The Demopublican Party

President Obama has been called a lot of things:  a Muslim, a Kenyan, arrogant, etc.    But one criticism that continues to sour the stomachs of liberals and Obama supporters is that he isn't much different than George W. Bush.

Amherst County Virginia Democratic News

"Obama equals Bush"  is a complaint from the left that didn't just spring up yesterday.     The fact that this president still has troops in Iraq,  prisoners in Guantánamo Bay,  tax cuts for the rich,  and now a new war brewing in the Middle East has some of his supporters heading for the exits .

Amherst County Virginia Democratic News

Obama's address to the nation Tuesday seemed to echo a 2002 speech Bush delivered announcing that the nation was going to war in Iraq.    It made me wonder how alike these two Presidents are? You may say actions speak louder than words to which I respond their actions are carbon copies, the same, like looking a miror, cloned twins.    

As you read thru the quotes below the first of each set belongs to Obama.     If the order were jumbled it would make no difference. We no longer have a two party system, we have two parties who agree on 90% of the issues and who get together behind closed doors to split up the rest.

Amherst County Virginia Democratic News

Quote 1-A:   "So we face big and difficult challenges. And what the American people hope – what they deserve – is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences; to overcome the numbing weight of our politics. For while the people who sent us here have different backgrounds, different stories and different beliefs, the anxieties they face are the same. The aspirations they hold are shared. A job that pays the bills. A chance to get ahead. Most of all, the ability to give their children a better life."      President Obama

Amherst County Virginia Democratic News

Quote 2-A:    "In a system of two parties, two chambers, and two elected branches, there will always be differences and debate. But even tough debates can be conducted in a civil tone, and our differences cannot be allowed to harden into anger. To confront the great issues before us, we must act in a spirit of goodwill and respect for one another - and I will do my part. Tonight the state of our Union is strong, and together we will make it stronger."
G. W. Bush

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Amherst County Virginia Democratic News

Quote 1-B:   "But families across the country are tightening their belts and making tough decisions. The Federal government should do the same. So tonight, I'm proposing specific steps to pay for the $1 trillion that it took to rescue the economy last year."    President Obama

Amherst County Virginia Democratic News

Quote 2-B:   "Many of you have talked about the need to pay down our national debt. I listened, and I agree. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to act now, and I hope you will join me to pay down $2 trillion in debt during the next 10 years."
G. W. Bush

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Amherst County Virginia Democratic News

Quote 1-C:   "I'm also calling on Congress to continue down the path of earmark reform. You have trimmed some of this spending and embraced some meaningful change. But restoring the public trust demands more. For example, some members of Congress post some earmark requests online. Tonight, I'm calling on Congress to publish all earmark requests on a single website before there's a vote so that the American people can see how their money is being spent."      President Obama

Amherst County Virginia Democratic News

Quote 2-C:    "The time has come to end this practice. So let us work together to reform the budget process, expose every earmark to the light of day and to a vote in Congress, and cut the number and cost of earmarks at least in half by the end of this session."
G. W. Bush


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ACVDN

Quote 1-D:   "Now, even after paying for what we spent on my watch, we will still face the massive deficit we had when I took office. More importantly, the cost of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will continue to skyrocket. That's why I've called for a bipartisan, Fiscal Commission, modeled on a proposal by Republican Judd Gregg and Democrat Kent Conrad. This can't be one of those Washington gimmicks that lets us pretend we solved a problem. The Commission will have to provide a specific set of solutions by a certain deadline."      President Obama

ACVDN

Quote 2-D:    "So tonight I ask you to join me in creating a commission to examine the full impact of baby boom retirements on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. This commission should include Members of Congress of both parties, and offer bipartisan solutions. We need to put aside partisan politics and work together and get this problem solved."    G. W. Bush

******

ACVDN

Quote 1-E:    "By the time I'm finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance. Millions will lose it this year. Our deficit will grow. Premiums will go up. Patients will be denied the care they need. Small business owners will continue to drop coverage altogether. I will not walk away from these Americans, and neither should the people in this chamber."
President Obama

ACVDN

Quote 2-E:    "Keeping America competitive requires affordable health care. Our Government has a responsibility to provide health care for the poor and the elderly, and we are meeting that responsibility. For all Americans, we must confront the rising cost of care, strengthen the doctor-patient relationship, and help people afford the insurance coverage they need."   G. W. Bush

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ACVDN

Quote 1-F:    "I urge the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges, which are a career pathway to the children of so many working families. To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer-subsidies that go to banks for student loans. Instead, let's take that money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants."   President Obama

ACVDN

Quote 2-F:    "We will help an additional 200,000 workers to get training for a better career, by reforming our job training system and strengthening America's community colleges. And we will make it easier for Americans to afford a college education, by increasing the size of Pell Grants."     G. W. Bush


Pretty difficult trying to understand, what differences, if any exist between the two Presidents once you look at their public statements, stripped away of all politics and campaigning.


Beyond the striking similarity of quotes, consider how consistent with each other their actions are:

Even Though President Obama campaigned strongly to quickly get U.S. troops out of Iraq, there are still 50,000 troops in that country that will not be withdrawn until later this year.    This is the same timetable that President Bush had laid out.


Even though President Obama campaigned strongly to close the terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay, the facility is still open, still holding prisoners that have yet to receive any trial, and there is no sign that the prison that the Bush administration opened will be closed anytime soon by the Obama administration.

Even though President Obama campaigned strongly to curtail and rein in Congressional earmarks, two years into his administration, the number of earmarks and the amount of taxpayer money they waste is just as high as during the Bush administration.

Neither President ran a CIA organization that was correct in the major issue of each administration.     The CIA and government intelligence apparatus under Bush grossly misunderstood the extent of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capability and the CIA and government intelligence apparatus under Obama grossly misunderstood how quickly dictatorships would fall and how quickly freedom protests would spread in northern Africa and the Middle East.


Neither President found a way to curtail the advancement of nuclear weapons capabilities of Iran and North Korea.

Neither administration found a way to get the Palestinians and Israelis to come to a peace agreement.    The latest views from the Arab world press pretty much assume that this will not happen under the Obama administration   ("Obama has lost whatever credibility he may have had in the Arab world." - United Arab Emirates' Gulf News,   "If the peace process was stalled before, it is now certainly dead." - Jordan's Al-Dustar).


The "War On Drugs" was a losing battle under both administrations, a defeat that is quickly leading to a lawless narco state throughout vast stretches of Mexico.


Our public schools are still severely under educating our kids despite "No Kid Left Behind" from the Bush administration to the "Race to The Top" from the Obama administration.

Both administrations have kept the Patriot Act in effect despite its chilling effect on freedom and unknown effect on stopping terror attacks on the U.S.


Both administrations set unheard of records of deficit spending, starting with the record Bush deficit numbers which have been blown away by the much higher Obama administration.


Social Security and Medicare are further away from insolvency with each passing day with neither administration willing to take the courageous and necessary steps to get both programs under financial control.


Neither administration can claim victory in Afghanistan and to a cynical person, neither could even claim a coherent strategy for victory either.

Neither administration served the country well in times of major disasters with Bush badly bungling the Hurricane Katrina episode and Obama badly bungling the BP Gulf oil rig explosion episode.


Neither administration has put forth any kind of coherent national energy program that rationally balances pollution, economic costs, and energy independence.


The country has never been so badly divided and uncivil to those that hold contrary views with both administrations holding the top two slots according to a recent Gallup poll.    The poll found that 81% of Democrats approve of President

Obama's job performance while only 13% of Republicans approve of his performance.    This 68 point difference is second only to the 76 point gap difference during the Bush administration.    However, the Bush record was set during his second term so President Obama has a very good chance of getting to this overall dubious record of divisiveness.

Neither administration formulated or implemented a sane immigration policy.    Thus, even their actions or inactions are very similar to their words.


The very sad part of all this is nothing much will change in the next twenty months or so since the unofficial 2012 Presidential season is upon us already.     No one in either major party will take any kind of courageous or forward thinking stand since it might endanger their political careers in 2012.


Thus by 2012 we would have endured twelve years of the Bush reign, disguised over the last four years as the Obama administration.     No problems addressed, never mind solved, no progress in making America a better, nicer, and freer place to live. Same old story, just a different cast of characters.

Amherst County Virginia Democratic News

Every day as President Obama awakens his first thoughts are what can I compromise on today, what can I give away to Republicans.    I might as well say it straight out, Obama has no spine.     If all we require as a people is someone who speaks beautifully about our problems and it ends there I'll take Ted Williams.    Ted is the guy with the great radio voice who was discovered living in a tent after a life mispent on drink and drug abuse.     He does everything that Obama can do and he speaks better.

Amherst County Virginia Democratic News

Failure to break out will just burden us with further Obama administrations policies and failures that look like failed Bush policies.     The political class has failed us and the country, not a specific President.    Neither the Democratic Party or the Republican Party or the Tea Party is deserving of your vote or your confidence.

Here's the ACVDN Bottom Line.     Years of weak leadership have crippled our country.     Neither party is up to the challenge.     Holding political office is just another way of earning a living and a way to get special treatment.     Perhaps the most corrupt, worthless and lazy individuals are drawn to politics.     In any event politicians are at least a close second to preachers when it comes to having no honest use in real life.

Amherst County, VA News

Are You less smart than a Fourth Grader?    Are You a leader in the Republican Party?   Hello Eric Cantor.

ACVDN

House Republicans will introduce legislation, likely by the end of this week, that would make it so that if Congress is unable to come to an agreement over an operating budget, the GOP’s version would simply become law of the land.    The bill, titled   “The Government Shutdown Prevention Act,”   is designed for the purposed described in its title. In terms of partisan equity, it’s lacking.


Announced by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Wednesday, the legislation would make it so that   “if the Senate fails to pass a measure before April 6, 2011 providing for the appropriations of the departments and agencies of the Government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011, H.R. 1 (as passed by the House on February 19, 2011) becomes law.”

The bill also stipulates that Members of Congress and the President will not get salary payments in the event of a shutdown or the U.S. debt limit being reached.


This is the most stupid of all the insane ideas coming out of the GOP.    Please, Eric....read the US Constitution and learn that a bill must pass BOTH Houses of Congress in identical form - and be signed by the President - in order to become law.    Republicans are more than lying scum they are a danger to our way of life, too stupid to be trusted with power.      The Virginia voters in Cantors district should hang their heads in shame that they waste their precious votes on such garbage.

Why do the reporters who cover the Republican Party and Cantor let their ignorance pass without asking a question?     What does freedom of the press mean to a reporter today?     Do it mean they can fail to pay attention to what is happening and continue to print exactly what the politicians spoon feed them?     Are there any real reporters left?

                                                                         ACVDN

Congress and President, Out To Lunch

Two years back Sen. Barack Obama was barnstorming the country talking about hope and change you can believe in and how President Bush had and was oversteping his authority you thought Obama wouldn't behave this way.     When Obama said he would put on a pair of comfortable shoes and walk the picket line to show support for Union workers you might have taken him at his word.     When Obama said two illegal wars was two wars too many and he would bring the troops home you may have thought he was sharing true feelings from his heart so when he opened up another front in Lybia you were surprised.


When you discovered that Obama didn't have one spare co-worker he could send over to the Hill and conduct a meeting with the elected representatives of the people you might wonder what is going on here?      Obama could have called a temp agency and rented a mouthpiece for the day and the Democrats and a third of the Republicans would have been satisfied.     There is a group of Republicans who are up for a war any day, any time, all the time.      John McCain daydreams about war, its all he keeps breathing for.     The war monger hawks (Dick Cheney, John McCain, ect.) are usually old and burnt and given easily to daydreaming.

Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the declaration of war against Japan on December 8, 1941.

On at least 125 occasions, the President has acted without prior express military authorization from Congress.     This includes the United States fighting in Korea in 1950 and our continuing involvement there.     The War Powers Resolution requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30 day withdrawal period, without an authorization of the use of military force or a declaration of war.  

 The Congress hasn't exercised its war powers authority since last century, since 1941.    All these Democratic phonies wanted was to be able to give the impression to the folks back home they they were involved and to make a few patriotic comments for the local news back in their districts.      Pretending to have knowledge and to be involved is good publicity and keeps their names on their supporters minds.      Since when does the President not look out for the interest of his own party.      Where were these wild firey eyed Democrats when Bush was at war with the world?

Bush with KeyNote Speaker Putin

Republicans are another matter altogether.     In general they will oppose anything that Obama does.     If Obama happens to do something they have been talking about they will flip-flop on their views and renew their attack on Obama from the other side.     Republicans have no idea how we got into the two wars that are a decade old and refer to them as Obama's wars.     Republicans try never to say GW Bush's name.     Tea party members in the Republican party are proud of their ignorance and doing nothing to change it.     Ignorance is a prime indicatior to look for when identifing a tea party member.

Newt Details Why Putin is Right and Obama Wrong

Its easy to see why President Obama neglected to get with them.     The matter was urgent and all it takes in the Senate is one dummy conducting a fillerbuster and no decision will ever be made.     Rand Paul would be happy to be that dummy and he's just one of many who wants to grind things to a halt and freeze the government.     As I write this the UN is ready to take over the operation of the No Fly Zone and just as Obama said in Days or Weeks Not Years.     When Republicans enter a conflict it never ends and it costs multiple Trillions of Dollars and nobody helps us pay the bill.    


We have just spent three quarters of a  BILLION Dollars in Lybia and can't afford to pay for our childrens education and teachers.     We can buy TomaHawk Missles all day long just don't look for funding for textbooks.     The needs of our country must be met before we play sugar daddy to the world.      Does Obama think we have friends in Lybia?      Is  he pretending that he can tell the difference between friend and foe?     Who Knows but enough is enough.      Stay in Washington and work on the problems we have here at home.     Once our people are working and earning livings and our deficit is under control go nose in anybodies business you please.     Until then focus on the USA.

GOP Keynote Speaker, V. Putin

Walking With Bush

Putin to give keynote speech amid speculation on future of US as a world power.    Gw Bush's best friend and soulmate and George's number one pick to deliver the keynote speech will entertain Gop and Tea Party alike as he talks about the weaknesss of America and Presient Obama.     The Powerful Russian Prime Minister (Vladimir Putin) is to give the keynote address amid intense speculation he is planning a presidential comeback.    George W Bush will present Putin with several awards among them the Republican Medal of Honor and the GOP Big Thinker Trophy. Putin is due to speak from 9 a.m. GMT in a speech that will be closely watched for hints of his future intentions and comments on the current financial crisis in the world economy.

The Russia’s lower house of parliament gave overwhelming approval to the second reading of a bill extending the presidential term from four years to six and Putin will warn Republicans that Obama may seek to lengthen his term and he will advise the GOP on how to block this move.    This partnership between the Russian Prime Minister and the GOP is supported by the people who returned Republicans to power in the House during the last off year election.

Bush and Putin lost out to Tom Delay on Dancing With The Stars

Putin’s spokesman said the prime minister would continue his presidential tradition of holding a phone-in with the people this year, further reinforcing the impression he is still the de-facto leader.     Mitch McConnell backs Putins thoughts and predicts his political return to the top job. Newt is already planning how his administration will work with Putin to create more jobs in Russia.

Mitch and Vladimir of Same Mind

 
Here's the ACVDN Bottom Line.      Obama is screwing up on a regular basis.     Where are and Who are the people advising him?
Lastly where can we get him some competent advisors?      Our political system is corrupt and broken and manned by dishonest
players on both (all) sides.      Washington is where ethics, honesty, hard work and truth go to die.     Washington is also where old Senators and Congressmen spend their final days being carried by their staffs.

Ron Paul

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) had been circulating a resolution "expressing the sense of Congress that the President is required to obtain in advance specific statutory authorization for the use of United States Armed Forces in response to civil unrest in Libya." The measure was supported by Reps. Michael Honda (D-Calif.) and John Conyers (D-Mich.), among others.

"In launching over 100 missiles on Libya this weekend, not only did the Defense Department undermine a carefully constructed consensus, which included the Arab League, but it leveled a devastating blow to our legislative-executive checks and balances," read a statement by Honda, who is co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus’s Peace and Security Taskforce. "For the Pentagon to deliberately circumvent Congressional authority sets a new precedent for war powers authorization and sends the message to the world that American democracy is deeply dysfunctional. Secondly, for the Pentagon to pick its battles based on energy security considerations, which is particularly apparent given Libya’s 7th-ranked oil reserves, sends the message that America cares little about the human rights and freedoms of people in countries, like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Western Sudan, or Ivory Coast, without critical energy resources.
Thirdly, for the Pentagon to pursue past precedent in employing a shock-and-awe-type invasion, indicates a deliberate disdain for the myriad of smaller pursuable efforts that are possible before pummeling a country with an air assault. I demand a serious conversation in Congress before new countries are incautiously invaded and before America’s legislative branch is eviscerated further."

Didn't Ask, Can't Remember

John and Joe Back Together Again, After Sarah

As the United States expands its military imprint on the international intervention into Libyan airspace, members of Congress have begun sounding the alarm over the lack of regard being paid by the president to the legal and advisory roles of the legislative branch.

Boehner has of late taken to wearing clown makeup to disguise the fits of crying he is given to.

On Sunday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) offered his endorsement for a no fly zone over Libya.      Conspicuous in his statement, however, was the threat to disrupt future operations should the president not consult Congress first.


“Before any further military commitments are made,”   Boehner said,   “the Administration must do a better job of communicating to the American people and to Congress about our mission.”

A top GOP leadership aide clarified that Boehner wasn’t insisting that Obama needed congressional authorization for the use of military force in Libya.    “The focus,” said the aide,   “is on Congressional consultation.”     At an off-camera briefing hours later, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon called such a request “fair" while arguing that it had been met by the president.


But Boehner's remarks still underscore the domestic political limits Obama faces as he executes, what aides insist will be, a limited, internationally-led military intervention in Libya;   which, this weekend, included cruise missile attacks and air strikes.     While the majority of lawmakers who have spoken publicly say they support America’s involvement in the U.N.-backed mission  (some Republicans wishing it had come sooner),  several influential voices have argued -- as Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.),  Chair of the House Armed Services Committee did -- that the President “has an obligation to explain”  operational objectives to Congress.

Lower on the leadership ranks, a strange-bedfellows coalition of progressive-minded pols and Tea Party members has emerged, not only raising doubts about the underlying strategy but the legality of it as well.

Jason saves lots of Money by Sleping in his Congressional Office.

“I think [the president] has a duty and an obligation to come to Congress,”  Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah.) told The Huffington Post.     “I see no clear and present danger to the United States of America.    I just don't.     We're in a bit of the fog at the moment as to what the president is trying to ultimately do.”


Under the War Powers Act of 1973, the president can send U.S. armed forces into conflict only with the authorization of Congress or if the United States is under attack or serious threat.     Absent such authorization, however, the president does have a 48-hour window to report about military deployments overseas.     While Congress is supposed to be consulted  “in every possible instance,” a broadening interpretation of executive powers has greatly diminished its "sign-off" authority.

“More recently, due to an expansive interpretation of the president’s constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and of his inherent powers to use force without Congressional authorization, the President has welcomed support from the Congress in the form of legislation authorizing him to utilize U.S. military forces in a foreign conflict or engagement in support of U.S. interests, but has not taken the view that he is required to obtain such authorization,”  reads a March 2007 Congressional Research Service report.

Justin before you go home vacume and straighten things up and remember to turn the lights off this time.

Nadler and Chaffetz aren’t alone among those classes of lawmakers (old and young) whose politics have been shaped by skepticism with this trend. Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), put up a Facebook post on Sunday arguing that the president could not  “launch strikes without authorization from the American people”  and complaining Congress was being treated like  “serfs.”

On Saturday, Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), chairman of the Democratic Caucus, organized a Caucus wide conference call for all House Democrats to get an update on the situation.    That same day, another call was organized with a dozen-or-so liberal Democrats to discuss the constitutionality of the president’s actions and chart out possible political responses.


At least two members -- Nadler and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) -- have called for an emergency congressional session to address and, potentially, authorize the use of military force.


“We should have been called into session yesterday or the day before,”  said Nadler.


With Congress currently on recess, a resolution (let alone a hearing) on U.S. military actions in Libya is unlikely to happen for at least another week.     In the interim, the White House, stating that it has operated squarely within legal parameters and with a deft of political caution, has pledged to keep lawmakers posted on events.

“We have been closely consulting Congress regarding the situation in Libya, including in a session the President conducted before his announcement yesterday with the bipartisan leadership,”   said White House spokesman Tommy Vietor.     “The President is committed to maintaining the full support of Congress in the course of ongoing and close consultation.”


To that point, Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough held a conference call with top Congressional staffers on Friday afternoon.     The President, meanwhile, hosted a meeting with House and Senate leadership later that afternoon.     And while Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, declined to call it “consultation" -- more along the lines of  "laying it out,”  he told Josh Rogin of Foreign Policy -- others were content.

“One of the reasons I predict that there will be some strong bipartisan support in the Congress for the President's decision is because it is a limited mission,”  Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D- MI) said Sunday on  "Meet the Press."      “I saw that in person in the White House on Friday-- and was very impressed by the caution and the care that the President is putting into this.”

      Amherst County Virginia Democratic News







  

Amherst County, VA News

What A Week It Was

Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Nuclear System Failures, No Fly Zones, Radiation Clouds over California, Charlie Sheen Disappears from our TV's and Kunt Dies.    What a week.

Muammar Qaddafi

Lots of exciting things are happening and none of them point us in the direction of solving our problems.     Its mostly new problems stacked on the shoulders of our old unsolved problems.    As if high unemployeement, no jobs and 2 wars wasn't enough to keep President Obama occupied with out warning Japan suffered a Earthquake followed an hour later by a Tsunami and somewhere in that time frame or shortly after system failures at several nuclear power plants.     A few days later elevated levels of radiation had arived in California.    

Russia's Vladimir Putin shown here with Muammar Qaddafi.    Putin is the keynote speaker at the next GOP Convention but more about that later.

Don't blink because a short time later we are lobbing tomahawk missles into Libya and engaging in a third conflict in the middle east.    Republicans don't know whether to line dance or go blind.      Their rule number one is to oppose anything Obama does even if they are on record supporting it a couple of years back.

He didn't respond quickly enough,  he shouldn't have gotten involved at all,  his response isn't strong enough,   America should take more of the lead,  he was born in Kenya.    That last one about Kenya comes from out worthless Congressman Bob Goodlatte. 

I Hate Obama and Democrats

Not one Republican is satisfied and few Democrats can keep from show boating about not being involved in a convrsation with the President and a photo of course before he took action.     Each one would not have done it differently and almost all have found a microphone to communicate their differences.    

If you want to second guess and talk down  President Obama Fox News will pre-empt the Super Bowl to accomodate your partisan rant.     The Senators and Congressman can't agree on a budget and are waiting for the President to bring the sides together.     They are mad because they weren't consulted and allowed to debate our countries involvement in Libya for a couple of years before the President would have had to step in and make the decision anyway.

Scam Artist

Lets face it.    Senators and Congressmen are a waste of tax money and time.      They don't have jobs and they don't accept responsibility for anything.     They spend all their time spewing hot air and serving the special interest that fund their campaigns.     They are little children who put their interest ahead of the countries. They haven't finished working on last years budget so forget next years.     For years they have spent more money than we bring in and now are playing a game trying to solve a long term problem in a short span of time.     The last time a solution was found to a problem and the minimal level of agreement arrived at Bill Clinton was living in the white house.     Making an end runs around the Senate and the House is about the only way to get anything done in Washington and thats not the President's fault.

If Senators and Congressmen want some respect they need to correct the problem they have with being a non functional body that only breathes to serve special interest, big business and get reelected.     Along the way it wouldn't hurt for the voter to use a little discretion in who they choose to represent them in Washington either.     The system didn't fall apart or get bought out overnight and the fix will be a long time coming.

Tiger Blood

Now that I've kicked dust on everybodies shoes lets look at some of the things that knocked Charlie Sheen off of every show on TV in the last week.     Can tiger blood and Winning really be gone?     There are about 37 ways to spell Muammar Qaddafi's name but anything else that looks out of sorts to you is most likely a mis-spelling.      Don't worry too much about it as communication is not an exact science.     Its sad for Muammar, 50 years at the same rank and he never made General.     Talk about a over achiever.

Perhaps saddest of all the worlds most famous polar bear, Kunt, died suddenly over the weekend.     Veterinary experts performed a necropsy Monday on Knut to try to determine why he died. The four-year-old polar bear died Saturday afternoon in front of visitors, turning around several times and then dropping to the ground, and falling into the water in his enclosure.        Polar bears usually live 15 to 20 years in the wild, and even longer in captivity, and the zoo is hoping the investigation may help clarify what happened.



The American role in the three-day old air assault to degrade Libya's military capability has already begun to decline, with the overwhelming share of Monday's missions flown by pilots from other countries in the coalition, said Gen. Carter Ham,  U.S. commander in the region .     Whereas about 50 percent of the approximately 60 air missions flown on Sunday were by U.S. pilots, the  "overwhelming"  share were by non-U.S. pilots on Monday, Ham said.

The assault has already shown signs of success too, according to several reports.     Republicans are heart broken that the news media is using the word success in a manner that could reflect favorably on President Obama and are hard at work with their attack team to pick apart anything that makes it look like a win for the home team.      Look at how republicans behave when our military are facing enemies in other countries and you will understand why I call them scum.     Sarah Palin is in another country running down our President with her completely ignorant drivel.


Ham said Muammar Qaddafi's forces could already be seen retreating from the opposition stronghold in Benghazi.     There have also been no reports of Qaddafi's planes even taking to the air since airstrikes began.


Overall, the coalition operation has succeeded in scattering and isolating Qaddafi's forces after just a weekend of punishing air attacks, Pentagon officials say, and a no-fly zone implemented over the eastern part of the country will be extended to the capital, Tripoli.


Libyan TV reported that Tripoli had come under a new attack by international airstrikes.     Anti-aircraft fire erupted in the city several hours after nightfall Monday as television made the announcement.    It was not immediately known what the strikes were targeting.


Ham said it was possible that Qaddafi might manage to retain power.     "I don't think anyone would say that is ideal,"  the
general said, foreseeing a possible outcome that stands in contrast to President Barack Obama's declaration that Qaddafi must go.

Qaddafi must go

U.S. officials have said repeatedly they do not intend to target Qaddafi directly.     The Libyan leader has ruled the North African nation for 42 years and was a target of American air attacks in 1986.


The full dimensions of the Libya crisis still are coming into view, with questions remaining about how far the Obama administration is willing to go to stop Qaddafi, whether the international military coalition will hold together and whether dissent in his own ranks will soon doom Qaddafi.


Traveling in Chile, Obama said a combination of measures including United Nations sanctions designed to isolate the Libyan leader are the correct approach to hastening his fall.     Obama added that the U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing military action did not sanction regime change.    "We are going to stick to that mandate,"   Obama said.


He has little choice if he wants to hold Arab and other backing and hand off front-line responsibility for a no-fly zone to European or other allied warplanes in the coming days.


Discord was evident Monday in Europe over whether the military operation in Libya should be controlled by NATO.     Turkey
blocked the alliance's participation, while Italy issued a veiled threat to withdraw the use of its bases unless the alliance was put in charge.     

GOP Keynote Speaker Vladimir Putin

Germany, like the Republican Party questioned the wisdom of the operation, and Russia's Vladimir Putin railed against the U.N.-backed airstrikes as outside meddling  "reminiscent of a medieval call for a crusade."          I am starting the rumor that  Vladimir Putin will give the keynote address at the next GOP Convention.    Please feel free to pass it on.     George W Bush looked into Puty's soul and said he was OK.    

No More Tears

Vladimir can drip onion juice into his eyes and not shed a tear so he will work with John  "a little bitty tear let me down"  Boehner in an attempt to toughen up the emotionally crippled speaker.

In Russia for an awkwardly timed visit on other topics, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it is a mistake to set Qaddafi's ouster as a military goal.     "I think it's pretty clear to everybody that Libya would be better off without Qaddafi,"   he said in an interview with Interfax news agency.     "That is a matter for the Libyans themselves to decide,"    and given the opportunity they may take it, Gates said.


The direction of the international military campaign is now shifting from crippling Libya's air defenses and halting a Libyan attack on the rebel stronghold in Benghazi to expanding the no-fly zone and setting the stage for a flow of humanitarian supplies to displaced Libyans.      The air campaign began Saturday with a barrage of Tomahawk cruise missile attacks by U.S. and British vessels in the Mediterranean.


Attacks were continuing, but on a far smaller scale, Ham and others said.     The general made clear that his intention was to stick closely to the limitations of the U.N. Security Council mandate, which set the primary goal of protecting civilians from attacks by the Libyan military.     Thus, if Qaddafi's forces should back away from rebel-held areas and fail to demonstrate hostile intent or movement, they would be spared.


"There is no intent to completely destroy the Libyan military forces,"   Ham said.


A senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss classified data, said the attacks thus far had reduced Qaddafi's air defense capabilities by more than 50 percent.    That has enabled the coalition to focus more on extending the no-fly zone, which is now mainly over the coastal waters off Libya and around the city of Benghazi in the east, across the country to the Tripoli area this week.


Ham said there is reason to worry that al Qaeda could use the instability in Libya as an opportunity to establish a foothold there for training and organizing terrorist attacks on American interests.     Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon via satellite from his headquarters in Germany, Ham also said the prospect of Qaddafi using surrogates to launch a retaliatory terrorist strike was a  "very, very legitimate concern."

Sen. Richard Lugar

One of the more vocal congressional skeptics of the Libya action, Sen. Richard Lugar, called Monday for full debate on the
objectives and costs of the conflict and a need for a declaration of war.    "There needs to be a plan about what happens after Qaddafi: who is in charge then, and who pays for this all,"   said Lugar, a Republican.     "With the Arab League having second thoughts and Turkey nixing NATO taking over, there are even more questions.     We also have to debate how all this effects the Saudis, Bahrain and Yemen."


Gates, speaking in Saint Petersburg, Russia, said the U.S. military's will at no point include ground forces.    Qaddafi fires back with promise of "a long war".      Ham foresaw potential new complications for the United States and its coalition partners:   how to respond in the event that rebel forces seeking Qaddafi's overthrow launch their own offensive in areas where civilians are threatened.     Would the U.N. mandate for protection of civilians require coalition attacks on the rebels in that case?


Ham noted that while some of the rebels are ordinary civilians trying to protect their homes, families and businesses from
Qaddafi's forces, others have taken up heavy arms and are mobilized in armored vehicles.


"So this will become a particular challenge for us should that eventuality (a rebel offensive) occur,"   Ham said.     He
repeatedly stressed that the U.S. military has not intervened and will not intervene on the side of the rebels;  he said there has been no military communication or coordination with rebel leaders.

Beyond Fukushima

Support for nuclear power in the UK has dropped by twelve percent following the near-meltdown at Fukushima nuclear power plant, according to a national opinion poll conducted since the earthquake near Japan that triggered a devastating tsunami.


Support has dropped in he USA also but the high costs of construction, lack of investor interest and the length of time to complete the sites and constantly changing regulation were always bigger problems than public support.


The nuclear emergency, which the Japanese authorities are still battling to contain, looks set to make it more difficult for the UK government to push through its planned programme of new nuclear power stations.      Of those polled, 37 percent said they were now more likely to oppose the building of new nuclear power stations in the UK and 44 percent said they were worried about the safety of nuclear power plants here.

Anti-nuclear campaigners have been quick to seize on the disastrous events at Fukushima as proof that nuclear power can never be 100% safe.     Craig Bennett, a spokesperson for Friends of the Earth who commissioned the poll said:    "This poll shows that the government's plans for a major expansion of nuclear power in the UK are out of step with public opinion.     People want clean and safe energy – the government needs to urgently refocus its energy policy, starting by improving the weak energy saving measures within its new energy bill."

The poll, which was conducted by GFK NOP shows a drop of 12% in support for nuclear power to 35% compared with a similar poll conducted by IPSOS MORI in 2008, 2009 and 2010.     Opposition to the technology rose 9% to 28%.


But supporters for nuclear power continue to hope that in the long run the Japanese events will not spell the end for a form of energy which is, they point out, carbon-neutral.     Environmentalist Mark Lynas has gone as far as offering on his blog to eat the milk, spinach and fava beans which have shown above average levels of radioactive iodine.      "The political fallout,"   he writes,  "will be more dangerous than anything physically radioactive."

Amherst County

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

The most dangerous of Japan’s stricken nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant appeared to stabilize Saturday, as firemen sprayed more water on spent fuel rods to prevent them from overheating and spreading potentially deadly radiation.





The situation at reactor No. 3 “is stabilizing somewhat,” cabinet spokesman Yukio Edano told a press conference, signaling a rare success in the efforts to prevent a meltdown.


Meanwhile, engineers managed to hook up an external power cable to the crippled plant’s central transmission point, according to the plant’s operator.     They hope to test supply lines inside the plant on Sunday and then to restore power to water pumps in reactors 1, 2, 3, and 4.


The top priority has been to ensure that spent fuel rods in reactor No. 3’s cooling pond are under as much water as possible.     That reactor was using a mixture of uranium and much more toxic plutonium fuel when an earthquake and tsunami hit it last Friday.


Mr. Edano sought to allay fears over the first reported discovery that foodstuffs from the area around the plant had been contaminated with radioactivity.


Milk and spinach from farms in Fukushima and a neighboring prefecture had been found to contain radiation at levels above the legal norm, Edano said, but this “would not affect consumers’ health.”


Officials later announced that they were forbidding the sale of all food products from Fukushima prefecture pending the collection of further data, according to a statement on the International Atomic Energy Agency's website.


Meanwhile, Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s bid to form a government of national unity to deal with the crisis appear to have come to naught in the face of opposition reluctance.


The leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, the largest opposition group, Sadakazu Tanigaki, telephoned Mr. Kan Saturday to reject the idea, according to the Jiji news agency.


Before the earthquake and tsunami, Kan’s popularity had slumped to around 20 percent and his government was widely considered on the brink of collapse.


The crisis has given him a window of opportunity to redeem himself, although many voters have been frustrated by how slowly the authorities initially responded to the disaster, and by how parsimonious officials were with information.


Poor communications, bad weather, and insufficient organization slowed the flow of food and other relief supplies to many isolated towns and villages.     Even in larger cities shops only began to open toward the end of the week.     Some 400,000 people are living in shelters or with host families and experiencing shortages of electricity, food, and gasoline in the affected area.

Evacuees who managed to get to parts of the country unscathed by the disaster, however, are now being made as comfortable as they can be sleeping on blankets laid out on the floors of gymnasiums, schoolrooms, and community halls.


In the western prefecture of Niigata, for example, where 15,000 people have fled their homes either because of the tsunami or the threat of radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, private companies have donated food and city governments have drawn on the emergency stocks of blankets and relief supplies that they keep in case of situations like this.


At one city gym in Niigata city, where 495 people are sheltering, volunteers handed out soap and other toiletries Friday afternoon while municipal officials prepared hot rice and miso soup.    “We are more or less alright for food,”  says the official running the shelter who identified himself only as Mr. Kato, who normally works in the public relations department at Niigata city hall.    “The quality is not great, but we have enough.”


The shelter is offering other services too.     In a corner of the foyer stood several large cardboard boxes housing the pet dogs that some evacuees had brought with them.     On a table lay piles of the local newspaper available for free.


Also available were photocopied maps of the city, with directions to the nearest coin-operated laundry and to the radiation testing station where evacuees can have their radioactivity levels checked.     And with the sort of attention to detail that displaced people in the quake zone can still only dream of, the shelter management had installed an electronic parking ticket machine to distribute free tickets to the gymnasium parking lot for its temporary residents.

ACVDN Bottom Line    This describes things that happened last week and had to be dealt with.     Congress has not completed work on LAST YEARS BUDGET and they are mumbling that they were  not consulted on these matters.     Start doing your job.

ACVD News