The Barking Dingo

Election Eve Poem

2008-10-31T14:11:00.002-04:00

T'was the night before election and all through the land everyone was wondering, was the election in hand?

"Never!" yelled McCain on TV, "ditto" cried Palin, "there's simply no way our campaign is fail'n."

I sat in my living room, remote by my side, the phone off the hook, I was trying to hide.

When out though the window I heard such a chatter, I went to go see just what was the matter.

I spied out the window and across the great lawn, a mob of angry folks surrounding Sarah and John.

"They're Commies! They're terrorists! They'll tax you to death!" came from the crowd with each angry breath.

"He's Muslim! He's foreign! He's elite even worse!" One yelled the N-word in one spiteful curse.

"Down with Obama, down with Biden, off with their heads! ...The country can't handle them, they're better off dead!"

I stood there in horror, how could this be, but standing there in the middle was Palin smiling with glee.

"Liberals hate America and freedom and folks who love God," exclaimed the VP pick with a wink and a nod.

I couldn't believe the mobs violent reaction and that Sarah's sharp words could have so much virulant attraction.

All I could do is hang my head down in shame, that this once respectable party would play such a game.

These unsavory tactics, they work I confess, but eight years of this crap is what got us in this mess.

The Brown Shirts Return

2008-10-29T15:38:00.003-04:00

I know that the majority of Republicans are decent people, but for the love of god, what is happening to the party. It is being overrun by thugs.

I have been to plenty of political rallies, both Democratic and Republican. At both I have seen emotions high,but violent intent seems to be the norm at GOP rallies these days.

In 1995 I went to see Bob Dole speak at a rally. There were some Clinton supporters with signs across the street, but no one payed them attention. In fact, we had prior knowledge that there was one guy who planned on doing a "silent protest" of Dole's policy, so being the snarks we were, a friend and I printed up placards that stated we were protesting silent protests and followed him around... silently, of course.

Now, you take you life in your own hands if you dare show an ounce of decent a Republican rallies. (McCain Miami Rally, Getting Ugly Down Here)

Other rallies, McCain supporters shout out death threats, racial epithets, and other slurs. At one rally, a African-American camera man was called a nigger and told to "sit down boy."

And, it is not only the crowds that are getting belligerent. Elected GOP office holders are telling crowds that, unless you agree with them, you are not a "real American" and that you hate god.

I won't even go as far as associating the skin heads what plotted to kill Obama with the GOP even though, I am fairly certain they were not voting Democratic this year.

This whole thing is like some strange convergence of McCarthyism and Brown Shirt intimidation tactics. The GOP is in tatters now and I would be ashamed to be associated with a party that has sunk so low. There is nothing constructive coming out of the GOP these days, only destructive behavior to tear down everybody instead of building anyone up.

If you are a Republican reading this, get a hold of your party. It is decending into chaos and your candidates are leading the charge.

Stones and Glass Houses

2008-10-06T10:43:00.003-04:00

Sarah Palin went into pit bull mode yesterday, attacking Obama for sitting on the same non-profit board as former Vietnam era radical, william Ayers. In addition to sitting on the same boards, Ayers also hosted a "get to know the candidate" coffee in his home in 1995, before Obama knew of Ayers past dealing. Obama has called Ayers actions "despicable" and has completely repudiated Ayers and his Vietnam era organization. For this, Palin is saying that Obama is "palling around with terrorist!" She further went on to say that "This is not a man who sees America as you and I do -- as the greatest force for good in the world."

On the inverse, Sarah Palin's husband, Todd Palin, was a registered member of the Alaska Independence Party which advocates the overthrowing of the U.S. government in Alaska and its secession from the union. Todd was a registered member of the party from 1995 to 2000.

Joe Vogler, the party's founder stated "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government." He also said, "And I won't be buried under their damn flag. I'll be buried in Dawson. And when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home."

Not only was Todd an active member of the party, Sarah Palin spoke at their party's convention in 2000 where she never once disagreed with their platform and actually told them to "keep up the good work."

I guess Todd doesn't see the good old U.S. of A. the same way as the rest of us do "as the greatest force for good in the world" either... and for that matter, I guess, neither does Sarah Palin...

So, while Obama had a passing acquittance with Bill Ayers a long time ago, Sarah Palin sleeps with a traitor to the United States every night.

So, hey, if you are going to throw stones...

Analysis: Palin's words may backfire on McCain

McCain will Continue Presidential Secrecy

2008-09-17T09:08:00.004-04:00

McCain has always promised an open and transparent government if he is elected president. After almost 8 years of some of the most secretive government policies under the Bush administration, an open and honest government seems like only a fanciful dream to most of us. 8 years ago, I would have believed McCain was the type of man to tell the American people the truth.

Unfortunately, the McCain of 2000 is not the McCain of 2008. We are already seeing signs that the McCain/Palin ticket would continue the secretive, dishonest and obstructionist policies favored by the Bush administration.

Issue one - McCain has been called to the mat by nearly every organization and publication out there for being dishonest in his campaign. Even FackCheck.org had to publish a response to McCain's deceptive and misleading ads. Karl Rove, the king of deception has even called McCain's ads misleading and have gone "too far". Is it possible for anyone to sink below the level of the Bush administration? Apparently so.

Rove: McCain went 'too far' in ads

Issue two - Toopergate. Many partisans claim that this is a politically motivated investigation, but it must be reiterated that the investigation into Palin's abuse of power commenced long before she was chosen as McCain's running mate. Even if Palin is completely innocent of all charges, the attempt to subvert the investigation is clearly following the same path as the CIA/Plame leak investigation. McCain is already trying to control information available to the American people by taking control of the documentation. This is a state issue that should not be controlled by a national campaign. This only proves that McCain believes in Bush obstructionism. As the republicans always say, if you have nothing to hide than allow open access to prove your innocence.

McCain campaign clamps down on questions in Alaska

Alaska AG: State employees won't honor subpoenas

Palin unlikely to speak with investigator

Issue three - Openness subversion. Palin has already proven herself to be following in the footsteps of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney by using non-official email accounts to conduct official state business. In an attempt to leave no official paper trail on Palin's connections with lobbyists and crony capitalism, Palin uses a Yahoo account to conduct state business behind closed doors. This is the same tactic Rove and Cheney used to conduct national business without leaving an electronic trail that could be subpoenaed by the American people.

How Transparent Will Palin Be?

Issue four - Open door policy. McCain once championed the media as his biggest base. now that they are actually holding him accountable for his actions, McCain has closed the door to public access for both himself and Palin. Bush held the same philosophy of avoiding having to answer to the American people. A president cannot deny access due solely to the fact that the press might ask a difficult or probing question.

McCain campaign keeps Palin under wraps

Dems hit McCain on access

McCain has flipped from being a champion of open government to a champion of Bush secrecy and obstructionism. Eight years of this policy has lead to disastrous results. Another four years is not going to get any better.

John McCain Begins Push Polling

2008-09-15T23:15:00.004-04:00

Not only has the "honorable" John McCain been called a liar by about every fact checking organization out there...

Not only has Karl Rove, the king of sleazy politics called John McCain a big fat liar... Rove: McCain went 'too far' in ads

Now McCain has started using the very lowest of the lowest tactics in U.S. politics...

McCain has decided to use the very thing that he derided about the Bush campaign in 2000...

John McCain is now push polling...

Jewish voters are receiving phone calls from purported "pollsters", except, the pollsters don't want to ask them there opinion, they want to shape their opinion.

The pollsters are asking

"Would it change your mind about Obama if you knew that his church was anti-Israel? Would it change your mind if you knew that the leaders Hamas had endorsed Obama? Would it change your mind if you knew he had met with the leaders of Hamas?"

I would have never thought that John McCain would ever sink so low. I feel ashamed that I could have ever have considered voting for him. He really has become the evil love child of Tom Delay and Karl Rove.

Jewish voters complain of anti-Obama poll

McCain the Big Fat Liar

2008-09-12T14:28:00.002-04:00

I used to have a lot of respect for McCain. He may have even gotten my vote in 2000 had he won the GOP primaries. After 8 years of being around Bush, I guess he has spent too much time within the Bush/Cheney lie machine because he has lost all of his moral and ethical standards since 2000.

Today on "The View", McCain just told flat out lies about his running mate, Sara Palin. He claimed that she has not sought a single cent of earmarks for Alaska as governor even though he knows that she has requested over $200 million in earmarks this year alone.

I guess he has spent so much time with his head up Bush's ass that he is willing to play the same dishonest games as his predecessor.

McCain talks up Palin as a reformer on 'The View'

Palin Charged Rape Victims For Rape Kits

2008-09-11T10:05:00.006-04:00

Ok, it is time to get back into the game. I was trying to devote my time to actually making a difference in my community instead of focusing on national politics, but the McCain/Palin campaign has started to so distort truth that I can no longer stand by and be a passive watcher.

Palin is obviously not the person she like to project and she is no friend to women. I had heard rumors that Palin, as mayor, had charged rape victims for a rape kit to be collected, but I finally was able to confirm it.

As an attorney, this is an absolute outrage to justice. To think that you would require a woman who has been raped to pay for the forensic evidence that would be needed to convict the rapist is obscene. If you are poor and can't afford to pay for a rape kit, the rapist will most likely walk away scott free, able to rape again and again.

As the mayor, you are charged with protecting the citizens in you community, but Sara Palin could care less about the safety of women she was elected to protect. This rule was so outrageous, a state wide law had to be passed to ban her policies of charging rape victims seeking justice.

What would have been next for Palin... making the surviving spouse who lost their entire family to a drunk drive pay for the breathalyzer to prove the driver was drunk?

Palin is wrong for women and wrong for America.

Alaska pols: Wasilla charged victims for rape kits

Palin's town used to bill victims for rape kits

Is Obama an Appeaser?

2008-05-16T11:41:00.004-04:00

After Bushes speech yesterday, or which I watched most of, the word "appeasement" has been on the rally call of every wignut out there.

This word... I don not think it means what they think it means.

After watching one such blow hard yesterday call Obama an appeaser in almost every other sentence, the host asked the wingnut to define the word appeasement. Of course, he could not. So, here is a little help for you wingnuts out there.

Appeasement has several definitions according to Webster's Dictionary:

1) to bring a state of peace or quiet.

Not a bad thing to have in the middle east in my opinion. Bush likes war and chaos. Me? I am for lower gas prices.

2) to cause to subside

Subsidence of hostilities in the Middle east... oh the horror!

And the third one, and the one that I think Bush and the wingnuts are referring to.

3) pacify, conciliate; especially : to buy off (an aggressor) by concessions usually at the sacrifice of principles.

Ok, not as good as the first to. But lets look at this in context. bush and the wingnuts are comparing Obama to Nevil Chamberlain, former Prime Minister of England. In 1938 Chamberlain attempted to "appease" Hitler by giving a third of Czechoslovakia to Hitler hoping that Hitler would then cease his hostilities. Chamberlain was of course very very wrong.

Now, lets look at Obama. There is a big difference in talking to our enemies and appeasing our enemies in the way that Chamberlain did. You don't have to appease our enemies just by talking to them. If Obama was suggesting that we give half of Israel to the Palestinians in order to stop the fighting, then Obama would be an appeaser. Negotiating with them to settle a dispute is not appeasement.

Bush finally talked to North Korea... Is Bush an appeaser?

If we talk to the government in Khartoum to stop the killing in Darfur, are we appeasers.

When Israel sat down and talked with Egypt, their arch enemies at the time, and negotiated peace, was that appeasement?

McCain himself in 2006 said that we had to deal with Hamas. Is he an appeaser? So did Colon Powell, Jim Baker, Bob Gates.

Seriously people, if you never talk to your enemies, how are you ever going to find solutions other than war? The last thing we need is more of Bush/McCain cowboy diplomacy.

And would someone... Anyone... name me one time that Obama said he would talk to Hamas without them first renouncing violence and recognizing Israel?

Hotel Linda Vista, Costa Rica Travel Scam

2008-04-24T12:41:00.002-04:00

I recently enjoyed a nice two week vacation to Costa Rica. If you are at all thinking about traveling to Costa Rica, it is well worth the trip, but there is one thing you should be aware of before booking your hotel in La Fortuna.

The Hotel Linda Vista in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. This hotel is located close to the Arenal volcano. Since this is one of the few hotels located on the side of the volcano where the lava flow can be seen at night, I decided this would be a great hotel to book at. I made on-line reservation and received a confirmation of our booking.

First of all, the Hotel Linda Vista is nowhere near La Fortuna. It is in fact located in El Castillo which is about 55 minutes away from La Fortuna. You have to spend half an hour on a bone jarring dirt/rock road to reach the hotel. The buses only take you to La Fortuna, so you have to hire another bus or taxi to take you the rest of the way.

Second, in reality, it looks nothing like the web-site pictures. It looks more like a cross between a Motel 8 and a tiki bar.

Third, since you are in the middle of nowhere, you are stuck there unless you have a car. You have to eat at their overpriced restaurant because there is nothing else within miles.

Fourth, The volcano has clouds around it most nights, so you can't see the lava flow anyway. Save you money and get a cheaper hotel in La Fortuna and take a night tour if there is a clear evening. It will be a hell of a lot cheaper.

Fifth, when we showed up after a 14 hour day of traveling, they didn't have our reservations and were overbooked. I took out the on-line reservations that I had printed out just for such a situation, but since there is no internet access at the hotel, the desk clerk couldn't "verify" my reservations since the reservations are done with a third party. I asked her to call the booking agent to verify that we had reservations, but "only the manager knows who that is" and the manager was "away" for an indeterminate period of time.

At this point, I figured that there was just some kind of screw up by the booking agent. I was disappointed that I couldn't stay at the hotel, but I was tired and just wanted a room somewhere. So, we asked her to find us a room somewhere else. Without even calling anyone, she said that everywhere is booked up and there is no vacancy anywhere except for one hotel that she knows has room. The only problem is that it was much more expensive.

This is when I began to get suspicious about the situation. I insisted that she call some other hotels that were within our price range. She claimed to called two but lo and behold, there was no answer at either of the hotels. I know this is Costa Rica, but still at least one of the two hotels should have someone answering.

At this point, I figured the best thing to do would be to go back to La Fortuna where there are a huge number of hotels and travel agents and just find something there, but since we are in the middle of nowhere, there is no public transportation, we are stuck there. It would be at least an hour and a half before we could get a taxi to come pick us us and than it is another 55 minutes back to town. I have been up since 4am and it is now 6pm.

The desk clerk was willing to provide us transportation to the one hotel she said had vacancy, but only to that hotel. We had no other option but to take the much more expensive hotel. I knew we were getting scammed, but what else could we do at this point.

In the back of my mind, I still hoped that the desk clerk was being truthful and that everything else was booked up, but that hope was completely dashed when I saw the very same desk clerk working at the more expensive hotel she had re-booked us at that very evening.

The next day, we went back into La Fortuna and were easily able to find another much cheaper hotel, but not without being out a substantial chunk of change. I have no idea how much the kick back was for the Hotel Linda Vista, but at the price we paid at the other hotel, it much have been big.

So, if you are looking to go to see Arenal volcano, there are much better options than the Hotel Linda Vista. It is over priced for what you get and they scam you if they can. If you really want to stay on the lava flow side of the volcano, book at the Volcano Observatory Lodge. The prices are less for most rooms and the view is better.

Huckabee Offically a Whack Job

2007-12-11T17:00:00.000-05:00

While I would have never voted for Mike Huckabee in a general election pretty much regardless of who the Democratic nominee was, I had always thought that he was somewhat respectable. I don't agree with his politics 90% of the time, but you can disagree with someone while still having some respect for them.

Well, that respect is completely gone now, and Mike Huckabee has officially moved into the Kool-aid drinking, wingnuttery end of the Republican party in my book.

It turns out that back in 1992, well after we understood how HIV/AIDS was transmitted, Huckabee advocated rounding up all of the Americans living with HIV/AIDS and detaining them until they quietly died so they could not accidentally breath on us or something and infect the entire world.

Not only that, but he also said that no federal funding should be spent on research on a vaccination or cure for the disease.

at first I figured that he would come out saying something about how his ideas had changed and that Americans living with HIV/AIDS are not the dirty little homosexual or drug shooting beasts he had once thought they were, but Huckabee decided to stick by his 1992 comments.

It is disgusting to think any leader of this country to think that way and advocate locking away hundreds of thousands of sick Americans just be cause he thinks he can catch it by touching a hand rail or using the same restroom.

But, that is what you get from the party that has brought us 7 years of Bush.

Today on the presidential campaign trail

Scott McClellan Point Plame Finger at Bush

2007-11-21T14:07:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I haven't blogged in a while... a really long while, but there is nothing like deceit from the Bush administration to spur me back to action.

Scott McClellan, former Bush press secretary is coming out with a new book in April. He has release some parts of it to give us a teaser. He takes the president and his staff to task for knowingly passing along untrue information to him in regards to the Plame national treason matter where the Bush administration released classified information in order to enact revenge against Joe Wilson.

In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, McClellan recounts the 2003 news conference in which he told reporters that aides Karl Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby were "not involved" in the leak involving operative Valerie Plame.

"There was one problem. It was not true," McClellan writes, according to a brief excerpt released Tuesday. "I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest-ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president's chief of staff and the president himself."

So, not only is the Bush administration a traitor to the national security of this country for nothing more than political vendetta, it also is an out right traitor to the trust of the American people. But that is just par for the course for America's worst president.

Full Story

Doctors Attempt to Locate George Bush's Head

2007-07-21T12:50:00.000-04:00

George Bush will undergo a colonoscopy this Saturday at Camp David which will require him to relinquish control of the presidency to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Bush will be undergoing the procedure so doctors can attempt to extract President Bush's head from his ass.

Dr. Mark Wittenberg, White House Physician, will be performing the procedure on the President. "It is a fairly complicated procedure," explained the Dr., "at this point we don't know how far up his ass his head actually is or if we will be able to remove it successfully." Doctors became concerned about the presidents head up his ass due to the length of time it has been inserted. While the president has been known to stick his head up his ass on many occasions, usually it was never for more than a week at a time. But this currently, Bush's head last went up his ass April 21st, 2005 and has not been seen since.

"Sticking your head up your ass is a fairly common occurrence for politicians," further explained the Dr., "but it is only safe in moderation. You can't breath in there and you need to remove your head every once in a while to get a breath of fresh air. At this point, the presidents head has been up his ass so long that, at minimum, he has suffered severe brain damage. He might actually be dead at this point and we wouldn't even know it until we get the camera in there to see. At this point, our only hope is that his head is so far up his ass that he has actually made it up to the trachea and is able to get some air that way. While we have never seen someone with their head so far up their asses as to be able to do this, it would explain a lot about his policy decisions."

Prior attempts to get Bush's head out have been unsuccessful. Laura Bush has attempted to cajole Georges head out numerous times and Dr.s have tried using lubrication and a crow bar, but Bush is either unwilling or unable to get his head out of his ass. Bush was responsive to outside stimuli as late as December of 2006. Doctors could hear President Bush giggle if they placed a stethoscope on his abdomen and than told him a fart joke. Unfortunately, the president has been unresponsive to even 3rd grade underwear jokes during his last two examinations.

This story, unfortunately, is not limited to only the president explained Dr. Wittenberg. "We have seen an epidemic of people with their heads up there ass over the last 5 years." Recent estimates from the CDC place the number of Americans with the heads up there ass anywhere from 27-31% of the American population. While the numbers are high, this is down from approximately 51% of the population with their heads up their ass in November of 2004. "We are making progress," claimed the Dr., "but we still have a long way to go. While most of the American people have woken up to the dangers of leaving their heads up there ass, there is still a huge number of people that have been living with this condition for a very long time. We hope to be able to educate these remaining citizens so they too may once again live an ass free existence.

"Cross your fingers and pray," asked Dr. Wittenberg of the American people in regards to the presidents procedure, "Neither the president or the American people can survive much longer with the presidents head up his ass."

Bush to have colonoscopy at Camp David

Bush Will Temporarily Hand Reins To Cheney

Fred Thompson? Seriously?

2007-07-17T12:57:00.001-04:00

The republicans must really be in big problems if they see Fred Thompson as their savior in 2008. Thompson is long in the reputation as being lazy and an absolute minimalist, only doing things for recognition and not for purpose.

While a Senator, his legislative history was as thin as Kate Moss after a bad bout with the stomach flu. A former aide is quoted as saying:

"While the Senate is filled with ambitious men who aren't in a rush to get home at night, Senator Thompson kept a lean formal schedule, did the bare minimum to get by and then hightailed [it] to the Prime Rib or the Capital Grille."

Another lobbyist is quoted as saying

"He was viewed as a lazy son of gun who would say at two in the afternoon, 'I'm done.' Can you name one major piece of legislation he authored? I can't."

But his pension for apathy stretches his entire adult life.

His high school football coach in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., told the Nashville Tennessean, "He was smart, but he was lazy. He probably could have been a straight-A student if he'd applied himself."

Another former coach commented on his need for attention at the cost of his team:

``He wasn't a real good football player because he liked to have fun and didn't take it that serious,'' said Garner Ezell, 74, a former assistant coach for the team. ``He was popular and he liked attention, and would do things to get it.''

In one incident recalled by Ezell and others, Thompson appeared to be injured during a game. The coach ran out to see if he was all right and a smiling Thompson greeted him by asking, ``How's the crowd taking it?''

But, even if he is lazy and narcissistic, that doesn't even start to touch his other pension for corruption and the subsequent cover ups.

Thompson was the lead in procuring a legal defense fund for Scooter Libby after Libbey lied to the grand jury and was prosecuted for perjury. So, we already know that Thompson shares the Bush doctrine of "its only a crime if I say it is a crime."

Additionally, while Thompson has touted himself as a hard nose prosecutor during the Watergate scandal, it is now shown that he was a friend to the Nixon white house and even tipped the white house off that the infamous tapes were known about. So, the corrupt Nixon white house viewed him as an asset in the cover up even while calling him "dumb as hell" and viewing him as lackluster.

The political ads will be fun to watch if he is to pull down the GOP nomination. Americans are tired of the corruption in Washington and Fred Thompson is tied directly to it.

He is a fine nominee in my opinion since I want a democrat elected, but the fact that he is doing so well with republicans absolutely floors me. Do they really think that we want 4 more years of secret government, corruption and malfeasance... that is if he is actually motivated enough to do malfeasance. Otherwise, it looks like it would be 4 years of a lazy administration not fixing domestic affairs, not fixing foreign affairs, and 4 years of prime rib dinners.

Thompson and Watergate

Thompson's Backers Check His `Fire in the Belly' for 2008 Race

Thompson paints down-home image

A New Role for Fred Thompson

Iran to Require Payment in Other Currencies

2007-07-13T14:50:00.000-04:00

Ok, I have taken some time off from blogging to take care of other things, but things are starting to heat up again so, I thought I would chime in again.

We know things in the economy are slowly sliding down hill. People are watching the hosing bubble burst and think that this is pretty bad.

Well, that ain't the half of it. Today, the "fit hit the shan." Things are about to get down right ugly for us here in the good ol' U.S. of A. Today, Iran announced that it would require Japan to pay for its oil imports in Yen instead of U.S. dollars.

This might not sound so disturbing to the average person. But it should scare the snot right out of you. The dollar has already slid tremendously in the past year. Now, it is going to crash. The one thing that holds up the dollars value is the fact that all oil is bought and sold in U.S. dollars. This means that all the countries around the world must hold quite a bit of U.S. currency in order to buy oil. Russia is also thinking about converting to the Euro since it has better buying power.

Our economy is going to take huge hit with this. As more and more countries switch away, things will get worse and worse and we will see the same type of stagflation that we saw in the late 70's.

Why is Iran hitting Japan? Because it is one of the biggest U.S. allies that does not have sway on the UN security council.

Iran Asks Japan to Pay Yen for Oil, Start Immediately (Update3)

By Megumi Yamanaka

July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Iran asked Japanese refiners to switch to the yen to pay for all crude oil purchases, after Iran's central bank said it is reducing holdings of the U.S. dollar.

Iran wants yen-based transactions ``for any/all of your forthcoming Iranian crude oil liftings,'' according to a letter sent to Japanese refiners that was signed by Ali A. Arshi, general manager of crude oil marketing and exports in Tehran at the National Iranian Oil Co. The request is for all shipments ``effective immediately,'' according to the letter, dated July 10 and obtained by Bloomberg News.

The yen rose on speculation for an increase in demand for the currency, the result of Japan's annual 1.24 trillion yen ($10.1 billion) of oil imports from Iran. Central bankers in Venezuela, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates have said they will invest less of their reserves in dollar assets because of the weakening currency.

``What else can Japan do but to accept the request, once the oil producer sent its wish?'' said Hirofumi Kawachi, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. in Tokyo. ``The tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, and it's Iran's measure to hedge risk.''

A spokesman for Iran's oil ministry in Tehran said he could neither confirm nor deny that the letter had been sent. Most Japanese oil refiners have until now used U.S. dollars to pay Iran for oil, said the spokesman, who declined to be identified by name because of government policy.

Yen Advances

The yen advanced to 122.07 per dollar at 2:30 p.m. in New York, from 122.42 late yesterday.

Iran is cutting its U.S. dollar reserves to less than 20 percent of total foreign currency holdings, and will buy more euros and yen as tensions with the U.S. increase, Central Bank Governor Ebrahim Sheibany said on March 27.

Full story

As the Wheels Fall Off...

2007-03-26T16:00:00.000-04:00

Not only is the bus the Bush is driving heading straight over a cliff, but it somehow has its wheels falling off at the same time. The question is, do all the wheels come off and the Bush administration become irrelevant prior to it going over the cliff, or is there enough momentum to carry the bus over the cliff regardless.

The U.S. prosecutor scandal continues to unravel in front of our eyes and the web of lies grows by the truck load.

Ironically, one of the aides to Alberto Gonzalez will invoke her civil liberties (the 5th amendment) and choose not to answer questions in front of congress on the grounds that she might incriminate herself, while at the same time, advancing the Bush administrations claim that no other person may seek the benefit of the constitution when it comes to trials, right to privacy, etc, etc, etc... Why not classify her as an enemy combatant. That way the same "interrogation" rules can be used on her to get the answers as they use in Gitmo. I suspect that this aide will crack once the first drop of water from her water boarding session hits her forehead. It amazes me that the people who do there best to discard the constitution are the first to invoke its protections once the heat is on them instead of the Quaker prayer groups that they are eavesdropping on.

Gonzales aide to invoke Fifth Amendment

At the same time, Gonzalez was caught in more lies over the weekend as the justice department released more documents to the congress. It turns out that despite claiming that he never read anything or attended any meetings in regards to the firing of the 8 U.S. prosecutors, Gonzalez did in fact attend meeting ans read memos on the Rove/Meires scheme to install more lap dogs in the Justice department. If there is one person in the entire Bush administration that needs (and I emphasize needs) to be on the up and up, it is the Attorney General. We expect the president to play partisan games. We expect the congress to play partisan games. But the entire judicial system, from the judges to the prosecutors must be of the highest level of non-partisanship in order for this entire thing we call democracy to work.

The administration flaunting of the legal system, as well as democracy itself has even got a Republican Senator talking about the possibility of impeachment. Chuck Hagel came right out and said that this administration views its self as a monarchy.

Senator: Some see impeachment as option

This administration began its self destructive path a long time ago. The only question is will it destroy itself before it also destroys us.

Let the Battle Start

2007-03-21T10:56:00.000-04:00

The House just issued subpoenas for white house officials in the U.S. prosecutor flap that has been going on over the past two weeks. This will likely make its way to the courts if the white house officials do not respond to the subpoenas.

Bush has already stated that he will not allow his personnel to testify under oath and in public, stating that it would set a precedent if he allowed his officials to testify under oath. Of course, this is a bunch of crap. Clinton had 31 of his staff testify on capital hill under oath.

Bush is additionally making the claim that executive privilege allows him to assert the right not to allow white house officials to testify. This is related to an executive privilege claim that the president should be able to get advice from his staff in a confidential manner. This claim is also short sighted since none of the information being sought was between the president and his staff, but between staff members.

Why is he so afraid of having this all out in the open? There are no national security issues involved.

Probably, just like every thing else in this administration, pure and unadulterated unethical behavior is involved in the whole affair. The white house claimed that the dismissals of the prosecutors was due to performance, but that has proven to be false. Five of the prosecutors that were fired were involved with corruption investigations. When one of the prosecutors opened up a new investigation into corruption charges against a Republican, an e-mail was sent the very next day to Gonzalez's chief of staff saying that there was a "problem" with that prosecutor.

Win or lose in the court, Bush loses in the long run. People are tired of this administrations secretive policies that hide everything from the American people. This only adds one more log to the fire of disbelief of president Bush.

House panel OKs Rove, Miers subpoenas
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A House panel on Wednesday approved subpoenas for President Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove and other top White House aides, setting up a constitutional showdown over the firings of eight federal prosecutors.

By voice vote, but with some "no" votes heard, the House Judiciary subcommittee on commercial and administrative law decided to compel the president's top aides to testify publicly and under oath about their roles in the firings.

The White House has refused to budge in the controversy, standing by embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and insisting that the firings were appropriate. White House spokesman Tony Snow said that in offering aides to talk to the committees privately, Bush had sought to avoid the "media spectacle" that would result from public hearings with Rove and others at the witness table.

"The question they've got to ask themselves is, are you more interested in a political spectacle than getting the truth?" Snow said of the overture Tuesday by the White House via its top lawyer, Fred Fielding.

"There must be accountability," countered subcommittee Chairwoman Linda Sanchez (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif.

(Full Story)

Libby Found Guilty

2007-03-06T12:14:00.000-05:00

I haven't had much time for bloggin lately, but this deserves a mention.

Libby has just been found guilty on 4 out of the 5 indictments in the CIA/Valerie Plame leak case. He was acquitted on one count of lying to the FBI.

My prediction, Libby will stay out of jail while this is appealed. Another 6 months to a year later, his conviction will be upheld, just in time for Bush to pardon him after the '08 election.

No Shock At All

2007-02-26T11:28:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, Al Sharpton found out that his ancestors were slaves owned by the ancestors of Strom Thurman. It is no shock that Turman's ancestors owned slaves. Like it or not, that is part of our past. I guess the connection between Sharpton and Thurman is somewhat ironical. But as they say, there is only 6 degrees of separation between us all.

But what really got me was the response from one of Thurman's relatives. While most of Thurman's kids flat out deny that there is any connection (after all, smoe of his kids still deny that Essie Mae Washington-Williams, Strom's biracial love child, is related even after DNA proof), a neice of Thurman had this to say.

"I doubt you can find many native South Carolinians today whose family, if you traced them back far enough, didn't own slaves," Senter, of Columbia, South Carolina, told the Daily News.

While she is right about the first part of her statement, the second part shows how much bigotry remains in the hearts of many.

She added: "And it is wonderful that (Sharpton) was able to become what he is in spite of what his forefather was."

It is wonderful that Sharpton became something in spite of his forefathers? Are you kidding me? She is saying this like being a slave is some kind of genetic affliction. If you can't see the bigotry in her statement, then you are part of the problem, not the solution.

"You know, it is really amazing that Sharpton can read and write and all... his great grand father was a slave, you know."

Might just as well say, "it is amazing what he has become since his parents were midget albino left handed cephalopods."

One of my relatives tried to contact the descendants of a former slave owner who was the father of my great-grandmother (a slave). They refused to acknowledge that one of there own could ever have stooped as low as to have ever copulated with a black woman.

I think one of the problems we face in moving forward is accepting the past. There is a good number of us who are of African decent that have achieved despite or affliction of being related to people dumb enough to have been born into slavery or enslaved outright. I have a feeling that there are even greater things to come.

Pre-War Intelligence Manipulated?

2007-02-09T13:00:00.000-05:00

Never? I am so surprised! I would never have thunk it possible!

Yeah, that is about as surprising as finding out that Strom Thurman liked the dark meat.

In a report just out by the Defense Department's inspector general, it basically says that the link between Iraq and al-Qaida was fabricated in order to fit the presidents desire to invade Iraq. Go figure...

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON - A "very damning" report by the Defense Department's inspector general depicts a Pentagon that purposely manipulated intelligence in an effort to linkSaddam Hussein to al-Qaida in the runup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, says the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"That was the argument that was used to make the sale to the American people about the need to go to war," said Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record), D-Mich. He said the Pentagon's work, "which was wrong, which was distorted, which was inappropriate ... is something which is highly disturbing."

The investigation by acting inspector general Thomas F. Gimble found that prewar intelligence work at the Pentagon, including a contention that the CIA had underplayed the likelihood of an al-Qaida connection, was inappropriate but not illegal. The report was to be presented to Levin's panel at a hearing Friday.

The report found that former Pentagon policy chief Douglas J. Feith had not engaged in illegal activities through the creation of special offices to review intelligence. Some Democrats also have contended that Feith misled Congress about the basis of the administration's assertions on the threat posed by Iraq, but the Pentagon investigation did not support that. Two people familiar with the findings discussed the main points and some details Thursday on condition they not be identified.

(Full Story)

No Lawyer for You!

2007-01-16T16:05:00.000-05:00

I have a few words to say about the remarks from Charles "Cully" Stimson, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs, who tried to bully lawyers into not providing legal assistance to Gitmo detainees. In an interview, Cully stated that CEOs should pull their work from law firms who provide pro bono assistance to detainees.

While the Pentagon has officially condemned Cully for his comments, the repugnant comment and blatant attempt to subvert the American judicial system shows the contempt this administration has for the Constitution and the Bill or Rights.

No matter how despicable a person is, no matter how disgusting society deems them to be, every person deserves the access to legal representation.

Karen Mathis, the President of the American Bar Association also issued this statement

Lawyers represent people in criminal cases to fulfill a core American value: the treatment of all people equally before the law. To impugn those who are doing this critical work -- and doing it on a volunteer basis -- is deeply offensive to members of the legal profession, and we hope to all Americans. The American Bar Association supports lawyers who give of their time and expertise defending those involved in legal actions. In fact it is one of the basic tenets of the Association's Second Season of Service, that lawyers should perform pro bono and volunteer work.

It is this lack of respect for our laws that has brought us illegal wire tapping, data mining, secret detention centers, torture, etc.

Here is a novel idea. If they are guilty of a crime - TRY THEM!

I am sure some of the people we have at Gitmo are terrorist - NOW, PROVE IT!

Show everyone in the world that the people we have locked away are locked away for a reason and not just because some nameless person says so. Or are they afraid that they can't actually prove a damn thing. If we cannot be a nation of laws, how can we expect anyone else to be.

Idiot In Chief

2007-01-11T12:27:00.000-05:00

details about this are sketchy at this time, but it appears that the U.S. military has raided the Iranian consulate in Iraq, seized documents and computers, and arrested six Iranian diplomats.

With all the really, really stupid crap this president has pulled off over the years, I didn't think anything he did could surprise me any more... but, leave it to Dubya to pull a Gomer Pile and do something even dumber than before.

At this point, we have no idea how many international laws the Bush Administration has just violated. At the very least, we are in violation of Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. If we have violated more, I don't know right now. But, Article 22 expressly states that the embassy or consulates may not be entered under any circumstance without the express permission of the diplomatic mission. Additionally, no papers, materials or communications can be seized at any time.

We all know about diplomatic immunity. The amount of immunity that is granted to a person is dependant on his/her rank. An ambassador is untouchable. A custodian head is arrestable. A consulate staff employee is only arrestable for a felony and pursuant to a warrant. I am assuming that if we stormed the consulate, we are probably not paying to much attention to the diplomatic immunity of the people either.

So, basically, we have just done what Iran did to us 25 years ago. Not only have we given up the high hand in that relationship, we just opened up every U.S. embassy and consulate in the world to being stormed and having our diplomats arrested. But, we all know that Bush can't think past lunch time, so the fact that he is endangering our own citizens probably never even crossed his mind.

Like I said, details are sketchy. I will be looking to see if there was a good explanation to this.

U.S. Forces Raid Iranian Consulate in Iraq, Detain 5 (Update2)
By Marc Wolfensberger and Robin Stringer

Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. forces in Iraq raided Iran's consulate in the northern city of Arbil and detained five staff members, a state-run Iranian news service said.

The U.S. soldiers disarmed guards and broke open the consulate's gate before seizing documents and computers during the operation, which took place today at about 5 a.m. local time, the Islamic Republic News Agency said. There was no immediate information on whether any of those detained are diplomats.

The raid follows a warning yesterday to Iran and Syria from President George W. Bush in his address to the American people on a new strategy for Iraq. Bush accused Iran and Syria of aiding the movement of ``terrorists and insurgents'' in and out of Iraq and said the U.S. will ``seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies.''

Coalition forces arrested six people during ``routine security operations'' in the Arbil area, the U.S. military said in an e-mailed statement. The military didn't confirm that the consulate was raided and didn't say whether any of those detained were Iranians.

The operation was ``part of an ongoing effort by coalition forces targeting individuals involved in activities aimed at the killing of Iraqi citizens and coalition forces,'' the military said.

(Full Story)

Hostile Enemy - FOX News

2007-01-10T11:49:00.000-05:00

Well, I am back from vacation. I will put up a report on it later. It was nice not having any contact with American politics for a little over two weeks. But, I am back and nothing has changed.

Fox "Faux" News has always been nothing more that a shill for the Republican party, but this goes way over the edge and shows outright how inept they are in understanding anything about the constitution.

This morning, FOX anchor, Gretchen "Constitution? What's that" Carlson blatantly accused Ted Kennedy an enemy of the state, and compared him to Iraqi insurgents because Senator Kennedy proposes not paying for additional troops to be sent to Iraq.

GRETCHEN CARLSON: You talk about the hostile enemy, obviously being Iraq, but hostile enemies right here on the home front. Yesterday Senator Ted Kennedy, proposing that any kind of a troop surge should mean there should be congressional approval of that. A lot of democrats not coming to his side on this. But obviously this is not going to be an easy sell on Capitol Hill, even if it’s not an easy sell to the American Public.

Well, duh Gretchen! Of course it should be approved by the congress. That is their job!

Gretchen wouldn't know the constitution if she were wiping her mouth with it.

Lets review

Article I, Sec 8
The Congress shall have Power...

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

So, Gretchen is calling Senator Kennedy a traitor for doing his constitutional duty. The Congress is required to declair war. Congress is required to pay for it. So, yes, it has to be approved by the Congress, at least acording to the constitution. It is too bad that none of the Republicans thought well enough to read over the constitution and seeing what is in their job description over the past 4 years.

H/T Think progress - see the Faux News vidio clip there

Jackass Awards Part Deux - Virgil Goode

2006-12-21T13:50:00.000-05:00

I haven't been blogging much recently. I have been overwhelmed with work and I will be leaving soon for a long vacation.

But this caught my eye. It is a letter from one of our U.S. Congressmen writing to a constituent regarding the use of a Koran to swear in the freshman Representative, Keith Ellison, who is a Muslim.

Virgil Goode, Jr. responds to his constituent to express how much disdain he has for anyone not Christian.

Thank you for your recent communication. When I raise my hand to take the oath of Searing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way. The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran. We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle Ease to come to this county. I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped...

So, apparently, Rep. Goode is not a big supporter of the First Amendment... It is ok for Goode to hold the bible while being sworn in, but god forbid that someone of another religion gets elected by democratic vote and wants to use the holy book of his own religion.

Additionally, I am completely confused about how Rep. Goode equates illegal immigration with the election of a Muslim form Minnesota. Keith Ellison, the recently elected Muslim, was born in Detroit to a Roman Catholic family. Rep. Ellison converted to Islam in college, like many other Americans have over the years. But, I guess you can't apply logic to Rep. Goode's letter since it is devoid of logic completely.

It is so sad that we have a single elected official in the U.S. government that is so narrow minded and so bigoted that he cannot accept his fellow congressman as a legitimate American. The troubling thing here is not a Muslim using the Koran to be sworn into office, but that Rep. Goode is being sworn in at all.

Dee the actual letter here

H/T Talking Points Memo

Update: Virgil Goode has decided to stand behind his bigorty and will not appologise for his letter.

Linwood Duncan, Goode's press secretary, said that Goode sent the letter to hundreds of constituents who contacted their office after Ellison disclosed his plans. At about the same time, a member of a local Sierra Club contacted Goode about a different issue, and the letter was accidentally sent to him in response. The Sierra Club member made the letter public.

"The congressman is not apologizing," Duncan said. "He stands by the letter." - Star Tribune

I guess it makes it ok that he accidently sent the letter to the wrong people. You can be a bigot, but only if you are a bigot to other bigots.

Jackass Awards

2006-12-15T11:38:00.000-05:00

Sometimes there are people who deserve a special mention for being outright jackasses. So, today, today, I am listing some from the past week who have gone above and beyond the call of Jackassdom to reach new levels of jackassedness.

#3 - Tom DeLay

Tom Delay this week blamed the whole fiasco in Iraq on liberals and democrats. He claimed that if it were not for them whining and complaining about how bad things are in Iraq, things wouldn't be bad in Iraq. I guess Republicans who had complete control of the government had nothing to do with the failures we have suffered in Iraq. Sectarian violence? Democrats... No military plan to win the war? Liberals... The erosion of moral superiority in the world's eyes? Liberal media... Donald Rumsfeld's job performance? Ted Kennedy all by himself.

#2 - Freepers

The brain trust that is also known as the Free Republic had much to say about the recent tragedy of Tim Johnson's stroke. They spent the first two responses in the thread commenting on how repugnant it is for democrats to talk about the balance of power in the U.S. Senate if Johnson was not to fully recover or die... and then spent the next 78 responses talking about the balance of power in the Senate if Johnson was not to fully recover or die.

Notably, the Freepers also commented on how Johnson's stroke was the will of God to put control of the Senate back in Republican hands.

The real news of the day is that God may have placed the Senate back in our hands!

If the Senator recovers we can have joy for him and his family, we are abased. If he does not, we can have joy for our nation, we abound [emphasis is their own]

Then the freepers went on to make fun of the Senator if he were to be severely disabled.

One blink means 'tax'. Two blinks means 'spend'. Three blinks means 'surrender'

It warms the heart to know that the good people at the Free Republic are looking out for our best interests.

# 1 - Soledad O'Brien

Today, the waste of space that is Soledad O'Brien, interviewed the three wives of the men trapped on Mt. Hood. As the three women held each others hands, on the verge of tears, Soledad reiterated the horrible conditions on the mountain and asked the dumbest question ever:

"Are you still hopeful? The weather conditions as you've seen are so dreadful; the rescuers can't make it up the mountain; It is almost white out conditions; it's weather wise terrible, terrible conditions. Are you still hopeful you are going to get any good news out of this"

Thank you Soledad for telling these women that they have basically no cause for hope that they may ever see their loved ones again. What are they supposed to say? 'No, we have no hope. Our husbands are as good as dead'? Why don't you go eat one of their kids also, Soledad... lets see if you can do anything to make them feel even worse.

Why Do Today What You Can Put Off Until Tomorrow

2006-12-13T11:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, President Bush stated that he will put off announcing his plans for changes in his Iraq policy until after the new year. As of right now, we have gone into a "new way forward."

And by a new way forward, he means a new way forward... to a new slogan.

Seriously, if they had put as much time into actually planning and executing the war as they put into coming up with new catchy slogans, we might have been able to win this thing.

First it was "Mission Accomplished" - Well, turns out that the mission wasn't accomplished, so they had to scrap that.

Then they moved to "The Next Phase" - Unfortunately, the next phase was a phase into insurgency.

After that, we had "Stay the Course" - Again, that course was right over a cliff

Then came "Adapt and Change" - This, of course, referred to the Bush administrations slogans and not actually policy. The policy remained stay the course. The only thing adapted or changed was Bush's catch phrase.

Now, it is "A New Way Forward" - Again, this appears only to be a way forward to a new slogan. He just needed enough time for his PR team to come up with a new slogan... Because, you know... a good slogan solves everything.

I am thinking the next one will be "What? Like You've Got a Better Idea" - But then again, I think Mrs. Harding's 3rd grade class could actually come up with a better idea, so that might not be a good one.

"It's A Hard Job Being the President" has already been used, so that is right out the window.

With any luck, then next slogan will be "Whatever Dude! I Quit!"

The Nut Job Convention

2006-12-12T15:25:00.000-05:00

There is a world meeting today of the world's leading nut jobs in Iran. Hosted by Iranian President Mahmoud "Mommy Didn't Hug Me Enough" Ahmadinejad, world intellectual featherweights convened the first annual "Holocaust? What Ev" convention to deny the deaths of millions of Jews during the Nazi era.

Disturbing enough was the attendance of former Grand Wizard of the KKK, David Duke, but what really got me was the number of Jews in attendance.

At one point, Ahmadinejad said that Israel will go the way of the Soviet Union and that there should be elections among "Jews, Christians and Muslims so the population of Palestine can select their government and destiny for themselves in a democratic manner." I guess he forgets that Israel is the only real democracy in the middle east.

Ahmadinejad, while being completely insane, is not politically unsavvy. I have to wonder if there is a motivation behind this conference other than just pure blinding hatred. At first, I thought that it could be a wedge issue to try to split the U.S. from its allies. Anti-semitism is still somewhat stronger in Europe than it is in the U.S., especially in Russia. But if this was his plan, it was sure to backfire, as has proven to have happen. Strong rebukes from all over the world have landed at the Iranian President's door mat. Any indication that he had made to the effect that his nuclear program is "peaceful" is contradicted by this, along with many of his comments that Israel should be wiped off the map.

Unfortunately, just like we are stuck with Bush, Iran is stuck with Ahmadinejad. When military options are nil, the only other path is diplomacy.

Holocaust deniers' meeting spurs outrage
By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer

VIENNA, Austria - A gathering of Holocaust deniers in Iran touched off a firestorm of indignation Tuesday across Europe, where many countries have made it a crime to publicly disavow the Nazis' systematic extermination of 6 million Jews.

The European Union's top justice official condemned the conference as "an unacceptable affront" to victims of the World War II genocide. British Prime Minister Tony Blair denounced it as "shocking beyond belief" and proof of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's extremism.

"I think it is such a symbol of sectarianism and hatred toward people of another religion. I find it just unbelievable, really," Blair said in London.

"I mean to go and invite the former head of the Ku Klux Klan to a conference in Tehran which disputes the millions of people who died in the Holocaust ... what further evidence do you need that this regime is extreme?" he added.

David Duke, an ex-Klan leader and former Louisiana state representative, was among those at the two-day conference. Although organizers touted it as a scholarly gathering, the meeting angered many in countries such as Austria, Germany and France, where it is illegal to deny aspects of the Nazi Holocaust.

In Washington, the White House condemned Iran for convening a conference it called "an affront to the entire civilized world."

The conference drew especially sharp condemnation in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country repudiated it "with all our strength."

"We absolutely reject this. Germany will never accept this and will act against it with all the means that we have," Merkel told reporters. She stood alongside visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who denounced the meeting as "unacceptable" and a "danger" to the Western world.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy was interrupted by applause from lawmakers when he told parliament in Paris that the conference showed a resurgence of "revisionist" theories "which are quite simply not acceptable."

(Full Story)

The Way Forward

2006-12-06T15:06:00.000-05:00

Well, the report is in - literally. The Baker-Hamilton report was released today and it flat out says that stay the course is not an option.

"The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating. There is no path that can guarantee success, but the prospects can be improved."

Hopefully, Bush will actually use this, along with the new Sec. of Defense as political cover to actually change course.

What I find very interesting about the report is that it acknowledges the role of the Palestine/Israeli conflict in the regions instability.

"The United States cannot achieve its goals in the Middle East unless it deals directly with the Arab-Israeli conflict and regional instability. There must be a renewed and sustained commitment by the United States to a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace on all fronts: Lebanon, Syria and President Bush's June 2002 commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. This commitment must include direct talks with, by and between Israel, Lebanon, Palestinians — those who accept Israel's right to exist — and Syria."

It took a lot of political balls to not only call Bush out on his failed Iraq policy, but on his failure to fully engage the other problems.

I will keep my fingers crossed that something will come out of this report, but I will not hold my breath. I doubt that Bush has the intellectual depth to comprehend the big picture on the Middle East and the War on Terror.

Excerpts of Iraq Study Group report

Panel: Bush Iraq policy 'not working'

Reaction to Iraq recommendations

Bush text on Baker-Hamilton report

Iraq Panel Calls Conditions 'Grave and Deteriorating'

Bolton Resigns Before Being Blown Out

2006-12-04T12:26:00.000-05:00

Thankfully, John Bolton has resigned as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, a position that he filled after Bush appointed him by using the recess appointment process. Bolton, was active in the ongoing negotiations with both North Korea and Iran in regards to their nuclear programs. His track record on that alone is indication enough as to why he should not be confirmed.

Bush is calling the democrats obstructionist in the matter, even though there are Republicans who are also blocking his nomination.

I guess Bush will have to go back to his father's bull pen again to find someone who can actually do a decent job.

Bolton to exit as U.N. ambassador
By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton will step down in the coming days, the White House announced on Monday, unable to overcome Democratic Senate opposition.

Bolton's attempt to hang on to his job, already tenuous, became even more problematic after Democrats who had blocked his nomination won control of the Senate in November elections.

President George W. Bush appointed Bolton largely because of a commitment to reform the world body. But Bolton's outspokenness and prickly manner often angered the diplomatic community and some of his fellow U.N. ambassadors at times found him difficult to work with.
(Full Story)

7 Day Waiting Period for a 4 Day Cold

2006-11-28T11:42:00.000-05:00

So, I am sick... yes, even superhero crime fighters get sick. I have been living the last couple of days off of Advil Cold & Sinus pills that I had left over from the last time I was sick. But this morning, still being in a drug induced stupor from the NyQuil I downed in mass quantities the night before, I forgot to take any of the Advil pills into work with me.

I figured that it would be no big deal. I would just pop into a CVS along the way to work and pick up some more and the day would go on as usual.

Unbeknownst to me, you can no longer just pop in to a CVS and buy the little buggers. Nooooooo!!! Now you have to go through a FBI background check to buy them.

I understand why. One of the ingredients in Advil Cold & Sinus is also used to make crystal meth. You have to take a little card from the shelf where the pills used to be, and take it back to the pharmacy where you have to wait in line behind all the little old ladies picking up their "water pills" and the middle age men picking up their little blue somethings that they cringe at when the clerk loudly exclaims, "Mr. Smith, your erectile dysfunction medication is now ready."

So, I finally get to the front of the line. I have to show ID, which they record. I have to sign my name. They then take a blood sample, urine sample, and run my fingerprints through IAFIS. I then have to recite a loyalty oath and tell me I can come back and pick up the Advil after a 7 day waiting period. I was waiting to the waterboarding to start.

Seriously, I think it is easier to buy a gun in North Carolina than to buy Advil Cold & Sinus in New York City.

Ethics Reform... Finally

2006-11-21T15:33:00.000-05:00

While it is not a done deal, and I never hold my breath when it comes to politics and money in Washington, the Democrats are planning on actually doing what the Republicans promised, but never did... Ethics reform.

Early next year, the Democrats will roll out several bills that will ban meals, travel and other gifts from lobbyist.

Notably, the Democrats also plan on holding longer debates on each of the issues...

AND, get this, actually plan to allow the Republicans to take part of the floor debate and crafting of the legislation, something that Republicans never did when they had power.

Years of draconian rule by the majority party may be at an end, along with much of the money that spurs corruption.

But, like I said, I never hold my breath when it comes to politicians and money.

Democrats Plan Series of Votes on Ethics Reforms

A New York Moment

2006-11-17T16:00:00.000-05:00

Rove Re-revisited

2006-11-15T15:27:00.000-05:00

It looks like I am not the only one thinking about the effectiveness of Rove's campeign style in this last election.

...But many Republicans think Rove is off the mark this time. His critics say Rove based his 2006 strategy on what worked in the past--polarizing the electorate and attempting to rally the GOP base--and didn't pay enough attention to independents and swing voters. Adds a senior GOP strategist outside the White House: "The political world is always shifting and changing. We need to be flexible."

The 51% campeign can only work for so long. 6 years seems to be the maximum this time.

Rove Sells Election Spin; Some in GOP Aren't Buying

Irony Is Not Just A River In Egypt

2006-11-14T17:27:00.000-05:00

On the heels of Bush's cross country campaign against the "Cut and Run" democrats, Bush is now on a three nation tour of the far east.

One of those nation that Bush will be visiting is Vietnam. The irony of this trip could not be greater. Bush spent two solid months of crisscrossing this country, begging and pleading for people to return a Republican majority to the Congress. He bellowed over and over that a Democratically controlled congress will cut and run from Iraq and the world will come to a quick and decisive end, and now he is visiting Vietnam...

Vietnam is the last major conflict in which we cut and run. It was said that the whole of the far east would fall to communism. The American way of life would be jeopardized.

Now, 25 years later, Bush is attending a conference in Hanoi. Americans and Europeans flock as tourist to the same beaches that we "fled" from a generation earlier. The American way of life was preserved despite the pro-war faction's predictions. Post war analysis has pretty much definitively determined that the war in Vietnam would never have been winnable without 50,000 more American lives lost. 25 years since we cut and ran and the world didn't end.

The is because cut and run is not the end of the world. It wasn't then, and it is not now.

If Truman had cut and run in 1950 from the Korean war as soon as the status quo had been regained and the North Koreans had been pushed back to the 38th parallel, it would have saved 10,000 American lives. Instead, he decided to push the North Koreans all the way to China which ended up extending the war by three years. In the end, we ended up with the same result as we would have if we had just ended the war in 1950.

I have never advocated an immediate pullout of American troops. But lets stop the idiotic propaganda war of saying that cut and run is un-patriotic. Sometimes, cut and run is the best and most viable option. If you are down $20,000 at the poker table, is it really manly to keep on betting and lose the house as well? If we stop the name calling and the fake patriotic machismo, maybe we can finally have an honest discussion about how to best conduct the war in Iraq and the war on terror. From a purely global strategic position, cut and run might be the very best thing for the American people, the Iraqi people, and the War on Terror.

Bush's War On America Continues

2006-11-14T13:41:00.000-05:00

Despite being thoroughly rejected in the polls last week, King George's war on America continues. Bush has declared that the recent law that allows him to hold detainees indefinitely in Cuba also applies to all immigrants, legal or illegal residing or visiting the United States. Any person that the Bush Administration declares to be an enemy combatant can be rounded up and detained forever with no right to a trial or to legal counsel of any sort. This means Mexican immigrants who came over the border yesterday, as well as your grandmother who came here from the old country 50 years ago.

The wing nuts out there will be saying, "but it only applies to the bad guys." Well, how the hell do we know it only applies to the bad guys if there is no way for the imprisoned person to ever confront the accusers and present evidence in court of their innocence.

Once a person is rounded up, the government does not have to present a single shred of evidence that the person being detained is or ever was a threat to the United States. If the person is ever tired, they would be tried in front of a military tribunal where the government cannot be forced to ever disclose the evidence against the accused.

What kind of fascist state is he trying to turn this country into? This is obscene in every aspect and is a slap in the face of our founding fathers. This country is based on the rule of law. If was based on principles of order and justice. Bush is throwing that all out the window. How do we say that we are spreading democracy and freedom around the world when we are turning this country into a police state.

US: Immigrants may be held indefinitely
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer
Tue Nov 14, 6:39 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Immigrants arrested in the United States may be held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism and may not challenge their imprisonment in civilian courts, the Bush administration said Monday, opening a new legal front in the fight over the rights of detainees.

In court documents filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., the Justice Department said a new anti-terrorism law being used to hold detainees in Guantanamo Bay also applies to foreigners captured and held in the United States.

Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar, was arrested in 2001 while studying in the United States. He has been labeled an "enemy combatant," a designation that, under a law signed last month, strips foreigners of the right to challenge their detention in federal courts.

That law is being used to argue the Guantanamo Bay cases, but Al-Marri represents the first detainee inside the United States to come under the new law. Aliens normally have the right to contest their imprisonment, such as when they are arrested on immigration violations or for other crimes.

"It's pretty stunning that any alien living in the United States can be denied this right," said Jonathan Hafetz, an attorney for Al-Marri. "It means any non-citizen, and there are millions of them, can be whisked off at night and be put in detention."
(Full Story)

Rove Revisited

2006-11-13T14:43:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot made out of the results of this election and the reputation and legacy of Karl Rove. His critics are saying that this shows that Rove is anything but a boy genius.

Rove has most often used the 51% strategy in his campaigns. That means, you try to get 51% of the electorate, but no more. You do this by creating a divided electorate and playing one side off the other.

It is true that Roves 51% strategy failed in this election. That is the problem with the 51% strategy. It is not a long term strategy. You can only hold together the coalition as long as you don't alienate anyone group. That, of course, is impossible.

Roves strategy worked great for 6 years. Now, with too many people tired of partisanship and too many people alienated from the Republican party, the power has shifted hands.

Whether or not Rove is a campaign prodigy is irrelevant. If he is a genius or a buffoon, is besides the point as to what is his current effectiveness? Rove plays his cards by dividing people, not in uniting them. If Bush was eligible to seek yet another term, this might be a viable option now that there is an opposition party in power. But, Bush is not eligible for another term, and Bush legacy is hanging in the balance.

If Bush follows the traditional Rove strategy of confrontation and division, the presidents last two years in office are doomed to be of inaction and greater resentment by the American populace.

Alternatively, if Bush wants to finish out his presidential career and a positive note, and have any hope of his name being remembered fondly in the history books, he needs to reject partisanship and embrace bipartisanship.

Can this happen with Rove as a top advisor? Can Rove overcome his own tendencies to go for the jugular? Can the Democrats in power trust anything coming out of the White House that appears to be cooperation, but coming from Rove's office?

I think that the answer for all of this is no. Rove is a ilability and has become as ineffective as Rumsfeld when it comes to political play. He is the political equivalent to the hockey goon who's job is to fight, not to score goals. The president needs a goal scorer if he is to leave an even marginal legacy from 8 years of office. Rove should be replaced with a new advisor that can be seen as less divisive. Otherwise, Bush really is a lame duck... and historically speaking, a dead duck.

Rove Remains Steadfast in the Face of Criticism

Quagmire

2006-11-10T16:39:00.000-05:00

Can't Keep Quiet has a great little clip of Dick Cheney saying during the 1991 Gulf War that removal of Saddam from power and the occupation of Iraq could be nothing other than a quagmire. Go figure...

No New Tail to Tell

2006-11-10T16:28:00.000-05:00

It has been a couple of days now since the American people swept Republicans out of power and swept a bunch of new Democrats into power.

To ease their woes, I see all over the right-sided blogosphere that the Democrats elected to oust the Republicans are "conservative" and that the American people actually didn't move the political spectrum towards the left.

Hmmm... Aren't these "conservative" Democrats just elected the same people that were "way too liberal" only days before the election?

Rumsfeld Resigns

2006-11-08T13:13:00.000-05:00

It is officially a very very good day. The bum is out on his ass. I don't feel bad for him. I am sure that he will land a very lucrative job with Haliburton in about 45 seconds.

I am quite shocked that Rumsfeld is gone. Bush is so damn stubborn that I thought he would hold on to him until the bitter end. Afterall, it was only a week ago that Bush said he would keep Rumsfeld regardless of what people thought of the failing war in Iraq. Is this just another Bush flip-flop? I guess Bush was for Rumsfled before he was against him.

There are two possible reasons for his resignation.

The first is because of the election results. The message sent by the American people was that they have no confidence in the Republican leadership of the country. Bush can be stubborn for only so long. Sooner or later he must wake up and smell the grime. He (or should I say his advisers know) that it will be very difficult for the Bush Administration to deal with the Democratically controlled congress with Rumsfeld in office.

The second, is that it will give the Bush administration some breathing room on the war in Iraq. With a new person coming in, the democrats are almost obliged to let the new person have a shot at it before putting more pressure on the Administration to pull out troops.

It was clear that Rumsfeld was ineffectual as DOD Secretary and the democratic victory made him even more irrelevant. Either way, this is a victory for the American people, and most of all, the troops fighting in Iraq.

GOP says Rumsfeld is stepping down

It Sucks To be the King

2006-11-08T13:01:00.000-05:00

It has got to be a sad day for King George. For all intensive purposes, he got a vote of no confidence from the American people yesterday during the mid term election. An anti-mandate was issued for his policies on domestic and foreign affairs. In the end, there will be about a 32 seat pick up in the House of Representatives for the Democrats. In the Senate, where no one thought that the Dems would pick up the six needed seats, the Dems took control. There is no other way to describe this than a massive blow out for the Republicans. The GOP pundits are trying to spin this anyway they can, but even the die-hard Freepers know what this was all about.

For me, the birds are chirping... the air is fresher... although, the latter could be due to the Clean Air Act being enforced again.

The American people sent a clear message. They are tired of the corruption, they are tired of the lies, they are tired of right wing extremist trying to impose their will on the rest of us, they are tired of incompetence, and the are really tired of George "stay the course" Bush. The message was so clear and convincing that as I writer this, Rusfled is getting canned (GOP says Rumsfeld is stepping down).

Karl Rove's belief that you could build a permanent majority by running a 51% divide and conquer style campaign has finally come to an end. First of all, no majority is ever permanent. Second, a majority built on 51% tactics is even more fragile.

I am guessing that Bush is ruing the fact that he claimed that a vote for a democrat is a vote for terrorist. He now has to deal with the democrats who control the legislative agenda.

I am also guessing that the Republicans who still have jobs are second guessing the way that they treated democrats over the past 6 years. Republicans who were in the majority blocked democrats from participating in the legislative process in all aspects other than the actual voting on bills.

The three GOP senators that I wanted to see lose the most all lost. That is Santorum of Pennsylvania, Burns of Montana, and Allen of Virginia. I think I wanted to see Allen lose the most out of all three of them. He is such a slimy guy. I feel that I need to take a shower after just watching him on TV.

I hope that the Dems hold up their end of the bargin and deliver on what they promised. I also hope that they treat the republicans with the respect that they failed to treat us. Just because we won does not mean we should play down to their level.

A Voter Rebuke For Bush, the War And the Right

How to Win as a Republican?

2006-11-07T17:06:00.000-05:00

Pretend to be a Democrat.

Today, the Republican candidates for Governor and Senate bused in homeless people from Pennsylvania to had out literature in predominately black precincts.

There is only on catch... the pamphlets (sample ballots) that the hired hands were handing out labeled the Republican candidates as Democrats and not Republicans.

That's right, the only way for a Republican to win these days is to pretend to be a Democrat.

These actions, along with all the other crap that has been going on to mislead, confuse and trick voters is disgusting. Right or Left, let people vote on the issues.

Sample Ballots in Pr. George's Misidentify Candidates
By Ernesto Londo?o
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 7, 2006; 4:18 PM

Inaccurate sample ballots describing Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Senate candidate Michael S. Steele as Democrats were handed out to voters in at least four polling sites in Prince George's County this morning.

The ballots were distributed by people who said they arrived by buses this morning from Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Erik Markle, one of the people handing out literature for Ehrlich, who is seeking reelection, and Steele, the current lieutenant governor who is campaigning to replace retiring Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D), said he was recruited at a homeless shelter in Philadelphia.

After a two-hour bus ride to Maryland, Markle said the workers were greeted early this morning by first lady Kendel Ehrlich, who thanked them as they were outfitted in T-shirts and hats with the logo for Ehrlich's reelection campaign. Nearly all of those recruited, Markle said, are poor and black. Workers traveled to Maryland in at least seven large buses.
(Full Story)

I Voted

2006-11-07T11:04:00.000-05:00

It is done.

Regardless of how this election day ends up, I cast my vote against the status quo and for change. I cast my vote for success and against failure. I cast my vote as a referendum on the Bush administration and to tell him, in the only way I can, that he is not right, all knowing, and omnipowerful. I cast my vote for people who believe that we must progress and not regress. I cast my vote for people who believe all Americans are equal and not just those who fit the pre-ordained mold. I cast my vote for family values... real family values, not just the pretend ones that the right has been pushing. I cast my vote for cures for disease, a raise in the minimum wage and for holding our elected officials accountable.

In the grand scheme of things, my vote counts for little, but it counts a whole lot to me.

Update: Looks like there are plenty of problems with the electronic voting machines across the country. Several jurisdictions have already had to file motions with the courts to keep their polling station open for an extended period. In MO, there are electronic machines tabulating votes the Republican when the Democrat has been selected. In PA, it is reported that there are at least 2 precincts with no working machines. Similar issues in OH.

It is reported that even Ken Mehlman, the head of the Republican National Committee decided to vote with a paper ballot instead of an electronic voting machine when given the choice. That says a lot.

It is going to be a long day.

Bush Blames Republican Congress

2006-11-06T16:59:00.000-05:00

Bush today blamed the Republican congress for posting the Iraqi blueprints for a nuclear weapon on the web. He claims that he was pressured by congress to post the seized documents on the web so conservatives could peruse the documents in hopes that they still might find a smoking gun.

So, Bush is willing to use signing statements to allow torture and numerous other "programs" in the name of national security, regardless of congress laws, but he is willing to post nuclear material because the GOP threatened to propose a bill that would require him to post the documents.

Yeah, that ain't fly'n. Does he have "presidential powers" to protect us or not. I thought congress couldn't "tell him noth'n." I am confused.

U.S. shuts Web site said to reveal nuclear guide: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has shut down a Web site it set up in March containing documents captured during the Iraq war after experts raised concerns it offered a guide to building an atom bomb, the New York Times reported.

It said the Bush administration started the site under pressure from congressional Republicans who hoped to use the Internet to find new evidence of dangers posed by former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

(Full Story)

Let the Fat Lady Sing

2006-11-06T14:39:00.000-05:00

The negative ads have been run. The president has done his best to scare us. The push polls and the robo calls have been made. The voter suppression has been conducted. The political pundits have stuck to their talking points.

The only thing left is to let the fat lady sing and vote tomorrow.

Even if the Dems don't take back the Senate, I will be happy if Allen, Santorum and Burns all get shot down.

With the Writing on the Wall... Bush Looks at His Feet

2006-11-05T12:13:00.000-05:00

Things are really really bad for the Bush Iraq policy when the most ardent of supporters, the king of the Neo-cons, Richard Pearle, is saying that the presidents policy is failed and he is completely incompetent.

Iraq war proponents decry administration
By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer
Sat Nov 4, 5:39 PM ET

WASHINGTON - A leading conservative proponent of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq now says dysfunction within the Bush administration has turned U.S. policy there into a disaster.

Even worse is when the Military Times, et al, the news papers dedicated to the military branches and their issues, are calling for the removal of Donald Rumsfeld. None the less, Dick Cheney was on the Sunday morning Talking Heads saying that the Iraq policy will continue full steam ahead without change.

Time for Rumsfeld to go

“So long as our government requires the backing of an aroused and informed public opinion ... it is necessary to tell the hard bruising truth.”
That statement was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Marguerite Higgins more than a half-century ago during the Korean War.
But until recently, the “hard bruising” truth about the Iraq war has been difficult to come by from leaders in Washington.
One rosy reassurance after another has been handed down by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: “mission accomplished,” the insurgency is “in its last throes,” and “back off,” we know what we’re doing, are a few choice examples.
Military leaders generally toed the line, although a few retired generals eventually spoke out from the safety of the sidelines, inciting criticism equally from anti-war types, who thought they should have spoken out while still in uniform, and pro-war foes, who thought the generals should have kept their critiques behind closed doors.
Now, however, a new chorus of criticism is beginning to resonate. Active-duty military leaders are starting to voice misgivings about the war’s planning, execution and dimming prospects for success.
Army Gen. John Abizaid, chief of U.S. Central Command, told a Senate Armed Services Committee in September: “I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I’ve seen it ... and that if not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move towards civil war.”
Last week, someone leaked to The New York Times a Central Command briefing slide showing an assessment that the civil conflict in Iraq now borders on “critical” and has been sliding toward “chaos” for most of the past year. The strategy in Iraq has been to train an Iraqi army and police force that could gradually take over for U.S. troops in providing for the security of their new government and their nation.
But despite the best efforts of American trainers, the problem of molding a viciously sectarian population into anything resembling a force for national unity has become a losing proposition.
For two years, American sergeants, captains and majors training the Iraqis have told their bosses that Iraqi troops have no sense of national identity, are only in it for the money, don’t show up for duty and cannot sustain themselves.
Meanwhile, colonels and generals have asked their bosses for more troops. Service chiefs have asked for more money.
And all along, Rumsfeld has assured us that things are well in hand.
Now, the president says he’ll stick with Rumsfeld for the balance of his term in the White House.
This is a mistake. It is one thing for the majority of Americans to think Rumsfeld has failed. But when the nation’s current military leaders start to break publicly with their defense secretary, then it is clear that he is losing control of the institution he ostensibly leads.
These officers have been loyal public promoters of a war policy many privately feared would fail. They have kept their counsel private, adhering to more than two centuries of American tradition of subordination of the military to civilian authority.
And although that tradition, and the officers’ deep sense of honor, prevent them from saying this publicly, more and more of them believe it.
Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.
This is not about the midterm elections. Regardless of which party wins Nov. 7, the time has come, Mr. President, to face the hard bruising truth:
Donald Rumsfeld must go.

Constitutional Matters Project

2006-11-03T14:01:00.000-05:00

The November Issue of CMP is out.

Mistress Ann Caught in Possible Voter Fraud

2006-11-02T13:44:00.000-05:00

Mistress of the dark, Ann Coulter, is finding herself in a little legal trouble over possible voting fraud. Funny that...

It is surprising that someone with so much distaste for democracy would even vote.

Columnist Coulter in hot water over voting
POSTED: 5:44 p.m. EST, November 1, 2006

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) -- Conservative columnist Ann Coulter has refused to cooperate in an investigation into whether she voted in the wrong precinct, so the case will probably be turned over to prosecutors, Palm Beach County's elections chief said Wednesday.

Elections Supervisor Arthur Anderson said his office has been looking into the matter for nearly nine months, and he would turn over the case to the state attorney's office by Friday.

Coulter's attorney did not immediately return a call Wednesday. Nor did her publicist at her publisher, Crown Publishing.

Knowingly voting in the wrong precinct is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Anderson's office received a complaint in February that Coulter voted in the wrong precinct during a February 7 Palm Beach town council election.

(Full Story)

Boehner: Iraq is the Troops Fault

2006-11-02T12:38:00.000-05:00

So, a top GOP House Leader insults the troops and blames the mess in Iraq all on them... I am guessing you won't get outrage from the right-wing blogs on this one. I know I haven't seen any yet. It will just go to prove how insincere they were about Kerry's comments.

In an interview Wednesday on CNN, Boehner said, "Let's not blame what's happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld."

CNN's Wolf Blitzer replied, "But he's in charge of the military."

"The fact is, the generals on the ground are in charge, and he works closely with them and the president," Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said.

Boehner: Let's not blame Iraq woes on Rumsfeld

Wingnuts politicians keep saying that liberals hate the military. So, if Republican lawmakers love the military so much, compared to Democrats in office, why did so few of them ever serve in uniform?

Update: Still no outrage from the right... Go figure. As suspected, it was all political.

Boehner refuses to apologize for faulting generals

Enough Already

2006-11-01T14:47:00.000-05:00

Enough with he righteous indignation coming from the right wing already over Kerry's comments. Yes, what he said was extremely stupid and probably did offend some people.

But enough with the righteous indignation. Anyone who grew up during Viet Nam and either severed solely due to the draft or received a deferment due to being in school knows exactly what he he was talking about and know that he was right on point.

We should all be proud of the soldiers who are fighting in Iraq. And they should all be proud to serve in an all volunteer army. But anyone who tries to make the claim that the bulk of the armed forces in the direct line of fire throughout the history of warfare is not made up primarily of the lesser educated and low to lower-middle class either lying or living in an alternate reality.

For millennia, the armies of the world have been made up of those who have fewer alternatives for a prosperous future than those with an education or wealth. During Viet Nam, the war that Bush opted out of, it was the uneducated that were drafted. The rich who could pull strings and those who were in college were the ones who had a choice. Bush had a choice not to fight... Cheney had a choice not to fight... Limbaugh had a choice not to fight. The average high school grad working in the steel mill had no choice. He had to fight.

Yes, there are plenty of educated men and women who are serving in Iraq right now. But, I read the names of those soldiers who have fallen in Iraq every night. You don't see General and Majors in the titles. You see PFC and Sgt's. Lets face it. Even if you do volunteer for the army. If you have a college degree or higher, the chances of you being killed in Iraq is substantially lower.

This is an all volunteer army, but which high schools do the military recruiters target? The ones where 90% of the grads have been accepted to college or those which the kids are lucky if they go on to one semester at the local community college? There is a reason that the military targets the lesser educated. Because they know that they have fewer options.

When Edwards mentioned that Cheney's daughter was gay, there was the same outrage given by the right. Two days ago, Bush publicly declared gay Americans are less equal and less deserving of equal protection of the law than heterosexual Americans. Where was the outrage over that? Hmmm?

So spare me the sanctimonious crap. Kerry was speaking the truth. And you all know it. You are just looking for any excuse to be able to lay your anger over the botched "American Democracy Experiment" on anyone other that the people who deserve it. Was Kerry's comment stupid? Yes, but what is really insulting to the troops is the way that Bush has waged this war.

Bush Calls Kerry Remarks Insulting to U.S. Troops

Kerry Apologizes, Calls Remarks a 'Botched Joke'

Intellectual Dishonesty

2006-10-31T11:44:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, George "Stay the Course" Bush, came out swinging against the recent decision in the New Jersey State Supreme court saying that homosexual couples must be given the same state rights as heterosexual couples.

"For decades, activist judges have tried to redefine America by court order," Bush said Monday. "Just this last week in New Jersey, another activist court issued a ruling that raises doubt about the institution of marriage. We believe marriage is a union between a man and a woman, and should be defended."
- Bush hits hard at gay marriage

Right off the bat, Bush decides to leave intellectual honesty at the door.

First, the state of New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that everyone must be treated equally. How does any president who is sworn to uphold the constitution stand behind a podium and claim that it is their political platform to make one class of Americans inferior to others. It is not hard to understand the words "equal protection of the law." It is an easy concept... seriously... it just means if you give certain legal rights to one group of people, you have to afford that same rights to similar other groups. How is this not a fundamental principal that Bush is 100% behind.

HELD: Denying committed same-sex couples the financial and social benefits and privileges given to their married
heterosexual counterparts bears no substantial relationship to a legitimate governmental purpose. The Court holds
that under the equal protection guarantee of Article I, Paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, committed samesex
couples must be afforded on equal terms the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the
civil marriage statutes. The name to be given to the statutory scheme that provides full rights and benefits to samesex
couples, whether marriage or some other term, is a matter left to the democratic process.

Second, the State of New Jersey Supreme Court did not rule that homosexuals must be given the right to marry. The one and only thing they said was that homosexual couples must be afforded the same rights as heterosexual couples. That means they must be given the same rights to survivorship and state benefits. This can be done as a civil union or marriage. The Court left that decision up to the legislature to decide.

"I believe I should continue to appoint judges who strictly interpret the law and not legislate from the bench," the president said, earning more applause in the sweltering basketball arena at Georgia Southern University.

This ruling was anything but an activist decision. The court did exactly what the president wanted. They strictly interpreted the law. In fact, if the court ruled the opposite way, that same-sex couples do not deserve the same rights, that would be an activist court because the court is ignoring the law. You can't expect the court to ignore the law just because the thought of two men sleeping together gives you the willies.

Ironically, the religious people that Bush panders to on this issue are shooting themselves in the foot in the long run. For a government to legislate that marriage is between only a man and a women are infringing upon religious freedoms. They are encouraging the state to define religion and how you can practice your personal faith.

Bush can do nothing other than to play to the base fears of conservatives. He is being intellectually dishonest and in in no form or manner a leader upholding the Constitution of the United States.

New Jersay Rules On Gay Marriage

2006-10-25T16:15:00.000-04:00

The New Jersey supreme court today ruled that the state must either allow gay marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples. The court ruled that the inequity in marriage laws is intolerable under the New Jersey State Constitution. The state legislature now has 180 days to either allow gay marriage, or offer some sort of civil union. Since it is still my firm belief that banning gay marraige is a violation of the 1st Amendments freedom of religion clause, I am hoping that the NJ legislature will go with marriage and not a civli union. If the state is going to recognize marriages done by churches, it should recognize marriages done by all churches, not just the ones who believe marriage is between a man and a woman.

The holding was perfect in its constitutional analysis:

HELD: Denying committed same-sex couples the financial and social benefits and privileges given to their married
heterosexual counterparts bears no substantial relationship to a legitimate governmental purpose. The Court holds
that under the equal protection guarantee of Article I, Paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, committed samesex
couples must be afforded on equal terms the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples under the
civil marriage statutes. The name to be given to the statutory scheme that provides full rights and benefits to samesex
couples, whether marriage or some other term, is a matter left to the democratic process.

Holding via Atrios

This is just one of four states now that has decided "equal protection under the laws" actually means equal protection.

Religious conservatives can hold out for a long time, but eventually, equal protection will be equal protection in all 50 states.

NJ court stops short of gay marriage OK
By GEOFF MULVIHILL, Associated Press Writer

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey's Supreme Court opened the door to gay marriage Wednesday, ruling that homosexuals are entitled to the same rights as heterosexuals, but leaving it to lawmakers to legalize same-sex unions.

The high court gave lawmakers 180 days to rewrite marriage laws to either include same-sex couples or create a new system of civil unions for them.

The ruling is similar to the 1999 decision in Vermont that led to civil unions there, which offer the benefits of marriage, but not the name.

"Although we cannot find that a fundamental right to same-sex marriage exists in this state, the unequal dispensation of rights and benefits to committed same-sex partners can no longer be tolerated under our state Constitution," Justice Barry T. Albin wrote for the 4-3 majority's decision.

Outside the Supreme Court, news of the ruling caused confusion, with many of the roughly 100 gay marriage supporters outside asking each other what it meant. Many started to agree that they needed to push for a state constitutional amendment to institute gay marriage.
(Full Story)

Rush Limbaugh - Still a Slime Ball

2006-10-25T11:29:00.000-04:00

Michael J. Fox recently did a couple of TV ads for candidates who support stem cell research. This is not surprising since Fox suffers from Parkinson's disease and there is hope that a cure to the disease can be found using stem cell research.

We all know that stem cell research is a very divisive topic. I happen to think that the life of a human who is suffering from disease now is more valuable than some blastocytes that are going to be flushed down a toilet anyway. But that is just my view. Not everyone sees it the same way and I will respectfully disagree with whose who find this process of research immoral.

But Rush has to go one step further and claim that Michael J. Fox was faking his condition when he appeared in the TV ads.

"He is exaggerating the effects of the disease," Limbaugh told listeners. "He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act. . . . This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting."

I am sure that Rush is a medical expert who can diagnose the true affects of Parkinson's disease from a TV ad. After all, we all know that Rush is fully aware of the effects of drugs on the human system. So, Rush, like usual is right. Michael J. Fox was shamelessly acting and duping us all. I am sure the effects of Parkinson's disease had nothing to do with Fox quitting his acting career in his prime. In fact, Fox probably doesn't even have Parkinson's. This is just another liberal conspiracy to kill more babies.

Or Rush is just a big fat rat bastard...

Take your pick.

Rush Limbaugh On the Offensive Against Ad With Michael J. Fox

Cutting and Staying... Errr... Running the Course... Errr

2006-10-24T12:16:00.000-04:00

So, Bush is cutting and running... from staying the course... kind of.

Bush has decided to no longer use the term "stay the course." But that doesn't mean that we are not staying the course. No, we are in fact staying the course, just no longer using that term. (Bush's New Tack Steers Clear of 'Stay the Course', Bush officials: No big move in Iraq plan).

Since the course we are staying on is going right over a waterfall, the White house has decided to change the terminology used to explain his failed policies. After all, failure is fine as long as there is a nifty new catch phrase to accompany it. I think they are going to use something like "adapt and change." And by "adapt and change" they mean "stay the course." I hear that adapt and change just elbowed out "don't look at me" and "its hard being the president" for Bush's new slogans. Thankfully, Bush's favorite, "slap me in the ass and call me Judy," was nixed outright.

Additionally, the White House still refuses to set a time line for the take over of Iraq security forces and the withdrawal of American troops... except that we are now setting a time line for the withdrawal of American troops and the take over of American troops (Iraq agrees to develop security time line)

So we are no longer staying the course... only that we are not changing course. And we are not setting time lines... except for the time lines now being set... kind of... but not really.

Does he really wonder why no one believes that he has a plan to win in Iraq? They can't even articulate the basics. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people out there who will buy the shiny new box with the same old product inside.

Immigration-Schmigration

2006-10-23T12:22:00.000-04:00

Much has been made in regards to the immigration of Latinos to the United States. The xenophobes among us cry out, "they are coming to steal our jobs and invade our lands." Ironically, most of these people arguing the loudest are descendants of immigrants. Of course the immigrants are coming for the jobs and the American dream. It is the same reason that our ancestors came!

Imagine if the English in the 1600's and 1700's said, "Winthrop... there is this great land across the sea that holds opportunity for us all. Lets pack up our things and move there."

"Na," replies Winthrop, "there are already Indians living there. It wouldn't be fair for us to move there and take their deer and land. Lets just stay here instead and drink our earl grey tea."

Imagine if the Irish of the 1800's said, "O'Reilly, we are starving to death from the potato famine. There is this land across the sea where we can start a new and make a better life for out children."

"Na," O'Reilly replies, "the English are already there. It would be unfair for us to move there and take their jobs. Lets just stay here and eat mud."

What if the Germans and Italians did the same. This is a nation of immigrants and every immigrant group came here and took jobs from those already here. But, we grew stronger with each group.

Those who oppose immigration now say, "but the Latinos are different than us and they don't intergrate into our communities. Worst of all, they don't speak our language."

The same thing has been said about every group that have immigrated to our country. For the Germans, most of their community schools were bi-lingual until World War I. The first German language newspaper started in 1732. By 1860, there were over 1.3 million German born immigrants in the United Sates, with seven German language newspapers in St. Louis alone. By 1894, there were over 800 German language journals in the U.S. The anti-German sentiment in the U.S. was also at its peak. It was said that they will never integrate into the "American way of life."

With all of the anit-German sentiment in the U.S. did the Germans capitulate and adopt all of the native customs? No. Instead they created social groups to build understanding between the cultures.

“the case for our German culture will be better served if we attract Americans to our side. On the gymnastics field, we can acquaint them with our German customs and traditions and of course, also with our language more successfully than if we hold them at bay because of our nationalistic tendency to live in our own enclaves.” Der Vorbote, July 7, 1886.

This obscene reluctance to void themselves of native customs forced horrible things on the U.S. such as the Christmas Tree and the Easter Bunny. It took over 100 years for the German immigrant population to fully become part of Americana.

The same happened with the Italians. They were thought to be dirty and uneducated. They were blamed for taking American jobs and dragging the entire country down. One native claimed in a 1891 cartoon that “If immigration was properly restricted, you would never be troubled with anarchism, socialism, the Mafia and such kindred evils!” The Klu Klux Klan became an active organization against Italian immigrants. In 1890, there were 20 lynching of Italians alone, and Catholic churches were vandalized. The largest mass lynching in U.S. history was of Italians in New Orleans in 1891. The mass media was generally approving of the actions.

The Irish came to the U.S. and were forced to work the jobs that even slaves were not allowed to work because a slave was more valuable that an Irish man. By 1855, nearly a third of Boston's population were Irish born immigrants. The anti-Irish sentiment was so strong that a national party, the "Know Nothings," was formed to stop the flow of Irish immigrants. Their claim was that “Americans must rule America.” Once elected, the Know Nothings passed laws aimed specifically at Irish immigrants. They passed laws making the King James Bible (protestant version) compulsory and taking away arms from the Irish in violation of their 1st and 2nd amendment rights. In the south, the Irish were compared to slaves and were referred to as “niggers turned inside out," and black slaves were called "smoked Irish."

Every immigrant group has been considered to be a direct threat to the welfare of the United States. Every immigrant groups was said to be insular and unwilling to integrate into the native culture. But, in the end, every immigrant group has made the United States a better place. Every immigrant group has added a new fiber to the fabric of our nation. Were would we be without those O'Sullivans and Cervinos, the Schmidts and the Chans. What if the anti-immigration voices in the 1800's had been sucessful in blocking the flow of Italians, Jews, Irish, Germans, and Chinese. Adding the Sanchezs to the list will make this a better place, not worse. Those who come to the U.S. desire to live the American dream, not subvert it. They come for the same dreams that brought our grandparents and great grandparents. There was room for our ancestors in this country and there is room for more. Latinos will integrate in time, just as the Italians, the Irish, and the Germans did. They will, and already have, made great contributions to our economy and society. The current waive of Latino immigration means that we are doing something right here. The only way that we will ever really stop immigration is if we throw our economy and freedoms down the toilet. I would prefer to keep those, and welcome some new neighbors.

A Call For Darfur

2006-10-19T11:38:00.000-04:00

Liberal and conservative evangelicals have put aside their difference in order to call for President Bush to do more to help stop the genocide in Darfur. Christians have been at the call for action, standing side by side with secular humanist.

So far, the congress has been a lot of talk with no action. Four bills written to help the victims in Darfur and to punish the Sudan government have languished in committees. Bush has not only done nothing to stop the genocide, he has actually lifted some sanctions against the government of Sudan placed on them during the Clinton administration. He even made it legal for Sudan to hire lobbyists in Washington.

Enough is enough. The time to act is now.

Evangelicals lobby Bush on Sudan crisis
By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer
Wed Oct 18, 5:06 PM ET

Liberal and conservative evangelicals set aside their political differences Wednesday to urge that President Bush do more to end the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.

The Rev. Jim Wallis, head of the liberal Sojourners/Call to Renewal, an evangelical social justice movement, and the Rev. Richard Land, head of the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, are among the leaders of the Evangelicals for Darfur campaign.

"I believe the president does care deeply about this," said Land, a longtime Bush family supporter. "I see this as helping strengthen the president's hand and enable the president to do what's in his heart to do."

The White House press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Religious groups from many faiths have been lobbying world leaders to help the Sudanese since rebel groups rose up against the Khartoum government in early 2003. More than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced since then, escalating the situation into one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

But Wallis said world attention to the region has been sporadic, and evangelical leaders think time is running out to prevent what many consider government-backed genocide. The Sudanese government is accused of letting the Janjaweed militia of Arab nomads commit atrocities against villagers.

"Until we resolve this, we can't stop talking about it," Wallis said.
(Full story)

Election Round Up

2006-10-19T11:27:00.000-04:00

We are in the home stretch now, and it looks good from my point of view. The Republicans that I want to see out most in this coming election are either trailing their Democratic contender or tied.

Rick Santorum is trailing Bob Casey 54% - 41% (Link)

Conrad Burns of Montana is way behind Jon Tester 46% - 35% (Link)

And Senator George "I like the darkies... I really really do!" Allen is tied with Jim Webb in Virginia. (Link)

Even if the Dems don't take back the Senate, I will be happy with these three getting tossed out. Now, only if we could get Stevens of Alaska out in the next round, I would be ecstatic.

Iraq Is On Double Secret Probation

2006-10-18T14:21:00.000-04:00

According to the nutty GOP Senator our of Montana, Conrad Burns, president Bush has a double secret plan to win the war in Iraq... he is just not telling anyone about it. Because... you know... when support for the war is at an all time low and you are risking losing the House of Representatives and the Senate... that is the time to keep the winning plan a secret.

Burns, at a debate Tuesday night with Democratic challenger Jon Tester, said he believes Bush has a plan to win — but added: "we're not going to tell you what our plan is."

I am so sure that Bush called Burns up a couple of weeks ago and they sat down for a late night warm milk where the two brain children came up with the winning strategy in Iraq. They just are way to humble to announce that they have found the solution to not only the war in Iraq, but the national debt, social security, global warming, and crab grass in addition.

Burns: President keeping war plan quiet

Bush on Taxes... Or Crack... Take Your Pick

2006-10-13T13:26:00.000-04:00

Recently, Bush praised his tax cuts as the main source for the yearly federal deficit being cut from $500 billion to $260 billion.

Hello! Earth to numb skull. It is the tax cuts that created the deficit in the first place. He is praising the cutting in half of something that he was the cause of. Big freaking deal.

In addition, why is he praising that we are still $260 billion in the hole for this fiscal year? We are still in the hole $260 billion. This only adds to the $8.5 trillion dollar deficit. To be precise - $8,532,458,400,732... no, wait... make that $8,532,458,428,654... $8,532,458,442,346. Oh, forget it...

We are still spending more than we take in. So much for GOP "fiscal conservatism." It is like already having $10,000 credit card debt and then seeing a fancy new pair of shoes on sale, marked down from $300 to $175. Republicans like to think that by buying the shoes on sale, they have saved $125. But, you don't save $125, you are just now $10,175 in debt.

Just to prove how stupid the man is, he said yesterday regarding bilateral vs. multilateral talks with North Korea:

"One has a stronger hand when there's more people playing your same cards."—Washington, D.C., Oct. 11, 2006

Now, I am anything but a card shark, but even I know that is a stupid analogy.

H/T Linnet

State of Denial is an Understatement for Bush

2006-10-11T16:29:00.000-04:00

In a press conference today, Bush was asked about the report that there have been over 350,000 deaths in Iraq since our invasion. He said that he did not agree with the report and went on to say:

And I applaud the Iraqis for their courage in the face of violence. I am, you know, amazed that this is a society which so wants to be free that they’re willing to — you know, that there’s a level of violence that they tolerate.

A level of violence that they are willing to tolerate!!! Are you kidding me? What choice to they have? Or is Bush saying that they are willing to tolerate the violence because they hope America will finally leave?

Get real Bush. They aren't "tolerating" violence in order to be free. They are subjugated to violence because they have no choice. Either they endure the death squads and suicide bombers because they can't leave, or, like the over 800,000 who can, have already left the country.

Can he get anymore out of touch than he already is?

H/T Thinkprogress

Plane Crashes Into Building on Upper East Side of New York

2006-10-11T15:21:00.000-04:00

A small plane or helicopter has hit an apartment building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan very close to my own apartment. No word as yet as to the cause of the hit (accident or terrorism). CNN was reporting that it is near Rockefeller Center. It is in fact near Rockefeller University, not Rockefeller Center.

Lets pray that no one was in the apartment building.

CNN

Update: It is now being reported that this is so far considered to be an accident and not a terrorist attack. Once person is confirmed dead.

Update: Yankees manager Joe Torresays the plane that crashed into a building in Manhattan is registered to team pitcher Cory Lidle.

Bush's Safe Schools

2006-10-11T12:49:00.000-04:00

I could understand how Bush would want to try to draw some positive light on himself with his poll numbers back in the mid 30's and with Iraq and North Korea all Bushed up. So, in the wake of multiple school shootings, he decided to hold a school safety summit.

I watched a little bit of the summit on TV. You could tell how contrived it was... but that is besides the point.

In the entire program, none of the panelist, including Bush himself, ever mentioned guns a single time.

Hello!!! School shootings!!! How can you have a summit about safety without mentioning guns a single time? We didn't have a rash of school knifings. Not a single episode included a bomb. No one claimed they were going to put someone's eye out with a stapler.

It was guns! So, guns are relevant. Lets face the facts here. If it were not for guns, we would not be having this summit at all. You cannot have an honest discussion on the subject without bringing up the subject of guns.

When we talk about stopping terrorism, do we leave out planes, chemical/biological weapons, nuclear material? No! So, why can't we have a discussion about the weapon of choice for school shootings? They didn't have to call for a ban on guns, but they have to at least acknowledge the problem in order to have an honest discussion.

I think we all know the answer to that one.

Guns Are in Schools but Not in the President's Vocabulary
By Dana Milbank
Wednesday, October 11, 2006; Page A02

President Bush has always been a disciplined man, but yesterday he set a new standard for self-control: He moderated an hour-long discussion about the rash of school shootings in the past week without once mentioning the word "guns."

First lady Laura Bush was nearly as good, giving a seven-minute speech at yesterday's White House Conference on School Safety without mentioning guns. Two longtime aides, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, deftly led hours of panels at the National 4-H building in Chevy Chase with only a few glancing references to weapons.

(Full Story)

John McCain, North Korea, and a Big Pile of Something

2006-10-11T08:41:00.000-04:00

Today, John McCain came forward and placed all blame of the current crisis with North Korea squarely on Bill Clinton. Whatever respect McCain had won back from me is now gone again. George Bush's policy towards North Korea has been a complete and utter failure. Bush has had six years to stop North Korea from progressing on a nuclear program and has failed.

Until Bush took over, there were International Atomic Energy Inspectors in the country. The plutonium that they had prior to 1994 was sealed and stored and regularly inspected. In 2002, Bush claims that North Korea started a secret uranium enrichment program. To this day, there is still no proof that this program ever existed. But once we pulled out of the 1994 framework, we do know that the plutonium was unsealed, the inspectors were kicked out, the nuclear power plants were restarted, and North Korea used that plutonium in an attempt to become a nuclear state.

The North Koreans had to deal with John Bolton for the next 4 years. Talks went nowhere, and even career U.S. diplomats claimed that half of the problem was Bolton himself. Negotiations were predicated on North Korea stopping the enrichment of uranium, which the North Koreans denied doing, and we had no proof of them doing it. It is like saying, "I am going to keep you in jail until you stop trying to kill your wife," when there is no proof that you ever did try to kill your wife. We based our claims that North Korea was enriching uranium on our "intelligence" reports. Well, after Iraq, we see how good our intelligence was.

Unbeknownst to most Americans is that North Korea is toying with capitalism. Its Stalinist system has failed. It sees its neighbor to the north, China, who has retained authoritarian control over its masses while still engaging in an economic renaissance. North Korea wants to be seen as an adult and respected as one, even though, in actuality, it is just a bratty little kid because it has no experience with dealing on a global scale. It wants attention and is seeking it in the only way it knows how. It is unfortunate that we have to deal with a bratty little kid, but we do!

Do people not realize that we are still technically at war with North Korea? We signed an armistice but we have never signed a peace treaty. If you were them and saw what happened to Iraq, wouldn't you want a nuclear weapon too if Bush was in power, calling you the axis of evil?

I am not about to say that North Korea is a "misunderstood" nation and that it is really "good a heart" or all will be better if we just hugged. But for the love of all that is good and holy in the world, the hard line approach is not working!!! For the past six years, the Bush administration has "misundersetimated" North Korea, just like it "misunderestimated" the aftermath of an Iraq invasion or the results of ignoring Afghanistan.

The notion that this is Clinton's fault, six years after he left office is full of crap and McCain is too.

McCain blames Clinton policies for N. Korea woes

Update: McCain Targets Both Clintons

Darfur Still Burning

2006-10-10T13:32:00.000-04:00

As much as the Republican cover-up and spin attempt on Foley has amused me for the last week. The world is still spinning, the Yankees are still out, Bush foreign policy still sucks, and the genocide in Darfur is continuing.

The government of Sudan is rumored to be planning a new offensive to crush the remains of any resistance before the UN, NATO, or the US decide to get off their asses and actually do something about it.

Obasanjo warns of Darfur genocide, aid staff attacked

Fighting cuts off 224,000 in Darfur from WFP food

Huh?

2006-10-10T12:56:00.000-04:00

There was a discussion about sex over at the wingnut Free Republic website.

One of the responses to the deiscussion was this:

The West is disappearing because of people who have disconnected sex from its God-given purpose.

There is no practical difference between using contraception and converting to Islam.

That is the full quote. 200 bonus points to anyone who can tell me what this wingnut was talking about?

Nuclear North Korea

2006-10-09T12:00:00.000-04:00

North Korea claims to have conducted its first nuclear test after restarting its nuclear program after Bush withdrew from the 1994 treaty freezing North Korea's program. (N. Korea Claims Nuclear Test). President Bush calls this a "great threat."

Well, duh! Of course it is a grave threat that further proves that the Bush administration foreign policy is a complete failure. The one-size-fits-all "do what we say or else" foreign policy is a direct cause of North Korea's nuclear ambition.

Almost immediately after taking office, Bush completely backtracked on Clinton's accomplishments in stemming NK's nuclear ambitions. While Clinton's plan was far from optimal, it sure is a hell of a lot better than the current situation we are in now. In 6 years of the Bush White House, we have gone from a less than perfect solution to a utter break down in the situation.

The hard line approach to NK has not worked over the past 6 years. The only thing that a continued hard line approach will continue to do is make NK more and more desperate. A destabilized NK is the last thing that we could possibly want.

The U.S. is proposing additional sanctions against NK (U.S. Proposes Embargo, Sanctions on N. Korea). Well, let me get this straight - We had to invade Iraq because sanctions were not working and there were too many ways around it... But it will work for NK?

The U.S. wants to cut off all oil shipments from China to NK. So, when there is no oil, what other way is there for NK to produce power other than to ramp up its nuclear reactors?

The U.S. is demanding that it suspend all plutonium enrichment, but Bush refused to build the two heavy water nuclear reactors promised under Clinton, which materials could not be used for the production of a nuclear weapon. (Reported Test 'Fundamentally Changes the Landscape' for U.S. Officials)

NK wants assurances that the U.S. will not invade it the same way that it invaded Iraq... after all, it is in the axis of evil. But Bush refuses to deal with NK unless it stops all of its nuclear programs. But the only guarantee that NK has that the U.S. won't invade at this point is to increase its nuclear capacity. We know that Bush's goal is regime change. Obviously, this regime wants to stay in power. If you were NK, what would you do?

This foreign policy is a failure on so many levels. We need someone who can think logically in the White House. This is way too out of hand.

The Busk Stops... Over there

2006-10-06T13:49:00.000-04:00

This is just getting too screwed up to even follow. The conspiracy theories are all over the place, but the Republicans still can't even get their own story straight.

You have Dennis Hastert who claims, "the buck stops here." And by here, he means anywhere but himself. Yesterday, Hastert placed the blame on Bill Clinton and George Soros, claiming this was all their doing. Once again, the fact that he is the House majority leader who is ultimately responsible for this is completely lost on him. (Hastert takes responsibility, but won't step down) This says nothing about the fact that ABC confirms that they received the e-mails from a republican. (Longtime Republican was source of e-mails)

You have fake news stories on the Drudge report claiming that the former page who's IMs shocked the world were just a prank. Conservatives are actually claiming that the former page "goaded" him into typing the sexual IMs as a prank. Yeah, because a man will check into rehab and then claim he was molested by a priest over a prank. You also have the three additional republican former pages who have come forward. (Three More Former Pages Accuse Foley of Online Sexual Approaches). And, lets say for just the sake of arguement that Foley was "duped" into the online sex conversation. You are trying to tell me that he, an elected official supposedly competent enough to be trusted with the running of this country didn't know better than to engage in an online sexual encounter with a minor?

You have the conservatives claiming it was a "network of gay staffers" who knew about Foleys online activities and were covering it up, even though it was the "network" of gay republican staffers who first notified Hastert of Foley's actions. (CBS Evening News Uncritically Reports ‘Gay Cabal’ Conspiracy Theory)

You have the same conservatives saying that the Foley scandal is a complete fabrication... but then claiming that the boys were of age, so Foley did nothing wrong. So, what is it? Were the IM's forged or were the boys of age? Don't try to make both arguments. (Ex-Page's Lawyer: Drudge's "Prank" Story "A Piece of Fiction")

Conservatives are also going on a homophobe witch hunt now. Lists of top republican staffers who are gay is being circulated in the GOP circles so as to purge the "open tent" party of undesirables.

The GOP would try to get their stories straight before trying to push the blame on others. It just shows how incompetent they are all around.

Update: This is so sad. Conservatives are now out there with a story that Democrats are refusing to take a polygraph test to prove that they didn't know anything about the Foley IMs. Oh, puuuhleeees. And who are the GOPers who are lining up for polygraphs? When Hastert takes a polygraph, then you can come talk to me.

Hastert's Unhappy Little Ho' Down

2006-10-05T16:17:00.000-04:00

Things are getting bad on Capital hill to the embattled speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert.

Kirk Fordham, Foley's former Chief of Staff, and long time Republican staffer, came forward to state that he told Hastert about concerns he had about Foley's flirtations with congressional pages all the way back in 2003 (Ex-Aide To Foley Cites '03 Warnings).

Hastert can't remember this ever happening.

Fordham was the fourth Republican to come forward and claim they warned Hastert.

Rodney Alexander, Republican congressman of Louisiana claims to have told Hastert.

Hastert can't remember this ever happening.

House Majority Leader John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio claims to have warned Hastert.

Hastert can't remember this ever happening.

Originally, Hastert claimed that Foley resigned so quickly that Hastert didn't even have a chance to ask Foley to resign.

Hastert apparently didn't remember that either and then claimed that he told Foley to take a hike.

Hastert said he was going to do something about Washington corruption after the Abramoff scandal. He forgot to do something about that also.

Currently, even FOX News is saying that Hastert is going to cost the GOP the House. But Hastert is refusing to go on his own (Hastert Rejects Calls To Give Up Leadership)

I wonder if Hastert will remember not to let the door hit him in the ass on the way out.

Bush Never Has And Never Will

2006-10-05T12:59:00.000-04:00

Key congressional lawmakers thought they have made waterboarding forbidden. Waterboarding, a form of interrogation used by the CIA to extract information from suspected terrorist, is considered to be torture by most, including many former military leaders and politicians. While McCain, Warner and Graham held out against the presidents plan to make torture legal under his interpretation of the Geneva convention, they later sold out our military and American moral standards by allowing the president to interpret Article 3 of the Geneva convention. The one thing that they all had done though, was to ban waterboarding.

Apparently the president doesn't think so. He has not ruled out the use of waterboarding and says, "it would be wrong to tell terrorists which practices they might face."

How can so many people assigned the task of running this country be so freaking stupid. The goal was not to tell the terrorist what practices we will and will not use!

It is to tell the rest of the world who we are asking to back us in our fight against terrorism what practices we will and will not use!

The world views us as having lost our moral compass. We used to be the guy everyone looked up to. Now we are the guy everyone looks down upon.

The president had an opportunity to tell the world, "We are better than the terrorist. We hold firm to the belief that torture is wrong. We hold firm to the commitment to uphold international law."

At this point, Bush keeps trying to frame the conflict as one between good and evil. The rest of the world is sitting around, scratching their heads saying, "Ok, on this side, we have a bunch of guys who fly planes into buildings and kill innocent people... On the other side you have a bunch of guys who attach electrodes to people's genitalia, operate KGB style prisons, and invade countries that had nothing to do with the people who flew airplanes into buildings... Who are the good guys supposed to be? This looks like a battle between evil and evil."

What the president thought he said was, "we want the terrorist to be uncertain of what techniques we will use to extract questionable information."

Instead, the rest of world hears is, "Well, is being the moral superior really all that important? Rummy Dick and I don't think so. Now excuse me while I take a short trip down to Gitmo to kick around some towel heads while they are chained to a fence."

Waterboarding Historically Controversial
By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 5, 2006; Page A17

Key senators say Congress has outlawed one of the most notorious detainee interrogation techniques -- "waterboarding," in which a prisoner feels near drowning. But the White House will not go that far, saying it would be wrong to tell terrorists which practices they might face.

Inside the CIA, waterboarding is cited as the technique that got Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the prime plotter of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, to begin to talk and provide information -- though "not all of it reliable," a former senior intelligence official said.

Waterboarding is variously characterized as a powerful tool and a symbol of excess in the nation's fight against terrorists. But just what is waterboarding, and where does it fit in the arsenal of coercive interrogation techniques?

On Jan. 21, 1968, The Washington Post published a front-page photograph of a U.S. soldier supervising the questioning of a captured North Vietnamese soldier who is being held down as water was poured on his face while his nose and mouth were covered by a cloth. The picture, taken four days earlier near Da Nang, had a caption that said the technique induced "a flooding sense of suffocation and drowning, meant to make him talk."

The article said the practice was "fairly common" in part because "those who practice it say it combines the advantages of being unpleasant enough to make people talk while still not causing permanent injury."

The picture reportedly led to an Army investigation.

Twenty-one years earlier, in 1947, the United States charged a Japanese officer, Yukio Asano, with war crimes for carrying out another form of waterboarding on a U.S. civilian. The subject was strapped on a stretcher that was tilted so that his feet were in the air and head near the floor, and small amounts of water were poured over his face, leaving him gasping for air until he agreed to talk.

"Asano was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor," Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) told his colleagues last Thursday during the debate on military commissions legislation. "We punished people with 15 years of hard labor when waterboarding was used against Americans in World War II," he said.

(Full Story)

Gingrich Tries His Hand At Stand Up Comedy

2006-10-03T11:21:00.000-04:00

Newt Gingrich tried his had at stand up comedy Sunday on Fox News by saying that the reason that Hastert didn't investigate the Foley e-mails earlier was because he was afraid of being called a gay basher.

Com'on... Republicans make a sport out of gay bashing. Half of their agenda is about gay bashing. Republican politicians compare homosexuals to Satanists and bestialitist. This is the party that believes homosexuality is a disease and that it is curable. the only thing that Republicans fear more than terrorist is being touched by a gay person.

Maybe if Foley was not so hemmed in by his own party and forced to live a lie, maybe he could have formed mature adult relationships with someone of his own age. Repression can screw with your mind and cause you to do things you would not normally do. If Foley is indeed an alcoholic, it most likely stemmed from his repressed sexuality as a form of self medication. He knew that he could never be honest with himself and others and still receive support from the GOP and its base.

So, Newt, lets be intellectually honest about this. Hastert didn't sweep this under the rug because he was afraid of being called a gay basher. He wept this under the rug because he wanted to remain the speaker and because it would anger the base that feeds on gay bashing.

GINGRICH: Well, you could have second thoughts about it, but I think had they overly aggressively reacted to the initial round, they would also have been accused of gay bashing. I mean, the original notes had no sexual innuendo and the parents did not want any action taken.

WALLACE: How would it have been gay bashing?

GINGRICH: Because it was a male-male relationship. And they had no -- there was no proof, there was nothing that I know of in that initial round that would have led you to say in a normal circumstance that this is a predatory person.

H/T MMFA

In related news, many of the conservatives are coming out to call for Hastert's resignation over the handeling of the matter. (Hastert Dismisses Call for Resignation Amid Foley Scandal & Pressure Grows for Republicans Over Foley Scandal). As well as adding more fear that the "permanent majority" that the GOP thought they had may not be so permanent. (After Foley, New Fears For the GOP).

Update: Even better than Gingrich's comedy routine is Katherine Harris's, Republican Candidate for senate in Florida. According to her, the Republicans knew nothing and it was in fact the Democrats and the media that knew about Foley and did nothing and it is all their fault. Crazy is as crazy does. The more I hear Harris speak, the more I think that there really was something was screwy in Florida's 2000 election. See the video clip at Wonkette.

GOP Knew Bout Foley As Far Back As 2001

2006-10-02T15:15:00.000-04:00

It is kind of fun watching the fallout over this Foley thing. It is a sad situation for the pages, but the wingnuts are clamoring to shift blame. It is tough to spin something that is already out of control, and it is tough to claim that Democrats are politicizing that was being covered up for political reasons. The right wingers are all coming out of the wood works now to defend the situation. Over at the right wing blogs like Gateway Pundit, they are claiming that the age of consent is 16 in D.C. therefore there was nothing wrong with Foley's actions. They are also claiming that the e-mails were doctored and that this is just a conspiracy.

Over at the Right Wing Nuthouse, they are also talking about the conspiracies. Apparently, since ABC news and other organizations had these documents earlier and didn't report them, they are the bad guys because they were allowing a sexual predator to run free. I guess the fact that GOP leadership knew about these problems as far back as 2001 and did nothing to investigate the issue escapes them.

If all elese fails, attack the "liberal media." Its so sad... so sad...

GOP Staff Warned Pages About Foley in 2001
October 01, 2006 4:00 PM
Maddy Sauer and Anna Schecter Report:

A Republican staff member warned congressional pages five years ago to watch out for Congressman Mark Foley, according to a former page.

Matthew Loraditch, a page in the 2001-2002 class, told ABC News he and other pages were warned about Foley by a supervisor in the House Clerk's office.

Loraditch, the president of the Page Alumni Association, said the pages were told "don't get too wrapped up in him being too nice to you and all that kind of stuff."

...

Pages report to either Republican or Democratic supervisors, depending on the political party of the member of Congress who nominate them for the page program.

Several Democratic pages tell ABC News they received no such warnings about Foley.

Loraditch says that some of the pages who "interacted" with Foley were hesitant to report his behavior because "members of Congress, they've got the power." Many of the pages were hoping for careers in politics and feared Foley might seek retribution.
(Full Story)

H/T Smokey

Update: Ex-Rep. Foley Checks Into Rehab

Do We Need Under God In The Pledge?

2006-09-29T12:15:00.000-04:00

I was driving through rural Pa. last weekend. While I may be a high falut'n New York city-slicker now, I grew up in the corn fields, dairy farms and mountain forests of central Pennsylvania. My grandmother had been rushed to the hospital, and at age 91, all trips to the hospital are serious. I had spent the day visiting with her in the cardiac care center and was driving through the corn fields to the home I had grown up in and which my grandmother now resides.

On the radio came an ad that started off with a grandson talking to his grandfather, asking the grandfather what it was like when he was the boys age.

"Well, America was a different place back then. People cared about each other then." Said the grand pappy

"So, what changed?"

"Well," the grandfather responds, "they decided to take 'under god' out of the pledge of allegiance because it was unconstitutional. Then they took 'in God we trust' off of the dollar bill. Next thing you know, they made all open religion a criminal offense... that is why I am here in prison now."

A voice is heard in the background saying that visiting time is over and the grandson must leave. Then an announcer comes on and touts a petition to make it illegal for judges to declare under God unconstitutional because it will destroy our country.

I could not both laughing and feeling sad at the same time. How could the people who made this ad be so wrong on so many levels but feel they are so right? Could America really be destroyed by having the words under God removed from the pledge of allegiance?

To understand how wrong this concept is, you need to know the history of under God in our pledge. For some unknown reason, conservatives seems to think that under God was added by George Washington himself.

Well, it wasn't. The pledge was created in 1892 by a Baptist minister named Francis Bellamy. In the original pledge, God was not mentioned. The country was a Republic. It was indivisible and had liberty and justice. But it was never under God, even though it was written by a Christian clergyman. Not only that, Francis deleted the word equality because he knew that it would not be accepted by educators since women and blacks were not considered to be equal at that time.

In 1940, the Supreme Court ruled that a school board could make it mandatory for children to recite the pledge even though some Christian religious groups found it against their religious and moral beliefs because it created idolatry in the flag. In 1943, the supreme court reversed its ruling, saying that requiring the recitation was state control of religion.

Still, there was no under God in the pledge.

The words under God were not in the pledge that my father learned as a school boy. It was not in the pledge that any of the heroes of WWI or WWII learned. It was added by President Eisenhower in 1954 during the height of the red scare. One of the rationale behind the addition of the under God words was because it was believed that no communist spy or sympathizer could bring themselves to recite the words, and thus, give themselves away as traitors to the United States. Seriously... someone actually believed this to be true. Similarly, in God we trust was not added to the dollar bill until 1959.

178 years had passed between the Declaration of Independence and the words under God appearing in any type of pledge. If the grandfather in the radio ad was right, America must have been a horrible, horrible place to live in those 178 years. No one cared about anyone. It was just masses of godless heathens muddling around the streets cursing at each other. It was not until 1954 that this country began to become a decent place to live. I obviously say this tongue in cheek, but what an insult that that radio ad is to all of those who came before us. What an insult it is the the hundreds of thousands of Americans who fought in WWII to free the world of tyranny but never recited under God once in the pledge of allegiance. Was the moral compass of what we deem to be the greatest generation inept due to the lack of public acknowledgement of God?

The radio ad also made me think of James Madison, the creator of the Bill of Rights. He was the person who enshrined our freedom of religion in the constitution so that the government could and would never interfere in the matters of personal faith. Madison in his Remonstrance of proposed legislation for Christian teachers to be paid for with public funds said:

Because the establishment proposed by the Bill is not requisite for the support of the Christian Religion...for it is known that this Religion both existed and flourished, not only without the support of human laws, but in spite of every opposition from them, and not only during the period of miraculous aid, but long after it had been left to its own evidence and the ordinary care of Providence. Nay, it is a contradiction in terms; for a Religion not invented by human policy, must have pre-existed and been supported, before it was established by human policy. It is moreover to weaken in those who profess this Religion a pious confidence in its innate excellence and the patronage of its Author; and to foster in those who still reject it, a suspicion that its friends are too conscious of its fallacies to trust it to its own merits.

Basically what Madison is saying is that if God is real, than he does not need the support of the state. He exists because he exists and this is with or without the state and in fact, has endured direct opposition from countless governments before we existed. It, in fact, weakens the faith to need government support. If your faith in God is real, you must believe that he is bigger than the state and is in no need of governmental support. It is only those who have questions in their own faith that do not believe that God can exist without state sponsorship and the words under God in their pledge. Ultimately, not having state sponsorship of religion and not having under God in the pledge does not diminish religious freedom, it ensures it.

God will exist if the words under God are not recited by school children. He will exist if in God we trust is no longer on our money. Removing words will not remove him, and to think that the only thing that makes this country great is the words under God and in God we trust, then you have a serious lack of understanding about this county.

Anti-Science White House

2006-09-27T11:36:00.000-04:00

The Bush administration blocked another report on global warming from being released to the public. This time, it is about how global warming may be increasing the intensity of hurricanes.

Bush continues to claim that reducing green house gas emissions will hurt the economy.

I guess he thinks Katrina had no adverse effect on the economy.

Journal: Agency blocked hurricane report
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
Tue Sep 26, 6:54 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has blocked release of a report that suggests global warming is contributing to the frequency and strength of hurricanes, the journal Nature reported Tuesday.

The possibility that warming conditions may cause storms to become stronger has generated debate among climate and weather experts, particularly in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

In the new case, Nature said weather experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ? part of the Commerce Department ? in February set up a seven-member panel to prepare a consensus report on the views of agency scientists about global warming and hurricanes.

According to Nature, a draft of the statement said that warming may be having an effect.
(Full Story)

Bush Comes Up Short Defending His Policies On Terror

2006-09-27T11:06:00.000-04:00

Bush spoke about the NIE report that says that Bush's invasion of Iraq has made us less safe in the United States. He tried to turn the tables by saying that the leak was politically motivated. Even if it was, the substance of the report is the same. Bush's policies are wrong. Dead wrong.

And they use it as a recruitment tool because they understand the stakes. They understand what will happen to them when we defeat them in Iraq.

You know, to suggest that if we weren't in Iraq we would see a rosier scenario, with fewer extremists joining the radical movement, requires us to ignore 20 years of experience.

We weren't in Iraq when we got attacked on September the 11th. We weren't in Iraq and thousands of fighters were trained in terror camps inside your country, Mr. President. We weren't in Iraq when they first attacked the World Trade Center in 1993.

Yes, we were not in Iraq then... and neither was Al Qaida. They were in Afghanistan. A nation that we have put 1/7th the effort into as Iraq. Why is it that the terrorist were 1/7th as important to Bush as Saddam?

Now, you know what's interesting about the NIE? It was an intelligence report done last April. As I understand, the conclusions — the evidence on the conclusions reached was stopped being gathered on February — at the end of February.

And here we are coming down the stretch in an election campaign and it's on the front page of your newspapers. Isn't that interesting? Somebody's taken it upon themselves to leak classified information for political purposes.

Hmmmm.... I am trying to remember if anyone has leaked an NIE report for political purposes before... Oh, yes... THE WHITE HOUSE! Live by the leak, die by the leak. And where is the proof that it was released for political purposes? And even if it was, is not keeping the damaging report secret not political also? If you can release the key findings now, you could have released the key findings 6 months ago also.

But once again there's a leak out of our government, coming right down the stretch in this campaign in order to create confusion in the minds of the American people.

I wonder if that is anything like raising the terror threat constantly just before the 2004 election and then having the vice president coming out and saying if you vote for Kerry, you will die?

And so we're going to — I told the DNI to declassify this document. You can read it for yourself. It will stop all the speculation, all the politics about somebody saying something about Iraq; you know, somebody trying to confuse the American people about the nature of this enemy.

Again, is using selective and distorting reports about the WMDs in Iraq "somebody trying to confuse the American people about the nature of the enemy?"

And so John Negroponte, the DNI, is going to declassify the document as quickly as possible — declassify the key judgments for you to read yourself.

So, basically, it is a declassification of the NIE report for political purposes... and not even the entire thing. Only the sections that Bush agrees with.

Bush exploits 9/11 at every chance he gets. You can play a drinking game with the number of times he says 9/11. But the fact remains. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. The people that did have something to do with 9/11, Bush has ignored before and after the fact. His grand experiment is failing to keep us safer. I still believe that we need to stay in Iraq to finish the job. But the key was to have never gone in to Iraq in the first place. The immanent threat was not Saddam, but Bin Laden. Now the Bush administration has no clue as to his wereabouts.

Sobering Conclusions On Why Jihad Has Spread

In addition to the "politics" Bush claims is surrounding the leak of the NIE, comes the claims that Bush is hiding an even more damning report. The report is being held as a draft until after the elections.

Amid furor over Iraq report, calls to release another
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As political debate churned over an intelligence report released Tuesday, a top Democrat called for the release of a second, new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq that she says "paints a grim picture."

The White House denied a charge by Rep. Jane Harman, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, that another intelligence report is being kept in draft form so that its contents won't be public until the midterm elections in November are over.

"I hear it paints a grim picture. And because it does, I am told it is being held until after the November elections. If this estimate is finished, it should not be stamped 'draft' and hidden from the American people until after the elections," Harman said in a statement.

(Full Story)

U.S. Less Safe Under Bush's Lead

2006-09-26T12:54:00.000-04:00

It is now official. Bush sucks at everything. The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) has described the invasion of Iraq as making us less safe. It states that Iraq has been a distraction from the real war against terror and that we have played into the hands of Bin Laden.

The White House is on the defensive, stating that White "that the reports reflected a selective and distorted interpretation of the study."

I suppose if anyone would know about selective and dissertations of information, it would be the White House. After all, it was selective and distorted information that they used to get us into this war in the first place. But, as we left-wing-pinko-commie-bastards have been saying from the get go, this was is making us less safe. We should have gone after Bin Laden in stead of Hussein. We should have completed the job in Afghanistan and left Iraq for another day.

But instead of worrying about terrorism, Bush decided to finish the job of his daddy. And we will pay the price.

Democrats Focus on Terrorism Report in Attacks on Bush
By Michael Abramowitz and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, September 26, 2006; Page A03

Democratic lawmakers yesterday seized on elements of a new classified intelligence assessment as validation of their long-standing position that the Iraq war has been a distraction from the broader war against terrorists, seeing the new study as an opportunity to undermine President Bush's determined offensive to turn terrorism to political advantage in the midterm elections.

A classified National Intelligence Estimate, completed in April but disclosed in news reports over the weekend, offers the U.S. intelligence community's first formal evaluation of global trends in terrorism since the April 2003 invasion of Iraq. U.S. officials said the report concludes that the Iraq war has fueled the growth of Islamic extremism and terror groups, but White House officials responded that the reports reflected a selective and distorted interpretation of the study.

(Full Story)

George Allen Claims He Is Not A Bigot

2006-09-26T12:05:00.000-04:00

After all, you can't be a Bigot if you hate everyone equally, right?

Four of George Allen's former college football teammates have come forward to assert that Allen commonly called African-American's "niggers," a charge that he vehemently denies. He even was reported to have shoved a severed deer's head into the mailbox of a black family. Yet, again, he denies this claim.

Allen says that he has never-ever once in his life used the N-word.

Ok, lets review.

Allen drove around Southern California with a confederate flag on his car.

Allen reportedly was busted for spray painting ethnic slurs on his high school walls.

Allen courted and hung out with known racists in his early political career.

Allen hung a confederate flag in his office, along with a noose.

Allen voted against the establishment of Martin Luther King day, but voted in favor of confederate history month.

Allen used racial slurs against an Indian-American and presumes that he is a recent immigrant to the US just because his skin is darker. - And I am not buying Allen's excuse that he didn't know what 'Macaca' meant. It is a French slur and Allen's mother is French.

He was raised by a family that would not accept Allen's mother if they knew she was Jewish.

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and hangs nooses in his office like a duck, it is probably a duck.

I don't believe for one second that he has never used the word "nigger" once in his life. I don't think I know a single person who has never used that word once in his or her life, racist or not. I am not a racist, and I have used it twice in this post alone.

As I said months ago before this all started coming out, Allen may win re-election, but his presidential aspirations would be dashed. I have always know that Allen is a phony front and that, in the end, he would be proved that way.

Allen Denies Using Epithet to Describe Blacks
By Michael D. Shear and Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, September 26, 2006; Page B01

RICHMOND, Sept. 25 -- Virginia Sen. George Allen on Monday denied allegations by a college football teammate and another former acquaintance that the senator used a racial epithet to refer to blacks during and after his time at the University of Virginia in the early 1970s.

The accusations by R. Kendall Shelton, 53, a radiologist in North Carolina, and Christopher C. Taylor, 59, an anthropologist at the University of Alabama, reignited questions about Allen and race as he campaigns for reelection against Democrat James Webb.

Shelton said Allen frequently used the "N-word" to describe blacks and nicknamed him "Wizard" because of the similarity of his name to that of Robert Shelton, a former imperial wizard of the Alabama Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. He also recounted an event from 1973 or 1974 in which he, Allen and a third friend were hunting deer. After the deer was killed, Shelton said, Allen cut off the doe's head, asked for directions to the home of the nearest black person and shoved the head into that person's mailbox.

Taylor said that during a visit to Allen's Charlottesville house in 1982, Allen pointed to turtles in a pond on his property and said only "the [epithets] eat them."

(Full Story)

Swift Boat Back Fire

2006-09-21T12:22:00.000-04:00

If you are going to start running attack ads, at least get the facts right. I saw the ad that Santorum was running against Casey in Pennsylvania. It portrayed a group of me sitting around, splitting up money, then it pans out to show them behind bars because of federal indictments. If the ad were true, it could be quite damaging to Casey's run. But it wasn't true.

Here the "Oops!"

Santorum's campaign team had to admit that they lied in the ad. None of the four men in the ad gave any money to Casey's campaign, and in fact, two of the men gave money to Santorum's campaign. It looks like Santorum is trying to model his campaign after George Allan's.

Santorum aired a spot featuring actors supposedly portraying four big donors to Casey's campaign meeting in a smoke-filled jail cell. The senator's campaign later conceded that none of the men had given money to Casey's Senate campaign and that two had contributed to Santorum's campaign, which donated the money to nonprofit groups.

(Full story)

Response To Freedom Vs. Security

2006-09-20T12:20:00.000-04:00

Reuben Yakobovich asked a very poignant question in response to my post yesterday, Freedom Vs. Security

Taking the position you do in the freedom vs. security debate begs a fundamental question that Liberals have not been able to adequately answer.

Given the threat posed by the Islamists to convert the world to Islam or kill those that won't (their words, not mine) how would you propose we protect ourselves? Oh, and just to make the task more difficult, how would you protect us against an enemy that welcomes death and uses a violent end to their own lives as a weapon?

While my post yesterday was not to answer such questions, just to explore the fundamental differences between the two views in relation to the founding fathers. The question is legitimate.

I don't have the magic bullet answer to that question as I would like to have. I did, in fact, ask the question myself. Why do liberals hold fundamental freedoms higher than a real and tangible threat?

I guess the answer lies in several options.

One, it is more important to live free than to live secure. As expressed by the New Hampshire license plates so boldly claims, "Live Free or Die." To some people, it is more noble to die on your feet than live on your knees. This is not an absurd position. We have a word for those who adhere to this - Martyr. Many of our Saints would rather die than to renounce their beliefs. Gandhi is another such person, even though he did not die for his cause, he was willing to.

Two, there are ways to both preserve our security without rendering too much of our freedoms. The illegal NSA wiretapping is one example. Conservatives claim that we cannot track terrorist within the framework of FISA. To this, I call BS.

If the FISA court is too overburdened, you expand it capacity! We have spent billions of dollars to fight the war in Iraq. For one millionth of the price it cost to fight that war we could have enough judges to hear every warrant application within 24 hours of its submission. This is well within the 72 hours that the law gives to authorities to retroactively request a warrant. Just because something is slow is no excuse to break the law. You do not have the right to drive on the shoulder of the road just because there is a continual traffic jam. You widen the roads. You make the stop light work in unison. Basically you redesign the system to fit the congestion. Bush would have us believe this is impossible. That is not true. If it is broke, fix it. Don't ignore it.

Three, fighting for security can make you less secure. It depends on how you are fighting for it. By creating a system of fear and perceived oppression, you do not foster security at home or abroad. If you fear the government, you do not have a vested interest in preserving it. It is possible to make it virtually impossible for terrorist to ever strike us again. The Soviet Union was a very secure place, but we saw what happened once the government was no longer able to control the people. When you monitor all people in order to protect the people, you drive all of the people underground, thus making it more difficult to actually differentiate those of us who are a real threat to society, and those of us who are merely disliking the government looking over our shoulder.

This is the same with our actions overseas. Directly after 9/11, we were the victims who were attacked. We had the good will of the world, and they were willing to help us defend ourselves. Subsequent to that, we turned from the victims to the aggressors. The man who had been cold cocked on the street went on a rampage. How does this make us safer? What compels moderate Muslims who were on our side to speak up for us and to aid us in finding those who still wish to harm us. If we do not present an ideological model that is superior to those who wish to harm us, how do we ask others to help us. Currently, the rest of the world can not differentiate us from our enemies. It is just two jerks fighting each other in a bar. No body is jumping in to break up the fight because they are kind of hoping we will knock each other out and leave the rest of them alone.

As for the jihadist that already exist. Frankly there is not much you can do about them except limit the amount of tacit support they receive so as to make their mission more difficult, if not impossible. It is like arguing with someone who is willing to kill women's clinics Dr.s to stop abortion. There is no logic in it. Morality has been hijacked by warped rationalization. The key is not creating new jihadist. There is no way to stop someone who is inststant from converting everyone to Islam any more than those who insist that all people become Christian. The only way to limit this in America is to protect the freedom of religion and to live within the laws that ensure this protection.

There is no easy answer to his question. But I will say that blindly trusting Bush to protect us, and by handing over all of our freedoms to the president so he may do as he seems fit to protect us will bring us neither security or freedom. It has been proven over and over again, the government must work within the bounds of the law or it will abuse its powers. This is not a possibility, but a certainty.

Freedom Vs. Security

2006-09-19T23:42:00.000-04:00

With George Bush putting on his media blitz the past two weeks, trying to shore up support for his failing policies at home and abroad, he constantly returns to the rally cry of "War Against Terror." His only option these days in his talking points, whether it be illegal wire taps or treatment of detainees is to say "trust me" or "freedom isn't free." He seems to have placed security of our nation far ahead of freedom. Is this American?

This rhetoric made me think of a quote by James Madison, the father of the Bill of Rights:

The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home.

Of course, the split in support of the president is sharpest along party lines. This made me wonder, what was the difference between liberals and conservatives on this matter? Why is it that liberals are more concerned with freedom and conservatives more concerned with security? Why is it that conservatives don't see the grandeur of freedom the same as the founding fathers did? And why liberals see a tangible danger to safety less important than fundamental freedom?

I remembered reading something over at My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.

I saw National Treasure this weekend with some family, and it had some interesting lines in it. At one point, he quite rightly said that by signing the Declaration of Independence, they were signing their own treason. They were doing what was right, for the safety and security of their own people, to pull away from a tyrannical government.

This is where the difference lies. Not only do conservatives make a fundamental misjudgment about the founding of our nation, they fail to see that they are fundamentally different than our founders.

First, the misjudgment of our founding fathers. The founding fathers were not fighting for safety and security. This is an assertion I have seen over and over from conservative bloggers. Yes, we were separating ourselves from a tyrannical government. No, it was not for safety and security. The rule of King George was not like the rule of Saddam Hussein. King George did not have torture chambers set up across the colonies. King George was not gassing the Virginians. We fought not for safety, but for freedom.

In fact, the founders made a conscious decision to give up safety and security for fundamental freedom. The founders decided the risk of death was less important than the acquisition of freedom. To them, the trade of was security for freedom, not freedom for security. The founders fought and gave their lives willingly to enshrine in a constitution certain freedoms that were more important than temporary security. Benjamin Franklin said it best:

They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security

Second, conservatives fail to see that they are in fact they are the ones that were the loyalists, not the revolutionaries. The passage of two hundred years does not change the fact that the founding fathers were "barking moonbats," as conservatives like to call liberals now. The founders' ideas were bold and, without question, the most liberal the world had seen in over 2000 years. Shrugging off the yoke of thousands of years of hereditary rule for the liberalization of law, rights and freedom was not the work of conservatives. It was the work of men who were embarking on the greatest experiment the world had ever seen.

Conservatives of the day thought the revolutionaries were crazy. "Separate from our king? You can do that... he is our king." Is there any question who's side Rush Limbaugh would have been on? He would have been on his soap box, somewhere in colonial American yelling, "friends!... these revolutionaries!... these traitors to the crown want to destroy everything that makes these British colonies great! They call themselves patriots, but they want to depose the king, the god appointed sovereign."

I have often said, conservatives are just those who accept the ideas of liberals that came several generations before them. Every idea was new at some point.

This is not to say that all liberal ideas are good, nor will they all be accepted with the passage of time. But, all of the things we accept now as fundamental American principals, were new liberal ideas in their day.

End to slavery, end to segregation, women's right to vote. All of these were moonbat ideas at their inception, but are embraced as fundamental by both conservatives and liberals now.

So, when thinking about what our founding fathers would have thought about the current NSA warrantless spying or denying basic human rights to anyone, think of what our founding fathers really thought, not what you may want them to have thought.

Posterity, you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in heaven that ever I took half the pains to preserve it. - James Madison

George Allen Continues to Implode

2006-09-19T12:49:00.000-04:00

Lil' George Allen continued his public implosion, and this time, it is getting just plain weird.

In a debate with Jim Webb, his democratic opponent, Allen was asked about his grandfather, whom Allen repeatedly points out was in a Nazi concentration camp.

"It has been reported," said Fox, that "your grandfather Felix, whom you were given your middle name for, was Jewish. Could you please tell us whether your forebears include Jews and, if so, at which point Jewish identity might have ended?"

This is a legitimate question. If you are going to say that your grandfather was in a concentration camp, it is logical to assume that he was Jewish. It is not a definite, but that why the question is asked.

But that is when things start getting weird. All of the Allen supporters started booing and hissing at the moderator, showing that such a contention that their guy might have any "Christ killer" in him is completely unthinkable.

Allen then recoils like someone had just called his mother a two bit whore. He exploded saying that freedom of religion is the first amendment and that he should never have to answer such hideous questions.

Lil' Georgie exclaimed after stating he would not answer that question:

"My mother is French-Italian with a little Spanish blood in her."

YOu could hear see he just wanted to shout out, "I'm not a Jew!.. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!!!!" I was just waiting for him to throw himself on the floor and start kicking a screaming. He then went on to claim that she was making aspersions against him for bring up the quesiton. If it is no big deal, why is it and aspersion?

For Pete's sake, George! Having Jewish ancestry is nothing to be ashamed about. There have been thousands of contributions from Jews that make our lives better. Einstein was a Jew. Not too shabby... Mel Brooks is a Jew. Think where this world would be right now without "Blazing Saddles." Think about it George!

And if you weren't going to answer the question, why did you have to then go rattle off what your mother was? Isn't that answering the question?

No George, having a Jewish grandfather is nothing to be ashamed of.

Assuming that someone is a foreigner and calling them Macaca just because they don't look like the other whities at the country club is something to be ashamed of.

Voting against Martin Luther King day, but voting for Confederate history month is something to be ashamed of.

Associating with know racists and actively seeking their help is something to be ashamed of.

Keeping a noose and a confederate flag in your office when you were the governor is something to be ashamed of.

Writing ethnic slurs on your high school walls is something to be ashamed of.

I think Wonkette said it best:

And George Allen — whose mother was, yes, of the prosperous and well-known Jewish Lumbroso family — clearly so shocked — shocked! — at the question that he can’t bring himself to just f*cking say “yes, my mom was a Jew, that’s why I bring up the fact that my grandfather was in a f*cking concentration camp.”

H/T and video link - Wonkette

UN In Session - The World Is Out To Lunch

2006-09-19T10:27:00.000-04:00

The UN General Assemble is in session, and that means it is protest week here in New York. 15 blocks of war protestors just marched past my window. Last night, it was Pakistanis protesting "honor killings" in their home country. The protestors are parked day and night in front of the Iranian Embassy, and there are uniformed police 24/7 in front of the Iraqi Embassy. I am sure there are multitutdes of others going on that I will not see.

The best was yesterday afternoon though. They had closed down 6th Ave for Bush to come through on. My office window directly looks onto 6th Ave, so I had a good shot of the president driving by. I could see him waiving from the window of his limo.

About two minutes later, my office mate walks into the room, returning from a meeting. He was grumbling.

"bad meeting?" I asked.

"No, it was the freaking president driving by. He had a big ol' grin on his face and he was waiving at us like we had all come out to cheer him on. The only reason we were there at the barricades is because they wouldn't let us cross the damn street. The only person who was there to see him was this old lady who came out to give him a one finger salute. I had never heard a geriatric cures like a sailor like that before."

So, Bush will go before the UN and attempt not to bump into any Iranians in the halls. No one will listen because no one trusts him, and the world will go on being as messed up as before.

The Pope's Comments

2006-09-18T13:45:00.000-04:00

Ok, now let me get this right. The Pope recites some comments written in the 14th century that, admittedly, can be offensive to Muslims. The 14th century writer basically said that the followers of Mohammad spread their religion through violence and that Islam brought "only evil and inhuman" things to the world.

To protest this, Muslims go on a rampage, bombing churches and firing bullets willy-nilly. (Iraq al-Qaida says pope, West are doomed). Basically, they said, "We are not a religion of violence! And if you say that again, we will kill you!"

Do they not get the point? If you are a religion of peace, you do not get violent to protest someone saying your religion is violent!

I agree that the pope should apologize for his comments (Pope 'Sorry' About Reaction to Islam Remark). They were not necessary in order to have the debate on the problems surrounding Islam. I don't necessarily think they were the most hurtful words in the world, but the theological debate could have been started in a much better way than quoting a 14th century Byzantine emperor.

But to go on a rampage? You are only proving his point. Muslims basically said, "were not violent, and to prove it, we are going to blow up the Vatican."

I think Bush should convert to Islam and become there leader. He makes as little sense as they do.

Flawed Logic

2006-09-15T17:14:00.000-04:00

Today, President Bush claimed that those of us who believe that torture is immoral and that Bush's policies in the war on terror have strayed from the foundations of what makes this country great and respected around the world, have "flawed logic."

Let me tell you what is flawed logic - anything and everything that is coming from the White House.

We cannot and will not win the war on terror following the lead of George Bush. The war on terror is not for the conquest of land. It is not over the rights of waterways or over natural resources.

The war on terror is over the mind. We are fighting a war of ideology and to win a war of ideology, we must have the decisively better ideological model.

This is not a theoretical scenario, but an actuality. No nation has ever 'won' a ideological war based on the suppression of an opposition group. It can only win the ideological war when the ideas that one nation possesses are seen as superior and embraced by the opposition. And we can be seen as being better if we are not better.

In Viet Nam, we only started to win once we change the ideological campaign, but by then, the political will was gone at home.

The Soviet Union had legions of secret police that would suppress and oppress, abduct and torture, but it also lost the war because we were seen as ideologically superior.

If we do not differentiate ourselves from the terrorist as being morally and ideologically superior to them, we will lose this war because we can never win it in that fashion. Bush lacks moral clerity of his own to understand the importance of this need.

Would it me easier to catch terrorist by torturing prisoners? Yes, without question. But all we do is create hate and resentment through out the region and the world. Everyone is afraid of the bully and will do what he says because they are afraid of him. But everyone is secretly hating him and wishing for someone to come along and knock him out.

Bush wants to be the bully. I want us to be the guy who protects the other kids from the bully. Not only is he only going to make us less saf at home, he risks the troops on the ground.

The only ideological flaw going on here is Bush's brain... or lack thereof.

Bush fights GOP revolt over terror bill
By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent
19 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - President Bush fought back Friday against a Republican revolt in the Senate over tough anti-terror legislation and rejected warnings that the United States had lost the high moral ground to adversaries. "It's flawed logic," he snapped.

Bush urged lawmakers to quickly approve legislation authorizing military tribunals and harsh interrogations of terror suspects in order to shield U.S. personnel from being prosecuted for war crimes under the Geneva Conventions, which set international standards for the treatment of prisoners of war.

Tough interrogations have been instrumental in preventing attacks against the United States, Bush said. "Time's running out" for the legislation, he warned, with Congress set to adjourn in a few weeks.

The president called a Rose Garden news conference to confront a Republican rebellion led by Sens. John Warner of Virginia, John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine.

To the administration's dismay, Colin Powell, Bush's former secretary of state, has joined with the lawmakers. Powell said Bush's plan to redefine the Geneva Conventions would cause the world "to doubt the moral basis" of the fight against terror and "put our own troops at risk."

(Full Story)

Also see - Senators Defy Bush On Terror Measure

Update: Bush Detainee Plan Adds to World Doubts Of U.S., Powell Says
By Karen DeYoung and Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, September 19, 2006; Page A04

Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell said yesterday that he decided to publicly oppose the Bush administration's proposed rules for the treatment of terrorism suspects in part because the plan would add to growing doubts about whether the United States adheres to its own moral code.

"If you just look at how we are perceived in the world and the kind of criticism we have taken over Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and renditions," Powell said in an interview, "whether we believe it or not, people are now starting to question whether we're following our own high standards."

(Full Story)

Update: TGL has a good skit on Bush Vs. Powell

The Newest Monument on the White House Grounds

2006-09-15T12:36:00.000-04:00

Today, in a grand ceremony, King George unveiled the newest monument on the White House grounds. It was designed by George himself to represent his administration's view on freedom in the U.S.

Amnisty International Accuses Hezbollah of War Crimes

2006-09-15T10:31:00.000-04:00

While this is quite evident to everyone with a brain, it appears that there are a lot of people lacking brains these days.

Hezbollah attacked civilians purposfully, with the intent to cause death and terror to an innocent population.

Regardless of your feelings on the conflict (who was right and who was wrong), there is no justification for hezbollah's attacks against civilians.

Amnesty accuses Hezbollah of war crimes against Israelis
by Phil Hazlewood
Thu Sep 14, 12:54 PM ET

LONDON (AFP) - The militant Shiite group Hezbollah committed war crimes in its deliberate targeting of civilians in the recent conflict with Israel, according to Amnesty International.

The London-based human rights group said the guerillas fired nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel, killing 43 civilians, seriously injuring 33 others and forcing hundreds of thousands to take refuge or flee.

About a quarter of all rockets -- some packed with thousands of metal ball bearings -- were fired directly into urban areas, it added in a nine-page document called "Under fire -- Hezbollah's attacks on northern Israel".

It was only because Israeli civilians fled their homes or took shelter in bunkers that a higher death toll was prevented, it said.

"The scale of Hezbollah's attacks on Israeli cities, towns and villages, the indiscriminate nature of the weapons used and statements from the leadership confirming their intent to target civilians make it all too clear that Hezbollah violated the laws of war," said Amnesty's secretary-general Irene Khan.

"The fact that Israel has also committed serious violations in no way justifies violations by Hezbollah. Civilians must not be made to pay the price for unlawful conduct on either side."

(Full Story)

Republican Bob Ney to Plead Guilty

2006-09-15T10:23:00.000-04:00

Ohio Republican Senator, Bob Ney, has decided to plead guilty to federal charges today.

Ney, who has been implicated by Jack Abramoff as one of the several prominent Republicans guilty of bribery. Last month, the GOP talked him into not running for re-election due to the corruption scandal. It looks like he knew that the writing was on the wall.

Now, we just need to get Jefferson out to.

Ney to Plead Guilty in Scandal
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 15, 2006; Page A04

Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) is expected to plead guilty in the coming days to charges stemming from his association with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and he will blame a long-standing problem with alcohol for behavior that spiraled down to illegality, sources close to the congressman said last night.

Ney, known in Abramoff-related court documents as "Representative No. 1," checked into a rehabilitation clinic for alcoholism yesterday, a senior House official and personal friend said yesterday. Under pressure from Republican leaders worried about losing his seat, Ney announced this summer that he would retire from Congress at the end of the year.

(Full Story)

George Allen - Very Bad Things

2006-09-13T13:24:00.000-04:00

It looks as though George Allen, incumbent Republican Senator from Virginia, is trying to self destruct.

Not only is Allen now holding "ethnic rallies" (although I will give Allen credit for nixing the original rally title "the darkies like me") to try to wash his hands of a questionably racist past, but now he is plagiarizing fellow senators amendments.

On the senate floor, Allen blazingly proposed an amendment that he stole from Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill). Dick Durbin distributed an amendment on the house floor that he planned to introduce later that day. Allen, asked for some time to speak prior to Durbin's allotted time. Allen basically crossed Durbin's name off the top of the bill and wrote his own name in.

It was not like Allen proposed a substantially similar bill... Noooo... except for changing one word ('Will' to 'Shall'), it was the exact same bill.

At 2:30 PM this afternoon the U.S. Senate began debate of the Department of Defense appropriations for FY 2007.

Already on the docket was Senator Dick Durbin, who was scheduled to introduce an amendment to the bill providing $19 million in additional funding for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center program, which provides treatment care and research for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries.

That meant that Durbin’s amendment had already been written, printed and prepared for introduction by Durbin. Yet, before Durbin could take the floor to introduce his amendment, George Allen entered the Senate Chamber and asked for permission to speak before Durbin.

When permission was granted ahead of Durbin, lo and behold, Allen introduced an amendment to the DOD appropriations bill that, how could this be, was identical in language to Durbin’s bill with the exception of one word – the word “will” was changed in Allen’s amendment and replaced with the word “shall.” Other than that, the amendments were identical – Durbin’s amendment had been printed and set to be formally introduced, Allen’s bill had not been written or been placed on the docket to be introduced. - James Webb for Senate

You know your campeign is hitting the skids when you start trying to win political points by stealing amendments. Allen's presidential aspirations are completely over now. I am starting to wonder if he can even pull out a re-election to the Senate.

Chafee Hangs On In R.I.

2006-09-13T12:17:00.000-04:00

Incumbent Republican Senator of Rhode Island, Lincoln Chafee, barely held on to his parties nomination yesterday in the R.I. primaries. Even though Chafee beat his opponent by 8% points (54%-46%), I say barely because Chafee is not the choice of R.I. Republicans. Going into Tuesdays primaries, I saw one poll putting Stephen Laffey ahead at 64% with registered Republicans.

The only way that Chafee squeaked this one out is because independents are able to vote in either party primaries. Without the support of moderate independents, Laffey would have upset Chafee.

National Republicans were taking the offensive against Laffey because he would have gone on to almost certain defeat against the Democratic contender. The National Republican Senatorial Committee even funneled its own money into attack ads against Laffey in order to help Chafee win the parties nomination.

It will be interesting to see how things will turn out in November. Has Chafee been damaged by the close race? Only time will tell.

Moderate GOP Senator Beats Conservative Challenger in R.I.
By Shailagh Murray and Zachary A. Goldfarb
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, September 13, 2006; Page A01

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sept. 12 -- Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee, a moderate who has frequently clashed with the Bush administration, beat back a strong conservative challenger Tuesday night in the GOP primary in Rhode Island.

The victory came amid heavy turnout, after the same Republican establishment that Chafee has so often defied rallied to his side with money and logistical support for a vigorous get-out-the-vote effort. While there is little personal affection for Chafee at the White House, operatives there and in the Republican Party leadership calculated that he is the GOP's best chance of holding the seat in a Democratic-leaning state in November.

(Full Story)

Constitutional Matters Project

2006-09-13T10:09:00.000-04:00

There is a new web-site with a conglomeration of articles from right, left and center called the Constitutional Matters Project. I recommend a look-see. There is some humor, some serious, some reasonable and some outrageous, but something for everyone.

9/11 Remembered

2006-09-11T13:34:00.000-04:00

Today is not about partisan politics, and shame on anyone who makes it so. Today is about remembering those who lost there lives on a beautiful September morning for no other reason than hate.

It is another beautiful September morning here in New York, much like that day five years ago. It is hard to imagine that so much carnage can happen on a day such as this. I watched some of the memorial this morning. The pain is still there for those who lost loved ones. The anxiety in New York is still drilled deep into our souls.

I will leave you today with what I wrote last year on this somber day. It is nothing special in the grand scope of how words can hurt or heal. Just words about being American. A year has gone by and many things have changed, and many remain the same...

For me, I spent 9/11 doing one of the most American of activities - Baseball. Yankees vs. Red Sox. It was nice because there is no politics involved. We sat next to my friends father who is an Israeli immigrant. No discussions of the Gaza pullout, just about when the pitcher should be pulled. No one in the crowd cared who held the Ohio 2nd congressional seat, just about who was on 2nd base.

That night, from my balcony, I could see the two beams of light that reached into the sky from the footprints of the twin towers. It was somber to say the least. But, I also realized that they reached into the sky about as far as our potential reaches... In other words, far beyond our own vision.

Once Again - No Iraq/ Al Qaida Connection Confirmed

2006-09-08T14:07:00.000-04:00

One again, it has been confirmed that there was no connection between Saddam and al-Qaeda, this time by the Senate.

Al-Qaeda was in Afghanistan, chumming around with the Taliban...

This is the same Afghanistan that we basically abandoned to go war a completely unrelated war in Iraq. Meanwhile, the Taliban is growing stronger in Afghanistan and most of the country is still a haven to terrorist.

So, please tell me again - How is Bush making us safer and fighting a war on terror? If he were really fighting a war on terror, he would have finished the job in Afghanistan.

Everytime he says "9/11" or the "war on terror," he just makes me want to puke.

Face it people. The only connection that al-Queda and Saddam had was when Rumsfeld was dealing with them both.

Senate: No prewar Saddam-al-Qaida ties
By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - There's no evidence Saddam Hussein had ties with al-Qaida, according to a Senate report on prewar intelligence that Democrats say undercuts President Bush's justification for invading Iraq.

Bush administration officials have insisted on a link between the Iraqi regime and terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Intelligence agencies, however, concluded there was none.

Republicans countered that there was little new in the report and Democrats were trying to score election-year points with it.

The declassified document released Friday by the intelligence committee also explores the role that inaccurate information supplied by the anti-Saddam exile group the Iraqi National Congress had in the march to war.

(Full Story)

World Dunce Champion of the World

2006-09-07T12:57:00.000-04:00

Looks like my idea of televising a royal smack down debate between the President of the United States and the President or Iran is making headway.

My post on the challenge from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to debate Bush live on TV was picked up by the Constitutional Matters Project which goes live on the web on the 10th.

I'll post again on the CMP once it is up and running.

Iran to Purge Liberal Profs

2006-09-06T11:28:00.000-04:00

Iran's president, Ahmadinejad, is calling for the universities to purge all of the liberal professors from it ranks in order to get back to a more "fundamental" form of education.

Now, where have I heard this before?... Hmmm... Oh yes, that is right. The conservatives in our own country are constantly calling for the liberal professors to be purged from the ranks of academia. It has long been the cry of American conservatives that liberal educators are destroying the traditional, wholesome Christian values in this country.

This is just more proof that conservatives of middle east and west are ideologically the same. If conservatives in this country had their way, liberal professors in this country would be heading for early retirement as well.

Iran head wants liberal teachers ousted
By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer
Tue Sep 5, 6:50 PM ET

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's hard-line president urged students Tuesday to push for a purge of liberal and secular university teachers, another sign of his determination to strengthen Islamic fundamentalism in the country.

With his call echoing the rhetoric of the nation's 1979 Islamic revolution, Ahmadinejad appears determined to remake Iran by reviving the fundamentalist goals pursued under the republic's late founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Ahmadinejad's call was not a surprise — since taking office a year ago, he also has moved to replace pragmatic veterans in the government and diplomatic corps with former military commanders and inexperienced religious hard-liners.

Iran still has strong moderate factions but Ahmadinejad's administration also has launched crackdowns on independent journalists, Web sites and bloggers.

Speaking to a group of students Tuesday, Ahmadinejad called on them to pressure his administration to keep driving out moderate instructors, a process that began earlier this year.

Dozens of liberal university professors and teachers were sent into retirement this year after Ahmadinejad's administration, sparking strong protests from students, named the first cleric to head Tehran University.
(Full Story)

Reading Is Good

2006-09-05T12:58:00.000-04:00

Having problems finding enough time to sit down and finaly finishing My Pet Goat?

H/T - Book Lust

BLM Gets Called Out By Internal Investigation

2006-09-01T11:38:00.000-04:00

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is known by anyone who has any experience with environmental law, to be an agency of industry (mainly oil, gas, and mining) and not really an agency of the government. It is supposed to protect and preserve the lands owned by the American people while also putting it to productive uses.

Well, it puts the lands to productive use... but only in order to make industry a lot of money at the expense of the taxpayer. Industry can get drilling and mining rights for pennies on the dollar compared to what would be paid to a private land owner.

Now, the BLM is not even monitoring the oil & gas industry as it promised to do to get around the fact that they are not protecting and preserving the land as is in there mandate.

Neglected Vows Cited At BLM
By Blaine Harden
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 1, 2006; Page A03

The Bureau of Land Management has neglected its public commitments to monitor and limit harm to wildlife and air quality from natural gas drilling in western Wyoming, according to an internal BLM assessment.

In the Pinedale, Wyo., field office of the BLM, which oversees one of the most productive and profitable gas fields on public land in the West, there is often "no evaluation, analysis or compiling" of data tracking the environmental consequences of drilling, according to the document, which was written in May and which BLM officials confirm is genuine.

(Full Story)

Laffey Leads Chafee in RI

2006-08-31T18:13:00.000-04:00

A lot has been said about the defeat of Lieberman in CT by Ned Lamont and how this shows that the Democratic party has drifted to far to the left...

Well, I guess the GOP tent is not as large as they thought either. GOP primary contender, Steve Laffey, has taken a commanding lead over Senator Chafee (51%-34%) with likely GOP primary voters.

Surprisingly, this is even after the National Republican Committee has come out and run ads against Laffey.

At this point, the only saving grace for Chafee is that independents can vote in the GOP primary. This would give moderates the chance to beat back the far right wing factions that are supporting Laffey.

Laffey Takes Commanding Lead in Republican U. S. Senate Primary

Date Posted: August 31, 2006

U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee may lose his seat to challenger Steve Laffey, according to a new statewide Republican primary voter poll released today by the Bureau of Government Research and Services at Rhode Island College.

The survey was conducted August 28-30, 2006, at Rhode Island College by Victor L. Profughi, director of the Bureau of Government Research and Services. It is based on a statewide random sample of 363 likely Republican primary voters in Rhode Island. The sample was proportioned among the state’s geographic regions to reflect the likely voter contribution from each portion of the state. Overall, the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.1 percentage points.

If the September 12 primary were held today, 51 percent say they will vote for Steve Laffey, 34 percent support Senator Chafee, and 15 percent are undecided. A BGRS survey of Republican voters conducted in June had Laffey at 39 percent and Chafee at 36 percent. Chafee’s base is virtually unchanged since the June survey, while the number of Laffey supporters has grown 12 percentage points.

In the current poll, Laffey buries Chafee among male voters by nearly a 2 to 1 margin, 58 percent to 32 percent, with only 9 percent undecided. This gap has widened from 10 percent in June to 26 percent today. Among women, Chafee’s support has remained stagnant, while Laffey’s has increased. In June, 37 percent favored Chafee, compared with the current 36 percent. Laffey’s support among women has gone up from 35 percent in June to 45 percent.

(Full Story)

H/T - TPM

Taxi Cab Terrorists

2006-08-31T16:15:00.000-04:00

Yes, Democratic Senator Byrd (WV) is a former member of the KKK... At least he admits to it and condemns his history of being a racists.

On the other hand, Republicans Senator Conrad Burns (MT) seems to still revel in racism.

In the past, Burns has commented on how hard it is to live in Washington D.C. with all of those "niggers" around.

He called the man painting his house a "nice little Guatemalan man" and then questioned his legality in the country.

Along with his racism, he has proven himself to be a misogynist, telling professional women that they should be stay at home mothers instead of career women.

He berated a group of firefighters who had traveled 2000 miles to help out on a forest fire for doing a "piss-poor job."

Now, he is following the lead of George Allan's (VA) ridicule of all people darker tha he, and classifying all taxi drivers as terrorist. I am assuming that Burns is stereotyping taxi drivers as all Arabs. Either way, it is just further proof that in the GOP, if you are not Anglo-Saxon, you are just not a real American.

And it you are not a real American... Well than you must be a terrorist, too.

Sen. Burns: Terrorists drive taxis by day, kill at night
By MATT GOURAS, Associated Press Writer

BELGRADE, Mont. - Republican Sen. Conrad Burns whose recent comments have stirred controversy, says the United States is up against a faceless enemy of terrorists who "drive taxi cabs in the daytime and kill at night."

During a fundraiser Wednesday with first lady Laura Bush, the three-term Montana senator talked about terrorism, tax cuts and the money he has brought to his state. Burns is one of the more vulnerable Senate incumbents, facing a tough challenge from Democrat Jon Tester.

He has drawn criticism in recent weeks for calling his house painter a "nice little Guatemalan man" during a June speech. Burns, whose re-election campaign is pressing for tighter immigration controls, also suggested that the man might be an illegal immigrant. The campaign later said the worker is legal.

Burns, 71, also had to apologize after confronting members of a firefighting team at the Billings airport and telling them they had done a "piss-poor job," according to a state report. In July, the Hotshot crew had traveled 2,000 miles from Staunton, Va., to help dig fire lines for about a week around a 143-square-mile wildfire east of Billings.

At the campaign event with Bush, Burns talked about the war on terrorism, saying a "faceless enemy" of terrorists "drive taxi cabs in the daytime and kill at night."

(Full Story)

Bush Appointees Still Corrupt as Ever

2006-08-31T11:37:00.000-04:00

Ken Tomlinson, the Bush appointee that formerly was the Chairman of the CPB (Corporation for Public Broadcasting) who was forced to resign from his position last year after it was determined that he was trying to tamper with PBS and NPR by intimidating reporters and producers, and trying to turn PBS and NPR into conservative propaganda outlets (Bush's PBS Pick Broke the Law), has continued to be a corrupt Bush political appointee.

Tomlinson, a close and personal friend of Karl Rove, remained on the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) as a Bush political appointee, even after it was determined that he was a hack and a liar.

Well, now a new investigation shows that he has been dishing out money to his friends, using the taxpayers money to support his horseracing business, as well as billing two separate government agencies for the same hours worked.

Tomlinson Cited For Abuses at Broadcast Board
By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 30, 2006; Page C01

A year-long State Department investigation has found that the chairman of the agency that oversees Voice of America and other government broadcasting operations improperly used his office, putting a friend on the payroll and running a "horse-racing operation" with government resources.

The report, released yesterday, marks the second time in less than a year that an internal investigation has found evidence of rules violations by Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

In November, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting inspector general found that Tomlinson had made improper hires, had tried to tamper with PBS's TV programming and appeared to show political favoritism in selecting CPB's president while he was chairman, Tomlinson resigned his CPB post that same month.

The new allegations against Tomlinson, 62, stem from his chairmanship of the BBG, which oversees the federal government's array of international broadcasting services, including VOA, Radio and TV Marti in Cuba and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Tomlinson defended his performance as BBG chairman, saying, "I believe it will become clear that this [inspector general] investigation was inspired by partisan divisions."

Although the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are unrelated entities, Tomlinson's alleged violations overlapped both federal agencies. He conducted CPB work and "personal matters" while working for the Broadcasting Board, and directed BBG employees to do the same, the State Department's investigation found. Investigators said he received compensation from both the BBG and CPB for the same days worked on 14 occasions, but did not specify an amount.

The investigation also found that Tomlinson -- a former Reader's Digest editor and longtime Republican ally of White House political adviser Karl Rove -- helped hire a friend as a BBG contractor without the knowledge of other board or staff members. The friend -- whose name was withheld from a public summary of the investigation but whom Tomlinson identified as retired VOA employee Les Daniels -- received nearly $245,000 for unspecified services over a two-year period. Tomlinson signed the invoices for these payments even though there was no documentation that the work had been completed, investigators said.

(Full Story)

SMACK DOWN 2006!!! BUSH vs. AHMADINEJAD!!!

2006-08-29T11:44:00.000-04:00

SUNDAY - SUNDAY - SUNDAY!!!

TITLE MATCH UP OF THE WORLD!!!

In this corner - weighing in at 145lbs, but 235lbs once you deflate his head and let the hot air out - George "flowers for Algernon" Bush.

And in this corner - weighing in at a 147lbs, but a buck o' two once you get all the crap out - Mahmoud "I hear voices" Ahmadinejad.

This match up is for the undisputed cockiest, dim-wittedness, ate the lead paint chips as a kid, god loves me more than everyone else, nuttiest president in the world.

******************

This could be a reality. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has thrown down the gauntlet and challenged Bush to a televised debate. This would be the greatest and saddest thing to ever be televised around the globe... but at the same time, we can use it to end poverty.

We sell this as pay per-view for $29.95 a pop. There are around 6 billion people in the world. I figure at least we would get 500 million to tune in. That is... um... carry the 6... well, a crap load of money.

It would be some weird cross between Jerry Springer, celebrity boxing, and any title match with Mike Tyson who is feeling a little peckish.

Just remember... we will sell you the entire seat - but you will only need the edgeeeee!!!

Ahmadinejad challenges Bush to TV debate
By Parisa Hafezi
Reuters
Tuesday, August 29, 2006; 10:55 AM

TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday challenged President Bush to a televised debate and voiced defiance as a deadline neared for Iran to halt work the West fears is a step toward building nuclear bombs.

"Peaceful nuclear energy is the right of the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation has chosen that based upon international regulations, it wants to use it and no one can stop it," he told a news conference.

The White House said Ahmadinejad's call for a presidential debate on global concerns was a "diversion" from international concerns over Iran's nuclear program.

The U.N. Security Council has given Iran until Thursday to suspend uranium enrichment -- a process which can produce fuel for civilian reactors or explosive material for warheads -- and has threatened sanctions unless it does so.

"Talk of a debate is just a diversion from the legitimate concerns that the international community, not just the U.S., has about Iran's behavior -- from support for terrorism to pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in New Orleans.

(Full Story)

In God We... We Have No Choice

2006-08-28T14:03:00.000-04:00

Katherine Harris is really grasping at the evangelical base in order to pull out some sort of victory in her electoral bid. Unfortunately, it is also proving how nutty she is.

She has claimed that separation of church and state is a "lie" and that God chooses our "rulers."

If this does not explain to you why political secularist, such as myself, are scared senseless by these right wing "Christi-fascists," nothing will. And this should show that any religion; Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc, that is taken to an extreme is a danger to democracy. There are no benign religions when an extremist is involved.

First off.... Rulers? Are you kidding me? We have rulers now and not elected representatives?

And if God chooses our rulers, doesn't that mean that all the evangelicals who believe this should just stay home on election day since the outcome it pre-ordained?

Harris clarifies comments on religion

MIAMI - U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris told a religious journal that separation of church and state is "a lie" and God and the nation's founding fathers did not intend the country be "a nation of secular laws." The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate also said that if Christians are not elected, politicians will "legislate sin," including abortion and gay marriage.

Harris made the comments — which she clarified Saturday — in the Florida Baptist Witness, the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist State Convention, which interviewed political candidates and asked them about religion and their positions on issues.

Separation of church and state is "a lie we have been told," Harris said in the interview, published Thursday, saying separating religion and politics is "wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers."

"If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin," Harris said.

(Full Story)

It Hurts... It Hurts So Much

2006-08-24T09:51:00.000-04:00

I am in court today and don't have time to blog, but I just wanted to leave you with this...

Pregnant with a cigarette in her hand and she is worried about jackhammers?

The average person is an idiot...

Which means half the population is dumber than that.

That Slow Sinking Sound

2006-08-23T17:00:00.000-04:00

I had posted previously about the slow undoing of George Allen's presidential aspirations (Macaca Me Rosy, George Allen Steps in it, Webb Wins Va. Democratic Primary).

The Moderate Voice has a pretty nice little rundown about the blunder that is the Allen campaign.

Job Opening For A Blogger (See Senator George Allen)