Hillary lied like a Cheney during the last debate...

This is very, very scary.

Thank you A. Avakian [Los Angeles Obama listserve]

Where are the stories about us helping new schools in Iraq?

If we have failed to prevent the murdering of Christians in Iraq, and probably helped motivate these deaths because of our own violence, and Christians can no longer live in FREEDOM, how do we save Iraq from itself?

Where's CNN?

Bush, Cheney and the U.N. override Iraq's representative government

Thanks, Vigilante. I think every American should understand what's happening here.

Bullies and the Culture of Life

It's striking to me that the party of Republicans, that thrives on bullying tactics and ill-defined machismo, barks about a "culture of life." It only counts, they say, when you're talking about unborn human beings. According to most conservatives, once we're out of our mother's wombs, we're on our own in this test called earth--don't ask them for humane respect again until you reach your heavenly father.

So in this great wash of LIFE that actually counts for the rest of us, and them, actually, we encounter a lot of tests that, in my opinion, show whether we are REALLY PRO-LIFE:

Clean air
Clean water
A healthy work and living environment that includes foods without poison and furninishings without chemicals.
Finding God in ourselves and others with traits like dignity, respect, and humane treatment of the insane or criminal.

So I'm appauled that we are using our soldiers to hold up a government that operates like this, until I remember that people in our country also LOVE the death penalty--so it's not like we can expect Republicans to see how brutal and inhuman this whole affair is.

About the War -- Stop Bush Now

It's been SO LONG since my husband I started supporting the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq that it feels like our troops have been out there in deadly limbo forever. Most Americans are not suffering at all. I think it's wrong that we are asking our troops to sacrifice their lives while we go shopping as our "sacrifice" (I must credit John Edwards for that stream of thought).

I predicted that Americans would be in the streets by March asking for us to pull out, alas, despite the "Honk to stop the war," protestors on a street corner in Echo Park yesterday, it looks like most Democrats are hoping Democrats in Congress will change Bush's mind.

Who could ask us to protest that would get us all protesting? Colin Powell? Who is a beloved American right now? Are we too partisan, too divided? [I was really sad yesterday when I heard a bunch of yuppies calling a union picket line "crazy!" How crazy is it not being able to make a living wage in L.A.?]

Yes, I do believe Democrats in Congress are working on stopping the war (yawn), and as Hillary pointed out during the Thursday night debate, those Democrats are facing a lot of Republicans in lock-step trying to thwart their efforts (she asked for their help, she was very good that night). I have hope that this veto (has it happened already?), and Tenet's (et. al) testimony, is going to bring Bush's war to an end within the month (just call me a perpetual optimist).

I was very sad to learn of the death of the journalist (car accident), David Halberstam, who was a critic of this war. Peace be with you and yours. He leaves us with this legacy:

"In both Vietnam and Baghdad, you have American governments constructing their policies out of mendacity and delusion, and young men and women are dying for that lethal combination."

Mendacity, I had to look that up (doesn't it look like a combination of the phrase, "the audacity of men?") but I think I understood what he meant. Lying, but more than that, the TENDENCY to lie. The ongoing nature of LYING. CONTINUING the lies.

The fact that most Americans do not support our President and his job, and do not support the war, or his surge, means to me that Americans should be holding our President accountable for all of this NOW!!! We have an unrealistic, menacious and delusional man, pursuing this war by using American troops to carry out his corrupt, deadly plans. He is making it more and more HIS war every day.

WE NEED TO STOP HIM, NOW!!