TRICK OR TREAT?

TRICK OR TREAT?

WOW! WE HIT THE 12 TRILLION MARK FOR DEBT.

9 MORE BANKS FAILED THIS WEEK, TAKING THIS YEAR'S TOTAL TO 115 FAILED BANKS.

National Debt Clock

Happy Howwwwwwloween

Witch Ways...

Creative Health care vids & Breaking news from Turncoat Joe

Strange we have to "pitch" healthcare, but we do. These are some very creative ads trying to drive home the message & put the Boogeyman to rest already.

BREAKING NEWS: Just in time for Halloween Joe Lieberman (McCain's pitchman) alleged Independent has announced he will "join a Republican fillibuster to lock the final vote on any health care bill that has a government-run health insurance option."

CNN Reports:

"Lieberman's vote is crucial to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's hopes of passing a health care bill that includes the controversial public option. Reid announced Monday he would send to the full Senate a health care bill that has a public option but also allows states to opt out of that provision."

Well let the spineless pandering begin. Lieberman is a festering boil on the behind of humanity.

I hope Connecticut voters seriously consider having this menace recalled. I mean seriously-- this should be the final straw.

We need to contact LIEberman now & tell him how awful his assault to democracy is.

Is having a public option going to lie in the hands of one Joe Lieberman?

Say it ain't so!!!!!

His web site only takes Connecticut constituents e mails (yea but his damned vote will effect the entire nation)

706 Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-4041 Voice
(202) 224-9750 Fax

Halloween humor & creative costumes

Look into the "McChrystal Ball"

Look into the "McChrystal Ball", and make your own conclusions as to what direction the war in Afghanistan is going.

Captain Cojones & Dithering Dick

t Vice President Cheney calls dithering, President Obama calls his solemn responsibility to the men and women in uniform and to the American public," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. "I think we've all seen what happens when somebody doesn't take that responsibility seriously."

Go read Dave Dubya's Rant on Dithering Dick he nails it!

Excerpt:

In his typical reptilian tone he hissed, "President Obama now seems afraid to make a decision, and unable to provide his commander on the ground with the troops he needs to complete his mission."

Then he snarled, “The White House must stop dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger. It's time for President Obama to do what it takes to win a war he has repeatedly and rightly called a war of necessity. Make no mistake. Signals of indecision out of Washington hurt our allies and embolden our adversaries."

In less than a hundred words from this lying, cowardly, treasonous war criminal we see the same old bald-faced dishonesty, scapegoating, projection, and blaming of others for his own utter wrongheadedness, malevolence and failure.

In other words, he’s still spewing more of the same, tired, old evil bile. The really sick part of all this is the fact that he is not screaming this from his prison cell. Almost as twisted is the fact that too many Americans still believe this vile crook. Never underestimate American arrogance and ignorance.


"The only time Cheney and his cabal of foreign policy 'experts' have anything to say is when they feel compelled to protect this failed legacy. While President Obama is tasked with cleaning up the considerable mess they left behind, they continue to defend torture or rewrite a legacy of indifference on Afghanistan.”


Let’s start with this “afraid to make a decision” bit. Apart from his blatant and ubiquitous fear mongering, we see the obvious comparison to the sinister and destructive decisions decided by the Big Dick and his Decider. Why can’t Obama decide on a whim the deaths of thousands of innocent human beings? Sounds like some kind of character flaw, eh, Dick?

Here’s a good one. “The White House must stop dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger. It's time for President Obama to do what it takes to win a war he has repeatedly and rightly called a war of necessity.” You mean the war you and George started but couldn’t finish while you dithered over it for six years?

“It's time for President Obama to do what it takes.” Yes, and realize that agreeing with you, Dick, about it being a war of necessity will be the worst mistake of his life. (snip)

We are sick and tired of this Chicken Hawk squawk. Make no mistake, It hurts our allies and emboldens our adversaries, and is a disgrace to every honest, law abiding, peaceful American.

And in one way I agree with Dick about “The White House must stop dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger.” It’s time to arrest the men who lied to us in order to put those troops in danger. They are war criminals, traitors, torturers, and murderers. Make no mistake.

Classified Ad

Fund Raising Event • Garage Sale Blowout!

PROCEEDS TO RANDY CUMMINS

Diagnosis • Cancer • Treatment Denied

October 22-24 • Thurs-Sat 8am-4pm

Bake Sale • Silent Auction

• 70 households

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This IS the reality of health care in America. Although it is kind of friends & neighbors to pull together to have yard sales, bake, sales, pizza parties and a host of fundraiser projects- the reality is these folks are more likely to wind up on the long list of those who perished because we have no health care.

Those deeply in the struggle, literally fighting to save their lives have absolutely no way to compete with the Insurance lobby in some sick competition to buy the votes of Congress by stuffing their pockets with money. Frankly, I feel it is nothing more than prostitution-- them taking money and making decisions based on campaign contributions.

This so-called "system" is more than broken-- it's heartbreaking.

Swinewatch

This week totals (combined from Aug 30,2009, US numbers)

30,027 Hospitalizations total

2827 Deaths total

This weeks statistics:

9373 additional hospitalizations

506 additional deaths

Certifiable!

Editorial Columnist Kathleen Parker writes:

"Glenn Beck isn't to be treated so-so-seriously. Simple rule: Recognition empowers. If Fox News were a nation, Beck would be Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. You don't want to give him ammunition. (snip)

As a one-man doomsayer, Beck liberally sprinkles his right-wing rhetoric with hot-button references. Last week Politico's Ben Smith counted the number of times Beck has used certain adrenaline-pumping words since the show began airing in January:

MARXIST/MARXISM-- 127 TIMES
COMMUNIST/COMMUNISM--330 TIMES
SOCIALIST/SOCIALISM --404 TIMES

(snip)

Let the little dogs yap, Mr. President. Trust that the people who put you in office can tell the clowns from the ringleaders."

Parker nails it! The Rovian tactic of saying something enough times, people begin to believe it is true. The idea is to paint with broad strokes that these things are "evil", often blurring all three into one. Of course the socialist label covers things people really like-- medicare, Veterans health care and support programs, Senior housing that is subsidized- Beck the clown likes to use the scare tactics for ratings. Hard to believe he's still on the air.

PARTY OF NOBODY!

Congressman Grayson (d-FL) has created a website that honor those who have died because they had no health care.

Just what the Doctor Ordered

Click to Embiggen



It really IS what the Doctor ordered. Exercise, weight loss, but I have to say riding on the river trail, enjoying a sunny fall day & the beautiful colors of the leaves, has a side effect- happiness.

The following are photos from my recent bike ride...

Watada's War is Over

Lt. Ehren Watada was the soldier who announced he refused to deploy to Iraq, based on the Constitution he swore to protect.




Eugene Weekly reports:

First Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse to deploy to the war in Iraq, has finally ended his long legal battle with the military. Watada
refused to deploy to Iraq in the summer of 2006 with his Stryker brigade because he believed the war was illegal, saying at the time, “I am wholeheartedly opposed to the continued war in Iraq, the deception used to wage this war, and the lawlessness that has pervaded every aspect of our civilian leadership.”

Watada offered to be deployed instead to Afghanistan or to resign, but the Army refused. His court martial for missing his unit’s deployment ended in a mistrial in February 2007, and a federal judge ruled a second court martial would be double jeopardy. The Army also threatened to court martial him for “conduct unbecoming an officer” for appearing at anti-war rallies and speaking out against the decision to invade Iraq. If he had been convicted on all counts, he could have served six years in prison and been given a dishonorable discharge.

Watada has been working a military desk job since the mistrial. He was supposed to have been discharged in December 2006, but his legal proceedings prevented that. The Army accepted Watada’s latest resignation on Sept. 16, 2009, and he was discharged the first week of October, under “other than honorable conditions.”

Watada’s attorney told reporters that he felt history would treat Watada "more favorably" than the Army had, calling him “a hero and a patriot."




Ehren Watada lived in limbo for almost 3 years past the end of his contract.
He lived off the base, but he was required to report "for duty", even though his clearances had been stripped, so there was not much for him to do. With the trial botched by the military, they basically held him "prisoner" in the military, unable to move on with his life-- until now.



On a personal note, his folks were at the Peace rally this weekend- commemorating the 8 year anniversary of the Afghanistan war..... they looked so happy that Ehren is now Free.

What Lt. Watada did was brave and very much so honorable.
I salute his courage to uphold the Constitution, and the oath he took.


Lt. Watada deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. He was willing to put his personal freedom, (faced 8 years of jail time),and entire military career on the line to "do the right thing", and follow his moral compass.

Free at Last, Thank You Lt. Watada. Free at Last

Guess who's about to get disbarred?

This may be my favorite part of the "Guess who's coming to dinner" movie...

Kate's employee is freaking out that her employer's daughter has announced she's in love, & it's to be an interracial marriage.

That was circa 1967.....

But this week, New Orleans, Louisiana Judge Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace for Tangipahoa Parish's 8th Ward, refused to issue a marriage license to Beth Humphrey, 30, and her boyfriend, Terence McKay, 32, both of Hammond.

42 years later.... this judge has not evolved at all.

Worse-- the reasoning he gave...." he was concerned for the children who might be born of the relationship and that, in his experience, most interracial marriages don't last.".

Newsflash for the judge: Who is president right now?

Uh huh.... a biracial man, with parents whose marriage did not last.

Even rightwingnut Gov. Bobby Jindal, is calling for his dismissal! (The judge that is).

Humphrey said on Thursday that she called Bardwell on October 6 to ask about getting a marriage license, and was asked by his wife whether it would be an interracial marriage. Humphrey said she was told that Bardwell does not sign off on interracial marriages.

She said the couple, who received their marriage license October 9 from another justice of the peace in the same parish, have reached out to an attorney to determine their next step.

"We would like him to resign," she said. "He doesn't believe he's being racist, but it is racist."

Wedding Bells & potential litigation......

Judge Bardwell is past his racist pull date.

Get the hook!

It's all about the love

Justice of the Peace Bardwell- his thinking is a little upside down.

Swine Flu update

This week totals (combined from Aug 30,2009, US numbers)

20,654 Hospitalizations total

2321 Deaths total

Weeks Increase:

Additional 4396 Hospitalizations

Additional 537 Deaths

From The CDC Website:

What To Do If You Get Sick: 2009 H1N1 and Seasonal Flu

How do I know if I have the flu?

You may have the flu if you have some or all of these symptoms:

• fever *
• cough
• sore throat
• runny or stuffy nose
• body aches
• headache
• chills
• fatigue
• sometimes diarrhea and vomiting

*It’s important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.

What should I do if I get sick?

If you get sick with flu-like symptoms this flu season, you should stay home and avoid contact with other people except to get medical care. Most people with 2009 H1N1 have had mild illness and have not needed medical care or antiviral drugs and the same is true of seasonal flu.

However, some people are more likely to get flu complications and they should talk to a health care provider about whether they need to be examined if they get flu symptoms this season. They are:

• Children younger than 5, but especially children younger than 2 years old
• People 65 and older
• Pregnant women
• People who have:
• Cancer
• Blood disorders (including sickle cell disease)
• Chronic lung disease [including asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)]
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• Kidney disorders
• Liver disorders
• Neurological disorders (including nervous system, brain or spinal cord)
• Neuromuscular disorders (including muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis)
• Weakened immune systems (including people with AIDS)

Also, it’s possible for healthy people to develop severe illness from the flu so anyone concerned about their illness should consult a health care provider.

There are emergency warning signs. Anyone who has them should get medical care right away.

What are the emergency warning signs?

In children

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish skin color
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Not waking up or not interacting
• Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
• Fever with a rash

In adults

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting

Jobs, Alcohol & Prison... Oregon prioritizes

Most Oregon state agencies will be closed Friday, Oct. 16, the first of 10 furlough days that the state has scheduled for state employees through May 2011.

The furlough days, ordered by Gov. Ted Kulongoski, are meant to help the state save money in response to deep budget cuts by having employees take a day off from work without pay. The scheduled furlough days will be on Fridays and apply to most agencies, including the Unemployment offices.

State liquor stores, the Oregon State Police and the courts, prisons and the Human Services department’s medical centers will remain open.

State agencies are shutting down most of their operations tomorrow, when about 26,500 workers are required to take the first of their 10 unpaid days off from work in the next 19 months. The furloughs are meant to save the state about $1.8 million a day as the government deals with a revenue shortfall that stems from the economic downturn.

Sources: Portland Tribune & Eugene Register Guard

BLOGSWARM: CLIMATE CHANGE

MUIR POWER TO YOU!

God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools. ~ John Muir

In a nutshell, climate change has come about by "mankind" messing with nature. Whether it be with chemicals, emissions, or any combination of items that have a negative impact on our habitat, terra firma, planet Earth.

I hope you had the opportunity to enjoy the 6 part series on PBS by Ken Burns on the National Parks. It was inspiring that many people along the way had the wherewithal, vision & wisdom to set aside lands to be protected, and not paved over and exploited for timber, natural resources, or for-profit exploitation. They had to fight to protect the land. The fight to preserve & protect the land was ugly and lengthy, but the simplicity of nature, the beauty of an area, somehow inspired the defenders of nature to stick with it. In the end not every acre of land is developed and held as private land. We have managed to preserve large tracts of land for the public, and each generation has the obligation to see to it that they stay intact and in the public trust.

This leads up to the here and now. I was mortified to hear that NASA decided it was a good idea to send a series of explosives to blast craters of the moon to see if there is water up there.

They are looking to settle on the moon, and having a water supply would make it easier.

The explosions were supposed to create a reverberation of a 6 mile high plume of debris.

Where do I even begin to critique this move? How classic that the USA would assume some blasting for resource extraction and exploitation would be in order? How arrogant that we would decide we have the right to mess with the moon, as if we had "dibs" on claiming it our own, and assuming a little explosive tinkering would be just fine?

I bring this up because humans have been and continue to be so exploitive not just on this planet, but now also, the neighboring moon. Frankly, we don;t deserve to be branching out to other parts of the galaxy, given our shoddy track recored on planet earth.

Unfortunately, we lost ground under the last 8 year regime, that considered Global warming & climate change something to debate. Rather than step up, especially since this country had the dubious honor of being the heaviest consumers, the Bush administration decided to engage in a game of challenging "if" the science was correct-- even when Scientists worldwide had compelling evidence that we were in trouble.

Profits got in the way of science and intelligent and responsible thinking. So now we need to double up our efforts, and make serious strides to care for our planet and become conscientious about making significant changes. Here's a list of simple things you can do:

• 

  Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

  Replace 3 frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $60 per year. Take the Energy Star pledge.

• 

  Inflate Your Tires

  Keep the tires on your car adequately inflated. Check them monthly. Save 250 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $840 per year.

• 

  Change Your Air Filter

  Check your car's air filter monthly. Save 800 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $130 per year.

• 

  Fill the Dishwasher

  Run your dishwasher only with a full load. Save 100 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.

• 

  Use Recycled Paper

  Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper. Save 5 lbs. of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.

• 

  Adjust Your Thermostat

  Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer. Save 2000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $98 per year.

• 

  Check Your Waterheater

  Keep your water heater thermostat no higher than 120°F. Save 550 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $30 per year.

• 

  Change the AC Filter

  Clean or replace dirty air conditioner filters as recommended. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150 per year.

• 

  Take Shorter Showers

  Showers account for 2/3 of all water heating costs. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $99 per year.

• 

  Install a Low-Flow Showerhead

  Using less water in the shower means less energy to heat the water. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150.

• 

  Buy Products Locally

  Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store.

• 

  Buy Energy Certificates

  Help spur the renewable energy market and cut global warming pollution by buying wind certificates and green tags.

• 

  Buy Minimally Packaged Goods

  Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10%. Save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide and $1,000 per year.

• 

  Buy a Hybrid Car

  The average driver could save 16,000 lbs. of CO2 and $3,750 per year driving a hybrid

• 

  Buy a Fuel Efficient Car

  Getting a few extra miles per gallon makes a big difference. Save thousands of lbs. of CO2 and a lot of money per year.

• 

  Carpool When You Can

  Own a big vehicle? Carpooling with friends and co-workers saves fuel. Save 790 lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.

• 

  Don't Idle in Your Car

  Idling wastes money and gas, and generates pollution and global warming causing emissions. Except when in traffic, turn your engine off if you must wait for more than 30 seconds.

• 

  Reduce Garbage

  Buy products with less packaging and recycle paper, plastic and glass. Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.

• 

  Plant a Tree

  Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breathe. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.

• 

  Insulate Your Water Heater

  Keep your water heater insulated could save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.

• 

  Replace Old Appliances

  Inefficient appliances waste energy. Save hundreds of lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.

• 

  Weatherize Your Home

  Caulk and weather strip your doorways and windows. Save 1,700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $274 per year.

• 

  Unplug Un-Used Electronics

  Even when electronic devices are turned off, they use energy. Save over 1,000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $256 per year.

• 

  Put on a Sweater

  Instead of turning up the heat in your home, wear more clothes Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $250 per year.

• 

  Insulate Your Home

  Make sure your walls and ceilings are insulated. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $245 per year.

• 

  Air Dry Your Clothes

  Line-dry your clothes in the spring and summer instead of using the dryer. Save 700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $75 per year.

• 

  Switch to a Tankless Water Heater

  Your water will be heated as you use it rather than keeping a tank of hot water. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $390 per year.

• 

  Switch to Double Pane Windows

  Double pane windows keep more heat inside your home so you use less energy. Save 10,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $436 per year.

• 

  Buy Organic Food

  The chemicals used in modern agriculture pollute the water supply, and require energy to produce.

• 

  Bring Cloth Bags to the Market

  Using your own cloth bag instead of plastic or paper bags reduces waste and requires no additional energy.

• 
  
• 

  Turn off Your Computer

  Shut off your computer when not in use, and save 200 lbs of C02. Conserve energy by using your computer's "sleep mode" instead of a screensaver.

• 

  Be a Meat Reducer

  The average American diet contributes an extra 1.5 tons of greenhouse gases per year compared with a vegetarian diet. Eliminating meat and dairy intake one day a week can make a big difference.

• 

  Ditch the Plastic

  2.5 million individual plastic water bottles are thrown away every hour in the US. Start using a reusable water bottle and just say no to plastic!

If every one of us fine tunes these adjustments, it adds up to a significant difference.

Besides reducing our carbon footprint, also leaving large expanses of nature intact is an important part of the big picture of planetary health.

I find it interesting that animals have an instinct to not ruin their habitat.

Humans, however still have a lot to learn!

So see about adopting some of these suggestions above & Muir power to you!