........ Breaking a country should have consequences for the breakers. Owning the broken country should not be one of them, but how about paying for the repairs?
Friday, December 31, 2004
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
New Governor of Washington
The counting is over and Christine Gregoire is the new Governor of Washington state. We've had the Vote count and the mandatory machine recount and the hand recount; all according to the laws of Washington state. Each county has certified their vote tallies and tomorrow the Secretary of State will certify the state wide vote tally.
The Republicans are squawking, but they've got nothing real to point to. There's been no law breaking, no vote fraud; the Republicans just don't like the outcome of the vote. Since there's been no wrong doing, it's time for Dino Rossi to do the grown-up thing and concede.
The Republicans are squawking, but they've got nothing real to point to. There's been no law breaking, no vote fraud; the Republicans just don't like the outcome of the vote. Since there's been no wrong doing, it's time for Dino Rossi to do the grown-up thing and concede.
Counties won't recount votes
OLYMPIA - Counties have refused to reopen the vote count in Washington's ultra-close governor's race, and Republican Dino Rossi was reported under pressure Tuesday to carry a last-ditch fight into the courts.
The three vote counts in America's closest governor's race are over, and on Thursday morning, Secretary of State Sam Reed is prepared to certify Democrat Christine Gregoire as the victor by 129 votes, state elections chief Nick Handy said.
Reed has warned against counties statewide reopening their tallies. ...
[full article]
Friday, December 17, 2004
rumsfeld rumble
seems that simple scottie is a little out of touch....bring the rumble on!!!!!! oh and let's see, that will bring the cost of their war to the around a quarter of a trillion bucks.....wheeeeee.....all that and an armor shortage for the boots on the ground.......shameless!! and that's the nicest thing that can be said.....
........"Secretary Rumsfeld cares deeply about our men and women in uniform, and I think that is reflected by the way he goes and visits directly with those who serve, particularly those in combat zones, and he listens to those concerns, and that's what the president expects," McClellan said.
The Bush administration is preparing an emergency supplemental budget request for early in the new year that could seek as much as $75 billion to $100 billion for funding the U.S. military in Iraq.
........"Secretary Rumsfeld cares deeply about our men and women in uniform, and I think that is reflected by the way he goes and visits directly with those who serve, particularly those in combat zones, and he listens to those concerns, and that's what the president expects," McClellan said.
The Bush administration is preparing an emergency supplemental budget request for early in the new year that could seek as much as $75 billion to $100 billion for funding the U.S. military in Iraq.
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Governors Race Recount
Gregoire still has a credible chance of beating Rossi.
It looks like the vote total will be adjusted because of a double count in one precinct. That will change Rossi's lead from 42 down to 23 votes.
Recounting will probably begin Wednesday.
It looks like the vote total will be adjusted because of a double count in one precinct. That will change Rossi's lead from 42 down to 23 votes.
Recounting will probably begin Wednesday.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
still shoppin'.......
to those of you who i meet along the way who say things like...."it (bush seizing power again) really won't change anything...." and "get over it" and "move on" and become irritated or hostile when i even dare to say "oh yes it does matter and i would love to tell you how".......i will try to talk to you.....you must wake up.....shopping will soon be looking for a fruit tree in production or some nettles.......and that will be the really nice part.......stay tuned.....
Published on Thursday, December 2, 2004 by the lndependent/UK
Deadly Hot Summers 'to Become the Norm'
by Steve Connor
Blisteringly hot summers similar to the one in 2003 when thousands of people in continental Europe died of heatstroke will become commonplace because of climate change, a study has found.
Scientists estimate global warming has already doubled the risk of similar hot summers, and if the climate continues to change, they will occur every couple of years.
It is estimated that between 22,000 and 35,000 people died heat-related deaths in Europe during the summer of 2003, when soaring temperatures and drought also caused widespread forest fires and crop failures in the Mediterranean area.
Published on Thursday, December 2, 2004 by the lndependent/UK
Deadly Hot Summers 'to Become the Norm'
by Steve Connor
Blisteringly hot summers similar to the one in 2003 when thousands of people in continental Europe died of heatstroke will become commonplace because of climate change, a study has found.
Scientists estimate global warming has already doubled the risk of similar hot summers, and if the climate continues to change, they will occur every couple of years.
It is estimated that between 22,000 and 35,000 people died heat-related deaths in Europe during the summer of 2003, when soaring temperatures and drought also caused widespread forest fires and crop failures in the Mediterranean area.
mending fences........
hmmm.....wonder how this is going to work with the bush crime family's plan to involve Canada in the missile defense system they want us to buy for them....you know, masquerading as the "let's go to Mars" plan.
November 30, 2004
Canadian lawyers charge Bush with torture
Today in Vancouver, Lawyers Against the War filed torture charges against George W. Bush under the Canadian Criminal Code. The charges were laid by Gail Davidson, co-chair of Lawyers against the War--LAW, under provisions enacted pursuant to the U.N. Torture Convention, ratified by both Canada and the United States.
November 30, 2004
Canadian lawyers charge Bush with torture
Today in Vancouver, Lawyers Against the War filed torture charges against George W. Bush under the Canadian Criminal Code. The charges were laid by Gail Davidson, co-chair of Lawyers against the War--LAW, under provisions enacted pursuant to the U.N. Torture Convention, ratified by both Canada and the United States.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
napalm anyone????
boy we are going out of our way to win the hearts and minds.....don'tya just love what is being done in our name......america, it's time to look in the mirror.....
KUWAIT (Feb. 2, 2003) -- Thousands of pounds of munitions were offloaded from a ship in a port here Feb. 1, by Sailors with Navy Cargo Handling and Port Group and contracted civilians aboard the S.S.Cape Jacob.The operation has been going on for some time, with the constant undertaking of offloading, receiving and shipping of munitions........Once the munitions depart the port, they are trucked to different locations throughout the country and stored in compounds surrounded by motion sensors. Everything from hand grenades to 2,000-pound bombs and napalm are shipped, ready for use whenever 3rd MAW needs them.
.
Heavy reproaches against US Pentagon: Napalm bombs in the Iraq war
Translation of the original PDF-file from MONITOR-TV , ARD , Germany Click here to view the program.Report : Heavy accusations against US-Pentagon : Napalm-Bombs in Iraq-WarReported by : John Goetz, Georg Restle / MONITOR 507Date : 07.08.2003Volker Happe (MONITOR-Moderator) : "Napalm. The Horror-weapon from the Vietnam-war . It is internationally banned and outlawed , it's use is forbidden by the Geneva-Conventions . But nevertheless , it was used in the Iraq-war by the US army .
Nov 28 2004
By Paul Gilfeather Political Editor
US troops are secretly using outlawed napalm gas to wipe out remaining insurgents in and around Fallujah.
News that President George W. Bush has sanctioned the use of napalm, a deadly cocktail of polystyrene and jet fuel banned by the United Nations in 1980, will stun governments around the world.
And last night Tony Blair was dragged into the row as furious Labour MPs demanded he face the Commons over it. Reports claim that innocent civilians have died in napalm attacks, which turn victims into human fireballs as the gel bonds flames to flesh.
Outraged critics have also demanded that Mr Blair threatens to withdraw British troops from Iraq unless the US abandons one of the world's most reviled weapons. Halifax Labour MP Alice Mahon said: "I am calling on Mr Blair to make an emergency statement to the Commons to explain why this is happening. It begs the question: 'Did we know about this hideous weapon's use in Iraq?'"
Since the American assault on Fallujah there have been reports of "melted" corpses, which appeared to have napalm injuries.
Last August the US was forced to admit using the gas in Iraq.
A 1980 UN convention banned the use of napalm against civilians - after pictures of a naked girl victim fleeing in Vietnam shocked the world.
America, which didn't ratify the treaty, is the only country in the world still using the weapon.
Fallujah “almost gone”
Kassem Mohammed Ahmed, who fled Fallujah last week, said that he witnessed many atrocities committed by U.S. troops in the shattered city. "I watched them roll over wounded people in the street with tanks," he said. "This happened so many times."
KUWAIT (Feb. 2, 2003) -- Thousands of pounds of munitions were offloaded from a ship in a port here Feb. 1, by Sailors with Navy Cargo Handling and Port Group and contracted civilians aboard the S.S.Cape Jacob.The operation has been going on for some time, with the constant undertaking of offloading, receiving and shipping of munitions........Once the munitions depart the port, they are trucked to different locations throughout the country and stored in compounds surrounded by motion sensors. Everything from hand grenades to 2,000-pound bombs and napalm are shipped, ready for use whenever 3rd MAW needs them.
.
Heavy reproaches against US Pentagon: Napalm bombs in the Iraq war
Translation of the original PDF-file from MONITOR-TV , ARD , Germany Click here to view the program.Report : Heavy accusations against US-Pentagon : Napalm-Bombs in Iraq-WarReported by : John Goetz, Georg Restle / MONITOR 507Date : 07.08.2003Volker Happe (MONITOR-Moderator) : "Napalm. The Horror-weapon from the Vietnam-war . It is internationally banned and outlawed , it's use is forbidden by the Geneva-Conventions . But nevertheless , it was used in the Iraq-war by the US army .
Nov 28 2004
By Paul Gilfeather Political Editor
US troops are secretly using outlawed napalm gas to wipe out remaining insurgents in and around Fallujah.
News that President George W. Bush has sanctioned the use of napalm, a deadly cocktail of polystyrene and jet fuel banned by the United Nations in 1980, will stun governments around the world.
And last night Tony Blair was dragged into the row as furious Labour MPs demanded he face the Commons over it. Reports claim that innocent civilians have died in napalm attacks, which turn victims into human fireballs as the gel bonds flames to flesh.
Outraged critics have also demanded that Mr Blair threatens to withdraw British troops from Iraq unless the US abandons one of the world's most reviled weapons. Halifax Labour MP Alice Mahon said: "I am calling on Mr Blair to make an emergency statement to the Commons to explain why this is happening. It begs the question: 'Did we know about this hideous weapon's use in Iraq?'"
Since the American assault on Fallujah there have been reports of "melted" corpses, which appeared to have napalm injuries.
Last August the US was forced to admit using the gas in Iraq.
A 1980 UN convention banned the use of napalm against civilians - after pictures of a naked girl victim fleeing in Vietnam shocked the world.
America, which didn't ratify the treaty, is the only country in the world still using the weapon.
Fallujah “almost gone”
Kassem Mohammed Ahmed, who fled Fallujah last week, said that he witnessed many atrocities committed by U.S. troops in the shattered city. "I watched them roll over wounded people in the street with tanks," he said. "This happened so many times."
Saturday, November 27, 2004
democracy not theocracy
to begin to understand the forces behind the takeover of the republican party by radical nut jobs who seek to impose their beliefs on the rest of us i recommend checking out http://www.theocracywatch.org/
Politicians once followed the slogan, "It's the economy, stupid!" Since the 2004 election we have been hearing that "moral values" have become more important to voters than their own economic self interest. But the term "moral" is twisted and misused.
and especially "The Rise of Dominionism"recorded October 11, 2004, 44 minutes
it's a great place to start in understanding the threat to our democracy that these people pose. they see no place in this country or the world for us non-believers.
Politicians once followed the slogan, "It's the economy, stupid!" Since the 2004 election we have been hearing that "moral values" have become more important to voters than their own economic self interest. But the term "moral" is twisted and misused.
and especially "The Rise of Dominionism"recorded October 11, 2004, 44 minutes
it's a great place to start in understanding the threat to our democracy that these people pose. they see no place in this country or the world for us non-believers.
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
republicans outraged over election fraud
richard and colin weigh in.......it bodes well for our democracy when our leaders are willing to stand up and demand clean elections!!!!!!!!!!
and that our media is all over this story.....on top of it!!!! sooooo cool!
"We cannot accept this result [of the presidential election in Ukraine] as legitimate because it does not meet international standards and because there has not been an investigation of the numerous and credible reports of fraud and abuse," he said. Powell said it is time for Ukraine's leaders to decide whether or not they are on the side of democracy.
And Richard Lugar, head of the U.S. Senate foreign relations committee, said the Ukrainian authorities had supported concerted fraud in Sunday's presidential election.
"It is now apparent that there was a concerted and forceful program of election day fraud and abuse enacted with the leadership or co-operation of authorities," said Lugar
Richard Lugar
"We've had many reports of irregularities," Motria Onyschuk-Moroz, a Canadian election observer in Ukraine, told CBC Newsworld. "Many people were turned away during election day and had to contest their right to vote in court. They were forced to wait for hours in long lines at the courts."
so glad we don't have to worry about that shit here!!!!!
and that our media is all over this story.....on top of it!!!! sooooo cool!
"We cannot accept this result [of the presidential election in Ukraine] as legitimate because it does not meet international standards and because there has not been an investigation of the numerous and credible reports of fraud and abuse," he said. Powell said it is time for Ukraine's leaders to decide whether or not they are on the side of democracy.
And Richard Lugar, head of the U.S. Senate foreign relations committee, said the Ukrainian authorities had supported concerted fraud in Sunday's presidential election.
"It is now apparent that there was a concerted and forceful program of election day fraud and abuse enacted with the leadership or co-operation of authorities," said Lugar
Richard Lugar
"We've had many reports of irregularities," Motria Onyschuk-Moroz, a Canadian election observer in Ukraine, told CBC Newsworld. "Many people were turned away during election day and had to contest their right to vote in court. They were forced to wait for hours in long lines at the courts."
so glad we don't have to worry about that shit here!!!!!
Saturday, November 20, 2004
love the fetus...what about the children?
Where is the outrage?? Does any of this sound familiar?? hint-Black men studied for long term effects of syphylis when they could have been cured. (just one example) Where are the fetus-loving repubs after the children are born? And boy do i trust these people......"In October, the EPA received $2.1 million to do the study from the American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry front group that includes members such as Dow, Exxon, and Monsanto." Can't wait to see the objective conclusions. Wonder if any of their children or grandchildren will be participating??
In exchange for participating for two years in the Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study, which involves infants and children up to age 3, the EPA will give each family using pesticides in their home $970, some children's clothing and a camcorder that parents can keep.
The study entitled Children’s Environmental Exposure Research Study (CHEERS) will look at how chemicals can be ingested, inhaled or absorbed by children ranging from babies to 3 years old.
In exchange for participating for two years in the Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study, which involves infants and children up to age 3, the EPA will give each family using pesticides in their home $970, some children's clothing and a camcorder that parents can keep.
The study entitled Children’s Environmental Exposure Research Study (CHEERS) will look at how chemicals can be ingested, inhaled or absorbed by children ranging from babies to 3 years old.
Friday, November 19, 2004
maybe i should have asked for valium
It all started today when I went to the doc to get a renewal on the blood pressure med. I know there are other things I should be doing and I will. I was honest about my recent return to smoking. I know I must move to quitting very soon. I just quit for 5 years so I know how this works. As my sister once told me, the problem with starting again is then you just want to quit. She has a lot of experience, as do I, and I believe that theory to be correct. So back to the doc. He is very nice and I’m sure wise for his age of about 35 I’m guessing. He tells me everybody has struggle and they always will …no escaping. And I don’t want to end up a patient where I work he reminds me. I agree I want to continue to get paid to be there. I’m sure he thought perhaps I had a relationship problem, money problem, surley child problem or some other usual problems all humans are faced with. We discussed my medical situation, he listened to my heart and lungs, we discussed options and agreed on a course of action involving medication. Now I ‘m not blameing my bad choices on the current situation and yet……how the hell am I supposed to sit calmly by as my country, now known as the homeland, is careening at breakneck speed toward a totalitarian, fascist theocracy???? We have been taken over in a coup, as we relatively quietly watched two presidential elections in a row stolen. Our treasury has been looted and they have plans for more. Our schools have been gutted. Two wars have been started, the mastermind behind a massive terrorist attack on our country remains at large. Our young men and women are on foreign soil killing and being killed based on a total lie. We are torturing the people we went to liberate since the Geneva Conventions are now thought to be “quaint”. We are trashing the environment. We have raised the debt ceiling($8.200,000,000,000….well, they will on Monday…guess they’re resting a couple of days first…..they are “hard working” people.) We changed the rules so you don’t have to give up a leadership position in congress if you are indicted. Special new rules to protect repugnicuns from those partison “crackpot district attorneys”. The cia has been purged. The homeland sercurity department will now have no oversight. Does any of this sound familiar????????????? Picture yourself with a wheelbarrel of cash to go buy a few potatoes. Or maybe we will just have to give up some of those highpriced safety nets. Does it sound familiar???? So anyway how can I explain to this bright-eyed, well healed young doc. I will sit on my porch, brood, feed the birds, pet the cat and dogs, apologize to the earth and it’s inhabitants and SMOKE. I am getting involved with the other people who also know what is going on. It is very helpful. Some really cool people have been trying long before I was paying attention. I will continue and learn all I can. Maybe I will even figure out what the hell I’m supposed to be doing and hopefully quit the butts again soon……….
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
freedom is on the march......
I hope Americans will wake up to what is being done in their name. These pictures are very disturbing and not for the faint of heart. Why are we in Iraq and why do we have to kill the Iraqi people????? The bush crime family is committing armed robbery using our military to do it. We are paying all the bills and our children and families are used as their cannon fodder. The crime family is getting richer and richer with every passing day. Blood, death and destruction appear everywhere the bush crime family goes. They have seized our country. When will we wake up to see how evil these people are?????? What does "winning" in Iraq look like????? Who will be next????? Is this really ok with 51% of America????? Perpetual war is not a moral value. War crimes are NOT moral values!!!!!!!!
Monday, November 15, 2004
who are they serving????
Seems like the mainstream press is shilling again for the corrupt evil regime that has seized power in our country. Just as they did when the crime family embarked on the illegal war on Iraq, they not only aren't asking any questions they are quick to shame anyone who dares to. The illusion we just suffered, that was passed off as an election, should have raised questions from every responsible corner but they seem united in denial.
Washington Post's Sloppy Analysis
By Sam ParryNovember 12, 2004
The Washington Post and the big media have spoken: Questions about Nov. 2 voting irregularities and George W. Bush’s unusual vote tallies are just the ravings of Internet conspiracy theorists.
Columns
Bob Fitrakis
None dare call it voter suppression and fraud November 7, 2004
Evidence is mounting that the 2004 presidential election was stolen in Ohio. Emerging revelations of voting irregularities coupled with well-documented Republican efforts at voter suppression prior to the election suggests that in a fair election Kerry would have won Ohio.
Washington Post's Sloppy Analysis
By Sam ParryNovember 12, 2004
The Washington Post and the big media have spoken: Questions about Nov. 2 voting irregularities and George W. Bush’s unusual vote tallies are just the ravings of Internet conspiracy theorists.
Columns
Bob Fitrakis
None dare call it voter suppression and fraud November 7, 2004
Evidence is mounting that the 2004 presidential election was stolen in Ohio. Emerging revelations of voting irregularities coupled with well-documented Republican efforts at voter suppression prior to the election suggests that in a fair election Kerry would have won Ohio.
any bets????
any bets on how long before they bring the draft out in the open......i'll guess march or april o5....and i shutter to think of what incentives they may have in mind for us to whip up a wave of patriotic enthusiasm.....
Potomac Watch: Administration's own actions fuel rumors of draft
By ERIC ROSENBERGSEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld indignantly scoffs and scolds about the relentless rumors that the Bush administration is planning to reinstate the military draft.
Potomac Watch: Administration's own actions fuel rumors of draft
By ERIC ROSENBERGSEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld indignantly scoffs and scolds about the relentless rumors that the Bush administration is planning to reinstate the military draft.
Friday, November 12, 2004
Can you feel the draft????
It's startin' to get real scary out there. It strikes me they don't want people speaking truth to the future cannon fodder....
Talks by veterans prompt apology by school principal
By The Associated Press
BELLINGHAM — Two members of Veterans for Peace got a standing ovation when they addressed a high-school Veterans Day assembly, but their appearance prompted a letter of apology from the principal............
Talks by veterans prompt apology by school principal
By The Associated Press
BELLINGHAM — Two members of Veterans for Peace got a standing ovation when they addressed a high-school Veterans Day assembly, but their appearance prompted a letter of apology from the principal............
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Saving our democracy
I have heard people saying just get over it and move on. Well i'm just not interested in getting over it. If we don't know what just happened to us it is bound to happen again. I want to know if election fraud took place. I don't care if it changes the devastating results, but if we make no effort to expose it we have no chance to change what needs to be changed. There may be a small group of people in America who are happy with the results at any cost but I believe most Americans want to know their vote matters. I believe the election was stolen but I also know that we have to be able to show that to be taken seriously. There are people working hard to shine the light on what occurred. They are true patriots.
Bev Harris from black box voting is one of those people
http://www.blackboxvoting.org
there is a new organization setting up right now to use a law in ohio to request a citizen recount...they are just getting the site up and are planning to target the counties with most glaring discrepancies....it costs money to do this so they are asking for help to rapidly go forward. http://helpamericarecount.org/
"Every vote must be recounted in Ohio and the methods for counting and conveying precinct totals must be checked and rechecked," Alliance Co-chair Cliff Arnebeck announced.
http://www.thealliancefordemocracy.org/
Bev Harris from black box voting is one of those people
http://www.blackboxvoting.org
there is a new organization setting up right now to use a law in ohio to request a citizen recount...they are just getting the site up and are planning to target the counties with most glaring discrepancies....it costs money to do this so they are asking for help to rapidly go forward. http://helpamericarecount.org/
"Every vote must be recounted in Ohio and the methods for counting and conveying precinct totals must be checked and rechecked," Alliance Co-chair Cliff Arnebeck announced.
http://www.thealliancefordemocracy.org/
Saturday, November 06, 2004
an election??????
We did not have an election, we had an illusion. There was nothing wrong with our campaign or our candidates, we won. There were many ways this illusion was created. see Greg Palast's nov 5th piece. karl rove,aka the architect, has his fingerprints all over this one. As democrats we do not need to redefine ourselves. We just need to firmly and proudly stand for what we have always stood for. Human rights, civil rights and the protection of the environment. We do not need to proclaim our religious affiliations or personal spiritual beliefs. Separation of church and state has never been more important. Our values are just fine. We do not need to be defined by our enemies. We must return to a paper ballot(not a paper trail). Corporate owned voting machines must be thrown out. We must de-privatize our elections and reclaim our democracy. Voter suppression must never be tolerated. These evil thugs, thieves and murderers will over step and we must unite and be ready to guide this nation back to sanity.
Thursday, November 04, 2004
calling all fiscal consersatives......
I'm beggin'.......will all fiscal conservatives please step forward now!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, October 25, 2004
Bush's Steal and Spend Policies
In the old Popeye cartoons, Wimpy always said "I'll gladly pay you tuesday for a hamburger today".
To all Republicans/Conservatives/Ditto-Heads/freepers:
If you felt that Democrats "tax and spend" policies were taking money straight out of your wallet, then you should realize that the new "neo-con+religious-right" Republican spending policies are credit card theft. You might still have a couple bucks in your pocket, but your credit-line is maxed out and the bill WILL be coming due.
[ More details coming soon ]
To all Republicans/Conservatives/Ditto-Heads/freepers:
If you felt that Democrats "tax and spend" policies were taking money straight out of your wallet, then you should realize that the new "neo-con+religious-right" Republican spending policies are credit card theft. You might still have a couple bucks in your pocket, but your credit-line is maxed out and the bill WILL be coming due.
[ More details coming soon ]
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Air America Radio lands here Monday
Happy News for the Puget Sound!
By Mark Rahner
Seattle Times staff reporter
Country-music fans tuning in to 1090-AM next week are in for a radical change. As of 12:01 a.m. Monday, KYCW will be KPTK, Seattle's new home for the liberal Air America Radio.
The New York-based network, home of Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo and other left-wing talkers, made the announcement yesterday. Before adding the Seattle station, Air America's Web site listed 36 local affiliates and XM and Sirius satellite radio, which carry its programming along with its Internet broadcast....
[ full article ]
Senator Levin Releases Report on Pre-War Intelligence
It's Taken far to long to document what most of us in the Reality-Based Community have known since before the invasion of Iraq. Bush and Co. Lied!
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) released a report today of an inquiry he initiated on June 27, 2003 and conducted by the SASC Minority Staff. The report focuses on 1) the establishment of a non-Intelligence Community source of intelligence analysis in the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith, and 2) the extent to which policy makers utilized that alternative source rather than the analyses produced by the Intelligence Community with regard to the issue of any relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda before the Iraq war.
The report demonstrates how intelligence relating to the Iraq-al Qaeda relationship was exaggerated by high ranking officials in the Department of Defense to support the Administration’s decision to invade Iraq when the intelligence assessments of the Intelligence Community did not make a sufficiently compelling case. The Intelligence Community’s analysis of the Iraq-al Qaeda relationship as a relatively weak one was as definitive as reliable reporting would permit, and their conclusions were subsequently supported by the 9/11 Commission and the Report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the U.S. Intelligence Community’s Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq.
Senator Levin believes that the professional objectivity and independence required in the assessment of the Iraq-al Qaeda relationship were compromised to support the policy goal of removing Saddam Hussein. He hopes that this report will help to bring about corrective legislation, including better Congressional oversight of intelligence assessments, which was strongly recommended by the 9/11 Commission and is a pending issue in the Intelligence reform bills before Congress.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
bush says nah, America will pass
.......With the notable exception of U.S. President George W. Bush, more than 250 global leaders, including former President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, reaffirmed their commitment to a ten-year-old UN plan to ensure the rights of women around the world.
.........In a letter to the organizers, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kelly Ryan said Washington was committed to “goals and objectives” of the ICPD, but that it was “unable” to endorse the statement. “The statement includes the concept of ‘sexual rights,’ a term that has no agreed definition in the international community, goes beyond what was agreed to at Cairo, and is not a component of the ICPD,” the letter asserted.
The United States, which helped draft and strongly supported the Cairo plan of action, as well as the UN women s conference in Beijing in 1995, abruptly changed course after Bush became president six years later.
........As one of his first acts in office, Bush also reinstated the so-called “global gag rule” first decreed by former President Ronald Reagan.
.........In a letter to the organizers, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kelly Ryan said Washington was committed to “goals and objectives” of the ICPD, but that it was “unable” to endorse the statement. “The statement includes the concept of ‘sexual rights,’ a term that has no agreed definition in the international community, goes beyond what was agreed to at Cairo, and is not a component of the ICPD,” the letter asserted.
The United States, which helped draft and strongly supported the Cairo plan of action, as well as the UN women s conference in Beijing in 1995, abruptly changed course after Bush became president six years later.
........As one of his first acts in office, Bush also reinstated the so-called “global gag rule” first decreed by former President Ronald Reagan.
New York State Comptroller has 15 questions for sinclair
........As New York State Comptroller, I am the sole trustee of the $115 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund. We hold 256,600 shares of Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. As a shareholder, I am writing to ask about some recent actions that have brought a great deal of publicity to our company. I would like to understand how these actions will improve performance and add to shareholder value.
who really has the direct line to god?
seems pat and george got conflicting messages. i did enjoy John Kerry's response.
......"We believe President Bush should get the benefit of the doubt here, but he needs to come forward and answer a very simple question," Kerry adviser Mike McCurry said in a statement. "Is Pat Robertson telling the truth when he said you didn't think there'd be any casualties, or is Pat Robertson lying?"
......"We believe President Bush should get the benefit of the doubt here, but he needs to come forward and answer a very simple question," Kerry adviser Mike McCurry said in a statement. "Is Pat Robertson telling the truth when he said you didn't think there'd be any casualties, or is Pat Robertson lying?"
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
President Gore's speech
if you have not heard or read President Gore's speech at Georgetown University on the 18th,(not seen on major news stations) it is a must.....if you know anyone who is "undecided" slap them with the biggest reality stick you can find and insist they listen to it. and then if they comply, take them out for a nice meal cuz you will be able to have a conversation with them. kinda like my dinner with andre.
dick threatens America.......again!
you should expect something like this from an oily, war for profit, chickenhawk, murderous thug like this.......no dick, you get your mind around dick and company on the perp walk.....how dare you!!!!!!!!! and let's not forget it was their leadership that chose an illegal war(based on a lie, dick....your specialty) financed on the credit card, (my granddaughter doesn't even get to vote) and a tax cut for their elite friends instead of securing containers coming into our ports..... and deregulation for nuclear and chemical buddies so they don't have to waste any of their profits securing our country. and let's surely not forget that it was under your watch that 4 airplanes attacked 2 cities and a countryside and over 3000 people died.....at the very least you guys were asleep at the wheel .....and you guys still don't want us to find out what happened that day.......how come the air traffic controllers weren't interviewed??? i want to know what they have to say........
no dick you are the threat we face.......
.........Vice President DICK Cheney cast doubt Tuesday on whether Senator John Kerry was strong enough to fight terrorism, and asserted that the nation might one day face terrorists "in the middle of one of our cities with deadlier weapons than have ever before been used against us,'' including a nuclear bomb.
........As in previous campaigning, the vice president invoked the specter of terrorists' attacking an American city.
"The biggest threat we face now as a nation,'' he said, "is the possibility of terrorists' ending up in the middle of one of our cities with deadlier weapons than have ever before been used against us - biological agents or a nuclear weapon or a chemical weapon of some kind - to be able to threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans.''
"You have to get your mind around that concept," he added.
.....Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday evoked the threat of terrorists bombing U.S. cities with nuclear or other weapons as he began a bus tour through Republican strongholds in Ohio two weeks before the election.
no dick you are the threat we face.......
I just can’t let this dick thing go……I was thinking after this nightmare is over, we call october 20th dick day or it could be abstinence day….no bush or dick……..it will be a holiday and we will all stop and reflect on how dangerously close we came to losing our precious democracy….ok ..i would like about 5 minutes of shame……then it would be a day of action and celebration…..speeches will be given….food and drink will be plentiful…..music and dancing will be seen all over the land……apples will be shared…..art will be available……games will be played…..friends and family will connect…… some will be sitting on porches and decks….hot tubing will be indulged in….radios will be tuned to Air America Radio and the world will cheer…..no fireworks…..ok… a public show with licensed pyrotechs will be dandy. Are ya with me?
.........Vice President DICK Cheney cast doubt Tuesday on whether Senator John Kerry was strong enough to fight terrorism, and asserted that the nation might one day face terrorists "in the middle of one of our cities with deadlier weapons than have ever before been used against us,'' including a nuclear bomb.
........As in previous campaigning, the vice president invoked the specter of terrorists' attacking an American city.
"The biggest threat we face now as a nation,'' he said, "is the possibility of terrorists' ending up in the middle of one of our cities with deadlier weapons than have ever before been used against us - biological agents or a nuclear weapon or a chemical weapon of some kind - to be able to threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans.''
"You have to get your mind around that concept," he added.
.....Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday evoked the threat of terrorists bombing U.S. cities with nuclear or other weapons as he began a bus tour through Republican strongholds in Ohio two weeks before the election.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Dangerous ideas at a Bush rally!
........Three Medford school teachers were threatened with arrest and thrown out of the President Bush rally at the Jackson County Fairgrounds Thursday night, after they showed up wearing T-shirts with the slogan "Protect our civil liberties."
Friday, October 15, 2004
the real story
A great site to actually hear from a family in Iraq about what is happening in their country. And another one to hear from our troops who have actually been there.
Monday, October 11, 2004
Crawford, Texas
bush's so-called home town newspaper is endorsing Kerry, not bush, this time. the crawford paper HAS suffered a huge backlash but i suspect because of nationwide exposure on air america radio the sane people in the area will get support.....
http://www.iconoclast-texas.com/Columns/Editorial/editorial39.htm
http://www.iconoclast-texas.com/Columns/Editorial/editorial39.htm
the hammer
that ole' tom never met a poison he didn't love.....
.........."Kennedy can go to the floor and get FDA language through the Senate again, without the buyout. But he won't get it through the House -- not while (Majority Leader) Tom DeLay and the Republicans are in power. DeLay, a Texas Republican, has repeatedly stated his opposition to FDA tobacco regulation.
.........."Kennedy can go to the floor and get FDA language through the Senate again, without the buyout. But he won't get it through the House -- not while (Majority Leader) Tom DeLay and the Republicans are in power. DeLay, a Texas Republican, has repeatedly stated his opposition to FDA tobacco regulation.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
The inspection process was rigged to create uncertainty over WMD to bolster the US and UK's case for war
Scott Ritter weighs in........
........Saddam is gone, and the world is far worse for it - not because his regime posed no threat, perceived or otherwise, but because the threat to international peace and security resulting from the decisions made by Bush and Blair to invade Iraq in violation of international law make any threat emanating from an Iraq ruled by Saddam pale in comparison.
........Saddam is gone, and the world is far worse for it - not because his regime posed no threat, perceived or otherwise, but because the threat to international peace and security resulting from the decisions made by Bush and Blair to invade Iraq in violation of international law make any threat emanating from an Iraq ruled by Saddam pale in comparison.
Anti-Kerry film slated to air on eve of election
these people will stop at nothing to hold on to power.......they are the most dangerous people our democracy has ever faced.......if they seize power again they do not have good things in mind for people like me...... every patriot who cares about our democracy should see Mark Crispin Miller's new film A patriot Act available on dvd.....i just got it and will get it out to as many people as i can.....it speaks brilliantly to what we are fighting for and what we are up against.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Bushy Bate and Switch!
Georgie-boy's handlers decided to play the media for suckers, one more time. Monday it was announced that Wednesday morning Bush would give a "significant speech" on "the war on terrorism" and "the economy". The speech He gave was his standard campaign stump speech, but CNN and MSNBC fell for the "significant speech" ploy and covered it live. A big chunk of free air time for a campaign speech in which Georgie-boy said nothing new, but did manage to make negative mention John Kerry thirty-five times. Fortunately this bate and switch tactic hasn't gone completely unnoticed.
You Call That a Major Policy Address?
In a week of devastating revelations about his Iraq policies, Bush has nothing new to say.
By Fred Kaplan Posted Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2004, at 1:57 PM PT
Did CNN and MSNBC get hoodwinked this morning? Yesterday, the White House announced that President Bush would be delivering a "major policy address" on terrorism today. The cable news networks broadcast it live and in full. Yet the "address" turned out to be a standard campaign stump speech before a Pennsylvania crowd that seemed pumped on peyote, cheering, screaming, or whooping at every sentence. ......
Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan Aboard Air Force OneEn Route Des Moines,
Iowa
Oct. 4, 2004 - 11:29 A.M. EDT
.....One scheduling update, on
Wednesday, the President -- we announced that he was going to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. That event was scheduled for a focus on medical liability with President Bush. That has been postponed, but we will still be going to Wilkes-Barre. The President will give a significant speech on our nation's two highest priorities: the war on terrorism and the economy. The President will talk about the clear choices and real differences facing the American people on these big issues. .....
That's what Scott McCellan announced
Read what Bush really said
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 6, 2004 -
10:13 A.M. EDT
President's Remarks in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
You Call That a Major Policy Address?
In a week of devastating revelations about his Iraq policies, Bush has nothing new to say.
By Fred Kaplan Posted Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2004, at 1:57 PM PT
Did CNN and MSNBC get hoodwinked this morning? Yesterday, the White House announced that President Bush would be delivering a "major policy address" on terrorism today. The cable news networks broadcast it live and in full. Yet the "address" turned out to be a standard campaign stump speech before a Pennsylvania crowd that seemed pumped on peyote, cheering, screaming, or whooping at every sentence. ......
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
thanks Mike Malloy!!!
i found the link to this excellent article at Mike's site....
.............. Free Inquiry readers may pause to read the “Affirmations of Humanism: A Statement of Principles” on the inside cover of the magazine. To a secular humanist, these principles seem so logical, so right, so crucial. Yet, there is one archetypal political philosophy that is anathema to almost all of these principles. It is fascism. And fascism’s principles are wafting in the air today, surreptitiously masquerading as something else, challenging everything we stand for. The cliché that people and nations learn from history is not only overused, but also overestimated; often we fail to learn from history, or draw the wrong conclusions. Sadly, historical amnesia is the norm.
.............. Free Inquiry readers may pause to read the “Affirmations of Humanism: A Statement of Principles” on the inside cover of the magazine. To a secular humanist, these principles seem so logical, so right, so crucial. Yet, there is one archetypal political philosophy that is anathema to almost all of these principles. It is fascism. And fascism’s principles are wafting in the air today, surreptitiously masquerading as something else, challenging everything we stand for. The cliché that people and nations learn from history is not only overused, but also overestimated; often we fail to learn from history, or draw the wrong conclusions. Sadly, historical amnesia is the norm.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
truth
why is it the bush crime family doesn't want us to know the truth about what it going on in Iraq?????
according to the Washington Post...
.............The Bush administration, battling negative perceptions of the Iraq war, is sending Iraqi Americans to deliver what the Pentagon calls "good news" about Iraq to U.S. military bases, and has curtailed distribution of reports showing increasing violence in that country.
more questions about information the American people are being given during this critical time when we are supposed to be making an informed decision......
Did Washington help Iyad Allawi draft his speech?
* White House denies any involvement * Bush comes under fireWASHINGTON: President George W Bush came under fire from a senior Senate Democrat on Thursday after the Washington Post said the US government and a representative of Bush’s re-election campaign helped draft Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s speech to Congress last week. Democratic Sen Diane Feinstein of California said in a Sept 30 letter to Bush that the newspaper report raised doubts about Allawi’s optimistic assertions on Iraqi reconstruction efforts and the prospect for elections.
according to the Washington Post...
.............The Bush administration, battling negative perceptions of the Iraq war, is sending Iraqi Americans to deliver what the Pentagon calls "good news" about Iraq to U.S. military bases, and has curtailed distribution of reports showing increasing violence in that country.
more questions about information the American people are being given during this critical time when we are supposed to be making an informed decision......
Did Washington help Iyad Allawi draft his speech?
* White House denies any involvement * Bush comes under fireWASHINGTON: President George W Bush came under fire from a senior Senate Democrat on Thursday after the Washington Post said the US government and a representative of Bush’s re-election campaign helped draft Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s speech to Congress last week. Democratic Sen Diane Feinstein of California said in a Sept 30 letter to Bush that the newspaper report raised doubts about Allawi’s optimistic assertions on Iraqi reconstruction efforts and the prospect for elections.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
With supporters like this
You might think my neighbors have had a change of heart, but the truth is they're just dumb-asses.
Dealing with the Merchant of Death
this, as some say, makes halliburton pale.....
For the war effort in Iraq, the Bush administration has hired at least one company tied to the network of Victor Bout, one of the world's most notorious arms traffickers.
.........According to the U.N., Air Bas was established in 2002 in Texas and quickly set up offices in the United Arab Emirates, in the same building where Victor Bout had once operated another airline, Air Cess.
For the war effort in Iraq, the Bush administration has hired at least one company tied to the network of Victor Bout, one of the world's most notorious arms traffickers.
.........According to the U.N., Air Bas was established in 2002 in Texas and quickly set up offices in the United Arab Emirates, in the same building where Victor Bout had once operated another airline, Air Cess.
JOHN EISENHOWER weighs in.......
...........The fact is that today’s “Republican” Party is one with which I am totally unfamiliar. To me, the word “Republican” has always been synonymous with the word “responsibility,” which has meant limiting our governmental obligations to those we can afford in human and financial terms. Today’s whopping budget deficit of some $440 billion does not meet that criterion.
John Eisenhower, son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, served on the White House staff between October 1958 and the end of the Eisenhower administration. From 1961 to 1964 he assisted his father in writing “The White House Years,” his Presidential memoirs. He served as American ambassador to Belgium between 1969 and 1971. He is the author of nine books, largely on military subjects.
John Eisenhower, son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, served on the White House staff between October 1958 and the end of the Eisenhower administration. From 1961 to 1964 he assisted his father in writing “The White House Years,” his Presidential memoirs. He served as American ambassador to Belgium between 1969 and 1971. He is the author of nine books, largely on military subjects.
Friday, October 01, 2004
Michael Moore, Summa Cum Non Grata
George Mason University on Thursday canceled plans to have "Fahrenheit 9/11" director Michael Moore speak on campus five days before the presidential election.
Friday, September 24, 2004
what WE stand for.....
David says it beautifully. it is clear that bush was a screw up back then. he has screwed up and been bailed out of every venture he has embarked on in his adult life. what is critical is his latest disaster. he and his crime family have stolen our country. practically everything they say is lie and the press repeats it without a question. i think the repugnicans like to keep the guard discussion alive so they can show the young bush in his pilot dress-up costume.....enough! let's focus on what we have to offer.
September 24, 2004
Terry McAuliffe, Please Shut Up....About Bush and the Guard
September 24, 2004
Terry McAuliffe, Please Shut Up....About Bush and the Guard
their guy mr. allawi
as the bush crime family tried to put a sunny face on their crimes in Iraq they featured their guy (appointed) to lie to the American people....The New York Times says it all very succinctly.
.........Since he was appointed interim prime minister in June, Mr. Allawi has not tried very hard to remake himself as a democrat. He has armed himself with the power to declare martial law and reinstated the death penalty, and he closed the Baghdad offices of Al Jazeera when it refused to adjust its editorial policies to his liking. His main appeal to Iraqis rests on the notion that he may be the only politician ruthless enough to hold the fragmenting country together.
.........Since he was appointed interim prime minister in June, Mr. Allawi has not tried very hard to remake himself as a democrat. He has armed himself with the power to declare martial law and reinstated the death penalty, and he closed the Baghdad offices of Al Jazeera when it refused to adjust its editorial policies to his liking. His main appeal to Iraqis rests on the notion that he may be the only politician ruthless enough to hold the fragmenting country together.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
not in my name!!!!!
Be sure to go up and read the shameless pack of lies bush spewed at the United Nations. Six of his paragraphs begin with...."Because we believe in human dignity,"......the nicest thing you can say about his performance is, as an American, i was sooooo embarrassed.....
When he said......"A democratic Iraq has ruthless enemies, because terrorists know the stakes in that country. They know that a free Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will be a decisive blow against their ambitions for that region.".......i thought we finally had the answer to why we are there.......
hey bush!!!! let us have a look at the CIA analysis so we can make an informed decision in november!!!!
Bush Says Iraq Is Going Great, but the Facts Say Otherwise... You Can Help Get the Facts Out
President Bush tells us that “Our strategy is succeeding … Iraq is headed toward democracy ... Freedom is on the march.” This from the guy who told us that American troops would be greeted with parades as liberators and “Mission Accomplished.” The facts say otherwise. Bush’s own CIA recently reported to him that the best case in Iraq is a protracted quagmire and the worst case is a full-blown civil war. Yet Bush continues the sunny spin.
In a democracy, the people are entitled to know what’s going on so that we can form our own opinions and take action. No wonder this government seeks to keep the facts from the people. But U.S. senators, both Democrats and Republicans, are calling for the public release of the facts in that CIA analysis, known as the National Intelligence Estimate. Respected senators Bob Graham (D-FL) and John McCain (R-AZ) have read it and know that Americans deserve to know what’s in it too. Of course, it would have the secret stuff taken out; no one wants to make things worse. But the truth of how we got into this mess, what’s happening on the ground there now and how this is going to play out should all be available to the people.
Here’s what you can do. Together with our friends at MoveOn and Working Assets, TrueMajority is pushing for public disclosure of the facts about the quagmire in Iraq. We’re working to get this issue into the media, and a great way to get it widely read is through the Letters to the Editor section of your local paper. Letters to the editor are heavily read and really help to get people thinking and acting. And we’ve made it really easy for you to get your views published.
To send a letter to the editor of your paper (either one we’ve helped write or, better yet, one of your own, perhaps using the talking points we provide), just click here:
http://action.truemajority.org/l2e/index.asp?cp=25
Yours in uncovering the truth, Ben
When he said......"A democratic Iraq has ruthless enemies, because terrorists know the stakes in that country. They know that a free Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will be a decisive blow against their ambitions for that region.".......i thought we finally had the answer to why we are there.......
hey bush!!!! let us have a look at the CIA analysis so we can make an informed decision in november!!!!
Bush Says Iraq Is Going Great, but the Facts Say Otherwise... You Can Help Get the Facts Out
President Bush tells us that “Our strategy is succeeding … Iraq is headed toward democracy ... Freedom is on the march.” This from the guy who told us that American troops would be greeted with parades as liberators and “Mission Accomplished.” The facts say otherwise. Bush’s own CIA recently reported to him that the best case in Iraq is a protracted quagmire and the worst case is a full-blown civil war. Yet Bush continues the sunny spin.
In a democracy, the people are entitled to know what’s going on so that we can form our own opinions and take action. No wonder this government seeks to keep the facts from the people. But U.S. senators, both Democrats and Republicans, are calling for the public release of the facts in that CIA analysis, known as the National Intelligence Estimate. Respected senators Bob Graham (D-FL) and John McCain (R-AZ) have read it and know that Americans deserve to know what’s in it too. Of course, it would have the secret stuff taken out; no one wants to make things worse. But the truth of how we got into this mess, what’s happening on the ground there now and how this is going to play out should all be available to the people.
Here’s what you can do. Together with our friends at MoveOn and Working Assets, TrueMajority is pushing for public disclosure of the facts about the quagmire in Iraq. We’re working to get this issue into the media, and a great way to get it widely read is through the Letters to the Editor section of your local paper. Letters to the editor are heavily read and really help to get people thinking and acting. And we’ve made it really easy for you to get your views published.
To send a letter to the editor of your paper (either one we’ve helped write or, better yet, one of your own, perhaps using the talking points we provide), just click here:
http://action.truemajority.org/l2e/index.asp?cp=25
Yours in uncovering the truth, Ben
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Assault weapons ban ends. Why?
Bush didn't raise a finger to stop the assault weapons ban from expiring. Frist, Delay and Hastert agreed any extension of the ban would be killed in conference.
You've just got to wonder who's benefiting from an end to the assault weapons ban. Gun manufacturers and dealers, sure. What about the Private prison industry? the Republican leadership is mighty chummy with them. Remember; Bush sent a private prisons industry executive over to Iraq to run the prisons. The logic is there, private prisons would benefit from an increase in violent crime... wouldn't they.
But maybe others would benefit too. What about Drug Cartels? They've already reaped big benefits from the way the Bush Administration handled the invasion of Afghanistan. You know, record poppy harvests ever since the U.S. dislodged the Taliban and then stopped short.
Defunding the 1994 crime bills '100K cops on the street' provision and freely available assault weapons would make it much easier to get a drug dealer back on every urban street corner. After all with bumper poppy crops, there's a lot of "merchandise" to move.
We already know that Bill Frist and his family have lots of Drug connections and there's nothing like plenty of gun shot wounds to keep an emergency-room bustling. But what about DeLay and Hastert? Where does there money come from? Who backs their campaigns?
You've just got to wonder who's benefiting from an end to the assault weapons ban. Gun manufacturers and dealers, sure. What about the Private prison industry? the Republican leadership is mighty chummy with them. Remember; Bush sent a private prisons industry executive over to Iraq to run the prisons. The logic is there, private prisons would benefit from an increase in violent crime... wouldn't they.
But maybe others would benefit too. What about Drug Cartels? They've already reaped big benefits from the way the Bush Administration handled the invasion of Afghanistan. You know, record poppy harvests ever since the U.S. dislodged the Taliban and then stopped short.
Defunding the 1994 crime bills '100K cops on the street' provision and freely available assault weapons would make it much easier to get a drug dealer back on every urban street corner. After all with bumper poppy crops, there's a lot of "merchandise" to move.
We already know that Bill Frist and his family have lots of Drug connections and there's nothing like plenty of gun shot wounds to keep an emergency-room bustling. But what about DeLay and Hastert? Where does there money come from? Who backs their campaigns?
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Great news from peckerheadville!!!!!
Michael's (on right)back from Iraq......boy what a welcome site.
He has some state of the art titanium in his arm and wears a purple heart. He plans to finish his time here at home and go to school. I want us to honor his service to his country by keeping faith with him and fully funding existing programs for our veterens and be quick to respond to needs we may not even know of yet. We are so happy to see you michael and you go!!!
Arianna Huffington ....you rock!!
Thank you, thank you for being out there telling the truth......we have so much work to do. their conspiracy machine is humming and grazing on green.....and it is stinking vast!!!! we must send these cowardly, mean, greedy scum away......we the people need to come together for the sake of the people that will come after us, as many did before us.....these people do not have our interests in their plan....a couple of questions come to my mind...1.why do they want cheap assault weapons on the streets of america?? they are arriving here now to go on the shelves on monday when the ban expires.......and 2.why would the vice president threaten americans that they better vote the right way...or else....we need the leadership of mature, intelligent wise people.....i'm sick of these adolescent, swaggering, bullies and their neo-con wet dream.......let's all keep talking and listening and doing everything we can to secure the future.....you go Arrianna!!!!
.............The storyline of this campaign is really about heroes and villains. John Kerry and John Edwards are running because they are committed to the most important and heroic task facing our country: the building of one indivisible nation. They desperately want to make us one America. Bush and Cheney are running so they can continue to make life easier, plusher, and more privileged for the only America they choose to see. To succeed, they have to convince enough people between now and Election Day that the Other America is somehow a pessimistic figment of the Democratic imagination.
.............The storyline of this campaign is really about heroes and villains. John Kerry and John Edwards are running because they are committed to the most important and heroic task facing our country: the building of one indivisible nation. They desperately want to make us one America. Bush and Cheney are running so they can continue to make life easier, plusher, and more privileged for the only America they choose to see. To succeed, they have to convince enough people between now and Election Day that the Other America is somehow a pessimistic figment of the Democratic imagination.
Time for a Change
What Bush says:
"The United States is determined to stay on the offensive and to pursue the terrorists wherever they train or sleep or attempt to set down roots," Mr Bush said in a live radio address.
What His General says:
U.S. general says bin Laden, al-Zawahri still directing attacks
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP)
The trail has gone cold in the hunt for suspected Sept. 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden three years after the audacious attacks, but the al-Qaeda chief and his No. 2 are still orchestrating strikes like the recent suicide car bombing of a U.S. security firm in Kabul, a top American commander said Saturday.
Maj. Gen. Eric Olson told The Associated Press the military had not intercepted any radio traffic or instructions from either bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri. But he said the involvement of well-trained foreign fighters in attacks near the Pakistani border convinced him that the fugitive leaders were pulling the strings. ......
Come November, It's time for a Change
After three years, Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri are carrying on business as usual. The situations in Iraq and Afghanistan are deteriorating. It's obvious that Bush and his Neo-Con's have failed. They have no idea how to solve the problems that confront the United States. All they've got is bluster and lies!
"The United States is determined to stay on the offensive and to pursue the terrorists wherever they train or sleep or attempt to set down roots," Mr Bush said in a live radio address.
What His General says:
U.S. general says bin Laden, al-Zawahri still directing attacks
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP)
The trail has gone cold in the hunt for suspected Sept. 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden three years after the audacious attacks, but the al-Qaeda chief and his No. 2 are still orchestrating strikes like the recent suicide car bombing of a U.S. security firm in Kabul, a top American commander said Saturday.
Maj. Gen. Eric Olson told The Associated Press the military had not intercepted any radio traffic or instructions from either bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri. But he said the involvement of well-trained foreign fighters in attacks near the Pakistani border convinced him that the fugitive leaders were pulling the strings. ......
Come November, It's time for a Change
After three years, Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri are carrying on business as usual. The situations in Iraq and Afghanistan are deteriorating. It's obvious that Bush and his Neo-Con's have failed. They have no idea how to solve the problems that confront the United States. All they've got is bluster and lies!
Thursday, September 09, 2004
A look at those who have died
so many faces of young americans make this mother's heart break.....when will America wake up to the criminal incompetency masquerading as leadership....what they are doing in our name is beyond comprehension.....and that half the people are drinking the kool-aid is unexplainable.....what will it take to wake them up?
America's future.....
Oh, this is beautiful, President Bush gets credit for being willing, but hell, no rubber will meet the road on this one. These people are lying cowards and that's the nicest thing i have to say about them. My question, if i got to ask them one, would be "why do you want these weapons back on the streets of America?"
Renewal of assault weapon ban shot down in Senate
With president on the sidelines, its sponsor says, bill has no chance
By GEBE MARTINEZCopyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
No, Senator Frist two-thirds of the american people do not want it to expire.
Valley observers split on effectiveness of soon-to-expire federal gun law.
Bee staff and news services
(Updated Thursday, September 9, 2004, 5:38 AM)
"I think the will of the American people is consistent with letting it expire, so it will expire," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., told reporters. http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/9116631p-10016641c.html
Renewal of assault weapon ban shot down in Senate
With president on the sidelines, its sponsor says, bill has no chance
By GEBE MARTINEZCopyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
No, Senator Frist two-thirds of the american people do not want it to expire.
Valley observers split on effectiveness of soon-to-expire federal gun law.
Bee staff and news services
(Updated Thursday, September 9, 2004, 5:38 AM)
"I think the will of the American people is consistent with letting it expire, so it will expire," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., told reporters. http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/9116631p-10016641c.html
Scum runs the Congress
Isn't it about time for a revolt inside the Republican party? Are Republican Senators and Representatives all wimps? Why don't they rebel and replace leader's that are consistently acting against the wishes of a majority of Republicans? What kind of Congress is it when a handful of southern white-guys get to decide the course of the Nation without consulting anyone else?
House Votes to Block Bush Overtime Regulations
House Votes to Block Bush Overtime Regulations
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives defied President Bush on Thursday and voted to block his administration's controversial new overtime regulations for white-collar workers.
In a rare election-year victory for organized labor on Capitol Hill, the House approved an amendment to a spending bill to deny funds to administer the regulations that opponents say would cost an estimated 6 million white- and blue-collar workers overtime pay.
Republican leaders rejected those claims and, aides said, would seek to kill the amendment once the $142.5 billion funding bill for the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services reached a House-Senate conference committee.
That is what Republican leaders did last year with an earlier bipartisan attempt by both chambers to stop the regulations drafted by Bush's Labor Department and which took effect last month. ....
Complete Article
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
cheney threatens america
does he know something he's not sharing with us??? interesting that he thinks kerry would be a wrong choice(i'm assuming that is his meaning) since 911 happened on their watch???
Cheney: Kerry Victory Is Risky
Democrats Decry Talk as Scare Tactic
By Dana Milbank and Spencer S. HsuWashington Post Staff WritersWednesday, September 8, 2004
.........In Des Moines, Cheney went beyond previous restraints to suggest that the country would be more vulnerable to attack under Kerry. "It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on November 2nd, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again," the vice president said, "that we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States, and that we'll fall back into the pre-9/11 mind-set, if you will, that in fact these terrorist attacks are just criminal acts and that we are not really at war.".........
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2917-2004Sep7.html
Cheney: Kerry Victory Is Risky
Democrats Decry Talk as Scare Tactic
By Dana Milbank and Spencer S. HsuWashington Post Staff WritersWednesday, September 8, 2004
.........In Des Moines, Cheney went beyond previous restraints to suggest that the country would be more vulnerable to attack under Kerry. "It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on November 2nd, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again," the vice president said, "that we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States, and that we'll fall back into the pre-9/11 mind-set, if you will, that in fact these terrorist attacks are just criminal acts and that we are not really at war.".........
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2917-2004Sep7.html
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
President Bush Flubs His Speech
yikes!!!!
"We need to do something about these frivolous lawsuits that are running up the cost of your health care and running good docs out of business," Bush said. "We've got an issue in America. Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country."
http://wcco.com/water/watercooler_story_251113357.html
"We need to do something about these frivolous lawsuits that are running up the cost of your health care and running good docs out of business," Bush said. "We've got an issue in America. Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country."
http://wcco.com/water/watercooler_story_251113357.html
US Death Toll in Iraq Hits 1,000
I don't know what to say, as I write this the death count has already gone to 1002. The invasion of Iraq was wrong; there never was an imminent threat to the United States. The evidence of the Administrations lies is finally coming out in the mainstream media. But, it's too late those 1002 Americans; they were sent to their deaths by a cold, callous, immoral Administration. Bush and his friends are just as responsible for these death as if they had personally pulled the trigger.
A Tragic Milestone in Iraq
As the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq passed 1,000 today, John Kerry issued the following statement:
A Tragic Milestone in Iraq
As the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq passed 1,000 today, John Kerry issued the following statement:
“Today marks a tragic milestone in the war in Iraq. More than one thousand of America’s sons and daughters have made the ultimate sacrifice. Our nation honors their service and joins with their families and loved ones in mourning their loss. We must never forget the price they have paid. And we must meet our sacred obligation to all our troops to do all we can to make the right decisions in Iraq so that we can bring them home as soon as possible.”
Statement from John Kerry on Iraq
“George W. Bush wishes he and I had the same position on Iraq but wishing doesn’t make it so. I have said repeatedly that when it comes to Iraq, I wouldn’t have done just one thing differently, I would have done almost everything differently. George Bush’s wrongheaded, go-it-alone Iraq policy has created a quagmire, costing us $200 billion and counting. As a result, George Bush is shortchanging America on everything from education to health care to job creation – making it more difficult to meet our needs here at home.”
US Death Toll in Iraq Hits 1,000
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. death toll in Iraq on Tuesday reached 1,000 nearly 18 months after American-led forces invaded the country to topple the government of former President Saddam Hussein, the White House said.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the latest Pentagon figures showed that 997 American troops and three civilian employees of the Defense Department had been killed in Iraq. A defense official confirmed the milestone toll.
The rising death toll includes more than a dozen U.S. troops killed in fighting and attacks by insurgents since Friday. Nearly 7,000 American troops have also been wounded since the invasion. .... Source:
Monday, September 06, 2004
Winning the War?
Seven more U.S. Marines died today. So far, Bush's war of conquest against Iraq has cost 990 dead and 7000 wounded U.S. troops. When they get home, wounded soldiers face a system that wants them to just go away. AND - Yet another of Bush's excuses to go to war is proven to be a LIE!
Car bomb kills seven Marines in Iraq
By KIM HOUSEGO
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Monday, September 6, 2004 · Last updated 1:39 p.m. PT
A destroyed vehicle lies at the site of a massive car bomb attack on the outskirts of Fallujah, 65kms(40 miles) north west of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday Sept. 6, 2004. Seven U.S. marines and 3 Iraqi National Guard soldiers died in the apparent suicide attack, US military officials said. (AP Photo/Abdul Khader Sadi)
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A suicide attacker sped up to a U.S. military convoy outside Fallujah and detonated an explosives-packed vehicle on Monday, killing seven Marines and three Iraqi soldiers, U.S. military officials said. It was the deadliest day for American forces in four months. ....
Many wounded in Iraq war now battle medical system
WAR IN IRAQ: WASHINGTON STATE'S TOLL
Nicholas K. Geranios, The Associated Press
SPOKANE - Lance Cpl. Ian Anderson of Spokane was a gung-ho Marine who was shot five times while serving his country in Iraq.
Now he is an embittered 23-year-old coping with his wounds, angry at his medical care, and unsure what he will do with the rest of his life.
One of more than 130 Washington residents who have been wounded so far in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Anderson personifies a hard truth about war: Enthusiastic patriotism often gives way to shattered lives. ....
U.N.: Iraqi Drones Were No Threat
Aircraft Could Not Deliver Weapons
By Colum LynchWashington Post Staff WriterSunday, September 5, 2004; Page A28
UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations' chief weapons inspector has concluded there is no evidence that Saddam Hussein's government ever developed unpiloted drones capable of dispersing chemical and biological weapons agents on enemy targets. ....
Car bomb kills seven Marines in Iraq
By KIM HOUSEGO
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Monday, September 6, 2004 · Last updated 1:39 p.m. PT
A destroyed vehicle lies at the site of a massive car bomb attack on the outskirts of Fallujah, 65kms(40 miles) north west of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday Sept. 6, 2004. Seven U.S. marines and 3 Iraqi National Guard soldiers died in the apparent suicide attack, US military officials said. (AP Photo/Abdul Khader Sadi)
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A suicide attacker sped up to a U.S. military convoy outside Fallujah and detonated an explosives-packed vehicle on Monday, killing seven Marines and three Iraqi soldiers, U.S. military officials said. It was the deadliest day for American forces in four months. ....
Many wounded in Iraq war now battle medical system
WAR IN IRAQ: WASHINGTON STATE'S TOLL
Nicholas K. Geranios, The Associated Press
SPOKANE - Lance Cpl. Ian Anderson of Spokane was a gung-ho Marine who was shot five times while serving his country in Iraq.
Now he is an embittered 23-year-old coping with his wounds, angry at his medical care, and unsure what he will do with the rest of his life.
One of more than 130 Washington residents who have been wounded so far in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Anderson personifies a hard truth about war: Enthusiastic patriotism often gives way to shattered lives. ....
U.N.: Iraqi Drones Were No Threat
Aircraft Could Not Deliver Weapons
By Colum LynchWashington Post Staff WriterSunday, September 5, 2004; Page A28
UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations' chief weapons inspector has concluded there is no evidence that Saddam Hussein's government ever developed unpiloted drones capable of dispersing chemical and biological weapons agents on enemy targets. ....
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Reconstructing one day on a Swift boat
By ROBERT PRICE, Californian staff columnist
Bill Means needed to talk to me, he said. Right away.
I didn't ask why; I figured it had something to do with Vietnam. We'd talked briefly a couple of months earlier about the war and about Swift boats. Thirty-five years ago, as a Navy seaman, Means had patrolled the southern coastline of the South China Sea and the mangrove-dense rivers of the country's interior -- 12 months in all, mostly spent in the pilot house of one of those 55-foot, aluminum-hulled Navy fighting boats.
About a week ago, we made tentative plans to talk again. Then I didn't hear from him until he called abruptly, urgency in his voice.
We sat down together and, agitated and emotional, he laid it all out for me.
It bothered him, seeing Vietnam brought back into play as a political game piece. The left had done it to war veterans three decades ago. Returning servicemen had been vilified -- spat upon, in fact, as if they'd been the architects of U.S. foreign policy rather than just the young men and women obligated by law and duty to carry it out.
Now the right had seized upon the Vietnam War, too -- specifically the role, in uniform and out, of Sen. John Kerry. And to Means, it seemed just as wrong.
Means, a 55-year-old investigator for several Bakersfield law firms, was particularly annoyed by the words of one retired admiral. Roy F. "Latch" Hoffman, one of the co-founders of the pro-George W. Bush group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, had publicly criticized Kerry, a former Swift boat commander, for having brought back stories about alleged war crimes by U.S. forces -- often carried out, Kerry said in 1971, "with the full awareness of officers at all levels."
Seemed to him, Means said, his own Swift boat crew had come close to committing a war crime themselves one day. A senior officer, hitching a ride up the coast aboard their Swift boat, had ordered the crew to fire on a small group of unarmed Vietnamese fishermen working their nets in unrestricted waters, Means said. The boat's commanding officer had refused to comply.
Was that the way the boat's commander remembered the incident too, all these years later? Means had to know.
So he got on the Internet and hunted down Thomas W.L. "Tad" McCall, the retired Navy captain who'd commanded Means' boat, PCF 88, as a newly minted ensign. Means called him.
Not only did McCall remember the day in question, and that confrontation off the coast of South Vietnam, he remembered the name of the officer who had given the command to shoot: "Latch" Hoffman himself, then a Navy captain in charge of the entire Swift boat task force in Vietnam.
The next morning Means told me the whole story. Then I called McCall myself.
McCall, now 60, remembers March 14, 1969, because it was his 25th birthday. He'd only been running a Swift boat for a few weeks, having arrived in Vietnam in January 1969, the same month as Means.
At the time, McCall said, the Navy was having trouble finding qualified officers to command those hazardous-duty patrol boats; lieutenant j.g.'s were in increasingly short supply. McCall, the son of Oregon's sitting governor, Republican Tom McCall, was only an ensign. That, the Navy was beginning to realize, would have to do.
"I was really green," said McCall, who joined the Navy as an enlisted man in 1967 and retired in March 1992 as a captain and a JAG, or military attorney.
McCall's crew was supposed to be off duty that day. But McCall was told Hoffman needed a ride up the coast to the base at Nha Trang to visit a seriously wounded Navy SEAL.
"I was excited, nervous and kind of pleased we were going to get to take the commander of the task force up the coast, an hour and a half each way," McCall said. "A beautiful trip, an honor for us. The crew didn't think it was an honor, though. They thought it was a pain in the butt."
Hoffman got to the boat at mid-morning, a distinguished-looking officer in brown camouflage.
From the start, Hoffman made it clear the trip would be no pleasure cruise. He wanted to search every Vietnamese boat they passed, it seemed. McCall protested mildly; he knew many of those boats from having patrolled those same waters almost daily.
Then Hoffman set his attention on a small cluster of fishing boats, four small vessels with perhaps 10 fishermen, about 1,000 yards offshore. "We had seen them in the water there many, many times," McCall said. "They were fishing at a good fishing place ... in traditional fishing waters. 'Another patrol is coming up behind us soon,' I told him. 'We're taking you for a ride, not patrolling.'"
But Hoffman ordered a crewman to hail the fishing boats on a bullhorn. The fishermen didn't respond. So Hoffman ordered a crewman to fire his M-16 in their direction, splashing the water around them. The fishermen, perhaps not understanding what they were supposed to do, still didn't respond.
"Shoot closer," McCall remembers Hoffman saying.
"I can't shoot closer, sir, I'll hit them," the crewman said.
"Well, do it," Hoffman said.
The meaning of those words were clear to everyone aboard PCF 88, McCall said. Hoffman was ordering the fishing party destroyed, the fishermen killed.
The officers argued policy; McCall realized it was ultimately his call.
He ordered his men to stand down, leave the fishermen alone and move on. He sent Hoffman below deck, and the captain, cursing, complied.
"From that day on," said Means, who witnessed the exchange from his post at the wheel, "McCall was our hero."
When McCall got back to the base at Cam Ranh Bay, he was told he would receive an administrative punishment -- a 30-day benching known as being "in hack," for which official records were not kept.
"There was no animosity afterward," McCall said, noting that when Hoffman left Vietnam, the sailors at Cam Ranh Bay threw him a party.
"I think, if I remember right, he gave me a hug," McCall said. "He was a rascal, a colorful guy. We had an amicable parting of the ways. I just thought his leadership at the time was misguided."
Hoffman did not return my e-mail message asking for his comment.
After leaving the Navy, McCall served as a deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force, a civilian post, from 1994 to 2001. Since that time he has worked as a consultant to the Army on environmental matters.
He has been approached by representatives of the Kerry campaign about telling his story, he said. He's not particularly political, so he's not interested.
Means feels the same -- to a point.
"We weren't Republicans and Democrats on those Swift boats," he said. "We were (expletive) trying to stay alive. (Things) happened, but we can't go back and reconstruct it from 35 years ago."
But if others, whatever their motivation, insist on trying to do so now, Means is willing to try too. In his view, his commanding officer did the right thing 35 years ago by speaking up. Speaking up himself, Bill Means believes, is the least he can do today.
Bill Means needed to talk to me, he said. Right away.
I didn't ask why; I figured it had something to do with Vietnam. We'd talked briefly a couple of months earlier about the war and about Swift boats. Thirty-five years ago, as a Navy seaman, Means had patrolled the southern coastline of the South China Sea and the mangrove-dense rivers of the country's interior -- 12 months in all, mostly spent in the pilot house of one of those 55-foot, aluminum-hulled Navy fighting boats.
About a week ago, we made tentative plans to talk again. Then I didn't hear from him until he called abruptly, urgency in his voice.
We sat down together and, agitated and emotional, he laid it all out for me.
It bothered him, seeing Vietnam brought back into play as a political game piece. The left had done it to war veterans three decades ago. Returning servicemen had been vilified -- spat upon, in fact, as if they'd been the architects of U.S. foreign policy rather than just the young men and women obligated by law and duty to carry it out.
Now the right had seized upon the Vietnam War, too -- specifically the role, in uniform and out, of Sen. John Kerry. And to Means, it seemed just as wrong.
Means, a 55-year-old investigator for several Bakersfield law firms, was particularly annoyed by the words of one retired admiral. Roy F. "Latch" Hoffman, one of the co-founders of the pro-George W. Bush group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, had publicly criticized Kerry, a former Swift boat commander, for having brought back stories about alleged war crimes by U.S. forces -- often carried out, Kerry said in 1971, "with the full awareness of officers at all levels."
Seemed to him, Means said, his own Swift boat crew had come close to committing a war crime themselves one day. A senior officer, hitching a ride up the coast aboard their Swift boat, had ordered the crew to fire on a small group of unarmed Vietnamese fishermen working their nets in unrestricted waters, Means said. The boat's commanding officer had refused to comply.
Was that the way the boat's commander remembered the incident too, all these years later? Means had to know.
So he got on the Internet and hunted down Thomas W.L. "Tad" McCall, the retired Navy captain who'd commanded Means' boat, PCF 88, as a newly minted ensign. Means called him.
Not only did McCall remember the day in question, and that confrontation off the coast of South Vietnam, he remembered the name of the officer who had given the command to shoot: "Latch" Hoffman himself, then a Navy captain in charge of the entire Swift boat task force in Vietnam.
The next morning Means told me the whole story. Then I called McCall myself.
McCall, now 60, remembers March 14, 1969, because it was his 25th birthday. He'd only been running a Swift boat for a few weeks, having arrived in Vietnam in January 1969, the same month as Means.
At the time, McCall said, the Navy was having trouble finding qualified officers to command those hazardous-duty patrol boats; lieutenant j.g.'s were in increasingly short supply. McCall, the son of Oregon's sitting governor, Republican Tom McCall, was only an ensign. That, the Navy was beginning to realize, would have to do.
"I was really green," said McCall, who joined the Navy as an enlisted man in 1967 and retired in March 1992 as a captain and a JAG, or military attorney.
McCall's crew was supposed to be off duty that day. But McCall was told Hoffman needed a ride up the coast to the base at Nha Trang to visit a seriously wounded Navy SEAL.
"I was excited, nervous and kind of pleased we were going to get to take the commander of the task force up the coast, an hour and a half each way," McCall said. "A beautiful trip, an honor for us. The crew didn't think it was an honor, though. They thought it was a pain in the butt."
Hoffman got to the boat at mid-morning, a distinguished-looking officer in brown camouflage.
From the start, Hoffman made it clear the trip would be no pleasure cruise. He wanted to search every Vietnamese boat they passed, it seemed. McCall protested mildly; he knew many of those boats from having patrolled those same waters almost daily.
Then Hoffman set his attention on a small cluster of fishing boats, four small vessels with perhaps 10 fishermen, about 1,000 yards offshore. "We had seen them in the water there many, many times," McCall said. "They were fishing at a good fishing place ... in traditional fishing waters. 'Another patrol is coming up behind us soon,' I told him. 'We're taking you for a ride, not patrolling.'"
But Hoffman ordered a crewman to hail the fishing boats on a bullhorn. The fishermen didn't respond. So Hoffman ordered a crewman to fire his M-16 in their direction, splashing the water around them. The fishermen, perhaps not understanding what they were supposed to do, still didn't respond.
"Shoot closer," McCall remembers Hoffman saying.
"I can't shoot closer, sir, I'll hit them," the crewman said.
"Well, do it," Hoffman said.
The meaning of those words were clear to everyone aboard PCF 88, McCall said. Hoffman was ordering the fishing party destroyed, the fishermen killed.
The officers argued policy; McCall realized it was ultimately his call.
He ordered his men to stand down, leave the fishermen alone and move on. He sent Hoffman below deck, and the captain, cursing, complied.
"From that day on," said Means, who witnessed the exchange from his post at the wheel, "McCall was our hero."
When McCall got back to the base at Cam Ranh Bay, he was told he would receive an administrative punishment -- a 30-day benching known as being "in hack," for which official records were not kept.
"There was no animosity afterward," McCall said, noting that when Hoffman left Vietnam, the sailors at Cam Ranh Bay threw him a party.
"I think, if I remember right, he gave me a hug," McCall said. "He was a rascal, a colorful guy. We had an amicable parting of the ways. I just thought his leadership at the time was misguided."
Hoffman did not return my e-mail message asking for his comment.
After leaving the Navy, McCall served as a deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force, a civilian post, from 1994 to 2001. Since that time he has worked as a consultant to the Army on environmental matters.
He has been approached by representatives of the Kerry campaign about telling his story, he said. He's not particularly political, so he's not interested.
Means feels the same -- to a point.
"We weren't Republicans and Democrats on those Swift boats," he said. "We were (expletive) trying to stay alive. (Things) happened, but we can't go back and reconstruct it from 35 years ago."
But if others, whatever their motivation, insist on trying to do so now, Means is willing to try too. In his view, his commanding officer did the right thing 35 years ago by speaking up. Speaking up himself, Bill Means believes, is the least he can do today.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Bush Administration, swarming with traitors!
The truth will out. The facts about the corruption and immorality of the Bush administration are leaking out. Bush political hacks placed in positions of responsibility within the Pentagon have be giving away our national secrets... and the highest levels of the Administration knew about it and did nothing to stop it! Apparently it served their short term goals and our national security didn't matter to them!
Source: Bush administration briefed about spy probe early
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI first briefed senior White House officials early in the Bush administration about an investigation into whether a major pro-Israel lobbying organization was providing U.S. intelligence information to Israel, officials said Friday.
President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleeza Rice, and her top deputy, Stephen Hadley, were informed of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee probe not long after Bush took office in 2001, according to two administration officials speaking on condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity. ......
Wider FBI Probe Of Pentagon Leaks Includes Chalabi
By Robin Wright and Thomas E. RicksWashington Post Staff WritersFriday, September 3, 2004; Page A01
FBI counterintelligence agents are investigating whether several Pentagon officials leaked classified information to Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, according to a law enforcement official and other people familiar with the case.
Senior White House officials, including national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and her deputy, Stephen J. Hadley, have been apprised that Chalabi is part of the investigation, according to a senior U.S. official. The inquiry is part of the larger counterintelligence probe that was disclosed last week -- the scope of which is not yet clear. .....
Source: Bush administration briefed about spy probe early
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI first briefed senior White House officials early in the Bush administration about an investigation into whether a major pro-Israel lobbying organization was providing U.S. intelligence information to Israel, officials said Friday.
President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleeza Rice, and her top deputy, Stephen Hadley, were informed of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee probe not long after Bush took office in 2001, according to two administration officials speaking on condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity. ......
Wider FBI Probe Of Pentagon Leaks Includes Chalabi
By Robin Wright and Thomas E. RicksWashington Post Staff WritersFriday, September 3, 2004; Page A01
FBI counterintelligence agents are investigating whether several Pentagon officials leaked classified information to Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, according to a law enforcement official and other people familiar with the case.
Senior White House officials, including national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and her deputy, Stephen J. Hadley, have been apprised that Chalabi is part of the investigation, according to a senior U.S. official. The inquiry is part of the larger counterintelligence probe that was disclosed last week -- the scope of which is not yet clear. .....
George Bush - Killer!!!
Because of the inflexible arrogant policies of the Bush administration, millions of woman's lives are at risk. Who knows how many woman and children have already died. Obviously, Bush and his sicko anti-choice allies are ready to murder millions of woman and children to uphold there "moral" stance. They're entirely ready to throw the babies out with the bath-water!
U.S. Policies 'Hurt Poor Women's Health' -Advocates
Thu Sep 2, 2004 02:51 PM ET
By Patricia Reaney
LONDON (Reuters) - The United States is endangering the lives of millions of women because of its policy of teaching that sexual abstinence is the best way to fight AIDS, women's health experts said on Thursday.
They also accused the United States of putting women at risk by cutting funding to groups Washington says promote abortion.
Delegates at a meeting in London to gauge progress since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development said policies backed by President Bush had hurt their cause.
"As the U.S. attacks the efficacy of condoms, as the U.S. refuses to put its shoulder behind making sure that women have the ability to protect themselves, it is becoming responsible in effect for the deaths of tens of thousands, in fact of millions, of women," said Timothy Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation and a former U.S. senator. ....
U.S. Policies 'Hurt Poor Women's Health' -Advocates
Thu Sep 2, 2004 02:51 PM ET
By Patricia Reaney
LONDON (Reuters) - The United States is endangering the lives of millions of women because of its policy of teaching that sexual abstinence is the best way to fight AIDS, women's health experts said on Thursday.
They also accused the United States of putting women at risk by cutting funding to groups Washington says promote abortion.
Delegates at a meeting in London to gauge progress since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development said policies backed by President Bush had hurt their cause.
"As the U.S. attacks the efficacy of condoms, as the U.S. refuses to put its shoulder behind making sure that women have the ability to protect themselves, it is becoming responsible in effect for the deaths of tens of thousands, in fact of millions, of women," said Timothy Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation and a former U.S. senator. ....
More of Bush's Nothing Accomplished
I guess they thought nobody would notice. The Justice Departments Big Terrorist cell bust was a scam. Those arrested were only involved in petty crime and the Justice Dept. committed widespread prosecutorial misconduct. The AP reported it and the Guardian (UK) carried it, but no major U.S. paper seems to have noticed.
Judge Drops Charges in Mich. Terror Case
Thursday September 2, 2004 9:16 PM
AP Photo
DETROIT (AP) - Acting at the request of prosecutors, a federal judge on Thursday threw out the terrorism charges against two men convicted last year.
But U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen said the two, as well as a third man, must stand trial again on charges of document fraud.
The judge's decision came after the Justice Department admitted widespread prosecutorial misconduct in the case and asked the judge to dismiss the terrorism charges against two men accused of being part of a Detroit terror cell.
In a case the government once hailed as a victory against terrorism, Karim Koubriti, 26, and Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, 38, were convicted in June 2003 of conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism and to engage in fraud and misuse of visas and other documents.
A third man, Ahmed Hannan, 36, was convicted of only the fraud charge, and Farouk Ali-Haimoud, 24, was acquitted.
The government's change of heart, outlined in court papers Tuesday, came after a monthslong court-ordered review of documents connected to the case. The Justice Department uncovered several pieces of potentially exculpatory evidence that should have been given to the defense before trial.
Judge Drops Charges in Mich. Terror Case
Thursday September 2, 2004 9:16 PM
AP Photo
DETROIT (AP) - Acting at the request of prosecutors, a federal judge on Thursday threw out the terrorism charges against two men convicted last year.
But U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen said the two, as well as a third man, must stand trial again on charges of document fraud.
The judge's decision came after the Justice Department admitted widespread prosecutorial misconduct in the case and asked the judge to dismiss the terrorism charges against two men accused of being part of a Detroit terror cell.
In a case the government once hailed as a victory against terrorism, Karim Koubriti, 26, and Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, 38, were convicted in June 2003 of conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism and to engage in fraud and misuse of visas and other documents.
A third man, Ahmed Hannan, 36, was convicted of only the fraud charge, and Farouk Ali-Haimoud, 24, was acquitted.
The government's change of heart, outlined in court papers Tuesday, came after a monthslong court-ordered review of documents connected to the case. The Justice Department uncovered several pieces of potentially exculpatory evidence that should have been given to the defense before trial.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
More Mission Nothing Accomplished
Here it is... a short little article that reveals another example of how dishonest and incompetent this administration is. The AP reported it and the Guardian (UK) picked it up but I wonder if you'd be able to find it in a U.S. paper. Originally there was big coverage of the capture of Terrorists here in the U.S.. And now; the reason for dismissing the case, widespread prosecutorial misconduct!
Judge Drops Charges in Mich. Terror Case
Thursday September 2, 2004 9:16 PM
DETROIT (AP) - Acting at the request of prosecutors, a federal judge on Thursday threw out the terrorism charges against two men convicted last year.
But U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen said the two, as well as a third man, must stand trial again on charges of document fraud.
The judge's decision came after the Justice Department admitted widespread prosecutorial misconduct in the case and asked the judge to dismiss the terrorism charges against two men accused of being part of a Detroit terror cell.
In a case the government once hailed as a victory against terrorism, Karim Koubriti, 26, and Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, 38, were convicted in June 2003 of conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism and to engage in fraud and misuse of visas and other documents.
A third man, Ahmed Hannan, 36, was convicted of only the fraud charge, and Farouk Ali-Haimoud, 24, was acquitted.
The government's change of heart, outlined in court papers Tuesday, came after a monthslong court-ordered review of documents connected to the case. The Justice Department uncovered several pieces of potentially exculpatory evidence that should have been given to the defense before trial.
Judge Drops Charges in Mich. Terror Case
Thursday September 2, 2004 9:16 PM
DETROIT (AP) - Acting at the request of prosecutors, a federal judge on Thursday threw out the terrorism charges against two men convicted last year.
But U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen said the two, as well as a third man, must stand trial again on charges of document fraud.
The judge's decision came after the Justice Department admitted widespread prosecutorial misconduct in the case and asked the judge to dismiss the terrorism charges against two men accused of being part of a Detroit terror cell.
In a case the government once hailed as a victory against terrorism, Karim Koubriti, 26, and Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, 38, were convicted in June 2003 of conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism and to engage in fraud and misuse of visas and other documents.
A third man, Ahmed Hannan, 36, was convicted of only the fraud charge, and Farouk Ali-Haimoud, 24, was acquitted.
The government's change of heart, outlined in court papers Tuesday, came after a monthslong court-ordered review of documents connected to the case. The Justice Department uncovered several pieces of potentially exculpatory evidence that should have been given to the defense before trial.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Too Scary for the Classroom?
Too Scary for the Classroom?By TARIQ RAMADANAs a professor and a Muslim, I make no apologies for my critical look at both Islam and the West.Too Scary for the Classroom?By TARIQ RAMADAN
Published: September 1, 2004
Geneva — Right now, I am supposed to be in South Bend, Ind., beginning my term as a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Notre Dame. After all, my petition for a work/residence visa in the United States was granted in May, after meticulous clearance procedures. But nine days before I was to move, I received an urgent message from the American Embassy: my visa had been revoked. If I wished to reapply, I was told, I was welcome to do so; but no reasons for the revocation were given. Classes have now begun at Notre Dame, while my wife and children and I wait here in a barren apartment.
The State Department's reasoning remains a mystery. For some time I have been considered a controversial figure in France; but this was well known by the American government when I received the visa in the spring. I have been accused of engaging in "double talk" - that is, of delivering a gentle message in French and English, and a radical, violent one in Arabic.
My detractors have tried to demonstrate that I have links with extremists, that I am an anti-Semite and that I despise women. Repeatedly I have denied these assertions, and asked my critics to show evidence from my writings and public comments. Their failure to do so has had little effect: I am repeatedly confronted with magazine articles and Web postings repeating these accusations as facts and fabricating new ones.
And now the web of lies has spread across the Atlantic Ocean. The most damaging accusations were in an article in Vanity Fair claiming that I had written the preface to a volume of essays that endorsed the stoning of women caught in adultery. Actually, the book condemned the practice as un-Islamic.
I admit that my intellectual project is inherently controversial. My goal is to foster communities within the Islamic world that are seeking a path between their often bitter experience with some American and European policies on the one hand, and the unacceptable violence of Islamic extremists on the other. I understand, share and publicly discuss many of the Muslim criticisms of "Western" governments, including the deleterious worldwide effects of unregulated American consumerism.
I find current American policies toward the Middle East misguided and counterproductive, a position I believe I share with millions of Americans and Europeans. Yet I have also criticized many so-called Islamic governments, including that of Saudi Arabia, for their human rights violations and offenses against human dignity, personal freedom and pluralism.
My more specific stances have also raised hackles in France. For example, I strongly oppose France's new law banning female students from wearing head scarves, although on general human rights grounds rather than because I am a Muslim. (I condemn the kidnapping of two French journalists in Iraq and think the French government should not submit to the blackmail of the kidnappers, who say they will kill the captives unless the ban is overturned.)
I was also accused of anti-Semitism after I criticized some leading French intellectuals - including Bernard-Henri Lévy and Alain Finkielkraut - for abandoning France's noble traditions of universalism and personal freedom because of their anxiety over Muslim immigration and their support for Israel.
The fact is, in the more than 20 books, 700 articles and 170 audio tapes I have produced, one will find no double talk, but a consistent set of themes, and an insistence that my fellow Muslims unequivocally condemn radical views and acts of extremism.
Just days after 9/11, I gave an interview calling on Muslims to condemn the attacks and to acknowledge that the terrorists betrayed the Islamic message. I have denounced anti-Semitism, criticizing Muslims who do not differentiate between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a political issue and the unacceptable rejection of individual Jews because of their religion and heritage. I have called for a spiritual reformation that will lead to an Islamic feminism. I reject every kind of mistreatment of women, including domestic violence, forced marriage and female circumcision. My opponents also accuse me of being the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the radical Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt. I plead guilty to this charge. My response is: am I to be judged by the words and deeds of an ancestor?
Those critics obsessed with my genealogy ought to examine my intellectual pedigree, which includes advanced study of Descartes, Kant and Nietzsche, among others. They should examine the time I have spent working in poverty-stricken areas with the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and the Brazilian human-rights leader Dom Helder Camara, as well as with countless other Christians and Jews, agnostics and atheists.
For 20 years, I have dedicated myself to studying Islamic scripture, Western and Eastern philosophies and societies, and built an identity that is truly Western and truly Muslim. I make no apologies for taking a critical look at both Islam and the West; in doing so I am being true to my faith and to the ethics of my Swiss citizenship. I believe Muslims can remain faithful to their religion and be able, from within pluralistic and democratic societies, to oppose all injustices.
I also feel it is vital that Muslims stop blaming others and indulging in victimization. We are responsible for reforming our societies. On the other hand, blindly supporting American or European policies should not be the only acceptable political stance for Muslims who seek to be considered progressive and moderate.
In the Arab and Islamic world, one hears a great deal of legitimate criticism of American foreign policy. This is not to be confused with a rejection of American values. Rather, the misgivings are rooted in five specific grievances: the feeling that the United States role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unbalanced; the longstanding American support of authoritarian regimes in Islamic states and indifference to genuine democratic movements (particularly those that have a religious bent); the belief that Washington's policies are driven by short-term economic and geostrategic interests; the willingness of some prominent Americans to tolerate Islam-bashing at home; and the use of military force as the primary means of establishing democracy.
Instead of war, the Arab and Muslim worlds seek evidence of a lasting and substantive commitment by the United States to policies that would advance public education, equitable trade and mutually profitable economic and cultural partnerships. For this to occur, America first has to trust Muslims, genuinely listen to their hopes and grievances, and allow them to develop their own models of pluralism and democracy.
Simply sponsoring a few Arabic TV and radio channels will not lead to real changes in Muslims' perceptions. Instead, America's only chance of making peace with the Islamic world depends on consistency between words and actions, and the development of cross-cultural trust over time.
I believe Western Muslims can make a critical difference in the Muslim majority world. To do this, we must become full, independent Western citizens, working with others to address social, economic and political problems. However, we can succeed only if Westerners do not cast doubt on our loyalty every time we criticize Western governments. Not only do our independent voices enrich Western societies, they are the only way for Western Muslims to be credible in Arab and Islamic countries so that we can help bring about freedom and democracy. That is the message I advocate. I do not understand how it can be judged as a threat to America.
Tariq Ramadan is the author, most recently, of "Western Muslims and the Future of Islam."
Published: September 1, 2004
Geneva — Right now, I am supposed to be in South Bend, Ind., beginning my term as a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Notre Dame. After all, my petition for a work/residence visa in the United States was granted in May, after meticulous clearance procedures. But nine days before I was to move, I received an urgent message from the American Embassy: my visa had been revoked. If I wished to reapply, I was told, I was welcome to do so; but no reasons for the revocation were given. Classes have now begun at Notre Dame, while my wife and children and I wait here in a barren apartment.
The State Department's reasoning remains a mystery. For some time I have been considered a controversial figure in France; but this was well known by the American government when I received the visa in the spring. I have been accused of engaging in "double talk" - that is, of delivering a gentle message in French and English, and a radical, violent one in Arabic.
My detractors have tried to demonstrate that I have links with extremists, that I am an anti-Semite and that I despise women. Repeatedly I have denied these assertions, and asked my critics to show evidence from my writings and public comments. Their failure to do so has had little effect: I am repeatedly confronted with magazine articles and Web postings repeating these accusations as facts and fabricating new ones.
And now the web of lies has spread across the Atlantic Ocean. The most damaging accusations were in an article in Vanity Fair claiming that I had written the preface to a volume of essays that endorsed the stoning of women caught in adultery. Actually, the book condemned the practice as un-Islamic.
I admit that my intellectual project is inherently controversial. My goal is to foster communities within the Islamic world that are seeking a path between their often bitter experience with some American and European policies on the one hand, and the unacceptable violence of Islamic extremists on the other. I understand, share and publicly discuss many of the Muslim criticisms of "Western" governments, including the deleterious worldwide effects of unregulated American consumerism.
I find current American policies toward the Middle East misguided and counterproductive, a position I believe I share with millions of Americans and Europeans. Yet I have also criticized many so-called Islamic governments, including that of Saudi Arabia, for their human rights violations and offenses against human dignity, personal freedom and pluralism.
My more specific stances have also raised hackles in France. For example, I strongly oppose France's new law banning female students from wearing head scarves, although on general human rights grounds rather than because I am a Muslim. (I condemn the kidnapping of two French journalists in Iraq and think the French government should not submit to the blackmail of the kidnappers, who say they will kill the captives unless the ban is overturned.)
I was also accused of anti-Semitism after I criticized some leading French intellectuals - including Bernard-Henri Lévy and Alain Finkielkraut - for abandoning France's noble traditions of universalism and personal freedom because of their anxiety over Muslim immigration and their support for Israel.
The fact is, in the more than 20 books, 700 articles and 170 audio tapes I have produced, one will find no double talk, but a consistent set of themes, and an insistence that my fellow Muslims unequivocally condemn radical views and acts of extremism.
Just days after 9/11, I gave an interview calling on Muslims to condemn the attacks and to acknowledge that the terrorists betrayed the Islamic message. I have denounced anti-Semitism, criticizing Muslims who do not differentiate between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a political issue and the unacceptable rejection of individual Jews because of their religion and heritage. I have called for a spiritual reformation that will lead to an Islamic feminism. I reject every kind of mistreatment of women, including domestic violence, forced marriage and female circumcision. My opponents also accuse me of being the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the radical Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt. I plead guilty to this charge. My response is: am I to be judged by the words and deeds of an ancestor?
Those critics obsessed with my genealogy ought to examine my intellectual pedigree, which includes advanced study of Descartes, Kant and Nietzsche, among others. They should examine the time I have spent working in poverty-stricken areas with the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and the Brazilian human-rights leader Dom Helder Camara, as well as with countless other Christians and Jews, agnostics and atheists.
For 20 years, I have dedicated myself to studying Islamic scripture, Western and Eastern philosophies and societies, and built an identity that is truly Western and truly Muslim. I make no apologies for taking a critical look at both Islam and the West; in doing so I am being true to my faith and to the ethics of my Swiss citizenship. I believe Muslims can remain faithful to their religion and be able, from within pluralistic and democratic societies, to oppose all injustices.
I also feel it is vital that Muslims stop blaming others and indulging in victimization. We are responsible for reforming our societies. On the other hand, blindly supporting American or European policies should not be the only acceptable political stance for Muslims who seek to be considered progressive and moderate.
In the Arab and Islamic world, one hears a great deal of legitimate criticism of American foreign policy. This is not to be confused with a rejection of American values. Rather, the misgivings are rooted in five specific grievances: the feeling that the United States role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unbalanced; the longstanding American support of authoritarian regimes in Islamic states and indifference to genuine democratic movements (particularly those that have a religious bent); the belief that Washington's policies are driven by short-term economic and geostrategic interests; the willingness of some prominent Americans to tolerate Islam-bashing at home; and the use of military force as the primary means of establishing democracy.
Instead of war, the Arab and Muslim worlds seek evidence of a lasting and substantive commitment by the United States to policies that would advance public education, equitable trade and mutually profitable economic and cultural partnerships. For this to occur, America first has to trust Muslims, genuinely listen to their hopes and grievances, and allow them to develop their own models of pluralism and democracy.
Simply sponsoring a few Arabic TV and radio channels will not lead to real changes in Muslims' perceptions. Instead, America's only chance of making peace with the Islamic world depends on consistency between words and actions, and the development of cross-cultural trust over time.
I believe Western Muslims can make a critical difference in the Muslim majority world. To do this, we must become full, independent Western citizens, working with others to address social, economic and political problems. However, we can succeed only if Westerners do not cast doubt on our loyalty every time we criticize Western governments. Not only do our independent voices enrich Western societies, they are the only way for Western Muslims to be credible in Arab and Islamic countries so that we can help bring about freedom and democracy. That is the message I advocate. I do not understand how it can be judged as a threat to America.
Tariq Ramadan is the author, most recently, of "Western Muslims and the Future of Islam."
Dallaire furious over response to Sudan crisis
Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The Canadian general who watched helplessly while genocide raged in Rwanda launched a tirade Wednesday against Western countries for their "lame and obtuse" response to unnervingly similar horrors unfolding in Sudan. .....
Canada sending equipment but no troops to Sudan
CTV.ca News Staff
Sudan will be getting about $250,000 in military equipment from Canada, but there are no plans to send our troops there, according to Defence Minister Bill Graham. ....
Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The Canadian general who watched helplessly while genocide raged in Rwanda launched a tirade Wednesday against Western countries for their "lame and obtuse" response to unnervingly similar horrors unfolding in Sudan. .....
Canada sending equipment but no troops to Sudan
CTV.ca News Staff
Sudan will be getting about $250,000 in military equipment from Canada, but there are no plans to send our troops there, according to Defence Minister Bill Graham. ....
Sunday, August 29, 2004
what the.....??????
I understand the catastrophic part, but what is the success part......what is he talking about? It should be sooooo obvious that the emperor has no clothes.....
Bush stumps in West Virginia, defends Iraq war
BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer
Sunday, August 29, 2004
(08-29) 12:53 PDT WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) --
President Bush on Sunday defended the invasion of Iraq, calling it a "catastrophic success" despite continued violence and the lack of weapons that drove the country to war.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/08/29/politics1553EDT0560.DTL
Bush campaign ready to change the subject
Now that everybody knows the Bush campaign is behind the Swiftboat smear, they're ready to change the subject. They've been caught breaking campaign laws, so they'd like to talk about something else now. Georgie-boy is being "noble" for the "Today show" and Eddie (the weasel) Gillespie was "ready to move on" when he appeared on c-span this morning.
But, they're BUSTED! And it may not work out the way they'd like. Perhaps they've used smear tactics once too often and all of the American people will realize that Georgie-boy and his pals are phonies and just plain low-lifes.
Bush Says Kerry 'More Heroic' for Going to Vietnam
from REUTERS:
....But the president told NBC's "Today" show that both sides should drop the debate over their wartime service, saying, "I think that we ought to move beyond the past. ... The real question is who best to lead us forward." ....
....Kerry accuses the Bush campaign of colluding with the Swift Boat Veterans on the ads, a charge the White House has denied. But its case was hurt this past week when a top lawyer for the Bush campaign, Benjamin Ginsberg, resigned after disclosing he was providing legal advice to the veteran's group.
After Ginsburg's resignation, 50 percent of Americans said they believed the Bush campaign was behind the Swift Boat Veterans ads, according to a survey by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. ......
But, they're BUSTED! And it may not work out the way they'd like. Perhaps they've used smear tactics once too often and all of the American people will realize that Georgie-boy and his pals are phonies and just plain low-lifes.
Bush Says Kerry 'More Heroic' for Going to Vietnam
from REUTERS:
....But the president told NBC's "Today" show that both sides should drop the debate over their wartime service, saying, "I think that we ought to move beyond the past. ... The real question is who best to lead us forward." ....
....Kerry accuses the Bush campaign of colluding with the Swift Boat Veterans on the ads, a charge the White House has denied. But its case was hurt this past week when a top lawyer for the Bush campaign, Benjamin Ginsberg, resigned after disclosing he was providing legal advice to the veteran's group.
After Ginsburg's resignation, 50 percent of Americans said they believed the Bush campaign was behind the Swift Boat Veterans ads, according to a survey by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. ......
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Canadian MP calls U.S. 'idiots'
those canadians again......i suppose we'll soon have bill o'reilly calling out those boycott dogs again.. oh, that's right, they are one of our largest trading partners...... oh, and our next door neighbors....hmmmmm........you go carolyn!!!!!!
OTTAWA, Canada (Reuters) -- Canadian Member of Parliament Carolyn Parrish had said she hated "damned Americans" and called them bastards in the run-up to the Iraq war.
source:
OTTAWA, Canada (Reuters) -- Canadian Member of Parliament Carolyn Parrish had said she hated "damned Americans" and called them bastards in the run-up to the Iraq war.
source:
Family clout got Bush out of the Draft
From this mornings New York Times:
Former Speaker of the Texas House admits he used his influence to get George W. Bush into the Texas Nat'l Guard in 1968.
Speaking at a Kerry rally on May 27, Ben Barnes (former speaker of the Texas House) also said: "I walked through the Vietnam Memorial the other day, and I looked at the names of people who died in Vietnam and I became more ashamed of myself than I've ever been because the worst thing I did was get a lot of wealthy supporters and a lot of people who had family names of importance into the Guard and I'm very sorry about that and I apologize to you and the voters of Texas."
You can see the Video clip of his remarks, here
Former Speaker of the Texas House admits he used his influence to get George W. Bush into the Texas Nat'l Guard in 1968.
Speaking at a Kerry rally on May 27, Ben Barnes (former speaker of the Texas House) also said: "I walked through the Vietnam Memorial the other day, and I looked at the names of people who died in Vietnam and I became more ashamed of myself than I've ever been because the worst thing I did was get a lot of wealthy supporters and a lot of people who had family names of importance into the Guard and I'm very sorry about that and I apologize to you and the voters of Texas."
You can see the Video clip of his remarks, here
Friday, August 27, 2004
Bush’s Sleeper Cells
All it takes is a wink and a nod from the White House, and this network springs into action
WEB EXCLUSIVE
By Eleanor Clift
Newsweek - Aug. 27, 2004
....."My Republican mole on Capitol Hill says the green light has gone out to Republicans to do whatever it takes to get Bush elected. “This is the way we hold onto power,” he says with disgust.".....
***************************
The Cat is out of the Bag - The Bush campaign has no principles, Bush will say anything to win the election, Bushs "high morals" are a facade, He's a fake.
WEB EXCLUSIVE
By Eleanor Clift
Newsweek - Aug. 27, 2004
....."My Republican mole on Capitol Hill says the green light has gone out to Republicans to do whatever it takes to get Bush elected. “This is the way we hold onto power,” he says with disgust.".....
***************************
The Cat is out of the Bag - The Bush campaign has no principles, Bush will say anything to win the election, Bushs "high morals" are a facade, He's a fake.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
"Country Before Party"
i look forward to working with these people to take our country back and begin the lively discussion as we find the solutions as americans.
We are ordinary Republicans from across the political spectrum -- moderate, conservative, and progressive -- who believe in the sanctity of our Constitution and Bill of Rights..........
http://www.republicansforkerry04.com/
We are ordinary Republicans from across the political spectrum -- moderate, conservative, and progressive -- who believe in the sanctity of our Constitution and Bill of Rights..........
http://www.republicansforkerry04.com/
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
The truth about Iraq from those who served
Operation Truth is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that seeks to educate the American public about the truth of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from the perspective of the soldiers who have experienced them first-hand.
http://optruth.com/main.cfm
http://optruth.com/main.cfm
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Swiftboat vets for (?)..... Boooooring!
After days of feeling angry and insulted by the smear tactics of Bush's Swiftboat-vet hit-team and the stupidly excessive media coverage of them and their rightwing 'journalist' co-conspirators, I'm just tired of the noise. There's one simple question that settles whether or not the "Swiftboat vets for 'truth'" are worth listening to: IF there were really any question about John Kerry's valor or honesty during his service in Vietnam, wouldn't Nixon have assigned someone to bring it up before Kerry testified to the Senate? Remember, back in '71 John O'Neill debated John Kerry and never questioned his service.
Monday, August 23, 2004
Bush opposes Free speech
I was just listening to Bush's statement about the Swiftboat liars. He won't condemn them for lying about John Kerry's military record, but he says he wants 527s done away with because they're bad for the system. Yes, bad for controlling the message! It's easy to understand why Bush wouldn't want grassroots groups like MoveOn out there telling the truth. In Bush's world only the rich and powerful should have the right to be heard...
Source: Bush urges group to end anti-Kerry ads
Source: Bush urges group to end anti-Kerry ads
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Dole joins the league of Low-life's
Dole Questions Kerry's Vietnam Wounds
Monday August 23, 2004 12:01 AM
By PETE YOST - Associated Press Writer
CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - Former Republican Sen. Bob Dole suggested Sunday that John Kerry apologize for past testimony before Congress about alleged atrocities during the Vietnam War and joined critics of the Democratic presidential candidate who say he received an early exit from combat for ``superficial wounds.'' ......
================
['superficial wounds'? What the f*ck is Mr. Viagra talking about? And who's he to question... I'd always heard that bad arm of his was from jackin'-off too much.]
Should we compare Kerry's "early exit from combat" to Bushs hiding in the Tx. Nat'l Guard or Cheneys deferments (how many did he have?).
What these troglodytes are really pissed-off about is that Kerry came back from Vietnam and protested the war.
They don't want to face having been part of an illegal, immoral war. A war conceived by ivy league, ivory tower, pencil-necked, pin-heads; based on false assumptions and pursued with increasing fury as their assumptions were proved wrong. Even Robert McNamara (former Sec. of Defense for LBJ) has FINALLY said, 'The domino theory was baloney, the conflict in Vietnam was a civil war and the U.S. military shouldn't have been there'.
Monday August 23, 2004 12:01 AM
By PETE YOST - Associated Press Writer
CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - Former Republican Sen. Bob Dole suggested Sunday that John Kerry apologize for past testimony before Congress about alleged atrocities during the Vietnam War and joined critics of the Democratic presidential candidate who say he received an early exit from combat for ``superficial wounds.'' ......
================
['superficial wounds'? What the f*ck is Mr. Viagra talking about? And who's he to question... I'd always heard that bad arm of his was from jackin'-off too much.]
Should we compare Kerry's "early exit from combat" to Bushs hiding in the Tx. Nat'l Guard or Cheneys deferments (how many did he have?).
What these troglodytes are really pissed-off about is that Kerry came back from Vietnam and protested the war.
They don't want to face having been part of an illegal, immoral war. A war conceived by ivy league, ivory tower, pencil-necked, pin-heads; based on false assumptions and pursued with increasing fury as their assumptions were proved wrong. Even Robert McNamara (former Sec. of Defense for LBJ) has FINALLY said, 'The domino theory was baloney, the conflict in Vietnam was a civil war and the U.S. military shouldn't have been there'.
Friday, August 20, 2004
White House Says It Is Not Behind Attack Ads
Can Scott McClellan really have it both ways?
And then He's got the gall to say
And what's with the wide-eyed innocents act?
Every American should be furious at the disrespect
the Republican party shows our veterans
Source:
McClellan described the Republican donor, Bob Perry, as "a supporter" of the president, and acknowledged Perry's personal ties with Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove.
Perry has contributed $200,000 to Swift Boat Veterans, according to an analysis by Texans for Public Justice, a non-partisan research organization that tracks money in Texas politics.
Records show Perry is also a long-time Bush supporter. He contributed $46,000 to Bush's 1994 and 1998 campaigns for Texas governor, and has contributed the maximum allowable $2,000 to Bush's current reelection.
Perry also worked with Rove as early as 1986 when Perry served as campaign treasurer for Republican gubernatorial candidate William Clements and Rove served as a campaign consultant and fundraiser, Texans for Public Justice said.
Perry was the largest single contributor to the Texas Republican Party during the 2002 election cycle, giving $905,000.
And then He's got the gall to say
"We weren't involved in any way in these ads," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan, who in a new line of attack said Bush's Democratic rival had been "losing his cool" over the accusations.
And what's with the wide-eyed innocents act?
McClellan said Kerry had been "angry" about the advertising campaign and Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot said in an interview on CNN that he looked "wild-eyed" talking about it.
The latest comments made by McClellan and Racicot were similar to those Bush's allies used to portray Sen. John McCain as "unstable" and temperamental in the 2000 race for the Republican nomination.
Every American should be furious at the disrespect
the Republican party shows our veterans
Kerry campaign spokesman David Wade responded tersely to McClellan's comments on Friday. "Maybe if George Bush had seen combat up close his hired gun mouthpiece wouldn't be so flip about the dishonest and dishonorable attack funded by the President's Texas pals," he said.
Source:
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Oooh MY God!... We're living in a Federico Fellini flick!
Senator? Terrorist? A Watch List Stops Kennedy at Airport
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
Published: August 20, 2004
ASHINGTON, Aug. 19 - The meeting had all the hallmarks of an ordinary Congressional hearing. There was Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, discussing the problems faced by ordinary citizens mistakenly placed on terrorist watch lists. Then, to the astonishment of the crowd attending a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, Mr. Kennedy offered himself up as Exhibit A.
Between March 1 and April 6, airline agents tried to block Mr. Kennedy from boarding airplanes on five occasions because his name resembled an alias used by a suspected terrorist who had been barred from flying on airlines in the United States, his aides and government officials said.
Instead of acknowledging the craggy-faced, silver-haired septuagenarian as the Congressional leader whose face has flashed across the nation's television sets for decades, the airline agents acted as if they had stumbled across a fanatic who might blow up an American airplane. Mr. Kennedy said they refused to give him his ticket.... Full article
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
Published: August 20, 2004
ASHINGTON, Aug. 19 - The meeting had all the hallmarks of an ordinary Congressional hearing. There was Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, discussing the problems faced by ordinary citizens mistakenly placed on terrorist watch lists. Then, to the astonishment of the crowd attending a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, Mr. Kennedy offered himself up as Exhibit A.
Between March 1 and April 6, airline agents tried to block Mr. Kennedy from boarding airplanes on five occasions because his name resembled an alias used by a suspected terrorist who had been barred from flying on airlines in the United States, his aides and government officials said.
Instead of acknowledging the craggy-faced, silver-haired septuagenarian as the Congressional leader whose face has flashed across the nation's television sets for decades, the airline agents acted as if they had stumbled across a fanatic who might blow up an American airplane. Mr. Kennedy said they refused to give him his ticket.... Full article
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