Be INFORMED

Saturday, January 27, 2007

The New Way Forward: A Progress Report

    I have already commented on Bush's new way forward but here is a little extra from DailyKos

The New Way Forward:  A Progress Report

by BarbinMD
Sat Jan 27, 2007

It's been two weeks since George W. Bush announced his new way forward in Iraq and results are already being seen. During Thursday's White House press briefing, Tony Snow said:

Before we begin, let me just -- a couple of comments on developments in Iraq. The Prime Minister today has given an address --

...it demonstrates the kind of vigor we've been talking about and that the American people expect, and also responds specifically to concerns members of Congress have been expressing, in terms of the aims of and the determination of the government of Iraq.

And here's some more of that vigor from the determined government of Iraq:

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s presentation of a new Baghdad security plan to the Iraqi Parliament on Thursday broke down in bitter sectarian recriminations, with Mr. Maliki threatening a Sunni Arab lawmaker with arrest and, in response, the Sunni speaker of Parliament threatening to quit.

The prime minister’s claim was challenged by Abdul Nasir al-Janabi, who represents a powerful Sunni Arab bloc. “We can not trust the office of the prime minister,” he said over jeers from the Shiite politicians before his microphone was cut off.

Mr. Maliki could barely contain his rage, waving his finger in the air and essentially accusing Mr. Nasir of being a criminal.

“I will show you,” Mr. Maliki said. “I will turn over the documents on you” showing all your crimes, “then you can talk about trust,” Mr. Maliki said.

Well, that should allay any concerns that Congress and the American people have about the Iraq government's will to succeed.  And getting the hydrocarbon law and de-Baathification reform hammered out in the couple of weeks remaining in their legislative session should be a breeze.  

Later during the briefing, Snow said:

We have seen assertive action on the part of Iraqi forces and joint Iraqi-U.S. forces within Baghdad taking on terror.

While some may call it joint forces taking on terror, others describe it this way:

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.

Two allies taking on terror, or American troops in the middle of a civil war...you make the call.

And let's hear from some of the people directly involved in this war, beginning with a U.S. serviceman in Baghdad:

Who the hell is shooting at us? Who’s shooting at us? Do we know who they are?

From a Sunni member of the Iraq  Parliment:

I cannot see how it is possible that a new security plan can work.

Dick Cheney's response to a question about how he feels:

Good.

And finally, the Decider himself to Nancy Pelosi on why the escalation will work:

Because I told them it had to.

You can almost smell victory in the air.

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   I can smell something in the air and it ain't victory!

 

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Hillary Clinton Takes Responsibility For Bush's War

    In an interview with the Associated Press, Hillary Clinton finally took some of the responsibility for authorizing President Bush's war on Iraq.

   I must say that it is about time that she opened up her mouth to say something, even though we already knew it.

By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press Writer   January 27,2007

DES MOINES, Iowa - New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton blamed President Bush on Saturday for misusing authority given him by Congress to act in Iraq, but conceded "I take responsibility" for her role in allowing that to happen.

"I have said clearly and consistently for quite some time that I regret the way the president misused the authority," said Clinton. "He misled Congress and the country on what he was seeking and what he intended to do."

The responsibility Clinton said she accepts was helping clear the way for Bush's path in Iraq.

"I take responsibility for having voted to give him that authority," she said. "My focus is on what we do now. That is the proper debate."           Entire Article

 

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At Least 3,079 U.S. Service Members Dead Since Bush's 'Mission Accomplished"

    Seven more U.S. military service members were killed on Saturday which brings the total Killed in the Iraq war since 2003 to at least 3,079 according to the Associated Press. The report also states that figure includes 7 military civilians.

    Once again, you can see how well President Bush's escalation is going.

    150 Iraqis, mostly Shiites, were killed in bomb attacks.

Death squads, believed to be primarily Shiite militiamen, continued their butchery on the other side of
Iraq's deepening sectarian divide, with police reporting the discovery of 40 bodies dumped in Baghdad alone. Two of the victims were women and most of the bodies showed signs of torture, police said.

In all, at least 61 victims of Iraq's sectarian warfare were killed or found dead across the country.

   Yahoo News

   Let us see now! The Iraqis do not want us there. The Iraqi government does not want us there. More importantly, the citizens of the United States does not want us there! What part of ' does not ' does Bush not understand?

    The Democrats in both the House and the Senate need to stop the war funding and they need to kick Bush's teeth down his damned throat!

                              IMPEACH. INDICT. IMPRISON.

                          Nothing less will suffice!                              

   

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12 Troops Dead In 3 Days,War Protest In D.C.

   From Yahoo News

January 27,2007

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military reported the deaths of seven more American soldiers Saturday, while Sunni insurgents bombed another market in a predominantly Shiite district, killing at least 13 people in a bid to terrorize Baghdad before a U.S.-Iraqi crackdown

The U.S. deaths raised to at least 12 the number of service members killed in the past three days. The most recent seven deaths were the result of roadside bombs, two in Diyala province, two in Baghdad and three others at an unspecified location north of the capital.

   As you can see, Bush new escalation is going real well! Maybe we can all talk Bush into going over to Iraq to help out!

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    On Saturday,tens of thousand of Iraq war protestors marched on Washington to get out of Iraq. the marchers consisted of military families, regular citizens and celebrities.

 From the AP:

United for Peace and Justice, a coalition group sponsoring the protest, had hoped 100,000 would come. Police, who no longer give official estimates, said privately the crowd was smaller than that.

At the rally, 12-year-old Moriah Arnold stood on her toes to reach the microphone and tell the crowd: "Now we know our leaders either lied to us or hid the truth. Because of our actions, the rest of the world sees us as a bully and a liar."

The sixth-grader from Harvard, Mass., organized a petition drive at her school against the war that has killed more than 3,000 U.S. service-members.

More Hollywood celebrities showed up at the demonstration than buttoned-down Washington typically sees in a month.

Actor Sean Penn said lawmakers will pay a price in the 2008 elections if they do not take firmer action than to pass a nonbinding resolution against the war, the course Congress is now taking.

"If they don't stand up and make a resolution as binding as the death toll, we're not going to be behind those politicians," he said. Actors Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins also spoke.

 

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Stories Worth Reading

   I'm sure that you have noticed over the past week that my posting was very minimal. I have had a very busy week and since I do this by myself, I did not have the chances to keep up with things as I would like to do.  This weekend is no different as I will be out taking care of other obligations that I have.So, I will leave you with some stories to check out from various other sites.

American dead of the Iraq and Afghan occupations come disproportionately from rural America.   War On Iraq

Top 10 Solutions for a More Perfect Union

By Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation.January 27, 2007.

There are ten good bills awaiting passage in Congress that could make a real difference.         Alternet

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The Terrorists of Our Imagination Aren't Muslims ... They're Us   By Anneli Rufus, Alternet. Posted January 27, 2007.

Terrorism is now the stuff of fiction, as a glance at the best-seller lists will attest. But while Islamic plotters make the headlines, the terrorists we find on the bookshelves live in our own backyard.  

                             * * * *

What happens to your emails when you die?

Posted by Heather Gehlert at 1:38 PM on January 26, 2007.

Heather Gehlert: If you don't decide who should gain access to your digital property, a court might for you.    Alternet

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Does The GOP Minority Need Counseling?

    New York Times :

By CARL HULSE

Published: January 27, 2007

CAMBRIDGE, Md., Jan. 26 — President Bush tried to rally House Republicans on Friday as the lawmakers hunkered down on the Eastern Shore and struggled to come to grips with their new minority status and the challenge of the continuing war in Iraq.

Representative Adam Putnam of Florida, chairman of the House Republican Conference, said Mr. Bush told lawmakers that “because I sleep in the White House, don’t think I don’t know what is going on out there.” Mr. Putnam said that that “reminds people that he really does get it and understands what ordinary members are going through.”   More

   I would like to have been a fly on the wall during this get together! Can you imagine Mr. Bush trying to comfort his little minions and offering them encouragement? If you are one of those poor little GOPer's that need comforting from this man, than you have major problems in your head and in your life and I would recommend that you seek counseling.

  Bush made the statement that failure is not an option in Iraq when what he really should have said is that failure is not an option in Bushland. Bush is a lifelong failure and his Iraq mission is a failure and has been from the start. Bush is trying to save face but that will never happen because everything that this punk does turns to crap and this time his daddy or his other powerful friends cannot help him.

NYT

Many House Republican lawmakers and senior aides acknowledged that the sudden loss of the majority had been a shock and that they were having difficulty adjusting. People who once ruled the House find themselves with much less to do and much less power with which to do it. The Republicans also believe they have been badly mistreated by the new Democratic majority in the opening days of the 110th Congress, as Democrats who promised a more inclusive House rammed through their priority legislation with little consideration for Republican views.                                      But the new minority has won little sympathy, given that the Democrats complained bitterly that Republicans ran roughshod over them in the 12-year Republican reign, subjecting Democrats to some of the same treatment.

    I think that I'll get the tissue out now! We had better watch the GOP a little closer as they might feel even more mistreated and report the Democrats to the local police for child abuse!

    GOP, go to your corner and SHUT UP!

 

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Friday, January 26, 2007

4 Troops abducted and Killed In Iraq

   This is the result of the Bush escalation.

    From Yahoo News

By STEVEN R. HURST and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writers January 26,2007

BAGHDAD, Iraq - In perhaps the boldest and most sophisticated attack in four years of warfare, gunmen speaking English, wearing U.S. military uniforms and carrying American weapons abducted four U.S. soldiers last week at the provincial headquarters in the Shiite holy city of Karbala and then shot them to death.                                                  In a statement issued late Friday, the military said two of the soldiers were handcuffed together in the back seat of an SUV near the southern Iraqi town of Mahawil. A third dead soldier was on the ground nearby. The fourth soldier died on the way to the hospital.                                                        The brazen assault, 50 miles south of Baghdad, was conducted by nine to 12 gunmen posing as an American security team, the military confirmed. The attackers traveled in black GMC Suburban vehicles (the type used by U.S. government convoys), had American weapons, wore new U.S. military combat fatigues, and spoke English, according to two senior U.S. military officials as well as Iraqi officials.

Entire Article

 

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Congress Resolution "Emboldens The Enemy" Says Gates

   From Yahoo News we have more from the White house spin machine.

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer January 26,2007

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday an effort in Congress to pass a resolution opposing President Bush's troop buildup undercuts U.S. commanders in Iraq and "emboldens the enemy."

At the White House on Friday, the president challenged lawmakers not to prematurely condemn his buildup, saying, "I'm the decision maker" on troop levels. Vice President Dick Cheney said earlier this week that the buildup would proceed even if a nonbinding resolution supported by some Republicans as well as Democrats wins Senate approval.

   So here we have "the decider" and sidekick Cheney who are pretty much telling the House and Senate and the American public to go fuck themselves!

   As a side note, Bush is apparently accepting the GOP resolution so far as the 'benchmarks' for the Iraqi government are concerned. Certain amount of time to get a certain amount of things accomplished. Oh, and they also agreed to hold Bush and the Iraqi Prime minister accountable.

   In case the GOP numbnuts haven't noticed. WE,THE PEOPLE, have already held Bush accountable for his lame,lying,incompetent war and other criminal activities! That is why you (GOP) lost in November!

    WE,THE PEOPLE, have not ousted Bush as of yet. We will push the House and the Senate to impeach this idiot until the will of the people is complete! Then WE,THE PEOPLE, will prosecute Mr. Bush!

 

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Debunking the Bush Escalation Opposition Myths

     With President Bush and the rest of the Crime Family spreading a few myths around about opposing the escalation, the fine people over at the Center for American Progress have turned into myth busters and have set about debunking the Bush bullshit.

    I get this info by subscribing to AmericanProgress.org for email news so I cannot post the link to this. However, I suggest that you get some of this in your email inbox by subscribing. It is free to do so.

Nearly seventy percent of Americans oppose President Bush's escalation plan, as do top military leaders, Bush's staunchest international ally, and the Iraq Study Group. After four years in the shadows, Congress has begun to use its power as a co-equal branch of government to do something about the administration's failed policies in Iraq. On Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a resolution condemning Bush's escalation strategy. "It is not in the national interest of the United States to deepen its military involvement in Iraq," the resolution said, "particularly by escalating the United States military force presence." The Senate will debate this measure along with several others next week, and a "vote could come as early as the week of Feb. 5." Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), who strongly opposes escalation, explained why a healthy debate on the issue is crucial: "I think all 100 senators ought to be on the line on this. What do you believe? What are you willing to support? What do you think?" Americans are mobilizing against the President's plan. A protest rally has been planned for this weekend in Washington, D.C., while other groups such as Americans Against Escalation in Iraq plan to lobby members of Congress "who have spoken out against the war, but who have so far declined to pledge support for a resolution denouncing Bush's plan to increase the number of troops." In response, the White House and others have put out several myths they think will win support for their plan. The Progress Report debunks the right wing's talking points:
MYTH #1 -- OPPOSING ESCALATION UNDERMINES THE TROOPS: A recent Military Times poll of active-duty forces found 39 percent of those polled think troop levels should remain the same or should decrease. Only 38 percent support sending more troops into Iraq, with 13 percent supporting a complete withdrawal. "Our troops are on the Internet constantly," Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said recently. "They know very well there's a debate going on in this country." Yet the administration and its conservative allies continue to push the false premise that opposition to the administration's failed policies -- which once again became painfully evident last Saturday -- means a lack of support for the troops. "In Iraq, all of this undermines the morale of the military and makes their task that much harder on the ground," the Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial page said about the ongoing debate. Vice President Cheney said of Senate passage of the anti-escalation resolution, "It would be, I think, detrimental from the standpoint of the troops." Hagel hit back hard against the charges. "When I hear...impugning motives and patriotism to our country, not only is it offensive and disgusting but it debases the whole system of our country and who we are," he said. "Can't we debate the most critical issue of our time, out front, in front of the American people? They expect it. Are we so weak, we can't do that?"
MYTH #2 -- PROGRESSIVES DON'T HAVE A PLAN: "It's the only game in town," Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said of escalation. Cheney claimed "the critics have not suggested a policy." Tony Snow added, "If you've got a better proposal that will achieve success in Iraq, help Iraqis get swiftly into the lead, and will demonstrate support for American forces, let us hear it."  Listen closely, Tony. Over a year and a half ago, the Center for American Progress released a responsible Iraq strategy that called for comprehensive strategic redeployment. The strategy, which was updated in May 2006, calls for reducing U.S. troops to 60,000 in six months and to zero in eighteen months, while redeploying troops to Afghanistan, Kuwait, and the Persian Gulf to contain the threat of global terror networks. The plan also calls for engaging in diplomacy to resolve the conflict within Iraq by convening a Geneva Peace Conference, establishing a Gulf Security initiative to deal with the aftermath of U.S. redeployment from Iraq, and putting Iraq's reconstruction back on track with targeted international funds. The American public and the Iraqi public support phased withdrawal.
MYTH #3 -- WE OWE THE PRESIDENT ONE LAST SHOT: "Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq," Bush said during his State of the Union address, "and I ask you to give it a chance to work." "I think it deserves a chance to see if it will work," Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said. "We should do everything in our power to help make it work," Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) said, "and that begins by giving it a chance and not criticizing it before the strategy even has a few days to work out." This talking point ignores the fact that similar strategies have been tried -- and failed -- twice before. During the last six months, the United States has increased -- or "surged" -- the number of American troops in Baghdad by 12,000, yet the violence and deaths of Americans and Iraqis has climbed alarmingly, averaging 960 a week since the latest troop increase. This past summer, Bush announced a major effort to secure Baghdad, stating at a news conference that thousands of U.S.-led coalition troops would be moved into the city. Violence intensified throughout the country, and U.S. deaths in Iraq spiked.

MYTH #4 -- HAGEL IS THE ONLY CONSERVATIVE CRITIC: The White House is trying to downplay the growing discontent among conservatives about Bush's policies. Fox News' Chris Wallace asked Cheney recently if they were losing the support from conservatives. "Well, I don't think Chuck Hagel has been with us for a long time," Cheney said. Asked for a comment on the escalation resolution, Tony Snow said there had been "no real surprises" because Hagel voted for it, ignoring the fact that Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) was the only member of the Foreign Relations Committee to express support for the president's plan. Other influential conservative voices -- including those of Sens. John Warner (R-VA), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Sam Brownback (R-KS) -- have said they will not support the plan. (See where all members of Congress stand HERE.)

 

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Feingold Chairing Judiciary Hearing On Congress's Power to End A War

    Here is some news worth mentioning.

   Actually, it is a press release from Russ Feingold

   Original release

 FEINGOLD TO CHAIR JUDICIARY HEARING ON CONGRESS’S POWER TO END A WAR

January 25, 2007

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, January 30th, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold will chair a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled, “Exercising Congress’s Constitutional Power to End a War.” Earlier this month, Feingold, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, became the first Senator to call on Congress to use its power of the purse to redeploy our troops safely from Iraq so that we can refocus on the global terrorist networks that threaten our national security. Feingold proposed this action after President George Bush announced plans to escalate our military involvement in Iraq despite the objections of members of both parties, military and foreign policy experts, and the American people.

“Congress holds the power of the purse and if the President continues to advance his failed Iraq policy, we have the responsibility to use that power to safely redeploy our troops from Iraq,” Feingold said. “This hearing will help inform my colleagues and the public about Congress’s power to end a war and how that power has been used in the past. I will soon be introducing legislation to use the power of the purse to end what is clearly one of the greatest mistakes in the history of our nation’s foreign policy.”

Witnesses at the hearing will include:

  • Louis Fisher, Library of Congress:
  • Prof. Walter Dellinger, Duke University School of Law, former Solicitor General of the United States
  • Prof. David Barron, Harvard Law School
  • Prof. Robert Turner, University of Virginia Law School

Who: U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution

What: Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing -- “Exercising Congress’s Constitutional Power to End a War.” Feingold will chair the full committee hearing.

Where: SD - 226

When: Tuesday, January 30th – 10:00 am ET

Senator Feingold’s remarks from yesterday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting regarding the need to end our involvement in Iraq can be viewed and heard here: http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/statements/07/01/20070124.htm.

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   This has been a long time coming! A little late, but we didn't have real Americans controlling the show as we do now.

 

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U.S. Military Is Authorized to Kill Iranians Inside Iraq

By Dafna Linzer

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 26, 2007; Page A01

The Bush administration has authorized the U.S. military to kill or capture Iranian operatives inside Iraq as part of an aggressive new strategy to weaken Tehran's influence across the Middle East and compel it to give up its nuclear program, according to government and counterterrorism officials with direct knowledge of the effort.       Washington Post Article

      WaPo also states that for more than a year the U.S. military has been detaining Iranians for a few days at a time while they have been collecting DNA samples, fingerprints, pictures and other things from some of the Iranians, without their knowledge.

   No big deal on those issues since this action is only meant to intimidate the Iran emissaries. I just wonder if the Iranians will instead become more irate and emboldened by the U.S. actions.

    In case you have not noticed, the Iranian government has thus far been fearless and not to concerned, publicly, with the U.S.

 

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Judges Uneasy With Secrecy Issues In Spy Program

By ADAM LIPTAK

Published: January 26, 2007

The Bush administration has employed extraordinary secrecy in defending the National Security Agency’s highly classified domestic surveillance program from civil lawsuits. Plaintiffs and judges’ clerks cannot see its secret filings. Judges have to make appointments to review them and are not allowed to keep copies.

Judges have even been instructed to use computers provided by the Justice Department to compose their decisions.

But now the procedures have started to meet resistance. At a private meeting with the lawyers in one of the cases this month, the judges who will hear the first appeal next week expressed uneasiness about the procedures, said a lawyer who attended, Ann Beeson of the American Civil Liberties Union.         NYT Article

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   This can't be good! This looks like just another way for the Bush Crime Family to keep more of its illegal doings under wraps. Strategically, it makes sense because you cannot be sued if the opposing party has no evidence to use against you.

   Having to use computers provided by the Justice Department is definitely not in the judges best interest. Once again it is in Bush's best interest. I'd bet that those computers have been tampered with and I'd also wager that materials and finding have been or will be erased or changed. I see some of the decisions being changed if they are not favorable to Bushco.

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Thursday, January 25, 2007

NIE Report will Undermine Case For Escalation

    Once a scammer, always a scammer! That would be the Bush Crime Family once again.

    Think Progress:

NPR’s Rehm: Delayed Iraq NIE Will Undermine Case For Escalation

Six months ago, Harper’s Ken Silverstein reported that “in spite of pressure from CIA analysts, intelligence czar John Negroponte was blocking a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq.” National Intelligence Estimates present the consensus view of the U.S. intelligence apparatus. Despite pressure from Congress, the administration insisted it could not complete the NIE until January 2007.

Last week, however, an administration intelligence official told senators that the report is still not complete. According to Silverstein, Senate hearing attendees “believe that senior intelligence officials are stalling because an NIE will be bleak enough to present a significant political liability.”

Yesterday, NPR host Diane Rehm may have revealed why the NIE remains so politically sensitive. On her national radio show, Rehm said:

It’s my understanding that the National Intelligence Estimate…is going to suggest that adding troops is the wrong way to go, that it’s not going to improve the situation.

CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO

Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and the House and Senate intelligence committee chairmen wrote President Bush “urging prompt completion of a national intelligence estimate (NIE) on Iraq first requested by Congress six months ago.” Read the full letter HERE.

 

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ACLU To Continue Push In Wiretap Lawsuit

   For the record, I am not a big fan of the ACLU but I do find a reason now and then to support their efforts such as the ACLU's lawsuit against the terrorist surveillance program created by the Bush Crime Family to spy on the fine citizens of the United States at will and without warrants.

   From The Associated Press

by LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration sought on Thursday to drop its appeal of a federal court ruling that concluded the government's domestic spying program is unconstitutional, saying the entire issue is moot since the surveillance now is monitored by a secret court.

Responding, lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union said they would continue to push for their day in court since President Bush retains authority to continue the warrantless spying program.       Entire Article

     The ACLU should be supported by all of us in this matter to make sure that Bushco stops this illegal use of wiretaps once and for all. they should not have the right to retain authority to do this at a later time. This is just another way to sneak the wiretaps back into action without any oversight!

 

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Attacking Iran Counter-Productive

Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency,  on Thursday said that attacking Iran would be counter-productive and would encourage Iran to build a nuclear bomb.   MORE HERE

    I guess that all of these hotshots keep forgetting what we have up in the White House! We have a 100% psychotic, delusional idiot as our President and he has yet to hear anyone when it comes to good advice.

   This piece of garbage wants an all out war in not just Iran and Iraq, but the entire middle east! The fool thinks that he's on a mission from God and those kind of people are the most dangerous kind on this planet!

    This punk and his minions have to go!

 

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Sen. Warner Will not Negotiate On Iraq Resolution

Sen. John Warner ( R-Va.) says that he will not bargain with the Democrats over which resolution will be put forth to the President.

   As is par for the course, the resolution that Warner endorses is not as hard on Bush as is the resolution being put forth by the Democrats.

   I guess that Warner still harbors close feelings for Mr. Bush?

     From Yahoo News

Warner's resolution would put the Senate on record as opposing Bush's decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. It leaves open the possibility that a small number of forces could be sent to the western Anbar Province, where al-Qaida members are believed to be operating.

The nonbinding measure is less critical than one approved Wednesday in a 12-9 vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That resolution _ introduced by Sens. Joseph Biden (news, bio, voting record), D-Del., Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record), D-Mich., and Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record), R-Neb. _ states flatly that sending more troops into Iraq is "not in the national interest."

Amid the maneuvering, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., and Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), D-Pa., led House members on a fact-finding trip to Iraq. And other Democrats attacked Vice President Dick Cheney for comments in a CNN interview Wednesday defending administration policy in Iraq.

"To have Vice President Cheney suggest that we have had a series of enormous successes in Iraq is delusional," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

 

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Bush On Why The Escalation Will Work

  From CBS News

(The Politico) By The Politico's Josephine Hearn and Mike Allen.


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday that President George W. Bush did not consult her before announcing his new strategy for the war in Iraq — a sign that, despite the cozy rhetoric, the relationship between Washington's two powerhouses has already had its share of friction.                                                                     In an interview, Pelosi also said she was puzzled by what she considered the president's minimalist explanation for his confidence in the new surge of 21,500 U.S. troops that he has presented as the crux of a new "way forward" for U.S. forces in Iraq.
"He's tried this two times — it's failed twice," the California Democrat said. "I asked him at the White House, 'Mr. President, why do you think this time it's going to work?' And he said, 'Because I told them it had to.' "              Entire Article

   I'm not sure about you, the reader. But I sure feel alot safer now!

 

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Ford Motor Post 4TH Quarter Loss

From the AP

DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford Motor Co. lost $5.8 billion in the fourth quarter amid slumping sales and huge restructuring costs, pushing the fabled automaker's deficit for the year to $12.7 billion, the largest in its 103-year history.

The fourth-quarter loss was the worst final-quarter loss in Ford's history and its second-worst quarterly performance. Ford lost $6.7 billion in the first quarter of 1992, due mainly to accounting rule changes on health care liabilities.

   It looks as if Bush's booming economy isn't so booming for the auto industry.

   Somewhat along the same lines, The New York Times reports:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 — A federal jury in Denver agreed Tuesday with a former top auditor for the Interior Department that the Kerr-McGee Corporation had cheated the government out of millions of dollars in royalties on oil it produced in publicly owned coastal waters.  

Under the False Claims Act, a law that was intended to encourage whistle-blowers, Kerr-McGee could be forced to pay more than $30 million — double or triple the original amount it owed, as well as penalties of up to $11,000 for each of 1,200 false statements that the company is accused of making in its royalty reports to the government.  Article

    Original Article

Bush Oil Reserve May Support Prices as Asia Also Buys
By Christian Schmollinger and Winnie Zhu
Bloomberg     Wednesday 24 January 2007

George W. Bush's decision to double the emergency oil stockpile in the U.S. may help to stem a six- month slide in prices as China, India and South Korea also add to demand by bolstering their defenses against shortages.

Oil gained the most since September 2005 yesterday after the U.S. Energy Department said it will boost the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to 1.5 billion barrels over 20 years. China, where imports rose 15 percent last year, began to fill its reserve in October. India also plans to double its inventories.

The U.S. plan "helps puts a floor in the market," said Antoine Halff, head of energy research at Fimat USA Inc. in New York. "It creates competition for the same barrels. It tightens the market on top of the strategic reserve builds elsewhere such as China."

Oil consumers are increasing stockpiles on concern that political instability in the Middle East, terrorism and hurricanes may cause supply disruptions. Governments may buy during dips in prices, supplementing demand growth that's forecast to slow this year by the International Energy Agency.

The U.S. move "will also alert China to be more aggressive in building up their strategic petroleum reserve," Gordon Kwan, Hong Kong-based China oil and gas research director at CLSA Ltd., said in an e-mailed strategy update. "Oil prices will likely extend their rebound heading into the summer driving season. $50 oil appears to be a solid floor."

   While more supply in the stockpile is a good thing, I have to wonder if Bush is doing this for the country or for the oil companies? He hasn't done much for the country so may bet is for the latter.

 

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Neocons and the Middle East,Minimum Wage Shot Down & Bush Still an Idiot!

   It's Thursday morning and here is some of the stories making the rounds for today!

   First off, we have Nellebracht over at DailyKos with a few thoughts on what the Bush Crime Family is really up to in Iraq and the rest of the middle east. As I've stated before on more than one occasion,it's all about the oil.

If this theory is correct, it allows us to make a few predictions.  The first is that the result of the surge will be to increase violence and division and not decrease it.  The second is that the US will continue its rhetoric against Iran, but will prefer to use its proxies in Israel and Saudi Arabia to instigate violence.  The final prediction I will make is that President Bush will withdraw most if not all American troops from Iraq before the end of his term.       The Article

       Of course, you may already know that GOP Senators blocked the federal minimum wage increase. The GOP wants tax cuts for small business included in the wage raise bill.

On a vote of 54-43, Democrats fell six short of the 60 needed to end debate and go to passage of a House-approved bill, to raise the minimum wage for the first time in a decade -- boosting it over two years to $7.25 per hour from $5.15.  Yahoo News

Congressional Budget Office says that the budget deficit will shrink this year, 3 years in a row, and that we could have a surplus by 2012 if Bush's tax cuts expire in 2010.              NYTimes Article

“Two years ago, the president laid out an ambitious goal to cut the deficit in half by 2009, and we met that goal three years early,” said Rob Portman, the White House budget director. “We are now on a solid path toward the president’s new goal to achieve a balanced budget by 2012.”                  But Congressional budget officials cautioned that the projections were not as sunny as they looked, in part because they assume that Congress will let President Bush’s tax cuts expire in 2010, along with many corporate tax breaks, and will not try to shield millions of families from a big increase in their tax bills because of the alternative minimum tax.

   Here's a nice little story  for your reading pleasure today.

   It looks as if our Idiot in Chief tried to get congressional approval to pretty much attack anyone in the middle east that he wanted to!

    From Think Progress

HAGEL: [F]inally, begrudgingly, [the White House] sent over a resolution for Congress to approve. Well, it was astounding. It said they could go anywhere in the region.

GQ: It wasn’t specific to Iraq?

HAGEL: Oh no. It said the whole region! They could go into Greece or anywhere. Is central Asia in the region? I suppose! Sure as hell it was clear they meant the whole Middle East. It was anything. It was literally anything. No boundaries. No restrictions.

GQ: They expected Congress to let them start a war anywhere in the Middle East?

HAGEL: Yes. Yes. Wide open. We had to rewrite it. Joe Biden, Dick Lugar, and I stripped the language that the White House had set up and put our language in it.

        Knowing the Bush history the way that many of us have for years, this is no surprise.

    Time to start your day!

    Remember! The only good Bush is a prosecuted Bush!

 

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Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Cheney's Interview With Wolf Blitzer

Vice President Dick Cheney when interviewed by CNN's Wolf Blitzer said:

BLITZER: What if the Senate passes a resolution saying, This is not good idea? Will that stop you?

CHENEY: It won't stop us. And it would be, I think, detrimental from the standpoint of the troops. As General Petraeus said yesterday

-- he was asked by Joe Lieberman, among others, in his testimony about this notion that somehow the Senate could vote overwhelmingly for him, send him on his new assignment and then pass a resolution at the same time, say, "But we don't agree with the mission you've been given."

BLITZER: You're moving forward, no matter what the Congress does.

CHENEY: We are moving forward. We are moving forward. The Congress has control over the purse strings. They have the right, obviously, if they want, to cut off funding. But, in terms of this effort, the president's made his decision. We've consulted extensively with them. We'll continue to consult with the Congress. But the fact of the matter is, we need to get the job done. I think General Petraeus can do it. I think our troops can do it. And I think it's far too soon for the talking heads on television to conclude that it's impossible to do, it's not going to work, it can't possibly succeed.                     Transcript

   So basically what Cheney said was that this administration is still 'stay the course' and that Bushco does not care what the American people,the House, or the Senate thinks!

    This is beginning to sound alot like 'dictator' to me.

    I say that the congress should begin impeachment proceedings and that they start with Condi Rice and work their way up the ladder.

 

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Bush's Speech and Other News

      Iraq seems to be having a problem finishing their national petroleum law. It is hoped that this new long will bring all of the Iraqi factions together as they would be sharing in the profits from oil sales, but there are a few obstacles standing in the way.    The Washington Post for more.

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Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, January 24, 2007

BEIRUT, Jan. 23 -- The Hezbollah-led opposition cut roads in Beirut and across Lebanon with burning tires, uprooted trees, incinerated cars and barricades to enforce a strike Tuesday aimed at toppling the government, paralyzing the country and embarrassing Lebanese officials ahead of an international aid conference.   WaPo for more.

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I'm not even going to comment on what I think of Bush's State of the Union speech on Tuesday night as I have said enough about it after he was finished with it. You can click The New York Times for everyone else's opinion. If you do not like the NYT, then try here at U.S. News

                         * * * *

According to an exhaustive BBC poll, nearly three-quarters of those polled in 25 countries oppose the Bush policy on Iraq, and more than two-thirds believe the U.S. presence in the Middle East destabilizes the region.       Truthdig

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From BarryLando.com:

Between 1990 and 2003 hundreds of thousands of Iraqis—particularly children—were killed by another weapon of mass destruction—the U.N. embargo, pushed principally by the U.S and Britain. Its disastrous impact is still felt throughout Iraq

              Go HERE for more

 

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Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Jim Webb's Democratic Response

Response To President Bush's State Of The Union Address From Senator Jim Webb (D-VA):

Good evening.

I'm Senator Jim Webb, from Virginia, where this year we will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown - an event that marked the first step in the long journey that has made us the greatest and most prosperous nation on earth.

It would not be possible in this short amount of time to actually rebut the President's message, nor would it be useful. Let me simply say that we in the Democratic Party hope that this administration is serious about improving education and healthcare for all Americans, and addressing such domestic priorities as restoring the vitality of New Orleans.

Further, this is the seventh time the President has mentioned energy
independence in his state of the union message, but for the first time this exchange is taking place in a Congress led by the Democratic Party. We are looking for affirmative solutions that will strengthen our nation by freeing us from our dependence on foreign oil, and spurring a wave of entrepreneurial growth in the form of alternate energy programs. We look forward to working with the President and his party to bring about these changes.

There are two areas where our respective parties have largely stood in
contradiction, and I want to take a few minutes to address them tonight. The first relates to how we see the health of our economy - how we measure it, and how we ensure that its benefits are properly shared among all Americans. The second regards our foreign policy - how we might bring the war in Iraq to a proper conclusion that will also allow us to continue to fight the war against international terrorism, and to address other strategic concerns that our country faces around the world.

When one looks at the health of our economy, it's almost as if we are living in two different countries. Some say that things have never been better. The stock market is at an all-time high, and so are corporate profits. But these benefits are not being fairly shared. When I graduated from college, the average corporate CEO made 20 times what the average worker did; today, it's nearly 400 times. In other words, it takes the average worker more than a year to make the money that his or her boss makes in one day.

Wages and salaries for our workers are at all-time lows as a percentage of national wealth, even though the productivity of American workers is the highest in the world. Medical costs have skyrocketed. College tuition rates are off the charts. Our manufacturing base is being dismantled and sent overseas. Good American jobs are being sent along with them.

In short, the middle class of this country, our historic backbone and our best hope for a strong society in the future, is losing its place at the table. Our workers know this, through painful experience. Our white-collar professionals are beginning to understand it, as their jobs start disappearing also. And they expect, rightly, that in this age of globalization, their government has a duty to insist that their concerns be dealt with fairly in the international marketplace.

In the early days of our republic, President Andrew Jackson established an important principle of American-style democracy - that we should measure the health of our society not at its apex, but at its base. Not with the numbers that come out of Wall Street, but with the living conditions that exist on Main Street. We must recapture that spirit today.

And under the leadership of the new Democratic Congress, we are on our way to doing so. The House just passed a minimum wage increase, the first in ten years, and the Senate will soon follow. We've introduced a broad legislative package designed to regain the trust of the American people. We've established a tone of cooperation and consensus that extends beyond party lines. We're working to get the right things done, for the right people and for the right reasons.

With respect to foreign policy, this country has patiently endured a mismanaged war for nearly four years. Many, including myself, warned even before the war began that it was unnecessary, that it would take our energy and attention away from the larger war against terrorism, and that invading and occupying Iraq would leave us strategically vulnerable in the most violent and turbulent corner of the world.

I want to share with all of you a picture that I have carried with me for more than 50 years. This is my father, when he was a young Air Force captain, flying cargo planes during the Berlin Airlift. He sent us the picture from Germany, as we waited for him, back here at home. When I was a small boy, I used to take the picture to bed with me every night, because for more than three years my father was deployed, unable to live with us full-time, serving overseas or in bases where there was no family housing. I still keep it, to remind me of the sacrifices that my mother and others had to make, over and over again, as my father gladly served our country. I was proud to follow in his footsteps, serving as a Marine in Vietnam. My brother did as well, serving as a Marine helicopter pilot. My son has joined the tradition, now serving as an infantry Marine in Iraq.

Like so many other Americans, today and throughout our history, we serve and have served, not for political reasons, but because we love our country. On the political issues - those matters of war and peace, and in some cases of life and death - we trusted the judgment of our national leaders. We hoped that they would be right, that they would measure with accuracy the value of our lives against the enormity of the national interest that might call upon us to go into harm's way.

We owed them our loyalty, as Americans, and we gave it. But they owed us - sound judgment, clear thinking, concern for our welfare, a guarantee that the threat to our country was equal to the price we might be called upon to pay in defending it.

The President took us into this war recklessly. He disregarded warnings from the national security adviser during the first Gulf War, the chief of staff of the army, two former commanding generals of the Central Command, whose jurisdiction includes Iraq, the director of operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many, many others with great integrity and long experience in national security affairs. We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable - and predicted - disarray that has followed.

The war's costs to our nation have been staggering.Financially.The damage to our reputation around the world.The lost opportunities to defeat the forces of international terrorism.And especially the precious blood of our citizens who have stepped forward to serve.

The majority of the nation no longer supports the way this war is being fought; nor does the majority of our military. We need a new direction. Not one step back from the war against international terrorism. Not a precipitous withdrawal that ignores the possibility of further chaos. But an immediate shift toward strong regionally-based diplomacy, a policy that takes our soldiers off the streets of Iraq's cities, and a formula that will in short order allow our combat forces to leave Iraq.

On both of these vital issues, our economy and our national security, it falls upon those of us in elected office to take action.

Regarding the economic imbalance in our country, I am reminded of the situation President Theodore Roosevelt faced in the early days of the 20th century. America was then, as now, drifting apart along class lines. The so-called robber barons were unapologetically raking in a huge percentage of the national wealth. The dispossessed workers at the bottom were threatening revolt.

Roosevelt spoke strongly against these divisions. He told his fellow Republicans that they must set themselves "as resolutely against improper corporate influence on the one hand as against demagogy and mob rule on the other." And he did something about it.

As I look at Iraq, I recall the words of former general and soon-to-be President Dwight Eisenhower during the dark days of the Korean War, which had fallen into a bloody stalemate. "When comes the end?" asked the General who had commanded our forces in Europe during World War Two. And as soon as he became President, he brought the Korean War to an end.

These Presidents took the right kind of action, for the benefit of the American people and for the health of our relations around the world. Tonight we are calling on this President to take similar action, in both areas. If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way. Thank you for listening. And God bless America.

 

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The Bush State of the Union

   It is apparent that Bush has changed his subjects a little in this coming speech. everything that he has chosen to highlight such as healthcare reform and energy, are things which will appeal to the Democrats.

   I seriously doubt if they are going to bite into his bi-partisan bullshit though. This speech as like everything else from this chimp, something to say to take the focus off of his failure in Iraq.

   Let us not be sucked into his rhetoric any longer! He has nothing new to offer the American people! He never has, he never will!

 

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President Bush's Agenda For Spreading Hope And Opportunity In America

   Does that title not sound sweet? What a crock !

    HERE is an outline of President Bush's State of the Union speech tonight.

    After looking at this, I have come to believe that Bush wants to be a Democrat deep down inside! After all, everything on this list are things that the Democrats have been pushing for quite some time.

    I remember, in a time not so long ago, that the Republicans were always saying that the Democrats had no vision and no ideas. Look at the GOP now! They have taken to using the Democrats 'no ideas' and the Democrats 'no vision' because they are the ones who have no vision or ideas!  MY,MY,MY!

                                * * * *

In The State Of The Union Address, President Bush Will Discuss A Domestic Agenda Including:

Energy:President Bush will ask Congress and America's scientists, farmers, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs to join
him in pursuing the goal of reducing U.S. gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next ten years – Twenty in Ten.

Health Care: President Bush will announce his proposals to make basic, private health insurance available and affordable for more Americans.

Spending Reform: President Bush will discuss three major reforms to spend taxpayer dollars wisely: balancing the budget through pro-growth policies and spending restraint, enacting common-sense reforms to help prevent billions of
taxpayer dollars from being spent on unnecessary earmarks, and reforming entitlement programs.
Education: President Bush will discuss his priorities for strengthening and reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act) this year.
Immigration: President Bush will call on Congress to pass a  comprehensive immigration reform bill that will secure our borders, enhance interior and worksite enforcement, create a temporary worker program, resolve – without animosity and without amnesty – the status of illegal immigrants already here, and promote assimilation into our society.
Judges: The President has a duty to nominate qualified men and women to fill vacancies on the Federal bench, and he calls on the Senate to give those nominees a fair hearing and a prompt up-or-down vote.

War On Terror/Iraq: The challenge playing out across the broader Middle East is more than a military conflict – "it is the decisive ideological struggle of our time." For the safety of our people, America must succeed in Iraq, and the President believes his new Iraq plan is the best way to succeed. Tonight, the President will propose to establish a special advisory council on the War on Terror made up of leaders in Congress from both political parties.

   Just from the excerpts of the speech that I have read, I can say that this is just more bullshit from Bush!

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   I put a section of the above paragraph in parenthesis to point out the same old line from Bushco. We have heard this time and time again and it is getting a little tiring! Another advisory council? That is just what we need now! Another group to make recommendations to the Bush character just so that he can ignore them!

    The biggest struggle of our time is getting rid of President (?) Bush!

 

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