I take no credit for today’s post. My friend Ken in California is responsible for the hard work and extensive research, the outcome of which reveals a history of the Bush Administration’s willful and systematic attempts to undermine the democratic process in this country.
Oh, by the way, down here in Texas our Legislature is hard at work trying to figure out how to suppress the voting rights of the poor, minorities and the elderly. LS
From Ken:
First:
Two University of Minnesota professors have compiled a database of investigations and/or indictments of candidates and elected officials by U.S. attorneys since the Bush administration came to power. Of the 375 cases they identified, 10 involved independents, 67 involved Republicans, and 298 involved Democrats
American Progress Action
Second:
Bush's US Attorney Steven Biskupic just got a conviction of a Wisconsin state employee named Georgia Thompson. The same publication as above notes that.
Last week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Thompson was wrongly convicted of making sure a state travel contract went to a firm linked to Gov. Jim Doyle's re-election campaign and freed her from an Illinois prison. The federal judges, acting with "unusual speed," "assailed the government's case" and said that Biskupic's evidence was "beyond thin."
Josh Marshall's video narrative of this nasty tale can be found at:
Talking Points Memo
Finally, Ken also found this extraordinary piece on Salon.com written by Mr. Glenn Greenwald. Mr. Greenwald documents the Bush Administration’s historic trail of losing, destroying and deleting official documents since 2000. LS
Such a sad thing. Every time the GOP and the Bush administration could exonerate themselves from all that criminality we've come to expect from them, the documentation that would prove their innocence --- vanishes like magic!! –K
Source: Salon.com 4/12/07. Mr. Glenn Greenwald “The Bush administration's terrible luck with finding documents”
Excerpts:
I feel -- in this vaguely intuitive sort of way -- as though there is some kind of a pattern buried within this set of facts, but as much as I search, I just can't quite figure out what it might be:
New York Times.,
Political advisers to President Bush may have improperly used their Republican National Committee e-mail accounts to conduct official government business, and some communications that are required to be preserved under federal law may be lost as a result, White House officials said Wednesday. . .
As a result, Mr. Stanzel said, "some official e-mails have potentially been lost." He said Mr. Bush had told the White House counsel's office "to do everything practical to retrieve potentially lost messages."
The Politico, March 24, 2007:
In DOJ documents that were publicly posted by the House Judiciary Committee, there is a gap from mid-November to early December in e-mails and other memos, which was a critical period as the White House and Justice Department reviewed, then approved, which U.S. attorneys would be fired while also developing a political and communications strategy for countering any fallout from the firings.
Newsweek, February 28, 2007:
A federal judge ruled today that suspected Al Qaeda operative Jose Padilla is mentally competent. . . . But the ruling by U.S. Judge Marcia Cooke in Miami leaves open what may be more intriguing questions than those surrounding the defendant's mental health: what happened to a crucial video recording of Padilla being interrogated in a U.S. military brig that has mysteriously disappeared?
The disclosure that the Pentagon had lost a potentially important piece of evidence in one of the U.S. government's highest-profile terrorism cases was met with claims of incredulity by some defense lawyers and human-rights groups monitoring the case. "This is the kind of thing you hear when you're litigating cases in Egypt or Morocco or Karachi," said John Sifton, a lawyer with Human Rights Watch, one of a number of groups that has criticized the U.S. government's treatment of Padilla. "It is simply not credible that they would have lost this tape. The administration has shown repeatedly they are more interested in covering up abuses than getting to the bottom of whether people were abused."
Alicia Valle, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami, said in an e-mail to NEWSWEEK that the missing DVD was "of the last interrogation of Padilla while in military custody." She further added that a lawyer for DIA had advised the court "that an exhaustive search was conducted but the [DVD] could not be located."
NPR, June 24, 2004:
Key documents are missing from the batch of newly declassified documents the White House released this week on its policies on torture and the treatment of prisoners, critics say. Absent are any memos to and from the FBI and CIA and any documents dated after April 2003. No documents address the State Department's concern over the Bush administration's interpretation of the Geneva Conventions.
USA Today, May 24, 2004:
The Pentagon sought Sunday to explain why some 2,000 pages were missing from a congressional copy of a classified report detailing the alleged acts of abuse by soldiers against Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison. . . . .
[Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita] was responding to a Time magazine report Sunday that about 2,000 of the report's 6,000 pages submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee were missing. The report by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba consists of a declassified summary and about 6,000 pages of classified annexes, including statements from witnesses, prison guards and military intelligence officials.
Associated Press, September 5, 2004:
Documents that should have been written to explain gaps in President Bush's Texas Air National Guard service are missing from the military records released about his service in 1972 and 1973, according to regulations and outside experts.
For example, Air National Guard regulations at the time required commanders to write an investigative report for the Air Force when Bush missed his annual medical exam in 1972. The regulations also required commanders to confirm in writing that Bush received counseling after missing five months of drills.
No such records have been made public and the government told The Associated Press in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit that it has released all records it can find.
And that is to say nothing of all of the extraordinary and unprecedented steps taken by the administration to justify the concealment of documents and other information -- efforts which, when successful, have made it unnecessary to claim that the documents were lost. But don't worry; it's all to protect us, all for our own good. There is simply no reason for us to know what our Leaders are doing.
UPDATE: Newsweek, March 1, 2006:
[Federal Emergency Management Agency Michael] Brown's comments about the president surfaced in a transcript of an Aug. 29, 2005, videoconference call produced by Bush administration officials today after they initially told Congress that no such document existed. . . .
Administration and congressional officials said that the administration provided congressional investigators earlier this year with official transcripts of the daily noon FEMA conference calls conducted before, during and after Katrina. But the administration initially told Congress that the transcript for the Aug. 29 call -- the call congressional investigators were most curious about, given that it occurred as the hurricane was actually battering the Gulf Coast—did not exist, with officials initially telling Capitol Hill that someone at FEMA or Homeland Security forgot to push the button on a tape recorder.
"Everybody has been looking for that transcript," former FEMA chief Michael Brown said Wednesday.
A White House official unexpectedly e-mailed the transcript to NEWSWEEK earlier today Wednesday morning -- initially without explaining that it was the missing transcript. Two officials familiar with congressional investigations said that the document was turned over to Capitol Hill investigators Tuesday night. Administration officials told both Congress and NEWSWEEK that FEMA officials in Atlanta had taped the Aug. 29 conference call by aiming a video camera at a TV screen rather than following the usual recording procedure. The videotape was subsequently discovered and transcribed.
While the newly discovered transcript does provide new evidence of initial presidential engagement in the Katrina crisis and of conflicting information about the state of New Orleans levees on Aug. 29, it also exposes some contradictions in previous administration explanations about the role of the White House and top officials in handling the crisis.
I suppose the defense for Bush followers who want to claim that all of this is completely innocent is "extreme ineptitude."
The entire article can be read on the
Salon.com
Monday, April 16, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Pimps and Their Whores
Thoughts on the relationship between corporate America and the U.S. mainstream media.
I began to suspect the media in 2000, after W. was installed as President by a bare majority of the Supreme Court, some of which justices were appointed by Bush the father.
But it was after the fiasco in Ohio’s Presidential election of 2004 that I completely gave up on the mainstream media as a credible source for information. Something terrible had happened in Ohio in November 2004. Like, blatant voter fraud and illegal shenanigans. But the media didn’t get it or it refused to get it.
A group of my friends and acquaintances throughout the U.S. felt as I did and we began to look for alternative sources for news.
We discovered a whole new world of on line information and we would email one another articles or clips from various sources we located here in the U.S. and in the U.K.
It got to the point that we discovered so much information to share that we didn't know how to manage it. A friend suggested I start a blog to create a permanent record and archive.
And so I set up Libby Shaw (after my son told me what a blog is) for the explicit purpose of sharing news that is not normally seen or heard within the U.S. mainstream media.
Almost three years later, and after having worked as a volunteer for a Texas candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006, I now merely glance at the front pages of the New York Times and Houston Chronicle every morning. I subscribe to both but read little of the Chronicle. Why don’t I read the Chronicle? Well, for starters, it most unfortunately endorsed the incumbent Texas candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006, Kay Bailey Hutchison. Hutchison is an exemplary rubber stamp for the worst Presidency in U.S. history.
For me, reading a newspaper that endorsed the nation’s worst of elected officials is pretty much the same as reading tabloids at the check out stands in the grocery story.
I’d cancel the Chronicle entirely were it not for my husband who reads the sports sections.
Regarding TV news, if I hear the slightest echo from the right wing scream machine when listening to CNN or MSNBC news in the morning, I immediately switch to CSPAN's Washington Journal. At least I might learn something from the Washington Journal. As far as I can tell, the corporate media has not corrupted CSPAN as it has the other media stations.
I do really enjoy the nerdy Washington Journal for a number of reasons. The information is solid. Invited guests are credentialed experts in particular areas. Some are elected officials. Normally if a member of one political party is an invited guest, a representative from the other party will follow soon afterwards. Discussions are reasoned and dispassionate. No one screams, there are no loud and vacuous commercial breaks about sexual performance medications, miracle diets, or baby boomer’s dreams. Nor is a guest rudely cut off by an anchor who is fixated like a dog on a bone on a specific message or agenda.
The Washington Journal invites listeners to call in to question the invited guests. There are specific phone lines for Democrats, Independents and Republicans. I especially love to listen to Americans call in from all over the country. It is amazing (but not really) how much anger there is out there. We Americans are far from stupid. We know something is terribly, terribly wrong with the Bush Administration. We are keenly aware that we've been had and the mainstream media and press have all too willingly allowed it to happen. Of course there are a handful of callers with lizard brains, which vent, rant and squawk and will support W. to their graves.
I call this group the unfortunate and misinformed Neanderthal wing of the GOP. Thankfully there are not too many of them.
I think the mainstream media is beginning to understand that it has been caught with its collective pants down since Bush took power. And yet the manner in which the MSM has all too readily jumped on the "let's beat up on Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Syria" band wagon tells me the MSM has a long way to go before I will consider it remotely fair, balanced and unbiased.
The recent and well deserved toasting and roasting of Imus for his reprehensible remarks about female minorities and women in general may have given the mainstream media the kick in the derriere it has needed for years. And yet, at the same time, it seems both hypocritical and disingenuous for Imus to be singled out when there are so very many other spewers of blatant racism and misogyny who occupy radio and TV's bully pulpits. What about Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Mike Savage and a host of others?
Why Imus?
Well, it seems that major corporations such as Proctor and Gamble, Dietech, and the Ford Motor Company, among others, have pulled the plug on their advertising for the Imus Show.
Such spelled the death knell for Imus for is no longer a cash cow for his corporate owners.
After 30 years of Imus and his routine and thinly veiled racist and misogynist comments, suddenly the corporations “care” about content?
Why now?
If it truly cares about content, when will corporate America pull their advertising from ALL of the shows of the purveyors of racism, sexism, political propaganda, hate and disinformation?
Who is asking what is in it for Rush types and FOX to kiss up to the Bushies?
When will corporate America pretend to care about truth, democracy, and forget about its bottom line for one mere nano second to do what is right and ethical? What are corporate America’s true intentions with regard to the media?
And what about the “fair, balanced and unbiased” mainstream media, owned by none other than huge corporate America?
Where is the media’s fair and unbiased coverage of the blatant corruption and lies engendered by the Bush Administration?
Where was the outrage when it became clear that W. lied us into a war based on fake intelligence? How come the Downing Street Memos on the intelligence on Iraq were summarily shoved through the journalistic buzz saw instead of having been splashed across our nation’s front pages and screamed from every talking head’s mouth on TV?
Where was the outrage when the Bush Administration fired U.S. attorneys for purely partisan reasons?
Where was the outrage when Attorney General Gonzales lied about his knowledge of the firings?
The media and press seems to care not a flip that the Bush Administration had attempted to politicize our judicial system to protect Republicans during future contested close elections.
How come? Where is the wall-to-wall coverage of Bush's lies 24/7 since we went to war with Iraq?
It all comes down to IMUS because some of corporate America pulled its advertising?
If we want to save our fleeting Democracy, we the people need to pull the plug on corporations and the media. Stop buying for awhile. Stop watching the idiot box (as my beloved late father would call the TV) for "news." Cancel newspapers if you can live without sports sections. For our own rational well being, sanity and safety we should read more, both from print and on line sources, rely more on CSPAN and on our own instincts and brain power to determine what is true and what is false.
Moving on to news not covered by the corporate owned right wing mainstream media. LS
A hideous, deplorable, reprehensible and heart breaking story one won’t find anywhere in the U.S. mainstream news on Iraq.
Excerpt:
"Once I was called to an explosion site," Saad, a humanitarian worker, is quoted as saying in the report.
"There I saw a four-year-old boy sitting beside his mother's body, which had been decapitated by the explosion. He was talking to her, asking her what had happened. He had been taken out shopping by his mum."
The report also highlights the following problems:
• Iraq's healthcare facilities face critical shortages of staff and supplies. Many doctors, nurses and patients no longer dare to go to hospitals and clinics because they are targeted or threatened
• much of Iraq's vital water, sewage and electricity infrastructure is in a critical condition
• food shortages have been reported in some areas and malnutrition is said to have increased
From the BBC News.com
Iraqis face 'immense' suffering.
West Point Grades Opt Out of Their Commissions
From Boston.com News via The Randi Rhodes Show:
West Point Grads Opt Out
White House Uses Alternative Email Addresses to Avoid Public Scrutiny and Accountability.
From the Huffington Post
White House Staff Use GOP Political Email Addresses When Conducting U.S. Business
But UH OH! Seems that the White House has "lost" thousands of U.S. government emails sent from RNC computers.
U.S. Government Emails Deleted from RNC Server? Guess. S
Iraq War Spawned New Terror
Found on truthout.org
Iraq War Spawned New Terror
Gross Mismanagement of Iraq Funds
Also from truthout.org
Gross Mismanagement of Iraq Funds
I began to suspect the media in 2000, after W. was installed as President by a bare majority of the Supreme Court, some of which justices were appointed by Bush the father.
But it was after the fiasco in Ohio’s Presidential election of 2004 that I completely gave up on the mainstream media as a credible source for information. Something terrible had happened in Ohio in November 2004. Like, blatant voter fraud and illegal shenanigans. But the media didn’t get it or it refused to get it.
A group of my friends and acquaintances throughout the U.S. felt as I did and we began to look for alternative sources for news.
We discovered a whole new world of on line information and we would email one another articles or clips from various sources we located here in the U.S. and in the U.K.
It got to the point that we discovered so much information to share that we didn't know how to manage it. A friend suggested I start a blog to create a permanent record and archive.
And so I set up Libby Shaw (after my son told me what a blog is) for the explicit purpose of sharing news that is not normally seen or heard within the U.S. mainstream media.
Almost three years later, and after having worked as a volunteer for a Texas candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006, I now merely glance at the front pages of the New York Times and Houston Chronicle every morning. I subscribe to both but read little of the Chronicle. Why don’t I read the Chronicle? Well, for starters, it most unfortunately endorsed the incumbent Texas candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006, Kay Bailey Hutchison. Hutchison is an exemplary rubber stamp for the worst Presidency in U.S. history.
For me, reading a newspaper that endorsed the nation’s worst of elected officials is pretty much the same as reading tabloids at the check out stands in the grocery story.
I’d cancel the Chronicle entirely were it not for my husband who reads the sports sections.
Regarding TV news, if I hear the slightest echo from the right wing scream machine when listening to CNN or MSNBC news in the morning, I immediately switch to CSPAN's Washington Journal. At least I might learn something from the Washington Journal. As far as I can tell, the corporate media has not corrupted CSPAN as it has the other media stations.
I do really enjoy the nerdy Washington Journal for a number of reasons. The information is solid. Invited guests are credentialed experts in particular areas. Some are elected officials. Normally if a member of one political party is an invited guest, a representative from the other party will follow soon afterwards. Discussions are reasoned and dispassionate. No one screams, there are no loud and vacuous commercial breaks about sexual performance medications, miracle diets, or baby boomer’s dreams. Nor is a guest rudely cut off by an anchor who is fixated like a dog on a bone on a specific message or agenda.
The Washington Journal invites listeners to call in to question the invited guests. There are specific phone lines for Democrats, Independents and Republicans. I especially love to listen to Americans call in from all over the country. It is amazing (but not really) how much anger there is out there. We Americans are far from stupid. We know something is terribly, terribly wrong with the Bush Administration. We are keenly aware that we've been had and the mainstream media and press have all too willingly allowed it to happen. Of course there are a handful of callers with lizard brains, which vent, rant and squawk and will support W. to their graves.
I call this group the unfortunate and misinformed Neanderthal wing of the GOP. Thankfully there are not too many of them.
I think the mainstream media is beginning to understand that it has been caught with its collective pants down since Bush took power. And yet the manner in which the MSM has all too readily jumped on the "let's beat up on Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Syria" band wagon tells me the MSM has a long way to go before I will consider it remotely fair, balanced and unbiased.
The recent and well deserved toasting and roasting of Imus for his reprehensible remarks about female minorities and women in general may have given the mainstream media the kick in the derriere it has needed for years. And yet, at the same time, it seems both hypocritical and disingenuous for Imus to be singled out when there are so very many other spewers of blatant racism and misogyny who occupy radio and TV's bully pulpits. What about Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Mike Savage and a host of others?
Why Imus?
Well, it seems that major corporations such as Proctor and Gamble, Dietech, and the Ford Motor Company, among others, have pulled the plug on their advertising for the Imus Show.
Such spelled the death knell for Imus for is no longer a cash cow for his corporate owners.
After 30 years of Imus and his routine and thinly veiled racist and misogynist comments, suddenly the corporations “care” about content?
Why now?
If it truly cares about content, when will corporate America pull their advertising from ALL of the shows of the purveyors of racism, sexism, political propaganda, hate and disinformation?
Who is asking what is in it for Rush types and FOX to kiss up to the Bushies?
When will corporate America pretend to care about truth, democracy, and forget about its bottom line for one mere nano second to do what is right and ethical? What are corporate America’s true intentions with regard to the media?
And what about the “fair, balanced and unbiased” mainstream media, owned by none other than huge corporate America?
Where is the media’s fair and unbiased coverage of the blatant corruption and lies engendered by the Bush Administration?
Where was the outrage when it became clear that W. lied us into a war based on fake intelligence? How come the Downing Street Memos on the intelligence on Iraq were summarily shoved through the journalistic buzz saw instead of having been splashed across our nation’s front pages and screamed from every talking head’s mouth on TV?
Where was the outrage when the Bush Administration fired U.S. attorneys for purely partisan reasons?
Where was the outrage when Attorney General Gonzales lied about his knowledge of the firings?
The media and press seems to care not a flip that the Bush Administration had attempted to politicize our judicial system to protect Republicans during future contested close elections.
How come? Where is the wall-to-wall coverage of Bush's lies 24/7 since we went to war with Iraq?
It all comes down to IMUS because some of corporate America pulled its advertising?
If we want to save our fleeting Democracy, we the people need to pull the plug on corporations and the media. Stop buying for awhile. Stop watching the idiot box (as my beloved late father would call the TV) for "news." Cancel newspapers if you can live without sports sections. For our own rational well being, sanity and safety we should read more, both from print and on line sources, rely more on CSPAN and on our own instincts and brain power to determine what is true and what is false.
Moving on to news not covered by the corporate owned right wing mainstream media. LS
A hideous, deplorable, reprehensible and heart breaking story one won’t find anywhere in the U.S. mainstream news on Iraq.
Excerpt:
"Once I was called to an explosion site," Saad, a humanitarian worker, is quoted as saying in the report.
"There I saw a four-year-old boy sitting beside his mother's body, which had been decapitated by the explosion. He was talking to her, asking her what had happened. He had been taken out shopping by his mum."
The report also highlights the following problems:
• Iraq's healthcare facilities face critical shortages of staff and supplies. Many doctors, nurses and patients no longer dare to go to hospitals and clinics because they are targeted or threatened
• much of Iraq's vital water, sewage and electricity infrastructure is in a critical condition
• food shortages have been reported in some areas and malnutrition is said to have increased
From the BBC News.com
Iraqis face 'immense' suffering.
West Point Grades Opt Out of Their Commissions
From Boston.com News via The Randi Rhodes Show:
West Point Grads Opt Out
White House Uses Alternative Email Addresses to Avoid Public Scrutiny and Accountability.
From the Huffington Post
White House Staff Use GOP Political Email Addresses When Conducting U.S. Business
But UH OH! Seems that the White House has "lost" thousands of U.S. government emails sent from RNC computers.
U.S. Government Emails Deleted from RNC Server? Guess. S
Iraq War Spawned New Terror
Found on truthout.org
Iraq War Spawned New Terror
Gross Mismanagement of Iraq Funds
Also from truthout.org
Gross Mismanagement of Iraq Funds
Monday, March 26, 2007
GOP Playbook On Stealing Elections
Before exposing what I have learned on the GOP’s playbook on rigging elections, I would like to point out a few observations I had when catching a few clips of CSPAN’s broadcast on Friday on the recent House vote on the tortured and endless nightmare in Iraq.
It is well about time that a few souls in Congress discovered they possessed a shred of spine and tad of courage to stand up to Daddy’s Supreme Court appointed and product of rigged elections, the current “President” of the United States. Maybe our installed and fake “President” is really a mere puppet whose puppet masters are none other than the obvious. Like, Cheney the Enabler-in-Chief for corporate interests. Next is Rove as the W-Political-Whore-in-Chief to ensure Bushie types prevail for decades to come. Rove is also Cheney’s bitch in ensuring that the VP’s darkest side becomes organic on all levels. Their ultimate goal is to dismantle our Democracy and deliver it to the Bush/Cheney highest masters, corporate interests.
Bush, Cheney and Rove knew full well that we Americans were asleep at the wheel and they took full advantage of our complacency. After 9/11 the puppet and his puppet masters seized upon a national catastrophe to use it as a political target of opportunity. It subsequently and quite successfully played us all for fools. It also quite successfully wreaked havoc on and destabilized the Middle East.
It is time to wake up America because if we do not, we will be no better off than serfs.
On Friday, in the House, true to its nature, the sorry remnants of the do-nothing and rubber stamping Congress used its usual tedious, tired and defeated bullying tactics when pontificating and grand standing about our troops. These low life bullies and chicken hawks, except for a few who actually did serve (there are a few in the GOP) used the usual empty rhetoric and catch phrases fresh from the party’s talking point propaganda factory. I heard the usual “cowards,” “when did blue become yellow?” “cut ‘n run,” “surrender” and on and on and on and on.
The real cowards are the GOP who sent our troops to battle with fake intelligence and on the cheap. Repeat, the real cowards are the GOP who sent our troops to war based on fabricated intelligence and without sufficient troop numbers, equipment and resources to ensure the success of the mission. Worse, the reprehensible Bush Administration is sending wounded troops back into active duty before they have time to fully recover.
From Salon.com:
“Army Deployed Seriously Wounded Troops”
The Bush enablers are also spineless ninnies because they allowed our “President” to over spend his budget over and over and over again and never thought to ask him to account for a dime of our taxpayers' dollars.
John Murtha made this fact abundantly clear during his interview on CNN with Wolf Blitzer:
Murtha’s Interview on CNN’s Wolf Blitzer
What pathetic and inept jokes for representatives. Or maybe our Congress people are as corrupt and cynical as W. and Cheney. Inept or corrupt? Or both? Pick your poison, America, if you want our democracy to keep on dying. If you want it to live and thrive as it should, get rid of the poison.
Speaking of ineptitude and corruption, according to Senator Chuck Hagel yesterday on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, we have spent one-half trillion of our tax payer dollars on Iraq, $40. billion in investments and there are billions of untouched dollars sitting in Iraq’s bank account.
Excerpt:
You know, we had the Inspector General testifying, our Inspector General, Mr. Bowen, he was testifying before the Congress this week. I met with him alone for an hour and a half. He reminded all of us that we have now spent almost a half a trillion dollars in Iraq. We have put at least 40 billion in economic development there. Which we don't know what we got out of it. There's still no oil law. Billions of dollars have been ripped off, unaccounted for, and one more point on this -- over $12 billion of Iraqi money still sits in the accounts of the Iraqi government that they haven't spent. So something has to give here, George.
This Week with George Stephanopoulos
Transcripts of with Hagel’s Interview on ABC
Forget about funding for education and universal healthcare for we-the-people-who-do-not-matter here at home. Send our dollars instead to Iraq to be squandered and stolen.
Because these dudes are fixated solely on greed and power and since they are also shamefully incompetent, the only way they can get elected is to steal the elections.
Here is how they do it.
A generous corporate donor's firm happens to manufacture electronic voting machines. Diebold’s CEO, for example, said that he would deliver the election to W. in 2004. In Ohio, he did just that. Corporations tend to adore the GOP because of their distain for big business regulation and oversight. The GOP is also more likely to work for lobbyists and corporate interests than they are for we the little people.
CEO Of Diebold Promises to Deliver 2004 Election to Bush
Next we have low level partisan hacks serving as Secretary of State such as Katharine Harris of Florida (2000) and Ken Blackwell of Ohio (2004). These political sluts excel at voter suppression. They are low level grunts that desperately and despicably hope, that by doing their master’s bidding, they will be rewarded later. But, if a lot of controversy surrounds their deeds on blatant voter suppression, these lap dogs are usually dropped like hot potatoes. Suddenly no one in the RNC knows who they are. Ken who?
Rep. John Conyers Report on What Went Wrong in Ohio
The most blatant, destructive, chilling and insidious methodology in ensuring voter suppression is to install U.S. attorneys who are partisan hacks. These so called “attorneys” are more loyal to their political masters than they are to the law of the land. As in the case of Iraq and how the intelligence was fixed to support Bush’s policy, likewise is happening within our judicial system.
From the McClatchy Paper’s “New U.S. attorneys seem to have partisan records”
Excerpts:
Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the four U.S. attorneys weren't chosen only because of their backgrounds in election issues, but "we would expect any U.S. attorney to prosecute voting fraud."
Taken together, critics say, the replacement of the U.S. attorneys, the voter-fraud campaign and the changes in Justice Department voting rights policies suggest that the Bush administration may have been using its law enforcement powers for partisan political purposes.
The Bush administration's emphasis on voter fraud is drawing scrutiny from the Democratic Congress, which has begun investigating the firings of eight U.S. attorneys - two of whom say that their ousters may have been prompted by the Bush administration's dissatisfaction with their investigations of alleged Democratic voter fraud.
New U.S. Attorneys Who Will Support Political Ideology over the Law of the Land
It is well about time that a few souls in Congress discovered they possessed a shred of spine and tad of courage to stand up to Daddy’s Supreme Court appointed and product of rigged elections, the current “President” of the United States. Maybe our installed and fake “President” is really a mere puppet whose puppet masters are none other than the obvious. Like, Cheney the Enabler-in-Chief for corporate interests. Next is Rove as the W-Political-Whore-in-Chief to ensure Bushie types prevail for decades to come. Rove is also Cheney’s bitch in ensuring that the VP’s darkest side becomes organic on all levels. Their ultimate goal is to dismantle our Democracy and deliver it to the Bush/Cheney highest masters, corporate interests.
Bush, Cheney and Rove knew full well that we Americans were asleep at the wheel and they took full advantage of our complacency. After 9/11 the puppet and his puppet masters seized upon a national catastrophe to use it as a political target of opportunity. It subsequently and quite successfully played us all for fools. It also quite successfully wreaked havoc on and destabilized the Middle East.
It is time to wake up America because if we do not, we will be no better off than serfs.
On Friday, in the House, true to its nature, the sorry remnants of the do-nothing and rubber stamping Congress used its usual tedious, tired and defeated bullying tactics when pontificating and grand standing about our troops. These low life bullies and chicken hawks, except for a few who actually did serve (there are a few in the GOP) used the usual empty rhetoric and catch phrases fresh from the party’s talking point propaganda factory. I heard the usual “cowards,” “when did blue become yellow?” “cut ‘n run,” “surrender” and on and on and on and on.
The real cowards are the GOP who sent our troops to battle with fake intelligence and on the cheap. Repeat, the real cowards are the GOP who sent our troops to war based on fabricated intelligence and without sufficient troop numbers, equipment and resources to ensure the success of the mission. Worse, the reprehensible Bush Administration is sending wounded troops back into active duty before they have time to fully recover.
From Salon.com:
“Army Deployed Seriously Wounded Troops”
The Bush enablers are also spineless ninnies because they allowed our “President” to over spend his budget over and over and over again and never thought to ask him to account for a dime of our taxpayers' dollars.
John Murtha made this fact abundantly clear during his interview on CNN with Wolf Blitzer:
Murtha’s Interview on CNN’s Wolf Blitzer
What pathetic and inept jokes for representatives. Or maybe our Congress people are as corrupt and cynical as W. and Cheney. Inept or corrupt? Or both? Pick your poison, America, if you want our democracy to keep on dying. If you want it to live and thrive as it should, get rid of the poison.
Speaking of ineptitude and corruption, according to Senator Chuck Hagel yesterday on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, we have spent one-half trillion of our tax payer dollars on Iraq, $40. billion in investments and there are billions of untouched dollars sitting in Iraq’s bank account.
Excerpt:
You know, we had the Inspector General testifying, our Inspector General, Mr. Bowen, he was testifying before the Congress this week. I met with him alone for an hour and a half. He reminded all of us that we have now spent almost a half a trillion dollars in Iraq. We have put at least 40 billion in economic development there. Which we don't know what we got out of it. There's still no oil law. Billions of dollars have been ripped off, unaccounted for, and one more point on this -- over $12 billion of Iraqi money still sits in the accounts of the Iraqi government that they haven't spent. So something has to give here, George.
This Week with George Stephanopoulos
Transcripts of with Hagel’s Interview on ABC
Forget about funding for education and universal healthcare for we-the-people-who-do-not-matter here at home. Send our dollars instead to Iraq to be squandered and stolen.
Because these dudes are fixated solely on greed and power and since they are also shamefully incompetent, the only way they can get elected is to steal the elections.
Here is how they do it.
A generous corporate donor's firm happens to manufacture electronic voting machines. Diebold’s CEO, for example, said that he would deliver the election to W. in 2004. In Ohio, he did just that. Corporations tend to adore the GOP because of their distain for big business regulation and oversight. The GOP is also more likely to work for lobbyists and corporate interests than they are for we the little people.
CEO Of Diebold Promises to Deliver 2004 Election to Bush
Next we have low level partisan hacks serving as Secretary of State such as Katharine Harris of Florida (2000) and Ken Blackwell of Ohio (2004). These political sluts excel at voter suppression. They are low level grunts that desperately and despicably hope, that by doing their master’s bidding, they will be rewarded later. But, if a lot of controversy surrounds their deeds on blatant voter suppression, these lap dogs are usually dropped like hot potatoes. Suddenly no one in the RNC knows who they are. Ken who?
Rep. John Conyers Report on What Went Wrong in Ohio
The most blatant, destructive, chilling and insidious methodology in ensuring voter suppression is to install U.S. attorneys who are partisan hacks. These so called “attorneys” are more loyal to their political masters than they are to the law of the land. As in the case of Iraq and how the intelligence was fixed to support Bush’s policy, likewise is happening within our judicial system.
From the McClatchy Paper’s “New U.S. attorneys seem to have partisan records”
Excerpts:
Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the four U.S. attorneys weren't chosen only because of their backgrounds in election issues, but "we would expect any U.S. attorney to prosecute voting fraud."
Taken together, critics say, the replacement of the U.S. attorneys, the voter-fraud campaign and the changes in Justice Department voting rights policies suggest that the Bush administration may have been using its law enforcement powers for partisan political purposes.
The Bush administration's emphasis on voter fraud is drawing scrutiny from the Democratic Congress, which has begun investigating the firings of eight U.S. attorneys - two of whom say that their ousters may have been prompted by the Bush administration's dissatisfaction with their investigations of alleged Democratic voter fraud.
New U.S. Attorneys Who Will Support Political Ideology over the Law of the Land
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
DEMONIZING DEMOCRATS
The GOP routinely attempts to portray Democrats as fiends and yet the party of the sanctimonious and self-righteous will accept donations from the likes of financiers for Al-Qaeda. This snippet of news won’t likely show up anywhere anytime soon in the Right Wing Scream Machine “media.” There is more on this shocking revelation at the end of this diary.
I have just had it with the GOP’s self-serving, hypocritical and junkyard dog tactics. Today on the Dallas Blog, right wingers are trashing Gore for his electric bill. Last month it was Edward’s because of the size of his home and then Pelosi and the Air Force One non-issue that was spun into a circus by the right wing scream machine.
After listening to this nonsense since November 8, I have discovered how the RWSM works. It and the GOP are obviously one and the same. And therefore the RWSM strives to provide distractions from the misery, failures and havoc the GOP has inflicted upon our once great nation since 2000. When the news on Iraq and other colossal blunders become more devastating for Bush and the GOP, the right wing scream machine kicks into action by picking up on some insignificant minutiae and churning it into a national soap opera.
Now the RWSM is picking on Gore. He won an Academy Award for his documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.” One would think Gore was running for office considering how the RWSM is handling the story.
It is being reported that some so-called non-partisan “think” tank in Tennessee (that obviously had nothing better to do) studied Gore’s electric bill. This “think” tank, which may be posing as a front for a 527, happens to receive tons of donations from big oil. It also cheerleads the war in Iraq and has a problem with global warming. Non-partisan? Sell me some ocean front property in Arizona.
To set the record straight, as far as Gore’s utility bill is concerned, his house has 20 rooms in which there are two home offices and space for Secret Service types. Mr. Gore and his wife opted for a green power provider over one whose energy source spews more carbon dioxide into our already filthy air. The green power provider is apparently more expensive than traditional power providers. The RWSM neglected to provide these inconvenient facts.
The RWSM will spend vast amounts of time railing about Gore, Edwards, Pelosi, and other prominent Democrats while ignoring or give merely token coverage (at 3:00 a.m.) to very serious news. One prime example includes how the Ambassador to Switzerland gave Karl Rove an offer from Iran to negotiate in 2003. Somehow the document never made it to Condi Rice. Apparently Cheney and Bush discussed this offer, but since we were at a time in the era of smirking, cocky swaggering and strutting, instead of dealing with Iran at an opportune time, the Bush Administration scolded the Swiss Ambassador for contacting Rove. Despite the seriousness of this obvious bungle, all I hear is the deafening sound of silence from the right.
Then there is the disgrace of Walter Reed Hospital.
More silence.
And how about the inconvenient truth of Bush/Cheney’s back room shenanigans with Iran – like covert operations with no Congressional oversight? And how about the establishment of a panel in the Pentagon whose sole purpose is to facilitate bombing Iran on 24 hours notice? And what about Bush/Cheney support for Sunnis and by extension Al-Qaeda? The Sunnis are the ones who also happen to be those responsible for killing most of our U.S. soldiers in Iraq and who flew jets into the World Trade Center. (Source: Mr. Seymour Hersh’s forthcoming article in The New Yorker 3/5/07.)
More silence….
The drop dead tidbit du jour (that the RWSM will likely not utter a peep) concerns how a financier for Al-Qaeda donated money to none other than the Grand Old Party. Can you believe it? A supporter of TERRORISTS donated money to the GOP? Could you hear the RWSM had a DEMOCRAT received one cent from this person? Oh imagine the histrionics, hysterics, apoplexy, the shrieking, bellowing, the dramas and trauma that would be spewed 24/7 for months and months and months.
Excerpts from Josh Marshall
When it comes to major funders of the Republican party who are also
(alleged) financiers of al Qaeda, we make a special effort to be thorough.
So remember Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, the guy who got indicted two weeks ago for trying to fund new terrorist training camps in Pakistan (apparently it's a growth industry at the moment). Reports at the time said Alishtari had given just over $15,000 to the Republicans. But Paul Kiel looked a bit closer. And it turns out that the true number was $35,000.
There was an extra $20,000 Alishtari contributed to the National Republican Senatorial Committee on August 9th, 2003. (It went unnoticed because his name was misspelled on the disclosure form.)
Admittedly, it ain't the $152,000 he tried to contribute to al Qaeda. But not chump change either.
-- Josh Marshall
Sources: Josh Marshall Piece Here and TPM Muckraker Here
Again, the deafening sound of silence pervades the airwaves from the right.
I have just had it with the GOP’s self-serving, hypocritical and junkyard dog tactics. Today on the Dallas Blog, right wingers are trashing Gore for his electric bill. Last month it was Edward’s because of the size of his home and then Pelosi and the Air Force One non-issue that was spun into a circus by the right wing scream machine.
After listening to this nonsense since November 8, I have discovered how the RWSM works. It and the GOP are obviously one and the same. And therefore the RWSM strives to provide distractions from the misery, failures and havoc the GOP has inflicted upon our once great nation since 2000. When the news on Iraq and other colossal blunders become more devastating for Bush and the GOP, the right wing scream machine kicks into action by picking up on some insignificant minutiae and churning it into a national soap opera.
Now the RWSM is picking on Gore. He won an Academy Award for his documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.” One would think Gore was running for office considering how the RWSM is handling the story.
It is being reported that some so-called non-partisan “think” tank in Tennessee (that obviously had nothing better to do) studied Gore’s electric bill. This “think” tank, which may be posing as a front for a 527, happens to receive tons of donations from big oil. It also cheerleads the war in Iraq and has a problem with global warming. Non-partisan? Sell me some ocean front property in Arizona.
To set the record straight, as far as Gore’s utility bill is concerned, his house has 20 rooms in which there are two home offices and space for Secret Service types. Mr. Gore and his wife opted for a green power provider over one whose energy source spews more carbon dioxide into our already filthy air. The green power provider is apparently more expensive than traditional power providers. The RWSM neglected to provide these inconvenient facts.
The RWSM will spend vast amounts of time railing about Gore, Edwards, Pelosi, and other prominent Democrats while ignoring or give merely token coverage (at 3:00 a.m.) to very serious news. One prime example includes how the Ambassador to Switzerland gave Karl Rove an offer from Iran to negotiate in 2003. Somehow the document never made it to Condi Rice. Apparently Cheney and Bush discussed this offer, but since we were at a time in the era of smirking, cocky swaggering and strutting, instead of dealing with Iran at an opportune time, the Bush Administration scolded the Swiss Ambassador for contacting Rove. Despite the seriousness of this obvious bungle, all I hear is the deafening sound of silence from the right.
Then there is the disgrace of Walter Reed Hospital.
More silence.
And how about the inconvenient truth of Bush/Cheney’s back room shenanigans with Iran – like covert operations with no Congressional oversight? And how about the establishment of a panel in the Pentagon whose sole purpose is to facilitate bombing Iran on 24 hours notice? And what about Bush/Cheney support for Sunnis and by extension Al-Qaeda? The Sunnis are the ones who also happen to be those responsible for killing most of our U.S. soldiers in Iraq and who flew jets into the World Trade Center. (Source: Mr. Seymour Hersh’s forthcoming article in The New Yorker 3/5/07.)
More silence….
The drop dead tidbit du jour (that the RWSM will likely not utter a peep) concerns how a financier for Al-Qaeda donated money to none other than the Grand Old Party. Can you believe it? A supporter of TERRORISTS donated money to the GOP? Could you hear the RWSM had a DEMOCRAT received one cent from this person? Oh imagine the histrionics, hysterics, apoplexy, the shrieking, bellowing, the dramas and trauma that would be spewed 24/7 for months and months and months.
Excerpts from Josh Marshall
When it comes to major funders of the Republican party who are also
(alleged) financiers of al Qaeda, we make a special effort to be thorough.
So remember Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, the guy who got indicted two weeks ago for trying to fund new terrorist training camps in Pakistan (apparently it's a growth industry at the moment). Reports at the time said Alishtari had given just over $15,000 to the Republicans. But Paul Kiel looked a bit closer. And it turns out that the true number was $35,000.
There was an extra $20,000 Alishtari contributed to the National Republican Senatorial Committee on August 9th, 2003. (It went unnoticed because his name was misspelled on the disclosure form.)
Admittedly, it ain't the $152,000 he tried to contribute to al Qaeda. But not chump change either.
-- Josh Marshall
Sources: Josh Marshall Piece Here and TPM Muckraker Here
Again, the deafening sound of silence pervades the airwaves from the right.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Bush’s War in Iraq Has Increased Terrorism Sevenfold
A new report has been recently released by Mother Jones, entitled “Iraq 101: Aftermath, Long Term Thinking” (Part 4) This in-depth, 5-part study was led by Peter Bergen and Paul Cruickshank, research fellows at the Center on Law and Security at NYU’s School of Law.
According to the study, Bush has been insisting that fighting terrorists “over there” means we don’t have to fight them “over here.” When Rumsfeld has been asked if the war has created more terrorism, he would routinely reply “No one knows. The world doesn’t know.” The report reveals that until now, no one has ever done a statistical analysis of the effects of the war in Iraq on terrorism.
Bergen and Cruickshank’s report give us a crystal clear view into Bush and his GOP enablers' work in abysmal and profound failure, the deaths of hundreds of thousands, devastating human suffering both at home and in Iraq, a nightmare of regional migration displacement, gross corruption and the squandering and depletion of U.S. treasure. As if this personal, social, military, geopolitical and national calamity isn’t horrible enough, Bush & Co. seriously compromised our security and safety by opening Pandora’s Box of terrorism.
All for a lie.
Below is a summary of some of the facts revealed by the study. A link to the full report can be found on the URL for Mother Jones below.
Excerpts:
We have undertaken such a study, drawing on data in the mipt-rand Terrorism database (terrorismknowledgebase .org), widely considered the best unclassified database on terrorism incidents.
Our study yields one resounding finding: The rate of fatal terrorist attacks around the world by jihadist groups, and the number of people killed in those attacks, increased dramatically after the invasion of Iraq. Globally there was a 607 percent rise in the average yearly incidence of attacks (28.3 attacks per year before and 199.8 after) and a 237 percent rise in the fatality rate (from 501 to 1,689 deaths per year). A large part of this rise occurred in Iraq, the scene of almost half the global total of jihadist terrorist attacks. But even excluding Iraq and Afghanistan—the other current jihadist hot spot—there has been a 35 percent rise in the number of attacks, with a 12 percent rise in fatalities.
Contrary to Bush’s assertion, jihadists have not let the Iraq War distract them from targeting the United States and its allies. The rate of attacks on Western interests and citizens has risen by almost 25 percent, while the yearly fatality rate has increased by 4 percent, a figure that would have been higher had planned attacks, such as the London airline plot, not been prevented.
The globalization of jihad and martyrdom has disquieting implications for American security in the future. Jihadists are already leaving Iraq to operate elsewhere, a “blowback” trend that will greatly increase when the war eventually winds down. Terrorist groups in Iraq, which have learned to raise millions through kidnapping and oil theft, may be in a position to help fund their jihadist brethren elsewhere. Finally, Iraq has increased the popularity of a hardcore takfiri ideology so intolerant that, unlikely as it seems, it makes Osama bin Laden appear relatively moderate.
End of excerpt:
Human Consequences of a Failed War
Migration Disaster for Iraq and the Region:
1.6 million Iraqis have been displaced, 1.8 million have left. Saudi Arabia is building a wall at its 560 mile border to prevent migration from Iraq. 700,000 Iraqis live in Jordon, 60,000 in Sweden, according to the report.
All because of a lie.
Social Upheaval:
In 2006, 30% of Iraqi children attended school. Prior to the war, attendance was 100%.
47% of the children have suffered from a traumatic event.
2,000 doctors have been murdered.
30% more Iraqis are in jail now than before the war.
Iraq has descended into a civil war. More and more civilians are being killed.
All because of a lie.
The Cost to U.S. in Blood
Over 3,100 troops killed.
23,000 soldiers have been wounded
4,600 Iraq vets suffer from severe head or brain injury
1,300 have lost limbs
1 in 5 suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
22 Army soldiers have committed suicide.
All because of a lie.
The Cost to U.S. Treasure:
The report also reveals the extraordinary costs of prosecuting the war which is costing U.S. taxpayers $275 million per day. According to the study: “If the U.S. had not invaded, militarily containing Saddam through 2015 would have cost an estimated $23 million a day.”
Additionally, the estimate cost of the ISG which did not find any WMD in Iraq is a cool $900. Million. The amount Congress has budgeted for a “success commemoration” is $20 million.
All because of a lie.
Oil Production:
Excerpt:
Pipe Dreams: Iraq’s Energy Crunch
In 2003, then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said oil exports would rebuild Iraq “relatively soon.” But last year, Iraq missed its export goal by nearly 1/3 and spent only $2 billion on reconstruction, while the U.S. spent $5.4 billion. Baghdad gets an average of 4 hours 30 minutes of electricity a day. Estimated cost of boosting Iraq’s power capacity by 2010: $20 billion. Estimated cost of installing enough solar panels to power every home in Iraq: $6.6 billion.
End of Excerpt.
Iraq: a war waged by a heck-of-a-job Bush, Cheney and the GOP.
The liars lied and others die or suffer.
And Pandora’s Box on terrorism has been thrown wide open.
All for……..? LS
MOTHER JONES PIECE HERE
According to the study, Bush has been insisting that fighting terrorists “over there” means we don’t have to fight them “over here.” When Rumsfeld has been asked if the war has created more terrorism, he would routinely reply “No one knows. The world doesn’t know.” The report reveals that until now, no one has ever done a statistical analysis of the effects of the war in Iraq on terrorism.
Bergen and Cruickshank’s report give us a crystal clear view into Bush and his GOP enablers' work in abysmal and profound failure, the deaths of hundreds of thousands, devastating human suffering both at home and in Iraq, a nightmare of regional migration displacement, gross corruption and the squandering and depletion of U.S. treasure. As if this personal, social, military, geopolitical and national calamity isn’t horrible enough, Bush & Co. seriously compromised our security and safety by opening Pandora’s Box of terrorism.
All for a lie.
Below is a summary of some of the facts revealed by the study. A link to the full report can be found on the URL for Mother Jones below.
Excerpts:
We have undertaken such a study, drawing on data in the mipt-rand Terrorism database (terrorismknowledgebase .org), widely considered the best unclassified database on terrorism incidents.
Our study yields one resounding finding: The rate of fatal terrorist attacks around the world by jihadist groups, and the number of people killed in those attacks, increased dramatically after the invasion of Iraq. Globally there was a 607 percent rise in the average yearly incidence of attacks (28.3 attacks per year before and 199.8 after) and a 237 percent rise in the fatality rate (from 501 to 1,689 deaths per year). A large part of this rise occurred in Iraq, the scene of almost half the global total of jihadist terrorist attacks. But even excluding Iraq and Afghanistan—the other current jihadist hot spot—there has been a 35 percent rise in the number of attacks, with a 12 percent rise in fatalities.
Contrary to Bush’s assertion, jihadists have not let the Iraq War distract them from targeting the United States and its allies. The rate of attacks on Western interests and citizens has risen by almost 25 percent, while the yearly fatality rate has increased by 4 percent, a figure that would have been higher had planned attacks, such as the London airline plot, not been prevented.
The globalization of jihad and martyrdom has disquieting implications for American security in the future. Jihadists are already leaving Iraq to operate elsewhere, a “blowback” trend that will greatly increase when the war eventually winds down. Terrorist groups in Iraq, which have learned to raise millions through kidnapping and oil theft, may be in a position to help fund their jihadist brethren elsewhere. Finally, Iraq has increased the popularity of a hardcore takfiri ideology so intolerant that, unlikely as it seems, it makes Osama bin Laden appear relatively moderate.
End of excerpt:
Human Consequences of a Failed War
Migration Disaster for Iraq and the Region:
1.6 million Iraqis have been displaced, 1.8 million have left. Saudi Arabia is building a wall at its 560 mile border to prevent migration from Iraq. 700,000 Iraqis live in Jordon, 60,000 in Sweden, according to the report.
All because of a lie.
Social Upheaval:
In 2006, 30% of Iraqi children attended school. Prior to the war, attendance was 100%.
47% of the children have suffered from a traumatic event.
2,000 doctors have been murdered.
30% more Iraqis are in jail now than before the war.
Iraq has descended into a civil war. More and more civilians are being killed.
All because of a lie.
The Cost to U.S. in Blood
Over 3,100 troops killed.
23,000 soldiers have been wounded
4,600 Iraq vets suffer from severe head or brain injury
1,300 have lost limbs
1 in 5 suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
22 Army soldiers have committed suicide.
All because of a lie.
The Cost to U.S. Treasure:
The report also reveals the extraordinary costs of prosecuting the war which is costing U.S. taxpayers $275 million per day. According to the study: “If the U.S. had not invaded, militarily containing Saddam through 2015 would have cost an estimated $23 million a day.”
Additionally, the estimate cost of the ISG which did not find any WMD in Iraq is a cool $900. Million. The amount Congress has budgeted for a “success commemoration” is $20 million.
All because of a lie.
Oil Production:
Excerpt:
Pipe Dreams: Iraq’s Energy Crunch
In 2003, then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said oil exports would rebuild Iraq “relatively soon.” But last year, Iraq missed its export goal by nearly 1/3 and spent only $2 billion on reconstruction, while the U.S. spent $5.4 billion. Baghdad gets an average of 4 hours 30 minutes of electricity a day. Estimated cost of boosting Iraq’s power capacity by 2010: $20 billion. Estimated cost of installing enough solar panels to power every home in Iraq: $6.6 billion.
End of Excerpt.
Iraq: a war waged by a heck-of-a-job Bush, Cheney and the GOP.
The liars lied and others die or suffer.
And Pandora’s Box on terrorism has been thrown wide open.
All for……..? LS
MOTHER JONES PIECE HERE
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
Some folks in the mainstream media call Texas the “reddest state of them all.” Enlightened Texans, including those who represent a cross section of all political groups, from liberal to moderate to conservative, have a different interpretation of Texas politics.
The more informed Texan understands that our state is likely the most politically corrupted one in the nation. This is the literal stomping ground of the Bush family. After all, Texas delivered the likes of W. and Rove to Washington.
50 out 50, Texas likely wins the first place award for fast tracking our state down the one-way path to economic devastation… that of a third world economy in which the hard working middle and working classes are completely disenfranchised.
Texas Republican lawmakers are so completely wedded to big oil and gas; insurance, pharma and special interests that they forgot why we, the people, sent them to Washington.
Recent reports reveal that ExxonMobil, supported by the Republican Party, is paying scientists to dispute the findings of global warming.
Let us eat pollution, attendant cancer and suffer the devastating effects of climate change.
Our state’s Republican leaders tacitly applaud illegal immigration for such keeps wages low and benefits such as healthcare non- existent.
It also explains why the corporate owned Republican Party has done nothing whatsoever to secure our southern border except to talk a lot about “securing our border with Mexico.” Which is all mere trash talk followed by nada, zip action. Talk the talk, but shirk the walk.
Recently, the governor in Texas, The Hair Perry, beholden to Merck, decided to mandate a vaccine down the throats of Texans. The vaccine is likely a good thing, but no one, from far right to far left trusts the Gov. Seems that the Gov pretends to care about “our children” and yet in reality, The Hair really owes a big one to Merck who donated $6K to his re-election campaign.
Besides, if our Gov and his Republican Party really gave a flip about Texas children why are our public schools so abysmally under-funded, low performing and why does Texas have record-breaking high school drop out rates?
Ironically, the Republican politicians, including our Gov, all profess to be God-fearing if not fundamentalist “Christians.” Perhaps they should explain their definition of “Christianity.” After all, Jesus threw the moneychangers out of the temple.
Our junior Senator, John Cornyn, is yet another example of a so-called compassionate conservative and “Christian” Republican.
Let us examine his reasoning for voting against the recent minimum wage increase. After all, Cornyn voted for a minimum wage increase when it was tied to the estate tax bill in August 2006.
After reading the letter Senator Cornyn wrote to a constituent, also a friend of mine, below, please be sure to check the web site indicating Cornyn’s major contributors.
Dear Mr. X:
Thank you for contacting me about efforts to increase the minimum wage. I appreciate having the benefit of your views on this issue.
As you may know, the Minimum Wage Increase Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-188) established the current minimum wage level of $5.15 per hour. I understand the concerns that many Americans have about the difficulties confronting low-wage workers. While increasing the minimum wage may be well intentioned, I do not believe it will—by itself—aid minimum-wage employees or make the U.S. more competitive in today’s global economy. Such an increase would further the financial burden on small businesses and ultimately translate into higher product prices and layoffs. These consequences would disproportionately hurt low-wage workers.
To improve the well being of American workers, Congress must focus on promoting continued economic growth, reducing the tax burden on small businesses, and increasing production—circumstances that will benefit all Americans. You may be certain that I will keep your comments in mind as I work with my colleagues in the Senate to promote economic growth and secure the financial well being of all Americans.
I appreciate having the opportunity to represent the interests of Texans in the United States Senate. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Sincerely,
JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2934
Fax: (202) 228-2856
http://www.cornyn.senate.gov
CONTRIBUTIONS TO CORNYN FROM NOT SO SMALL BUSINESSES
CORNYN’S CONTRIBUTORS
The more informed Texan understands that our state is likely the most politically corrupted one in the nation. This is the literal stomping ground of the Bush family. After all, Texas delivered the likes of W. and Rove to Washington.
50 out 50, Texas likely wins the first place award for fast tracking our state down the one-way path to economic devastation… that of a third world economy in which the hard working middle and working classes are completely disenfranchised.
Texas Republican lawmakers are so completely wedded to big oil and gas; insurance, pharma and special interests that they forgot why we, the people, sent them to Washington.
Recent reports reveal that ExxonMobil, supported by the Republican Party, is paying scientists to dispute the findings of global warming.
Let us eat pollution, attendant cancer and suffer the devastating effects of climate change.
Our state’s Republican leaders tacitly applaud illegal immigration for such keeps wages low and benefits such as healthcare non- existent.
It also explains why the corporate owned Republican Party has done nothing whatsoever to secure our southern border except to talk a lot about “securing our border with Mexico.” Which is all mere trash talk followed by nada, zip action. Talk the talk, but shirk the walk.
Recently, the governor in Texas, The Hair Perry, beholden to Merck, decided to mandate a vaccine down the throats of Texans. The vaccine is likely a good thing, but no one, from far right to far left trusts the Gov. Seems that the Gov pretends to care about “our children” and yet in reality, The Hair really owes a big one to Merck who donated $6K to his re-election campaign.
Besides, if our Gov and his Republican Party really gave a flip about Texas children why are our public schools so abysmally under-funded, low performing and why does Texas have record-breaking high school drop out rates?
Ironically, the Republican politicians, including our Gov, all profess to be God-fearing if not fundamentalist “Christians.” Perhaps they should explain their definition of “Christianity.” After all, Jesus threw the moneychangers out of the temple.
Our junior Senator, John Cornyn, is yet another example of a so-called compassionate conservative and “Christian” Republican.
Let us examine his reasoning for voting against the recent minimum wage increase. After all, Cornyn voted for a minimum wage increase when it was tied to the estate tax bill in August 2006.
After reading the letter Senator Cornyn wrote to a constituent, also a friend of mine, below, please be sure to check the web site indicating Cornyn’s major contributors.
Dear Mr. X:
Thank you for contacting me about efforts to increase the minimum wage. I appreciate having the benefit of your views on this issue.
As you may know, the Minimum Wage Increase Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-188) established the current minimum wage level of $5.15 per hour. I understand the concerns that many Americans have about the difficulties confronting low-wage workers. While increasing the minimum wage may be well intentioned, I do not believe it will—by itself—aid minimum-wage employees or make the U.S. more competitive in today’s global economy. Such an increase would further the financial burden on small businesses and ultimately translate into higher product prices and layoffs. These consequences would disproportionately hurt low-wage workers.
To improve the well being of American workers, Congress must focus on promoting continued economic growth, reducing the tax burden on small businesses, and increasing production—circumstances that will benefit all Americans. You may be certain that I will keep your comments in mind as I work with my colleagues in the Senate to promote economic growth and secure the financial well being of all Americans.
I appreciate having the opportunity to represent the interests of Texans in the United States Senate. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Sincerely,
JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2934
Fax: (202) 228-2856
CONTRIBUTIONS TO CORNYN FROM NOT SO SMALL BUSINESSES
CORNYN’S CONTRIBUTORS
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
WHY W. THINKS WE'RE WINNING IN IRAQ
When over 60% of Americans know better
Mr. Chris Floyd wrote the stunning article below for the UK Independent. LS
Found via Truthout.org
Excerpts:
The reason that George W. Bush insists that "victory" is achievable in Iraq is not that he is deluded or isolated or ignorant or detached from reality or ill-advised. No, it's that his definition of "victory" is different from those bruited about in his own rhetoric and in the ever-earnest disquisitions of the chattering classes in print and online. For Bush, victory is indeed at hand. It could come at any moment now, could already have been achieved by the time you read this. And the driving force behind his planned "surge" of American troops is the need to preserve those fruits of victory that are now ripening in his hand.
At any time within the next few days, the Iraqi Council of Ministers is expected to approve a new "hydrocarbon law" essentially drawn up by the Bush administration and its UK lackey, the Independent on Sunday reported. The new bill will "radically redraw the Iraqi oil industry and throw open the doors to the third-largest oil reserves in the world," says the paper, whose reporters have seen a draft of the new law. "It would allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil companies in the country since the industry was nationalized in 1972." If the government's parliamentary majority prevails, the law should take effect in March.
As the paper notes, the law will give Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell and other carbon cronies of the White House unprecedented sweetheart deals, allowing them to pump gargantuan profits from Iraq's nominally state-owned oilfields for decades to come. This law has been in the works since the very beginning of the invasion - indeed, since months before the invasion, when the Bush administration brought in Phillip Carroll, former CEO of both Shell and Fluor, the politically-wired oil servicing firm, to devise "contingency plans" for divvying up Iraq's oil after the attack. Once the deed was done, Carroll was made head of the American "advisory committee" overseeing the oil industry of the conquered land, as Joshua Holland of Alternet.com has chronicled in two remarkable reports on the backroom maneuvering over Iraq's oil: "Bush's Petro-Cartel Almost Has Iraq's Oil and "The US Takeover of Iraqi Oil."
Put simply, the Bush Family and their allies and cronies represent the confluence of three long-established power factions in the American elite: oil, arms and investments. These groups equate their own interests, their own wealth and privilege, with the interests of the nation - indeed, the world - as a whole. And they pursue these interests with every weapon at their command, including war, torture, deceit and corruption. Democracy means nothing to them - not even in their own country, as we saw in the 2000 election. Laws are just whips to keep the common herd in line; they don't apply to the elite, as Bush's own lawyers and minions have openly asserted in the memos, signing statements, court cases and presidential decrees asserting the "inherent power" of the "unitary executive" to override any law he pleases.
The Iraq war has been immensely profitable for these Bush-linked power factions (and their tributary industries, such as construction); billions of dollars in public money have already poured into their coffers. Halliburton has been catapulted from the edge of bankruptcy to the heights of no-bid, open-ended, guaranteed profit. The Carlyle Group is gorging on war contracts. Individual Bush family members are making out like bandits from war-related investments, while dozens of Bush minions - like Richard Perle, James Woolsey, and Joe Allbaugh - have cashed in their insider chips for blood money.
NEW OIL LAW MEANS VICTORY IN IRAQ FOR BUSH
FORMER REAGAN AIDE COMPARES BUSH TO HITLER
Sounds spot on to me. LS
From Raw Story.com
Excerpts:
"Bush is like Hitler," Paul Craig Roberts writes in a column entitled The Surge: Political Cover or Escalation?. "He blames defeats on his military commanders, not on his own insane policy."
"Like Hitler, he protects himself from reality with delusion," Roberts continues. "In his last hours, Hitler was ordering non-existent German armies to drive the Russians from Berlin."
FORMER REAGAN AID COMPARES BUSH TO HITLER
TED KENNEDY FIGHTS BUSH'S MURDEROUS SURGE
Senator Kennedy will introduce legislation requiring Congressional approval before troops can be increased. I would think Congressional approval should be mandatory given the fact that over 60% of Americans are against Bush's madness. But Bush obviously does not give a flip about what Americans want. The guy obviously thinks he is either a king or dictator. LS
From CNN.com via The Huffington Post
Excerpt:
Kennedy, a leading opponent of the war and senior member of the Armed Services Committee, said any troop increase would be "an immense new mistake."
Kennedy said he introduced the legislation "to reclaim the rightful role of Congress and the people's right to a full voice in the president's plan to send more troops to Iraq."
He added that the bill says "that no additional troops can be sent and no additional dollars can be spent on such an escalation unless and until Congress approves the
KENNEDY TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION REQUIRING CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL BEFORE TROOPS CAN BE INCREASED IN IRAQ
USA/GALLUP POLL SHOWS 61% OF AMERICANS ARE AGAINST BUSH'S BLOODY SURGE
POLL SHOWS 61% OPPOSE SURGE
Mr. Chris Floyd wrote the stunning article below for the UK Independent. LS
Found via Truthout.org
Excerpts:
The reason that George W. Bush insists that "victory" is achievable in Iraq is not that he is deluded or isolated or ignorant or detached from reality or ill-advised. No, it's that his definition of "victory" is different from those bruited about in his own rhetoric and in the ever-earnest disquisitions of the chattering classes in print and online. For Bush, victory is indeed at hand. It could come at any moment now, could already have been achieved by the time you read this. And the driving force behind his planned "surge" of American troops is the need to preserve those fruits of victory that are now ripening in his hand.
At any time within the next few days, the Iraqi Council of Ministers is expected to approve a new "hydrocarbon law" essentially drawn up by the Bush administration and its UK lackey, the Independent on Sunday reported. The new bill will "radically redraw the Iraqi oil industry and throw open the doors to the third-largest oil reserves in the world," says the paper, whose reporters have seen a draft of the new law. "It would allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil companies in the country since the industry was nationalized in 1972." If the government's parliamentary majority prevails, the law should take effect in March.
As the paper notes, the law will give Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell and other carbon cronies of the White House unprecedented sweetheart deals, allowing them to pump gargantuan profits from Iraq's nominally state-owned oilfields for decades to come. This law has been in the works since the very beginning of the invasion - indeed, since months before the invasion, when the Bush administration brought in Phillip Carroll, former CEO of both Shell and Fluor, the politically-wired oil servicing firm, to devise "contingency plans" for divvying up Iraq's oil after the attack. Once the deed was done, Carroll was made head of the American "advisory committee" overseeing the oil industry of the conquered land, as Joshua Holland of Alternet.com has chronicled in two remarkable reports on the backroom maneuvering over Iraq's oil: "Bush's Petro-Cartel Almost Has Iraq's Oil and "The US Takeover of Iraqi Oil."
Put simply, the Bush Family and their allies and cronies represent the confluence of three long-established power factions in the American elite: oil, arms and investments. These groups equate their own interests, their own wealth and privilege, with the interests of the nation - indeed, the world - as a whole. And they pursue these interests with every weapon at their command, including war, torture, deceit and corruption. Democracy means nothing to them - not even in their own country, as we saw in the 2000 election. Laws are just whips to keep the common herd in line; they don't apply to the elite, as Bush's own lawyers and minions have openly asserted in the memos, signing statements, court cases and presidential decrees asserting the "inherent power" of the "unitary executive" to override any law he pleases.
The Iraq war has been immensely profitable for these Bush-linked power factions (and their tributary industries, such as construction); billions of dollars in public money have already poured into their coffers. Halliburton has been catapulted from the edge of bankruptcy to the heights of no-bid, open-ended, guaranteed profit. The Carlyle Group is gorging on war contracts. Individual Bush family members are making out like bandits from war-related investments, while dozens of Bush minions - like Richard Perle, James Woolsey, and Joe Allbaugh - have cashed in their insider chips for blood money.
NEW OIL LAW MEANS VICTORY IN IRAQ FOR BUSH
FORMER REAGAN AIDE COMPARES BUSH TO HITLER
Sounds spot on to me. LS
From Raw Story.com
Excerpts:
"Bush is like Hitler," Paul Craig Roberts writes in a column entitled The Surge: Political Cover or Escalation?. "He blames defeats on his military commanders, not on his own insane policy."
"Like Hitler, he protects himself from reality with delusion," Roberts continues. "In his last hours, Hitler was ordering non-existent German armies to drive the Russians from Berlin."
FORMER REAGAN AID COMPARES BUSH TO HITLER
TED KENNEDY FIGHTS BUSH'S MURDEROUS SURGE
Senator Kennedy will introduce legislation requiring Congressional approval before troops can be increased. I would think Congressional approval should be mandatory given the fact that over 60% of Americans are against Bush's madness. But Bush obviously does not give a flip about what Americans want. The guy obviously thinks he is either a king or dictator. LS
From CNN.com via The Huffington Post
Excerpt:
Kennedy, a leading opponent of the war and senior member of the Armed Services Committee, said any troop increase would be "an immense new mistake."
Kennedy said he introduced the legislation "to reclaim the rightful role of Congress and the people's right to a full voice in the president's plan to send more troops to Iraq."
He added that the bill says "that no additional troops can be sent and no additional dollars can be spent on such an escalation unless and until Congress approves the
KENNEDY TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION REQUIRING CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL BEFORE TROOPS CAN BE INCREASED IN IRAQ
USA/GALLUP POLL SHOWS 61% OF AMERICANS ARE AGAINST BUSH'S BLOODY SURGE
POLL SHOWS 61% OPPOSE SURGE
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
BUSH WILL CUT AND RUN AND THEN BLAME IRAQ
According to the Financial Times of London, Bush intends to blame Iraq and then turn tail and run like a coward/bully chicken hawk would. Naturally, Bush will not take responsibility for his own morass making and in typical and predictable GOP fashion, he will play the blame game instead. I am all for getting out of Iraq NOW, but please Mr. President, at least have the decency and courage to take responsibility for the human catastrophe, carnage, mayhem and unparalleled debacle that you have visited upon the Middle East and on the U.S.
Who on earth appointed this monster W. to office in 2000 (the Supreme Court, thank you very much) and who rigged the election in Ohio (Blackwell and Diebold’s CEO ) to maintain W. in power in 2004? Surely these folks and all of their offspring, including all Bushes, Cheneys, Rumsfelds, Rices and every Congress person, including Democrats, who voted to declare war on Iraq, should be forced to serve in Iraq.
Make a sacrifice or two before asking average Jane and Joe America to step up.
No? Well, then, perhaps all of those mentioned above should be charged with... let's see...crimes against humanity... treason...... hmmmmm.... LS
Excerpts:
“You could call it ‘blame and run’, ” said Zbigniew Bzrezinski, a former national security adviser now at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. “It is based on a pervasive illusion that there is such a thing as an Iraqi government. The more we blame it for doing things it cannot do, the more impotent it will become. ‘Blame and run’ is self-fulfilling.”
Strobe Talbott, head of the bipartisan Brookings Institution, agrees. In a speech last week he criticised the view that Baghdad could be pressed to make changes such as disarming the sectarian militias by threatening to withhold military, political or economic aid. The ISG report states that Baghdad must prove that it “deserves” future aid.
“The logic of that pressure tactic — that is, why it should work with the Iraqis — is not clear, since most of them want us out [of Iraq],” said Mr Talbott. “The logic on our own side, however, is very clear indeed: having pre-emptively invaded their country, let’s pre-emptively blame them for the mess we’ve made of it.”
The breadth of support for such a line is striking. In a leaked memo last week, Donald Rumsfeld, the outgoing defence secretary, said the Iraqis needed “to pull their socks up”.
CUT AND RUN THEN BLAME IRAQ
BUSH DOES NOT CARE WHAT 75% OF AMERICANS WANT BUT HE AND CHENEY WILL HEED SAUDI ARABIA'S ADVICE.
I read the chilling piece, posted below, written on the New York Times.com concerning Saudi Arabia and how it will likely support Iraqi Sunnis if the U.S. withdraws from Iraq. This is just lovely. Saudi Arabia will support the Sunnis and Iran will support the Shiites. Iran would love to blow Israel off of the planet. Israel openly admitted it has nuclear weapons. Of course everyone in the world knows this but an open admission of such could mean Israel is locked and loaded. No wonder the ISG committee members are so somber and Bush I is sobbing. What a potentially horrible nightmare is in the making, thanks to W., the neonuts and a clueless U.S. mainstream media. Any Kool-Aid left to transport us to an alternate reality? LS.
Excerpts:
The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki al-Faisal, who told his staff on Monday that he was resigning his post, recently fired Nawaf Obaid, a consultant who wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post two weeks ago contending that “one of the first consequences” of an American pullout of Iraq would “be massive Saudi intervention to stop Iranian-backed Shiite militias from butchering Iraqi Sunnis.”
Mr. Obaid also suggested that Saudi Arabia could cut world oil prices in half by raising its production, a move that he said “would be devastating to Iran, which is facing economic difficulties even with today’s high oil prices.” The Saudi government disavowed Mr. Obaid’s column, and Prince Turki canceled his contract.
But Arab diplomats said Tuesday that Mr. Obaid’s column reflected the view of the Saudi government, which has made clear its opposition to an American pullout from Iraq.
In a speech in Philadelphia last week, Prince Turki reiterated the Saudi position against an American withdrawal from Iraq. “Just picking up and leaving is going to create a huge vacuum,” he told the World Affairs Council. “The U.S. must underline its support for the Maliki government because there is no other game in town.”
Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia did not want Iraq to fracture along ethnic or religious lines. On Monday a group of prominent Saudi clerics called on Sunni Muslims around the world to mobilize against Shiites in Iraq. The statement called the “murder, torture and displacement of Sunnis” an “outrage.”
SAUDIA ARABIA SAYS IT MAY BACK IRAQI SUNNIS IF U.S. WITHDRAWS
BUSH'S DELAY IN CHANGING THE POLICY IN IRAQ UPSETS PRINCIPALED JOURNALISTS.
The article below is a very impressive and sobering editorial written by the New York Times' editors today. LS
Excerpts:
We are more than eager for this White House to finally get something right on Iraq. But we find it chilling to imagine that Mr. Bush and his advisers have only now begun a full policy review, months after Iraq plunged into civil war and years after experts began warning that the administration’s strategy was not working.
We would like to believe that the reason for delay is that some of Mr. Bush’s advisers have come up with a sensible change in course and they are now trying to persuade the president to take it. Or that behind the scenes Mr. Bush is already strong-arming Iraq’s leaders to rein in the sectarian militias and begin long-delayed national reconciliation talks.
We fear that a more likely explanation is that the president’s ever-divided policy advisers are still wrangling over the most basic decisions, while his political handlers are waiting for public enthusiasm for the Baker report to flag before Mr. Bush tries to explain why he won’t follow through on some of the report’s most important and reasonable suggestions — like imposing a timetable on Iraqi leaders to make political compromises or face a withdrawal of American support. Or trying to persuade Iran and Syria to cease their meddling.
"WITHOUT DELIBERATE SPEED"
"WHO CARES WHAT YOU THINK?"
This is a great anthology of articles put together by Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post on Bush's delay in changing policy in Iraq LS
"WHO CARES WHAT YOU THINK?"
"THE BUBBLE BOY IN THE OVAL OFFICE"
From the L.A. Times. Yet another sobering and disturbing revelation on the quintessential spoiled brat and narcissistic child who is simultaneously running and ruining our nation. Even Daddy’s best buddies cannot stop him. Where is Mother Bush when we need her the most? In total denial, no doubt.. Let us all eat poisoned cake. LS
"THE BUBBLE BOY IN THE OVAL OFFICE"
Who on earth appointed this monster W. to office in 2000 (the Supreme Court, thank you very much) and who rigged the election in Ohio (Blackwell and Diebold’s CEO ) to maintain W. in power in 2004? Surely these folks and all of their offspring, including all Bushes, Cheneys, Rumsfelds, Rices and every Congress person, including Democrats, who voted to declare war on Iraq, should be forced to serve in Iraq.
Make a sacrifice or two before asking average Jane and Joe America to step up.
No? Well, then, perhaps all of those mentioned above should be charged with... let's see...crimes against humanity... treason...... hmmmmm.... LS
Excerpts:
“You could call it ‘blame and run’, ” said Zbigniew Bzrezinski, a former national security adviser now at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. “It is based on a pervasive illusion that there is such a thing as an Iraqi government. The more we blame it for doing things it cannot do, the more impotent it will become. ‘Blame and run’ is self-fulfilling.”
Strobe Talbott, head of the bipartisan Brookings Institution, agrees. In a speech last week he criticised the view that Baghdad could be pressed to make changes such as disarming the sectarian militias by threatening to withhold military, political or economic aid. The ISG report states that Baghdad must prove that it “deserves” future aid.
“The logic of that pressure tactic — that is, why it should work with the Iraqis — is not clear, since most of them want us out [of Iraq],” said Mr Talbott. “The logic on our own side, however, is very clear indeed: having pre-emptively invaded their country, let’s pre-emptively blame them for the mess we’ve made of it.”
The breadth of support for such a line is striking. In a leaked memo last week, Donald Rumsfeld, the outgoing defence secretary, said the Iraqis needed “to pull their socks up”.
CUT AND RUN THEN BLAME IRAQ
BUSH DOES NOT CARE WHAT 75% OF AMERICANS WANT BUT HE AND CHENEY WILL HEED SAUDI ARABIA'S ADVICE.
I read the chilling piece, posted below, written on the New York Times.com concerning Saudi Arabia and how it will likely support Iraqi Sunnis if the U.S. withdraws from Iraq. This is just lovely. Saudi Arabia will support the Sunnis and Iran will support the Shiites. Iran would love to blow Israel off of the planet. Israel openly admitted it has nuclear weapons. Of course everyone in the world knows this but an open admission of such could mean Israel is locked and loaded. No wonder the ISG committee members are so somber and Bush I is sobbing. What a potentially horrible nightmare is in the making, thanks to W., the neonuts and a clueless U.S. mainstream media. Any Kool-Aid left to transport us to an alternate reality? LS.
Excerpts:
The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki al-Faisal, who told his staff on Monday that he was resigning his post, recently fired Nawaf Obaid, a consultant who wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post two weeks ago contending that “one of the first consequences” of an American pullout of Iraq would “be massive Saudi intervention to stop Iranian-backed Shiite militias from butchering Iraqi Sunnis.”
Mr. Obaid also suggested that Saudi Arabia could cut world oil prices in half by raising its production, a move that he said “would be devastating to Iran, which is facing economic difficulties even with today’s high oil prices.” The Saudi government disavowed Mr. Obaid’s column, and Prince Turki canceled his contract.
But Arab diplomats said Tuesday that Mr. Obaid’s column reflected the view of the Saudi government, which has made clear its opposition to an American pullout from Iraq.
In a speech in Philadelphia last week, Prince Turki reiterated the Saudi position against an American withdrawal from Iraq. “Just picking up and leaving is going to create a huge vacuum,” he told the World Affairs Council. “The U.S. must underline its support for the Maliki government because there is no other game in town.”
Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia did not want Iraq to fracture along ethnic or religious lines. On Monday a group of prominent Saudi clerics called on Sunni Muslims around the world to mobilize against Shiites in Iraq. The statement called the “murder, torture and displacement of Sunnis” an “outrage.”
SAUDIA ARABIA SAYS IT MAY BACK IRAQI SUNNIS IF U.S. WITHDRAWS
BUSH'S DELAY IN CHANGING THE POLICY IN IRAQ UPSETS PRINCIPALED JOURNALISTS.
The article below is a very impressive and sobering editorial written by the New York Times' editors today. LS
Excerpts:
We are more than eager for this White House to finally get something right on Iraq. But we find it chilling to imagine that Mr. Bush and his advisers have only now begun a full policy review, months after Iraq plunged into civil war and years after experts began warning that the administration’s strategy was not working.
We would like to believe that the reason for delay is that some of Mr. Bush’s advisers have come up with a sensible change in course and they are now trying to persuade the president to take it. Or that behind the scenes Mr. Bush is already strong-arming Iraq’s leaders to rein in the sectarian militias and begin long-delayed national reconciliation talks.
We fear that a more likely explanation is that the president’s ever-divided policy advisers are still wrangling over the most basic decisions, while his political handlers are waiting for public enthusiasm for the Baker report to flag before Mr. Bush tries to explain why he won’t follow through on some of the report’s most important and reasonable suggestions — like imposing a timetable on Iraqi leaders to make political compromises or face a withdrawal of American support. Or trying to persuade Iran and Syria to cease their meddling.
"WITHOUT DELIBERATE SPEED"
"WHO CARES WHAT YOU THINK?"
This is a great anthology of articles put together by Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post on Bush's delay in changing policy in Iraq LS
"WHO CARES WHAT YOU THINK?"
"THE BUBBLE BOY IN THE OVAL OFFICE"
From the L.A. Times. Yet another sobering and disturbing revelation on the quintessential spoiled brat and narcissistic child who is simultaneously running and ruining our nation. Even Daddy’s best buddies cannot stop him. Where is Mother Bush when we need her the most? In total denial, no doubt.. Let us all eat poisoned cake. LS
"THE BUBBLE BOY IN THE OVAL OFFICE"
Thursday, December 07, 2006
IT IS WORSE THAN THE VERY WORST IMAGINABLE
December 7: The day after the release of the Iraq Study Group Report and nearly 24 hours of wall to wall cable news coverage of its findings.
I started this blog in order to share political ideas and news that one may not normally find in the mainstream media, especially after the media blackout following 9/11. The intention was to share information with a small group of like-minded friends and family. I started the blog after I knew something terrible had happened in Ohio in 2004, which seemed to smack of the same evil doing as that of 2000 when the Supreme Court appointed W. as President in a very close election. Everyone recalls how in 2000, the highest court in this nation shut down a recount in Florida. James Baker played no small role in this outcome.
In 2004 GOP political operatives in Ohio, namely Kenneth Blackwell, infinitely hacker friendly and pliable Diebold voting machines and a CEO who promised to deliver Bush to the White House, did indeed guarantee the worst presidency ever known in American history.
In all fairness, Kerry gave up the fight too soon. Had he prevailed and demanded a recount, perhaps we would not be in the ungodly mess we are today. The Supreme Court would have been reluctant to intervene in two elections in a row. Overly aggressive and self-serving politicians can be very dangerous monsters. So can weak and self-satisfied ones.
Now it seems that the GOP demons that took hold of us in 2000 and 2004 are holding us by our throats and will take us straight to hell if we let them.
Many of us have known from the very beginning that W. would be a disaster. He does not and will never possess the character, the integrity, high principles, the intellect or the diplomatic skills required of the highest office on the planet. W. is at best a partisan operative. There is no substance behind the rhetoric. It’s all showmanship and winning at any cost. That’s it. Nothing else exists inside that suit or behind the seemingly steely but in reality, the soulless eyes.
At best we hoped W. would be a do nothing one term president who would do little damage in four years.
But then 9/11 happened and everything changed. The U.S. took a sharp turn and steered far away from the democratic principles that have guided our nation for over 200 years. We entered a new and heretofore unknown era of darkness. Fear overtook hope and optimism. Sinister secrecy overrides transparency. Deception, mendacity, propaganda and illusion are now the standard operating procedural tools used by the White House. Our constitutional rights are seriously compromised. Domestic wiretapping is now the norm. W. and Co. fabricated a war. The principles underlying the rational for going to war are based on lies. Now the war is an abysmal catastrophe that even Daddy’s best and most qualified friends cannot fix.
I wonder why blasts from the 2000 past like James Baker and Sandra Day O’Connor are key players on the ISG committee? Those who were instrumental in visiting Bush upon us are now trying to find a way out of a Bush imposed morass.
Do Baker and O’Connor feel a prick of conscience? Remorse? Or are they merely trying to protect something, which they hold most dear? Their legacies? I mean, who wants to go down in history as delivering the worst and most catastrophic presidency known to this nation so far?
I think Baker, O’Connor and other Bush enablers are terrified for themselves and for all of us. Former President George H.W. Bush may sadly be on the verge of a nervous breakdown because of W.’s perilous fiasco.
For all of their hard work and the distinguished members’ impressive resumes, the ISG offers no concrete viable solutions. Why? Maybe because all committee members are former politicians or held a political or appointed position in Washington. Most of them likely serve on corporate boards.
According to one of the articles posted below, Bush can cherry pick phrases and sentences much like he did the intelligence on Iraq. He can spin parts of the report to maintain his disastrous and vastly unpopular course. Perhaps this is why the former President Bush publicly broke down. Perhaps he is tormented by despair.
So, what’s the solution, as right wingers will always ask me when I criticize the Bush Administration? How do we get out of this mess? The solution, my dear uninformed fellow citizens is to immediately impeach Bush and Cheney. Charge them with crimes against humanity and high treason. Prosecute both men to the full extent of the law.
Bring in the best international diplomats, distinguished Middle East scholars, those who live in the region, understand the cultures, religions and speak the languages; seasoned U.S., British and French military experts (Britain and France know boatloads about failed occupations), and ask them to come up with a plan. Leave politicians and corporate types out of it. All of them. LS
Ken sent a very frank and sobering piece by Fred Kaplan on Slate Magazine.com on the ISG entitled:
“SO MUCH FOR PLAN B”
Excerpts:
So many careers and reputations have been ravaged by Iraq. Even James Baker, the canniest of operators, has now met his Waterloo.
The report of the Iraq Study Group—which Baker co-chaired with Lee Hamilton, that other Wise Man-wannabe—was doomed to fall short of expectations. But who knew it would amount to such an amorphous, equivocal grab bag.
Its outline of a new "diplomatic offensive" is so disjointed that even a willing president would be left puzzled by what precisely to do, and George W. Bush seems far from willing.
Its scheme for a new military strategy contains so many loopholes that a president could cite its language to justify doing anything (or nothing).
”SO MUCH FOR PLAN B" BY FRED KAPLAN
BAKER CAN GO BACK TO HIS DAY JOB ACCORDING TO BUSH
I found this article on CBS News.com via the Huffington Post.com LS
W. TO JIMMY BOY: GO BACK TO YOUR DAY JOB
THE REAL JIMMY BOY BAKER
A journalist in Austin, Mr. Robert Bryce, reminds us of James Baker's role in the outrageous S&L scandals and corruption in the 1980's. I found this piece on Counter Punch.com via Buzz Flash.com LS
Excerpts:
In my book, Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, the Rise of Texas, America's Superstate, I wrote about the S&L mess and Baker's role in it. I quoted William Black, an attorney who helped clean up the S&L mess while working for the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and later, as the deputy director of the Office of Thrift Supervision. Black told me that the Reaganites were "willing to do the most outrageous, unprincipled and dangerous things to maintain the cover up" of the S&L disaster. And said Black, Baker was one of "the centerpieces of this strategy."
To be fair, Congress shares the blame for the S&L meltdown. Jim Wright, the Democratic Speaker of the House worked hard to prevent federal regulators from cracking down on S&Ls in Texas. On the other side of the Capitol building, the Keating Five, a group of senators which included 2008 presidential hopeful John McCain, ran interference on behalf of disgraced S&L boss Charles Keating, the chairman of California-based Lincoln Savings and Loan.
But none of those men were the secretary of the treasury. None of those men had their signatures on American greenbacks. None of those men had the power to appoint aggressive regulators to delve into the unfolding S&L disaster. Baker did. And yet he did nothing.
JAMES BAKER'S ROLE IN THE S&L SCANDALS AND COVERUP
I started this blog in order to share political ideas and news that one may not normally find in the mainstream media, especially after the media blackout following 9/11. The intention was to share information with a small group of like-minded friends and family. I started the blog after I knew something terrible had happened in Ohio in 2004, which seemed to smack of the same evil doing as that of 2000 when the Supreme Court appointed W. as President in a very close election. Everyone recalls how in 2000, the highest court in this nation shut down a recount in Florida. James Baker played no small role in this outcome.
In 2004 GOP political operatives in Ohio, namely Kenneth Blackwell, infinitely hacker friendly and pliable Diebold voting machines and a CEO who promised to deliver Bush to the White House, did indeed guarantee the worst presidency ever known in American history.
In all fairness, Kerry gave up the fight too soon. Had he prevailed and demanded a recount, perhaps we would not be in the ungodly mess we are today. The Supreme Court would have been reluctant to intervene in two elections in a row. Overly aggressive and self-serving politicians can be very dangerous monsters. So can weak and self-satisfied ones.
Now it seems that the GOP demons that took hold of us in 2000 and 2004 are holding us by our throats and will take us straight to hell if we let them.
Many of us have known from the very beginning that W. would be a disaster. He does not and will never possess the character, the integrity, high principles, the intellect or the diplomatic skills required of the highest office on the planet. W. is at best a partisan operative. There is no substance behind the rhetoric. It’s all showmanship and winning at any cost. That’s it. Nothing else exists inside that suit or behind the seemingly steely but in reality, the soulless eyes.
At best we hoped W. would be a do nothing one term president who would do little damage in four years.
But then 9/11 happened and everything changed. The U.S. took a sharp turn and steered far away from the democratic principles that have guided our nation for over 200 years. We entered a new and heretofore unknown era of darkness. Fear overtook hope and optimism. Sinister secrecy overrides transparency. Deception, mendacity, propaganda and illusion are now the standard operating procedural tools used by the White House. Our constitutional rights are seriously compromised. Domestic wiretapping is now the norm. W. and Co. fabricated a war. The principles underlying the rational for going to war are based on lies. Now the war is an abysmal catastrophe that even Daddy’s best and most qualified friends cannot fix.
I wonder why blasts from the 2000 past like James Baker and Sandra Day O’Connor are key players on the ISG committee? Those who were instrumental in visiting Bush upon us are now trying to find a way out of a Bush imposed morass.
Do Baker and O’Connor feel a prick of conscience? Remorse? Or are they merely trying to protect something, which they hold most dear? Their legacies? I mean, who wants to go down in history as delivering the worst and most catastrophic presidency known to this nation so far?
I think Baker, O’Connor and other Bush enablers are terrified for themselves and for all of us. Former President George H.W. Bush may sadly be on the verge of a nervous breakdown because of W.’s perilous fiasco.
For all of their hard work and the distinguished members’ impressive resumes, the ISG offers no concrete viable solutions. Why? Maybe because all committee members are former politicians or held a political or appointed position in Washington. Most of them likely serve on corporate boards.
According to one of the articles posted below, Bush can cherry pick phrases and sentences much like he did the intelligence on Iraq. He can spin parts of the report to maintain his disastrous and vastly unpopular course. Perhaps this is why the former President Bush publicly broke down. Perhaps he is tormented by despair.
So, what’s the solution, as right wingers will always ask me when I criticize the Bush Administration? How do we get out of this mess? The solution, my dear uninformed fellow citizens is to immediately impeach Bush and Cheney. Charge them with crimes against humanity and high treason. Prosecute both men to the full extent of the law.
Bring in the best international diplomats, distinguished Middle East scholars, those who live in the region, understand the cultures, religions and speak the languages; seasoned U.S., British and French military experts (Britain and France know boatloads about failed occupations), and ask them to come up with a plan. Leave politicians and corporate types out of it. All of them. LS
Ken sent a very frank and sobering piece by Fred Kaplan on Slate Magazine.com on the ISG entitled:
“SO MUCH FOR PLAN B”
Excerpts:
So many careers and reputations have been ravaged by Iraq. Even James Baker, the canniest of operators, has now met his Waterloo.
The report of the Iraq Study Group—which Baker co-chaired with Lee Hamilton, that other Wise Man-wannabe—was doomed to fall short of expectations. But who knew it would amount to such an amorphous, equivocal grab bag.
Its outline of a new "diplomatic offensive" is so disjointed that even a willing president would be left puzzled by what precisely to do, and George W. Bush seems far from willing.
Its scheme for a new military strategy contains so many loopholes that a president could cite its language to justify doing anything (or nothing).
”SO MUCH FOR PLAN B" BY FRED KAPLAN
BAKER CAN GO BACK TO HIS DAY JOB ACCORDING TO BUSH
I found this article on CBS News.com via the Huffington Post.com LS
W. TO JIMMY BOY: GO BACK TO YOUR DAY JOB
THE REAL JIMMY BOY BAKER
A journalist in Austin, Mr. Robert Bryce, reminds us of James Baker's role in the outrageous S&L scandals and corruption in the 1980's. I found this piece on Counter Punch.com via Buzz Flash.com LS
Excerpts:
In my book, Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, the Rise of Texas, America's Superstate, I wrote about the S&L mess and Baker's role in it. I quoted William Black, an attorney who helped clean up the S&L mess while working for the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and later, as the deputy director of the Office of Thrift Supervision. Black told me that the Reaganites were "willing to do the most outrageous, unprincipled and dangerous things to maintain the cover up" of the S&L disaster. And said Black, Baker was one of "the centerpieces of this strategy."
To be fair, Congress shares the blame for the S&L meltdown. Jim Wright, the Democratic Speaker of the House worked hard to prevent federal regulators from cracking down on S&Ls in Texas. On the other side of the Capitol building, the Keating Five, a group of senators which included 2008 presidential hopeful John McCain, ran interference on behalf of disgraced S&L boss Charles Keating, the chairman of California-based Lincoln Savings and Loan.
But none of those men were the secretary of the treasury. None of those men had their signatures on American greenbacks. None of those men had the power to appoint aggressive regulators to delve into the unfolding S&L disaster. Baker did. And yet he did nothing.
JAMES BAKER'S ROLE IN THE S&L SCANDALS AND COVERUP
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
THE ABSOLUTE WORST EVER
Now we know beyond a doubt that the war in Iraq is an unmitigated disaster. I also learned today that the Pentagon has been under reporting the real level of violence in Iraq. Am I surprised? Under this administration? Of course not. It has been absolutely essential to the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld crazed and fascistic leaning policies for the American people to be as clueless and as uninformed as possible. The trio has been lying to us since January, 2000 when sworn into office.
The ISG Report was released today. Bottom line – Bush’s neonut policy has visited chaos, carnage and mayhem on the region that could spread throughout the Middle East to include Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel. No one wonder W.’s poor father was reduced to tormented sobs when speaking to a group the other day. As much as I have
criticized the Bush family, it was painful to see an 82 year old man and former President of the U.S. so broken.
The ISG Report from CNN.com:
FINDINGS OF IRAQ STUDY GROUP
TONY BLAIR AGREES WE ARE NOT WINNING IN IRAQ
Our only ally, really, now admits the obvious. LS
From the BBC News.com
BLAIR AGREES WE ARE LOSING IN IRAQ
ARE WE LOSING AFGHANISTAN TOO?
An editorial writer for the New York Times thinks so. LS
Excerpts:
Afghanistan was supposed to be the good war - and the war America was winning. But because of the Bush administration's inattention and mismanagement, even the good war is going wrong.
The latest grim news is that after years of effort - and more than $1 billion spent - Afghanistan's American-trained police force is unable to perform even routine law enforcement work. According to an article in yesterday's Times, investigators for the Pentagon and the State Department found that the training program's managers did not even know how many police officers were serving, while thousands of trucks and other American-purchased police equipment have simply disappeared.
The failure to provide local security - or even a semblance of impartial justice - helps explain why so many Afghans have lost confidence in the pro-Western government of President Hamid Karzai, and why a growing number are again turning to the Taliban for protection. The failure to stand up an effective police force also helps explain why opium cultivation rose by nearly 60 percent this year.
"LOSING THE GOOD WAR"
BUSH SAYS HE WILL CONSIDER THE FINDINGS OF THE ISG REPORT but does he mean it, asks Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post. Mr. Froomkin observes that as long as Bush stays close to Cheney and Rove, it is unlikely he will change any of his views on Iraq. LS
Excerpts:
We'll know for sure once words turn into action. But in the meantime, it strikes me that as long as Vice President Cheney and political guru Karl Rove remain Bush's closest advisers, then the answer is probably not.
Cheney and his loyalists are largely responsible for the deception, delusion and incompetence that brought us to where we are today in Iraq. Rove intentionally turned the war into the most ferocious and divisive of partisan issues. Neither man has shown any sign of remorse.
DAN FROOMKIN ON ISG AND BUSH
GORE,WHO WAS THE TRUE WINNER IN 2000, SAYS IRAQ IS WORST STRATEGY MISTAKE IN U.S. HISTORY. Think about it. Had the recount in Florida taken place as it should have in a real democracy, Gore would have been rightfully installed as President elect. We would most certainly not be in this horrific mess. I wonder how former Justice O'Connor sleeps at night?
Gore says that Bush should realize the disaster in Iraq isn’t about him. That is a tall order, sir. How else does a blatant narcissist see the world but through himself? From Raw Story.com. LS
Excerpts:
"This is an utter disaster," Gore told Today show host Matt Lauer. "This was the worst strategic mistake in the entire history of the United States. And now we, as a nation, have to find a way, in George Mitchell's words, to manage a disaster."
The former Senator from Tennessee, who lost to President Bush in a close election eventually decided by the Supreme Court, expressed hope that the Commander in Chief will recognize that this "isn't all about him."
GORE SAYS IRAQ IS WORST STRATEGY MISTAKE EVER
BRING US BACK TO BASICS, LIKE HAVING OUR LAWMAKERS WORK FOR THEIR SALARIES
Rep. Hoyer says Congress will return to a 5 day work week, a stunning change from the lazy, do nothing, country club loving Republican 2 day work week. Republicans are naturally screaming and are of course accusing Dems of not caring about family life. My advice to lawmakers who run for office, if you don't want to work like the rest of us do, don't run. Move the family to Washington, Virginia or Maryland. Republican indolent whiners fail to understand it should be considered an honor and privilege to serve our nation. Guess they don't get it. From Raw Story.com. LS
"CULTURE SHOCK IN WASHINGTON: HAVING TO ACTUALLY WORK
The ISG Report was released today. Bottom line – Bush’s neonut policy has visited chaos, carnage and mayhem on the region that could spread throughout the Middle East to include Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel. No one wonder W.’s poor father was reduced to tormented sobs when speaking to a group the other day. As much as I have
criticized the Bush family, it was painful to see an 82 year old man and former President of the U.S. so broken.
The ISG Report from CNN.com:
FINDINGS OF IRAQ STUDY GROUP
TONY BLAIR AGREES WE ARE NOT WINNING IN IRAQ
Our only ally, really, now admits the obvious. LS
From the BBC News.com
BLAIR AGREES WE ARE LOSING IN IRAQ
ARE WE LOSING AFGHANISTAN TOO?
An editorial writer for the New York Times thinks so. LS
Excerpts:
Afghanistan was supposed to be the good war - and the war America was winning. But because of the Bush administration's inattention and mismanagement, even the good war is going wrong.
The latest grim news is that after years of effort - and more than $1 billion spent - Afghanistan's American-trained police force is unable to perform even routine law enforcement work. According to an article in yesterday's Times, investigators for the Pentagon and the State Department found that the training program's managers did not even know how many police officers were serving, while thousands of trucks and other American-purchased police equipment have simply disappeared.
The failure to provide local security - or even a semblance of impartial justice - helps explain why so many Afghans have lost confidence in the pro-Western government of President Hamid Karzai, and why a growing number are again turning to the Taliban for protection. The failure to stand up an effective police force also helps explain why opium cultivation rose by nearly 60 percent this year.
"LOSING THE GOOD WAR"
BUSH SAYS HE WILL CONSIDER THE FINDINGS OF THE ISG REPORT but does he mean it, asks Dan Froomkin of the Washington Post. Mr. Froomkin observes that as long as Bush stays close to Cheney and Rove, it is unlikely he will change any of his views on Iraq. LS
Excerpts:
We'll know for sure once words turn into action. But in the meantime, it strikes me that as long as Vice President Cheney and political guru Karl Rove remain Bush's closest advisers, then the answer is probably not.
Cheney and his loyalists are largely responsible for the deception, delusion and incompetence that brought us to where we are today in Iraq. Rove intentionally turned the war into the most ferocious and divisive of partisan issues. Neither man has shown any sign of remorse.
DAN FROOMKIN ON ISG AND BUSH
GORE,WHO WAS THE TRUE WINNER IN 2000, SAYS IRAQ IS WORST STRATEGY MISTAKE IN U.S. HISTORY. Think about it. Had the recount in Florida taken place as it should have in a real democracy, Gore would have been rightfully installed as President elect. We would most certainly not be in this horrific mess. I wonder how former Justice O'Connor sleeps at night?
Gore says that Bush should realize the disaster in Iraq isn’t about him. That is a tall order, sir. How else does a blatant narcissist see the world but through himself? From Raw Story.com. LS
Excerpts:
"This is an utter disaster," Gore told Today show host Matt Lauer. "This was the worst strategic mistake in the entire history of the United States. And now we, as a nation, have to find a way, in George Mitchell's words, to manage a disaster."
The former Senator from Tennessee, who lost to President Bush in a close election eventually decided by the Supreme Court, expressed hope that the Commander in Chief will recognize that this "isn't all about him."
GORE SAYS IRAQ IS WORST STRATEGY MISTAKE EVER
BRING US BACK TO BASICS, LIKE HAVING OUR LAWMAKERS WORK FOR THEIR SALARIES
Rep. Hoyer says Congress will return to a 5 day work week, a stunning change from the lazy, do nothing, country club loving Republican 2 day work week. Republicans are naturally screaming and are of course accusing Dems of not caring about family life. My advice to lawmakers who run for office, if you don't want to work like the rest of us do, don't run. Move the family to Washington, Virginia or Maryland. Republican indolent whiners fail to understand it should be considered an honor and privilege to serve our nation. Guess they don't get it. From Raw Story.com. LS
"CULTURE SHOCK IN WASHINGTON: HAVING TO ACTUALLY WORK
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Do Nothing Iraq Study Group
Another blast from the past. Following six years of a do-nothing Congress we will soon learn we also have a do nothing Iraq Study Group.
Many in the know believe the ISG is nothing more than a mere damage control device for the Bush Administration and the Bush family legacy. When one considers that some of the players are retreads from the Iran Contra era, it should give one pause. What are they trying to protect this time? Money of course. And then what?
The Bush’s will go down in history as the despicable and incompetent folks they truly are. Even Jimmy Boy Baker won’t be able to fix this mess for Daddy and Junior, no matter how hard the family consigliore tries, beats, bullies and bribes.
Below are stories one will not likely see in the mainstream media, at least for a week. LS
From Common Dreams.org
ISG: MERE DAMAGE CONTROL?
Excerpts:
The group's composition gives the game away. Chaired by James Baker, the famed political operative and former secretary of state, and Lee Hamilton, former congressman and fixture on various blue-ribbon commissions, it contains no one who could be even remotely described as entertaining unorthodox opinions or maverick tendencies.
Instead, it consists of Beltway luminaries such as retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and lobbyist Vernon Jordan. No member is now an elected official. Neither do its ranks include any Iraq war veterans, family members of soldiers killed in Iraq, or anyone identified with the antiwar movement. None possesses specialized knowledge of Islam or the Middle East.
Charging this crowd with assessing the Iraq war is like convening a committee of Roman Catholic bishops to investigate the church's clergy sex-abuse scandal. Even without explicit instructions, the group's members know which questions not to ask and which remedies not to advance. Sadly, the average Catholic's traditional deference to the church hierarchy finds its counterpart in the average American's deference to "experts" when it comes to foreign policy. The ISG exemplifies the result: a befuddled, but essentially passive-electorate looks for guidance to a small group of unelected insiders reflecting a narrow range of views and operating largely behind closed doors.
"Iraq Panel's Real Agenda: Damage Control"
From Newsweek.com
"A BUST IN BAKERSVILLE"
The author, Mr. Michael Hirsh suggests the group's findings are doomed, in part, because W. will ignore any plans that are not in synch with his neocon ideology. For one thing, Bush will refuse to meet with “evil doers” in Iran and Syria. Additionally, Mr. Hirsh writes that the study group will “fudge” on the issue of troop strength and withdrawal, which means many officials in both Iraq and Washington will dismiss the report as soon as it is issued. Senator Biden has already said he will hold hearings on Iraq as soon as the 110th Congress convenes when he takes over the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Mr. Hirsh says this group is practicing the worst kind of cover-your-backside-politics in Washington. I could not agree more. Plain ol' rotten begets plain ol' rotten. LS
BUSH IN BAKERSVILLE
TIME MAGAZINE: BUSH'S FIVE FATAL MISTAKES
As far as I am concerned, the first fatal mistake was made in 2000 when the Supreme Court visited this monster called W. upon us. LS
BUSH'S FIVE FATAL MISTAKES IN THE MIDDLE EAST
GOOD NEWS FINALLY AFTER SIX YEARS OF GOP CORRUPTION, LYING, RIGGED ELECTIONS, CHEATING, STEALING, INCOMPETENCE AND INEPTITUDE
Ken sent this great article written by Sidney Blumenthal for Salon.com today. Adios Rove. LS
From Ken:
Nothing is certain at this point in terms of where the country goes after 11/7/06, but in this article Sidney Blumenthal looks at the possibilities.
Here's a very gee-whiz fact for you: The Democratic advantage over Republicans in state legislatures went from 15 seats (3,650 versus 3,635) to 662 seats (3,985 versus 3,323), with gains in every region. Who knew? That's a very big deal.
And here's very good news for Progressives. Back in the 60's we were always aware that the Democrats had a deal with the devil, in that the powerful Southern Dems in congress were necessary to keeping the majority, but were completely opposed to the progressive ideals that embodied the Democratic party, such as voting rights and civil rights. In fact, it took a Southern Democrat, LBJ, to force these things through congress, and in doing so he had to admit that the Democrats had lost the South. But now, as Blumenthal points out below, "In January, when the 110th Congress is sworn in, it will be the first Congress since the 83rd Republican Congress (swept into office on Eisenhower's coattails) in which the majority party in both chambers is a minority party in the South. While there will be Southerners in the Democratic Congress, their presence is not that of a unitary bloc threatening progressive legislation." -K
"GENERATION DEM"
Many in the know believe the ISG is nothing more than a mere damage control device for the Bush Administration and the Bush family legacy. When one considers that some of the players are retreads from the Iran Contra era, it should give one pause. What are they trying to protect this time? Money of course. And then what?
The Bush’s will go down in history as the despicable and incompetent folks they truly are. Even Jimmy Boy Baker won’t be able to fix this mess for Daddy and Junior, no matter how hard the family consigliore tries, beats, bullies and bribes.
Below are stories one will not likely see in the mainstream media, at least for a week. LS
From Common Dreams.org
ISG: MERE DAMAGE CONTROL?
Excerpts:
The group's composition gives the game away. Chaired by James Baker, the famed political operative and former secretary of state, and Lee Hamilton, former congressman and fixture on various blue-ribbon commissions, it contains no one who could be even remotely described as entertaining unorthodox opinions or maverick tendencies.
Instead, it consists of Beltway luminaries such as retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and lobbyist Vernon Jordan. No member is now an elected official. Neither do its ranks include any Iraq war veterans, family members of soldiers killed in Iraq, or anyone identified with the antiwar movement. None possesses specialized knowledge of Islam or the Middle East.
Charging this crowd with assessing the Iraq war is like convening a committee of Roman Catholic bishops to investigate the church's clergy sex-abuse scandal. Even without explicit instructions, the group's members know which questions not to ask and which remedies not to advance. Sadly, the average Catholic's traditional deference to the church hierarchy finds its counterpart in the average American's deference to "experts" when it comes to foreign policy. The ISG exemplifies the result: a befuddled, but essentially passive-electorate looks for guidance to a small group of unelected insiders reflecting a narrow range of views and operating largely behind closed doors.
"Iraq Panel's Real Agenda: Damage Control"
From Newsweek.com
"A BUST IN BAKERSVILLE"
The author, Mr. Michael Hirsh suggests the group's findings are doomed, in part, because W. will ignore any plans that are not in synch with his neocon ideology. For one thing, Bush will refuse to meet with “evil doers” in Iran and Syria. Additionally, Mr. Hirsh writes that the study group will “fudge” on the issue of troop strength and withdrawal, which means many officials in both Iraq and Washington will dismiss the report as soon as it is issued. Senator Biden has already said he will hold hearings on Iraq as soon as the 110th Congress convenes when he takes over the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Mr. Hirsh says this group is practicing the worst kind of cover-your-backside-politics in Washington. I could not agree more. Plain ol' rotten begets plain ol' rotten. LS
BUSH IN BAKERSVILLE
TIME MAGAZINE: BUSH'S FIVE FATAL MISTAKES
As far as I am concerned, the first fatal mistake was made in 2000 when the Supreme Court visited this monster called W. upon us. LS
BUSH'S FIVE FATAL MISTAKES IN THE MIDDLE EAST
GOOD NEWS FINALLY AFTER SIX YEARS OF GOP CORRUPTION, LYING, RIGGED ELECTIONS, CHEATING, STEALING, INCOMPETENCE AND INEPTITUDE
Ken sent this great article written by Sidney Blumenthal for Salon.com today. Adios Rove. LS
From Ken:
Nothing is certain at this point in terms of where the country goes after 11/7/06, but in this article Sidney Blumenthal looks at the possibilities.
Here's a very gee-whiz fact for you: The Democratic advantage over Republicans in state legislatures went from 15 seats (3,650 versus 3,635) to 662 seats (3,985 versus 3,323), with gains in every region. Who knew? That's a very big deal.
And here's very good news for Progressives. Back in the 60's we were always aware that the Democrats had a deal with the devil, in that the powerful Southern Dems in congress were necessary to keeping the majority, but were completely opposed to the progressive ideals that embodied the Democratic party, such as voting rights and civil rights. In fact, it took a Southern Democrat, LBJ, to force these things through congress, and in doing so he had to admit that the Democrats had lost the South. But now, as Blumenthal points out below, "In January, when the 110th Congress is sworn in, it will be the first Congress since the 83rd Republican Congress (swept into office on Eisenhower's coattails) in which the majority party in both chambers is a minority party in the South. While there will be Southerners in the Democratic Congress, their presence is not that of a unitary bloc threatening progressive legislation." -K
"GENERATION DEM"
Monday, November 20, 2006
ON THE REPUBLI-CAN'TS
I noticed an interesting new noun and verb combo while viewing CNN last week when Jack Cafferty aired his solicited comments on “The Situation Room” news segment about the dormant Congressional Ethics Committee.
The new word is an interesting one because it is brutally honest, in my humble opinion. It is “republicants”
History and experience have proven the Republi-can’ts do winnable wars, manage natural national disasters, keep their noses out of our bedrooms or health-life decisions about whether one’s loved one should continue to live or not in a vegetative state. Nor can Republi-can’ts work for the people who elected them, especially the middle class They have demonstrated they can work for the extremely wealthy, lobbyists and corporate interests. Worse, recent indictments and trials have given us sneak previews of how the GOP certainly cannot keep its hands out of the cookie jar, either.
The fact that we have a non-functioning and non-engaged Ethics Committee should tell us the obvious. There has been no government oversight whatsoever for years. This is bad news in era pervaded by insidious corruption, glaring ineptitude and one party rule. Will there be a crumb left in the cookie jar? I am beginning to wonder.
W’s. approval rating is at 31% and Cheney says it does not matter that Democrats have taken over the Senate and House. The Bush/Cheney strategy (or lack thereof except for the fact that Iraq is a great money making opportunity for Halliburton) will not change. Such spiteful arrogance and who-gives-a-flip-what-voters-think attitude smells like a dictatorial soup to me. It does not matter what the majority of Americans want. The B and C team are calling the shots.
For six long and very dark years these two goons have been enabled and supported by spineless rubberstamps in both the House and Senate. Fortunately the Democrats are back in town and they will usher in a return to checks, balances and oversight. Our federal government will be returned to its healthy and fully functioning role as intended by our founding fathers.
LET THE HEARINGS BEGIN
“DEMOCRATS PROBE BILLIONS LOST TO BAGHDAD CORRUPTION”
The corruption in Iraq is as rampart and pervasive as it is here at home. Sadly for Jane and Joe America the billions lost is our hard earned tax dollars. Ken sent this disturbing but not surprising piece from the London Sunday Times Online yesterday.
Excerpts:
Stoffel, a former intelligence analyst, had hoped to make a fortune by selling ex-Soviet military parts to refit Saddam Hussein’s abandoned tanks and armoured vehicles for the new Iraqi army. But he was also an idealist who turned whistleblower when he learnt that Iraqis in the defence ministry and arms industry expected huge kickbacks for their help.
In a prophetic e-mail, Stoffel wrote to an American colonel he knew in Iraq: “If we proceed down the road we are currently on, there will be serious legal issues that will land us all in jail. There is no oversight of the money and if/when something goes wrong, regardless of how clean our hands are, heads will roll and it will be the heads of those that are reachable, and the people who are supposed to know better (US — citizens, military etc.)”
Three days before his death he met John Shaw, then a senior Pentagon official, whose office was investigating fraud in Iraq. Shaw describes the Stoffel case as “the first public indication of the seriousness and institutional depth of corruption in Iraq”. Shaw is convinced that “in time, we will discover a pervasive pattern of cover-ups along with revelations of corruption”.
DEMOCRATS PROBE BILLIONS LOST TO CORRUPTION IN IRAQ
REPUBLICAN’TS WIN SO THEY MUST STEAL
It comes as no surprise to me that the GOP must steal elections in order to stay in power. This piece on the 2006 stolen landslide can be found on the Election Defense Alliance.org web site.
2006: A STOLEN LANDSLIDE
BUSH INSIDERS AND SUPPORTERS ARE VERY BITTER
Bush’s buddies can’t seem to put enough distance between themselves and W. Too bad, so sad dudes. Reasoned and rational Democrats tried to warn you about the B and C team ideologues. Did you listen? Alas no. You instead savaged and spurned the messengers of truth. The GOP blame game begins in earnest.
Ken sent this piece from The Washington Post.
Excerpts:
Forty-three months later, the cakewalk looks more like a death march, and Adelman has broken with the Bush team. He had an angry falling-out with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld this fall. He and Cheney are no longer on speaking terms. And he believes that "the president is ultimately responsible" for what Adelman now calls "the debacle that was Iraq."
Adelman, a former Reagan administration official and onetime member of the Iraq war brain trust, is only the latest voice from inside the Bush circle to speak out against the president or his policies. Heading into the final chapter of his presidency, fresh from the sting of a midterm election defeat, Bush finds himself with fewer and fewer friends. Some of the strongest supporters of the war have grown disenchanted, former insiders are registering public dissent and Republicans on Capitol Hill blame him for losing Congress.
”EMBITTERED INSIDERS TURN AGAINST BUSH"
TEXAS REPUBLICANS SEND ANOTHER HAMMER WANNABE TO WASHINGTON BUT THE DOCTOR IS APPARENTLY SO MEAN AND ABUSIVE THAT DELAY'S FORMER STAFF IMMEDIATELY FLED.
This woman is a dermatologist who obviously lacks a proper bedside manner. I wouldn’t want to be down under and asleep while she wielded a scalpel. Don’t’ miss the love fest between her, Bush and the adoring rubberstamp numero uno Senator Hutchison in the Houston Chronicle’s photo.
ANOTHER MEAN AND NASTY TEXAS REPUBLICAN DESCENDS UPON WASHINGTON
The new word is an interesting one because it is brutally honest, in my humble opinion. It is “republicants”
History and experience have proven the Republi-can’ts do winnable wars, manage natural national disasters, keep their noses out of our bedrooms or health-life decisions about whether one’s loved one should continue to live or not in a vegetative state. Nor can Republi-can’ts work for the people who elected them, especially the middle class They have demonstrated they can work for the extremely wealthy, lobbyists and corporate interests. Worse, recent indictments and trials have given us sneak previews of how the GOP certainly cannot keep its hands out of the cookie jar, either.
The fact that we have a non-functioning and non-engaged Ethics Committee should tell us the obvious. There has been no government oversight whatsoever for years. This is bad news in era pervaded by insidious corruption, glaring ineptitude and one party rule. Will there be a crumb left in the cookie jar? I am beginning to wonder.
W’s. approval rating is at 31% and Cheney says it does not matter that Democrats have taken over the Senate and House. The Bush/Cheney strategy (or lack thereof except for the fact that Iraq is a great money making opportunity for Halliburton) will not change. Such spiteful arrogance and who-gives-a-flip-what-voters-think attitude smells like a dictatorial soup to me. It does not matter what the majority of Americans want. The B and C team are calling the shots.
For six long and very dark years these two goons have been enabled and supported by spineless rubberstamps in both the House and Senate. Fortunately the Democrats are back in town and they will usher in a return to checks, balances and oversight. Our federal government will be returned to its healthy and fully functioning role as intended by our founding fathers.
LET THE HEARINGS BEGIN
“DEMOCRATS PROBE BILLIONS LOST TO BAGHDAD CORRUPTION”
The corruption in Iraq is as rampart and pervasive as it is here at home. Sadly for Jane and Joe America the billions lost is our hard earned tax dollars. Ken sent this disturbing but not surprising piece from the London Sunday Times Online yesterday.
Excerpts:
Stoffel, a former intelligence analyst, had hoped to make a fortune by selling ex-Soviet military parts to refit Saddam Hussein’s abandoned tanks and armoured vehicles for the new Iraqi army. But he was also an idealist who turned whistleblower when he learnt that Iraqis in the defence ministry and arms industry expected huge kickbacks for their help.
In a prophetic e-mail, Stoffel wrote to an American colonel he knew in Iraq: “If we proceed down the road we are currently on, there will be serious legal issues that will land us all in jail. There is no oversight of the money and if/when something goes wrong, regardless of how clean our hands are, heads will roll and it will be the heads of those that are reachable, and the people who are supposed to know better (US — citizens, military etc.)”
Three days before his death he met John Shaw, then a senior Pentagon official, whose office was investigating fraud in Iraq. Shaw describes the Stoffel case as “the first public indication of the seriousness and institutional depth of corruption in Iraq”. Shaw is convinced that “in time, we will discover a pervasive pattern of cover-ups along with revelations of corruption”.
DEMOCRATS PROBE BILLIONS LOST TO CORRUPTION IN IRAQ
REPUBLICAN’TS WIN SO THEY MUST STEAL
It comes as no surprise to me that the GOP must steal elections in order to stay in power. This piece on the 2006 stolen landslide can be found on the Election Defense Alliance.org web site.
2006: A STOLEN LANDSLIDE
BUSH INSIDERS AND SUPPORTERS ARE VERY BITTER
Bush’s buddies can’t seem to put enough distance between themselves and W. Too bad, so sad dudes. Reasoned and rational Democrats tried to warn you about the B and C team ideologues. Did you listen? Alas no. You instead savaged and spurned the messengers of truth. The GOP blame game begins in earnest.
Ken sent this piece from The Washington Post.
Excerpts:
Forty-three months later, the cakewalk looks more like a death march, and Adelman has broken with the Bush team. He had an angry falling-out with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld this fall. He and Cheney are no longer on speaking terms. And he believes that "the president is ultimately responsible" for what Adelman now calls "the debacle that was Iraq."
Adelman, a former Reagan administration official and onetime member of the Iraq war brain trust, is only the latest voice from inside the Bush circle to speak out against the president or his policies. Heading into the final chapter of his presidency, fresh from the sting of a midterm election defeat, Bush finds himself with fewer and fewer friends. Some of the strongest supporters of the war have grown disenchanted, former insiders are registering public dissent and Republicans on Capitol Hill blame him for losing Congress.
”EMBITTERED INSIDERS TURN AGAINST BUSH"
TEXAS REPUBLICANS SEND ANOTHER HAMMER WANNABE TO WASHINGTON BUT THE DOCTOR IS APPARENTLY SO MEAN AND ABUSIVE THAT DELAY'S FORMER STAFF IMMEDIATELY FLED.
This woman is a dermatologist who obviously lacks a proper bedside manner. I wouldn’t want to be down under and asleep while she wielded a scalpel. Don’t’ miss the love fest between her, Bush and the adoring rubberstamp numero uno Senator Hutchison in the Houston Chronicle’s photo.
ANOTHER MEAN AND NASTY TEXAS REPUBLICAN DESCENDS UPON WASHINGTON
Thursday, November 09, 2006
WE THREW THE BUMS OUT
I had to pinch myself all day yesterday to make sure I was not dreaming. We did it, America! We threw the bums out! We took back our House and Senate! After six long years of darkness and despair, we went to the polls and exerted our power to fire corrupted, incompetent, morally reprehensible and lazy lawmakers. No amount of GOP gerrymandering, dirty tricks, rigged machines, voter suppression and intimidation kept us from exercising our constitutional right to be heard. We stood firm for the nation our founding fathers had established. Future generations will thank us for putting the brakes on the Bush Administration. Volumes will most likely be written about this era of darkness. Absolute volumes.
There are so many to thank in helping us achieve this amazing outcome, it not miracle. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Air America Radio for letting the voice of freedom ring loud and clear. This was so crucial during the time when Bush deception and spin could confuse and manipulate even the most sage and reasoned. The press and media naturally get an F, but after it became apparent Iraq is a fiasco and the seemingly endless scandals continued to erupt from the Party of Corruption, journalists had finally begun to smell the stench spewing from the sewer.
Huge kudos to the genius of Howard Dean, Rahm Emanuel and Chuck Schumer whose campaign strategies were obviously a smashing success.
Bold on line news organizations, blogs and bloggers such as The Huffington Post, Raw Story.com, Buzz Flash.com, the Brad Blog, Salon.com, Truthout.org, Firedoglake.com, Daily Kos, Move On.org, to name a few, were and are still are my lifelines for information. Mainstream newspapers such as The New York Times and Washington Post had finally awakened from its post 9/11 slumber and returned to the business of reporting the news, even if the news is critical of the Bush Administration.
Lou Dobbs of CNN bravely and doggedly exposed the GOP’s cynical and inept policies on his show through his “War On The Middle Class” and “Our Broken Borders” series. John King did the same with his expose on “Our Broken Government.”
Keith Olbermann is the first mainstream cable news anchor who possessed the courage to stridently and routinely inform his viewers about Bush’s deplorable tactics and outright lies on a number of levels. Colossal thanks to gifted comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. These comedians ironically behave more as news anchors than some of the “real” and professional news people. Stewart and Colbert make us laugh as we learn how bad things really are in a country driven by Bush radical and neoconservative ideology.
Thanks, too, to those who had served in the Bush Administration, such as Paul O’Neill and Richard Clarke for exposing their grim and troubling experiences by writing or having books written (“The Price of Loyalty,” and “Against All Enemies”). These men, both Republicans, got the boot for refusing to put politics ahead of policy.
No amount of spin, lies, distortion, departures from reality, fear, smear, propaganda machines such as Fox News, Rush and the other right wing scream machines, money and power could prevent us from knowing the truth. We threw the bums out while we still had the constitutional right to do so. Cheney’s probable secret dream to wrest our right to vote from us somehow is now toast.
Most of all, mammoth thanks to every campaign volunteer whether one stuffed envelopes, block walked, organized events, donated money, drove folks to the polls, made phone calls, wrote letters to newspaper editors or blogged for a candidate.
It is we the little people who make the seemingly impossible possible. 79 million of us voted on Tuesday. The GOP harassing and deceitful robocalls, intimidation in Virginia and other places, the long lines, the chaos with voting machines in some areas and foul weather in others did not deter us. We did what we knew we had to do.
WE THREW THE BUMS OUT
There are so many to thank in helping us achieve this amazing outcome, it not miracle. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Air America Radio for letting the voice of freedom ring loud and clear. This was so crucial during the time when Bush deception and spin could confuse and manipulate even the most sage and reasoned. The press and media naturally get an F, but after it became apparent Iraq is a fiasco and the seemingly endless scandals continued to erupt from the Party of Corruption, journalists had finally begun to smell the stench spewing from the sewer.
Huge kudos to the genius of Howard Dean, Rahm Emanuel and Chuck Schumer whose campaign strategies were obviously a smashing success.
Bold on line news organizations, blogs and bloggers such as The Huffington Post, Raw Story.com, Buzz Flash.com, the Brad Blog, Salon.com, Truthout.org, Firedoglake.com, Daily Kos, Move On.org, to name a few, were and are still are my lifelines for information. Mainstream newspapers such as The New York Times and Washington Post had finally awakened from its post 9/11 slumber and returned to the business of reporting the news, even if the news is critical of the Bush Administration.
Lou Dobbs of CNN bravely and doggedly exposed the GOP’s cynical and inept policies on his show through his “War On The Middle Class” and “Our Broken Borders” series. John King did the same with his expose on “Our Broken Government.”
Keith Olbermann is the first mainstream cable news anchor who possessed the courage to stridently and routinely inform his viewers about Bush’s deplorable tactics and outright lies on a number of levels. Colossal thanks to gifted comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. These comedians ironically behave more as news anchors than some of the “real” and professional news people. Stewart and Colbert make us laugh as we learn how bad things really are in a country driven by Bush radical and neoconservative ideology.
Thanks, too, to those who had served in the Bush Administration, such as Paul O’Neill and Richard Clarke for exposing their grim and troubling experiences by writing or having books written (“The Price of Loyalty,” and “Against All Enemies”). These men, both Republicans, got the boot for refusing to put politics ahead of policy.
No amount of spin, lies, distortion, departures from reality, fear, smear, propaganda machines such as Fox News, Rush and the other right wing scream machines, money and power could prevent us from knowing the truth. We threw the bums out while we still had the constitutional right to do so. Cheney’s probable secret dream to wrest our right to vote from us somehow is now toast.
Most of all, mammoth thanks to every campaign volunteer whether one stuffed envelopes, block walked, organized events, donated money, drove folks to the polls, made phone calls, wrote letters to newspaper editors or blogged for a candidate.
It is we the little people who make the seemingly impossible possible. 79 million of us voted on Tuesday. The GOP harassing and deceitful robocalls, intimidation in Virginia and other places, the long lines, the chaos with voting machines in some areas and foul weather in others did not deter us. We did what we knew we had to do.
WE THREW THE BUMS OUT
Sunday, November 05, 2006
GOP LOVE FEST WITH MONEY AND FAILURE
I honestly don’t know why anyone with even a half of a brain would vote for any Republican. They have been in power for 12 years and what do they have to show for it? 9/11 happened under their watch. The party can scream, vent, rant, blame Bill, fabricate, attack, twist and distort reality all they want but bottom line, 9/11 happened on Bush’s and the Republican’s watch.
Next Bush and his spineless rubber stamping Republican Congress invade the wrong country for bogus reasons. We have to stay the course until weeks prior to the election and suddenly there is no course to stay. Clueless and/or lazy Senators, including Hutchison failed to read the intelligence and fixated instead on Saddam the boogie man and make believe WMD.
Meanwhile, back in the mountains, the Taliban are regrouping in the area we should have focused on in the first place – Afghanistan. Osama is freely frolicking in the mountains, most likely between his old digs in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Cheney, Rumsfeld, Halliburton and KBR are probably the only clowns on the planet who are happy about the war in Iraq. They are laughing all the way to the bank.
This party of pimps led by Tom Delay enabled the likes of Abramoff to corrupt and soil our government. It has allowed a homosexual predator to prey upon young male pages. The party of quintessential hypocrites that preach the virtues of family values and rail against gay marriage now reveal that one of its very own outspoken evangelical religious leaders routinely consorted with a drug using male prostitute.
We have seen how well this party of ineptitude has performed when our nation was hit by Katrina. We got the message: go it alone.
The party of greed mongers is so embedded with corporate interests that it no longer works for we the people.
Texas senior Senator Hutchison is a prime example. As I mentioned in a previous diary, she is the biggest recipient of oil and gas money in Congress. Take a peek at her voting record where oil and gas issues are concerned and learn how it works in the Republican cesspool called Washington.
No on $3.1 billion for emergency oil assistance for hurricane hit areas (10/05).
No on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (6/05)
No on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (3/05)
No on removing consideration of drilling ANWR from budget bill (3/03)
Yes on terminating CAFE standards within 15 months (3/02)
Yes on de-funding renewal and solar energy (6/99)
No on including oil & gas smokestacks in mercury regulations (9/05)
No on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore. (3/05)
Now, how does Senator Hutchison vote on issues that directly impact her constituents?
On Jobs:
No on raising the minimum wage to $7.25 rather than $6.25 (3/05)
Yes on killing an increase in the minimum wage (11/99)
Yes on repealing Clinton’s ergonomic rules on repetitive stress (3/01)
On Crime:
No on $1.15 billion per year to continue the COPS program (5/99)
Yes on limiting product liability punitive damage awards (3/96)
Yes on restricting class-action lawsuits (12/95)
On Education:
No on $5B for grants to local educational agencies (10/05)
No on shifting $11B for corporate tax loopholes to education (3/05)
No on spending $448B of tax cut on education and debt reduction
Yes on $75M for abstinence education
On Healthcare:
No on negotiating bulk purchases for Medicare prescription drugs (3/05)
No on allowing reimportation of Rx drugs from Canada (7/02)
No on allowing patients to sue HMO’s and collect punitive damages (6/01)
No on including prescription drugs under Medicare.
No on increasing tobacco restrictions (6/98)
On Government Reform:
Yes on allowing lobbyist gifts to Congress (3/06)
No on establishing the Senate Office of Public Integrity (3/06)
No on banning soft money contributions and restricting issue ads (2/02)
Military, War and Peace Issues:
No on $47B for military by repealing capital gains tax cut (2/06)
No on redeployment of troops out of Iraq by July 2007 (6/06)
No on investigating award contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan (11/05)
There you have it. It is obvious who Senator Hutchison works for.
Not only does the senior Senator fail to work for Texans, her voting record tells me she doesn’t like us very much either.
Sources:
Voting Record: KBH VOTING RECORD
Donations: KBH DONORS
Thank goodness we have such an awesome choice this election in Texas. Vote for a cynical do nothing rubber stamp, Bush, and oil loving Senator or vote for a jewel of a candidate who will bring real and desperately needed change to Washington. We need to take our government back from the Republicans who have failed us so miserably over the past twelve years.
Barbara Ann Radnofsky is brilliant. No one owns her. She would actually read the intelligence reports. Imagine that. She would read every piece of legislation, too. As a lawyer, Barbara Ann is used to complex language and its nuances. As a professional mediator, Radnofsky would naturally reach across the aisle and work with her colleagues the way our elected officials are supposed to. It is time to send a woman of substance and quality to Washington to do the work of we the people.
Next Bush and his spineless rubber stamping Republican Congress invade the wrong country for bogus reasons. We have to stay the course until weeks prior to the election and suddenly there is no course to stay. Clueless and/or lazy Senators, including Hutchison failed to read the intelligence and fixated instead on Saddam the boogie man and make believe WMD.
Meanwhile, back in the mountains, the Taliban are regrouping in the area we should have focused on in the first place – Afghanistan. Osama is freely frolicking in the mountains, most likely between his old digs in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Cheney, Rumsfeld, Halliburton and KBR are probably the only clowns on the planet who are happy about the war in Iraq. They are laughing all the way to the bank.
This party of pimps led by Tom Delay enabled the likes of Abramoff to corrupt and soil our government. It has allowed a homosexual predator to prey upon young male pages. The party of quintessential hypocrites that preach the virtues of family values and rail against gay marriage now reveal that one of its very own outspoken evangelical religious leaders routinely consorted with a drug using male prostitute.
We have seen how well this party of ineptitude has performed when our nation was hit by Katrina. We got the message: go it alone.
The party of greed mongers is so embedded with corporate interests that it no longer works for we the people.
Texas senior Senator Hutchison is a prime example. As I mentioned in a previous diary, she is the biggest recipient of oil and gas money in Congress. Take a peek at her voting record where oil and gas issues are concerned and learn how it works in the Republican cesspool called Washington.
No on $3.1 billion for emergency oil assistance for hurricane hit areas (10/05).
No on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (6/05)
No on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (3/05)
No on removing consideration of drilling ANWR from budget bill (3/03)
Yes on terminating CAFE standards within 15 months (3/02)
Yes on de-funding renewal and solar energy (6/99)
No on including oil & gas smokestacks in mercury regulations (9/05)
No on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore. (3/05)
Now, how does Senator Hutchison vote on issues that directly impact her constituents?
On Jobs:
No on raising the minimum wage to $7.25 rather than $6.25 (3/05)
Yes on killing an increase in the minimum wage (11/99)
Yes on repealing Clinton’s ergonomic rules on repetitive stress (3/01)
On Crime:
No on $1.15 billion per year to continue the COPS program (5/99)
Yes on limiting product liability punitive damage awards (3/96)
Yes on restricting class-action lawsuits (12/95)
On Education:
No on $5B for grants to local educational agencies (10/05)
No on shifting $11B for corporate tax loopholes to education (3/05)
No on spending $448B of tax cut on education and debt reduction
Yes on $75M for abstinence education
On Healthcare:
No on negotiating bulk purchases for Medicare prescription drugs (3/05)
No on allowing reimportation of Rx drugs from Canada (7/02)
No on allowing patients to sue HMO’s and collect punitive damages (6/01)
No on including prescription drugs under Medicare.
No on increasing tobacco restrictions (6/98)
On Government Reform:
Yes on allowing lobbyist gifts to Congress (3/06)
No on establishing the Senate Office of Public Integrity (3/06)
No on banning soft money contributions and restricting issue ads (2/02)
Military, War and Peace Issues:
No on $47B for military by repealing capital gains tax cut (2/06)
No on redeployment of troops out of Iraq by July 2007 (6/06)
No on investigating award contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan (11/05)
There you have it. It is obvious who Senator Hutchison works for.
Not only does the senior Senator fail to work for Texans, her voting record tells me she doesn’t like us very much either.
Sources:
Voting Record: KBH VOTING RECORD
Donations: KBH DONORS
Thank goodness we have such an awesome choice this election in Texas. Vote for a cynical do nothing rubber stamp, Bush, and oil loving Senator or vote for a jewel of a candidate who will bring real and desperately needed change to Washington. We need to take our government back from the Republicans who have failed us so miserably over the past twelve years.
Barbara Ann Radnofsky is brilliant. No one owns her. She would actually read the intelligence reports. Imagine that. She would read every piece of legislation, too. As a lawyer, Barbara Ann is used to complex language and its nuances. As a professional mediator, Radnofsky would naturally reach across the aisle and work with her colleagues the way our elected officials are supposed to. It is time to send a woman of substance and quality to Washington to do the work of we the people.
Monday, October 30, 2006
NEWSPAPERS GET IT
The nation's press is finally awake. Many newspapers, including some in red hot red states endorse Democratic candidates. In Florida, 22 newspapers endorse Katharine Harris's opponent. And, for the first time since Nixon, the New York Times endorses no GOP candidate. LS
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
THE HUFFINGTON POST LIST OF NEWSPAPERS
NELSON RECEIVES ENDORSEMENTS FROM ALL NEWSPAPERS IN FLORIDA
NEW YORK TIMES ENDORSES NO GOP CANDIDATE
THE ENDLESS LIST OF GOP SLEAZE AND SLIME
The RNC accepted a generous donation from one of the nation's largest producers of gay porn.
RNC DONATION FROM PRODUCER OF GAY PORN
OHIO'S BLACKWELL GETS DESPERATE AS HE TRAILS BEHIND OPPONENT
Blackwell panders to the far right by suggesting his opponent is gay.
DESPERADO BLACKWELL WAITING FOR A TRAIN THAT AIN'T COMING
GOP DIRTY TRICKS BACKFIRE
A newspaper in Wisconsin says GOP manipulations may backfire in election.
Excerpts:
By pumping up voter hatred of gay people and blood lust for the death penalty, Republicans hoped to turn out many more voters who are ready to vote against Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle as well.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the polls.
The backlash against the Republicans on those issues seems to be doing much more to organize progressives and reasonable folks in the middle to turn out voters on the other side.
Even more surprising, perhaps, homophobia and hanging 'em high seem to be losing the power to drive right-wing voters to the polls. It's true that most public opinion polls show a slight majority in favor of both restoring the death penalty and in opposition to gay marriage. But the small size of that majority is surprising in itself.
FED UP WITH GOP DIRTY TRICKS
AND THE INEVITABLE GOP INCOMPETENCE.
The GAO Chief warns of impending economic disaster. The outcome in no small part, no doubt, of generous tax cuts for the extremely wealthy and the GOP's penchant for throwing our hard earned tax dollars into the sewer.
Excerpts:
What they don't talk about is a dirty little secret everyone in Washington knows, or at least should. The vast majority of economists and budget analysts agree: The ship of state is on a disastrous course, and will founder on the reefs of economic disaster if nothing is done to correct it.
There's a good reason politicians don't like to talk about the nation's long-term fiscal prospects. The subject is short on political theatrics and long on complicated economics, scary graphs and very big numbers. It reveals serious problems and offers no easy solutions. Anybody who wanted to deal with it seriously would have to talk about raising taxes and cutting benefits, nasty nostrums that might doom any candidate who prescribed them.
Their basic message is this: If the United States government conducts business as usual over the next few decades, a national debt that is already $8.5 trillion could reach $46 trillion or more, adjusted for inflation. That's almost as much as the total net worth of every person in America Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and those Google guys included.
A hole that big could paralyze the U.S. economy; according to some projections, just the interest payments on a debt that big would be as much as all the taxes the government collects today.
And every year that nothing is done about it, Walker says, the problem grows by $2 trillion to $3 trillion.
GAO CHIEF WARNS OF IMPENDING ECONOMIC DISASTER
AND LYING
GOP Candidate for U.S. Senate lied about his stand on stem cell research yesterday on Meet the Press
GOP CANDIDATE LIES ON MEET THE PRESS
AND OF COURSE, IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, THAT ROVE IS HARD AT WORK. A DESPERATE ROVE IS A SCARY THING. It seems that Rove is spending the taxpayers money to keep his corrupt party in power. This is what happens with one-party rule. No one is around to keep the crooks in check.
ROVE USES TAX PAYER MONEY TO KEEP GOP IN POWER
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
THE HUFFINGTON POST LIST OF NEWSPAPERS
NELSON RECEIVES ENDORSEMENTS FROM ALL NEWSPAPERS IN FLORIDA
NEW YORK TIMES ENDORSES NO GOP CANDIDATE
THE ENDLESS LIST OF GOP SLEAZE AND SLIME
The RNC accepted a generous donation from one of the nation's largest producers of gay porn.
RNC DONATION FROM PRODUCER OF GAY PORN
OHIO'S BLACKWELL GETS DESPERATE AS HE TRAILS BEHIND OPPONENT
Blackwell panders to the far right by suggesting his opponent is gay.
DESPERADO BLACKWELL WAITING FOR A TRAIN THAT AIN'T COMING
GOP DIRTY TRICKS BACKFIRE
A newspaper in Wisconsin says GOP manipulations may backfire in election.
Excerpts:
By pumping up voter hatred of gay people and blood lust for the death penalty, Republicans hoped to turn out many more voters who are ready to vote against Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle as well.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the polls.
The backlash against the Republicans on those issues seems to be doing much more to organize progressives and reasonable folks in the middle to turn out voters on the other side.
Even more surprising, perhaps, homophobia and hanging 'em high seem to be losing the power to drive right-wing voters to the polls. It's true that most public opinion polls show a slight majority in favor of both restoring the death penalty and in opposition to gay marriage. But the small size of that majority is surprising in itself.
FED UP WITH GOP DIRTY TRICKS
AND THE INEVITABLE GOP INCOMPETENCE.
The GAO Chief warns of impending economic disaster. The outcome in no small part, no doubt, of generous tax cuts for the extremely wealthy and the GOP's penchant for throwing our hard earned tax dollars into the sewer.
Excerpts:
What they don't talk about is a dirty little secret everyone in Washington knows, or at least should. The vast majority of economists and budget analysts agree: The ship of state is on a disastrous course, and will founder on the reefs of economic disaster if nothing is done to correct it.
There's a good reason politicians don't like to talk about the nation's long-term fiscal prospects. The subject is short on political theatrics and long on complicated economics, scary graphs and very big numbers. It reveals serious problems and offers no easy solutions. Anybody who wanted to deal with it seriously would have to talk about raising taxes and cutting benefits, nasty nostrums that might doom any candidate who prescribed them.
Their basic message is this: If the United States government conducts business as usual over the next few decades, a national debt that is already $8.5 trillion could reach $46 trillion or more, adjusted for inflation. That's almost as much as the total net worth of every person in America Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and those Google guys included.
A hole that big could paralyze the U.S. economy; according to some projections, just the interest payments on a debt that big would be as much as all the taxes the government collects today.
And every year that nothing is done about it, Walker says, the problem grows by $2 trillion to $3 trillion.
GAO CHIEF WARNS OF IMPENDING ECONOMIC DISASTER
AND LYING
GOP Candidate for U.S. Senate lied about his stand on stem cell research yesterday on Meet the Press
GOP CANDIDATE LIES ON MEET THE PRESS
AND OF COURSE, IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, THAT ROVE IS HARD AT WORK. A DESPERATE ROVE IS A SCARY THING. It seems that Rove is spending the taxpayers money to keep his corrupt party in power. This is what happens with one-party rule. No one is around to keep the crooks in check.
ROVE USES TAX PAYER MONEY TO KEEP GOP IN POWER
Sunday, October 15, 2006
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A REPUBLICAN
If one votes Republican it means one believes:
It is OK to talk tough at election time about national security but deliver zip afterwards.
It is OK to lie to the American people all of the time about everything.
GOP HOUSE OF LIES
W. AND WIFE UPSET WITH CARD FOR TELLING WOODWARD THE TRUTH
PATHOLOGICAL LYING COMES BACK TO HAUNT GOP
16% OF AMERICANS BELIEVE BUSH IS TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT 9/11
THINGS ARE GOING REMARKABLY WELL IN IRAQ ACCORDING TO CHENEY
It is OK to scare the bejesus out of Americans for the sole purpose of getting elected.
BUT WE ARE NOT STUPID. WE KNOW SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG IN WASHINGTON
It is OK to attack and smear an individual relentlessly for purely political gain, even when there isn't a lick of truth to the attack.
GOP ATTACKS ON MESSENGERS OF TRUTH
PROPAGANDA BILL SMEARS PELOSI
It is OK to make false claims about the rationale for declaring war on another nation.
BUSH FLIP FLOPS ON IRAQ
MORE CARNAGE IN IRAQ TODAY, OCT. 16
It is OK to go to war with no real plan in place after a military victory.
MORE REVENGE KILLING IN IRAQ
It is OK to turn our back on the real war on terror and start a war instead in another country with the end result of fomenting more terrorism. Turn on the TV and watch it all in real time.
It is OK to ignore a country that lusts for nuclear weapons. Now N. Korea is a not so small threat to our national security. What to do about it? Blame the shame on a former president.
GOP DROPPED THE BALL WITH N. KOREA
War is good for business, especially Halliburton. Rummy sat on board of directors for a company that won a $200. million contract to sell nuke reactors to N. Korea in 2000. In 2002 Rummy declares N. Korea as part of the axis of evil.
SELLING NUKES TO N. KOREA
It is OK to allow Americans to drown after a catastrophic hurricane, especially if those Americans happen to be minorities.
ON HURRICANE KATRINA
It is OK for elected officials to work for corporate interests, big business and lobbyists, even corrupt ones, instead of their constituents.
NON PROFITS TIED TO ABRAMOFF
ABRAMOFF'S FAR REACHING INFLUENCE IN OUR GOVERNMENT
It is OK for a known perverted teen predator to remain in Congress for purely political reasons. It is OK to split up the perv’s contributions among other GOP lawmakers instead of sending the funds to an appropriate charity.
FOLEY WANTED TO LEAVE CONGRESS BUT ROVE WOULD NOT LET HIM
It is OK to cater to the top wage earners in the U.S. and ignore the majority of them.
TAX CUTS FOR THE NATION'S WEALTHY
It is OK that the number of Americans without health insurance is rising.
CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY PRIORITIES
It is OK to gut social security and turn it over to a best buddy in the private sector who will do with American’s blood, sweat and tear money what Kenny boy did to that of Enron’s employees and shareholders.
WHY THE GOP WANTED TO GUT SOCIAL SECURITY
It is OK to give huge tax breaks to big oil and insurance companies while tossing a few pennies at average working Americans.
OIL COMPANIES GET BILLIONS IN ROYALTY PLAN
It is OK to increase the minimum wage in this country only if estate taxes are repealed for fewer than 1% of the population.
MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE BILL FAILS
It is OK to be gay, as long as one is quiet about it, if gays serve GOP political usefulness.
DICEY PATH FOR GAY GOP LAWMAKERS
It is OK to pander to and trick the Christian right for their political value and then after elected poke fun at them and vote on legislation that hurts their charities.
GOP TRASHING OF THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT
It is OK to put friends in high and sensitive positions in government although the friends have absolutely no qualifications or necessary credentials for these jobs. Remember ol' Brownie boy?
It is OK to vote yes to building a wall along our southern border without caring about the implications for the citizens and their communities in the impacted areas. It is OK to vote to build a wall before having done studies on its feasibility.
WILL A WALL REALLY WORK?
It is OK to ignore science.
IGNORING SCIENCE
It is OK that some, if not many, of our lawmakers are corrupt.
CORRUPT LAWMAKERS
MORE ON CORRUPTION
It is OK to sow the seeds of fascism.
SOWING THE SEEDS OF FASCISM
FOX HIDES UNFAVORABLE POLL RESULTS FOR BUSH AND IRAQ
It is OK to steal elections.
HISTORY OF RECENT STOLEN ELECTIONS
BLACK BOX VOTING.ORG
US COUNTS VOTES.ORG
LOU DOBBS OF CNN ON ELECTRONIC VOTING FRAUD
HOW AND WHY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY BECAME SO CORRUPT AND OUT OF TOUCH WITH AMERICAN VALUES
Connect the dots. Think about the GOP merging of fundamentalist religion, politics and big money. Who are the prime beneficiaries? After watching the videos below, check out the link at the bottom of this blog to President Eisenhower's warnings about a US military/industrial complex. I think you will figure it out. LS
DOCUMENTARIES ON THE RIGHT WING GOP
PRESIDENT EISENHOWER'S WARNINGS ABOUT A U.S. MILITARY/INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
Sources for links: Truthout.org, Raw Story.com, The Huffington Post.com, Buzz Flash.com, Truthdig.com, Crooks and Liars.com, CNN.com, usliberals.com, azstarnet.com, The Brad Blog, Black Box Voting.org, U.S. Counts Votes.org, You Tube, throwaway your V.com.
It is OK to talk tough at election time about national security but deliver zip afterwards.
It is OK to lie to the American people all of the time about everything.
GOP HOUSE OF LIES
W. AND WIFE UPSET WITH CARD FOR TELLING WOODWARD THE TRUTH
PATHOLOGICAL LYING COMES BACK TO HAUNT GOP
16% OF AMERICANS BELIEVE BUSH IS TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT 9/11
THINGS ARE GOING REMARKABLY WELL IN IRAQ ACCORDING TO CHENEY
It is OK to scare the bejesus out of Americans for the sole purpose of getting elected.
BUT WE ARE NOT STUPID. WE KNOW SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG IN WASHINGTON
It is OK to attack and smear an individual relentlessly for purely political gain, even when there isn't a lick of truth to the attack.
GOP ATTACKS ON MESSENGERS OF TRUTH
PROPAGANDA BILL SMEARS PELOSI
It is OK to make false claims about the rationale for declaring war on another nation.
BUSH FLIP FLOPS ON IRAQ
MORE CARNAGE IN IRAQ TODAY, OCT. 16
It is OK to go to war with no real plan in place after a military victory.
MORE REVENGE KILLING IN IRAQ
It is OK to turn our back on the real war on terror and start a war instead in another country with the end result of fomenting more terrorism. Turn on the TV and watch it all in real time.
It is OK to ignore a country that lusts for nuclear weapons. Now N. Korea is a not so small threat to our national security. What to do about it? Blame the shame on a former president.
GOP DROPPED THE BALL WITH N. KOREA
War is good for business, especially Halliburton. Rummy sat on board of directors for a company that won a $200. million contract to sell nuke reactors to N. Korea in 2000. In 2002 Rummy declares N. Korea as part of the axis of evil.
SELLING NUKES TO N. KOREA
It is OK to allow Americans to drown after a catastrophic hurricane, especially if those Americans happen to be minorities.
ON HURRICANE KATRINA
It is OK for elected officials to work for corporate interests, big business and lobbyists, even corrupt ones, instead of their constituents.
NON PROFITS TIED TO ABRAMOFF
ABRAMOFF'S FAR REACHING INFLUENCE IN OUR GOVERNMENT
It is OK for a known perverted teen predator to remain in Congress for purely political reasons. It is OK to split up the perv’s contributions among other GOP lawmakers instead of sending the funds to an appropriate charity.
FOLEY WANTED TO LEAVE CONGRESS BUT ROVE WOULD NOT LET HIM
It is OK to cater to the top wage earners in the U.S. and ignore the majority of them.
TAX CUTS FOR THE NATION'S WEALTHY
It is OK that the number of Americans without health insurance is rising.
CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY PRIORITIES
It is OK to gut social security and turn it over to a best buddy in the private sector who will do with American’s blood, sweat and tear money what Kenny boy did to that of Enron’s employees and shareholders.
WHY THE GOP WANTED TO GUT SOCIAL SECURITY
It is OK to give huge tax breaks to big oil and insurance companies while tossing a few pennies at average working Americans.
OIL COMPANIES GET BILLIONS IN ROYALTY PLAN
It is OK to increase the minimum wage in this country only if estate taxes are repealed for fewer than 1% of the population.
MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE BILL FAILS
It is OK to be gay, as long as one is quiet about it, if gays serve GOP political usefulness.
DICEY PATH FOR GAY GOP LAWMAKERS
It is OK to pander to and trick the Christian right for their political value and then after elected poke fun at them and vote on legislation that hurts their charities.
GOP TRASHING OF THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT
It is OK to put friends in high and sensitive positions in government although the friends have absolutely no qualifications or necessary credentials for these jobs. Remember ol' Brownie boy?
It is OK to vote yes to building a wall along our southern border without caring about the implications for the citizens and their communities in the impacted areas. It is OK to vote to build a wall before having done studies on its feasibility.
WILL A WALL REALLY WORK?
It is OK to ignore science.
IGNORING SCIENCE
It is OK that some, if not many, of our lawmakers are corrupt.
CORRUPT LAWMAKERS
MORE ON CORRUPTION
It is OK to sow the seeds of fascism.
SOWING THE SEEDS OF FASCISM
FOX HIDES UNFAVORABLE POLL RESULTS FOR BUSH AND IRAQ
It is OK to steal elections.
HISTORY OF RECENT STOLEN ELECTIONS
BLACK BOX VOTING.ORG
US COUNTS VOTES.ORG
LOU DOBBS OF CNN ON ELECTRONIC VOTING FRAUD
HOW AND WHY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY BECAME SO CORRUPT AND OUT OF TOUCH WITH AMERICAN VALUES
Connect the dots. Think about the GOP merging of fundamentalist religion, politics and big money. Who are the prime beneficiaries? After watching the videos below, check out the link at the bottom of this blog to President Eisenhower's warnings about a US military/industrial complex. I think you will figure it out. LS
DOCUMENTARIES ON THE RIGHT WING GOP
PRESIDENT EISENHOWER'S WARNINGS ABOUT A U.S. MILITARY/INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
Sources for links: Truthout.org, Raw Story.com, The Huffington Post.com, Buzz Flash.com, Truthdig.com, Crooks and Liars.com, CNN.com, usliberals.com, azstarnet.com, The Brad Blog, Black Box Voting.org, U.S. Counts Votes.org, You Tube, throwaway your V.com.
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