These are all the Blogs posted today: Sunday, 18, 2008.
US SOLDIER WHO DEFACED QURAN REMOVED FROM IRAQ
On the Pledge of Allegiance and lipstick on a pig
130 recommendation(s).
+Recommend this blog On saluting the flag, lapel pins and the Pledge of Allegiance
Thirty-three years ago this very afternoon. It was mid-May in 1965. I hadn’t been in company but a few days, just having disembarked from the troop ship that took almost a month crossing the Pacific. I was trying to lay low, not be too noticeable. But I hadn’t lain low enough. A runner from company HQ caught me sitting on the edge of my bunk with a cool one firm in my grip. “Tubbs, you’ll be fourth on the recon patrol.” I was to get my gear together and report to some sergeant whose name escapes me now. To be as honest as I can, I’m no longer certain why I joined the Army. Wanted to get out on my own. Sure as hell didn’t want to have any kind of life underway, just to have it hijacked by the draft board. And I wasn’t going to ask what my country could do for me, though claiming my motivations were 100% to see what I could do for my country was probably a stretch. But there I was. Dumb, when all I wanted to do was to finish my beer and the cigarette I’d lit. Fourth wasn’t too bad a spot. Short-timer PFC Hendrix had point; the worst position of all. And Short-timer Hendrix was a walking, shaking bad luck charm. I can’t remember how much time he had left, though he was as certain as could be that if he went on just one more patrol he’d have no time at all left. It turned out that PFC Hendrix was right on all counts. He was blown up to gristly confetti. More of PFC Hendrix was left plastered on the nearby trees than would ever get sent home. Over the past many decades I’ve thought about that a lot. I’ve also thought about all the folks who have made loud noises on behalf of saluting the flag, on behalf of standing at attention, hand over heart during the National Anthem, and on behalf of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I don’t like such folks. I don’t like them at all. Their form of patriotism get other folks, folks like PFC Hendrix blown up. In the early 80s, I owned E. Tubbs & Associates, a real estate appraisal company based in San Jose. To the pursuit of professionalism I sought and earned a professional designation through the American Society of Appraisers. And perhaps for a year or so, I attended their monthly meetings. Every meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance. Of the 20 to 30 members who showed up each month, I was the only military veteran. Somehow, like our current vice-president, everyone besides me had “other priorities at the time.” Finally, I couldn’t take it any longer. I informed the group that they could take their Pledge of Allegiance and the designation and shove both wherever their collective wisdom deemed most appropriate. (Having a fairly good take on the type of person I am, I doubt my speech was quite that polite.) Words are just so damned cheap. Words are just so damned easy. And ever since then I’ve had this seething antipathy for everyone who puts so much stock in the appearance of patriotism, on parroted phrases, and on button-popping pride that has been secured by the blood of all the PFC Hendrixes who never made it back in one physical or mental piece, or not at all. I love my country, every bit as much as anyone ever has. I just don’t need to prove it to anyone. Think I’ll pop a cool one, and raise a toast to PFC Hendrix, now that I think of it. Think I’ll pop a cool one, and flash the bird to all the unthinking, phony cowards who pop off how the Pledge of Allegiance or a lapel flag-pin mean a damned thing. Puttin’ lipstick on a pig don’t make it pretty. Ed Tubbs Palm Springs, CA Read more | 0 comments
MORE ON US SOLDIER WHO USED QURAN FOR TARGET PRACTICE: GREEN ZONE HIT AGAIN
Senate panel adds immigration measure to Iraq supplemental
109 recommendation(s).
+Recommend this blog Senate panel adds immigration measure to Iraq supplementalAmnesty in Iraq war funding bill? How much more Un-American can our government get?
Update: May 20th Amnesty agenda 4:193 million illegal aliens may become legal as a result of the wartime funding bill. CNN's Kitty Pilgrim reports. • Lou Dobbs: Issues, TV, Radio, and Bookshttp://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/05/16/ldt.pilgrim.amnesty.agenda.cnn Not only are they abusing their power for all Americans, they will-not properly fund the VA for the future of a new generation of veterans. They used the back door to obtain amnesty for over 3 million illegal’s and their families, while ignoring a few hundred thousand new veterans (not to mention us old ones!) Craig (R-ID) and Ms Feinstein (D-CA): both need their balls cut off. . . Read more | 0 comments
Florida Chapter: Critical Action Request
104 recommendation(s).
+Recommend this blog Fellow Vets and Friends:Critical times are upon us. Many of you took action last week by contacting your representative to ask them not to authorize another dime for the Iraq occupation other than to bring the troops home. Your efforts worked. The house defeated the Iraq occupation funding bill. Now the battle shifts to the Senate. Turn up the pressure. Send your Senator the message that its time to stand up for America by ending funding for the Iraq occupation. The best way is by FAX and telephone. Email if can't FAX or call. Momentum is on our side. Thanks for all you do!For Florida residents, Senator Nelson's and Senator Martinez' contact info is:Nelson: FAX (202)-228-2183, telephone: (202)-224-5274Martinez: FAX (202)-228-5171, telephone: (202) 224-5171You can see how your representative voted by clicking the links below. Thank those who voted with us and ask the others why they are continue to weaken America by funding the Iraq occupation.
Amendment 1: To fund the war. (FLVCS position: NO)http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll328.xml Amendment 2: Accountability measures to help end the war (FLVCS position: YES) Amendment 3: Domestic measures, including the new GI Bill (FLVCS Position: Yes) BELOW THE LINE: Article: War Funding Bill Stalls in House Article: Vets testimony before Congress exposes Iraq War Article: Obama Demanding Investigation over VA Email _______________________________________________________________All All the war propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting. George Orwell, 1984 War Funding Bill Stalls in House131 Republicans Vote 'Present' in Protest of Pelosi Tactics By Jonathan Weisman An odd coalition of angry Republicans and antiwar Democrats yesterday torpedoed a $162.5 billion proposal to continue funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, leaving the House to pass a measure that demands troop withdrawals, bans torture and expands education benefits for returning veterans. The surprise action left antiwar activists on and off Capitol Hill exultant, Republicans gloating and Democratic leaders baffled. Recriminations from all sides quickly followed. House leaders had broken the war funding bill into three separate measures. The first, to continue funding combat operations, needed Republican votes to pass over the objection of antiwar Democrats. The second would impose strict Iraq-related policy measures strongly opposed by President Bush, and the third would fund domestic priorities, including a new G.I. Bill and levees around New Orleans. That legislative legerdemain became the plan's undoing. Rather than go along, 131 House Republicans voted "present" on the war funding provision, saying they were incensed that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and a few of her lieutenants had drafted the bill in secret, then expected them to play along. "It was a political scheme. We wanted to expose it, and we did," declared House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). Democrats saw it differently. "Republicans had the choice -- fund the troops or don't fund the troops. They voted present," said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.). "You can't say something is the critical battle of our time and vote present," said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.). "Explain that to the troops." The strange conclusion to the day-long war debate may not help a Congress mired in record-low approval ratings and a House GOP that is reeling from internal dissension and three straight losses in special elections in reliably Republican districts. But the impact is likely to be short-lived. The Senate will take up its version of the war funding bill next week; it is expected to restore the war funds and strip out the policy prescriptions most disagreeable to the White House. The White House reiterated its veto threat of the overall package yesterday morning, demanding a new version stripped of policy prescriptions and domestic spending, including the bill's $52 billion expansion of veterans' education benefits. The supplemental appropriations vote is the last major clash on Iraq policy between Congress and Bush. Had it become law, the House bill would have brought the total cost of the war in Iraq to around $660 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service, more expensive than any U.S. military effort except World War II. As passed, the House bill would require troop withdrawals from Iraq to begin within 30 days, with a goal of removing all combat forces by December 2009. The Iraqi government would have to match U.S. reconstruction funding dollar for dollar, and would be required to offer the U.S. military the same fuel subsidies it provides its own citizens. Troops would get more rest between combat deployments, and every branch of government -- including the Central Intelligence Agency -- would have to abide by the Army Field Manual's guidelines on interrogation, which bans action that amount to torture. Those policy prescriptions passed the House by 227 to 196, with a surprising eight Republican votes, including Reps. Michael N. Castle (Del.), Christopher Shays (Conn.) and James T. Walsh (N.Y.). On the domestic side, unemployment compensation would be extended for 13 weeks. Regulations the Bush administration hoped to impose to restrict access to the Medicaid program would be blocked. Funds would be provided for international food aid, levees around New Orleans, federal prisons and the 2010 Census. And the G.I, Bill passed after World War II for an earlier generation of veterans would be updated. That domestic portion passed 256 to 166, with 32 Republicans voting yes. The politically controversial expanded G.I. Bill was expected to give momentum to the House measure. The provision, written by Sens. James Webb (D-Va.) and John W. Warner (R-Va.), would cover the costs of school at even the most expensive state universities for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and would encourage private universities to provide additional student aid for them. The House bill would pay for the benefit with a surtax of half a percentage point on income over $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for couples. The measure has attracted broad bipartisan support, but it is opposed by Bush because of its cost, its tax increase and fears that its generosity could entice service members to leave the military rather than reenlist at the end of their tours. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive Republican nominee, has put forward a less generous alternative that would save its richest benefits for service members doing multiple tours. But McCain's efforts have run into bipartisan opposition -- from lawmakers, veterans organizations and educators. Former homeland security secretary Tom Ridge, a close McCain ally, came out for Webb's measure yesterday. "I have tremendous regard for Senator McCain, but I can't figure out where he is right now," said Dartmouth College President James Wright, a former Marine who helped negotiate the Webb-Warner language. "It seems to me our posture as a nation cannot be to say to servicemen and -women, 'We do not value you unless you reenlist.' That wasn't the contract they signed." The House actions were a dream come true for the antiwar movement. "It is time now for Americans to be heard and for this Congress to move forward with the safe redeployment of our troops," exulted Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) who called on the House to use the $162.5 billion in war funds for domestic priorities. "For the first time ever, the U.S. House has now taken decisive action to bring this war to a close," declared Alan Charney, program director of the antiwar group USAction. When the Senate takes up the bill, its version will include war funding, but prescriptions on troop withdrawals and torture will probably fall to a GOP filibuster. Republicans have argued that any tax increase is unacceptable, especially in a time of economic slowdown. Even Democratic leaders in the Senate have said they will oppose the House's tax increase to pay for veterans benefits. More unclear is the future of the education benefits, as well as domestic spending that Bush has vowed to veto but will garner considerable support in both parties. The Senate also is expected to go along with House efforts to force the Iraqi government to shoulder more of its reconstruction and self-defense costs.
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