Food-backed Local Money

Jason Bradford spins his yarn about Food-backed Local Money while feeding the campfire at The Oil Drum. He says, "This is perfectly legal and I want you to play copy cat."
Time's a wastin'. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Strangeness at Army Charity

An Associated Press report reveals odd things at a charity operated in association with the US Army.

FORT BLISS, Texas – As soldiers stream home from Iraq and Afghanistan, the biggest charity inside the U.S. military has been stockpiling tens of millions of dollars meant to help put returning fighters back on their feet, an Associated Press investigation shows.

Between 2003 and 2007 — as many military families dealt with long war deployments and increased numbers of home foreclosures — Army Emergency Relief grew into a $345 million behemoth. During those years, the charity packed away $117 million into its own reserves while spending just $64 million on direct aid, according to an AP analysis of its tax records.

They have invested heavily is the stock market. Their portfolio now is worth over $200 million. As a result, they have reserves that would last for 12 years, at their current rate of disbursement. A one- to three-year reserve is considered normal, among nonprofit charitable organizations.

What is even more disturbing is the fact that military officers have been pressuring soldiers to contribute, even though that practice is forbidden. It would seem to be conduct unbecoming to an officer. posted by : Joseph j7uy5 | link | | |

Unemployed?

I want chickens. I would be willing to get chickens and take the risk that one of my neighbors would balk. The covenants here prohibit poultry and livestock. I'd offer to share the eggs. That might be enough to quiet any noisemakers.
Still, I would need a coop. I found a great coop here.
Building something like this locally for people would be a great gig for an unemployed worker who happened to have the know how.
Food for thought. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Survival Mode

Gardening in the desert, on the scale I aspire, has meant a lot of trial and error. Gardening IS trial and error regardless, but the desert possibly contributes more to the error side of the equation. Because I am pretty much stuck at home with my mother, I've been learning much of it on-the-fly. I can't go to workshops or spend hours asking questions at a garden center. My climate is not like Phoenix and not like Albuquerque, so learning resources are a bit scarce.

This is an agricultural area, but the research and support appears to be geared more toward industrial type monoculture, not toward the home gardener. Chiles, pecans, onion, cotton, alfalfa, melon and iceberg lettuce seem to be the major crops. Farmland here, like most places, was being swallowed up by subdivisions. Now much prime farmland lies fallow with for-sale signs decorating the perimeters, dotted with other signs marked 'zoned commercial' or 'residential'. If I had the money, equipment and knowledge, I would snap up one of those pieces of land, perhaps making it into a community garden. Instead, I have to work with the yard I have.

We get less than 10" of rain a year making rainbarrels a priority. I now have 6-60 gallon barrels set up. That won't really water much, but it's something in a pinch. Our community water unfortunately has high levels of uranium, which is ok to water plants with, but not so good for drinking. Plants apparently do not take up heavy metals, but humans do. Reverse osmosis is recommended for removing uranium, but it uses 3 gallons of water to yield 1 gallon of drinkable water. For now, we fill up water jugs at a 'water island' station, and then filter again at home through a Berkey. Ultimately, if the water island stations disappear due to the economy, the Berkey will have to do, filtering rain, or even river water, after being purified. I hope it doesn't ever come to that, but water security is first priority. Even with the scarcity of water most of the year, we do have to worry about flooding during the monsoon season. Who would have thought it would be a good idea to buy flood insurance in the desert?

My second priority was identifying native edible plants. Prickly pear cactus and mesquite pods are plentiful. From the cactus pads I can make nopales (think slimy green beans), and from the fruit of the cactus, the tuna, I can make jelly and syrup. Mesquite pods can be ground into a sweet flour. That's hardly enough to live on, but both grow without much intervention on my part.

The first year I was here I tried growing tomatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon, chile, potatoes and strawberries, just as an experiment. None of them produced much. The second year I tried all the above again and added garlic, green beans, bell peppers, basil, cucumbers, artichoke, lettuce, and assorted herbs. I had a much better yield and was even able to can tomatoes. We are still eating the garlic and green beans and salsa. Basil was especially prolific so I froze a lot of pesto. I won't be able to plant as many tomatoes this year because I have to rotate my beds, but since cherry tomatoes seem to do well here, I will grow a couple plants in containers. Flooding washed out our pomegranate bush, so we need to plant another, and I would like to plant a couple fruit trees.

One of my other projects has been flood prevention. We had several heavy rains last summer, and because a neighbor rerouted an arroyo (illegally) it has caused a lot of grief. I'm not sure what to do about the neighbor because I absolutely hate conflict, but I'm trying my best to work with the land, and attempting to harvest as much rainwater as possible. Doing that work requires a lot of heavy physical labor and I have to be mindful of neighbors downstream as well.

I have been setting up drip systems for watering, but I still have to devise a system for the garden area I plan to plant this year. One problem I have found with drip systems; critters like to chomp on them, and they put holes in the tubing where I did not want holes. They get thirsty too. Can't they just use the birdbath?

The intention of this post is to inspire you, the reader, to continue thinking about your own area, and what will sustain you as our economy continues to collapse. Your problems/priorities will be different than mine. Maybe your garden is so prolific you need to get a pressure canner and learn to use it. Maybe you get too much rain, or your growing season isn't very long. Maybe you don't want to garden or don't have any place to grow anything, but you're thinking about storing some food. The important thing is to think about it and act. Again I'll mention that pressure canner, whether you can grow food or not. They are not as scary as your mother made them out to be. Really. I was terrified the first time I tried, but I love it now.

My very best tip for anyone, no matter your climate, is to get a sproutmaster and seeds so you can always have something fresh and nutritious. It's easy and only takes water.

For a look at what others near my neck of woods (60+ miles away) are doing, albeit with far more energetic prowess than I, visit Holy Scrap Hot Springs. Their experiments are inspiration. Papercrete, solar, desert gardening, biodiesel and just.plain.fun. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Timely Decisions

I lost my job two years ago even though I was able to successfully telecommute. Apparently the department I worked for couldn't see the advantage of allowing me to continue working. I'm still resentful.

They wanted me to place my mom in a nursing home, or move her to Michigan and use adult day care to enable me to keep my job, retirement benefits and insurance. I knew what our resources were and knew that $4000 a month was out of reach. Of course I could have spent down her savings and sold her passive solar adobe home, built by my parents own sweat labor and then let Medicare pick up the tab. 28 months, so far, it would have cost $108,000.00 just for the benefit of keeping myself employed. It would have been a horrid decision. Nope. I had 90 days to make the decision, and then I could take family leave followed by personal leave for one year, after which time they would rehire me, keeping my benefits intact. It didn't happen. My mom is the Energizer Bunny incarnate and I am still unemployed.

Having written many times about the housing bubble and peak oil and knowing the economy was teetering on the edge, it wasn't too tough for me to conclude that I would be better off taking care of her myself. Besides, it was a promise I had made to my father.

It hasn't been easy, and I still have no health insurance, but I have been busy making our lives as sustainable as possible. I'll write more about those preparations another time.

Things will never again be as they were two years ago for me, or for anyone else. The housing market is NOT going to pick up again anytime soon. Whose kids can afford a house? They are the future buyers. We can't waste money continuing to prop up a dead cat. Cats only bounce every now and then. Meanwhile, More families move in together during housing crisis.

I hope they are all planting their own food and learning how to preserve it. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Change

I am working my way back to blogging more regularly, including updates of my two-year readjustment period since moving to care for my mother. She's doing fine, thanks.
It's possible that some of the things I've learned will be helpful as more and more people join me in the ranks of unemployed/uninsured. I have a few pressing chores to finish before I can get back to this blog, but I'm closer.
Meanwhile, I suggest everyone take off the rose-colored glasses and listen to The Automatic Earth. Our world is going to change. It will never be like it was. Accept it and start planning.

From today's post: "we need to see our houses as shelter, not as instruments for financial gain. If there are still people out there who don't understand that, I promise you, you will sometime during the process which will take prices down that 80% or 90%. There is no credit available. That is what a credit crisis means to us all. And our governments cannot create credit out of nothing. And even if they could, who would want to borrow? The millions of unemployed foreclosed upon 21st century Tom Joads?"

...The question is, or if you will should be: how do we keep people from freezing to death, from starving, from cholera epidemics once water systems fail. We won't do it by indebting our children and grandchildren in doomed efforts to keep a bankrupt society rolling, while we recite fairy tales of future profits from bets on horses that have long since left their stables..."

posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Demand This

From James Kunstler's Zombie Economics:

I hate to keep harping on this -- but since nobody else is really talking about it, at least in the organs of public discussion, the job is left to me -- we have to get cracking on the revival of the railroad system in this country, if we expect to remain a united country. This is such a no-brainer that the absence of any talk about it is a prime symptom of the zombie disease that has eaten away our brains. Automobiles (the way we use them) and airplanes are utterly dependent on liquid hydrocarbon fuels, and you can be certain we'll have trouble getting them. You can run trains by other means -- electricity being state-of-the-art in those parts of the world that do it most successfully. I know that California just voted to create a high-speed rail link between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It's an optimistic sign, but it shows more than a little techno-grandiose over-reach. High speed rail would require a mega-expensive re-do of the tracks. We need to scale our ambitions for this more realistically. California (and every other region of America) would benefit much more from normal-speed trains running every hour on the hour on tracks that already exist than from a mega-expensive, grandiose sci-fi program that might not get built for ten years. The dregs of the Big Three automakers can and should be reorganized to produce the rolling stock for a revived railroad system.

posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Congress: Think Before You Act

posted by Cyndy | link | | |

The President's fans


The President's fans
Originally uploaded by Lynn.

The President's fans
Outside Mayor Larry Abraham's ranch, where George W. Bush attended a fund raiser today for Senator Pete Domenici, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The caption says these people are "fans" of Bush. But just looking at the picture, there is no way to tell if they really are fans. There are many reasons to pray for someone.

posted by : Joseph j7uy5 | link | | |

Lone Protester


Lone protestor
Originally uploaded by Lynn.

Outside Mayor Larry Abraham's ranch, where George W. Bush attended a fund raiser today for Senator Pete Domenici, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico.

posted by : Joseph j7uy5 | link | | |

Weathervane on Gazebo


IMG_0008
Originally uploaded by Joseph j7uy5

One of the first pictures with the new camera. "You don't need a weatherman."

posted by : Joseph j7uy5 | link | | |

Casual?

He calls it casual. Let's make it serious.
This should be a concern to all Americans and the future of our Constitution regardless of partisanship or petty politics.

Dear Ms. Roy:

Thank you for contacting me to express your support for
the impeachment of Vice President Richard Cheney. It is good to
hear from you, and I appreciate having the benefit of your views.

As you may know, H.Res 333 was introduced in the House
by Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) that would bring
impeachment proceedings against Vice President Cheney. There is
no cause at this time to consider impeachment proceedings against
the Vice-President. He has served this nation honorably and to the
best of his ability. Furthermore, the casualness with which
impeachment is thrown around simply for partisan purposes over
policy differences should be a concern to all American's and the
future of our politics.

Thank you for taking the time to contact me on this issue. I
am glad you have let me know this is an important issue for you.
Please continue to call, write, or email me with any other questions
or comments. Visit my website at http://pearce.house.gov to find
out what I am working on in Washington, or where you can find
me around in New Mexico.


Sincerely,

STEVAN PEARCE
Member of Congress

posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Another Act of Madness?

The US didn't bother to listen to the IAEA before attacking Iraq. Has anything changed to make me think that we wouldn't continue the madness? When ElBaradei, the head of the IAEA says attacking Iran would be an act of madness, does the US stuff sand in everyone's ears again and attack like a bunch of cowards, or do they finally grow up and discuss events diplomatically? My money, or lack of, has to go with recent past history, the madmen still have the power. Until the people take the power away none of us are safe. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Datura





Jimson Weed, growing in my yard
The Sacred Datura, A Grim Fairy Tale
posted by Cyndy | link | | |

No minimum wage or overtime for Home Care workers

Businesses are not required to pay the federal minimum wage or overtime pay to workers who provide home care services for the elderly and the infirm, says the Supreme Court.

What does this say about the quality of care my mother receives if I hire a home care worker for respite care? I pay the business $16.95 an hour. 'Government lawyers told the Supreme Court in April that the goal is ensuring that the elderly who most need home care service receive it "at a reasonable cost."'The worker is lucky to get one third of that.(?) Of course the company has a CYA requiring me to sign a contract saying I won't negotiate private care with any worker they send out. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

No More Blood For Oil

Kucinich Presidential campaign unveils first TV spot, 'No more blood for oil'
produced by the campaign's in-house creative staff, headed by Chad Ely, National Media Director, and video editor Eric Blumrich.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRl4YLVW0b4 posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Just Read This

I want you to just imagine this. Just imagine if the US were to do this.
To even think that it could happen, no, to even think that it might happen, almost shuts my brain down making me unable to imagine the aftermath.
Excerpt below, but read it all to understand the players and the game.

The neocons have changed US war doctrine, which now permits the US to preemptively strike with nuclear weapons a non-nuclear power. Neocons are forever heard saying, "what's the use of having nuclear weapons if you can't use them."

...) Many US military officers are horrified at what they think would be the worst ever orchestrated war crime. There are reports of threatened resignations. But Dick Cheney is resolute. He tells Bush that the plan will save him from the ignominy of losing the war and restore his popularity as the president who saved Americans from Iranian nuclear weapons. With the captive American media providing propaganda cover, the neoconservatives believe that their plan can pull their chestnuts out of the fire and rescue them from the failure that their delusion has wrought.

The American electorate decided last November that they must do something about the failed war and gave the Democrats control of both houses of Congress. However, the Democrats have decided that it is easier to be complicit in war crimes than to represent the wishes of the electorate and hold a rogue president accountable.

The prospect of nuking Iran doesn't seem to disturb the three frontrunners for the Republican nomination, who agreed in their June 5 debate that the US might use nuclear weapons to destroy Iran's uranium enrichment facilities.

posted by Cyndy | link | | |

What to Do?

I am really not sure what I want to do about this, but I have a case. I'm certain of that.
From the EEOC: Unlawful Disparate Treatment of Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities Thank you Amy Joyce, who is Looking Out for the Caregivers posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Shopping with Elizabeth Kucinich

I like it when people walk the talk and that's what Dennis Kucinich has always been about. His wife Elizabeth went shopping with a reporter from Cleveland's Plain Dealer. She also walks the talk. There is no reason to be wasteful even if you are a potential first lady, or maybe I should say, especially if you are a potential first lady. In the spotlight, setting an example, and even tolerating a Plain Dealer reporter, a publication never kind to Kucinich, Elizabeth gave tips on buying gently used clothing.
I think it's about time the US had an interesting, resourceful first lady who has a kind heart, is beautiful, and chooses to share her vision.
Imagine. What exciting changes could be, if only the people in the US could get beyond their ridiculous obsession with her husband's height.
My father was even shorter than Dennis Kucinich, but he was huge in my eyes. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Senators Who Need to Be Booted

NY Times has the list, Senate Roll Call on Iraq Spending.
Mine are on the list, are yours? posted by Cyndy | link | | |

More About the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive- NSPD 51 and HSPD-20

can be found here: New presidential directive gives Bush dictatorial power

and here: Bush To Be Dictator In A Catastrophic Emergency

There isn't 4 years to waste before Congress finally begins to take a stand against this. We wasted that much time and untold lives getting someone to begin taking a stand on Iraq. With this, there won't be a country to take back from a reactive, not a proactive, power hungry liar.

Think of this as PNAC 2. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Bush Appoints Himself Dictator

In case of a catastrophic emergency as outlined in "National Security Presidential Directive/NSPD 51" and "Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-20."

It defines a "catastrophic emergency" as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government function."It defines a "catastrophic emergency" as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government function."

I suppose he could embrace global warming and instantly become dictator, or more likely, when the economy sputters due to his irresponsible policies he will be in complete charge of all branches of government. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Contrasts

by Carol Warner Christen

...look what we have done. Look hard and closely because much cannot be undone without a serious reality check. I hear excuses for not listening, not changing. I hear people avoiding reality to wallow in whatever their favorite distraction may be. I see women degraded beyond belief. I see children shot as "collateral damage." I see piles of rubble. I see an occupation without honesty called a war. I see soldiers ignored for their injuries, denied healing funds and doctors. I see denial as if everyone were a practicing saint praying, preying. I see laws justified, such as "for every action, there is an opposite, but equal, reaction" as the center of our country is devastated again and again by storms and our rubble piles up, too, pitifully evening the score.

There is a story about the blind leading the blind. Where are the great ones of humanity? They are dead, many shot to silence them. Are you lost in the crowds? Lost for want of an audience? Lost for want of time, of life, of love? Life is a process of creation. Are we lost for want of imagination except for weapons and games and profit? Radical complexity has filled space and time; one man is testing its opposite.

posted by Cyndy | link | | |

More Comes Out In US Attorney Scandal

I don't know if this is the real crux of the story, or just a sideline, but it sounds bad. The McClatchey Newspapers Washington Bureau is reporting that one attorney's efforts to curb voter fraud were so vigorous as to threaten voting rights.

Efforts to stop `voter fraud' may have curbed legitimate voting
By Greg Gordon
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - During four years as a Justice Department civil rights lawyer, Hans von Spakovsky went so far in a crusade against voter fraud as to warn of its dangers under a pseudonym in a law journal article.

Writing as "Publius," von Spakovsky contended that every voter should be required to produce a photo-identification card and that there was "no evidence" that such restrictions burden minority voters disproportionately.

Now, amid a scandal over politicization of the Justice Department, Congress is beginning to examine allegations that von Spakovsky was a key player in a Republican campaign to hang onto power in Washington by suppressing the votes of minority voters.

"Mr. von Spakovsky was central to the administration's pursuit of strategies that had the effect of suppressing the minority vote," charged Joseph Rich, a former Justice Department voting rights chief who worked under him.

He and other former career department lawyers say that von Spakovsky steered the agency toward voting rights policies not seen before, pushing to curb minor instances of election fraud by imposing sweeping restrictions that would make it harder, not easier, for Democratic-leaning poor and minority voters to cast ballots.

The article goes on to say that research into the severity of any problem with voter fraud suggested it is not a big problem, but the final report suggested that to say that "a great deal of debate" surrounded the subject. In fact, the study said no such thing. The study also showed that voter ID laws suppress minority voter turnout, but that finding was rejected. Why even do the study?

Of course, true voting rights proponents know that the more serious issue is not with voter fraud, but with election fraud. Voter fraud occurs when individual voters cast illegitimate votes. It is hard to swing an election that way. Election fraud occurs when insiders deliberately alter the voting or tallying process. If someone is truly worried about the validity of our election process, it is the potential for election fraud that needs attention.

posted by : Joseph j7uy5 | link | | |

Wasting Time

"I really did expect that the president would accept some accountability for what we're trying to accomplish here." Harry Reid

No, accountability has to be forced onto people like Bush. Impeach! posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Hello! Somebody Help Me!

"Hello, somebody help me!"
I used to hear those words often, over and over again when I was a kid while doing volunteer work in a nursing home. I would hear them when I was older as I visited every inpatient floor in the hospital while I added the lab reports that had been generated for the day into each patients chart.
It seemed there was always someone yelling those words. More often than not, the nurses ignored them. I wondered why, but I didn't question.

The answer is cruelly apparent to me now as I force myself to ignore the same pleas from my mother.

Over the past two weeks a new and mysterious sensation seems to have overtaken my mom's world, and subsequently my own. She seems to think that she needs to pee constantly. Constantly, means 30 minutes to an hour intervals, and, even on occasion, more frequently than that. Though she has been treated for two UTI's in the past 6 months, there is no infection now. Even when she had the UTI's she didn't have these symptoms and had been quite content to leak urine into her 'padded panties' during the 6 months I've been here, interspersed with normal requests to go to the bathroom.

With her immobility this means I have to take her to the bathroom each time she yells to go. That leaves virtually no time for me to go outside to water the plants, take a shower, or think about going to the store.

I decided I would test it one day and refused to take her, telling her, 'If you need to go that bad and can't pee in your depends, you'll have to find you own way to the bathroom'. She did! She hasn't done that in more than two years as a rule. It isn't safe, because even with all the railing in the bathroom that my dad installed, she is still a fall risk, but what that did tell me, pointedly, is that the sensation she's getting is very compelling. Most often when she gets to the bathroom, she really doesn't have to go. No surprise there, but try as I might, I just can't get her to make the connection.

It's one thing to her if the urine leaks into her pull-ups, but quite another thing for her to 'try' to pee into her pull-ups. I can understand that. I don't think I could make myself pee my pants either if there were any other option in my surroundings.

The biggest problem comes at nap time. She used to take 3-4 hour naps. Now she is waking in an hour having to go to the bathroom and yelling, 'Hello, somebody help me!'

I have tried everything. Yesterday I even made a sign to set by her clock that read 'Cyndy will be back at 3:30'. I silently refused to go in there until 3:30 while she yelled for and hour and a half. I had really hoped she would eventually give up and go back to sleep. Of course when I did get her up, she didn't produce any urine because it had already leaked out, yet that sensation was still there and she continues her bathroom trips hourly.

We have a prescription now to help deaden the sensation, but it doesn't appear to be working yet, after two days. I'll give it a few more days and hope.

I have set up my own little refuge in the garage where I can go to get away from the yelling, and I'm forcing her to undertake the risky habit of taking herself to the bathroom late in the day when my patience is spent in the hopes that she will wear herself out, give up, and try the depends.

I fully understand now why there is always that old person in the nursing home yelling, "Hello! Somebody help me!'. The nurses have tried. They can't help.
They probably dream those words at night, like I do. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

A Fresher Democracy


Click on the photo to send a handful to your congressmen. I did. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Happy Mother's Day

Heh! Yeah right.
I won't bother. First, because it wouldn't be sincere, and second, because I'm her servant named 'somebody', not her daughter. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Extremist Lunatic

Dick Cheney warns Iran from deck of aircraft carrier in Gulf
We are being led by a bunch of madmen, with this guy, (whom none of America wants) acting like we all stand behind him. Impeach. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Evil Bobby, Fighting Evil With Evil

Evilish Eclectic.
He finds video clips that are completely off the wall and spreads his evil all over the world.

If I saw a skinny guy like the aleksey vaynerof this video benching 400+ pounds, I would never hire him. The way he lifted that weight, he was probably having a small stroke. Repeat that many times, and you have yourself a life long Republican.

posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Supporting What Troops?

Long excerpt from William Rivers Pitt "Two Hearings, One Reality"

Another hearing took place on Capitol Hill yesterday that was truly chilling to observe. Representative John Murtha's (D-Pennsylvania) Subcommittee on Appropriations heard testimony from two investigators whose work has been focused on the phenomenon of private military contractors in Iraq. The first to give testimony was Jeremy Scahill, author of "Blackwater: Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army." The second witness was Robert Greenwald, a documentary filmmaker who recently released a new film titled "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers."

Both men painted a stark picture of reality in Iraq. According to Scahill, there are tens of thousands of private military contractors - a kind euphemism for mercenaries - operating today in Iraq. They are paid with American tax revenues to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, while operating with virtually no oversight and free from the strictures of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Dozens of acts of brutality and murder reportedly committed by these contractors have been alleged, but almost no contractor has been punished, sanctioned or even investigated for these acts. Because the Iraqi population does not make the distinction between American soldiers and these private contractors, the questionable activities of these contractors are blamed on US troops, further fanning the flames of outrage and vengeance.

Even more disturbing was the testimony offered by Greenwald. Some excerpts:

I remember clearly my interview with Stewart Scott, a former Halliburton employee. With pain and rage in his voice, he asked how dare Halliburton put its people up at five-star hotels while the soldiers, who he was there to help, were sleeping on the ground. I did not believe him at first, but then he began naming the hotels and the locations. It was all true.

I also spoke with Shane Ratliff, a truck driver from Ruby, South Carolina. He saw Halliburton advertising a job for truck drivers in Iraq and he signed up. When Shane started telling me that empty trucks were being driven across dangerous stretches of desert, I assumed he was mistaken. Why would they do that? Then he explained that Halliburton got paid for the number of trips they took, regardless of whether they were carrying anything. These unnecessary trips where putting the lives of truckers at risk, exposing drivers and co-workers to attack. This was the result of cost-plus, no-bid contracts.

Another young Halliburton worker named James Logsdon told me about the burn pits. Burn pits are large dumps near military stations where they would burn equipment, trucks, trash, etc. If they ordered the wrong item, they'd throw it in the burn pit. If a tire blew on a piece of equipment, they'd throw the whole thing into the burn pit. The burn pits had so much equipment they even gave them a nickname: "Home Depot."

The trucker said he would get us some photos. And I naively asked, how big are they, the size of a backyard swimming pool? He laughed and referred to one that he had seen that was 15 football fields large and burned around the clock! It infuriated him to have to burn stuff rather then give it to the Iraqis or to the military. Yet Halliburton was being rewarded each time they billed the government for a new truck or new piece of equipment. With a cost-plus contract, the contractors receive a percentage of the money they spend. As Shane told me, "It's a legal way of stealing from the government or the taxpayers' money." These costs eat up the money that could be used for other supplies.

Cost-plus, no-bid contracts are hopelessly undermining our efforts and costing the taxpayers billions. They do not operate within a free-market system and have no competition, but instead create a Stalinist system of rewarding cronies. In a letter from Sgt. Jon Lacore talking about the enormous amount of waste, he said, "I just can't believe that no one at all is going to jail for this or even being fired or forced to resign."

posted by Cyndy | link | | |

They're Not Benchmarks

So, after destroying their country, occupying it for years, slaughtering perhaps a million citizens, driving millions more to flee the country, and generally ruining their society, while dumping hundreds of billions of US dollars into war profiteering corporations pretending to reconstruct Iraq, we're going to demand that the Iraqis shell out $10 billion to pay for the reconstruction themselves. Or else, you guessed it, we'll leave and allow them to begin ending their nightmare without our "help".

posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Why Have a Constitution?

Jack Lessenberry says, "So Maybe I Was Wrong"

Quite possibly, I may have been thinking too much like a political insider, or a wimp, or both. The fact is that the simpering George W. and his sidekick Dick clearly deserve impeaching, if anyone ever did. Not only that, there seems to be more sentiment to throw the bums out than official Washington knows.

I'm glad to see Jack come around. Now, what can be done about the wimpy political insiders of 'official Washington'? How can they continue to have sand in their ears? Does the money lining their pockets render them deaf? Do they not try to keep feelers out for public sentiment?
It's quite easy to see the sentiment if one is looking for it. The interest in Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel is escalating. They need to look at Technorati on occasion. MSNBC needs to pay attention to their polls. It's very clear the people want change and they want big change. It's also clear they see value in the Constitution.

Dave Lindorff writes:

Suing Bush over a signing statement, given the number of Federalist judges that this administration has named to the federal district and appellate courts, and to the US Supreme Court, is not just an exercise in futility; it is a dangerous tactic which could backfire disastrously by leading to a ruling that it’s perfectly constitutional for a president to ignore laws passed by the Congress. Does Pelosi really want to risk such a catastrophe?

Yes, Pelosi would probably like to make it perfectly constitutional for future presidents to ignore laws passed by Congress. It would make the future newly elected Dem just that much more powerful, a tit for tat, if you will.
No need for Congress anymore, just a dictatorship as we apparently have now.

No, the blatant disregard for the Constitution must be dealt with in the manner provided for in the Constitution, by the Congress, assuming they want to keep the profession intact and viable. To do less assumes we don't care if the very Constitution remains intact and viable. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Special Convention Report by the Creative Youth News Team

"This is America. People are supposed to pick the leaders of their choice and not settle for what the two parties gives them. If the Democratic leaders think the next election is about their choice for President, they may soon find their party without any voters. We are in charge. The days of top down leadership are over."

The DLC just doesn't get it. It's all right in front of them and they step on it. They not only step on it but they put the fire out like a tossed cigarette butt. Some of the sparks are persistent. Read the link to see who and what they stepped on and watch the sparks fly. posted by Cyndy | link | | |

Bird of Paradise


posted by : Joseph j7uy5 | link | | |

Prickly Pear


posted by : Joseph j7uy5 | link | | |

Sen. Mike Gravel at SC Debates 04/26/07

posted by Cyndy | link | | |

You Don't See This Very Often

LAS CRUCES — A tornado was seen early this afternoon in Anthony, Chaparral and at White Sands Missile Range, but there were no reports of damages or injuries.

The tornado touched down shortly before 1 p.m. about two miles south and east of the main post at White Sands Missile Range. It was one of three tornados reported in the area, according to the National Weather Service in Santa Teresa.

The other two twisters touched down in Otero County and in El Paso near Ft. Bliss. All three tornados were over open land and no damage has been reported.

posted by : Joseph j7uy5 | link | | |

WAPO- A Case Against Cheney

Richard Cohen outlines the case against Cheney in this Op-Ed. While he's outlining the case against Cheney and Co. as master manipulators, he says in a quieter voice, "Kucinich doesn't stand a ghost of a chance of making it stick because Congress is not about to vote impeachment."
Note, it isn't the charges but the lack of outrage from 'we the people' and the willingness to allow ourselves to * continue to be manipulated which allows Congress to brush it all aside and attempt to discredit Kucinich in the process. Where is the outrage? Cohen's outrage is subtle but his case is persuasive. If a vice-president does the unforgiveable, it should also be impeachable. Let's not forget that lying to Congress is illegal. Lying to the people is not.

*There Has Been No Attempt To Try To Link Saddam To 9/11, Tony Snow April 30, 2007 posted by Cyndy | link | | |