Month: August 2009

The continual scorched earth policy used on President Obama continues.  In a phone conference with multi-denominational  religious leaders Mr. Obama told listeners:

“I know there’s been a lot of misinformation in this debate, and there are some folks out there who are frankly bearing false witness…[F]abrications…have been put out there to stop people from meeting a core moral and ethical obligation that we look out for one another … that I am my brother’s keeper, my sister’s keeper, and in the wealthiest nation on earth we are neglecting to live up to that call.”

President Obama has been accused of playing the God card and the right wing argument has now turned to keeping church and state separate.   Every president has spoken with the religious leaders of the nation.  This behavior fits in with tradition. So what’s the beef?

Apparently President Obama made reference to scripture when he spoke of ‘his brother’s keeper.’ Sorry, that doesn’t cut it in the preaching department. The Bible is also literature and educated people use scriptural references continually in every day language. It is rarely confused with proselytizing.

The only thing left to pick at is when Obama speaks of moral and ethical obligations. Religion owns neither of these terms. Some of the most ethical and moral people in history have not been noted for their religious beliefs, if they even had any. An atheist can be moral and ethical.

The moral and ethical consideration of health care reform is a huge one. When millions do not have basic health care coverage, we need to look at ourselves as a nation. No, we don’t have to adopt Great Britain’s plan, Canada’s plan, France’s plan, or anyone’s plan for that matter. What we can do is look at the good parts of each, and see how we might work them into our own program.

The Republicans had 8 years to revamp health care. They did nothing. They need to stop their whining and their reindeer games. They need to stop obstructionist politics.

 

 

 
Fans eagerly await former Secretary of Department of Homeland Security Tom Ridge’s new book entitled,

The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege…and How We Can Be Safe again. Secretary Ridge had not intended to write a ‘tell all’ book but he grew increasingly concerned over our complacency over matters of security.

Promotional material from Thomas Dunne Books includes:

Ridge was never invited to sit in on National Security Council meetings; was “blindsided” by the FBI in morning Oval Office meetings because the agency withheld critical information from him; found his urgings to block Michael Brown from being named head of the emergency agency blamed for the Hurricane Katrina disaster ignored; and was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush’s re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over.

Tom Ridge stands out, like Colin Powell, as a respected stateman who places country over politics. His new book is bound to stir up a hornet’s nest.

“What Tom Ridge disclosed confirms our worst suspicions,” said Sen. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who criticized the color-coded system back in 2003. “Just like they did in Iraq, the Bush Administration manipulated intelligence to cause fear in the public to further its political goals.”

The book comes out September 1. It is predicted to be a best-seller. I hope it will be available on Kindle immediately.

[UPDATE:  Just to be ‘fair and balance’ the Bush admin. response will be posted.]

Bush Administration response:

UPDATE: Former Bush administration officials are vehemently denying Ridge’s statements.

“We went over backwards repeatedly and with great discipline to make sure politics did not influence any national security and homeland security decisions,” former White House chief of staff Andy Card told Politico. “The clear instructions were to make sure politics never influenced anything.”

“Under no circumstance was Tom Ridge or anyone else directed to change the threat level,” former homeland security adviser Frances Townsend said. “It didn’t work that way, and it certainly didn’t work that way in 2004. It was always an apolitical process.”

Finally something most of us can agree on.  Ask any American and they will express their outrage over convicted bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi being freed to return home to Libya.  Megrahi was convicted and imprisoned for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 that blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 259 people aboard the plane and 11 on the ground in December, 1988. 

Megrahi was freed because he is terminally ill with prostate cancer.  He was given a hero’s welcome (despite President Obama’s warning to Libya that no hero’s welcome was in order)  at home in Libya where he continues to publically whine about about his innocence. 

Those 270 people who perished at the hand of this criminal would have probably have liked to have gone home and spent their last hours, days, months with their loved ones also, before being blown to bits.  Most civilized people have no compassion for this killer.  What on earth is wrong with Scotland for releasing him? 

Megrahi is not worthy of a picture.  He served 8 years of his sentence.

UPDATE   8/22/09

New York Times:  New Questions in Lockerbie Bomber’s Release

 

Several people on the previous thread accused the woman who  yelled out , ” Heil Hitler” to a Jewish man, of being a “plant”, put their to create a scene.  I would suggest to those people to watch and listen to conservative pundits.  Rush Limbaugh, the self proclaimed face of the conservative republican party, reinforces the craziness with talk such as this, suggesting that the health care logo represents a Nazi swastika.   Hmmm, I am beginning to worry about myself now!   I am against animal testing, believe my children and your children should breathe clean air, and believe health care is basic human right.   Uh Oh,  my Bubbie would be horrified, Rush thinks I’m a Nazi!

Seriously, are people really shocked that nuttiness like this is catching fire. As a Jew I am offended, greatly, that people would compare, very specifically, a debate on health care to Nazism. Glenn Beck, with his diatribe on healthcare reform being reminiscent of Hitlers eugenics, is only one of many. Listen to Anne Coulter, not a credible pundit, but she does have a following, she also compares President Obama to Hitler in this interview.

Hitler used fear, hate, and division to wield his power.  His improbable rise to power was because he used those less fortunate, those who were different, those who could be scapegoated.  President Obama has shared a message polar opposite of that twisted legacy, he has extolled upon us NOT to be divided by our differences, but to come together, to remember we are ALL Americans. 

We can debate policy differences, we can debate ideological differences, but there are NO similarities between President Obama and Hitler. 

Dictionary Definition:

loi·ter (loitr)
intr.v. loi·tered, loi·ter·ing, loi·ters
1. To stand idly about; linger aimlessly.
2. To proceed slowly or with many stops: loitered all the way home.
3. To delay or dawdle: loiter over a task

:

Prince William County Code Sec. 16-16 states as follows:

Any person who remains or loiters on property, whether such property is publicly or privately owned, in such a manner as to impede or hinder the passage of pedestrians or vehicles, or in such manner as to interfere with or interrupt the conduct of business, or who remains or loiters on such property knowing that an offense is being committed, or under circumstances which justify a reasonable suspicion that such person may be engaged in, or is about to engage in, a crime, or with the purpose of begging, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor; provided, however, that such person shall have first been instructed to move on by a law-enforcement officer and shall have failed or refused to comply with such instruction.

NO LOITERING signs have been up all over the place for years. Some of the signs are to keep kids from gathering and hanging out. Signs are put up to keep people from taking advantage of store fronts. In general, the loitering ordinances are to keep people from gathering where other people (usually shop owners or local governments) don’t want a crowd hanging out.

This post and resulting thread are to discuss loitering in general, not the specific case brought forth by the ACLU. Please keep case specific comments on the other thread. How are loitering laws used? Are they necessarily bad? Good? How do they help communities? How do they hurt communities?

Again, please honor the request–nothing specific here to the PWC case.

News of our demise has been greatly exaggerated. Sorry for the brief interruption. Thanks for the email alerting me to the fact that we were down. All is well now. Help was just a phone call away.

Open thread–