Blue Herald » 2009

Yes, military protocol may have been broken, but does one ignore the president? Seems to me the president sets the standard on protocol. And if President Obama altered protocol by waving to this gentleman, would Mr. Coleman be in the wrong by waving back? I should think not. We’ve got senators who break protocol by visiting whore houses and having public bathroom sex. Were they suspended? No. They weren’t even embarrassed when caught and confronted!

Mr. Coleman, two-faced hypocritical (un)Americans may want to extend some form of punishment your way, but I don’t. My sincerest apologies for how you’ve been treated. And, thank you!, for your service.

After suspension for nodding at Obama, drum major quits

(CNN) — An Ohio man who was suspended as the drum major of a band for giving President Obama a nod during last week’s inaugural parade is calling it quits.

John Coleman resigned from the Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes & Drums a week after the parade in Washington. Publicity about his suspension had gotten to be too much, he told CNN affiliate WEWS.

“It’s come to a point where I don’t want embarrassment anymore between the pipe band and myself,” Coleman, who is a firefighter, told WEWS on Tuesday.

Coleman was seen during the nationally televised January 20 parade nodding toward the new president while marching with the band. A few steps later, he appeared to wave briefly. [...]

“Contact was made with our eyes both together and he smiled and waved at the band,” he told the station. “And just as a gesture, I nodded my head. I gave him a slight wave and went on.”

6 Comments

A Partisan Investigation

by Buck • Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 - 10:12 am

Have these people forgotten the semen-stained dress?

Republicans really do believe they are above the law. That’s the way it usually plays out anyway. Nixon got a pass, as did Scooter Libbey, Harriet Miers and Karl Rove. Corrupt, treasonous actions by republicans are forgivable… but let a democrat cross his eyes and see what happens. This is one seriously fucked up country.

Whore house frequenter and hypocritical powerhouse, Louisiana Senator David Vitter (Republican), and toe-tapping, public bathroom sex-pert and hypocritical powerhouse, (former) Idaho Senator Larry Craig (Republican), both have been caught with their pants down around their ankles and soaked in a sea of semen. Did either one of them spend any time at an impeachment trial? Did either garner any type of public rebuke from their peers? Did either one get a slap on the wrist? See how it works?

Crime is crime and must be punished, regardless of party affiliation. Allowing republican crimes to go unpunished now only sets the standard for future republican administrations. Is that really what we want? As someone once said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Holder confirmation won’t end torture questions

WASHINGTON (AP) — Eric Holder likely will soon be confirmed as the next attorney general, but it won’t stop questions about whether government officials or agents should be prosecuted for harsh interrogations.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote later Wednesday to recommend confirming Holder, who would become the first African-American to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement official if approved by the full Senate. [...]

One of the unresolved issues of Holder’s confirmation is whether CIA officers or other government officials should face criminal investigation for harsh interrogation techniques like waterboarding. In testimony at his confirmation hearing, Holder said that waterboarding is torture. [...]

Robert Turner, a professor at the University of Virginia specializing in national security law, said while he strongly opposes waterboarding, he doesn’t think the government should prosecute U.S. officers.

“On balance, I just don’t see anything good coming out of that kind of an investigation,” said Turner. “The worst thing would be a partisan investigation and that’s what I would expect.”

1 Comment

House to Vote on Stimulus Today

by QuestionGirl • Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 - 9:33 am

The house vote on the stimulus plan should take place today. I guess we already know what the outcome will be. It will pass without the Republican’s support. Oh well…… waaaa waaa waaaa.

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UN Official: Enough Evidence to Prosecute Rumsfeld

by QuestionGirl • Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 - 12:19 am

A UN official says there is enough evidence that former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld could be brought to justice for war crimes.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak in an interview on Monday told CNN that the international body had enough evidence to prosecute Rumsfeld for his direct authorization of tortures at US detention centers in 2002.

“We have clear evidence,” Nowak said. “In our report that we sent to the United Nations, we made it clear that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld clearly authorized torture methods and he was told at that time by Alberto Mora, the legal council of the Navy, ‘Mr. Secretary, what you are actually ordering here amounts to torture.’ So, there we have the clear evidence that Mr. Rumsfeld knew what he was doing but, nevertheless, he ordered torture.”

The UN torture official earlier in an interview with Germany’s ZDF television had said that “I think the evidence is on the table.”

Nowak said that the United States had an “obligation” to probe former President George Bush’s Administration for their involvement in torture.

More at Press TV

3 Comments

So Sad

by Buck • Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 - 11:41 pm

Heart-wrenching. And expect to see this happen more and more as we go along.

LA man upset over job kills wife, 5 kids, himself

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man fatally shot his wife, five young children and himself, claiming in a note he faxed to a TV station Tuesday that the couple had just been fired from their hospital jobs and together planned the killings as an escape for the whole family.

“Why leave our children in someone else’s hands,” Ervin Lupoe wrote in his letter to KABC-TV. The station posted the letter on its Web site later with some parts redacted. [...]

Officers rushed to the home in Wilmington, a small community between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, about 8:30 a.m. and found the bodies.

All were shot in the head, some multiple times, Coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter said. The killings may have occurred between Monday evening and early Tuesday, based on neighbors’ accounts of firecracker sounds, he said.

3 Comments

Club Blue

by QuestionGirl • Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 - 9:08 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5sp5HPtuV8

Ronnie Baker Brooks
“Stuck on Stupid”

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That’s My President

by Buck • Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 - 6:45 pm

Giving in to republican demand and handing them everything they want, along with a little ball washing on the side – that’s CHANGE you can take to the bank!

Tell me again WHY John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Rush Limbaugh and others are giving President Obama such a hard way to go… Is Barack not giving in to their demands fast enough?

Obama open to compromise on $825B stimulus bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — On the eve of a key vote, President Barack Obama privately promised Republicans he stands ready to accept changes in the $825 billion economic stimulus legislation, invoked Ronald Reagan to rebut conservative critics and urged lawmakers to “put politics aside” in the interest of creating jobs.

“The American people expect action,” Obama said Tuesday as he shuttled between closed-door meetings with House and Senate Republicans on a trip to the Capitol that blended substance with political symbolism.

Republicans who attended the sessions said the president did not agree to any specific changes but did pledge to have his aides consider some that GOP lawmakers raised dealing with additional tax relief for businesses.

I know, I know. People are going to tell me I need to cut Obama a little slack. That this is all part of “a master plan.” I’ll not go any further with that thought.

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