22 Ways To Be A Good Democrat

Given the topic of my previous post concerning email and taking responsibility for what you pass along I thought it was time to take another look at an email I had received from one of my friends. She had received the following email from a friend whose eye was caught by my piece about Ann Coulter. In the email, her friend referred to himself as a conservative but by not a "blow-hard conservative." His words, not mine.

Based on the following email, what would you say?

22 WAYS TO BE A GOOD DEMOCRAT

1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.

2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.

3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than U.S. nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists.

4. You have to believe that there was no art before Federal funding.

5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical documented changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's.

6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is natural.

7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.

8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach 4th-graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.

9. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but loony activists who have never been outside of San Francisco do.

10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.

11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make The Passion of the Christ for financial gain only.

12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.

13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.

14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Gen. Robert E. Lee, and Thomas Edison & A.G. Bell.

15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.

16. You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and is a very nice person.

17. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere it has been tried is because the right people haven't been in charge.

18. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House.

19. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag, transvestites, and bestiality should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.

20. You have to believe that illegal Democratic Party funding by the Chinese Government is somehow in the best interest of the United States.

21. You have to believe that it's okay to give Federal workers the day off on Christmas Day but it's not okay to say "Merry Christmas."

22. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right wing conspiracy.

NOT a "blow-hard conservative."

I would hate to see what a "blow-hard conservative" would have said. Since I have Faux Noise blocked at home, I guess I never will.

Since Karl Rove and I both agree that:
“As people do better, they start voting like Republicans - unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing”
Karl Rove

I have decided that the best way to overcome the ignorance this email spewed forth since there were no links to supporting documentation proving these points, is present the facts associated with each point and let the reader make their own decision.

It may be an unfamiliar, uncomfortable concept but this is what the News is supposed to do. Simply present the facts. Then, let the person make their own decision about where they stand on the issue.

Unless you watch Faux Noise. They know their target demographic is incapable of drawing their own conclusions from the facts. That is why they do it for you.

Since there are so many good and valid points to be made, I am going to break this up into several installments. My blood pressure can not handle too much of this at a time.

1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.

First of all, abortion on demand is overly dramatic. Talk about not being a "blow-hard."

The Right of Choice, is simply that. In America, it is your choice to believe what you want to believe when it comes to religion. Why is that right nullified when it comes to making a choice based in religion but about your body? I respect your decision based in your beliefs to not have an abortion. You can respect my decision based in my beliefs to make my own choice.

Why is the Republican party who believes in less is better government, expanding their authority into something that is a decision between a woman and her doctor?

Expanding government is in direct conflict with the core Republican beliefs.

Are they flip-flopper's or hypocrites?

Moving on to capital punishment. I love how conservatives equate the Democrats being pro-choice to being pro-serial killer. Again, not a "blow-hard?"

Capital punishment is a terrible issue to politicize. Voters in America today do not want to hear how you are going to fix a problem, they want to know who is to blame and how fast can we bomb them to get revenge. "After all, this is the guy who tried to kill my dad." Shrub

Like abortion, capital punishment has to do with peoples lives. Like the life of Terry Washington. This was a mentally retarded man who was sentenced to death by a jury that was unaware of the fact Mr. Washington had the mental capacity of a 7 year old and that he had been horribly abused as a child.

Mr. Washington did need to be punished for his crime. He would have been punished differently had the jury known his mental status.

According to the ACLU, in the past 30 years, 124 inmates were found to be innocent and released from death row. ACLU

With wrong convictions and the justice system being manipulated for political gains, capital punishment is not a viable solution for crime prevention. We need to address the root causes and prevent the crime from happening instead of dealing with it once it does.

Next installment, we'll take a look at the relationship between capitalism and its richer, better looking cousin, fascism.

Screw the ACLU! or Should You Take Responsibility For Your Outgoing Email?

It starts innocently enough. You make an acquaintance and exchange email addresses. What fun to keep in touch! After sending the obligatory "test" message, you anxiously check your inbox, waiting to be regaled with witty repartee on a daily basis.

Suddenly your inbox spews forth a message promising a free Applebee's gift card simply by forwarding to 8 friends.

You then find yourself wondering, would it be easier to switch email addresses or just never open Outlook again?

Given the high profile of the aforementioned email, I always thought that at some point, someone would decide, "Not one more inbox shall be darkened by this empty promise."

I picture those someones hitting their delete button thinking, "It ends here."

Maybe I expect too much from people.

I expect that from the people who send me God's Blessings three times a day and Prayer Wheels for the troops would refrain from using their email irresponsibly.

Again, maybe I expect too much.

I do not fully understand the reason why certain people feel no personal responsibility for what they send on to their email network.

And so, in my inbox this week, I received the email about the ACLU objecting to Marines Praying.

As I do when I receive these emails, I surfed over to snopes, found the truth of the matter and sent the link back to the sender.

I did not get a response back from the sender.

I expected to be removed from their network.

I wasn't.

Again, maybe I expect too much.

My first real memory of the ACLU was watching Michael Douglas play President Andrew Shepherd in The American President. He defended his ACLU membership by saying, "For the record: yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU. But the more important question is why aren't you, Bob? Now, this is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights, so it naturally begs the question: Why would a senator, his party's most powerful spokesman and a candidate for President, choose to reject upholding the Constitution?" (imdb)

The American President went on to be one of my most favorite movies of all time and I have watched it 700 times.

The ACLU on the other hand, I never gave much more thought, until I started getting these evil ACLU emails. And there are quite a few of them out there. Punching in "ACLU" in at snopes yielded 13 links. The "urban legends" that snopes has cataloged on the ACLU are overwhelmingly negative and more often than not proven to be false.

Now, I can understand why people hate the ACLU. Any organization that is dedicated to preserving the principles this country was founded on gets a frowny face emoticon from me.

Why would we care about things like Amendment XIX which states: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Or Amendment IV which states: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

Or Amendment II which states: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

To you NRA members........want to keep your AK-47 for hunting and personal protection? Guess who will defend that right against those evil liberals who want to take your rights away?

DING DING DING.....the ACLU!

Which brings me to my favorite, Amendment I, which states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people to peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

I can totally see why people hate this organization. I don't know of anyone who actually exercises these rights and would ever need the services of the ACLU. Do you?

Another one of my favorite lines from The American President is when Sydney Ellen Wade played by Annette Bening busts out with, "How do you have patience for people who claim they love America, but clearly can't stand Americans?" (imdb)

So why do these America lovers that hate Americans feel the need to spew forth propaganda via email that they would never utter in a verbal conversation?

I have two explanations for this.

1. Sender of offensive and false email does not know the validity of said email but figures that the person that sent it to sender is of repute and certainly they wouldn't spread lies.
2. Sender of offensive email is aware that the email is false but they send it on anyway because they know that the people they are sending it to do not know better and will not bother to look up the facts before sending it out to every contact in their book.

Either way, email user, you are looking like a fool. How does it feel?

Consider this your intervention. Put down that mouse, I am here to start the healing. But I will not hug you. I do not buy into the I'm ok, you're ok crap. Out of the two of us, I am the one who is ok.

In order to raise your email IQ to an acceptable level, it takes only one rule to follow.

1. Check all questionable emails for accuracy and truth whether you plan to send it on or not.

Not only will this increase your level of knowledge and make you much more fun to talk to but when you find one that is false, you can send the proof back to the person who sent it to you in the first place. My best practice is to hit "reply all" if the sender hasn't figured out how to "Bcc:" and hide everyone that got the email originally. It is fun and educational for all!

So the next time you get the Andy Rooney, Barack Obama, or the Congress/Taxes email, remember, only you have the power to say "It ends here."

I Watched Both the Democratic & Republican Debates.....Why Didn't You?

Hitler detailed his master plan quite explicitly in Mein Kampf. The few people that read it never imagined he would actually be able to put his plan into action. It is for that reason I watched ten of the whitest men I have ever seen on one stage compare themselves to Reagan. You never know when a politician will actually do what they say they will do.

I will admit, I watch MSNBC. I feel guilty about it. It must be the same for the 40% of people that shop at Wal-Mart and feel guilty about it. I love Keith Olbermann though. I like to watch Tucker Carlson be an idiot (he called the Democratic plan to bring the troops home from Iraq "toothless"), Chris Matthews pretend to be a liberal, and Joe Scarborough call his pundits by their first and last name.

So imagine my joy when the first debates were on MSNBC. Finally, guilt free for three hours!

And of course, when you experience anything that is guilt free, I am now more terrified than ever. Mostly over the fact that the GOP candidates are more concerned with dealing with Iran while ignoring the domestic issues because, we have to cut taxes and build defense!

Do you know why Democrats always have to raise taxes? Because Republicans were out using the credit card. (This perspective was brought to you by my Dad.)

One of my biggest complaints about modern politics is that the GOP has convinced this country that the biggest issues facing the United States as we plow ahead into the 21st century is abortion and gay rights. And this from the party that thinks smaller government is better government. I do not solely blame this on the GOP though, the bigger share of blame belongs squarely on the shoulders of my fellow Americans. 51% of you are drinking the Kool-Aid.

Put down the Kool-Aid and read what you missed........

Let's start with the GOP and abortion. This was the most disturbing exchange.

Starting with you, Governor, would the day that Roe v. Wade is repealed be a good day for America.
Romney: Absolutely.
Moderator: Senator?
Brownback (?): It would be a glorious day of human liberty and freedom.
Moderator: Governor?
Gilmore (?): Yes, it was wrongly decided.
Moderator: Governor?
Huckabee (?): Most certainly.
Moderator: Congressman?
Hunter (?): Yes.
Moderator: Governor?
(Unknown): Yes.
Moderator: Senator?
A repeal.
Mayor?
Giuliani: It would be OK.....(I took out the Giuliani exchange here, tune to any 24 hour news network, they have it on a three minute loop)
......Moderator: Congressman?
Tancredo (?): After 40 million dead because we have aborted them in this country, I would say that that would be the greatest day in this country's history when that, in fact, is overturned. MSNBC

THE GREATEST DAY IN THIS COUNTRY'S HISTORY??????????????????????????

Are you kidding me?

Better than the day when the last American soldier finally makes it home from Iraq?
Better than the day when every single American has health coverage?
Better than the day when every single American has a roof over their head and food on their plate?
Better than the day every single child in American graduates from High School?
Better than the day unemployment is at 0.0%?

Can you honestly tell me that the day Roe v. Wade was overturned would be better than all of those days?

If you can, please email me at englishdeb@hotmail.com. I would love to hear from you.

Moving on to the real issue at hand:

Moderator: Would it be good for America to have Bill Clinton back living in the White House?
Romney: You have got to be kidding.
Moderator: No, I'm not. His wife's running, haven't you heard?
Romney: The only thing I can think of that'd be as bad as that would be to have the gang of three running the war on terror: Pelosi, Reid and Hillary Clinton.So I have to be honest with you, I think it'd be an awful thing for a lot of reasons. MSNBC

These must be a few reasons that Mitt was thinking about when he spewed forth his verbal diarrhea:

• In 1992, the deficit was $290 billion, a record dollar high. In 1999, we had a budget surplus of $124 billion -- the largest dollar surplus on record (even after adjusting for inflation) and the largest as a share of our economy since 1951. With the President's plan, we are now on track to eliminate the nation's publicly held debt by 2015.
• More than 20 Million New Jobs -- more than 92 percent (18.5 million) of the new jobs have been created in the private sector, the highest percentage in 50 years. This is the most jobs ever created under a single Administration -- and more new jobs than Presidents Reagan and Bush created during their three terms. Under President Clinton, the economy has added an average of 244,000 jobs per month, the highest of any President on record. This compares to 52,000 per month under President Bush and 167,000 per month under President Reagan.
• Fastest and Longest Real Wage Growth in Two Decades -- Since 1993, real wages have grown 6.5 percent - compared to declining 4.3 percent during the previous two administrations. In 1998, real wages were up 2.7 percent -- that's the fastest annual real wage growth in over 20 years.
• Unemployment Is the Lowest in 29 Years -- down from 7.5 percent in 1992 to 4.1 percent today -- staying below 5 percent for 29 months in a row.
• Highest Homeownership Rate in History -- In the third quarter 1999, the homeownership rate was 67.0 -- the highest ever recorded. PBS

And here we are, the better part of a decade later.

16 Million American families (two adults, two children) are living on less than $9,903 per year, which is at a 32 year high. (USA Today)

Our national debt is almost 9 trillion dollars. (US Treasury)

And so on.......

Yup, I can't think of anything else worse than Bill being back either Mitt.

From the other side, the support that I threw behind Dennis Kucinich a few months ago was reaffirmed by this exchange.

Williams: Congressman Kucinich, you were anti-war before the anti-war position started surging in the polls. The question is, why don't you think you have more traction politically in the United States?
Kucinich: I think tonight's debate is going to help change that, Brian, because I think when people understand not only that I opposed the war from the start, but I opposed the idea of using war as a matter of policy. I don't think it reflects America's greatness, and I also think that this process -- this isn't "American Idol" here. We're choosing a president. And we have to look at the audition that occurred that in 2003, when my good friends were called upon to make a decision and then made the wrong decision. Apologies aren't enough, because we've had 3,333 Americans die. Perhaps as many as over 650,000 innocent Iraqis die. People are looking for a president who has the wisdom to make the right choices about America's security and who also has the integrity to be able to take a stand that may be unpopular. And so, I think that when people see that this campaign comes from a place of the heart and wants to reconnect with the world, I think they'll be ready to support it. (MSNBC)

And while I do not share his optimism, he is still my candidate of choice. His best line of the night was:

"Furthermore, I don't think that it's sufficient to say that if we had the information at the beginning that we would have voted differently. That information was available to everyone. And, if you made the wrong choice, we're auditioning here for president of the United States. People have to see who had the judgment and the wisdom not to go to war in the first place, and I made the choice not to go to war." (MSNBC)

It was the perfect jab to Hillary's "I take responsibility for my vote. Obviously, I did as good a job I could at the time. It was a sincere vote based on the information available to me." (MSNBC)

The biggest complaint about the debate was the mainline candidates got the majority of mic time. I would have like to have heard more from Mr. Gravel. I was unaware that he was in the running and enjoyed the passion he brought to the debate. He has a unique plan for getting us out of Iraq:

Well, first off, understand that this war was lost the day that George Bush invaded Iraq on a fraudulent basis. Understand that. Now with respect to what's going on in the Congress, I'm really embarrassed.
So we passed -- and the media's in a frenzy right today with what has been passed. What has been passed? George Bush communicated over a year ago that he would not get out of Iraq until he left office. Do we not believe him?
We need to find another way. I really would like to sit down with Pelosi and with Reid, and I would hope the other senators would focus on, how do you get out? You pass the law, not a resolution, a law making it a felony to stay there. And I'll give you the text of it.
And if you're worried about filibuster, here's what you do tactically. They can pass it in the House. We've got the votes there.
We've got the votes there.
In the Senate, let them filibuster it. And let Reid call up every -- at 12:00 every day to have a cloture vote. And let the American people see clearly who's keeping the war going and who's not. And that's just the beginning of the tactic, if they're tough enough to do it. (MSNBC)

What I find even funnier is that on Hardball last night, one of the pundits said that the way the Democrats can get their Iraq funding bill through was to take these very same steps. I doubt they will.

When Hillary, Obama, and the rest of 'em were asked how many supported Kucinich's bill to impeach Dick Cheney, not one of them raised their hands.

So these candidates, who screamed and hollered that they would get us out of Iraq and hold this administration accountable aren't doing what they said they would do, nor does it appear they are even willing to support the steps that some candidates are willing to take.

What a surprise.

Like I said, you never know when they will actually do what they say they will do.

http://kucinich.us/

How Old Are You?: A perfectly rational question or a level of rudeness that can only be expected from liberals?

Facts. You can use them to prove anything.
--Homer Simpson

Some people would say the biggest news story of 2006 that was ignored by the liberal media was the fact that Barack Obama smokes cigarettes.

Some people would say the biggest news story of 2006 that was ignored by the liberal media was the report that stated Iraqi casualties of this war could be as high as 600,000.

Some people would say that biggest news story of 2006 that was ignored by the liberal media was the fact that the US Military did not count deaths from bombs, rocket and mortar attacks in their official death count from Iraq.

I, of course, would like to go in a different direction with my most glossed over story of 2006.

It begins with a question. A question that when you ask your Mom, she glares at you. A question that when you ask a 2 year old, you get a show of fingers.

The question is: How old are you?

Just for funsies, let's ask the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon, how old are you?

Speaking on behalf of Grand Canyons everywhere, the National Park Service will promptly answer, "No comment."

Hmmm, perhaps my Mom is at the helm of the NPS.

Or, another logical conclusion is that the NPS "In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology." PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch

So why is geology going the way of stem cell research?

Because of commerce and the right-wing of this country of course!

Currently for sale in the Grand Canyon gift shoppe is a novel by Tom Vail called Grand Canyon: A Different View.

The novel claims that the Grand Canyon developed on a biblical time scale as opposed to Satan's evolutionary time scale.

Shockingly enough, there are a few people who can still think for themselves and think that this book of religious fiction has no place in a National Park. Park Superintendent Joe Alston tried to have the book blocked but was denied. The NPS Chief of Communications David Barna assured him there would be a "high-level" review in order to quash any further outrage.

That was back in August of 2003.

No such review has taken place.

Park officials have defended the decision to approve the sale of Grand Canyon: A Different View, claiming that park bookstores are like libraries, where the broadest range of views are displayed. In fact, however, both law and park policies make it clear that the park bookstores are more like schoolrooms rather than libraries. As such, materials are only to reflect the highest quality science and are supposed to closely support approved interpretive themes. Moreover, unlike a library the approval process is very selective. Records released to PEER show that during 2003, Grand Canyon officials rejected 22 books and other products for bookstore placement while approving only one new sale item — the creationist book. (PEER)

Is it any wonder that US children are being left behind when it comes to science?

The Iraq Funding Bill

“Pork: More than just a staple at breakfast”

This week, there will be a vote on funding for the Iraq War.

In the Democratic Party, we have two schools of thought on bringing the troops home. Those who want out NOW! and those who want out NOW! but understand that some must stay-short term. The US needs to facilitate a treaty between the Sunni and Shiite. Involve surrounding countries like Baker-Hamilton suggested. All wars are ended with compromise. And, the best part about a good compromise…..it leaves everybody angry.

Those who want our troops out NOW! believe the best route is to cut off funding. Completely. Totally. Michael Moore wants this. So does Cindy Sheehan. I respect both of them and admire them for what they have the courage to do, but I have to totally disagree with cutting off funding. I think that would be a complete and utter disaster.

Needless to say, they HATE the Iraq Funding Bill.

So do the Republicans.

They are saying it is full of pork.

And it is!

$4 billion in drought relief for farmers in the Great Plains.
$3.1 billion for military base construction and closings.
$1.3 billion for New Orleans levee improvements.
$1.2 billion in relief, unemployment, food and housing aid arising out of a freeze that destroyed citrus, avocado and other crops in California's Central Valley.
$745 million to deal with a shortfall in the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 14 states.
$400 million for a one-year extension of payments to rural counties in the Pacific Northwest to make up for timbering cutbacks in national forests. (Detroit News)

WOW! That IS a lot of pork.

I guess when you are spending close to 10 million dollars a month in Iraq, why spend any money helping rice farmers in Louisiana? Why spend any money on the Iraq war veterans? Why spend any money helping spinach farmers recover from the E. coli outbreak? Why spend any money on the catastrophic forest fires we have been having? Global warming is after all, perhaps the biggest lie ever imposed on the American People. Why spend any money on children’s health care? I guess we need to do the Christian thing and just support Dick Cheney and Halliburton. His stock options only rose by more than 3,000% from 2004 to 2005. Poor guy. Hardly enough to even benefit from his own tax cuts. Such a shame.

The Democrats are playing good politics. They have taken a page from the Republicans. Republicans hate it because the Democrats are actually giving the money to people that need it, instead of defense contractors. Even though a Republican would sooner spit on a picture of Regan than vote for anything offered up by the Democrats, you can’t very well go back to Louisiana and say, “I could have gotten you 150 million dollars in relief, but it was more important to vote with my party. That’s how we dooz it up in the D to the C!”

Personally, even though I have sworn off the tasty, tasty pork treats since New Years and have been doing quite well, in this case, I will make an exception and embrace the pork.

Plus, no carbs! Score!

Just because it works for Jack Bauer doesn't make it right......

I do not believe in torture.

I believe that the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and Abou-Ghraib is a disgrace.

Have you seen the email about Gen. John J Pershing and his handling of terrorism in 1911? According to the email, this is how he dealt with terrorists:

[Islamic terrorists] Forced to dig their own graves, the terrorists were all tied to posts, execution style. The US soldiers then brought in pigs and slaughtered them, rubbing their bullets in the blood and fat. Thus, the terrorists were terrorized; they saw that they would be contaminated with hogs' blood. This would mean that they could not enter Heaven, even if they died as terrorist martyrs. All but one was shot, their bodies dumped into the grave, and the hog guts dumped atop the bodies. The lone survivor was allowed to escape back to the terrorist camp and tell his brethren what happened to the others. (SNOPES)

Snopes has not determined if this email is factual. Whether it is fact or not, I do not care.

What bothers me is how the sender of this email will put "I agree completely" in the subject line.
I (the Godless Sodomite from the Church of Liberalism) completely disagree.

Let me share with you a segment I heard on the NPR segment Hmmmm.... Krulwich on Science. (NPR)

During the Revolutionary War back in 1777, gunfire was exchanged between American soldiers and the enemy British and Hessian German soldiers on a farm in New Jersey. The Americans left 7 wounded but alive soldiers on the battlefield. One of the American soldiers offered to surrender but the British refused. Instead, the British decided that these 7 wounded soldiers should be put to death. Not just any death though, the good kind of death. They "dashed out their brains with their muskets, rammed them through with their bayonets, made them like sieves."

When news reached General Washington that the British had killed American soldiers so brutally and without provocation, he said, "We will not do it to them." He even issued orders that said, "captives are to be treated with humanity." (Think of it like McCain's bill sans signing statement.)

General Washington believed that these "enemy combatants" had a right to life.

Right to life. Kinda like fetuses, right? Choose Life?

Washington also said that "we will protect them, we will feed them, we will house them, they will not be harmed because we are fighting for a cause and our cause requires we behave with honor." Washington appealed to his soldiers that they needed to behave with honor because that brings glory. Gen. Washington's soldiers obeyed.

As the war continued, Washington's soldiers captured 1400 Hessian and British soldiers. The captives kept diaries and wrote journals about their detainment. What surprised them the most was how well the Americans treated them. They in turn were very good prisoners of war.

How good you ask? Read onward......

Several hundred of the POWs were told to march from Pennsylvania to Virginia. The Pennsylvania Militia accompanied them until they reached the Maryland border. At that point, they were told to continue on, unaccompanied, alone, without a guard, unsupervised until they reached Virginia, where they would join up with the Virgina Militia.

Guess how many showed up?

Guess.....I dare you.....

Answer: ALL OF THEM

What is even more interesting, is even after they were released, 1 in 4 of the detainees stayed here. They stayed here working in fields and raising families. They were pioneers of this country.

The decision that Washington made was not met with a warm reception by his soldiers.

They wanted to dash out their brains!

They wanted to ram them through with bayonets!

"We are fighting for a cause and our cause requires we behave with honor."

Today, we are not fighting for a cause. We are fighting because we let a "cowboy" from Texas use 9/11 to further his and his cronies interests. Every cause we have been given from WMDs, (do you remember that WMD was voted word of the year in 2002?) to Saddam was a threat, to 9/11, to Osama Bin Laden, to Al-Qaida, to terrorism in general, to liberate Iraq, to spread freedom, to spread democracy, to prevent terrorism by gas price increases, and what I believe holds the most water, because Saddam tried to kill his Daddy.

It is because of this that it is imperative that we behave with honor.

With our credibility gone, with our economy declining, with home foreclosure rates at the highest levels ever, with a 26% increase in the number of families living (if you can call that living) making less than $10,000 per year, with our national debt out of control, with our blatant disregard of the environment, with our intolerance of those who choose a different lifestyle than the "moral majority," with more soldiers killed in Iraq than civilians we lost on 9/11 in the WTC, and with the deplorable conditions the over 24,000 wounded vets are forced to deal with..........

Honor is all we have left.

So when you are voting to ban Gay Marriage because it is immoral, think for just a minute that there is more to morality than what you find behind closed doors.

It is in being the better person, treating others the way you would want to be treated, and not picking and choosing What Jesus Would Do. Jesus hates Gays but loves Water-boarding?

And to those who "completely agree" with the claimed tactics of Pershing, you are a traitor to this country and the memory of every soldier that lost their life while defending our freedom.

How I learned to start hating others and love the AMT..........

The other day I was talking to Dave about the multitudes of middle class families that are responsible for paying the Alternative Minimum Tax this year.

So today, Dave sends me a link to this story and I just had to blog about it. Best part about the email was that he said I should write for CNN.

The best part of this story for me, is the fact that it addresses one of the biggest reasons I hear from people as to why they vote Republican.

"I vote Republican because Republicans lower my taxes and give less money to the poor, who don't work as hard as I do because if they did, they wouldn't be poor."

This is my favorite reason for voting Republican. It says, "I don't care about anyone other than myself." That is God's way.

Let's pretend for a minute that even though you have a good job and you make a lot of money, you are not in the 1/10th of 1% of the richest people in this country. It is easy to know if this is you or not because if you are not on the Forbes top 400 richest people in American list, you are not the 1/10 of 1%. I think you have to be a billionaire to be in the top 400 now.

Now, since you fall into the other 99.9% of this country that is not on that list, here is how Shrub's tax cuts have helped you.

"Because of poor design, millionaires are actually less likely to owe AMT than middle-income people with kids," said Tax Policy Center director Len Burman told the House Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee....Burman and others at the House panel hearing said that the tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 will double the number of people subject to the AMT unless lawmakers act to reform the tax.
That's because the tax cuts lower tax liability under the regular code, forcing some to pay the higher AMT bill. Without the tax cuts, the number of taxpayers subject to the AMT would already be high - 16 million by 2010 - unless the income exemption levels are indexed to inflation. But with the tax cuts, that number doubles to 32 million." CNN

Which brings us to the key point.....Bush's tax cuts DO NOT help the middle and even what is considered the upper middle class. Again, if you are not on that top 400 list by being a BILLIONAIRE, the tax cuts are hurting you.

"I vote Republican because they let companies and rich people keep more of their income which means they will invest that income in jobs and private sector social services"

TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS DOES NOT WORK! This was proven in the 12 years that Regan and Shrub Sr were in the White House. They quadrupled the national debt (don't you wish that we still had that small of a debt?) and proved that their theory did not work. But like the good Republicans they were, instead of getting rid of bad domestic policy, they kept hanging onto it. That doesn't sound like anyone else we know, does it? Why let the FACTS speak for themselves?

Now here is where I am going to really blow your mind.....

You know that fabulous job you have that earns you a great income, does that job have anything to do with the economy?

If you answered yes, then a vote for a Republican is a shot in your own foot.

Now wait a minute....how can I justify that statement you ask?

Let's examine my job for example.

I work at a car dealership where we sell GM products. I am the Business Manager which means I get people financed and sell insurances that no one thinks they need until something happens and they can't pay for their car. Now, 100% of our customers and I am going to say 99.9% of all of GM's customers are considered middle class. Remember the upper class in America is 1% of the entire US population. (Here is a link to a fabulous chart showing the explanation of classes in the US compiled by the US Census)

Now, since Shrub is taking money out of the middle class's (remember, middle class is 99% of the population) pockets, he is taking money out of my customer's pockets. Which means they spend less money. Which means I make less money and therefore spend less money. Which means that waitresses, stores, websites, etc all make less money because remember, 99% of the population is going through this.

So, if you are not a billionaire, do you still feel it is smart to vote Republican?

And don't worry, if you are sitting back with a smug look on your face that says, "I vote for family values," I will prove you wrong in another post.

How to bring peace to the middle east.....that is so easy.....just send more troops.....nothing says peace like war.....

My Fellow Americans:

How does it feel to know that you are being made a fool of? How does it feel to be mocked? Tell me, is it hard to see out of your stupid shades?

Operation Imposing Law

Yes, that is right my fellow Americans, the troop surge in Iraq is being called Operation Imposing Law.

Since you elected Shrub twice, I know I really have to spell it out for you....
Operation Imposing Law
O I L

move them just a few spots closer and what do you have?

Its only a three letter word so I know that it won't be too difficult to pronounce.....try it with me....

OIL

So, to that 29% of the country that still approves of the job our Idiot In Chief....how does it feel to be mocked by the very people that you put in power?

And thank you for voting for Shrub....Exxon/Mobil appreciates your stupidity because it translates into record profits for them.

I just hope that when you are done paying the AMT this year, you can still afford to gas up your Camry. A couple of hundred low paying, no benefit, no retirement plan jobs are depending on you.

And Ann Coulter is the voice of the Republican Party.

Rock On.

Pot.....meet kettle....you two will be bff's!

The GOP is outraged because indictments were not handed down prior to the November election?

What about the Baker-Hamilton commission report that was ready to go before the midterms?

What about STARTING the investigation into Mark Foley and the suggestive e-mails?

Luckily, the GOP have Shrub in the White House to keep these nasty reports and scandals under wraps around election time.

I wonder what happened to Rove's October surprise? Maybe the surprise was that there wasn't one this time.

What is really sad is that my fellow citizens prove time and time again that they are too stupid to see through the spin.

As far as I am concerned, the majority of the American people get what they deserve....sky high health care costs, middle class carrying the tax burden, and my favorite, a country so far in debt that their great-grandchildren will still be paying for this generations complete apathy to the world around them.

I don't know who taught their children to behave in this fashion. Care only about yourself and screw everyone else.

Ideally, every billionaire that benefited from Shrub's tax cuts to the tune of $56,000 per year, should take that money in $100.00 bills. Every time they see a middle class family struggling to pay their bills, just burn those pesky 560 $100.00 bills in front of them and laugh uncontrollably.

That is the American Way.

One highlight of the day today is that Scooter Libby was convicted on 4/5 counts.

That is good news but unfortunately, he will not serve as much time as he should.

What is even worse....Cheney, Rove, & Shrub get off scott free.

I talked to a customer today who said the world is so screwed he can't wait to get out of this life. He is disgusted by the fact that there is no love for the fellow human being. He said that "love" is the most valuable asset we are given by God. He makes a 55 mile round trip every day to see his wife of 61 years who is suffering from Parkinson's and in hospice. He said that people ask him why he comes up here to see her every day. Oh my God, can you even imagine, putting your loved one in a home and actually visiting them? People are shocked he does that. He says that there is no one else that he wants to spend time with and that he is glad that his body is giving out.

Some might say it was depressing but I find it comforting that I am not the only one who sees the world being extremely jacked up.

Oh Ann Coulter, you holy vessel you..........

I just want to say, I love Ann on the cover of her book, "Godless". She is wearing a little black party dress with a plunge-to-your-belly-button neckline. Nothing says "I love Jesus" like showing as much cleavage as possible. And that is just how she looks on her book! Can you imagine what she wears to church? I picture a mini-skirt paired with a halter top with her thong hanging out the back. I bet when she genuflects, even Dick Cheney suddenly feels alive.

And then today, Ann, or as I will call her from now on, Holy Mother, called John Edwards a "faggot".

It is not lost on my how the right-winged hate machine can continue to behave like the Godless Sodomites that they profess to hate so much, but still find myself wondering how to phrase "John Edwards is a faggot" on my next sampler for the church sewing bee. I know that some women will have things like "peace" and "love" in their samplers but that was the Bible from years ago. My sampler will feature the sentiments of today's God fearing Republican, "hate" and "greed" and my favorite "fascists". I better go find my thimble.

I hate Bush so much that I actually gave each of his presidential addresses three thumbs down in my TiVo unit. On all the channels that the presidential address was on. Fox, NBC, CBS, etc.

Right now, my boss has some Missionaries staying in his apartment downstairs. I was trying to help them work the TV and they asked, "Where's Fox News?" I actually thought about whether to tell them I forbid the watching of Faux News on my DirecTv account but I decided to give the missionaries who are doing really good work in Africa what they wanted before they head back for another four years of service. I had to actually go into the channel set up and add it as a channel I receive because I had deleted it. I kinda feel like China right now.