A False Sense Of Patriotism

The Healthcare issue has brought our country to a new era in reform. Unfortunately, some very ignorant people have taken Patriotism beyond what our civilized democracy is all about. The Tea baggers, as well as, the Republican Party itself, has instigated and incited a frenzy that is misled and extremely misguided.

In the 1700’s, when our nation was fighting for its freedom, society was much different as was the situation. The problem today is, that time period is being misused and misrepresented, in regard to, today’s events. The following is a quick synopsis of the situation then; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War
The war was the culmination of the political American Revolution, whereby many of the colonists rejected the legitimacy of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them without representation, claiming that this violated the Rights of Englishmen. The First Continental Congress met in 1774 to coordinate relations with Great Britain and the thirteen now self-governing and individual provinces, petitioning George III for intervention with Parliament, organizing a boycott of British goods, while affirming loyalty to the British Crown. Their pleas ignored, and with British combat troops billeted in Boston, Massachusetts, by 1775 the Provincial Congresses formed the Second Continental Congress and authorized a Continental Army. Additional petitions to the king to intervene with Parliament resulted in the following year with Congress being declared traitors and the states to be in rebellion. The Americans responded in 1776 by formally declaring their independence as one new nation — the United States of America — claiming their own sovereignty and rejecting any allegiance to the British monarchy.

The following is an article from Yahoo.com reporting events today; http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100325/ap_on_re_us/us_health_care_threats
Dems deal with threats over health care support
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press Writer Emily Wagster Pettus, Associated Press Writer – Thu Mar 25, 6:35 am ET
Democratic Congress members are getting lessons from the FBI on how to handle threats such as several directed at their colleagues, including bricks hurled through windows and menacing obscenity-laced phone messages left for those who supported sweeping federal health care legislation.
Windows were shattered at four Democratic offices in New York, Arizona and Kansas and at least 10 members of Congress have reported some sort of threats, leaders said. No arrests had been made as of Wednesday, but the FBI is investigating.
Lawmakers who feel they are at risk will be "getting attention from the proper authorities," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who denounced the threats and vandalism at a news conference. He declined to say whether any are receiving extra security. Normally only those in leadership positions have personal security guards.
The brick flung through the window of a county Democratic Party office in Rochester, N.Y., over the weekend had a note attached: "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice," roughly quoting 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater.
A New York congresswoman whose office window also was smashed with a brick accused the Republican leadership of failing to denounce attacks against lawmakers. The vandalism happened at Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter's district office in Niagara Falls early Friday, two days before the House passed the health care overhaul bill.
"It's more disturbing to me that Republican leadership has not condemned these attacks and instead appears to be fanning the flames with coded rhetoric," said Slaughter, a key supporter of the bill.
House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said in a statement that while many Americans are angry over the bill's passage, "violence and threats are unacceptable."
"That's not the American way," Boehner said. "We need to take that anger and channel it into positive change."
Some of the anger spilled over in a flood of obscenity and threat-filled phone and fax messages to the office of Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich. Stupak vowed to oppose the health care package unless given greater assurance that it would not allow federal funding of elective abortions. He voted in favor after the administration agreed.
Stupak's office released some of the messages, declining further comment.
"I hope you bleed ... (get) cancer and die," one male caller told the congressman between curses.
A fax with the title "Defecating on Stupak" carried a picture of a gallows with "Bart (SS) Stupak" on it and a noose attached. It was captioned, "All Baby Killers come to unseemly ends Either by the hand of man or by the hand of God."
The vandalism and threats surprised a researcher at a think tank that monitors extremist groups.
"I think it is astounding that we are seeing this wave of vigilantism," said Mark Potok of the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center.
Hoyer said people have yelled that Democratic lawmakers should be put on firing lines and posters have appeared with the faces of lawmakers in the cross hairs of a target.
While not directly criticizing Republicans, Hoyer said that "any show of appreciation for such actions encourages such action."
Gun imagery was used in a posting on the Facebook page of Sarah Palin urging people to organize against 20 House Democrats who voted for the health care bill and whose districts went for the John McCain-Palin ticket two years ago. Palin's post featured a U.S. map with circles and cross hairs over the 20 districts.
In Virginia, someone cut a propane line leading to a grill at the Charlottesville home of U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello's brother after the address was posted online by activists angry about the health care overhaul. Perriello also said a threatening letter was sent to his brother's house. The FBI and local authorities were investigating.
Tea party activists had posted the brother's address online thinking it was the congressman's home. The post urged opponents to drop by and "express their thanks" for the Democrat's vote in favor of the sweeping health care reform.
Nigel Coleman, chairman of the Danville Tea Party, said he re-posted the comment that originated on another conservative blog, including the address, Monday on his Facebook page. The posts were taken down after the mistake was discovered.
"We've never been associated with any violence or any vandalism," he said. "We're definitely sorry that we posted the incorrect address."
Lyndsay Stauble, executive director of the Sedgwick County Democratic Party in Wichita, Kan., said a brick was hurled through the party's storefront plate glass window late Friday or early Saturday, landing in her office and gouging her wooden desk.
She said that written in marker on the brick were the slogans, "No to Obama" and "No Obamycare."
"The tone is not surprising, but the aggressiveness is," Stauble said Wednesday. "I'm not shocked that people are not reacting well to a large piece of legislation passed by a president that they don't like."
Associated Press writers David N. Goodman in Detroit, Dena Potter and Bob Lewis in Richmond, Va., Ben Dobbin in Rochester, N.Y., Mark Carlson in Phoenix and Laurie Kellman in Washington contributed to this report.

The events involved with the healthcare issue are no comparison to the formation of our nation. Anybody who compares the two is blatantly ignorant and is looking to be unlawful and an outright troublemaker. To do the things that have been done recently, the threats and intimidation to Lawmakers, is not Patriotic. If anyone reading this article is one of those individuals, do not kid yourself. You are no Patriot! You are a law breaking, ignorant malcontent looking for attention!

As for me, I believe in our Constitution and love my country. Even though I disagreed with the Bush Administration, I stood behind him as our President and would have done anything required to defend our Nation. For those of you, who are causing today’s threats, understand this; there are many more like me out here. We consider people like you a threat from within. So, before you go about trying to cause your second revolution, understand that people like me will stop you in your tracks. But, you better hope the authorities do it first. People like me will not bother to read you your rights. As far as we are concerned, you threaten this country, you have given up your rights. So, make sure you truly understand what it is to be Patriotic and do not be fooled by Tea bagging rhetoric or political conservative ploy. Instead, if you really want to do the Patriotic duty, next election, exercise the right thousands of our Armed Forces have given up their lives for, VOTE! Now THAT is Patriotic.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100325/ap_on_re_us/us_health_care_threats
http://www.42explore2.com/revolt.htm
http://www.myrevolutionarywar.com/
http://www.historycentral.com/Revolt/
http://www.ushistory.org/DECLARATION/revwartimeline.htm
http://www.nps.gov/archive/cowp/Timeline.htm
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/mary-kate-cary/2010/03/25/sarah-palin-tea-party-leaders-must-condemn-healthcare-threats.html
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/88955-dem-compares-healthcare-threats-to-fighting-in-iraq-afghanistan
http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2010/03/26/comments-on-health-care-violence/
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/24/congress.threats/index.html

Unsung Heroes

How Freedom of Speech Is Being Abused

In the coming months, the Supreme Court will be hearing arguments about a court case that should never even needed to be considered. That case is the abuse of Freedom of Speech, by a religious Church from the Topeka Kansas area. This church is the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church. The Pastor of this church is Fred Phelps Sr. A man, I feel, is a disgrace to his faith and is the poster boy to why many in today’s society are turning away from religion.

This lunatic Pastor, along with the throng of his crazies, appears at military funerals and cheers the deaths of fallen soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In protesting, this lunatic Pastor preaches the deaths of our fallen heroes, is deserved and a punishment from God, while basing this idea solely on their own biases and prejudices towards Homosexuals and other fanatical religious beliefs. A father to a slain Veteran has sued the organization for their protesting at the funeral of his son. Albert Snyder was awarded five million dollars in damages for distress caused by these lunatic protesters. Unfortunately, a higher court overturned this decision and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case to render a final decision.

The following is an article by the Associated Press providing an outline of the arguments from both sides and what is at stake with this case;

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/08/377423/court-to-rule-in-military-funeral.html

Court to rule in military funeral protest case
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is getting involved in the legal fight over the anti-gay protesters who show up at military funerals with inflammatory messages like "Thank God for dead soldiers."
The court agreed Monday to consider whether the protesters' message, no matter how provocative and upsetting, is protected by the First Amendment. Members of a Kansas-based church have picketed military funerals to spread their belief that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

The justices will hear an appeal from the father of a Marine killed in Iraq to reinstate a $5 million verdict against the protesters, after they picketed outside his son's funeral in Maryland.

A jury in Baltimore awarded Albert Snyder damages for emotional distress and invasion of privacy, but a federal appeals court threw out the verdict. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the signs contained "imaginative and hyperbolic rhetoric" protected by the First Amendment.

The funeral for Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder in Westminster, Md., was among many that have been picketed by members of the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. Westboro pastor Fred Phelps and other members have used the funeral protests to spread their belief that U.S. deaths in the Iraq war are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. One of the signs at Snyder's funeral combined the U.S. Marine Corps motto with a slur against gay men.

Other signs carred by members of the Topeka, Kan.-based church said, "America is Doomed," "God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11," "Priests Rape Boys" and "Thank God for IEDs," a reference to the roadside bombs that have killed many U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The case will be argued in the fall.

The case is Snyder v. Phelps, 09-751.

Whether you agree with any Military conflict our troops are involved in or not. The death of a soldier is the most heroic sacrifice that can be made by the individual and his or her family. The funeral is a private and personal service that should not be abused for the right of Freedom of Speech. There is nothing political about a funeral nor is their anything commercial about it. A funeral service is the private moment where friends and family say goodbye to a loved one. It is emotional and traumatic. My only hope is that the Supreme Court will see it this way as well.

Freedom of Speech is a Constitutional Right that many have died for. But, death itself, should not be exploited for personal agenda, by using the very service that our society has agreed, is the only solemn rite of passage. I can only hope the Supreme Court will see this in the same light and make the appropriate decision of when Freedom of Speech goes on hold for a more important rite.

That’s How I See It.

The following are websites of reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Anti-gay_church_protests_U.S._at_military_funerals

http://abcnews.go.com/US/Politics/story?id=1728788&page=1

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2004136

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/03/08/high-court-takes-funeral-protest-case/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/08/377423/court-to-rule-in-military-funeral.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3158309

The Need for Healthcare Not Health Insurance

Why the Insurance Industry should be irrelevant on this Issue

Anyone who has read this blog is familiar with my background. Even though I write articles here, and try to add commentary on various other sites, my profession is in Manufacturing. My background originated within the Maintenance end of the industry. However, through the years, I have moved to the manufacture of finished goods. As a Manufacturing Supervisor, I am directly involved with the day to day operations of our facilities. Through the years I have seen, and been a part of, the changes in the way we build our products.

The other day, I was in a conversation with my counterpart, in the Maintenance Department. His name is Jim. He is a decent guy, down to earth and definitely has his own ways of getting things done. In our conversation, he pointed out to me, how complicated technology or innovation has actually made the way we do things today. For instance, we have a system that is run by a computer. This computer takes the data we feed it, distributes this data to the running parts of the equipment and turns the equipment on. Before the invention of the computer we would just turn a switch on. In other words, we have added another layer of activities to operate a mechanism that a simple “flip of a switch” used to handle. So now, we have an extra layer of troubleshooting, that must take place, along with additional materials and labor when, all we had was one simple switch just a few years ago.

Now I know you are asking yourself what this has to do with Healthcare and Health Insurance. I believe that Health Insurance has become that computer. Years ago, if you needed Healthcare, it was as simple as “flipping a switch” to obtain it. Once the advent of Health Insurance, we added a layer that now controls the Healthcare machine, not you or I as it used to be years ago. Please explain to me why Insurance Companies have to make a profit at the expense of the health of Americans? Oh, I understand they have to pay their bills and such but, what says they have to make a profit to the excesses they do today when their whole inception was to help in the provision of effective Healthcare to the citizenry. Not only do they feel they must make a profit but, sacrificing the lives of the average American to obtain those extra billion dollars for their executives, is now the norm? Then maybe Jim was on to something when he said technology or innovation has not made our lives easier.

I found the following article, from the Firedoglake Blog very enlightening when it comes to what is at stake for the Health Insurance Industry;

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/03/03/health-insurance-industrys-300-billion-victory-over-the-public-option/

Health Insurance Industry’s $300 Billion Victory Over the Public Option
By: Jon Walker Wednesday March 3, 2010 9:27 am
When Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and the entire Republican Senate caucus stepped up to kill the public option in the Senate, it is important to remember that the health insurance industry won a victory—a victory worth $300 billion. As Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) now try to crush attempts to revive the public option inside a reconciliation measure, they are battling to protect that extra $300 billion that will flow to AHIP as a result. The public option was never just a “sliver” as Obama tried to claim. It was about a fundamental moral right and the role of government. But what it was also about was a huge amount of money.
The CBO projects that the relatively weak public option–the one limited just to the exchange in the House health care bill–would secure roughly one-fifth of that market, equal to around 6 million people (PDF). The CBO concluded that, as a result of those 6 million customers, the public option will take in $298 billion (PDF) in direct premiums, exchange subsidies, and risk adjustment payments from 2013-2019. However, with the public option removed, but the individual mandate remaining, that $300 billion will instead go straight to the private insurance corporations’ books. If, like I personally suspect, the CBO slightly underestimated the popularity of the public option, and it manages to secure instead roughly a third of the customers on the exchange, that would be roughly $500 billion that the public option would take from the private insurance companies.
I often hear the argument that the public option was not important because only 2% of Americans would be using it. That’s true, but it is important to remember that roughly a third are currently insured by public programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare. Of course, of the roughly half of Americans with private insurance, the bulk of them get there coverage through employer-provided, self-funded plans. Plans in which the employer bears the risk and holds the premiums. The insurance companies are only subcontracted to provide administrative functions. That 6 million people the public option was projected to cover would be a significant share of the potential market for private insurance companies to actually cover and noticeably expand the amount of money they would have earning float revenue.
It is important to remember the sheer scope of the private insurance companies victory if they stop health care reform from having even a relatively weak public option. It will be a victory that will provide them with an extra $300 billion of our money. No doubt some of that same money will be used in the future to fight efforts to enact real health care reform.

All of us here in the United States of America need access to affordable and comprehensive Healthcare. Not Healthcare Insurance. The Health Insurance Industry started as a level that helped to enhance the healthcare access but, now is hindering it. Sadly, the political system that is admired around the world is being used and abused as a tool to obstruct, thwart and prevent the very device we are envied of.

Personally, I believe a Public Option, Single Payer or outright Medicare for all, is the only way, we as a nation, can ensure our citizenry will have the best Healthcare access in the world. Relieving American businesses, of the burden of Healthcare provision, for its employees would make our labor work force second to none in quantity, quality and affordability when competing with the Global Markets. By having one giant pool that business and the public alike, pay into, would help control costs while providing Healthcare for every American citizen. I fail to understand why American Businesses do not stand up against the Heath Insurance Industry and their Lobbyists to demand this competitive edge. But, I guess so many people are in bed together, for nothing more than the almighty dollar and political gain that caring about a human life comes second. Unless, of course, you rant about wanting your country back from a black president, (no racial intention there, right?) you cheat on your spouse while waving your Bible proclaiming pro-life as you support the death sentence. Life in the womb must be more important than outside, huh? WOW! I think I just came up with the topic for a future article. Hhmm…

That’s How I See It.

An Evangelical Rant

The Decline of Pat Robertson

Two weeks ago, we all, once again, witnessed the devastation of Mother Nature at her worst. From a few years ago in New Orleans, to the Christmas Day Tsunami nothing has torn more at our hearts than watching the effects of the devastating Earthquake in Haiti. We have seen, the best in humanity, show its face with aid pouring in to that Island Home from all corners of the globe. However, among the good, ignorance and outright stupidity has also shown itself.

Being raised as a Roman Catholic and attending an Episcopal Church, I along with others, pray for the well being of the Haitian people. However, ignorant and despicable comments by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and even more shocking Pat Robertson can only leave a person to shake their head and wonder how these individuals can justify the breath they consume everyday. Mr. Robertson made statements that Haiti was being punished by God because of the pact they made with the devil to rid themselves of French Colonial Rule. Is this really what all of you evangelicals believe. Are any of you who follow Mr. Robertson so ignorant and outright heartless that you could believe that a God, who receives worship from the very creatures he finds precious, would want to “punish” them for freeing themselves? If you do then, you are the biggest reason why, many of the generation coming up, are turning away from religious beliefs.

The following is an editorial from the Star-Ledger that pretty well states my opinion on Mr. Robertson and all of his followers; http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2010/01/pat_robertson_and_haiti_dement.html
The Star-Ledger Editorial Page
NJ Voices: Opinions from New Jersey
International »
Pat Robertson and Haiti: Demented demonology
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board/The Star-Led...
January 16, 2010, 5:41AM
Bottom of Form
Televangelist Pat Robertson sounded like a demented old fool when he said the devastating earthquake in Haiti is God’s wrath for a "pact" Haitians made with the devil to gain independence from the French.
"They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon the third, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil," Robertson said Wednesday on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s 700 Club.
Insensitive and stupid as it was, this is hardly the first time Robertson has spewed such ridiculous apocalyptic revelations.
He told the Pennsylvania town of Dover in 2005 that disaster might strike there because its citizens voted out school board members who favored teaching intelligent design over the theory of evolution. That same year, he said Hurricane Katrina was sent by God as a punishment for America’s legalization of abortion.
Robertson’s babble is not to be confused with real religious philosophy. He’s nothing more than a nut job peddling an extreme right-wing world view.

Catholicism and religion in general, are finding themselves on the decline in today’s society. The younger generations coming up are being turned off by the outrageous racism and bigotry that is promoted by many religious figures of today. I believe that even the Pope realizes to make the Catholic Church numbers grow, open mindedness and a better teaching of God’s love will gain more than preaching a fire and brimstone attitude.

So Mr. Robertson, here is some advice. SIT DOWN AND SHUTUP! If you are truly a man of the cloth, then preach of God’s love, healing and wanting of worship. Stop acting like you are running for office. You tried that once already and received a humbling experience. Give the rest of us a break.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference; http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2010/01/pat_robertson_and_haiti_dement.html
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/01/senator-jabs-robertson-over-haiti
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Robertson
http://www.patrobertson.com/
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/01/13/haiti.pat.robertson/index.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01/15/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6101136.shtml

Rush Limbaugh, BSA

Bull Shit Artist

Is it possible for Rush Limbaugh to stage a fake illness just to provide him a platform to bluster his narcissistic buffoonery? Let us give this some thought for a moment. President Obama takes his family to Honolulu on a vacation. It just so happens, that Rush Limbaugh is vacationing there as well. Gee, what a coincidence. Now, the Healthcare Bill has passed a historic hurdle just prior to the Christmas break. Mr. Limbaugh, along with all the members of the NO PARTY Republicans, is dismayed to put it extremely lightly. Suddenly, Mr. Limbaugh has chest pains and needs immediate medical attention. When all is said and done, the doctors can not find anything wrong with Mr. Limbaugh, in particular, with his heart. That revelation was no surprise to me considering the way he poked fun at Michael J. Fox. I figured he did not have a heart to begin with. So, now the blustery buffoon touts about our nation having the finest healthcare on the planet and there is no need for healthcare reform. What the narcissistic idiot does not realize, or maybe it is by design, no one is criticizing the healthcare. It is the availability of healthcare that is in question. All of this availability being manipulated by Insurance companies who will favor profits over the health of the people they are supposed to serve.

But, of course, the multi-million dollar per year ignoramus, bolstered by the weak minded malcontents who listen or even follow him, does everything he can to mislead and misguide a populace for ratings and status. Who knows, he is supposedly losing weight and trying to get in shape. Personally, I think he is just trying to get laid by Sarah Palin. Be careful Rush, Todd is still around. The following was featured on Hawaii News Now and appears to be the norm for how this scenario is being viewed by all; http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11757107
Rush Limbaugh says tests clear him of health problems
Posted: Jan 01, 2010 3:34 PM EST Updated: Jan 02, 2010 6:37 PM EST
By Duane Shimogawa bio email
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - After suffering chest pains this past Wednesday, conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh was discharged from The Queen's Medical Center Friday.
Limbaugh and his doctor spoke to the media for the first time since the incident happened. He says doctors found nothing wrong with his heart after numerous tests.
He says he most likely suffered a spasm in an artery leading to his heart.
A crowded room of national media switched gears Friday morning. Instead of covering the vacationing President Obama, the tiresome group rushed to Queen's for a Rush Limbaugh announcement.
The first thing Limbaugh addressed wasn't his health. Instead, he thanked the Kahala Hotel and Resort and Queen's.
"Their security staff reacted like that to my distress call at 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon," Limbaugh said. "The people at Queens Hospital could not have been better, I feel very, very fortunate, I've been treated to the best healthcare the world has to offer."
This past Wednesday afternoon, Limbaugh says he felt pain coming from his upper left chest. A pain like he's never experienced before.
It sparked questions about his controversial past with painkillers.
"Are you taking painkillers for your back pain?" A reporter asked. "No, Prednisone," Rush said.
Limbaugh then sat down and tried to walk it off, but the pain was still there. That's when he called security and just 20 minutes later he was at The Queen's Medical Center, undergoing extensive tests. He says the pain went away a half hour later.
"The pain was real and they don't know what caused it and I think for everybody out there, I'm 58, will be 59 in couple of weeks, and you start thinking about these kinds of things, don't mess with it," he said.
The doctor who treated him agrees.
"If you think you're having a heart problem, call for help, call 911, get to the hospital and get to a tor's attention because time is very important," The Queen's Medical Center's chief of cardiovascular disease Dr. Joana Magno said.
And for extra pre-caution, Limbaugh got an angiogram. But nothing turned up, no arterial disease, no coronary disease. His best guess is an artery spasm.
"Turn it over to professionals right off the bat, don't tough it out, don't try to make it go away on your own, it's not worth the risk," he said.
Limbaugh says he got no special treatment from hospital staff. He says his time there felt like a hotel stay.
"Takes things like this to prepare you in life for the eventuality that you are getting older, not as young as you were and not as invincible as you once thought you were," he said.
He says he'll return to work on Wednesday.
doc

As you can tell, I am not a fan of Rush Limbaugh. However, I do wish him good health and hope he is able to recover fully. I would like to believe he has had a change in heart with regard to his personal and political beliefs. However, that would mean he has a heart. A man who spews the filth and fervor, along with the likes of all conservative hate mongers which abuse our freedom of speech, will probably never change until they finally have to face their maker.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9464645
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/today.guest.html
http://news.scotsman.com/world/US-radio-host-Rush-Limbaugh.5952086.jp
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11757107
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail??blogid=95&entry_id=54456
http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/doctors-find-nothing-wrong-rush-limbaugh-01-02-2010
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-01/rush-limbaugh-says-doctors-found-no-evidence-of-heart-disease.html

Finger Pointing

The Republicans are Experts

The recently failed attempt, by an Al-Qaida operative, to bring down an international flight while landing in Detroit, has sparked the Republican Party to attempt an “I told you so” campaign. While criticizing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, (I have to admit, I am doubtful of her abilities as well) the party of NO, seems to have memory loss, when it comes to who originated DHS and the rules they play by today. It was the Republican Administration of George W. Bush and his fellow criminals who, in 2003, established what some have nicknamed the “Homeboy Security Department”. This farce of a Governmental Agency is supposed to bring together, all intelligence gathered information, so that data can be shared and used for the protection of the American People. However, two of the most important organizations are not bound under Homeland Security Rule; the departments are the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Now, I realize the lack of involvement by these two agencies should not hurt the overall performance of DHS but, it is quite apparent, Homeland Security is falling way short of the intended results it was created to achieve.

The Republican attempt to disparage the present administration will probably fall short. President Obama did not rise up through the politics of Chicago without learning a thing or two about reaction. The following is an article appearing in the Guardian which seems to place the event in perspective; http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/30/us-plots-retaliatory-strikes-yemen
US plots retaliatory strikes against al-Qaida in Yemen over plane bomber
Chris McGreal in Washington, Nasser Arrabyee in Sana'a, and Hugh Macleod guardian.co.uk,
The US is planning retaliatory strikes in Yemen against al-Qaida over its attempt to blow up a transatlantic flight on Christmas Day.
American officials say intelligence efforts are focused on identifying and tracking down those who plotted to put Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on the plane with enough explosive in his underwear to bring down the Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam. But they warn that finding those responsible is unlikely to be swift and say that identifying other "high-value" al-Qaida targets for retaliatory attack would also be a priority.
"First we have to find out who put Abdulmutallab on the plane with the bomb," said a US official working alongside intelligence organizations. "He's providing some leads and we're not dealing with an unknown quantity here. We've been watching and listening to what goes on in Yemen and we may have pieces of the puzzle already and just need to fit it together.
"If and when we identify them then we plan how to deal with them. Who they are is one thing, where they are is another.If they're still in Yemen and we can get a lock on them then it won't be too difficult to know what to do. But they know who they are and won't be standing out. After that we can move with the president's authorization. I don't think there's much doubt that authorization will be forthcoming, but no one should think all of this is going to happen overnight."
The official acknowledged that there was likely to be political and public pressure on Barack Obama to strike back at al-Qaida, particularly with Republican opponents breaking with the usual solidarity on national security issues to accuse him of weakness and making America vulnerable to attack.
"The people we want are the ones who put Abdulmutallab on the plane. Until we can get them there are other high-value targets that will make the point that attacking America does not go unpunished," said the official.
But given the regular attacks against al-Qaida in Yemen, these may have a greater impact on American public opinion than on the extremist group.
The US has been conducting a covert assault with drone attacks on al-Qaida bases for about a year, while CIA agents inside the country help direct ground operations. American Special Forces have been training the Yemeni military and may have been involved in raids.
General David Petraeus, the American regional commander, and John Brennan, the president's counterterrorism adviser, both visited Yemen this year.
Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate's homeland security committee, who visited Yemen in August, described the country this week as a focus of the assault on al-Qaida. "Yemen now becomes one of the centers of that fight. We have a growing presence there – and we have to – of special operations, Green Berets, intelligence," he said.
Yesterday, Yemeni forces targeted Nasser Ahmed al-Ahdal; a former prisoner released after renouncing violence but believed to have renewed links to al-Qaida. One man was injured and captured but Ahdal and two others escaped.
Several al-Qaida members killed in raids by Yemeni forces in the past fortnight had been released or had escaped from prison. Others who have left jail to rejoin the fight include Nasser al-Wahayshi, the Yemeni leader of al-Qaida, who escaped along with 22 others from prison in Yemen in 2006. His deputy, Saeed al-Shihri, joined al-Qaida in Yemen last year after being released to Saudi Arabia from Guantánamo.
While intelligence officials plan how to hit back abroad, they are under pressure at home after Obama blamed intelligence failings for Abdulmutallab being allowed to board a plane to the US. The president has ordered that a preliminary report be delivered to him today tomorrow explaining how the young Nigerian managed to smuggle the explosives on to the flight.
The criticism is focused on the CIA and the national counterterrorism centre (NCC) established after 9/11. The CIA is under scrutiny because it picked up intelligence from Yemen that a Nigerian was involved in a forthcoming attack at about the same time that Abdulmutallab's father told US diplomats in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, that his son had become radicalized in Yemen and was a possible threat. That information was shared with CIA officials in Abuja who passed it on to the NCC, but it was apparently not matched with the intelligence from Yemen. On Tuesday Obama condemned the failure to share information and other intelligence failings as "totally unacceptable".
CIA in the line of fire
First the finger was pointed at Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary, who blundered after the failure of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's bombing attempt by saying "the system worked".
But with Barack Obama condemning intelligence failures as "totally unacceptable", attention is focused on the CIA and the national counterterrorism centre (NCC), set up after 9/11 to pool information and forestall the kind of plot that Abdulmutallab came close to completing.
The CIA is under pressure after it was revealed that it apparently had two important pieces of the puzzle that might have prevented the attack and did not put them together.
The New York Times said the agency picked up intelligence from Yemen that a Nigerian was at the forefront of a looming attack on American interests. At about the same time, the CIA was part of a briefing at the US embassy in Nigeria after Abdulmutallab's father warned American diplomats that his son was becoming radicalized, and was in Yemen. The CIA drew up a file, but then sat on it for five weeks.
For its part, the NCC was told by the state department about the warnings by Abdulmutallab's father, but then did not check whether the young Nigerian had a US visa. He did.
The president described the handling of the warning as a failure.
Richard Clarke, a former chief counter‑terrorism adviser on the US national security council, said that while Napolitano is feeling the heat for a political misstep, it was the CIA and NCC that should shoulder responsibility. "There does appear to be a failure here either at the CIA or the new national counterterrorism centre. Homeland security didn't get the information. I think the problem lies at the intelligence community and not at homeland security," he said

In the end, I believe the Republican Party is once again, kicking a dead horse and needs to address their internal party problems before they try to convince the American People to trust them again. With our armed forces deployed in the area and the readiness to retaliate, Yemen would do themselves a favor to rid their country of Al-Qaida before we decide to do it for them. Ask Iraq and Afghanistan if that is not a wise decision in hindsight.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_security
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Napolitano
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/02/11/emergency.supplies/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/30/us-plots-retaliatory-strikes-yemen
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/12/30/yemen-terrorism.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemen
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091229/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen_us_airliner_attack
www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6031772n

2012

Why I Cannot Wait Until 2013
I am writing this article because I have reached the fed up point of hype. The year 2012 is still, a little more than, two years away and I already cannot wait for 2013. Before I give you my reasons, I want to warn all you readers who suffer from the following; Impressionable, Gullibility, Mental and Emotional vulnerability and outright STUPIDITY!!! You may be insulted by what you read next. Remember, you have been warned!!!

Recently, a movie entitled 2012 was released to movie theaters throughout the country. Prior to this release, the Mayan Calendar has been quoted as being, the tell all, to the end of days for all of us on earth. The Hype for this movie starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover and Woody Harrelson has been a testimonial to the special effects of movie making. The problem though, extends to any and all who are trying to exploit the end of days for money making ventures. Now in a Capitalistic Society, this would not be so bad except for those of the populace that cannot tell fiction from fact. From the History Channel to the Discovery Channel and anybody with a website, the attempts to sell the story of the End of Days is now blossoming into public hysteria not seen since the War of the Worlds radio broadcast on October 30, 1938. Inquiries made to NASA have become so frequent and with such fear and apprehension that funds have been spent to create a website for NASA to debunk the claims of Earth’s destruction and assure everyone that we will still be here on December 22, 2012. The following are links to all the NASA websites addressing the 2012 rumor; http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html
http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/intro/nibiru-and-doomsday-2012-questions-and-answers
http://fora.tv/2009/02/04/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson_Pluto_Files#Neil_deGrasse_Tyson_World_Will_Not_End_in_2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_collision
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_%28mythology%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_(Sitchin#Planets_proposed_by_Zecharia_Sitchin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_doomsday_prediction
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planetx/

The following article from the Telegraph website says it all about the 2012 fears;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/6534662/Mayan-2012-apocalypse-theory-not-true-Nasa-says.html
'Mayan 2012 apocalypse theory' not true, Nasa says
The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, Nasa insisted on Monday in a rare campaign to dispel rumours fueled by the internet and a new Hollywood movie.
The latest big screen offering from Sony Pictures, "2012," arrives in theatres on Friday , with a $200 million production about the end of the world supposedly based on theories backed by the Mayan calendar. The doomsday scenario revolves around claims that the end of time will come as an obscure Planet X - or Nibiru - collides with Earth. The mysterious planet was supposedly discovered by the Sumerians, according to claims by pseudo-scientists, paranormal activity enthusiasts and internet theorists. Some websites have accused the US space agency of concealing the truth about the wayward planet's existence, but Nasa has denounced such stories as an "internet hoax." "There is no factual basis for these claims," Nasa said in a question-and-answer posting on its website. If such a collision were real, "astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye," it added. "Obviously, it does not exist." "Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012," it insisted. After all, "our planet has been getting along just fine for more than four billion years," added Nasa. Initial theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter solstice in 2012, to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar. Nasa insisted the Mayan calendar does not in fact end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward. And it said there are no planetary alignments on the horizon for the next few decades.
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be "negligible," Nasa said. Modern Maya in Guatemala and Mexico have also rushed to debunk the "prophesy". they view the burgeoning end-of-the-world 2012 industry with a mixture of confusion, exasperation and anger at what is perceived as a Western distortion of their traditions and beliefs. "There is no concept of apocalypse in the Mayan culture," Jesus Gomez, head of the Guatemalan confederation of Mayan priests and spiritual guides, told The Sunday Telegraph. Cirilo Perez, an adviser to Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom is a prominent ajq'ij - literally a "day counter", a wise man who makes predictions and advice on the most propitious dates to marry, plant or harvest. He decried the commercial exploitation of Mayan culture by outsiders. "This has all become business but there is no desire to understand," he said. "When foreigners, or even some Guatemalans, see us, they think 'Look at the Maya, how nice, how pretty', but they don't understand us."

So, for all of you who have fallen victim to the fears of the world coming to an end, you can be rest assured that, we will all be here tomorrow and for a long time to come. Now, if for some reason you still believe all the erroneous websites quoting doom and gloom, I have eight easy steps to relieve you of your anxiety.
Step 1; Pull all your money out of your bank account.
Step 2; Go to your local Gun Store.
Step 3; Go inside and purchase a hand gun with ammunition.
Step 4; Leave the store.
Step 5; Find a very private place.
Step 6; Load the ammunition into the gun.
Step 7; Place the gun to the side of your head.
Step 8; Pull the trigger.
You will have done yourself and everyone who has had to listen to your whining over life ending, a favor. FOR GOD’S SAKE, SMARTEN UP AND GET A LIFE!

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/6534662/Mayan-2012-apocalypse-theory-not-true-Nasa-says.html
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html
http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/intro/nibiru-and-doomsday-2012-questions-and-answers
http://fora.tv/2009/02/04/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson_Pluto_Files#Neil_deGrasse_Tyson_World_Will_Not_End_in_2012
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_collision
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_%28mythology%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_(Sitchin#Planets_proposed_by_Zecharia_Sitchin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_doomsday_prediction
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planetx/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_(film)
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080502170653AA3tvRa
http://mashable.com/2009/11/12/nasa-debunks-2012/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization#Mathematics