So as to head off the mass panic, I wanted to allert you all that I am taking a blog vacation. It’s the “in” vacation thing this year, and who am I to buck a trend?
Now before you shave your heads and run screaming into the woods, fear not, I will return to you in seven days. On the seventh day I will rise and return to you.
I get it. The war on terror, the religious stuff, it’s all just a smoke screen, a red herring. None of that really matters.
I get it. The war on terror, the religious stuff, it’s all just a smoke screen, a red herring. None of that really matters.
I get it. The war on terror, the religious stuff, it’s all just a smoke screen, a red herring. None of that really matters.
Any guesses who “w” will support in this clash?
Again, I get my news from world reports not from our own people in most cases. My vote is to leave the Hezbollah alone. To be honest, if Israel was invading my country, I’d kick their ass too. Which would be difficult since they have our weapons, our planes, and train for their entire lives to become part of the Israeli military. But, I would give it a gungi, Marine Corps try and take as many of those S.O.B.’s as I could.
sometimes i just want to bang my head up against a wall when i read about the stupid sh*t our city council does.
but before i begin the gripe, i would like to thank city council members sherri capehart and joe bruner for casting the dissenting votes at last night’s council meeting. you did the right thing, so kudos to you both. the vote fell 7-2 in favor of approving a 230,000 square foot wal-mart box store along the arlington-kennedale border. that 26 acres is some of the last undeveloped land in arlington proper.
this has been a real nagging issue for folks in the southwest corridor. residents collected 4000 signatures opposing the store, while walmart collected 2000 in favor and 3000 more by slapping petitions outside their stores in east tarrant county. needless to say this paid signature gathering didn’t sit well with residents of southwest arlington:
“We knew they were collecting signatures at their stores, but ours are concerned residents, voters,” said Mike Talambas, representing the South West Action Team citizens group, which has organized the disgruntled residents. “That’s a lot more meaningful than hiring someone to collect shoppers’ signatures.”
indeed.
regardless of last night’s vote, i’m conforted knowing that the arlington planning and zoning commission denied walmart’s rezoning request. without their a-ok, the project can’t get underway. i would imagine that walmart will now return to the P&Z and ask for their rubber stamp. as an arlington resident, you can voice your opinion directly to these folks by using the phone numbers listed here. seriously, if you live in arlington, give these folks a call and tell them not to allow walmart to devour those 26 acres. if you’d rather email them, the link is here.
you might have noticed the little live8 button over on the left. i put it up there because i support debt relief for nations struggling with poverty and HIV. every thirty seconds, a child in africa dies because of something so simple as not having mosquito netting.
but you know, i could tell you how terrible this all is, but that won’t change anything. the upcoming live8 concerts will hopefully raise awareness of these issues.
and *we can do something about these problems right now*. the first thing you can do is go read about the ONE campaign. if you support it, sign the ONE campaign petition. add your voice to the swelling chorus of people asking president bush to follow through on all those promises he made about africa. you can also participate in ONE campaign events across america.
we are a world rich in resources and generosity and i don’t see why we shouldn’t apply our ingenuity towards eradicating poverty. don’t just sit there; do something.
i can’t believe i actually sat through that. it was mercifully short and, sadly, probably his best effort.
the full text of bush’s speech is here. also there is some excellent coverage over at think progress. to be quite honest, i was suprised he mentioned bin laden. i also noticed the absense of one phrase that has been a constant in his speeches since nine-eleven. see if you can spot it on tp’s chart:
Bush Iraq Speech: By The Numbers
References to “September 11″: 5
References to “weapons of mass destruction”: 0
References to “freedom”: 21
References to “exit strategy”: 0
References to “Saddam Hussein”: 2
References to “Osama Bin Laden”: 2
References to “a mistake”: 1 (setting a timetable for withdrawal)
References to “mission”: 11
References to “mission accomplished”: 0
yea, funny, where’d those WMDs go? mushroom cloud over a major american city anyone?
i hate to be flippant, but i’m pissed off. bush can wax poetic about transforming the middle east, but that is not what the american people signed up to support. they* signed up because they trusted a president who told them that there was a imminent threat to our security. we’d been collectively traumatised and the administration manipulated us into an unneccessary war.
yet the buck in this oval office keeps getting passed around and nobody’s answered for this mess. the administration didn’t offer any timetable for withdrawal. they didn’t mention an exit strategy. they’re sending mixed messages about how long we’ll need to be there (up to twelve years according to secretary of defense rumsfeld two days ago).
and because first and foremost in our minds are the men and women currently serving overseas, we need to know how and when he plans to bring them home. i’d say more on that count, but i will leave it to the good people at operation truth:
“Mr. President, this is a time for hard truths, and now that the opinion polls on the war have started to turn, you are going to Fort Bragg to make your case. Will it continue to be one version of progress from our Commander in Chief, but a very different measure from our commanders in the field? Why does your view of Iraq look so different from ours?
“We agree there is no choice but to succeed in Iraq. But, Mr. President, what is the plan to get there? We still don’t know. To quote Senator Chuck Hagel, a great patriot, it seems to those of us who served in Iraq that your administration is “making it up as they go along.”
“What is success? Tonight you will tell us Iraq is on the path to freedom and stability, but what does right look like? The CIA tells us Iraq is now a top breeding ground for terrorists. Are we killing more enemies than we’re making?
“Last week, Vice President Cheney said the insurgency is in its last throes, but this week we’re told to dig in for a 12-year battle. Have you asked your Secretary of Defense and Vice President to offer the Troops a straight answer?
“We don’t need to be told about the political successes in Iraq, because we were there to safeguard an election one-year ago that you will certainly cite as progress. And we know that now is not a time for cheerleading. “
you gotta read the whole thing. it’s amazing.
click beneath the fold for the LTE i sent tonight. you can help with rapid response to the speech by clicking here. scroll down to the letter writing tool and plug your zip code in. it only takes 5 at a time, but you can get it all done in less than ten minutes.
* “they” because while i wasn’t entirely convinced, many people were. and looking back at the climate of the country, i can see why some people couuld have been persuaded into thinking that iraq was an imminent threat. hell, the propoganda was so thick it even began to get to me. by the time it was obvious that we were going, i said that if we were going in we better be right and hell, maybe he knew something we didn’t.
*also, the sponge thing refers to something a commenter on mydd or dkos wrote about how they make it through bush’s speeches. they keep a bucket of sponges next to their chair. that way, if they get upset and need to throw something, at least a sponge won’t break anything.
i can’t believe i actually sat through that. it was mercifully short and, sadly, probably his best effort.
the full text of bush’s speech is here. also there is some excellent coverage over at think progress. to be quite honest, i was suprised he mentioned bin laden. i also noticed the absense of one phrase that has been a constant in his speeches since nine-eleven. see if you can spot it on tp’s chart:
Bush Iraq Speech: By The Numbers
References to “September 11″: 5
References to “weapons of mass destruction”: 0
References to “freedom”: 21
References to “exit strategy”: 0
References to “Saddam Hussein”: 2
References to “Osama Bin Laden”: 2
References to “a mistake”: 1 (setting a timetable for withdrawal)
References to “mission”: 11
References to “mission accomplished”: 0
yea, funny, where’d those WMDs go? mushroom cloud over a major american city anyone?
i hate to be flippant, but i’m pissed off. bush can wax poetic about transforming the middle east, but that is not what the american people signed up to support. they* signed up because they trusted a president who told them that there was a imminent threat to our security. we’d been collectively traumatised and the administration manipulated us into an unneccessary war.
yet the buck in this oval office keeps getting passed around and nobody’s answered for this mess. the administration didn’t offer any timetable for withdrawal. they didn’t mention an exit strategy. they’re sending mixed messages about how long we’ll need to be there (up to twelve years according to secretary of defense rumsfeld two days ago).
and because first and foremost in our minds are the men and women currently serving overseas, we need to know how and when he plans to bring them home. i’d say more on that count, but i will leave it to the good people at operation truth:
“Mr. President, this is a time for hard truths, and now that the opinion polls on the war have started to turn, you are going to Fort Bragg to make your case. Will it continue to be one version of progress from our Commander in Chief, but a very different measure from our commanders in the field? Why does your view of Iraq look so different from ours?
“We agree there is no choice but to succeed in Iraq. But, Mr. President, what is the plan to get there? We still don’t know. To quote Senator Chuck Hagel, a great patriot, it seems to those of us who served in Iraq that your administration is “making it up as they go along.”
“What is success? Tonight you will tell us Iraq is on the path to freedom and stability, but what does right look like? The CIA tells us Iraq is now a top breeding ground for terrorists. Are we killing more enemies than we’re making?
“Last week, Vice President Cheney said the insurgency is in its last throes, but this week we’re told to dig in for a 12-year battle. Have you asked your Secretary of Defense and Vice President to offer the Troops a straight answer?
“We don’t need to be told about the political successes in Iraq, because we were there to safeguard an election one-year ago that you will certainly cite as progress. And we know that now is not a time for cheerleading. “
you gotta read the whole thing. it’s amazing.
click beneath the fold for the LTE i sent tonight. you can help with rapid response to the speech by clicking here. scroll down to the letter writing tool and plug your zip code in. it only takes 5 at a time, but you can get it all done in less than ten minutes.
* “they” because while i wasn’t entirely convinced, many people were. and looking back at the climate of the country, i can see why some people couuld have been persuaded into thinking that iraq was an imminent threat. hell, the propoganda was so thick it even began to get to me. by the time it was obvious that we were going, i said that if we were going in we better be right and hell, maybe he knew something we didn’t.
*also, the sponge thing refers to something a commenter on mydd or dkos wrote about how they make it through bush’s speeches. they keep a bucket of sponges next to their chair. that way, if they get upset and need to throw something, at least a sponge won’t break anything.
i can’t believe i actually sat through that. it was mercifully short and, sadly, probably his best effort.
the full text of bush’s speech is here. also there is some excellent coverage over at think progress. to be quite honest, i was suprised he mentioned bin laden. i also noticed the absense of one phrase that has been a constant in his speeches since nine-eleven. see if you can spot it on tp’s chart:
Bush Iraq Speech: By The Numbers
References to “September 11″: 5
References to “weapons of mass destruction”: 0
References to “freedom”: 21
References to “exit strategy”: 0
References to “Saddam Hussein”: 2
References to “Osama Bin Laden”: 2
References to “a mistake”: 1 (setting a timetable for withdrawal)
References to “mission”: 11
References to “mission accomplished”: 0
yea, funny, where’d those WMDs go? mushroom cloud over a major american city anyone?
i hate to be flippant, but i’m pissed off. bush can wax poetic about transforming the middle east, but that is not what the american people signed up to support. they* signed up because they trusted a president who told them that there was a imminent threat to our security. we’d been collectively traumatised and the administration manipulated us into an unneccessary war.
yet the buck in this oval office keeps getting passed around and nobody’s answered for this mess. the administration didn’t offer any timetable for withdrawal. they didn’t mention an exit strategy. they’re sending mixed messages about how long we’ll need to be there (up to twelve years according to secretary of defense rumsfeld two days ago).
and because first and foremost in our minds are the men and women currently serving overseas, we need to know how and when he plans to bring them home. i’d say more on that count, but i will leave it to the good people at operation truth:
“Mr. President, this is a time for hard truths, and now that the opinion polls on the war have started to turn, you are going to Fort Bragg to make your case. Will it continue to be one version of progress from our Commander in Chief, but a very different measure from our commanders in the field? Why does your view of Iraq look so different from ours?
“We agree there is no choice but to succeed in Iraq. But, Mr. President, what is the plan to get there? We still don’t know. To quote Senator Chuck Hagel, a great patriot, it seems to those of us who served in Iraq that your administration is “making it up as they go along.”
“What is success? Tonight you will tell us Iraq is on the path to freedom and stability, but what does right look like? The CIA tells us Iraq is now a top breeding ground for terrorists. Are we killing more enemies than we’re making?
“Last week, Vice President Cheney said the insurgency is in its last throes, but this week we’re told to dig in for a 12-year battle. Have you asked your Secretary of Defense and Vice President to offer the Troops a straight answer?
“We don’t need to be told about the political successes in Iraq, because we were there to safeguard an election one-year ago that you will certainly cite as progress. And we know that now is not a time for cheerleading. “
you gotta read the whole thing. it’s amazing.
click beneath the fold for the LTE i sent tonight. you can help with rapid response to the speech by clicking here. scroll down to the letter writing tool and plug your zip code in. it only takes 5 at a time, but you can get it all done in less than ten minutes.
* “they” because while i wasn’t entirely convinced, many people were. and looking back at the climate of the country, i can see why some people couuld have been persuaded into thinking that iraq was an imminent threat. hell, the propoganda was so thick it even began to get to me. by the time it was obvious that we were going, i said that if we were going in we better be right and hell, maybe he knew something we didn’t.
*also, the sponge thing refers to something a commenter on mydd or dkos wrote about how they make it through bush’s speeches. they keep a bucket of sponges next to their chair. that way, if they get upset and need to throw something, at least a sponge won’t break anything.
