War in Iraq - Clock

1925 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4650

Wounded - 30333

Visit Anti-War.com

More Distortion From McCain

Obama Distances Himself From Clark Remarks While McCain Camp Lies

Mr. Obama clearly distanced himself from the remarks made by General Wesley Clark concerning John McCain's ability to lead the nation, but that has not stopped McCain from attempting to link Clark's remarks to Obama's campaign. McCain is acting like a desperate candidate - attacking Obama's character, even as Obama defends McCain's. Unfortunately, this kind of behavior by McCain will only become more prevalent as the election draws nearer. McCain cannot win on the issues, so he will increasingly resort to character assassination - the Republicans' favorite modus operandi in diplomatic relations and elections.

If You Vote McCain - You Vote For More War

Report: U.S. 'preparing the battlefield' in Iran

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/06/29/us.iran/

The Bush/McCain Administration wants war with Iran (reference the above link). If John McCain wins, you can put your money on the U.S. attacking Iran during his administration. If that happens, you can also bet that there will be another draft. Being that my son is 17, that puts him at grave risk of being drafted. Therefore, if you vote for McCain, you are MY ENEMY. If Bush can make anyone who is not for his war on Iraq an "enemy of the State," I can certainly consider anyone who puts my son in harm's way for the sake of oil profits an enemy of mine. You are either for my family or against my family. A vote for McCain puts you squarely against my family. If you have the gull to tell me that you support McCain, prepare to hear my wrath. I will NOT remain silent. I am so adamant about this issue that my wife has decided that we will not visit Monticello to witness the Naturalization Ceremony taking place there on July 4th, at which President George W. Bush will be speaking. Although it would be a great civics lesson for our children, my wife believes that it would be too much of a civics lesson for my children to see their father arrested for protesting Bush's violation of the Constitution - the same Constitution which the new citizens will be asked to obey and support. Therefore, we will be finding other ways to spend Independence Day together - ways that embrace the principles on which this country was founded and which keep me out of handcuffs.

GOP Advertising On My Blog - LMAO

I don't know how many of you have noticed it, but the Republican National Committee has been advertising on my blog through Google Syndication. I find it rather hilarious. I don't think too many Republicans read my blog, although they are more than welcome to do so. If they do read it, they are helping me earn money through Google Syndication, especially if they click on the RNC's ad in the left column. I guess I should let everyone know that any money earned from this blog will go toward efforts to end the war and bring our troops home to defend our borders and to support the efforts of groups like Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty. I believe in disclosing what will be done with money earned through this blog, even if it is only a few dollars a month. RNC, keep advertising. Visitors, keep clicking.  :-) Thank you for your support.

War in Iraq - Clock

1924 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4649

Wounded - 30333

Visit Anti-War.com

They Do Not WANT Peace!

Who are "They"? Whatever you want to call them - the Bush Administration, the Military-Industrial Complex, the Bilderberg Group, Haliburton - pick one. They are the people in positions of high power who can manipulate elections, governments, societies and economies at their whim.

Why do I say that they do not want peace? It is quite simple. Peace would drain them of their power. Peace empowers people of all races and socio-economic levels. Peace brings innovation, prosperity and self-determination. The last thing that the people in ultimate power want is for the rest of us to have self-determination. They want us to believe that we need their protection, their guidance, their beneficence. If we don't need them, we will make our own choices, create our own solutions, buy our own products, and protect ourselves and each other without their input. This is very dangerous to them. We could decide to rebel against their power, sending them from their mansions and castles into the streets, tearing from them all of their possessions, all of their power. Therefore, they create tensions and start wars, to keep us discontented, confused and angry - all the while selling their war machines which are bought with our sweat and spill our blood, making them even more powerful and wealthy. When the war is over, they continue to take our money to "rebuild" what they have destroyed but making sure that we do not begin believing in a lasting peace or seeing the hope of the future - keeping us in our place.

I am not asking you to buy my theories. I ask that you begin to truly watch and listen to everything that is being presented to you by those who truly hold power. Question what you hear and even what you see. I am not asking you to be skeptical of the friend who watches your kids while you go away for the weekend. I am asking you to be skeptical of the politician and corporate executive who throw a few dollars your way so you don't feel so bad about sinking deeper into debt (most likely owing them money). Just pay attention, observe, question and then come to your own conclusions.

Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Hiding Officer

Why has the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety chosen to protect an officer who violently slammed a handcuffed teenager face first into a wall? No, we don't know for what the teen was arrested. No, we don't know what the teen may have done during the arrest or before walking down the hall shown in the video. But, none of that matters. If this officer is not able to contain his anger or has not been thoroughly trained to the point where he is able to handle difficult suspects, then the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety needs to overhaul its hiring and/or training practices. In any case, I think the family of this young man has strong evidence to bring a suit against the city. You can see the video on CNN.com.

War in Iraq - Clock

1918 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4632

Wounded - 30333

Visit Anti-War.com

Where Have You Been the Last 2 Decades, McCain?

Johnny-Come-Lately McCain Proposes a $300 Million Prize for an advanced electric battery powered vehicle. It's 2008, McCain!!! Where have you been? Of course, he does not say exactly what this "battery pack" should be able to do to win the prize. It's just more rhetoric from the old guard to try to win independent and swing voters away from Obama. If the citizens of this country buy this bull, then we deserve all the crap that will come with it. McCain has no real interest in making the United States an energy independent nation. If he did, he would not have waited until this campaign to make such a proposal. I believe that John McCain will say whatever his "think tank" produces for him to read (poorly) from his teleprompter. Whatever the Rove-type advisors in his campaign tell him to say in order to pull ahead of Mr. Obama, John McCain will say it. Expect more surprising and "progressive sounding" proposals from Mr. McCain in coming weeks, but don't believe a word of it.

Tucker Bounds - Full of Chicken Dung

"...Obama is following John McCain's lead to close a Wall Street loophole..." - Tucker Bounds lying

The "Wall Street loophole" to which Bounds refers is one that protects some energy futures trading from oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The fact is that McCain's economic advisor, Phil Gramm (whose wife sat on the board of Enron), slipped an Enron-backed provision into the Commodities Futures Modernization Act that exempted from regulation energy trading on electronic platforms. The spigot of lies continues to flow from the McCain Campaign. McCain would be as good a friend to Big Oil as father and son Bush have been.

War in Iraq - Clock

1917 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4622

Wounded - 30333

Visit Anti-War.com

No TV - 10 Years and Counting

Why Cable and Dish TV Cannot Pay Us to Watch TV

It has now been over 10 years since my family and I have gone "cold turkey" on giving up network, cable and paid TV (HBO, Showtime, Stars, etc.). Honestly, it was not as difficult to go without TV as we initially thought it would be. For the first couple of weeks, there were comments about missing favorite shows, how quiet the house was without TV, and discussions about how habitual it was to turn on the TV when we were tired, bored, angry, frustrated, or just "stressed out." However, those comments and conversations quickly faded as we found more creative and satisfying ways to fill our time. Today, we still have a television in our house, but it is used to watch movies that we rent through Netflix. When we first gave up network, cable and paid television, our family and friends gave us funny looks and asked us "How did you do it?" - like we had switched from oil to wind energy. However, today, many of our friends are doing the same thing. When we talk to them, we find that they came to the same conclusions about television that we did.

• Lack of Intelligence - From the "reality shows" to the comedies, the level of intelligence in the plots, points and writing is below average to shows that were available 50 years ago. That is just sad.
• Lack of Creativity - It seems to me that writers have run out of ideas when it comes to new shows. The conversations are empty, repetitive and simply boring.
• Lack of Morality - Yes, we are a Christian family. I make no apologies for it. However, I cannot see how even an atheist family can appreciate the moral decline in today's television shows - singles sleeping with people outside of committed relationships, friends betraying friends, lies being told for the sake of convenience, greed as the motivating factor for almost every action.

TV? No thanks - I don't see the point. If there is a show worth watching, it is probably online - making it much easier to monitor and control what my children watch.

Republicans Playing Election Year Games

Seen these headlines?

• White House Threatens Housing Veto
• Paulson: Wall Street Needs Stronger Oversight By Fed
• Bush Blames Democrats For High Gasoline Prices
• Fraudulent Mortgage Crackdown

This is such a joke. Let's take a look at each story.

The White House is threatening to veto a bill designed to slow down the spiraling rate of foreclosures saying that it needs to see how large mortgage lenders would benefit from the legislation. WHAT?!? What about the Medicare Pharmaceuticals Bill? How much investigation was done into how the largest pharmaceutical companies would benefit from the bill? Answer: None. The same goes for all of the Energy Bills passed during the past 8 years. Who investigated the benefits that would be reaped by Big Oil? Nobody. This is a farce.

And how about this one?

"Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urged quick action to give the Federal Reserve explicit authority to step in to protect the financial system if its stability is threatened."

QUICK ACTION? Who are they kidding? This administration has caused the current economic conditions. They have had almost a decade to dig this hole and now they want "quick action" and "explicit authority" to save our financial institutions. Sorry, but this is sounding too much like the rhetoric we heard after 9/11.

"Bush Blames Democrats For High Gasoline Prices" - This is probably the most ridiculous headline I have read recently. Bush is more to blame than any other single individual for the rise in gasoline prices. From the lies told post 9/11 goading us into war to the energy bills he has signed into law, President Bush has loaded the pockets of his bedroom buddies in Big Oil who have caused the precipitous rise in gasoline prices.

Finally, the "Fraudulent Mortgage Crackdown" - can you say "too little too late"? What will happen to those who are convicted or make plea deals? Fines - maybe at best. The HUGE majority of them will WALK. Mark my words.

And all of this is just an orchestrated effort by the medical/financial/military-industrial complex - a.k.a. the Republicans - to defame the Democrats in the run-up to the presidential election.

War in Iraq - Clock

1913 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4622

Wounded - 30333

Visit Anti-War.com

War in Iraq - Clock

1911 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4620

Wounded - 30333

Visit Anti-War.com

War in Iraq - Clock

1909 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4616

Wounded - 30333

Visit Anti-War.com

Ron Paul's "Campaign for Liberty" - Why?

Being a believer in the principles and liberties on which the nation was founded, I have been supporting and following the Ron Paul campaign. Because I am on their mailing list, today I received a "Letter from Ron Paul" stating that he has now begun a "Campaign for Liberty" with it's own website, blog, and apparently - funding. I have read through the "Mission" page on the campaign's website. The principles and strategies laid out there seem to me to be strikingly similar to those of the Libertarian Party. Therefore, my question is "Why?" Why do we need another campaign for liberty? It would appear that we already have one that is organized with a presence in all 50 states and has even nominated its own candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, not to mention has won many local races in many states for county and state offices. My guess is that Congressman Paul has seen the decline in support and unity within the Libertarian Party and is determined to find another way to advance the ideals and principles of that party. Even with a former U.S. Senator as their candidate, the Libertarians are only polling 2%-7% of the vote. I believe that Dr. Paul is very aware of this and knows that he must grow a libertarian base within the Republican Party to effect real change in Washington, D.C. He knows that the chance of a Libertarian candidate ever being elected President are almost nil, but that there is a real possibility in pulling the Republican Party back to its platform. Only time will tell, but if Paul can succeed in helping more "libertarian" Republicans get elected to local, state, and national offices, he might see his very own R3volution realized.

Why The Media Pressure On Obama?

The "Liberal Media Bias" is a complete myth. Case in point: the media's over-analysis of Barack Obama's choice for a Vice Presidential running mate. Where are all the questions about McCain's choice for Vice President? Faux News pounces at every opportunity upon the people chosen to help Mr. Obama select the best candidate for Vice President. The news networks have barely mentioned (if at all) the people helping McCain at the highest levels of his campaign staff. At least we know who is on Mr. Obama's team. Apparently, Mr. McCain is hiding his key staff. Republicans are showing themselves to be cowards. They are afraid to run on the issues. It is all about character assassination and innuendo. This may have been successful in the past, but this year it will not be a winning strategy. Try to "Swiftboat" Mr. Obama, and the Republicans will be rewarded with the loss of the Presidency and more seats in Congress. Honestly, that would not please me. I prefer to see a divided government - one party in control of Congress and another in the White House. It creates more accountability on both sides. However, if the Republicans keep using the methods of avoidance and character assassination, the Democrats will have a very good election year.

Why "It's All Good" for the Oil Companies

A friend of mine (who has very different political views than my own) and I had a rather profound and lengthy discussion recently about the price of oil, it's relation to the economy, and why neither good nor bad economic news seems to slow its ascent. For example, my friend was rather baffled why higher unemployment and a weaker dollar would cause the USO (Oil Exchange Traded Fund) to climb even higher. After all, he reasoned, wouldn't that mean that people would be buying less and that despite the declining purchasing power, companies would have a difficult lowering prices until the price of oil (needed to produce and transport goods) came down? Hmmm.... it would seem so, would it not? However, despite the facts that my friend stated, there are other facts still pushing oil higher. Although higher unemployment would seemingly push oil prices lower, 5.5% unemployment is not enough to frighten oil companies into believing that consumption will slow dramatically. In addition, China's economy continues to boom spurring an increasing demand for more oil causing even more hardship on the average American by pushing gasoline and heating oil prices ever higher while their wages are able to purchase less than they did last year or last month. These hardships do not matter to the oil companies. Consumption has not dropped enough to make a difference to their bottom line, and they have not found the breaking point at which the consumer will rebel. Therefore, their profits continue to grow. So, until things get "bad enough" to cause the U.S. consumer to stop purchasing, oil companies will continue to push prices higher, soaking the consumer for every penny possible.

And, if the U.S. economy were to turn around and begin booming... well, it's like I said in the title. It's all good for the oil companies.

War in Iraq - Clock

1904 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4611

Wounded - 30333

Visit Anti-War.com

Carrey & McCarthy on Autism

Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy are doing a great service to the cause of preventing autism. I am sure that they will be slandered by many in the Medical-Industrial Complex for things they have said and done to increase awareness about the possibility of a connection between vaccinations and autism. However, the questions that they and the host of other families affected by autism raise about the link between vaccines and autism are completely valid. Some of the questions being asked are:

• Why are children being vaccinated even when they are ill? And, why is there no research being done comparing children who have been vaccinated when healthy versus children who were vaccinated when ill?
• Why are doctors continuing to give children multiple vaccinations during one visit when there has been no research into possible adverse interactions between the vaccinations being given?
• Why are the CDC, FDA and the rest of the medical community so reluctant to demand that more testing be done and that more precautions be taken until questions like those listed above are answered?

These are just a few of the questions that parents and other family members are asking when it comes to the pharmaceutical companies and children's health and safety. They are not unreasonable questions. They are not "radical" ideas. The pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility to their consumers to answer questions like those above and many others being asked by families who are trying to deal with physical and mental health problems like autism. Even more, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA have been charged with the responsibility to hold doctors and pharmaceutical companies accountable to the public whom they serve. If you know someone with autism (most likely you do), please contact the CDC, the FDA, and the Surgeon General's office to request that they demand further vaccination testing and to implement more stringent rules concerning how vaccines are administered at least until further research has been completed. Thank you.

War in Iraq - Clock

1902 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4606

Wounded - 30333

Rev. Ralph Parsley - "We Get Off On Warfare"

Really Mr. Parsley? Sorry, I have difficulty calling anyone "Reverend" who claims that followers of Jesus "get off on warfare." Firstly, "get off" - as anyone who has lived in American society for more than a year would know - refers to experiencing a sexual climax, usually by masturbation. So, Mr. Parsley, you masturbate over warfare? Over the idea of people being murdered? Over the thought of innocent children being maimed and killed? And this is in your mind, "Christ-like"? You're a sick individual, Mr. Parsley, and need psychological help.

War in Iraq - Clock

1901 Days since the start of the War in Iraq

U.S. Military Casualties since the start of the War in Iraq

(Includes casualties from fighting in Afghanistan)

Deaths - 4605

Wounded - 30333