Obama leads in campaign web site visits

I already knew that Obama is dominating onlne. It will just take the media a little longer to catch on:

Obama leads in campaign Web site visits

by John McCormick

Sen. Barack Obama is leading all presidential candidates in campaign Web
site visits, The Nielsen Company reported today.

Obama's web site had the most unique visitors in July, with 717,000,
according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Fellow Democrats Sen. Hillary Clinton had
437,000 unique visits, followed by 348,000 for former North Carolina Sen.
John Edwards.

To read the rest of the article, click on:

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2007/09/obama_leads_in_campaign_web_si.html

Kos on Colbert Report

Liberals gather at Yearlykos

I am just back from Chicago and have not had time to blog about it yet. Contrary to the radical right's notion that we liberal bloggers are all unemployed, I do have a full time job and a family to care for.

So in the meantime, enjoy this Washington Post video by Akira Hakuta...

Howard Dean on the Youtube Debate

Way to go YD VP Omar Khan!

I am proud of you, Omar!

Occupation is as occupation does

I believe that the Congressman who represents the Republicans in my district has strayed off course. It seems to me that Gus Bilirakis needs to refocus his attention on our American military crisis and our fellow Americans dying in Iraq. For the sake of my military family members and the rest of our brave American troops, I felt the need to tweak and improve his latest press release. I am proposing that he re-submit his bill to Congress after he includes my corrections, adaptions and/or ammendments.

Remarks as edited and adapted by thefos for a reality check on our American military crisis due to the U.S. led Iraq Occupation:


Gus Bilirakis Commemorates the 33rd 4 ½ Anniversary of the Turkish U.S. Led Invasion of Cyprus Iraq

WASHINGTON (20 Jul.) -- Last night, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), member of House Foreign Affairs Committee and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues, delivered the following remarks on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to commemorate the 33rd 4 1/2 anniversary of the invasion of Cyprus by U.S led Turkish military forces.

Gus Bilirakis' press release:

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/fl09_bilirakis/pr_statement_33rdanniv_turk_cyprus.html


Mr. Speaker, I rise today not only as a privileged member of this body, but particularly as a Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues.

I stand before you today to recall an anniversary that has racked the Cypriot Iraqi and Hellenic American communities for the past 33 4 ½ years.

Mr. Speaker, even though the tragic events of the Turkish U.S. led invasion of Cyprus Iraq took place so 4 ½ long years ago, the pain and suffering of this tragic occasion still ripples throughout the Greek Iraqi and Cypriot American communities.

This anniversary is a time for America to solemnly remember the Turkish military U.S. led invasion of the Island of Cyprus Iraq, to mourn those who lost their lives, and to condemn the continued occupation.

On July 20, 1974, March 20, 2003, in blatant violation of international law, Turkey the U.S led coalition violently invaded Cyprus Iraq and captured the northern part of the island declared “Mission Accomplished on May 1, 2003. As a result of the invasion, approximately 5,000 Cypriots 60,000+ Iraqis were killed and more than 1,400 Greek Cypriots, including four Americans of Cypriot descent, who still remain missing along with 3632 American soldiers.

Since the invasion, Turkey the Bush/Cheney Administration has established a heavily-armed military occupation that continues to control nearly 40 percent of Cyprus is failing to control the civil war in Iraq. Forced expulsions of Greek Cypriots on the occupied land, have left more than 160,000 displaced persons. An estimated 1.6-2.0 million people have fled Iraq.

Another tragic result of this 33 4 ½ year occupation is the divisions among Greek Sunni and Turkish Cypriots Shi’a factions who since have forcibly lived their lives separated along ethnic lines are also targeting and killing brave American troops. This cracking of the Cypriot Iraq nation is a crime against society and the people of Cyprus Iraq that can only be resolved by ending this occupation.

Since the invasion, international governing bodies and human rights groups have condemned Turkey’s the Bush/Cheney Administration’s flagrant abuse of international law and violation of Cyprus’s Iraq’s national sovereignty. Mr. Speaker, 33 4 ½ years is just too long.

The international community and the American people have expressed their support for has helped shepherd a peace process and settlement that will unite the island, its people, institutions and economy. The United Nations Security Council, the European Union and the United States have all played key roles in trying to bring a practical and fair resolution of this 33 4 ½ year nightmare.

On the occasion of this anniversary, America needs to take a long and hard look at its own commitment toward helping the Turkish Cypriot Sunni-Shi’a crisis factions reach a lasting and enduring peace – free from occupation, division and oppression.

As a new member of the European Union, the Republic of Cyprus has proven a committed and America and Iraq must reach out to influential partner neighboring countries in Europe the Middle East. Despite having a Because a large portion of its land is illegally occupied, Cyprus’s Iraq’s successful social and economic integration into the European Global community is a testament to its focus and dedication to democratic values and regional cooperation has been violently deterred.

The Republic of Cyprus has also worked alongside its European neighbors to bring about a stronger integration of Turkish and Greek Cypriot interests for the good of the Island. This has included a partial lifting on restrictions of movement across the cease fire line that continues to forcibly divide Cyprus.

As a result, since April 2003, more than 13 million Greek and Turkish Cypriots have crossed without incident. Additionally, the per capita income of Turkish Cypriots has nearly tripled in the last three years because of an aggressive integration policy by the Republic of Cyprus and its European neighbors.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that because of this continued integration civil war between Turkish Sunni and Greek Cypriots Shi’a factions, and the economic and political successes failures of the democratically elected Iraqi government, that the Republic of Cyprus so readily wants to share with its neighbors, it is possible to we must bring closure to this 33 4 ½ year occupation.

Indeed, according to: http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/07/15/10139330.html, on July 8, 2006, the President of the Republic of Cyprus Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat agreed to formally begin consultations with the ultimate aim of a peaceful reunification and an end to Turkey’s military occupation.

the White House appeared resigned to the fact that the Iraqi parliament is going to take August off, even though it has just eight weeks to show progress on military, political and economic benchmarks prescribed by the United States.

My understanding is at this juncture they're going to take August off, but, you know, they may change their minds,

White House press secretary Tony Snow said on Friday.

You know, it's 54 degree Celsius [130 degrees Fahrenheit] in Baghdad in August,

he said, sympathetically.

Our own US Congress plans to be on vacation from August 3 to September 4, 2007. Despite the early successes of what has since been known as the “July 8 Agreement,” and the best efforts of the Cyprus government, the Turkish Cypriots Our own government has have not followed through on their its commitment to continue this dialogue and path toward peace.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, only last week, President Papadopoulos attempted to jumpstart the Island’s reunification efforts and resume the July 8 Agreement process. Though he initially accepted this gesture, Turkish Cypriot leader Talat ended up cancelling the proposed meeting. the president of the United States, and this Congress, along with the Iraqi government, should demonstrate its commitment and support for the July 8 Agreement as a way toward ending the Turkish Cypriot divide on the Island of Cyprus our troops and the Iraqi people by voluntarily sacrificing any and all vacation time until a peaceful resolution has been reached. I have introduced legislation, H. Res. 405 Stop the Surge 3632, which expresses strong support for the implementation of the July 8 Agreement. ending the occupation in Iraq.



I urge all of my colleagues to act and help this body put our own stamp of support on the July 8 peace process by supporting this resolution.

Cyprus has long been a strong and faithful ally of the United States. It continues to work with us in the Global War on Terrorism and has supported our efforts in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Aside from providing over flight rights and port access, the government of Cyprus has joined only a handful of nations who have acted on their commitment to cancel Iraq’s outstanding debt.

Mr. Speaker, 33 4 ½ years is long enough. It is not impossible to conceive one-day having a Cyprus Iraq that is unified under bi tri-zonal, bi tri communal federation with a single sovereignty, single international personality and single citizenship with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all Cypriots Iraqis, but the Iraqi government must bring these factions to the table using diplomacy instead of violence and oppression.

America, a friend of the Cypriot Iraqi people, owes it to them to do everything in their power to support peace and an end to this illegal occupation.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/fl09_bilirakis/pr_statement_33rdanniv_turk_cyprus.html


http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugees_of_Iraq

http://icasualties.org/oif/

http://www.iraqbodycount.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sectarian_violence_in_Iraq

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/28/mission.accomplished/

Gus Bilirakis, Scooter Libby and true lies

How do you spell hypocrite?

G-u-s B-i-l-i-r-a-k-i-s!

No brainer on this one.

I predict that Gus Bilirakis will flip-flop as he sticks his nose further up the Bush Administration's butt on this one.

Bush just handed Scooter Libby a "Stay out of jail free card." Let's just see where Gus Bilirakis lands. Will it be on the side of the rule of law? Is it "simply wrong to reward unlawful behavior with amnesty?"

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/fl09_bilirakis/pr_070301_senill.html

Or

Is it wrong to lie to protect the people who took our country to war via deliberate false pretenses AKA lies?

And how cowardly is it to not even announce this "Stay out of jail free card." in person?

Bush, the Cowardly Lion!

He knew that he had to unload this "free poor Libby crap" when the Daily Show and Colbert Report were on vacation.

I call them chickens!

Thefos & bobnbob's most excellent adventure - Part II

As the date of the Obama campaign’s “June 9, 2007 Walk for Change” approached, I was looking forward to walking with the great team of volunteers from the Tampa Bay O – Train. The O - Train’s multi-county walk was organized by Juan, Patrick, Ann, Gena, and Johnny AKA Bardino. Walk coordinators were in place. They were Shelia (Hillsborough), Sherry (Pasco), and Ann (Pinellas.) We expected about 70 volunteers to walk for change. Patrick and Ann led a great canvass training session and plans were falling into place in 3 counties.

Although I had heard that the Florida Democratic Party’s JJ dinner would be the same day, I knew that I must walk for Obama. I had recently received an invitation to a $50 Florida bloggers luncheon at the JJ on June 9, 2007. It was very tempting, but no, I told myself “I must walk for Obama. I can’t abandon my team on such an important day.” Then I was told that bloggers who attended the luncheon would be given press credentials to the JJ Dinner with special guest, Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Ok, now I must admit that I was officially torn. I tossed and turned and agonized over the decision. My fellow O- Train leaders looked at me like I was crazy. They said that they had everything under control and that I shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to blog about the JJ and hear Nancy Pelosi speak, but I still remained conflicted about abandoning my team.

I then received an email from the Obama campaign's Florida Volunteer Coordinator, Joan. Although we had worked together on a previous campaign, Joan and I had never actually met in person. She asked me if I was attending the JJ dinner because the campaign was sending some folks down from Chicago and that she would love it if I came down. So I replied that if Obama’s campaign wanted me there, then I would go. I finally got off the fence and made the sacrificial decision to go to the JJ dinner. I was stepping up and taking one for the team.

I paid my $50 without booking a hotel room because at $200/night, my new mission was to find a roommate. One of my friends sent out an email asking if anyone had room for "poor lil' thefos" so luckily, a fellow DFAer and friend, Nancy from Orlando, took the bait and offered to share her room with me on Saturday night. Most of my area friends were driving down Friday afternoon, so I was resigned to a 5 hour drive by myself.

On Wednesday, my best friend and fellow Obama supporter, bobnbob, belatedly decided that she wanted to go with me plus she offered to drive. This was great news for me. This meant that “Thefos and Bobnbob’s Most Excellent Adventure - Part II was about to begin. If you want to read about our first adventure, you can find it here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/12/13/103819/94.

Being the mooch that I am, I boldly asked Nancy from Orlando if bobnbob could join us and she graciously said yes, so very early Saturday morning, we set off on our most excellent adventure - part II.

Bobnbob and I arrived at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, FL just in time to attend the Florida Democratic Party’s first annual bloggers luncheon. When we pulled up in front of the hotel, I jumped out of the car to pick up our hotel room key while bobnbob asked Victor the Valet where we should park. Victor told her that he would park her car and he asked her for her room number.
When she answered “I dunno…” he countered with “What is your name?” She told him that the room was in someone else’s name. So his next logical question was, “What name is the room under?” Even though bobnbob had met Nancy before, she couldn’t remember her last name, so after a very long pause, she replied “Nancy from Orlando?” I don’t know why Victor took an instant liking to bobnbob. It could have been her natural charm or her Barack Obama buttons. We may never know, but he did mention that he liked her Obama buttons and asked if she had more. She didn’t, but she handed him a button off her shirt. When another valet asked bobnbob for her name for the valet ticket, Victor responded “No name necessary.” We didn’t know what that meant but it seemed like a good thing at the time.

Inside the lobby, we were greeted by two young Obamanians, Matt and Alex. We couldn’t chat long because we were late for our luncheon. We entered the first annual Netroots luncheon and suddenly realized that we were proud laptop carrying members of the netroots nerd club. Not that there is anything wrong with that but let’s just say that we seemed to have loudest personalities in the room. We certainly were not the smartest people in the room but I think that we were indeed the loudest. Loud beats smart, right? Work with me... it's a rock, scissors, paper kind of thing.
For the record, everyone else at the luncheon did indeed liven up after the St Pete Times reporter left the room.


At the luncheon, we discovered that internet access in our room would cost us $12.95 each day and that there was no internet access available in any of the meeting rooms, including the convention hall where Nancy Pelosi would speak. Where the heck were we staying? Under a rock? I was spending my hard earned money to stay in this dump and I deserved my internet access! I was paying my fair share of $50, for crying out loud! What else did they want from me? My first born child? Who said Democrats weren’t fiscally responsible?

The only place in the hotel complex that had free wireless access was the hotel lobby, so bobnbob and I promptly announced that we were going to host a blogging pajama party in the lobby after the dinner. It is my understanding that the hotel would have charged the FDP and outrageous fee to enable wireless access in the hall where Nancy Pelosi was to speak, so this was our protest. We were mad as hell and we weren’t going to take it anymore. We were going to subject everyone to viewing us in our jammies, darn it. Innocent bystanders could be scarred for life but that’ll teach them to withhold our free wireless access! To our surprise, even though everyone laughed at us, they secretly loved our idea. Yeah, we were the trailblazers; we were the Netroots Rebels! The thing is, if we were so wild and crazy, why then, did the Westin Diplomat’s lobby personnel not even take the time to shrug his shoulders when bobnbob boldly told him about our wild and crazy protest? What kind of protest do we have when oppressive management doesn’t care about this historic moment? Their official response was to smile and say “That’s nice.” We expected threats of handcuffs, tazers and billy clubs, not condescending smiles.

After the lunch, we went to the lobby to lurk (I have found that more often than not, blogging is more about lurking than actual blogging.) As we found our “free” wireless connection, we ran into the St. Pete Times reporter, who we lovingly refer to as “Redford.” OK, we didn’t actually run into him but we did spot him from across the lobby and hunt him down as he was trying to take some quiet time to write as he sat near the rear door. We chatted about our kids, the hotel’s atmosphere, and political blogging until he told us to get lost because he had work to do. His employer was paying his bill to stay at the Westin Diplomat but we were forced to spend our own money. Just imagine what our $50 could have gotten us elsewhere.

So Redford blew us off. We are big girls. We can take it. In fact, contrary to popular belief, we can even take a hint, so we went in search of our own outlet to plug into. We made ourselves comfortable on some chaise lounges near the front door of the lobby. As we began to blog, we noticed that Senator Bill Nelson walked in the front door and sat down by the north tower elevators. Neither of us wanted to speak to him after hearing that he voted for torture. I mean, come on...torture? That is not who we are. That is not who my military family members are. Nor does torture make my military family members safer. I do not believe we should continue to give up the moral ground on this. Although I had a lot to say to Senator Nelson, I realized that this was not the time or place to address it. So, in the end, we didn't bother leaving our comfortable lounges to speak to Senator Nelson but I did take the time to email Redford. I sent him a note indicating Bill Nelson’s exact location, just in case he was interested in talking to him.

As we continued to blog, we welcomed elected officials like FL State Representatve Betty Reed, FL State Senator Charlie Justice and his wife, Oldsmar City Councilman Greg Rublee, various political operatives, friends and acquaintances.

The police started congregating near us, so naturally our first thought was “How the heck did they find out about our plans for the blogging pajama party?” Remembering management’s nonchalant response, we could only conclude that someone important was about to enter the hotel, so we were ready when Nancy Pelosi walked in carrying her own garment bag. We lobby lurkers gave her a standing ovation while bobnob shouted “Welcome to Florida!” Nancy seemed genuinely surprised as she turned around and said “Thank you.”

As we turned our attention back to our laptops, I saw a flash of blond (John Edwards’s type) hair dash by in a flash. Upon closer inspection, we noted that it was only Redford running to catch up to Senator Nelson. I shouted “Didn’t you read my email?” He didn’t stop his pursuit but replied “What email?”

About this time, we realized that we were late for the Barack Obama campaign volunteer meeting. We took the escalator up to the Obama meeting but had just come to the conclusion that we were on the wrong floor when we spotted Nancy Pelosi and her entourage coming out of an elevator. I started to approach her but noting the tight security surrounding her, I thought it would be prudent to ask her to approach us instead. Our reputation could have preceded us and we could have been slammed to the floor by the Secret Service so I shouted “May I shake your hand?” She said yes and came over to us. I shook her hand as she asked me for my name. I told her who I was and that we were from Tampa. I also said that I was proud of her. She thanked me and turned to bobnbob and asked her for her name. Nancy Pelosi thanked us for Congresswoman Kathy Castor to which we responded with an apology for Gus Bilirakis. We insisted that we are working on getting a replacement for Gus. As we parted company, we realized that we missed a photo op. Man, we really were slipping. How did we let the good of Florida and our country get ahead of our selfish photo opportunities? This was not like us at all.

We made it up to the packed Obama volunteer meeting where we watched a video and heard campaign representatives, Rep Tony Hill and State Representative Lorraine Ausley and Kirk Wagar speak about why they support Barack Obama. Although I was very interested in hearing other Florida Obama supporters speak highly of Barack, I was whispering to others in the room to see if anyone knew who Joan and Jessica were. When I finally met each of these fine ladies in person, we hugged like long lost friends. It was nice meeting the folks from Chicago, but it was really great finally meeting Kirk Wagar, Jessica Clark, Joan Joseph and the rest of the Florida volunteers as we have been working tirelessly toward the same goal to elect Senator Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.

Since we had press credentials but not a dinner ticket, we joined a couple of Tampa Bay area bloggers to grab a bite to eat before we went up cover the JJ Dinner. After our snack, bobnbob and I found the escalators to the convention hall area. As we began to walk toward the ballroom, a Hillary staffer approached us with literature. Bobnbob said “No thanks.” But then she added “Evidently, you haven’t knocked on a Republican or Independent’s door lately.” Bobnbob’s response couldn’t have surprised Hillary’s staffers too much. That table looked beautiful yet lonely. Disclaimer: We will work for whoever wins the Democratic primary, but there is definitely energy and excitement about Barack Obama that is almost palpable.

Bobnbob and I parted company briefly as I went to retrieve my laptop which was charging back in our room. Bobnbob was saving me a place at the press table at the back of the convention hall, while I found myself somewhat distracted by my friends at the Obama Campaign table. It was the best of times but I needed to focus on finding bobnbob at the press table.

I have to say that it was really cool to be able to flash our press credentials and walk right in to the convention hall. Back in 2005, bobnbob and I really had to work hard to get in free, but this time, we had official press credentials. I’m just sayin’ that we liked this new turn of events.

I finally arrived at the press table. It was dark but I located bobnbob who told me to pull a chair up to the table. I did as I was told, but inadvertently reached into the reporter’s backpack next to me. Come on…didn’t I just say that it was dark? To make matters worse, I apparently allowed my chair to become entangled with the whiney reporter’s backpack straps. WR (whiney reporter) was not happy with me and I thought he was one of the surliest reporters I have ever encountered. I tried to be friendly with him but he sternly reprimanded me with “I have a deadline!” crap. Hey…bloggers have self-imposed deadlines, too. (Apparently, my self-imposed deadline was about 6 weeks out.)

As I tried to focus on the many Florida Democratic leaders who each spoke briefly, WR continued to complain and mutter under his breath. He leaned over and complained to the reporter on the other side of him about how many democrats were being permitted to speak. Geez but WR was high maintenance. I realized then that although I didn’t want to miss a word from the podium, I found my self increasingly distracted by the drama at the press table.

As one of Nancy Pelosi’s staffers handed out a typed copy of her speech to us at the press table, an AP reporter complained to her about the "activist bloggers" at the press table. She turned her gaze toward some empty space at the press table and told him that there appeared to be room at the table so if he wanted to move up to the press table, then he should do so. I loved how she dismissed him. It was excellent.

I tried to concentrate on what our Florida representatives had to say but I was still somewhat distracted by WR. Fortunately for everyone involved, he left before Nancy Pelosi spoke. I turned my gaze back to the speakers at the podium like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Alex Sink, Bob Wexler, Charlie Justice, Karen Thurman, etc., when I was again distracted when a random photographer whacked a Miami Herald reporter in the head with his tripod. She was wincing as he continued on his way, oblivious to the pain he inflicted on one of his own. I tried to stop the guilty drive-by whacker. I was ready to tackle the SOB, but the victim said that she would be OK and not to worry about it. She was rubbing the back of her head as she said this but I respected her request and let him escape.

Just then, Redford approached the press table looking for a place to sit, so I waved him in to WR's recently vacated seat. As Redford sat down, he jokingly said "I can’t believe that I have to share a table with these "liberal bloggers." So when he began to whisper to the reporter on his left, I told Redford "Shhhh! I am trying to blog here."

Again, I tried to focus on the speakers...Kathy Castor, Christine Jennings but Redford again interupted my deep concentration with his cell phone/blackberry thingamajig. The St. Pete Times Buzz Blog was giving him big headaches and then Rep Dan Gelber stopped by to chat with him. They were discussing the upcoming Florida constitutional amendment proposed by the Republican led Florida Legislature. Bottom line is that this tax cut scheme is bad news with a surprise balloon at the end but Republicans are counting on Floridians to not understand the verbage and vote for it anyway.

It dawned on me about this time why Pelosi's speech was handed out to the press in advance. I guess it is common knowledge that the press doesn't actually listen to these speeches. That being said, I do recall that you could hear a pin drop when Senator Barack Obama spoke in the same type of environment back in 2005.

When the JJ dinner ended, I realized that I didn't have much written down but I'd worry about that later because we had a protest to host in the lobby. As promised, we changed into our jammies and took the elevator to the wireless protest chaise lounge area near the front door of the lobby.We had many visitors stop by our pajama party, but I have to say that my favorite visitor was Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Although we had been having a good time with many of our friends from other campaigns, I couldn't help myself when just as this picture was snapped...I opened my robe to showcase the Obama logo on my T-shirt. My goal was to overshadow Debbie's pitiful Hillary button. Little did I know that this picture actually exposed how much bobnbob and I have come to look alike. Now I understand why a waiter at our favorite Mexican restaurant accused us of being sisters and yes, we both were born in Pittsburgh so even though we were born a few years apart, it does appear that we were separated at birth.

The next morning, we managed to retrieve bobnbob's car with only a tip for the valet, so bobnbob indeed had warmed her way into Victor the Valet's heart with her easy charm. As we drove home, we heard that the Tampa Bay O - Train team had conducted a successful walk for change while we suffered in South Florida. They knocked on nearly 5000 doors and received a lot of positive feedback about Senator Barack Obama. It seems that many Floridians share our "Audacity of Hope."

Guswatch finally watches Gus in person

Friday, June 1, 2007
GusWatch spots Gus on Memorial Day

Susan S. and I attended Curlew Hills Memory Gardens Annual Memorial Day Service on May 28, 2007. We attended the memorial service to honor our military, especially those who gave their lives while serving our country. We attended with thoughts of Andy Aviles, who was killed in action on April 7, 2003. We were also thinking about Andy's grieving parents, Norma and Oscar Aviles and how easily we could be in their tragic position. Andy was the same age as my oldest daughter. He would be just 23 years old if he were alive today.

I was also thinking about my military family members and how thankful I am that even though my brother in law only gets to see his 5 month old and 6 year old sons via a web cam once a week, at least both he and my sister are alive and well.

I wasn't sure what to expect but I wasn't prepared for the pompous partisan package decorated to impersonate patriotism. I knew we were in trouble when the Master of Ceremonies, Colonel Jerry F. Custin USAF, (Ret) gushed about Congressman Gus Bilirakis' glowing accomplishments, when in reality, his power ranking is in the basement:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/power_rankings/overall.tt

So as I post this video of Gus Bilirakis reading the GOP script, his words ring painfully hollow as I heard that 10 more U.S soldiers were killed in action on Memorial Day. I cannot forget the wounded Iraq War veteran who was interviewed by Anderson Cooper on Memorial Day. I can still picture his face in my mind. His mangled body and his closet in his car have shaken me to the core. Although Anderson Cooper interviewed more than one wounded soldier, this one Iraq veteran's story was particularly heart wrenching. He was not expected to live, but survived in spite of losing most of his blood. His forearm is a mangled mess but he was only receiving a small percentage of his rightful disability benefits. He lost his home and was living in his car. Thankfully by the end of the show, CNN's influence had helped him finally receive the benefits he earned on the battlefield.

With that in mind, I give you the Congressman who represents the Republicans in my district:

"Shhhhhhhh, be vewy vewy quiet"

I watched Congressman Gus Bilirakis speak against the resolution against the Iraq escalation Thursday night on C-Span. Correction - I watched him read the White House talking points verbatim. Honestly, shouldn't he know them by heart now? Even though he should know them by rote, he read the usual Luntz speak and got louder as he climaxed with a list of terrorist attacks beginning with the World Trade Center in 1993 and ending with a big finale of September 11th.

As Lil' Gussie read the usual crap, I was struck about how awkward and bizarre his delivery was. He kind of reminded me of Elmer Fudd. I tried using google to find a video clip of him reading his script, but I came up empty:

http://images.google.com/imghp?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=xx-elmer&q=&tab=di

Anyway, he mangled every other word as he using a chopping motion with his hand. Maybe we should call him Adolph Fudd.

Gus "Fudd" Bilrakis indeed voted no but I don't remember hearing about his service to our country? Where did he serve?

I have family serving in the military, Why does Gus support extending the death sentence for our troops:

“Extended Duty” and “Pilot says troop’s helicopter use rises”

I noticed that on page 8A in the February 12, 2007 edition of the St. Pete Times, there are 2 articles referring to Bush’s Iraq Escalation. The first one refers to the Iowa National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment’s recent extended deployment in Iraq. “Instead of six, Espinosa has about 40 more missions to go.”

Infantry travel on the ground, right?

Moving on to the article underneath, Maj. Gen. Jim Simmons says “flying time for troops is growing because of the risks of road travel.” So despite the clear danger of increasing helicopter attacks, Maj. Gen. Jim Simmons adds …wait for it…

“It’s the safest way I know to get around here."

To those of you who have served, I thank you for your service. To those of you who have not served but still support the escalation in Iraq, I suggest that you empty your wallets, saving accounts and any able bodied household members and offer them all up for this suicide mission.

What has Gus Bilirakis sacrificed for the invasion of Iraq? Inquiring minds want to know.

It is time to bring our brave soldiers home alive and well.