longislandpeace.org
gsfp.org veteransforpeace.org
optruth.org peaceactionnewyorkstate.org
moveon.org
unitedforpeace.org
asfc.org takebackthemedia.com osamaclock.com Icasualties.org http://www.youthdemocracy.net
103reasons
Post Election
Links, Education, Voting Issues and More
Visit Post-Election 06 Archives www.wwmeli.org/PostElection/06
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2008-11-05 Finally A New
Day for
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)
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
Conclusion 3: Statements in major speeches analyzed,
as well additional statements, regarding
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
Conclusion 6: The Secretary of Defense’s statement
that the Iraqi government operated underground
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
Conclusion 9: The President’s suggestion that the
Iraqi government was considering using UAVs to attack the
Conclusion 10: Statements in the major speeches
analyzed, as well additional statements, regarding
Conclusion 11: Statements that
Conclusion 12: Statements and implications by the
President and Secretary of state suggesting that
Conclusion 13: Statements in the major speeches
analyzed, as well as additional statements, regarding
Conclusion 14: The Intelligence Community did not
confirm that Muhammad Atta met an Iraqi intelligence officer in
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
Conclusion 16: Statements by President Bush and Vice
President Cheney regarding the postwar situation in
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
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
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
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
On
He did thus under
a huge banner that said “Mission
Accomplished.”
Then when
everyone realized we were not done in
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
November 2005,
Bush outlines a new “Plan for Victory in
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
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
-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.
-
-Libby gets 30
months + probation + $250,000.00 fine.
-
-
-Lieberman was on
Face the Nation on 6/10 and in a short interview said that
-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
-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
-Bush tells us
about the “Korean Model” for
-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.
2007-05-23 Bush the
Dictator and More
In a move
virtually unnoticed by the
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
http://thegate.nationaljournal.com/2007/05/report_iraq_troop_level_could.php
Speaking of
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.
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
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
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0704/S00460.htm
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.
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
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
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/09/iraqis-call-for-timetable/
A woman on death
row in
And now we learn
about immigrants being drugged here in the
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.
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
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
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
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
Jessica Lynch and
members of the Tillman family testify in
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
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
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
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
Bush believes the surge is
working, even as violence in
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.
Also in
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-20-gonzales-excerpts_N.htm
What about the
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
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
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/311334_deploy12.html
Speaking of the
military, Bush wants to appoint a “War Czar” to oversee the conflicts in
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Generals_shun_position_of_war_czar_0411.html
For another
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=178871&Sn=WORL&IssueID=30023
After the McCain
“all is well in
Back in
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.
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
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17997344/site/newsweek/
Back in
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
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
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0406/p99s01-duts.html
http://www.pacificfreepress.com/content/view/1131/81/
Also in
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article2435120.ece
On the subject of
torture, officials from both the
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
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/04/09/world/20070409_NAJAF_SLIDESHOW_1.html
On the Gonzalez
front, his top aid Monica Goodling quits,
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
Last week, King
Abdullah of
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
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
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/02/AR2007040201777.html
2007-03-30 Energy
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
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
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
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
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
2007-03-19 Anniversary
without celebration
There are many
stories I could bring to this page on this anniversary of the beginning if the
2007-03-15 AG, KSM, JD,
FBI, DC and Others
By now, everyone
has heard of the latest
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
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
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?
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
http://www.laist.com/archives/2007/03/09/somebody_buy_newt_gingrich_a_dictionary.php
38
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
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
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
http://newsbusters.org/taxonomy/term/181
In
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
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
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
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/070305fa_fact_hersh
Suddenly the Bush
administration announces that the
Meanwhile,
several high level US military leaders threaten to quit if Bush orders an
attack on
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1434540.ece
Speaking of the
military, the debate rages on over conditions at
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
“let's put it this way,
money trumps peace, sometimes”
George W. Bush
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
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/02/13/54929.aspx
In a diplomacy surprise, we
have a preliminary agreement with
http://news.bostonherald.com/politics/view.bg?articleid=182762
2007-02-08 Cold in the
North, Storms in
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
Exxon reported
the highest yearly profits of any company in
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.
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
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.
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
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200701301001.htm
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
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
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
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”.
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
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/24/cheney/index.html
2007-01-24 State of the
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
-“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 –
-“ 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
-“ This is not the fight we entered in
-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,
-“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
-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
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
-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
(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
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
-Two more
political executions are carried out in
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=12792
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things, political or not, are just a good idea.
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2007-01-12 More on
In the wake of
the presidential speech about
-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
-In what looks
like an effort to provoke
-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
-He is still
blaming Al Qaeda for problems in
-To add to the
fear game, Bush also ties blame to
-He says “Failure
in
-Bush even played
the 9-11 card, trying to attach emotions related to 9-11 with the
-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
-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
2007-01-09 Desperate
Times and Responsible Media
These are
desperate times for the
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
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
“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
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
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/sidney_blumenthal/2007/01/fords_warning_from_the_grave.html
Speaking of
http://www.itv.com/news/617f3d294eb972d1102a2e1e6f3e0183.html
Other problems
persist in
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
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