Login HerePoverty is a huge issue -- nationwide and around the globe -- and the despair and anger and marginalization that comes from living, day in and day out, in squalor and with an empty belly, for yourself and your children...this is where desperation and radicalization often take hold. To truly fight the anger that fuels terrorist acts and genocidal rages, we need to work on the roots of the problem...and that means making a commitment, a real one, to all those people on this rock we call Earth who feel as though they have been thrown away by the rest of us.
The United Nations Millenium Campaign is hosting a number of events worldwide this weekend, and I thought a lot of our readers would be interested in where and when they will be happening. You can find event information here. And you can view even more videos sent in from all over the world for the campaign here.
Stand Up because: - Every day 24,000 people die from hunger - Every day more than 100 million children are denied the chance to go to school - Every day 1.1 billion people have to drink polluted water - Every day 8,200 people die due to HIV/AIDS
If you wake up and have food in your pantry, in a safe home, with clean water, then have a moment of thanks this morning. This blog entry from a 16 year old girl in South Africa really brings that home:
I live in South Africa. A beautiful country with a rainbow nation. But also a country that struggles every day with poverty.I am a 16-year old, white, middle class female. You may not find that relevant, but it is sad how it affects my daily life. My age, my race and my background. Yeah, I know. How can I know what it feels like? Why do I want to make a difference? It doesn't affect me anyway. Right? Wrong.
I see it everyday. When I climb into my parents' car and drive to school, when I walk to the nearest coffee shop with my friends, when I do community outreach work. I see people living in the pieces of open ground where the wealthy developers have not built yet. I see their houses made from plastic and rubbish. I hear their soft talking or animated voices as they wait for their turn to get soup from the big can. I feel their rough hands as I hand over the plastic sup filled with soup that probably means they will live a little longer. And I know. This has to stop.
You might think I'm just being dramatic or overly descriptive. And I'll admit it; I have this little thing where I believe I can write. But then again, I have this little thing where I believe I can make a difference, and see where that got me.
I just believe that people dying, people who are just like us and deserve everything we have, when our world has so much to offer is just wrong. And I'm standing up to remind everyone else of that fact too. Because we all know it, but we chose to ignore it. Not anymore.
Every little bit helps -- and in a situation where you are helping someone who lives in extreme poverty, a little bit can mean the difference between life and death.
When someone asks me why I'm so interested and involved in our nation's politics, this is one of the issues that I point to as an example. If we were truly committed to fighting terrorism, we wouldn't do things so bass ackwards. Let's take some time this morning to talk about what we are doing in our own communities, for our children and our world and all the generations to come. Pull up a chair...
(Let's also talk a little warmth and comfort this morning as well. Fall is in full swing here, the leaves are gorgeous, but our heater is out...so what's keeping you warm and toasty, and what sorts of lovely warm soups, stews, breads...whatever...have you been making for you and yours lately?)
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Fitz!
Double Fitz with Ralston and Grover.
Jack
Morning gang — it’s freezing ass cold in our house this morning. Furnace went out on Thursday night, and they had to order a part to get it fixed — won’t be in until Monday, at the earliest. Let us all give thanks for the miracle that is a space heater…and hot coffee. *g* And layers.
Mornin’ Folks! Winter sure came quickly this year. Just like the War on Christmas!
In California, we have an organization called “Children Now,” and I have done research using their data when I was on a committee developing a planning document for our county. I would like to see more organizations like this throughout the US.
http://www.childrennow.org/
It’s a crisp New England morning, which of course means it’s fuh-REEZING, especially since we haven’t turned on the heat either.
I take hope from the fact people like Mohamed Yunus can win a Nobel prize for acting to pull people up from the doldrums of poverty. We need more of that in this world.
Here is the link to his foundation that does micro loans, mostly to women, and they I believe he has won the Nobel.
http://www.grameenfoundation.o.....mad_yunus/
Solutions to many of these problems exist, if there is sufficient money and political willpower.
I encourage people to support Doctors of the World/Medecins sans Frontieres. They go into the hellholes of the world and treat the desperately sick, without regard to governments or politics. They are fearless.
Normal middle-class American communities generally hide a surprising amount of poverty. Ask a local minister. The elderly, the newly divorced, people with sudden medical costs. Not everyone has family to help when there’s trouble.
I hope we will elect a lot of people who will view reducing poverty as a goal instead of CREATING poverty for millions of people, which we are currently responsible for.
Local, national, international: plenty of work to be done. I grew up thinking Matthew 25 was a to-do list: feed the hungry, heal the sick, help the least of these…
Let’s get going!
sofistic at 7 — the micro-loan group is really transforming things for so many women in difficult situations around the globe. I remember seeing something in-depth on them a coupla years ago and thinking that the simplest ideas often have the most power to transform our world. It’s a fantastic idea, and one whose time has more than come. Thanks for highlighting it. :)
Heifer International is a relief organization that provides poor families and villages support in tangible and intangible ways. The tangible is to give live pregnant animals - sheep, cows, goats, chickens, rabbits, llamas, whatever is indigenously appropriate - that the family can use to grow themselves a farm and sell some of the produce (eggs, wool, etc.). Some of the offspring must be given away to others in the village, to help them get started in the same way. The intangible is the education to use these gifts, and the support to make them work over time.
Heifer also does similar work with its donors, to educate them on the need and on how the gifts get used. This isn’t “education as a hidden appeal” but real education on what happens to the gifts. Schools (public and private) and churches are big supporters of Heifer.
We’ve not only given to Heifer, but they have an educational farm out here in CA that we’ve visited. The Kid loved seeing how all this works!
Saturday! Chair!
My first zero! And on the Pull Up a Chair post to boot! Who needs coffee after that? *g*
Here’s a place where you can find a local food bank.
http://www.secondharvest.org/zip_code.jsp
When I was a volunteer for the Dean campaign through Meet-up we would each bring a bad of groceries to donate. If you have any sort of regular gathering, why not bring some groceries to each meeting, and find a local food bank, or church that may know of families in need.
I continued doing it on my own afterwards. I have to admit, I haven’t been doing it lately, my work situation has not been the best in the last 6 months. I do see some light ahead, and I will pick it back up.
I know a lot of food drives are conducted around Thanksgiving, and that’s great. People are hungry year round. Think of the impact than can be made when consistent bags of groceries are donated every month.
sofistic @ 7
That prize was announced just yesterday.
Hate to stir up the oversexed homasexshuls this AM, but:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15256923
There is interesting work being done in Russia, so I hear :)
Russian Medical Fund developed from a ten-year-old learning about children dying in other parts of the world from lack of food and medicine. It just seemed offensive and wrong.
RMF has just celebrated 10 years of supporting congenital heart surgery in the former Soviet Union.
Careful Christy, the wingnuts will use your words as an admission that global warming is a hoax. Senator Inhoff will read your words to his committee as proof, him being the chief denier and eventual apologist for big oil.
Peterr at 10 — I love the Heifer folks. LOVE them. RevDeb came up with a great idea that I think I’ll get started a little this morning and then move forward: putting together a list of great organizations or companies whose products either put some profits toward some very worthy cause or whose products are made by folks who could really use a hand up — as a sort of virtual holiday shopping compendium for everyone. I know I’d appreciate some more options, and I think RevDeb is correct that others might appreciate that as well.
So, if you have a favorite like this, shoot me an e-mail and I’ll put together some sort of list (with links, if I can find them) and we’ll use it for a future Pull Up A Chair. :)
The local food bank around here is always busy, and they are supplied in part by the gleaners organization, and in part by the postal workers canned food pickups as well as donations. A Google search for “gleaners” yielded 280,000 hits, so they are active all over the US. Another source of food is the grow it yourself crowd, and there are community gardens in most cities and towns. A good source of seeds that haven’t been neutered is Seeds of Change.
http://www.seedsofchange.com/
CHS, if you are not already, might want to think about plugging in the crock pot filled with water.
Christy Hardin Smith @
3
Dang, Christy, I vote for a weekend in Aruba. Pop that PayPal button up top and I’ll be the first in.
John Casper @ 19
Or just get crocked.
John Casper @ 19
But does that use a lot of electricity?
Christy,
You family is welcome to stay here with us in Fairfax County until the heater is fixed. Plenty of space and toys.
sofistic ! Peterr!
have contributed to both organizations (sewing machines for Tamil women - goats for Chad & Niger)
oh goodness it feels good to know the contributions have a direct impact for very little money
for those with children in the house - Heifer Intl can provide you with an actual catalogue, and your kids can actually pick how they want to give - ducklings in China, calf in Congo, bunnies in Nicaragua - way kewl
John at 19 — thanks, it’s already on in the kitchen. Am covered in small peanut at the moment, so I’m toasty warm. (Someone had an accident a few minutes ago - bouncing on her hopping ball right into the corner of the entry wall to our living room. Owie! She’s going to have her first shiner, I’m afraid, poor little peanut.)
Here’s an organization that helps northern Ugandan women. I’ve bought some of the jewelery that they make and it’s really very unique.
http://www.beadforlife.com/
MSNBC: BREAKING - Ex-Rep Gerry Studds, First Openly Gay Person Elected to Congress Dies
My family, my students, and church have all given to the Heifer Project. My children love the idea of giving to others.Thanks for the sentiment, Redd.
My kitties keep me warm and happy. There’s two of them, both Siamese. One is 18 and one is 8.
And Ned the Fighting Koi, although for all his wonderful qualities, he isn’t very snuggly.
CHS -
Wonderful idea for FDL list of organizations; I would definitely trust & appreciate recoms. from the lake family.
Peterr at 6:32 -
Have heard of such an organization but wasn’t sure of title. Check for gift of sheep & hive of honeybees will be in the mail on Monday. Tks for the info.
Christy: Your post reminds of the stupidity Our Leader brought to Afhganistan. Afghani’s sign up to the Taliban because sometimes that is the only way they can receive food for their families. If all else fails, they sign up.
Now that we are all aware that the majority of hijackers came from Saudi Arabia, instead of spending $326 Million daily bringing bombs and tanks to Afghanistan, why didn’t the leaders of this country send food and materials to help them build an infrastructure that would support the working class families over there?
600,000 dead men, women and children….how does he sleep at night and what does he tell his wife and children?
“just two fingers this round, s’almost bedtime”
Trex, Laughter makes me warm and your post last night made me laugh. The nobel peace recipient Muhammud Yunus won the award for his work with poverty. It’s an amazing story how one individual can make a difference.
OfT
From the NYTimes Gay Marriage Losing Punch as Ballot Issue
By KIRK JOHNSON
DENVER, Oct. 13, 2006
JPL at 33 — National Geographic has a good profile of Yunus. Thought everyone would enjoy the read.
TRex @ 29
TREX — Kitten snuggling is wonderful! I woke up this morning with my girl (4) across my belly and my boy (19) wrapped up against my head. A sure sign the season has changed!
I hate to do a drive by on PUAC, but I have to work on my sermon for tomorrow and I just had to check in here.
Yesterday morning my state rep. Debby Blumer had a heart attack while driving her car, drove off into a ditch and died.
I can’t tell you how sad I am. She was a good woman and a progressive legislator. She was one of the chief workers on the Mass Health bills that wound their way through the leg. Hers was better all around, but politics is the art of compromise and they had to get something passed. She stood up for gay marriage, for choice, and for all the issues that matter to me. She would have loved this thread since she really cared about people and wanted to help. I am in tears as I write this.
I go to the Cape this afternoon to perform a wedding for two lovely women. It will be my first legal gay wedding though I have done many before it was legal and served in RI the last two years where I did some that were not. I will be thinking of Debby as I do this sacred deed.
Monday morning is the funeral service at Temple Beth Am. I’m sure it will be packed. I expect to see Rep. Markey, Deval Patrick and other notables there. She always worked her tail off for them.
DAMN. The good ones die way too young. (she was 64 but that is way too young).
Keep her family in your prayers.
RevDeb
Craig Crawford: War to the Rescue
Published: October 13, 2006
Bold is mine.
Christy, Thanks for linking to the National Geographic article on Yunus. From the article is this; However, in its citation, the Nobel Peace Prize committee, which is based in Oslo, Norway, said, “Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty.” Somehow I can’t imagine Bushy reading this.
Big cyber bear hugs [[[[[RevDeb]]]]]
Morning gang!
Really cool to read all the upthread comments on Heifer Intl. My family joined an organic subscription farm this year. It’s been outrageously great for the kids to get out fo the city (Seattle) and out to the farm to help pick crops and chase the chickens. This weekend the farm community is having a fundraiser - we’re all contributing items to a sale at the farm - to send the proceeds to Heifer.
At this juncture in history, I personally filter just about everything in world news through the lens of Global Warming. As much as I love FDL and the progressive political scene, it is only a means to the end result of a truly ecological world lifestyle > global-national-state-tribal-personal.
Global Warming will effect food production to a mind numbing extent. If you think hunger is a problem now, wait until things get hotter.
My point is that while the nuts and bolts of the political fight is absolutely vital to changing the course of the political dialog, if it does not lead to concrete changes in world ecology, soon, all else will be a moot point; hunger, social justice, the economy, the war, etc…..
The best all-in-one stop source on the current status of global warming I’ve seen (as an overview) is Tim Flannery’s book, The Weather Makers.
It is as calm a telling of the stark facts as you are likely to get. The main point I came away with is that there is a Real time frame on all this that is ticking. We don’t have a century or so to turn it around.
He spoke in calm scientific language about the dire aspects of a failure to do the right thing. That we still have a window of correction but that the ultimate solution to global warming will take on “genocidal” qualities (AKA Katrina like response) if we don’t act quite soon.
In the last 5 years we have actually gone backwards on global warming solutions under the Bush Crime Family. We will really look back and miss having another five years to fix this as the crunch approaches.
All social problems are welded to global warming.
Ask the people of the Sahel in Africa about politics. That’s small talk to them. They will change the subject to something truly news worthy, the weather.
hugs RevDeb - for the sorrow, the cool indelible people, the carrying on we all do
Milineryman — wow, thanks for that link to BeadsForLife. I will order some Christmas gifts through their site; amazing, their loose beads are sold out through Spring 2007!!! This is exactly the kind of organization that can work in concert with microfinancing organizations like Grameen; there’s obviously demand outstripping supply, could be an excellent continuing opportunity for Ugandan women.
Hey TRex — if you’re out there, must say that I’m still chuckling after reading last night’s post and thread. My ribs hurt from laughing, wish I could have been there.
OfT
From DemfromCT at tnh
The Media Narrative: The Wave Is Building (But The Levees Are Strong)
But the message has gone out, the people have heard and they’ve begun to render a judgement. A currently recommended diary quotes Charlie Cook:
Gentleman Jim:
I was going off on the same thread, and right now one of my Firefox tabs is filled with drought maps. It seems that Australia is really being hit hard right now. Wonder if that will turn their politics around from the current right wing leaning PM.
re heifer.
About 8 years ago, for the winter holiday of your choice, I sent to my neices & nephew a some gifts plus a set of catalogs ands said they should pick a charity & I would donate in their name. It went over so so then. But just recently I recd an email from of the girls-now in college-asking for the name of that organization where we gave a goat-SHE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING FOR A FRIEND WHO WOULD like that kind of thing.
seeds
Morning Christy. Stay bundled up!
Muhammad Yunus and his micro-loan program should make all of our greed-driven mega-bankers hang their heads in shame!
I’ve been lining up gently used warm clothing to take straight to our local food bank. Figure that gets it to our “hidden” local needy faster than almost any other way. They don’t handle much in the clothing line, but they’re grateful for the warm coats & stuff this time of year.
Trex is one of my treasures/comforts too - and everybody here - I am STILL laughing my ass off at the late nite Limbo Party!!! thread - boy what an abs workout no gym could match.
Good morning all. Christy, another fine post and a good reminder. I’ve a stack of letters on the desk from Boston Mission, Doctors without Borders, Amnesty, etc, and I need to get to them.
And TRex — funny, funny post on War on Christmas Action Figures and claymore mines with brussels sprouts. Destined to be a classic.
Another suggestion — lots of fine posts here from Christy/Jane et al this week, as well as on Glenn’s and other blogs that could stand some spotlighting. I just sent
Jeralyn’s post on Chris Shay’s denial about Abu Ghraib torture to all the Connecticut editors and TV anchors. When you run out of checks/money to contribute, you can always do Spotlight.
T-Rex, it wasn’t gratitude that brought tears to your mother’s eyes. It was the old brussels sprouts.
Morning FireDogs, and Go Blue! Gilliard has a great post up on the Thugs and their crumbling house of cards.
Jump in, the water’s fine!
LindyH @ 51
As far as I’m concerned, claymore mines are the only valid use for brussels sprouts. There would be a lot fewer deaths in war and fewer miserable children at dinner. The most frightening words ever: “finish your vegetable”!
{{{{{scarecrow}}}}}, at 7:36, GREAT use of Spotlight.
OT
More Evidence of a Depressed Republican Base
by Jonathan Singer, Sat Oct 14, 2006 at
Re Christy’s post/poverty.
Every morning when I step into the shower and feel the hot water I am amazed at my fortune. Everything about my life and its material comforts has been experienced perhaps by .00000001 percent of humans who have ever lived, let alone those alive now.
To me it feels like karmic dumb personal luck, but I know too well it is also the result of many seriously monstrous historical things.
Relentless murderous corp capitalism is what handed me my lifestyle of royalty - and is also going to make me, and us all, homeless eventually if it has its way.
Twisted, how long is Manningham out?
Oh, and…ahem…GO MOUNTAINEERS! ;-)
Sharkbabe @
55
Ease your conscience. Take a shower only every other day.
Not sure right now, they say he will be back for Ohio State for sure, maybe earlier. Penn State is gonna be rocking tonight!
Hoo boy — wait until the bubbas of the world find out that the GOP just crippled internet gaming. Remember back in the day when Republicans pretended to be the party of small government that stayed out of how you lived your own life? Now they are the party that wants to legislate your morality, 24/7. And they sneak it in under teh guise of “port security.” All those rednecks addicted to the party poker tour just got a big “screw you” from the GOP.
Claymore mine
Nice post by the way Christy. I thank God every day for my blessings, which are many. Yeah, things in our lives are difficult, but there are certainly degrees of difficulty. Our church puts together Thanksgiving food baskets every year & I always help deliver them. And I always make sure to take my kids, so they can begin to develop an appreciation for what they have.
I don’t want them to become calloused Rethugs when they get older.
I love brussel sprouts, but would gladly sacrifice all of my share if they instead could be used for claymore mines and cluster bomblets…
lots of hungry and thirsty little ones would probably get some nourishment and vitamins instead of losing a leg or worse.
good morning, all.
Wrt online gambling, was the GOP trying to throw James Dobson types and the
selective literalistsfundies a bone?Christy Hardin Smith @ 60
Forget the bubbas…Kirby and I are going to be speaking to Alan Schlesinger in about an hour! If I was going for a “gotcha” interview, that would be one of the topics I’d bring up.
However, we’re just going to try to get Alan to tell us about how the Republican party has essentially abandoned him for Joe Lieberman, and how Lieberman is a scoundrel for not retiring with dignity after losing the primary.
But you know me…it’s gonna be tough not to let my inner smart-ass come out and ask him a Wampum-card question or two. I’ll be good.
Twisted Martini @
52
Great effort by Gilliard. I wish I could decrypt the world like that.
Hooray CT Bob!
I still get angry every time I think of just how much money we have poured into Iraq. I get even more pissed when I hear Republicans getting weepy about water projects, school renovations, damns and a dozen other things that Repub’s would blanch at if they were to be done in America with “tax dollars”.
Imagine if a Democrat had announced a 1 billion a month plan to rebuild inner city schools, crumbling roadways, electric grids in the US? They’d have been hung.
-GSD
Sharkbabe #55 — I’m probably messing up my kids’ heads for life, but I remind them often of the miracles we take for granted when the opportunity presents itself.
If they start whining about anything material, I’m sure to remind them they are damned lucky they didn’t have to forage for food for the family, that they didn’t have to scavenge for wood for a fire, that they didn’t risk life or limb doing either, that their sniffles are greeted with tissues and medicines, that their bodies are covered with protective clothing and their feet are shod and their stomachs full and their skin and scalp free of lice and other nuisances.
For starters.
The challenge is the next step; once they are aware, will they make choices that help others and not only people as fortunate as themselves? Will they see that it is important to tithe not to a church per se, but to humanity? That’s the tricky part; I only have a handful or two of years yet to embed this.
Heifer International is a very good way to do this, as ruffian #47 pointed out. The kids were intrigued by the program last year; I hope we can make it an annual donation.
So is St. Vincent de Paul, one of our favorite charities; the kids can see what the charity does right here in our community, and they also hear from their grandparents in Florida what the same organization does since the grandfolks donate time to their local St. Vinnie’s thrift shop. I made a donation last year, earmarked for Katrina Disaster Relief in NOLA, and I intend to do so again this year.
CTBob at 67 — Great job — do let us know when you have video available of that, sounds like it’s going to be…interesting. ;-)
Will do, Christy. Well, I gotta go pack up the “Bob-mobile”! I’m attempting a two-camera shoot, with dual mics and stage lighting. On the go.
This is gonna be a challenge. Thank god for Kirby!
fyi on cspan2 now is the author of Blood Money
T. Christian Miller from the Los Angeles Daily Times
A real statesman speaks.
“Today our American friends are suffering from an illness worse than AIDS. And I would say this is the victor’s complex,” Gorbachev was quoted as saying in an interview with the Netzzeitung.
Unable to extricate itself from its Cold War mentality, the United States was playing a dwindling role in world politics, while Russia, China, Brazil, Europe, India and Japan were becoming stronger, Gorbachev said.
Who would have known that the former leader of the USSR would make the current US president look like Gomer Pyle?
-GSD
Hey angie!
In defense of brussels sprouts - they ARE wonderfully sweet and tasty from home garden in crisp fall temperatures, right(?!).
However, there is NO defense for claymore minds!
I’d gladly donate my share too.
[yes, I noticed my typo, corrected it, then changed it back - makes even more sense this way…]
BTW, has anyone noted Huffington Post link to redistribution of repug. campaign finance treasurechest within, or rather, out of some OH races & elsewhere? heh.
Sorry. repug finance retuning link referred to in 74 is to CBS news
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories.....9678.shtml
Some galvanizing ads are coming out. Here’s a piece on Huffington Post about a stem cell ad from Majority Action targeting GOP Congressmen in four races.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....31677.html
John Casper — in your claymore mine picture, see the spool of wire? In Vietnam a zillion years ago, one of my jobs was to set up communications on forward landing zones, cleared out the jungle. I used the electrical wires from claymore mines to hook up the command post radios to portable generators and batteries. One time someone gave me one of the spools, but forgot to remove the blasting cap that sits just inside the spool. It’s the blasting cap that sets off the mine when the electrical charge is given. When I hooked up one of the wires to the battery junctions, it ignited the blasting cap, which I was holding, and which expoded into my stomach. Fortunately, the spool and wire took most of the blast, but it knocked me on my ass and we had to pick out small schrapnel fragemnts.
So a word of caution to TRex: always check for the blasting cap before you hook up the brussel sprouts.
GSD @ 68
Yeah, I keep waiting for the public to storm the capitol steps with pitchforks. RevDeb sponsored a showing of “Iraq for Sale” last night, and that movie will will double the anger. It’s not just how much we’re wasting; it’s how it was stolen by corrupt contractors, and still going on, and there’s no oversight. (thanks, again, Deb!)
we sure have a wonderful band of brothers and sisters here at FDL, scarecrow!
we owe you much– thank you for your service and your willingness to continue to fight, sir.
hugs to RevDeb, ;(
Christy Hardin Smith @ 70
Christy, Bob’s doing some great stuff. If Bob gets a good video of Scheslinger, and you/Jane pick it up, we can spotlight to our favorite Waterbury paper! Always happy to help the Republican cause.
Hey Rayne, you’re welcome for that link for beads for life. My jaw dropped when I saw how beautiful the beads are, and once I found about the mission, the beads took on a whole new meaning.
I’m intrigued by Grameen, thanks for introducing me to them.
angie @ 79
thanks, but I feel a lot better about spotlighting any Christy post than about anything I every did in the military. It was as mindless and harmful as what is happening today in Iraq. We have much to atone for.
Oh, and noone calls me “sir.” That’s for officers (I was a sergeant) and my dad.
scarecrow, your atonement is in evidence in everything you write and the action you take and inspire.
we all have lots of work to do… together.
Scarecrow,
Were the Claymore’s the ones that jumped up when sprung for maximum gut level impact?
-GSD
To Scarecrow @ 50
Concerning Congressman Shays. Have you noticed how he and many other long time Republican Congresspeople have started to crack under the pressure of the negative spotlight? It was all so easy going for them for the last ten years being able to spout their lies without a credible push back from the press that I think they don’t really know how to handle it all now. I really wonder if that is what’s taking place with all of the stupid and self-defeating remarks they been putting out lately. Or are they all just really stupid and the press didn’t notice until now?
GSD @
84
i think those were called
jumpingbouncing betties. Claymores get stuck in the ground and tripped by wire.GSD @ 84
Not sure what you’re asking. See John Casper’s wikipedia link for a description. This type of mine is not buried; it is stuck just above ground level — think of a lawn sign, with two rods going into the ground but the banner is above ground level. The “banner” in this analogy is the “mine.” The wires are attached to the blasting cap, which is embedded into the explosive charge. The wires then lead back to some triggering device with an electical charge. When triggered, the blast spreads small schrapnel outward, in an expanding pie-shape pattern, for dozens of yards, killing or wounding everything in its expanding path.
lisadawn82 @ 85
Hey, lisa! I think you’re right either way. The Bush/Repubs have been getting away with the indefensible; now they’re finally being asked to defend it. You either say, “I was dead wrong and I will resign in disgrace and shame” or you sound like an idiot defending the indefensible. No one who enabled this regime should be spared. We need a good noble samurai movie.
John Casper @
64
win / win for the christo/corpo machines. dobson and his ilk are pleased but big GAMING (VEGAS, AC) etc love the sound of TOOBZ GAMBELING being flushed.
bet on it!
I heard James Baker on NPR yesterday saying
he couldn’t talk about their Iraq Plan until
after the elections. Then Olberman discussed
it’s leak from the NY Post… Whatttsup?
Worse than Watergate
Worse than Viet Nam…
Impeach him…
Jack
Christy Hardin Smith @ 17
If we’re making our lists…I’d like to add:
www.RanchoFeliz.com
scarecrow @
87
The Bay State Librul @ 90
The whole purpose of the Baker mission is to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, just like he did in 2000 in Florida. I am sure Baker has orders from Poppy to keep Junior on a leash, and the Decider can’t be happy about that.
Look for a strategy of declaring victory and then pulling out. First, the mission was WMD, then it became democracy, now they will be happy to stabilize Baghdad. So far all three missions have failed.
The louder they rail against cut-and-run the more likely it is that they will do just that, and then blame Clinton for everything from bin Laden to Foley.
Baker and Warner are giving the goopers a second voice. Those who like the singleminded stubborness of Clusterfuck no matter what the cost- can listen to him. Those who say “but this bullshit ain’t working” can listen to Warner and Baker- confident that the gooper geniuses will fix anything Clusterfuck blows up.
Pssst- it’s a political scam!
Looks like John Kerry is finally saying what everybody else is feeling but doesn’t have the balls (Harry?, Chuck?) to express. Go Big John!
Would you like an extinguisher for your pants sir?
egregious @
8
And I recommend that people check out Partners in Health, with all respect to MSF/DWB, egregious, PIH leaves something on the ground when it (the outsiders) departs. (I have been a supporter of MSF/DWB for years, and will continue to be, but PIH is more realistic for the long run.) And aside from that, the rest of your comment resonates deeply.
OK, here’s a test for FDLers.
It took me 5 minutes; my wife got it in 3.
Listen for subtle audio hints for help.
http://www.rumdesign.com/wrong/
New thread, gang.
Balrog @
97
pardon me?