I read this article today about Cheney's new Chief of Staff, who's replacing Gonzo. It's very interesting.
Source:
The Hidden Power
by Jane Mayer
July 3, 2006
LETTER FROM WASHINGTON about David Addington and the war on terror. At a Redskins game in December, Colin Powell commented privately on a recent report in the Times which revealed that Pres. Bush had secretly authorized the N.S.A. to eavesdrop on American citizens without first obtaining a warrant from the FISA court. “It's Addington,” Powell said. “He doesn't care about the Constitution.” He was referring to David S. Addington, Vice-President Cheney's chief of staff and his longtime legal adviser. Most Americans have never heard of him, but he has played a central role in shaping the Bush Administration's legal strategy for the war on terror. Known as the New Paradigm, this strategy rests on a reading of the Constitution that few legal scholars share-namely, that the President has the authority to disregard virtually all legal boundaries, if national security demands it. Under this framework, statutes prohibiting torture, secret detention, and warrantless surveillance have been set aside. Mentions Guantanamo Bay. Many constitutional experts question Addington's views on Presidential power. Mentions Arthur Shlesinger, Jr., and Bruce Fein. Richard Epstein warned of an impending constitutional crisis. Mentions Richard Shiffrin. Addington is a tall, bespectacled man of 49, with a trim gray beard. He has been an ally of Cheney's since the 1980s and is sometimes described as “Cheney's hit man.” Mentions Bradford Berenson. After September 11th (9/11), Addington offered legal certitude at a moment of great confusion. Mentions Alberto Gonzales. Addington was able to promote vast executive powers after 9/11. Mentions Steve Berry. Mentions Leonard Napolitano. Describes Addington's background and his conservative ideology. After graduating from Duke Law School, he got a job in the general counsel's office at the C.I.A. There, he strongly opposed the reform movements that followed Vietnam and Watergate. “He thought the Presidency was too weakened.” These views were shared by Cheney. Mentions the Iran-Contra scandal. Addington served as the Pentagon's General Counsel during the first Bush Administration. Once Cheney became Vice-President, Addington insured that virtually all important national-security documents were seen by the VP's office. Mentions William J. Haynes. After 9/11, Addington dominated the debate over how to frame the Administration's legal response to the attacks. On September 25th, the Justice Dept.'s Office of Legal Counsel issued a memo declaring that the Pres. had inherent constitutional authority to take whatever military actions he deemed necessary, not just in response to 9/11, but in the prevention of future attacks. Another memo sanctioned torture when the Pres. deems it necessary. Addington either drafted the memos himself or advised those who drafted them. On November 13, 2001, an executive order setting up special military commissions was issued under Bush's signature, stunning Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and the JAGs. Mentions Rear Admiral Donald Guter and Marine Major Dan Morii. Addington has fought to stem reform of other controversial aspects of the New Paradigm, such as the detention and interrogation of terror suspects. Discusses whether potentially innocent people have been detained indefinitely at Guantanamo. Addington has proved deft at outmaneuvering his critics. Describes his ruthless tactics. Describes the N.S.A.'s warrantless wiretapping program and how Cheney and Addington pressed the agency to engage in practices it thought were illegal. Fourteen prominent constitutional scholars recently wrote an open letter to Congress, claiming the N.S.A. surveillance program “appears…to violate existing law.” Discusses the lack of congressional oversight. Mentions signing statements, which allow Bush to disregard portions of laws passed by Congress. Fein argues that the Founding Fathers would have been shocked by what Cheney and Addington have done.
Jane Mayer, "The Hidden Power," The New Yorker, July 3, 2006, p. 44
Sorry this is so long, but I didn't want anything taken out of context.
What is it with this administration?? They're always picking people that have questionable backgrounds. Not that we're perfect (though some come close) but we at least want someone decent to run the country we live in. Is that too much to ask??
Monday, March 26, 2007
Should They Stay Or Should They Go?
That's right folks, I'm talking about Illegal Immigration. I have some interesting stuff for ya'll to read, interesting facts and suppositions, interesting websites..all in all it's going to be fun.
What upsets me the most about the illegal immigrants isn't that they're here to make a living, or to get adequate health coverage for their families. It's the lying, cheating and stealing their way in that pisses me off. The fact that they don't pay taxes, the fact that they live off us -the taxpayers.
Here's some interesting statistics for you. (Source:http://www.immigrationcounters.com/)
1. There are 20,807,746 illegal immigrants in our country.
2. $22,213,559,996 have been wired to Mexico since Jan. 06
3. There are 3,958,846 children of illegals in Public Schools.
4. The cost of incarceration since 2001: $1,398,147,712
5. There are 332,598 illegals incarcerated now.
6. But, there are 642,804 illegal fugitives out there roaming the streets.
7. There are 9,872,933 skilled jobs taken by illegals.
8. There have been 1,942,742 Anchor babies born since 2002.
Let me tell you a story. My husband works for a company here in The Middle Of Nowhere, that just KNOWINGLY hired 16 (!!!!!!) illegal Mexicans. Oh, they have all the right document (fakes, as they all have the same birthday...yeah right) and all the proper identification. But if they're legal, why isn't taxes being withheld from their paychecks? BECAUSE THEY'RE ILLEGAL. My husband knows this for a fact, because his own BOSSES told him this, thinking we wouldn't do anything about it. Ha! Wrong move asshole. We've already reported them to Customs, and our local television news station.
Anyway, border patrol wouldn't be such a bad idea if Mexico's leaders would quit encouraging their citizens to jump the border. In an article written by Jon E. Dougherty from NewsMax.com, he writes:
"On the surface, Mexico is indeed laden with extreme poverty. A great many of its citizens live in squalor, and the infrastructure to provide for the population does not exist on the scale it exists in America.
One of the most common misconceptions is that Mexico is a poor nation. Mexico has a lot of poverty, yes, but it's not "poor." In terms of the potential to obliterate much of that poverty, Mexico has one of the greatest capacities in all of the Americas to do just that. It is rich in natural resources and, should it decide to tap those resources, could eradicate much of its own destitution.
Mexico is the richest nation in Latin America when measured by GDP, and by a wide margin: in 2001, Mexico's GDP was the highest in Latin America, a substantial 22.5 percent more than runner-up Brazil," writes Walker. "When GDP per capita is the gauge, Mexico is second only behind Argentina."
Why so much poverty? Why isn't Mexico City doing more to alleviate the suffering? Why are so many Mexican migrants risking life, limb and capture to sneak into the United States? Why aren't there more opportunities for them at home?
Simple. The country's oligarchic elite won't allow that to happen.
Others argue Mexico, by adequately tapping its own financial and physical resources, could do what other economic powerhouses have done – invest its way to success, by building up its industrial infrastructure and educating its own workforce.
Such investment would require money, however. And it's much easier for Mexico to freeload off a willing wealthy neighbor. One like the United States.
And by doing so, Mexico actually reaps financial benefits.
They know Mexican children will be cared for and educated. They know medical needs will be met, and they know other basic amenities of life will be supplied.
More importantly, they know they won't have to pay for it.
It's past time for Mexico to grow up and stop mooching from its more successful neighbors. The longer we allow Mexico to freeload, the longer its people will suffer." (Note to reader: I didn't copy the entire article here..for a more complete read click the link above)
There have been numerous debates about solutions to this problem, and one such "solution" is the North American Union (also the building of a North American Super Corridor). And while I support Pres. Bush on most of his endeavors, this one I do not.
The North American Union (NAU)/ North American Super Corridor (NASC) is supposed to open the borders for trade purposes (yeah right), and help stabilize the immigration issue. Dennis Berheandt writes:
"On June 21, viewers of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight heard the alarming introduction to a segment of the program devoted to the future of the United States of America. "The Bush administration's open-borders policy and its decision to ignore the enforcement of this country's immigration laws is part of a broader agenda," Dobbs intoned. "President Bush signed a formal agreement that will end the United States as we know it, and he took the step without approval from either the U.S. Congress or the people of the United States.
The standard diplomatic language was a prelude to a radical proposal calling for the merger of the three nations in several important ways. Under a so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), the nations will no longer have separate borders, but will "implement common border-security." The three nations will no longer respond on the national level to emergencies but will have a "common approach to emergency response." And, in a move that has tremendous implications for the growing immigration crisis, the three leaders agreed that the United States' north and south borders would be eliminated. Under the SPP plan, the three nations will "implement a border-facilitation strategy to build capacity and improve the legitimate flow of people and cargo at our shared borders"."
You know what? This is scary stuff. Not just because it rids us of our sovereignty as a country, but because this opens up a whole new wad of issues concerning our nation's liberty.
I want to know your thoughts and feelings on this topic. If you have anything you'd like to add, please feel free.
Want more info? Check these sites:
http://www.cis.org/topics/illegalimmigration.html
http://www.cis.org/topics/currentnumbers.html
http://www.illegal-immigration-statistics.net/
What upsets me the most about the illegal immigrants isn't that they're here to make a living, or to get adequate health coverage for their families. It's the lying, cheating and stealing their way in that pisses me off. The fact that they don't pay taxes, the fact that they live off us -the taxpayers.
Here's some interesting statistics for you. (Source:http://www.immigrationcounters.com/)
1. There are 20,807,746 illegal immigrants in our country.
2. $22,213,559,996 have been wired to Mexico since Jan. 06
3. There are 3,958,846 children of illegals in Public Schools.
4. The cost of incarceration since 2001: $1,398,147,712
5. There are 332,598 illegals incarcerated now.
6. But, there are 642,804 illegal fugitives out there roaming the streets.
7. There are 9,872,933 skilled jobs taken by illegals.
8. There have been 1,942,742 Anchor babies born since 2002.
Let me tell you a story. My husband works for a company here in The Middle Of Nowhere, that just KNOWINGLY hired 16 (!!!!!!) illegal Mexicans. Oh, they have all the right document (fakes, as they all have the same birthday...yeah right) and all the proper identification. But if they're legal, why isn't taxes being withheld from their paychecks? BECAUSE THEY'RE ILLEGAL. My husband knows this for a fact, because his own BOSSES told him this, thinking we wouldn't do anything about it. Ha! Wrong move asshole. We've already reported them to Customs, and our local television news station.
Anyway, border patrol wouldn't be such a bad idea if Mexico's leaders would quit encouraging their citizens to jump the border. In an article written by Jon E. Dougherty from NewsMax.com, he writes:
"On the surface, Mexico is indeed laden with extreme poverty. A great many of its citizens live in squalor, and the infrastructure to provide for the population does not exist on the scale it exists in America.
One of the most common misconceptions is that Mexico is a poor nation. Mexico has a lot of poverty, yes, but it's not "poor." In terms of the potential to obliterate much of that poverty, Mexico has one of the greatest capacities in all of the Americas to do just that. It is rich in natural resources and, should it decide to tap those resources, could eradicate much of its own destitution.
Mexico is the richest nation in Latin America when measured by GDP, and by a wide margin: in 2001, Mexico's GDP was the highest in Latin America, a substantial 22.5 percent more than runner-up Brazil," writes Walker. "When GDP per capita is the gauge, Mexico is second only behind Argentina."
Why so much poverty? Why isn't Mexico City doing more to alleviate the suffering? Why are so many Mexican migrants risking life, limb and capture to sneak into the United States? Why aren't there more opportunities for them at home?
Simple. The country's oligarchic elite won't allow that to happen.
Others argue Mexico, by adequately tapping its own financial and physical resources, could do what other economic powerhouses have done – invest its way to success, by building up its industrial infrastructure and educating its own workforce.
Such investment would require money, however. And it's much easier for Mexico to freeload off a willing wealthy neighbor. One like the United States.
And by doing so, Mexico actually reaps financial benefits.
They know Mexican children will be cared for and educated. They know medical needs will be met, and they know other basic amenities of life will be supplied.
More importantly, they know they won't have to pay for it.
It's past time for Mexico to grow up and stop mooching from its more successful neighbors. The longer we allow Mexico to freeload, the longer its people will suffer." (Note to reader: I didn't copy the entire article here..for a more complete read click the link above)
There have been numerous debates about solutions to this problem, and one such "solution" is the North American Union (also the building of a North American Super Corridor). And while I support Pres. Bush on most of his endeavors, this one I do not.
The North American Union (NAU)/ North American Super Corridor (NASC) is supposed to open the borders for trade purposes (yeah right), and help stabilize the immigration issue. Dennis Berheandt writes:
"On June 21, viewers of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight heard the alarming introduction to a segment of the program devoted to the future of the United States of America. "The Bush administration's open-borders policy and its decision to ignore the enforcement of this country's immigration laws is part of a broader agenda," Dobbs intoned. "President Bush signed a formal agreement that will end the United States as we know it, and he took the step without approval from either the U.S. Congress or the people of the United States.
The standard diplomatic language was a prelude to a radical proposal calling for the merger of the three nations in several important ways. Under a so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), the nations will no longer have separate borders, but will "implement common border-security." The three nations will no longer respond on the national level to emergencies but will have a "common approach to emergency response." And, in a move that has tremendous implications for the growing immigration crisis, the three leaders agreed that the United States' north and south borders would be eliminated. Under the SPP plan, the three nations will "implement a border-facilitation strategy to build capacity and improve the legitimate flow of people and cargo at our shared borders"."
You know what? This is scary stuff. Not just because it rids us of our sovereignty as a country, but because this opens up a whole new wad of issues concerning our nation's liberty.
I want to know your thoughts and feelings on this topic. If you have anything you'd like to add, please feel free.
Want more info? Check these sites:
http://www.cis.org/topics/illegalimmigration.html
http://www.cis.org/topics/currentnumbers.html
http://www.illegal-immigration-statistics.net/
This is something I've been following for quite some time now...the North American Union. The joining of the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Also in the works, one shared currency. This is a frightning idea really. But don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself.
If this isn't enough for you, here's some links:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=14965
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=North_American_Union
http://www.stopthenorthamericanunion.com/
http://www.newswithviews.com/Yates/steven23.htm
**http://www.cfr.org/publication/8102/building_a_north_american_community.html
http://www.jbs.org/nau
Here's some for the currency debate:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=15017
http://www.amerocurrency.com/
http://oldfraser.lexi.net/publications/critical_issues/1999/amero/
Note: this one is from CanadaFreePress.com: http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/cover121406.htm
If this isn't enough for you, here's some links:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=14965
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=North_American_Union
http://www.stopthenorthamericanunion.com/
http://www.newswithviews.com/Yates/steven23.htm
**http://www.cfr.org/publication/8102/building_a_north_american_community.html
http://www.jbs.org/nau
Here's some for the currency debate:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=15017
http://www.amerocurrency.com/
http://oldfraser.lexi.net/publications/critical_issues/1999/amero/
Note: this one is from CanadaFreePress.com: http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/cover121406.htm
I've just heard of this disease, it's running rampant in several states. Here are some facts. From: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000977.htm
Alternative names Return to top
Parvovirus B19; Erythema infectiosum; Slapped cheek
Definition Return to top
Fifth disease is an illness caused by a virus that leads to a rash on the cheeks, arms, and legs.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors Return to top
Fifth disease is caused by human parvovirus B19. It often affects preschoolers or school-age children during the spring. The disease is spread by contact with respiratory secretions and usually lasts for 5 days. However, the rash associated with fifth disease may return for several weeks. Return of the rash may be brought on by sunlight, heat, exercise, fever, or emotional stress.
The first sign of the disease is usually bright red cheeks, which look as though the child has been recently slapped on both sides of the face. Following this, a rash appears on the arms and legs and middle of the body. The rash fades from the center outwards, giving it a lacy appearance. Over a period of 1 to 2 weeks, the rash completely goes away.
Fifth disease is also sometimes associated with fever.
If a pregnant woman becomes infected with parvovirus B19, it can cause significant harm to her unborn baby. Any pregnant woman who believes that she may have been in contact with a person who has this virus should talk to her health care provider.
Parvovirus B19 is also thought to cause other diseases, including an infectious form of arthritis.
The majority of adults seem to have antibodies to parvovirus B19 in their bodies. This indicates that most people have been exposed to the virus, and also suggests that many infections go unnoticed.
Symptoms include:
Symptoms Return to top
Rash
First appears on the cheeks, often looks like "slapped cheeks"
Spreads to the arms and legs about 1 day later, often has a "lacy" appearance
Fever
Joint pain
Temporary anemia -- this is only serious if the patient has a immune system problem and some other, existing form of anemia
Treatment Return to top
No treatment is usually required for fifth disease in children. If fever or joint discomfort is present then oral acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) may be given.
Expectations (prognosis) Return to top
Since this is a mild and generally benign viral infection, complete recovery can be expected.
Complications Return to top
There are generally no complications in normally healthy children.
Calling your health care provider Return to top
Call your health care provider if symptoms suggestive of fifth disease develop (to rule out other disorders that could be causing the symptoms).
The reason for doing this is I just got an email from someone saying their young cousin has it.
A friend of mine in Washington said that it's going around there like wildfire, and it's here too. I'd never heard of it before and I thought it would be a good topic to blog about, you know, get the info out. Hope it helps some of you.
S
Alternative names Return to top
Parvovirus B19; Erythema infectiosum; Slapped cheek
Definition Return to top
Fifth disease is an illness caused by a virus that leads to a rash on the cheeks, arms, and legs.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors Return to top
Fifth disease is caused by human parvovirus B19. It often affects preschoolers or school-age children during the spring. The disease is spread by contact with respiratory secretions and usually lasts for 5 days. However, the rash associated with fifth disease may return for several weeks. Return of the rash may be brought on by sunlight, heat, exercise, fever, or emotional stress.
The first sign of the disease is usually bright red cheeks, which look as though the child has been recently slapped on both sides of the face. Following this, a rash appears on the arms and legs and middle of the body. The rash fades from the center outwards, giving it a lacy appearance. Over a period of 1 to 2 weeks, the rash completely goes away.
Fifth disease is also sometimes associated with fever.
If a pregnant woman becomes infected with parvovirus B19, it can cause significant harm to her unborn baby. Any pregnant woman who believes that she may have been in contact with a person who has this virus should talk to her health care provider.
Parvovirus B19 is also thought to cause other diseases, including an infectious form of arthritis.
The majority of adults seem to have antibodies to parvovirus B19 in their bodies. This indicates that most people have been exposed to the virus, and also suggests that many infections go unnoticed.
Symptoms include:
Symptoms Return to top
Rash
First appears on the cheeks, often looks like "slapped cheeks"
Spreads to the arms and legs about 1 day later, often has a "lacy" appearance
Fever
Joint pain
Temporary anemia -- this is only serious if the patient has a immune system problem and some other, existing form of anemia
Treatment Return to top
No treatment is usually required for fifth disease in children. If fever or joint discomfort is present then oral acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) may be given.
Expectations (prognosis) Return to top
Since this is a mild and generally benign viral infection, complete recovery can be expected.
Complications Return to top
There are generally no complications in normally healthy children.
Calling your health care provider Return to top
Call your health care provider if symptoms suggestive of fifth disease develop (to rule out other disorders that could be causing the symptoms).
The reason for doing this is I just got an email from someone saying their young cousin has it.
A friend of mine in Washington said that it's going around there like wildfire, and it's here too. I'd never heard of it before and I thought it would be a good topic to blog about, you know, get the info out. Hope it helps some of you.
S
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