Da Hawg Frog Blog

Corporate shills who call themselves patriots heckle Midge Hough. Mrs. Hough lost her uninsured daughter and granddaughter needlessly.

Her daughter, Jennifer,  ended up in an emergency room with double pneumonia that developed into septic shock, had a heart attack, a brain bleed and a stroke. The baby died and Jennifer died a few weeks later.

The Chicago Douche Bags heckled Mrs Hough and accused her of lying. It makes you ashamed to be an American when you witness this kind of display. These people do everything they can to stifle the democratic process as they do the dirty work of the health care industrial complex.

The Baggers are nothing more than today’s equivalent to the Brownshirts that plagued Germany in the 1930s. Hateful, disgusting cretins.

In my hometown, St. Petersburg, FL, we had a full field of candidates running for mayor this year. It was hard to make a choice because our local politicians all run on a non-partisan ballot. Personally I think this is a cowardly way to run for office and it made it difficult to make a choice. Finally the field was narrowed to two candidates, Bill Foster and Kathleen Ford.

Now the runoff election will determine who becomes our next mayor. Yet, even though both of these names are familiar with St. Petersburg voters, not a lot is know about where they really stand. But with a little research and some information from our local newspaper, the St. Petersburg Times, we’ve learned a few things about Mr. Foster.

St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Bill Foster believes, contrary to the overwhelming majority of scientists, that dinosaurs and humans co-existed. He believes the world was created in six literal days, and he once complained to school officials when his son was taught about Darwin’s theory of evolution in fifth grade.

Is that relevant to the campaign for mayor of Florida’s fourth-largest city?

“This city is trying to increase its employment base with respect to scientific organizations and trying to recruit scientific concerns to come here,” said St. Petersburg architect Michael Dailey, who supports Kathleen Ford, Foster’s opponent. “If our mayor has a belief system that basically rejects science, how can people take him seriously?” (Source: St. Petersburg Times)

This was enough information for me to make up my mind. I am sick and tired of these religious fundamentalist, lunatic fringe, creationist destroying our credibility in the eyes of the world’s scientific community. Their medieval ideas about the origins of man and the world around them quite frankly scares me.

Normally, candidates in the Tampa Bay area are not asked about dinosaurs or whether they believe the world is billions of years old or thousands, as some creationists maintain. (Ford said billions, Foster declined to answer.)

But in this election Foster has been dogged by questions about his religious beliefs after he sent a controversial letter to the Pinellas School Board, urging members to allow discussion about alternatives to the theory of evolution, such as the Genesis account. His letter suggested that Darwin contributed to the rise of Hitler and the Columbine massacre

Foster insists he was merely promoting free speech for students. (Source: St. Petersburg Times)

I simply can’t vote for anyone who believes the Flintstones were real people. I’m fed up with these loonies running our country. And though he failed to reveal his true party affiliation during this race, I think everyone can pretty much figure it out. Our youth deserve better. I’m tired of us sending a bunch of dumbbells into the job market that are not equipped to survive in the world today. Bill Foster would like to take us all back to the dark ages.

This is a question on everyone’s mind. The internets have been all over this rumor the past few days. And rather than provide the evidence necessary to prove he did not, Glenn Beck has chosen instead, to attack the First Amendment Rights of the blogger who posed this rhetorical question to the American public. Mr. Beck, a conservative comedian with the Fox News Network, is now the brunt of tactics he uses regularly on his show to damage the reputations of those he does not like or agree with.

The controversy started a week ago in the Fark forums, where someone picked up on an old Gilbert Gottfried roast of the “comedian” (scare quotes fully intended) Bob Saget. During the roast, Gottfried repeatedly said (watch the video) that Saget had “not raped and killed a girl in 1990.” The Fark forums took the joke about the power of insinuation and applied it to right-wing talk show host Glenn “Obama is a racist” Beck.

One of the Fark readers then took the forum meme to the next level, registering a domain name and launching a web site in order to make a point about talking head TV demagoguery. “Why won’t Glenn Beck deny these allegations?” asks the site. “We’re not accusing Glenn Beck of raping and murdering a young girl in 1990—in fact, we think he didn’t! But we can’t help but wonder, since he has failed to deny these horrible allegations. Why won’t he deny that he raped and killed a young girl in 1990?” At the very bottom of the page was a small text disclaimer saying that the site was satirical.

I spoke to the anonymous owner of the site, who tells Ars that launching it “just felt right”—it flipped the “birther” non-falsifiable conspiracy theories about Obama’s birth and citizenship around and applied the same tactics to one of the biggest talking heads (no pun intended?) on cable news. It’s just “using Beck’s tactics against him” and is a small way of “directing all this frustration” with Beck and others into action. (Source: ARS Technica)

Like everyone else who’s read about this online rumor I have questions about its verity. So like so many others I went to the Yahoo answers page and found some enlightening and thought provoking answers to the question “Did Glenn Beck Rape and Murder a Young Girl in 1990. Their best answer was:

Look, I don’t know if it’s true that Glenn Beck raped and murdered a girl in 1990, but if it isn’t, Glenn Beck, alleged 1990 murderer and rapist, should produce the girl he didn’t rape and murder in 1990 so that this matter can be cleared up. All we want is proof. What is he trying to hide?

Oh, and when he produces the girl he allegedly did or didn’t rape and murder in 1990, it won’t be accepted unless she’s in the long form.

Source(s):

No sources, as the MSM seems to be covering up the story of Glenn Beck allegedly raping and murdering a girl in 1990. (Source: Yahoo)

Needless to say this was a very disturbing non-answer to my question and left more questions than answers. We all know that Mr. Beck is not beyond talking about murdering Nancy Pelosi. And we also know about Mr. Beck’s perchance for violence. In 2001 he talked about people he’d like to beat to death. None of this readily available information reflects kindly on Mr. Beck.

So then we had to visit the website that brought this whole fiasco to the public eye. It is an obvious parody site, full of satire, but very fair and balanced in its presentation.

But like so many in America, now we will wonder why Glenn Beck hasn’t produced the police report clearing him of these insinuations?

A couple months ago I was run off the road by a big, black SUV. I was fortunately not riding very fast. I was making a right turn when out of nowhere the SUV turned in front of me forcing me to make a decision, become a hood ornament or evade and dump my bike. I choose the latter. The last thing I saw as I jumped the curb and plowed into a ditch was a young girl, behind the wheel of the SUV laughing as she texted a friend. Florida needs to pass a law prohibiting cellphone use while driving.

She did not stop. She did not offer assistance. She never slowed down. The girl drove off merrily on her way.

On June 25, 2009 Lt. Bradshaw was killed defending freedom and democracy in Afghanistan. He died the same day a drug-addled, self-indulgent pop idol died. Lt. Bradshaw never wrote a hit song, nor did he entertain millions while making millions. Brian Bradshaw simply signed a piece of paper stating that he would serve his country and defend it no matter the cost. In this veteran’s mind he gave more to this country and the world than Michael Jackson ever did. I am ashamed of the media for failing to recognize him. Instead of honoring a man who made the ultimate sacrifice they chose to obsess over the self induced death of an accused pedophile. The shallow feeding frenzy that took place was embarassing.

Lt. Bradshaw’s death did not go unnoticed by his comrades. The Washington Post ran a moving letter from members of the air crew who transported his remains from the battlefield to Baghram AFB. Here this letter in its entirety. (Source: Washington Post)

Dear Bradshaw Family,

We were crew members on the C-130 that flew in to pick up Lt. Brian Bradshaw after he was killed. We are Georgia Air National Guardsmen deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. We support the front-line troops by flying them food, water, fuel, ammunition and just about anything they need to fight. On occasion we have the privilege to begin the final journey home for our fallen troops. Below are the details to the best of our memory about what happened after Brian’s death.

We landed using night-vision goggles. Because of the blackout conditions, it seemed as if it was the darkest part of the night. As we turned off the runway to position our plane, we saw what appeared to be hundreds of soldiers from Brian’s company standing in formation in the darkness. Once we were parked, members of his unit asked us to shut down our engines. This is not normal operating procedure for that location. We are to keep the aircraft’s power on in case of maintenance or concerns about the hostile environment. The plane has an extremely loud self-contained power unit. Again, we were asked whether there was any way to turn that off for the ceremony that was going to take place. We readily complied after one of our crew members was able to find a power cart nearby. Another aircraft that landed after us was asked to do the same. We were able to shut down and keep lighting in the back of the aircraft, which was the only light in the surrounding area. We configured the back of the plane to receive Brian and hurried off to stand in the formation as he was carried aboard.

Brian’s whole company had marched to the site with their colors flying prior to our arrival. His platoon lined both sides of our aircraft’s ramp while the rest were standing behind them. As the ambulance approached, the formation was called to attention. As Brian passed the formation, members shouted “Present arms” and everyone saluted. The salute was held until he was placed inside the aircraft and then the senior commanders, the sergeant major and the chaplain spoke a few words.

Afterward, we prepared to take off and head back to our base. His death was so sudden that there was no time to complete the paperwork needed to transfer him. We were only given his name, Lt. Brian Bradshaw. With that we accepted the transfer. Members of Brian’s unit approached us and thanked us for coming to get him and helping with the ceremony. They explained what happened and how much his loss was felt. Everyone we talked to spoke well of him — his character, his accomplishments and how well they liked him. Before closing up the back of the aircraft, one of Brian’s men, with tears running down his face, said, “That’s my platoon leader, please take care of him.”

We taxied back on the runway, and, as we began rolling for takeoff, I looked to my right. Brian’s platoon had not moved from where they were standing in the darkness. As we rolled past, his men saluted him one more time; their way to honor him one last time as best they could. We will never forget this.

We completed the short flight back to Bagram Air Base. After landing, we began to gather our things. As they carried Brian to the waiting vehicle, the people in the area, unaware of our mission, stopped what they were doing and snapped to attention. Those of us on the aircraft did the same. Four soldiers who had flown back with us lined the ramp once again and saluted as he passed by. We went back to post-flight duties only after he was driven out of sight.

Later that day, there was another ceremony. It was Bagram’s way to pay tribute. Senior leadership and other personnel from all branches lined the path that Brian was to take to be placed on the airplane flying him out of Afghanistan. A detail of soldiers, with their weapons, lined either side of the ramp just as his platoon did hours before. A band played as he was carried past the formation and onto the waiting aircraft. Again, men and women stood at attention and saluted as Brian passed by. Another service was performed after he was placed on the aircraft.

For one brief moment, the war stopped to honor Lt. Brian Bradshaw. This is the case for all of the fallen in Afghanistan. It is our way of recognizing the sacrifice and loss of our brothers and sisters in arms. Though there may not have been any media coverage, Brian’s death did not go unnoticed. You are not alone with your grief. We mourn Brian’s loss and celebrate his life with you. Brian is a true hero, and he will not be forgotten by those who served with him.

We hope knowing the events that happened after Brian’s death can provide you some comfort.

Sincerely,

Capt. James Adair

Master Sgt. Paul Riley

GA ANG 774 EAS Deployed

Have we become a nation so enamoured by wealth and celebrity that we no longer recognize where our real strengths come from. It is not from the rich and famous who take more than they give. It is from the honest, hard working, brave young servicemen and women who lay their lives on the line everyday. Rest in Peace Lt. Brian Bradshaw, we are proud of you, your sacrifice and the life you led.

On the night of Oct. 27, 1864, the men of the Union Picket Boat No. 1 volunteered to take on the  Confederate ship CSS Albemarle. The Albemarle was responsible for sinking many Union ship off the coast of North Carolina. It was a suicide mission and each sailor onboard knew that his chances of surviving the night were slim to none at all.

They beat the odds and sunk the CSS Albemarle, but the price was high. Two sailors died in the assault on the CSS Albemare. Seven of the survivors received the Congressional Medal of Honor for their bravery and heroism during the attack. Landsman Lorenzo Denning was one of those sailors.

A result of the dangerous and heroic attack was that ten of the crew members were captured by the Confederacy. They were sent to a prisoner of war camp near Salisbury, North Carolina. Lorenzo Deming was among them. He was 20 years old. The horrendous conditions at the POW camp resulted in Landsman Demming coming down with pneumonia. He died in captivity at the age of 21 and was buried in an unmarked grave along with many other unfortunate prisoners.

Lorenzo Deming, a 20-year-old from New Britain, Conn., was one of the soldiers captured in the attack and was later transferred to Salisbury to one of the 11 prison camps established by the Confederates. Deming died in captivity at the age of 21 from pneumonia, his remains thrown in one of the 18 trenches alongside the bodies with 11,700 other Union prisoners that died from disease and starvation at the camp. For 143 years, his grave has been unmarked. (source: Salisbury Post)

The VA has refused to place a marker on his grave because in 1992 his family had a stone in their local cemetery. Who can blame them. They took great pride in their ancestor. A warrior who for 143 years had no headstone, despite his distinction of being a Medal of Honor receipent. But Landsman Deming does not rest there. His remains still reside in an unmarked trench in Salisbury.

Lorenzo’s Medal of Honor citation reads:

Denning served on board the U.S. Picket Boat No. 1 in action, 27 October 1864, against the Confederate ram Albemarle which had resisted repeated attacks by our steamers and had kept a large force of vessels employed in watching her. The picket boat, equipped with a spar torpedo, succeeded in passing the enemy pickets within 20 yards without being discovered and then made for the Albemarle under a full head of steam. Immediately taken under fire by the ram, the small boat plunged on, jumped the log boom which encircled the target and exploded its torpedo under the port bow of the ram. The picket boat was destroyed by enemy fire and almost the entire crew taken prisoner or lost. (Source: Congressional Medal of Honor Society).

It is time to recognize this young man’s sacrifice and mark the ground where he rest with an appropriate marker. It is understandable his family in Conneticut wished to have a place to visit and remember their  fallen hero. But  the true resting place of this man’s grave must be noted. His final resting place should be marked. Something to remind those visiting Salisbury that beneath their feet lay the mortal remains of an American Hero.  It is time to render the respect this brave warrior earned. Stupid damned regulations be damned.

More than 60% of the bankruptcies in the United States are the result of  medical expenses. The high rate of default on home loans are the result of bankruptcy. It is not only the banks who are breaking the economic backs of the American people, it is also the health care industry in its present form. Our health care providers are in a for profit industry. They make their money on how many of their customers they can deny services to. The pharmacutical companies rake in enormous profits while they gouge the American people for more than other nations pay. Most of us are only one serious illness away from loosing everything we’ve worked for all of our lives.

The outrageous costs of health care threatens small businesses across the country. Offering health care for employees is a good practice and helps retain productive workers.

“I’m in the business to do auto repair,” England said. “I’m not in the business of trying to find out how to provide health coverage and how to get the right sort of plan…. And it’s not easy.”

David Guernsey, who employs 170 people at his office supply business in Virginia, has struggled with the same rising costs to cover his employees — some years, premiums have gone up 25 percent.

His small company can’t hope to compete with the benefits much larger companies can afford to offer their employees. (Source: CNN)

The right rails about the importance of small businesses and their owners. They say that the small business owner is the backbone of the American economy. Yet the do nothing to protect these businesses from the predatory practices of the health insurance industry.

Both sides of the aisles of congress have their ideas about how this should be accomplished.  The right and left are both firmly in the pockets of the insurance and pharmacy lobby, but the progressive left sees the hand writing on the wall and realizes that something serious has to be done. Rather than tackling the minefield that is the “single payer” plan, the left is pushing “choice”. Either keep the plan you have or enroll in a government run health care program.

The debate among lawmakers over how to take control over the rising costs of health care echoes sentiments heard two years ago in Wisconsin, when the state Senate pushed for a universal health care plan. Elements of that plan are similar to what Obama has outlined for nationwide reform.

The major divides in Wisconsin were over how to pay for the program and what role the government should play. The measure, known as Healthy Wisconsin, passed in the Senate but eventually stalled over funding.

The Healthy Wisconsin plan would have provided coverage for all residents of the state not already covered by another government plan, like Medicare. Those using the plan would participate in a health care pool, where they would chose from a number of plans. (Source: CNN)

The Wisconsin Plan offers choice, which the GOP isn’t too keen on either. The GOP has no real plan, other than to obstruct and protest every idea suggesting change. How do they stand on the “single payer” proposal? When you look at the salaries made by the CEOs of our present, for-profit health insurers you wonder how anyone can justify not correcting the industry. It is no wonder we have the most expensive and least responsive health care systems in the modern industrialized world.

How serious are the Republicans in squashing single payer? The Washington Post’s health care reform blog reported Tuesday that Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has hired an outside PR firm to put together a video campaign assaulting Obama’s public plan. And this month alone, the group Conservatives for Patients’ Rights is spending more than a million dollars for attack ads. They’ve hired a public relations firm called CRC, Creative Response Concepts. You remember them, the same high-minded folks who brought you the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the gang who savaged John Kerry’s service record in Vietnam.

The ads feature the chairman of Conservatives for Patients’ Rights, Rick Scott who was a former deputy inspector general from the Department of Health and Human Services.  Scott is not a doctor, he is a convicted felon who took two hospitals in Texas and built them into the largest health care chain in the world, Columbia/HCA. In 1997, he was fired by the board of directors after Columbia/HCA was caught in a scheme that ripped off the Federal and State governments for hundreds of millions of dollars in bogus Medicare and Medicaid payments, the largest such fraud in history. The company had to cough up $1.7 billion dollars to get out of the mess.

FierceHealthcare reports the following top 10 CEO salaries for 2008.

* Ron Williams – Aetna – Total Compensation: $24,300,112.
* H. Edward Hanway – CIGNA – Total Compensation: $12,236,740.
* Angela Braly – WellPoint – Total Compensation: $9,844,212.
* Dale Wolf – Coventry Health Care – Total Compensation: $9,047,469.
* Michael Neidorff – Centene – Total Compensation: $8,774,483.
* James Carlson – AMERIGROUP – Total Compensation: $5,292,546.
* Michael McCallister – Humana – Total Compensation: $4,764,309.
* Jay Gellert – Health Net – Total Compensation: $4,425,355.
* Richard Barasch – Universal American – Total Compensation: $3,503,702.
* Stephen Hemsley – UnitedHealth Group – Total Compensation: $3,241,042.

When American patients trust their health to a for-profit insurance company, they’re doing nothing less than gambling with their lives in a game where the odds are stacked in favor of the insurance company. (Source: Article Base)

Looking at these numbers and the philosophy behind them it is easy to understand that the present system is not in the business of looking out for the public health. They are in it for the money. And the way they make their money is by providing less services at high prices.

There are many Americans who are suffering needlessly because they cannot afford basic health care. The U.S. is the only developed country that does not have universal health care. Democracy doesn’t mean you have the right not to get health care when you need it or go broke trying to pay for major conditions such as cancer care. Basic health care should be the right of all citizens. It should be a national priority.

If the problem is the owning class’ ruling elite “not getting it” and their systems are not only in place but actively pursuing the subterfuge, seems to me the owning class is long overdue for a public beating.

These are the people, Republicans, Wall Street and Conservatives who trade in shame and fear. If it is the only ‘thing’ they understand or listen to; I believe it is time to shove it into their lives where they cannot ignore it any longer.  These greedy politicians and insurance companies are truly a bunch of thieves. They all have health care and they do not care about anyone in America who lacks it. The single payer option is the only answer, but I fear too many Americans are so brainwashed by the free market propaganda they get from all sides (that’s right, it’s even taught in ‘Economics 101′ classes) that they do not even support what is good for them and their families. (Source: Article Base)

Where the author above thinks the single payer system is the only one that will work, I think we could benefit by simply having the choice between private and public run. If someone is satisfied with pay with shoddy health care and lining the pockets of greedy politicians and CEOs, then by all means let them have their way. But, for the rest of us who would rather opt in for a public system, it is time we had the choice. The thing the GOP really fears is that within a short time most people will sign on to the public system. Then their gravy train is over. The health and pharma lobbyist will no longer be able to afford the bribes they have been paying the congress for years.

It is refreshing to see the Pakistani people rise up against the Taliban thugs in the northwestern provinces.  We have gotten so used to doing the fighting for these oppressed middle eastern countries that it comes as a pleasant surprise to find some willing to stand up on their own. Of course, they may be afraid it they don’t overthrow these Taliban thugs themselves that the United States will impose their “Democracy” on them.

Outraged over a suicide attack on a local mosque during Friday prayers, about 400 residents formed the militia early Saturday and began battling Taliban militants. The attack on the anti-Taliban mosque killed at least 40 people and wounded 80 others.

The militia has surrounded Taliban fighters in Shat Kas, a village where the Taliban have local support, according to officials in the Upper Dir district. The Taliban have dug into bunkers and are putting up a strong resistance, he said.

The fighting marks the first major battle between the residents of northwest Pakistan and Taliban militants. (Source: CNN)

American troops have been struggling for five years to get the Iraqi military in shape to handle their own security. But, the Iraqi’s don’t seem to have the motivation and drive to do what the Pakistani’s have done. Perhaps it is because the country endured decades of Saddam Hussein’s rule and lost their will to resist.

Hopefully the Pakistani’s neighbors in Afghanistan will able to rid their own country of these vermin rather than depend on the USA to do it for them.

It is amazing how the Bush/Cheney apologists try to divert attention from the last administrations crimes by pointing a finger at Nancy Pelosi and accuse her of being complicit in those crimes. Pelosi is probably lying, but then that what politicians do. One thing is for sure, she had no say in the conduct of  interrogations under the Bush administration. Meanwhile, the people who were the architects of these war crimes, are doing their best to justify them.

During the last election campaign cycle, all three years of it, the Republicans tried to distance themselves from the Bush administration. Bush/Cheney were the lepers of the neocon movement to every one except the most die hard right wing extremist of the party. Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck  and Bill O’Reilly come to mind. They all mouth the same talking points. Hannity even went so far as to offer to be waterboarded to prove it was not torture. Keith Olbermann immediately offered to donate to charity $1,000 for every second Hannity endured the torture.

The debate over torture is getting personal for two of cable TV’s prime-time hosts. After Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity made a seemingly impromptu offer last week to undergo waterboarding as a benefit for charity, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann leapt at it. He offered $1,000 to the families of U.S. troops for every second Hannity withstood the technique.

Olbermann repeated the offer on Monday’s show and said in an interview Tuesday that he’s heard no response. He said he’ll continue to pursue it.

“I don’t think he has the courage to even respond to this — let alone do it,” Olbermann said.

Fox News Channel representatives did not respond to requests for comment. (Source: USA Today)

I’d like to see that on prime time TV.  It would be worth watching, even if I had to tune into Faux News to view it. So far Sean Hannity has avoided responding. Instead all we see it DICK Cheney. Eight years this guy hid in an undisclosed location and directed his minions in the art of torture. He needs to shut up. Better yet, he needs to be waterboarded until we get the truth out of him.

So now the Party of No is trying to rebuild their image. Their idea of change is finding a new slogan and having the same, tired, old crooks mouth it every night on the news. They have no new ideas. They offer no solutions. Yet they expect the new administration to listen to their tired old shit and take heed. To President Obama’s credit, he is not listening. He offers them a place at the table and when the cry babies refuse to show, he gets along with his agenda without their input, which is nothing but negativity anyway.

But the leadership of the GOP often waxes nostalgically about President Reagan. You know him, the co-star of Bonzo the Chimpanze in many old 1950s movies. The senile old windbag who got his movie career mixed up with his military history. He was a lieutenant in the Army reserve during WWII. The architect of deregulation that led to the economic mess we’re in today. The union busting crusader that put us all in peril by firing all the air traffic controllers in the 1980s.

The neocons are historical revisionist of the first order. They have canonized St Ronnie and worship his image and await his second coming. Yet they conveniently forgot that in 1983 Reagan had his Department of Justice prosecute a Texas Sheriff and his staff for . . . waterboarding prisoners.

George W. Bush’s Justice Department said subjecting a person to the near drowning of waterboarding was not a crime and didn’t even cause pain, but Ronald Reagan’s Justice Department thought otherwise, prosecuting a Texas sheriff and three deputies for using the practice to get confessions.

Federal prosecutors secured a 10-year sentence against the sheriff and four years in prison for the deputies. But that 1983 case – which would seem to be directly on point for a legal analysis on waterboarding two decades later – was never mentioned in the four Bush administration opinions released last week.

The failure to cite the earlier waterboarding case and a half-dozen other precedents that dealt with torture is reportedly one of the critical findings of a Justice Department watchdog report that legal sources say faults former Bush administration lawyers – Jay Bybee, John Yoo and Steven Bradbury – for violating “professional standards.” (Source: Truth Out Org)

It makes you wonder what is going through these neocon bastards minds. They must really think that Americans are stupid. You simply can’t rewrite history or cover it up in the 21st century. There are too many resources at the public’s fingertips to get away with these outright lies today. But that is exactly what Bush/Cheney’s legal stooges tried to do.

That law was not in existence when the Texas sheriff, James Parker, and his deputies were prosecuted and sentenced in the 1980s. But Bybee, Bradbury and Yoo had a duty to their legal profession to cite the case as it would have changed the substance of their legal opinions, said Scott Horton, a human rights attorney and constitutional expert.

“Any competent legal adviser would, among other things, have looked at the techniques themselves and checked to see how they have been treated in prior cases,” Horton said in an email. “Obviously the Anti-Torture Statute itself is a very recent invention and it has no enforcement history, so saying that and then suggesting on this basis that the situation is tabula rasa is highly disingenuous.”

Horton suspects that Bybee, Yoo and Bradbury were well aware of the case law, but simply chose to ignore it in order to give the Bush administration what it had asked for. (Source: Truth Out Org)

We have a moral obligation to insure that this never happens again in our name. Those who brought this shame on us must be punished. What punishment is warranted? 10 years like the Texas lawmen got? Or what we meted out to the Japanese water boarders after World War II?

They used water boarding to extract justification for their political motivations to attack Iraq. It was a war crime. Justice is due. Bush/Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, the whole damm lot of them should be brought before an impartial tribunal. The evidence shoud be presented and justice rendered. Obama needs to pull his head out of his ass and straighten this out or history will not judge him kindly for letting this slide. They have disgraced this nation and the only way to regain our integrity is to openly and honestly go forward with prosecution ourselves. Let’s not wait until the UN or Spain begins proceedings. We have an obligation to take care of our own dirty laundry. Their actions put every member of our military in danger. They threw out the Constitution, trashed the Geneva Convention and thumbed their noses at the rest of the world. Send them all to Gitmo, water board them and then try them based on the confessions we extract.

For thirty years Senator Specter has represented the State of Pennsylvania as a Republican.  Specter has always been a moderate voice for his party. Now he discovered that the lunatic fringe of the GOP has taken over and they want him out.  Senator Specter made the cardinal sin of voting for legislation that his party opposed. This immediately brought on the wrath of the likes of Hannity and Limpballs. His bipartisan stand will not be tolerated in the party of NO. The GOP is galvanized against him and he stands no chance of winning the Pennsylvania primary in the party he has represented for years.

Realizing he didn’t stand a chance of winning in Pennsylvania as a Republican again Specter announced he was changing parties and joining the Democrats. This was an act of rank opportunism reminiscent of Senator Joe Liberman. When the voters of Connecticut got tired of old Joe’s hawkish support of the Bush administration it became clear he could not carry his party again. So he formed the Joe Lieberman party and became an Independent.  Senator Specter should have done the same thing. He is not a Democrat and made clear the party could not count on him as the 60th vote in the senate.

Arlen has been welcomed into the party by the leadership. But then remember, the leadership of the Democratic Party is sorely out of touch with the people. Not as badly as the GOP, but still blind to the will of the people. Senator Specter was exactly where he belonged. He did the country more good as a moderate influence in the Republican party than he ever will as a conservative voice in the Democratic Party. Don’t expect any stellar ideas to come from this newly minted Democrat.

It will be an enormous mistake on the part of the Democratic Party if they throw their support behind Specter in a race against another Democrat from Pennsylvania. He is not really a Democrat and he can not be counted on in a fight on the floor. He is in it for his own self interests, not those of either party. He should stand down, accept defeat and retire. He’s been in Washington long enough. He may be a senior senator, but he is no statesman.