The Beatch is Back!

Yes, indeedy! The bitch is back. However, she now has a new home. She now resides at

http://sistersagesmusings.ca/ 

Sister Sage's Musings is also sporting a new look. 

I hope you will all continue to follow me there.

Happy New Year All!

Getting There - Feel free to advise

I had no idea how difficult it can be to upload a page to your own site if one is  not that technically savvy. I had no idea how difficult it is to build a wordpress blog in your own domain.

Wordpress is installed, but nowhere near ready. I want to build my own theme from scratch in photoshop as I don't want to have another cookie cutter and end up with the same theme as bloggers I find excrutiatingly annnoying like Iceman. However, I'm somewhat discouraged after all the complications trying to install wordpress on my server. 

I have researched tutorials, but some argue one has to put all of this into Dreamweaver before putting it to wordpress. Plus, how to add the widgets afterwards (rss subscribe buttons, blogrolls, facebook and twitter links, etc. , etc.).

Some suggested artisteer and am playing with the trial version, but up to date; not that impressed with it as I can't have the dimensions of my columns as I like, leaving lots of blank space on the sides. It all has the same layout types.  I would have to purchase a version to be able to get full use out of it (there is a watermark and can't save with trial version). I'm not sure if it is worth buying. 

Anyhow, back to the drawing board.  Will post here when my show has moved once & for all.

Please, if anyone has advice, please leave it in the comments section to this post.

Oh, I hear Steve may prorogue again. Could he stay away for good this time? Or is that wishful thinking on my part?

Season's Greetings To All!

Forget poliical incorrectness or correctness. This is my standard greeting for all.

I will be back sometime in January if all goes well. I will post then.

Had no idea how complicated it was to create your own blog. All that techie stuff. Learning as I go.

I'm still smoke free.

I wish all a Season's Greetings and all the best in 2010! 

 The following video features "River" probably my favourite Christmas song as it is not cheesy like everything else contemporary music would have to offer during the holidays.

I like the song because unlike most of the usual cheesy fair, this song is a sad one, just like how Christmas really is. It represents how I feel this time every year: I too, want to skate or fly off somewhere or just get away from this holiday ambiance. 

Sara Mclaughlin would later sing a version of "River", but I prefer the Joni Mitchell version. I also like the slide show here. Enjoy!

A Short Hiatus from this Blog

To Let the readers know I'm taking some time off. I'm hoping not too long, though. 


Perhaps I will have a post here or there, but not as often, at least, for the next while.


First is, after over a month of having quit smoking, I'm really not me anymore. No creativity. No patience for research. 


My job description changed along with a new schedule and it's somewhat tiring, particularly when not arriving home until way after 19;00 in a snowstorm.


I have to start making a dent in building my website; haven't even thought of a design yet; again, the creativity issue.


Furthermore, my father is quite ill and thus, pretty much any project is on hold these days or at least, only short term commitments.


I hope to be able to at least post something once a week; this will be my very short goal.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun...Or Not!

It is exactly a month ago today I quit smoking and I'm still around to tell the tale.


 I have gained another 10lbs or so...so not good! I was already overweight to start off with. I certainly didn't need the added weight, now did I?


I have somehow managed to continue to keep my blog active, but with great difficulty. I find that creativity has wained off and so has my patience. As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to design my own blog layout instead of being trapped on some site's cookie cutter. I used to love photoshop. Used to be soooo creative with it. Now I can't even come up with a design for it.


I have, however, tapered off making fun of Romper Room. That's only because the Blogging Tories have become boring and predictable. They're all writing about the same fricken thing, it's uncanny: 'climategate', their now favourite subject.  Even Dodo Can't Spell is starting to get boring.


Wouldn't all just love the irony if most try quitting New Year's Day as part of those New Year's Resolutions and I were to start again??  


Yah, still standing; still blogging such as it is...

Liberals Deja Vu: Will They Ever Learn?

I was just scanning the Blogging Tories to see if anyone recently posted anything about the 20th anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre. They haven't. They're getting awfully predictable for the most part: most posting about their new favourite subject: Climate change, or as they like to call it: Climategate.  However, I came across something different at Unambiguously Ambidextrous. His posting not only caught my eye because it didn't discuss Climate change (climategate); but he discussed something that was questioned this morning on Question Period: Where is Iggy? No one is really hearing from him these days but Bob Rae is certainly making quite a bit of noise these days. Oh this is disconcerting: can anyone say: "Deja-Vu"?


I found the article that blogger refers to in the Toronto Star. Oh yes! This is Deja-Vu and it looks like Iggy is being pushed out the door and that he is pretty much alone in supporting the HST in Ontario and B.C.. Sound familiar? It should...it's exactly how the Liberals treated Stephane Dion. Dion had no support and then was kicked to the curb.


It's about time Iggy left. He pulled this shit with Dion; this would be Karma. Besides that and more importantly, he will never improve his numbers for the Liberals. He was never a suitable leader and certainly, not quite PM material.  


Stevie and Harpercon  scandals, like checquegate/logogate and torturegate: Unpopular measures like the HST and their blatant lack of interest in the environment as well as failures like the unrolling of the H1N1 vaccine should not only have sent their numbers plummeting, but should have raised the Liberals' numbers. While the NDP made some gains, they certainly weren't significant enough to lower Harpercon numbers to well below majority territory. 


Had the Liberals had a stronger, more suitable leader Harpercon numbers would most definitely have plummeted and the N.D.P. numbers would have remained more or less the same.


Angelo Persichilli, the author of the above mentioned Toronto Star article even predicts that we will be hearing about Iggy resigning before the year is out. Already, Iggy has been incognito as of late. However, it seems that yet again, the Liberals are going to select another former runner up of 2006, simply because he's there. Although, to hear some party members tell it, they seem to honestly believe Rae is the only one they can trust in that party. Oh boy, this is not going to turn out well for them; in fact, it would be suicide. No, they should take the time to find someone suitable; someone who can beat actually beat Stevie but actually get a majority; with or without the popularity of the Bloc Quebecois.


If Bob Rae were to lead, he wouldn't be able to win Quebec or Ontario outside of Toronto; two provinces that actually make governments. Steve has proven to be quite effective with the art of attack ads against Dion and Iggy. The ad against Rae would be something along the lines of "Don't let him do to Canada what he did to Ontario" and other ads to remind Canadians of Rae's baggage.


This would most certainly let Stevie loose with a majority.


I saw that Persichilli also hints at other potential leaders like David McGinty and Justin Trudeau. If Rae, McGinty and Trudeau would be our only choices to lead the party and potentially become prime minister, I would pick Trudeau, simply because he would be lesser of the evils; the only one who could potentially send Stevie packing. 


 I had reservations about Justin Trudeau leading the Liberals and I still do,  but I have to hand it to him: he did something most of us in Quebec never believed he would be able to do: unseat Vivienne Barbeau, the  popular Bloc MP in Papineau riding,  a riding made up of folks who either haven't a clue as to who his father was or those who still hate his father. My reservation is that he still hasn't passed enough tests and he still needs more political experience, but who knows? Maybe if the Liberals can unite and stand behind him, it might work. Unless he really screws up big time; worse than Iggy even, Trudeau would already be a step up.


Also, if we were to follow Liberal tradition,  they should pick someone who is French speaking from Quebec. Excluding Dion, this has proven to be a formula that worked for the Liberals in the past, like Louis St-Laurent,  PE Trudeau and Jean Chretien. Hell, it even worked for stint under the former Progressive Conservatives with Brian Mulroney. Say what you will about him and yes, he was not a great PM but he was the most successful Tory PM for Quebec. Even Liberal PM, LB Pearson could only garner minority governments.


I had read in the past various musings about Martin Cauchon potentially taking over.  Someone with more experience than Justin Trudeau. He was justice minister and was instrumental in putting forward legislation legalizing same-sex marriage; something that should appeal to progressives. However, I can see two potential roadblocks: that Denis Coderre temper tantrum awhile back and he doesn't hold a seat yet and wouldn't be able to do so until the next general election. 


Forget Denis Coderre, his temper tantrum proved he didn't put the interests of his party first.


I don't think the Liberals should shop for any outsiders at this time: no time for political experiments here. 


I only hope they do the right thing and there is competition to go up against Rae. 


Liberals, choose wisely this time: you can't afford another dud for a leader. Do this before Stevie and the Harpercons turn us into Bush era America.

Who's Pushing What Agenda on this Very Sad Anniversary?

I had been reading the various articles about the anniversary of the Polytechnique Massacre. What really is catching my eye today is the comment board from an interview between Ingrid Peritz of the Globe and Mail and Nathalie Provost, one of the surviving shooting victims from that horrific day at the Ecole Polytechnique on December 6, 1989; twenty years ago today.


This year, I have heard that stale argument that the gun registry would not have prevented Marc Lepine from shooting those women.


I have heard from some who believe the victims are being exploited for the gun control and feminist agenda.


Well, actually, those very same people are using this tragedy to push their racist agendas due to the fact Lepine was half Algerian. Even though Lepine was baptized a Catholic and his mother, Monique says that he was a   "a confirmed atheist all his life" No matter, many Canadians have and are still using this anniversary to promote the hatred of Muslims.


Here is a goody from ACsial:


"There is also an unfortunate bit of Stockholm Syndrome at work, here. Gharbi was no poor, misguided little boy--he was a piece of human garbage and as good an argument for legalised abortion as any. 'Practicing Muslim', or not, he was raised in that culture's rotten misogeny by his violent father...and--like those Taliban who squirted acid on girls' faces--isn't getting 72 Houri in heaven."


Here is a racist not only promoting his agenda but also a very misinformed individual. 


Lepine's mother separated when he was just 6 years old. He and his little sister Nadia were raised by his mother, a French Canadian all of their lives and never saw their father again. What part of Islam or Algerian culture could have influenced him? He changed his name to Marc Lepine at age 14, a sure sign that he renounced his father. More on Lepine here.


I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see the likes of Norman Spector publish racist drivel, inciting the racists to make paralells between Lepine and the Taliban all the way in Afghanistan.  Ol' Norm also has the gall to suggest that if reporters were less politically correct in reporting this massacre, we may actually know the 'real' reason behind Marc Lepine's rampage.


"In the wake of the Fort Hood massacre, there was considerable soul-searching in the U.S. media about politically-correct reporting on the murderer. I don’t have a satisfactory explanation of these horrific multiple murders in Montréal either, but perhaps we would have been closer to one had the mainstream media done a better job reporting on this incident over the years."


I also find it amazing that these Islamaphobes tend to think that being a misogynist is reserved only for Muslims or anyone from that part of the world. I worked for two misogynists; neither one was Muslim or even of Middle-Eastern origin.


Perhaps it's just a slow news week for Spector. Most of his article was quoting the Montreal Gazette's Janet Bagnall's column.






Last night, I said the anniversary should serve as a reminder that we need tighter gun control laws.  I pointed out another irony of those Harpercons to push to be tough on crime, while at the same time removing a tool from law enforcement to help them do their work.


Well, when I saw the comment board to the G and M interview with Ms Provost, I was shocked at how many Canadians were not only pushing for  scrapping that long gun registry, but advocating for no gun control. They seem to envy Americans who walk around toting guns on the street legally.


Here's a goody from a redneck who calls himself Trozz: 


Trozz: "Ms. Provost and women like her should learn how to defend themselves against a psychopath. Instead of wanting the power and confidence to be able to stop guys like 'Marc Lepine' from harming good people, they want the government to do it for them. And for some reason, these 'engineering graduates' actually believe a bunch of 0's and 1's would protect them from violence.

Instead, we should be focused on training these women to defend themselves against violence. That will ultimately lead to their safety."

Oh, that is just wrong! I'm wondering if that was an American troll? Although, if one read the comment boards on the Globe and Mail, they would see that our friend, Trozz, is not alone. Frightening to say the least!

From that comment, I can only infer that he wants everyone to pack a gun. Teaching women to defend themselves? Am I the only one who sees how unintelligent that sounds?

I wonder if Nathalie Provost, who did attempt to reason with Lepine, would agree with that? She confirms that Lepine was obviously deranged: 

"He wasn't someone who wanted to relate. Marc Lépine was in an altered state. You have to be, to do something like he did; basic human nature doesn't let you. The man I saw wasn't someone who was focused on his acts, and he didn't want to relate. The eyes were dark"

Are Trozz and those who share his beliefs suggesting that everyone in schools should pack a gun?  

Let's assume that someone at the school did brandish a weapon:  What good would that have done? Lepine was a madman on a mission: to kill women. Someone like that would not be afraid of a loaded gun pointing at them, if anything, it would have made him crazier. They generally don't care about their own safety.  This was a man who felt he had nothing left to lose; that life as he knew it was over. Does one honestly think pointing a gun at someone like Lepine that day, or even Kimveer Gill, the shooter of the Dawson College shootings in 2006 would have scared them away? Not likely.  In fact, there would have been far more casualties. Do we really want our schools or even our workplaces and other public places turning into the OK Corral? 

Pittsky: "...See the organizations that debase the memory of these women for what they really are: A group of angry, scared and grieving people who would rather blame men and guns for all of their problems than tackle the real issues. "

To say that women's groups and so many others are blaming men; all men for the Polytechnique Massacre is oversimplifying things to say the least.  If this were true, many of those surviving women would never have gotten married or had children, like Nathalie Provost, herself. 

Pittsky: what are those real issues? The issue is violence. Another would be how those with mental health issues have fallen and still do fall through the cracks. Definitely more needs to be done about mental illness. More needs to be done to prevent violence: violence in general; not just against women. All  have a right to be safe in their schools as well as anywhere else.

There are many who feel that Ms Provost is not qualified to talk about gun control. I think that staring at the barrel of a gun, watching your life flash before her eyes definitely qualifies her.

Many speak of the militant feminists. Nathalie Provost never considered herself one. As she said, they were just women who were studying to achieve their chosen profession: engineering. This was exactly what she told Lepine when she was trying to reason with him.

Here's a doozy from Durward: It resembles Pittsky's comment, but goes nuttier.  I was waiting for some right wingnut to somehow use the big bad 'S' word improperly. Here goes:


"I'm so sick of hearing about this issue that was high-jacked by feminists and socialists to promote their warped views on guns and to name all men as mad gun crazed killers.
Most Canadians have long since forgotten this crime committed by a deranged individual, but not the anti-gun crowd, they want to revisit it every yr as a tool to push their agenda, they don't care about these women's deaths, just how to use them for political gain.
God how I hate socialists."


So now, 'socialism' is now going to play a part from those weird fringe groups on the anniversary of the massacres. I would be worrying about Durward's mental state right now. In fact, if any policemen are reading this, I would check to see if he has any weapons and then confiscate them. That kind of manic hatred is what leads to activities of the Kimveer Gills, Valery Fabrikants and  Marc Lepines of this world.


The rantings of a socialist hater. I seriously doubt he's actually met a socialist or has even lived under a real socialist regime; thus, another type of ignorant prejudice exhibited here. 


I wasn't aware that wanting everyone to be safe and having gun control to achieve this end was socialism. Even if it were: is it bad to want to feel safe in school, work or just walking from point A to Point B


They say that the best revenge is success. While many, understandably after such a traumatic incident would have quit school, and even given up life; survivors like Nathalie Provost and Heidi Rathjen have grown into successful women without wearing the badge of militant, man hating feminist as some rednecks would believe.


Ms. Rathjen would go on to complete her engineering degree, get married and have a daughter and fight tirelessly for gun control.


Ms Provost would not only graduate but stayed at Polytechnique to complete her master's degre. She is now the director of strategic planning for the Quebec civil service. Today, like so many career women, she is balancing career with raising four children. Like so many parents, she tells her daughters  they can be anything they want to be. 


Below are some statistics posted on  Antonia Z's page on how firearm homocides have 
declined. Here is further evidence from Statitistics Canada showing how domestic homocides by firearms have declined from 1974 - 2007. Here are more statistics proving that the gun 
registry does indeed work. 





Yes, of course we must remember this horrific anniversary as well as those of the Dawson shootings and the Virginia Tech and Columbine shootings in the U.S. How are we supposed to learn if we don't remember the past?


The reason the anniversary the Polytechnique massacre is of particular importance to feminism is that this particular gun man was motivated by his hatred of feminists. Here is a copy of his suicide note proving as much.


Sorry to disappoint, Norman Spector, we already know that Lepine's blaming feminists for his own failings in life were the cause. No question of political correctness on the part of media here. And no, no Islamic influence here.


As Heidi Rathjen pointed out, the gun registry really doesn't cost Canadians all that much. Nine million is a small price to pay to keep everybody safe. Antonia Z points out here that is more expensive to not have gun control, which the Harpercons are no doubt striving for.


Canadian Cynic and Antonia Z had noticed there were no postings commemorating the massacre over at the Blogging Tories. Should we be surprised? They're an uncaring group After reading from like-minded commentators at the Globe and Mail: do we really want read anymore racist, socialistphobe drivel? 


For those anti feminist, pro-gun nut, socialistphobics and racist anti Muslims: Who exactly has an agenda to push by commemorating the anniversary of the Polytechnique Massacre? It would seem that they're exploiting these victims as well as the victims of the other above mentioned school shootings to promote their agenda of hatred.


In Memory of: 

Geneviève Bergeron (1968-1989)
Hélène Colgan (1966-1989)
Nathalie Croteau (1966-1989)
Barbara Daigneault (1967-1989)
Anne-Marie Edward (1968-1989)
Maud Haviernick (1960-1989)
Maryse Laganière (1964-1989)
Maryse Leclair (1966-1989)
Anne-Marie Lemay (1967-1989)
Sonia Pelletier (1961-1989)
Michèle Richard (1968-1989)
Annie St-Arneault (1966-1989)
Annie Turcotte (1969-1989)
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (1958-1989)

Christmas: Another thing Wrong with Capitalism

I found this National Lampoon video on one of my Facebook friend's pages. It's humorous but sad at the same time.  Some humor always has some element of truth behind it. This video is a great example of this.


I hate Christmas. Every year and Every generation, it gets worse, and no doubt, more expensive for families as technology evolves, as the above video illustrates. More excess, more self-indulgence and more commericalism. People flocking to the shops being fooled by so-called specials from store pamphlets and catalogues but really getting gouged more at the check out counter. 


We also tend to be more gluttonous at Christmas. In addition to expensive gifts and trying to out do the neighbour's electricity bill, we eat a hell of a lot more and more of the types of junk foods we tend to leave alone for the rest of the year.


Instant happiness purchased from the mall. Hmmm. Sends folks, especially kids, the wrong message; that happiness can be bought; that we can only be happy if we have lots of stuff; particularly stuff we don't need and probably won't use.


Society has gotten not only more shallow but they do live in a bubble and they tend to forget that Christmas is the worst time of year for most folks. Lots of people are too poor to keep up with with what's being marketed. They're too poor to look after their kids adequately.


I get that most folks are either non-believers or just not that religious to commemorate the Birth of Jesus Christ, which I totally get. However, can it also be a time to remember to help our fellow man who is less well off than we are and less concentrated on self-indulgence and excess?


I remembered when I was really young, my family had me donate one of my presents to the local church's Christmas hamper to help less fortunate children. Yes, my parents taught my brother and I at a young age the importance of charity, to always remember that there are folks worse off, especially at Christmas.


I have to say that in recent years, I have not been able to give much except for non-perishable food and cheap dollar store toys and mits and tuques (also on the cheap; from second hand store) here and there for various community center's and church's Christmas basket programs, due to unemployment (yes, I tend to have unemployment issues most around Christmas). I try to give something because I know there are families who need the help.


I don't think most folks who are rich even consider teaching their offspring this or even putting this into practice. All just are racing to earn more money and have more material and monetary wealth than the neighbours. An endeavor for most to prove to be a colossal failure.


Anybody who is reading this post: I hope you will consider giving something or a bit of your time to help someone this Christmas. Hell, it don't even have to be Christmas. We should be thinking about helping our fellow man all year around.


This year, since I could be let go anytime (so much for the myth of government jobs being secure to all you anti- public sector types), until another assignment comes up at the agency,  I will only  stay home with my husband and go to Christmas mass at the church where I was baptized, like I do every year.


I will, however, remain my cranky self, perhaps even more so. Christmas is truly a hateful holiday.


Bah Humbug!! Who needs it?

Two Anniversaries Never to be Forgotten

Stevie Begged the GG to Close Up the Shop

It had been a year ago yesterday,  the governor general allowed Stevie to close up the shop.  Boy, was he afraid of the big bad coalition of 'socialists', separatists and the Liberals under Stephane Dion. An earlier indication of Stevie's running away when the going gets tough.


I wonder if anybody dared to wonder what we would be looking at had the Governor General said no to closing up the shop. Would we have still been governed by this coalition led by Stephane Dion? Would Iggy have been long since gone from the picture?


I realize that a lot of Canadians didn't like the idea of this coalition, but I tend to wonder if we weren't better off with them? 

Between Stevie running away from a crisis to be at some insipid event like Timmy's or gallivanting with the Royals to clearing a room at climate change talks to getting lambasted by Ban Ki Moon, secretary general of the United Nations and the Chinese Premier, he has got to be the most embarrassing Prime Minister Canada ever had.  

I dare say, it must be embarrassing telling someone who lives overseas that we're Canadian.


Twenty Years Tomorrow Marc Lepine Shot up the Polytechnique


Yes, twenty years ago tomorrow, on December 6, 1989 was when Marc Lepine went and shot up the Ecole Polytechnique, the engineering school of Universite de Montreal.


Here is an article written by three former Polytechnique students; two of whom were shooting victims of Marc Lepine that fateful day.


This anniversary should be a reminder as to why the Long Gun Registry should not be scrapped.   Marc Lepine used a ruger mini 14, one such gun that would be on the list of rifles and shotguns to need not be registered if this registry is scrapped. The police used the registry every day to do their work.


Here is the podcast where Daisy Kler of Rape Relief talks about where we're at today with regards to feminism, the attitudes toward feminism and violence.


Have we really moved forward? 


Certainly not with regards to gun control if the long gun registry is scrapped. We will be headed to a society where citizens will be walking the streets with guns just like in the U S or A. 


Some may argue that only law abiding citizens register their guns. True perhaps, but we've seen too often law abiding citizens turn violent, go crazy, become mentally ill or start living a life of crime.


We have to register our dogs with the city, but not guns which kill people?


One of the famous arguments in favour of scrapping the long gun registry is the costs. Harpercons and their groupies say it costs way to much to keep. Well, Heidi Rathjen, one of the survivors of the Polytechnique massacres, gun control activist and co-author of yesterday's  Rabble article  about the reflections of the 20th anniversary of the massacre disagrees: 


"Well, it's true that it cost a billion dollars over ten years to implement, but not the registry. The billion dollars applies to the possession permits, which is what gun owners need to own guns. They had to screen two million gun owners."


She also goes on to say that the registry actually costs Canadians nine cents per year to keep it going.  It is indeed a small price to pay to keep us safe.


Funny how the Harpercons talk of gettin' tough on crime, but they are willing to take away a crucial tool the police used everyday. I wonder how they can spin this one?

Orly Taitz- Sawah's Russian Sistah?

After catching the last story in Huff Post about See Sawah Run joining the birthers; is anyone really surprised? It was a matter of time.


Meanwhile, the Zsa-Zsa wannabe just lost yet another motion to get one of her many Birther cases before a judge. This time it was that Judge Carter from California who dismissed it. She must be crushed after going batshit crazy on steroids on various tv shows being so sure this judge would rule in her favor. Hope does spring eternal in these people's lives.


I wonder if Orly and Sawah waved at each other when Sawah was, you know, watching Russia from her front porch?

I Always Knew Chuckles Adler was a Yahoo and a Redneck

I can't remember the name of that commentator of at Searching For Liberty's page, a conservative blog, from yesterday. I do remember him or her leaving a comment with a list of all that is so-called Left winged. Media was on his/her list. I responded that mainstream media was as slanted to the right these days. Well, here's an example of how rednecked some of these hacks can be. What holes do these media outlets crawl into to find these rednecks, anyhow?


I first caught this over at Pale's . Then I read Chuckles' little ranting and I am reminded as to why I nick named him the redneck of Winnipeg. Sooo glad CJAD no longer has him as a pundit.  Yes, if Chuckles wasn't so damned ignorant and offensive, he might even be somewhat amusing.


"The scenario is that our soldiers -- who have been in that hellish, brutish part of the world, where NONE of you want to spend one hour, never mind one year, two years, three years, how about the last eight years..." 


No we don't. Do you, Chuckles? Have you?  What's your point?  That no matter what, the Afghan insecurity forces can do no wrong? What do you think of child molestation perpetrated by these very same insecurity forces, and Canadian troops seeming to look the other way,  Chuckles?


He too, is not sympathetic to the allegations of torture, much like that useless shrew and chicken hawk, Christie Blatchford. 


Here's something else of interest. He blathers on about how those of us against the war in Afghanistan are elitist snobs sitting on our fat asses with our lattes in coffee shops.


Gee, Chuckles, are the family members of the late Jonathan Couturier a bunch of elitest, latte sipping couch potatoes? They're very much against the war, as was Jonathan, himself prior to going to Afghanistan. 


If wanting our Canada who helps others in need and doesn't break international laws such as Geneva Conventions makes us quiche eating latte sucking elitests...then so be it. If that thinking makes you warm and fuzzy at night.


Although, personally, I'm more down to earth and certainly less pretentious than chicken hacks like you are.


Speaking of fat asses, Chuckles, have you weighed yourself lately? I don't see you signing up to the war effort. I don't even see you signing on with organizations like Reporters without borders. Your usual redneck language doesn't scare us so-called 'elitests', although, I do like a good latte from time to time; my work is near so many coffee shops.


Chuckles is another Chicken Hawk who likes to talk the talk, but when it comes to putting his money where his mouth is; FAIL!! 


Why should we expect more?

Here's Chuckles trying to out elite Julian, Ricky and Bubbles. See? How can I be an elitist if I know the names of the Trailor Park Boys?

Kool-Aid and Teabags

Well, it's official. Obama did drink Georgie's kool-aid. While his speech was not nearly as manic and psychotic as I've heard Georgie on the subject on those wars, he was reiterating him. Particularly when it came to the wording, according to Huffington Post.


Obviously, he never read Michael Moore's open letter. He most certainly wasn't listening to his own constituents. I doubt even most of the Dems in his own party agree with this decision. All were probably thinking the same thing: neither Afghanistan nor the Iraq wars were his. He could have ended both of them right now; sign orders to bring the troops home; to cut their losses. All who voted for him and his fellow Democrats (with perhaps the exception of Blue Dogs and members of C street) would not only have let him go for pulling the plug on both wars but it would have been more welcome than this. Obama is now a 'war president', having taken ownership of Afghanistan war.


As with LBJ before him, Obama is already taking hits from both the left and the right. The right, of course, say no deadlines should have been set and even his own friendly democrats are balking at the idea of sending 30 000 troops.


Imperialism is still imperialism, no matter who does it. Funny how Obama called the U.S. relationship with Pakistan a 'partnership'. Perhaps before making such assumptions, he should have checked some polls about the Pakistani people.


A Gallup poll in Pakistan last August showed that only 11% of Pakistanis felt that the Taliban were the biggest threat to their country. 18% felt India was the biggest threat and, you guessed it, the poll indicates that the U.S. is their biggest threat. That same poll also concluded that 67% of Pakistanis were against any Americans conducting operations in that country.  That message to me is loud and clear; the Pakistanis never asked for our help and they don't want or need it.


As for the Afghans, they too, no longer welcome us in their country. They never welcomed foreigners. The Soviets learned that the hard way. This is a country where democracy clearly doesn't work. The so-called elected Karzai government is corrupt and that will never ever change.


The Taliban will never disappear completely as no one can really know who they are. The Afghan people seem to believe that Taliban occupation is the lesser of the evils. Yes, even the women believe this. Life hasn't changed that much for them. Karzai is still very much a misogynist, having made into law that husbands were allowed to rape their wives; the term 'rape' doesn't exist in their world. It's how both men and women over there prefer it.


As for Al-Qaeda, most are from Saudi Arabia, not Afghanistan. There is nothing to indicate that they would even still be in Afghanistan or Pakistan for that matter. After all those years, with all the intelligence the U.S. has to offer, such as the CIA, how come no one caught Al-Qaeda?


What is with Obama anyway?  First, it was the waffling on the public option for health care reform; a plan that will significantly be watered down.


Now, he is practically giving a carbon copy speech of Georgie's. 


What the hell does he hope to achieve? He obviously hasn't learned that in trying to make all happy, you make everyone unhappy and this is what exactly is happening here.


Obama will never endear himself to Republicans, the ever-growing loud tea-baggers and of course, the Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Fox News machines.  I expect it will get worse. Obama may have had a shot at a second term if he pulled the troops out now and just not taken ownership of this war. It will worsen as this time, he will have alienated his supporters and they won't be so quick to defend him.


Below, is Michael Moore's reaction on the Larry King Show last night.  His take is that he still believes Obama is a decent man with a good heart, but he is taking very bad advice that will cost him. 




Since Obama is sure to be a one term president and his former supporters will either abstain from voting in the next election or vote for a fringe candidate like Ralph Nader, I dare say, Say hello to President Palin. I know, a gloomy outlook, but she will be the GOP candidate as they have no one near the star status of See Sawah run. Intelligence obviously doesn't matter here; like Ronald Reagan being the useful idiot to Don Regan of Merrill Lynch, Sawah will have a corporate puppet master running the country behind the scenes.


No, she won't win because she will end the wars, if anything, she'll probably expand wars all over Middle-East. She will win because the noisy minority of the growing popularity of the Tea-bagger movement will outshine the cynical and silent progressives.


She will also win the same way Georgie did; scaring American voters into believing only she and the GOP and tea-baggers can keep them safe; to keep the Communist Muslim boogie men from hiding under their beds. This escalation has already provoked the Taliban to strengthen their resolve.  No doubt Al-Qaeda will be provoked into further attempts at attacks on U.S. soil. Obama will be blamed for that as well.


I wish it were April fool or Halloween, but anything short of Obama changing his mind and withdrawing the troops immediately and cutting their losses,  his presidency is over. I really hope he realizes this decision will ruin the U.S. by giving the keys to Sawah.

One More Night of Hope, Mr President, Pull the Plug

One more night indeed and it doesn't look good. Depending what you read, it looks like Obama is going to be repeating the mistakes of Lyndon B Johnson in the 60s.


Johnson's fateful decision to continue to escalate the Vietnam war is what costed him the presidency in 1968.


The New York Times as well as other pundits, including those in Canada like Craig Oliver are calling this Obama's Vietnam. 


After all, it has been proven by pretty much all, except for some war mongering wingnut chicken hawks on the Right, that this war isn't winnable. The Soviets had proven this much many years ago. They knew when to cut their losses, pack up the show and haul it on home.


The Afghans don't want any more foreigners invading their homes and way of life. They have made this clear. Life has gotten worse for them since we began to invade. Even the women aren't noticing much improvement. Malalai Joya, who once served on Afghan parliament admits this. 

"Women's conditions in some cities have slightly improved since the Taliban regime. But if we compare it with the era before the rule of the fundamentalists in Afghanistan, it has not changed much. Afghan women had more rights in the 1960s to 1980s than today. Rapes, abductions, murders, violence, forced marriages, and violence are increasing at an alarming rate never seen before in our history. Women commit self-immolation to escape their miseries, and the rate of self-immolations is climbing in many of the provinces. Afghanistan still faces a women's rights catastrophe.

"The root cause of this ongoing catastrophe in Afghanistan is that the government is controlled by fundamentalists of both brands (jihadis and Taliban) who are constantly nourished by the United States and its allies. …People suffer from such extreme insecurity that many have stopped sending their children to school, especially girls, fearing that they might be kidnapped or raped." 

Why are we all there again? As I've pointed out here, this is not a war on terror, this is not about improving the lives of Afghans, particularly the women. PM Gordon Brown has even warned Karzai about corruption in his government. Every government knows this government is corrupt and no, it will never be able to sustain itself. As I've pointed out in the past as well as others, I'm sure, it doesn't matter when we leave: the Taliban will be back at the helm. The folks of Afghanistan seem to prefer life under them than with this war.

In the words of Michael Moore, it would seem that Obama is about to drink Bush's kool-aid and cave into the pressure General McChrystal to send about 40 000 more troops. 

 “This is not a war of choice,” he told the Veterans of Foreign Wars at their convention in Phoenix. “This is a war of necessity. Those who attacked America on 9/11 are plotting to do so again. If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which Al Qaeda would plot to kill more Americans.”

Except for one problem: Binladen and the other thugs who were behind 9/11 have not been caught. We've been at war for eight years, allowing a corrupt Karzai Government to continue, killing innocent civilians and cutting short the futures of many soldiers. Ouf! what a mess! How in the world continuing this senseless war; this Vietnam,  going to accomplish anything it hadn't in the previous eight years? 

Gulp! He is indeed about to drink Bush's Kool-aid! How did he get sucked into it? If the GOP was pressuring him to send more troops as well, he doesn't realize that he's playing into their hands? The GOP and their pundits don't really care about the wars overseas, they see what can cost Obama the presidency.

It is time to end the war, Mr President. Make that move to start withdrawing. The Europeans would surely pull out as well, and yes, maybe even our war mongering, monkey-see; monkey-do PM will follow your lead and pull the show out. Let's just get out now. Take a cue from the Soviets before us and cut our losses. Continuing an unpopular and unwinnable war cost LBJ the presidency in spite of the good things he did implement in the U.S. Obama is pretty certain to meet this very same fate.

As Michael Moore says in a letter he wrote to Obama, he can show courage by ending this all right now. Here is the letter from Moore to Obama

Dear President Obama,

Do you really want to be the new "war president"? If you go to West Point tomorrow night (Tuesday, 8pm) and announce that you are increasing, rather than withdrawing, the troops in Afghanistan, you are the new war president. Pure and simple. And with that you will do the worst possible thing you could do -- destroy the hopes and dreams so many millions have placed in you. With just one speech tomorrow night you will turn a multitude of young people who were the backbone of your campaign into disillusioned cynics. You will teach them what they've always heard is true -- that all politicians are alike. I simply can't believe you're about to do what they say you are going to do. Please say it isn't so.

It is not your job to do what the generals tell you to do. We are a civilian-run government. WE tell the Joint Chiefs what to do, not the other way around. That's the way General Washington insisted it must be. That's what President Truman told General MacArthur when MacArthur wanted to invade China. "You're fired!," said Truman, and that was that. And you should have fired Gen. McChrystal when he went to the press to preempt you, telling the press what YOU had to do. Let me be blunt: We love our kids in the armed services, but we f*#&in' hate these generals, from Westmoreland in Vietnam to, yes, even Colin Powell for lying to the UN with his made-up drawings of WMD (he has since sought redemption).

So now you feel backed into a corner. 30 years ago this past Thursday (Thanksgiving) the Soviet generals had a cool idea -- "Let's invade Afghanistan!" Well, that turned out to be the final nail in the USSR coffin.

There's a reason they don't call Afghanistan the "Garden State" (though they probably should, seeing how the corrupt President Karzai, whom we back, has his brother in the heroin trade raising poppies). Afghanistan's nickname is the "Graveyard of Empires." If you don't believe it, give the British a call. I'd have you call Genghis Khan but I lost his number. I do have Gorbachev's number though. It's + 41 22 789 1662. I'm sure he could give you an earful about the historic blunder you're about to commit.

With our economic collapse still in full swing and our precious young men and women being sacrificed on the altar of arrogance and greed, the breakdown of this great civilization we call America will head, full throttle, into oblivion if you become the "war president." Empires never think the end is near, until the end is here. Empires think that more evil will force the heathens to toe the line -- and yet it never works. The heathens usually tear them to shreds.

Choose carefully, President Obama. You of all people know that it doesn't have to be this way. You still have a few hours to listen to your heart, and your own clear thinking. You know that nothing good can come from sending more troops halfway around the world to a place neither you nor they understand, to achieve an objective that neither you nor they understand, in a country that does not want us there. You can feel it in your bones.

I know you know that there are LESS than a hundred al-Qaeda left in Afghanistan! A hundred thousand troops trying to crush a hundred guys living in caves? Are you serious? Have you drunk Bush's Kool-Aid? I refuse to believe it.

Your potential decision to expand the war (while saying that you're doing it so you can "end the war") will do more to set your legacy in stone than any of the great things you've said and done in your first year. One more throwing a bone from you to the Republicans and the coalition of the hopeful and the hopeless may be gone -- and this nation will be back in the hands of the haters quicker than you can shout "tea bag!"

Choose carefully, Mr. President. Your corporate backers are going to abandon you as soon as it is clear you are a one-term president and that the nation will be safely back in the hands of the usual idiots who do their bidding. That could be Wednesday morning.

We the people still love you. We the people still have a sliver of hope. But we the people can't take it anymore. We can't take your caving in, over and over, when we elected you by a big, wide margin of millions to get in there and get the job done. What part of "landslide victory" don't you understand?

Don't be deceived into thinking that sending a few more troops into Afghanistan will make a difference, or earn you the respect of the haters. They will not stop until this country is torn asunder and every last dollar is extracted from the poor and soon-to-be poor. You could send a million troops over there and the crazy Right still wouldn't be happy. You would still be the victim of their incessant venom on hate radio and television because no matter what you do, you can't change the one thing about yourself that sends them over the edge.

The haters were not the ones who elected you, and they can't be won over by abandoning the rest of us.

President Obama, it's time to come home. Ask your neighbors in Chicago and the parents of the young men and women doing the fighting and dying if they want more billions and more troops sent to Afghanistan. Do you think they will say, "No, we don't need health care, we don't need jobs, we don't need homes. You go on ahead, Mr. President, and send our wealth and our sons and daughters overseas, 'cause we don't need them, either."

What would Martin Luther King, Jr. do? What would your grandmother do? Not send more poor people to kill other poor people who pose no threat to them, that's what they'd do. Not spend billions and trillions to wage war while American children are sleeping on the streets and standing in bread lines.

All of us that voted and prayed for you and cried the night of your victory have endured an Orwellian hell of eight years of crimes committed in our name: torture, rendition, suspension of the bill of rights, invading nations who had not attacked us, blowing up neighborhoods that Saddam "might" be in (but never was), slaughtering wedding parties in Afghanistan. We watched as hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians were slaughtered and tens of thousands of our brave young men and women were killed, maimed, or endured mental anguish -- the full terror of which we scarcely know.

When we elected you we didn't expect miracles. We didn't even expect much change. But we expected some. We thought you would stop the madness. Stop the killing. Stop the insane idea that men with guns can reorganize a nation that doesn't even function as a nation and never, ever has.

Stop, stop, stop! For the sake of the lives of young Americans and Afghan civilians, stop. For the sake of your presidency, hope, and the future of our nation, stop. For God's sake, stop.

Tonight we still have hope.

Tomorrow, we shall see. The ball is in your court. You DON'T have to do this. You can be a profile in courage. You can be your mother's son.

We're counting on you.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. There's still time to have your voice heard. Call the White House at 202-456-1111 or email the President.

You can get the email link here. 

I sincerely hope that President Obama will lead and do the courageous thing. This war needs to end now (as does the one in Iraq, of course). It's about time the President concentrated on helping his own people recover from the recession and the damage that is Georgie jr and Dickie. Let's do what the Afghans want us to do: get the hell out!