Buckeyes, Buckeyes, Buckeyes!!!

Here in Columbus, we can't get enough news about the Buckeyes. If you are a Buckeye nut too, there are several places to check for updates on the football team:

The O-Zone Forum
http://www.hangonsloopy.com/http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/
http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/osu-m-footbl-body.html
http://www.bucknuts.com/
http://www.osu.edu/features/2006/perfect/

GO BUCKEYES!!!!

Ohio's Unemployment Rate Up Again

What a surprise! The unemployment for Ohio is up again to 5.4% According to ODJFS, the unemployment rate increased from 5.1 for October to 5.4% for November 2006. Isn't it nice of them to release the information quietly on a Friday before a holiday weekend? Perhaps Taft and the Ohio GOP hopes no one will notice. Here are some excerpts from the press release:

...The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in November was 321,000, up from 306,000 in October....

...Among the state's 88 counties, the November 2006 unemployment rates ranged from a low of 3.3 percent in Delaware County to a high of 9.4 percent in Monroe County. Rates increased in 87 of the counties....

....Nine counties had unemployment rates at or above 7.0 percent during November. The counties with the highest rates, other than Monroe, were: Pike, 8.3; Morgan, 8.0; Meigs, 7.9; Vinton, 7.8; Ottawa, 7.4; Jackson, 7.2; and Adams and Huron, 7.0 percent....

We can thank the Ohio Republicans for doing such a great job of lining their own pockets while doing their best to scare away businesses from Ohio.

Strong Candidates

The Democratic Party is blessed with many strong candidates for President for 2008. John Edwards, former vice presidential candidate, has announced his intention to seek the White House. Edwards is a hard-working, intelligent, and caring man. Check out the John Edwards for President site.

Besides Edwards, Democrats have Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and others. Democrats have a collection of talented people who certainly would do a much better job at leading this country than the present administration.

Republicans have some interesting candidates for the presidency --- Newt Gingrich (anti-women's reproduction rights, *married 3 times, House banking scandal, deadbeat Dad), Rudy Giuliani (*married 3 times, public adultery), Sam Brownback (anti-women's reproduction rights, Draconian views), John McCain (anti-women's reproduction rights, supports Bush like a lap dog, wants to continue the Iraq war into infinity), Tom Tancredo and Duncan Hunter (two anti-immigrant GOPers), Mitt Romney (twit), Tommy Thompson (please! no!), etc. As you can tell, I don't have any respect for the possible Republican candidates. The Republican party has done so much for Ohio (scandals, payoffs, ethics problems, job losses, etc.) and the country (war, war, war), that practically any Democrat could do better than any Republican.

(*Gingrich and Giuliani would run on a family values theme---- just don't look at their family values.)

Strong Candidates

The Democratic Party is blessed with many strong candidates for President for 2008. John Edwards, former vice presidential candidate, has announced his intention to seek the White House. Edwards is a hard-working, intelligent, and caring man. Check out the John Edwards for President site.

Besides Edwards, Democrats have Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and others. Democrats have a collection of talented people who certainly would do a much better job at leading this country than the present administration.

Republicans have some interesting candidates for the presidency --- Newt Gingrich (anti-women's reproduction rights, *married 3 times, House banking scandal, deadbeat Dad), Rudy Giuliani (*married 3 times, public adultery), Sam Brownback (anti-women's reproduction rights, Draconian views), John McCain (anti-women's reproduction rights, supports Bush like a lap dog, wants to continue the Iraq war into infinity), Tom Tancredo and Duncan Hunter (two anti-immigrant GOPers), Mitt Romney (twit), Tommy Thompson (please! no!), etc. As you can tell, I don't have any respect for the possible Republican candidates. The Republican party has done so much for Ohio (scandals, payoffs, ethics problems, job losses, etc.) and the country (war, war, war), that practically any Democrat could do better than any Republican.

(*Gingrich and Giuliani would run on a family values theme---- just don't look at their family values.)

1974

My husband and I got married in 1974. Although it was a happy year for us, it was a disastrous year for the Republicans and President Nixon. When Nixon resigned, Gerald Ford became President in 1974. Watergate, the political dirty tricks, and the war in Viet Nam, had created one scandal after another in Washington, DC. Here is an article from the New York Times on Gerald Ford.

No Peace or Joy in Iraq

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that things in Iraq are not going well. Just look at some of the recent statistics posted at Iraq Coalition Casualties:

U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD:	2957
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation:	21
Total	2978

On the same site in the "news" section, there is a growing list of the violence in Iraq: bodies found, people kidnapped, IEDs, car bombs, deaths,..... The ongoing list shows what our men and women in uniform are facing every minute. How much more will our nation have to sacrifice for Bush's fiasco?

Tired

I'm tired of

......Ohio Republican corruption.
......Republican corruption.
......the do-nothing Republican congress.
......stories about Britney Spears, K-Fed, Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, and the rest of those twits.
......the lies from the Bush administration.
......no jobs, no hopes for the people in Ohio.
......arrogant, self-righteous people.

I hope that we will see the Democrats accomplish great things in government.
I hope that the Democrats will win the White House.
I hope that all of our men and women in Iraq will be home soon.

I wish you peace, love, and rock and roll during the holidays.

Testing the Selective Service System???

Those of us who can remember the military draft are a little nervous this morning. It appears that the federal government is going to "test" the selective service system.

Chicago Sun-Times:
The Selective Service System is planning a comprehensive test of the military draft machinery, which hasn't been run since 1998.

The agency is not gearing up for a draft, an agency official said Thursday. The test itself would not likely occur until 2009.

Meanwhile, the secretary for Veterans Affairs said that ''society would benefit'' if the U.S. were to bring back the draft and that it shouldn't have any loopholes for anyone who is called to serve. VA Secretary Jim Nicholson later issued a statement saying he does not support reinstituting a draft.

The Selective Service ''readiness exercise'' would test the system that randomly chooses draftees by birth date.

Oh, a test??? Will they include the Bush twins in the test?

Will We Ever Know the Truth?

>According to Yahoo News, Bin Laden could have been killed twice, but the shoot order never came. Truth or fiction.
Was Army General John Abizaid forced to retire because he opposed the Bush plan to increase troops in Iraq? The Seattle Times has the full story. Remember when the Bush administration bragged about Abizaid? How many other generals and high ranking commanders have been forced out by Bush and Rumsfeld because they disagreed with this war?

>Also, according to the Seattle Times, Bush's Iraq War is costing us $2 billion/week. That amount could be much higher if there has been other spending that we don't know about. What domestic programs are not being funded because Bush's war is getting all the money?

>Bush would raise the minimum raise, but only if it is tied to ...tax relief and regulatory relief for small businesses... (Chicago Tribune). Isn't nice of Bush to continue to support businesses over human beings?

>According to Reuters......"No tengo futuro (I have no future)," Jeb Bush told Spanish-language reporters in Miami, when asked about any possible political ambitions after he steps down next month.....
Thank goodness! The last thing we need is another member of the Bush family in public office!

Republican Rep. Virgil Goode is showing his true colors. WSLS:
Responding to constituent e-mails about Representative-elect Keith Ellison's decision to use the Quran at his ceremonial swearing-in, a Virginia congressman warned that "many more Muslims" will be elected demanding to use the Quran unless immigration is tightened.

Republican Representative Virgil Goode made the comments in a letter sent to hundreds of constituents about Minnesota's Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress.

Goode said the U.S. needs to totally halt illegal immigration and reduce legal immigration.

Ellison was born in Detroit and converted to Islam in college. He did not immediately return a telephone message left today.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Goode to apologize for the letter.

Goode spokesman Linwood Duncan said no apology was forthcoming....

Virgil Goode, Jr. is another GOP idiot with a lobbyist problem (for details see VA Progressive.) If you wish, contact Goode at one of the addresses/numbers located at this website--- http://www.house.gov/goode/contact.shtml

Joint Chiefs and Bush Disagree

President Bush wants to send more troops to Iraq. However, it appears that the Joint Chiefs are against it. Bush still has no plan, but wants to send additional troops. Isn't this just making it more dangerous for our military? Some of the service members have served Iraq 2, 3, or 4 times. How many more tours of duty are they expected to serve? How many more holidays are families expected to miss their loved ones because of Bush's war?

Here are some excerpts from the Star Tribune:
....In an interview with the Washington Post, Bush said he has instructed newly sworn-in Defense Secretary Robert Gates to report back to him with a plan to increase ground forces. The president gave no estimates about how many troops may be added but indicated that he agreed with suggestions in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill that the current military is stretched too thin to cope with the demands placed on it.

The president's decision comes at a time when he is rethinking his strategy in Iraq and considering, among other options, a short-term surge in troop levels to try to secure violence-torn Baghdad. The Joint Chiefs of Staff are resisting the idea during internal debates, in part out of the conviction that it will further strain already-pressed forces.

The military is also concerned that even temporarily shipping thousands more troops would be largely ineffective in the absence of bold new political and economic steps....

Even though the spin doctors in the administration have stated that there is no disagreement between Bush and the Joint Chiefs, we must remember this about the Bush White House---- They have lied to us before and they continue to lie. We cannot believe anything they say.

New Report on Iraq

This new report on Iraq shows that things are getting worse. MSNBC (excerpts):

Attacks on U.S. and Iraqi troops and Iraqi civilians jumped sharply in recent months to the highest level since Iraq regained its sovereignty in June 2004, the Pentagon told Congress on Monday in the latest indication of that country’s spiraling violence.

In a report issued the same day Robert Gates took over as defense secretary, the Pentagon said that from mid-August to mid-November, the weekly average number of attacks increased 22 percent from the previous three months...

...According to the Pentagon report, the worst violence from August to November was in Baghdad and in the western province of Anbar, long the focus of activity by Sunni insurgents...

...American casualties, dead and wounded, rose from 19 to 25 per day, up 32 percent in the last three months...

How much more can our armed services sacrifice? Will Bush ever be able to deal with the reality of this war? Just take a look at http://icasualties.org/oif/ and you'll notice that things are terrible in Iraq. Here are some headlines from the site:

12/19/06 Reuters: Gunmen seize at least $875,000 in Baghdad heist

12/19/06 Reuters: Mortar fire kills 1, wounds 3 in Rasheed

12/19/06 Reuters: Roadside bomb wounds 4 people in Baghdad

12/19/06 Reuters: 12 bodies found in Baquba, 4 in Mosul

12/19/06 MCT: Navy veteran accuses U.S. military of holding him prisoner

12/19/06 MNF: One Marine killed in western Iraq
12/18/06 Thegazette: Soldier who grew up in Springs dies in Iraq

12/18/06 Reuters: 44 bodies found in various parts of Baghdad
12/18/06 nbc4: Soldier From La Crescenta Is 300th Californian To Die In Iraq

American citizens need to start the New Year by e-mailing our senators and representatives and demand an end of the war. If they do not move toward ending the war, then we start calling their DC offices. It is time for our military to declare victory and come home.

Bush: Iraq Not as Bad as It Looks

From The Washington Post:
...Bush gives little sign of self-pity. At holiday parties for friends and family in recent days, he has found himself bucking up others depressed by the turn in his political fortunes. "Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks," he told one friend visiting the White House....

Our military has lost almost 3000 of our armed forces in Iraq, but "...it's not as bad as it looks." Really? Is President Bush being informed about what is happening in Iraq or is he choosing to ignore it? By dismissing the wounded, the casualties, and the daily horrific events in Iraq, this administration is not honoring their sacrifice. This war has created tragedies and so many families have suffered. It is time to bring our troops home.

Ohio Republican Corruption Stories Continue

Just when you thought it was safe to close the book on Ohio Republican corruption scandals, another investigation story emerges. This time Sen. George Voinovich's name is tied to Republican coin dealer and fundraiser, Tom Noe. The Toledo Blade:

Tom Noe gave about $50,000 to the wife of U.S. Sen. George Voinovich's longtime friend, personal accountant, and campaign treasurer, according to records from his criminal trial.

In 1998, when Mr. Voinovich was governor, Noe received the first $25 million to invest in rare coins from the state. That same year, Laura and Vincent Panichi began donating to Mr. Voinovich's Senate campaign. They gave $12,000 to his campaigns through 2005, according to Federal Election Commission records.....

.... Noe said of Mr. Panichi, who was then-Governor Voinovich's campaign treasurer: "He's gotten me a number of clients." Mr. Voinovich's staff also helped pass a bill to add investment coins and bullion to the list of items exempt from Ohio's sales tax. Senator Voinovich has avoided the fallout from the Noe scandal despite the accusations and convictions of some of his closest political allies in Columbus. In 1998, the final year of Mr. Voinovich's tenure as governor, the bureau made a pact to invest with Noe, a Toledo-area Republican campaign contributor. By then, Mr. Voinovich already had appointed Mr. Noe to the Bowling Green State University Board of Trustees and the Ohio Board of Regents. On the eve of Mr. Voinovich's 1998 election to his first term in the Senate, Mr. Voinovich was accused of conspiring with his late brother, Paul, to launder campaign money in 1994. Paul Voinovich died in 2002. The Ohio Elections Commission dismissed the complaints about eight months after the election. The investigation called into question the conduct of Mr. Panichi and Mr. Voinovich's brother, who owned The V Companies. Mr. Panichi told the grand jury that then-Governor Voinovich approved a plan by his brother to launder $60,000 in campaign money.

It appears as though the Republican scandals in Ohio have been ugly and widespread, and are just waiting to be discovered. With a little more digging, who knows what other improper activities will be exposed?

Free Expression Here and There

>Watch out, bloggers! Republican Sen. John McCain is after you. According to Think Progress:
Now he has introduced legislation that would treat blogs like Internet service providers and hold them responsible for all activity in the comments sections and user profiles....
Is this the beginning of the 'thought police' or is McCain just trying control what people write about him?

>It appears that rap music has been growing in Cuba. Music is known as the universal language and now it appears that young Cubans are using rap to express their frustrations in Cuba. The New York Times has an article about Cuba's rappers:
...Alarmed by the number of young people in baggy clothing and ill-aligned baseball caps rapping around the island, the government created the Cuban Rap Agency four years ago to bring rebellious rhymers into the fold....
....Not surprisingly, most rappers, who are by definition a rebellious lot, are averse to joining forces with the government, even as they struggle to spread their rhymes on their own. Only nine groups are working with the agency. Of the remaining 500 or more across the island, some voice discontent with Cuban society in language that is as blunt as the accompanying beat is loud.

“We are not in agreement with any political system, the one here or the one you have,” said Aldo Rodríguez Baquero, 23, who teams up with his friend Bian Rodríguez Gala in a popular group called Los Aldeanos, or The Villagers. “We want liberty and freedom.”

While rap appeals to just a subset of Cuba’s youngsters, many of the five million Cubans under the age of 30 similarly question the system....

Wow! Do you think the record moguls will be trying to find these young people?

Bring Our Troops Home

Did you see President Bush yesterday talking about Iraq? Were you embarrassed to see his inability to make an intelligent sentence?

It is time to bring our military home from Iraq. Here is an article from the Dispatch about a real American hero who was killed in Iraq:

...Army Capt. Shawn English, 35, of New Albany, was killed by an improvised explosive device in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 3. His funeral took place at the Central College Presbyterian Church yesterday.

English’s wife flew with their three sons, Nathan, 7, Noah, 5, and Austin, 3, from their home in Panama City Beach, Fla., to say goodbye to their hero for the last time.

English was assigned in February to train Iraqi army soldiers....

"Men like my husband are so rare," Mrs. English said before the services. "I was married to the most amazing man, and my boys knew they had the most amazing daddy. I just pray that I will have the strength to go on without the love of my life."

...Capt. English was respected by everyone who had the honor of knowing him, said brother-inlaw Todd Daily. English was all heart, he said, and loved his family with all of it.

English served at bases across the country in his 16 years of military service, but he seemed to have found a home in Florida, where he planned to stay.

He played football for New Albany High School and raised 4-H sheep before joining the service immediately after graduating in 1990.

His best friend didn’t know him during that time, but as Capt. Nathan Surrey stared at the casket covered with an American flag, memories of the past three years overwhelmed him.

"I have never met a better husband or father," said Surrey, who bonded with English when they met for Army management training in 2003. "He showed me the right way to raise my future family, and I will watch over yours, Shawn, like I promised you."

Surrey also escorted English’s body on a Delta Airlines flight out of Atlanta on Monday. When the plane was about an hour away from Columbus, the pilot informed the passengers that English’s body was on board.

After landing, the plane was quiet and everyone remained in their seats until Surrey reached the front. Then, everyone started clapping.

"My husband and I were almost in tears," said Judith Haddox of Columbus, who was on the plane and had never met Surrey or English. "It was such an emotional moment ... I won’t ever forget it."

Surrey escorted Mrs. English out of the church after yesterday’s services.

English was buried in New Albany’s Maplewood Cemetery, next to his father, Donald.

25,000 Dead or Wounded Americans

According to Newsweek, there have been 25,000 dead or wounded Americans in Iraq. Does the President care or will he just let things go on until the next president is elected?

I heard a statistic last night that said the Marines make up 29% of the casualties in Iraq but they only make up 16% of the fighting force. Why? Is someone checking on this?

130 Ohioans have been killed in Iraq: 15 in 2003, 28 in 2004, 60 in 2005, and 27 in 2006. Can someone please stop the bloodshed? My heart aches for the families and friends of these young men and women, as well as for those who have been wounded.

Rodriguez Defeats Republican Bonilla!

Another Republican bites the dust! MSNBC News has the results of the runoff election in Texas:

Former Congressman Ciro Rodriguez defeated seven-term Republican Henry Bonilla in a runoff election Tuesday, adding another Democrat to Congress.

With more than half the precincts reporting in the state’s largest district, Rodriguez had 57 percent to Bonilla’s 43 percent.....

Hurray!!!!!

*******

President Bush has put off announcing his new Iraq policy. It probably is the same as the as the old Iraq policy but with new catch phrases. Now we'll hear 'moving forward' instead of 'turning the corner' or 'adapt to win.' Who comes up with this crap anyway?

Since Bush has put off declaring what his new Iraq policy is, more of our military will be killed or maimed in Iraq, more destruction will happen, and the war costs will continue to increase. The war in Iraq doesn't take a holiday, but Bush must. He'll probably head down to Texas to work on that brush problem he has on his ranch.

Why?

Why is President Bush on a "listening tour" to hear everyone's opinion on his Iraq War? He will do want he wants. Bush and his administration can't deal with reality of the war and their lost cause. It is time to bring our troops home.

Why is the Pentagon pushing military leaders into evangelical Christian religions and de-railing their careers if they refuse to comply? Yahoo News has the story.

Why did Rumsfeld take Sean Hannity to Iraq on his good-by tour of bases?

Why are the Republican state legislators trying to undue Issue 2 in Ohio? Ohio voters passed the issue to raise the minimum wage in the state and now the Ohio GOP is trying to stop it. The Ohio GOP is proving once again that they'd rather listen to their big political contributors instead of voters. The Ohio GOP lost the office of the governor and now they are trying to lose the state legislature.

Why does a loser like Tom DeLay need a blog? DeLay admits he isn't a good writer but that he has someone else write for him. Idiot.

Why did the Today Show have to use Billy Bush as a reporter? Enough with the Bush family!!!!! Yuck!

Why would anyone go see any Mel Gibson movie? Seriously, folks, are you trying to reward him by making him richer?

Siemens Once Again Puts Profits Before People

Siemens will cut 720 jobs in Ohio. Why? According to the Columbus Dispatch.....

...Siemens plans to shift work from the two Ohio plants to "existing facilities of Siemens Mexico or other third-party suppliers," the company said. The Ohio plants make highvoltage circuit breakers for industrial and commercial use....

Personally, I am not surprised that a company with the history of Siemens would do such a thing. Siemens, as you may not know, used slave labor during World War II, and profited. (Do a Google search on Siemens and slave labor.) Once again this company has decided to put profits before people. Send Siemens a message they'll understand, refuse to buy their products.

------------------
WOMAN DISMISSED FROM SOUTH KOREAN MILITARY

When you read why this South Korean military helicopter pilot was dismissed from the military, most people would be surprised to learn why. According to The Korea Times:
Former Lieutenant-Colonel Pee Woo-jin, the first woman soldier in Korea to pilot a helicopter, is not likely to give up her battle against the South Korean military anytime soon. She was dismissed Nov. 30, 2006, because she had been diagnosed with cancer and had an ``absence of certain body parts.’’

Let me repeat that...."an absence of certain body parts."

The article continues----

...Since her story became widely known with her book ``Women Soldiers Do Not Like Chocolate,’’ published by Samin Books late last month, it has prompted a few voices to demand that her dismissal be reversed.

Pee was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. Both of her breasts were removed. From a legal point of view, the removal of her breasts and her medical record were ground enough for her dismissal, military authorities say. Although the authorities are considering revising the ``outdated’’ regulations, they still remain in effect.

Pee is awaiting the judgment of a military appeals commission to be announced later this month. Pee says that if her appeal is rejected, she will file an administrative lawsuit against the military, in which she served for 27 years.

She will not give up easily. She said she felt more pain when the shiny wings she had on her uniform for 17 years were snatched off in September last year than when her breasts were removed....

I'm confused! Does a woman need breasts to pilot a helicopter? In this country we know that people can be elected to office and have an absence of common sense, empathy, and intelligence. I won't mention the names of people who fall into those categories, but you can figure it out.

Hail to Troy Smith!

Those of us who are alumni of The Ohio State University are very proud of Troy Smith, Heisman Trophy Winner. We've watched him mature into a fine young man and become a great leader on the football team. Congratulation to Coach Tressel and all those associated with the team!

I read that Brady Quinn was disappointed that he came in third in the balloting for the Heisman. Get over it! I also wish that the Notre Dame fans would stop their whining! Ohio State beat ND in the Fiesta Bowl even though they had Brady Quinn, and they had their super-human, former NFL coach, Charlie Weis. When the going gets tough, Brady Quinn and their team can't win it.

GO BUCKEYES!!!!