Steam Vent

"Stay the course"
We cannot achieve goals, objectives or victory if we have not defined goals, objectives and victory. We've set no course to stay.

"We can't just leave Iraq"
Then sell it to the highest bidder and treat it like any other real estate sale... we move out as the new owners move in. As I understand it, there are several interested parties in the region.

"Cut and Run"
Cut our losses.

"It's important that we rebuild Iraq"
It's important that we rebuild our own gulf coast and World Trade Center buildings. In regards to the latter, stop with the "it has to be a tribute to the tragedy" crap -- stop celebrating that we were attacked and start celebrating that we are a tenacious people who pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and keep living. You're showing those terrorists that we can be stopped in our tracks just that easily -- and the reality is that, except for those of you *cough*Pataki*cough* who've inserted yourselves in the rebuilding process and prevented it from going forward, we can't. How dare you? How F*cking dare you!!!!!

North American Union:
To everyone pushing this turd through: F*ck you. F*ck you sideways, backwards, upside down and inside out, but F*ck you!! NEVER have the f*cking audacity to question my patriotism, my concerns about our nation's security or my willingness to put my back into my living again you soft-handed, ignorant, anti-American, mouth breathing jacktards.

Guest Worker Program:
It's called a "work visa." If illegal immigrants were taking advantage of that program, they wouldn't be illegal immigrants. ...But those of you pushing for this know that, so what you're really trying to do is lay our borders wide open to anyone who wants to wander across to take jobs we Americans supposedly don't want, but which we DO and do quite damned well, thank you very much, in parts of the country that will still hire us to do those jobs or contract the companies we form to provide those services. Open the borders to anyone but natural and naturalized citizens, that is -- to re-enter our own country, we now have to have passports and be papered up to our eyeballs to prove we're who we say we are or we'll be barred from re-entry. F*ck you, right along with the NAU crowd.

Fields of Presidential Dreams

Election 2008

Of note:
We have our first casualty in the race! As of Feb 23, Tom Vilsack, the second Democrat to declare official intent in the 2008 Presidential race, became the first official candidate of either party to drop out of the
race.

This is the current lineup of 2008 Presidential hopefuls (so far as I'm aware, from my own ongoing research) in both major parties:

- - - - - - - - - - - -

DEMOCRATS:

Officially announced (at least remotely viable) candidates:
• Illinois Sen. Barack Obama ( Feb. 10, 2007)
• Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Jan. 31, 2007)
• Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd ( Jan. 11, 2007)
• Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (Dec. 28, 2006)
• Ohio Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Dec. 12, 2006)
• Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel (April 17, 2006)

Official intent expressed via establishment of exploratory committees:
• New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (Jan. 20, 2007)
• New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (Jan. 21, 2007)

Widely speculated:
• Civil Rights activist Al Sharpton
• Retired Gen. Wesley Clark of Arkansas
• Former Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee

Grassroots Draft Push efforts:
• U.S. Congressman John Conyers Jr. of Michigan
• Environmental Atty & talk radio host Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
• Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer

Less widely speculated:
• Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano
• Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell
• U.S. Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska
• Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen

Not remotely viable official candidates:
• Laura Davis-Aaron (Tennesse) (FEC)
• Carlos Alvarez (NC) (FEC)
• Warren R. Ashe (Virginia) (FEC) Famous for faux-resume
• George Ballard (Pennsylvania) (FEC) Says he, not Barack, is the African American candidate America is ready for
• Emperor Caesar (Florida) (FEC)
• Randy Crow (NC) (FEC) Raving conspiracy theorist lunatic & openly anti-semetic end-times freak
• Richard Flynn (Arizona) (FEC)
• Michael K. Forrester (Colorado) (FEC) Single issue (repeal "No child left behind act) platform
• Danny M. "Dan" Francis (New York) (Exploratory) Former Marine, teacher & Vietnam vet
• Edward Gittelson (New York) (FEC)
• Amanda Hardy (DC) (FEC)
• Michael Hayes (Maryland) (FEC)
• Alfonzo Jones (California) (FEC) Fourth time's the charm?
• John Joseph Kennedy (Georgia) (FEC) Thinks he's on an anti-Bush mission from God
• Karen Keville (I've found no additional info, yet.)
• Karl E. Krueger (South Dakota) (FEC) Long haul trucker & Vietnam vet. Energy independence platform
• John Mason (NC) (FEC)
• Sherry Meadows (Texas) (FEC)
• Lee Mercer (Texas) (FEC)
• Sal Mohamed (Iowa) (FEC) Campaigns by wearing a sandwich board. Not U.S. born, so can't legally run.
• Oloveuse O. "Ole" Savior (Minnesota) (FEC) Weird artist/poet. Big fan of tv's X-Files and the biblical book of Revelations. Anti-nuke.
• Charles Vick (Tennessee) (FEC)
• Tony Vintinner (Texas) (FEC)
• Rubin Young (Florida) (FEC)

Official Drop Outs:
• Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack

• - Announced candidacy Nov. 30, 2006
  
• Dropped out Feb. 23, 2007

Officially not running:
• Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (Oct. 12, 2006)
• Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold (Nov. 11, 2006)
• Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle (Dec. 2, 2006)
• Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh (Dec. 15, 2006)
• Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry (Jan. 24, 2007)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

REPUBLICANS:

Officially announced candidacies:
• Attorney John H. Cox of Illinois (March 9, 2006)
• Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (Feb. 13, 2007)
• Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (Jan. 20, 2007)

Official intent expressed via establishment of exploratory committees:
• Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (Jan. 29, 2007)
• Texas Rep. Ron Paul

• Filed papers with state authorities in Texas on Jan. 11, 2007
  
• Has not yet filed with the Federal Election Commission

• Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani

• Established exploratory committee Nov. 20
  
• Numerous public statements that he's running
  
• No official announcement, yet.

• Arizona Sen. John McCain (Nov. 16, 2006)
• Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy G. Thompson (Dec. 13, 2006)
• Former Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III ( Jan. 9, 2007)
• California Rep. Duncan Hunter (Jan. 12, 2007)
• Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo (Jan. 16, 2007)

Widely speculated:
• Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia
• Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel
• Former New York Gov. George E. Pataki

Officially not running:
• Former Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist (Nov. 29, 2006)

One Million Blogs for Peace

The Melhi Ink blog has joined the One Million Blogs for Peace project.

If you have a blog and you're willing to (or already do) use your blog to further the cause of ending the Iraq war and bringing our sons & daughters, sisters & brothers, mothers & fathers home safely, you should sign up your blog to participate in the project.


Important Reminder:
March 19 marks the four year anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war and March 20th marks the beginning of our fifth year at war in Iraq. Events will be taking place around the country over those two days. If you're interested in attending an event, it's time to start making any necessary schedule/travel plans.

New Anti-war/Bush Inkware

For those of you who enjoy checking out the latest additions in my Melhi Ink store:

The Melhi Ink store proudly introduces to its political line, a new anti-war/bush, pro-peace demonstration slogan that is reminiscent of the popular Vietnam War protest rally chant, "Hey, Hey, LBJ -- How many kids have you killed today?"

Just as the LBJ slogan referred to both the war and the Johnson administration's failure to address deadly domestic problems of that era, the Melhi Ink "Screw W" slogan is intended to refer to much more than just the casualties in the Iraq war, but also to deaths attributable to: the mishandling of the Katrina disaster, the gutting of MSHA safety regulations by Bush appointees with corporate interests in the mining industry, un/underemployment, budget cuts that led to the downsizing of police and firefighting forces across the nation, un/underemployment, lack of decent health insurance, etc., etc., etc.

I've also added a beastly new goat-lord design to the Pop Culture Shack line. He's the result of an exercise to increase my mouse accuracy with the lasso tool... the inspiration came from the light/shadow on the ram's horn he's almost entirely crafted from and the lines on a Grand-Am I saw in traffic.

I invite you to click on the above links to see the designs on various merchandise and to offer your feedback on my product selections and design work!

If you currently have a website or blog on which you'd like to mention and link to either of these designs and your web/blog host also allows affiliate advertising, please remember to sign up for a CafePress affiliate account and tack a question mark and your affiliate PID onto the end of the URL before linking, so that you'll earn 20% commission from any purchases resulting from clicks on your referral link. :)

As always, I'm grateful for your interest!

Mel.

Totally to say "I told you so!"

Can I call 'em or can I call 'em? In my eight part series on same-gendered marriage, I warned that precedent set in the banning of these marriages would lead to this...

Read the Kings5/AP News Report

MPIA, Wash. - An initiative filed by proponents of same-sex marriage would require heterosexual couples to have kids within three years or else have their marriage annulled.

Initiative 957 was filed by the Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance. That group was formed last summer after the state Supreme Court upheld Washington's ban on same-sex marriage.

Under the initiative, marriage would be limited to men and women who are able to have children. Couples would be required to prove they can have children in order to get a marriage license, and if they did not have children within three years, their marriage would be subject to annulment.

All other marriages would be defined as "unrecognized" and people in those marriages would be ineligible to receive any marriage benefits.

“For many years, social conservatives have claimed that marriage exists solely for the purpose of procreation ... The time has come for these conservatives to be dosed with their own medicine," said WA-DOMA organizer Gregory Gadow in a printed statement. “If same-sex couples should be barred from marriage because they can not have children together, it follows that all couples who cannot or will not have children together should equally be barred from marriage."

Supporters must gather more than 224,000 valid signatures by July 6 to put the initiative on the November ballot.

Opponents say the measure is another attack on traditional marriage, but supporters say the move is needed to have a discussion on the high court ruling.

Hey, I tried to warn you...

Taking It Up The Budget

Once again, Bush's budget gives the American people an intimate look at how Bush feels about us...

If we're obscenely wealthy, he's on his knees pleasuring us with permanent tax cuts.

If we're middle to upper middle class, whether we're traditionally employed or self employed, he's made sure that more of us than ever before will be bent over by the alternative minimum tax that was created to make sure the afore mentioned wealthy pay taxes, at all.

If we're working class and have health insurance through our employers, we're bent over with Bush's greedy fist poised to plunge deep into our burden rate to tax our employer's contribution to our health insurance as income.

If we're poor or elderly, we'll be taking it particularly hard up the budget. The doctors who treat us will have ceilings placed on their incomes -- which will likely discourage many of them from treating us at all.

To recap:
1. Our most wealthy get permanent tax cuts.
2. Millions more of our middle class will be paying higher "alternative minimum tax" rates.
3. Our working class gets a NEW TAX
4. Doctors will be penalized, through salary regulation, for treating our poor and elderly.

And who is the real winner in Bush's budget? Not America. Not Americans. Not American families. Not American soldiers or veterans. Not American seniors or children. Not American workers. Not the American Gulf coast. No. The winners are Iraq and the Iraqi people. For them, we have billions, pulled from the pockets of the people who can least afford and have to work the hardest to foot the bill.