I had every intention of keeping this blog up during this year, but my life has exploded between school and other responsibilities (who knew a Poli.Sci. minor would be so much work?!) so I have decided to put this blog on hiatus for now.  I hope to return in the summer.

Thanks for your readership.

From the Associated Press:

“I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God,” Huckabee said Monday night in Warren, Mich. “And that’s what we need to do, is to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards, rather than try to change God’s standards.”

I think that alone makes it clear that we don’t need Huckabee in the White House. What we have is bad enough; we don’t need to see the faith-based initiatives this freak would put in place.

Remember, this is a man who refused to authorize a $430 Medicaid payment for a teenager who was raped by her stepfather to get an abortion.

That’s JUST what we need.

If you didn’t believe this is still anybody-and-everybody’s race, believe it now. From third place to first, John McCain has edged out Mitt Romney in New Hampshire, after Romney won in Wyoming.

And of course on the Democratic side, Obama and Clinton are apparently caught in a dead heat, with formerly second-place Edwards now coming in third.

I’m starting to feel a bit like a horse-race announcer just talking about it.

I don’t think ANYONE has decided who they’re going to vote for yet this year, except the people who have chosen third-tier candidates like Ron Paul, Fred Thompson or Chris Dodd, none of whom have a snowball’s chance in Hell of getting the nominations. Me, personally? Well… here’s what I think.

First of all: the message of both Obama and Edwards is clear: CHANGE. And I think it’s going to be a platform of change that wins in November. All three of the Democratic frontrunners know that you and I are sick and tired of what’s been going on in Washington and the world, and they know that telling us they’re going to do something different is going to get them in office.

Second, I loved Obama’s I-Won speech in Iowa last week. If you haven’t heard it? You entirely need to.

Obama has a great message of hope and working-togetherness and I defy anyone to listen to it and not get cold chills and feel all patriotic when he’s done. However….

Edwards’s message is a little tougher. Getting along is great, but I’m kind of in the mood right now to crush the bastards, and Edwards is singing my song.

A platform of change is a great thing, and it’s going to get someone elected in November. The Repubs haven’t figured that out yet… they think we want more of the same, more special interests, more lobbies, more tax cuts for the rich, more environmental destruction. They’re wrong. The Dems are going to be in office this year, and I think we all know that.

The question is, in 2012, will whoever wins be able to KEEP that Oval Office? A platform of change will get you elected…. but STAYING elected is going to take some actual work.

I know that the race is far from over. I’m actually glad about this, because frankly, the Republican frontrunner scares me.

Mike Huckabee on the issues:

Opposes: Roe v. Wade, stem cell research, banning assault weapons, requiring background checks for gun purchases, same sex marriage, same sex civil unions, withdrawal from Iraq and universal health care.

Supports: the death penalty, No Child Left Behind, ANWR oil drilling, the Patriot Act, Guantanamo, a fence across the Mexican border, a troop surge in Iraq, and a Constitutional ban on same-sex marriages.

This man stands for everything I oppose, and opposes everything I stand for. I fear for the future of America if Mike Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist preacher, is elected to the Presidency. From his own website, I quote the following:

My faith is my life - it defines me. My faith doesn’t influence my decisions, it drives them. For example, when it comes to the environment, I believe in being a good steward of the earth. I don’t separate my faith from my personal and professional lives.

Wait… he believes in being a good steward of the earth, but he supports oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?  I don’t follow the logic.

Well… I don’t know about you guys, but I honestly think the LAST thing we need in office in 2009 is ANOTHER President who believes God speaks to him.

Everyone brace yourselves. If all goes well for us, George Bush will be gone from the White House in 385 days.

I’m about to go out on a limb here, which I feel fairly safe in doing since it’s been long enough that I haven’t posted and I’ve probably lost my tiny readership… so nobody’s going to read this anyway.

Personally, I do not feel that all is going to go well for us.

I believe that 9/11 was an inside job, Bush’s Reichstag, and I don’t think he’s done. He included a paragraph in the Patriot Act which allows him, in the event of a national emergency, to declare martial law, suspend elections, suspend habeas corpus for American citizens and all sorts of other very unfun things.

I believe he’s going to do it again.

He’s invested too much energy into the war in Iraq to let it go next January, and I firmly believe that he intends to manufacture another attack on America, probably once again blaming Al Qaeda, to attempt to stir up the American fervor and rabid patriotism once again as was done in 2001.

Unfortunately, by this time, people are tired of hearing about bin Laden and seeing no results.

People are tired of watching their loved ones die in Iraq.

People are tired of being lied to every time they turn around - WMDs in Iran, anyone?

People are tired of Bush and his cronies.

I fervently hope that what I fear will not come to pass. If it does, may the gods have mercy on all our souls.

Happy New Year.

Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime is death.

The Thought Police are at it again, people, and this time they’re aiming straight at you and me: the free netizens of the United States. That’s right. if Senate Bill 1959 - the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Act of 2007 - is geared directly toward eviscerating all of our freedom of expression.

If this bill is passed, it will be an act of terrorism to use violence or force to effect ideological change in the United States.

What does that mean?

* Grassroots campaigns that flood Senate offices with mail, email, faxes or phone calls are a use of force.
* Non-violent street protests are a use of force.
* Sit-ins at government buildings are a use of force.
* Marches on Washington are a use of force.

What else will be criminalized by this bill? Oh just wait for it - this is the best part.

Because so much homegrown terrorism is being done on the Internet today, it will be an act of terrorism to speak out on the Internet against governmental abuses and the Shrub Regime.

Read this article if you don’t believe me, and make sure you read all the articles he links to, as well.

THIS IS THE REAL DEAL, PEOPLE. This is McCarthyism at its Orwellian WORST. CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY! WRITE YOUR SENATORS! FAX YOUR SENATORS! EMAIL YOUR SENATORS! If you live close enough, VISIT YOUR SENATORS’ OFFICES! DO SOMETHING!

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Aside from the funny placement of commas, you’d think this was a really clear statement, wouldn’t you? The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Pretty cut and dried, right?

Wrong. The trouble is those first few words: A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state.

The most especial trouble is these words: well regulated. Where exactly in the United States can one find a well-regulated militia these days, and who does the regulating? I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel safe in the hands of the United States military, no matter how big a fan of NCIS I happen to be… but I feel even less safe in the hands of a bunch of weapon-hoarding lunatics from somewhere up in the mountains.

I bring this up today because of this article from the New York Times that discusses D.C.’s gun control law, one of the strictest in the country. The law is going to the Supreme Court; the Court agreed to consider the case today.

At issue is the topic of whether the right to bear arms is an individual right belonging to private citizens, or a group right only belonging to federally or state sanctioned groups such as police or military groups, specified by the following paragraph from the Times article:

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down sections of the Washington gun law that make it exceedingly difficult to legally own a handgun, that prohibit carrying guns without a license even from one room to another, and that require lawfully owned firearms to be kept unloaded.

I’m honestly not sure how I feel about this topic. As some background, my dad was military; he served in the Air Force during Vietnam, though he was never in country; he met my mother on a NATO base in Turkey. I don’t know what he did there; from things I heard him say over time, I can make an educated guess, but he insisted until his death this past May that whatever he was working on back then is still classified. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know.

My father kept guns since before I was born. He had four or five rifles under the bed and several handguns around the house. My brother and I grew up shooting BB guns. We were taught to respect firearms, and to understand that they are not things to be played with. We knew exactly where they were; they were always loaded. We knew where the ammunition was. Had we chosen to, we could have gone and played with his guns and blown our fool heads off. We didn’t.

I have a problem with gun control laws that are designed to keep guns out of the hands of children. The reason I have a problem with them is that these laws emphasize keeping guns away from children rather than teaching children to respect guns and not be idiots with them.

Isn’t it time the government stopped regulating us and we started teaching our children?

I’m a bit pressed for time today, so I’m going to provide you with a book recommendation and some statistics, and then I’ll be out of your hair.

First: I’m about halfway through reading a book called Less Safe, Less Free: Why America is Losing the War on Terror and I strongly encourage everyone to go out and buy this book and read it well. This book explains in detail why we are losing the war on terror (because you can’t fight terror; it’s a tactic! You can fight terrorists, or countries who support terrorists, but “the war on terror” is nothing more than rhetoric) and just exactly how badly our Constitution has been shredded in the months since 9/11. Ever wonder just exactly which of your Constitutionally-mandated rights are gone? This book will tell you. Please read it.

The other thing I’m going to provide you with today is a list of statistics that came from Harper’s by way of David Bowker and David Kaye of the New York Times in an op-ed piece this morning titled “Guantanamo by the Numbers.”

Please remember as you read these numbers that detainees at Guantanamo are stripped of the right to habeas corpus, have no right to see or rebut witnesses or evidence against them in the military kangaroo tribunals that are being held, are deprived of contact with legal counsel and their families, and are often subject to abuse and torture that rivals what has been seen coming out of Abu Ghraib.

Number of “high-value detainees” now at Guantánamo: 15

Approximate percentage of detainees found to have committed “hostile acts” against the United States or coalition forces before detention: 53

Approximate number of countries of which detainees are citizens: 40

Most represented countries at Guantánamo: Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Yemen

Cost of building Guantánamo high-security detention facilities: about $54 million

Estimated annual cost of operating Guantánamo: $90 million to $118 million

Cost of “expeditionary legal complex” for the military commission (under construction): $10 million to $12 million

Number of books in the Guantánamo detention library: 5,143

Number of Korans issued to detainees from January 2002 to June 2005: more than 1,600

Number of daily calories per detainee: Up to 4,200, including halal meat

Average weight gain per detainee: 20 pounds

Number of pills dispensed per day: 1,000, to 200-300 detainees

Number of apparent suicides: 4

Number of apparent suicide attempts: 41, by 25 detainees (as of May 2006)

Number of detainee assaults on guards using “bodily fluids”: more than 400

Date of first visit to Guantánamo by the International Committee of the Red Cross: Jan. 18, 2002

Approximate number of visits by lawyers to Guantánamo detainees so far this year: 1,100

Month of first habeas corpus petition filed to challenge detention at Guantánamo: January 2002

Number of habeas corpus petitions filed in federal courts on behalf of detainees: roughly 300

Number of detainees designated by the president as “eligible” for trial by military commission: 14

Number actually charged with crimes (for example, murder and material support for terrorism): 10

Number of pending cases: 3

Number of convictions: 1 (an Australian who pleaded guilty to material support of terrorism and was sentenced to nine months of confinement in his home country)

Estimated number of detainees who may be charged in the future: 80

Month of first release of a detainee: May 2002 (one detainee repatriated to Afghanistan because of an “emotional breakdown”)

Approximate number of detainees released: 445

Approximate number of current detainees found eligible for transfer or release: 70

Countries to which Guantánamo detainees have been transferred: Albania, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda, Yemen

Most recent announced transfer of detainees from Guantánamo: Nov. 4 (eight to Afghanistan, three to Jordan)

Personal items provided to detainees upon departure: a Koran, a denim jacket, a white T-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, high-top sneakers, a gym bag of toiletries and a pillow and blanket for the flight home

Number of detainees said by Pentagon to have resumed hostile activities against the United States after release: at least 30

Number of United States senators who voted in favor of a nonbinding resolution that Guantánamo detainees “should not be released into American society, nor should they be transferred stateside into facilities in American communities and neighborhoods”: 94

Number of bills in Congress calling for the closing of Guantánamo: 3

Number of members of the House of Representatives who signed a letter to President Bush in June 2007 urging him to close Guantánamo and move the detainees to military prisons in the United States: 145

Number of Republicans who signed the letter: 1

Democratic presidential candidates who are on record supporting closing Guantánamo: 8

Republican presidential candidates who are: 2 (John McCain and Ron Paul)

Closest American allies that have called for Guantánamo’s closing: Britain, France, Germany

Next scheduled legal test of the Guantánamo system: Boumediene v. Bush, a challenge to the denial of habeas corpus, set for argument before the Supreme Court on Dec. 5

We are living in one of the darkest times in American history.

What’s the significance, you might ask? I’ll tell you.

The military announced five more troop deaths this morning, bringing this year’s total of soldier deaths in Iraq to 852.

This year, more troops have died in Iraq than any previous year… and the year’s not over yet. This is only the beginning of November.

This raises the total number of American deaths in Iraq, according to AP figures, to 3,855.

That’s three thousand, eight hundred and fifty-five fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters who will never come home. Three thousand, eight hundred and fifty-five lives wasted.

Who do they think they’re kidding? Our soldiers aren’t dying for freedom. They’re dying for imperialism. They’re dying for oil. They’re dying so that rich, soulless bastards in Washington, New York, California and Texas can sleep on satin sheets and drive Hummers.

And you don’t think we’re ever going to leave Iraq, do you? Not under this presidency. USA Today reported last year that a U.S. embassy was being built inside the Green Zone in Baghdad at a cost of $592 million. Well, that embassy is now complete, and needs to be staffed by a minimum of 48 Foreign Service officers.

And if you don’t think it’s bad in Baghdad, and you still think we’re fighting to protect Iraqi freedom for Iraqis who want us there, think again. The Foreign Service is having to resort to ORDERING its people to go to Iraq OR BE FIRED… and some of them would rather be fired.

One interesting point that article makes, I’ll quote here, just for ironic effect:

If the employees are ordered into Iraq, it will mark the first time Foreign Service officers have been directed overseas en masse since 1969, when about 20 entry-level officers were sent to Vietnam.

Wow. Imagine THAT.

According to a Progressive Democrats of America alert I received in my email box a few minutes ago, Dennis Kucinich is going to make a hard push for Dick Cheney’s impeachment this week.

If you are at all concerned about the future of this country if the Bush/Cheney Constitutional abuses are allowed to continue unchecked and go unpunished, please, PLEASE, go HERE and send a message to your Representative.

OneGirl out.