VMC SURVEY BOARD (VMSB)

[bbotcs]

A post by otcbargains on another board on 3/28/09:

Slaves led to slaughter and so friggin stupid we are begging for it. My level of disgust is growing day by day. Geithner wants to take over the entire private industry. The Global Elite announces on a daily basis that they are going to create a New World Order and everyone just try's to explain it away. The government is trying to ensure total control over food distribution. A new attack on the second amendment emerges everyday. The media focuses on red herrings like AIG bonuses and the 150 billion diff between Obama and Dems on the budget. Then they will focus on the diff between dems and Repubs(negligable). All of this while Trillions are looted and our basic freedoms are eroded. 7 million Stasi members will be roaming the streets playing Big Govt tattletale and noone even cares. Fake Science used to forward Global Governance and world wide wealth redistribution. Luciferian Malthusian Eugenicists are setting themselves up to control our every move and kill us and all we can do is focus on the fake issues provided by the media. Wake up you friggin imbiciles! Your lives depend on it. The lives of your decendents depends on it. We are being invaded from our southern border and our govt's answer is to harrass Americans going south of the border and try to outlaw assault rifles. Healthcare to be rationed for the elderly in order to pay for illegal aliens and the rest of the teet suckers. This to be spread worldwide because it hasnt quite sucked us completely dry yet. Floating ideas to force veterans to pay for their own healthcare while a new downpayment is made every week in the sum of Billions to pay for free care for the do-nothings. As long as you support our Global Socialist, fascist, Communist Stalin, Mao, Hitler agenda, we will reward you by punishing the producers.

Wake up you ignorant fools!

[bbotcs]

Mr. Obama will take your toy away. Better switch to cap gun!

[otcbargains]

To each his own. I just wanted some protection but i see you are more interested in all out war. LOL!

[roguedolphin]

nice....i like the ak-47.

[otcbargains]

I bought one a month ago. Smith and Wesson 9 mil. First time i have ever owned a gun in my life.

[roguedolphin]

Fears of a Dem crackdown lead to boom in gun sales
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081107/ap_on_re_us/obama_gun_sales



By DENA POTTER Dena Potter – 15 mins ago

Manager David Hancock holds a Smith & Wesson 500 handgun as he fills out AP – Manager David Hancock holds a Smith & Wesson 500 handgun as he fills out paperwork for the purchase of …


MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – When 10-year-old Austin Smith heard Barack Obama had been elected president, he had one question: Does this mean I won't get a new gun for Christmas?

That brought his mother, the camouflage-clad Rachel Smith, to Bob Moates Sports Shop on Thursday, where she was picking out that special 20-gauge shotgun — one of at least five weapons she plans to buy before Obama takes office in January.

Like Smith, gun enthusiasts nationwide are stocking up on firearms out of fears that the combination of an Obama administration and a Democrat-dominated Congress will result in tough new gun laws.

"I think they're going to really try to crack down on guns and make it harder for people to try to purchase them," said Smith, 32, who taught all five of her children — ages 4 to 10 — to shoot because the family relies on game for food.

Last month, as an Obama win looked increasingly inevitable, there were more than 108,000 more background checks for gun purchases than in October 2007, a 15 percent increase. And they were up about 8 percent for the year as of Oct. 26, according to the FBI.

No data was available for gun purchases this week, but gun shops from suburban Virginia to the Rockies report record sales since Tuesday's election.

"They're scared to death of losing their rights," said David Hancock, manager of Bob Moates, where sales have nearly doubled in the past week and are up 15 percent for the year. On Election Day, salespeople were called in on their day off because of the crowd.

Obama has said he respects Americans' Second Amendment right to bear arms, but that he favors "common sense" gun laws. Gun rights advocates interpret that as meaning he'll at least enact curbs on ownership of assault and concealed weapons.

As a U.S. Senator, Obama voted to leave gun-makers and dealers open to lawsuits; and as an Illinois state legislator, he supported a ban on semiautomatic weapons and tighter restrictions on all firearms.

During an October appearance in Ohio, Obama sought to reassure gun owners. "I will not take your shotgun away," he said. "I will not take your rifle away. I won't take your handgun away."

Gun advocates take some solace in the current makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 this summer to strike down the District of Columbia's 32-year ban on handguns. For now, gun rights supporters hold a narrow edge on the court, but Obama could appoint justices who would swing it the other way.

Franklin Gun Shop outside Nashville, Tenn., sold more than 70 guns on Tuesday, making it the biggest sales day since the shop opened eight years ago. Guns & Gear in Cheyenne, Wyo., also set a one-day sales record on Tuesday, only to break that mark on Wednesday.

Stewart Wallin, owner of Get Some Guns in the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray, Utah, said he sold nine assault weapons the day after Obama was elected. That same day, the gun store Cheaper Than Dirt! in Fort Worth, Texas, sold $101,000 worth of merchandise, shattering its single-day sales record, store owner DeWayne Irwin said.

One Georgia gun shop advertised an "Obama sale" on an outdoor sign, but the owner took it down after people complained that the shop appeared to be issuing a call to violence against the country's first black leader.

The president of a Montana gun manufacturer stepped down last month after word that he supported Obama led to calls for a boycott of the company.

While Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, attributes some of the sales boom to the tanking economy, he thinks the Democratic sweep is the top reason why guns are suddenly a hot commodity.

"I don't think he'll be able to stand up to that anti-Second Amendment wing of the Democratic party that's just been spoiling for chance to ban America's guns," LaPierre said of Obama.

During the campaign, the NRA warned that Obama would be the "most antigun president in American history." And while Vice President-elect Joe Biden owns shotguns, he has supported a ban on assault weapons and has said private sellers at gun shows should be required to perform background checks.

But Mark Tushnet, a Harvard Law School professor who has written a book about the gun debate, said new firearms regulations will be a low priority for an Obama administration and Democratic Congress facing a global economic crisis and two wars.

"Maybe the gun-show loophole will be closed, but not much else," he said in an e-mail. "I'd be surprised, for example, if Congress enacted a new assault gun ban."

Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said his organization will continue to press for what he calls "sensible" restrictions — background checks at gun shows, a ban on military-style assault weapons and cracking down on illegal gun trade. He believes he has the backing of the new administration on those issues, but any fears of a broader crackdown are unfounded.

"The one thing that they agree strongly with us on is that it's too easy for dangerous people to get guns in this country," Helmke said. "I guess if you're a dangerous person you might want to run out there and buy some more, but otherwise you should be OK."

[otcbargains]

I hope I can get out of my current positions before the real damage is done to this country. Now i have to figure out a way to get my money out of my 401k's and cancel all contributions. I think the best thing to do right now for anyone is quit your job max out all credit cards and any other type of loan you can get and then after fedzilla pumps up the auto companies with bailout money, find the top and short it using all the cash you can come up with and margin. Then ride it back down - cash out and buy a fortress stocked with survival supplies and a small Army.

Random thoughts about how far we have sunk as a country. Of course i would never do anything so irresponsible which is why i will suffer just like the rest.

[bbotcs]

SKF is doing nothing today. It will be frozen though. And I can use something called trades!

[lentinman]

MSGI:

It appears those would have had to have happened at 3:24, but it definitely could well have been. It would be fascinating to have tick by tick data to compare.

Len

[pnnymn]

I am in SKF and despite the ban it still looks ready to run. Just peek at the A/H #s.

[MSGI]

Dale, your SKF was up 18.65%, but your other stocks were down 30.32%. How are you going to catch up that way? Freeze everything, and everyone else will drop below you.

[bbotcs]

MSGI:

Watch your back in the PSL10. Another bad day or two in the DOW financials and I freeze SKF and your chances might just be toast! LOL.

I am out of SKF. Not gonna risk it, as long as the short ban is on, so I have to settle for a vicarious thrill, and oh what a thrill it was today. I felt like Chris Matthews' leg when he thinks about Barack Obama!

[MSGI]

Len, at on point today the Dow was down 666.66 and at the same exact time the NASDAQ was down 166.68.
Posted by: MSGI Date: Monday, September 29, 2008 4:45:54 PM
In reply to: George the Greek who wrote msg# 172619 Post # of 172645

At one time today, the Dow was down 666.66 points.

[lentinman]

Start of Tribulation?

Interesting "coincidence". Supposedly, the Tribulation was to begin on 9-29-08 according to this site. I was told of this some time ago and reminded recently, so it didn't just go up today when the DOW dropped 777 points.

Although it seems like the DOW dropping 666 would have been more appropriate.

http://www.endofage.com/

Len

[lentinman]

I have no interest whatsoever in who wins.

I only know one thing, regardless of whoever it is, the populace LOSES. As I have said repeatedly, they should all be shot.

However, this is the best piece I have seen on the one side. I'll see if I can find one equally compelling on the other. Keep one thing in mind. Apart from the Supreme Court - and MAYBE international crisis, the ONLY thing I care about from the President is FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY. And, we are in the worst fiscal crisis since 1930. Make no mistake about it, someboy is to blame!

Len

[stock_peeker]

bbotc, if you sleep with Hannity ...

enuf said

[bbotcs]

lentinman: My political agenda is pretty much roguedolphin's political agenda. We want the U.S. to survive as a democratic republic.

[bbotcs]

stock-peeker: Your post

Here is the last paragraph: If you're husband is nicknamed 'First Dude', with at least one DWI
conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

More than anything, that paragraph reflects the level to which the extreme left will stoop. I love it because it exposes them for what they are--trash.

Let's see, Mr. Palin has "at least" one DWI. Translation: We dug deep but that's all we bottom-feeding scumbuckets could find--one.

"And no college education". Yes, in our elitest (think effete snob) world, the guy is beneath contempt beccause he does not have a college education. He is an unworthy person.

"didn't register to vote until age 25". Who cares, but we thought we'd throw that in.

"was a member of a group that adovcated secession" Well, we cannot fault him for that, especially given our America-hating Marxist agenda, but it might upset some conservatives so we'll throw it into the slop bucket.

stock-peeker, if you sleep with dogs. . ..

[eaglesurvivor]

stock_peeker: welcome to public consumption politics. But then again you have swallowed it hook, line, and sinker.

Since both major parties have candidates for president and vice-president who are all members of The Council on Foreign Relations, I will cast an absentee ballot for the true opposition to this madness, especially The Federal Reserve: Ron Paul.

Chasing political messiahs has you supporting a pathological liar who is best known for being Zbigniew Brzezinski's sock puppet. Haven't we has enough of neoconism?

[Tr8dervic]

Obama won IL senate seat 11/04 and was sworn in 1/4/05. Not quite 4 years but close.

[lentinman]

Peeker:

I'm 100% impartial. They are ALL scum. You and BBOTC have a political agenda - which is fine, but ... I don't.

Len

[stock_peeker]

OK, guys. Thanks for your input, especially the part about how you guys are sooooo impartial. Haha, guys.

Just posting those things that came along my way. I thought they contained some morsels of interest. It provokes thought anyway about how the appearance that is projected thru the news is not always that real (it only seems real to the true believers).


;?}
peeker ... enjoyed getting you going, but let's not start getting nasty and attacking anyone's credibility. OK?

Good luck dealing with this horrible market, especially on this day of the "bridge loan to nowhere".

[lentinman]

Can't stand anyone running for anything...

... for the simple reason they couldn't have gotten to that position in the first place without playing the games that have started destroying our once great country.

But, at least for THIS election and at least for THESE candidates, it is ridiculous to be comparing the Rep VP to the Dem P!
The odds of any VP becoming president are relatively slim. Even so, I don't consider O'Bama to have any more meaningful "experience" than Palin. Seems to me the more DEMs attack Palin's inexperience, they are simply magnifying the issue with their PRESIDENTIAL candidate!

I don't know much about any of them and don't care because I will not be voting, but I understand O'Bama has never even authored a single bill of any kind anywhere. At least Palin has been the chief executive with a broad range of ultimate responsibilities - including vetoes - both on a municipal and state level.

I don't even care who wins because it isn't going to change anything. The supreme court is probably set for the next four years anyway, so that's a non issue. Basically, it's a big snore zzzzzzzz.

Len

[bbotcs]

U could at least get your facts straight before you post that garbage. Since when has Obama been a U.S. Senator for 4 years.
U blew your credibility on the election with that post.

And yes, Sarah Palin's husband, the "First Dude", is a terrible person because he does not have a college education.
Next time you need a plumber, make sure he has a college education before you let him into your house.

But Obama is a good person even though he fought tooth and nail to prevent legislation that would ban third trimester abortions.

Don't get too emotional when Obama loses big.

[bbotcs]

U are coming from a position of weakness when you compare one party's Presidential candidate to the other party's VP candidate.

[bbotcs]

stock_peeker: OT

I think that McCain has been paying his former wife's medical bills for life. The article didn't mention that when he left Carol, he also was leaving 2 stepsons.

The first wife seems to bear him no ill will.

McCain has been a good husband and father to his second family. If I were the stepson from the first marriage, I'd hate his guts.

I am not promoting McCain. As I've said many times, I cannot stand either candidate.

[stock_peeker]

We believe in heros and live in a world of fantasy, however....

http://www.snopes.com/politics/mccain/carol.asp

I found this account of John McCain's first family bothersome.

[stock_peeker]

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're
'exotic, different.'

* Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, yours is a quintessential
American story.

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow,Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Columbia University and Harvard law School and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well
grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the
first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter
registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years
as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator
representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of
the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years
in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people
while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs,
Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you
don't have any real leadership experience.

* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city
council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000
people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people,
then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking
executive and next in line behind a man in his eighth decade.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while
raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're
not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and then left
your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a
true Christian.

* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including
the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

* If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no
other option in sex education in your state's school system while your
unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in
a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city
community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values
don't represent America 's.

* If you're husband is nicknamed 'First Dude', with at least one DWI
conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until
age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession
of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

[yielddude]

just thinking out loud. If the US image was deteriorating, dollar falling, respect diminishing etc ..., the re-emergence of Russia might make many countries re-evaluate the USA, that they need the USA as ally against any Russian threat (economic or military). This could mean they may be more supportive of the dollar, our debt, etc ...
Did the US encourage Georgia to take command of South Ossetia, knowing the Russian reaction? Again, just a thought, now that my brain over the last year, has been infiltrated by conspiracy theories, elite power groups, dog-wagging, and other ideas that I used to think were just crazy talk.
yield

[bbotcs]

lentinman: If we are going to have "transformation", let's have Ron Paul lead the way. They could abolish the Federal Reserve system. That would be an excellent start. But no. They are expanding its powers.

I am outta here for a few days. Keep the barbarians from the gate!

BBTOC

[lentinman]

BB:

I fail to see why the word "transformation" is so sinister. Didn't Roosevelt transform us out of the depression? Didn't Eisenhower transform us out of WW2. Didn't George Washington transform us out of British Rule?

I'm sure you would agree that we desperately need transformation!!! If nothing major changes, we are toast.

Len

[bbotcs]

Give me a break Obama. You are becoming one scary guy, imo.

From a news article posted today on Yahoo! A quote from this genius:


"Breaking our oil addiction is one of the greatest challenges our generation will ever face," the Illinois Democrat told a supportive audience as he embarked on a week to focus on energy issues. "It will take nothing less than a complete transformation of our economy," he said.

A "complete transformation of our economy"? What the "h" does that mean? A transformation? A COMPLETE transformation? This guy is freaking me out here. A transformation like Lenin made? Or Fidel Castro? Or Chairman Mao?

I am now 100 percent in Mark Levin's court on this guy. He is dangerous, imo.

[eaglesurvivor]

bbotcs: rising up does not necessarily entail using a weapon of force. However, it shouldn't be ruled out. I don't recommend the military for everyone, but soldiers who see combat often receive an awakening.

Here's my common hangout. You'll like it. http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=12853

[deathtotaxes]

Apparently he was off course - that's his story anyway. LOL


Today's news - I predict McCain will be blaming Obama for the LA Earthquake!

[bbotcs]

deathtotaxes: What was the guy doing ANYWHERE NEAR a clothing optional beach with his young children. IMO he got what he deserved--being beaten by a naked old man in front of his children. Doesn't get much weirder!

[bbotcs]

DUG: Finally put my money where my mouth is. I have been predicting cheaper oil and quoting Richard Suttmeier who says $70 before $200 for oil. My reasons for believing oil will drop remain the same: lower usage in China during the Olympics, stability in the Middle East for the time being, and I'll throw in a third one--a drop in demand in the U.S. Hope this turns out better than SIRI. SIRI makes me cringe!

[bbotcs]

eaglesurvivor: OT

Hello. Where you been, bud? I was listening to a local talk radio show today and an old guy calls in to talk about his son, a doctor, who is $150K in debt due to student loans and works in a hospital in Florida. Half of the patients are illegals who cannot pay. That will get worse but I'm not going there now, because I'm responding to your post.

This old guy also said that his late brother was a general with the U.S. Army Chief of Staff. The general had told his brother, the caller, that if people knew what was going on they would rise up. I don't know what the caller meant by "going on", and I probably don't want to know.

bbotcs

[deathtotaxes]

Important events going on all the time. Normally I like dogs, but in this case those little dogs can really hurt a fella. LOL


Nude Sunbather Attacks Man With Baton, Police Say
Naked Suspect Accused Of Hitting Chihuahuas With Stick



PORTLAND, Ore. -- A naked sunbather used a collapsible baton to attack a man on a clothing-optional beach east of Portland last week, police said.

State troopers said Donald Kenney, 74, of Vancouver, Wash., had been sunbathing at Rooster Rock State Park when two Chihuahua dogs ran up to him.

The dogs' owner, who had just landed on shore in a raft, said Kenney began hitting the dogs with a stick.

Kenney is accused of walking toward the rafter and four children who were with him, and holding up a can of Mace.

The rafter backed up, causing him to fall backward. Kenney then struck the victim in the head, torso and leg with a collapsible baton, authorities said. After the alleged attack, which police said happened Thursday, Kenney walked away.

The victim later gave police a license plate number of a car belonging to Kenney. Officers arrested him Friday and booked him into the Multnomah County Jail on charges of assault and menacing.

Police said the victim had initially thought he was several hundred feet away from the clothing-optional area of Rooster Rock park. He was with three girls and one boy, ages 7 through 10.

The identity of the victim is unknown, but police said he's a 45-year-old man from southeast Portland. His injuries weren't life-threatening.

Rooster Rock State Park is located in the Columbia River Gorge.

[eaglesurvivor]

This post was deleted as "off topic" on a political board. That's a chuckle. ****************************************

Before the advent of the Internet there were so many books. The Internet is the ultimate library. One approaches information with an open mind, as if he/she were on a jury.

Look at the vast amount of people who believe in the Evolution Conspiracy. On the one hand, we have laws of science, such as the laws of thermodynamics and statistical probabilities. On the other hand, we have religious fanatics, who insist on forcing a disproved and unscientific theory upon society, including unsuspecting children. But what do we expect from a society that believes it is proper to lie to children a la Santa Claus and give a free pass to their political messiahs when they do the same?

Theories are studied as one would study a logic puzzle. The theory is taken out to the Nth degree, until it is disproved or shown to be actual fact.

Given the ability to access data and other valuable information, most rational thinking people have viewed The Warren Commission Report as a fabrication to cover up the truth. That's because said report flies in the face of physical evidence and laws of science. Still, to this day, there are little wind-up statists who insist with The Magic Bullet Theory. Do these kooks get relegated to tin foil hat status? Of course not, since it is a groupthink-approved conspiracy.

Now since elements, of the feral gumit, got caught in the very act of such a hideous deed, are other connecting elements capable of other such horrors? The open-minded individual answers, "Yes!" They have read the government's own documents, such as Operation Northwoods. The chattel cattle are overcome with a number of fears that are placed upon them. It becomes unthinkable for their fragile psyches to accept that their Mother Government could commit such atrocities. So let's round up the usual suspects and become history revisionists.

In the realms of the science of psychology, those, who accuse others of being tin foil conspiracy nuts, are the themselves the paranoiacs. Just something to think about.

[bbotcs]

roguedolphin: OT

I listened to Hillary Clinton's speech announcing she was pulling out of the race. What I found interesting was that she did not pay Obama a single compliment--"He will make a strong leader, pulling the country in the right direction". "He is qualified to lead." Nothing like that. She said she'd work for his election and that they need to get the Democracts in the White House, that sort of thing. When the dust settles and the speech is analyzed, it will become obvious that she as much as gave her female supports the green light to vote for McCain.

People don't understand this yet--it will take weeks if not months--but I definitely think there was a subliminal message there.

That was one of the more cleverly crafted speeches to come out of a politician's mouth in a long time, imo. Ms. Hillary, the Illuminati, is too much.

[MSGI]

Sorry, I picked the wrong board from favorites.

[lentinman]

MSGI:

Can you post those on the predictions board?

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=12726

Len

[MSGI]

My picks
OIL= $149
Gold= $1050
Dow= 10,300

[roguedolphin]

Here is the blueprint....."End Game" by Alex Jones...

INCREDIBLE!!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1070329053600562261&hl=en

[roguedolphin]

Palfrey/Britton "suicides"....It's not the madams or the pay-for-sex-girls that decide who will sink the careers of which politicians...

...that's the job of the mainstream Orwellian media and those that control it.

Try to change those facts and you will be "suicided"....

...nasty world we live in.

Atlas Shrugged....sigh.


Ron Paul names the NeoCon conspirator's and exposes their insidious agenda....

[deathtotaxes]

OT: Has anyone come out with an ETF that tracks (in a positive way) the total destruction and annihilation of our economic systems?

I sure would like to make some cash on that eventuality. Just the thought of it gives me goose-bumps, standing in line for my new GMC Tahoe with wads of cash, $18.00 /gallons of gas and a country in total disarray.


I am pretty sick and tired of those who post in hopes of trying to make a few bucks on the backs of the rest of America & the world.

Vote this November for the status quo!

[bbotcs]

swanlinbar: Congress had better keep the VA funded. That is all that I can say. If they don't, I hope no one volunteers--ever.

[swanlinbar]

The Invisible War by Timothy Egan
Landing in Seattle after a long flight from Texas, I was about to join the exit scrum when the pilot informed us there were five soldiers on board, ending a three-day odyssey home from Iraq. Could we let them pass?
What followed was prolonged applause by all, and a startling reminder to some – oh, are we still at war?
Not only still at war, but deeper than ever. It was one thing for the Iraq war to pass an inglorious five-year landmark in March, longer than any other American conflict except the Vietnam War. But the cost now looks like it will exceed all wars except World War II — with a price tag that could near $3 trillion.
The Iraq war has already cost twice as much, in inflation-adjusted dollars, as World War I, and 10 times as much as the Persian Gulf war, according to a new book by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard professor Linda Bilmes. This is in addition, of course, to the more than 4,000 American lives lost, 30,000 wounded and the psychic blows that will ripple through every town that sent a young person off to fight.
Yet, for its prolonged clutch on our treasury and blood, no war as been so out-of-sight, so stage-managed to be painless and invisible. We’re supposed to shop, to spend our stimulus checks, to carry on as if nothing has happened — or is happening. Every now and then we get to rise at a stadium or pause on an airplane. Some sacrifice.
It would have been more fitting for us on that plane to stand aside while a flag-draped coffin was unloaded. At least then, we would get a moment to wonder what it’s like to put a 19-year-old son in a grave, to lose a sister, a spouse, to see war as something more than a parlor game of neo-cons.
In a democracy, wars should be felt by the decision makers — all of us. It starts at the top.
So, in 1942 President Franklin Roosevelt said, “This will require, of course, the abandonment not only of luxuries but of many other creature comforts.” President Bush made a sacrifice – he gave up golf as an act of solidarity with families at war. The man who has probably taken more vacations than any other American president, who goes on showy mountain bike rides while his Veterans Administration shamefully mistreats broken warriors, who cut taxes while burdening a generation with this overseas cancer, is at ease with his conscience.
“I don’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf,” he said in a bizarre interview with Politico last week. “And I think playing golf during a war sends the wrong signal.”
He then went on, in the same interview, to do his imitation of Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers movies. No wrong signal there.
In every way, this president has tried to hide the war. The press chafes because photos of flag-draped coffins are forbidden. But that’s nothing compared to how this administration is trying to turn the public’s eyes away from the pain of the people who feel it most directly, the soldiers and their families.
Suicide rates among returning veterans are soaring. And the administration’s response? Cover up the data. An e-mail titled “Shh!” surfaced earlier this month from Dr. Ira Katz, a top official at the V.A. The note indicated that far more veterans were trying to kill themselves than the administration had let on. It speaks for itself.
“Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see,” Katz wrote, in a note not meant for the general public. “Is this something we should address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles upon it?”
Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat of Washington, who has made veterans affairs her specialty, was furious. “They lied about these numbers,” Murray told me. “It breaks my heart. Soldiers tell us that they were taught how to go to war, but not how to come home. You hear about divorces, binge-drinking, post-traumatic stress, suicide. And the reaction from the president is part of a pattern from the very beginning to show that this war is not costly or consequential.”
Murray is the daughter of a disabled World War II veteran. During her college years, while other students were protesting, she volunteered at a veterans hospital. The odds are, she said, at least one of those five soldiers we applauded on my return plane will suffer severe mental trauma from the war. A recent Rand Corporation study said as much, noting that that 300,000 veterans who served in either Iraq or Afghanistan are plagued by major depression or stress disorder.
“Look what we do when there’s a natural disaster — we show the pictures of the victims and open our hearts,” said Murray. “President Bush should do the same thing with the war.”
But that would require bringing out in the open something that has been hidden since the start of this long war — the truth.

[bbotcs]

roguedolphin: Palfrey

Only an idiot would believe that Brandy Brittan committed suicide. She was facing only 6 months in jail. Even if her career an a college instructor were wrecked, she was young, educated and good looking. No, she and Ms. Palfrey were silenced, and the message to others who worked for Palfrey is loud and clear. Sing and you swing.

[bbotcs]

otcbargains: If Congress and the White House go Democrat, think Europe. I'll sign onto the dole!