Republicans on the wrong side of everything

Rachel Maddow shows that the repubs only care about unborn children and not children after they’re born. Good job!

 

 

Mad Magazine– Reasons Not to Impeach & Convict President Bush

Mad Magazine– Reasons Not to Impeach & Convict President Bush

Reasons Not to Impeach & Convict President Bush

• It won’t bring Anna Nicole back to life, so why bother?
• Chuck Norris is a loyal Bush supporter, and we all know what happens when Chuck Norris gets angry.
• Because “President Cheney” is one of the signs of the apocalypse.
• The only basis for impeachment is found in the Constitution, which was invalidated in 2002.
• Impeachment hearings could preempt the reality shows America loves so much.
• If Bush is removed, Air America hosts will lose their #1 topic, and the whole network will become irrelevant.
• Hey, lay off the guy! Unless you’re poor, black, elderly, gay, female, middle class, or a veteran, what’s he ever done to you?
• The last time we impeached a President, his poll number actually went up and his wife was elected to the Senate. Is that something we really want to see happen with this crowd?
• An impeachment would be extremely divisive — and America must stand united, especially during times of illegal wars based on lies.
• He did not allow Sanjaya to win American Idol under his watch.
• If he’s impeached, the terrorists win— or haven’t you been paying attention for the last six years?

(Thanks to Blue Dragon & his mom for sending it to me.)

 

A Soldier’s Bill of Rights

You ever heard of this? I can’t find it anywhere besides Air America, but I really like it. Please email your representatives and senators and tell them to please put their money where their mouth is when it comes to “support the troops”.

“A Soldier’s Bill of Rights”

Unless a military action involving American troops is authorized, as called for in the Constitution, by a vote of Congress, the following rights shall, in all cases, be afforded to all members of the military of The United States.

1. SAFETY: As the Department of Defense has full authority to purchase the best state of the art weaponry, regardless of cost and the impact on the national treasury, to fulfill its mission, so too shall American servicemen and women be entitled to the best, state of the art armor and other protection, for themselves and each and all of their vehicles, regardless of cost.

2. PAY: All servicemen and women defending our nation shall be entitled to a salary and all other benefits equivalent to that paid to private contractors performing similar service on behalf of The United States government or military.

3. LENGTH OF SERVICE: Unless a war is duly authorized, as required by The United States Constitution, the President does not have any authority to extend tours of duty for any and all servicemen and women, in any branch, beyond the original contract of such service.

4. DEPLETED URANIUM – No serviceman or woman shall be forced to use or be in the vicinity of weapons containing Depleted Uranium until and unless the Surgeon General of The United States declares that such weapons have no impact on the short or the long term health of the soldiers.

5. REHABILITATION – All soldiers who are injured in a war not specifically authorized by Congress shall be entitled to the best, state of the art short term and long term care available anywhere in The United States, regardless of cost. Any funding requests necessary to achieve such level of care from the Veterans Administration shall receive the highest priority.

 

Silencing the Soldiers

UPDATE 3/1/07: I am definitely against them punishing the soldiers with inspections and formation while they are sick and wounded, but I am still not sure about telling them to not talk to the press. I heard on Randi Rhodes’ show yesterday that the best thing for the wounded troops and their families to do is to talk to the patient advocate at the hospital or the base chaplain.

Original post below:

I am not completely sure how I feel about this article. On the one hand, soldiers belong to the army and the army can tell them not to talk to the press. On the other hand, this administration tells LOTS of people they can’t talk to the press and tells the press and even the governors of all the states what questions they aren’t allowed to ask. Maybe the soldiers can start being “an anonymous soldier who asked to not be identified.”

I am VERY glad to see that the residents of building 18 are moving back to the hospital campus. Now let’s get ALL of them processed and back to their communities with good health care back home!

————————————————-

Walter Reed patients told to keep quiet

 

Posted : Wednesday Feb 28, 2007 17:03:08 EST

Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Medical Hold Unit say they have been told they will wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have
their rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m., and that they must not speak to the media.

“Some soldiers believe this is a form of
punishment for the trouble soldiers caused by talking to the media,” one Medical Hold Unit soldier said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

It is unusual for soldiers to have daily inspections after Basic Training.

Soldiers say their sergeant major gathered troops at 6 p.m. Monday to tell them they must follow their chain of command when asking for help with their medical evaluation paperwork, or when they spot mold, mice or other problems in their quarters.

They were also told they would be moving out of Building 18 to Building 14 within the next couple of weeks. Building 14 is a barracks that houses the administrative offices for the Medical Hold Unit and was renovated in 2006. It’s also located on the Walter Reed Campus, where reporters must be escorted by public affairs personnel. Building 18 is located just off campus and is easy to access.

The soldiers said they were also told their first sergeant has been relieved of duty, and that all of their platoon
sergeants have been moved to other positions at Walter Reed. And 120 permanent-duty soldiers are expected to arrive by mid-March to take control of the Medical Hold Unit, the soldiers said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Army public affairs did not respond to a request sent Sunday evening to verify the personnel changes.

The Pentagon also clamped down on media coverage of any and all Defense Department medical facilities, to include suspending planned projects by CNN and the Discovery Channel, saying in an e-mail to spokespeople:
“It will be in most cases not appropriate to engage the media while this review takes place,” referring to an investigation of the problems at Walter Reed.

Related reading:

 

Walter Reed soldier wins small victory

Gates’ candor on hospital woes lauded

Pentagon names members of Walter Reed panel

Renovations underway at Walter Reed

Wounded and waiting

 

Liberals and Religion

Why is it so hard for liberals to talk about religion?

In the political chat rooms where I hang out, most of the people seem to HATE religion and hate anyone that follows a religion. Where is our tolerance?

I listen to Air America Radio a lot, and more to Head On Radio, where the hosts and the chatters make fun of people who believe in “the invisible”.

The only show on Air America where it is OK to have faith in God or to practice any religion is State of Belief, and it is only on for one hour a week.

I think that a lot of the fundamentalists have it wrong when they judge gays or women that had an abortion, but I think liberals get it wrong too when they judge anyone with a religion as being fooled or misguided. Faith is important and it is way older than than the republican party or the megachurches or Pat Robertson.

Maybe it is time to stop judging at all?