Thursday, May 14, 2009

Roberta McCain VS. Rush Limbaugh ( Just for Laughs )


ROBERTA MCCAIN (on the Tonight Show): "What he thinks about and represents of the Republican Party has nothing to do with my side of it. I don't know what the man means. I don't know what he's talking about. The chairman of the Republican Party, Steele, was exactly right when he defined this man as an entertainer. And, to my horror, the Republican Party made him back up on it. Limbaugh -- it's a compliment when you say the man is an entertainer. I don't know what he is, but he does not represent the Republican Party that I belong to."

RUSH (on his own talk show): "She's right. She's absolutely right. The Republican Party she belongs to get shellacked election after election after election. Man, send McCain's mother out to dump on me? (laughing) No, I love it. I love it. Her son said the same thing. (impersonating McCain) "He's just an entertainer, he's just an entertainer, got it, got it? He's just an entertainer, he-he, he-he, he-he. He's a clown, good clown, circus, that's it. He-he, he-he. You got it?" I don't know what the man means; I don't know what the man means."

Rush Limbaugh : The Professional Polarizer

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

More on Torture

I just found this link to a CNN article that further muddies VP Cheney's comments on "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques".
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/02/cia.tapes.destroyed/index.html

92 tapes were destroyed by the CIA in November 2005 after a report by Inspector General John L. Helgerson’s office determined that they depicted "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as defined by the international Convention Against Torture".

That is the truth, look it up.

New definition for the act of torture : "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques"

New definition for the act of torture : "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques". This term has become the mantra of all Republicans (and a few Democrats) in the last couple of months. Former Vice-President Dick Cheney tries to use that term in every other paragraph he speaks. He is on a whirlwind tour across the country appearing on every talk show that will have him. His main theme is to defend "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques".

Here's my take on this subject. In my twenty years in the military the terms used in training were interrogation and torture. All military personnel are taught that if captured, you need state only, name, rank and service number. That is all that is required by the Geneva Convention of which the United States is a signatory. The Army Field Manual is the military authority on interrogation. Unless that manual has been changed the term "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" is not recognized. It is a made up term that means "State Approved Torture".

That is the truth, look it up. Oh wait, I'll do it for you.

ARMY FM 34-52, Intelligence, Chapter 1. Para. 6

PROHIBITION AGAINST USE OF FORCE

The use of force, mental torture, threats, insults, or exposure to unpleasant and inhumane treatment of any kind is prohibited by law and is neither authorized nor. condoned by the US Government. Experience indicates that the use of force is not necessary to gain the cooperation of sources for interrogation. Therefore, the use of force is a poor technique, as it yields unreliable results, may damage subsequent collection efforts, and can induce the source to say whatever he thinks the interrogator wants to hear. However, the use of force is not to be confused with psychological ploys, verbal trickery, or other nonviolent and noncoercive ruses used by the interrogator in questioning hesitant or uncooperative sources.

The psychological techniques and principles outlined should neither be confused with, nor construed to be synonymous with, unauthorized techniques such as brainwashing, mental torture, or any other form of mental coercion to include drugs. These techniques and principles are intended to serve as guides in obtaining the willing cooperation of a source. The absence of threats in interrogation is intentional, as their enforcement and use normally constitute violations of international law and may result in prosecution under the UCMJ.

Additionally, the inability to carry out a threat of violence or force renders an interrogator ineffective should the source challenge the threat. Consequently, from both legal and moral viewpoints, the restrictions established by international law, agreements, and customs render threats of force, violence, and deprivation useless as interrogation techniques.

Now you have it.

Social Security and Medicare hit by recession

From the Associated Press, May 12, 2009
Social Security and Medicare hit by recession
A portion of the article:

"Trustees of the programs said Tuesday that Social Security will start paying out more in benefits than it collects in taxes in 2016, one year sooner than projected last year, and the giant trust fund will be depleted by 2037, four years sooner.

"Medicare is in even worse shape. The trustees said the program for hospital expenses will pay out more in benefits than it collects this year and will be insolvent by 2017, two years earlier than the date projected in last year's report.

"The trust funds — which exist in paper form in a filing cabinet in Parkersburg, W.Va. — are bonds that are backed by the government's "full faith and credit" but not by any actual assets. That money has been spent over the years to fund other parts of government. To redeem the trust fund bonds, the government would have to borrow in public debt markets or raise taxes. "

(End of portion of the article) My words follow:

The last paragraph points out the helplessness of the public. "That money has been spent over the years to fund other parts of government." So this is what the government has done with most of the money that we all have "contributed" over the years. Now you may say that we are not "helpless" because we have the power of the vote. The trouble with that argument is that all three breeds on the hill ( Democrats, Republicans and Independents ) have spent this money recklessly.

That's the truth, look it up.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mother's Day

So today is Mother's Day. The winners for best mothers of the year are :
Mary Havens Nice, Rhonda Etterling Nice and the late Eleanor Havens.
Honestly, look it up.
Ed

I changed the name of my blog today

I changed the name of my blog today. The former two-day old name was " The Truth As I See It ".
Yesterday I Googled the name on the false wish to see my blog listed ( ego maybe, not sure ). Guess what, a blog by that name had been published since 2005. I have no idea why the Google blog engine didn't catch the duplication. I apologize to the other blogger. So now the new name (after an extensive search) is "An Honest Discourse". It seems that everybody wants one. Look it up.
Ed

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Do Not Forget Your Mom

Tomorrow ( May 10th ) is Mothers Day. My mother has long ago left my life. For many years she raised my brother and me as a single mother. She worked long hours, saw to it that we always were taken care of, and tried to provide us with a normal life. She even sent us away to a boarding home for a year so that she could work extra hours to save up some money. She called every day and visited on weekends.
All around the world mothers are making sacrifices for their children. Whether you have a great relationship with your mother or not, you should spend a couple of minutes tomorrow showing respect for the one who brought you to where you are today.
That's The Truth As I See It,
Ed

Friday, May 8, 2009

Today is May 8, 2009.
That is the truth for my first post.
I don't know what comes next, but it will be the truth as I see it.