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Screw Up At Arlington
by spincitysd on 30 July 2010 6:21 am
US outrage as scandal grows over Arlington military grave mix-up
• Thousands visiting wrong headstones in Virginia
• Senator in charge attacked for lack of explanation
The families of thousands of dead American soldiers may have been mourning at the wrong graves for years, it was revealed yesterday, as more than 6,000 headstones at Arlington cemetery may have been mixed up.
There was outrage among families, the American Legion and others last month when the number of graves that had been misnamed was thought to be 211. The higher figure was revealed yesterday at a Senate investigation into how there could be so much confusion over the headstones at the US national military cemetery.
Senator Claire McCaskill, who is heading the Senate committee conducting the inquiry, said: “We now know that the problems with graves at Arlington may be far more extensive than previously acknowledged. At a conservative estimate, 4,900 to 6,600 graves may be unmarked, improperly marked, or mislabeled on the cemetery’s maps.”
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This is a news item that leaves me both enraged, but also very suspicious. First, how did the military mangage to screw up the marking of up to 6,600 graves? What moron is responsible for this? What jackass was a asleep at the switch? Whose incompetent head needs to end up on a platter; you know, like yesterday?
But the other side of me wonders why Claire McCaskill is flogging this. Point blank, this is a politician who has an agenda. That agenda is higher office. She is pushing a red meat bit of politics that proves her DLC bona fides. This is motherhood, America, and a free hot lunch for orphans politics. It is both very smart, but also very cynical politics.
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Probably Still Not News: Very Old Tokyo Man Turns Up Dead
by spincitysd on 30 July 2010 1:40 am
Tokyo’s ‘oldest man’ had been dead for 30 years.
He was thought to be the oldest man in Tokyo – but when officials went to congratulate Sogen Kato on his 111th birthday, they uncovered mummified skeletal remains lying in his bed.
Mr Kato may have been dead for 30 years according to Japanese authorities.
They grew suspicious when they went to honour Mr Kato at his address in Adachi ward, but his granddaughter told them he “doesn’t want to see anybody”.
Police are now investigating the family on possible fraud charges.
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1 Soldier or 20 Schools?
by Ramsgate on 29 July 2010 2:06 pm
The war in Afghanistan will consume more money this year alone than we spent on the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War and the Spanish-American War — combined.
A recent report from the Congressional Research Service finds that the war on terror, including Afghanistan and Iraq, has been, by far, the costliest war in American history aside from World War II. It adjusted costs of all previous wars for inflation.
Those historical comparisons should be a wake-up call to President Obama, underscoring how our military strategy is not only a mess — as the recent leaked documents from Afghanistan suggested — but also more broadly reflects a gross misallocation of resources. One legacy of the 9/11 attacks was a distortion of American policy: By the standards of history and cost-effectiveness, we are hugely overinvested in military tools and underinvested in education and diplomacy.
It was reflexive for liberals to rail at President George W. Bush for jingoism. But it is President Obama who is now requesting 6.1 percent more in military spending than the peak of military spending under Mr. Bush. And it is Mr. Obama who has tripled the number of American troops in Afghanistan since he took office. (A bill providing $37 billion to continue financing America’s two wars was approved by the House on Tuesday and is awaiting his signature.)
Under Mr. Obama, we are now spending more money on the military, after adjusting for inflation, than in the peak of the cold war, Vietnam War or Korean War. Our battle fleet is larger than the next 13 navies combined, according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The intelligence apparatus is so bloated that, according to The Washington Post, the number of people with “top secret” clearance is 1.5 times the population of the District of Columbia.
Only In California: Cow goes berserk at state fair
by spincitysd on 29 July 2010 8:54 am
Police gun down rampaging pregnant cow at California State Fair
In the second bizarre incident at the State Fair in a week, Cal Expo police shot an agitated, pregnant dairy cow that twice escaped her confines and knocked over an officer as she bolted through the fairgrounds Tuesday morning.
Neither the cow nor her calf survived the shooting, which occurred an hour before gates opened to the public.
Ultimately, the roughly 1,200-pound cow became a threat to thousands of employees already abuzz in the fairgrounds, police and veterinary officials said. They agreed she had to be put down after a 1 1/2-hour chase.
“Obviously, we’re in a caring profession and the last thing we want to do is see an animal euthanized,” said W. David Wilson, director of the veterinary medical teaching hospital at the University of California, Davis, which oversaw the care of the cow.
However, he added, “A very difficult choice had to be made.
Read more: http://goo.gl/i7ie
Open topic: What’s going on in your corner of the world?
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The Persistence of Hillary
by ispice on 28 July 2010 8:14 pm
As secretary of state, Clinton has made an impression across the globe and spectrum.
By Frida Ghitis
If you want to find a harsh crowd for an American official, send him – or her – to Pakistan. That’s why reviews of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s stop in Islamabad during her latest dizzying tour of international trouble spots should make us take notice.
“Drum roll for Hillary,” wrote Rizwan Ghani in the Pakistan Observer, “because she has hit a home run.”
Hillary, as she is known around the globe, does not earn accolades just for her cheerful smile. She is tough as nails. In fact, she’s much tougher than her boss, President Obama. And her mastery of complicated issues can leave observers’ jaws dangling from their hinges.
Obama channeling Bush and Nixon on Afghan leaks
by Marc Rubin on 28 July 2010 3:09 pm
The Obama Administration’s reaction to the Wikileaks publication of Afghan war documents has a familiar ring to it. The reactions are almost verbatim responses to that of the Bush White House as revelations that the Bush Administration might have lied the country into the Iraq war. And the Obama White House, just for good measure has added responses almost identical to those of the Nixon White House when the Pentagon Papers were published which, like the Afghan documents, also showed that the Vietnam war was going badly.
OK Stunner: Dem Lt Gov Jari Askins Wins Primary by Pushing Women’s Rights. (bumped)
by texan4hillary on 28 July 2010 2:17 pm
Big news out of OK tonight. A stunner upset has taken place in the dem primary race for governor. The GOP nominated as planned congresswoman fallin, who is a frmr lt guv of the state. She faced lots of attacks by her opponents over her votes on TARP etc. She is backed by Palin- a Momma Grizzly.
The dem side proved the shocker. Atty Gen Edmundson- who has been around a while- and is backed by the NRA- was expected to win. The last poll showed him leading his oppenent lt guv askins 16 pts.
But Lt Guv Jan Askins surprised by eaking out a win- stunning the establishment. Askins is a frmr state rep who is the current lt guv, her GOP oppnent was her predecessor at lt guv!
So how did Askins pull it off? Well Cowboys coach Switzer- wildly popular- backed askins and held last minutes rallies for her. He also backed brad Henry and helped the dem win the governorship in 02. Also- Askins ran on gender equality for OK women and ran ads pressing the issue. Women turned out and brought her the nomination.
OK lege passed the heinous new anti abortion bill and it appears Askins push for women to be treated better propelled her into a heck of a race against GOPer Fallin. It will be close as polls show. With Switzer and the gender equity appeals Dem Askins may well win. For the sake of choice lets hope she wins. Even if not- OK is about to get its FIRST woman guv and it will be a mere 4th time in history 2 women vied for the governorship in any state.
More-
The Democratic primary proved to be the much closer and more surprising shootout, featuring two veteran state politicians.
Askins, who trailed in a Sooner Poll by 16 percentage points as recently as last week, may have gotten a late boost from former University of Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys football coach Barry Switzer, who played a similar role for term-limited Gov. Brad Henry by endorsing him in 2002.
Switzer taped a late statewide radio ad for Askins, saying she was “a great friend, a great sports fan and she’ll be a great governor,” and also held a rally last week for her in Oklahoma City.
Askins, who was a district judge and the state House Majority Leader before being elected to succeed Fallin as lieutenant governor in 2006, also worked to corral women’s support among the Democratic base, running ads promising to equalize gender pay disparity.
Meanwhile, Edmondson, who hails from a well-known political family and has served as the state’s attorney general since 1995, touted his backing from the National Rifle Association. He outpaced Askins in fundraising, pulling in $2.6 million to Askins’s $2.1 million, which included $675,000 of her own funds.
The pain and suffering behind Sarah Palin’s “death panels”
by Isis on 28 July 2010 11:13 am
A year ago Sarah Palin successfully hijacked the health care debate and almost derailed the whole health care reform with her death panel sound bite. It is still viewed as one of the significant “successes” of the polar bear in chief because it forced the administration to backtrack and remove the provision from the health care bill.
Well this moving article from the brilliant Atul Gawande, a doctor who deals daily with terminal patients, gives us the story behind these so-called “death panels” and the pain and suffering that the Administration and the proponents of the provision were trying to address. And without attacking anyone directly demonstrates the power of nuisance to the well-being of millions of Sarah Palin and right wing media, who have this depressing ability to take extremely complex issues for which there are no black and white answers, simplify these issues to the point of farce and instil fear to get millions to oppose measures aimed at improving the well-being of all of us.
This article provides a nuanced description of the failures of our health care system through Dr Gawande’s experience and the battles of his patients. The article is very long and was a bit difficult to read as it hit a bit too close to home.
Her “success” in forcing the administration’s hand on this issue was the beginning of my many disenchantment with an administration that is quick to cave in to right wing propaganda and lies, even when they are doing the right thing.
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The political genius of supply-side economics
by mwfolsom on 28 July 2010 5:08 am
This gives a good run down of the fraud know as “Supply-Side Economics”. I also think it gives us a good view of the current state of political affairs in the US and deals with yet another reason why I’m deeply concerned about the future of the US.
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Shamanistic Nation: Biblical Literalism and Constitutional Originalism
by mwfolsom on 28 July 2010 5:01 am
For those of us trying to understand the nut cases that surround us I felt this explains a lot.
Just like they take the Bible literally they take the Constitution as the final word of what the Government can and cannot do. If its not listed in the Constitution its not legal/possible to do it! So since health care is not listed in the Constitution as something the Federal Gov does the recent Health Care reform bill is unconstitutional.
Another Well is Spilling Oil Near Lousiana Marshland!!
by Lake Lady on 27 July 2010 11:41 pm
STATEMENT FROM PROGRESSIVES OPPOSING TODAY’S SUPPLEMENTAL WAR VOTE
by Taylor Marsh on 27 July 2010 6:12 pm
The War Funding Vote: A Credit Card for War, But No Cash for Teachers
Once again, war is being paid for with a credit card while investments in our children’s future are tossed aside. These investments – $10 billion for teacher jobs, $1 billion for summer youth employment, $5 billion for Pell grants, $701 million for border security – were cut from the war funding bill coming to the House floor despite being fully paid for and not adding to the budget deficit. They have been jettisoned in favor of further borrowed war spending. Today’s bill doesn’t include anything to maintain first responder, police or firefighter positions despite the dramatic need for those jobs in every community in America. We believe this is fiscal insanity and a moral tragedy.
Consider the following: Despite widespread shortfalls in education funding around the country, the $10 billion that would have saved 140,000 teacher jobs across the nation – all of it offset – has been cut. The $37.12 billion in war funding, on the other hand, is not paid for. Every single penny adds directly to the national debt. This is not good for national security. This is continuing a failed policy at the exact wrong time.
The bill before the House denies our children the right to an education and takes away their future earning power. It also adds to the economic burden they will eventually have to bear. This is a moral outrage. We find it unacceptable that this Congress places a greater priority on foreign wars than urgent domestic needs. We have compounded our moral short-sightedness with utter fiscal irresponsibility.
After the dramatic revelations of this week, it is clearer than ever just how daunting a task our troops face in Afghanistan. We are trying to build a modern, democratic state in an area divided by tribal and ethnic identities that has successfully resisted foreign powers for centuries. We are fighting for one side in a civil war, killing civilians, building resentment toward the United States, and making it nearly impossible to gain the popular support that could make success possible.
As multiple reports have shown, pervasive corruption in Iraq and Afghanistan siphons resources so that even worthwhile projects are doomed to fail. This is not how we want to spend borrowed money. Our people at home are facing a difficult job market, lower funding for education, and a shattered Gulf economy that needs significant attention. We need to prioritize and make the right choices, not continue as before out of inertia or a lack of urgency. We urge the president to consider how this spending really improves the lives of Americans and how it can be spent in more productive ways.
Rep. Raul M. Grijalva
Rep. Barbara Lee
Rep. Dennis Kucinich
Rep. Alan Grayson
Rep. Lynn Woolsey
Rep. Mike Honda
Yeah, it’s me, they’re not racist at all
by secularhumanizinevoluter on 27 July 2010 6:06 pm
This is a little gem sent to me by a repugnantklan relative, but it’s just me, they’re not racist at all!
http://www.resist.com/other/border_patrol.swf
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Republicans racist? Naaaaah!
by secularhumanizinevoluter on 26 July 2010 2:30 pm
This is unbelievable!! Why isn’t this all over the MSM?!
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Shirley Sherrod and the circular firing squad
by Marc Rubin on 26 July 2010 12:22 pm
The fallout of the Shirley Sherrod fiasco continued on the Sunday morning political talk shows with all sides firing salvos and almost everyone getting everything wrong. They not only stood in a circle almost all of them ended up shooting themselves in the foot. Which is what seems to happen often on the subject of race in the age of Obama. Lenny Bruce would have had a field day.
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