McCain's Citizenship Called Into Question: Candidate, born in Panama Canal Zone, may not qualify as 'natural born'

I am a huge believer in interpreting the Constitution in its original context and applying it conservatively, so I do not disregard the importance of the simple words, "natural born citizen" in Article II. Nonetheless, I think that those who would declare Senator McCain something other than a "natural born citizen" are pushing an agenda and disregarding the Constitution in its historical context (note the bold and italicized text below). Let us argue strenuously about policy and governance issues, but afterwards let us embrace as equal citizens of a united nation.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his advisers are doing their best to brush aside questions — raised in the liberal blogosphere — about whether he is qualified under the Constitution to be president. But many legal scholars and government lawyers say it's a serious question with no clear answer.

The problem arises from a phrase in the Constitution setting out who is eligible to be president. Article II, which also specifies that a person must be at least 35 years old, says "No person except a natural born Citizen" can be president.

Sen. McCain is undoubtedly a citizen. He was born on Aug. 29, 1936, in the Panama Canal Zone, and Congress has specifically provided that anyone born there of U.S. parents, as he was, is a citizen. Indeed, the general rule is that anyone born of U.S. parents outside the United States is a citizen.

But is John McCain a natural born citizen? The Constitution does not define the term further, and legal scholars say the notes of the Constitution's drafters shed little light on what they meant. It seems clear only that the founders wanted to make certain that whoever was president would be loyal to the U.S. alone and not to some other country. But the term "natural born citizen," many scholars say, was not in common use at the time the Constitution was written.

Sen. McCain's supporters draw some comfort from a law passed in 1790 by the first Congress. It provided that the children of US citizens born outside the US "shall be considered as natural born citizens." The law is no longer in effect, but it provides some guidance on what the founders had in mind at the time of the Constitution.

And some legal experts find it hard to believe the founders would have considered their own children, if born overseas, to be ineligible for the presidency.

"If John and Abigail Adams were sent to France on a diplomatic mission, I find it inconceivable that they would have thought their children were not natural born citizens," said Professor John Parry of Lewis and Clark Law School.

This issue has been raised before in the presidential campaigns of Barry Goldwater, born in Arizona territory not the United States, and George Romney, born in Mexico. But it was never resolved.

In 1964, the Supreme Court seemed to say, without deciding, that "natural born" meant born inside the United States. In an opinion on an unrelated issue, the court observed, "The rights of citizenship of the native born and of the naturalized person are of the same dignity and are coextensive. The only difference drawn by the Constitution is that only the 'natural born' citizen is eligible to be President." But that language is not legally binding, and the Supreme Court has never ruled on what "natural born" means.

The ambiguity has stirred concern for decades. In 1987, New York Times columnist William Safire suggested amending the Constitution. "The 'natural born' phrase unfairly burdens children of Americans born abroad ... because it casts a shadow across any candidacy: if elected, the President-elect would surely face a challenge on the born-abroad impediment," he wrote.

Sen. McCain has the support of Ted Olson, the former U.S. solicitor general. "The plain meaning of 'natural born citizen' includes persons who become citizens of this nation 'naturally,' that is, by virtue of their birth to parents who are citizens, particularly when the birth takes place on territory occupied and controlled by the United States, in Senator McCain's case, a U.S. military base in the Panama Canal Zone," Olson says in a statement. But that is by no means a universally held view.

U.S. 'never had sovereignty' over Canal Zone
Besides, many legal scholars say the Canal Zone never was sovereign U.S. territory. In a February 1978 speech to the nation on the Panama Canal Treaty, heavily vetted by government lawyers, President Carter said, "We have never had sovereignty over it. We have only had the right to use it. The US Supreme Court and previous American presidents have repeatedly acknowledged the sovereignty of Panama over the Canal Zone."

It's not clear, either, who would have the legal right to sue if McCain were elected president. One expert on federal procedure said any taxpayer aggrieved by an action of a President McCain would have standing to challenge his qualifications.

Legal scholars generally agree on one thing, however. If this issue did produce a legal challenge, the courts would be very reluctant to invalidate the results of an election, especially given such an uncertain legal landscape.

By Pete Williams

Justice correspondent

NBC News

© 2008 MSNBC Interactive

Powered by ScribeFire.

I've kept away from politics lately...simply to keep some perspective in my life. It is once again time to speak some truth to power. I have enlisted the help of Dan Abrams from MSNBC for some help:

Traveling Through The Dark by William Stafford

Traveling through the dark I found a deer
dead on the edge of the Wilson River road.
It is usually best to roll them into the canyon:
that road is narrow; to swerve might make more dead.

By glow of the tail-light I stumbled back of the car
and stood by the heap, a doe, a recent killing;
she had stiffened already, almost cold.
I dragged her off; she was large in the belly.

My fingers touching her side brought me the reason--
her side was warm; her fawn lay there waiting,
alive, still, never to be born.
Beside that mountain road I hesitated.

The car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights;
under the hood purred the steady engine.
I stood in the glare of the warm exhaust turning red;
around our group I could hear the wilderness listen.

I thought hard for us all--my only swerving--,
then pushed her over the edge into the river.

http://www.williamstafford.org/

Powered by ScribeFire.

Easter Morning by William Stafford

Maybe someone comes to the door and says,
"Repent," and you say, "Come on in," and it's
Jesus. That's when all you ever did, or said,
or even thought, suddenly wakes up again and
sings out, "I'm still here," and you know it's true.
You just shiver alive and are left standing
there suddenly brought to account: saved.

Except, maybe that someone says, "I've got a deal
for you." And you listen because that's how
you're trained––they told you, "Always hear both sides."
So then the slick voice can sell you anything, even
Hell, which is what you're getting by listening.
Well, what should you do? I'd say always go to
the door; yes, but keep the screen locked. Then,
while you hold the Bible in one hand, lean forward
and say carefully, "Jesus?"

http://www.williamstafford.org/

Powered by ScribeFire.

I was thinking that sometime in the future I may want to construct my own wind turbine for electricity production...I am now having second thoughts. Check out this short video showing the failure of a wind turbine in Denmark. From what I can gather, the breaking system failed during a storm. I have posted a story about it from The Copenhagen Post below.



Minister demands explanation for windmill collapse

The Copenhagen Post
Published 25.02.08

The climate minister will begin an investigation into two separate cases of Vestas wind turbines collapsing within the past week

The climate minister, Connie Hedegaard, is calling for an investigation to determine the cause of two violent wind turbine collapses in Denmark in the past week.

Both of the windmills were produced by Vestas, and Hedegaard's request to the Energy Board comes after other breakdowns both here and abroad have been reported in the past two months.

'The problems with the turbines abroad have had to do with poor maintenance, and if that's the case here, then I expect a clear report on how we can ensure this problem is rectified,' Hedegaard told Berlingske Tidende newspaper.

Her comments come on the heels of the government's new energy agreement ratified by parliament last week, which calls for the country to have 20 percent of its energy produced by sustainable sources by 2011.

In first of the two collapses, near the city of Århus, a 10-year-old windmill began spinning out of control during high winds. A recording of the explosion-like collapse shows one of the wing blades breaking off, casting debris into the three other wings and shearing the 60- metre tower nearly in half.

Vestas itself will also now conduct an internal investigation to determine why the wind turbines have been breaking down.

'We've still got about 35,000 wind turbines across the globe that are operating fine,' said Peter Wenzel Kruse, Vestas's spokesperson. 'But they're not infallible. We're doing what we can and learning from our mistakes.'

Farmer Keld Boye, who lives in Vig where the latest incident occurred on Sunday, was clearly shaken by the wind turbine's implosion.

'I drive my tractor and my wife rides horses out there,' he said. 'Just think if we'd been out there when it happened.'

A Little ScoobyDoo Fun with Johnny Bravo



Velma...What is that? Some kind of bread?

Keep an Eye on Kosovo

Nearly 100 years ago, the old European powers went to war (and eventually sucked in the United States) over internal meddling in Serbia and external alliances based on old family rivalries and cultural sensitivities. I sure hope we do not find ourselves there again soon...for the same reasons?!

Kosovo Throws Wrench Into U.S.-Russian Relations

Posted: Friday, February 22, 2008 3:38 PM
Filed Under: Moscow, Russia
By Jim Maceda, NBC News Correspondent

MOSCOW – A generation ago, Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin defined the no-go zone between East and West. If you listen to Russian officials these days, that geopolitical schism has now shifted to the Serbia-Kosovo border.

On one side, Russia defends its nationalist proxy, Orthodox Serbians, who say they will never accept a non-Serbian Kosovo; on the other side, Kosovars – more than 90 percent of whom are Albanian Muslims – are backed in their desire for independence by the United States and most of Western Europe.

Russian warning
This new East-West gap should surprise no one who's watched and listened to Russia's take on Kosovo since June 1999.

Then, just as Serb forces were involuntarily withdrawing from Kosovo, Russian President Boris Yeltsin ordered his general to take his troops – part of an international peacekeeping mission – and occupy the strategic airport in Pristina before NATO could get there.

Those Russian troops eventually re-joined the peacekeeping operation, but only after days of intense negotiations in Finland between U.S. and Russian officials. Most Serbs believed that Yeltsin had abandoned Serbia by acquiescing to NATO’s demands.

SLIDESHOW: Serbs protest Kosovo independence

For years, every time rumors of an Albanian declaration of independence for Kosovo were whispered in Pristina or Brussels or Washington, Moscow would weigh in, warning that such an illegal act could plunge the whole European continent into another spasm of violence. But no one seemed to take notice.

Then Russia started to muscle up: President Vladimir Putin is no Yeltsin, and Russia under Putin has grown into an economic powerhouse, no longer afraid to throw its weight around. During Thursday’s massive rally against Kosovo independence, Serbian protestors were holding up posters of Putin, showing that they consider the Russian leader to be their chief ally in the current stand-off with the West

Fighting words
People inside Serbia and beyond are now taking notice of what Russia is saying. And for many in the West it's frightening.

On Friday, Russia's NATO envoy, Dmitiry Rogozin, warned that Russia might have to resort to "brute military force" if Europe recognizes an independent Kosovo. But in the same breath, Rogozin backed off some, suggesting that Russia would not to go to war over Kosovo. Still, many are asking, how did it come to this?

Russian analysts explain that the West – especially the United States – has fallen victim to a miscalculation which some equate to being as grave as the ill-advised invasion of Iraq. They say that the West has grossly underestimated the place Kosovo holds in the hearts of Serbs, no matter how many – or few – actually live there. As Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said at the 200,000-strong rally in Belgrade on Thursday, "Kosovo is Serbia."

This is not to be taken lightly. He used the same words almost 10 years ago when I spoke to him following his election as president of a new, seemingly moderate post-Milosevic nation. "Kosovo is the origin of Serbia," he told me. "We will never give it up." No one took much notice.

Pandora’s Box
Analysts here in Moscow also warn that the ripping of Kosovo from the Serbian province will open a Pandora's Box of potentially destabilizing ruptures all around the world: Chechens in Russia, ethnic Serbs in Bosnia, Russians in Moldova, Abkhazians in Georgia, Basques in Spain, just to name a few.

Would the United States defend these groups if they were to declare independence in violation of territorial integrity and international law, experts in Russia ask? If not, then why in Kosovo?

To define it in more familiar terms, Kosovo, for Serbs, is like a combination of Jerusalem and the Alamo: both the birthplace of its identity, forged in a bloody defeat at the hands of the Turks in 1389, and the crucible of its religious faith. Over the centuries, Russia has been Serbia's natural ally, sharing the Orthodox religion and the Cyrillic alphabet. But the United States also has been a trusted ally to Serbia through two world wars and other difficult times.

But strangely, friends of a friend can act like enemies. Just when it seemed like Russia and the United States were on the brink of what some consider a new Cold War, tiny Kosovo reared its head, caught the West's fancy for freedom and declared its independence – just as it promised it would. In the process, it triggered the kind of belligerent rhetoric we haven't heard from the Russian military in years.

Forget Checkpoint Charlie. Kosovo means hot zone.

Q & A: The history of strife in Kosovo
Key dates in Kosovo's drive for independence

Jim Maceda is an NBC New Correspondent based in London who covered the wars in Yugoslavia extensively during the 1990s. He is currently on assignment in Moscow.

5 Surprising Things That Give You Headaches

I have been having low-grade headaches for most days since I had the flu, so this article caught my eye. The information is nothing profound, but it did seem worthy of sharing. Of the five headache triggers mentioned, I am especially sensitive to flowery and sweet scents. The plumeria scent from Bath & Body and/or Victoria's Secret has an immediate negative impact on my sinuses and immediately triggers a headache. However, I am surprised that cigarette smoke was not listed as one of the common triggers!?

Health, December 2007

By Alicia Potter


You’ve been staring at the computer for hours. You’ve worked late all week and have in-laws coming this weekend. You have a raging case of PMS. Eyestrain, stress, and hormonal shifts are fairly common causes of headaches, which afflict 45 million Americans (most of them women). But sometimes the usual suspects don’t explain that pain in your head. That’s because some triggers are just plain weird—like perfume, storms, earrings … or even orgasms. Here’s how to identify the source of your headache so you can send it packing.

Perfume
“Strong scents bother me instantly,” says Bethany Hegedus, 35, a writer and receptionist from Brooklyn, New York. She can get a headache from a whiff of Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker or a stroll past a Yankee Candle. Her sense of smell is so acute that she can sniff out whether a co-worker has changed laundry detergents or hand lotions, a degree of sensitivity common among scent-driven headache sufferers. The headaches can be fleeting if exposure is brief—or they can last all day.

Why it hurts: Strong odors may activate the nose’s nerve cells, which stimulate the nerve system associated with head pain. Ironically, the offending scents are often pleasant, says Vincent Martin, MD, a headache specialist at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

What to do: Avoid perfumes, strong household cleansers, fragranced soaps and shampoos, and air fresheners. That’s a challenge when just about everything these days is “Clothesline Clean” or “Citrus Fresh,” but Hegedus does her best with unscented laundry detergent and deodorant, and wears no fragrances. At the office, she politely asks colleagues not to wear heavy perfumes. And if all else fails? “I keep a bottle of Excedrin Extra Strength at my desk,” she says.

That remedy has aspirin, aceta-minophen, and caffeine, a combination endorsed by several medical organizations for migraine and tension headaches. However, you might want to try aspirin or acetaminophen individually rather than mixed together with caffeine, says Andrew Charles, MD, director of the Headache Research and Treatment Center at the University of Calofirnia, Los Angeles, School of Medicine. Frequent use of medicines with caffeine can lead to dependency and “rebound” headaches, the kind that come right back as soon as the meds wear off. Aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen treat pain and the inflammation often associated with headaches. Acetaminophen fights pain, but not inflammation. (Another caveat: If over-the-counter meds don’t help, a trip to the neurologist may be needed, Martin says.)

Weather
Studies show that the headache-prone are especially attuned to changes in barometric pressure, rising temperatures, high humidity, lightning, and cloudy skies. Rebecca Kinney, a 31-year-old librarian from Newton, Massachusetts, calls herself a human barometer. Gray skies and rain-on-the-way trigger excruciating pain. “The headache is usually on one side of my head, and it pulsates, as if someone is drilling into me,” she says.

Why it hurts: The meteorological shifts are thought to trigger chemical and electrical changes in the brain that irritate nerves—sometimes causing fairly dramatic pain. In fact, “50 to 60 percent of migraine patients will identify a weather change as the trigger for their headaches,” Martin says.

What to do: On bad-weather days, Kinney puts an ice compress on her eyes in the morning. “Sometimes I can catch the headache before it gets worse,” she says. Another trick: Record your symptoms and the weather to piece together patterns. Then check out the “Aches and Pains” forecast on Weather.com (click on “Healthy Living”); it breaks down how the day is dawning in terms of temperature, barometric pressure, and wind patterns. Pretreat with 400 milligrams of ibuprofen a day or two before expected weather changes, says Mark W. Green, MD, director of headache medicine at Columbia University. (Naproxen or aspirin may work, as well.)

Earrings, headbands, and ponytails
Some people say the roots of their hair hurt when they get a headache. Kinney describes it as a “hair cramp.” Other women swear that their earrings can lead to head pain. And they’re all … correct!

Why it hurts: The muscle groups around your scalp don’t have pain fibers, but their connective tissues do. “Ponytail headaches” result when tightly pulled hair irritates the muscle system. And your swingy up-do isn’t the only thing contributing to your pain: Tight-fitting hats, headbands, and heavy earrings are also culprits, says Stephen Silberstein, MD, director of the Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Why earrings? It’s possible that earrings can pull on that same connective tissue. But some studies suggest that skin sensitivity around your scalp, face, and ears often accompanies a migraine. The earring supersensitivity could be a sign that a migraine’s coming, but not the cause of the headache.

What to do: It probably didn’t take a study in the journal Headache to tell you that loosening your ponytail relieves a ponytail ache. Researchers have found that this simple action decreased headache pain within 30 minues, and, in some cases, instantly. Kinney makes a conscious effort to reposition her ponytail throughout the day. Typically, the thicker your hair or the heavier your headwear, the more likely you’ll experience this type of headache. Best bet: Save tight up-dos and heavy earrings for nights out, when you won’t be wearing them for long.

Hunger
There’s a reason some nutrition gurus recommend that we eat several small meals a day: It keeps our blood sugar on an even keel. Dieting, fasting, skipping lunch—they all can cause you to bottom out, which may trigger a headache.

Why it hurts: Experts believe low blood sugar may stimulate nerve pathways that bring on these common headaches, but the exact mechanism is murky.

What to do: Uh, eat? Exactly. But remember that what you grab may play a role in whether your headache returns. “Sugar headaches” may occur when we binge on sweets on an empty stomach. The spike in blood sugar ratchets insulin levels, which eventually cause blood sugar to sink even lower. Instead, balance a protein with a complex carbohydrate, such as fish and brown rice, or a snack of whole-wheat toast with almond butter. Martin adds that eating foods rich in magnesium (spinach, beans, nuts, and seeds) and riboflavin (dairy products, lean meats, leafy greens, enriched breads and cereals) may prevent and alleviate head pain. Riboflavin is a B vitamin; large doses are thought to help prevent migraines.

Bear in mind, too, that cheese, chocolate, lunch meats, caffeine, and additives such as monosodium glutamate (MSG) may trigger headaches. In general, if you suffer from moderate, severe, or frequent headaches (more than two a week), consult a headache specialist about your diet. You may need to keep a food diary to hunt for culprits.

Sex!
“Coital headaches” (not the “Not tonight, honey” variety) can occur during foreplay or right before orgasm. Marked by a general head pain, these headaches typically last from a few minutes to an hour.

Why it hurts: It’s probably a type of “exertion headache,” Silberstein says. During arousal, the culprit is likely pressure building up in the head and neck muscles. And orgasm sometimes requires a lot of “work.” Running, coughing, sneezing, even straining during a bowel movement, can lead to similar pain.

What to do: Most exertion headaches can be pretreated with ibuprofen or naproxen, Martin says. But be careful: An orgasmic headache, if it’s your first, may point to an underlying condition, such as an aneurysm, that merits a doctor’s attention. If your headaches occur during G-rated workouts, an activity switch can help—from aerobics, say, to biking. These headaches usually aren’t a reason to quit having fun. “Just ease into it,” Silberstein says.

The Nexus of Politics and Terror




I have never been a big believer in conspiracy theories, so I find Olbermann's connections a little over the top. However, he cautions at the beginning and reminds at the end that sometimes connections are, indeed, random; nonetheless, it is hard to look away when the connections happen as often as they have...at least 13 times! I am struck by the profaning legacy of the second Bush administration...such squandered potential and lost opportunities.

McCain's Ties To Lobbyist Worried Aides

I think that Senator McCain is an honorable man and a good public servant. What the Washington Post article below seems to miss is that McCain surrounded himself with people who were willing to hold him accountable. He allowed them to speak truth to power. Of course, he was ultimately responsible for making the right decision or dealing with the consequences of a poor decision. Charles Dudley Warner issued an apt appraisal of American politics in 1870 that still rings true today, "Politics makes strange bedfellows." I offer the following words of encouragement to all who would venture into leadership roles, "Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character" (First Epistle to the Corinthians 15:33).


McCain's Ties To Lobbyist Worried Aides
Before 2000 Campaign, Advisers Tried to Bar Her

By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Michael D Shear
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, February 21, 2008; A01

Aides to Sen. John McCain confronted a telecommunications lobbyist in late 1999 and asked her to distance herself from the senator during the presidential campaign he was about to launch, according to one of McCain's longest-serving political strategists.

John Weaver, who served as McCain's closest confidant until leaving his current campaign last year, said he met with Vicki Iseman at the Center Cafe in Union Station and urged her to stay away from McCain. Association with a lobbyist would undermine his image as an opponent of special interests, aides had concluded.

Members of the senator's small circle of advisers also confronted McCain directly, according to sources, warning him that his continued relationship with a lobbyist who had business before the powerful Commerce Committee he chaired threatened to derail his presidential ambitions.

The New York Times published a lengthy article on its Web site last night detailing McCain's ties to Iseman. "It's a shame that the New York Times has chosen to smear John McCain like this," said Charles R. Black Jr., a top adviser to McCain's current presidential campaign and the head of a Washington lobbying firm called BKSH & Associates. "Neither Senator McCain nor the campaign will dignify false rumors and gossip by responding to them. John McCain has never done favors for anyone, not lobbyists or any special interest. That's a clear 24-year record."

The McCain campaign put out a statement last night decrying "gutter politics" and saying the story -- which had been reported on the Drudge Report Web site in December -- was a "a hit and run smear campaign."

Iseman, 40, who joined the Arlington-based firm of Alcalde & Fay as a secretary and rose to partner within a few years, often touted her access to the chairman of the Senate commerce committee as she worked on behalf of clients such as Cablevision, EchoStar and Tribune Broadcasting, according to several other lobbyists who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

McCain, after his unsuccessful 2000 campaign, has emerged as the front-runner for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. His reputation as a crusader for Washington reform -- forged during almost 30 years in the Senate -- is based largely on his stinging critiques of the role played by lobbyists. He routinely decries earmarks, or pet projects, inserted into legislation. He has claimed repeatedly that he has "never, ever done a favor for any lobbyist or special interest group." It was this reputation that McCain's closest aides sought to protect.

"We were running a campaign about reforming Washington, and her showing up at events and saying she had close ties to McCain was harmful," said one aide.

The aide said the message to Iseman that day at Union Station in 1999 was clear: "She should get lost." The aide said Iseman stood up and left angrily.

Iseman could not be reached at her home or office last night. But Iseman told the Times via e-mail that "I never discussed with him alleged things I had 'told people,' that had made their way 'back to' him." The Times reported that she said she never received special treatment from McCain or his office.

Three telecom lobbyists and a former McCain aide, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Iseman spoke up regularly at meetings of telecom lobbyists in Washington, extolling her connections to McCain and his office. She would regularly volunteer at those meetings to be the point person for the telecom industry in dealing with McCain's office.

Concern about Iseman's presence around McCain at one point led to her being banned from his Senate office, according to sources close to McCain.

Iseman's bio on her lobbying firm's Web site notes, "She has extensive experience in telecommunications, representing corporations before the House and Senate Commerce Committees."

Her partners at Alcalde & Fay include L.A. "Skip" Bafalis, a former five-term Republican congressman from Florida, and Michael A. Brown, the son of former commerce secretary Ronald H. Brown and a former Democratic candidate for mayor of the District.

Its client list is heavy with municipalities and local government entities, which suggests that its major emphasis is on the controversial business of winning narrowly targeted, or "earmarked," appropriations.

In the years that McCain chaired the commerce committee, Iseman lobbied for Lowell W. "Bud" Paxson, the head of what used to be Paxson Communications, now Ion Media Networks, and was involved in a successful lobbying campaign to persuade McCain and other members of Congress to send letters to the Federal Communications Commission on behalf of Paxson.

In late 1999, McCain wrote two letters to the FCC urging a vote on the sale to Paxson of a Pittsburgh television station. The sale had been highly contentious in Pittsburgh and involved a multipronged lobbying effort among the parties to the deal.

At the time he sent the first letter, McCain had flown on Paxson's corporate jet four times to appear at campaign events and had received $20,000 in campaign donations from Paxson and its law firm. The second letter came on Dec. 10, a day after the company's jet ferried him to a Florida fundraiser that was held aboard a yacht in West Palm Beach.

McCain has argued that the letters merely urged a decision and did not call for action on Paxson's behalf. But when the letters became public, William E. Kennard, chairman of the FCC at the time, denounced them as "highly unusual" coming from McCain, whose committee chairmanship gave him oversight of the agency.

McCain's campaign denied that Iseman or anyone else from her firm or from Paxson "discussed with Senator McCain" the FCC's consideration of the station deal. "Neither Ms. Iseman, nor any representative of Paxson and Alcalde and Fay, personally asked Senator McCain to send a letter to the FCC regarding this proceeding," the campaign said.

Iseman and her firm, which includes high-profile Republicans and Democrats, have also represented a number of other companies that have had issues before McCain and the Commerce Committee, including Univision, the Spanish-language television network. Iseman clients have given nearly $85,000 to McCain campaigns since 2000, according to records at the Federal Election Commission.

Staff writer James V. Grimaldi and research editor Alice Crites contributed to this report.

Bad Poetry Set to Music

I have heard it said on NPR that Rock-n-Roll music is just bad poetry set to music. Even though I am a lover of classic rock, after listening to a few songs with all the tracks removed except for lead vocals, I am shaken in my understanding of what is actually good?! Click here to listen to David Lee Roth of Van Halen sing "Runnin' with the Devil." Diamond Dave, you are so funny!



Story originally posted in Chuncklet.

A Little Q & A on the Electorial College -- from FactCheck.org

I am kind of thinking that we may have deviated from our founders' original intent for the federal government. The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution is actually a very powerful statement that we too often ignore in our political conversations and deliberations -- The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. Supremely, the rights are ours...not the government's! That is why, even though he may seem a little nutty, I cannot ignore politicians like Ron Paul. On the other hand, we really need the kind of hope and idealism that Barack Obama and John Edwards have been calling us back to as well. I remain humbled by my own confusion...

Ask FactCheck

Q:

Why does the U.S. have an Electoral College? Why does the United States have an Electoral College when it would be so easy to directly elect a president, as we do for all the other political offices?

A:

The framers of the Constitution didn't trust direct democracy.

When U.S. citizens go to the polls to "elect" a president, they are in fact voting for a particular slate of electors. In every state but Maine and Nebraska, the candidate who wins the most votes (that is, a plurality) in the state receives all of the state’s electoral votes. The number of electors in each state is the sum of its U.S. senators and its U.S. representatives. (The District of Columbia has three electoral votes, which is the number of senators and representatives it would have if it were permitted representation in Congress.) The electors meet in their respective states 41 days after the popular election. There, they cast a ballot for president and a second for vice president. A candidate must receive a majority of electoral votes to be elected president.

The reason that the Constitution calls for this extra layer, rather than just providing for the direct election of the president, is that most of the nation's founders were actually rather afraid of democracy. James Madison worried about what he called "factions," which he defined as groups of citizens who have a common interest in some proposal that would either violate the rights of other citizens or would harm the nation as a whole. Madison’s fear – which Alexis de Tocqueville later dubbed "the tyranny of the majority" – was that a faction could grow to encompass more than 50 percent of the population, at which point it could "sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens." Madison has a solution for tyranny of the majority: "A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect, and promises the cure for which we are seeking."

As Alexander Hamilton writes in "The Federalist Papers," the Constitution is designed to ensure "that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications." The point of the Electoral College is to preserve "the sense of the people," while at the same time ensuring that a president is chosen "by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice."

In modern practice, the Electoral College is mostly a formality. Most electors are loyal members of the party that has selected them, and in 26 states, plus Washington, D.C., electors are bound by laws or party pledges to vote in accord with the popular vote. Although an elector could, in principle, change his or her vote (and a few actually have over the years), doing so is rare.

As the 2000 election reminded us, the Electoral College does make it possible for a candidate to win the popular vote and still not become president. But that is less a product of the Electoral College and more a product of the way states apportion electors. In every state but Maine and Nebraska, electors are awarded on a winner-take-all basis. So if a candidate wins a state by even a narrow margin, he or she wins all of the state’s electoral votes. The winner-take-all system is not federally mandated; states are free to allocate their electoral votes as they wish.

The Electoral College was not the only Constitutional limitation on direct democracy, though we have discarded most of those limitations. Senators were initially to be appointed by state legislatures, and states were permitted to ban women from voting entirely. Slaves got an even worse deal, as a slave officially was counted as just three-fifths of a person. The 14th Amendment abolished the three-fifths rule and granted (male) former slaves the right to vote. The 17th Amendment made senators subject to direct election, and the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.

-Joe Miller

Sources

Hamilton, Alexander. "Federalist No. 68." The Federalist Papers [1788]. Accessed at The Library of Congress Web site. 28 Jan. 2008.

Madison, James. "Federalist No. 10." The Federalist Papers [1787]. Accessed at The Library of Congress Web site. 28 Jan. 2008.

de Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America, vol. 1. Accessed at the University of Virginia Department of American Studies Web site. 28 Jan. 2008.

Office of the Federal Register, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Web site, FAQ, 11 Feb. 2008.

Obama's Misleading Ad

In order to be an equal opportunity pain in the ass to power, I thought I would share this blub from FactCheck.org:


The Obama campaign released a new ad Feb. 14 in Wisconsin called "Debate," quoting Bill Clinton’s first Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, as saying Obama’s plan covers “more people” than Clinton's. We find the ad misleading and, in one respect, false.

It’s true that Reich expressed the opinion on his blog back on Dec. 3 that Obama's plan covers "more people" than Clinton's. That was in an item criticizing Clinton for “stooping . . . low” to attack Obama for wanting to bolster Social Security’s finances and for not including a mandate in his health-care plan:

Reich, Dec. 3, 2007: I’ve compared the two plans in detail. Both of them are big advances over what we have now. But in my view Obama’s would insure more people, not fewer, than HRC’s. That’s because Obama’s puts more money up front and contains sufficient subsidies to insure everyone who’s likely to need help – including all children and young adults up to 25 years old.

More recently, however, Reich has not been so emphatic. In a Jan. 13 item he found the plans of Obama and Clinton to be “the same” in almost every important respect. While on Dec. 3 he said he thought Obama's plan would cover more people because it "puts more money up front," by Jan. 13 he said that all Democratic plans "spend nearly an identical amount of money." On the question of whether Clinton or Obama's position on mandates is best, he said, “Who's correct? It's hard to know.” He urged the Democratic candidates to “stop squabbling over healthcare mandates.”

Reich did not, however, state in any of his blog items that the Obama plan "does more to cut costs" or that it saves $2,500 for the typical family. Those are claims made by the Obama campaign, not by Reich as the ad falsely claims. And we're skeptical of the claims that both Clinton and Obama make about the lavish savings their plans would produce, for reasons we get to later in this article.

Reich is a professor of public policy and has been in a running feud with another liberal professor, Paul Krugman, a Princeton economist who writes a column for the New York Times and who has been attacking Obama and his healthcare plan in that space and on his own blog. Reich’s most recent word on the subject, in fact, is headlined “Krugman Still Has it Wrong on Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s Health Care Plans,” which simply refers readers back to his Jan. 13 posting which says it’s “hard to know” which is best.

We note here that both Reich and Krugman are best known for their liberal commentary and neither is a specialist in healthcare economics. Also, Reich states in his Jan. 13 article that “Only around 3% of the population” would be left without health insurance in the absence of mandated coverage for adults. He doesn’t say where he got this figure. We find that hard to reconcile with the hard fact that millions of Americans are currently eligible for cheap health insurance and still don’t sign up for it. As mentioned earlier, for example, about three-quarters of the 9 million uninsured children in the U.S. are eligible for SCHIP or Medicaid, and Gruber estimates that about 7 million adults don’t take advantage of the health insurance their employers offer now. We therefore give more weight to the estimates of Sheils and Gruber than to Reich's.

I am starting to feel a whole lot better! So, I thought I would celebrate with song that always gets my toe tappin'.

How about an Irish Drinking Song:

I have the Flu...

How can that make me feel the way I do?! Alas, inside my very cells David is bringing down Goliath.

I missed getting the flu shot this year...I can assure you that I will not miss it next year!

I wish you salvation and restoration...

Powered by ScribeFire.

Spongebob voiceovers of scenes from Casablanca, Singing in the Rain, and the Godfather.

Via http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tv/spongebob-voice-overs

Profound Courage

Courage
Pronunciation: \kər-ij\
Meaning: Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty
Etymology: Middle English corage, from Anglo-French curage, from quer, coer heart, from Latin cor

I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to share my days with the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Mississippi. Everyday, we witness amazing acts of courage from our wish kids, each other, and our friends.

Do you remember Elise from our Fall 2007 newsletter? How her one true heartfelt wish was courageously transformed into an amazing act of kindness which restored a daycare center in Ocean Springs for under-served children? How her courage left our DJ friend Jan Michaels of Q105.1 speechless and overwhelmed during an on-air interview? You may think that such a pure heart is hard to find nowadays, but we see them every day.

Thanks to the courage demonstrated by our staff, board, and you, we have witnessed the beginnings of a rebirth of our chapter as our financial position begins to strengthen after many years of uncertainty. We know that with your friendship and faithfulness supporting us, we will find the courage to reach all of the children in our chapter who qualify for a wish. Please help us strengthen our hearts with the courage necessary to grow from 75 wishes per year to over 200 per year.

Recently, we witnessed a profound act of courage that reminded us that our wish kids and their families are confronted with some very serious medical conditions. Last month, we received word that one of our wish kids, Lizzy, passed away due to complications from her heart condition, prior to being able to experience her wish to go to a winter resort with her friends. In an amazingly courageous act, she gifted her liver and kidneys to help others with their life-threatening medical conditions. I think that she may be the best wish granters that the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Mississippi has ever known. Lizzie has provided a lasting legacy of hope, strength, and joy through her courageous gift. Thank you, Lizzy, for showing us all how to live.

Courageously yours...

Powered by ScribeFire.

Profound Love

Today I became keenly aware of my profound love for my children and wife. And by profound, I mean:

• penetrating or entering deeply into subjects of thought or knowledge; having deep insight or understanding
• originating in or penetrating to the depths of one's being
• being or going far beneath what is superficial, external, or obvious
• of deep meaning; of great and broadly inclusive significance
• pervasive or intense; thorough; complete
• extending, situated, or originating far down, or far beneath the surface

I wonder if that is how God is inclined towards us? Maybe Jesus was hinting of such a profound love when he said, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Gospel of Matthew 7:9-12)

Or, perhaps the Apostle Paul also understood such profound love, "What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." (Epistle to the Galatians 4:1-7)

Even the Apostle John got in on the act, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us." (First Epistle of John 3:16-24)

I can love my children and wife so profoundly because I know I am profoundly loved by God and nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ...absolutely nothing! The final lesson in live is also the first for most who grew up in vacation Bible school, "For God loved the world in this way, he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (John 3:16-21)

You are loved, profoundly!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Yes, We Can! - Si, Se Puede!



God Almighty, We need this message! Help us to listen! Help us to imagine! Help us to go! Help us to do! Help us!

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality.

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.

Yes we can heal this nation.

Yes we can repair this world.

Yes we can.

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics...they will only grow louder and more dissonant ........... We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea --

Yes. We. Can.

Colin Powell on the Presidential Elections

February 8, 2008

Colin Powell may support Democrat or Independent in ‘08

Posted: 08:45 PM ET

Watch Colin Powell discuss the presidential race.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a

Republican who served under President Bush, said Friday he may not back
the GOP presidential nominee in November, telling CNN that “I am
keeping my options open at the moment.”

“I have voted for members of both parties in the course of my adult
life,” Powell, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “And as I said earlier, I will vote for the
candidate I think can do the best job for America, whether that
candidate is a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent.”

Powell also offered praise for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who is
seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, calling him an
“exciting person on the political stage.

“He has energized a lot of people in America,” said Powell, who
briefly weighed his own run for the White House in the mid-1990s. “He
has energized a lot of people around the world. And so I think he is
worth listening to and seeing what he stands for.”

Powell, who has largely steered clear of politics since leaving the
administration in 2004, noted that the next president will need to work
to restore America’s standing in the world.

“I will ultimately vote for the person I believe brings to the
American people the kind of vision the American people want to see for
the next four years,” he said. “A vision that reaches out to the rest
of the world, that starts to restore confidence in America, that starts
to restore favorable ratings to America. Frankly, we've lost a lot in
recent years.”

Programming note: Tune in for the full interview with Colin
Powell on “Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer,” airing this Sunday, 11-1
PM, ET.

Powered by ScribeFire.

It is probably my fault...I probably did not pray enough, or read my Bible enough, or quote Habakkuk enough.

Dad, the dogs just hoarked down my plate!

Tonight I heard my daughter, Gabi, exclaim from the kitchen: Dad, the dogs just hoarked down my plate! Interestingly, I had no idea what the word meant, but I seemed to understand what she meant (my Greek professor used to say, "Context is the meaning!"). I think that Gabi created an onomatopoeia to describe what she was witnessing...I love the English language! Interestingly, look what I discovered when I looked up her word on Urban Dictionary:

1. hoark
An underdressed, slutty blond young adult.

Being the hoark she was, Stefanie attempted to entice the men as with her blond hair and minimal clothing.

2. hoark
To barf, vomit, regurgitate. 2- To steal.

That was a nasty lugie he hoarked. I'm sorry, I had to hoark your phone.

3. hoark
Slightly more polite synonym for military terms like FUBB or FUBAR; totally screwed or technically disabled. Usually used in reference to a malfunctioning computer app or program. Generally personalized—"I'm hosed" rather than "This is hosed."

That program hoarked my system.

4. hoark
Eating only the topping of the pizza, leaving the crust

I'm on a low carb diet, so I hoarked the pizza slice.

5. Hoark
To barf, vomit, regurgitate, especially in a particularly loud manner as if yelling, but hoarking may be done quietly as well.

F**k man, pull over. I think Im gonna HOARK!

6. hoark
To vomit, barf, heave, technicolor yawn, leave offering at the porcelain altar.

I got drunk and hoarked in the back seat.

7. hoark
To pass through one's nose, typically by laughter. (Regional, used chiefly in the western United States.)

The joke was so funny that Zz hoarked his Mountain Dew.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Change yourself...what kind of mission is that?!

One Embryo from Three Parents

This headline caught my attention. Not in a morally repugnant way; quite contrary, I saw a glimpse of the future where science and medicine can constructively help families rid themselves of genetic baggage. Perhaps the Hippocratic ethic can still inform our decision making:


I swear by Apollo Physician and Asclepius and Hygeia and Panaceia and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfill according to my ability and judgment this oath and this covenant:

To hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and to teach them this art - if they desire to learn it - without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have signed the covenant and have taken an oath according to the medical law, but no one else.

I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice.

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.

I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work.

Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and male persons, be they free or slaves.

What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself, holding such things shameful to be spoken about.

If I fulfill this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot.


Genetically Modified Embryos May Be Answer to Deadly Disease

Feb. 5, 2008—


British researchers today are reporting a potential new technique to spare thousands of children each year from a group of deadly inheritable diseases known collectively as mitochondrial disease.

These diseases might be prevented by genetically altering human embryos, which are the product of two mothers and one father, the researchers said.

Isabelle Christenson, 9, has mitochondrial disease, which is passed from mother to child via the egg. Mitochondria -- the parts of cells that convert food into energy -- have their own DNA which is separate from that in a cell's nucleus. Isabelle has already suffered a stroke and undergone a kidney transplant, a stomach transplant and a liver transplant.

"Isabelle has about a year to live, the doctors told us about a week and a half ago, barring no more complications," her mother, Michelle Christenson, said.

Researchers can theoretically prevent the passing of mitochondrial disease in a child by extracting nuclear DNA from a mother with mitochondrial disease and a father, then injecting that DNA into a donor egg from a woman without Mitochondrial disease.

The resulting embryo, in effect, had three parents but was disease-free. It inherited all the physical characteristics from Mom and Dad but received its healthy mitochondrial DNA from the woman providing the "donor egg."

Altering eggs is not a new idea but the groundbreaking development is the technique to actually prevent genetic disease. Researchers say the next step is to let these "three parent embryos" grow beyond a few days, to see if they can actually become healthy babies.

But for families like the Christensons, it's about preventing future generations from enduring this disease ever again.

Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures

Powered by ScribeFire.

Consider these loins seriously girded.

A Muslim Televangelist?

On the way home this evening I was captivated by a new show carried on Mississippi Public Broadcasting...The Story. Host Dick Gordon was interviewing Moez Masoud, a television and radio host in Egypt. Masoud has garnered quite a following of youth who are seeking a contemporary, yet authentic, Islamic witness to the world. He believes their faith does not have to be what he calls "angry Islam." Rather, it can help them, even with tough issues like extramarital sex and homosexuality. Click on Moez Masoud's picture below to listen to the show.





I was amazed to hear Masoud speak of his experience of faith and renewal in terms that are very familiar to my personal journey with Christ. Perhaps listening to each other does not mean we will necessarily find agreement, but we could find understanding, friendship, and peace. I am glad that there are organizations like the Mississippi Religious Leadership Conference to help that happen, too!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Way to go New York Football Giants! Way to go Eli! Way to go Strahan! You are Super Bowl Champions!

Powered by ScribeFire.

I just walk into a room. People look at these, feel guilty and BAM...they think what I think!

This news is profoundly saddening to me. The folly of President Bush's policies and those who blindly follow them is an indictment upon a society that prizes spin over truth, war over peace, greed over community, nationalism over patriotism, swords over plowshares, security over liberty, oligarchy over democracy, and even Barabbas over Jesus. Let us continue to speak truth to power.

Concern mounts over rising troop suicides

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Every day, five U.S. soldiers try to kill themselves. Before the Iraq war began, that figure was less than one suicide attempt a day.

A U.S. soldier patrols the streets of Baghdad in January.

The dramatic increase is revealed in new U.S. Army figures, which show 2,100 soldiers tried to commit suicide in 2007.

"Suicide attempts are rising and have risen over the last five years," said Col. Elspeth Cameron-Ritchie, an Army psychiatrist.

Concern over the rate of suicide attempts prompted Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia, to introduce legislation Thursday to improve the military's suicide-prevention programs.

"Our troops and their families are under unprecedented levels of stress due to the pace and frequency of more than five years of deployments," Webb said in a written statement. Watch CNN Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre on the reasons for the increase in suicides »

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, took to the Senate floor Thursday, urging more help for military members, especially for those returning from war.

"Our brave service members who face deployment after deployment without the rest, recovery and treatment they need are at the breaking point," Murray said.

She said Congress has given "hundreds of millions of dollars" to the military to improve its
ability to provide mental health treatment, but said it will take more than money to resolve the problem.

"It takes leadership and it takes a change in the culture of war," she said. She said some soldiers
had reported receiving nothing more than an 800 number to call for help.

"Many soldiers need a real person to talk to," she said. "And they need psychiatrists and they need psychologists."

According to Army statistics, the incidence of U.S. Army soldiers attempting suicide or
inflicting injuries on themselves has skyrocketed in the nearly five years since the start of the Iraq war.

Last year's 2,100 attempted suicides -- an average of more than 5 per day -- compares with about 350 suicide attempts in 2002, the year before the war in Iraq began, according to the Army.

The figures also show the number of suicides by active-duty troops in 2007 may reach an all-time high when the statistics are finalized in March, Army officials said.

The Army lists 89 soldier deaths in 2007 as suicides and is investigating 32 more as possible suicides. Suicide rates already were up in 2006 with 102 deaths, compared with 87
in 2005.

Cameron-Ritchie, the Army psychiatrist, said suicide attempts are usually related to problems with intimate relationships, but they are also related to problems with work, finances and the law.

"The really tough area here is stigma. We know that soldiers don't want to go seek care. They're tough, they're strong, they don't want to go see a behavioral health-care provider," Cameron-Ritchie said.

Multiple deployments and long deployments appear to exact a toll on relationships, thereby boosting the number of suicide attempts, she said.

Traditionally, the suicide rate among military members has been lower than age- and gender-matched civilians. But in recent years the rate has crept up from 12 per 100,000 among the military to 17.5 per 100,000 in 2006, she said. That's still less than the civilian figure of about 20 per 100,000, she said.

The "typical" soldier who commits suicide is a member of an infantry unit who uses a firearm to carry out the act, according to the Army.

Post-traumatic stress disorder also may be a factor in suicide attempts, Cameron-Ritchie said, because it can result in broken relationships and often leads to drug and alcohol abuse.

"The real central issue is relationships. Relationships, relationships, relationships," said U.S. Army Chaplain Lt. Col. Ran Dolinger. "People look at PTSD, they look at length of deployments ... but it's that broken relationship that really makes the difference."

To reduce suicides, the Army said it is targeting soldiers who are or have been in Iraq for long
periods and teaching them to notice signs that can lead to suicide.

That training came too late for Army Specialist Tim Bowman. The 23-year-old killed himself in 2005 after returning from Iraq.

"As my family was preparing for a 2005 Thanksgiving meal, our son Timothy was lying on the floor, slowly bleeding to death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound," said his father, Mike Bowman, in testimony to a House Veterans' Affairs committee hearing in December.
"His war was now over."

He said veterans return home to find an "understaffed, under-funded, under-equipped" Veterans Affairs mental health system.

"Many just give up trying," he said.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Switch to ScribeFire

I have decided to switch my blog posting interface to ScribeFire. ScribeFire is a very user friendly add-on to the Mozilla Firefox browser. I really love Firefox...it truly outweighs Internet Explorer in functionality and gadgets.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Frozen in time at Grand Central Terminal...what a great prank!

Oh this...this is my shield against the world!

This my friend is the Helmet of Salvation...I ram people with it...in the face!