The Blue State

The Bush Admin. Strongly Supports the Troops by Strongly Opposing Pay Raise

Anyone that doesn't believe the Bush Administration  supports the troopsin Iraq, shame on YOU! They provide a number of wonderful ways to support them,for instance...

There'spizza (heart-burn to follow)

Meanwhile, the armed forces' PX system (AAFES) is into charging our GIs inIraq $9 for a 12-inch pizza. A similar pizza is $8.99 at a pizzeria nearGreenwich, Conn., where prices compete with Beverly Hills. The manager told methat about half of this price was gross profit. Lt. Col. Debra Pressley of theAAFES insists the $9 price is "fair and competitive with commercialoutlets, including locations in Greenwich."

There are FREE movies (after Military.com blew the whistle on the $3.00charge)

The powers that be sure planned to make a profit by charging $3 per head forwatching movies in Iraq - at least until we blew the whistle. But once we brokethe story, I got e-mails and phone calls from generals and colonels denying thatthe $3 charge had been scheduled, even though on July 3, 2004, the deputycommander in Balad, Iraq, put out this communication: "CG (CommandingGeneral) has directed that we begin charging movie fees beginning on 7 July 2004in the amount of $3.00 per show."

There are phone calls home(a little expensive, but hey! they're in the desert and we don't charge thetroops for their bullets)

Tom Evslin’s Fractalsof Change has posted an explosive piece about the way AT&T is handlingtheir exclusive contract to install payphones in Iraq and how much they’recharging American soldiers to call home. Would you believe twenty one cents perminute??

As Tom points out with the going wholesale cost of voice minutes under apenny per minute, this seems very, very wrong. Tom also notes that the totalamount of money we’re talking about here is a drop in the bucket for a companylike AT&T. It’s mind-boggling to me that the execs at AT&T don’trealize that the poison PR they could suffer over this is not even close tobeing worth the cash they’re making. If the issue gets more mainstreamcoverage I wouldn’t even be surprised if it comes into play as regulatorsconsider the BellSouth acquisition.

So now's not the time to get your panties in a ruffle just because the BushAdministration "STRONGLY OPPOSES" a bigger raise for our troops.

With President Bush’s popularity scraping bottom in opinion polls, withU.S. casualties rising in Iraq in a force surge that has stretched soldier toursto 15 months, the Bush administration July 10 said it “strongly opposes” keymilitary pay and benefit gains tossed into their fiscal 2008 defense bill. Readon...

Now might be a good time to dig up that air sicknessbag you've been saving from your last vacation.

'The Body Armor Issue' - Round 2 (No pun intended)

Back in May MSNBC did an investigativereport on the bodyarmor supplied to our troops, and compared it to a different armor called DragonSkin, which many believe is superior to the armor currently being used. Oneof those that believe Dragon Skin is better was the developer of InterceptorBody Armor which is the armor used today, Ret. Marine Lt. Colonel Jim Magee.

Magee, who has no financial stake whatsoever in Dragon Skin, told us, “Ifyou would ask me today, ‘Jim we’re sending you to Iraq tomorrow. What wouldyou wear?’ I would buy Dragon Skin and I would wear it.”

The Army said Dragon Skin failed their tests, and what they currently issueis the best out there (ahem).

The Blue State posted an extensive story on this issue back in May,  'Military.com:Army Taking Dragon Skin to Hill'

After the body armor issue made its rounds, and congress started pokingaround a bit, the wonderful Army "desk sitters" decided to takeaction. They are now looking into better body armor.

Military.com reported 'ArmySeeks Body Armor for Deadlier Threat'

The Army has issued an industry-wide request for a new kind of body armorthat can defeat even more powerful rounds than the current ceramic plate and hasopened the door for the new armor construction that includes flexible systemsmany say are more comfortable than today's vests.

The new armor insert, dubbed "XSAPI," is intended to stoparmor-piercing rounds more deadly than the ones the current "enhanced smallarms protective insert" can defeat, will weigh less than a pound more thantoday's ESAPI and could have more coverage than the rigid ceramic platescurrently fielded to U.S. troops in combat.

The Army's latest solicitation - dated June 20 - marks yet another chapter inthe ongoing debate over allegations that the Army has ignored armor technologythat could yield more protection and comfort than its current"Interceptor" vest. In May, an NBC investigative report raisedquestions over whether a certain type of body armor called "DragonSkin" was stronger than the Interceptor - which is worn by most Americantroops in the field. Readthe full article Here...

 

"The Army has issued an industry-wide request for a new kind of body armor"It seemed they had one knock on their door which they ignored until Congresscalled them on the carpet and wanted an investigation on the matter.

Here we are in July, in true support of the troops this should be getting pushed,shoved and rammed through whatever bureaucratic process it needsto go through! And some of the pushing, shoving and ramming should see somethroat and ass action along the way.

History Channel's 'Mail Call' testing Dragon Skin (More videos here)

Calling all wanna-be bloggers

If you are a political junkie looking for a chance to become a regular on an up-and-coming blog, now is your chance.  Once in awhile, I send an open invitation to anyone interested in joining our team of bloggers here at The Blue State.  If you can write a post or two once every few days, and are interested in making a political impact online, then send us along an email.  Tony and I will be spending a lot of time between now and September building this site into a major online progressive community.  While we do that, we will need other people to pick up some of the slack on the writing side.  If you are interested, let us know.

Renovations to the Gores home

After listening to Sean Hannity's (among other's) constantattempts at smearing Al Gore and trying to get everyone in the phone bookto say he is a hypocrite, I can't express how pleased I was when AssociatedPress Writer Erik Schelzig interviewedAl Gore about his 'green' lifestyle and his TN home's "green-ness".This information has been out for a couple of week, but is a great"at-a-glance" reference and worthy of having on hand.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Al Gore, the environmental activist stung by criticismover his house's energy efficiency, said Friday that renovations are nearlycomplete to make it a model "green" home

"This plan has been in the works for a long time," the former vicepresident said in an interview with The Associated Press. "The only thingthat has changed is that we're more public about it because of the misleadingattack by a global-warming denier group."

Earlier this year, a conservative group criticized Gore, citing electricbills that were far more than the typical Nashville home. Utility records
showed the Gore family paid an average monthly electric bill of about $1,200last year for its 10,000-square-foot home.

Gore's renovation project, which he said has been in the works for months,seeks to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED,standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Once his upscale neighborhood changed zoning laws earlier this year, Gore wasable to place solar panels on his roof, and he's now preparing to
install a geothermal system that will, among other things, drastically reducethe cost of heating his pool.

Gore is also upgrading windows and ductwork, installing more energy-efficientlight bulbs and creating a rainwater collection system for
irrigation and water management

The home houses offices for Gore and his wife, Tipper, as well as acommercial kitchen for formal events.

Drew Johnson, president of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, thegroup that initially criticized Gore, said the "renovations areobviously in direct response to our finding that he's a hypocrite on the issueof global warming." Read on...

WhenHannity tried to get Arnold Schwarzenegger to buy into his "Gore's a hypocrite"theory-smear on 'Hannity's America', the governor responded to Hannity's long winded sales pitch:

Thegovernor diplomatically brought it up himself. Schwarzenegger said focusing onhow much a public figure contributes to global warming is fair game. "But Idon't think you should crucify someone like that, because if he does so muchgood and inspiring people and changes millions and millions of people to drivewith clean cars and inspires millions of people to use less energy, less waterand all of those things but in the meantime maybe he drives the bigger car, Ithink it is some what of an unfair thing to go and attack him. Yes there is ahypocrisy, absolutely."

On a global warming note: In lastnight's 'BlueNightowl Clips' post, we featured a video titled 'TheMost Terrifying Video You'll Ever See', where a rather knowledgeable H.S.science teacher  simplifies the global warming issue using common sense,and in a very humble way. His 3 follow-up videos titled 'PatchingHoles' (1,2 & 3) are more than worthy of viewing.

Net Neutrality 101: Get Involved

Most of us have heard the term NetNeutrality, some understand it and some don't. so I decided to help thosethat don't and keep it fresh in the minds of those that do. Crooks& Liars inspired me with their post 'There'sa problem. It's called Net Neutrality'

The easiest way to explain what Net Neutrality is, and the issues surroundingit, is through Save The Internet'svideo 'Save The Internet'. You can go to SaveThe Internet and click on your state and see where your representatives standon this issue. You can also send them messages through the site. More videos at Save The Internet's YouTube account

Save The Internet (explains Net Neutrality)

Big Ed's Swan Song (their latest video)

We're all guilty of sitting around complaining about issues, but rarely take the initiative to do our part. Let's not be sitting around drinking coffee in 5 years wishing we did our part.

Hometown Baghdad Video Series

Many of you may be familiar with the ongoing documentary 'HometownBaghdad'. Its done in a video diary format, and is based o the day to daylives of a group of friends (young adult around 20 years old), and what theirdays consist of. There are currently 34 episodes (episodes added weekly). Someleave for other countries to meet up with their friends and family's and somestay. These Iraqis are your everyday young adults...no different than the onesin your neighborhood. That is with the exception of the war. This group consistsof the joker, the serious guy, the annoying guy and the bad apple etc.,...thesame we have on our groups. Get comfortable, grab a beverage and watch thevideos.

You can view them from the Homepageor from the YouTube account ChatThe Planet

This isn't about Saddam should have remained in power, or even about theIraqi's that may become martyrs...it's about young adultys that aren't verydifferent from us or our kids.

Hometown Baghdad
An ongoing documentary web series following the lives of a few Iraqi20-somethings trying to survive in Baghdad.

The everyday life of the Iraqi citizen has been the great untold story ofthe Iraq war.

The Distribution
The brave Iraqi subjects and crew risked their lives every time they turned on acamera to make this series. They want to show the world what life is like whenyour hometown is a war-zone. We believe that people who see their stories willwant to share them with others. That's why we're distributing the series online.So please - watch the videos, rewatch them, tell friends about them, comment onthem, and link to them.

The Language
The intention of the Iraqi filmmakers and subjects was to show the world whatBaghdad is truly like. That's why they usually speak English and not Arabic.

The Producers
Hometown Baghdad is a production of NY-based Chatthe Planet who worked with a group of Iraqi filmmakers in Baghdad. Thesubjects also turned the cameras on themselves when it became too dangerous forour crew to travel through Baghdad. Read more about the producers .

I'll start the ball rolling...To view larger video, click ON the screen.

1. Brains on Campus

2. The Dentist

3. Forbidden Salad

 

4. Powerless

A Day With Al

Al Gore is looking better to me everyday, and for that reason I decided todedicate a post to him...the country's pAL.

First lets take a look at Al's new book 'TheAssault on Reason'. The Guardian postedan edited extract from his book.

'A drive for global domination has put us in greater danger'- Moral authority, which is ourgreatest source of strength, has been recklessly put at risk by this willfulpresident

The pursuit of "dominance" in foreign policy led the Bushadministration to ignore the UN, to do serious damage to our most importantalliances, to violate international law, and to cultivate the hatred andcontempt of many in the rest of the world. The seductive appeal of exercisingunconstrained unilateral power led this president to interpret his powers underthe constitution in a way that brought to life the worst nightmare of thefounders. Any policy based on domination of the rest of the world not onlycreates enemies for the US and recruits for al-Qaida, but also undermines theinternational cooperation that is essential to defeating terrorists who wish toharm and intimidate America. Instead of "dominance", we should beseeking pre-eminence in a world where nations respect us and seek to follow ourleadership and adopt our values. Readon...

Time Online posted an excerptfrom 'The Assault on Reason'

Not long before our nation launched the invasion of Iraq, our longest-servingSenator, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, stood on the Senate floor and said:"This chamber is, for the most part, silent—ominously, dreadfully silent.There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the prosand cons of this particular war. There is nothing. We stand passively mute inthe United States Senate."

Why was the Senate silent?

In describing the empty chamber the way he did, Byrd invited a specificversion of the same general question millions of us have been asking: "Whydo reason, logic and truth seem to play a sharply diminished role in the wayAmerica now makes important decisions?" The persistent and sustainedreliance on falsehoods as the basis of policy, even in the face of massive andwell-understood evidence to the contrary, seems to many Americans to havereached levels that were previously unimaginable. Readon...

We constantly hear the broken record words of Sean Hannity trying to get anyoneand everyone to side with him that "Gore is a hypocrite" regardingGlobal Warming.

Joseph Palermo wrote on DavidBrook's Assault on Al Gore.

In today's New York Times, right-wing columnist and perennialyakking head, David (Bobo-in-Paradise) Brooks, trashes Al Gore's newbook, The Assault on Reason. Brooks labels Gore "a radicaltechnological determinist" because the former Vice President draws upon thescholarly work of Marshal McLuhan, Neil Postman, and others to conclude that theprinting press, radio, and television have had an enormous impact on ourpolitics. "Gore's imperviousness to reality is not the most strikingfeature of the book," sniffs Brooks, "it's the chilliness andsterility of his worldview."

Toward the end of his mushy-headed indictment of Gore, Brooks snivels:"Utterly at a loss when asked to talk about virtue and justice, [Gore andothers] try to shift attention to technology and methods of communication. Theyimagine that by altering machines they can alter the fundamentals of behavior,or at least avoid the dark thickets of human nature."

It's funny that someone like Brooks, who calls himself a"conservative" and an "intellectual" would be so downrighthostile to The Assault on Reason. After all, aren't people like Brookssupposed to admire the framers of the Constitution and other people who havecontributed to defining our nation's creed?...Readon...

It really doesn't matter if you like Gore or not, butit is difficult to disagree with his points of view both politically and environmentally.What once turned me off from Gore was his articulate, intelligent and almost condescendingattitude, is now something I embrace. He stayed the course and proved to us thathe really does care about the people, the country and the earth.

Gore Says Bush is an Un-American , Heretic

Al Gore 'The Assault On Reason' ~ Countdown w/Obermann Part1

Al Gore 'The Assault On Reason' ~ Countdown w/Obermann Part2

Al Gore ~ Religion/Founding Fathers - Larry King 5/22/2007

                   

Al's Home Page

Al's o8 Draft Campaign Page

Al's Inconvenient      Truth Page

Draft Gore Page

This post isn't a "The Blue State Supports Gore", this was solelyto condense a wealth of information in a single post about Al.. I am an Obama o8kinda guy, but would love a Gore/Obama ticket, and would like Richardson onGore's cabinet. If all goes well, perhaps an Obama 2012?

Q: What Do You Call a Song Titled 'Let's Impeach The President'? A: A Good Start

I feel compelled to find and post the truth every time I hear Our GreatPresident open his mouth which has become synonymous with lying.Thanks again to "granny" for sending us the link for the video.

It didn't take the liberal bloggers and general long public to react and speak outagainst the dems for caving in on the funding bill. And it seems that theybetter grow a set quickly before we start shopping around. Think about this fora moment, you tell your spouse or significant other you are going shopping, butinstead go to a friends house...simple right? umm, NO!, you are confronted bythem and are told you lied. Maybe that's a simple minded analogy, but comparethat to The President of the United States lying on an ongoing basis, changingthe story and then his supporters actually lie further to support him. Wrong,just plain old everyday kindergartenly,  fundamentally, unacceptably wrong.

Well lets start this thing....

'Let's Impeach The President' Song by Neil Youg. Check out Neils page of Song Videos HERE.(check out the hompage)The Lyrics are HERE.

I do not like Andy Dick in just about everything I have ever seen himin...except this video

'Bush Idiot Speech'

Here is a huge list of anti-warsongs worth a peak. Listof Bush lies.

There is just so much more content which could be added to this post, but Ineed to move on from this "consumption" of me.

What the Soldiers Feel, That We Never Will

As I was looking through the blogs to see what was out there to add in a 'BlueBlogs' post (what other blogs are posting), I came across   'Whatthe war is doing to our soldiers' at ThinkProgress. The story is from Captain Jeff Leonard's FresnoBeehive Blog, titled 'Just staring at the wall really'.Capt. Leorand is an Army counselor in Iraq, and with a team of 6 they "helpsoldiers deal with the trauma of combat."

Maj. Johns and I had been at the patrol base to the west for several days. Wetook up residence on two adjacent cots in the far corner of a plywood structurewhich, by size comparisons, was much like the other Army tents it was builtamong. There were no walls to divide the space within the structure. Cots linedthe long side walls with space for a walkway in the middle. There were about 20cots in all and transient soldiers came and went, mostly as they left for, orreturned from, their leaves home. During the daytime, the structure would shakeand breathe in the hot winds and the thin lines of light where plywood panelsmet on the walls, and at the meeting of the walls and the ceiling, would swelland widen broadening bright luminous fissures in the dark space. Small graylizards would crawl though these cracks and take refuge from the heat on theplywood ceiling between the beams.

Soldiers getting ready to go on leave would talk about things they planned todo at home with tones of relief and elation. Soldiers returning to their unitswould move about anxiously and hope for delays in their returns back to theline. When details of their returns were received, and when all hope of delayhad been exhausted, their muscles visibly tightened and their movements becamejolted, almost angry, and they began to speak of their hopelessness, the friendsthey had seen killed. They began to question and criticize the war, late intothe night on their cots in the darkness. In the morning, they would be gone,their empty cots a reminder of them, and of where they would be by now. Oftenwhen we spoke to them, we wondered secretly if they would become one more ofthose we had talked with who might later appear on a memorial flier before us,an inverted rifle and bayonet, a Kevlar, a pair of boots, and dog tags, a typedmessage naming who they left behind back home.

The major and I took up shop in a metal storage trailer during the daytime.It had no windows but had been fitted with lights and an air conditioner.Command, knowing he and I were coming, had detained or sent in several soldiersthey wanted us to see. The recent decision to extend all of the soldiers hadmade our job harder and those who lived day to day had begun to digest andabsorb the mental impact of 90 more days they would need to survive.

"No, sir, I don't really sleep. Well, maybe an hour or two, then I getup. I don't want to dream," the soldier said to us. His name was Staff Sgt.Johnson. He was a good soldier, and you could tell when you spoke to him. He wasa man of honor. He was ashamed to be speaking with us, but his leaders hadinsisted. He had served three combat tours as a squad leader in a line unit. Hisbody and his hands shook during pauses in his speaking and he stared at us, andsometimes past us, with a wide-eyed look of hyper alertness. He had justreturned from leave and two guys in his squad were killed days before hisreturn. Readon...

It's a quick read so hurry back then continue on...I'llwait....

Will Staff Sgt. Johnson be considered an "anti-war lefty thatsympathizes with al-Qaeda" by the conservative war mongers if he can't ordoesn't want to go back after three tours in Iraq? Melanie Morgan's display ofthis behavior was disgusting enough to get her banned from 'TheNews Hour with Jim Lehrer' (with video). Sean Hannity had the balls tostick up for her also with video.

Melanie Morgan was referring to VoteVets .org, which is jammed packed with war vets and heroes. Hannity andMorgan are part of that group where if you don't support the war, you are somesort of "terrorist sympathizer" (or close to it). I'd love to see themtossed into one of these infantry squads and see how long it takes before adiaper change is necessary. Fuc* Hannity and Morgan, and anyone that thinksspeaking out against "A" war is anti patriotic.

Military.com: Army Taking Dragon Skin to Hill

Most of us are familiar with the latest controversy regarding the BodyArmor the military currently issues to our troops, and the rejection to useanother available vest that may be "better" called DragonSkin. MSNBC did an investigativestory on this controversy, and in this interview the developer of thevest  (Ret. Marine Lt. Colonel Jim Magee) currently being used said "DragonSkin is the best out there, hands down. It's better than the Interceptor. It isstate of the art. In some cases, it’s two steps ahead of anything I’ve everseen."

Magee, who has no financial stake whatsoever in Dragon Skin, told us, “Ifyou would ask me today, ‘Jim we’re sending you to Iraq tomorrow. What wouldyou wear?’ I would buy Dragon Skin and I would wear it.”

I don't know why it took so long for this issue to make its way to the Hill,but wouldn't we love to know?

"Since the report, we have gotten a flurry of interest" fromCapitol Hill, Brown said at a May 21 Pentagon briefing. "We're planning ongoing over to the Hill ... for discussions with key members."

Military.comis reporting the Army is planning "another" test to make anattempt to clear their name. I hope they have cameras and a few honest witnessesthere.

The Army plans to brief Congressabout test failures of Dragon Skin body armor after recent news reports toutingthe vest's capabilities prompted calls from lawmakers for an officialexplanation.

The service's top soldier equipment buyer, Brig. Gen. Mark Brown, said heplans to meet with lawmakers and staff this week after NBC News broadcast aninvestigative report Sunday claiming Dragon Skin - which uses a series ofinterlocking ceramic disks to stop armor-piercing bullets - outperformed armorcurrently issued by the Army.

Thetesting is quite convincing (until you get to the biased militarytesting). You can contact your public officials Hereabout this issue, I expect a fair test and a QUICK one!

Army officials saythey want to field a system similar to Dragon Skin, whose interlocking ceramicdisks provide more protective coverage and more flexibility thancurrently-issued armor. But at nearly 20-pounds heavier than the Army's vest,Dragon Skin technology isn't there yet.

I think the military ismaking the "20-pounds heavier" part up. According to the specsheet, its a total weight of  17.2 pounds.

The SOV-3000â„¢ Level IV,with our large standard tactical front and back panel configuration weighsapproximately 17.2 lbs. and varies depending on the level of coverage needed.The SOV-3000â„¢ is manufactured with a ceramic composite.

Videosof the testing can be found here.From the information I have read and videos I watched, Dragon Skin looks prettygood.

History Channel's 'Mail Call' (More videos here)