Quote of the Day on This President and HIs Impeachment

Democratic Party Senator Brian Schatz, of Hawai'i, seemed to say it right and best Monday, I thought, about this President and his impeachment in the Senate.

Senator Schatz votes guilty on both counts of impeachment

“There are millions of Americans that have formed a basic expectation about how a trial is to function, based on hundreds of years of law and based on their common sense. Make no mistake: what the senate did was an affront to the basic idea of a trial. And for all the crocodile tears of my colleagues, all the fake outrage at the accusation, we must call this what it was. It’s a cover-up.

I don’t know what Mulvaney or Bolton or Pompeo would say, I don’t know what the documents will illuminate, and I believe it is normally very dangerous to ascribe motives to fellow senators when criticizing their vote, but it is impossible for me to escape the conclusion that they don’t want to know, that they wanted to get this over with before the Superbowl, of all things. They are afraid of this house of cards falling all the way down.

As I look at the republican side of the chamber, I know this moment in history has made their particular jobs extraordinarily difficult, requiring uncommon courage. They have to risk the scorn of their voters, their social circle, their colleagues, and their president in order to do the right thing. On one level I knew the likely outcome, but the bitter taste of injustice lingers in my mouth.

On behalf of everyone who couldn’t get away with an unpaid traffic fine, is in jail for stealing groceries so that they could eat that night, who can’t get a job because of medical debt, I say shame on anyone who places this president or any president above the law. The president is not above the law. No one is above the law. The president is guilty on both counts.”

What some---too many---in the Right Wing believe

A friend sent me an email a "friend" of ours had sent him. The original sender is a rabid Right Winger , racist and, by his own admission, an Obama hater. Here's a list--probably a short one--of just some of the things they believe about this president:

QUIT BASHING OBAMA

Quit trashing Obama's accomplishments. He has done more than any other President before him. Here is a list of his impressive accomplishments:

1. First President to be photographed smoking a joint. (Really?)

2. First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner. (He was born in Hawai'i).

3. First President to have a social security number from a state he has never lived in. (More of the birther nonsense)

4. First President to preside over a cut to the credit-rating of the United States. (Which, actually, was the Republicans' doing because they wouldn't do their own job)

5. First President to violate the War Powers Act. (These people clearly don't know their own nation's history. He's no way the first president accused of this)

6. First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf
of Mexico. (Sometimes--and frequently--you can't even tell what they're referring to because naturally they reference nothing)

7. First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party. (Not acknowledging the requirement to purchase car insurance, etc., etc. and they put this on President Obama solely though it was passed by Congress. Adn thank goodness)

8. First President to spend a trillion dollars on "shovel-ready" jobs when there was no such thing as "shovel-ready" jobs. (Again, no reference from them)

9. First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies to his union supporters. (??  GM? Who knows?)

10. First President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act through executive fiat. (Well, yes, no other president had a "Dream Act."  Okay)

11. First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the deportation of illegal
immigrants across the U.S., including those with criminal convictions. (No reference)

12. First President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one of his political appointees. (Wha?)

13. First President to tell a CEO of a major corporation (Chrysler) to resign. (Well, let's see, the man's work was driving General Motors into financial ruin and the nation was going to bail them out with Federal moneys. He should be kept?)

14. First President to terminate America’s ability to put a man in space. (Blame the president for the progress of the nation's space program, over which he has no control. Okay. Sure. I guess)

15. First President to cancel the National Day of Prayer and to say that America is no longer a Christian nation. (A blatant untruth. Google it)

16. First President to have a law signed by an auto-pen without being present. (None other than President Harry Truman first used the autopen. They really want to go there?)

17. First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it. (??  Again, nothing. No reference. No specifics)

18. First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly spoke out on the reasons for their rate increases. (Well, let's see, we have the most expensive health care system in the world, it's the number one reason for bankruptcy in the nation and we are to do nothing?)

19. First President to tell a major manufacturing company in which state it is allowed to locate
a factory. (???)

20. First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore an oath to protect (AZ, WI, OH,
IN). (Actually, not the president but his administration and it was over civil rights, if I can figure out what they're referring to here)

21. First President to withdraw an existing coal permit that had been properly issued years ago. (Again, no idea. What I do know is that these people LOVE the status quo and so, support staying on fossil fuels, no matter what)

22. First President to actively try to bankrupt an American industry (coal). (Again, another blatant untruth)

23. First President to fire an inspector general of AmeriCorps for catching one of his friends in a corruption case.  (I had to research this one. There may or may not be merit here. Naturally, I hope there isn't. I'll have to research more. I would think that, if there were any truth to it, he would be eaten alive by the Republicans)

24. First President to appoint 45 czars to replace elected officials in his office. (Google this yourself. It's nonsense)

25. First President to surround himself with radical left wing anarchists. (That's one of my favorites--"radical left wing anachists." Wow).

26. First President to golf more than 150 separate times in his five years in office. (This in spite of all the data out there that proves Dubya' vacationed FAR more than no. 44).

27. First President to hide his birth, medical, educational and travel records. (Blatant silliness, if not absurdity)

28. First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing NOTHING to earn it. (They gave him the Nobel Prize. It's his fault. Got it).

29. First President to go on multiple "global apology tours" and concurrent "insult our friends"
tours. (A claim of the most outrageous and silly)

30. First President to go on over 17 lavish vacations, in addition to date nights and Wednesday
evening White House parties for his friends paid for by the taxpayers. (Search this one for yourself, too. Dubya' went on far, far more vacations and Pres. Obama hasn't saddled us with a bunch of trips, all on our expense)

31. First President to have personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his wife. (One more time, search it for yourself. Ridiculous)

32. First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000 a year at taxpayer expense. (Patent nonsense. Check it out for yourself. Somebody's smoking something)

33. First President to fly in a personal trainer from Chicago at least once a week at taxpayer expense. (They pay their trainer $60/hr)

34. First President to repeat the Quran and tell us the early morning call of the Azan (Islamic call to worship) is the most beautiful sound on earth. (If you Google this, it comes out this same way, word for word. They love calling Pres. Obama a liar, a Muslim, a Kenyan and/or a Communist)

35. First President to side with a foreign nation over one of the American 50 states (Mexico vs
Arizona). (I've no idea what the reference is hear)

36. First President to tell the military men and women that they should pay for their own private insurance because they "volunteered to go to war and knew the consequences." (Probably often repeated by the Right Wing but again, patently untrue)

37. Then he was the First President to tell the members of the military that THEY were UNPATRIOTIC for balking at the last suggestion.  (???)
_____________________________________________

Who knows what else they believe---and want to believe---about this president? The only things you can count on is that they'll keep creating more and more, until he's out of office and theyl'l believe everyone of them.

Missouri ranks down with Mississippi on life health

Needless to say, not good.

From NPR last evening:

For A Long And Healthy Life, It Matters Where You Live

From the article:

It's not just how long you live that matters. It's healthy life expectancy – the additional years of good health you can expect once you hit 65.

And by that measure, a new analysis shows it makes a lot of difference where Americans live.

Hawaiians are lucky in more than their idyllic weather and gorgeous scenery. Seniors there can expect a little more than 16 years of healthy life after 65. Women in Hawaii can expect more than 17 years.

At the other extreme, Mississippi's seniors have less than 11 years of healthy life. Older black Mississippians have only eight years, lower than anywhere except, oddly, African-Americans in Iowa, with seven years.

The national average is 14 years. That is, the average 65-year-old American can expect good health until age 79 – a little more for women, a little less for men.

And if you check out that chart, above, you'll see, as the title today tells, Missouri ranks down with Mississippi, for pity's sake, and lots of other Southern states for some of the worst longevity in the nation.

Nice, huh?

And we don't need to improve and change our health care system, eh?  Right?

Not to be done there, here's a real kicker, too:

Obviously, socioeconomic status is a common denominator in all these factors, but it's not just a matter of having more money – or spending more on health care.

That's borne out by a different study published earlier this month in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association.

It compared the United States with 34 other developed countries in how long their populations live and how healthy they remain. It's part of an ambitious effort by a group called the U.S. Burden of Disease Collaborators.

Strikingly, the U.S. rank declined on every measure of longevity and good health between 1990 and 2010. On "healthy life expectancy," the US went from 14th place to 26th over those two decades – while its already disproportionately high health care spending spiraled ever higher.

We have to keep in mind, as this points out above, America has teh most expensive health care system in the world yet we're getting some of the worst health outcomes of all the 17 industrial nations in the world we're compared to.

Again, we don't need to fix our health care system?

Are they out of their minds?

"Most Contented City"

You may not believe what nearby city just got ranked as the nation's "Most Contented City."

According to a recent study, the U.S. city where residents are most contented is Lincoln, Nebraska.

So much so that they beat out Honolulu, Hawai'i, if you can believe that.

Here's their stats:

1. Lincoln, Neb.

 Well-being index score: 72.8
 Obesity: 25.8%
 Median household income: $49,315
 Adult population with high school diploma or higher: 93.7%

Lincoln is the top ranked metro area in the nation on Gallup’s well-being index. As of January, 4.2% of all workers in the area were unemployed, less than all but three other metropolitan areas. Residents were also the most likely Americans nationwide to enjoy their work environment. More than 94% of survey respondents were satisfied with their job and work, almost 68% felt treated like a partner at work and nearly 86% felt they worked in a trusting environment — all among the highest figures in the country. Nearly 76% of those surveyed believe the city is becoming a better place, the fourth highest rate in the nation.

If you'll remember, back in 2008 they were ranked the nation's healthiest city:

 lincoln rated healthiest city in the nation

Then they also got this more recent ranking: Lincoln, Neb., Bests All Cities in Wellbeing in 2012.

They must be doing something right.

We should have Mayor Sly and the City Council go up the road a piece and check it out.

It wouldn't be that expensive a trip and who knows? Maybe they'd learn something. Maybe they'd bring something back they and we could all do.

Hey, we can hope, can't we?

Final, side note: In spite of what some people might think, in their ranking of the most miserable cities, Kansas City wasn't on that list, either.

Read more: America’s Most Content (and Miserable) Cities - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2013/03/26/americas-most-content-and-miserable-cities/#ixzz2PYPGrQpm

Huge Kansas City, Hallmark and Society news

 

Adele Hall, noted Kansas City civic leader, dies

Finally: News about the radiation on the US from Fukushima

Ever since the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan blew, I've wondered how much radiation hit the US. And since then, I've seen nothing, nothing about it from media or our government. That surprised me a bit--I'm very naive about far too much--and disappointed me. Finally, today, an article on the internets: California Slammed With Fukushima Radiation "The Journal Environmental Science and Technology reports in a new study that the Fukushima radiation plume contacted North America at California 'with greatest exposure in central and southern California', and that Southern California's seaweed tested over 500% higher for radioactive iodine-131 than anywhere else in the U.S. and Canada: Projected paths of the radioactive atmospheric plume emanating from the Fukushima reactors, best described as airborne particles or aerosols for 131I, 137Cs, and 35S, and subsequent atmospheric monitoring showed it coming in contact with the North American continent at California, with greatest exposure in central and southern California. Government monitoring sites in Anaheim (southern California) recorded peak airborne concentrations of 131I at 1.9 pCi m−3." As the post then so wisely and succinctly says: "Anaheim is where Disneyland is located." Just in case you're thinking no one's out there or effected.

But wait! There's more! There's much, much more! (Naturally) In addition, radioactive debris is starting to wash up on the Pacific Coast. And because the Japanese are burning radioactive materials instead of disposing of them, radioactive rain-outs will continue for some time … even on the Pacific Coast. Nice, huh? So what are our respective governments doing about it, if anything, you might ask? Your answers: Instead of doing much to try to protect their citizens from Fukushima, Japan, the U.S. and the EU all just raised the radiation levels they deem “safe”.

Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen says that high-level friends in the State Department told him that Hillary Clinton signed a pact with her counterpart in Japan agreeing that the U.S. will continue buying seafood from Japan, despite that food not being tested for radioactive materials.

And the Department of Energy is trying to replace the scientifically accepted model of the dangers of low dose radiation based on voodoo science. Specifically, DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley Labs used a mutant line of human cells in a petri dish which was able to repair damage from low doses of radiation, and extrapolated to the unsupported conclusion that everyone is immune to low doses of radiation… Isn't that all just lovely? So, finally, what is our government's response to information and data going foward? Great question: American and Canadian authorities have virtually stopped monitoring airborne radiation, and are not testing fish for radiation. If you weren't sick before, you probably should be now. (If after all that, you really are nauseous--not surprisingly--the comments at the links below have some magnificent, very dry and ascerbic wit to them, if that helps). Links: http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-13-30/california-slammed-fukushima-radiation; http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/update-fukushima-0; http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/fukushima-radiation-highest-ever-exceeding-capacity-measuring-device-fuel-likely-leaking; http://www.zerohedge.com/article/no-amount-radiation-released-japanese-nuclear-reactors-not-safe; http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/radioactive-iodine-blankets-much-europe-everyone-points-fingers

On Porkulus

Here's the thing about Rush Limbaugh right now--he's lost 13 advertisers, I understand, and 2 radio stations and Peter Gabriel, the singer/songwriter/performer has demanded that he never use his song "Sledgehammer" again. It was the song he played as he--Limburger--derided the young lady last week. The thing is, here he was, doing his shtick and bam! He went too far. WAY too far. Now, he's had to apologize to the young lady--and he did it twice to date--so he's backing down big time, for the first time ever, to my knowledge. Now, say--God forbid--you're "Porkulus", just for this argument's sake. You've lambasted an otherwise innocent young lady, nearly the entire nation is against you and you're losing both stations and advertisers. What do you do? Really, what do you do on and for your next show? How can you angrily "go after" anyone when you were just heavily reprimanded by nearly the entire nation? It makes doing his shows right now extremely difficult. So good did come of this, after all. Unfortunately, the state of Missouri is, right now, arranging to have a statue of him put up in the State Capitol. Brilliant. Let's idolize and canonize an ugly hater. Way to spend the state money. Links: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/limbaugh-not-think-sandra-fluke-slut-prostitute-181711551.html; http://www.americablog.com/2012/03/rush-just-lost-station.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Americablog+%28AMERICAblog%29; http://www.americablog.com/2012/03/list-of-advertisers-still-on-limbaughs.html; http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/rush-limbaugh-to-be-honored-in-state-capitol-s-hall/article_36b99152-66fb-11e1-af45-0019bb30f31a.html

What I've said about FDR and Pearl Harbor for years

New article out today: FDR warned of Pearl Harbor attack days in advance. England had been bombed for a year--a full year straight. Europe wanted and needed us--the US--to join the fight against the Germans and their allies in the war and badly. The American people were strictly isolationist and didn't think they had to get involved. It was "their war", after all. President Roosevelt knew what was going on in Europe, having consulted directly with England's Prime Minister Churchill and many others, and for a long time. I always thought that someone, somewhere, might, one day, find some communication that showed that FDR knew the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese was coming but intentionally ignored it. He knew, I think, he needed the nation behind him and this was likely the only way, unfortunately, tragically, to get them there. He probably hoped it would be a small attack, of course, and that not many would be hurt or--heaven forbid--killed. He likely crossed his fingers, turned out his bedlamp and went to sleep, aware of what might come. All that said, it's what needed to happen, again, unfortunately. He made the right call. But then, admittedly, this is easy "Monday morning quarterbacking." What he did took guts. Links: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/fdr-warned-pearl-harbor-attack-days-advance-164032040.html; http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/11/29/declassified-memo-hinted-of-1941-hawaii-attack-; http://www.amazon.com/December-1941-Changed-America-Saved/dp/1595554572/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322568083&38;sr=8-1

Omaha, Nebraska?? No. 4 on "America's Happiest Cities" List?

I'm stunned. Men's Health Magazine rated America's 100 "Happiest" and "Saddest" cities, as I said in the last post and check this out--unbelievably, Omaha, Nebraska came out number four on the list of "Happiest". You gotta' be kidding me. In what way is that? I mean, I like Omaha--to visit--and I love their "old town" area--from Spring to Fall--but one of the nation's "happiest cities"? Yikes. You're kidding me. Did they not either go there from November to March or hear about it? Then there's the fact that there's the "old town" area and--guess what--that's it. That's all there is to see in that city. Well, besides, maybe the Doorly Zoo but even that is, again, from the best, mildest, warmest part of Spring through the best part of Fall. I'm stunned. And once again, on these lists, nearby Lincoln, NE is close by at number 11. Excuse me, but with the exceptions of college football or business, why would anyone go to Lincoln? I don't get it. Link: http://www.menshealth.com/best-life/frown-towns?cm_mmc=Huffington_Post-_-Frown%20Towns-_-Article-_-Frown%20Towns

More good Kansas City news

US News & World Report has an article out right now on the "25 Worst Cities for Young People"--AND KANSAS CITY AIN'T ON IT. Take that, Kansas City haters. Denver? Yep. Portland, Milwaukee, Louisville, Columbus--all on it but we aren't. See? Things can always be worse. Link: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/20/worst-cities-for-young-people-from-seattle-to-cincinnati-photos.html

On our broken health care system (quote)

"The 50 million uninsured may seem invisible, but today their ranks are equal to the combined populations of Oklahoma, Connecticut, Iowa, Mississippi, Kansas, Kentucky, Arkansas, Utah, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, West Virginia, Nebraska, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, Vermont and Wyoming. Would America turn its back on these 25 states if they all lacked basic health coverage? That is what we’ve been doing for decades." --Matt Miller, Opinion Contributor, The Washington Post. Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-third-party-stump-speech-we-need/2011/09/22/gIQAjzx8wK_story_2.html

You are freaking kidding me

Justin Bieber gets two tattoos

Someone thought this was news today.

Somebody shoot me.

Now there's an understatement

Some blacks see racism in 'birther' questions

Oh, yeah?  What about us "whites" that see the ugly, blatant racism?

It was the best of air, it was the worst of air: State of the Air 2011

Who knew?

There is an annual ranking of the air quality of cities and states around the US, done by the American Lung Association.

Makes sense.  I should have known but wasn't aware of it.

To get right to it, there are some interesting developments in it for us, locally.

Topeka, KS is on the list of "Cleanest Cities for Ozone Air Pollution".

Congratulations, Topeka.  (I still don't want to live there but at least it's got good, clean air).

Lincoln, NE ranked 11 on the same list.  Kudos.

But wait!  Our neighbor to the North, St. Joseph, MO-KS (my hometown), ranked 7th (7th!) on the "Cleanest US Cities for short-term particle pollution" while Lincoln, NE showed up 21st on that list, too.


Good on you, St. Joe!


Now for the bad news.


St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL is on the list of "Most polluted cities by year 'round particle pollution at number 17.


Poor ol' St. Lou.  It sucks to be you.  One of the most violent and now, as it turns out, one of the most polluted, too.  Yikes.  The Chamber of Commerce either scrambles on this or just lets it go, unable to do or say anything about it.  (Btw, Detroit, coincidentally, beat them out, too, at the number 16 spot.  Two of the most violent cities are both also have some of the dirtiest air.  Wow.)


The fact is, the list shows that, without doubt, some of the worst, filthiest and most polluted air is, without exception, is in California.  No wonder those people want clean air regulation.  Good for them.  Good for all of us.

The best air in the country?

Honolulu, Hawai'i.

There's a shock, huh?

As for our hometown digs here in KCMO?

Good news, really, overall.

We don't rank on any list of the "cleanest air"...

but we sure aren't on any of the "worst air" lists, either.

Cause for celebration.


Links:  http://www.stateoftheair.org/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110427/hl_nm/us_air

100 Places to Go Before They Disappear

On Earth Day, for Earth Day, today, from Yahoo! News:


For Earth Day, Yahoo! News interviewed Gaute Hogh, publisher of the book 100 Places to Go Before They Disappear (distributed by Abrams in the U.S.). Hogh was inspired to produce the book after witnessing the effects of global warming in his native Denmark. He wanted to show how natural beauty around the globe could be forever altered by climate change.


One of these many places that could be severely affected--Kauai, Hawai'i

Kauai, the fourth largest Hawaiian island, is famous for its tropical beauty and lush mountains. Global warming could disrupt its distinct “cloud forest”ecosystem, pushing life-giving moisture to higher elevations. Home to the hummingbird-like honeycreeper, a rare and colorful animal that sips nectar from flowers, this cool zone is vital to Kauai’s verdant environment. Deforestation and non-indigenous species like pigs and goats have also decimated the honeycreeper’s habitat in recent years and the bird is now in danger of going extinct.  See more at links below.

Or we could start to change how we live so it's more sustainable.


It's our choice.


Here's hoping we can change quickly enough to make a difference.


Links:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_newsroom/20110421/sc_yblog_newsroom/photos-of-endangered-places-around-the-world
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Endangered-Places-Around-World/ss/events/sc/042011climateplaces

Neighboring Nebraska one of the "Happiest States"?

Yes, they are, this time according to LiveScience.com (not Forbes Magazine).

Oh, sure, you can figure Hawaii ranks number one in this ranking, what with the oceans and beaches and mountains and all the tourists coming to see what they've got but Nebraska, number 10?

From the article:

Hawaii's stellar placement was due to its scores on three well-being categories: life evaluation, emotional health and physical health.

That all seems fairly obvious, if not statistical.

But what about Missouri with our state park system and Lake of the Ozarks, etc?  We came in at a lowly, second-half of the group 34.  We must be grumpy people, I guess.

Meanwhile, Kansas was no. 15 while Iowa is 19.  Oh, well.

At least if Missouri isn't in the "top ten", we aren't in the "bottom 10", either, thank goodness.

Looking at that "bottom 10" , check that out--neighbor Arkansas is the 4th unhappiest, at no. 47, supposedly.

Oh, well.  It's like they say in the Broadway play "Avenue Q", Arkansas--"It Sucks to be You".

Link to original story:    http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20110307/sc_livescience/happiestinhawaiialohastatetopswellbeinglist

5 best ways to be happy:  http://www.livescience.com/5065-5-keys-happiness.html

Soldier casualties in Afghanistan this last week

The Pentagon released the names of eleven service members killed in Afghanistan.

• US Army PVT Devon J Harris, 24, Mesquite, TX
• US Army 1LT Scott F Milley, 23, Sudbury, MA 
• US Air Force Lt Col Gwendolyn A Locht, 46, Fort Walton Beach, FL 
• US Army SFC Barry E Jarvis, 36, Tell City, IN
• US Army SSG Curtis A Oakes, 29, Athens, OH
• US Army SPC Matthew W Ramsey, 20, Quartz Hill, CA 
• US Army PFC Jacob A Gassen, 21, Beaver Dam, WI 
• US Army PFC Austin G Staggs, 19, Senoia, GA
• US Army PFC Buddy W McLain, 24, Mexico, ME
• US Marines Cpl Chad S Wade, 22, Bentonville, AR
• US Marines Sgt Matthew T Abbate, 26, Honolulu, HI

According to iCasualties, the total number of allied service members killed in Iraq is 4,747; in Afghanistan, 2,247, of which, 153 are Canadian. During this same period, 59 Iraqi civilian casualties were identified. For the entire month of November, 298 Iraqi civilians were killed.

 

Links:  http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/week-memoriam-91

http://www.icasualties.org/

Quote of the day--on the US and war today

WAR! (don't look!)

Nov 2, 2010 - A new isolationism is metastasizing in the American body politic. At its heart lies not an urge to avoid war, but an urge to avoid contemplating the costs and realities of war. It sees war as having analgesic qualities - as lessening a collective feeling of impotence, a collective sense of fear and terror. Making war in the name of reducing terror serves this state of mind and helps to preserve it. Marked by a calculated estrangement from war's horrific realities and mercenary purposes, the new isolationism magically turns an historic term on its head, for it keeps us in wars, rather than out of them.
Old-style American isolationism had everything to do with avoiding "entangling alliances" and conflicts abroad. It was tied to America's historic tradition of rejecting a large standing army - a tradition in which many Americans took pride. Yes, we signed on to World War I in 1917, but only after we had been "too proud to fight".
Even when we joined, we did so as a non-aligned power with the goal of ending major wars altogether. Before Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Americans again resisted the call to arms, looking on Adolf Hitler's rise and other unnerving events in Europe and Asia with alarm, but with little eagerness to send American boys into yet another global bloodbath.
In the decades since World War II, however, "isolationism" has been turned inside-out and upside-down. Instead of seeking eternal peace, Washington elites have, by now, plunged the country into a state of eternal war, and they've done so, in part, by isolating ordinary Americans from war's brutal realities.

Links:  http://warisacrime.org/content/war-dont-look;  http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LK02Ak01.html

Things to notice about this President and his vacations

I think it needs to be pointed out that this President--in sharp contrast to several of the last Presidents, most particularly the last occupant of the White House AND Ronald the Ray-gun--is not taking and does not take the entire month of August off his job so he can vacation. Anyone in the Republican or Tea Parties want to notice that? No, I thought not. And check this out, on several of the First Family's vacations, the President has had his very brief getaways interrupted so he can take care of national business: "Their Memorial Day weekend in Chicago was overtaken by the Gulf oil spill. After the Obamas slept at their Chicago home for the first time in a year, the president got up and left for a daylong Gulf inspection tour. That followed the Obamas' Christmas trip to Hawaii, interrupted repeatedly for briefings and comment on the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound jet. And it followed last summer's Martha's Vineyard stay, marred by the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, whose Boston funeral Obama and his wife, Michelle, attended. Then there was the planned visit to Indonesia, where Obama spent part of his youth. He'd hoped to show his daughters his old haunts. But the trip was scrubbed twice, first in March as health care neared its climax in Congress, then again in June because of the oil spill. It's now expected late this year. So besides passing the first health care reform in this country in about 100 years and putting back in place good financial reform measures to protect the country and lowering taxes on the Middle Class and all the other good things this President has done, accomplished and is doing, could we please give him and the First Family credit for working hard and not slacking? It won't happen but I thought someone should mention it. Have a great weekend, y'all. Link to original post: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100716/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama