Barack O'Bama {for st. patty's day}

There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama {this is the YouTube video, no embed available}

Official music video from the Corrigan Brothers. Sing along with the karaoke lyrics and trace Obama's Irish roots!

Corrigan Brothers

No One as Irish Alternative - performed by Erins Own

Tent City {Bushvilles} Dwellers Being Booted Out....

Will the city have the Housing required for some 2,000 people, and if so what happens next as more and more find themselves without!!



Huffpost wants to know about other 'Tent Cities':

There are reports of tent cities popping up across the country as unemployment rises in a worsening economy. The biggest and highest-profile shantytown is in Sacramento, where hundreds of newly-homeless tent residents are cooking soup in old coffee cans.

We want to know where else this is happening.

HuffPost readers: Is there a tent city near you? Have you noticed a newly-formed community of people living together in improvised housing in a public space? Email us! Send any information you've got (or pictures) to Huff Post.com.

Sacramento's KCRA reported this week that city officials plan to shut the tent city down.

Michelle: "It Hurts!!", "It Hurts!!"

I went over to ABC News to see if they had posted a video report that I caught last night, never got to that as this is what I found, and will be airing this morning on GMA.

Exclusive: 'It Hurts,' Says First Lady of Military Families on Food Stamps

First lady Michelle Obama wants military families to know they have a friend in the White House, she told "Good Morning America's" Robin Roberts in an exclusive interview today at Fort Bragg, N.C. -- her first network television interview since her husband took office.

"It hurts. It hurts," the first lady said of hearing about military families on food stamps. "These are people who are willing to send their loved ones off to, perhaps, give their lives -- the ultimate sacrifice. But yet, they're living back at home on food stamps. It's not right, and it's not where we should be as a nation."

It is so refreshing to actually watch as those in this new administration, especially the First Family members, speak the words of the real needs that should have come from those in the previous administration, especially as to anything connected to our Military and their Families as we sent them into two, now long running, occupations! All they gave us, and our soldiers as well as their families, were "Go Shopping!" and 'Magnetic Ribbons'!

And when they do you can read the dedication to those words and thoughts in the faces of those speaking, and the want to Really make a difference by doing what already should have been but wasn't even thought of.

Mrs. Obama's comments to ABC News followed an emotional private meeting with military families at Fort Bragg. The first lady traveled to North Carolina to hear their stories about the support services that are available to them and what can be done to better serve those who serve their country.

"I think that's one of my jobs, is to try and shed some light on some of these issues," she said, "to not just be in that conversation with military spouses and hear those stories, but to take that information back to the administration to share it with the nation, so that we can think again about how we can better support these families."

Working with and for military families is at the top of the first lady's agenda as she settles into her new role in the White House -- so for her first trip outside of Washington, she chose to highlight the struggles of the nation's servicemen and servicewomen.

The Military and their Families can really believe they have more than just a Friend in the White House, and that what wasn't before will be fought for to be now!

Lets hope the Country follows their Lead, especially as to this generations New Veterans, it hasn't since after World War II, and the Veterans Administration administrative offices have been nothing but political appointee's, from the very top down, and especially these last eight years as they vigorously sent our troops into two Wars, Incompetence and Corruption Reigned!

Michelle Obama begins advocacy as first lady

First lady Michelle Obama reads to children at the Prager Child Development Center at Fort Bragg, N.C., where she met with relatives of service members.
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — The nation owes not only gratitude but tangible assistance to the nation's military and their families, and she'll make that a focus of her time in the White House, first lady Michelle Obama says.

Underscoring her commitment to the plight of America's military families, Mrs. Obama used a trip to Fort Bragg as a stage for her first television interviews since the inauguration. One with ABC's "Good Morning America" was to air Friday.

In the interview she said she wanted military families to know they have a friend in the White House.

On the local news here they showed a short clip of Michelle reading to the children. See the cute young lady standing next to her in the above pic, this is one youngster that will never forget this meeting, in the clip she seemed to be constantly talking to Michelle, touching her, and striving to savor the moment. Michelle kept smiling as she gave her answers to her questions and wrapped her arm around her. All the kids were enjoying this moment and Michelle's reading to them.

A footnote:

Here's Really Hoping

The obstructionist 'rushlicans' will Not Stop the Real Need to move forward in Giving Our Veterans that which should have always been, What They Are Owed For Our Service To Country especially after their Wars of Choice!!

C Bomb Exports Permanently Banned!‏

I received this yesterday, on the 11th, from the Friends Committee on National Legislation and was going to post it around but couldn't get the links to load, they're fine now, So Please Use Them!

A live, U.S-made M77 cluster submunition in a citrus orchard in Southern Lebanon--one of an estimated 4 million dropped in 2006.
President Obama signed a law yesterday, March 11 2009, that will make permanent a ban on nearly all cluster bomb exports from the United States. Congress included the export ban in an omnibus budget bill that passed the Senate last night. This provision will move the U.S. one step closer to the position of the nearly 100 nations--including our closest NATO allies--that signed a treaty banning cluster munitions in December.

The legislation states that cluster munitions can only be exported if they leave behind less than one percent of their submunitions as duds, and if the receiving country agrees that cluster munitions "will not be used where civilians are known to be present." Only a very tiny fraction of the cluster munitions in the U.S. arsenal meet the one percent standard. This export ban was first enacted in a similar budget bill in December 2007, but that law mandated it for only one year.

U.S.-exported cluster bombs were most recently used by Israel in Southern Lebanon, where dud rates were reportedly as high as 40 percent; hundreds of civilians and deminers have been killed or maimed since the fighting ended in 2006.

Now Congress needs to take the next step and ban U.S. use of these deadly weapons. Nearly one in four senators have already cosponsored the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act (S. 416), introduced one month ago, which would stop the military from using virtually all of the cluster bombs in its vast arsenal by applying this same one percent standard to U.S. use. Do your senators support this bill? If not, urge them to co-sponsor today. If it's unacceptable to export high dud-rate cluster bombs, then it's unacceptable to use them. Growing Senate support for S. 416 will show President Obama that the U.S. public stands with the rest of the world in supporting a ban on cluster bombs.

As 17 year old Soraj Ghulam Habib from Herat, Afghanistan, who lost both legs to a U.S. cluster submunition in 2001 observes, "You'd ban them for sure, if you had them here." Click here to see what a cluster bomb would do to your neighborhood.

The link directly above, what they would do if dropped in your neighborhood, gives you a great description, after typing in just your address and zip, gives you a birdseye overview of a map with the damage that takes place and the spread of the unexploded!

Please sign on to send your reps the message as well!!

Below is an article about the passing and signing and more.

Cluster Bomb Exports Curbed by New U.S. Law

The United States banned exports of most kinds of controversial cluster bombs under spending legislation signed this week by U.S. President Barack Obama, two U.S. Senators said March 12.

The new restrictions, which make permanent a one-year ban first enacted in December 2007, were part of a $410-billion spending plan that lawmakers passed March 10 and Obama signed March 11.

Dropped from warplanes or fired from artillery guns, cluster bombs explode in mid-air to randomly scatter hundreds of bomblets, which can be just eight centimeters (three inches) in size.

Many bomblets fail to explode, littering war zones with de facto landmines that can kill and maim long after a conflict ends.

"Hearts and Minds"

WE WANTED TO LET EVERYONE KNOW THIS FILM HAS BEEN REMASTERED AND
DIGITALLY ENHANCED AND IS BEING RELEASED IN NYC ON:

OPENS MARCH 20TH @ CINEMA VILLAGE, NEW YORK CITY

FOR TICKET INFORMATION

You can view The documentary here

And visit the WikiPedia page to find out more.

Description:

From 1974, by Peter Davis. Essential viewing if you want to escape history. From IMDB: "This film recounts the history and attitudes of the opposing sides of the Vietnam War using archival news footage as well as their own film and interviews. A key theme is how attitudes of American racism and self-righteousness militarism helped create and prolong this bloody conflict. The film also endeaveors to give voice to the Vietnamese people themselves as to how the war has affected them and their reasons why they fight the United States and other western powers while showing the basic humanity of the people that US propaganda tried to dismiss

Tigris River Fisherman

A fisherman in Baghdad speaks to Dahr Jamail and Jason Coppola in the shadow of the massive new US embassy on the Tigris River about life during occupation.

Hate groups in America‏

Southern Poverty Law Center

Live webcast: Hate group count rises
Join SPLC President Richard Cohen and Intelligence Project director Mark Potok as they discuss the growing number of hate groups in the United States. We've documented 926 hate groups in the U.S. - an increase of more than 50 percent since 2000.

Hate groups are trying to swell their ranks by exploiting the election of President Obama, the struggling economy and immigration fears. Listeners will be able to submit questions before and during the event. The webcast will be Wednesday, March 18 at 2 p.m. Eastern. Register today.

Stand strong against hate in your state

Join the thousands of Americans on our interactive map standing strong against the hate, racism and intolerance infecting our communities.

Unsung Heroines by PBS

For Women's History Month

MSA President Named as an Unsung Heroine by PBS for Women's History Month

PBS’ Favorite Unsung Heroines
March 10th, 2009

"March is Women’s History Month–but we’d like to shine a light on women of immense accomplishment, fortitude and inspiration, though not an equal amount of recognition. From Bill Moyers, Maria Hinojosa, Judy Woodruff, Lidia Bastianich, Martin Savidge, Tom Stewart and Paula Zahn, their personal unsung heroines..."

...

Maria Hinojosa, Senior Correspondent from NOW on PBS, on Carissa Picard

“Carissa Picard is an inspiration. The wife of an army pilot and mother of two toddlers, she lives on a military base in Texas. She sees many military
spouses on the base who feel powerless and lonely. But Carissa is a lawyer, so has taken her legal skills and created an organization–Military Spouses for Change (now Military Spouses of America)–to help the wives (and husbands) speak out and feel empowered enough to challenge one of the biggest and most powerful institutions in our country…the military. She helps women own their voices and their power to challenge authority.”

Carissa was featured in the NOW Program “Fighting the Military“, you can watch it online.

Read about the other amazing woman at PBS Unsung Heroines

CONGRADULATIONS Carissa, you've done wonders, in service and advocacy, not only for the spouses of but the Soldiers you've helped, these recent troubled years!!

Let's End Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining

Watch The Sierra Club's video featuring footage of Ashley Judd speaking out against mountaintop removal. Then take action at Sierra Club, Mountaintop to help put an end to this destructive practice.



Footage courtesy of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and Evening Star Production's "The Appalachians"

Knowingly Exposed Soldiers To Toxic Waste

Pentagon Knowingly Exposed US Soldiers To Toxic Waste: Leaked Memo {Under cheney/bush}

The Pentagon allegedly endangered U.S. soldiers by implementing and covering-up dangerously toxic waste-incineration practices at Balad Airbase in Iraq during years past, as revealed in a leaked Air Force memo [PDF]. Raw Story, which first reported the leak, writes this:

The document, written by an environmental engineering flight commander in December of 2006 and posted on Wikileaks on Tuesday, details the risks posed to US troops in Iraq by burning garbage at a US airbase. It enumerates myriad risks posed by the practice and identifies various carcinogens released by incinerating waste in open-air pits.

The PDF Air Force Memo

Oregon veteran disabled by Iraq's 'Agent Orange'

The soldiers worried about Saddam Hussein loyalists, not the dust.

Dust coated the Oregon Army National Guardsmen's combat boots and caked their skin as they protected Halliburton KBR contractors restoring oil flow in Iraq in 2003. Dust poofed from the soldiers' uniforms as they crowded into vans at the end of the day and shared tents at night.

When the dust blew onto Spc. Larry Roberta's ready-to-eat meal, he rinsed the chicken patty with his canteen water and ate it.

Six months later, doctors discovered the flap into Roberta's stomach had disintegrated. Six years later, the Marine and former police officer can no longer walk to the mailbox or work.

Rest Here

Iraq's and Afghanistan's 'Agent Orange'


Some wounded soldiers ‘punished for injuries’
Authorities hold sick, disabled troops to same standards as the able-bodied

Advocates for wounded soldiers question whether the tough-love approach is an effort to get rid of soldiers considered unlikely to return to regular duty.

"It creates a hostile environment where soldiers buckle and take a low-balled disability rating and benefits just to get out when they can," said retired Army Lt. Col. Mike Parker.

The Warrior Transition system was established two years ago to improve treatment of wounded soldiers after the scandal over shoddy conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Mexican Drug War: Gun Running from U.S. Suppliers

Gun Dealer Accused Of Selling To Cartels

CBS Evening News: Gun Runners Send Thousands Of Weapons From The U.S. To Mexico, Fueling That Country's Drug Wars

In Phoenix Monday, a gun dealer went on trial for supplying assault rifles to Mexican drug gangs who are locked in a bloody war with authorities -- and each other. CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reports on a case that's being watched closely in both the United States, and in Mexico.

In the escalating drug war south of the border, Mexican cartels supply the drugs, but the guns largely come from the United States.

"Firearms trafficking to Mexico is a huge problem," says Phoenix ATF agent William Newell. "Drugs go north, guns come south." >>>>>>>>>More

Gunrunning Across The Border
In the continuing drug war in Mexico, the assault weapons they use such as AK-47s and 50 caliber rifles are largely coming from U.S. traffickers at a rate of 2,000 a day. Ben Tracy reports.

Can Everyone Say "Strong National Defense!!"??

A Few Recent Articles:

Two gun-running suspects arrested near Lukeville

The Border Patrol said both men in the truck appeared nervous and gave misleading information. A search led to the discovery of five SKS rifles, two AK-47 rifles, two semi-automatic 9mm pistols, one CVA 50-caliber rifle and 7,000 rounds of ammunition.

Drug War Doublespeak

Calderon cites the US role in gun-running, money-laundering, and demand for narcotics. The motivations behind the recent hype vary.

Gun-running's two-way street

It's time for the American people to stop living in a state of denial and get serious about stopping gun shipments into Mexico.

OIF and OEF Vets Care and Needs

Vets with post-traumatic stress fight for aid

It was during his first deployment in Iraq that Marine Cpl. David Tracy, 23, of Peekskill earned his Purple Heart.

"I was up top behind the gun when we stopped at a checkpoint and a roadside bomb exploded on the other side of the barrier," said Tracy, an infantryman who served as a machine gunner in Baghdad and Fallujah.

Shrapnel nearly blew off Tracy's right earlobe.

Rest with Video Here

Revamp the VA

Under cheney/bush/gop, With Two Theaters of Occupations, Incompentence Reigned

The men and women who have fought for our country as members of our armed forces ask relatively little of their country after they complete their service.

In many cases, a simple thank you and appreciation for their sacrifice is enough. But they do ask - and deserve - at least one other thing as they return to the private sector. They would like for the promises made to them by the government to be kept.

That clearly hasn't been the case. A recent report by the Veterans Affairs Department documents case after case in which mail and other important papers for health claims remained unopened, mishandled or manipulated in some way. One effect is that veterans have been delayed or denied care. Another effect is that the department that is supposed to care for and assist our nation's heroes has suffered yet another blow to its credibility.

It's simplistic to say, but nonetheless true, that it simply shouldn't be this way.

Rest Found Here

Pelosi's job program aids wounded vets

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is planning to announce Monday the hiring of nine wounded or disabled veterans into House staff positions as part of the “Wounded Warrior” program.

The program is intended to help wounded veterans, including those who have lost arms and legs in the conflict, make the sometimes difficult transition back to civilian life.

Pelosi launched the $5 million venture through the office of the Chief Administrative Officer in 2007 as a way to also give members and staff on both sides of the divisive Iraq war debate a symbol of the cost and sacrifice of war.

Rest Found Here

On "International Women's Day '09" and well beyond!!

cheney/bush Legacy: Widows 'forgotten victims of Iraq'

Study: Iraqi widows struggle in new roles as breadwinners

An Iraqi woman who sells incense and candles to support her children says, "to work is to preserve your honor."
"A whole generation of Iraqis are at risk. Mothers are being forced to make tough choices, such as whether to pay for their children to go to school and receive health care, or to pay for private power and water services. These are choices no mother should have to make. And they are not only threatening individual families, they are also threatening the future of Iraq itself," Hobbs said.

Here are some of the survey results.

• Security and safety are the top concerns of nearly 60 percent of women.

• More than 40 percent of respondents said their security situation worsened last year.

• 55 percent had been victims of violence since 2003.

• Some 45 percent of women said their income was worse in 2008 than in 2007 and 2006.

• 69 percent said access to water was worse or the same as in in 2006 and 2007.

• 80 percent said access to electricity was more difficult than or the same as in 2007.

• Nearly half of the women said access to quality health care was more difficult in 2008 compared with 2006 and 2007.
• 40 percent of women with children reported that their sons and daughters were not attending school.

And the children of Iraq will be those the children of the rest of the world will have to deal with, that's Our Legacy!!

A few Photo's of the Women/Widows of Iraq

On "International Women's Day"

In her own words: Iraqi women talk about their greatest concerns and challenges

The plight of women in Iraq today has gone largely ignored, both within Iraqi society and by the international community. For more than five years, headlines have been dominated by political and social turmoil, the chaos of conflict and widespread violence. This has overshadowed the abysmal state of the civilian population’s day-to-day lives, a result of that very turmoil and violence.

Behind the headlines, essential services have collapsed, families have been torn apart and women in particular have fallen victim to the consequences of war. The specific hardships that some of Iraq’s most vulnerable individuals cope with on a daily basis, as told by them, have overwhelmingly gone unheard.

Download full paper (PDF)

Iraq's Unspeakable Crime:

Mothers Pimping Daughters

She goes by "Hinda," but that's not her real name. That's what she's called by the many Iraqi sex traffickers and pimps who contact her several times a week from across the country. They think she is one of them, a peddler of sexual slaves. Little do they know that the stocky, auburn-haired woman is an undercover human rights activist who has been quietly mapping out their murky underworld since 2006.