This is war, people

Do click on this to enlarge.

This is one of a large number of photographs published in the October 30, 2011 issue of The Atlantic.

Here is the caption

"A view taken from Dresden's town hall of the destroyed Old Town after the allied bombings between February 13 and 15, 1945. Some 3,600 aircraft dropped more than 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices on the German city. The resulting firestorm destroyed 15 square miles of the city center, and killed more than 22,000. (Walter Hahn/AFP/Getty Images)"
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An important question

Well! Here's something to think about:

Are Voters Stupid, Or Are They Just Routinely Subjected To Terrible Political Reporting?

The article is from Huffington Post. A lot to think about here.
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Ouch!

Hmmm...

Two for your consideration

First this:

"If he is not tried and punished in the country, people will rise up against the Americans."

-- Shekiba Hashimi, member of the Afghanistan parliament, demanding that the U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians be tried in Afghanistan; military officials say the suspect has been moved to Kuwait to ensure a fair investigation

And now the following:

"When it all comes out, it will be a combination of stress, alcohol and domestic issues — he just snapped."

-- Senior American official, speaking on condition on anonymity because there have been no formal charges, on the mental state of the U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians

Both of these are Time Magazine "quotes of the day".
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God help us!

Very, very disturbing

It's from the Time Magazine "quotes of the day" section:

"It's almost like we skipped winter and now we're going to skip spring, too."

-- Gino Izzi, a senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Chicago office in a statement as warm weather is arriving early across much of the U.S., even in northern states where perplexed residents are swapping their snow shovels for golf clubs

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UPDATE: Please do take note of Bryan Doug's comment to this post. I think he makes a very good point.
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Love her or hate her, she's right on this one:

Issues concerning painkillers

Well, as some of you know, I have a bee in my bonnet about this issue --- and have had ever since my surgeon refused me adequate pain medication after I came home from the hospital following some major abdominal surgery -- surgery that involved life-threatening complications, as it happens.


Painkiller Access Debated as Patients Suffer

This kind of sums things up:

"All of the witnesses began their testimony on the assumption that there is a prescription drug abuse epidemic in the U.S., and that access to controlled drugs, benzodiazepines and especially opioid painkillers, needs to be restricted, or at least monitored.


"Noticeably absent from the hearing, however, was anyone living with chronic pain, or anyone even to speak on behalf of pain patients. Patients and their advocates say last week's hearing is typical of the lack of balance in the public debate over painkillers.


"It's not hard to find such people. Since the first two installments of this series were published, HuffPost has heard from over 300 people who suffer from chronic pain and have at some point found relief from prescription painkillers, but have since been unable to find adequate treatment."

I remember after my surgery having real anxiety episodes about perhaps being in severe pain again at some time in my life and not being allowed any help for it.  It seems to me to be an example of true societal cruelty that medication is often not available to legitimate pain patients just because we believe we have to be absolutely sure that nobody gets high. That effort isn't working, anyway. Criminals can get hold of the medications while law abiding citizens cannot. That's just wrong.
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The new censorship

Check out this article:

REPORT: SOME PAPERS WON’T BE RUNNING NEXT WEEK’S ‘DOONESBURY’ STRIPS

Here's what it's all about:

“Next week’s ‘Doonesbury’ cartoons, on the Texas anti-abortion/mandatory ultrasound law, may cause some newspapers to use 'Flashbacks' instead of the live cartoons.”

Do click on through. It's not very long. And it's an eye-opener.
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Oh, good grief!

Just look:

Sen. James Inhofe: Bible Refutes Climate Change

And here's what he actually said:

"Well actually the Genesis 8:22 that I use in there is that ‘as long as the earth remains there will be seed time and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night,’ my point is, God’s still up there. The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous."

It's times like this that I truly grieve that I live in Oklahoma.
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In honor of International Women's Day

This is SOME kind of cynicism:

He's probably right, however.

"If you find people who aren't corrupt, it is largely because they haven't had the opportunity."

-- Anthony Cordesman, military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, saying it may be too late for the U.S. to worry about the graft that permeates the Afghan government
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Ha!

A real eye opener, people

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My sentiments exactly

Hmmm...

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Very distressing

I really don't see how this can be justified:

Pentagon says military network will continue to air Limbaugh’s show; no review planned

Also, I wish people would quit crediting him with having apologized. It was not an apology at all worthy of the name.
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Sunday Art Blogging

Artist: William Woodward

Image from Wikimedia Commons

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What really going on

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Our frighteningly growing income disparity

I found this comment on a Facebook post. It's by someone named Darcie Callahan:

"Anyone who wants to see what life is like when there is no middle class & no social programs for the poor should watch the documentary "Manda Bala" about Sao Paulo, Brazil. There is a kidnapping every day and the poor use the ransom to pay for food, medical care, and even sewage systems in their neighborhoods. The rich spend a lot of money on bulletproof cars, helicopter taxis, bodyguards, and ear reconstruction surgery."

This is a very important observation, people. Very.
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Yep.

Some important information

Right here:

"To contact Clear Channel and register your disgust with their having a contract with Rush Limbaugh call: 210-822-2828. You will have the option to leave a message. Please do."

 -- The Christian Left

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Tulsa Peace Fellowship this afternoon

Thank you, dear friends, for being a voice for peace here in Tulsa. You are appreciated perhaps more than you know.

Readers can find the website of the TPF right here.
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Class act, Mr. President!

Just look:

Sandra Fluke Receives Call From Obama After Rush Limbaugh 'Slut' Comments

Here's part of what it says:

The call came a day after conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh demanded that Fluke release tapes of her having sex in exchange for the contraception that she argued should be covered by employers. Fluke was set to go on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports when the president rang her on her phone. She took the call while waiting in the green room.

"He encouraged me and supported me and thanked me for speaking out about the concerns of American women," she told Mitchell, who received permission from the White House to discuss the exchange between Fluke and Obama. "What was really personal for me was that he said to tell my parents that they should be proud. And that meant a lot because Rush Limbaugh questioned whether or not my family would be proud of me. So I just appreciated that very much."

I must say, I'm seriously impressed.
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What a nuisance

My friend, MadPriest, posted the following:

"Blogger is messing us about again. Recent changes to the comment facility has resulted in the disappearance of the ability to subscribe to a comment thread if you have your comment settings set to pop up window. However, it is still there if you set your comments to "embedded beneath post."

"I strongly suggest that we all change our settings to embedded. Otherwise there will be no conversations on our blogs anymore and a drastic reduction in visits.

"Thanks to Grandmère Mimi for sussing this one out for us."


So, I'm off to change all those settings right now.
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Very moving and very powerful as well

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Worth your time, people; worth your time

And, anyway, this takes less than three minutes:


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Yes, yes, yes

For the life of me, I don't see how anybody can disagree with this:

"The Obama administration believes that decisions about medical care should be made by a woman and her doctor, not a woman and her boss."

-- Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services secretary, on President Obama's mandate that companies cover contraception in health plans; an amendment allowing employers to refuse to pay for coverage for religious or moral reasons was defeated in the Senate
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A little something about irony...

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Good for her, too

Check this out:

"I've got three kids. My sole biological reason for being on this planet is to ensure that they can flourish, and they can't do that in a filthy, degraded environment."

-- Lucy Lawless, actress, speaking from aboard an oil-drilling ship to prevent it from leaving a New Zealand dock; she and five Greenpeace activists were arrested
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Something to think about seriously

Headline of the day

Here you go:

"Rick Santorum On Religious Freedom: What He Has Forgotten Since Law School"

And here's the subtitle:

"A law school peer of Santorum's offers a lesson on what the Constitution says about religious freedom for a wayward classmate and his followers."

It's worth a quick read.
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So why isn't this simply obvious?

It's one of the "quotes of the day" over at the Time Magazine website:

"Resorting to religious language that sets people of faith against each other harms political discourse and sows religious discord."

-- J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, in a joint statement with the Anti-Defamation League and the Interfaith Alliance, warning Republican presidential candidates to leave religion out of politics

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What can I say???

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A rather distressing bumper sticker

See what I mean?

“No problem. I wasn’t using my civil liberties anyway.”

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Good grief. (Deep, deep sigh....)

Um.... there's one F-bomb in here so, if that offends you, don't watch.


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Quite unnerving, if you ask me

It's one of the quotes of the day from Time Magazine:

"Forty years ago, you'd watch the same evening-news ad as your Democratic neighbor."

-- Kenneth Goldstein, president of the Campaign and Media Analysis Group at Kantar Media, on how political ads now target potential supporters on the basis of their location, the websites they visit and their voting record
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Sad but true, I think...

So did his father ever do this sort of thing?

If so, I don't remember it at all.

Take a look at what I'm talking about:

Franklin Graham Calls Obama's Religious Beliefs Into Question

You know, when I was a child in Sunday School, I was taught that questioning someone else's salvation was tantamount to presuming to judge in the way that only God can judge and that it is very wrong.

And I still believe that.
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May Day strike?

Please do take a look at this:

OWS Calls for May Day Strike

Personally, I don't think there's enough support for something like this yet but I wish there were.

Here's one comment that caught my attention:

"Once upon a time Gandhi started this way in India. It was called a day of prayer and meditation. The entire country came to a ‘non-violent’ standstill that day. Do it!"

Yes, I could wish for that approach!!!
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No comment really necessary

Friday cat blogging!

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

There is nothing quite like the self assurance of a cat, is there?

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Something that makes a lot of sense

Wow. What a statement!

This was on my Facebook newsfeed. Just take a look:

"I have born two children. With my second son, I was in labor for six and a half weeks, causing me to be on bed rest and in pain for a month and a half. My arches fell out of my feet, and never returned. In the 18 months I was pregnant, I vomited for every one of them, giving birth weighing less than I had when I got pregnant, loosing my tooth enamel, damaging my esophagus. I have suffered a post birth infection that nearly killed me. I nursed each child for a year, with breasts so large that they literally warp my spine, causing weakness and injury resulting in invasive spinal surgery. I get migraines that hospitalize me once a month, twice or more if I don't get affordable birth control. I cannot have anymore children because I have a medical condition that makes me unable to regulate my spinal fluid pressure and the medications I take would jeopardize my unborn child. I have stayed up nights with vomiting, feverish children. I have done more diapers than you can shake a stick at. I have put off a career in favor of raising decent people. I am a mother of two beautiful souls for whom I would do it all again... But I can tell you one thing GOP: my sons WILL NEVER SILENCE THE VOICES OF WOMEN, OR TAKE THE RIGHT TO CARE FOR THEIR OWN BODIES AWAY. So go ahead, have your little meetings, exclude half the population because we have vaginas, see how far that gets you. But don't forget your mother, your wife, your sisters and daughters.... we are watching you, we are being told what we are worth to you, and we won't forget come voting time. Any woman who is paying attention ought to be angry, and any man worth his salt ought to be too." 

-- Sarah Zacharias

Well, spoken, Sarah.

To the men out there: are you listening?  Please listen!
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Sigh....

Simply yes

Here is the Sojourner's quote of the week:

"The Holocaust shows not only how low humanity can go, but also how high it can go. Someone in a camp who shares his last bread with a friend sheds new light on the word friendship." 


- Dorit Novak, director of the Yad Vashem Memorial and Museum’s International School for Holocaust Studies in Jerusalem
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Hmmm....

Really sad; tragic, even...

This is one of the Time Magazine quotes of the day:

"Folks being able to successfully work together and get things done is becoming rarer and rarer."

-- Max Baucus, Montana senator, on the tentative agreement reached early Thursday to extend the payroll tax break
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Very good question

(Click to enlarge)

An oldie but a goodie

This sort of message has been circulating for quite a few years now. A reminder is always worthwhile, however:

A real lack of consistency, shall we say?

Here's a truly informative (and quite brief) article:

10 Catholic Teachings Conservatives Reject While Obsessing About Birth Control

The following is just a little bit of what it says:

Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are both Catholics, and wear their faith on their sleeves, but they are hypocritical in picking and choosing when they wish to listen to the bishops.

1. So for instance, Pope John Paul II was against anyone going to war against Iraq I think you’ll find that Rick Santorum managed to ignore that Catholic teaching.
2.The Conference of Catholic Bishops requires that health care be provided to all Americans. I.e., Rick Santorum’s opposition to universal health care is a betrayal of the Catholic faith he is always trumpeting.
...
5. The bishops want welfare for all needy families, saying “We reiterate our call for a minimum national welfare benefit that will permit children and their parents to live in dignity. A decent society will not balance its budget on the backs of poor children.” Santorum is a critic of welfare.

 You know, I have a number of quarrels with the Roman church but the church's teaching on social justice is not one of them.
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Yep.

A Time Magazine quote of the day

And it's a good one:

"I think there is pretty broad agreement that the time for austerity is not today."

-- Jack Lew, President Obama's chief of staff; Obama's 2013 budget proposal, announced Feb. 13, requests increases in transportation, education and other areas in order to help the weak economy
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And ANOTHER something to think about

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Something to think about seriously

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Headline of the day

Right here:

It's the Wealth Gap, Stupid

Here's just one paragraph:

"What's the primary cause of our current and growing wealth gap? Home values, the largest item on most families' balance sheet, remain depressed, while stock prices, the largest item on the balance sheet for those at the top, have rebounded. In short, Wall Street has recovered, Main Street has not. Consequently, in the last three years, the concentration of wealth has occurred at the expense of those in the middle. Economist Sylvia Allegretto estimates that the top 1 percent of households by wealth had net worth 225 times greater than the median household in 2009. This is the highest ratio of wealth inequality on record and an increase of 24 percent since 2007. Without drastic changes in the market or in policy, the divergence between housing values and securities prices will be the main driver of wealth inequality for the foreseeable future."

I strongly recommend that you click through and read this one. It's an eye-opener, that's for sure.
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Yikes!

Quote of the week :-)

Yes, indeed.

"Now that we all agree contraception is a bad idea, let's take a harder look at electricity and soap."

-- Andy Borowitz
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Hmmmmm.......

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Something profoundly moving

And please notice that she's a Republican.
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Oh, m' goodness....

A question worth considering

Headline of the day

Check this one out:

Most of Obama's "Controversial" Birth Control Rule Was Law During Bush Years

Here's an excerpt:

"In December 2000, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that companies that provided prescription drugs to their employees but didn't provide birth control were in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prevents discrimination on the basis of sex. That opinion, which the George W. Bush administration did nothing to alter or withdraw when it took office the next month, is still in effect today—and because it relies on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, it applies to all employers with 15 or more employees. Employers that don't offer prescription coverage or don't offer insurance at all are exempt, because they treat men and women equally—but under the EEOC's interpretation of the law, you can't offer other preventative care coverage without offering birth control coverage, too."

And here's where I say: Good grief!!
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Good grief - really:

You know, there's something called proportionality....

Exactly

So very true:

Ordinary fairness

My dear friend, Prior Aelred, offered this on Facebook today:
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“Our nation, so richly endowed with natural resources and with a capable and industrious population, should be able to devise ways and means of insuring to all our able-bodied men and women, a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.”

-- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1937

I've long wondered how anyone could possibly dispute this, actually.
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Oh, my! Isn't this tragically the truth?

Sanctity and all that

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Something to think about

My friend, Charlotte, just sent me a bunch of bumper sticker images. This one is my favorite, really:

Stuff probably worth knowing...

(Click Image to Enlarge)

Abso-freakin'-lutely:

Take a look:

"Politics have no place in health care. We should be helping women access that care, not placing barriers in their way."

-- MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, Mayor of New York, after the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation pulled grants supporting breast cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood; Bloomberg offered to match new contributions to Planned Parenthood up to $250,000
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Dear Susan G. Komen,

Quote of the day

Another good one I found on Facebook:

"Only in America can you be Pro-Death Penalty, Pro-War, Pro-Unmanned Drone Bombs, Pro-Nuclear Weapons, Pro-Guns, Pro-Torture, Pro-Land Mines, AND still call yourself ‘Pro-Life’."

-- John Fugelsang
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GOP commitments

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Now here's a quote for you!!!

Oh, my goodness. This is world class snark; yes it is:

‎"Calling Obama the 'Food Stamp President' because he came into office during a recession is like calling George W. Bush the 'Planes Crashing Into Buildings President'."

- Bill Maher
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Well, that's politics....

"The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it."

-- P.J. O'Rourke
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A rather sane assessment:

Good point:

Something about Congress

Here's a quote offered by one of my facebook friends:

"In 2010, just as the president and his administration managed to lift their heads above the brim of the ditch in which their predeceesors had dumped the country, We, The People elected the most retrograde, brick-stupid, poo-flinging monkeyhouse of a House of Representatives in the history of the Republic."

-- Charles S. Pierce

I'm not actually sure I can add anything edifying.
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