Ofyre Blog

So, the Army is the next casualty of Bush politics: LINK . Here’s a nice passage:

“He (Lieutenant General James D. Thurman, deputy chief of staff for operations) said he hoped, but couldn’t promise, that if demand stabilized at around 15 brigades, the use of stop-loss could be completed by the end of budget year 2009, or beginning of budget year 2010.

Those currently being held even though their service is supposed to be finished include more than 6,800 active-duty Army personnel, about 3,800 in the Army National Guard and close to 1,500 in the Reserves, he said.”

So, you sign a contract with the US government, to serve a certain amount of time, say 4 years. Once the 4 years are up, you are done, the contract is finished. If you try to breach the contract by leaving early, they can put you in jail. Stop-loss means the government does not have to fulfill it’s promise. They can just say you have to stay longer, and even though your 4 years are up, you can’t leave. If you do, they put you in jail. Nice freedoms, huh?

Heckuva job Bushie!

My Texas Senator, Cornyn, has an online petition here . I did sign it, because I do support our troops. However, I had to add my own comment:

————————————————-

Also, Gen Petraeus, we know that your predecessors that disagreed with President Bush have been sacked. Starting with Shinseki, it has been made clear that you will have to toe the line or leave. Please do not knuckle under.

I support your effort and that of our brave men and women, who are daily dying for one of the worst causes we have engaged in as a country. I believe the best ways to support you are:
- remove all the high paid contractor/mercenaries from Iraq
- pay a much higher wage and benefits to the Armed Forces personnel
- disengage from this disastrous war as soon as feasible.

I also understand, Gen Petraeus, that some have committed war crimes, including in the Army and our administration. Even Sen. Cornyn, who is sponsoring this petition, has refused to disavow water boarding (I have asked many times), which is definitely a crime. Please try to stop as much of this criminal behaviour as possible, even if your Texas Senators won’t help you.

Thanks,
Bill P

I love this one, the United States needs protective services, so instead of using our, uh, armed forces and security forces for it, they are paying Blackwater huge amounts of money. No matter that Blackwater is being investigated for a massacre. Look at this link . The quote I like is:

“"I am not going to prejudge what the FBI is going to find in their investigation. I think really, it is complex. I think that the U.S. government needs protective services,” he said.”

Wow, we spend, what, BILLIONS on security through our normal armed services; but I guess that doesn’t count. We need to hire private Republican mercenaries instead.

Sheesh.

BP

Take a look at this article ! Here is the quote I love:

“As heiress to her father’s stake in Hensley & Co. of Phoenix, Cindy McCain is an executive whose worth may exceed $100 million. Her beer earnings have afforded the GOP presidential nominee a wealthy lifestyle with a private jet and vacation homes at his disposal, and her connections helped him launch his political career – even if the millions remain in her name alone. Yet the arm’s-length distance between McCain and his wife’s assets also has helped shield him from conflict-of-interest problems.”

Uh, her BEER money has helped fund the GOP?! McCain’s lavish lifestyle is based on her beer earnings? Too good to pass up

BP

There is a country:
- being a practicing Christian is punishable by imprisonment or deportation, or torture

- women have few or no rights; from Wiki: The testimony of a woman is not regarded as fact but as presumption. The reasons women are forbidden to testify in proceedings are (quote):

1. Women are much more emotional than men and will, as a result of their emotions, distort their testimony.
2. Women do not participate in public life, so they will not be capable of understanding what they observe.
3. Women are dominated completely by men, who by the grace of God are deemed superior; therefore, women will give testimony according to what the last man told them.
4. Women are forgetful, and their testimony cannot be considered reliable.

- the majority of funding for terrorists comes from there: link . Here is a nice quote:
WASHINGTON – [Country X] remains the world’s leading source of money for Al Qaeda and other extremist networks and has failed to take key steps requested by U.S. officials to stem the flow, the Bush administration’s top financial counter-terrorism official said Tuesday.

- over 75% of the 9/11 hijackers came from there.

That country is Saudi Arabia, and President Bush likes them. They are our allies. From the White House web site : “Today, we renewed our personal friendship and that between our nations.”

I’m sure it has nothing to do with oil. It would be kind of sad to cozy up to the terrorist’s financiers and backers just because they are rich.

BP

Take a look at this: article on waterboarding. Remember, we hung Japanese officers for waterboarding US servicemen as documented .

It is certainly against the law to waterboard. There is no question, as the above article makes clear: “In 1983, federal prosecutors charged a Texas sheriff and three of his deputies with violating prisoners’ civil rights by forcing confessions. The complaint alleged that the officers conspired to “subject prisoners to a suffocating water torture ordeal in order to coerce confessions. This generally included the placement of a towel over the nose and mouth of the prisoner and the pouring of water in the towel until the prisoner began to move, jerk, or otherwise indicate that he was suffocating and/or drowning.”

The four defendants were convicted, and the sheriff was sentenced to 10 years in prison. “

It is a crime, worth 10 years in prison. And our government has done it. Now the question is: do we actually follow the law, believe in the law, and enforce the law? Or do we let certain people off?

As of now, we do not follow the law, it is a land of men, not laws.

BP