About Us
Mission Statement
Rules of Conduct
 
Name:
Pswd:
Remember Me
Register
 

A WTF Moment for our times.
Author: Raine    Date: 06/03/2010 12:37:23

Good morning. What you are about to read might be one of the greatest WTF moments in American political history:
Continue reading...

77 comments (Latest Comment: 06/04/2010 03:21:45 by livingonli)

Oil Americans
Author: BobR    Date: 06/02/2010 12:20:16

The oil disaster in the Gulf continues to dominate the news and our thoughts, as most Americans watch helplessly, frustrated by the inability to do anything, as the Gulf seeps slowly toward death. BP is trying one more tactic to contain the oil leak in the Gulf (contain - not stop). They are cutting off the pipe and trying another dome that will allow them to pump oil to the surface. This is a risky maneuver and the oil will flow even heavier until they get the dome in place. With hurricane season underway, there is also the question of what happens if the ship on the surface has to deal with a hurricane.
Continue reading...

50 comments (Latest Comment: 06/03/2010 04:49:03 by livingonli)

Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 06/01/2010 10:25:15

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,631st day in Iraq and our 3,159th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start as we alwas do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing wars, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4400
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4261
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3938
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3541
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 172

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,086
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 703
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,457
Journalists - Iraq: 338
Academics Killed - Iraq: 437


This morning....the day after Memorial Day...we find this morning's cost of war passing through a new milestone. It's been a long time coming, but nevertheless it's a tough number to take.

$1, 000, 686, 400, 000 .00


On March 11, 2008 the counter stood at just half that total. It's been 812 days since then, for an increase of about $612, 763, 546.00 per day.

Small wonder the economy is in the shitter.

Continue reading...

37 comments (Latest Comment: 06/01/2010 22:56:17 by livingonli)

Memorial Day Open Thread
Author: TriSec    Date: 05/31/2010 16:29:47

Good Afternoon....

OK, so we're very late today. I was out at Spy Pond in Arlington, MA drowning some worms with young Javi....we got some Pumpkinseeds and a couple of Largemouth Bass...no keepers.

I'm having a brief lunch interlude, then off to the store for the rest of the afternoon.

Here's hoping Memorial Day Monday finds everyone well...have a good day out there!


 
4 comments (Latest Comment: 05/31/2010 22:02:46 by Will in Chicago)

The Apprentice: Evildoer version
Author: velveeta jones    Date: 05/30/2010 14:36:06

Velveeta has just previewed the latest installment of "The Apprentice" thanks to all her blackmail photo's er, good friends in the entertainment biz. And let me tell you, THE DONALD has truly outdone himself with this next installment. How he could gather such an assortment is beyond amazing.

You’ll have to tune in to see full episodes, but here is a sneak peak of “Evildoer Apprentice”:

Week one begins with a simple plan: prepare and sell your lemonade at a children’s hospital. You’d think this would be a snatch for regular people, but most of our contestants just don’t have the acumen, much less pleasantness, to be around children and their parents.
Continue reading...

4 comments (Latest Comment: 05/31/2010 02:39:56 by Will in Chicago)

Long Weekend!
Author: TriSec    Date: 05/29/2010 12:02:02

Good Morning!

Well, after a tough winter for some, and a tougher spring for others, we finally made it to the cusp of summer!

Meteorologically, summer begins on June 1....but astronomically it doesn't happen until the Equinox a few weeks hence. But of course, everyone knows summer begins on Monday!

To that end, a gentleman by the nome de plume of "Doctor Beach" has published his annual list of the top 10 beaches for 2010. Perhaps you live near one?


Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, also known as Dr. Beach, has selected an annual top 10 U.S. beaches list every year since 1991. Fifty criteria, such as water and sand quality, facilities available, and trash maintenance are used to evaluate the locations.


Maybe you're planning a trip to New England this summer? You might want to check out the Boston Globe's Summer Guide...we've got six states and hundreds of things to do...from whale watching to mountain climbing! (you won't find that combination everywhere, I must say.)

Of course, I'll pause a moment to put in a plug for my favorite local attraction...Minute Man National Historic Park.

Never mind the false minutemen of Arizona; come up here and learn about the real thing. Plus, you could probably have a knowlegeable, local tour guide for only a modest fee!

Continue reading...

6 comments (Latest Comment: 05/30/2010 04:58:39 by Raine)

Beyond our Borders
Author: BobR    Date: 05/28/2010 12:13:25

The big stories for today are the "top kill" attempt on the Gulf oil geyser, and the House voting to repeal DADT. Considering those stories are consuming all of the news cycles out there, I can't think of anything I could add that hasn't already been said. So instead, I'll take a step outside our borders and look at a few stories that are getting pushed aside.
Continue reading...

51 comments (Latest Comment: 05/28/2010 20:24:56 by Mondobubba)

Rant. (And Breaking news)
Author: Raine    Date: 05/27/2010 12:34:06

Today I am going to rant. I've about lost my mind about this meme that the President isn't doing enough. It's disheartening that much of this meme is coming from the left. I'm also pretty really frustrated by hearing that if this were a Republican President we would be calling for their heads.

It's wrong, and here is why: It's a false frame. This isn't a right wing President. This isn't a guy who is breaking laws by leading our nation to war with lies. He isn't wiretapping its citizens. He isn't torturing people. He didn't give billions of dollars away to the banking industry. He didn't allow for the housing market to crumble. He didn't go AWOL when he was younger. He didn't choose the CEO of Halliburton as his Vice president who was then allowed to secretly craft this nation's energy policy. He's actually respecting our constitution. He's trying to re-regulate this nation. He got Health care reform passed. He pulled this nation back from the brink of economic collapse.
Continue reading...

45 comments (Latest Comment: 05/27/2010 20:39:20 by Raine)

Pass the Koolaide
Author: BobR    Date: 05/26/2010 12:42:43

In recent days, the backwash from Rand Paul's verbal diarrhea has been all over the news. After claiming that he did not support the portion of the civil rights act that applied to private business (which was where a major portion of the correction needed to happen), he was excoriated by the media (FOX News excepted), and even criticized by some Republicans as extreme. When RNC chairman Michael Steele says you don't represent the positions of the party, then you are in trouble.
Continue reading...

35 comments (Latest Comment: 05/27/2010 00:47:57 by TriSec)

Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 05/25/2010 10:26:26

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,624th day in Iraq and our 3,152nd 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): 4400
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4261
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3938
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3541
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 172

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,081
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 700
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,457
Journalists - Iraq: 338
Academics Killed - Iraq: 437

We find this morning's cost of war closing in on a mind-boggling number.

$ 998, 062, 200, 000. 00



We'll do a little follow-up this morning on some issues that have been followed here...in some cases for years.

IAVA Special Project Coordinator Jennifer Hunt recently testified before Congress about military sexual trauma. You'd think that after combat, one of the safer places to be would be on the base, surrounded by your fellow American soldiers. As Raine has worked diligently to follow in other blogs....that's not entirely so. Video at the IAVA website.

Continue reading...

51 comments (Latest Comment: 05/25/2010 22:22:01 by Mondobubba)

<<  525  526  527  528  529  530  >>
Order by most recent comment   Complete Blog Entry List