Now...before it is Never

Oh, beautiful for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain...

They have said their prayers, and they stay for death. "Henry V" (4.2.56) ~

William Shakespeare

For purple mountain majesties
Above thy fruited plain!

Let them come: They come like sacrifices in their trim, And to the fire-eyed maid of smoky war. All hot and bleeding will we offer them: The mailed Mars shall on his altar sit Up to the ears in blood. "Henry IV, Part 1" (4.1.116-21) ~ William Shakespeare

America, America,
God shed His grace on thee

His sword, death's stamp, Where it did mark, it took; from face to foot He was a thing of blood, whose every motion Was timed with dying cries "Coriolanus" (2.2.109-12) ~ William Shakespeare

And crown thy good with brotherhood

There are few die well that die in battle. (Henry V 4.1.141) ~ William Shakespeare

From sea to shining sea.

And in this seat of peace tumultuous wars Shall kin with kin and kind with kind confound; Disorder, horror, fear and mutiny Shall here inhabit, and this land be call'd The field of Golgotha and dead men's skulls. (King John 4.1.145-50) ~ William Shakespeare
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"Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

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"It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" ~ Patrick Henry
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In honor of all those who offered a life in pursuit of a dream or nightmare..
The sacrifice remains the same.
Our fallen heroes could not know our one voices raised in sacred prayer
And we don't know their names.

Let us remember, truly remember what was fought and died for and why we are where we are right now. The loss of one diminishes you as it does me and all of us together.

Support our troops - Bring them home - Now -
Now - Now!!!

Once Upon a Time

The Bill of Rights

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Amendments 11-27

We HELD these Truths....

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity.

We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

"How many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is" screaming "in the wind."

In Memory of...

THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

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We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Article. I.
Section 1.
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section. 2.
Clause 1: The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

Clause 2: No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Clause 3: Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. (See Note 2) The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.

Clause 4: When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

Clause 5: The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Section. 3.
Clause 1: The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, (See Note 3) for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Clause 2: Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies. (See Note 4)

Clause 3: No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

Clause 4: The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

Clause 5: The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

Clause 6: The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Clause 7: Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Section. 4.
Clause 1: The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.

Clause 2: The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, (See Note 5) unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.

Section. 5.
Clause 1: Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Clause 2: Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

Clause 3: Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Clause 4: Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

Section. 6.
Clause 1: The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. (See Note 6) They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, beprivileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

Clause 2: No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

Section. 7.
Clause 1: All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Clause 2: Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.

Clause 3: Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

Section. 8.
Clause 1: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

Clause 2: To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

Clause 3: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

Clause 4: To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

Clause 5: To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

Clause 6: To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

Clause 7: To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

Clause 8: To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

Clause 9: To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

Clause 10: To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

Clause 11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

Clause 12: To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

Clause 13: To provide and maintain a Navy;

Clause 14: To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

Clause 15: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

Clause 16: To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

Clause 17: To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, byCession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And

Clause 18: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Section. 9.
Clause 1: The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

Clause 2: The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

Clause 3: No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

Clause 4: No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken. (See Note 7)

Clause 5: No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

Clause 6: No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

Clause 7: No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

Clause 8: No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Section. 10.
Clause 1: No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

Clause 2: No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.

Clause 3: No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

Article. II.
Section. 1.
Clause 1: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows

Clause 2: Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

Clause 3: The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President. (See Note 8)

Clause 4: The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

Clause 5: No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

Clause 6: In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, (See Note 9) the Same shall devolve on the VicePresident, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

Clause 7: The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Clause 8: Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Section. 2.
Clause 1: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

Clause 2: He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

Clause 3: The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

Section. 3.
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Section. 4.
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Article. III.
Section. 1.
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Section. 2.
Clause 1: The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two or more States;--between a State and Citizens of another State; (See Note 10)--between Citizens of different States, --between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.

Clause 2: In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

Clause 3: The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

Section. 3.
Clause 1: Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

Clause 2: The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

Article. IV.
Section. 1.
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

Section. 2.
Clause 1: The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

Clause 2: A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

Clause 3: No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due. (See Note 11)

Section. 3.
Clause 1: New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

Clause 2: The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

Section. 4.
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.

Article. V.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

Article. VI.
Clause 1: All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.

Clause 2: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

Clause 3: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Article. VII.
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,

GO WASHINGTON--Presidt. and deputy from Virginia

[Signed also by the deputies of twelve States.]

Delaware

Geo: Read
Gunning Bedford jun
John Dickinson
Richard Bassett
Jaco: Broom


Maryland

James MCHenry
Dan of ST ThoS. Jenifer
DanL Carroll.


Virginia

John Blair--
James Madison Jr.


North Carolina

WM Blount
RichD. Dobbs Spaight.
Hu Williamson


South Carolina

J. Rutledge
Charles 1ACotesworth Pinckney
Charles Pinckney
Pierce Butler.


Georgia

William Few
Abr Baldwin


New Hampshire

John Langdon
Nicholas Gilman


Massachusetts

Nathaniel Gorham
Rufus King


Connecticut
WM. SamL. Johnson
Roger Sherman


New York

Alexander Hamilton

New Jersey

Wil: Livingston
David Brearley.
WM. Paterson.
Jona: Dayton


Pennsylvania

B Franklin
Thomas Mifflin
RobT Morris
Geo. Clymer
ThoS. FitzSimons
Jared Ingersoll
James Wilson.
Gouv Morris


Attest William Jackson Secretary

Good Mourning, Fellow Choirmembers

"Lousy leader?" Are you kidding me? How about "serial abuser?" Subordinate predator works well too. Obsessive-compulsive? No, too kind. Ruthless. Ethic-less. Impulsive. DANGEROUS. Getting closer I think. Hypocrite? Madman. Liar. Ok, ok, enough...you get the point. I don't like the man very much. Do a Goggle search and then read below.

Quick change of topic --- Is anyone else feeling as disgusted as I do over the "Nukular Option?" Why can't I feel reassured like many do that the Dems had a victory of some sort? I take no consolation in others saying that Frist and his minions suffered defeat. I just feel bad. Real bad. More lies, no solutions, no actions except ones that aren't working and lots of preaching to the choir and whistling in the wind, passers-by chatting, moaning and watching life as we know it slip away and do so with full permission from us until and unless someone, somewhere, emerges as a leader.

You know anyone?



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Heated debate over John Bolton -- President Bush's controversial pick to become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations -- spilled over onto the Senate floor Wednesday, with a key Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee saying it would be a mistake to send a "lousy leader" like Bolton to such an important position.

Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, read off a list of complaints by Bolton's subordinates and charged that Bolton, a State Department undersecretary, could undermine U.S. foreign policy efforts.

"Is John Bolton the best possible person to serve as the lead diplomat to the United Nations? Will he be able to pursue the needed reforms at the U.N. despite his damaged credibility?" Voinovich said.

"I believe we can do better and we owe it to the United States of America, the U.S. State Department, our soldiers overseas, our children and our grandchildren to do better than Mr. Bolton."

He added, "I think he's a lousy leader."

Voinovich letter
Voinovich, who has rankled the White House with his vocal opposition of Bolton, earlier this week sent a letter to his Senate colleagues recommending against Bolton's nomination.

He read a copy of the letter on the Senate floor and said if the vote were held in secret, Bolton would not pass.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, allowed the debate on Bolton's nomination to go forward shortly after noon and said he hopes a vote can be held by Thursday evening.

According to numerous Republican and Democratic staffers contacted by CNN, it looks increasingly like Republicans will have enough votes to confirm Bolton as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Simple majority
Bolton needs a simple majority to be confirmed. There are 55 Republicans, 44 Democrats and one independent in the Senate.

Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Delaware, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, recommended against Bolton, saying he has a reputation of bullying his colleagues, of taking facts out of context and of exaggerating intelligence.

"This guy should not be going to the U.N.," Biden said. "I wish the president had taken another look at this and found us someone (else)."

He added: "Is this really the best the president of the United States can do? Is this the best among the many tough-minded, articulate, conservative Republican foreign policy experts?"

Biden said the most qualified Republican that Bush could send to the United Nations would be his father, former President George H. Bush.

Warner: A 'most able' candidate

Moments after Biden's scathing critique, Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, "I respectfully disagree." Warner called Bolton a "most able" candidate who would represent the United States admirably.

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, kicked off the debate, saying Bush deserved "his nominee represent him at the United Nations."

Key moderate Republicans
With the debate under way, staffers for key moderate Republican senators -- Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska -- told CNN their bosses had decided to support the Bolton nomination.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine said that as of a couple weeks ago Snowe was not opposed to Bolton's nomination and she didn't "think it was going to be a problem." But she added that Snowe might change her mind, once she got to the floor.

Biden and Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Connecticut, have pushed for the administration to turn over information relating to why Bolton sought the names of government officials whose communications were secretly recorded.

Dodd said he is not "interested in a filibuster," but added he is willing to stall at least temporarily in an effort to push the administration to release the NSA intercepts.

"We have been stonewalled from the beginning," Biden said. "The main question is: Did Bolton attempt to badger or attempt to change the views of intelligence officers?"

Senate theatrics
In a moment of Senate theatrics, Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Maryland, interrupted Biden on the floor, saying he didn't understand why the administration wasn't providing the information and asked why they were giving this "backhanded treatment of the institution of the United States Senate."

"These are the very names that were provided to Mr. Bolton, is that correct?" Sarbanes said.

Democrats have charged that Bolton doesn't have the necessary diplomatic skills for the job, having often bullied or intimidated his staff until they agreed with his viewpoint on issues. One of Bolton's former colleagues testified last month that Bolton was "a quintessential kiss-up, kick-down sort of guy."

Bolton's supporters, including the White House, argue he is a seasoned government official who can spearhead reform at the United Nations.

After a delay of several weeks, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee two weeks ago voted along party lines, 10-8, to forward the nomination to the full Senate, but it did not offer a recommendation.

And How Do You Spell...?

Phr...Pir...Pyhr...Prh...ohhhh, I remember...Pyrrhic! That's it! Pyrrhic victory anyone?



on the Nation's website...

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?pid=2757
=====================================
05/24/2005 @ 5:12pm

Bad Deal on Judges
by John Nichols

As the showdown on the so-called "nuclear option" approached, polls
showed that the American people opposed scheming on the part of
Senate GOP leaders to eliminate judicial filibusters by an
overwhelming 2-to-1 margin.

Even among grassroots Republicans, there was broad discomfort with
the idea of creating a tyranny-of-the-majority scenario in which the
minority party in the Senate would no longer be consulted regarding
lifetime appointments to the federal courts.

So there were plenty Republican senators who were looking for a way
out of the corner into which Senate majority leader Bill Frist, R-
Tenn., had maneuvered them. Democrats simply needed to hold the line,
while attracting Republicans who were uncomfortable with Frist's
machinations, and they could have secured the will of the people.

Unfortunately, the Democrats buckled. So Republicans will get the
votes they want on at least three federal appeals court nominees who
should not be allowed on the bench.

Under a compromise worked out by moderate Republicans and Democrats,
the "nuclear option" has been averted for the time being -- and
perhaps permanently.

But in return for that concession by the Republicans, the Democrats
have agreed to allow confirmation votes on three judicial
nominations that had been blocked: Janice Rogers Brown, William
Pryor Jr. and Priscilla Owen. The trio were among the ten appeals
court nominees whose records of judicial activism, ideological
rigidity and ethical misdeeds were so troubling that a substantial
number of senators felt they ought not be given lifetime tenures on
key appellate court benches.

It now appears that confirmation is all but certain for the nominees:
That's bad news for Americans in general and, in particular, for low-
income citizens, people of color and women who look to the nation's
highest courts for a measure of protection against discrimination and
other forms of government-sanctioned abuse.

Brown, who has been nominated to serve on the powerful US Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, has condemned the New
Deal, which gave the United States Social Security, the minimum wage
and fair labor laws. She has expressed doubts about whether age
discrimination laws are a good idea. And she has made it clear that
she is no fan of affirmative action or other programs designed to
help minorities and women overcome centuries of oppression.

Pryor, while serving as attorney general of Alabama, fought to
undermine the authority of Congress to prohibit discrimination and to
protect the environment, to maintain separation of church and state,
to protect reproductive freedom and to guarantee equal protection
under the law for gay men and lesbians. He has been nominated to
serve on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Owen, who has been nominated to serve on the US Court of Appeals for
the Fifth Circuit, established a record on the Texas Supreme Court of
unswerving loyalty to corporate interests. She has, in addition,
adopted such extreme antiabortion rights stances that even her fellow
conservatives, including Alberto Gonzalez, who was then a Supreme
Court justice but now servers as US Attorney General, have distanced
themselves from her.

All three nominees have drawn broad opposition from civil rights,
women's rights, public interest, religious, environmental and labor
groups. None of them should ever be allowed anywhere near an appeals
court bench. Yet it is likely that, as a result of the deal worked
out by the moderate senators, all three will soon be donning the
robes of the federal judiciary.

This "compromise" may have averted the "nuclear option" for a time.
But it will saddle the federal bench with more bad judges.

That's a bad deal, especially when there is such overwhelming public
sentiment for maintaining the right of senators to block
inappropriate judicial nominees. Democrats were right to oppose
Brown, Pryor and Owen. They will come to regret cutting the deal to
let these unacceptable nominees -- and the others who are now sure to
be nominated by the Bush Administration -- to be approved.

Dangerous Times

After last evening's so-called "compromise," I feel like just rolling over in bed and putting the blankets over my head. Will address as soon as I can make sense of it. Meanwhile, here's another cheererupper!



http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/nationdamned.html


A Nation Damned
We are a nation damned.
There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We are past being able to pretend otherwise, no matter what comfort might be found in the deception. The United States Government has openly admitted there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The United States Government has openly admitted there was no connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. The United States Government has openly admitted there was no connection between Saddam Hussein and 9-11. The United States has invaded and conquered a foreign nation under false pretexts. President Bush and his cronies lied us all into a war.

But that is not why we are damned.

The culmination of decades of accumulated overspending by the government has created an aggregate debt for the United States federal and state governments of $14 trillion dollars. That’s fourteen million million dollars. Or, to put it in a more personal scale, more than $48,000 for every single living human being in the United States, plus the accumulating interest.

The interest on that government debt now exceeds all the personal income tax collected by that government. That means that the government isn’t keeping up with the interest on the debt, let alone able to pay down the principle. Even before the wars started with lies, the US Government was sinking deeper into debt by one third of a trillion dollars every year. With Bush’s war, the debt is increasing at another half trillion every year just at the Federal level. And because the federal Government, struggling with payments on past debts, is sending less money back to the states, the states are sinking deeper into debt as well.

But that is not why we are damned.

The national fiscal crisis is accelerating because of soaring unemployment, and the forced migration of workers from higher paying jobs to lower paying ones. This is occurring for two reasons. The first is that as tax revenues falter, the cash-strapped government raises tax rates. This increases the cost of products and services inside the United States without increasing their quality or desirability. Indeed American companies, struggling to keep prices competitive, are forced to sacrifice quality.

As an inevitable result, American companies have either been driven out of business by foreign competition able to sell superior products at lower prices, or been forced to outsource their own operations to regions with lower tax burdens.

The US Government attempted to conceal this loss of manufacturing with the so-called “Service Economy”, the ludicrous notion that one can prosper a nation by doing each other’s laundry for a fee. But while the moving of cash back and forth for services created more opportunities for taxation, fewer and fewer products were being made within the United States for sales to foreign countries. All the while, Americans were buying foreign-made products because they were of better quality and lower price than American products. Indeed many products needed for every day life are simply not made in the USA any more. When Ampex invented the VCR, they did not even bother approaching American manufacturers but licensed directly to the Japanese. When Seymour Cray was building his supercomputers, the chips he needed were only available from Japanese manufacturers.

Money is flowing out of the country at a billion and a half dollars per day. And as government debt drives taxes higher, the situation can only get worse.

But that is not why we are damned.

Despite the huge government debt, despite the loss of manufacturing over the last 30 years, despite soaring unemployment, despite American women and children sleeping in alleys and eating out of trash cans, the United States government hands out trillions of dollars as gifts to their friends (who used to be their enemies) and to make war on their enemies (who used to be their friends).

But that is not why we are damned.

Maybe the problem is the Congress. Congress is supposed to represent the people, but a body composed of millionaires and lawyers can hardly be expected to understand how to actually make things work. Maybe Congress would better serve the people if it were made up of teachers, doctors, road engineers, factory workers, bakers, people who actually know how to make a nation function, build an infrastructure, and know what it is like to have to live paycheck to paycheck in a nation where the government makes more money off of your work than you do and is always asking for more.

But that is not why we are damned.

We are damned because we know all the above and do nothing. Like the Germans of 1930s Germany we see Der Fuhrer trying to distract the populace from the self-serving choices the government makes by creating a war with lies and deceptions, yet stay silent, less we be accused of being traitors to the national security. We voice our outrage when a rock star bares her breast at a sporting event, because rock stars cannot after all hurt us, raise our taxes, or conscript our children to be crippled or killed in wars. But we remain silent, or at best speak in hushed tones with a trusted few of our concerns about the government, which does hurt us, which does raise our taxes, and which has and continues to conscript our children to be crippled or killed in wars.

We are damned by our silence. We are damned by our inaction. We are damned by our fear to speak out. We are damned by our weakness. We are damned by being sheep under a government of wolves.

We are damned unless and until you realize that your anger and outrage must be targeted where it is needed, not just where it is harmless. We are damned by our willingness to be angry with those who cannot affect our lives, while remaining too afraid to be angry with those who can. We are damned because individuals who refuse to obey the law morally offend us, but we remain enablers of a government that refuses to obey the Constitution. We are damned until WE THE PEOPLE remember that we ARE a people, and that this nation is US.

The President is not the nation. The media is not the nation. The selfish desires of a powerful few are not the nation. The Congress is not the nation.

This nation is 288 million teachers, doctors, bricklayers, road layers, bridging engineers, railroad workers, bakers, grocers, and thousands of others who actually make the nation work. But we seem to have forgotten that simple truth, that wisdom conveyed in those first three words to the Preamble to the Constitution, “We The People”.

The Constitution makes it clear that the nation is the people, and the government only a temporary custodian of our national sovereignty that rules by and only by the leave of the people.

We are damned because we have forgotten that the government is the employee of the people, and that like any employee the government is required to obey orders, not to give them.

We are damned because we have forgotten that as the employers of the government, we have the right to decide what our employees can do and more importantly, what they cannot.

We are damned because we have forgotten who is really supposed to be in charge.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What Really Happened

Ramblin', scramblin, cowboy

Thank God I didn't see the entire thing. If I had, my TV would have been at risk. Again. Hamid Karzai, Afghan President, deserves a standing ovation for sharing the stage with our own Imposter-in-Chief, whose rhetoric this morning was a cross between Elmer Fudd and Porky Pig, stuttering and all.

I keep coming back to the "insanity" of it all but that's because it's just too damn blatant to ignore. When addressing the second to the last question posed by a female reporter asking both W and Mr. Karzai to respond to "What assurances has the president given you to make sure that the recent "incident" with a newspaper and prisoner abuse doesn't happen again?," El Busho performed that well worn gesture of leaning over the podium, all cuddly and cozy-like, turned red, eyes taking on a lizard-like squint and spoke in that giggly, cocky voice that's intended to made the questioner feel like a jack-ass. Don't ask me what he said because I was totally taken into the experience of it and by the time it was over, I was once again, screaming at the TV, definitely certifiable behavior.

Pittsburg Tribune Review
Karzai wants justice for abuse victims


By United Press International
Monday, May 23, 2005


Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, in Washington for talks with President Bush, is demanding justice for two alleged tortured and two slain Afghans.

"This is simply not acceptable," Karzai said Sunday on CNN's Late Edition. "We are angry about this. We want justice. We want the people responsible for this sort of brutal behavior punished and tried and made public."

Seven U.S. servicemen have already been charged in the two Afghan deaths at the Bagram Air Base in 2002. However, a report leaked Friday alleged two prisoners were tortured while in U.S. custody.

"At the same time, I must say that while we condemn this, we show Afghans, we show the rest of the world that the behavior of two soldiers or interrogators must not reflect on the United States or on the U.S. people," Karzai said. "There are bad people everywhere."

Karzai added that Osama bin Laden was not in Afghanistan. "If he were, we would catch him," he said.

© Copyright 2005 by United Press International

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/entertainment/s_337044.html

You FIRST, Mr. Dubya

How's this for irony...the patient in the looney bin determines that all his fellow inmates are crazier than he is and decides to alter their treatment plans and change all their meds around. What's that? Never happen? Well, if you've studied the New Freedom Initiatives, you won't be surprised that it essentially has. Mandatory mental health screening is about to be enforced on school children...and YOU, YOU, the parent, has no say in the matter.

Is that ok with you, Mom or Dad? I hope not. Because the ramifications here are just staggering. This is all I'm going to say on the matter...for now. But it's a topic I will return to. You deserve to know the truth. This article is older and not a heavy weight but the subject certainly is. More to follow...

Fight Mental Health Screening For Children
Kent Snyder

The American tradition of parents deciding what is best for their children is, yet again, under attack. The pharmaceutical industry has convinced President Bush to support mandatory mental-health screening for every child in America, including preschool children, and the industry is now working to convince Congress as well. But mandatory screening alone is not what the pharmaceutical industry wants. The real payoff for the drug companies is the forced drugging of children that will result -- as we learned tragically with Ritalin - even when parents refuse.


Congressman Ron Paul, an OB/GYN physician for over 30 years, is desperately trying to keep the drug companies, politicians and federal bureaucrats from becoming parents to your children. Dr. Paul will introduce on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning (whenever the floor schedule allows) an amendment to the Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Act for FY 2005 that will withhold funds for this new federal mental-health-screening program. He will urge his congressional colleagues to support his effort in a letter to be distributed tomorrow morning.

Psychotropic drugs are increasingly prescribed for children who show nothing more than children's typical rambunctious behavior. Many children have suffered harmful effects from these drugs.

Dr. Paul's letter says in part: "As you know, psychotropic drugs are increasingly prescribed for children who show nothing more than children's typical rambunctious behavior. Many children have suffered%2

Psycho or just Babble?

Well, let's just get right down to it. I'll ask it for you in case you've been afraid to confront this frightening thought.

Is the President nuts? Are there bats in his belfry? Is he crackers? Psycho? Looney tunes? Drunk, bonkers, coked or smoked?

Anyone with an IQ higher than room temperature has probably wondered at one time or another what's up with his bumblin' and stumblin' and fumblin'. Oh, this goes far beyond a little speech pathology; he's a psychoanalyst's dream case, a once in a lifetime case study for sure. I'll eat my nursing license and psychiatric certification on white bread (hold the mayo, please) if the man isn't all of the above but that's the beauty of it; he's so full of pathology that he defies diagnosis.

The following article is one of the best I've read to date. Having read Dr. Frank's book, it is one I highly recommend for the layperson and chillingly on point. But I do so with one caveat - you may never have a good night's sleep again.

The Raw Story I'm just asking...

http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/steinberg/just_asking_051205.htmGANNONGATE

I'm just asking
By John Steinberg RAW STORY COLUMNIST

There are two basic themes that have dominated my political thoughts for the last few months. One has been the neglected cesspool that is the Jeff Gannon story. (For a time, I sent regular emails to Raw Story’s capo that consisted of nothing but “GannongateGannongateGannongate.”) The other has been the plumbing of the darker corners of President Bush’s primitive, dystopic psyche, which has proven fertile columnar ground. I have touched on Junior’s Oedipal fixation and his sadism. I have explored his feelings of guilt at his unearned wealth and his messianic pretensions. (And there may well be more where they come from. My current reading list consists of Richard Hofstadter’s Anti-intellectualism in American Life and Dr. Justin Frank’s Bush on the Couch, a juxtaposition that may be too obvious even for me.)

If the content of my columns has been regularly drawn to a just a few subjects, my technique has also followed a fairly consistent pattern. I like to examine a couple of seemingly unconnected facts and present an unconventional hypothesis that explains them both. I don’t necessarily claim the hypothesis is correct; I just ask a “what if?” and let you decide. Raw Story has reported on the records recently released by the Secret Service showing that JimmyJeff GannonGuckert visited the White House more than 200 times over a period stretching from February of 2003 – well before the start of his stint publishing other people’s stories under his own byline as a “reporter” for Talon News – and his banishment in February of this year. (Our intrepid whiffleballer insists he is merely “on hiatus” from the White House press room, and assumes that the reason he was not invited to this year’s White House Correspondent’s Dinner is that “Probably many who would want to extend such an invitation already assume I will be in attendance.")

Those records show some remarkable facts, which lead to some intriguing questions. JimmyJeff visited the White House on more than 20 occasions when there was no White House press conference held. The Secret Service records also disclose that there were numerous days upon which he entered but never signed out, left but never signed in, or was inside the White House several hours longer than the day’s press gaggle lasted.These facts have not been satisfactorily explained, which only feeds the kind of ugly speculation that gives tabloid journalism a bad name, and gives me yet another column that practically writes itself.

As far as I know, JimmyJeff has never denied having been a male escort. (He only coyly tells us, much like our President does, that he has “made mistakes in his past.” Without elocuting the sins in his sordid past, GannonGuckert still insists that said past should not besmirch his reputation in his subsequent endeavors as a plagiarist. But I digress. Fact “A” to be harmonized today is JimmyJeff’s remarkable string of unexplained presences within the seat of our Executive power. These sojourns only feed rumors that began circulating as soon as Gannongate broke: was he sleeping with Ken Mehlman? Scott McClellan? Karl Rove?But on to seemingly unrelated fact “B.”

A number of websites and blogs have compiled a rather remarkable collection of photographs of George W. Bush displaying what I can only characterize as a rather fetishistic Presidential interest in the scalps of bald men. (Take a look here.) And there are a number of remarkable pictures of our self-styled Texas Rancher in Chief holding hands with Arab men. (See, e.g., here and here.)I consider myself an open-minded, socially progressive, sensitive hetero guy. I cried when I read The Kite Runner; I cried watching Field of Dreams. I have hugged male friends. I admit these things. But I am reasonably sure that I have never rubbed a bald man’s head. And even I would hesitate to walk hand-in-hand with an adult male. Not that there is anything wrong with it, if you go in for that sort of thing. But if I thought my livelihood and legacy both depended on the support of NASCAR dads, I’d eat worms before I let myself be photographed scalp-rubbing or prince-holding.

Which brings me to seemingly unconnected special bonus fact “C”: looking at all of these pictures recently called to mind the now-infamous footage of a daring Bill Clinton embracing Monica Lewinsky when he had a photo op with a crew of White House interns. It was as if Clinton wanted to say, “If I was having sex with this woman, do you think I would do THIS?” (Cue sound of dime dropping.)Gannongate, meet George Bush.We know Bush has a Village People-like thing for uniforms; we know that HotMilitaryStud claimed to have been in the Marines. (It appears JimmyJeff lied about his military record, but authenticity has always been optional for our Connecticut cowboy.) We know Bush has a thing for bald men; Gannon, of course has left nothing to the imagination regarding the extent to which he shaves areas other than his face. (Note: link not work safe, unless your name is Jim West.)

There are rumors that Bush was, shall we say, sexually inclusive in his fraternity days; we don’t know much about GannonGuckert’s frat exploits, but as far as I know he has never denied being gay.Granted, the evidence for the hypothesis I tease from A, B and C is so thin that “circumstantial” would be a great leap forward in credibility. But in the pantheon of liberal fantasies, this must stand as the best of all possible worlds: What if the reason JimmyJeff spent so much time in the White House despite being manifestly unqualified to be there (and who else fits that description?) was a sexual relationship between GannonGuckert and George W. Bush?I’m just asking.

postCount('steinb051205');1 comment

John Steinberg bloviates regularly at www.bluememe.blogspot.com.

PSSSSST...I'll also ask this for you. Is the President gay? Bi?

Just Another Day

Ya know, those people who call themselves our representative leaders must rrreeeaaallllyyy think we are stupid and dumber than a box of rocks. I haven't been able to bear watching cable "news" networks for over two years now because doing so literally made me feel physically ill. The spin, the lies, the superficiality, the glazed looks, the plastic, phony, pseudo-patriots who are nothing more than party parrots have forced me to do things I'd never dreamed I'd be doing...eating dinner calmly and suddenly jumping up to scream at whatever shill was before me; shouting words fouler than I wish you, dear Reader, to have to metaphorically contemplate but words I never knew I knew myself, suddenly with great clarity understanding how Elvis could shoot out his TV ah but I digress. See? You just can't get me started on the media!

But there is one channel I can somewhat tolerate until they start leaning to the right...or left for that matter...I want my news reported objectively so I do the next best thing by watching these moneychangers live in their Senate Temple on C-Span2 ..uh oh, I started wandering again...I'll stop..I promise.

I watched part of their circus today until I had to turn it off after a parade of lying Republicans vomited out their lies and I began to consider what I might write about here today. I thought about it on and off during the day and I began to wonder why I couldn't really settle on a topic and then the light dawned. It's BAD! IT'S ALL BAD...BAD NEWS DAILY, NIGHTLY, ROUND THE CLOCKLY...unless of course, finding the runaway bride is something that can float your boat. So, I wondered, what to choose from? Well, let's see...should I write about:

* The "nukular" option? Na. I don't like that word..never did.

* John Bolton's probable confirmation? Nope. I don't like his
moustache.

* The war? The one being fought or the one at our doorstep? I'm not worried about it...I've got a yellow ribbon on my trunk.

* The new and improved Patriot Act? How could anything with the word "patriot" in it be bad?

* Bush's vow to veto the new stem cell research bill? That had possibility but when I got to the part where he said he was awfully worried about cloning, my mind played tricks on me and I envisioned his face under a microscope undergoing mitosis and now, I'm against it too.

* Small planes getting lost 3 miles out from the White House? Hell, no. What worries me more is the fact that the pilots are blind! But all's well that ends well...Norad gave that order to scramble and everyone lived happily ever after.

And that's not even the half of it. But it's the end for me because having to think about these things will have me soon screaming at my pc screen and no good could come from that. After all, it's the only place I can find REAL news.

http://www.bushflash.com/news.html

The bigger they are, the harder they fall...

Well, well, well..what a lovely way to start the day. Ironic that Fox is in a free fall and so is Mr. Resident. While on one hand, the occupant in the White House is most likely shielded from this information with co-presidents Rove and Cheney at the helm, we can be certain that Rupert and Roger certainly aren't grabbing the nearest sickle and chopping a little brush as they strategize. One thing we can be certain of if nothing else in these days of tyranny and treason, Rupert and Ailes are a couple of super dangerous men and they are not about to take this news lying down. Still, my delight is honest and true and I can't think of a better couple of thugs to get this news. What I worry about are the ramificiations to the rest of us.


Fox News in Ratings Free FallHere's something you won't hear on Fox News -- ratings for the cable news channel have been plummeting since before the November election.According to TV Newser, the number of people watching Fox during prime time in the 25 to 54 age bracket dropped in April for the sixth straight month.TV Newser cited a CNN press release which gave these totals for Fox's primetime audience in the 25 to 54 age bracket: Oct. 04: 1,074,000; Nov. 04: 891,000; Dec. 04: 568,000; Jan. 05: 564,000; Feb. 05: 520,000; March 05: 498,000; April 05: 445,000. That amounts to a decline of 58 percent, with no sign of leveling off.Other cable stations' ratings were also down since the election, but CNN's, for example, appeared to have stabilized last month while Fox's continued to drop.What the press release didn't say is that we can add 629,000 people to those who don't watch Fox. That works out to just over 89,857 people for each of the seven News Hounds who are watching Fox so those people don't have to. Now that we've added another Hound, we should be able to take care of the remaining 445,000 in even less than six months.Fox's plunging ratings should be a warning to those cable stations trying to copy the news channel's conservative Republican slant. People are tired of it. Try something different, like a progressive television show, for a change. http://www.newshounds.us/2005/05/18/fox_news_in_ratings_free_fall.php#more

A Deafening Silence

Remember the days when whistle-blowing was considered a noble and worthy activity? Respected so much that not only were they protected by laws but that companies even designed policies literally going on record declaring immunity toward retaliatory actions and confidentiality? Well, kiss those days good-bye now as we have seen a parade of whistle-blowers suffer consequences from this adminstration which is probably a topic for a whole other book.

Below is an article by one such patriot, Sibel Edmonds, whose voice has been silenced by guess who? Yep. Our government...once again. Makes you think twice about reporting a co-worker's drinking on the job, doesn't it?

The lady is a hero if only.....

UQ Wire: Sibel Edmonds - Gagged, But Not Dead

Scoop: UQ Wire: Sibel Edmonds - Gagged, But Not…http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0505/S00188.htmMonday, 16 May 2005, 1:49 pmBy Sibel Edmonds – May 14 2005

The Appeal Court’s decision on Sibel Edmonds’ Case is out: ‘Case Dismissed;’ no opinion cited; no reason provided. The Court’s decision, issued on Friday, May 6, has generated a string of obituaries; “another major blow, maybe the last one, to Sibel Edmonds, a woman who has faced an unprecedented level of government secrecy, gag orders, and classification.”

Well, dear friends and supporters, Sibel Edmonds may be gagged, but she’s not dead.

"On October 18, 2002; three months after I filed my suit against the Department of Justice for unlawful termination of my employment caused by my reporting criminal activities committed by government officials and employees, John Ashcroft, the then Attorney General, invoked a rarely invoked privilege, the State Secrets Privilege. According to Ashcroft, everything involving my case and my allegations were considered state secrets, and whether or not I was right in my allegations, the United States District Court had to dismiss my entire case without any questions, hearings or oral argument; period. According to Ashcroft, the court had to grant his order and dismiss the entire case with no hearings solely based on the fact that he, Ashcroft, said so. After all, our government knew best. As of that day, my case came to be gagged; but I continued on.In April 2004, after attorneys for a large group of 9/11 family members subpoenaed my deposition, the then Attorney General, John Ashcroft, made his next move: He invoked the state secrets privilege for the second time, and this time, he designated my place of birth, date of birth, my mother tongue, my father tongue, my university background, and my previous employments all State Secrets, Top Secret Classified, and matters of the highest level national security. Let’s see, based on this new ruling and designation by our ironically named Justice Department, my passport would be considered a ‘top secret’ document since it contains my place of birth, information considered state secrets. According to our government officials my Virginia driving license would be considered a ‘Top Secret’ document, since it contains my date of birth, information considered state secrets and classified. Well, heck, even my resume would be considered ‘Top Secret’ since it contains my linguistic credentials and my degrees. As of that day, I officially became a notoriously gagged whistleblower; but I continued on. In May 2004, two years after two ranking senators (bipartisan) had publicly, and in public records and documents, announced me credible and my case and allegations confirmed and supported, the emboldened then Attorney General, struck again. This time, he, John Ashcroft, decided to gag the entire Congress on anything that had to with Sibel Edmonds and her case. He ordered two ranking senators to take everything referring to me off their websites; he ordered them to consider all documents and letters related to my case ‘Top Secret,’ and he commanded that they, the Congress, shut their mouth on any issue that in any way referred or related to me. Our senators obliged, disregarding the principles of the separation of powers, not honoring the United States Constitution, and not respecting their own prestige and status. As of that day, the United States Congress became officially gagged on Sibel Edmonds; but I continued on. In June 2004, the United States District Court bowed to his highness, representative of our Executive Branch, John Ashcroft, and announced its decision to no longer honor the Constitution as it relates to citizens’ right to due process: it dismissed the case and excused itself from providing any real explanation, due to any possible explanation, or lack of explanation, being classified as ‘Top Secret,’ and ‘State Secrets.’ Our court system too was not willing to stand up for its authority and its separation from the executive branch. In other words, the District Court willingly allowed itself to be gagged; but I continued on.In July 2004, after two years of unexplained foot dragging, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, announced its long over due investigation of Sibel Edmonds’ case complete and issued its report. The further empowered and emboldened then Attorney General stepped in on that same day and gagged his own Inspector General’s findings and report by classifying the entire report as secret. The so called independent investigatory entity, the Inspector General, wrapped and duct taped its report, bowed, and left the scene now that it was formally and officially gagged on my case; but I continued on.On April 21, 2005, for the first time in these three gagged years, my attorneys and I finally had, or thought we had, our day in court for our hearing before Appellate Court Judges. Just hours before our hearing, these judges issued an unexpected ruling, barring all reporters and the public from the courtroom for the Edmonds’ Case hearing. Numerous media related entities tried to flex their lately weakened muscles and filed their motion to oppose this ruling. The judges denied their motion, and cited no reason; when asked for a reason they responded that they didn’t have to provide any reason. Everyone was kicked out of the courtroom; except for me, my attorneys, and the large troop of attorneys from the Department of Justice. All the doors to the courtroom were locked and guards were placed in front of each door to watch out for eavesdroppers. Then came the next shock: after bypassing our brief, asking a couple of puzzling and irrelevant questions, and allowing my attorneys 10 minutes or so of response, the Appellate judges asked my attorneys and me (the plaintiff) to leave the courtroom, so that the government attorneys could secretly answer questions and make their argument. The guards escorted us, the plaintiff, out, locked the doors, and stood there in front of the courtroom and watched us for about fifteen minutes. So much for finally having my day in court; here I was, with my attorneys, standing outside the courtroom and being guarded, while in there, three judges were having a cozy mingling session with a large troop of government attorneys. Then, it was over; that was it; we were told to leave. In other words, my attorneys and I were barred from being present in our own court hearing, and my case remained covered up and gagged; but I continued on. On May 6, two weeks after the Kafkaesque court procedure, my attorneys and I were given the verdict: The lower court’s decision was upheld, meaning my entire case, whether or not we had an Inspector General’s Report that confirmed my allegations, whether or not we had several congressional letters confirming my case and my allegations, was prevented from proceeding in court due to some unspecified ‘State Secrets,’ and unexplained secrecy that applied to everything that had to do with me and my case; which were so secret that even the judges could not hear or see. In fact, the Appellate judges in my case did not cite any opinion or reason, because even the opinion itself would have been considered secret. Doesn’t this mean that the Appellate court and these three judges were in effect gagged? It appears so, but I will continue on.In the past three years, I have been threatened; I have been gagged several times; I have continuously been prevented from pursuing my due process; all reports and investigations looking into my case have been classified; and every governmental or investigative authority dealing with my case has been shut up. According to legal experts familiar with my case, the level of secrecy and classification in my court case and the attitudes and handling of the court system in dealing with my case is unprecedented in the entire U.S. court history. According to other experts I am one of the most, if not the most, gagged woman anybody knows of or has heard of. Why?Those of you who still think this case, my case, is about covering up some administrative blunder or bureaucratic mismanagement, please think again.Those of you who may think that my Kafkaesque case, the unprecedented secrecy, is due to some justified and official higher reasons, please think again.Those of you who may think that our government, our entrusted leaders, may have an ongoing investigation of criminals involved, please think again. The Office of Inspector General for the Department of Justice, in its ‘unclassified report,’ has confirmed my core allegations. What were those core allegations, and who did they involve? Not only some low-level terrorist or terrorist organization; not only some ‘maybe’ critical foreign entities. No; trust me; they would not go to this length to protect some nobody criminal or terrorist. It is way past time for a little bit of critical thinking. The Attorney General cites two reasons to justify the unconstitutional and panic driven assault on me and my case. Reason one: To protect certain diplomatic relations - not named since obviously our officials are ashamed of admitting to these relations. Reason two: To protect certain U.S. foreign business relations. Let’s take each one and dissect it (I have given up on our mass media to do that for us!). For reason one, since when is the Department of Justice, the FBI, in the business of protecting ‘US sensitive diplomatic relations?’ They appear to be acting as a mouthpiece for the Department of State. Now, that’s one entity that has strong reasons to cover up, for its own self, what will end up being a blunder of mammoth scale. Not internationally; not really; it is the American people and their outrage they must be worried about; they wouldn’t want to have a few of their widely recognized officials being held criminally liable; would they?As for reason two, I can assure you that the U.S. foreign business relations they may be referring to are not among those that benefit the majority of the American people; a handful of MIC entities and their lobbying arms can by no means be considered that, can they? In fact, the American people, their national safety and security, and their best interests are being sacrificed for a handful of those with their foreign business interest. Also, since when are nuclear black market related underground activities considered official U.S. foreign business; one may wonder? If you want to have the answers to these questions, please approach your Congress and ask your representatives for hearings - not behind closed doors quasi hearings - but open, public hearings where these questions can be asked and answered.And lastly, for those of you who may think that since I have been gagged and stopped by almost all available official channels, I must be ready to vaporize into thin air, please think again. I am gagged, but not dead; not yet. "

*********STANDARD DISCLAIMER FROM UQ.ORG: UnansweredQuestions.org does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in the above article. We present this in the interests of research -for the relevant information we believe it contains. We hope that the reader finds in it inspiration to work with us further, in helping to build bridges between our various investigative communities, towards a greater, common understanding of the unanswered questions which now lie before us.

Gold & Silver Forum - FBI translator Sibel Edmunds reveals deep government involvement in 911 ASHCROFT TRIED TO BRIBE HER! INTERPRETER REVEALS BUSHIES KNEW MORE THAN THEY SAID THEY DID PRIOR TO 9/11 ATTACK, Joseph Gran Official Faults FBI Probe Of Translator's Complaint (washingtonpost.com) Sibel Edmonds Strike The Root Forum - FBI translator Sibel Edmunds reveals deep governme