2,996 bloggers tribute
mkfreeberg.blogspot.com [1]
The sidebar has been updated so that this blog, which nobody actually reads anyway, can support the 2,996 Bloggers tribute to the victims of the September 11 attacks that occurred five years ago. This blog honors Joseph Holland, cheated out of everything in his natural life beyond his 33rd year, for the innocuous act of showing up for work in the World Trade Center before 8:46 a.m., just days after the birth of his first child. And, of course, we honor the memory of the 2,995 others.
The words above are lent in support of the non-partisan 2,996 Bloggers project.
What follows, are my own, not to be associated with them.
Those whose lives were cut short, cry out for us to avenge their memories. On this, all depends. Toward that end, I'm glad President Bush has achieved what he has, and I wish his administration was capable of achieving much more.
Anti-war folks who’ve been watching way too many episodes of M*A*S*H and Star Trek, are going to say this is “raw blood-lust” on my part, and it’s the wrong way to go. I recommend they educate themselves on the subtle distinction between “avenge” and “revenge.” … The two words were formerly interchangeable, but have been differentiated until they now convey widely diverse ideas. Avenge is now restricted to inflicting punishment as an act of retributive justice or as a vindication of propriety: to avenge a murder by bringing the criminal to trial. Revenge implies inflicting pain or harm to retaliate for real or fancied wrongs …
Like Martin Luther King, I have a dream. I have a dream that, when & if Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants start recruiting for the next suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, or the next attack on a United States embassy, approaching men, women, children, old, young, sick, well, rich, poor … they find no takers.
Isn’t that what we all want? …
Tales of a Wandering Mind
aggressivetendencies.blogsome.com [2]
Ok, some things have happened in the past few days that have caught my attention. Not only have they caught my attention, but they have rekindled, at least partially, my enthusiasm for our continuing war efforts. …
First, Bush comes out and clearly states who and what are enemies are: Islamofascists. …
Second, in his nationally televised speech, Bush lays it all on the line regarding what we are up against. We are in fact in the middle of a world war, and we must not accept defeat or withdrawal from any battlefield. We are in it to win it.
Third, today’s speech announcing the transfer of al-Qeada terrorists to Gitmo for the purposes of eventual military tribunals, detailing the connection between our intelligence gathering operations, terrorist captures and plot foiling, and the introduction of legislation to design the tribunals and to define legitimate interrogation techniques. This puts the ball back in Congress’ court, and forces them to address the legal shortcomings of our current system and to put the individual members on record. …
I wish the administration had been this aggressive in their communications over the last five years, but better late than never. …
A Little Recap of Incompetence
rosevilleconservative.blogspot.com [3]
“Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War,” a new book arriving in stores (last week) by veteran Newsweek investigative reporter Michael Isikoff and Nation Washington editor David Corn reveals a flurry of new details on the inner workings on the Administration in the lead-up to the Iraq war -- many of which cast unflattering light on the aggressive nature of the Bush-Cheney team that discounted facts from the intelligence community in favor of a policy that involved attacking Iraq, RAW STORY (rawstory.com) has learned. Among the book’s myriad disclosures will include:
President Bush was driven by a visceral hatred of Saddam Hussein, which he privately demonstrated in expletive-laden tirades against the Iraqi dictator. …
As part of an aggressive prewar covert action program -- codenamed Anabasis (after an ancient text about a botched invasion of Babylon) -- the CIA was authorized by the White House in the winter of 2002 to blow up targets in Iraq and engage in “direct action” (an agency euphemism for assassination) to weaken Saddam’s regime and to prepare for his ouster by the U.S. military. …
When Bush was first briefed that no WMDs had been found in Iraq, he was totally unfazed and asked few questions. “I’m not sure I’ve spoken to anyone at that level who seemed less inquisitive,” the briefer told the authors. …
Know a good regional blog we should be watching? Contact John Hughes [3]
[Bonus item deleted for space from newspaper version]
The B.S. agenda: All our riches for the top 1%
www.calitics.com [4]
In an op-ed on Watching Politics Sidney Gendin cites some horiffic statistics of the Bush-Schwarzenegger “accomplishments”.
“In 1999, median family income was $47,671. It declined every year from 2000 through 2004 but it has soared up to $46,326 in 2005.
Those who had absolutely no money in 1999 still have absolutely no money. Poverty has ‘stabilized at 12%,’ according to Census data. So much for the richest country on Earth.” This is our “miracle”, this is the growth that the Bush-Schwarzenegger (B.S.) has brought us? No thanks, I’d like a refund of my $1,300. Let’s just take it out of GOP campaign coffers.
The image to the right is the change in median income by state since George W. Bush and his tax cuts for the rich came to Washington from the Detroit Free-Press via “So-Called Austin Mayor.”