Most of the changes in natural disaster preparedness proposed by the White House and Congress since Hurricane Katrina are years away at best, leaving the Gulf Coast and other areas vulnerable to new devastation.
Only a few of the 211 suggested improvements from three federal reports will be ready when the hurricane season starts June 1, and limited dollars and political squabbling already are complicating the progress.
Cheney exempts his own office from reporting on classified material posted by
Clyde 9:00 AM
WASHINGTON - As the Bush administration has dramatically accelerated the classification of information as "top secret" or "confidential," one office is refusing to report on its annual activity in classifying documents: the office of Vice President Dick Cheney.
A standing executive order, strengthened by President Bush in 2003, requires all agencies and "any other entity within the executive branch" to provide an annual accounting of their classification of documents. More than 80 agencies have collectively reported to the National Archives that they made 15.6 million decisions in 2004 to classify information, nearly double the number in 2001, but Cheney continues to insist he is exempt.
Warrants - we don't need no stinking warrants posted by
Clyde 5:44 AM
FBI Sought Info Without Court OK
WASHINGTON (AP) - The FBI secretly sought information last year on 3,501 U.S. citizens and legal residents from their banks and credit card, telephone and Internet companies without a court's approval, the Justice Department said Friday.
It was the first time the Bush administration has publicly disclosed how often it uses the administrative subpoena known as a national security letter, which allows the executive branch of government to obtain records about people in terrorism and espionage investigations without court approval.
Friday's disclosure was mandated as part of the renewal of the Patriot Act, the administration's sweeping anti-terror law.
Despite vehement denials by his attorney who said this week that Karl Rove is neither a "target" nor in danger of being indicted in the CIA leak case, the special counsel leading the investigation has already written up charges against Rove, and a grand jury is expected to vote on whether to indict the Deputy White House Chief of Staff sometime next week, sources knowledgeable about the probe said Friday afternoon.
Luskin was informed via a target letter that Fitzgerald is prepared to charge Rove for perjury and lying to investigators during Rove's appearances before the grand jury in 2004 and in interviews with investigators in 2003 when he was asked how and when he discovered that Valerie Plame Wilson worked for the CIA, and whether he shared that information with the media.
Limbaugh takes a deal - only poor people go to jail posted by
Clyde 7:57 PM
Limbaugh Reaches Settlement in Drug Case
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Rush Limbaugh and prosecutors in the long-running prescription fraud case against him have reached a deal calling for the only charge against the conservative commentator to be dropped without a guilty plea if he continues treatment, his attorney said Friday.
Limbaugh, who pleaded not guilty Friday, has steadfastly denied doctor shopping. Black said the charge will be dismissed in 18 months if Limbaugh complies with court guidelines.
Thanks for the help George posted by
Clyde 1:39 PM
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Friday rejected calls by some lawmakers for a tax on oil company windfall profits, saying the industry should reinvest its recent gains into finding and producing more energy.
With gasoline at over $3 a gallon in some areas, Bush said there was "no evidence" of price-gouging of consumers.
Soaring gas prices have become a top political issue in Congress in this midterm congressional election year. Bush spoke a day after Exxon-Mobil, the nation's biggest oil company, said its earnings climbed by 7 percent to $8.4 billion during the January-March period.
Rove's lawyers have been told there will be 'no announcement' in the next ten days posted by
Clyde 12:23 PM
The announcement that Rove will recieve no decision in the next ten days assures that Rove won't face indictment today or even next week. His lawyers say Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald has told them there will be "no announcement" in the next ten days.
RAW STORY has also learned that an MSNBC report tonight revealed that one of Rove's lawyers said the presidential adviser described his fifth grand jury appearance as "hell." MSNBC's David Shuster appeared live on Keith Olbermann's 8pm show this evening and stated that Rove was surprised by the tone of the questions as well as the length of time he was required to testify.
The three and a half hour duration is considered highly unusual for a fifth appearance before a grand jury, Shuster reported. Also not boding well for Rove is the fact that the grand jury plans to meet tomorrow. Some are speculating that an indictment for Rove may be handed up tomorrow, though others have claimed such a fast turnaround time is unlikely.
Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor in the C.I.A. leak case, is expected to decide in the next two to three weeks whether to bring perjury charges against Karl Rove, the powerful adviser to President Bush, lawyers involved in the case said Thursday.
A lawyer with knowledge of the case said that Mr. Rove had known for more than a month that he was likely to make another appearance before the grand jury, and that he had known since last fall that he would be subject to further questions from Mr. Fitzgerald before the prosecutor completed his inquiry.
Once again Roberts thwarts investigation posted by
Clyde 11:50 AM
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman rebuffs attempts to interview Administration officials in pre-war Iraq probe - Via Raw Story
WASHINGTON - The Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has denied Democratic attempts to interview Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former CIA Director George Tenet and two former senior aides to erstwhile Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Senate Intelligence Committee Staff Director Bill Duhnke, top aide to Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS), said there was no need to interview Powell's former aides, saying the intelligence behind Powell's speech was already known.
Aw - too Bad Scooter - we really feel for ya posted by
Clyde 11:37 AM
Judge Won't Dismiss Case Against Libby
WASHINGTON - A federal judge refused Thursday to dismiss charges against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former top White House aide who was indicted on perjury and obstruction charges last year in the CIA leak scandal.
Walton said Thursday he did not need to "look far" in the law to reject the claim by Libby's defense team. The judge said there is no question the attorney general can delegate any of his functions.
On Monday, I had a conversation with several sources close to the CIA leak case who told me that Karl Rove would return to the grand jury Wednesday for the fifth time. Those sources told me that his appearance was the result of a target letter sent to his attorney Robert Luskin by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. The same sources said that Rove's status changed from being a "subject" of the probe to becoming a "target," meaning that Fitzgerald had enough evidence linking Rove to a crime and told that to Luskin. On Wednesday morning, when the news broke that Rove was going to testify for an unprecedented fifth time, I confirmed with sources close to the investigation that Rove did in fact receive a target letter. This was the case, they said. I then immediately called Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, for a comment about the target letter. Luskin didn't respond.
But upon leaving court Wednesday, after Rove testified for four hours, Luskin issued a statement saying that Rove was not a target of the probe. My sources maintain that Rove is a target and that Luskin understood that. I called Luskin again to get his statement. But he did not return the call. Rove's spokesman at the White House also weighed in, specifically denying my report that Rove received a target letter. This is the same White House that has refused to discuss this case for more than two years but decided on Wednesday to break its silence and respond to my story and deny that it's true. That seems odd.
Not only does the cable giant have more than twice as many primetime viewers as the closest competition, but it's often the network of choice for the White House administration in terms of big-name interviews.
Now it turns out Fox is the home of the next White House press secretary, Tony Snow.
By naming Fox News' Tony Snow as White House Press Secretary, Bush proves to the world that he truly considers Fox to be his personal propaganda outlet.
He probably won't be as much fun to watch as Scotty-boy, but he'll be just as believable.
Health care - we don't need no stinking health care posted by
Clyde 2:09 PM
Percentage of Uninsured Americans Rising
NEW YORK (AP) - The percentage of working-age Americans with moderate to middle incomes who lacked health insurance for at least part of the year rose to 41 percent in 2005, a dramatic increase from the 28 percent in 2001 without coverage, a study released on Wednesday found.
Moreover, more than half of the uninsured adults said they were having problems paying their medical bills or had incurred debt to cover their expenses, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based private, health care policy foundation. The study of 4,350 adults also found that people without insurance were more likely to forgo recommended health screenings such as mammograms than those with coverage, and were less likely to have a regular doctor than their insured counterparts.
Note: I have been working on this, on and off, for some time. This is the headline and the speech, or variation thereof, that I have been imagining. The names of the people and the dates of the events are obviously not to be taken seriously, I am not a seer. But I don't know how we can step back from the brink, and I don't see how any of this is going to be settled without bloodshed, perhaps even on a massive scale. If you click on the image you can see a larger image of the newspaper front page, or you can download a PDF here. Again, I hasten to point out that these are not things that I want to see happen, but simply don't know how they can be avoided.
Karl you got more splainin to do posted by
Clyde 11:24 AM
Rove to Testify Again in CIA Leak Case
WASHINGTON - Top White House aide Karl Rove prepared to testify Wednesday for a fifth time before the federal grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA officer's identity, two people familiar with the case said.
Rove consulted with his private lawyers before a scheduled afternoon court appearance and was to answer questions about evidence that emerged since his last grand jury appearance last fall, the people said, speaking only on condition of anonymity because of grand jury secrecy rules.
METHODOLOGY: The numbers on this page are based on contributions of $200 or more from PACs and individuals to federal candidates and from PAC, soft money and individual donors to political parties, as reported to the Federal Election Commission. While election cycles are shown in charts as 1996, 1998, 2000 etc. they actually represent two-year periods. For example, the 2002 election cycle runs from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2002. Data for the current election cycle were released by the Federal Election Commission on Monday, March 13, 2006.
Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics.
NOTE: Soft money contributions to the national parties were not publicly disclosed until the 1991-92 election cycle, and were banned by the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act following the 2002 elections.
Finally, Bush says no to tree-huggers, eases environmental regulations for oil industry posted by
Wally 7:47 AM
After 5 years of non-stop knee-pad service to everything environmental by Bush and the Republican owned Congress, the President is finally putting his foot down and easing environmental rules on gasoline. After watching this administration and GOP controlled Congress cave to every environmental cause over the past 5 years, they are finally going to show restraint and give industry a break.
As Sean Hannity said, the main reason for high gas prices is that government is "beholden to the extreme environmental movement". If not for tree-huggers, we would almost certainly still be paying $1.48 for a gallon of gas, just like we were when Bush took office in 2001. What else, besides the "extreme environmental movement" could possibly be the cause for the 330% increase in the price of a barrel of oil since Bush's inauguration? ( $24.62 in 1/01 to $73 today)The only logical explanation is that the GOP has been catering to tree-huggers at the expense of industry and the economy.
Perhaps, in addition to easing environmental restrictions, Bush could offer another tax break to help reduce pump prices even further.
This first small step by the President to ease the environmental stranglehold on the energy industry is expected to reduce strain on consumers at the pump by as much as several cents a gallon. Try not to spend it all in one place.
The countdown has begun on the life of Andrea Clark, a patient at St. Luke's Hospital. Six days left.
No, she's not terminal, her family says and she's not brain dead. Her sisters say that she wants to live. The Houston hospital is going to unilaterally remove a woman from life support, apparently based on the decision of a lone physician even though her family wants her to continue to receive care.
The central issue in the Andrea Clark case is the same as that in the Terri Schindler Schiavo case, whether the state should be able to sanction the removal of a human being from life support.
What's even more significant in the Clark case is that the Texas bill that allows health care providers to end a human life despite the wishes of the patient and the patient's family was signed into law in 1999 by President George W. Bush as Texas Governor. However, in 2005, he rushed back to the White House from Easter vacation to sign a bill rushed through Congress which was designed to save the life of Terri Schiavo because of his "presumption in favor of life".
Bush to Mick: You're sleeping in my bed. Mick to Bush: suck it. posted by
Wally 7:36 AM
Apparently Dubya isn't as "all-powerful" in Europe as he likes to think.
President George Bush was left red-faced after being told he couldn't rent the hotel room he wanted - because Mick Jagger had already taken it.
(snip)
Aides tried had hoped the legendary singer would give it up for the president but Jagger reportedly refused.
A source told Britain's The Sun newspaper: "White House officials had wanted to reserve the suite and all the rooms on the first floor, but Mick and the Stones had already booked every one of them."
"Bush's people seemed to be under the impression that they would just hand over the suites but there was no way Mick going to do that."
Calls for Impeachment getting louder posted by
Clyde 9:00 AM
California Becomes Second State to Introduce Bush Impeachment
Joining Illinois, California has become the second state in which a proposal to impeach President Bush has been introduced in the state legislature. And this one includes Cheney as well. California Assemblyman Paul Koretz of Los Angeles (where the LA Times has now called for Cheney's resignation) has submitted amendments to Assembly Joint Resolution No. 39, calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney. The amendments reference Section 603 of Jefferson's Manual of the Rules of the United States House of Representatives, which allows federal impeachment proceedings to be initiated by joint resolution of a state legislature.
(CBS) A CIA official who had a top role during the run-up to the Iraqi war charges the White House with ignoring intelligence that said there were no weapons of mass destruction or an active nuclear program in Iraq.
The former highest ranking CIA officer in Europe, Tyler Drumheller, also says that while the intelligence community did give the White House some bad intelligence, it also gave the White House good intelligence - which the administration chose to ignore.
From the "you have got to be kidding" file posted by
Clyde 8:06 AM
Bucking opinion trend, Pentagon says too many troops took part in Iraq operation
From think-tank analysts to angry retired generals to Capitol Hill lawmakers, it has become nearly universal conventional wisdom that the U.S. invasion force that conquered Iraq in 2003 lacked the manpower to secure the country after Saddam's fall.
But the Pentagon's civilian policymakers may have learned a much different lesson. According to a defense official, the problem with Operation Iraqi Freedom was not too few U.S. troops, but too many.
Did Bush forget to jawbone? posted by
Clyde 8:11 AM
Bush Says Little Can Be Done About High Gas Prices
(AP) SAN JOSE As oil prices hit a record, drivers worried about $3-a-gallon gas and politicians feared the impact on elections, President Bush on Friday acknowledged the pain but seemed resigned to being able to do little about it.
"I know the folks here are suffering at the gas pump," the president said while promoting his competitiveness initiative at the Silicon Valley headquarters of Internet networking company Cisco Systems Inc. "Rising gasoline prices is like taking a - is like a tax, particularly on the working people and the small-business people."
SAN FRANCISCO - President Bush has issued an unusual waiver that will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to accept state money for critical levee repairs, a senior Bush administration official said Friday.
In a meeting planned Friday afternoon in San Jose with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bush did not plan to grant the federal disaster declaration the governor sought as heavy rains strained the fragile levee system.
Granny Brigade on Trial For Protesting the War posted by
Wally 1:15 PM
18 members of the Granny Peace Brigade went on trial yesterday for "disorderly conduct" for protesting the war. When the judge offered them a plea deal, offering to drop the charges in 6 months if they behaved themselves, they told him suck it sonny, we might be dead by then. Okay, so they didn't actually use those words, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of them thought it. Besides, they don't plan to behave themselves, as long as the war is going on the women vowed to keep up the protests.
The women, whose ages range from 50 to 91, have all entered not guilty pleas and some said they would ignore any court-imposed penalty if found guilty.
"Coming to this damn court is nothing compared to what is happening to people in Iraq," said Marie Runyon, 91
(snip)
"We have a right to be angry," added Vinie Burrows, who declined to specify her age. "The war in Iraq translates into a war against the people of the United States, because the billions of dollars being spent are draining money from social services, health and education."
There are many uncertainties about the progress made by coalition forces and the future prospects for stability and democracy in Iraq, but there is at least one indisputable fact: The Bush administration vastly underestimated the costs of the Iraq war.
The price is expected to almost double after lawmakers return to Capitol Hill next week when the Senate takes up a record $106.5 billion emergency spending bill that includes $72.4 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House passed a $92 billion version of the bill last month that included $68 billion in war funding. That comes on top of $50 billion already allocated for the war this fiscal year.
"When the administration submitted its original budget for the Iraq war, it didn't provide money for continuing the war this year or any other. We could end up spending up to $1 trillion in supplemental budgets for this war."
According to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the United States spent $48 billion for Iraq in 2003, $59 billion in 2004, and $81 billion in 2005. The center predicts the figure will balloon to $94 billion for 2006. That equates to a $1,205 bill for each of America's 78 million families, on top of taxes they already pay.
Random quotes we found:
"Well, the Office of Management and Budget, has come up come up with a number that's something under $50 billion for the cost. How much of that would be the U.S. burden, and how much would be other countries, is an open question." ~Rummy, 1/19/03
"The United States is committed to helping Iraq recover from the conflict, but Iraq will not require sustained aid." ~Budget Director Mitch Daniels, 4/21/03
"Well, the reconstruction costs remain a very - an issue for the future. And Iraq, unlike Afghanistan, is a rather wealthy country. Iraq has tremendous resources that belong to the Iraqi people. And so there are a variety of means that Iraq has to be able to shoulder much of the burden for their own reconstruction." ~Ari Fleischer, 2/18/03
"There's a lot of money to pay for this that doesn't have to be U.S. taxpayer money, and it starts with the assets of the Iraqi people...and on a rough recollection, the oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years...We're dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon." ~Paul Wolfowitz, 3/27/03
Faux News: 33% posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 2:46 PM
Spin that.
Bush, GOP Approval Ratings Hit New Lows
NEW YORK - More Americans disapprove than approve of how George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and Congress are doing their jobs, while a majority approves of Condoleezza Rice. President Bush's approval hits a record low of 33 percent this week, clearly damaged by sinking support among Republicans.
Opinions are sharply divided on whether Rumsfeld should resign as secretary of defense. In addition, views on the economy are glum; most Americans rate the current economy negatively, and twice as many say it feels like the economy is getting worse rather than better. These are just some of the findings of the latest FOX News national poll.
11 Years Later, Oklahoma City Bombing Lessons Being Forgotten posted by
Wally 9:14 AM
How come there are no white Christian males in Gitmo?
Eleven years after the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history, survivors, terrorism experts and law enforcement authorities fear that lessons learned from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing are being forgotten as the nation focuses on international threats.
(snip)
The number of organized hate groups in the U.S. has risen 33 percent since 2000 and the potential for another domestic terrorist attack is on the rise, said Mark Potok, director of Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., which monitors hate groups.
"One of the great lessons of the Oklahoma City bombing is that the domestic radical right poses extremely serious threats," Potok said. "It taught us that not all terrorists speak different languages, wear turbans or speak to different Gods."
Last week, on April 12, Libby counter-filed to demand extensive documents in the possession of the prosecutor. His filing, written by his lawyers, reveals that he intends to put Karl Rove on the stand as a witness to question him about his leaking of Plame's name to reporters and presumably his role in the "concerted action" against Wilson. In his request for documents from Rove's files, Libby dropped mention of Rove's current legal status.
For months, Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, has assured the press that his client, who was believed to be vulnerable to indictment for perjury, is in the clear. But Libby insisted that he was entitled to "disclosure of such documents" in Rove's files "even if Mr. Rove remains a subject of a continuing grand jury investigation".
Karl Rove is a subject of Fitzgerald's investigation - this is the headline buried in Libby's filing.
In white-collar criminal investigations, individuals who fall under the gaze of a prosecutor fit into one of three categories: witness, subject or target. Rove's attorney has suggested that Rove is simply a witness. But that is untrue. He is a subject. A subject is someone the prosecutor believes may have committed a crime and is under investigation. If the prosecutor decides he has accumulated sufficient evidence to prove guilt, he will change the designation of that person from subject to target and then indict him or her.
DON'T IMPEACH BUSH. COMMIT HIM. (we've been saying this for years) posted by
Wally 8:00 AM
Despite the man's wacky religiosity, I have been giving Bush the benefit of a small amount of remaining doubt after five years of the most disastrous rule this nation has ever suffered. I believed that he was breathtakingly bigoted, stupid and ignorant. But I didn't think he was out of his mind. Until now.
(snip)
One only has to consider the risk of nuclear conflagration between India and Pakistan to see why the fewer countries have nukes, the better. Not every country can be trusted with such terrifying weapons. So how does the trustworthy United States plan to make its stand against nuclear proliferation?
Fitz is back and loaded for elephant posted by
Clyde 2:09 PM
Having successfully completed his most extensive investigation and prosecution, ending with the conviction of former Governor Ryan, Patrick Fitzgerald returns to the unresolved case before him. The federal grand jury considering his evidence began meeting again this morning. Karl Rove remains a subject--for now.
Does Snotty McFelon need to spend more time with Jeff? posted by
Clyde 9:43 AM
McClellan Leaves White House Press Office
Appearing with Bush on the South Lawn, McClellan, who has parried especially fiercely with reporters on Iraq and on intelligence issues, told Bush: "I have given it my all sir and I have given you my all sir, and I will continue to do so as we transition to a new press secretary."
"I thought he handled his assignment with class, integrity," the president said. "It's going to be hard to replace Scott, but nevertheless he made the decision and I accepted it. One of these days, he and I are going to be rocking in chairs in Texas and talking about the good old days."
Goodbye Buzzflash. Goodbye. posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 9:33 PM
Dear Readers:
We at dubyaD40.com have done our best to provide you with the latest news, headlines, commentary, and humor since day one. Since the day we went online, we've fought to become #1. Obviously, we started out slow and our goal was to take over as the top news/liberal site on the internet. Today, we have become number 1. Why? Because we are free.
Unlike the "Buzz," we don't ask for donations, we don't clog our headlines with advertisements, and we don't promote causes for our benefit. We're just 3 liberals in the the state of Kansas who wants to make a difference.
Rest assured, dubyaD40.com will always be here. Always. Even if we don't profit from ads or sales. We do this to accomplish our goal: Get rid of the neocons, republicans, fundies, etc.
An American tragedy that just keeps on giving posted by
Clyde 2:14 PM
Crews clearing hurricane debris in Louisiana find human remains
NEW ORLEANS - Cadaver dogs on Monday led crews clearing Hurricane Katrina debris from the city's devastated Ninth Ward to what appeared to be the skeletal remains of two people found under a pile of rubble, authorities said.
Dr. Louis Cataldie, the state medical examiner, said it appeared that the remains belonged to two victims.
"We know that the bones belonged to adults, but aren't sure if they're male or female," he said.
If energy costs continue to rise and our economy stops growing and starts shrinking, many stocks will crash, older Americans will not be able to retire, inflation may skyrocket, businesses will close or cut back, and jobs will be lost. Not only will we be facing global warming, we'll be facing civilized chaos.
{Snip}
"Humanity will soon have to choose between utopia or oblivion.... Do we work only for ourselves or for our planet?"
{Snip}
For people who live in the suburbs and must commute long distances to work, their wealth will sink as energy prices rise. The same is true for the airlines, food, and car companies, plus destinations such as Hawaii, which depend on cheap energy to grow.
{Snip}
For people who invest in oil companies or own oil production, their finances will reflect this equation. This is why Exxon-Mobil (XOM) has recently replaced Wal-Mart (WMT) as the most profitable company in America.
Stop Loss has more than one meaning to soldiers posted by
Clyde 9:20 AM
Earlier this year, some 90 1st Armored Division soldiers who were deployed to Iraq and Kuwait found themselves without a paycheck when they hit their expiration of term of service, or ETS, dates, even though they were being held in the Army under stop-loss orders.
Army officials in Europe not only acknowledged the problem, they fixed it. As of mid-April, all the affected soldiers had their pay restored. There are no more 1st AD soldiers serving without pay, according to division officials.
But weeks later, no one at the Department of Defense can, or will, say the problem has been fixed Armywide or even confirm what happened.
(i) The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard. Advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff or halyard from which the flag is flown.
There is no Civil War - Right? posted by
Clyde 9:08 AM
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Snipers held rooftop positions as masked Sunni Arab insurgents said they were gearing up for another open street battle with pro-government Shi'ite militiamen in Baghdad's Adhamiya district on Tuesday.
A U.S. military spokesman said 50 insurgents attacked Iraqi forces in the middle of the night in a seven-hour battle that killed five rebels and wounded an Iraqi soldier.
Sunni leaders have accused the Shi'ite-led government of sanctioning militia death squads, a charge it denies.
Iraq War Veteran Charlie Anderson describes his anger at how the administration has treated those who have returned from Iraq. Charlie warns Bush that he will use his military training to fight against the war ... instead of a machine gun he will use the pen, microphone, and guitar as his tools.
----------------------
Geoffrey Millard: What Really Demoralizes the Troops
Geoffrey Millard, a veteran of the Iraq war, responds to those who say Cindy Sheehan and the protesters demoralize the troops. He argues that it's the lies and the carnage of war that make it difficult for the troops to do their job, not a grieving mother asking, "What Noble Cause were they fighting for?"
----------------------
Thanks to Truthout.org for posting this, to Cindy Sheehan for providing a forum, and especially to these brave young men who put their lives on the line for our freedoms, and who continue to fight to defend the country they love.
More good news about the economy - Not! posted by
Clyde 9:14 AM
Dollar Falls Sharply Against the Euro and Yen in Asian Trading
TOKYO (AP) -- The dollar fell sharply against the euro and yen in Asia Monday on a media report suggesting that China might reduce its purchases of U.S. Treasury holdings, and amid speculation that U.S. interest rates may have peaked.
Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, was quoted in a Chinese state-owned newspaper Monday as saying that China should cut the amount of U.S. Treasury bonds it buys.
How are those tax cuts working out for you? posted by
Wally 9:02 AM
They're working out fabulously for the Cheneys and Bushes. Just thought you might want to know that.
Bush paid 187,768 on taxable income of 735,180 (that's 25.5%, in case you're curious). The Cheney's adjusted gross income was $8.8 Million, and they are getting a refund of (sit down) $1.9Million. That's their freaking REFUND check. After donating more than the entire dubyaD40.com staff will make in a lifetime ($6,869,655) to charity, Cheney's taxable income dropped to a measly $1,961,157. How does he survive on that? I suppose the free car and plane and meals and everything else paid for by the American taxpayer makes that possible to live on such a pittance. On that 1.9 Million, Cheney paid $529,636 (that's 27% in case you're curious).
Is everyone still enjoying their $300 tax refund from last year? Anyone who still thinks these guys care about, know anything about, or have anything in common with the working class is delusional.
Coming home - disillusioned posted by
Clyde 10:09 AM
By former Marine captain Christopher H. Sheppard
Three years ago, I was a Marine Corps captain on the Iraqi/Kuwaiti border, participating in the invasion of Iraq. Awestruck, I heard our howitzers thunder and watched artillery rockets rise into the night sky and streak toward Iraq — their light bathing the desert moonscape like giant arc welders.
As I watched the Iraq war begin, I completely trusted the Bush administration. I thought we were going to prove all of the left-wing antiwar protesters and dissenters wrong. I thought we were going to make America safer. Regrettably, I acknowledge that it was I who was wrong.
The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious festival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eastre. When the second-century Christian missionaries encountered the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they attempted to convert them to Christianity. They did so, however, in a clandestine manner.
Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on different days of the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the Council of Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. It issued the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox.
The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit. The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time.
What, no coalition of the willing? posted by
Clyde 7:46 AM
Blair refuses to back Iran strike
Tony Blair has told George Bush that Britain cannot offer military support to any strike on Iran, regardless of whether the move wins the backing of the international community, government sources claimed yesterday.
But, in the midst of international opposition to a pre-emptive strike on Tehran, and Britain's military commitments around the world, the government maintains it cannot contribute to a military assault. "We will support the diplomatic moves, at best," a Foreign Office source told Scotland on Sunday. "But we cannot commit our own resources to a military strike."
Gas prices soar - Exec reaps retirement windfall posted by
Clyde 5:25 AM
Exxon Chairman Gets $400 Million Retirement Package Amid Soaring Gas Prices
Last year, Exxon made the biggest profit of any company ever, $36 billion, and its retiring chairman appears to be reaping the benefits.
Exxon defends Raymond's compensation, pointing out that during the 12 years he ran the company, Exxon became the largest oil company in the world and that the stock price went up 500 percent.
There is no such thing as global warming right? posted by
Clyde 5:21 AM
Chief scientist warns bigger rise in world's temperature will put 400 million at risk
The world's temperature is on course to rise by more than three degrees Centigrade despite efforts to combat global warming, Britain's chief scientist has warned.
According to computer-modelled predictions for the Government, a three-degree rise in temperatures could put 400 million more people at risk of hunger; leave between one and three billion more people at risk of water stress; cause cereal crop yields to fall by between 20 and 400 million tons; and destroy half the world's nature reserves.
Vice President Dick Cheney directed his then-chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on July 12, 2003 to leak to the media portions of a then-highly classified CIA report that Cheney hoped would undermine the credibility of former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, a critic of the Bush administration's Iraq policy, according to Libby's grand jury testimony in the CIA leak case and sources who have read the classified report.
There is a growing body of information showing that at the time Plame was outed the vice president was deeply involved in the effort to undermine her husband.
The March 2002 intelligence report was a debriefing of Wilson by the CIA's Directorate of Operations after Wilson returned from a CIA-sponsored mission to Niger to investigate claims, later proved to be unfounded, that Saddam Hussein had attempted to procure uranium from the African nation, according to government records.
{snip}
Both Libby and Cheney have repeatedly insisted that the vice president never encouraged, directed, or authorized Libby to disclose Plame's identity. In a court filing on April 12, Libby's attorneys reiterated: "Consistent with his grand jury testimony, Mr. Libby does not contend that he was instructed to make any disclosures concerning Ms. Wilson [Plame] by President Bush, Vice President Cheney, or anyone else."
We're not talking about a bunch of low-level grunts who are sick of being shot at trying to get out of the war (who have more right than anyone to be pissed off about the way they've been used and abused in this fiasco). These are West Point grads, officers and leaders, who have banded together "To help reclaim the honor of the United States Of America"
From their mission statement:
Instilled by the Cadet Honor System with a fundamental, longstanding respect for truth, we graduates of the United States Military Academy believe that honor is a basic attribute of character. That we are no longer cadets is irrelevant. We stand appalled by the deceitful behavior of the government of the United States and, in particular, its widely known malefactors. Lying, cheating, stealing, delivering evasive statements and quibbling not only has demeaned these deceivers and the United States of America, but has placed vast numbers of innocent people in deadly peril. We will not serve the lies.
The war in Iraq was launched illegally. It has since killed tens of thousands of innocents, causing incalculable damage to Iraq and the Iraqi people, as well as the reputation of the United States of America. We will not serve the lies.
When we West Point graduates took our commissioning oath of office one past June morning, we swore to protect our nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The deceitful connivances of the current administration have resulted in a war catastrophic to our nation's interests: politically, economically, militarily, and morally. We now stand to protect our nation from these deceivers. We will not serve their lies.
We seek justice for all victims of this illegal war, both servicemen and servicewomen, and the citizens of Iraq.
To our purpose we invoke the words of Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence whereby we too "mutually pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes, & our sacred Honor."
Without a glimmer of irony, McClellan accuses WaPo of being "reckless" posted by
Wally 9:44 AM
Yesterday, Scotty McClellan called the Washington Post reckless and and irresponsible for printing an article saying that the Pentagon knew that the so-called mobile weapons labs were nothing more than "the world's largest sand toilets" at least 2 days before Bush recklesly and irresponsibly announced that "We have found the weapons of mass destruction."
Talking to reporters on Wednesday, McClellan said: "You know, I saw some reporting talking about how this latest revelation - which is not something that is new; this is all old information that's being rehashed - was an embarrassment for the White House. No, it's an embarrassment for the media that is out there reporting this....
Now what's really an embarrassment for the media is that it took them this freaking long to finally print this story that has been circulating in the blogosphere for years.
"Now, I will point out that the reporting I saw this morning was simply reckless and it was irresponsible. The lead in The Washington Post left the impression for the reader that the President was saying something he knew at the time not to be true. That is absolutely false and it is irresponsible, and I don't know how The Washington Post can defend something so irresponsible."
To this, ask you, Scotty, how can the President defend something as reckless and irresponsible as making public declarations that are patently false? Okay, so maybe he hadn't read the reports or heard the news, and he believed what he was saying. So what? That's his fault. It's his speechwriter's fault. Hell Scotty, maybe it's YOUR fault. It's certainly not the fault of the media. Bush may not have been intentially lying, but he was stating as "fact" something that was already known to be false.
When the President of the United States spreads falsehoods as fact, without first double and triple checking those "facts" - THAT is "reckless and irresponsible." Reporting on the President doing so is the media's job. That's what they're paid to do, what they are responsible for. Like the President hizzownself said in a speech on 4/20/2004 "September the 11th* -- when the President says something, he better mean it. See, in order to make the world more peaceful, it's essential that those of us in positions of high responsibility speak clearly and mean what we say."
The weasel even went so far as to ask ABC for a public apology. Sure Scotty, just as soon as Bush apologizes for his reckless and irresponsible drive to war based on false information.
*yes, he actually started that sentence with "September the 11th"
The Falafel King has his Peeps in a bunch posted by
Clyde 9:08 AM
Once again our humble Loofa Lothario is lamenting about the war on Christianity.
Although some left-wingers in the media deny it, we have documented a number of cases where Christian holidays, like Christmas and Easter, have been attacked by secular interests.
Our good 'old White House at it again. posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 9:22 AM
Again, they withhold evidence that proves they were wrong. Will they ever be brought to justice?
White House pushed Iraq bioweapons claim despite evidence to contrary By Joby Warrick
On May 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his administration in Iraq: Two small trailers captured by U.S. troops had turned out to be long-sought mobile "biological laboratories." He declared, "We have found the weapons of mass destruction."
The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true.
A secret fact-finding mission to Iraq -- not made public until now -- had already concluded that the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons. Leaders of the Pentagon-sponsored mission transmitted their unanimous findings to Washington in a field report on May 27, 2003, two days before the president's statement.
Report shelved while claim went forth The three-page field report and a 122-page final report three weeks later were stamped "secret" and shelved. Meanwhile, for nearly a year, administration and intelligence officials continued to publicly assert that the trailers were weapons factories.
"At this historic moment, with the blessings of God Almighty and the efforts made by our scientists, I declare here that the laboratory-scale nuclear fuel cycle has been completed and young scientists produced enriched uranium needed to the degree for nuclear power plants Sunday," Ahmadinejad said.
"I formally declare that Iran has joined the club of nuclear countries," he told an audience that included top military commanders and clerics in the northwestern holy city of Mashhad. The crowd broke into cheers of "Allahu akbar," or "God is great." Some stood and thrust their fists in the air.
That's 2 out of three of the "Axis of Evil" nations joining the Nuclear Club on Bush's watch. George wanted his war, demanded his war, insisted on his war, bombing and invading the most harmless of the three Axis of Evil nations. Meanwhile the other two have been pursuing and developing nuclear technology while we're distracted in Iraq.
Iran says that it's strictly for energy, and that they have no interest in nuclear weapons. If anyone believes that, I have a bridge for sale.
So far he's drained our treasury, dismantled environmental protections, sliced and diced the Bill of Rights, cancelled long standing treaties, alienated our allies, now he's allowing our enemies to arm themselves with nuclear weapons. Thanks George. You'll be a popular subject in future History classes. (Full Story Here)
Cheney throws first pitch at an undisclosed ballpark, gets booed loudly. posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 1:51 PM
Vice President Cheney threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the home opener of the Washington Nationals game today. The crowd was was less than thrilled to have him there, loudly booing over the Fox News reporter. (Note: Fox producers muted the crowd audio halfway through before letting viewers "listen in" after the pitch.)
Bush Knows "Wild Speculation" When He Sees It posted by
Wally 11:12 AM
After hearing about Seymour Hersh's column about US plans to follow up on Iraq's shining success by doing the same thing in Iran, Bush has been busy blasting the "wild speculation" about the Iran plans. Problem is, who do you believe, the man who was right about Iraq before we went in, and who told us about Abu Ghraib before the pictures came out, or the guy who wouldn't know how to tell the truth if it scrolled across a teleprompter in front of him in a room full of loyal adoring neo-cons with polygraph machines?
Some of what Bush said:
"I know here in Washington prevention means force," Bush said at the PaulH. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. "It doesn't mean force, necessarily. In this case, it means diplomacy."
Does it make anyone else nervous that he had to add the word "necessarily" to that statement?
"I read the articles in the newspapers this weekend," Bush said. "It was just wild speculation."
Two things:
1) He doesn't read newspapers, he skims the headlines and gets his news from his advisors. 2) Wild speculation on Bush's part is what got us into Iraq, so I don't want to hear about wild speculation Mr. Yellowcake-Mobile Weapons Labs-Mushroom Cloud
"I wanted people to see the truth," he told a questioner who said there was evidence of a concerted effort by the White House to punish war critic Joseph Wilson. Bush said he could not comment on the CIA leak case because it is under investigation.
What do you mean you can't comment on it, you just made the comment that you wanted people to see the truth. So, which of those statements is a lie? I'm betting they both were.
Laura invites gays to W.H. Easter egg roll. posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 10:36 AM
I'm surprised they're going to show up. I can see it now: "Queer Eye For The Saviour Guy"
"As a parent, you want everything for your child," says Colleen Gillespie. "We want this event to tell our daughter that she is as welcome on the White House lawn as any other kid in the world."
It turns out, First Lady Laura Bush agrees.
"Mrs. Bush is the overseer of the event, and all families are welcome to attend," her spokesman Peter Watkins told me when asked about the hundreds of gay families who hope to roll eggs April 17.
So far, 250 gay families plan to go. (Connect with them at familypride.org.) Everyone will begin lining up on Friday night, April 14, for tickets handed out the next morning. (All families must include someone under 8.) At the Monday roll, gay parents and their kids will wear rainbow leis.
Damn it, this is America! posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 8:49 AM
I never would have thought that I would ever agree with a Republican view in my life, but I have to admit I find the flag waving protests to be wholly un-American. After all, this is America and we should be seeing the Stars and Stripes, not the flag of a nation whose ass we whipped over a century ago.
It was with some trepidation that we opened a most interesting card, which announced on a blue-jeaned cowboy's belt buckle something called the "5th Annual VOLPAC '06 Weekend" in Nashville on April 21-23.
Problem was you had to unbuckle the cowboy's pants and look inside to see what this was all about. Seemed a bit too "Brokeback Mountain."
- US 'intent on Iran attack' - Bush accused of 'messianic' mission
The US is planning military action against Iran because George Bush is intent on regime change in Tehran - and not just as a contingency if diplomatic efforts fail to halt its suspected nuclear weapons programme, it was reported yesterday.
In the New Yorker magazine, Seymour Hersh, America's best known investigative journalist, concluded that the Bush administration is even considering the use of a tactical nuclear weapon against deep Iranian bunkers, but that top generals in the Pentagon are attempting to take that option off the table.
If there was any doubt before that Bush is insane...
My email exchange with Senator Pat Roberts posted by
Clyde 11:04 AM
Senator Roberts wrote:
Recently, as a result of a criminal leak of highly classified information, the media reported that the president has authorized the NSA to intercept international communications of individuals believed to be linked to al Qaeda. As Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, with jurisdiction and oversight of the NSA and other intelligence agencies, I have been fully briefed on this program. It is my conclusion that the program is legal and constitutional. (snip)
I replied:
The war on terror is infinite and what you suggest gives this and every future President the authority to violate the United States Constitution at whim. Without any discernible end to the threat of terrorism are you that willing of an accomplice in removing the protections that the founding fathers fought for? Or is it more of a willingness to show loyalty to a political Party over that of country? (snip)
In their makeshift offices in a former Baghdad palace, a small army of American builders and engineers, oilmen and budgeteers is working overtime on last-minute projects to help reconstruct Iraq.
While President Bush vows to transform Iraq into a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, his administration has been scaling back funding for the main organizations trying to build democratic institutions such as political parties and civil society groups.
Will Bush use nukes on Iran? posted by
Clyde 5:19 PM
From The New Yorker and Seymour Hersh
"This is much more than a nuclear issue," one high-ranking diplomat told me in Vienna. "That's just a rallying point, and there is still time to fix it. But the Administration believes it cannot be fixed unless they control the hearts and minds of Iran. The real issue is who is going to control the Middle East and its oil in the next ten years."
A senior Pentagon adviser on the war on terror expressed a similar view. "This White House believes that the only way to solve the problem is to change the power structure in Iran, and that means war"
In recent weeks, the President has quietly initiated a series of talks on plans for Iran with a few key senators and members of Congress, including at least one Democrat. (I'm guessing Lieberman)
Speaking of President Bush, the House member said, "The most worrisome thing is that this guy has a messianic vision."
Whistle-Blower Outs NSA Spy Room posted by
Clyde 4:36 PM
AT&T provided National Security Agency eavesdroppers with full access to its customers' phone calls, and shunted its customers' internet traffic to data-mining equipment installed in a secret room in its San Francisco switching center, according to a former AT&T worker cooperating in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's lawsuit against the company.
On Wednesday, the EFF asked the court to issue an injunction prohibiting AT&T from continuing the alleged wiretapping, and filed a number of documents under seal, including three AT&T documents that purportedly explain how the wiretapping system works.
Once again our esteemed members of congress have decided that it is far more important to kick back and relax than it is to do the business of running the country.
The only redeeming quality of this action is that at least the American people are getting a brief respite from being screwed.
Libby testimony shows a White House pattern of intelligence leaks posted by
Clyde 6:44 AM
The revelation that President Bush authorized former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby to divulge classified information about Iraq fits a pattern of selective leaks of secret intelligence to further the administration's political agenda. (snip)
McClellan didn't address why administration officials often declassified information that supported their allegations about Iraq but not intelligence that undercut their claims. (snip)
Robert Hutchings, the chairman of the National Intelligence Council from January 2003 to February 2005, said there was nothing improper about Bush's reported actions. However, Hutchings said, "The decision to put in the public domain classified information, whether through a leak or through the formal authorization" shouldn't be done for "political convenience." (snip)
Bush nominates "duct tape" boy as FEMA head posted by
Wally 10:56 AM
Yesterday Bush nominated David "duct tape and plastic" Paulison to head up the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. As far as I can tell, Paulison got the job primarily because 1) he was there and 2) nobody else wanted the job. With FEMA being so messed up, underfunded, and closely scrutinized, even Bush's closest cronies wouldn't touch it.
Senior managers have been leaving the agency as the Bush administration and congressional committees release reports concluding that FEMA waited too long to move supplies into the storm region and didn't do all it could to help evacuate people.
The turmoil within the agency made it difficult for the Bush administration to recruit someone from the outside who would be willing to take the top job. (Bloomberg)
At first glance, he appears adequately qualified:
Paulison, 59, has more than 30 years experience in firefighting and helped manage Florida's response to Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the crash of ValuJet Flight 592 in 1996.
(He was) chief of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, has been acting director of FEMA since Sept. 12 when former director Michael Brown resigned amid criticism of the agency's response to Hurricane Katrina.
In spite of the fact that he's a Bush nominee, he may actually do "a heckuva job" as FEMA director. However, it gives me pause to think that this is the guy who told America that duct tape and plastic would protect us against chemical or biological attacks.
Lewis Libby's testimony identifying George W. Bush as the top official who authorized the leaking of intelligence about Iraq's alleged nuclear weapons program raises two key questions: What did the President tell the special prosecutor about this issue in 2004 and what is Bush's legal status in the federal criminal probe?
Bush's legal danger came into clearer focus with the release of a court document citing testimony from Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff who claimed that Bush approved the selective release of intelligence in July 2003 to counter growing complaints that Bush had hyped evidence on Iraq's pursuit of enriched uranium.
Libby, who is facing a five-count federal indictment, testified that he was told by Cheney that Bush had approved a plan in which Libby would tell a specific New York Times reporter about the CIA's secret analysis, according to a court filing by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald dated April 5.
"Defendant's (Libby's) participation in a critical conversation with Judith Miller on July 8 (2003) occurred only after the Vice President advised defendant that the President specifically had authorized defendant to disclose certain information in the NIE," the highly classified National Intelligence Estimate, the filing said.
While some experts believe Bush may have the legal authority to unilaterally declassify secrets, Libby's testimony - along with other evidence from this so-called Valerie Plame leak investigation - leaves little doubt that Bush and White House aides repeatedly misled the public about the role of senior officials in disseminating secret information to deflect criticism about the Iraq invasion.
PROTECTION OF IDENTITIES OF CERTAIN UNITED STATES UNDERCOVERINTELLIGENCE OFFICERS, AGENTS, INFORMANTS, AND SOURCES
SEC. 601. [50 U.S.C. 421] (a) Whoever, having or having had authorized access to classified information that identifies a covert agent, intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent's intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
(b) Whoever, as a result of having authorized access to classified information, learns the identity of a covert agent and intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent's intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
(c) Whoever, in the course of a pattern of activities intended to identify and expose covert agents and with reason to believe that such activities would impair or impede the foreign intelligence activities of the United States, discloses any information that identifies an individual as a covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such individual and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such individual's classified intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than three years or both.
(d) A term of imprisonment imposed under this section shall be consecutive to any other sentence of imprisonment.
"Unindictable Co-Conspirator" posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 1:24 PM
Since a sitting president can't be indicted and the Republican-controlled Congress won't impeach him, this is the term we can label him for now. If Bush is found guily of anything regarding the CIA Leak investigation, I guarantee you'll hear these words from Fitzgerald's mouth.
Libby Says Bush Authorized Leak posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 10:35 AM
We soooooo hope this is true. But, a sitting president cannot be indicted.
The New York Sun reports that Scooter Libby "testified to a grand jury that he gave information from a closely-guarded 'National Intelligence Estimate' on Iraq to a New York Times reporter in 2003 with the specific permission of President Bush."
The new disclosure places Bush, "for the first time, directly in a chain of events that led to a meeting where prosecutors contend the identity of a CIA employee, Valerie Plame, was provided to a reporter."
Update: The National Journal has more on this story, noting that Libby has also asserted that Vice President Cheney "authorized him to leak classified information to a number of journalists during the run-up to war with Iraq."
Here's what we know. The President can only declassify information that has been classified by the Executive Branch. The identity of CIA agents was originally classified by Congress, hence, the President cannot declassify the identity of an agent.
Plus, if you remember the day before Libby was indicted, Fitzgerald met with Bush's lawyers. Now we know what that meeting was all about!
Update: The New York sun is getting drilled with hits. Therefore, we will host the court document if you cannot download it. (.pdf)
Air Head One posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 8:49 AM
So last night I was watching "Air Force One" on some movie channel and it got me thinking. Do you ever wonder if Bush grabs a bag of Cheetos, sits on his bean bag chair, and wacks off to the movie every Saturday night? Just wondering.
Doctors propose National Health Plan posted by
Clyde 3:08 PM
Proposal of the Physicians' Working Group for Single-Payer National Health
Four principles shape our vision of reform.
1. Access to comprehensive health care is a human right. It is the responsibility of society, through its government, to assure this right. Coverage should not be tied to employment. Private insurance firms' past record disqualifies them from a central role in managing health care.
2. The right to choose and change one's physician is fundamental to patient autonomy. Patients should be free to seek care from any licensed health care professional.
3. Pursuit of corporate profit and personal fortune have no place in caregiving and they create enormous waste. The U.S. already spends enough to provide comprehensive health care to all Americans with no increase in total costs. However, the vast health care resources now squandered on bureaucracy (mostly due to efforts to divert costs to other payers or onto patients themselves), profits, marketing, and useless or even harmful medical interventions must be shifted to needed care.
4. In a democracy, the public should set overall health policies. Personal medical decisions must be made by patients with their caregivers, not by corporate or government bureaucrats.
With 250 billion dollars the United States could have purchased... posted by
Wally 2:18 PM
The U.S. has spent over 250 billion dollars ($250,000,000,000.00) on the Iraq war. That's an unimaginable sum of money. We could have bought some pretty cool stuff with all that money. Here's a few ideas.
I am not a big fan of the Iraq war myself, but I do kind of understand where all of the people who support the Iraq war are coming from: Stupidtown. They're not all the same kind of stupid, because that would be a wild generalization, but they are all stupid with the exception of one group: the guys who are getting all of the treasure. Those guys knew exactly what a shitfest Iraq would become and they didn't give a damn about our rationale or goals.
For the war profiteers it has been a bonanza in Iraq. More than 250 billion dollars has either been dumped into that country or has been approved and is in the process of being dumped into that country. Tens of millions go missing on a daily basis with no investigation and no follow up. If one were given to cynicism they might even dare to believe that the government was colluding with the war profiteers in some sort of military and industrial complex.
I'm not going to lecture all of you on why the Iraq war is stupid, and you are stupid, and your mom is stupid, and your brother is stupid. We've been through all that before and, yes, I know I'm a lieberal faggot who needs to be punched in the face. But all this talk of lost treasure got me to thinking about just what we might have done with that 250 billion dollars instead of blow up half of a country, throw it into civil war and get a few thousand arms and legs blown off. The answer is that we could have done a lot, an awesome lot.
250 billion dollars is such a vast amount of money that most people, including myself, have difficulty even really comprehending it. You get to about a million dollars and people like me just see this huge cloud floating off in the sky that rains prizes from the Price is Right. I could buy anything I could imagine with 250 billion dollars. Even magic! Listing a bunch of random things I can imagine buying with nearly unlimited amounts of money doesn't really help anyone get a grip on the staggering 250 billion figure, so let me put it in terms that will help you visualize all of that squandered treasure. I like to call it The Awesome Deferred.
Departing Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas said yesterday that House Republicans have no vision or agenda and have let the Democrats choose the GOP leadership. (snip) "His leadership helped take our Republican conference and, as a result, our nation in a new direction, and I am confident that Tom's legacy as one of the most effective Republican leaders in a generation is assured," said Majority Whip Roy Blunt
As leader of the House Republicans (until being forced to resign 6 months ago), he made the agenda. So if one is to believe his words, by his own admission, he is a miserable failure.
Trash day in Sugar Land, Texas posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 1:10 PM
Some neighbors of mine, who live around the corner, kept their DeLay sign up long after the primary election. The man of the household (and I use both of those terms loosely) said he did it because he knew I had to drive by it every day and he wanted to hack me off. Sounds a little passive-aggressive to me, so I didn't let the sign bother me, figuring it was a mental health issue and I don't screw around with crazy people.
This morning as I drove by, I couldn't help but notice ..... well, a picture is worth a thousand words and I only know about 457 of them so I'll let you take it from there.
Never have I seen an example of blatant ass kissing as this video of Chris "Tweety" Matthews and Tom "Prison bitch" Delay prior to an on-air interview. via Harry Shearer at Huffington Post
Patrick Fitzgerald hasn't even concluded his investigation, but the right-wing is already spinning the truth in anticipation of indictments. This document provides the facts to set the record straight.
President Bush's tax cuts for investment income have significantly lowered the tax burden on the richest Americans, reducing taxes on incomes of more than $10 million by an average of about $500,000, according to a report Wednesday.
{snip}
According to the study, taxpayers with incomes greater than $10 million reduced their investment tax bill by an average of about $500,000 in 2003, and their total tax savings, which included the two Bush tax cuts on compensation, nearly doubled, to slightly more than $1 million.
These taxpayers, whose average income was $26 million, paid about the same share of their income in income taxes as those making $200,000 to $500,000 because of the lowered rates on investment income.
The newspaper's tax cut analysis showed that more than 70 percent of the tax savings on investment income went to the top 2 percent, about 2.6 million taxpayers.
Congress is now debating whether to make the Bush tax cuts permanent.
A message from our favorite liberal radio host. posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 9:21 AM
Bob Kincaid: H.O.R.N. Purposes
I've heard it said that you should never eat in a town that only has one restaurant. With no competition, it's a sure bet the food won't be very good. On the other hand, you've got a solid choice for a great meal in a town with two. The burgers are better, the chili is spicier, the bread fresher, the lettuce crisper.
Where liberal talk is concerned, the small town that America really is (John Irving once wrote that even New York City is a small town) now has a second diner.
We may have come into the world a preemie, but the Head-On Radio Network has been born. And we're not leaving.
At this point, the H.O.R.N. produces twenty-five hours of liberal talk per week. In a matter of months, that number will double, or even quadruple.
Bugman, there's no need to feel down. I said, Bugman, you're just a Texas clown. I said, Bugman, 'cause you're in a new town There's no need to be unhappy.
Bugman, there's a place you can go. I said, Bugman, when you've lost all your dough. You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find Many ways to have a good time.
It's fun to stay at the p-m-i-t-a-f-p. It's fun to stay at the p-m-i-t-a-f-p.
They have everything for a bugman to enjoy, You can hang out with all the boys ...
It's fun to stay at the p-m-i-t-a-f-p. It's fun to stay at the p-m-i-t-a-f-p.
You can switch to a Queen, or you can cop a feel, Whatever you like, it's your deal...
Bugman, are you listening to me? I said, Bugman, you better learn to sit to pee. I said, Bugman, butt-sex is better with cream. But you got to know this one thing!
Bugman does it all by himself. I said, Bugman, your new cellmate's name is Ralph, And just go there, to the p-m-i-t-a-f-p. I'm sure he can help you today.
It's fun to stay at the p-m-i-t-a-f-p. It's fun to stay at the p-m-i-t-a-f-p.
WASHINGTON - Succumbing to scandal, former Majority Leader Tom Delay told MSNBC's Chris Matthews that he will not seek re-election to Congress, closing out a career that blended unflinching conservatism with a bare-knuckled political style.
Rep. DeLay was expected to announce the plans Tuesday, reported Matthews, host of MSNBC's "Hardball."
Republican officials told The Associated Press Monday night they expect the Texan to quit his seat later this spring. He was first elected in 1984, and conceded he faced a difficult race for re-election.
Matthews reported that DeLay told him in an interview that "the polling on him in the 22nd District was going down," as a result of his part in a campaign contribution controversy.
Just stay home monkey boy! posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 2:00 PM
So our Chimperor-In-Chief throws out the first pitch in Cincinnati as the Cubs take on the Reds. Whooptie do right? Wrong. The Reds gave up 5 runs in the first inning. That's the TOP OF THE FIRST INNING.
Whether it's a politician or baseball team, their numbers sink when Bush visits.
NEW YORK - Skyrocketing energy prices propelled Exxon Mobil Corp. to the top of the 2006 Fortune 500 list, and consigned Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to the No. 2 spot on the magazine's annual ranking of the nation's largest publicly traded companies.
Fortune compiled its list based on companies' 2005 revenues. Exxon Mobil raked in $340 billion in revenue, a 25.5 percent increase over 2004, and had $36.1 billion in profits, the most by any U.S. company in history.
Exxon Mobil last appeared at No. 1 in 2001. Only Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil and General Motors Corp. have topped the list since its inception in 1954.
Wal-Mart had $315.654 billion in revenue, a 9.5 percent increase from last year. Because of its pervasive U.S. presence, the world's largest retailer has struggled to sustain profit growth in the high teens as it had in previous years.
Peace, like Freedom is not on the march. posted by
Clyde 11:29 AM
Government in secret talks about strike against Iran - It is believed that an American-led attack, designed to destroy Iran's ability to develop a nuclear bomb, is "inevitable" if Teheran's leaders fail to comply with United Nations demands to freeze their uranium enrichment programme.
Attacking Iran May Trigger Terrorism - As tensions increase between the United States and Iran, U.S. intelligence and terrorism experts say they believe Iran would respond to U.S. military strikes on its nuclear sites by deploying its intelligence operatives and Hezbollah teams to carry out terrorist attacks worldwide.
More Republican values on display posted by
Clyde 11:25 AM
A second elections complaint against Rep. Jean Schmidt was filed Friday, this time over allegations that she misrepresented her educational background.
According to the complaint, filed with the state elections commission, Schmidt claimed on candidate surveys, previous campaign Web sites and in official Ohio House literature that she earned two bachelor's degrees from the University of Cincinnati, one in political science in 1974 and one in "social studies-secondary education" in 1986.
Iraq is becoming a country that America should be ashamed to support, let alone occupy. The nation as a whole is sliding closer to open civil war. In its capital, thugs kidnap and torture innocent civilians with impunity, then murder them for their religious beliefs. The rights of women are evaporating. The head of the government is the ally of a radical anti-American cleric who leads a powerful private militia that is behind much of the sectarian terror.
Convoys will now stand and fight when attacked in Iraq
"In the first two years of Iraq, convoys (under attack) just fired and kept rolling," said Maj. Roger Gaines, the battalion's operations officer said Thursday. "That gave bad guys the perception that Americans run away. Now, convoys will stop and engage the enemy."
The change in tactics is necessary because insurgents are getting smarter, said Sgt. 1st Class Charles Ahlborn, 36, of San Diego.
"They know our reactions to certain things. Two years ago, they would never try and stop us," he said. "But now IEDs (improvised explosive devices) are becoming more prevalent on the battlefield, and they are doing anything they can to try and stop the convoys."
Visions of rats and burning ships posted by
Clyde 7:58 AM
Mass Exodus Likely At Harris Campaign
The last of U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris' key staffers appear ready to abandon her campaign for the U.S. Senate in a wave of resignations expected to start this weekend.
"I've never seen staffers go like this," said David Johnson, a Republican pollster and consultant. "It's just imploding."
Testimony of John Dean on censure posted by
Clyde 7:56 AM
No presidency that I can find in history has adopted a policy of expanding presidential powers merely for the sake of expanding presidential powers. Presidents in the past who have expanded their powers have done so when pursuing policy objectives. It has been the announced policy of the Bush/Cheney presidency, however, from its outset, to expand presidential power for its own sake, and it continually searched for avenues to do just that, while constantly testing to see how far it can push the limits. I must add that never before have I felt the slightest reason to fear our government. Nor do I frighten easily. But I do fear the Bush/Cheney government (and the precedents they are creating) because this administration is caught up in the rectitude of its own self- righteousness, and for all practical purposes this presidency has remained largely unchecked by its constitutional coequals. via RAW STORY
