Back in the days of this great country's infancy, our founding fathers invested great amounts of intellectual capital crafting the blueprint for our democracy. They envisioned a system where the people had a say in how their country was run by electing representatives to be their voices, and three branches to ensure no single branch held too much power. Eighty-seven years later, Pres. Lincoln summarized it succinctly as "Of the people, by the people, for the people". This what we have always believed, that government is "us", not "them"... that is - until (relatively) recently.
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36 comments(Latest Comment: 07/08/2010 01:45:29 by clintster)
Today is our 2,666th day in Iraq and our 3,194th day in Afghanistan.
We'll start as we always do, with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing wars, courtesy of Antiwar.com:
American Deaths Since war began (3/19/03): 4411 Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4272 Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3950 Since Handover (6/29/04): 3552 Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 183
Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318 US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,152 Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 744 Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,457 Journalists - Iraq: 338 Academics Killed - Iraq: 437
We find this morning's cost of war passing through:
$ 1, 013, 807, 950, 000 .00
Seeing that we've just celebrated our nation's birthday, I'll try to start off with a couple of "good" news stories, inasmuch as war stories can be "good".
Sorry for a very late and light blog, friends. I slept in on a Monday...
So for today, as you enjoy the day, I just want to share this with you.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama watch the fireworks over the National Mall from the roof of the White House. July 4, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
5 comments(Latest Comment: 07/06/2010 00:35:13 by Raine)
Fourth of July! Independence Day! The day Americans celebrate by having BBQ's, shooting off explosive devices, flag waving, drinking beer, parades and of course, listening to Lee Greenwoods "Proud to Be an American" over and over and over and over.
"And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free"
I'm a cynic. Sorry 'bout that. But many of my fellow countrypeople aren't quite sure about American history or why we celebrate some of our holidays. To say these people tend to be FOX watchers is really..... well okay, it's probably true.
Its the same people that mix up Veterans Day and Memorial Day with stupid questions like "What's the difference?" (Yes, I actually heard this once, "why do we have two holidays to honor the military"). Ye Gads!
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7 comments(Latest Comment: 07/05/2010 00:33:42 by livingonli)
Well, here we are, in the heart of another long summer. It's Independence Day weekend, so it must be time to find a local patriotic display and eat some "All-American" foods.
What's more American than Ice Cream, right? In the past, we in New England were blessed with a multitude of locally-owned shops and small chains, some of which had regional or even national prominence.
But over time, that's slowly eroded, and now you'd be hard-pressed to find a local ice cream shop. Waltham has Lizzy's on Main Street, and Pizzi Farm, but the one I used to walk to is long gone and the site is full of houses nobody can afford.
The Globe has a brief slideshow concerning the 20 best ice cream shops in the region. My old fave Richardson's clocks in at #6.
We are a strange lot, us New Englanders. You'd think someplace like Florida, or Texas, or California would eat more ice cream than us, but you'd be wrong. And it's inevitable that at least once every winter, the Globe features a photo of some youngling all bundled up in the snow eating an ice cream cone....but I digress.
When it comes to politics, there are always those rare birds that epitomize the cliché politician. These guys are hard-drinking narcissists that love power for the sake of power, and are always raising money, posturing for the press, pontificating with obvious insincerity, and so entrenched, they'll never leave. Often caricatures of themselves, they are living cartoons. No current politician fits this bill better than Rep. John Boehner (R-OH).
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30 comments(Latest Comment: 07/03/2010 00:38:17 by TriSec)
It's like a bad story that never seems to go away. What happened during the aftermath of Katrina keeps resurfacing in all sorts of ways. This time it's the infamous FEMA trailers used to house so many thousands of displaced people. They're re-surfacing in the Gulf region and despite a Federal Government ban on using them for residential purposes, workers involved with the cleanup of the oil spill are living in them. In many cases they are being provided by the companies they are working for. Continue reading...
39 comments(Latest Comment: 07/02/2010 02:40:50 by Raine)
...But if I work all day on the blue sky mine (There'll be food on the table tonight) And if I walk up and down on the blue sky mine (There'll be pay in your pocket tonight)
And some have sailed from a distant shore And the company takes what the company wants And nothing's as precious, as a hole in the ground!... -- from "Blue Sky Mine" by Midnight Oil
Driving home from work yesterday, I popped an old CD into the radio, and listened to Midnight Oil's "Blue Sky Mining" album. For the younger readers, they were an Australian band in the 1980s that sang catchy pop tunes with social messages, mostly relevant to Australia, but applicable elsewhere as well. One might say they were the U2 of their continent.
The lyrics to "Blue Sky Mine" struck me, right down to the name, as I thought about BP (Beyond Petroleum) and their underwater fountain of death in the Gulf of Mexico. The song is actually based on a true piece of ongoing history at the Wittenoom mine in Australia, where the Australian Blue Asbestos company mined blue asbestos. The company was charged with shortcutting safety for the sake of profits. "Nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground"? How true is that? How little has actually changed?
The candy store paupers lie to the share holders They're crossing their fingers they pay the truth makers The balance sheet is breaking up the sky
Right from day 1 of the spill, BP was underestimating (or under-representing) the amount of oil that was coming from their "hole in the ground". They also made false claims about how safe the drilling was, and how prepared the were for an accident. As time has passed and more evidence exposed, the truth has been laid bare, with the Gulf of Mexico and everyone that makes their living there paying the price. Meanwhile, they try to limit media access to the site and cleanup efforts, for fear of losing their inconceiveable profits.
So I'm caught at the junction still waiting for medicine The sweat of my brow keeps on feeding the engine Hope the crumbs in my pocket can keep me for another night
Meanwhile, those fisherman who have taken the jobs that BP offers (after having their only livelihood destroyed) are risking their lives for the company that has raped their back yard. Because BP wants to play down the health risks of exposure to crude oil, they aren't letting the workers wear respirators. They might as well be working in an asbestos mine.
As for Australian Blue Asbestos, the company is defunct, and the lawsuits are still bouncing around the courts. Will it be any different this time? The likely only difference is that BP will not go defunct - they're too powerful and connected for that to happen. The lawsuits and disease and death, however, will be here for a very long time.
44 comments(Latest Comment: 06/30/2010 21:41:53 by clintster)
Today is our 2,659th day in Iraq and our 3,187th day in Afghanistan.
We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing wars, courtesy of Antiwar.com:
American Deaths Since war began (3/19/03): 4409 Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4270 Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3948 Since Handover (6/29/04): 3550 Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 181
Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318 US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,139 Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 746 Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,457 Journalists - Iraq: 338 Academics Killed - Iraq: 437
Our friends at "Cost of War" seem to be having some server issues as of this writing; I am unable to get to the website for today's running total.
In what I would guess is a first time for "Ask a Vet"...we'll be cleaning out the drawer of the blog mind, an idea I steal shamelessly from Bob Ryan from time to time.
* “I think it’s a good thing,” said Sgt. Shannon Grier, 24, of Augusta, Ga., who served in Zabul from August to December last year. “He may not have been a bad guy, but he was taking away things that gave infantrymen success, like night missions.”
* “Just because he said what he had to say doesn’t mean he should get fired. I know he’s done a lot for the Army,” said Anthony Malagoli, 22, of Lacey Township, N.J., who expects to deploy to Zabul in the near future.
That is how many National Guard troops that Governor Haley Barbour has sent to the Gulf for clean up. The President authorized 6000 for his state (out of 17,500 total authorized) and he has sent only 58. He's not the only one, Bobby Jindal is doing the same thing. From CBS:
But nearly two months after the governor requested - and the Department of Defense approved the use of 6,000 Louisiana National Guard troops - only a fraction - 1,053 - have actually been deployed by Jindal to fight the spill.
But CBS News has learned that in addition to Louisiana's 1,053 troops of 6,000, Alabama has deployed 432 troops of 3,000 available. Even fewer have been deployed in Florida - 97 troops out of 2,500 - and Mississippi - 58 troops out of 6,000.
Those figures prompted President Obama to weigh in.
"I urge the governors in the affected states to activate these troops as soon as possible," Mr. Obama said.
It's believed officials in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi and are reluctant to use more troops because their presence could hurt tourism. In hardest-hit Louisiana, however, Jindal is pointing fingers.
"Actually we asked the White House to approve the initial 6,000," Jindal said. "What they came back and said is the Coast Guard and BP had to authorize individual tasks."
