Be INFORMED

Saturday, March 10, 2007

More Troops and More Cash For Bush?

   8,200 more troops are needed for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan now? $3.2 billion in additional funds to pay for these extra troops?

    Bush did send a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying that the cost would be offset by canceling $3.2 billion in low-priority defense items.       Source

    Yes, and cows can fly!    

"Gen. Petraeus expects under the Baghdad security plan as well as other parts of Iraq, that the number of people going into detention will increase and so these military police forces will be for that," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

   What this basically says is that either the general and Bush saved this bit of news for now instead of telling the people that we would need additional troops , or that both Bush and the military generals are all incompetent for not realizing that more troops would be needed as those held in detention increased. I vote for the latter reason, especially on Bush's part because we all know that the man is a natural born idiot in the first place and then there is the fact that this administration has not been right about anything in six years.

   If Pelosi and the rest of the Dems go for this bullshit, then I would think that they need to be replaced the next time that their turn comes up.

   I've said it before and I will keep on repeating it. We did not place you Democrats in office to vote on non-binding resolutions, or to make deals with Bush on the war escalation or funding thereof. We put you in office to get our people out and back home, period! No if, ands, or buts! No discussion and no compromise with the White house or with each other. Do your freakin' jobs!!

 

Gonzales Says FBI Broke Law. No Kidding!

From the Huffington Post

Gonzales, Mueller Admit FBI Broke Law

LARA JAKES JORDAN  |  AP  |  March 9, 2007 
    WASHINGTON — The nation's top two law enforcement officials acknowledged Friday the FBI broke the law to secretly pry out personal information about Americans. They apologized and vowed to prevent further illegal intrusions.

    Attorney General Alberto Gonzales left open the possibility of pursuing criminal charges against FBI agents or lawyers who improperly used the USA Patriot Act in pursuit of suspected terrorists and spies.

    The FBI's transgressions were spelled out in a damning 126-page audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine. He found that agents sometimes demanded personal data on people without official authorization, and in other cases improperly obtained telephone records in non-emergency circumstances.

   So now I wonder who's head is going on the block for this illegal activity?  I do not think that an apology by the FBI and a promise to not let it happen again is going to work.

   I'd also bet that those hoods up in the White House fully backed the illegal snooping that the FBI was doing on the American citizens.

   I seriously wonder if there is any government security organization in the United States that is actually working by the law anymore sonce Bush and the boys came into office.

    Attorney General  Gonzales won't pursue any of the agents involved in this shit because that would more than likely cover much of the FBI group in charge of spying on the American's that they live with.

   Gonzales himself should be the first head to roll in the matter. Not to worry though because his day is coming more sooner than later I think.

 

McCain: GOP Lost Congress Because Of Spending

   John McCain was in Conway, South Carolina flapping his face about how the Republicans lost control of Congress. According to McCain, the Republicans lost the Congress because they let spending get out of control.

   McCain told the 225 people who came to hear him that Republicans started valuing power over principle which caused the spending to lurch out of control.     Source

   When it comes to the Iraq war, McCain said the same old line that we have been hearing for years.

"We lose this war and come home, they'll follow us home."

"I think you should judge people by their record," McCain said. "I am conservative across the board and I will match my record with anybody in America much less anybody who is running."

   Lost Congress because of over spending? Somebody get Mr. McCain his medication because it looks like his memory is slipping again. I do not recall many of the voters speaking on the GOP over-spending nearly as much as they did on getting our troops out of Iraq and back home where they belong.

    Mr. McCain should take his old ancient ass back to Arizona and then go play on the golf course and leave the real problems to those who can remember what happened yesterday. What an idiot this man is turning into!

 

Sexual Assault By Comrades In Iraq

       Here is a story that I am crossposting and this one deals with the female soldiers in Iraq concerned with sexual assault, from our own military troops in Iraq.

Iraq Slogger

Female Troops Fear Sexual Assault by Comrades

Salon Chronicles "The Private War of Women Soldiers"

By CHRISTINA DAVIDSON 03/08/2007 6:08 PM ET

Considering the dominant masculinity of military culture, the exposure of female sexual persecution in incidents such as the Tailhook scandal, though they may shock public sensibilities, don't tend to surprise those who have served.

Helen Benedict has written an impressive and depressing piece for Salon.com chronicling the disturbing incidence of the intentional blue-on-blue attacks that come in the form of sexual assault.

Benedict did in-depth interviews with 20 female Iraq veterans, and "every one of them said the danger of rape by other soldiers is so widely recognized in Iraq that their officers routinely told them not to go to the latrines or showers without another woman for protection."

One soldier, Spc. Mickiela Montoya, 21, carried a knife with her at all times. As Benedict reports:

"The knife wasn't for the Iraqis," she told me. "It was for the guys on my own side."

The Pentagon does not maintain comprehensive statistic on the incidence of sexual assault in the military, but Benedict cites a 2003 survey of female veterans from Vietnam through the first Gulf War, which found that 30 percent reported having been raped during their term of service.

 

Will Iraq Force The US Out?

   Crossposted from Common Dreams

Published on Friday, March 9, 2007 by TomPaine.com

Iraq: Pulled Out Or Pushed Out

by Robert Dreyfuss

Two parliaments, half a world away from each other, struggled with calls to end the war in Iraq yesterday. In Washington, Democrats in the U.S. Congress ended weeks of squabbling to settle on the outlines of a legislative plan to end the war no later than August, 2008, and perhaps sooner. Meanwhile, in Baghdad, a new constellation of political parties is beginning to take shape in the Iraqi parliament, united around the idea of asking U.S. forces to leave Iraq as soon as possible. Tremendous obstacles stand in the way of pro-peace forces both in Congress and in Iraq’s parliament, but if I had to guess, I’d bet that the Iraqis will ask the United States to get out of Iraq long before Congress can force the issue.

Most congressional progressives and members of the Out of Iraq Caucus aren’t thrilled with the plan cobbled together by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Even so, let’s give credit where credit is due. Four months after an election in which American voters went to the polls to demand an end to the war, the Democrats responded by proposing a timetable to do just that, calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces by the end of 2007 if President Bush can’t certify that the Iraqi government is meeting a series of specific benchmarks, and by August 2008 even if those benchmarks are met.

The Democratic House leadership is: facing a nearly unified Republican caucus in both the House and Senate opposed to any weakening of the U.S. role in Iraq; threatened by a promised White House veto; and dragged down by the anchor of several dozen conservative, Blue Dog Democrats afraid to challenge President Bush over the war. Nevertheless, House leaders have probably done about the best they could. It won’t satisfy anti-war activists, who’ll have to redouble efforts to turn up the heat on the congressional Dems. And it hasn’t exactly won plaudits from congressional progressives, who are pressing their own plan to force a more definitive exit, and sooner, by making more aggressive use of the power of the purse to force a withdrawal by the end of 2007—even though most of them are likely to hold their noses and vote for Pelosi’s watered-down plan, too.

But the harsh reality of the American political system, in which the White House holds most of the cards—from its veto power to the president’s role as commander in chief—means that Congress is playing politics, not making policy. To be sure, it’s good politics: over the next 18 months or so, the Democrats can draw a sharp distinction between their support for a withdrawal deadline and the president’s obsessive insistence on escalating the war. That, in turn, can help guarantee that the November 2008 election results in another Democratic landslide. A recent USA Today poll showed that a stunning 77 percent of Americans favor bringing U.S. troops home if the Iraqi government fails to end the civil-war violence there. But the House legislation isn’t likely to become law. Nor is an anti-war resolution in the Senate, where the Republicans are planning a filibuster to stop it.

And so, at least as far as Congress is concerned, the war will go on. True, Democrats might find a reservoir of courage that will enable them to conduct the kind of full-court press on Iraq that’s needed to end the carnage there. And true, if enough Republicans in Congress stopped acting like suicidal lemmings running over the Iraq War cliff and defected to the peace camp, the war would end quickly. But neither of those seems likely.

While Congress may be stymied, however, something important is happening in Iraq.

Few Americans pay attention to Iraqi politics, but over the past few days something has occurred that could change the course of the war. For the first time since the Iraqi election of 2005, a coalition of Sunni and Shiite Arab parties and leaders is starting to take shape, across the sectarian divide that has fueled the civil war. It began two days ago, with the announcement by the Fadhila (Islamic Virtue) party that it is leaving the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), to become an independent political party.

With 15 seats in the Iraqi parliament and with a significant grassroots base throughout the Shiite areas of southern Iraq, Fadhila is a nationalist party committed to the idea of a unitary Iraqi state. It is opposed to the breakup of Iraq into regions or statelets. And its leader, Nadim al-Jaberi, is explicitly opposed to sectarianism. He is committed to reaching out to Sunni parties and secular groups to find common ground, and a new political coalition. Most important, like most of the Sunni parties in Iraq, al-Jaberi and Fadhila support the rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.

Fadhila is currently negotiating with Sunni and secular parties—including the Sunni religious bloc, a quasi-Baathist Sunni nationalist party and the secular Iraq National List led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi—on the formation of a new Sunni-Shiite-secular bloc in Iraq that would have nearly 100 votes in the 270-member Iraqi parliament.

Not only that, but Fadhila is a “Sadrist” party, whose origins lie in loyalty to the powerful Sadr clerical family. Fadhila is not loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, the thirty-something mullah who leads the Mahdi Army. But there are enough ties between Fadhila and the Mahdi Army that perhaps Muqtada’s own bloc could be persuaded to join the emerging new coalition, too. (Late last year, Muqtada’s party pulled out of the Iraqi government, and according to Iraqi insiders Sadr is also talking to the same nationalist, Sunni and secular forces about the creation of a new “government of national salvation.”) Along with a handful of independent Shiite members of parliament, that would give the new coalition enough power in parliament to have a vote of no confidence in hapless U.S. ally Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, topple his government and then reconstitute a nationalist Iraqi government that could ask for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Even part of the ruling Dawa party, Maliki’s own party, is said to favor the idea.

Yesterday, members of the Iraqi parliament representing all of those parties—Fadhila, Allawi’s bloc and the Sunni parties—held an unprecedented teleconference with a dozen members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, an event organized by Representative Jim McDermott (D.-Wash.). Fadhila’s Nadim al-Jaberi took part in the teleconference, and he minced no words. “Putting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops is a very important step in giving Iraqis confidence that the occupation will end,” he said. Jaberi also added that by quitting the UIA, Fadhila has permanently splintered the Shiite bloc. “We have opened a very wide door in redrawing the Iraqi political map,” he said, hinting that Muqtada al-Sadr’s party might walk through that door and join the new bloc.

Other Iraqi parliamentarians, including Saleh Mutlaq of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front, along with representatives of the Iraqi Accord Front (Sunni) and the Iraq National List, also took part in the teleconference with Jaberi. All called for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, along with emergency efforts to reconstitute a new Iraqi government and to rebuild the Iraqi armed forces.

The emerging new Iraqi coalition is fragile, and it could easily fall apart or fall victim to intensified sectarian warfare. Many obstacles lie in its way, including the attitude of the Kurds, the opposition of the powerful Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and other factors—including, of course, the machinations of the United States and its ambassador in Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad. But it’s at least possible that by the summer a new government could start taking shape in Baghdad, one that could (among other things) assert its nationalist credentials by demanding a timetable for a U.S. pullout.

President Bush, of course, would do everything he could to prevent the emergence of such a new coalition in Iraq, including possibly the use of military force against its leaders. Unlike with Nancy Pelosi’s legislation, however, at least the White House can’t veto something that the Iraqi parliament passes.

Robert Dreyfuss is an Alexandria, Va.-based writer specializing in politics and national security issues. He is the author of Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam , a contributing editor at The Nation and a writer for Mother Jones, The American Prospect and Rolling Stone. He can be reached through his website, www.robertdreyfuss.com.

© 2007 TomPaine.com

 

Teens Hide Mom's Body In Car Trunk For A Month

   The  following story is one reason that I am totally for parents and teachers being allowed to take a belt, paddle, or hand at the child's early age and spanking that ass when it is needed instead of just talking to the child as is the way that it seems to go these days.

CNN     March 10, 2007

LAFAYETTE, Colorado (AP) -- For nearly a month after she was stabbed to death, Linda Damm's body lay in the trunk of her car inside her garage while her 15-year-old daughter and friends used her debit card to "do teenage stuff," police say.

Three teens tried but failed to get rid of the body, investigators allege, once turning back because they got stuck in the mud of a nearby landfill and later retrieving the body from a grave they had just dug at the edge of a cemetery, fearing it was too shallow.

They were planning to drive north to Wyoming for a third attempt, investigators claim, when an anonymous tip led police to Damm's body on February 28 in her modest house in Lafayette, a small town about 20 miles northeast of Denver.

   So now Linda Damm's daughter,Tess Damm, and her punk assed boyfriend are in jail without bail. Tess is charged with conspiracy, accessory, and tampering with evidence. The boyfriend, Bryan Grove, is charged with murder, conspiracy and tampering with evidence and they will both be tried as adults.

   There is a third teen who has been arrested but charges haven't been files yet and the DA has yet to figure out if this punk will be tried as an adult also.

    These are the kinds of kids that all of those bleeding hearts who said that real punishment would hurt a child's self esteem have created. Parents are afraid to look at the child the wrong way because of fear that the child will call social services or tell a school counselor that mommy or daddy touched me.

   Tess Damm claims that her mother was an alcoholic and that she could not care for her the way that she was supposed to.

   By looking at the picture with the original article, I would say that the daughter was a punk who never listened to the mother in the first place. Tess has trouble written all over her.

  She and her boyfriend and their other little friend should be fried.

 

Senator Hagel Says Congress May Use Impeachment

     Here is one for you from Think Progress from a  report in Esquire magazine.

Posted by Faiz March 6, 2007

Hagel Suggests Possibility Of Bush Impeachment: ‘He’s Not Accountable Anymore’

hagelAccording to a new report in Esquire magazine, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) has suggested that Congress may consider the impeachment of President Bush before his term ends:

“The president says, ‘I don’t care.’ He’s not accountable anymore,” Hagel says, measuring his words by the syllable and his syllables almost by the letter. “He’s not accountable anymore, which isn’t totally true. You can impeach him, and before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment. I don’t know. It depends how this goes.”

The conversation beaches itself for a moment on that word — impeachment — spoken by a conservative Republican from a safe Senate seat in a reddish state. It’s barely even whispered among the serious set in Washington, and it rings like a gong in the middle of the sentence, even though it flowed quite naturally out of the conversation he was having about how everybody had abandoned their responsibility to the country, and now there was a war going bad because of it.

Hagel isn’t the only one frustrated. The desire for more accountability over Bush has led to increasing calls for impeachment from the Washington State legislature, the mayor of Salt Lake City, and town hall meetings in Vermont.

Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) said pushing for impeachment would be counterproductive because it would break off efforts to recruit conservative support for changing the course of the war in Iraq. “We’re trying to get [conservatives] to vote against the war. They’re coming around. You don’t hear them singing the virtues of George Bush like they used to. But nothing will turn this into a partisan lockdown faster than impeachment.” Inslee added, “Ending the war is what’s important now.”

          * * * *

   The only problem with the last statement is that those Republicans who are supposed to be coming around have had at least one or two chances to join with the Democrats in stopping this war and they have refused to do so.

 

Bush Trying To Sneak Amnesty Past Us?

   It would appear that the Bush clan is up to no good when it comes to the amnesty issue and illegal's. It looks as if the White House has has put together a new plan but instead of presenting the plan to the congress or the public, they have taken to inviting certain members  of congress to the White House so that they can sell them a certain bill of goods. See for yourself.

Bush trying to sneak another amnesty in on us.

user icon CarolinaGirl  @ johnedwards.com
3/09/2007

According to an e-mail that I received from NumbersUSA.com, the White House is trying to sneak one in on those who oppose amnesty.  

(This is from the email)
The story from the White House is not yet entirely clear to us -- or to our allies in Congress. But this is what is emerging:

While the media (and all of us activists) have been mostly focused on blocking Sen. Kennedy's latest (yet-unveiled) amnesty, Karl Rove and his White House crew have been shuttling Senators and Representatives in and out almost non-stop trying to build momentum for THEIR newly hatched attempt at an amnesty.

The groups trekking to the White House are mostly Republican but are including Democrats, too.

We are told that at least a few supposedly anti-amnesty Members of Congress have already given their approval to this new White House plan. Their willingness to do so is reportedly because the White House argues that new features make it possible to give illegal aliens citizenship without distracted voters recognizing that it is an amnesty.

Among the features appear to be echoes of the "step-out-step-in" portion of the Pence Amnesty plan from last year where at some point illegal aliens have crossed the border for a few hours or days before coming back in and applying for a path to citizenship.

Although the White House is not saying so directly, it appears that it plans to have a massive increase in annual green cards in order to accommodate the step-out-step-in citizenship applicants.

The White House is preying on the fear of many Members of Congress that if they don't soon pass something that looks like a solution to the 12 million illegal aliens, they will suffer political fallout.

Only you can make them more fearful of endorsing anything that allows illegal aliens to remain permanently in this country.

We must stop any momentum that may already have developed for introducing this.

Your own Members may already have given at least a tentative pledge of support.

You can reach all Washington D.C. offices through this switchboard:

CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD
202-224-3121

You can also call your Members at their local offices. Get those phone numbers here:

http://numbersusa.com/myMembers

 

IceRocket tags: , ,

Email Sent To John Edwards Supporters Blasts Fox News

"Enough is enough. It's time to send a clear message to Fox News and their allies that their right-wing talking points and temper tantrums won't go unchallenged anymore  -  when it comes to what Democrats should do in the Democratic primary, we'll decide - no matter what they report:

Fox News has already proven they have no intention of providing "fair and balanced" coverage of any Democrat in this election.

In recent weeks they have run blatant lies about Senator Obama's background. And Fox was only too happy to give Ann Coulter a platform to spew more hate a few days after her bigoted attack on Senator Edwards and the gay community.

Now it's time for Democrats to stand together and send a clear message to Roger Ailes, Fox News and all the rest of them: bias isn't balance, but turning tables is fair.

The truth is, Fox News can "report" whatever they want. And when it works for us, we'll deal with them on our terms. But this campaign is about responsibility and accountability, and we need to send the message to Fox that if they want to be the corporate mouthpiece of the Republican Party more than they want to be an impartial news outlet, they shouldn't expect Democrats to play along."

      From an email sent to John Edwards supporters by Deputy Campaign Manager Jonathon Prince.  You can read the entire email Here.

   Along these same lines, somewhat, John Edwards may want to send Ann Coulter a " thank you ' for her comments which she made about him while flapping her face at the CPAC meeting last week.

   John Edwards has been getting much more attention since Coulter's verbal slander and he deserves all of the free publicity that he can get.

   You may want to visit his website  when you have the time and see what he has to say about the issues and a few other things.

 

Chavez Calls Bush A " political cadaver ", Bin Laden Turns 50

        Meanwhile, down in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Hugo Chavez has been leading an anti-American rally which drew some 20,000 into a football stadium to listen to him and to cheer him on.  Source

   No matter what you may think of Chavez, you have to give the man some credit for doing what he believes in, whether it is right or wrong. It is just to bad that the United States doesn't have a president with any nerve of his own and who just happens to make mostly wrong decisions on the rare occasions when he is allowed to .

   Hugo Chavez did have some interesting comments to make at his rally.

Al Jazeera       MARCH 10, 2007

  Alluding to Bush's waning years in office, Chavez said: "The US president today is a true political cadaver and now he does not even smell of sulphur anymore.

  "What the little gentleman from the North now exudes is the smell of political death and in a very short time he will be converted into cosmic dust and disappear from the stage."

"North America for the North Americans, South America for the South Americans. This is our America!" he said, standing under a large sign reading "Bush and Imperialism, Out!" and "Yes to Latin American unity!"

On Argentine state television, the Venezuelan leader on Friday, said: "It seems he's just now discovered that poverty exists in the region".

   Isn't it nice to have such a well loved president as Bush in the White House?

   The sad thing is that the citizens of the United States are looked upon with as much contempt as Bush is because a few million of you idiots voted for him the second time around and that is seen by the rest of the world as condoning his actions.

                    * * * *

    Osama Bin Laden turns 50 years of age today if he is still among the living. The Taliban will be giving their little war a break in order to offer up special prayers to Allah granting Bin Laden another 200 years of life.

   Taliban spokesman Mullah Hayatullah Khan:"He is alive. I am 100 per cent sure." He also stated that Taliban senior leaders have been in touch with Osama.    

   Did you know that Bin Laden inherited $300 million when he was only 14 years of age?   Source

    If he is still alive, he must be laughing his butt off at the infidels who were suckered into this war by the Bush crime clan and then suckered into voting for the Idiot in Chief a second time.

 

 

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Gingrich,Falwell, and Dobson: Three Amigo's?

   Rev. Jerry Falwell was so touched by Newt Gingrich's admission of an extramarital affair that he has invited the Newtster to do a  commencement speech at Mr. Falwell's Liberty University.

    Gingrich had an affair in 1998, parted ways with his second wife, Marianne, only after his lawyers admitted that Newt was screwing around with Callista Bisek. This is who Gingrich is now married to. Gingrich told some of this to James Dobson from Focus on the Family. 

Yahoo News

"He has admitted his moral shortcomings to me, as well, in private conversations," Falwell wrote in a weekly newsletter sent Friday to members of the Moral Majority Coalition and The Liberty Alliance. "And he has also told me that he has, in recent years, come to grips with his personal failures and sought God's forgiveness."

Gingrich, 63, a former Georgia congressman who served as Republican speaker of the House after leading the party to its first House majority in 40 years, has been married three times. He has supported a family-values agenda as a candidate, and his two divorces have sparked reports of extramarital affairs as well as charges of hypocrisy from critics.

In the Dobson interview, Gingrich argued that he should not be seen as a hypocrite and suggested he had an obligation to pursue the charges against Clinton.

Falwell, in his newsletter, said he has usually been able to tell when a man who has experienced "moral collapse" was genuinely seeking forgiveness. "My sense tells me that Mr. Gingrich is such a man," he wrote.

      Falwell did say that the invitation to Gingrich was not an endorsement of him . Sure Jerry, we believe you.

     Two hypocritical, so-called Christian's who are searching for a presidential nominee that best reflects there political agenda and moral values. I guess that Gingrich would fit right in with these two as none of them have any morals to begin with. Gingrich should be well aware that if he is duped into running for the GOP nomination, some of us will constantly bombard his sorry ass with his past immorality 24 hours per day. Going out into public and telling all of this shit now will not help that bum get into office, because there is not going to be a GOP president anymore after January 20,2009, period.

   Unless of course, Bush attacks Iran or starts some shit somewhere else and then comes up with some insane reason to put the elections off or places the US under Marshall law.

 

Friday, March 09, 2007

Email Which Was Sent To Fox News From Democrats

   A great move on the part of the Nevada Democratic Party!

Original from Dailykos.com

Fox News Debate Really, Really Dead

by Hunter
Fri Mar 09, 2007 at 06:57:49 PM PST

The fax/email that was sent to Fox News by Collins and Reid:

March 9, 2007

Marty Ryan
Executive Producer
Fox News Political Programs
xxx-xxx-xxxx (fax)
400 N Capitol Street NW, Suite 550
Washington DC 20001

DELIVERED VIA FAX AND EMAIL

Dear Marty,

A month ago, the Nevada Democratic Party entered into a good faith agreement with FOX News to co-sponsor a presidential debate in August. This was done because the Nevada Democratic Party is reaching out to new voters and we strongly believe that a Democrat will not win Nevada unless we find new ways to talk to new people.

To say the least, this was not a popular decision. But it is one that the Democratic Party stood by. However, comments made last night by FOX News President Roger Ailes in reference to one of our presidential candidates went too far. We cannot, as good Democrats, put our party in a position to defend such comments.

In light of his comments, we have concluded that it is not possible to hold a Presidential debate that will focus on our candidates and are therefore canceling our August debate. We take no pleasure in this, but it is the only course of action.

Sincerely,

Tom Collins
Chairman, Nevada State Democratic Party

Harry Reid
U.S. Senator (D-NV)

 

Democratic Projects Linked To Iraq Withdrawal Plan

   The Democrats have started loading all kinds of additional money allotments on to their Iraq withdrawal plan with the intention of making it hard to refuse and to fund a few things that could certainly use the money.

   It would seem that the Dems are trying to cover all of the bases by appeasing congressional members, coalition groups, and interest groups. that was said by Rep. Ray Lahood (voting record), R-Ill.

    The Democrats are looking at billions of dollars for farms, the levees in New Orleans and many other articles of interest.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel ( D-Ill. ): "The president wants to make sure we take care of Iraq, but I think we also have to make sure that we don't lose sight of what we have to do here at home."     Source

    Where will some of the funding go?

1) $3.5 billion for medical care for veterans and active duty troops

2) Farmers would get $4.3 billion in disaster aid

3) $74 million for a peanut storage program that pays storage and handling fees as farmers market their crop.

4) $2.5 billion for homeland security projects such as additional cargo screening at ports and airports

5) $2.9 billion for levee improvements and other aid for the Gulf Coast

6) $735 million to close shortfalls in the State Children's Health Insurance      Source

 

 

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Democratic Party Dumps FOX ! YES!!

News Hounds   

Reported by Chrish - March 9, 2007

Today, Senator Harry Reid and the NV Democrat Party announced they would drop a FOX-sponsored debate scheduled for August - citing FOX President Roger Ailes remarks last night that compared Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden as the final straw.

"We hope this sets a precedent for all Democrats - that FOX should be treated as a right-wing misinformation network, not legitimized as a neutral source of news," said Eli Pariser, Executive Director of MoveOn.org Civic Action. "John Edwards, Harry Reid, the Nevada Democratic Party, and grassroots progressives across the nation deserve credit for standing up to Fox's right-wing agenda."

  The Democratic leaders finally got this one right! It is just to bad that it took another piece of shit from Fox News to get the Democrats to finally call this debate off.

 

Can Missing Defense Minister Tie Tehran To Terrorist?

     Pan-Arab newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Friday that the former deputy defense minister of Iran who vanished in Turkey in February left Iran with documents proving that there was a link between Iran's military and terrorist groups two of which are Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah.

    Ali Reza Asghari, a former associate, has told al-Sharq al-Awsat, which comes out of London, that the documents also pointed a finger at other groups like Mahdi Shi'ite militia which operates out of Iraq.

Asghari disappeared in Turkey in what many claim was a pick-up by Western intelligence operatives as a report says that he was involved with Iran's nuclear programs. The report could not be verified. Source

   If this is the case then the question becomes, who has him? The United States or Israel? More than likely Israel under the direction of the United States.

 

IceRocket tags: , , ,

 

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Illegal Immigrants Rounded Up In Arizona And Massachusetts

   So the Feds have been on a roll with the illegal immigrant round up over the past few days what with the 300 illegal workers that they rounded up in a leather factory in Massachusetts on Tuesday and then the eight illegal workers they busted at a construction company outside of Tucson, Arizona.

   The bust in Arizona had a few other people being arrested such as a suspected counterfeiter, the company president, the outfits human resources manager and four others.  GO FEDS!!

   Three other individuals were charged with hooking the illegal workers up with fake works documents. That was in state court.   Source

   But wait, there's more!

AP

Federal agents also raided a party rental company in Southern California on Thursday and arrested 11 workers on immigration violations, authorities said. That company did work at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and the raid was part of an effort by immigration authorities in San Diego to review employment records of military contractors.

In Arizona, immigration agents had promised stepped-up examinations of construction, agricultural, landscaping and service-industry businesses in hopes of deterring illegal hiring and lessening the economic incentive for immigrants to illegally cross the border.

The Pew Hispanic Center has estimated that 10 percent of all workers in Arizona's economy are illegal immigrants, a figure that federal officials have called conservative.

 

VA Facts, the rise Of Violent Crime

American Progress Action     March 9, 2007

“More than a quarter of military veterans with disability cases before the Department of Veterans Affairs wait six months or longer for the agency’s decision, creating financial hardships for them and their families. �? As of March 3, the VA had almost 401,000 pending cases for disability compensation with almost 115,000 languishing for six months or more.”

Brig. Gen. Michael S. Tucker, a “combat-arms brigadier general from Fort Knox,” “will take over as deputy commanding general of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.” The move is intended to “inject a battlefield perspective into what has traditionally been a solely medical operation.” Meanwhile, Army Chief of Staff Richard Cody “has dispatched teams to numerous Army hospitals around the country to identify any similar problems.”

Violent crime rose by double-digit percentages in cities across the country over the last two years, reversing the declines of the mid-to-late 1990s,” according to a report by the Police Executive Research Forum. “There are pockets of crime in this country that are astounding,” said Chuck Wexler, the group's executive director.

              Entire Article

 

" Bad Spirit " Cleansing After Bush Leaves Mayan People

    This is just to funny!

    Bush is scheduled to visit the archaeological site Iximche which is mostly populated by Mayans. This group has apparently been told by “spirit guides of the Mayan community” that they must cleanse the area after Bush leaves. It seems that they have to rid the area of " bad spirits " so that their ancestors can have a peaceful sleep.    Source

Truth Dig

Mayan NGO leader Juan Tiney explained the necessity for the purification process by noting that Bush’s track record vis--vis undocumented workers and the Iraq war makes his presence at the holy site “an offense for the Mayan people and their culture.”

   This goes to show you that even the ancient civilizations know what a  "shit" that Bush is! Maybe a bored voodoo doctor will cast a spell on Bush that would make him want to resign the office and crawl back to Texas!

 

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Rudy Giuliani's Team Forms Firefighters for Rudy"

    Yesterday I told you about Rudy Giuliani not being invited to the International Association of Fire Fighters get together with the candidates from both of the political parties due to the way he is perceived as having treated some of the firefighters after 9/11.

   Now it seems that after the first real bad press that Giuliani has had, a group calling itself "Firefighters for Rudy"  has sent letters to "Americas firefighters"  which was written by one Lee Ielpi who is claimed to be a retired firefighter.      Source

"There is no one who respects firefighters and first responders more than Rudy Giuliani," Ielpi writes. "Those of us who have worked with him know that Rudy Giuliani has always been a steadfast and unrelenting supporter of firefighters and first responders."

  As everyone else that knows about this is wondering, when was this group created and how many members are in it? My guess is that this group was just formed since the IAFF came out against Giuliani's treatment of the said firefighters.

   We'll see how Giuliani's people handle the rest of the bad press which is coming his way in the future.

 

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Giuliani Popularity Leaves New Yorkers Wondering

    It would seem that many of the citizens of New York are wondering why Rudolph Giuliani is so popular with the voters outside of the city.

   Many residents are fond of the job that Giuliani did with 9/11 but they also remember the way he was before 9/11 came into being and they are wondering how Giuliani  will do on the world stage what with his brashness and hot temper.

Reuters

"He was mean-spirited, he was harsh, but I'm not sure that hurts him on the Republican national stage," said former city councilman Stephen DiBrienza, a Democrat who calls Giuliani the "most divisive elected official in modern history."

"One can only hope that the arrogance of power he displayed and the abuse of process his administration often engaged in will not be mistaken for leadership," said DiBrienza, who now lectures on government at Baruch College in New York

   Mean-spirited and harsh? If that is the case, the Mr. Giuliani should fit right in with the Republican branch of incompetence. He may even get a new fan in Ann Coulter and that Rush character and maybe even that O'Reilly clown!

 

White House Caves In To Attorney Reforms?

   After all of the flack for firing US Attorneys for basically no reason, the Bush Crime Family is changing some of their ways in dealing with such matters.

AP         March 9,2007

LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer

Just hours after Attorney General Alberto Gonzales dismissed the hubbub as an "overblown personnel matter," a Republican senator Thursday mused into a microphone that Gonzales might soon suffer the same fate as the canned U.S. attorneys.

"One day there will be a new attorney general, maybe sooner rather than later," Sen. Arlen Specter ( voting record), R-Pa., said during a Judiciary Committee meeting.

A short time later, Gonzales and his security detail shuttled to the Capitol for a private meeting on Democratic turf, bearing two offerings:

_President Bush would not stand in the way of a Democratic-sponsored bill that would cancel the attorney general's power to appoint federal prosecutors without Senate confirmation. Gonzales' Justice Department had previously dismissed the legislation as unreasonable.

_There would be no need for subpoenas to compel testimony by five of Gonzales' aides involved in the firings, as the Democrats had threatened. Cloistered in the stately hideaway of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy, D-Vt., the attorney general assured those present that he would permit the aides to tell their stories.

 

Who Will Certify Bush?

Original from DailyKos.com

 

Bush Will Certify Iraqi Benchmarks?

By BarbinMD

on benchmarks

When House Democrats unveiled their proposed legislation for Iraq yesterday, they said that their plan:

...would require Mr. Bush to certify that the Iraqi government is meeting a series of military, political and economic benchmarks. If Mr. Bush cannot verify any progress in Iraq, the legislation calls for the majority of all combat troops to be removed beginning July of this year and completed by Dec. 31.

But they didn't mention if he had to tell the truth.  Three days ago, during a speech to the American Legion, Bush said:

Yet even at this early hour, there are some encouraging signs: The Iraqi government has completed the deployment of three additional Iraqi Army brigades to the capital. They said they were going to employ three brigades, and they did.

But yesterday National Security Advisor Steve Hadley said:

I think the important thing to remember is we've talked about some encouraging signs. We're at the early stages of the rollout of the Baghdad security plan. The additional Iraqi forces are nearing the completion of showing up...The Iraqis seem to be showing up and stepping up.

Perhaps House Democrats should ask, who is going to certify the certifier?    

 

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Should Gitmo Be Closed?

    Al Jazeera posed the question to it's readers asking if Guantanamo should be closed. Some of the answers follow.

Protesters across the world have called on the US government to close the US military prison camp in Guantanamo Bay five years after it received its first prisoners. Should Guantanamo be closed?

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Added: Friday, 09 March 2007

As far as Im concerned America has lost face in this world , America cannot be trusted anymore ever, We should all boycot american goods as I have been doing since day one of the Iraq war, Money talks rubbish walks

Corpus Mentis Teuchter, Elgin, United Kingdom

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Added: Friday, 09 March 2007

The detainees should either be tried or released, the witch hunt that American forces, with their corrupt allies, makes a mockery of international law. I could have been a tourist, and been admiring the view from one of the twin towers on the day 911 happend, if my life had zagged instead of zigged so I have no sympathy for the terrorists, but didn't they come from Saudi Arabia?

Free_Sami al-Hajj, Buxton, United Kingdom

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Added: Thursday, 08 March 2007

Abu Ghraib etc proved many innocents are tortured. Before endorsing torture i'd like to be sure of guilt and its effectiveness. No one with half a brain would trust these incompetent neomorons to feed a cat much less decide guilt or effectiveness. Their track record isn't so good on anything. No sane country or person would follow Bush anywhere after he sat shell shocked for 7 mins on 9/11. It now must be extremely embarassing to have believed him on wmds - or anything else, much less voted for him. The Dixie Chicks were wrong. It's way more embarrassing to be from the same country as Bush, not just Texas.teresa usa

Teresa, , USA

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Added: Wednesday, 07 March 2007

Look, Those who rush to Afghanistan to provide moral and material support to the Taliban after 11/9 from all over the world, will get arrested in Afghanistan road blocks and end up in Guantanamo camp...Guantanamo inmates have 'Business Class' treatment... they should get 'No Class' treatment...

Alan, Shanghai, China

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Added: Tuesday, 06 March 2007

What kind of sick people will go on riots because they cannot get into university? (in Malaysia). What kind of sick insurgents will kidnap school children? (in Beslan). What type of sick man will blow himself up to kill innocent public? (in Iraq). What kind of sick organisation will bomb and kill MacDonalds customers? (in China). What kind of jihadist will kill a monk? (in Thailand). We know what is terrorist, and we deal with it effectively in a China version of Guantanamo, no photos, no media coverage, just prison cell in the remote areas.

Alan, Shanghai, China

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Added: Sunday, 04 March 2007

Jane-what happed to Habeus corpus? It’s under Gitmo w our constitution-accountability-human rights; all really need to be immediately sprung! Teresa fl, USA.

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Teresa, , USA

Added: Friday, 02 March 2007

Yes, it's a disgrace and an affront to human dignity, but since when did the USA care about such things ?

1984, Gloucester, United Kingdom

More Here

 

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A Veteran Speaks Out On The Hospital Problems

From:   Daily Kos

Walter Reed, Who Expected More From A Goverment On The Take?

by Bob Higgins                                                                                              Wed Mar 07, 2007 at 04:59:23 PM PST

Twice a week I have a physical therapy session at the Dayton VA Hospital. I had a heart attack last March 15, (beware the ides?) in October they referred me to cardio pulmonary therapy to build me up for whatever years may lie ahead. They have done an excellent job and I am pleased with my future prospects.

I have been treated at the Dayton VA several times over the years, have volunteered there performing Veteran's memorial services as part of an honor guard, and three years ago said good bye to my father who died in the VA hospice at the age of 80.

My experiences with VA medical care have been almost entirely positive. The medical staff has been competent caring and willing to communicate with me. My physical therapist (Kinesiologist) whom I refer to as Ms Torquemada has enabled me to return to a relatively normal life and I love her for it. The hospice ward is amazing, they treated my Dad with the dignity and respect he deserved in his final days on this planet and were equally wonderful with my family. The people in the ER and Cardiac Intensive Care wards saved my life which fact may leave me with some bias on the issue at hand.

I have personally witnessed the operations of this facility during the current federal administration as well as during the Clinton years and I have seen a noticeable decline in the state of the physical plant and the attitudes of some employees during the Cheney/Bush era.

What once was a well funded and squeaky clean facility has deteriorated noticeably and budget cutting has caused serious staffing problems. I believe that this decline is due to the penny pinching policies of the knuckle heads who are passing themselves off as our government.

The blame for conditions at Walter Reed and other problems throughout the veterans health system must be placed firmly at the feet of those who set the policies. For the last six years those feet have belonged to George Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. To lay the blame on anyone below the the level of policy maker and budget controllers would be wrong.
A head or two may roll following the scandal over the appalling conditions at Walter Reed revealed over the last few weeks few by Dana Priest and Ann Hull in the Washington Post. The Cheney/Bush administration will toss a few expendables
overboard, General Weightman, with just months on the job has been thrown to the sharks already and the Army's Surgeon General Kevin Kiley will likely be forced to swim the media infested waters of the public's brief attention span, but that's as far as it's likely to go. There will be commissions of course, (Dole and Shalala were announced yesterday) there will be reports that few will read, there will be time and money wasted going through the motions, creating the appearance of grave concern and concerted action, there will be a great public breast beating, and little if anything beyond a coat of paint and a few new faces is likely to change.

Congress will hold the inevitably meaningless hearings featuring impeccably dressed and tonsured members mouthing pitifully predictable five minute expressions of self righteous outrage and politically self serving patriotic platitudes while our poor leaky rust bucket of state sails on through the straits of human misery created by the same incompetents and criminals in government and industry that lately have seized control of the helm.

The news media will cover the story and it's aftermath until it becomes distracted by a Brittany or a Lindsay, an Angelina, Jenifer, Brad Rosie or a Trump and move on to it's primary business of selling the products of its' owners and masters by providing the public the steady stream of sensationally trivial bullshit it has grown to love and live for.

The amputees and other horribly maimed and broken veterans will be pushed aside and warehoused in the corridors of the VA health care system until a cost effective way (read cheap) is found to cut them loose to some form of thoroughly neglectful privatized care. 

Other Vets, less injured physically, seeking outpatient services for mental and emotional traumas suffered as a result of their experience of these twenty first century colonial wars, or simply trying to save a wrecked marriage or receive job training in order to find gainful employment that doesn't require the skill sets they acquired in Baghdad or Baquba, Kabul or Tora Bora, will encounter a cliff face of frozen budgets, bureaucratic indifference and the cold, apathetic impersonality of the Civil Service, before they are turned out to the tender mercies of the "for profit political cronies of the well connected in the private sector.

Many of them, broken and discarded, will succumb to despair, will turn to drugs or alcohol, will be involved in violent domestic disputes, fights in streets and saloons, caught up in ugly tragic battles in their own homes, with their own families. Many will become trapped in the criminal justice system as probationers or prisoners and will join their brothers from past wars as members of an American under class that no one wants to discuss.

Our leaders meanwhile will find yet another spot on the globe that offers an opportunity for enormous private profit that requires their boundless noblesse oblige, along with great piles of taxpayer dollars and they will sound the drums and trumpets of war in yet another patriotic call to other sons and grandsons, daughters and mothers to make the sacrifices that are necessary to the maintenance of the lusts for wealth and power of the ruling class.

No surprises here. This administration has done nothing but work to destroy American government since the day it arrived in Washington.

That, after all, was their design, their intent, it was and is the stated raison d'etre of the entire neo-conservative movement.

They told us up front, well in advance, that they hated government, that government was the source of most of the world's evils, that only some Ayn Randian John Gault riding the white horse of laissez faire capitalism could save us from the perils of our tragically misguided liberal democratic altruism, that if in control they would move to privatize everything.

They were true to their word. They have given us a war in which a hundred thousand private contractors are lined up for their share of the loot and which has failed miserably in all of its stated goals while making a sizable segment of the filthy rich even filthier and richer. 

They "planned" this fiasco in advance, it was to be the "New American Century."

This administration has placed political loyalists, servants of industry in positions once properly held by career professionals and servants of the people thus relieving from public regulation the same businesses whose corporate boardrooms they and their friend's control and in so doing have corrupted nearly every federal regulatory agency with the rotten stench of big money politics while along the way lining the pockets of their grateful class with untold wealth.

They want to privatize everything and have the American taxpayer subsidize all of it. It's how the Railroad industry operated in the nineteenth century and Big Oil in the twentieth. If it was good enough for the "Robber Barons" then by golly it's good enough for the neocons. 

Take the necessary land or resources, be they oil, mineral rights, timber, water, what have you, from the people who own it, use public money for improvements and development, then over charge the original owners for a drink of water, a gallon of gas, a walk in the woods or a ticket to ride.

The system only works if they can buy at wholesale the acquiescence of the political leadership, control the Justice Department and write the rules to serve themselves. These feats have become minor problems in this century because there is so much more cash and so many more willing and eager recipients. 

They are attempting to privatize everything, from public schools to prisons, (see Rob Ellmans excellent article) leaving all children behind while pushing for longer sentences for petty non violent drug offenses and reaping profits on the pathetic and fully predictable results.

They are selling our toll roads to offshore companies and want to throw open our ports to foreign governments with possible ties to terrorist organizations. 
Privatization of public entities is bullshit. Pardon my English but I searched my thesaurus and there simply is no other term that fits as well as bullshit. After watching the corporate scandals in American business during the last decade I am completely convinced that most of the people's business should be conducted by entities that are answerable to the people and under the scrutiny of their elected representatives. 

Companies receiving contracts for work formerly performed by public employees often take the cream  off the top, performing where they can realize the maximum profits and leaving the rest undone, poorly done or in default which appears to be what happened with IAP's 120 million dollar deal at Walter Reed.
Would you trust former Enron CEO Ken Lay to write US energy policy? 
No, of course you wouldn't but Dick Cheney did and George Bush did.

Would you entrust facilities management and outpatient medical care at Walter Reed to a company (IAP International) run by a former executive of Halliburton? 
Given Halliburton's record of under performance and over billing in Iraq you probably would not, but Dick Cheney did and George Bush did. Indirectly, of course, but the connection still smells.

Privatization of our social security system is a centerpiece of the neocon agenda, for nearly three trillion obvious reasons. These guys want desperately to pass legislation that allows the financial community legal access to those funds, they will realize enormous profits, you will be screwed as will your Granny, allow them to do it and your meager commitment from this long established public trust will be as worthless as shares of Enron or Arthur Anderson or any of the other flimflams being sold to the public by this crowd. 

I had a discussion with some of the staff at the VA this past week and they are hurt by this scandal. Bear in mind that these are hard working dedicated professionals. They feel that they have been slandered by the Walter Reed affair and they are afraid that the blame and shame will fall upon them rather than the policy makers and budget slashers who outsourced the business to their cronies.
Also keep in mind that there are nearly twenty five million veterans in this country and a significant and growing number of them will be treated at VA facilities and companies like IAP are climbing the walls trying to get close to those in the administration who have the power to award these sweetheart deals.

When I watched Cheney (who avoided the draft with five deferments during the Vietnam war) addressing this issue yesterday I felt the urge to vomit.
Cheney assured his audience that he, with the help of his smirking little sidekick and the rest of the hapless gang that gave us Iraq) would fix the problem.

Bullshit (there I go again) They caused the problem. They are the problem.

Bob Higgins
Worldwide Sawdust

 

Brazil Protest Bush, Plame To Testify, Cheney's An Ass

BBC                 Friday, 9 March 2007

Clashes broke out in Brazil's largest city as US President Bush arrived at the start of a six-day regional tour.

At least 20 people were injured in clashes with riot police in Sao Paulo after thousands turned out to protest against George W Bush's visit.

Many of the demonstrators are angry at the war in Iraq and the proposed ethanol deal, which they say is an attempt to control the country's production of the bio-fuel which powers eight out of 10 new cars in Brazil.

Together with Colombia, Brazil produces about 70% of the world's ethanol, a bio-fuel made from sugar cane or corn.

   I do believe that president Bush is going to provoke more protest in South America than any president ever has as it would seem that nobody wants him there either.

                    * * * *

Reuters

Thu Mar 8, 2007

Valerie Plame, the former covert CIA agent whose cover was blown after her husband accused the White House of manipulating prewar intelligence, will testify before a congressional committee next week, the committee chairman said on Thursday.

Plame will testify about the disclosure and how the White House handled it in an appearance before the House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, Chairman Henry Waxman said in a statement.

    This is one which I would love to sit in on!

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Thursday, March 8, 2007 by CommonDreams.org

Why Cheney Lost It When Joe Wilson Spoke Out

by Ray McGovern

Testimony at the Libby trial showed a vice president obsessed with retaliating against former ambassador Joseph Wilson for writing, in the New York Times op-ed section on July 6, 2003, that intelligence had been "twisted" to justify attacking Iraq. How to explain why the normally stoic, phlegmatic Cheney went off the deep end?

Vice President Dick Cheney can be forgiven for feeling provoked. The Times, having been led by Cheney and others down a garden path littered with weapons of mass destruction that were not really there, did some retaliation of its own with the snide title it gave Wilson's op-ed: "What I Did Not Find in Africa." Adding insult to injury, Wilson chose to tell Washington Post reporters, also on July 6, in language that rarely escapes an ambassador's lips, the bogus report regarding Iraq obtaining uranium from Niger "begs the question regarding what else they are lying about." That threw down the gauntlet, and Cheney had to worry that others who knew about the lies might feel it safe to go to the press and spill the beans. Retaliation had to be swift and as unambiguous as possible.

Entire Article

 

Bush's Troop Buildup To Get Bigger And Cost More

   Yahoo News

WASHINGTON - President Bush's troop buildup in Baghdad apparently will be bigger and more costly — and perhaps last longer — than it seemed when he unveiled the plan in January as the centerpiece of a new Iraq strategy.

   The only people who will be surprised about this  will be, no one. Maybe a few who watch Fox News but then that network will spin the story for its viewers to make it sound like this will be a good thing.

Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil Jr., commander of the 1st Cavalry, said Feb. 16 he has requested additional attack helicopters, and Gates said Wednesday that other unspecified requests for extra troops were being studied at the Pentagon.

Gordon England, the deputy defense secretary, told Congress this week that the total number of support troops could approach 7,000.

  By the time these additional troops are in Iraq, the need for more will have doubled and then some. Let's Face it. The troops of the United States military are not going to leave Iraq anytime soon, period.  The Bush Crime Family does not want them back home and the Democrats that we put into office are spineless! The way that they are going will never get any results on Iraq and I am beginning to doubt that the Dems want our troops home themselves.

   We all know that cutting the funding is the only way that this is going to happen and we are unfortunately stuck with some Democrats who do not want to do that. In my book, that makes them not much of a Democrat and certainly not in support of our troops!

 

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Bush Tells Congress They ""have a responsibility to fund our warfighters."

   Someone should have told Bush that the Congress has more of the right to fund our warfighters for their return trip home. Maybe the idiot would understand " Escalation Homeward " a little better.  

Crooks And Liars

Bush to Boehner: You “have a responsibility to fund our warfighters”

By: Nicole Belle @ 12:03 PM

bush-troops.jpg  Yesterday President Bush told Congress that they "have a responsibility to fund our warfighters." 

video_wmv Download (1459) | Play (1078) video_mov Download (642) | Play (677)

But what about this? AP :  

The House minority leader threatened Thursday to get his members to vote against a $96.3 billion spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan if Democrats persist in plans to attach conditions to the money that would tell President Bush how to conduct the wars.

So after President Bush essentially won reelection by claiming that John Kerry voted against funding the troops, and after an Iraq debate where Republicans said 1,000 times that "you can't support the troops without funding the troops," Boehner now says he and the Republicans in Congress will do exactly the same thing they've denounced Democrats as traitors for even suggesting.  Once again, for Republicans, they support the troops just so long as the troops are their useful little pawns and props for their cynical political arguments. 

Sorry Boehner, no more blank checks.

 

Giuliani Not Invited To IAFF Debate

    Everyone has heard of the 9/11 leadership that then mayor Rudy Giuliani showed so far as keeping things running as smooth as he could under the circumstances. But, there were things which were done that most of the public isn't aware of and these things question Giuliani's leadership.  Below is one of the problems that the International Association of Fire Fighters ( IAFF )  has with Mr. Giuliani.

             Fire Fighting News 

Early on, the IAFF made a decision to invite all serious candidates from both political parties — except one: former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

We made this decision after considerable soul-searching and close consultation with our two New York City affiliates, the Uniformed Firefighters Association Local 94 and the Uniformed Fire Officers Association Local 854, as well as our former Local 94 President and current IAFF 1st District Vice President covering New York.

The IAFF recognizes that Mayor Giuliani generally enjoys a favorable reputation as a result of his actions immediately after the tragedy of 9/11. As such, we want our affiliates and every one of our members to clearly understand the reason and rationale behind this very serious and sober decision.

Many people consider Rudy Giuliani "America's Mayor," and many of our members who don't yet know the real story, may also have a positive view of him. This letter is intended to make all of our members aware of the egregious acts Mayor Giuliani committed against our members, our fallen on 9/11, and our New York City union officers following that horrific day [...]

The disrespect that he exhibited to our 343 fallen FDNY brothers, their families and our New York City IAFF leadership in the wake of that tragic day has not been forgiven or forgotten.

In November 2001, our members were continuing the painful, but necessary, task of searching Ground Zero for the remains of our fallen brothers and the thousands of innocent citizens that were killed, because precious few of those who died in the terrorist attacks had been recovered at that point.

Prior to November 2001, 101 bodies or remains of fire fighters had been recovered. And those on the horrible pile at Ground Zero believed they had just found a spot in the rubble where they would find countless more that could be given proper burial.

Nevertheless, Giuliani, with the full support of his Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, decided on November 2, 2001, to sharply reduce the number of those who could search for remains at any one time. There had been as many as 300 fire fighters at a time involved in search and recovery, but Giuliani cut that number to no more than 25 who could be there at once.

In conjunction with the cut in fire fighters allowed to search, Giuliani also made a conscious decision to institute a "scoop-and-dump" operation to expedite the clean-up of Ground Zero in lieu of the more time-consuming, but respectful, process of removing debris piece by piece in hope of uncovering more remains.

Mayor Giuliani's actions meant that fire fighters and citizens who perished would either remain buried at Ground Zero forever, with no closure for families, or be removed like garbage and deposited at the Fresh Kills Landfill.   READ MORE

 

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Bush Has God On His Side While He Let's Veterans Suffer

   Crossposted from Huffington Post

Rove Narrowly Escaped Libby's Fate By Changing His Grand Jury Testimony

Salon   |  Sidney Blumenthal   |  Posted March 8, 2007

  As witnesses were trooping to the stand in the federal courthouse in Washington to testify in the case of United States v. I. Lewis Libby, and the Washington Post was publishing its series on the squalid conditions that wounded Iraq war veterans suffer at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center while thousands more soldiers were surging into Baghdad, President Bush held one of his private book club sessions that Karl Rove organizes for him at the White House. Rove picks the book, invites the author and a few neoconservative intellectual luminaries, and conducts the discussions. For this Bush book club meeting, the guest was Andrew Roberts, an English conservative historian and columnist and the author of "The Churchillians" and, most recently, "A History of the English-Speaking People Since 1900.

   The subject of Winston Churchill inspired Bush's self-reflection. The president confided to Roberts that he believes he has an advantage over Churchill, a reliable source with access to the conversation told me. He has faith in God, Bush explained, but Churchill, an agnostic, did not. Because he believes in God, it is easier for him to make decisions and stick to them than it was for Churchill. Bush said he doesn't worry, or feel alone, or care if he is unpopular. He has God.