OK...NOW I am REALLY pissed! When are the Dems gonna face up to their responsibility to ACTUALLY protect the constitution? It's for DAMN SURE Bush won't...

Bush commutes Libby's prison term 05:19 PM CDT on Monday, July 2, 2007 Associated Press

Bush statement on Libby order commuting his sentence

WASHINGTON - President Bush commuted the sentence of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby on Monday, sparing him from a 21/2-year prison term that Bush said was excessive. Bush's move came hours after a federal appeals panel ruled Libby could not delay his prison term in the CIA leak case. That meant Libby was likely to have to report to prison soon and put new pressure on the president, who had been sidestepping calls by Libby's allies to pardon the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. "I respect the jury's verdict," Bush said in a statement. "But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison." Bush left intact a $250,000 fine and two years probation for Libby, and Bush said his action still "leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby." Libby was convicted in March of lying to authorities and obstructing the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative's identity. He was the highest-ranking White House official ordered to prison since the Iran-Contra affair. Reaction was harsh from Democrats. "As Independence Day nears, we're reminded that one of the principles our forefathers fought for was equal justice under the law. This commutation completely tramples on that principle," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said through a spokesman. Libby's supporters celebrated. "That's fantastic. It's a great relief," said former Ambassador Richard Carlson, who helped raise millions for Libby's defense fund. "Scooter Libby did not deserve to go to prison and I'm glad the president had the courage to do this." A message seeking comment from Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's office was not immediately returned. Bush said Cheney's former aide was not getting off free. "The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged," Bush said. "His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant and private citizen will be long-lasting."

This one says it for me and all those pissed off 50 plusers LIKE me...


Think About This One
It is short but very interesting

A car company can move it's factories to Mexico and claim it's a free market.

A toy company can out source to a Chinese subcontractor and claim it's a free market.

A shoe company can produce its shoes in Southeast Asia and claim it's a free market.

A major bank can incorporate in Bermuda to avoid taxes and claim it's a free market.

We can buy HP Printers made in Mexico . We can buy shirts made in Bangladesh . We can purchase almost anything we want from 20 different countries.

BUT, heaven help the senior citizens who dare to buy their prescription drugs from a Canadian or Mexican pharmacy. That's called un-American and illegal and our politicians want to stop it.

And you think the pharmaceutical companies don't have a powerful lobby? Think again.

Forward this to every person you know over age 50. It is an interesting thought. Maybe this is an issue that should come up in the next election.

Forget the 50, send it to everyone. We're all in this boat together. Even if you aren't in this boat now, you're standing on the pier.

I saw and interesting item on Yahoo today. Seems a whole bunch of the down-trodden met in Nairobi, Kenya for an annual "anti-capitalism" conference. It's a short but "happy" piece. How are we EVER going to address these people with anything they will believe?

Anti-capitalist forum opens in Kenya

By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, Associated Press WriterSat Jan 20, 11:39 AM ET

More than 80,000 people gathered for an annual anti-capitalist conference in Kenya's capital on Saturday, marching on Nairobi's largest slum to protest global policies they say hurt the poor.

The World Social Forum will be a chance to showcase "Africa and her unbroken history of struggle against foreign domination, colonialism and neocolonialism," according to a statement on the event Web site.

To begin the forum, thousands of protesters marched from Kenya's sprawling Kibera slum to downtown Nairobi. About a third of Nairobi's total population, at least 700,000 people, is crammed into a single square mile in Kibera, with little access to running water and other basic services.

The slum stands in sharp contrast to Nairobi's many elegant homes and hotels. Kibera residents are mostly squatters, with no legal claim on the land even though many families have lived there for generations.

Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda flagged off the march, telling the crowd: "We must fight poverty together."

Among the participants in the march was Philip Kimani, an 18-year-old homeless man.

"I was working at a car wash and I was told to come here today, I was told I would learn something," he said, wearing a new World Social Forum T-shirt and a New York Yankees cap.

Demonstrators waved placards, many with a portrait of President Bush and the words, "World's Number One Terrorist." Other signs read, "Another world is possible, even for slum dwellers," and "Women are not property."

There also were reminders of Nairobi's serious social problems; dozens of children were seen sniffing glue on the streets and beggars were out looking for money and food.

"I think it's important to show the world that there is a very dynamic world movement that has players in Africa," said Paul Van Wyke, who works for the British charity Oxfam.

The World Social Forum was first held in Brazil in 2001 and coincides each year with the market-friendly World Economic Forum of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland.

___

On the Net:

http://wsf2007.org

Hi all...

Ran across this interesting bit of statistics in a recent email. What do YOU think?


Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas is a fairly famous institution and for a variety of reasons:

1. John F. Kennedy died there in 1963
2. Lee Harvey Oswald died there shortly after
3. Jack Ruby, who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, died there a few years later by coincidence

On the flip side, Parkland is also home to the second busiest maternity ward in the country with almost 16,000 new babies arriving each year. (That's almost 44 per day — every day)

A recent patient survey indicated that 70 percent of the women who gave birth at Parkland in the first three months of 2006 were illegal immigrants.' Crikey, that's 11,200 anchor babies born every year just in Dallas. According to the article, the hospital spent $70.7 million delivering 15,938 babies in 2004 but managed to end up with almost $8 million dollars in surplus funding. Medicaid kicked in $34.5 million, Dallas County taxpayers kicked in $31.3 million and the feds tossed in another $9.5 million.

The average patient in Parkland's maternity wards is 25 years old, married and giving birth to her second child. She is also an illegal immigrant. By law, pregnant women cannot be denied medical care based on their immigration status or ability to pay. OK, fine. That doesn't mean they should receive better care than everyday, middle-class American citizens. But at Parkland Hospital, they do.

Parkland Memorial Hospital has nine prenatal clinics. NINE. The Dallas Morning News article followed a Hispanic woman who was a patient at one of the clinics and pregnant with her third child — her previous two were also born at Parkland. Her first two deliveries were free and the Mexican native was grateful because it would have cost $200 to have them in Mexico. This time, the hospital wants her to pay $10 per visit and $100 for the delivery but she was unsure if she could come up with the money. Not that it matters, the hospital won't turn her away. (I wonder why they even bother asking at this point.)

How long has this been going on? What are the long-term effects? Well, another subject of the article was born at Parkland in 1986 shortly after her mother entered the U.S. illegally — now she is having her own child there as well. (That's right, she's technically a U.S. citizen.) These women receive free prenatal care including medication, nutrition, birthing classes and child care classes. They also get freebies such as car seats, bottles, diapers and formula.

Most of these things are available to American citizens as well but only for low-income applicants and even then, the red tape involved is almost insurmountable.

Because these women are illegal immigrants they do not have to provide any sort of legitimate identification — no proof of income. An American citizen would have to provide a social security number which would reveal their annual income — an illegal immigrant need only claim to be poor and the hospital must take them at their word.

My husband is a pilot for the United States Navy (yes, he fought in Iraq) and while the health care is good, we Navy wives don't get any of these perks! Car seats? Diapers? Not so much. So my question is this: Does our public medical care system treat illegal immigrants better than American citizens? Yes it does!

As I mentioned, the care I have received is perfectly adequate but it's bare bones, meat and potato medical care — not top of line.

Their (the illegals) medical care is free — simply because they are illegal immigrants? Once again, there is no way to verify their income. Parkland Hospital offers indigent care to Dallas County earn less than $40,000 per year. (They also have to prove that they did not refuse health coverage at their current job. Yeah, the 'free' care is not so easy for Americans.)

There are about 140 patients who received roughly $4 million dollars for un-reimbursed medical care. As it turns out, they did not qualify for free treatment because they resided outside of Dallas County. So the hospital is going to sue them! Illegals get it all free! But U.S. citizens who live outside of Dallas County get sued! How stupid is this?

As if that isn't annoying enough, the illegal immigrant patients are actually complaining about hospital staff not speaking Spanish. In this AP story, the author speaks with a woman who is upset that she had to translate comments from the hospital staff into Spanish for her husband. The doctor was trying to explain the situation to the family and the mother was forced to translate for her husband who only spoke Spanish. This was apparently a great injustice to her.

In an attempt to create a Spanish-speaking staff, Parkland Hospital is now providing incentives in the form of extra pay for applicants who speak Spanish. Additionally, medical students at the University of Texas Southwestern for which Parkland Hospital is the training facility will now have a Spanish language requirement added to their already jammed-packed curriculum. No other school in the country boasts such a ridiculous multi-semester (multicultural) requirement.

The Senate is a wash...The Congress though...? Y E S...The presidents Iraqi policy has been repudiated. God bless the United States of America, and those who chose to VOTE. Yeah...I know I said I would not tolerate any political posturing. But...posture this...IT"S MY BLOG... Deal with it...Davefromthecave

Hi folks...

From time to time I will be publishing certain items which I will simply refer to as "alerts". Simply, it will refer to some item I found on line, or some other media outlet. This one is a doozy. Ever heard of a Guidant Corp.? I have...too damn many times. The are a medical parts and service company. A few years back they had to stop making their Aortic stent. Seems people were up and dying right in the middle of surgery. In my case, a long time heart patient (I just love the sound of that... "long time"), I am the proud owner of eight of their coronary stents. Now...they make two kinds. Their first out of the gate in the mid nineties, was "non-medicated". The next incarnation, around 2000, was a supposedly better version with a "drug-coating". I've got three of the first and five of the other. The kicker? And this makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. "The medical community is now having second thoughts about about stents." The article I read came from the New York Times, and was reprinted in the Ft Worth Star-Telgram Saturday, Oct. 22. They are now saying that there is no evidence they will extend anyones life, and even goes on to say that "...The evidence indicates that overuse of stents may be a leading to thousands of heart attacks and deaths each year...". I have the article. You can go to the S-T, or NY Times web sites, or email me at deetjay@charter.net and I will try to get my scanner to work and TRY to send you a copy. NO GAURANTEES. Whatever you do, if you are seeing a doctor for any cardiac related problem or, like me, are proud owners as well, get them on the phone, make an appointment, and ask them what this newest information means to you and yours. This has NOT made my day...and I plan to act as soon as my doctor's door opens Monday. Take care...please...

Dave

Every damn word, thought, compliment, sexy description, etc. in todays media (name your poison) is, and has always been directed at "30-lessers". And you know...it really jacks my jaw!

I started this "blog" to act as a alternative to all the pure drivel that pervades this society.

Then there's the other "things" that make me even hotter under and over the collar. If you're over fifty, and gainfully employed, you are probably finding out that all those years of experience mean SQUAT! MY own brother's 27 years of solid work for a Dallas corporation (I wanted to name names, but some companies have whole buildings of lawyers just waiting to trash people like me!) was rudely ended when management told him his work was being terminated. Not him mind you, his work, they said. The very next damn day, a younger worker was given HIS desk and all that work they were "terminating". Naturally, my brother, after being alerted by his friends at work, filed suit against his former employer for age discrimination. He then discovered the many "joys" of working for ANY corporation in the state of Texas. One of which, and this trumps ANY rights you may have foolishly thought you had, is that they can pretty much treat you and your job, any damn way they please! Oh he got his pension (which they had held in "abeyance" pending the suits outcome-nice guys). The final judgement was actually trebled under Texas law. He also got his medical reenstated after much wrangling. It was the big payoff that got deep-sixed. "Punitive" damages, were...dismissed. After years of abuse, stonewalling, and one delay after another, it was simply...dismissed. My father worked for another incarnation of the same company for 35 years. That makes over 60 years of loyal service. Means zilch...nada...freaking nothing!

The Kenneth Lays of the world work a few years raping his own company and ALL of its employees and their families, blaming all the similarly indited co-conspirators, or denying it EVER happened. No remorse...no nothing. On that same note, I noticed yesterday while reading our local newspaper, a small blurb informing me that, due to Kenneth Lays death (thank God for blessed mortality), his conviction was being "set aside". It also seems Texas law trumps even death. A friend of mine who worked for Enron told me that the general consensus among his fellow unemployed and finacially ruined sisters and brethren was that they wished they could reanimate his body and each take turns killing him all over again! They added to that they would chose painful methods only. What a legacy to leave your friends and love-ones.

That's not the only examples of the mistreatment older workers and people in general. All of you who read my new blog know of many other examples of mans "inhumanity to man". There are very serious issues that affect all of us, of all ages. This will be a forum for all those and much more. This will not be a forum for religious, or political chest beating. Granted much of what we will discuss on this site relates to our own personal religious/political persuasions. But, as we well know, this form of dialogue, very often strays from the logically sublime to the purely pontifically ridiculous. If you post nonsensical political or religious rantings, your post will be deleted.

This will not be site where you may also feel free to discuss your sexual problems and/or proclivities. Though many of us have experienced certain shortcomings regarding the very touchy issue of sex and growing older, I would wish that you would mainly discuss this with your spouses, significant others, or your physician. TMI (too much information) rules the day on this site!

Before I am accused of embracing negativity, this will also be a site you may share the joys of life as well! I'm a grandfather, and damn proud of it. You have a good story about your own, tell us about it. You have an inspirational story that you would like to tell, then feel free to tell it! Mostly, I would like to just hear from you. The internet is great, but seems to separate more than bring together. I want to hear from friends and family, sure. But I want to meet new folks as well. In the final analysis, this site is about folks with and without the problems of being "over 50", and the very real possibity that someone out there might have an answer to a question. We have thousands of years of knowledge and experience out there. On this site...if no other...it will be respected and acknowledged.

Have a great day!

Davefromthecave