QUEEN'S COMMENTS
I wish I had better news to report, but I don't.  It's just more of the same. I can only hope that Americans are smart enough in November to not vote for the Republican King and Queen of claptrap--Have you forgotten that it was Republican claptrap about WMD's that got us there in the first place?  How many different versions of their spin do you have to purchase before you finally say:  NO MORE OF THE SAME?

I just read a sobering commentary in New America Media written by Arron Glantz who lived in and reported from Iraq from 2003 to 2005. Since his return he was been reporting stories of American veterans. Glantz points out that with more than 5 million Iraqi refugees still to scared to come home and that the "victory" may be short-lived."

In his speech acceptance speech, John McCain commended General David Petraeus as “brilliant.” Petraeus.  McCain said, that Patraeus has “succeeded and rescued us from a defeat that would have demoralized our military, risked a wider war and threatened the security of all Americans.”

But the truth is that some of the strategies employed by General Petreaus are beginning to unravel. The Sunni “Awakening” militias he founded, armed and funded have begun fighting with the Shi’a-dominated Iraqi Army, which is also bankrolled by the United States.

“The Shiite-led government has recently stepped up a campaign to arrest leaders of the Awakening and dismantle parts of the program, whose members receive $300 a month from the U.S. military,” the Washington Post reported Tuesday.  Many fighters have abandoned their posts and fled their homes to avoid detention, stoking fears that some will rejoin the insurgency.  On Wednesday, Iraqi troops raided the offices of the influential Sunni clerical group, the Association of Muslim Scholars. In a statement, the Association "denounced this provocative and unjustifiable attack" and blamed the Iraqi government for any negative consequences that may result.

Soon, the United States military will have to take sides in this fight, and when it does, American soldiers will have to battle groups armed with American weaponry. The longer the United States stays in Iraq, the worse off the country will be when we finally leave. "Today,"  Glantz says, “victory in Iraq is as far away as it’s ever been."

FOR THE COMPLETE ARTICLE:

http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=241816cf9df1d7a5c022602178c79a6d

Shogun the no-gun has pointed out to me that the Rasmussen Poll shows Obama with a 14 point lead in California.

He is correct. 

What the  fool has failed to comprehend is that the mid-date of the Rasmussen Poll is 8/15/08.

Link

Yes - its almost a month old.  That is one problem with complacency - you start limiting your sources of information.

This anniversary, unlike the one the Republicans have promoted annually since 2002, is one that right-wing conservatives would just as soon that we forget.  The year for the “other”  9/11 is 1973.  September 11, 1973 was the day that Salvador Allende died by his own hands seconds before the barbarians paid for by the Nixon Administration, stormed the gate to overthrow the democratically elected government and replace it with a right-wing despot named Pinochet.

Yes, 9/11 is the anniversary of the second Republican-sponsored coup that took out a democratically elected leader of another country and replaced him with a ruthless dictator.  (Prior to the takeover of Chile, in 1953 the US removed the democratically elected president of Iran and installed the Shah in his place. ) In 1973, the USA removed the democratically elected president of Chile and replaced him with one of the worst and most blood-thirsty despots of all times–Pinochet.  Nixon informed the CIA that Allende was not acceptable and authorized $10 million to stop him.  Chile received USD $322.8 million in loans and credits in the year following the coup.  We continued to support this evil regime with our tax dollars from 1973 until 1979.

 In 1953 it was Eisenhower and in 1973 it was Richard Nixon. Don’t tell the Queen that Republicans represent democratic government–they represent corporate interests. 

SALVADOR ALLENDE

REMEMBER WHAT THE REPUBLICANS DID TO THE DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED PRESIDENT OF CHILE.  AND REMEMBER MONSTER THEY INSTALLED IN HIS PLACE.  His name was Pinochet.

It would be good for all Americans to remember that both these travesties to democracy and justice (the overthrow of two democratically elected presidents of foreign nations) happened unde the watch of Republican Presidents. 

Here are some links to the atrocities committed by Pinochet from 1973 to 1990.  Read some of them.  These are what happens when Right-wing fanatics are given control of a nation. This current USA Republican admininstration only torture people outside our country, but that is a matter of time.  They have already taken the first step by building prisons all over the USA.  This election may well the the last chance for Democracy without a Revolution.  Is that what you want?

http://members.tripod.com/~mneumann/pinochet.html

Please go to this link and complete a message regarding the upcoming Charles Gibson interview that is scheduled for tomorrow with one of the Republican opponents.

Here was my message:

If you conduct this interview in the same manner that you conducted the farce of a debate between Clinton and Obama--that interview in which you devoted over 1/2 of the time discussing flag pins and Reverend Wright instead of issues that make a differenc to Americans then you can expect millions of Democrats to boycot Disney products.

http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3271346&cat=World%20News%20with%20Charles%20Gibson

Summary: In a September 3 interview, Charles Gibson did not challenge the claim by Sen. John McCain that after Sarah Palin obtained millions of dollars in earmarks as mayor of her home town, she "learned that earmarks are bad" when she became governor and said, "No more for my state." At no point did Gibson point out that as governor, Palin, by her own account, requested hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks for Alaska just this year. ABC News did not air that part of the interview on the September 3 broadcast of World News, much less note that McCain was promoting a false claim.

And remember Democrats, it is very easy to boycott Disney products.  We are after all a large consumer group than the Republicans.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200809040021

 

We the people put Charles Gibson and Disney Products on Notice

If right-wing Charles Gibson in his moderation does the same sorry job that he did with Stephanapolous when they moderated the “debate” over Reverend Wright and flag pins instead of issues, then HE needs to be fired and Democrats need to once again protest the ABC studios in California and boycott Disney products since Disney owns ABC.  Gibson and other right-wing neocon owners of mainstream media need to remember that the Democrats are the majority and we are consumers.  They can fire the only liberal voices on American mainstream media, but we, the majority, can fire their sponsors.

HERE ARE A FEW ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE DISCUSSED:  Ear marks, lobbyist influence, social security, job creation

ISSUE:  EARMARKS -  Both Republican candidates have supported HUGE EARMARKS.

ISSUE:  LOBBYIST INFLUENCE IN OUR GOVERNMENT  -  All Americans are fed up with the lobbyist influence in washington.  Both Republican candidates rail against lobbyists, yet one of them hired a lobbyist to get money for her city when she was mayor.  The other republican candidate has more lobbyists that you can count running his campaign.  At one time the count was as high as 7.  His own campaign manager, Rick Davis is a lobbyist.

SOCIAL SECURITY - IF THE MILLIONS OF BABY BOOMERS ARE COUNTING ON SOCIAL SECURITY TO GET BY, THEN THEY BETTER NOT COUNT ON THE REPUBLICAN TICKET..