Vacation

No posts until Jan 2, 2006.
Happy New Year!
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Feel the Love

Cheney's visit to Iraq last week received a chilly reception in some Iraqi newspaper commentaries. Guess these are not the articles we pay for.

“In his surprise visit to Baghdad on Sunday, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney was apparently pleased with the success of the elections. He should not be....The nine-hour visit was Cheney's first since the U.S.-led invasion that ousted President Saddam Hussein in April 2003. No cheering crowds awaited the chief architect of the war, as he predicted they would prior to the invasion.....Nonetheless, he bragged about the elections, seeing them as a milestone. Since he and his troops have no other achievement to speak of after nearly three years of occupation, this isn't surprising.....Iraqis didn't go to polls in their millions because they are happy with the status quo. They went because they are tired and desperate and hope by voting, they will eventually elect a national government that will end the occupation and improve their worsening condition.....Iraqis have felt little difference since the fall of Saddam Hussein. And now they fear that in the aftermath of the elections, conditions will even worsen.”

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How Others See Us

There once was a time when viewpoints like these would be laughable.

Mexico (La Jornada): “The president of the United States, George W. Bush, is a consummate liar. During all of his time as Commander in Chief, he has deceived the American people and the world.....a poisonous propaganda campaign promoted by the group of murderous, psychopathic fundamentalists that surround him (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Ashcroft, Ridge, Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith, Bolton), is designed to fabricate an internal consensus to invade and destroy Iraq, take control of their oil, get rich from the reconstruction, and..... For this reason, before starting the neo-con wars of aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq, the media was manipulated.......”

Saudi Arabia (Arab News): “In the event the fallen dictator yesterday cleverly protested that he had been tortured and beaten by the Americans and dismissed their denial that any such thing had happened as being as much as a lie as all the pre-invasion intelligence. It really does not matter that Saddam is a ruthless politician.....The fact is that his charges about his own abuse bear consideration, simply because the Americans have been so economical with the truth throughout their Iraqi involvement.”

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An Indicator?

Tally results from a survey on MSNBC regarding Bush 12/26/05.

Live Vote

	Do you believe President Bush's actions justify impeachment? * 158193 responses
	Yes, between the secret spying, the deceptions leading to war and more, there is plenty to justify putting him on trial. 86%
	No, like any president, he has made a few missteps, but nothing approaching "high crimes and misdemeanors." 5%
	No, the man has done absolutely nothing wrong. Impeachment would just be a political lynching. 8%
	I don't know. 2%

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Lied Again

First saying that spying was ordered on the international calls of just a few hundred people with suspected terrorist ties, then changing the line to possibly a few thousand, then changing to an admission that some domestic calls were accidentally monitored, then still firmly stating the program was narrow in scope, we now find out that the volume of information gathered from telephone and Internet communications by the National Security Agency without court-approved warrants was much larger than Bush acknowledged.

Citing current and former government officials, the NY Times said the information was collected by tapping directly into some of the U.S. telecommunication system's main arteries. The officials said the NSA won the cooperation of telecommunications companies to obtain access to both domestic and international communications without first gaining warrants.

As stated in a previous Human Stain post, “Electronic technology has far outstripped the FISA law as written in 1978. The Bushies were not monitoring small numbers of communications – they were data mining. All forms of all electronic communications were being monitored. Every email sent over the Internet, every cell phone conversation, every fax transmission - all were being monitored.”

A former telecommunications technology manager has told the NY Times that the telecommunications industry has been storing information on calling patterns and giving it to the feds since the September 11 attacks.

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A Dangerous Game

America is trying to balance new US arms sales to arch-rivals India and Pakistan next year. The US is poised to promote major arms sales to India, as a buffer towards China's growing regional military clout and influence. While laudable, analysts fear these sales could reignite an arms race between India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars in the last 60 years, with the latest quite tense since both nations are nuclear armed. If their rivalry grows hotter, the US may be not only delivering weapons to a region on the brink of war, but would also be increasing the lethality.

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Their Best?

If this is the best the Republicans can come up with for 2008, they're in serious trouble. But then again, Rice is symbolic of their party: a liar, no vision, cares not for America, dangerously narrow and rigid, amoral, out of touch with the citizens, impatient with human rights, intolerant of freedoms for all Americans, willing to burden future generations for current failures, promoter of the police state, and an enabler of class divisions in society.

Posted on The Human Stain

Reckless, Dishonorable

Seems like the “coalition of the willing” is willing to leave Iraq.

Britain, Italy, and South Korea are making plans to reduce - even withdraw their troops by the end of next year. Other nations, such as Ukraine and Bulgaria, have already started to depart.

“It makes even more of a mockery of what the administration likes to call a coalition....my guess is that it would bring the international legitimacy of the operation into question,” said retired U.S. Army Major General William Nash, now a fellow at the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations.

Georgie said this of Americans who dared to question him: “To retreat before victory would be an act of recklessness and dishonor, and I will not allow it,” he must feel the same of towards our allies.

George Bush – King of The World.
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You're Not a King

Joe Galloway, the senior military correspondent for Knight Ridder Newspapers, has his usual good column here.


“How big a leap is it from ignoring the rule of law in pursuing foreign enemies to pursuing and punishing domestic enemies, those Americans who for political reasons or reasons of principle oppose your aims?

The president and his vice president and his attorney general are saying, essentially, trust us. We won't use our extra-legal powers against ordinary Americans. We just want to protect you from further terrorist attacks. Trust us. We are honorable men who have nothing but your well being at heart.

Sorry. That won't cut it. They have all the legal tools any president needs already on the books for our protection. Congress makes the laws. The judiciary interprets them. The president and all the rest of us live by them.

George W. Bush is not the emperor of America or the king of the 50 states of the union. He, like us, must live by the rule of law. He is bound by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In the end, he works for us.”
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Caught in a Lie Again

In his radio address last Saturday, Bush said two of the hijackers who helped fly a jet into the Pentagon had communicated with suspected Al Qaeda members overseas while they were living in the U.S.

"But we didn't know they were here until it was too late.....The authorization I gave the National Security Agency after Sept. 11 helped address that problem in a way that is fully consistent with my constitutional responsibilities and authorities."

But some current and former high-ranking U.S. counter-terrorism officials say that the details of the case undermine the president's rationale for domestic spying program. A 2002 inquiry into the case by the House and Senate intelligence committees blamed interagency communication breakdowns — not shortcomings of FISA or any other intelligence-gathering guidelines.

The only way to “hear truth” from Bush is to believe the exact opposite.
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Election Loss?

So knowing that the law is no boundary to the Bush fascists, did they use the NSA to spy on John Kerry and his campaign in the 2004 election?
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Incompetence Bred by Hysteria

The case against Jose Padilla will soon be exposed for what it really is, a flimsy show trial trumped up by former Attorney General John Asscroft intended to impress Americans with law enforcement's performance in “protecting” us from terror.

A federal Appeals Court has refused granting the Bushies request to transfer Padilla from military to civilian law enforcement custody. The court questioned why the government used one set of facts before the court for 3 1/2 years to justify holding Padilla without charges but used another set to convince a grand jury in Florida to indict him last month.

The reason will likely turn out to be they have no evidence to charge him with on the original claims, they can't just let him go or they will look like fools, so they are searching for something they can pin on him. Makes one feel safer all the time – doesn't it?
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FISA Judges to Bush – Explain!

'The presiding judge of a secret court that oversees government surveillance in espionage and terrorism cases is arranging a classified briefing for her fellow judges to address their concerns about the legality of President Bush's domestic spying program.

Several members of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said in interviews that they want to know why the administration believed secretly listening in on telephone calls and reading e-mails of U.S. citizens without court authorization was legal. Some of the judges said they are particularly concerned that information gleaned from the president's eavesdropping program may have been improperly used to gain authorized wiretaps from their court.'
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Dimwit

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales served up some inane, idiotic, and imbecilic logic the other day on why Bush believed Congress “authorized” domestic spying on American citizens.

"This is not a back door approach.......We believe Congress has authorized this kind of surveillance." He confirmed that the administration discussed introducing legislation explicitly permitting such domestic spying but decided against it because it "would be difficult, if not impossible" to pass.

So, let's puzzle this out.
1) Congress authorized this kind of surveillance.
2) The Bushies thought about introducing legislation to Congress that would clearly permit domestic spying.
3) The Bushies then decided not to introduce the legislation because it would never pass in Congress.

Knowing it would never pass muster in Congress, they decided to commit a criminal act and do it anyways. How quaint!
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Why rights are vanishing

Americans are living in an increasingly fascist state due to reasons like this:

Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden, who was NSA director when the surveillance began and now serves as Bush's deputy director of national intelligence, said "The whole key here is agility," According to Hayden, most warrantless surveillance performed due to Bush's authorization lasts just days or weeks, and only requires only approval of a shift supervisor. Hayden said getting retroactive court approval is inefficient because it "involves marshaling arguments" and "looping paperwork around."

Oh, pardon me.

We're so sorry for asking that you prove that spying on Americans is actually warranted before it is done. We're so sorry for asking that big brother prove his actions are required before invading our privacy. We're so sorry for asking that the government justify it's actions before it destroys the liberties our forbearer's fought and died to protect. It's great to know that our rights are violated on the approval of a low level shift supervisor. This is how America is “protected” by the Bushies?

Please forgive us Gen. Hayden, we're so sorry that paperwork has to be done. How unrealistic and demanding American citizens are!
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Catholic Students - National Threat

A group of Canadian Catholic high school students who attended a peace demonstration in Alaska last year have been deemed to be threats to American security according to the US Dept. of Homeland Security.

The students and their teachers were singled out when attempting to re-cross the border from a trip to protest missile proliferation at Fort Greeley, Alaska. The 11th and 12th graders are on a list of over 1,500 groups, including American Quakers, peace groups, and university student unions thought to be risks.

What's next grandmothers in wheel chairs?
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Neanderthals Sent Packing

In an entirely sensible and logical ruling, a US district judge has repudiated religio-nuts who were forcing the teaching of so-called “intelligent design” as an alternative to evolution in a Pennsylvania school.

Stating that the local school board violated a constitutional ban on teaching religion in public schools, Judge John Jones also added, “Our conclusion today is that it is unconstitutional to teach intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in a public school classroom.... Any asserted secular purposes by the board are a sham and are merely secondary to a religious objective.” Calling the school board policy “breathtaking inanity” Jones also said the students and teachers of Dover High School “deserved better than to be dragged into this legal maelstrom with its resulting utter waste of monetary and personal resources.”

The religio-nuts just don't get it: Casey Luskin of the Discovery Institute spewed “The judge thinks intelligent design is a supernatural explanation, but it clearly is not. So the entire decision is predicated on a false perception of intelligent design....This is by no means the end of this issue, legally speaking.”

The evidence for evolution is just overwhelming and to reject it's clarity is sheer lunacy. The Intelligent Design adherents are the latest "evolutionary stage" of the Creationists. Just wishing something to be true, doesn't make it so. Look, if you want to teach your pseudo-belief – do it in church or at your next meeting of The Flat Earth Society.
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Airline Improvement

The FAA has announced a new navigation technology that will enable planes to fly in more types of bad weather. The equipment is mounted in the planes themselves rather than being ground based and it allows them to fly curving, precise routes during conditions of low cloud ceilings. Using a combination of satellite based navigation and on board flight computers, the planes can also avoid tall buildings, mountains, etc. when the visibility is poor.

Now all we need is a method to speed up airport security check-ins.
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Half Truths and Spin Again

Chimpie stood at his little podium yesterday in the White House and told America that his spying plan was fully approved in a series of Congressional briefings. The White House stated Democrats' were provided information on the program. "They were briefed and informed," said press secretary Scott McClellan, disingenuously adding, "Congress has an important oversight role." He actually expects America to believe the White House respects Congress – why would they start now?

If the plan was approved in Congress, who did it, and were they told the truth before deciding? According the some Democrats, they were never informed of a domestic spying program and never would have approved it.

"I feel unable to fully evaluate, much less endorse, these activities," West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the Senate Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, said in a handwritten letter to Vice President Cheney in July 2003. "As you know, I am neither a technician nor an attorney." Former Sen. Bob Graham, recalled a briefing about changes in international electronic surveillance, but does not remember being told of a program snooping on individuals in the United States.

Former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle said he, too, was briefed by the White House between 2002 and 2004 but was not told key details about the scope of the program. Sen. Harry Reid, said he received a single briefing earlier this year and that important details were withheld.

Knowing the pattern of these neocons and their little White House puppet, the smart money is on the Democrats for truth telling.
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Echelon

This is what the Bushies are using to spy on US citizens. It's here in America and it's reach is frightening.

Echelon Watch web site

NSA and Echelon background , more , more
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Paper of Record?

Let's not forget the complicity of the New York Times on this incident also:

In early 2003, the efforts at the United Nations to secure the vote on authorizing the Iraq War were intense and were aided by espionage. The National Security Agency, was directed to use electronic surveillance activities to spy on UN Security Council members in order to see how they were reacting to the debate on Iraq, on their voting plans, on whatever policies or positions they were considering, etc. In other words, find out whatever you can that may be of use to US goals and positions.

This event received press coverage in Britain, but other than very brief articles in the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, the American media was mum. The NYT completely ignored the story, when asked why, deputy editor Alison Smale replied “Well its not that we haven't been interested. We could get no confirmation or comment,” from US officials.

The message from this is quite clear: the Times won't publish anything not confirmed by the Bush administration, so all they had to do was remain quiet and the paper would do the same.

More here, here, here, and here.
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What is FISA?

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was signed into law in 1978 and was intended to create a procedural firewall that law enforcement had to broach before it could conduct eavesdropping and electronic surveillance on domestic, civilian targets. Under FISA, agents have to show probable cause that the person they want to eavesdrop on was an agent of a foreign group or a terrorist before they could be monitored. The act does not prevent “emergency” monitoring, requiring the government to provide it's justification within 72 hours.

Accompanying the new law, was the creation of a new overseer: the FISA Court, a secret spy court created to “hear applications for and grant orders approving electronic surveillance anywhere within the United States.” The court is composed of a rotating panel of eleven federal district judges selected (in secret) by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In the first twenty years of it's existence the court approved over ten thousand applications for surveillance. When it grants an application, that means the government has ninety days to monitor, at will - by all electronic means. Since Sept.11, the court has granted over one thousand applications per year.

The court meets in a windowless, soundproof, cipherlocked room on the sixth floor of the Department of Justice building in Washington,DC. It's writs and rulings are permanently sealed from review. The public cannot ever access these records, knows very little of the court, and Congress doesn't know much more as there is next to no oversight of the FISA Court. The court has to submit the number of surveillance orders approved every year along with a brief report. In 1997, the report was two paragraphs long.

Excerpted from: Chatter; Patrick Radden Keefe, Random House, 2005
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Why They Broke the Law

The recently revealed criminal acts committed by the Bush administration have created some tortured reasoning from the perpetrators for why they needed to circumvent the law. Unfortunately for the law breakers, their justifications have nothing to do with the reality of what has transpired.

Citing the need to “move fast” they argue that even though it's not necessary to obtain FISA court warrants – that is not fast enough. How this makes any sense is just baffling, yet they use it as justification. The FISA statute allows for emergency monitoring, only requiring a warrant be filed for within 72 hours of the initiation of electronic monitoring. So, if the time required for a warrant is not germane, why didn't they follow the law?

The reason is quite simple. Electronic technology has far outstripped the FISA law as written in 1978. The Bushies were not monitoring small numbers of communications – they were data mining. All forms of all electronic communications were being monitored. Every email sent over the Internet, every cell phone conversation, every fax transmission - all were being monitored. They use special software programs to automatically filter the sea of information, looking for key word phrases or names, using voice recognition programs, and determining key locations of cellular phone usage. Once these are discovered, they then separate the discovered information for further analysis. This analyzed data is what may be submitted to the FISA court for warrants.

The problem is who determines what data is to be analyzed? Submission of all communications to data mining means we are all judged guilty before any probable cause is determined. Does anyone really trust this administration to treat all Americans equally? It is not beyond this fascist cabals' capability - or their mentality to be targeting Democrats, gays, secularists, Muslims, Jews, gun control advocates, peace protesters, abortion rights advocates, environmentalists – in short anyone who doesn't think like they do. Bush has violated the same American rights Richard Nixon did – and Nixon resigned to avoid being impeached.

This group of neocon goons and their cavalier attitude towards our Constitution is extremely dangerous. Our freedoms are under attack.
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Great Toledo Blade Article

Money greases the wheels and the palms of outstretched hands.

Long before George W. Bush began campaigning for the White House, his family built a fund-raising network of wealthy supporters to bankroll his political ambitions and propel him to the presidency. The network - including oilmen, lobbyists, developers, and agricultural executives - became accustomed to the Bush family's style of government, with George W. Bush as governor of Texas and brother Jeb Bush as governor of Florida. The political financiers made an investment in the Bush family, an investment that paid off.

By 2004, President Bush's re-election campaign had assembled 66 elite fund-raisers in Texas and 55 in Florida. Since Mr. Bush took office in 2001, the federal government has awarded more than $3 billion in contracts to the President's elite 2004 Texas fund-raisers, their businesses, and lobbying clients, a Blade investigation shows. In Florida, massive sugar companies and development firms led by Bush Pioneers and Rangers have reaped millions of dollars from government policies, which environmentalists say have sided with sprawl and development over the restoration of the Everglades.
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Little Miss Insipid

This issue of illegal spying must be causing Katie's head to hurt. Glad she could boil it all down so simply this morning:

COURIC: At the same time, Tim, you know, considering the Constitution, the rule of law, is this going to be a case of a debate by legal analysts and constitutional scholars versus Americans, who say civil liberties are important, but we don't want another September 11?
RUSSERT: Exactly right. The court of public opinion and what's going on in Congress.

Umm, Katie how did Sept. 11 get involved in this? Why are you defining two opposing sides in this issue – Americans against constitutional scholars? Why do you think criminal acts are just a debate? Did you take your Ginko Biloba today? Do you feel guilty for accepting a salary?
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Another possible reason

For another take on why Bush broke the law by not going to the FISA court before ordering illegal wiretapping - read this. Maybe he's just covering up more criminal acts?
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Serial Bad News Avoider

For a guy who “doesn't follow polls,” Chimpie sure loves to use poll figures when he spins the American public. This morning in his “so what if I broke the law” press conference, he was forgetting to talk about the real progress in Iraq again. “The same poll that indicated a majority of Iraqis believe their lives are going well also found a majority expressing opposition to the presence of U.S. forces, and less than half saying Iraq is better off now than before the war.”

Gee, why didn't he mention that?
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He Ought to Know

Former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean stated that President Bush admitted to an “impeachable offense” when he said he authorized the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without getting a warrant from a judge.

Say Dem's – what are we waiting for?
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They're Hiding Something Bad

With all the spewing from the Bushies over how the NYT's exposure of the NSA's illegal spying activities upon American citizens is “a shameful act” the real scandal is going unexplored.

The Bushies are slobbering about how they need to move fast and seeking approval, as required by law, from the FISA court is far too slow. This is patently false and is a total lie. The FISA court always gives approval and the process does not even require them to seek a warrant before acting, but it does require them to justify their actions within 72 hours. The FISA law is limited where it can be employed: “the target of the electronic surveillance is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power: Provided, That no United States person may be considered a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States.”

So if the FISA court process is not slow, does not hinder intelligence gathering, and applied for warrants are always issued – why didn't the Bushies follow the law? Could they be hiding illegal spying on political enemies – say Democrats? Could they be hiding a new technology so invasive that the even the FISA court would object?

More to come.
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Feingold Looks Better and Better

With his prominent, steady, and forceful point position in justifiably criticizing the Bushies' illegalities, Sen. Russ Feingold is showing real presidential timber. Not a phony, petulant, pretentious puppet like the current White House inhabitant, Feingold appears to have what it takes and he seems to be of far higher caliber than his Democratic presidential challengers.

Pretty boy Sen. Joe Biden – please! The flag burning panderer Sen. Hillary Clinton – give me a break! If these two really want to help America, they need to withdraw from contention and help in disbanding the group of Republican wannabes at the Democratic Leadership Council. If this group of losers is listened to, it's a certainty the Dem's will lose in 2008.

If the Democrats want a winner in 2008 – they have one on display right now.
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Wise Words From Sen. Byrd

Americans have been stunned at the recent news of the abuses of power by an overzealous President. It has become apparent that this Administration has engaged in a consistent and unrelenting pattern of abuse against our Country's law-abiding citizens, and against our Constitution.

We have been stunned to hear reports about the Pentagon gathering information and creating databases to spy on ordinary Americans whose only sin is choose to exercise their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble. Those Americans who choose to question the Administration's flawed policy in Iraq are labeled by this Administration as "domestic terrorists."

Now comes the stomach-churning revelation through an executive order, that President Bush has circumvented both the Congress and the courts. He has usurped the Third Branch of government -- the branch charged with protecting the civil liberties of our people -- by directing the National Security Agency to intercept and eavesdrop on the phone conversations and e-mails of American citizens without a warrant, which is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment.

The American public is given vague and empty assurances by the President that amount to little more than "trust me." But, we are a nation of laws and not of men. Where is the source of that authority he claims? I defy the Administration to show me where in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or the U.S. Constitution, they are allowed to steal into the lives of innocent America citizens and spy.

The President claims a boundless authority through the resolution that authorized the war on those who perpetrated the September 11th attacks. But that resolution does not give the President unchecked power to spy on our own people. That resolution does not give the Administration the power to create covert prisons for secret prisoners. That resolution does not authorize the torture of prisoners to extract information from them. That resolution does not authorize running black-hole secret prisons in foreign countries to get around U.S. law. That resolution does not give the President the powers reserved only for kings and potentates.

We are told that it is irresponsible to draw attention to President Bush's gross abuse of power and Constitutional violations. But what is truly irresponsible is to neglect to uphold the rule of law. Never have the promises and protections of Liberty seemed so illusory. Never have the freedoms we cherish seemed so imperiled.

These renegade assaults on the Constitution and our system of laws strike at the very core of our values, and foster a sense of mistrust and apprehension about the reach of government.

I am reminded of Thomas Payne's famous words, "These are the times that try men's souls."
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Impeachment Now

Today, Bush vowed he will continue to break the law and spy on US citizens. Bristling at suggestions he was assuming unlimited powers, Chimpie uttered "To say `unchecked power' basically is ascribing some kind of dictatorial position to the president, which I strongly reject.....I am doing what you expect me to do, and at the same time, safeguarding the civil liberties of the country."

With Bush and his rabid dogs, the only way to understand them is to believe the exact opposite of what they spew. It's apparent Georgie is not doing what Americans expect and he is destroying our civil liberties.

He is a criminal and must be taken held accountable for his destructive acts. Write, email, call, or go to your representatives in Washington and demand action. Send him to jail.
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Rove to be Indicted

Short of a last minute intervention by Rove's attorney, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is expected to ask a grand jury,possibly as soon as next week,to indict Karl Rove for making false statements to the FBI and Justice Department. Fitzgerald is reported to believe that Rove also either hid or destroyed evidence related to his role in the leak.
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Lack of truth

The lies continue and they continue to get more disgusting as this malevolent, fascist cabal digs its' own grave in a morass of duplicity, illegal activities, and disrespect for our country. Today, the airwaves were full of evasions, spin, and total avoidance from answering the direct questions asked. Consider the following:

Condoleeza Rice on Meet The Press
Q: The president yesterday confirmed that this operation (Bush's authorization for the NSA to spy on Americans) was under way for the last several years. What is the legal authority? What is the constitutional authority for the president to eavesdrop on American citizens without getting court approval?
A: The president is acting under his constitutional authority, under statutory authority.
Q: The law is very clear that a person is guilty of an offense unless they get a court order before seeking to wiretap an American citizen. Why did the president not get a court order?
A: ....And so the president has drawn on additional authorities that he has under the Constitution and under other statutes.
Q: What are the other authorities?
A: Tim, again, I'm not a lawyer, but the president has constitutional authority and he has statutory authorities.
Q: Senator Feingold, the Democrat from Wisconsin said, "I think [President Bush] probably did [break the law], and I think almost every senator of both parties thinks he probably did ... The President doesn't get to decide to make up the laws and to start wiretapping people just because he thinks it's a good idea..... Madame Secretary, what is the authority that you keep citing? What law, what statute? Where in the Constitution does it say the president can eavesdrop, wiretap American citizens without a court order?
A: Tim, the president has authorities under FISA, which we are using and using actively. He also has constitutional authorities that derive from his role as commander in chief and his need to protect the country. He has acted within his constitutional authority and within statutory authority.

She never answered the question because they willingly ignored the law, disrespecting our form of government, and arrogantly placing themselves above it. They have committed criminal acts and should be jailed.

Dick Cheney in Iraq
Appearing in a war zone (guess he had no other priorities), Cheney said he backed legislation to ban inhumane treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody, but decried what he saw as a diminishing commitment by some to do "what's necessary" to defend the country. He said what constitutes cruel and inhumane treatment was, to some extent, "in the eye of the beholder." Oh, so if he and Chimpie don't think torture is torture – then it's okay. Whoopee.

But when asked if he was troubled by reports that detainees have died of abuse in U.S. custody, Cheney responded by saying: "One of the things I'm concerned about is that as we get farther and farther away from 9/11...there seems to be less and less concern about doing what's necessary in order to defend the country.....Somehow I think a lot of people have lost their sense of urgency out there." He apparently doesn't care if we cause the death of innocent people. What a he-man.

If Americans do not support the knuckledraggers in this administration and their failed policies, then in Cheney's warped mind, they are unpatriotic. His statements are amoral, disgusting, jingoistic slurs, and are baseless accusations on the integrity of American citizens. Cheney is the perfect example of the old axiom “patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.”

Bush tonight
“I am responsible for the decision to go into Iraq....Yet it was right to remove Saddam Hussein from power. He was given an ultimatum and he made his choice for war.” Bush made the choice for war, UN inspectors were in Iraq and were finding no WMD's. The world community wanted to let the UN finish it's work – Bush chose war and rushed into it.

“Defeatism may have its partisan uses, but it is not justified by the facts. For every scene of destruction in Iraq, there are more scenes of rebuilding and hope.” Of course – he must be watching our paid for propaganda pieces. Just believe what we pay for – everything is peachy keen.

“To retreat before victory would be an act of recklessness and dishonor and I will not allow it.” Of course, we don't want to mention the dishonor that torture brings to our nation, or the dishonor of killing innocent Iraqi women and children, or the dishonor of committing criminal acts against law abiding American citizens by spying on them.

“I will make decisions on troop levels based on the progress we see on the ground and the advice of our military leaders — not based on artificial timetables set by politicians in Washington.” Of course, the troop reductions will look really good just before the elections.

“I don’t expect you to support everything I do, but tonight I have a request: Do not give in to despair, and do not give up on this fight for freedom.” Why can't Americans understand daddy Georgie knows best? We puny little citizens are full of despair, we need to trust him, he'll take care of everything.
Posted on The Human Stain

Aww, too bad

Seems like the Republicans will have to remove their kneepads. Prevented from shutting down the US House of Representatives in an act of total subservience and fealty to their slimy Lord, Tom Delay, they may actually have to get back to work and do something for America.

Think about this, Speaker of the US House, Dennis Hastert, the third highest ranking federal official after Bush and Cheney, will put off opening the 2006 House session so his underling, Tom Delay, will have more time to “resolve” his legal issues. Seems like Hastert is a buffoon, Delay's in charge.
Posted on The Human Stain

Bush - this is why

Say Georgie, read this and you may understand why Americans are upset with the abuses allowed by the Patriot Act.
Posted on the Human stain

He doesn't understand liberty

Today, Bush said that senators who are blocking renewal of the terrorism-fighting Patriot Act are acting irresponsibly and standing in the way of protecting the country from attack.

Senate Democrats, with the aid of a handful of Republicans, succeeded Friday in stalling the bill already approved by the House. The vote to advance the measure, 52-47, fell eight votes shy of the 60 votes required to end debate.

“In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment...that decision (to deny renewal) is irresponsible and it endangers the lives of our citizens. The senators who are filibustering must stop their delaying tactics and the Senate must reauthorize the Patriot Act.”

Opponents of renewing the law, argue that it threatens constitutional liberties at home. Some of the most contentious elements of the Patriot Act include powers granted to law enforcement agencies to gain access in secret to library and medical records and other personal data during investigations of suspected terrorist activity. The law also allows the government to conduct roving wiretaps involving multiple phones and to wiretap "lone wolf" terrorists who may operate on their own, without control from a foreign agent or power. If the law is not renewed, its powers would expire Dec. 31 for new investigations of people whose criminal activity began after Dec. 31 and who were not associated with anyone who was under investigation before Dec. 31.

Sen. Patrick Leahy D-Vt., a chief supporter of the original Patriot Act, said that the administration and GOP leaders rewrote the reauthorization in ways that fell short of protecting basic civil liberties and then attempted to force it through Congress. Leahy urged Bush and GOP leaders to support a brief extension of the law so that changes could be made in the reauthorization. "Fear mongering and false choices do little to advance either the security or liberty of Americans," Leahy said. "Instead of playing partisan politics and setting up false attack ads, they should join in trying to improve the law."

The Bushies do not want to compromise on any issues – they only want to ram their views thru. They are simply incapable of working with people who have opposing viewpoints, proving it over and over. There are legitimate concerns that the Patriot Act, written during the nervousness following 9/11, was too hastily crafted and truly does infringe on American rights. Rather than calling the US Constitution a “goddamned piece of paper”, Bush ought to read it, and learn to respect the liberties America treasures.
Posted on The Human Stain

False Logic

What's wrong with this picture? Bush commits illegal acts - thinks it's okay, and then accuses the NYT's exposure of the illegalities as treasonous acts and of endangering American security.

Since October 2001, Bush has authorized (more than 30 times) the super-secret National Security Agency, without court-approved warrants, to eavesdrop on the international phone calls and e-mails of people inside the United States.

Bush on Saturday also attacked the disclosure. “As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have,” Bush said in his weekly radio address. “The unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk.” He's right, American citizens are at risk, but his continued disregard for the Consitiution and our laws is the reason. Seemingly petulant, disrespectful of others, posessing a dull non-inquisitive mind, and capable of being manipulated by others, he is extremely dangerous to this country.

Often appearing angry in his eight-minute radio address today, the president made clear he will not stop his illegal monitoring activities and said public disclosure of the program by the news media had endangered Americans. He accused the senators blocking the Patriot Act of being irresponsible.

James Bamford, author of two books on the NSA, said the program could be problematic because it bypasses a special court set up by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to authorize eavesdropping on suspected terrorists. "I didn't hear him specify any legal right, except his right as president, which in a democracy doesn't make much sense....Today, what Bush said is he went around the law, which is a violation of the law — which is illegal."

Retired Adm. Bobby Inman, who led the NSA from 1977 to 1981, said Bush's authorization of the eavesdropping would have been justified in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks "because at that point you couldn't get a court warrant unless you could show probable cause.....Once the Patriot Act was in place, I am puzzled what was the need to continue outside the court."

Susan Low Bloch, a professor of constitutional law at Georgetown University Law Center, said Bush was "taking a hugely expansive interpretation of the Constitution and the president's powers under the Constitution. That view was echoed by congressional Democrats. "I tell you, he's President George Bush, not King George Bush. This is not the system of government we have and that we fought for," Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., told The Associated Press. Added Sen. Patrick Leahy D-Vt.: "The Bush administration seems to believe it is above the law."

So according to Bush, we should just trust him because he is doing what's best for America. This is the same guy whose top aides expose covert CIA agents, whose neocon controllers hyped the Iraq threat, whose friends and cronies pillage this country's resources, whose uncontrolled spending and extremely ill advised tax cuts for wealthy buddies are bankrupting our children, and whose incompetence has repeatedly failed to protect America. He wants us to trust him? Trust has to be earned – not demanded. Take a hike.
Posted on the Human Stain

Democrat gonads

If you've got any – file legislation for Bush's impeachment right now.

Criminal acts by spying on US citizens, lies about WMD, failure to protect America, abandonment of the citizenry – what are you waiting for?
Posted on the Human Stain

More NYT Guilt

As if the New York Times doesn't have enough problems trying to right itself, why do they continue to self immolate? While they rightly published the story exposing Bush's authorization of spying on American citizens, why did they do it now? Citing agreements with the government over potential dangers to “national security”, they agreed to hold the story for over a year.

Funny, but my calendar says that they must have had this story BEFORE THE 2004 ELECTIONS! Gee, wonder why the Bushie cabal wanted to hold the story? Does anyone think it might not have had anything to do with the election? As history proves, with this cabal, it is all about elections and retaining power. The NYT must be smart enough to know this.

Again, their complicity in keeping quiet has caused additional deaths and additional abuses to citizen's rights. They have more blood on their hands.
Posted on The Human Stain

More Reasons not to trust Bush

The US is playing a hide and seek game with one of the nation's most “important” prisoners. Using aggressive and questionable legal procedures, the government has forced alleged "dirty bomb" conspirator Jose Padilla through a torturous ordeal unprecedented in American jurisprudence. Since his arrest 3-1/2 years ago at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, the government has repeatedly asserted unilateral power in a way that has prevented Mr. Padilla's from adequately defending himself. Remember very carefully – Mr. Padilla is a US citizen. In addition, Justice Department lawyers have used that same unilateral power to help insulate their actions from the scrutiny of the judiciary - including the US Supreme Court. Padilla had earned a unique status among those imprisoned by the government - he is the first American citizen seized on American soil to be held in indefinite detention , he is charged with being an enemy combatant, and he has been charged with being a trained member of Al Qaeda who planned to blow up apartment buildings and detonate a radiological device in a major city.

The government's conduct has generated a string of legal challenges raising some of the most fundamental issues of US constitutional law. They include the president's authority to name US citizens as "enemy combatants" in the war on terror and what rights, if any, protect American citizens. “At stake in this case is nothing less than the essence of a free society," wrote Justice John Paul Stevens in assessing the Padilla case in 2004, "If this nation is to remain true to the ideals symbolized by its flag, it must not wield the tools of tyrants even to resist an assault by the forces of tyranny." Justice Stevens wrote those words in dissent of a 5-4 decision by the high court to dismiss Padilla's case on jurisdictional grounds rather than confronting the central constitutional issues. Now Padilla's case is back before the Supreme Court where it is being asked to re-consider Padilla's arguments and to judge the legality of the administration's actions. Many Supreme Court observers believe at least five of the justices are prepared to rule in Padilla's favor should the high court agree to take up his case.

Fearing their case will be exposed as the house of cards it appears to be, the Bushies are urging the justices not to hear the Padilla case. Also, now the Bush administration is attempting to run away from an appearance in the Supreme Court by announcing in a surprise move that it was ending its open ended detention of Padilla as an enemy combatant, relocating him to a Miami lockup, and charging him with providing material support to terror groups. Juliette Kayyem, a terrorism and security expert at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, says the Miami charges appear to be an effort to setup a plea deal that will help the government resolve the case without messy court hearings that might reveal sources as well as procedures. Administration lawyers cited national security and safety concerns as justification for the extraordinary security measures taken against Padilla. But the Miami charges include no mention of dirty bombs or apartment building plots. "God knows what happened to him during his detention and what kind of interrogation processes he was put through, and they don't want that to come out," she says. At the same time the Bushies want to avoid possible defeat in the Supreme Court. "Basically, they need this case to go away," Ms. Kayyem says.

The Miami charges are only the most recent effort by the government to use abusive presidential authority in the “war on terror” and to continue evading proper judicial review of its actions. Again, the Padilla case is especially egregious as this is an American citizen whose rights have been abrogated.
"They have tried every procedural trick in the book to avoid letting the court get to the merits of the case," says Jenny Martinez, one of Mr. Padilla's lawyers. "At this point the kind of maneuvers they are pulling don't pass the sniff test."

In 2002, for example, when it looked as if Padilla might win a court battle challenging his detention in New York, Georgie designated him an "enemy combatant," two days before the hearing. With that designation, Padilla was suddenly taken to a military prison in South Carolina, held incommunicado, and denied access to his lawyers for two years until it became clear that the government's position in its Supreme Court arguments would being damaged. His lawyers were not informed of the move until after the fact, making it impossible for them to file a habeas corpus petition to clearly establish New York as the proper venue for future litigation in the case. The government's shady and disgraceful action was designed to transfer the case to one of the most conservative appeals courts in the country, the Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. That move was highly successful for the feds, as months later, a New York appeals court ruled in Padilla's favor, saying the president lacked constitutional authority to order his indefinite detention as an enemy combatant.

The government appealed the ruling and the case arrived at the Supreme Court in 2004. Justice Dept lawyers insisted Padilla's lawyers had filed their suit in the wrong jurisdiction - New York's Second Circuit instead of the Fourth Circuit. The Supreme Court agreed, dismissing the case without addressing the central constitutional issues. How convenient for the feds. After losing at the Supreme Court, Padilla's lawyers filed a new suit in South Carolina challenging his detention. A federal judge ruled in Padilla's favor, but the Fourth Circuit reversed, ruling in September that President Bush has the authority to detain Padilla in open-ended military custody. It is that ruling that is now under consideration for review at the Supreme Court.

The lengthy appeal bought more time for government agents and interrogators working to uncover the full scope of Padilla's alleged connections to Al Qaeda and any knowledge he had of ongoing terror plots. But where is their evidence? They apparently have none as the “new” charges do not include the original reasons for arresting him, namely, he was “planning to blow up apartment buildings and detonate a radiological device in a major city.”

In the meantime, the Fourth Circuit Court appears to be having second thoughts about its Padilla decision. The court has asked the government to explain why it shouldn't void its September ruling. In a brief filed last week, the Justice Department conceded that the appeals court would be within its power to vacate its September ruling.

Let's hope for Mr. Padilla's and America's rights.
Posted on The Human Stain

Put him in jail

This headline from the Christian Science Monitor says it all.

'Bush allowed spying on Americans in US after 9/11
Presidential order authorized NSA to eavesdrop without court warrants.'

Georgie refused to confirm or deny the claims, but said he always upheld the law and protected civil liberties. "I will make this point. That whatever I do to protect the American people, and I have an obligation to do so, that we will uphold the law, and decisions made are made understanding we have an obligation to protect the civil liberties of the American people."

Does anyone believe him? He has proven to be untrustworthy. He has proven to have lied to the American people. He is continually being proven to be unfit for the job. He is now being shown to have committed criminal acts. America now has a criminal as President.

Asked about this on NBC's "Today" show, Condoleeza Rice said, "I'm not going to comment on intelligence matters." Attorney General Gonzales refused to confirm that the NSA listens in on Americans or whether he played any role in providing legal justification for the program.

Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, said the secret order may mean the president authorized criminal activity. The law governing clandestine surveillance in the United States, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, prohibits conducting electronic surveillance not authorized by statute. A government agent can try to avoid prosecution if he can show he was "engaged in the course of his official duties and the electronic surveillance was authorized by and conducted pursuant to a search warrant or court order from a court of competent jurisdiction." "This is the first time a president has authorized government agencies to violate a specific criminal prohibition and eavesdrop on Americans."

American law requires a secret court, known as a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, to give permission before intelligence officers can conduct surveillance on US soil.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said eavesdropping in the US without a court order and without complying with the procedures of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was "both illegal and unconstitutional". Caroline Fredrickson, director of the Washington legislative office of the American Civil Liberties Union, said "It's clear that the administration has been very willing to sacrifice civil liberties in its effort to exercise its authority on terrorism, to the extent that it authorizes criminal activity...The administration is claiming extraordinary presidential powers at the expense of civil liberties and is putting the president above the law."

The US Senate must investigate this matter and make it their highest priority. American liberties are shrinking away - will we let it happen without a whimper?
Posted on The Human Stain

How others see us

The Toronto Star, Dec. 14, 2005. 01:00 AM

Like Archie Bunker's long-suffering wife Edith, Canada's politicians should learn to stifle themselves. That's the thought of the day from U.S. ambassador David Wilkins, who wants Paul Martin to stop criticizing Washington over Kyoto and lumber.

"It may be smart election-year politics to thump your chest and criticize your friend and your Number 1 trading partner constantly," Wilkins said yesterday in Ottawa. "But the last time I looked the United States was not on the ballot." Last summer Wilkins deplored our "emotional tirades." Now our "heated rhetoric." In reality, though, it is Washington that puts itself on our ballot when it imposes unfair duties that cost our softwood lumber exporters $5 billion. And while Canada is no Kyoto champion, the U.S. is the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter.

The New York Times featured a lead editorial yesterday — America's shame in Montreal — on the United Nations climate change conference last week. The U.S. "deserves only censure" for threatening to "blow the whole conference to smithereens," the editorial said. Yet when Canadians voice similar views, we are branded as American-bashing hotheads. That's not true. As Martin puts it, "it's the job of the prime minister of Canada to defend the interests of Canada."

Yes, it is. Our tundra is melting, and our exporters are hurting. Like it or not, those are facts, not tirades. All Canadian politicians should be talking them up.
Posted on The Human Stain

Intelligence lies

Georgie and Dickie just love to accuse Democratic lawmakers of “pure politics” if they dare to disagree with their divinely inspired decrees regarding the war in Iraq. Justified charges that the Bushies misled the nation and hyped intelligence always result in their favorite bromide: "Some of the most irresponsible comments - about manipulating intelligence - have come from politicians who saw the same intelligence I saw and then voted to authorize the use of force against Saddam Hussein....These charges are pure politics."

The problem is that this statement is patently false.

Bush and top administration officials have access to a much broader ranger of intelligence reports than members of Congress do. According to a report by The Congressional Research Service: "The president, and a small number of presidentially designated Cabinet-level officials, including the vice president have access to a far greater overall volume of intelligence and to more sensitive intelligence information, including information regarding intelligence sources and methods.....As a result, the president and his most senior advisers arguably are better positioned to assess the quality of the intelligence more accurately than is Congress." Unlike members of Congress, the president and his top officials also have the authority to ask U.S. intelligence agencies more extensively for follow-up information.

Due to this difference in intelligence dissemination, the Congress has to “trust” the President to tell them the truth. Why would a member of Congress believe the President of the United States would knowingly lie to them and knowingly send American citizens to their deaths? Surely our President would not be so callous and act so criminally.

Well, we know better now.
Posted on The Human Stain

Stonewalls and spin

From Editor and Publisher 12/15/05:
'You could see these questions coming a mile away. After months of refusing to comment on the Plame/CIA probe, and the indictment of Lewis "Scooter" Libby -- saying he did not want to "prejudge" an "ongoing investigation" -- President Bush on Wednesday night unabashedly told Fox News' Brit Hume that he believed Rep. Tom DeLay was not guilty of charges against him.This sparked a storm of questioning at the daily briefing on Thursday by White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, with NBCs David Gregory leading the way, accusing the administration of being "hypocritical” and "inconsistent" on this matter, "ad nauseum." McClellan fired back, denying the charge and suggesting that the newsman was getting "all dramatic about it."

The transcript is an interesting and sometimes nauseating read. Honesty or truth would nice, maybe for Christmas? How about it White House?
Posted on The Human Stain

Always drinking oil

Libya, we love you once again. Your oil is coursing thru our veins. We feel refreshed, strengthened, rejuvenated. Our canines are firmly planted in your neck once again.

More profits, more waste, more corruption, more exploitation, more environmental damage....
Posted on The Human Stain

Who would Jesus kill?

The latest example of why support for the death penalty is morally indefensible involves the release of a man serving a life sentence for rapes and murders he did not commit. DNA evidence cleared Clarence Elkins, who had served seven years already and would not have been eligible for parole consideration until 2054.

He was innocent – as are an unknown number of inmates currently on death row who have not had the benefit of DNA testing. Our society can never judge, with total certitude, the guilt of every criminal case. We therefore will execute innocent individuals, is this the type of people we want to be? Aren't we better than that?

Updated: How can this be justified on any grounds? America has just executed a 77 year old man.
Posted on The Human Stain

Dumb jerk

The absolute bottom of the television barrel, not to say anything about the common sense barrel. He's equating the Catholic Church sex scandal with the made for FOX TV, phony "War on Christmas"? Why does Bill O'Reilly even have a show? Aren't people with brains tired of this nitwit yet?
Posted on The Human Stain

Bravo to Ford

Reversing course and deciding that discrimination against gays is not what they want to be known for, the automaker will reinstate and expand it's advertising in gay targeted publications.

Congratulations for repudiating the bigotry embodied by the far right extremists of the American Family Association.
Posted on the Human Stain

Screw them - they're poor

This seems to just ooze with hypocrisy.

'The White House has declined to bail out New Orleans' bankrupt utility company, prompting dismay among local officials who see the decision as an indication that the Bush administration is not committed to rebuilding the city after Hurricane Katrina...the utility will be forced to pass on to the public the $350-million bill for its recovery....residents could see their bills soar by 140% at a time when few can afford it....we believe that transferring federal tax dollars to the bondholders and shareholders of a private firm is inappropriate......prudent investors consider the risks inherent in any investment they make, including the risks of a natural disaster…. It would be wrong for the taxpayer to bail out those investors.' So says Georgie's man, Allan B. Hubbard, chairman of the White House Gulf Coast Recovery and Rebuilding Council and his chief economic advisor.

Well isn't that the cats' meow. A statement of pure capitalism. Let's see now, the government bailed out a utility company – Consolidated Edison, in New York after 9/11, the government bails out corporations who default on their pension obligations, the government subsidizes companies and wealthy individuals all the time.

This is the real gem though, “9/11 was not a foreseeable disaster....hurricanes have been striking the Southeast part of the United States since the land rose from the sea.” So essentially he's telling them to drop dead. Wonder - did the federal government tell that to brother Jeb when the huricanes devastated FL this year and last? I thought we were told by FEMA and Georgie that the hurricane surprised everyone, no one ever anticipated one like it.

Chimpie pledged last September to rebuild the Gulf Coast communities so that they would be "better and stronger” and “federal funds will cover the great majority of the costs of repairing public infrastructure in the disaster zone.”

Put the money where your mouth is.
Posted on the Human Stain

It won't be democracy

With the Iraqi elections being held this week, the Bush administration is trumpeting their success in Iraq and how we have created a democracy in the country, how we have given the Iraqi's freedom.

Funny how Bush never mentions the death squads permeating Iraqi life. Funny how he never mentions the secret prisons operated by Iraqi's to torture their countrymen. Funny how he never mentions the rapidly increasing influence of Iran in Iraq through the Shiite Muslim militias. Funny how the infiltration of high Iraqi government posts by the militia and their use of American supplied material to carry out revenge attacks is not mentioned either. Funny it's never mentioned how the Iraqi Interior Ministry's intelligence agencies have become an agent of Iran, essentially becoming a rogue entity in the new “Iraqi democracy.”

One of the countries labeled a member of the “Axis of Evil” has now succeeded in taking over portions of the fledgling Iraqi government.

Civil war is next with Muslim theocracy soon to follow. Another Iran is born.
Posted on The Human Stain

Unbelievable

What planet is he on? Is he on drugs? Is he drunk? The blind arrogance of this cabal is apalling. Georgie still supports, Rumsfeld, Rove, and Cheney.

Chimpie also says he belives Tom Delay is innocent and he hopes he'll return to his leadership post. "I hope that he will, cause I like him, and plus, when he's over there, we get our votes through the House."
Posted on The Human Stain

Morally bankrupt

The Republicans are just sooo consistent. Rob the poor and give it to the rich. Year in and year out their mantra is eliminate government assistance for needy individuals, enable government handouts to greedy friends and corporations. This year during the holidays no less (we assume they do remember the holidays - help your fellow man, help the poor, help the sick) they have a nice, big lump of coal for people who do not have enough to EAT with their intention to cut funding for the Food Stamp Program.

Food stamps are used by ~27.5 million Americans - children, elderly, unemployed. The numbers of people needing food stamps has been rising in recent years due to economic conditions with a huge jump this fall due to Hurricane Katrina. Well, the US House of Representatives wants to cut 235,000 people from the rolls.

Guess we can't afford $700M to help disadvantaged Americans live because we have to give hundreds of billions to the well heeled.
Posted on The Human Stain

Ford - American automaker or chumps?

With the American auto industry in dire straits, Ford seemed poised to weather the current crisis more ably than GM or Chrysler. Seeming to recognize the changing climate earlier and emphasizing a more efficient mix of models – they were positioning themselves to survive.

Now, with this public relations disaster unfolding, they have sole responsibility for adding increased pressure to the forces causing their demise. The stupidity of their decision cannot be denied, but they can stem the blood-letting by reversing course and making a public declaration of their error. When they do, the religio-fascists will explode, further exposing their true evil, but Ford will once again be looked upon as brave, honorable, and a model corporate citizen for all Americans.

If they don't reverse course – well, it's their existence that is being risked.
Posted on The Human Stain

American shame

Kidnappers, torturers, liars. Yup, we look real honorable. Quite the model to emulate.

A European investigator said Tuesday he has found mounting indications the United States illegally held detainees in Europe but then hurriedly shipped them out to North Africa a month ago when word leaked out. Dick Marty, a Swiss senator looking into claims the CIA operated secret prisons in Europe, said an ongoing, month long investigation unearthed information implicating Poland and Romania. Asked to which North African country the detainees may have been moved, he said: "I would imagine that it would be Morocco — up to you to confirm it."

"Legal proceedings in progress in certain countries seemed to indicate that individuals had been abducted and transferred to other countries without respect for any legal standards," he said. Marty said some governments may not have known of the detention centers on their own soil and it was "still too early to assert that there had been any involvement or complicity of member states in illegal actions."

The senator also was critical of the United States, saying he "deplores the fact that no information or explanations" were provided by Secretary of State Rice, who faced repeated questions about the CIA prison allegations on her recent visit to Europe.
Posted on The Human Stain

Amorality

Bush conducted his third of four planned PR speeches yesterday to bolster support for his ebbing adventure in Iraq. He actually dipped a toe in some cold, cold waters by speaking before a non-military audience. What a brave man to actually appear before people not under orders to show you respect.

The problem with his speech was it's sameness. Nope, no mistakes, “Knowing what I know today, I'd make the decision again....Removing Saddam Hussein makes this world a better place and America a safer country.” I would do the same thing again, blah, blah, blah, blah - blah.

The one amazing aspect to his speech was its' tone – the seeming indifference and uncaring emotion of his voice. After delivering the speech in Philadelphia yesterday, Bush unexpectedly invited questions from the audience and was asked about the number of Iraqi casualties in the war. He responded “I would say 30,000 more or less have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis.” More or less? More or less! What is this – some game? How many were innocent civilians? How many were children, were grandmothers, fathers, mothers? How callous this “man” is!

He sounded like a spoiled college kid talking about how many kegs of beer they're getting for their big fraternity party. Oh, thats right – he was a spoiled frat boy. Appears as if he still is.
Posted on The Human Stain

Pandering

Sen. George Allen seems to have decided that kowtowing to the extreme elements of his party are much more valuable than principle and honor. There was a time when he opposed the Taliban in his party and stood with his co-senator from VA, John Warner in voting to support making hate crimes against gays a federal offense.

Now, not willing to jeopardize his support from the Republican religio-nut base that he needs in his re-election effort in 2006 and also in his planned for 2008 presidential bid, he has turned away from millions of Americans looking for recognition that vile prejudice and brutality impacts them. His spokesman states that “When it comes before the Senate again, he will vote against adding sexual orientation to federal hate-crimes statutes,” also adding “I wouldn't define it as a flip-flop.”

As we all know, in politics, the need to deny being a flip-flopper assuredly means you are. Sadly, Allen realizes that he must pander to maintain support from the wingnuts in Virginia and the fact that they are that important to his Republican re-election effort is a sad commentary on the GOP.
Posted on The Human Stain

Unconscious

Trying to give Americans the impression he really is cognizant of what happens in the world, Chimpie denies he lives in a bubble.

Seems like having to deny that you live in a bubble corroborates that you do live in a bubble. If he doesn't live in his own little cocoon, then why is he afraid to speak in front of any audience that is not hand picked – or military?

One needs no further proof of what's wrong with this guy than this incredible statement: Asked whether he read weekly news magazines, Bush replied: "I really don't, I'm interested in the news, I'm not all that interested in the opinions."
Posted on The Human Stain

Fighting America's Demise

With Sen. Bill “Torture them till they bleed” Frist threatening to institute the nuclear option if the Democrats dare object to the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, at least there is one Senator standing upright.

The senior Democrat in the Senate, Sen. Robert Byrd, states “If the senator wants a fight, let him try it. I'm 88 years old, but I can still fight, and fight I will for freedom of speech. I haven't been here for 47 years to see that freedom of speech whittled away and undermined.”

Frist says the Dem's threats to filibuster will force his hand. Byrd responded “If he ever tries to exercise that, he's going to see a real filibuster if I'm living and able to stand on my feet or sit in my seat.”

The Republicans want the nuclear option so they can effectively destroy US Senate rules that prevent the majority from riding roughshod over the minority. Successful US government procedures be damned – we're gonna force our will on you.

The Republicans in the US House want to neuter 140 years of constitutional law by drafting an amendment to end birthright citizenship from being granted to anyone lucky enough to be born in the US. Whats next – ending citizenship for blacks? Jews? Democrats?

The Republican dunderhead in the White House, when confronted with the fact that sections of the Patriot Act may violate the Constitution, stated “Stop throwing the Constitution in my face – it's just a goddamned piece of paper.”

Who is going to stand with Sen. Byrd?
Posted on The Human Stain

America's disgrace

Well it appears the amoral, out of touch, uncaring, extremist wing nuts of the Republican party are about to get their wish. New Orleans is a disaster again. Not only do the Bushies fail to fund construction of the levees before Hurricane Katrina hit, they now fail to fund reconstruction to repair the damage. One hopes there is a special place in hell for these cretins.

That being said – where is the outrage on the other side? Everyone too busy Christmas shopping? Note to the Dem's - how about screaming about helping Americans in need?
When viewed by history, will how we handle this crisis show the greatness of America - or how pitiful we've become?

New York Times editorial published 12/11/05:

We are about to lose New Orleans. Whether it is a conscious plan to let the city rot until no one is willing to move back or honest paralysis over difficult questions, the moment is upon us when a major American city will die, leaving nothing but a few shells for tourists to visit like a museum

We said this wouldn't happen. President Bush said it wouldn't happen. He stood in Jackson Square and said, "There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans." But it has been over three months since Hurricane Katrina struck and the city is in complete shambles.

There are many unanswered questions that will take years to work out, but one is make-or-break and needs to be dealt with immediately. It all boils down to the levee system. People will clear garbage, live in tents, work their fingers to the bone to reclaim homes and lives, but not if they don't believe they will be protected by more than patches to the same old system that failed during the deadly storm. Homeowners, businesses and insurance companies all need a commitment before they will stake their futures on the city.

At this moment the reconstruction is a rudderless ship. There is no effective leadership that we can identify. How many people could even name the president's liaison for the reconstruction effort, Donald Powell? Lawmakers need to understand that for New Orleans the words "pending in Congress" are a death warrant requiring no signature.

The rumbling from Washington that the proposed cost of better levees is too much has grown louder. Pretending we are going to do the necessary work eventually, while stalling until the next hurricane season is upon us, is dishonest and cowardly. Unless some clear, quick commitments are made, the displaced will have no choice but to sink roots in the alien communities where they landed.

The price tag for protection against a Category 5 hurricane, which would involve not just stronger and higher levees but also new drainage canals and environmental restoration, would very likely run to well over $32 billion. That is a lot of money. But that starting point represents just 1.2 percent of this year's estimated $2.6 trillion in federal spending, which actually overstates the case, since the cost would be spread over many years. And it is barely one-third the cost of the $95 billion in tax cuts passed just last week by the House of Representatives.

Total allocations for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on terror have topped $300 billion. All that money has been appropriated as the cost of protecting the nation from terrorist attacks. But what was the worst possible case we fought to prevent?

Losing a major American city.

"We'll not just rebuild, we'll build higher and better," President Bush said that night in September. Our feeling, strongly, is that he was right and should keep to his word. We in New York remember well what it was like for the country to rally around our city in a desperate hour. New York survived and has flourished. New Orleans can too.

Of course, New Orleans's local and state officials must do their part as well, and demonstrate the political and practical will to rebuild the city efficiently and responsibly. They must, as quickly as possible, produce a comprehensive plan for putting New Orleans back together. Which schools will be rebuilt and which will be absorbed? Which neighborhoods will be shored up? Where will the roads go? What about electricity and water lines? So far, local and state officials have been derelict at producing anything that comes close to a coherent plan. That is unacceptable.

The city must rise to the occasion. But it will not have that opportunity without the levees, and only the office of the president is strong enough to goad Congress to take swift action. Only his voice is loud enough to call people home and convince them that commitments will be met.

Maybe America does not want to rebuild New Orleans. Maybe we have decided that the deficits are too large and the money too scarce, and that it is better just to look the other way until the city withers and disappears. If that is truly the case, then it is incumbent on President Bush and Congress to admit it, and organize a real plan to help the dislocated residents resettle into new homes. The communities that opened their hearts to the Katrina refugees need to know that their short-term act of charity has turned into a permanent commitment.

If the rest of the nation has decided it is too expensive to give the people of New Orleans a chance at renewal, we have to tell them so. We must tell them we spent our rainy-day fund on a costly stalemate in Iraq, that we gave it away in tax cuts for wealthy families and shareholders. We must tell them America is too broke and too weak to rebuild one of its great cities.

Our nation would then look like a feeble giant indeed. But whether we admit it or not, this is our choice to make.

We decide whether New Orleans lives or dies.
Posted on The Human Stain