Sums it Up

A picture worth a thousand words.
And let's not forget he's America's worst also.
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He's not Amused? Tough!

Last night saw an annual event that is increasingly being known for high hypocrisy and is also emblematic for what ails this country by it's clear showcasing of the sickly, incestuous relationship between media and government. Pretenses are still being fitfully displayed, but it is no longer credible for anyone in big media to deny that they are mere lapdogs for this administration. Corporate ownership of news outlets with the increased narrowing of viewpoints along with elimination of real news in favor of meaningless 'happy talk' have neutered the rights of American citizens to needed information that monitors their government.

The White House Correspondents Dinner is nothing more than an orgy of self congratulation, snobbery, self importance and blind fealty to an administration and a Washingtonian culture totally out of touch with Americans. Here we have 2700 attendees, laughing it up while our tin plated dictator does comedy routines. Here we have some of the most powerful members of the media hobnobbing with a political class that cares nothing about them – unless they spout the party line. Ha ha ha. They sit and joke with an Idiot in Chief who is making plans – and will seize the power – to prosecute reporters as spies. Who will he prosecute? Well, anyone that displeases him of course.

Chimpie was displeased at the comedy routine put on by Stephen Colbert. Not praising, and fawning over The Dolt in Chief is improper etiquette amongst Washington's elite, and Colbert gave them a dose of truth that bit:

Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged the Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”

Turning to the war, he declared, "I believe that the government that governs best is a government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq."

Colbert also made biting cracks about missing WMDs, “photo ops” on aircraft carriers and at hurricane disasters, melting glaciers and Vice President Cheney shooting people in the face.

Observing that Bush sticks to his principles, he said, "When the president decides something on Monday, he still believes it on Wednesday - no matter what happened Tuesday."

Also lampooning the press, Colbert complained that he was “surrounded by the liberal media who are destroying this country, except for Fox News. Fox believes in presenting both sides of the story — the president’s side and the vice president’s side." He also reflected on the alleged good old days, when the media was still swallowing the WMD story.

Addressing the reporters, he said, "Let's review the rules. Here's how it works. The president makes decisions, he’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know--fiction."

Bush was reportedly offended - awww that's just too damn bad. He offends millions of American patriots everyday with his increasingly incompetent stewardship of our country, his illegal violations of our rights, his amoral destruction of American society, and his uncaring policies that will destroy the lives of future generations. He's a disgrace but he's too dumb to know it.

As for 'The Press' – how can people who are supposedly trained to discern, interpret, investigate, and ferret out truth, sit there yukking it up with an individual they know would incarcerate them without hesitation – if he deemed them to be a threat? There is no danger that anyone will confuse this crowd with honor, courage, or respect for their countrymen.
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Countdown

996 Days left
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Lies Disproved

From Informed Comment by Juan Cole:

Well, so much for "fly-paper" or "fighting them over there" or attacking Iraq to end terror. The US government is now admitting that the Bush war in Iraq is generating anti-Western Terrorism. So far Madrid and London have been hit over it, and that is only the beginning. The jihadis getting training fighting Marines in Iraq will be a threat for decades, all over the world.

Sounds like the neo-con dumbbells admit the Democrats and war critics were right after all. Why anyone thinks Republicans know more, or are more capable on the 'defense' issue is beyond me. They have made this nation less secure, have exposed Americans to more danger, and have caused untold needless destruction. They are incompetent.
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Vivid Contrast

Growing up, everyone has been told by their elders that “Words are cheap, people are measured by what they do.” Quite a comparison can be made right now in Washington between our two political parties. This week, there could not have been a starker difference exhibited between the Democrats and Rethuglicans.

All week long we have heard how the Republicans are getting investigated, indicted, arrested, convicted, or are soon to be indicted for crimes committed against the United States. What crimes? Little things such as bribery, robbing the US Treasury, rigging elections, phone tampering, and who knows what else. If this isn't time filling enough, they also are busy spying on Americans, violating our privacy, destroying healthcare......

Meanwhile on the Democratic side of the aisle:
Congressmen Jim McGovern (D-MA), Jim Moran, (D-VA), Tom Lantos (D-CA), John Olver (D-MA), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) were arrested for taking part in a peaceful demonstration at the Sudanese Embassy, that called for an end to the genocide in the Darfur region being committed by the Janjaweed militia. The militia is little more than a band of thugs, acting at the behest of the Sudanese government.

My Momma told me getting arrested for principle is much more acceptable than getting arrested for being a crook. The Rethuglicans talk a great game – problem is their actions never measure up to their promises.
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Clones

President Ilham Aliev, of Azerbaijan, met with Chimpie in the White House on Friday. Bush extolled the country as "a modern Muslim country that is able to provide for its citizens, that understands that democracy is the wave of the future." Wow! Pretty high praise for a man who has a very controversial record:

Aliev succeeded his father, Heydar A. Aliev, in October 2003, in an election that also drew sharp criticism from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for ballot-stuffing and a falsified vote count.

The annual State Department human-rights report issued in March said of Azerbaijan:

“the government's human rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit numerous abuses”.....also citing “torture and beating of persons in custody, leading to four deaths,” as well as arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of political opponents, harsh prison conditions and corruption in the judiciary.

Getting a little confused here, is this report about Aliev or Bush? They seem so similar.
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Labels People Wear

Bigot, idiot, fascist, hate-monger, liar, racist, hypocrite, misogynist – now we can add 'drug addict.'

How long before we get child abuser? Rapist? Embezzler? Forger? Sadist?
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Countdown

997 Days left
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Life in a Cocoon

Sen. Arlen Specter is getting increasingly frustrated with the Bushies refusal to turn over information about their illegal spying activities on American citizens. It's very hard to tell if he is actually getting upset over the existence of this abusive program – or whether he just doesn't like being ignored and made to look like a fool.

New expressions of frustration over how little information the administration has shared about the National Security Agency's warrantless eavesdropping on Americans flared yesterday in the Senate, one day after House Republicans barred amendments that would have expanded oversight of the controversial program.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said yesterday that he will file an amendment to block the NSA program's funding -- but said he will not seek a vote on it at this time -- in hope of stirring greater debate on the warrantless surveillance, part of the agency's monitoring of alleged terrorists.

"Where is the outrage?" asked Specter, who has chaired hearings that questioned the NSA program's constitutionality

Obviously, his reluctance to call for a vote is because he's afraid not enough Rethuglicans on his committee and in the US Senate will agree with him. The extremely sad thing about this whole situation is the amoral lack of willingness for other Senators and Americans of conscience to stand up and voice disapproval. Bush needs to be slapped very hard on this and everyone knows it. This failure to take Chimpie on means that future generations will be condemned to the same type of fascist illegalities – precedents have been set. Dishonoring our ancestors who fought and died to provide 'freedom' to this nation is bad enough, but sitting idly and watching the erosion of liberty for your children is just despicable.

Where is the outrage? Senator, you would really help the country if you took the partisan blinders off, there's plenty of it out here – away from Washington. Maybe, just maybe, you could join with Democrats and the millions of grass roots citizens who are extremely concerned about this issue. We are patriotic too – Republicans don't own the flag.
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Numbers Keep Growing

The Bushies are still assuring Americans there is nothing to fear from Mad Cow Cow Disease in this country.

"The fact that this animal was blocked from entering the food supply tells us that our safeguards are working exactly as they should," Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said during a news conference... 06/25/05

'The government is investigating a possible new case of mad cow disease, but says there is no threat to the U.S. food supply.' 07/27/05

'Seeking to close a gap in the nation’s defense against mad cow disease, the Bush administration on Tuesday proposed to eliminate cow brains and spinal cords from feed for all animals, including chickens, pigs and pets.' 10/04/05

"It is important to note that Canada's monitoring system identified this animal as one that should be removed from the food and feed supply chain, ensuring food safety continues to be protected," Johanns said in a statement. 04/16/06

Now we hear this:

There are probably a few undetected cases of mad cow disease in the United States, but the total — estimated at four to seven — is "extraordinarily low," Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns says.

The calculation comes from new testing data released Friday. Testing is likely to be scaled back after a panel of independent scientists reviews the figures, Johanns said.

"The data shows the prevalence of BSE in the United States is extraordinarily low," Johanns told reporters on a conference call. "In other words, we have an extremely healthy herd of cattle in our country."

Uh-huh. The incidences keep increasing – slowly, but steadily. Everyone still feel assured?

A great site for honest Mad Cow info.
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Religio-Nuts Attack Again

“Offenses, slander, historical and theological errors” - these are just some of the hysterical charges leveled by the Catholic church and it's minions against the soon to be released film “The Da Vinci Code.”

Monsignor Angelo Amato — Pope Benedict XVI's former No. 2 when Benedict was head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith — made the comments in a speech at the Pontifical Holy Cross University, which is run by the conservative Catholic movement Opus Dei, the ANSA news agency reported.

"I hope all of you boycott this film," the Italian agency quoted Amato as saying. "Slander, offenses and errors that if they were directed toward the Quran or the Shoah would have justifiably provoked a worldwide revolt," he said, referring to Islam's holy book and the Hebrew word for Holocaust.

"Yet because they were directed toward the Catholic Church, they remain 'unpunished,'" he said.

Oh the blasphemy of it all, the book is full of heresy and scorn, how dare this author write such a book attacking Christ! Now just what is it about this book that has the hierarchy in such a tizzy? The main contention of the book is that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, had children, and that this fact has been covered up by the Church for centuries.

A coverup? By the Catholic Church? Jesus was married – to a woman? Surely no one believes this is possible. Catholic priests only like little boys – don't they?
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Countdown

998 Days left
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It's a Close Race

With a political party that is increasingly viewed as being composed of crooks, incompetents, fascists, and greedy corporatists, there is little room left for classification of other 'types.'

Well, don't let anyone think that our Republican members of the US Senate are not some of the finest, most resourceful, and most unconscious members of society. This contest is really too close to decide – but who is dumber - Sen. George Allen of Virginia, or Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee?

You decide.
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Please - Do Something

Say Congress – the ideas and proposals to reduce oil dependency are out there. Cut the Big Oil parasite off your neck and make America healthy!

A hundred years ago, Americans could use typewriters, the telegraph and primitive telephones. Today, Americans have computers, the Internet, cell phones, satellite television and radio, DVDs, iPods, email and instant messaging.

A hundred years ago, Americans could have personal vehicles powered by internal combustion engines running on gasoline. Today, Americans can have personal vehicles powered by internal combustion engines running on gasoline.

You see the problem?

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Oh Brother!

One would think that with the low level of performance and high level of incoherence currently on display in Washington that it couldn't get any worse. Well, we have a saying in these parts – 'Never underestimate the ingenuity of an idiot.' Congress never fails to amaze.

Leave it to the Rethuglicans for coming up with this insult. Wasn't Sen. Bill Frist supposed to be somewhat educated? The AMA should really revoke his license – peabrains shouldn't be practicing medicine.

Most American taxpayers would get $100 rebate checks to offset the pain of higher pump prices for gasoline, under an amendment Senate Republicans hope to bring to a vote Thursday.

"Our plan would give taxpayers a hundred dollar gas tax holiday rebate check to help ease the pain that they're feeling at the pump," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist announced Thursday. "It also includes strong federal anti-price gouging protection to protect consumers against anti-competitive behavior by oil companies or other suppliers of gasoline. Our free market system works, but it works best when there's full accountability and full transparency."

Uh-huh. Sure. That'll really help. I just spent $43 to fill up my car, which gets ~30mpg. This will last me one week. That $100 bucks would help A WHOLE LOT! And does he really think ANYONE believes that Bush and his Republican stooges give a shit about protecting 'consumers'?

Note to Frist – don't insult America with your harebrained, idiotic, and really contemptuous ideas. Solve the real problem. Do your job and develop a valid, realistic, long term energy PLAN that enables America to cut oil dependency by 50% in 10 years. Then we'll listen. You guys are really history – you just don't want to see it.
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Who are the Blog Readers?

The results for the 2006 BlogAds survey are in. The results for the political blog readers are particularly interesting.

Note to big media – this effectively kills your disdain for bloggers. They are not kids - they are not teenagers. Pay attention, you may find out something useful about how your attitudes, actions, and pre-conceived notions are a huge dis-service to the politically active, voting citizenry of America.

61% are aged 31-60, 27% are 41-50 years old
72% are male
66% make $60,000/yr or more
78% have college or post graduate degrees
68% are Democrat or Independent
90% talk/email each week about politics with up to 20 friends
most read online newspapers
37% feel television is worthless and 2% extremely useful for news and opinion
1% feel blogs are worthless and 58% extremely useful for news and opinion
80% read up to 10 blogs daily
18% have their own blogs

Why do these people read blogs?

Faster news 66%
Better perspective 80%
More honesty 68%
News not found elsewhere 84%
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Countdown

999 Days left
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Criminals and Crooked Pols

If Ken Lay, the former Chairman of Enron, escapes a jail term (hopefully for the rest of his life), then America will have given itself a lobotomy.

From The Huffington Post:

Lay didn't become "Kenny Boy" and an intimate FOG (Friend of George) because of his folksy charm. Enron and its executives doled out $2.4 million to federal candidates and parties in the 2000 election -- including $113,000 to the Bush/Cheney campaign. Lay and his wife also gave $100,000 to Bush's 2000 inaugural fund (Skilling chipped in $100,000 of his own), and another $5,000 each to the Bush-Cheney 2000 Recount Fund to help assure there'd be an inauguration. What's more, Lay even gave W's folks a ride to their son's 2000 inauguration on an Enron plane.

It was money well spent, buying Lay and his company what Rep. Henry Waxman has called "extensive access" to the epicenter of American political power. Access and influence.

Representatives of Enron also had at least six meetings with Cheney and his staff as part of the VP's secretive Energy Task Force., the last of which occurred just six days before the company revealed it had vastly overstated its earnings, signaling the beginning of the end for the energy giant. These meetings included at least one between Cheney and Lay.

It was at this meeting that Lay handed Cheney a memo that gave the administration its marching orders on how to handle the 2000-2001 California energy crisis -- a crisis that we now know was largely rigged by Enron and other energy companies. The crisis cost the state an estimated $45 billion.

Lay's memo called on the administration to "reject any attempt to re-regulate wholesale power markets by adopting price caps." Just a few weeks after literally getting the memo from Lay, Cheney said of price caps: "We think that's a mistake." Bush followed suit, announcing: "I oppose price caps". This cozy relationship allowed Enron traders to rip off the people of California with impunity.

So as Ken Lay continues to plead his case on the stand deep in the heart of Texas, never forget that this scandal is not just about the crooks who cooked the books at Enron, it's about how the White House gave the crooks a prominent seat at the policy table.

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Say What?

Look out! The elections are approaching. Rethuglicans are running scared. Democrats want to improve their position. All the cynical, uncaring, unresponsive attitudes Congress has displayed towards Americans in the last year will be swept away by their new found concern over how greedy oil companies are gouging the 'little guys.'

Standing there in their little news conferences and media events, they just ooze with empathy and compassion. A couple of gasbags US Senators, were harrumphing today about how they are going to make sure big oil is playing by the rules:

A Senate committee Wednesday announced an investigation into taxes paid by major oil companies and asked the Internal Revenue Service for the companies' tax returns. The Senate Finance Committee promised "a comprehensive review of the federal taxes paid" by the 15 largest oil and gas companies. The committee said it wanted to inspect their tax returns for the last five years.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the committee's chairman, said the panel was concerned about high profits and executive compensation at oil companies. "I want to make sure the oil companies aren't taking a speed pass by the tax man," said Grassley in a statement.

With gasoline prices soaring and oil companies announcing record profits, "it's relevant to know what the real financial picture is for this industry," Montana Sen. Max Baucus, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said.

In a letter to the IRS, Grassley and Baucus said the tax records of the major oil companies are needed to conduct "a comprehensive review" of the companies' compliance with tax laws.

"As pressure mounts to address extraordinarily high gas prices that consumers are facing at the pump, we feel we should better understand the federal tax posture of the industry," the two senators wrote IRS Commissioner Mark Everson.

In their request, the senators noted not only the industry profits, but "an extremely lucrative retirement plan by one oil and gas industry executive, benefits which may have been subsidized in part by the taxpayers."

Gee, I don't know, but isn't this 'comprehensive review' just a little late?

Seems like the Senators SHOULD HAVE DONE THEIR JOBS LAST YEAR, and reviewed the companies' tax compliance before giving them TAX BREAKS OF OVER $14 BILLION!!!

Just pitiful.
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Scott Ritter – Right Again

He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1984, where he served for twelve years as an intelligence officer and initially served as the lead analyst for the Marine Corps Rapid Deployment Force concerning the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iran-Iraq War.

Ritter served from 1991 to 1998 as a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq in the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), which was charged with finding and destroying all weapons of mass destruction and WMD-related manufacturing capabilities in Iraq, serving as chief inspector in 14 of the more than 30 inspection missions in which he participated.

In January of 1998, his inspection team into Iraq was blocked from some weapons sites by Iraqi officials and Ritter was accused by Iraq of being a spy for the CIA. He was then expelled from Iraq by its government in August 1998.

With this background, he knows of what he speaks. His recent interview with the San Diego CityBEAT, titled 'American Patriot' bears due consideration. With all the public statements and dire pronouncements from the Bushies about Iran's nuclear ambitions, Ritter says no-no, it's a red herring – just like Iraq:

That’s why when I speak of Iran, I say be careful of falling into the trap of nonproliferation, disarmament, weapons of mass destruction; this is a smokescreen. The Bush administration does not have policy of disarmament vis-à-vis Iran. They do have a policy of regime change. If we had a policy of disarmament, we would have engaged in unilateral or bilateral discussions with the Iranians a long time ago. But we put that off the table because we have no desire to resolve the situation we use to facilitate the military intervention necessary to achieve regime change. It’s the exact replay of the game plan used for Iraq, where we didn’t care what Saddam did, what he said, what the weapons inspectors found. We created the perception of a noncompliant Iraq, and we stuck with that perception, selling that perception until we achieved our ultimate objective, which was invasion that got rid of Saddam. With Iran, we are creating the perception of a noncompliant Iran, a threatening Iran. It doesn’t matter what the facts are. Now that we have successfully created that perception, the Bush administration will move forward aggressively until it achieves its ultimate objective, which is regime change.

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American Kidnapping

Shame. Humiliation. Despair. Outrage. Such is the plight of America during the reign of Bush.

I said, "Some of these folks have never been heard from again, right?"

"Yup," said Curt Goering. "That's right."

Mr. Goering is the senior deputy executive director for policy and programs at Amnesty International USA. We were discussing a subject — government-sanctioned disappearances — that ordinarily would repel most Americans.

In past years, stories about torture and "the disappeared" have been associated with sinister regimes in South and Central America. The attitude in the United States was that we were above such dirty business, that it was immoral and uncivilized, and we were better than that.

But times change, and we've lowered our moral standards several notches since then. Now people are disappearing at the hands of the U.S. government.

"Below the Radar: Secret Flights to Torture and 'Disappearance' " is the title of a recent Amnesty International report on the reprehensible practice of extraordinary rendition, a highly classified American program in which individuals are seized — abducted — without any semblance of due process and sent off to be interrogated by regimes that are known to engage in torture.

Some of the individuals swept up by rendition simply vanish. "This is a kind of netherworld that people disappear into and don't frequently emerge from," said Mr. Goering. "It's a world that's outside the reach of law. These individuals might as well be on another planet."

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Broken Care

These are our neighbors, friends, and families. It could also be you.

The percentage of working-age Americans with moderate to middle incomes who lacked health insurance for at least part of the year rose to 41 percent in 2005, a dramatic increase from the 28 percent in 2001 without coverage, a study released on Wednesday found.

Moreover, more than half of the uninsured adults said they were having problems paying their medical bills or had incurred debt to cover their expenses,according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based private, health care policy foundation.....

The report paints a bleak health care picture for the uninsured. "It represents an explosion of the insurance crisis into those with moderate incomes," said Sara Collins, a senior program officer at the Commonwealth Fund.

Collins said the study also illustrates how more employers are dropping coverage or are offering plans that are just too expensive for many people. About 45.8 million Americans did not have health insurance in 2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

So how do members of Congress rate on their health care benefits?

Members of Congress also participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program or FEHB, which covers some 8 million federal workers. The FEHB is lauded as a model for a large-scale comprehensive health care plan, and lawmakers are frequently criticized for failing to come up with a comparable system for the tens of millions of Americans without adequate health care.

Participants choose from about a dozen fee-for-service plans, plus several hundred HMO plans and, more recently, health savings accounts paired with high-deductible health plans.

The government pays an average 72 percent of premiums, less than the average 82 percent that employers in the private sector paid in 2003, according to a Labor Department survey. Retiring legislators, as well as other federal workers, can continue to participate after just five years of enrollment, and the government continues to pick up 72 percent of the premiums.

Once 65 and eligible for Medicare, they can still buy so-called wraparound plans to fill any gaps in coverage. Current members can also purchase top-of-the-line care, using their FEHB benefits, at Washington's military hospitals, and for an annual fee, now $480, can drop by the Attending Physician's Office in the first floor of the U.S. Capitol for X-rays, EKGs, physical exams and consultations.

Son of a gun – would you believe they don't feel the pain like American citizens do? If you lose your job after 5 years, does anyone pick up 72 percent of your healthcare insurance costs? Well, if you're a member of Congress, there is no need to worry. Just think, people who have to forgo medical care due to sky high premiums still pay taxes so that Congress will get theirs.
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Mick to Georgie

Take a hike!

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Let the Countdown Begin

Tomorrow is a significant date in American history - there will be 1,000 days left until Chimpie leaves office.

The Hundred Days is indelibly associated with Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the Thousand Days with John F. Kennedy. But as of this week, a thousand days remain of President Bush's last term -- days filled with ominous preparations for and dark rumors of a preventive war against Iran.

The issue of preventive war as a presidential prerogative is hardly new. In February 1848 Rep. Abraham Lincoln explained his opposition to the Mexican War: "Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose -- and you allow him to make war at pleasure [emphasis added]. . . . If, today, he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, 'I see no probability of the British invading us'; but he will say to you, 'Be silent; I see it, if you don't.' "

This is precisely how George W. Bush sees his presidential prerogative: Be silent; I see it, if you don't . However, both Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, veterans of the First World War, explicitly ruled out preventive war against Joseph Stalin's attempt to dominate Europe. And in the Cuban missile crisis of October 1962, President Kennedy, himself a hero of the Second World War, rejected the recommendations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for a preventive strike against the Soviet Union in Cuba.

The nightmare will be over. Now this pre-supposes that the Chimp doesn't go stark raving mad and succumb to his messianic tendencies that he is on a mission for God.

Bush also explained, in unusually stark terms, how his belief in God influences his foreign policy. "I base a lot of my foreign policy decisions on some things that I think are true," he said. "One, I believe there's an Almighty. And, secondly, I believe one of the great gifts of the Almighty is the desire in everybody's soul, regardless of what you look like or where you live, to be free.

"I believe liberty is universal. I believe people want to be free. And I know that democracies do not war with each other." Can't wait that long

There is another hope on the horizon and it will take the participation of all Americans to be realized. The shame we have endured and the amoral actions our country commits can be ended this fall - vote Democrat. Once Bush loses control of the Congress, America is freed of bondage.
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Closer and Closer

Squirmingly lovely isn't it? The Rethuglicans are really running scared. Investigations into the years of illegalities and political chicanery they have gleefully inflicted upon this country are coming home to roost. Bend over boys......

Let's discuss the mushrooming phone jamming scandal that originated in New Hampshire during the 2002 elections:

The New Hampshire phone-jamming scandal is being dismissed as small-time, state-level misconduct, but it occurred at a critical moment in a tough election. In November 2002, Republicans were intent on winning a Senate majority so they would control the White House and both houses of Congress. They saw the Sununu-Shaheen race as pivotal. On Election Day morning, the phone lines were jammed at the Democratic offices and at a get-out-the-vote operation run by a firefighters' union. The police were called, and the lines were eventually freed up.

The executive director of the New Hampshire Republican Party and the president of the Virginia consulting group pleaded guilty for their part in the scheme. James Tobin, who was the New England political director for the Republican National Committee, went to trial and was convicted of telephone harassment last December. In the New Hampshire case, Mr. Tobin was represented by Williams & Connolly, a pre-eminent white-collar criminal law firm. The legal bills, which published estimates have put at more than $2.5 million, were paid by the Republican National Committee. Democrats are asking why the committee footed the bill, if Mr. Tobin was a rogue actor who implicated the national party in a loathsome and embarrassing crime.

Democrats would, of course, like to connect the jamming to the White House, and this month they found a possible link. The Senate Majority Project, a pro-Democratic campaign group, examined the phone records that came out in Mr. Tobin's case and found that he made dozens of calls to the White House's office of political affairs right when he was executing the phone-jamming scheme. Ken Mehlman, the Republican National Committee chairman who was the White House political director at the time, insists that close contact of this kind between political operatives is the norm on Election Day, and that none of the calls mentioned the jamming.

New Hampshire Democrats have filed a civil lawsuit seeking to learn more about what occurred. They want the judge to give them access to e-mail messages that could shed light on the phone calls to the White House, and to let them question officials of the Republican National Committee and the White House. In March, a federal grand jury indicted a fourth person in the jamming scheme, the former co-owner of the Idaho telemarketing firm. The Senate Majority Project has been putting key documents on its Web site (www.senatemajority.com) and is continuing to investigate.

More here and here.
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NEWSFLASHES

April 25, 2006

Bush Learns Corn is Used to Make Ethanol!

Bush Learns What Ethanol is Used For!

Bush Thinks America Should Make Some!

“Ethanol has got the largest potential for immediate growth. Most people may not know this, but today most of ethanol produced in America today is from corn. Most vehicles can use 10 percent ethanol in their automobiles.

What's interesting that Americans don't realize, with a little bit of expenditure, we can convert a standard automobile to what's called a flex-fuel automobile. And that flex-fuel vehicle can use fuel that is 85 percent ethanol.

Amazing, isn't it? Without much cost, your automobile can be converted to be able to burn fuel with 85 percent ethanol or a product made from corn grown right here in America.

Ethanol is a versatile fuel. And the benefits are easy to recognize when you think about it.

One, the use of ethanol in automobiles is good for the agricultural sector. I'm one of these people who believes when the agricultural sector is strong, America is strong.

The way I like to put it would be — it's a good thing when a president can sit there and say, gosh, we've got a lot of corn. And that means we're less dependent on foreign sources of oil.

Years back, they'd say, oh, gosh, we've got a lot of corn and worried about the price.

Ethanol is good for our rural communities. It's good economic development for rural America. You know, new bio-refinery construction creates jobs and local tax revenues. When the family farmer's doing well, it's good for the local merchants.

Ethanol is good for the environment. I keep emphasizing that we can be good stewards of our environment and at the same time continue with our economic expansion. And ethanol will help meet that strategy.

You don't have to choose between good environment and good economics. You can have both by the use of technology. And ethanol is an example of what I'm talking about. And ethanol's good for drivers. Ethanol is homegrown. Ethanol will replace gasoline consumption.

Ethanol's good for the whole country. And we've been ... I thought you'd like that.

The ethanol industry is booming. It must be exciting to have worked for as long as you have on encouraging alternative sources of energy and then all of a sudden see the work come to fruition.

Last year, America used a record 4 billion gallons of ethanol. There are now 97 ethanol refineries in our country, and nine of those are expanding and 35 more are under construction. The ethanol industry is on the move, and America is better off for it.

Many of these refineries are in the Midwest — the Midwest because that is where the source — you know, the feed stock for ethanol comes from.

BUSH: That happens to be corn.”

Bush: Pollute More = Lower Gas Prices

Bush: Fix Gas – Keep Ass Out of Fire

A brain the size of a walnut.
Posted on The Human Stain

Torture Continues

With all the horror expressed at the revelations of prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan by American troops, one would think that it would have stopped. Guess again.

Inspectors looking for evidence of torture of prisoners by U.S. military and intelligence officers in Iraq keep finding more and more evidence that America no longer plays by the rules of the Geneva Convention Writes Ellen Knickmeyer of The Washington Post:

Last Nov. 13, U.S. soldiers found 173 incarcerated men, some of them emaciated and showing signs of torture, in a secret bunker in an Interior Ministry compound in central Baghdad. The soldiers immediately transferred the men to a separate detention facility to protect them from further abuse, the U.S. military reported.

Since then, there have been at least six joint U.S.-Iraqi inspections of detention centers, most of them run by Iraq's Shiite Muslim-dominated Interior Ministry. Two sources involved with the inspections, one Iraqi official and one U.S. official, said abuse of prisoners was found at all the sites visited through February.

But U.S. troops have not responded by removing all the detainees, as they did in November. Instead, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials, only a handful of the most severely abused detainees at a single site were removed for medical treatment. Prisoners at two other sites were removed to alleviate overcrowding. U.S. and Iraqi authorities left the rest where they were.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff publicly contradicted Donald Rumsfeld in regards to the abuse issue, at a news conference last fall. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pledged that U.S. troops would attempt to stop inhumane treatment if they saw it.

Pace said at a news conference Nov. 29 with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, "It is absolutely the responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene to stop it." Turning to Pace, Rumsfeld responded: "I don't think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it; it's to report it."

"If they are physically present when inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try to stop it," Pace answered.

Well General – whats happened to the lofty ideals? While you're at it, see how Sen. John Warner is doing on his promised investigation to get to the bottom of the abuse scandal and ensure it never happens again.
Posted on The Human Stain

Wise Words of Experience

Excepted from FindLaw.com by John Dean

President George W. Bush's presidency is a disaster - one that's still unfolding.

Bush has continued to sink lower in his public approval ratings, as the result of a series of events that have sapped the public of confidence in its President, and for which he is directly responsible.

Six generals who have served under Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld have called for his resignation - making a strong substantive case as to why he should resign. Yet Bush's defense of Rumsfeld was entirely substance-free. Bush simply told reporters in the Rose Garden that Rumsfeld would stay because "I'm the decider and I decide what's best." He sounded much like a parent telling children how things would be: "I'm the Daddy, that's why."

This, indeed, is how Bush sees the presidency, and it is a point of view that will cause him trouble. Bush has never understood what presidential scholar Richard Neustadt discovered many years ago: In a democracy, the only real power the presidency commands is the power to persuade. But as effective as this power can be, it can be equally devastating when it languishes unused - or when a president pretends not to need to use it, as Bush has done.

Apparently, Bush does not realize that to lead he must continually renew his approval with the public. He is not, as he thinks, the decider. The public is the decider.

George Bush has misled America into a preemptive war in Iraq; he is using terrorism to claim that as Commander-in-Chief, he is above the law; and he refuses to acknowledge that American law prohibits torturing our enemies and warrantlessly wiretapping Americans. Americans, increasingly, are not buying his justifications for any of these positions.

As the 2006 midterm elections approach, this active/negative president can be expected to take further risks. If anyone doubts that Bush, Cheney, Rove and their confidants are planning an "October Surprise" to prevent the Republicans from losing control of Congress, then he or she has not been observing this presidency very closely. Bush may mount a unilateral attack on Iran's nuclear facilities - hoping to rev up his popularity. If there is no "October Surprise," I would be shocked. Without such a gambit, and the public always falls for them, Bush is going to lose control of Congress. Should that happen, his presidency will have effectively ended, and he will spend the last two years of it defending all the mistakes he has made during the first six, and covering up the errors of his ways.

There is, however, the possibility of another terrorist attack, and if one occurred, Americans would again rally around the president - wrongly so, since this is a presidency that lives on fear-mongering about terror, but does little to truly address it. The possibility that we might both suffer an attack, and see a boost to Bush come from it, is truly a terrifying thought.

Posted on The Human Stain

How Brave of Them

In yet another example of ignorance, amorality, and how religious institutions get stuck on policy dead ends that do not allow for escape towards common sense, the Catholic Church is preparing a major policy statement on the use of – shhh, say it softly – condoms.

The Vatican will soon publish a statement on the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS, an issue highlighted by a call from a leading cardinal to ease its ban on them, a Catholic Church official said. Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, the head of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, declined to reveal the contents of the document in an interview published in Sunday's la Repubblica newspaper, but said Pope Benedict had asked his department to study the issue.

"This is a very difficult and delicate subject that requires prudence," said Mexican-born Barragan. "My department is studying this closely with scientists and theologians expressly assigned to draft a document that will be issued soon," he said.

The Catholic Church, which runs many hospitals and institutions to help AIDS victims, opposes the use of condoms and teaches that fidelity within heterosexual marriage, chastity and abstinence are the best way to stop the spread of AIDS. It says promoting condoms to fight the spread of AIDS fosters immoral and hedonistic lifestyles and behavior that will only contribute to its spread.

Let's see. People are not supposed to have intercourse unless married. Anyone who is not married and uses a condom is living an immoral and hedonistic life. If married, you cannot use condoms because it is against God's wishes. Seems like that covers just about everyone, and we all know how everyone listens to the Catholic Church.

Last year there were ~4 billion condoms sold worldwide. Who's buying them all? Ahhh, I know who, they're being purchased by priests, practicing safe sex before they abuse little boys and girls. Who knew they were so considerate?
Posted on The Human Stain

Iraqi Deaths

The level of tragedy is immense enough when one hears that a 'War' based on lies in Iraq has resulted in nearly 2,400 dead American soldiers accompanied by close to 18,000 American casualties. The real horror is to be revealed by how many Iraqi's have died needlessly. Don't count on the US government to provide any estimates – as Gen. Tommy Franks said – 'We don't do body counts.' The following numbers are given by independent agencies.

Iraq Body Count Website
Iraq Body Count’s database is not intended as an estimate of total deaths. Its methodology is to record only war-related violent deaths that are reported by at least two approved international media sources. This generates a record of deaths that is accepted by the media that publish these reports in the first place. Iraq Body Count’s “minimum” number now stands at about 34,500.

The Lancet Report
In September 2004, an international team of epidemiologists conducted a “cluster sample survey” of excess civilian deaths caused by the war in Iraq, comparing the pre-invasion and post-invasion periods. Their results were published in the British medical journal, the Lancet. They estimated that at least 100,000 Iraqi civilians had died in the previous 18 months as a result of the invasion and occupation of their country. This included additional deaths from heart attacks, strokes, infectious diseases and car accidents as well as from violence. However, they found that “violence accounted for most of the excess deaths and air strikes from coalition forces accounted for most violent deaths.” The Lancet report remains the most comprehensive study of mortality in post-invasion Iraq, but its authors' calls for additional studies to clarify its findings and for a reduction in air strikes have both been ignored.

Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
Their data estimates that from 1/1/05 to 4/1/06 approximately 8500 civilians have died. No estimates are available before 2005. Since April 1, 2006 they have tabulated that 721 civilians have perished. Their website also list estimated Iraqi policemen and military deaths along with Coalition Force deaths in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Posted on The Human Stain

What Others Think

Australia

SYDNEY, NSW, is a long way from Washington DC but, even at this distance, it is clear that the Bush Administration is falling to pieces. In recent weeks, scanning the political coverage in the mainstream US media and sampling the blogs has been to watch a flood tide ebbing to reveal a rotting, skeletal hulk. It is the George W. Bush ship of fools, stuck in the mud for the world to see in all its mendacity, its incompetence, its faith-based stupidity.

It is possible, at this late stage, that even Bush himself has begun to realize something is wrong. That oddly simian face is ashen, the eyes leaden. The voice is shrill and its tone defensive.

"I'm the decider and I decide what's best," he squawked to reporters in the White House rose garden the other day, as the screws turned tighter on his disastrous Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. Can you imagine Roosevelt, Eisenhower or Kennedy blurting something like that?

Germany

In public, Chancellor Merkel has spoken warmly about the Bush administration and stated her intention to improve trans-Atlantic relations that suffered under her predecessor Gerhard Schröder. But lately, the chancellor hasn't shied away from giving Washington critical advice about how to manage its foreign policy.

It wouldn't be surprising if United States President George W. Bush reached the conclusion that there are two Angela Merkels. One appears on television and speaks ceremoniously about improving the trans-Atlantic relations that took such a beating under her predecessor.....The other Angela Merkel is more brash and demanding. That's how the president experiences her during their almost weekly telephone conversations. And soon, Merkel will visit him in the White House for the second time during her still brief chancellorship.

She has a lengthy wish list, and it's getting longer by the day. Merkel is demanding changes in Washington's policies towards Iran and Russia, and she's not happy with the president's lax treatment of nuclear power India, either. A week ago Monday, Bush and Merkel discussed the complexities of global politics for 35 minutes. The chancellor didn't hold back any advice -- not even veiled criticisms of US foreign policy.

Posted on The Human Stain

Partisan Treason

The firing of Mary McCarthy, a senior CIA official who apparently leaked information to Washington Post reporter Dana Priest about the CIA's secret prisons, was a service to the country and now the Bush fascists are striking back. Since when does an employee of the federal government have to adhere to a partisan loyalty oath? It appears they do now as there are the rumblings of a witch hunt going on in Washington – starting at the CIA:

Since Bush appointed a Republican ally and former lawmaker, Porter J. Goss, to replace George J. Tenet as the agency's chief in September 2005, Goss has repeatedly criticized the media for writing about sensitive intelligence matters and called for reporters to be forced to reveal their sources to grand juries. He personally oversaw the leak investigation that led to McCarthy's dismissal, rather than asking the Justice Department to do it -- as previous directors had requested in similar probes.

Even the agency's employment policies have changed: Applicants are now asked more aggressively whether they have any friends in the news media, several agency employees said. And the hurdles to making public statements persist for those who have left: Former CIA agents report that the agency's process for reviewing what they write about current events has recently become lengthier and more difficult.

The White House also has recently barraged the agency with questions about the political affiliations of some of its senior intelligence officers, according to intelligence officials.

You see, if Chimpie can't get people to meekly go along with his illegalities, he will attack you, smear you, question your patriotism, try to eliminate you as a player in the game, and even try to imprison you. Citizens in this country cannot act as patriots because Chimpie feels he is the King, our Lord and Master, the “Decider”, and he knows what's best. What a chump.
Posted on The Human Stain

Nope – It's Not Us

Everyone knows that "greenhouse gases" are part of the reason our world is warming up. All industrialized nations produce "greenhouse gases" (like carbon dioxide), but the biggest producer is the US. We can be quite proud of ourselves, Americans love to win – to be the best. Well, we even beat ourselves:

The United States emitted more greenhouse gases in 2004 than at any time in history, confirming its status as the world's biggest polluter. Latest figures on the US contribution to global warming show that its carbon emissions have risen sharply despite international concerns over climate change.

The figures, which were quietly released [by the EPA] on Easter Monday, reveal that net greenhouse gas emissions during 2004 increased by 1.7 per cent on the previous year, equivalent to a rise of 110 million tons of carbon dioxide. This is the biggest annual increase since 2000 and means that in 2004 - the latest year that full data is available - the US released the equivalent of nearly 6,300 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Fossil fuel combustion alone accounted for 94 per cent of the carbon dioxide emissions produced by the US during 2004, the figures show. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are now a third higher than they were before the Industrial Revolution began in the 18th century, and probably higher than they have been for at least 10 million years.

For an alarming visual look at how we impact the world environment click here. The question that needs asking is: Knowing that the political class in this country is absent on this issue, will Americans continue to ignore it also – or will their voices rise in protest over the destruction of our children's futures?
Posted on The Human Stain

Consumers Win One

Apple Computer has apparently won a battle that keeps the four big, bad, greedy record labels outside the door. Wolves all, the labels wanted to discard the successful single pricing model that has carried iTunes to pre-eminence in the music download marketplace. Charging 99 cents per track, Apple has surged to become the biggest and best online music retailer. The labels (Universal, Warner, SonyBMG and EMI) wanted to develop a tiered pricing structure that would charge 60 or 80 cents per track for 'old' music and much more for 'new' music.

Now, as though iTunes figures in the real world of online music, "The record industry may be on the verge of waving the white flag in front of Apple boss Steve Jobs, and abandoning its demand for iTunes to charge different prices for different songs," says the New York Post.

"Negotiations between Apple and the four major music companies - with which iTunes deals all expire in the next two months - have reached a crucial point as several record executives now say they are unlikely to convince Jobs to allow variable pricing, sources said."

Most recently, the cartel has been demanding variable pricing – the ability to charge less for some tracks and more for others.

The debate has gotten acrimonious at times, with Warner boss Edgar Bronfman Jr. publicly bashing Apple last year, saying, "only one price point is not fair to our artists." This prompted Jobs to respond by calling the record industry "greedy."

But Jobs intelligently, "wants to maintain the standard 99 cents-per-track retail price".

It just seems so simple – why is it so difficult to understand? People want choice and flexibility, they are sick of 'canned' CD's that contain one good song and 12 dogs. Consumers want the ability to purchase just the music tracks they like, to pay a reasonable price - a simple price, and to not waste their hard earned dollars supporting a greedy music industry structure that rewards mediocrity. Online downloading is the future, the market has proven that, and the 'industry' needs to further modify their model to evolve a system that consumers will continue responding to.
Posted on The Human Stain

Stealing Our Jobs

Not only is American industry sending our jobs overseas at an unprecedented rate to save on the cost of of American wages (with active government encouragement), but it's even cheaper to use use the wombs of foreigners to have surrogate babies:

As temp jobs go, Saroj Mehli has landed what she feels is a pretty sweet deal. It's a nine-month gig, no special skills needed, and the only real labor comes at the end — when she gives birth.
If everything goes according to plan, Mehli, 32, will deliver a healthy baby early next year. But rather than join her other three children, the newborn will be handed over to an American couple who are unable to bear a child on their own and are hiring Mehli to do it for them.

She'll be paid about $5,000 for acting as a surrogate mother, a bonanza that would take her more than six years to earn on her salary as a schoolteacher in a village near here. The American who has hired Mehli said he and his wife had discussed all options for having a child in light of her hysterectomy 10 years ago. Surrogacy was one possibility, but at a minimum of $20,000 to $25,000 in the U.S., "the expenses involved were almost beyond my reach," said the man....

Others aren't so sure about the moral implications, and are worried about the exploitation of poor women and the risks in a land where 100,000 women die every year as a result of pregnancy and childbirth. Rich couples from the West paying Indian women for the use of their bodies, they say, is distasteful at best, unconscionable at worst.

Both sides of the debate agree that the fertility business in India, including "reproductive tourism" by foreigners, is potentially enormous.... the Indian Council of Medical Research estimates that helping residents and visitors beget children could bloom into a nearly $6-billion-a-year industry.

America is just too expensive for everything. How do we continue to exist?
Posted on The Human Stain

Catholic Church Pays Millions

Sinning sure does cost a lot of money doesn't it:

The Roman Catholic Church's sex-abuse scandal has cost the Boston Archdiocese at least $151 million since it erupted in 2002, the Church said on Wednesday in a financial report. Struggling to restore public confidence after it was exposed for moving abusive priests to new parishes instead of reporting them to authorities, the archdiocese had to close more than 60 churches to raise money and was pressured to reveal its finances.

But, good Catholics, you need have no fear:

Cardinal Sean O'Malley said he would cut costs to try to reverse that trend and hopes to balance the budget by 2008. "We're poised to stop the bleeding," he told a news conference, nearly a month after he was elevated from archbishop. In a letter to parishioners, he said the drop in donations reflected anger over the sexual abuse scandal. "These numbers are one response of a wounded community, an expression of deep hurt," he said.

Gee, ya think? Maybe people are also worried that their kids are still at risk of getting buggered by the “good” Catholic priests not yet discovered to be child abusers. It is good to know that the church will get back on a solid financial footing though – isn't it? Wouldn't want anyone in the hierarchy to have to compromise on any of their lifestyles after destroying the lives of so many parishioners.
Posted on The Human Stain

With apologies to Dr. Seuss

From After Downing Street.org
By anonymous

I'm the decider.
I pick and I choose.
I pick among whats.
And choose among whos.

And as I decide
Each particular day
The things I decide on
All turn out that way.

I decided on Freedom
For all of Iraq.
And now that we have it,
I'm not looking back.

I decided on tax cuts
That just help the wealthy.
And Medicare changes
That aren't really healthy.

And parklands and wetlands
Who needs all that stuff?
I decided that none
Would be more than enough!

I decided that schools
All in all are the best
The less that they teach
And the more that they test.

I decided those wages
You need to get by
Are much better spent
On some CEO guy.

I decided your Wade
Which was versing your Roe
Is terribly awful
And just has to go.

I decided that levees
Are not really needed.
Now when hurricanes come
They can come unimpeded.

That old Constitution?
Well, I have decided
As"just goddam paper"
It should be derided.

I've decided gay marriage
Is icky and weird.
Above all other things,
It's the one to be feared.

And Cheney and Rummy
And Condi all know
That I'm the Decider -
They tell me it's so.

I'm the Decider
So watch what you say
Or I may decide
To have you whisked away.

Or I'll tap your phones.
Your e-mail I'll read.
`cause I'm the Decider -
Like Jesus decreed.

Yes, I'm the Decider
The finest alive
And I'm nuking Iran.
Now watch this drive!

Posted on The Human Stain

George's Friend

If it wasn't so pitifully sad, this story would provide a good read for exemplifying the hypocrisy of the Bush administration with their total dedication to doublespeak and deceit.

Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema came to Washington last week..... he is a "good friend" of the United States, at least according to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who met with him last week in Washington. "I'm very pleased to welcome the president," Ms. Rice told reporters after the meeting. "Thank you very much for your presence here." Mr. Obiang purred back: "We are extremely pleased and hopeful that this relationship will continue to grow in friendship and cooperation."

Who is Teodoro Obiang Nguema? Why only one of the most brutal, most corrupt and unreconstructed dictators in the world. How bad is he? Well let's see:

With a population of ~540,000 people, nearly 400,000 Guineans suffer from malnutrition.

He killed or forced into exile nearly a third of the population, decimating in particular the small educated class. Some of his victims were crucified on the road leading to the airport. It was one of the 20th century’s most brutal genocides.

A recent U.S. Senate investigation detailed how he siphoned millions from his country’s treasury with the help of Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C. Although Riggs is only a medium-sized bank, Riggs has always been well connected and Jonathan Bush, the president’s uncle, is CEO of its investment arm. The committee also discovered that U.S. energy companies, including ExxonMobil, Amerada Hess, Marathon Oil, and ChevronTexaco, made questionable payments directly to Riggs Bank accounts held by members of Obiang’s regime and his family.

Although his regime once sent death threats to the U.S. ambassador, Obiang now meets with senior administration officials and even with President Bush. Equatorial Guinea has become the third-largest oil exporter in sub-Saharan Africa, after Nigeria and Angola.

The main hospital is a place for dying, not healing. The wards are dingy rooms with soiled mattresses and no medical equipment except for a couple of IV drips.

U.S. corporations are now investing more in Equatorial Guinea than in any other African country except for Nigeria and South Africa. In 2003, the Bush administration reopened the embassy, a move sharply criticized by human rights groups as a favor to the oil companies and to Obiang. Aside from the Chinese, only the Bush administration seems to like him.

The bottom line is that Equatorial Guinea is a country in which the Bush administration -- which proclaims a vast interest in promoting democracy around the globe -- could make a difference, if it wished. When it makes a demand, Obiang listens because he must. Militarily and politically, he’s a paper tiger......he knows it is well within the power of the U.S. government to depose him.

Posted on The Human Stain

Messages From Bush

To the military:
Screw you – Hey, Generals, I don't care what you say or think. Rumsfeld is doing a heckuva good job and he's staying. I'm the decider and I'll decide what's best. To all you non-coms – quit your belly aching about not having armor or armored vehicles. Get used to jail because you'll continue to take the rap for following Rumsfeld's orders to torture prisoners.

To America:
Screw you – I'm the President and I'll do what I want, after all the Constitution is just a goddamned piece of paper. You don't have any rights – because I say so.

To Women:
Screw you – me and my buddies will tell you what you can or cannot do with your own bodies. You'll have sex when we say and how we say and you'll like it – or else.

To Iran:
Screw you – I say you are dangerous, I'm going to kick your ass, and I'll tell huge lies again to do it. The American public is stupid, get them scared enough and they'll believe anything I say.

To Iraq:
Screw you – if you think we're going to pack up and leave all this oil and give up on our plans to control the middle east oil supplies, ha! What do you think we're building those permanent military bases for? You think we're building the largest US Embassy ever in your country for nothing?

To the American worker:
Screw you – me and my buddies will continue to restrict workers rights, wages, and benefits. Illegal immigrants and the exploitation of foreign workers will never stop, we need slave labor to get rich faster.

To future generations:
Screw you – we need to maximize our profits and enrich ourselves even at the expense of your existence. The environment is there to be plundered, by us.

To my rich friends:
Don't worry, I'll take care of everything I promised to when you elected me.
Posted on The Human Stain

Abdication of Duty

At one time it seemed Colin Powell could do no wrong, he was a golden boy – beloved by the nation and the Presidency was his for the asking. People just loved the man - his firmness, dedication, sense of honor and duty to the nation just oozed out of his pores. He was recognized as a true American success story and inspired others to strive towards their own goals.

Having vowed to myself to never vote Republican again after the disgusting and dishonorable travesty they forced upon the nation during the Clinton presidency, I would have had a hard time not voting for Powell – no matter who the Dem's put up against him. He had IT.

From an article by Robert Scheer at Truthdig.com

On Monday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell told me that he and his department's top experts never believed that Iraq posed an imminent nuclear threat, but that the president followed the misleading advice of Vice President Dick Cheney and the CIA in making the claim. Now he tells us......

I queried Powell at a reception following a talk he gave in Los Angeles on Monday. Pointing out that the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate showed that his State Department had gotten it right on the nonexistent Iraq nuclear threat, I asked why did the president ignore that wisdom in his stated case for the invasion?

"The CIA was pushing the aluminum tube argument heavily and Cheney went with that instead of what our guys wrote," Powell said. And the Niger reference in Bush's State of the Union speech? "That was a big mistake," he said. "It should never have been in the speech. I didn't need Wilson to tell me that there wasn't a Niger connection. He didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. I never believed it."

How times have changed, life is strange. Images fade, blur and are sometimes revealed to be false in form. Powell's actions during his service as Secretary of State revealed an empty vessel, devoid of substance and conviction. His tenure will be recorded by history as one that failed to responsibly represent the nation thru a difficult time and one that helped cause needless loss of life in Iraq. He knew it was wrong, never believed it, but went along silently anyways. Thousands are dead. How does he sleep?

His failure to stand on principle and to uphold his duty to the country will be a sad chapter in American history and effectively closes the door on any future for him in the public sphere.
Posted on The Human Stain

So What?

From ABC News

President Bush's new chief of staff said Monday it was time to "refresh and re-energize the team," and he told senior White House aides who might be thinking about quitting this year to go ahead and leave now. Taking charge in a time of crisis, with Bush's poll ratings at their lowest point ever and Republicans anxious about the November elections, Bolten laid down his pointed directive at his first meeting with top presidential aides. He did not ask for anyone's resignation, and none of the senior aides stepped forward to say they would go, White House press secretary Scott McClellan reported later. But Bolten has Bush's full authority to make changes to the president's staff, and McClellan said he would expect announcements soon.

The mass media is all a-twitter about this. There will be shakeups in the White House! There is a time of crisis in the White House – Bush's poll numbers are low!

Think the questions that should be asked are: “Will Cheney, Rove, Rice, and Rumsfeld be staying? Will the religio-fascists and neo-cons still hold control over this administration? Will Bush change the policy in Iraq? Will America's sons and daughters continue to die needlessly in a conflict based on lies? Will the Bushies continue to ignore average Americans and instead grovel to monied interests? Will Americans still be denied adequate health care? Will Bush still continue to thumb his nose at the US Constitution? Will Bush still condemn thousands of Americans to needless pain and death by squashing stem cell research? Will American women continue to have their vaginas invaded by the religio-nuts and misogynists that Bush curries to? Will Bush be impeached?

Questions about the musical chair game for White House bit players don't mean anything. How about doing more reporting about what is really of concern to the country?
Posted on The Human Stain

To the Showers

One has to wonder about the level of incompetence being displayed by the White House regarding the current imbroglio over Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld. If Chimpie and his gang cannot take action towards replacing Rumsfeld now, then they cannot be trusted to perform ANY action with even a minimal degree of competency.

This whole issue has nothing to do with whether Bush thinks Rumsfeld is doing a “heckuva a job” or not. It has everything to do with whether Bush respects the lives of our soldiers, the families that support them, and the nation that depends on them.

No one has ever accused Bush of having a great intellect, but he should be smart enough to understand sports - sometimes the coach just has to be fired. He may be a fine motivator, may possess great game intelligence, and be an excellent judge of talent – but the team just doesn't win. It's listless, uninspired – it needs change. Our military can win but it needs change – a change of leadership.

Rumsfeld has to go. Georgie gives everyone a big medal – heck give him two then send him packing.
Posted on The Human Stain