Post #211 'KeepAmericaSafe:' Under Construction, Pt. II

Liz Cheney's website, 'KeepAmericaSafe,' is still not finished. The eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney has a rallying place for opposition to the "radical" foreign policy of the President Barack Obama which it says has succeeded only in undermining the nation's security by moving away from the Bush era foreign policy. Yet there is no update about joining the military. Ya know, I'm beginning to think that Liz is as dismissive of the military as her father. :p

How many deferments did ol' Dick get during the Vietnam War!?! Four or five?

"I dismiss men like [Dick] Cheney who inject partisan politics into the profound deliberations our Commander-in-Chief and commanders on the ground are having to develop a cohesive and comprehensive strategy, bringing to bear the economic and diplomatic as well as the military power, for Afghanistan -- something Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld never did."

Who could be so disrespectful? Retired General Paul Eaton who served more than 30 years in the United States Army and from 2003-2004 oversaw the training of the Iraqi military. Ya know, one of those wishy-washy military guys.

Eaton continued: "The record is clear: Dick Cheney and the Bush administration were incompetent war fighters. They ignored Afghanistan for 7 years with a crude approach to counter-insurgency warfare best illustrated by: 1. Deny it. 2. Ignore it. 3. Bomb it. While our intelligence agencies called the region the greatest threat to America, the Bush White House under-resourced our military efforts, shifted attention to Iraq, and failed to bring to justice the masterminds of September 11.

"The only time Cheney and his cabal of foreign policy 'experts' have anything to say is when they feel compelled to protect this failed legacy. While President Obama is tasked with cleaning up the considerable mess they left behind, they continue to defend torture or rewrite a legacy of indifference on Afghanistan. Simply put, Mr. Cheney sees history throughout extremely myopic and partisan eyes."

Of course, Liz repeats the same ol,' same ol:' "Since 9/11, the United States Government, through our armed forces and our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, has succeeded in preventing any further attacks on the American homeland. This is a major achievement." Almost as major as being asleep before 9/11. In August 2009, according to the "Washington Post," after first learning of the alleged Zazi plot, President Obama got briefings three times a day on it. In August 2001, where was ol' Dick?

From Eaton: "As one deeply invested in the Armed Forces of this country, I am grateful for the senior military commanders assigned to leading this fight and the men and women fighting on the ground. ... No human endeavor can be as profound as sending a nation's youth to war. I am very happy to see serious men and women working hard to get it right."

Post #210 disturbing trend

----- Start Forwarded Message -----

The photo below captures a disturbing trend that is beginning to affect US wildlife....

[Picture is of a bear sitting at a picnic table. I've never had the time nor inclination to learn how to add a pic to this blog.]

Animals that were formerly self-sufficient are now showing signs of belonging to the Democrat Party... as they have apparently learned to just sit and wait for the government to step in and provide for their care and sustenance.

This photo is of a Democrat black bear in Montana nicknamed... Bearack Obearma.

----- End Forwarded Message -----

I chuckled. But then I also wondered: How many peeps who chuckled do not recognize their own paws seeking the aid and comfort of government? I have diabetes and am covered by Medicare. Ya?

Post #209 'KeepAmericaSafe:' Under Construction

Liz Cheney's website, 'KeepAmericaSafe,' is not finished.

Take Action Now, the website extorts:

1) Join Keep America Safe -- give 'em your e-mail address and your home address so that ya can enjoy all sorts of right-wing propaganda (including, I bet, an offer to subscribe to "The Weekly Standard," the neo-con magazine by 'KeepAmericaSafe' co-founder Bill Krystol);
2) Contribute -- the low-end amounts are $25 or $10 per month (anything less means ya is a communist);
3) Write a letter to a news editor -- repeat "invading Iraq was the right thing to do. Torturing suspects is OK and should not be prosecuted. Detaining suspects forever is OK. We need wars with Iran, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, Somalia. Keep America Safe;"
4) Call talk radio -- repeat "invading Iraq was the right thing to do. Torturing suspects is OK and should not be prosecuted. Detaining suspects forever is OK. We need wars with Iran, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, Somalia. Keep America Safe;"
5) Write a letter to your congressman -- repeat "invading Iraq was the right thing to do. Torturing suspects is OK and should not be prosecuted. Detaining suspects forever is OK. We need wars with Iran, North Korea, Syria, Sudan, Somalia. Keep America Safe."

What is missing? How about joining the military? Or learning a new language -- Arabic? -- and joining the CIA? Surely, the 'God, guns and country' crowd that Cheney is speaking to does not value a call to talk radio over a call to national service.

I'm going to give Liz Cheney the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure that she's busy, not dismissive of the military like her father.

Post #208 Who Killed Stephen Hawking?, Pt. II

One complaint against my writing -- but not the only complaint, by the way -- is that I'm too short. Guilty. I happen to think that anybody who is smart enough to connect to the 'net is smart enough to get a point in one sentence -- no need to beat 'em over the head.

However, I'm forgetting the tip from freshman English 25 years ago: If something is important, repeat it. If something is important, repeat it. By repeating the same something a third time in a different way shows that it is really important.

So, I'm going to expand my Post #200, "Who Killed Stephen Hawking?"

* * *

Well, he is not dead. Stephen Hawking, the renowned British theoretical physicist with a neuro muscular dystrophy, is alive -- just on TV getting the "Presidential Medal of Freedom."

So, the question really is: "Who is keeping Stephen Hawking alive?" The answer: Government, BIG, s-l-o-w and inefficient government. I'm sure that his health care is expensive, probably too expensive for Hawking to handle by himself/

It seems ironic to me that the same peeps who rant about government' theoretical future role in life and death decisions have nothing to say regarding private insurers' real current role. Tho the government is keeping Stephen Hawking alive, they want to cite Hawking -- ignoring the fact that he is not dead. But at least government will respond and change its ways. If we, the people, don't want 'death panels,' there won't be 'death panels' deciding the value of life and when to pull the plug on Hawking or Charles Krauthammer or Grandma.

"Who would kill Stephen Hawking?" Private insurers.

It is private insurers who make life and death decisions every day. If ya can't afford insurance, too bad. If Stephen Hawking had to rely on a private insurer....

Or Charles Krauthammer or Grandma. A private company will resist any change that may affect its bottom-line. Their 'death panels' -- which consist of accountants reading balance sheets -- are OK with them.

In 1995, Taiwan wanted to have universal health care -- they scoured the world for the best-run government health care to copy and choose the United States' Medicare. Taiwan of course opened their Medicare to everybody. Why can't we do that? Isn't it the best strategy to copy an already-existing program? That is why the search for an "uniquely American" solution makes no sense -- our "uniquely American" solution is under our noses.

Universal health care is a pro-business stance -- leveling the playing field of the world market. As Charles Krauthammer said in my Post #206, "There is no logical reason to get health insurance through your employer. This entire system is an accident of World War II wage and price controls. It's economically senseless." What is good for General Motors is good for America, and government-run healh care is good for General Motors.

Universal health care is also pro-workers. As Charles Krauthammer said in my Post #206, "It [private insurance thro employers] makes people stay in jobs they hate, decreasing labor mobility and therefore overall productivity. And it needlessly increases the anxiety of losing your job by raising the additional specter of going bankrupt through illness." -- government-run health care would mean nobody to be held hostage to a job because of the health benefits.

"Socialism" is the cry -- ignoring last November's election results. That is the same crowd who slurps at the troughs of Medicare and Social Security, Ignore 'em, I say -- they had their chance to be heard.

* * *

Better?

Post #207 Aaarrrggghhh!!!

I've come to really value my time on the 'net -- which seems to be getting less and less these days. And then I get crap in my e-box.

There are plenty of good and true and valid points on which to oppose Nancy Pelosi -- I have a few myself. But her new plane is NOT one.

Ya know the e-mail, the one that says Pelosi requested a "big fat jumbo jet" to ferry big supporters across country. That e-mail is a couple of years old. I'd gotten several over time but not recently. I thought it'd been thoroughly discredited and had died.

But there it was, again, in my e-box just the other day. The peeps who mindlessly -- without checking ar least at snopes.com -- hit "Fwd" on every rant don't realize what a disservice they're doing to their 'cause.' Whatever the 'cause' may be.

My Pelosi-hating e-pal had already lost credibility with me -- this was not his first error-filled "anti-Pelosi" e-mail. I don't know what his problem is, and I don't really care to know.

My advice is to NOT hit "Fwd" on a rant that doesn't have a link to show where it came from. Go to townhall.com or huffingtonpost.com and find a column ya agree with and e-mail that. Peeps who sign their columns have an interest in maintaining credibility. Keep in mind, tho, some columnists thrive on being over-the-top and playing fast and loose with the facts -- they usually claim to be a "comedian."

If ya lie down with dogs, ya get fleas. If ya send a column by a comedian, don't be surprised when peeps laugh at ya.