Rumsfeld's Rules: His Rules: (Summary of 16 other messages)

This is only a placeholder.

Sorry it took me over 16 months to finish and Update this summary of RUMSFELD's RULES

I only wrote it to discuss the Privatization of the army, and the deficiencies of the CURRENT BUSH administration
(Written/compiled 9/18/07) from stuff I wrote and commented on in APRIL of 2006!

I have written (and COMMENTED ON) ALL of Rumsfeld's RULES from the BUSH one Adminstration.

They are HERE:

Intro (David Brin's Original suggestion to ANALYZE the Rumsfeld's Rules.. (1 of 17)

part 1 : Where he says Dont stay past your usefulness (paraphrased by me) and check with predecessors...

Part 2: Where he says, "LEARN to say, I don't KNOW!

Part 3: Where he says, "leadership is by consent, not command AND Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small (my emphasis!).

Part 4: Where he says, "It is easier to get into something than to get out of it!" and "The WHITE House" wants!

Part 5: Where he says, " 19. Don’t automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn’t considered key aspects of the issue.

Part 6: Where he says,
This is SO GOOD.... (couldn't cut...)

20. The price of being close to the President is delivering bad news. You fail him if you don’t tell him the truth. Others won’t do it.

(I said) *** Markbnj says ***
You ain't listening to your OWN rule, Mr. Rumsfeld! Tell him you've failed, and MAKE him accept your resignation and subsequent SUCIDE!

21. You and the White House staff must be and be seen to be above suspicion.
--->>> Set the right example.
*** Markbnj says ***
Go HERE and learn how to CORRECTLY commit Hara-kiri (literally "stomach cutting"). Make sure your entire Staff, and Especially the Vice President understands to perform Hara-kiri CORRECTLY!

22. The role of White House Chief of Staff is that of a “javelin catcher.” *** Markbnj says ***
And the Role of the Secretary of Defense, is that of the person that ORDERS the seppuku or death of the guilty.

Part 7: Where he says, "Have a deputy and develop a successor." Yeah Right!

Part 8: Where he says, "Keep your sense of humor. As General Joe Stillwell said, “The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind.”
*** Markbnj says ***
HA HA HA . This is FUNNY. In this case, we see RUMSFELD's Balls, he's so high...

Part 9 : Where he says, "Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance!"

AND

" If you are lost – “climb, conserve, and confess.” (U.S. Navy SNJ Flight Manual)"

Part 10: Where he says, "Plan backwards as well as forward. Set objectives and trace backto see how to achieve them." NEED I add a word at ALL?

Part 11: Where he says, " Don’t be a bottleneck"

Part 12: Where he says, "Consultation helps build consensus" (paraphrased) AND

If a <...edit...>Presidential approach can’t be explained clearly <...snip...>
it probably hasn’t been thought through well enough.
(and)
If not well understood <...snip...>, it probably won’t “sail” anyway. Send it back for further thought.

Not even TOUCHING this one... it speaks for itself!

Part 13: Where he says, " Think of dealing with Congress as a “revolving door.” You’ll be back to today’s opponents for their help tomorrow.

Part 14: Where he says, Beware <...snip...>any idea promoted <...snip...>because it is “bold, exciting, innovative, and new.” There are many ideas that are “bold, exciting, innovative and new,” but also foolish."

*** Markbnj says *** SUCH as REDEFINING TORTURE!!!!!???

Part 15: Where he says, "Include others. As the late Senator Pat Moynihan (D-NY) said, “Stubborn opposition to proposals often has no other basis than the complaining question, ‘Why wasn't I consulted?’”

Part 16: Where he says, " If in doubt, don’t." AND − If still in doubt, do what’s right.

------------
2008 Haiku: Impeach Cheney; Pelosi Pardons ; Democracy Restored-- Pass it on

BusH: The Liar in CHIEF: does it again!

OKAY.

Today on NPR/All things considered:

The Bush Administration war Tzar (Lt. General Douglas Lute) in an interview with NPR
said,

A Draft has always been an option

Sounds (to me) like they are STARTING to float the (Mandatory) DRAFT trial balloon

That means it will become an ISSUE in the 2008 Presidential CAMPAIGN.

DiRty DoGs!

MideasT: DeBATE: Stupid IS (again?) Shooting Kills in Mideast

Excuse me? A quick question.

Since when did it become acceptable for people to celebrate HAPPY occasions by
SHOOTing ANY kind of weapon in the air to CELEBRATE?

I hypothesize that this is STRICTLY an ARAB tradition, and VERY warped at that!


Today, Iraqis celebrated the victory of their national soccer team over South Korea by going out in Bagdad, and shooting both handguns, automatic weapons and RIFLES into the air.

MAYBE they should ban that?

Perhaps shoot ARROWS into the air INSTEAD???!!!

I like that idea.

Shoot an arrow in the air
where it lands, I know not where


Maybe if they shot arrows they would have heard the suicide bombers that attacked and killed 50+ during their celebrations.

PROPOSED:

CIVILIZED people in the world DO NOT SHOOT weapons of ANY type into the air, especially to CELEBRATE ANY kind of occasssion.

PRO:
Shooting weapons in the air is NOT healthy, especially if someone gets hurt.

Con:
Shooting weapons in the air is better then shooting your friends.

MidEasT: Sick to my stomach

Congratulation to the HAMAS victors!

You beat the PLO in Gaza. Now what?

I've attached a video that is ALMOST sickening.

The voice over is by the KIDNAPPED BBC reporter Alan Johnston. He was kidnapped, by ARAB gunmen, and has been missing for almost three months


This was put on you-tube on may 23rd.

What's especially interesting, is at 2:53 seconds in the video when one of the {arab} victims (bystanders) says,
Oh, I wish we could have the Israelis again.

And below this I am including the comments on the video, including the discussion from the
Hey. I am not modifying this one iota. This is the verbatim comments from this video.

To summarize: a Palestinian who "went abroad" for his education,(aka "bailing out of the sinking ship of GAZA and the REFUGEE camps")
Says (from 5,000 miles away)

and I quote (and reformat the paragraph, but dont change a word!!):

As a Palestinian Muslim :
one must fight for all of Palestine ---
from the river Jordan to the Medditarean sea, (he should learn to spell (heh heh)
Israel can not have a grain of our soil!!
And Hamas recognises this well --
that is why they recieve so much support of the Palestinian people.

Long Live HAMAS!! Long Live Palestine!! Death to Israel!!

And he continues...

Excuse me. Mark here again. The United Nations (the VERY same people who run YOUR refugee camps inside of Gaza) declared that ISRAEL has a right to be a state in 1948!
(see my original post here...)

...Continues here...

Israel does not exist.
{oh right...}
You will not get a grain of our soil.
{see above- where the UN declared a TWO state solution to this STUPID mess THAT YOU and YOUR brothers caused to US almost 70 years ago}

Our leaders are ordinary Palestinian people,
who's kids attend the same Hamas funded schools i attended.

{Yeah, that's the party line, they provide food, education, and brainwashing. Did any of your schoolbooks ever have a space for Israel in them? I doubt it. Israeli's DO show the ARAB countries in THEIR textbooks though!}

They drive ordinary cars like us,
{Yeah, like the Mercedes convertibles I saw on the news as you destroyed the PLO palaces...}
we love and honour and are loyal to such our beautiful leaders.


{Yeah, well ISRAEL made two HUGE mistakes. One, they did NOT expel EVERY single arab who lived in the west bank in 1967, and two; they stupidly thought that by INTEGRATING the ARABs in the west bank/Gaza into Israel's economy that the ARABS would ENJOY a better lifestyle, and have $$$$ money, and thus support ISRAEL.}
{YOU are right. WE were the stupid ones.

• We did NOT massacre you like YOUR leaders claimed they would do to US in 1948.
• We Did NOT isolate you and put BORDERS up UNTIL the last few years after the SECOND infatah.
• We SHOULD have put barbed wire up the DAY we took over Jerusalem and the west bank and Gaza, and THROWN your stupid bodies up in LEBANON and the Jordanian REFUGEE camps.
• We should NEVER have allowed YOU (actually your PARENTS) to work in Israel and make a decent wage.
• We gave you Power, Light, TV, clean water and sewers, and EVEN internet. WHAT a mistake. We should have just bombed you into the TOTAL dark ages like you are trying to do to US.
• We are your brothers. We didn't DESTROY YOUR cemetaries, and build HOTELS and roads through OUR cemetaries.
• We SHOULD have blown up the dome of the Rock MOSQUE the SECOND we controlled the old city of Jerusalem. It would have NEVER ever been rebuilt.
• And what a shame that in the FIRST Gulf war, Saadam's Missles MISSED the dome of the rock. What a funny thing that would have been... Watching Saadam destroy the third holiest site in Islam... Heh Heh
  
• 
  

It is you people that steal millions of dollars from us.

• Right. Why would you want your SWORN enemy to GIVE you even ONE kopek, to keep you alive?
• The money is in SAFEKEEPING, and when a GOVERNMENT that is NOT sworn to the TOTAL destruction of the state of ISRAEL comes back, you'll get it.
• It REALLY wasn't THAT hard to say... OK, Israel has a RIGHT to exist, was it??? WHEN YOU say that, we will NOT BELIEVE it, based on your CURRENT and past performances. BUT we will WAIT until you FINALLY say it before you get ONE darn ruble from US, the US of A, or ANY other country... YOU BROUGHT this on yourself!
  

Your people have crippled our economy, and continue to steal.

• As I said above. YOU crippled your OWN economy. I guess your dad DOESNT miss his old job in "OPRESSOR Israel?" tough shit. Eat dirt now. YOU MADE your BED, now you can lie in it.

Wallahi we will expel you thieves from our Glorious Nation of Palestine.

• Yeah right. As soon as IRAN gets their NUKES, and gives it to HIZBOLLAH, or to YOU, and you try and nuke us, WE will retaliate and wipe out EVERY single FRIGGING ARAB country, as well as EVERY SINGLE nation on earth. It won't matter if you've already wiped us out. We have our ways, and we will SCORCH THE ENTIRE EARTH (remember GOG vs. MaGOG?) and WE will win, since EVERYONE and EVERYTHING at that point will be dead. ESPECIALLY YOU you jerk!
  
• YOU want Scorched earth, NO PROBLEM, the 780MILLION muslims on the earth will ALL say "WHAT THE F#$^&K did you go and blow up our brothers for----
• AND you and your STUPID assed HAMAS brothers will ROAST in the ISLAMIC equivalent of HELL.
• NO 99 virgins, NO praise, NO death money for your poor parents.
• YOU will have SCORCHED earth. NOT a one damned arab, or HUMAN will survive.
  

We love and honour and are loyal to such our beautiful leaders.
{Yeah, the ones that have millions of dollars in THEIR Swiss numbered bank accounts.}

And the fun continues:

Every thing that Palestinian soldier said is truth and every Palestinian Muslim must embrace that Fatah is co-operating with our enemies-------> Israel and America. As a Palestinian Muslim one must fight for all of Palestine from the river Jordan to the Medditarean sea, Israel can not have a grain of our soil!! And Hamas recognises this well, that is why they recieve so much support of the Palestinian people. Long Live HAMAS!! Long Live Palestine!! Death to Israel!!

and someone else who catches the irony says:
Says the guy who's living it up in Australia while his "people" are suffering.

I move to Australia a year ago for further education,
{Yeah, learn proper english too!-- I MOVED to Australia...}
and here for three more years, like many Palestinians,
{bullshit---I know There are more so called Palestinians OUTSIDE of ISRAEL, then INSIDE the camps!!!}
I go back to Palestine and fight for my beautiful people and extract the jewish thiefs from our homes.
{See my comments above about "you and what army?"}
You tried to EXTERMINATE us in 1919, 1929, 1937, (before we had the state), and then again in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1980

When oh When dear brother Ishamel, will you learn that we ARE brothers, and WE CAN live in peace. }

My people have suffered enough and Hamas will liberate kullu Falistiin, Inshallah.
Yeah, but HAMAS will destroy the entire land... Look at your brothers being killed in LEBANON with Hizbollah... HEh heh. make me laugh again..

Long Live Hamas!! Long Live Palestine!! Death to Israel!!

AND I leave you with a question...

Why is it EVEN when the ARABS (palestinians) are KILLING fellow ARABS (palestinians)
THEY STILL BLAME the jews, EVEN though it is a palestinian KILLING them??

Answer: because they haven't yet realized that in 1948 there was a declaration that there were to be TWO states in the BRITISH mandate of Palestine, NOT ONE.

WHEN HAMAS, the PLO and EVERY SINGLE arab state accepts the 1948 UN two state solution, then THERE WILL BE ETERNAL peace between ISRAEL, and her brother ARABS.

SHALOM/Saalam

MidEasT: Hee Hee ahem? 40 yrs later--too bad

OK.

Which is sadder?

• The President of the Palestinian Authority's speech today saying that today's 40th anniversary of the six day war is only overshadowed by the possiblilty of a FULL blown PALESTINIAN CIVIL WAR

Or the world media, which thinks that celebrating, or COMMERATING the 40th Anniversary of the "SECOND Nakba"(my term- I should copyright it!)

• The BBC is (as I speak) having an anniversary party... I don't know why.

I love this, I wish I could have a word for word transcript

• Cairo: In 1967, it was like a funeral, after the Israeli Air Force destroyed the ENTIRE Egyptian Air Force within 2 hours. We started crying, oh we want palestine...
• Syria: No celebration here today, but they are celebrating the weeklong celebration of their president's gainin of power after his father died.
• And in a quick, humiliating display about public information, no one in Syria knew anything except THE, "CULTURE of DENIAL"

THAT is the TOTAL problem.

Arabs refuse to acknowledge ISRAEL, (they STILL haven't accepted the 1948 declaration by the UN that establishes a TWO state solution... UNTIL they do, there will be NO PEACE!!!)

This DEFEAT, needs to be accepted!
The BBC should be praised for their brash stupidity in celebrating Israel's 1967 victory by going to the ARAB countries to EMPHASIZE their defeat in 1967

DICTATOR BUSH: lookie at latest BULLTURDS-update

Thanks to SKIPPY for catching this BULLSHIT from our PRESIDENT.

Thanks to Darrin Bell (cartoonist of CANDORVILLE) for this cartoon!



What SKIPPY CAUGHT!
The original is apparently HERE

The ORIGINAL Press release from WHITE HOUSE

WHAT it MEANS

Billy Joel said:
Say GoodBye to HollyWOOD Say goodbye my baby.

I say
Say goodbye to Democracy Say Hello Dictator BUSH

OK. As USUAL a paragraph by paragraph analysis:
Captioning for the brain impaired!

President Bush, without so much as issuing a press statement,on May 9 signed a directive that granted near dictatorial powers to the office of the president in the event of a national emergency declared by the president.

President Bush, without so much as issuing a press statement,
BUSH TRIED to slip this one past by WITHOUT COMMENT

>>>on May 9
15 Days ago!

>>>signed a directive
A LAW that was NOT voted or even LOOKED at by CONGRESS

>>>that granted near dictatorial powers

dic·ta·tor:
a person exercising absolute power, esp. a ruler who has absolute, unrestricted control in a government without hereditary succession.
SO our PRESIDENT can now create a DICTATOR

>>>to the office of the president
THAT is TO HIMSELF (and his OFFICE)

>>>in the event of a national emergency

Hmmm,THE press release says:
...snip...national emergency..
..snip..."Catastrophic Emergency" means any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions;
...So, if we have EXTRAordinary disruption...

>>>declared by the president.

so HE can declare himself, the OFFICE of the DICTATOR!

Hey we finished a paragraph!!

The "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive," with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive, establishes under the office of president a new National Continuity Coordinator.

>>>The "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive
Fancy talk for LAW implemented by HIMSELF, rather then by CONGRESS

>>>with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive
So important, he issues the same thing TWICE!

>>>establishes under the office of president a new National Continuity Coordinator
Ah, A new bureaucratic title,the NCC.

That job, as the document describes, is to make plans for "National Essential Functions" of all federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations to continue functioning under the president's directives in the event of a national emergency.

>>>to make plans for "National Essential Functions"

The Job ...snip...makes Plans (MS-PROJECT!) for National Essential Functions"

>>> of all federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal governments,
...{review: Makes plans for} all {federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal} governments

>>> as well as private sector organizations
...and... {also plans for}private sector organizations.

>>>to continue functioning
{review: PLANS for take overs of ALL government AND private groups} so they continue to work

>>>under the president's directives
under the president's ORDERS!!!!

>>>in the event of a national emergency.
{or in case he declares an EMERGENCY!}

The executive order loosely defines "catastrophic emergency" as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions."

>>> doy, already covered this above..
See ABOVE, where it says "The press release"

When the president determines a catastrophic emergency has occurred, the president can take over all government functions and direct all private sector activities to ensure we will emerge from the emergency with an "enduring constitutional government."

>>>When the president determines a catastrophic emergency has occurred,
or, when he decides he wants to stay in power... after 2008 (because giving in to democrats would be giving in to TERRORISTS...

>>>the president can take over all government functions
Yeah, we get it...Like a...hmmm D*I*C*T*A*T*O*R

>>> and direct all private sector activities
Yeah, LIKE A DICTATOR...

>>>to ensure we will emerge from the emergency with an "enduring constitutional government.
Yeah RIGHT! IF the emergency EVER ends. EGYPT has been under emergency for over 27 years

And in the IRONY is Still here category

Ironically, the executive order sees no contradiction in the assumption of dictatorial powers by the president with the goal of maintaining constitutional continuity through an emergency.

>>>
No comment needed.

The directive specifies that the assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism will be designated as the National Continuity Coordinator.

...snip...specifies that ...snip...the assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism will be designated THE NEW DICTATOR of the UNITED states!
{under the instructions of the first dictator (bush the first)}

>>> Currently, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism is Frances Fragos Townsend.

Townsend spent 13 years at the Justice Department before moving to the U.S. Coast Guard where she served as Assistant Commandant for Intelligence.
So we can technically say, MADAME dictator!

SORRY I can't finish this, I am too sick

Please forward this post to your local news agency and ask why they aren't covering this??

This has been NEWS for the short attention span!

IRAQ: Gen Anthony Zinny (Ret). My hero

Got an HOUR? Listen to the LATEST US general to TRASH the current administration

Damning without ANY praise...

Listen here: Sorry, it's in "REAL Audio" (Yecch!)

HumorR: Rove Testimony under "cone of silence"™

Over at Don Davis's Blog
He has this great headline with a photo of my all-time FAVORITE MEL-Brooks (written) TV SHOW,"GET SMART"!

"Under Bush’s plan, White House aides such as Karl Rove and Harriet Miers would testify under the infamous “Cone of Silence” employed in the iconic 1960’s spy show, Get Smart."

Just to ensure that no public leaks of testimony occur, Bush added that “only Republicans will be allowed into the Cone of Silence, with the exception, of course, of Joe Lieberman.” However, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pointed out, “Lieberman’s head might be too big to fit under the Cone.”

Thanks to Don at http://satiricalpolitical.com for this great item.

PS: if you're NOT a regular reader of my poetry blog, please see my new epic poems on:
The Dixie chicks were Right!

Pop Goes the Wolfowitz (architect of our Iraq war policy!)

Presidential Knowledge (an oxymoron)

Markb in nj!

Guest Poet: One of our vets in Washington.

Over at his BLOG, one of our victims of this terrible war has posted a poem on his public blog...

Here is his poem: (Source)

Heart tick tick ticking
Harder, louder
Perspiration cold against the neck
Foreheads on fire

Palms clammy cool
Prickles down the arm
Head's pounding ringing
A human fire alarm

Anxious, trembling
Concentration will refrain
Stress will take over
Scattering the brain,

Here there everywhere,
Recycling the thoughts
the past has embedded
In the mind.

Play Rewind. Play Rewind.
A twisted sitcom
On rerun.
Change the channel,
I've seen this one.

Take the remote,
Before it comes back,
Turn off this panic attack.

Exclusive: world premiere HERE! pop goes the wolfowitz

Pop goes the Wolfowitz *

Around and round the Washington wonks
The Wolfowitz did crawl
And said he once, and said to all
Iraq, we need her OIL.

For Sadaam Hussein is an Evil Guy
Just like a little weasel
And 'cause he needs to eventually fall
We might as well take his oil.

Now we can't get in there today
Because he hates our guts.
But since we want to play with his oil
Saadam he needs to fall.

Oh, we got the goods on Sadaam
OK, so we cooked the books.
Who cares that we cooked the evidence,
Sadaam, we wants his oil.

Now boss bush he said he wants that oil
And if Sadaam should happenen to fall
The world would not cry too much
Exxon she needs his oil.

So Wolfowitz searched for some WMD
And failed to find a-one.
But weasels figured out how to fudge them
And Bush he got his oil.

Now Wolfowitz forgot to plan
On how to end the war
He thought that once Saadam was gone again
That they'd give up all their oil.

But unlike most rats he forgot to plan,
An escape route to his nest.
And now the USA is stuck in here
As a totally unwelcome guest.

* Sing-able to the tune of "Pop Goes the weasel", like the weasel that he is!

Note: as is everything, this is CC: attribution/, see blog for more info

Diagram of George Bush

This sure SOUNDS Like our president!

Thanks to Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller (3/07/07) for this delightful snub

IMPEACH Cheney NOW

HOT: (VERY) Scary headline of the day: UPdated!

The REG tells us:

Be SCARED..

Be VERY VERY Skareed...

I wought I saw a Wocket... No, it was a mwissle... No it was a Wrocket.

The Islamic Republic definitely launched something over the weekend.

Iranian media described the device as a rocket capable of reaching space.

Iran later appeared to downplay the significance of the launch, saying the rocket launch was for research purposes only, and that the rocket was not in orbit.

Officials pointedly denied it had launched a "missile".

Iranian media apparently implied the rocket could be used to put commercial satellites into orbit. If it can be used to put commercial satellites up, presumably spy satellites will be a breeze.

Other citations, NOTABLY none in the US press yet (I wonder why???!!!)

BBC: http://www.google.com/url?q=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6394387.stm%3Fls&ei=XvriRb3CG5eMwQLB7ZGFBg&sig2=RzAUKOeBrj9i5ewbzwiudg&e=14823&sa=X&oi=news&ct=result&cd=1&usg=__DrPHQ3SqMvXLOPqgFw0B0Jai25I=

Gold rises after launch:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=7&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.globalresearch.ca%2Findex.php%3Fcontext%3DviewArticle%26code%3D20061110%26articleId%3D3802&ei=XvriRb3CG5eMwQLB7ZGFBg&usg=__2v3z3ISq7j9SBQAp3RrOOLkD6BE=&sig2=rnsHEch5dYjFHVxlR_LyYw

al jazera
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=12&url=http%3A%2F%2Fenglish.aljazeera.net%2FNR%2Fexeres%2FE1B6C897-D424-4E1B-B4DF-E9F2B8CCA8BA.htm&ei=XvriRb3CG5eMwQLB7ZGFBg&usg=__RfOjpZMDXAkC4y3XfDOXIRYC0FU=&sig2=r7IuBZCzCKhu79GOthhpIg

Jerusalem Post:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1171894523089&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1171894512735&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

CBS Analyst's comment

"If the missile is adaptable for nuclear warheads, then they are well on the way. But they have not made a nuclear warhead yet. The current estimates are it could take five years."

---

Andy Oppenheimer, weapons expert
Jane's Information Group

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/31/world/main1460846.shtml

DetroiT: Energy Efficient vs. SUV's (continued)- updated 4-1-09

Updated 4-1-09 about GM and the streetcars at end...

OK. Wired asks a valid question:

Why is it there are Clean Cars Aplenty Outside U.S. but only 2 available in USA?

Automakers are producing more than 100 fuel-efficient vehicles, but you can't buy them in the U.S.

A study by the Civil Society Institute and 40MPG.org says there are now 113 vehicles rated at 40 mpg or higher available internationally, but just two (the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid) here.

Oooh... This is MY blog, so I get to pontificate...

Reasons we don't have better fuel(ed) cars in the USA

1. Detroit Lobbies and pays the Senate/House HUGE campaign contributions, therefore no increase in the CAFE fuel stands in 25 years
2. The OIL industry has also lobbied the Senate/House, witness the TERRIBLE (I don't own oil stock- so it IS terrible for me) profits of EXXON/MOBIL this year..
3. Assholes Idiots who claim that global warming isn't real.
4. Assholes Idiots who think that CORN based ETHANOL is the way to go in this country.
5. Supid-*ss Presidents who think that 500 Billion dollarsspent on a WAR is money well spent.
6. Our congress has never looked into the concept of alternative sources of energy, such as solar, wind, THERMAL, (and SUN based "free") energies.
7. Our COLLECTIVE stupid-ness at using SUV's to go to get a gallon of milk

ANd my Number one reason why we have problems???

THE Car companies themselves..

Until the 1940's there were local trollies/light rail companies in MOST towns in this country.
UNTIL GM and a consortium of the BIG oil companies CONSPIRED to put them all out of business, so that GM could SELL BUSSes to replace them...

This is the reason we have NO mass transit left in this country. IT is the BIGGEST SCANDAL of the 20th century.

And a subject of a FUTURE post (anyone care to research?)

4-1-09 update (has it really been three years???(As usual I answer myself...)

See HERE for a post in my OThER blog regarding Detroit, the decline thereof, and the great streetcar scandal here

IraQ: More on Military Ineptitude

ABC News Reports:

Marines will Buy Tougher Armored Vehicles for Iraq>

Marine Corps hopes to replace all its 3,700 Humvees in Iraq, but it will take until 2009...More later...Until then, the Marines will have to make do with the more vulnerable armored Humvees available to them now.

BUT...

In testimony before congress on TUESDAY, the Army's chief of staff, told the House Armed Services Committee Tuesday that when the war in Iraq started in 2003, the United States had only 253 armored Humvees in its inventory of 80,000 Humvees.

Emphasis added!!

Humvees were primarily designed to be lightweight mobile vehicles, so it was decided that only a small number of the vehicles would need armored protection, specifically military police vehicles. Schoomaker has said recently that the Army entered the war in Iraq "flat-footed," specifically because there was such a low inventory of armored Humvees.

ARMY trying to upgrade

Since the spring {of 2006}, the Army has been quietly outfitting its 14,000 Humvees in Iraq with the most advanced version of the up-armored protection currently available, the FRAG Kit 5. Attached to the sides of Humvees, these kits provide greater side-blast protection than previous armored kits, particularly against the dangerous EFPs, Explosively Formed Projectiles, which have {ALLEGEDLY} been smuggled in from Iran.

** See **NOTE Below

Army officials acknowledge that it will be June {2007} before all its Humvees in Iraq are outfitted with the FRAG kit5 armor kits but say that will be just in time for when all the surge troops to have arrived in Iraq.

The new hull-armored "Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles" or "MRAP", have V-shaped floors that deflect the force of the blast away from the vehicles. Humvees are more vulnerable because they have flat floors that absorb the blast from roadside bombs. MRAPs are said to provide survival rates four to five times greater than do armored Humvees.

More than 700 Marines have been killed in Iraq since the war began in 2003, nearly two-thirds of them in Humvee attacks, the Pentagon said.

**Note: I am sickened that ABC news did NOT insert the WORD ALLEGEDLY into that sentence. What is Journalism in this country coming to?

Iraq: IS a C.O. (Lt. Ehren Watada) a Hero or a Zero?

OK. I've been reading, working, and smiling. Thus a lack of posts.

UNTIL I saw this OP-ED in the Seattle Post Intelligencer (don't ask why I read it, but I did!)
ROBERT L. JAMIESON Jr. of the Post-Intelligencer has labeled 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, as a shirker, instead of the first American HERO of this war.

I'm NOT going to discuss the Watada case here. Go look HERE for the background!

He was an Eagle Scout at age 15. Now I was never a scout, by my son is, and I have to say, reading the Boy Scout manual, becoming an Eagle Scout at age 15 is an EVENT!

At any rate, he has refused to deploy. The judge declared a mistrial in his court martial yesterday (but will be reopened very soon I believe!)

Click HERE to hear the "Fresh Air with Terri Gross" Interview with Lt. Watada last month.

In a nutshell:

I feel that ROBERT L. JAMIESON's op-ed in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is biased, and perhaps even (perish the thought: racist?)

I hate to bring up the race card, however, I wonder if this op-ed was influenced by the writer's experiences and past history.

Yes, the two soldiers discussed in the op-ed were different races. Does it matter? Absolutely. Our society is NOT yet perfect (but we HAVE made great strides since the 1960's).

However, if we were to have a serious discussion about our military, jobs, opportunities, and equality, we could have a scathing discussion (and it's been said thousands of times) about why the military as a means for blacks to escape poverty is biased, and perhaps racist.

But this is not the place for THAT discussion...

The point I am attempting to make is that This op-ed, expressing the view of the columnist, attempts to bully the reader into making the decision that Lt. Ehren Watada does not deserve to be considered a hero, or even someone that deserves freedom.

I disagree.
The facts so far point to an ABSOLUTE truth that our country is involved in a WAR that was NOT HONESTLY vetted, not honestly (or fully) planned, and is NOT being waged with honesty.

(Get rid of the "contractor army" as a hint).

I suggest that Lt. Ehren Watada is as much as a national hero, as Paul Bremmer, the man who was in charge of the post invasion "Iraq provisional Authority" who was awarded the Presidential medal of Honor.

My fervent hope is that Lt. Ehren Watada be awarded the CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL of Honor for refusing to deploy.

At any rate, this is the longest letter to an editor I've ever written, and it's a HECK of a lot more satisfying since it doesnt get thrown in the garbage!

Cheers till the next inferno.

Remember:
George W Bush STARTED WW III. We'll be in IRAQ for the next 50 years.

Mark B

UnderWHELMED

OK.

So I Haven't written much.

Well I think this is my ONE YEAR anniversary of my blog.

Yea Me.

1) Bush.

I told y'all exactly a year ago HERE, he was an A**HOLE. Now most of the country agrees.

2) War.
I told y'all what I think we need:

1. UN-Privatize the US ARMY. GET rid of the contractors, all the MERCANERIES
2. Increase the FORCE in Iraq from 150,000 (or 300,00 with all the contractors) to 500,000 to make sure we have the right number of troops.
3. GET RID of Dick (what a butt-face) Cheney as Secretary of Defense.
4. Get rid of BUSH and Cheney. (we need PRESIDENT Pelosi!)

SO what do we have?

• A Democratic Congress (barely)
• Congressional supervision of the war (and the Attorney General!)
• A bi-partisan report on IRAQ that is being ignored
• A congress that WILL NOT step up to its responsibility of STOPPING all funding for the war.
• A President that will do ANYTHING to distract the country from his WAR, and his Poor Legacy.

It is IMPERATIVE that we get OUT OF IRAQ NOW.. BEFORE BUSH LEAVES.

Before BUSH is out of office, so that he cannot claim that HE started the war, and would have won it, but his SUCCESSOR withdrew, and THUS change the HISTORY of his presidency.

This is the MOST important concept to follow.
He will stake EVERYTHING on making it impossible to withdraw, now that he has set it up for a 20 year war. (See previous post...)

Sigh.
The more things Change, the less they change.

Answer? We're EXACTLY where we were last year, except 1 less year of BUSH, and DEMOCRATIC control of CONGRESS...

Sigh. SIGH

WashingtoN: BUSH=FILLMORE

OK. The NEXT bumper sticker campaign:

BUSH=Fillmore


President Bush is the worst president EVER, surpassing Millard FILMORE as the WORST president in History!

Torture Equals Treason

Simply Said.

leave Bush alone for now.

Impeach Chaney.. (wouldn't it be nice for NANCY Pelosi to become Vice President????)

THEN impeach BUSH..

Not likely I know,....

But I can dream, can't I?