Blogged with Flock
February 9, 2007 · A change in immigration policy now allows families who are in the U.S. illegally to be detained. Last summer, Immigration and Customs Enforcement began holding entire families, including small children, at a converted prison outside of Austin, Texas.
NPR : Facility Allows U.S. to Detain Immigrant Families
I don't know about you, but to me this smacks of internment camps. When will America grow up and stop thinking it can do anything it wants, no matter what the cost in dollars and lives?!
And when will Texas make some social progress, for criminy's sake?!
technorati tags:Texas, prison, internment, immigration, injustice, shame
Blogged with Flock
Hooray for goodness and reason! My congratulations to the women bloggers Amanda and Melissa. Now we can all look forward to reading their cogent remarks both on their respective blogs and in Edwards'08.
In the meantime, I'm once again impressed with John Edwards' fortitude and wisdom. Oviously the rumors of the ladies' firing by Edwards' team were greatly exagerated.
So blow it out your ears, Mr. Donahue and Ms. Malkin! Your bullying will no longer be paid the attention it never deserved.
technorati tags:edwards, marcotte, malkin, donahue, bullying, wingnuts, victory
Blogged with Flock
The biggest mistake of all is that a campaign with a long way to go to get to the finish line is so easily spooked by elements on the right that aren't worth the time of day. Team Edwards, the votes you want aren't going to come from the crowd that reads Malkin or pays attention to Donohue when he shows up foaming at the mouth interrupting other guests with intolerant comments on a chat show.You can drop a line to the Edwards campaign to let them know what you think. Frankly, dismissing these two women wouldn't help in any damage control they perceive they need to do. The "scandal" doesn't deserves the attention it's been given, particularly when you have the Bush administration wasting billions in Iraq, countless lives have been lost, a health care system that is broken...and, well, that's the tip of the iceberg.
Pam's House Blend ...always steamin'!
I want to make it clear that I am a big fan of these two women bloggers, so of course I think they should not only have been hired by Edwards' team, but should be given a raise for attracting such immediate and negative attention from the extreme right. It's ovious that the people who have contributed to the problems facing this nation today are worried about the abilities of certain people on the left to inspire their audience with their passion and integrity and to arouse their audience to action in their cause.
Even if these women's personal blogs were to be taken as indicative of their professional stance and influence on Edwards' campaign, it should be apparent that the right does not want these people providing support for the competition, and that alone is reason to celebrate them, not to let them go.As any rational person could conclude, Edwards made the right choice in the first place in hiring these women, and should stand by that choice in the face of right-wing outrage and dirty tactics, since this is obviously one of the things they were hired to both create and to handle.
If I'm wrong, then Edwards is a loser in more ways than one.
technorati tags:edwards, bloggers, outrage, controversy, courage, campaign
Blogged with Flock
In essence, Bush thinks escalating the Iraq War and distributing tax cuts to the rich is better for the United States than maintaining the health of America's citizens.Amazing, isn't it? For the wingnuts, everything for the rich is good, anything for the poor is bad. And don't be thinking they care a thing about the middle class. As far as they're concerned, there shouldn't be a middle class; just the rich and the rest.
Democrats attacked this budget immediately. We need to reduce money for the Iraq War so we can DE-escalate military operations. And we need to tap into the $1.6 trillion tax-cut bonanza to provide decent healthcare to all citizens. This is what Edwards recently recommended. Other Democratic contenders will soon recommend other ways to bring the number of people without health insurance down to zero.
Bush's budget demonstrates the stark contrast. Republicans favor the rich. Democrats prefer to help the non-rich.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A man sentenced to death in Kuwait for the 1983 bombings of the U.S. and French embassies now sits in Iraq's parliament as a member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ruling coalition, according to U.S. military intelligence.Looks like the Iraqis have picked up on our own administration's career advancement program: Anything done that results in the needless death of U.S. citizens is grounds for promotion. This guy will probably make president some day.
Jamal Jafaar Mohammed's seat in parliament gives him immunity from prosecution. Washington says he supports Shiite insurgents and acts as an Iranian agent in Iraq.
U.S. military intelligence in Iraq has approached al-Maliki's government with the allegations against Jamal Jafaar Mohammed, whom it says assists Iranian special forces in Iraq as "a conduit for weapons and political influence."
02/04/2007
Ostwald: A letter from Iraq
By:
One of my former students sent me a letter from his base in Iraq. This is his response to President Bush's State of the Union Address. It is not intended to be an anti-war piece or political statement per se, but an opportunity for us to get a closer look into the heart and mind of one of our loved ones.
Some of the words have been omitted for security reasons.
"I am still hoping that I will get to come home. I hate to say it but I hope that the left-wing guys get what they want. I don't care about the big-picture right. We have lost this war. Sending more troops would do nothing to save it. The Iraqi's don't want us here and we will never stop the insurgents. Sending more troops would only add to the death toll. I hope we pull out. This is a lost cause. There is no reason to be here. The only reason we came here is for the oil and we are not even using it.
"Bush has done a good job but he had no chance from the start. If we do pull out there will be peace. The Shiites will come to power and the Sunni's and Kurds will be slaughtered. Oh well, it is not our troops. I hope I am not shocking you too much but that is how I feel.
"We are not fighting a war, we are driving up and down the road getting shot at and blown up. When this happens we do nothing about it. We have two black eyes and are still taking punches without defending ourselves. This deployment has shown me a lot. The reason October was the fourth bloodiest month is because of all the death from .......... Our boys who we fought like hell to save ......... got slaughtered. We did our best and gave every effort we had but they still died like sheep.
"I am tired, I worked myself to the ground for six months with no break and now it is time for me to come home. I don't care if the Dems or Reps are in power, I just want to be back home. I sound very desperate because I am. I am at the end of my rope. I can't do this for another one, two or even six months. We all feel the same way. I try to keep my head up but my government will not let me. They tell me I am going home then, at the last minute, tell me I might have to stay. If I have to stay then I will work until I feel I am not fit to. I am no good out there when I am not mentally in the game. You know I am never one to quit, but there is a point where I go from fit to dangerous. That line is life or death. It would be in best interest for all when the time comes. I couldn't go through another ........... I would lose my mind if I had to bury one of the guys I am with now. That would be the straw that broke my back. Well, I hope you are not mad but this is how I feel."
I spoke to this vet's mom after I received the letter and she said, "I continue to pray that he makes good decisions along the way. Deployment is a family experience, it takes patience, encouragement and many nights of worry and sometimes it just takes its toll on the ones who love them.
"I sent a young, energetic boy over to this war and in a short period it created a man. Hopefully a man who in many years to come will be able to look back on this experience with faded memories but never to forget. This will always be a part of who he will become. God Bless them all."
