President Bush's plan for stemming illegal immigration by using National Guardsmen in a support role called for 2,500 troops to be on the border by June 30, and 6,000 by the end of July.
The National Guard said Friday that only 483 were in position and working with the U.S. Border Patrol as the Bush administration had directed, which is another false and failed Bush plan. It sounds like the Republican plan for Iraq.
30 June, 2006
Republicans don't respect our laws
Officially, President Bush has not vetoed a single piece of legislation. But in reality, he has used a radical theory of constitutional power to ignore much of what Congress has passed through the mild-sounding power of "signing statements" -- 750 of which he has issued during his term in office, more than any of his predecessors.
Essentially, this means that when the President signs a bill into law, he attaches a statement indicating which pieces of the new law he intends to obey, and which he does not. This practice gives the President unchecked power to decide which parts of the law will be followed based on his interpretation of their constitutionality.
Henceforth, let's choose which laws we obey.
Essentially, this means that when the President signs a bill into law, he attaches a statement indicating which pieces of the new law he intends to obey, and which he does not. This practice gives the President unchecked power to decide which parts of the law will be followed based on his interpretation of their constitutionality.
Henceforth, let's choose which laws we obey.
29 June, 2006
torture at gitmo
The Road to Guantanamo." It is as good as the reviews say. It opens June 23 in theaters in some cities and you should definitely see it. It's part documentary and part drama. It's very fast-paced and the scenes in Afghanistan and Guantanamo are very real -- and frightening.
It also will make you very angry -- and drive home the realization that not all the detainees at Guantanamo can be the "worst of the worst" because many don't belong there at all. And yes, they were tortured. The four subjects of the film, Asif Iqbal, Ruhel Ahmed, Shafiq Rasul (pdf), and Monir Ali were British teens of Pakistani descent who went to Pakistan because one was getting married in an arranged marriage.
Almost on a whim, they naviely decided to go to Afghanistan. The U.S. started its bombing campaign right afterwards. They get captured by the Northern Alliance and three of them get turned over to the Americans who won't believe they aren't al-Qaeda and send them to Guantanamo where they are held for two years without charges before being returned to England and finally freed.
They appear in the film as narrators while actors re-create their ordeal. The fourth, Monir Ali, got separated and has not been heard from again, although he may be in a Pakistani prison.
It also will make you very angry -- and drive home the realization that not all the detainees at Guantanamo can be the "worst of the worst" because many don't belong there at all. And yes, they were tortured. The four subjects of the film, Asif Iqbal, Ruhel Ahmed, Shafiq Rasul (pdf), and Monir Ali were British teens of Pakistani descent who went to Pakistan because one was getting married in an arranged marriage.
Almost on a whim, they naviely decided to go to Afghanistan. The U.S. started its bombing campaign right afterwards. They get captured by the Northern Alliance and three of them get turned over to the Americans who won't believe they aren't al-Qaeda and send them to Guantanamo where they are held for two years without charges before being returned to England and finally freed.
They appear in the film as narrators while actors re-create their ordeal. The fourth, Monir Ali, got separated and has not been heard from again, although he may be in a Pakistani prison.
republicans overstepping authority
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President Bush overstepped his authority in ordering military war crimes trials for Guantanamo Bay detainees.
The ruling, a rebuke to the administration and its aggressive anti-terror policies, was written by Justice John Paul Stevens, who said the proposed trials were illegal under U.S. law and Geneva conventions.
The ruling, a rebuke to the administration and its aggressive anti-terror policies, was written by Justice John Paul Stevens, who said the proposed trials were illegal under U.S. law and Geneva conventions.
26 June, 2006
amnesty
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's national reconciliation plan, involving amnesty for opposition fighters except those who had killed Iraqis, were involved in terrorism or committed crimes against humanity.
Al-Maliki's plan, disclosed Sunday, was thought to have denied amnesty to any insurgent who had killed American forces, though the wording was vague.
SPECIFIC ABOUT KILLED IRAQIS BUT VAGUE ON KILLING AMERICANS. Right???
Al-Maliki's plan, disclosed Sunday, was thought to have denied amnesty to any insurgent who had killed American forces, though the wording was vague.
SPECIFIC ABOUT KILLED IRAQIS BUT VAGUE ON KILLING AMERICANS. Right???
estate taxes
It turns out that 18 of the richest families in the USA are the major behind the scene funders of the campaign to abolish the estate tax all the while rejecting proposals to exempt $100 million from the tax. Doesn't that just figure.
25 June, 2006
update Iraq
U.S. price tag of $320 billion of our money and "at least 2,515" members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and (4) the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
24 June, 2006
Republicans for sale, just the surface
Wanted: Face time with President Bush or top adviser Karl Rove. Suggested donation: $100,000. The middleman: lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Blunt e-mails that connect money and access in Washington show that prominent Republican activist Grover Norquist facilitated some administration contacts for Abramoff's clients while the lobbyist simultaneously solicited those clients for large donations to Norquist's tax-exempt group.
"Can the tribes contribute $100,000 for the effort to bring state legislatures and those tribal leaders who have passed Bush resolutions to Washington?" Norquist wrote Abramoff in one such e-mail in July 2002.
The tribes got to meet Bush at the White House in 2002 again and then donated to Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, or ATR.
After the tribes' 2002 event with Bush, Norquist pressed Abramoff anew for tribal donations. "Jack, a few months ago you said you could get each of your Indian tribes to make a contribution. ... Is this still possible?" Norquist asked in an October 2002 e-mail.
Abramoff became one of Washington's rainmaker lobbyists before allegations that he defrauded Indian tribes led to his downfall and a prison sentence. He is cooperating with prosecutors.
For instance, several months after donating $25,000 to Norquist's group, Saginaw officials attended a reception in the summer of 2003 at Norquist's home. They posed for a photo with Norquist and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.
A few weeks earlier, then-Saginaw tribal chief Maynard Kahgegab Jr. had been appointed by Chao to a federal commission, according Labor Department and tribal documents obtained by the AP.
The Saginaw used the Chao photo, the commission appointment and photos they took with Bush at the White House to boast on their internal website about the high-level Washington access that Abramoff's team had won.
Blunt e-mails that connect money and access in Washington show that prominent Republican activist Grover Norquist facilitated some administration contacts for Abramoff's clients while the lobbyist simultaneously solicited those clients for large donations to Norquist's tax-exempt group.
"Can the tribes contribute $100,000 for the effort to bring state legislatures and those tribal leaders who have passed Bush resolutions to Washington?" Norquist wrote Abramoff in one such e-mail in July 2002.
The tribes got to meet Bush at the White House in 2002 again and then donated to Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, or ATR.
After the tribes' 2002 event with Bush, Norquist pressed Abramoff anew for tribal donations. "Jack, a few months ago you said you could get each of your Indian tribes to make a contribution. ... Is this still possible?" Norquist asked in an October 2002 e-mail.
Abramoff became one of Washington's rainmaker lobbyists before allegations that he defrauded Indian tribes led to his downfall and a prison sentence. He is cooperating with prosecutors.
For instance, several months after donating $25,000 to Norquist's group, Saginaw officials attended a reception in the summer of 2003 at Norquist's home. They posed for a photo with Norquist and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.
A few weeks earlier, then-Saginaw tribal chief Maynard Kahgegab Jr. had been appointed by Chao to a federal commission, according Labor Department and tribal documents obtained by the AP.
The Saginaw used the Chao photo, the commission appointment and photos they took with Bush at the White House to boast on their internal website about the high-level Washington access that Abramoff's team had won.
23 June, 2006
9/11
Families of those killed in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said Thursday that excessive secrecy by the government is keeping from them what went wrong before the hijackings.
"All we want is the truth," said Michael Low of Batesville, Ark., whose daughter Sara was a flight attendant on one of the airplanes that flew into the World Trade Center. "We believe in freedom and open government, but at times it seems like we're getting the old Soviet Union."
A handful of family members held a news conference in the Capitol to push for a law that would unlock secrets kept by the Transportation Security Administration.
"All we want is the truth," said Michael Low of Batesville, Ark., whose daughter Sara was a flight attendant on one of the airplanes that flew into the World Trade Center. "We believe in freedom and open government, but at times it seems like we're getting the old Soviet Union."
A handful of family members held a news conference in the Capitol to push for a law that would unlock secrets kept by the Transportation Security Administration.
22 June, 2006
update afghanistan
Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged the international community to reassess its approach to the war on terror Thursday, saying the deaths of hundreds of Afghans in fighting with U.S.-led forces was "not acceptable
More than 600 people, mostly militants, have been killed in recent weeks as insurgents have launched their deadliest campaign of violence in years. At least 14 coalition soldiers have been killed in combat since mid-May.
"It is not acceptable for us that in all this fighting, Afghans are dying. In the last three to four weeks, 500 to 600 Afghans were killed. (Even) if they are Taliban, they are sons of this land," he said. Our boys are over there dying and they are, at best, ungrateful.
More than 600 people, mostly militants, have been killed in recent weeks as insurgents have launched their deadliest campaign of violence in years. At least 14 coalition soldiers have been killed in combat since mid-May.
"It is not acceptable for us that in all this fighting, Afghans are dying. In the last three to four weeks, 500 to 600 Afghans were killed. (Even) if they are Taliban, they are sons of this land," he said. Our boys are over there dying and they are, at best, ungrateful.
21 June, 2006
update Iraq
The Pentagon has notified about 21,000 Army soldiers and Marines that they are scheduled to be sent to Iraq late this year as part of the latest deployment rotation.
The units are: 3rd Corps Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters, the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, all from Fort Hood in Texas; the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Lejeune, N.C.; the 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division from Fort Richardson in Alaska; and the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Carson in Colorado
The units are: 3rd Corps Headquarters, 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters, the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, all from Fort Hood in Texas; the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Lejeune, N.C.; the 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division from Fort Richardson in Alaska; and the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Carson in Colorado
20 June, 2006
republican war update
U.S. price tag of $320 billion of your money and "at least 2,503" members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and (4) the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
19 June, 2006
US and human rights
The United Nations inaugurated its new Human Rights Council on Monday, vowing to uphold the highest standards of human rights and erase the tarnished image of its predecessor. The 47-member council replaces the Human Rights Commission, which became discredited in recent years as rights-abusing countries conspired to escape condemnation
The new council will hold more meetings than the commission, comprising 10 weeks a year — greater than the current six weeks. It will also be easier to convene special sessions to respond quickly to human rights crises. Furthermore, any member that "commits gross and systematic violations of human rights" can be suspended from the council by a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly. Why do you suppose that the US did not campaign for a seat on the new council???????????
The new council will hold more meetings than the commission, comprising 10 weeks a year — greater than the current six weeks. It will also be easier to convene special sessions to respond quickly to human rights crises. Furthermore, any member that "commits gross and systematic violations of human rights" can be suspended from the council by a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly. Why do you suppose that the US did not campaign for a seat on the new council???????????
18 June, 2006
they torture, we torture
The U.N. Committee Against Torture issued a series of recommendations to bring the U.S. into compliance with the Convention Against Torture. Included is a direct charge to "Cease the rendition of suspects, in particular by its intelligence agencies, to States where they face a real risk of torture.
"Recently, a special committee of the European Parliament issued an interim report concluding that the CIA has on several occasions illegally kidnapped and detained individuals in European countries. The report also found that the CIA detained and then secretly used airlines to transfer persons to countries like Egypt and Afghanistan, which routinely use torture during interrogations.
Members of the European investigative committee came to the United States last week meet with the ACLU and Members of Congress. A parliamentary inquiry into El-Masri's kidnapping is also currently ongoing in Germany.
The ACLU has also called on a United Nations human rights investigative body, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, to conduct a full investigation into the United States' "extraordinary rendition" program.
"Recently, a special committee of the European Parliament issued an interim report concluding that the CIA has on several occasions illegally kidnapped and detained individuals in European countries. The report also found that the CIA detained and then secretly used airlines to transfer persons to countries like Egypt and Afghanistan, which routinely use torture during interrogations.
Members of the European investigative committee came to the United States last week meet with the ACLU and Members of Congress. A parliamentary inquiry into El-Masri's kidnapping is also currently ongoing in Germany.
The ACLU has also called on a United Nations human rights investigative body, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, to conduct a full investigation into the United States' "extraordinary rendition" program.
republican smear and sneer
Coulter has outdone even her trash-mouthed self. In her new book, she directs a stream of venom at four women who lost their husbands in the World Trade Center. Their offense? They’ve dared to criticize President Bush for ignoring pre-9/11 warnings about an al Qaida attack, and questioned how he’s conducted the war on Islamic terrorism.
Coulter responds to this heresy by calling the widows “witches” and “harpies” with big mouths and bigger victims’ fund payouts. “These broads are millionaires,” she writes, “reveling in their status as celebrities. I’ve never seen people enjoying their husbands’ deaths so much.”
The republican smear and sneer is alive and well.
Coulter responds to this heresy by calling the widows “witches” and “harpies” with big mouths and bigger victims’ fund payouts. “These broads are millionaires,” she writes, “reveling in their status as celebrities. I’ve never seen people enjoying their husbands’ deaths so much.”
The republican smear and sneer is alive and well.
republicans expanding government
For the past four years, some of the most powerful republican politicians in America have made it their mission to accumulate unchecked government power, relentlessly undermining civil liberties. In unprecedented ways, they are invading our privacy, undermining our Constitution and squelching dissent. All too frequently, they are shamelessly using the “war on terror” as cover for their assault.
republicans-homeland security
The New York Times reported Sunday that dozens of members of President Bush's Republican security team assembled after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are now working for companies that sell security products and services to the government agencies they once helped manage.
"People have a right to make a living," Clark Kent Ervin, the former inspector general of the Homeland Security Department told the newspaper. "But working virtually immediately for a company that is bidding for work in an area where you were just setting the policy — that is too close. It is almost incestuous."
The Times found that at least 90 former Republican officials in the department and the White House Office of Homeland Security now work for companies that do billions of dollars worth of business in the homeland security industry. Loopholes in federal law make it easy for former bureaucrats to quickly capitalize on their government work Its only your money.
"People have a right to make a living," Clark Kent Ervin, the former inspector general of the Homeland Security Department told the newspaper. "But working virtually immediately for a company that is bidding for work in an area where you were just setting the policy — that is too close. It is almost incestuous."
The Times found that at least 90 former Republican officials in the department and the White House Office of Homeland Security now work for companies that do billions of dollars worth of business in the homeland security industry. Loopholes in federal law make it easy for former bureaucrats to quickly capitalize on their government work Its only your money.
17 June, 2006
republican party war
U.S. price tag of $320 billion of your money and "at least" 2,501 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and (4) the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
16 June, 2006
republicans, Iraq
Iraq is not the center of the global war on terrorism, and nor is it overwhelmed by foreign terrorist groups, as this administration would like Americans to believe. Iraqis are fighting Iraqis in sectarian violence, and U.S. troops have become the target.
On Thursday, we heard House Republicans argue that the United States cannot change the policy in Iraq. But a change in direction is in the best interest of the United States and Iraq. Saying we must "stay the course" amounts to an open-ended commitment, one that we can not afford in terms of human and financial sacrifice.
Republicans say we must stay in Iraq. Iraq has formed a government, trained 265,600 Iraq security forces and the Iraqis want to govern themselves. We have more than 20,000 deaths from this war, and yet terrorist attacks rose sharply last year to more than 10,000. By the end of this year, we will have spent $450 billion U.S. taxpayer dollars on this war. Enough is enough. Our nation deserves better.
Instead of sticking with a failed policy, I propose a new policy. Instead of "stay and pay," which is what this administration continues to argue, I propose that we "redeploy and be ready." We must redeploy American troops out of the cities to the periphery and create a quick reaction force ready to attack only when the national security of the United States or its allies in the region is at risk.
The American people are not naive. They know a failed policy when they see one. Iraq is a failed policy. It's time to redeploy.
On Thursday, we heard House Republicans argue that the United States cannot change the policy in Iraq. But a change in direction is in the best interest of the United States and Iraq. Saying we must "stay the course" amounts to an open-ended commitment, one that we can not afford in terms of human and financial sacrifice.
Republicans say we must stay in Iraq. Iraq has formed a government, trained 265,600 Iraq security forces and the Iraqis want to govern themselves. We have more than 20,000 deaths from this war, and yet terrorist attacks rose sharply last year to more than 10,000. By the end of this year, we will have spent $450 billion U.S. taxpayer dollars on this war. Enough is enough. Our nation deserves better.
Instead of sticking with a failed policy, I propose a new policy. Instead of "stay and pay," which is what this administration continues to argue, I propose that we "redeploy and be ready." We must redeploy American troops out of the cities to the periphery and create a quick reaction force ready to attack only when the national security of the United States or its allies in the region is at risk.
The American people are not naive. They know a failed policy when they see one. Iraq is a failed policy. It's time to redeploy.
republicans, religion
Once, black people, women and homosexuals were viewed the same way by the leading theologians of the times: They were all cursed by God in Scripture, inferior in moral character and willfully sinful and deserving punishment. Eventually, most churches found a biblical basis for changing their stance on race and gender.
Jesus knew the Hebrew Scriptures, and he departed from them. He was not faithful to the Scripture of that time, and today the Bible teaches us the book is not the final authority. ... The spirit is moving; Scripture is not the only measure.
Too many people sink into vitriol, wielding words of faith as weapons. People of all ages are really tired of all this religious fighting. Most people just want to get on with thinking about Jesus.
Jesus knew the Hebrew Scriptures, and he departed from them. He was not faithful to the Scripture of that time, and today the Bible teaches us the book is not the final authority. ... The spirit is moving; Scripture is not the only measure.
Too many people sink into vitriol, wielding words of faith as weapons. People of all ages are really tired of all this religious fighting. Most people just want to get on with thinking about Jesus.
republicans,preemptive nuclear strikes
The new “National Security Strategy for the United States” published by the White House strengthens the role of nuclear weapons in preemptive military strikes against terrorists and hostile states armed with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. In stronger language than used in the previous strategy from 2002, the new strategy speaks more directly about the importance of nuclear weapons and lumps them together with other military action in a preemption scenario.
"The National Security Strategy was the Bush administration's last opportunity to demonstrate that it has reduced the role of nuclear weapons after the Cold War," said Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). "Instead it has chosen to reaffirm their importance and in the most troubling way possible: preemption."
Under the headline "The Need for Action," the new National Security Strategy says: " Safe, credible, and reliable nuclear forces continue to play a critical role. We are strengthening deterrence by developing a New Triad composed of offensive strike systems (both nuclear and improved conventional capabilities)... These capabilities will better deter some of the new threats we face, while also bolstering our security commitments to allies....
If necessary, however, under long-standing principles of self-defense, we do not rule out the use of force before attacks occur, even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy's attack. When the consequences of an attack with WMD are potentially so devastating, we cannot afford to stand idle by as grave dangers materialize. This is the principle and logic of preemption." Now this is scary.
"The National Security Strategy was the Bush administration's last opportunity to demonstrate that it has reduced the role of nuclear weapons after the Cold War," said Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). "Instead it has chosen to reaffirm their importance and in the most troubling way possible: preemption."
Under the headline "The Need for Action," the new National Security Strategy says: " Safe, credible, and reliable nuclear forces continue to play a critical role. We are strengthening deterrence by developing a New Triad composed of offensive strike systems (both nuclear and improved conventional capabilities)... These capabilities will better deter some of the new threats we face, while also bolstering our security commitments to allies....
If necessary, however, under long-standing principles of self-defense, we do not rule out the use of force before attacks occur, even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy's attack. When the consequences of an attack with WMD are potentially so devastating, we cannot afford to stand idle by as grave dangers materialize. This is the principle and logic of preemption." Now this is scary.
15 June, 2006
those who care about you?
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., holds blind trusts worth $7.5 million to $36 million. He reported making $5 million last year from the largest, worth between $5 million to $25 million.
Rep. Charles Taylor, R-N.C., founder and chairman of Blue Ridge Savings and Loan in Asheville, N.C., reported stock in a holding company for the bank worth more than $50 million. He also purchased 80% of a Russian bank and founded a Russian investment company.
Republican Tom DeLay of Texas, who resigned his House seat last week, showed his legal troubles have led him into sizable debt. DeLay reported owing $250,001 to $500,000 to four separate lawyers and law firms.
Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., under investigation by the FBI for bribery, owns two tracts of farmland in Louisiana, each worth $50,001 to $100,000. He loaned $100,001 to $250,000 each to his mayoral and gubernatorial campaigns, as well as $50,001 to $100,000 to "Jefferson Interests." His office would not provide additional details. Jefferson also reported three major liabilities. He owes between $50,001 and $100,000 each to Dryades Bank and Noah Samara, chairman and CEO of Worldspace Satellite Radio. He also has a $15,001 to $50,000 loan from Liberty Bank of New Orleans.
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., earned $103,095 in royalties for Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant President. He used the money to pay for medical care for his wife, Erma, who died in March, spokesman Tom Gavin said
Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, under investigation at the Justice Department and the House ethics committee for his ties to Abramoff, reported no major assets or liabilities, nor any major outside sources of unearned income. Ney, one of the recipients of an Abramoff golfing trip to Scotland, also reported no privately funded travel. He and his staff have said they stopped allowing any outside groups to pay for trips.
Rep. Charles Taylor, R-N.C., founder and chairman of Blue Ridge Savings and Loan in Asheville, N.C., reported stock in a holding company for the bank worth more than $50 million. He also purchased 80% of a Russian bank and founded a Russian investment company.
Republican Tom DeLay of Texas, who resigned his House seat last week, showed his legal troubles have led him into sizable debt. DeLay reported owing $250,001 to $500,000 to four separate lawyers and law firms.
Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., under investigation by the FBI for bribery, owns two tracts of farmland in Louisiana, each worth $50,001 to $100,000. He loaned $100,001 to $250,000 each to his mayoral and gubernatorial campaigns, as well as $50,001 to $100,000 to "Jefferson Interests." His office would not provide additional details. Jefferson also reported three major liabilities. He owes between $50,001 and $100,000 each to Dryades Bank and Noah Samara, chairman and CEO of Worldspace Satellite Radio. He also has a $15,001 to $50,000 loan from Liberty Bank of New Orleans.
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., earned $103,095 in royalties for Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant President. He used the money to pay for medical care for his wife, Erma, who died in March, spokesman Tom Gavin said
Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, under investigation at the Justice Department and the House ethics committee for his ties to Abramoff, reported no major assets or liabilities, nor any major outside sources of unearned income. Ney, one of the recipients of an Abramoff golfing trip to Scotland, also reported no privately funded travel. He and his staff have said they stopped allowing any outside groups to pay for trips.
11 June, 2006
winning the hearts and minds???
Many Saudis denounced the suicide claim as a fabrication, and some accused U.S. authorities of complicity in the inmates' deaths. "There are no independent monitors at the detention camp so it is easy to pin the crime on the prisoners, given that it's possible they were tortured," said Mufleh al-Qahtani, deputy director of the state-sponosred Saudi Human Rights Group.
"Even if the suicide story is true, I have no doubts that they were pushed to it by torture and the lack of attention paid to the health of the detainees," he said. The families of other Saudi detainees also questioned the U.S. version. "They were killed; they were murdered. This was no suicide," said Lulua al Dakheel, whose son, 22-year-old Fahed al Fouzan, has been at Guantanamo for more than four years.
Speaking through tears, she added: "There are no guarantees that my son won't be next. These people (U.S. officials) can't be trusted. They treat their dogs better than they treat our sons." Some people in the conservative Islamic kingdom questioned whether Muslim men would kill themselves since suicide is a grave sin in Islam. But defense lawyers and some former detainees said many prisoners at Guantanamo are wasting away in deep despair at their long captivity.
4 and 1/2 years with no trial creates these doubts.
"Even if the suicide story is true, I have no doubts that they were pushed to it by torture and the lack of attention paid to the health of the detainees," he said. The families of other Saudi detainees also questioned the U.S. version. "They were killed; they were murdered. This was no suicide," said Lulua al Dakheel, whose son, 22-year-old Fahed al Fouzan, has been at Guantanamo for more than four years.
Speaking through tears, she added: "There are no guarantees that my son won't be next. These people (U.S. officials) can't be trusted. They treat their dogs better than they treat our sons." Some people in the conservative Islamic kingdom questioned whether Muslim men would kill themselves since suicide is a grave sin in Islam. But defense lawyers and some former detainees said many prisoners at Guantanamo are wasting away in deep despair at their long captivity.
4 and 1/2 years with no trial creates these doubts.
christ, republicans, hypocrisy
When did it become a Christian view to (1)ignore the plight of the less fortunate, (2) give the most to those that have the most, (3)take from the poor to enrich the rich, (4) become crusaders again (Bush said it), (5)okay our leaders becoming cowboys, declaring "bring it on" thereby appearing to be macho, and (6) to use the smear and the sneer to degrade others views? Have you noticed how arrogant and smug they appear?
The answer is when the international corporations took over the Republican Pary with their money using Christ and hypocrisy to capture the high ground. Have a nice day.
The answer is when the international corporations took over the Republican Pary with their money using Christ and hypocrisy to capture the high ground. Have a nice day.
winning the hearts and minds?
US troops committed another crime against Iraqi civilians.A man is lamenting his mother and his pregnant sister who were killed by the US soldiers near the small town of al-Muatasm north of Baghdad. The women killed were named as Saleha Mohammed, 55, and Nabiha Nasif, 35. She was pregnant and on her way to the hospital for delivery.The US Army issued a statement on Wednesday saying that they killed the two women "by mistake".
It also denied a new accusation from Iraqi officers, that American troops killed unarmed civilians in their home in the northern area of Samarra early this month. But in an initial statement on May 5, the unit had said troops killed three people.
Several witnesses said that US soldiers killed two women, aged 60 and 20, and a mentally handicapped man in their home on May 4 after fighters fired on the troops. This comes at a time of mounting pressure on the Bush administration over the Haditha massacre.
Two separate probes are currently underway by the US Defense. Are we winning the hearts and minds?
It also denied a new accusation from Iraqi officers, that American troops killed unarmed civilians in their home in the northern area of Samarra early this month. But in an initial statement on May 5, the unit had said troops killed three people.
Several witnesses said that US soldiers killed two women, aged 60 and 20, and a mentally handicapped man in their home on May 4 after fighters fired on the troops. This comes at a time of mounting pressure on the Bush administration over the Haditha massacre.
Two separate probes are currently underway by the US Defense. Are we winning the hearts and minds?
09 June, 2006
republicans, attitudes, sleeve Christians
A member of the Sept. 11 commission on Friday lashed out at conservative pundit Ann Coulter for a "hate-filled attack" in saying the widows whose husbands died in the World Trade Center used the deaths for their own political gain.
Former Rep. Tim Roemer, D-Ind., a member of the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks, called Coulter's "hate-filled attack on the patriotic heroes of 9/12 — the widows of 9/11 — reprehensible and undignified.
Rep. Rahm Emmanuel, D-Ill., said Thursday on the House floor that Coulter is a "hatemonger" and called on Republicans to denounce her: "I must ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: Does Ann Coulter speak for you when she suggests poisoning not Supreme Court Justices or slanders the 9/11 ... widows? If not, speak now. Your silence allows her to be your spokesman."
'
Don’t be too hard on Ann. That’s the prevailing attitude among Republicans; they just don’t readily express it in public. Remember Mrs. Senior Bush said that Katrina victims were living better than they ever had. They are just sleeve Christians.
Former Rep. Tim Roemer, D-Ind., a member of the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks, called Coulter's "hate-filled attack on the patriotic heroes of 9/12 — the widows of 9/11 — reprehensible and undignified.
Rep. Rahm Emmanuel, D-Ill., said Thursday on the House floor that Coulter is a "hatemonger" and called on Republicans to denounce her: "I must ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: Does Ann Coulter speak for you when she suggests poisoning not Supreme Court Justices or slanders the 9/11 ... widows? If not, speak now. Your silence allows her to be your spokesman."
'
Don’t be too hard on Ann. That’s the prevailing attitude among Republicans; they just don’t readily express it in public. Remember Mrs. Senior Bush said that Katrina victims were living better than they ever had. They are just sleeve Christians.
28 May, 2006
support troops by cutting VA benefits?
"Me, I'll recover if my Social Security number's gone, but at least I have my health," said John Norton, 37, who served in a Navy construction battalion from 1988-96. Norton, of Grand Rapids, Mich., said he's not overly concerned whether his data may have been on a laptop stolen from a Veterans Affairs Department employee's home on May 3.
The VA on Monday revealed that the computer contained the names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of 26.5 million veterans who were discharged since 1975. In some cases, spouses' information and data of veterans discharged before 1975 who submitted claims to the agency may have been included.
Norton said there's nothing he can do about it, adding that he thinks it's just one example of how the federal government is failing veterans. "It's one of many things," Norton said as he looked toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. "Like the ongoing cutting of VA benefits. You don't see politicians' benefits cut."
If they really supported our troops, they wouldn't be cutting VA benefits.
The VA on Monday revealed that the computer contained the names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of 26.5 million veterans who were discharged since 1975. In some cases, spouses' information and data of veterans discharged before 1975 who submitted claims to the agency may have been included.
Norton said there's nothing he can do about it, adding that he thinks it's just one example of how the federal government is failing veterans. "It's one of many things," Norton said as he looked toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. "Like the ongoing cutting of VA benefits. You don't see politicians' benefits cut."
If they really supported our troops, they wouldn't be cutting VA benefits.
27 May, 2006
Lay and Bush
read today:
Lay and Skilling have to pay up their ill-gotten gains to Enron's stockholders, but what about the $9-plus billion owed to electricity consumers?
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Bush's electricity cops, have slapped Enron and its gang of power pirates on the wrist.
Could that have something to do with the fact that Ken Lay, in secret chats with Dick Cheney, selected the Commission's chairmen? Team Bush had to throw the public a bone, so they threw us Lay and Skilling for the crime - note - not of ripping off the public, but of ripping off stockholders - the owner class.
This limited conviction, and the announcement of only one more indictment - of the crime-busters at Milberg-Weiss - is Team Bush's "all clear!" signal for the sharks to jump back into the power pool.
Lay and Skilling have to pay up their ill-gotten gains to Enron's stockholders, but what about the $9-plus billion owed to electricity consumers?
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Bush's electricity cops, have slapped Enron and its gang of power pirates on the wrist.
Could that have something to do with the fact that Ken Lay, in secret chats with Dick Cheney, selected the Commission's chairmen? Team Bush had to throw the public a bone, so they threw us Lay and Skilling for the crime - note - not of ripping off the public, but of ripping off stockholders - the owner class.
This limited conviction, and the announcement of only one more indictment - of the crime-busters at Milberg-Weiss - is Team Bush's "all clear!" signal for the sharks to jump back into the power pool.
26 May, 2006
where is the moral outrage?
Investigators believe that their criminal investigation into the deaths of about two dozen Iraqi civilians points toward a conclusion that Marines committed unprovoked murders, a senior defense official said Friday.
The Marine Corps initially reported 15 deaths and said they were caused by a roadside bomb and an ensuing firefight with insurgents. A separate investigation is seeking to determine if Marines lied to cover up the killings.
On May 17, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated former Marine, said Marine Corps officials told him the toll in the Haditha attack was far worse than originally reported and that U.S. troops killed innocent women and children "in cold blood." He said that nearly twice as many people were killed than first reported, maintaining that U.S. forces are "overstretched and overstressed" by the war in Iraq.
The Marine Corps initially reported 15 deaths and said they were caused by a roadside bomb and an ensuing firefight with insurgents. A separate investigation is seeking to determine if Marines lied to cover up the killings.
On May 17, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated former Marine, said Marine Corps officials told him the toll in the Haditha attack was far worse than originally reported and that U.S. troops killed innocent women and children "in cold blood." He said that nearly twice as many people were killed than first reported, maintaining that U.S. forces are "overstretched and overstressed" by the war in Iraq.
Iraq deaths
Investigators believe that their criminal investigation into the deaths of about two dozen Iraqi civilians points toward a conclusion that Marines committed unprovoked murders, a senior defense official said Friday.
The Marine Corps initially reported 15 deaths and said they were caused by a roadside bomb and an ensuing firefight with insurgents. A separate investigation is seeking to determine if Marines lied to cover up the killings.
On May 17, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated former Marine, said Marine Corps officials told him the toll in the Haditha attack was far worse than originally reported and that U.S. troops killed innocent women and children "in cold blood." He said that nearly twice as many people were killed than first reported, maintaining that U.S. forces are "overstretched and overstressed" by the war in Iraq.
The Marine Corps initially reported 15 deaths and said they were caused by a roadside bomb and an ensuing firefight with insurgents. A separate investigation is seeking to determine if Marines lied to cover up the killings.
On May 17, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated former Marine, said Marine Corps officials told him the toll in the Haditha attack was far worse than originally reported and that U.S. troops killed innocent women and children "in cold blood." He said that nearly twice as many people were killed than first reported, maintaining that U.S. forces are "overstretched and overstressed" by the war in Iraq.
23 May, 2006
bush and turning points
Yesterday May 22, President Bush gave a public speech and hailed the creation of a new democratic government in Iraq: "We have now reached a turning point in the struggle between freedom and terror."
But this isn't the first "turning point" Bush has declared in Iraq. A trip down memory lane:
March 19, 2004, on the anniversary of when military forces entered Iraq to enforce United Nations demands: "Today, as Iraqis join the free peoples of the world, we mark a turning point for the Middle East, and a crucial advance for human liberty."
June 16, 2004, on the transfer of the Iraq governing authority to a sovereign interim government: "A turning point will come two weeks from today."
January 29, 2005, on Iraqis heading to the polls: "Tomorrow the world will witness a turning point in the history of Iraq."
December 12, 2005, in a speech looking back at the year in Iraq: "Thanks to the courage of the Iraqi people, the year 2005 will be recorded as a turning point in the history of Iraq, the history of the Middle East, and the history of freedom."
May 1, 2006, on the prospects of a new government in Iraq: "This is a -- we believe this is a turning point for the Iraqi citizens."
If he says it enough, some people will believe anything.
But this isn't the first "turning point" Bush has declared in Iraq. A trip down memory lane:
March 19, 2004, on the anniversary of when military forces entered Iraq to enforce United Nations demands: "Today, as Iraqis join the free peoples of the world, we mark a turning point for the Middle East, and a crucial advance for human liberty."
June 16, 2004, on the transfer of the Iraq governing authority to a sovereign interim government: "A turning point will come two weeks from today."
January 29, 2005, on Iraqis heading to the polls: "Tomorrow the world will witness a turning point in the history of Iraq."
December 12, 2005, in a speech looking back at the year in Iraq: "Thanks to the courage of the Iraqi people, the year 2005 will be recorded as a turning point in the history of Iraq, the history of the Middle East, and the history of freedom."
May 1, 2006, on the prospects of a new government in Iraq: "This is a -- we believe this is a turning point for the Iraqi citizens."
If he says it enough, some people will believe anything.
21 May, 2006
data mining by the LNSB
Read today:
“He didn’t get the contract,” Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alfonso Jackson said,. “Why should I reward someone who doesn’t like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don’t get the contract"
Remember, Haliburton's no-bid contracts in Iraq.
This data has been mined by the LNSB for patterns.
“He didn’t get the contract,” Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alfonso Jackson said,. “Why should I reward someone who doesn’t like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don’t get the contract"
Remember, Haliburton's no-bid contracts in Iraq.
This data has been mined by the LNSB for patterns.
Gitmo, torture and the U.N.
read today:
The Taliban fought back when we invaded their country (their leaders were harboring the al-Qaeda) as we would have if they had invaded our country. Both sides were justified at that point.
Some of them were scooped up and after 4 years are still being held captive by us without any charges, which suggests no or weak grounds for charging. About 460, some just former Taliban fighters, are incarcerated at the Cuban prison camp.
A U.N. panel said Friday the indefinite detention of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo violates the world's ban on torture. In issuing its report, the Committee Against Torture said the United States should ensure that no prisoner is tortured.
Our generals have said this is not a war that can be won militarily. Do you get it?
The Taliban fought back when we invaded their country (their leaders were harboring the al-Qaeda) as we would have if they had invaded our country. Both sides were justified at that point.
Some of them were scooped up and after 4 years are still being held captive by us without any charges, which suggests no or weak grounds for charging. About 460, some just former Taliban fighters, are incarcerated at the Cuban prison camp.
A U.N. panel said Friday the indefinite detention of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo violates the world's ban on torture. In issuing its report, the Committee Against Torture said the United States should ensure that no prisoner is tortured.
Our generals have said this is not a war that can be won militarily. Do you get it?
Republicans selective law enforcement
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales denied that authorities would randomly check journalists' records on domestic-to-domestic phone calls in an effort to find journalists' confidential sources. "We don't engage in domestic-to-domestic surveillance without a court order," Gonzales said, under a "probable cause" legal standard.
But he added that the First Amendment right of a free press should not be absolute when it comes to national security. If the government's probe into the NSA leak turns up criminal activity, prosecutors have an "obligation to enforce the law."
Why don't these Republicans enforce laws when it comes to employers??
But he added that the First Amendment right of a free press should not be absolute when it comes to national security. If the government's probe into the NSA leak turns up criminal activity, prosecutors have an "obligation to enforce the law."
Why don't these Republicans enforce laws when it comes to employers??
do they really care
Another explosion rocks a coal mine. Five more men die. And the burning question is the same as it was in the Sago Mine disaster. Some of the six workers caught in Saturday's blast in an eastern Kentucky coal mine had survived the initial blast and put on their oxygen devices, but only one made it out alive, Gov. Ernie Fletcher said. And a brother of the survivor said he passed out a couple of times as he escaped because his "self-rescuer" wasn't working properly.
The details echo those of West Virginia's Jan. 2 Sago Mine explosion, the only survivor of which said he and some of his 12 doomed co-workers had to share their breathing apparatus because at least four of the packs didn't work.
The real question is do the owners and the politicians who they finance really care???
The details echo those of West Virginia's Jan. 2 Sago Mine explosion, the only survivor of which said he and some of his 12 doomed co-workers had to share their breathing apparatus because at least four of the packs didn't work.
The real question is do the owners and the politicians who they finance really care???
19 May, 2006
the end game in Iraq
I saw a bumper sticker the other day that read--"Suport our troops, oppose the war". I guess they mean the one in Iraq.
If that country eventually survives, it will be controlled by shiites who are sixty percent of the population and will control most of the oil reserves, and they hate us and are allied with Iran.
They are already blaming us for the tens of thousand of civilian deaths while we are there, that includes women and children.
Nice isn't it.
If that country eventually survives, it will be controlled by shiites who are sixty percent of the population and will control most of the oil reserves, and they hate us and are allied with Iran.
They are already blaming us for the tens of thousand of civilian deaths while we are there, that includes women and children.
Nice isn't it.
16 May, 2006
Iraq update
"At least" 2,443 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
15 May, 2006
casualties in Iraq
"At least" 2,443 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilian women and children (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
I say at least as this is an Associated Press count. Our "free country" Defense Department does NOT publish numbers.
I say at least as this is an Associated Press count. Our "free country" Defense Department does NOT publish numbers.
14 May, 2006
world of Republican Conservatives(neocons)
President Bush told the public Thursday in a brief appearance aimed at quelling the instant outrage provoked by the story. He assured Americans that their civil liberties were being "fiercely protected" and that the government was "not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans."
In other words, never mind appearances. Trust us.
Well, that is not all it means. Nor can the president's promise to protect privacy be reliably kept.The fact that the government is trying to track (but not wiretap) every call you make and every call you receive — at home or on your cellphone is, to say the least, disturbing.
It means that your phone company tossed your privacy to the wind and collaborated with this extraordinary intrusion, and that it did so secretly and without following any court order.That is, unless you're lucky enough to be served by Qwest, the one major phone company that had the integrity to resist government pressure.
These types of databases invariably have errors. The federal terrorist "watch list," which is used to screen airline passengers, has ensnared a number of innocent travelers, for example, a 23-month-old toddler whose names are similar to, or the same as, suspects on the list. Once you're mistakenly targeted, the error can be nearly impossible to fix and your life can be turned upside down.
It means that unless public opposition changes the government's course, this database will be compiled, updated and expanded into the indeterminate future, through countless administrations with who-knows-what interests and motives. Only the most naive and unsuspicious soul could trust that it will remain safe, secured and for the eyes only of those hunting terrorists.
Combined with a separate NSA program (revealed in December by The New York Times) to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls from the USA, it raises the question of what other secret and constitutionally suspect programs the Bush administration might still be shielding.
Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA for six years and is now Bush's nominee to be CIA director, is a master of evasion. Speaking in January about the international eavesdropping, he said the program is not a widely cast "drift net" but is narrowly "focused" and "targeted."
Over time, this vast quantity of data is a potentially irresistible tool for government officials who want to zero in on individual Americans. Welcome to the world of these Republican Conservatives.
In other words, never mind appearances. Trust us.
Well, that is not all it means. Nor can the president's promise to protect privacy be reliably kept.The fact that the government is trying to track (but not wiretap) every call you make and every call you receive — at home or on your cellphone is, to say the least, disturbing.
It means that your phone company tossed your privacy to the wind and collaborated with this extraordinary intrusion, and that it did so secretly and without following any court order.That is, unless you're lucky enough to be served by Qwest, the one major phone company that had the integrity to resist government pressure.
These types of databases invariably have errors. The federal terrorist "watch list," which is used to screen airline passengers, has ensnared a number of innocent travelers, for example, a 23-month-old toddler whose names are similar to, or the same as, suspects on the list. Once you're mistakenly targeted, the error can be nearly impossible to fix and your life can be turned upside down.
It means that unless public opposition changes the government's course, this database will be compiled, updated and expanded into the indeterminate future, through countless administrations with who-knows-what interests and motives. Only the most naive and unsuspicious soul could trust that it will remain safe, secured and for the eyes only of those hunting terrorists.
Combined with a separate NSA program (revealed in December by The New York Times) to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls from the USA, it raises the question of what other secret and constitutionally suspect programs the Bush administration might still be shielding.
Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA for six years and is now Bush's nominee to be CIA director, is a master of evasion. Speaking in January about the international eavesdropping, he said the program is not a widely cast "drift net" but is narrowly "focused" and "targeted."
Over time, this vast quantity of data is a potentially irresistible tool for government officials who want to zero in on individual Americans. Welcome to the world of these Republican Conservatives.
13 May, 2006
government excuse to spy on you
The massive government data base of telephone calls was built without court warrants or the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a panel of federal judges established to issue secret warrants, according to people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
The administration's warrantless programs apparently violate the Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which bars "unreasonable searches and seizures" and requires warrants for searches, as well as the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that established the secret court.
Harold Koh, dean of Yale Law School and author of The National Security Constitution, called the scope of the database "quite shocking."
"If they had gone to Congress and said, 'We want to do this without probable cause, without warrants and without judicial review,' it never would have been approved," said Koh, a former law clerk for the late Supreme Court justice Harry Blackmun, "I don't think any FISA court would have approved this kind of scale of activity."
As a general rule, telecommunications companies require law enforcement agencies to present a court order before they will turn over a customer's phone records. Under Section 222 of the Communications Act, first passed in 1934, phone companies are prohibited from giving out information about their customers' calling habits.
Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, questioned why the phone companies would cooperate with the NSA."Why are the telephone companies not protecting their customers?" he said. "They have a social responsibility to people who do business with them to protect our privacy as long as there isn't some suspicion that we're a terrorist or a criminal or something."
The administration's warrantless programs apparently violate the Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which bars "unreasonable searches and seizures" and requires warrants for searches, as well as the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that established the secret court.
Harold Koh, dean of Yale Law School and author of The National Security Constitution, called the scope of the database "quite shocking."
"If they had gone to Congress and said, 'We want to do this without probable cause, without warrants and without judicial review,' it never would have been approved," said Koh, a former law clerk for the late Supreme Court justice Harry Blackmun, "I don't think any FISA court would have approved this kind of scale of activity."
As a general rule, telecommunications companies require law enforcement agencies to present a court order before they will turn over a customer's phone records. Under Section 222 of the Communications Act, first passed in 1934, phone companies are prohibited from giving out information about their customers' calling habits.
Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, questioned why the phone companies would cooperate with the NSA."Why are the telephone companies not protecting their customers?" he said. "They have a social responsibility to people who do business with them to protect our privacy as long as there isn't some suspicion that we're a terrorist or a criminal or something."
11 May, 2006
you and big brother
USA TODAY reported that the NSA has been collecting data from AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth since the Sept. 11 attacks to search for patterns that might help identify terrorist networks. NSA collected records from landlines and cellphones at homes, businesses and government offices across the country, including calls by individuals not suspected of wrongdoing.On Capitol Hill, Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy expressed outrage. "These are tens of millions of Americans who are not suspected of anything."
The telephone database was built without court warrants or the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a panel of federal judges established to issue secret warrants, according to people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
One major telecommunication company, Qwest, refused to participate in the NSA program because of concerns about the expansiveness of the program and the lack of judicial oversight, USA TODAY reported.
"This is an outrageous invasion of privacy and a frightening expansion of government power," said Bob Barr, a former Georgia congressman and conservative Republican who served as one of the House managers of President Clinton's impeachment.
Ralph Neas, president of the liberal group People for the American Way, used similar language, calling the program "an unconscionable infringement on the rights and freedoms that are the birthright of every American." He added, "We can destroy the terrorists without shredding the Constitution and the Bill of Rights." Big brother is monitoring you.
The telephone database was built without court warrants or the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a panel of federal judges established to issue secret warrants, according to people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
One major telecommunication company, Qwest, refused to participate in the NSA program because of concerns about the expansiveness of the program and the lack of judicial oversight, USA TODAY reported.
"This is an outrageous invasion of privacy and a frightening expansion of government power," said Bob Barr, a former Georgia congressman and conservative Republican who served as one of the House managers of President Clinton's impeachment.
Ralph Neas, president of the liberal group People for the American Way, used similar language, calling the program "an unconscionable infringement on the rights and freedoms that are the birthright of every American." He added, "We can destroy the terrorists without shredding the Constitution and the Bill of Rights." Big brother is monitoring you.
01 May, 2006
democratic solutions for medicare and SS
Funding shortfalls for Social Security and Medicare should be viewed in the context of Bush's drive to make the tax cuts of his first term permanent.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said that if Congress approved Bush's request to make his tax cuts permanent and enacted a permanent fix for the alternative minimum tax, which was designed to tax the wealthy but is falling on more middle-class tax payers, that would represent a cumulative revenue shortfall equal to 2% of the total economy over a 75-year period.
That is three times the shortfall estimated by the trustees for Social Security over the same period, Reed said.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said that if Congress approved Bush's request to make his tax cuts permanent and enacted a permanent fix for the alternative minimum tax, which was designed to tax the wealthy but is falling on more middle-class tax payers, that would represent a cumulative revenue shortfall equal to 2% of the total economy over a 75-year period.
That is three times the shortfall estimated by the trustees for Social Security over the same period, Reed said.
26 April, 2006
Bush contradicts Bush, when it suits him
During a Feb. 4 speech in Tampa, Florida, President George W. Bush pointed to a chart showing the Social Security system running out of money by 2042.
"What are you going to do about that chart?'' he urged the crowd to ask their senators and representatives.
What Bush didn't tell his audience was that if the forecast is correct, the U.S. will have its worst economic performance since the Great Depression.
He also didn't say that his own White House economists disagree with some of the basic assumptions of the chart, which was drawn up by the Social Security Administration.
"What are you going to do about that chart?'' he urged the crowd to ask their senators and representatives.
What Bush didn't tell his audience was that if the forecast is correct, the U.S. will have its worst economic performance since the Great Depression.
He also didn't say that his own White House economists disagree with some of the basic assumptions of the chart, which was drawn up by the Social Security Administration.
media control by conservatives
Conservative control of the "media"
Like every other institution, the conservative dominated Fox News Channel, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times, New York Post, National Review, Weekly Standard, American Spectator, Policy Review, Commentary, Human Events, the entire talk radio spectrum and most major cable television talk shows operate with conservative propaganda and control.
They include, but are not limited to, a near-universal shared conservative adherence to the belief that the Family Research Council, and the Christian Coalition are mainstream positions.
They include a belief that tax cuts aimed at the top 2 percent of earners solve the nation's problems; that tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy pay for themselves and are good ways to cut the deficit and slash social spending and don't have a negative effect on economic growth; and that emotional examples of suffering (provided by the Chamber of Commerce and major polluters) are good ways to illustrate economic statistic stories.
More systematically, the conservative media structure believes that ignoring most pressing social problems, like 35 million Americans in poverty and 45 million without basic health insurance, is better than attempting to explain and address these issues; that the White House line on the economy and Iraq is more interesting than the rising mountain of contrary facts; and that the president’s use of $10 million in taxpayer money to put ads on the air promoting his Medicare plan that was written by the Drug Companyies – produced by the same media consultant who made the PhRMA ads ripping Democrats for opposing the flawed prescription drug bill – seemed fair, somehow.
It does not accept the fact that President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy provided almost no stimulus to the economy and are primarily responsible for massive budget deficits over the next decade.
It remains fixated on stories of economic recovery even though 2.3 million people have lost jobs since President Bush took office in 2001 and hundreds of thousands of Americans have stopped looking for work altogether.
Like every other institution, the conservative dominated Fox News Channel, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times, New York Post, National Review, Weekly Standard, American Spectator, Policy Review, Commentary, Human Events, the entire talk radio spectrum and most major cable television talk shows operate with conservative propaganda and control.
They include, but are not limited to, a near-universal shared conservative adherence to the belief that the Family Research Council, and the Christian Coalition are mainstream positions.
They include a belief that tax cuts aimed at the top 2 percent of earners solve the nation's problems; that tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy pay for themselves and are good ways to cut the deficit and slash social spending and don't have a negative effect on economic growth; and that emotional examples of suffering (provided by the Chamber of Commerce and major polluters) are good ways to illustrate economic statistic stories.
More systematically, the conservative media structure believes that ignoring most pressing social problems, like 35 million Americans in poverty and 45 million without basic health insurance, is better than attempting to explain and address these issues; that the White House line on the economy and Iraq is more interesting than the rising mountain of contrary facts; and that the president’s use of $10 million in taxpayer money to put ads on the air promoting his Medicare plan that was written by the Drug Companyies – produced by the same media consultant who made the PhRMA ads ripping Democrats for opposing the flawed prescription drug bill – seemed fair, somehow.
It does not accept the fact that President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy provided almost no stimulus to the economy and are primarily responsible for massive budget deficits over the next decade.
It remains fixated on stories of economic recovery even though 2.3 million people have lost jobs since President Bush took office in 2001 and hundreds of thousands of Americans have stopped looking for work altogether.
25 April, 2006
another Bush scam
Bush said the nation's strategic petroleum reserve had enough fuel to guard against any major supply disruption over the next few months. "So, by deferring deposits until the fall, we'll leave a little more oil on the market. Every little bit helps," he said
So Bush is doing what he should have been doing anyway and to quote, "Every little bit helps' Since his family and the Cheneys (Haliburton's no-bid contract in Iraq) are heavy in oil, you can expect the snow job that will make it appear that (1) he cares and (2) he is taking action.
So Bush is doing what he should have been doing anyway and to quote, "Every little bit helps' Since his family and the Cheneys (Haliburton's no-bid contract in Iraq) are heavy in oil, you can expect the snow job that will make it appear that (1) he cares and (2) he is taking action.
the Republicans are coming
HOUSE POISED TO GRANT ARREST POWERS TO CIA, NSA The House version of the 2007 intelligence authorization bill would grant CIA and NSA security personnel the authority to make arrests for "any felony" committed in their presence, no matter how remote from the foreign intelligence mission it might be, the Baltimore Sun reported today.
Section 423 of H.R. 5020 "appears...to grant to CIA security personnel powers that have little to do with the primary mission of 'executive protection,' and potentially creates a pretext for use or abuse of these powers for the purposes of general domestic law enforcement -- something no element of the CIA has ever been empowered to perform," wrote Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight in a letter to members of the House Intelligence Committee opposing the provision.
Section 432 of the bill grants similar authority to NSA security personnel.
Section 423 of H.R. 5020 "appears...to grant to CIA security personnel powers that have little to do with the primary mission of 'executive protection,' and potentially creates a pretext for use or abuse of these powers for the purposes of general domestic law enforcement -- something no element of the CIA has ever been empowered to perform," wrote Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight in a letter to members of the House Intelligence Committee opposing the provision.
Section 432 of the bill grants similar authority to NSA security personnel.
23 April, 2006
bush is scary
The Bush administration has scared a lot of Americans by saying it is going to follow its plan in Iraq despite the evidence that it isn't working. I think there'd be a lot more confidence in President Bush if he seemed to have the capacity to admit mistakes and move to correct them.
And Bush's supporters aren't helping him when they rush to attack the sanity, integrity and motives of anyone who criticizes his policies.
These critics include lifelong public servants such as former White House counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke and former ambassador Joseph Wilson, longtime republican elitists such as William F. Buckley and George Will, and now even American military generals, including those who actually led ground troops in Iraq as recently as 2004.
And Bush's supporters aren't helping him when they rush to attack the sanity, integrity and motives of anyone who criticizes his policies.
These critics include lifelong public servants such as former White House counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke and former ambassador Joseph Wilson, longtime republican elitists such as William F. Buckley and George Will, and now even American military generals, including those who actually led ground troops in Iraq as recently as 2004.
22 April, 2006
conservatives vs. liberals
Conservatives often claim that liberals love to divide us by economic class.
That's not true at all. The giving of a $400 million retirement package to an executive by Exxon/Mobil which netted $36 billion last year "divides us by economic class."
And that my friends is just the "tip of the iceberg." Have a nice day!
That's not true at all. The giving of a $400 million retirement package to an executive by Exxon/Mobil which netted $36 billion last year "divides us by economic class."
And that my friends is just the "tip of the iceberg." Have a nice day!
replace Bush, Republicans, or Rumsfeld?
I read this today: "Rumsfeld should go because he invaded Iraq without a decent plan for the aftermath. ... Rumsfeld should go because ... U.S. troops brought unimaginable shame to our nation by torturing terrorist suspects in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and at Guantanamo Bay. ... Rumsfeld should go because he sent U.S. soldiers to war without equipping them sufficiently.
And Rumsfeld should be replaced because of the atmosphere he has created in the Pentagon, a stifling one that mirrors the worst tendencies of the Bush administration."
Replace the name Rumsfeld with these 'current republicans' and we have the real solution to the problem
And Rumsfeld should be replaced because of the atmosphere he has created in the Pentagon, a stifling one that mirrors the worst tendencies of the Bush administration."
Replace the name Rumsfeld with these 'current republicans' and we have the real solution to the problem
21 April, 2006
facts of Iraq that are not heard
The number of U.S. Army soldiers who took their own lives increased last year to the highest total since 1993, despite a growing effort by the Army to detect and prevent suicides.
"These numbers should be a wake-up call on the mental health impact of this war," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "One in three soldiers will come back with post traumatic stress disorder or comparable mental health issues, or depression and severe anxiety."
"You don't get much time to rest and with the increased insurgency, your chances of getting killed or wounded are growing," he said. "The Army is trying harder, but they've got an incredibly long way to go." He added that while there are more psychiatrists, the soldiers are still in a war zone, "so you're just putting your finger in the dam." ONE IN THREE, YOU DO THE MATH.
"These numbers should be a wake-up call on the mental health impact of this war," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "One in three soldiers will come back with post traumatic stress disorder or comparable mental health issues, or depression and severe anxiety."
"You don't get much time to rest and with the increased insurgency, your chances of getting killed or wounded are growing," he said. "The Army is trying harder, but they've got an incredibly long way to go." He added that while there are more psychiatrists, the soldiers are still in a war zone, "so you're just putting your finger in the dam." ONE IN THREE, YOU DO THE MATH.
republicans in congress
For more than three years, Congress has given President Bush a rubber stamp on his Iraq plans. Even now, as a civil war explodes, the Republican leaders in Congress won't allow a debate on whether we should change course. The idea that Congressional leaders would refuse to even discuss the most important issue in the country is amazing
18 April, 2006
current Republican Inquisition
The word, inquisition, is not exclusive to Spain in the Middle Ages. It is a useful term for historians to characterize phases of history that are distinguished by religious intolerance, by Christian holy war and Islamic jihad, by racial profiling and xenophobia, by show trials, and by snooping of secret police.
Read today:---This country is seized with collective paranoia. President Bush knows, as Ferdinand, Isabella and Torquemada knew, that constant warnings about secret terrorists are a powerful deterrent to dissent and a useful tool for consolidating political power.
Bush, like his Spanish precursors, presses for a unity of faith and a credo of purification. His faith mixes the secular and the spiritual. Its hallmarks are Jeffersonian democracy for all the world, unquestioning patriotism and revitalized Christianity. Unbelievers in this holy trinity are to be ferreted out. Not to subscribe to the methods in the war on terrorism is not so much dissent as heresy.
The American Inquisition began on Sept. 16, 2001, five days after the monstrous attack, when Bush proclaimed his "crusade." That was the defining moment for this era of U.S. history.
In the years since, Bush has demonstrated all the passion and single-mindedness of King Ferdinand. The American secret police force is not called the Holy Brotherhood as it was in 1492, for today's brotherhood is more electronic than human. On Capitol Hill, Cabinet members, past and present, call search warrants obsolete. Beware. We are all "mined" for our "data."
How different is this really from the spying that went on in the Spanish Inquisition? Suspect words or acts do not change that much with time. In Inquisitional Spain, neighbors were supposed to report a suspicious neighbor to the Holy Office. Now, symbolic words or actions are detected electronically.
In the past few months, Americans have been treated to the extraordinary spectacle of a U.S. president arguing for torture in the lofty staterooms of the U.S. government. Memos float around his Department of Defense, stressing that U.S. interrogators should cease their persecution if their victims come close to "organ failure."
The world wants to know what is going on in the star chambers of secret U.S. prisons around the world. The U.S. administration scoffs. The Geneva Conventions are called quaint, and the court in The Hague, Netherlands, cannot touch us. Standards for war crimes and crimes against humanity are for non-Americans.
For the historian, symbolic acts such as torture often define an era, and the American brand of torture has a particularly medieval quality.
"Waterboarding," as it is called (as if it were a sport like surfboarding or skateboarding), uses cellophane instead of gauze with water to subject the suspect to near drowning and suffocation. So today this is called an "enhanced" technique of interrogation. But the pitcher and gauze were just as effective in the 15th century. The intent is really no different from that of Torquemada's interrogators: to make the subject talk even though that talk might be drivel.
It is not surprising that a leader, who believes that his Christian God chose him to be president at this moment in history and that his Almighty speaks directly to him, should preside over this American Inquisition. Bush's messianic bent came to light vividly in June 2003, when he announced that his God had inspired him to go fight those terrorists and to end the tyranny in Iraq. What, one wonders, is his God telling him now about the chaos?
This supposed pipeline to heaven is, of course, not new for kings and potentates. On his deathbed in 1516, King Ferdinand told his minions that he could not die yet: God had told him that he would move on from the conquest of Granada to lead a great crusade that would recapture Jerusalem. The messianic impulse is commonplace in history.
Now, we are just a few years into the Iraq era. The situation is getting worse, and there is no end in sight. When this nightmare ends, years of self-examination are sure to follow as happened after the Vietnam disaster. The Iraq syndrome will be lengthy. In the meantime, American Inquisition takes root. It is more hard-edged and mean-spirited than the Vietnam crackdown ... for one reason.
Though Bush's explanations for his wayward adventure may constantly change, though the enterprise may show itself to be a military and moral catastrophe of historic proportions, this American leader and his circle of illuminati are utterly convinced of their righteousness.
Toward their detractors they misappropriate, like inquisitors before them, the verse of John 15:6: "If any abide not in me, he should be cast forth as a branch and shall wither, and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he shall burn."
Read today:---This country is seized with collective paranoia. President Bush knows, as Ferdinand, Isabella and Torquemada knew, that constant warnings about secret terrorists are a powerful deterrent to dissent and a useful tool for consolidating political power.
Bush, like his Spanish precursors, presses for a unity of faith and a credo of purification. His faith mixes the secular and the spiritual. Its hallmarks are Jeffersonian democracy for all the world, unquestioning patriotism and revitalized Christianity. Unbelievers in this holy trinity are to be ferreted out. Not to subscribe to the methods in the war on terrorism is not so much dissent as heresy.
The American Inquisition began on Sept. 16, 2001, five days after the monstrous attack, when Bush proclaimed his "crusade." That was the defining moment for this era of U.S. history.
In the years since, Bush has demonstrated all the passion and single-mindedness of King Ferdinand. The American secret police force is not called the Holy Brotherhood as it was in 1492, for today's brotherhood is more electronic than human. On Capitol Hill, Cabinet members, past and present, call search warrants obsolete. Beware. We are all "mined" for our "data."
How different is this really from the spying that went on in the Spanish Inquisition? Suspect words or acts do not change that much with time. In Inquisitional Spain, neighbors were supposed to report a suspicious neighbor to the Holy Office. Now, symbolic words or actions are detected electronically.
In the past few months, Americans have been treated to the extraordinary spectacle of a U.S. president arguing for torture in the lofty staterooms of the U.S. government. Memos float around his Department of Defense, stressing that U.S. interrogators should cease their persecution if their victims come close to "organ failure."
The world wants to know what is going on in the star chambers of secret U.S. prisons around the world. The U.S. administration scoffs. The Geneva Conventions are called quaint, and the court in The Hague, Netherlands, cannot touch us. Standards for war crimes and crimes against humanity are for non-Americans.
For the historian, symbolic acts such as torture often define an era, and the American brand of torture has a particularly medieval quality.
"Waterboarding," as it is called (as if it were a sport like surfboarding or skateboarding), uses cellophane instead of gauze with water to subject the suspect to near drowning and suffocation. So today this is called an "enhanced" technique of interrogation. But the pitcher and gauze were just as effective in the 15th century. The intent is really no different from that of Torquemada's interrogators: to make the subject talk even though that talk might be drivel.
It is not surprising that a leader, who believes that his Christian God chose him to be president at this moment in history and that his Almighty speaks directly to him, should preside over this American Inquisition. Bush's messianic bent came to light vividly in June 2003, when he announced that his God had inspired him to go fight those terrorists and to end the tyranny in Iraq. What, one wonders, is his God telling him now about the chaos?
This supposed pipeline to heaven is, of course, not new for kings and potentates. On his deathbed in 1516, King Ferdinand told his minions that he could not die yet: God had told him that he would move on from the conquest of Granada to lead a great crusade that would recapture Jerusalem. The messianic impulse is commonplace in history.
Now, we are just a few years into the Iraq era. The situation is getting worse, and there is no end in sight. When this nightmare ends, years of self-examination are sure to follow as happened after the Vietnam disaster. The Iraq syndrome will be lengthy. In the meantime, American Inquisition takes root. It is more hard-edged and mean-spirited than the Vietnam crackdown ... for one reason.
Though Bush's explanations for his wayward adventure may constantly change, though the enterprise may show itself to be a military and moral catastrophe of historic proportions, this American leader and his circle of illuminati are utterly convinced of their righteousness.
Toward their detractors they misappropriate, like inquisitors before them, the verse of John 15:6: "If any abide not in me, he should be cast forth as a branch and shall wither, and they shall gather him up and cast him into the fire, and he shall burn."
16 April, 2006
Republican lies about Iraqi Army
Most armies threaten imprisonment or fines for soldiers who abruptly leave their units, but the Iraqi army does not require its soldiers to sign contracts. That means they can quit anytime and casually treat enlistments as temporary jobs. Soldiers can even pick up their belongings and leave during missions — and often do without facing punishment.
The commander said a shortage of troops is the unit's biggest problem — and pinned the blame on both the policy and unmotivated soldiers.
"Under the military agreement, they can leave anytime," said Col. Alaa Kata al-Kafage, while his troops waited for a roadside bomb to be detonated. "After (soldiers) get paid and save a little bit of money, they leave."
"All the soldiers now, they don't care about the country. They care about the money," al-Kafage said. "It's too easy for them to quit. If someone punishes them, they can throw down their uniform and say, 'Have a nice day.'"
Iraqi officials, however, say they have no choice but to allow the policy, or they may gain virtually no volunteers.
The currentRepublicans continue to claim they are making progress in training Iraqi soldiers. B... S...
The commander said a shortage of troops is the unit's biggest problem — and pinned the blame on both the policy and unmotivated soldiers.
"Under the military agreement, they can leave anytime," said Col. Alaa Kata al-Kafage, while his troops waited for a roadside bomb to be detonated. "After (soldiers) get paid and save a little bit of money, they leave."
"All the soldiers now, they don't care about the country. They care about the money," al-Kafage said. "It's too easy for them to quit. If someone punishes them, they can throw down their uniform and say, 'Have a nice day.'"
Iraqi officials, however, say they have no choice but to allow the policy, or they may gain virtually no volunteers.
The currentRepublicans continue to claim they are making progress in training Iraqi soldiers. B... S...
cheney, halliburton, no-bid Iraq contract
I read the following today:
"The Cheneys' 2005 income included the vice president's $205,031 government salary and $211,465 in deferred compensation from Halliburton, the Dallas-based energy services firm he headed until Aug. 16, 2000.
Halliburton received the largest NO-BID contract and continues to operate in Iraq."
"The Cheneys' 2005 income included the vice president's $205,031 government salary and $211,465 in deferred compensation from Halliburton, the Dallas-based energy services firm he headed until Aug. 16, 2000.
Halliburton received the largest NO-BID contract and continues to operate in Iraq."
14 April, 2006
Rumsfeld the next scape goat?
A sixth former general joined the criticism of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday, saying Rumsfeld should resign for mishandling the war in Iraq."We need a new secretary of Defense," retired major general Charles Swannack, former commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, said on CNN.
He said Rumsfeld had micromanaged the war.Retired major general John Batiste, who commanded the Army's 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2003 and 2004 agreed. He told USA TODAY on Thursday that Rumsfeld should step down because he ignored sound military advice about how to secure Iraq after Baghdad fell.
Batiste first criticized Rumsfeld in a speech last week."Sadly, we started something we weren't prepared to finish," Batiste said Thursday, adding that many senior officers shared his feelings on Rumsfeld.White House spokesman
Scott McClellan said that President Bush still "believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job." Remember when he said “you’re doing a heck of a job Brownie”
Swannack and Batiste are the latest additions to the retired generals who have criticized Rumsfeld. They include:• Marine lieutenant general Greg Newbold, the former Pentagon top operations officer, who called Iraq an "unnecessary war" in a Time magazine column this week.
• Major general Paul Eaton, who was in charge of training Iraqi troops in 2003 and 2004, wrote last month in The New York Times that Rumsfeld is "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically."Army major general John Riggs, who told The Washington Post that his former colleagues in the military believe Rumsfeld and his close aides "should be cleared out."
Marine general Anthony Zinni, the former command of U.S. Central Command and a longtime critic, said Rumsfeld should retire.
Despite Bush's support, such criticism could be enough to help force out Rumsfeld, said Loren Thompson, a military expert at the Lexington Institute, a Virginia think tank.
"It is so uncommon for senior military officers in the United States to criticize civilian leaders that it has to make an impression on the White House"Thompson said.
However, Kurt Campbell at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said he doesn't "see any sign that the secretary is contemplating stepping down." and I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
He said Rumsfeld had micromanaged the war.Retired major general John Batiste, who commanded the Army's 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2003 and 2004 agreed. He told USA TODAY on Thursday that Rumsfeld should step down because he ignored sound military advice about how to secure Iraq after Baghdad fell.
Batiste first criticized Rumsfeld in a speech last week."Sadly, we started something we weren't prepared to finish," Batiste said Thursday, adding that many senior officers shared his feelings on Rumsfeld.White House spokesman
Scott McClellan said that President Bush still "believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job." Remember when he said “you’re doing a heck of a job Brownie”
Swannack and Batiste are the latest additions to the retired generals who have criticized Rumsfeld. They include:• Marine lieutenant general Greg Newbold, the former Pentagon top operations officer, who called Iraq an "unnecessary war" in a Time magazine column this week.
• Major general Paul Eaton, who was in charge of training Iraqi troops in 2003 and 2004, wrote last month in The New York Times that Rumsfeld is "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically."Army major general John Riggs, who told The Washington Post that his former colleagues in the military believe Rumsfeld and his close aides "should be cleared out."
Marine general Anthony Zinni, the former command of U.S. Central Command and a longtime critic, said Rumsfeld should retire.
Despite Bush's support, such criticism could be enough to help force out Rumsfeld, said Loren Thompson, a military expert at the Lexington Institute, a Virginia think tank.
"It is so uncommon for senior military officers in the United States to criticize civilian leaders that it has to make an impression on the White House"Thompson said.
However, Kurt Campbell at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said he doesn't "see any sign that the secretary is contemplating stepping down." and I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
11 April, 2006
"the zealots rationale for war
Retired Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold said he was outspoken in his criticism before the war, saying the "zealots' rationale for war made no sense." From 2000 until October 2002, Newbold served as director of operations for the Joint Chiefs. The U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003.
At least two other retired generals have raised similar concerns in recent weeks about the administration's war policies, including Gen. Anthony Zinni, former U.S. Mideast commander.Overall there are about 132,000 U.S. forces in Iraq.
At least two other retired generals have raised similar concerns in recent weeks about the administration's war policies, including Gen. Anthony Zinni, former U.S. Mideast commander.Overall there are about 132,000 U.S. forces in Iraq.
10 April, 2006
It was Bush all along
President Bush's quest to muzzle leakers in his administration has always looked a bit odd. In the most charitable interpretation, it's a naïve waste of time and resources. Leaks are part of every administration, and Bush's claims that national security has been undermined appear dubious at best.
It is a Nixonesque attempt to intimidate anyone who dares interfere with administration policy by disclosing facts that it is hiding. Among the leaks that angered Bush most have been disclosures that the administration was engaging in wiretaps without court approval and that someone in the administration leaked the identity of a CIA operative. After two unproductive years, the federal investigation into the 2003 leak of the operative's identity has finally come full circle to wound the instigator of the probe himself — the president. Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's top aide, testified that in the summer of 2003, Cheney told him that Bush had personally approved disclosing parts of the classified National Intelligence Estimate — though not the operative's name — to bolster one of the administration's key claims for going to war — Iraq was trying to buy uranium to produce nuclear weapons. That, like the administration's other rationales for war, proved false.
Presidents can and do declassify such data and that's precisely what Bush did, 10 DAYS AFTER Libby's disclosure, giving the public information it had a right to know. But first, the White House cherry-picked pieces to prop up its case and leaked them to a favored reporter. It's no wonder that the public does not trust these Republicans.
It is a Nixonesque attempt to intimidate anyone who dares interfere with administration policy by disclosing facts that it is hiding. Among the leaks that angered Bush most have been disclosures that the administration was engaging in wiretaps without court approval and that someone in the administration leaked the identity of a CIA operative. After two unproductive years, the federal investigation into the 2003 leak of the operative's identity has finally come full circle to wound the instigator of the probe himself — the president. Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's top aide, testified that in the summer of 2003, Cheney told him that Bush had personally approved disclosing parts of the classified National Intelligence Estimate — though not the operative's name — to bolster one of the administration's key claims for going to war — Iraq was trying to buy uranium to produce nuclear weapons. That, like the administration's other rationales for war, proved false.
Presidents can and do declassify such data and that's precisely what Bush did, 10 DAYS AFTER Libby's disclosure, giving the public information it had a right to know. But first, the White House cherry-picked pieces to prop up its case and leaked them to a favored reporter. It's no wonder that the public does not trust these Republicans.
09 April, 2006
Bush the leaker-in-chief
The president, whose popularity is slumping, is on the defensive because of a prosecutor's disclosure that Bush authorized a former top official, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, to share intelligence data on Iraq in 2003 with a reporter to defend his decision to invade Iraq.
Sen. Arlen Specter said Sunday that "there's been enough of a showing here with what's been filed of record in court that the president of the United States owes a specific explanation to the American people.
The president has criticized the Congress for leaking and now we find out the the White House has leaked. For once the President needs to tell the truth as to why he leaked the information aimed at countering criticism of his reasons for taking America to war in Iraq.
That's my boy "Scooter" Don't let them make you the fall guy. Remember "Brownie"!
Sen. Arlen Specter said Sunday that "there's been enough of a showing here with what's been filed of record in court that the president of the United States owes a specific explanation to the American people.
The president has criticized the Congress for leaking and now we find out the the White House has leaked. For once the President needs to tell the truth as to why he leaked the information aimed at countering criticism of his reasons for taking America to war in Iraq.
That's my boy "Scooter" Don't let them make you the fall guy. Remember "Brownie"!
Bush's love for Delay
Living in and following Texas politics for over 50 years, redistricting was conducted every ten years after the census to reflect voter population changes.When the Republicans took over, they changed it right in the middle of the ten year period(and not for population changes but to secure and increase Republican winners) by Delay's getting campaign money to those in the Texas legislature who voted for the changes.
That is why Delay is Bush's hero.Take a look at a map of Delay's district before and after redistricting (it now looks like the snake he is) and you will understand the problem. That is not what he was indicted for, however.
That is why Delay is Bush's hero.Take a look at a map of Delay's district before and after redistricting (it now looks like the snake he is) and you will understand the problem. That is not what he was indicted for, however.
Bush lies again
Immigration legislation fell victim Friday to internal disputes in both parties. But Bush — echoing earlier complaints from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. — sought to lay all the fault with Reid, D-Nev."I call on the Senate minority leader to end his blocking tactics and allow the Senate to do its work and pass a fair, effective immigration reform bill," Bush said in his weekly radio address. He lied again.
Reid shot back that Bush and Frist "are flat-out wrong about what happened to the immigration bill," saying Democrats proved their commitment to a comprehensive, bipartisan measure by voting twice in favor of it.
"It was President Bush and Republicans in Congress who lacked the backbone to stand up to the extreme right wing of their party, filibustered reform twice in two days, and put partisan politics ahead of border security and immigration reform," Reid said.
Reid shot back that Bush and Frist "are flat-out wrong about what happened to the immigration bill," saying Democrats proved their commitment to a comprehensive, bipartisan measure by voting twice in favor of it.
"It was President Bush and Republicans in Congress who lacked the backbone to stand up to the extreme right wing of their party, filibustered reform twice in two days, and put partisan politics ahead of border security and immigration reform," Reid said.
08 April, 2006
are they going to get away with it AGAIN?
aIt is not a good time to be a Republican right now – unless Tom DeLay helped gerrymander your district to your Republican rule for life, of course. The GOP’s approval rating is now 30%, and 49% of the public wants to see the Demos take back Congress. For political junkies like me, it is going to be fascinating to see how the GOP plans to pull this one off without resorting to election-fixing or martial law. Whatever they come up with, it had better be good.
As GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio said, "The good news is Democrats don't have much of a plan. The bad news is they may not need one."The shrill jabbering from the Fox News pundits is not a good sign. The best they seem to be able to come up with so far is: (1) the tried and true Fear card (“If you vote Demo, they’ll lynch the President, and al Qaeda will win!”), and (2) the Everyone’s A Sinner defense (“The Democrats are just as corrupt as we are!”)
Which is probably true, but not much of a vote generator. Besides, the only credible Demo scandal competing for air time right now is Cynthia McKinney clocking a cop with a mobile phone. The American People see worse behavior on daytime talk shows.
Still, it’s a long ways yet. We’re still in Iraq, and we may be in Iran by then, and I wouldn’t put it beyond the Bush Posse to invade Iran just so the GOP can say in October 2008, “Who would you rather hand the reins over to now, huh?”
And it could backfire in spectacular fashion. I’m hesitant to call a Democratic(yes I said democratic) victory in 2008, but so far it looks like the only thing the GOP will be able to do to stop it (short of an executive order from Junior Bush declaring himself Supreme Chancellor) is to pull another Florida/Ohio. And what are the odds of them getting away with that three times in a row?
As GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio said, "The good news is Democrats don't have much of a plan. The bad news is they may not need one."The shrill jabbering from the Fox News pundits is not a good sign. The best they seem to be able to come up with so far is: (1) the tried and true Fear card (“If you vote Demo, they’ll lynch the President, and al Qaeda will win!”), and (2) the Everyone’s A Sinner defense (“The Democrats are just as corrupt as we are!”)
Which is probably true, but not much of a vote generator. Besides, the only credible Demo scandal competing for air time right now is Cynthia McKinney clocking a cop with a mobile phone. The American People see worse behavior on daytime talk shows.
Still, it’s a long ways yet. We’re still in Iraq, and we may be in Iran by then, and I wouldn’t put it beyond the Bush Posse to invade Iran just so the GOP can say in October 2008, “Who would you rather hand the reins over to now, huh?”
And it could backfire in spectacular fashion. I’m hesitant to call a Democratic(yes I said democratic) victory in 2008, but so far it looks like the only thing the GOP will be able to do to stop it (short of an executive order from Junior Bush declaring himself Supreme Chancellor) is to pull another Florida/Ohio. And what are the odds of them getting away with that three times in a row?
Republicans lack secuity action
Ports, chemical and nuclear plants and mass transit systems are still vulnerable nearly five years after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The nation also has NOT implemented all of the recommendations of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission, which recently gave the administration and Congress a report card "filled with Fs, Ds and incompletes. Too often, the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress have failed to back up their rhetoric with robust action.
The American people want and deserve a change of direction. President Bush has cut money in his budget for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program while the nation is more dependent than ever on foreign oil.
Anti-Americanism is growing, and President Bush has refused to hold civilian leaders in his administration accountable for their incompetence and miscalculations on Iraq.
The nation can no longer ignore the dangerous deficits and exploding national debt, which has grown by $3 trillion over the last five years. Fiscal responsibility is a foundation for our national security,And we cannot continue to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars every year from foreign countries such as China and Saudi Arabia."
The nation also has NOT implemented all of the recommendations of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission, which recently gave the administration and Congress a report card "filled with Fs, Ds and incompletes. Too often, the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress have failed to back up their rhetoric with robust action.
The American people want and deserve a change of direction. President Bush has cut money in his budget for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program while the nation is more dependent than ever on foreign oil.
Anti-Americanism is growing, and President Bush has refused to hold civilian leaders in his administration accountable for their incompetence and miscalculations on Iraq.
The nation can no longer ignore the dangerous deficits and exploding national debt, which has grown by $3 trillion over the last five years. Fiscal responsibility is a foundation for our national security,And we cannot continue to borrow hundreds of billions of dollars every year from foreign countries such as China and Saudi Arabia."
Impeachment-a solution?
Read today: This administration is the most corrupt (leagally and morally) in the history of this country. Yet, there they sit with smuggness oozing from every pore.
This administration makes Nixon look like a Boy Scout. All his administration did was break and enter and steal political strategy documents from the Democrats and then try to cover it up.
They didn't leak intelligence information to justify decimating a country for its oil or to get even because Big Daddy Bush couldn't win a war there. They didn't illegally tap the phones of American citizens. They didn't do their best to "burn" the Bill of Rights, etc., etc. Yet, look what happened to Nixon.
Then there was Bill Clinton who was impeached for lying about getting a BJ from Monica. For cripes sake! What is going on in this country? IMPEACH THIS WHOLE LOUSY CROOKED ADMINISTRATION! (a thought for elections in the fall of 2006)
This administration makes Nixon look like a Boy Scout. All his administration did was break and enter and steal political strategy documents from the Democrats and then try to cover it up.
They didn't leak intelligence information to justify decimating a country for its oil or to get even because Big Daddy Bush couldn't win a war there. They didn't illegally tap the phones of American citizens. They didn't do their best to "burn" the Bill of Rights, etc., etc. Yet, look what happened to Nixon.
Then there was Bill Clinton who was impeached for lying about getting a BJ from Monica. For cripes sake! What is going on in this country? IMPEACH THIS WHOLE LOUSY CROOKED ADMINISTRATION! (a thought for elections in the fall of 2006)
polls-people finally waking up
As bad as Bush's numbers may be, Congress' are worse. Just 30% of the public approves of the GOP-led Congress' job performance, and Republicans seem to be shouldering the blame, as they contol everything.
By a 49-33 margin, the public favors Democrats over Republicans when asked which party should control Congress.
By a 49-33 margin, the public favors Democrats over Republicans when asked which party should control Congress.
07 April, 2006
Harry Taylor and Bush
President Bush often holds "town hall" events where he takes questions from a hand picked crowd of "real people." Yesterday one of the people was, well, real, a small business owner named Harry Taylor
Harry Taylor stood up and said to the President of the United States:
"You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you'd like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf. You are—
I don't have a question. What I wanted to say to you is that I—in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate, and I would hope—I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration.
I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself, inside yourself. And I also want to say I really appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to speak what I'm saying to you right now. That is part of what this country is about."
Harry Taylor stood up and said to the President of the United States:
"You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you'd like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf. You are—
I don't have a question. What I wanted to say to you is that I—in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate, and I would hope—I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration.
I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself, inside yourself. And I also want to say I really appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to speak what I'm saying to you right now. That is part of what this country is about."
06 April, 2006
commander-in-chief or leaker-in-chief
Whatever its significance for the Libby case, the latest filing helps to resolve a lingering question that arose last February regarding the Vice President's role in authorizing the disclosure of classified information (Secrecy News, 02/16/06).
It appears that the Vice President did not direct disclosure on his own authority but on that of the President. "Defendant [Libby] testified that the Vice President later advised him that the President had authorized defendant to disclose the relevant portions of the NIE.
Defendant testified that he also spoke to David Addington, then Counsel to the Vice President, whom defendant considered to be an expert in national security law, and Mr. Addington opined that Presidential authorization to publicly disclose a document amounted to a declassification of the document," the government filing said
It appears that the Vice President did not direct disclosure on his own authority but on that of the President. "Defendant [Libby] testified that the Vice President later advised him that the President had authorized defendant to disclose the relevant portions of the NIE.
Defendant testified that he also spoke to David Addington, then Counsel to the Vice President, whom defendant considered to be an expert in national security law, and Mr. Addington opined that Presidential authorization to publicly disclose a document amounted to a declassification of the document," the government filing said
05 April, 2006
the new Republican budget
The new reverse Robin Hood budget proposal would: cut $167 billion dollars over 5 years from vital domestic services, including health care, education, and family services, give away $228 billion dollars in tax breaks, mostly to the very rich ,and drive up the federal deficit by another $254 billion dollars
04 April, 2006
Republicans, Delay and the money
With accusations of political corruption, former Majority Leader Tom Delay said Tuesday he is resigning from Congress in the face of a tough re-election race, closing out a career that blended unflinching conservatism with a bare-knuckled attack, attack, smear, smear political style. (the chickens are finally coming home to roost.)
"I think I could have won this seat but it would have been nasty.(Bull, Republicans revel in "nasty") It would have cost a fortune to do it," said the Texas Republican, first elected in 1984.
He secured lots of money to legislators in Texas who voted to gerrymander voting districts in Texas so Republicans could win in Texas and in the Congress. No wonder Bush continues to praise him. Down the line they will get Delay his own talk show or something.
That is typical Republican speak, its not about what is good for the country, its only about the money to them . They have most of the money coming in from the folks at the top, and the Republicans are giving it back to them 10-fold in tax breaks, a neat political trick.
"I think I could have won this seat but it would have been nasty.(Bull, Republicans revel in "nasty") It would have cost a fortune to do it," said the Texas Republican, first elected in 1984.
He secured lots of money to legislators in Texas who voted to gerrymander voting districts in Texas so Republicans could win in Texas and in the Congress. No wonder Bush continues to praise him. Down the line they will get Delay his own talk show or something.
That is typical Republican speak, its not about what is good for the country, its only about the money to them . They have most of the money coming in from the folks at the top, and the Republicans are giving it back to them 10-fold in tax breaks, a neat political trick.
03 April, 2006
Republicans on immigration laws
Do you know that Republicans ignored enforcement of existing immigrant labor laws until they are now forced by public opinion to act concerned. Do you want to make criminals out of 12-20 million people and their children who by and large just walked across open fields and came to work in this country, not take jobs to India, China or Mexico, Why not make criminals out of those who hire them???
They are not about to arrest employers as Republicans are for the owners who are mostly Republicans.. Do you think it would be feasible to deport 12-20 million people out of this country? Have a nice day.
They are not about to arrest employers as Republicans are for the owners who are mostly Republicans.. Do you think it would be feasible to deport 12-20 million people out of this country? Have a nice day.
30 March, 2006
and the enemy is.....?
Epitaph:
Between WW11 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, we saw our enemies as the evil ones--just as we do now. The enemy had WMD--just as they do now. They spied on their citizens without warrants--just as we do now. Their citizens could be fired and were called unpatriotic for criticizing their leader--just as we can now.
They excluded god from their government--just as we do now. They had secret prisons where they tortured people--just as we do now. They believed in spreading their ideology throughout the world at any cost--just as we do now. They sent their soldiers to die in the middle east--just as we do now.
Their empire ended in economic collapse--our national debt will double under these Republicans to over $9 trillion. We met the enemy and it could have been us.
Between WW11 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, we saw our enemies as the evil ones--just as we do now. The enemy had WMD--just as they do now. They spied on their citizens without warrants--just as we do now. Their citizens could be fired and were called unpatriotic for criticizing their leader--just as we can now.
They excluded god from their government--just as we do now. They had secret prisons where they tortured people--just as we do now. They believed in spreading their ideology throughout the world at any cost--just as we do now. They sent their soldiers to die in the middle east--just as we do now.
Their empire ended in economic collapse--our national debt will double under these Republicans to over $9 trillion. We met the enemy and it could have been us.
who can disobey the law
Must the President of the United States obey the law? Ordinarily, the answer of course is yes, unless the law itself is unconstitutional. However, the President does not have the last word on what is or is not constitutional. That decision belongs to the Supreme Court.
Hey, if the President can pick and chose so can we. A new bill introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) yesterday would set the stage for the Supreme Court to consider the legality of the Bush Administration's warrantless surveillance program by granting legal standing to litigants seeking to challenge the program.
Hey, if the President can pick and chose so can we. A new bill introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) yesterday would set the stage for the Supreme Court to consider the legality of the Bush Administration's warrantless surveillance program by granting legal standing to litigants seeking to challenge the program.
borrow and spend republicans
The national debt will almost double to more than $9 trillion under Bush's tenure in office, a natural result from a borrow and spend fiscal policy that says you can have guns, butter, tax cuts for the wealthy , and never mind the deficit. ... It holds no real plan or prospect of balancing the budget.
28 March, 2006
foreign policy,international relations
The Bush administration, with its insistence on absolute power for the executive branch, has managed to blow this opportunity to win hearts and minds abroad. Administration lawyers will argue Tuesday that Hamdan has almost no rights. Worse, the government contends that the Supreme Court has no right to be hearing his case.
A former taxi driver with a fourth-grade education in his native Yemen, he is one of just 10 detainees who have actually been charged with terrorism and war crimes.Whether he's a terrorist collaborator or a flunky who was swept off the battlefield in Afghanistan is hard to determine. The details of his supposed offenses are unknown.
The message from the Supreme Court Tuesday could have been a shining slice of the democratic ideal: the rule of law by an independent judiciary, a concept sacred to the Founding Fathers and a model for the world. Instead, Tuesday's hearing projects the image of an administration that has botched the handling of prisoner issues and given the USA a black eye internationally in the process.
Hamdan, thought to be in his mid-30s, has become a high-profile pawn in the administration's stubborn contention that it doesn't have to answer to anyone — not Congress, not the courts and not international treaties and organizations — in its pursuit of the war on terror.
The administration asserts the right to unilaterally designate individuals as "enemy combatants" and hold them prisoner indefinitely, possibly forever.
A former taxi driver with a fourth-grade education in his native Yemen, he is one of just 10 detainees who have actually been charged with terrorism and war crimes.Whether he's a terrorist collaborator or a flunky who was swept off the battlefield in Afghanistan is hard to determine. The details of his supposed offenses are unknown.
The message from the Supreme Court Tuesday could have been a shining slice of the democratic ideal: the rule of law by an independent judiciary, a concept sacred to the Founding Fathers and a model for the world. Instead, Tuesday's hearing projects the image of an administration that has botched the handling of prisoner issues and given the USA a black eye internationally in the process.
Hamdan, thought to be in his mid-30s, has become a high-profile pawn in the administration's stubborn contention that it doesn't have to answer to anyone — not Congress, not the courts and not international treaties and organizations — in its pursuit of the war on terror.
The administration asserts the right to unilaterally designate individuals as "enemy combatants" and hold them prisoner indefinitely, possibly forever.
the soldiers media and attitudes
A new Zogby poll came out today. What is getting coverage in a New York Times article is that 72% of U.S. soldiers in Iraq believe we should substantially withdraw sooner rather than later.
85% believe that the primary reason we are in Iraq is “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks,” while 77% said that “the main or a major reason” for the war was “to stop Saddam from protecting al Qaeda in Iraq.”
This is a year and a half after the 9/11 Commission dismissed any meaningful relationship between Iraq and the 9/11 attacks or al Qaeda. Perhaps we cannot expect American soldiers to be better informed than the public at large and a large slice of the public has often linked Iraq and 9/11, in no small part because of innuendo from the Administration or direct claims, particularly from Vice President Cheney.
Yet, today polls indicate that less than a third of the public still believe that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. Soldiers in Iraq get their news through media that the military controls or at least is aware of. It is a shame that they are so poorly informed about why they are fighting.
85% believe that the primary reason we are in Iraq is “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks,” while 77% said that “the main or a major reason” for the war was “to stop Saddam from protecting al Qaeda in Iraq.”
This is a year and a half after the 9/11 Commission dismissed any meaningful relationship between Iraq and the 9/11 attacks or al Qaeda. Perhaps we cannot expect American soldiers to be better informed than the public at large and a large slice of the public has often linked Iraq and 9/11, in no small part because of innuendo from the Administration or direct claims, particularly from Vice President Cheney.
Yet, today polls indicate that less than a third of the public still believe that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. Soldiers in Iraq get their news through media that the military controls or at least is aware of. It is a shame that they are so poorly informed about why they are fighting.
26 March, 2006
mideast policy,lobbyists, vulnerable to terrorism?
According to the two academics, the United States' "unwavering support" for Israel — including the $3 billion a year we give in direct assistance, as well as the decades of unequivocal military and diplomatic support we've provided — is justified by neither strategic nor moral imperatives.
Perhaps Israel was a strategic asset during the Cold War (oil embargo aside), but more recently it has inflamed Arab and Islamic public opinion and emboldened the world's Osama bin Ladens, they say.
It has made us more — not less — vulnerable to terrorism. What's more, Israel routinely ignores U.S. requests (to stop building settlements, say, or end "targeted assassinations"). Our acceptance of its nuclear arsenal makes us look hypocritical on proliferation issues.
Nor is our support of Israel morally justifiable, according to Walt and Mearsheimer. Despite the common view, Israel is, in fact, the Goliath in the Middle East, not the David. It is not a truly democratic country, but an avowedly Jewish state in which Arabs live as second-class citizens, a country that has committed crimes against its Palestinian neighbors with which the U.S. should be ashamed to be associated.
So, ask the authors, if neither shared strategic interests nor compelling moral imperatives explain U.S. support for Israel, what does? You guessed it: the "Israel Lobby."
Its most powerful arm is AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (the nation's second most powerful lobby behind AARP, they suggest), but it also includes Christian evangelicals (such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson), Jewish members of Congress (such as Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut), Christian Zionists in Congress (such as Rep. Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican) and media cheerleaders (such as the Weekly Standard's William Kristol and the entire Wall Street Journal editorial page).
It has its own think tanks, including the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It has operatives like Martin Indyk — a former AIPAC official, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and now head of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
Together, these groups give money, votes, endorsements and intellectual firepower to favored government officials. And enemies of Israel, beware! "The Lobby" can make or break candidates (as when it forced former Sen. Charles Percy of Illinois out of office in 1984) and policymakers (as when it persuaded President Carter not to appoint George Ball as secretary of State).
"The bottom line is that AIPAC, a de facto agent for a foreign government, has a stranglehold on Congress," Walt and Mearsheimer contend.
Most important these days, the lobby includes the hawkish neoconservative Zionists around President Bush — Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith and Elliott Abrams, to name three — who, the academics say, were the driving force behind the movement to topple Saddam Hussein for the benefit of Israel.
It seems silly to deny that a powerful lobby on behalf of Israel exists. The real question is how pernicious it is. Does it, in fact, persuade us to act counter to our national interest — or is it a positive thing? We report, you decide.
Perhaps Israel was a strategic asset during the Cold War (oil embargo aside), but more recently it has inflamed Arab and Islamic public opinion and emboldened the world's Osama bin Ladens, they say.
It has made us more — not less — vulnerable to terrorism. What's more, Israel routinely ignores U.S. requests (to stop building settlements, say, or end "targeted assassinations"). Our acceptance of its nuclear arsenal makes us look hypocritical on proliferation issues.
Nor is our support of Israel morally justifiable, according to Walt and Mearsheimer. Despite the common view, Israel is, in fact, the Goliath in the Middle East, not the David. It is not a truly democratic country, but an avowedly Jewish state in which Arabs live as second-class citizens, a country that has committed crimes against its Palestinian neighbors with which the U.S. should be ashamed to be associated.
So, ask the authors, if neither shared strategic interests nor compelling moral imperatives explain U.S. support for Israel, what does? You guessed it: the "Israel Lobby."
Its most powerful arm is AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (the nation's second most powerful lobby behind AARP, they suggest), but it also includes Christian evangelicals (such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson), Jewish members of Congress (such as Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut), Christian Zionists in Congress (such as Rep. Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican) and media cheerleaders (such as the Weekly Standard's William Kristol and the entire Wall Street Journal editorial page).
It has its own think tanks, including the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It has operatives like Martin Indyk — a former AIPAC official, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and now head of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
Together, these groups give money, votes, endorsements and intellectual firepower to favored government officials. And enemies of Israel, beware! "The Lobby" can make or break candidates (as when it forced former Sen. Charles Percy of Illinois out of office in 1984) and policymakers (as when it persuaded President Carter not to appoint George Ball as secretary of State).
"The bottom line is that AIPAC, a de facto agent for a foreign government, has a stranglehold on Congress," Walt and Mearsheimer contend.
Most important these days, the lobby includes the hawkish neoconservative Zionists around President Bush — Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith and Elliott Abrams, to name three — who, the academics say, were the driving force behind the movement to topple Saddam Hussein for the benefit of Israel.
It seems silly to deny that a powerful lobby on behalf of Israel exists. The real question is how pernicious it is. Does it, in fact, persuade us to act counter to our national interest — or is it a positive thing? We report, you decide.
25 March, 2006
a question for Republicans?
The Quran is very clear and the words of our prophet are very clear. There can only be one outcome: death," said cleric Khoja Ahmad Sediqi, who is also a member of the Supreme Court. "If Karzai releases him, it will play into the hands of our enemy and there could be an uprising."
Afghanistan's constitution is based on Shariah law, which states that any Muslim who rejects Islam should be sentenced to death, according to Ahmad Fahim Hakim, deputy chairman of the state-sponsored Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.
A respected cleric in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Mohammed Qasim, said, "We don't care if the West drops its support for us. God will look after Afghanistan.
As a Christian, my question is, " Why don't we get the hell out of there?"
Afghanistan's constitution is based on Shariah law, which states that any Muslim who rejects Islam should be sentenced to death, according to Ahmad Fahim Hakim, deputy chairman of the state-sponsored Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.
A respected cleric in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, Mohammed Qasim, said, "We don't care if the West drops its support for us. God will look after Afghanistan.
As a Christian, my question is, " Why don't we get the hell out of there?"
what are these Republicans really up to?
DOD and Army regulations "allow collection about U.S. persons reasonably believed to be engaged, or about to engage, in International terrorist activities."
"Remember, merely receiving information does not constitute 'collection' under AR [Army Regulation] 381-10; collection entails receiving 'for use'," Gen. Noonan wrote.
"Army intelligence may always receive information, if only to determine its intelligence value and whether it can be collected, retained, or disseminated in accordance with governing policy."
The distinction between "receiving" information (always permitted) and "collecting" it (permitted only in certain circumstances) appears to offer considerable leeway for domestic surveillance activities under the existing legal framework.
This in turn makes it harder to understand why the NSA domestic surveillance program departed from previous practice. It makes you wonder what these Republicans are really up to, doesn't it?
"Remember, merely receiving information does not constitute 'collection' under AR [Army Regulation] 381-10; collection entails receiving 'for use'," Gen. Noonan wrote.
"Army intelligence may always receive information, if only to determine its intelligence value and whether it can be collected, retained, or disseminated in accordance with governing policy."
The distinction between "receiving" information (always permitted) and "collecting" it (permitted only in certain circumstances) appears to offer considerable leeway for domestic surveillance activities under the existing legal framework.
This in turn makes it harder to understand why the NSA domestic surveillance program departed from previous practice. It makes you wonder what these Republicans are really up to, doesn't it?
Afghanistan update
Afghan and U.S. troops backed up by American aircraft fought suspected Taliban rebels in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, leaving one U.S. service member and an unknown number of militants dead, officials said.
A second U.S. service member and an Afghan soldier were wounded in the fighting in Helmand province's Sangin district, a hotbed of insurgency and the booming drug trade, a U.S. military statement said.
Fighting has spiked in southern Afghanistan in the past year, leaving swaths of it off-limits to aid workers and raising concerns for the country's future (and for you "Sleeve Christians") IN A COUNTRY WHERE CONVERTING FROM ISLAM TO CHRISTIANITY IS STILL A CRIME PUNISHABLE BY DEATH.
A second U.S. service member and an Afghan soldier were wounded in the fighting in Helmand province's Sangin district, a hotbed of insurgency and the booming drug trade, a U.S. military statement said.
Fighting has spiked in southern Afghanistan in the past year, leaving swaths of it off-limits to aid workers and raising concerns for the country's future (and for you "Sleeve Christians") IN A COUNTRY WHERE CONVERTING FROM ISLAM TO CHRISTIANITY IS STILL A CRIME PUNISHABLE BY DEATH.
24 March, 2006
consrvatives beginning to flee
Even Wm F Buckley (Mr.Conservative) now acknowledges the failure in Iraq--listen to what he says (and I quote)."One can't doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed.
Our mission has failed because Iraqi animosities have proved uncontainable by an invading army of 130,000 Americans. The great human reserves that call for civil life haven't proved strong enough. .The Iraqis say that everything is the fault of the Americans.
The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, elucidates on the complaint against Americans. It is not only that the invaders are American, it is that they are "Zionists."
President Bush, ultimately -has to cope with the postulates and decide how to proceed. One of these postulates, from the beginning, was that the Iraqi people, whatever their tribal differences, would suspend internal divisions in order to get on with life in a political structure that guaranteed them religious freedom.
The accompanying postulate was that the invading American army would succeed in training Iraqi soldiers and policymakers to cope with insurgents bent on violence.
They haven't happened and the administration has, now, to cope with failure. The failure in Iraq does not force us to generalize that violence and anti-democratic movements always prevail. It does call on us to adjust to the question.
It is healthier for the disillusioned American to concede that in one theater in the Mideast, the postulates didn't work. The alternative would be to abandon the postulates. To do that would be to register a kind of philosophical despair. " (unquote)
Some of us have known this all along.
Our mission has failed because Iraqi animosities have proved uncontainable by an invading army of 130,000 Americans. The great human reserves that call for civil life haven't proved strong enough. .The Iraqis say that everything is the fault of the Americans.
The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, elucidates on the complaint against Americans. It is not only that the invaders are American, it is that they are "Zionists."
President Bush, ultimately -has to cope with the postulates and decide how to proceed. One of these postulates, from the beginning, was that the Iraqi people, whatever their tribal differences, would suspend internal divisions in order to get on with life in a political structure that guaranteed them religious freedom.
The accompanying postulate was that the invading American army would succeed in training Iraqi soldiers and policymakers to cope with insurgents bent on violence.
They haven't happened and the administration has, now, to cope with failure. The failure in Iraq does not force us to generalize that violence and anti-democratic movements always prevail. It does call on us to adjust to the question.
It is healthier for the disillusioned American to concede that in one theater in the Mideast, the postulates didn't work. The alternative would be to abandon the postulates. To do that would be to register a kind of philosophical despair. " (unquote)
Some of us have known this all along.
23 March, 2006
result of republicans hiring rich cronies
Medical and financial information gathered on millions of Americans by Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs is vulnerable to thieves or pranksters because of inadequate computer security, federal investigators say.
Investigators for the GAO reviewed management and audit reports from 2004 and 2005 that outline security practices at 13 Health and Human Services divisions of the federal government and found:
• Anti-virus software not installed or up to date.
• Lack of adequate control over computer passwords.
• Employees and contractors serving without background checks.
• Inadequate physical controls to prevent spying or theft, such as non-working surveillance cameras and unrestricted access to a data center.
"Fundamentally, it's an organization that is behind in making security part of its regular operations," says Alan Paller, who has seen the report but was not involved in writing it. Paller is research director at security firm the SANS Institute in Bethesda, Md. "It's very dangerous for health care data."
This is what happens when you hire your rich cronies in the top jobs.
Investigators for the GAO reviewed management and audit reports from 2004 and 2005 that outline security practices at 13 Health and Human Services divisions of the federal government and found:
• Anti-virus software not installed or up to date.
• Lack of adequate control over computer passwords.
• Employees and contractors serving without background checks.
• Inadequate physical controls to prevent spying or theft, such as non-working surveillance cameras and unrestricted access to a data center.
"Fundamentally, it's an organization that is behind in making security part of its regular operations," says Alan Paller, who has seen the report but was not involved in writing it. Paller is research director at security firm the SANS Institute in Bethesda, Md. "It's very dangerous for health care data."
This is what happens when you hire your rich cronies in the top jobs.
22 March, 2006
Republicans on fairness
Over the past few years, CEO and top executive pay has gone through the roof - often regardless of whether they are doing their jobs well. In just ten years, the average compensation of a CEO at the largest corporations jumped from $3.7 million to $9.1 million. That's an increase of almost 150%, and yet economists say the pay hikes haven't meant these companies performed any better.
It's wrong for the privileged few to keep getting raises while their companies aren't reaching their goals - or while their workers don't get a fair share of the pie. Some of these CEOs have even slashed pension funds, but found a way to reward themselves with massive pay hikes. This is wrong.
And as CEO pay shoots through the roof, the minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 per hour for ten years -- which means someone can work full-time and still raise their kids in abject poverty.
So CEO pay goes up 150% in just a few years, and minimum wage worker pay goes up 0% in 10 years. Whatever happened to getting a fair day's pay for a hard day's work? How can Republicans think this is just or fair?
It's wrong for the privileged few to keep getting raises while their companies aren't reaching their goals - or while their workers don't get a fair share of the pie. Some of these CEOs have even slashed pension funds, but found a way to reward themselves with massive pay hikes. This is wrong.
And as CEO pay shoots through the roof, the minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 per hour for ten years -- which means someone can work full-time and still raise their kids in abject poverty.
So CEO pay goes up 150% in just a few years, and minimum wage worker pay goes up 0% in 10 years. Whatever happened to getting a fair day's pay for a hard day's work? How can Republicans think this is just or fair?
20 March, 2006
Republican budget for you
Republican budget and consequences:
Social Security: Bush is trying to use the budget to sneak through his old $700 billion dollar plan to privatize Social Security and immediately slash benefits by $6.3 billion dollars.
Health Care: Bush would slash Medicaid by $13.7 billion over 5 years, abandoning millions of young, elderly, poor and disabled Americans who depend on Medicaid as their health care option of last resort.
Education: Bush is pushing for the largest cut in the history of the Department of Education, and to completely eliminate the Perkins loan, a vital program for college students in need.
Child care: Bush wants to kick 400,000 children out of child care programs for low income working families.
Budget busting tax breaks for the rich: Bush's budget would only continue to explode the deficit by giving away over $900 billion dollars to richest 1% of the population over 10 years.
Deeper debt: Bush wants to give so much away to millionaires that even after his service cuts the annual deficit would grow by almost $200 billion dollars.
Social Security: Bush is trying to use the budget to sneak through his old $700 billion dollar plan to privatize Social Security and immediately slash benefits by $6.3 billion dollars.
Health Care: Bush would slash Medicaid by $13.7 billion over 5 years, abandoning millions of young, elderly, poor and disabled Americans who depend on Medicaid as their health care option of last resort.
Education: Bush is pushing for the largest cut in the history of the Department of Education, and to completely eliminate the Perkins loan, a vital program for college students in need.
Child care: Bush wants to kick 400,000 children out of child care programs for low income working families.
Budget busting tax breaks for the rich: Bush's budget would only continue to explode the deficit by giving away over $900 billion dollars to richest 1% of the population over 10 years.
Deeper debt: Bush wants to give so much away to millionaires that even after his service cuts the annual deficit would grow by almost $200 billion dollars.
more prisoner abuse in Iraq
Check out the once secret Camp Nama, the secret headquarters of a military unit known as Task Force 6-26 at the Baghdad Airport for more abuse before and after the abuse of Abu Ghraib was made public.
Iraqi police,US troops,execution?
read today; Iraqi police have accused US troops of executing 11 people, including a 75-year-old woman and a 6-month-old infant (unusual because it originated with Iraqi plice and they were willing to attach their names to it) in the aftermath of a raid last Wednesday on a house about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
Afghanistan,still an Islamic country persecuting Christians
Read today 3-20-06: An Afghan man is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death on a charge of converting from Islam to Christianity, a crime under the current Afghan's Islamic laws. This is a country that we are fighting and dying for????
Buffet views on weakening dollar
The so-called Oracle of Omaha,Warren Buffett, the 75-year-old billionaire investor and chairman of insurance and industrial conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway reaffirmed his views on the dollar, which he expects will weaken "over time" due to U.S. fiscal policies.
"I think over time the dollar is going to weaken. I think that we are following a policy that will cause the dollar to weaken over time." he said. "It's the consumer's action in the end that is doing it but we have no governmental policy that counters the fact we are sending a couple of billion dollars a day abroad.
We are trading - we are buying goods and we are selling capital."
"I think over time the dollar is going to weaken. I think that we are following a policy that will cause the dollar to weaken over time." he said. "It's the consumer's action in the end that is doing it but we have no governmental policy that counters the fact we are sending a couple of billion dollars a day abroad.
We are trading - we are buying goods and we are selling capital."
Republicans sticking to their Iraq story
Vice President Cheney, appearing on CBS' Face the Nation, rejected Allawi's assessment that Iraq is in a state of civil war and said insurgents have "reached a stage of desperation."
Cheney also said he did not regret previous statements — that U.S. forces would be greeted as liberators and that the insurgency was in its last throes — and said they "were basically accurate, reflect reality."
Apparently, if you tell a lie often enough and stick to your story, people are expected to believe you and know what the party line continues to be.l
Cheney also said he did not regret previous statements — that U.S. forces would be greeted as liberators and that the insurgency was in its last throes — and said they "were basically accurate, reflect reality."
Apparently, if you tell a lie often enough and stick to your story, people are expected to believe you and know what the party line continues to be.l
Corporations shipping jobs overseas update
Scores of Western companies have been cutting costs by shifting software development, engineering design and routine office functions to countries such as India, where English-speaking workers are plentiful and wages are low.
Dell plans to double the number of its employees in India to 20,000 in three years, Chairman Michael Dell said Monday.
Dell plans to double the number of its employees in India to 20,000 in three years, Chairman Michael Dell said Monday.
19 March, 2006
partial account of Iraqi dead
"At least" 2,314 members of the U.S. military have died, not counting (1)"contractors" (2) Iraqi civilians (3) the tens of thousands that have been wounded, and the one in five surviving soldiers that have lingering mental problems.
update Iraq, someone update republicans
"It is unfortunate that we are in civil war. We are losing each day as an average 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more," Ayad Allawi told the British Broadcasting Corp. "If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is."
Allawi, who heads the Iraqi National List, a secular alliance of Shiite and Sunni politicians, said the violence in the country was moving toward "the point of no return."
He said not only that Iraq could "fall apart," but added that "sectarianism will spread throughout the region, and even Europe and the United States would not be spared all the violence that may occur as a result of sectarian problems in this region."
Allawi, who heads the Iraqi National List, a secular alliance of Shiite and Sunni politicians, said the violence in the country was moving toward "the point of no return."
He said not only that Iraq could "fall apart," but added that "sectarianism will spread throughout the region, and even Europe and the United States would not be spared all the violence that may occur as a result of sectarian problems in this region."
18 March, 2006
Iraq,strike-first,USA weakened,lack of trust
The Iraq invasion, far from being a success, provides a cautionary tale about just why strike-first needs to remain, as in the past, the final option. In Iraq, it vaulted to the top of the agenda. Key administration figures — notably Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — had been itching for a war with Iraq long before 9/11.
After the terror attacks, they asserted links between Saddam and al-Qaeda where there was none. Because the administration rushed into war without building alliances, few countries joined in.
After three years of turmoil, Iraq stands on the brink of civil war. Al-Qaeda operatives who weren't in Iraq before have gone there to fight U.S. forces. Neighboring Iran is increasingly influential with Iraqi Shiites, compounding the nuclear threat Iran presents.
Worse, because of Iraq, the U.S. ability to use pre-emption in the future, when it might really be needed, is weakened. Most of the world sees the USA as a global bully and its intelligence as suspect. U.S. forces are overstretched. And getting backing for a new pre-emptive attack from a public made wary by the Iraq experience would be difficult.
After the terror attacks, they asserted links between Saddam and al-Qaeda where there was none. Because the administration rushed into war without building alliances, few countries joined in.
After three years of turmoil, Iraq stands on the brink of civil war. Al-Qaeda operatives who weren't in Iraq before have gone there to fight U.S. forces. Neighboring Iran is increasingly influential with Iraqi Shiites, compounding the nuclear threat Iran presents.
Worse, because of Iraq, the U.S. ability to use pre-emption in the future, when it might really be needed, is weakened. Most of the world sees the USA as a global bully and its intelligence as suspect. U.S. forces are overstretched. And getting backing for a new pre-emptive attack from a public made wary by the Iraq experience would be difficult.
Pre-emption in Iraq, learning the wrong lessons!
As the world now knows, the intelligence was wrong. Saddam had neither ties to bin Laden nor weapons of mass destruction. The cost of this misapplication of pre-emption — in U.S. lives, money and credibility — has been incalculable.
So what has Bush learned? Officially, at least, not much. On Thursday, the White House published its first National Security Strategy since the one that enshrined the Bush Doctrine.
Perhaps not surprisingly for an administration loath to admit error, the document casts Iraq as a pre-emption success. "With the elimination of Saddam's regime, this threat has been addressed once and for all," it declares. The pre-emption policy "remains the same." Talk about learning the wrong lessons.
So what has Bush learned? Officially, at least, not much. On Thursday, the White House published its first National Security Strategy since the one that enshrined the Bush Doctrine.
Perhaps not surprisingly for an administration loath to admit error, the document casts Iraq as a pre-emption success. "With the elimination of Saddam's regime, this threat has been addressed once and for all," it declares. The pre-emption policy "remains the same." Talk about learning the wrong lessons.
drug benefit plan designed by insurance companies
Many elderly and disabled Americans enrolled for the Medicare drug benefit will face new difficulties in obtaining their medicines on April 1, say advocacy groups familiar with the program.
On that date, insurers will have more latitude to tell pharmacists that they won't pay for a particular drug. Before that, insurers have been told, they should pay for a prescription even if it's not on the list of drugs they cover.
"I think that, after April 1, you're going to see huge problems with access. It's going to be January 1 all over again," said Tom Clark, policy director at the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. The association represents pharmacists who serve nursing homes
On that date, insurers will have more latitude to tell pharmacists that they won't pay for a particular drug. Before that, insurers have been told, they should pay for a prescription even if it's not on the list of drugs they cover.
"I think that, after April 1, you're going to see huge problems with access. It's going to be January 1 all over again," said Tom Clark, policy director at the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. The association represents pharmacists who serve nursing homes
16 March, 2006
Even prominent neo-conservatives are beginning to jump ship on the war and even neo-conservatism. Professor Francis Fukuyama has gone so far as to renounce his affiliations with Cheney, Rumsfeld and the pre-emption doctrine. Fukuyama was one of the 25 original founders of the Project for the New American Century—the intellectual founding document for neo-conservative foreign policy.
Writing in The New York Times last month, Fukuyama said: "As we approach the third anniversary of the onset of the Iraq war, it seems very unlikely that history will judge either the intervention itself or the ideas animating it kindly. By invading Iraq, the Bush administration created a self-fulfilling prophecy: Iraq has now replaced Afghanistan as a magnet, a training ground and an operational base for jihadist terrorists, with plenty of American targets to shoot at."
He added, "The so-called Bush Doctrine that set the framework for the administration's first term is now in shambles." And, "Neoconservatism, as both a political symbol and a body of thought, has evolved into something I can no longer support."
It is clear that the Bush pre-emption polices are a disaster—and now they're being rejected by people from Left to Right, while Bush continues to push the same spin believing that if you say the same thing enough times, people will believe it.
Writing in The New York Times last month, Fukuyama said: "As we approach the third anniversary of the onset of the Iraq war, it seems very unlikely that history will judge either the intervention itself or the ideas animating it kindly. By invading Iraq, the Bush administration created a self-fulfilling prophecy: Iraq has now replaced Afghanistan as a magnet, a training ground and an operational base for jihadist terrorists, with plenty of American targets to shoot at."
He added, "The so-called Bush Doctrine that set the framework for the administration's first term is now in shambles." And, "Neoconservatism, as both a political symbol and a body of thought, has evolved into something I can no longer support."
It is clear that the Bush pre-emption polices are a disaster—and now they're being rejected by people from Left to Right, while Bush continues to push the same spin believing that if you say the same thing enough times, people will believe it.
Iraq, first-strike policy, killing fields
Undaunted by the killing fields in Iraq, President Bush today reaffirmed his strike-first policy. . He is a "bring it on" fanatical crusader spreading fear as a way of controlling us and attempting to control the world, and he is using us to kill innocent people around the world. All the while by threatening people with our first- strike capability,they are causing us to be more at risk. We must vote these people out of offce.
Iraq update
Eleven people - most of them women and children - have been killed after US forces bombed a house during a raid north of Baghdad, police and relatives said. The killed family was not part of the resistance, they were women and children.
rule of law
Freedom requires respect for the rule of law. President Bush already had the authority to wiretap suspected terrorists—he could even wiretap first and get warrants 3 days later. But he chose to get no warrants at all, clearly violating the law set up to protect innocent Americans and then he mislead (lied to) Congress and the American people about his program. We are not free if a President doesn't follow the law and violates laws that are constitutional and have been passed by Congress representing we the people. If he can pick and choose those he will follow why can’t we?
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