If you haven’t read the Declaration of Independence in a while, you can do so here today — the inspiring document’s 231st birthday. It’s sobering to realize that the signers were committing treason, prompting Benjamin Franklin to observe, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
Have a fine, safe holiday.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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A way to start off your July 4 Holiday.
The Star Spangled Banner Video on my Graphics Blog Site.
http://republikan.typepad.com/graphics_and_design/2007/07/july-4-2007.html
The quest for Liberty is how it all started. :)
It’s sobering to realize that the signers were committing treason…Posted by Rhonda Holman
Dissent is patriotic.
I don’t feel so free with my constitutional rights being subverted and habeas corpus being suspended for everyone. Not to mention electronic voting that is 100% hackable so you don’t get honest elections. I love my country, but I’m having a harder time doing so day after day.
There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal a couple weeks ago, discussing major sociologic changes in that country. Israel was originally founded as a socialist welfare state. Nobody was rich, and nobody was destitute. When invaded, all young-adult Israeli men felt it was their duty, and honor, to defend their country.
Today, market capitalism rules. Wealthy entrepreneurs are building multi-million-dollar mansions on former communitarian farmland. Jewish Israelis are having fewer children than their grandparents. This is greatly changing the calculus of war, because expending two sons out of four is different from expending one out of one. In the latter case, the male lineage dies.
So, what’s happening is a growing draft-dodging problem. Poorer Israelis are willing to send their children to battle, but the middle and upper classes are increasingly not. The Lebanon impasse last summer proved that all the U.S. high-tech weaponry was unable to beat Hezbollah, in the absence of boots on the ground, of which Israel didn’t have enough.
This is our problem too. Most American families no longer have the 5, 6, 8 children of our progenitors. We don’t want to lose our sole son, or the two we have. Arabs still procreate profusely. If they lose two sons, they still have two or three more to carry on their lineage. In short, we have a war-fighting vital-resource deficit, they don’t.
When farms relied on manual labor, it was productivity-enhancing to have 8 or more children helping out. With mechanization, this many children’s upbringing generates greater costs than the value of their working contributions, so farm families have shrunk. A major human resource that enabled us to win WWII no longer exists.
We have a likely Republican presidential candidate who says, in effect “My sons don’t want to go to Iraq, but your sons really need to go. My sons are most valuable to America staying home. Your sons are most valuable to America taking bullets and shrapnel.” This dichotomy is very problematic. It was minor in WWII, here, and not an issue at all for Great Britain, whose scions of privilege felt honor-bound to defend their country and serve on the field of battle. This dichotomy, on the other hand, was exemplified by Vietnam, where any middle-class or above male who went to college was granted deferment, e.g. Dick Cheney, among millions. George Bush and Bill Clinton were protected, using different, but effective methods.
If our nation’s future is at grave risk, then every able-bodied person has to be recruited to win the war. But we’re getting two strong, opposing messages. The propaganda message says we are locked in a battle of civilizations of epic stature. But our leaders are sending a completely different message as to their own sons and daughters’ non-participation. “Do as I say, not as I do.” Growing numbers of Americans recognize this for what it is: manipulative hypocrasy.
Did anyone listen to Keith Olbermann’s rant last night? I totally agree with him, 100%.
Our forefathers committed treason to England for noble reasons.
Our President has committed treason for power and greed.
I shall not hang my flag today.
Good post, MPS…I’ve always said we need to bring back the draft with no defferments at all. When those in power must also risk losing their offspring, we’ll get a lot pickier about getting involved in conflicts with other countries.We should ALL share the sacrifice and resposibility of defending our country. No one wants to lose their children, no matter how many you have. It would only be fair.
PS Happy 4th everyone! We are so blessed to live in America…just hope we can survive until the end of Dubya’s reign!
The republic of the Founders died a long time ago. Our nation was killed by traitors and today we are nothing more than a bunch of squabling, increasingly balkanised “communities” and economic interests.
Then do something to change it, Slaughter…what do you for your community besides bitch about it?
Jebus Mary, dont ask him that.
He’s Tim McVeigh behind a keyboard.
And you know with slaughter boy, women, minorities, and non-christians will be the first to go.
His answer will surely be to kill them all and let HIS god sort ‘em out.
“just hope we can survive until the end of Dubya’s reign!”
Well ya know, impeachment would end his reign sooner rather than later, before he can do any more harm.
But then, that would require that the democrats in congress do were not sucking the big money corporate teat.
You know, the same one repukes have just about milked dry during the reign of king george the lesser.
Wrong, farmchick, I am a devout and militant ATHEIST. There is no god, no devil, no heaven, no hell; when you’re dead, you’re dead, that’s it.
I’m countin’ down the days…we need to have a BIG party when he steps down from his throne.
How does one become a “militant atheist?”
Do they have little atheist armies that attack churches on Sunday mornings?
Ha..Good one!
No, WS, I confront and ridicule folks who believe in a “supreme being” in the sky, it’s fun.
I don’t believe in heaven or hell or a supreme being either…but I respect other’s right to believe as they choose as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. How is your intolerance any more valid than the intolerance from the religious fundamentalists? How are you any different from them?
Mary,
I am sick and tired of christians keeping us in the scientific dark ages out of fear of offending their “god”. I am tired of christians forcing people to suffer because their “god” objects to abortion, mercykilling, genetic engineering and stem cell research.
“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”
Aleister Crowley
Still true today as it was when he said it.
Crowley was a satanist and that is just as silly as being a muslim, jew or christian.
Maybe you don’t agree with them, on many issues, neither do I, but I still think it’s important to respect others and what they believe…with exceptions to those like Phelps, etc who use the facade of religion as a weapon to hurt people. I don’t believe in abortion, but I still try to show respect to those who disagree with me.When you chastise someone for their beliefs, you only drive them further to other side. How can you change hearts and minds when you force others to put up walls?Just like this administraion, hitting people over the head with what’s deemed as “good” for them isn’t very sucessful, is it? There IS something to be said for diplomacy…gathering more flies with honey than vinegar and all that.
I hafta go now. I’m celebrating the freedom to fry chicken! About 15 of my pals are coming over for home grown, home fried chicken, ‘tater salad, beans, garden stuff, chips and homemade salsa, watermelon and brownies.
Oh yeah. And beer :)
Heatin’ up the grease right now…
Let Freedom Ring is the subject.
Silly or not, Crowley pretty much summed it up when he said that everyone should do whatever they want…and everybody does just that!
‘It’s sobering to realize that the signers were committing treason, prompting Benjamin Franklin to observe, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”’
I am glad the founding fathers did not have Weblog to discuss ideas on. Being called traitors, liberal wackos, leftists, etc might have disheartened them.
farmgrrl, be sure to get the right herbs in the fryer, lol
Sounds very tasty KFG!! Enjoy’!!
BTW, whoever said it, Crowley would argue with being called a Satanist… Seems he didnt believe in the Devil…
Sinclair Lewis said: “You will know a facist when you see one… He will come wrapped up in the flag, and carrying a cross!”
How true… how true!!
Sgt slaughter doesn’t realise that Crowley was an atheist like himself. He was thought to be a satanist about the same way the Rolling Stones were thought to be satanic.
Way to go slaughter…caught in your own fantasy world.
Bush fancies himself to be some noble patriot when in reality he is nothing more than a puppet for Dick Cheney’s lust for power and insatiable greed.
Our country was once the superpower of the world. Unfortunately, due to our politicians’ willingness to sell their soul to the corporate greed and their own lust for power, our country has become a debtor nation who is wholly dependent on Middle East oil to even survive.
The most patriotic thing Bush and Gang could do is to make the US self suficient. Then we could withhold our foreign aid from all the countries and only give it to our true friends and allies. Then, and only then, will we know what and who are the real enemies.
I really do hate to post and run, but I started late, got company coming, whatever. ANyway, I cannot believe the whining on this thread. Good God people, grow some balls (theoretically of course, there are ladies present). Be proactive, do something. The “omg , bush is president the country is doomed” crap is just that, crap.I heard from republicans when clinton was president, there i said it, and I hear it now. Damn people, quit whining!This country is strong enough to survive any one person. Oh, and supendig haveius corupus, Lincoln did it too. Damn that sonofabitch, he ruined the country.Get some pride back in the ideal of America, doesn;t mean you have to buy into the current admin
You are right, LJ, the Republic will survive George W Bush, just as it survived Nixon. The point is: we shouldn’t have to merely survive. We as a nation deserve better than the current (mis)administration.
And regardless of what Lincoln did or did not do, suspending or abridging habeas corpus is just flat out un-American and we should ALL be raising Hell.
That is our DUTY as Americans – to protest when the government betrays our rights.
That’s odd WSClark, I didn’t know you were a detainee and had your habeas corpus “rights” taken away?
Have you gone terrorist WSClark? :)
Or are you just whining for the terrorists that kill people?
The habeas corpus rights of ANY American citizen can be taken away by this administration.
If you were a REAL American and not just a Republican shill, you would know that, Republank.
As for the rest of your comments – typical bullshit trying to make trouble as usual.
Hypocrite.
Republican would not know real patriotism if it came up and bit his nose. If the Founding Fathers were considered treasoners, then would they not be the first ones to be telling our current American citizens to be standing up to the Bush and Gang and their unbridled lust for power?
Bush was the one that started that ‘if you’re not with us, you’re against us’ crap. And then he goes on to say ‘bring it on’. These are not words to entice people to join his little band of merry men. Bush was free to throw that phrase ‘unpatriotic American’ around and then right-wing radio picked it up and ran with it.
It does not take bravery to go with the flow; but it does not bravery to stand up to the status quo and say ‘no more’.
Correction: But it does take bravery to stand up the status quo and say ‘no more’.
“Republican would not know real patriotism if it came up and bit his nose. ”
Really shoveit? And you know this how?
Other than serving a long time in the military, marching in parades on July 4 celebrations waving the flag, supporting men and women in the military regardless of the circumstance, being a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, being the 8th consecutive generation of Americans that have served in the military, belonging to AmVets and American Legion, attending many patriotic functions too numerous too count, etc. etc. blah blah…
What draws you to that conclusion that I wouldn’t know patriotism?
The things you write would be a good starting point, Republank.
I was gonna say….. nawwww…. not gonna do it…….
WS Clark,
Which “Any American” has had his rights taken away from him?
Sorry, that post was mine.
Sinclair Lewis said: “You will know a facist when you see one… He will come wrapped up in the flag, and carrying a cross!”
How true… how true!!
Posted by: Chas. | July 04, 2007 at 10:47 AM
Ummm regarding that Habeus Corpus… Bush suspended it for the entire nation… So, I guess it would for any of us, Hank/Nathan
Chas,
What/How did Bush do that?
You keep saying it, but I am not seeing it.
Is this something only card carrying members of the Democratic Underground know?
Not that I know of… I have heard it on most all of the news channels… It only pertains, supposedly, to anybody detained on possible suspicion of terrorist activities, or contacts… BUT… it applies to ALL of our citizens.
Jose Padilla.
The other problem area, is that it leaves it to the discretion of the President to determine what the nature of the terrorist activity or contact IS… It happened the same day, in May, when Bush issued his new Executive Order, suspending the previous orders on this sort of thing…
Right Clark… thanks for the name…
That is your “Any American” WS Clark?
LOL
Jose Padilla had been through the courts and it was determined that Bush could hold him as an enemy combatant.
This couldn’t happen to “Any American” WS Clark.
It can happen to those who are plotting against our country during a time of war.
So, unless you are planning a terrorist attack in your basement, I would go ahead and take your tin foil hat off, the Government is not coming for you or “Any American.”
Just because you wear a military uniform and your daddy did, and his daddy did and so on, and so on does not make you patriotic.
That’s the trouble with your logic. You think uniform wearing, marching in lockstep, waving the flag makes one patriotic?
That is only one side of the patriotic coin. The other side is when our government officials have overstepped their legal authority. That is what true patriots do – they stand up to their leaders when they are in the wrong. If this were not so, then our Founding Fathers would have never stepped up to England and formed their own country.
Think about something besides your own version of patriotism – if that is not too much stress on that little brain.
nathan – Bush made it quite clear that it is up to his determination who is an enemy combatant and nothing else matters.
That is what is wrong with Bush and Gang. They have put themselves up as judge, jury and executioner. Our country is based on certain basic rights. American citizens should not be afraid of one president and his henchmen. That is not the way our government was set up to operate. You might want to read up on your history book and stop thinking your superior to everyone else.
It goes deeper than that Repub — Look>>>
“A Congressional Research Service study notes that under the National Emergency Act, the president “may seize property, organize and control the means of production, seize commodities, assign military forces abroad, institute martial law, seize and control all transportation and communication, regulate the operation of private enterprise, restrict travel, and, in a variety of ways, control the lives of United States citizens.”
The CRS study notes that the National Emergency Act sets up congress as a balance empowered to “modify, rescind, or render dormant such delegated emergency authority,” if Congress believes the president has acted inappropriately.
NSPD-51/ HSPD-20 appears to supersede the National Emergency Act by creating the new position of National Continuity Coordinator without any specific act of Congress authorizing the position.”World Net Daily, May 23, 2007
This says it perfectly,
‘Republicans Definition of Patriotism’http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/6/27/154411/436
WS Clark,
Let me guess, you are hiding in your basement from the government and AIDS now?
What else are you hiding from?
The entire Padilla case went back and forth several times through the courts. So which particular ruling are you talking about?
Either way, this can’t happen to “Any American” as evidenced by the courts.
It can happen to those who are enemy combatants during time of war.
The President has special powers granted to him by congress because of that.
He is the President. He is doing his job in protecting us.
So, like I said before, unless you are in your basement planning to attack Americans with Al Qaeda, you don’t have anything to wrorry about.
Hey, I like that Cosmops!!
Under the law as Bush the Dumber sees it, what would prevent a president from declaring members of the Assembly of God “enemy combatants,” Nathan?
The answer is nothing – anyone he or she wanted to declare an enemy combatant could be imprisoned indefinitely with access to a lawyer or the outside world.
For that matter, how do we KNOW that Bush has not imprisoned other American citizens?
Answer, we don’t.
That is not the America that values freedom and rights above all else.
That is totalitarianism in the worst form.
I suppose Bush could just round up all Muslim Americans into internment camps like the great Democratic Presidential wonder boy FDR did to the Japanese?
Would that make you happy?
Nathan, did you read what I just posted??? And also, The Oath of the Presidency doesnt say ONE WORD about protecting the American People…
Oh, and it wasnt just Japanese Americans that got put in camps… Some of the biggest camps, were full of Germans… in Louisiana…
WS Clark,
While you are hiding in your basement from AIDS, perhaps you can please cite to me what it is that gives the President the power to declare “Any American” an enemy combatant and hold them?
Perhaps, besides an actual terrorist like Padilla, you have an example?
Be careful though, Bush is probably sitting in the White house watching what you are doing on your computer right now….
“He is the President. He is doing his job in protecting us.”
Yeah, right.
What is to stop Bush, under the law as he sees it, from declaring ANYONE an enemy combatant?
Nothing, in his view.
And why should I trust him – he has already declared me an unpatriotic American.
Horseshit, Nathan, your entire argument is horseshit.
With all apologies to horses around the world.
I will trust George W Bush when the sun burns out and the universe dies out.
Maybe not even then.
Nathan, READ MY POST… it tells you where the President gets that authority… He created it!!
Also, I dont think any good AG boy ought to be making accusations on a public blog that anybody is hiding from AIDS!!
Especially when that AG boy has some kind of dealings with the likes of B’Hai….
“While you are hiding in your basement from AIDS”
I have no idea why you are fixated o my HIV/AIDS status, Nathan, but it is very creepy.
If it makes you feel any worse, I have tested negative for HIV about ten times. I am usually in monogamous relationships and I know the status of my partners health.
What is your fascination with my status? I can assure you that I have no interest in dating you.
Jeez, you are a creepy person.
Clark, please note that Nathan does not seem willing to make comment on the quote I posted earlier…
Why would anyone want to comment anything that Chas writes? He’ll just go off on a tirade, call you names, say you are unable to understand and generally never admit he’s wrong. :)
I just posted a quote…. and I didnt write it…. maroon
In case you are not aware, Khan, the World Net Daily is MUCH more conservative than YOU are… and they were extremely alarmed over Bush’s May 9 pronouncement…
WSClark,
“You are right, LJ, the Republic will survive George W Bush, just as it survived Nixon.”
Nixon resigned.
The video is missing the part after: “And give us someone — anyone – …”
‘Keith Olbermann’s Special Comment: You ceased to be the President of the United States’http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/07/03/keith-olbermanns-special-comment-you-ceased-to-be-the-president-of-the-united-states“And for you, Mr. Bush, and for Mr. Cheney, there is a lesser task.
You need merely achieve a very low threshold indeed.
Display just that iota of patriotism which Richard Nixon showed, on August 9th, 1974.
Resign.
And give us someone — anyone – about whom all of us might yet be able to quote John Wayne, and say, “I didn’t vote for him, but he’s my president, and I hope he does a good job.”
Good night, and good luck.”
Olbeman was awesome last nite!!
“Why would anyone want to comment anything that Chas writes? He’ll just go off on a tirade, call you names, say you are unable to understand and generally never admit he’s wrong. :)”
And this comes from a known nic stealing, nic switching, name calling troublemaker?
Christ, what a hippo-crite.
“In case you are not aware, Khan, the World Net Daily is MUCH more conservative than YOU are… and they were extremely alarmed over Bush’s May 9 pronouncement…”Posted by: Chas. | July 04, 2007 at 02:35 PM
Oh Chas, thanks for reminding me about them.
Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely told WorldNetDaily that Wilson mentioned Plame’s status as a CIA employee over the course of at least three, possibly five, conversations in 2002 in the Fox News Channel’s “green room” in Washington, D.C., as they waited to appear on air as analysts….Vallely says, according to his recollection, Wilson mentioned his wife’s job in the spring of 2002 — more than a year before Robert Novak’s July 14, 2003, column identified her, citing senior administration officials, as “an Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction.”
After recalling further over the weekend his contacts with Wilson, Vallely says now it was on just one occasion – the first of several conversations – that the ambassador revealed his wife’s employment with the CIA and that it likely occurred some time in the late summer or early fall of 2002. He is certain, he says, the conversation took place in 2002.”
Appears to me, like Wilson, husband of Plame enjoyed outting his wife on regular basis. Wilson also did this on CNN.
Yeah, they appeared to be alarmed. hahaha! :D
Totally amazing… That isnt even remotely related to what is being discussed here, but we are supposed to be impressed that you post it???
World Net Daily? Don’t they sell herbal treatments that can reverse forty years of heart disease with a $0.23 pill?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm………………….
Yep, they are a credible source.
Yeah, right.
Christ.
I never said they were credible, but they had the Presidents Order from May 9, and it was easy to get it… LOL
Freedom Isn’t Free country as flag – small I watched the flag pass by one day, It fluttered in the breeze; A young Marine saluted it, And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform, So young, so tall, so proud; With hair cut square and eyes alert, He’d stand out in any crowd.
I thought. how many men like him Had fallen through the years?How many died on foreign soil?How many mothers’ tears?
How many pilots’ planes shot down?How many foxholes were there That served as soldiers graves?No . Freedom is not Free.
I heard the sound of Taps one night, When everything was still; I listened to the bugler play, And felt a sudden chill; I wondered just how many times That Taps had meant “Amen”When a flag had draped a coffin Of a brother or a friend; I thought of all the children, Of the mothers and the wives, Of fathers, sons and husbands.With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard At the bottom of the sea, Of unmarked graves in Arlington.No. Freedom is not Free!
By Kelly Strong Copyright 1981
What happened to Nathan? I guess that he went back to his creepy HIV/AIDS phobia………..
Could be… Click on his name sometime… He is into something B’Hai World Faith…. not very AG… I mentioned it… So, I hope that doesnt scare him off…
Well, I’m flying my flag today. It’s the flag that was given to me by Dr. Tiller, and it also flew over his clinic during the so-called “Summer of Mercy II.” I fly it to celebrate the freedoms rooted in our Constitution and protected by the blood and sweat of many, many good people. May our Constitution survive George Bush!
Chas –You are wrong about your 2:09 pm posting.
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
The Constitution of the United States was written for the people to make sure that our government is held accountable for their actions, and it begins with the words “We the People”.Thus the president has to preserve, protect and defend “We” the people.
Sarge,”Wrong, farmchick, I am a devout and militant ATHEIST. There is no god, no devil, no heaven, no hell; when you’re dead, you’re dead, that’s it.”
“Duh, you don’t need to speak Arabic to grease ragheads!”
Bullshit! No atheist I know would claim you, and I’ve known quite a few! You sound an awful lot more like a fundie christian trying to slander atheists that an atheist.
Why would I want to go to Republican’s site? Why would I want to see a video of The Star Spangled Banner, especially when I detest the song?
Try America the Beautiful, Republican. Much easier to sing, and it portrays a much better nation than a battlefield song.
Jed,
Sarge has either hung around this blog for a loooong time without posting or he resembles someone you just described. While posting on another thread, he mentioned Ian Santiago. How long has it been since we’ve seen Ian?
RD,Nice catch! Now that you mention it, that glass slipper is his size!
Happy Fourth. It was a bit disappointing this morning seeing so few flags on peoples’ homes; not sure what to make of that.
One thing that I remember on a day like this was my visit to France many years ago. I stayed at the home of the mayor of a small town; he took me to the local American cemetary. He told me that school children decorate the graves there every year with American flags.
I don’t know about other parts of Europe; but in that small town they remember America as the country that liberated them from the Nazis.
Ya Ben, the Luxembourg Cemetery is magnificent, but very sad. Rows and rows and rows of crosses, star of davids, etc. on green grass in perfect alignment.
It’s very humbling to visit, to see what has been sacrificed.
I’m pretty sure Roxann those men who are in those graves loved the Star Spangled Banner.
I’ve never seen so many anti-Americans as I have on this blog.
Last time I saw this many was when I got caught in a taxi in Rome in the middle of a giant Communist parade.
They use the same rhetoric (exactly) as the left liberals do in America.
Amazing, anyone who doesn’t subcribe to your worldview is Santiago or David Duke? How many atheists do you know? I know a whole bunch and must of them are not cowardly, pacifist, guilty liberals.
I walked through a county courthouse squareOn a park bench, an old man was sittin’ there.I said, “Your old court house is kinda run down,He said, “Naw, it’ll do for our little town”.I said, “Your old flag pole is leaned a little bit,And that’s a ragged old flag you got hangin’ on it”.He said, “Have a seat”, and I sat down,”Is this the first time you’ve been to our little town”I said, “I think it is”He said “I don’t like to brag, but we’re kinda proud ofThat Ragged Old Flag
“You see, we got a little hole in that flag there,When Washington took it across the Delaware.and It got powder burned the night Francis Scott Key sat watching it,writing “Say Can You See”It got a rip in New Orleans, with Packingham & Jacksontugging at its seams.and It almost fell at the Alamobeside the Texas flag,But she waved on though.She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville,And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.There was Robert E. Lee and Beauregard and Bragg,And the south wind blew hard onThat Ragged Old Flag
“On Flanders Field in World War I,She got a big hole from a Bertha Gun,She turned blood red in World War IIShe hung limp, and low, a time or two,She was in Korea, Vietnam, She went where she was sentby her Uncle Sam.She waved from our ships upon the briny foamand now they’ve about quit wavin’ back here at homein her own good land here She’s been abused,She’s been burned, dishonored, denied an’ refused,And the government for which she standsHas been scandalized throughout out the land.And she’s getting thread bare, and she’s wearin’ thin,But she’s in good shape, for the shape she’s in.Cause she’s been through the fire beforeand i believe she can take a whole lot more.
“So we raise her up every morningAnd we bring her down slow every night,We don’t let her touch the ground,And we fold her up right.On second thoughtI *do* like to bragCause I’m mighty proud ofThat Ragged Old Flag”
Ragged Old Flag- Johnny Cash
Happy independence Day all!
“Sarge has either hung around this blog for a loooong time without posting or he resembles someone you just described.”
Or, RD, he could have done a lot of “research” like our very own “Renaissance man”, the Kahn, had done. :-)
And for the record, Ian Santiago stopped posting after the eds outted him as likely being a Canadian poster at their meet-up last winter. I think they blocked his address.
Ben,
NPR said this evening, that there was nationally a trend toward fewer people putting out flags this year. They did not speculate as to why, IIRC. My specualtion is that discretionary spending amongst the middle class is down this year.
Then let’s block all the left coasters and out of towners as well
If they ain’t in Kansas, you don’t post.
Proud Mom kind of gives us some insight of the left.
Not flying the flag because they don’t like Bush.
The American Flag represents over 200 hundred years of history. It shouldn’t be shunned because you dislike the President.
Oh well…
Wiseman… go back and read my earlier post… YOUR post proves exactly what I said there… The President’s Oath does not sayone word about protecting the American People… It says something very definite about protecting and defending the Constitution…
There he goes again…. wanting to BAN people from the Blog!!
I wonder how many Americans refused to fly the flag in protest of Augustus Stupidus’s commutation of the felon Libby’s jail sentence?
At least some, I imagine. Such shortsighted, hasty, and baldly partisan acts on the part of the chief enforcement officer of federal law, including those Libby broke — a.k.a. Augustus Stupidus — are certainly disheartening enough to do the trick.
I left my flag right where my old Dad left it before he died… When Bush sent us into Iraq, Dad went out and brought in the flag… He said he wouldnt fly it again, until this stupid president ended a stupid war… Dad was a decorated VET of WW II- he was eligible for a Purple Heart, but wouldnt allow his CO to put in for it… He told the CO I was just doin what they asked me to do… And he didnt vote for FDR either…
Not trying to ban anyone. Out of staters don’t belong in a Kansas blog.
When Clinton was President did I hate America?
No.
When Clinton was President did I no longer want to fly the flag?
No.
When Clinton was President did I no longer feel proud to be an American?
No.
LOL You dont want to ban anybody, but outsiders dont belong in a kansas blog… LOLyea, sure right… Now, if that isnt circular logic, I dont know what it…
I’m with you Nathan. My flag went out this AM and will come in around dusk.
That’s because Clinton was a GREAT president. Augustus Stupidus, on the other hand, is one of – if not THE – worst presidents.
Feels a little tooting America’s horn when Augustus Stupidus is tryin’ his damndest to turn the USA into a banana republic.
Feels a little silly…
When all of the Talk Radio people and a good half of the Republican spent 8 years basdhing anything Clinton did, THAT made me less proud to be an American… And for the very reason we see now… People who dont just absolutely worship at Bush’s feet, or mindlessly support a BAD WAR, they are called Unamerican, or Anti-American… THATS when I lose pride in being an American…When criticizing the current administration is met by extreme hostility from the Right Wing of everything, I lose pride in being an American…
Being an American MEANS being able to protest what we dont like… It’s in the Constitution… the one that the President is supposed to protect and defend… The right to speak out when we dont disagree with who or what is the current administration…
It was just fine and dandy to oppose Clinton for EVERYthing… But if anybody dares oppose BUSH baby, Then they are Anti American…. or worse… That is PURE nonsense… And that makes me almost ASAHMED to be an American!!
But when I read that declaration of Independence, and I think what those people went through to put this experiment in government into practice… THAT makes me all proud again…
So, call us anything or any names you want… It wont make us LESS Americans than those who kiss the back side of the President….
My stars and bars is out, as always. :)
To quote the late, great Hank Williams: “everything would have been fine if only the South had won.”
Nathan I am with you. Our flag went out early this morning. Our neighborhood was quiet a site as a neighborhood real estate lady went out after dark last night and put flags about every 10 feet on every street in our neighborhood.
This is a great country we live in and I felt pretty patriotic all day.
It is looking like rain. Think I had better bring in my flag.
Hope all had a happy 4th.
Chas as much shame as I felt for the way Clinton disgraced the Oval Office – and I did feel shame for him – I never stopped flying the flag.
I will have a happy 4th after I get done shooting off our fireworks tonight!
I will have a happy 4th after my Dad and I eat all the shrimp and crab legs we can eat!
I will have a happy 4th after I eat the homemade vanilla and chocolate chip Ice Cream my Mom makes tonight!
I will continue to be a happy person because I live in the greatest country in the World and We all have a God who sent Christ to die for our sins!
Well, ksgrm, if you felt shame for what Clinton did, you ought to feel out and out humiliation that this idiot has sent thousands off to be killed, and be maimed for life for a war that was NOT necessary… for a cause that is all in his HEAD!!
So, Nathan, how long you been connected to B’Hai???
Steven,Yeah, the Eagle said they blocked Ian, but they also figured he’d find another computer and ISP and be back.
Sarge, or whoever you are,Whether you are or aren’t Ian is of no great concern to me, but since you obviously subscribe to the same racist hatemongering bullshit Ian does, there’s no real difference. If the jackboot fits…..
WTG Jed!!
Chas,
A war that the Democrats supported and authorized alongside the Republicans.
Oh Nathan, dont even start with that Republican talking points CRAP…. When the Democrats saw that the intelligence that they were given was WRONG, they rightly changed their minds… FAST… Given the intelligence that was phony, they “thought” they were doing the right thing… The Re;publicans chose to keepon believing that trash, and now we have a divided nation, because of Bush’s mental meltdown fantasy!!!
And, oh, Nathan, what do your B’Hai buddies think of this crazy war???
Typically, you people find a way to call racism when there is none.A racist behind every tree is no way to go through life, son.Are the people who stepped over the dieing girl racists?
“I’ve never seen so many anti-Americans as I have on this blog.”
It would seem that, by Repugnican’s terms, these fine folks would be “patriotic Germans”:
http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/images/nazi-priests.jpg
You got that right Rage… Goody, I will pull out my Sinclair Lewis quote:
“You can tell who the Facists are.. They come wrapped in a flag, and carrying a cross.”
Rage, sadly enough, Those Germans were JUST as patriotic for THEIR nation, as we were/are for ours…
This is the exact Lewis quote:
Sinclair Lewis: “When facism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
“We all have a God who sent Christ to die for our sins!”
aaaahahahahahahaha. this explains a lot.
Yeah, I know. . sigh. And a reminder how it happened:
“First They Came for the JewsFirst they came for the Jewsand I did not speak outbecause I was not a Jew.Then they came for the Communistsand I did not speak outbecause I was not a Communist.Then they came for the trade unionistsand I did not speak outbecause I was not a trade unionist.Then they came for meand there was no one leftto speak out for me.
Pastor Martin Niemöller”
http://www.telisphere.com/~cearley/sean/camps/first.html
Regarding the war and Democratic support. Everything changed ‘long about 01-Jan-03, and I mean EVERYTHING. Oh he had his Democratic authorization, but he managed to lose their support.
LOL, ain’t like we haven’t seen him repeat this trick (fumble support away like a bad running back with the deadest of dead hands) like over and over and over ad nauseum ever since, even with his base. This guy could fumble away support in a freakin’ jockstrap store.
That’s when it became obvious that war was Bush’s first and only option, not his last. And that Bush was only interested in the presence of WMD as a causus belli not as a threat to national security.
When anybody with a brain saw Augustus Stupidus in action in the 90 days preceding the invasion (especially the 30 days immediately preceding the invasion), when we saw THAT, then yeah, things changed.
Thinking people saw Bush for what he was, and any support he had dried up quick.
Augustus Fumblus. Hmm. Nah, Augustus Stupidus still fits best.
Whoops–should have quoted Chas. Oh well.
Repub… You say you dont want non-kansans on the WE Blog… Well, just how is it that we know YOU are from Kansas??
I am FROM Kansas, but haven’t lived there in a year. Repug can blow me.
Thats Ok Rage… Repub wont answer… because his idea is just silly… This Blog is open to ALL… Kansans or otherwise…
Republican,
“Then let’s block all the left coasters and out of towners as well”
Since you don’t like the way this blog is run, please complain to Phillip Brownlee — and then leave.
And take your Kansas “values” LIES with you.http://blogs.kansas.com/weblog/2007/07/bush-spares-fed.html#comment-74703858
Pedant, you reminded me of this:
http://www.gocomics.com/rallcom/2004/08/12/
Thats OK Cosmos… He is just sitting there waiting for something to jump on… like a frog waiting for a fly…
And that, Rage, is exactly what DID happen!!!
And then the publicans used it against Kerry in the Campaign, and they are trying to use it against Hillary, only she isnt biting… yet…
Great show on Ch. 8 –”A Capitol 4th” Great Music!!
Ooops for those of you on Saterllite, thats KPTS
I have written countless letters in my lifetime to politicians and those in my opinion deserving of my personal brand of illumination. I have however never written a letter with more disgust and condemnation as I am this afternoon. Unfortunately on a day when we celebrate or country’s creating and unification, a senseless act of disregard has cast blight on this otherwise joyous occasion.
In a state where the residents have proclaimed themselves kind and warm, LaShanda Calloway lay in a pool of her own blood and where the most concerned member of the coterie of the licentious paused to capture her last moments on a cell phone. This brash display of callousness should not only be condemned in stentorian means but be plastered across your airwaves, television screens and newspapers in an accessible manner and easy to read sentences.
We are consistently fed the eructation of human misery from our media outlets and most often it relegates these incidents to some far away land with a faceless enemy. Little did we know that traveling through the state of Kansas our greatest concern should not lie with Muslim fundamentalists but Kansans themselves. Tell me sir, are the stereotypical Midwestern barbs of uneducated and thoughtless rubes so far from the truth when your neighbors can walk over the bloody body of another while reaching for a handful of Beef Jerky?
One of my favorite quotes referencing your state comes from author Thomas Frank. “If Kansas is the concentrated essence of normality, then this is where we can see the deranged gradually become normal, where we can look in that handsome, confident, reassuring, all-American face – class president, quarterback, Rhodes scholar, bond trader, builder of industry – and realize that we’re staring into the eyes of a lunatic.”
While this incident should earn universal contumely, you no doubt will respond with a trite epochal briefing spouting that all community members should not be painted with this broad brushstroke. Your liege Kathleen Sebelius laid claim to yet another landmark in her May 9, 2006 press release where she stated “The primary responsibility of government is to provide for the protection of its citizens, particularly our most vulnerable Kansans, and I’m proud to say we have made real progress this year in making our streets and neighborhoods safer.” Let me be one of the first to offer my sincere shame and hope that every ounce of opprobrium from all the winds of the United States finds their way to your cesspool of human indifference. You should all be ashamed.
Gosh CJ, that is indeed an elegant post.
However, Kansans exemplify the ultimate truth “do whatever you want to do”. Thus Fred Phelps, lying, hypocrite Republican, Dennis Rader (upstanding Luthern leader) aka BTK and the people you speak of buying their beef jerky…Kansans all…doing what they want.
BTW–Let freedom ring!
Yeah, that’s right CJ…everyone is Kansas is responsible.(rolls eyes)
Only a cesspool of a mind would even think such things and that mind belongs to you CJ.
Well, CJ was right on the money:
“While this incident should earn universal contumely, you no doubt will respond with a trite epochal briefing spouting that all community members should not be painted with this broad brushstroke.”
And her predicted response:
“Only a cesspool of a mind would even think such things and that mind belongs to you CJ.”
Posted by: Republican | July 04, 2007 at 09:37 PM
FOR SHAME, FOR SHAME
While I am not for the elegance of a post such as CJ’s, I can just say that whoever took the cell phone picture, and then had the audacity to post it on the internet, should have his/her camera broken… Let it fall from his/pocket, and be splattered on the sidewalk!!
“While I am not for the elegance..”
Should read: While I am not up for the elegance…
Khan, that was probably one of the most utterly insensitive and callous things I have ever seen you post in response to a human tragedy on this Blog…
You are definitely in the run for the Blog’s own “Worst Person in the World” contest…
SHAME!!
I can’t believe the number of people in the neighborhood that must be out in the rain shooting fireworks. The fireworks have very little to do with celebrating freedom.
Looks like the whacko’s are at it again.Local Abortion Clinic VandalizedPosted: 6:36 PM Jul 4, 2007Last Updated: 8:40 PM Jul 4, 2007Email Address: news@kake.comSomeone was able to get by George Tiller’s heavy security equipment Tuesday night and gain access to the roof of his East Wichita abortion clinic. Vandals cut a hole through the roof, inserted a garden hose, and flooded the clinic.
Police say they’re looking at surveillance video to try to determine who did this. As well as the damage to the building, the vandals tried to use epoxy to seal the parking lot gate shut.
Firefighters responded to a burglar alarm at the building and were able to get inside the gate before the epoxy dried.
I’d hate to see what these “so very righteous” folks might do to the good Dr., if he was doing something Illegal!!! Most likely some of their number would attempt to, or actually, kill him!
About 11:00 and it’s very quiet in my neighborhood. Thank God for the rain. Last year, there were fools shooting fireworks past 4am.
“Little did we know that traveling through the state of Kansas our greatest concern should not lie with Muslim fundamentalists but Kansans themselves. Tell me sir, are the stereotypical Midwestern barbs of uneducated and thoughtless rubes so far from the truth when your neighbors can walk over the bloody body of another while eaching for a handful of Beef Jerky?” -CJ
Does anyone else notice what an absolute totally moronic drive by post that was by CJ? I figured there would soon be ignorant out of state fools trying to pin this crappy mess on “the state of Kansas”. I note he/her/it thinks that Kansans are more of threat to him/her/it than Muslim fanatics. Well, maybe now CJ.
And moron, I don’t think that the folks walking over the victim meet the definition of “rube”. Wrong “hood”, if you catch my drift. I betcha CJ is backtracking now since minorities were involved and not “rubes”.
So CJ, wherever you are from, go back there and sit in your room in your Mom’s basement and try, just try, not to be so ignorant. I’m embarrassed for you.
It does look bad that immediately following an attack at a market, the citizenry jump in and help the wounded and dying. In Kansas, when someone is wounded and dying in the market, they just step over them, or pause and take their picture. I didn’t know until today that the EMS stood by for two minutes until the cops came.
My first sentence was regarding Iraq.
Well XXX,
The boy gave up and went home.
There are still a lot of fireworks going off out here in my neighborhood, rain and all! I’m not going to do it in the rain, we’ll wait until tomorrow or the weekend.
Hank
XXX — They are still going off here… sounds like a Baghdad war zone here… LOL
Hank,I ran across something interesting. The Boy Scouts came around selling a Flag service. For $30 a year, they’ll put up a flag in your yard on appropriate holidays. Being a firm supporter of Scouting, I signed up. Bright and early, there was a flag in my yard.
Sorry if Nathan had his fun spoiled by rain.
outlander:
“that was probably one of the most utterly insensitive and callous things I have ever seen you post in response to a human tragedy on this Blog…
You are definitely in the run for the Blog’s own “Worst Person in the World” contest…
SHAME!!”
Nothing to be ashamed of here Chas. CJ insulted the entire state of Kansas with his/her attempt at prose.
It was a thinly veiled attempt to make him/herself look superior in regarding values.
I saw through it and made the appropriate comment. End of story.
What part of town, Chas? I’m in Bel Aire.
The rain must be letting up…starting to hear a few fireworks again.
Well, then, you are just a totally insensitive @$$%#$#$&^
I’m not near that far northeast!!
IF you really consider that an appropriate comment, under the circumstances of what happened to that poor woman… Then I do know there is a good staff of psychiatrists at the VA Hospital…
Posted by: CJ | July 04, 2007 at 08:29 PM”Little did we know that traveling through the state of Kansas our greatest concern should not lie with Muslim fundamentalists but Kansans themselves.
Tell me sir, are the stereotypical Midwestern barbs of uneducated and thoughtless rubes so far from the truth when your neighbors can walk over the bloody body of another while reaching for a handful of Beef Jerky?:
What part of this statement do you not understand as a sweeping generalization and an insult to every Kansan Chas?
Or are you really that stupid?
Don’t answer that, your reply to outlander and myself proved you are just that stupid.
Must confess I scrolled over the CJ post. On first glance, it was long-winded, looked like someone trying to sound smarter than they are.
Seeing the comments, I went back and read it. IMHO, it was insulting. I heard about the incident, I think it was a shitty deal.
I don’t appreciate the lecture or being judged by the actions of a few.
Well, it should be a sweeping generalization… It does speak to a certain mindset… this kind of thing has happened before in other places… and it will most likely happen again somewhere else… That fact does not excuse it, nor does it leave us kansans not responsible at some level for what happened…
If you still cant see anything wrong with your initial response, then I truly feel sorry for you… And, as somebody else on the Blog once said, you must truly be a sad little man… a sad, lonely little man!
Yeah okay Chas, apologist for anyone that is polar opposite of what anyone on the right comments on.
Not only does Chas recognize his own mistaken characterization, he adds his own insults.
The UnHoly Preacher speaks again. Man, that must be one messed of Church of perverted values you attend Chas.
XXX i agree it was insulting… but no more so than what has been carried on national news about the event… If it was only one or two people, it might be understandable… but it wasnt… and the one that took a picture and published it on the internet… That is just plain disgusting, and speaks words of shame on our state, and our community… In so much as this kind of thing happens in other states besides ours, the shame is on our entire society, that such a thing could happen… But, as for this being a kansas event, in a kansas town… Then we as kansans bear some level of burden for such inequity…
You ignorant, sad, little freak… this has NOTHING to do with what side of the aisle our politicians sit… The murder and ignoring of her wounded body by a group of people in a public store…. That is in NO way political….
Shared sin, that’s a new concept Chas. You make that up just now?
Didn’t say the attack in the store was political. I just said your status of being an apologist for anyone especially where you can get your own digs in is very well known now.
Yet another scroll over poster, Chas.
And once again, when it doesnt go YOUR way, Khan, you attack at the level of profession, and livlihood… and BELIEF…. All I have said is that if you feel the need to make excoriating comments about what happened to that poor woman… then you need help… I am NOT attacking YOU…. I suggest YOU stop attacking OTHERS on this Blog, or else I know things that none of us wants, will happen… And that is NOT a threat…. just a FACT
Yawn…
Look… here’s the way it works, IF you want to challenge on ISSUES raised… FINE… BUT, lay off of the personal attacks on ANYbody… Me, or anybody else… Any more of your Personal attacks… and I am reasonably sure, nobody will pay you any attention on here any more… People are TIRED of your crap… People are TIRED of your mindless insults, and personal/sexual/racial remarks…
If thats what you think Kansas Values are all about, then maybe we ALL need to ask you for proof that YOU indeed are from Kansas…. GOT IT???
Good night, and Good luck… And God bless… whatever you conceive of God to be…
Our founding fathers clearly believed in GOD. To ignore that fact when it’s clear from the Declaration of Independence and other documents that this nation was founded to prosper, among other things, religious freedom is to simply close your eyes to the truth. While it’s clear that government was not to establish a national religion, it’s also clear that this nation was not founded to exclude religion either.
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s ***God*** entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their ***Creator*** with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the ***Supreme Judge of the world*** for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of ***Divine Providence***, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
So many fool christians and too few lions, that is a problem.
Max… Nice post… one point… There is not ONE WORD in the Constitution of the United States that uses the word GOD… or CHURCH… or JESUS, or YahWeh, or Buddha… or CHRISTIANITY or any other religion… I think that document is far more indicative of the intent of the Founders, than their Declaration of Independence from a Nation inseparable from its Church…
Did we bear no burden as a Nation when the Japanese Americans were wrongly placed in detention camps?? We made reparations…as we should have done…
Same thing here… AT some level, yes, we ALL bear the burden for what has happened to this poor woman…
Call it shared sin if you insist… I sure didnt call it that…
Now, if we feel insulted by what some other person has posted here… Then perhaps that is a good time to take a look at who WE are as a society, that allows such neglect to happen, and then posts pictures of it on the internet…
Now, once again,
Good Night, Good Luck, and God bless… whatever you conceive God to be..
Chas, it’s not difficult to find some quotes and writings from our founding fathers to clarify their beliefs:
John Adams, July 1, 1776″Before God, I believe the hour has come. My judgement approves this measure, and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, and all that I am, and all that I hope in this life, I am now ready here to stake upon it. And I leave off as I began, that live or die, survive or perish, I am for the Declaration. It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God it shall be my dying sentiment. Independence now, and Independence for ever!”
John Adams, June 28, 1813″Now I will avow, that I then believe, and now believe, that those general Principles of Christianity, are as eternal and immutable, as the Existence and Attributes of God; and that those Principles of liberty, are as unalterable as human Nature and our terrestrial, mundane System.”
Ben Franklin, Congressional Congress, 1787″I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth–that God Governs the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?
In 1748, as Pennsylvania’s Governor, Benjamin Franklin proposed Pennsylvania’s first Fast Day:”It is the duty of mankind on all suitable occasions to acknowledge their dependence on the Divine Being… [that] Almighty God would mercifully interpose and still the rage of war among the nations…[and that] He would take this province under his protection, confound the designs and defeat the attempts of its enemies, and unite our hearts and strengthen our hands in every undertaking that may be for the public good, and for our defense and security in this time of danger.”
John Hancock April 15, 1775″In circumstances dark as these, it becomes us, as Men and Christians, to reflect that, whilst every prudent Measure should be taken to ward off the impending Judgements….All confidence must be withheld from the Means we use; and reposed only on that GOD who rules in the Armies of Heaven, and without whose Blessing the best human Counsels are but Foolishness–and all created Power Vanity;”It is the Happiness of his Church that, when the Powers of Earth and Hell combine against it…that the Throne of Grace is of the easiest access–and its Appeal thither is graciously invited by the Father of Mercies, who has assured it, that when his Children ask Bread he will not give them a Stone….
“RESOLVED, That it be, and hereby is recommended to the good People of this Colony of all Denominations, that THURSDAY the Eleventh Day of May next be set apart as a Day of Public Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer…to confess the sins…to implore the Forgiveness of all our Transgression…and a blessing on the Husbandry, Manufactures, and other lawful Employments of this People; and especially that the union of the American Colonies in Defense of their Rights (for hitherto we desire to thank Almighty GOD) may be preserved and confirmed….And that AMERICA may soon behold a gracious Interposition of Heaven.”By Order of the [Massachusetts] ProvincialCongress, John Hancock, President.
Friday, June 29, 2007Govs win greater flag powersBy John Gramlich, Stateline.org Staff WriterThe governors of Maryland and Virginia and the mayor of the District of Columbia have won the rare authority to order American flags lowered at the White House, the Pentagon and other federal buildings around the nation’s capital as a way of honoring local war dead.
With little fanfare, President Bush signed a bill that allows governors to order U.S. flags flown at half-staff at federal buildings in their states as a means of paying tribute to those killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. The measure – which Bush approved Friday but which wasn’t made public until Monday (July 2) – treats the mayor of Washington, D.C., as a governor.
It also thrusts the White House into a peculiar spot, physically and politically.
By signing the bill, the Republican Bush gives three local Democratic leaders – Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty – the power to order flags lowered at high-profile federal sites across three jurisdictions, from the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Md., and the Department of Defense in Arlington, Va., to the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Lowering the flags would call attention to the 3,981 American military who have died in overseas fighting.
Of course, Bush also could have vetoed the legislation – which Congress passed with overwhelming support but little debate – but that would have brought its own complications, according to analysts. The president would have been wielding his veto pen for only the fourth time since taking office in 2001, and the rejection of a flag bill only days before the country celebrates Independence Day could have caused significant political fallout, especially among veterans.
So far, O’Malley and Kaine have not joined a number of governors across the country who lower U.S. flags for those killed in action; both governors do lower state flags to honor war dead. Fenty still is developing a policy for lowering flags, according to a spokeswoman, who said the mayor has not yet decided whether to include federal buildings in his policy.
Despite the new law, federal officials in and around Washington, D.C., still could ignore flag orders from O’Malley, Kaine and Fenty. The measure amends the U.S. flag code, which offers guidelines on the treatment of the Stars and Stripes, but does not carry penalties for noncompliance. But it would be unusual for an administration not to abide by a code established in 1923, according to Mike Buss, a flag expert at the American Legion.
U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak (D) of Michigan, the author of the legislation, said he drafted it because federal buildings in his state did not obey orders from Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) to fly American flags at half-staff when soldiers are killed. In an interview with Stateline.org, he said that the legislation was not politically motivated and that it wasn’t too much to ask the White House to lower its flag for local fallen soldiers.
“It’s not the state or the federal government we’re honoring here. It’s the person who died,” Stupak said. “I hope they would look at it with respect to the families.”
State policies on lowering flags vary considerably, even in the national capital region. O’Malley orders state flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on the day of interment for those killed in action, according to an administration spokeswoman. Kaine also orders only state flags lowered, but only in the locality of the soldier who died, according to a state Web site
The only thing ringing was my ears!
I have to shake my head and smile. After my reply the only sweeping generalization was to attempt to cast aspersions and pin the label of trying to be more intelligent than I am. While it may comfort you to believe this, I can safely state two things: I am more intelligent than you XXX (your name conspicuous in its absence) and I would never walk past someone fighting for their life.
As for your feeble attempt at racial divide – you are a fool. You never saw me indicate this young girl’s color – only the fact that she needed help. Your label speaks volumes about your character and hatred for others. You are the rube I refer to and you have made it clear. I have printed out your post for posterity.
Your self-serving laments need to be altered to a seemingly unattainable level of respect and compassion for all people.
“I am more intelligent than you XXX (your name conspicuous in its absence”- CJ
CJ: I don’t know about your claim of superior intelligence. That was my post, not XXX’s.
But XXX didn’t think much of your drive-by post condemning all Kansans for the lack of compassion of a few worthless individuals. Personally, I don’t know anyone who would have failed to act in a situation like that.
But that was not the purpose of your post. It appears you were trying to demonstrate your superiority by spouting tired old liberal generalizations.
It has always been my experience that when anyone needs to do that, it is to compensate for personal deficiencies. Right on target CJ?
If you only knew how wrong the liberal epithet was my friend. I could not be more conservative, however being so does not constitute hatred of another based solely on meaningless appearance. You truly are a rube and the very definition of such.
Well if you say so, CJ. I guess you’re just an unaffiliated fool.
Fool, I think not. Unless it is foolish to believe that people may find it necessary to contact the appropriate people when another lay bleeding to death. You take offense to the indefensible and find it more appropriate to send hateful messages to me instead of those individuals who had a hand in that young woman’s death.
Tell me again sir how I am the fool here. You are misguided at the very least.
CJ: No one can be as thick as you are pretending to be. Listen. You insulted a whole state of people who had absolutely nothing to do with the incident. You did it in an insufferably snobbish way. And you expect no one to take offense?
After listening to your pathetic attempts at justifying it, I understand why you hide behind your computer screen to say it.
Wow, outlander! Go for it!
(And here I thought outie could only post one-liner say-nothings.)
Outlander let me begin by stating that I am not justifying my remarks. Your responses focused on me and you say nothing to those who walked over the girl. Another post genius tried to take issue with the color of the other shoppers and make this a racial issue. Still others never even took this seriously at all. Tell me again how your state and its collective literati should be taken seriously.
Frankly your claim of hiding behind my keyboard is strange since my first name is used and yours is not. Have you come out publicly on an issue or had your name listed?
Because of your limited acumen and questionable grammar, you offer little in the way of a stalwart defense. Now skip along to your computer placed prominently by the window of the double-wide and have at a retort. I can just hear the Deliverance music playing in the background as you slap the mosquitoes off of your sweaty frankfurter neck.
You are in a different realm my friend and one that will never come close.
How was that RD?!
C’mon CJ, still trying to divert attention from your blatant and unwarranted insult of the good people of our state? Another pretty clumsy attempt, in my judgment.
But don’t feel bad. You may not be smooth, but you are pretentious, stuffy, illogical, ignorant, juvenile, and very boring.
You’re right, CJ, I’m not in your “realm”.
I’ll get over it.
outlander
Don’t forget correct, in a quirky pretentious way (wink).
Be well “Outlander” or is it Steve? The world will never know.
CJ
CJ,
I am sure that decent White folks in Floriday share some sort of collective burden for the actions of these poor, deprived black youths. Please, do not try to infect the rest of us with your guilty white liberal syndrome, thanks.
Police Arrest Second Teen In Gang-Rape Case
POSTED: 6:56 pm EDT July 5, 2007UPDATED: 3:07 pm EDT July 6, 2007
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Two teenagers have been arrested on charges that they gang-raped a mother and forced her to have sex with her 12-year-old son.
Authorities said 14-year-old Avion Lawson and 16-year-old Nathan Walker are being charged as adults with armed sexual battery by multiple perpetrators, sexual performance by a child, armed home invasion and aggravated battery.
Lawson was arrested Tuesday after police said they matched DNA evidence found on a condom in the victim’s home to the teen.
Walker was taken into custody Thursday after police said they found the teen’s left palm print inside the victim’s apartment.
Both teens are being held in the Palm Beach County Jail without bail.
Authorities said the boys were among a group of about 10 suspects who forced their way into the woman’s Dunbar Village home on the night of June 18.
According to police reports, a young man tricked the victim into opening the door of her home after he told her that the tires on his vehicle were flat.
Police said the woman and her son were then ambushed by three masked teens carrying weapons, who pushed the two back into the home.
Investigators said seven other teens entered the home and demanded money while separating the two victims into different bedrooms.
According to police reports, the mother was then raped and beaten by all 10 teens.
Police said the victim’s preteen son had a plate smashed over his head and numerous household liquids poured into his eyes. Investigators said the boy was also forced at gunpoint to participate in the sexual assault.
The invaders eventually fled the scene after more than 20 minutes inside of the victim’s home, police told WPBF-TV.
Following the attack, police said the woman and her son walked a mile to the hospital.
Police told WPBF-TV they are still searching for as many as eight more invaders in the case, all of whom they said they believe to be between 14 and 18 years old.http://www.wpbf.com/news/13630001/detail.html
OK, I’ll add mildly humorous, CJ. Take care, and feel free to visit here.
Private Slaughter,
I can stand on top of a mountain and scream I am not a liberal. Disseminating other heinous crimes still does not excuse those who stood by and let another die.
This is not a black and white issue – to make it so only foists the label racist onto you. This is right and wrong.
THose youths in your previous post should be immeditely jailed and in my opinion, forever (after some intense “therapy” beforehand).
Stay on task and at least admit those who left that girl to die were as guilty as the animal who stabbed her.