Tax cheats, corporations and business owners

Taxpayers have been underpaying the government for decades. Some are corporations or wealthy individuals who use illegal tax shelters. Others are individuals with business income, including the self-employed, who underreported that income by 57% in 2001, the IRS says.So, the question is, how do you feel about paying your taxes every year.

progress in Iraq?

Sunni and Shiite religious leaders also met Saturday, agreeing to prohibit killings and ban attacks on each other's mosques. The clerics issued a statement blaming "the occupiers," meaning the Americans, for stirring up sectarian unrest."We demand that the occupiers leave or set a timetable for the withdrawal," the clerics said.

This is the progress our Republicaqn leaders claim????

Iraqi dead estimate

"At least" 2,289 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting "contractors" and Iraqi civilians AND the tens of thousands that have been wounded.

Republicans, oil sheiks,Bush family

The Bush administration said Friday it won't reconsider its approval for a United Arab Emirates company to take over significant operations at six U.S. ports. The former head of the Sept. 11 commission said the deal "never should have happened."

Opponents, including the agency that runs New York and New Jersey ports, took their case to court, while the company, Dubai Ports World, stepped up efforts to change the minds of congressional critics.

Thomas Kean, a former governor of New Jersey who led the bipartisan probe of the Sept. 11 attacks, said the deal was a big mistake because of past connections between the 2001 hijackers and the UAE. "It shouldn't have happened, it never should have happened," Kean said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

"There's no question that two of the 9/11 hijackers came from there and money was laundered through there," Kean said."From our point of view, we don't want foreigners controlling our ports," Kean's comments threatened to overshadow moves by the company and the White House to appease critics by delaying the takeover.

"Governor Kean knows as much as anyone how risky it is to deal with the United Arab Emirates," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and a leading opponent.

"This just proves that no real investigation was ever conducted, and it's unfortunate that he and the other 9/11 commissioners were not contacted before the government approved this."

The former head of the CIA's Osama bin Laden unit joined in the criticism."The fact that you are putting a company in place that could already be infiltrated by al-Qaeda is a silly thing to do," said Mike Scheuer, who headed the CIA unit until 1999.

Lawmakers led by King and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., plan to introduce legislation next week that would put the deal on hold while the government conducts further investigation.

churches, charities, politics

Among the prohibited activities, the IRS examiners have found that charities and churches distributed printed material supporting a preferred candidate and assembled improper voter guides or candidate ratings.

Religious leaders had used the pulpit to endorse or oppose a particular candidate, and some groups had shown preferential treatment to candidates by letting them speak at functions.

Other charities and churches had made improper cash contributions to a candidate's political campaign.

We have been watching these activities by religious fanantics for years.

Iraq, Middle East, Hamas, Republicans

The rush to blame the United States for the shrine bombing is a sign not only of the deteriorating situation in Iraq, but the tense state of West-Mideast relations overall. From riots over the prophet drawings to the United Arab Emirates ports dispute to Hamas' election win, little is going right for the United States across the Arab world.

Even a supposed friend — a top Iraqi Shiite leader, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, who President Bush once praised at the White House — took a poke after Wednesday's attack on the Askariya shrine in Samarra, saying the U.S. ambassador "gave a green light to terrorist groups."

The outcry, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was on a troubled visit to the region, is a sign of just how much America's Mideast policy has unraveled in recent months. What a mess these republicans have made!

US made goods on the decline

Orders for U.S.-made durable goods plunged 10.2% in January, the biggest drop in 5½ years, as non-defense aircraft orders posted their largest decline since December 1998, a government report showed Friday.

Capital goods orders tumbled 23.1%, the biggest decline since July 2000, on a record 20% decline in non-defense capital goods orders and a 64.3% fall in defense capital goods orders. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, seen as a proxy for business spending, edged down 0.4%, the report showed.

Aircraft is about all we manufacture in the USA, anymore, as the big corporations have taken their production jobs and facilities overseas.

corporate profits, cronyism, national security

In September 2005, the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said the Treasury Department, as head of the interagency committee that reviews deals with foreign implications, had used an overly narrow definition of national security threats because it wanted to encourage foreign investment. That is what we have know all along. Corporate profits for their cronies are more important to the Republican establishment than national security.

Bush, mideast oil, carlyle group,policies

"Carlyle is as deeply wired into the current administration as they can possibly be," said Charles Lewis, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit public interest group based in Washington. "George Bush is getting money from private interests that have business before the government, while his son is president. And, in a really peculiar way, George W. Bush could benefit financially from his own administration's decisions, through his father's investments. The average American doesn't know that and, to me, that's a jaw-dropper."

Bushes, Sheiks,Carlyle Group connection

Critics of the deal have raised concerns about the company's status as a state-owned venture, accusing the UAE of having ties to terrorism. Two of the hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001, attacks came from the Persian Gulf country, and most of the money for the plot was funneled through the banking center of Dubai.

Critics also note that Dubai was a key transfer point for illicit nuclear technology sales to North Korea, Iran and Libya that were led by Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan.

"At a time when we're faced with this terror threat, we should not be surrendering any port to any foreign government, let alone the UAE," said Baltimore, Maryland, Mayor Martin O'Malley, whose city is one of the ports involved in the deal.

There should be an investigation of the Bush Family ties to the oil sheiks of the middle east including a look at the Carlyle Group.

Republicans, middle class, wealth declines

The average income of American families, after adjusting for inflation, declined 2.3% in 2004 compared with 2001.

The percentage of Americans who owned stocks, either directly or through a mutual fund, fell 3.3 percentage points to 48.6% in 2004, down from 51.9% in 2001.

Stock ownership rates were highest in 2004 among families with higher incomes and families age 55 to 64. Overall median stock holdings fell to $24,300 in 2004.

What does all this tell us. Under the Republicans, the rich got richer and the middle class got squeezed, for their motto is, "Give the most to those that have the most."

USA task force fighting in nine countries in Africa?

Did you know that the USA had a Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, set up in the former French colony in June 2002,which is responsible for fighting terrorism in nine countries in the region: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Somalia in Africa and Yemen on the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula? I didn't.

Iraq and your cost of living

Iraq's oil industry suffered $6.25 billion in losses in 2005 as a result of oil infrastructure sabotage and lost export revenues, Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said Saturday. Who is paying the bills? YOU ARE.

Iraq update, "at least"

"At least" 2,269 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting "contractors" and Iraqi civilians AND the tens of thousands that have been wounded.

republicans, google, domestic spying

Google criticized the Bush administration's demand to examine millions of its users' Internet search requests as a misguided fishing expedition that threatens to ruin the company's credibility and reveal its closely guarded secrets.

The case has attracted widespread attention because the Justice Department's demand to peek under the hood of the Internet's most popular search engine has underscored the potential for online databases becoming tools for government surveillance.

But Google has steadfastly refused to hand over the requested information, a defiant stance that the company reaffirmed in a brief that depicts the Bush administration as heavy-handed snoops and technological rubes.

Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN and Time Warner's America Online already have provided some of the search engine information sought by the Justice Department

Does anyone believe that these republicans are already watching us and just want to make it legal to use the information?

tragedy, different stories,republicans,special treatment

Karl Rove,Republican spin doctor, called Ms. Armstrong at the ranch on 8pm Saturday night. The next day, Sunday, they had her break the news, blaming the victim for not calling out his position.(never mind that a hunter should never whirl and fire without knowing what or who is in the line of fire.--I learned that at 7 years old).

Cheney said 5 days later that they had her announce it as she was a witness and knew the most about it.

However, she was sitting in a car some 100 yards away. Also she said she thought Cheney had suffered "a heart attack" when she saw Cheney's security people running toward the scene. So much for being the witness who knew the most about it.

She also said that he was peppered,leaving the impression of a light sprinkling. After his heart attack, we learned he has at least one pellet at or in the heart, they won't say how many others and apparently will not operate.

A Sheriff's deputy went out that evening to the ranch and was turned away by a border patrol agent at the gate ( who said he didn't know anything about it). The Sheriff then made a call arranging to have another deputy go out the next morning to interview witnesses. If they had been drinking, the Sheriff wouldn't know it.

Cheney now says he had one beer at lunch. Do we smell the same smell?

republicans, morality,respect, torture,hypocrisy

The United States should shut down the prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay and either release all detainees being held there or bring them to trial, the United Nations said in a report released Thursday.

The report, summarizing an investigation by five U.N. experts, called on the U.S. government "to close down the Guantanamo Bay detention center and to refrain from any practice amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment."

The United States is holding about 500 men at the U.S. naval base on the southeastern tip of Cuba. The detainees are accused of having links to Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime or the al-Qaeda terror group, though only 10 have been charged since the detention camp opened in January 2001.

Hypocrisy abounds. We preach and push elections and democracy on other nations until the result is not to our liking. We preach human rights and fair trial theory but use turture and degrading treatment, and detention without trial.

We tout freedom of the press but these Reputlicans work to control it by secretly paying journalists and spending millions on covert propaganda to its own citizens. It's no wonder we are losing the respect of our friends around the world.

republicans, cheney, rove, policies

Karl Rove,the Republican spin doctor,spoke with ranch owner Armstrong. Rove reported back to Bush shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday that the vice president himself had done the shooting. It took another day for the news came out at the local scene while they obviously discussed how to spin the incident, hence the Armstrong woman's bland explanation.

However, Mark Birkhauser, president-elect of the International Hunter Education Associationm said," it's incumbent upon the shooter to assess the situation and make sure it's a safe shot. Once you squeeze that trigger, you can't bring that shot back."

It's another example of the fact that the Republicans are good at spin and public relations (spent $1.6 BILLION of your money on PR since 2000) but little else from lying and bungling in Iraq to unfair trade, sending middle class jobs to Asia, failed health care, failed education, you name it.

cheney, guns, deferments, bin laden

it's a good thing Cheney got all those deferments from serving in the Vietnam War given his marksmanship skills. Bin Laden better not take up quail hunting.

katrina,waste,fraud,mismanagement

.Two reports released by the Government Accountability Office and the Homeland Security Department's office of inspector general detail a series of accounting flaws,waste, fraud or mismanagement in their initial review of how $85 billion in federal aid is being spent on Katrina. Are you surprised?

Republicans, trade deficits, job losses

The Commerce Department reported that the gap between what America sells abroad and what it imports rose to $725.8 billion last year, up by 17.5% from the previous record of $617.6 billion set in 2004.

It marked the fourth consecutive year that America's trade deficit has set a record and was certain to spark increased debate in Congress over President Bush's trade policies. Since mid-2000 the country has lost nearly 3 million manufacturing jobs and Democrats rightfully blame the administration's flawed policies of emphasizing free trade agreements.

During this time, the Republicans have controlled all three branches of government.

bush, clinton, and hypocrisy

Laura Bush said Saturday that Hillary Rodham Clinton's criticism of her husband's administration was "out of bounds," arguing that the former first lady should show some empathy for the current White House occupants. Well, talk about hypocrisy!!!

How much empathy did republicans have for President Clinton, and that was a personal matter in which no one died?? AND notice that they don't dispute or discuss the facts, they only find some way to run down the messenger.

medications cost and Pfizer sales

Are you having trouble paying for your medications? Well, check out the following:

Pfizer projects Lipitor sales will exceed $13 billion, indicating a growth rate for the drug of about 7% compared with 12% in 2005. Arthritis medication Celebrex is expected to post sales of more than $2 billion, up from $1.73 billion in 2005. Sales of anti-anxiety drug Lyrica are expected to exceed $900 million, up from $291 million a year earlier.

more republican admin. lies about Katrina

Former federal disaster chief Michael Brown testified Friday that he notified top White House and Homeland Security officials on the day that Hurricane Katrina roared ashore that "we were realizing our worst nightmare" and that New Orleans was seriously flooding.

The storm slammed into New Orleans and the Gulf coast on the morning of Monday, Aug. 29. Brown said he spoke by phone to a top White House official — he said he believed it was Joe Hagin — "on at least two occasions on that day to inform him of what was going on."

Hagin was with the president, who was vacationing on his ranch in Crawford, Texas, at the time, while Brown was in Baton Rouge
"I think I told him that we were realizing our worst nightmare, that everything we had planned about, worried about, that FEMA, frankly, had worried about for 10 years was coming true," Brown said. He said he made similar comments in an e-mail message to White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card.

He insisted he provided information to White House and Homeland Security officials the day of the storm. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has said he did not know the levees were breached until the following day

Iraq dead, maybe dead, and wounded?

At least 2,269 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting "contractors" and Iraqi civilians AND the tens of thousands that have been wounded.

republicans, more lies, katrina

Decisions and policies by the parent Department of Homeland Security doomed FEMA to "a path to failure" that led to the government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, former disaster chief Michael Brown said Friday.

Brown's appearance in front of the Senate investigative panel came as new documents reveal that 28 federal, state and local agencies — including the White House — reported levee failures on Aug. 29, according to a timeline of e-mails, situation updates and weather reports.

That litany was at odds with the administration's contention that it didn't know the extent of the problem until much later. At the time, President Bush said, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."

republicans outed Plame to shut up their critics

A former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney told a federal grand jury that his superiors authorized him to give secret information to reporters as part of the Bush administration's defense of intelligence used to justify invading Iraq, according to court papers.

Libby, 55, was indicted late last year on charges that he lied to FBI agents and the grand jury about how he learned CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity and when he subsequently told reporters. He is not charged with leaking classified information from an intelligence estimate report.

Plame's identity was published in July 2003 by columnist Robert Novak after her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, accused the administration of twisting intelligence about Iraq's efforts to buy uranium in Niger. The year before, the CIA had sent Wilson to Niger to determine the accuracy of the uranium reports.

spying, evading, lying

read today: Consider these key facts:

First, the president said publicly there was no such program. He said, "Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so." He lied.


For weeks, Gonzales, President Bush and others have insisted that the wiretapping program was only applied to suspected terrorists. But just last Sunday, the Washington Post exposed that the program was broad and not limited to suspected terrorists. In a nutshell, it's a fishing expedition and participants are increasingly "uncomfortable with the mountain of data they have now begun to accumulate."


And yesterday, the attorney general said that he could not assure the Senate that the program did not eavesdrop on innocent Americans.

billions down the Iraq rat hole

"For war, billions more, but no more for the poor,"

medicare, pensions and Iraq

Bush is trimming spending by Medicare, the government's health care program for the elderly and disabled, by $35.9 billion over five years.

Other reductions include: $4.99 billion in farm commodity programs, and $16.7 billion in the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the government program that backs private pensions. They are spending and wasting the money in Iraq. And is your pension going to be secure?

spying on you and me

The National Security Agency has secured the cooperation of large telecommunications companies, including AT&T, MCI and Sprint, in its efforts to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls by suspected terrorists, according to seven telecommunications executives.

At issue: whether the surveillance is legal, as President Bush insists, or an illegal intrusion into the lives of Americans, as lawsuits by civil libertarians contend.

The government has refused to publicly discuss the precise number of individuals targeted.

free press, infidels, and us

Protesters took to the streets by the thousands in the Muslim world, a day after demonstrators in Syria charged security barriers outside the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus and sent the buildings up in flames over cartoons published in a free press in a free democratic country, but it is okay for them and their Koran to call us infidels and call for our destruction.

lies about Iraq

read today:
It turns out that Bush told Prime Minister Tony Blair at a White House meeting on Jan,31, 2003, nearly two months before the invasion of Iraq, that the United States intended to go to war even if inspectors failed to find evidence of a banned weapons program, according to a memo of the meeting.
The memo also states that Bush also told Blair that military intervention was scheduled for March 2003 even without UN backing.

needless deaths in Iraq

Top Army and Marine Corps officers said Wednesday that they are JUST NOW buying and sending the latest body armor to troops in Iraq as fast as possible, including ceramic plates to protect against bullets or shrapnel from the side.

Several members of Congress, including Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., pushed the Pentagon to speed the body armor to troops after newspaper accounts said the military had delayed buying the armor despite evidence it would save lives.

dead in Iraq

At least 2,248 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting "contractors" and Iraqi civilians AND the tens of thousands that have been wounded.

Libby trial after elections?

A federal judge on Friday set former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's trial date in the CIA leak case for January 2007, two months after the midterm congressional elections Isn't that interesting???

Iraq and national debt

The Bush administration will ask Congress soon for another $120 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing total spending to about $440 billion, AND deputy budget director Joel Kaplan and Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman acknowledged that EVEN THAT WON'T BE ENOUGH.

The war in Iraq is costing about $150 million a day, while continued fighting in Afghanistan is costing about $27 million a day.

In 2002, the White House suggested the cost could reach $200 billion, another lie. Since our national debt is over $8 Trillion,this is more debt your children and grandchildren will have to pay

vote those republicans out

On Iraq, Bush declared that the United States must stay the course. Some Iraqis expressed anger over the long-term presence of U.S. troops while others welcomed the words, saying they believed the Americans had little choice but to stick it out to prevent civil war. In other words, we are "between a rock and a hard place."

And who got us into this mess based on lies, distortions alnd manipulations? Those Republicans that control everything, that's who. Your vote or your not voting will count.