36,000

... The number of people who die every year in the US of the flu...

update:

328,835 :

How much the flight by the VC-25 and two fighter jets that terrorized NYC the other day cost us. 

Another POTUS letter

Dear President Obama,

In your own words regarding the end of WWII:

"
How do we ensure that "never again" isn't an empty slogan, or merely an aspiration, but also a call to action?

I believe we start by doing what we are doing today -- by bearing witness, by fighting the silence that is evil's greatest co-conspirator.

In the face of horrors that defy comprehension, the impulse to silence is understandable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The story goes that when the Americans marched in, they discovered the starving survivors and the piles of dead bodies. And General Eisenhower made a decision. He ordered Germans from the nearby town to tour the camp, so they could see what had been done in their name. And he ordered American troops to tour the camp, so they could see the evil they were fighting against. Then he invited congressmen and journalists to bear witness. And he ordered that photographs and films be made. Some of us have seen those same images, whether in the Holocaust Museum or when I visited Yad Vashem, and they never leave you. Eisenhower said that he wanted "to be in a position to give firsthand evidence of these things, if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to propaganda." "

We sorely need some "witnessing" of the torture regime that broke our Justice Department, ruined our reputation around the world, and served for six years as Al' Quaida's chief recruiting tool.

It's time for some transparency - sunshine and fresh air is the best medicine. As AG Holder says: "Follow the evidence where it leads", and if it results in prosecutions, then TRUST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE to know what's right and what's wrong.

Just PLEASE, don't wait too long, there's a statute of limitations even to torture, I'm told.

Sincerely
SB Gypsy

Final Japanese Garden Post

We so enjoyed our tour of this incredible garden.

The place was meticuously cared for.

Made me want to use some of the ideas in a garden of my own.

Next: the Columbia River Gorge 

I WRITE LETTER TO MY SENATOR

Dear Senator Lieberman,

Torture is ALWAYS:
WRONG
IMMORAL
ILLEGAL
REPREHENSIBLE
DISGUSTING

There are no circumstances where the above values do not apply.

You have turned yourself into that which we abhor: you are just as bad as Al'Quaida and the Taliban.

I am ashamed that you are my Senator.

I will be actively working to defeat you in the next election, as I did in the last.

For people like yourself, the most honorable course is to resign.

sincerely
SBGyspy

More from the Japanese Garden

Waterfalls galore:

waterfalls layered,

big, 

and small.

Everywhere you look, there's something beautiful,

peaceful,

and relaxing.

I write the POTUS

Dear President Obama

It's time to appoint Patrick Fitzgerald as Special Prosecutor to look into the lawless and corrupt Bush Administration. Just like in Alcoholics Anonymous - you cannot heal without first analyzing where you went wrong, and making good on your insights. If you let the Bush regime torture go unpunished, it stands as precedent, and the next occupier of the White House could strike down your prohibitions with a stroke of the pen.

I don't want my beloved country to welcome the sickness, corruption, yes, EVIL of torture. It's past time to root it out and punish those who crossed the line - for whatever reason, because there IS no reason to ever torture, period. Are we a nation of laws, or a nation of men. If we go on "Looking Forward" without examining where we are and what got us there, then we are arguably just a nation of men - corrupt evil men. No more, and no "shining city on the hill" either.


From Firedoglake:
The doctrine of Ex parte Milligan (1866): “The Constitution of the United States is a law for rulers and people, equally in war and peace, and covers with the shield of its protection all classes of men at all times and in all circumstances. No doctrine involving more pernicious consequences was ever invented by the wit of man than that any of its provisions can be suspended during any of the great exigencies of government.”

TORTURE IS WRONG. OUR LAWS COVER RULERS AND PEONS ALIKE. IT'S TIME TO ENFORCE OUR LAWS, WHEREVER IT GOES AND WHATEVER IT TAKES

Thank You
SBGypsy

VACATION!

We went to Oregon to visit my daughter and my best friend, and to look into retirement options. One of the high points was the visit to the (world famous) Japanese Gardens.

Everything in the western part of the state is covered in moss and lichen.

The weather in OR is about a month advanced from CT - I think because the ground in OR doesn't freeze solid, so it can warm up easier there.

Sixty Minutes

To answer the man who justified the idea that college age kids should be able to carry guns, and if they had, they could have stopped that crazy kid who shot up the campus... 

"Eighteen year olds are old enough to carry guns in Iraq":

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do we really want to live in a place with the violence level of Iraq?

The  police are supporting a ban, and the police in this country are 

mostly veterans. Maybe THEY don't want to live in a place with that 

level of violence.

Can you imagine a drunken frat party with  !Bring Your Own AK47!

Would you want YOUR 18 year old daughter to have to pack a gun to class so she could defend herself in a shootout?

Idiots and fools....

Reinflating the Balloon

Just as difficult, and just as pointless....

Go read these:
Big Pools of Money Want Your Firstborn

and

Mark To Market is a Drag

Random Thoughts

...Funny how ITGCB (Impeach teh G*$$#&$!^ C*&^s@!%$&^ Bast%$#) can also stand for 

Indict teh G*$$#&$!^ C*&^s@!%$&^ Bast%$#  !