported on.  Duarte was employed at a company for nearly 20 years but upon returning from serving in Iraq, his employers "told his job was ending in a week."  He explained to Carroll, "There was that initial shock -- and then the shock of 'What am I going to do?'   As Davis explained, "When his efforts with the Departments of Labor and Defense led nowhere, Duarte hired a private attorney and spent $12,000 of his own money for fees.  Several years later, he won his lawsuit and was awarded almost $400,000.  Duarte is not an isolated case."  Davis listed statistics --
 
*10,061 formal complaints were filed with the Department of Labor from October 1, 1996 through June 30, 2005.
 
* For fiscal years 2004-2005, the Office of Employment Support for the Guard and Reserve received approximately 10,000 complaints. 
 
Davis noted how a move towards employers use of arbitration has allowed the existing laws protecting members of the Guard to be weakened.  To no surprise, the administration sees that differently.  Thomas L. Bush is the Acting Deputy Assistant Secreteary of Defense for Reserve Affairs at DoD.  Last month he was telling the press that increasing education benefits for service members will increase "the risk that many who enter for the benefits will leave as soon as they can use them."  Yesterday he repeated his assertion that DoD "does not believe that the basic structure of the Montgomery GI Bill is broken."  On the issue of securing the jobs and, let's be honest, enforcing the law, Thomas L. Bush made it clear that the DoD doesn't give a damn what happens when the Dept is done with reserves.  "We are concerned," he explained, "about the negative message its enactment may send to the nation's employers."  That pretty much sums up the White House's sole concern.  But this really should get attention because the White House wants to maintain that they and only they care about the US service members.
 
[. . .]
 
Turning to the US presidential race in the Democratic Party.  Barack Obama lost last night's debate. [For community coverage of the debate see  Elaine, Kat, Ruth, Marcia, Mike, Rebecca and Wally & Cedric (joint-post on the last two).]  What to do when you lose big in front of the country (in the most watched debate)?  Wah-wah-wah.  Cry like a big baby.  And have your cult -- the same cult text-messaged to hit message boards last night during the debate -- do things like create videos on the death of George Stephanopoulos.  George and Charlie Gibson hosted and the Cult of Saint Bambi proves just how thuggish they are.  Thuggish and childish and it's really getting old.  To the nation, it's really getting old.  They had to tone down their attacks on Hillary Clinton -- Common Dreams, CounterPunch, The Nation, The Progressive, their 'traffic' was down.  They had to pull it just a little back.  And they've been sitting on all the HATE inside them this whole time so now they're going to go after George.  George isn't a journalist in any trained sense and ABC knew that when they hired him.  He also isn't 'in the bag' for Hillary Clinton.  He asked questions and they were questions about issues people were raising.  Hillary supporters are not circulating Death of George videos around the web today.  She was asked about Bosnia.  But heaven forbid Saint Bambi should be asked about Jeremiah Wright, heaven forbid he should be asked about Bill Ayers.  It's time to cry, and scream, and threaten.  The mob mentality of the Cult of Saint Bambi. 
 
Marc Cooper showed up at one of The Socialite's Cat Chow blogs last night to smear Hillary because a summer job after college found her working for someone who might be a Communist.  Today, Bill Ayers' brother embarrasses him (and his brother) at one of The Socialite's Cat Chow blogs by screaming that asking Obama about Bill Ayers is like McCarthyism!  No, it's not.  What Marc Cooper did was like McCarthyism.  Bill Ayers and Obama are friends.  Bernardine Dorhn -- top of the FBI Most Wanted List at one point and proud of that fact -- and Ayers hosted a fundraiser for him.  Mark Rudd (Weather Underground alumni) has publicly endorsed Barack.  Whether you think the Weather Underground was evil or not (I don't), they did break the law, they were wanted by the FBI.  They were part of an armed revolution struggle.  Richard Nixon was breaking every law in sight and the Weather Underground was in response to that.  Their actions were criminal.  They were in response to a criminal administration.  But Barack could get honest about that and many other things.  Instead he went, last night, with calling Bill Ayers' actions "detestable."  (What a prissy word.)  Well, if that's how he feels, why is he hanging with the man?  It goes to Jeremiah Wright.  "Disowned" him Bambi indicated in the debate until George caught that and Bambi clarified he only disowned Wright's words (the damning of America from the front of a church in a sermon). 
 
Don't hide things.  If you want to keep them hidden, don't run for office.  If you do and some things (these are not the big things) come out, don't blame the press.    But Saint Bambi was questioned and the Cult will not have it.  So they lash out at George and circulate "Death" videos.  They really are thugs.  (I'm not referring to Obama supporters.  I'm referring to the ones stirring this up and that's never been a bottom-up thing.  This is stirred from the top.)  They are as Cultish as were the followers of George W. Bush after 9-11.  And don't we all know how that worked out for the country?  George Stephanopoulos tells Robin Abcarian (Los Angeles Times), "The questions we asked were tough and fair and appropriate and relevant and what you would expect to be asked in a presidential debate at this point.  The questions we asked . . are being debated around the political world every day."  They did, for example, ask Barack about the man who is suing him and claiming the two of them did drugs and had sex.  This was not The National Enquirer.  These were valid questions. 
 
Many Americans consider Ayers and Dohrn terrorists (some consider them heroes for their past actions, some grasp those were very complex times) and it certainly is a question that should be on the table.  As for Wright, Obama chose to bore the nation with a really bad speech.  So when he controls what is and isn't said, that's okay?  He spoke to the nation about Wright.  Now it's off limits?  That's nonsense.   The thugs are sending out the groupies to do their bidding.  Do your best.  The media circles wagons.  You're only harming your own candidate and showing what a trashy campaign relies underneath Bambi's "HOPE" and "CHANGE" talk.  You're showing the whole country just how trashy, how thuggish and how undemocratic you are.  The "death video" isn't funny, it's not cute and George doesn't deserve it.  Make fun of him all you want, question his judgement, but you better grasp that you crossed a line.  I know George and I don't think it's funny nor do I believe it was intended to be funny.  It is revealing about what's really behind Barack Mania. 
 
Hillary won the debate.  She won it because she is the better candidate.  Things were tossed at her as well.  She handled it.  Bosnia was brought up, she said she apologized for the story she had told.  She called it something embarrassing.  She owned her mistake.  It doesn't need to be brought up again, because she dealt with it.  That's what a real candidate does.  She had her policy down, she knew her facts, she had the audience laughing.  Barack doesn't inspire that because he doesn't come off human.  He's wooden.  He's wooden . . . and . . . he . . . creates . . . pauses . . . where none should . . . be.  He's responsible for his bad performance.  He could have done Hillary and taken control of the moment.  He didn't.  He bombed.  Those questions weren't new.  Not Bosnia to Hillary, not Wright to Barack.  An experienced candidate knew what to do.  That Barack didn't, that all these months later he's still not experienced go to his own faults and his own immaturity.  His groupies can't threaten and stomp their feet but he lost.  He lost because he was wooden, he lost because he said "uh" over and over, he lost because it was a conversational style and Barack doesn't want to talk, he wants to lecture.
 
 
...Sen. Hillary Clinton, her public service, political experience and tenacity tell us not only "Yes we can" but also "How we can." As such, we endorse Clinton for the Democratic Party's nomination for president.
...
...[C]hoosing the president of the United States is too important a decision to make based on hope alone. After finishing his term in the Senate and better showing us what he can do for the American people, Obama could one day be a remarkable president.
Clinton, on the other hand, is ready to lead this nation now. A successful champion for change, her experience in the Senate and as first lady gives her a better understanding of how Washington works. She has the ability to turn policy into reality. And her mastery of causes central to the Democratic Party's platform makes her better suited to challenge presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.
...
...[I]n New York, her senatorial campaigns united a surprisingly wide coalition of supporters across political and socioeconomic boundaries. She can do the same this November.
...
Ultimately, we are confident in Clinton's ability to implement her agenda. It's this quality that has brought leaders like Mayor Michael Nutter and Governor Ed Rendell to her side. And it's this quality that convinces us to support her as well.
...
 
 

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Thursday, April 17, 2008

THIS JUST IN! OBAMA GRADES HIMSELF!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE.
 
DESPITE RUMORS THAT SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON CLEANED HIS CLOCK IN THE ABC DEBATE, SENATOR BAMBI OBAMA SEES IT DIFFERENTLY.
 
"I BELIEVE.  I SHOWED.  RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES," BAMBI EXPLAINED.  "THAT I AM.  NOT DISIMILAR TO THEMSELVES.  I GRASP THAT THEY.  CAN CONVERGE WITH. ME.  THAT WE CAN ALL.  CONVERGE AMONGST.  ONE ANOTHER.  IT WAS A RISKY GAMBIT BUT.  I BELIEVE AMERICANS HAVE.  A RIGHT TO SEE.  MY WARMER SIDE.  MY LIGHTER DISPOSITION.  IF YOU PER CHANCE WILL."
 
"LOSER!" CRIED A MAN PASSING BY.
 
"I SEE," BAMBI DECLARED IN HIS MONOTONE, "THAT MAN SUPPORTS ME BECAUSE.  SUPPORTING ME.  IS SUPPORTING HIM.  IT IS.  A SMALL.  WORLD.  AFTER ALL."
 
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Courage to Resist has compiled a page providing names of war resisters and we'll note Jose Vasquez's sketch: "Staff. Sgt. Jose Vasquez served fourteen years in the Army and Army Reserve.  In January 2005, he applied for conscientious objector status requesting immediate discharge from the military which was approved.  He was honorably discharged in May 2007.  Jose is an active member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) serving as Co-chiar of the Borad and President of the New York City chapter.  He is pursuing a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the City University of New York." Vasquez helped verify all witnesses testifying at Winter Soldier Investigation last month and also chaired the March 14th's first panel.  Vasquez also organized the successful Operation First Casualty II last May (Memorial Day) in NYC.
 
That's the US.  In Canada, US war resisters are waiting to find out whether they will be granted safe harbor. The Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.         

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
 
Last month Iraq Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier took place and KPFA has a live program coming up April 22nd:

Live On Air and Online at kpfa.org!           
April 22 from 10am-1pm      
Join us on April 22nd for this very important follow up to Pacifica's groundbreaking Winter Soldier live coverage. We will be following the San Francisco trial involving wounded vets and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this first class action lawsuit U.S. Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder sue the VA, alleging a system wide breakdown in the way the Government treats those soldiers.
During this special broadcast we will be bringing our listeners live updates from the San Francisco federal courthouse, we'll speak with wounded Veterans attorney Gordon Erspamer, (taking this case pro bono because his father was permanently disabled in World War II and never received proper health care) and speak with Veterans advocates including Veterans for Common Sense, and Vets for America.
Read more about the broadcast here.

 
That announcement will appear in the snapshots until the broadcast. If you missed Winter Soldier you can stream online at Iraq Veterans Against the War, at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday. Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz were the anchors for Pacifica's live coverage.
 
 
Bilal is free.  The Committee to Protect Journalists notes, "Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein was freed today from U.S custody in Iraq, ending a two-year ordeal in which he fended off unsubstantiated accusations from the U.S. military that he collaborated with Iraq insurgents." Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) reminds, "The military never made public its evidence against Hussein" and that they announced their decision on Monday when they "released a statement with a slightly gruding tone". "Two years and four days" of imprisonment, Daryl Lang (Photo District News) calculates, also noting the "five-month judicial process" that ended last week.  Robert H. Reid (AP) explains, "Hussein, 36, was freed at a checkpoint in Baghdad, where he was taken by the military aboard a prisoner bus.  He left U.S. custody wearing a traditional Iraqi robe and appeared in good health."  Dean Yates (Reuters) quotes Bilal stating, "I want to thank all the people working in AP . . . I have spent two years in prison even though I was innocent.  I thank everybody."  Editorial Photographers United Kingdom & Ireland describes the scene, "The photographer was embraced by sobbing family members, including his brother and mother, and spoke to other well-wishers on a mobile phone as he was showered with flowers and sweets.  He later was honored with a traditional feast." They also quote professor Yassir Hussein (Bilal's brother) explaining, "I cannot describe my happiness at seeing him again.  The family has been going through a hard time over the past two years, but now we thank God that we will have some rest."  AFP notes Bilal's Pulitzer Prize win and that he was released at "an entry checkpoint near Camp Victory near the Baghdad airport" according to US Maj Matt Morgan. Paul Colford, Associated Press' Director of Media Relations, announced Monday, "After two years in detention, Bilal Hussein needs time to spend with his family, to rest and to catch up with the rest of the world."
 
 
"We need to trust" declared Jim Nussle at the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing today on tossing away more American dollars on funding the illegal war.  Nussle is the budget director for the White House so his credentials on "trust" remain murky.  US Senator Robert Byrd is the chair (despite attempts by US Senator Patrick Leahy to oust him) and, appearing robust, he opened the haring by noting first US Senator Arlen Specter's "health has hit a small bump in the road.  While many of us know what it's like to face a health challenge, I know this man.  His strong fighting spirit will quickly lead him on the path to recovery."  Byrd then moved the topic of the hearing:
 
Eleven months ago, Congress sent the president a war funding supplemental that included clear direction to bring our troops home by December of 2007.  The president chose to veto that bill.  If he had signed that bill, most of our troops would already be home.  But instead of bring our troops home, the president decided to increase our commitment of US troops and treasure to a war that has now entered its sixth year.  Over 4,000 US service members have died.  Over 30,000 US service members have been wounded.  By the end of 2008, the war in Iraq will have cost a whopping $600 billion.  In the next few weeks, the Appropriations Committee will consider the president's request for Congress to approve another $108 billion of emergency funding, most for this endless war in Iraq.  We will be considering the president's request at a time when the US ecnomy is, by most accounts, in serious trouble. Under the president's fiscal leadership, the US government will have piled up the five largest deficits in the history of our Republic.  It took 212 years and 42 US presidents to accumulate one-trillion-dollars of foreign-held debt.  But in only seven years, President George W. Bush has more than doubled the debt our country owes to China, Japan, and other foreign entities.
 
As he concluded his opening remarks, Byrd also noted, "This year, we will once again take good care of our troops.  But we must also invest in our own economy and take care of our people here at home.  To fail to do so will only further dampen our economy, work a hardship on our our citizens, and deplete our ability to pay these endless, every-climbing requests for more money to fund this war in Iraq.  The well is running dry, and it is time to prime the pump."  The senators worthy of note include Patty Murray who pointed out that the White House repeatedly underfunds in the US (infastructure, etc) and that when Congress attempts to address the underfunding, the White House threatens a veto.  She stated that Congress was attempting to fund the needed programs "in a responsible way" but there's no effort on the part of the White House to reach out to the Congress and that can stop.  "If that means," Murray declared, "we're going to to have to wait until we get" the next president, "then that's what we're going to do."   Senator Byron Dorgan echoed Murray's point and noted that "the game is over."  He referenced the New York Times story (C.J. Chivers' "Washington Blocks Exports of Munitions Firm Suspected of Fraud") on the 'businessmen' providing ammo to Afghanistan (emphasing "massage therapist" repeatedly) as well as the fact that Halliburton gets US tax payer funds and then "runs the payroll through the Cayman Islands" in order to avoid paying the US payroll taxes.  He stated that everyone -- Congress, the administration -- bears responsibility for the lack of oversight but that "there comes a time when you have to say enough."  Senator Ben Nelson noted the "blank check policy" the administration has attempted to utilize repeatedly.
 
The big surprise may have been Senator Dianne Feinstein who may have done her best job in a Senate hearing period.  She was to the point, she knew what you wanted to say.  She noted the frustrations everyone on the committee felt and maybe that's what it took but Feinstein, repeatedly holding her forehead as she held the administration accountable, Feinstein was professional and focused. "Never before in history has a war been funded on the debt," Feinstein pointed out.  "I think it's a . . . problem for the survival of the nation."  She was referring to the climbing debt and the White House's request for yet another 'emergency' funding bill.  Feinstein noted what wasn't getting funded, she noted the failing infrastructure across America, and the lack of funding to prevent wildfires or the leveys in Califonria that need to be fixed.  "My problem is," she explained, "I've got a part of a state that might well burn over the summer again and we can't provide" the needed funding.  She noted the tax cuts for the wealthy throughout the years of the illegal war and the domestic programs cut and re-cut during this emphasizing, "It's rather cyncial what happens: You fund the war off budget, on the debt, and you press for further tax reduction."  Regarding the latest 'emergency' request, Feinstein declared, "I think maybe the time has come when we do have to put our foot down" to make clear that "we're not going to do" this "and I'm going to have a very hard time for $108 billion knowing what's happening in the United States, . . knowing we need to do some things just to protect our own people. . . . It's not right and it's not why we" came to Congress.
 
"The legacy that this president will leave," Senator Mary Landrieu pointed out, "is that he drove the country into a war and for the next six years . . . refused to submit a plan to pay for it. There's nothing, Director, clean about this bill -- it's either a cover-up . . . or a sloppy sales job."
 
At the conclusion of the hearing, the chair, Robert Byrd, spoke noting in "the next few weeks the committee will mark up a supplemental that meets the needs" of the military and the civilians.  A lively hearing and a CODEPINK activist chanted "Fund them home! Fund the home!" repeatedly at the end; however, it needs to be noted that some of the life in the hearing may have had less to do with the illegal war (and the drain its placed on the US economy -- present and future) and more to do with the White House's threat to veto what Congress sends up if they add any additional spending to it (which is their right, they control the purse and the White House does not have line-item veto).  Senator Ben Nelson hit especially hard on the issue of the money going to the Iraq War and reminded that he and Senator Evan Bayh had, early on, requested that the monies for reconstruction, et al in Iraq be given in the form of a loan.  Nussle apparently missed last week's hearings because this was a new concept to him.  He spoke of taking the idea back to the White House and begged off additional questions noting he was not the Secretary of State.  In terms of the waste Dorgan emphasized, he also acted as if this was news to him.  He suggested Congress explore that.  That's what they were attempting . . . while he played dumb.
 
 
 

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Wednesday, April 16, 2008

THIS JUST IN! LOW STANDARDS REIGN!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE.
 
"THAT'S MY HUSBAND!" BRAGGED THE SUPPOSEDLY EDUCATED MICHELLE OBAMA POINTING TO SENATOR BAMBI TAPING HIS COMMERICAL A FEW DAYS AGO.  "HE'S SO GOOD!"
 
 
"NEXT WEEK," MICHELLE GUSHED, "HE'S GOING TO BRAG ABOUT NOT BEING A SERIAL KILLER!"
 
 
Starting with war resistance.  Richard Marcus (BlogCritics) reviews the new DVD Deserter which offers a a 30 minute look at "a deserting soldier and his young wife as they flee across the country to seek refugee status over the Canadian border.  As they move from safe house to safe house, we get to know Ryan and Jen -- two shy, small-town kids from the Central Valley who joined the military because there were no jobs, and find they must make a heroic stand in order to escape an illegal and immoral war.  'Deserter' is a political movie with one of the few happy endings that this war has given us." Ryan and Jen are Ryan and Jen Johnson and they entered Canada in June 2005. Marcus writes, "All the way across America there operates a new Underground Railway, but now instead of helping runaway slaves they are helping young Americans escape from having to serve in what they consider an unjust war.  Ryan and Jen are passed from having to serve in what they consider an unjust war.  Ryan and Jen are passed from safe house to safe house until just before the border they phone the contact they have for Toronto.  They've already been coached on how to get through the border corssing, but that doesn't stop them from being nervous; there is the risk that they could check Ryan for outstanding warrants and find out that he is a deserter."
 
Meanwhile war resisters in Canada wait to find out whether they will be granted safe harbor.  The Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue.  You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum. 

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).  
 
Last month Iraq Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier took place and KPFA has a live program coming up April 22nd:

Live On Air and Online at kpfa.org!            
April 22 from 10am-1pm                    
Join us on April 22nd for this very important follow up to Pacifica's groundbreaking Winter Soldier live coverage. We will be following the San Francisco trial involving wounded vets and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this first class action lawsuit U.S. Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder sue the VA, alleging a system wide breakdown in the way the Government treats those soldiers.
During this special broadcast we will be bringing our listeners live updates from the San Francisco federal courthouse, we'll speak with wounded Veterans attorney Gordon Erspamer, (taking this case pro bono because his father was permanently disabled in World War II and never received proper health care) and speak with Veterans advocates including Veterans for Common Sense, and Vets for America.
Read more about the broadcast here.              
 
That announcement will appear in the snapshots until the broadcast.  If you missed Winter Soldier you can stream online at Iraq Veterans Against the War, at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday. Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz were the anchors for Pacifica's live coverage. 
 
Moving to the US Congress.  Today the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs held hearings on proposed legislation.  Committee chair Michael Michaud noted, "The six bills before us cover a wide range of topics that are germane to veterans' healthcare.  Issues addressed in today's bills include Spina Bifida, epilepsy research centers, substance use disorder treament and prevention, expansion of dental care, timely access to care, and a bill of rights."
 
The first panel offered testimony from members of Congress. Committee chair Michaud offered testmony on substance use noting, "Our legislation will require the VA to provide the full continuum of care for substance use disorder, and it will require this full spectrum of care to be available at every VA medical center.   Our legislation will also direct the VA to conduct a pilot program for internet-based substance use disorder treatment for veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.  This will enable our newest generation of veterans to overcome the stigma associated with seeking treatment and receive the necessary care in a comfortable and secure setting."  US House Rep Christopher Carney focused on the issue of the dental care and, in his opening statement, provided reasons why this area should not be dismissed including: "The cost of this bill is a cost of war; it is an investment in our way of life and our future. As every member of this subcommittee knows, to ensure a ready fighting force tomorrow we need to take care of our veterans today. I would also like to point out that conditions such as missing teeth and cavities can be barriers in seeking employment and I believe every effort must be made to ensure that there is a smooth transition for our military members who are entering the civilian work force. We must also ensure that disabled veterans from wars past are also given every tool to keep a meaningful job and this includes dental care."  US House Rep Ginny Brown-Waite was concerned with the issue of wait time and noted "if a veteran can't see a physician in 30 days she or he should be allowed to see a private doctor." She later pointed that "healthcare delayed is healthcare denied." Rep Phil Hare noted that it's not a "how can we afford" issue with veterans healthcare, "If we make a promise to our veterans . . . we have to keep that promise or we have no business making it."  US House Rep Shelley Berkley agreed with that, explaining "For me the cost of the war" includes the "cost of taking care of our veterans" and if that's considered incorrect "then you ought not send them over" to begin with. 
 
Berkley also noted the issue of costs in terms of funding, "If we're going to continue to pile more responsibilities on the VA . . . we better provide the VA with the necessary amount of money that they're going to need to carry out our will and so far I haven't seen that happen. . . . We're playing catch up now. . . .  Unless we have a national recognition" of this priority "then we better just forget the whole thing.  And thank you for listening to my soapbox."  Berkley also noted that the US spends $3,919 a second in Iraq "and if we're going to spend that kind of money" there, Congress ought to be able to fund veterans healthcare.  She noted doctors in Nevada who contracted to perform veterans healthcare and "they have not been paid in over a year."  If this continues, she noted, "You're not going to get any doctors" who'll be willing to go through this process and take on patients.  On the issue of substance abuse, she thought (most will agree) that the idea of treating it via the internet was a bit off the mark and was informed that the internet aspect is just a pilot program. Considering the rural areas that will not benefit why the pilot program is even being started might need to be questioned.  (That's me, not Berkley).  She noted the son of two of her constituents who served in Iraq.  After returning home, he developed a sustance abuse program and was addicted to "five medications".  Going for treatment at the VA resulted in him being put on a sixth medication "and he o.d.ed in the facility and he died in the VA."  She cautioned, "We better make sure the VA has the tools" and that when someone "checks into a VA, there should be an expectation there" that they those conducting the treatment know what they are doing. 
 
US House Rep Bob Filner focused on the need for an Epilepsy Center for Excellence.  US House Rep Ed Perlmutter noted that he has a daughter with epilepsy and the need for the VA "to provide the military veterans coming back that will develop seizures and that develop epilepsy . . . with the best service possible."  He reminded the committee of the large number of head injuries in combat and that "some of them are goign to have seizures." (Also offering testimony were US House Reps Brad Ellsworth and Ed Perlmutter.)  The second panel offered five witnesses.  Disabled American Veterans' Joy J. Illem spoke on the Epilepsy Centers of Excellence (HR 2818) and noted, "The bill would establish a peer review panel, consisting of experts on epilepsy and complex multi-trauma associated with combat injuries, including post-traumatic epilepsy, to assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals submitted by VA facilities for consideration to be designated as Epilepsy Centers of Excellence under this bill.  The peer review panel would be required to report its assessment of such proposals to the Under Secretary for Health, presumably to strengthen the Secretary's decision to designate Centers on the basis of merit -- but the bill does not specify this peer review as a precursor to the Secretary's designations.  The Subcommittee may wish to make that minor modification to the bill to ensure the best proposals are considered by the Secretary as determined by the peer review panel. "  Ilem felt it should be paired with a TBI center.  Veterans of Foreign Wars' Christopher Needham stated "we need an emphasis on this."  Chair Michaud asked the five witnesses at the second panel to name the two things the legislature should focus on fixing currently.  Ilem stated substance abuse was the issue.  Needham stated the same and added "hand in hand is funding issues."  American Legion's Joseph L. Wilson stated TBI and blind eye issues. While Vietnam Veterans of America's Bernie Edelman noted "a lot of these health issues are interwoven" and also spoke of the "stigma associated with seeking help".  Vietnam Veterans of America's Richard F. Weidman spoke of the diseases today (throughout the second panel) and the impacts on the future.  He noted the issue of children of veterans developing diseases and the concerns many veterans had over this issue.  Agent Orange was a frequent topic (brought up by many) and an important issue to keep in mind is that Agent Orange (it's effects on future generations) could have been dealt with during Vietnam (it never should have been used to begin with).  It wasn't.  Veterans of Vietnam have had to fight and fight and fight some more year after year.  In terms of the current illegal war,  funding, research, etc. needs to take place now.  After the Iraq War ends it will be very, very difficult to get the interest of the bulk of Congress or the bulk of the American people on this issue.  Vietnam veterans can talk at length about their struggles for basic healthcare and how they're still fighting. 
 
Last week, in the midst of The Petraeus and Crocker Variety Hour, the House Veterans Armed Service committee held a hearing on April 9th and Trina wrote about it. Read her post, she did an excellent job covering it.  Pressed for time, but veteran Michelle Saunders needs to be noted because she advocated very well in that hearing.  She knew her facts, she was confident and presented very well.   Boiling her points down to the briefiest, veterans can help veterans.  She's pursuing that now and attempting an organization that will provide the training/preparation needed for post-military life.  She noted that you get weeks of boot camp when you enlist, but when you discharge, it's bye.  From her opening statement:
 
 
When I left the conference, I was so eager to get in the trenches and start figuring the best strategic approach on how to stop the bleeding, but little did I know it was like trying to put a band-aid on a sucking chest wound. I soon started to see the blackness of bureaucracy from the inside as opposed to being the victim on the outside. I started to see how a "success" was measured by a number, how a problem would disappear when it was time to report to the higher chain of command, how the "collaborating" agencies would point fingers at each other of all the pitfalls and the hic-ups, but would leverage each other for the "successes". After reading that, one may ask or presume I am bitter. The answer is, I am not bitter, I am disappointed and I am embarrassed. I am disappointed because I stand next to people every day who are in the positions to make effective change, who make six plus figure salaries a year and are able to go home at night and provide for their families just to start over the next day. I am embarrassed because I can't financially afford to bite the hand that feeds me. For me, it's a little different, I go home at night and I am in pain because I know that my brothers and sisters who once stood by my side at arms and always covered me, are gasping for air because they're worried about where the next pocket of money is coming from, their VA appeal claims, their lack of credentials, because of what their families may think of their, once proud American soldier. These are the parts of the transition that holds the needed healing of the broken soul, how do you heal when you can't stop firing squad?

We are still repeating history in a sense that during the 1970's and 1980s, our streets were crawling with Vietnam War veterans with the same issues. The only difference today is our veterans are not being ignored by society and the government is being held accountable. For the first time Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are being recognized as issues and they are abnormal conditions caused by combat trauma and combat stress. We live in a society that does not accept murder as something "normal". We live in a society that is spiritual and compassionate by nature regardless of religious beliefs. When these horrific acts are witnessed or are performed by an American soldier in a time of war, it breaks the spirit in a way that can't be defined. However, we are expected to act "normal" when we arrive back to our home soil. In addition our peers are forced to look at us different and weak because of the mentality of our senior military leadership, we are "STRONG" warriors that aren't supposed to feel, yet we must follow the rules of the Geneva Convention because our morals and beliefs as a nation dictate. Yes there are services in place for those who "need it" but there is a silent voice that is extremely loud that puts those who "need it" in a corner. Fortunately, the American population as a whole is finally pushing back because they understand what our eyes see across the water is not "normal" however; there is still an uncomfortable stigma that is associated with this. Society as a whole wants to help, but that help must happen away from their children and their neighborhoods. We are making a difference however, the flood gates have been opened and an enormous amount of water has fractured the backbone of our infrastructure. It is up to those who can speak for the ones who can not. WE MUST INFORM, EDUCATE AND PROMOTE AWARENESS. The blind eye approach is NOT working; it is MUCH bigger than us, so we must take a different approach.
 
Turning to Iraq.  Refugee International released a study, authored by Kristele Younes and Nir Rosen, entitled "Uprooted and Unstable: Meeting Urgent Humanitarian Needs in Iraq" [PDF format warning, click here]. In the opening, the report notes, "Five years after the US-led invasion, Iraq remains a deeply violent and divided society.  Faced with one of the largest displacement and humanitarian crises in the world, Iraqi civilians are in urgent need of assistance.  Particularly vulnerable are the 2.7 million internally displaced Iraqis who have fled their homes for safe locations inside Iraq.  Unable to access their food rations and often unemployed, they live in squalid conditions, have run out of resources and find it extremely difficult to access essential services."
 
On the issue of returning the report notes the fact that abandoned homes have been taken over and that when there has been a conflict with a family returning, the local militias have sometimes been the ones 'hearing' the dispute.  Those who are 're-settled' face the realities of the rations program which does not serve many of the internal refugees (often due to paperwork or lack of it, often due to the the fact that the internal refugees are not in their original home neighborhoods).  The report clearly warns: "All relevant actors should discourage returns until the violence subsides and people can receive adequate assistance and protection."  That warning echoes the United Nations and Red Crescent's warnings. 
 
On the issue of the militias, the report notes how they are actually weakening the govenrment and how this is with US cooperation (whether US agents/actors are aware of it or not).  Control of electric plants is one way in which the militias can determine who gets power and who does not.  Control of aid also strengthens the militias while weakening the central government.  The report notes Refugees International workers seeing the Baghdad based offices of the Sadr Movement dispensing "clothing, milk, oil, rice, sugar, clothes and fuel for heating and cooking when supplies are available."  The NGOs would be one means to counter the weakening of the government but the US and Iraqi governments are little concerned with and little aware of these organizations.  A visit by Refugees International to Baghdad's region where Palestinians currently reside led to the discovery that "the community" of 15,000 residents "has not had an international visitor since 2005."  The Haifa Club provides assistance to that area.  Ethar Associates provides assistance to 5,000 families in Amriya (a section of Baghdad where internally displaced Sunnis have moved) as well as to 4,000 families in Taji and 1,500 in Rashdiye.  "When Refugees International mentioned the groups to UN agencies and international NGOS," the study notes, "it became clear that nobody knew of them, despite the important role they play."  
 
In terms of the 'central-government,' Refugees International "observed close cooperation between the Mahdi Army and the Iraqi Police, Iraqi National Police and the Facility Protection Services that often protect ministries and are notorious for their lawlessness.  Visiting Iraqi ministries and government offices in January and February of 2008, during the Shiite holy month of Muharam, there were overt symbols of Shiite tradition, such as flags and banners, hanging on buildings and walls, as well as television and radio stations playing Shiite religious prayers and songs.  The lack of separation between the state and the Shiite denomination intimidates Sunnis and creates the impression of Shiite ownership of government institutions."
 
On the subject of militias, the report notes that the "Awakening" Council is abosrbing males who have relocated from other areas of Iraq.  Leaving the report, Nouri al-Maliki (puppet of the occupation) has questioned the loyalty of the "Awakening" Councils (Sunni militias).  US Senator Barbara Boxer raised that issue last week during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing when she pointed out that the US is paying the "Awakenings" $182 million a year, $18 million month, and that now the White House, via US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, "are asking us for millions more to pay off the militias and, by the way, I have an article here that says Maliki recently told a London paper that he was concerned about half of them".  So the questions about their loyalties/ties to the central government in Baghdad is in question.  But Refugees International's study raises another issue.  Due to the fact that these are displaced Sunni males from other areas, their loyalties/ties are also not to the local government.  The organization spoke with members in mutliple areas and "found that displaced men have joined armed groups.  In some cases locals complain that the displaced are more aggressive and radical than local men who have joined the same groups."  In Dora, they're informed by two members of "Awakening" Councils that they came on board for two reasons "money and the desire to take action against Shiites." So (leaving the report)  the US government is arming and training these militias and not only are they not loyal to the central government in Baghdad (few Iraqis see al-Maliki as a legitimate leader) they aren't even loyal to their regions and one of the selling points from the Bully Boy and the US military brass is that these militias are "local" forms, "local" bonds.  That argument tries to state that the "Awakening" Council is a strengthening force for the Iraqi government and that, being local, it strengthens the local government and that travels upward. But that's not at all what Refugees International found.  The "local" militias aren't exclusively "local" and there are little tes to the local government or to the neighborhood.  The report notes: "Like the Mahdi army, these Sunni militias also have political goals and are attempting to unite to become a larger movement that will be able to regain Sunni terriotry and effectively fight the Shiite militias and the Shiite dominated government, which they call and 'Iranian Occupation.' In some ways their attitude is, 'The Americans did not buy us, we bought them'." The central government in Baghdad is an installed government.  As US Senator Joe Biden noted last Thursday in the Senate Foreign Relations Comittee hearing, the White House wants to negotiate a treaty (Status of Forces Agreement) with the central government but "there is no Iraqi government that we know of that will be place a year from now -- half the government has walked out."  Refugees International's study notes that the Shi'ite versus Shi'ite struggles currently going on take place as Sunnis who feel disenfranchised plan what to do when the US does pull out. 
 
In the meantime, the Iraqi refugees are being denied entry.  That may make you think of the US government's refusal to accept Iraqis or of the borders being closed in countries bordering Iraq.  However, Refugees International explains that of Iraq's eighteen provinces, eleven have shut their borders to Iraqi refugees from other provinces.  As the report notes "eleven Governoates inside Iraq, as well as neighboring countries Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt no longer admit displaced Iraqis.  In the event of an increase in violence, vulnerable Iraqi civilians will have nowhere left to go.  One imperative for the international community is to consider such a scenario, and start planning for it."
 
The report demolishes the Myth of the Great Return.  Throughout November the lie was repeated in media outlet after outlet (credit to Damien Cave and Cara Buckley of the New York Times who were among the first American reporters to report the reality -- among the first and among the only).  "Iraq is safer!" went the lie.  "Iraqis are returning by the busloads!"  The figures didn't grow naturally.  You had CBS News repeat a figure on the weekend that, by Monday afternoon, had more zeroes added to it.  It was a publicity campaign by the puppet government and the White House.  It was wrong and it was deadly.  Before we get to the report on that, we need to all grasp how wrong that myth was.  Iraqis seeking shelter outside of Iraq were being lied to, told it was safer and that they should come back.  The Iraqi refugee crisis is already a crisis of global proportion but lying to refugees outside the country to trick them into coming back to Iraq is inhumane and criminal.  That point needs to be stressed because Refugees International's study includes this: "According to a UN official, the Bush administration is also putting enormous pressure on the UNHCR to conduct a viability survey and declare Iraq safe for returns."  Point, The Myth of the Great Return could strike again.  Panhandle Media sat it out in November (and December and January).  Real media didn't include many stepping up to the plate (even after Buckley and Cave had reported realities).  The report notes that "the Ministry of Migration's return strategy document from late 2007 clearly states that returns, should they occur, would demonstrate the success of the current US-Government of Iraq overall security strategy in Iraq.  The return strategy also underlines the necessity for the Government of Iraq to engage in an active media campaign to counter warnings that the potential for returns will adversely impact a security situation already extremely fragile."  The Myth of the Great Return existed solely as a p.r. move.  After Syria was asked to close their border to Iraqi refugees, a few returned, those whose funds had run out.  The report documents this. 
 
 
 

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