Where's the Outrage?

We have been in Afghanistan for over a decade. There is no excuse for this kind of behavior. None.

From BBC:

At least two of four US Marines shown in a video appearing to urinate on Taliban corpses have been identified, a Marine Corps official has told the BBC.

The video, which was posted online, purports to show the Marines standing over the bodies of several Taliban fighters, at least one of whom is covered in blood.

The Marines have begun a criminal investigation and an internal inquiry.

Update: Rick Perry proves that he is clueless what it means to be an American. We are a land of rules and laws. We honor our word. When we signed the Geneva conventions we have promised that we are not going to desecrate the bodies of those who died on the battlefield. Yet, for some reason Rick Perry doesn’t get this.

US officials and Afghan officials have condemned the video.

Tags: Military by ecthompson md
3 Comments »

Sometimes you just have to wonder what’s going on in America. I know that Americans are hurting. This is clear. It is also clear that First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Jill Biden have been traveling around the country trying to honor our military servicemen and their families. Booing them is simply classless.

Tags: Domestic Issues, Military by ecthompson md
2 Comments »

Perry - Pakistan [ 0:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In high school, you knew that there were some teachers who were going to call on almost every student in the room and therefore you had to be ready. These debates are exactly the same thing. You have to be ready. Rick Perry simply is not ready. I don’t know if he can remember what he’s been told. It is mind boggling how awful he has been in these debates.

So, you’re on Fox news and you getting softball questions about foreign policy. These are questions that you have been thinking about for the last six months. If you haven’t thought about these questions, why are you running for president? Rick Perry gets a softball question about what to do if a terrorist organization gets a hold of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. This is a nightmare scenario that the intelligence community has been talking about for over a decade. This is easy.

First, the right answer – If a terrorist organization gets a hold of a nuclear weapon, we have to approach the problem from multiple different areas. First of all, I’m on the phone with the director of the CIA and the director of National Intelligence. What do they know and what are our options? Secondly, I’m on the phone with the current president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari. What does he know? While I’m on the phone with him, we are coordinating a conference call with the presidents/Prime Ministers of Britain, France, Germany, India and we’re patching in the NATO commander. There will be several more calls over the next several hours. We need to have a strong, muscular coordinated response that secures the nuclear weapon or destroys it. It is clear that there are some factions within the Pakistani army and the Pakistani special intelligence forces that sympathize with the Taliban/Al Qaeda. We want Pakistan to know that they’re a sovereign country, but we also want them to know that we are going to take a strong and aggressive approach to this problem. There’ll be no negotiating with terrorists. The terrorists who have taken this nuclear weapon will be hunted down and captured or killed. We’ve proven that we have the capability and capacity to do this in Yemen (Anwar al-Awlaki) and with Osama bin Laden.

This is the right answer. This is the answer that plays well both with the Republican and Democratic audience.

What Rick Perry said was the wrong answer. What is he talking about regarding F-16 sales to India? I find it interesting that he mentions that the Obama administration did not sell F-16s to India but somehow he forgets to mention that the Obama administration has negotiated the sale of F-35s, one of our most sophisticated jets. How is the selling F-16 fighters to India going to do anything to secure a loose nuclear weapon in Pakistan? What you saw was Rick Perry in panic mode. Basically, his mind pulled up what ever he could remember about Pakistan. Admiral Mullen said something about a terrorist group. He remembered this and spewed it on stage. He remembered something about fighter jet sales to India. He said whatever came to his mind (unfortunately, nothing that came to his mind) and answered the question anyway. Fail!

Tags: Elections, Military, Party Politics, Rachel Maddow Show by ecthompson md
5 Comments »

I truly appreciate everything that Veterans past, present and future have done and will do for us.

THANKS!!

Tags: Domestic Issues, Military by ecthompson md
No Comments »

I’ve been enjoying a fabulous trauma conference in beautiful downtown Chicago. This is simply one of my favorite cities in all of the United States. The spring and fall will deliver weather that is unparalleled. Unfortunately, I got here just a little late in the season. It’s starting to get chilly. The Art Institute of Chicago is one of my favorite places.

Terrible plane crash in Reno, Nevada. Several deaths. Upwards of 50 or 60 injuries, according to some news reports. Very sad.

Inflation appears to be ticking up. This is really bad news. The things that the Federal Reserve can do to combat inflation hurt job growth and money availability. Most commonly, the Fed will increase interest rates and decrease the money supply. These actions will make money harder to come by and loans harder to come by. They will in turn cause a decrease in spending, which will then lead to prices coming down and breaking the back of inflation. I have no idea what the Fed does in the face of 9.1% unemployment, a stagnant economy and the beginnings of a bump in inflation. This is going to be interesting.

There was a special election in Anthony Wiener’s district in New York. The Democrat, somebody I’ve never heard of, lost to a Republican. There was/is a bunch of handwringing as, once again, the mainstream media is trying to convince the American people that this election was about Pres. Barack Obama. I find that most local elections are about local things. I think it is seldom the case that local elections are about national things. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think this election was about Anthony Wiener and his behavior. Barack Obama has plenty of other things to worry about.

Drone strikes in Yemen. There are some question whether the Yemeni government will collapse.

Somalia seems to be lapsing once again into famine. Unfortunately, the world has little or no stomach for aiding this dysfunctional and war-torn country.

A teenager in Horizon City, Texas is being brought up on charges of defrauding a community out of $17,000. It appears that the community believe that the teenager was dying of cancer.

I have no idea what’s going on in Egypt. Seems like there is chaos breaking out, again. There also seems there is a police crackdown, again.

There seems to be a real pathological brain injury associated with Gulf War syndrome. All I know is we need to take care of our troops. It’s our promise to them. As Americans, we must keep our promises.

If this story is true, I hope the prosecutor throws the book at this young lady. She “allegedly” started a charity for her lymphoma. She collected over $17,000 from a community called Horizon City, Texas. It turns out, she does not have cancer. This kind of behavior that we must stop in the United States. This is the kind of behavior that takes advantage of our good will and ruins our communities as we could begin to distrust each other about everything. (the earlier version of this news story made no sense. I have no idea what happened.)

There’s a new book about Sarah Palin and her life. This supposed to be some tell-all book. Stop it. A tell-all book? Why? I don’t like Sarah Palin because I think she is destructive. I don’t think that she has any answers for the problems of the United States. I really don’t care about some book that is not going to improve the economy or create jobs. Right now, the focus should be on jobs. That’s it. 24/7.

Tags: Economy, General, Military, Party Politics by ecthompson md
No Comments »

I continue to be flabbergasted by the callousness of Republicans. Eric Cantor has decided that $2 billion isn’t worth worrying about. I guess if you can’t worry about $2 billion then maybe $4 trillion could get his attention, maybe. The fact that the direct and indirect costs of the war could be as much as $4 trillion is not really a revelation to me. The problem I have is that Republicans continue to insist that throughout the Bush administration these wars were not to be expensive. As a matter fact, they suggested that it would be cheap. Remember how Donald Rumsfeld and his minions suggested that Iraq would pay for itself using oil revenues? We never even had the opportunity to have a real debate over the cost of the war because the wars were “paid for” by supplemental funding (deficit spending). Not once did Republicans stand up as a group and state they were spending an enormous amount of money and getting almost nothing in return. Not one of them said that we needed to cut something in order to pay for the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. Not one of them suggested that we needed to raise revenues in order to pay for these wars. Yet, now, when we try to spend money to stimulate the economy and make life better for the middle class, the Republicans are having none of it. Their hypocrisy is infuriating.

From Yahoo News:

When President Barack Obama cited cost as a reason to bring troops home from Afghanistan, he referred to a $1 trillion price tag for America’s wars.

Staggering as it is, that figure grossly underestimates the total cost of wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the U.S. Treasury and ignores more imposing costs yet to come, according to a study released on Wednesday.

The final bill will run at least $3.7 trillion and could reach as high as $4.4 trillion, according to the research project “Costs of War” by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. (http://www.costsofwar.org)

In the 10 years since U.S. troops went into Afghanistan to root out the al Qaeda leaders behind the September 11, 2001, attacks, spending on the conflicts totaled $2.3 trillion to $2.7 trillion.

Those numbers will continue to soar when considering often overlooked costs such as long-term obligations to wounded veterans and projected war spending from 2012 through 2020. The estimates do not include at least $1 trillion more in interest payments coming due and many billions more in expenses that cannot be counted, according to the study. (more…)

Tags: Budget, Military by ecthompson md
6 Comments »

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

One of the things that I really, really dislike about Washington is stupid stuff like this. I understand that some in Congress don’t like what the President is doing in Libya. Okay, if you don’t like what the President is doing then get some of your friends in Congress to vote to defund the Pentagon. Or you can pass a new law which would stop all military action in Libya. Don’t waste time with a resolution that has no teeth. Don’t waste time. Focus on stuff that isn’t simply symbolic. Focus on the economy. Focus on jobs!!!

Tags: Congress, Military, Obama administration, Rachel Maddow Show by ecthompson md
No Comments »

The Swing

• I took some golf lessons with my grandson yesterday. We then played a couple of holes of golf. Playing with a seven-year-old is clearly different than playing with my normal partners.
• President Barack Obama announced a loose timetable for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. I’ve talked about Afghanistan on a number of occasions on this blog. In 2006 and 2007, I referred to Afghanistan as the “good war.” That was probably a little naïve. If our goal remains to make sure that there is no sanctuary for Al Qaeda, I’m not sure that we’ve achieved that goal. I don’t think that we have the ability to remove lawlessness from the world. (Al Qaeda will always look for pockets of the world where government intervention is minimal. There remain vast spaces of Asia, Africa and the Middle East where this is still true.) So maybe our strategy should be to infiltrate pockets of extremism and strike when they become a threat. Anyway, I believe that President Obama has made the right step in drawing down our presence in Afghanistan.
• The McKinsey healthcare study has been widely panned. I think that healthcare needs to be a basic right in the United States. We need to extricate employers from the health-care system. Employers need to stick to what they do best. We need to be able to pay for basic healthcare services (we can argue or discuss what those basic healthcare services are) through a government based program.
• Denny Green, as coach of the Arizona Cardinals, had a famous tirade after losing a game. He stated, “They are who we thought they were.” I think the same can be said for Godfather Pizza CEO and Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain. The former CEO was asked about oil production and he said his solution would be to appoint oil executives to a commission or a board and they would tell him which regulations they would follow. Mr. Cain, we have been through this before. This was a core belief, a core principle of George W. Bush. Let industry police themselves. Sounds good, if it weren’t for all that money they would make by skirting the rules. Bush implemented such policies in Texas as governor and of course he implemented the same policies as president of the United States. What we got was lawlessness. Air quality worsened. Water quality worsened. Oil prices increased. The reason that we had several food recalls was that we weren’t policing the food industry any more. They cut corners and people died. We saw none of the benefits that Republicans have touted.
• More on the Justice Clarence Thomas ethics scandal. I have no idea how we can make this guy resign. He will not bow to pressure. Congress has little or no stomach for true investigations. Everything seems to turn into a political circus on Capitol Hill. I doubt the Justice Department wants to take on something so controversial. Therefore, Justice Thomas and his shady ethics will continue.
• Oh, let’s get back to Herman Cain. He’s happy to play the race card whenever it suits him. I think that suggesting that Jon Stewart is attacking him because he’s Black is not a good strategy. I think when you say something stupid like all bills should be no longer than three pages, you should expect to be late-night fodder.
• House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is pulling out of the deficit reduction talks. I think it’s a wise move. If you have no intention of compromise you shouldn’t take part in a discussion which requires compromise.
• Harvard study finds that peanuts are good for you and potatoes, not so much. If you want to stay slim, stick with peanuts.
• It appears the United States and several industrial allies are going to tap their oil reserves to release somewhere around 60 million barrels of oil over the next 30 days in order to compensate for the loss of Libyan oil.

Claude Monet's water lilies

• A reclusive heiress who recently died has left a Monet water lilies painting to the Corcoran Gallery of Art. I love Claude Monet‘s water lilies series.

Tags: Afghanistan, Healthcare, Military, Party Politics by ecthompson md
1 Comment »

• I was surprised at how nice it was to see Keith Olbermann back on TV.
• It is time that we honestly assess our obsession with pro sports. With state, local and federal agencies trying to cut back because Americans simply don’t want to pay more, why is Los Angeles looking for pro football team? Pro football even in the largest markets requires subsidies, huge subsidies, from the taxpayer. Their single largest expense is not their egotistical quarterback or their prized wide receiver. It’s their stadium. If we, the taxpayers, have to pay for the stadium then why don’t we get an opportunity to make some decisions on personnel and coaches and the direction of the team? Don’t get me wrong, I love football and basketball and tennis and golf, but if you’re going to aske me to shell out money for a stadium, then I should have a say in the team.

• Rory McElroy put the pedal to the metal and got an early lead at the U.S. Open. By Saturday, it was clear that he was going to win if he did not have another Masters-like meltdown. He did not. He rose to the occasion and cruised to victory. His meltdown at the Masters was really hard to watch. I am happy that he was able to get his mental game together. If he can avoid injuries, if he can keep his mind right, this young man has an opportunity to dominate golf for years to come.
• Finally, continuing on the topic of sports, Serena Williams has made a comeback at Wimbledon. She hasn’t played competitive tennis for almost a year. She won her first match, but it wasn’t easy. It is probably time to say that Serena is the best female tennis player of all time.
• A little bit more on Clarence Thomas. Justice Thomas seems to have some ethical problems. I have a problem with his wife involved with a Tea Party organization and a lobbying firm. Unless somehow she can prove that money given to her lobbying firm does not flow to her husband, this seems to be a conflict of interest. This whole thing just seems to smell funny.
• The fact that 93% of all top congressional staffers are white males is not really news. It proves that the more things change…
• In Libya, NATO bombs have gone astray, again. What is our goal here? To save innocent civilians?

• 18 months ago, I was standing in Athens with my wife. It was an incredibly peaceful, warm and inviting place. Now there are huge demonstrations as Greece is being asked by the European Union to tighten their belt.
• Suicide bomber kills 27 in southern Iraq. Six soldiers were killed two weeks ago in a rocket attack.
• In an announcement later on today, it is expected that President Barack Obama will announce that we’re pulling out of Afghanistan. I just wonder if this is going to be one of those symbolic pullouts or we really going to get all the troops out.
• We don’t need any new warnings on cigarette labels. This isn’t 1975. We all know the problems with smoking. Having pictures of some guy struggling to breathe in a facemask is not gonna stop people who smoke from smoking. Instead, we need for people who smoke to pay higher premiums because of their higher incidence of heart disease and pulmonary insufficiency. If cigarettes are going to be legal in this country, we’ve done all we need to do to inform the public of the dangers of smoking.
• Senator John McCain blames the huge Arizona fires on illegal immigrants. Now, it is true that we need to control our border. We need to know who’s coming and going in order for all of us to be safe. It is also true that there’s absolutely no evidence that illegal immigrants had anything to do with this huge, devastating fire. All I can do is shake my head. The senator knows better.
• Jon Huntsman has announced that he is running for president. In my opinion, several of these people, GOP candidates for president, are running now to set up a “real run” in 2016.

Tags: Afghanistan, Foreign Affairs, Healthcare, Military, Sports, Supreme court by ecthompson md
8 Comments »

I’m traveling again. Being herded from place to place in an airport makes me want to “moo.”

• Rondo proved once and for all that you need two good arms to play in the NBA. Boston dropped game four. Garnett was completely ineffective on offense. If Boston can’t generate any more offensive power than what we saw on Monday night, this series is over.
• If you break the law you should be punished. If you are convicted of marijuana (which should be legal) possession, you should go to jail. A life sentence is a waste of tax payer money and over the top.
• Pastor lies about being a Navy Seal. Come on.
• As expected, House Majority leader John Boehner is holding the economy hostage. He wants big cuts, again, before he will raise the debt ceiling.
• Newt Gingrich is going to run for president. Yep, that Newt. I guess being wrong on major policy decisions and flip-flopping on major policy issues doesn’t disqualify you.
• New Florida election law is a great way to exclude voters. This law should be unconstitutional.
• Microsoft to buy Skype. I think that I can outbid Microsoft. Hey, can I borrow $8.6 billion from someone?
• BTW, how hard is it to de-feather a room? After three calls to the front desk and housekeeping, the Sheraton proves that it is impossible. Fail!

What’s up with you?

Tags: Budget, Civil Rights, House of Representatives, Legal, Military by ecthompson md
1 Comment »

Tags: Foreign Affairs, Military, Obama administration, Other Political Thoughts, Security by Neil Aquino
2 Comments »

I have never liked the law Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It was stupid. It was an excellent example of liberal overreach combined with liberal spinelessness. Remember that President Clinton promised to end discrimination in the military. This was a great goal but he didn’t talk with the military or didn’t think that they would mind. He was talking and promising without thinking. Then he got elected and had to confront reality. The military wasn’t interested in changing, period. So, being a politician, President Clinton decided that he would compromise. Let’ s pick a halfway point, he thought. Well, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was that compromise. It was the halfway point between complete discrimination and complete equality. It was sort of discrimination which was sort of stupid.

So, the Senate finally voted to end this discriminatory policy. This is a great thing. Now, the military will have to adjust. The military will adjust because they are great soldiers who answer to the people.

From HuffPo:

The Senate voted 65-31 on Saturday to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, defeating a 17-year policy of banning gay and lesbian service members from serving openly in the military. Six Republicans initially crossed the aisle to vote against the policy: Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio).

The Senate vote is a vindication of Obama’s decision to push for congressional repeal as opposed to unilateral executive action, though activists note he could have done both. The Senate will make a final vote on ending the policy at 3 p.m.

In the first procedural vote on Saturday morning, 63 senators voted in favor of the bill and 33 against. In the final passage, Sens. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) switched their voted to “aye,” despite initially voting against moving forward with the bill.

“The important thing today is that 63 senators were on the right side of history,” Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, told HuffPost after the first vote, adding he sees the bill as a “stepping stone to further advances for the gay and lesbian community.”

Tags: Civil Rights, Military, Senate by ecthompson md
5 Comments »

I didn’t think that we were going to get this close. The House has passed a stand alone Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell bill. Here is Rep. John Lewis on the floor of the House urging repeal.

From TPM:

Tags: Military by ecthompson md
4 Comments »

• I am deeply saddened by the death of Elizabeth Edwards. Just yesterday, we heard that there was nothing more that the doctors could do and that should’ve been a clue that she was gravely ill. Her spunk and moxy are what drew many Democrats to her husband. My heart goes out to her family. May she rest in peace.
• Turmoil in the NFL. What’s new? The New York Jets got toasted last night. The New England Patriots boldly made the case for their being the best team in the NFL (without Randy Moss). Denver fired their coach, a very interesting and unexpected move. Albert Haynesworth got suspended by the Washington Redskins for four games for being a knucklehead.
• Did the White House compromise, again? So depressing. Here’s what’s in the tax deal. What, is the president going to take his case to the American people and fight for what he believes in? Or is this White House going to be known for its continual capitulation? Watch the video:

From Political Animal:

• Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) believes the defense authorization bill, including the provision repealing DADT, “will get to a vote” in the lame-duck session. Here’s hoping he’s right.
• Boosting hopes for ratification, at least a little, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) all but endorsed the pending arms control treaty, New START, during an interview this afternoon.
• The now-complete bailout of Citigroup generated a $12 billion profit for American taxpayers.
• The Campaign for America’s Future’s Bill Scher, who doesn’t always share the Obama administration’s priorities on economy policy, ran a compelling defense for the tax deal.
• Jonathan Bernstein: “The truth is that there are a lot of people who just don’t accept that the President of the United States can want something, fight for it, fight effectively and correctly, and still not get it. If it doesn’t happen, it must have been — in Obama’s words — a ‘betrayal.’ Those people are wrong.”
• How should Americans spend public money to get good teachers? Turns out, it’s a big question.
• Today is Dec. 7, known for being Pearl Harbor Day. Disgraced former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) encouraged his fans to honor the anniversary by buying his books. What a shameless hack.

Pearl Harbor facts:

• Not on the agenda – Americans during that time were still practicing Isolationism to some degree and wanted nothing to do with European affairs.  The idea was part of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” book he published during the American Revolution that advocated a parting from Britain.
• Deaths/Casualties – About 1178 Americans were injured and 2388 were killed from the attack on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941.
• Still Complacent – Pearl Harbor Day is not a federal holiday, believe it or not.  It seems that the government still has the mindset that no more attacks like this will happen on our soil, that it was an isolated event in our nation’s history. The truth is that we let our guards down and underestimated the burning desire of others who want this country’s pride tarnished.
• The USS Utah and Arizona – The only two ships hit on Pearl Harbor Day that were not salvaged after December 7, 1941.
• The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, congress convened for a vote of war. Surprisingly, given the gravity of the attack, there was one dissenting vote.  Who was it?  Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, a devout pacifist gave a thumbs down vote.

Tags: Congress, Economy, Military, Taxes by ecthompson md
No Comments »

I saw this on tweeter last night as my wife and I were driving back from Texas. I didn’t have the patience or skill to post it on my iPad so I’m posting it now.

From Zero Party Politics:

In an increasingly imperfect two-party system, I will be choosing between the lesser of two evils come November 2nd and avoiding anyone with an “R” beside their name on the ballot. I’m not a Democrat, but I’m also not an idiot, and I have a memory that goes back farther than 22 months. For the sake of giving a very sick America a chance to heal, I hope your memory goes back farther too.

The big question to consider before going to the polling booth next week and contemplating voting “R” again is “why?”

Why on earth would you ever consider voting for a Republican in 2010?

I realize government spending is the hot button issue utilized by those endorsing the GOP and their mentally challenged little brother, the “Tea Party.” However, before you decide to make the colossal mistake of linking “fiscal responsibility” with the GOP and its psychotic sibling, there may be a few hard issues you need to contemplate before you pull that trigger.

Let’s start with the big, bloated elephant (pardon the pun) in the room and address the issue of military spending which I freely admit is equally ignored by both parties. It’s bad enough when Democrats ignore the issue, but when the party which routinely preaches “fiscal responsibility,” ignores the most fiscally irresponsible exercise our government engages in, it becomes nearly impossible to take them seriously.

Before you cast your votes next Tuesday and fall victim to the same “neo-con” con again, please take the time to digest the gravity of this military spending problem while juxtaposing it with the other spending these Republicans and Tea Baggers routinely complain about.  If you can reconcile GOP indifference to defense spending with GOP complaints about TARP spending, Stimulus spending, and Healthcare spending, then please also consider purchasing this bridge I have for sale in Brooklyn–I can certainly use the money.

Let’s consider our military budget so that we can fully realize the GOP hypocrisy here. When adding the Department of Defense budget for 2010 (over $719 billion) with other defense related costs in the federal budget, such as International Security Assistance, Veterans Benefits and Services, Interest on National Debt Attributable to Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and other non-DOD “defense” related expenditures, we are due to spend over a trillion dollars this year on our military.

Let me repeat that. We are spending a TRILLION DOLLARS A YEAR ON OUR MILITARY.

Recall what Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican President, a five-star general, and the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in World War II declared in his farewell address to the American people when leaving office in 1961:

“…we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes.”

Back when the Republicans were a serious political party, they actually used to worry about an out-of-control military which demanded out of control spending.

But the Republicans aren’t a serious party anymore, so they commonly say very silly things to justify a ridiculous defense budget while claiming there is no money left over for anything else. They’ll routinely cite to the Preamble of the Constitution claiming “providing for the national defense” is right there in black and white. They’re able to get away with this because they are leading an army of drones, and drones rarely scrutinize any information given to them.

Here’s how the Preamble to the Constitution reads by the way:

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Aha! See? Not one mention of “healthcare” and there was “common defense” as PLAIN AS DAY! (Of course there was no mention of ICBM’s either, but this is not a time for logic.)

Do we really need to explain to the party of “duh” why “provid[ing] for the common defense” does not justify the expenditure of a trillion dollars a year?

Of course we do—they are, after all, the party of “duh.” (more…)

Tags: Military, Party Politics by ecthompson md
9 Comments »

I am currently deep in the heart of Texas. I’m in Dallas, my hometown. I just ran out of the store to get something and I saw a sign in the store window, asking us to donate $.70 to get a Christmas card for servicemember overseas. That sounds nice, doesn’t it? Send a Christmas card to someone who can’t be home for Christmas. Of course, there was the obligatory, “support your troops.” I then glanced across the street and noticed that on the lamppost there was a small flag in patriotic colors featuring a saluting soldier. Underneath the soldier was the slogan, “We Support the Troops.”

I have nothing against slogans or Christmas cards. As a matter of fact, I like Christmas Cards. I prefer real support, though, as opposed to this faux support. Real support means spending the money to get the troops the equipment they need. This means even supporting a tax increase if needed in order to buy the equipment needed to protect our troops. It means that we would buy war bonds if necessary to support our troops. In addition to making sure they have the necessary equipment, we need to increase the salaries of our troops. I’m not talking about the salaries of the generals and other top brass. I’m talking about the salaries of those who are being shot at and are doing the grunt work on a daily basis – the privates and the corporals and the sergeants. Finally, we must support our troops when they get home. They need adequate psychiatric care. They need adequate medical care. We need to upgrade our VA facilities. They need job training. The bottom line is we need to do more or we’re not truly supporting our troops.

From TP:

According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America Action Fund, Republicans in Congress have dramatically failed to support our troops after they come home. IAVA’s 2010 Veteran Report Card, based on the key veterans’ legislation that came to a vote during the 111th Congress, exposed a sharp partisan divide on the level of support for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, as MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow tabulated yesterday. Of the 94 elected officials that earned an A or A+ rating from IAVA, 91 were Democrats. Of the 154 officials who received a D or F, 142 were Republicans:

Click to enlarge

Maddow also noted that U.S. Senate candidates Sharron Angle (R-NV) and Ken Buck (R-CO) have called for the privatization of the Veterans Affairs hospital system, even though it provides the best quality of care in America, as our veterans deserve.

Tags: Military by ecthompson md
4 Comments »

My first two installments are here and here. Let’s continue.

• When did it start making good business sense for the U.S. to hold preferred stock positions in small local banks, as the new small business stimulus allows?
• When did it become fiscally responsible to have to borrow just to pay interest on the National Debt?
• When did it become fiscally responsible governing to owe so much money to a country like China?
• When did we become a nation in which WE THE PEOPLE told the government what we wanted, and then were ignored by those whom we voted into office?

When did it make business sense not let the economy collapse? Sometimes it is mind-boggling that conservatives ask these questions. Let’s go back. The U.S. economy was in freefall. Because of complex derivatives, credit default swaps, CDOs and other exotic financial tools, our banks are more interconnected than ever. It turns out that almost 1/4 of the banks in the United States own stock in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. You don’t have to be a financial genius to figure out that if some of these banks have borrowed against these stock holdings, they are in trouble. The question is, what would be the intelligent way to stabilize small banks? Conservative ideology would tell you to let the market sort it out. Translation: let millions more Americans lose their jobs, let the credit markets seize up and convince Americans this is all for their own good. Or, intervene, stabilize the markets, stabilize the small banks and mitigate the suffering and loss for the American people. One way can keep Americans working and the other invites a second Great Depression.

When did it become fiscally responsible to have to borrow just to pay interest on the national debt? Where’ve you been? Republicans haven’t been fiscally responsible since before Nixon. The interest on our national debt in 1988, the last year of the “Great Communicator” was $214 billion. Where was your outrage then? When George H. W. Bush and then George W. Bush, the sequel, never presented a balanced budget to Congress, where was your outrage?  I guess it became okay to let China buy our debt when it became okay to go to war over oil. A war that we never budgeted for, never decided to sell war bonds to pay for. Where was your outrage… then? I have a huge problem with this selective financial argument. Look, if you want to be financially responsible then let’s have an honest discussion on how D’s and R’s aren’t getting it done. If we are going stand around and fear-monger, then I don’t have time for that. Sorry.

When the majority of Americans decided they did not want to go to war in Iraq, where was your frustration, outrage and condescension? Gallup polls just before the invasion show the majority of Americans were not in favor of the war. How was that different? Was that just a strong president being decisive?

So, instead of asking thoughtful questions we have a list of partisan pet peeves. That’s fine, but it does nothing to further our national debate. How do we get out of this massive debt hole? I’m happy to have the discussion. I’m happy to have the discussion just as long as everything is on the table, but for the most part, conservatives don’t want everything on the table. The defense budget is off-limits. When did it become fiscally responsible to spend tens of billions on missile defense when test after test has shown that it doesn’t work? We don’t have the available technology right now. Why don’t we scale back, go back to the drawing board, something? Instead, we keep throwing good money after bad. I’m happy to have the discussion about cutting Medicare and Medicaid benefits as long as conservatives are happy to have the discussion about raising taxes. If the goal is to decrease deficits, then we need to increase revenues and decrease expenses. Put everything on the table. Now let’s have the discussion.

Tags: Budget, Economy, Military, Party Politics by ecthompson md
16 Comments »

We already have laws in the US against discrimination. We have amended the constitution to make sure that we aren’t discriminating against anyone, yet we are having this stupid debate over gays in the military. Why? What’s the problem? Gays have been serving in the military since the Revolutionary War. There are codes in the military about unwanted sexual advances. So what is the problem? There are gays in the military now. I just don’t understand the opposition. Sen. Al Franken made a very emotional speech from the floor of the Senate last night. Take a look:

Shortly after Senate Republicans and two Democrats blocked a vote to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Sen. Al Franken gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor.

Franken (D-MN) told a story about one of his trips to entertain the troops when he was a comedian, and started to choke up over the people who told him they were gay. You can watch him get emotional as he tells the story below.

Franken said the year was 2006 and it came at a time when the military had a tough time recruiting. He said they gave waivers for just about everything at the time.

“If you ask every man and woman on that base, who would you rather have standing to your right, standing to your left, that gay man or that gay woman who has been serving with you the last year, or somebody comes in here with a moral waiver and those troops who had moral waivers, many of them served very honorably and bravely, or some with a cognitive waiver, many of those flourished in the military and are doing great things,” Franken said.

He added: “All gay and lesbian service members want to be able to serve. Instead, people are getting kicked out of the military. People who don’t need any moral waiver, people who don’t need standards lowered for them in order to serve. People who are patriotic and courageous and who have vital, irreplaceable skills.”

Tags: Civil Rights, Military by ecthompson md
33 Comments »

I’m not sure why some Americans feel that burning books would accomplish anything. I’m not sure what motivates one to burn books. Looking back throughout history, I am hard pressed to find righteous individuals burning books.

I remember back when DJs decided it was a good idea to burn CDs of the Dixie Chicks. These women had the nerve to stand up and say that invading Iraq was wrong. Now, the majority of the American people agree with the Dixie Chicks. So, what was accomplished?

From TPM:

As Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center gets ready to burn copies of the Koran at his Gainesville, Florida church this Saturday (September 11), many national voices are calling for him to change his plans. House Minority Leader John Boehner, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and RGA Chairman Haley Barbour have all criticized the planned Koran burning. And Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander of the Afghanistan War, has gone as far as to say that the plan could put American troops in danger.

But as Jones forges full-speed ahead with his incendiary event, some of the nation’s most prominent Islamophobic voices have expressed their opposition (though usually with caveats), to Jones’ idea…. (more…)

Tags: Afghanistan, Military, Religion by ecthompson md
25 Comments »

I was about to begin this post by saying I’d never heard of Vernon Baker but then something went off deep inside my very tired brain. I searched my blog and lo and behold, I wrote about Vernon Baker back in 2007.

From the Grio:

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society announces that 1st Lt. Vernon Baker, Medal of Honor recipient, passed away Tuesday evening at his home in St. Maries, Idaho at age 90.

Then 2nd Lt. Baker was assigned to the segregated 370th Regiment of the 92nd Infantry Division–the first African-American unit to enter combat in World War II.

In the spring of 1945, Lt Baker, the only African-American officer in his company, was in command of a weapons platoon ordered to launch an assault against a mountain stronghold occupied by the Germans. Moving ahead of the other platoons they encountered intense fire that inflicted heavy casualties. By afternoon, his captain ordered a retreat and Baker and his six remaining men covered their retreat, killing 26 enemy soldiers, destroying six machine gun nests, two observer posts and four dugouts. The next day, Baker volunteered to lead a battalion assault. Picking their way through minefields and heavy fire they finally secured the position at the top of the mountain.

Former President William J. Clinton presented 1st Lt. Baker with the Medal of Honor–the highest award given to those who acted with uncommon, selfless courage–on Jan. 13, 1997 for his actions April 5-6, 1945 near Viareggio, Italy during World War II.

1st Lt. Baker was one of seven African-American service members to receive the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions in WWII as a result of a review of the individual records of African-American service members in the early 1990′s. At the time, no African-Americans had been awarded the Medal of Honor despite their heroic exploits inWWII. Vernon Baker was the only one of the seven still alive when the Medal of Honor was awarded. His actions had previously earned him the Distinguished Service Cross.

Tags: Military by ecthompson md
No Comments »