I don't understand how you can blame Obama for the retreat?

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Yes, I know your post appeared before Cease Fire. As soon as I pressed the Post Reply button, there you were, right back up there taking one last �shot��your words, not mine. Cease fire�broken before it even began. That would suggest that the 3^rd person rules of engagement never applied either. You have made it quite clear that you prefer the garbage-out/garbage in approach�again, just dancing to your tune. Remember the part about someone always being around to answer bigotry�s call-to-arms? Thus, the gloves stay off for the time being. Besides, your rejection of the olive branch is fairly apparent by now.

He�s my friend, not my therapist. He still has so many issues of his own, he would be the first one to say that he�s the one who needs the couch. He is brilliant when it comes to helping others, just not when it comes to helping himself. We have known each other for 42 years. He actually seeks my advice, and I his..it�s personal, not professional.

The economics is way to vast to get into for the time being. May another time, but in terms of what we spend to �support� illegals, that amount is a drop in the bucket when compared to the profits generated for transnational corporations (those guys who actually run the country) in the maquilidoras in Mexico and the cheap labor pool they create once they cross that porous border. So yeah, I got some 4-letter words on that subject. Just ask yourself this fundamental question. Who stands to gain/profit from all this? As long as the transnationals� bottom line is in the black, they have no motive to �fix� this �problem.� Don�t hold your breath. This is what global economy looks like.

The yada, yada, yada was not referring to the path to citizenship. I was talking about entering with legal status. Let�s put a face on a case. I had a Filipino friend (fellow MT) back in 1983, who entered on a work visa and applied for permanent residence. That took 3 years. She waited. No problem. Then she tried to apply for her 5 children. By 1986, the laws relative to family unification requirements had changed. In 1983, she only would have had to wait another 5 years (AFTER becoming a resident) for approval to sponsor HER OWN CHILDREN. Whoops. No so fast. By 1986, that generous 5-year wait had been doubled to (count �em) 10 years for Filipinos. She traveled back and forth over those years while immigration did its thing to see her children and husband, who had stayed behind to raise them in her absence.

Her kids were school age when she when she started this. By the time they were all together again, her youngest was a sophomore in college. She waited. She did it all nice and legal. Excuses, excuses, excuses? Good things come to those who wait? What�s so great about a mother missing 13 years of her children�s lives? Was it worth it? The price they paid was way too high. They had all become so disillusioned and had lost so much, within 5 years after completing the process, the entire family turned around and went back to the Philippines. So much for THEIR Ameican dream and playing by the rules. Maybe good riddance to some, a tragic shame to others. That�s just one case�.and yeah, there are plenty of 4-letter words that reveal just how many others there were. Things have gotten a whole lot worse since then, but your party still insists these arcane laws are �too liberal� to suit them. Puh-leeze. So no, I don�t pick and choose laws that suit me. Simply stated, bad laws need to be changed, or eliminated all together.

No national spokesperson here. Just a lifetime of experience (sorry, Sam, you left yourself wide open by trying to be so cute). U of H, 1967�that pesky urban academic forum you love to hate. Free speech for all students was encouraged and accommodated back then. Alongside Viet Nam War, civil rights and nascent women�s lib protests were the highly visible and vocal Arabs and Iranians, here on student visas, nice and legal, the way you claim you like it. Their issues were:

This is not some angry tirade or �tude� I harbor. Not trying to condescend or educate anyone here. History simply is not your friend, Sam, so keep those elitist accusations on the tip of your tongue where they belong. In any case, I was just like you, at first. Beat my patriotic chest, fought tooth and nail, until I finally started to acknowledge my own bias and prejudice against �foreigners� and decided to look into it all. Started reading up on the subject, listening more and talking less, checking facts, etc. Picked up a keen interest in all flavors of foreign policy. Changed my life for the better forever. Made friends along the way of all sorts and persuasions, over many decades, by now, way too numerous to count. Studied together, had lots of fun, ate dinners with them and their families, baby sat their kids, went to weddings, house warmings, baby showers and funerals, shed bucket of tears, learned respect for their customs and cultures.

I married once to an Arab for 12 years, went overseas and lived with the family for 2 years in Madaya, a RURAL village 40 miles west of Damascus in the Bekka Valley. Most beautiful orchards you ever laid eyes. Too bad the skies over this particular pastoral scene were often darkened by the storm clouds of war. That was the year Israel tried to push itself all the way to Beruit, a mere 45 miles to the west of us, decimating whole villages in the wake of that land grab (been so many, I've lost count)�but not quite as gory as their most recent offensive into Lebanon. Israeli fighter jets (bank-rolled by good ole� American tax dollars,) would often fly so fast and so low under the radar screen they sounded like they were getting ready to crash into the house. This would send us all scrambling to the floor, nose to the ground and hands clenched tightly behind our heads in a hopeless attempt to somehow feel safer, where we would cower for a couple of minutes until it was over. Kind of reminiscent of those war photos from Sadr City and Mosul when American soldiers ransacked those villages in search of insurgents, going door-to-door, breaking in with the butt of their rifles, sending civilian old men, women and children dropping like flies in the absence of all military-age male family members (out trying to protect everybody), as the GI planted his boot into the small of an Iraqi teenager�s back, shaking like a leaf. Just how proud, safe and strong do you think that �should� make me feel?

Later married that Iranian refugee I spoke of earlier. Got in-laws abroad and here. My husband has difficulty accepting the idea that he may never see his mother, father, 3 brother(s), sister(s)-in-law, nephew and neice, aunts, uncles and cousins. We make do with weekly phone calls. My son is a native-born citizen, with very much of a westernized hyphenated Iranian side to his identity�.American-Iranian, according to him. My sister lives in Tehran with her husband and her own 12-year-old American citizen American-Iranian/Iranian-American son. Hope they don�t get caught up in the aftermath of the latest nuclear flap and proposed American diplomatic efforts. You�ll forgive me if I a bit suspicious of Bush�s stunning reversal of �we don�t negotiate with terrorists� mantra. An �American interests section?� Indeed. Don�t look for the Iranian madman to agree to another CIA spy dugout in the middle of his capital city any time soon. Shades of ignored WMD inspector reports and manufactured �intelligence� (give me a break) findings. I take little comfort in the fact that he is running out of time for another Middle East invasion/fiasco.

Through it all, I have engaged myself with immigration law, starting back in college, trying to help different nationalities navigate the stormy waters of the LEGALIZATION process. Furthermore, because of my husband�s political refugee status, we are well acquainted with Homeland Security (DHS) issues. One of our friends is a DHS regional director. He is an advocate for immigrant rights and reform, legal and illegal�a position he takes after his retirement from INS after 30 years and 5 years with DHS. Probably knows a thing or 2. He can�t wait for the inauguration. Says his job will be a lot easier and kinder once McCain or Obama take office, since they both support immigration reform. Looking forward to going to sleep with a cleaner conscience, he says.

Anger? Not exactly. Passion? You bet. Please forgive me if I feel like I might have something of substance to bring into this debate. I take these issues very seriously since were are talking about my families, my friends. In my experience (not some passage out of some old dusty textbook), these are matters of life and death. I may be a little far out in left field to suit you, but I feel I have at least earned my stripes. I am no less American than anyone else born and raised here. Keep in mind that I am not by myself here either. The last 2 elections were too, too close to support that notion.

You will be relieved to hear this. That�s all the time I have right now. One thing we all can see about you is you somehow feel if you get the last word, it must be the best word. Ain�t necessarily so, but at least for the time being, you can have it your way. Have no intention to leave the remainder of your slanderous post unanswered. Debate is suspended from this side due to the job hunt thing, but certainly not finished by any means.

One thing I look forward to is the (un)Cival War discussion. Maybe you can enlighten me as to how to construe a war which produced more than half a million deaths of various sorts in 4 years was about anything except some of the same fundamental issues that divide us to this day�the economics and human rights issues that surrounded slavery then, the common thread that divides us, then and now, being the bigotry of it all. Will follow your advice and read up on the Republican party, but before playing the Abraham Lincoln was a Republican card, better bone up on how your party platform has reversed itself on most issues since it formation in the early 1850s. HisRepublican Party in no way resembles the GOP of today. Confusing? Yes. Alas, another 4 letter word for you.

I appreciate your parting �shot.� Wouldn�t want to let a little thing like a hurricane sink OUR hot air balloons (pleural). now, would we? Enjoy your last word and the sabbatical. Gonna get swallowed up by poverty if I don�t find a job soon.

The blame for that lies squarely on the shoulders of the so-called "legitimate" President Bush, who continues to make sure that he and his buds on Wall Street squeeze every penny from middle-class and lower-middle-class people.

As I write this, Bush is in a frenzy, changing laws in order to make Obama's job harder and American lives LESS safe. (See article below.) So there's a LOT of harm that Bush has caused that needs to be undone by President Obama, assuming that Obama can find all of it, considering secret signing statements, etc. that Bush has used to thumb his nose at Congress for the last eight years. The economy is probably the biggest problem at the moment, and that's a gift TO Obama and the American people FROM Bush and his Wall Street BFFs.

Filed by RAW STORY

Bush administration aides are rushing to pass a safety rule which would make government regulation of workers' exposure to toxic chemicals more difficult; a rule President-elect Barack Obama opposes.

Public health officials worry the decreased protections will result in additional, unnecessary deaths.

It is just one of about 20 controversial Labor Department proposals being pushed by large business interests, according to a published report.

Other proposals would allow power plants to be built closer to parks and wildlife preserves, and further limit the role of environmental and animal experts in determining where major infrastructure projects may be carried out.

President-elect Obama has long been critical of the Bush administration's removal of workplace protections. During the campaign, Obama co-sponsored legislation which would prohibit this specific deregulation.

While presidents have the authority to unilaterally repeal their predecessor's executive orders, the process to remove or add regulations is more complicated and takes longer. Obama has already undertaken a review of President Bush's executive orders, with the stated goal being the repeal of those he deems to be unconstitutional.

"I think across the board, on stem cell research, on a number of areas, you see the Bush administration even today moving aggressively to do things that I think are probably not in the interest of the country," said John Podesta, co-chair of Obama's transition team. "I think that��s a mistake."

As terrible as it is, this attack could be miniscule if, in fact, God
continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to
give us probably what we deserve. The ACLU's got to take a lot of the
blame for this�The abortionists have got to bear some of the burden for
this because God will not be mocked�I really believe that the pagans,
and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the
lesbians�all of them who have tried to secularize America, I point the
finger in their face and say, 'you helped this happen.'
- Rev. Jerry Falwell, September 13, 2001

Who can forget Jerry Falwell's infamous post-9/11 indictment of
America? 'You helped this happen,' Falwell said to the majority of
Americans, who disagree with him on a majority of issues.

Now, a conservative group called Columbia Christians for Life has
proclaimed that Hurricane Katrina was another one of God's punishments,
citing as evidence the supposed resemblance between the hurricane's
image on a weather map, and a fetus.

Trying to refute such claims from these zealots is truly an exercise in
futility. But searching for explanations after a disaster of Katrina's
magnitude is not. And if you do in fact search for those explanations,
you'll reach an unavoidable conclusion:

Hurricane Katrina may have been an act of God. But the level of death
and destruction it caused was not. That was an act of conservatism.

It is conservative policies that made this natural disaster unnaturally
catastrophic. I say to conservatives, you have blood on your hands
today. I point the finger in your face and say, You helped this
happen.

Conservative policies have led to an increase in poverty across the
nation, especially in New Orleans, one of the poorest major cities in
America. About 150,000 people in New Orleans lived below the poverty
line before Katrina, 100,000 of them in abject poverty, making less
than $8,000 a year. Their poverty left them with nowhere to go, and no
means of escape, as the hurricane bore down on their homes.

Conservative policies have led to more global warming, which scientists
agree has already begun producing more intense hurricanes and storms.
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, a former Republican Party Chairman
and longtime GOP operative, has seen his own state ravaged by Katrina.
But he was vital in helping to convince the Bush administration to
squash the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, and pushed Bush to go
back on his campaign promise to regulate carbon dioxide. Governor
Barbour would dare express grief over the deaths that he himself
enabled.

Conservative policies have led to a war in Iraq based on lies, and tax
cuts for the rich, both of which, we know for a fact, took money
directly away from vital hurricane preparedness work in New Orleans.
On nine occasions in 2004 and 2005, The New Orleans Times-Picayune
specifically cited the cost of the Iraq War as a reason for the
shortfall in hurricane- and flood-control funds. The levees that gave
way under Katrina's pressure were supposed to be upgraded with money
that ended up in Halliburton�s coffers.

Conservative policies have also led to the National Guard's misuse and
abuse, leaving the Gulf Coast without the personnel and equipment
vital to a recovery effort of this magnitude. More people will die on
the Gulf Coast as they await their would-be saviors, who are in Iraq,
victims themselves of conservative policies.

There can be no doubt that while Hurricane Katrina was not preventable,
much of the death and destruction left in its wake was. I say to
conservatives, you have blood on your hands today. I point the finger
in your face and say, You helped this happen.

to both government and the automakers. For them to pay skilled trades a buttload of money and allow them to sit and do nothing and then retire at age 50 and live off of GM isn't right. That is GM's fault for allowing that happen. As for making big trucks and SUVs....it was what the people wanted at that time. That really wasn't a huge concern until gas prices started to skyrocket. They were making what they thought people wanted. They couldn't predict that gas would skyrocket like it did and the economy would collapse like it has.

on the past 8 years. Granted, the past 8 years weren't the greatest and some major mistakes were made, but there were some things that were going on during prior presidencies that lead to this. The problem was that no one stopped it once it got started and it just snowballed. Now we have Obama in the office and we are still snowballing. If you want to place blame, you need to go back further than Bush and include some others as well. Now it is Obama's turn and we need to keep our eye on him because he continues to spend spend spend!!!!! Yeah....that worked out so well in the past 8 years huh......

including natural disasters and including the fact that people built a city below sea level with water on all sides and was told that anything over a Cat 3 storm would wipe out the city. The city failed in adequately planning to evacuate the people in case of such an emergency. While I'm absolutely heartbroken to what is happening to people there, especially those who couldn't evacuate themselves the city has been told this would happen for years. Even if Bush had not cut some funds to the area adequate plans would have still not been in place. Everyone has said at one time or another that New Orleans was a disaster waiting for a Cat 4 or higher storm to happen. You can pin this on Bush like you do everything else that happens in this world, but Bush is hardly to blame for the devastation. Finger pointing does no good at this point. We all must dig deep and do what we can do for those in New Orleans. Arguing the political aspects of this disaster will not hydrate one dehydrated baby or feed one hungry person or build one adequate shelter.

My advice to everyone is to step away from your computer, go buy some non-perishable items and get it to a relief point tomorrow.

I think registered voters should have to prove their knowledge on the matters at hand prior to voting. Just a 5 or 10-question test to make sure they know their candidate's policies.

Do we really want our "welfare" society to determine our next President? That's what ACORN is making sure will happen.

Many people were confined against their will just because someone wanted them "out of the way." These were normal people with no mental illness - that is why it is so difficult - don't blame the liberals. Blame your state.

CONFINING THE MENTALLY ILL

In the legal space between what a society should and should not do, taking action to restrict the liberty of people who are mentally ill sits in the grayest of gray areas.

Our notions about civil and constitutional rights flow from an assumption of "normalcy." Step beyond the boundaries and arrest and prison may legally follow. Short of that, government's ability to hold people against their will is severely and properly limited. Unusual behavior on the part of someone who is mentally ill is not illegal behavior. Freedom can't be snatched away on a whim, or on the thought that a person is hard to look at, hard to hear, hard to smell.

It was only a few decades ago that the promise of new medications and a change in attitude opened the doors of the mental hospitals and sent many patients into society. There, they would somehow "normalize" and join everyone else, supported by networks of out-patient facilities, job training, special living arrangements and regular, appropriate medication. But the transition has been imperfect, long and difficult.

In some parts of urban America there is little professional support for those with mental health problems. A new generation of drug and alcohol-fueled mental illness has come on the scene. People frequently end up on the street, un-medicated and exhibiting a full range of behaviors that are discomforting at the very least and threatening at their worst.