Congressional Columbus Day
Here’s a nice recap of this year’s legislative process on the military appropriations:
On May 9, the full House Armed Services Committee approved the bill. While some funding for the Airborne Laser program (a component of the national missile defense system) and for other programs was restored, the funds came from other missile defense programs, leaving the top line cut to missile defense at $764 million. The Committee also agreed to the $45 million reductions from the Reliable Replacement Warhead program, $10 million from the proposed Space Test-Bed and $24.9 million from the facility to build new plutonium cores for weapons, while agreeing to increase the Pentagon's Cooperative Threat Reduction program by $50 million to $398 million and increase the Energy Department's nuclear non-proliferation programs by $150 million to $1.8 billion.
On May 17, the House adopted the bill by a vote of 397 - 27. Before final passage, the House: rejected 136 - 288 a DeFazio (D-OR) amendment to bar a U.S. attack on Iran without prior Congressional approval; rejected 202 - 216 an Andrews (D-NJ) amendment to bar spending in the bill on planning contingency operations in Iran.
On September 11, the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee approved $459.3 billion for the Pentagon, about $3.5 billion less than the President's request but about 9.5% higher than the last fiscal year. The funds for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan will be considered separately, as in the House of Representatives. The Subcommittee approved $8.5 billion for missile defense, a cut of $310 million from the Pentagon request, reducing funding for the third missile defense site in Europe by $85 million, eliminating all funds for the Space Test Bed and fully funding the Airborne Laser program. It also cut $15 million of the $30 million for the Navy work on the Reliable Replacement Warhead. The Subcommittee also approved an amendment ordering a review of how nuclear weapons are handled after a recent incident in which six nuclear bombs were mistakenly flown over several states.
On September 12, the full Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill.
The full Senate may consider the bill this week. The portion of the request to pay for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars -- which now reach $192 billion -- is not likely to be considered until October or November, or even early next year.
While they can’t find the moral fiber to rein BushCo in, the Congress is able to find a way to take a few days off for Columbus day:

Congressional Recess Schedule
October 5 - 14 Senate Columbus Day recess
November 9 Target House adjournment
November 16 Target Senate adjourment
Columbus certainly has a long day, doesn’t he?!! Well, surely all those hardworking Senators and Congressmen will spend the week visiting all the Indian tribes that will be so wildly celebrating Columbus’ arrival. I don’t know why I rail against it so – nothing much has changed since the pilgrims sunk their flag into the soil of Jamestown and the soul of the native American – we still rape and plunder and take whatever we want whenever we want wherever we want.

I’ve long thought that the planet would be better off if human kind just eliminated itself, but maybe all it would take would be for the rest of the races to bump us WASPs off!

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Burma is ruled by one of the worst military dictatorships in the world. This week Buddhist monks and nuns began marching and chanting prayers to call for democracy. The protests spread and hundreds of thousands of Burmese people joined in -- they've been brutally attacked by the military regime, but still the protests are spreading.

I just signed a petition calling on Burma's powerful ally China and the UN security council to step in and pressure Burma's rulers to stop the killing. The petition has exploded to over 200,000 signatures in a few days and is being advertised in newspapers around the world, delivered to the UN secretary general, and broadcast to the Burmese people by radio. We're trying to get to 1 million signatures this week, please sign below and tell everyone!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/tf.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK
Thank you for your help!

Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi

Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR

The reason for going was to keep the crude flowing and raise a false flag abroad. – from a poem by Jack Evans titled 3500 Souls - http://www.myspace.com/paralegal_eagle