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Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 09/01/2009 10:25:43

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,358th day in Iraq.

We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures from Iraq and Afghanistan, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4337
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4198
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3874
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3478
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 109

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 810
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 542
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,395
Journalists - Iraq: 331
Academics Killed - Iraq: 423


We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$ 904, 475, 400, 000 .00


Continue reading...

59 comments (Latest Comment: 09/02/2009 02:15:32 by Mondobubba)

August 31, 2005
Author: Raine    Date: 08/31/2009 12:41:08

1:45AM CDT — FEMA REQUESTS AMBULANCES THAT DO NOT EXIST;

11:20 AM CDT — FEMA STAFF WARNED BROWN THAT PEOPLE WERE DYING AT THE SUPERDOME;

NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS ARRIVE IN LOUSIANA, MISSISSIPPI, ALABAMA, AND FLORIDA;

TENS OF THOUSANDS TRAPPED IN SUPERDOME; CONDITIONS DETERIORATE;

PRESIDENT BUSH FINALLY ORGANIZES TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE FEDERAL RESPONSE;

JEFFERSON PARISH EMERGENCY DIRECTOR SAYS FOOD AND WATER SUPPLY GONE;

80,000 BELIEVED STRANDED IN NEW ORLEANS;

3,000 STRANDED AT CONVENTION CENTER WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER;

PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY DECLARED FOR ENTIRE GULF COAST;

BUSH SURVEYS DAMAGE FROM AIR FORCE ONE;

CHERTOFF “EXTREMELY PLEASED WITH THE RESPONSE” OF THE GOVERNMENT;

4PM CDT — BUSH GIVES FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS ON KATRINA;

7PM CDT — CONDOLEEZZA RICE TAKES IN A BROADWAY SHOW;

8PM CDT — FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN CLAIMS SURPRISE OVER SIZE OF STORM.


The very next morning Bush said he never expected the Levees to break. Condoleeza Rice went to the US open in Queens, New York and then shoe shopping and 5 days after this catastrophe hit the Gulf Coast, there was still no command center set up. The whole timeline is here.

I will never be able to fully get over how badly this crisis was handled. The storm was awful, but its aftermath was the tragedy.

&
Raine
 
48 comments (Latest Comment: 09/01/2009 01:23:14 by Raine)

Beck and the Becktones
Author: velveeta jones    Date: 08/30/2009 13:56:28

Which would be a great name for a band should Glenn Beck ever decide to start one. Other good names: Beck and the Batshit Crazies, The Glenn Beck Screamers, The Delusionals.

Glenn Beck and his band of "pundits no one has ever heard of" continue to rain their terror predictions on us. This week: Americorps is the Left equivalent of Schutzstaffel". No, really. He is indeed implying that. This is not culled from The Onion, though I really wish it were.

Here's the clip:


Continue reading...

18 comments (Latest Comment: 08/31/2009 00:28:16 by livingonli)

Last day as a Superpower
Author: TriSec    Date: 08/29/2009 12:53:16

It was four years ago today.

http://geology.com/news/images/hurricane-katrina-satellite-image.jpg


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24 comments (Latest Comment: 08/30/2009 04:40:26 by livingonli)

On the Right Track to Justice
Author: BobR    Date: 08/28/2009 12:21:28

As we've seen in the past, sometimes justice takes the slow train to its destination. Sometimes it requires enough heat coming from several sources to get up a big enough head of steam to leave the station. With regards to the U.S. involvement in torture, and the previous administration's complicity, that steam is building quickly.
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57 comments (Latest Comment: 08/28/2009 23:23:36 by livingonli)

All things are possible
Author: Raine    Date: 08/27/2009 12:33:23

One thing I know, JKF and RFK are remembered most for what might have been possible. Senator Kennedy will be remembered for all that he made possible.

If you were a student dependant on federal loans to attend college, Senator Kennedy was there for you. If you use a wheelchair you are protected from workplace discrimination; the Americans with Disabilities Act is law because of Senator Kennedy.

If you can barely scrape by on minimum wage, understand it could be much worse if it were not for Teddy's tireless fight on behalf of the working poor. If you or someone you love has HIV/AIDS, Senator Kennedy was there for you, as he was instrumental in the passage of the Ryan White Care Act. Rude Pundit has an unusually NOT rude post on the Kennedy Legacy.

He was a tireless advocate for the poor, the mentally ill, children, women, and civil rights. He could have could have spent his life on his boat, sailing away his days. No one would blame him after losing so many loved ones. That was not Ted Kennedy's passion. He lived to serve his state and this country. Thank you Massachusetts for sharing him with us.

He did it so well. RIP Senator Kennedy. Your legacy is an inspiration to us all.

He was the brother that accomplished the most, the brother that survived, the brother that found his life's work and his life's passion with many trials and tribulations in between. His brothers are always spoken about with the idea of what may have been if they lived, But Senator is the reality of a lifetime of achievements, a legacy that will live on.

“May the road rise up to meet you,
may the wind be ever at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”


&
Raine

Bonus Click: Ted Kennedy: A Life in Pictures


 
46 comments (Latest Comment: 08/28/2009 02:48:57 by Will in Chicago)

Getting it Straight - the Global Comparisons
Author: BobR    Date: 08/26/2009 12:32:11

Setting aside all of the absurd claims about the impending health care reform legislation (such as death panels), there are some other problems with the discussion as well. Terms like "socialized medicine" get tossed around, and the health care systems in other countries all get lumped together as if they are all the same. They are not; they are very different. So today, our effort is to clarify the language and terms we use when discussing health care systems.
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45 comments (Latest Comment: 08/31/2009 13:31:29 by Raine)

He was my Senator.
Author: TriSec    Date: 08/26/2009 10:22:43

I know I'm stealing someone's thunder today.

Our Beloved Senator went home last night to be with his brothers early this morning.

I've gone through the motions of my morning routine so far today, but can hardly focus on the tasks at hand. I...my hands are shaking.

The world is a little darker today.

I could write volumes about the man today, but let me just say this. Personally, how important is Senator Kennedy to me?

I owe him my job...my career...my livelihood.

Back in 1996, Senator Kennedy joined forces with a Republican Senator from Kansas by the name of Cassenbaum. They crafted a little healthcare reform that President Clinton signed into law that October. Us old-timers still call it the "Kennedy-Cassenbaum bill", but you probably know it better as "HIPAA". In addition to creating the COBRA program and updating healthcare privacy rules, this bill standardized electronic claims submission formats and set a hard deadline, and literally created the healthcare electronic data interchange industry overnight.

I've been working in the business ever since.

We knew this was coming; the fact that the Senator was too sick to attend his own sister's funeral earlier this month was the writing on the wall for us in this Commonwealth. But it doesn't make it any easier. President Obama is here on the vineyard this week, and just Monday categorically denied that he was heading to the Cape to visit. I can only conclude that they knew the end was near.

None of that makes this any easier.

I'm more than shellshocked this morning. I'm going to go back and watch some more coverage, but I think many of us on the left are looking at the TV with open-mouthed horror and sadness thinking....

"What do we do now?"


 
9 comments (Latest Comment: 08/26/2009 16:11:04 by clintster)

Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 08/25/2009 10:32:33

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,351st day in Iraq.

We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures from Iraq and Afghanistan, courtesy of antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4335
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4196
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3874
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3476
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 107

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 798
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 538
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,395
Journalists - Iraq: 331
Academics Killed - Iraq: 423

We find this morning's cost of war has passed another milestone.

$ 901, 913, 475, 000 .00


Continue reading...

39 comments (Latest Comment: 08/26/2009 05:20:00 by trojanrabbit)

Are we that stupid?
Author: Raine    Date: 08/24/2009 12:59:10

The world is watching us America, and they are getting sick and tired of our nonsense. Many people probably don't care, but put yourself in their shoes. If they had a small, but very loud vocal group saying racially-tinged obscenities about how the United States runs - we would be upset as well.
Continue reading...

44 comments (Latest Comment: 08/24/2009 23:43:09 by Raine)

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