On October 11, 2000 George W. Bush said, "I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation-building. I think our troops ought to be used to fight and win wars." Just one example of republicans saying one thing and doing another.
Our forces swept through Iraq and entered Baghdad in a combat crouch and there we stopped, as the neocons wanted us to, spending soldiers’ lives to build a democracy in Iraq.
Solution, fire the neocon republican republicans and reject their theories.
27 August, 2007
no end in sight
"No End In Sight" examines the manner in which the principal errors of U.S. policy – the use of insufficient troop levels, allowing the looting of Baghdad, the purging of professionals from the Iraqi government, and the disbanding of the Iraqi military – largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq today.
How did a group of men with little or no military experience, knowledge of the Arab world or personal experience in Iraq come to make such flagrantly debilitating decisions?
"No End In Sight" dissects the people, issues and facts behind the Bush Administration’s decisions and their consequences on the ground to provide a powerful look into how arrogance and ignorance turned a military victory into a seemingly endless and deepening nightmare of a war.
How did a group of men with little or no military experience, knowledge of the Arab world or personal experience in Iraq come to make such flagrantly debilitating decisions?
"No End In Sight" dissects the people, issues and facts behind the Bush Administration’s decisions and their consequences on the ground to provide a powerful look into how arrogance and ignorance turned a military victory into a seemingly endless and deepening nightmare of a war.
republicans wrong on Iraq
The danger now is that the longer the Iraq War goes on, the more skilled the new generations of jihadists will become. They're getting re-educated, The first generation of Al Qaeda came through the [Afghan] camps. The second generation are those who've logged on [to Islamist Web sites].
The danger now, says Arquilla, is that the longer the Iraq War goes on, the more skilled the new generations of jihadists will become. "They're getting re-educated," he says. "The first generation of Al Qaeda came through the [Afghan] camps. The second generation are those who've logged on [to Islamist Web sites]. The next generation will be those who have come through the crucible of Iraq. Eventually, their level of skill is going to be greater than the skill of the original generation."
The next generation will be those who have come through the crucible of Iraq. Eventually, their level of skill is going to be greater than the skill of the original generation."
The danger now, says Arquilla, is that the longer the Iraq War goes on, the more skilled the new generations of jihadists will become. "They're getting re-educated," he says. "The first generation of Al Qaeda came through the [Afghan] camps. The second generation are those who've logged on [to Islamist Web sites]. The next generation will be those who have come through the crucible of Iraq. Eventually, their level of skill is going to be greater than the skill of the original generation."
The next generation will be those who have come through the crucible of Iraq. Eventually, their level of skill is going to be greater than the skill of the original generation."
war on Iraq
The Iraq War has proved to be a black hole for the Americans, devouring men and matériel and absorbing the attention of the brass in Washington. The American military, understandably, puts a high priority on "force protection," but as a practical matter that means staying behind armor and barricades.
An ends-justifying-the-means rationale led to foolish and ultimately unsuccessful assassination plots and other dirty tricks that disgraced and demoralized the CIA. When you kill one person it's a multiplication factor. It demands that all the male relatives join the fight.
When you kill one person it's a multiplication factor. It demands that all the male relatives join the fight."
An ends-justifying-the-means rationale led to foolish and ultimately unsuccessful assassination plots and other dirty tricks that disgraced and demoralized the CIA. When you kill one person it's a multiplication factor. It demands that all the male relatives join the fight.
When you kill one person it's a multiplication factor. It demands that all the male relatives join the fight."
25 August, 2007
update Iraq
Iraq's vice president said Friday his Sunni political party will not return to its Cabinet positions unless their demands are met.
Three secularist ministers who were already boycotting meetings of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's cabinet will formally quit the government, their bloc said on Friday
The number of Iraqis fleeing their homes has soared since the American troop increase began in February, according to data from two humanitarian groups, accelerating the partition of the country into sectarian enclaves.
Three secularist ministers who were already boycotting meetings of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's cabinet will formally quit the government, their bloc said on Friday
The number of Iraqis fleeing their homes has soared since the American troop increase began in February, according to data from two humanitarian groups, accelerating the partition of the country into sectarian enclaves.
republicans need war to win elections
No pullout from Iraq while I’m president, declares George W. Bush.
On to Iran, declares Vice President Cheney. Israel is a “peace-seeking state” that needs $30 billion of US taxpayers’ money for war, declares State Department official Nicholas Burns.
The Bush regime says it is going to designate part of Iran’s military--the Revolutionary Guards--a terrorist organization, whose bases and facilities Bush intends to bomb along with Iran’s nuclear energy sites. Three US aircraft carrier strike forces are deployed off Iran. B-2 Stealth Bombers are being fitted to carry 30,000 pound “bunker-buster” bombs to use against hardened sites. Politicized US generals try to justify attacking Iran.
Meanwhile in America, while more money is poured into more war, condemned bridges collapse killing Americans who trusted their government to provide safe infrastructure. Devastated residents of New Orleans remain unaided. Financial difficulties deepen for more Americans as falling home prices and jobs lost to offshoring push more Americans into desperate straits. The US dollar continues to fall as the government’s war debts build up abroad.
On to Iran, declares Vice President Cheney. Israel is a “peace-seeking state” that needs $30 billion of US taxpayers’ money for war, declares State Department official Nicholas Burns.
The Bush regime says it is going to designate part of Iran’s military--the Revolutionary Guards--a terrorist organization, whose bases and facilities Bush intends to bomb along with Iran’s nuclear energy sites. Three US aircraft carrier strike forces are deployed off Iran. B-2 Stealth Bombers are being fitted to carry 30,000 pound “bunker-buster” bombs to use against hardened sites. Politicized US generals try to justify attacking Iran.
Meanwhile in America, while more money is poured into more war, condemned bridges collapse killing Americans who trusted their government to provide safe infrastructure. Devastated residents of New Orleans remain unaided. Financial difficulties deepen for more Americans as falling home prices and jobs lost to offshoring push more Americans into desperate straits. The US dollar continues to fall as the government’s war debts build up abroad.
23 August, 2007
republican war update
The number of U.S. Military Personnel sacrificed (officially acknowledged) in America's Republican war on Iraq is now 3722 in over five years, plus over 1000 contractors(mercenaries) and over a million Iraquis.
republicans creating a mercenary army
The big bonuses are creating a mercenary military in the US. The republicans no longer can count on loyal patriotic troops when they pay $20,000 for young poor kids to enlist in the Army.
To them, it's all about the money.
To them, it's all about the money.
republicans lying again
For months now, many re[ib;ocam conservatives have been fundamentally positioning themselves for the post-war era, readying the arguments that will blame the failure of the venture in Iraq on its opponents rather than its architects.
That Bush himself is switching from denying any analogy to Vietnam to now chosing to make the same case is the clearest reflection of the reality that the president knows perfectly well that the war is unwinnable, and blame-shifting now the best hope for saving his historical legacy.
These republicans are good at saying one thing one month and saying just the opposite the next.
That Bush himself is switching from denying any analogy to Vietnam to now chosing to make the same case is the clearest reflection of the reality that the president knows perfectly well that the war is unwinnable, and blame-shifting now the best hope for saving his historical legacy.
These republicans are good at saying one thing one month and saying just the opposite the next.
20 August, 2007
republican pretenders
Giuliani has issued some of his first pronouncements on foreign policy. The most dangerous would-be world leader is a man who doesn't seem to know how much he doesn't know. J
Judging from his foreign affairs article, the breadth and depth of his cluelessness are vast and disturbing, and is pretty much like the other republican contenders.
Judging from his foreign affairs article, the breadth and depth of his cluelessness are vast and disturbing, and is pretty much like the other republican contenders.
how they create dictatorships
Ask yourself: Would a government that has lied us into Iraq and is working to lie us into an attack on Iran shrink from staging terrorist attacks in order to remove opposition to its agenda? Bush already ignores public opinion and laws he doesn't like. His secret spying network is in place.
He has politicized all levels of government, appointing cronies who are loyal to him rather than competent officials. Has he been setting the groundwork for dictatorship?
Adolf Hitler, who never achieved majority support in a German election, used the Reichstag fire to fan hysteria and push through the Enabling Act, which made him dictator. Determined tyrants never require majority support in order to overthrow democratic constitutions. They declare "national emergencies." A series of staged or permitted terrorist attacks would accomplish that.
He has politicized all levels of government, appointing cronies who are loyal to him rather than competent officials. Has he been setting the groundwork for dictatorship?
Adolf Hitler, who never achieved majority support in a German election, used the Reichstag fire to fan hysteria and push through the Enabling Act, which made him dictator. Determined tyrants never require majority support in order to overthrow democratic constitutions. They declare "national emergencies." A series of staged or permitted terrorist attacks would accomplish that.
lone republican
Paul Craig Roberts is a Republican who served as undersecretary of the treasury under Ronald Reagan and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal's editorial page, so he's no kook or Commie. He warns, "Unless Congress immediately impeaches Bush and Cheney, a year from now the United States could be a dictatorial police state at war with Iran."
more republican law and order
With habeas corpus a thing of the past, with arrest and detention without charge permitted, with torture and spying without court oversight all the rage, with prosecutors free to tape conversations between lawyers and their clients, and with the judicial branch now infested by rightwing judges who would have been at home in courtrooms of the Soviet Union or Hitler's Germany, for all they seem to care about common law tradition, the only real thing holding the line against absolute tyranny in the U.S. has been the jury.
republican law and order
Rove directed Federal Assets for GOP gains. His efforts to promote the President and his allies was unprecedented in its reach and in one case that has been uncovered, overtly violated the Hatch Act.
17 August, 2007
spying on us
Granted new power to spy inside the U.S., the Bush administration may be doing more than eavesdropping on phone calls -- it could be watching your every move.
torture
A British resident, Omar Deghayes, detained at Guantánamo Bay as an alleged terrorist, reports that he has suffered years of torture, sexual abuse and death threats. Last week, Omar’s family released a dossier documenting his terrible ordeal, which he dictated to a lawyer visiting the United States-run military prison.
Deghayes, a lawyer, aged 37 and married with a five-year-old son, has been incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay for years with four other British residents.
Deghayes, a lawyer, aged 37 and married with a five-year-old son, has been incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay for years with four other British residents.
army suicides
Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new military report.
our "republican guard"
The unprecedented attempt to label Iran’s 125,000-strong Republican Guard as a “specially designated global terrorist” group — is, as the congressman says “nothing more than an attempt to deceive Americans into yet another war — this time with Iran.” Mabe it's our "republican guard" that is a terrorist guard.
15 August, 2007
dirty republican politics
The whispering campaigns always seemed to spring up. That Ann Richards, Bush's gubernatorial opponent in Texas, was a lesbian. That John McCain had fathered a black child out of wedlock. And the worst - that a Democratic state supreme court judge in Alabama who worked with troubled youths was a pedophile.
And finally, the attacks on the patriotism of those who opposed Bush's post-9/11 initiatives. Including war heroes, like former Georgia Democratic senator Max Cleland, who left three limbs in Vietnam. Rove, of draft age during the war, managed not to go. Yes, politics is a rough sport, and yes, Democrats do skeezy things too. But Rove is part of a generation of Republican consultants, along with the late Lee Atwater, that plumbed new depths.
The end result? His president is at 31% and will go down in history as a failure. The country is in worse shape, majorities of Americans believe, than it's been in quite a while. The Middle East is a powder keg. Terrorism is on the rise.
There is, though, a silver lining: Rove may have indeed played a part in bringing about a political realignment. It just won't be the one he had in mind.
And finally, the attacks on the patriotism of those who opposed Bush's post-9/11 initiatives. Including war heroes, like former Georgia Democratic senator Max Cleland, who left three limbs in Vietnam. Rove, of draft age during the war, managed not to go. Yes, politics is a rough sport, and yes, Democrats do skeezy things too. But Rove is part of a generation of Republican consultants, along with the late Lee Atwater, that plumbed new depths.
The end result? His president is at 31% and will go down in history as a failure. The country is in worse shape, majorities of Americans believe, than it's been in quite a while. The Middle East is a powder keg. Terrorism is on the rise.
There is, though, a silver lining: Rove may have indeed played a part in bringing about a political realignment. It just won't be the one he had in mind.
Republicans-hear this
Hamid Karzai, hand-picked by Washington to pose as president of the broken country of Afghanistan, says his government has "very, very good, very, very close relations [and] will continue to have good relations with Iran." He declares on CNN, "So far, Iran has been a helper" in fighting terrorism
winning hearts and minds
U.S. occupation forces also attacked Baghdad's Shi'ite slum of Sadr City targeting "militants" they said are linked to Iran. Relatives said a 5-year-old girl was among four killed in the raid
prosperity for the rich
Multinational corporations sell our jobs to the lowest overseas bidders. The credit industry preys on our poor. The for-profit healthcare system is the leading cause of bankruptcy while hospitals dump indigent patients on skid row. Our country's infrastructure is breaking down from New Orleans levees to Minnesota bridges even as we are mired in a war that drowns us in debt and advances only the interests of big oil and arms merchants.
arrogant elitest Rove
In explaining the timing of his pending resignation, Karl Rove told the Wall Street Journal, "I'm not going to stay or leave based on whether it pleases the mob."
He means you and me, the people. Another arrogant elitest reublican who casts the voices of the people as a mob. Why am I not surprised.
He means you and me, the people. Another arrogant elitest reublican who casts the voices of the people as a mob. Why am I not surprised.
13 August, 2007
Iraq war strategy
How to defeat IED's? One step is to get soldiers out of the vehicles that have too often become their fiery coffins. "What does barreling down a highway at 45mph, peering through a dust-covered windshield, actually accomplish?" asked a retired general who declined to be quoted by name criticizing his former military colleagues.
religion and hatred
The Israelis are in Palestine against God's will. He threw them out in 70 AD. The Israelis rejected Christ, therefore they are by definition "antichrist". They work against Christianity furiously, every day.
According to the Qur'an: "Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah. Those who follow him are merciful to one another, but ruthless to unbelievers" Sura 48:29.
"Kill the Mushrikun (unbelievers) wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush..." Sura 9:5. Also see Sura 9:29
Religion breeds hate.
According to the Qur'an: "Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah. Those who follow him are merciful to one another, but ruthless to unbelievers" Sura 48:29.
"Kill the Mushrikun (unbelievers) wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush..." Sura 9:5. Also see Sura 9:29
Religion breeds hate.
follow the money
For four years, the no-bid contract awarded to Halliburton, Cheney's company, has been a magnet for controversy. The deal allowed the company to become the government's leading contractor in Iraq, and questions were raised over why it received the contract without competition. Then came the questions about money, which mounted as the tab soared into the billions.
Along the way Congress, pundits and bloggers galore focused on the use of the contract, known as Restore Iraqi Oil, or RIO I, to import oil into Iraq. This part of the deal particularly angered Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and other Democrats. In a July 2004 report, they asserted that Halliburton fees "increased the costs to the government by $167 million, an increase of over 90%."
Now comes an audit from the Government Accountability Office about RIO I and some $221 million in questionable costs -- questions raised by the venerable Defense Contract Audit Agency. Almost 80 percent of the questioned costs related to the import of fuel into Iraq.
Along the way Congress, pundits and bloggers galore focused on the use of the contract, known as Restore Iraqi Oil, or RIO I, to import oil into Iraq. This part of the deal particularly angered Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and other Democrats. In a July 2004 report, they asserted that Halliburton fees "increased the costs to the government by $167 million, an increase of over 90%."
Now comes an audit from the Government Accountability Office about RIO I and some $221 million in questionable costs -- questions raised by the venerable Defense Contract Audit Agency. Almost 80 percent of the questioned costs related to the import of fuel into Iraq.
trapped by republicans
The number Of Iraqis slaughtered Since the U.S. invaded Iraq is now 1,000,985, the number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (officially acknowledged) in America's War On Iraq is 3689, and
the war on Iraq costs now total $451,503,677,145. Republicans have trapped us in Iraq and we can't get out.
the war on Iraq costs now total $451,503,677,145. Republicans have trapped us in Iraq and we can't get out.
10 August, 2007
Iraq, a republican war
Al-Qaeda in Iraq is neither the largest nor the deadliest opponent. U.S. commanders say foreign fighters working with the predominantly Iraqi group are rare. Commanders estimate that there are as few al-Qaeda members, whose activities are mostly restricted to financing attacks in the area.
Iraq is divided into sectors representing different levels of threat, from different kinds of enemies.
"Any group you work with can turn on you," said a tribal liaison, noting that even Iraqi police units have attacked U.S.troops. "That is part of the operating cost."
"We are in the land of the blood feuds," said the liaison to tribes in the area. "It's very difficult to tell a tribal fight from a sectarian fight because interests are pretty mixed. You can't just put up a fence. Our basic mission here is to drive around and get blown up."
And we cannot get out of there because 70 percent of Repubicans STILL support Bush's war on Iraq.
Iraq is divided into sectors representing different levels of threat, from different kinds of enemies.
"Any group you work with can turn on you," said a tribal liaison, noting that even Iraqi police units have attacked U.S.troops. "That is part of the operating cost."
"We are in the land of the blood feuds," said the liaison to tribes in the area. "It's very difficult to tell a tribal fight from a sectarian fight because interests are pretty mixed. You can't just put up a fence. Our basic mission here is to drive around and get blown up."
And we cannot get out of there because 70 percent of Repubicans STILL support Bush's war on Iraq.
mercenaries
More than 1,000 civilian contractors have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion more than four years ago, according to Labor Department records made available Tuesday
Iraq
A senior British commander in southern Afghanistan said in recent weeks that he had asked that American Special Forces leave his area of operations because the high level of civilian casualties they had caused was making it difficult to win over local people
09 August, 2007
our war on Iraq
The U.S. military said about 30 suspected militants were killed in raids in Baghdad's Shi'ite slum of Sadr City. Hospital sources said 13 more people were killed while police put the toll at 11, including women and children.
mad as hell
The notion that America is a government of laws, not men. It's "palpable nonsense of the highest order," he said. Government enacting laws is composed of necon republicans, who connive, misinterpret and pretty much operate ad libitum discharging their duties as they see fit for their own self-interest. We are "mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore."
over there, over here?
'They' are 'over there', where we must meet them with courage and conviction, lest 'they' come 'over here' once again, and do us real harm. This myth has served its purpose well enough - we are occupying Iraq and soon will Iran.
terrorism
During a week of mayhem in Iraq, in which terrorists have rightly been condemned for targeting schoolchildren, it is sobering to recall that this week is also the 62nd anniversary of a U.S. attack that deliberately took the lives of thousands of children on their way to school in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
republican idiocy
The war in Iraq is about to get worse -- much worse. It will sputter and stagger forward until the mission collapses. This will be sudden.
The security of the Green Zone, our imperial city, will be increasingly breached. Command and control will disintegrate. And we will back out of Iraq humiliated and defeated. Thank you republicans.
The security of the Green Zone, our imperial city, will be increasingly breached. Command and control will disintegrate. And we will back out of Iraq humiliated and defeated. Thank you republicans.
real threat
Early this morning China let the idiots in Washington, and on Wall Street, know that it has them by the short hairs. Two senior spokesmen for the Chinese government observed that China's considerable holdings of US dollars and Treasury bonds "contributes a great deal to maintaining the position of the dollar as a reserve currency."
traitor/infidel
Write on my gravestone: "Infidel, Traitor." --infidel to every church that compromises with wrong; traitor to every government that oppresses the people
republican progress?
A new public opinion poll has found nearly two thirds of Iraqis oppose plans to open the country's oilfields to foreign companies.
A top member of the Iraqi prime minister's party says a law governing oil reserves should be delayed until occupation forces leave the country.
Afghanistan now exports not opium, but heroin. Opium is converted into heroin on an industrial scale, not in kitchens but in factories. Millions of gallons of the chemicals needed for this process are shipped into Afghanistan by tanker. The tankers and bulk opium lorries on the way to the factories share the roads, improved by American aid, with Nato troops.
A top member of the Iraqi prime minister's party says a law governing oil reserves should be delayed until occupation forces leave the country.
Afghanistan now exports not opium, but heroin. Opium is converted into heroin on an industrial scale, not in kitchens but in factories. Millions of gallons of the chemicals needed for this process are shipped into Afghanistan by tanker. The tankers and bulk opium lorries on the way to the factories share the roads, improved by American aid, with Nato troops.
08 August, 2007
real threat to US
Two officials at leading Communist Party bodies have given interviews in recent days warning - for the first time - that Beijing may use its $1.33 trillion (£658bn) of foreign reserves as a political weapon to counter pressure from the US Congress.
Shifts in Chinese policy are often announced through key think tanks and academies.Described as China's "nuclear option" in the state media, such action could trigger a dollar crash at a time when the US currency is already breaking down through historic support levels.
Shifts in Chinese policy are often announced through key think tanks and academies.Described as China's "nuclear option" in the state media, such action could trigger a dollar crash at a time when the US currency is already breaking down through historic support levels.
07 August, 2007
old Hitler and the new
He was a dictator. He made war on helpless countries. Ultimately, when he failed, he first blamed his generals, then his people.
Guess who? Hitler you say. Think again. Bush fits..We report,you decide.
Guess who? Hitler you say. Think again. Bush fits..We report,you decide.
heroism,homeland, fascism
The empty rhetoric of heroism is everywhere these days. You know what I mean. Pat Tillman -- the former NFL star -- is "an American hero," apparently because he volunteered for duty along with several hundred thousand other people, then had the misfortune to be accidentally shot by his own side.
A person upon whom the title 'hero' is bestowed has often performed no heroic deed whatsoever, but may receive the title merely in return for displaying loyalty and/or diligence. With time, the awarding of the title came to be used as a token to be disbursed or withheld according to political considerations. In other words, comrades, whenever it seems as if they're handing out "hero" medals for free, look out: There's usually a hidden price.
But there's a deeper reason to be wary of the "everyone's a hero" rhetoric. Simply put, it fits neatly alongside other terms beloved of the powers that be, such as "warrior" and "the Homeland": It's part of the language of fascism.
A person upon whom the title 'hero' is bestowed has often performed no heroic deed whatsoever, but may receive the title merely in return for displaying loyalty and/or diligence. With time, the awarding of the title came to be used as a token to be disbursed or withheld according to political considerations. In other words, comrades, whenever it seems as if they're handing out "hero" medals for free, look out: There's usually a hidden price.
But there's a deeper reason to be wary of the "everyone's a hero" rhetoric. Simply put, it fits neatly alongside other terms beloved of the powers that be, such as "warrior" and "the Homeland": It's part of the language of fascism.
delusional democracy
We have arrived at a delusional democracy. Delusional because Americans overwhelmingly cannot admit the painful truth that their limited democracy no longer works for the good of most citizens. Instead, through corruption and dishonesty, our representative democracy has morphed into a plutocracy that serves the wealthy, power elites and corporate masters that control the political system and through that the economic system
neocon repubican dictators
If you don't believe that these Republicans are (1) interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries, and/or (2) on their way to creating a dictatorship in our country, go to the White House Website and click on Executive Orders AND think about the implications and open doors for abuse these Orders afford these Neocons.
05 August, 2007
Judgment,politicians,Iraq
What is called wisdom in statesmen is understanding rather than knowledge — some kind of acquaintance with relevant facts of such a kind that it enables those who have it to tell what fits with what; what can be done in given circumstances and what cannot, what means will work in what situations.
Politicians cannot afford to cocoon themselves in the inner world of their own imaginings. They must not confuse the world as it is with the world as they wish it to be. They must see Iraq — or anywhere else — as it is. Of course, better information and factual criteria for decision-making can reduce the margin of uncertainty. Benchmarks for progress in Iraq can help to decide how long America should stay there.
The costs of staying will be borne by Americans and Iraqis, while the cost of leaving will be mostly borne by Iraqis. What does that lead you to conclude?
Our politicians in controlBut fixed ideas of a dogmatic kind are usually the enemy of good judgment. It is an obstacle to clear thinking to believe that America’s foreign policy serves God’s plan to expand human freedom. Ideological thinking of this sort bends what Kant called “the crooked timber of humanity” to fit an abstract illusion.
Politicians with good judgment bend the policy to fit the human timber. Not all good things, after all, can be had together, whether in life or in politics. must decide, and soon.
Procrastination is even costlier in politics than it is in private life. The sign on Truman’s desk — “The buck stops here!” — reminds us that those who make good judgments in politics tend to be those who do not shrink from the responsibility of making them. In the case of Iraq, deciding what course of action to pursue next requires first admitting that all courses of action thus far have failed.
In private life, you take attacks personally and would be a cold fish if you didn’t. In politics, if you take attacks personally, you display vulnerability In private life, we pay the price of our own mistakes.
In public life, a politician’s mistakes are first paid by others. Good judgment means understanding how to be responsible to those who pay the price of your decisions.
But fixed ideas of a dogmatic kind are usually the enemy of good judgment. It is an obstacle to clear thinking to believe that America’s foreign policy serves God’s plan to expand human freedom. Ideological thinking of this sort bends what Kant called “the crooked timber of humanity” to fit an abstract illusion. Politicians with good judgment bend the policy to fit the human timber.
Not all good things, after all, can be had together, whether in life or in politics.
Politicians cannot afford to cocoon themselves in the inner world of their own imaginings. They must not confuse the world as it is with the world as they wish it to be. They must see Iraq — or anywhere else — as it is. Of course, better information and factual criteria for decision-making can reduce the margin of uncertainty. Benchmarks for progress in Iraq can help to decide how long America should stay there.
The costs of staying will be borne by Americans and Iraqis, while the cost of leaving will be mostly borne by Iraqis. What does that lead you to conclude?
Our politicians in controlBut fixed ideas of a dogmatic kind are usually the enemy of good judgment. It is an obstacle to clear thinking to believe that America’s foreign policy serves God’s plan to expand human freedom. Ideological thinking of this sort bends what Kant called “the crooked timber of humanity” to fit an abstract illusion.
Politicians with good judgment bend the policy to fit the human timber. Not all good things, after all, can be had together, whether in life or in politics. must decide, and soon.
Procrastination is even costlier in politics than it is in private life. The sign on Truman’s desk — “The buck stops here!” — reminds us that those who make good judgments in politics tend to be those who do not shrink from the responsibility of making them. In the case of Iraq, deciding what course of action to pursue next requires first admitting that all courses of action thus far have failed.
In private life, you take attacks personally and would be a cold fish if you didn’t. In politics, if you take attacks personally, you display vulnerability In private life, we pay the price of our own mistakes.
In public life, a politician’s mistakes are first paid by others. Good judgment means understanding how to be responsible to those who pay the price of your decisions.
But fixed ideas of a dogmatic kind are usually the enemy of good judgment. It is an obstacle to clear thinking to believe that America’s foreign policy serves God’s plan to expand human freedom. Ideological thinking of this sort bends what Kant called “the crooked timber of humanity” to fit an abstract illusion. Politicians with good judgment bend the policy to fit the human timber.
Not all good things, after all, can be had together, whether in life or in politics.
Iraq-did you know?
There are documents of the Defense Intelligence Agency proving beyond a doubt that, contrary to the Geneva Convention, the U.S. government intentionally used sanctions against Iraq to degrade the country's water supply after the first Gulf War. The United States knew the cost that civilian Iraqis, mostly children, would pay, and it went ahead anyway.
phony war on Iraq, bridges falling down
Senior British officials tried to persuade the Bush administration to keep off Iraq and concentrate on Afghanistan, the real source of terrorist violence inspired by al-Qaida. Richard Dearlove, then head the British of MI6; and Eliza Manningham-Buller, then head of MI5. "I hope we can all agree that we should concentrate on Afghanistan and not be tempted to launch any attacks on Iraq,"
Now, Owais Ahmed Ghani, governor of Balochistan, said here on Thursday that it is the CIA and not Pakistan that should be asked where Osama Bin Laden is, since it was the CIA that recruited, trained and shepherded the future chief of Al Qaeda during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the ensuing conflict.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday the Bush administration is waging a "phony war" on terrorism, warning that the country is losing ground against the kind of Islamic radicals who attacked the country on Sept. 11, 2001. In an effort to get cannon fodder, latino teenagers, including illegal immigrants, are now being recruited into the military with false promises.
Meanwhile, with the billions spent in the war on Iraq, about 77,000 bridges across the US share the same "structurally deficient" rating as the one that collapsed over the Mississippi in Minnesota. DID YOU KNOW?
Now, Owais Ahmed Ghani, governor of Balochistan, said here on Thursday that it is the CIA and not Pakistan that should be asked where Osama Bin Laden is, since it was the CIA that recruited, trained and shepherded the future chief of Al Qaeda during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the ensuing conflict.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday the Bush administration is waging a "phony war" on terrorism, warning that the country is losing ground against the kind of Islamic radicals who attacked the country on Sept. 11, 2001. In an effort to get cannon fodder, latino teenagers, including illegal immigrants, are now being recruited into the military with false promises.
Meanwhile, with the billions spent in the war on Iraq, about 77,000 bridges across the US share the same "structurally deficient" rating as the one that collapsed over the Mississippi in Minnesota. DID YOU KNOW?
02 August, 2007
war on Iraq
The number of U.S. Military Personnel sacrificed (officially acknowledged) in America's War on Iraq now totals 3660.
And it's on to Iran as the Bush Regime outfits B-2 stealth bombers with 30,000 pound monster "bunker buster" bombs for its coming attack on Iran, the US economy continues its 21st century decline. While profits soar for the armaments industry, the American people continue to take it on the chin. As for Iraq:
What have Iraqis done to you? Did they invade you? Did they steal your homes? Did they imprison you? Did they torture you? Did they rape you? Did they occupy your lands? Of course, some of you will come and present me with your usual condescending, paternalistic, patronizing lists of political theories, attempting to explain the inexplicable.
And it's on to Iran as the Bush Regime outfits B-2 stealth bombers with 30,000 pound monster "bunker buster" bombs for its coming attack on Iran, the US economy continues its 21st century decline. While profits soar for the armaments industry, the American people continue to take it on the chin. As for Iraq:
What have Iraqis done to you? Did they invade you? Did they steal your homes? Did they imprison you? Did they torture you? Did they rape you? Did they occupy your lands? Of course, some of you will come and present me with your usual condescending, paternalistic, patronizing lists of political theories, attempting to explain the inexplicable.
30 July, 2007
them and us
The republican "mission accoumplished" we accurate. Of the world's 100 largest economies, 51 are corporations, more US-based ones than from any other country.
They're run by wealthy and powerful figures comprising, along with other elites, the top 1% of the nation's affluent. Today they own 40 - 50% of the country's wealth in the form of stocks, bonds, land, natural resources, business assets and other investments.
In contrast, 90% of American families have little or no net worth after mortgage and other debt burdens are taken into account.
They're run by wealthy and powerful figures comprising, along with other elites, the top 1% of the nation's affluent. Today they own 40 - 50% of the country's wealth in the form of stocks, bonds, land, natural resources, business assets and other investments.
In contrast, 90% of American families have little or no net worth after mortgage and other debt burdens are taken into account.
Iraq five years later
As the Bush administration struggles to convince lawmakers that its Iraq war strategy is working, it has stopped reporting to Congress a key quality-of-life indicator in Baghdad: how long the power stays on.
Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week that Baghdad residents could count on only "an hour or two a day" of electricity. That's down from an average of five to six hours a day earlier this year.
Up to eight million Iraqis require immediate emergency aid, with nearly half of the population living in absolute poverty.
Two thousand Iraqis are fleeing their homes every day. It is the greatest mass exodus of people ever in the Middle East and dwarfs anything seen in Europe since the Second World War. Four million people, one in seven Iraqis, have run away, because if they do not, they will be killed.
Here we are in the fifth year, and we simply have not greatly improved the quality of life. that we destroyed.
Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week that Baghdad residents could count on only "an hour or two a day" of electricity. That's down from an average of five to six hours a day earlier this year.
Up to eight million Iraqis require immediate emergency aid, with nearly half of the population living in absolute poverty.
Two thousand Iraqis are fleeing their homes every day. It is the greatest mass exodus of people ever in the Middle East and dwarfs anything seen in Europe since the Second World War. Four million people, one in seven Iraqis, have run away, because if they do not, they will be killed.
Here we are in the fifth year, and we simply have not greatly improved the quality of life. that we destroyed.
Iraqi kangaroo courts
The Americans and the Iraqi government have turned to an unusual measure to help implant the rule of law: they have erected a legal Green Zone in Baghdad, a heavily fortified compound (The Rule of Law Complex) to shelter judges and their families and secure the trials of suspects.
It is common practice that witnesses statements,who are rounded up by "investigators" are entered in a file that only the judges are allowed to read. The evidence in the files are what persuades the judges to convict.
So much for "justice" and the "rule of law" That's the way it would be here if the neocon republicans had their way.
It is common practice that witnesses statements,who are rounded up by "investigators" are entered in a file that only the judges are allowed to read. The evidence in the files are what persuades the judges to convict.
So much for "justice" and the "rule of law" That's the way it would be here if the neocon republicans had their way.
tribal and sheep-like
What always disturbs me the most about any subject shedding light on what's wrong in America right now is met by uninformed comments from brainwashed ignorant people. How anyone could support these republicans and their war, let alone his burning of the Constitution just baffles me.
Maybe people, being tribal and sheep-like, just don't want to see reality. This worked for Hitler and it's working for Bush
Maybe people, being tribal and sheep-like, just don't want to see reality. This worked for Hitler and it's working for Bush
virtue
The politicians still speak in the abstract terms of glory, honor, and heroism, in the necessity of improving the world, in lofty phrases of political and spiritual renewal. Those who kill large numbers of people always claim it as a virtue.
neocon republicans
The leading GOP contenders are all die-hard fans of the war. And the newest star in the show--Fred Thompson, the former Republican senator from Tennessee, onetime lobbyist and TV actor who has all but officially announced his candidacy--might be the most neoconnish of all.
Thompson, a prominent member of the Libby defense fund, called for Bush to pardon the former Cheney chief of staff. While doing so, Thompson repeatedly misstated core facts of the CIA leak case. Deriding special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, Thompson, who played a prosecutor on Law & Order, insisted that Valerie Plame Wilson was not covered by the Intelligence Identities Protection Act--though indeed she was.
Thompson has a strong claim on the neoconservative heart. If he ends up in the White House, the neocons will rise again.
Thompson, a prominent member of the Libby defense fund, called for Bush to pardon the former Cheney chief of staff. While doing so, Thompson repeatedly misstated core facts of the CIA leak case. Deriding special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, Thompson, who played a prosecutor on Law & Order, insisted that Valerie Plame Wilson was not covered by the Intelligence Identities Protection Act--though indeed she was.
Thompson has a strong claim on the neoconservative heart. If he ends up in the White House, the neocons will rise again.
29 July, 2007
congressional bribery
If a baseball player slides into home plate and, right before the umpire rules if he is safe or out, the player says to the umpire - 'Here is $1,000.' What would we call that? We would call that a bribe. If a lawyer was arguing a case before a judge and said, 'Your honor before you decide on the guilt or innocence of my client, here is $1,000.' What would we call that? We would call that a bribe.
"But if an industry lobbyist walks into the office of a key legislator and hands her or him a check for $1,000, we call that a campaign contribution. We should call it a bribe."
"But if an industry lobbyist walks into the office of a key legislator and hands her or him a check for $1,000, we call that a campaign contribution. We should call it a bribe."
republican health policy
A surgeon general's report in 2006 that called on Americans to help tackle global health problems has been kept from the public by a Bush political appointee, without any background or expertise in medicine or public health chiefly because the report did not promote the administration's policy accomplishments, according to current and former public health officials.
He is William R. Steiger, a specialist in education and Latin American history, whose family has long ties to President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Since 2001, Steiger has run the Office of Global Health Affairs in the Department of Health and Human Services with no background in the subject.
He is William R. Steiger, a specialist in education and Latin American history, whose family has long ties to President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Since 2001, Steiger has run the Office of Global Health Affairs in the Department of Health and Human Services with no background in the subject.
28 July, 2007
republicans for corporate welfare
The provision in the farm bill that offsets farm programs merely closes a loophole that allows a limited number of U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies to avoid taxes.
It is aimed at companies headquartered in tax havens such as Bermuda, with which the United States has no tax treaty.
Subsidiaries avoid a tax bite by funneling earnings through European countries that have reciprocal tax-reduction arrangements with the United States.
Guess what, Republicans are against closing this corproate welfare loophole. Why are we not surprised.
It is aimed at companies headquartered in tax havens such as Bermuda, with which the United States has no tax treaty.
Subsidiaries avoid a tax bite by funneling earnings through European countries that have reciprocal tax-reduction arrangements with the United States.
Guess what, Republicans are against closing this corproate welfare loophole. Why are we not surprised.
27 July, 2007
healthcare solution
Why are U.S. healthcare costs off the charts? Partly because we don't bargain with providers for a universal price. Partly because of the money that health insurers spend on marketing and screening people in or out.
Medicare's overhead is just 1.5 percent, compared with 13 to 16 percent in the private sector. John Sheils of the Lewin Group, a health-care consultant, says that the health insurers' overhead came to $120 billion last year, of which $40 billion was profit.
By comparison, it would cost $54 billion to cover all the uninsured.
Medicare's overhead is just 1.5 percent, compared with 13 to 16 percent in the private sector. John Sheils of the Lewin Group, a health-care consultant, says that the health insurers' overhead came to $120 billion last year, of which $40 billion was profit.
By comparison, it would cost $54 billion to cover all the uninsured.
26 July, 2007
republicans spying on you
The FBI wants to pay the major telecommunications companies to retain their customers' Internet and phone call information for at least two years for the agency's use.
The proposal "is circumventing the law by paying companies to do something the FBI couldn't do itself legally," said Michael German, American Civil Liberties Union policy counsel on national security.
"Going around the Fourth Amendment by paying private companies to hoard our phone and internet records is outrageous."
The proposal has raised concerns by civil libertarians who point to telecom companies' alleged involvement in the government's domestic surveillance program and to a recent Justice Department inspector general's report on FBI abuse of national security letters.
We suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg on your government spying on YOU.
The proposal "is circumventing the law by paying companies to do something the FBI couldn't do itself legally," said Michael German, American Civil Liberties Union policy counsel on national security.
"Going around the Fourth Amendment by paying private companies to hoard our phone and internet records is outrageous."
The proposal has raised concerns by civil libertarians who point to telecom companies' alleged involvement in the government's domestic surveillance program and to a recent Justice Department inspector general's report on FBI abuse of national security letters.
We suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg on your government spying on YOU.
24 July, 2007
republicans openly violate the law
White House aides have conducted at least half a dozen political briefings for the Bush administration's top diplomats, including a PowerPoint presentation for ambassadors with senior adviser Karl Rove that named Democratic incumbents targeted for defeat in 2008 and a "general political briefing" at the Peace Corps headquarters after the 2002 midterm elections.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel found, in a May report, that General Services Administration chief Lurita Alexis Doan violated the Hatch Act when she allegedly asked GSA political appointees how they could "help our candidates" win the next election at a January briefing by White House officials.
The Hatch Act insulates virtually all federal workers from partisan politics and bars the use of federal resources -- including office buildings, phones and computers -- for partisan purposes.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel found, in a May report, that General Services Administration chief Lurita Alexis Doan violated the Hatch Act when she allegedly asked GSA political appointees how they could "help our candidates" win the next election at a January briefing by White House officials.
The Hatch Act insulates virtually all federal workers from partisan politics and bars the use of federal resources -- including office buildings, phones and computers -- for partisan purposes.
22 July, 2007
To Bush/Cheney/Repubicans
read today and slightly edited:
When Civil War Gen. Ambrose Burnside ordered a disastrous attack on Fredericksburg in which 12,000 of his men were killed, he had to be physically restrained from leading the next charge himself.
After the First Lord of the British Admiralty, Winston Churchill, authored and enabled the disastrous Gallipoli campaign that saw a quarter-million Allied soldiers cut down in the First World War, Churchill resigned his office and took a commission as a front-line officer in the trenches of France. They are your new role models, Mr. Bush.
Let your minions try to spread the blame to the real patriots here, who have sought only to undo the horrors you have wrought since 2002. Let them try it, until the end of time. Though the words might be erased from a million books and a billion memories, though the world be covered knee-deep in your lies, the truth shall prevail.
This, sir, is your and your Republican follower's war. Like good Germans followed Hitler in 1945, they will follow you
We have reinforced enemy propaganda? Made it impossible for you to get your ego-driven, blood-steeped win in Iraq? Then take it into your own hands, Mr. Bush. Take your Republican followers and go to Baghdad now and fulfill, finally, your military service obligations.
When Civil War Gen. Ambrose Burnside ordered a disastrous attack on Fredericksburg in which 12,000 of his men were killed, he had to be physically restrained from leading the next charge himself.
After the First Lord of the British Admiralty, Winston Churchill, authored and enabled the disastrous Gallipoli campaign that saw a quarter-million Allied soldiers cut down in the First World War, Churchill resigned his office and took a commission as a front-line officer in the trenches of France. They are your new role models, Mr. Bush.
Let your minions try to spread the blame to the real patriots here, who have sought only to undo the horrors you have wrought since 2002. Let them try it, until the end of time. Though the words might be erased from a million books and a billion memories, though the world be covered knee-deep in your lies, the truth shall prevail.
This, sir, is your and your Republican follower's war. Like good Germans followed Hitler in 1945, they will follow you
We have reinforced enemy propaganda? Made it impossible for you to get your ego-driven, blood-steeped win in Iraq? Then take it into your own hands, Mr. Bush. Take your Republican followers and go to Baghdad now and fulfill, finally, your military service obligations.
register and vote in 2008
The American ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan C. Crocker, has asked the Bush administration to take the unusual step of granting immigrant visas to all Iraqis employed by the U.S. government in Iraq because of growing concern that they will quit and flee the country if they cannot be assured eventual safe passage to the United States.
It appears that humanitarian concerns have been trumped so far by fears that terrorists may infiltrate through refugee channels. Another reason the administration has been slow to resettle Iraqis in large numbers is that Republicans would have to admit that they lied to get us to go along with making war on Iraq.
As with all fanatics, they ignored the 1400 year history of Sunnis and Shiittes fighting each other. Of course. with an election looming in 2008, they cannot admit that they "screwed up" royally.
Meanwhile, we not they, and thousands of Iraquis die in Iraq.
It appears that humanitarian concerns have been trumped so far by fears that terrorists may infiltrate through refugee channels. Another reason the administration has been slow to resettle Iraqis in large numbers is that Republicans would have to admit that they lied to get us to go along with making war on Iraq.
As with all fanatics, they ignored the 1400 year history of Sunnis and Shiittes fighting each other. Of course. with an election looming in 2008, they cannot admit that they "screwed up" royally.
Meanwhile, we not they, and thousands of Iraquis die in Iraq.
21 July, 2007
our own Hitler?
A former Reagan official has issued a public warning that the Bush administration is preparing to orchestrate a staged terrorist attack in the United States, transform the country into a dictatorship and launch a war with Iran within a year.
Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration, blasted Thursday a new Executive Order, released July 17, allowing the White House to seize the assets of anyone who interferes with its Iraq policies and giving the government expanded police powers to exercise control in the country.
"The American people don't really understand the danger that they face," Roberts said, adding that the so-called neoconservatives intended to use a renewal of the fight against terrorism to rally the American people around the fading Republican Party.
Roberts, who spoke on the Thom Hartmann radio program, said: "When Bush exercises this authority [under the new Executive Order], there's no check to it. So it really is a form of total, absolute, one-man rule."
Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration, blasted Thursday a new Executive Order, released July 17, allowing the White House to seize the assets of anyone who interferes with its Iraq policies and giving the government expanded police powers to exercise control in the country.
"The American people don't really understand the danger that they face," Roberts said, adding that the so-called neoconservatives intended to use a renewal of the fight against terrorism to rally the American people around the fading Republican Party.
Roberts, who spoke on the Thom Hartmann radio program, said: "When Bush exercises this authority [under the new Executive Order], there's no check to it. So it really is a form of total, absolute, one-man rule."
why Iraq?
Why we are in Iraq; CUFI, in a short period of time, has become one of the most important Christian grassroots organizations in America.
Hesitant to call itself a lobby, preferring the term "national association," CUFI is often described as a Christian parallel to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Zionist Christians are no recent phenomena. Neither is their communal work on behalf of Israel. For the past century, there have been Christian groups supporting Israel through their pocketbooks, prayer, and political power.
Their organizations stated purpose is to "provide a national association through which every pro-Israel church, para-church organization, ministry or individual in America can speak and act with one voice in support of Israel.
CUFI, Christians United for Israel in a short period of time, has become one of the most important Christian grassroots organizations in America. Hesitant to call itself a lobby, preferring the term "national association," CUFI is often described as a Christian parallel to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Hesitant to call itself a lobby, preferring the term "national association," CUFI is often described as a Christian parallel to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Zionist Christians are no recent phenomena. Neither is their communal work on behalf of Israel. For the past century, there have been Christian groups supporting Israel through their pocketbooks, prayer, and political power.
Their organizations stated purpose is to "provide a national association through which every pro-Israel church, para-church organization, ministry or individual in America can speak and act with one voice in support of Israel.
CUFI, Christians United for Israel in a short period of time, has become one of the most important Christian grassroots organizations in America. Hesitant to call itself a lobby, preferring the term "national association," CUFI is often described as a Christian parallel to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
republicans
Republicans always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive
They need checks and restraints lest they come to identify the common good for their own tastes and desires, and their continuation in office as essential to the preservation of the nation.
They need checks and restraints lest they come to identify the common good for their own tastes and desires, and their continuation in office as essential to the preservation of the nation.
20 July, 2007
more republican hypocrisy
With a straight face, Bush blamed General Tommy Franks for the disastrous post-invasion plan. Apparently, Franks was awarded the Medal of Freedom for giving us bum advice on troop requirements for stabilizing Iraq.
the real class warfare
The very rich in America pay taxes at a lower rate than most working people, and, due to a wrinkle in the tax code, private-equity partners enjoy some of the lowest tax rates of all.
Warren Buffett, no stranger to wealth, told an audience filled with bankers and real-estate developers the system was, in effect, rigged. "This is what Congress in its wisdom did: the 400 of us [here] pay a lower part of our income in taxes than our receptionists do, or our cleaning ladies, for that matter." Buffett (who is a director of NEWSWEEK's parent, The Washington Post Company) offered a million dollars to any fellow magnate who could prove he had higher tax rates than his secretary.
Warren Buffett, no stranger to wealth, told an audience filled with bankers and real-estate developers the system was, in effect, rigged. "This is what Congress in its wisdom did: the 400 of us [here] pay a lower part of our income in taxes than our receptionists do, or our cleaning ladies, for that matter." Buffett (who is a director of NEWSWEEK's parent, The Washington Post Company) offered a million dollars to any fellow magnate who could prove he had higher tax rates than his secretary.
19 July, 2007
Bush and al-Qaeda
Nearly six years after President Bush pledged to capture him "dead or alive," Osama bin Laden is not only still at large, but he and his al-Qaeda organization have apparently benefited greatly from Bush's decision to invade Iraq.. It's the inevitable conclusion from the declassified summary of a White House intelligence report released to great fanfare yesterday.
The U.S. occupation of Iraq has provided them with a potent rallying cry, recruiting tool and training ground they would not have had otherwise. Bush and Osama are good for each other.
The U.S. occupation of Iraq has provided them with a potent rallying cry, recruiting tool and training ground they would not have had otherwise. Bush and Osama are good for each other.
16 July, 2007
Iraq hush-hush
About 1,000 US contractors have been killed in Iraq since the WAR ON IRAQ began, nearly 13,000 have been injured AND YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS ON CNN OR FOX.
republican corporate and tax welfore
Only twice before over the last century has 5 percent of the national income gone to families in the upper one-one-hundredth of a percent of the income distribution — currently, the almost 15,000 families with incomes of $9.5 million or more a year, according to an analysis of tax returns.
Such concentration at the very top occurred in 1915 and 1916, as the Gilded Age was ending, and again briefly in the late 1920s, before the stock market crash.
Obscene salaries send the wrong message through a company. The message is that all brilliance emanates from the top; that the worker on the floor of the store or the factory is insignificant.
Republican corporate and tax welfare tend to promote the concentration of wealth at the top of our society.
Such concentration at the very top occurred in 1915 and 1916, as the Gilded Age was ending, and again briefly in the late 1920s, before the stock market crash.
Obscene salaries send the wrong message through a company. The message is that all brilliance emanates from the top; that the worker on the floor of the store or the factory is insignificant.
Republican corporate and tax welfare tend to promote the concentration of wealth at the top of our society.
welfare for the rich
The very rich in America pay taxes at a lower rate than most working people, and, due to a wrinkle in the tax code, private-equity partners enjoy some of the lowest tax rates of all.
Federal loopholes, particularly for private-equity partnerships, allow them to pay at the capital-gains rate—15 percent—rather than the 35 percent charged on ordinary income and that is after loads of right-offs.
Wall Street is scrambling to deny any changes with the ridiculous claim that it would be an attack on the virtues of free enterprise. Meanwhile, the gap is growing between the rich and the poor
Federal loopholes, particularly for private-equity partnerships, allow them to pay at the capital-gains rate—15 percent—rather than the 35 percent charged on ordinary income and that is after loads of right-offs.
Wall Street is scrambling to deny any changes with the ridiculous claim that it would be an attack on the virtues of free enterprise. Meanwhile, the gap is growing between the rich and the poor
15 July, 2007
what republicans doing to out country
For a country that calls itself a "superpower", we sure have a lot of stupid politicians who are controlled by big corporations....look who is benefiting....start with EXXON. We have a war we shouldn't be in and that we started. We have a health care system that no one seems to want to fix... and those that do are getting lambasted.
We have areas of our country ravaged by global warming (republicans say it doesn't even exist) that are still not repaired. We have a drug problem that's been spiraling out of control... we have crazy people shooting up our schools with guns... we have a government, controlled by big oil and big health, drug and insurance corporations that are working for their own gain and not for the people, and we blame the immigrants who only come here to work. And our media is controlled by big business which ignores the above, just like it did in the 1920's before the great Depression.
These are the primary reasons why our great country is going down the drain, in my opinion.
We have areas of our country ravaged by global warming (republicans say it doesn't even exist) that are still not repaired. We have a drug problem that's been spiraling out of control... we have crazy people shooting up our schools with guns... we have a government, controlled by big oil and big health, drug and insurance corporations that are working for their own gain and not for the people, and we blame the immigrants who only come here to work. And our media is controlled by big business which ignores the above, just like it did in the 1920's before the great Depression.
These are the primary reasons why our great country is going down the drain, in my opinion.
Iraq/repbulican war
A key adviser to Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki accused U.S. forces Saturday of human rights violations, embarassing the government and cooperating with "gangs of killers" in its campaign against al-Qaida in Iraq.
Prime Minister Maliki shrugged off U.S. doubts of his government's military and political progress on Saturday, saying Iraqi forces are capable and American troops can leave "any time they want."
After nearly five years, Al Qaida is stronger than ever. These neocon Republicans are spending at least $10 BILLION AND 60 of our DEAD MILITARY EACH MONTH on their foolish gamble of war on Iraq.
Prime Minister Maliki shrugged off U.S. doubts of his government's military and political progress on Saturday, saying Iraqi forces are capable and American troops can leave "any time they want."
After nearly five years, Al Qaida is stronger than ever. These neocon Republicans are spending at least $10 BILLION AND 60 of our DEAD MILITARY EACH MONTH on their foolish gamble of war on Iraq.
14 July, 2007
neocon republicans
Barry Goldwater must have known the current neocon republicans when he said: "Now those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth, and let me remind you they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyranny."
As the American people can no longer rely on these neocon republicans to respond to public opinion, the people must do what they can to gather power back into their hands before they become the subjects of tyrants.
As the American people can no longer rely on these neocon republicans to respond to public opinion, the people must do what they can to gather power back into their hands before they become the subjects of tyrants.
republican nightmare hits home
While opposition to the war has been stronger and more visible on the East and West coasts, small towns in the heartland and the South have provided the Bush administration with some of its most steadfast backers.
But that support has cracked amid the echoes of graveside bagpipes and 21-gun salutes, which have been heard with greater frequency in recent months in small Midwestern communities.
The cause is no longer clear, the Iraq war no longer seems winnable and the costs are too high. Now it's dragged on and on. It's just every day, you hear of more casualties." Small town USA is waking up to this Republican nightmare.
But that support has cracked amid the echoes of graveside bagpipes and 21-gun salutes, which have been heard with greater frequency in recent months in small Midwestern communities.
The cause is no longer clear, the Iraq war no longer seems winnable and the costs are too high. Now it's dragged on and on. It's just every day, you hear of more casualties." Small town USA is waking up to this Republican nightmare.
13 July, 2007
republican health care
Former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona who served from 2002 to 2006, told the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that Bush appointees routinely vetted his speeches for political red flags, told him to mention the president's name at least three times on every page of his public remarks, and approved or denied his travel appearances with an eye to their political impact.
Carmona accused the administration of silencing him on hot-button issues such as embryonic stem cell research and abstinence-only sex education.
"Anything that doesn't fit into their ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," he testified.
Carmona accused the administration of silencing him on hot-button issues such as embryonic stem cell research and abstinence-only sex education.
"Anything that doesn't fit into their ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," he testified.
12 July, 2007
Bush/Cheney not totally to blame
The President wants to play again on Al Qaeda because he thinks Americans will be swayed with that approach. Their original claims of Al Qaeda. WMD's. buying uranium in Africa, bringing democracy to Iraq, were all lies.
Al Qaeda, both in Iraq and globally, thrives on the American occupation. It is stronger than ever. But let's don't put the total blame on the Bush/Cheney for this mess.
They cound not have done it without the solid support of Congressional Republicans and Democrat/Independent-in-name-only
Lie-berman.
Al Qaeda, both in Iraq and globally, thrives on the American occupation. It is stronger than ever. But let's don't put the total blame on the Bush/Cheney for this mess.
They cound not have done it without the solid support of Congressional Republicans and Democrat/Independent-in-name-only
Lie-berman.
more republican lies aout Iraq
For more than an hour, they listened to President Bush give what one panel member called a "Churchillian" vision of "victory" in Iraq and defend the country's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. "A constitutional order is emerging," he said. When you lie you need to let others know so they can lie too.
Later that morning, around the same conference table, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden painted a starkly different picture for members of the study group. Hayden said "the inability of the government to govern seems irreversible," adding that he could not "point to any milestone or checkpoint where we can turn this thing around," according to written records of his briefing and the recollections of six participants."The government is unable to govern,"
Later that morning, around the same conference table, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden painted a starkly different picture for members of the study group. Hayden said "the inability of the government to govern seems irreversible," adding that he could not "point to any milestone or checkpoint where we can turn this thing around," according to written records of his briefing and the recollections of six participants."The government is unable to govern,"
11 July, 2007
Lie-berman really a republican
Most American soldiers killed in the Korean War fell victim to mines, bombs or bullets made in China. General Douglas MacArthur - sounding much like some in Washington today - wanted to carry the war into China itself. President Harry Truman wisely refused and, when MacArthur persisted, relieved him of his command.
During the Vietnam War, the Soviet Union supplied North Vietnam with weapons and ammunition that killed thousands of American soldiers. Yet no one in the Johnson or Nixon administrations ever considered attacking Moscow in retaliation.
Nor did the Sandinista government in Nicaragua try to attack the United States during the 1980s, when American weapons and American-trained fighters were killing Nicaraguan soldiers and civilians. Helping friends during wartime is a tactic as old as proxy war itself.
Accusing Iran of deep involvement in the Iraq war is more than a way to lay the groundwork for a US attack. It also provides a scapegoat for America's looming defeat. By this rationale, the American occupation would have succeeded, and Iraq would now be blooming and tranquil, if only Iran had not interfered and ruined everything.
The Bush team's latest rationale for bombing Iran is even lamer than all the previous ones. But hey, Joe Lieberman buys it
During the Vietnam War, the Soviet Union supplied North Vietnam with weapons and ammunition that killed thousands of American soldiers. Yet no one in the Johnson or Nixon administrations ever considered attacking Moscow in retaliation.
Nor did the Sandinista government in Nicaragua try to attack the United States during the 1980s, when American weapons and American-trained fighters were killing Nicaraguan soldiers and civilians. Helping friends during wartime is a tactic as old as proxy war itself.
Accusing Iran of deep involvement in the Iraq war is more than a way to lay the groundwork for a US attack. It also provides a scapegoat for America's looming defeat. By this rationale, the American occupation would have succeeded, and Iraq would now be blooming and tranquil, if only Iran had not interfered and ruined everything.
The Bush team's latest rationale for bombing Iran is even lamer than all the previous ones. But hey, Joe Lieberman buys it
10 July, 2007
republcans continue Iraq
Republicans say that they intend to change the message (spin) about the war on Iraq but not the course of the war, obviously thinking we are too dumb to know the difference.
Let's show them at the next election that we are not as dumb as they think we are. Register and vote.
Let's show them at the next election that we are not as dumb as they think we are. Register and vote.
more republican hypocrisy
Sen. David Vitter's (R-La.) led the blocking of the immigration bill, and has stated that he is committed to "advancing mainstream conservative principles," notes that he and his wife are lectors at their hometown church, and is committed to "family values."
Sounds good until you know that his telephone number appeared in the phone records of the woman dubbed the "D.C. Madam," Another Republican hypocrite.
Sounds good until you know that his telephone number appeared in the phone records of the woman dubbed the "D.C. Madam," Another Republican hypocrite.
more republican lies
As he sought to renew the USA Patriot Act two years ago, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales assured lawmakers that the FBI had not abused its potent new terrorism-fighting powers. "There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse," Gonzales told senators on April 27, 2005.
Six days earlier, the FBI sent Gonzales a copy of a report that said its agents had obtained personal information that they were not entitled to have. It was one of at least half a dozen reports of legal or procedural violations that Gonzales received in the three months before he made his statement to the Senate intelligence committee, according to internal FBI documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Gonzales was routinely sent notifications from the FBI when such violations occurred and had to be reported to the president's Intelligence Oversight Board.
Six days earlier, the FBI sent Gonzales a copy of a report that said its agents had obtained personal information that they were not entitled to have. It was one of at least half a dozen reports of legal or procedural violations that Gonzales received in the three months before he made his statement to the Senate intelligence committee, according to internal FBI documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Gonzales was routinely sent notifications from the FBI when such violations occurred and had to be reported to the president's Intelligence Oversight Board.
09 July, 2007
impeach
A government that spies upon its citizens, evades the courts and feels no compulsion to explain itself beyond vague warnings of security threats must be brought into check. The damage caused by terrorists on 9/11 begins to pale against the havoc wreaked upon America by these Republicans.
impeach
Nearly half of the US public wants President George W. Bush to face impeachment, and even more favor that fate for Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a poll out Friday. They have made us a party to their madness.
killing for oil is okay
I question if the Cheney/Bush change of heart towards convicted criminals will continue until his term of office expires - and that in the future we shall witness increasing moderation in the justice department's insatiable urge to punish, imprison and execute.
We hope that the commutation of Libby's prison sentence will usher in a new era of clemency, compassion and human forgiveness, under Bush/Cheney who otherwise have so much blood on their hands. Don't hold your breath. Oh, killing people in the hopes of controlling their oil is okay.
We hope that the commutation of Libby's prison sentence will usher in a new era of clemency, compassion and human forgiveness, under Bush/Cheney who otherwise have so much blood on their hands. Don't hold your breath. Oh, killing people in the hopes of controlling their oil is okay.
Iraq's 9/11 daily
President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney and their republican supporters have used demagoguery and fear to quell Americans' demands for an end to this war. They say withdrawing will create bloodshed and chaos and encourage terrorists. Actually, all of that has already happened - the result of this unnecessary invasion and the incompetent management of this war.
Shortages; lack of electricity; potable water; tanks rolling through the streets night and day; gunfire and explosions. Iraqi health care in shambles. 200 bodies turn up daily in the Baghdad morgue. For Iraqis, it's 9/11 every day.
Shortages; lack of electricity; potable water; tanks rolling through the streets night and day; gunfire and explosions. Iraqi health care in shambles. 200 bodies turn up daily in the Baghdad morgue. For Iraqis, it's 9/11 every day.
08 July, 2007
Libby and "beans"
To the neocons, Scooter is a hero. Scooter was the pivot man in the veep's office moving the cherry-picked intel on Saddam's WMD, Saddam's nukes, Saddam's ties to 9-11 and al-Qaida to a collaborationist press as determined as he was to smash Iraq and Iran, secure Israel and control the Middle East. So what if Scooter lied to cover up the White House campaign to carve up Joe Wilson?
Cheney and Bush, fear that if Scooter goes to prison, and is staring at disgrace and 30 months away from friends and family, he may think he has been abandoned by people whose secrets he kept at the cost of reputation and freedom. An idle mind being the devil's workshop, Scooter might sit down and write a book, or phone "Bulldog" Fitzgerald and "spill the beans.".
Cheney and Bush, fear that if Scooter goes to prison, and is staring at disgrace and 30 months away from friends and family, he may think he has been abandoned by people whose secrets he kept at the cost of reputation and freedom. An idle mind being the devil's workshop, Scooter might sit down and write a book, or phone "Bulldog" Fitzgerald and "spill the beans.".
07 July, 2007
Iraq
Shortages; lack of electricity; potable water; tanks rolling through the streets night and day; gunfire and explosions. Iraqi health care in shambles. 200 bodies turn up daily in the Baghdad morgue. For Iraqis, it's 9/11 every day.
Also, these republicans are admitting to only 3601 of our military having been sacrified in Iraq, not counting contractors (mercenaries), our tens of thousands of wounded, and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi's killed. They won't or can't admit that they lied into a war that has no win options. The true character of finatics.
Also, these republicans are admitting to only 3601 of our military having been sacrified in Iraq, not counting contractors (mercenaries), our tens of thousands of wounded, and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi's killed. They won't or can't admit that they lied into a war that has no win options. The true character of finatics.
Lou Dobbs
Read Today: "Lou Dobbs was recently the subject of a withering New York Times column which deftly but decisively portrayed him as a charlatan, a xenophobe, a blowhard, and a liar." They left out-- a fanatic.
darth vadar
Dick Cheney has been a malevolent force on the checks and balances of American government for over six years. He has subverted government processes to lead us into this tragedy in Iraq, and is now seeking to do the same with Iran. Two countries, mind you, that he did business with while CEO of Halliburton.
06 July, 2007
finatic republicans
The final 18 months of his presidency will be an increasingly dangerous time for the world. Bush is wrapping himself in his messianic blanket, still bound to convince the infidels at home and abroad that he is a gifted visionary who can reshape the Middle East.
Vice President Dick Cheney makes Dr. Strangelove seem like Gandhi. Cheney operates above the Congress, the Constitution, the law and human decency -- at times, above the presidency. He does as he pleases and is answerable to no one.
Bush is not nearly clever enough to sort through or keep up with Cheney's Machiavellian machinations. The president is so lazy and incurious, he's more than willing to let Cheney do his dirty work. Whether it is approving torture, illegal wiretapping, concentration camps and kidnappings, or coddling corporate polluters, Cheney is ready to nod OK.
Bush/Cheney fell into the obvious trap by sending U.S. forces to Iraq in the heart of Islam. Bin Laden, hiding in the mountains of northern Pakistan, just sits back and relaxes, enjoying the bloody spectacle and the gift to radical Islam they gave brought him.
Finatic republicans never see the obvious.
Vice President Dick Cheney makes Dr. Strangelove seem like Gandhi. Cheney operates above the Congress, the Constitution, the law and human decency -- at times, above the presidency. He does as he pleases and is answerable to no one.
Bush is not nearly clever enough to sort through or keep up with Cheney's Machiavellian machinations. The president is so lazy and incurious, he's more than willing to let Cheney do his dirty work. Whether it is approving torture, illegal wiretapping, concentration camps and kidnappings, or coddling corporate polluters, Cheney is ready to nod OK.
Bush/Cheney fell into the obvious trap by sending U.S. forces to Iraq in the heart of Islam. Bin Laden, hiding in the mountains of northern Pakistan, just sits back and relaxes, enjoying the bloody spectacle and the gift to radical Islam they gave brought him.
Finatic republicans never see the obvious.
05 July, 2007
killing for profit
The death toll for private mercenaries in the U.S. wars in occupied Iraq and Afghanistan has topped 1,000, a stark reminder of the risks run by civilian mercenaries working with the military in roles previously held by soldiers.
Republicans freely admit to using merenaries. The number of U.S.-paid private contractors mercenaries in Iraq now exceeds that of American combat troops. That used to be viewed as using outlaws. Killing for profit is now admired.
Republicans freely admit to using merenaries. The number of U.S.-paid private contractors mercenaries in Iraq now exceeds that of American combat troops. That used to be viewed as using outlaws. Killing for profit is now admired.
republicans will say anything
On July 4, Bush compared our Revolutionary War to Iraq. He left out that in the revolutionary war we were occupied, in Iraq WE are the occupyers.
04 July, 2007
republican loyalty
Is it any wonder that Bush thought 30 months for lying over the case for war was “excessive,” when the executors of that war have completely escaped, and have even been rewarded?
George Tenet and L. Paul Bremer III got the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Paul Wolfowitz was awarded the World Bank (until he botched that too), and Donald Rumsfeld was called a “superb leader” by Bush as he was gently ushered off to retirement last November.
George Tenet and L. Paul Bremer III got the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Paul Wolfowitz was awarded the World Bank (until he botched that too), and Donald Rumsfeld was called a “superb leader” by Bush as he was gently ushered off to retirement last November.
03 July, 2007
republican criminals
Tough enough to execute Karla Fay Tucker -- and then laugh about it. Tough enough to sign a death warrant for a man whose lawyer slept through the trial -- and then snicker when asked about it in a debate. Even tough enough to execute a great-grandmother who murdered her husband -- after he abused her. A friend of mine at the time asked Bush to commute her sentence, telling him, "Betty Lou ain't a threat to no one she ain't married to." No dice.
Mr. Bush is tough enough to invade a country that was no risk to America, causing tens of thousands of civilian deaths and shedding precious American blood in the process. Tough enough to sanction torture. Tough enough to order an American citizen arrested and held without trial.
But if you're rich and right-wing and Republican, George is a real softie. As George W. Bush demonstrated in giving Scooter Libby a Get Out of Jail Free Card, he is only compassionate to conservatives.
What does it say about America in the age of Bush when Judith Miller spends more time in jail over the Valerie Plame smear than Scooter Libby?
One thing it says is that Mr. Bush and his partner in crime, Dick Cheney, believe they are above the law. The commutation of Libby confirms the belief that Mr. Libby lied to the FBI, perjured himself to the grand jury, and obstructed a federal criminal investigation in order to cover up the role Bush and Cheney played in smearing Joe Wilson and ruining the career of his CIA operative wife, which are federal crimes.
Mr. Bush is tough enough to invade a country that was no risk to America, causing tens of thousands of civilian deaths and shedding precious American blood in the process. Tough enough to sanction torture. Tough enough to order an American citizen arrested and held without trial.
But if you're rich and right-wing and Republican, George is a real softie. As George W. Bush demonstrated in giving Scooter Libby a Get Out of Jail Free Card, he is only compassionate to conservatives.
What does it say about America in the age of Bush when Judith Miller spends more time in jail over the Valerie Plame smear than Scooter Libby?
One thing it says is that Mr. Bush and his partner in crime, Dick Cheney, believe they are above the law. The commutation of Libby confirms the belief that Mr. Libby lied to the FBI, perjured himself to the grand jury, and obstructed a federal criminal investigation in order to cover up the role Bush and Cheney played in smearing Joe Wilson and ruining the career of his CIA operative wife, which are federal crimes.
the republican "smirk"
Have you noticed all along the little "smirk" on Libby's face. They all have it: Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and all the others.
That's because as long as they keep their mouths shut they have nothing to worry about. If they do get caught, the rich republicans in their big corporations and PAC's will raise millions of dollars for them, get them hired, and help them sell their books to keep their silence.
That's how these republicans operate.
That's because as long as they keep their mouths shut they have nothing to worry about. If they do get caught, the rich republicans in their big corporations and PAC's will raise millions of dollars for them, get them hired, and help them sell their books to keep their silence.
That's how these republicans operate.
republicans take care of their own
He was an architect of the Iraq war who was forced from the World Bank presidency amid allegations that he improperly acted to benefit his girlfriend. Now, Paul D. Wolfowitz will turn his attention to the relatively calmer waters of Washington intelligentsia, as a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. These rightwing republicans take care of their own.
02 July, 2007
respublicans destroying our country
General Janis Karpinski has testified that she saw a memorandum on "Interrogation techniques" pinned to the wall by military intelligence at Abu Ghraib, signed by Defence Secretary Rumsfeld himself.
Karpinski was at the top of the line of command of the guards - the military police - but not the interrogators. Doubtless more of the details of the war crimes at Abu Ghraib, and of extraordinary rendition and Guantanamo, will continue to emerge in the next few months as the war party in Washington becomes totally discredited.
Sexual aggression is not really about sex or gender, but about power: the powerful humiliating the powerless .
Karpinski was at the top of the line of command of the guards - the military police - but not the interrogators. Doubtless more of the details of the war crimes at Abu Ghraib, and of extraordinary rendition and Guantanamo, will continue to emerge in the next few months as the war party in Washington becomes totally discredited.
Sexual aggression is not really about sex or gender, but about power: the powerful humiliating the powerless .
fanatic republicans
Bush's circle remains sealed tight, the lawmaker said. "There's nobody there who can stand up to him and tell him, 'Mr. President, you've got to do this. You're wrong on this.' There's no adult supervision.
It's like he's oblivious. Maybe that's a defense mechanism." "The president thinks cutting and running on his friends shows weakness," said an exasperated senior official. "Change shows weakness. Doing what everyone knows has to be done shows weakness."
The picture of a true fanatic, out of touch with reality. God help us.
It's like he's oblivious. Maybe that's a defense mechanism." "The president thinks cutting and running on his friends shows weakness," said an exasperated senior official. "Change shows weakness. Doing what everyone knows has to be done shows weakness."
The picture of a true fanatic, out of touch with reality. God help us.
update Iraq
In America's War On Iraq 3578 US military have been killed, not counting wounded, mercenaries or Iraqi women and children (called collateral damage).
01 July, 2007
Iraq mercenaries.
Our government has outsourced a wide range of security functions to 20,000 to 30,000 contractors (mercenaries) in Iraq; the exact number has not been disclosed. Contractors protect U.S. generals and key military installations, have served as prison guards and interrogators in facilities holding suspected insurgents, and gather intelligence among "other responsibilities." with little or no oversight. No wonder Iraqis see US civilians as killing their brothers, sisters, children and other family members.
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