LAuren has
always got lot to say and has a lot of questions so this page
will always be Under Construction………
December 24, 2007
Floyd Red
Crow Westerman
Journeyed
to the Spirit World December 13, 2007
Floyd, his
wife Rosie, and I always spent the ancient Roman Holiday called “the rebirthing
of the Sun Day” together, which falls on December 25th, when he wasn’t on the road. Floyd was my friend for many years and I
will always miss and think of him with many fond remembrances
Toksa Koda
(See you later, my friend)
November 28, 2007
A friend of mine passed away last January. I’m still going through all the emotional
ups and downs one goes through in coming to terms with it as everyone who has
lost a loved one does. It was her wish
that there be no memorial service. So,
a group of us who knew and loved her for many years organized a “gathering” in
her favorite park across the street from where she lived for many years. We shared with each other some of our
fondest memories of her and it was beautiful.
I wasn’t planning to talk about it on this page, but after
Thanksgiving last Thursday, I realized this is the perfect time for me to give
thanks and be thankful for having had Marcheline Bertrand as a nurturing friend
and confidant for most of my life.
“Marche” and John Trudell formed an organization called Give
Love Give Life that is concerned with making National Health Care for Women and
Children in the U.S. a primary issue for the next Presidential Election. Rather than support a political party or a
candidate, it focuses on supporting who ever develops a viable plan to make it
reality. Since “Marche” passed away,
John Trudell has continued on with their work and Jade Dixon has joined in as
well to help carry on with Marcheline’s vision. Jade recently told me that they might expand the focus to
National Health Insurance for all Americans.
The
“Gathering” we had this past September
Saturday
September 1, 2007 - Roxbury Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, California. Family
and friends gather to pay tribute to Marcheline. In attendance were sister
Debbie Martin with husband Ron and son Corey. Also paying their respects were
brother Rolland Bertrand with son Francis, Jon Voight, John Trudell, Lauren
Taines, Belinia Beatty, Jade Dixon with daughter Barbie, Cis Rundele, and Bill
Day.
Jon Voight arrived with a rose bush at a spot
not far from where Marcheline lived for many years. The group planted the rose
bush, then held hands in a circle and spoke about Marcheline for close to 1
hour.
(“Bill Day)
For more info on
Give Love Give Life, Marcheline
Bertrand, and our “Gathering” see my links page
October 1, 2007
Haven’t had much to say lately…..about U.S. politics that
is……it’s like why bother?….same old same old.
I’ve been saying since before the November 7, 2006 elections that it
wasn’t going to make a difference who wins the majority because: Democrats/Republicans = same
I like what Cindy Sheehan said in an interview a month or so
ago that the only difference between Hillary Clinton and Rudolph Giuliani is
the plumbing.
And all these congressional hearings? What for? Oh, I get it….”it gives the
Democratic controlled Congress something to talk about, you know, something “to
do” when they meet. Take note that I
didn’t say “the hearings will give Congress a forum to achieve real change”
i.e. delivering on their campaign promises that got them elected last November. What changes has the Democratic controlled
Congress implemented since they were elected almost a year ago? Hearings and more funding for the War in
Iraq. So like I said………..same old same
old. But Americans sure like those
hearings.
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July 1, 2007
“Clinton
Wants 'Clean Sweep' After Bush
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON,
AP
Posted: 2007-06-30 14:49:04
MIAMI (June 29) - "A clean sweep" is
needed at the White House because President Bush has fostered "a culture
of cronyism, corruption and incompetence," Hillary Rodham Clinton said
Saturday”
Well, in my interview with
Holding Together Magazine in May, I said I call the speeches the U.S.
politicians give “dramatic readings”just
to get elected. This particular
quote from “Hillary” made me laugh so much that I decided to post it. Hey, I remember at her last go around with
“their” Presidency………….her big cause was
National Health Insurance……I waited and waited and waited, and hey, I’m
still waiting. Now, I won’t go into the lack of having a Commander in Chief of
the Armed Forces during “their Presidency”, when the U.S.A. could have really
used one. No need to bring up the “Blue
Dress” because we all know she wasn’t wearing it……but under “their presidency”
came NAFTA and the outsourcing of American Jobs so American Companies could get
more bang for their buck. ( I won’t go into how few jobs are left in the U.S.A.
other then in armaments (aka Weapons of
Mass Destruction) because of it. The Americans are going to start feeling it in
their pocket books soon enough, all on their own, if not already.)
BUT near the end of “their
Presidency” there was an article I read about campaign donations going to
Clinton/Gore from mainland China,…. via a Chinese Laundry in Little Rock.
(Donations from foreign countries to American political campaigns are ILLEGAL) It got lost in the shuffle because “their
Presidency” was almost over, and of
course the U.S.A. was kept real busy with the blue dress in the Oval Office
Impeachment show, and all the other lawsuits “their presidency” was in the
middle trying to ward off.
So LAuren can only say about
“Hillary’s dramatic reading” (with much laughter) is …………..LOOK WHO’S
TALKING!!!!! I mean the other issues
aside….can you think of any better place to wash illegal campaign donations from
Mainland China then a Chinese Laundry in Little Rock, Arkansas?
And, always remember BUY
PARTISAN BUY PARTISAN BUY PARTISAN……………………………Democrats/Republicans=
No difference……they’re backed by
the same donors. But, “Hillary”
running for President? I can’t even
think of any humorous song lyrics to quote about this one. (At least not right now!)
June 15,2007
Once again FORZA ITALIA!
………………tens of thousands of Italians demonstrated in Rome when President Bush
went there June 9th to give
a speech & meet with the Pope. Demonstrations
by the Italian people in the past were successful in getting their 2000 troops
out of Iraq. They’re demonstrating now
to get their 2000 troops out of Afghanistan, NATO membership or not. And they’re demonstrating to prevent the
expansion of a U.S. Air force base (left over from WWII) that would have 2000
U.S. Troops move from Germany to Italian soil and ruin the vibe of a city known
for it’s classic art. Aside (of
course) from the fact that the U.S. wants this expanded base to be the new “launching
base” to the Middle East for U.S. Troops.
I say to I Stati Uniti…LASCIA PERDERE ITALIA, la piu bella paese nell
mondo! Besides, the U.S. has plenty of
bases all over Europe to choose from…….large enough and ready roll!
City fights to protect its heritage against
US base expansion
“The giant tourist signs as you enter
this historic North Italian city read: “Welcome to Vicenza, City of Palladio,
listed by Unesco.” Underneath in the same distinctive brown lettering is an addition:
“And sold by our politicians to the US Army.” It was put there by local
residents campaigning against the expansion of the nearby US military base.”.
June 14, 2007
The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act
(S.185) passed the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee…..step one to repeal the War
Commissions Act of 2006 . See my links
page for more info
May 28, 2007
Memorial Day in the United States……..
We must all keep in mind that the decision to deploy the troops of the United
States rests with the President and the Congress of the United States and this
decision is the policy of the United States Government. The men and women serving in the Armed
Forces of the United States are not a part of the decision making process nor
do they set the policy. With that being
said:
I send many blessings &
support on this Memorial Day to all the men and women who have served in the
past and who are now serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.
April 27, 2007
Now Mr. Chrysler
himself has written a book…..I could say well, he’s twenty years late and a
billion dollars short, but I do respect people when they acknowledge they were
wrong.. so here’s to Lee Iacocca for taking a stand! Now I’d really really really be
impressed if he’d take the tax
cut he says he doesn’t need and donate it to the destitute in Haiti., but
here’s what he’s got to say and he has said it very well!
Iacocca: Where Have All the
Leaders Gone?
American Empire | Books
by Lee Iacocca with Catherine Whitney
04/11/07
”Had Enough? Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's
happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder.
We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a
cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean
up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.
But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the
politicians say, "Stay the course." Stay the course? You've got to be
kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite:
Throw the bums out! You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my
rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up.
I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is
given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to
war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge
tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business
leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling
in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And
the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the
promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.
I've had enough. How about you? I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself
a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to
have. My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're eighty-two
years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to, as soon as I
can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay
attention. I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people
will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll
tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping
to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they
don't trust politicians to represent their interests.
Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us. Who Are These Guys, Anyway? Why
are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we
voted for them, or at least some of us did. But I'll tell you what we didn't
do. We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking
questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who
call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a
democracy. And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or
liberal Democrats. That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the
reason we're in this stew. We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people.
We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together.
Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us stand
taller? What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What
happened to the courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? There was a time
in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want
to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?
The Test of a Leader
I've never been Commander in Chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things
about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points, not ten (I don't
want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses). I call them the "Nine Cs
of Leadership." They're not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious
qualities that every true leader should have. We should look at how the current
administration stacks up. Like it or not, this crew is going to be around until
January 2009. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008.
Then let's be sure we use the leadership test to screen the candidates who say
they want to run the country. It's up to us to choose wisely.
A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the
"Yes, sir" crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously,
because the world is a big, complicated place. George W. Bush brags about never
reading a newspaper. "I just scan the headlines," he says. Am I
hearing this right? He's the President of the United States and he never reads
a newspaper? Thomas Jefferson once said, "Were it left to me to decide
whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a
government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter." Bush
disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped
through the sound system, he's ready to go.
If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he
grows stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's
right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you
think
you already know it all, or you just don't care. Before the 2006 election,
George Bush made a big point of saying he didn't listen to the polls. Yeah,
that's what they all say when the polls stink. But maybe he should have
listened, because 70 percent of the people were saying he was on the wrong
track. It took a "thumping" on election day to wake him up, but even
then you got the feeling he wasn't listening so much as he was calculating how
to do a
better job of convincing everyone he was right.
A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something
different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never
changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid
someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There's a disturbingly messianic
fervor to his certainty.
Senator Joe Biden recalled a conversation he had with Bush a few months after
our troops marched into Baghdad. Joe was in the Oval Office outlining his
concerns to the President, the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the disbanded
Iraqi army, the problems securing the oil fields.
"The President was serene," Joe recalled. "He told me he was
sure that we were on the right course and that all would be well. 'Mr.
President,' I finally said, 'how can you be so sure when you don't yet know all
the facts?'"
Bush then reached over and put a steadying hand on Joe's shoulder. "My
instincts," he said. "My instincts." Joe was flabbergasted. He
told Bush,"Mr. President, your instincts aren't good enough." Joe
Biden sure didn't think the
matter was settled.
And, as we all know now, it wasn't. Leadership is all about managing change,
whether you're leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you
get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at
Harvard Business School.
A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I'm not talking about running off at the mouth or
spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the truth.
Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight
anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that
things are not really as bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or
dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while.
Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it's painful. The
war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication.
Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After
years
of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we've
stopped listening to him.
A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the difference
between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham
Lincoln once said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him
power."
George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character?
Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he
has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has
sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi
citizens) to their deaths. For what? To build our oil reserves? To avenge his
daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy
he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the
execution of the war has been a disaster. A man of character does not ask a
single soldier to die for a failed policy.
A leader must have COURAGE. I'm talking about balls. (That even goes for female
leaders.) Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush comes
from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You
know, My gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century
doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the
negotiating table and talk.
If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it
will cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the
audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town
hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The
questions were all softballs.
To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION, a fire in your belly. You've got
to have passion. You've got to really want to get something done. How do you
measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of
vacation days taken by a U.S. President, four hundred and counting. He'd rather
clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He
even told an interviewer that the high point of his presidency so far was
catching a seven-and-a-half-pound perch in his hand-stocked lake.
It's no better on Capitol Hill. Congress was in session only ninety-seven days
in 2006. That's eleven days less than the record set in 1948, when President
Harry Truman coined the term do-nothing Congress. Most people would expect to
be fired if they worked so little and had nothing to show for it. But Congress
managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now, that's not leadership.
A leader should have CHARISMA. I'm not talking about being flashy. Charisma is
the quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to inspire.
People follow a leader because they trust him. That's my definition of
charisma.
Maybe George Bush is a great guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game.
But put him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and
he doesn't look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around
he enjoys so much don't go over that well with world leaders. Just ask German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, who received an unwelcome shoulder massage from our
President at a G-8 Summit. When he came up behind her and started squeezing, I
thought she was going to go right through the roof.
A leader has to be COMPETENT. That seems obvious, doesn't it? You've got to
know what you're doing. More important than that, you've got to surround yourself
with people who know what they're doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA
President. Does that make him competent? Well, let's see. Thanks to our first
MBA President, we've got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on
life support, and we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in
Iraq. And that's just for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and
the biggest problems we face as a nation seem to be on the back burner.
You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE. I call this Charlie
Beacham's rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business,
one of my first jobs was as Ford's zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
My boss was a guy named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional
manager.
Charlie was a big Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile, and a core of
steel. Charlie used to tell me, "Remember, Lee, the only thing you've got
going for you as a human being is your ability to reason and your common sense.
If you
don't know a dip of horseshit from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you'll never
make it." George Bush doesn't have common sense. He just has a lot of
sound bites. You know,
Mr.they'll-welcome-us-as-liberators-no-child-left-behind-heck-of-a-job-Brownie-mission-accomplished Bush. Former President Bill Clinton once
said, "I grew up in an alcoholic home.
I spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world, and I
like it here." I think our current President should visit the real world
once in a while.
The Biggest C is Crisis Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in
times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk
theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a
battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling
down. On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time
in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where was
George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when he
heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes with a
baffled look on his face. It's all on tape. You can see it for yourself. Then,
instead of taking the quickest route back to Washington and immediately going
on the air
to reassure the panicked people of this country, he decided it wasn't safe to
return to the White House. He basically went into hiding for the day, and he
told Vice President Dick Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in
front of our TVs, scared out of our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us
that we were going to be okay, and there was nobody home.
It took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the right photo op
at Ground Zero. That was George Bush's moment of truth, and he was paralyzed.
And what did he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to
Iraq, a road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President.
But Bush didn't listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides
himself on being faith based, not reality based. If that doesn't scare the crap
out of you,I don't know what will.
A Hell of a Mess.
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for
winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the
history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our
once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices
are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools
are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed
every which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders
gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people
of character, courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? I may be a
sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us
take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions
of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react
to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress
has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or
demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours
after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't
happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan.
Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore
our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could
ever be a time when "the Big Three" referred to Japanese car
companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do
about it? Name me a
government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or
solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is
deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and
milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses
and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our
greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of?
That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break.
Why don't you guys show some spine for a change? Had Enough? Hey, I'm not
trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm
speaking out because I have hope. I believe in America. In my lifetime I've had
the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments. I've also
experienced some of our worst crises, the Great Depression, World War II, the
Korean War, the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the 1970s oil crisis,
and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.
If I've learned one thing, it's this: You don't get anywhere by standing on the
sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a
better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to
play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to action for
people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's getting
pretty close. So let's shake off the horseshit and go to work. Let's tell 'em
all we've had enough.”
April
26, 2007
A copy of an email I
got that was sent to the “Speaker of The House” from a retired United Auto
Workers Rep…. I’m leaving his name out………
To: "pelosi" <AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov>
Subject: Fw: Finally! Someone with Balls
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:38:30 -0400
TO:REPRESENTATIVE
PELOSI, SENATOR REID
There is no doubt that
you are doing a better job than the misguided republicans but if you don't
impeach that murderous idiot than you have no balls.
Please share this with
your counterparts.
April 8, 2007
LAuren was featured artist week starting April 8,
2007……………..on errorfm: a big thanks to
DJ’s Woodside, Deaconlight, and Redline, Big Bad Earl, and all the DJ’s with
errorfm that played the tunes.
March 31, 2007
Former KROQ DJ Woodside (Larry
Woodside) has been playing songs from my CD on his show on commercial free,
internet radio Errorfm.com. Errorfm.com
is broadcast worldwide. His show runs
6:00am – 9:00am PST. The
response from the listeners has been great!
Hey Woody…………….keep it up!!!!!!!
March
21, 2007
How has the Republican
“minority” been able to override the Democrat “majority” in the U.S. Senate????
March
10, 2007
In the late 1980’s I wanted to
understand why the Islamic Countries were so resentful of the U.S. I took an
upper level history course at Cal. State University, Northridge called the History of the Rise of Islam
through modern times. A must read for
all citizens of the U.S.A. to understand “why”. I
came away with a great understanding of the current Islamic countries
positions and feelings on the issues after taking the course…… if you don’t
have time for the college course……the
book is available at those Universities in the U.S. that offer the
course.
As far as Donald Rumpsfeld
(german spelling)…does anyone think he’ll go back to selling drugs for a
pharmecutical company or selling nuclear technology to countries like North
Korea like he used to do? (At least until he resurfaces with a new job
description in the U.S. government)
Though someone told me he still has an office at the Pentagon.
February 17, 2007
“there are no 'knowns.' There are things we know that we
know. There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things that we now know
we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't
know we don't know. So when we do the best we can and we pull all this
information together, and we then say well that's basically what we see as the
situation, that is really only the known knowns and the known unknowns. And
each year, we discover a few more of those unknown unknowns."
Donald Rumsfeld, former U.S. Secretary of Defense
I’ll go with James Madison &
Benjamin Franklin; they make sense……. LAuren
February 11,
2007
“ the right that controls all other rights is the right to
get information. If you don't have this, the others don't matter. The Bill of
Rights doesn't work if you can't find out what's going on.”
James Madison,
framer of the U.S. Constitution & former President of the United
States
January 31,
2007
Great to see the turn out in
D.C. to protest the war in Iraq,
and great to see Jane Fonda was
there.
I’m still waiting to hear the Democratic controlled Congress call
an Emergency Session to take back the purse strings and bring the American
soldiers back to the U.S.
And hey, what exactly does “non
binding resolution” mean? I guess if I
can’t figure out what it means it must be meaningless.
Peter Kaukonen has a way with words in his editorials. A while back in January he wrote: “BUY PARTISAN” So I’ve been thinking about that and I think he’s on to
something…….I’m thinking all supporters of
the Democrats now get a shot at the no bid contracts. You know, split the war profitting fairly along
party lines. Now, that’s BUY PARTISAN,
don’t you think?
Janary 17, 2007
Anyone notice that while
President Bush gave his speech last
week about what he planned to do temporarily in Iraq………………it was already
a done deal? While he gave his speech
the troops were already on their way.
He had met with Democrats before he gave that speech so even they
knew as they were giving their
patriotic speeches the night before.
What more can I say other than did anyone hear the new Democrat Senate
Majority Leader Harry “Give EM Hell” Reid refer to Senator Ted Kennedy as
President Kennedy? The moral of the
story…….one must have a sense of humor towards politics or it can get real
depressing.
Hey, I listened to Senator Ted’s speech the night before Mr. Bush
announced the “surge” (gee they sure love to sanitize words), well Senator
Ted was adamant about Congress holds
the purse strings when it comes to
sending out the U.S. Military and Congress is going to take back control
of the purse strings….then he talked about all the other things he was going to
be busy with in the coming weeks.
Taking back the purse strings wasn’t one of them.
Well, so much for calling for an
emergency session of Congress to stop the “surge”……..and so much for repealing
the War Commissions Act of 2006 and the John Warner Insurection Act of
2007.
Like I said in 2006…………..if the
Democrats win back control of Congress…it’s not going to make any difference.
Brings to mind some Jagger & Richards lyrics:
“As heads is tails just call them Lucifer and they’re in need of some
restraint”
January
7, 2007
I was
going to try and stay away from questions about the war in Iraq for a while,
but the following quote via API let me know that I’m not alone.
"First it was weapons of
mass destruction. Then when there were none, it was that we had to find Saddam.
We did that, but then it was that we had to put him on trial," said Spc.
Thomas Sheck, 25, who is on his second tour in Iraq. "So now, what will be
the next story
they tell us to keep us over
here?"
Since it’s become clear that the
U.S. occupation of Iraq is all about
the black gold and rebuilding………….I’m thinking the stock holders of the oil
companies & the contractors that are profiting from this war should be the
ones over there fighting to protect “their” interests over there.
January
4, 2007
I read the
most beautiful book over the holidays called “Me and a Guy Named Elvis”. It is a beautiful tribute and remembrance by
a friend about a friend. It is written
by Jerry Schilling who was 12 when he first met Elvis and then became part of
the infamous “Memphis Mafia”. It
brought tears to my eyes when I finished it.
It has just been published.
Elvis was before my time but that didn’t matter. I couldn’t put the book down until I
finished it. I was left with a profound understanding of who Elvis was as a man
and who Jerry Schilling is as a man, a how the bond of friendship never leaves,
even if one friend passes. I recommend
this book to everyone.
Jerry told
me that he titled it that way because when he was growing up everyone used to
ask him “what’s that guy’s name that you’re friends with?”
Summary of YEAR, 2006
Italy won
the World Cup.. FORZA ITALIA!!!
My CD
”Hideout Is A Crook’s Best Friend” was a labor of love. It’s been getting great reviews and I thank
everyone for all the orders and emails.
I’m so pleased that people are diggin on the music. My favorite Live Show in 2006 was the Whisky
A Go Go on the Sunset Strip.
The U.S.
government ended Habeas Corpus in the United States with the passage of the
Military Commissions Act of 2006. It
also ended individual State’s rights and allows the federal government to send
out the military against the civilian population (previously illegal) with the
passage of the John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007
My
favorite quote:
“The man who trades freedom for
security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either”
Benjamin Franklin
Michigan Congressman John Conyers
filed a lawsuit in a Michigan Federal District Court
Conyers vs. Bush
With the Democrats taking control
of congress, doesn’t seem like there’s going to be one bit of difference. Latest is there is Democratic Support for
increasing troops “temporarily” in Iraq.
The invasion of Iraq in 2003 was supposed to be temporary. Then again why would the U.S. have spent
all the time energy and money on building 55“temporary” land bases, which
according to Donald Rumsfeld are permanent bases.
President George Bush gave a
speech from Hanoi in a blue dress; sorry I meant a blue robe.
All this talk and reports about whatever the U.S. will now
do in Iraq has “protecting U.S. interests” as the priority. I don’t think all Americans have stock in
the oil companies over there so common sense tells me that “U.S. Interests” and
the “American Citizens Interests” are two different things.
KEYSTONE COPS ARE
LOOKING PRETTY GOOD TO ME RIGHT NOW.
LAuren Says 2006 full
text
LAuren