This week is the anniversary of the "war"..A sad, sickening, stomach-turning type of anniversary.

So..As good citizens we need to celebrate this anniversary..by taking part in a protest, a vigil, what-ever-the-hell-it-takes type of activity that gets all the armchair activists out there. Be loud and be proud sportsfans..Hell, buy a damn T-shirt from UFP..they are on sale! Ten bucks gets you this lovely shirt on the left.

I am trekking to Santa Barbara today to participate in an anti-war rally. It promises to be a good one, Santa Barbara residents know how to throw a good protest. I got my favorite T-shirt on..the black one with "He's not MY President" emblazoned across my ample chest.

I urge every one of my three readers to get off your ass and do something this week that vocalizes your opposition to this war. United for Peace and Justice has every activity listed by state and zipcode. I am willing to drive a four hour round trip to show my displeasure with our government. I don't expect everyone to be that conscientious. I started in Santa Barbara and I feel its fitting that I get involved there again. Sadly, we do not have anything planned here in Bakersfield.

The ball and chain fears I will be arrested. I told him to not worry..Its not illegal...Yet.

NO? Why not? The Shrub needs that much..The statutory debt limit has now risen by more than $3 trillion since Bush took office.

He needs it just to keep our country afloat and not default on our debt.This quote from a WAPO article out this morning:"The government bumped up against its $8.18 trillion statutory debt ceiling last month, forcing the Treasury to borrow from employee pension funds to keep the government operating."

Did you notice where they got the funds from? Thats never a sound business practice. San Diego did much the same thing and they are in a shitload of trouble over it.

Lets look at the breakdown of where some of its going.
1. $4.1 billion was provided in nonmilitary foreign aid, more than half of it for diplomatic and local governance programs in Iraq.
2. $68 billion, would pay for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The legislation would push total war costs since Sept. 11, 2001, to nearly $400 billion. Before the Iraq invasion in 2003, administration officials predicted that costs related to the war would total less than $100 billion.(Jesus, talk about cost overruns)
3. $19 billion for Katrina victims..which pales in comparison to the war "effort" package.

We have left the monetary world of billions..we are now into trillions..how long till we get to the z's as in zillions.

Sickening ain't it?

It made me smile this morning, to see the video of a protest organized by UCSD students. They aren't all apathetic,comfortable kids. It wasn't all college kids, and it wasn't all liberals..it was people uniting for a common cause. You can say what you want, rhetoric is just words..actions speak louder. It felt good to see my hometown speak out against the war on a busy street corner in a red county. Wonder if the Shrubs boyz were there, infiltrating this group of peace-niks..wasting our tax dollars spying on people who's only goal is to end the occupation of Iraq. Sure, some of them didn't seem to have a clear idea of what to say, but their hearts and heads were in the right place. The Shrub's supporters can sling their barbs, they can attack our actions..but they can not kill our spirit. We still have the right to NOT be silent like one of the signs said.

Link to the video is here.

When asked today at a PENTAGON news conference if he has proof that the Iranians are sending people and bomb-making equipment into Iraq Marine Corp Gen. Peter Pace said NO. This was in response to a question asked because the Shrub and Rummy are now making comments that attempt to include Iran in the mix as contributing to the war being waged by the extremists inside of Iraq.

Pace is our top Military Official. Rummy was with him and tried like hell to put his usual "positive" spin on it..the link to the WAPO article regarding the press conference is here.

In other news..memos leaked in England show that their top military officials expressed doubts in America's handling of post-war Iraq in 2003. Gee..no shit? What was their first clue?

The link to the British memo article is here.

Russ Feingold today introduced a resolution to censure the Shrub regarding his spying on American citizens within our borders.This of course is now a mute point since they changed the law recently to make it easier for the Shrub and his playmates to spy on we,the people. But I do tip my hat to Russ. He is a lone voice on the Senate floor taking the Shrub to task time and time again.

An excerpt of his speech on the floor:
"As we move forward, Congress will need to consider a range of possible actions, including investigations, independent commissions, legislation, or even impeachment. But, at a minimum, Congress should censure a president who has so plainly broken the law."
"This President exploited the climate of anxiety after September 11, 2001, both to push for overly intrusive powers in the Patriot Act, and to take us into a war in Iraq that has been a tragic diversion from the critical fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates. In both of those instances, however, Congress gave its approval to the President’s actions, however mistaken that approval may have been."

Now my thoughts:
Osama is still out there. The Shrub is no closer to finding him today than he was on 9-11. But the Shrub has more power now than any sitting President has held in our history. Where the fuck is he President Bush? We(congress and the senate) have given you everything you have asked for..and changed the laws to cover those things taken illegally by you and your power hungry playmates. You still don't have Osama. Iraq is worse off today than it has ever been in its history.

Our national debt is out of control. The Halliburtons of the world are making money hand over fist off this war. The Oil companies posted record profits under the Shrub. The EPA has systematically removed protections for our air,water and wildlife so the large corporations that filled your coffers can get richer and fatter without worrying about some silly rules and regulations designed to protect us and our children's future on this planet.

Soon, Iraq will dissolve into a civil war that can only be described as mafia-like in nature. Sadaam is gone but we have set the stage for someone just as evil and blood-thirsty to take control of this oil-rich nation.

The majority of the world views our nation as a bully that does as it pleases and threatens those that don't go along with our grand plan for the world at large.

What have you done to make our lives better? What is better for us now than pre-9/11?

Tell me something positive George..I dare you to find something positive out of your administration of horror.

Raw story has the full text of the Feingold speech here.

Bet he's a happy camper. Five Mil Large in capital gains so far off the inventors of Tamiflu. He was the chairman, is currently a board member of the company that discovered the drug, Gilead Sciences, a southern Cali company. He did not have to divest his holdings when he became a czar for the Shrub. Gilead is fond of this disclaimer:"divestiture of his investment in Gilead was not required by the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Office of Government Ethics or the Department of Defence Standards of Conduct Office."

Ain't he one lucky sumbitch?

Luck has nothing to do with it sportsfans..

To see what Rummy has been making lots of money on..the Independant has a writeup here.