Numbers, Numbers, Numbers

I don't quite understand "WHY" our snewz media in America can't quite bring themselves to present clear and convincing numbers concerning the number of human beings killed in Iraq since our invasion. It's kinda strange, ain't it?

Just a couple of clicks to BBC NEWS online and...why, it's as clear as country water used to be!

For instance:

A simple, tabbed overview of all those folks killed, and casualties counts too, can be found HERE at BBC News online.

Perhaps, we might need to know how many and where the sectarian killings have occurred, adding up to more than 231,000 as of October, 2006. Again, a simple click to

RIGHT ABOUT HERE at BBC News online should show you a clear map which includes the numbers of misplaced families who've arrived "in province" since February, or maybe you're curious as to how many Sunni, Shia, Sunni/Shia/Arab, Kurdish, and Sunni/Arab/Kurdish people have been slaughtered, ya think?

It's all right there to see, on the BBC, but damned hard to get ahold of on our "illustrious" American snewz media, doncha think? Boy, HOWDY!

An Open Letter to President Bush: Blow Me!

There he was, finally uttering the words "we aren't winning, but we're not losing" in Iraq during a radio interview. Then there he was, in of all places, The Indian Treaty Room, 'splaining what he "really" meant. Oh, and the air of open dish-cuss-shuns with every commander, diplomat, and DumboCrat. When all was said and done, it was obvious the Drugstore Cowboy will send the naval flotilla to the Persian Gulf, increase troop strength in Baghdad, and try to kill Al-Cider. What a man! So deft, so good-read, so "subliminable."

Well yew can jus' kiss my nasty ol' ass, BoyGeorge - twice. I took a look back at the dusty old archives, and found this citizens' petition originally posted at the old AlterNet forums back in 2003 I think it was, now archived at Never Give Up. I did a tiny bit of editing, and for anyone who's interested here's how the final draft looked by 2005:

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Friday, January 28, 2005
Mr. Bush, Step Down!


(3rd draft - 2nd draft posted at AlterNet's Human Rights forum {HumanRights.169.21-}, Dec. 10, 2003, revised here, in part to reflect Ashcroft's resignation)

__________

CITIZEN'S PETITION: MR. BUSH, STEP DOWN, NOW. GIVE ME BACK MY COUNTRY!

Dear George W. Bush,

I am a citizen of the United States of America. However, it seems that America has been taken away from me. I feel that this Administration, this Congress, this Department of Justice, and this Supreme Court have betrayed America, and are now in the process of selling America off piece by piece.

As an American citizen, I hereby petition your administration to step down immediately. I demand that a caretaker administration be put in place by Congress, and that an impartial, impeccable Board of Civilian Review be created to examine your entire record, including the pathflow of your administration's correspondence, meetings and attendees, along with executive orders and directives created by the your administration, leaving no federal agencies exempt from scrutiny.

I call(ed) for the Senate to vote "No" on the confirmation vote for Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General. Should Mr. Gonzales be confirmed, I demand that he tender his resignation immediately. I call for the full repeal of The Patriot Act, as well as any riders to any passed or pending Bills containing any provisions included in Mr. Ashcroft's "wishlist" known as "The Patriot Act II," as well as any and all subsequent attempts to do the same by AlBarfo.

I call for the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the armed forces to order our military forces to stand down, world-wide.

I ask that the Supreme Court be precluded from handing down any new rulings if and until it can be shown that their decision concerning the election of 2000 was not a gross, impeachable offense on the Court's part.

I call for a moratorium on Capital Punishment. I call for an end to mandatory minimums for sentencing. I call for an end to overzealous prosecutions. I call for the return of federal judges' discretion.

I call for foolproof legislation to prevent any former elected federal official, as well as all family members of elected federal officials now holding office, from working on behalf of any registered lobbyist or other special interest group concerned with any issues on which said elected officials have cast a vote, whether in committee, by voice vote, or by roll call on the Floor of either branch of Congress.

I call for every federal ballot to include "none of the above" as a valid choice for every election of every pertinent federal official. I demand an end to any method of voting, electronic or otherwise, that does not include a verifiable paper trail open to full public scrutiny through straightforward recounting procedures for any questionable or contested federal races.

I demand that Congress call for new elections of the entire House and Senate at their earliest opportunity, and without delay, following the transition of power from the Bush administration to a caretaker administration.

Until these matters have been fully addressed, I hold the federal government, as it now composed, to be in violation of the Constitution.

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I refuse to either leave my country or give up my citizenship. Should your administration not step down, now that you have been elected to a second term of 4 years as my president, I pledge NOT to contribute any more monies to the coffers of what I now consider to be an illegal, thus unconstitutional "government." In the event any federal income tax policies and/or other salary restrictions preclude or prevent me from withholding my financial resources from your stupefyingly Un-American administration, I pledge to join other citizens in every effort to buy, barter, lobby at the grassroots level, demonstrate, and engage in other non-violent acts designed to undermine, and hopefully end or slow down the murderous meanderings of your Doctrine of pre-emptive war which masquerades as the "war on terror."

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Finally, I urge every American without children, without a life-threatening disease, without other critical life circumstances that could jeopardize their safety, to join me in this petition.

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Mr. Bush, you have taken my country away from me. I will give my very life, if necessary, in order to help bring about a return to the Spirit of the Principles this country was founded upon, and thoughtful re-engagement, through diplomacy, with the rest of the entire world. My actions, unlike yours, will remain entirely non-violent, but I will exercise every fundamental right I may have as an American citizen until my country's government has been returned to its own Citizenry.

Very truly yours,

__________________________ signed, ______________, 200_

I have signed and sent copies of the above Petition to:

______________________________, my Representative

______________________________, my senior Senator

______________________________, my junior Senator

______________________________, Attorney General, State & Federal

______________________________, Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court

______________________________, my local newspaper

______________________________, my local TV stations

______________________________, my mayor

______________________________, my county's officials

______________________________, my state's governor

______________________________, other

______________________________, other

This Petition, while composed by The Heathen Monk is intended for the free use of any interested party. No standard copyright restrictions apply to its use, unless edited and published without written permission.



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Update: To The Board of Directors, Apache Shores Property Owners Association

Well, I've done a little more research on the "per lot" vote a couple of years ago pertaining to our assessments. You'll find the update HERE.

HMonk

Perry Raises Cig Taxes by $1.00 Per Pack

Head O'Hair Perry, governor of Texas, has decided to raise taxes on cigarettes by $1.00 per pack starting in January, 2007, bless his heart. Now Texas joins other states in making smokers pay more taxes per purchase than on any other product on the market.

What does this mean, other than an extra buck per pack to smokers? Well, it will mean a strong black market for smokes, and an increased danger to store clerks, now that ciggies have become so valuable. With a quarter of the nation still smoking, unless you have a reservation nearby, you may have to choose between smokes and cheap booze to settle your nerves. Yessir, between state taxes already in place, and the federal excise tax, I'm more than proud to be a contributor to the crooks in our state legislature who, like all the states that received money from the last smokers' settlement, will most likely spend the extra money on pork, the other white meat.

Black markets, dead store clerks? Is that the goal of Rick Perry? Has the asshole even thought this through? I think not. I hope that some attorney comes up with the notion that smokers, yes smokers, are exposed to second-hand smoke just like non-smokers. Maybe that'll keep 'em in court for awhile.

An old friend of mine remembers when his dad used to put two dimes in a cigarette machine, retrieve a pack of Luckies with 4 pennies left in the pack, for a total of sixteen cents per pack. They were just thirty five cents a pack when I started smoking. I only hope that the rest of you don't become the focus of "criminal" behavior, and find yourselves paying outrageous taxes on clothes made in China, or songwriter/publisher royalties diminished to the point of no return. Hey, nobody's lookin' - what's say we download this new movie for free?!

Keep it up, kidz. Sooner, rather than later, smokers will join the homeless, the damaged veterans, and the mentally ill on your streets. Please, do your best to sidestep them, won't you?