Monday, May 29, 2006

Two CBS News crew members were killed and correspondent Kimberly Dozier was seriously injured when an IED went off in Baghdad. [Cursor.org] 12:52:22 PM    comment []

Death penalty for Iraq massacre?  (241). Death penalty for Iraq massacre?  (241) [The Raw Story | A rational voice - Alternative news] 11:24:05 AM    comment []

Two senators claim to have "direct evidence of top officers trying to suppress information," the New York Times is accused of "mitigating atrocity with qualifiers," and it's argued that "the media's uncritical acceptance of the Iraq hawks' spin...makes them complicit in crimes like those alleged in Haditha." [Cursor.org] 11:19:26 AM    comment []

The testimony of survivors and mobile phone pictures are said to tie marines to 'The shame of Haditha,' where the graffiti on one house reads "Democracy assassinated the family that was here," but Reuters reports that "many Iraqis shrug it off as an every day fact of life under occupation." [Cursor.org] 11:18:49 AM    comment []

A former planner at the Joint Chiefs of Staff warns that "What we're seeing more of now... is the end result of fuzzy, imprecise national direction combined with situational ethics at the highest levels of this government," and months before Haditha, a Knight Ridder reporter noted worries that marines might "crack under the pressure." [Cursor.org] 11:15:03 AM    comment []

Martin Lewis: Speak for Americaâo[oe] SOMEONE!. When will George Bush get the credit he deserves for redeeming one of his central campaign pledges of 2000? He pledged that he would "restore honor and dignity to the White House." And All The President's Men - and Men-ron (let's not forget "Kenny Boy" and Jeffrey "I Made-A-Killing!" Skilling) - have all played their part in this. Enron convictions. Abu Ghraib torture. Hurricane Katrina aftermath. Outing of Valerie Plame. Obstruction of Justice. Illegal NSA surveillance. The list goes on and on and on. And every one of those actions HAS helped restore "honor and dignity to the White House." Of course it's the honor and dignity that RICHARD NIXON brought to the White House... But maybe millions of Americans missed that 'subliminable' part of Bush's pledge... Now we are impatiently counting The Final Days... This entire flimsy House Of Cards - built on illusion, chicanery, fear-mongering, exploitation, division, utter contempt for the great American citizenry - hatched in the Lee Atwater-Karl Rove sewer of cynicism - could come tumbling down like the Walls Of Jericho. All it will take will be one true patriot to pull all the threads together and publicly declare what 70% of the public has already surmised. That this Emperor Who Would Be President - has no clothes. Not a stitch. He is naked before us. And he has no shame. Constantly praising the "koor-idge" (I think he means "courage") of those who really do have courage - and using his praise of them as a fig leaf to cover his own cowardice - is really not good enough. In England on September 1st 1939 - as Hitler was trampling Poland under his jackboot and the British government was stalling in its response - there was a famous incident in the House Of Commons. It turned out to be a crucial turning point in England's fortunes. There was a desperate need that SOMEONE would stand up to the pathetic, flailing administration of arch-appeaser Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and rally the nation. After Chamberlain had spoken to the House - and yet again dithered about declaring War on Germany (even though Britain was pledged by treaty to do so after Germany had invaded Poland) - it was the turn of the Leader Of The Opposition to speak. The Labour Party leader was indisposed that day and the Acting Leader of the Labour Party was one Arthur Greenwood. Greenwood started his speech by saying that he was speaking for the Labour Party. At that point he was interrupted by an interjection from the Conservative back benches (Chamberlain's own party). Veteran Member of Parliament Leo Amery sensed that the nation was yearning for true leadership and - unable to control his patriotic passion - cried out: "Speak for ENGLAND, Arthur!" It was the clarion call that woke up a comatose nation. And Greenwood indeed did speak for England that fateful Saturday in September. Two days later Chamberlain bowed to the inevitable - and England declared war on Germany. 8 months later - Chamberlain was gone - replaced by Winston Churchill. (Leo Amery had an oratorical hand in Chamberlain's final denouement too - but I shall return to the lessons we can draw from that rhetorical triumph on another occasion.) And the little pebble that started the avalanche that led to Chamberlain's exit was the courage of someone from his OWN party to call out for SOMEONE to speak for the nation. Now is the hour. Now is the time for a REPUBLICAN with the guts to rise up and tell it like it is. Unmask this squalid charade. Pull back the curtain on this bellowing Wizard Of Was. And now is also the time for a DEMOCRAT with the guts to rise up and speak for America. From the HEART. Not from the bosom of some words concocted by a 'shrum' of political consultants. The people really do sense authenticity. Trust them for once... (There you go. Several fanciful wishes in one blog...) We don't need a Democrat to ROAST this sorry excuse for a President. More fool us for having allowed such a shallow vessel with less than six years experience in public office (and in the hands-off governorship of Texas to boot) to wrest the White House from what should have been a landslide Democratic victory in 2000. (I am open to forgiving Al Gore for his incompetence - if he shows true mettle and growth in understanding what it takes to actually WIN a presidential election. But I cannot and will not forgive Bob Shrum - who really should have known better - and patently doesn't. Of course he won't read this. Because - as he proudly boasted in the middle of helping screw up John Kerry's campaign - he doesn't go online. Quite...) No - Bush will serve out his full term. But he should NOT be allowed to serve it as a Lame Duck. He should be turned into a LEGLESS duck. He should be rendered as footless as he is feckless. Scythe the political legs from under him all together. Remove Bush's limping authority to scaremonger this fine nation. Turn him in public perception into the irrelevant White House squatter that he has been in actuality for the past five and a half years. The constitution - that he has no respect for - deems that he should stay in office till January 20th 2009. And so be it. It's pointless and self-defeating for Democrats to pursue impeachment. But let us rise up and render him truly impotent. Wipe that smirk off his callow face permanently. Prepare to take some of the reins of this nation in November - and restore the TRUE honor and dignity to the White House in January 2009. So - who will speak for AMERICA...? [The Huffington Post | Full Blog Feed] 11:02:32 AM    comment []

Jim Derych: Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez--Illegal Immigrant, American Hero. Maybe everyone already knows this or has talked about it and I just missed it. Maybe I don't pay enough attention to the blogs, but in this whole immigration debate this was the first time I'd heard the following fact--one of the first U.S. fatality in Iraq was an illegal immigrant. Here is an AP story on the life and tragic death of Jose Gutierrez: LOS ANGELES -- One of the first U.S. servicemen killed in combat in Iraq was not a citizen of the country for which he sacrificed his life. Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, 22, a rifleman with the Marines, died in a firefight March 21 near Umm Qasr. Born in Guatemala, Gutierrez held permanent U.S. resident status, which he obtained in 1999. At 14, with his parents dead, Gutierrez followed the path of 700,000 of his countrymen to California. He made the 2,000-mile journey from his Guatemala City neighborhood without entry papers. He hopped 14 freight trains to get through Mexico. U.S. immigration authorities detained him. Fernando Castillo, Guatemala's consul general in Los Angeles, says the United States doesn't deport Guatemalan minors who arrive without family. Gutierrez was made a ward of Los Angeles Juvenile Court. He was placed in a series of group homes and foster families. He learned English and finished high school. When he reached 18, he got residency documents, Castillo said. Marcelo Mosquera, a machinist from Ecuador, and his wife, Nora, were the last couple that sheltered the lanky teenager. They cared for two younger foster children, as well, at their home in suburban Lomita, said Hector Tobar, a family friend. Neighbors told the Los Angeles Times that Gutierrez acted as the big brother, taking the younger kids to the nearby McDonald's. Tobar said Gutierrez talked of becoming an architect but put college plans on hold to join the Marine Corps a year ago. Jackie Baker, the Mosqueras' adult daughter, told Spanish-language KVEA-TV here that Gutierrez "wanted to give the United States what the United States gave to him. He came with nothing. This country gave him everything. The U.S. Embassy notified Gutierrez's older sister, his only surviving relative, of his death. He will be buried in Guatemala at her request, Castillo said. On this Memorial Day let's remember that Jose represented the best of us. Someone who came to this country for all the right reasons, and who laid down his life in the pursuit of a liberty he only briefly knew. This country gave him everything, and he gave everything for his country. Some people go their entire lives wondering if they made a difference. Marines don't have that problem. Semper Fi, Jose. 10:39:40 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2006 Patricia Thurston.