The Last Great Half-White Hope?

Ready for more of this? That's what we'll get if Hillary or McSame get elected.

Prissy tires of hearing how much they care for the troops, when so clearly they do not. Obama may not be perfect, but he sure beats the alternatives...

Listen below to The Progressive Revolution with Prissy Patriot and Betty Buckaneer discuss suicide among soldiers with a family affected by their son's suicide five months after returning from Afghanistan. Enjoy the show and remember... we've only just begun;)

Dearest Readers, Prissy has been too bogged down with veterans matters to blog as of late. Our interview is with Gold Star mother and veterans advocate Susan Coats. It's important to point out that Brandon Ratliff, Susan's only child was a republican who did not disagree with the premise for war in Afghanistan. Many of us did not at that time...but yet he was not treated like a hero upon his return home. It happened in to veterans from Korea and Vietnam. It still happens to soldiers getting off the bus today...

PTSD and veterans health are non-partisan issues and both sides should face the fact our soldiers MUST be made whole when they are sent into a war unprepared and returned home to a government who refuses to spend the money to take care of their injuries, whether they be of mind or body is irrelevant. The care was promised to them and its up to Dubya and friends to make good on the promise.

If Dubya couldn't/wouldn't pay for their care, someone in the House or Senate needs to take a stand and stop paying for his war. If war could be considered a business, fixing broken soldiers is the cost of doing that business. Interestingly enough, the so called "anti-war" crowd seems to be the most upset about this lack of care for soldiers issue...and like Granny says, "You can't make it right, but you can make it up" So congress, listen to Prissy's Granny.

The Veterans Administration lying from the very top isn't surprising, they are Dubya's people...its really a shame he/Cheney and other war planners (especially those ones with dual citizenship) were never on the front lines of Vietnam. Perhaps they would appreciate that war is not glamorous and maybe we wouldn't be dealing with them now...of course with McCain, he has no excuse for not supporting the troops. He thinks more wars is supporting them, in his untreated psychological state of mind.

No one should have to sue the VA to make them do their job, in the private sector, most people are simply fired! That is until Bushworld invaded America...Good job to Paul Sullivan of

Veterans for Common Sense for his passionate advocacy in taking care of our soldiers. Check out the site for up to date details on the lawsuit.

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Click to listen to our 15 minute show on Freepress.org. Thank you to our young, cute producer RayRay...not that we noticed! The Progressive RevolutionIntro song: Another Fascist Day by Victoria Parks

McClatchy Washington Bureau VA Lying About Number of Veterans Suicides

WASHINGTON — The Veterans Administration has lied about the number of veterans who've attempted suicide, a senator charged Wednesday, citing internal e-mails that put the number at 12,000 a year when the department was publicly saying it was fewer than 800.

"The suicide rate is a red-alarm bell to all of us," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. Murray also said that the VA's mental health programs are being overwhelmed by Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, even as the department tries to downplay the situation.

"We are not your enemy, we are your support team, and unless we get accurate information we can't be there to do our jobs," Murray told Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield during the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing.

Mansfield told Murray and the other senators that he didn't think the VA had deliberately tried to mislead Congress or the public.

Murray remained skeptical, however, saying that the VA has demonstrated a pattern of misleading Congress about the increasing number of soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and are now seeking help and straining Defense Department and VA facilities and programs.

Nearly 1 in 5 troops has mental problems after war service

WASHINGTON - Roughly one in every five U.S. troops who have survived the bombs and other dangers of Iraq and Afghanistan now suffers from major depression or post-traumatic stress, an independent study said Thursday. It estimated the toll at 300,000 or more.

As many or more report possible brain injuries from explosions or other head wounds, said the study, the first major survey from outside the government.

Only about half of those with mental health problems have sought treatment. Even fewer of those with head injuries have seen doctors.

How long has the VA known there were problems with the system? When the first study was done in 1985 the Government Accountability Office told them...and told them AGAIN Feb 14, 2005 VA Health Care: VA Should Expedite the Implementation of Recommendations Needed to Improve Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Services

Congress highlighted the importance of VA PTSD services more than 20 years ago when it required the establishment of the Special Committee on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Special Committee) within VA, primarily to aid Vietnam-era veterans diagnosed with PTSD. A key charge of the Special Committee is to make recommendations for improving VA's PTSD services. The Special Committee issued its first report on ways to improve VA's PTSD services in 1985 and its latest report, which includes 37 recommendations for VA, in 2004.

The Special Committee reports also include evaluations of whether VA has met or not met the recommendations made by the Special Committee in prior reports. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a world leader in PTSD treatment and offers PTSD services to eligible veterans. To inform new veterans about the health care services it offers, VA has increased outreach efforts to service members returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Outreach efforts, coupled with expanded access to VA health care for these new veterans, are likely to result in greater numbers of veterans with PTSD seeking VA services.

Congress asked us to determine whether VA has addressed the Special Committee's recommendations to improve VA's PTSD services. We focused our review on 24 recommendations related to clinical care and education made by VA's Special Committee on PTSD in its 2004 report to determine (1) the extent to which VA has met each recommendation related to clinical care and education and (2) VA's time frame for implementing each of these recommendations.

GAO determined that VA has not fully met any of 24 Special Committee recommendations in our review related to clinical care and education. Specifically, we determined that VA has not met 10 recommendations and has partially met 14 of these 24 recommendations.

Because there isn't enough stress being repeatedly sent to a war zone Troops Face Foreclosure on Homes While Deployed

WASHINGTON — As the home foreclosure crisis sweeps across America, military and financial aid groups say they are hearing from a rising number of troops who say they are falling behind on their mortgage payments and struggling to keep their homes.

"The Army as a whole has seen an increase in soldiers and families seeking assistance for mortgage foreclosures," says Army Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb, an Army spokeswoman, citing data from branch legal offices trying to advise soldiers.

Neither the Pentagon nor the Department of Veterans Affairs track the number of military families facing foreclosure. Numbers of mortgage delinquencies are kept, however, by USAA, a San Antonio-based financial services company that serves military members and their families. The company declined to release figures, saying in a statement only that "we have seen an increase."

Quotes of the Day

The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations. ~David Friedman

A great war leaves the country with three armies - an army of cripples, an army of mourners, and an army of thieves. ~German Proverb

What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world. ~Robert E. Lee, letter to his wife, 1864

If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war. ~Pentagon official explaining why the U.S. military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War

It doesn't require any particular bravery to stand on the floor of the Senate and urge our boys in Vietnam to fight harder, and if this war mushrooms into a major conflict and a hundred thousand young Americans are killed, it won't be U.S. Senators who die. It will be American soldiers who are too young to qualify for the Senate. ~George McGovern

Today's The Progressive Revolution was in honor of soldier LT Brandon Ratliff, Army Reserves LT Brandon Ratliff (1972-2004)

One more All-American hero gone: He was a Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Football Player, Tennis Player, Swimmer, Soccer Player, Hiker, Collector of many things, Certified Scuba Diver, Lover of music, Wanderer, Historian, College Graduate, Debator and highly decorated Soldier, just to name a few.

Still Stuck With Stupid

We the People should divorce him too, Laura...

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Hat tip to Sheryl Ohio Majority Radio

On December 23, 2006, the Columbus Dispatch reported that WTPG-1230am Progressive Radio would be changing formats on Monday, January 9th.

Instead of Stephanie Miller, Al Franken, Ed Schultz, Randi Rhodes and Rachel Maddow, Columbus will be subjected to the likes of Jim Quinn, Laura Ingraham and Michael Savage. The station will get new call letters, WYTS and will be promoted as "the Talk Station in Central Ohio"Here in Ohio, we ARE the majority.

In Ohio in 2006 almost 55% of the votes cast for statewide and legislative races were cast for Democrats. In Central Ohio that number was over 58%. And while Ohio turns blue, Clear Channel decides that they "cannot sell" progressive radio here. They've pulled out of Cincinnati and are leaving in Columbus. We have to show that we want progressive radio in Columbus and other places in Ohio.

We ask all visitors to this site to sign the petition and state why they believe progressive radio is important in Ohio. Show radio station owners and local advertisers that you are willing to take a stand to protect progressive radio in Ohio.

Voice of America stamp, issued August 1, 1967

Columbus Dispatch Incumbent wants loss thrown out FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMON PLEAS COURT

Franklin County Board of Elections Director Matthew Damschroder called Squire’s allegations unfounded and said she provided no documentation to back her argument.

"There were no irregularities in this election," he said.

Squire’s complaint estimates that there were 10,608 more votes cast on Nov. 7 than signatures in precinct poll books. Also, she argues, machines didn’t record votes for 3,124 voters.

That, along with more than 2,500 rejected provisional ballots, is more than enough to cast doubt on the results, according to her complaint.

We all know the DRE voting machines do not provide reliable results. The machines Ohio bought and paid for are not certified for use-only "provisionally certified".

Prissy sees Matt Damschroder didn't mention he accepted a $10,000 check while on the BOE clock- for the republican party. The money was from ES&S-but we aren't supposed to be concerned...Time to come clean Matthew, as this investigation showed the number of irregularities to be outrageous by any standard. (Matt doesn't always tell the truth) Prissy wonders if Matt would be OK with his bank having a 25% rate of error.

Banks have a transaction failure rate of one in ten thousand. Ohioans voting on DRE's is an unacceptable, unauditable mess. More votes than voters? It might appear that way, ah well, that is a matter for the courts to decide.

Hey Matt, how about less snacking and more reading up on those DRE touch screens voting systems. The vote you save could be your own...

Alternet Most Outrageous Right Wing Comments of 2006-Media Matters

How extreme were conservative commentators in their remarks this year? How about calls to nuke the Middle East and an allegation that a "gay … mafia" used the congressional page program as its own "personal preserve." Right-wing rhetoric documented by Media Matters for America included the nonsensical (including Rush Limbaugh's claim that America's "obesity crisis" is caused by, among other things, our failure to "teach [the poor] how to butcher a -- slaughter a cow to get the butter, we gave them the butter"), the offensive (such as right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel's question about "Barack Hussein Obama": Is he "a man we want as president when we are fighting the war of our lives against Islam? Where will his loyalties be?"), and the simply bizarre (such as William A. Donohue's claim that some Hollywood stars would "sodomize their own mother in a movie"). Since there were so many outrageous statements, we included a list of honorable mentions along with the top 11, which, if not for Ann Coulter, we might have limited to 10.

Black Anthem News Bush Notes Progress on Iraq Plan, Praises Troops, Families

Iraq, therefore, "is an important part of the war on terror," the president said.

Bush said he's making good progress formulating a new strategy that will help the United States and its allies achieve desired goals in Iraq.

The commander in chief praised the thousands of men and women in the U.S. military who are deployed far from home during the holidays to defend America.

"There's nobody more important in this global war on terror than the men and women who wear the uniform and their families," Bush said. "As we head into a new year, my thoughts are with them. My thoughts are with the families who have just gone through a holiday season with their loved ones overseas."

Dubya doesn't mean military families like Prissys'- he means the kind of military families in the article below. The ones who don't know or cannot absorb the facts of Dubya's war upon Iraq. Because if they did, no organization like "Move America Forward" would manipulate them so.

CNN Parents of slain U.S. soldiers travel to Iraq

The trip cost between $5,000 and $7,000 per person, but donations came pouring in from across the country, including checks from soldiers. The seven were told to keep their travel plans hidden from the Department of Defense and even their own children.

Robert Dixon, the organization's director, said that because the Kurdistan Regional Government was hosting the group, there was no reason to clue the Defense Department in on their travels. He told them to keep tightlipped because "we didn't want to endanger anybody by telling people."

The department did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

The group left in early November for Amman, Jordan, where they spent a day before arriving in Iraq. A few shell-shocked security guards staying at a hotel begged Joe Johnson to rethink their trip into a war zone.

Shell-shocked? In 2006? How about advanced human beings realizing the misery of war and how cheap life and law becomes. There was no war there, until we arrived.

One Gold Star mom, continuing to take it on the chin for everyone else Sheehan, Four Other Protesters Arrested

McLennan County sheriff’s deputies and Department of Public Safety troopers arrested anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and four other protesters Thursday as President Bush met with top advisers to discuss Iraq war strategy at his Central Texas ranch.

The arrests occurred at a barricade in the area of the president’s ranch.

The five were taken to the Crawford Police Department and a van was dispatched to transport them to the McLennan County Jail.

They were charged with obstructing a highway or other passageway, which is a Class B misdemeanor.

Irish Times Move to extend full code on bullying to public service

The survey, commissioned by the Government Taskforce on the Prevention of Workplace Bullying, will show that 8 per cent of workers say they have problems at work, compared with 7 per cent of employees who said they were victims of bullying in the last such survey carried out in 2001.

The results come as The Irish Times has learned that moves are under way to bring public service workers under the full remit of the Government's workplace anti-bullying code of practice for the first time due to concern at the high number of bullying complaints from the public sector, notably in hospitals and schools.

American bully

CBS 7 Cops Charged In Post-Katrina Shootings

The victims were Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old mentally retarded man, and James Barsett, 19. The coroner said Madison was shot seven times, with five wounds in the back.

CBS Strip-Searched Muslim Woman Gets Apology

Safana Jawad, 45, a Spanish citizen who was born in Iraq, was detained on April 11 because of a suspected tie to a suspicious person, authorities said. She was held for two days before being deported to England.

Jawad was traveling to Clearwater to visit her 16-year-old son, who lived with her ex-husband, Ahmad Maki Kubba. Kubba, an Iraqi exile and American citizen for 27 years, was praised last year by Gov. Jeb. Bush for organizing a group to vote in Iraq's election.

WaPo Immigrants' Jobs Vanish With Housing Slowdown

Then sometime last year, Guzman said, the rush began to go bust, little by little, month by month. The contractors stopped hiring. The phone stopped ringing. Washington, it seemed, had all the houses it could hold .

So Guzman got a plane ticket. On Jan. 20, he is taking his family back to El Salvador, with plans to open an auto repair shop with the money he has saved. "There's no work here anymore," he said, having spent the past month unemployed. "And when there's no work, it's time for Latinos to go back to the countries where they came from."

You know the economy is getting bad when illegal immigrants want no part of it...

BBC Hunt for CIA 'black site' in Poland

Poland and Romania have been named by investigators as hosting such sites.

The claims are denied by both governments.

After a week of meetings in smoky Warsaw restaurants and coffee bars with Polish intelligence sources, airport workers and journalists, I obtained what I had been looking for, and something that nobody in authority wanted to reveal, the flight log of planes landing at Szymany airport.

They confirmed my eyewitness's account - that a well-known CIA Gulfstream plane, the N379P, had made several landings at the airport in 2003.

See below:

BBC flashback 7 June 2006 Secret CIA jail claims rejected

Poland and Romania rejected the fresh claims that they hosted the prisons, while the UK, named as a CIA stopover, said the report contained nothing new.

The report was prepared by a Swiss senator for the Council of Europe, the continent's human rights watchdog.

Under the CIA policy of rendition, prisoners are moved to third countries for interrogation. There have been allegations some were tortured.

Authorities in several European countries actively participated with the CIA in these unlawful activities

The US admits to picking up terrorism suspects but denies sending them to nations to face torture.

International Herald Tribune Earthquake knocks Asia back to phone age, and beyond

A quake disrupted services unevenly in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan, and a ripple effect was felt in other parts of the world.

LA Times Doctors seek to sue Blue Cross

Blue Cross' parent, WellPoint Inc. of Indianapolis, declined to comment Tuesday. In the past, the company has said that it follows the law and that it cancels a small portion of its individual policies.

The medical association, which represents more than 30,000 physicians, calls the cancellations illegal, unfair and routine. The organization also says the cancellations hurt patients, physicians and hospitals as well as taxpayers, who end up footing the bill for medical care for patients who lose private coverage.

The cancellations being challenged are of policies that individuals buy because they are self-employed or work for employers that do not provide medical benefits.

"If the patients aren't getting the insurance they paid for, then we have to stand with them," said Karen Nikos, a spokeswoman for the medical association in Sacramento.

Way to go, docs!

APNews Vatican Warns Retired Paraguayan Bishop

"In the name of Jesus Christ, I ask him to seriously reflect about his behavior," the Vatican warning read.

It added that a run for the presidency "would be clearly against the serious responsibility of a bishop ... Canonic Law prohibits priests from participating in political parties or labor unions."

Lugo, 55, was appointed bishop of the impoverished northern San Pedro diocese by Pope John Paul II in 1994, but 10 years later he was ordered to retire. No reasons were announced.

Lugo did not immediately comment on the Vatican's warning. On Monday, he said Pope Benedict XVI "can either accept my decision or punish me. But I am in politics already."

Jurist US soldier who disputed Iraq war legality released early from military prison

Former US Army Sergeant Ricky Clousing [advocacy website; JURIST news archive], a paratrooper and interpreter who disputed the legality of the war in Iraq, was released Saturday from a military prison where he was serving a three-month sentence after pleading guilty [JURIST report] to going absent without leave for 14 months. Clousing was released 15 days early for good conduct and is headed home to Washington state.

Ricky was sentenced to 11 months with all but 3 suspended...so it could have been worse. He was right, the war is illegal according to the United States code of Military Justice...glad to see the military didn't go overboard on this case.

Best of luck to Ricky and his supportive parents- they've raised a good kid. How can anyone say having a conscience is a bad thing? Look at all the soldiers we have lost, yet this president goes to bed by 9:30 pm. No rest for the wicked? Hardly...it seems like it was the wicked who invented the phrase for the rest of us.

Bloomberg Dollar Slides; U.A.E. Says Selling U.S. Currency, Buying Euros

`The U.A.E.'s decision to relocate its reserves is part of a theme that means that U.S. dollar holdings in global currency reserves are decreasing,'' said Hans Guenter Redeker, head of currency strategy in London at BNP Paribas SA. ``The dollar is going to lose support as we see Fed rate cuts next year.''

The dollar fell to 118.63 yen at 7:17 a.m. in New York, from 119.15 late yesterday. The currency slid to $1.3158 versus the euro, from $1.3098. The euro traded at 156.09 yen, from 156.04, after touching a record 156.43 on Dec. 21. The dollar has risen 0.8 percent against the Japanese currency this year.

The U.A.E. will switch 8 percent of its reserves from dollars into euros before September, Sultan Bin Nasser al-Suwaidi said in a Dec. 24 interview in Abu Dhabi. The U.A.E. has started ``in a limited way'' to sell its dollar reserves, he said.

The Gulf state is among oil exporters including Iran, Venezuela and Indonesia that are looking to shift their currency reserves into euros or price their oil products in the 12-nation currency.

Perhaps this will help the UAE buy US debt from China?

J-PostHitler's carmaker

During the late 1930s, Hitler's persecution of Jews was building to a frenzy even as fears of a war escalated. Nevertheless, General Motors' German automotive subsidiary, Opel, remained a loyal corporate citizen of the Third Reich - content to obediently do the Nazi regime's bidding, and unstintingly supporting Hitler's program on many fronts. These included economic and employment recovery, anti-Jewish persecution, war preparedness and domestic propaganda. In return, Opel prospered.

Hitler was pleased - very pleased. In 1938, just months after the Nazis' annexation of Austria, James D. Mooney, head of GM's overseas operations, received the German Eagle with Cross, the highest medal Hitler awarded to foreign commercial collaborators and supporters.

Quotes of the Day

What luck for rulers that men do not think.-- Adolf Hitler

The deterioration of every government begins with the decay of the principles on which it was founded.--C. L. De Montesquieu

If you try to be different on purpose you will end up being the same, if you try to just be yourself and follow your own nature you will stand out from all the rest.--Tomman

First rule of leadership: everything is your fault.--unknown

Some leaders are born women.--Unknown