Happy July 4th Weekend, everyone

I say weekend because it feels like it in Philadelphia - there were plenty of festivities on July 4th, of course, but also plenty today and tonight, too. In Philly, July 4 feels like a three-day weekend when it falls anywhere on a weekend.

Here's hoping that wherever you are, you're having a great weekend, and if you're in America, you take just a moment to remember how very fortunate and lucky we are. Lucky that we have guys like the one below, who unselfishly made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom...

Pat Tillman (November 6, 1976 – April 22, 2004)

Rummy returns to lie about Tillman murder

I'm so delighted to see that former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has crawled out from under his rock to mislead Congress and the American people regarding the Pentagon's cover-up about the death of Cpl. Pat Tillman in Afghanistan.

Here is Rumsfeld's opening statement:

On its face, Rumsfeld's comments sound sincere and heartfelt. Of course, we have strong reason to suspect otherwise. There is increasing evidence that the Pentagon and the Department of Defense knowingly lied about the circumstances surrounding Cpl. Tillman's death. The lies and cover-up served two purposes: 1. To maintain and build public support for the war on terrorism, and 2. To conceal the real truth - that Tillman was killed by Friendly Fire. Even more troubling, there is mounting evidence that he was murdered by a U.S. soldier(s).

Rummy's opening statement is little more than PR boilerplate, but then again, we are used to hearing that from him, because from the beginning of the Bush presidency until his departure from the Pentagon in December of last year, we heard little else from him.

By the way, I love Rummy's use of the word fratricide. The appropriate term in the case of Tillman, would be murder, but that would be unacceptably honest for a guy like Rumsfeld.

Why do I get the sneaking suspicion that no one will be held adequately accountable for this national, inexcusable disgrace and cover up? I mean, it's not like appropriate people haven't been held accountable before in this administration for misdeeds, right?

h/t to PoliticsTV for the video clips

Pat Tillman's death: Dial "M" for murder?

It's no surprise that the government covered up the circumstances surrounding Pat Tillman's death. What's now being revealed is just how ugly the circumstances were surrounding his death, and even the possibility of his murder at the hands of other U.S. soldiers.

This is one of the most disturbing stories to come from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and certainly one of the saddest.

From AP:

Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman’s forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former NFL player’s death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

“The medical evidence did not match up with the, with the scenario as described,” a doctor who examined Tillman’s body after he was killed on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2004 told investigators.

The doctors - whose names were blacked out - said that the bullet holes were so close together that it appeared the Army Ranger was cut down by an M-16 fired from a mere 10 yards or so away.

Read more Here.

A Congressional hearing is planned next week to determine just how high up in the government and the military the cover up went. I still don't believe anything will come from this story, because if the barbarians get too close to the gate, Bush will just claim Executive Privilege, and really, who can blame him? As long as it continues to work and keep him out of trouble, he'll continue to do so.

The only way stories like the Tillman death will have any consequence for this government and this administration is if the Democrats develop a backbone, and soon. I'm not holding my breath, but my Congressional representatives will be hearing from me, often and soon.

Some Sunday comics, a bit late

So, Toyota is now the global king. The only amazing thing is that it took so long. I sure hope GM can turn it around, but the company is hamstrung by the astronomical costs of its pension and medical care costs.

I'll discuss the Pat Tillman fiasco in a separate post, but in short, it's one of the most disgraceful chapters in U.S. military history. At this point, I can't say I'm surprised, though - nothing from this administration surprises me anymore. Aside from Tillman's death, the most tragic thing about the whole incident is that no one will be held responsible for it. I'm not even talking so much about the friendly fire, which is a tragedy, but the cover-up and the lying by the U.S. government to the Tillman family. However, like Abu Ghraib and Haditha, it's unlikely that anyone within the highest reaches of the Pentagon or the Bush administration will be held responsible.

The $400 John Edwards haircut is an embarrassment to him and his campaign, but the press coverage about this whole thing has been nothing short of amazing.

I'm not defending it - it's inexcusable. Anyone who was going to donate money to his campaign will probably be thinking twice. Had he paid for it himself, it would not have been disclosed. What was Edwards thinking? The answer is, he wasn't, because if he was, he would not have put this on the campaign books. You know what, though? Each and every campaign, and candidate, has these skeletons in his or her closet.

Anyone catch the stories about Rudy Giuliani and all of this rock-star like demands when he makes a campaign appearance? You probably didn't, because it got virtually no mainstream media coverage.

In addition to his $100,000 speaking fee, during his private speaking tours, he requires to be shuttled to and from speaking events in a Gulfstream IV private jet. You can read more about his demands Here and at the Smoking Gun, which obtained a copy of a Giuliani contract. Evidently, Oklahoma State released one of his contracts, sick of his unusually high demands.

Anyone want to argue that he's not using any campaign cash improperly? C'mon, they all are, without question. I have a hard time believing that a guy like Rudy, who's used to first-class treatment in every way, is all of a sudden going to be flying commercial.

During the 2000 campaign, it was revealed that then-candidate George W. Bush spent over $100 a minute.

Or, how about John McCain's all-expenses-paid trip to Iraq, so he could try and end his embarrassment stemming from his disastrous appearance on CNN just days before, where he blithely chided Wolf Blitzer for not knowing the facts on Iraq.

Again, I'm not saying that Edwards' behavior should be excused. It shouldn't. He won't get a dime out of me, even if he becomes the nominee. But, my point is all of the presidential candidates undoubtedly have lavish expenses. That doesn't make it right, either, but to single out Edwards is laughable.

You have to be able to read Spanish to know where this cartoon is coming from, and this one is right on. (It reads, "Why all the violence?")

I'm happy that finally, someone is actually going to take the time to examine all of this actions in a legal way. (Of course we know his work isn't always respectful, but that doesn't make it illegal. But, the likelihood that he did something illegal is all but certain, in my mind.)

Boris Yeltsin will be remembered as the first democratically elected president in Russian history. He probably was the right man at the right time. Like all leaders, he had his flaws, but, unlike Mikhail Gorbachev, who wanted to reform the communist party, Yeltsin wanted it abolished. Yeltsin took Russia toward democracy, and Vladimir Putin is taking Russia away from it.

Speaks for itself.

Speaks for itself, Part II.

How many people thought that Sheryl Crow was actually serious in suggesting we should all wipe with one sheet of toilet paper? Many in the mainstream media did. I don't know I'd want to shake her hand without a latex glove on, but I took it as the joke it was when it first starting making the rounds of the MSM.

Yep, this is about right. I find it absurd and preposterous that five Catholic men on the Supreme Court are imposing their beliefs on every woman in America. What's more, if my wife's life is in danger if she were to become pregnant, she can't have an abortion after a certain amount of time has elapsed. Or, if the baby is afflicted with a certain fatal birth defect or disorder, the pregnancy can't be ended. That's how I interpret it, and it sickens me.

Oh, and Partial-Birth Abortion is a euphemism coined by the Pro-Life movement - it's a non-medical term for Intact Dilation and Extraction.

The Supreme Court's decision sickens me and the pic at right illustrates exactly how I feel about the Supreme Court and its horrific decision. I can't think of a better reason to vote Democrat in 2008 - Roe v. Wade has never been more in jeopardy than it is right now, along with many other civil liberties and rights with the George W. Bush-stocked Supreme Court.

What's more, people should look into exactly what the procedure is, and more importantly, how often it is (was) used. According to the Guttenmacher Institute, the procedure has had a very low rate of usage, representing 0.17 percent (2,232 of 1,313,000 abortions) of all abortions performed in the U.S. in 2000.

Pat Tillman - unwitting PR flack for the misguided War in Iraq

From the Tillman family through TruthDig.com

The disgusting PR effort to win an election by this administration knows no bounds. It's been revealed that the verdict of Saddam Hussein was timed to happen right before the election (surprise!), but that Hussein doesn't know WHY he was found guilty, because the full verdict isn't ready yet - it won't be ready until Thursday. I don't know whether to get angry at that news, laugh at it, or ignore it. One thing's for sure - I'll never ignore stuff like this.

But, I've got some more evidence of some mind-blowingly wretched, gutter PR tactics by our federal government to keep enthusiasm going in the War on Terror.

Over the weekend, I read a pretty powerful essay on TruthDig by Kevin Tillman (above, right) brother of Pat Tillman (above, left), the latter by now a household name for having given up a multi-million dollar NFL contract from the Arizona Cardinals to serve his country. Pat, an Army Ranger, was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. When Tillman died, there were numerous reports in the media that he was killed while leading his troops and giving orders under fire.

However, on May 28, 2004, the Pentagon told Tillman's family that he was killed by friendly fire. Critics allege that the Tillman family wasn't told right away about the cause of Pat's death because the military wanted to maintain a good image of the armed forces. Considering the track record of this administration, I find it extremely difficult to believe a good story wasn't cooked up to keep public opinion going the right way for the War on Terror; at the time, things in Iraq were worsening, but since this administration ties the war in Iraq & Afghanistan together, Tillman suited their purposes, for a time.

Anyway, Pat's brother Kevin, also an Army Ranger, had this to say on TruthDig (Get the whole story Here.), and it's pretty poignant. It reads, in part:

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.
Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.

Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat’s birthday.

###

Pat's birthday was yesterday. Kevin Tillman's essay is a moving one, and a pretty stinging indictment of this administration and how it's conducting the War on Terror in Iraq (& Afghanistan).

I wonder if Kevin will get Swiftboated like every other prominent critic of President Bush? I suspect not, but really, nothing would surprise me any longer. Considering this administration's handy work of slander, libel, slash and burn against its opponents, anything is possible.

There are sooo many examples of the American people being lied to by this administration - the Hussein trial is simply the latest case, joining the death of Pat Tillman, Jessica Lynch, WMDs, and on and on.

The B.S. & P.R. could all prove to be for naught if you get out and vote - vote for change, give the Democrats a chance. Could they possibly do any worse than the Republicans at this point?