Anti-War Protests Target Wounded at Army Hospital

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the current home of hundreds of wounded veterans from the war in Iraq, has been the target of weekly antiwar demonstrations since March. The protesters hold signs that read "Maimed for Lies" and "Enlist here and die for Halliburton."

>> Read full story

Big Bubba Note: Need we be surprised that the media have ignored these shameful demonstrators?

It's easy and it's brainless

CABLE BATTLE: CNN HEAD CALLS FOXNEWS COVERAGE 'MEANINGLESS NONSENSE'
Tue Aug 23 2005 20:34:26 ET

CNN President Jonathan Klein implies ratings news leader FOXNEWS is mired in coverage of "meaningless nonsense," claiming: "Fourteen Americans dead, and they have Natalee Holloway on," Klein says. "And they're supposedly America's news channel."



I will confess to being a Foxfan. I find the pretentiously ignorant progressive liberal pseudo intellectual demoracists, communists, and professional President Bush haters, who have infected most of the other broadcast media to be most tiring. Fox, in the interest of "fair and balanced reporting" has a stable of pretentiously ignorant progressive liberal pseudo intellectual demoracists, communists, and professional President Bush haters that I also find most tiring. The good thing about Fox is that they provide small, easy to swallow doses of these people in order to inform both points of view in approximately equal amounts. This is a non argument in the great tradition of American capitalism. The ratings are a strong indication of what the people want.

I think it is great fun to be accused of being a fan of "meaningless nonsense" and implications of "brainless." Us flyover hayseeds are so ignorant that we elected George W. Bush, twice, to be President of this great nation. It's good to be a red state hayseed.

Misanthropundit.com Update II

I have tentatively selected a visually pleasing template for the website. I have refined some of my ideas on setting up the website and what content will be included. Most of my internet friends know that I am interested in Hispanic culture. I plan on having a section on San Antonio public art. I am really excited about getting out and about town to discover murals that I haven't seen. I need to make a final decision about threaded discussion software.

There are many little details to attend to, however, I believe things are starting to come together. It seems that all of this is happening as interest in my blog declines somewhat. Fortunately for me most of what I am doing is for my own enjoyment. If I am happy with what I do then I will be a success.

It Is Impossible To Make This Stuff Up, Folks

America's skies are safer today, aren't they? Even U.S. troops being deployed aboard chartered aircraft must undergo the same security screening as your average passenger. When the National Guard's 48th Brigade Combat Team deployed from Savannah, Georgia, to Iraq, the unit's commander, Lt. Col. John King, reluctantly instructed his soldiers to surrender pocket knives, lighters and nose hair scissors, in compliance with FAA anti-hijacking regulations. Having so complied, the soldiers were allowed to keep their rifles, combat shotguns, pistols, bayonets, helmets and body armor. Here we might suggest that the policymakers at the Federal Aviation Administration deploy their oxygen masks ASAP -- they've definitely got their heads, err, in the clouds.

Federalist Patriot No. 05-33
19 August 2005
Friday Digest

Will San Franciscan Be The New Code Word For..........

..............loon, nutcase, moonbat, schlemiel, knucklehead, booby, schnook, laughing stock, schmuck? Any other ideas? Personally I prefer either moonbat, laughing stock, or both.

San Francisco Shuns Retired USS Iowa
Aug 20 4:54 PM US/Eastern

By BRIAN SKOLOFF
Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO

The USS Iowa joined in battles from World War II to Korea to the Persian Gulf. It carried President Franklin Roosevelt home from the Teheran conference of allied leaders, and four decades later, suffered one of the nation's most deadly military accidents.

Veterans groups and history buffs had hoped that tourists in San Francisco could walk the same teak decks where sailors dodged Japanese machine-gun fire and fired 16-inch guns that helped win battles across the South Pacific.

What's Not To Like About Judge Robert's?

"If one wants the youth of America and the world sashaying around in garish sequined costumes, hair dripping with pomade, body shot full of female hormones to prevent voice change, mono-gloved, well, then, I suppose 'Michael,' as he is affectionately known in the trade, is in fact a good example. Quite apart from the problem of appearing to endorse Jackson's androgynous life style, a Presidential award would be perceived as a shallow effort by the President to share in the constant publicity surrounding Jackson. . . . The whole episode would, in my view, be demeaning to the President." --Judge John Roberts

Wow! 1984 and Judge Roberts already seemed to sense that Michael was a rolling disaster looking for a brick wall to crash into



".......encouraging homemakers to become lawyers contributes to the common good." --Judge John Roberts.

That honest observation, or opinion is sure to bring the crazies out of the woodwork. I think I hear flapping wings. Big Bubba is grateful that he had a stay at home mom. Mom did work from time to time at jobs that did not interfere with her homemaking. There is a serious ongoing discussion amongst women about whether or not to be a stay at home mom.



The American Bar Association, on August 17, 2005, declared that Judge John Roberts "well-qualified" to succeed Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. Toss a coin, cross your fingers and hope for the best when that crew "likes" someone. Could Judge Roberts be one of those pesky stealth liberal judges that Republican Presidents are infamous for appointing to courts?



Who's your daddy? "Leahy Follows Orders" Ralph Neas says, "Jump." He asks, "How high?"



Big Bubba likes this guy, I really like this guy,

Roberts was wary of 'Reaganism'
ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 20, 2005

As a young White House lawyer, Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. cautioned against allowing President Reagan to say the United States was "the greatest nation God ever created," saying he feared it would lead to political ridicule. In an Oct. 11, 1984, memo, Judge Roberts wrote that according to the biblical book of Genesis, "God creates things like the heavens and the earth, and the birds and the fishes, but not nations. "The phrase strikes me as ill-advised and, particularly in light of the focus on the religion and politics issue, a likely candidate for the 'Reaganism of the Week,' " he wrote White House counsel Fred Fielding, his boss at the time.



Judge Roberts may have to tune up his politically correct speech a tad,

"As a lawyer in the Reagan White House, John Roberts scoffed at the notion of elevating Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to chief justice as a way to close a political gender gap, calling it a "crass political consideration."

Whew, such politically incorrect speech may attract crazies with agendas. Of course he has already attracted a considerable army of crazies with agendas, but, I guess there is always room for one more.



This certainly sounds encouraging,

A few months after turning 30, Roberts wrote that senior Justice Department officials, in rejecting his earlier advice on a subject, had decided the Constitution "did not mean what it said".



The progressive liberal pseudo intellectual demoracists are getting desperate on this one. If anyone has evidence of unpaid John Roberts parking tickets please forward them ASAP to Howard "Aaaaarghhh" Dean at the demoracist National Committee Headquarters.

Big Bubba believes that while Judge John Roberts will be confirmed as the next Supreme Court Justice the trip to the destination will be most entertaining.

Outsourcing Cindy Sheehan

The radicalism of Cindy Sheehan

By Rich Lowry


How long can it be until Cindy Sheehan gets her own show on the left-wing radio network Air America? The mother of a 24-year-old killed in Iraq, who has camped out in Crawford, Texas, demanding a meeting with President Bush, has made herself the mouthpiece not of those many Americans skeptical about a war that has proven far more difficult than advertised, but of howling-at-the-moon, bile-spewing Bush haters.



Cindy Sheehan Becomes National Security Advisor
Excerpts reprinted with permission from Debbie Daniel
Wednesday, August 17, 2005


Whew! That’s good to hear, I thought it was George Bush’s job she wanted. I got an e-mail early Saturday morning about a “Support Our Troops” rally in Crawford, Texas, so I grabbed a friend, packed up my VW Beetle and headed to God’s country, I mean George Bush’s ranch.

No sooner had I arrived in the great little town of Crawford and folded out of my car that we were assaulted by protesters wanting to know if we were “for Cindy or Bush.” For some reason I didn’t like the way that was worded . . . for CINDY or for BUSH? What did that mean?




She Does Not Speak for Me
My son died in Iraq--and it was not in vain.

BY RONALD R. GRIFFIN

I lost a son in Iraq and Cindy Sheehan does not speak for me.

I grieve with Mrs. Sheehan, for all too well I know the full measure of the agony she is forever going to endure. I honor her son for his service and sacrifice. However, I abhor all that she represents and those who would cast her as the symbol for parents of our fallen soldiers.



The Sheehan Spectacle
By George Neumayr

A good illustration of the collusion between axe-grinding victims and the cynical media that exploit them appeared after one of last year's presidential debates: a placard was crassly put up in "spin alley" to direct reporters to "9-11 widows" who were eager to provide them with quotes disparaging George Bush for not making the right noises during the debate.

Cindy Sheehan and the media's manipulative use of her brings this episode back to mind. We're witnessing a replay of the media's cynical catering to the 9-11 widows, dubbed the "Jersey Girls," which began with great interest but then trailed off in proportion to the media's embarrassment about their wildly imprecise and boring charges. The media, thrilled to have something to work with during the dog days of August, will soon lose interest in Sheehan too.



Mom deserves sympathies, her agenda doesn't
by Linda Chavez


The loss of a child is the single most tragic event that can befall a family. When my younger sister died at age 6, my parents seemed to withdraw into their own private world. I was 12 at the time, too young to fully understand the depths of their despair but old enough to experience the terrible sadness that crept into our lives, turning even happy moments wistful. Maybe that's why I've been slow to blame Cindy Sheehan for her anti-war antics outside President Bush's Crawford ranch, but that doesn't let the media off the hook for turning her into an icon of resistance to the Iraq War.

Cindy Sheehan: Commander in grief

To expiate the pain of losing her firstborn son in the Iraq war, Cindy Sheehan decided to cheer herself up by engaging in Stalinist agitprop outside President Bush's Crawford ranch. It's the strangest method of grieving I've seen since Paul Wellstone's funeral. Someone needs to teach these liberals how to mourn.

Call me old-fashioned, but a grief-stricken war mother shouldn't have her own full-time PR flack. After your third profile on "Entertainment Tonight," you're no longer a grieving mom; you're a C-list celebrity trolling for a book deal or a reality show.

...............and, much, much more from our favorite Misanthropundit, Ann Coulter

The Duh Of The Day

Is the media providing the American public responsible, fair and balanced reporting about the unfolding drama of democracy in Iraq? Well, du-uh!

Editors Ponder How to Present a Broad Picture of Iraq

Rosemary Goudreau, the editorial page editor of The Tampa Tribune, has received the same e-mail message a dozen times over the last year.

"Did you know that 47 countries have re-established their embassies in Iraq?" the anonymous polemic asks, in part. "Did you know that 3,100 schools have been renovated?"

"Of course we didn't know!" the message concludes. "Our media doesn't tell us!"

The right wing smear machine whirrs on --Arianna Huffington

Cindy Sheehan



Matt Drudge is today reporting on a mom with issues, BUSH PROTESTING MOM CALLS FOR 'ISRAEL OUT OF PALESTINE'; VOWS NOT TO PAY TAXES

Anti-war protestor Cindy Sheehan, whose soldier son Casey was killed in Iraq, is calling for Bush's "impeachment," and for Israel to get out of Palestine!

"You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you'll stop the terrorism," Sheehan declares.

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Pure geopolitical genius. Hey, Howard Dean, are you listening? You are always screaming “ PLAN!!!WHERE’S THE PLAN!!!” Here’s a plan to solve the world’s problems in two easy steps. Genius, pure geopolitical genius, I tell you!

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Remember. It is a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.

Sheehan, who is asking for a second meeting with President Bush, says defiantly: "My son was killed in 2004. I am not paying my taxes for 2004. You killed my son, George Bush, and I don't owe you a penny...you give my son back and I'll pay my taxes. Come after me (for back taxes) and we'll put this war on trial." --as reported by Matt Drudge

The rest of the story about Cindy Sheehan

For that story, you have to go to the Vacaville (Calif.) Reporter, her hometown paper. "I know now he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," she told the paper in 2004. "I know he's sorry and feels the pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."

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You just cannot please some people,

George Bush Sends Cindy Sheehan A Peace Offering

The Republican peace offering is a barrel of oil emblazoned with the inscription, “To Cindy from George.” The barrel also displays the Masonic Eye of Horus and it is now on display at the Crawford Peace House, a gathering place in the town for thousands of anti-war protesters.

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Can we really blame Cindy Sheehan because she didn’t know all the facts?

Cindy Sheehan Shocked to Hear Son Was Not Drafted

Cindy Sheehan was noticeably surprised yesterday when some reporters pointed out to her that her son, Casey, an Army Specialist who was tragically killed last year in Iraq at the age of 24, chose to enlist in the Army and was not drafted.

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Can anyone, please, tell Big Bubba why the pseudo intellectual progressive liberal demoracists are such hopeless dreamers? Bush Bashing as an Art Form will be discussed long after President Bush leaves office.

Cindy Sheehan and the Madres de La Plaza de Mayo

the mothers of the "disappeared" in Argentina ended up toppling the government. Cindy could be the first mother in the US to start toppling this corrupt gov

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And, the question remains, Cindy Sheehan Heroine, or Hypocrite

For those willing to make the deaths of our soldiers a political issue, Cindy Sheehan is a heroine. Most would prefer she go away, they feel as I do she’s disrespecting the sacrifices our men and women are making. Cindy Sheehan and her Liberal Democratic sponsors are out of line. Rumor has it she’s being paid $20,000 to sit in protest against the president. She seem to care less about the sacrifices her son was evidently willing to make than she is about becoming the nations new, 15 minutes of fame. Her son served in a volunteer army, every soldier knows the risks, most are willing to take them to preserve freedom anywhere in the world they’re asked to go. Men like Casey Sheehan Cindy’s son aren’t concerned with skin color, religion, political beliefs, they’re concerned with life and death, regardless of who and where. Casey Sheehan re-enlisted knowing he’d be deployed to serve a tour in Iraq.

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Can anyone explain? Anyone? Anyone?

To The Tin Foil Hats, Twits..............

.............could Big Bubba finally be on the wrong side of a conspiracy theory? I find the NASA foam controversy fascinating. What is fascinating is the absolute absence of any reference to the EPA, Freon, and NASA's compliance new EPA rules in mainstream media sources. The Blogosphere is buzzing with discussion about EPA and foam. I even found the ubiquitous reference to Rush Limbaugh is a dirty rotten liar about foam and the EPA reference.

What is going on? What is the truth about the foam and the problems that it has been causing with our human spaceflight program? I have been looking for information about this problem for several days. I am convinced that there is much more to this story than we have been told thus far. One thing seems to be certain. Prior to the Columbia disaster there were no catastrophic failures caused by foam. According to the article below the Columbia disaster was not related to any change in foam formula or application techniques. Let’s hope that the problems are solved and our space program is put back on track. Here is the mainstream media article about the foam problem,

NASA looks at variables on fuel tank
New foam formula used for Discovery
BY JOHN KELLY and TODD HALVORSON


HOUSTON - Discovery's external fuel tank was the first to fly with a new insulating foam custom-made to satisfy environmental bans on chemicals suspected of depleting the Earth's ozone layer.

NASA is investigating why a 1-pound chunk of the foam peeled off Discovery's tank two minutes after launch July 26, missing the shuttle's right wing as it climbed toward orbit.

As It Turns Out Cindy Sheehan...............

................. Is Just Another Left Wing Nut With An Agenda.

FAMILY OF FALLEN SOLDIER PLEADS: PLEASE STOP, CINDY! Follow the link to read the e-mail that the saner members of the Sheehan Family sent to Matt Drudge.

Talking, But Not Necessarily Thinking, Wounded

Interesting Excerpts from
Talking Wounded
By Peter Carlson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 10, 2005; C01

Terry Rodgers, who just turned 21, grew up in Rockville, son of a carpenter and a courthouse clerk. After graduating from Richard Montgomery High School in 2002, he worked as a mechanic in a Washington gas station, then joined the Army.

"It was something I always wanted to do," he says. "I thought it looked fun. I just wanted to get out on my own for a while. I got kind of bored being around here. I wanted to try something new."

"I don't want anything to do with him," he explains. "My belief is that his ego is getting people killed and mutilated for no reason -- just his ego and his reputation. If we really wanted to, we could pull out of Iraq. Maybe not completely but enough that we wouldn't be losing people -- at least not at this rate. So I think he himself is responsible for quite a few American deaths."

By the end of the year, he'll be out of the Army -- "medically retired" -- and he's happy about that: "I did my tour. I had my fun. Time to move on with my life."

He wants to go to school -- the Veterans Administration will pay for it, he says -- but he's not sure what he wants to study. "I've got a few ideas, but I don't know what I want to do yet."

Today On Guadalupe Street

View One The Veladora

View Two The Veladora

Guadelupe Street Art Right Door

Guadelupe Street Art Same Building Left Door

Speaking of Murals

Jesse Trevino has his right hand replaced by a hook, due to a booby trap that exploded during the Vietnam War. That did not prevent him from completing his outdoor 10-story-high ceramic tile mural of an angel with a clipped wing giving a dove to a small boy, "The Spirit of Healing," that adorns the wall of Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital in downtown San Antonio, Texas. Jesse is the first Mexican-American artist to be exhibited at the Smithsonian.


Treviño likes to work on a grand scale. And his grandest project to date is his spectacular 40-foot-high three-dimensional veladora of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the wall of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, a non-profit community group devoted to the literature, dance, music and theater of Latino and indigenous cultures, in his old neighborhood. Hispanic Magazine, December 2003 Issue, for the complete story.

Yesterday I drove by the veladora - it is brilliantly beautiful. Much more beautiful than the representation above.

About That Income Tax

April 15, 2003

10 Outrageous Facts About the Income Tax

by Chris Edwards
Chris Edwards is director of fiscal policy studies at the Cato Institute.

As you struggle to prepare your taxes this year, you may take some comfort in knowing that your headache is being felt across the country. The following odd and outrageous facts show how widespread income tax problems are:


The U.S. "tax army" is bigger than the U.S. army in Iraq.
Income taxes are so complex that there are up to 1.2 million paid tax preparers in the country -- six times more than the number of troops in Iraq. The tax army includes legions of accountants, lawyers, and computer experts -- some of the best minds in the country. Unfortunately, their brainpower is adding little to the nation's standard of living.

A tax form for every special interest.
As the income tax grows more complex, the number of IRS tax forms has jumped from 402 in 1990 to 526 by 2002. Congress hands the accountants business on a silver platter when they create special interest tax forms such as "8845-Indian Employment Credit" and "8834-Qualified Electric Vehicle Credit." When Congress penalizes an activity, we get tax forms such as "6197-Gas Guzzler Tax." It's time to end the micromanaging and adopt a simple flat-rate tax. Until then, Congress needs to supplement "6478-Credit for Alcohol Used as Fuel" with form "XXX-Credit for Alcohol Used for Drinking."

Double-tax on dividends: 60 years and still not fixed.
Sixty years ago, a Treasury report noted that "double taxation of corporate profits is the principal problem raised in connection with the corporation income tax." In the 1930s, a Treasury report argued that the tax disincentive to pay dividends caused corporate management problems. Recent scandals proved them right. Congress should bite the bullet and reform dividend taxes now -- before the next round of corporate scandals begins.

Congress promotes discrimination through the tax code.
The front of the Supreme Court building boldly declares "equal justice under law," yet the income tax has hundreds of discriminatory provisions. For example, homeowners are treated more favorably than renters since they can deduct mortgage interest and other itemized deductions. Consider that a higher-income homeowner can effectively deduct car loan interest by shifting around his finances but a lower-income apartment dweller cannot. Americans would not stand for such discrimination on other taxes -- imagine if each shopper at Wal-Mart was assigned a different sales tax rate!

Congress on tax complexity: Who us?
Congress frequently holds hearings on tax simplification so members can denounce the tax code's complexity. Each time, congressional experts and outside think tanks provide useful simplification ideas. Then when the TV cameras are turned off, Congress promptly ignores them and votes for more special interest breaks. The result: The number of pages in the tax code and regulations doubled from 26,300 in 1984 to 54,846 by 2003, according to tax publisher CCH.

AMT designed to catch 155 taxpayers will soon catch 37 million.
The alternative minimum tax is an unneeded parallel tax system alongside the ordinary income tax. It began life in 1969 after Congress was shocked (shocked!) to learn that 155 wealthy individuals were not paying tax because they used too many of the deductions that Congress had provided them. The AMT has been a complex nuisance ever since. But this dumb idea aimed at the rich is set to explode on the middle-class as the number of AMT taxpayers skyrockets from 3 million today to 36 million by 2010.

Voluntarism works for the U.S. military, not the income tax.
For years, officials have hailed the income tax as a voluntary system. The Treasury calls it "our voluntary tax system." The IRS says that it pursues "enforcement programs to promote voluntary compliance" and establishes "strategies to maximize voluntary tax law compliance by emphasizing customer satisfaction." But with 32 million IRS penalties assessed each year and about $10,000 in income taxes imposed on each taxpaying household, the tax isn't voluntary and these customers aren't satisfied.

Congress can't figure out how to measure "income."
Although the income tax is 90 years old, Congress still can't figure out how to measure "income." Some income such as municipal bond interest is not taxed, but other income such as dividends is taxed twice. The income tax treatment of savings is particularly incoherent and unstable. For example, there have been 25 major changes in the capital gains tax since 1922. The solution is to replace the income tax with a low-rate tax that exempts savings.

Family saving shouldn't require an advanced math degree.
Shouldn't saving for education, retirement, and other items be as simple as putting money in the bank? Instead, Congress has manufactured hundreds of special savings rules, such as for 401(k)s, Keoghs, deductible IRAs, nondeductible IRAs, education IRAs, Roth IRAs, traditional pension plans, annuities, SIMPLEs, SEPs, MSAs, and others. The IRS guide to IRAs alone is 105 pages long! President Bush's initiative to consolidate the savings plans and create a universal IRA would be a good step to bring some sanity to this mess.

Income taxes: A bad idea that got worse.
The income tax is not an example of a good idea gone bad. It was bad from the beginning, and it just keeps getting worse. The income tax distorts financial planning and business investment, and it encourages tax avoidance and evasion. Because the income tax is built on an unworkable base of "income," the law is continually changing. Let's simplify Americans' finances and disband the tax army by pursuing fundamental tax reform.




Cato Institute