"Me, I'll recover if my Social Security number's gone, but at least I have my health," said John Norton, 37, who served in a Navy construction battalion from 1988-96. Norton, of Grand Rapids, Mich., said he's not overly concerned whether his data may have been on a laptop stolen from a Veterans Affairs Department employee's home on May 3.
The VA on Monday revealed that the computer contained the names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of 26.5 million veterans who were discharged since 1975. In some cases, spouses' information and data of veterans discharged before 1975 who submitted claims to the agency may have been included.
Norton said there's nothing he can do about it, adding that he thinks it's just one example of how the federal government is failing veterans. "It's one of many things," Norton said as he looked toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. "Like the ongoing cutting of VA benefits. You don't see politicians' benefits cut."
If they really supported our troops, they wouldn't be cutting VA benefits.
28 May, 2006
27 May, 2006
Lay and Bush
read today:
Lay and Skilling have to pay up their ill-gotten gains to Enron's stockholders, but what about the $9-plus billion owed to electricity consumers?
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Bush's electricity cops, have slapped Enron and its gang of power pirates on the wrist.
Could that have something to do with the fact that Ken Lay, in secret chats with Dick Cheney, selected the Commission's chairmen? Team Bush had to throw the public a bone, so they threw us Lay and Skilling for the crime - note - not of ripping off the public, but of ripping off stockholders - the owner class.
This limited conviction, and the announcement of only one more indictment - of the crime-busters at Milberg-Weiss - is Team Bush's "all clear!" signal for the sharks to jump back into the power pool.
Lay and Skilling have to pay up their ill-gotten gains to Enron's stockholders, but what about the $9-plus billion owed to electricity consumers?
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Bush's electricity cops, have slapped Enron and its gang of power pirates on the wrist.
Could that have something to do with the fact that Ken Lay, in secret chats with Dick Cheney, selected the Commission's chairmen? Team Bush had to throw the public a bone, so they threw us Lay and Skilling for the crime - note - not of ripping off the public, but of ripping off stockholders - the owner class.
This limited conviction, and the announcement of only one more indictment - of the crime-busters at Milberg-Weiss - is Team Bush's "all clear!" signal for the sharks to jump back into the power pool.
26 May, 2006
where is the moral outrage?
Investigators believe that their criminal investigation into the deaths of about two dozen Iraqi civilians points toward a conclusion that Marines committed unprovoked murders, a senior defense official said Friday.
The Marine Corps initially reported 15 deaths and said they were caused by a roadside bomb and an ensuing firefight with insurgents. A separate investigation is seeking to determine if Marines lied to cover up the killings.
On May 17, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated former Marine, said Marine Corps officials told him the toll in the Haditha attack was far worse than originally reported and that U.S. troops killed innocent women and children "in cold blood." He said that nearly twice as many people were killed than first reported, maintaining that U.S. forces are "overstretched and overstressed" by the war in Iraq.
The Marine Corps initially reported 15 deaths and said they were caused by a roadside bomb and an ensuing firefight with insurgents. A separate investigation is seeking to determine if Marines lied to cover up the killings.
On May 17, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated former Marine, said Marine Corps officials told him the toll in the Haditha attack was far worse than originally reported and that U.S. troops killed innocent women and children "in cold blood." He said that nearly twice as many people were killed than first reported, maintaining that U.S. forces are "overstretched and overstressed" by the war in Iraq.
Iraq deaths
Investigators believe that their criminal investigation into the deaths of about two dozen Iraqi civilians points toward a conclusion that Marines committed unprovoked murders, a senior defense official said Friday.
The Marine Corps initially reported 15 deaths and said they were caused by a roadside bomb and an ensuing firefight with insurgents. A separate investigation is seeking to determine if Marines lied to cover up the killings.
On May 17, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated former Marine, said Marine Corps officials told him the toll in the Haditha attack was far worse than originally reported and that U.S. troops killed innocent women and children "in cold blood." He said that nearly twice as many people were killed than first reported, maintaining that U.S. forces are "overstretched and overstressed" by the war in Iraq.
The Marine Corps initially reported 15 deaths and said they were caused by a roadside bomb and an ensuing firefight with insurgents. A separate investigation is seeking to determine if Marines lied to cover up the killings.
On May 17, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated former Marine, said Marine Corps officials told him the toll in the Haditha attack was far worse than originally reported and that U.S. troops killed innocent women and children "in cold blood." He said that nearly twice as many people were killed than first reported, maintaining that U.S. forces are "overstretched and overstressed" by the war in Iraq.
23 May, 2006
bush and turning points
Yesterday May 22, President Bush gave a public speech and hailed the creation of a new democratic government in Iraq: "We have now reached a turning point in the struggle between freedom and terror."
But this isn't the first "turning point" Bush has declared in Iraq. A trip down memory lane:
March 19, 2004, on the anniversary of when military forces entered Iraq to enforce United Nations demands: "Today, as Iraqis join the free peoples of the world, we mark a turning point for the Middle East, and a crucial advance for human liberty."
June 16, 2004, on the transfer of the Iraq governing authority to a sovereign interim government: "A turning point will come two weeks from today."
January 29, 2005, on Iraqis heading to the polls: "Tomorrow the world will witness a turning point in the history of Iraq."
December 12, 2005, in a speech looking back at the year in Iraq: "Thanks to the courage of the Iraqi people, the year 2005 will be recorded as a turning point in the history of Iraq, the history of the Middle East, and the history of freedom."
May 1, 2006, on the prospects of a new government in Iraq: "This is a -- we believe this is a turning point for the Iraqi citizens."
If he says it enough, some people will believe anything.
But this isn't the first "turning point" Bush has declared in Iraq. A trip down memory lane:
March 19, 2004, on the anniversary of when military forces entered Iraq to enforce United Nations demands: "Today, as Iraqis join the free peoples of the world, we mark a turning point for the Middle East, and a crucial advance for human liberty."
June 16, 2004, on the transfer of the Iraq governing authority to a sovereign interim government: "A turning point will come two weeks from today."
January 29, 2005, on Iraqis heading to the polls: "Tomorrow the world will witness a turning point in the history of Iraq."
December 12, 2005, in a speech looking back at the year in Iraq: "Thanks to the courage of the Iraqi people, the year 2005 will be recorded as a turning point in the history of Iraq, the history of the Middle East, and the history of freedom."
May 1, 2006, on the prospects of a new government in Iraq: "This is a -- we believe this is a turning point for the Iraqi citizens."
If he says it enough, some people will believe anything.
21 May, 2006
data mining by the LNSB
Read today:
“He didn’t get the contract,” Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alfonso Jackson said,. “Why should I reward someone who doesn’t like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don’t get the contract"
Remember, Haliburton's no-bid contracts in Iraq.
This data has been mined by the LNSB for patterns.
“He didn’t get the contract,” Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alfonso Jackson said,. “Why should I reward someone who doesn’t like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don’t get the contract"
Remember, Haliburton's no-bid contracts in Iraq.
This data has been mined by the LNSB for patterns.
Gitmo, torture and the U.N.
read today:
The Taliban fought back when we invaded their country (their leaders were harboring the al-Qaeda) as we would have if they had invaded our country. Both sides were justified at that point.
Some of them were scooped up and after 4 years are still being held captive by us without any charges, which suggests no or weak grounds for charging. About 460, some just former Taliban fighters, are incarcerated at the Cuban prison camp.
A U.N. panel said Friday the indefinite detention of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo violates the world's ban on torture. In issuing its report, the Committee Against Torture said the United States should ensure that no prisoner is tortured.
Our generals have said this is not a war that can be won militarily. Do you get it?
The Taliban fought back when we invaded their country (their leaders were harboring the al-Qaeda) as we would have if they had invaded our country. Both sides were justified at that point.
Some of them were scooped up and after 4 years are still being held captive by us without any charges, which suggests no or weak grounds for charging. About 460, some just former Taliban fighters, are incarcerated at the Cuban prison camp.
A U.N. panel said Friday the indefinite detention of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo violates the world's ban on torture. In issuing its report, the Committee Against Torture said the United States should ensure that no prisoner is tortured.
Our generals have said this is not a war that can be won militarily. Do you get it?
Republicans selective law enforcement
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales denied that authorities would randomly check journalists' records on domestic-to-domestic phone calls in an effort to find journalists' confidential sources. "We don't engage in domestic-to-domestic surveillance without a court order," Gonzales said, under a "probable cause" legal standard.
But he added that the First Amendment right of a free press should not be absolute when it comes to national security. If the government's probe into the NSA leak turns up criminal activity, prosecutors have an "obligation to enforce the law."
Why don't these Republicans enforce laws when it comes to employers??
But he added that the First Amendment right of a free press should not be absolute when it comes to national security. If the government's probe into the NSA leak turns up criminal activity, prosecutors have an "obligation to enforce the law."
Why don't these Republicans enforce laws when it comes to employers??
do they really care
Another explosion rocks a coal mine. Five more men die. And the burning question is the same as it was in the Sago Mine disaster. Some of the six workers caught in Saturday's blast in an eastern Kentucky coal mine had survived the initial blast and put on their oxygen devices, but only one made it out alive, Gov. Ernie Fletcher said. And a brother of the survivor said he passed out a couple of times as he escaped because his "self-rescuer" wasn't working properly.
The details echo those of West Virginia's Jan. 2 Sago Mine explosion, the only survivor of which said he and some of his 12 doomed co-workers had to share their breathing apparatus because at least four of the packs didn't work.
The real question is do the owners and the politicians who they finance really care???
The details echo those of West Virginia's Jan. 2 Sago Mine explosion, the only survivor of which said he and some of his 12 doomed co-workers had to share their breathing apparatus because at least four of the packs didn't work.
The real question is do the owners and the politicians who they finance really care???
19 May, 2006
the end game in Iraq
I saw a bumper sticker the other day that read--"Suport our troops, oppose the war". I guess they mean the one in Iraq.
If that country eventually survives, it will be controlled by shiites who are sixty percent of the population and will control most of the oil reserves, and they hate us and are allied with Iran.
They are already blaming us for the tens of thousand of civilian deaths while we are there, that includes women and children.
Nice isn't it.
If that country eventually survives, it will be controlled by shiites who are sixty percent of the population and will control most of the oil reserves, and they hate us and are allied with Iran.
They are already blaming us for the tens of thousand of civilian deaths while we are there, that includes women and children.
Nice isn't it.
16 May, 2006
Iraq update
"At least" 2,443 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
15 May, 2006
casualties in Iraq
"At least" 2,443 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
I say at least as this is an Associated Press count. Our "free country" Defense Department does NOT publish numbers.
I say at least as this is an Associated Press count. Our "free country" Defense Department does NOT publish numbers.
14 May, 2006
world of Republican Conservatives(neocons)
President Bush told the public Thursday in a brief appearance aimed at quelling the instant outrage provoked by the story. He assured Americans that their civil liberties were being "fiercely protected" and that the government was "not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans."
In other words, never mind appearances. Trust us.
Well, that is not all it means. Nor can the president's promise to protect privacy be reliably kept.The fact that the government is trying to track (but not wiretap) every call you make and every call you receive — at home or on your cellphone is, to say the least, disturbing.
It means that your phone company tossed your privacy to the wind and collaborated with this extraordinary intrusion, and that it did so secretly and without following any court order.That is, unless you're lucky enough to be served by Qwest, the one major phone company that had the integrity to resist government pressure.
These types of databases invariably have errors. The federal terrorist "watch list," which is used to screen airline passengers, has ensnared a number of innocent travelers, for example, a 23-month-old toddler whose names are similar to, or the same as, suspects on the list. Once you're mistakenly targeted, the error can be nearly impossible to fix and your life can be turned upside down.
It means that unless public opposition changes the government's course, this database will be compiled, updated and expanded into the indeterminate future, through countless administrations with who-knows-what interests and motives. Only the most naive and unsuspicious soul could trust that it will remain safe, secured and for the eyes only of those hunting terrorists.
Combined with a separate NSA program (revealed in December by The New York Times) to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls from the USA, it raises the question of what other secret and constitutionally suspect programs the Bush administration might still be shielding.
Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA for six years and is now Bush's nominee to be CIA director, is a master of evasion. Speaking in January about the international eavesdropping, he said the program is not a widely cast "drift net" but is narrowly "focused" and "targeted."
Over time, this vast quantity of data is a potentially irresistible tool for government officials who want to zero in on individual Americans. Welcome to the world of these Republican Conservatives.
In other words, never mind appearances. Trust us.
Well, that is not all it means. Nor can the president's promise to protect privacy be reliably kept.The fact that the government is trying to track (but not wiretap) every call you make and every call you receive — at home or on your cellphone is, to say the least, disturbing.
It means that your phone company tossed your privacy to the wind and collaborated with this extraordinary intrusion, and that it did so secretly and without following any court order.That is, unless you're lucky enough to be served by Qwest, the one major phone company that had the integrity to resist government pressure.
These types of databases invariably have errors. The federal terrorist "watch list," which is used to screen airline passengers, has ensnared a number of innocent travelers, for example, a 23-month-old toddler whose names are similar to, or the same as, suspects on the list. Once you're mistakenly targeted, the error can be nearly impossible to fix and your life can be turned upside down.
It means that unless public opposition changes the government's course, this database will be compiled, updated and expanded into the indeterminate future, through countless administrations with who-knows-what interests and motives. Only the most naive and unsuspicious soul could trust that it will remain safe, secured and for the eyes only of those hunting terrorists.
Combined with a separate NSA program (revealed in December by The New York Times) to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls from the USA, it raises the question of what other secret and constitutionally suspect programs the Bush administration might still be shielding.
Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA for six years and is now Bush's nominee to be CIA director, is a master of evasion. Speaking in January about the international eavesdropping, he said the program is not a widely cast "drift net" but is narrowly "focused" and "targeted."
Over time, this vast quantity of data is a potentially irresistible tool for government officials who want to zero in on individual Americans. Welcome to the world of these Republican Conservatives.
13 May, 2006
government excuse to spy on you
The massive government data base of telephone calls was built without court warrants or the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a panel of federal judges established to issue secret warrants, according to people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
The administration's warrantless programs apparently violate the Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which bars "unreasonable searches and seizures" and requires warrants for searches, as well as the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that established the secret court.
Harold Koh, dean of Yale Law School and author of The National Security Constitution, called the scope of the database "quite shocking."
"If they had gone to Congress and said, 'We want to do this without probable cause, without warrants and without judicial review,' it never would have been approved," said Koh, a former law clerk for the late Supreme Court justice Harry Blackmun, "I don't think any FISA court would have approved this kind of scale of activity."
As a general rule, telecommunications companies require law enforcement agencies to present a court order before they will turn over a customer's phone records. Under Section 222 of the Communications Act, first passed in 1934, phone companies are prohibited from giving out information about their customers' calling habits.
Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, questioned why the phone companies would cooperate with the NSA."Why are the telephone companies not protecting their customers?" he said. "They have a social responsibility to people who do business with them to protect our privacy as long as there isn't some suspicion that we're a terrorist or a criminal or something."
The administration's warrantless programs apparently violate the Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which bars "unreasonable searches and seizures" and requires warrants for searches, as well as the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that established the secret court.
Harold Koh, dean of Yale Law School and author of The National Security Constitution, called the scope of the database "quite shocking."
"If they had gone to Congress and said, 'We want to do this without probable cause, without warrants and without judicial review,' it never would have been approved," said Koh, a former law clerk for the late Supreme Court justice Harry Blackmun, "I don't think any FISA court would have approved this kind of scale of activity."
As a general rule, telecommunications companies require law enforcement agencies to present a court order before they will turn over a customer's phone records. Under Section 222 of the Communications Act, first passed in 1934, phone companies are prohibited from giving out information about their customers' calling habits.
Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, questioned why the phone companies would cooperate with the NSA."Why are the telephone companies not protecting their customers?" he said. "They have a social responsibility to people who do business with them to protect our privacy as long as there isn't some suspicion that we're a terrorist or a criminal or something."
11 May, 2006
you and big brother
USA TODAY reported that the NSA has been collecting data from AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth since the Sept. 11 attacks to search for patterns that might help identify terrorist networks. NSA collected records from landlines and cellphones at homes, businesses and government offices across the country, including calls by individuals not suspected of wrongdoing.On Capitol Hill, Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy expressed outrage. "These are tens of millions of Americans who are not suspected of anything."
The telephone database was built without court warrants or the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a panel of federal judges established to issue secret warrants, according to people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
One major telecommunication company, Qwest, refused to participate in the NSA program because of concerns about the expansiveness of the program and the lack of judicial oversight, USA TODAY reported.
"This is an outrageous invasion of privacy and a frightening expansion of government power," said Bob Barr, a former Georgia congressman and conservative Republican who served as one of the House managers of President Clinton's impeachment.
Ralph Neas, president of the liberal group People for the American Way, used similar language, calling the program "an unconscionable infringement on the rights and freedoms that are the birthright of every American." He added, "We can destroy the terrorists without shredding the Constitution and the Bill of Rights." Big brother is monitoring you.
The telephone database was built without court warrants or the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a panel of federal judges established to issue secret warrants, according to people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
One major telecommunication company, Qwest, refused to participate in the NSA program because of concerns about the expansiveness of the program and the lack of judicial oversight, USA TODAY reported.
"This is an outrageous invasion of privacy and a frightening expansion of government power," said Bob Barr, a former Georgia congressman and conservative Republican who served as one of the House managers of President Clinton's impeachment.
Ralph Neas, president of the liberal group People for the American Way, used similar language, calling the program "an unconscionable infringement on the rights and freedoms that are the birthright of every American." He added, "We can destroy the terrorists without shredding the Constitution and the Bill of Rights." Big brother is monitoring you.
01 May, 2006
democratic solutions for medicare and SS
Funding shortfalls for Social Security and Medicare should be viewed in the context of Bush's drive to make the tax cuts of his first term permanent.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said that if Congress approved Bush's request to make his tax cuts permanent and enacted a permanent fix for the alternative minimum tax, which was designed to tax the wealthy but is falling on more middle-class tax payers, that would represent a cumulative revenue shortfall equal to 2% of the total economy over a 75-year period.
That is three times the shortfall estimated by the trustees for Social Security over the same period, Reed said.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said that if Congress approved Bush's request to make his tax cuts permanent and enacted a permanent fix for the alternative minimum tax, which was designed to tax the wealthy but is falling on more middle-class tax payers, that would represent a cumulative revenue shortfall equal to 2% of the total economy over a 75-year period.
That is three times the shortfall estimated by the trustees for Social Security over the same period, Reed said.
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