Our nation is in need of being reborn.  The spirit of '76 is no longer with us.  The fireworks will not do it.  I can't get that feeling back about this country anymore.  I spent the day in the presence of a wonderful group of young people from all over the world.  I am a Lion and we sponsor a Youth Exchange every year at this time.  My wife and I are hosting two wonderful young women, one from Algeria and the other from Croatia.  They have been here for a little over a week.  The District 24D Lions  had a picnic and it was the first time the entire group of students were together in one place.  It was refreshing to see this miniature United Nations having fun together.  By the way, did you know that The  Lions Clubs International are the only service organization that has its flag flying among those from all the Nations at the UN?  That is because the Lions were instrumental in helping the UN get organized.  Later , at dark, we came back to Mathews County to watch the fireworks.  Let me share my thoughts about all this with you below the break.

Wow!

Not sure if this was posted already (and I apologize if it was), but this can't be repeated enough.

In a interview with the Las Vegas Sun, McCain, in responding to a question on why he didn't pick Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons to be his state chair joked:

I didn’t mean to snub him,. I've known the lieutenant governor for 15 years and we've been good friends....I didn't intend to snub him. There are other states where the governor is not the chairman.

(Maybe it's the governor's approval rating and you are running from him like you are from the president?)

(Chuckling) And I stopped beating my wife just a couple of weeks ago....

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Yes! He went there (again).

Here's the link to the Las Vegas paper:

http://lasvegassun.com/...

    There is a story taking place in America that is being buried by the media, the armed forces, and the politicians. This story is so frightening that no one wants to address it or even talk about it. This story has the potential to bring more violence to the streets of America than any terrorist attack. The frightening tale that is being ignored is the fact that we have ticking time bombs within our midst. They do not belong to al Qaeda or any other shady terrorist cell, they will not be profiled because they don’t have Mid-Eastern ancestry, nor are they Muslim extremists. These ticking time bombs are our own sons, daughters, fathers, and brothers. They are the returning soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A couple of days ago, there was an excellent diary by Magnifico that highlighted the corporate media’s blackout on reporting about Iraq – whether it be the horrors, the deaths, the violence, the lack of political progress or even any gains (not to mention the GAO’s own reports).  And rightfully so, this is disgusting and does a disservice to our troops and all Americans who are impacted directly or indirectly by the costs of the ongoing occupation-without-a-plan.

Yesterday I posted the following, below the fold, on my site and a few other boards, but before that and the reason for this post is something just coming across the wires, this:

Bomb kills 4 Americans at Baghdad council meeting

A bomb killed 10 people including two U.S. government employees and two U.S. soldiers at a council meeting in the Baghdad stronghold of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Tuesday, officials said.

This and the incident below, from yesterday, seem to show a rising dangerous coming trend in the Insurgency and Occupation!

I knew there was a problem, but I was unaware of the sheer size of the problem.

"people employed in the health care sector are 16 times more likely to be faced with violence while they are at their job than workers in any other service profession."

These and other numbers are found in

"There's No Vaccine For Violence: An Inside Look at the Deadly Realities of Working in Health Care."

More after the fold.

In 2008, no American should have to concern themselves with placing "Obama for President" bumper stickers on their cars. Unfortunately, my instincts told me otherwise. In recent months, my family has suffered three separate incidents on two cars - two flat tires and a broken driver's side mirror. And, of course, the removal of the stickers.

I stand resolute in my convictions that Barack is the answer to so many of our nation's ills - racism especially - but the hatred, the anger and the racism - as my peronal experiences will attest - can prove unsettling.

As everyone knows, Hillaryis44 is a pro-Clinton blog wherein comments are closely moderated. Comments that don't echo Hillary's talking points simply do not appear on the web site, period.

So why is it that these same moderators chose not to similarly censor an explicit call for violence at the upcoming meeting of the DNC's Rules & Bylaws Committee?

"I HOPE HILLARY DOES NOT GIVE IN. BLOW IT UP IF SHE HAVE TO."

We offer this  Litany of Ashes, Stones, & Flowers for use especially on Memorial Day. If possible, incorporate the names of Americans and Iraqis who have been killed in the Iraq war. There should be a pot or basket of ashes, one of stones, & one of flowers, and a large bowl of water  -- or a body of water (lake, river) -- at the place of the service.

[This litany was created by Rev. Patricia Pierce of Tabernacle United Church, Philadelphia, and Rabbi Arthur Waskow of The Shalom Center.]

John McCain is set to speak at the NRA annual meeting with Ted Nugent four days before the Kentucky primary on May 16th, 2008. McCain's campaign has kept this appearance low-key so far. I didn't see this posted yet, and I think it could be really damaging.

Why is this damaging for McCain? Well because Ted Nugent is a nut-job!

Why might McCain be reluctant to have himself officially listed on the NRA's event? The answer may well be his concern about being associated with Nugent who, less than one year ago, held up two machine guns at a concert and--in one of the most brazen displays of violent rhetoric by a well-known pundit ever caught on video--threatened the lives of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sen. Diane Feinstein, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and Sen. Barack Obama.

 This Tuesday, I was in Northwest Indiana, helping coordinate a massive GOTV canvass for Obama's campaign.  

When I came into the office in the wee hours of the morning, some friends of mine in the office showed me an internet news article, accompanied by this picture:

By seabrook at 2008-05-07

This image momentarily put me on edge.  But, soon after seeing it, I forgot all about it, as I re-immersed myself in the world of "turfs," "tiering," "canvass training," and the rest.  

More below...

Demonizing Iran is all the rage these days. Bush needs a daily fix, and Hillary is out there threatening to obliterate the nation. For what? For allegedly pursuing a fraction of the nuclear arsenal America and Israel have? For supporting the liberation of a neighboring country that suffers an illegal occupation and war crimes?

Iran has every right to aspire to an arsenal that is equal to that of their enemies. And since Bush has declared Iran an enemy and evil force, the circumstances surrounding their aspirations, if any (for none have been proven) are justified.

Grand Theft Auto IV arrives tomorrow for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. And, like Grand Theft Auto III through GTA: San Andreas, misguided, misinformed attention whores from both the Left and the Right are lined up around the block ready to extract their lump of publicity and flesh from everyone's favorite Murder Simulator.

Brent Bozo's Parent's Television Council recently took a break from watching all the Television and categorizing all the television you shouldn't be watching to issue ominous empty threats to retailers selling Grand Theft Auto IV.

California State Senator Leland Yee -- apparently having fixed California's Budget Crisis and having nothing better to do with his time -- has warned Parents that Grand Theft Auto IV is not for Kids. Apparently, Leland believes that the average Parent is incapable of reading the Rating (Mature 17+) on the box.

http://en.wikipedia.org/...

This diary is an expansion on comments I've made, and seen, time and time again.    

I've long made this assertion:  The American people will only go so far in protecting their own rights in this country, which is why the government invariably wins in the end.  They know we will only go so far, so all they have to do is be willing to go one step beyond that to shut us down.  Which is what they do, time and time again, while we cling to our grand notions of honorable debate, following the process and ineffective protesting.

This is not a diary advocating riots as a means of protest, it is merely to explore the particularly American reticence towards engaging with the government through such means, despite our vocal or hidden admiration for other societies and cultures who do choose to use riot as a legitimate means of taking back or seizing power from a government that has long overrun its checks and balances.  (See Tibet, France, Sweden, UK, Poland, Australia...with the exception of Tibet, these are NOT Third World countries!)

I don't live in Chicago but I feel for anyone that does since in the last  week alone I have heard about 38 people getting shot which resulted in nine deaths in one weekend, then yesterday about a shooting that killed at nine people and now I just read that five bodies were found in a house.
http://www.cbsnews.com/...

This is rich... I usually save my righteous scorn for "Western Christianity" but the Eastern folks have opened themselves up to some pretty righteous ridicule: nothing more "Christian" than resorting to brute violence at the site Christians consider the site of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Better still, how about beating the police called in to quell the violence with the palm fronds you're holding for Palm Sunday!?!

Orthodox Easter is this coming Sunday (they use a different liturgical calendar). Events at the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem turned violent between Greek and Armenian Orthodox Christians yesterday:Fight erupts in Jerusalem church

Yeah... this is the LOVE Jesus was talking about, folks!

More about how ridiculous this is below...

The New York Times and Wall St. Journal both cover the incredible events at Saturday’s Labor Notes conference in Michigan, where Andy Stern of SEIU International sent busload of male staffers to chase and harass RNs from the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, in retaliation for CNA/NNOC defeating them in a controversial “company union” vote last month in Ohio.  Fortunately the targeted RNs were able to escape out a back door, but other conference-goers were not so lucky, with one woman sent to the hospital, and others punched, kicked, slapped, and shoved

I have been paying attention to this election season since BEFORE it even started. But some of the latest happenings on the campaign trail have made me want to go Hmmmmmm.... The following is a list followed by a short rant.