ShowMeBlog

Declaration of War

  One thing Ron Paul is correct about is that we need to go back to Congress passing a Declaration of War when we do go to war.  
  President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the lasts American president that signed a Declaration of War!  That is in 1941. 

  The Korean War we had no choice.  We had troops in South Korea and North Korea attacked.  President Harry S Truman had to commit military forces to Korea. 
  At some point he should have gone to Congress for them to declare war.

  The Vietnam War we got sucked into it day by day.  The President of the United States should have the ability to send in training troops and some other limited forces to any area of the world that it is in our best interest.  But at some point there needs to be a point when he has to ask Congress to declare war.  I am not sure where that point should be but I am sure some very smart people do know.

  The Gulf War was a just war.  Iraq did an invasion of Kuwait.  The UN authorized the war and we were part of a coalition of 34 other nations.  But President Bush (the first one) should have had to ask Congress for a declaration of war.  Now I am not sure if he could have got it.  That is our system of government.  We have to live with it and get it.

The Afghanistan War was a just war.  We were attacked on 9/11.  The President Bush (II) was correct to send in forces to deal with the problem.  She should have asked for declaration of war and he would have got it from Congress and the American people with out any questions.

  The Iraq War was not a just war.  He was a lie.  President Bush and his gang should have been removed from office because of it and should have gone to jail for it.  It was a crime.
 
  Now the matter of Libya is one of confusion.  It is not war.  I think the President of the United States should have the ability to respond with force in a matter like Libya but it puts us right on the edge of the issue.

  Any time we declare war or go to war the American people should have to pay for it with taxes.  If we are not willing to pay for it with a war tax then we should not be going to war.  
  The American people did pay for WWII with taxes and bonds. 
 
  We also need to have at all times compulsory military service (the draft) in the United States.  If a American citizen can not go to into the military or war, for some reason, they need to do civilian public service, for two times the length of the military service.
  So if everyone has to give 2 years to military service and someone will not or can not serve in the military then they should have to do other service for 4 years.
  If you do not do your compulsory service then you should not be allowed to vote, hold public office, work for United States, work for any part of the military industrial complex etc.  You should not be allowed any sort of government benefits.  
 

  Right now I do not see any of the above taking place.  I think the American people do like the idea of Congress having to do a declaration of war.  But I do not see ANY interest in the American people paying taxes, ever, to pay for a war and I see NO interest in the draft.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated on this day in 1933

  “On March 4, 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd president of the United States. In his famous inaugural address, delivered outside the east wing of the U.S. Capitol, Roosevelt outlined his "New Deal"--an expansion of the federal government as an instrument of employment opportunity and welfare--and told Americans that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Although it was a rainy day in Washington, and gusts of rain blew over Roosevelt as he spoke, he delivered a speech that radiated optimism and competence, and a broad majority of Americans united behind their new president and his radical economic proposals to lead the nation out of the Great Depression…”   
This Day in History

 

  No, I do not remember the day that FDR was inaugurated.  I was born in 1941.  FDR died in 1945.  I was 4 years old so I do not remember him at all.
  The Great Depression began in 1929.  Herbert Hoover was President of the United States.  The Great Depression began 8 months after he took office.  Hoover was a Republican.  So when the depression hit he did nothing.  He was not a bad man.  But he was a Republican and he felt that the government had no place doing anything to help people. 
  So from 1929 to 1933 the American people suffered under President Hoover and the Republicans without any help or any hope.
 
 

“…Roosevelt had no trouble defeating President Herbert Hoover, who many blamed for the Depression, and the governor carried all but six states. During the next four months, the economy continued to decline, and when Roosevelt took office on March 4, 1933, most banks were closed, farms were suffering, 13 million workers were unemployed, and industrial production stood at just over half its 1929 level.

Aided by a Democratic Congress, Roosevelt took prompt, decisive action, and most of his New Deal proposals, such as the Agricultural Adjustment Act, National Industrial Recovery Act, and creation of the Public Works Administration and Tennessee Valley Authority, were approved within his first 100 days in office. Although criticized by many in the business community, Roosevelt's progressive legislation improved America's economic climate, and in 1936 he easily won reelection…”
This Day in History

Today is Presidents’ Day in the United States

  It is a federal holiday in the United States.  It was the birthday of our first President George Washington.  At one time we had a holiday for his birthday and we had a holiday for President Lincoln.  Congress made one day for both and made it a day to honor all Presidents of the United States.  Somehow I got the feeling that today President Obama will not be getting much honor and respect.
  Congress takes a week off work. 

“…Washington's Birthday is a United States federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States. It is also commonly known as Presidents Day (sometimes spelled Presidents' Day or President's Day). As Washington's Birthday or Presidents Day, it is also the official name of a concurrent state holiday celebrated on the same day in a number of states…”  Wikipedia

President Hu Jintao goes to Chicago!

“Washington (CNN) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao wrapped up his U.S. visit Friday with a trip to Chicago, the hometown of his counterpart, U.S. President Barack Obama.

He visited a Chinese-owned auto parts firm, a Chinese wind energy company and the Confucius Institute -- a Chinese language and cultural education center housed at Walter Payton College Preparatory High School.

Hu wrapped up his three-day visit to the U.S. capital Thursday, telling an audience of American business leaders that Beijing is seeking closer ties and greater trust with the United States on a range of issues…” 

 

  My God… we had the President of China visit Chicago!  CHICAGO?
We should be trying to impress the guy.  OK, I have gone through Chicago but never been there for any period of time…But Chicago!

  I read that Republicans were not happy with President Hu Jintao.  I was worrying that they might do something stupid.  But I guess we would have heard if they spit on him or something.
  I worry about that because in 1959 I remember when Fidel Castro had just taken over Cuba and he came to the United States for a visit.  No one knew how he was going to run Cuba.  But the right wing Republicans went crazy and they were just sure he was a Communist and they protested and there were anti-Castro signs. 
  I was just 18 years old and in my last year of high school.  I was thinking and saying that we should have given the guy first class treatment. I was thinking be nice to the guy and see if we can make a friend.  Show him neat stuff and make him offers.  He got treated like shit and he went home and guess what?   He turned Cuba into a Communist state and became buddies with the U.S.S.R. and he almost started a nuclear war.
  I am not sure if it would have mattered how he was treated on his visit but my thinking was be nice until it is not the time to be nice.  But the Republicans were so upset and crazy right then that we could not try and went the guy over. 
  I think we could have made a deal and would have prevented the U.S.S.R. from getting a strong hold in Cuba.
 

“…Between April 15 and April 26, Castro and a delegation of industrial and international representatives visited the U.S. as guests of the Press Club. Castro hired one of the best public relations firms in the United States for a charm offensive visit by Castro and his recently initiated government. Castro answered impertinent questions jokingly and ate hot dogs and hamburgers. His rumpled fatigues and scruffy beard cut a popular figure easily promoted as an authentic hero.^[60] He was refused a meeting with President Eisenhower. After his visit to the United States, he would go on to join forces with the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev.^[48]

On May 17, 1959, Castro signed into law the First Agrarian Reform, which limited landholdings to 993 acres (4 km²) per owner and forbade foreign land ownership.^{[61][62]…”  Wikipedia}

First Responding–Triage and the ER

  
  The New York Times today has some stories that interest me.
  One is about the shooting last week in Tucson and how when something like that happens what happens when the first responders get to the QTH and what takes place and how it moves to a hospital ER.
  I have done all that…I have been the first responder and I have been working in the ER when those things end up in the hospital.
  My first night as a police officer, out on my own, and I was the only officer on duty and I found a car accident when one young teen dead in the car and his brother in bad shape.  I called for the fire department and EMS and did my best.  I had in my mind how in the hell am I going to write this report because it was going to be a big report and I could not even tell what kind of car it was it was so smashed up.  Then after a few minutes I saw a Missouri state patrol officer and then I remembered that I had driven out of my city to find the accident.  The MHP officer looked like he was 14 years old but he knew is job and how to do it and I was off the hook.  Except I had to drive back into my small city and tell a mother and father that one of their sons was dead and another was on the way to St. Joseph Hospital.

  I was working at Research Medical Center (security) when the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel walkway collapse  took place.   On July 17, 1981 114 people died and 200 were injured.  Kansas City and everyone did a great job.  I am glad I was not at the collapse site.  Those police, fire and EMS and citizens did a great job.  The Kansas City hospitals did a great job.  We did a great job at Research Medical Center.
 
 

  I saw a lot of things over the years.  First responders, citizens, police, fire and EMS are great people and a God send when you need them.  Hospital workers, all of them, are just excellent. 
  The news media I think are just a pain in the ass.  I guess we need them.  We need for the public to know what is going on but they were nothing but problems for me and many others.
  In my first incident as a police officer I was all alone and never saw the new media.  I did not need them and did not  miss them.
  On the Regency Hotel collapse from my little view of it.. The press fucked up.  At least one radio station told people to go to the hospital and donate blood.  KC hospitals did  not collect blood.  We had lots of good citizens showing up demanding to donate blood.  We told them that we did not take blood and where they needed to go (to a blood center) but many of the citizens were upset and pissed and yelling at US because a radio station TOLD them to go to the hospital.
 
  I don’t miss those days.   But I do have a lot of memories of those days and a lot of stories. 

Reagan showed signs of Alzheimer’s in White House

“(CNN) - Former President Ronald Reagan's youngest son suggests in a new book that his father showed signs of Alzheimer's disease while he was in the White House.

In the book titled "My Father at 100," which is due out next week, Ron Reagan writes, "Three years into his first term as President … I was feeling the first shivers of concern that something beyond mellowing was affecting my father."

He writes about watching his father's first debate with Walter Mondale, the 1984 Democratic presidential nominee…”

  Can I say I told you so please?  I said it when he was in office.  I said it after he left office.  I been saying it for years.  I said that one day the truth would come out.

 

“…After his diagnosis, letters of support from well-wishers poured into his California home,^[243] but there was also speculation over how long Reagan had demonstrated symptoms of mental degeneration.^[244] Former CBS White House correspondent Lesley Stahl recalls an interview when he was president where "a vacant Reagan barely seemed to realize anyone else was in the room," and that before he "reemerged into alertness" she recalls that "I had come that close to reporting that Reagan was senile."^[245] However, Dr. Lawrence K. Altman, a physician employed as a reporter for the New York Times, noted that "the line between mere forgetfulness and the beginning of Alzheimer's can be fuzzy"^[246] and all four of Reagan's White House doctors said that they saw no evidence of Alzheimer's while he was president.^[246] Dr. John E. Hutton, Reagan's primary physician from 1984 to 1989, said the president "absolutely" did not "show any signs of dementia or Alzheimer's".^[246] Reagan did experience occasional memory lapses, though, especially with names.^[246] Once, while meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, he repeatedly referred to Vice President Bush as "Prime Minister Bush".^[247] Reagan's doctors, however, note that he only began exhibiting overt symptoms of the illness in late 1992^[248] or 1993,^[246] several years after he had left office. His former Chief of Staff James Baker considered "ludicrous" the idea of Reagan sleeping during cabinet meetings.^[249] Other staff members, former aides, and friends said they saw no indication of Alzheimer's while he was President.^{[246]…”  Wikipedia:  Ronald Reagan}

Republicans do NOT know what the Constitution Says!

  John Boehner the House Speaker is going to have the Constitution read aloud at the start of the new Congress!
  My God… The new and I guess old Republicans do not know what the Constitution of the United States contains!  Not only that it looks like the new Republicans coming into the House must be so stupid that they can read it. They have to have it read to them.
  I do not think the new Republican members of Congress should be sworn in as members of Congress.  How can they take the oath when they do not know what they are saying they will protect and defend?

  "I, (name of Member), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

  Also how much time is going to take to read the Constitution?  There are a lot of very important issues that face this nation and Republicans want to waste x amount of time (and money) by playing some stupid game.

  I also think that the Republicans have not been and are not going to “faithfully discharge the duties of the office.” 
  They have made it clear that they want to block and defeat the President of the United States. They made it clear they want him to fail.  (If he fails our nation will suffer.)
  
  The Republicans want to repeal national health care.  They want to prevent agencies of the United States government from doing what they were set up to do.  They want to do away with the FCC, FAA, OSHA and they want to do away with even departments of the US.  They want to do away with the Department of Education and the Department of Labor and others.
  They do not want any controls put on corporations, banks or Wall Street.
  Some of them even want to do away with civil rights. They want to change the Constitution back so that you and I would not elect our Senators!
  As hard as it is to believe they want to repeal the 17th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.  They want each state legislature to elect the Senators.  In some small back room in a state capital a few men would pick our Senators.  

  It does not sound to me like the Republican members of Congress are going to honor their oath.  I do not think they understand the Constitution.  I do not think they know our history.

 

What was the first blog on the web?

  At last I get some respect.    But  it comes from the French. 
ThuGeek is a French blog and they have an article “What was the first blog on the web?” 

“…It's always easier to plan ahead when you know its history. Therefore it may seem interesting to know what was the first blog and the first blogger ever known the web?

The oldest blog seems to be that of Jim Howard , the Howard's Notebook was a BBS (read: "Bulletin Board System). Launched in June 1982, the site approached the best of what is commonly called today "blog" in which he shared moments of everyday life and links to other BBS. He otherwise has spoken on his blog and even made a video ...”

  OK I think it is official now.  If the French report it then it must be true. 

Speech by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont)

Bernard "Bernie" Sanders (born September 8, 1941) is the junior United States Senator from Vermont, elected on November 7, 2006. Before becoming Senator, Sanders represented Vermont's at-large district in the United States House of Representatives for 16 years. Sanders also served as mayor of Burlington, Vermont from 1981 through 1989.

Sanders is a self-described democratic socialist,^[1][2] and has praised European social democracy. He is the first person elected to the U.S. Senate to identify as a socialist.^[3] Sanders caucuses with the Democratic Party and is counted as a Democrat for the purposes of committee assignments, but because he does not belong to a formal political party, he appears as an independent on the ballot. He was also the only independent member of the House during much of his service there. He is one of two independent Senators in the 111th Congress, along with Joe Lieberman.

Lee Harvey Oswald Gravesite

  I just found out that Lee Harvey Oswald is buried in Fort Worth.  It is 19 miles from where I live.  I was a big fan of President Kennedy.  Four years before he was elected I was in high school and in class the brother asked us to vote for who we wanted to be President of the United States.  I voted for John F. Kenney.  He was not on the ticket at that time.  The brother told me I had to vote for someone that was running but I refused to vote for anyone other than JFK. 
  Four years later I got to vote for John Kennedy for President of the United States.  It was the first time I could vote.  I voted by absentee ballot.  I lived in Missouri but I was going to welding school in Euclid, OH.
  A few year later I was watching TV and they switched from Washington DC to Dallas (TX) to show the transfer of Lee Harvey Oswald.  It was live on network TV.  The camera pulled back and I saw him and I said “Someone is going to kill him.”  My father said “Yes someday.”  I said “NO someone is going to kill him right now.”  And then Jack Ruby stepped from the crowd and shot Oswald.
 
  The following video is an old YouTube video that I made.  It was “Where I Was on November 22, 1963” and you may have seen it.