Guantanamo discussion moved forward

Around here, we have not all agreed about the detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The opinion of most is that the men whom our government has imprisoned are entitled to access to American courts to determine if they were being held legally. As it is, they have been held in prison for years without a trial or even a court appearance.

Thursday, The Supreme Court agreed with that point of view. The Bush government did not. Now, we will see whether or not the Court's decision or the Bush stubbornness will prevail. Not all the Justices on the Supreme Court agreed with the court's decision. Justice Scalia wrote the opinion of four members who did not agree with the decision. But the Supreme Court decides by majority opinion, it doesn't have to be unanimous.


[Guantanamo prisoner
being taken for
interrogation.]

One of our friends, Bob (also known as Sparty) has written on this subject. He supports the Supreme Court's decision and opposes the Bush government.

SPARTY'S COMMENTS

"...stand up for our civil liberties when it really matters..."

I really don't know where to begin in responding to this decision and the Administration's policies regarding the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay ...

Justice Scalia characterizes the majority decision as "bait and switch". "Bait and switch" could, in fact, be more accurately attributed to the Bush administration's handling of these prisoners, some of whom have been imprisoned in a U.S. gulag for six years. They were captured as a result of U.S. military action against the Taliban in Afghanistan but the official U.S. position was that they were not prisoners of war and, therefore, not protected by the Geneva Convention's provisions for POW's. However, if they aren't POW's, what is their status - if they are not soldiers in a nation-state's military does that make them criminals because as members of the Taliban they engaged in criminal terrorism against the U.S. and its citizens? If so, why aren't they entitled to the protections of U.S. criminal law, including one of the oldest of Anglo-Saxon legal protections, the right to a writ of habeas corpus? The Bush gang says they're not protected because they are "enemy combatants", not U.S. citizens, and they are not being held on U.S. soil. But what flag flies over the military installation at Guantanamo Bay? It isn't the Cuban flag.

The Bush gang has throughout the last seven years pursued a policy of executive supremacy that contradicts the Constitutional principals of separation of powers and checks and balances. Their position is that these prisoners are subject to only those judicial procedures that the executive branch deems appropriate, the courts (international or U.S.) be damned.

To our great shame, in the wake of the Twin Towers disaster, few Americans have opposed this authoritarian exercise of executive power. I fear that a precedent may have been established that in the passage of time will undermine our basic liberties. In fact, the Attorney General has already announced today that the Supreme Court's decision will have no affect on the military tribunals underway at GITMO. And who will object? The real test of the citizenry's belief in our constitution is its willingness to stand up for our civil liberties when it really matters - when we are under assault. Anybody can be a champion of civil liberties in times of tranquility.

I recall that when the U.S. was engaged in acquiring foreign territories at the beginning of the 20th century the Court was faced with the question of the rights of the inhabitants of those territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, the Philippine Islands, etc.) the U.S. had forcibly annexed. The question was "does the Constitution follow the flag?" The U.S. secretary of state said something like 'It may follow the flag but it hasn't quite caught up to it.' Yesterday's decision places the flag closer to the U.S. territory at Guantanamo Bay but if the past seven years are any indication this president will feel no obligation to obey the majority's decision.

[Here, Americans protest at the Supreme Court, dressed as prisoners]
=====

Agree or disagree, BIRCHES would like to get as many responses as possible from you readers. Please join in with your comments either by posting a comment or by email. This encourages future participation. Please...
====
COMMENTS SO FAR

6 Comments


bud said...
This is where I've disagreed with Sparty. I don't believe that prisoners of war (POWs) should have access to American courts.

I don't think that the Supreme Court meant Prisoners of War when they said, "The Constitution follows the flag." My recollection of that doctrine was that it applied to citizens of territories annexed by the US. No matter where on earth these prisoners might be held, as long as they're under the jurisdiction of American forces, they're under the American flag.

The Bush government has screwed this whole thing up about as thoroughly as it could be done, I think, by refusing to call Guantanamo prisoners, "prisoners of war." Their status is pretty damned confusing to everyone, and now the courts have got to try to sort it out.

This is just one more case of the Bushites operating as if they were/are a law unto themselves. They are about as tyrannical a bunch as there has been in our government.

June 16, 2008 1:13 PM



dashmann said...
POW or not, why does it take the Supreme Court to dictate common decency in dealing with these prisoners??
This country used to be all about setting an example for the world to follow as far as dealing with human rights, instead of looking for technicalities to permit the very behaviors our Constitution and the Magna Carta before it discouraged.
Put the shoe on the other foot if it was our soldiers imprisoned in this manner and see how we would feel?
The GOLDEN RULE still works, and America should lead the world in promoting it.

June 17, 2008 1:39 AM



irene said...
Oooh - I'm going to sleep on this one - I will post a response in the morning.

June 17, 2008 8:14 AM



irish mike said...
I could not agree more with Sparty's essay. The Bush Admin has repeatedly ignored the Constitution to force it's will. What is sad is they know they can get away with it, because the American people just don't seem to care.

June 17, 2008 4:04 PM



anonymous said...
I have to agree with Sparty that these "prisoners" have been unjustly dealt with and under "our current rulers" rule anyone can end up there with no explanations to anyone. It's wrong! Not the way our country has supposedly set its up as taking the high ground. And most of our news media print as gospel any thing leaked to them. We are hurting badly for some really good investigative reporters. Of course, they would probably end up at
Gitmo. An interesting book to read: THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULERS: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them. by Amy Goodman with David Goodman. It deals with this topic as well as many others in the same vein ignoring the Constitution. Alice

June 17, 2008 6:07 PM




bud said...
So, let us suppose that the U.S. should end up someday in a war with Mexico, which is not at all a far-fetched idea. And let's suppose that in that time, the U.S. would take, oh 50,000 POW's. At what point would each of them be entitled to their habeas corpus and their trial by jury in our courts? 72 hrs. for HC and then 6 months for the trial

June 17, 2008 8:24 PM

friends report -- At The Shower

(click to enlarge)

HOROSCOPE FOR TODAY'S BIRTHDAY
June 17

You are feeling there is nowhere to go but up. At last, you're seeing yourself as the rest of us see you.

Bloomsday

IRISH MIKE 

-- tells us that this is Bloomsday (June 16) and that all true Irishmen and Irish ladies should have a swig of some spirits to commemorate it.  CLICK FOR INFO

 

Bloomsday (Irish: Lá Bhloom) is a commemoration observed annually on 16 June in Dublin and elsewhere to celebrate the life of Irish writer James Joyce and relive the events in his novel Ulysses, all of which took place on the same day in Dublin in 1904. The name derives from Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of Ulysses, and 16 June was the date of Joyce's first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle, when they walked to the Dublin village of Ringsend.

The day involves a range of cultural activities including Ulysses readings and dramatisations, pub crawls and general merriment, much of it hosted by the James Joyce Centre in North Great George's Street. Enthusiasts often dress in Edwardian costume to celebrate Bloomsday, and retrace Bloom's route around Dublin via landmarks such as Davy Byrne's pub. Hard-core devotees have even been known to hold marathon readings of the entire novel, some lasting up to 36 hours. The first celebration took place in 1954, and a major five-month-long festival (ReJoyce Dublin 2004) took place in Dublin between 1 April and 31 August 2004. On the Sunday in 2004 before the 100th "anniversary" of the fictional events described in the book, 10,000 people in Dublin were treated to a free, open-air, full Irish breakfast on O'Connell Street consisting of sausages, rashers, toast, beans, and black and white puddings.

HOROSCOPE FOR TODAY'S BIRTHDAY
June 16

Your emotional tension shows too easily today when you forget to wear your diaper.

Monday Morning Friends Report, June 16,2008

======================
Spots and Stripes QUIZ answers from last Tuesday's Quiz are posted at the end of this report:
======================

Around here, we have not all agreed about the detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The opinion of most is that the men whom our government has imprisoned are entitled to access to American courts to determine if they were being held legally. As it is, they have been held in prison for years without a trial or even a court appearance.

Thursday, The Supreme Court agreed with that point of view. The Bush government did not. Now, we will see whether or not the Court's decision or the Bush stubbornness will prevail. Not all the Justices on the Supreme Court agreed with the court's decision. Justice Scalia wrote the opinion of four members who did not agree with the decision. But the Supreme Court decides by majority opinion, it doesn't have to be unanimous.


[Guantanamo prisoner
being taken for
interrogation.]

One of our friends, Bob (also known as Sparty) has written on this subject. He supports the Supreme Court's decision and opposes the Bush government.

SPARTY'S COMMENTS

"...stand up for our civil liberties when it really matters..."

I really don't know where to begin in responding to this decision and the Administration's policies regarding the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay ...

Justice Scalia characterizes the majority decision as "bait and switch". "Bait and switch" could, in fact, be more accurately attributed to the Bush administration's handling of these prisoners, some of whom have been imprisoned in a U.S. gulag for six years. They were captured as a result of U.S. military action against the Taliban in Afghanistan but the official U.S. position was that they were not prisoners of war and, therefore, not protected by the Geneva Convention's provisions for POW's. However, if they aren't POW's, what is their status - if they are not soldiers in a nation-state's military does that make them criminals because as members of the Taliban they engaged in criminal terrorism against the U.S. and its citizens? If so, why aren't they entitled to the protections of U.S. criminal law, including one of the oldest of Anglo-Saxon legal protections, the right to a writ of habeas corpus? The Bush gang says they're not protected because they are "enemy combatants", not U.S. citizens, and they are not being held on U.S. soil. But what flag flies over the military installation at Guantanamo Bay? It isn't the Cuban flag.

The Bush gang has throughout the last seven years pursued a policy of executive supremacy that contradicts the Constitutional principals of separation of powers and checks and balances. Their position is that these prisoners are subject to only those judicial procedures that the executive branch deems appropriate, the courts (international or U.S.) be damned.

To our great shame, in the wake of the Twin Towers disaster, few Americans have opposed this authoritarian exercise of executive power. I fear that a precedent may have been established that in the passage of time will undermine our basic liberties. In fact, the Attorney General has already announced today that the Supreme Court's decision will have no affect on the military tribunals underway at GITMO. And who will object? The real test of the citizenry's belief in our constitution is its willingness to stand up for our civil liberties when it really matters - when we are under assault. Anybody can be a champion of civil liberties in times of tranquility.

I recall that when the U.S. was engaged in acquiring foreign territories at the beginning of the 20th century the Court was faced with the question of the rights of the inhabitants of those territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, the Philippine Islands, etc.) the U.S. had forcibly annexed. The question was "does the Constitution follow the flag?" The U.S. secretary of state said something like 'It may follow the flag but it hasn't quite caught up to it.' Yesterday's decision places the flag closer to the U.S. territory at Guantanamo Bay but if the past seven years are any indication this president will feel no obligation to obey the majority's decision.

[Here, Americans protest at the Supreme Court, dressed as prisoners]
=====

Agree or disagree, BIRCHES would like to get as many responses as possible from you readers. Please join in with your comments either by posting a comment or by email. This encourages future participation. Please...


======
Spots and Stripes QUIZ answers from last Tuesday's Quiz:

1. cheetah
2. giraffe
3. zebra
4. Jaguar
5. leopard
6. lynx/bobcat
7. tiger
8. dalmatian
======
GOLD STARS
to IRENE, MARSHA, PAT W, TRASE.

and a silver star for ALICE, who came within a coyote's howl of getting them all.

Quoted Without Further Comment

"Clearly, the tie business is nothing like the old days. In the early 1970s, when sales peaked, manufacturers sold between 200 million and 250 million ties a year in the U.S. Today annual sales have dropped to about 50 million, according to Lee Terrill, president of the neckwear division of Phillips-Van Heusen Corp., the nation's largest tie maker." CLICK

HOROSCOPE FOR ALL YOU FATHERS
June 15

Today you feel that you're on the verge of great success, but of course, you're mistaken once again.

Sunday silly Sites

A photo record of: World's best beards: CLICK


Try to stay off this list. Florida People attacked by 'gators, where and when and how. CLICK

HOROSCOPE FOR TODAY'S BIRTHDAY
June 14

You will be forced into a position of justifying yourself, so think of a better explanation for your child's broken arm.

Wacko of the Week, 06/14/08

U.S. Circuit Court Judge ALEX KOZINSKI:

Well, he's always been known as a maverick. CLICK . And that's an appropriate role for a well-known conservative judge appointed by a well-known conservative president (Reagan) to serve on a United States Court out there in wacky California where liberals seem to be running all over the place doing good deeds, willy-nilly.

And now His Honor is sitting as the judge on an obscenity trial that promises to be nasty, salacious, naughty, and even nauseating. You know, naked women painted to look like cows and bounding around on all fours, or naked men with sexually aroused farm animals.

Oh, Wait A Minute! That's not exhibit A at the trial, that's a list of pictures on the Judge's website. Oops! This means that the guy who's going to decide if --- hmm.

The Prosecutor cries FOUL! The Judge says, "DAMN!" The actress says, "MOO!" It is known that the Judge is a very big supporter of free speech and press. So, damn and moo are perfectly legal --- I guess.

The trial has been put on hold, and the judge has put himself on unemployment. CLICK

"In light of the public controversy surrounding my involvement in this case, I have concluded that there is a manifest necessity to declare a mistrial," wrote Alex Kozinski, chief judge for the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. "I will recuse myself from further participation in the case and will ask the chief judge of the district court to reassign it to another judge." CLICK

Here under the BIRCHES, we're a pretty jaded bunch and not much shocks us. This certainly doesn't. We live in a kind of state of nature where the monkeys are swinging around in the altogether and the beavers are always slapping their naked tails on the old mill stream. We certainly don't care what the Judge looks at, and we would have said an expert like him should stay on the case.

So, Judge, you're our Wacko of the Week for running away when the going got, well, dirty.
====

RUNNER-UP: Daryl Zutt, Queensland Australia. More-and-more, Australia is becoming the place America used to be with colorful and unconventional characters doing independently minded things and having wondrous adventures.
This one we're not describing, we're going to depend on you to click and read it yourself. However, it begins with a phone call: "Mom, you're not gonna believe this, but --- goodbye!"
CLICK

Goodbye Tim Russert

Every teacher favors the kid who does his homework; and that was you!

Ask Bud

Readers have been flooding me with this question:
WHY IS GOD STRIKING US WITH WICKED TOMATOES AND TORNADOS?


I called together my brain trust, my most competent advisers: BARBARA BUSH, TED NUGENT, PAT ROBERTSON, RON PAUL, ARNOLD SCHWARTZNEGGER, and SCREECH.

They consulted with Jesus, and this is what they have concluded. God is striking us with these calamities because of the teaching of evolution. If you want your tomatoes back and your boy scouts to be safe, you better bear this in mind. Now get out there and recall your school boards.

HOROSCOPE FOR TODAY'S BIRTHDAY
June 13

You must be shamelessly self-promoting today as most people have stopped liking you

A Light Through the Leaves

""If we continue on business as usual, we are going to see more floods, more droughts, more heat waves, more wildfires, more ice melting, faster sea level rise.

"We really have less than a decade to start getting this right. If we're still dragging our feet in 2015 I think it really becomes at that point almost impossible for the world to avert a degree of climate change that we simply will not be able to manage without intolerable cost and consequences."
- climatologist John Holdren, Harvard

Newsflash

We know who's responsible for this, don't we? You might as well fess up.

HOROSCOPE FOR TODAY'S BIRTHDAY

You will abruptly discover today that serendipity is not all it's cracked up to be.

2nd update on the survey

The survey results are now in:
14 No
4 Yes
one Doesn't Care

IRENE - (With tongue in cheek) The word from the arse end of the earth [i.e.,Australia] is that no, she shouldn't. Too many people don't like her and won't vote for her, too many people won't vote for Obama cause he's black and a terrorist. So why combine them on the same ticket? He needs to find a god-fearing Christian white man to run with him - what happened to John Edwards?

get ready for the ugliness

It’s good news for Obama that Hillary’s out of the race. But it’s also bad news. Now Republicans can turn their full attention to demonizing Michelle Obama. Mrs. Obama is the new, unwilling contestant in Round Two of the sulfurous national game of “Kill the witch.”
- Maureen Dowd, The New York Times

Thursday Morning Smile-Maker (48)

Ladies Garden Society 

Horoscope

HOROSCOPE FOR TODAY'S BIRTHDAY


This morning, you will find you need to go out and buy larger underwear.

BIRCHES torn between loyal readers

We have one loyal Birchie (ALICE) in Michigan who feels the following should be a big story and we should make a to-do about it.

We have another Birchie in Columbia S.C. (MARSHA) who feels it's not newsworthy and that she can't be held to answer for it.

So, I'm just going to blame it on the usual suspects again: 

1.  The public schools for not holding gun training classes for pre-schoolers

2. The Clintons 

3. Terrorists 

Girl, 4, shoots self with grandmother's gun in a Sam's Club

Monday June 9 2008, 

Columbia S.C.

"A 4-year-old girl shot herself in the chest this morning after taking a small-caliber handgun from her grandmother's purse at a Sam's Club in Columbia, S.C.

The child, who was not identified, was rushed to a hospital and underwent surgery. Doctors said this afternoon the bullet caused "no major damage," the The State newspaper reports.

The girl's grandmother was identified as Donna Hutto Williamson, 47. She has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. No charges were filed."

CLICK FOR STORY

update on the survey

Two more people have answered the survey question: "Should Hillary be Obama's Vice Presidential running mate?"

ANONYMOUS - yes. In fact, it should be the other way around. She is the better Presidential candidate, but he should be Prez some day. She is an amazing woman.

PAM- I kind of do in some way. Hillary made me mad during the campaign with her spinning, etc., but the powers that be always tell us we can't move too fast, can't have both a black person and a woman at the same time--too much change. They've been saying that since before black men got the vote 50 or 60 years before women did.

This makes the results now:
13 No
4 yes
1 don't care.

If I hear from other people, I'll update this again. You can be anonymous, although I would like to know who you are and can keep a secret.

Without Further Comment

click on the cartoon to enlarge it
See more J.D.Crowe cartoons here: CLICK

Tuesday Evening Quiz

WHAT?
Send an e-mail.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Obama Team to Deal With Slurs

There is a little network of right-wing propaganda peddlers out there who are both vicious and malicious. Here is one of them.

They're on the radio airwaves almost as much as on the internet, cranking out little innuendoes and deliberate lies. John McCain has disavowed some of them.

On the news wires this morning is the story that Obama is setting up a new internet group. 

A crack team of cybernauts will form a rapid response internet “war room” to track and respond aggressively to online rumours that Barack Obama is unpatriotic and a Muslim.

As he gears up for his general election fight against John McCain, Mr Obama and his chief advisers are aware of the danger of such rumours, amid polling data showing that a significant number of Americans believe he is a Muslim or are suspicious about his background. Such doubts were a factor in his poor showing with white, blue-collar voters during his primary battle with Hillary Clinton.

In recent days Mr Obama has — unprompted — brought up the subject of the chain e-mails and blog sites making the false claims. Some state that he is a radical Muslim who was sworn in as a US senator on the Koran; others that he sympathises with Palestinian radicals. Many focus on his middle name of Hussein, which was taken from his Kenyan father. CLICK

We have already received several of these chain e-mails. The most interesting to me was the one misquoting a statement in his book. I know this campaign is going to get dirty, although I suspect John McCain will not be doing anything to encourage it.

YOU SHOULDN'T STAND STILL FOR IT EITHER. When you receive this stuff, you should send the email back to the senders and let them know what you think of it. Free speech is a marvelous thing, and we all have to use it.

HOROSCOPE FOR TODAY'S BIRTHDAY

You will learn that the person you care for the most has hepatitis B.

update

My mistake - and apology
---

MARGARET - also earned a gold star for having the right answers for the last Tuesday Quiz.
The answers were:
1. thistle
2. clover
3. curly dock
4. dandelion
5. oxalis
6. purslane

They're Coming to Take Me Away ...

Deputies subdue naked man who was claiming to be Jesus and George Bush CLICK
Posted by Carol Robinson -- Birmingham News June 06, 2008 11:26 AM

A naked Pinson man claiming to be Jesus Christ and George Bush was shot four times with a stun gun by Jefferson County sheriff's deputies this morning after he repeatedly refused to heed their commands.

Richard Scott Odell, 30, was treated on the scene by paramedics and taken to the Jefferson County Jail.

====

COMMENT: He's actually not the first guy to make this mistake .... some we stun, some we elect

American soccer

The U.S. Mens National Team played its third 'friendly' game in a series, this time against the #1-ranked team in the World, Argentina. The Americans did very well, especially the goalie --- but all of them. The score was 0-0. And yes, both sides played their good players.

Next Sunday, the U.S. begins competing for a place at the next World's Cup. First qualifying game is against Barbados.

Monday Morning Friends Report, June 9, 2008

Michigan was under the dangerous weather gun this past weekend, lots of trees are down or broken, and there are power outages and ruined flower gardens; yet, we are relatively lucky. Lines of thunderstorms have passed through, but nothing as bad as so many other parts of the country have experienced. In our yard, there are many fledgling birds with their parents running to get food for them and fussing and worrying. We have had two families of cardinals, several of robins, grackles, and sparrows.
====
Gold Star Awards
The Tuesday Quiz has been solved. I admit that I didn't think anyone would know all those weeds, burt I was wrong.

GOLD STARS to three people.
First was STEVE who sent the answers the first day.
Then was MARSHA who took a couple of tries to get them all right.
Third was FELIX, our landscaper who got them all and said, "I'm supposed to know them....they ruin my work!"

Some other people knew three or four, including IRENE who doesn't even live in in the U.S. I thought that was special.

Thanks to everyone who sent answers.
====

What's up with some of our friends

SCOT - maybe you remember the picture of his new car we posted a week or two ago. This week, he ran into a deer with it. Michigan driving hazard. Luckily, no one was hurt but the deer, which is sad enough.

BILL FROM WNNCO - is recovering from an operation and is finding it really, really hard to just relax and let other people take care of him. One of his biggest beefs is that he can't race his go-Kart.

IRISH MIKE - had drawn Big Brown in the Belmont Stakes drawing and was looking forward to his winnings. Well that horse, the heavy favorite, crapped out. Says he: "That's been always an Irishman's luck."

THE MICHIGAN BUCKS SOOCER TEAM - "remains the only undefeated side in the 67-team United Soccer Leagues (USL) Premier Development League" after defeating the Cleveland Internationals on Saturday. CLICK

PAT C - is disappointed in Hillary Clinton's withdrawal from the presidential race. Pat says she has "always hoped to see both a woman President of the US and a woman priest."

BIG D DENNY - has done what a lot of folks would love to do, and said "take this job and shove it." Hey buddy, welcome to the leisure class.

FELIX - off on a 40 mile hike this past weekend. Behind him he's leaving the floods in Indiana but no one's blaming him.

DASHMANN - is up north, golfing. Says he, "Shooting golf the next 3 days – Hope wife knows how to cook them."

AMY and MIKE - are off to Colorado.

SANDY is leaving with her tour group for Germany and other points in Central Europe.

ME - I'm just sitting home.

MARSHA and PAT W. - spending lots of time on the phone chortling over the Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup.
====

What Some Friends are Talking About

ANONYMOUS - Warns that "an e-mail making the rounds on the internet that claims to be from Jay Leno saying that Americans should be happy about the condition of the country, not unhappy, was NOT WRITTEN BY JAY LENO. Y'all should stop being so goddamn gullible."

JERRY - He forwarded this:
Subject: FDA Warns Consumers Nationwide Not to Eat Certain Types of Raw Red Tomatoes CLICK
Sat, 07 Jun 2008 17:58:00 -0500

BILL - "I certainly am happy the legislature give the Institutional Hedge Funds the go ahead to continue speculating in the commodities (oil) market. Without that we would have had a nice continuation of the decrease in oil prices instead of the great $11.00 per barrel increase today. Did we ever go into the wrong fields of study."

ALICE - go to yahoo news and look at the article on doomsday vault near the North pole. Interesting! CLICK

JERRY - THE 2008 Mensa Invitational which came up with some marvelous new words, like " Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with. CLICK

DASHMANN - strongly recommends "Iraq For Sale" - a video: CLICK FOR TRAILER

Sunday silly Sites

A little QUIZ SPECIAL 

You will fail this quiz.

Know your dog breeds.   click

Take a short 8th grade science test. Here, we all passed it.  Let us know how you did. :) 

  click

[Thanks to Bill from Wnnco for sending this one along] Take this quiz and see if you are above or below average. If your ego is easily bruised, stay away from it. click

Goodbye Jim McKay

“Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport"

[and without yelling at us, either]

Study it
for a few
seconds.
You'll get it!

[Thanks to Jerry]

Wacko of the Week, 06/07/08

Quick, what can you tell about this woman just by looking at the picture?

Robin Forbes, Ocala

Did you get it? She's a man!

This is Robin Forbes, 57, of Ocala Florida, who is accused of dressing up as a woman and molesting old ladies in the church choir. Well, he' (she?) is in the women's choir also. But this doesn't entitle him to sneak up behind women 20 years older than he is and grab their boobs, according to legal officials who have filed charges. He says he couldn't have done it because of the song books he had in each hand.

This is why he's in jail.
It's all just part of the Human Condition, as we like to say, under the BIRCHES.

Congratulations, Robin. By your name alone, you belong with the Wackos under the BIRCHES.

CLICK or CLICK

Survey Results

Thanks to everyone who participated! This was fun for me, and I was surprised by the results. Who would have thought it would be such a one-sided result? Well, actually, Sparty did, but most people thought it would be a much closer poll.
-Bud

The Question was: DO YOU THINK Barack Obama should have Hillary Clinton for his Vice Presidential running mate?

The Count:
13-NO
2-YES
1-DON'T CARE

===
SCOT: NO During the campaign, Hillary said that she and Sen. McCain had passed the "Commander in Chief test," and argued that Obama had not. Obama wants to make history, but he's not going to do that with a running mate who doesn't believe in the ticket. There is no way Obama should invite the Clintons, and all their bitterness and baggage, to join him on the ballot. It would be a sign of weakness, as well, and weak candidates don't make strong presidents. He won. What is left to negotiate?

JERRY - NO! I don’t want two vice presidents...Bill & Hillary.

MARSHA - No. I think whatever she might bring to his ‘electability’ can be found elsewhere.
Her candidacy has become too divisive in these last months. On the other hand, I could just as easily have said ‘don’t care,’ as I plan to vote for him regardless.

PAT W. - NO. I don't think HC would be subservient to BO. I believe the due would be in constant conflict and America doesn't ned that.

MIKE CARROLL - Not that anyone would care what I think, especially Barack or Hillary, but: I don't care. However, I think she would be smart to stay in the Senate and work to get him elected, then she would have more options in the Dem party for her future.

DASHMANN - No – I think he needs to choose someone who embraces the changes he does. Maybe Russ Feingold. How about that one –a black and a Jew ???

IRISH MIKE - No. She brings with her Bill, and they need to be the center of attention. The question is, can Obama win with her not on the ticket? I don't know.

GIGI - Absolutely NOT. The Clinton's have had their chance; Obama deserves his.

BILL - NO! I think that Hillary will be a political liability for BO. She, with her husband Bubba, have alienated many people that would have been an asset to a Democratic victory in the fall. The present vitriol that is felt by many of Hillary's supporters will mostly vanish when they are in the November voting booth and the absence of her on the ballot will be negligible. What BO needs to do is make a very WISE choise for his VP candidate. We must remember that in this new scenario the selection of the VP may also be the selection of the President during the four year reign.

SANDY - YES. I think she would be a good balance and her experience and connections would be to his benefit. I don't see it happening, though!

JOE - If I were a democrat, No! ...Bill would be a real problem. If I were a Republican I would say Yes! By all means!!

BOB H. - No! That brings Bill and in my opinion he wore out his welcome during this campaign. She could be a very effective U.S. senator, and he would be free to make money.

ALICE -YES. But he doesn't much care what I think. If not as VP definitely in his cabinet.

MARGARET - No.

AMY - No.

BUD - NO.

Goodbye Jack Lucas

Soldier at 14, hero at 17, and still a hero at 80.

CLICK FOR STORY 

[Pic. from Hardscrabble CLICK to see more very good pictures]

American soccer update

Recently, The American Men's Soccer Team has played friendly games against England and Spain, two of the best teams in the world. In the first, the US did not look good and were lucky to lose by 2-0 to England. In the second, the US looked much better, losing to Spain by 1-0.

Friendly matches do not count for anything but experience. In these cases, the two opponents were playing at home and the US team had to be assembled from around the world.

The US team is composed of American players who play on many different teams, both in the US and in Europe and they are now preparing for competition that matters later this summer. They seem to be looking fine but not really good, and so have potential if they stay healthy and gain more experience working together.

Thursday Morning Smile-Maker/ Add to your day.

Add a little wacky fun to your day -- what might be as unusual a piece of music as ever caught your fancy. The music's advice: don't wait until you're old ---- CLICK

Opinion: Fast Trains

BIRCHES has spoken quite often in favor of development of fast train transportation in the U.S. and we have run pictures and descriptions of fast train travel in other countries.

Now that the airlines industry is in collapse and the price of gas has gone loopy, it's time to give more thought to this. Other countries have already invested in bullet trains, including Germany, France, Spain, and Taiwan. The train pictured here is America's fastest train, ACELA, which runs the Northeast corridor from Boston to New York at 88 miles an hour, although it is capable of faster speeds on short stretches of straight track. We could do much better.

Barrack Obama has said a good word for the future of train travel:

RECENTLY in Indiana, Barack Obama had lunch with an Amtrak machinist who feared losing his job. Obama said, "The irony is, with the gas prices what they are, we should be expanding rail service."

We have to begin thinking of tracks devoted to passenger travel which, like the interstate highway system, has no crossings, and where computers control safety to avoid rear-end crashes. Speeds comparable to those of airliners are feasible.

This will require investment, construction and new industry, all of which would benefit this country.
-Bud

History Lesson #4

Recent Presidents who did and did not serve in the military.

Roosevelt - no
Truman - yes
Eisenhower - yes
Kennedy - yes
Johnson - no
Nixon - yes
Ford - yes
Carter - yes
Reagan - yes
Bush the elder - yes
Clinton - no
Bush the younger - sort of

Tuesday Evening Quiz

Here's some junk you might find in your lawn. Each number is followed by a letter which is a clue to the identity of the stuff in the picture.
No one will know all of these, I bet, so don't feel badly if you don't. But go ahead, give it a try.

1-T


2-C


3-D


4-D


5-O

6-P

Republican Humor (53)

The last Democratic Party primary elections are being held today, June 3. So, maybe after today, the Clintons will have disappeared for awhile. It's really doubtful that the Republican humor machine will forget them, however, because they're such a rich source of bitter comedy. As a salute to the Clintons, here's at least one more:
----

A man was sent to Hell for his sins. As he was being taken to his place of eternal torment, he passed a room where Bill Clinton was having an intimate relationship with a beautiful young woman who was not Hillary.

"What a screw-up!" the man muttered. "I have to roast for all eternity, and that damned sleazy Democrat gets to spend it with a beautiful woman."

Jabbing the man in the ass with his pitchfork, the escorting demon snarled, "Move along! Who are you to question that woman's punishment?"

Maybe he's given up democracy for the war. Thank God for the election.

Cartoon by Ed Stein.
See more of his cartoons here: CLICK
Clicking on a picture will often enlarge it.

quoted without further comment

Home from Iraq, wary Marine fatally wounded
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN |
Associated Press Writer
June 1, 2008

CLEVELAND - On leave from the violence he had survived in the war in Iraq, a young Marine was so wary of crime on the streets of his own home town that he carried only $8 to avoid becoming a robbery target.

Despite his caution, Lance Cpl. Robert Crutchfield, 21, was shot point-black in the neck during a robbery at a bus stop. Feeding and breathing tubes kept him alive 4 1/2 months, until he died of an infection on May 18.

Monday Morning Friends Report, June 2, 2008

In our area, it's a great year for the maples. Our world is drowning in maple seeds. If you get pleasure from sitting and watching the little helicopters twirl, then this is a madman's paradise.
====

The neighbor found a grackle's nest in the space between his roof gutter and the roofing. Everyone hates grackles, so he took the nest out babes and all, and he placed it in the Yard Waste bin. His wife came along later to toss in some weeds, saw the babies stretching their open mouths towards the sky and went all teary. Now he's hand-feeding the birds with a concoction he found described online. Officially, BIRCHES could never condone birdocide, but there's something about his plight that makes us go all teary --- with laughter.
====

Lots of people in this circle, young old and in-between, seem to be doctoring these days. They include JERRY, STEVE, BILL, MARSHA, ALICE, BUD AND OTHERS. Let's all get better pronto!
====

DASHMANN - is going off on a golfing adventure to northern Michigan with long-time buddies. This is purely goof-off time, let's face it. And maybe some beer will get drunk. Maybe. Dashmann just had a birthday, too.

TRASE - is promising to be very good and not drink beer during the maternal nesting period. Read about it here: CLICK ARBORETUM

FELIX - has flown to the east somewhere to see his special lady graduate from a high-tootin' University. He says that there's one thing makes flying tolerable: "Hell, I always request a strip search....before I take off...and, after I land...."

DIG S - reading the article about Nigerian cabdriver penises being swiped ("Motor bike taxi drivers from Gwagwalada, a small locality close to Abuja in the middle of Nigeria, have gathered to protest against a client they accuse of using pigeons to steal penises.")
says it reminds him of the Beatles: "Suddenly, I'm not half the man i used to be, There's a shadow hanging over me..." I guess the shadow is a pigeon. Read about it here: CLICK

MICHIGAN BUCKS - The soccer team continues on its winning ways.

MARSHA - throwing a bash for her staff today, but will be in front of the TV to watch the Red Wings capture the Stanley Cup tonight.

IRISH MIKE - one of the best Irishmen in Michigan, a charter member of the Guinness Club, says that he hears some Belgian company wants to buy Budweiser. At first this sounds like a threat, but then, who knows? Maybe it will be for the better. Read about the pending deal here: CLICK

PAT W - got her new flower box in place and planted and it looks wonderful. There should be a picture to post here, but there isn't. Maybe next week. She just had a birthday. She says she's 28.
====
This is Felix's cat: She is named Wendell.

====
Here are the winners of this week's QUIZ:
Marsha Cole
Bob Hanley
Felix J. McGilliduddy
Teresa Woods
John Dashmann
Doug Schiesswohl

The correct answers to the Tuesday Quarterbacks Quiz were:
A. Troy Aikman
B. Terry Bradshaw
C. Dan Fouts
D. Dan Marino
E. Tony Romo

Thanks to everyone who participated. We love that! 
====

What some people are smiling at:
GENDERS -

Mexico Drops Out Of Summer Olympics!

President Felipe Calderon of Mexico has announced Mexico will not participate in the next Summer Olympics.
He stated:
'Casi cada uno que puede funcionar, saltar, o la nadada ha salido ya del pams.'
Translation:
'Pretty much everyone who can run, jump or swim has already left the country.

JERRY: 

===

MIKE CARROLL ALMOST FROM CARROLLTON - spreads the story of the redneck who heard that cancer victims were suing tobacco companies and a lady was suing MacDonald's for hot coffee. He goes to his lawyer and says: "Kin I sue Budweiser, fer all them ugly women I slept with?"

Let us know what's happening. We are very discreet. Not going to hurt anyone.

Add to Your Day

Here's a great smile for all you softhearts.
In honor of Alice who loves to be wistful:

CLICK

a Thousand Points of Fight, June 1

The wonder of democracy is the ample opportunity to fight over stuff. Wouldn't have it any other way, would we? Here are a few of BIRCHES' ineffectual jabs ----

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ROBERT GATES - should add something to his statement that U.S. navy ships will be leaving the Burma coast without helping the storm victims there. He should call for the filing of Crimes Against Humanity charges against the government of that tyranny.

OBAMA and his church - He was a lot more civilized and thoughtful than most of us would have been if we had to quit our church because the bastards yakking there couldn't keep themselves from hurting us. Barack's conduct in all of this has been very impressive. He looks exactly as cool (in more ways than one) as we want a President to be.

DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION - we think the Democratic Party did the right thing in seeing that the voters of Michigan, our home state, are represented at their cabalistic gathering in Denver. The precise number of votes each candidate should receive is screwed up because the political functionaries failed to accommodate their "rules" to the realities in various states. This is at least a solution. Gee, thanks, people. If Hillary had quit when all the jabberers were saying she should, Michigan and Florida would have no votes at all. When did Democrats become so afraid of democracy?

McCAIN - has been visiting Walter Reed Army Hospital. Bravo! We should all be frequently reminded of our responsibilities for those who went and suffered in our name.

Sunday silly Sites

You can go see where the lightning is right now click

Where to go to get something to clean the worms out of your bowels: click

A list of the worst earthquakes ever: click