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August 02, 2007
Iraq or Infrastructure?
BRIDGE COLLAPSE IN MINNESOTA - a report on the vulnerability of the bridge that recently collapsed.
This is just one of many examples of the "guns or butter" question. Here in the "homeland" where our "security" is vigilantly "protected" by illegal wiretapping, inadequate inspections of cargo, and false alarms about cheese looking like explosives, and billions (trillions?) of our tax dollars are going to support an illegal occupation, our involvement in which we were duped by lies, our infrastructure is disintegrating.
Have you had enough yet?
Comments
It boggles the mind that a nation falling apart at the seams can feel justified in calling itself the "Greatest Country in the World" and invade another one.
Posted by: Nadine | August 2, 2007 04:06 PM
http://service.mattel.com/us/recall/39054_IVR.asp?prod=
In the category of "Get the Lead Out!" here is a link to Fisher-Price that is recalling some toys sold since May 2007 that were painted in China with lead-based paint.
Swwweeeellll.
You gotta wonder what the heck is going on in China. Are they trying to KILL US??!!
First, our pets. Now, our children and grandchildren. Sheesh.
Posted by: loretta | August 2, 2007 09:06 PM
And don't forget that tasty Chinese toothpaste!
THE war in Iraq is costing British and American taxpayers more than $US4000 ($4,700) a second.
With US military commanders insisting they need more time to get results from President George W. Bush's troop surge, Washington analysts claim the eventual cost of the conflict could be more than $US1 trillion.
To put the spending into perspective, the US recently pledged $US36 million to the United Nations' refugee agency, an amount which would fund military operations in Iraq for less than three hours.
I've seen the $1trillion figure in recent news stories, but this Austrailian analysis really nails it. While typing this reply, $25K was spent on this senseless war.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22178240-401,00.html
Posted by: Astrologer | August 2, 2007 10:27 PM
Wow! What a waste. Are the men making decisions on this war getting richer? If so, mow them down!
How the heck can this go on for another year and a half?
Posted by: Mgt | August 3, 2007 08:23 AM
From BuzzFlash, et. al?
August 9th is the 33rd anniversary of the historic day when President Richard Nixon resigned in the face of impeachment. Please plan now to mark the day with ceremonies, solemn or fun. We need to remind America that the proper use of impeachment did not traumatize our nation, but healed it - everyone agreed "the system worked."
Bush and Cheney have now surpassed Nixonian levels of disapproval in the polls, and for good reason. They openly committed the same abuses for which the House Judiciary Committee passed articles of impeachment against Nixon (such as refusing to comply with subpoenas). They openly violated laws put into place in response to Nixon's abuses (such as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act). They seized unconstitutional power in ways Nixon never attempted (such as by rewriting laws with signing statements). And Cheney and Bush committed far more serious crimes, including misleading the nation into war, kidnapping, torture, and murder.
When Congress finally stood up to Nixon, he was gone in 3 months. (And that was with evidence of crimes still needing to be discovered, unlike today when it is already known). The Democrats won the biggest victories in recent memory in the elections that followed their decision to uphold the Constitution. In contrast, when they took the impeachment of President Ronald Reagan off the table, in order to win elections, they proceeded to lose.
Posted by: Dump Dick Day | August 3, 2007 10:01 AM
Yeah, what's the hold up? Surely America is not afraid of those numpties?
Posted by: Mgt | August 3, 2007 10:41 AM
G'day, Misfits!
I'm not going to mention the weather, today. Just so you know...
Posted by: Mgt | August 6, 2007 09:53 AM
Good morning, Mgt. It's been cool here for the first time in months! It probably won't last long, though.
Good news about the voting machines here in CA. They're losing popularity fast.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/58852/
California Secretary of State Debra Bowen will remove most touch-screen electronic voting machines before next February's presidential primary.
Bowen issued a series of directives that will allow individual California precincts to use only one touch-screen machine manufactured by Diebold Election Systems and Sequoia Voting Systems, if those manufacturers make security improvements well before next year's presidential primary. Even with those improvements, Bowen said those brands were not secure enough to be fully outfit a precinct, which typically use a half-dozen or more of the same voting machines. Instead the lone machine will primarily be used by disabled voters, who in surveys, say they prefer the touch-screen machines.
Posted by: Nadine | August 6, 2007 10:11 AM
Hey, Nadine. That is really good news. Now the votes won't automatically register as a Republican vote.
Let's hope others follow suit.
Posted by: Mgt | August 6, 2007 11:12 AM
In the off-topic of baseball (which I should probably blob about instead of politics), a very heart-warming bit of news about an old favorite Tribe player:
FRANCO STILL SETTING RECORDS
In the second inning of the Mets' game against Arizona on May 4, Julio Franco became the oldest player to hit a home run in major league history. He was 48 years, 8 months and 12 days old. In the ninth inning, he became the oldest player to hit a home run and steal a base in the same game. On June 4, he became the oldest player to have more than one stolen base in a season.
Last Wednesday, Franco became the oldest player to be designated for assignment twice in the same season. The Mets designated him July 12, then released him July 18, and the Atlanta Braves instantly signed him. He played 11 games with the Braves before they acquired Mark Teixeira and needed a roster spot for him.
In all this season, Franco, who wants to play in the majors at the age of 50, batted .221 (19 for 86) in 51 games, 40 for the Mets. He will celebrate his 49th birthday Aug. 23.
Posted by: loretta | August 6, 2007 12:58 PM
I am grinning over here remembering when Julio would come to the plate, the crowd would yell, "HOOOOOOOOOLIOOOOO!!"
He had a really unusual batting stance (that I would often imitate), and if I recall correctly, we had him on the team two different times. I'll have to go check. Yes, I'm sure....
Posted by: loretta | August 6, 2007 01:00 PM
Yep, ol' Julio is a homey of many campaigns. He played for the Indians from 1983-1988, then came back in 1996, left, came back in 1997 but left before the World Series.
Ahhh. Memories.
Another fave alum from the Tribe is back on our team again for the 3rd (?) time....the great entertainer, Kenny Lofton!
When I saw him come to bat last Wednesday evening (his first at-bat since we acquired him last Tuesday), the entire crowd gave him a standing O.
It brought tears to my eyes. **sniff** I'm not kidding.
Posted by: loretta | August 6, 2007 01:07 PM
Kenny played for the Tribe from 1993-96, went to Atlanta in '97 and missed the second Tribe world series (don't mention it), and came back from 98-2001.
He's BAAAAACH. Gotta love Lofton.
Posted by: loretta | August 6, 2007 01:09 PM
Oh, and I just gotta mention that the Tribe is in FIRST PLACE right now.
heh
I might have to start paying attention again.
Posted by: loretta | August 6, 2007 01:10 PM
Good morning, Loretta.
I can never stay awake long enough to watch Baseball.
I know everyone laughs at the game of cricket, but, baseball is the closest thing you will get to cricket, rules-wise. The scoring is quite different, though.
I love cricket. Especially, one day matches, which are quicker (50 overs a side). They bowl 6 balls an over, nothing wide and nothing high. A boundary without hitting the ground, scores 6 runs. A boundary that hits the ground is 4 runs.
Okay! This is boring.
Have a nice day, everyone.
Posted by: Mgt | August 7, 2007 04:19 AM
You got the wrong war. It was the Vietnam war, not Iraq. This bridge was built during the Johnson administration when Lyndon was trying to find money for guns for his war. Of course, the bridge design chosen was the cheapest, and structually unsound for today's traffic. The Bush bashing is easy to do but not relevant to the root cause of the collapse. They are spending millions for a new stadium not 2 miles from the bridge. I guess they had money for football but not for the infrastructure to get to the stadium.
Posted by: Vet4Bush | August 7, 2007 08:44 PM
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/07/130258
Ok, back to bizness. Another MUST-READ above.
Posted by: loretta | August 8, 2007 12:09 AM
Great find, Loretta.
Basically, all our thoughts put into words.
Please email that to the BBC editor in Britain.
Posted by: Mgt | August 8, 2007 04:10 AM
Bridge collapsed because of a miscalculation during the design stage. Material used was too thin, therefore too weak to withstand the loads encountered, according to NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/us/09cnd-bridge.html?hp
Posted by: Vet4Bush | August 8, 2007 07:38 PM
Morning!
What the heck is going on? Is every country going to experience flooding?
Posted by: Mgt | August 9, 2007 08:50 AM
Global cooling
Posted by: Vet4Bush | August 9, 2007 01:43 PM
The stock market is in serious trouble. Can someone explain it in plain English, please.
There is talk of billions and trillions being injected into money markets. I'm lost when it comes to this sort of thing.
I find it extremely worrying, though.
Posted by: Mgt | August 10, 2007 08:41 AM
Have a good weekend, everyone. Ciao!
Posted by: Mgt | August 10, 2007 11:22 AM
Hope everyone's weekend is wonderful...we have multiple family members in different shows, and with performances in different places. It's a crazy weekend here!
Posted by: vero | August 12, 2007 11:27 AM
Sounds like a very exciting weekend, Vero.
Posted by: nadine | August 12, 2007 01:04 PM