Osama bin Laden - dead

Quick post.

Obama on bin Laden, during his campaign.




George W. Bush on bin Laden, in 2002.



'Nuff said.

The end of war

Well the unjust war has ended. The work continues. The problems are not solved. The troops responded to the call honorably.

I wrote a letter to The Western Star in March 2003 before the war began, but President Bush didn't read it. Or if he did, he ignored it.

Here is the letter, which followed an editorial the week before about patriotism.

March 5, 2003

I agree with your editorial comment about dissent being patriotic. It is hard to speak out against war when those who do so are criticized as being pro-terrorist. No one denies that Saddam Hussein is evil, or that he needs to be removed from power. But why is war the answer?

When we see or hear of violence among young people, everyone agrees that people need to be taught, at an early age, about conflict resolution, that violence is not the answer. Yet, what kind of example are our leaders setting for them when they have tunnel vision that can only focus on war? They are saying that violence is the only answer and do not want to give diplomacy and inspections a chance. Either they are blinded by this “ratings grabbing” war and their desire to control more of the world’s oil, or they just don’t have the brain power to think of any other way to resolve this crisis.

We hear over and over that terrorism is the enemy, yet the worst terrorist in the world hunkers down and hides for a year or so, and we forget all about him, while he regroups and makes plans for more acts against us. How many times have you heard President Bush speak of Osama bin Laden in the last year? All he had to do is hide and he is forgotten.

Saddam will probably do the same thing…we tear up his country, he tosses a few chemical weapons at our troops or Israel, killing our troops and our allies, then he can go into hiding for a while so we can forget about him.

How many of those leaders, from the president on down, have a son or daughter in the armed forces that is on the way or already in the Middle East? Probably none. I would be willing to bet that a large majority of citizens whose children or spouses are about to enter this war are not for it. Yet they, and the rest of us, find ourselves in the position of being loyal and supportive to our troops, while not supporting the cause for which they might die.

If we find, through war, that Saddam has no weapons of mass destruction, we will have spent billions of dollars and killed thousands to discover what we could have learned through peaceful means. If fact if he does have weapons of mass destruction, no one thinks we will be able to find and destroy all of them before he has used them on someone, somewhere. Iraq is like Pandora’s Box, and by opening it who knows what the consequences will be.

Unfortunately, we will probably soon find out.

Then the war started and two weeks later the Western Star published another of my letters.

March 26, 2003

The war against Iraq has begun and our attention must now focus on supporting our troops and praying that this conflict will end quickly with minimal loss of life.

We do not know how far the effects of this war will reach, so let us remember in our thoughts and prayers not only for our soldiers and their loved ones, but those who are affected throughout the world, including the innocent citizens of Iraq, who have already suffered through two recent wars and years of repression and sanctions.

As we learn of the tragedies and casualties of this war, let us use this as motivation to become adherents of nonviolence, and to study the works of Gandhi and King, who taught us that we must be the change we wish to see in the world.

President Obama was very generous in his speech last night, avoiding placing blame for the unjust invasion or saying "I told you so" about the weapons of mass destruction or the obvious truths about Iraq not being responsible for 9-11 or any of the other made up reasons that the prior administration used do fight "daddy's war."

I'll just be generous too, other than that last paragraph, and wish only the best for the troops returning home, that they will be able to return to normal life, and for those who are being re-deployed to Afghanistan, I wish you safe passage and a quick resolve to the conflict in that country so that you, too, can return home safely, soon.

And let's not forget the 50,000 troops that remain in Iraq. We hope for your safety and await your return home as well.

Security does not come without a cost

The following was written by a friend of mine, who gave me permission to reprint it here.

Recently, a few of our leaders have called for "war taxes" to help support our soldiers in the field and their efforts in the two wars in which our nation is involved. Typically, most of us don't like taxes but we as Americans should stand behind those calling for such taxes because by so doing we will provide vital support for our soldiers who are serving, on our behalves, in dangerous places to defend our nation.

George Bush should have initiated those taxes when we went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq (instead he cut taxes) and Barack Obama and all Americans, particularly those who are for military action in these two regions, should be for them.

We say we are for our military. We say we want to defend America. We say we appreciate all who are sacrificing to defend our nation from enemies domestic and abroad. We say we want to stand by our soldiers who have paid painful sacrifices on our behalves. But when we are asked to make a personal sacrifice to help pay for the cost of all of that we say "No!"

What hypocrites we are.

Yes, I know we've got to pay for our groceries and housing and car repairs and medical care. Those are necessary. But are we willing to do without that 50" TV - or 60 to 300 channels of cable TV - or going out to eat two or three times a week - or upgrading our computer to something with all the bells and whistles - or taking a cheaper vacation - or making our car last longer? Are we willing to sacrifice some of the "comforts" of our lives to pay for what we declare that we are for? Or are we going to pass those bills on to our children and grandchildren?

Shame on us! Shame on our leaders! Paying taxes, particularly those that provide for the vital and essential defense of our nation, is an act of patriotism!

Richard B. Hanna

What Has Bush Done For Us

One of the persistant right wing trolls ended a comment on Thomas Gave Birth ... with:

"Bush has saved us in so many ways."

I laughed all night long. Although what Bush has done to this country is not funny. But that someone thinks he has "saved" us is.

Here are some of the ways Bush has saved us.

Katrina



Iraq



Climate Change

From CNN

Jason Burnett, former EPA official, says Dick Cheney (aka Bush) pushed for major deletions in congressional testimony on the public health consequences of climate change, fearing the presentation by a leading health official might make it harder to avoid regulating greenhouse gases. Follow the CNN link for the rest of the story.


The Economy



Need I continue? Let me know how you think Bush has saved us. Or not. I will post your suggestions.



I still have faith that we can survive until Obama takes office, but much more of Bush and we are goners. And for those few who do not see that John McCain is Bush 3, he certainly is using the same tactics of (trying to) controlling who can attend his Town Hall meetings. Here McCain's people order the removal and threat of arrest of a 61 year old librarian with a McCain=Bush sign at an event in Denver a couple of days ago.

The Bush Presidency

The biggest disaster of the last 7 years. Lots of natural disasters, but not this one.

State of the Union, and a Couple of Notes

Bessemer readers: There is an important meeting tonight at 7:00 at Broken Vessel Church on Dartmouth Avenue regarding the proposal to authorize GUSC (Governmental Utilities Service Coprporation)to buyout the contract that the city has with Covanta to manage our water plant. There are problems with this proposal. One is that the GUSC board is autonomous with the exception of their appointment by the council. In other words, no oversight. Can you say "Absolute authority?" Can you say "Birmingham Water Works?" Come learn what is going on in your city. The meeting is sponsored by the Bessemer Neighborhood Association.

Animal lovers: Columnist Scott Ostler: "Michael Vick, serving a 23-month prison sentence, will enroll in a drug-treatment program that can reduce the sentence of nonviolent offenders by as much as one year. Our family dog Petey just asked me to explain to him the part about 'nonviolent offenders.'" (Seen in The Birmingham News Sports Page "Fun Buzz." Our dog wonders where's the "fun" in that buzz?)


U. S. Citizens: Tonight president Bush gives his State of the Union Address. I write about this in The Western Tribune this week, citing this poll, that was taken just last week. The headline from the web page is:

"State of the Union Rated Poorly by 4 out of 5 Americans Four in Five Also Say Strengthening the Economy is Going Poorly"

But our state of the union is really demonstrated in a song by Pink and the Indigo Girls, and (like last week) I am posting 2 videos.

Dear Mr. President.




And here is the other.



We know that Bush and company lied 935 times.



Lets see how many we can catch him in tonight. And will Dennis Kucinich file for impeachment of the president by the time Bush speaks tonight? That was the rumor last week.

Defending my Opinions...Responding to Letters

I hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas Day as I did. Christmas here, Christmas there, Christmas all around.

Today the world returns to normal. Not that we can't continue to enjoy the holidays and the good feelings that they bring us. But serious blogging resumes, and of course, that is what makes the world go 'round. Now, somebody is going to take that serious, and comment how big-headed and misguided I am. If that's what they think, oh well. They are probably of the misguided koolaid drinker type that continue to check out this site. They are welcome, they might become enlightened.

Take for instance Dr. Doug Smith of Bessemer. He recently responded to my column questioning president Bush from December 12 in The Western Tribune.

For those who do not read the Tribune, here is Dr. Doug Smith's letter:

In response to the Joe Openshaw left wing, liberal Democratic way of thinking (Dec. 12 column, "Counting time left for George Bush"), I would like to respond.

In rebuttal to Openshaw's conclusions about Iran and North Korea he obviously only read a little of the report. Iran can restart its nuclear weapon program and produce an atomic weapon within one year.

They only need the nuclear nmaterial which they are producing as I write this. They didn't have weapons grade material in 2003, but they are producing. If Mr. Openshaw thinks that Iran is not a threat to the rest if the Free World then he is misguided.

If he really is concerned that the psychopath that rules North Korea might not believe President Bush's diplomatic efforts, then he thinks exactly the opposite of most of the world.

Why should anyone trust North Korea when they have broken every treaty that they have signed.

If anyone thinks that that psychopath who has starved over a million of his people is not a dnager to the rest of the world has their head in the sand or somewhere else.

As far as misleading the American people in the Iraq war Openshaw evidently doesn't remember Kuwait or all the Resolutions of the United Nations that Saddam Hussein failed to comply with or the money he paid to the families of terrorist bombers who killed Americans or the intelligence gathered by our allies.

I guess Openshaw thinks like John Kerry that the UN and diplomatic talking would have won the heart and mind of Saddam.

Mr. Openshaw, you and your mentors, Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Charles Schumer, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Hillary Clinton and other liberal Democrats are the biggest danger to this country, NOT President Bush. You are entitled to your ridiculous opinion but that don't (sic) make you right. Mr. Openshaw are you kin to Neville Chamberlain?
Dr. Doug Smith
Bessemer

Where do I start? I guess at the beginning. Dr. Smith (oh, by the way, Doc, I'm a Dr. too but you did not offend me by calling me Mr.) pays me a compliment, referring to my left wing liberal way of thinking. Thank you!

According to the "the report" Iran is continuing to produce enriched uranium, for civilian purposes. This is not weapons grade material. Learn a little, Dr. Smith. The report goes on to say that if they used the uranium to produce a weapon, it would take until the middle of the next decade. Not next year. Try seven years.

And I never said Iran was not a threat. My concern was the way Bush is dealing with the threat, by threatening war (WWIII), and lying to promote his cause. Read about the report here .

Here is a headline from Fox News web site: "Bush Administration Credibility Suffers After Iran NIE Report."

President Bush is not respected in the world, that is a fact. Even the Brits are falling away. A survey from last year shows that "only 14 percent of those surveyed supported the view that Britain should “pursue a foreign policy agenda closer to that of the United States;” 45 percent believed that “Britain should position her foreign policy closer to that of the European Union.” Research Europe

That article sources several other polls that show sour attitudes of the British people with U.S. policy.

So Dr. Smith, if our closest ally is in disagreement with us, do you really think the rest of the world loves us. Travel abroad, listen to people.

But, I also never said North Korea was not a threat to the United States or the rest of the world. I made no comments regarding their leader or supporting their leader. It was our leader George W. Bush that I was critical of. Don't accuse me of not thinking rogue nations are a threat to our security. But let's deal with them in ways that might get results, while at the same time restoring our standing in the world.

What does Kuwait have to do with our current war in Iraq? Nothing. Quit trying to spin.

Dr. Smith brings up Saddam's payment of money to "families of terrorist bombers who killed Americans." Yes, he paid money to families of Palestinian suicide bombers, and I admit, I am not sure if any Americans were killed in any of the bombings that Saddam paid money for. But I am sure that Saudi Arabia also pays money to suicide bobmers, and they are on of our "allies." (Yeah right). When are we going to invade them?

As for the intelligence gathered by our allies, why even bring that up. It was just as faulty as our own.

And as for my ancestry, I do have roots in Britian, but Neville Chamberlain is not on our family tree.

Here's another letter from last week's paper:

How can you allow such seditious material in your fine newspaper?

Joe Openshaw doesn't have a clue about the truth.

Harvey White
Hueytown

My response to Mr. White is that rebellion is needed in this country. And it will come in the form of an election in November 2008.

It doesn't bother me at all that The Western Tribune prints letters about my columns with opposing viewpoints. A conversation is much more interesting when it involves two or more people. I just wish those who opposed me watched the news and understood world events, rather than just drinking the toxic Republican (Fox News) koolaid.

If anyone would like to respond to the paper about my column or the letters, you can submit letters to the editor (300 word limit) thewesterntrib@bellsouth.net, fax to 205-428-0015, or mail to 1530 3rd Ave. N., Bessemer, AL 35020.

Comments are also welcome here.

The Arctic is Melting...and from the Tribune, Why Trust Bush?

"The Arctic is often cited as the canary in the coal mine for climate warming," said Zwally, who as a teenager hauled coal. "Now as a sign of climate warming, the canary has died. It is time to start getting out of the coal mines."

Jay Zwally is a NASA climate scientist, who also said, "At this rate, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer by 2012, much faster than previous predictions."

Read the story here on aol news. Now I know that anecdotal reports and individual events can not by themselves prove global warming to be a fact. But here it is 78 degrees in the middle of December and dry as a bone. The picture in The Birmingham News this morning of a sunbather at Oak Mountain State Park tells the story of the bigger picture of climate change that the vast majority of real scientists know to be fact.

Just think, if one of the Republican planet haters gets elected president, by the time their term ends, the Arctic ice could be no more. From 2008 to 2012, while they would continue to refuse to admit our country's (and our species') part and ignore steps that should be taken to help our planet, the Arctic (along with Alaska and Greenland...see the article) would be melting.

The republicans don't care about our planet. The rest of the world doesn't count to them. Oh, unless they have oil.

They care about two things: money and power. And to control those things, they only use one tactic: fear.

Fear of terror . But as we have seen this week and last, terror from abroad is not what affects us, or what we should fear. Terror from deranged U. S. citizens at shopping malls and churches and universities is much more likely to affect us than a foreign born agent slipping in to the country.

Fear of immigrants. Just listen to the hateful rhetoric from republican presidential candidates about illegal immigration.

Fear of the gay community. Although gay people have been a part of world history since Socrates (yes) and a part of our history since the time of Johnny Appleseed (no, but read Frontiers by Michael Jenson...I have the book if you want to borrow it), now the thought of "Adam and Steve" living happily together or fighting to protect our country is supposed to scare people into voting to preserve bigotry and keep them in power.

Fear of Hillary. There is a debate today (1:00 central time on CNN and others, the Dems debate tomorrow)of Republican candidates, if it the debates of the past are any indication, Hillary's name will be mentioned more than any thing else. They are scared of her because she is a woman. They are scared of her because she is a leader. They are scared of her because she is right. They are scared of her because she represents the truth.

Here is what we should really fear. The remaining 405 days of the Bush presidency. I addressed this in my Western Tribune column this week, and here it is. For those who want to wait and read it in the newspaper at home by the fireplace (it's too hot to be building a fire) this evening, stop now. There is nothing after the Tribune column (till someone posts comments).

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

There are just a little more than 400 days left in the Bush administration, but I am not sure the country can stand the rest of his term.

I worry about the children that have been learning about our government with him as their role model over the last few years.

The latest and possibly the most egregious thing the president has done is his handling of the intelligence concerning Iran and its nuclear capabilities.

Last week we learned that the president knew that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program as early as August, but continued to use harsh language in what appeared to be a run-up to war. This is similar to the way he deceived the American people in the run-up to the war in Iraq in 2002 and 2003.

Is George W. Bush three years old? He made an excuse for not changing his tone by saying “nobody ever told me” to change the rhetoric about Iran. That sounds like something one of my kids would have said when they were toddlers being scolded for something they did.

Just as disturbing is that Iran actually halted the program in 2003, and it took our intelligence community 4 years to realize it and report it in the National Intelligence Estimate.

Now in what could be an effort to shift attention from his mishandling of the Iran situation, Bush has sent a letter to Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader that Bush once called a “pygmy,” asking for full disclosure of the dictator’s nuclear programs. But isn’t this the guy that Bush for years has refused to even recognize, much less communicate directly with?

Bush is taking the advice of Democratic presidential candidates who in debates have urged dialogue and diplomacy with our enemies. Only by talking with our enemies (which in the case of the Middle East are difficult to separate from our allies) can we reach peaceful solutions to the multitude of problems that confront us in the world’s hot spots.

While I must support the diplomatic effort the president has put forth regarding North Korea, I have to wonder why we should expect the leaders of that country and others to believe he is sincere. The world knows this administration deceived them (and us) about Iraq, and now can clearly see he was trying to do the same with Iran.

Why trust him now?

"What Happened" Indeed

Often when Scott McLellan was presiding over daily press briefings as White House Press Secretary it seemed he was lying...and by george (Bush's orders) he was. An excerpt from his book "What Happened," was released, and he says he (unknowingly) told untruths about who leaked Valerie Plames identity. Story on AOL news

Since the president and his cronies lied about this, why should we believe anything they say? Of course, most of us haven't believed a word out of W since the day he smirked into office.

How about Jordan Fox? Billed by the Pentagon asking for $3000 of his $5000 enlistment signing bonus back because he could not serve his full term with the military. Of course he couldn't serve it because he was injured by an IED while on duty in Iraq. The Pentagon letter referred to the "indebtedness due us." No, we the United States, are indebted to this man for his service to our country.

While the Pentagon has reversed course and will not require Fox to repay the money, he says the problem continues for other soldiers and he will work to correct this.

Just a little more evidence that once veterans return home, they are forgotten by our government.

And on the local campaign front, there are 75 candidates running for delegate to the democratic convention. There are a few days left to qualify, until Friday December 7, so probably more will be listed by then. But so far there are 45 running for Hillary Clinton, 12 for Barack Obama, 6 for John Edwards, 1 for Bill Richardson and 11 uncommitted. And the Jefferson Jackson Dinner on Friday, November 30 will feature General Wesley Clark. You can probably still get tickets by calling the party headquarters at 1-800-995-3386 but there are no more tickets online at the Alabama Democratic Party web site.

If nothing shows up here tomorrow, it's because I am stuffing myself with turkey and dressing and plopping in front of a TV. So here is a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.