Dubya
Current mood: aggravated
Category: News and Politics

This was posted in a group am in and I just had to share!  I think you will get a kick out of it...thanks DEB!

Some of these are actually on a George Bush doll that I got from friends in England. That thing is a riot; he's dressed like a cowboy, and his head and jaws actually move. Shockingly, they won't sell anything like that in the States, so friends in England had to send it over.

10) "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." —LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000

[Families IS...?? Basic grammar there, George W. Any plural is followed by ARE. It should be families ARE...a family IS, but families ARE...and wings take dream? I'm not even TOUCHING that one! LOL!]


9) "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family." —Greater Nashua, N.H., Jan. 27, 2000

[Uh, yeah. I think they call that a food fight....]


8) "I hear there's rumors on the Internets that we're going to have a draft." —second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004

[Again, basic grammer Georgie boy. 'There's rumors' translates to 'there is rumors'...there IS A rumor, but in this case, it should be there ARE rumors... and how many 'Internets' ARE there??!!]


7) "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." —Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000

[Do we live in the same waters now? Man. I must be WAY behind the times....I didn't even realize that they were our ENEMY!]


6) "You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." —to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005

[Uh, basic 'born with a silver spoon in your mouth' there George. It's a pretty tactless thing to say to someone who is probably killing herself to make a living...while you go out and play another round of golf...on the American people....]

5) "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." —Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004

[I don't think I even need to COMMENT on this one, do I?]


4) "They misunderestimated me." —Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

[Now the dude is making up WORDS! Misunderestimating....You can be misunderstood, or mistaken, or you can underestimate something, but misunderestimated? WTF is THAT?!]

3) "Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?" —Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000

[Grammar again, Georgie boy. IS our children learning? No. Is our CHILD learning. ARE our children learning. And YOU went to YALE?!]


2) "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

[Well, that's for sure. You never seem to stop coming up with ways to hurt the people of this country as well as the country itself...]


1) "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

[I think that saying goes more like this: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on ME.' AND THIS IS YOUR PRESIDENT! THIS is the man running what used to be the strongest country in the free world. Are you scared? I certainly am.]

And THIS, my friends, is your PRESIDENT...Scary?? Oh yeah. VERY scary....

8:52 PM - 5 Comments - 10 Kudos - Add Comment

Riddle me this...
Current mood: mischievous
Category: Games

A guy walks into a bar and asks for a glass of water....The bartender pulls out a gun and shoots him dead.  Why?

10:05 PM - 11 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Republican Dicionary Addendum
Current mood: bored
Category: News and Politics

Republican Dictionary Addendum

BI-PARTISANSHIP, n. When conservative Republicans work together with moderate Republicans to pass legislation Democrats hate.
 
CLARIFY, v. Repeating the same lie over and over again.
 
CLEAN, adj. The word used to modify any aspect of the environment Republican legislation allows corporations to pollute, poison, or destroy.
 
FAIRER, adj. Regressive.
 
FAITH, n. The stubborn belief that God approves of Republican moral values despite the preponderance of textual evidence to the contrary.
 
FAITH COMMUNITY, n. Evangelicals, because they are saved, and hawkish conservative Jews, because they are useful. Israel is the bait-on-the-hook just waiting for God to take that Rapturous bite.
 
FISCAL CONSERVATIVE, n. A Republican who is in the minority.
 
FREEDOM, n. What Arabs want but can't achieve on their own without Western military intervention. It bears a striking resemblance to chaos.
 
HUMBLE FOREIGN POLICY, n. The invasion of any sovereign nation whose leadership Republicans don't like.
 
HUMBLED adj. What a Republican says right after a close election and right before he governs in an arrogant manner.
 
MORAL VALUES, n. Hatred of homosexuals dressed up in Biblical language.
 
MANDATE, n. What a Republican claims to possess when only 49 percent of the voting public loathes him instead of 51 percent.
 
THE MEDIA, n. Immoral elitist liberally-biased traitors who should leave Republicans alone so they can complete God's work on Earth in peace and quiet, behind closed doors.
 
PHILOSOPHY, n. Religion.
 
SLAVE, n. A person without legal rights, e,g. a fetus.

1:10 PM - 11 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

Lt. Watada Mistrial
Current mood: excited
Category: News and Politics

February 8, 2007

Mistrial at Court Martial

Watada Beats the Government

By MARJORIE COHN

When the Army judge declared a mistrial over defense objection in 1st Lt. Ehren Watada's court martial yesterday, he probably didn't realize jeopardy attached. That means that under the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Constitution, the government cannot retry Lt. Watada on the same charges of missing movement and conduct unbecoming an officer.

Lt. Watada is the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse orders to deploy to Iraq. He claimed those orders were unlawful because the war is illegal and he would be an accomplice to war crimes if he followed them.

The judge refused to allow me and others to testify as expert defense witnesses on the illegality of the Iraq war and the war crimes the Bush administration is committing there.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice sets forth the duty of military personnel to obey only lawful commands. Article 92 says: "A general order or regulation is lawful unless it is contrary to the Constitution, the law of the United States "

Lt. Watada said at a June 6, 2006 press conference in Tacoma, Washington, "The war in Iraq is in fact illegal. It is my obligation and my duty to refuse any orders to participate in this war." He stated, "An order to take part in an illegal war is unlawful in itself. So my obligation is not to follow the order to go to Iraq."

Citing "deception and manipulation and willful misconduct by the highest levels of my chain of command," Lt. Watada declared there is "no greater betrayal to the American people" than the Iraq war.

The "turning point" for Lt. Watada came when he "saw the pain and suffering of so many soldiers and their families, and innocent Iraqis." He said, "I best serve my soldiers by speaking out against unlawful orders of the highest levels of my chain of command, and making sure our leaders are held accountable." Lt. Watada felt he "had the obligation to step up and do whatever it takes," even if that means facing court martial and imprisonment.

Lt. Watada did face court martial, and four years in prison, until the judge declared a mistrial.

This is what I would have said had I been allowed to testify at Lt. Watada's court martial:

The United States is committing a crime against the peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Iraq.

A war of aggression, prosecuted in violation of international treaties, is a crime against the peace. The war in Iraq violates the Charter of the United Nations, which prohibits the use of force. There are only two exceptions to that prohibition: self-defense and approval by the Security Council. A pre-emptive or preventive war is not allowed under the Charter.

Bush's war in Iraq was not undertaken in self-defense. Iraq had not attacked the US or any other country for 12 years. And Saddam Hussein's military capability had been effectively neutered by the Gulf War, 12 years of punishing sanctions, and nearly daily bombing by the US and UK over the "no-fly-zones."

Bush tried mightily to get the Security Council to sanction his war on Iraq. But the Council refused. Bush then cobbled together prior Council resolutions, none of which, individually or collectively, authorized the use of force in Iraq. Although Bush claimed to be enforcing Security Council resolutions, the Charter empowers only the Council to enforce its resolutions.

Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions constitute war crimes, for which individuals can be punished under the US War Crimes Act. Willful killing, torture and inhuman treatment are grave breaches.

The torture and inhuman treatment of prisoners in US custody at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere in Iraq are grave breaches of Geneva, and therefore, war crimes. The execution of unarmed civilians in Haditha and other Iraqi cities are also war crimes.

Commanders in the chain of command, all the way up to the commander in chief, can be prosecuted for war crimes if they knew or should have known their subordinates were committing war crimes and failed to stop or prevent them. The torture policies and rules of engagement were set at the top. It is George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell who should be on trial - for the commission of war crimes.

Inhumane acts against a civilian population are crimes against humanity and violate the Fourth Geneva Convention. The targeting of civilians and failure to protect civilians and civilian objects are crimes against humanity.

The dropping of 2,000-pound bombs in residential areas of Baghdad during "Shock and Awe" were crimes against humanity. The indiscriminate US attack on Fallujah, which was collective punishment in retaliation for the killing of four Blackwater mercenaries, was a crime against humanity. The destruction of hospitals in Fallujah by the US military, its refusal to let doctors treat patients, and shooting into ambulances were crimes against humanity. Declaring Fallujah a "weapons-free" zone, with orders to shoot anything that moved, was a crime against humanity.

Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson was the chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg Tribunal. He wrote:

"No political or economic situation can justify the crime of aggression. If certain acts in violation of treaties are crimes they are crimes whether the United States does them or whether Germany does them, and we are not prepared to lay down a rule of criminal conduct against others which we would not be willing to have invoked against us."

Lt. Ehren Watada was correct when he said the war is illegal and he would be party to war crimes if he deployed to Iraq. The orders to deploy were unlawful and Lt. Watada had a duty to disobey them. Although he faces the possibility of a dishonorable discharge, the judge's grant of a mistrial precludes retrial on the same criminal charges.

Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, a criminal defense attorney, and president of the National Lawyers Guild

11:24 PM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

My Personality
Category: Life

My Personality

Neuroticism	38
Extraversion	68
Openness To Experience	81
Agreeableness	50
Conscientiousness	56

9:54 PM - 3 Comments - 5 Kudos - Add Comment

Today is the day...
Category: Life

Today in the day I have been waiting for, for such a long time, so why do I feel like crap?  Today is the day he finally left, well he does have to come back for most of his stuff,  His closet is empty, except for the mess and a few odds and ends, same with his dressers.  I know I wanted this as much as him, so why is it so hard?  My family has been great, his family has been great and my friends I just couldn't do without!  Please help me stay strong and brave.  Ever since my birthday I have felt numb all over and I don't like that feeling, but I don't know how to make it go away.  I guess in time it will just fade.  Jake and Brandi come home next week, that will surely help me.  Remember I love and care for all my friends and thank you for being you.

12:05 AM - 6 Comments - 5 Kudos - Add Comment

I am grateful for my friends.
Category: Friends

To all my wonderful friends, thank you for supporting me during these difficult times for me.  For those of you that don't know, my husband and I have seperated.  Unfortunately we are still living under the same roof, which is causing great difficulties and stress for both of us. I am hoping it will all be over soon and we can both get on with my new lives.  I love you all...and remember to send some love my way.

Mercedes

1:55 PM - 5 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

October needs your help...
Category: Life

11:13 AM - 3 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Corruption at work
Current mood: disappointed
Category: News and Politics

I just got home from seeing a documentary called "Iraq for Sale: the War Profiteers" perhaps some of you have seen it.  The movie was very disturbing but not surprising at all!  Although the movie focuses on the corruption of the billions of dollars being made on the War in Iraq, I see it as reinforcement that this war was created for the sole purpose of making money!  As long as this war is making big companies like Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater Security, and many many more, billions of dollars this war will NEVER END!!!!!!

http://iraqforsale.org/trailer.php

10:35 PM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Why can't people stict together
Current mood: distressed
Category: School, College, Greek

Why cant people stick together?

Those of you that dont know me I am a Special Education Instructional Aide at a high school. Recently we, the six full-time aides in department, were told that we would need to pair up on a daily rotation to supervise three kids during lunch. In turn we would get our lunch during the next period, taking us out of the class we are assigned in for almost 40 minutes. First of all this is NOT what we were hired to do, our job is to assist learning disabled kids in the classroom, not baby sit during lunch. Of course the first thing I did was to go to my union representative and tell them what was going on. The issue is now in the grievance process and I fully expect the out come to be in our favor.
What truly saddens me about this entire affair is that I could not get one of my colleagues to stand up with me. Oh yes they all say around and bitched about it and said they thought it was wrong, but when I asked them submit a letter to the union stating there feelings and concerns every single one of them refused. They dont want to make waves, they are afraid! I refuse to be afraid. I pay my union dues every month for protection against unfair business practices and by god I am going to take advantage of the services available to me! I just can understand why some people would prefer to be sheep, wandering aimlessly waiting for the headers to tell them what to do and where to go. It is no wonder our unions are so week.

11:30 PM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment