Preemptive Terrorism...

One cannot bomb a nation and a people
because we disagree with their leaders.

In 2001 the USA was bombed because some
Saudi Arabians felt we had inferior leaders.
Sick theories about the efficacy of preemptive
aggression violate every American tradition.

Preemptive war only legitimzes attacks on this
nation. Soverign nations must not be attacked,
invaded, or occupied unless they have attacked,
invaded, or occupied another soverign state.
Our nation was founded up0n, guided by, and
kept safe according to these principles until the
"Bush doctrine" was embraced. We have seen
the folly of that doctrine. We got hit on their watch.

Those who advocate bombing Iran because we do not like
their leader are insane. Reckless aggressors who subscribe to such
theories are why we were attacked on 9/11. We cannot defeat our
enemies by surrendering to tactics of terror and methods of fascism.
Such illogical and perverse "theories" are nonsense. Amoral
preemptive aggression is terrorism, pure and simple.

Bad tactics, bad ideas, and bad news. Those who claim ethics are
"situational," are sociopaths and criminals without scruples or
integrity. We need not surrender our principles to secure our liberty.
best regards, Tim

Obama embraces Bush Cheney Doctrine

The most frightening aspect of the
illegal, immoral, and insane
Bush/Cheney Doctrine...
is that Obama embraces
and endorses it.


Barack also clings to
the suspension of habeaus corpus,
and the right to "render" American citizens
for torture, rape, and or murder...

These remain dangerous times.

"The Pentagon's civilian contractor work force in
Afghanistan outnumbers the deployment of
uniformed U.S. soldiers, with contractors accounting
for 57 percent of Defense Department personnel,
according to a new report by the Congressional Research Service."

"The reliance on a civilian work force rather than American military
personnel represents "the highest recorded percentage of contractors
used by DOD in any conflict in the history of the United States,"
concludes the report, which was obtained by the Federation of
American Scientists."

The report is based on the Pentagon's surveys of contractors in Iraq
and Afghanistan. Overall, as of March 31, 2009, the Defense
Department employed more than 240,000 contractors in the two
war zones, compared with approximately 282,000 uniformed soldiers.

This does not bode well for America, Afghanistan, Iraq,or your wallet.
We still need some accountability.

Theoccupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are expensive, deadly,
and counterproductive. It is time to remove our troops, and replace
them with international peacekeepers. The misuse of our troops in
these nations to enforce illegalcost-plus, no-bid, contracts for a variety
of corporate ambitions and priorities is feckless, irresponsible, inappropriate,
and will continue to cost lives and resources for no good reason.

We must end these occupations and begin rebuilding this nation by
investing in jobs, parks, infrastructure, ports, utilities,research, and
education. Wasting our resources abroad on ill-considered corporate
misadventures prevents us from providing the universal health-care and
education which will be necessaryif this nation ever hopes to endure,
survive, compete, and prevail in today's globally interconnected marketplace.

Endless war, mercantilism, empire-building, and neocolonialism...have
proven unmitigated disasters for this nation, our allies,and for the globe.
It is time we end the occupations, restore the rule of law, demand
constitutional integrity, and build bridges to peace, progress, and prosperity.

This will take courage, commitment, and common sense.
Those who broke the law must be prosecuted and pay for their crimes,
so that the rest of us can get on with our lives, restore our reputation,
salvage some integrity, and begin a rebuilding process of reconciliation
and renewal which may well be redemptive.

tmf

Torture...

From the announcement of a
Special Prosecutor to the
chilling stories of abuse in the
CIA Inspector General's report,
recent news brought a barrage
of developments on torture.

In short, we've seen small positive steps,
but the bigger picture remains deeply
disturbing: limited investigations,
impunity for those most responsible
for authorizing crimes of torture,
and policies like international rendition
and illegal detention remaining on the books.

» Call on President Obama and Congress to end
and ensure accountability for torture and other
human rights violations.

Here's what's happening and our next steps:
The appointment of a Special Prosecutor is a
positive step toward accountability. We have
long called for specific cases of detainee abuse by
government personnel and private contractors,
once shelved by the Bush Department of Justice,
to be re-opened – but much more must be done.

The scope of the Special Prosecutor's investigation
may be limited to the actions of a few mid-level
personnel, and we all know that evidence puts
responsibility for torture much higher up the
chain of command. We need a full investigation—
an independent commission of inquiry—to get the full truth.

The CIA finally released two classified memos that
Vice President Cheney had previously stated would
justify the use of torture. Amnesty International requested
the release of these memos in a Freedom of Information Act
request submitted jointly with the Center for Constitutional
Rights and New York University Law School. Far from
supporting torture, the memos, in fact, offered little evidence
of how attacks were prevented from obtaining testimony using
such disgraceful methods – another myth debunked.

The CIA Inspector General's report, long kept in secret
and released only due to a lawsuit by the ACLU, revealed
new details about the CIA's use of torture and underscores
the need for full accountability. Shameful stories about mock
executions, death threats to detainee's family members and
even an incident involving a power drill being placed to the head
of one detainee each add to the mountain of evidence weighing
against those at the highest levels who allowed such crimes to
occur under their supervision.

President Obama has approved the creation of special
interrogation unit and it must abide by the Army Field Manual.
The Field Manual is a far better standard than the heinous
Office of Legal Council's interrogation memos, however,
some techniques permitted by the Army Field Manual–
including sleep deprivation, isolation and exploitation of
fears–could still result in torture or other ill-treatment.
To ensure that the U.S. never tortures again, President
Obama and Congress must close all loopholes for torture
and other ill-treatment–as defined under international law.

Reports are also surfacing that the Obama administration
will continue the practice of international rendition–
sending detainees to other countries for interrogation,
outside of judicial review. Officials say that they are taking
steps to ensure that rendered detainees are not tortured.
President George W. Bush made the same promise.

As long as international rendition is on the books,
torture is an option. The ball is rolling. If it wasn't for
your calls, emails, letters and persistent activism
against torture, yesterday's news would have most
likely never have happened. And if you need more
proof that your actions are having an impact, just
look at the case of Mohammed Jawad. He was at
most 17 years old, and perhaps as young as 12,
when he was first detained and sent to Guantánamo
Bay prison. He was beaten, subjected to sleep
deprivation, interrogated and told his family would
be killed if he did not confess. For five years, he was
denied access to a lawyer.Recently, the intense scrutiny
being given to his case helped leverage a U.S. Supreme
Court ruling that allowed Jawad to have his day in court.

He was ordered released. The government dropped all

charges and this week he arrived home.This is how justice
works. We know there's a better standard for interrogation
methods and ensuring national security. This week's news

is only the beginning. Now we've got to do all we can to
ensure that yesterday's news isn't overlooked when crafting
tomorrow's policies.

Sincerely,Njambi Good
Campaign Director
Counter Terror With Justice
Amnesty International USA
www.Writingresource.info/torture.html
www.WritingResource.info/tortureupdate.html

Michael Barone says Obama governs Chicago Style

Not Chicago Style, Obama Style
Posted by Writingresource on
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 5:06:56 PM

Mr. Barone is wrong on all counts..

.President Barack Obama likes to execute
long-range strategies and his most exciting skill
has been his facility for accomadating new facts
and using them to refine his long and shortterm strategies.

As Barack Obama deals with difficult problems ranging
from health care legislation to upheaval in Iran, we
have seen that his skills and approaches provide more
effective leadership than we have seen in years.

His 2008 campaign was a largely flawless execution
of a smart strategy and he won, regardless of how many
sour grapes the entertainers and pundits want to harvest.

On domestic policy, he has been executing his long-range
strategy of investing in the American people and providing
resources to sustain them as they suffer the consequences
of eight years of irresponsible Republican spending and an
ill-advised corporate war.

His long-range strategy of talking to America's enemies
has already been a success. North Korea's missile launches
are par for the course. The demonstrations in Iran against
the mullah regime's apparent election fraud is proof that
Barack has given hope both at home and abroad.

Obama never assumed anything. This is why his strategy
works. Now that he is seen as a reasonable man, rather
than someone hell-bent on war and destruction, it is much
more difficult for totalitarian regimes to cast us as the enemy.
It is about time we drew a line in the sand.

He not only expressed deep concern about the election,
he said in no uncertain terms that the Iranian regime's abuse
of their people would not stand. He is the first president since
Clinton who does care about the details of policy. His hands on
approach is refreshing.

Once he purges his administration of Robert Gates and
other deadbeats and hangers on... things will proceed
even more expeditiously.

For the first time in nine years we have coherent public policy:
He has moved to provide better access to healthcare,
invest in America, restore civil rights, and give the middle
class and the poor an even break. His efforts to responsibly
provide for the least powerful among us while relieving
business of the burden of providing health care is a win-win situation.

Obama quickly announced the closing of the prison at
Guantanamo Bay and is engaged in that process.
And it is about time.

His insistance that Israel not expand illegal settlements
is prudent and long overdue. A brilliant beginning.

The government takeover of General Motors and
Chrysler to bail out irresponsible corporate executives
was prudent.We could not afford to put millions of
Americans out of work and a reform of the industry
was long overdue.

His plan for instituting universal pre-kindergarten
is supported by scientific evidence and is critical to our
national security. It is about time we began fixing
our failing schools.

He has done nothing to keep the Republicans out
of serious policy negotiations and has allowed various
congressional operators to do what they do. He will
then sign or veto their work. While promising a politics
of mutual respect, he is intelligent enough to point out the
criminal violations of his predecessor which got us into so
much trouble. To ignore those mistakes would be folly.

The corporate press generally loves Obama because
he has done little to challenge the corporate
hegemony which continues to waste our resources
at home and abroad. And writers, editors, and
the general public have problems with him
for the same reason.

Obama entered the presidency with supreme
self-confidence. He was and remains one of the best
and brightest of his generation. His confidence has
already worked in our favor.

A temporary transfer of large segments of the
American economy from the private to the
public sector, during this time of economic
uncertainty, has historical precedents.
And the moves by the previous administration
to privatize our homeland securty, military
defense, and regulatory agencies has been a
disaster.

It is about time we reversed that dangerous trend.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is irrelevant. And Kim Jong Il
is predictable. With Obama in the seat of power, we are
in much better shape than before. He is smarter than both
of them. Bush and Ahmadinejad had some things in common,
but intelligence and judgement were not among them.

It's generally good for American presidents to have
long-term strategies. And in setting public policy
it is essential to get the details right. And in guiding
the nation in a dangerous world itremains vital to
adjust to face hard realities and unexpected events.

This is what Obama does best. His intelligence,
vision, and integrity are good for America.

best regards, Tim Flanagan

Box 22, Lake Oswego, Oregon 97034editor, teacher, writer...

http://www.TheWordsmithCollection.org/
www.Resourceresource.org

Tags: leadership accountability competence

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Iranian Election Results

This was an important election.
Ahmadinejad learned well.

Iran's most recent "election"
was simliar to the American
elections of 2000 and 2004.

As yet, the administration
in Iran has been relatively
benign. They have not
pursued policies nearly
as damaging as the corporate
machinations of Dick Cheney
and his band of thugs...

but this newest power-grab
might make Ahmadinejad
as feckless as George and
Dick in his thirst for power.

The actual seat of power in Iran has shifted,
and while this shift might be inevitable, the
infighting and posturings it may inspire could
prove lethal.

There are at least three choices:
Ahmadinejad's tenuous house of cards,
Mir Hossein Mousavi's grassroots movement,
and the reality of Ayatollah Jannati and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
the actual power in The Guardian Council.

Ahmadinejad's aspirations are untenable and his days
are numbered. And The Guardian Council is no longer
perceived to be an unwavering seat of power. They blinked.

"According to the information received from
provinces and from Tehran, Mousavi has got
65 percent of the votes cast." (Liberal cleric
and former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi
came second in the election with a total of 13.3
million votes, while president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came
third with only 5.49 million votes.)"
Leaked Iran Presidential Election Results : Mir-Hossein Mousavi Won

False choices will not determine the fate of
the Iranian nation. And if leaders in America
and elsewhere can find the necessary courage,
Mousavi's victory and the will of the Iranian
people will neither be ignored nor denied.

The Ugly Truth about Torture

The Bush administration tortured people.The talk about a "few bad apples" was a lie.
A spineless congress allowed these crimes
to happen. The saddest part of this tragedy
is that too many Americans are not aware of
the extent and depravity of these crimes.

And a vocal minority of Americans see nothing
wrong with engaging in illegal acts of torture,
even when these involve rapes of children and
outright murder. At some point voices of reason,
temperance, and sanity... must rise together and speak.

Torture is immoral, illegal, and ineffective.
It is time to restore the rule of law and sanction, fine,
punish, or imprison those who broke the law. Proactive
moral compunction inspired by courage and fueled by
integrity, will triumph over a surrender to fear and the
embrace of "situational ethics." We must reject cowardice,
surrender, and ignorance... in favor of courage,
faith, and intelligence. Ethics reflect our values. Either we
have values... or not. We must demand accountability from
our leaders or replace them. Bush lied and Obama parses
and parcels out half-truths.

It is time to take a stand and do the right thing. tmf

General Taguba’s report revealed that the overwhelming majority of detainees at Abu Ghraib had no connection to terrorism. Suspected terrorists were being funneled to Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan or Guantanamo.

“These were people who weretaken off the streets and put in jail — teen-agers and old men and women,” he told the New Yorker shortly after retiring in 2007. “I kept on asking these questions of the officers I interviewed: ‘You knew what was going on. Why didn’t you do something to stop it?’”The answer to that question was that the low-ranking soldiers were taking orders from Washington to engage in torture.

“These M.P. troops were not that creative,” Taguba said. “Somebody was giving them guidance, but I was legally prevented from further investigation intohigher authority. I was limited to a box.” Taguba says that the U.S. Commander in Iraq General “Sanchez knew exactly what was going on,” but because Taguba was limited to investigating enlisted men and junior officers, he wasn’t allowed to conduct a thorough investigation.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has a different explanation for what happened at Abu Ghraib: all the blame should be left at the feet of American soldiers. In essence, the vice president who hadtaken five deferments to the draft during Vietnam in order to avoid military service wants to blame the troops: “At Abu Ghraib, a few sadistic prison guards abused inmates in violation of American law, military regulations, and simple decency,” Cheney told the American Enterprise Institute last month. “For the harm they did, to Iraqi prisoners and to America's cause, they deserved and received Army justice. And it takes a deeply unfair cast of mind to equate the disgraces of Abu Ghraib with the lawful, skillful, and entirely honorable work of CIA personnel trained to deal with a few malevolent men.”

Americans have a choice of believing either a two-star general and the soldiers in the field who say they were directed to torture by higher ups, or Dick Cheney and the politicians in Washington. Of the politicians in Washington, Taguba says they were well-informed of the torture taking place at Abu Ghraib:

 “[Former Secretary of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld is very perceptive and has a mind like a steel trap. There’s no way he’s suffering from C.R.S. — Can’t Remember S***. He’s trying to acquit himself, and a lot of people are lying to protect themselves.” Ditto for Cheney, apparently.
We can escape from this swamp of lies. tmfCOUNTER TERROR WITH JUSTICE

In the name of the "war on terror," the U.S. government
has subjected people who have not been charged with or
convicted of any crime to:

• Torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment
or punishment

• Abductions (known as extraordinary rendition),
"disappearances," and secret detention

• Illegal, indefinite detention in Guantanamo, Bagram,
other U.S. facilities, & secret CIA sites  

• Denial of legal rights, including fair trials and habeas corpus--
the right to challenge the legality of one's detentionAdditionally,
the U.S. government has employed companies that have been implicated in cases of killings, torture, and rape, and has failed
to adequately investigate and prosecute abuses.

These practices are wrong.
They are illegal under U.S. and international law.
They violate American principles of justice.
Military and intelligence experts have said these practices are ineffective.
The United States government must end these human rights violations immediately
and hold accountable all those who authorized and implemented them. Detainees must
be charged and given fair trials, or be released to countries where they will not be at risk
of human rights abuse. The U.S. government must respect and protect human rights,
and counter terror with justice.

It’s up to people like us—people around the world who
want justice, security, and human rights—to make sure it happens.

Join Amnesty International USA’s
Counter Terror With Justice Campaign Teamwww.amnestyusa.org/ctwj ctwj@aiusa.org
More about torture: www.writingresource.info/tortureupdate.html

Corporate Welfare, Oregon Style...

Oregon's $10 minimum tax
has been in place since 1931
and is one of the nation's lowest.

Two-thirds of Oregon corporations
-- pay the minimum. Corporate taxes
make up about 5 percent of the state's
general fund compared with 82 percent
from personal income taxes.

Oregon Corporate Taxes The "tax burden"
for companies in Oregon and Washington,
each of which has a piece of greater Portland,
is lower than in most other states, according
to the Tax Foundation.

Ranking states for "best business tax climate,"
the Foundation places Oregon 9th and Washington 12th.
Similarly, accounting experts at Ernst & Young, who
calculate "total effective tax rate" by taking into account
property, receipt and sales and income taxes, cite
Oregon's as second-lowest in the U.S., at 3.8%;
Washington's is 5.8%. Delaware's total effective tax rate
is the nation's lowest, at 3.5%, and Alaska's the highest,
at 11.6%.Greater Portland companies have another tax
advantage on either side of the Columbia. Oregon has
no sales tax, which can be a boon for companies making
big equipment purchases. And Washington has no state
income tax, a selling point for prospective employees.

More tax facts:
Oregon's corporate income tax rate of 6.6% is 16th-lowest
in the nation. California's rate of 8.8% ranks it seventh-highest.

Rationalizing Torture...

By definition, those who
torture, murder, and rape
are criminals.

This separates humanity
from dumb animals.
Some people stupidly
attempt to rationalize
torture, rape, and murder.
Their criminal behavior

or "situational ethics" leaves
them in jail, in trouble, or dead.

Moral compunction is another option. Most of us
develop integrity, find courage, and have values.
These are choices we make as adults. Yet some
people refuse to grow. They reject the moral authority
of parents, church, community, or ancestors. They hold
themselves above the law, unaccountable... and feel
entitled to live without scruples, standards, or honor.

Fortunately we outnumber these clueless sociopaths.
The poster boys for prolonged adolesence, George
and Dick, have been thrown out of the White House
they hijacked. We are returning to our roots as a
nation of law. Courage and integrity have trumped
fear and amorality.

Those who insist on abnormal and antisocial behavior

will have to get used to obeying the law. They can
mend their ways or pay the piper.

Torture is immoral, illegal, and it does not work..

Quote of the Day – The healthy man does not torture others …


The issue is torture. Torture is a crime under US law.

The federal anti-torture statute
is formally known as
Title 18, Part I, Chapter 113C
of the U.S. Code.
The law consists of three
sections (2340, 2340A,
and 2340B), which define
the crime of torture and
prescribe harsh punishments
for anyone—an American
citizen or otherwise—
who commits an act
of torture outside of
the United States.
(Domestic incidents
of torture are covered
by state criminal
statutes.)

A person found guilty
of committing
torture faces up
to 20 years in
prison or
even execution,
if the torture in question resulted in a victim's death.




Those who ordered torture, committed it, condoned it,
and/or tried to cover it up are criminals. They should
be prosecuted. Torture is illegal, immoral, and it does
not work. The law is quite clear and must be enforced.

Another section of the U.S. Code (Title 28, Part IV, Chapter 85,
Section 1350) also deals with the issue of torture. The so-called
Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 allows victims of torture,
or the families of those who were killed through extra-
judicial means, to sue their tormentors in U.S. courts, regardless
of their citizenship or where the crime occurred.

Torture is also immoral. The position of all three branches
of Abrahamic tradition agree. And the experts at the
Pentagon and intelligence experts worldwide agree that
resorting to torture produces flawed intelligence and
"torture and abuse cost American lives."

"We need to return to an ethic of responsibility and
accountability that is critical if citizens are to have
faith in their government andthe world is to respect
this nation. This is not just a matter of therule of law.
It is a matter of national security."

These are the simple facts.

Tax equity

Tax Equity
Anyone who thinks our most critical problems in America
have anything to do with the amount of taxes there are on
boats, yachts, and small airplanes... is seriously confused.
Our problems are the redistribution of income from working
Americans to the richest of the rich. Fortunately, most
Americans, ( the ones whose paychecks just got larger...)
understand that this new administration wants to rebuild
and invest in America. The last administration was
interested in graft, corruption, exporting jobs, wiretapping,
environmental destruction, studious ignorance, petty
larceny, endless war, profiteering, corporate welfare, and
exploitation.

A goodly number of those criminals were real concerned
about taxes on yachts...Their party is over. As the profiteers
go bankrupt, their yachts are up for sale, their planes are
seized by shareholders, and they beg for handouts while
working Americans and their advocates are taking back
this nation.We will rebuild, restore, and protect this nation
from criminals in our midst.And if congress finds the courage,
profiteers will pay reparations or do time.

Peace, Freedom, and Justice.

Tim