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2008-11-05 Finally A New Day for America

Thank you America as we finally put the past behind us and take our first step toward the future with the election of Obama as our next president. I have intentionally stayed out of the primary and general election process on these pages allowing voters to choose a new direction and waiting to see what that new direction is. I have not been quiet about politics in my personal life however, as evidenced by the photo of my car above. Yes, it is a smart car which makes an environmental statement, and that is a large Obama sign, not just a small bumper sticker, making a political statement. America has once again shown the world that we can self correct, and even cross bridges to the future at the same time. Thank You

 

Do you want help speaking out?

Check Glen’s new collection of products designed to help.

Click on any of the samples below. (More products will be added soon)

Pulling Out Sticker (Bumper)Bush 60,000,000people Sticker (Bumper)Bush Pearl Harbor Sticker (Bumper)

 

2008-06-06 Primary Season is Over & New Reports

I have tried very hard to keep my 2 cents out of the hotly contested Democratic primary race, at least publicly on this page, but it may finally be over. I really hope it’s over. With Obama gaining enough delegates to clinch the nomination on the last primary night, we all watched Hillary as she did not give a concession speech. Not the news says she will suspend her campaign and endorse Obama in an attempt to bring unity to a divided party. I’m not sure about the sincerity of all this as I have watched here campaign become less and less about the people, the party and the country, while it grew more and more about Hillary, and why she is entitled to the nomination. I have been predicting that her campaign fight won’t end until she is removed from the convention by security, and even the most recent events don’t convince me that she is done. We will all have to wait and see, but there is new news from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about the bad information the public received from members of the Bush administration in the run up to the war. I will include a link and a brief summary below of the report below and ask you to consider the following; A public official acting in good faith can not be held personally responsible for things that go wrong as a result of actions her or she takes while performing the duties of that office. The key here is “Good Faith”. I public official can however be held responsible for the results of his or her actions while performing the duties of their office, if they ignore warnings, manipulate information or situations for personal, group or party gain, fabricate information for gain, or in any other way exercise their power or influence NOT in good faith. To this end, after reading the report conclusions below, the first act of our next President, immediately after taking the oath of office and while members of the previous administration are still on the reviewing stand (before they can flee the country), is to have US Marshals take these people into custody on charges ranging from depraved indifference, to national security violations, to treason. Oh, and according to their own rules, we can imprison them as long as we want or even torture them, without ever allowing them an actual trial.

Conclusion 1: Statements by the President, Vice President, Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor regarding a possible Iraqi nuclear weapons program were generally substantiated by intelligence community estimates, but did not convey the substantial disagreements that existed in the intelligence community.

Conclusion 2: Statements in the major speeches analyzed, as well additional statements, regarding Iraq’s passion of biological agent, weapons, production capability, and use of mobile biological laboratories were substantiated by intelligence information.

Conclusion 3: Statements in major speeches analyzed, as well additional statements, regarding Iraq’s possession of chemical weapons were substantiated by intelligence information.

Conclusion 4: Statements by the President and Vice President prior to October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq’s chemical weapons production capability and activities did not reflect the intelligence community’s uncertainties as to whether such production was ongoing.

Conclusion 5: Statements by the President, Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense regarding Iraq’s passion of weapons of mass destruction were generally substantiated by intelligence, though many statements made regarding ongoing production prior to late 2002 reflected a higher level of certainty than the intelligence judgments themselves.

Conclusion 6: The Secretary of Defense’s statement that the Iraqi government operated underground WMD facilities that were not vulnerable to conventional airstrikes because they were underground and deeply buried was not substantiated by available intelligence information.

Conclusion 7: Statements in the major speeches and additional statements analyzed regarding Iraqi ballistic missiles were generally substantiated by available intelligence.

Conclusion 8: Statements by the President, Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State that Iraq was developing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that could be used to deliver chemical or biological weapons were generally substantiated by intelligence information, but did not convey the substantial disagreements or evolving views that existed in the intelligence community.

Conclusion 9: The President’s suggestion that the Iraqi government was considering using UAVs to attack the United States was substantiated by intelligence judgments available at the time, but these judgments were revised a few months later, in January 2003.

Conclusion 10: Statements in the major speeches analyzed, as well additional statements, regarding Iraq’s support for terrorist groups other than al-Qa’ida were substantiated by intelligence information.

Conclusion 11: Statements that Iraq provided safe haven for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and other al-Qa’ida related terrorist members were substantiated by the intelligence assessments.

Conclusion 12: Statements and implications by the President and Secretary of state suggesting that Iraq and al-Qa’ida had a partnership, or that Iraq had provided al-Qa’ida with weapons training, were not substantiated by the intelligence.

Conclusion 13: Statements in the major speeches analyzed, as well as additional statements, regarding Iraq’s contacts with al-Qa’ida were substantiated by intelligence information. However, policymakers’ statements did not accurately convey the intelligence assessments of the nature of these contacts, and left the impression that the contacts led to substantive Iraqi cooperation or support for al-Qa’ida.

Conclusion 14: The Intelligence Community did not confirm that Muhammad Atta met an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in 2001.

Conclusion 15: Statements by the President and the Vice President indicating that Saddam Hussein was prepared to give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups for attacks against the United States were contradicted by available intelligence information.

Conclusion 16: Statements by President Bush and Vice President Cheney regarding the postwar situation in Iraq, in terms of the political, security, and economic, did not reflect the concerns and uncertainties expressed in the intelligence products.

In the above 16 conclusions, let’s check the score:

Substantiated-5

Substantiated, but later contradictory info ignored & claim never corrected-1

Substantiated, but opposing views ignored-3

Exaggerated-2

Unsubstantiated-4

Flat out LIE-1

So only 5 of 16 claims were completely true, 1 more was true but later found to be false and they never told us that part, 3 claims were questionable but made to sound certain, 2 were exaggerated, 4 had no supporting intelligence and 1 was a flat out lie. That’s the information we used to go to war.

http://intelligence.senate.gov/080605/phase2a.pdf

 

2008-01-14 False Pretenses

I have not written anything in some time, but the link below is to a newly released report & data base analysis of pre Iraq war political statements that are now known to be false. Keep in mind that the blame goes not only to those who made an effort to deceive us, but also to the media who reported these false assertions without fact checking them.

http://www.publicintegrity.org/WarCard/Default.aspx?src=home&context=overview&id=945

 

2008-01-03 Happy New Year

As the New Year begins there is nothing I would love to see readers support more than the Wexler Wants Hearings campaign. Click on any of the images below.

  

2007-11-28 Letter to Pelosi

It seems that with no support from our Democratic leadership, the resolution to impeach the Vice President is destined to die of old age in committee. After spending most of the past 6 years in disagreement with President Bush, I now find I agree with his statement, “This action will embolden our enemies.” In fact, after 6 years of demonstrating that they (the Bush administration) have no respect for the constitution, your first action as Speaker of the House was to announce that “impeachment is off the table.” By doing this, you told an angry American public and an administration with no respect for the law, that the executive branch can continue doing whatever they want and there will never be any consequences. This serves only to “embolden our enemies.” Would you tell a person suspected of murder not to worry, because even if we do collect evidence against them, you will make sure they are never brought up on charges? The joke of impeaching Clinton over a personal indiscretion has poisoned the process for many in Washington, but our founding fathers included this option to deal with a constitutionally flawed administration like this one and YOU SHOULD HONOR THOSE FOUNDING FATHERS GOOD INTENSIONS. The amount of additional damage that can be done between now and January 20, 2009 can be devastating unless this Congress puts a stop to it. Do what’s right, not what’s politically safe!

 

2007-11-16 Letter to Judiciary

I have been pressed for time & not able to write, but I just had to write a quick note to the House Judiciary Committee which I am posting here as well.

To All Judiciary Committee Members,

Recently a resolution to impeach the Vice President was brought before you and I hope to present a view of this issue that may not have been previously presented. Moving this resolution forward would represent the beginning of the best foreign relations and diplomacy strategy the Congress could undertake. It seems unrelated, but I will explain. Over the past few years, the U.S. has lost the trust and respect of almost every nation and government in the world. Our leaders have destroyed relationships that took generations to develop and squandered the sympathy and good will we enjoyed after 9-11. As I see it, the only way we can regain all that we lost, is to show the world that we are willing to clean up our own government before we continue meddling in the governments of others. To this end, impeachment would be a great start. Consider it.

 

2007-09-10 Bush Stalling Again

I have been pressed for time and not able to write much, skipping topics like Senators David Vitter or Larry Craig, the Surge anniversary, Chertoff’s “gut feeling”, abusing executive privilege, Myers & Rove ignoring subpoenas, Rove’s resignation, attempts to stop funding the VP’s office, Contempt of Congress?, Inherent Contempt? (look it up), the Surgeon General testifying politics is more important than science, Gonzales perjuring himself during testimony, Gonzales & Snow resigning, a troop withdrawal bill, OSU group using US soldiers for Iraq religious crusade, skyrocketing troop suicide rates, skyrocketing mortgage foreclosure rates, Bush speaking about the Libby/Plame case as if he knows what happened (subpoena him), more D.C. Madam, Bush authorizing the Iraq war in 2002 while he was telling us he didn’t want war,  the N.I.E. report saying Al Qaeda is stronger than ever, Bush’s weapons deal with the Saudi’s creating a new Middle East arms race, the 190,000 missing weapons, Senator Ted Stevens investigation, Bush saying we will stay in Iraq to fight Iran, the Bush surprise Iraq photo op stopover, the attempt to split California’s electoral vote, the GAO report on Iraq before and after the Whitehouse edited it, and now the Petraeus report on Iraq which we have learned was written by the Whitehouse, while Petraeus has been making political speeches and entertaining members of congress. All this has been a continuation of the scandals, lies, conspiracies, abuses of power and cover ups that have been the norm over the last 6 years.

Now, the Petraeus report brings us another attempt to stall our departure from Iraq, so the war profiteers, the corporate looters, the religious crusaders and the Neo-Con imperialists can continue their work a little longer, while lives are lost and our national wealth is transferred from the many, to just a few.

The Bush strategy in Iraq all along has been simple, stay and keep the “war” going as long as possible. To demonstrate this I’ll give you a brief history of announcements related to the Iraq war.

On 2 May 2003 Bush announced “Major combat operations have ended.”

He did thus under a huge banner that said “Mission Accomplished.”

Then when everyone realized we were not done in Iraq and the situation was worse, not better,

we were told (not necessarily in this order);

Everything will improve after the provisional government is in place.

Conditions will improve after the constitution is written.

Conditions will improve after the constitution is ratified.

Conditions will improve after the elections.

Conditions will improve after the hand over of power.

Conditions will improve after the new government is in place.

Conditions will improve after we kill or capture Saddam.

Conditions will improve after we kill or capture Saddam’s sons.

Conditions will improve after we kill or capture Zarqawi.

Conditions will improve after we clean up Abu Ghraib.

Conditions will improve after we secure this area, that area or some other area.

Conditions will improve after we train 100,000 Iraqi troops.

Conditions will improve after we train 125,000 Iraqi troops.

Over and over we here Bush say; “When the Iraqi’s stand up, we will stand down.”

In June 2005, Bush says; “We will stay in Iraq as long as we are needed, and not a day longer.”

November 2005, Bush outlines a new “Plan for Victory in Iraq” and wants us to give it a chance.

Feb. 2006 Bush tries to string us along by insisting that “We are winning”.

March 2006, Bush spins invasion anniversary, as the anniversary of the beginning of the liberation.

May 2006, the Whitehouse suggests possible troop draw downs & says, wait & see.

In August 2006, Bush says, “We're not leaving, so long as I'm the President.”

After the Nov. 2006 election & a call for a new direction, Bush says no announcement until Jan.

In January of 2007 a troop surge is announced and we should see results in 60 to 90 days.

In the spring of 2007 we are told the surge needs at least 6 months to work.

During the summer of 2007 Bush says we must wait for the Petreaus report in September,

and now Petraeus says we should stay at least until the spring of 2008.

Are they just stringing us along? You better believe they are. Stop them NOW.

 

2007-07-03 Letter to Pelosi

As a birthday present to the country, Bush has added a new assault on democracy. Below is a copy of my email to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Dear Congresswoman Pelosi,

In your effort to move the country forward and not get Congress and the media bogged down when you first became Speaker, you announced that “Impeachment is off the table.” Now George W. Bush has commuted Libby’s sentence, telling every administration member that if they lie to protect the Bush administration, they will not go to jail. Every layer in America, including those in the Whitehouse know that Bush getting involved in a case that is related to the activities of the Whitehouse is a conflict of interest and that line should never be crossed. Meanwhile, there are congressional subpoenas pending that the Whitehouse is attempting to ignore. Cheney conveniently says he is not bound by rules limiting the Executive branch, because he is not part of the Executive branch. This is in conflict with previous arguments that he and Bush can claim executive privilege. The number of laws that have been violated by this administration are too numerous to list here, but let’s be sure not to forget my favorite, presenting false information to congress. You should be enraged by these assaults on the duties of the Legislative branch, with Bush opting instead for unlimited executive power and the blatant cover up of any executive abuses. As the Speaker of the House, I can only see one appropriate response to these dictatorship building actions that are being taken, announce that “Impeachment is back on the table” and have real public hearings to discover the truth in an effort to preserve democracy. A recent poll indicated that 40% of Americans believe that we were attacked by Iraq on 9-11. This is part of some false reality created by this administration that must be set right. Until these criminals are put on trial, in public and exposed as the liars they are, people will continue to believe them and we will travel further down this road of lawlessness and deception.

GET TOUGH, TAKE A STAND, STOP THE MADNESS.

 

2007-06-27 One Month Of Madness

I have been off for a while with a busy schedule and most of my time spent integrating new software. The process is ongoing, so I will list some topics and events you may want to check out, but will not post links.

Here goes:

-The US wants to place missiles just outside the Russian border creating a modern day backwards version of the Cuban Missile Crisis. If the Bushies think the Russians should take this less seriously than when Russia wanted to place missiles in Cuba in the 60’s, they are living in Fantasyland.

-Congressman Jefferson charged for accepting bribes. Democrats can screw up too.

-Two GITMO cases thrown out of the military kangaroo court. They don’t even fit those rules.

-US attorney Schlozman testifies election fraud charges were politically motivated and violated law.

-Libby gets 30 months + probation + $250,000.00 fine.

-Iraq oil supply shut down in protest – by Iraqis.

-Turkey attacks the Kurds in Iraq. Do we support out ally Turkey or our ally the Iraqi Kurds?

-Lieberman was on Face the Nation on 6/10 and in a short interview said that Iran was supplying arms to and training people in Iraq to kill Americans no less than 8 times. Saying this over and over in such a short interview can only be viewed as a propaganda stunt. Shame on Lieberman.

-Bush meets with world leaders, and as usual makes a follow up speech letting us know what he told some of those world leaders to do (I told him to …). Who put Bush in charge of these other countries?

-Replacing the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs will effectively complete the replacement of every lead official involved in the invasion of Iraq except Bush & Cheney, yet the same flawed policies still continue. Don’t you think we should complete the process by replacing Bush & Cheney?

-Bloomberg leaves the GOP and many speculate a run for president. Maybe Bloomberg just doesn’t want to be associated with a party that’s so screwed up.

-Goodling testified than Gonzales lied, McNulty lied, The Whitehouse was involved, political affiliation was a factor in hiring, Gonzales coached her testimony and that her experience – she was class president.

-Bush approves covert operations to overthrow Iranian government.

-Bush picks new head for the World Bank, another member of the Project for a New American Century.

-New Sudan sanctions focus on, you guessed it, the Oil Industry.

-Bush tells us about the “Korean Model” for Iraq. Go ahead and reuse the failed “Korean Model” with an occupation that has lasted 50 years and counting.

-Dan Bartlett leaves the Bush administration.

-The GAO reports on signing statements; some agencies are wrongly accepting them as law.

-Republican Senator Lugar bails out of the Bush Iraq strategy.

-Republican Senator Voinovich bails out of the Bush Iraq strategy.

-Cheney says that the rules restricting the Executive Branch don’t apply to him because he isn’t part of the Executive Branch. He better not become a contestant on Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader.

-Overturning precedent, which they said they would not do, the Supreme Court ruled in a case that challenged the constitutionality of using tax payer funds for religious purpose through the Office of Faith Based Initiative. The ruling did not address the question of constitutionality, but instead said that tax payers didn’t even have the right to question the spending. I thought this was a democracy.

-Christie Whitman testifies that she is not a liar. Let’s review: The EPA did no air quality tests in the days after 9-11, the city did do tests that said the air was dangerous, Whitman knew about the city tests and then she went on TV and said we tested the air quality and it is safe. Sounds like she’s a liar.

 

2007-05-24 Get MAD

I have now finished emailing members of Congress to express my disappointment at their caving in to the Bush demands for a “no strings attached” war funding bill and I hope all Americans will be angry enough to take some time and do the same. With that said, everyone should use the link below to watch another person who was mad about this, Keith Olbermann. His Special Comment is a must watch.

     http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?f=00&g=97463110-d327-400f-957c-9eb416ede03d&p=hotvideo_m_edpicks&t=m5&rf=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/&fg=

 

2007-05-23 Bush the Dictator and More

In a move virtually unnoticed by the US press, on May 9th Bush issued a presidential directive that would make him the dictator of the US if a catastrophic event like 9-11 or Katrina were to happen again. This appears to be forward thinking on the part of the president, or at least by the people around him. Here in the US we have presidential term limits, capping the time in office to 2 full terms or a maximum of 10 years if the VP takes over for a president who can’t complete his term. Since Bush is in his second term, he can’t run again, but in the second half of 2008, when a catastrophic event occurs, he simply becomes the US dictator and cancels the presidential election that would elect his replacement. Is this the democracy with checks & balances and 3 co-equal branches of government that I learned about in school?

     http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html

     http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=ROG20070521&articleId=5721

     http://uruknet.info/?p=m33063&s1=h1

In a related story, the Congress seems to be giving in to the Bush’s “timeline free” war funding demands.

     http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/05/23/MNGTFPVVOB1.DTL

In yet another back door surge the surge strategy for Iraq, it looks like the US will double the number of troops. How? When they recently went from 12 month tours to 15, added more troops, and rearranged the rotation schedule, the plan effectively will double the number of troops on the ground at any one time.

     http://thegate.nationaljournal.com/2007/05/report_iraq_troop_level_could.php

Speaking of Iraq, why aren’t we getting out? The key to this question is the phrase “Production-Sharing Agreement”. This is a law that the Bushies are trying to push through the Iraqi parliament which allows western oil companies to operate on Iraqi land like it was their own. The oil companies would get most of the profit and Iraq will get screwed. The Iraqis feel so strongly that this is a mistake that the parliament is going on vacation so they don’t have to endure the constant pressure to pass this legislation. When the US began the “surge” we were told we would see results in 60-90 days. That time would have expired in April, so we were told 3 to 6 months, then by the end of summer and now this past weekend, by the end of the year. This shifting time is just a ploy to keep the pressure on long enough for the “Production-Sharing Agreement” to be signed into law. Michael Moore said in Fahrenheit 9-11 that this war was all about oil, and the focus on these agreements, instead of security, proves it.

     http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070521/NEWS07/705210352/1009/NEWS07

In another part of the war money game, NBC tests body armor and finds that the brand the military says is no good, works better than the one they are using. What NBC doesn’t follow up on is, who is manufacturing, marketing and profiting from this inferior product that the military is so anxious to buy.

     http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18720550/

In response to a question, Carter criticizes Bush foreign policy. This event was greatly over played in the news, but the bottom line is that Carter is right. The Bush foreign policy has been a disaster.

     http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/135651

In case you missed it, we now have a “WAR CZAR.” This puts another buffer in place to direct criticism of war policy failures away from Bush, Cheney and others who should take the blame.

     http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Gen._Eaton_War_Czar_job_of_0522.html

It’s time to attack the immigration bill. This bill has been attacked by everyone from all sides, and now it’s my turn. I’ll sum it up this way. Every time congress or the president tries to address this issue they attempt to achieve a comprehensive package that deals with every possible aspect of the issue. Everyone from government, business, special interests and more put their 2 cents in to collectively create a bill so complex that everyone hates it, it doesn’t pass and nothing gets done. Isn’t it time they tried to chip away at this problem a little at a time? They could start with border security, and then later move on to naturalization or work visas.

     http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/22/washington/22immig.html?em&ex=1180065600&en=6cbbc909bb2a2fe9&ei=5087%0A

Last week we heard testimony from James Comey, assistant Attorney General to John Ashcroft. This is the most damaging to date for Gonzales as he shares events related not only to the US Attorney scandal, but the NSA wiretap issue as well. I have linked to the transcript and I suggest you start reading from the lower half of page 9. His account displays how Gonzales is willing to circumvent the law whenever possible.

     http://gulcfac.typepad.com/georgetown_university_law/files/comey.transcript.pdf

I do have one good example of someone trying to derail Gonzales the law breaker. A soldier from GITMO sent a Valentine’s Day card to a Human Rights lawyer with the names of 550 GITMPO detainees. The prisoners at GITMO have never been fully documented, have not been charged with crimes, have been denied representation, have been tortured and more under the Bush/Cheney/Gonzales lawless government. What the US does in GITMO doesn’t seem very American.

     http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/18/navy.lawyer.ap/index.html

Finally, the only Democrat on the Whitehouse Privacy Board quits in protest, because their report was altered over 200 times. If the Bushies want to make up all these different departmental reports themselves, why do they even have any of these boards or departments? Get rid of them all, stop trying to fool the public and just say flat out; “we’re just making this stuff up.”

     http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?p=22327768

 

2007-05-15 Stories You May Have Missed

I have not had much time to write in the last 2 weeks, but here are some stories you may have missed.

Greg Palast, an American reporter who works in the UK to avoid winding up in GITMO says the US attorneys were fired to set up the stealing of the 2008 election. Greg is usually right.

     http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0704/S00460.htm

US Oil Company Chevron bribed Saddam while Condi was on the Chevron board. Generally, board members don’t always know about daily company business so Condi would be off the hook, but Chevron makes keeping the board informed of operations a company priority.

     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-ballinger/condi-snoozed-while-chevr_b_47926.html

The most ridiculous story is Paris Hilton asking for a pardon because she provides beauty.

     http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=453488&in_page_id=1773

Bush sends a letter to Pelosi as a pre-emptive veto threat for any pending legislation that doesn’t respect human life. By this he means pro-choice legislation, but he doesn’t realize the hypocrisy of respecting life while supporting the death penalty and promoting war.

     http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=10298

Arrests were made in a terror plot to attack Fort Dix. The details have changed so many times, that I suspect this “plot” will be like previous plots that were more talk than substance.

     http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070515/NEWS01/705150360/1006

McCain reminds us that he will chase bin Laden to the gates of hell.

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1PZD2sw6-Y

The US government can’t agree on setting a timetable for pulling out of Iraq, but the Iraqi Parliament had no problem passing a resolution calling for a US withdrawal timetable. They don’t want us there!

     http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/09/iraqis-call-for-timetable/

A woman on death row in Iraq says she was tortured, not by Saddam, but under the new government, you know, the one we set up. Are things really better now?

     http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/womanofthesun/2007/may/15/womanofthesun-15-05-2007-001.htm

And now we learn about immigrants being drugged here in the US. What third world dictatorship is this?

     http://www.aclu.org/immigrants/detention/29657prs20070508.html

Tony Blair announces that he will step down, but don’t be fooled into thinking he will be out of power. It looks like he may join his predecessor, the Bushes and others in the Carlyle Group. Now they have more power than any government. (It’s odd that this story was out 2 years ago, but now when he is actually stepping down, no one is talking about Carlyle.)

     http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305B.shtml

The number 2 man at the Justice Department steps down as we continue the parade of officials leaving our federal government and almost none of the vacant positions have been refilled.

     http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-mcnulty15may15,1,4702877.story?coll=la-news-politics-national&track=crosspromo

And finally, presidential candidate John Edwards launches a new web site devoted to ending the war and bringing the troops home. He says this should be the message of Memorial Day this year.

     http://www.supportthetroopsendthewar.com/

 

2007-05-02 TIMETABLE?

As expected, Bush used his veto power to stop the war funding bill that included a timetable for withdrawal. He accused the Democrats of playing politics with this bill, but seems to have forgotten some of his own statements.

George W. Bush, 4/9/99: “Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is.”

George W. Bush, 6/5/99  “I think it’s also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn.”

These were said about the Clinton involvement in Kosovo. Do you think Bush can spell Hypocrite?

     http://thinkprogress.org/2005/06/28/in-1999-bush-demanded-a-timetable/

     http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/01/bush-timetable-2/

 

2007-05-01 People in Trouble

World Bank head and Bush’s former Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz – for directing some extra cash into the pocket of his female companion;

     http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/washington/30cnd-prexy.html?hp

Former (recently resigned) head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for Bush, Randall Tobias – who was exposed as a client of the “DC Madam”;

     http://rawstory.com/news/2007/DC_Madam_speaks_out_on_exposing_0430.html

Vice President Dick Cheney – for being a shining example of poor performance from a government official;

     http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=25433

The entire Bush administration, who have been telling us for years that our troops will stand down when Iraqi troops stand up, and their plan is focused on training the Iraqis – for now deciding that it’s not about training Iraqis and we will have to do the entire job ourselves;

     http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070422/NEWS07/704220606/1009

The Bush administration again, who have waged their “Global War On Terror” and keep claiming victories – for failing again as a new government report shows terror attacks up 25%;

     http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070501/NEWS07/705010391/0/BUSINESS01

Former CIA Director and now author George Tenent who wrote a book trying to soften his involvement in the Iraq intelligence failures – for choosing a position so squarely in the middle of the Iraq blame debate that he has managed to anger both sides and is being attacked by everyone;

     http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1177930790166890.xml&coll=2

The US Military who have been hunting leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq – for failing and as news breaks that the leader had been killed, it is Iraqis who killed him, not the US military;

     http://www.thestar.com/News/article/209171

and finally, Lt. Col. Paul Yingling – for writing an editorial criticizing the US military leadership in Iraq and becoming the first active duty soldier to speak out in this way; Paul, you better watch your ass.

     http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/archives/2007/04/30/iraq_were_losing_says_us_officer.html

 

2007-04-27 The Age of Discovery

What new information have we discovered about the US attorney firings? Gonzalez said, he would fire Iglesias only on orders from the president. So the call went out to Rove and then Iglesias was fired. Did Rove go to Bush and then Bush give the OK to Gonzalez? Sure sounds like the Whitehouse was directly involved in that one. Use the links to learn more.

     http://www.abqjournal.com/news/special/554986nm04-15-07.htm

     http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/15/104615/733

Republicans have discovered the filibuster now that they are in the minority. They were appalled when Democrats threatened to use it and even said they would exercise the nuclear option and eliminate it completely, but now they embrace it and use it as often as possible. The latest use was to block a bill that would allow Medicare to negotiate better drug prices, which would lower Medicare costs. It seems like a no brainer, but republicans have also discovered that they don’t like that unrestricted free market they have been promoting for years. At least, they don’t like it when it might save us tax dollars and hurt big drug company profit margins.

     http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSWAO00010720070418

In the wake of the Virginia shootings, a soldier has helped the public discover how little attention is paid to the deaths of soldiers in the Middle East. In an editorial, he questions why the bases there were asked to fly flags at half staff after the deaths in Virginia, but no similar tribute is paid when one of then is killed.

     http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/070423/world/afghan_virginia_tech_1

Kucinich introduces a bill to impeach Cheney. Go Kucinich!

     http://technocrat.net/d/2007/4/25/18790

     http://www.a28.org/

Jessica Lynch and members of the Tillman family testify in Washington about the complete fabrication of heroic stories about Lynch and Pat Tillman in an effort to promote the war. We didn’t discover exaggerating here, but a total fantasy tale made up for use as domestic propaganda.

     http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/25/washington/25army.html?em&ex=1177646400&en=f34f516ff1dbf225&ei=5087%0A

The Office of Special Counsel began an investigation to discover what political activities were taking place in the Whitehouse, on government time and using government resources.

     http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-na-probe27apr27,1,2270779.story?coll=la-mininav-technology

     http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Why_Email_Matters_Science_Behind_US_0423.html

The public will discover things that may frighten them as they watch Bill Moyers new documentary “Buying the War” on PBS.

     http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933394.html?categoryid=32&cs=1

I wasn’t surprised to discover that Lieberman voted with the republicans on the Iraq spending bill. He has been kissing Bush ass for several years now.

      http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_5761093

What did the FBI discover in raids on republican congressmen Renzi of AZ and Doolittle of CA? Both have resigned their committee positions in congress and we wait to see what’s next.

     http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org/story/2007/4/20/0928/17619

Former CIA director George Tenent speaks out in his new book and in interviews about the pre-war intelligence and attitude in the Whitehouse. As we discover more details, will others get the courage to come forward and help the Bush house of cards crumble?

     http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/former-spy-boss-turns-on-bush-team/2007/04/27/1177459979053.html

Finally, last night was the first debate of the Democratic candidates for president. While most are talking about Clinton and Obama, I was enjoying the little known Mike Gravel. Gravel from Alaska is this years Ross Perot. There are many things these candidates would like to say, but the main stream, play it safe candidates will always soften there message for political correctness and fear of offending anyone. Gravel, like Perot has no problem speaking out and even though we are all thinking it, it was nice to hear someone say it.

     http://blog.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/2007/04/mike_gravel_is_howard_beale.html?nav=rss_blog

     http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_timothy__070427_the_1st_debate_3a_meet.htm

 

2007-04-20 A Frightening Week

We started the week with a mass shooting by a lone gunman on a college campus in Virginia. Everyone has seen the news of the event, but other things surfaced to make the week even worse.

First, in the Whitehouse press conference shortly after the shootings, spokesperson Dana Perino responded to a question about gun control by saying, “As far as policy, the President believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed.” I found it disturbing that the Whitehouse would consider this an appropriate time to kiss the NRA’s ass and remind us that the president believes in the right to bear arms. Wouldn’t it be better to say we will review the situation and see if changes to the law are necessary or might help prevent future problems?

     http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/04/20070416-1.html

Second, we found out that a multi-media manifesto was completed and mailed between the first and second portions of the shooting rampage. Instead of learning from this information, what drives a person to do this, the media debate quickly moved to arguing about how much if any should be published or broadcast. This will insure that we learn nothing.

     http://www.todayonline.com/articles/184045.asp

Lastly, we learned that this student had shown signs of violence, and been flagged as troubled and mentally ill. He simply fell through the cracks in the system and many paid the price.

     http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/04/18/va_tech_gunman_called_mentally_ill/

The Virginia shooting was enough for 1 week, but not here in America. Bush met with members of congress to discuss the war funding bill and the timetable included by Democrats. Bush didn’t budge, and says he will veto any bill with a timetable.

     http://www.columbusdispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/2007/04/20/BUSHTIPP.ART_ART_04-20-07_A1_OI6EGMH.html

Bush believes the surge is working, even as violence in Iraq increases

     http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ID21Ak05.html

and Sunnis begin to set up their own government.

     http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2007/04/20/sunni_coalition_names_its_cabinet/

Back at home, the Supreme Court rules against “Partial Birth Abortion”. First, the term “Partial Birth Abortion” was created by opponents to sway public opinion against it and I have heard it thousands of times over the last 2 days, which just fuels the fire. They say the ban was upheld because it is not a complete ban, and a woman can petition the court for an exemption in extreme medical cases. The last thing a person wants to do if they may die is try to get a court date for permission to be saved. Also, isn’t this an extreme intrusion by government into a woman’s personal life and medical care, brought to you by the GOP who we are always told believe in smaller government and less intrusion? I remember a congressman a few years back proposing some checks and red flags related to the abortion issue who was attacked by both the pro-life and pro-choice groups for his assertions. This man had a broader view of the issue beyond the scope of the 2 opposing groups. He considered that if a woman is in for her fourth of fifth abortion, or if she is first trying to decide what to do in the seventh or eighth month, there may be some underlying social, economic or mental health issue that brought them to this point. These situations are beyond the scope of the arguments by the 2 opposing groups, and we need to red flag these situations, determine the cause and attempt to deal with these situations.

     http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/opinion/19thu1.html?em&ex=1177128000&en=ce04df11979eb7a0&ei=5087%0A

Also in Washington, Gonzalez testified before the committee investigating the firing of US attorneys. Members from both sides of the aisle were upset that Gonzalez has mislead (LIED) them and the public, and suggested that he step down. Bush said he has confidence in Gonzalez. More evidence that Bush lives in Fantasyland.

     http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-20-gonzales-excerpts_N.htm

What about the US attorneys that were not fired? What GOP political deeds were they willing to do to keep their jobs? One example is a recently overturned corruption case in Wisconsin. Are there more that we haven’t discovered yet?

     http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070419/OSH/70419103/1987

And finally, from the field of GOP presidential contenders, McCain proved what an ass he is by singing the Beach Boys classic, “Bomb Iran”.

     http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272612814.shtml

 

2007-04-13 Still More than Imus

We still can’t get Imus out of the news, so here are some other stories.

The US military has announced that Iraq and Afghanistan tours of duty will be extended from 12 months to 15 months FOR EVERYONE!!!!! This is working out well, isn’t it?

     http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/311334_deploy12.html

Speaking of the military, Bush wants to appoint a “War Czar” to oversee the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. This person would be the chief commander in charge of all operations. I guess Bush, the war president, is tired of being the Commander-in-Chief, and certainly the Secretary of Defense doesn’t want to be responsible for this bad situation. So far, the retired generals approached for the job, won’t touch it.

     http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Generals_shun_position_of_war_czar_0411.html

For another Iraq twist, one religious group is threatening to pull out of parliament and stop participating in the government completely. The catch is that this would change the balance of power in Iraq, and Al Maliki (Bush’s boy) would no longer be the prime minister.

     http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=178871&Sn=WORL&IssueID=30023

After the McCain “all is well in Iraq” photo op last week, a bomb exploded yesterday in the supposedly safe green zone. Wait, not just in the green zone, but in the Iraqi parliament building itself. A bomb in what should be the most secure location in Iraq. Safe my ass!

     http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/a-taste-of-life-on-the-outside-as-bombers-strike-at-the-heart-ofthe-american-dream/2007/04/13/1175971347675.html

Back in Washington, a new Bush administration effort to avoid obeying the law has surfaced. It appears that in violation of the Presidential Records Act, Whitehouse staffers have been conducting official business using both RNC and personal email accounts, instead of using their Whitehouse email accounts. This is a great way to hide correspondence, because everything on the Whitehouse server is archived, and everything on the RNC server was set to auto-delete after 30 days. Now millions of emails are missing and information may not be available for congressional investigations.

     http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/27607

And for some fun viewing, here is Pelosi on the Today Show. The direct link is very long, so from the main page, search for the April 12 web cast.

   http://today.msnbc.msn.com/

2007-04-10 More than just Imus

While the media is fascinated with stories about Don Imus, they are missing other big stories. On the Imus front, I’ll just say that Imus is an ass, and has always been an ass.

In other news, much was made of Pelosi’s trip to Syria while ignoring the fact that republicans were there as well. In fact, I watched Tim Russert correctly remind a Today Show audience that it was a bi-partisan trip with republicans in attendance, only to have Matt Lauer try to quickly change the subject to an attack on Pelosi. Is the media taking a political stand on this one?

     http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17997344/site/newsweek/

Back in Washington, Bush makes 3 more recess appointments. These are not emergency appointments, because he has to, but just more of Bush acting like a dictator and intentionally avoiding the conformation process to flex his muscle over congress. One of the appointees was presented to congress, but when it looked like there would be opposition, the nomination was withdrawn and Bush waited for the congressional recess to make the appointment without them.

     http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-recess10apr10,1,1389224.story?coll=la-news-comment

Bush will also be surging the surge again, as announcements are made that more troops will have tours extended, and more National Guard troops will return to Iraq. If you remember the plan Bush outlined in January, this isn’t it.

     http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/04/06/weve_been_surging_for_years.php

Meanwhile he accuses Democrats of playing politics with the war appropriations bill and wants the money with no strings attached. First, on the playing politics charge, isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? Second, on that no strings attached request, isn’t that a jump back to Bush the dictator?

     http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200704/200704110001.html

Speaking of Iraq, do you remember everything we were told about Iraq, before we attacked them? A new Pentagon report says it was all wrong, even though Bush and Cheney still repeat the lies to this day. They didn’t get the intelligence they wanted, so they just manufactured some. Anyone not familiar with how this is done, needs to research “The Office of Special Plan.” Under this Bush created bureaucracy, the intelligence is manufactured to fit the policy, not adjusting policy to fit the intelligence.

     http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0406/p99s01-duts.html 

     http://www.pacificfreepress.com/content/view/1131/81/

Also in Iraq, an Iranian hostage held by the US was freed, and others allowed visitors, almost simultaneously with Iran’s release of the British solders last week. The media didn’t cover the US/Iran part of this story, as the Bush administration claims the 2 are unrelated. If you believe that, I have a bridge for sale at a great price. Now, that freed Iranian diplomat says he was tortured by the CIA.

     http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article2435120.ece

On the subject of torture, officials from both the US and UK accuse Iran of violating the Geneva Conventions while they detained British soldiers recently. I would ask all readers to keep in mind, that some of these accusations come from the people who brought you Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

     http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/04/01/MNGMROVNMC1.DTL

In case there is any doubt how the people in Iraq feel about the US presence, use the link below to see photos of a huge anti-American protest there.

     http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/04/09/world/20070409_NAJAF_SLIDESHOW_1.html

     http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/world/middleeast/10iraq.html?em&ex=1176350400&en=0dcf6feafbdd215a&ei=5087%0A

On the Gonzalez front, his top aid Monica Goodling quits,

     http://www.columbusdispatch.com/dispatch/content/national_world/stories/2007/04/07/Prosecutors_0407.ART_ART_04-07-07_A3_SE6AM13.html

and just for fun here is a link to a video of Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera having an on air argument.

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLPuGuaZTx8

 

2007-04-06 No Time

No time to write today, so just 1 link to a very well written article.

     http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070406/OPINION/704060304/1030/POLITICS

 

2007-04-04 Saudi Arabia, Russia and the US

Last week, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia declared the US occupation of Iraq illegal. What is going on with this so world leader who is supposedly allied with the US? Use the link to learn more.

     http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/04/saudi_king_deci.php

Human Rights Watch voices concern for 7 Russian citizens who were prisoners at Gitmo. Are the suffering abuse and torture in Russia? Does the US know about it and are we still allowing it to happen in violation of laws and treaties?

     http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Report_Russia_tortured_exGuantanamo_detainees_promsied_0328.html

And finally, another news article confirming the 16 word lie Bush told in his State of the Union address that led us into the war in Iraq. This was a crime and Bush should be prosecuted.

     http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/02/AR2007040201777.html

 

2007-03-30 Energy Independence

Unrelated to any of the stories we have seen in the news lately, I have included an interesting link below. All the politicians including Bush include energy independence in their speeches, but do the really mean it? I don’t think so. I have been an advocate of innovative auto designs like Smart, Loremo, Venture Vehicles and others, but the government and the public here in the US are slow to change. The EPA has even been accused of adjusting MPG ratings to favor certain cars. When I drove a grey market Smart I asked the factory rep about the EPA MPG rating in the low 40s and was told they get that mileage going up hill, into the wind, on their worst day, but in normal driving do much, much better. So, why the low rating? They can’t explain, but you can use the links below to expand your knowledge.

     http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0329-lovins.html

     http://www.smart.com                    http://www.loremo.com/                    http://www.venturevehicles.com/

 

2007-03-29 Lies, Lies and more Lies

Will we ever know the real story of Pat Tillman’s death? The Tillman family is now calling for a congressional investigation to sort out the details. After 5 investigations, implication of 4 generals in the cover up, the involvement of other officers, the use of his death as pro-war propaganda, evidence of past Iraq lies like the fake Jessica Lynch story, and more, the public and the Tillman family don’t know what to believe.

     http://www.examiner.com/a-640845~After_fifth_probe__Tillman_family_wants_congressional_hearings.html

Have you lost track of the Justice Department attorney purge scandal? The department’s Monica Goodling says, if asked to testify, she will take the 5th. Imagine a member of the Justice Department taking the 5th to avoid incriminating herself. Now is that what we should expect from our Justice Department? I think not.

     http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2007/03/26/goodling/index.html

Now for a little recap;

Gonzalez says he wasn’t aware, and then we saw the memos & emails that show he was.

Well at least he wasn’t in any meeting about it, and then we found out he was.

They were fired for poor job performance, and then we found that their reviews were excellent.

Well, Rove wasn’t involved, and then oops, he was.

It sounds like the ever changing load of bull we were told about the wiretap scandal.

     http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/319019,032907aide.article

Finally, the media has been flooded with John McCain interviews where he tells everyone how safe it is in Baghdad. It looks like Mr. McCain has moved from a comfortable house in the suburbs of Fantasyland, right onto Main Street. He better make sure the Welcome Wagon isn’t delivering an IED.

     http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/pressingissues_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003564636

 

2007-03-26 LIES and Genuine Honesty

After new allegations that the Bush administration interfered with the federal racketeering case against the tobacco companies in 2005

     http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003630014_tobacco22.html

and new documents that prove Gonzalez lied to congress

     http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/26/fired.attorneys/

and a new inspector general report about Iraq reconstruction, showing all we have NOT done, the money wasted, the bribes and the kickbacks with over 50% of our tax dollars being thrown away

     http://www.smallgovtimes.com/story/07mar22.billions.lost.iraq/

and all the previous information we have about the reign of the Bushies, I’ll sum up the last 6 years this way:

Bush Lied, Cheney Lied, Rice Lied, Powell Lied, Ashcroft Lied, Gonzalez Lied, Rumsfeld Lied,

and the list goes on and on and on.

For a change of pace, watch the John and Elizabeth Edwards interview on 60 Minutes.

     http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2607311n

 

2007-03-20 Letter to the Today Show

Yesterday the producers of the Today show seemed to be responsible broadcasters when they devoted a portion of the show to the anniversary of the start of the Iraq war. The concept of responsible journalism faded as I watched announcers speak with a collection of positive Iraq conflict images that could have been produced by the Bush Whitehouse press office dissolving behind them. To be fair, this could just be my perception, but one image that was shown over and over in the news reports and the background scroll was so disturbing that I felt compelled to write to you. The video of the toppling of the Saddam statue in Baghdad should never be used in a “legitimate” news report about Iraq. Once the L.A.Times broke the story, and it was later confirmed by a military official on CNN, that US military PsyOps played a significant role manufacturing this event, it should have been banned from the airways. Showing this can only be classified as domestic propaganda. The GAO has already requested that the Bush administration stop using domestic propaganda because it is illegal and the Whitehouse appears to have no interest in honoring their request. NBC/MSNBC also appear to be complicit in this crime as you continue to show video of a staged propaganda event on US television. If you want to show it, you must at the very least include a disclaimer explaining that the event showing Iraqis initiating the action may be misleading. What ever happened to responsible journalism?

 

2007-03-19 Anniversary without celebration

There are many stories I could bring to this page on this anniversary of the beginning if the Iraq war, but instead I will just tell you about a stop I made yesterday. The North Fork People of Conscience have a traveling memorial to all the service men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. The memorial consists of large laminated sheets, each one containing the photos (when available), names, ages, dates of death, home towns and “survived by” information for 18 service men or women. Two of the panels were missing, because they are being held as evidence in a court case related to a previous display, and some of the most recent panels contain 36 photos, because it is becoming difficult to find venues large enough for the display. There were also 2 panels dedicated to the Iraqis who have died, and because those numbers are so high, there was talk of creating others. These folks simply want to put faces to the numbers and make people aware of the human cost. It was impossible to get it all in one photo, but take a look, and visit their blog to learn more.   http://nfpofc.blogspot.com/

 

2007-03-15 AG, KSM, JD, FBI, DC and Others

By now, everyone has heard of the latest Washington scandal involving the firing of US attorneys, even though I consider this old news. They had excellent records and were fired for political reasons, but the scandal grows with Attorney General Gonzalez lying about it and the discovery of memos confirming the political motivation. This once again goes all the way to the Whitehouse, but Gonzalez appears to be taking the heat and many have called for him to be fired. Politics should not dictate the actions of the justice department, but under Gonzalez it functions as an extension of the Whitehouse. Yesterday in a Today Show interview, Gonzalez bragged about the successes of his department in an effort to add some positive spin, even mentioning all the success they have had prosecuting terrorists. In fact, their success in this area has been poor at best, claiming successful prosecution in cases where the defendant confessed. It can’t get much easier than that. This is where my news story, the one that no one is reporting, starts. The big news story this morning is the confessions of supposed 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM). KSM basically confessed his involvement in every terrorist event I can think of. Some have picked up on the possible use of torture to get these confessions and the fact that most people will confess to anything just to stop the torture. This could explain him taking responsibility for virtually every terrorist event in recent history. What no one has realized is the suspect timing of this transcript/confession release. In the lead up to the 2004 presidential election, each time Bush suffered a political setback in the polls, or lost control of the news cycle, the public would be alerted about a new terror threat or law enforcement success, and the negative Bush press would disappear. Most of these warnings turned out to be based on unreliable or unrelated information, and the law enforcement successes were either reported prematurely or were old news that was never reported and saved for a day when the story would have more political impact. What we see today is negative press about Attorney General Gonzalez and the Justice Department, followed conveniently by the release of the KSM confession transcript. It can’t be coincidence that the Bush administration enjoys the miracle of great timing so often.

     http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/03/14/white_house_runs_scandal_script.php

     http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Can_Khalid_Sheikh_Mohammeds_tortured_testimony_0315.html

     http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/15/AR2007031500865.html

In other news, a new Pentagon report refers to the fighting in Iraq as a Civil War. DUH!

     http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=36419

Christian leader James Dobson suffered a loss at the national evangelical convention where leaders voted to refocus on human rights, the environment and other social issues, moving away from the gay bashing and other divisive issues promoted by Dobson over recent years.

     http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2032616,00.html

The Inspector General has issued a report saying that the FBI has abused rights granted by the Patriot Act and broken the law while collecting personal data on citizens.

     http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/212583/3/

The DC Madam case proves to be interesting as we watch to see which government officials appear nervous that their name may appear on her client list.

     http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/strange-bedfellows-odd-turns-in-dc-madam-case/

I call it Surging the Surge, as Bush tells us additional troops beyond the numbers he laid out will be sent to Iraq, but promises that they will serve in support roles only. Yea, that’s it, that’s the ticket.

     http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/03/11/bush.troops.ap/

Finally, have you ever heard of a company called Halliburton? It seems that this company that was once led by Dick Cheney, that was once banned from receiving government contracts because of fraud, that was once close to bankruptcy, that now has more government no bit contracts than anyone can count, that is now swimming in money and that is now suspected of fraud and contract violations again, is moving their offices. Where you ask? Dubai! That’s right Dubai, where they can take all OUR money, not pay tax on it, and be far from US soil when the shit hits the fan and all the investigations start.

      http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/03/12/haliburton-takes-the-money-and-runs/

 

2007-03-09 Newt, Condi & More

How do you spell hypocrite? Well, you can save some letters by just writing Newt. Newt admitted having an extramarital affair the whole time he led the charge against Clinton over the Monica scandal.

     http://www.laist.com/archives/2007/03/09/somebody_buy_newt_gingrich_a_dictionary.php

38 Vermont towns pass resolutions calling for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney.

     http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/03/09/18374873.php

With the Libby verdict in and continued health problems, there is a cloud over Cheney that has reignited talk about the possibility of the Vice President stepping down. Cheney isn’t the type to do it, but I found the chatter on talk radio this morning amusing. The conversation drifted to possible Cheney replacements and Condi Rice went to the head of the list. Interesting thought, as this would give republicans the first black and first woman in the Whitehouse. That would be a direct kick in the faces of Clinton and Obama. This would also leave a republican incumbent eligible to run in 2008, which they don’t have now with the 2 term Bush and near death Cheney. Most of the people who joined the conversation found the idea of Condi for president a bit far fetched, but I’ll offer a little information they didn’t have. Right now, in front of me, on my desk, is a Condoleezza Rice for President 2008 bumper sticker. This sticker was distributed several years ago, at a conference for young conservative leaders held in Washington D.C. This is not a new idea, and the screwballs that brought us Bush/Cheney have just been waiting for an opportunity to sell it. Be frightened America.

     www.americansforrice.com     or     http://www.4condi.com/

     http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/08/AR2007030800913.html

 

2007-03-06 Guilty, Guilty, Guilty & Guilty

The biggest story of the day is Scooter Libby being found GUILTY on 4 out of 5 counts. The trial highlights the deception, political manipulation, and personal attacks on opponents, which went all the way to the top levels of the Bush administration, leading up to the Iraq war. Will this open the door for other investigations, so we can learn the rest of the story?

     http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-libby7mar07,1,4568358.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&track=crosspromo

With the above latest set back for the Bushies, they need all the help they can get. Well, it looks like they’re getting help from NBC news anchor Brian Williams who has recently started appearing every morning on the Today Show to tell us how well the president’s troop surge is going. He should be a journalist, not a cheerleader. Today he told us that the Iraqis want the US troops to stay while all previous polls of Iraqi citizens have indicated that they want us out. Looking deeper into the story, you will find that most of the information Williams is collecting for his reports comes directly from the US military. If he wants to know what the Iraqis think, he should ask Iraqis.

     http://newsbusters.org/taxonomy/term/181

In Afghanistan, US troops are accused of opening fire on civilians after an ambush, but that’s not the big story. The big story is the news photographer on the scene who was forced to delete his photos by American troops. Is our news being filtered by the military? It can’t be, this is the USA, or can it?

     http://www.losangeleschronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=21655

 

2007-03-05 Conspiracy Theory?

There are many conspiracy theories related to 9-11 and many of them have surfaced not because people like conspiracies, but because the evidence doesn’t match the official story and no one is asking why. I have a couple of links below that you may find interesting.

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEtqN04Hl7w

     http://www.loosechange911.com/

     http://www.question911.com/linksall.htm

     http://www.911timeline.net/

 

2007-02-28 Out of the Media Blackout

Well, I have just returned from a visit to an Evangelical Christian family in the South, and I have a new understanding of southern evangelical political views. The picture I’ll paint is not just limited to this family, but from what I can tell, it is typical for many in the area and may be partially or completely true for millions across the country. These people do not watch television news (not even Fox), do not listen to news on the radio and do not read local or national mainstream newspapers or magazines. The children are home schooled, using a program set up by a religious university and all text books are approved by them and written from a Christian perspective. Interaction with other children is usually limited to other home schooled children and/or children at or from the church. They attend church several times each week, but interact with the church daily and even work (part time) for the church. They have some meals at the church, attend social events at the church and if they want to participate in an activity that is not available at their own church, they will find another evangelical church near by that offers the activity they are looking for. NONE OF THESE THINGS ARE BAD individually, but every source of information these people have about the world around then is somehow filtered through the church. The church will pick and choose what issues they want to discuss and then will present those issues in ways that advance their own agenda. They live in a virtual media black out. In their world everyone hears the same message, reads the same books, believes the same beliefs and lives the same lives, which in my world is called Stepford. It’s nice to be home.

 

2007-02-28 Other News

As the US sends more troops to Iraq, the British announce that they are pulling out and the Whitehouse tries to spin this as good news. Even the right wing media isn’t buying this one.

     http://www.whereistheoutrage.net/wordpress/2007/02/22/countdown-more-on-british-pull-out/

Seymour Hersh has written a new article about the shift in US focus from Iraq to Iran, plans to attack Iran, US actions actually helping the insurgency and more. As usual, while many call Hersh a crackpot, I remind readers once again that he has never been wrong.

     http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/070305fa_fact_hersh

Suddenly the Bush administration announces that the US will participate in diplomatic talks with Iraq, Iran and Syria. The have avoided any talks that include Iran and Syria like the plague, but with no options left they’ll try to make everyone believe it was their idea.

     http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/washington/28diplo.html?em&ex=1172811600&en=a9e995f696b1db56&ei=5087%0A

Meanwhile, several high level US military leaders threaten to quit if Bush orders an attack on Iran. Could this be the beginnings of a military coup here in the US?

     http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1434540.ece

Speaking of the military, the debate rages on over conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. As we pour money into war and pull money away from veterans benefits, we can expect problems at facilities like Walter Reed where the work load increases while the funds vanish.

     http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=63800

For some extra fun, we all were able to enjoy the Oscar win by Al Gore and then a stock market correction world wide. The talking heads initially said no one wanted to hear about Global Warming and then that they all expected the market to drop. You just can’t believe everything you hear or read in the media.

     http://www.playfuls.com/news_0005606_Al_Gore_Wins_This_Time_Jokes_About_Presidency.html

     http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=68429

 

2007-02-15 Presidential Quotes

I will be out of town and away from my computer for a while, but I will leave everyone with the following quote that should explain the US entry into the Iraq war, future Iranian conflicts and more.

“let's put it this way,

money trumps peace, sometimes”

George W. Bush February 14, 2007

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/02/20070214-2.html

 

2007-02-13 Intelligence, Weapons and Oil

The Defense Department Inspector General testifies under oath that Pentagon policy chief Douglas J. Feith took "inappropriate" actions in advancing conclusions on al-Qaida connections not backed up by the nation's intelligence agencies. In other words, they manipulated the intelligence for political gain. Take that all you war supporters who have called these charges ridiculous.

     http://www.examiner.com/a-556587~Report_Says_Pentagon_Manipulated_Intel.html

US officials display the “evidence” that Iran is arming Iraqi insurgents, but no one is convinced. Not only have we heard this before, but the evidence isn’t very good and with the huge weapons black market in the world today, they could have collected and displayed weapon that originated in any one of several countries that produce them including the US. If we capture Iraqis with US weapons, does that mean that the US government is arming them?

     http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/02/13/54929.aspx

In a diplomacy surprise, we have a preliminary agreement with North Korea that they will stop their nuclear program. The fact that we reached any agreement at all was a surprise to me and everyone else, until I learned that since they won’t be able to generate nuclear power, the agreement grants the North Koreans a supply of OIL. Yes folks, once again it all comes back to OIL. Increased demand for OIL with the increased flow to North Korea will help keep the price high and score another victory for the big OIL companies.

     http://news.bostonherald.com/politics/view.bg?articleid=182762

 

2007-02-08 Cold in the North, Storms in Washington

I have been a bit delayed here in the north by the cold weather, while the following stories have caused a bit of a storm around Washington.

Exxon reported the highest yearly profits of any company in US history, beating the previous record held by Exxon. Some people are a bit upset at the gouging.

     http://www.domain-b.com/companies/companies_e/exxon_mobil/20070202_profits.html

Top world climate scientists issue Global Warming report as the Whitehouse is forced to admit it does exist.

     http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/07-02-07/story5.htm

Bush says the 21,000 troops is what Casey asked for, Casey says it is not what he requested.

     http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1584700,00.html

Giuliani is running for president. Is the public ready to really find out all about him?

     http://news.bostonherald.com/editorial/view.bg?articleid=181437&srvc=home

     http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780060536602/Grand_Illusion/index.aspx

Bush proposes the next budget, with more military, less health care and education and tax cuts for the wealthy. We know what his priorities are.

     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-scheer/bush-budget-delivers-the-_b_40626.html

A resolution in the Senate by Warner (R) and Levin (D) in blocked by a republican filibuster. Those republicans seem very comfortable with the filibuster they so hated when Democrats wanted to use it. Now it looks like some republicans are breaking ranks and we may get debate after all.

     http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/02/08/MNG4CO0QU31.DTL&type=politics

www.CitizensForEthics.org releases

Criminals and Scoundrels: The 25 Most Corrupt Officials of the Bush Administration

     http://www.citizensforethics.org/execcorruption/

The Democratic Congress has the balls to do what the republican Congress would not; they asked why there is $8.8 billion cash missing in Iraq.

     http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aRfRyhT0yHzU&refer=us

And, if you don’t have enough to keep track of, remember to watch3 more stories; the sudden wave of helicopters downed in Ira, the Libby trial and the testimony of killed Blackwater employee’s family members at a congressional hearing. No links, just watch as the stories develop.

 

2007-02-01 All Isn’t Well

Although the Bushies keep saying how much they support the troops and that they are making sure they have everything they need, a newly released Pentagon report says the troops don’t have what they need.

     http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,,-6381888,00.html

And although Bush says he is the decider, even republican Arlen Specter is willing to challenge Bush on that one saying “I would suggest respectfully to the president that he is not the sole decider”.

     http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/166993

So now congress wants Attorney General Gonzales to explain the administration’s interpretation of congressional war powers or the lack there of.

     http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002437.php

Meanwhile, scientists are coming forward and revealing that have been pressured by the Bush administration to drop the phrases “Global Warming” and “Climate Change” from their reports. This manipulation can only be classified as “domestic propaganda”, as the Bushies have tried to convince us that global warming isn’t real. Guess what Mr. President. It is real, and domestic propaganda is illegal. The GAO even sent a request to the Whitehouse some time ago to stop using domestic propaganda, since they noticed it popping up on other issues.

     http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/01/132241

In his latest effort to break this same law, Bush quietly signs an executive order that each government department or agency must have a political appointee who will oversee rulings and reports. So for example, each year when the DOT issues a report on traffic fatalities, the presidential appointee mush check that report to see if it is politically OK to release or if it must be changed to fit the Whitehouse agenda. Talk about a power grab. It’s like those two guys who filtered the news in the film “Good Morning Viet Nam”. Do we need domestic propaganda in every government agency?

     http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/01/31/crippling_our_civil_service.php

     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-levine/bushs-new-executive-orde_b_40040.html

And finally, a hand written note by Dick Cheney was introduced into evidence at the Libby trial that not only implicates both Bush and Cheney in the Plame identity leak, but also proves that Bush lied every time he responded to reporters questions about the case.

     http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0702/S00028.htm

     http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070131/OPINION/701310320/1002/OPINION

 

2007-01-30 Busy Activists, War & More

One question I’ve asked myself several times is; What happened to John McCain? Here is a republican who seemed OK, but his policies and views have become so confused, unstable and Bush influenced, that I wonder where the John McCain we knew 10 years ago went. Check out some examples from the activist site linked below.

     http://therealmccain.com/

I have been to several peace marches and protests against the Bush administration, and they never received much press coverage or supportive well wishes from others who didn’t attend, UNTIL NOW. This past weekend was very different and now that the anti-Bush movement is the majority, I hope this marks a permanent change.

     http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3835&Itemid=223

We have been spending quite a bit of time in the WayBack machine lately, and today we need to do it again, so hop in. In yesterday’s news we heard that evidence of weapons has been discovered, that the US would not tolerate this and would respond firmly, but that there was no plan for war or an invasion. Now step out of the WayBack machine and discover that it was never turned on. Yesterday’s news was not about Iraq, but Iran. Doesn’t it sound just like the Bush babble just before we invaded Iraq? The weapons charges are about both Iranian nuclear weapons and other weapons the US says they are supplying to Iraqi insurgents. The tough talk says we will react but not invade, even though we are moving more troops and much more fire power into the region. For those who are familiar with “The Project for a New American Century” and their little plan for America to rule the Middle East, the first stop is Iraq, and the second stop is Iran. Bush is following the plan perfectly.

     http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200701301001.htm

     http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/George_Bush_asks_Iran_to_steer_clear_of_Iraq/articleshow/1530000.cms

     http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-iraniraq23jan23,1,5002907.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage&track=crosspromo

     http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=67&ItemID=11993

     http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/stories/20070209001804600.htm

A new high-tech rehab center opens to serve injured soldiers returning from Iraq. This is great news, but it’s very confusing in an era when VA budgets and services are constantly being cut. So how did they do it? The center is privately funded, so don’t bother thanking anyone in the Bush administration, Congress or at the VA.

     http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0701300055jan30,1,7365260.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

And finally, after enduring the news that Bush may have actually lost to Gore in 2000, we have more news that Bush may have lost again in 2004. Yesterday, two Ohio election workers were convicted of rigging the 2004 recount in Cuyahoga county Ohio.

     http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_steven_l_070125_ohio_elections_offic.htm

 

2007-01-26 Authorization to Wage War

Once again, step into the WayBack machine to a time in 2002 when Congress made a giant error in judgment, giving Bush authorization to use military force in Iraq. We have recently learned from an interview with Chuck Hagel by GQ magazine, that this error could have been much worse. Hagel spills the beans, telling us that the original wording of the bill created by the Whitehouse, gave Bush authorization to use force anywhere in the Middle East, and even in parts of Asia. Imagine if Bush had free reign to use whatever force he wanted, wherever he wanted. Ouch!

     http://thinkprogress.org/2007/01/24/hagel-iraq-resolution/

 

2007-01-25 Double Standards

When the republicans controlled congress, the only possible way for the Democrats to block a bill or a nomination was the filibuster. Each time the Dems threatened to use the filibuster, we had to endure at least 1 week of speeches and television interviews where republicans told us that use of the filibuster was the Democrats way of holding our government hostage. It was un-American to prevent an issue from receiving an up or down vote and if necessary the Republicans would use their majority to change the rules and remove the filibuster as an option. Back room deals were made, arms were twisted, anything but the dreaded filibuster. Now the Democrats have the majority and yesterday the bill to raise the minimum wage reached the senate floor, only to be blocked by a republican filibuster. I think it’s only fair that every republican who bombarded us with their hot air opposing Democratic filibusters and who didn’t vote to end the republican one yesterday resign in disgrace for their hypocrisy.

     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-scher/show-them-the-way_b_39592.html

For a little fun, check out what Chuck Hagel had to say yesterday during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. My favorite quote as he harassed his republican colleagues for not taking a stand was; “If you wanted a safe job, go sell shoes”.

     http://thinkprogress.org/2007/01/24/hagel-chides-colleagues-on-iraq-vote-%E2%80%98if-you-wanted-a-safe-job-go-sell-shoes%E2%80%99/

For more fun and double standards, check out Wolf Blitzer’s interview with Dick Cheney. In it, Cheney tells us how successful the Bush administration has been in Iraq and in fighting terror, even though virtually all independent reports and most government reports say just the opposite. In the Bush administration, bad is good, up is down and so on. When asked about entering the war recklessly, he called the claim hogwash. Remember, this is the man that said; “There can be no doubt that Saddam Hussein has reconstituted his weapons program. For the big double standard in this story, Cheney was asked a rather innocent question about his daughter Mary. Mary is gay and also pregnant. Some fundamentalist religious groups have expressed concerns about gay parents raising children and have even used Mary as an example, so Blitzer asked for Cheney’s reaction to this issue. Cheney’s response; “I think you’re out of line. It seems this is too personal for Cheney, but let’s step into my WayBack machine, to a time when Bill Clinton was president. Nothing, and I mean nothing according to the right wink attack machine was off limits when it came to questioning Clinton. If the members of the Bush administration want examples of questions that could be considered “out of line”, they can contact me and I would be happy to provide a whole list of them.

     http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/24/cheney/index.html

 

2007-01-24 State of the Union

Well, Bush gave the big speech last night and I will try to sum up as quickly as possible.

-Make nice to the new Congress and its leaders. Like he has a choice.

-Tell us that he is there “to solve problems, not leave them to future generations. Wasn’t it not that long ago that he told us his successor would worry about an Iraq exit?

-“The economy is on the move” Which way?

-Congress needs to balance the budget without raising taxes.  Leave it to the new Democratic Congress, because the republicans sure couldn’t do it.

-We cut the deficit in half.  If you pull the military spending out and call it emergency spending, that’s easy, but explain how the deficit is cut in half and the debt is rising faster than ever.

-We need to stop earmarks. Didn’t the new democratic house already pass a bill to do that and now you want us to believe it’s your idea?

-Entitlements:  Blah, Blah, Blah, same dribble every year.

-No Child Left Behind preserves local control. News Flash: It does exactly the opposite.

-No Child Left Behind increases funds for students who struggle. News Flash: It does exactly the opposite.

-Affordable health care. As long as he can privatize everything.

-Tax credits for health care and new taxes for health care. I’m confused.

-Slip in a veiled line about frivolous law suits. This is not the big problem he keeps making it out to be.

-Increase border patrol, but have temporary worker program. Companies can’t give up cheap labor.

-Enforce immigration through employers. Like that might work.

-Decrease dependence on foreign oil. He says this every year and never means it.

-Develop new energy technology. He says this every year and never means it.

-Reduce gasoline use 20%, cut imports 75%, and adopt auto fuel economy standards in next 10 years while doubling domestic production and doubling the strategic reserves. The cutting and doubling just doesn’t add up, and all of this is long after Bush has left office. Back to the leave it for the next guy strategy.

-“Global Climate Change” There, he said it. That’s about all we’ll get.

-Federal judges need to get an up or down vote. Still trying to stack the courts with friendly judges.

-Fear, 9-11, Be Scared, Take the fight to the enemy, Terror, 9-11, Nuclear Threat, Fear, Evil, Quote Zarqawi, Quote bin Laden….  You get the idea, be scared and he’ll make it all better.

-Introduce a new enemy – Iran. America is tired if Iraq, time to move on.

-“ it remains the policy of this government to use every lawful and proper tool of intelligence, diplomacy, law enforcement, and military action to do our duty, to find these enemies, and to protect the American people.” There is nothing lawful about how this administration has conducted itself.

-Pretend we are responsible for several good things that have happened around the world. Not Working.

-Give my “new” strategy of 20,000 more troops a chance. Please, Please, Please.

-Achieve our goal of a democratic Iraq. Didn’t you just say they already had free democratic elections?

-“ This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we're in.” That’s because the fight we entered turned out to be BULL SHIT.

-Insert veiled statement about abandoning our friends to guilt congress into continued support. He really hopes this works, and that the public doesn’t realize what he’s doing.

-More Resolve, Fear, Iraq, Iran, benchmarks, terrorist’s determination to harm America, FEAR, FEAR, FEAR. Doesn’t he ever get tired of this? I do.

-“Iraq's leaders have committed themselves… to share oil revenues among all of Iraq's citizens” What about that plan to grant your big oil companies buddies 75% of the Iraq oil revenues for the next 30 years?

-“you did not vote for failure” True, I did not vote for you Mr. President and you are a failure.

-“support our troops in the field, and those on their way.” It’s not the troops we have a problem with.

-Introduce new idea to increase the size of the military and create “Volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps”. A least he realizes that if he wants to attack Iran, he’s gonna need more help.

-End by introducing people in the gallery who did great things and try to attach their successes to myself. STILL NOT WORKING.

     http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070123-2.html

 

2007-01-23 The Polls

As we approach the State of the Union address, all the media outlets have been quoting the latest Bush poll numbers with his approval/disapproval among Americans. I found the poll linked below more interesting. It is a worldwide poll that displays how people in many countries view the US and our recent policies. The results are titled “World View of US Role Goes From Bad to Worse”. If you remember all that global good will expressed toward the US after 9-11, you should be wondering how Bush could waste it in such a short amount of time.

          The good will is gone
          The good will is gone away
          The good will is gone baby
          The good will is gone away
          You know you done them wrong baby
          And you'll be sorry someday

     http://www.globescan.com/news_archives/bbcusop/

 

2007-01-19 Pressed for Time

Not much time to write this week, but here are some news items to look into.

-Learn about the connection between the Whitehouse, Lockheed Martin and the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, what they have in common and how it happened before the war, in an effort to sell the idea to the public.

     http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14307

-How about some info on the Bush’s PBS and CBS interviews.

     http://mediamatters.org/items/200701180017

-Is Bush’s Justice Department firing anyone who might be a threat and replacing them with political operatives using so called “interim appointments” to avoid approval hearings?

     http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2007/01/136994.php

-After telling us over that they can’t be burdened getting warrants for wiretaps, Bush and Gonzales must follow a recent court ruling demanding that they follow the law and get those warrants. In another flip-flop, Bush says he will do. Does anyone believe him?

     http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/19/politics/main2376652.shtml

     http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/19/washington/19legal.html?em&ex=1169355600&en=d33d86c66b991005&ei=5087%0A

-We all cheered “Go Get Him Leahy” as the Senator unleashed an attack on Alberto Gonzales over the deportation of terror suspect Maher Arar. The US sent him to a country that the Justice Department knew would torture him. In the US, we just don’t do that – unless the Bush administration is in power.

(Arar was cleared, and we did have other choices.)

     http://www.cjob.com/news/index.aspx?dir=national&src=ext&rem=./n0118107A.xml

-Speaking of detainees, the pentagon released the new rules for military tribunals. These proceedings will now allow hearsay, double hearsay, coerced confessions, statements extracted via torture, and will prevent the accused or their lawyers from seeing any evidence against them if considered classified. All this combined with the elimination of habeas corpus makes me wonder what third world dictatorship is responsible for these “legal” proceedings, because it couldn’t possibly be anything the US would do.

     http://www.defenselink.mil/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=3868

     http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16493141.htm

-If you’re looking for entertainment, keep an eye on the fight over the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

     http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070118/D8MNRFPG0.html

     http://www.protectsmu.org/

-Two more political executions are carried out in Iraq, and officials talk tough about an Iraqi crack down on violence. The executions stir more violence and criticism from leaders around the world, and that crack down announcement came from US officials not Iraqis. So who is running Iraq, the Iraqis or the US? When US officials make announcements about official Iraqi policy, it sounds like the US.

     http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=12792

 

Some things, political or not, are just a good idea.

Click below to sign up.

 

Another good idea below.

http://iraqmemorial.org/

 

2007-01-12 More on Iraq

In the wake of the presidential speech about Iraq, I have a few thoughts;

-After each of these speeches/policy announcements, the entire Bush team including Bush himself set off on a media and public speaking blitz to sell whatever idea they are marketing this week. We have seen this many times in the past, with multi-city public events immediately following each new policy announcement. It appears obvious to me, that if the policy was any good it would sell itself. They might have requests from different groups to come and explain more fully, but selling it wouldn’t be necessary. They are like that unscrupulous used car salesman we have all run into at some time in our life, who is trying to convince us how great that rusty piece of junk is.

-Yesterday, we saw Condi in that role as used car salesman and although she remained composed, she had to deal with skeptical customers from both sides of the aisle. Some of her answers should be used as the first entries to start a double-speak hall of fame.

-If our troops have been operating in Iraq under restrictions as Bush said in his speech, did the Iraqi government create these restrictions? If they did, we are operating under the authority of a foreign government and presumably at their invitation. If this was not the case, there would be no restrictions and our troops would be totally under US command. So, if the situation is a Bush implies, we are not at War, but participating in a Conditional Occupation. This would also mean that any of the War Powers given to the Executive Branch that Bush is quick to take full advantage of, DO NOT EXIST.

-In what looks like an effort to provoke Iran, several Iranian “diplomats” were taken into custody in northern Iraq. The Iranian embassy in Iraq has raised objections and demanded the prisoners be released.

-With the addition of more troops, a carrier group, a battle group and now Patriot Missiles headed for the Middle East and the new emphasis on being fearful of Iran, could Bush’s next pre-emptive strike on that country be far off?

-And finally, it has been said many times, but never quite this way: If Bush believes in this war in Iraq so strongly, he has 2 daughters who would be eligible for military service and I expect that he will demand that they enlist within the week, train as quickly as possible and have their boots on the ground in Iraq in less than 8 weeks. If he is not willing to do this with his own children, he shouldn’t ask it of any other Americans.

     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-soltz/more-evidence-us-is-pre_b_38509.html

     http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=28992a80-9d30-421f-8aea-f57465d3c96e&f=00&fg=copy

 

2007-01-11 More Same Old, Oil and a Timid Media

Bush made his prime time speech last night about the “new” strategy for Iraq and aside from looking more like Alfred E. Newman in MAD Magazine than ever before, there wasn’t much new about this strategy at all. Let’s do a little recap list;

-He is still blaming Al Qaeda for problems in Iraq. In fact he said Al Qaeda over and over again throughout the speech even though our own government reports say Al Qaeda, even at the peak of US media reports about their activities, is responsible for an insignificant portion of the violence in Iraq. Selling Al Qaeda fear worked in the past, and the Bushies are not going to stop now.

-To add to the fear game, Bush also ties blame to Iran, and serves up some fear by equating our failure in Iraq with the ability of Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

-He says “Failure in Iraq would be a disaster”. Well Mr. President, you have failed every step of the way so far, and that is unacceptable. Bush says he takes responsibility, sort of, and he is responsible, so why doesn’t he step aside and let someone better equipped to handle the situation take over. He even wore a light blue tie instead of the bright red one he usually wears for events like this, most likely to give a softer less confrontational image.

-Bush even played the 9-11 card, trying to attach emotions related to 9-11 with the Iraq war. He still doesn’t get that Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11. This is where I found myself screaming at the TV.

-So what we get is more same old, same old, with increased troops, excuses, blame, fear, promises, benchmarks and more.

-“They want to destroy our way of life.” Didn’t we destroy their way of life?

-“…will we stand with the Iraqis who have made a choice for freedom?” Didn’t we choose for them?

-Some say the Democratic Congress can cut off funding for the escalation, but by delaying this announcement, Bush has given himself time to start moving troops into place. This would make any action Congress takes too late and once again gives Bush an opportunity to attack Congress for not supporting the soldiers on the ground. He has already sent a carrier group and dispatched some additional troops to the Middle East and we have also launched a new offensive in Somalia.

-Bush tries to sound bipartisan by mentioning Democrat Joe Lieberman. This doesn’t fly because Lieberman is the most republican of any Democrat in history, and he just won re-election as an Independent.

-Next we are told of the “Burdens of Freedom” and the only burden I could immediately think of would be having to deal with idiots like George W. Bush.

-To end this madness Bush said, “the Author of Liberty will guide us through these trying hours”. What kind of veiled bullshit God reference is this? Is the man who is accused of overtly pandering to his religious right supporters just finding new less obvious was to do it?

     http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070110-7.html

In a related story, it appears this war for oil is about to pay off for the big oil companies with Iraqi “production-sharing agreements” that could give Exxon, Shell and BP and others 75% of Iraqi oil profits for the next 30 years. Isn’t that what this was all about in the first place?

     http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/46389/

To add one of my personal observations, I have noticed a strange but not unexpected turn of events in the media. Remember that big announcement by NBC that they would now refer to the conflict in Iraq as a civil war, because it is a civil war. (see 2006-11-27) The Bush administration didn’t like that very much, and now just 6 weeks later NBC seems to have given in once again to the Bushies and abandoned the idea. I even heard NBC talking heads after Bush’s speech saying that the conflict could turn into a civil war. How quickly they forget that it already is one. Bush gets his way with the so called Liberal Media again.

 

2007-01-09 Desperate Times and Responsible Media

These are desperate times for the US military. So desperate in fact that under pressure to keep troop levels up, they must now apologize for sending recruitment letters to families of killed or severely wounded soldiers encouraging them to re-enlist.

     http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2465632.php

In a Whitehouse that has spent the last few years scolding and threatening everyone they can over leaks to the press, there seems to be a double standard. Bush will make his speech tomorrow night highlighting his “new” direction in Iraq, and the Whitehouse has been feverishly leaking details in an effort to warm up the public and the press to some of the ideas. I guess if the leak may help the president’s politically, it’s OK.

     http://www.garoweonline.com/stories/publish/article_6967.shtml

In my own effort to prepare the press for the upcoming Iraq policy speech, which will call for more troops to stop the violence and speed the transfer of power to the Iraqis, ask for more money for reconstruction and make some sort of claim that these recommendations come from listening to the commanders on the ground in Iraq, I remind the journalists who report the event about the concept of a responsible media. Responsible media outlets don’t just report news, but also fact check and provide background information to help sort the good information from bad. Without these efforts, people, like members of the Bush administration for example, could make up all sorts of stories about another country and even possibly get us involved in a war based on these uncheck “facts”. A responsible media would check the claims for accuracy, report the inconsistencies and this information would help avoid a costly mistake like an un-necessary war. After tomorrow nights presidential address, I would consider any news report irresponsible if it did not include the following complete paragraph (read by the announcer or playback of the video) from Bush’s presidential address of June 28, 2005. I have highlighted 2 sections.

“Some Americans ask me, if completing the mission is so important, why don't you send more troops? If our commanders on the ground say we need more troops, I will send them. But our commanders tell me they have the number of troops they need to do their job. Sending more Americans would undermine our strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead in this fight. And sending more Americans would suggest that we intend to stay forever, when we are, in fact, working for the day when Iraq can defend itself and we can leave. As we determine the right force level, our troops can know that I will continue to be guided by the advice that matters: the sober judgment of our military leaders.”

     http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/06/20050628-7.html

 

2007-01-04 While We Were Out

As we return from the holiday break and swear in a new Congress today, let’s look at a few things that happened while we were out.

     http://hardblogger.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/04/26271.aspx

We mourned the loss of James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, who knew how to display his greatness in a special way that made him loved by all.

     http://jazztimes.com/columns_and_features/news/detail.cfm?article=10965

We also mourned former president Gerald Ford, who knew when not to be great. Ford had no great accomplishments or innovations as president in the usual way, but was smart enough to know that in a time of national healing, SIMPLE can be the greatest approach of all.

     http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/01042007/opinionletters-ph-p-edit_ford.html

In a surprise message from the grave, Ford shared his disapproval and displeasure with members of the Bush administration and their Iraq policy.

     http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/sidney_blumenthal/2007/01/fords_warning_from_the_grave.html

Speaking of Iraq, Bush got his way as Saddam was executed and later a cell phone video surfaced of the event. Like all other milestones in Iraq that should move the country forward and make the situation better, this too seemed to just make it worse.

     http://www.itv.com/news/617f3d294eb972d1102a2e1e6f3e0183.html

Other problems persist in Iraq as well. One most news agencies won’t discuss is that the great new Iraqi government we hear so much about continues to have a problem assembling a quorum of its representatives. If there is no quorum, they can’t conduct business, and if they can’t conduct business, they are not a functional government, regardless of what the Bushies tell us.

     http://www.kurdishaspect.com/doc1214112.html

While almost everyone is talking about troop withdrawal, Bush appears ready to announce a plan to “Surge and Accelerate”. This would be a troop increase of about 20,000 troops and an accelerated transfer of control to Iraqis. This “new” strategy is supposed to be a change from the previous media and marketing circus called the “National Strategy For Victory In Iraq”, otherwise known as the “Plan for Victory”. It was released only 14 months ago yet most people have forgotten it. To help everyone remember, I have included one excerpt below.

“Coalition troop levels, for example, will increase where necessary to defeat the enemy or provide additional security for key events like the referendum and elections. But troop levels will decrease over time, as Iraqis continue to take on more of the security and civilian responsibilities themselves.”

     http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/iraq/iraq_strategy_nov2005.html

     http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/iraq/iraq_national_strategy_20051130.pdf

     http://uncapitalist.com/blog/?itemid=1474

While you’re at it, check out the “Top Ten Iraq Myths for 2006”.

     http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/46006/

In Bush’s latest abuse of power, he has now used a signing statement to grant himself or anyone he wants the power to read your mail without a warrant. Where does it stop?

     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marty-kaplan/youve-got-mail-no-the_b_37799.html

In other news, the FBI decided to ask agents who spent time at GITMO if they witnessed torture, and a whole bunch of them said YES. The Pentagon isn’t taking any action.

     http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8MDU8S80.html

John Negroponte will be changing positions from National Intelligence Director to Deputy Secretary of State. A little research into Negroponte’s history should show you they the only thing he should be in charge of is the prison laundry.

     http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,,-6322630,00.html

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The Indictment Table

CHRG DATE  P PERSON   POSITION              CHARGE                 RESULT

????-??-?? R Cunningham Congressman CA        Consp,Fraud,TaxEva,etc Pleads Guilty

2005-09-29 R DeLay      House Majority Leader Conspiracy-ElectionLaw Dismissed

2005-10-03 R DeLay      House Majority Leader Money Laundering       Pending

2005-10-05 R Safavian   Procurement Officer   False Statements-1     Guilty

2005-10-05 R Safavian   Procurement Officer   False Statements-2     Guilty

2005-10-05 R Safavian   Procurement Officer   False Statements-3     Guilty

2005-10-05 R Safavian   Procurement Officer   Obstruction-1          Guilty

2005-10-05 R Safavian   Procurement Officer   Obstruction-2          Not Guilty

2005-10-28 R Libby      VP’s Chief of Staff   False Statements-1     Guilty

2005-10-28 R Libby      VP’s Chief of Staff   False Statements-2     Not-Guilty

2005-10-28 R Libby      VP’s Chief of Staff   Perjury-1              Guilty

2005-10-28 R Libby      VP’s Chief of Staff   Perjury-2              Guilty

2005-10-28 R Libby      VP’s Chief of Staff   Obstruction            Guilty

2005-11-18 R Scanlon    Former Delay aid      Conspiracy-Corruption  Pleads Guilty

2006-03-?? R Allen      Domestic Policy Adv.  Theft & Theft Scheme   Pending

2006-03-31 R Rudy       Delay DepChiefOfStaff Corrupting Officials   Pleads Guilty

2006-03-31 R Rudy       Delay DepChiefOfStaff Defrauding Clients     Pleads Guilty

2006-04-04 ? Doyle      DeputyPressSec. @ DHS PC child seduction X7  Plea-NoContest

2006-04-04 ? Doyle      DeputyPressSec. @ DHS TX HarmfulMaterial X16 Plea-NoContest

Pending    R Ney        Congressman           Corruption/Bribery     Pleads Guilty

2007-06-05 D Jefferson  Congressman           Accepting Bribes X16   Pending

     (Email additions or corrections to 103reasons@excite.com )

 

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