Good Morning.

Today is our 1,973rd day in Iraq.

We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures in the warron terra, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4139
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4000
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3678
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3280
Since Election (1/31/05): 2702

Other Coalition Troops: 314
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 572
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 344
Contractor Deaths: 444


We find this morning's Cost of War passing through: $544,703,950,000.00


This week, I have run across an open letter from Iraq Veterans Against the War to Senator Obama. They'd like to meet with him in Denver during the week of the convention and have many issues addressed. There's no word from the Obama camp if he'll accept the meeting, but it's worth reading.

Continue reading...

129 comments (Latest Comment: 08/13/2008 05:07:51 by Raine)

It is with profound sadness that I inform those of you reading this, that there are many in America that live in a bubble. They do not have the ability to think for themselves; indeed, they have no idea what logic is, and are too apathetic to inquire and analyze information with any sound reasoning. Sadly, their means of problem solving often resort to name-calling, brawls, character assassination and even war.

What is like to live in a bubble, unable to have any critical thought? To form your dishwater strength opinions from the likes of FOX News, Toby Keith and Larry the Cable Guy? And what's his last name anyway? Would he be addressed as Mr. Cable Guy or Mr. Guy?

Anyway, Velveeta is on a mission to investigate the causes of this affliction that affects so many of my fellow Countrymen. Here are just a few of the symptoms of living in a bubble: hypocrisy, apathy, Groupthink and a false sense of security that a corporation, Politician or big box store can save you. The diagnosis can be bleak: you could become a complete drooling imbecile, or worse, a Republican. Becoming a republican can lead to even worse troubles, heart disease, high blood pressure, ulcers and closeted homosexual tendencies.

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52 comments (Latest Comment: 08/11/2008 04:05:42 by livingonli)

Think for a moment how McCain is depicted in the media you watch on TV. He's called a "maverick" by those on the right, and a "flip-flopper" by those on the left. He's either praised or criticized for his policy positions and initiative ideas that seem to contain lots of voter-pandering, and very little practical detail. He's deemed either out of touch, or refreshingly "outside the beltway", despite his years spent inside that fabled doughnut road.

What you almost never hear is "hot-tempered", or "dangerously impulsive", or "easily influenced by money". Why is that? These types of personal traits - more-so than any policy position - are vitally relevant with regards to the person we choose to be in charge of a mighty military force and thousands of nuclear warheads.
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227 comments (Latest Comment: 08/09/2008 04:09:21 by clintster)

Just in the past week, John McCain brought us Paris, Moses, bikers and tire gauges. This has been the level of discussion John McCain has brought to the discussion regarding who we as Americans should choose for the next President.

It's rather insulting, I think, to all the good people out there who really care about this country. We have millions of houses that have been foreclosed on or will be. People can't pay for health care, they are struggling to heat and cool their homes, and John McCain is talking about tire pressure. Granted... yesterday... he did finally agree that yeah, it does make sense. The reality is this -- the money one would save per gallon of gas is more than we would see if we were to drill offshore. The time saved by never having this stupid tire debate can never be gotten back. More money wasted...

So today, I sit here and I wonder what John McCain Fresh outrage of the day will be. It has to be something - the man is incapable it seems of talking about his own plans for becoming the leader of this country. How about *Surging the Economy*? Keep in mind, John McCain has also suggested that we use the National Guard to do crime prevention in inner cites... Put this all together and you really have one mess of a candidate.

America deserves better than this. It doesn't matter WHICH side of the aisle you are on. We deserve an intelligent debate about the issues of the day and issues that we will be facing in the next four years, not some pandering drivel that makes no sense from one day to the next, that the media spends hours dissecting for their own self serving interest. There are things that REALLY matter to Americans, things like comprehensive energy reform, health care, financial security for the middle class, education... the list goes on. McCain owes it to Americans to debate these issues. Not talk about Paris Hilton and pressure gauges.

So, it's Thursday... I wonder what will Surge out of McCains mouth.
Start threading the news.

:peace: and
Raine

 
289 comments (Latest Comment: 08/08/2008 12:30:34 by trojanrabbit)

Republicans have long claimed to be the party of "personal responsibility", saying that every person should be responsible for their own actions, and should not look to the government for help. They insist that everyone be accountable for what they do. But how well do they live up to that dogma?
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256 comments (Latest Comment: 08/06/2008 23:05:46 by Raine)