Wednesday, October 31, 2007

I got this in e-mail the other day from Evan Bayh about the Burma letter I wrote a month or so ago. It's a pretty good letter I guess, someone did take a little time to write this and give some more information on sanctions against the Myanmar junta. I appreciate them taking a few minutes to respond.

Dear Mr. Parson :

Thank you for contacting me regarding the situation in Burma . I appreciate your thoughts and concerns on this important issue.

As you may know, protests against the Burmese military government, or junta, began anew in late August 2007. By September, the protests grew to an estimated 100,000 persons led by monks. Responding with military force, the junta conducted mass arrests, surrounded Buddhist monasteries, and killed an unknown number of protestors before successfully suppressing the protests late in the month. In response, President Bush tightened sanctions against Burma to target leading Burmese officials, and imposed financial and travel sanctions on 14 senior Burmese government officials.

I support the additional sanctions placed on the junta in Rangoon . Regrettably, too few Asian nations are prepared to isolate the military rulers of Burma . Burma is blessed with natural resources and Burma 's neighbors are putting access to these resources ahead of human rights.

The Burmese people deserve a government that reflects their aspirations and needs. To that end, it is imperative that the international community, including China , join together in opposition to the junta's behavior and abuse of human rights. Individuals, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs should have the freedom to speak their mind and live their lives as they see fit. As a democratic country forged in a revolution against tyranny we have an understandable inclination to support such rights in foreign lands, such as Burma . We must encourage these nations to increase the freedoms granted to their citizens and support more open and democratic societies.

As a proud member of the Senate Armed Services and Senate Intelligence Committees, rest assured that I remain focused on Burma 's conduct and will keep your thoughts in mind when the Senate considers legislation affecting this important issue.

Again, thank you for contacting me. I hope the information I have provided is helpful. My website, http://bayh.senate.gov , can provide additional details about legislation and state projects, and you can also sign up to receive my monthly e - newsletter, The Bayh Bulletin , by clicking on the link at the top of my homepage. I value your input and hope you will continue to keep me informed of the issues that are important to you.

Office of Senator Evan Bayh
(202) 224-5623
Russell 463
Washington, D.C. 20510

Monday, October 29, 2007

Comcast.net News - Immunity Deal Hampers Blackwater Inquiry

Top News
Immunity Deal Hampers Blackwater Inquiry
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, AP
13 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The State Department promised Blackwater USA bodyguards immuntiy from prosecution in its invtestigation of last month's deadly shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians.


I guess this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. I really hope the Iraqi government get's wind of this and raises some form of protest.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Here is a look into the future of Fort Wayne, IF Matt Kelty get's elected mayor.

WATCH AND WEEP!!!!



I hope everyone is ready to party like it's 1699! We will all be living in a Amish paradise if Kelty gets elected. Everything plain and status quo.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007


"Terrorist Buster" Logo — Central Intelligence Agency

Please!!! someone tell me the CIA website was hacked and they put this up as a joke. That or the CIA has a sense of humor we didn't know about. Maybe they hope the terrorist will die laughing. I am actually surprised they didn't put a turban on the little terrorist guy and end up getting sued.

H/T: Divine Democrat

Sunday, October 21, 2007

In Myanmar, Fear Is a Constant Companion - New York Times

Here is bit of a update from how things are in Burma, it's heartbreaking to read this, It's hard to put into word the frustration and helplessness. This is just one clip from the article, there is so many other horrible things going on there.

By perpetrating what most Burmese felt was unthinkable — the beating and killing of monks — the ruling generals proved that they would stop at nothing to keep their grip on power. People were again cowed into subjugation. Now dissidents worry that the world, after its initial uproar, will again leave the Burmese people to cope with the junta on their own.

“We want to explode our feelings, but if we do, who will help us?” said a 58-year-old businessman who, like many, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “The U.N.? The U.S.? China? They all said they would help us. But all they did was blah, blah, blah.”

Friday, October 19, 2007

Overworked.

Sorry there haven't been much in the way of new post. I've been keeping up on the news but haven't had time to post stuff. They have us working extra our at the ol' salt mine. We just took over some new projects from another place that went bankrupt. Lots of overtime working Saturday and Sunday. (yay double time pay). I haven't had much time to get to other blogs as much.

Do make sure you check out the new and improved Blog World Report from Left of Centrist. It's a bit like Slate's "Today's Blog" feature but better. Maybe we can petition Robert to do a RSS feed so the feed could be added to the blogs.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Torture quote

"We got more information out of a German general with a game of chess or Ping-Pong than they do today, with their torture."
-- Henry Kolm, 90, part of a U.S. intelligence team that interrogated Nazis POWs during WWII

What? you can catch more bees with honey then you can with vinegar? I can't believe it. Does Georgy W. know about this? (Probably not he doesn't know much about anything else)

Sunday, October 14, 2007


If you remember a while back I posted about writing a letter to congress and senate.

I got a letter back today from Senator Lugar. It's kind of long to re-type. It's actually a real letter. Not just one sentence about my original letter then some canned political response. It talks about sanctions and such. It talks about getting India, Russia, Japan, and China involved. There is also information were you can go on the senate web site for information.

Here is one paragraph from the letter

"I continue to be particularly concerned with the on-going imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi. I am co-sponsor of a resolution recognizing her achievments in the struggle for freedom and democracy in Burma. On March 29, 2006, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of which I was then chairman, held a hearing on U.S.-Burma relations. You may wish to read more about this hearing at http://foreign.senate.gov/"

(If you click the U.S.-Burma Relations link at the top you can watch a video of the hearings, it doesn't actually start until like 15min. into the video.)

The letter makes me feel he really does care (maybe I'm easily fooled?). I wouldn't say this letter would guarantee me to vote for him again, but he gets brownie points for trying.



I got this from a local bar last night. We don't want this guy to stay on city council. No telling what he will want to ban next to "proctect us".

Friday, October 12, 2007

Mom charged with buying guns for son - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

MSNBC and NBC News
Updated: 10:58 a.m. ET Oct 12, 2007

NORRISTOWN, Pa. - The mother of a 14-year-old who authorities say had a cache of guns, knives and explosive devices in his bedroom for a possible school attack was charged Friday with buying her son three weapons.

Michele Cossey bought her home-schooled son, Dillon, a .22-caliber handgun, a .22-caliber rifle and a 9 mm semiautomatic rifle, authorities said. The teenager felt bullied and tried to recruit another boy for the possible attack at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in suburban Philadelphia, authorities said.



It seems the competition for Mother of the year is going to be tight for 2007. Between this nut buying sweet little Dillon several guns, Britney Spears and her on going train wreak of a life and Fort Wayne's own Mrs. Wooten.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Turkey recalls ambassador to U.S. over Armenians - Yahoo! News

"The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee approved on Wednesday a resolution branding the killings during World War One as genocide."

The non-binding resolution now goes to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Democratic leaders say there will be a vote by mid-November.

Why is this a issue for The House of Representatives to vote on? Don't they have better things they should be doing, like children's health car or ending a current war? I wonder what is next, a resolution against the Greeks for sacking Troy? The Romans for taking over most of Europe? Tax dollars at work I suppose.

The issue of the Armenian massacres is deeply sensitive in Turkey, where it is a crime to portray them as "genocide."

Apparently they think they can force other countries to follow this ridiculous law.

The United States relies heavily on Turkish bases to supply its war effort in Iraq. Any Turkish offensive into northern Iraq would seriously strain ties with Washington and possibly hurt Turkey's bid for European Union membership.

Ankara will lobby Congress to prevent the bill from being approved and Erdogan is due to travel to Washington in early November for talks with U.S. President George W. Bush.


I guess on the other hand maybe this is a trick by the Democrats to end the war by pissing off one of Bush's allies in the "war on terror", making it really hard for them to keep the war supplies flowing. It might help cut off a attack on Iran.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Gunman dead, 5 injured at Ohio school - Yahoo! News


CLEVELAND - A 14-year-old suspended student opened fire in a downtown high school Wednesday before killing himself, and five people were taken to hospitals, authorities said.


Well here we go again, another school shooting. Hopefully there will be more info. later on were the kid got the gun and such. I'm blaming Bush on this one though, who else teaches our young people, the way to solve problems is by the use of force. If you don't like the leader of another country bomb 'em into submission. You don't like being suspended from school, go back with a gun. That will teach 'em.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Democrats Seem Ready to Extend Wiretap Powers - New York Times

All Bush needs to do now is teach the Democrats to roll over and play dead, he seem to already have them housebroken.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 — Two months after insisting that they would roll back broad eavesdropping powers won by the Bush administration, Democrats in Congress appear ready to make concessions that could extend some crucial powers given to the National Security Agency.

Administration officials say they are confident they will win approval of the broadened authority that they secured temporarily in August as Congress rushed toward recess. Some Democratic officials concede that they may not come up with enough votes to stop approval.


Which really means "we are worried about try to get a little bit of the conservative vote when it's time to be re-elected, so we can't look like we are too liberal." George is probably sending these Democrats some special kool-aid to help them sleep at night. Hillary will probably be the first one to vote yes on this bill.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Parents of Wisc. official express shame - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

Pretty sad situation in Wisc. 20 year old cop goes on shooting rampage. Lots of people are wondering how he passed background checks and such. How much background does a 20 year old have? There should be some kind of mental health checks being done on guys entering the police force though.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Make sure your registered to vote, and know were your polling place is located.
Voter Registration Info.

Registration for November's election closes Tuesday, Oct. 9. Here is a link to the registration form.
Voter Registration Application

H/T to Be Part of the Solution A new addition to the Fort Wayne blogging community.

Please get out there and vote on Nov. 6th. It's important for the future of Fort Wayne.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Tenn. Man Kills Self at Council Meeting - NEWS - US NATIONAL - Comcast.net

People in Fort Wayne, think our City Council meetings are bad?

For those of you that don't live in Fort Wayne, this is the reason that story caught my attention. Fort Wayne Left, Jeff's last few post have been about a local BBQ business owner who's health really went down hill, probably due to the stress of having to deal with the health inspectors and them forcing him to only run his business a few days a week.

We are having a election for mayor coming up, I wonder how the candidates feel about this?

Thursday, October 4, 2007

H/T: Just for the Record

Note, names have been changed to point out the guilty.

One day a fourth-grade teacher asked the children what their fathers did for a living. All the typical answers came up -- fireman, mechanic, businessman, salesman, doctor, lawyer, and so forth.

However, little Mike was being uncharacteristically quiet, so when the teacher prodded him about his father, he replied, "My father's an exotic dancer in a gay cabaret named "DaVinci's Decadent Dance Den" and takes off all his clothes in front of other men and they put money in his underwear. Sometimes, if the offer is really good, he will go home with some guy and stay with him all night for money."

The teacher, obviously shaken by this statement, hurriedly set the other children to work on some exercises and then took little Mike aside to ask him, "Is that really true about your father?"


No," the boy said, "He works for the Fort Wayne Republican party, helping to get Matt
Kelty to be our next Mayor, but I was too embarrassed to say that in front of the other kids.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

I got a response from my e-mail to Congressman Mike Pence about the situation.

Dear Mr. XXXXXX:
Thank you for contacting me regarding Burma. It was a pleasure to hear from you.

As we begin a new century, America will face unfathomable challenges, but also plentiful opportunities. As your representative in Washington , my mandate is to renew the American dream for Hoosiers and all Americans.

Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions. Your participation is vital to my work in the United States Congress. Rest assured, should relevant legislation come to the House floor for a vote, I will certainly keep your views in mind.

Again, thank you for contacting me. It is an honor to serve in the United States House of Representatives and have the benefit of your advice . If you would like more information on this or any other issue, please visit my website at http://mikepence.house.gov.

Warmest regards,

Mike Pence


This kind of seems like a generic response, but at least I got some acknowledgement back I suppose.

Comcast.net News - Bush Vetoes Child Health Insurance Plan:

"The president argued that the Democratic bill was too costly, took the program too far beyond its original intent of helping the poor, and would entice people now covered in the private sector to switch to government coverage. He has proposed only a $5 billion increase in funding. After Bush's speech, White House counselor Ed Gillespie said the president's offer of more money meant more than the $5 billion extra, but he wasn't specific about how much more."


I know us bloggers are suppose to say something like "Bush hates the children" when we see this story. I don't really see it that way. I think it's the Democrats that aren't thinking of the children. At least not thinking things all the way through. They want to push through a child health care bill so they can pat each other on the back and get Hillary a few more votes come election day, and there is the added benefit of making the Republicans look bad. The Republicans don't need help too look bad.

My concern with the health care plan is this part "and would entice people now covered in the private sector to switch to government coverage." If Bush signed that bill, I can almost guarantee when you went to work Monday morning, you would be having a special benefit meeting. In this meeting they will tell you the company health care will no longer cover your children. Why? because you can get the government to cover them now. Why should your employer foot the bill? Were I work we pay a percentage of the insurance and the company pays the rest so dropping you children would save them money.

Do you really want a government lead by George Bush to be running your child's health care? As if HMOs aren't bad enough. Look at all the welfare scams that go on already with low income people having more kids just to get more welfare money, this plan may open the system up to more abuse. The Democrats need to come up with a bill to clean up the system and get it back on track, the Republicans love that kind of thing and would be more likely to sign on to it.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

U.N. envoy ends mission to Myanmar - Yahoo! News

YANGON, Myanmar - A U.N. envoy completed his mission to Myanmar on Tuesday with no word of progress on the military junta's refusal to address the people's insistent demands for democracy.


While the military government has said only 10 people were killed, dissident groups say up to 200 protesters were slain and 6,000 detained in the crackdown.


Oh come the F*ck on! George Bush can lie better then this and he's a f*cking moron. Only 10 people killed, who are they trying kid?

In Myanmar's main city of Yangon, residents launched a new form of dissent, switching off their lights and TV sets for 15 minutes during the nightly government newscast starting at 8 p.m.

The "silent protest" began Monday and continued Tuesday, even when state television showed pictures of the Gambari-Than Shwe meeting, which included Deputy Senior Gen. Maung Aye, the No. 2 leader, and two other top generals.


This really is not a bad idea, the American people need to do this type of thing, turn off the TV from 6pm to 8pm, get the MSM's ratings to drop and maybe they will start reporting real news. Instead of what Britney or Paris had for dinner last night.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Comcast.net News - World - Groups Struggle to Tally Myanmar's Dead

BANGKOK, Thailand —

One hundred shot dead outside a Myanmar school. Activists burned alive at government crematoriums. A Buddhist monk floating face down in a river.

After last week's brutal crackdown by the military, horror stories are filling Myanmar blogs and dissident sites. But the tight security of the repressive regime makes it impossible to verify just how many people are dead, detained or missing.


"We do believe the death toll is higher than acknowledged by the government," Shari Villarosa, the top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar, told The Associated Press Monday. "We are doing our best to get more precise, more detailed information, not only in terms of deaths but also arrests."


The U.S. Campaign For Burma, a Washington-based pro-democracy group, says more than 100 people were killed in downtown Yangon after truckloads of government troops fired automatic weapons last Thursday at thousands of demonstrators. It also claims that 100 students and parents were killed the same day at a high school in Tamwe, in northeastern Yangon, after troops shot at them as school let out.

The Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norway-based dissident news organization, has received reports of soldiers burning protesters alive at the Yae Way cemetery crematorium on the outskirts of Yangon. The group also shot video Sunday of a dead monk, badly beaten and floating face down in a Yangon river.


Things are still pretty bad in Burma. The one thing I think about when I read this, is what about the soldiers? I know it's a soldiers duty to follow orders, but isn't there a point when enough is enough? Doesn't killing unarmed people that aren't even a threat to you have some kind of weight on your conscience, especially when it comes to burning someone alive? I guess that is why I could never be a soldier type, even if someone is giving you orders there is still right and wrong. Is "I was just following orders" going to be a viable defense when you stand before your god?