.
GAO investigators said records uncovered during the probe show that Williams, a prominent black conservative, actively promoted the No Child Left Behind law, often without revealing that he was under contract to the Education Department to do so.
U.S. Education Department spokeswoman Susan Aspey on Friday offered no defense of the $240,000 Williams contract.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., one of two lawmakers who requested the probe, described Friday's report as "another sign of the culture of corruption that pervades the White House and Republican leadership."
"Rather than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on producing Republican propaganda, the administration should return those funds and live up to the promises they made to America's students and teachers."
"Appropriated funds are not available to evaluate the Republican Party's (or any other political party's) commitment to education," said Anthony Gamboa, GAO's general counsel, "and the department should take appropriate steps to ensure that no such use of its appropriations occurs in the future.
Another internal probe, issued four weeks ago, found that education advocacy organizations had received grants totaling nearly $4.7 million to promote Bush administration education priorities in newspaper columns and brochures without disclosing that they received taxpayer funds, as required by law.
It just keeps getting better and better.
30 September, 2005
they lied and poeple died
New York Times reporter Judith Miller appeared for testimony before a federal grand jury Friday, throwing a spotlight once again on the White House role in the leak of a covert CIA officer's identity
Miller went to the grand jury area Thursday morning accompanied by her attorney Robert Bennett and others, including colleagues from the Times.
Until a few months ago, the White House maintained for nearly two years that Libby and presidential aide Karl Rove were not involved in leaking the identity of Valerie Plame, whose husband had publicly suggested that the Bush administration twisted intelligence in the runup to the war in Iraq.
The timing of the criticism by former Ambassador Joseph Wilson was devastating for the White House, which was already on the defensive because no weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq. The president's claims of such weapons were the main justification for going to war.
They lied and people died, and are still dying. (not their sons and daughters)
Miller went to the grand jury area Thursday morning accompanied by her attorney Robert Bennett and others, including colleagues from the Times.
Until a few months ago, the White House maintained for nearly two years that Libby and presidential aide Karl Rove were not involved in leaking the identity of Valerie Plame, whose husband had publicly suggested that the Bush administration twisted intelligence in the runup to the war in Iraq.
The timing of the criticism by former Ambassador Joseph Wilson was devastating for the White House, which was already on the defensive because no weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq. The president's claims of such weapons were the main justification for going to war.
They lied and people died, and are still dying. (not their sons and daughters)
and it continues
read today (and it continues)
His name first surfaced when, as Deputy White House Counsel, he defended the use of torture techniques such as "waterboarding." Immediately thereafter, Timothy Flanigan went on to work for Tyco International and supervise now-indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff's efforts to help corporations scuttle legislation that would have penalized them for relocating offshore to avoid taxes.
Now, President Bush wants to put Flanigan in Deputy Attorney General position at the Department of Justice. In an amazing display of "fox guarding the henhouse" syndrome, this President proposes to give the nation's number two law enforcement position to a man who condoned torture, and recently hired and supervised a scandal-ridden, indicted lobbyist. It's not about the middle class working man.
His name first surfaced when, as Deputy White House Counsel, he defended the use of torture techniques such as "waterboarding." Immediately thereafter, Timothy Flanigan went on to work for Tyco International and supervise now-indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff's efforts to help corporations scuttle legislation that would have penalized them for relocating offshore to avoid taxes.
Now, President Bush wants to put Flanigan in Deputy Attorney General position at the Department of Justice. In an amazing display of "fox guarding the henhouse" syndrome, this President proposes to give the nation's number two law enforcement position to a man who condoned torture, and recently hired and supervised a scandal-ridden, indicted lobbyist. It's not about the middle class working man.
29 September, 2005
freedom of the press???
After nearly three months in jail, New York Times reporter Judith Miller was released Thursday after agreeing to testify in the investigation into the disclosure of the identity of a covert CIA officer, the Times announced Thursday.
Judith Miller will appear before a grand jury Friday in the government's CIA leak probe.
Miller left the federal detention center in Alexandria, Va., after reaching an agreement with Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald. She will appear before a grand jury investigation of the case Friday morning.
The Times, which supported her contention that her source should be protected, reported late Thursday that her source was Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
"As we have throughout this ordeal, we continue to support Judy Miller in the decision she has made," said Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. "We are very pleased that she has finally received a direct and uncoerced waiver, both by phone and in writing, releasing her from any claim of confidentiality and enabling her to testify."
Miller has been in custody since July 6. A federal judge ordered her jailed when she refused to testify before the grand jury investigating the alleged leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's name by White House officials.
They made her stay in jail all this time. That's the kind of government we have.
Know them not by what they say, but by what they do.
Judith Miller will appear before a grand jury Friday in the government's CIA leak probe.
Miller left the federal detention center in Alexandria, Va., after reaching an agreement with Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald. She will appear before a grand jury investigation of the case Friday morning.
The Times, which supported her contention that her source should be protected, reported late Thursday that her source was Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
"As we have throughout this ordeal, we continue to support Judy Miller in the decision she has made," said Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. "We are very pleased that she has finally received a direct and uncoerced waiver, both by phone and in writing, releasing her from any claim of confidentiality and enabling her to testify."
Miller has been in custody since July 6. A federal judge ordered her jailed when she refused to testify before the grand jury investigating the alleged leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's name by White House officials.
They made her stay in jail all this time. That's the kind of government we have.
Know them not by what they say, but by what they do.
I can't
read today:
The Ramadi blast brought to 1,934 the number of U.S. service members who have died since Iraq's war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. More than 140 people — including 13 U.S. service members — have been killed in the past four days.
Military deaths are reported but are they accurate and how many have been wounded? Also, why don't we read about the United States highly paid Mercenaries, so-called "Contractors", that have been killed and/or wounded?
Can you answer those two questions. I can't and I read almost everything, daily. I wonder why?
The Ramadi blast brought to 1,934 the number of U.S. service members who have died since Iraq's war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. More than 140 people — including 13 U.S. service members — have been killed in the past four days.
Military deaths are reported but are they accurate and how many have been wounded? Also, why don't we read about the United States highly paid Mercenaries, so-called "Contractors", that have been killed and/or wounded?
Can you answer those two questions. I can't and I read almost everything, daily. I wonder why?
progress?
The number of Iraqi battalions capable of combat without U.S. support has dropped from three to one, the top American commander in Iraq told Congress Thursday, prompting Republicans to question whether U.S. troops will be able to withdraw next year.
Gen. George Casey, softening his previous comments that a "fairly substantial" pull out could begin next spring and summer, told lawmakers that troops could begin coming home from Iraq next year depending on conditions during and after the upcoming elections there.
"The next 75 days are going to be critical for what happens," Casey told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The Bush administration says training Iraqi security forces to defend their own country is the key to bringing home U.S. troops. But Republicans pressed Casey on whether the United States was backsliding in its efforts to train Iraqis.
In June, the Pentagon told lawmakers that three Iraqi battalions were fully trained, equipped and capable of operating independently. On Thursday, Casey said only one battalion is ready.
"It doesn't feel like progress," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Gen. George Casey, softening his previous comments that a "fairly substantial" pull out could begin next spring and summer, told lawmakers that troops could begin coming home from Iraq next year depending on conditions during and after the upcoming elections there.
"The next 75 days are going to be critical for what happens," Casey told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The Bush administration says training Iraqi security forces to defend their own country is the key to bringing home U.S. troops. But Republicans pressed Casey on whether the United States was backsliding in its efforts to train Iraqis.
In June, the Pentagon told lawmakers that three Iraqi battalions were fully trained, equipped and capable of operating independently. On Thursday, Casey said only one battalion is ready.
"It doesn't feel like progress," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
28 September, 2005
taking responsibility
Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government," Bush said at joint White House news conference with the President of Iraq.
"To the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility," Bush said.
That is not taking responsibility. The first sentence is a feeble attempt at spreading the blame. The second is minimizing the problem and his inaction and response to it. I must admit it is carefully crafted by the spin miesters.
If he had said, " I TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DELAYS THAT CAUSED ADDITIONAL LOSS OF LIFE AND SUFFERING " Now THAT would have been taking responsibility .
"To the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility," Bush said.
That is not taking responsibility. The first sentence is a feeble attempt at spreading the blame. The second is minimizing the problem and his inaction and response to it. I must admit it is carefully crafted by the spin miesters.
If he had said, " I TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DELAYS THAT CAUSED ADDITIONAL LOSS OF LIFE AND SUFFERING " Now THAT would have been taking responsibility .
Chip the prophet
The below was blogged by "Chip" on Septermber12 and was as accurate as if it was written after-the-fact. Kudos to Jami as a prophet:
WAPO is reporting that FEMA director Michael Brown is in fact, resigning. On the surface this looks like a good thing, because tons of people have been calling for him to go.
I'm sure he didn't quit because he wanted to - surely the Bush administration asked him to fall on his sword to save their plummeting approval ratings. So I figured this was probably going to happen about 2 days ago.
Two days ago I was talking to my sister, I told her that if Brown was fired or quit, it would give the Bush administration the ability to use him as a scapegoat for everything that went wrong on the federal level and not take any further post-katrina action.
So now that Brown is gone, expect Bush to dig his heels in the sand and say "I did what I needed to, what else do you want?".
WAPO is reporting that FEMA director Michael Brown is in fact, resigning. On the surface this looks like a good thing, because tons of people have been calling for him to go.
I'm sure he didn't quit because he wanted to - surely the Bush administration asked him to fall on his sword to save their plummeting approval ratings. So I figured this was probably going to happen about 2 days ago.
Two days ago I was talking to my sister, I told her that if Brown was fired or quit, it would give the Bush administration the ability to use him as a scapegoat for everything that went wrong on the federal level and not take any further post-katrina action.
So now that Brown is gone, expect Bush to dig his heels in the sand and say "I did what I needed to, what else do you want?".
the good soldier
I read this today, "I thought I would blurb about Michael Brown's 15 minutes of fame. He gave testimony to a house investigative panel and blamed everyone but himself."
That comment is not exactly true, in my opinion. I watched him, arrogant, cocky and self-serving., just like you-know-who. He is forever, the good soldier, taking the rap for the big boss, letting the real bad guy off the hook.
That comment is not exactly true, in my opinion. I watched him, arrogant, cocky and self-serving., just like you-know-who. He is forever, the good soldier, taking the rap for the big boss, letting the real bad guy off the hook.
the moral majority
The criminal indictment of Majority Leader Tom Delay is the latest example that Republicans in Congress are plagued by a culture of corruption at the expense of the American people," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
As a sign of loyalty to DeLay after the grand jury returned indictments against three of his associates, House Republicans last November repealed a rule requiring any of their leaders to step aside if indicted. The rule was reinstituted in January after lawmakers returned to Washington from the holidays fearing the repeal might create a backlash from voters.
DeLay is the center of an ethics swirl in Washington. The 11-term congressman was admonished last year by the House ethics committee on three separate issues and is the center of a political storm this year over lobbyists paying his and other lawmakers' tabs for expensive travel abroad.
As a sign of loyalty to DeLay after the grand jury returned indictments against three of his associates, House Republicans last November repealed a rule requiring any of their leaders to step aside if indicted. The rule was reinstituted in January after lawmakers returned to Washington from the holidays fearing the repeal might create a backlash from voters.
DeLay is the center of an ethics swirl in Washington. The 11-term congressman was admonished last year by the House ethics committee on three separate issues and is the center of a political storm this year over lobbyists paying his and other lawmakers' tabs for expensive travel abroad.
27 September, 2005
Who are the Chickenhawks?
Chickenhawk n. A person enthusiastic about war, provided someone else fights it; particularly when that enthusiasm is undimmed by personal experience with war; most emphatically when that lack of experience came in spite of ample opportunity in that person’s youth.
CHECK OUT THE BELOW LINKS FOR WHO THEY ARE AND TO READ ABOUT THEM:
http://www.nhgazette.com/news/chickenhawks/propaganda_platoon/
http://www.nhgazette.com/news/chickenhawks/politicans_platoon/
http://www.nhgazette.com/news/chickenhawks/chaplain_corps/
CHECK OUT THE BELOW LINKS FOR WHO THEY ARE AND TO READ ABOUT THEM:
http://www.nhgazette.com/news/chickenhawks/propaganda_platoon/
http://www.nhgazette.com/news/chickenhawks/politicans_platoon/
http://www.nhgazette.com/news/chickenhawks/chaplain_corps/
25 September, 2005
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the soldier
read today:
To those who care:
It's the Soldier, not the President,
who has given us the freedom of the press.
It's the Soldier, not the President
who has given us the freedom of speech.
It's the Soldier, not the President,
that ensures our right to
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
It's the Soldier who salutes the flag,
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag.
Support the soldier,
oppose the President's mistakes.
To those who care:
It's the Soldier, not the President,
who has given us the freedom of the press.
It's the Soldier, not the President
who has given us the freedom of speech.
It's the Soldier, not the President,
that ensures our right to
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
It's the Soldier who salutes the flag,
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag.
Support the soldier,
oppose the President's mistakes.
24 September, 2005
the "buck"
Time's September 26 issue has an article by Joe Klein entitled, Saddam's Revenge" that details this administration's history of US mistakes, misjudgments and intelligence failures that led to the insurgency now ripping Iraq apart.
A wrong focus, misjudging the enemy, mishandling the tribes, deal making that went nowhere, a starting over again, continuing leadership changing, and a proposed constitution that the intelligence community and Iraq experts believe will enhance the chances for an outright civil war. Details are furnished by those who have retired and were involved who now feel free to talk .
"We have never taken this operation seriously enough," says a retired senior military official with experience in Iraq. We have never provided enough troops, enough equipment, or the right kind of equipment. We have never worked the intelligence part of the war in a serious, sustained fashion. We have failed the Iraqi people and our own troops." Well, my question is: Where does the buck stop??
A wrong focus, misjudging the enemy, mishandling the tribes, deal making that went nowhere, a starting over again, continuing leadership changing, and a proposed constitution that the intelligence community and Iraq experts believe will enhance the chances for an outright civil war. Details are furnished by those who have retired and were involved who now feel free to talk .
"We have never taken this operation seriously enough," says a retired senior military official with experience in Iraq. We have never provided enough troops, enough equipment, or the right kind of equipment. We have never worked the intelligence part of the war in a serious, sustained fashion. We have failed the Iraqi people and our own troops." Well, my question is: Where does the buck stop??
which party?
"Northern New Mexico depends on the Rio Grande and the Colorado River for our water supply, and both of these rivers are fed by snow melting in the upper reaches of the river basins," Adriana Blake, marketing manager for Taos Ski Valley, said in a statement issued by the groups. "Warmer winters and less snow means that we'll have even less water available."
The report also said more intense, frequent and longer-lasting droughts are possible.
Studies of California have predicted a significant difference in temperature and lost snowpack due to global warming. Which party doesn't believe in global warming?
The report also said more intense, frequent and longer-lasting droughts are possible.
Studies of California have predicted a significant difference in temperature and lost snowpack due to global warming. Which party doesn't believe in global warming?
20 September, 2005
no child left behind
You may not know it, but under a little known provision of No Child Left Behind, public high schools must hand over personal information about students -- including minors -- to local military recruiters, or risk losing federal education funding.
I think it's a real invasion of family privacy and local school control. The good news is that I just found some great information and a useful online tool that makes it easy to "opt out" our children from these lists.
Just go to :
http:/ /www.leavemychildalone.org/friend
You can also help change the law that lets military recruiters prey on our minor children without parents' explicit permission. Hope you find it useful!
And tell other people you know about LeaveMyChildAlone.org
I think it's a real invasion of family privacy and local school control. The good news is that I just found some great information and a useful online tool that makes it easy to "opt out" our children from these lists.
Just go to :
http:/ /www.leavemychildalone.org/friend
You can also help change the law that lets military recruiters prey on our minor children without parents' explicit permission. Hope you find it useful!
And tell other people you know about LeaveMyChildAlone.org
19 September, 2005
no gravitas on the face
I am truly saddened that we Americans seem to be under growing threats in ways that are, to me, directly or at least indirectly attributable to the decisions and actions of the heedless, arrogant people charged to run the USA in their interests.
He can't even fake it. "there was no humanity in the eyes, no gravitas on the face, only cockiness and the only emotion he can muster is defensiveness. "
"When he finally cut his five weeks vacation short, and went to the Gulf it was too late. The country and the world had already seen that the superpower's leader 'lacks leadership'".
I wish the best in handling this situation, and my thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved, the suffering and those working for good.
He can't even fake it. "there was no humanity in the eyes, no gravitas on the face, only cockiness and the only emotion he can muster is defensiveness. "
"When he finally cut his five weeks vacation short, and went to the Gulf it was too late. The country and the world had already seen that the superpower's leader 'lacks leadership'".
I wish the best in handling this situation, and my thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved, the suffering and those working for good.
example for the world
The tough talk and the over use of military power are finally seen as no substitute for true leadership. The national shame makes one think, " Is it moral to spend hundreds of millions to wage war in Iraq and give billions to dictators overseas when America can't even protect its own citizens?
Why did it happen. Maybe it's because America doesn't value community. An everyman for himself culture can destroy the system.
The rich and the white are saved while the poor and black are left behind. Others see a super power that is impotant and that doesn't care when corpses can float in the streets for five days, not an example for the rest of the world to follow.
Why did it happen. Maybe it's because America doesn't value community. An everyman for himself culture can destroy the system.
The rich and the white are saved while the poor and black are left behind. Others see a super power that is impotant and that doesn't care when corpses can float in the streets for five days, not an example for the rest of the world to follow.
18 September, 2005
believe it
I can't believe it. I read where Republican Operatives, who control the Republican agenda and control what the Republican rank and file should think, STILL want to push for cuts in programs for working people and at the same time, push through tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans.
( The Republican Agenda= GIVE THE MOST TO THOSE WHO HAVE THE MOST.)
I guess they are trying to get it all while they can.
( The Republican Agenda= GIVE THE MOST TO THOSE WHO HAVE THE MOST.)
I guess they are trying to get it all while they can.
all about vision
We have done it before; we can do it again. But this time the vision is not coming from the Republicans in the White House, so it has to come from the people. It has to come from you.
In response to the Great Depression, FDR and Democrats created new opportunities for men and women to work through his alphabet soup of new agencies like the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Today, we've got plenty of government agencies, but we need to adopt the same simple idea as Roosevelt and the Democrats did, back then.
That's why I want to reject the Republicans' failed philosophy of taking care of wealthy insiders at the expense of everyone else.
I propose this New America initiative dedicated to creating good-paying jobs for Katrina's victims so they can get back on their feet, get the skills they need, and rebuild New Orleans.
In response to the Great Depression, FDR and Democrats created new opportunities for men and women to work through his alphabet soup of new agencies like the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Today, we've got plenty of government agencies, but we need to adopt the same simple idea as Roosevelt and the Democrats did, back then.
That's why I want to reject the Republicans' failed philosophy of taking care of wealthy insiders at the expense of everyone else.
I propose this New America initiative dedicated to creating good-paying jobs for Katrina's victims so they can get back on their feet, get the skills they need, and rebuild New Orleans.
17 September, 2005
how safer?
Since September 11th, we have been told repeatedly by the president that America is safer. That message—that he would protect America—is the central reason why he won re-election. Those claims turned out to be false.
And the blame game began, first to blame state and local authorities and now “media bias” in favor of black people.
What did I learn from the “media”? I learned that regardless of all the money that is spent on the FEMA and Homeland Security Departments, your and my country was and still is not prepared for disasters mainly due to Lack of Command and Experience in those two agencies.
I also learned about boosted resumes and unqualified friends being appointed since 2000 and saw them being praised as "doing a hell of a job" How sad.
And the blame game began, first to blame state and local authorities and now “media bias” in favor of black people.
What did I learn from the “media”? I learned that regardless of all the money that is spent on the FEMA and Homeland Security Departments, your and my country was and still is not prepared for disasters mainly due to Lack of Command and Experience in those two agencies.
I also learned about boosted resumes and unqualified friends being appointed since 2000 and saw them being praised as "doing a hell of a job" How sad.
16 September, 2005
which party?
-Continued warming of the ocean will spur high hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin this season and increase the probability of a storm moving inland, forecasters said .
An updated forecast by William Gray and his team at Colorado State University, released a day before the official start of hurricane season, predicts 15 named storms, with eight of those becoming hurricanes. Four of the hurricanes are expected to be intense, with sustained winds of 111 mph or greater.
THIS WAS REPORTED ON 5/31/05 AND THE FEDS WERE NOT PREPARED DUE TO LACK OF COMMAND.
Which party controls all branches of the federal government??? AND, which party does not believe in global warning?????.
An updated forecast by William Gray and his team at Colorado State University, released a day before the official start of hurricane season, predicts 15 named storms, with eight of those becoming hurricanes. Four of the hurricanes are expected to be intense, with sustained winds of 111 mph or greater.
THIS WAS REPORTED ON 5/31/05 AND THE FEDS WERE NOT PREPARED DUE TO LACK OF COMMAND.
Which party controls all branches of the federal government??? AND, which party does not believe in global warning?????.
those republicans
recently read:
There’s been confusion over the word "IRONY" ever since Alanis Morissette came out with that song. So let’s try to rectify the true definition of the word with a clear example…. What do you get when a you take a conservative Republican who voted against gay rights, gay marriage, and AIDS education and you discover that he f....s young men he meets in gay chat rooms?
You get IRONY—glorious, much-deserved IRONY. And you get the demise of one of Washington State liberals’ most detested Republicans.For those who don’t live in Washington, Spokane Mayor, Jim West, is a fire-breathing a......e and prominent Republican.
A former state senator and State Senate Majority Leader, West is also a Capricorn who enjoys family values and gay-sodomy in parked cars. As a former Sheriff's deputy and Boy Scout troop leader it likely comes as no surprise he’s been accused of pedophilia in the past. What's worse then being a homophobic hypocrite? A child-molester. Aah, those republicans.
There’s been confusion over the word "IRONY" ever since Alanis Morissette came out with that song. So let’s try to rectify the true definition of the word with a clear example…. What do you get when a you take a conservative Republican who voted against gay rights, gay marriage, and AIDS education and you discover that he f....s young men he meets in gay chat rooms?
You get IRONY—glorious, much-deserved IRONY. And you get the demise of one of Washington State liberals’ most detested Republicans.For those who don’t live in Washington, Spokane Mayor, Jim West, is a fire-breathing a......e and prominent Republican.
A former state senator and State Senate Majority Leader, West is also a Capricorn who enjoys family values and gay-sodomy in parked cars. As a former Sheriff's deputy and Boy Scout troop leader it likely comes as no surprise he’s been accused of pedophilia in the past. What's worse then being a homophobic hypocrite? A child-molester. Aah, those republicans.
living will
The Living Will
I, ________________(fill in blank), being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of peckerwood ethically challenged politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it
If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to sit up and ask for a _______ ( cold beer, Margarita, Bloody Mary, Martini, Rum & Coke, shot of Wild Turkey, or whatever) it should be presumed that I won't ever get better. When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my spouse, children and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes, and call it a day.
Under no circumstances shall the hypocritical members of the Legislature (State or Federal) enact a special law to keep me on life-support machinery. It is my wish that these boneheads mind their own business, and pay attention instead to the health, education and future of the millions of Americans who aren't in a permanent coma.
Under no circumstances shall any politicians butt into this case. I don't care how many fundamentalist votes they're trying to scrounge for their run for the presidency, it is my wish that they play politics with someone else's life and leave me alone to die in peace.
I couldn't care less if a hundred religious zealots send e-mails to legislators in which they pretend to care about me. I don't know them, and I certainly haven't authorized them to preach and crusade on my behalf.
They should mind their own damn business. If any of my family goes against my wishes and turns my case into a political cause, I hereby promise to come back from the grave and make his or her existence a living hell. _______________________________________ Signature DATE__________
_______________________________________ Witness DATE__________
I, ________________(fill in blank), being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of peckerwood ethically challenged politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it
If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to sit up and ask for a _______ ( cold beer, Margarita, Bloody Mary, Martini, Rum & Coke, shot of Wild Turkey, or whatever) it should be presumed that I won't ever get better. When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my spouse, children and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes, and call it a day.
Under no circumstances shall the hypocritical members of the Legislature (State or Federal) enact a special law to keep me on life-support machinery. It is my wish that these boneheads mind their own business, and pay attention instead to the health, education and future of the millions of Americans who aren't in a permanent coma.
Under no circumstances shall any politicians butt into this case. I don't care how many fundamentalist votes they're trying to scrounge for their run for the presidency, it is my wish that they play politics with someone else's life and leave me alone to die in peace.
I couldn't care less if a hundred religious zealots send e-mails to legislators in which they pretend to care about me. I don't know them, and I certainly haven't authorized them to preach and crusade on my behalf.
They should mind their own damn business. If any of my family goes against my wishes and turns my case into a political cause, I hereby promise to come back from the grave and make his or her existence a living hell. _______________________________________ Signature DATE__________
_______________________________________ Witness DATE__________
15 September, 2005
good news
Roberts said he did not subscribe to a "cramped" view of constitutional liberty, which he said he sees as "a living thing." He said the framers of the Constitution thought they were enshrining broad principles that could be applied to issues that arise in an evolving society.
That's a distinction from the views of the two most conservative justices, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. They generally view the Constitution as a more rigid document. Scalia has criticized the court for using a fluid view of the law, which he says has led to confusing rulings on abortion and other issues.
That's a distinction from the views of the two most conservative justices, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. They generally view the Constitution as a more rigid document. Scalia has criticized the court for using a fluid view of the law, which he says has led to confusing rulings on abortion and other issues.
14 September, 2005
are you surprised?
Senate Republicans on Wednesday scuttled an attempt by Sen. Hillary Clinton to establish an independent, bipartisan panel patterned after the 9/11 Commission to investigate what went wrong with federal, state and local governments' response to Hurricane Katrina.
The New York Democrat's bid to establish the panel — which would have also made recommendations on how to improve the government's disaster response apparatus — failed to win the two-thirds majority needed to overcome procedural hurdles.
Clinton got only 44 votes, all from Democrats and independent Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont. Fifty-four Republicans all voted no
The New York Democrat's bid to establish the panel — which would have also made recommendations on how to improve the government's disaster response apparatus — failed to win the two-thirds majority needed to overcome procedural hurdles.
Clinton got only 44 votes, all from Democrats and independent Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont. Fifty-four Republicans all voted no
would we allow it here?
The specific procedures in the Iraq proposed Constitution for uniting provinces into larger regions are left to be defined by an act of the legislature in its first session. But the constitution encourages provinces to merge themselves into such regions by offering guarantees of greater constitutional autonomy to merged regional governments.
Carried to our country, these regional-merger provisions would allow the southern states, or the northern blue states, to combine themselves into a great regional mega-state. Would we allow that here?
Carried to our country, these regional-merger provisions would allow the southern states, or the northern blue states, to combine themselves into a great regional mega-state. Would we allow that here?
12 September, 2005
blame shifting
read today:
Sadly, the federal government's lack of preparation followed by its inept response had deadly consequences for far too many Americans in Katrina's path.
It is unfortunate that the White House has undertaken a "full-court press" to deflect blame for the poor early response to the storm away from the Bush administration and onto state and local officials.
Sadly, the federal government's lack of preparation followed by its inept response had deadly consequences for far too many Americans in Katrina's path.
It is unfortunate that the White House has undertaken a "full-court press" to deflect blame for the poor early response to the storm away from the Bush administration and onto state and local officials.
11 September, 2005
the party vs. God's creation
What is clear is that the average ocean temperature off Greenland's west coast has risen in recent years — from 38.3 degrees Fahrenheit to 40.6 F — and glaciers have begun to retreat, said Carl Egede Boeggild, a glaciologist with the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, a government agency.
The Sermilik glacier in southern Greenland has retreated nearly seven miles, and the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier near Ilulissat is also shrinking, said Henrik Hoejmark Thomsen of the geological survey.
In 1967, satellite imagery measured it moving 4.3 miles per year. In 2003, the rate was 8.1 miles.
"What exactly happened, we don't know. But it appears to be the effect of climate change," said Hoejmark Thomsen.
In August, the National Science Foundation's Arctic System Science Committee issued a report saying the rate of ice melting in the Arctic is increasing and within a century could for the first time lead to summertime ice-free ocean conditions.
With warmer temperatures, some bacteria, plants and animals could disappear, while others will thrive. Polar bears and other animals that depend on sea ice to breed and forage are at risk, scientists say, and some species could face extinction in a few decades.
The thinning of the sea ice presents a danger to both humans and polar bears, said Peter Ewins, director of Arctic conservation for the World Wildlife Fund Canada.
"The polar bears need to be there to catch enough seals to see them through the summer in open warm water systems. Equally, the Inuit need to be out there on the ice catching seals and are less and less able to do that because the ice is more unstable, thinner," he said.
When NASA started taking satellite images of the Arctic region in the late 1970s and computer technology improved, scientists noted alarming patterns and theorized that the culprit was gases emitted by industries and internal combustion engines to create a "greenhouse effect" of trapping heat in the atmosphere.
Inuit leaders are trying to draw attention to the impact of climate change and pollution.
"When I was a child, the weather used to be more stable. It worries me to see and hear all this," Greenland Premier Hans Enoksen said on the sidelines of a meeting of environmental officials from 23 countries in Ilulissat. The meeting ended with statements of concern— and no action.
The Kyoto Protocol that took effect in February aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But the 140 nations that have signed the pact don't include the United States, which produces one-quarter of the gases.
The Republicans and Bush say participation would severely damage the U.S. economy. Many scientists say that position undermines the whole planet and they point to Greenland as the leading edge of what the globe could suffer.
"Greenland is the canary in a mine shaft alerting us," said Corell, the American meteorologist, standing on the edge of the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier which he is studying. "In the U.S., global warming is a tomorrow issue. ... For us working here, it hits you like a ton of bricks when you see it."
The Sermilik glacier in southern Greenland has retreated nearly seven miles, and the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier near Ilulissat is also shrinking, said Henrik Hoejmark Thomsen of the geological survey.
In 1967, satellite imagery measured it moving 4.3 miles per year. In 2003, the rate was 8.1 miles.
"What exactly happened, we don't know. But it appears to be the effect of climate change," said Hoejmark Thomsen.
In August, the National Science Foundation's Arctic System Science Committee issued a report saying the rate of ice melting in the Arctic is increasing and within a century could for the first time lead to summertime ice-free ocean conditions.
With warmer temperatures, some bacteria, plants and animals could disappear, while others will thrive. Polar bears and other animals that depend on sea ice to breed and forage are at risk, scientists say, and some species could face extinction in a few decades.
The thinning of the sea ice presents a danger to both humans and polar bears, said Peter Ewins, director of Arctic conservation for the World Wildlife Fund Canada.
"The polar bears need to be there to catch enough seals to see them through the summer in open warm water systems. Equally, the Inuit need to be out there on the ice catching seals and are less and less able to do that because the ice is more unstable, thinner," he said.
When NASA started taking satellite images of the Arctic region in the late 1970s and computer technology improved, scientists noted alarming patterns and theorized that the culprit was gases emitted by industries and internal combustion engines to create a "greenhouse effect" of trapping heat in the atmosphere.
Inuit leaders are trying to draw attention to the impact of climate change and pollution.
"When I was a child, the weather used to be more stable. It worries me to see and hear all this," Greenland Premier Hans Enoksen said on the sidelines of a meeting of environmental officials from 23 countries in Ilulissat. The meeting ended with statements of concern— and no action.
The Kyoto Protocol that took effect in February aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But the 140 nations that have signed the pact don't include the United States, which produces one-quarter of the gases.
The Republicans and Bush say participation would severely damage the U.S. economy. Many scientists say that position undermines the whole planet and they point to Greenland as the leading edge of what the globe could suffer.
"Greenland is the canary in a mine shaft alerting us," said Corell, the American meteorologist, standing on the edge of the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier which he is studying. "In the U.S., global warming is a tomorrow issue. ... For us working here, it hits you like a ton of bricks when you see it."
where was the money?
Under FEMA's direction, federal and state officials began working on the $1 million Hurricane Pam project in July 2004, when 270 experts gathered in Baton Rouge, for an eight-day simulation. The so-called "tabletop" exercise focused planners on a mock hurricane that produced more than 20 inches of rain and 14 tornadoes. The drill included computer graphic simulations projected on large screens of the hurricane slamming directly into New Orleans.
The report was designed to be the first step toward producing a comprehensive hurricane response plan, jointly approved and implemented by federal, state and city officials. But a lack of funding prohibited planners from quickly following up on the 2004 simulation. "Money was not available to do the follow-up," Brown said.
Where was the money--Spent on Iraq, we suspect.
The report was designed to be the first step toward producing a comprehensive hurricane response plan, jointly approved and implemented by federal, state and city officials. But a lack of funding prohibited planners from quickly following up on the 2004 simulation. "Money was not available to do the follow-up," Brown said.
Where was the money--Spent on Iraq, we suspect.
who did you vote for?
read today:
Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Joe Allbaugh, seen here working on the Bush 2000 campaign, has at least two corporate clients with Katrina deals.
At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast.
One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of Halliburton.
Bechtel National Inc., a unit of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp., has also been selected by FEMA to provide short-term housing for people displaced by the hurricane. Bush named Bechtel's CEO to his Export Council and put the former CEO of Bechtel Energy in charge of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
Many of the same companies seeking contracts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have already received billions of dollars for work in Iraq.
Halliburton alone has earned more than $9 billion. Pentagon audits released by Democrats in June showed $1.03 billion in "questioned" costs and $422 million in "unsupported" costs for Halliburton's work in Iraq.
But the web of Bush administration connections is attracting renewed attention from watchdog groups in the post-Katrina reconstruction rush. Congress has already appropriated more than $60 billion in emergency funding as a down payment on recovery efforts projected to cost well over $100 billion.
"The government has got to stop stacking senior positions with people who are repeatedly cashing in on the public trust in order to further private commercial interests," said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight.
Allbaugh formally registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root in February. In lobbying disclosure forms filed with the Senate, Allbaugh said his goal was to "educate the congressional and executive branch on defense, disaster relief and homeland security issues affecting Kellogg Brown and Root."
Raping us again and who did you vote for?
Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Joe Allbaugh, seen here working on the Bush 2000 campaign, has at least two corporate clients with Katrina deals.
At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast.
One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of Halliburton.
Bechtel National Inc., a unit of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp., has also been selected by FEMA to provide short-term housing for people displaced by the hurricane. Bush named Bechtel's CEO to his Export Council and put the former CEO of Bechtel Energy in charge of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
Many of the same companies seeking contracts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have already received billions of dollars for work in Iraq.
Halliburton alone has earned more than $9 billion. Pentagon audits released by Democrats in June showed $1.03 billion in "questioned" costs and $422 million in "unsupported" costs for Halliburton's work in Iraq.
But the web of Bush administration connections is attracting renewed attention from watchdog groups in the post-Katrina reconstruction rush. Congress has already appropriated more than $60 billion in emergency funding as a down payment on recovery efforts projected to cost well over $100 billion.
"The government has got to stop stacking senior positions with people who are repeatedly cashing in on the public trust in order to further private commercial interests," said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight.
Allbaugh formally registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root in February. In lobbying disclosure forms filed with the Senate, Allbaugh said his goal was to "educate the congressional and executive branch on defense, disaster relief and homeland security issues affecting Kellogg Brown and Root."
Raping us again and who did you vote for?
10 September, 2005
blame shifting
Now. this party is trying to shift the blame to others. They are out in force with scripted photo-ops--see them reading from scripts. I'll say one thing for them, they remain loyal to their unquaified friends they appointed to cushy government jobs--not so you say?--check out Mr. Brown the head of FEMA and his boosted resume and the long time personal friend of "you know who".
And by the way, don't jump on poor old Barbara Bush. She just was truthfully revealing how they really think. Also it is part ot the spin effort to discredit the victims with thier voting base and thus,again, shift the blame. They are consistent. I bet you will forget all this at your next opportunity to vote.
And by the way, don't jump on poor old Barbara Bush. She just was truthfully revealing how they really think. Also it is part ot the spin effort to discredit the victims with thier voting base and thus,again, shift the blame. They are consistent. I bet you will forget all this at your next opportunity to vote.
don't blow the whistle
read today re: Northwest Airlines:
Meanwhile, some details emerged Thursday from an FAA inspector's memo that raised questions about the work of replacement mechanics.
In the Aug. 22 memo, obtained by Minnesota Public Radio News, inspector Mark Lund said he found numerous examples of worker errors, including a line maintenance manager who couldn't find the right switches to do an engine check on an Airbus A320; a replacement mechanic who didn't know he had to set the brakes on a plane so he could check brake wear pins; and a replacement who wasn't sure how to close a passenger entry door on a Boeing 757.
Greg Martin, an FAA spokesman in Washington, confirmed the authenticity of the memo.
Lund has been reassigned to a desk job after the airline complained to FAA supervisors that he had been acting unprofessionally. Martin said the agency's investigation into the safety concerns and Northwest's complaint against the inspector might be resolved by next week.
Lund's memo prompted Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., to seek assurances from the FAA that a thorough investigation would be conducted. Dayton said last week he'd been assured by FAA Administrator Marion Blakey that she's seen nothing from inspectors indicating a safety concern at the airline.
So, with this party in power, if you blow the whistle you get "re-assigned to
a desk job" as a warning to others. How nice. Remember at voting time.
Meanwhile, some details emerged Thursday from an FAA inspector's memo that raised questions about the work of replacement mechanics.
In the Aug. 22 memo, obtained by Minnesota Public Radio News, inspector Mark Lund said he found numerous examples of worker errors, including a line maintenance manager who couldn't find the right switches to do an engine check on an Airbus A320; a replacement mechanic who didn't know he had to set the brakes on a plane so he could check brake wear pins; and a replacement who wasn't sure how to close a passenger entry door on a Boeing 757.
Greg Martin, an FAA spokesman in Washington, confirmed the authenticity of the memo.
Lund has been reassigned to a desk job after the airline complained to FAA supervisors that he had been acting unprofessionally. Martin said the agency's investigation into the safety concerns and Northwest's complaint against the inspector might be resolved by next week.
Lund's memo prompted Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., to seek assurances from the FAA that a thorough investigation would be conducted. Dayton said last week he'd been assured by FAA Administrator Marion Blakey that she's seen nothing from inspectors indicating a safety concern at the airline.
So, with this party in power, if you blow the whistle you get "re-assigned to
a desk job" as a warning to others. How nice. Remember at voting time.
09 September, 2005
how nice
New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean, the moderate Republican who led the independent panel known informally as the September 11 commission, and his Democratic vice-chairman Lee Hamilton said the response was undermined largely BY A LACK OF COMMAND.
HOW NICE.
HOW NICE.
07 September, 2005
believe it or not
Believe it or not, with all our nation is going through, there are Republicans still pushing to put tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans on Congress' agenda this fall.
Republican leaders were forced to postpone plans for an immediate vote this week on eliminating the estate tax. But, they haven't backed off their larger plan for more tax cuts to benefit the wealthiest Americans.
This is a test of what kind of country we are. Are we an America that responds to crisis by helping the most vulnerable in times of need, or do we just give more to those who have the most?
Please join today in demanding that Republican leaders forego any and all plans to lavish tax cuts on the wealthy at this moment of crisis.
Republican leaders were forced to postpone plans for an immediate vote this week on eliminating the estate tax. But, they haven't backed off their larger plan for more tax cuts to benefit the wealthiest Americans.
This is a test of what kind of country we are. Are we an America that responds to crisis by helping the most vulnerable in times of need, or do we just give more to those who have the most?
Please join today in demanding that Republican leaders forego any and all plans to lavish tax cuts on the wealthy at this moment of crisis.
their priorities with our money
In Baghdad, "soft cleansing" is taking place in a number of mixed neighborhoods, with targeted assassinations scaring Sunnis out of some, and Shiites out of others. In the south, Shiite militias, not the new army and police, are the major power.
While there is still hope that Iraq can avoid going all the way down the same tragic road that ripped apart Lebanon, a growing number of political leaders and analysts are acknowledging that a de facto state of civil war is already here.
In the Sunni and Shiite neighborhood of Horriya, on the western edge of Baghdad, three Shiite barbers have been killed this month by Sunni religious extremists who think it's sinful to cut men's beards. After notes were slipped under their doors that they could be next, at least half a dozen barber shops have closed, and the rest have prominently posted signs that will no longer shave beards.
In largely Sunni neighborhoods like Dora and Al Ghaziliya, Shiite residents have received written death threats to leave the area. Sunnis in Shiite neighborhoods say they've received similar threats from the Badr Brigade, a militia loyal to the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, one of the two big Shiite parties that now dominate the government.
A Shiite doctor in Dora, who asked that his name not be used, says he's looking for a new home since a note was slipped under his door last month. "All the dirty Shiites out of Iraq, or face death!" it warned, which brought back memories of his brother, killed for political activity by the Hussein regime in the early 1990s.
He says at least 15 Shiites in Dora have been killed in the last month. "We wake up with hope every day, but when the sun goes down, things are worse for us. I walk with death just because I'm a Shiite."
A Sunni women in the Latifiyah neighborhood, whose husband was a government official under Hussein and was assassinated earlier this year, points to the cluster of bullet holes in her front gate and the front window of her living room. "We know the Badr Brigade has a list of Sunnis they want to kill and we're on it. They want us out of this house. And the police are working with them."
Such breakdowns along confessional or ideological lines are the hallmarks of civil war and speak to why the drafters of Iraq's constitution have run up against so many problems. THEY GOT US INTO THIS,MEANWHILE CUTTING FUNDS FOR A NEEDED RAISE IN THE LEVEES AROUND NEW ORLEANS. WHY?? Stay tuned for the answer.
While there is still hope that Iraq can avoid going all the way down the same tragic road that ripped apart Lebanon, a growing number of political leaders and analysts are acknowledging that a de facto state of civil war is already here.
In the Sunni and Shiite neighborhood of Horriya, on the western edge of Baghdad, three Shiite barbers have been killed this month by Sunni religious extremists who think it's sinful to cut men's beards. After notes were slipped under their doors that they could be next, at least half a dozen barber shops have closed, and the rest have prominently posted signs that will no longer shave beards.
In largely Sunni neighborhoods like Dora and Al Ghaziliya, Shiite residents have received written death threats to leave the area. Sunnis in Shiite neighborhoods say they've received similar threats from the Badr Brigade, a militia loyal to the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, one of the two big Shiite parties that now dominate the government.
A Shiite doctor in Dora, who asked that his name not be used, says he's looking for a new home since a note was slipped under his door last month. "All the dirty Shiites out of Iraq, or face death!" it warned, which brought back memories of his brother, killed for political activity by the Hussein regime in the early 1990s.
He says at least 15 Shiites in Dora have been killed in the last month. "We wake up with hope every day, but when the sun goes down, things are worse for us. I walk with death just because I'm a Shiite."
A Sunni women in the Latifiyah neighborhood, whose husband was a government official under Hussein and was assassinated earlier this year, points to the cluster of bullet holes in her front gate and the front window of her living room. "We know the Badr Brigade has a list of Sunnis they want to kill and we're on it. They want us out of this house. And the police are working with them."
Such breakdowns along confessional or ideological lines are the hallmarks of civil war and speak to why the drafters of Iraq's constitution have run up against so many problems. THEY GOT US INTO THIS,MEANWHILE CUTTING FUNDS FOR A NEEDED RAISE IN THE LEVEES AROUND NEW ORLEANS. WHY?? Stay tuned for the answer.
06 September, 2005
cronyism
Is our govenment ripe with cronyism?
Has FEMA's leadership been politicized, and is it up to the task? According to news reports, the agency's head, Michael Brown, had been supervising horse-show judges in Colorado before he was called to Washington in 2001 to work for an old friend, then the head of FEMA. Brown, with little disaster experience, quickly rose to be the agency's deputy director and then its leader. In the first days of the crisis, FEMA's decision-making appeared tentative and confused, with fatal consequences.
Has putting FEMA in the new Homeland Security Department undermined its ability to respond to natural disasters? According to a Government Accountability Office report, 75% of the agency's 2006 budget for preparedness grants is focused on terrorism.
Disaster experts will tell you that responding to any catastrophe requires the same elements — evacuation, rescue, emergency supplies and security.
Has FEMA's leadership been politicized, and is it up to the task? According to news reports, the agency's head, Michael Brown, had been supervising horse-show judges in Colorado before he was called to Washington in 2001 to work for an old friend, then the head of FEMA. Brown, with little disaster experience, quickly rose to be the agency's deputy director and then its leader. In the first days of the crisis, FEMA's decision-making appeared tentative and confused, with fatal consequences.
Has putting FEMA in the new Homeland Security Department undermined its ability to respond to natural disasters? According to a Government Accountability Office report, 75% of the agency's 2006 budget for preparedness grants is focused on terrorism.
Disaster experts will tell you that responding to any catastrophe requires the same elements — evacuation, rescue, emergency supplies and security.
attitudes
Just when I thought we had heard it all:
Barbara Bush, who accompanied the former presidents on a tour of the Astrodome complex Monday, said the relocation to Houston is "working very well" for some of the poor people forced out of New Orleans.
"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality," she said during a radio interview with the American Public Media program "Marketplace." "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."
Barbara Bush, who accompanied the former presidents on a tour of the Astrodome complex Monday, said the relocation to Houston is "working very well" for some of the poor people forced out of New Orleans.
"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality," she said during a radio interview with the American Public Media program "Marketplace." "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."
05 September, 2005
the answer
read today:
"They didn't have any place to go," she wrote. "They are the poor, black and white, who dwell in any city in great numbers; and they did what they felt they could do — they huddled together in the strongest houses they could find. There was no way to up and leave and check into the nearest Ramada Inn."
"But to my country I want to say this: During this crisis you failed us. You looked down on us; you dismissed our victims; you dismissed us," Rice wrote.
"You want our Jazz Fest, you want our Mardi Gras, you want our cooking and our music," she continued. "Then when you saw us in real trouble, when you saw a tiny minority preying on the weak among us, you called us 'Sin City,' and turned your backs."
Maybe the answer is that the last few years have been about giving the most to those WHO HAVE THE MOST. What would Jesus say about that?
"They didn't have any place to go," she wrote. "They are the poor, black and white, who dwell in any city in great numbers; and they did what they felt they could do — they huddled together in the strongest houses they could find. There was no way to up and leave and check into the nearest Ramada Inn."
"But to my country I want to say this: During this crisis you failed us. You looked down on us; you dismissed our victims; you dismissed us," Rice wrote.
"You want our Jazz Fest, you want our Mardi Gras, you want our cooking and our music," she continued. "Then when you saw us in real trouble, when you saw a tiny minority preying on the weak among us, you called us 'Sin City,' and turned your backs."
Maybe the answer is that the last few years have been about giving the most to those WHO HAVE THE MOST. What would Jesus say about that?
God help us
Imagine that you have to decide whether to make a lifetime commitment after a two weeks love afair. That is precisely the situation of senators in confirming a Supreme Court justice. Because a confirmation is rarely a case of love at first sight, it usually comes down to the testimony of the nominee, who is invariably told by White House chaperones to say little and smile a lot. And now there will be two.
God help us!
God help us!
04 September, 2005
can't believe
I can't believe I read this:
A million homeless with no tangible assets, most jobs in the area gone and
most financial information gone or irrelevant. Consider also that there are
potentially about 500,000 bankruptcies. What to do with those folks?
Build more prisons for those debtors? Foreclose on their houses? What
houses? Garnish their wages? What wages?
It could be nice to see some of those arrogant banking and credit card execs
and employees have to suck it up for awhile. If collection costs go up and
there are no collections, then salaries might go down and credit jobs might
disappear.
There might be a silver lining in this after all. Could Katrina be God's
way of sticking it to the "money changers" who lobbied and received those
tough new restrictions on debtors in need of bankruptcy protections?
Who did you vote for last election? The chickens have come home to roost!
A million homeless with no tangible assets, most jobs in the area gone and
most financial information gone or irrelevant. Consider also that there are
potentially about 500,000 bankruptcies. What to do with those folks?
Build more prisons for those debtors? Foreclose on their houses? What
houses? Garnish their wages? What wages?
It could be nice to see some of those arrogant banking and credit card execs
and employees have to suck it up for awhile. If collection costs go up and
there are no collections, then salaries might go down and credit jobs might
disappear.
There might be a silver lining in this after all. Could Katrina be God's
way of sticking it to the "money changers" who lobbied and received those
tough new restrictions on debtors in need of bankruptcy protections?
Who did you vote for last election? The chickens have come home to roost!
03 September, 2005
weaker or stronger
Are we weaker or stronger because of the below?
Facts just now coming out:
On the day after Sept. 11, the talk of the Republicans in the White House Situation Room was of "getting Iraq," says former White House anti-terrorism chief Richard A. Clarke. Clarke's memoir says an insistent Bush ordered him to look for "any shred" to tie Iraq to the Sept. 11 attacks — even though U.S. agencies knew al-Qaeda was responsible and Iraq wasn't linked to the terror group.
After dozens of interviews, Wilson reported back that the story appeared unfounded. The State Department's intelligence bureau also deemed it implausible. In addition, the text of the supposed Niger document, transcribed for the Americans by the Italians, contained misspellings and mistaken titles for people that should have been easily detectable.
It was a forgery. But "Niger uranium" had won a place in the case against Iraq.
Blair's Cabinet fretted. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, in the secret minutes of a July 2002 meeting, observed that the case for war was "thin" but Bush had made up his mind. Intelligence chief Richard Dearlove, fresh from high-level Washington talks, also told the 10 Downing St. session that war had become inevitable, and U.S. intelligence was being "fixed" around this policy.
Blair and U.S. officials now deny war was predetermined and intelligence "fixed" to that end. From midsummer 2002 on, however, the Bush administration sharply stepped up its anti-Iraq rhetoric, along with U.S. air attacks on Iraqi defenses, done under cover of patrols over the "no-fly zones," swaths of Iraqi airspace denied to Iraqi aircraft. It also stepped up its citing of questionable intelligence.
As early as July 29, Rumsfeld spoke publicly of reports of Iraqi bioweapons labs "on wheels in a trailer" that can "make a lot of bad stuff."
As the summer wore on, Cheney struck an urgent, unequivocal tone in public.
"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction," the vice president told veterans assembled at an Opryland hotel in Nashville.
In an unusual move, Cheney shuttled to the CIA through mid-2002 to visit analysts 10 times, according to Patricia Wald, a member of the presidential investigative commission headed by Judge Laurence Silberman and ex-U.S. Sen. Charles Robb. The commission concluded analysts "worked in an environment that did not encourage skepticism about the conventional wisdom."
That conventional wisdom took on more urgency on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2002, when the lead article in The New York Times, citing unnamed administration officials, said Iraq "has embarked on a worldwide hunt for materials to make an atomic bomb."
The "tubes" story had been resurrected. Condoleezza Rice went on the TV talk circuit that morning saying the tubes were suited only for uranium centrifuges. Four days later in New York, President Bush was at the marble podium of the U.N. General Assembly, demanding the world body take action on Iraq or become "irrelevant." He, too, cited the aluminum tubes — proof of danger.
The Australian biologist Barton, a 1990s weapons inspector who by 2002 was a top Blix aide, was amazed at the British report's unexplained claim that Iraq could "deploy" chemical or biological weapons "within 45 minutes" — a claim picked up by Bush in a radio address.
Over an Irish-pub dinner in New York, Barton asked old friend David Kelly, a British bioweapons specialist, how he could have allowed something "so silly" in the report. "He just shook his head and said something like, 'People put in what they want to put in,'" Barton recalled.
Months later Kelly would commit suicide, caught in a political furor as a source for news reports that the WMD dossier was "sexed up."
The tubes story also had slipped deeper into murkiness. State Department intelligence was siding with Energy in viewing them as likely rocket casings. The CIA arranged for centrifuge-like testing of the tubes in January, and they seemed to fail, only to supposedly pass after a "correction" was made.
On Jan. 28, 2003, with the world listening, Bush delivered his annual address.
"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa," he said. "Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production."
Washington was unmoved. Administration loyalists dismissed the "so-called inspections." In late February 2003, a Powell aide sternly told Blix nothing would suffice short of Iraq's unveiling its "secret hide sites." Most significantly, Bush ordered no reassessment of his government's collapsing claims.
Blix told the Security Council he could complete the work within months. The White House wasn't interested. "More time, more inspectors, more process, in our judgment, is not going to affect the peace of the world," Bush said on March 6, as the Pentagon counted down toward war.
Cheney at one point even told a TV audience — without challenge from the host — that Iraq possessed nuclear weapons. Of ElBaradei, whose IAEA refuted the claims about uranium and tubes, Cheney said, "I think Mr. ElBaradei, frankly, is wrong." But the CIA had already accepted ElBaradei's judgment on the Niger uranium document.
On March 17, in New York, U.S. diplomats gave up trying to win Security Council backing for war. That evening, on television, Bush told the American people there was "no doubt" Iraq had "some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."
The bombing began two days later, and as U.S. troops swept up the Tigris and Euphrates plain to easy victory, they searched for WMD. "We know where they are," Rumsfeld claimed on March 30. But despite a flurry of false "finds" by eager troops, they weren't there.
Finally, on April 19, U.S. weapons hunters celebrated: An equipment-packed truck trailer had been seized in northern Iraq.
Just before the war, al-Kindi company technicians had tested the unit and it worked, its tubes spewing hydrogen for weather balloons. They could deliver on the 2001 contract. To empty-handed U.S. analysts, however, the vehicle and a second trailer looked like the artist's conception of Curveball's mobile labs, ready to concoct killer germs.
The White House embraced this illusion. "We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories," President Bush assured Polish television on May 29. By then, however, experts had tested a trailer and found no trace of pathogens or toxins.
"They have weapons of mass destruction. That is what this war was about," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said on April 10. But soon the Washington line shifted to claims Iraq had not weapons, but WMD "programs" — also untrue, inspectors later certified. Then the war was framed as one to democratize Iraq.
Month by month, David Kay and his 1,500-member Iraq Survey Group labored over documents, visited sites, interrogated detained scientists and came to recognize reality. But when he wanted to report it, Kay ran into roadblocks in Washington.
"There was an absolutely closed mind," Kay tells AP. "They would not look at alternative explanations in these cases," specifically the aluminum tubes and bioweapons trailers.
In December 2003, Kay flew back to Washington and met with Tenet and CIA deputy John McLaughlin. "I couldn't budge John, and so I couldn't budge George," he says. Kay resigned, telling the U.S. Congress there had been no WMD threat.
As late as Sept. 30 last year, in an election debate, Bush stuck to his views.
"Saddam Hussein had no intention of disarming," Bush maintained.
A week before, Duelfer had conveyed his 1,000-page final report to the CIA, saying Saddam had disarmed 13 years earlier. (WEAKER OR STRONGER??)
Facts just now coming out:
On the day after Sept. 11, the talk of the Republicans in the White House Situation Room was of "getting Iraq," says former White House anti-terrorism chief Richard A. Clarke. Clarke's memoir says an insistent Bush ordered him to look for "any shred" to tie Iraq to the Sept. 11 attacks — even though U.S. agencies knew al-Qaeda was responsible and Iraq wasn't linked to the terror group.
After dozens of interviews, Wilson reported back that the story appeared unfounded. The State Department's intelligence bureau also deemed it implausible. In addition, the text of the supposed Niger document, transcribed for the Americans by the Italians, contained misspellings and mistaken titles for people that should have been easily detectable.
It was a forgery. But "Niger uranium" had won a place in the case against Iraq.
Blair's Cabinet fretted. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, in the secret minutes of a July 2002 meeting, observed that the case for war was "thin" but Bush had made up his mind. Intelligence chief Richard Dearlove, fresh from high-level Washington talks, also told the 10 Downing St. session that war had become inevitable, and U.S. intelligence was being "fixed" around this policy.
Blair and U.S. officials now deny war was predetermined and intelligence "fixed" to that end. From midsummer 2002 on, however, the Bush administration sharply stepped up its anti-Iraq rhetoric, along with U.S. air attacks on Iraqi defenses, done under cover of patrols over the "no-fly zones," swaths of Iraqi airspace denied to Iraqi aircraft. It also stepped up its citing of questionable intelligence.
As early as July 29, Rumsfeld spoke publicly of reports of Iraqi bioweapons labs "on wheels in a trailer" that can "make a lot of bad stuff."
As the summer wore on, Cheney struck an urgent, unequivocal tone in public.
"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction," the vice president told veterans assembled at an Opryland hotel in Nashville.
In an unusual move, Cheney shuttled to the CIA through mid-2002 to visit analysts 10 times, according to Patricia Wald, a member of the presidential investigative commission headed by Judge Laurence Silberman and ex-U.S. Sen. Charles Robb. The commission concluded analysts "worked in an environment that did not encourage skepticism about the conventional wisdom."
That conventional wisdom took on more urgency on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2002, when the lead article in The New York Times, citing unnamed administration officials, said Iraq "has embarked on a worldwide hunt for materials to make an atomic bomb."
The "tubes" story had been resurrected. Condoleezza Rice went on the TV talk circuit that morning saying the tubes were suited only for uranium centrifuges. Four days later in New York, President Bush was at the marble podium of the U.N. General Assembly, demanding the world body take action on Iraq or become "irrelevant." He, too, cited the aluminum tubes — proof of danger.
The Australian biologist Barton, a 1990s weapons inspector who by 2002 was a top Blix aide, was amazed at the British report's unexplained claim that Iraq could "deploy" chemical or biological weapons "within 45 minutes" — a claim picked up by Bush in a radio address.
Over an Irish-pub dinner in New York, Barton asked old friend David Kelly, a British bioweapons specialist, how he could have allowed something "so silly" in the report. "He just shook his head and said something like, 'People put in what they want to put in,'" Barton recalled.
Months later Kelly would commit suicide, caught in a political furor as a source for news reports that the WMD dossier was "sexed up."
The tubes story also had slipped deeper into murkiness. State Department intelligence was siding with Energy in viewing them as likely rocket casings. The CIA arranged for centrifuge-like testing of the tubes in January, and they seemed to fail, only to supposedly pass after a "correction" was made.
On Jan. 28, 2003, with the world listening, Bush delivered his annual address.
"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa," he said. "Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production."
Washington was unmoved. Administration loyalists dismissed the "so-called inspections." In late February 2003, a Powell aide sternly told Blix nothing would suffice short of Iraq's unveiling its "secret hide sites." Most significantly, Bush ordered no reassessment of his government's collapsing claims.
Blix told the Security Council he could complete the work within months. The White House wasn't interested. "More time, more inspectors, more process, in our judgment, is not going to affect the peace of the world," Bush said on March 6, as the Pentagon counted down toward war.
Cheney at one point even told a TV audience — without challenge from the host — that Iraq possessed nuclear weapons. Of ElBaradei, whose IAEA refuted the claims about uranium and tubes, Cheney said, "I think Mr. ElBaradei, frankly, is wrong." But the CIA had already accepted ElBaradei's judgment on the Niger uranium document.
On March 17, in New York, U.S. diplomats gave up trying to win Security Council backing for war. That evening, on television, Bush told the American people there was "no doubt" Iraq had "some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."
The bombing began two days later, and as U.S. troops swept up the Tigris and Euphrates plain to easy victory, they searched for WMD. "We know where they are," Rumsfeld claimed on March 30. But despite a flurry of false "finds" by eager troops, they weren't there.
Finally, on April 19, U.S. weapons hunters celebrated: An equipment-packed truck trailer had been seized in northern Iraq.
Just before the war, al-Kindi company technicians had tested the unit and it worked, its tubes spewing hydrogen for weather balloons. They could deliver on the 2001 contract. To empty-handed U.S. analysts, however, the vehicle and a second trailer looked like the artist's conception of Curveball's mobile labs, ready to concoct killer germs.
The White House embraced this illusion. "We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories," President Bush assured Polish television on May 29. By then, however, experts had tested a trailer and found no trace of pathogens or toxins.
"They have weapons of mass destruction. That is what this war was about," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said on April 10. But soon the Washington line shifted to claims Iraq had not weapons, but WMD "programs" — also untrue, inspectors later certified. Then the war was framed as one to democratize Iraq.
Month by month, David Kay and his 1,500-member Iraq Survey Group labored over documents, visited sites, interrogated detained scientists and came to recognize reality. But when he wanted to report it, Kay ran into roadblocks in Washington.
"There was an absolutely closed mind," Kay tells AP. "They would not look at alternative explanations in these cases," specifically the aluminum tubes and bioweapons trailers.
In December 2003, Kay flew back to Washington and met with Tenet and CIA deputy John McLaughlin. "I couldn't budge John, and so I couldn't budge George," he says. Kay resigned, telling the U.S. Congress there had been no WMD threat.
As late as Sept. 30 last year, in an election debate, Bush stuck to his views.
"Saddam Hussein had no intention of disarming," Bush maintained.
A week before, Duelfer had conveyed his 1,000-page final report to the CIA, saying Saddam had disarmed 13 years earlier. (WEAKER OR STRONGER??)
02 September, 2005
Tell me
Tell me it isn't so! Tell me not to believe. Tell me it's too late.
Tell me to sober up. Tell me it doesn't matter.
Let's look at what I just read:
First, when Bush, Rice and the other top Reichmeisters discarded the warning
on August 6, Bush's approval ratings had sunk to just 49% - this is the red
zone for a president. As any political expert or presidential historian: Hit
45%, and impeachment may soon loom on the horizon.
Second, Bush's actions throughout his entire life show a clear and
consistent pattern: without exception, he has always chosen the path that
will benefit himself and his corporate friends the most and will do so in
the face of even the most outraged criticism.
Third, the stolen election of 2000 proves that Bush was willing to
participate in a very daring, very large scale crime in pursuit of power.
Fourth, Bush's father's approval ratings went from shaky to astronomical
within a month of declaring war on an "evil terrorist" leader back in 1991.
This lesson could hardly have been lost on Bush, Jr.: Start a war and the
emotions of the public can be whipped up to a point that will push
presidential approval ratings way, way up.
So, given the above facts as "evidence," what do you imagine a self-serving
man who has faced no serious opposition from Congress, the press, or the
American public would be likely to do?
Another action that must be considered in the cold hard light of day is
Bush's behavior after 9/11. He seized upon national fears, worked at
intensifying them, and immediately, without waiting for Congress or serious
discussions with other nations, called for an attack on Afghanistan and a
global war on terrorism.
At the same time, he worked through John Ashcroft with stunning swiftness to dismantle civil liberties. These are not the actions of a leader who wants to keep his nation calm, reassured, and standing tall in its principles in the wake of tragedy.
They are the actions of an opportunist who knows, from watching his father's presidency, that the window of opportunity for consolidating his power will be narrow: Bush Sr.'s approval rating high lasted only a few months.
Last, why would Bush admit to having been warned about 9/11 in the first
place? In the corporate and political world, this admission is a strategy
that has been used over and over by creeps who are guilty of huge crimes and
know the heat is on. By confessing to a lesser charge, they try to draw the
heat away from the main, more dangerous issue.
Ken Lay, the head of Anderson, and every criminal who has ever copped or tried to cop a plea bargain have used this ploy. If Bush were innocent of any complicity in
9/11, why should he make ANY statement?
It is always the guilty who feel the need to make statements: "I am not a crook!", "I never had sex with that woman.Therefore, based on the evidence, I would say we have a phony president who is as guilty as hell, who knows that someone has the goods on him and is breathing down his neck. He is gambling that by making a preemptive strike while he still has control of the media, he can spin a protective wall around himself.
Thus, we have Dick Cheney appearing on 5/19 on Meet the Press, being "interviewed" about the 9/11 flap by his friend and neighbor Russert. Yep, that's right -both interviewer and interviewee live in the feudally exclusive Kalorama suburb of D.C., where houses START at around $1 million.
In fact, on the same program, Russert had the arrogance to even mention how he'd seen his buddy out taking the air on his new "It" scooter. How cozy! And this is what is being served to America in the name of a free and honest press. Ya got a problem? Just pick a pal in the press corps and tell him what questions you want him/her to ask you so you can spin them in just the way you want.
Russert asked Cheney how he responded to charges that the information
existed in several reports which showed that a WTC-type attack was a
possibility. Cheney responded -incredibly!- that reading all those reports
weren't his concern. There's just too darn many of them. Russert let this
ridiculous response go totally unchallenged and unqualified.
Here are the questions that are missing -the questions a real journalist
would have asked: "So then, Mr. Cheney, just what are your criteria for a
report that is important enough for you to read? How do you prioritize what
you read or what those under you are directed to call to your attention?
What reports on this matter DID you read?"
It is insulting to America's intelligence that such questions are not being
asked. It's like a grand jury that refuses to ask a murder suspect questions
like "Where were you on the night of such and such? What was your
relationship to the victim?" but instead says, "Well, here's what we heard
from the police that someone thinks you may have killed someone.
Go ahead and explain yourself. Don't worry -we won't interrupt you or ask you any
uncomfortable questions. And, by the way, your good pal who lives down the
block volunteered to serve as jury foreman!"
Here's one last FACT to consider. The GOP spent $40 million to pursue an
ultimately merit-less case against Clinton that involved diddling an intern
and some questionable real estate deals.
Since Bush took office, not one dime has been spent by Congress to investigate Cheney and his secret energy dealings, Bush's stolen election, Tom Delay's boiler room scams that have bilked doctors out of millions, the mysterious wild trading of American and United Airlines stock the week before 9/11 or any of the other crimes that were far more serious than Clinton's offenses.
Meanwhile, the GOP -so eager to spend millions to investigate an office romance- has worked overtime to block the initiation of any serious investigation into the biggest crime to have ever been perpetrated on American soil that claimed nearly 3,000 lives. WAKE UP AMERICA!!
Tell me to sober up. Tell me it doesn't matter.
Let's look at what I just read:
First, when Bush, Rice and the other top Reichmeisters discarded the warning
on August 6, Bush's approval ratings had sunk to just 49% - this is the red
zone for a president. As any political expert or presidential historian: Hit
45%, and impeachment may soon loom on the horizon.
Second, Bush's actions throughout his entire life show a clear and
consistent pattern: without exception, he has always chosen the path that
will benefit himself and his corporate friends the most and will do so in
the face of even the most outraged criticism.
Third, the stolen election of 2000 proves that Bush was willing to
participate in a very daring, very large scale crime in pursuit of power.
Fourth, Bush's father's approval ratings went from shaky to astronomical
within a month of declaring war on an "evil terrorist" leader back in 1991.
This lesson could hardly have been lost on Bush, Jr.: Start a war and the
emotions of the public can be whipped up to a point that will push
presidential approval ratings way, way up.
So, given the above facts as "evidence," what do you imagine a self-serving
man who has faced no serious opposition from Congress, the press, or the
American public would be likely to do?
Another action that must be considered in the cold hard light of day is
Bush's behavior after 9/11. He seized upon national fears, worked at
intensifying them, and immediately, without waiting for Congress or serious
discussions with other nations, called for an attack on Afghanistan and a
global war on terrorism.
At the same time, he worked through John Ashcroft with stunning swiftness to dismantle civil liberties. These are not the actions of a leader who wants to keep his nation calm, reassured, and standing tall in its principles in the wake of tragedy.
They are the actions of an opportunist who knows, from watching his father's presidency, that the window of opportunity for consolidating his power will be narrow: Bush Sr.'s approval rating high lasted only a few months.
Last, why would Bush admit to having been warned about 9/11 in the first
place? In the corporate and political world, this admission is a strategy
that has been used over and over by creeps who are guilty of huge crimes and
know the heat is on. By confessing to a lesser charge, they try to draw the
heat away from the main, more dangerous issue.
Ken Lay, the head of Anderson, and every criminal who has ever copped or tried to cop a plea bargain have used this ploy. If Bush were innocent of any complicity in
9/11, why should he make ANY statement?
It is always the guilty who feel the need to make statements: "I am not a crook!", "I never had sex with that woman.Therefore, based on the evidence, I would say we have a phony president who is as guilty as hell, who knows that someone has the goods on him and is breathing down his neck. He is gambling that by making a preemptive strike while he still has control of the media, he can spin a protective wall around himself.
Thus, we have Dick Cheney appearing on 5/19 on Meet the Press, being "interviewed" about the 9/11 flap by his friend and neighbor Russert. Yep, that's right -both interviewer and interviewee live in the feudally exclusive Kalorama suburb of D.C., where houses START at around $1 million.
In fact, on the same program, Russert had the arrogance to even mention how he'd seen his buddy out taking the air on his new "It" scooter. How cozy! And this is what is being served to America in the name of a free and honest press. Ya got a problem? Just pick a pal in the press corps and tell him what questions you want him/her to ask you so you can spin them in just the way you want.
Russert asked Cheney how he responded to charges that the information
existed in several reports which showed that a WTC-type attack was a
possibility. Cheney responded -incredibly!- that reading all those reports
weren't his concern. There's just too darn many of them. Russert let this
ridiculous response go totally unchallenged and unqualified.
Here are the questions that are missing -the questions a real journalist
would have asked: "So then, Mr. Cheney, just what are your criteria for a
report that is important enough for you to read? How do you prioritize what
you read or what those under you are directed to call to your attention?
What reports on this matter DID you read?"
It is insulting to America's intelligence that such questions are not being
asked. It's like a grand jury that refuses to ask a murder suspect questions
like "Where were you on the night of such and such? What was your
relationship to the victim?" but instead says, "Well, here's what we heard
from the police that someone thinks you may have killed someone.
Go ahead and explain yourself. Don't worry -we won't interrupt you or ask you any
uncomfortable questions. And, by the way, your good pal who lives down the
block volunteered to serve as jury foreman!"
Here's one last FACT to consider. The GOP spent $40 million to pursue an
ultimately merit-less case against Clinton that involved diddling an intern
and some questionable real estate deals.
Since Bush took office, not one dime has been spent by Congress to investigate Cheney and his secret energy dealings, Bush's stolen election, Tom Delay's boiler room scams that have bilked doctors out of millions, the mysterious wild trading of American and United Airlines stock the week before 9/11 or any of the other crimes that were far more serious than Clinton's offenses.
Meanwhile, the GOP -so eager to spend millions to investigate an office romance- has worked overtime to block the initiation of any serious investigation into the biggest crime to have ever been perpetrated on American soil that claimed nearly 3,000 lives. WAKE UP AMERICA!!
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