Poor Lynddie England, chump and poster child of bad soldier

The MSM vilified Lynndie England as the evil incarnate of Abu Ghraib after the world looked on in horror at the photos of her tormenting prisoners. Poor dumb Lynddie admitted her guilt and said she knew she was wrong and got sent to jail despite the obvious sexual abuse by her superior officer (namely, she was preggers with his kid).
It boggles the mind that the press could demonize this subnormal child-woman for obeying the orders of her bosses while exonerating the Commander-in-Chief who made it all happen, who now admits with pride that he authorized torture of the "hardened terrists." You surely know who I am talking about? The "mission accomplished," "heckuva job, Brownie" guy? Yep, the buck stops with him.
Lynndie recently gave an interview. She's really mad at the press (well, who isn't?) But for Lynndie they are entirely to blame for the whole scandal that damaged America in world opinion, and why is that? Why, because stuff like the Abu Ghraib torture is just doing business as usual in the Army but the people can't be expected to understand that. They need to be protected from the truth.
Lynndie, poor boobie, took the rap like a good soldier but she is really pissed because the press didn't go along with the Big Lie that her "superiors" bamboozled her into pleading guilty for.
What a mug! She doesn't even get it, that her latest admisison about torture-as-usual is the most damning evidence we have that we need to look way up to the top of the food chain for the real perpetrators of the horrors at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo and all those secret detention sites in countries that don't fool around denying that they torture, and torture, and torture.
Thanks, Lynndie, for helping us get the big picture

Bush Administration Argues Veterans Have No Right to Mental Health Care

Support our troups? Of course, unless you are a Bushie. Put troops in a desperate no-win situation, then opt out on caring for their PSTD among other egregious lapses in thankfulness....Read on:

Bush Administration Argues Veterans Have No Right to Mental Health Care:
"Tuesday 05 February 2008

Veterans have no legal right to specific types of medical care, the Bush administration argues in a lawsuit accusing the government of illegally denying mental health treatment to some troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The arguments, filed Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco, strike at the heart of a lawsuit filed on behalf of veterans that claims the health care system for returning troops provides little recourse when the government rejects their medical claims.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is making progress in increasing its staffing and screening veterans for combat-related stress, Justice Department lawyers said. But their central argument is that Congress left decisions about who should get health care, and what type of care, to the VA and not to veterans or the courts.

A federal law providing five years of care for veterans from the date of their discharge establishes 'veterans' eligibility for health care, but it does not create an entitlement to any particular medical service,' government lawyers said.

They said the law entitles veterans only to 'medical care which the secretary (of Veterans Affairs) determines is needed, and only to the extent funds ... are available.'

Go to the link for the rest of the story.

True

Peace, peace and only peace

Shanti. That is Hindu for peace. The Shanti prayer calls for peace to all the beings and angels, all the herbs and shrubs, and for that peace to come to me. Shanti, shanti, shanti.
Here in Cook County we are very blessed with people who lavish love on our community, our lake, our woods and their precious bounty of beauty and abundance. "Locals" and newcomers alike have worked to preserve and cherish our assets: Grand Marais harbor, inland lakes and forests, the Boundary Waters and the Gunflint Trail. Tourism is our livelihood but it also is our passion: we want to spend our working hours sharing the treasures of the boreal forest and the waters with our guests.
In the past year we have collectively acted to protect and preserve our wetlands, our towns, our forests and our harbor. We have voted down every instance in which big development might overtake us: a super-sized marina, a monster Homeland project to criminalize our borders, gunfire on the lake, deep-pockets condo developers intent on transforming Grand Marais into Disney Gate World, and many another attack by big developers from the Twin Cities and the nation all looking for the big bucks.
Cook County, home of the best and the brightest although not the richest (except for the McMansion owners who post Keep Out signs and terrorize their neighbors), is for me. We give and give and give for the people and the place that we love.
But, what are we doing about the terrible evil that the Bush administration has loosed on the world? What are we doing to bring our soldier children home from a civil war where they are forced to kill innocent civilians and traumatized at far higher levels than earlier wars because of the moral muck in which they must participate?
There will be no peace or justice or health care or prosperity until this hideous and illegal war of aggression is brought to an end. Even so we will pay for its costs for generations to come. Even so we will have to rebuild Iraq, to dismantle the huge shadow network of mercenary soldiers that brings billions in profits to Halliburton, Blackwater and other no-bid contractors. We will have to withdraw our permanent bases and let the Iraqi people have their own oil revenue rather than "sharing" it with us. We will have to demand that the Congress take back the Constitution and restore our respect as a humane society in the rest of the world. We will have to turn our swords to plowshares.
Still, good people everywhere can rise to the occasion, just as the good people of Cook County take care of each other, so will others follow when we have made peace.

‘No More War’ Float Ruffles Iron Range - CommonDreams.org

Close to home: Veterans for Peace on the Iron Range found their float "No More War" banned in Virginia. Other nearby towns expressed similar concerns. Read the story here:

‘No More War’ Float Ruffles Iron Range - CommonDreams.org

Maureen Dowd | A Vice President Without Borders, Bordering on Lunacy

Here is True's blog pick for today.... Cheney being smarter than Bush (despite flunking out of Yale while Daddy's boy sailed through on Daddy's largesse), he is a much greater danger to the republic and the constitution.....
I wish people would wake up and act against the neocon terrorists who are destroying all that the nation has stood for. It's a replay of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
True

Maureen Dowd A Vice President Without Borders, Bordering on Lunacy

AlterNet: War on Iraq: One-Third of Troops in Iraq Support Torture, Majority Condone Mistreating Innocent Civilians

Our soldiers are our children, and we love them.....
They would never sanction torture unless they were mesmerized by propaganda. War is hell. Over all the centuries we know about the cruelty of the predators and conquerors is well documented.
In future the people of America will be dismayed at the shattering of Iraqi society sponsored by the Bush administration.... Our beloved former president Jimmy Carter finally announced that the emporer is stark naked.
Please, people, don't let the Dem cave-in stop us from standing firm against an immoral, illegal and tragic war...



AlterNet: War on Iraq: One-Third of Troops in Iraq Support Torture, Majority Condone Mistreating Innocent Civilians

We Gave Them Our Hearts, They Gave Him A Blank Check - CommonDreams.org - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

Even though True predicted the Dems would cave, the pain remains just the same.... True's heart is broken, for those whose lives will be lost, who will be maimed in both body and spirit, and who will be totally innocent victims of the Iraq civil war.
Apparently the will of the American people is not subject to elections. Last November it was made perfectly clear: end the war in Iraq.
The Dems we elected caved. It is a dark day.


We Gave Them Our Hearts, They Gave Him A Blank Check - CommonDreams.org - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

Congressman James L Oberstar -- Oberstar Urges President to Sign Iraq Bill with Target for Troop Withdrawal

Way to go, Jim! If only any of the presidential candidates from either party had your courage. Read on:

Congressman James L Oberstar -- Oberstar Urges President to Sign Iraq Bill with Target for Troop Withdrawal

Army Extends Iraq Tours to 15 Months

Where is the rage? Who voted last November to get out of Iraq?
This administration has forged full speed aheads with its disastrous escalation. Who will hold it accountable? NOT the newly elected Congress, who has put Impeachment off the table. NOT the legislature who lack the gumption to stand up for what 2/3 of the American people want. Too bad it is not 3/4, the super-majority required to over-ride a veto. BUT, the one-third of fools who think they are pre-ordained by God to control the planet and also get chosen during Armageddon have, unfortunately, the power to prevent a peaceful resolution to this conflict and a mission of peaceful work in our troubled world.

Follow this link to ponder True's latest passionate urge toward activism for peace:

Army Extends Iraq Tours to 15 Months

Rep. Oberstar Op Ed: Helping Those Who Serve

Helping Those Who Serve
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
by Rep. James Oberstar

Since the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, I have had many opportunities to meet with veterans from those conflicts. While their opinions on the wars were varied, these veterans were in agreement on two issues: they are proud of their service, and are desperately looking for guidance and respect as they cope with physical and psychological injuries. Throughout their first, second, or even third deployment, these men and women in uniform were adamantly committed to looking out for each other, making sure they each did his or her duty and got home safe. We owe these veterans the same level of loyalty and commitment that they gave to us and to themselves, often times at great personal cost.

Unfortunately, our returning soldiers have found that our nation has not fulfilled its responsibility to meet their most basic needs. After fighting terrorists and insurgents overseas, our veterans are now forced to fight for their medical services. They are forced to fight red tape. They are forced to fight for respect. This is wrong.

The sad fact is that the fight for proper, earned benefits for America’s veterans goes back decades. In the 19th Century, help for veterans was haphazard at best, with pension laws not enacted until years after a conflict was over, and scant attention was devoted to medical care or rehabilitation. It wasn’t until the 20th Century that Congress enacted laws that provided more comprehensive and timely benefits for veterans and their families. However, it was too often the case that the funding for these benefits was not adequate to meet the needs of our veterans.

Our veteran’s health care system is in crisis. This year, it’s expected that there will be more than 58 million outpatient visits to VA facilities. The number of new enrollees waiting for their first clinic appointment has skyrocketed. The bottom line is that the VA is overburdened and unable to keep up with the growing needs of veterans. The American Legion is saying this. The VFW is saying this. The DAV is saying this. And Democrats in Congress have been saying this.

To help offset the rising healthcare costs in the VA, the current Administration has asked veterans to pay a larger share of the costs with enrollments fees and prescription drug co-pay increases, as well as limiting the number of veterans who can access VA facilities. I have long opposed these efforts to ask our veterans to shoulder these additional burdens to receive their earned benefits.

Instead of cutting benefits for veterans, we need to cut the red tape they face when applying for benefits. We need to cut the time veterans have to wait to be seen at a VA hospital. We need to cut the rising healthcare costs for veterans.

In the next few weeks, I will be visiting VA hospitals, outpatient clinics, veterans homes, and speaking with administrators, doctors, nurses, service officers and veterans themselves to find out what is working, what is not working, and what can be done to better assist veterans. Based on previous discussions with veterans, I know the healthcare within the VA system is topnotch. That’s not the problem. We are failing these men and women as they make the transition from soldier to veteran and they are not receiving the follow-up care that they need. There are many veterans and VA employees who want to reinforce what’s working and to fix what isn’t. I want to hear from them.

On April 14, I will hold my first 2007 Hometown Values forum at the Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Cambridge, entitled “Our Military Community: Helping Those Who Serve.” At the forum, I will have specialists in the VA field who will offer their own analysis and take questions from the audience. The forum is open to the public.

No citizens have paid a higher price, nor invested a larger stake in America, than those who now serve or have served in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and the Merchant Marines. We need to go beyond honoring our veterans with dedications, monuments, holidays and lofty rhetoric. We need to honor them with the real and substantial support they deserve after shouldering the burden of defending the United States.



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