As many of you know, the GSL school district has been in statutory operating debt for a few years now. They have also failed to pass a new levy each of the past two years.
The school board will hold an open forum on Monday March 5th at 7pm, at the high school auditorium.
I'll be there! Will Dille and Shimanski show up?
For a great piece on school funding issues, check out Christoper Truscott's work. It's always high quality stuff!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Mark Olson: Justice delayed
A LTE in the SC Times this morning hits Representative Mark Olson for contradictions between his personal life and his campaign rhetoric.
Indeed. Responsibility and accountability seem to have been lost with some of our elected leaders. Perhaps Olson sees the writing on the wall and is delaying the inevitable? Who knows, but in the meanwhile, constituents in our area suffer, while a legislator flops in limbo.
First he asked for a new arraignment to start the process all over again. When that was denied, he asked for a trial date in June, after the legislative session was over. The judge offered him three trial dates, one in March, April and May. Olson took the last one.
His efforts seem to be aimed at delaying the inevitable ethics investigation and his possible expulsion until the next session in January, rather than bringing this matter to a close and moving on.
... Olson ran on the issues of personal integrity and responsibility for one's actions. It's past the time for him to apply this slogan to himself.
Indeed. Responsibility and accountability seem to have been lost with some of our elected leaders. Perhaps Olson sees the writing on the wall and is delaying the inevitable? Who knows, but in the meanwhile, constituents in our area suffer, while a legislator flops in limbo.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Problems in Minnesota Veterans Homes...and more
While conservative bloggers and their blogosphere manufacture outrage towards Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and Al Franken, we receive more news of substandard care for our Veterans.
At work tonight, I came across the new Newsweek which had the cover story of our "Forgotten Heroes" depicting the plight of our nations Veterans.
Then, talking to my significant other, she informed me of the Startribune headlines, about 3 deaths in the Minneapolis Veterans Home.
"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."
Governor Pawlenty has ordered the Minnesota Department of Health to take over operations at the Minneapolis Veterans Home, a state owned nursing home.
At this point, the $7 million is insignificant.
This comes on the heals of the recent suicide of Jonathan Schulze, a 25 year old Marine from Stewart, Minnesota and the horrendous conditions from which our soldiers and Veterans are living through at Walter Reed Army Hospital.
I watched testimony in the past weeks, of administrators and primary care givers from the Veterans Homes, testifying before a Minnesota House committee. Administrators made no indication in the committee that the homes were suffering significant problems. These committee hearings were in late January as well, after these deaths occurred.
Nursing professionals differed in their testimony from the administrators. They discussed great concern over a lack of qualified nurses and conditions that hindered their performance of duties.
Obviously, our military health care system is stretched beyond its means. It's really pathetic.
We deployed for this war with not enough soldiers. General Shinseki fell on his sword for this one.
Once there, our soldiers did not have the equipment needed to protect themselves. Armored Hummers and personal body armor were in such short supply, soldiers had to improvise for their protection.
Some are on their 4th and 5th deployments, tours have been extended.
Soldiers suffer in squalid conditions at Walter Reed and other military facilities.
Veterans go mistreated in state and federally funded facilities.
I am outraged. It shows a complete failure of planning for this war. It's easy for President Bush to send another 21,500 soldiers off to war and call on Congress to fund them, but how much longer are we going to allow him to shift accountability on this war?
Where is Congresswoman Bachmann on this? She ran her campaign on this staunch support of our troops and their mission!
Schulze earned two Purple Hearts in Iraq, but was 26th in line to get help at the St Cloud VA after 46 visits to the VA!
Despite the fact that more and more soldiers are wounded, those obtaining Army disability ratings are lower than pre-war levels.
The same issues surrounding care at Minnesota facilities, surround facilities across the United States.
Just like my colleagues waiting for months for benefits, one young soldier waited 17 months for his first VA disability check.
The budget requests and forecasts have not accurately reflected the need for VA health care.
The complete lack of planning will result in decades upon decades and generations of Veterans suffering.
For every soldier that is killed in Iraq, 16 are injured. So while deaths are down, as compared to other wars, more or our soldiers are being maimed.
As of 2006, there was a 401,701 case back log for Veterans receiving benefits and treatment.
36% of our Veterans are being diagnosed with Mental disorders, post war.
Of 73,000 that have been diagnosed with Mental health disorder, nearly half suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Many of these soldiers will end up in Minnesota Veterans Home's someday. It hits home with me everyday.
Whether it's hearing storied from Nolan about his dad, talking to Jim Klobuchar about Veterans stories he heard on the campaign trail, or my own stories, the enormity of the issue cannot be exaggerated.
12% of our population served in World War II.
2% served in Vietnam.
Less than 1% will have served in Afghanistan or Iraq.
It's sad, but I firmly believe that the American public does not understand what is really happening to our Veterans. Stories that grab headlines in the Startribune and Newsweek are a good start.
Holding our elected leaders who put soldiers in harms way will go a long way towards actually supporting our troops, not another frickin yellow sticker.
Who's going to step up and have "our back"?
We had yours!
At work tonight, I came across the new Newsweek which had the cover story of our "Forgotten Heroes" depicting the plight of our nations Veterans.
Then, talking to my significant other, she informed me of the Startribune headlines, about 3 deaths in the Minneapolis Veterans Home.
"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention."
Governor Pawlenty has ordered the Minnesota Department of Health to take over operations at the Minneapolis Veterans Home, a state owned nursing home.
The governor's action was prompted by the deaths, two years of "not so good"
inspections that found scores of infractions, and the threat by federal
officials on Friday to cut off about $7 million in payments for the care of
veterans at the Minneapolis facility, said Health Commissioner Dianne
Mandernach.
At this point, the $7 million is insignificant.
This comes on the heals of the recent suicide of Jonathan Schulze, a 25 year old Marine from Stewart, Minnesota and the horrendous conditions from which our soldiers and Veterans are living through at Walter Reed Army Hospital.
I watched testimony in the past weeks, of administrators and primary care givers from the Veterans Homes, testifying before a Minnesota House committee. Administrators made no indication in the committee that the homes were suffering significant problems. These committee hearings were in late January as well, after these deaths occurred.
Nursing professionals differed in their testimony from the administrators. They discussed great concern over a lack of qualified nurses and conditions that hindered their performance of duties.
Obviously, our military health care system is stretched beyond its means. It's really pathetic.
We deployed for this war with not enough soldiers. General Shinseki fell on his sword for this one.
Once there, our soldiers did not have the equipment needed to protect themselves. Armored Hummers and personal body armor were in such short supply, soldiers had to improvise for their protection.
Some are on their 4th and 5th deployments, tours have been extended.
Soldiers suffer in squalid conditions at Walter Reed and other military facilities.
Veterans go mistreated in state and federally funded facilities.
I am outraged. It shows a complete failure of planning for this war. It's easy for President Bush to send another 21,500 soldiers off to war and call on Congress to fund them, but how much longer are we going to allow him to shift accountability on this war?
Where is Congresswoman Bachmann on this? She ran her campaign on this staunch support of our troops and their mission!
Schulze earned two Purple Hearts in Iraq, but was 26th in line to get help at the St Cloud VA after 46 visits to the VA!
About 50,000 service members so far have been banged up or burned, suffered
disease, lost limbs or sacrificed something less tangible inside them. Schulze
is an extreme example but not an isolated one, and such stories are raising
concerns that the country is failing to meet its most basic obligations to those
who fight our wars.
Despite the fact that more and more soldiers are wounded, those obtaining Army disability ratings are lower than pre-war levels.
"I think a big part of [Walter Reed's problems] is they just don't have
enough people to adequately handle all the wounded troops coming in here every
day,"
The same issues surrounding care at Minnesota facilities, surround facilities across the United States.
Yet, as the number of veterans continues to grow, critics worry the VA is in a
state of denial. In a broad sense, the situation at the VA seems to mirror the
overall lack of planning for the war. "We know the VA doesn't have the capacity
to process a large number of disability claims at the same time," says Linda
Bilmes, a Harvard public-finance professor and former Clinton administration
Commerce Department official. Last month Bilmes released a 34-page study on the
long-term cost of caring for veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. She projects
that at least 700,000 veterans from the global war on terror (GWOT) will flood
the system in the coming years.
Just like my colleagues waiting for months for benefits, one young soldier waited 17 months for his first VA disability check.
The budget requests and forecasts have not accurately reflected the need for VA health care.
But veterans' support groups and even some former and current VA insiders
believe there's a reluctance in the Bush administration to deal openly with the
long-term costs of the war. (All told, Bilmes projects it could cost as much as $600
billion to care for GWOT veterans over the course of their lifetimes.)
That reluctance, they say, trickles down to the VA, where top managers are
politically appointed. Secretary Jim Nicholson, a decorated Vietnam War veteran
who was chosen by Bush in 2005, tends to be the focus of this criticism.
The complete lack of planning will result in decades upon decades and generations of Veterans suffering.
For every soldier that is killed in Iraq, 16 are injured. So while deaths are down, as compared to other wars, more or our soldiers are being maimed.
As of 2006, there was a 401,701 case back log for Veterans receiving benefits and treatment.
36% of our Veterans are being diagnosed with Mental disorders, post war.
Of 73,000 that have been diagnosed with Mental health disorder, nearly half suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Many of these soldiers will end up in Minnesota Veterans Home's someday. It hits home with me everyday.
Whether it's hearing storied from Nolan about his dad, talking to Jim Klobuchar about Veterans stories he heard on the campaign trail, or my own stories, the enormity of the issue cannot be exaggerated.
12% of our population served in World War II.
2% served in Vietnam.
Less than 1% will have served in Afghanistan or Iraq.
It's sad, but I firmly believe that the American public does not understand what is really happening to our Veterans. Stories that grab headlines in the Startribune and Newsweek are a good start.
Holding our elected leaders who put soldiers in harms way will go a long way towards actually supporting our troops, not another frickin yellow sticker.
Who's going to step up and have "our back"?
We had yours!
Black talks about Bachmann
The Big Question at the Startribune is carrying more discussion of the Bachmann / Iran commentary.
The Congresswoman is practicing the "4 D's of Dodgeball" as we speak, as she dodges, ducks, dips and dives from and away her Iran commentary.
Black has attempted numerous times to speak with the Congresswoman.
Perhaps she is meeting with her Rovian handlers trying to find a way to spin this thing?
Perhaps she's seeking legal counsel for slipping confidential information out to the public?
Who knows.
200,000 blog hits later, the Strib knew they had a story.
The SC Times agrees with Black's commentary.
One thing is certain, campaign commercials in the 6th will be interesting, to say the least, next election cycle.
The story will follow Bachmann until she actually addresses the issues behind it. Her statements that her comments were misconstrued are insulting to constituents like myself. I am an educated man and fully understand her comments.
They always say it's not the act that gets the politician in trouble, but the cover-up. Perhaps the Congresswoman hasn't heard that one before.
The Congresswoman is practicing the "4 D's of Dodgeball" as we speak, as she dodges, ducks, dips and dives from and away her Iran commentary.
Black has attempted numerous times to speak with the Congresswoman.
Unfortunately, Bachmann decided not to talk to me on Thursday or Friday,
nor, so far as I can tell, any other reporter. I asked again Monday, five times.
I held this post back for a day, hoping that instead of discussing her two
previous statements, which pass each other – and the legitimate
questions they raise – like ships in the night, I could instead provide her
opportunity to put the matter to rest. I did not receive even the courtesy
of a reply.
Perhaps she is meeting with her Rovian handlers trying to find a way to spin this thing?
Perhaps she's seeking legal counsel for slipping confidential information out to the public?
Who knows.
200,000 blog hits later, the Strib knew they had a story.
I believe her constituents are still entitled to a straight answer about
that and I repeat here my request for an interview to seek that
clarification. I interviewed her many times during her 2006 campaign
and was always completely straight with her and would be so again.
The SC Times agrees with Black's commentary.
She needs to fully explain either how she knows of a plan to split Iraq in
half, or if she was talking over her head — way over her head — in making that
statement.
The Iraq war is too important an issue. Any member of Congress, even a
junior member of the minority party, must be accountable for such claims.
One thing is certain, campaign commercials in the 6th will be interesting, to say the least, next election cycle.
The story will follow Bachmann until she actually addresses the issues behind it. Her statements that her comments were misconstrued are insulting to constituents like myself. I am an educated man and fully understand her comments.
They always say it's not the act that gets the politician in trouble, but the cover-up. Perhaps the Congresswoman hasn't heard that one before.
SC Times Opinion on Bachmann
The SC Times has an opinion today on Congresswoman Bachmann's Iran comments.
While I agree with the Times assessment, I do chuckle a bit inside knowing that the SC Times had these comments 17 days ago, and now are calling for a clarification. I know the Strib and the progressive blogosphere have forced this hand to be played, but I wonder if the SC Times truly knew what it had and attempted to bury it, or they just simply did not realize what they had.
She needs to fully explain either how she knows of a plan to split Iraq in half, or if she was talking over her head — way over her head — in making that statement.
The Iraq war is too important an issue. Any member of Congress, even a junior member of the minority party, must be accountable for such claims.
Again, its about accountability. When a Congressperson steps up and says something, people listen. These remarks are heard across the world.
I think this shows a complete contrast between Bachmann and other Minnesota members of Congress. While Congressmen Ellison and Walz are holding hearings in their district on predatory lending, the Farm Bill, DM & E fight and other important Minnesota matters, Bachmann is finally opening a Congressional office in the state.
Meanwhile, constituent services suffer.
Despite a term and a half in the Minnesota Senate, Congresswoman is a "not ready for prime time player". Other freshmen legislators, Ellison, Walz and Klobuchar, have hit the ground running.
I hope the 6th CD doesn't wallow in Congresswoman Bachmann's extremist agenda. Perhaps if the Congresswoman focused on the "work of the people" and not the shock jock politics she is accustomed to, we'd see positive results for our district.
That's one helluva an if!
While I agree with the Times assessment, I do chuckle a bit inside knowing that the SC Times had these comments 17 days ago, and now are calling for a clarification. I know the Strib and the progressive blogosphere have forced this hand to be played, but I wonder if the SC Times truly knew what it had and attempted to bury it, or they just simply did not realize what they had.
She needs to fully explain either how she knows of a plan to split Iraq in half, or if she was talking over her head — way over her head — in making that statement.
The Iraq war is too important an issue. Any member of Congress, even a junior member of the minority party, must be accountable for such claims.
Again, its about accountability. When a Congressperson steps up and says something, people listen. These remarks are heard across the world.
I think this shows a complete contrast between Bachmann and other Minnesota members of Congress. While Congressmen Ellison and Walz are holding hearings in their district on predatory lending, the Farm Bill, DM & E fight and other important Minnesota matters, Bachmann is finally opening a Congressional office in the state.
Meanwhile, constituent services suffer.
Despite a term and a half in the Minnesota Senate, Congresswoman is a "not ready for prime time player". Other freshmen legislators, Ellison, Walz and Klobuchar, have hit the ground running.
I hope the 6th CD doesn't wallow in Congresswoman Bachmann's extremist agenda. Perhaps if the Congresswoman focused on the "work of the people" and not the shock jock politics she is accustomed to, we'd see positive results for our district.
That's one helluva an if!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Constituent services? Bachmann fails once again!
I love driving through Buffalo and seeing the Congressman Mark Kennedy office sign near the intersection of Hwy 55 and Hwy 25 (right by Pizza Hut, you can't miss it!)
At least the Congressman was accessible, even if his people, like Mark Matuska, and others were absolutely rude.
Dump Bachmann has a nice post up about Bachmann's lack of accessibility.
Here's my favorite line!
Well, if it's like the plan for Iran, it's either a piece of sensitive national security that she offered up for free, or completly lied about it. Either way, an email address from her should not be trusted!
At least the Congressman was accessible, even if his people, like Mark Matuska, and others were absolutely rude.
Dump Bachmann has a nice post up about Bachmann's lack of accessibility.
Here's my favorite line!
If anybody has Representative Bachmann's email address, please write in
with it and post it here. She's treating it like she should treat a national
security issue.
Well, if it's like the plan for Iran, it's either a piece of sensitive national security that she offered up for free, or completly lied about it. Either way, an email address from her should not be trusted!
GOP attacks on the Secretary of State
The progressive blogosphere has hit back at a neo-conservative plot to defame our newly elected Democratic Secretary of State, Mark Ritchie.
Minnesota Campaign Report has a diary up pointing out the hypocritical nature Minnesota Republicans.
Minnesota Monitor covers the Kiffmeyer era of contradiction.
The GOP attack machine seems to be sputtering a bit already.
How did those all out attacks against Tim Walz, Amy Klobuchar, and Keith Ellison go anyway? Trying to smear Al Franken and now Mark Ritchie, while refusing to discuss the real issues at hand, solidifies the National Enquirer status of the conservative blogosphere.
Minnesota Campaign Report has a diary up pointing out the hypocritical nature Minnesota Republicans.
Minnesota Monitor covers the Kiffmeyer era of contradiction.
The GOP attack machine seems to be sputtering a bit already.
How did those all out attacks against Tim Walz, Amy Klobuchar, and Keith Ellison go anyway? Trying to smear Al Franken and now Mark Ritchie, while refusing to discuss the real issues at hand, solidifies the National Enquirer status of the conservative blogosphere.
Excellent LTE in SC Times
Posted at Dump Bachmann as well.
On the SC Times website.
None of us can see how these comments were miscontrued. It's just a pathetic attempt at spin.
Story Chat comments are epic in nature. Keep in mind, percieved liberal media bias or not, if Congresswoman Bachmann had not made such insane comments, this is not a story.
On the SC Times website.
She went so far as to say, and I quote: “There’s already an agreement made; they’re going to get half of Iraq and that is going to be a — a terrorist free — a terrorist safe haven zone.”
I can’t see how this statement was misconstrued as she indicated in her press release on Friday.
None of us can see how these comments were miscontrued. It's just a pathetic attempt at spin.
Story Chat comments are epic in nature. Keep in mind, percieved liberal media bias or not, if Congresswoman Bachmann had not made such insane comments, this is not a story.
SC Times op-ed on Per Diem
Randy Krebs is dead on with this editorial.
It's stuff like this that people were tired of the status quo. They voted for change this past November (in most cases). Actions like this fly in the face of the electoral storm that consumed the 2006 elections. Backdoor pay raises will haunt many in swing districts. I see this coming back to bite a lot of people in the ass.
Taxes are a big issue out here. Locally elected officials, County Commissioners, mayors, and city council members I spoke with discussed the anxiety behind truth in taxation hearings. All are more than willing to "open up the books" and ensure that the public knows what their money is being spent on.
It's all about accountability.
Last weeks vote in the Senate flew in the face of accountability. A $30 per diem increase in which no one has to submit expenses?
In the non-profit world, I got less than what the market dictated for mileage. Believe me, driving across the state countless times adds up too. Meals would only be reimbursed with a receipt.
It's the real world people, a world where accountability is not a ten point Scrabble word.
BTW, I would have voted against this bill. Senator Dille was absent.
That means during this 140-day session they now can collect up to $13,440 for
daily expenses. And they aren't even required to provide receipts!
It's stuff like this that people were tired of the status quo. They voted for change this past November (in most cases). Actions like this fly in the face of the electoral storm that consumed the 2006 elections. Backdoor pay raises will haunt many in swing districts. I see this coming back to bite a lot of people in the ass.
Taxes are a big issue out here. Locally elected officials, County Commissioners, mayors, and city council members I spoke with discussed the anxiety behind truth in taxation hearings. All are more than willing to "open up the books" and ensure that the public knows what their money is being spent on.
It's all about accountability.
Last weeks vote in the Senate flew in the face of accountability. A $30 per diem increase in which no one has to submit expenses?
In the non-profit world, I got less than what the market dictated for mileage. Believe me, driving across the state countless times adds up too. Meals would only be reimbursed with a receipt.
It's the real world people, a world where accountability is not a ten point Scrabble word.
BTW, I would have voted against this bill. Senator Dille was absent.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Dead on coverage once again!
Some have asked me about the greater number of posts on issues in national politics. Namely, Iraq and now the scandals that have ensued at one of the finest Army hospitals in the United States.
Out here in rural Central Minnesota, we worry about energy independence, education funding, property taxes, health care and many other issues. Unfortunately, Veterans issues are a bit further down the priorities of many out here.
I write about Veterans issues, Iraq, and these issues because they are deeply interconnected. When federal budget cuts fall in the areas we all support and understand, our state is forced to make decisions on whether they:
A. Pick up the slack.
B. Half ass it and let services degrade.
C. De-fund and watch vulnerable populations fall by the wayside.
Tax cuts for the rich, a war that taxes to middle class. Look at special education funding. Look at access to affordable and quality health care. Don't you think if we had not spent more than $500 billion in Iraq, we would be better off in many of these areas that concern us.
The "war" in Iraq is interconnected to what happens down in St. Paul.
Back now at my outpost in Wright County, I read some more great stuff on deadissue. Check this stuff out, Al is dead on once again!
Dead on right. Paul Wellstone fixed some stuff for me that Colonels and other soft skill MOS folk were messing up for months. One phone call and this shit got cleared up quickly.
From the Army Times, courtesy of Al's great research.
Incredible! A decline in those approved for disability retirement from the Army during a time of war? No wonder VA claims are up by 1.2 million since 2003. The Department of Defense is outsourcing our disabled Veterans, making them fight two bureracracies for their benefits.
Oh this fires me up...
Keep checking our deadissue. It's got some great commentary on many of the issues near and dear to our hearts!
Out here in rural Central Minnesota, we worry about energy independence, education funding, property taxes, health care and many other issues. Unfortunately, Veterans issues are a bit further down the priorities of many out here.
I write about Veterans issues, Iraq, and these issues because they are deeply interconnected. When federal budget cuts fall in the areas we all support and understand, our state is forced to make decisions on whether they:
A. Pick up the slack.
B. Half ass it and let services degrade.
C. De-fund and watch vulnerable populations fall by the wayside.
Tax cuts for the rich, a war that taxes to middle class. Look at special education funding. Look at access to affordable and quality health care. Don't you think if we had not spent more than $500 billion in Iraq, we would be better off in many of these areas that concern us.
The "war" in Iraq is interconnected to what happens down in St. Paul.
Back now at my outpost in Wright County, I read some more great stuff on deadissue. Check this stuff out, Al is dead on once again!
I’ve been advising soldiers and marines for years now that their hope must not
be placed with a lawyer, but with their Congressman and Senator in DC.
Dead on right. Paul Wellstone fixed some stuff for me that Colonels and other soft skill MOS folk were messing up for months. One phone call and this shit got cleared up quickly.
The mold and holes in the ceiling are temporary, whereas the veteran with severe
brain damage, that the Army is insisting to be a pre-existing condition, is
being tricked into signing off on their 0% disability discharge with a severance
payment is permanent.
From the Army Times, courtesy of Al's great research.
The numbers of people approved for permanent or temporary disability retirement
in the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force have stayed relatively stable since
2001. But in the Army — in the midst of a war — the number of soldiers approved
for permanent disability retirement has plunged by more than two-thirds, from
642 in 2001 to 209 in 2005, according to a Government Accountability Office
report last year. That decline has come even as the war in Iraq has intensified
and the total number of soldiers wounded or injured there has soared above
15,000.
Incredible! A decline in those approved for disability retirement from the Army during a time of war? No wonder VA claims are up by 1.2 million since 2003. The Department of Defense is outsourcing our disabled Veterans, making them fight two bureracracies for their benefits.
Oh this fires me up...
Keep checking our deadissue. It's got some great commentary on many of the issues near and dear to our hearts!
Who's behind the pipeline?
Need some more info on these cool cats that are pushing this pipeline down our collective throats?
Here you go!
Koch Industries indicted on 97 counts of violating federal clean air and hazardous waste laws.
More violations and fines paid out by Koch.
They pay big amounts of money for their media/pr spin!
Even Janet Reno drilled them hard, pun intended.
"This record civil penalty will put those who transport hazardous materials on notice -- you cannot endanger public health or the environment," said Attorney General Janet Reno. "We will not let you foul our water and spoil our land by breaking the law."
"Ties that bind".
Company execs have given almost a half million dollars to Republican's and to President Bush.
Anna Nicole Smith even filed a lawsuit against the company.
We could seriously go on and on...and we probably will.
It is my belief that people need to know who is building this pipeline in our backyards. For the most part, the mainstream media has failed in its role to provide unbiased coverage of the pipeline discussion.
I admit, I am biased. I am biased towards ensuring that Minnesotans have a full and fair opportunity to discuss the pipeline, without being coerced into supporting it.
This is our powerline people, time to step up and make our voices heard.
It's time to fight.
Here you go!
Koch Industries indicted on 97 counts of violating federal clean air and hazardous waste laws.
"Companies that produce dangerous pollutants simply cannot focus on profit and
efficiency at the expense of a community's health," said Lois Shiffer, Assistant
Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural
Resources Division. "We will continue to find and prosecute those who would
flout our environmental laws."
More violations and fines paid out by Koch.
For Koch Industries, the amounts of money it can save by sabotaging
environmental rules make the sums diverted to the think tanks that do the dirty
work pale in comparison. The year 2000 was particularly rough for the Kochs. In
January, Koch Industries agreed to pay about $35 million for violations of the
Clean Water Act related to 310 oil spills in six states. Two months later, Koch
admitted to environmental violations at its oil refinery in Rosemount,
Minnesota, and was forced to cough up another $8 million in penalties. Then in
July, it agreed not only to spend about $80 million to cut emissions from its
Rosemount facility and from two other refineries in Texas, but also to pay a $1
million fine for air-pollution violations.
They pay big amounts of money for their media/pr spin!
Koch's track record on the environment includes the largest pollution penalty
ever assessed by the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as lawsuits over
groundwater pollution in Minnesota, escaping benzene gas in Texas and oil leaks
in six states.
Even Janet Reno drilled them hard, pun intended.
"This record civil penalty will put those who transport hazardous materials on notice -- you cannot endanger public health or the environment," said Attorney General Janet Reno. "We will not let you foul our water and spoil our land by breaking the law."
"Ties that bind".
Company execs have given almost a half million dollars to Republican's and to President Bush.
During the 1990s, the company's leaky pipelines were responsible for more
than 300 oil spills in five states, prompting a penalty of $30 million.
In 1996, a faulty pipeline caused an explosion outside of Dallas in which
two teenagers were killed. In a lawsuit related to the deaths, a trial court
returned a judgement of $376.69 million against the company.
Anna Nicole Smith even filed a lawsuit against the company.
We could seriously go on and on...and we probably will.
It is my belief that people need to know who is building this pipeline in our backyards. For the most part, the mainstream media has failed in its role to provide unbiased coverage of the pipeline discussion.
I admit, I am biased. I am biased towards ensuring that Minnesotans have a full and fair opportunity to discuss the pipeline, without being coerced into supporting it.
This is our powerline people, time to step up and make our voices heard.
It's time to fight.
Micromanaging a Clusterscrew
In the Army, I had a much more vulgar term for what is going on in our Department of Defense right now, specifically in Iraq and our military hospitals.
Condi is out now telling Dems to not micromanage Iraq.
Will greater Government oversight over Walter Reed Army hospital and VA facilities be met with similar rhetoric?
Clearly we would not have micromanagement issues if the majority of American's beleived the Iraq strategy and our soldiers and Veterans were being supported.
It's easy to cite micromanagement issues when the current political powers that be want to continue a "strategy" of keeping our collective heads in the sand, kind of like that South Park episode.
Condi is out now telling Dems to not micromanage Iraq.
"Then you're going to have the worst of micromanagement of military affairs. AndI have said this once, and I'll say it again. In order to micromanage something, doesn't it have to be managed beforehand? Iraq has not been managed well since the quagmire began 4 years ago. At some point, we need accountability. We need people to step up to the plate, take charge, and change the direction of our situation in Iraq.
it's always served us badly in the past," she said.
Will greater Government oversight over Walter Reed Army hospital and VA facilities be met with similar rhetoric?
Clearly we would not have micromanagement issues if the majority of American's beleived the Iraq strategy and our soldiers and Veterans were being supported.
It's easy to cite micromanagement issues when the current political powers that be want to continue a "strategy" of keeping our collective heads in the sand, kind of like that South Park episode.
Snowed in at my Meeker County outpost
Well, they got 15 inches about 15 minutes south of here. We look to have about a foot here with more coming soon, according to accu weather radar. Looks like I get to dig out today.
How about them Huskies? A swwep of the Golen Gophers! (Left the d out since the Gophers played no D).
Will they be #1 in nation this week.
North Dakota is coming to town this week, it should be a great series. I think my sister, brother in law, girlfriend and I will be at the National Concrete Center Saturday night for the game.
Anyone watch the Huskies last night? With all the snow flying, that's all we could do out here, besides watching "Man of the Year".
Homers. That's what the Fox Sports people were, complete homers. No credit to a great Husky squad.
I love the Gopher fans who chant "Gopher rejects" when my boys sweep you and win the season series 2-0-2.
"Man of the Year". What a disappointing movie. I thought it would be a lot more funny. Robin Williams had some great one liners, but I guess I expected more.
Have fun digin out and drive safe!
How about them Huskies? A swwep of the Golen Gophers! (Left the d out since the Gophers played no D).
Will they be #1 in nation this week.
North Dakota is coming to town this week, it should be a great series. I think my sister, brother in law, girlfriend and I will be at the National Concrete Center Saturday night for the game.
Anyone watch the Huskies last night? With all the snow flying, that's all we could do out here, besides watching "Man of the Year".
Homers. That's what the Fox Sports people were, complete homers. No credit to a great Husky squad.
I love the Gopher fans who chant "Gopher rejects" when my boys sweep you and win the season series 2-0-2.
"Man of the Year". What a disappointing movie. I thought it would be a lot more funny. Robin Williams had some great one liners, but I guess I expected more.
Have fun digin out and drive safe!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
More wonkette on Bachmann
Blogging from an outpost in Meeker County today...as the snow is flying, to the tune of about 6 inches by now.
Wonkette loves our Congresswoman!
and
Gophers v. Huskies is on now. Time to focus!
Wonkette loves our Congresswoman!
Our nation’s loopiest congresslady has revealed Top Secret governmentThe comments are of a classic Wonkette nature as well.
intelligence plans to give half of Iraq to Iran. The new half-country will be a
special terrorist safe haven, says Rep. Michele Bachmann, and it’s going to be
called “the Iraq State of Islam, something like that.”
Yet Bachmann coyly refused to identify the “they” who made this clandestine deal, just that “they’ve already decided.”
Bachmann exposed the nation’s greatest secret on a podcast with Minnesota reporter Lawrence Schumacher, which you can download and enjoy — if you like to hear crazy people on your iPod. We’re pretty sure Cheney and Libby will have her suicided; first she sexually assaults the president, and now she’s announcing Washington’s most crucial secret information to journalists?
Wait, wait, wait: the Bush Whisperer claims that they are "tipping over apple
carts in Iraq".
This has GOT to stop! Paul Bremmer paid a cool $8 billion for those apple carts.
and
I don't think Monica's bj's of Bill were as intimate and gross as Michelle's pawing and groping of W after the SOTUS last month, but I'm easy to titillate when it's live and on the teevee, primo time.and
'Specially when Laura is looking on from the gallery.
What the hell has gone wrong with Minnesota?and lastly
When I was growing up in the fifties & sixties, we in the hopelessly corrupt Land of Lincoln, looked northwest to an honest place, filled with intelligent politicians, that cared for their country & only wanted to do it proud.
Since then, the Land of 10,000 Lakes has elected Jesse Ventura, Norm Coleman & this whack job!
Is it the cold, the snow, the old Swedes dieing off, crazy old farts from all over going to Mayo's & then staying & voting or the bovine growth hormones in cows?
Please tell us, we want to help you!
xecks, that's all there is up there to GET elected.
They usually find themselves outvoted in statewide elections by the non-looney Minnesotans that populate Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and some regions of the Iron Range.
But accidents do happen. Like Paul Wellstone's death maybe two weeks before what would have been a shoo-in reelection to the Senate. That's how we all wound up with the Senator from Eraserhead, Norm Coleman.
Gophers v. Huskies is on now. Time to focus!
Drawing parallels
Don't you find it funny how standards are not consistent between the two major political parties?
Republicans are very quick to respond, in a negative manner, when a Democrat states similarities between the quagmire in Iraq and the quagmire in Vietnam.
President Bush came out this week and compared the Revolutionary War with the quagmire in Iraq.
It's also quite obvious though that President Bush, the history buff he appears to be, does not abide by some of George Washington's famous words for our Veterans.
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country."
Unfortunately, another comparison of quagmires, Iraq to Vietnam the treatment of our Veterans and soldiers appears to have not gotten a lot better.
Suicide rates of our Veterans are twice that of the regular society.
Hundreds wait for health care in rat infested and moldy barracks, a stone's throw from the man who's decisions culminated in their visit to Walter Reed or another military hospital.
Soldiers from the 1st Cav who will soon be on their 5th deployment to Iraq, away from their families once again.
Tours have been extended for Minnesota National Guard men and women.
I get pretty pissed off when I read another rant from a Republican chickenhawk, going after those that criticize the war. But then again, when they know of the secret plans for Iran, maybe we should listen to them more...
Republicans are very quick to respond, in a negative manner, when a Democrat states similarities between the quagmire in Iraq and the quagmire in Vietnam.
President Bush came out this week and compared the Revolutionary War with the quagmire in Iraq.
"In the end, General Washington understood that the Revolutionary War was a test
of wills, and his will was unbreakable," Bush said during a speech marking the
Presidents' Day national holiday.
It's also quite obvious though that President Bush, the history buff he appears to be, does not abide by some of George Washington's famous words for our Veterans.
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country."
Unfortunately, another comparison of quagmires, Iraq to Vietnam the treatment of our Veterans and soldiers appears to have not gotten a lot better.
Suicide rates of our Veterans are twice that of the regular society.
Hundreds wait for health care in rat infested and moldy barracks, a stone's throw from the man who's decisions culminated in their visit to Walter Reed or another military hospital.
Soldiers from the 1st Cav who will soon be on their 5th deployment to Iraq, away from their families once again.
Tours have been extended for Minnesota National Guard men and women.
I get pretty pissed off when I read another rant from a Republican chickenhawk, going after those that criticize the war. But then again, when they know of the secret plans for Iran, maybe we should listen to them more...
So Bachmann backs off her comments now?
Conservatives are out working hard to save one of the only true Conservatives the Republican's have left in Minnesota. Whether its Jason Lewis debating Eva Young on KTLK or blogs like Residual Forces coming to Bachmann's defense, the spin is out in full force.
Lewis and RF place the blame on an ultra liberal agenda to smear Congresswoman Bachmann.
They fall seriously short though in explaining why the Congresswoman made these comments. The bottomline is, had the Congresswoman not said such outrageous comments, this would not be a story.
Did Bachmann just make that stuff up? Who would have entrusted her to such information. If anyone on the Minnesota GOP delegation would have been John Kline. Hell, he carried the nuclear football! I know, I saw the commerical.
But I digress. SC Times coverage.
First, we misconstrued her comments.
I did not misconstrue her comments, how could any of us misconstue this maddness?
Did Bachmann leak confidential info?
If, and that's a big if, this info was learned in this meeting, we have another Valerie Plame case on our hands.
Political science professionals weigh in. From the Strib.
Not even two months into the Bachmann term and all this news. We know that she is a lightning rod for controversey, but she definately does herself more harm than good with rants like the Iran rant.
Lewis and RF place the blame on an ultra liberal agenda to smear Congresswoman Bachmann.
They fall seriously short though in explaining why the Congresswoman made these comments. The bottomline is, had the Congresswoman not said such outrageous comments, this would not be a story.
Did Bachmann just make that stuff up? Who would have entrusted her to such information. If anyone on the Minnesota GOP delegation would have been John Kline. Hell, he carried the nuclear football! I know, I saw the commerical.
But I digress. SC Times coverage.
First, we misconstrued her comments.
In a statement she issued Friday afternoon, Bachmann, R-Minn., did not retract her remarks on Iran but said they had "been misconstrued."
The release did not specify how her words had been misconstrued, nor by whom. But it reframes her partitioning statement to say that "there are multiple reasons to believe (Iran) would seek to expand their territory to include Shi'a Iraq."
I did not misconstrue her comments, how could any of us misconstue this maddness?
“And half of Iraq, the western, northern portion of Iraq, is going to be called ... the Iraq State of Islam, something like that. And I’m sorry, I don’t have the official name, but it is meant to be the training ground for the terrorists.
Did Bachmann leak confidential info?
Bachmann did not explain where she received her information, though Bachmann
said in a Jan. 21 Times story she and U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., had received "classified information on the war effort" during a visit to the Pentagon.
If, and that's a big if, this info was learned in this meeting, we have another Valerie Plame case on our hands.
Political science professionals weigh in. From the Strib.
University of Minnesota political scientist Kathryn Pearson, who specializes in Congress, said Bachmann's original statement was "extremely irresponsible." Members of Congress are privy to intelligence that the rest of the public isn't. So when a member of Congress says something of such significance, the first assumption is that she knows something that the public doesn't. So on that basis, people are going to take it seriously.
"Either this is top secret information that she's leaking, which is a problem. Or she's presenting her thoughts on a very serious topic as if they were established fact, and that's a problem for other reasons," Pearson said.
Washington University Prof. Steve Smith, another Congress watcher who lives in the Sixth District, said Bachmann's first statement "was a pretty strong claim to make. If she can't back it up she should be held accountable."
Smith speculated the original statement was drawn from some ideas circulating in "the neoconservative network in which she circulates."
Not even two months into the Bachmann term and all this news. We know that she is a lightning rod for controversey, but she definately does herself more harm than good with rants like the Iran rant.
Friday, February 23, 2007
More of the Walter Reed quagmire
The Washington Post continues its coverage.
When I had an Infantry platoon, I visited my soldiers barracks on a pretty regular basis. When things were in disorder, they quickly came to order. I do not understand where or how the leadership could have failed. Non-commissioned Officers (NCO's) live a creed. One statement, while short in nature, provides the NCO with his or her basics.
NCO's at Fort Stewart beforehand and now at Walter Reed has failed on both counts. The General in charge should be relieved of duty.
Obviously they have forgotten about this one.
Some are not happy with the coverage.
What would be happening now if the Washington Post had not uncovered this madness? Of course the comments come from the former Commander of the facility.
General Kiley seems to be just another one of those men with the stars on their hats and the funky "Generals Belts" who have forgotten, after all these years, what it's like as a foot soldier, not a high paid General.
The Post found recovering soldiers living in squalid conditions in Building 18, a decrepit former hotel just outside the Walter Reed grounds, with some of the quarters plagued by mold, rot and vermin. The series also documented a larger
issue of bureaucratic indifference that soldiers and family members said had
demoralized them and impeded recovery.
When I had an Infantry platoon, I visited my soldiers barracks on a pretty regular basis. When things were in disorder, they quickly came to order. I do not understand where or how the leadership could have failed. Non-commissioned Officers (NCO's) live a creed. One statement, while short in nature, provides the NCO with his or her basics.
My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind --
accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers.
NCO's at Fort Stewart beforehand and now at Walter Reed has failed on both counts. The General in charge should be relieved of duty.
Gates said he had no indication of problems at the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda or facilities elsewhere comparable to those at Walter Reed, but he said the review group would be empowered to investigate wherever it wanted because "we need to know the scope of this problem."
Obviously they have forgotten about this one.
Some are not happy with the coverage.
The comments came a day after the Army's surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Kevin C.
Kiley, criticized the Post articles, saying they unfairly characterized the living conditions and care for soldiers recuperating from wounds at the hospital's facilities.
Kiley, chief of the Army Medical Command, told reporters that the Post series "was a one-sided representation."
What would be happening now if the Washington Post had not uncovered this madness? Of course the comments come from the former Commander of the facility.
General Kiley seems to be just another one of those men with the stars on their hats and the funky "Generals Belts" who have forgotten, after all these years, what it's like as a foot soldier, not a high paid General.
No excuses for the treatment of our Veterans
I thought I recalled hearing about this a few years ago while I was active on the public speaking circuit.
Sure enough, we heard these complaints in 2003.
Where is the accountability? We have always heard of the VA issues, but what about care for Active Duty and Reserve or National Guard hero's who have honorably served our nation?
We knew the system was failed in 2003. Four years later, the incompetence still exists.
600 soldiers here, 700 at Walter Reed, how many more?
It would appear as though this pandemic has spread to other installations across the nation.
Soldiers have to work their way to morning formation and sit in the rain and snow in their wheelchairs, hobble across the base on crutches! It happened years ago as well.
Same shit, different day I guess.
The more and more I dig about this, the more and more I find. It truly is disgusting. The saying "if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention" can't even touch the surface of what I feel right now.
It's pathetic, it really is.
Sure enough, we heard these complaints in 2003.
FORT STEWART, Ga. -- Hundreds of sick and wounded U.S. soldiers including many who served in the Iraq war are languishing in hot cement barracks here while they wait -- sometimes for months -- to see doctors.
The National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers' living conditions are so substandard, and the medical care so poor, that many of them believe the Army is
trying push them out with reduced benefits for their ailments. One document shown to UPI states that no more doctor appointments are available from Oct. 14 through Nov. 11 -- Veterans Day.
"I have loved the Army. I have served the Army faithfully and I have done everything the Army has asked me to do," said Sgt. 1st Class Willie Buckels, a truck master with the 296th Transportation Company. Buckels served in the Army Reserves for 27 years, including Operation Iraqi Freedom and the first Gulf War. "Now my whole idea about the U.S. Army has changed. I am treated like a third-class citizen."
Where is the accountability? We have always heard of the VA issues, but what about care for Active Duty and Reserve or National Guard hero's who have honorably served our nation?
We knew the system was failed in 2003. Four years later, the incompetence still exists.
One month after President Bush greeted soldiers at Fort Stewart -- home of the famed Third Infantry Division -- as heroes on their return from Iraq, approximately 600 sick or injured members of the Army Reserves and National Guard are warehoused in rows of spare, steamy and dark cement barracks in a sandy field, waiting for doctors to treat their wounds or illnesses.
The Reserve and National Guard soldiers are on what the Army calls "medical hold," while the Army decides how sick or disabled they are and what benefits -- if any -- they should get as a result.
Some of the soldiers said they have waited six hours a day for an appointment without seeing a doctor. Others described waiting weeks or months without getting a diagnosis or proper treatment.
600 soldiers here, 700 at Walter Reed, how many more?
The soldiers said professional active duty personnel are getting better treatment while troops who serve in the National Guard or Army Reserve are left to wallow in medical hold.
"It is not an Army of One. It is the Army of two -- Army and Reserves," said one soldier who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, during which she developed a serious heart condition and strange skin ailment.
It would appear as though this pandemic has spread to other installations across the nation.
Soldiers have to work their way to morning formation and sit in the rain and snow in their wheelchairs, hobble across the base on crutches! It happened years ago as well.
Soldiers make their way by walking or using crutches through the sandy dirt to a
communal bathroom, where they have propped office partitions between otherwise
open toilets for privacy. A row of leaky sinks sits on an opposite wall. The latrine smells of urine and is full of bugs, because many windows have no screens. Showering is in a communal, cinder block room. Soldiers say they have to buy their own toilet paper.
Same shit, different day I guess.
The more and more I dig about this, the more and more I find. It truly is disgusting. The saying "if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention" can't even touch the surface of what I feel right now.
It's pathetic, it really is.
Bachmann knows of plans to divide Iraq
Ed Schultz talked about it for a minute during his radio show a bit ago and the Stib has the sccop!
The extended quote courtesy of "The Big Question"
Why do we have to be represented by the biggest lunatic on Congress. Seriously!
Where are the Washington Post, New York Times and other major news sources on this? If the plan to divide up Iraq is out there, no offense, how come Congresswoman Bachmann is the first elected leader in the United States to come out with this nefarious plan?
Bizarre, absolutely bizzare.
U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann claims to know of a plan, already worked out with a
line drawn on the map, for the partition of Iraq in which Iran will control half of the country and set it up as a “a terrorist safe haven zone” and a staging area for attacks around the Middle East and on the United States.
The extended quote courtesy of "The Big Question"
“Iran is the trouble maker, trying to tip over apple carts all over Baghdad right now because they want America to pull out. And do you know why? It’s because they’ve already decided that they’re going to partition Iraq.
And half of Iraq, the western, northern portion of Iraq, is going to be called…. the Iraq State of Islam, something like that. And I’m sorry, I don’t have the official name, but it’s meant to be the training ground for the terrorists. There’s already an agreement made.
They are going to get half of Iraq and that is going to be a terrorist safe haven zone where they can go ahead and bring about more terrorist attacks in the Middle East region and then to come against the United States because we are their avowed enemy.”
Why do we have to be represented by the biggest lunatic on Congress. Seriously!
Where are the Washington Post, New York Times and other major news sources on this? If the plan to divide up Iraq is out there, no offense, how come Congresswoman Bachmann is the first elected leader in the United States to come out with this nefarious plan?
Bizarre, absolutely bizzare.
Another opinion on the Walter Reed scandal
From deadissue.com WARNING! Naughty Language
If you really want someone to feel like a piece of dog shit for a long time, then be sure to recommend that they earn money for college and gain job experience by enlisting in the United States Army. Once they’re all contracted up and ready to ship out, a masochist’s dream world opens up to them, and no matter how dark and lonely the trip becomes, it can always get worse. Thinking that the loss of your legs and the ability to keep your mind focused long enough to order a cheeseburger at McDonald’s is the low point in your tragic life is the stupid reasoning of dog shit that thinks its special, and the essence of what I’m getting at here. Turn off your mind, panic, and work upstream - you’re still in the Army, and the Army still hates you.
To be so foolish as to assume that the actual injury and thousands of miles of transport and surgery after surgery constitute the worst of what your signature on that contract was in exchange for, is to undoubtedly be stupid enough to expect that because you’re in possession of that smart looking Purple Heart medal that you’ve been upgraded within the Army to something more consequential than the piece of dog shit you’ve been up to that point, and if the feeling you were taught to become one with as a fully capable soldier in your unit is something you consider a thing of the past, then see how you feel wheeling your broke ass down to formation in the rain, say for a year and a half or so.
You’re missing parts of your body and mind; still over in Iraq or Afghanistan somewhere, already been pissed on by people, livestock and rolled over by tires of trucks, seeing day and night looking up at whatever, wondering if their host is every coming back to pick them up.
They won’t of course, but such soulful meditation, the cutting of ties, the acceptance of what’s lost, it’s all part of making it to 30 and then 40 and hopefully past that age right there, to a veteran it’s the new 70, and Hallmark might have a clue as to whether or not the poor bastard has things worked out even then with what to say or think about that part of them still being pissed on and rolled over on the other side of the world.
It’s on the top of the to-do list, but Army dog shit hasn’t yet earned the right to feel entitled to anything besides the constant reminder of what it is and what it is worth. In the rain you sit, because you have to, on account of having no legs, but above all that is the need for the Army to further shame and humiliate and break away that will to live…smear some Kiwi all over that unauthorized gloss from being called a hero, and sit there in that chair you’ll loathe forever hearing this asshole at the front of the formation talking to you and the rest of what’s left of the sorry fuckers soaking in the phantom sensations from toes that still wiggle when thought about for a second in the rain on a 30 degree morning, still ten minutes before the asshole stops talking and the five minute trek back to the moldy walls and seclusion of hell can be returned to.
Fifteen months of this and the paperwork is lost, tied up, incomplete…and so the guy down the hall figures he can bring back the booze for me along with his own, and just like in that book Misery, I’ll dump all that chemical dust into a few cocktails and this life can finally end. Just tell anyone you can to stay away and forget about all that hero bullshit everyone in the civilian world thinks exists in the Army. Before that though, check my room and see I’m collected and buried before these rodents get to biting on me. Just don’t let me get eaten by my roommates here, and we’ll be even. Hopefully I’ll smell enough dead like the Army has made me feel alive to attract someone who’ll wheel me out of here and get me one of those nice funerals with the gunfire and bagpipes.
If you really want someone to feel like a piece of dog shit for a long time, then be sure to recommend that they earn money for college and gain job experience by enlisting in the United States Army. Once they’re all contracted up and ready to ship out, a masochist’s dream world opens up to them, and no matter how dark and lonely the trip becomes, it can always get worse. Thinking that the loss of your legs and the ability to keep your mind focused long enough to order a cheeseburger at McDonald’s is the low point in your tragic life is the stupid reasoning of dog shit that thinks its special, and the essence of what I’m getting at here. Turn off your mind, panic, and work upstream - you’re still in the Army, and the Army still hates you.
To be so foolish as to assume that the actual injury and thousands of miles of transport and surgery after surgery constitute the worst of what your signature on that contract was in exchange for, is to undoubtedly be stupid enough to expect that because you’re in possession of that smart looking Purple Heart medal that you’ve been upgraded within the Army to something more consequential than the piece of dog shit you’ve been up to that point, and if the feeling you were taught to become one with as a fully capable soldier in your unit is something you consider a thing of the past, then see how you feel wheeling your broke ass down to formation in the rain, say for a year and a half or so.
You’re missing parts of your body and mind; still over in Iraq or Afghanistan somewhere, already been pissed on by people, livestock and rolled over by tires of trucks, seeing day and night looking up at whatever, wondering if their host is every coming back to pick them up.
They won’t of course, but such soulful meditation, the cutting of ties, the acceptance of what’s lost, it’s all part of making it to 30 and then 40 and hopefully past that age right there, to a veteran it’s the new 70, and Hallmark might have a clue as to whether or not the poor bastard has things worked out even then with what to say or think about that part of them still being pissed on and rolled over on the other side of the world.
It’s on the top of the to-do list, but Army dog shit hasn’t yet earned the right to feel entitled to anything besides the constant reminder of what it is and what it is worth. In the rain you sit, because you have to, on account of having no legs, but above all that is the need for the Army to further shame and humiliate and break away that will to live…smear some Kiwi all over that unauthorized gloss from being called a hero, and sit there in that chair you’ll loathe forever hearing this asshole at the front of the formation talking to you and the rest of what’s left of the sorry fuckers soaking in the phantom sensations from toes that still wiggle when thought about for a second in the rain on a 30 degree morning, still ten minutes before the asshole stops talking and the five minute trek back to the moldy walls and seclusion of hell can be returned to.
Fifteen months of this and the paperwork is lost, tied up, incomplete…and so the guy down the hall figures he can bring back the booze for me along with his own, and just like in that book Misery, I’ll dump all that chemical dust into a few cocktails and this life can finally end. Just tell anyone you can to stay away and forget about all that hero bullshit everyone in the civilian world thinks exists in the Army. Before that though, check my room and see I’m collected and buried before these rodents get to biting on me. Just don’t let me get eaten by my roommates here, and we’ll be even. Hopefully I’ll smell enough dead like the Army has made me feel alive to attract someone who’ll wheel me out of here and get me one of those nice funerals with the gunfire and bagpipes.
Bill Prendergast opines on Bachmann
From Dump Bachmann and cross posted at Minnesota Campaign Report.
Many people have been saying that Bachmann is a "one term-er;" that she's basically "over" after the people in her district find out how poorly she's going to represent them in Congress.
Well, it's true that she's one of these special interest hacks; that fact is written all over her campaign contribution filings. And it's true that the special interests who are most interested in Michele are from outside the 6th district-James Dobson and the national religious right, wingnut "education reform" groups based outside the district who are pledged to ending all public school funding, and many rich Minnesotans from outside the district (Taxpayers' League types who wouldn't be caught dead in Stearns County.)
All true, as far as it goes. But I don't think the fact Michele will probably do a rotten job of representing the district means that Michele is a one term-er. Remember: she did a rotten job of representing Stillwater, but she was returned to office again and again.
And you also gotta remember: the kind of politician that Michele is, doesn't depend of "performance for the district" to get herself elected. She's kind of like Joe McCarthy: her core issues-and thus her base of support-are not the issues of the district, they extend beyond its boundaries. They are religion in politics issues, talk-radio issues, federal taxation issues, abortion, support for the Iraq war and the conservative program issues.
If Michele can obtain national conservative support by following the conservative line on these non-6th district issues, she can largely ignore problems specific to her district--and still rise. Her career in Stillwater is evidence of that.
And Michele *is* going to get the support of the national conservative movement. She was getting it before she was elected to Congress and now they are preparing to give her the `big push,' to introduce her into the national spotlight. If she get that kind of promotion, she will have effectively reached the next "plateau" and will become the darling of national conservative talk-radio hosts, pundits and funding people-not just our local Minnesota ones.
A web page advertising the upcoming Conservative Political Action Committee in Washington, D.C. shows Michele as one of the featured speakers at the conference. She will appear shortly after the conference opens and will be sharing the dais with conservative luminaries like Phyllis Schlafly and R. Emmett Tyrell of the American Spectator.
That's the big leagues, folks--Michele has arrived! Look at some of those other guests: Vice President Dick Cheney, Sean Hannity, Senator Mitch McConnell, Ann Coulter, David Horowitz, Newt Gingrich, and of course, Wayne LaPierre. And many more. Flyin' with the conservative eagles-that's the big money, the big network, the really big promotion. Given that, do you think it's really "over" for her if she ignores the 6th district of Minnesota for the next two years?
And, as we know, we've got local press professionals back here who refuse to acknowledge she's an extremist, and Jason Lewis and all those other conservative guys who'll continue to pimp her to the rank-and-file. The bottom line is: if Bachmann isn't brought down by a major scandal in the next two years, she's likely to go higher; not lower, not "out."
There is another way to take her out, short of a major scandal. To see how that would work, you have to return to her career in Stillwater again.
At first, Michele could win Stillwater because a majority of people there were trending GOP and they accepted her pose as a Ronald Reagan Republican conservative. Gradually, the facts about her extremist connections and beliefs came out, the conservative economic policy she slavishly followed caused property taxes and "fees" rocket on her watch, and it came out that she'd actually voted against spending that would have benefited the voters of her district. So the voters got wised up, and she lost her hometown in last year's congressional election.
If the voters get wised up, Michele loses. We are trying to wise up voters at Dump Bachmann; dogging her finances, recording her most extreme statements and outright lies. Our problem has always been getting a supposedly "biased liberal media" to print the most alarming facts about her; it's like they're running interference for her.
That may change; look at the stuff Keith Olbermann ran about Bachmann--people outside Minnesota politics aren't afraid to identify her for what she is. Michele's a closeted extremist, a John Birch Society/conspiracy theory type posing as a mainstream conservative. Get the mainstream media to pick up on that fact--and that, along with her pathetic record of representing the people of her district, means she loses.
Many people have been saying that Bachmann is a "one term-er;" that she's basically "over" after the people in her district find out how poorly she's going to represent them in Congress.
Well, it's true that she's one of these special interest hacks; that fact is written all over her campaign contribution filings. And it's true that the special interests who are most interested in Michele are from outside the 6th district-James Dobson and the national religious right, wingnut "education reform" groups based outside the district who are pledged to ending all public school funding, and many rich Minnesotans from outside the district (Taxpayers' League types who wouldn't be caught dead in Stearns County.)
All true, as far as it goes. But I don't think the fact Michele will probably do a rotten job of representing the district means that Michele is a one term-er. Remember: she did a rotten job of representing Stillwater, but she was returned to office again and again.
And you also gotta remember: the kind of politician that Michele is, doesn't depend of "performance for the district" to get herself elected. She's kind of like Joe McCarthy: her core issues-and thus her base of support-are not the issues of the district, they extend beyond its boundaries. They are religion in politics issues, talk-radio issues, federal taxation issues, abortion, support for the Iraq war and the conservative program issues.
If Michele can obtain national conservative support by following the conservative line on these non-6th district issues, she can largely ignore problems specific to her district--and still rise. Her career in Stillwater is evidence of that.
And Michele *is* going to get the support of the national conservative movement. She was getting it before she was elected to Congress and now they are preparing to give her the `big push,' to introduce her into the national spotlight. If she get that kind of promotion, she will have effectively reached the next "plateau" and will become the darling of national conservative talk-radio hosts, pundits and funding people-not just our local Minnesota ones.
A web page advertising the upcoming Conservative Political Action Committee in Washington, D.C. shows Michele as one of the featured speakers at the conference. She will appear shortly after the conference opens and will be sharing the dais with conservative luminaries like Phyllis Schlafly and R. Emmett Tyrell of the American Spectator.
That's the big leagues, folks--Michele has arrived! Look at some of those other guests: Vice President Dick Cheney, Sean Hannity, Senator Mitch McConnell, Ann Coulter, David Horowitz, Newt Gingrich, and of course, Wayne LaPierre. And many more. Flyin' with the conservative eagles-that's the big money, the big network, the really big promotion. Given that, do you think it's really "over" for her if she ignores the 6th district of Minnesota for the next two years?
And, as we know, we've got local press professionals back here who refuse to acknowledge she's an extremist, and Jason Lewis and all those other conservative guys who'll continue to pimp her to the rank-and-file. The bottom line is: if Bachmann isn't brought down by a major scandal in the next two years, she's likely to go higher; not lower, not "out."
There is another way to take her out, short of a major scandal. To see how that would work, you have to return to her career in Stillwater again.
At first, Michele could win Stillwater because a majority of people there were trending GOP and they accepted her pose as a Ronald Reagan Republican conservative. Gradually, the facts about her extremist connections and beliefs came out, the conservative economic policy she slavishly followed caused property taxes and "fees" rocket on her watch, and it came out that she'd actually voted against spending that would have benefited the voters of her district. So the voters got wised up, and she lost her hometown in last year's congressional election.
If the voters get wised up, Michele loses. We are trying to wise up voters at Dump Bachmann; dogging her finances, recording her most extreme statements and outright lies. Our problem has always been getting a supposedly "biased liberal media" to print the most alarming facts about her; it's like they're running interference for her.
That may change; look at the stuff Keith Olbermann ran about Bachmann--people outside Minnesota politics aren't afraid to identify her for what she is. Michele's a closeted extremist, a John Birch Society/conspiracy theory type posing as a mainstream conservative. Get the mainstream media to pick up on that fact--and that, along with her pathetic record of representing the people of her district, means she loses.
An Al Franken onslaught
For those that stop by Minnesota Democrats Exposed, Michael has taken a great deal of time to go after Al Franken!
I find it very Tim Walz and Keith Ellison esque, don't you?
I find it very Tim Walz and Keith Ellison esque, don't you?
MinnCan pipeline comments
This was posted as a comment. Since it's so good, I am giving it its own post.
As property owners sharing the suffering and hardships created by the MinnCan pipeline project, we urgently ask that you assist everyone in harms way by actively supporting the “Buy the Farm – Pipeline Act.” MinnCan's crude oil pipeline severely impacts the lives of over 1,000 property owners in Minnesota, by taking their land and offering to pay pennies on the dollar for their property loss. The MinnCan pipeline will bring more than 165,000 barrels of oil per day across these properties, and create a risk of oil spills in our rich agricultural lands. Such a spill happened recently in Little Falls, MN where a different Koch pipeline ruptured spilling more than 134,000 gallons and permanently contaminated the land.
The “Buy the Farm – Pipeline Act” is based directly off an existing statute informally called the “Buy the Farm Act” (Minn.Stat 216E.12). “Buy the Farm” gives property owners the option to require proposers of high-voltage transmission lines to purchase their entire property rather than just an easement. The new law would simply extend this option to land owners that are affected by large crude oil pipelines.
We believe that this is a fair and reasonable option that enhances the rights of property owners who will be negatively impacted on a permanent basis because they were chosen to "Host" the pipeline's route. It will also become a viable tool in every property owner’s toolbox for constructing a fair settlement with the proposer.
This statute is directly inline with the overwhelmingly public support of eminent domain limits. While the recent eminent domain legislation unfortunately did not affect these types of utility takings, the above bill will bring some power back to Minnesota landowners who are impacted by utility development.
Please share this letter with others you know that are being affected by the proposed MinnCan pipeline route. We strongly urge all of those affected or support the property owners in harm's way, to call, email, or write their Representatives (To find out who represents you go to www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/Districtfinder.asp), asking them to bring the " Buy the Farm – Pipeline Act" to the floor. There is power in numbers and the more interest the Representatives receive, the more likely this bill will be heard.
Time is critical and these interests need to be expressed, NOW...They all need to be sent as soon as possible. Thank you for your help in spreading the word and voicing your support!
Proposed Bill:Eminent Domain amendment for Pipeline Facilities
Adapted from MinnStat 216E.12, 2006
Proposed Language
Contiguous land. When private real property that is an agricultural or nonagricultural homestead, nonhomestead agricultural land, rental residential property, and both commercial and noncommercial seasonal residential recreational property, as those terms are defined in section 273.13 is proposed to be acquired for the construction of a site or route for a crude oil pipeline that requires a certificate of need, by eminent domain proceedings, the fee owner, or when applicable, the fee owner with the written consent of the contract for deed vendee, or the contract for deed vendee with the written consent of the fee owner, shall have the option to require the utility to condemn a fee interest in any amount of contiguous, commercially viable land which the owner or vendee wholly owns or has contracted to own in undivided fee and elects in writing to transfer to the utility within 60 days after receipt of the notice of the objects of the petition filed pursuant to section 117.055. Commercial viability shall be determined without regard to the presence of the utility route or site. The owner or, when applicable, the contract vendee shall have only one such option and may not expand or otherwise modify an election without the consent of the utility. The required acquisition of land pursuant to this subdivision shall be considered an acquisition for a public purpose and for use in the utility's business, for purposes of chapter 117 and section 500.24, respectively; provided that a utility shall divest itself completely of all such lands used for farming or capable of being used for farming not later than the time it can receive the market value paid at the time of acquisition of lands less any diminution in value by reason of the presence of the utility route or site. Upon the owner's election made under this subdivision, the easement interest over and adjacent to the lands designated by the owner to be acquired in fee, sought in the condemnation petition for a right-of-way for a crude oil pipeline which requires a Certificate of Need shall automatically be converted into a fee taking.
As property owners sharing the suffering and hardships created by the MinnCan pipeline project, we urgently ask that you assist everyone in harms way by actively supporting the “Buy the Farm – Pipeline Act.” MinnCan's crude oil pipeline severely impacts the lives of over 1,000 property owners in Minnesota, by taking their land and offering to pay pennies on the dollar for their property loss. The MinnCan pipeline will bring more than 165,000 barrels of oil per day across these properties, and create a risk of oil spills in our rich agricultural lands. Such a spill happened recently in Little Falls, MN where a different Koch pipeline ruptured spilling more than 134,000 gallons and permanently contaminated the land.
The “Buy the Farm – Pipeline Act” is based directly off an existing statute informally called the “Buy the Farm Act” (Minn.Stat 216E.12). “Buy the Farm” gives property owners the option to require proposers of high-voltage transmission lines to purchase their entire property rather than just an easement. The new law would simply extend this option to land owners that are affected by large crude oil pipelines.
We believe that this is a fair and reasonable option that enhances the rights of property owners who will be negatively impacted on a permanent basis because they were chosen to "Host" the pipeline's route. It will also become a viable tool in every property owner’s toolbox for constructing a fair settlement with the proposer.
This statute is directly inline with the overwhelmingly public support of eminent domain limits. While the recent eminent domain legislation unfortunately did not affect these types of utility takings, the above bill will bring some power back to Minnesota landowners who are impacted by utility development.
Please share this letter with others you know that are being affected by the proposed MinnCan pipeline route. We strongly urge all of those affected or support the property owners in harm's way, to call, email, or write their Representatives (To find out who represents you go to www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/Districtfinder.asp), asking them to bring the " Buy the Farm – Pipeline Act" to the floor. There is power in numbers and the more interest the Representatives receive, the more likely this bill will be heard.
Time is critical and these interests need to be expressed, NOW...They all need to be sent as soon as possible. Thank you for your help in spreading the word and voicing your support!
Proposed Bill:Eminent Domain amendment for Pipeline Facilities
Adapted from MinnStat 216E.12, 2006
Proposed Language
Contiguous land. When private real property that is an agricultural or nonagricultural homestead, nonhomestead agricultural land, rental residential property, and both commercial and noncommercial seasonal residential recreational property, as those terms are defined in section 273.13 is proposed to be acquired for the construction of a site or route for a crude oil pipeline that requires a certificate of need, by eminent domain proceedings, the fee owner, or when applicable, the fee owner with the written consent of the contract for deed vendee, or the contract for deed vendee with the written consent of the fee owner, shall have the option to require the utility to condemn a fee interest in any amount of contiguous, commercially viable land which the owner or vendee wholly owns or has contracted to own in undivided fee and elects in writing to transfer to the utility within 60 days after receipt of the notice of the objects of the petition filed pursuant to section 117.055. Commercial viability shall be determined without regard to the presence of the utility route or site. The owner or, when applicable, the contract vendee shall have only one such option and may not expand or otherwise modify an election without the consent of the utility. The required acquisition of land pursuant to this subdivision shall be considered an acquisition for a public purpose and for use in the utility's business, for purposes of chapter 117 and section 500.24, respectively; provided that a utility shall divest itself completely of all such lands used for farming or capable of being used for farming not later than the time it can receive the market value paid at the time of acquisition of lands less any diminution in value by reason of the presence of the utility route or site. Upon the owner's election made under this subdivision, the easement interest over and adjacent to the lands designated by the owner to be acquired in fee, sought in the condemnation petition for a right-of-way for a crude oil pipeline which requires a Certificate of Need shall automatically be converted into a fee taking.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Minnesota Senate Per Diem vote
And for my 300th post on this blog!
You probably won't believe this until you look at it.
The Minnesota Senate voted yesterday on a raise in their per diem. It passed 59-7.
What did our local legislators do?
Senator Clark? Yes
Senator Gimse? Yes
Senator Wergin? Yes
Senator Koch? No
Senator Dille? ? Senator Dille?
Seems like Senator Dille missed that vote.
I can't make this stuff up, even if I tried.
I am sure it was excused though.
You probably won't believe this until you look at it.
The Minnesota Senate voted yesterday on a raise in their per diem. It passed 59-7.
What did our local legislators do?
Senator Clark? Yes
Senator Gimse? Yes
Senator Wergin? Yes
Senator Koch? No
Senator Dille? ? Senator Dille?
Seems like Senator Dille missed that vote.
I can't make this stuff up, even if I tried.
I am sure it was excused though.
Why do we keep screwing our Veterans over?
It's sad.
Pathetic really.
It takes numerous high profile news stories to shed significant light on the health care surrounding our nations Veterans.
A month ago, Jonathan Schulze, a young Marine originally from Stewart, committed suicide after being denied access by persons at the VA Medical Center in St Cloud.
An investigation is ongoing as we speak. Unfortunately, I remain positive that it will be handled in the same manner as previous issues with our Veterans where the VA and its cronies abide by a strict policy of "Don't look, don't find, don't pay."
Letters to the editor poured into the SC Times and other media outlets, calling the suicide of the young Marine a rare occurrence. Many stated that they had great health care coverage at these VA Centers.
I don't doubt that. Without hesitation, I know that the medical professionals at the VA centers do the best they can with the resources that they are given. They do care about our Veterans. The problems at the VA and other military hospitals is not an indictment against them. In fact, in spite of funding cuts, these medical professionals do a remarkable job with our Veterans.
I thank all of you for your service to our troops and Veterans.
The case at Walter Reed is disturbing to me, words cannot capture my outrage. If this can happen at the crown jewel of military hospitals, it can happen anywhere.
Truth be told, we have a lot of Building 18's out there. Buildings where our Veterans rest and recuperate in moldy and varmint infested government facilities. The most egregious cases have been reported just miles from the marble and granite palaces where Michele Bachmann and other politicos publicly state their support for our troops.
Ironically, this same floor is where they cut their benefits. It's where they decide to close VA hospitals. And it's the same floor from which they propose to send more troops to Iraq.
Many read the recent Washington Post stories and for them, it was the first time that they had heard such tales. Stories of bureaucracy, incompetence, neglect, waste, fraud, and abuse.
Unfortunately, for Veterans, these stories are all too common. I did a significant amount of public speaking a few years ago on Veterans issues. One of my colleagues, Chris, is a 1990-91 Gulf War Veteran. We spoke together a lot.
Chris was an Infantryman in the 82nd Airborne. He finished his tour in Kuwait/Iraq in 1991 near An-Nasariah, where his Infantry unit stopped as the ground war ended.
Chris and his unit stayed in this location for nearly two weeks, pulling security on a route that could be a main supply route from Central to Southern Iraq. Daily, even after the war ended, Chris spoke of Air Force jets that would bomb munitions bunkers in his area. His best guess was that they were trying to destroy everything Iraq's military possessed.
Chris showed pictures of the large explosions that were just a few miles away from him. He told stories of how no matter how much him and his soldiers slept, they were always tired. He could literally sleep 20 hours a day. The combat medics with them attributed it to combat exhaustion, stress and depression.
Six years later, Chris got a letter from the VA. It told him he "may have been exposed to Sarin Gas near An-Nasariah in 1991." It told him to go to the nearest VA Medical Center with this letter to be evaluated.
Little did he know, it would start an 8 year fight with the VA.
I met Chris in 2001, after I came off of Active Duty. We shared many interests and our time on Active Duty as Infantrymen. As the drumbeat for war became louder, Chris and I began to work harder to tell people about what happens to our Veterans after wars. We spoke on college campuses, schools, and other places across the state on these issues. Chris, spoke of Gulf War Syndrome specifics. I spoke of issues around Depleted Uranium munitions and a history of what our nation does to its Veterans.
We were a very effective team.
But many years of fighting the bureaucracy took its toll on Chris. You see, Chris not only suffered the physical impact of being exposed to a chemical agent, he experienced the mental anguish of fighting for his own benefits.
Chris and I were two of many Veterans that were threatened with arrest at Congressman Kennedy's old office in St Cloud, after he had touted his strong support for the troops and screwed over more veterans with a vote to cut benefits.
There were many nights when the phone would ring at 3 am and Chris would need someone to talk to. Some nights, I drove up to St Cloud to make sure he was alright. More than once myself and other Veterans had to infiltrate his barricaded small St Cloud apartment because Chris was having a PTSD flashback.
Some at the St Cloud VA said he was faking it. He was lying. He has pre-existing conditions. Going through a series of 22 physical appointments when the mental trauma was not being addressed was a stressful experience for those of us that surrounded Chris. Imagine what it did to him. Everytime he had a mental breakdown, the VA told him he would have to start his appointments over again.
One day it was because his first test was "outdated".
Then it was lost paperwork.
Excuse after excuse ensued, and the Veteran got screwed.
In late 2004, Chris finally got his VA disability and does some work in New Mexico now as a social worker. He does some great work for Veterans in the Southern United States now.
The stories that have hit recently about the St Cloud VA and now Walter Reed, are not rare occurrences. They may not be the everyday story that gets attention in the main stream media, but they are not rare by any stretch of the imagination.
Where is the accountability? While the stories are all similar, Walter Reed and other military hospitals fall under a different jurisdiction than VA medical centers. Walter Reed falls under the Department of Defense, the Commander in Chief.
Remember a few years ago when Abu Ghraib occurred? General Janis Karpinski became the scapegoat. Many called for her to be relieved of duty and some called for a Court Martial. The actions of her soldiers were absolutely despicable and many of them have been punished under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
VP Cheney comes out and bashes Democrats yesterday because of our newest plans for Iraq. Where were the Republicans and VP Cheney when Building 18 was being run down? Surely the conditions did not denigrate to the state they are in today in the past 50 days Democrats have had control of Congress.
It starts with accountability. From day one, there has been little of no accountability when it comes to Iraq. How many billions of dollars is missing now?
Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, commander at Walter Reed, should be relieved. If General Karpinski can be threatened with Courts Martial for mistreating the "enemy", what's the punishment for mistreating 700 of our own?
Senator's Snowe and Obama will offer legislation soon to try to keep this from happening again.
That's fine and dandy really. Why do we need legislation to take care of our Veterans, our soldiers?
Republican's love to tout their support for our troops. They called us Democrats out for a "cut and run" strategy. What have they done for our Veterans, other than create more of them?
It saddens me and motivates me in the same breath. Only a few of us walked door to door and spoke to people about Veterans issues this past campaign cycle.
Legislation is great. But now it's time to put our collective words to action.
Who will stand with our Veterans and not use them for props in a campaign speech?
Who will go beyond putting the yellow ribbon on their SUV and support the Veterans, our troops?
What about all those "vote values" voters? Are these values in congruence with your actual actions?
This is indeed a call to action. Volunteer at the VA. Volunteer with other Veterans groups. Call your elected officials and express your outrage at what is happening to our Veterans.
Or, you can sit their and say you support our troops and allow Walter Reeds and SC VA Medical Center cases to fester.
It's your choice.
Pathetic really.
It takes numerous high profile news stories to shed significant light on the health care surrounding our nations Veterans.
A month ago, Jonathan Schulze, a young Marine originally from Stewart, committed suicide after being denied access by persons at the VA Medical Center in St Cloud.
An investigation is ongoing as we speak. Unfortunately, I remain positive that it will be handled in the same manner as previous issues with our Veterans where the VA and its cronies abide by a strict policy of "Don't look, don't find, don't pay."
Letters to the editor poured into the SC Times and other media outlets, calling the suicide of the young Marine a rare occurrence. Many stated that they had great health care coverage at these VA Centers.
I don't doubt that. Without hesitation, I know that the medical professionals at the VA centers do the best they can with the resources that they are given. They do care about our Veterans. The problems at the VA and other military hospitals is not an indictment against them. In fact, in spite of funding cuts, these medical professionals do a remarkable job with our Veterans.
I thank all of you for your service to our troops and Veterans.
The case at Walter Reed is disturbing to me, words cannot capture my outrage. If this can happen at the crown jewel of military hospitals, it can happen anywhere.
Truth be told, we have a lot of Building 18's out there. Buildings where our Veterans rest and recuperate in moldy and varmint infested government facilities. The most egregious cases have been reported just miles from the marble and granite palaces where Michele Bachmann and other politicos publicly state their support for our troops.
Ironically, this same floor is where they cut their benefits. It's where they decide to close VA hospitals. And it's the same floor from which they propose to send more troops to Iraq.
Many read the recent Washington Post stories and for them, it was the first time that they had heard such tales. Stories of bureaucracy, incompetence, neglect, waste, fraud, and abuse.
Unfortunately, for Veterans, these stories are all too common. I did a significant amount of public speaking a few years ago on Veterans issues. One of my colleagues, Chris, is a 1990-91 Gulf War Veteran. We spoke together a lot.
Chris was an Infantryman in the 82nd Airborne. He finished his tour in Kuwait/Iraq in 1991 near An-Nasariah, where his Infantry unit stopped as the ground war ended.
Chris and his unit stayed in this location for nearly two weeks, pulling security on a route that could be a main supply route from Central to Southern Iraq. Daily, even after the war ended, Chris spoke of Air Force jets that would bomb munitions bunkers in his area. His best guess was that they were trying to destroy everything Iraq's military possessed.
Chris showed pictures of the large explosions that were just a few miles away from him. He told stories of how no matter how much him and his soldiers slept, they were always tired. He could literally sleep 20 hours a day. The combat medics with them attributed it to combat exhaustion, stress and depression.
Six years later, Chris got a letter from the VA. It told him he "may have been exposed to Sarin Gas near An-Nasariah in 1991." It told him to go to the nearest VA Medical Center with this letter to be evaluated.
Little did he know, it would start an 8 year fight with the VA.
I met Chris in 2001, after I came off of Active Duty. We shared many interests and our time on Active Duty as Infantrymen. As the drumbeat for war became louder, Chris and I began to work harder to tell people about what happens to our Veterans after wars. We spoke on college campuses, schools, and other places across the state on these issues. Chris, spoke of Gulf War Syndrome specifics. I spoke of issues around Depleted Uranium munitions and a history of what our nation does to its Veterans.
We were a very effective team.
But many years of fighting the bureaucracy took its toll on Chris. You see, Chris not only suffered the physical impact of being exposed to a chemical agent, he experienced the mental anguish of fighting for his own benefits.
Chris and I were two of many Veterans that were threatened with arrest at Congressman Kennedy's old office in St Cloud, after he had touted his strong support for the troops and screwed over more veterans with a vote to cut benefits.
There were many nights when the phone would ring at 3 am and Chris would need someone to talk to. Some nights, I drove up to St Cloud to make sure he was alright. More than once myself and other Veterans had to infiltrate his barricaded small St Cloud apartment because Chris was having a PTSD flashback.
Some at the St Cloud VA said he was faking it. He was lying. He has pre-existing conditions. Going through a series of 22 physical appointments when the mental trauma was not being addressed was a stressful experience for those of us that surrounded Chris. Imagine what it did to him. Everytime he had a mental breakdown, the VA told him he would have to start his appointments over again.
One day it was because his first test was "outdated".
Then it was lost paperwork.
Excuse after excuse ensued, and the Veteran got screwed.
In late 2004, Chris finally got his VA disability and does some work in New Mexico now as a social worker. He does some great work for Veterans in the Southern United States now.
The stories that have hit recently about the St Cloud VA and now Walter Reed, are not rare occurrences. They may not be the everyday story that gets attention in the main stream media, but they are not rare by any stretch of the imagination.
Where is the accountability? While the stories are all similar, Walter Reed and other military hospitals fall under a different jurisdiction than VA medical centers. Walter Reed falls under the Department of Defense, the Commander in Chief.
Remember a few years ago when Abu Ghraib occurred? General Janis Karpinski became the scapegoat. Many called for her to be relieved of duty and some called for a Court Martial. The actions of her soldiers were absolutely despicable and many of them have been punished under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
VP Cheney comes out and bashes Democrats yesterday because of our newest plans for Iraq. Where were the Republicans and VP Cheney when Building 18 was being run down? Surely the conditions did not denigrate to the state they are in today in the past 50 days Democrats have had control of Congress.
It starts with accountability. From day one, there has been little of no accountability when it comes to Iraq. How many billions of dollars is missing now?
Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, commander at Walter Reed, should be relieved. If General Karpinski can be threatened with Courts Martial for mistreating the "enemy", what's the punishment for mistreating 700 of our own?
Senator's Snowe and Obama will offer legislation soon to try to keep this from happening again.
That's fine and dandy really. Why do we need legislation to take care of our Veterans, our soldiers?
Republican's love to tout their support for our troops. They called us Democrats out for a "cut and run" strategy. What have they done for our Veterans, other than create more of them?
It saddens me and motivates me in the same breath. Only a few of us walked door to door and spoke to people about Veterans issues this past campaign cycle.
Legislation is great. But now it's time to put our collective words to action.
Who will stand with our Veterans and not use them for props in a campaign speech?
Who will go beyond putting the yellow ribbon on their SUV and support the Veterans, our troops?
What about all those "vote values" voters? Are these values in congruence with your actual actions?
This is indeed a call to action. Volunteer at the VA. Volunteer with other Veterans groups. Call your elected officials and express your outrage at what is happening to our Veterans.
Or, you can sit their and say you support our troops and allow Walter Reeds and SC VA Medical Center cases to fester.
It's your choice.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Koch Industries: Some interesting connections
Minnesotan's always like to know who's digging in our collective backyards. I guess that's just the way we are up here.
We call it Minnesota Nice.
We already know that Koch Industries was co founded by Anna Nicole Smith's former husband. I'm sure that revelation curled some toes in conservative Central Minnesota.
It seem also that a high profile GOP staffer, who now is employed by Koch Industries, may have assisted former Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, in his illegal lobby dealings. Whether they knowingly or unknowingly assisted is at question now, per the story cited above.
It's pretty clear where the Koch family charitable interests go as well.
I suggest going to the main link to view the sources used in this piece as well.
This is the company that wants a pipeline built in rural Central Minnesota.
More research pending!
We call it Minnesota Nice.
We already know that Koch Industries was co founded by Anna Nicole Smith's former husband. I'm sure that revelation curled some toes in conservative Central Minnesota.
It seem also that a high profile GOP staffer, who now is employed by Koch Industries, may have assisted former Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, in his illegal lobby dealings. Whether they knowingly or unknowingly assisted is at question now, per the story cited above.
It's pretty clear where the Koch family charitable interests go as well.
David and Charles Koch, sons of the ultraconservative founder of Koch Industries, Fred Koch, direct the three Koch family foundations: the Charles G. Koch Foundation, the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, and the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation.
Following in the footsteps of their father, a member of the John Birch Society, the Kochs clearly have a conservative bent. Charles Koch founded the Cato Institute, and David Koch co-founded Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) [now FreedomWorks], where he serves as chairman of the board of directors. David also serves on the board of the Cato Institute. The Koch foundations make substantial annual contributions to these organizations (more than $12 million to each between 1985 and 2002) as well as to other influential conservative think tanks, advocacy groups, media organizations, academic institutes and legal organizations, thus participating in every level of the policy process.Their total conservative policy giving exceeded $20 million between 1999 and 2001.
Curtis Moore argues that "Koch money funds industry-friendly messages that fill our airwaves and editorial pages, and influences outcomes in the halls of Congress and courtrooms across the country." CSE produces numerous policy papers that reach every congressional office as well as hundreds of newsletters and op-ed pieces. Representatives of the organization may be seen on a number of radio and television shows. Cato's influence also extends to policymakers and the public.In touting limited government and free markets, these organizations doubt the dangers of various chemicals, environmental pollutants and global warming, as well as challenge research efforts documenting these hazards. One CSE paper argued that "environmental conservation requires a commonsense approach that limits the scope of government."
In writing these papers and making these appearances, individuals associated with these organizations often conveniently decline to acknowledge the substantial funding they receive from Koch and other corporations from the oil, coal, auto and other industries. By withholding such information, they are able to front as unbiased the public-minded associations promoting rigorous scientific research and economic autonomy, when, in fact, the individuals are mere mouthpieces for industries like that of the Koch brothers.
These organizations influence not only public opinion and policy but also judicial outlook. For example, in 1999 CSE subsidized the creation of amici
briefs providing reasons to proclaim the Clear Air Act unconstitutional. CSE received $600,000 from the Claude R. Lambe Foundation that year. The foundation also provided substantial funding to the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment (FREE), which holds seminars for federal judges at its ranch near Big Sky, Montana. Many influential judges attend these seminars, including those who heard arguments made by legal representatives receiving funding from CSE. It makes sense that the Kochs would fund such anti-environment organizations, given their seedy past of environmental violations and lawsuits.
Most significantly, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Koch Industries with
97 counts of defying federal hazardous waste and clean air-acts when it
knowingly emitted benzene fumes and then lied about its actions when questioned.
In 2001, Koch Industries agreed to a $20 million settlement, a drastically smaller sum than it would have paid if convicted.
I suggest going to the main link to view the sources used in this piece as well.
This is the company that wants a pipeline built in rural Central Minnesota.
More research pending!
Coverage of the Walter Reed investigations
From the Strib.
It's sad that some of our elected leaders could spend the time in the high profile prostetic's wing and not venture around to where other Veterans are staying. They only work about 10 miles from Walter Reed, it's a pretty quick trip really!
And yet, we had hundreds of those that served in Iraq and Afghanistan living here, some with their families?
Treating our Veterans in a manner such as this is inexcusable. Someone should be relieved for cause for this!
The White House and congressional leaders called Tuesday for swift investigation and repair of the problems plaguing outpatient care at Walter Reed Army Medical
Center, as veterans groups and members of Congress expressed anger over substandard housing and bureaucratic ineptitude.
It's sad that some of our elected leaders could spend the time in the high profile prostetic's wing and not venture around to where other Veterans are staying. They only work about 10 miles from Walter Reed, it's a pretty quick trip really!
workers in protective masks stripped mold from the walls and tore up soiled
carpets
And yet, we had hundreds of those that served in Iraq and Afghanistan living here, some with their families?
"In the warrior ethos the last line says you should never leave a fallen
comrade, and from that facility point of view we didn't live up to it ... and it
looks to me we may have not lived up to it from a process side," he said, adding
that conditions at the building are "inexcusable."
Treating our Veterans in a manner such as this is inexcusable. Someone should be relieved for cause for this!
Katherine Kersten hears from Strib readers
Strib LTE's today. Perhaps instead of regurgitating what other bloggers posted weeks ago and what Marty Seifert said a month ago now, maybe we should come up with an original thought, or expand upon what's out there.
Just a thought...
A small sampling...
They are all for "small government" when it's their version of small government.
Just a thought...
A small sampling...
It is curious, however, that Kersten and other social conservatives are not shy about proscribing and demonizing personal behavior that offends their tendentious sensibilities.
Kersten led cheers when Michele Bachmann crusaded to enthrone bigotry in the state Constitution with the Defense of Marriage Amendment. As no credible data support her claim that gay marriage will somehow degrade families, how does Kersten square this proposed debarring a "zone of freedom" with her new wish to get the government off our collective back?
They are all for "small government" when it's their version of small government.
McLeod County Chronicle on the Pipeline
The McLeod County Chronicle has coverage of the MinnCan pipeline.
I love how many of the GOP members in both the House and Senate cite individual rights when it comes to smoking bans, but when a pipeline comes through our district and people are coerced, they sit around and do nothing.
I have stepped up my actions in the pipeline issue. All of our locally elected officials have gotten a letter from me and I am also awaiting a response from the Attorney General's office.
"People's rights were violated, and they never got their due process. It's wrong," said Ken Posusta. Posusta's brother, Jonathan, is a McLeod County farmer, and is purchasing 230 acres owned by their parents. That property is being affected by the pipeline.
"People's property is one of the most important things to their livelihood," said Posusta. "They (the pipeline company) need to be held to a higher ethical and moral standard."
I love how many of the GOP members in both the House and Senate cite individual rights when it comes to smoking bans, but when a pipeline comes through our district and people are coerced, they sit around and do nothing.
I have stepped up my actions in the pipeline issue. All of our locally elected officials have gotten a letter from me and I am also awaiting a response from the Attorney General's office.
The "Toxic 13"
Christopher Truscott has another great blog up at mnpACT!
Renewable energy sources have a great deal of support in the Minnesota Legislature. In fact, 188 of 201 elected leaders support the initiative for 25% of the state's energy sources coming from renewable energy by 2025.
13 elected leaders do not support this proposal.
We have all spoken out about the importance of renewable energy sources and our state's vision to become energy independent.
Not surprising though, are the individuals that do not support these initiatives in our local area.
Mark Olson
Tom Emmer
Bruce Anderson
Ron Shimanski
We anxiously await the spin...
Renewable energy sources have a great deal of support in the Minnesota Legislature. In fact, 188 of 201 elected leaders support the initiative for 25% of the state's energy sources coming from renewable energy by 2025.
13 elected leaders do not support this proposal.
In addition to being good for our environment, this legislation also puts Minnesota in a position to lead in the 21st century, while other states struggle for answers to their own energy needs. Whereas smokestacks symbolized progress at the turn of the last century, green industry is the wave of the future and we're now on the cutting edge of a promising new era.
We have all spoken out about the importance of renewable energy sources and our state's vision to become energy independent.
Not surprising though, are the individuals that do not support these initiatives in our local area.
Mark Olson
Tom Emmer
Bruce Anderson
Ron Shimanski
We anxiously await the spin...
The Treatment of our Veterans
"We owe them all we can give them. Not only for when they're in harm's way, but when they come home ..."
President Bush said this at Walter Reed Army Hospital this past winter.
The Washington Post covered stories that contrast the words of Bush. The President's actions during his terms have fallen short of his words as well.
Veterans suffer when the President lacks the will to keep his word to our troops. For crying out loud, he's only the Commander in Chief.
The Strib editorial.
With the marble and granite palace a mere 10 miles from Walter Reed, I wonder if Congresswoman Bachmann will take the time to go visit the troops she so strongly supports?
President Bush said this at Walter Reed Army Hospital this past winter.
The Washington Post covered stories that contrast the words of Bush. The President's actions during his terms have fallen short of his words as well.
Veterans suffer when the President lacks the will to keep his word to our troops. For crying out loud, he's only the Commander in Chief.
The Strib editorial.
Last week, members of Congress debated a resolution opposing President Bush's Iraq escalation. Everyone bent over backward to declare their support for "the troops" -- especially opponents of the resolution, some of whom suggested only they really, truly have the troops in their hearts.
With the marble and granite palace a mere 10 miles from Walter Reed, I wonder if Congresswoman Bachmann will take the time to go visit the troops she so strongly supports?
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Good ole Strib LTE's today!
The Strib had some great LTE's today.
About the "bad bills" being brought forth by the DFL. I wonder if any of our local papers will opine on this one soon, it's only been a month since Rep Seifert shot that round across the bow...surely someone out here will pick it up.
With another parent having left a child to go to a casino, perhaps us liberal democrats are not so crazy after all?
Congresswoman Bachmann made the Strib again!
Such a tired and overused piece of GOP rhetoric. Iraq/9-11/Al-Qaida...
Congressman Peterson also drew the ire of Strib readers.
Wow, the letter writer remains clueless as to:
1. How big the 7th Congressional District is. FYI, it has 35 of Minnesota's 87 counties and is one of the largest Congressional Districts in the US.
2. How important Congressman Peterson's work is for farmers and conservation advocates alike.
About the "bad bills" being brought forth by the DFL. I wonder if any of our local papers will opine on this one soon, it's only been a month since Rep Seifert shot that round across the bow...surely someone out here will pick it up.
Kersten doesn't think we need legislation to protect children from their parents, she doesn't read the newspaper. If we need legislation at all, it's to protect those without a voice. Parents are overwhelmingly responsible for the deaths of their own children.
With another parent having left a child to go to a casino, perhaps us liberal democrats are not so crazy after all?
Congresswoman Bachmann made the Strib again!
Pushing a falsehood
Rep. Michele Bachmann said that the 9/11 attacks and the need to prevent future attacks are two of the reasons that we need to continue our policy in Iraq. Is she kidding? Anyone knowledgeable would never have linked the tragic events of 9/11 to the current situation in Iraq. Al-Qaida, which was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, operates out of Pakistan, not Iraq.
MIKE KLEITER, SAVAGE
Such a tired and overused piece of GOP rhetoric. Iraq/9-11/Al-Qaida...
Congressman Peterson also drew the ire of Strib readers.
I would welcome Peterson's resignation. Better a mature Republican representing the Seventh District than a temper-tantrum-throwing Democrat.
Wow, the letter writer remains clueless as to:
1. How big the 7th Congressional District is. FYI, it has 35 of Minnesota's 87 counties and is one of the largest Congressional Districts in the US.
2. How important Congressman Peterson's work is for farmers and conservation advocates alike.
As Congressman Peterson said, "It could be that I can't event legally fly my own plane even if I don't ask anybody to pay for it, which would be kind of crazy."
Neither of the letter writers live in the 7th CD.
Has Congresswoman Bachmann been anywhere near the rural areas of the 6th CD? No signs out in our rual Wright County outpost. Truthfully, if it makes an elected official more efficient, I am all for it.
School funding story
The Strib had a piece today on school funding.
As we know out here in SD 18, the ACGC school levy failed for a third time now, this time by 110 votes.
Some bloggers think its a rejection of liberal school funding.
With 58% of school levy/bond requests failing this past election cycle, people are tired of paying higher property taxes.
I bet if AAA did his research, he would find that the majority of places where these levys/bonds failed were in rural communities. Take a comparison of property tax rates in rural versus urban communities.
A one percent raise in property taxes in the Glencoe Silver Lake School District will raise just under $6. A one percent increase in property taxes in Wayzata will raise over $25.
What the people in many of our rural areas are asking for is an educational funding model that puts schools in rural areas on equal footing with places like Wayzata and Edina. We have had political leaders out here telling us for nearly 20 years that this is a top legislative priority, and yet they have never authored a bill to get it done.
It's not a rejection of education funding. It's a plea for our elected leaders to get off their asses and do what they told us they would do.
As we know out here in SD 18, the ACGC school levy failed for a third time now, this time by 110 votes.
Some bloggers think its a rejection of liberal school funding.
With 58% of school levy/bond requests failing this past election cycle, people are tired of paying higher property taxes.
The latest defeats "send a loud, clear message that we need more state funding rather than reliance on property taxes," said Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, chairwoman of the House K-12 Finance Division.
I bet if AAA did his research, he would find that the majority of places where these levys/bonds failed were in rural communities. Take a comparison of property tax rates in rural versus urban communities.
A one percent raise in property taxes in the Glencoe Silver Lake School District will raise just under $6. A one percent increase in property taxes in Wayzata will raise over $25.
What the people in many of our rural areas are asking for is an educational funding model that puts schools in rural areas on equal footing with places like Wayzata and Edina. We have had political leaders out here telling us for nearly 20 years that this is a top legislative priority, and yet they have never authored a bill to get it done.
It's not a rejection of education funding. It's a plea for our elected leaders to get off their asses and do what they told us they would do.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Face lift tax
Looks like Joan Rivers will not be moving to Minnesota any time soon if Rep Kahn has her way.
I hope it applies to teeth too. Wasn't MN Publius hit with a cease and desist order for showing Norm Coleman's hideous grill before he had cosmetic surgery?
If the GOP hits Franken hard on SNL stuff, and they will do it...people should get a look at Senator Coleman's grill pre-cosmetic surgery.
I hope it applies to teeth too. Wasn't MN Publius hit with a cease and desist order for showing Norm Coleman's hideous grill before he had cosmetic surgery?
If the GOP hits Franken hard on SNL stuff, and they will do it...people should get a look at Senator Coleman's grill pre-cosmetic surgery.
Kurdish populations not happy with the timing of Saddam's execution
I read this article on yahoo and thought about what my good friend Kani Xulam would think about the situation.
I have known Kani for several years now. He has come to SCSU and held discussions on what occurred in Iraqi controlles Kurdistan and other issues involving the Middle East. His speeches are always very moving.
Here is a speech Kani delivered recently.
Of Kurds and Avian Flu and More
World Affairs Councils of America National Conference
Washington, DC
Kani Xulam
February 3, 2007
(A shortened version of this statement was also delivered at the firstKurdish American Youth Organization (KAYO) conference at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee on February 10, 2007)
If I -- like the participants of this conference -- were a member of aWorld Affairs Council (WAC) and attended a workshop titled, "The Kurdish Dilemma" and found out that the speaker was a Kurdish activist, I would have, if I were you, been curious about what he thought of the hanging ofSaddam Hussein on December 30, 2006. Wouldn't you? Since my friend Barbara Propes, President of World Affairs Councils of America, has seen fit that yours truly be that speaker for this talk, I will indulge you with my answer, but, if you don't mind, not until I am done with my presentation. In the twenty minutes that I have between now and then, I would like to take you on a quick tour of a desolated part of Kurdistan, which is presently occupied and misruled by Turkey, a country that styles itself a democracyand has plenty of misguided friends the world over, including a few, I suspect, at this national gathering, who ardently and blindly promote the lie and shamelessly and inexplicably wear the titles of statesmen or mandarins or -- get ready for a shocker here -- lovers of humanity, and all, through and through, misnomers, if ever there were any.
These no friends of humanity, or Kurdish liberty if you are concerned about the purity of the English language, as I am, especially when I get a chance to read the likes of Chaucer or Milton or Dickens, are at best like whacky doctors who add to the misery of the world rather than eradicate it. They use not brutal facts or the reflections of sages, but fantasies of their delusional minds and want us to trust them the way babies trust their mothers. In this country, they occupy high places in all kinds of positions, span both parties, represent both sexes, and engage in absurdities like there is, surprise, surprise, a "freedom deficit" in the Middle East and, in the same breath, tell the Kurds to submit to the yoke ofArabs in Iraq, Turks in Turkey, Persians in Iran and Asad in Syria. Should I make you privy to a few specimens of this strange breed? George W. Bush. Lee Hamilton. James A. Baker, III. Condoleezza Rice. And, yes, even that one time president wannabe Howard Dean. With these captains at the helm of your ship of state, the Middle East will not, and let me underscore the word not, make any advances towards freedom -- that is, of course, if wemistakenly assume that the West alone can free the Middle East.
A cursory look at the recent history of the region makes it abundantly clear that, at least for those who have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that feel, the West, while holding onto one of the most precious blessings of humanity, liberty, has done more to deny it to the children of the Middle East than help them gain it. "What Went Wrong?" is the title of a book about the Middle East by Bernard Lewis, a confidante of Vice President DickCheney, but it could also be the subject of my presentation this morning. The sage of Princeton, to his eternal credit, predicted the implosions that are sweeping the region, but unfortunately, absolves the role of the Occident in their proliferations. God knows, and Mr. Lewis is quick to pointout as well, we have had an abundant crop in dictators, -- no place in theworld can compete with us in despots, -- from his favorite Mustafa Kemal Ataturk to the bloodthirsty butcher of Baghdad Saddam Hussein, but both, anda slew of no bodies in between, have had longer and better relations with the West than all their dissidents, including this scribe, put together. Why is that? While I am at it, let me also poke at the thousands of peace activists who descended on the National Mall in Washington, DC last week. Notwithstanding their heartfelt humanity that genuinely stirred me, I can'thelp but ask them, and forgive me for using you as a conduit, where was their righteous indignation when thousands of Kurds were gassed in broad daylight and the body parts of some of the hapless Kurds or Shiites we reserved as food to the pet lions of Uday Hussein?
I don't know how to put this for you but to state it the way it is and that is that I see a profound disconnect between the level of complaint that is out there in the media and the level of misery that is out there in the world. Make no mistake about it; this dysfunctional human family of ours is in dire need of therapy. In my work, as a Kurdish activist, I used to worry just about the Kurds; but these days, I have added you to my list. In the remaining time that I have, I would like to dwell on this dichotomy of our times with two stories from Turkish Kurdistan. And if I don't do a good job of it, please feel free to badger me with your questions afterwards.
The first story belongs to the Kocyigit family and their three kids, Fatma, Mehmet Ali and Hulya. About a year and a month ago, no one, outside of their little town, Bazid, had heard of them. On January 1, 2006, a tragedy struck their home without any warning. Fourteen-year-old Mehmet Ali died of mysterious symptoms. His death certificate noted a severe case of pneumonia. Then Fatma and Hulya followed suit. A panic spread over the tight community. People began wondering if a deadly virus had lodged itself in their midst. When word got out that the family had consumed one of their sick ducks for lunch, the alarm bells were sounded all the way in Geneva, Switzerland, at the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO). Could it be that the avian flu, which had killed scores of people in Southeast Asia, had now relocated itself to Turkish Kurdistan? The initial reaction of the Turkish officials was that H5N1, the scientific name for the strain of flu, had nothing to do with their country. A local effort to cull and destroy all the fowl had the opposite effect. Kurds rushed to consume their domesticated birds rather than surrender them to the authorities. Within days, a delegation of the World Health Organization made it to the isolated town to rein in the situation. What looked, at first sight, like a simple health crisis, analyzed more closely, revealed a gaping hole in the façade known as the Turkish government! Those in the know couldn't help but notice that their intervention was like rushing food to the starving Jews of concentration camps in Europe, or Darfuris in Sudan, and "thanking" the governments that had no use or the worst of intentions for the affected populations.
I was in Washington, DC, when the reports of Mehmet Ali and his sisters appeared first in the wire reports and then on the television screens and newspapers. As someone who follows Turkey closely, I have learned to withhold judgment on the news emanating from that forsaken country, be it good or bad, for a while at least. It takes a trained sharp eye and a lot of practice to find truth among the pile of verbose declarations, bitter denunciations or outright denials that are the standard stock of the Turkish officials and are in turn repeated in the country's journals pretty much verbatim. And if the news has anything to do with the Kurds, it is better not to believe it at all, but if you have to make heads or tails of it, follow a simple rule of thumb: believe the opposite. Never in the historyof modern times has a country so thoroughly adopted the diction of George Orwell's scary book, 1984, as Turkey has, and, here is what makes my job one of the most mournful in the world, without a mutter or a murmur from the international community. Going back to our story, I knew something serious was afoot when the initial Turkish denials began to reflect the findings ofthe World Health Organization. In no time, in addition to the staff of theWorld Health Organization, scores of reporters descended on the stricken town and came face to face with a profound "Eureka" moment. The Kurds were not as alarmed as their visitors. For one thing, they were more afraid of the Turkish government than their chickens. There was also a "Eureka" moment for the Kurds. The outsiders, with their expensive camera recorders, cared more about what the infected Kurdish chicken might do to the world and not at all what the world could do for the terrorized Kurds in the occupied Kurdistan. The first, the chickens, had the potential to kill the Whitepeople, the preferred race; the second, the Kurds, could only wallow in their misery, just like Darfuris in Sudan, and it would be business as usual in Washington, London, Paris, Berlin and Moscow.
Thirteen months have passed since that fateful day in which the first of four Kurdish children died and scores of others were hospitalized. Considering the ongoing ban on the Kurdish language in the public buildings throughout Turkey, I sometimes wonder, how did Mrs. Kocyigit, the mother of three Kurdish teens, seek help from the Turkish-only speaking doctors who staffed her local hospital? Did she feel like a cow with her three calves, with an indecipherable tongue as one high-ranking Turkish official called her language once back in 1991, visiting a veterinarian who was barred by law to decipher it? If you think this is like criminalizing an entire people, it is, and let me elaborate on it a bit with two tidbits from Bazid, the stricken Kurdish town, to underscore my point. A Canadian reporter, Caleb Lauer, visited the region one year after the event. He met with the families of the dead children and interviewed some of the grief-stricken residents. But he also checked his emails from time to time in the local Internet café and one day got the urge to visit a Kurdish website in theEnglish language. Do you know what he found on his monitor in a country that is on tenure track to join the European Union? "This site is listed as forbidden and has been blocked." He then visited the mayor of the town, Mukaddes Kubilay. Turkish Kurdistan is an "open-air prison", she confided in me, he writes. She also told him of her attempt to name a traffic island after a Kurdish poet, Ehmede Xani, the last name spelled with letters, X, A,N, I. But because the letter X doesn't exist in the Turkish alphabet, and the Kurdish one is banned by law, yes, there are banned letters of an alphabet in this European wannabe country, -- hello Hitler, your dream of an intolerant Europe is finally becoming a reality these days, -- theTurkish authorities forced her to use the letter H instead. And yes, the Kurdish bard who wrote freely in Kurdish when Ottomans were calling the shots some three hundred years ago is now forced to speak Turkish, through translations if you will, with his kith and kin. I guess you should county our blessings and thank the Austrians for stopping the fathers of present day Turks from taking over Europe. Had they succeeded, in addition to reading Goethe, Moliere and Shakespeare in Turkish today, you would have had to say goodbye not only to the notorious letter, X, but also its wickedsisters, Q, and W, which do not exist in the Turkish alphabet.
My second story is a bit dated if you think yesterday's newspaper is old news. But I am a student of history and subscribe to the maxim of Nathaniel Hawthorne that, "Our past is a rough draft of our present and of our future." At the heart of my story lies the fate of a university student. Murat Aslan was his name. Kurdish was his mother tongue, but he also spokeTurkish. A native of Amed, my hometown, he lived with his parents. On June10, 1994, he was tasked with the payment of an electric bill in person. It was the last time people saw him alive. At the time, some people furtively approached his parents and told them that they saw him being forced into a white car against his will. Izzettin Aslan, Murat's father, went to the Turkish occupation forces for help. It was like asking a blind person for directions. None were offered. But what happened to Murat haunted the family. Every single one of them would have been happy if there had been some tell tale signs of deliberate absence from home. None existed. Who were the kidnappers? What did they want from him? People who knew Murat spoke of his love for life, his interest in politics, and his good looks that were the talk of all the ladies in the neighborhood. But the times were not a happy one for the Kurds. Turkey had a Yale educated female Prime Minister, Tansu Ciller, who often spoke of fire and brimstone. The Kurds, and especially the political ones, were the object of her deadly animus. Could it be that she was partly responsible for his death? The answer came ten years later. It was not what the family, or the Kurds, wanted or expected.
In March of 2004, two reporters of the Ulkede Ozgur Gundem interviewed a Kurdish turncoat, Abdulkadir Aygan, in Ankara, Turkey. What started as a casual talk turned into a long conversation that appeared in the pages of the daily from March 8 to March 15! In gruesome detail, the killer recounted the murder of 29 Kurds. He implicated 31 Turkish officials, some of them as high as the provincial governors, the literal sidekicks of the prime minister of Turkey in Kurdistan. Among the dead, there was the name of Murat Aslan. He had been, the eyewitnesses were correct, forced into a white car and taken to an outfit of the Turkish military called JITEM, which translates to something like, the Military Intelligence Service. There, he had undergone unspeakable tortures. I will spare you the details of how theTurks have perfected that heinous art. Suffice it to note that the prisoners of Guantánamo are very lucky not to have our masters as their guards. Again, going back to our story, Murat was then taken to the shore of a tributary ofthe Tigris River in the vicinity of Bezamir, a hamlet, in the province ofBotan, and executed in close range with a single shot to his head. Doused with gasoline, he was then burned on the spot. Unbeknownst to the turncoat and his murderer friends, a shepherd was watching the whole chilling scene from afar. A few days later, he mustered enough courage to visit what was left of the hapless stranger. All he saw was a pile of bones. He buriedthem on the spot and marked the place with a few white stones. Since no one knew the name of the hapless person, word got out that he must have been a righteous one. The villagers of the area began visiting the place as a tomb of a favorite of God. Some of the afflicted Kurds who have gone to the site have reported blessed recoveries, similar to those in Bible, after the visit.
One man who was reading this particular newspaper avidly was the father of the murdered Kurdish student, Izzettin Aslan. He visited the hamlet of Bezamir and talked to the villagers about the possibility of finding an eyewitness to the death of his missing son. Sure enough, the shepherd who had witnessed the whole thing was still alive. He accompanied the father to the gravesite. The search of ten years had come to an end on the side of atributary to the Tigris River. If life had been normal, Murat would havestared at his father's grave, a marked one back in Amed, but here he was, adad, miles away from home, staring at a plot of land that might still hold the remnants of his boy. What could one do under these circumstances? What would you do if you were that father? I don't know it for a fact, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he collapsed there and then. After the visit, he appealed to the Amed Bar Association for help. The Amed Bar put together a forensic and legal team to exhume the body. Not six feet, but one foot into the ground, the members of the team unearthed the bones. The skull, as the turncoat had said, carried the scar of a single bullet hole. The DNA tests proved beyond any doubt that he was indeed the son of Mrs. and Mr. Aslan. Guli, the mother of the Kurdish student, told a Kurdish reporter, "We suffered a lot. It is an unbearable pain. For ten years, tears never stopped rolling down our eyes. We could never forget it. We want our right."
What could possibly be the "right" compensation for the cold-blooded murderof one's son? Could it possibly involve an apology from the killers or their supporters in the Turkish government including the Yale educated prime minister who, according to some reports, has properties in the United States? Of the 31 people that were implicated with the confessions of this turncoat, can you guess how many were prosecuted? None! People, who are better versed in human nature than myself, often say, suffering leads to compassion. But compassion will only come to the Kurds if their pain is acknowledged. Treating them like beasts of prey will only lead torebellion. Or perhaps the Turks will come up with a new discovery, their contribution to the civilization if you will, of how to turn humans into zombies. And this may be the right time to ask, what is America's role in this blasphemous domination of one race over another? Aside from Woodrow Wilson, can someone stand up here and name me one American president who has stood up for the right of Kurdish people to self-determination? If the World Health Organization can muster enough strength to send in a delegation to rein in the health crisis in Kurdistan, why does its parent organization, the United Nations, stand by idly, in dereliction of it solemn obligations, and let the Turkish government experiment with the cultural genocide of 20 million Kurds? These are the cracks of our common humanity posing themselves as dilemmas of our times. Maybe one day we, too, will learn to live side by side as neighbors with equal rights the way they have learned to do in Europe. In the meantime, you can be sure of one thing: in spite of our bleak conditions, we are not accepting the yoke of our neighbors and will continue to fight for our inalienable rights for as long as we are part of this world.
I have tested your patience and made it to the end of my presentation. On the exact day in which Murat Aslan, the young Kurdish university student, was kidnapped, the residents of a small Czech village called Lidice were holding a memorial service for 340 men, women, and children that were murdered by the Nazis on June 10, 1942. Only 52 years separate these two events; but the mindsets that conceived them were one and the same. We abhor the authors of the first deed now, but have adjusted ourselves to live with the perpetrators of the second so to speak. How could that be? Perhaps one of you could explain this mystery to me. I sure would appreciate it if you could put my mind at ease.
As to what I think of the hanging of Saddam Hussein, let me answer you with a couple of questions of my own. Imagine if you will, Adolf Hitler didn'tcommit suicide, but was caught alive and tried at Nuremberg. Is it conceivable that he would have been tried only for the crime of Lidice and then hanged right after? Do you really think the Russians, the English, the French, the Poles, the Serbs, the Greeks, the Dutch, the Americans and even the surviving Jews would have allowed such a miscarriage of justice to take place? If my study of history has taught me one thing, it is that they would have demanded to know how and when the German monster ordered the death of their loved ones. That is what I wanted as well with the butcher of Baghdad and was shocked that he was sent to the gallows for the death of146 Shiites in Dujail. I wanted to hear him recount not just for me, but the whole world, how he murdered one in 20 Kurds, a quarter million of my compatriots that is to say, in Iraqi Kurdistan. I also wanted to heal, if one could be healed of these things, so that I could perhaps forgive the people that give birth to his likes. But the Arabs and the Americans had other plans. Whatever they were, they did not serve the cause of justice or that of peace or that of freedom or that of reconciliation between the Kurds and the Arabs. An opportunity was squandered. I felt sorry for the Middle East. Do I need to add that I felt the same for your country?
I have known Kani for several years now. He has come to SCSU and held discussions on what occurred in Iraqi controlles Kurdistan and other issues involving the Middle East. His speeches are always very moving.
Here is a speech Kani delivered recently.
Of Kurds and Avian Flu and More
World Affairs Councils of America National Conference
Washington, DC
Kani Xulam
February 3, 2007
(A shortened version of this statement was also delivered at the firstKurdish American Youth Organization (KAYO) conference at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee on February 10, 2007)
If I -- like the participants of this conference -- were a member of aWorld Affairs Council (WAC) and attended a workshop titled, "The Kurdish Dilemma" and found out that the speaker was a Kurdish activist, I would have, if I were you, been curious about what he thought of the hanging ofSaddam Hussein on December 30, 2006. Wouldn't you? Since my friend Barbara Propes, President of World Affairs Councils of America, has seen fit that yours truly be that speaker for this talk, I will indulge you with my answer, but, if you don't mind, not until I am done with my presentation. In the twenty minutes that I have between now and then, I would like to take you on a quick tour of a desolated part of Kurdistan, which is presently occupied and misruled by Turkey, a country that styles itself a democracyand has plenty of misguided friends the world over, including a few, I suspect, at this national gathering, who ardently and blindly promote the lie and shamelessly and inexplicably wear the titles of statesmen or mandarins or -- get ready for a shocker here -- lovers of humanity, and all, through and through, misnomers, if ever there were any.
These no friends of humanity, or Kurdish liberty if you are concerned about the purity of the English language, as I am, especially when I get a chance to read the likes of Chaucer or Milton or Dickens, are at best like whacky doctors who add to the misery of the world rather than eradicate it. They use not brutal facts or the reflections of sages, but fantasies of their delusional minds and want us to trust them the way babies trust their mothers. In this country, they occupy high places in all kinds of positions, span both parties, represent both sexes, and engage in absurdities like there is, surprise, surprise, a "freedom deficit" in the Middle East and, in the same breath, tell the Kurds to submit to the yoke ofArabs in Iraq, Turks in Turkey, Persians in Iran and Asad in Syria. Should I make you privy to a few specimens of this strange breed? George W. Bush. Lee Hamilton. James A. Baker, III. Condoleezza Rice. And, yes, even that one time president wannabe Howard Dean. With these captains at the helm of your ship of state, the Middle East will not, and let me underscore the word not, make any advances towards freedom -- that is, of course, if wemistakenly assume that the West alone can free the Middle East.
A cursory look at the recent history of the region makes it abundantly clear that, at least for those who have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that feel, the West, while holding onto one of the most precious blessings of humanity, liberty, has done more to deny it to the children of the Middle East than help them gain it. "What Went Wrong?" is the title of a book about the Middle East by Bernard Lewis, a confidante of Vice President DickCheney, but it could also be the subject of my presentation this morning. The sage of Princeton, to his eternal credit, predicted the implosions that are sweeping the region, but unfortunately, absolves the role of the Occident in their proliferations. God knows, and Mr. Lewis is quick to pointout as well, we have had an abundant crop in dictators, -- no place in theworld can compete with us in despots, -- from his favorite Mustafa Kemal Ataturk to the bloodthirsty butcher of Baghdad Saddam Hussein, but both, anda slew of no bodies in between, have had longer and better relations with the West than all their dissidents, including this scribe, put together. Why is that? While I am at it, let me also poke at the thousands of peace activists who descended on the National Mall in Washington, DC last week. Notwithstanding their heartfelt humanity that genuinely stirred me, I can'thelp but ask them, and forgive me for using you as a conduit, where was their righteous indignation when thousands of Kurds were gassed in broad daylight and the body parts of some of the hapless Kurds or Shiites we reserved as food to the pet lions of Uday Hussein?
I don't know how to put this for you but to state it the way it is and that is that I see a profound disconnect between the level of complaint that is out there in the media and the level of misery that is out there in the world. Make no mistake about it; this dysfunctional human family of ours is in dire need of therapy. In my work, as a Kurdish activist, I used to worry just about the Kurds; but these days, I have added you to my list. In the remaining time that I have, I would like to dwell on this dichotomy of our times with two stories from Turkish Kurdistan. And if I don't do a good job of it, please feel free to badger me with your questions afterwards.
The first story belongs to the Kocyigit family and their three kids, Fatma, Mehmet Ali and Hulya. About a year and a month ago, no one, outside of their little town, Bazid, had heard of them. On January 1, 2006, a tragedy struck their home without any warning. Fourteen-year-old Mehmet Ali died of mysterious symptoms. His death certificate noted a severe case of pneumonia. Then Fatma and Hulya followed suit. A panic spread over the tight community. People began wondering if a deadly virus had lodged itself in their midst. When word got out that the family had consumed one of their sick ducks for lunch, the alarm bells were sounded all the way in Geneva, Switzerland, at the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO). Could it be that the avian flu, which had killed scores of people in Southeast Asia, had now relocated itself to Turkish Kurdistan? The initial reaction of the Turkish officials was that H5N1, the scientific name for the strain of flu, had nothing to do with their country. A local effort to cull and destroy all the fowl had the opposite effect. Kurds rushed to consume their domesticated birds rather than surrender them to the authorities. Within days, a delegation of the World Health Organization made it to the isolated town to rein in the situation. What looked, at first sight, like a simple health crisis, analyzed more closely, revealed a gaping hole in the façade known as the Turkish government! Those in the know couldn't help but notice that their intervention was like rushing food to the starving Jews of concentration camps in Europe, or Darfuris in Sudan, and "thanking" the governments that had no use or the worst of intentions for the affected populations.
I was in Washington, DC, when the reports of Mehmet Ali and his sisters appeared first in the wire reports and then on the television screens and newspapers. As someone who follows Turkey closely, I have learned to withhold judgment on the news emanating from that forsaken country, be it good or bad, for a while at least. It takes a trained sharp eye and a lot of practice to find truth among the pile of verbose declarations, bitter denunciations or outright denials that are the standard stock of the Turkish officials and are in turn repeated in the country's journals pretty much verbatim. And if the news has anything to do with the Kurds, it is better not to believe it at all, but if you have to make heads or tails of it, follow a simple rule of thumb: believe the opposite. Never in the historyof modern times has a country so thoroughly adopted the diction of George Orwell's scary book, 1984, as Turkey has, and, here is what makes my job one of the most mournful in the world, without a mutter or a murmur from the international community. Going back to our story, I knew something serious was afoot when the initial Turkish denials began to reflect the findings ofthe World Health Organization. In no time, in addition to the staff of theWorld Health Organization, scores of reporters descended on the stricken town and came face to face with a profound "Eureka" moment. The Kurds were not as alarmed as their visitors. For one thing, they were more afraid of the Turkish government than their chickens. There was also a "Eureka" moment for the Kurds. The outsiders, with their expensive camera recorders, cared more about what the infected Kurdish chicken might do to the world and not at all what the world could do for the terrorized Kurds in the occupied Kurdistan. The first, the chickens, had the potential to kill the Whitepeople, the preferred race; the second, the Kurds, could only wallow in their misery, just like Darfuris in Sudan, and it would be business as usual in Washington, London, Paris, Berlin and Moscow.
Thirteen months have passed since that fateful day in which the first of four Kurdish children died and scores of others were hospitalized. Considering the ongoing ban on the Kurdish language in the public buildings throughout Turkey, I sometimes wonder, how did Mrs. Kocyigit, the mother of three Kurdish teens, seek help from the Turkish-only speaking doctors who staffed her local hospital? Did she feel like a cow with her three calves, with an indecipherable tongue as one high-ranking Turkish official called her language once back in 1991, visiting a veterinarian who was barred by law to decipher it? If you think this is like criminalizing an entire people, it is, and let me elaborate on it a bit with two tidbits from Bazid, the stricken Kurdish town, to underscore my point. A Canadian reporter, Caleb Lauer, visited the region one year after the event. He met with the families of the dead children and interviewed some of the grief-stricken residents. But he also checked his emails from time to time in the local Internet café and one day got the urge to visit a Kurdish website in theEnglish language. Do you know what he found on his monitor in a country that is on tenure track to join the European Union? "This site is listed as forbidden and has been blocked." He then visited the mayor of the town, Mukaddes Kubilay. Turkish Kurdistan is an "open-air prison", she confided in me, he writes. She also told him of her attempt to name a traffic island after a Kurdish poet, Ehmede Xani, the last name spelled with letters, X, A,N, I. But because the letter X doesn't exist in the Turkish alphabet, and the Kurdish one is banned by law, yes, there are banned letters of an alphabet in this European wannabe country, -- hello Hitler, your dream of an intolerant Europe is finally becoming a reality these days, -- theTurkish authorities forced her to use the letter H instead. And yes, the Kurdish bard who wrote freely in Kurdish when Ottomans were calling the shots some three hundred years ago is now forced to speak Turkish, through translations if you will, with his kith and kin. I guess you should county our blessings and thank the Austrians for stopping the fathers of present day Turks from taking over Europe. Had they succeeded, in addition to reading Goethe, Moliere and Shakespeare in Turkish today, you would have had to say goodbye not only to the notorious letter, X, but also its wickedsisters, Q, and W, which do not exist in the Turkish alphabet.
My second story is a bit dated if you think yesterday's newspaper is old news. But I am a student of history and subscribe to the maxim of Nathaniel Hawthorne that, "Our past is a rough draft of our present and of our future." At the heart of my story lies the fate of a university student. Murat Aslan was his name. Kurdish was his mother tongue, but he also spokeTurkish. A native of Amed, my hometown, he lived with his parents. On June10, 1994, he was tasked with the payment of an electric bill in person. It was the last time people saw him alive. At the time, some people furtively approached his parents and told them that they saw him being forced into a white car against his will. Izzettin Aslan, Murat's father, went to the Turkish occupation forces for help. It was like asking a blind person for directions. None were offered. But what happened to Murat haunted the family. Every single one of them would have been happy if there had been some tell tale signs of deliberate absence from home. None existed. Who were the kidnappers? What did they want from him? People who knew Murat spoke of his love for life, his interest in politics, and his good looks that were the talk of all the ladies in the neighborhood. But the times were not a happy one for the Kurds. Turkey had a Yale educated female Prime Minister, Tansu Ciller, who often spoke of fire and brimstone. The Kurds, and especially the political ones, were the object of her deadly animus. Could it be that she was partly responsible for his death? The answer came ten years later. It was not what the family, or the Kurds, wanted or expected.
In March of 2004, two reporters of the Ulkede Ozgur Gundem interviewed a Kurdish turncoat, Abdulkadir Aygan, in Ankara, Turkey. What started as a casual talk turned into a long conversation that appeared in the pages of the daily from March 8 to March 15! In gruesome detail, the killer recounted the murder of 29 Kurds. He implicated 31 Turkish officials, some of them as high as the provincial governors, the literal sidekicks of the prime minister of Turkey in Kurdistan. Among the dead, there was the name of Murat Aslan. He had been, the eyewitnesses were correct, forced into a white car and taken to an outfit of the Turkish military called JITEM, which translates to something like, the Military Intelligence Service. There, he had undergone unspeakable tortures. I will spare you the details of how theTurks have perfected that heinous art. Suffice it to note that the prisoners of Guantánamo are very lucky not to have our masters as their guards. Again, going back to our story, Murat was then taken to the shore of a tributary ofthe Tigris River in the vicinity of Bezamir, a hamlet, in the province ofBotan, and executed in close range with a single shot to his head. Doused with gasoline, he was then burned on the spot. Unbeknownst to the turncoat and his murderer friends, a shepherd was watching the whole chilling scene from afar. A few days later, he mustered enough courage to visit what was left of the hapless stranger. All he saw was a pile of bones. He buriedthem on the spot and marked the place with a few white stones. Since no one knew the name of the hapless person, word got out that he must have been a righteous one. The villagers of the area began visiting the place as a tomb of a favorite of God. Some of the afflicted Kurds who have gone to the site have reported blessed recoveries, similar to those in Bible, after the visit.
One man who was reading this particular newspaper avidly was the father of the murdered Kurdish student, Izzettin Aslan. He visited the hamlet of Bezamir and talked to the villagers about the possibility of finding an eyewitness to the death of his missing son. Sure enough, the shepherd who had witnessed the whole thing was still alive. He accompanied the father to the gravesite. The search of ten years had come to an end on the side of atributary to the Tigris River. If life had been normal, Murat would havestared at his father's grave, a marked one back in Amed, but here he was, adad, miles away from home, staring at a plot of land that might still hold the remnants of his boy. What could one do under these circumstances? What would you do if you were that father? I don't know it for a fact, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that he collapsed there and then. After the visit, he appealed to the Amed Bar Association for help. The Amed Bar put together a forensic and legal team to exhume the body. Not six feet, but one foot into the ground, the members of the team unearthed the bones. The skull, as the turncoat had said, carried the scar of a single bullet hole. The DNA tests proved beyond any doubt that he was indeed the son of Mrs. and Mr. Aslan. Guli, the mother of the Kurdish student, told a Kurdish reporter, "We suffered a lot. It is an unbearable pain. For ten years, tears never stopped rolling down our eyes. We could never forget it. We want our right."
What could possibly be the "right" compensation for the cold-blooded murderof one's son? Could it possibly involve an apology from the killers or their supporters in the Turkish government including the Yale educated prime minister who, according to some reports, has properties in the United States? Of the 31 people that were implicated with the confessions of this turncoat, can you guess how many were prosecuted? None! People, who are better versed in human nature than myself, often say, suffering leads to compassion. But compassion will only come to the Kurds if their pain is acknowledged. Treating them like beasts of prey will only lead torebellion. Or perhaps the Turks will come up with a new discovery, their contribution to the civilization if you will, of how to turn humans into zombies. And this may be the right time to ask, what is America's role in this blasphemous domination of one race over another? Aside from Woodrow Wilson, can someone stand up here and name me one American president who has stood up for the right of Kurdish people to self-determination? If the World Health Organization can muster enough strength to send in a delegation to rein in the health crisis in Kurdistan, why does its parent organization, the United Nations, stand by idly, in dereliction of it solemn obligations, and let the Turkish government experiment with the cultural genocide of 20 million Kurds? These are the cracks of our common humanity posing themselves as dilemmas of our times. Maybe one day we, too, will learn to live side by side as neighbors with equal rights the way they have learned to do in Europe. In the meantime, you can be sure of one thing: in spite of our bleak conditions, we are not accepting the yoke of our neighbors and will continue to fight for our inalienable rights for as long as we are part of this world.
I have tested your patience and made it to the end of my presentation. On the exact day in which Murat Aslan, the young Kurdish university student, was kidnapped, the residents of a small Czech village called Lidice were holding a memorial service for 340 men, women, and children that were murdered by the Nazis on June 10, 1942. Only 52 years separate these two events; but the mindsets that conceived them were one and the same. We abhor the authors of the first deed now, but have adjusted ourselves to live with the perpetrators of the second so to speak. How could that be? Perhaps one of you could explain this mystery to me. I sure would appreciate it if you could put my mind at ease.
As to what I think of the hanging of Saddam Hussein, let me answer you with a couple of questions of my own. Imagine if you will, Adolf Hitler didn'tcommit suicide, but was caught alive and tried at Nuremberg. Is it conceivable that he would have been tried only for the crime of Lidice and then hanged right after? Do you really think the Russians, the English, the French, the Poles, the Serbs, the Greeks, the Dutch, the Americans and even the surviving Jews would have allowed such a miscarriage of justice to take place? If my study of history has taught me one thing, it is that they would have demanded to know how and when the German monster ordered the death of their loved ones. That is what I wanted as well with the butcher of Baghdad and was shocked that he was sent to the gallows for the death of146 Shiites in Dujail. I wanted to hear him recount not just for me, but the whole world, how he murdered one in 20 Kurds, a quarter million of my compatriots that is to say, in Iraqi Kurdistan. I also wanted to heal, if one could be healed of these things, so that I could perhaps forgive the people that give birth to his likes. But the Arabs and the Americans had other plans. Whatever they were, they did not serve the cause of justice or that of peace or that of freedom or that of reconciliation between the Kurds and the Arabs. An opportunity was squandered. I felt sorry for the Middle East. Do I need to add that I felt the same for your country?
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