Don't let it get me!!!

Despite all the Conservative and Evangelical Christians trying to put a damper on Halloween, I still enjoy the holiday.  I love seeing the kids in their costumes and giving out candy and I see no harm in it.  Republican party poopers like Bush and Cheney and the rest of their wingnut bunch simply cannot stand to see anyone have any fun.  I would think they would really like the darker side of Halloween like the torture and terror of the movies around this date.  After all, they love scare tactics, enhanced interrogation and fear.

That said, I am going to take the weekend to celebrate in my small town with the rest of the citizens here.  Lunacanus will be back on Monday with opinions and news about what is going on in the world.  Until then, I will leave you with some scary pictures.  I hope they don’t interrupt your sleep.

EEEEEEEKKKKK!

Run, Children,Runnnnnn!

It Lives!!!!

Leatherman!!!

The future of the United States military presence in Afghanistan is currently being debated in Washington and on the airwaves.  As casualties of this war increase and flag draped coffins continue to return to our own and other nations our country  is facing a decision that could shape our foreign policy and national identity for decades to come.

It seems to me that after the eight years we have had troops in Afghanistan we are no closer to victory today than we were the day the first U.N. soldiers arrived.  We have been at war now in Afghanistan longer than we were in WWI and WWII combined.  Our troops are in some of the most unforgiving terrain in the world and are fighting not only the enemy but the weather and the very ground itself.  On top of that we are attempting to somehow reboot the very way the people of this country live their lives and reshape the very core of their being.  No easy task.  Some would say an impossible goal.

I feel we have taken a step beyond an army of war and entered the realm of an army of occupation in Afghanistan.  I think now after eight years with no end to conflict in sight, we as a people are just now starting to realize why Afghanistan is known as “The Graveyard of Empires”.  For centuries armies have attempted to conquer this land and failed.  These armies have belonged to the most powerful nations of their time and have been armed with the most modern weapons available.  They have faced the same terrain and culture that our army faces today and in some cases have been wiped out with no or only a single survivor.  The empires have come and gone but Afghanistan has never been defeated.

Now, faced with the same obstacles as other generals before them our military leaders have made the same request as those defeated leaders from history have, give me more men.  It is sound military strategy, after all.  If you are losing with the troops you have, then request more troops.  The only problem with sound military strategy is that is has never applied to Afghanistan.  For some reason this country and the people that live in it can defeat sound military strategy and by putting more troops on the ground you simply give them more targets to shoot at.

The big question facing our nation right now is if forty thousand more soldiers on the ground will allow us to achieve victory in Afghanistan?  I for one, think not.  I do believe it would extend the war for years if not decades to come with ever mounting casualties on both sides of the conflict but with never an end in sight.

Can a war in Afghanistan be won? most certainly.  The United States however is not the country to fight that war.  The tactics needed to win in Afghanistan would be Stalinist to say the least.  It would require a scorched earth and poisoned well policy.  It would require daily searches of homes to confiscate weapons and drugs.  It would require several million troops on the ground and several thousand aircraft to support them.  It would require enough men and equipment to completely seal all borders to the country.   In short, it would require a total suppression of the Afghan people, forcing them to live in little more than an open air prison.  This is a policy that the United States cannot morally or financially afford.  It is a strategy that would never mesh with our values as a people and quite frankly would achieve nothing.

What we are fighting against in Afghanistan is not only a way of life, but a religious ideal.  No amount of soldiers on the ground, money from the C.I.A. or political corruption can defeat it.  History has shown us time and time again that you cannot defeat a people determined to follow an ideal.  If you choke off the ideal in one area it simply thrives in another.  When you move to that area it springs up again where you just left.

We are involved in a war in Afghanistan that is so similar to Vietnam it is eerie.  Corrupt puppet leaders supported by American troops, C.I.A. black ops and financing of that leaders brother to the tune of millions of dollars, crooked and rigged elections, other world powers defeated one after another before us, division on the home front and the simple fact that the only part of the country that U.S. troops control is the part where they are standing.  All and all, not the best position for an occupational army to be in.

For what it is worth I would say we get out and get out now.  We can still monitor the situation from the air and bomb anything that looks even half way suspicious to our hearts content.

Troops on the ground in Afghanistan is not now nor has it ever been the answer.

Afghan terrain and weather combine to cause almost impossible fighting conditions, equipment failure and low morale.

California Judge David O. Carter has dismissed Barnett et al v. Obama et al, Orly Taitz’s most successful lawsuit.   It is the suit that has made it the farthest through the legal system.  But Taitz and the birthers were dealt a severe blow when Judge Carter brought a close to her nonsense as far as his court is concerned.  His ruling reads like a slap in the face for the birther movement.  Now maybe these wingnut  so called Conservatives will crawl back under their rocks.

However, I wouldn’t put it past Taitz, in her search for publicity and attention to try again and again.  This woman is bat guano crazy and she can’t seem to get it through her head that her fifteen minutes is as over as her nuisance lawsuits.  At the very least, she should lose her license to practice any kind of law.  We can thank an online law degree and the State of California for allowing her to be granted the privilege to practice law in the first place.  She is an embarrassment to California, the legal profession, dentistry, real estate professionals and the United States of America among others.

Here is an excerpt of the disposition:

Interpreting the Constitution is a serious and crucial task with which the federal courts of this nation have been entrusted under Article III. However, that very same Constitution puts limits on the reach of the federal courts. One of those limits is that the Constitution defines processes through which the President can be removed from office. The Constitution does not include a role for the Court in that process. Plaintiffs have encouraged the Court to ignore these mandates of the Constitution; to disregard the limits on its power put in place by the Constitution; and to effectively overthrow a sitting president who was popularly elected by We the People‚ sixty-nine million of the people. Plaintiffs have attacked the judiciary, including every prior court that has dismissed their claim, as unpatriotic and even treasonous for refusing to grant their requests and for adhering to the terms of the Constitution which set forth its jurisdiction. Respecting the constitutional role and jurisdiction of this Court is not unpatriotic. Quite the contrary, this Court considers commitment to that constitutional role to be the ultimate reflection of patriotism. Therefore, for the reasons stated above, Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED.

Now please, CNN and the rest of the media.  Don’t give her anymore air time!  This country has far more important things to be paying attention to and besides, this broad is getting very, very boring.  Obama was born in Hawaii, and it has been proven.  That is all that needs to be reported.

Read the entire ruling at the link:

http://washingtonindependent.com/65703/orly-taitz-smacked-down-birther-lawsuit-dismissed

Please make this embarrassing woman go back where she came from, or lock her up in an institution, , one of the two.

Last night on Countdown, former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean gave his take on the health care reform bill that the House is taking to the floor.  Howard Dean is a medical doctor and, as proved by the 2008 election, a great political strategist, so I have a high regard for his opinion and advice.

I think Dr. Dean is right about the House health care bill.  It isn’t everything we want, but it is a great start.  I followed this man’s advice as far as working in the 2008 elections and he was right.  I don’t tend to follow anyone blindly, but Dr. Dean has been right about so many things and his knowledge of health care is vast, so I will take his word on this and wait.

Watch his interview on Countdown.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is asking for our help.  He wants Americans to stand up and help him fight for the Public Option in the health care reform package.

If you think this bill that the Senate has come up with isn’t a good idea, or will not get the job done, just consider what Andrew Sullivan at the Daily Dish has to say, and bear in mind he is no Progressive and usually leans right.

Andrew Sullivan, whose “Daily Dish” blog on the Atlantic’s Web site often limns the conservative perspective, says that Senate majority leader Harry Reid’s plan for a government-run insurance option — from which states could opt out — will put Republicans in a bind, even if they consider the public option an evil liberal plot. That’s because “it forces Republicans not to rail against socialism in the abstract but to oppose actual benefits for the working poor in reality.”

Why the Public Option Opt-Out Puts Republicans in a Bind

When others in other states can get such a plan, will there not be pressure on the GOP to help their own base? Won’t Bill O’Reilly’s gaffe – when he said what he believed rather than what Roger Ailes wants him to say – be salient? Won’t many people – many Republican voters – actually ask: why can’t I have what they’re having?

Imagine Republicans in state legislatures having to argue and posture against an affordable health insurance plan for the folks, as O’Reilly calls them, while evil liberals provide it elsewhere. Now, of course, if the public option is a disaster in some states, this argument could work in the long run. But in the short run? It’s political nightmare for the right as it is currently constituted. In fact, I can see a public option becoming the equivalent of Medicare in the public psyche if it works as it should. Try running against Medicare.

The genius of the opt-out is that it coopts the states’ rights argument (just as ending the prohibition on marijuana does); it has the potential to make “liberalism’ popular again; it has easily demonized opponents – the health insurance industry; and it forces Republicans not to rail against socialism in the abstract but to oppose actual benefits for the working poor in reality.

It’s a brutal, Chicago-style political maneuver. And Obama appears not to be the person really pushing it.

Watch the video from Senator Reid:

Andrew Sullivan, whose “Daily Dish” blog on the Atlantic’s Web site often limns the conservative perspective, says that Senate majority leader Harry Reid’s plan for a government-run insurance option — from which states could opt out — will put Republicans in a bind, even if they consider the public option an evil liberal plot. That’s because “it forces Republicans not to rail against socialism in the abstract but to oppose actual benefits for the working poor in reality.”

Why the Public Option Opt-Out Puts Republicans in a Bind

When others in other states can get such a plan, will there not be pressure on the GOP to help their own base? Won’t Bill O’Reilly’s gaffe – when he said what he believed rather than what Roger Ailes wants him to say – be salient? Won’t many people – many Republican voters – actually ask: why can’t I have what they’re having?

Imagine Republicans in state legislatures having to argue and posture against an affordable health insurance plan for the folks, as O’Reilly calls them, while evil liberals provide it elsewhere. Now, of course, if the public option is a disaster in some states, this argument could work in the long run. But in the short run? It’s political nightmare for the right as it is currently constituted. In fact, I can see a public option becoming the equivalent of Medicare in the public psyche if it works as it should. Try running against Medicare.

The genius of the opt-out is that it coopts the states’ rights argument (just as ending the prohibition on marijuana does); it has the potential to make “liberalism’ popular again; it has easily demonized opponents – the health insurance industry; and it forces Republicans not to rail against socialism in the abstract but to oppose actual benefits for the working poor in reality.

It’s a brutal, Chicago-style political maneuver. And Obama appears not to be the person really pushing it.

Watch the video from Senator Reid:

After you read this post, please go to the Harry Reid petition post on this blog to show your support for Senator Reid and let Senators know that people in all states, including their own are behind this.

This is a special Lunacanus shout out to all the teabaggers, tea party expressers and three corner hat wearers out there.  I have seen you on television and read your  misspelled signs about how you want the government to keep its hands off your Medicare.  I thought you might like to know that there is  now an obviously fascist, communist, socialist government politician that wants to turn your medicare over to the tender mercies of the big insurance companies.  We all know what a nightmare that would be for our seniors and disabled people what with insurance company’s high premiums and preexisting clauses not to mention denial of legitimate claims.  This politician obviously believes in letting our seniors suffer and die and should justly be the next focus of your righteous wrath.

What diabolical plans are currently in this mans head we can only guess.  Turning your health care over to insurance companies and putting them between you and your doctor is a total disregard for your rights.  Next thing you know he will want to invest the money set aside for social security in the stock market!  This must be some sort of plot on behalf of irresponsible leadership to undermine our nation and the status quo and is an obvious attempt to redistribute wealth from the poor to the already rich.  This man must be stopped!  I call on you to stand by what you say and keep government out of your Medicare!  Stand up and protest this obviously fascist, communist, socialist politician.

Who do we hate for this you ask?  Who dares to interfere with our Medicare you ask?  Who do we protest for this dastardly deed you ask?

Well pack your bags and board your buses because your destination is Georgia, the state represented by Paul Broun.  Yes, John Broun, a Republican representative.  Its obvious his power has  gone to his head if he thinks you will let him get away with these actions!

So print your signs, dust off your three corner hats, board the express and go protest Paul Broun today!

Read link:

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/26/broun-privatize-medicare/

This is your target teabaggers and other wingnuts. Representative Paul Broun, Republican of Georgia. He's trying to steal your Medicare! Protest him and bring the same guns you did to protest Obama.

We all know the story of Bill Sparkman, the Kentucky Census Worker who was found dead in a park with a rope around his neck and tied to a tree with the word Fed scrawled across his chest.  Last we heard, officials were trying to determine if his death was an accident, homicide or suicide.  Most people had already decided that it must be a homicide, due to the circumstances of the death.

At the time this man died, the Republicans and the Conservative Christians, led by Fox News with their teabagger events were whipping the rights wingnut fringe into a frenzy over health care reform, the census and any other thing they could think up.  I can see why the US Government as well as that of the State of Kentucky would want the atmosphere to cool down a bit before making public any details of the investigation.  No use in throwing gasoline on a spark to turn it into a raging fire.  But it does seem as though enough time has passed that this death could be labeled either a homicide, suicide or accident.

Finally there has been an update on the investigation.  From the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky:

London, Ky. — Police said on Tuesday that they have made considerable progress in the death investigation of part-time Census employee Bill Sparkman and are confident the case will be solved — and probably within weeks, not months.

“There will be a resolution,” said Capt. Lisa M. Rudzinski, commander of the state police post in London, which is leading the investigation. “We’re much closer than we were.”

Rudzinski said investigators are waiting for forensic-test results from the State Police Crime Lab, but she wouldn’t go into specifics except to say that the “nature of the scene and subsequent investigation” were complicated and police wanted to make sure they were certain before making an announcement.

I know that crimes do not get solved in an hour or two like they do on television dramas and in the movies.  But it seems to me that this particular crime is taking an inordinately long time.  I will continue to watch this case and bring the readers of this blog updates as I am aware of them.  I will do this because I hate it when I read something interesting, wait for a follow up and in the end never get an answer.

Read the rest of the Courier-Journal article at the link.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091027/NEWS01/910270355/Death+investigation+of+Census+worker+expected+to+be+resolved+within+weeks

The FBI and even the State of Kentucky have better crime investigation tools than this. At least Bill Sparkmans family and friends deserve an answer to the circumstances of his death.

Today it seems everyone is more intent on not offending anyone else than ever before.  It is apparent that some view race relations in our country under an ever larger microscope and that even casual off hand comments can now mark a person as a racist.  Then the news will pick it up and everyone on both sides of the issue jumps on a bandwagon and soon there is some sort of media generated race crisis in the works.  Is this true or is it just one more way for the media and the powers that be to keep us segmented into small groups and out of the larger group that is American citizens?

Granted there are those among us who are racist.  There are those in the media that are not only racist but seem to revel in fanning the flames of racial intolerance.  Sadly there are even those who hold elected office that try to use racial bias and mistrust to achieve political goals.  This is just the way things are but why do we and the media fall for it every single time?

In a recent comment a sports caster while joking with his collages made an offhand remark that a Hispanic race car driver who did not finish the race was out getting a taco.  Now today this is a story on C.N.N., M.S.N.B.C. and Fox.  The sports caster was forced to make an apology for his supposed racist comment.  The question I have is was it really a racist comment or just a comment?

Seriously folks, there are certain foods that are related to certain cultures.  When your talking about food what cultures do these foods bring to mind: Spaghetti, Strudel, Sushi or Curry.  If you answered anything other than Italian, German, Japanese or Indian than you are in a state of self denial.  So the question is when you relate a food to the culture it came from are you being a racist?  If you are then there are numerous racist restaurants out there that claim to serve the best ethnic version of a certain food.  You better check your grocery store for the racist isle markers they put up to direct you to what you want to find and you better check your own mind when you think of food.

Depending on just how P.C. we want our country to become then we can let others start to divide us not only by race and culture but by where we live.  You could say that Philly Cheese Steaks are a regional slur against the city of brotherly love.  You could say Gumbo is a slur against New Orleans.  Fried chicken is a slur on the south, Pinks hot dogs a slur against L.A., deep dish pizza a slur against Chicago and B.B.Q. a slur against Kansas City.  Seriously people where do we draw the line?

I grew up in just outside Kansas City and am proud to have sampled some of the finest B.B.Q. in the world as a child.  Should I take it as a slur against me when people say that I grew up on that food?  No. When I think about how much I miss Gate’s and Bryant’s I prefer to think on how good it would be to have a serving of that food again.  Just as I am proud while I lived in L.A. to have stood in line at 3AM at Pinks for a dog.  The only thing that a person could mention about the food of my bloodline that I want no part of is Haggis.  Sorry to all the Scots that like it, I just don’t!  If you said I liked it I would call you nuts but would not take it as some sort of racial slur.

We cannot have it both ways folks.  We cannot be proud of our heritage and hold parades in honor of it to gain recognition of it by others in our nation and then when it is recognized by others call them racist.

We all need to grow up and get a little thicker skin or bury that heritage we are all so proud of and just become Americans.  In that case we could all take offense the next time someone mentions eating a cheeseburger.

Perhaps by the time this child is grown, we will all just think of ourselves as Americans and be a large, if not entirely happy family.