Yes, that’s Afghanistan, the country we’re investing billions in, the country that our military personnel are dying in and the country run by a government that we established and continue to support. That support was confirmed once again last week when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Kabul to watch President Hamid Karzai, resplendent is his bright striped silk cape, stroll down a red carpet to be sworn in for a new five-year term following an election found to be rife with fraud.

When Karzai said he would rid the nation of the corruption that runs rampant at every level of his government, Clinton characterized his plans as “visionary.”

Transparency International rated 180 countries and found that only the chaos-ridden nation of Somalia was more corrupt than Afghanistan. And, according to an article in Friday’s L.A. Times, few Afghans expect that to change.

U.S. Officials now say that, after pouring $40 billion in aid into that country, our government will now establish a “monitoring and verification” system in an attempt to track future payments.

However, the misuse of the funds donated by American taxpayers may only be the tip of the iceberg. Integrity Watch Afghanistan conducted a survey last year and found that the average family pays about $100 in bribes each year. That may not sound like much, but more than half the Afghan population survives on less than a dollar a day.

The Times article reported, for example, that the High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption found that it requires 51 signatures, on average, to register a car. Each signature calls for a fee which cumulatively amounts to about $400 per vehicle. According to the article, most Afghans elect to pass up the registration process and pay bribes to any police officers that might stop them.

The big bucks are in the illicit drug business, however. Two years ago, this column noted the many mansions that were reported to be springing up in Kabul that were owned by regional warlords and paid for by drug money. These so-called “poppy palaces” are now a prominent symbol of corruption for all the struggling citizenry to see.

And the recipients of all of this largesse include many of the people who are close to Karzai and who helped him get reelected. The president’s brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, is among those considered to be high up in the drug trade.

National officials have, in the past, found it impossible to stem the tide of corrupt practices in Afghanistan, so there is not a great amount of hope that the U.S. will succeed or that Karzai is even serious concerning his alleged intentions. One former attorney general who thought he could clean up the situation, eventually had to give up. He has since charged that the police, the prosecutors, the judges and the members of parliament are corrupt.

As far as his relationship with America and NATO are concerned, Karzai said last week that he wants all foreign troops out by 2014. American officials have responded by saying it is unlikely that the Afghan military will be able to stand on its own by then. They don’t mention that a further mitigating factor is that the corruption-riddled government is driving more and more Afghans into the arms of the Taliban which, yesterday, conducted a brazen rocket attack on the only five-star hotel in the capital.

So, it looks like a long haul and a continuing drain on the U.S. Treasury, whether we like it or not. And, after General McChrystal gets his additional troops, which it now appears might number about 30,000, we can probably expect casualties to resume their upward trend. The general, who, under the last administration, ran the assassination squad that reported directly to Cheney, has already overseen a significant increase in casualties since he took command last spring. The casualty rate has recently abated somewhat, but that may only be a temporary situation engineered to condition the U.S. public to be more open to the likely additional “surge,” when it is announced in early December.

Meanwhile, last week, the Department of Defense released the obituaries of four military personnel killed in Afghanistan ranging in age from 21 to 43. Of particular note was the heroic death of Army Sergeant Benjamin W. Sherman, 21, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, who drowned after he jumped into a river in a futile attempt to save the life of a fellow paratrooper in western Afghanistan.

Total U.S. deaths in Afghanistan now stand at 923, according the website icasualties.org.

The DOD also released the obituaries of three military personnel who died from non-combat-related injuries in Iraq, ranging in age from 35 to 37.

Total U.S. deaths in Iraq now number 4,365 according to the above website.

The corruption survey by Transparency International reported that Iraq was tied for fourth place on the list of the most corrupt countries in the world.

Last week Sarah Palin sold a tower of books … almost as many pages as the health care bill!   This week, millions of Americans will bite into turkey, bite into their savings, and then go watch Edward not bite Bella.  Uncle Jay explains it all!!

Where Did those Stimulus Jobs go?  58,000 jobs Explained.   Removed from the GAO accounting “jobs created or saved” without being asked.

The Senate oversight “Committee on Government Oversight and Reform” held an investigations hearing on Thursday to ask about discrepancies in the counts found by public and government sources. The committee sought to explore validity of the data and questioned where and how much of the stimulus money has been spent.

The GAO study issued on Thursday explained that about 10% of those jobs – more than 58,000 – were created as the result of projects that have so far reported spending no money.  It appears we have an explanation for why those numbers were adjusted.  10,000 more projects spent a total of $965 million and reported creating no jobs and spending no money. I guess you know what they spent that $965 MILLION on.  Hopefully they are preparing to hire a whole bunch of Americans!

Good Job Senators!  I wanted that answer, thanks for asking!

A quote from U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus, (D-OH) “The multiplier effect here is we are paying partial salaries through these contracts to hundreds of thousands of individuals who are participating in and support these projects.”  I can’t believe he can get away with reporting RAISES as “partial salaries”.   I do know the stimulus is paying partial unemployment to workers who file for it due to shortened hours so this may not be true in every case.  Still I would like to see reporting and spending of the Stimulus totally eliminate the RAISE practice with stimulus dollars. Stick to creating new jobs, caring for the struggling unemployed, and NOT reporting or paying for  pay raises as jobs saved!  With 6 people seeking every job, I doubt these folks were going anywhere, should they not have received raises. Wouldn’t you agree folks?

What the list I reported on, accumulated by investigative reporters and compiled for the Washington Examiner showed, and what was found by the committee was accepted and acknowledged by the GAO, if not line by line, in it’s theory and conclusion.   Earl Devany, Chairman of the Recovery Board, did not dispute the reports of flaws in the data, he said the numbers represent the first attempts at transparency and the reporting issues will be fixed. Score 1 for David Obey!

I quote Fox News, in their report on this issue,

“The Associated Press reported that one non-profit recipient of stimulus funds reported saving 935 jobs, nearly double the number of total employees. The AP also reported that the federal Administration for Children and Families at Health and Human Services reported saving 14,506 jobs, when in reality that number includes more than 9,300 existing employees in hundreds of local agencies who simply received pay raises and benefits.”     

 AGAIN the pay raises!  See what I mean??

On the report as a whole, Earl Devany, Chairman of the Recovery Board stated, ““I have no doubt there are a lot of jobs being created. I think it could be above or below 640,000. Missing reports might drive the number up and misreporting might drive the number down.”

 It’s true, some districts may have failed to report jobs created, but I hardly expect that number to be very large, however there may be some offset there.  On a whole so far, all investigations I know of cite over reporting of jobs saved.  Why was he not citing the under-reported jobs, if they exist?

 These statements by Fox news summed it up for the totality of press reports.

“Among the findings outlined in the GAO report or reported at the committee hearing Thursday or in the press are; reporting errors that included overstating the amount of money received, in one case by billions of dollars because of a misplaced decimal; reporting of hundreds of millions of stimulus dollars spent in Congressional Districts that don’t exist; and the reporting of the amount of money received in the “jobs created or saved”field.“ …Also included in the report was an accounting of total stimulus dollars allocated and spent. Of the $787 billion authorized by Congress, about $173 billion – 22% - has been paid out. The bulk of that money – about $130 billion – went to entitlement programs such as Medicaid and unemployment”

 THANK GOD FOR UNEMPLOYMENT AND THANK THE STIMULUS BILL and Congress for Providing it! Now if we could just get some help from HR3930 or S2730…… We KNOW THESE DOLLARS WERE NEEDED!  I Hope the balance of 78% is spent to help the economy get going, help us until it does, and not to provide NOT 1 MORE PAY RAISE!   If there wasn’t enough inflation for the fixed incomes to get COLA’s Why would we use Stimulus to pay for raises?

 This from CBS news, reported Wed. on the CBO report  It found that 3,978 recipients reported jobs created or saved without actually receiving ANY Recovery Act funds.

Imagine that, why would anyone report jobs not related to the Recovery Fund without receiving any Recovery act money?

Perhaps this is what prompted U.S. Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) to say,  “This whole issue is just propaganda, it’s political hyperbole…”  

I choose not to believe that Dan, as much as I love you.  I have watched this man fight for our rights repeatedly, but this time I disagree..

 I go with the opposition, and quote the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Dave Obey, ““We designed the Recovery Act to be open and transparent and I expect the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, who oversees the recovery act web site and data to have information that is accurate, reliable and understandable to the American public. Whether the numbers are good news or bad news, I want the honest numbers and I want them now.”  

“I want the honest numbers and I want them now.” 

This says to me, all criticism aside, I admire the effort to be forthright and hope we can accomplish it.

The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear reactor accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union). It is considered to be the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history and the only level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale. It resulted in a severe release of radioactivity following a massive power excursion that destroyed the reactor. Most deaths from the accident were caused by radiation poisoning.

On 26 April 1986 at 01:23 a.m. (UTC+3) reactor number four at the Chernobyl plant, near Pripyat in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, exploded. Further explosions and the resulting fire sent a plume of highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere and over an extensive geographical area. Four hundred times more fallout was released than had been by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

The plume drifted over large parts of the western Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Northern Europe, with some nuclear rain falling as far away as Ireland. Large areas in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were badly contaminated, resulting in the evacuation and resettlement of over 336,000 people. According to official post-Soviet data, about 60% of the radioactive fallout landed in Belarus.

The accident raised concerns about the safety of the Soviet nuclear power industry as well as nuclear power in general, slowing its expansion for a number of years while forcing the Soviet government to become less secretive. The countries of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus have been burdened with the continuing and substantial decontamination and health care costs of the Chernobyl accident. It is difficult to accurately quantify the number of deaths caused by the events at Chernobyl, as over time it becomes harder to determine whether a death has been caused by exposure to radiation.

Now let's fast forward to Saturday, November 22nd, 2009.  A leak at Three Mile Island exposed about 20 workers to radiation.  Employees at the infamous plant were cutting pipes in a reactor building when a radiation alarm sounded, triggering the evacuation of 150 workers.  The cause of the leak has not been found.

Now let me get to the gist of this post.  Our reliance on nuclear energy is nothing less than playing Russian Roulette with our environment and our people.  If you believe that Hurricane Katrina was of monumental proportions, then just think about something similar to the Chernobyl disaster happening here in the United States.

Think about the consequences of the entire Northeast section of the United States needing to be evacuated.  Think about the contamination of associated with the wind blowing across the rest of our country.  Think about the lack of emergency services.  Think about drinking radioactive water and eating radioactive foods.  Think about the pain and suffering associated with radiation poisoning.  I hope you get my gist.

One worker at the plant in Central Pennsylvania received 16 millirem of exposure, while other workers were exposed to lower levels.  In my opinion, no level of exposure is acceptable.

Listen to me folks.  We have to ween ourselves off of nuclear and fossil fuel energy.  There are clean alternative sources of energy that need to be refined.  Windmills have been providing clean energy for decades.  Solar panels provide electricity at no cost after the initial installation.

Why would anyone be opposed to these alternative sources of energy?  Because change is difficult.  Because change can be frightening.  Because many are so oppose change just for opposition's sake.

You must realize that just one major nuclear accident could mean our demise.  You have to realize that our reliance on fossil fuels only fuels the terrorists whom benefits from the revenues we send them and whom so want to see our demise.  So why can't we get on the same page?  A page that will secure a safer and cleaner America for all of us and our generations to come?

In conclusion, I'd like to know what you think.  Am I just an Al Gore wannabee?  Is the use nuclear and fossil fuels so ingrained in our way of life that change is impossible?

"It's only a matter of time people. Only a matter of time."

Check out the legacy of Chernobyl at the following link.

http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/chernobyl

I don't like to call names-but this guy is a Class A jack-ass.

He hates Obama. He wants him to die. He hates Palin. He claims she is pro-choice. (Since when?) He hates everybody.

Steven L Anderson would never vote for a woman because the Bible apparently says so.

I understand free speech; I do. But what about taking responsibility for your free speech? Isn't that kind of the "understood you" of the Amendment? Why do people forget that part? Say what you want-but be prepared to accept the consequences. Something Pastor Anderson has shown a pattern of not understanding.

Listen to him preach to his audience of one or so. It's mercifully short.

One final note-he calls himself a Baptist, but one of my friends, who happens to be a Baptist minister, says that the Baptist Church does not claim him. (I wouldn't either.)

Interesting debate between Bill O'Reilly, Brit Hume, and Judge Napolitano. You have to see this.

Uber-Patriot" O'Reilly actually says "I don't care about the Constitution". I don't agree with Bill O'Reilly 99.9 percent of the time, but I think he has intelligence. However, he gets so easily rattled when he's losing an argument, it's hilarious!

Napolitano is right on this one.

Making money is easy but its hard too. Some people are good in sports where they can make it to the professional league and get paid lots of money. It's easy for them because they love to do it. Also it is the job you work from 9-5. That's is coo too but some people just get tired of working all day.Now this job I'm going tell you about is the best to me because I love it. You work your own hours and you also have free time. It's a work from home business. It's a lot of them. It's is also a lot of scams out there to. But there is also a few legit business too. My is one. You do have to put in work but not a lot. People don't know if something is legit until you try it. Remember one thing money make the world go round. I will help anyone make money because its a good thing. Thank you for taking the time to read my posy and have a good day.

That was close. They finished the vote a minute ago on C-span. Exactly 60 votes to proceed with debate after the Thanksgiving Break. One less, and the thing would have gone down the flusher.

So we talk some more next week. Do not assume it will pass. Do not assume it won't pass, either. Your thoughts?

I think the question is simple.  As the Senate now has the vote to debate the healthcare bill, which is a good thing, do you want the Senate to pass a viable healthcare bill? 

I believe change to the system is needed but not the house version.  But do you simply want a healthcare bill passed?