I’m telling you all right now…congress is out for 5 weeks…That’s 5 weeks of the shrub going unchecked…That thought terrifies ME so you all should be worried too…Angels and ministers of grace defend us…
Archive for July, 2006
21 JulOur ‘President’ And Stem Cell Research
the ignorance of our current president amazes me beyond belief sometimes. He claims to value life so much but he sends our young people off to war to die for his convenience. I guess he just values life until the age of 18. Or maybe that’s WHY he values life. To HAVE people to send off to fight his wars. There are AMPLE stem cells already available. and other countries are already making huge strides to cures for debilitating conditions and diseases like DIABETES. People who are paralyzed would have hope of a life again. I wish that Mr Bush came down with one of the conditions that stem cell research would be able to help then see how fast his tune would change. well Mr President. On behalf of all of us whose hope for viable treatments and cures you continue to tke away and stomp on out of your own narrow view…I give you a hearty double handed FUCK YOU…Open your eyes and look at all of the suffering that you cause in all corners of the world and then jump off a bridge…
19 JulBPF Statement on situation in Israel and Lebanon
July 19, 2006
During the past week, the world has been witness to a frightening drama unfolding in the Middle East, as Israel and Hezbollah are locked in an escalating conflict that neither party seems willing or able to diminish, and at the same time Israel’s operation in Gaza is creating a humanitarian catastrophe.
Each time such a situation comes to pass, we at the Buddhist Peace Fellowship are reminded of the Buddha’s injunction that “hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love.”
These words are easy enough to say for those of us outside the conflict zone. We realize that life must feel quite different right now in a place like Beirut, Lebanon, where men, women, and children are under fire by Israeli bombers. Just today–July 19th–news sources report anywhere from 19 to 49 civilians have been killed by these air strikes, and more than 200 have died in the past week. And we empathize with the citizens of Haifa, Israel, and in other areas along the northern border where at least 30 people have been killed. There, wise words from any religious tradition may seem irrelevant with rockets landing in backyards and people injured or dying. For those of us who have never lived in a war zone, it may be impossible to realize just how stressful such a situation is and how easy to succumb to the practice of retaliation in the name of protecting one’s own people.
Still, it is up to all of us in the global community to speak clearly for sanity amidst this insane march toward destruction, and to hold up the truth that violence only perpetuates more violence. And we must take actions to support this belief and to support our sisters and brothers in Israel, Lebanon, Gaza, and the entire Middle East.
One action that those living in the U.S. can take is to contact the Bush Administration and Congress to demand that the U.S. take immediate action to help the conflicting parties declare a ceasefire and begin negotiations. We can also organize delegations of peace advocates to Congressional offices. Call the White House (202-456-1111), the U.S. State Department (202-647-4000), and the Congressional switchboard (202-224-3121), which will connect you to your Congressmembers’ offices,
Click here for more information on actions you can take to support peace in the Middle East:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3326
The Buddhist Peace Fellowship shares the perspective of the United for Peace and Justice coalition: “Just as in Iraq, there is no military solution to the current crisis. The only real and lasting solution is to resolve the source of conflict by negotiating a resolution based on freedom from occupation and equal rights for all as enshrined in international law… The Lebanese government is imploring the international community to press for an immediate ceasefire, for United Nations intervention, a negotiated settlement and release of all prisoners — Palestinian, Lebanese and Israeli.” We at BPF and in the peace movement can and should add our voices to this call, as soon as possible. We join in making this call with friends from groups of all religious traditions, including Jewish Voice for Peace, Tikkun, and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
We recognize that this is a complex issue, and the current situation has widening circles of involvement beyond Israel and Lebanon, with the U.S., Iran, and Syria all implicated. The weapons and financial aid these countries provide to Israel and Hezbollah fuel the fire of this conflict. All parties must be encouraged to see the utter futility of this approach.
BPF calls upon the U.S., as a world leader, to use its diplomatic influence to immediately help bring these parties together in dialogue and to make it clear that the current violent methods are unacceptable. We encourage the U.S. to support the efforts of the United Nations and the European Union to broker a cease fire.
While Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel are unconscionable and we should certainly speak out against them, those of us who are Americans must recognize that we have some accountability for the acts of the Israeli defense force. Israel is our close ally, and Israel’s weapons have been supplied by the U.S. government. The U.S. Senate has just passed a resolution endorsing Israel’s military actions in Lebanon. So it is all the more incumbent upon us to raise our voices. Those of us who live in the U.S. need to pressure our government to withhold financial and military support from Israel when it violates international law by acts of massive retaliation such as the current offensives, and refuses to negotiate with the party the Palestinian people have elected.
Homeland security, in every sense of the word and for all people of the earth, depends on upon our participation in this process.
16 JulIt’s About Damn Time…
Poll: Americans want Democrats in power
By DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press WriterFri Jul 14, 8:42 AM ET
Republicans are in jeopardy of losing their grip on Congress in November. With less than four months to the midterm elections, the latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that Americans by an almost 3-to-1 margin hold the GOP-controlled Congress in low regard and profess a desire to see Democrats wrest control after a dozen years of Republican rule.
Further complicating the GOP outlook to turn things around is a solid percentage of liberals, moderates and even conservatives who say they’ll vote Democratic. The party out of power also holds the edge among persuadable voters, a prospect that doesn’t bode well for the Republicans.
The election ultimately will be decided in 435 House districts and 33 Senate contests, in which incumbents typically hold the upper hand. But the survey underscored the difficulty Republicans face in trying to persuade a skeptical public to return them to Washington.
The AP-Ipsos poll of 1,000 adults conducted Monday through Wednesday found that President Bush has stopped his political freefall, with his approval rating of 36 percent basically unchanged from last month. Bush received slightly higher marks for his handling of the Iraq war and the fight against terrorism, weeks after his surprise trip to Baghdad and the killing of Iraqi terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a U.S. airstrike last month.
But a Democratic takeover of either the House or Senate would be disastrous for the president, leaving both his agenda for the last two years in office and the chairmanship of investigative committees in the hands of the opposition party. To seize control of Congress, the Democrats must displace 15 Republicans from House seats and six Republicans from the Senate.
The AP-Ipsos survey asked 789 registered voters if the election for the House were held today, would they vote for the Democratic or Republican candidate in their district. Democrats were favored 51 percent to 40 percent.
Not surprisingly, 81 percent of self-described liberals said they would vote for the Democrat. Among moderates, though, 56 percent backed a Democrat in their district and almost a quarter of conservatives — 24 percent — said they will vote Democratic.
Democrats also held the advantage among persuadable voters — those who are undecided or wouldn’t say whom they prefer. A total of 51 percent said they were leaning Democrat, while 41 percent were leaning Republican.
“We still have wind in our face. It’s a midterm election in the president’s second term,” said Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y., chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. “Today is a little bit better in the atmospherics of Washington than it was maybe a month ago.”
The president’s party historically has lost seats in the sixth year of his service. Franklin D. Roosevelt lost 72 House seats in 1938; Dwight D. Eisenhower 48 in 1958. The exception was Bill Clinton in 1998.
By another comparison, polls in 1994 — when a Republican tidal wave swept Democrats from power — the two parties were in a dead heat in July on the question of whom voters preferred in their district.
“It comes down to a fairly simply question: Can Democrats nationalize all the elections? If Republicans prevent that, they have a shot. If they don’t, they lose,” said Doug Gross, the GOP gubernatorial candidate in Iowa in 2002 and the state finance director for the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign.
Overall, only 27 percent approved of the way Congress is doing its job. Lawmakers get favorable marks from 36 percent of conservatives, 28 percent of moderates and 17 percent of liberals.
Some criticism of Congress has focused on lawmakers’ inability to control spending, with lawmakers tucking in special projects for their home districts.
“They used to say there’s nothing worse than a tax-and-spend liberal Democrat,” said Gary Wilson, 51, a self-described liberal from Gaithersburg, Md. “There is something worse: It’s a borrow-and-spend Republican. This is going to come back to haunt us.”
One bright spot for the GOP is that Republicans hold an advantage over Democrats on issues such as foreign policy and fighting terrorism — 43 percent to 33 percent — and a smaller edge on handling Iraq — 36 percent to 32 percent.
The AP-Ipsos poll was conducted after the divisive Democratic debate in the Senate over setting a timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq. Potential voters were paying attention to the GOP complaint that Democrats want to “cut and run.”
“It seems like the Democrats want to pull out or start to pull out, and I don’t think that’s the correct thing to do,” said Eric Bean, 24, a college minister in Fort Worth, Texas. “I’d much rather see a Congress that would support our president. I think George Bush is doing the best he can. I think Republicans will support him.”
John Dendahl, the Republican candidate for governor in New Mexico, said Democrats, with the help of some Republicans, have been successful at obstructing legislation in Congress while heaping the blame on the GOP.
Tom Courtney, a Democratic state senator in Iowa, said U.S. voters are ready to trust his party to lead.
“I honestly think it’s ours to lose,” Courtney said. “My experience, we’re not above that. Americans are ready for change.”
The poll of adults had a margin of error of 3 percentage points and the survey of registered voters had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
___
Associated Press Writers Philip Elliott and Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.
13 JulGhost Hunting
I’ve been itching to go again. there’s a prime spot around here called Butler Cemetery. It’s supposed to be one of the most haunted places in Michigan. I myself have had some unexplainable happenings there. It’s definitely one of my favorite ghost hunting locations. check out the pic!
13 Jul9-11 And Conspiracy Theories
I’m not sure how anyone feels about this sort of thing. Or is you all are going to think I’m some kind of kook. However, i do have to say that i do think that there is something to all of these “theories” that are running wild. I’ve wondered these same things that i hear other people being very vocal about. I already have an overwhelming distrust for our current president and his party. As far as i can see they’re nothing but bullies and crooks so it’s not hard for me to want to believe all of these stories. But i did find one that i find most intriguing. It’s called: Loose Change second Edition. I was going to upload it but as it’s a full length documentary i didn’t want to wait that long. So i will just provide the link to it’s website. I really do recommend that you all check it out. These guys did an excellent job.
08 JulJust because they’re so damm funny…
Here’s another song for your listening pleasure…
07 JulAnn Coulter
for anyone that knows not who this person is. She is the current poster girl for the “conservative republicans”. And she makes me sick to my stomach. She is the very embodiment of what they believe and stand for. Her latest pearl of wisdom can be found in her new book where she says that the 9-11 wives are enjoying their husbands being dead and that they should just pose in Playboy ad get it over with, Now keep in mind that these are the women that got the ball rolling on the 9-11 commission that made little Georgie look bad. So you can see why they would not like them. But come on. She needs her ass kicked already…heh…Ah well…anyway take a listen at this song called Uncivil rights. I have no clue who does it tut it makes me wanna stand and say :AMEN brutha!
Uncivil Rights
05 JulWhat A Bunch Of Nonsense…
Okay i have a serious gripe here. I was looking into getting into truck driving. It seems everyone isable to get right into it and it seemedlike it would be a fun job. I sat in my cousin’s truck the other day and loved it. Well…It SEEMSthat the federal government thinks that i a unsuitable for this line of work becausei take insulin. I think i need to contest this. I should be able to drive a truck even if with restrictions. That’s just not fair and is generalized discrimination! Just take a look at this…
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/medical.htm