People like Sean Hannity, Anderson Cooper, Bill O'Reilly, Charlie Gibson, and others make millions of dollars per year.
For example, Sean Hannity makes about $8 million dollars per year (between television and radio). Hell, Rush Limbaugh made about $30 million last year. Bill O'Reilly earned $12 million last year.
It is not in their interest to discuss important issues that average Americans care about. TV and Radio show ratings determine future pay for those in the industry, so riding the primary election coat-tails of the candidates is money in their pockets.
29 April, 2008
Republican BS on the way out
Suburban demographic shifts away from Republican candidates who rely on the dogma of the last 30 years. Those shifts won’t stop. Boomers are starting to claim Social Security and soon will enroll in Medicare. Both need attention.
Boomers’ aged parents struggle with the Republicans’ confusing, inadequate prescription program. Boomers’ children struggle to buy medical insurance that no longer comes with a job. Boomers’ grandchildren will pay the costs of the Iraq war foisted on them by the “borrow and spend” Republicans.
The boomers and the boomers’ babies are massive voter cohorts, and they won’t vote for the Republican agenda.
Boomers’ aged parents struggle with the Republicans’ confusing, inadequate prescription program. Boomers’ children struggle to buy medical insurance that no longer comes with a job. Boomers’ grandchildren will pay the costs of the Iraq war foisted on them by the “borrow and spend” Republicans.
The boomers and the boomers’ babies are massive voter cohorts, and they won’t vote for the Republican agenda.
24 April, 2008
another reason McCain not fit to be Pres.
McCain's economic plan is heavy on tax breaks for big business and admonishments for working people not to rely on help. He proposes a cut in corporate income taxes from 35 to 25 percent, help for companies who depreciate equipment and other incentives.
The senator's policies tilt toward the richest Americans, just like those of Bush, who has catered to only the top 3 percent of the country.
The senator's policies tilt toward the richest Americans, just like those of Bush, who has catered to only the top 3 percent of the country.
20 April, 2008
how republicans control the "media"
read today: Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.
The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air.
Those business relationships are hardly ever disclosed to the viewers, and sometimes not even to the networks themselves. But collectively, tseveral dozen other military analysts represent more than 150 military contractors either as lobbyists, senior executives, board members or consultants.
The companies include defense heavyweights, but also scores of smaller companies, all part of a vast assemblage of contractors scrambling for hundreds of billions in military business generated by the administration’s war on terror. It is a furious competition, one in which inside information and easy access to senior officials are highly prized.
Records and interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks.
In turn, members of this group have echoed administration talking points, sometimes even when they suspected the information was false or inflated. Some analysts acknowledge they suppressed doubts because they feared jeopardizing their access.
A few expressed regret for participating in what they regarded as an effort to dupe the American public with propaganda dressed as independent military analysis.
The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air.
Those business relationships are hardly ever disclosed to the viewers, and sometimes not even to the networks themselves. But collectively, tseveral dozen other military analysts represent more than 150 military contractors either as lobbyists, senior executives, board members or consultants.
The companies include defense heavyweights, but also scores of smaller companies, all part of a vast assemblage of contractors scrambling for hundreds of billions in military business generated by the administration’s war on terror. It is a furious competition, one in which inside information and easy access to senior officials are highly prized.
Records and interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks.
In turn, members of this group have echoed administration talking points, sometimes even when they suspected the information was false or inflated. Some analysts acknowledge they suppressed doubts because they feared jeopardizing their access.
A few expressed regret for participating in what they regarded as an effort to dupe the American public with propaganda dressed as independent military analysis.
why McCain is not fit to be President
read today: Grassley, an Iowa Republican with a reputation as an unwavering legislator, calmly held his ground. McCain became angrier, his fist pumping even faster. But at some point, he mocked Grassley to his face and used a profanity to describe him. Grassley stood and, according to two participants at the meeting, told McCain, "I don't have to take this. I think you should apologize."
Former senator Bob Smith, a New Hampshire Republican, expresses worries about McCain: "His temper would place this country at risk in international affairs, and the world perhaps in danger. In my mind, it should disqualify him."
That temper has followed him throughout his life, McCain acknowledges. He recalls in his writings how, as a toddler, he sometimes held his breath and fainted during moments of fury.
As the son of a naval officer who was on his way to becoming a four-star admiral, McCain found himself frequently uprooted and enrolled in new schools, where, as an underappreciated outsider, he developed a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. He defied authority, ridiculed other students, sometimes fought. The nicknames hung on him at Episcopal mocked his hair-trigger feistiness: "Punk" and "McNasty."
In 2007, during a heated closed-door discussion with Senate colleagues about the contentious immigration issue, he angrily shouted a profanity at a fellow Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, an incident that quickly found its way into headlines.
Reports recently surfaced of Rep. Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican, taking offense when McCain called him "boy" once too often during a 2006 meeting, a story that McCain aides confirm.
Smith admits to not liking McCain, a point he has often made over the years to reporters. "I've witnessed a lot of his temper and outbursts," Smith said. "For me, some of this stuff is relevant. It raises questions about stability. . . . It's more than just temper.
It's this need of his to show you that he's above you -- a sneering, condescending attitude. It's hurt his relationships in Congress. . . . I've seen it up-close."
While in the course of a policy disagreement at a luncheon meeting of Republican senators, McCain reportedly insulted Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico with an earthy expletive. Domenici demanded an apology. "Okay, I'll apologize," McCain said, before referring to an infuriated Domenici with the same expletive.
Episodes such as the Johnson and Leiby incidents, along with McCain's oft-chronicled blowups on Capitol Hill, have led critics to say he has a vindictive streak, that he sees an enemy in anyone who challenges him.
McCain exploded, according to witnesses who included Jon Hinz, then executive director of the Arizona Republican Party. McCain jabbed an index finger in Wexler's chest.
"I told you we needed a stage," he screamed, according to Hinz. "You incompetent little [expletive]. When I tell you to do something, you do it."
Hinz recalls intervening, placing his 6-foot-6 frame between the senator-elect and the young volunteer. "John, this is not the time or place for this. McCain spun around on his heels and left. He did not talk to Hinz again for several years. In 2000, as Hinz recalls, he appeared briefly on the Christian Broadcasting Network to voice his worries about McCain's temperament on televangelist Pat Robertson's show, "The 700 Club." Hinz's concerns have since grown with reports of incidents in and out of Arizona.
In 1994, McCain tried to stop a primary challenge to the state's Republican governor, J. Fife Symington III, by telephoning his opponent, Barbara Barrett, the well-heeled spouse of a telecommunications executive, and warning of unspecified "consequences" should she reject his advice to drop out of the race. Barrett stayed in. At that year's state Republican convention, McCain confronted Sandra Dowling, the Maricopa County school superintendent and, according to witnesses, angrily accused her of helping to persuade Barrett to enter the race.
"You better get [Barrett] out or I'll destroy you," a witness claims that McCain shouted at her. Dowling responded that if McCain couldn't respect her right to support whomever she chose, that he "should get the hell out of the Senate." McCain shouted an obscenity at her, and Dowling howled one back.
"What happens if he gets angry in crisis" in the presidency?" Hinz asked. "It's difficult enough to be a negotiator, but it's almost impossible when you're the type of guy who's so angry at anybody who doesn't do what he wants. It's the president's job to negotiate and stay calm. I don't see that he has that quality."
Former senator Bob Smith, a New Hampshire Republican, expresses worries about McCain: "His temper would place this country at risk in international affairs, and the world perhaps in danger. In my mind, it should disqualify him."
That temper has followed him throughout his life, McCain acknowledges. He recalls in his writings how, as a toddler, he sometimes held his breath and fainted during moments of fury.
As the son of a naval officer who was on his way to becoming a four-star admiral, McCain found himself frequently uprooted and enrolled in new schools, where, as an underappreciated outsider, he developed a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. He defied authority, ridiculed other students, sometimes fought. The nicknames hung on him at Episcopal mocked his hair-trigger feistiness: "Punk" and "McNasty."
In 2007, during a heated closed-door discussion with Senate colleagues about the contentious immigration issue, he angrily shouted a profanity at a fellow Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, an incident that quickly found its way into headlines.
Reports recently surfaced of Rep. Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican, taking offense when McCain called him "boy" once too often during a 2006 meeting, a story that McCain aides confirm.
Smith admits to not liking McCain, a point he has often made over the years to reporters. "I've witnessed a lot of his temper and outbursts," Smith said. "For me, some of this stuff is relevant. It raises questions about stability. . . . It's more than just temper.
It's this need of his to show you that he's above you -- a sneering, condescending attitude. It's hurt his relationships in Congress. . . . I've seen it up-close."
While in the course of a policy disagreement at a luncheon meeting of Republican senators, McCain reportedly insulted Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico with an earthy expletive. Domenici demanded an apology. "Okay, I'll apologize," McCain said, before referring to an infuriated Domenici with the same expletive.
Episodes such as the Johnson and Leiby incidents, along with McCain's oft-chronicled blowups on Capitol Hill, have led critics to say he has a vindictive streak, that he sees an enemy in anyone who challenges him.
McCain exploded, according to witnesses who included Jon Hinz, then executive director of the Arizona Republican Party. McCain jabbed an index finger in Wexler's chest.
"I told you we needed a stage," he screamed, according to Hinz. "You incompetent little [expletive]. When I tell you to do something, you do it."
Hinz recalls intervening, placing his 6-foot-6 frame between the senator-elect and the young volunteer. "John, this is not the time or place for this. McCain spun around on his heels and left. He did not talk to Hinz again for several years. In 2000, as Hinz recalls, he appeared briefly on the Christian Broadcasting Network to voice his worries about McCain's temperament on televangelist Pat Robertson's show, "The 700 Club." Hinz's concerns have since grown with reports of incidents in and out of Arizona.
In 1994, McCain tried to stop a primary challenge to the state's Republican governor, J. Fife Symington III, by telephoning his opponent, Barbara Barrett, the well-heeled spouse of a telecommunications executive, and warning of unspecified "consequences" should she reject his advice to drop out of the race. Barrett stayed in. At that year's state Republican convention, McCain confronted Sandra Dowling, the Maricopa County school superintendent and, according to witnesses, angrily accused her of helping to persuade Barrett to enter the race.
"You better get [Barrett] out or I'll destroy you," a witness claims that McCain shouted at her. Dowling responded that if McCain couldn't respect her right to support whomever she chose, that he "should get the hell out of the Senate." McCain shouted an obscenity at her, and Dowling howled one back.
"What happens if he gets angry in crisis" in the presidency?" Hinz asked. "It's difficult enough to be a negotiator, but it's almost impossible when you're the type of guy who's so angry at anybody who doesn't do what he wants. It's the president's job to negotiate and stay calm. I don't see that he has that quality."
05 April, 2008
getting to know McCain
read today: Getting know McCain:
10. Responding to a student who criticized his remark about our staying in Iraq for 100 years, McCain quipped, "No American argues against our military presence in Korea or Japan or Germany or Kuwait or other places, or Turkey, because America is not receiving casualties."
I guess Ron Paul isn't American. Or Dennis Kucinich. Or many others who have questioned the mindset behind keeping our troops abroad forever, which is what an empire does, not a republic. Although, perhaps more people don't argue "against our military presence" in the other spots he named, because, you know, those wars weren't based on 100 percent fabricated evidence and didn't make us less safe after they were done. Just a thought.
9. John McCain is "very proud to have Pastor John Hagee's support."
Just FYI, John Hagee makes Jeremiah Wright seem like Richard Simmons. Hagee has called the Catholic Church the "Great Whore," an "apostate church," the "Antichrist," and a "false cult system." And let's not even get into what he has said about Jews.
8. "In the shorter term," said McCain, "if you somehow told American businesses and families, 'Look, you're not going to experience a tax increase in 2010,' I think that's a pretty good short-term measure."
This is McCain's statement in suport of making permanent the tax cuts he voted and railed against in 2001 and 2003. Back then they were only a giveaway to the rich and "budget-busters." Now that we are much further along in borrowing our economy from the Chinese, and the rich have become even richer, they are a way to stimulate the economy by putting money in the hands of working Americans.
7. "This is a Catholic Voter Alert. Governor George Bush has campaigned against Senator John McCain by seeking the support of Southern fundamentalists who have expressed anti-Catholic views. Several weeks ago, Governor Bush spoke at Bob Jones University in South Carolina. Bob Jones has made strong anti-Catholic statements, including calling the Pope the anti-Christ, the Catholic Church a satanic cult! John McCain, a pro-life senator, has strongly criticized this anti-Catholic bigotry, while Governor Bush has stayed silent while seeking the support of Bob Jones University. Because of this, one Catholic pro-life congressman has switched his support from Bush to McCain, and many Michigan Catholics support John McCain for president."
This was a John McCain for president campaign robo-call in 2000. Today, as we pointed out, he hangs with the Rev. Hagee who thinks Catholicism is a "cult" and the "Antichrist." How romantic.
6. "Everybody says that they're against the special interests. I'm the only one the special interests don't give any money to."
Here are some examples of Sen. McCain's epic battle with special-interest money: According to the Center for Responsive Politics, McCain has taken nearly $1.2 million in campaign contributions from the telephone utility and telecom service industries, more than any other senator. McCain sides with the telecom companies on retroactive immunity.
McCain is also the single largest recipient of campaign contributions from Ion Media Networks -- formerly Paxson Communication -- receiving $36,000 from the company and employees from 1997 to mid-year 2006.
5. McCain listened intently, pausing a second before delivering what could be a defining answer. "The other one will do just fine."
For what important reason was Sen. McCain interrupting an explanation to the press of his positions on Iraq and national security to take a cell phone from an aide? Why his wife needed to buy them a new barbecue grill.
4. During a Nov. 28, 2007, Republican debate Sen. McCain angrily denounced torture and offered unmitigated support of the Army field manual's restrictions, saying they "are working, and working effectively."
So naturally and quite logically, he voted against applying these same standards to the CIA. Apparently these rules won't work effectively for spooks, just the men and women on the front lines.
3. McCain, while speaking at a town hall meeting in a suburb of Philadelphia, was asked if he had concerns that anti-American insurgents in Iraq might commit increased acts of violence in September or October with a plan in mind to tip the November election to the Democrats. "Yes, I worry about it," McCain said.
How did he figure out what the insurgents -- which his policies in Iraq have helped create -- are up to? When they attacked us on 9/11, and the warning signs were all ignored by President Bush and his then National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, he was punished with winning a second term. So, of course, militants, who follow john McCain's campaign like Republicans do the signs of the Rapture, are closely planning their events because they know the exact opposite will be the result this time.
2. Let's go back to the videotape: "I'm the only one the special interests don't give any money to."
Not only have we proven this false, but perhaps many can't give money because they all work on his campaign. His campaign manager, Rick Davis, lobbyist. Top advisor, Charlie Black, lobbyist. The operative currently running his Senate office, Mark Buse, former lobbyist. And so it goes. Here is what one observer had to say. "It's an interesting dichotomy. On the one hand, he's presenting himself as the crusader against special interests and yet, on the other hand, he's surrounded himself with senior advisers that are lobbyists," said Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan, non-profit research group focused on money in politics.
1. And finally, McCain's craziest, coolest, most unstoppable McCain Moment: The senator said, while in Jordan, that it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate." A few moments later, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, admiringly gazing at McCain until that moment, stepped up and whispered something in the presidential candidate's ear. McCain then blurted out: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda."
Phew. Glad trusty Joe Lieberman was there to explain to the man of "experience," a man who wants to lead the free world, that Sunnis (Al Qaeda) and Shia (Iran) not only don't work together but are in direct conflict. We have only been at war there for five years, so I wouldn't expect Sen. McCain to concern himself with such trivial matters.
10. Responding to a student who criticized his remark about our staying in Iraq for 100 years, McCain quipped, "No American argues against our military presence in Korea or Japan or Germany or Kuwait or other places, or Turkey, because America is not receiving casualties."
I guess Ron Paul isn't American. Or Dennis Kucinich. Or many others who have questioned the mindset behind keeping our troops abroad forever, which is what an empire does, not a republic. Although, perhaps more people don't argue "against our military presence" in the other spots he named, because, you know, those wars weren't based on 100 percent fabricated evidence and didn't make us less safe after they were done. Just a thought.
9. John McCain is "very proud to have Pastor John Hagee's support."
Just FYI, John Hagee makes Jeremiah Wright seem like Richard Simmons. Hagee has called the Catholic Church the "Great Whore," an "apostate church," the "Antichrist," and a "false cult system." And let's not even get into what he has said about Jews.
8. "In the shorter term," said McCain, "if you somehow told American businesses and families, 'Look, you're not going to experience a tax increase in 2010,' I think that's a pretty good short-term measure."
This is McCain's statement in suport of making permanent the tax cuts he voted and railed against in 2001 and 2003. Back then they were only a giveaway to the rich and "budget-busters." Now that we are much further along in borrowing our economy from the Chinese, and the rich have become even richer, they are a way to stimulate the economy by putting money in the hands of working Americans.
7. "This is a Catholic Voter Alert. Governor George Bush has campaigned against Senator John McCain by seeking the support of Southern fundamentalists who have expressed anti-Catholic views. Several weeks ago, Governor Bush spoke at Bob Jones University in South Carolina. Bob Jones has made strong anti-Catholic statements, including calling the Pope the anti-Christ, the Catholic Church a satanic cult! John McCain, a pro-life senator, has strongly criticized this anti-Catholic bigotry, while Governor Bush has stayed silent while seeking the support of Bob Jones University. Because of this, one Catholic pro-life congressman has switched his support from Bush to McCain, and many Michigan Catholics support John McCain for president."
This was a John McCain for president campaign robo-call in 2000. Today, as we pointed out, he hangs with the Rev. Hagee who thinks Catholicism is a "cult" and the "Antichrist." How romantic.
6. "Everybody says that they're against the special interests. I'm the only one the special interests don't give any money to."
Here are some examples of Sen. McCain's epic battle with special-interest money: According to the Center for Responsive Politics, McCain has taken nearly $1.2 million in campaign contributions from the telephone utility and telecom service industries, more than any other senator. McCain sides with the telecom companies on retroactive immunity.
McCain is also the single largest recipient of campaign contributions from Ion Media Networks -- formerly Paxson Communication -- receiving $36,000 from the company and employees from 1997 to mid-year 2006.
5. McCain listened intently, pausing a second before delivering what could be a defining answer. "The other one will do just fine."
For what important reason was Sen. McCain interrupting an explanation to the press of his positions on Iraq and national security to take a cell phone from an aide? Why his wife needed to buy them a new barbecue grill.
4. During a Nov. 28, 2007, Republican debate Sen. McCain angrily denounced torture and offered unmitigated support of the Army field manual's restrictions, saying they "are working, and working effectively."
So naturally and quite logically, he voted against applying these same standards to the CIA. Apparently these rules won't work effectively for spooks, just the men and women on the front lines.
3. McCain, while speaking at a town hall meeting in a suburb of Philadelphia, was asked if he had concerns that anti-American insurgents in Iraq might commit increased acts of violence in September or October with a plan in mind to tip the November election to the Democrats. "Yes, I worry about it," McCain said.
How did he figure out what the insurgents -- which his policies in Iraq have helped create -- are up to? When they attacked us on 9/11, and the warning signs were all ignored by President Bush and his then National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, he was punished with winning a second term. So, of course, militants, who follow john McCain's campaign like Republicans do the signs of the Rapture, are closely planning their events because they know the exact opposite will be the result this time.
2. Let's go back to the videotape: "I'm the only one the special interests don't give any money to."
Not only have we proven this false, but perhaps many can't give money because they all work on his campaign. His campaign manager, Rick Davis, lobbyist. Top advisor, Charlie Black, lobbyist. The operative currently running his Senate office, Mark Buse, former lobbyist. And so it goes. Here is what one observer had to say. "It's an interesting dichotomy. On the one hand, he's presenting himself as the crusader against special interests and yet, on the other hand, he's surrounded himself with senior advisers that are lobbyists," said Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan, non-profit research group focused on money in politics.
1. And finally, McCain's craziest, coolest, most unstoppable McCain Moment: The senator said, while in Jordan, that it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate." A few moments later, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, admiringly gazing at McCain until that moment, stepped up and whispered something in the presidential candidate's ear. McCain then blurted out: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda."
Phew. Glad trusty Joe Lieberman was there to explain to the man of "experience," a man who wants to lead the free world, that Sunnis (Al Qaeda) and Shia (Iran) not only don't work together but are in direct conflict. We have only been at war there for five years, so I wouldn't expect Sen. McCain to concern himself with such trivial matters.
02 April, 2008
republicans ignore likely outcomes
In a 2004 memo for the Navy inspector general's office, then-General Counsel Alberto J. Mora objected to the ideas that cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment could be allowed at Guantanamo and that the president's authority is virtually unlimited.
Using the Justice Department, these Republicans insisted that the President's ultimate authority as Commander in Chief overrode such statutes against torture. So--our torture of prisoners was obviously ordered by our Republican President.
Our advisaries in the world can now claim justification for torturing our people that they capture, and we became a nation that tortures our prisoners.
They didn't think it through just like when they ordered the invasion and war on Iraq which had no part in the attack on us. All they saw was a country that had been bombed into weakness and thus was vunerable.
Using the Justice Department, these Republicans insisted that the President's ultimate authority as Commander in Chief overrode such statutes against torture. So--our torture of prisoners was obviously ordered by our Republican President.
Our advisaries in the world can now claim justification for torturing our people that they capture, and we became a nation that tortures our prisoners.
They didn't think it through just like when they ordered the invasion and war on Iraq which had no part in the attack on us. All they saw was a country that had been bombed into weakness and thus was vunerable.
31 March, 2008
republican attitude about war
Just last week, Vice President Cheney was asked about the burden of the Iraq War on our military. His answer? George Bush bears the greatest burden of the war. What about the 4,000 American troops who gave their lives? The Vice President summed it up: "They volunteered."
When I read the Vice President's comments, I was reminded of what Marine Corps 3-star General Gregory Newbold, the former Operations Director at the Pentagon, said about the war in Iraq:
"The commitment of our forces to this fight was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions - or bury the results."
When I read the Vice President's comments, I was reminded of what Marine Corps 3-star General Gregory Newbold, the former Operations Director at the Pentagon, said about the war in Iraq:
"The commitment of our forces to this fight was done with a casualness and swagger that are the special province of those who have never had to execute these missions - or bury the results."
another Republican under investigation
The Bush administration's top housing official, under criminal investigation, announced Monday he is quitting.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson said his resignation will take effect on April 18. The move comes at a shaky time for the economy and the Bush administration, as the housing industry's crisis has imperiled the nation's credit markets and led to a major economic slowdown.
Jackson, 62, has been fending off allegations of cronyism and favoritism involving HUD contractors for the past two years.
In 2006, Jackson triggered the IG inquiry when he said publicly that he revoked a contract because the applicant who thanked him said he did not like President Bush. The tip of the iceberg.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson said his resignation will take effect on April 18. The move comes at a shaky time for the economy and the Bush administration, as the housing industry's crisis has imperiled the nation's credit markets and led to a major economic slowdown.
Jackson, 62, has been fending off allegations of cronyism and favoritism involving HUD contractors for the past two years.
In 2006, Jackson triggered the IG inquiry when he said publicly that he revoked a contract because the applicant who thanked him said he did not like President Bush. The tip of the iceberg.
29 March, 2008
welfare for the wealthy
Wall Street types don't live in ghettos, barrios, or the hollows of Appalachia, but they do inhabit environments that are sealed off socially from the rest of the world—the Hamptons on Long Island; Manhattan's Fifth Avenue; Greenwich, Conn.
Because they rarely interact with people of middle-class means (save the odd doctor, lawyer, or interior designer), they have become woefully out of touch with the solid bourgeois values that made America great.
Wall Street titans are almost incapable of seeing the problem with taking nine-figure payouts in years in which their stocks plummet. There's just a total disconnect between the compensation and the responsibility for their actions.
"Modern Wall Street is a system," says Charles Morris—a former Chase banker and author of The Trillion Dollar Meltdown—"that rewards crazy risk-taking in the short term without regard for the long-term consequences."
Conservative critics constantly carp that the culture of poverty has encouraged a sense of dependency on Washington. Yet it vaulted into action to save the bankers from their own disastrous bets. When Bear Stearns, the nation's fifth-largest investment bank, approached insolvency, the Feds orchestrated JPMorgan's acquisition of it.
As part of the Bear Stearns deal, it agreed to lend $30 billion against assets of dubious provenance. And guess who bears the risk if that $30 billion can't be paid back? You and me.
Because they rarely interact with people of middle-class means (save the odd doctor, lawyer, or interior designer), they have become woefully out of touch with the solid bourgeois values that made America great.
Wall Street titans are almost incapable of seeing the problem with taking nine-figure payouts in years in which their stocks plummet. There's just a total disconnect between the compensation and the responsibility for their actions.
"Modern Wall Street is a system," says Charles Morris—a former Chase banker and author of The Trillion Dollar Meltdown—"that rewards crazy risk-taking in the short term without regard for the long-term consequences."
Conservative critics constantly carp that the culture of poverty has encouraged a sense of dependency on Washington. Yet it vaulted into action to save the bankers from their own disastrous bets. When Bear Stearns, the nation's fifth-largest investment bank, approached insolvency, the Feds orchestrated JPMorgan's acquisition of it.
As part of the Bear Stearns deal, it agreed to lend $30 billion against assets of dubious provenance. And guess who bears the risk if that $30 billion can't be paid back? You and me.
27 March, 2008
Republicans try to demonize others
Being critical of organized religion doesn't mean you hate Jesus. Remember Jesus was critical of the organized religion of his time so it is possible that he is critical of it today.
Being critical of corrupt officials doesn't mean you hate America, it means that you dislike the abusers of America. Pointing out lies about war makes you a good citizen, not a traitor as some are trying to get you to believe.
Being critical of corrupt officials doesn't mean you hate America, it means that you dislike the abusers of America. Pointing out lies about war makes you a good citizen, not a traitor as some are trying to get you to believe.
23 March, 2008
republicans gutting conservation
With little-noticed procedural and policy moves over several years, the Republican Bush administration has made it substantially more difficult to designate domestic animals and plants for protection under the Endangered Species Act. So, what are these conservatives conserving other than millions for their rich friends.
22 March, 2008
republicans want rulers and subjects
Cheney said that American war policy should not be affected by the views of the people. But that is precisely whose views should matter: It is the people who should decide whether the nation shall go to war. That is not a radical, or liberal, or unpatriotic idea. It is the very heart of America's constitutional system.
In Europe, before America's founding, there were rulers and their subjects. The Founders decided that in the United States there would be not subjects but citizens. Rulers tell their subjects what to do, but citizens tell their government what to do.
When the vice president dismisses public opposition to war with a simple "So?" he violates the single most important element in the American system of government: Here, the people are suposed to rule.
In Europe, before America's founding, there were rulers and their subjects. The Founders decided that in the United States there would be not subjects but citizens. Rulers tell their subjects what to do, but citizens tell their government what to do.
When the vice president dismisses public opposition to war with a simple "So?" he violates the single most important element in the American system of government: Here, the people are suposed to rule.
19 March, 2008
republicans more of the same
Our Republican President says they still have no regrets over the war on Iraq despite the fact that Bush / McCain/ Republicans launched the invasion of Iraq based on faulty intelligence, mismanaged the war and failed to put together an exit strategy, destroyed our reputation around the world, put this country at greater risk, killed and displaced millions of Iraqis, killed nearly 4,000 of our military, and squandered billions of dollars causing prices of oil and foreign made goods to skyrocket, and our economy to tank.
18 March, 2008
more republican Iraq lies
Hundreds of politicians gathered for the conference a day after U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, on a visit marking the fifth anniversary of the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion, hailed what he called "phenomenal" political and security improvements.
The conference to reconcile Iraq's rival political parties fell apart almost as soon as it began on Tuesday, with influential Sunni and Shi'ite blocs pulling out in protest.
The conference to reconcile Iraq's rival political parties fell apart almost as soon as it began on Tuesday, with influential Sunni and Shi'ite blocs pulling out in protest.
16 March, 2008
their own republican fraud
The disappearance of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the NRCC, the House GOP's campaign arm, will dampen contributions, Republicans conceded. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ended January with $35.5 million in cash. The NRCC had $5.7 million before an annual fundraising dinner Wednesday raised $8.6 million.
there is hope
It started with the loss last weekend of the seat held for two decades by former House speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). It got worse when Republicans lost potentially strong challengers to Democratic senators in South Dakota and New Jersey, and failed to field anyone to oppose the reelection bid of Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.).
The latest blow came with the revelation that the former treasurer of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) had allegedly diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and possibly as much as $1 million -- from the organization's depleted coffers to his own bank accounts.
If Republicans needed any more evidence of how difficult this fall may be, the past week had it all, analysts said. The Illinois race demonstrated new levels of disaffection, the party's efforts to go on offense elsewhere were thwarted by recruiting failures, and the NRCC scandal will divert campaign resources and could frighten off badly needed contributors, they said.
"It's no mystery," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.). "You have a very unhappy electorate, with oil at $108 a barrel, stocks down a few thousand points, a war in Iraq with no end in sight and a president who is still very, very unpopular. He's just killed the Republican brand."
Stuart Rothenberg, a nonpartisan analyst of congressional politics, said: "The math is against them. The environment is against them. The money is against them. This is one of those cycles that if you're a Republican strategist, you just want to go into the bomb shelter."
The latest blow came with the revelation that the former treasurer of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) had allegedly diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and possibly as much as $1 million -- from the organization's depleted coffers to his own bank accounts.
If Republicans needed any more evidence of how difficult this fall may be, the past week had it all, analysts said. The Illinois race demonstrated new levels of disaffection, the party's efforts to go on offense elsewhere were thwarted by recruiting failures, and the NRCC scandal will divert campaign resources and could frighten off badly needed contributors, they said.
"It's no mystery," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.). "You have a very unhappy electorate, with oil at $108 a barrel, stocks down a few thousand points, a war in Iraq with no end in sight and a president who is still very, very unpopular. He's just killed the Republican brand."
Stuart Rothenberg, a nonpartisan analyst of congressional politics, said: "The math is against them. The environment is against them. The money is against them. This is one of those cycles that if you're a Republican strategist, you just want to go into the bomb shelter."
prevent republican wars
On March 16, 1968, the men of Charlie Company entered the hamlet of My Lai in central Quang Ngai province of Vietnam and killed 504 civilians, mostly women and children.
My Lai came to symbolize in the United States all that was wrong with the Vietnam conflict, which ended in 1975 when communist North Vietnam took over U.S.-backed South Vietnam, unifying the country.
Truong Thi Le, who survived the massacre near the village's observation tower, where 102 people were killed that morning, said she stills suffers horrific memories.
"I got some rice tree to cover myself and lay down on dead people," Le said. "There were five bodies on the ground who were seriously wounded and the blood poured all around."
The massacre is marked every year by residents and the government. This year, villagers organized a Buddhist ritual ceremony for the souls of the dead before local officials laid wreaths to show their respect to the victims.
Wreaths were placed in front of the My Lai Memorial and included foreign guests such as former American helicopter door gunner, Lawrence Colburn, who together with pilot Hugh Thompson rescued some Vietnamese during the massacre.
"No one wins in war and civilians always suffer," Colburn said. "The only way to prevent tragedy in war is to prevent war," said Colburn, who also referred to the U.S. war in Iraq, calling for it to end as soon as possible.
My Lai came to symbolize in the United States all that was wrong with the Vietnam conflict, which ended in 1975 when communist North Vietnam took over U.S.-backed South Vietnam, unifying the country.
Truong Thi Le, who survived the massacre near the village's observation tower, where 102 people were killed that morning, said she stills suffers horrific memories.
"I got some rice tree to cover myself and lay down on dead people," Le said. "There were five bodies on the ground who were seriously wounded and the blood poured all around."
The massacre is marked every year by residents and the government. This year, villagers organized a Buddhist ritual ceremony for the souls of the dead before local officials laid wreaths to show their respect to the victims.
Wreaths were placed in front of the My Lai Memorial and included foreign guests such as former American helicopter door gunner, Lawrence Colburn, who together with pilot Hugh Thompson rescued some Vietnamese during the massacre.
"No one wins in war and civilians always suffer," Colburn said. "The only way to prevent tragedy in war is to prevent war," said Colburn, who also referred to the U.S. war in Iraq, calling for it to end as soon as possible.
Republicans and the media
Why are they always attacking the so-called "media?"
The costs of the Republican war on Iraq so far are staggering: nearly 4,000 young Americans, sons-daughters-fathers-mothers-brothers-sisters, killed and tens of thousands maimed... 1 million Iraqis killed, millions maimed... $562 billion in tax dollars stolen from our children... $3 trillion more cost to our economy through veterans care, weapons replacement, higher oil prices, and the collapsing dollar.
All that in just 5 plus years of their attempting to manipulate the truth. We wouldn't know the real story without the "medi."
The costs of the Republican war on Iraq so far are staggering: nearly 4,000 young Americans, sons-daughters-fathers-mothers-brothers-sisters, killed and tens of thousands maimed... 1 million Iraqis killed, millions maimed... $562 billion in tax dollars stolen from our children... $3 trillion more cost to our economy through veterans care, weapons replacement, higher oil prices, and the collapsing dollar.
All that in just 5 plus years of their attempting to manipulate the truth. We wouldn't know the real story without the "medi."
14 March, 2008
Republicans spying on you and me
The FBI has increasingly used administrative orders to obtain the personal records of U.S. citizens rather than foreigners implicated in terrorism or counterintelligence investigations, and at least once it relied on such orders to obtain records that a special intelligence-gathering court had deemed protected by the First Amendment, according to two government audits released yesterday.
Someone had to order them to spy on us? Who is running the executive branch of our government? You got it, those Republcans!
Someone had to order them to spy on us? Who is running the executive branch of our government? You got it, those Republcans!
Republicans gut clean air
The Environmental Protection Agency weakened one part of its new limits on smog-forming ozone after an unusual last-minute intervention by President Bush, according to documents released by the EPA.
"It is unprecedented and an unlawful act of political interference for the president personally to override a decision that the Clean Air Act leaves exclusively to EPA's expert scientific judgment," said John Walke, clean-air director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
"It is unprecedented and an unlawful act of political interference for the president personally to override a decision that the Clean Air Act leaves exclusively to EPA's expert scientific judgment," said John Walke, clean-air director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
McCain, a republican trying to act differently
Mc Cain, the senator from Arizona, lacks a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of change necessary for peace in the Middle East. He is too linked with military solutions and less understanding that the military can only accomplish its goals if civilian efforts are successful.
He is also prostituting himself to the wealthy, having just voted to extend tax breaks for the wealthy while our national debt skyrockets.
He is also prostituting himself to the wealthy, having just voted to extend tax breaks for the wealthy while our national debt skyrockets.
12 March, 2008
republican high crimes
read today: A petition listing 10 High Crimes which justified their impeachment:
(1) Starting a "war of aggression" (2) torture (3) arbitrary detention (4) war crimes (5) warrantless wiretapping (6) signing statements (7) election fraud (8) outing a covert CIA operative (9) the "unitary executive" (10) gross negligence for Katrina and global warming.
Each one of these crimes is as unacceptable today as it was then. After 5 years in Iraq, Bush has killed nearly 4,000 Americans and over 1 million Iraqis and incurred $3 trillion in costs. And there are many more crimes we could add, including Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence to stop him from testifying about the crimes of Bush and Cheney themselves, and Bush's ongoing threats to bomb Iran.
(1) Starting a "war of aggression" (2) torture (3) arbitrary detention (4) war crimes (5) warrantless wiretapping (6) signing statements (7) election fraud (8) outing a covert CIA operative (9) the "unitary executive" (10) gross negligence for Katrina and global warming.
Each one of these crimes is as unacceptable today as it was then. After 5 years in Iraq, Bush has killed nearly 4,000 Americans and over 1 million Iraqis and incurred $3 trillion in costs. And there are many more crimes we could add, including Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence to stop him from testifying about the crimes of Bush and Cheney themselves, and Bush's ongoing threats to bomb Iran.
10 March, 2008
Republicans use war to get re-elected
The flow of blood may be ebbing, but the flood of money into the Iraq war is steadily rising, new analyses show.
In 2008, its sixth year, the war will cost approximately $12 billion a month, triple the "burn" rate of its earliest years, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and co-author Linda J. Bilmes report in a new book.
Meanwhile, we have crumbling infrastruture, out of control prices due to all this increased debt and increasing numbers of people without health insurance.
We are borrowing principally from China to finance this war on Iraq which is being used by Al Quaeda to recruit and to blead us dry just like they did the Russians. McCain says we could be there another 100 years.
In 2008, its sixth year, the war will cost approximately $12 billion a month, triple the "burn" rate of its earliest years, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and co-author Linda J. Bilmes report in a new book.
Meanwhile, we have crumbling infrastruture, out of control prices due to all this increased debt and increasing numbers of people without health insurance.
We are borrowing principally from China to finance this war on Iraq which is being used by Al Quaeda to recruit and to blead us dry just like they did the Russians. McCain says we could be there another 100 years.
USA, Russia, China and Nazi Germany
The NSA traditionally handles foreign surveillance, but it's now involved in analyzing huge amounts of data that it gets from several different domestic agencies to seek out suspicious patterns.
The NSA uses powerful programs to analyze basic data from e-mail, Internet searches, airlines, telephone records, and financial information. As much as the agency can claim it's focused on foreign threats, the truth is that it's increasingly difficult to distinguish between domestic and international communications in a digital era.
The NSA doesn't need a judge's permission to gather the data and carry out the type of analysis that gives the agency the power to build a detailed profile of someone's behavior. It's all in the name of national security, just like Nazi Germany, Russia and China.
The NSA uses powerful programs to analyze basic data from e-mail, Internet searches, airlines, telephone records, and financial information. As much as the agency can claim it's focused on foreign threats, the truth is that it's increasingly difficult to distinguish between domestic and international communications in a digital era.
The NSA doesn't need a judge's permission to gather the data and carry out the type of analysis that gives the agency the power to build a detailed profile of someone's behavior. It's all in the name of national security, just like Nazi Germany, Russia and China.
100 year republican war
Darth Vadar, Dick Cheney, is going to the middle east. Meanwhile, five U.S. soldiers were killed and three others wounded in a bomb blast in central Baghdad in this Republican War on Iraq on Monday, the U.S. military said, in the worst single attack on U.S. forces in Baghdad in months, AND nobody cares anymore. McCain said it could continue up to 100 years.
09 March, 2008
cost of Republican war on Iraq
In 2008, its sixth year, the war will cost approximately $12 billion a month, triple the "burn" rate of its earliest years, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and co-author Linda J. Bilmes report in a new book.
Beyond 2008, working with "best-case" and "realistic-moderate" scenarios, they project the Iraq and Afghan wars, including long-term U.S. military occupations of those countries, will cost the U.S. budget between $1.7 trillion and $2.7 trillion _ or more _ by 2017.Interest on money borrowed to pay those costs could alone add $816 billion to that bottom line, they say. All this does not include the cost of taking care of all the wounded for years to come.
Also, no one has tried to calculate the economic damage done to Iraq, said spokesman Niels Buenemann of the International Monetary Fund, which closely tracks national economies. But millions of Iraqis have been left without jobs, and hundreds of thousands of professionals, managers and other middle-class citizens have fled the country.
Beyond 2008, working with "best-case" and "realistic-moderate" scenarios, they project the Iraq and Afghan wars, including long-term U.S. military occupations of those countries, will cost the U.S. budget between $1.7 trillion and $2.7 trillion _ or more _ by 2017.Interest on money borrowed to pay those costs could alone add $816 billion to that bottom line, they say. All this does not include the cost of taking care of all the wounded for years to come.
Also, no one has tried to calculate the economic damage done to Iraq, said spokesman Niels Buenemann of the International Monetary Fund, which closely tracks national economies. But millions of Iraqis have been left without jobs, and hundreds of thousands of professionals, managers and other middle-class citizens have fled the country.
republican insiders tell on each other about lies for iraq war
Did you know about Bush's declaration, at a Dec. 18, 2002, National Security Council meeting, that "war is inevitable?" The statement came weeks before U.N. weapons inspectors reported their initial findings on Iraq and months before Bush delivered an ultimatum to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Feith, who says he took notes at the meeting, registered it as a "momentous comment."
Did you know that Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national security adviser during most of Feith's time in office, failed in her primary task of coordinating policy on the war?
Did you know that there was widespread skepticism inside the top of the U.S. military about invading Iraq, with some generals arguing that doing so would distract attention from the war against global terrorists? ( exactly what happened.)
Did you know a war architect, then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz, contended that Iraq would be able to pay for its reconstruction with oil revenue. (what a lie that one was)
Did you know that both the CIA and Powell, who outlined the weapons case in a February 2003 speech at the United Nations, lied about the magnitude of the threat of Sadaam? A crucial role was also played in statements from Cheney and Rice, about the imminence of "mushroom clouds" emanating from Iraqi nuclear weapons, a case for the administration"s war on Iraq that had already been decided.
Did you know that Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national security adviser during most of Feith's time in office, failed in her primary task of coordinating policy on the war?
Did you know that there was widespread skepticism inside the top of the U.S. military about invading Iraq, with some generals arguing that doing so would distract attention from the war against global terrorists? ( exactly what happened.)
Did you know a war architect, then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz, contended that Iraq would be able to pay for its reconstruction with oil revenue. (what a lie that one was)
Did you know that both the CIA and Powell, who outlined the weapons case in a February 2003 speech at the United Nations, lied about the magnitude of the threat of Sadaam? A crucial role was also played in statements from Cheney and Rice, about the imminence of "mushroom clouds" emanating from Iraqi nuclear weapons, a case for the administration"s war on Iraq that had already been decided.
08 March, 2008
McCain to speak at secret right-wing group
Usually, political groups trip over one another to try and gain public notoriety and attention. The Council for National Policy, meanwhile, would be perfectly happy if the public didn’t even know it exists.
The CNP is made up of many heavy-hitters from the religious right and conservative movement in general, and they meet periodically to plot and scheme. It may sound excessively cloak-and-dagger of the group, but the CNP has a list of formal rules, one of which reads, "The media should not know when or where we meet or who takes part in our programs, before or after a meeting.”
The CNP is made up of many heavy-hitters from the religious right and conservative movement in general, and they meet periodically to plot and scheme. It may sound excessively cloak-and-dagger of the group, but the CNP has a list of formal rules, one of which reads, "The media should not know when or where we meet or who takes part in our programs, before or after a meeting.”
07 March, 2008
republicans destroying our economy
The economy shed 63,000 jobs in February, the government said on Friday, the fastest falloff in five years and the strongest evidence yet that the nation is headed toward — or may already be in — a recession.
“Had the 450,000 people who left the labor force last month been counted among the unemployed, the jobless rate would have been 5.1 percent instead of 4.8 percent,” said Mr. Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute.
“Had the 450,000 people who left the labor force last month been counted among the unemployed, the jobless rate would have been 5.1 percent instead of 4.8 percent,” said Mr. Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute.
05 March, 2008
torutre US style
read today: Torture is not a new phenomenon. Just ask the Memphis police officers who beat me forty years ago. Waterboarding? Racist cops Have Been Torturing Black Suspects for years.
more republican justice
What has soared is the cost for taxpayers -- $50 billion per year at the state level and an additional $5 billion at the federal level, according to the Pew study. Perhaps more than even the stunning one in 100 figure, these are the numbers that should shake people awake.
But regardless of all proof to the contrary, many Americans remain attached to the idea that prisons keep them safe. "We are jammed up in this situation right now because we have fallen in love with one of the most undocumented beliefs," California Sen. Don Perata said in 2007. "That somehow you get safer if you put more people in jail."
But regardless of all proof to the contrary, many Americans remain attached to the idea that prisons keep them safe. "We are jammed up in this situation right now because we have fallen in love with one of the most undocumented beliefs," California Sen. Don Perata said in 2007. "That somehow you get safer if you put more people in jail."
republican justice?
The Siegelman case makes it clear exactly what Bush, Rove, and the disgraced Bush flunky Alberto Gonzales intended by firing the eight Republican US Attorneys. These eight refused to politicize their office by falsely prosecuting Democrats in order to achieve a Rovian political agenda. Apparently, there were only eight honest persons among the 1,200 Republican US Attorneys.
Bush, Rove, and Gonzales had no problem with the other 1,192. Professors Donald Shields and John Cragan report that the Bush Justice Department has investigated seven times more Democratic than Republican officials.
Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Terry Butts said that justice in America today is about political agendas, "not about convicting real criminals." Butts said that Siegelman's attorneys and allies expect reprisals from the US Attorney's office and Alabama's Republican establishment.
Siegelman has been in prison for over a year. His appeal cannot move forward, because Judge Fuller's court has not produced a transcript of the trial needed for appeal. In other words, Republicans are preventing Siegelman from being released on appeal by a higher court.
Karl Rove refused to testify about the case before Congress.On February 25, 2008, Fox "News" gave Karl Rove airtime in which to deny the accusations and evidence against him, which he did.
The Department of Justice refuses to release Siegelman trial documents to Congress.
It won't even let Congress see what Leura Canary had to say to her bosses about the ethics challenges brought against her, which they swept under the carpet.
Siegelman's family home was broken into. Siegelman's attorney's office was broken into and ransacked. Jill Simpson's house had a mysterious "electrical fire" and her car was run off the road.
Bush, Rove, and Gonzales had no problem with the other 1,192. Professors Donald Shields and John Cragan report that the Bush Justice Department has investigated seven times more Democratic than Republican officials.
Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Terry Butts said that justice in America today is about political agendas, "not about convicting real criminals." Butts said that Siegelman's attorneys and allies expect reprisals from the US Attorney's office and Alabama's Republican establishment.
Siegelman has been in prison for over a year. His appeal cannot move forward, because Judge Fuller's court has not produced a transcript of the trial needed for appeal. In other words, Republicans are preventing Siegelman from being released on appeal by a higher court.
Karl Rove refused to testify about the case before Congress.On February 25, 2008, Fox "News" gave Karl Rove airtime in which to deny the accusations and evidence against him, which he did.
The Department of Justice refuses to release Siegelman trial documents to Congress.
It won't even let Congress see what Leura Canary had to say to her bosses about the ethics challenges brought against her, which they swept under the carpet.
Siegelman's family home was broken into. Siegelman's attorney's office was broken into and ransacked. Jill Simpson's house had a mysterious "electrical fire" and her car was run off the road.
28 February, 2008
McCain, a sham
From George Will, a right wing Republican: Although his campaign is run by lobbyists; and although his dealings with lobbyists have generated what he, when judging the behavior of others, calls corrupt appearances; and although he has profited from his manipulation of the taxpayer-funding system that is celebrated by reformers -- still, he probably is innocent of insincerity. Such is his towering moral vanity, he seems sincerely to consider it theoretically impossible for him to commit the offenses of appearances that he incessantly ascribes to others.
27 February, 2008
republican Cheney emails missing
When Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald wanted to find out what was going on inside Vice President Dick Cheney's office, the prosecutor in the CIA leak probe made a logical move. He dropped a grand jury subpoena on the White House for all the relevant e-mail.
One problem: Even though White House computer technicians hunted high and low, an entire week's worth of e-mail from Cheney's office was missing. The week, surprise-surprise, was Sept. 30, 2003, to Oct. 6, 2003, the opening days of the Justice Department's probe into whether anyone at the White House leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Oh, how convenient and coincidental?????
One problem: Even though White House computer technicians hunted high and low, an entire week's worth of e-mail from Cheney's office was missing. The week, surprise-surprise, was Sept. 30, 2003, to Oct. 6, 2003, the opening days of the Justice Department's probe into whether anyone at the White House leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Oh, how convenient and coincidental?????
Buckley, rest in peace
Born Nov. 24, 1925, in New York City, William Frank Buckley Jr. was the sixth of 10 children of a a multimillionaire with oil holdings in seven countries. The son spent his early childhood in France and England, in exclusive Roman Catholic schools. He died today.
Buckley spent a year as a low-level agent for the Central Intelligence Agency in Mexico, work he later dismissed as boring. He was one of the origianl neo-con conservatives.
The National Review, which he founded and controlled, defended the Vietnam War, opposed civil rights legislation and once declared that "the White community in the South is entitled to take such measures as are necessary to prevail.
Buckley spent a year as a low-level agent for the Central Intelligence Agency in Mexico, work he later dismissed as boring. He was one of the origianl neo-con conservatives.
The National Review, which he founded and controlled, defended the Vietnam War, opposed civil rights legislation and once declared that "the White community in the South is entitled to take such measures as are necessary to prevail.
24 February, 2008
another Republican scandal
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) used his position in Congress to influence a federal land-exchange deal, collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in payoffs, according to an indictment released yesterday. Renzi is one of the Arizona "co-chairs" of Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign
USA, renditions, torture, Romania
Read Today: According to the Romanian official: U.S. pilots routinely filed bogus flight plans, or none at all, and headed to undeclared destinations. C-130 Hercules cargo planes and other U.S. military aircraft arriving from Iraq regularly parked in a restricted area just off the runway, where they feigned technical trouble and sat under guard for days at a time — awaiting repairs that never occurred.
Three buildings on the military portion of the air base were strictly off-limits to Romanians but were frequented and controlled by the Americans. Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, former presidential security adviser Ioan Talpes said in an interview with the AP, had an arrangement with the CIA that gave the agency the right to use the base as needed.
Human rights advocates say renditions were the agency's way to outsource torture of prisoners to countries where it is permitted practice.
Detainees were subjected "to interrogation techniques tantamount to torture" and underscored "a permissive attitude on the part of the Romanian authorities. Romanian officials said the U.S. military has invested about $18 million in Mihail Kogalniceanu Airport, including a $4 million perimeter fence, a new hangar and road improvements. Romania has supported and provided troops for the U.S.-led campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.
President Bush and other administration officials have confirmed the existence of the rendition program but have not named the countries involved
Three buildings on the military portion of the air base were strictly off-limits to Romanians but were frequented and controlled by the Americans. Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, former presidential security adviser Ioan Talpes said in an interview with the AP, had an arrangement with the CIA that gave the agency the right to use the base as needed.
Human rights advocates say renditions were the agency's way to outsource torture of prisoners to countries where it is permitted practice.
Detainees were subjected "to interrogation techniques tantamount to torture" and underscored "a permissive attitude on the part of the Romanian authorities. Romanian officials said the U.S. military has invested about $18 million in Mihail Kogalniceanu Airport, including a $4 million perimeter fence, a new hangar and road improvements. Romania has supported and provided troops for the U.S.-led campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.
President Bush and other administration officials have confirmed the existence of the rendition program but have not named the countries involved
23 February, 2008
McCain, a hypocrite and liar
The Paxson deal, coming as McCain made his first run for the presidency, has posed a persistent problem for the senator. The deal raised embarrassing questions about his dealings with lobbyists at a time when he had assumed the role of an ethics champion and opponent of the influence of lobbyists.
The two letters he wrote to the FCC in 1999 while he was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee produced a rash of criticism and a written rebuke from the then-FCC chairman, who called McCain's intervention "highly unusual." McCain had repeatedly used Paxson's corporate jet for his campaign and accepted campaign contributions from the broadcaster and his law firm.
The two letters he wrote to the FCC in 1999 while he was chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee produced a rash of criticism and a written rebuke from the then-FCC chairman, who called McCain's intervention "highly unusual." McCain had repeatedly used Paxson's corporate jet for his campaign and accepted campaign contributions from the broadcaster and his law firm.
more on being afraid of republicans
Since they endorsed McCain in January despite knowing this story -- and the clear implications of hypocrisy on campaign finance reform, let alone the other implications -- the most likely conspiracy would be that they favor McCain in the election. But I don't think there is a conspiracy.
I think the far simpler answer is the correct one. The McCain campaign threatened and intimidated them as the Bush team has done on countless occasions and they gave in until someone else was about to release the story. The only thing worse than being bullied by Republicans is getting scooped by your competitors. Remember, republicans are the part of "swift boating."
I think the far simpler answer is the correct one. The McCain campaign threatened and intimidated them as the Bush team has done on countless occasions and they gave in until someone else was about to release the story. The only thing worse than being bullied by Republicans is getting scooped by your competitors. Remember, republicans are the part of "swift boating."
New York Times afraid of neocons
The John McCain-Vicki Iseman story is not the first article the New York Times has held back for political reasons. They have now done this on at least three occasions:
1. The original FISA story on how the Bush administration was not getting warrants for wiretaps inside the United States.
2. The original story in 2004 that showed Osama bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan, not Afghanistan.
3. The McCain-Iseman story.
We had James Risen, the writer of the first two stories on our show back in 2005 and he admitted that they held the Bin Laden story until after the 2004 election because the New York Times didn't want to "get caught up in the politics of it."
Another way of stating that is that they were afraid of being called the liberal media by Republicans. After decades of being chastised for being liberal, they have become gun-shy. In this McCain story, they also held off until they were about to outed by other news agencies as sitting on the story.
1. The original FISA story on how the Bush administration was not getting warrants for wiretaps inside the United States.
2. The original story in 2004 that showed Osama bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan, not Afghanistan.
3. The McCain-Iseman story.
We had James Risen, the writer of the first two stories on our show back in 2005 and he admitted that they held the Bin Laden story until after the 2004 election because the New York Times didn't want to "get caught up in the politics of it."
Another way of stating that is that they were afraid of being called the liberal media by Republicans. After decades of being chastised for being liberal, they have become gun-shy. In this McCain story, they also held off until they were about to outed by other news agencies as sitting on the story.
22 February, 2008
McCain helping lobbyist and getting perks
Just hours after the Times's story was posted, the McCain campaign issued a point-by-point response that depicted the letters as routine correspondence handled by his staff—and insisted that McCain had never even spoken with anybody from Paxson or Alcalde & Fay about the matter. "No representative of Paxson or Alcalde & Fay personally asked Senator McCain to send a letter to the FCC," the campaign said in a statement e-mailed to reporters.
But that flat claim seems to be contradicted by an impeccable source: McCain himself. "I was contacted by Mr. Paxson on this issue," McCain said in the Sept. 25, 2002, deposition obtained by NEWSWEEK. "He wanted their approval very bad for purposes of his business. I believe that Mr. Paxson had a legitimate complaint."
While McCain said "I don't recall" if he ever directly spoke to the firm's lobbyist about the issue—an apparent reference to Iseman, though she is not named—"I'm sure I spoke to [Paxson]." McCain agreed that his letters on behalf of Paxson, a campaign contributor, could "possibly be an appearance of corruption"—even though McCain denied doing anything improper.
McCain's subsequent letters to the FCC—coming around the same time that Paxson's firm was flying the senator to campaign events aboard its corporate jet and contributing $20,000 to his campaign—first surfaced as an issue during his unsuccessful 2000 presidential bid. William Kennard, the FCC chair at the time, described the sharply worded letters from McCain, then chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, as "highly unusual."
But that flat claim seems to be contradicted by an impeccable source: McCain himself. "I was contacted by Mr. Paxson on this issue," McCain said in the Sept. 25, 2002, deposition obtained by NEWSWEEK. "He wanted their approval very bad for purposes of his business. I believe that Mr. Paxson had a legitimate complaint."
While McCain said "I don't recall" if he ever directly spoke to the firm's lobbyist about the issue—an apparent reference to Iseman, though she is not named—"I'm sure I spoke to [Paxson]." McCain agreed that his letters on behalf of Paxson, a campaign contributor, could "possibly be an appearance of corruption"—even though McCain denied doing anything improper.
McCain's subsequent letters to the FCC—coming around the same time that Paxson's firm was flying the senator to campaign events aboard its corporate jet and contributing $20,000 to his campaign—first surfaced as an issue during his unsuccessful 2000 presidential bid. William Kennard, the FCC chair at the time, described the sharply worded letters from McCain, then chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, as "highly unusual."
McCain the Anti-lobbyist, yea right
when McCain huddled with his closest advisers at his rustic Arizona cabin last weekend to map out his presidential campaign, virtually every one was part of the Washington lobbying culture he has long decried. His campaign manager, Rick Davis, co-founded a lobbying firm whose clients have included Verizon and SBC Telecommunications. His chief political adviser, Charles R. Black Jr., is chairman of one of Washington's lobbying powerhouses, BKSH and Associates, which has represented AT&T, Alcoa, JPMorgan and U.S. Airways.
McCain latest
read today: "Those who really care about such things have known since at least 2000, and likely much earlier, that McCain does favors for campaign contributors, and has not always been the most faithful of husbands.
I care not at all about the latter; while the former is one of many constant, low-level irritants people like me experience when reading yet another newspaper editorial about what a saint the guy is."
I care not at all about the latter; while the former is one of many constant, low-level irritants people like me experience when reading yet another newspaper editorial about what a saint the guy is."
17 February, 2008
USA, a country that tortures people
U.S. officials have confirmed that the CIA's use of waterboarding required strapping the prisoners down and pouring water over their faces to make them fear that they were being drowned.
Experts on human rights abuses and torture say the approach is similar to the technique employed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, by the French in Algeria and, as recently as last year, by the dictatorship in Burma.
The use of cellophane in waterboarding is known as a "dry submarine," while the use of cloth dates back to the 1600s and is known as the "Dutch method." The "Dutch method" was also a favorite tactic used by police in the American South in the 1920s.
Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, said the administration's rationale has exposed Americans to risk of mistreatment by other countries. "If Iran or North Korea wanted a blueprint for how to torture an American prisoner without upsetting the Bush administration, they would just need to read what our government is admiting," Malinowski said.
Experts on human rights abuses and torture say the approach is similar to the technique employed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, by the French in Algeria and, as recently as last year, by the dictatorship in Burma.
The use of cellophane in waterboarding is known as a "dry submarine," while the use of cloth dates back to the 1600s and is known as the "Dutch method." The "Dutch method" was also a favorite tactic used by police in the American South in the 1920s.
Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, said the administration's rationale has exposed Americans to risk of mistreatment by other countries. "If Iran or North Korea wanted a blueprint for how to torture an American prisoner without upsetting the Bush administration, they would just need to read what our government is admiting," Malinowski said.
16 February, 2008
trust the Republicans
A report in 2006 by the Justice Department inspector general found more than 100 violations of federal wiretap laws.
In the warrantless wiretapping program approved by President Bush after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, officials at the National Security Agency on some occasions monitored communications entirely within the United States in apparent violation of the program’s protocols.
Past violations by the government have also included continuing a wiretap for days or weeks beyond what was authorized by a court, or seeking records beyond what were authorized.
How do we know what they do with all these documents when problems like these are numerous? Trust us, they say. Do you trust these Republicans to obey the law?
In the warrantless wiretapping program approved by President Bush after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, officials at the National Security Agency on some occasions monitored communications entirely within the United States in apparent violation of the program’s protocols.
Past violations by the government have also included continuing a wiretap for days or weeks beyond what was authorized by a court, or seeking records beyond what were authorized.
How do we know what they do with all these documents when problems like these are numerous? Trust us, they say. Do you trust these Republicans to obey the law?
thank you republican John McCain
The John McCain we fell in love with in 2000 -- the straight-shooting, let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may maverick -- is no more. Here is just a few of the many flip flops (say and do anything):
He's been replaced by a born-again Bushite willing to say or do anything to win the affection of his new-found object of desire, the radical right. For example, on tape we now hear McCain singing the praises of Karl Rove, calling him "one of the smartest political minds in America," and saying, "I'd be glad to get his advice."
The old John McCain once called Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and the like-minded religious bigots and agents of intolerance. The new John McCain now slavishly seeks their endorsement.
The old John McCain talked about trying to do something about global warming and encourage renewable energy. The new John McCain didn't show up for the vote on a bill that included tax incentives for clean energy, even though he was in DC. And then his staff misled environmentalists who called to protest by telling them that he had voted for it.
The new John McCain is now essentially running to give America a third Bush term -- and, indeed, will even out-Bush Bush when it comes to staying the disastrous course we're on in Iraq.
If you love George Bush, and all that he's brought you over the last seven years, you're gonna love John McCain.. If you think the problem with the United States right now is that we haven't given Bush enough time to finish his agenda, then John McCain is your man.
To think we voted for him, but that was when he was the old McCain. We didn't know he was such a flip-flopper. We are glad he has revealed his true self. Thank you John.
He's been replaced by a born-again Bushite willing to say or do anything to win the affection of his new-found object of desire, the radical right. For example, on tape we now hear McCain singing the praises of Karl Rove, calling him "one of the smartest political minds in America," and saying, "I'd be glad to get his advice."
The old John McCain once called Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and the like-minded religious bigots and agents of intolerance. The new John McCain now slavishly seeks their endorsement.
The old John McCain talked about trying to do something about global warming and encourage renewable energy. The new John McCain didn't show up for the vote on a bill that included tax incentives for clean energy, even though he was in DC. And then his staff misled environmentalists who called to protest by telling them that he had voted for it.
The new John McCain is now essentially running to give America a third Bush term -- and, indeed, will even out-Bush Bush when it comes to staying the disastrous course we're on in Iraq.
If you love George Bush, and all that he's brought you over the last seven years, you're gonna love John McCain.. If you think the problem with the United States right now is that we haven't given Bush enough time to finish his agenda, then John McCain is your man.
To think we voted for him, but that was when he was the old McCain. We didn't know he was such a flip-flopper. We are glad he has revealed his true self. Thank you John.
15 February, 2008
Infraguard Spy Ring to spy on US Society
The Surveillance-Industrial Complex: How the American Government Is Conscripting Businesses and Individuals in the Construction of a Surveillance Society. See http://www.infragard.net
The FBI has a new set of eyes and ears, and they're being told to protect their infrastructure at any cost. They can even kill without repercussion. Today, more than 23,000 representatives of private industry are working quietly with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
The members of this rapidly growing group, called InfraGard, receive secret warnings of terrorist threats before the public does -- and, at least on one occasion, before elected officials.
In return, they provide information to the government, which alarms the ACLU. But there may be more to it than that.
One business executive, who showed his InfraGard card, said that they have permission to "shoot to kill" in the event of martial law. InfraGard is "a child of the FBI," says Michael Hershman, the chairman of the advisory board of the InfraGard National Members Alliance and CEO of the Fairfax Group, an international consulting firm.
In November 2001, InfraGard had around 1,700 members. As of late January, InfraGard had 23,682 members, according to its website, www.infragard.net, which adds that "350 of our nation's Fortune 500 have a representative in InfraGard."
The FBI has a new set of eyes and ears, and they're being told to protect their infrastructure at any cost. They can even kill without repercussion. Today, more than 23,000 representatives of private industry are working quietly with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
The members of this rapidly growing group, called InfraGard, receive secret warnings of terrorist threats before the public does -- and, at least on one occasion, before elected officials.
In return, they provide information to the government, which alarms the ACLU. But there may be more to it than that.
One business executive, who showed his InfraGard card, said that they have permission to "shoot to kill" in the event of martial law. InfraGard is "a child of the FBI," says Michael Hershman, the chairman of the advisory board of the InfraGard National Members Alliance and CEO of the Fairfax Group, an international consulting firm.
In November 2001, InfraGard had around 1,700 members. As of late January, InfraGard had 23,682 members, according to its website, www.infragard.net, which adds that "350 of our nation's Fortune 500 have a representative in InfraGard."
14 February, 2008
another Republican ripoff
Retired U.S. Army Gen. Tommy Franks,a republican, who led the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, was paid $100,000 to endorse a veterans charity that watchdog groups say is ripping off donors and wounded veterans by using only a small portion of the money raised for veterans services, according to testimony in Congress today.
Franks has since disassociated himself from Chapin's charities and asked that his name be removed from the solicitation. . We understand he developed misgivings and asked that his name be taken off," Congressman Waxman said.
Franks has since disassociated himself from Chapin's charities and asked that his name be removed from the solicitation. . We understand he developed misgivings and asked that his name be taken off," Congressman Waxman said.
12 February, 2008
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib
Heard last evening: General Geoffrey Miller took torture techniques develped from Gitmo to Abu Ghraib. Later he was honored by the Pentagon. Sec. of Defense Rumsfeld and General Rick Sanchez were in charge.
Also, the CIA covered up at least one murder. Psychological torture is the most difficult from which to recover. A Lt. Col. Jordan was mentioned. Approvals for torture likely came all the way from the White House. In the long term, torturing others justifies others torturing us, not to mention it also separates us from allies we need in the real war on 9/11 terroists which were not even in Iraq when we invaded.
Also, the CIA covered up at least one murder. Psychological torture is the most difficult from which to recover. A Lt. Col. Jordan was mentioned. Approvals for torture likely came all the way from the White House. In the long term, torturing others justifies others torturing us, not to mention it also separates us from allies we need in the real war on 9/11 terroists which were not even in Iraq when we invaded.
11 February, 2008
McCain, the new Bush
In the News: McCain and his up to 100 year war is the new Bushie. He will be charged with continuing the Bush foreign and domestic policies that with finish ruining our country.
10 February, 2008
Reagan like current Republicans
Republicans are entitled to their opinions no matter how distorted. They are not entitled to lie about the facts IMHO. They continue to deify Ronald Regean all the while denouncing others that advoate much of what Reagan actually did.
Here are just a few examples:
1. He "cut and ran" (as they like to call it now, about getting out of a 100 year war on Iraq) when he scurried out of Lebanon when militants destroyed the Marine barracks,
2. He later sold weapons to the regime in Iran,
3. He doubled Federal spending during his presidency, and
4. He raised the annual federal deficit from $73 billion to $153 billion.
THOSE ARE THE FACTS. THE FACTS. THE FACTS.
You see he was much like the Current Republicans, say one thing to cover doing the opposite. Hypocrites all.
Here are just a few examples:
1. He "cut and ran" (as they like to call it now, about getting out of a 100 year war on Iraq) when he scurried out of Lebanon when militants destroyed the Marine barracks,
2. He later sold weapons to the regime in Iran,
3. He doubled Federal spending during his presidency, and
4. He raised the annual federal deficit from $73 billion to $153 billion.
THOSE ARE THE FACTS. THE FACTS. THE FACTS.
You see he was much like the Current Republicans, say one thing to cover doing the opposite. Hypocrites all.
09 February, 2008
republicans-- more phony talk, no action
President Bush drew great applause during his State of the Union address last month when he called on Congress to allow U.S. troops to transfer their unused education benefits to family members. "Our military families serve our nation, they inspire our nation, and tonight our nation honors them," he said.
A week later, however, when Bush submitted his $3.1 trillion federal budget to Congress, he included no funding for such an initiative, which government analysts calculate could cost $1 billion to $2 billion annually.
A week later, however, when Bush submitted his $3.1 trillion federal budget to Congress, he included no funding for such an initiative, which government analysts calculate could cost $1 billion to $2 billion annually.
unity is unhealthy for freedom
Would it have been possible to design a government that fostered unity? That dream could indeed have been achieved, Madison explained, by summarily outlawing factions, but the cost would have been freedom itself. "Liberty is to faction," he wrote, "what air is to fire. . . . But it could not be less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air."
What Obama and others, captivated by the notion of unity, could reasonably promise is not national unity but simply unity within the Democratic Party or within the Republican Party. For Republicans and Democrats do not and should not agree. Different, competing visions of the public good are the lifeblood of a dynamic and open democracy. They strengthen our democracy, engage citizens in meaningful political debate and keep us awake.
When tumult is absent, when everyone in a state is tranquil, Machiavelli wrote, "we can be sure that it is not a republic." Out of unity, Obama believes, change will somehow emerge. But only insignificant or incremental changes can come out of the compromises that are reached through consensus. Transformational change, on the other hand, is the product of conflict and polarization.
It may be comforting to believe that consensus and unity are somehow healthier, more noble, less disruptive and destructive than sharp partisan battles. But it is the rough-and-tumble game of adversarial politics that preserves our freedom. Three cheers for disunity!
What Obama and others, captivated by the notion of unity, could reasonably promise is not national unity but simply unity within the Democratic Party or within the Republican Party. For Republicans and Democrats do not and should not agree. Different, competing visions of the public good are the lifeblood of a dynamic and open democracy. They strengthen our democracy, engage citizens in meaningful political debate and keep us awake.
When tumult is absent, when everyone in a state is tranquil, Machiavelli wrote, "we can be sure that it is not a republic." Out of unity, Obama believes, change will somehow emerge. But only insignificant or incremental changes can come out of the compromises that are reached through consensus. Transformational change, on the other hand, is the product of conflict and polarization.
It may be comforting to believe that consensus and unity are somehow healthier, more noble, less disruptive and destructive than sharp partisan battles. But it is the rough-and-tumble game of adversarial politics that preserves our freedom. Three cheers for disunity!
08 February, 2008
republicans are victims of own propoganda
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Friday that many Europeans were confused about NATO’s security mission in Afghanistan, and that they did not support the alliance effort because they opposed the American-led invasion of Iraq.
“I worry that for many Europeans the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan are confused,” Mr. Gates said as he flew here to deliver an address at an international security conference.
Well why not. These Republicans have been claiming here at home that making war on Iraq is the same war as the war in Afghanistan which it is not and never has been.
“I worry that for many Europeans the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan are confused,” Mr. Gates said as he flew here to deliver an address at an international security conference.
Well why not. These Republicans have been claiming here at home that making war on Iraq is the same war as the war in Afghanistan which it is not and never has been.
05 February, 2008
John Mc Who
John Mc Cain--McBush will be the same old political game, just more of the same, another Bushie.
04 February, 2008
more republican scandals
Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson demanded that the Philadelphia Housing Authority transfer a $2 million public property to a developer at a substantial discount, then retaliated against the housing authority when it refused to do so, a recent court filing alleges.
The developer, Kenny Gamble, spoke about self-reliance at the Republican National Convention. He and his company have donated regularly to the state's GOP senator, Arlen Specter, records show.
The developer, Kenny Gamble, spoke about self-reliance at the Republican National Convention. He and his company have donated regularly to the state's GOP senator, Arlen Specter, records show.
03 February, 2008
Fox-organ of the Republican Party
REad today:
A) CNN's resurgence as the go-to cable destination for election coverage.
B) The incredible shrinking candidacy of Fox News' favored son, Rudy Giuliani.
C) The still-standing candidacy of Fox News nemesis and well-funded, anti-war GOP candidate Rep. Ron Paul.
D) The Democratic candidates' blanket refusal to debate on Fox News during the primary season.
E) Host Bill O'Reilly being so desperate for an interview from a Democratic contender that he had to schlep all the way to New Hampshire, where he shoved an aide to Sen. Barack Obama and then had to be calmed down by Secret Service agents.
F) Former Fox News architect and Ailes confidante Dan Cooper posting chapters from his a wildly unflattering tell-all book about his old boss. ("The best thing that ever happened to Roger Ailes was 9/11.")
G) The fledgling Fox Business Network, whose anemic ratings are in danger of being surpassed by some large city public access channels.
H) Host John Gibson's recent heartless attacks on actor Heath Ledger, just hours after the young actor was found dead.
I) Fox News reporter Major Garrett botching his "exclusive" that Paul Begala and James Carville were going to join Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign
Fox News is nothing more than a Republican mouthpiece and Democrats need not engage with the News Corp. giant. From losing the election ratings race to CNN, to watching its favored son Rudy Giuliani fizzle in the primaries, Fox News is in for a bad year.
After all, Sean Hannity served as Fox News' official ambassador to the Giuliani campaign; a campaign that Ailes and Fox News were hoping to ride back into the White House. Yet despite showering Giuliani with all kinds of laudatory coverage, both Hannity and Ailes have been powerless.
Don't even mention Ron Paul's name to the folks at Fox News, who have stepped outside their role as journalists to try to kneecap the anti-war GOP candidate.
The most blatant slap came right before the New Hampshire primary, when Fox News refused to include Paul in a televised GOP debate, despite the fact that just days earlier Paul grabbed 10 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucus, nearly doubling the tally Giuliani posted.
Paul's Republican supporters became so incensed by the snub that they literally chased Sean Hannity through the New Hampshire night chanting "Fox News sucks!" and captured the scene in a homemade clip that really has to be seen to be believed.
To recap New Hampshire for Fox News: Hannity was pursued by a Republican mob, O'Reilly got into a shoving match with an Obama aide, and CNN grabbed more viewers. Now that's a week to remember!
A) CNN's resurgence as the go-to cable destination for election coverage.
B) The incredible shrinking candidacy of Fox News' favored son, Rudy Giuliani.
C) The still-standing candidacy of Fox News nemesis and well-funded, anti-war GOP candidate Rep. Ron Paul.
D) The Democratic candidates' blanket refusal to debate on Fox News during the primary season.
E) Host Bill O'Reilly being so desperate for an interview from a Democratic contender that he had to schlep all the way to New Hampshire, where he shoved an aide to Sen. Barack Obama and then had to be calmed down by Secret Service agents.
F) Former Fox News architect and Ailes confidante Dan Cooper posting chapters from his a wildly unflattering tell-all book about his old boss. ("The best thing that ever happened to Roger Ailes was 9/11.")
G) The fledgling Fox Business Network, whose anemic ratings are in danger of being surpassed by some large city public access channels.
H) Host John Gibson's recent heartless attacks on actor Heath Ledger, just hours after the young actor was found dead.
I) Fox News reporter Major Garrett botching his "exclusive" that Paul Begala and James Carville were going to join Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign
Fox News is nothing more than a Republican mouthpiece and Democrats need not engage with the News Corp. giant. From losing the election ratings race to CNN, to watching its favored son Rudy Giuliani fizzle in the primaries, Fox News is in for a bad year.
After all, Sean Hannity served as Fox News' official ambassador to the Giuliani campaign; a campaign that Ailes and Fox News were hoping to ride back into the White House. Yet despite showering Giuliani with all kinds of laudatory coverage, both Hannity and Ailes have been powerless.
Don't even mention Ron Paul's name to the folks at Fox News, who have stepped outside their role as journalists to try to kneecap the anti-war GOP candidate.
The most blatant slap came right before the New Hampshire primary, when Fox News refused to include Paul in a televised GOP debate, despite the fact that just days earlier Paul grabbed 10 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucus, nearly doubling the tally Giuliani posted.
Paul's Republican supporters became so incensed by the snub that they literally chased Sean Hannity through the New Hampshire night chanting "Fox News sucks!" and captured the scene in a homemade clip that really has to be seen to be believed.
To recap New Hampshire for Fox News: Hannity was pursued by a Republican mob, O'Reilly got into a shoving match with an Obama aide, and CNN grabbed more viewers. Now that's a week to remember!
02 February, 2008
Republicans not for workers
The manufacturing sector -- a sign of national economic might -- has lost 269,000 jobs over the past 12 months, and 28,000 jobs in January alone. Manufacturing employment now accounts for less than 10 percent of the job market for the first time since data began being collected in the 1930s.
The economic storm clouds burst open yesterday with news that the economy shed 17,000 jobs in January, and the clearest sign yet that the economy may be in a recession.
This isn't a random event. This is the culmination of a bunch of disturbing trends we've seen in seven years. Stagnant incomes, rising costs in energy and food, and little to no personal savings have left families with no margin of error.
The economic storm clouds burst open yesterday with news that the economy shed 17,000 jobs in January, and the clearest sign yet that the economy may be in a recession.
This isn't a random event. This is the culmination of a bunch of disturbing trends we've seen in seven years. Stagnant incomes, rising costs in energy and food, and little to no personal savings have left families with no margin of error.
29 January, 2008
Republican Failure at our expense
President Bush's legacy will be assessed by many measures, most notably the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But by his own standards set at the start of his time in office, the president has failed to live up to either the tone or the results he promised.
In his final State of the Union address, Bush lays out a modest agenda—but only wants it on his own terms. But by his own standards set at the start of his time in office, the president has failed to live up to either the tone or the results he promised.
Contentiousness might explain why the president rapidly pivoted to putting pressure on Democrats to fall in line with the modest agenda of his final year in office. Instead of offering ground for cooperation, the president continued the pattern he set in the earliest months of his presidency: to insist on cooperation only on his terms.
He leaves to his successor a terrorist challenge, and a WMD threat, that is far more complex than he could ever have imagined in February 2001, AND the economy in a shambles.
In his final State of the Union address, Bush lays out a modest agenda—but only wants it on his own terms. But by his own standards set at the start of his time in office, the president has failed to live up to either the tone or the results he promised.
Contentiousness might explain why the president rapidly pivoted to putting pressure on Democrats to fall in line with the modest agenda of his final year in office. Instead of offering ground for cooperation, the president continued the pattern he set in the earliest months of his presidency: to insist on cooperation only on his terms.
He leaves to his successor a terrorist challenge, and a WMD threat, that is far more complex than he could ever have imagined in February 2001, AND the economy in a shambles.
23 January, 2008
capitalism rigged for fat cats
No one can have watched the "subprime mortgage" debacle without noticing the absurd contrast between the magnitude of the failure and the lavish rewards heaped on those who presided over it. At Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, large losses on subprime securities cost chief executives their jobs -- and they left with multimillion-dollar pay packages. Stanley O'Neal, the ex-head of Merrill, received an estimated $161 million.
Everyday Americans will conclude (rightly) that this brand of capitalism is rigged in favor of the privileged few. It's not as if these CEOs weren't compensated in all those years.
If you leave your company a shambles -- with losses to be absorbed by lower-level employees, some of whom will be fired, and shareholders -- do you deserve a gold-plated send-off? Still, the more serious problem transcends the high pay itself and goes to the wider consequences for the economy.
Wall Street's pay practices perversely encourage extreme risk-taking that can destabilize the economy. Subprime mortgage losses may simply be chapter one. Now there are signs of problems involving securities known as "credit default swaps." Never mind the details. Concentrate on the possible fallout.
If banks and investment houses sustain more losses, the nation's credit system will be further wounded and so will the economy. The Federal Reserve cut its key overnight interest rate yesterday from 4.25 percent to 3.5 percent -- a huge move -- in part to shore up this wobbly credit system. ANd they will be bailed out by our money.
Everyday Americans will conclude (rightly) that this brand of capitalism is rigged in favor of the privileged few. It's not as if these CEOs weren't compensated in all those years.
If you leave your company a shambles -- with losses to be absorbed by lower-level employees, some of whom will be fired, and shareholders -- do you deserve a gold-plated send-off? Still, the more serious problem transcends the high pay itself and goes to the wider consequences for the economy.
Wall Street's pay practices perversely encourage extreme risk-taking that can destabilize the economy. Subprime mortgage losses may simply be chapter one. Now there are signs of problems involving securities known as "credit default swaps." Never mind the details. Concentrate on the possible fallout.
If banks and investment houses sustain more losses, the nation's credit system will be further wounded and so will the economy. The Federal Reserve cut its key overnight interest rate yesterday from 4.25 percent to 3.5 percent -- a huge move -- in part to shore up this wobbly credit system. ANd they will be bailed out by our money.
11 January, 2008
another republican under investigation
"My wife, Julie, and I have made this decision after much prayer and deliberation," Doolittle said in a written statement. "It was not my initial intent to retire, and I fully expected and planned to run again right up until very recently." They all turn to "prayer' when caught.
Doolittle made no mention of the Justice Department investigation, explaining only that "we were ready for a change after spending almost our entire married lives with me in public service." What a hypocrite and an idiot if he thinks we believe that.
The Doolittles have been under investigation since 2004 in connection with luxury trips, campaign contributions and employment for Julie Doolittle provided by Abramoff and other lobbyists.
Doolittle made no mention of the Justice Department investigation, explaining only that "we were ready for a change after spending almost our entire married lives with me in public service." What a hypocrite and an idiot if he thinks we believe that.
The Doolittles have been under investigation since 2004 in connection with luxury trips, campaign contributions and employment for Julie Doolittle provided by Abramoff and other lobbyists.
get voting registration forms
Please copy the website < www.govote.com > into your browser and get the form to send in to your state that registers you to vote.
08 January, 2008
CIA actions contributed to 9/11
The Central Intelligence Agency has an almost unblemished record of screwing up every 'secret' armed intervention it ever undertook.
From the overthrow of the Iranian government in 1953 through the rape of Guatemala in 1954, the Bay of Pigs, the failed attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro of Cuba and Patrice Lumumba of the Congo, the Phoenix Program in Vietnam, the 'secret war' in Laos, aid to the Greek Colonels who seized power in 1967, the 1973 killing of President Allende in Chile, and Ronald Reagan's Iran-Contra war against Nicaragua, there is not a single instance in which the Agency's activities did not prove acutely embarrassing to the United States and devastating to the people being 'liberated.'
The CIA continues to get away with this bungling primarily because its budget and operations have always been secret and Congress is normally too indifferent to its Constitutional functions to rein in a rogue bureaucracy.
The tens of thousands of fanatical Muslim fundamentalists the CIA armed are the same people who in 1996 killed nineteen American airmen at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, bombed our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, blew a hole in the side of the USS Cole in Aden Harbor in 2000, and on September 11, 2001, flew hijacked airliners into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon."
From the overthrow of the Iranian government in 1953 through the rape of Guatemala in 1954, the Bay of Pigs, the failed attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro of Cuba and Patrice Lumumba of the Congo, the Phoenix Program in Vietnam, the 'secret war' in Laos, aid to the Greek Colonels who seized power in 1967, the 1973 killing of President Allende in Chile, and Ronald Reagan's Iran-Contra war against Nicaragua, there is not a single instance in which the Agency's activities did not prove acutely embarrassing to the United States and devastating to the people being 'liberated.'
The CIA continues to get away with this bungling primarily because its budget and operations have always been secret and Congress is normally too indifferent to its Constitutional functions to rein in a rogue bureaucracy.
The tens of thousands of fanatical Muslim fundamentalists the CIA armed are the same people who in 1996 killed nineteen American airmen at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, bombed our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, blew a hole in the side of the USS Cole in Aden Harbor in 2000, and on September 11, 2001, flew hijacked airliners into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon."
07 January, 2008
Republican impact on our country, what we need
Best read today: "When people say they want to kill us, we would be fools not to take them at their word. Still, we have had an overdose of fear in recent times.
We have been told to be afraid so that we might be less protective of our Constitution, less mindful of international law, less respectful toward allies, less discerning in our search for truth and less rigorous in questioning what our leaders tell us.
We have been exhorted by the White House to embrace a culture of fear that has driven and narrowed our foreign policy while poisoning our ability to communicate effectively with others.
One manifestation of fear is an unwillingness to think seriously about alternative perspectives. America's standing in the world has been in free fall these past few years because our country is perceived as trying to impose its own reality -- to fashion a world that is safe and comfortable for us with little regard for the views of anyone else.
I love America deeply and I believe our country is still the best in the world, but I also believe we have developed a dangerous lack of self-awareness. No nukes, we say, while possessing the world's largest arsenal. Respect the law, we demand, while disregarding the Geneva Conventions.
You're with us or against us, we declare, while ignoring the impact of our actions on Turkey and the Middle East. Hands off Iraq, we warn, while our troops occupy Baghdad. Beware China's military, we cry, while spending as much on defense as the rest of the world combined. Honor the future, we preach, while going AWOL on climate change.
We need to do a better job of seeing ourselves as others do. It strikes the world as ludicrous that we -- with all our wealth and power -- seem so afraid of terrorists, rogue states, illegal immigrants and foreign economic competition.
People put themselves in our shoes and expect us to act with confidence, and so we should, but true confidence is shown by a willingness to enter into difficult debates, answer criticism, treat others with respect and do our share or more in tackling global problems. Confidence harnessed to purpose is what America at its best has been all about.
We are 4 percent of a planet that is half Asian, half poor, one-third Muslim and by and large far more familiar with recent American actions than with our country's past accomplishments.
To many, the Bush republican administration is America. Our reputation is in disrepair. We will not recover by acting out of fear but by educating ourselves about the world around us, learning foreign languages, appreciating other faiths, studying the many dimensions of historical truth, harnessing modern technology to constructive ends and looking beyond simplistic notions of evil and good.
We have been told to be afraid so that we might be less protective of our Constitution, less mindful of international law, less respectful toward allies, less discerning in our search for truth and less rigorous in questioning what our leaders tell us.
We have been exhorted by the White House to embrace a culture of fear that has driven and narrowed our foreign policy while poisoning our ability to communicate effectively with others.
One manifestation of fear is an unwillingness to think seriously about alternative perspectives. America's standing in the world has been in free fall these past few years because our country is perceived as trying to impose its own reality -- to fashion a world that is safe and comfortable for us with little regard for the views of anyone else.
I love America deeply and I believe our country is still the best in the world, but I also believe we have developed a dangerous lack of self-awareness. No nukes, we say, while possessing the world's largest arsenal. Respect the law, we demand, while disregarding the Geneva Conventions.
You're with us or against us, we declare, while ignoring the impact of our actions on Turkey and the Middle East. Hands off Iraq, we warn, while our troops occupy Baghdad. Beware China's military, we cry, while spending as much on defense as the rest of the world combined. Honor the future, we preach, while going AWOL on climate change.
We need to do a better job of seeing ourselves as others do. It strikes the world as ludicrous that we -- with all our wealth and power -- seem so afraid of terrorists, rogue states, illegal immigrants and foreign economic competition.
People put themselves in our shoes and expect us to act with confidence, and so we should, but true confidence is shown by a willingness to enter into difficult debates, answer criticism, treat others with respect and do our share or more in tackling global problems. Confidence harnessed to purpose is what America at its best has been all about.
We are 4 percent of a planet that is half Asian, half poor, one-third Muslim and by and large far more familiar with recent American actions than with our country's past accomplishments.
To many, the Bush republican administration is America. Our reputation is in disrepair. We will not recover by acting out of fear but by educating ourselves about the world around us, learning foreign languages, appreciating other faiths, studying the many dimensions of historical truth, harnessing modern technology to constructive ends and looking beyond simplistic notions of evil and good.
06 January, 2008
republicans worst in history
A number of eminent historians have in fact already reached the judgment that the current Republican administration will be judged as a failure and dangerous for America , based, among other things, on the strategic disaster of the Iraq war; the squandering of Washington's overseas image as a champion of international law and human rights; the defiance of constitutional safeguards at home; the politicization of the system of justice; and the distortion of scientific research regarding global warming and other critical issues.
05 January, 2008
foreign policty should be ...
The basic moral principle underpinning a non-interventionist foreign policy is that of rejecting the initiation of force against others.
It is based on non-violence and friendship unless attacked, self-determination, and self-defense while avoiding confrontation, even when we disagree with the way other countries run their affairs.
It simply means that we should mind our own business and not be influenced by special interests that have an ax to grind or benefits to gain by controlling our foreign policy.
Manipulating our country into conflicts that are none of our business and unrelated to national security provides no benefits to us, while exposing us to great risks financially and militarily.
It is based on non-violence and friendship unless attacked, self-determination, and self-defense while avoiding confrontation, even when we disagree with the way other countries run their affairs.
It simply means that we should mind our own business and not be influenced by special interests that have an ax to grind or benefits to gain by controlling our foreign policy.
Manipulating our country into conflicts that are none of our business and unrelated to national security provides no benefits to us, while exposing us to great risks financially and militarily.
US legacy in Iraq
December 2007 Unicef Report on Iraqi Children
Roger Wright, Unicef's Special Representative for Iraq recently told the media that "Iraqi children are paying far too high a price."
“While we have been providing as much assistance as possible, a new window of opportunity is opening, which should enable us to reach the most vulnerable with expanded, consistent support. We must act now.”
Unicef says:- An estimated 2 million children in Iraq continue to face threats including poor nutrition, disease and interrupted education.
- Many of the 220,000 displaced children of primary school age had their education interrupted.
- An estimated 760,000 children (17 per cent) did not go to primary schools in 2006.
- An average 25,000 children per month were displaced by violence or intimidation, with their families seeking shelter in other parts of Iraq.
- In 2007, approximately 75,000 children had resorted to living in camps or temporary shelters.
- Hundreds of children lost their lives or were injured by violence and many more had their main family wage-earner kidnapped or killed.
Roger Wright, Unicef's Special Representative for Iraq recently told the media that "Iraqi children are paying far too high a price."
“While we have been providing as much assistance as possible, a new window of opportunity is opening, which should enable us to reach the most vulnerable with expanded, consistent support. We must act now.”
Unicef says:- An estimated 2 million children in Iraq continue to face threats including poor nutrition, disease and interrupted education.
- Many of the 220,000 displaced children of primary school age had their education interrupted.
- An estimated 760,000 children (17 per cent) did not go to primary schools in 2006.
- An average 25,000 children per month were displaced by violence or intimidation, with their families seeking shelter in other parts of Iraq.
- In 2007, approximately 75,000 children had resorted to living in camps or temporary shelters.
- Hundreds of children lost their lives or were injured by violence and many more had their main family wage-earner kidnapped or killed.
conservative(republicans)
Read today: "Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative." If we were all conservatives, we would still believe that the world is flat.
04 January, 2008
neocons and hawks are still in charge
The continued deference to former administration officials extends to the very lifeblood of the city right now—the presidential election, where neoconservative war boosters still enjoy A-list invites, give and get tons of money, and have the ear of top-tier GOP candidates.
Meanwhile, old and new Democratic hawks have largely pushed anti-war liberals to the margins of the establishment, creating think tanks with muscular names and erudite journals to catapult their colleagues into top-level jobs in a new Democratic administration.
Despite the declining appetite for war among regular Americans, the message is clear: when it comes to shaping future foreign policy for either party, hawks and internationalists are in, doves and realists are out.
Meanwhile, old and new Democratic hawks have largely pushed anti-war liberals to the margins of the establishment, creating think tanks with muscular names and erudite journals to catapult their colleagues into top-level jobs in a new Democratic administration.
Despite the declining appetite for war among regular Americans, the message is clear: when it comes to shaping future foreign policy for either party, hawks and internationalists are in, doves and realists are out.
03 January, 2008
republicans liying and people still dying
The total for violent civilian deaths to the end of 2007 in Iraq was between 81,174 and 88,585. US-LED coalition and paramilitary forces in Iraq were responsible for some 24,000 violent civilian deaths in 2007, according to an independent group monitoring casualties in the war-ravaged country. these republicans lied us into this war so they keep it going and don't care.
02 January, 2008
Republicans making us a third world country
The glaring features today of Third World countries include poverty, lack of democratic institutions, controlling oligarchies and the unequal distribution of income and wealth. In other words, the few enjoy a rich lifestyle while the many share subpar incomes and poverty.
Another characteristic of Third World countries is that a major portion of their fiscal expenditures is allocated to the military. In many Third World countries, the military is controlled by an elite or a small collection of the wealthy. Finally, in many Third World countries one finds that leadership is passed from one generation to the next, often via a close relative.
The United Nations publishes a Human Development Index that ranks countries in terms of life expectancy, literacy, education and standard of living. The U.S., despite its vast wealth and power, placed only in the 12th position among industrial countries. The top four countries were Iceland, Norway, Australia and Canada. These top four countries still pay some lip service to income distribution as an important economic and social goal.
These Republicans are redistributing the wealth upward to fewer people rather than downward to greater numbers of our working population. They are also transferring wealth to themselves by issuing greater amounts of debt to our wealthy debt holders and overseas countries like India and China. Eventually, we will have to raise taxes on working men and women to pay for all this Republican debt.
Another characteristic of Third World countries is that a major portion of their fiscal expenditures is allocated to the military. In many Third World countries, the military is controlled by an elite or a small collection of the wealthy. Finally, in many Third World countries one finds that leadership is passed from one generation to the next, often via a close relative.
The United Nations publishes a Human Development Index that ranks countries in terms of life expectancy, literacy, education and standard of living. The U.S., despite its vast wealth and power, placed only in the 12th position among industrial countries. The top four countries were Iceland, Norway, Australia and Canada. These top four countries still pay some lip service to income distribution as an important economic and social goal.
These Republicans are redistributing the wealth upward to fewer people rather than downward to greater numbers of our working population. They are also transferring wealth to themselves by issuing greater amounts of debt to our wealthy debt holders and overseas countries like India and China. Eventually, we will have to raise taxes on working men and women to pay for all this Republican debt.
01 January, 2008
quote of the day about Giuliani
"Rudy Giuliani is one dangerous man. He is a George Bush with brains."
31 December, 2007
Republicans say one thing but DO the opposite
It is common for politicians to court big money during a campaign. But private schmooze sessions such as the gathering in Utah pose a particular dilemma for McCain, who has spent a long career decrying "special interests" and politicians who offer special access to them in order to raise money.
As a presidential candidate this year, McCain has found himself assiduously courting both lobbyists and their wealthy clients, offering them private audiences as part of his fundraising. He also counts more than 30 lobbyists among his chief fundraisers, more than any other presidential contender.
As a presidential candidate this year, McCain has found himself assiduously courting both lobbyists and their wealthy clients, offering them private audiences as part of his fundraising. He also counts more than 30 lobbyists among his chief fundraisers, more than any other presidential contender.
30 December, 2007
Republicanism from Nazism?
Now we find out that Bush acts as though he is not legally obliged to follow his own executive orders. That means the Bush believes: "I don't have to follow my own rules, and I don't have to tell you when I'm breaking them." That includes actions of the Executive Order that governs surveillance of us.
The Executive Order governing surveillance may not be the only one that Bush has modified without revealing he has done so. It appears that Bush has also modified the Executive Order governing the treatment of classified information from its plain text meaning.
So he does whatever his mood dictates when and at whatever time he decides, ignoring the rule of law and the Constitution. The Nazi rule in Germany acted in the same way in taking over Germany and attempting to conquor the world one country at a time. Sound familiar..
The Executive Order governing surveillance may not be the only one that Bush has modified without revealing he has done so. It appears that Bush has also modified the Executive Order governing the treatment of classified information from its plain text meaning.
So he does whatever his mood dictates when and at whatever time he decides, ignoring the rule of law and the Constitution. The Nazi rule in Germany acted in the same way in taking over Germany and attempting to conquor the world one country at a time. Sound familiar..
Republican record supported by republican candidates
What an unbelievable record of deceit, destruction, hypocrisy, incompetence, treason and greed. What a tragic tale of debt, lost wars, stolen elections, environmental crises, Constitution shredding, national shame and diminished security.
torture and more Republican lies
CIA operatives now SAY they destroyed the torture tapes because they wanted to protect the torturers, now called "debriefers."
We know that is a crock because all they had to do is black out their faces as is done every day to protect the identities of children.
They realy wanted to protect these Republican officeholders.
We know that is a crock because all they had to do is black out their faces as is done every day to protect the identities of children.
They realy wanted to protect these Republican officeholders.
Should the USA torture people
In November 2002, an Afghan man froze to death overnight while chained in a cell at a C.I.A. site in Afghanistan, north of Kabul, the capital. Two more prisoners died in December 2002 in American military custody at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
By late 2002, interrogators were recycling videotapes, preserving only two days of tapes before recording over them, one C.I.A. officer said. Finally, senior agency officials decided that written summaries of prisoners’ answers would suffice. Clandestine service officers who had overseen the interrogations began pushing hard to destroy any taping.
Some of the C.I.A.’s techniques appeared to constitute "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" under the international Convention Against Torture. The CIA now prefers that we call their interrogators who tortured prisoners in secret CIA prisons around the world as "debriefers."
Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Williams, a JAG officer with the U.S. Naval Reserve, recently resigned his commission over the alleged use of torture by the United States and the destruction of video tapes containing instances of that torture.
Waterboarding was used by the Nazi Gestapo and the feared Japanese Kempeitai. In World War II, our grandfathers had the wisdom to convict Japanese Officer Yukio Asano of waterboarding and other torture practices in 1947, giving him 15 years hard labor.
John C. Gannon, a former C.I.A. deputy director, says it was a tragic mistake for the administration to approve such methods. as waterboarding. So should our country be a country that tortures people? We report, you decide.
By late 2002, interrogators were recycling videotapes, preserving only two days of tapes before recording over them, one C.I.A. officer said. Finally, senior agency officials decided that written summaries of prisoners’ answers would suffice. Clandestine service officers who had overseen the interrogations began pushing hard to destroy any taping.
Some of the C.I.A.’s techniques appeared to constitute "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" under the international Convention Against Torture. The CIA now prefers that we call their interrogators who tortured prisoners in secret CIA prisons around the world as "debriefers."
Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Williams, a JAG officer with the U.S. Naval Reserve, recently resigned his commission over the alleged use of torture by the United States and the destruction of video tapes containing instances of that torture.
Waterboarding was used by the Nazi Gestapo and the feared Japanese Kempeitai. In World War II, our grandfathers had the wisdom to convict Japanese Officer Yukio Asano of waterboarding and other torture practices in 1947, giving him 15 years hard labor.
John C. Gannon, a former C.I.A. deputy director, says it was a tragic mistake for the administration to approve such methods. as waterboarding. So should our country be a country that tortures people? We report, you decide.
29 December, 2007
Republicans continue lying
It is a lie for Republicans to say that they are not raising our taxes when some of us know that we will have to pay for all this waste and their redistributing the wealth of our country to the rich, PLUS INTEREST, from their astronomical increases in the country's debt that is covered mostly by foreigners, principally China.
The rest of you just don't get it. They have lied to you and are continuing to lie so much that you are brainwashed.
The rest of you just don't get it. They have lied to you and are continuing to lie so much that you are brainwashed.
Ahother law and order Republican
A day after a federal court slip-up exposed intimate office e-mail exchanges with his executive secretary, Texas most powerful prosecutor, the district attorney of Harris County, issued a public apology Friday to his family and others.
The issue took on immediate political dimensions on Thursday when Mr. Rosenthal, a 61-year-old Republican who has announced he will run for a third term next year.
The messages, which had been turned over to lawyers in the course of a federal civil rights lawsuit that alleges misconduct involving Harris County sheriff’s deputies, contained Mr. Rosenthal’s professions of love and longing for the woman, Kerry Stevens, with whom he has acknowledged having an affair during his first marriage.
As district attorney of a county with a population of four million, more than that of several states, Mr. Rosenthal also presides over the country’s busiest capital punishment establishment, which has sent 100 convicts to their deaths since 1976.
The issue took on immediate political dimensions on Thursday when Mr. Rosenthal, a 61-year-old Republican who has announced he will run for a third term next year.
The messages, which had been turned over to lawyers in the course of a federal civil rights lawsuit that alleges misconduct involving Harris County sheriff’s deputies, contained Mr. Rosenthal’s professions of love and longing for the woman, Kerry Stevens, with whom he has acknowledged having an affair during his first marriage.
As district attorney of a county with a population of four million, more than that of several states, Mr. Rosenthal also presides over the country’s busiest capital punishment establishment, which has sent 100 convicts to their deaths since 1976.
creeping Republican tyranny
It has been two years since top New York Times officials decided to let the rest of us in on the fact that the George W. Bush administration had been eavesdropping on American citizens without the court warrants required by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978.
The Times had learned of this well before the election in 2004 and acquiesced to White House entreaties to suppress the damaging information. In late fall 2005 when Times correspondent James Risen’s book, “State of War: the Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration,” revealing the warrantless eavesdropping was being printed, Times publisher, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., recognized that he could procrastinate no longer.
When Sulzberger told his friends in the White House that he could no longer hold off on publishing in the newspaper, he was summoned to the Oval Office for a counseling session with the president on Dec. 5, 2005. Bush tried in vain to talk him out of putting the story in the Times. The truth would out; part of it, at least. It was published with a slant toward limiting the scope of this treason.
Repbulicans are good at quoting our founding fathers but only when it suits their objectives. When was the last time you heard the following?
Our Founding Fathers were not oblivious to this issue; thus, James Madison addressed the problem as follows:
“I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. ... The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home.
The Times had learned of this well before the election in 2004 and acquiesced to White House entreaties to suppress the damaging information. In late fall 2005 when Times correspondent James Risen’s book, “State of War: the Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration,” revealing the warrantless eavesdropping was being printed, Times publisher, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., recognized that he could procrastinate no longer.
When Sulzberger told his friends in the White House that he could no longer hold off on publishing in the newspaper, he was summoned to the Oval Office for a counseling session with the president on Dec. 5, 2005. Bush tried in vain to talk him out of putting the story in the Times. The truth would out; part of it, at least. It was published with a slant toward limiting the scope of this treason.
Repbulicans are good at quoting our founding fathers but only when it suits their objectives. When was the last time you heard the following?
Our Founding Fathers were not oblivious to this issue; thus, James Madison addressed the problem as follows:
“I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. ... The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home.
28 December, 2007
Bhutto, US lackey, killed in Pakistan
While some intelligence officials, especially within the US, were quick to finger al Qaeda militants as responsible for Bhutto's death, it remains unclear precisely who was responsible and some speculation has centered on Pakistan's intelligence service, the ISI, its military or even forces loyal to the current president Pervez Musharraf. Rawalpindi, where Bhutto was killed, is the garrison city that houses the Pakistani military's headquarters.
Perhaps more shockingly, an attendee at the rally where Bhutto was killed says police charged with protecting her "abandoned their posts," leaving just a handful of Bhutto's own bodyguards protecting her. "GHQ (general headquarters of the army) killed her," Sardar Saleem, a former member of parliament said.
Whatever the case, Bhutto's precise cause of death may never be known because of the failure to administer an autopsy. The procedure was not carried out because police and local authorities in Rawalpindi did not request one, according to IBNLive, but the government plans a formal investigation why this was the case.
Perhaps more shockingly, an attendee at the rally where Bhutto was killed says police charged with protecting her "abandoned their posts," leaving just a handful of Bhutto's own bodyguards protecting her. "GHQ (general headquarters of the army) killed her," Sardar Saleem, a former member of parliament said.
Whatever the case, Bhutto's precise cause of death may never be known because of the failure to administer an autopsy. The procedure was not carried out because police and local authorities in Rawalpindi did not request one, according to IBNLive, but the government plans a formal investigation why this was the case.
27 December, 2007
what republican war is doing to Iraq
According to an Oxfam International report released in July this year, 43 percent of Iraqis suffer from absolute poverty, and that according to some estimates over half the population is now without work. Children are hit the hardest by the decline in living standards. Child malnutrition rates have risen to 28 percent now.
George Orwell today
We are living George Orwell's nightmare in the 21st century; for war is claimed to be the way to peace and nuclear weapons are promised as the way to provide security.
26 December, 2007
Republicans without Nuremberg
A number of leading Nazis were executed for their unprovoked attack on Poland. The Bush administration has its own Poland in Iraq, and if there is an American attack on Iran it would also fit the Nuremberg definition. Unlike at Nuremberg, however, no one will be held accountable.
Is there any truth to this Huckabee story?
Read today: When the news is about your son actually hanging a dog -- one of the stranger moments of Mike Huckabee's campaign, which struggled with the rehash of an old story about the Arkansas governor's number one son killing a dog when he was a camp counselor in 1998 -- There isn't necessarily any need for the standard hangdog image. Because when you're riding an updraft of polling numbers, minor details like your son's torturing and killing of man's best friend don't lead to images of fatigue, sadness and impotence. A little sweat on the brow, perhaps.
republican war crimes
Read today: Current and former officials said the torture lasted weeks and even, according to some, months, and that the techniques included hypothermia, long periods of standing, sleep deprivation and multiple sessions of waterboarding. All these "alternative procedures", as Bush described them, are illegal under US law and the Geneva conventions. They are, in fact, war crimes
25 December, 2007
our Army due to Iraq update
The 15-month terms were always seen as a temporary measure. Talk to soldiers, and they will tell you that 15 months of continuous combat duty is simply too wearing.
Enlistment rates are down; junior officers are dropping out at rates unseen since Vietnam days. The war in Iraq is the main reason for both trends. The Army is already stretched to the bone. Senior officers and Gatess are deeply worried that maintaining this breakneck pace for much longer might break the all-volunteer Army.
If the terms of duty are cut back to 12 months of deployment, followed by 12 months home, it is not clear whether even 15 brigades can be sustained in Iraq for very long. And once troop levels fall below 15 brigades, it is not clear—as they approach 10 brigades, it is very unlikely—that the mission of securing the Iraqi population (the essence of counterinsurgency) can be sustained.
The clock is also ticking on the other games that are keeping ultraviolence at bay. After the Sunni-U.S. alliances defeat the jihadists, or reduce their ranks to a manageable level, nobody expects the Sunni fighters—who, before their "awakening," spent much of their time shooting and blowing up American soldiers—to become pliant citizens. Also, ethnic cleansing has Balkanised some neighborhoods and destroyed the mix of Sunnis and Shias.
In sum, U.S. forces may soon have more eruptions to damp down—or, to switch metaphors, more holes in the Iraqi dike to plug up. And the task will be more daunting still once the troop-levels decline.
All this is why Gen. Petraeus and most other officers refrain from wild cheering at the reports of declining casualties and violence. T
Enlistment rates are down; junior officers are dropping out at rates unseen since Vietnam days. The war in Iraq is the main reason for both trends. The Army is already stretched to the bone. Senior officers and Gatess are deeply worried that maintaining this breakneck pace for much longer might break the all-volunteer Army.
If the terms of duty are cut back to 12 months of deployment, followed by 12 months home, it is not clear whether even 15 brigades can be sustained in Iraq for very long. And once troop levels fall below 15 brigades, it is not clear—as they approach 10 brigades, it is very unlikely—that the mission of securing the Iraqi population (the essence of counterinsurgency) can be sustained.
The clock is also ticking on the other games that are keeping ultraviolence at bay. After the Sunni-U.S. alliances defeat the jihadists, or reduce their ranks to a manageable level, nobody expects the Sunni fighters—who, before their "awakening," spent much of their time shooting and blowing up American soldiers—to become pliant citizens. Also, ethnic cleansing has Balkanised some neighborhoods and destroyed the mix of Sunnis and Shias.
In sum, U.S. forces may soon have more eruptions to damp down—or, to switch metaphors, more holes in the Iraqi dike to plug up. And the task will be more daunting still once the troop-levels decline.
All this is why Gen. Petraeus and most other officers refrain from wild cheering at the reports of declining casualties and violence. T
24 December, 2007
Republicans top-down class warfare
On Tuesday, the Republican controlled Federal Communications Commission changed the rules to allow the nation's giant conglomerates to further consolidate their grip on the media by permitting them to purchase TV and radio stations in the same local markets where they already own daily newspapers.
As a gift to the country's automobile industry, The Republican Controlled Environmental Protection Agency ruled Wednesday, over the objections of the agency's staff, that California, the nation's largest and most polluted state, and 16 other states, can't impose regulations to limit greenhouse gases from cars and trucks that are stronger than the federal government's own weak standards.
Class warfare is, in fact, the very essence of the tenure of these Republicans in the White House. In thousands of ways, big and small, they have promoted the interests of the very rich and the largest corporations.
Corporate lobbyists have the run of the White House. Their agenda - tax cuts for the rich and big business, attacks on labor unions, and the weakening of laws protecting consumers, workers and the environment from corporate abuse -that is the Republican agenda.
As a gift to the country's automobile industry, The Republican Controlled Environmental Protection Agency ruled Wednesday, over the objections of the agency's staff, that California, the nation's largest and most polluted state, and 16 other states, can't impose regulations to limit greenhouse gases from cars and trucks that are stronger than the federal government's own weak standards.
Class warfare is, in fact, the very essence of the tenure of these Republicans in the White House. In thousands of ways, big and small, they have promoted the interests of the very rich and the largest corporations.
Corporate lobbyists have the run of the White House. Their agenda - tax cuts for the rich and big business, attacks on labor unions, and the weakening of laws protecting consumers, workers and the environment from corporate abuse -that is the Republican agenda.
more on Republican Blackwater
Hostility toward Blackwater was already high in the Interior Ministry. The February 2006 shooting incident in Kirkuk had damaged U.S.-Iraqi relations in the area, leaving the Americans "hated and ostracized," according to Ali, the provincial council president.
Blackwater, based in Moyock, N.C., was founded in 1996 by a former Navy SEAL, Erik Prince, a big Republican contributor. In Iraq, the company protects the U.S. ambassador and other diplomats.
The company developed a reputation for aggressive street tactics. Even inside the fortified Green Zone, Blackwater guards were known for running vehicles off the road and pointing their weapons at bystanders, according to several security company representatives and U.S. officials.
"They're universally despised in the Green Zone," said one security official, who has managed security for several companies since 2004"That's not an overstatement. 'Universally despised' is probably a kind way to put it."
Clearly the overall philosophy and tactics of Blackwater were not in keeping with winning hearts and minds," said a senior defense official involved in private security policy. The company's aggressive tactics provoked widespread frustration among U.S. commanders in Iraq, but complaints went nowhere.
Many memos were sent up the chain of command, It was a huge issue with the military. The "coalition" knew about it, but nothing was ever done. It was completely ignored.
When |Bush was onced asked, by a citizen, "I asked your Secretary of Defense a couple months ago what law governs their actions,"
"I was going to ask him," the president responded, drawing laughter as he issued a mock entreaty. "Go ahead. Help."
In other words, he just blew off the question which makes him directly and personally culpable; AND What about winning the hearts and minds?
It's also about millions going to fatcat Republican Contributors.
Blackwater, based in Moyock, N.C., was founded in 1996 by a former Navy SEAL, Erik Prince, a big Republican contributor. In Iraq, the company protects the U.S. ambassador and other diplomats.
The company developed a reputation for aggressive street tactics. Even inside the fortified Green Zone, Blackwater guards were known for running vehicles off the road and pointing their weapons at bystanders, according to several security company representatives and U.S. officials.
"They're universally despised in the Green Zone," said one security official, who has managed security for several companies since 2004"That's not an overstatement. 'Universally despised' is probably a kind way to put it."
Clearly the overall philosophy and tactics of Blackwater were not in keeping with winning hearts and minds," said a senior defense official involved in private security policy. The company's aggressive tactics provoked widespread frustration among U.S. commanders in Iraq, but complaints went nowhere.
Many memos were sent up the chain of command, It was a huge issue with the military. The "coalition" knew about it, but nothing was ever done. It was completely ignored.
When |Bush was onced asked, by a citizen, "I asked your Secretary of Defense a couple months ago what law governs their actions,"
"I was going to ask him," the president responded, drawing laughter as he issued a mock entreaty. "Go ahead. Help."
In other words, he just blew off the question which makes him directly and personally culpable; AND What about winning the hearts and minds?
It's also about millions going to fatcat Republican Contributors.
Iraq, Blackwater, your children and grandchildren
The U.S. government disregarded numerous warnings over the past two years about the risks of using Blackwater Worldwide and other private security firms in Iraq, expanding their presence even after a series of shooting incidents showed that the firms were operating with little regulation or oversight, according to government officials, private security firms and documents. Last year, the Pentagon estimated that 20,000 hired guns worked in Iraq; the Government Accountability Office estimated 48,000.
The warnings were conveyed in letters and memorandums from defense and legal experts and in high-level discussions between U.S. and Iraqi officials. Neither the Pentagon nor the State Department took substantive action to regulate private security companies until Blackwater guards opened fire Sept. 16 at a Baghdad traffic circle, killing 17 Iraqi civilians and provoking protests over the role of security contractors in Iraq. Nothing was done until WE, John Q public, found out.
From a pure counterinsurgency standpoint, armed contractors are an inherently bad idea, because you cannot control the quality, you cannot control the action on the ground, but you're held responsible for everything they do and they are costly.
The Defense Department has paid $2.7 billion for private security since 2003, according to USA Spending, a government-funded project that tracks contracting expenditures; the military said it currently employs 17 companies in Iraq under contracts worth $689.7 million. The State Department has paid $2.4 billion for private security in Iraq -- including $1 billion to Blackwater -- since 2003, USA Spending figures show. This is just a tip of the iceberg of costs in Iraq.
Since it is all financed by long term debt, it's going to be paid by your children and grandchildren thanks to these Republicans.
The warnings were conveyed in letters and memorandums from defense and legal experts and in high-level discussions between U.S. and Iraqi officials. Neither the Pentagon nor the State Department took substantive action to regulate private security companies until Blackwater guards opened fire Sept. 16 at a Baghdad traffic circle, killing 17 Iraqi civilians and provoking protests over the role of security contractors in Iraq. Nothing was done until WE, John Q public, found out.
From a pure counterinsurgency standpoint, armed contractors are an inherently bad idea, because you cannot control the quality, you cannot control the action on the ground, but you're held responsible for everything they do and they are costly.
The Defense Department has paid $2.7 billion for private security since 2003, according to USA Spending, a government-funded project that tracks contracting expenditures; the military said it currently employs 17 companies in Iraq under contracts worth $689.7 million. The State Department has paid $2.4 billion for private security in Iraq -- including $1 billion to Blackwater -- since 2003, USA Spending figures show. This is just a tip of the iceberg of costs in Iraq.
Since it is all financed by long term debt, it's going to be paid by your children and grandchildren thanks to these Republicans.
23 December, 2007
Do you see any Republicans?
Tuesday, December 18, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate combined to give President Bush $70 billion to carry the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into next summer. Only 23 Democrats and one independent supported an amendment by Senator Feingold that would have required the safe redeployment of troops from Iraq.
Here are the senators who voted to end the war:
Akaka (D-HI)Boxer (D-CA)Brown (D-OH)Byrd (D-WV)Cantwell (D-WA)Cardin (D-MD)Durbin (D-IL)Feingold (D-WI)Harkin (D-IA)Kennedy (D-MA)Kerry (D-MA)Klobuchar (D-MN)Kohl (D-WI)Lautenberg (D-NJ)Leahy (D-VT)Menendez (D-NJ)Murray (D-WA)Reid (D-NV)Rockefeller (D-WV)Sanders (I-VT)Schumer (D-NY)Stabenow (D-MI)Whitehouse (D-RI)Wyden (D-OR)
Here are the senators who voted to end the war:
Akaka (D-HI)Boxer (D-CA)Brown (D-OH)Byrd (D-WV)Cantwell (D-WA)Cardin (D-MD)Durbin (D-IL)Feingold (D-WI)Harkin (D-IA)Kennedy (D-MA)Kerry (D-MA)Klobuchar (D-MN)Kohl (D-WI)Lautenberg (D-NJ)Leahy (D-VT)Menendez (D-NJ)Murray (D-WA)Reid (D-NV)Rockefeller (D-WV)Sanders (I-VT)Schumer (D-NY)Stabenow (D-MI)Whitehouse (D-RI)Wyden (D-OR)
Stop these Republicans
A newly declassified document shows that J. Edgar Hoover, the longtime director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had a plan to suspend habeas corpus and imprison some 12,000 Americans he suspected of disloyalty.
Hoover sent his plan to the White House on July 7, 1950, 12 days after the Korean War began. It envisioned putting suspect Americans in military prisons.
Hoover wanted President Harry S. Truman to proclaim the mass arrests necessary to “protect the country against treason, espionage and sabotage.” The F.B.I would “apprehend all individuals potentially dangerous” to national security, Hoover’s proposal said. The arrests would be carried out under “a master warrant attached to a list of names” provided by the bureau.
The names were part of an index that Hoover had been compiling for years. “The index now contains approximately twelve thousand individuals, of which approximately ninety-seven per cent are citizens of the United States,” he wrote.
“In order to make effective these apprehensions, the proclamation suspends the Writ of Habeas Corpus,” it said.
Hoover sent his plan to the White House on July 7, 1950, 12 days after the Korean War began. It envisioned putting suspect Americans in military prisons.
Hoover wanted President Harry S. Truman to proclaim the mass arrests necessary to “protect the country against treason, espionage and sabotage.” The F.B.I would “apprehend all individuals potentially dangerous” to national security, Hoover’s proposal said. The arrests would be carried out under “a master warrant attached to a list of names” provided by the bureau.
The names were part of an index that Hoover had been compiling for years. “The index now contains approximately twelve thousand individuals, of which approximately ninety-seven per cent are citizens of the United States,” he wrote.
“In order to make effective these apprehensions, the proclamation suspends the Writ of Habeas Corpus,” it said.
proof of Republicans ruining our economy
At the beginning of 2003, one euro bought one US dollar. Eighteen months ago, it bought $1.20. Now it is pushing $1.50, and there is no reason to think that it will stop there. Three of the world's biggest oil exporters, Iran, Venezuela and Russia, are demanding payment in euros rather than U.S. dollars. Last week a Chinese central bank vice-director, Xu Jian, gave voice to the suspicion of many others, saying that the U.S. dollar was "losing its status as the world currency."
If that happens, then America loses a great deal. Other countries have to maintain large reserves of foreign currencies - most of which they keep in U.S. dollars - to cover their foreign debts, but the United States can pay its huge foreign debts in its own money. If necessary, it can just print more dollars. Having their own money as the world's reserve currency confers advantages that Americans would miss if they lost them.
The main reason for the collapse of the U.S. dollar is President George W. Bush's attempt to fight expensive foreign wars while cutting taxes at home. This involved deficit financing on a very large scale, and inevitably the value of the dollar began to fall - slowly at first, but with increasing speed as it became clear that the White House did not care.
"Ronald Reagan proved that deficits don't matter," as Vice President Dick Cheney told then-Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill.
But they do matter. As the U.S. dollar fell in value, the price of oil (which is usually calculated in dollars) rose to compensate for it, but there was no comparable adjustment for foreign central banks that had huge amounts of U.S. dollars in their reserves. China, which was sitting on about a trillion U.S. dollars, simply lost several hundred billion as the currency's value fell. So various central banks started wondering if they should diversify their reserves, and some acted on it.
The downward pressure on the dollar will continue, because the United States is currently borrowing 6 percent of its Gross Domestic Product from foreigners each year to cover its trade deficit. Foreign banks were happy to go on lending so long as they had faith in the integrity of U.S. financial institutions, but that has been hit hard by the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Besides, other markets, notably China and India, now offer a better return - and Congress's resistance to foreign takeover bids, combined with tighter visa restrictions, make the U.S. a less welcoming place for foreign investors.
Above all, there are now alternatives to the U.S. dollar. The last time it faced a comparable crisis was in 1971, when a different Republican president was trying to run another unpopular war without raising taxes. Richard Nixon devalued the U.S. dollar and demolished the Bretton Woods system that had fixed all other currencies in relation to the dollar, inaugurating the current era of floating exchange rates.
There was no other candidate then for the role of global reserve currency, so the dollar stayed at the center of the system despite all the turbulence. This time, by contrast, there is the euro, the currency of an economic zone just as big as the United States, with the Chinese currency as a possible long-term rival. But nothing is likely to happen very fast.
Republicans are ruining our economy for their fatcat short term gains while permanently damaging our hardworking middle class.
If that happens, then America loses a great deal. Other countries have to maintain large reserves of foreign currencies - most of which they keep in U.S. dollars - to cover their foreign debts, but the United States can pay its huge foreign debts in its own money. If necessary, it can just print more dollars. Having their own money as the world's reserve currency confers advantages that Americans would miss if they lost them.
The main reason for the collapse of the U.S. dollar is President George W. Bush's attempt to fight expensive foreign wars while cutting taxes at home. This involved deficit financing on a very large scale, and inevitably the value of the dollar began to fall - slowly at first, but with increasing speed as it became clear that the White House did not care.
"Ronald Reagan proved that deficits don't matter," as Vice President Dick Cheney told then-Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill.
But they do matter. As the U.S. dollar fell in value, the price of oil (which is usually calculated in dollars) rose to compensate for it, but there was no comparable adjustment for foreign central banks that had huge amounts of U.S. dollars in their reserves. China, which was sitting on about a trillion U.S. dollars, simply lost several hundred billion as the currency's value fell. So various central banks started wondering if they should diversify their reserves, and some acted on it.
The downward pressure on the dollar will continue, because the United States is currently borrowing 6 percent of its Gross Domestic Product from foreigners each year to cover its trade deficit. Foreign banks were happy to go on lending so long as they had faith in the integrity of U.S. financial institutions, but that has been hit hard by the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Besides, other markets, notably China and India, now offer a better return - and Congress's resistance to foreign takeover bids, combined with tighter visa restrictions, make the U.S. a less welcoming place for foreign investors.
Above all, there are now alternatives to the U.S. dollar. The last time it faced a comparable crisis was in 1971, when a different Republican president was trying to run another unpopular war without raising taxes. Richard Nixon devalued the U.S. dollar and demolished the Bretton Woods system that had fixed all other currencies in relation to the dollar, inaugurating the current era of floating exchange rates.
There was no other candidate then for the role of global reserve currency, so the dollar stayed at the center of the system despite all the turbulence. This time, by contrast, there is the euro, the currency of an economic zone just as big as the United States, with the Chinese currency as a possible long-term rival. But nothing is likely to happen very fast.
Republicans are ruining our economy for their fatcat short term gains while permanently damaging our hardworking middle class.
Republicans stole the election
Read today: The 2008 elections have already been marred by a number of controversies, the worst of which is the report that was published last Friday by Ohio's top election official, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.
The report proves that the voting systems that decided the 2004 election in Ohio were rife with "critical security failures". The election was rigged; pure and simple--stolen by the Bush team and their friends in the establishment media who refuse to report the news. It's actually funny, in a cynical kind of way.
The perpetrators were so cocksure they could pull it off that---"the servers for the computation of the Ohio vote count were in the same basement in Chattanooga, Tennessee that houses servers for the Republican National Committee.
The programmers who worked for Ken Blackwell, the Republican Secretary of State, were Republicans who did websites for the Bush administration."
The report proves that the voting systems that decided the 2004 election in Ohio were rife with "critical security failures". The election was rigged; pure and simple--stolen by the Bush team and their friends in the establishment media who refuse to report the news. It's actually funny, in a cynical kind of way.
The perpetrators were so cocksure they could pull it off that---"the servers for the computation of the Ohio vote count were in the same basement in Chattanooga, Tennessee that houses servers for the Republican National Committee.
The programmers who worked for Ken Blackwell, the Republican Secretary of State, were Republicans who did websites for the Bush administration."
21 December, 2007
republican dirty tricks
The morning of election day 2002, repeated hang-up calls assaulted six phone lines tied to the New Hampshire Democratic Party. Three Republican operatives, including consultant Allen Raymond, eventually ended up in jail for their involvement in the phone jamming scheme. A fourth, former RNC offical James Tobin, will begin a second trial in February.
In his new book, Raymond says that the scandal goes "to the top of the Republican Party" because "the Bush White House had complete control of the RNC" and there was no way such a risky tactic wouldn't have been "vetted by" Tobin's "high-ups":
Phone records obtained in a civil suit brought against the NH GOP by the NH Democratic Party show that "Tobin made 22 calls to the White House political office in the 24 hours before and after the jamming" while the Republican National Committee has paid over $6 million in legal fees for Tobin.
In his new book, Raymond says that the scandal goes "to the top of the Republican Party" because "the Bush White House had complete control of the RNC" and there was no way such a risky tactic wouldn't have been "vetted by" Tobin's "high-ups":
Phone records obtained in a civil suit brought against the NH GOP by the NH Democratic Party show that "Tobin made 22 calls to the White House political office in the 24 hours before and after the jamming" while the Republican National Committee has paid over $6 million in legal fees for Tobin.
republican surge
Arming the Sunnis + using air strikes = a successful 'Surge', at least statistically, for the time being. In reality, this will make the situation even worse as the Sunnis will inevitably turn on the occupation force they hate, the Shias will be even further alienated by their betrayal, and the thousands of new civilian casualties will only result in more hatred for the brutal occupation.
Add to this the US support for Turkey against the Kurds and you have all the ingredients of a complete nightmare and even more bloodshed. The 'Surge' will go down in history as one of the dumbest and most immoral political stunts ever devised.
Add to this the US support for Turkey against the Kurds and you have all the ingredients of a complete nightmare and even more bloodshed. The 'Surge' will go down in history as one of the dumbest and most immoral political stunts ever devised.
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