hedgehog
hedgehog's JournalObama and prosecution of the Bush administration for war crimes:
A little history:
Republicans are convinced that JFK stole the election. As a result, they feel justified in using every dirty trick from gerrymandering districts to going to the Supreme Court.
Republicans are convinced that the pending impeachment of Nixon that forced him to resign was all about politics As a result, they felt justified in impeaching Clinton over nonsense.
Some Republicans are already talking about impeaching Obama and charging him in criminal court. If Obama prosecuted anyone from the Bush Administration for war crimes, Republicans would go after every living Democratic President as soon as a Republican President took office. In the meantime, for the next 2 years, we'd go through shut-down after shut-down as the Republicans make the last 6 years look like hearts and roses.
Prosecuting a former President for crimes in office is unprecedented. Vice President Agnew was allowed to resign instead of being prosecuted for taking bribes as VP. I think that if/when the American people overwhelmingly demand it, then the war crime trials will begin.
I am ambivalent about the World Court taking this on. On the one hand, none of these men would ever be able to leave the country ever again. On the other hand, jingoism and distrust of the World Court might have the side effect of immunizing the criminals from prosecution here.
Is it fatigue or laziness?
Everyone recommends exercise as a way of handling autoimmune fatigue. But some days, it's hard to move and I tend to feel guilty in this exercise/fitness conscious society . One thing I've noticed is that when I'm in trouble, I have difficulty doing normal tasks and really feel it when I do push myself. On the other hand, once a flare recedes, I find myself surprised at how strong I seem to be and how easy it is to do things. So I've reached to stage where I tell myself to slow down when I need to, and not feel guilty about it.
New Weather Alert Ratings:
Watch: Conditions exist for a developing situation
Warning: Conditions exist for a weather event
Jim Cantore come to your town to broadcast the weather: you're in real trouble!
Public Service announcement: "This drug may impair the ability to drive or operate machinery. "
This isn't only about that warning, but about driving while you are tired. For most people, that means after a late night the day before. For me, that means trying to get too much at once despite my autoimmune fatigue.
About a year ago, i was running around doing last minute Christmas preparations. I was bone tired, it was the end of the day, but I drove out to a local nursery to get my poinsettias. I thought I was alert - I wasn't yawning or blinking my eyes. I finished my shopping and headed home, making a left turn at an intersection I've used for 30 years.
I know there was a school bus where it didn't belong. I will never know exactly what I did, because I was unconscious for at least 15 minutes after my car was totaled by a machine twice its size. I think what happened is that the driver who hit me was reacting to the school bus and never saw me until he swung into my lane and hit me. What I know is that if I'd been fully alert, I would never have entered the intersection; and wouldn't have been there to hit.
So - the public service announcement - you may think you're awake enough to drive or operate that snow blower or whatever, and you'll be OK as long as nothing out of the ordinary happens. But you can't guarantee that nothing unusual will happen, that someone won't back out of a driveway in front of you, that that food processor doesn't jam, that someone's Christmas tree doesn't come flying off their car roof straight at you. If you are at all tired, your reactions and ability to think through what you should do next may be impaired enough to put you in a world of hurt.
Arrrrggggg! So, I have an autoimmune disease, as do three of my daughters.
I have secondary mild fibromyalgia, and one daughter has more severe primary fibromyalgia. I can really understand that she has days where she really hurts, and that her energy is limited. I've seen this kid really work to overcome her obstacles, to get on a workable medical regimen and to build up her strength. Yet I still have to deal with family members, including one with medical training, who seem to believe that she is making all of this up and really needs to be given some tough love so she will stop being lazy.
I've been coming out of a flare the last week or so, and was feeling kind of punk and dragged out. I looked really pale, and considered for a minute whether I should use some blusher. Then it occurred to me; this is about the only time I've looked as washed out as I felt. I left the make-up off, letting my body signal to others that all is not well with me.
Our older cat has already started prepping for Christmas -
she just knocked my teapot off the shelf to smash on the floor!
Seriously - how safe and/or effective would it be for white people to stop and record
incidents in which people of color are stopped by the police? When I ask "How safe?", my concern is to avoid escalating a situation and getting people hurt.
On edit: the notion that simply having a white witness could help stop harassment of others is disgusting to me, but if it gets the point across to officers who think people of color are fair game.....
So, I start reading this article about how sitting too much will
make it harder to get around after age 60, when I realize that the article is aimed at people still under 60, which doesn't include me. I guess I've reached the age where I will reap what I've sown!
Toasting almonds (or walnuts, pecans, hazel nuts):
If I have whole nuts, and plan on grinding them into chunks before adding them, do I toast the whole nuts, or the chunks?
Profile Information
Gender: FemaleHometown: Oswego County, New York
Home country: USA
Current location: Lake Ontario Snow Belt
Member since: Fri Apr 23, 2004, 11:56 PM
Number of posts: 36,286