No Child Left For Drafts

Greetings--

You may not know it, but under a little known provision of No Child Left Behind, public high schools must hand over personal information about students -- including minors -- to local military recruiters, or risk losing federal education funding. I think it's a real invasion of family privacy and local school control.The good news is that I just found some great information and a useful online tool that makes it easy to "opt out" our children from these lists. Just go to http://www.leavemychildalone.org/friend .You can also help change the law that lets military recruiters prey on our minor children without parents' explicit permission. Hope you find it useful! And tell other people you know about LeaveMyChildAlone.org

Sincerely,
Jackson Shellenberger

Too Little, Too Late

It's been about 10 months since last year's presidential election and I wonder how many people would change their vote now?
This isn't just a matter of Hurricane Katrina, it's about a lack of strong leadership from the entire administration since the events of 9/11 unfolded. It's one thing to be blindly patriotic, it's another thing to be American. Americans are given the freedom to question and critique things. Freedoms that should not be left behind in war time or not. This country was based upon the ideals of being free to openly question things our government does, because the people that formed this land had no voice in their own government. Ever heard of taxation without representation?
It's sad that thousands of people had to die just so people could realize what a poor situation we're in. The disparity between the high class and the low class is growing, while the middle class slowly disappears. I'm not saying everyone without a job just can't find a job, I'm sure there are some that take advanatage of the system and there should be a way to control that. The way to govern is to not go strictly along the lines of your party...it is to go with what would be best for the people of America. Prejudice and bigotry have no place in this country and those groups that condone it should be eliminated if President Bush was serious about terrorism. Not just al qaeda but groups like the KKK. If terrorism is psychological and about killing things for a political agenda then I see no difference between the two organizations.
This will soon be the only country in the world where there will be no majority of ethnicity, religion, etc. That is a major accomplishment. But what good will it be if we hold onto our backwards views, and bigoted ideas. America truly is a grand experiment and idea, it's up to us to keep that going.
I know what you're saying...Ryan's a bleeding heart liberal! No, I'm an Independent and I'm an American who cares about where he lives and where his (hopefully) children will live one day. Why would I want to bring kids into a world where there is so much violence and a draining of hope. Americans should challenge themselves everyday to be a better person, do something kind for any person, and you would be amazed at how effective it can be. We don't have to stick our head in the sand and pretend it doesn't involve us, it does, because we're all somehow interconnected on this mad, mad world.

I do know one thing, if the election was this year, there would be no fooling the people, and those fanatical bible lovers would be no match for the real soul of America.

Bush Approval Rating: 39%
People Who Believe America is on the Wrong Track: 65%

Hurricane Katrina

www.redcross.com

Hit it up and donate for Hurricane Katrina.

That's all I have and pray for everyone involved

Radical 700 Clubbers

Story Taken from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9047102/


Pat Robertson Calls for Assassination of Venezuelan President

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson called on Monday for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him a “terrific danger” to the United States.
Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America and a former presidential candidate, said on “The 700 Club” it was the United States’ duty to stop Chavez from making Venezuela a “launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism.”
Chavez has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of President Bush, accusing the United States of conspiring to topple his government and possibly backing plots to assassinate him. U.S. officials have called the accusations ridiculous.
You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it,” Robertson said. “It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop.”
Electronic pages and a message to a Robertson spokeswoman were not immediately returned Monday evening.
Venezuela is the fifth largest oil exporter and a major supplier of oil to the United States. The CIA estimates that U.S. markets absorb almost 59 percent of Venezuela’s total exports.
Venezuela’s government has demanded in the past that the United States crack down on Cuban and Venezuelan “terrorists” in Florida who they say are conspiring against Chavez.
Robertson accused the United States of failing to act when Chavez was briefly overthrown in 2002.
“We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability,” Robertson said.
“We don’t need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator,” he continued. “It’s a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.”

Ryan's Thoughts:
Ah Pat Robertson...it's funny. If you were a leader of a Muslim church you'd probably be in Guantanimo Bay by now, but since you're rich and white we'll chalk it up to you being old and racist. Unfortunately this is the double standard we live under. Because Pat Robertson is on the side of the "good doers" he'll get to what amounts to a slap on the wrist. He's one of those hypocritical church goers that think there shit doesn't stink and that everything they touch turns to gold. It's sad that they've warped religion into such a hateful, money making scheme. But keep sending him money, because then you'll have salvation. Alright, laters!

Mission Accomplished?

I'd like to get out a sort of mission statement for this site, which anyone and everyone is welcome to join and post on if you ask for the ability.

This is an open forum which anyone is free to share your thoughts and ideas on just about any subject you wish. Nothing is taboo here. It's only asked that you keep an open mind and don't simply criticize. Question, question question, but never criticize. Racial slurs and hateful language will not be tolerated, and any posting containing such language will be immediately kicked off this site. This site is about free speech, but not about condoning ignorance.


Alright, any ideas on how to word this, or anything that could be added?


As always,
"The Admiral"

PAY IT FORWARD

That's right.
Over 70,000 people have perished so far during the recent Tsunami/Earthquake disaster in Southeast Asia. For me, it's time to show that this American can still be great. I may not be able to volunteer, but I have donated monetarily. Think of this on the scale of that this maybe be anywhere from 50 to 100 times the amount of lives lost on September 11th. These countries aren't able to cope with such a tragedy as easily as we would be able to. They simply do not have the resources.
I'm not going to get preachy and telemarketish on all of you, but here are some places where you can donate.

www.redcross.org

www.adra.org

www.americacares.org

www.internationalaid.org

www.unicefusa.org

These are just a few, and there are plenty of other great ones.

Thanks!

Ryan

Godless Commies!

In America today, with conservatism running at an all time high, we've started entering areas of extreme paranoia and fanatism. I'd like to tell a tale of time when the Pledge of Allegiance didn't include the words "under God". Shocking! I know, but remember we have a separation of church and state. In 1892, Francis Bellamy created the pledge as this: 'I pledge allegiance to my Flag and (to*) the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all'. Originally, Bellamy wanted to include the phrase "equality" but knew that it would not pass because people did not want equality for minorities and women.
The pledge went through its first change in 1923/1924 changing the words "my flag" to "the flag of the United States of America". This change was not condoned by Bellamy, but it stuck nonetheless.
Finally in 1954, that's right it took 62 years for America to adopt the phrase "under God" into our pledge. It was added at this time, due to the fact that America wanted to appear morally superior to our "godless commie" rivals. Bellamy was not around at the time of this adaptation, however his granddaughter felt that he would not have agreed with the changes, since he was frustrated at his own church, when the forced him to leave because he gave socialist sermons. He also had grown frustrated at the racial bigotry in the churches. So there you, for everyone that is screaming about having "under God" in the Pledge, it's actually been out of the pledge for 62 years and in the pledge for only 50. Originally the Pledge had thought out the phrase "separation of church and state", but the religious groups felt the need to push for its inclusion. So when people try to get the Pledge changed, they're only trying to change things to "the way they were".
Goodnight America!