Is Congress Finally Getting It?

By overriding President Bush's veto of H.R. 1495 the Water Resources Development Act, the US Congress rediscovered its spine and acted in the interest of the American people.

They finally remembered that this nation was founded on the concept of "no taxation without representation"

Can it be possible that the US Congress finally understands that the American people are not going to indefinitely tolerate trillions of dollars in war spending while our bridges are falling down, levees are breaking, children are uninsured, the borders are unsecured, consumer products are not inspected and little is being invested in alternative energy?

How White House spokesperson Dana Perino can twist her lips and form the words, "The president is standing up for the taxpayers," is unimaginable. It has become clear to most Americans that the only group for which the Bush Administration stands are his friends in the oil & natural gas industries and the war profiteers.

Yes Ms. Perino, "Budgeting is about making choices and defining priorities — it doesn't mean you can have everything." But the President isn't the final decider on what is and is not a priority. That decision is and has always been the choice of the American people. Something that this administration, the Congress and the American have forgotten for way too long.

If this Congress does not start acting on behalf of their constituents, and America as a whole, then they will be voted out. And if the next Congress thinks they can ignore the will of the people they will be booted out too.

To see how your Congressperson voted go to:
http://www.opencongress.org/roll_call/show/2109.

And if your Congressperson did not think that investing in the US infrastructure was important, why not send him/her a note with your thoughts.


excerpt from:

Congress hands Bush first veto override

By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer

President Bush suffered the first veto override of his seven-year-old presidency Thursday as the Senate enacted a $23 billion water resources bill despite his protest that it was filled with unnecessary projects.

The 79-14 vote included 34 Republicans who defied the president. Enactment was a foregone conclusion, but it still marked a milestone for a president who spent his first six years with a much friendlier Congress controlled by his Republican Party.

Now he confronts a more hostile, Democratic-controlled legislature, and Thursday's vote showed that most of the Republicans will defy him on spending matters dear to their political careers.

Bush's spokeswoman portrayed the issue as a divide between a budget-conscious president and a big-spending Congress.

"The president is standing up for the taxpayers," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "No one is surprised that this veto is overridden. We understand that members of Congress are going to support the projects in their districts. Budgeting is about making choices and defining priorities — it doesn't mean you can have everything. This bill doesn't make the difficult choices; it says we can fund every idea out there. That's not a responsible way to budget."

The bill funds hundreds of Army Corps of Engineers projects, such as dams, sewage plants and beach restoration, that are important to local communities and their representatives. It also includes money for the hurricane-hit Gulf Coast and for Florida Everglades restoration efforts.

The House voted 361-54 to override the veto Tuesday. Both votes easily exceeded the two-thirds majority needed in each chamber to negate a presidential veto

Ballad of a Young American Soldier

Long after a soldier returns from war there is often a battle that still rages in his soul. The following poem speaks to the heart of that battle. plk


Ballad of a Young American Soldier: a too-common American Tragedy

by Barbara Tomlinson

( a ballad of blasted hopes )

"What shall I be when I grow up? Dear little mother of mine?

What shall I do when I grow up?

Of beer or of wine I'll drink a cup,

I'll drive and vote, with a girl get hitched up,

Like a bee, from all nectars I will sup,

Dear little mother of mine."


"What will you do when you come of age? Dear little son of mine?

What will you do when you come of age?

To college you'll go, where you'll get sage

To make me so proud, in my old age,

To surpass your Dad, and earn a good wage,

Dear little son of mine."

"What will I do when I come of age? Dear little mother of mine?

In my twenty-first year of age?

On Life's Great Book I'll write a new Page

My style and my flair will be all the rage

And e-very whim I will engage

Dear little mother of mine."

"What will you be like when you're mature? Dear little son of mine?

As a Man when you're mature?

I know you'll be honest, upright and pure,

You'll do the Right Thing, of that I am sure

Though occasional hardships you'll endure

Dear little son of mine."

"What does it mean to be a Man? Dear little mother of mine?

What is a Man, I ask?

I'll take up arms, it's a soldier's task

My country calls, my service it asks

But I'll return safe, in Fame to bask

Dear little mother of mine."

"Why are your hands so red with blood? Dear, dear son of mine?

Why so pale, why so thin?"

"I can't explain, can't even begin

I have a bad feeling, I've committed a Sin

If I'd done it here, a Jail I'd be in

Curse you, mother of mine."

"Where did we go so terribly wrong

Dear sweet son of ours?

Why are you so withdrawn?"

"Get out of my way, I'm the Devil's spawn

I can't sheathe my saber, once it's drawn

I blaspheme each day I see the dawn

To Hell with you, mother of mine."



"Come back, come back, my dear sweet son

Come back to your father and me."

"You can't even imagine where I have been

Where Evil is Good, and Right is a Sin

The State of Confusion that I am in

Will last all my life, parents mine."

"Why are your eyes so full of Death?

What do you see with your eyes?"

"Death is my Neighbor, my only Friend

It means all my troubles will soon have an end

All the future I forecast, my Grave you will tend

And be rid of me, parents mine."

[6 November 2007]

more of Barbara's poetry can be found on Megalithic Poems

photos courtesy of iStockphoto.com & Corbis.com