Clipmarks | BobbyRutan's 'conservatives' clips

How to Honor the U.S. Flag

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:32:17 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: Since republicans have made flag politics a cornerstone of their campaigns (instead of trying to solve problems that face average Americans everyday), you would think the leader of the conservatives and republicans wouldn't keep disrespecting the flag as he does here and on opening night of the olympics.

However, I do think this symbolizes something very profound. America has gone backward under Bush and the republican presidency.

Sheesh, what a moron. Can we be done with the republicans already?

Clip Source: www.buzzflash.com

Old Glory, Oh Lordy! American Flag Flip-Flopped

George W. Bush seems happy as ever as America's cheerleader-in-chief at the Beijing Olympics. Too bad his handlers didn't take care of the flag business as they normally do in arranging props for the President.

So, is Dubya using the flag to make a political statement? Is he unAmerican? What if a figurehead like Miss America showed disrespect like this for America's number one symbol?

Tags: galf eht ot ecnaigella egdelp i

Ethnic disparities in treating pain in U.S. Emergency Rooms

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 04:59:25 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: In the study, opioid narcotics were prescribed in 31 percent of the pain-related visits involving whites, 28 percent for Asians, 24 percent for Hispanics and 23 percent for blacks.

Minorities were slightly more likely than whites to get aspirin, ibuprofen and similar drugs for pain.

In more than 2,000 visits for kidney stones, whites got narcotics 72 percent of the time, Hispanics 68 percent, Asians 67 percent and blacks 56 percent.

The data came from a well-regarded government survey that collects information on emergency room visits for four weeks each year from 500 U.S. hospitals. The new study was funded by federal grants.

Clip Source: www.chicagotribune.com

Emergency room doctors are prescribing strong narcotics more often to patients who complain of pain, but minorities are less likely to get them than whites, a new study finds

Even for the severe pain of kidney stones, minorities were prescribed narcotics such as oxycodone and morphine less frequently than whites

The analysis of more than 150,000 emergency room visits over 13 years found differences in prescribing by race and ethnicity in both urban and rural hospitals, in all U.S. regions and for every type of pain

The gaps between whites and nonwhites have not appeared to close at all

doctors

now regard pain management as a key to healing

Linda Simoni-Wastila of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Pharmacy said the race gap finding may reveal some doctors' suspicions that minority patients could be drug abusers lying about pain to get narcotics

The irony, she said, is that blacks are the least likely group to abuse prescription drugs

Tags: conservatives believe racial bias no longer exists

What can the budget for the Iraq War buy?

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 06:07:04 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: Doesn't clip as well as I hoped so visit the website:

Remarkable, that it is admitted these days (by generals, former administration appointees, and neocon architects of the war) that the war in Iraq is about controlling oil resources, and look what you could do with the money that we've spent on that fiasco.

With $611 billion, you could convert all cars in America to run on ethanol nine times over. TheBudgetGraph.com estimates that converting the 136,568,083 registered cars in the United States to ethanol (conversion kits at $500) would cost $68.2 billion.

Many, many environment-friendly cars on the road
With $611 billion, you could convert all cars in America to run on ethanol nine times over.

TheBudgetGraph.com estimates that converting the 136,568,083 registered cars in the United States to ethanol (conversion kits at $500) would cost $68.2 billion.

Clip Source: www.boston.com

What can $611 billion buy?

Many, many environment-friendly cars on the road

With $611 billion, you could convert all cars in America to run on ethanol nine times over.

TheBudgetGraph.com estimates that converting the 136,568,083 registered cars in the United States to ethanol (conversion kits at $500) would cost $68.2 billion.

Clip Source: www.boston.com

Nearly 14 million years' worth of tuition, room, and board at Harvard

Clip Source: www.boston.com

A real war on poverty

According to World Bank estimates, $54 billion a year would eliminate starvation and malnutrition globally by 2015, while $30 billion would provide a year of primary education for every child on earth.

At the upper range of those estimates, the $611 billion cost of the war could have fed and educated the world's poor for seven years.

Clip Source: www.boston.com

Nearly 4,000 Newton North High Schools

Tagged as the most expensive high school in Massachusetts, at $154.6 million, the construction design for the new Newton North High School could be replicated almost 4,000 times using the money spent

Tags: bush, cheney, conservatives, liars, terror, oil, politics of fear

Bush finally tops Nixon....In Unpopularity

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 22:11:02 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: You're in good company W.

Clip Source: www.editorandpublisher.com

GALLUP: Bush Finally Tops Nixon -- In Unpopularity -- As Call for Iraq Pullout Hits New Peak

Clip Source: www.ronlim.com

Right-wing rationalization

Clip Source: www.editorandpublisher.com

For almost two years, President Bush has been threatening to unseat Richard M. Nixon as the most unpopular president in the history of the Gallup poll, and it finally happened this week.

for the first time ever in the polling history, 50% say they "strongly disapprove" of a president

The previous high (or low?) was a 48% strong disapproval rating for Nixon at the worst moments of Watergate in 1974

Meanwhile, ABC News relates today, "Recent reports of fewer casualties in Iraq haven't altered most Americans' perceptions of the war: Fifty-nine percent still don't think the United States is making significant progress restoring civil order there, and a record six in 10 want the level of U.S. forces reduced

Those results

seem to reflect a continued hardening of attitudes on Iraq

Views on progress are unchanged

they haven't been positive since December 2005

Tags: bush the destroyer, i'm a divider not a uniter, lies, conservatives, repbulicans

Why does Bush want to attack Iran? It's not as dangerous as Pakistan.

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 08:01:59 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: The safe haven provided by Pakistan has already had dire effects on U.S. and NATO efforts to fight the resurgent Taliban next door in Afghanistan

Dozens of Taliban commanders have moved their wives and children to Pakistan, where they live in the suburbs of cities like Peshawar and Islamabad

The militants dominate in areas beyond the tribal areas as well. Armed groups have effectively seized control in places like the picturesque Swat Valley, where a jihadi leader named Mullah Fazlullah rides a black horse and commands hundreds of men under the noses of a nearby Pakistani Army division that seldom leaves its barracks. Peshawar is perhaps the most important production and distribution center for Taliban and other Islamist material. Jihadi CD and DVD shops abound. One shop features large posters of the notorious Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah Akhund, who was killed in Helmand earlier this year, and pictures of Guantnamo inmates in their orange jumpsuits behind barbed wire

Clip Source: www.newsweek.com

Today no other country on earth is arguably more dangerous than Pakistan. It has everything Osama bin Laden could ask for: political instability, a trusted network of radical Islamists, an abundance of angry young anti-Western recruits, secluded training areas, access to state-of-the-art electronic technology, regular air service to the West and security services that don't always do what they're supposed to do

Then there's the country's large and growing nuclear program. "If you were to look around the world for where Al Qaeda is going to find its bomb, it's right in their backyard," says Bruce Riedel, the former senior director for South Asia on the National Security Council.

Clip Source: www.newsweek.com

Militancy is woven into the fabric of Pakistani society

Pakistanis were taught that the guerrillas were Muslim heroes, fighting for national honor and security. Such loyalties cannot be turned off like a tap

Taliban fighters now pretty much come and go as they please inside Pakistan

Tags: bush, cheney, liars, chickenhawks, conservatives, war, terror, iran, iraq

CIA Kid's Page - Oh Boy Fun!

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 02:16:11 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: OK Kids! Click on the Games Link and play the conservatives favorite Game!.......
The outing of Valerie Plame.

Clip Source: www.cia.gov

Kids' Page

[Get Flash Player]

CIA Home > Kids' Page

Kids' Page

The CIA is an independent US government agency that provides national security “intelligence” to key US leaders so they can make important, informed decisions. CIA employees gather intelligence (or information) in a variety of ways, not just by “spying” like you see in the movies or on TV (though we do some of that, too)

Clip Source: www.cia.gov

K-5th Grade

people of the CIA do very important work

They help keep our country safe

They give our leaders information so they can make good decisions

Clip Source: www.extrememortman.com

Tags: cia, fun for kids, info for everyone to make intelligent decisions ex

GOP Theft of 2008 Presidential Election via California

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:52:04 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: "They're back," said Democratic strategist Chris Lehane in an email this afternoon. "This Freddie Krueger of initiatives is back and once again, it appears the shadowy conservative forces behind this electoral hijacking are trying to hide where the money is coming from."

Clip Source: www.kqed.org

the initiative to change how California's votes for the White House are counted is back... and may have enough cash to gather the needed signatures in only three weeks

The initiative, which received nationwide attention this summer, would mean that California's 55 electoral votes would almost all be doled out by the presidential winner in each of the state's congressional districts

In a phone interview this afternoon, Andrade said that the campaign has amassed close to $3 million to get the roughly 434,000 valid signatures needed to qualify for the June statewide ballot

He said that while volunteer signature gatherers are getting a buck per signature, paid gatherers could end up getting as much as $4 per signature by the time the dust has settled

So who's put up the cash

$2 million has come from what he calls a "national group,

The rest of the money

comes from various social conservatives

including some who helped bankrolled the signature gathering for the 2003 recall of Governor Gray Davis

Clip Source: library.thinkquest.org

Tags: gop, election thieves, politics, conservatives, republicans

The Most Polarizing Presidential Candidate?

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 04:48:33 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: Obama only 39%

Clip Source: www.liberaloasis.com

Here's some poll data that I don't believe has received much attention.

ABC NEWS/WASHINGTON POST POLL. Sept. 27-30, 2007

If [see below] wins the Democratic/Republican nomination for president would you definitely vote for him/her in the general election for president in 2008, would you consider voting for him/her or would you definitely not vote for him/her?"

PERCENT SAYING "DEFINITELY WOULD NOT"

Obama -- 39%
Clinton -- 41%
Edwards -- 43%
Giuliani -- 44%
McCain -- 45%
Thompson -- 54%
Romney -- 57%

What's does that mean?

2. Further, every Dem is less polarizing than every Republican, even the sainted John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. Yet there has been no punditocracy discussion of whether McCain, Giuliani, Thompson "can win" either nationally or in certain areas of the country.

Having said all that, the whole question of polarization when gauging presidential candidates is obsolete. In today's political and media landscape, any candidate will be (and is) rejected by 40% of the country on Day 1

Tags: politics, 2008, election, repuglicans, democrats, conservatives, liberals

"Out of Iraq" Polish Party wins National Elections

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 04:26:45 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan

Clip Source: www.philly.com

A pro-business opposition party that wants Poland's troops out of Iraq ousted Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's government in parliamentary elections Sunday, as Poles opted for leadership offering a more cooperative approach to the European Union

Donald Tusk's Civic Platform party led with 41.1 percent of the vote after 11 percent of the ballots were counted early Monday, and exit polls for TVN24 private television showed the party projected to win 226 seats in the 460-seat Sejm lower house

"Today I am the happiest person in the world," a teary-eyed Tusk told supporters. "People in Poland voted today to chose their own fate

Both Tusk and Kaczynski favor good relations with the United States, but Tusk argues Poland has not gotten enough from its close ties with Washington and wants the country's 900-strong detachment in Iraq to come home. He also says Poland should drive a tough bargain in return for hosting a missile defense base.

Clip Source: www.chinadaily.com.cn

Donald Tusk

Tags: donald tusk, determining their own fate, poland, iraq, war, terror, lies, bush, conservatives

GOP Hitman: Ken Starr's Moral Compass

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 17:16:42 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: Furthermore, the parent of one of Epstein’s youngest victims is outraged that he could walk without registering as a sex offender and tells Radar, “What this man did to my daughter was horrible. He thinks that with all his money, his big deal lawyers, and his hired thugs, he can get away with anything. I pray that other young girls will never have to suffer like my daughter did. The whole world should know that he is a sex offender.”

So, now that Ken Starr’s not lapping it up at the public trough, turning a simple investigation into a monster that only served political interests, it’s good to see him getting dirty and doing legitimate, if very disgusting, legal work. After all, even slimeballs need representation. Personally, if I’m a slimeball, though, there’s not a chance of me calling Starr.

Clip Source: allspinzone.com

Ken Starr’s busy lately, defending sex offenders and tryiong to keep a millionaire sex offender off the sex offender registry

HE battled the evil BJs in the Oval Office, and now Ken Starr is once again doing the kind of legal work that, well, gives lawyers a bad name

Money manager Jeffrey Epstein’s PR machine is in overdrive. But his ploy to wipe away accusations of sex with underage girls might be about to backfire

is accused of paying girls as young as 14 to come to his Palm Beach mansion and give him erotic massages, often while he assaulted them with a variety of brightly colored sex toys

with the help of former Clinton/Whitewater special counsel Kenneth Starr, the man formerly known as one of Manhattan’s most eligible bachelors is said to be close to a deal in which he’ll plead guilty to the state prostitution charge in exchange for 18 months in prison

and avoid having to register as a federal sex offender

looks like Ken Starr’s got his work cut out for him

Tags: hypocrites, republican family values, conservatives, politics, show me the money

Baghdad Children "armed" to teeth

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 06:54:28 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: Trade Minister Abed Falah al-Sudani considered banning the toys because they look so realistic. However, given the seeming impossibility of the task, he shelved the idea

10-year-old Haider, has another reason to play with his toy gun

"I love it. I like holding it and going outside to kill evildoers. I like to go outside at night like my uncle (a member of the Mahdi Army)," said the boy wearing a ragged T-shirt.

In Sadr City, in the vast ghetto where Sadr is considered a hero and his militia calls the shots, children in their war games reflect the bitter sectarian divides -- one side gets to be Shiite militiamen, the other Sunni insurgents.

In other neighbourhoods, it's police versus "terrorists", or army versus Al-Qaeda, according to local news

Another vendor, Hassan, 27, runs a stall in Bab al-Sharji in the centre of Baghdad. He confirmed that guns are the all-time favourites with children, male or female.

"Children prefer guns to trains, balls or radios," he

Clip Source: afp.google.com

Try as he might, Baghdad businessman Ibrahim Georges can't persuade his 11-year-old daughter Sandy to lay down her arms in favour of something less hostile, such as a doll

She loves her gun," Georges said as Sandy, short-haired and dressed in long trousers and T-shirt, proudly displayed a menacing GC toy automatic rifle that, according to a bold stamp on the side, was made in China

She never plays with dolls," added Georges ruefully

Children's make-believe war games, which often reflect the sectarian conflict raging across Iraq, have alarmed some parents and educators, and the government has expressed concern at the flood of toy weapons on the streets

The only psychological study carried out in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003 was on children by the Association of Psychologists of Iraq (API) early last year

the violence was profoundly affecting them

The only things they have on their minds are guns, bullets, death and a fear of the US occupation," said API spokesman Marwan Abdullah

Tags: child psychology, development, iraq, war, environment, bush, conservatives, politics, oil

Iraq Self Reliance Years Away (How many more Billions?)

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 23:06:38 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: The PRT program itself has been plagued by problems. Previous reports have found it was difficult to find people with the correct skills to do the work — particularly civilians. There also has been a shortage of Arabic speakers and understanding of Iraq's culture and history as well as a lack of organization within the U.S. government to carry out the program, according to those past reports

Clip Source: ap.google.com

Teaching local officials in Iraq to govern themselves and provide their citizens with basic services will take "years of steady engagement

It also will rely heavily on the U.S. government's ability to recruit skilled civilians, investigators told a House panel Thursday

Stability operations is not a game for pick up teams," said Robert Perito, a security expert at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington

If the story of Iraq reconstruction tells anything, teaches any lesson, it is that the U.S. government was not well structured and was not well poised in 2003 to engage in the kind of post-conflict relief and reconstruction operations we have faced," Bowen said

The report also said that "numerous PRT officials identified rule of law as the most problematic" area

It noted that in many places there is little cooperation between police, courts, and correction facilities and that judicial orders are routinely ignored

said there has been little progress toward political reconciliation

Tags: lies, war, iraq, bush, conservatives, politics, republicans, a trillion more dollars

U.S. General: Iraq War is about Oil, Arab World "One Big Gas Station"

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:52:18 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

‘We’ve Treated The Arab World As A Collection Of Big Gas Stations’

During a round table discussion on “the Fight for Oil, Water and a Healthy Planet” at Stanford University on Saturday, Gen. John Abizaid (Ret.), the former CENTCOM Commander, said that “of course” the Iraq war is “about oil“

“We’ve treated the Arab world as a collection of big gas stations,” the retired general said. “Our message to them is: Guys, keep your pumps open, prices low, be nice to the Israelis and you can do whatever you want out back. Osama and 9/11 is the distilled essence that represents everything going on out back.”

“Of course it’s about oil, we can’t really deny that,” Abizaid said of the Iraq campaign early on in the talk.

Though Abizaid says that Bush’s Iraq policy seeks to keep oil “prices low

the per-barrel cost of oil has risen dramatically since the U.S. first invaded. In March 2003, the price of oil was roughly US$35 a barrel. Today, prices reached “above $85 a barrel for the first time

Tags: lies, bush, cheney, conservatives, republicans, iraq, oil, islam, 9/11, death

U.S. Mercenaries deported from Namibia: "We settle our disputes by peaceful means"

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 18:19:35 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: SOC-SMG is looking to hire role players for their 'security guard' training. Which role will you get to play? A disarmed U.S. soldier? A poor Iraqi child looking for scrap metal to sell? Helpful Hint: Read the fine print of your health insurance policy (if you have one) before applying

3. We are also looking for Role Players on a part-time basis to augment our staff supporting scenario role-playing for our clients (military, law enforcement, government agencies). Please indicate "HDSOC Role Player Position" in the subject line. Some Role Player positions require a Secret clearance and can last for a month duration. You must be willing to undergo a criminal background check and be a U.S. citizen to be eligible.

Clip Source: www.afriquenligne.fr

Namibia has deported two US citizens and shut down an American mercenary firm

The government swiftly ordered the closure of mercenary firm Special Operations Consulting-Security Management (SOC-SMG)

The US-based SOC-SMG recently set up a Namibian branch

The firm said it was recruiting up to 4,000 Namibians with military experience to go and work in Iraq and Afghanistan as 'security guards

the Defence Act criminalised the involvement of Namibians in other countries' wars without government approval

The involvement of the United States of America in Iraq has never been sanctioned or supported through international agreement, and can thus not be supported by Namibia

Article 96 of the Namibian Constitution, on the country's Foreign Relations, states the government's policy of non-alignment, the promotion of international co-operation, peace and security and the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means

Clip Source: hdsoc.com

Tags: lawless mercenaries, privatized military, bush, conservatives, war, iraq, iran, christian

U.S. Military and Iraqis Agree: Blackwater unprovoked, Fired on Fleeing Citizens and Cars

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:28:14 GMT

clipped by: BobbyRutan
clipper's remarks: More: U.S. soldiers did not find any bullets that came from AK-47 assault rifles or BKC machine guns used by Iraqi policemen and soldiers. They found evidence of ammunition used in American-made weapons, including M4 rifle 5.56mm brass casings, M240B machine gun 7.62mm casings, M203 40mm grenade launcher casings, and stun-grenade dunnage, or packing.

At least two cars, a black four-door taxi and a blue Volkswagen sedan, had their back windshields shot out, but their front windshields were intact, indicating they were shot while driving away from the square, according to the photos and soldiers

An Iraqi colonel walked up to Tarsa and described the Blackwater shooters as men in "tan uniforms, black helmets, and that flag," pointing at the U.S. flag on Tarsa's sleeve.

Their actions underscore the long-standing tensions between the U.S. military and private security companies -- and the military's concerns that such shootings could undermine U.S. efforts to stabilize Iraq.

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Blackwater USA guards shot at Iraqi civilians as they tried to drive away from a Baghdad square on Sept. 16, according to a report compiled by the first U.S. soldiers to arrive at the scene, where they found no evidence that Iraqis had fired weapons

It had every indication of an excessive shooting," said Lt. Col. Mike Tarsa, whose soldiers reached Nisoor Square 20 to 25 minutes after the gunfire subsided

His soldiers' report -- based upon their observations at the scene, eyewitness interviews and discussions with Iraqi police -- concluded that there was "no enemy activity involved" and described the shootings as a "criminal event.

Their conclusions mirrored those reached by the Iraqi government, which has said the Blackwater guards killed 17 people

It was absolutely tragic," said Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil

the Army's top commander for Baghdad

In the aftermath of these, everybody looks and says, 'It's the Americans.' And that's us. It's horrible timing. It's yet another challenge, another setback

Tags: blackwater, criminal mercenaries, iraq=fiasco, war, terror, military, bush, conservatives, cheney