Tears Aren't Enough To Get Through The Pain

Tears and sobs alone don't get one through excruciating emotional & mental pain, sometimes, one must laugh and dance to mock the pain of loss


Really sucks the clip ends before it should, but not too much is missing





And another example of how the Dance is done, line-style

Better Some Jenny Pics Than None

So, out of a whole roll of pics I focused mainly on Jenny, only four pictures came back developed, and only one of those came out halfway decently

Still, at least some of those pics came out, showing Jenny in happier times

I miss Jenny now more than when I wrote about her on Saturday

And this was the little beast herself, Jenny




I'm so thankful I was blessed with you as long as I was, you were truly the best of companions, always happy and purring, wonderful qualities when I had bad days

But it's also time to save another life, like Jenny's was saved so long ago, that's the best way I can think of to honor her memory

And sooner, rather than later

Memorial Day Considerations

Various points to consider on this Memorial Day

First, because of how I elected to be present for my cat's being put to sleep on Saturday, this story really hit so close to a very emotional mark, and because it's here in my hometown of El Paso, it's another positive after the devastating loss of Jenny

Nobody should die alone and remain unlamented, although it happens far too often to far too many good people, and this seems like a VERY good, humanitarian cause, something that should appeal to The Better Angels Of Everyones Nature

Group ensures veterans get proper burials

No family or friends attended retired Sgt. Willie Clyde Tehart's burial Friday, but he was not alone.

Although Tehart, who died at 68 with more than 20 years of Army service, was laid to rest in a plain wooden coffin painted black, he received full military honors during his burial at Fort Bliss National Cemetery. Over his coffin was draped a U.S. flag, which was meticulously folded and inspected. He received a three-volley salute, and a bugler played taps.

"He gave É for the freedom you and I now enjoy," said Chaplain Ray Jennings, with the American Legion Post 36. "He went wherever the military sent him and did whatever his supervisors told him to do."

Tehart is one of a relatively small number of veterans who become estranged from family members or who simply outlive them, said Yolanda McKinney, co-chairwoman of the El Paso Homeless Veterans Burial Program Committee, a group that makes sure old troopers don't go unrecognized.

Tehart wasn't indigent or homeless, but the committee takes care of all former service members whose family members cannot be found or who decline to participate. Since 2003, only nine service members have been homeless or indigent, said Mary Slawson, of Kaster-Maxon Futrell Funeral Home in El Paso.

The home is part of the Dignity Memorial group of cemeteries, mortuaries and funeral homes nationwide that pay for the funerals and burials of indigent veterans.

Tehart made friends with clinicians at the Veterans Administration where he was receiving treatment, McKinney said. Tehart died in February, and the months since then were spent trying to find family, she said.

"The weather is good here, and many times when we come back from battle, we have a lot of post-traumatic stress disorder and just don't want to go home anymore," said Joe Lopez, commander of the honor guard for Dignity Memorial, who read a poem at Tehart's burial.

The program is "outstanding," said Gene B. Linxwiler, director of the Fort Bliss National Cemetery. "They put in a lot of effort, and they put in a service to a lot of veterans who would not be honored at the time of their interment."

Linxwiler said the cemetery provides burials without charge to veterans who, in general, were honorably discharged and completed their term of service. That includes use of a shelter, a headstone, perpetual maintenance of the grave, and a presidential memorial certificate.

Cemeteries in larger urban areas often have monthly memorial services for what are called "unaccompanied veterans."

In El Paso, veterans organizations attend the services and provide other support, McKinney said. The Marines stand out, she added.

"We still do the full honors even though there's no one there," said 1st Sgt. James Porter, spokesman for the Marine training center in Northeast El Paso.

On May 11, Marine Pvt. Robert Kyryl was buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery with full honors.

Sgt. Michael Mascari, who has been stationed in El Paso since 2005, is responsible for the program and folded the flag for Kyryl. He said little was known about him.

"For the Marine that didn't have any family or next of kin, (we) do make a presence so veterans are not buried alone," Mascari said. "We feel that's the right thing to do. We are taking care of those who took care of us."

Asked whether he thought it was a duty, he responded: "In a sense, I guess you could say that, but more than that, it's an honor. (Nothing else matters), he was a Marine."

Whether the veterans left enough money to pay for the funeral services or were indigent, "we go (to the burial) just to witness the last rites and all,"McKinney said. "That's all we're here for, to make sure nothing falls through the cracks and for somebody to be there at the end."

How truly compassionate we are as a nation or people depends on how important we find issues like the one dealt with above, how we treat those which and whom we have political and physical power over says everything about the real characters of our nature

Far too many good people die horrible, lonely deaths, and remain unlauded at physically-empty funerals, there can't be a worse way to finish a life

This effort is an attempt to show that those lonely ghosts and souls lives did matter and make a difference, even if there are no mourners to bear witness to that ideal

That's a basic level of empathy that should be present in every society that dares to call itself "Civilized"


And yet another "REAL Toll Of The Iraq Occupation" column, and wrenching indeed on Memorial Day, but definitely something that needs to be impressed upon so much of the public that thinks it doesn't have a direct reason to be concerned about Iraq, a public which doesn't notice the real lives which can't be replaced, shredded limbs which cannot be replenished, minds which cannot be set back to the easier-going, pre-deployment status once exposed to the physical and ethical horrors of war, a collective yawn here when evil people kill good people far too quickly and easily, then go unpunished for it over in Iraq and Afghanistan

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Living on Iraq Time

By MIKE KONDOR

York, Pa.

EVERY evening at 10, beeps emanate from the top drawer of my dresser. The sound comes from a watch that has resided there for just over three years. The 20 beeps signify that another day is dawning in Iraq. The watch belonged to my son, Specialist Martin Kondor, who was killed in action with the Army on the morning of April 29, 2004, in the city of Baquba, north of Baghdad. Martin was 20 years old.

Since his death, three Memorial Days have come and gone, and while most people think of Memorial Day as just a day off from work, an occasion for a backyard cookout or a chance to score a good deal at a spectacular sale, for families like mine, Memorial Day has a more somber meaning. For us, the day is a further reminder that our loved one is gone forever.

It’s not that we need another reminder. Not a day goes by that we don’t think of Martin. My wife and I each carry one of his dog tags with us at all times. His picture hangs on the living room wall with those of his two brothers, and his bedroom has been left essentially as it was when he was alive. Two of the last packages we sent to him were returned after his death, and they’ve sat unopened in a corner of the room for the last three years.

For most Americans, when the morning alarm wakes us up, we step out of bed to begin our daily ritual. As we jump in the car, most of us don’t think twice about our commute to work, and if we are concerned at all, it’s not for our safety; rather, we’re worried that there might be a traffic jam that will make us late and prevent us from stopping for a quick cup of coffee.

But when Martin’s watch beeped every morning, it signaled the start of a day much different from what most of us are used to. Martin and his fellow soldiers had all volunteered to go to Iraq as members of a personal security detachment. Their sole mission was to safeguard the life of a brigade commander. And their daily commute from their home base to Baquba, where the commander would meet with city officials and tribal leaders, was often interrupted by rifle fire, rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs.

Martin — like many combat soldiers who have gone before and come after him, including his older brother, Trevor, who served with the 82nd Airborne — didn’t tell us much about what he was doing. He didn’t want us to worry. We learned most of what we now know about the last three months of his life from his buddies and his commanders.

My first indication of the nature of his mission and the situation he and the others were facing came in a satellite phone call Martin made to me after his team had survived a particularly nasty ambush. He described a horrific scene in which the convoy was taking fire from both sides of the road, with bullets and rocket-propelled grenades whizzing by his head from every direction. He said he just kept firing at every enemy target he could see; and when the convoy finally escaped the insurgents’ trap, he could hardly believe he and his team members had survived.

Exactly 20 days after I received that phone call from Martin, two grim-faced soldiers arrived at our door to tell us that Martin had been killed. It was an “improvised explosive device,” they said. An assassination attempt on the colonel. As the gunner on a Humvee, Martin was completely exposed to the blast.

Our only solace lay in the realization that Martin probably never had time to hear the blast that killed him, let alone feel it. Others are not always so lucky.

His buddies took his death pretty hard. A soldier from Martin’s company escorted his remains from Iraq to Germany, and one of his former platoon sergeants escorted Martin’s flag-draped coffin on the flight from Germany to the United States.

That sergeant and another who had helped train Martin assisted with the funeral arrangements and brought messages from Martin’s comrades and commanders in Iraq. Those still in the fight wanted us to know how much they respected and admired our son. Indeed, some of them got tattoos of Martin’s name or likeness, as did Martin’s younger brother, Joe. At Martin’s home base in Iraq, the colonel ordered that a school for soldiers on post be named the Kondor Education Center, in Martin’s memory.

Here at home, tokens of remembrance from Martin’s friends and former high school classmates still pile up at his gravesite. At his elementary school, his teachers planted a tree and placed a stone marker in front of the school. The inscription on the marker reads: “In memory of Army Specialist Martin Kondor, an American patriot.”

A scholarship fund was created at his high school, from which an annual award is given to a graduating senior who exhibits qualities of leadership and patriotism. And the county Veterans Administration office commissioned a bronze plaque to memorialize Martin and all the other local men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. The plaque joins the others, which date back to World War I, on the portico of the county courthouse.

As Martin’s buddies have completed their tours in Iraq, several of them have made the journey here to his hometown to pay their respects to us and to Martin. Tears always well up in my eyes as I watch each of them salute his gravesite. Others have written letters or e-mail messages, telephoned or sent packages or photos.

Last month, on April 29, the third anniversary of Martin’s death, we received an e-mail message from the man whose life our son had sworn to safeguard. He’s now a brigadier general, stationed in Baghdad this time on his second tour in Iraq. In his message, the general said: “None of us who served with your son will ever forget the day that he passed away. We will never forget him or his service to our nation. It was an honor to serve with your son.”

As I read those words, I realized that the greatest memorial of all for a fallen soldier lies not in the gravestones, bronze plaques or markers that display his name, but rather in the memories of his family and friends, and in the respect and admiration of his fellow soldiers and countrymen.

And so before heading out to the big sale or the opening of the town pool or the neighbors’ backyard barbecue, take some time to attend a local Memorial Day ceremony. Do this not just to glance over the gravestones or the plaques or the markers that list the fallen soldiers’ names, but out of respect for the friends, family members and comrades they leave behind — some of whom have died or are still alive or have yet to confront their fate.

Someday, Martin’s watch will fall silent, and I will no longer have my daily reminder of the new day dawning in Iraq. But his mother and I, his brothers, his friends and the soldiers who served with him will always have our memories of who he was and what he did for his country. And we will gladly tell his story. Isn’t that the purpose of Memorial Day?

That's the real price of war, paid by the real victims, those left behind to shoulder the most shattering of unnecessary grief and anguish, those left without their limbs and senses, those whose minds are irretrievably broken

So many people who don't or haven't had family or friends serve in the military also don't take into account the real lives of those under the helmet and behind the trigger, and all the fears and hopes invested in those troops by those left behind on the home front

And that's because, unlike every other major military engagement the US has been involved in, the Revolution, the Civil War, WW I, WW II, there's been no Administrative call to societal self-sacrifice for the greater good and success of what this Administration claims is the defining struggle of civilization, fighting terrorism on a global scale

The lives of those who serve in the military must never be viewed as dispensable, or worth the trifling and petty attitude of not even signing every condolence letter personally, say, by the Secretary Of Defense


Then, there's this story, which is one of those "Why the Hell isn't this already Standard Operating Procedure" articles, and one that all military families and backers ought to insist on being taught ASAP

Army Adds Lifesaving to Basic Training

The Army will begin teaching combat lifesaving instruction during basic training to enable soldiers to give critical medical care to wounded comrades on the battlefield.

The service's five basic training bases will begin teaching combat lifesaver training by June 15, including instruction on starting an IV and helping soldiers breathe through a tube, Army officials said. The bases train up to 180,000 soldiers annually, including National Guard and Reserve components.

Officials said medical care given immediately after injuries like gunshot wounds and those caused by improvised explosive devices could mean the difference between life and death. Simple lifesaving techniques could cut down on long-term injuries and deaths, they said.

``The most critical 10 minutes in a soldier's care in combat is the first 10 minutes,'' said Col. Kevin A. Shwedo, director of operations, plans and training for the Army Accessions Command, which oversees training. ``We've focused on the skills that would give us the greatest opportunity to evacuate an individual to a higher degree of health care.''

Previously, a limited number of soldiers in each unit were trained on advanced lifesaving procedures and most soldiers only received basic first aid techniques, like bandaging and performing CPR.

``You won't have to wait as long to find the one combat lifesaver you had trained,'' said Shwedo, whose command is based at Fort Monroe in Hampton.

More in-depth medical training can make the difference between bringing back a patient and bringing back a corpse, said Col. Patricia R. Hastings, director of the Army's Department of Combat Medic Training based at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.

``First aid is just not good enough anymore,'' she said.

Soldiers at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and Fort Knox in Kentucky already have begun the training.

Col. Annie Baker, commander of 434th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Sill, said after only 10 days at basic training, soldiers there started the combat lifesaver certification course, which includes sticking needles into each other to learn how to establish an IV.

``We've had some soldiers that have been very timid and concerned - because people don't like shots - but not one soldier has not participated,'' Baker said. ``Some looked a little peaked going in there, but between the medics and the drill sergeants coaching and mentoring, they've gotten through it.''

Spc. John Hanson, who was a paramedic before he began training at Fort Sill, said it is important to learn the skills, even if it means getting ``poked by a complete stranger or someone you've only lived with for a couple of weeks.''

``We're used to getting shot at and people getting hurt,'' said the 29-year-old from Arlington, S.D. ``With more of us knowing how to help our buddies, maybe it will make for a more successful outcome.''

The new skill training is comprised of about one week of the soldiers' nine-week training program, and follows only rifle marksmanship and physical training in the time devoted to it.

This is one of those stories that offers hope and rage for both the very same reason, namely, future lives will be saved by the medical knowledge gained through a completely unnecessary military campaign in Iraq

And, lastly, an op/ed piece by Mel Laird, calling for National Service being as important to the US as military service is

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Turning Apathy Into Good Deeds

On Memorial Day, when we honor the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, our thoughts turn to what all Americans can do to serve the cause of democracy. It is not enough for a few to fight the wars, guard the borders and serve in office while the majority reap the benefits. Too few Americans understand the price that must be paid to maintain our way of life.

As I listen to calls for reinstating the draft to meet our military's needs, I fear that we're not looking at the bigger picture. Young Americans do need to serve their country. But they are not all needed in the military, nor do all belong there. What our nation needs is a system of compulsory universal civil service for young people.

My views on compulsory service have evolved since 1953, when I entered the House of Representatives with universal military service on my agenda. After four years in the Navy during World War II and having seen the effect that the service had on my life and that of other veterans, I thought that we should require all men to serve in the armed forces for one or two years, beginning at age 18. But my thinking changed as the House Defense Appropriations Committee studied military manpower issues. Modern weaponry required extensive education and training, and it became clear that one must serve at least three years to make a serious contribution to the military.

From 1932 until 1971 the draft made it possible to maintain military manpower needs at low pay rates. Thousands were drafted by the Army for two years and sent to Vietnam with a minimum of training for a one-year tour. In addition to the low pay, the draft was extremely unfair to many young people because of all the loopholes and educational deferments. To end this unfairness, among other reasons, I moved first to the lottery draft and then sponsored and supported the all-volunteer force when I became secretary of defense.

Those who would reinstate the draft to meet the demands of the "war on terror" are misguided. The regular forces, National Guard and reserves need only about one out of every 18 young men and women coming of age to fill all of their manpower requirements. In the lifetime of the all-volunteer force, enough young people have enlisted in our military in times of peace and war. All services, including the Army Reserves and the Army National Guard, met or beat their enlistment quotas in the last quarter.

During the past 30 years, even when the pay and benefits of the volunteer military have been lower than in civilian life, our young people have stepped up. Some respond to an inner call to serve; others are motivated by an opportunity for education; still others are drawn to the adventure, challenge or camaraderie of military life. We ask them to risk their lives and put their families aside, but we dishonor them when we take their sacrifice and in return offer stingy paychecks, inadequate equipment and repeated combat tours.

The overuse of reserve and National Guard personnel can be helped if we pay for adequate compensation and medical treatment and if we care for military families. Equipment and supplies must also be rapidly restored after a deployment. Neither the Defense Department nor Congress is dealing with these problems; the current budget is inadequate and unrealistic. If this is not corrected soon, reenlistment rates could fall. Not only will the military suffer, but America cannot afford a generation of young people turning away from public service and all that it means.

Understandably, some youths do not feel that military service is the best way to express their desire to give something back. The military does not need all of them, nor should the Defense Department be saddled with another unwanted draft. But every department of government could benefit from universal service, as would many other institutions. Our schools are crying out for teacher assistants; our immigrant programs need additional staff; Head Start, the Peace Corps and special education programs need helpers, as do hospitals and nursing facilities. Young people could serve one or two years in a much-needed civilian universal service program run by the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the State Department. Such service would foster a culture of responsibility for our democracy and, as such, would surely have the side benefit of increasing military enlistments. And those volunteering for the military would be exempt from the required civilian universal service.

I am not blind to the economic impact such an idea would have. A program would have to overcome the natural entanglements of the federal bureaucracy; it would not come cheaply; nor would there be universal enthusiasm for universal service. But in a time when our nation is threatened by antidemocratic forces from without, universal service would go a long way toward curing the apathy within.

Just a few things to consider on a day of remembrance, pondering the sacrifices those before us have made for our society and our Constitution

Saying Goodbye To Jenny

UPDATED At The End



















My cat Jenny's struggle has come to a sad, but necessary end

I just came back from the last visit to Jenny's vet she'll ever make, she's now at peace and her pain is gone

She was seemingly healthy until a severe asthma attack two weeks ago, and even though she looked great when I picked her up after getting past the asthma attack, I started steeling myself for the moment that happened today

I'm glad the last image I had of her wasn't when she was gasping for air at the emergency center

She weighed in at about 5 lbs when examined by her regular vet 12 days ago, but from that point on, she just went downhill, even though I was feeding her solid foods and chicken broth 5-6 times a day, to where she weighed just over 3 lbs today

She had a struggle trying to chew solid food, she started drooling and urinating, even though she wasn't aware of it, and, I found out today, her liver was starting to break down as well. In addition, she started losing her equilibrium, stumbling a little more each day, and even more wrenchingly, at times couldn't make the jump from the floor to the couch

And it was like Jenny knew it was her time to go, as it took the vet three tries to find a vein for the injection, and she didn't complain or flinch once. Even the vet was crying as she administered the shot

And showing just how weak she was, her heart stopped before the injection was over

It was wrenching, but there was no way I was going to let her slip into that good night alone, for all the joy she brought me, the least I could do was be there for her death

There's just no way to fully describe just how important she was to me, and how much I miss her already

When I had very bad days that left me frustrated or anxious, Jenny had the wonderful ability to take all that negative emotion and when petted, calm me down enormously with her complete calm nature

It's those little things I really cherish now, like how I could hold the bratbeast upside down, and she'd just look around with a contented look on her face. I could also drape her over my shoulder and let go, and she wouldn't even dig in with her claws

One of my favorite things was to hold her like she was Super Jenny, flying through the air like Superman, and for which she'd reward me with a very baleful look

I knew she was special when I ended up getting her from the Humane Society

I was going through a tough week emotionally, and decided, on the spur of the moment, that I was going to adopt a cat, and I did it then because I knew I'd talk myself out of it if I waited around

And so I went, and immediately ruled out adopting any cat sharing it's cage with another cat, as I didn't want to break them up. When I checked out the cages with one cat only, other than a quick sniff of my finger, they'd turn away

But the little black & white cat was different, she started rubbing around my finger and purring loud enough to hear

And that was how I knew Jenny was the right cat, she was so incredibly sweet, which meant whoever had her for the first 2 1/2 years did an excellent job in raising her to be so mellow and happy

I remember the way Jenny would be the scourge of the most evil thing she encountered, rubber bands

I remember how incredibly fast she was, even towards the end of her life

I remember watching Jenny's astonishing sense of balance when she walked on a box edge

I remember how, when sitting at this computer, I'd feel a nudge on my chair, and it was Jenny rubbing here little head against it, wanting to sit in my lap

I remember how, a few years after adopting Jenny, I thought she escaped from the apt I was at, in the middle of the night

It tore me up, and trying to find her in a residential neighborhood in the middle on the night was a futile task

I was sure she was gone

I was in anguish wondering how I could have let such a thing happen, as I never let Jenny outside, way too paranoid for that

And right when I was hurting and anguished, I heard a faint noise in the living room closet, and sure enough, when I opened the door, there was little Jenny, wondering just which idiot locked her accidentally in the closet-where she was quite comfortable actually

The joy I felt then can't be described other than overwhelming and instant

Jenny was the type of cat liked by people who don't otherwise like cats, as that's the case with some of my friends, and they weren't just bs-ing for my benefit, they genuinely liked the little beast.

And now she's gone, a living creature to being replaced by ashes, pictures and 16 years of memories so full of fondness and warm wishes, none of which would have happened without her, the one physical presence in my life for all its ups and downs

Thankfully, Jenny fought hard enough two weeks back so I could prepare myself to say goodbye, thankfully my last image of her wasn't gasping for air

I'm getting another cat or kitten at some point, I cannot picture my life without one, but this just hurts so much, as if there was any creature entitled to live forever, in perfect health, and surrounded by nothing but people who would worship and adore her, it was my Precious Little Horrid Bratbeast Jenny

Goodbye Jenny, I'll never forget you or stop loving you, and even though my pain and anguish are going to be continue for some time, at least your pain is over, and your dignity intact

I'm picking up Jenny's ashes on Tuesday, and to help deal with this grief, I'm planning on making a small donation every month, in Jenny's name, to some good cause, like the local Animal Rescue League-the only group that tries to place strays in good homes, or the Battered Womens Shelter, or Child Crisis Center

I've found that when I'm down, trying to do good for others is one way to undercut that depression or grief


UPDATE

At this point, I'm happy posting about Jenny, the more people who know about her the better it makes me feel

I have to add something else though, a touch of pure optimism on the same day Jenny passed on

A friend of mine is taking care of a coworkers 6 week old puppy-a plain ol' mutt that's as adorable as puppies are at six weeks

So I saw the full circle of life in my apartment, Jenny's winded up earlier in the day, yet here was new life, just exulting in the whole wide world around him

It bolstered my spirits up, as I'd forgotten just how cute pups can be, and watching the little guy play was an almost perfect tonic for a very sad heart like mine

And sincere Thanks again for all the support, here and at other sites, it helps immensely knowing that others are reading about Jenny

The Next Step, Possible Counterstep, And BIG Cudgel The Dems Can Still Play

So if I'm Karl Rove, a bad long-running fiasco hasn't gotten any easier to bear, not with Alberto Gonzales ever-shifting stories that change according to the parameters of each successive document dump from the DoJ

On the other hand, Rove's undoubtedly thanking his political lucky stars that in spite of everything arrayed against his client-an overwhelmingly unpopular President, a Hostile Congressional Opposition Majority, an unnecessary occupation that's not only overburdening the US military, but clearly hampering the National & State Guard & Reserves ability to respond effectively in the events of disasters here at home, along with empowering the same groups and individuals the US initially went after for the Sept 11 strikes, the Taliban, al-Qaeda and Usama bin Laden, and completely self-inflicted scandals and legal woes striking every Department, Agency and Bureau directly under the Executive Branch's control-the Dem leadership is still taking orders from the DLC, the same group that blundered and botched two straight Presidential elections against a candidate they should have beaten handily, and even though the public is overwhelming in its desire for this occupation to end, the Dem leadership trembles more in fear of a hissy fit from W than in a possible ballot-box Bitchslap come November, 2008

The Dems leadership spins this as a win in terms of all the money that's going to Katrina Victims, veterans care and other good causes

What's not acknowledged, however, is that this is money that was already appropriated, or should have been earmarked, so the Dems basically told W to give them what was already due the people that money was supposed to help, go to and serve

But now that the Dem leadership has once again fumbled badly at a time competent leadership demanded at least fighting back fiercely against this most vile of bullies occupying the Oval Office, they shouldn't expect this Administration to keep the celebrating and provocations to a minimum

If anything, now that the Dem leadership has infuriated the majority of its voters, look for this President to really rub their nose in it

So, expect to see at least one, maybe more, recess appointments be handed out while the Congress is on its Memorial Day break, and the more loathsome the candidates appointed this way, the more it's a strategy in keeping with how Rove and W operate, both bullies who enable the worst of the other to come out

Watch for W to issue more signing statements attempting to castrate the bills the Dems traded their timeline for

Don't be surprised if the Administration reacts in an especially churlish manner to any claims, demands or subpoenas issued during the break, and refuses to comply with any requests or demands from the Congress

In short, to build up some badly needed aggressive momentum with its wingnut, warmongering, ChickenHawk, Neocon base, this Administration and the GOP are going to ratchet up the insults and jabs aimed at the Dems during the Memorial Day Break

This Administration and GOP pushback on the Dems collapse will be infuriating to deal with, it will be absolutely enraging, it will be vile and cause spikes in blood pressure and hostility, and it will produce much gloating among people absolutely ravenous for another taste of the power they felt on W's second inauguration, when all was right and proper in their nasty little worlds

What will make this gloating hardest to bear will be the likelihood that it won't be countered by the Dems, that we'll have to eat it and choke hard, just like we did when W supposedly "won" both elections

But there's one strategy that could, if properly played by the Dem leadership, not only galvanize all us irate libs and anti-war voters, but instantly turn the tables leading to howls of fury and unsalved anger from those gloating the loudest right about now

Since the 2008 budgets will start coming up for Congressional votes in September, the Dems should say "enough" to funding all right

That is, funding the Executive Branch

I'm not talking about zeroing-out budgets for the agencies, departments and bureaus under Executive Branch control, just funding for the Executive Branch itself, it's functions and personnel who work exclusively at the White House

Pass the various budgets, then let the Administration shift funds around, like it already does, to keep itself operating

And if the argument arises that such a punitive, spiteful act is illegal, or somehow beyond Congress' purview, then let Congress pay as much heed to the laws and separation of powers that W does, and then go the extra step

Let Congress issue a signing statement of its own, namely, that they apportion to themselves the right to cancel out Presidential signing statements, preemptively blocking W's ability to undercut the very bills he signs into law

Forcing the issue is exactly what the Administration, GOP and their rapidly dwindling number of true believers will never expect in the midst of their gloating, it would be a way to hit back as hard at a clearly out of control President as he enjoys lashing out at everyone else, and it would instantly regain the Dem leadership a measure of now non-existent trust from its very angry base

With or without the Dems help, the GOP collapse is already under way, as the party knows that it can't count on help from an embattled, bunkered-down Administration, yet still hasn't found enough strength to toss the President and Cheney over the political rail, in spite of the smacking the voters gave the GOP and Administration's Iraq policy in the November 2006 elections

The GOP needs to be pushed off the political ledge, and the Dems can't do that by giving W everything he wants every time he throws a hissy fit and stamps his little feetsies in whiny petulance

So, like so many parents when they threaten to "give you something to cry about", let the Dems give W something to throw a temper tantrum over, just like taking a favored belonging away from a spoiled brat

Zero Out the Executive Branch Funding At The First Available Opportunity

Still Seething

Because I'm still pissed off about the Dems rolling over for W, and even moreso because in order to have any kind of chance against smashing the GOP into a million pieces requires the Dems at the national level-because it's the only political opposition able to operate on as wide and deep a scale as the GOP, requires that us anti-war believers still work with the Dems

But by God, the Dems have got to get throttled into doing the right thing, as even with the overwhelming majority of the US backing them on ending this cataclysmic Iraq campaign, the Dems are acting as if they're still helplessly in the minority.

What makes this decision even more of a very bitter pill to swallow is that, politically, it doesn't make any sense at all, not with the GOP cracking over W's policies, and not with the Administration being in complete Free Fall right now, beset by political opportunists, formerly loyal political allies in the Congress and abroad, self-inflicted scandals rocking almost every Department, Bureau & Agency under Administration control and the consequences of a President's disastrous military leadership that hasn't yet gotten correct even one pre-occupation prediction of post-Hussein Iraq

It's as if W is not only on the precipice of a rapidly crumbling ledge, but also on grease-slicked banana peels, and instead of giving W a hearty push, the Dem leadership instead pulls him away from his richly-earned political drop, and then apologizes for any mussing of his suit they caused in the process of rescuing President Jr from himself

The Dems gave W a very badly needed political victory, and it's just SO fucking aggravating

A perfect comparison was one made at one of the sites I checked out to see just how irate people are about this cave-in, so I do NOT take credit for the comparison, it's not mine, and I wish I knew who to give the proper credit to. Namely, the Dems Leadership at the national level resembled Gen McClellan during the Civil War, an incompetent dismissed twice by Lincoln for always over-estimating the South's strengths while underestimating the strengths of the Union Army under his command, and freezing up with doubt instead of acting with the decisive military advantage everyone but McClellan, himself, apparently knew he possessed

So, because I'm still seething about this, I'll let the video and lyrics express the level of frustration I'm at right now








Tool-"Aenema"

Some say the end is near.
Some say well see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will.
I sure could use a vacation from this

Bullshit three ring circus sideshow of
Freaks

Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call la
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. any fucking day.
Learn to swim, Ill see you down in arizona bay.

Fret for your figure and
Fret for your latte and
Fret for your lawsuit and
Fret for your hairpiece and
Fret for your prozac and
Fret for your pilot and
Fret for your cable and
Fret for your car.
Its a
Bullshit three ring circus sideshow of
Freaks

Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call la
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. any fucking day.
Learn to swim, Ill see you down in arizona bay.

Some say a comet will fall from the sky.
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves.
Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still.
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipshits.

Some say the end is near.
Some say well see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will cuz
I sure could use a vacation from this

Silly shit, stupid shit...

One great big festering neon distraction,
Ive a suggestion to keep you all occupied.

Learn to swim.

Moms gonna fix it all soon.
Moms comin round to put it back the way it ought to be.

Learn to swim.

Fuck l ron hubbard and
Fuck all his clones.
Fuck all those gun-toting
Hip gangster wannabes.

Learn to swim.

Fuck retro anything.
Fuck your tattoos.
Fuck all you junkies and
Fuck your short memory.

Learn to swim.

Fuck smiley glad-hands
With hidden agendas.
Fuck these dysfunctional,
Insecure actresses.

Learn to swim.

Cuz Im praying for rain
And Im praying for tidal waves
I wanna see the ground give way.
I wanna watch it all go down.
Mom please flush it all away.
I wanna watch it go right in and down.
I wanna watch it go right in.
Watch you flush it all away.

Time to bring it down again.
Dont just call me pessimist.
Try and read between the lines.
I cant imagine why you wouldnt
Welcome any change, my friend.

I wanna see it all come down.

Strong Leadership Requires A Spine & A Willingness To Fight

From numerous postings made at various sites yesterday and today, and I am so pissed off, I can't see straight

Just what is it about standing up to an overwhelmingly unpopular and politically weak President that saps so many Dems of their spines?

Dems to Send Bush No-Timeline War Bill

The Dems completely caved on this, they should have sent W even harder Iraq funding bills to sign, as they could rightfully claim it was W who was playing politics with the US troops by vetoing very troop-friendly bills

This cowardice, when the public is clamoring for an end to the idiotic Iraq mission, is exactly why I will not register as a Dem

The Dems are trying to spin this as a way to get that minimum wage increase they championed signed into law, but if that comes with even more tax breaks for those already at the top of the economic ladder, then it's hard to see an overall positive effect

Send the minimum wage itself to W for a veto, see how well that plays for the GOP come November 2008, especially with a very key demographic that the Dems should be courting as hard as possible, Unmarried & Single women and mothers

Every day that goes by, every day we get closer to the November 2008 elections, GOP support for W's Iraq crusade crumbles a bit more, yet here the Dems are, acting as if they're the ones the public is against regarding Iraq

For every strong step forward towards holding W and the GOP accountable, the Dems apparently feel they have to take two weak steps backwards

Leadership isn't easy, and giving W everything he wants with no accountability in return does not make for successful political leadership, either now or in the long term

If the Dems roll over for W now, it's politically stupid, as the GOP's membership in the House and Senate have been making lots of noise about needing to see real progress from W's Iraq escalation by September, which is when Petraeus originally said enough time would have passed to give an initial assessment about any "success" attributable to the troop escalation

The Dems not being able to overcome a veto is one thing, the Dems not fighting for what they were elected to carry out is something else entirely

If the Dems can't even stand up to as politically weak and socially unpopular a President as W, that's not going to do them well in November 2008, as the talking points will paint the party as too weak to be trusted with public safety

For EVERYTHING that's happened at the hands of the GOP and President since Inauguration Day, 2001, the Dems have GOT to fight back against the Administration and it's enablers of all stripes with every bit of energy and strategy they have, and if they lose a battle, they get back up and try again

And again, and again, and again

You don't give up at the first defeat-if that would have been Lincoln's mindset, the North would have lost the Civil War

But our Civil War had two clear-cut sides, with fighting guaranteed to end when a formal Peace was declared

But who, exactly, are the US troops fighting for in Iraq's multi-sided Civil War?

The same people who have gotten every single aspect about Iraq wrong, the same people who have overburdened the US military to this extent, are the same people the Dems are giving in to here

The Dems "held their powder dry" when it came to NOT filibustering W's Supreme Court nominations, and look what it got them, and, unfortunately, the rest of us as well

The Dems have GOT to stop listening to the idiots like Lieberman and all the other W-enablers who say that to oppose the President at this time is tantamount to being an al-Qaeda sympathizer, and therefore an obvious affront to the values of most of the US public

And that the Dems are listening to such rhetoric over the REAL voters who wanted a definite wrap up of the unnecessary Iraq campaign is not only a cause for anger, but an insult as well if they choose to absolutely give W everything he's insisted on like a petulant child

To collapse like this as the GOP is noticeably now cracking in it's former fervent support of All Things W related, ESPECIALLY Iraq makes absolutely no political sense when so many GOP defections are being suggested for September if the Iraq escalation hasn't brought about noticeable and large decreases in the every day violence, while bringing about large, noticeable increases in security at the basic, street level

From a political and real-world perspective, it makes no sense for W to get everything he wants without paying the heaviest of political prices

The Dems may lose if they fight, but they definitely lose when they don't fight

If it weren't for all the damage W and the GOP have wreaked on our country and our Constitution in such a short time, I wouldn't be as upset as I am

For far too long have the GOP and W run like the most roughshod of bullies, and what I've learned the hard way is that bullies have to be stopped, they can't be reasoned with or appealed to, the only thing they understand all too often is a good swift crack across their mealy mouths, rhetorically speaking

So while I'll blast the Dems on this, I'll be arguing at the same time for even harder investigations of this Administration

But we have to do something the GOP was unwilling to do with W or it's own leadership, namely, hold the Dems leadership to account

The GOP's twin base of socially-conservative and corporate-friendly interests NEVER held the party accountable or required Executive Branch oversight from the GOP-run Congress, and that lack of Executive or Legislative branch oversight ended up helping the party and Administration get so thoroughly destroyed in the last election

So that's why us libs, even those of us not in the Dem party, need to be forceful with the Dem leadership when it's needed, the results of unchecked political power are never conducive to an effective democracy or that party's future success

And topping it all is the reality that the GOP is absolutely crashing & burning, regardless of the Dems blunders, and that reality is only going to get uglier for the GOP the longer the US is bogged down in Iraq, it's their war, and they can't shift the blame for their role in this completely unnecessary military action, no matter how fervently the GOP wishes otherwise

As we're watching with the completely self-inflicted fiasco regarding purged US Attorneys and the resulting Administrative cover up, the Administration is flying apart at the seams as well, a political trap it can't escape whether Gonzales resigns or stays on as AG, and that's only the Administration scandal that's getting most of the media attention right now, not all the scandals currently dogging it

When I blast the Dem leadership, there are Dems I will laud as well, and in this case, as is so often the pattern, Senator Russ Feingold is exactly why I have even a miniscule amount of hope regarding his party, along with others like Leahy, Durbin & Boxer

And Feingold is none too happy with this strategy either, as shown by his post at Daily Kos today

A Collapse for Democrats

This is no time to back down. This fight to end the war isn’t something that we can just put off or kick down the road. As mcjoan pointed out, it doesn’t make any sense to wait until this "mythical September" when Republicans will suddenly decide that we need to get out of Iraq. Why should this wait until September? First Americans had to put up with a Republican Congress that did nothing, and now we are faced with a Democratic Congress that is giving the President exactly what he wants – continuing his failed policy and leaving our troops stuck in the middle of a civil war. Some strategy. We can’t back down when the stakes are so high. I know you’ll keep ratcheting up the pressure, and that’s exactly what we need right now. Now is the time to be pulling out all the stops to end the war.

Exactly right, and thank you Sen Feingold for stating it as plainly as this

Backing down to a politically weak, and socially unpopular President at the same time his own party's support of his policies is crumbling-and with even more GOP support likely to flee from W come September, when assessments of W's escalation are expected-makes absolutely no political sense whatsoever

The Dems can't override a veto, but they need to make W pay as heavy a price as possible for pursuing his pig-headed strategy of Leadership by Spite to the US public which overwhelmingly smacked his GOP enablers last November

And as much as I'd like a 3rd party right now, the reality is that the Dems are the only group organized and powerful enough at the National level to get results in terms of thwarting W's lunatic military leadership

But the Dem leadership has got to stop living in fear of aggressively challenging W on any and all aspects of his Iraq occupation, they know why they were elected while the GOP was so demolished at the polls last November, and yet, they're still not making W pay a heavy political price regarding Iraq, even though the public clearly wants a draw down and exit from Iraq, sooner rather than later

Check out the lib sites, the anger at the Dem leadership on this is palpable and has the ability to derail the Dems political reversal of fortunes it finally accomplished last year

And as noted before, the Dems rolling on this is even more choke-inducing because the GOP is crumbling apart over Iraq, and the Administration is in complete free-fall in terms of self-inflicted political fiascoes and scandals

And the GOP is in free fall because it failed to exercise any oversight of W or it's own leadership, which allowed the problems to fester and expand. We have to keep pressure on the Dem leadership right now to avoid those future problems, aggressive voter oversight of their leadership is the only chance the Dems have at future political success

One thing the Dems could do to counter the impression that they'll constantly roll over for W is to really ratchet up the investigations, and that means putting repulsive political operatives like Karl Rove through as nasty a public and political meat-grinder as possible, in other words, give Rove a VERY nasty taste of his own foul political tonic

This Administration is made up of cowards and bullies, and the only way to deal with bullies is to confront them at every opportunity

Bullies can't be reasoned with, their "better natures" can't be appealed to, the only thing that gets them to move on is standing up to them whenever possible

That's how you deal with the Bush Jr Administration, treat them like the bullies and cowards they are, and NEVER back down, especially when the public is as against this President as it is

And now that this story is on CNN, there's one additional detail that makes it even more infuriating than before

Namely, this

Withdrawal timetable dropped from war spending bill

The House is expected to vote on the bill late this week. A House Democratic leadership aide acknowledged that there would be resistance from some liberal members of the party but expressed confidence that there will be "enough support" from House Republicans to pass the bill.

Great, us libs-and the majority of the Dems own voters from this past election-get ditched by the Dem leadership and strategists in spite of the fact the public sides with us regarding Iraq, and then they team up with the GOP to actually give W everything he wants, a party in massive disarray

The Dems will never pressure W into changing course and doing the Will Of The People by letting him roll up badly-needed cost-free political victories like this one

So the insanity that is W's Iraq Crusade continues, and Usama bin Laden laughs about how easy W is to manipulate and lead around by the nose

Just so aggravating on so many levels

Just so fucking aggravating

Abortion By The Numbers

So, let's put the recent abomination of a Supreme Court decision in some context

The main problem with the decision is that it legitimized an absolutely atrocious mindset, one held by an absolute miniscule percentage of women the court claimed it was protecting from themselves

The court said that since some women who have late-term abortions might feel bad about that decision psychologically somewhere down the far-off road, then that possibility was of future mental anguish was enough to ban the safest way to perform the "never-done-for-convenience" late term abortions

And using the numbers from the anti-choicers side, one sees just how weak that "protecting women from themselves" argument really is

bypass registration with this Bug Me Not link

Abortion Foes See Validation for New Tactic

For many years, the political struggle over abortion was often framed as a starkly binary choice: the interest of the woman, advocated by supporters of abortion rights, versus the interest of the fetus, advocated by opponents of abortion.

But last month’s Supreme Court decision upholding the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act marked a milestone for a different argument advanced by anti-abortion leaders, one they are increasingly making in state legislatures around the country. They say that abortion, as a rule, is not in the best interest of the woman; that women are often misled or ill-informed about its risks to their own physical or emotional health; and that the interests of the pregnant woman and the fetus are, in fact, the same.

The majority opinion in the court’s 5-to-4 decision explicitly acknowledged this argument, galvanizing anti-abortion forces and setting the stage for an intensifying battle over new abortion restrictions in the states.

Here's the gruesome imagery the anti-choice crowd always pushes regarding the "never-done-for-convenience" late term abortions, because it's the supposed victims of this type of abortion that the anti-choice crowd will use to justify an outright ban on all abortions for all reasons, including if the life of the mother is at stake

The case before the Supreme Court involved a specific type of abortion, occasionally used after the first trimester, that involves removing a fetus intact after collapsing its skull. Justice Kennedy upheld that ban on narrower, legal grounds, but he used the Justice Foundation brief to write more broadly about the emotional impact of abortion on women.

“While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained,” Justice Kennedy wrote, alluding to the brief. “Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow.”

Given those stakes, the justice argued, “The state has an interest in ensuring so grave a choice is well informed.”

Really, well, from what I can gather, in many cases, an abortion is actually a SAFER choice for women than carrying a pregnancy to term would be, but I suppose those women don't do the anti-choicers any good politically or socially

Unfortunately, neither do the real numbers bear out the Court's rather overbearing and ultra-obnoxious patriarchal concerns

All sides agree that the debate reached a new level of significance when Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing the majority opinion in the Supreme Court case last month, approvingly cited a friend-of-the court brief filed by the Justice Foundation.

The foundation, a nonprofit public interest litigation firm that has handled an array of conservative causes, has increasingly focused on abortion through its project called Operation Outcry. Mr. Parker said the group began hearing from women in the late 1990s who considered themselves victims of legalized abortion — physically and emotionally — and wanted to tell their stories. Operation Outcry, which grew to include a Web site, a national hot line and chapters around the country, eventually collected statements from more than 2,000 women, officials said.

In its friend-of-the-court brief, the group submitted statements from 180 of those women who said that abortion had left them depressed, distraught, in emotional turmoil. “Thirty-three years of real life experiences,” the foundation said, “attests that abortion hurts women and endangers their physical, emotional and psychological health.”

So, the foundation claims that it "eventually collected statements from more than 2,000 women" and from that pool of over 2000 women compiled from "33 years of real life experience" mental & emotional anguish resulted a grand total of "180 of those women who said that abortion had left them depressed, distraught, in emotional turmoil."

Now, lets take a look at total abortions performed since the Roe VS Wade decision in 1973, and according to 2005 figures

What is the total number of legal abortions since 1973?

As of the most recent update of this FAQ, the estimated total number of abortions is over 46 million.

180 VS 46,000,000, seems like there'd be more complaints that could be cited by the Friends of the Court Kennedy relied on so illogically

Again, I'm conflating the numbers with the purpose of those making the claim of future psychological harm for women who have had abortions, late term in this case, but an argument the anti-choice crowd will try to conflate to abortion in general

But lets look at the numbers for "never-done-for-convenience" late term abortions

How is a partial birth abortion (D & X) performed?

The D & X abortion is used in late second and third trimesters (24-36 weeks).

And those numbers, from 2001, based on approx 1.3 million abortions yearly

How many abortions are performed at each stage of pregnancy?

21+ weeks

1.5%

19,500

Remember, from this site a "late term abortion" is one that takes place after 24-36 weeks, but even going by the most conservative estimate, that one dealing with abortions after 21 weeks, that's 19,500 Late Term abortions, vs 180 complaints of mental & emotional anguish compiled from over 33 years of taking such complaints

To recap, the Supreme Court decided that the harm that occured to 180 women outweighed the real-world physical trauma that over 19,000 women-and that's an OLD figure, from 2001-would have endured if they couldn't have ended their doomed pregnancies in the most medically safe and effective way possible for the women unlucky enough to have to make this choice

46,000,000 VS 180 filed briefs/complaints

19,000 LTA's in one year VS 180 complaints of mental/emotional anguish compiled over 33 years

The numbers suggest the Court's concern is less legal-driven than an example of utterly condescending wish fulfillment on the part of the Supreme Court justices who fancy themselves as Chivalrous in trying to protect women from themselves

One other note from the article is worth mentioning, an example to never take past Supreme Court success as settled law for granted in the future

The abortion-rights side was caught off guard, in part because its strategists believe the scientific debate has been so decisively settled against the Justice Foundation’s argument over the years. “We thought that brief was so extraneous that we didn’t even bother coming up with a response to it,” said Mr. Evans of Planned Parenthood.

This is the absolute perfect definition of complacency and smugness, and it would be worth mocking if the results for women who have to go through this wrenching decision weren't so appalling already, namely, not being able to end a doomed pregnancy in the safest, most effective way possible

And unless the right to abortion, including an explicit statement that says the health & life of the mother takes precedence at every stage of the pregnancy, is enshrined in the Constitution, then the rights of women will be only suggestions or guidelines depending on where in the US they're at

As a guy, I'm obviously not affected by the abortion debate, but as a citizen, I'm appalled that sheer emotion alone can result in the loss of personal hegemony, and if it can happen to women in the case of late-term abortion, it can happen to anyone else as well, for whatever reason involving otherwise personal autonomy

Don't want an abortion?

Then don't have one

Pretty simple, cut & dried, end of story

Now, Now Chuck, Do Run Along And Break Some Boards With Your Head, Or Something

And leave the heavier thinking to adults not smitten enough by your celebrity status to give you a free pass for your stupidity status

Pope Razi The Nazi Blesses Genocide & Forced Religious Conversion-Oh, And Falwell Died Too

This is a perfect example of why I left the Catholic Church almost 20 years ago, the pernicious influence of those more addicted to worldly power than doing good for the least amongst us

I have a feeling Benedict's in for a metaphysical Bitchslapping for this crack-brained BS when he passes on

Brazil Indigenous Groups Fault Pope Talk

Indian rights groups are criticizing Pope Benedict XVI for insisting that Latin American Indians wanted to become Christian before European conquerors arrived centuries ago.

The pope said Sunday that pre-Columbian people of Latin America and the Caribbean were seeking Christ without realizing it. "Christ is the savior for whom they were silently longing," Benedict told a regional conference of bishops in Brazil.

So, those forced to accept religious dogma at the point of spears and barrels of cannons were "silently longing" for the misery such dogma guaranteed back then, and we're supposed to accept that Pope Ratzi the Nazi is some kind of egghead, or towering intellect?

But Paulo Suess, an adviser to Brazil's Indian Missionary Council, said Monday that the comments fail to account for the fact that Indians were enslaved and killed by the Portuguese and Spanish settlers who forced them to become Catholic.

The comments not only "fail to account for", they are spin of the most repulsive type, an after-the-fact justification for acts clearly unjustifiable if Christ's words are the markers of Catholic theology

That Benedict felt free enough to utter such twaddle is an indicator of just how much the mission of outreach to the poor and powerless has become perverted to Benedict's pursuit of religious power to benefit the already powerful and affluent

Benedict "is a good theologian, but it seems he missed some history classes," said Suess, whose council is supported by the Roman Catholic Church.

No, Benedict is NOT "a good theologian" with this rhetoric, he's explicitly endorsing the forced persecution and natural-resource rape of those the Church benefited from victimizing for centuries, there's just no way to spin this speech in any other fashion

The pope told the bishops that, "the proclamation of Jesus and of his Gospel did not at any point involve an alienation of the pre-Columbus cultures, nor was it the imposition of a foreign culture."

So, it was just such a happy-for the Church anyways-coinkydink that forced religious conversions weren't actually "the imposition of a foreign culture"?

No doubt, it was the indigenous peoples themselves who forced themselves to convert for the glory and gain of the Catholic Church, an interesting proposition to be sure, much like the also interesting proposition that heresy such as a non-flat Earth spinning around the sun required people be tortured to death to show God's wisdom in giving us the most wondrous object of all, our minds

It's becoming apparent that Pope Ratzi the Nazi has no problems with theologically-supported genocide, or raping a people of their natural resources that the Church wasn't blessed by God to control from the start

But Marcio Meira, who is in charge of Brazil's federal Indian Bureau, said Indians were forced to convert to Catholicism as the result of a "colonial process."

"As an anthropologist and a historian I feel obliged to say that, yes, in the past 500 years there was an imposition of the Catholic religion on the indigenous people," Meira said.

In Guatemala, where 42 percent of the nation's 12 million people call themselves Indian, the former presidential commissioner on racism said the pope's comments were a step backward.

"To say that there was no imposition is a falsification in light of the history if those that did not accept the faith were flagellated," said Ricardo Cajas.

Brazil once had an estimated 2,000 Indian tribes, but many have died out or assimilated into the general population since the nation was settled by the Portuguese in the 16th century, according to the Indian Missionary Council. Brazil's 2000 census found about 700,000 Indians in Latin America's most populous country.

So it's not enough to spin this warped hypocrisy in a way that Benedict absurdly hopes will find favor today, no, Pope Ratzi the Nazi is sliming the victims of the religiously and materially based genocide his organization helped encourage and carry out, as is shown by the following

Benedict said that indigenous Latin Americans formed "a synthesis between their cultures and the Christian faith which the missionaries were offering them."

Of course the Latin Americans "formed a synthesis between their cultures and the Christian faith which the missionaries were offering them", after all, the indigenous peoples had long-established religious practices and natural resources that they couldn't wait to change and give away to the Catholic Crusaders who stumbled upon their thriving societies

And even more surely, according to Benedict, those peoples were just begging to be tortured into religious conversion, and couldn't wait to be relieved of their worldly goods, actions & results helpfully brought about by the Church at the time

He added that any return by those indigenous populations to their original religions "would be a step back."

So, I guess that rules out any chances that, in order to prove his point of the supposed supremacy of his faith, Benedict will offer to return any and all gold, silver or other valuable minerals to their proper indigenous owners, fully confident that those dispossessed of such materials are more than happy how their ancestors involuntarily enriched the same Church which now supports their genocide and rape of centuries-long duration

For anyone who can try and spin genocide and rape of natural resources for their own benefit as being somehow "Christian", well, there's not a level of Hell deep, permanent or miserable enough to contain their sick hypocrisy and evil souls

And speaking of sick hypocrites, Jerry Falwell died

While I won't mock the pain his loved ones are going through, I certainly won't grieve or lose the least amount of sleep over this truly evil and unhinged slimy religious hypocrite, not with all the hateful rhetoric Falwell was so quick to dish out to all who didn't agree with his willfully ignorant and deliberate perversion of the deity he claimed to follow

Falwell had no problem deliberately inflicting pain on those who didn't deserve it in the least, he was a vile bastard who would have been the first to scourge Christ, bind him to wood with spikes of steel, mock Jesus enthusiastically, drag the Crown of Thorns on Christ's scalp and spear his side as Jesus died upon the Cross

If there's a Hell, I have no doubt Falwell's roasting there now

And irony of ironies, it appears God finds more favor with Falwell's most infamous antagonist, Larry Flynt, seeing as how Flynt's still alive and kicking

A MUCH Better Appreciation For My Mom

It's interesting how things come back to you when going through suddenly stressful situations, especially those involving family

Friday night, I had to take my cat Jenny, to the emergency animal center, she was having a bit of trouble breathing, but nothing as drastic or scary as the wheezing attacks she gets every once in a while

I'm as fiercely devoted to this critter as parents are with their children, she's been there when I've had incredibly bad, stressful days. Jenny somehow transfers all that negative energy from getting petted and helps diminish the anxiety and ire factors from overwhelming to merely bad, and the fact that she's the sweetest cat around, in terms of genuinely liking to be around people, and almost demanding worship by petting from anyone in her immediate vicinity just makes her far more than a mere pet for me

Jenny's not used to going to the vets regularly, not in the 16 of 18 years I've had her-especially since she's an indoor cat, and I'm overly paranoid about not letting her slip outside-but when she does have to make the trip, she doesn't usually have a problem with her temperature taken

But this time, Jenny put up a real fuss, and it was during this time that she started gasping for air, and it got so much worse in just a few seconds that I couldn't believe how quick and overwhelming it was

I started panicking, and raised my voice

"Oh my God, Jenny, Jenny, please, do something for her", while the tears started, just as dramatic as any such scenario on any medical show, when the patient suddenly goes critical in the presence of their family or friends

Jenny's system was shutting itself down rapidly, and when the vets assistants rushed her to the back, not letting me come with her, I just couldn't get that brutal visual from my eyes, it just kept replaying constantly while I waited for some word for about 30 minutes

And that's how I realized just how hard so many of you mothers have it, especially those with chronically or terminally ill children you love and value above all else in the universe

I had asthma so severe when I was a child that I was a regular visitor to the emergency room, about ten blocks and one left turn straight down the street from our house

There were at least three occasions when the asthma was severe enough to stop my heart for a few minutes at a time, and my parents witnessed every one of those heart stoppages

And when that was the last image I had of my poor cat, her gasping for air while her system shut down, but she was conscious of what was happening, making the panicking even more brutal for Jenny to go through

When you're gasping for breath, and it's your own system shutting down, and you're conscious enough to know what's happening but can't stop it in any way, it's terrifying

And that's what wrenched my heart, how terrified, helpless and aware Jenny was, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it

And that's when I realized exactly what my mom went through when it happened to me as a child

And so, for about 30 minutes, while waiting for some word on Jenny, all I could think of was how the possibility of suddenly losing her, and how I wasn't ready for that to happen, was the same kind of sudden situation my mom had faced regarding me

The vet came in and wasn't sugarcoating or varnishing how bad the situation was

"She's trying to crash and die on us"

I remember that I was rather calm when she said this, it was a splash of icy cold water to the soul, but it forced me to focus on a very unpleasant possibility that would have been far more painful to ignore or hope away otherwise

And for another 45 minutes, I couldn't think of anything except how I'd better make my peace with saying goodbye to Jenny, hoping that the last image of her would be of a cat that simply went to sleep and didn't wake up as opposed to always remembering her gasping and panicking to in a futile attempt to breathe

I realized the worst aspect of parenthood then, the same ones my parents faced

The possibility of sudden loss of your loved ones, your children

A worse fate cannot exist for parents who have faced that loss, or actually been forced to go through it, it's the most shattering of experiences, and one that will never be gotten over, or an outcome one can ever "find closure" on

I was tearing myself up at this point, I called my mom & sister from the emergency center, and they offered me whatever help they could

It was then I realized what a true Godsend my family is, sure, we have our differences and disagreements, but when it matters most, we come through for each other

My sister lost her cat-around the same age as Jenny, a short time before this happened, and thankfully, she kept me focused on what I had to do, namely, make sure Jenny wasn't suffering needlessly if it came to having to put her down

During the times I wasn't talking to mom or sis, all I could think of was how I finally understood, so crystal clearly, just how hard a price we pay for the love in our lives when it's time is over

At some point, the vet came back and said the treatments were working very, very well, and that Jenny looked to pull through what was the first real health problem she'd ever had

The sense of relief was sudden and overwhelming, a surreal jolt on top of some very unpleasant realizations gained that day

I felt about my cat just like my mom did about me when learning that I'd pulled through what should have been a life-ending asthma attack

The gratitude that this wasn't the end, that there's more tomorrows, more chances for life's little enjoyments and treasures, more chances to show love to the important presences in our lives, more chances to say "I love you" even if, with me, it's to my pet, not a child

I imagine my mom felt the same way on those occasions I came back from having my heart stopped, the enormous relief of a burden not having to yet be borne, or borne fully, of more chances and tomorrows as well

And that gratitude only grew brighter and more overwhelming when I got to see Jenny the next morning, her usual happy & purring self such a gorgeous counterpoint to the gasping, terrified creature I'd witnessed with horror only 12 hours previously

I realized the same things my mom felt about me at this exact point when I saw Jenny doing better after the attack, that I wanted to just scoop her up, never let go, and indulge every whim she could ever have

The joy my mom must have felt thinking about future tomorrows is one I couldn't fathom until yesterday morning, and it's one I hope goes on for a long time

And so, now that I've gotten a real understanding of what joy and terror at almost the same time are all about, I have to say I'm in awe of you mothers who love your kids, especially those kids who require more than the usual amount of physical, emotional or mental help, assistance and understanding than normal kids, those of you who have to administer physically painful medications and treatments to your children have perhaps the toughest job of all

You have to deliberately inflict pain to keep your kids healthy, something my mom had to learn to do after the last occasion where asthma stopped my heart before I could get to the emergency room

As I wrote about my mom last year

It got to the point where she learned how to administer the adrenalin shot when I got hit with an asthma attack, and she always said it tore her up to hear me scream because of getting stuck with the needle

And since I've brought little beast back home, the sense of contentment, the sense of hope and joy has come back stronger than before about having more tomorrows with Jenny

So on this Mother's Day, I have no doubt that there's a special place in Heaven for all you moms who cherish and adore your kids, and the love you all show is one of the reasons this world is a better, rather than worse, place

And on this Mother's Day, thanks to almost losing something as dear to me as I am to my Mom, I end the same way I did with Last Year's Appreciation Of My Mom

I Love You Mom, and that only grows by the day

A Hatchet Job Of The Inane Kind On Fred Thompson

Of all the reasons not to vote for former GOP Senator & actor Fred Thompson, this should be absolutely the very last item on the list, in fact, it shouldn't even be listed at all

In this case, it's Thompson's choice of one acting role that's supposedly got the potential to cause him problems-read that as "votes"-if he runs for President, although I cam definitely see this as a possible talking point to tarnish Thompson's opposition if he runs for President

That's right, just one role is supposed to play to all the negative qualities associated with and by the GOP

Evil, racist, manipulator, huckster, qualites he played through his Evil Racist Manipulating Huckster on a three episode arc of "Wiseguy"

To suggest that Thompson would be in trouble politically because he played-apparently well enough-an extremely unsavory criminal is so logically deficient that the terms "stupidity" and "appalling" both carry the exact same rhetorical heft

It's stories like these, uncritically reported-in this case, a few replies to a blog post-that all too often are passed off as some mainstream political wisdom actually worthy of discussion. The only factor worth discussing about this story is how extremely stupid or shallow anyone is if this issue costs Thompson-should he run for President-any actual votes

Look for this sort of hysteria-even though, according to the article, it seems to have originated on at least one conservative site, which has it's reply to the LA Times article HERE

to somehow lay the groundwork for the "evil liberals will attempt to conflate Thompson the politician with Pooley the Character" meme if Thompson decides on a Presidential run, just another rhetorical device to demonize the opposition's voters

Ahhh, but there's one lively sting in the tail at the very end of this post

bypass registration with this Bug Me Not link

Will Fred Thompson's racist role have political repercussions?

Ronald Reagan became president even though he worked with chimps in B movies.

Arnold Schwarzenegger played a murderous robot, and that didn't keep him from becoming governor.

So can "Law & Order" actor and former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) become the first presidential candidate with this credit? Thompson played a white supremacist, spewing anti-Semitic comments and fondling an autographed copy of "Mein Kampf" on a television drama 19 years ago.

His colleagues say that he was just an actor putting everything he had into playing the role of a charismatic racist, named Knox Pooley, in three episodes of CBS' hit show "Wiseguy" in 1988. "Do you call Tom Cruise a killer because he played one in a movie?" asked show creator and writer Stephen J. Cannell.

But in the age of YouTube, this performance could raise an intriguing political question: How does a performer eyeing a presidential run deal with a video history that can be downloaded, taken out of context, chopped into embarrassing pieces and then distributed endlessly though cyberspace? Some conservative political blogs are already considering the problem.

"Not only do politicians have to worry about getting comfortable with a crowd and saying something that might be caught on tape," said USC professor Leo Braudy, a pop culture expert, who has written extensively about film. "Now actors who have political aspirations will have to go through every single line of every part they played to make sure there's nothing they need to explain or apologize for."

The role is not something Thompson, who is in Orange County for a speech today, has talked a lot about in recent years. (His spokesman did not respond to several requests for comment this week.) In an appearance before the American Bakers Assn. in Phoenix last year, Thompson mentioned that he had a part on "Wiseguy," but he did not go into details. He summed up his acting career this way: "I played a CIA director, FBI director, an FBI agent, a senator, an admiral, a White House chief of staff, corporate execs and myself twice," Thompson said in the speech. "Some might say I was playing myself on each of these occasions. In each of these roles it seemed as if I had either known the guy I was playing or someone like him.

"So instead of studying admirals or generals, etc., I envisioned that I, Fred Thompson, had become an admiral or general and played myself…. The range was narrow, but I was establishing myself as the character actor for authority figures."

The idea that the "Wiseguy" role could be used against Thompson upsets Cannell.

"He was an actor hired to play a part," Cannell said. "These are not his personal views. He doesn't believe any of that, nor do I. If this is all they can find to say about him, then they've hit a new low."

The only reason this story gets published, which then gives off the absurd impression that this is a legitimate or rational reason to vote against Thompson, is where it runs online, in the "entertainment" section

In this case, both as "entertainment" value and "political analysis", this story is the rhetorical equivalent of trying to argue today that the earth is flat and at the center of the universe, it just really does come across as that deluded and divorced from reality

The part of this nerf-hatchet job describing some of Thompson's bits as Knox Pooley comes across, even with just words, as almost breathless, so make sure smelling salts and vapors are available for the "swoon at the rustle of a light wind" types in the immediate vicinity of where you're reading this

It takes only a few minutes to find the old "Wiseguy" series on Amazon Unbox. For $1.99, you can watch Thompson's first episode, "School of Hard Knox," where the actor asks a crowd at a rally whom they blame for their economic woes.

"You've asked yourself that same question, haven't you?" he says, standing in front of a banner decorated with a cross resembling the emblem of the racist Christian Identity movement. "When you've lost that job on the construction site or the loading dock, a job you've had for 20 years to someone who can't speak the language but who is willing to work for $2.50 an hour?"

He gets the crowd chanting: "Who's to blame? Who's to blame?"

"Who are these enemies?" he asks the crowd. "Some folks say it's the Jews. In fact, if I had a quarter for every time I heard that, I would be 10 bucks shy of being Jewish myself."

The scene continues. Thompson's character says: "The fact remains that it would be easy to point our finger at the bankers and the financiers, Jewish or not, for the fact that our great nation can't compete in the market place with the Asiatics. And it would be easy to blame the liberal leftist, Jewish or not, for sacrificing our working people on the altar of economic Bolshevism."

He tells the crowd that they have only themselves to blame. "We have been complacent, because we have been gullible, and we have been naive, we have allowed them to exercise their genetic need to dominate a Christian world. So don't blame the Jews for doing it. Blame it on yourselves for letting them."

He adds: "Open your mind and open up your hearts and open up your wallets and accept your birthright to a land of pure blood, pure spirit, pure belief and our divinely ordered superiority as a people."

Later in the episode, a follower gives Thompson's character a suitcase full of money and a copy of "Mein Kampf" signed by Hitler. The actor appears deeply touched.

"Only you would have the sensitivity to know what this means to me," he tells his supporter.

No, it's NOT THE ACTOR who "appears deeply touched", it's the CHARACTER HE'S PLAYING that "appears deeply touched", I mean, Goddamn, the words "Thompson's character says" were used only three paragraphs above "the actor appears deeply touched", that's an almost unfathomable laziness to flub the proper description, even if the entertainment beat is considered-not without justification in many cases-as substantive as cotton candy. Yes, "entertainment" is such a catch-all description, especially when it can encompass so many tawdry stories that have no real value other than to the people immediately involved, but all too often, these stories somehow become reported as if they were legitimate, like the media's nonstop efforts to link for Congressman Gary Condit with Chandra Levy's disappearance, then murder

Well, just because it's reported at all, even in the "entertainment" section, does NOT make this story about Thompson credible or legitimate in the least

I don't recall Spike Lee ACTUALLY throwing a trash can through a pizzeria window in real life like he did in "Do The Right Thing"

I don't recall Julie Andrews ACTUALLY levitating via umbrella in real life even though she did just that as "Mary Poppins"

I don't recall Charlton Heston ACTUALLY setting off the Doomsday Weapon in real life like he did in "Beneath The Planet Of The Apes"

To recap, the absurdity of this piece is that somehow, Thompson is actually the character he played, that the political life he's had is the actual charade, and that if Thompson successfully runs for President, it will be Knox Pooley, not Fred Thompson, inaugurated in January 2009

One website called Patterico's Pontifications asked the question recently: "How will they trash Fred Thompson?" Several respondents immediately mentioned the "Wiseguy" performance.

*********************

That's exactly why there's so much potential for partisan mischief in Thompson's "Wiseguy" role. In some ways, Thompson is too good an actor and looks too convincing in the part — a problem Schwarzenegger never had.

If Thompson's old TV roles do play a part in his presidential campaign, then the long relationship between Hollywood and politics will have entered a new era — an actor's dream and a candidate's nightmare — a world where nothing you ever said is forgotten.

So, "partisans" bent on "mischief"-read "liberal" and apparently lacking such skills as abstract thought-will push the argument that Thompson is SUCH a good actor that he can't possibly be acting, which is why he shouldn't be elected in the first place

Truly, this line of attack is so looney that the only logical sense it makes is to push as a conservative talking point to be used against Thompson's detractors, but then again, as shown by the over the top antics and rhetoric employed by such lovelies as Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church, there may well be idiots who would vote for Thompson, but for his three episode arc as the slimiest of con artists

But there's one way, if this article was actually legitimate, that shows just how much BS is the notion that Thompson 's role of Knox Pooley will hurt him politically

Thompson played the role in 1988, and was elected twice to the Senate, once in a special election in 1994, and re-elected in 1996

D'OH!!!