The more things change...

The more they stay the same. Throughout this war we've heard administration officials saying that the U.S. is not violating the Geneva conventions. And we've seen over and over again that its just not true. Time and again the U.S. has been caught mistreating prisoners of war. U.S. troops have been caught performing atrocities AGAINST THE PEOPLE WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LIBERATING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't get me wrong. I think it's great that we are putting our commitment to upholding the Geneva conventions in writing. But it was already in writing, and we were not abiding by those laws. In order to protect officials who had broken that law a clause was added guaranteeing they would not be prosecuted. It's another example of the administration saying, "We are on a mission from God and anything we do is justified." That attitude is a large part of the problem, both with our troops and with our sagging relationship with many (most?) of our allies.

What is the answer? If he would listen to some of the people outside his circle of "yes men" he might begin to look beyond what he wants to the consequences of what he does. Unfortunately, President Bush seems immune to criticism. That's a hazard in people who consider themselves to be on missions from God, but George W. is in a position to do serious harm, more harm than almost anyone else in the world. And at the moment, it looks like he is pushing the Muslim world into war with the western world in general, but most especially with the U.S.

President Bush, please start considering the long term consequences of your actions, and find some advisors who are willing to disagree with the group.

WIC Realizes Times Change

Gov't adds fruits, veggies to WIC list - Yahoo! News

Wow, it only took 1/4 century for them to notice that knowledge has advanced, and their food list is woefully out of date. But instead of adding to the food list, they are substituting the fruits and vegetables for portions of the foods already provided...while that is a step in the right direction, it isn't ideal. Low income families could use much more help. I'm glad we're helping those in need, but can't we do more?

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A problem? I'm not so sure.

Newsvine - Group Decries Bush's Law Interpretations

 The American Bar Association is issuing a report denouncing president Bushes exceptions. Exceptions are comments written by the president explaining his perceptions about the law he is signing. The problem the ABA has is that not only does president Bush write more of them than any other president, he uses them as policy statements explaining why he may choose to ignore them at some later date. He's not the first to do that, just the most prolific about it.

The ABA sees this as a problem. Personally, I see it as potentially the most important writing this president does. I voted for Bush. The first time because I believed in The second time because I thought (and still do) that the other guy would be worse. But that doesn't mean I believe President Bush has done everything right or that he can do no wrong. I believe he has made many mistakes and is leading this country into a dictatorship. His exceptions to laws he signs can provide insight into what his future plans are.

Either he doesn't realize what he's doing, or he thinks it's his God given duty to take us away from the Republic our forefathers created. It doesn't matter which. What does matter is that he is doing things that are infringing on our personal rights, and is going to keep on removing personal freedoms until he is out of office. President Bushes law interpretations provide a window to see what he is thinking when it comes to the law, the government and the citizens. That is important for those of us who are as concerned about personal freedom as we are about preventing another WTC bombing.

President Bush is pushing to control every aspect of life. It isn't possible, and even if it were, it shouldn't be done. If we don't take steps to prevent it, we don't deserve the freedoms we are losing. Taking action to stop law interpretations removes one method to foresee and enable us to foresee and prevent some of the things he's likely to try.

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Didn't we just go through this?

"Hunter, in opening remarks at the hearing, suggested that Congress must not grant detainees access to the military's courts-martial system, which would afford them certain rights, such as immediately being informed of charges against them and immediate access to legal counsel."

From: CNN.com - House chairman: Pentagon must remain tough on terror suspects - Jul 12, 2006

What a concept. Suspected criminals should know what they are accused of. Barely a week after a judge threw out 2/3 of SCO's lawsuit against IBM because SCO would not tell IBM what they had done wrong (comparing it to telling a shoplifter at Macy's, "I'm not telling you because you know what you stole"), a US congressman is saying that suspected terrorists don't deserve the basic rights that any judicial system founded on the premise of "innocent until proven guilty" should give any suspect. I don't remember congressmen saying Timothy McVeigh shouldn't be told what he was accused of, or that he shouldn't get a speedy and fair trial.

I don't care what we suspect them of, these people deserve to be treated as human until they've been proven guilty. That is a basic part of the US legal system and cannot be ignored if we are to be true to ourselves and the ideals we claim to believe in.

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Does the president have new clothes?

US to comply with Geneva Conventions - Yahoo! News

After 5 years of pressure at home and abroad President Bush and his administration finally realized that there is no good that can come of their chosen policy towards suspected terrorist detainees. After the defeat in the Supreme Court last week they have finally admitted that the detainees are prisoners of war...well, not exactly. They've admitted that they have to take the prisoners out of limbo and are treating them according to the rules established by the Geneva conventions.

So what does it take to convince our president that he was wrong? Apparently getting it pounded into his head by most of the free world, a majority of the US citizenry, and last, but not least, the US Supreme Court. If nothing else, you have to give the President credit for sticking to his guns.

One thing that concerns me is President Bush's public persona as a sincere Christian. I believe in God, and I believe we have God given responsibilities, but a lot of what I see George Bush doing does not appear very Christ-like. Granted that the leader of a nation cannot "turn the other cheek" to terrorists, it seems that a leader who makes his faith such an important part of his public persona should strive to treat all people as Christ would treat them. That means that you only go to war when it is the last possible option. When at war you make it clear to the generals and admirals that all prisoners will be treated with dignity and respect, and make sure that they pass it down to all the soldiers under them. And when soldiers do commit attrocities (if the war is very long it will happen) they should be dealt with quickly. Fairly, but quickly. None of that has occurred in the war in Iraq, and that should concern all of us.

So with this sudden change of heart I can't help but think of the Emperor and his fancy new clothes...Does President Bush have new clothes?

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Is our society sick?

Two college football players are accused of raping an 11 year old. 7 others may have been involved. The circumstances described indicate she was not willing. The 7 other players told a lawyer she was tall and appeared older. So? She ran out of the apartment and grabbed a couple off the street for help. That is not in the definition of consenting, it doesn't matter how old you are. I have to reserve judgement until more details are available, but it sounds like an excuse made to get out of trouble.

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With friends like these...

Once again the U.S. military has put it's worst foot forward. And the reason it keeps happening is becoming clearer with each incident. These are a few of the reasons I see for our militaries continuing failure to treat the citizens of Iraq as people:

1. As United States citizens, many soldiers already believe deep down that they are better than any one who is not from the United States

2. Our countries leadership, with its belief that it is our God given duty to protect the world from itself, strengthen that belief.

3. The agreements that were made with Iraq that exempts U.S. military from Iraq law gives an impression that US soldiers are above the law.

These are not the only factors, perhaps not even major factors, but the fact is that 4 soldiers are believed to have raped a fourteen year old girl and killed her and her family. A fifth soldier was either aware of the crime or a witness and didn't report it. These men should be handed over to the Iraqi government and made to face whatever punishment Islamic law requires. Yes, I said Islamic law, not Iraq law. I'm sure that the government we put in place has much nicer, more humane punishments than the law of Islam. And I do not believe that such horrific crime deserves humane punishment. It deserves punishment as violent and sadistic as the crime itself.

The situation in Iraq has become so bad that a doctor whose estimate of the girls age differed from that of the official report would not give his name for fear of reprisal from the military. We are supposed to be there helping the people. Somewhere someone has made terrible mistakes, and we are becoming as bad as the fiend we removed.

Remaining in Iraq is no longer a matter of only being there until the government is ready to control the country. It is now a matter of getting out before we make it impossible for them to.

If you haven't heard this story, here is a link:

4 more charged with rape, murder in Iraq - Yahoo! News

Just touching base

There's been so much going on in the world and I've been so busy it's been tough to find time to breath. Immigration issues, the war in Iraq, Irans Nuclear program, Mac's almost all running Intel processors, and much turmoil on the religious front.

Can you say "Da Vinci Code"?

And then I had a very convincing false heart attack. Cat Scan, Angiogram, and no problems with my heart found. No high blood pressure, blocked arteries, or even gas. What happened? We may never know.

But look for me to be back and regularly posting soon.