riqster
riqster's JournalBecause Bush Lied, More Children will Die
By now, most of us have seen pictures of the innocent children who were murdered by nerve gas, provided by the Syrian regime. Truly horrific. If anyone in our country did that to, say, a kitten or a penguin, the punishment would have been severe and already have been meted out. But Assad has killed thousands of human beings and is now gleefully thumbing his nose at the world. Why is he getting away with gassing little kids?
One word: Iraq. Because the Bushistas lied the world into invading that country, nobody believes Obama now. We hear it at the UN, see it in Parliaments and Congress, and read about it in the media. Citizens of the world hear “Weapons of Mass Destruction” and immediately say “bulls***”.
Bush The Dumber has much to answer for, from 9/11 to the Middle East and the global economic collapse. But this may be the most heartbreaking result of his ill-advised and illegitimate occupation of the White House: because he and his cabal lied about WMD in Iraq all those years ago, people are justifiably suspicious when a President talks about WMD being used today.
And that suspicion leads to inaction. Said inaction is then taken by a brutal, murdering dictator as tacit permission to kill at will. Which he is doing even as we speak.
Another hod of brimstone will surely be heaped upon the fire when the Shrub meets his maker. Punishment for the deaths of these poor children, who died convulsing in agony and struggling to breathe through the lungs that were destroyed by chemical weapons in Syria. But Bush’s eventual and eternal punishment will not bring the kids and their mothers back to life, nor will it make it any easier to stop such international war crimes from happening in the future.
http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/because-bush-lied-more-children-will-die/
Josh Mandel Covers Up Two Wrecks and Misuse of Funds
http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/29/josh-mandel-covers-up-two-wrecks-and-misuse-of-funds/Snips:
"Ohio Treasurer Little Joshie Mandel has not gotten any less sleazy, that’s for sure. He lies even when he doesn’t need to, and now we find out that he has been covering up two traffic crashes, ever since 2011.
And the funny thing is, he wasn’t even driving. So why cover them up?
In one case, there would not appear to be anything to hide. But in the other,it turns out he was violating campaign finance law by using a vehicle owned by his campaign for other uses. That is something he would want to cover up:"
More at the link, including source material.
Push to name hurricanes after climate change deniers
http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-28/push-to-name-hurricanes-after-climate-change-deniers/4917206Awesome! Snips:
"The WMO usually attributes first names to the storms in alphabetical order from the beginning of the season, and alternates between male and female names each year.
But the campaigners have drawn up a list of American politicians they say deny climate change and obstruct climate policy.
They want the destructive storms to be named after them instead.
Names on the list include Texas governor Rick Perry and speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner."
More at the link.
Taking Their Sacrifices for Granted – It’s Why We Still Have to Fight for Our Rights
Martin Luther King died so that others could live free. Today, idiots like Clarence Thomas like to pretend that Dr. King’s sacrifice was no biggie, so let’s get rid of all the laws that helped people of color to make progress towards equality in America. Even worse, lots of young black folk have no clue about the Civil Rights movement and what sacrifices they made: so they take their recently-won rights for granted. Small wonder those rights are being taken away by courts and Red State governments even as we commemorate the March on Washington.
And it’s not just African-Americans: dolts like Marissa Meyer diss feminism because hey, she was able to become a big-shot CEO, so the struggle for women’s rights must have been no biggie. Those feminists that millions of idiots make jokes about made it possible for women to vote, to have jobs, to have their own credit cards and many other rights. And because so many women take the sacrifices of feminists for granted, their newly-won rights are also are being taken away by courts and Red State governments.
Lots of “Republicans” like to pretend that we no longer need the rights of free speech, assembly, and privacy (among others) because hey, they can do anything they damned well please, so clearly, the Bill of Rights is no longer necessary. These idiots forget the Founding Fathers and their efforts to secure those rights for us. And because so many Americans take the sacrifices of Washington, Jefferson et.al. for granted, our newly-won rights are also are being taken away by courts and Red State governments.
We must take a moment to remember, on historic days like these, that it wasn’t just flowery speeches and signatures on documents that won those rights for us. No, it was blood and sweat, tears and torture, endurance and indomitable courage pitted against seemingly omnipotent and impregnable opponents that won those rights. And if we take our recently-won rights for granted, all of us will have to fight those fights all over again.
By remembering the sacrifices of those warriors who won our rights for us, we honor them; we also safeguard ourselves, and the country we love.
http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/28/taking-their-sacrifices-for-granted-its-why-we-still-have-to-fight-for-our-rights/
Ohio's Governor is for rent.
And a pretty cheap rent, at that. For a mere $50,000.00, Ohio coal companies were able to wreck a man’s career and gain the ability to pollute at will. Pocket change for such a result. Yep, Kasich is a good buy as politicians go.
The back story: a competent and even-handed civil servant was enforcing the environmental laws on the fossil fuel industries. Said industries did not like that, so they bribed the Guv: Kasich then fired the man.
More at the link: http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/ohios-governor-is-for-rent/
When You Feel Like Giving Up…
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William Allison kept this sign for 50 years. In 1963, he was 42 and participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Justice. Now he’s 92 and did it again. With the same sign.
On the one hand, it’s depressing that such marches are still necessary, and the sign is still 100% relevant, a half century later. On the other, it’s uplifting to see someone with that much courage and determination.
Either way, it is a lesson to us all: when we feel like giving up on a cause, a task or a dream, look at Mr. Allison and realize that it is possible to keep fighting for what you believe in. Even when the struggle started long before you were born, and will continue after you will pass away. If we truly believe in something, we have to give it that kind of consistent devotion and unwavering commitment – and it can be done. He is living proof.
Let’s all take a breath, nut up, and keep working for what we believe in, love, and cherish. The only way to win is to keep showing up. And the only guaranteed way to lose is to give up.
http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/25/when-you-feel-like-giving-up/
Obama’s Guns of August - From Slate
http://mobile.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2013/08/barack_obama_s_logic_for_bombing_syria_the_united_states_will_seek_to_put.htmlA good read, and worth the click.
Snips:
"It seems likely that President Obama will bomb Syria sometime in the coming weeks.
His top civilian and military advisers are meeting in the White House on Saturday to discuss options. American warships are heading toward the area; those already there, at least one of which had been scheduled for a port call, are standing by. Most telling perhaps is a story in the New York Times, noting that Obama’s national-security aides are studying the 1999 air war in Kosovo as a possible blueprint for action in Syria.
In that conflict 14 years ago, ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, an autonomous province of Serbia, were being massacred by Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic. President Bill Clinton, after much reluctance, decided to intervene, but couldn’t get authorization from the U.N. Security Council, where Russia—Serbia’s main ally—was certain to veto any resolution on the use of force. So Clinton turned to NATO, an appropriate instrument to deal with a crisis in the middle of Europe."
Much more at the link.
Jobs and Freedom. We need both.
http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/jobs-and-freedom-we-need-both/Snips:
"The March on Washington was actually called the Great March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Lots of people forget this and go with the short name, and that is a mistake. A big mistake.
What the organizers understood (and that too many of us have forgotten) is that civil rights and economic rights are two halves of the same whole: you cannot have one without the other. If you have all sorts of civil rights, but are living in a box under a bridge, are you really free? Of course not. You are trapped."
"When we think about the speeches, the images, and the stories of the marchers during the anniversary of the March, let us also remember that Jobs and Freedom were the purpose of the event. And that both are always at risk, and must always be defended against those who would take them away."
More at the link.
Vlad the Destroyer (Up yours, Putin)
A rant against Putin, those he supports, and those who support him. Fuck that KGB butcher with a Sawzall: http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/vlad-the-destroyer-up-yours-putin/
Snips:
"Yesterday, the Russian-backed Syrian government used chemical weapons on its own people. Russia (meaning Vladimir Putin) is blocking UN action to investigate this war crime. Vlad the Destroyer is OK with crimes against humanity.
Recently, Russia passed some truly regressive anti-LGBT laws, and announced that foreign visitors (such as Olympic athletes) would be jailed, harassed, and so on. Vlad the Destroyer is OK with persecuting gay people for being gay."
More at the link.
If I carry medical marihuana through an airport and get busted.
Then I broke the law. Never mind that I believe pot should be legal, or that medical marihuana is a beneficial and moral societal imperative. I am busted.
If I carry a gun through an airport, same deal. If I carried stolen documents exposing Jamie Dimon as the looting scum ball that he is, same deal.
And if I carry stolen NSA documents through an airport, same deal.
Regardless of how we personally view the motivations behind a criminal act, the cops are gonna treat it as a crime. And we should be smart enough to know it.
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