forefathers

Yesterday there was a major Tea Party rally scheduled in Columbia, S.C, in which about 2,000 people were expected to attend. Well it didn't turn out that way:

The Columbia Tea Party went from Donald Trump to jilted chump after the celebrity businessman canceled his appearance at Thursday’s State House rally, and state legislators approved tax breaks and spending that the group opposed.

Trump’s decision to not enter the GOP presidential race left local Tea Party leaders stewing about the way they had been treated. But about 30 people were on hand Thursday to thank Gov. Nikki Haley, lawmakers and activists for their work to require more on-the-record Legislative votes.
It was all part of a tough week for the state’s Tea Party movement.

(emphasis added)

Nikki Haley, a Tea Party darling, could only muster about 30 people to come out and hear her speak? I've seen the crazy guy preaching about the rapture on some random street corner get more listeners. But wait, pictures do speak louder than words, so here:

Credit: Tracy Glantz

Of course the media will still have you believe that the Tea Party is this huge driving force. You won't find coverage of this kind of failure in the lame stream media.

We have been plagued by stories of computers that contain our personal information being stolen this year. Now we have a study out that shows how little privacy we have here in the United States:

U.S. privacy protections rank among the worst in the democratic world, a London-based privacy organization said Wednesday.

Privacy International ranked 36 nations around the globe, including all European Union nations and other major democracies, and determined that in categories such as enforcement of privacy laws, the U.S. is on par with countries like China, Russia and Malaysia.

Overall, the U.S. was determined to be an "extensive surveillance society,” the second-lowest rating in the study.

This is something that has happened under the watch of George Bush. He has pissed on the graves of our forefathers and worked to destroy what we once stood for. What for? In the name of revenge. He has used 9/11 and terrorism for his little revenge to go after Saddam. He could care less if Osama ever gets caught. Hell I bet he wishes we would have another 9/11, so long as it is after the elections and he don't have to worry about actually explaining himself to congress. That would give him a way to strip even more liberties away and start more wars. Make no mistake - George Bush is the gravest threat to this country that it has ever faced!

Reporters Without Borders has released their annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index and the United States has now fallen 53rd place:

The United States (53rd) has fallen nine places since last year, after being in 17th position in the first year of the Index, in 2002. Relations between the media and the Bush administration sharply deteriorated after the president used the pretext of “national security” to regard as suspicious any journalist who questioned his “war on terrorism.” The zeal of federal courts which, unlike those in 33 US states, refuse to recognise the media’s right not to reveal its sources, even threatens journalists whose investigations have no connection at all with terrorism.

I am sure this is what our forefathers fought and died for - a country diminishing in the very freedoms it was based upon. We now fail in comparison to other countries such as Bosnia, El Salvador and Serbia. In other words - that glowing light of freedom is now much dimmer. Thank you George Bush.

I hope your day is better then it is here. We are getting rained on and there is talk of severe thunderstorms this afternoon with winds up to 50mph and 3/4 inch sized hail.

With the bad weather it is a good time to reflect upon our nation - where it was and where it is. I was thinking last night that 230 years ago our forefathers were in a great fight. They were fighting for a new idea and to remove an occupying force from our nation who we would no long recognize as our leaders.

Here we are less than 2 1/2 centuries later and we are now an occupying force in another nation with their citizens trying to get us out. What has happened to our once great nation?

One part of the Declaration of Independence that always comes to mind when I think about our current state of the union is this:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness

One of the problems with Bush's wiretapping that isn't discussed in the
public forum much is how he notified Congress of the program. There are clear
laws that require the President to seek the advice and consent of Congress and
now it appears he even broke those laws:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 - A legal analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional
Research Service concludes that the Bush administration's limited briefings
for Congress on the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping
without warrants are "inconsistent with the law."

The analysis was requested by Representative Jane Harman, the ranking
Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, who said in a Jan. 4 letter to
President Bush that she believed the briefings should be open to all the
members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.

Instead, the briefings have been limited to the Republican and Democratic
leaders of the House and Senate and of the Intelligence Committees, the
so-called Gang of Eight.

Article continues

here.

So even if there is some weird loop hole of a law that is hidden way in the
books that gives Bush this authority, he still is violating the law by not
properly informing Congress of his actions. This is just further proof that Bush
ignores the checks and balances our forefathers fought to include in our
government.

Chuck Hagel (R-Ne) spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations today and
delivered a very compelling speech regarding Iraq. Following are some highlights
of this speech. The full transcript can be read

here.

The Iraq war should not be debated in the United States on a partisan
political platform. This debases our country, trivializes the seriousness of
war and cheapens the service and sacrifices of our men and women in uniform.
War is not a Republican or Democrat issue. The casualties of war are from
both parties. The Bush Administration must understand that each American
has a right to question our policies in Iraq and should not be demonized for
disagreeing with them. Suggesting that to challenge or criticize policy is
undermining and hurting our troops is not democracy nor what this country
has stood for, for over 200 years. The Democrats have an obligation to
challenge in a serious and responsible manner, offering solutions and
alternatives to the Administration’s policies.

That right there is a slam dunk. One thing I get tired of hearing is that
"you don't support our troops if you question our President". The very basis of
our democracy is built upon dissent. We would not even be a country if our
forefathers didn't question and dissent from the leadership of England.

KOMO news in Des Moines, Iowa has reported that 57 year old Cecilia Beaman, a middle school principal, is now on the terrorist watch list. Mrs. Beamen did the unthinkable. She accidently misplaced a rounded edged butter knife. To make matters even worse, she committed this felonious act while chaperoning 37 middle school students on a trip.

Seems more and more, the people of this country are becoming the criminals, and the criminals are becoming the saints. At least it is that way in the eyes of the government. As you can see by the new Dubya quote generator, even our President can make a mistake. Why is it that people in this country can no longer make a simple error? Is it true that we are now resorting to criminalizing those who made a simple mistake? And, are we now guilty until proven innocent?

If all this is true, then I must say congratulations to the terroists that struck us on September 11, for they have won. President Bush has said time and time again that they hate us because of our freedoms. Well we continue to limit those freedoms more and more. If that is the true reason they hate us, then are we not admitting our loss in this war? Have we finally stripped away the rights that have made us a great nation because of the failing war effort.

This is another sign that it is time Americans to take back America. This is our country that our forefathers fought and died for. Our government, by trampling the rights of its citizens, is now acting in a way that our enemies would. That is intolerable.

The full text of the article as reported on KOMO can be seen here.