You couldn't be here if stars hadn't exploded.
To the question, “Why me?” the cosmos barely bothers to return the reply, “Why not?”
Atheist: Natural Morals, Real Meaning, Credible Truth

19 June, 2016

Iraq, Daesh, and Obama

McCain pissed me off blaming ISIS/Daesh/ISIL on Obama.  So wrong in so many ways.  I found this, copied it and lost the link but here it is anyway.  I've said and read this many times in the last few years.

1. John McCain supported the war in Iraq. He was one of the most ardent fans of invading Iraq and every other step taking by the Bush administration.

2. In 2008, before President Obama took office, President Bush signed a Status of Forces agreement with Iraq. It established that U.S. combat forces would withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, and all U.S. combat forces will be completely out of Iraq by December 31, 2011.

3. The Iraqis wanted the US forces out of Iraq. They viewed us as occupiers. 75% of Americans wanted our troops to come home, too.

4. President Obama tried to renegotiate the withdrawal and leave 10,000 US troops in Iraq. The State Department’s lawyers said troops couldn’t stay in Iraq unless the Iraqi parliament authorized them to do so, including granting them immunity from Iraqi law. The Iraqi parliamentarians would never OK such a decision, with Iraqi popular opinion staunchly against U.S. troops staying.

5. Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki – who was the Bush administrataion’s choice to run Iraq – said this about troop withdrawals: “The incomplete sovereignty and the presence of foreign troops are the most dangerous, most complicated and most burdensome legacy we have faced since the time of dictatorship. Iraq should get rid of them to protect its young democratic experiment.”

6. Our troops withdrew in Dec. 2011 before ISIS.

7 Maliki attacked Sunnis across Iraq in the following two years. The sectarian violence was a key part of the rise of ISIS as the Sunni leadership abandoned Maliki.

8. The Sunni-Shiite rift in Iraq and the Middle East has been going on since the 7th century.

9. The Iraqi army deteriorated.

10. The greatest catalyst for the rise of ISIS was the Syrian Civil War.

Finally, let’s remember that the GOP KNOWS all of thise. And that includes John McCain. But, rather than accept the facts and work together to fight the ISIS threat, the GOP blames the President.

14 June, 2016

Orlando Florida

Last weekend 49 people died and another 53 were wounded by a guy with a gun. This took place in a gay bar by guy who swore allegiance to ISIS in a phone call to 911. This guy had been on the FBI watchlist for terrorism. He had made a couple trips to Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage.
He was able buy two guns a couple weeks prior. 
The FBI wasn't told of the purchases. 
The purchases couldn't be blocked because he had ever been on the watchlist. 
You can't get on an airplane with a full bottle of shampoo but you can buy an AR-15 even if you are on the terrorist watchlist.
The 9/11 terrorists used airplanes as weapons and so access to airplanes is restricted.  
This attack against a Latino gay community is more about religious homophobia than Islamic terrorism. The religious right does not care about any of these people.
I want every gun registered. 
I want every gun owner trained, licensed and registered. 
I want every gun transaction recorded.
If that means the second amendment needs to be amended, so be it.