The Human Stain

Vermin - White House Style

2007-03-23T20:15:00.000-04:00

Just when you think the actions of Bush and his depraved minions cannot get any lower, just when you think they could not be any more amoral, just when you think they have fallen to lowest level of indifference possible - they plunge to previously unreached depths.

Trotting out he troops when needed to save the Chimps' ass.

Screwing the troops in the ass when no one is looking.
Posted on The Human Stain

Useless Weenies

2007-03-23T18:31:00.000-04:00

Trying to determine who is the most slavish, simpering, groveling, and obedient demon amongst the Bush cult in Washington is an extremely difficult task. There are so many to choose from -

It could be talking head sock puppet David Brooks

It could be mentally challenged mouthpiece Tony Snow or again Tony Snow

It could be Bush's favorite chihuahua Alberto Gonzales

It could be the empty headed and addle brained redhead attack dog Victoria Toensing

It could be the criminal bug killer from Texas - Tom Delay

It could be the clueless and the favorite lobbyist bribe target John Boehner

It could be the journalistic angel of death Robert Novak

It could be Bush toadie Dan Bartlett

It could be those who work at what used to be the US Department of Justice

It could be the fat, slimy, fascist from Georgia - Newt Gingrich

It could be the closeted lover of chest hair - Chris Matthews

As the Bush administration increasing is revealed to be a criminal enterprise, subservient apologists and adorers like these are poor examples of citizenship and seem to lack any semblance of integrity.
Posted on The Human stain

Americans Need To Warn Bush

2007-03-20T19:29:00.000-04:00

This headline from SFGate.com tells America all it needs to know about the miscreants in the White House:

Bush Warns Dems to Take Offer in Firings

Yes, you read that right - Bush Warns.....! Well, apparently there are no boundaries to the arrogance, hubris, and disregard that this group has displayed towards our country. Their disdain for our laws, our Constitution, and our way of life is a pitiful expression of the emptiness endemic within the bankrupt and criminal ideology they slavishly follow.

The last time I looked - Bush was not a king.
He is not my monarch.
He is not my ruler.
He is not my leader.
He is not my object of worship.

He is my employee.

His 'defiance' towards complying with the wishes of Congress are not for any high principle. They are not to protect the laws of our country. They are not to protect the rights of any executive branch employees.

His refusal to allow White House staff to testify under oath before Congress is ONLY to hide and coverup the criminal acts committed by members of his administration and the Rethuglican party who were being investigated by his US Attorneys. By his refusal, he is obstructing justice.

To the Democrats in Congress demanding testimony - you have America's full support.

To Bush - you have been warned.

Bring it on.
Posted on The Human Stain

With Us - Or Against Us

2007-03-19T22:44:00.000-04:00

It's time for Americans to undertake a great crusade – the one for our country's soul. Too much blood has been spilled over long past decades by the defenders of liberty to not take action. Shall we sit idly by and let the greatness of this nation slip away? Shall we ignore the steady corruption of true American values by the charlatans and phonies amongst us? Shall we allow the wealth of this country to be stolen in order to benefit the selected few? It's time to stand and rumble. To adapt the words of an adversary, I say--

My fellow citizens, for the last six years, the entire world has seen for itself the state of our Union -- and it is strong.

Today we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger, and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.

In November 2000, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country. Americans have known wars -- but for the past 140 years, they have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in 1941 and of one day in Sept. 2001. Americans have known the casualties of war and Americans have known surprise attacks -- but never before on millions of civilians. All of this has been brought upon us by a daily stream of trangressions – the nights now fall on a different America, an America where freedom itself is under attack.

Americans have many questions. Americans are asking: Who attacked our country? The evidence we have gathered all points to a collection of affiliated organizations that walk amidst us. They hide in the daylight as Republicans, as corporations, as neo-cons, as religious fundamentalists, and as acolytes of a particularly immoral strain of “compassionate conservative”. It is only at night – or behind closed doors that their true colors are known.

These groups are to fascism what the mafia is to crime. But their goal is not only making money; their goal is remaking America -- imposing their radical beliefs on all of citizens of this great country and by extension the world.

These terrorists practice a form of authoritarianism that has been rejected by freedom lovers ever since this country was founded. They are extremist believers who would pervert the sacrifices of our founders. Their directives command them to strip liberty and freedom from every American and to extend their control into our private lives.

America's people have been brutalized -- many are going without adequate food or shelter, many are going without medical care, many have lost their livelihoods to unfair trade practices, many are spied upon by their own government, and some have had their liberties stripped from them without due process. Many media outlets are nothing more than spokesmen of the government and are directed to trumpet the latest talking points - which never have any relation to truth or facts. Women are not allowed to control their own bodies. You can be jailed for taking a picture. Religions are being controlled and manipulated to benefit their leaders.

Freedom lovers in America respect all Americans -- but we condemn these terrorist regimes. Not only do they repress their own people, they threaten people everywhere by sponsoring and encouraging and aiding other like minded groups worldwide. By these acts, they are murdering the hopes of liberty and freedom for all people.

And today, the lovers of freedom in the United States of America make the following demands on these destroyers of freedom: Deliver to true United States authorities all the leaders of your groups who would destroy this land. Release all foreign nationals, including American citizens, you have unjustly imprisoned. Close immediately and permanently every terrorist detention camp in America, Cuba, and other lands, and hand over every detainee to their appropriate homeland authorities. Protect the weakest amongst us, the elderly, the sick, the frail, the homeless, the young.

These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. These groups must act, and act immediately. They will hand over the lawbreakers and terrorists, or they will share in their fate.

Americans of passion and concern for their fellow man are asking, why do they hate us? They hate what we see fading in America -- a democratically elected government. Their leaders are the self-appointed, they are those who believe it is their “right” to rule, their right to treat young Americans as cannon fodder in grisly adventures of folly. They hate our freedoms -- our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.

These terrorists want not merely to end liberty, but to disrupt and end a way of life. With every law being ignored in a Presidential signing statement, with every atrocious chipping away the US Constitution, they hope that Americans will not notice the slow erosion that threatens the very existence of this great country. They hope that the continued promotion of fear from overseas will cause us to retreat from guarding our liberties and forsaking our founders. They stand against us, because we stand in their way.

We are not deceived by their pretenses to piety, their pretenses to “protect us”. We have seen their kind before. They are the heirs of all the authoritarian ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions -- by abandoning every value except the will to power -- they follow in the path of fascism, and Nazism, and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way, to where it ends: in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies.

Americans are asking: How will we fight and win this war? We will direct every resource at our command -- every means of responsible politics, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war -- to the disruption and to the defeat of this insidious threat from within.

Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic trials, visible on TV, and covert operations, secret even in success. We will starve the terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to these groups.

Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, anyone that continues to harbor or support these groups will be regarded by the Americans as hostile to freedom.

Our nation has been put on notice: We are not immune from attack. We will take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans. Today, dozens of federal departments and agencies, as well as state and local governments, have responsibilities affecting homeland security. These efforts must be coordinated at the highest level. The only way to defeat terrorism as a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it, and destroy it where it grows.

Many will be involved in this effort, from FBI agents to intelligence operatives to average citizens. A sea change was put into effect this past November – but it must not stop there. This country must be turned over to it's rightful citizenry in November 2008.

This is not, however, just America's fight. And what is at stake is not just America's freedom. This is the world's fight. This is civilization's fight. This is the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and freedom.

The civilized world is mystified and frightened of America's current leaders. This can be changed and we can once again have countries rallying to America's side. They understand that if this inbred terror goes unpunished, their own cities, their own citizens may be next. Terror, unanswered, can not only bring down buildings, it can threaten the stability of legitimate governments. And you know what -- we're not going to allow it.

Americans are asking: What is expected of us? I ask you to uphold the values of America, and remember why so many have come here. We are in a fight for our principles, and our first responsibility is to live by them. No one should be singled out for unfair treatment or unkind words because of their ethnic background or religious faith.

After all that has just passed -- all the lives taken, all the freedoms lost, and all the possibilities and hopes that died with them -- it is natural to wonder if America's future is one of fear. Some speak of an age of terror. I know there are struggles ahead, and dangers to face. But this country will define our times, not be defined by them. As long as the United States of America is determined and strong, this will not be an age of darkness; this will be an age of liberty, here and across the world.

Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom -- the great achievement of our time, and the great hope of every time -- now depends on us. Our nation -- this generation -- will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally everyone to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.

It is my hope that in the months and years ahead, life will return to resemble the one our forefathers fought and died for. We'll go back to our lives and routines, and that is good. Even grief recedes with time and grace. But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will remember what happened over the last six years, and to whom it happened. We'll remember the moment the news came -- where we were and what we were doing. Some will remember a feeling of great despair, or of anger at thievery. Some will carry memories liberties and past freedoms gone forever.

We must all say to ourselves: “I will not forget the wounds to our country or those who inflicted it. I will not yield; I will not rest; I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for all Americans – not just the connnected few”.

The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.

True lovers of freedom, we'll meet violence with patient justice -- assured of the rightness of our cause, and confident of the victories to come. In all that lies before us, may God grant us wisdom, and may He watch over the United States of America.

Posted on The Human Stain

Hate Monger

2007-03-09T20:53:00.000-05:00

The recent uproar about Ann Coulter's derisive “faggot” comments, hurled towards former Sen. John Edwards, is well deserved. Her shtick wore very thin for most socially responsible people long ago, but there are still plenty of low brows with limited intellectual capacities that hang on her every word.

America has many people of conscience and morality that can strongly and clearly rebut the sickness that is endemic within the psyches of Coulter and all of her adoring cultists. As an example, Andrew Sullivan has a good post that responds to her vile cruelness:

Coulter's defense of the slur is that it was directed at an obviously straight man and so could not be a real slur. The premise of this argument is that the word faggot is only used to describe gay men and is only effective and derogatory when used against a gay man. But it isn't. In fact, in the schoolyard she cites, the primary targets of the f-word are straight boys or teens or men. The word "faggot" is used for two reasons: to identify and demonize a gay man; and to threaten a straight man with being reduced to the social pariah status of a gay man. Coulter chose the latter use of the slur, its most potent and common form. She knew why Edwards qualified. He's pretty, he has flowing locks, he's young-looking. He is exactly the kind of straight guy who is targeted as a "faggot" by his straight peers. This, Ms Coulter, is real social policing by speech. And that's what she was doing: trying to delegitimize and feminize a man by calling him a faggot. It happens every day. It's how insecure or bigoted straight men police their world to keep the homos out.........

The conflation of effeminacy with weakness, and of gayness with weakness, is what Coulter calculatedly asserted. This was not a joke. It was an attack......

In the last couple of weeks, we have seen a leading NBA player and a Marine come out to tell their stories. I'd like to hear Coulter tell Amaechi and Alva that they are sissies and wusses. A man in uniform who just lost a leg for his country is a sissy? The first American serviceman to be wounded in Iraq is a wuss? What Coulter did, in her callow, empty way, was to accuse John Edwards of not being a real man. To do so, she asserted that gay men are not real men either. The emasculation of men in minority groups is an ancient trope of the vilest bigotry. Why was it wrong, after all, for white men to call African-American men "boys"? Because it robbed them of the dignity of their masculinity. And that's what Coulter did last Friday to gays. She said - and conservatives applauded - that I and so many others are not men........

If Americans really want to restore civility and respect to public discourse, they need to rise up strongly, loudly, and forcefully against the despoilers and haters in our midst. That Coulter is one of them can readily be seen. It's good to see that people are starting to shut her off.
Posted on The Human Stain

Lickers and Apologists

2007-03-09T19:57:00.000-05:00

Tonite I was watching the Newshour with Jim Lehrer on PBS. Every Friday, the show has a segment featuring Mark Shields and David Brooks where “opinion and insight” on the weeks events are offered. The audience can usually rely on truth – based upon fact from Mr. Shields, and spin – based upon Rethuglican talking points from Brooks. Tonite was a particularly servile performance from Brooks – one could actually see the indentations on his chin from a variety of Bush administration scrotums.

Brooks actually had the audacity to spout nonsensical talking points about Lewis Libby's recent conviction on obstruction and perjury charges – that he didn't really 'commit a crime'. Add this to the sorry outpouring of sympathy being expressed by some members of the Libby jury that they felt Libby was the 'fall guy' and one would think that a grave miscarriage of justice had just befallen an innocent candy striper with a heart of gold. Libby is apparently an adult, he was Chief of Staff for arguably the most powerful person on the planet – Cheney (the real President), he is not stupid, not forgetful, not some poor sucker who was duped into undertaking the actions he did. He did it – knowingly.

Think about the charges he was found GUILTY of – obstruction and perjury. People on trial, people being deposed, people testifying, have a sworn obligation to answer truthfully, thereby enabling the American justice system to serve the public. Prosecutors take a very dim and harsh view of those that impede their efforts, for obstruction and lying weakens our judicial soul. Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald could easily make the case against Libby, but he could not against those that Libby was lying to protect – Cheney, Bush, et-al. America would have been better served with Cheney in the docket, but that hope is not yet lost.

So the chorus of boo-hooing about Libby is just the latest example in a very long trail of phony claims from the Bushies and their acolytes. Lickers like Brooks and others like him that are sent out to muddy the waters do not deserve audiences – they deserve to be shut off.
Posted on The Human Stain

Bush to Declare War on Schwarzenegger

2007-02-15T22:21:00.000-05:00

Da Terminator is in big trouble now.

Austrian rifles sold to Iran are showing up in the hands of Iraqi snipers. Iran is notorious for its black market arms smuggling (in which Ronald Reagan and Ollie North once got involved). I guess now Bush will have no option but to go to war with Austria. I hate to tell Arnie, this, but Washington has been known to intern foreign nationals in California of countries against whom we are at war . . .

Soon, we will be at war with everyone.
Posted on The Human Stain

More Stupidity - Again

2007-02-15T21:50:00.000-05:00

My previous two posts today have to be modified again. I truly thought that there could only be three people possessing such a high level of stupidity in Washington, DC. Can it be that America has more people in the corridors of power with a level of stupidity that rivals Tony Snow, Sen. James Inhofe, and George Bush? Sadly – yes. Meet another example of an intellect mightily challenged - Rep. Virgil Goode of Virginia.

During today’s House debate on Iraq, virulently anti-Muslim Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) said supporting the anti-escalation resolution would “aid and assist the Islamic jihadists who want the crescent and star to wave over the Capitol of the United States and over the White House of this country.” Moreover, he said, “I fear that radical Muslims who want to control the Middle East and ultimately the world would love to see ‘In God We Trust’ stricken from our money and replaced with ‘In Muhammad We Trust.’”

Sigh.
Posted on The Human Stain

More Stupidity

2007-02-15T21:23:00.000-05:00

After reading this article, my previous post about the two stupidest people in Washington has to be modified. Sen. James Inhofe belongs in that select circle of idiocy along with Tony Snow and Chimpie.

But Inhofe is not a politician who budges easily from his certainties. Like many Republicans in Washington, he appears to have judged that repetition of the same arguments – amplified loudly and frequently through friendly media outlets – can overcome contrary facts.

Inhofe’s stubbornness is tinged, too, by his reliance on fundamentalist Christianity to interpret political events, including the 9/11 terror attacks and Israel’s disputes with the Palestinians and other Arab neighbors.

“One of the reasons I believe the spiritual door was opened for an attack against the United States of America is that the policy of our Government has been to ask the Israelis, and demand it with pressure, not to retaliate in a significant way against the terrorist strikes that have been launched against them,” Inhofe said in a 2002 Senate speech.

“I believe very strongly that we ought to support Israel; that it has a right to the land. This is the most important reason: Because God said so,” Inhofe added, citing the Biblical passage in Genesis 13:14-17....................

More recently, rather than accept the widespread judgment of an unfolding disaster in Iraq, Inhofe has simply asserted the opposite. “What has happened in Iraq is nothing short of a miracle,” he told an audience in Tulsa.

Inhofe may be an extreme case of Republicans relying on their certitude to tough their way back to congressional majorities in 2008, but he is certainly not alone..............

That he represents the great state of Oklahoma and is expected to be re-elected in 2008 is sorrowful, but there is still time to find a capable Democrat from the thousands of good people in that state to challenge him. Inhofe's view of the world is extremely narrow and the other Rethuglicans like him are welcome to remain complacent in their little bubbles of denial. That's just more seats for the Democrats to win in the next election.
Posted on The Human Stain

Idiot

2007-02-15T20:45:00.000-05:00

There is only one person in Washington, DC who is as stupid as Press Secretary Tony Snow - and everyone knows who that is. That the citizens of this country have to be insulted daily by a meathead like Snow is immensely disgraceful and tremendously disheartening. Foreigners looking at the United States see stupidness and a lack of integrity in OUR White House. Snow exemplifies the disrespect that Bush and his troupe of blockheads have for America when he stands before the nation and makes moronic statements like this:

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was asked about this today at the daily briefing, following the release of military documents from 2002 that revealed that the U.S. expected that by now a token American force of 5,000 would be able to keep things under control in Iraq -- and the occupation would require only a two or three month "stabilization" period.

"What went wrong?" the reporter reasonably asked.

Snow replied: "I'm not sure anything went wrong."

Now, to Chimpie, Snow must be a huge intellect. To the average American, he is an stultifying and humiliating embarrassment to our country.
Posted on The Human Stain

Deceit and Stupidity

2007-02-13T21:15:00.000-05:00

Surprise, Surprise.
Coming to a town near you, from the crowd that you grew to distrust, another installment in their long running performance of “America – Screw You.”

This latest chapter is a continuation of their well known lie- “We honor our troops.”

The Bush administration plans to cut funding for veterans' health care two years from now — even as badly wounded troops returning from Iraq could overwhelm the system.

Bush is using the cuts, critics say, to help fulfill his pledge to balance the budget by 2012.

After an increase sought for next year, the Bush budget would turn current trends on their head. Even though the cost of providing medical care to veterans has been growing rapidly — by more than 10 percent in many years — White House budget documents assume consecutive cutbacks in 2009 and 2010 and a freeze thereafter.

The proposed cuts are unrealistic in light of recent VA budget trends — its medical care budget has risen every year for two decades and 83 percent in the six years since Bush took office — sowing suspicion that the White House is simply making them up to make its long-term deficit figures look better.

Now for something that is truly side-splitting hilarious from the Chimp in Chief – Georgie Bush:

When the interviewer made a reference to "Goldwater Republicans," and "Rockefeller Republicans," he chuckled -- his word -- and stopped the questioner from finishing his thought.

"I'm just chuckling because I think 'Goldwater Republicans' and 'Rockefeller Republicans' are pretty far past," the president said. "That's rude of me to chuckle, but I would be cautious about stereotyping philosophies.".........................

Okay, his interviewer said mildly, but what he'd really wanted to know was how (George W.) Bush Republicans would be defined, and what images the phrase "Bush Republican" might summon for future generations.

And suddenly, it was 2000 again; Mr. Bush did not mention 9/11 or the global war on terror, Iraq or Afghanistan, Saddam or bin Laden: "Compassionate conservatism" was his legacy, he declared, and referred to the faith-based initiatives we haven't heard much about in subsequent years. "I made a name by being compassionate."

Say what? He made a name by being compassionate? Did he really say - by being compassionate?

Truly pathetic.
Posted on The Human Stain

Incarceration is Needed

2007-02-13T20:33:00.000-05:00

With the continuing testimony in the Lewis Libby trial, it is very apparent that high ranking members of the Bush administration have violated the law and committed treasonous acts. What we need now is for someone to prosecute these slimeballs. The disclosure of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame was a signature event in the history of this country that puts the lives of all covert agents in peril.

The 'outing' of Valerie Plame was done for purely partisan reasons, as payback by a group of petty, mendacious, and criminal, political scumbags who cared nothing for her life nor the lives of her contacts. Plame was working under cover, investigating Iran and it's capability with regards to weapons of mass destruction. To say that she was serving our country and working to enhance our safety, is an understatement. To say that her betrayers are the lowest form of amoral scoundrels does not describe their treachery in harsh enough terms.

The traitor roll call: Ari Fleischer, Richard Armitage, Lewis Libby, and Karl Rove.

So, we have Libby(Chief of Staff to VP Cheney), Fleischer (Chief White House spokesman), Rove (Chief White House political operative), and Armitage (Deputy Secretary of State) all involved with revealing a covert CIA agents' identity. What an amazing coincidence? Or was it a concerted campaign to discredit her husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who was causing big problems by raising doubts about the Iraqi WMD claims being made by Bush and his thugs?

May they rot in jail.
Posted on The Human Stain

Malpractice

2007-02-13T19:40:00.000-05:00

Does anyone really believe that the health care system in this country is “the best in the world”? America has medical care based upon class and money. Those with ability to pay can get good care. Those on company supported plans can get good care. Those who attempt to purchase their own medical insurance will soon be in debt. Those who need care and cannot pay – well sorry. You get discarded.

A paraplegic man wearing a soiled hospital gown and a broken colostomy bag was found crawling in a gutter in skid row in Los Angeles on Thursday after allegedly being dumped in the street by a Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center van, police said.

The incident, witnessed by more than two dozen people, was described by police as a particularly outrageous case of "homeless dumping" that has plagued the downtown area.

"I can't think of anything colder than that," said LAPD Det. Russ Long, who called the case the most egregious of its kind that he has seen in his career.

Makes you proud to be an American.
Posted on The Human Stain

Accountability

2007-02-11T21:07:00.000-05:00

Well, well, well. It's finally nice to see someone who acknowledges their culpability when a huge mistake is made. That the head of an American network does this, is especially remarkable:

The head of the Cartoon Network resigned Friday following a marketing stunt that caused a security scare in Boston.

The announcement about Jim Samples resigning was made in an internal memo sent to Cartoon Network staffers..............

Samples said he felt "compelled to step down, effective immediately, in recognition of the gravity of the situation that occurred under my watch."

My belief is that the “scare” in Boston was totally overblown, making the city authorities look like total weenies. It was downright embarrassing and painful to watch. Nevertheless, a huge disruption was caused that affected the lives of thousands.

By his example, Mr. Samples has shown that actions and the lack of oversight, have consequences. This is a lesson that needs learning – over and over again in Washington. The Rethuglicans in Congress got a taste of that last November, with more to come in 2008.

Think Georgie could learn this? Most likely, he is an avid Cartoon Network viewer and just may be positively influenced by this act.

Any bets?
Posted on The Human Stain

Dishonor and Swine

2007-02-11T20:46:00.000-05:00

Since the Rethuglicans managed to avoid a resolution (non-binding) in the US Senate that would have put every Senator on record, exposing whether they approve or disapprove of sending additional troops to Iraq, one has to wonder about their lack of humanity. Seemingly more concerned with scoring political points and avoiding embarrassment for the Bush administration, they have proudly ascended the sacrificial altar, proclaiming their strong disregard for the lives of American service personnel. We cannot debate the “surge”, nor the continued conflict, nor voice any disagreement. We must only carry on. The illogic of their position is superbly illustrated by an op-ed in the Washington Post today by retired general William Odom where he lists the top myths about Iraq:

1) We must continue the war to prevent the terrible aftermath that will occur if our forces are withdrawn soon. Reflect on the double-think of this formulation. We are now fighting to prevent what our invasion made inevitable! Undoubtedly we will leave a mess -- the mess we created, which has become worse each year we have remained. Lawmakers gravely proclaim their opposition to the war, but in the next breath express fear that quitting it will leave a blood bath, a civil war, a terrorist haven, a "failed state," or some other horror. But this "aftermath" is already upon us; a prolonged U.S. occupation cannot prevent what already exists.

2) We must continue the war to prevent Iran's influence from growing in Iraq. This is another absurd notion. One of the president's initial war aims, the creation of a democracy in Iraq, ensured increased Iranian influence, both in Iraq and the region. Electoral democracy, predictably, would put Shiite groups in power -- groups supported by Iran since Saddam Hussein repressed them in 1991. Why are so many members of Congress swallowing the claim that prolonging the war is now supposed to prevent precisely what starting the war inexorably and predictably caused? Fear that Congress will confront this contradiction helps explain the administration and neocon drumbeat we now hear for expanding the war to Iran.

Here we see shades of the Nixon-Kissinger strategy in Vietnam: widen the war into Cambodia and Laos. Only this time, the adverse consequences would be far greater. Iran's ability to hurt U.S. forces in Iraq are not trivial. And the anti-American backlash in the region would be larger, and have more lasting consequences.

3) We must prevent the emergence of a new haven for al-Qaeda in Iraq. But it was the U.S. invasion that opened Iraq's doors to al-Qaeda. The longer U.S. forces have remained there, the stronger al-Qaeda has become. Yet its strength within the Kurdish and Shiite areas is trivial. After a U.S. withdrawal, it will probably play a continuing role in helping the Sunni groups against the Shiites and the Kurds. Whether such foreign elements could remain or thrive in Iraq after the resolution of civil war is open to question. Meanwhile, continuing the war will not push al-Qaeda outside Iraq. On the contrary, the American presence is the glue that holds al-Qaeda there now.

4) We must continue to fight in order to "support the troops." This argument effectively paralyzes almost all members of Congress. Lawmakers proclaim in grave tones a litany of problems in Iraq sufficient to justify a rapid pullout. Then they reject that logical conclusion, insisting we cannot do so because we must support the troops. Has anybody asked the troops?

So, to the amoral Rethuglican Senators and their Kool-Aid drinking swine supporter – Sen. Joe Lieberman, here is a question. As you all continue to support the needless death of brave Americans who are fighting in a war based on lies – how many of the Americans who have died since your successful avoidance of accountability will you honor by standing before their families to tell them that the death of their loved one was for a noble cause?

Not one I'll bet.
Posted on The Human Stain

Still Clueless

2007-02-11T19:53:00.000-05:00

For an industry that continuously trumpets their skills, their training, their ethics, their insight, their striving to report the story – journalists just don't seem to understand the world they live in, nor the people they supposedly report for.

One has to wonder about reporters. They constantly profess their dedication to keeping the public informed, claiming stridently of the “public's right to know” and then turn around to display contempt or disdain for the intellect and concern of that public. The best examples of this can be seen when viewing the Sunday morning talking heads – Meet The Press is a rich feeding ground.

Consider the discussion this morning, along with Tim Russert, the guests included Gwen Ifill, David Broder, Roger Simon, and Howard Kurtz. Russert asked Kurtz about the Lewis Libby trial:

MR. RUSSERT: ..............Howie Kurtz, I want to ask you about the Scooter Libby trial. William Powers in the National Journal has an interesting column where he thinks that the fact that journalists have to testify is good because it will open up in terms of the public being able to see how reporters cultivate relationships to get information. You have a different view of that?

MR. KURTZ: Yeah, I certainly don’t think it’s a good thing at all, and I think the reputation of journalists in this Libby trial have taken a hit...............The problem for us as a profession is this: When journalists get up there and testify, beside—leaving aside the First Amendment question—it looks to people like—out there like we have become too cozy with senior Bush administration officials, not so we can ferret out information about national security, not so we can find out about corruption, but, in this particular case, in some cases, acting as a conduit for White House effort to put out negative information about Joe Wilson, Valerie Plame’s husband, a big critic of the pre-war intelligence. And I think that the people out there who don’t follow this all that closely think that we have become part of the club, too much the insiders. And that is a problem for journalism.

So Kurtz thinks the “reputation” of journalists in the trial have taken a hit because it “looks like” they have become “too cozy”. He bemoans the fact that people might think reporters have become a “conduit” for the White House. Well golly gee – pot meet kettle, you're both black.

Has Kurtz never heard of Judy Miller, Jeff Gannon, or Michael Gordon? And has Kurtz forgetten about Cheney's main conduit – Tim Russert? That Kurtz can sit there and spout this inane drivel is beautifully symptomatic of the problem these so-called journalists have. They appear to be totally disconnected from reality, preferring to live in a little world centered around Washington, DC and totally failing to see the stains on their hands. Kurtz thinks that people who don’t follow the happenings in Washington closely think that journalists have become insiders. He needs to wake up as people who do follow Washington closely understand full well that reporters are compromised. The networks and newspapers are losing readership and influence - not because people don't care, but simply because the media cannot be relied upon to provide truth.

Another example:

MR. RUSSERT: Gwen Ifill:

MS. IFILL: Well, you know, the journalists I talked to are having sort, sort of a collective nervous breakdown about this.........You’re right, it’s—Roger’s right, in some ways it’s kind of an inside story in that we’re all talking to each other and we’re very crazed about it. And I don’t know that Americans around the world are really worrying about that. But I do know that at some level it’s going to affect the way we do our jobs.............

Gwen, Americans are watching and worrying. There is a big world outside of Washington which you have apparently lost sight of. We're not stupid. Tragically, your profession is being exposed as one that dismisses it's Fourth Estate responsibility and contributes to the continued deterioration of American democracy.

For the last six years, we have seen the tragic results from this failure of journalistic responsibility - when will you learn?

Posted on The Human Stain

Cheney's Punk – Part II

2007-02-08T22:54:00.000-05:00

Dan Froomkin nails it again:

If you're a journalist, and a very senior White House official calls you up on the phone, what do you do? Do you try to get the official to address issues of urgent concern so that you can then relate that information to the public?

Not if you're NBC Washington bureau chief Tim Russert.

When then-vice presidential chief of staff Scooter Libby called Russert on July 10, 2003, to complain that his name was being unfairly bandied about by MSNBC host Chris Matthews, Russert apparently asked him nothing.

And get this: According to Russert's testimony yesterday at Libby's trial, when any senior government official calls him, they are presumptively off the record.

That's not reporting, that's enabling.

That's how you treat your friends when you're having an innocent chat, not the people you're supposed to be holding accountable.........................

Russert is the new poster child (supplanting Bob Woodward) for showing how Washington reporters are do nothing journalists, seemingly more concerned with being part of the political in-crowd rather than fulfilling their role as watchdogs for the American public. To say that this is a huge dis-service to our nation is an understatement. One has to wonder how these media types can be so clueless regarding their abrogation of duty. Don't they care about America? Don't they care about their children?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to answer the question about why Washington “journalists” are held in such low regard – just ask Russert.
Posted on The Human Stain

Downfall

2007-02-08T22:15:00.000-05:00

It's getting quite interesting in the Lewis Libby trial. Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald has built a solid case that Libby lied to investigators. In doing so, Fitzgerald is building another case – that Bush and Cheney very likely lied about their participation in the plan for revealing CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson's identity.

At long last, the fog of mystification generated by the Bush administration and the Washington media is lifting, so that everyone can see clearly why I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby is on trial and why his prosecution is important...........

The question that now hangs over the President and the Vice President is whether they lied to special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald—the same crime for which their fall guy Scooter now faces possible imprisonment and disgrace................

Doubts about the candor of Messrs. Bush and Cheney date all the way back to September 2003, before the appointment of the special counsel, when the President supposedly declared his sincere determination to “get to the bottom of this.”.............

“There’s been nothing—absolutely nothing—brought to our attention to suggest any White House involvement,” said Scott McClellan, then the Presidential press secretary, in attempting to cover Karl Rove and the rest of the White House staff with a blanket exoneration.

We have long since learned otherwise. We know, for instance, that Mr. Rove, Mr. Libby and former Presidential press secretary Ari Fleischer were all involved in leaking Ms. Wilson’s identity to the media. We also know that Mr. Libby, by his own testimony, learned about her C.I.A. identity from the Vice President. They had hoped to discredit Mr. Wilson by hinting at nepotism in his C.I.A.-sponsored trip to Niger to gather information about alleged uranium trading with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. (Actually, he undertook the difficult journey to that unprepossessing nation as a public service, without pay.) In short, we know that top officials in the Bush White House were behind the campaign to discredit the Wilsons.

Where does that leave the President and the Vice President? Over the past several days, the outlines of Mr. Cheney’s role in the nasty attack on the Wilsons and the subsequent cover-up have become increasingly plain. He not only oversaw the activities of his chief of staff, but went so far as to order Mr. McClellan to “clear” Mr. Libby in a press briefing................

And lest anyone forget, here is a bit of press conference dialogue from the crowd who promised to “restore honor and dignity” to the White House:

Q Scott, has anyone --- has the President tried to find out who outed the CIA agent? And has he fired anyone in the White House yet?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Helen, that's assuming a lot of things. First of all, that is not the way this White House operates. The President expects everyone in his administration to adhere to the highest standards of conduct...............

Q Does he think it didn't come from here?

MR. McCLELLAN: But we've made it very clear that anyone --- anyone --- who has information relating to this should report that information to the Department of Justice.

Q Does he doubt it came from the White House?
.....................

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there's been no information that has been brought to our attention, beyond what we've seen in the media reports, to suggest White House involvement.
.....................

Q Would you not want to know whether someone had leaked information of this kind?

MR. McCLELLAN: The President has been --- I spoke for him earlier today --- the President believes leaking classified information is a very serious matter.................

Disgraceful.
Posted on The Human Stain

It's STILL About Oil

2007-02-08T20:58:00.000-05:00

From Alternet, by Richard W. Behan:

In the Caspian Basin and beneath the deserts of Iraq, as many as 783 billion barrels of oil are waiting to be pumped. Anyone controlling that much oil stands a good chance of breaking OPEC's stranglehold overnight, and any nation seeking to dominate the world would have to go after it.

The long-held suspicions about George Bush's wars are well-placed. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were not prompted by the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. They were not waged to spread democracy in the Middle East or enhance security at home. They were conceived and planned in secret long before September 11, 2001 and they were undertaken to control petroleum resources.

.................

During his second week in office, President Bush convened the first meeting of his National Security Council. It was a triumph for the PNAC. In just one hour-long meeting, the new Bush Administration turned upside down the long-standing focus of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Over Secretary of State Colin Powell's objections, the goal of reconciling the Israel-Palestine conflict was abandoned, and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was set as the new priority. Ron Suskind's book, The Price of Loyalty, describes the meeting in detail.

The Energy Task Force wasted no time, either. Within three weeks of its creation, the group was poring over maps of the Iraqi oilfields, pipelines, tanker terminals, and oil exploration blocks. It studied an inventory of "Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts" -- dozens of oil companies from 30 different countries, in various stages of negotiations for exploring and developing Iraqi crude.

Not a single U.S. oil company was among the "suitors," and that was intolerable, given a foreign policy bent on global hegemony. The National Energy Policy document, released May 17, 2001 concluded this: "By any estimation, Middle East oil producers will remain central to world security. The Gulf will be a primary focus of U.S. international energy policy."

That rather innocuous statement can be clarified by a top-secret memo dated February 3, 2001 to the staff of the National Security Council. Cheney's group, the memo said, was "melding" two apparently unrelated areas of policy: "the review of operational policies toward rogue states," such as Iraq, and "actions regarding the capture of new and existing oil and gas fields." The memo directed the National Security Council staff to cooperate fully with the Energy Task Force as the "melding" continued. National security policy and international energy policy would be developed as a coordinated whole. This would prove convenient on September 11, 2001, still seven months in the future...........

Posted on The Human Stain

Rethuglicans to America - Screw You

2007-02-06T22:23:00.000-05:00

The ignorant, arrogant, amoral pack of US Senate Rethuglicans have just told the majority of America to go fu.. themselves. Even more sickening, these slimeballs have also just told the troops serving in Iraq that they have to stay and die in a war based on lies - a war about oil - a civil war that we have no business being involved with.

Democrats - get off your heinies - Feingold has it right (again!).

2008 cannot come soon enough.

And to the traitorous Sen. Joe Lieberman - the words cannot be expressed here.
Posted on The Human Stain

Hallelujah

2007-02-06T22:02:00.000-05:00

Today is the day Ted Haggard has determined that he is “completely heterosexual”. After three week of intensive counseling, Rev. Ted has been cured of the evils of homosexuality. Yessiree – it's a miracle – that's what is – for sure – Amen brother, Amen.

Yep, apparently his sexual contact with men was just limited to his accuser. Thing that is a little puzzling though is – if there was only one guy in Ted's life, why is he being treated for sexual addiction? Well, either Ted has had other gay flings, or his one tryst on the male side was mighty powerful. How else is he addicted?

The sheep following Rev. Haggard don't have anything to worry about and should rest easy. According to the Rev. Tim Ralph, the counseling – conducted in Arizona, left Rev. Ted sure of one thing - "He is completely heterosexual," ....... "That is something he discovered. It was the acting- out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing."

The Lord moves in mysterious ways.
Posted on The Human Stain

To Do a Job Well

2007-02-04T20:48:00.000-05:00

Now, here is an example of a real reporter as Dan Froomkin states the obvious for his fellow journalists. Too bad that he has to.

Lessons we thought had been learned from Vietnam were forgotten in the rush to invade Iraq. And now, as we cover President Bush’s ratcheting up of the rhetoric against Iran, it’s looking like the lessons we should have learned from Iraq may not have been learned at all. So at the risk of stating the obvious, here are some thoughts about what those lessons were....

You Can’t Be Too Skeptical of Authority
Provocation Alone Does Not Justify War
Be Particularly Skeptical of Secrecy
Watch for Rhetorical Traps
Don’t Just Give Voice to the Administration Officials
Look Outside Our Borders
Understand the Enemy
Encourage Public Debate
Write about Motives
Talk to the Military

The question is, will anyone employed by corporate media break ranks and actually perform their proper function? Well, we know no one at FOX will.
Posted on The Human Stain

This is Leadership?

2007-02-04T19:39:00.000-05:00

This is the type of success that the Rethuglican leadership crowd in Bush's party is bringing to Texas.

Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, this morning released the 2007 version of his profoundly depressing booklet “Texas on the Brink: How Texas ranks among the 50 states.” It’s a handy quick-reference to exactly how bad things are in Texas. Shapleigh’s office has compiled the rankings, complete with footnotes and all, for three straight sessions. Perusing the numbers, you realize Texas is actually worse off than you thought. A few of the highlights (and we’re using that term loosely):

49th in per capita tax revenue raised;
50th in per capita state spending;
47th in average SAT scores;
50th in percentage of population over 25 with high school diploma;
1st in percentage of uninsured children;
1st in percentage of population without health insurance;
49th in percentage of women who vote;
1st in air pollution emissions;
1st in toxic chemicals released into water;
1st in cancer-causing carcinogens released into air;
44th in home ownership rate;
50th in electric bill affordability;
1st in number of executions;
1st in number of gun shows.

This is also the type of success (criminal negligence) that we see on display in Washington under Chimpie and his group of incompetents. Can't wait for 2008.
Posted on The Human Stain

Don't Do It

2007-02-04T19:19:00.000-05:00

If the rumors trickling out of the US House of Representatives are true, then the Democrats are going to have a firestorm on their hands. Did they forget why they were elected? Americans are tired of how big money buys influence and access to OUR government.

DISTURBING, though not particularly surprising, rumblings are emanating from the House of Representatives to the effect that some Democrats are balking at requiring lobbyists to disclose the campaign contributions they arrange or collect for lawmakers.

Congressmen, remember why you are there - and don't forget the end goal in 2008. Do you want to throw the gains away?
Posted on The Human Stain

Big Brother's Information Minister

2007-02-04T11:21:00.000-05:00

In a post yesterday, I had written about the propaganda mouth pieces at FOX News. Wish I had caught this bit of news as the post's premise has just been confirmed – by none other than Rupert Murdoch:

Last Friday, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Rupert Murdoch sat on a panel where he lamented what he described as a "loss of power" due to the ascension of the Internet and other new media. The notion that this captain of one of the most dominant media conglomerates in the world is trembling in the shadow of bloggers is simply absurd. Especially when you consider the fact that his company is also a dominant player on the Internet with an aggressive acquisitiveness that includes MySpace, the world's largest online social networking site.

But there was a more shocking exchange that took place that ought to have caused more of a stir amongst professional journalists and all freedom loving people. It was an exchange that revealed something that most conscious beings knew, but which I have never seen explicitly articulated.

Murdoch was asked if News Corp. had managed to shape the agenda on the war in Iraq. His answer?

"No, I don't think so. We tried [...] We basically supported the Bush policy in the Middle East...but we have been very critical of his execution."

As stated so capably by Juan Cole:

......He said that they were critical of the execution of the war, though. He doesn't watch or read his own media if he thinks that. It is never a discouraging word and 'what were the RNC talking points today?' over there in Foxland.

Murdoch's remarks are a good reason for which the news conglomerates should be broken up so that a wider range of views can be published. While Murdoch complains about competition from the internet, the fact is that far more people watch television than get their news from any blogger.

Murdoch's media have done more to cheapen American values and drive the country toward fascistic ways of thinking than anything since the McCarthy period in the 1950s. The airwaves belong to the public, and this man only licenses them. When will the public take them back and use them for purposes of which Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Franklin would have approved?

So, Murdoch – the head of a huge media conglomerate, admits that he tried to influence the agenda of a phony war by manipulating information and spreading government lies. Murdoch was toying with the American public, treating them as suckers who would believe any pablum they were fed. Did he care at all about the lives involved – the answer is clearly no. Fox News is nothing more that a neo-con tool, their propaganda peddler. If his admission is not the final nail in the FOX "News"coffin and if it does not cause America to turn this propaganda outlet off – then we are in serious trouble.

Murdoch has the blood of innocent's on his hands – just to make a buck. I wish him a long life – in hell.
Posted on The Human Stain

Leadership Choices

2007-02-04T09:32:00.000-05:00

Do you want someone like this running the country?

Or would you want an honest, decent, caring person like one of these?

Seems like an easy choice.
Posted on The Human Stain

Christian Brownshirts

2007-02-03T22:37:00.000-05:00

Taken from a new book by Chris Hedges American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America

Dr. James Luther Adams, my ethics professor at Harvard Divinity School, told his students that when we were his age—he was then close to 80—we would all be fighting the “Christian fascists.”

The warning, given 25 years ago, came at the moment Pat Robertson and other radio and television evangelists began speaking about a new political religion that would direct its efforts toward taking control of all institutions, including mainstream denominations and the government. Its stated goal was to use the United States to create a global Christian empire. This call for fundamentalists and evangelicals to take political power was a radical and ominous mutation of traditional Christianity. It was hard, at the time, to take such fantastic rhetoric seriously, especially given the buffoonish quality of those who expounded it. But Adams warned us against the blindness caused by intellectual snobbery. The Nazis, he said, were not going to return with swastikas and brown shirts. Their ideological inheritors had found a mask for fascism in the pages of the Bible.

Adams understood that totalitarian movements are built out of deep personal and economic despair. He warned that the flight of manufacturing jobs, the impoverishment of the American working class, the physical obliteration of communities in the vast, soulless exurbs and decaying Rust Belt, were swiftly deforming our society...... This despair, Adams said, would empower dangerous dreamers—those who today bombard the airwaves with an idealistic and religious utopianism that promises, through violent apocalyptic purification, to eradicate the old, sinful world that has failed many Americans.

These Christian utopians promise to replace this internal and external emptiness with a mythical world where time stops and all problems are solved.........The Christian right has lured tens of millions of Americans, who rightly feel abandoned and betrayed by the political system, from the reality-based world to one of magic—to fantastic visions of angels and miracles, to a childlike belief that God has a plan for them and Jesus will guide and protect them. This mythological worldview, one that has no use for science or dispassionate, honest intellectual inquiry, one that promises that the loss of jobs and health insurance does not matter, as long as you are right with Jesus, offers a lying world of consistency that addresses the emotional yearnings of desperate followers at the expense of reality. It creates a world where facts become interchangeable with opinions, where lies become true—the very essence of the totalitarian state. It includes a dark license to kill, to obliterate all those who do not conform to this vision, from Muslims in the Middle East to those at home who refuse to submit to the movement. And it conveniently empowers a rapacious oligarchy whose god is maximum profit at the expense of citizens................Arthur Schlesinger, in “The Cycles of American History,” wrote that “the great religious ages were notable for their indifference to human rights in the contemporary sense—not only for their acquiescence in poverty, inequality and oppression, but for their enthusiastic justification of slavery, persecution, torture and genocide.”

He despaired of U.S. liberals, who, he said, as in Nazi Germany, mouthed silly platitudes about dialogue and inclusiveness that made them ineffectual and impotent. Liberals, he said, did not understand the power and allure of evil or the cold reality of how the world worked. The current hand-wringing by Democrats, with many asking how they can reach out to a movement whose leaders brand them “demonic” and “satanic,” would not have surprised Adams.

Two decades later, even in the face of the growing reach of the Christian right, his prediction seems apocalyptic. And yet the powerbrokers in the Christian right have moved from the fringes of society to the floor of the House of Representatives and the Senate........ President Bush has handed hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid to these groups and dismantled federal programs in science, reproductive rights and AIDS research to pay homage to the pseudo-science and quackery of the Christian right.

Bush will, I suspect, turn out to be no more than a weak transition figure, our version of Otto von Bismarck....... Bismarck’s attacks, which split Germany and made the discrediting of whole segments of the society an acceptable part of the civil discourse, paved the way for the Nazis’ more virulent racism and repression.........

Here is a little example of one Christian brownshirt at work:

Televangelist and Ohio "Patriot Pastor" leader Rod Parsley's Center for Moral Clarity is urging the revival of long-dormant laws against adultery in states such as Michigan, where adultery is technically a felony, although no one has been prosecuted for 36 years.

In an e-mail update to its supporters, the Center noted with approval the remark of an appeals court judge that a Michigan statute criminalizing sex involving commission of a felony, when combined with the law making adultery a felony, could lead to life in prison. "Lawmakers and judges in Michigan are holding married couples accountable for their vows of fidelity," touted CMC, adding that "The rest of the nation should take a look at the Michigan statute. Criminal laws are designed to force people to conform to certain acceptable standards of personal behavior. Most of society's code of conduct has its roots in the 10 Commandments."

"Adultery is a violation of biblical instruction as well as an offense against the other partner in what should be a sacred relationship," said Parsley.

Aren't you glad we have pure angels of morality such as “Pastor” Rod around to show us the way?

More examples of brownshirts here, here, and here.

Sieg Hiel.
Posted on The Human Stain

Mouthpieces of Propaganda

2007-02-03T20:49:00.000-05:00

FOX News does not have any reputation for reporting truth. As the most prominent mouthpiece for Rethuglican misinformation and propaganda, they not only cause harm in American society, but they also flout the responsibilities of their supposed profession – serving as a member of the fourth estate. That they exist is a testament to the nefarious intentions of their financiers – the desires to control, influence, and direct the actions of the masses towards achieving goals for the ruling class. The network has no interest in serving as a reporting organization to perform government monitoring in an effort to improve our country, rather they are interested in helping to control the country. Their loud mouthed employees such as O'Reilly, Hannity, Wallace, and Hume are really disgraceful misanthropes – more interested in collecting a huge salary and feeling self important that in performing public service.

With that being said, it is wonderfully refreshing to see that someone – finally, seems to be willing to call out FOX for what they really are.

Sources tell The Sleuth that the Obama camp has "frozen out" Fox News reporters and producers in the wake of the network's major screw-up in running with the erroneous Obama-the-jihadist story reported by Insight magazine......

Since the madrassah incident, Obama has given interviews to ABC, CNN, CBS and NBC -- pretty much every other network except Fox. Sources close to Obama acknowledged that they're not thrilled to play ball with Fox journalists, but they stopped short of saying they are freezing the network out.

And as said so well by Taylor Marsh:

Slander me, screw you. Ahem, I mean, you air lies about me, get used to the cold shoulder, baby...............

Obama gave Fox what they deserved. They should get it from Democrats more often. When this started I doubted that Obama was tough enough to take on Fox "News" and other political bad guys. He's proven he is plenty tough.

Hillary has it right. When someone attacks you, "deck" them........ Rule number one: Never play footsies on Fox.

Why does any Democrat appear on FOX anyways? I know, I know - we want to be civilized, decent, polite, and show we can win the opposition over with intelligence and ideas. But that presupposes that they are willing to be receptive and have some intelligence to start with – doesn't it?
Posted on The Human Stain

Rabid Dog

2007-02-03T20:01:00.000-05:00

One has to wonder about the mental and emotional condition of Michelle Malkin. She never seems to retreat from positions of hatred, intolerance, and scorn. Does she really believe the lies and venom spewing forth in her writings and commentary, or is she paid to reach new heights of outrageousness and controversy? If she is mentally unstable, one would think a family member might try to get her proper medical attention. If she is intentionally lying and voicing hatred for her sponsors, then prosecution may be warranted. In any case, she does not deserve an audience and as a scourge on public/social discourse, she should just be turned off.

Posted on The Human Stain

Breath of Fresh Air

2007-02-03T19:22:00.000-05:00

There is a refreshing change in Washington, DC nowadays. It's called competence. Translation for all the Rethuglican nitwits – it means: being able to get things done.

From The Washington Post:
Democrats Move Leftover Spending Measure

House and Senate Democratic leaders agreed yesterday to a $463 billion spending plan for the remainder of the fiscal year that would freeze many federal agencies at 2006 levels but include more money for veterans' health, education, scientific research, HIV programs and public parks, among other things.

In an unusual move, the congressional leaders stripped the spending bill of all earmarks, or narrow, special-interest provisions. The measure had to be cobbled together now because Congress did not finish its work last year and failed to pass nine of 11 spending bills.

Four months into the current fiscal year, the federal government has been running on a temporary budget that is set to expire Feb. 15. The House is scheduled to vote on the spending package today, while the Senate will take it up in the coming weeks.........

Then there was this pitiful tidbit:

Republicans grumbled about the fact that Democrats in the House will not allow amendments to the budget and said the party in power plans to ram through a spending bill without committee hearings or meaningful debate......

Aww gee, isn't that too, too bad. Say, to all you Rethuglicans – SHUT UP! What goes around, comes around. Lube it up, you're going to get more – harder and faster.

Democrats said that they have no choice, because the previous Congress left the budget process in such disarray that they are under great pressure to quickly pass a spending bill for the remaining eight months.

"I don't expect people to love this proposal. I don't love this proposal and we probably have made some wrong choices," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey (D-Wis.). "But in contrast to last year's Congress, which decided to duck these choices, at least we have made them in order to bring last year's issues to a conclusion so we can turn the page and deal with next year's priorities."

Now all America needs is competence in the Executive branch.
Posted on The Human Stain

Space Age Weapons

2007-02-03T18:51:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the ever increasing cozy relationship between the federal government and the burgeoning, civilian defense industry, we will soon see more supposedly “non-lethal” weapons being used by dangerous and unaccountable mercenaries. Americans are being re-assured that these weapons are only in the development stage and would only be used in combat situations. Sure, uh huh, sounds believable, okay.

The military calls its new weapon an "active denial system," but that's an understatement. It's a ray gun that shoots a beam that makes people feel as if they are about to catch fire. Apart from causing that terrifying sensation, the technology is supposed to be harmless - a non-lethal way to get enemies to drop their weapons...............

During the first media demonstration of the weapon Wednesday, airmen fired beams from a large dish antenna mounted atop a Humvee at people pretending to be rioters and acting out other scenarios that U.S. troops might encounter in war zones. The device's two-man crew located their targets through powerful lenses and fired beams from more than 500 yards away. That is nearly 17 times the range of existing non-lethal weapons, such as rubber bullets.

Anyone hit by the beam immediately jumped out of its path because of the sudden blast of heat throughout the body. While the 130-degree heat was not painful, it was intense enough to make the participants think their clothes were about to ignite.......

The weapon could be mounted aboard ships, airplanes and helicopters, and routinely used for security or anti-terrorism operations.

Now, the military says production of the unit will not really begin until 2010 and that it would be useful in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Hmmm, so how long will we be there?

The continuing development of high tech weapons, encouraged by a US government that constantly seems to creep towards fascism and increasing alienation from it's citizens, should concern all Americans. For while assurances are being made that the weaponry will never be used here, recent violations of American liberties serve as a cruel reminder that our government needs to be closely monitored. Our rights must be continually fought for – they are not guaranteed and will always be abused by those seeking control or profit.

For more info on weapons to be feared see here.
Posted on The Human Stain

Pinhead Science

2007-02-03T17:20:00.000-05:00

Bush and his cabal have committed many egregious acts of neglect, criminality, and immorality to harm our nation. Their reign of stupidity and insolence will wane – but not fast enough for the people being directly impacted now in Iraq and the Middle East. While the Chimp's actions for the immediate future are unspeakable enough, it is his acts which help degrade the lives of future generations that will surely reserve his seat in the Underworld.

More evidence is coming to light that shows conclusively how the frat boy and his corporate owners have deliberately muzzled and impeded the honest, factual investigations of climatologists into the causes of global warming:

More than 120 scientists across seven federal agencies say they have been pressured to remove references to "climate change" and "global warming" from a range of documents, including press releases and communications with Congress. Roughly the same number say appointees altered the meaning of scientific findings on climate contained in communications related to their research.

"We are beyond the anecdotal," says Francesca Grifo, director of the scientific integrity program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), ............"We now have evidence to support the view that this problem goes deeper than just these few high-profile cases."

Global-warming science must be accurately represented to enable lawmakers to craft adequate policies to control the problem and adapt to climate change, Dr. Grifo says. Scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other agencies working on climate-related issues are doing excellent work. "But it's under threat, and they are struggling to get their results out" to the general public, she says.........

Sometimes scientists and career public-affairs officers would send press releases related to global warming up the ladder for review, then never hear back. Or appointees changed the wording in ways that scientists felt distorted the results or their implications, and the researchers weren't given a chance to argue their case........

During Tuesday's hearing, additional evidence came from Rick Piltz, who resigned from his position as senior associate with the administration's Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) in 2005 over what he saw as repeated instances of interference in the program's reporting process - often with pressure coming from two conservative think tanks that have spearheaded efforts to debunk global warming. One of their key contacts in the White House, he says, was the chief of staff of the president's Council on Environmental Quality, Philip Cooney, who served as an attorney and lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute prior to joining the council.

Yet even Dr. Pielke says that "the Bush administration has engaged in hypercontrolling strategies for controlling information" on global warming.

Adds Grifo, "It's time for the public to stand up and be angry, too. It's their knowledge, their scientists, just like Washington is their capital."

One could make a convincing argument that Bush is an intellectually lazy man, incurious about the world around him and disdainful of those he believes to be his mental superiors. One could also argue that Bush believes strongly in class divisions and consequently cares little about the future for others – as long as he keeps his class happy. I tend to believe both arguments, adding that Bush and his cronies are empty, amoral beings helping to degrade the environment for future generations so that someone can make a higher percentage. They need to see a jail cell.
Posted on The Human Stain

Connections

2007-01-31T21:57:00.000-05:00

From Think Progress:

A new report presented to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Government Accountability Project shows 435 instances in which the Bush administration interfered into the global warming work of government scientists over the past five years.....

James Hansen, the government’s top global warming researcher, has also revealed that the Bush administration tried to prevent him from speaking freely about global warming to the media.

Any relation to this post?

Posted on The Human Stain

Conspiracy?

2007-01-31T21:36:00.000-05:00

Most people with functioning brains realize that fossil fuel emissions are the primary cause of global warming. That the Arctic sea ice would suffer melting and breakup due to this seems to be a fait accompli. Consider the following article:

Greenwire, 26 January 2007 - Melting ice in the Arctic Ocean could spell a new era of oil and natural gas exploration in the region, according to experts meeting this week in Norway to discuss Arctic challenges.

The Arctic region contains a quarter of the world's remaining oil reserves, experts estimate. It also contains massive natural gas fields in the Barents Sea, including Russia's huge Shtokman field. "By 2040 or 2050, the Arctic Ocean will be navigable and that will mean significant developments very soon," said ArcticNet research group head Martin Fortier....

After reading that article, a quite mendacious thought occurred to me: What if big oil – in collusion with elements of the American government and other foreign government extremists is engaged in a deliberate campaign of global warming denial in order to accelerate the trend? The pot at the end of their rainbow would be vast Arctic exploration and profit capability.

They couldn't be that evil – could they?

Posted on The Human Stain

Mass Hysteria

2007-01-31T20:00:00.000-05:00

The city of Boston just went through one of it's occasional Chicken Little spasms when everyone over-reacted to the discovery of “suspicious devices” at a variety of locations in the city. Apparently it is too much to ask that elected leaders, police, and fire departments apply a little common sense or analysis to a situation before going public and needlessly whipping up fears throughout the community. So what was the crisis situation that caused this?

Nine blinking electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what turned out to be a marketing campaign for a late-night cable cartoon. At least one of the devices depicts a character giving the finger.

Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were sent in before authorities declared the devices were harmless.....

Turner Broadcasting, parent company of Cartoon Network, said the devices were part of a promotion for the TV show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."

"The packages in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger," Turner said in a statement. It said the devices have been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Austin, Texas, San Francisco and Philadelphia.

After being exposed as quivering bowls of Jello, the “authorities” are lashing out, trying to blame the marketing promotion effort for making themselves and the city look like fools.

An angry Mayor Thomas Menino said a stiff penalty will be pursued against whoever was responsible for the devices. "It's about keeping a city on edge. It's about public safety," he said.

"It's a hoax — and it's not funny," said Gov. Deval Patrick.

Taking their vengeance idiocy to a new height, Menino also added:

............he'll seek to punish those responsible, and indicated that the penalty could be two to five years in prison per count and ........ that he is "prepared to take any and all legal action" against the company and its affiliated "for any and all expenses incurred during the response to today's incidents."

This is embarassing.
Posted on The Human Stain

Say Duh!

2007-01-29T22:29:00.000-05:00

Apparently stem cell research and cloning can have a beneficial effect. In the first known case of it's kind, a functioning brain has been grown inside a neocon head:

It now seems apparent that the information incriminating Mr. Arar originated with Syrian military intelligence. The revelation that Canada and the United States rely heavily on Syrian information exposes one of the most disturbing secrets of the war on terror.......

The Arar case should raise some belated red flags over the real value and true purposes of all this Syrian "co-operation." Whenever one intelligence agency provides information to another, the recipient should wonder: "Why are they sharing this with us? What benefit do they derive?" That question should be asked with special intensity when the information comes from an unfriendly country like Syria.

And yet the Arabist faction within the U.S. government has responded to Syria's maneouvres with almost childlike credulity, believing what the Syrians say -- and even betraying both American principles and American interests by subcontracting torture to them.

The reliance of Western agencies on Syrian information has cost the Canadian taxpayer $10- million in damages. It cost Maher Arar indescribable suffering. And the damage this reliance has done the real security of the West -- that cost goes beyond calculation.

It cannot be. George Bush betraying both American principles and American interests by subcontracting torture? But isn't this type of activity what neocons like Frum and their sympathizers have encouraged for years? A bout of conscience or another rat jumping a sinking ship? I'll bet on the latter.
Posted on The Human Stain

Cheney's Punk

2007-01-29T22:01:00.000-05:00

Does Tim Russert have a sore hindquarters? Only his proctologist knows for sure. Must be embarassing to realize you were someone elses' pincushion:

....in the Scooter Libby trial, Vice President Cheney’s former communications director displayed notes from 2004 “about how Cheney could respond to allegations that the Bush administration had played fast and loose with evidence of Iraq’s nuclear ambitions.” Option 1 was “MTP-VP,” a Cheney appearance on Russert’s Sunday show, which would allow Cheney to “control message.” “I suggested we put the vice president on ‘Meet the Press,’ which was a tactic we often used.”

Never mind the humiliation for Russert, the saddest aspect of this is that much of the media is regularly manipulated – and they don't know it, while the rest is complicit in deceiving the public.

Posted on The Human Stain

America's Taliban

2007-01-29T21:40:00.000-05:00

Ed Encho has a good post on Taylor Marsh. Referring to a new book by Chris Hedges titled American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, he writes:

On Monday, the 35th anniversary of Roe V. Wade, George W. Bush played to the rubber fetus crowd with his annual phone call to anti-reproductive rights activists. Pandering to the so-called pro lifers who are all that remain of the red plague that has swept America is vintage Rove, especially on the day prior to the State of the Union Address. The hateful lemmings awaiting Rapture can always be counted on to maintain steadfast and unwavering in support of their exalted king’s holy crusade to call forth a rain of fire from the skies over Tehran. There are increasingly ominous signs that an attack on Iran is imminent with the incessant MSM propaganda of the past week and the yahoos are anxious to get it on. The cult of the glorious reappearing has now consummated it’s unholy union with the ivory tower dwelling ideologues at the American Enterprise Institute and the doomsday clock is moving closer to midnight.

That Bush finds it necessary at this juncture to continue to cater to the whims of the extremist Christian Right speaks volumes as to the disproportionate amount of influence that the lunatic fringe holds over American policy............ Radical clerics like Falwell and Dobson and their ilk are deferred to and treated as king makers for any potential Republican candidate and Senator McCain has puckered up to kiss Dobson and Falwell’s rings with alarming frequency. Why these reactionary zealots are given any credibility at all is a travesty and we will all eventually be the ones who reap the whirlwind. The extremist elements of the Christian Right need to be stigmatized and isolated as the cancer on free society that they truly are and not embraced by charlatan politicians pandering for votes. It only serves to further empower the menace to democracy that is represented by the ravenous wolves lurking amongst the sheep.

His (Hedges) unrelentingly frank examination of the Christian Right is as comprehensive and damning an indictment of the perversion of religion for the acquisition of political power that I have yet to come across:

According to Hedges:

In this version of the Christian Gospel, the exploitation and abuse of other human beings is a good. Homosexuality is an evil. And this global, heartless system of economic rationalization has morphed in the rhetoric of the Christian Right into a test of faith. The ideology it espouses is a radical evil, an ideology of death, it calls for wanton destruction, destruction of human beings, of the environment, of communities and neighborhoods, of labor unions, of a free press, of Iraqis, Palestinians or others in the Middle East who would deny us oil fields and hegemony, of federal regulatory agencies, social welfare programs, public education – in short, the destruction of all people and programs that stand in the way of a Christian America and its God-given right to dominate the rest of the planet.

Hedges shines a light on the parasitical false prophets who prey on the weak, the failed and the confused in order to lure them into the flock and turn them into foot soldiers in a political army........

Much to his credit, Hedges does not allow himself to be constrained by the impoliteness of political correctness – a concept that the right has used so effectively in manufacturing animosity. Liberals have a tendency to be overly sensitive when it comes to dealing with zealots and reactionary freaks and the Religious Right benefits immensely from the refusal to engage it on a level playing field. This unwillingness to call this movement out for what they are – fascists with an innate loathing for democracy only allows it to grow stronger and more organized. Hedges states:

Debate with the radical Christian Right is useless. We cannot reach this movement. It does not want a dialogue. It is a movement based on emotion and cares nothing for rational thought and discussion..... These dominionists hate the liberal, enlightened world formed by the Constitution, a world they blame for the debacle of their lives. They have one goal – it’s destruction.

Posted on The Human Stain

Insecurity

2007-01-29T21:02:00.000-05:00

The more Chimpie keeps trying to convince America that he is a take charge kind of guy, the more apparent it becomes that he's really trying to convince himself. Once again, he tries to remind the press that “I am the decision maker.” (Of course, how this squares with his many claims that he “would listen to the generals on the ground”, remains to be expalined.) Add this to the “I am the decider” outbursts and one might get the impression he doth protest too much. Could it be that Bush knows deep in his heart that the real man occupying the throne is Cheney? Seems that way.

But then again, presidenting is hard work. Poor George.
Posted on The Human Stain

How Bush Shames America

2007-01-27T15:56:00.000-05:00

The Canadian government has acknowledged wrongdoing and apologized to one of it's citizens, Maher Arar:

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized Friday to Maher Arar for the torture he suffered in a Syrian prison and said the government would pay him and his family $10.5-million, plus legal fees, to compensate them for the "terrible ordeal."

"On behalf of the government of Canada, I wish to apologize to you ... and your family for any role that Canadian officials may have played in the terrible ordeal that all of you experienced in 2002-2003," Mr. Harper said in a letter to Mr. Arar.

The government cannot change what is past, he told a news conference in Ottawa. Mr. Arar was detained in the United States in 2002 and flown to Syria where he was jailed and tortured after the RCMP wrongly labeled him an Islamic extremist. "But we can make changes to ... [reduce the chances] that something like this will ever happen again.""

Now here in the land of the free and the brave – a land where we trumpet our concerns for human rights and are sacrificing American blood to “free” Iraqis and create democracy, one would think that America too would apologize for the wrong actions against Mr. Arar. One would be disappointed - for this is not the land created by our forefathers – this is Bushworld, where disdain, suspicion, and a negligent government runs unfettered.

Here is Bush's chihuahua, Gonzales hiding and dodging:

QUESTION: Canada, as you know, released a long-awaited report yesterday on the treatment of Maher Arar. Since the Department was the agency that allowed his removal to Syria in which he was then tortured, doesn't the Department owe him an apology?

ATTORNEY GENERAL GONZALES: Well, we were not responsible for his removal to Syria, I'm not aware that he was tortured, and I haven't read the Commission report. Mr. Arar was deported under our immigration laws. He was initially detained because his name appeared on terrorist lists, and he was deported according to our laws.

Some people have characterized his removal as a rendition. That is not what happened here. It was a deportation. And even if it were a rendition, we understand as a government what our obligations are with respect to anyone who is rendered by this government to another country, and that is that we seek to satisfy ourselves that they will not be tortured. And we do that in every case. And if in fact he had been rendered to Syria, we would have sought those same kind of assurances, as we do in every case.

QUESTION: From the report, he had no connections with any terrorist groups, and he has sought an apology from the U.S. Government.

ATTORNEY GENERAL GONZALES: Again, I haven't read the report.

The difference between Canada and the United States in this matter is stark indeed. While the Canadians have taken responsibility, have actually conducted an investigation, and have acknowledged deficiencies in their policies, America remains mum. The head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has resigned over this fiasco. Americans are still on the job – ducking and running for cover. You see, no one is ever responsible – for anything, in Bushworld, they never make mistakes.

Inhabitants of Bushworld are just not accountable to their countrymen. While this is depressingly shameful, the saddest aspect of Bushworld inhabitants is that should the slightest recognition of wrongdoing develop, they just don't care. For if you are not one of them, you are inconsequential.

Americans of conscience anxiously await the outcome of Senator Leahy's investigation into this disgraceful affair.
Posted on The Human Stain

Religio-Nut Phonies

2007-01-27T13:47:00.000-05:00

To the Nitwit in Chief, "Dr." Eric Keroack is a brain. But to some real, credentialed brains in American medical circles, Keroack is an insane schmuck. He also is not certified as a ob-gyn doctor. For evidence of how, in Bush's world, ideology trumps science and reality see:

AlterNet Blogs: The Top Ten reasons you should be terrified that "Dr." Eric Keroack runs Bush's Family Planning Program

Posted on The Human Stain

Sorry

2007-01-27T13:05:00.000-05:00

Apologies are in order. I have written a number of times about Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas. In these posts, I have commented upon Roberts' simpering fealty to George Bush. I have even written about how Roberts appeared to wear kneepads and to like having Bush's scrotum pressed against his chin.

Well, apparently it was not Bush's scrotum on the Roberts chin - it was Cheney's.

Ooops, sorry for the mistake Senator.
Roberts posts here, here, here, here.
Posted on the Human Stain

Oil Kills

2007-01-27T11:53:00.000-05:00

When Bush stood before the nation for his SOTU address, he said the following:

“So we are deploying reinforcements of more than 20,000 additional soldiers and Marines to Iraq. The vast majority will go to Baghdad, where they will help Iraqi forces to clear and secure neighborhoods, and serve as advisers embedded in Iraqi Army units. With Iraqis in the lead, our forces will help secure the city by chasing down terrorists, insurgents, and roaming death squads.”

Army Gen. David Petraeus will lead this effort and plans to assign 15,000 of the troops to Baghdad in an effort to quell the ever increasing sectarian violence and mayhem that is everyday life there. The problem that makes this whole crusade a fools errand is that the Iraqi's are just not in agreement with Bush's plan. The hearts of Iraqi citizens are not with us – they are opposed. As stated so well by Joseph Galloway, we may see sickening scenarios like this in the near future:

The new U.S. commander in Iraq plans to parcel out the newly arriving American soldiers in small groups attached to Iraqi forces in widely scattered Baghdad neighborhoods.

How those soldiers will be supplied and supported and protected is the primary question. It's one thing for Americans to fort up in the Green Zone or at the huge U.S. base at Baghdad Airport by night and venture out by day to patrol a mean city's streets.

It's quite another for them to spend their days in those streets and their nights in vulnerable Iraqi army and police stations scattered throughout the city. Their lives will depend on Iraqi troops whose training and equipment leave much to be desired, and whose loyalty in the sectarian civil war is suspect.......

It's not too great a leap to look back to a chilling situation that American advisers to some South Vietnamese Army units found themselves in during that war. When a South Vietnamese battalion was surrounded by Viet Cong or North Vietnamese Army regulars, the enemy would break out bullhorns and shout: "Give us the Americans and we will let you go free!"

What happened then? The best Vietnamese commanders stood and fought, the Americans by their side. Others accepted the enemy's invitation, threw down their weapons and ran for their lives, leaving the few Americans to their fate.

Why do we continue to sacrifice American lives in an effort that realists know is doomed to failure? It's still all about the oil. From Chimpie's lips at the SOTU:

"Extending hope and opportunity depends on a stable supply of energy that keeps America’s economy running and America’s environment clean. For too long our Nation has been dependent on foreign oil. And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists — who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments ... and raise the price of oil ... and do great harm to our economy."

Posted on The Human Stain

Corporate Censorship?

2007-01-27T11:01:00.000-05:00

CBS News' Lara Logan has been submitting informative and honest reports from Iraq. She doesn't color anything – facts only. Maybe that is why this report was not broadcast on television. A sobering observation of our involvement in Iraq, it reports the obstacles to our success and portrays the animosity of Iraqi civilians towards the US. Did CBS get pressure from the White House or was it in their best interest not to air the segment? While it is available on the web – why didn't they air it?

Posted on The Human Stain

Chimpie's Pipedream

2007-01-25T21:57:00.000-05:00

From his War is Good SOTU speech:

“We are carrying out a new strategy in Iraq — a plan that demands more from Iraq’s elected government, and gives our forces in Iraq the reinforcements they need to complete their mission....

So we are deploying reinforcements of more than 20,000 additional soldiers and Marines to Iraq. The vast majority will go to Baghdad, where they will help Iraqi forces to clear and secure neighborhoods, and serve as advisers embedded in Iraqi Army units. With Iraqis in the lead, our forces will help secure the city by chasing down terrorists, insurgents, and roaming death squads.”

This is why it won't work – this is the reality in Iraq:

In a miniature version of the troop increase that the United States hopes will secure the city, American soldiers and armored vehicles raced onto Haifa Street before dawn to dislodge Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias who have been battling for a stretch of ragged slums and mostly abandoned high rises. But as the sun rose, many of the Iraqi Army units who were supposed to do the actual searches of the buildings did not arrive on time, forcing the Americans to start the job on their own.

When the Iraqi units finally did show up, it was with the air of a class outing, cheering and laughing as the Americans blew locks off doors with shotguns. As the morning wore on and the troops came under fire from all directions, another apparent flaw in this strategy became clear as empty apartments became lairs for gunmen who flitted from window to window and killed at least one American soldier, with a shot to the head........

Many of the Iraqi units that showed up late never seemed to take the task seriously, searching haphazardly, breaking dishes and rifling through personal CD collections in the apartments. Eventually the Americans realized that the Iraqis were searching no more than half of the apartments; at one point the Iraqis completely disappeared, leaving the American unit working with them flabbergasted....

American officers tried to persuade the Iraqi soldiers to leave the slum area for better cover, but the Iraqis refused to risk crossing a lane that was being raked by machine-gun fire. “It’s their show,” said Lt. David Stroud, adding that the Americans have orders to defer to the Iraqis in cases like this.......

One Iraqi soldier in the alley pointed his rifle at an American reporter and pulled the trigger. There was only a click: the weapon had no ammunition. The soldier laughed at his joke.

The frat-boy keeps hoping while the meatgrinder rolls on without meaning.

Posted on The Human Stain

War is Good

2007-01-25T21:02:00.000-05:00

From Bush's SOTU speech – his appeal for continued bloodshed:

“Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq — and I ask you to give it a chance to work.”

Sure, why not? After all, he's not fighting – he's got no skin in the game. The family is home, all snug in their beds. Fighting? Injury? Death? Why that's for the lower class.
Posted on The Human Stain

Hired Guns

2007-01-25T20:45:00.000-05:00

Did anyone else catch this little Chimpie gem in the SOTU speech?

“A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them. And it would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time.”

Sounds like a call for mercenaries to me. Chimpie tried this stunt in New Orleans until public outcry made him stop. While our nitwit in chief talks about them "serving abroad", I don't believe it for a second. Do Americans want mercenaries roaming their streets during times of crisis?

Bush continues to sink America into the slime.
Posted on The Human Stain

Lies, Lies, Lies

2007-01-25T20:36:00.000-05:00

Excerpts from Bush's SOTU speech:

First, we must balance the federal budget. We can do so without raising taxes. What we need to do is impose spending discipline in Washington, D.C.......

So let us work together to reform the budget process ... expose every earmark to the light of day and to a vote in Congress ... and cut the number and cost of earmarks at least in half by the end of this session.

We are carrying out a new strategy in Iraq — a plan that demands more from Iraq’s elected government, and gives our forces in Iraq the reinforcements they need to complete their mission.

My fellow citizens, our military commanders and I have carefully weighed the options. We discussed every possible approach. In the end, I chose this course of action because it provides the best chance of success.

This is where matters stand tonight, in the here and now. I have spoken with many of you in person. I respect you and the arguments you have made.

The war on terror we fight today is a generational struggle that will continue long after you and I have turned our duties over to others. That is why it is important to work together so our Nation can see this great effort through. Both parties and both branches should work in close consultation. And so I propose to establish a special advisory council on the war on terror, made up of leaders in Congress from both political parties. We will share ideas for how to position America to meet every challenge that confronts us.

Americans can have confidence in the outcome of this struggle — because we are not in this struggle alone. We have a diplomatic strategy that is rallying the world to join in the fight against extremism.

We will work together? We are rallying the world? We have discussed every possible approach? We can balance the budget? We have a new strategy? The Iraqi's will be in the lead?

Don't believe a word of it.
Posted on The Human Stain

Contrasts

2007-01-25T19:24:00.000-05:00

Honor

An excerpt from the comments made by Sen. Chuck Hagel during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting to craft a resolution disapproving of Bush's planned escalation in Iraq:

“Part of the problem that we have, I think, is because we didn't -- we didn't involve the Congress in this when we should have. And I'm to blame. Every senator who's been here the last four years has to take some responsibility for that. But I will not sit here in this Congress of the United States at this important time for our country and in the world and not have something to say about this. And maybe I'll be wrong. And maybe I have no political future. I don't care about that. But I don't ever want to look back and have the regret that I didn't have the courage and I didn't do what I could to at least project something.........

I don't know how many United States senators believe we have a coherent strategy in Iraq. I don't think we've ever had a coherent strategy. In fact, I would even challenge the administration today to show us the plan that the president talked about the other night. There is no plan. I happen to know Pentagon planners were on their way to the Central Com over the weekend. They haven't even team B'ed this plan. And my dear friend Dick Lugar talks about coherence of strategy. There is no strategy. This is a ping-pong game with American lives.

These young men and women that we put in Anbar province, in Iraq, in Baghdad are not beans. They're real lives. And we better be damn sure we know what we're doing, all of us, before we put 22,000 more Americans into that grinder. We better be as sure as you can be. And I want every one of you, every one of us, 100 senators to look in that camera, and you tell your people back home what you think. Don't hide anymore; none of us.

That is the essence of our responsibility. And if we're not willing to do it, we're not worthy to be seated right here. We fail our country. If we don't debate this, if we don't debate this, we are not worthy of our country. We fail our country.”

Dishonor

To every Republican Senator who weaseled their way out of taking a stand by saying while they don't support the plan – or have doubts about the plan, they could not vote for the resolution. This would be expected from worms like Norm Coleman. But it is especially repugnant from the 'ranking' member of the committee – Richard Lugar. Senator, with your experience and service – when will you take a true stand for country over politics. There truly is right and wrong – your comments were depressingly sad and a tragic dis-service to America. For shame.

Posted on The Human Stain

Life is Sacred

2007-01-21T21:31:00.000-05:00

It just warms the heart. Makes one all comfy and cuddly to know how much Bush really cares. He has declared today to be the 'National Sanctity of Life Day'. With any momentous pronouncement such as this, there are certainly massive amounts of pictures that can be used to celebrate the occassion. Let's look through just a few:

How we all remember Katrina:

Oh, and let's not forget the 'noble cause' in Iraq:

Here's hoping that Bush celebrates the day with remembrance too.
Posted on The Human Stain

Disgraced

2007-01-21T21:04:00.000-05:00

Senator John McCain appeared on Meet The Press this morning and made many incredible statements. The most egregious statement was made in a segment discussing Iraq and why Bush - despite his many declarations that he listens to his generals on the ground, is disregarding his generals – pushing ahead and sending additional troops into the Iraqi civil war. McCain was queried about what he thinks about Bush not listening to the generals and the removal of Gen. Casey: (emphasis added)

MR. RUSSERT: Senator, we heard President Bush, throughout the last four years of the war, saying “Whatever the commanders tell me about troop levels, that’s what I’ll do.” This is what General George Casey, the U.S. commander in Iraq said on January 2: “The longer we in the U.S. forces continue to bear the main burden of Iraq’s security, it lengthens the time that the government of Iraq has to make the hard decisions about reconciliation and dealing with the militias. And the other thing is that they can continue to blame us for all of Iraq’s problems, which are at base their problems.” President Bush disagreed with General Casey, so he’s removed. Why didn’t the president listen to his generals when they advised no more troops?

SEN. McCAIN: Because it was clearly a failed policy. From the beginning, many of us knew that it was a failed strategy. It was based on the mistaken belief that the Iraqi army and police would be able to take over the responsibilities far more quickly than they were able to. And after the bombing of the Shia mosque, the, the crisis accelerated, and we saw and are seeing a steady deterioration of the situation. And if we continue it as we are, within months we would see a total breakdown in Iraq. We cannot afford it, in my view, as I said. Baghdad is a city of six million people—two million Sunnis, four million Shia. We would see a bloodletting in Baghdad of—that would make Srebrenica look like a Sunday school picnic. We can’t expect Americans to sit outside Baghdad or outside the borders and watch such a thing go on. It was a failed policy; it was pursued too long. We now have a new strategy headed by one of the finest military people we have, and I believe we can succeed. But I believe that there’s no doubt, in retrospect and at the time, that the policy that was pursued wasn’t going to work.

So all the talk about “as they stand up we will stand down” was a lie. From his own lips, McCain states he knowingly supported sending young Americans to their death on a mission that he knew would not work. He knowingly sent Americans to their deaths - for a failed policy he knew would not work, he supported an administration implementing a failed strategy that he knew would result in death for young Americans.

June 29, 2005
"Our strategy can be summed up this way -- as the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down," Bush said.......

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told "Larry King Live" that he was satisfied Bush made his case. "I think the president laid out tonight an excellent scenario of what the realities are and what we face.......

Dec 4, 2005
MR. RUSSERT: The difficulty is our only exit strategy appears to be, as the president said, when the Iraqis stand up, Americans stand down.

SEN. McCAIN: Yes.

MR. RUSSERT: Iraqis are not standing up as quickly as we need them to do. Jim Fallows wrote a long piece in the Atlantic Monthly........ Let me read it for you and our viewers a little bit. "In short, if American troops disappeared tomorrow, Iraq would have essentially no independent security force.....The moment when Iraqis can lift much of the burden from American troops is not yet in sight. ...Measured against what it would take to leave Iraqis fully in charge of their own security, the United States and the Iraqi government are losing ground. Absent a dramatic change.......America's options will grow worse, not better, as time goes on."

SEN. McCAIN: Well, I have great respect for Jim Fallows. I have a different view of the progress that's being made. I do agree that there are difficulties,......... But I do believe that the training is improved. The Iraqi military is performing pretty well...... but I think that our commanders, General Abizaid and others who have been on this program, would attest to the fact that we are making progress......

Now McCain wants to send more troops. Originally advocating an additional 100,000 soldiers, then calling for 40,000 more, he now feels comfortable with 15,000 - 30,000. As stated so well by Glenn Greenwald:

Advocating this war because one believed -- mistakenly -- that it would produce certain positive results imposes a certain level of culpability for what has happened. But continuing to advocate this war while knowing -- as McCain and so many like him do -- that (a) it is achieving nothing positive and (b) there are no viable and realistic options for achieving anything positive, places one in a different moral universe entirely.

Seems like 'straight talk' is just normal political BS after all.
Posted on The Human Stain

Chimpies' Chihuahua Gets Whupped

2007-01-21T13:04:00.000-05:00

Recognized as a good companion animal, chihuahuas are alert, intelligent, and very adaptable to varying environments. Often guilty of exhibiting an excessive level of devotion to one person, the chihuahua, while physically frail, having no concept of its' own size - will often confront larger animals and be seriously injured.

Such was the case this week with Attorney General Gonzales, when he ran into the big dog on the block – Senator Patrick Leahy, during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Gonzales was justifiably brutalized by Leahy over the treatment of a Canadian citizen, Maher Arar, who was detained by US authorities and subsequently sent to Syria. Upon arrival there, Arar was systematically tortured for almost a year. After enduring that depravity, he was suddenly released – without being charged of any crime.

LEAHY: You know, I live about an hour's drive from Canada and go up there often. And in Vermont, we tend to get a lot of Canadian news, just radio and so on. But something that made the news here in the United States was the question of Maher Arar...... He's a Canadian citizen. He was returning home from a vacation. Plane stops at JFK in New York and continues on to Canada. He was detained by federal agents at JFK airport, 2002, on suspicion of ties to terrorism. He was deported to Syria.......He was held in abhorrent conditions there and those sending him back must have known he was going to be tortured. The Canadian government has apologized for its part in this debacle. In fact, the head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police actually resigned over it....... This country has not said anything at all that we made any mistake or had any apology............

GONZALES: Senator, I've got some very definite views about this particular case, as you know...

LEAHY: Well, go ahead.

GONZALES: ... beyond litigation. What I want to do is, hopefully, in the next few days – I'm happy to sit down with you and Senator (Arlen) Specter and give you more information.

In fact, we may be able to publicly say more about this shortly. I'm just not at liberty, at this time, to...

LEAHY: Let me ask you this: Why aren't you at liberty? I don't understand that. It's not a matter of executive privilege.

GONZALES: No, sir, again, and I'm not ...

LEAHY: It's only the president that can ...

GONZALES: No, I'm not suggesting that I will not be able to answer your questions. I'm just suggesting I can't do it today.

LEAHY: Why?

GONZALES: I just – sir, I'm not – there is not a position – I can't represent the position of the executive branch on this particular issue. But I think, in a relatively short period of time, there's more information that I should be able to share with you, and hopefully, that we can share publicly.

LEAHY: But why was he sent to Syria instead of Canada?

GONZALES: Well, again, Senator, I'd be happy to answer these questions I think we can say a lot more about it, if you just simply give me some additional time.

LEAHY: Can you tell me why (then attorney-general John Ashcroft) took steps to ensure that he wouldn't be tortured? Of course, he was.

GONZALES: I believe that piece of information is public. There were steps. I think General Ashcroft confirmed this publicly, is that there were assurances sought that he would not be tortured from Syria.

LEAHY: Attorney-General ...(laughter) ... I'm sorry. I don't mean to treat this lightly. We knew damn well, if he went to Canada, he wouldn't be tortured. He'd be held. He'd be investigated. We also knew damn well, if he went to Syria, he'd be tortured. And it's beneath the dignity of this country, a country that has always been a beacon of human rights, to send somebody to another country to be tortured. You know, and I know, that has happened a number of times, in the past five years, by this country. It is a black mark on us. It has brought about the condemnation of some of our closest and best allies. And it is easy for us to sit here comfortably in this room knowing that we're not going to be sent off to another country to be tortured, to treat it as though, well, Attorney-General Ashcroft says we've got assurances. Assurances from a country that we also say, now, we can't talk to them because we can't take their word for anything?

GONZALES: Well, Senator, I ...

LEAHY: I'm somewhat upset.

GONZALES: Yes, sir, I can tell. But before you get more upset, perhaps you should wait to receive the briefing ...

LEAHY: How long?

GONZALES: I'm hoping that we can get you the information next week.

LEAHY: Well, Attorney-General, I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll meet you halfway on this. I'll wait next week for that briefing. If we don't get it, I guarantee you there will be another hearing on this issue. Canadians have been our closest allies – longest unguarded frontier in the world. They're justifiably upset. They're wondering what's happened to us. They're wondering what's happened to us. Now you know and I know, we're a country with a great, great tradition of protecting people's individual liberties and rights. You take an oath of office to do that; I take an oath of office to do that. I believe, in my basic core nature, in that. My grandparents, when they immigrated to this country, believed that. Let us not, let us not create more terrorism around the world by telling the world that we cannot keep up to our basic standards and beliefs. So I'll wait a week, I'll wait a week, but I won't wait more than a week for that briefing.

You can see the video here.

Leahy also had this to say in his opening statement:

Today, this Committee holds an important hearing to examine the operations of the Department of Justice – the federal agency entrusted with ensuring the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. I take our oversight responsibility very seriously.

In the 32 years since I first came to the Senate – during the era of Watergate and Vietnam – I have never seen a time when our Constitution and fundamental rights as Americans were more threatened by their own government............

We have a democratic government in which Congress is entitled to know and review government actions. The President and Vice President of the United States should not be operating a secret and separate regime in which their official acts and policies cannot be known by the people’s elected representatives..............

This Committee has a special stewardship role to protect our most cherished rights and liberties as Americans and to make sure that our fundamental freedoms are preserved for future generations. There is much work to be done to repair the damage inflicted on our Constitution and civil liberties during the last six years......

Finally, after a neocon, fascist government for six years, there are real Americans back in positions of power.

Thank you Senator Leahy.
Posted on the Human Stain

Sigh - It Hurts So Much

2007-01-17T21:47:00.000-05:00

What an embarrassment for America:

MR. LEHRER: Today, the United Nations issued a report that said 34,000 Iraqi civilians have died in sectarian violence in the last year. What's the message of that, Mr. President?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Message is we better help this government stop the sectarian violence. I hear all kinds of different numbers, but the fact is that too many have died........ Because otherwise, the violence - in my judgment, and I think in the judgment of others - if we don't help them stop it, it's going to get a lot worse, believe it or not......

MR. LEHRER: Just today, another 35 people were killed in bombings; 80 over the weekend.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yeah, there is a difference between - look, death is terrible...... And it's going to be hard to make Baghdad zero - to make it bomb-proof.....

MR. LEHRER: But to be very direct about it, Mr. President, you had a few years here and you've been in charge. And you've made a lot of decisions; you've made a lot of judgments about things and they haven't worked. And so now you've made a new one. So why should anybody expect the new ones to work when the prior ones did not?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, actually - I will sound defensive - but some of my decisions actually have worked,..........

MR. LEHRER: Mr. President, do you have a feeling of personal failure about Iraq right now?
PRESIDENT BUSH: I'm frustrated at times about Iraq because I understand the consequences of failure. I want the Iraqis to succeed for our own sake..... Failure - and this is what is hard, I think, for the American people to understand and one of the reasons why I appreciate talking to you is that people have got to understand that if we fail in Iraq, it is likely there will be safe haven from which people will be able to launch attacks from America......

MR. LEHRER: Let me ask you a bottom-line question, Mr. President...... if it's that important to all of us and to the future of our country, if not the world, why have you not, as president of the United States, asked more Americans and more American interests to sacrifice something? The people who are now sacrificing are, you know, the volunteer military - the Army and the U.S. Marines and their families. They're the only people who are actually sacrificing anything at this point.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, you know, I think a lot of people are in this fight. I mean, they sacrifice peace of mind when they see the terrible images of violence on TV every night........

MR. LEHRER: And you're an optimist - you're optimistic about it all at this point?
PRESIDENT BUSH: I am. No question there's a - look, a year ago if we'd been having this discussion prior to the Samarra bombing, I'd have been - look what happened. And then the enemy responded....... And I spent a lot of time thinking about it, Jim, obviously. You mentioned five weeks. This is what presidents do; they take time, they listen......

Posted on The Human Stain

America - Poorly Served

2007-01-17T21:18:00.000-05:00

The following excerpt is from an address by Bill Moyers to the Media Reform Conference on January 12, 2007:

Theodore Roosevelt, bolting a Republican party whose bosses had stolen the nomination from him, declared: “It is not to be wondered at that our opponents have been very bitter, for the lineup in this crisis is one that cuts deep to the foundations of government. Our democracy is now put to a vital test, for the conflict is between human rights on the one side and on the other special privilege asserted as a property right. The parting of the ways has come.”

Today, a hundred years after Teddy Roosevelt’s death, those words ring just as true. America is socially divided and politically benighted. Inequality and poverty grow steadily along with risk and debt. Many working families cannot make ends meet with two people working..........,

Nobel laureate economist Robert Solow – not someone known for extreme political statements – characterizes what is happening as nothing less than elite plunder: “The redistribution of wealth in favor of the wealthy and of power in favor of the powerful.” Indeed, nearly all of the wealth America created over the past 25 years has been captured by the top 20% of households, and most of the gains went to the wealthiest. The top 1% of households captured more than 50% of all gains in financial wealth....... Of the early American democratic creeds, the anti-Federalist warning that government naturally works to “fortify the conspiracies of the rich” proved especially prophetic.......

When Teddy Roosevelt dissected the “real masters of the reactionary forces” in his time, he concluded that they “directly or indirectly control the majority of the great daily newspapers that are against us.” Those newspapers – the dominant media of the day– “choked” (his word) the channels of information ordinary people needed to understand what was being done to them.

And today?...... The third basic pillar of American democracy – an independent press– is under sustained attack, and the channels of information are choked.

A few huge corporations now dominate the media landscape in America......Two thirds of today’s newspaper markets are monopolies. As ownership gets more and more concentrated, fewer and fewer independent sources of information have survived in the marketplace. And those few significant alternatives that do survive, such as PBS and NPR, are under growing financial and political pressure to reduce critical news content.......

What does today’s media system mean for the notion of the “informed public” cherished by democratic theory? Quite literally, it means that virtually everything the average person sees or hears outside of her own personal communications is determined by the interests of private, unaccountable executives and investors whose primary goal is increasing profits and raising the company’s share price. More insidiously, this small group of elites determines what ordinary people do not see or hear. In-depth news coverage of anything, let alone of the problems people face day-to-day, is as scarce as sex, violence, and voyeurism are pervasive. Successful business model or not, by democratic standards, this is censorship of knowledge by monopolization of the means of information.......

By no stretch of the imagination can we say the dominant institutions of today’s media are guardians of democracy........

Posted on The Human Stain

Gallantry Par Excellence

2007-01-16T22:02:00.000-05:00

The days of chivalry are once again in vogue. It is wonderful to see men defend a womans' honor by rising to her defense, beating back all manner of dastardly foes. Women have not seen support such as this for many decades. Profoundly gratified and appreciative for the newly found sensitivities being exhibited by men, women are clamoring for more, but are wondering why it took so long for these expressions of support and concern to be voiced.

The latest examples of modern chivalry are the furious, concerted efforts being espoused by hordes of right wing nuts to defend Condoleeza Rice from the horrific attack that was hurled her way last week by that known hater of womans' rights, Senator Barbara Boxer. Who knew that the likes of Bill 'phone sex harasser' O'Reilly, Rush 'prostitute habitué' Limbaugh, and Tony 'toadie' Blankley of the republican owned Washington Times, cared so much about a womans' honor?

So what was this horror of horrors all about? Last Thursday, Rice was appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to defend the Bush/McCain escalation plan for sending 21,500 additional troops into Iraq's civil war -

SEN. BOXER: Who pays the price? I'm not going to pay a personal price. My kids are too old and my grandchild is too young. You're not going to pay a particular price, as I understand it, with an immediate family. So who pays the price? The American military and their families. And I just want to bring us back to that fact.

Seems like an obvious statement of fact so far. Boxer then continues:

SEN. BOXER: Do you have an estimate of the number of casualties we expect from this surge?

RICE: No, uh, Senator...I don't think there's any way to give you such an estimate.

SEN. BOXER: Has the President, because he said 'expect more sacrifice', he must know...

RICE: Senator, I don't think that any of us, uh, have a number. That, of expected casualties. I think that people understand there is going to be violence for some time in Iraq. And that there will be more casualties and...Let me just say, you know, I fully understand the sacrifice that the American people are making and especially the sacrifice that our soldiers are making. Men and women in uniform. I...I visit them. I know what they're going through. I talk to their families. I see it. (pause) I could never...and I can never do anything to replace any of those, uh, lost, uh, men and women in uniform. Or the diplomats...

SEN. BOXER: Madame Secretary, if you please...I know you feel terrible about it. That's not the point. I was making the point as to who pays the price for your decisions. And the fact that this administration would move forward with this escalation with no clue as to the further price that we're gonna pay militarily. We certainly know the numbers. Billions of dollars that we can't spend here in this country. I find really appalling that there's not even enough time taken to figure out what the casualties would be. Thank you very much.

The real HORROR of this exchange is Rice's statement that the US government, led by our Chief Chimp, and assisted by the other immoral administration acolytes have supposedly made no estimates of the casualties this escalation will bring. No wonder the right wing mouthpieces and nutzoids are wildly spewing about, trumpeting this phony victimization story. Could it be that the Bushies are deliberately witholding casualty estimates due to potential political damage?

According to Jon Soltz, an Iraq War vet and co-founder of VoteVets.org:

"The Pentagon knows how many casualties they estimate for any of the actions the additional troops will be taking part of. It’s basic war planning," Solz told us this morning. "Depending on what happens, that number could go up or go down, but they know what they expect."

"Normally, the military shouldn’t have to release those estimates, but given that the administration is asking more troops to pay for its mistakes, they should be up front about how many they believe are going to make the ultimate sacrifice," he explained.

Could the truth be so sad as to reveal an adminstration that simply does not give a damn about death or injury suffered by American citizens – as long as it's not their kids of course. As Sen. Boxer pointed out so ably – they really have no skin in the game. So when America hears the news announcements that the Bush twins and other age eligible members of the frat boys' family have enrolled to fight in this 'noble crusade', maybe then Bush could gain some believability and credibility.
Posted on The Human Stain

That Was Fun

2007-01-15T21:52:00.000-05:00

Sunday morning was quite enjoyable watching as Lieberman got bitch slapped by Sen. Chuck Hagel on 'Meet The Press'. Turncoat Joe deserved it for his vile insinuations and will surely get more in the near future as his Senate colleagues grow increasingly tired of his self absorbed, boot licking, sniveling, Rethuglican shtick.

MR. RUSSERT: Senator Lieberman, let me show you the latest poll on all this about American attitudes. Support of the president sending 22,000 more troops to Iraq, 36 percent, opposed 61. Is it possible for a commander in chief to conduct a war where two out of three Americans, nearly, oppose his latest initiative and now believe that the war is not worth fighting?

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Well, it makes it harder, that’s for sure................ Look, we all want to bring our troops home as soon as possible. We all want to find the right exit strategy. But my own sense of history tells me that in war, ultimately, there are two exit strategies. One is called victory; the other is called defeat. The president offered a proposal the other night that holds the hope of victory in a critical battle for the Iraqis and for us. With all respect, the other proposals represent the beginning of a retreat, of a defeat. And I think the consequences for the Middle East, which has been so important to our international stability over the years, and to the American people, who have been attacked on 9/11 by the same enemy that we’re fighting in Iraq today, supported by a rising Islamist radical super-powered government in Iran, the consequences for us, for—I want to be personal—for my children and grandchildren, I fear will be disastrous. That’s why I want to do everything I can to win in Iraq. And, and, and I think that’s what my, my oath of office requires me to do.

MR. RUSSERT: Senator Hagel, talk about that if you would. Are you advocating retreat and defeat, and do you believe we are fighting the same people that brought about September 11th?

SEN. HAGEL: First, as I said before, I am not, nor any member of Congress that I’m aware of, Tim, is advocating defeat. That’s ridiculous, and I’m offended that any responsible member of Congress or anyone else would even suggest such a thing. Senator Lieberman talks about his children and grandchildren. We all have children and grandchildren. He doesn’t have a market on that, nor do any of my colleagues. We’re all concerned about the future of this country. But we have an honest disagreement here, and that’s what democracies are about. (emphasis added)

Now, the fact is we can talk all we want, and we can go to all the specialists in the world, the fact is, the Iraqi people will determine the fate of Iraq. The people of the Middle East will determine their fate. Now, when we continue to interject ourselves in a situation that we never have understood, we’ve never comprehended, and I think after four years it’s becoming quite clear of that, that tells us something very, very clearly. And we now have to devise a way to find some political consensus with our allies, especially the people in the Middle East, that is going to require to find a political framework for some progress with the Israeli-Palestinian issue. It’s going to require listening to our allies in the Middle East.

You know, Tim, I hear this talk about generals and military involvement. The two top American generals in Iraq in November and December, the last 60 days, both in open testimony and interviews took exactly the opposite approach of what President Bush was talking about on Wednesday night. Now, someone is, is not listening here. There is a major disconnect. And we talk about the future for our country. The future of the Middle East as a region is in play now at a very, very defining time.......

Let’s just take one thing. Why not take American troops, put them on the border? I hear a lot from this administration about this border being porous, all the terrorists leaking in there. The terrorist problem isn’t the biggest problem today in, in Iraq. Are terrorists there? Yes. It is Iraqis killing Iraqis, Tim. It’s Shias killing Shias. That’s the biggest problem, that’s not going to be solved by the American military.

Sen. Hagel is normally disappointing, talking a good game of 'independence' from Chimpie – but then falling in line and voting/performing as told to. In this instance, he stands out just fine – heres' hoping his conscience continues.
Posted on The Human Stain

Worse and Worse

2007-01-14T11:13:00.000-05:00

Despite protestations to the contrary from the Bush administration, the situation in Iraq has not improved since the invasion and we continue to send brave Americans into a situation where we should not be:

Nearly four years ago, the soldiers of Sledgehammer Brigade stormed into Baghdad as liberators, a conquering force that swept 350 miles from Kuwait to Iraq's capital in just three weeks.

Now, as President Bush orders more US troops to Iraq, the first soldiers into Baghdad will be among the first to fight there for a third tour.

But this time, there is no euphoric anticipation of quick victory. This time, public support for the war has plummeted. This time, the mood of the brigade is stoic, its combat-hardened soldiers grimly aware that their future leads to a maze of random danger............

At a recent intelligence briefing for Sullivan's officers, Chief Warrant Officer Chad Barrett described a chaotic, corrupt environment in Iraq that had deteriorated since the brigade's last deployment. "It's a hard situation we're in, and everybody knows it," said Barrett, who worked in intelligence during 2005 in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, a notoriously violent Shi'ite stronghold........

The brigade's mission for this deployment has yet to be announced, Sullivan said, but the job will not resemble the straight-ahead battles of the invasion blitzkrieg, when front lines and the objective of regime change were well defined.

In April 2003, the brigade was greeted in Baghdad by smiles, waves, and cheers. Doherty recalled being able to leave his base, drive into the city, and pick up a pizza. "If you tried to do that now, you'd be dead," Doherty said. After that first summer, the brigade returned to west Georgia to train for what turned out to be a second, deadlier tour of duty.

For the third deployment, the mission could include intense, house-to-house fighting in the most dangerous streets of Baghdad, where the president has insisted that American and Iraqi government forces must regain control.

These soldiers are professionals, they will not complain, they will do their duty for America. What they really need is a government that will do it's duty towards them. God speed.

Posted on The Human Stain

Living in BushWorld

2007-01-14T10:37:00.000-05:00

This headline caught my eye:

Opposition to plan surprises Bush team
But they believe Congress won't have time to stop them

Opposition to plan surprises Bush team? Are they that clueless?

Here we have a President with 35% (or lower) approval ratings, a president who refuses to listen to the will of his countrymen, a president who spies on American citizens, a president who condones torture, a president who flouts the Constitution, a president who rejects stem cell research, a president who is beholden to corporate interests, a president who shames and dishonors our country – and they wonder why his plan to send more Americans to die in a war of choice that was based on lies is opposed?

We reap what we sow.

Posted on The Human Stain

Neocon Pukes

2007-01-13T12:46:00.000-05:00

One of the most reprehensible things a human being can do is to falsely encourage conflicts for other people to fight and die. Twisting false data and creating nonexistent data to enable attainment of political goals through conflict – as long as there is no personal risk, is the definition of depravity and immorality. Yet this very behavior is one that is conducted everyday in America's 'conservative' think tanks. These dishonest activities are funded by some of America's largest corporations and wealthiest individuals. But don't stop there – foreign corporations and individuals also play the game. Why do they do this – for the betterment of mankind? For world peace? Sadly, no. The activities of these 'think tanks' are directed towards the attainment, consolidation, and perpetuation of power. To say that money is a major factor just states the obvious. The existence of these institutions is not intended to better your lives as citizens but to better the lives of a selected few at your expense. Now of course, they do not want total anarchy, because that would disrupt revenue flow, but some conflict is okay if it helps to redirect the flow where it should 'rightly' go.

Excerpted from Ed Encho's post at Taylor Marsh:

With Wednesday’s prime time address, George W. Bush has just stomped down on the gas pedal for the Rapture bus by going against the advice of every sane person outside of his recently reinforced bubble. It's full speed ahead for the neocons who pursue their fever dreams while flipping the bird to Jim Baker, Poppy, the 110th Congress and approximately 80 percent of the American people. You know that something is rotten when even arch-conservatives like Ollie North and other movement big guns like George Will and David Brooks of the damned liberal New York Times are running as fast as they can in the opposite direction.........

Bush has chosen to throw in with extremist right-wing Israeli warmongers and their domestic operatives in choosing to escalate the carnage by adopting the so-called ‘surge’ that was advocated by rabid neocon fanatics. This is a lie and is only concerned with keeping the ship of fools firmly on course for a rendezvous with the iceberg of an attack on Iran.........

The two-headed monster that is McLiebercain was walking point for the escalation and has been beating the war drums by recently appearing in front of a highly enthusiastic home crowd at that fetid nest of fifth columnist neo-fascist snakes known as The American Enterprise Institute. The AEI is where much of all that is foul with the self destructive foreign and and repressivedomestic policies of the Bush junta is cooked up.......

These ideologues should be mocked and marginalized and removed from any position where their insane wet dreams of hegemony and empire are allowed to affect the American political system or influence our foreign policy. Their pathological hatred for anything remotely Islamic is not only racist at most base levels, but their tunnel vision and myopia in aligning themselves with the most extremist elements of right-wing Israelis is counterproductive; as though instigating a war of civilizations is in the best interests of either the United States or more temperate elements within Israel. Their worldview is insanity of the same sort of proportion that has triggered some of history’s most disastrous bloodbaths and resulted in the murders of millions of innocents, and that was before nukes were widely available........

Amen to that.
Posted on The Human Stain

It's Our Money Being Stolen

2007-01-13T11:51:00.000-05:00

In private industry problems like this get you fired. But when they are created in the Bush Administration, they get covered up or just brushed away. After all, the crooks and cronies are still on the public gravy train. They get to pocket America's money with no penalties, Chimpie and his minions enables that.

The Department of Homeland Security underwent an audit. The audit was done by the well known firm of KPGM at the direction of Inspector General Richard Skinner.

KPMG was unable to render an opinion on DHS’s books because of “financial reporting problems at four bureaus and at the department level.” The auditors found ten material problems, two other reportable conditions, violation of eight separate laws........ FEMA was unable to fully support the accuracy and completeness of certain unpaid obligations, and accounts payable, and the related effects on net position, if any, prior to the completion of DHS’s 2006 PAR. These unpaid obligations, as reported in the accompanying DHS balance sheet as of September 30, 2006, were $22.3 Billion or 46% of DHS consolidated unexpended appropriations at September 30, 2006.

So, follow me here, FEMA has lost and/or failed to account for a sum of money that is almost half of DHS’s entire budget and 130 times great than the amount of money that the Department of Homeland Security is willing to spend to secure the homeland.

There are two scandals here folks.

The first is that DHS is still not getting it. First responders in target cities need equipment that works, and meaningful training to cope with new emergent disaster scenarios. The second is that the no bid contracts given to campaign contributors and those with the “right” K Street lobbyists at inflated prices were not enough for these mutts. They had to rub salt in the wound, by squandering what goods and services were actually delivered and stockpiling them where they could not be used, and then pour lemon juice in those salted wounds by failing to even keep track of how much money they gave to them.........

This is what you get with one party in control of all governmental branches. This is what the Republican party has become. This is what you get when thieves are given the keys to the vault. This is what you get with a rubber stamp Rethuglican Congress. This is what you get with no Congressional oversight. This is what you get with frat-boy incompetence.

What they should get is a jail cell.

Entire report here.

Say What???

2007-01-13T11:02:00.000-05:00

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice appeared before the Senate foreign Relations Committee on Jan 11, 2007. Condi gets a little testy when people don't don't fawn over her and treat her with kid gloves. She also ducks, evades, and hides with the best of them. This incredulous statement was made by the haughty 'leader' of America's diplomatic efforts throughout the world:

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) pushed Rice more, saying "a failed strategy, however repackaged, is still a failed strategy" and decrying that the plan had no benchmarks or timelines. "What will our government do specifically?" he asked Rice.

"It's bad policy to speculate on what you'll do if a plan fails when you're trying to make a plan work," Rice replied.

Ho-boy, are we in serious trouble.

I'll bet she has some backup pairs of shoes though.
Posted on The Human Stain

Taking Off the Mask

2007-01-11T21:46:00.000-05:00

Let's just drop the pretenses shall we?

What used to be called the 'Big Three Networks' – ABC, NBC, and CBS have just revealed their true natures. Never mind that they operate on airwaves owned by America's citizens. Never mind that they just witnessed a sea-change in the American political landscape. Never mind that they increasingly bemoan their lack of audience. Never mind that they are accelerating their total abdication of responsibility towards America's citizens to broadcast NEWS:

Following President Bush's January 10 prime-time address announcing his decision to deploy more than 20,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq, Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) delivered a brief Democratic response from Capitol Hill in which he stated, "Escalation of this war is not the change the American people called for in the last election. Instead of a new direction, the president's plan moves the American commitment in Iraq in the wrong direction."

But ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox Broadcasting Co. all declined to air Durbin's remarks. ABC, NBC, and CBS returned to their regular programming.

PBS and cable news networks CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News all aired Durbin's response.

Why don't the 'Big Three' change their names to something that more closely matches their raison d’être? Government Propaganda Outlet sounds pretty close to me. They could be GPO1, GPO2, and GPO3 !! If they don't like those names, how about CPO – Corporate Propaganda Outlet?
Posted on The Human Stain

Feeling Secure

2007-01-11T21:23:00.000-05:00

Is Microsoft co-opted by Big Brother? Once, PC users only had to worry about spying by the Redmond behemoth. Now, who else is secretly snooping on your PC - recording activities, recording hard drive contents, or planting code to send all of your communications to - where?

For many years it was only wild speculation. But now Microsoft has confirmed: "Yes, we have collaborated with the National Security Agency (NSA),: which is the most secretive of all U.S. intelligence services, in the development of their new Vista operating system. The company claims that this will enhance security for PC users, but critics fear there is an entirely different motive.

The U.S. National Security Agency has participated in the development of the new Windows operating system, called Vista....... "For some time, we have been cooperating with the intelligence services," said Thomas Baumgärtner, a spokesman for Microsoft Germany. With the support of the intelligence services, the goal is to make the operating system more secure against hacker attacks.

It is the first time that Microsoft has publicly admitted to cooperating with the secret services, but privacy advocates and critics have assumed as much for years. They fear that the NSA has built back doors into the operating system, so that PC’s around the world can be surveilled - including those owned by private individuals...................Tony Sager, the NSA chief of vulnerability analysis and operations, told the Washington Post, “Our intention is to help everyone with security”

Sure, and I have some nice, dry land in Florida for sale......
Posted on The Human Stain

Bushworld - Always Surreal

2007-01-11T20:16:00.000-05:00

The land inhabited by Chimpie and his acolytes is strange indeed. Down is up, left is right, and hot is cold, black is white, and intelligence is stupidity. From The Leftcoaster:

After some initial boasting earlier this week that their Somalia air strikes killed some Al Qaeda bad guys, the administration admits today that none of their Al Qaeda insider targets were killed.

Despite an indication in today’s NYT that the administration already has a “Plan B” if the escalation fails, Condi just told John Kerry during Biden’s Senate Foreign Relations hearing this morning that there is no Plan B, and as Fred Kaplan notes, that is tragic.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates admitted today that Bush’s plan has no exit strategy or time limit. In other words, after taking over two months to blow off the ISG report and come up with his own reason to stay the course, Bush has no idea what he is doing except to do the opposite of what his dad recommended.

Sigh.
Posted on The Human stain

Lunacy

2007-01-10T21:46:00.001-05:00

For Americans wondering how Bush's brain works – what he really thinks and why he would continue to send America's children to die in the Iraqi civil war, they only need to read the last few sentences of his speech tonite. Throw away everything that he spewed in building up to his conclusion – it is window dressing, mere cover for how Chimpie has justified this meatgrinder.

And throughout our history, Americans have always defied the pessimists and seen our faith in freedom redeemed. Now America is engaged in a new struggle that will set the course for a new century. We can and we will prevail. We go forward with trust that the Author of Liberty will guide us through these trying hours. Thank you and good night.

Note the words – faith, redeemed, struggle, prevail, 'Author of Liberty.' These words were carefully chosen for the message they send to his acolytes. Apparently Bush was told he cannot use the term God when discussing the fighting in the Middle East, but 'Author of Liberty' conveys the proper meaning to the true believers.

In Bush's mind this is a messianic struggle of Christians vs Islam. This is his Crusade. This is his calling. He gives lip service to his detractors and supporters alike – anyone who does not share his quest. His 'time of testing' is not one based on sound policy but rather on religious self delusions. This is why he is extremely dangerous. This is why all Americans need to make their voices heard in Congress. This is why America is not a monarchy.

Image by Austin Cline

Posted on The Human Stain

What Others Say

2007-01-10T20:37:00.000-05:00

From Britain:
So into the graveyard of Iraq, George Bush, commander-in-chief, is to send another 21,000 of his soldiers. The march of folly is to continue... There will be timetables, deadlines, benchmarks, goals for both America and its Iraqi satraps. But the war against terror can still be won. We shall prevail. Victory or death. And it shall be death.

President Bush's announcement early this morning tolled every bell. A billion dollars of extra aid for Iraq, a diary of future success as the Shia powers of Iraq - still to be referred to as the "democratically elected government" - march in lockstep with America's best men and women to restore order and strike fear into the hearts of al-Qa'ida. It will take time - oh, yes, it will take years, at least three...... but the mission will be accomplished.
..................
And so more US troops must die, sacrificed for those who have already died. We cannot betray those who have been killed. It is a lie, of course. Every desperate man keeps gambling, preferably with other men's lives.

From Brazil:
The president of the United States, George W. Bush, is facing the classic dilemma of all military commanders: Will sending more troops into the bonfire of Iraq help me win the war? Bankers tend to be more cynical when confronted with the same situation. They dislike, as they say, to "throw good money after bad," or in other words, to lend even more when the creditor threatens not to pay....... There are too few American troops to police the country; the number of Iraqi troops are also insufficient and cannot be trusted; and the more violence and ethnic cleansing increases, the more vulnerable and impotent the Americans - and the government in Baghdad - seem to be.

But putting more soldiers into the fire will only make the situation worse, create more targets for the insurgency and, in the end, only increase Iraqi government dependence on the Americans.......

From Austria:
The execution of Saddam Hussein will not strengthen America's chances of success in the Iraq.

Saddam Hussein's predications may be proven deadly correct: With his execution, he will sooner or later become a martyr.......

For this is one "martyr" that has a high degree of potential to mobilize those who regard him as such. One would like to hope that Iraq's Baathist-Sunni insurgency is already operating at full tilt and won't manage to find the means to escalate the violence still further. For at the moment, it isn't only a further deterioration of the security situation that we have to fear, but rather the loss – perhaps through self-sabotage – to grasp perhaps the last opportunity to get a handle on the situation.

From Pakistan:
President Saddam Hussein's hanging on Saturday has evoked a mixed global reaction. Predictably, President Bush called it "an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself." He deserves congratulations for his restraint in not gloating, as some other states unfortunately have done.

The execution, though, has reinforced the sense of foreboding for Iraq. The democracy Mr. Bush pretends to deceive the world with is nowhere to be seen. Rather, there is the fear is that the post-Saddam era will see greater bloodshed, deeper sectarian and ethnic divisions and increasing momentum toward the disintegration of the country. The U.S. will now find it harder to stage an "honorable" exit, but the Bush administration doesn't intend to leave yet anyway.......
Posted on The Human stain

Praise the Lord

2007-01-10T19:48:00.000-05:00

It appears that new Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates is making at least one positive move. The warrior for GOD, Satan hating General William Boykin is being moved out of the Pentagon where he currently oversees anti-terror special operations.

Boykin is a fundie, right wing, religio-nut who believes Chimpie was “appointed by God” to be leader of the United States. He has become well known for nutzoid statements like these:

Describing his sense of destiny about Christian America, he says, "We in the Army of God, in the House of God, the Kingdom of God have been raised for such a time as this."

Preaching in his military uniform before a religious congregation in Oregon, General Boykin proclaimed, “we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christian. Did I say Judeo-Christian? Yes. Judeo-Christian. The enemy that has come against our nation is a spiritual enemy. His name is Satan. And if you do not believe that Satan is real, you are ignoring the same Bible that tells you about God.”

In a religious flyer, General Boykin is quoted as saying, “Bin Laden is not the enemy. No mortal is the enemy. It's the enemy you can't see. It's a war against the forces of darkness.”

Comparing himself to a follower of Islam, General Boykin offers the taunt that “my God is bigger than his.”

According to a Charisma News Service report of June 4, 2002, Boykin told to the Community Prayer Breakfast in Fort Myers that in executing the wars of George W. Bush, “It is a spiritual enemy we have to contend with. Now is the time to fight.”

Back in 2004, Boykin was assigned the task of investigating claims of prisoner abuse by the military intelligence unit “Task Force 6-26.” He of course found there was violations of misconduct.

Also disturbing was the fact that many of Boykin's statements were made while he was in uniform - a clear violation of military guidelines. With all of his outrageous comments, one would think that he would have been upbraided by his Commander in Chief. One would think wrongly of course, as our President does not represent all of America. In fact, in a now familiar pattern for the frat boy Commander in Chief, Boykin was promoted to his current post - after these offenses were committed.

Particularly troubling is Boykin's predilection towards abusing his position to coerce and subvert the rights of US service personnel to exercise freedom of religion:

Boykin has a long history of using his official position in concrete ways in an attempt to transform the American military into a Christian organization of religious conversion and holy war. The Bush Administration, for example, has long been aware that Boykin used his position as leader of a military base within the United States to provide unique and unprecedented access to civilian Southern Baptist missionaries so that they would have the opportunity to convert Green Beret soldiers to their particular fundamentalist version of Christianity.
........................

The role of radical fundamentalist Christian theology in the Bush Administration's foreign policy is crucial to understand, yet shrouded in secrecy. Is the Bush Administration cooperating with fundamentalist Christians in the Pentagon to attempt to bring about Armageddon?

Boykin seems to suggest as much. Describing his sense of destiny about Christian America, he says, "We in the Army of God, in the House of God, the Kingdom of God have been raised for such a time as this." It seems that General Boykin believes that he is fighting in the first battles of the prophesied End Times, in which the forces of righteousness combat Satan on Earth.

The problem with having an active military general who believes that he is fighting in a final holy war against Satan is that fundamentalist Christians regard the global destruction that this holy war would bring as a good thing. For believers like General Boykin, such destruction is a welcome first step to establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth. That's what Boykin is referring to when says that now is the time of the "Kingdom of God".

Gates is making a step in the right direction to remove Boykin from the Pentagon – he should also force his retirement.

More here on Boykin and here for information on nutzoid proselytizers still prominent in the Pentagon.

Image by Austin Cline

Posted on The Human Stain

Why Mickey Mouse Sucks

2007-01-09T22:23:00.000-05:00

ABC used to be a respectable television network with decent entertainment shows and a very worthy news organization. All that has changed while under ownership of the Disney Company. ABC, which is fast becoming a sleazier network than FOX, has sunk to previously unattained depths of dishonesty and disrespect for the American viewing audience. A short time ago, they aired a fictional account of events leading up to 9-11 and passed them off as the "truth." Now they have added two other reasons that America needs to remove them from their media dials:

Reason #1

ABC shut down blogger who criticized violent rhetoric on one of its radio stations

In 2006, a blogger named Spocko began spotlighting inflammatory rhetoric common to several talk radio hosts on KSFO, an ABC Radio-owned station in San Francisco. Spocko compiled a litany of examples on both his weblog, Spocko's Brain, and in numerous letters to corporations advertising on KSFO. He noted that KSFO hosts had claimed to have put "a bull's-eye" on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), advocated hanging various New York Times editors, called for the murder of millions of Muslims, and so on. This letter-writing campaign apparently got results, as major advertisers such as MasterCard, Bank of America, and Visa reportedly pulled their ads from the station.......

ABC Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group, apparently issued a cease-and-desist letter targeting Spocko and his blog for copyright violation...... The letter demanded that the owner of the site "remove the content immediately." Soon after, according to Spocko, his Internet service provider shut down his blog.

In the past year, Media Matters for America has documented several inflammatory statements by KSFO hosts Melanie Morgan and Brian Sussman (here, here, and here). On his blog, Spocko featured numerous additional examples by these and other KSFO personalities, such as Lee Rodgers and Officer Vic. Spocko also wrote to KSFO's corporate sponsors calling their attention to these statements......

Reason #2

Glenn Beck becomes ABC contributor
CNN Headline News and radio talk-show host Glenn Beck will join ABC's "Good Morning America" as a regular commentator, ABC News said Tuesday.

Beck's radio show can be heard on 232 radio stations and XM satellite radio, and his television offshoot has boosted the ratings for CNN Headline News, where it airs twice each evening.

"Glenn is a leading cultural commentator with a distinct voice," said Jim Murphy, senior executive producer of "Good Morning America." "At times, he is the perfect guest for many of the talk topics we cover on morning news programs."

Apparently, in the minds of ABC and Disney, hate mongers and right wing nutzoids parade around as “leading cultural commentators” while hatred, racism, and advocation of murder are worthy of protection to prevent loss of advertising revenue.

Pitiful - and they should be ashamed.
Posted on The Human Stain

Latest From the Duh Files

2007-01-09T18:26:00.000-05:00

Today in The Boston Globe:

Beverage

research tied

to corporate

dollars

Conflict of interest

seen when industry

finances studies

By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff | January 9, 2007

Scientific research on soft drinks, juices, and milk was four to eight times more likely to yield health results favorable to companies if it was sponsored by the food industry than research with no corporate ties, a study released last night found. The report suggests that nutrition research, like drug research, may be tainted by special-interest dollars.

.............

Posted on The Human Stain

Revisiting the Past

2007-01-09T17:52:00.000-05:00

With all that is happening in Iraq at this time, it is interesting to review previous information that discusses what this whole fiasco has been about:

HERE HERE HERE
Posted on The Human Stain

We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us

2007-01-07T11:21:00.000-05:00

So much for instituting democracy in Iraq – from one tyrant to another tyrannical regime. The more things change – the more they remain the same. Bush and his cult of incompetents continue to heap shame on America.

The taunts Mr. Hussein endured from Shiite guards as he stood with the noose around his neck have made headlines around the world, and stirred angry protests among his fellow Iraqi Sunnis. But the story of how American commanders and diplomats fought to halt the execution until midnight on Friday, only six hours before Mr. Hussein was hanged, is only now coming into focus, as Iraqi and American officials, in the glare of international outrage over the hanging, compete with their versions of what happened.

It is a story of the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, trying to coerce second-tier American military and diplomatic officials into handing over Mr. Hussein, first on Thursday night, then again on Friday.

.......

It is a story, too, of the Americans disagreeing among themselves. After a final call to Mr. Maliki at 10:30 p.m. Friday, American and Iraqi officials said, Mr. Khalilzad concluded that there was no prospect of persuading the Iraqis to delay the execution and passed that message to Washington. The conclusion found little favor with the military, who were the ones who had to transport Mr. Hussein to the gallows.

............

In interviews with dozens of American and Iraqi officials involved in the hanging, a picture has emerged of a clash of cultures and political interests, reflecting the widening gulf between Americans here and the Iraqi exiles who rode to power behind American tanks. Even before a smuggled cellphone camera recording revealed the derision Mr. Hussein faced on the gallows, the hanging had become a metaphor, among Mr. Maliki’s critics, for how the “new Iraq” is starting to resemble the repressive, vengeful place it was under Mr. Hussein, albeit in a paler shade.

............

At 10:30 p.m., Ambassador Khalilzad made a last-ditch call to Mr. Maliki asking him not to proceed with the hanging. When the Iraqi leader remained adamant, an American official said, the ambassador made a second call to Washington conveying “the determination of the Iraqi prime minister to go forward,” and his conclusion that there was nothing more, consistent with respect for Iraqi sovereignty, that the United States could do.

Senior Bush administration officials in Washington said that Mr. Khalilzad’s principal contact in Washington was Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, and that she gave the green light for Mr. Hussein to be turned over, despite the reservations of the military commanders in Baghdad. One official said that Ms. Rice was supported in that view by Stephen J. Hadley, Mr. Bush’s national security adviser.

Condi, another good job – congratulations.

Posted on The Human Stain

Wing Nut Narcissism

2007-01-07T10:08:00.000-05:00

With continual amazement and amusement, America gets to see human folly in full glory. Ego blinds the soul and imagined omnipotence ends rational thought. Politicians are the primary carriers of these maladies and the latest example is Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas. As a first tier religionut , Brownback duly resides on the fringes of American society yet within his cult of gay bashers, misogynists, and war enablers, he is a superstar.

Well hey, since my friends love me - everyone must love me, right? I think I'll run for President.

As his world is quite insular, he's incapable of seeing true reality. His quest for the Presidency is one of lunacy - Americans would never support his effort.
Posted on The Human Stain

It's Still About Oil

2007-01-07T09:29:00.000-05:00

Chimpie and Darth Cheney are about to make the big payoffs to their owners in the oil industry. The American government is helping engineer a ripoff of Iraq's oil while the Iraqis are too pre-occuppied with their civil war to object.

Iraq's massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days.

The US government has been involved in drawing up the law, a draft of which has been seen by The Independent on Sunday. It would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972.

The huge potential prizes for Western firms will give ammunition to critics who say the Iraq war was fought for oil. They point to statements such as one from Vice-President Dick Cheney, who said in 1999, while he was still chief executive of the oil services company Halliburton, that the world would need an additional 50 million barrels of oil a day by 2010. "So where is the oil going to come from?... The Middle East, with two-thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies," he said.

So, how does a sane individual think that this thievery will be accepted by the Iraqi populace?

Greg Muttitt, a researcher for Platform, a human rights and environmental group which monitors the oil industry, said Iraq was being asked to pay an enormous price over the next 30 years for its present instability. "They would lose out massively," he said, "because they don't have the capacity at the moment to strike a good deal."........

Several major oil companies are said to have sent teams into the country in recent months to lobby for deals ahead of the law, though the big names are considered unlikely to invest until the violence in Iraq abates.

James Paul, executive director at the Global Policy Forum, the international government watchdog, said: "It is not an exaggeration to say that the overwhelming majority of the population would be opposed to this. To do it anyway, with minimal discussion within the [Iraqi] parliament is really just pouring more oil on the fire."

Now that we have created this travesty, the time is right to steal their resources. Disregard the deaths, disregard the hatred, disregard the immorality of it all - there is money to be made. Moms and Dads of America - send your child to die - its the American thing to do.
Posted on The Human Stain

The Schoolmarm Speaks

2006-12-22T18:35:00.000-05:00

The families of America's dead, maimed, and those hoping to come home alive from Iraq can now rest easy. Condi has deemed them to be worthy investments.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told The Associated Press on Thursday that Iraq is "worth the investment" in American lives and dollars. In the AP interview, Rice was asked whether an additional $100 billion the Pentagon wants for the Iraq and Afghan wars might amount to throwing good money after bad in Iraq. The U.S. has already spent more than $350 billion on the conflict. "I don't think it's a matter of money," Rice said. "Along the way there have been plenty of markers that show that this is a country that is worth the investment, because once it emerges as a country that is a stabilizing factor you will have a very different kind of Middle East." Rice added, "I know from the point of view of not just the monetary cost but the sacrifice of American lives a lot has been sacrificed for Iraq, a lot has been invested in Iraq."

This phony war made up of lies has been worth the investment. Piles of dead bodies are worth the investment. Flag draped coffins are worth the investment. Shattered families are worth the investment. Destruction of America's image and influence is worth the investment. The dishonoring of our founders is worth the investment. The Bushies have no plan for Iraq but the results of chaos are worthy investments. Chimpie and the gang are incompetent but will now surge more 'investments' into Iraq.

What is truly amoral and immoral about the whole Bush administration is that the continued fiasco in Iraq seems to be about burnishing the chief nitwits reputation. Otherwise how will he ever be able to get his mausoleum to narcissism – the Bush Presidential Library?

Posted on The Human Stain

Brotherly Love

2006-12-22T17:13:00.000-05:00

Tis the holiday season, a time of joyous celebration and compassion for your fellow man - except if you are a rightie, pundit, corporate wingnut of the Rethuglican persuasion. From Media Matters:

In a December 18 column headlined "Barack Hussein Obama: Once a Muslim, Always A Muslim" and posted on her website, right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel argued that because Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) middle name is Hussein, his late, estranged father was of Muslim descent, and he has shown interest in his father's Kenyan heritage, Obama's "loyalties" must be called into question....

Schlussel's column fits into a larger pattern in the recent media coverage and commentary regarding Obama. Indeed, like Schlussel -- who has repeatedly appeared on MSNBC in the past -- numerous media figures have gone out of their way to highlight Obama's middle name in recent weeks:

During MSNBC's special election coverage on November 7, co-anchor Chris Matthews remarked that Obama's "middle name is Hussein" and suggested that it would "be interesting down the road."

On November 27, MSNBC host Tucker Carlson referred to radio host Bill Press as "a true member of the Barack Hussein Obama fan club."

During the November 28 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, Republican strategist Ed Rogers referred to "Barack Hussein Obama."

On the December 5 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume, senior political correspondent Carl Cameron told viewers: "Though he's written two books about himself already, most people know very little about Barack Hussein Obama Junior's uncommonly privileged life."

On the December 11 edition of CNN's Situation Room, correspondent Jeanne Moos noted that "[o]nly one little consonant differentiates" Obama and Osama. She then added, "[A]s if that similarity weren't enough. How about sharing the name of a former dictator? You know his middle name, Hussein."

On the December 11 edition of The Situation Room, CNN senior political analyst Jeff Greenfield compared the similarity of Obama's "business casual" clothing to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's "jacket-and-no-tie look." Greenfield concluded the segment by saying: "Now, it is one thing to have a last name that sounds like Osama and a middle name, Hussein, that is probably less than helpful. But an outfit that reminds people of a charter member of the axis of evil, why, this could leave his presidential hopes hanging by a thread." He later explained on the CNN website that he was making "a joke."

On December 13, Matthews teased another interview with Rogers by describing the strategist as "the one who just loves Barack Obama's middle name Hussein."

On the December 14 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio program, Rush Limbaugh gave Obama a "nickname" -- "Barack Hussein Odumbo" (in reference to Obama's "big ears").

On the December 14 edition of Hardball, NBC's Mike Viqueira announced "a man named Barack Obama, whose middle name, incidentally, is Hussein, running for president."

According to Schlussel's online bio, she claims "unique expertise on radical Islam/Islamic terrorism and a host of other issues" and that her "online fan club is the Internet's second largest for a political personality -- behind only Ann Coulter."

Wow! Behind only Ann Coulter, the well known missionary for integrity, honor, and good manners. Hang that on your mantle for Christmas. Big media is simply amazing - they wonder why viewership is declining, yet the slime from their vituperous acolytes flows without interruption. There is a connection.
Posted on The Human Stain

Bigotry Exposed

2006-12-22T11:31:00.000-05:00

It's lovely when hate mongers are caught trying to hide after their true natures are opened to public scrutiny. Dennis Prager is the latest example of this. A loud mouthed bigot, masquerading as a conservative radio show host, he was caught inserting a soiled foot into his mouth and now offers idiotic protestations that he has been misunderstood.

Prager, who was appointed by Chimpie this year to serve on the board of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum until 2011, has just been criticized by that body for making comments “antithetical to the mission of the museum as an institution promoting tolerance and respect for all peoples regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity.” Prager had condemned the first Muslim elected to Congress, Keith Ellison, when it was revealed that Ellison wanted to take his oath of office with hand on the Koran. Foaming mindlessly that Ellison was not fit for office and should give up his post if he would not as take his oath on the Bible because it is the traditional religious text of the United States, Prager has created quite the stir.

“Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran.

He should not be allowed to do so -- not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American civilization.

First, it is an act of hubris that perfectly exemplifies multiculturalist activism -- my culture trumps America's culture. What Ellison and his Muslim and leftist supporters are saying is that it is of no consequence what America holds as its holiest book; all that matters is what any individual holds to be his holiest book.

Forgive me, but America should not give a hoot what Keith Ellison's favorite book is. Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress.....

A couple of facts that seem to have escaped Prager's walnut sized brain: 1) The swearing-in ceremony for the House of Representatives never includes a religious book. Members are asked to raise their right hands and swear to uphold America's true and only holy book - the US Constitution. Neither the Bible, the Koran, the Talmud, nor any other religious book, has ever been used in an official capacity during the swearing in ceremony; 2) Ellison is an American citizen who converted to Islam as a teenager. His family can trace their American ancestry into the 1700's. Prager obviously has an immigrant history also and Ellison's family has likely been here longer .

Like most right wing blowhards who spout before knowing, Prager might have done well to read what Thomas Jefferson had to say on the subject:

Be it enacted by the General assembly, that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, not shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, that that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

Prager now weasels and whimpers thusly:

“I completely respect Congressman-Elect Ellison’s right to take an oath on the Koran, and regret any language that suggested otherwise,” Mr. Prager added in a statement, emphasizing that he began reaching out to the Muslims 20 years ago. “My entire effort in the Keith Ellison matter has been to draw attention to the need to acknowledge the Bible as the basis of America’s moral values. Judeo-Christian values are the greatest single protection against another Holocaust.”

The stupidity of bigotry and hatred really has no bounds. Prager could have done a little research before blathering away, but reflexively bent over and exposed his big ass in a public forum. Where is it ever defined that the Bible is the basis of America's moral values? Everyone forget the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence? As is proper, the Holocaust Museum is distancing itself from Prager, and one is left to wonder if Prager is man enough to resign. Also interesting is the fact Prager is Jewish – just goes to prove bigots are represented in all religions.

Posted on The Human stain

Breaking News

2006-12-22T08:59:00.000-05:00

'Pot Calls Kettle Black'
'States Adversary is Biased - has Solipsistic Views'

In a story of major importance, The Wall Street Journal, has declared that blogs are too biased:

Because political blogs are predictable, they are excruciatingly boring. More acutely, they promote intellectual disingenuousness, with every constituency hostage to its assumptions and the party line..

Known for it's totally unbiased, powerful investigative, non party line reporting, and op-eds, this article will surely be the first stone piled upon the grave of partisan blogs. Long live the honesty and purity of the Journal. As an aside, holding their nose in the air, they also offer this bit:

The blogs are not as significant as their self-endeared curators would like to think. Journalism requires journalists, who are at least fitfully confronting the digital age. The bloggers, for their part, produce minimal reportage. Instead, they ride along with the MSM like remora fish on the bellies of sharks, picking at the scraps.

The Journal has journalists? Who knew? My image is of the Journal is one where a fat, bloated, lumbering old man blinded by his solipsism, is sitting in his porch rocker while termites slowly eat the chair legs. When his ass hits the floor, he'll wonder why - but never find out.
Posted on The Human stain

Murdering for Christ

2006-12-22T08:45:00.000-05:00

In the warped world of Christian religio-nuts, the proper way to celebrate the birth of Christ is to buy a violent video game that glorifies killing, warfare, and destruction. Endorsed and encouraged by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins, the hucksters that originated the nauseating Left Behind series, 'Left Behind: Eternal Forces' is set after the 'Rapture' when the true believers in Christ have been taken to Heaven and those 'Left Behind' battle the AntiChrist. "We're glad to have our names as a part of it," says Left Behind authors Dr. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. "Here is a game we can heartily recommend," says Beverly LaHaye, Founder, Concerned Women for America.

Ahh, I can just feel the love.

So let's celebrate Christ. How do we do it and what is the game really like? From the game website:

The Rapture
The term "Rapture" is commonly used to describe the extraction of the believers in Christ from the Earth. According to Biblical Scripture, when the Rapture comes the Lord will take His people to Heaven leaving others “left behind” on Earth to face the emerging antichrist. This is the pinnacle of the Left Behind story as millions disappear around the globe in one cataclysmic moment. People are struck with terror as they witness their loved ones vanish before their eyes. Suddenly unmanned, vehicles careen out control causing devastating accidents and destruction. Although there is no obvious explanation for these frightening events, the world is poised for something much worse - the Tribulation years.

Gameplay
LEFT BEHIND: Eternal Forces is a Real Time Strategy game. You, as the player, control your forces from a vantage point high above the action. You do not personally participate in the action; you command your units to perform tasks by giving orders via the game interface. You can order them where to go and what to do whenever you wish.

Lead the Tribulation Force from the book series, including Rayford, Chloe, Buck and Bruce against Nicolae Carpathia - the AntiChrist.
Conduct physical & spiritual warfare : using the power of prayer to strengthen your troops in combat and wield modern military weaponry throughout the game world.
Recover ancient scriptures and witness spectacular Angelic and Demonic activity as a direct consequence of your choices.
Command your forces through intense battles across a breathtaking, authentic depiction of New York City.
Control more than 30 units types - from Prayer Warrior and Hellraiser to Spies, Special Forces and Battle Tanks!
Enjoy a robust single player experience across dozens of New York City maps in Story Mode – fighting in China Town , SoHo , Uptown and more!
Play multiplayer games as Tribulation Force or the AntiChrist's Global Community Peacekeepers with up to eight players via LAN or over the internet!

Now if there is one redeeming quality in any aspect of this game, it really escapes me. Glory be to GOD – kill, kill, kill.

One concept from the game does interest me however – it is the Rapture. I do believe in it and do anticipate it's arrival. My interpretation of it is a little different – I believe this will be when the Lord extracts all the religio-nuts such as LaHaye, Jenkins, and the other Christian zombies. The Lord will then look down upon the Earth, apologize to all the good people remaining, and promise to never inflict a scourge like that upon us again. What a Rapture that would be. Praise the Lord.

Posted on The Human Stain

Fascist Danger

2006-12-16T20:41:00.000-05:00

A recent article in the New Hampshire Union Leader reveals that Newt Gingrich is a danger to America. Besides the obvious idiocy of Gingrich, the story headline used by the Union Leader is quite misleading and misses the point - 'Gingrich defends free speech curbs.' This should have said 'Gingrich attacks freedom of speech' because fascism adherents always find it necessary to destroy freedoms in order to 'save them.'

As a leading right wing nutcase, Newt (Adolf) Gingrich is increasingly tiring and glaringly dangerous to the stability of a nation built upon laws and FREEDOM. Authoritarians like him start out as pimple on the body politic and unfortunately, can grow into a boil needing lancing. Gingrich is at this point right now. His ideas – or as I prefer to call them 'deranged authoritarian nightmares', are quite disturbing and indicate that he is a lunatic with no real conception of what freedom really means. That he is given a public forum to spew this fascist bile is upsetting enough – but when people actually sit there and 'clap' (!) appreciatively once his putrid presentation ends, America has ample reason to be quite nervous. Just consider some of the outrageous statements he made:

Gingrich said the threat of biological or nuclear attack requires America to consider curbs to speech to fight terrorists, if it is to protect the society that makes the First Amendment possible.

"Our friends at the 'ACLU left,' of course, were staggered at this concept," Gingrich told an audience of Republicans at a Christmas banquet. "How could we talk about anything less than 100 percent free speech? How could we consider in any way thinking about this issue?"

Gingrich cited last month's ejection of six Muslim scholars from a plane in Minneapolis for suspicious behavior, which included reports they prayed before the flight and had sat in the same seats as the Sept. 11 hijackers.

"Those six people should have been arrested and prosecuted for pretending to be terrorists," Gingrich said. "And the crew of the U.S. airplane should have been invited to the White House and congratulated for being correct in the protection of citizens."..............

In an interview, Gingrich said it is possible to distinguish between terrorists and others when looking to fight threatening expression.

"If you give me any signal in the age of terrorism that you're a terrorist, I'd say the burden of proof was on you," Gingrich said.

Using Adolf's oafish logic, what he is really saying is - if you are black and I pick up any signal you are dangerous, prove to me you are not. If you are different than me and I think you are acting suspicious (by praying) then you should be arrested. In other words, anyone who does not fit within his limited view of 'normal' or 'acceptable' is a danger and subject to prosecution. Now if this doesn't reek of Fascism – what does?

Laurence Britt has written a notable article titled Fascism Anyone? that outlines 14 common threads linking Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal, Papadopoulos's Greece, Pinochet's Chile, and Suharto's Indonesia. Published in Free Inquiry in 2003, it is an extremely revealing look into traits common to fascist regimes and the troubling parallels to current happenings in America.

Consider Britt's 14 points – one can see this occurring everyday in this great country.

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. From the prominent displays of flags and bunting to the ubiquitous lapel pins, the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, was always obvious. Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity were common themes in expressing this nationalism. It was usually coupled with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on xenophobia.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. The regimes themselves viewed human rights as of little value and a hindrance to realizing the objectives of the ruling elite. Through clever use of propaganda, the population was brought to accept these human rights abuses by marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted. When abuse was egregious, the tactic was to use secrecy, denial, and disinformation.

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. The most significant common thread among these regimes was the use of scapegoating as a means to divert the people’s attention from other problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in controlled directions. The methods of choice—relentless propaganda and disinformation—were usually effective. Often the regimes would incite “spontaneous” acts against the target scapegoats, usually communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities, traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists, homosexuals, and “terrorists.” Active opponents of these regimes were inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ruling elites always identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources was allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute. The military was seen as an expression of nationalism, and was used whenever possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations, and increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.

5. Rampant sexism. Beyond the simple fact that the political elite and the national culture were male-dominated, these regimes inevitably viewed women as second-class citizens. They were adamantly anti-abortion and also homophobic. These attitudes were usually codified in Draconian laws that enjoyed strong support by the orthodox religion of the country, thus lending the regime cover for its abuses.

6. A controlled mass media. Under some of the regimes, the mass media were under strict direct control and could be relied upon never to stray from the party line. Other regimes exercised more subtle power to ensure media orthodoxy. Methods included the control of licensing and access to resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and implied threats. The leaders of the mass media were often politically compatible with the power elite. The result was usually success in keeping the general public unaware of the regimes’ excesses.

7. Obsession with national security. Inevitably, a national security apparatus was under direct control of the ruling elite. It was usually an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any constraints. Its actions were justified under the rubric of protecting “national security,” and questioning its activities was portrayed as unpatriotic or even treasonous.

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together. Unlike communist regimes, the fascist and protofascist regimes were never proclaimed as godless by their opponents. In fact, most of the regimes attached themselves to the predominant religion of the country and chose to portray themselves as militant defenders of that religion. The fact that the ruling elite’s behavior was incompatible with the precepts of the religion was generally swept under the rug. Propaganda kept up the illusion that the ruling elites were defenders of the faith and opponents of the “godless.” A perception was manufactured that opposing the power elite was tantamount to an attack on religion.

9. Power of corporations protected. Although the personal life of ordinary citizens was under strict control, the ability of large corporations to operate in relative freedom was not compromised. The ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way to not only ensure military production (in developed states), but also as an additional means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of interests, especially in the repression of “have-not” citizens.

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor was considered akin to a vice.

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. Intellectuals and the inherent freedom of ideas and expression associated with them were anathema to these regimes. Intellectual and academic freedom were considered subversive to national security and the patriotic ideal. Universities were tightly controlled; politically unreliable faculty harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or expressions of dissent were strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed. To these regimes, art and literature should serve the national interest or they had no right to exist.

12. Obsession with crime and punishment. Most of these regimes maintained Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison populations. The police were often glorified and had almost unchecked power, leading to rampant abuse. “Normal” and political crime were often merged into trumped-up criminal charges and sometimes used against political opponents of the regime. Fear, and hatred, of criminals or “traitors” was often promoted among the population as an excuse for more police power.

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption. Those in business circles and close to the power elite often used their position to enrich themselves. This corruption worked both ways; the power elite would receive financial gifts and property from the economic elite, who in turn would gain the benefit of government favoritism. Members of the power elite were in a position to obtain vast wealth from other sources as well: for example, by stealing national resources. With the national security apparatus under control and the media muzzled, this corruption was largely unconstrained and not well understood by the general population.

14. Fraudulent elections. Elections in the form of plebiscites or public opinion polls were usually bogus. When actual elections with candidates were held, they would usually be perverted by the power elite to get the desired result. Common methods included maintaining control of the election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising opposition voters, destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a last resort, turning to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.

At the end of Fascism Anyone?, Britt writes:

"Does any of this ring alarm bells? Of course not. After all, this is America, officially a democracy with the rule of law, a constitution, a free press, honest elections, and a well-informed public constantly being put on guard against evils. Historical comparisons like these are just exercises in verbal gymnastics. Maybe, maybe not."

Alarm bells are ringing, this is not verbal gymnastics, as Gingrich is a prime example of the very real danger facing America. (More on Lawrence Britt here.)
Posted on The Human Stain

Observations

2006-12-16T18:43:00.000-05:00

My youngest daughter works in the local garden center while she makes her way through college. As most people in the service industries can attest, interacting with the public can be quite trying. The thing that continues to amaze her is the disparities in knowledge about gardening and plants that she sees displayed by her customers.

Asian women, English women , and generally any foreign born woman knows plants, knows gardening, knows what they want, and can talk about it intelligently.

American women – especially younger women with children, are clueless about gardening. Their attitude is one that demands instant gratification without having to develop any understanding of the underlying realities of plants. They drive into the garden center and say “I have a yard, give me what I need to make it pretty – and it must be pretty now.” When asked what they are trying to do – they don't know nor really care. They just want to have someone provide it.

Now are American women just plain stupid? Maybe. Or is it they have grown up in a society of instant gratification without ever having to work for it? Do they expect satisfaction as birthright? In any case, it seems to be a disturbing microcosm of sickness in American society.

Posted on The Human Stain

Alternate Universe

2006-12-16T17:45:00.000-05:00

The latest happenings from the planet Bizarro, where up is down, forwards is backwards, hot is cold, and wrong is right:

Yesterday’s tribute [to Donald Rumsfeld] had full military honors, a color guard, a 19-gun salute, an Old Guard performance with marching musicians — including piccolo players — in Revolutionary War costumes, John Philip Sousa music and the chuckleheaded neocons and ex-Rummy deputies who helped screw up the occupation, Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, cheering in the audience.

It was surreal: the septuagenarian who arrogantly dismissed initial advice to send more troops to secure Iraq, being praised as “the finest secretary of defense this nation has ever had” by his pal, the vice president, even as a desperate White House drafted ways to reinvade Iraq by sending more troops in a grasping-at-straws effort to reverse the chaos caused by Rummy’s mistakes.

Just imagine the send-off a defense secretary would have gotten who hadn’t sabotaged the Army, Iraq, global security, our chance to get Osama, our moral credibility, the deficit and American military confidence.

Even Joyce Rumsfeld got a Distinguished Public Service Award ribbon placed around her neck. The grandiose ceremony featured everything but the gold-plated matching set of pistols Tommy Franks, another failed warrior, and his wife, Cathy, recently received from a weapons manufacturer. (His had four stars and diamonds; hers, rubies and their marriage date.)

More incredulous, disgusting quotes from our presiding knucklehead:

US President George W Bush has called Mr Rumsfeld a skilled public servant and leader.

"This man knows how to lead and he did, and the country is better off for it," Mr Bush declared at Friday's ceremony.

"In every decision Don Rumsfeld made over the past six years, he always put the troops first. And the troops in the field knew it."

I'm sure the 3,000 dead US soldiers are quite appreciative. Let's not forget the maimed casualties. Don't forget the Iraqi dead. Don't forget the dead children either. Don is a hero to all of them - yessiree. He is a true Mephistopheles, seated right next to His Darkness.
Posted on The Human Stain

Mindless Bliss

2006-12-16T16:58:00.000-05:00

In an interview with People magazine, Chimpie again revealed the self centered nature that forms his core personality:

'Also in the interview, Mr. Bush acknowledged that he sometimes had to take “sleep aids” when traveling abroad, though “I must tell you, I’m sleeping a lot better than people would assume.”'

The problem with his statement is that he pre-supposes people believe he actually cares about the mayhem his disastrous policies and wrong-headed notions have created. Most Americans know this would require some intellectual capacities and introspection that he clearly does not have. He sleeps well because ignorance is a warm cocoon.
Posted on The Human Stain

Where is the Ridicule?

2006-12-15T20:52:00.000-05:00

This will be hard for the mainstream media, but see if you can remember back - long, long ago to Jan. 27, 1998. That was the day that First Lady Hillary Clinton appeared on the Today Show and was asked to comment about the political uproar that had raised the possibilities of impeachment for her husband:

"I do believe that this is a battle," the first lady said.

"Look at the very people who are involved in this. They have popped up in other settings. The great story here for anybody willing to find it, write about it and explain it is this vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for president," Mrs. Clinton said.

The first lady called the sex and perjury allegations swirling around her husband part of an effort "to undo the results of two elections."

Now does anyone in the media remember the scorn and ridicule that was heaped upon her after that?

The day his wife made that famous statement, she came home and asked Clinton what he thought of it. "Hillary was hooted and derided," but Clinton told her he only took issue with her use of the word "conspiracy." A conspiracy is something that happens in secret, he said. "They're not even trying to cover it up." Still, Clinton says he doesn't wake up in the morning hating Kenneth Starr. "I wake up in the morning feeling sorry for people who think they know the whole truth and that it justifies the trampling of other people."

Exposing what was really going on was the responsibility of the media..... the nation's most reputable news outlets ran with leaks from Starr's office and led their broadcasts and newspapers with sensational reporting that often relied on anonymous sources -- or none at all......prominent investigative reporters, including Newsweek's Jonathan Alter, describ(ed)ing newsroom atmospherics that demanded scintillating scandal copy even when the facts just weren't there, or didn't deserve such prominent play.

Makes one wistful for some fine reporting again doesn't it? Oh, oh – look at this.....

December 13, 2006 -- WASHINGTON - Ousted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay predicted yesterday that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will win the presidency in 2008 - and that Barack Obama would likely be the vice president.

The Houston-area Republican insisted a vast left-wing conspiracy - comprised of liberal groups like MoveOn.org, bloggers and the mainstream media - would propel Clinton to the presidency.

"Hillary will be the next president of the United States because they have built a coalition,"......

So where is the feeding frenzy on this? Oh, I forgot – investigations regarding Rethuglicans are not allowed in America's corporate media, and besides, there is no connection to a penis or even a stained blue dress that can titillate the public.
Posted on The Human Stain

Bush Has No Clothes

2006-12-15T19:07:00.002-05:00

With this latest empty attempt to portray the Bushies as an administration that still matters, Press Secretary Tony Snow again reveals that the WH staff is inhaling vapors:

The White House said Thursday that a Democratic senator’s meeting with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria was inappropriate and undermined democracy in the region, while three more senators, including a Republican, made plans to visit Damascus in defiance of President Bush.....

With the Democrats about to take control of Congress after an election that was widely viewed as a referendum on the war, the visits reflect an increasing willingness to challenge the White House over foreign policy. The sharpness of the White House response suggests an appetite to use the issue as a basis for a political fight.

“We think it’s inappropriate,” Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, said on Thursday, adding, “The concern here, among other things, is that this does not strengthen the hand of democracy in the region.” Mr. Snow said the visits “may cost some people their credibility.”

Well we know know the credibility Tony is talking about is not Chimpie's as these visits would not be made if Bush had even the slightest shred of truthiness left. When the representatives of a nation cannot believe their President – that is a sad day indeed.

It never ceases to amaze me how the Bush administration can make statements like this - constantly failing to see the truth in the mirrors facing them.
Posted on The Human Stain

Die for MY Mistakes

2006-12-14T20:26:00.000-05:00

So Don, on your little farewell tour in Iraq last week, how many of the faces you saw will be coming back in body bags because of this disaster you helped create? How many will come back maimed because of your failed leadership and stewardship? How many more will die for your vanity and amorality? I suppose you shouldn't worry yourself over the messy and picky little details - Georgie will probably give you the Presidential Medal Of Freedom before leaving - after all, each of his failures get one.
Posted on The human stain

Show Us Please

2006-12-14T19:28:00.000-05:00

America knows that Bush is in denial about the realities of Iraq due to his incompetence. We should suppose that Laura Bush would be 'standing by her man' and defending his fiasco also. Well, she is doing just that in a recent interview on MSNBC. When asked about why only 2 out of ten Americans believe in Chimpie's Iraq policies, Laura dredged up a long dis-proven favorite of the Bush fascists - it's the medias fault. In her little sugary voice she said that "I do know that there are a lot of good things happening that aren't being covered....." Oh boy - talk about the bubble surrounding the White House, don't these people have any conception of what their folly has wrought?

Laura, here's an idea for you. Being so convinced of the goodness occurring in Iraq now, why don't you take the twins and pop over there with a news crew to show us the wonderful happenings? Maybe you could take some of the nephews and nieces also. I'm sure there would also be some room for Mary Cheney and her partner, along with Karen Hughes. Please bring back the joy of everyday Iraqis - we wouldn't want to be judging George wrongly. Don't you think you owe it to him to help America see that he is really right?
Posted on The Human Stain

Delay, Die, Delay, Die

2006-12-13T20:10:00.000-05:00

For the past several years we have heard from innumerable policy makers, politicians, influence peddlers, so called 'experts', and others how we just have to be patient with Iraq. Things will work out. They are always wrong.

Joe Biden, Hardball, May 24, 2004:

We've made significant mistakes. Our one last shot to get this right, unite the world, convince the Iraqi people that this is not just a U.S. occupation, is June 30.

Joe Biden, Face the Nation, 6/19/2005:

We need time. There's one last shot at getting this right in Iraq.

Joe Biden, This Week, 12/10/06:

Everyone from John McCain, who says it a different way, to Joe Biden, to -- across the board -- is saying, we have one last shot to figure out how to deal with the chaos in Iraq.

Zalmay Khalilzad US Ambassador to Iraq, 9/30/06:

The U.S. ambassador to Iraq warned on Friday that time is running out for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to contain the burgeoning sectarian bloodshed that threatens to plunge the country into civil war. "He has a window of a couple months," .......

Former General Barry MacCaffrey, Meet The Press, 6/11/06:

MR. RUSSERT: But General, he seems to be saying that by the end of this year if we have not gotten control of this civil war, the Iraqi government will have lost its opportunity.
GEN. McCAFFREY: Yeah. I think between now and Christmas is the crucial time.

General George Casey, 10/5/06:

The US general in charge of the multinational coalition in Iraq, said that the next six months will be a decisive period that will determine Iraq's future. "This is a decisive period for everyone and everyone knows it. The next six months will determine the future of Iraq,"

More egregiously and immorally we were told by Rethuglicans and the White House Press Secretary that decisions about Iraq would not be made until AFTER the elections - in both 2004 and 2006. Now, Chimpie and his amoral goons are telling us that Georgie's little PR consultation stunt will not make any decisions until early January, 2007. Soon, we will hear of a needed delay until after The State of the Union, until after Presidents' Day, until after St. Patricks Day, until after Georgies' latest bicycle trip, on and on and on......

Well pardon me, but what the f..k !! While these clowns sit on their fat behinds yukking it up people DIE. Mothers are torn from their children and husbands. Fathers are ripped from their families. American kids are needlessly wasted as cannon fodder. Innocent Iraqis are murdered by the thousands. While these uncaring retrobates twiddle their thumbs, America's human treasures come home in boxes, or without legs, they come home brain damaged, or they arrive in their loved ones' hugging arms with their minds shattered for life.

Merry Christmas to those empty souls among us? Bah - humbug to them instead.
Posted on The Human Stain

Patsies

2006-12-13T19:11:00.000-05:00

America used to be a tower of strength, the big boy on the block, able to influence events by our economic power and our moral authority. It appears those days are now gone. We are captives to the desires of other , lesser countries after years of poor decisions based upon shortsighted political gains.

China:

Who has real power over U.S. decision-making?

If you think it is the White House, or even the Congress, think again. There has been a power shift underway for years and, believe it our not, our future and fortune rest in the hands of bureaucrats on the other side of the world. Sorry folks, but our red, white and blue economy is afloat today because of help from members of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party.

Iraq:

The message to Bush, the defense specialist said, is that the U.S. cannot withdraw a substantial number of combat troops by early 2008, as suggested in the Iraq Study Group report, because the Iraqis will not be ready to assume control of their country.

Whatever happened to the lie that our top generals, and Bush and Condi and Rummy and Cheney, kept selling us that Iraq could be ready to stand on its own in 6 months? Now we find out from Bush's carefully orchestrated "listening tour" that in fact that Iraqis won't be ready even in another year and a half. So what do Bush's carefully selected listenees tell him? That we must STAY in Iraq EVEN LONGER. Quelle surprise!

Our “friends”

Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq’s Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to American and Arab diplomats.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia conveyed that message to Vice President Dick Cheney two weeks ago during Mr. Cheney’s whirlwind visit to Riyadh, the officials said. During the visit, King Abdullah also expressed strong opposition to diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran, and pushed for Washington to encourage the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, senior Bush administration officials said.

The Saudi warning reflects fears among America’s Sunni Arab allies about Iran’s rising influence in Iraq, coupled with Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. King Abdullah II of Jordan has also expressed concern about rising Shiite influence, and about the prospect that the Shiite-dominated government would use Iraqi troops against the Sunni population.

So much for American prestige – thanks to Chimpie.

Posted on The Human Stain

Religious Thugs

2006-12-13T18:48:00.000-05:00

A chilling blog entry by Andrew Sullivan. Men of GOD or disciples of the Beast? Humans at their worst.
Posted on The Human Stain