Cost of Iraq war, "birthers"

Cost of War Tops $915 Billion
July 16 2009
Congress has appropriated another $84.8 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the remainder of the 2009 fiscal year ending September 30, 2009. The Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama on June 24, 2009, allocates $45.5 billion for war-related actions in Iraq and $39.4 billion to Afghanistan.
I am curious as to the possibility of ex President George W. Bush has some secret Swiss Bank Account. Has he been able to capitalize on the Iraq war? Did his oil interest investments paid off because of this conflict? Just a question.
“The truth is that male religious leaders have had – and still have – an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions – all of whom have called for proper and equitable treatment of all the children of God. It is time we had the courage to challenge these views.”
President Jimmy Carter — in an op/ed in Australia’s The Age — announcing this week that he was resigning as a lifelong member and Deacon of the Southern Baptist Church in protest over their policies of discriminating against and subjugating women.
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FROM THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
“I've never served in the military. And I'll admit right here—seeing the CNN footage of street combat convinces me that these men and women in uniform possess extraordinary determination and bravery beyond my own.

Yet I do believe that I share a guiding principle with our service members. As it says in the U.S. Soldier's Creed, I will always place the mission first. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender service members are engaged in the mission of protecting America and its principles of freedom and fairness. With "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" looming over their service and their futures, these people have been gratuitously carved out of the principles they defend. They have a mission to protect the America that should be, and do so with an optimism that is challenged every day by the law that forces them to serve in silence.

Each morning when our staff comes to work, we see HRC's mission etched on the wall:
HRC envisions an America where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are ensured equality and embraced as full members of the American family at home, at work and in every community.
An important piece of this mission is ensuring equal and open service in our nation's military. We achieve that mission by persuading the administration to stop the discharges under Don't Ask Don't Tell and then pass a bill to repeal it.

Placing the mission first means remembering at all times exactly what it is, and what it's not. It means embracing it and rejecting temptations to be pulled in another direction. When the mission is so difficult—and make no mistake, this one is—it can be hard to know what the right next step is.

But it's easy to know what it's not: It's not turning the gun inward, to the other people fighting with and for you. The deciders—and they are not me or any other LGBT rights leader but administration officials and members of Congress—see this. And they know that it's an invitation for them to get out of the fray, and a signal that we as a community are not worth paying attention to. If we want their attention on our issue, then we must focus our attention on them.

As a movement, we owe it to the soldiers we're fighting for to do our job with the single-minded devotion with which they do theirs. That's one reason that HRC is so pleased to endorse Tony Woods in his run to represent California's 10th Congressional District. Watch Tony's speech at HRC's San Francisco dinner last weekend here. After being discharged under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Tony refused to stop serving our country. That is putting the mission first. The veterans on the Voices of Honor tour are speaking out against Don't Ask Don't Tell in cities across the country. (Go to www.hrc.org/voicesofhonor to read the great media coverage the tour is already receiving). And Representative Patrick Murphy, a veteran, is leading the effort to pass the Military Readiness Enhancement Act in the United States House of Representatives. They are putting mission first.

Let's make it our mission to do the same.
Fondly,

Joe Solmonese
President, Human Rights Campaign
PS: This week, the President announced that Harvey Milk, Billie Jean King, Senator Edward Kennedy, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Rev. Joseph Lowery will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. These leaders have been champions of equality and justice. “


 
ON “BIRTHERS”
Aren’t you just about up to here with the BIRTHERS? I will tell you this, had McCain won the election the Democrats would not have been carrying on this bullshit that is designed to erode the President’s credibility and good name. For cryijng out loud, even if you don’t agree with him, he is your President, we owe a certain degree of respect.
McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone. Does that make him a “foreign”” No, of course not, the Democrats made sure that they pass a resolution in Congress that clarified that for us. I wish that the Republicans would do the same. Instead, they are continuing to question and to undermine the President. I don’t think that shows much patriotism, do you”