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"George W. Bush has more in common with Richard Nixon than with his father."
While Cindy Sheehan and supporters camp out in a ditch in Crawford, Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald is still investigating the treason in George W. Bush's White House. Thomas Pauken, Former chairman of the Republican Party of Texas from 1994 to 1997, asked, "Could Rove's leaking of Valerie Plame be Bush's Watergate?"
They have too many things in common: their will to "win at all costs", their corrupt abuse of power, their willingness to allow others in their employ to commit crimes on their behalf, and their intent to cover-up their abuses. Will it be the coverup that will lead to the downfall of this administration? Thomas Pauken seems to think so.
And though he mistates the legal definition of "intent" in the Intelligence Identities Protection Act and he seems quite willing to cast off Karl Rove and Scooter Libby (like ballast off a sinking ship) he does however inch closer to naming the Captains of the ship, Bush and Cheney, as traitors. Pauken says in the Houston Chronicle:
"If special prosecutor Fitzgerald is going down this road, certain prominent figures could be indicted for obstruction of justice and/or for lying about classified national-security matters to Congress and the American people. Perhaps that is why leading neoconservative spokesman Bill Kristol said that Fitzgerald "is the problem for the White House; we have no idea what he knows ... "The worst possible scenario for the administration would be if it turns out that the Niger documents in question (which all now agree were forged) were fabricated by individuals who may have had a motive for getting us into the war. Shadowy figures previously linked to the Iran-Contra scandal have been mentioned as possible originators of the forged documents."
If this turns out to be true, then those involved with this conspiracy will be looking at the death penalty. If the Plame leak is a convenient vehicle to use to bring that about, then I expect it will be used liberally. I suspect that any attempted pardons by Bush in that instance would either be overturned or ignored. Someone who commits treason can't be allowed to pardon another traitor."
Who could be the shadowy figures from Iran-Contra involved in the forged documents? Could the forger be Michael Ledeen and will the pursuit of this question lead directly to Bush and Cheney (and possibly Roberts as well).
According to the Wikipedia,
"In 2005, Vincent Cannistraro, former head of counterterrorism operations at the CIA and the intelligence director at the National Security Council under Ronald Reagan, implicated Michael Ledeen as the possible source of the forged memo that claimed that Iraq had sought to purchase yellowcake uranium from Niger.<2>In an interview on July 26, 2005, Cannistraro's business partner and columnist for the American Conservative magazine, former CIA counter terrorism officer Philip Giraldi, confirmed to Scott Horton that the forgeries were produced by "a couple of former CIA officers who are familiar with that part of the world who are associated with a certain well-known neoconservative who has close connections with Italy." When Horton said that must be Ledeen, he confirmed it, and added that the ex-CIA officers, "also had some equity interests, shall we say, with the operation. A lot of these people are in consulting positions, and they get various, shall we say, emoluments in overseas accounts, and that kind of thing."
Ensnaring the little guy is less relevant to discovering the truth about the treasonous actions of the White House leadership. In the meantime, Cindy sits in Arlington West, amongst the names of the fallen victims, asking George Bush to tell the truth. Will the media allow these facts to surface as pressure mounts for Bush to talk to Cindy?
After all, is asking for the truth so difficult?
"Why did we go to war? Why did you fabricate facts to start the war? And for what noble cause did my son (and others) die?"
Right on. Tell it like it is!
Democracy Now has video for the whole weekend. Great stream
You can find it by going directly to this link or go to www.DemocracyNow.org
The video link...
http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2005/aug/video/dnB20050822a.rm&proto=rtsp&start=11:11
Look for the tall nappy headed guy with the tie-dyed peace sign shirt on with the very large dog...that's me! (don't know if I am actually on their video but just thought I'd pass it on)
Repost:
This is UNBELIEVABLE!
http://mediamatters.org/items/200508220006
Robertson called for the assassination of Venezuela's president
Pat Robertson, host of Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club and founder of the Christian Coalition of America, called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Ok..this sounds too much like "media think" to me. I see few democrats "split" over Iraq. What I do see are Democrats admitting something is wrong. What I also see are Republicans admitting something is wrong with how the war is going. What I would like to see are the Democrats and Republicans working together to make BUSH stop the war and to HOLD Bush's actions to the light of day. If in an investigation, we find he committed treason and high crimes and misdemeanors, then impeach him. If they find he was just a stupid jerk...then make him withdraw the troops and start protecting our own borders. BUT don't tell me there is a "democrat" split when the ultimate issue is ignored. THIS PRESIDENT HAS PROBABLY COMMITTED HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS AND THE HOUSE MUST UPHOLD ITS DUTY TO THE CITIZENS OF THE USA AND AT LEAST INVESTIGATE IT WITH THE SAME INTENSITY THEY INVESTIGATED AN UGLY BLUE DRESS.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/washpost/20050822/pl_washpost/democrats_split_over_position_on_iraq_war
Sparrow:
I just came over here to post the link to the Robertson story (via Atrios) you linked to above. I am absolutely astounded. I just wrote CNN (their "News Tip" section) and asked them to cover this.
It is outrageous. Also, give me a break--Venezuela as a hotbed of Muslim extremism? Which is it--godless communism or Muslim extremism, Pat?
Where are the theologians, the ministers to call this guy out on fostering assassination? Where is the outrage that a man who claims a specail relationship with God can so carelessly go against what he believes to be God's Son's teachings--I mean, I have a very hard time imagining Jesus calling for the assassination of Chavez--a guy who has some problems, but who certainly feels for the poor.
These people are driving me crazy! ARGH. Sparrow, I share every emotion captured in those capitalized words!
80,000 sign petition for release of Supreme Court nominee's documents
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/80000_sign_petition_for_release_of_Supreme_Court_nominees_doc_0822.html
Posted by: Beth at August 22, 2005 06:47 PM
I'm so with ya on this, the ULTIMATE in hypocrisy, and it's time to start calling churches out on this nationwide.
Do you stand with the Prince of Peace, or Prince with Piece?
Doing God's Will at the end of a gun ... I missed that sermon.
The 7 Hunters Club
Posted by: karen at August 22, 2005 04:07 PM
Karen,
What's a skittle band?
Sparrow,
Can't believe the audacity of Pat Robertson. How can these people claim to be Christians? Unbelievable!!
Regarding Robertson's call for assassinating Chavez...
I've had enough of his death cult. I'm so glad to be no longer sharing the same "religion" with him. I'll put some extra thoughts on my own blog.
These people are driving me crazy! ARGH. Sparrow, I share every emotion captured in those capitalized words!
Posted by: Beth at August 22, 2005 06:47 PM
Posted by: monkey at August 22, 2005 06:54 PM
Posted by: kay at August 22, 2005 07:00 PM
Posted by: AllyMcLesbian at August 22, 2005 07:02 PM
We live in an Orwellian world!
Ok...I don't have the link, but I seem to remember Pat Robertson speaking very eloquently on Bush's mishandling of the Iraq War.
Now we get crazy talk like that from him.
I'm beginning to wonder if this is indicative of something he's drinking or of an illness--MPSD...
Well, I guess we can't let Frist diagnose via video tape, so I shouldn't diagnose via video and internet.
BUT...it does make you wonder what is up with him though!
Diebold hires top Dem for PR blitz
Former party chairman make the case for voting to California
By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER
With a phone call and a retainer, Diebold CEO Walden O'Dell has launched former Democratic National Committee chairman Joe Andrew on a 50-state ambassadorship for electronic voting.
O'Dell said he ``wanted to reframe some of the issues,'' Andrew said.
His first stop: California, the nation's largest market for voting machines and the place where Diebold's fortunes as the largest supplier of electronic-voting machines in the nation could be made or broken.
``Even if you have tremendous success every place else,'' said Andrew, ``if you can't sell technology in California, you're in trouble.''
The rest of the voting industry is selling technology here. Millions in federal dollars sit ready for counties to put at least one high-tech, handicapped-accessible voting machine in every polling place by January.
But in California, Diebold can't sell its touchscreen voting machine, the AccuVote TSx, nor can counties that bought thousands of the machines in 2003 used them in elections.
The entire article can be found at: http://www.insidebayarea.com/localnews/ci_2958901
Well, Californian's it's time to shut down Wallie-world!
Kay: I too saw the story regarding Ohio Dems pushing to impeach Gov. Taft. I still thing is the ethical even if not the political thing to do. oncall,and several others disagreed with me and felt it was wiser to push for his resignation b/c he only has 18 months left in office; Curious what you think from the news there how Ohions feeling about impeachment vs his twisting in the wind.
Three Cheers for the brave Salt Lake Mayor today.
Curious about this recent comparison of Bush to Nixon. I urged this comparison months ago here but Linda and others didn't like the comparison.
Personally it seems like an easy comparison,but that might be an insult to Tricky Dick. Maybe we should start calling Bush, Tricky George.
Also George Will said on This Week in his arrogant way that gasoline prices In REAL DOLLARS are less than what they were during the 1970s oil embargo. Problem with that comparison is that Americans could care less what real prices were 30 years ago. Reportedly gasoline prices have DOULED SINCE JANUARY 2005. That is where their comparisons are. What they paid for gas 8 months ago, not 30 years ago, George.
Kay: I too saw the story regarding Ohio Dems pushing to impeach Gov. Taft. I still think that impeachment is the ethical, even if not the political thing to do.
Reportedly gasoline prices have DOUBLED SINCE JANUARY 2005.
sorry for my typos
hey indy-what do you think about getting & posting a snail mail address for GB on vacation and we can all write a letter and mail it and overwhelm him......
(i was watching the video of no one to accept the letter delivered by moms etc)....
whatch think?
Posted by: mkh at August 22, 2005 08:05 PM
I read somewhere that Georgie doesn't do email. I think it's because he doesn't know how to turn on a computer, use a mouse, read...
But we could overwhelm the WH email addy...
Always the big story in MCM (Major Corporate Media) - reports of conflict, disunity or infighting amongst Dems:
Wash. Post highlighted Democratic divisions on Iraq; ignored Republican split on the conflict
http://mediamatters.org/items/200508220004
On August 22, The Washington Post devoted a front-page article to reporting on internal Democratic divisions about the war in Iraq but ignored similar divisions within the Republican Party, including recent remarks by Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) questioning the Bush administration's policy in Iraq and comparing the conflict to the Vietnam War.
In the Post article, titled "Democrats Split Over Position on Iraq War," staff writers Peter Baker and Shailagh Murray reported: "Democrats say a long-standing rift in the party over the Iraq war has grown increasingly raw in recent days, as stay-the-course elected leaders who voted for the war three years ago confront rising impatience from activists and strategists who want to challenge President Bush aggressively to withdraw troops."
But nowhere in the article -- or anywhere else in the August 22 edition of the Post -- was it reported that in recent days Hagel, a potential Republican presidential candidate, had harshly criticized the Bush administration's policies in Iraq. On the August 18 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, Hagel said that "there is a parallel emerging" between Iraq and Vietnam and that "[t]he longer we stay in Iraq, the more similarities will start to develop, meaning essentially that we are getting more and more bogged down, taking more and more casualties, more and more heated dissension and debate in the United States." Hagel reiterated the point on the August 21 broadcast of ABC's This Week, stating: "[W]e are locked into a bogged-down problem not unsimilar, dissimilar to where we were in Vietnam."
The Post posted an Associated Press article about Hagel's most recent comments on the newspaper's website on August 22 but did not publish the story in its print edition, much less compile an independent report. Other newspapers, such as the Los Angeles Times, did publish their own stories on Hagel's comments.
Times columnist Ron Brownstein wrote in an August 22 op-ed that both Democrats and Republicans face a "problem" in determining how to respond to Iraq, even if the Democratic divisions have been more public. He cited Republicans besides Hagel who have diverged from the Bush administration by advocating either increased troop levels or some level of disengagement, and he noted that "[m]any insiders say that in private, more elected Republicans are growing uneasy about the war":
[M]ost Democrats and Republicans are abandoning their responsibilities by leaving the problem solely to Bush without addressing any of these issues.
Admittedly, on each side, the political incentives for silence are strong. Many insiders say that in private, more elected Republicans are growing uneasy about the war; after all, GOP politicians are the ones most likely to bear the brunt, in 2006 and 2008, if public disillusionment with the conflict ignites a backlash.
A handful of Republicans (Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol, Sen. John McCain of Arizona) want Bush to send more troops in the hope of quelling the insurgency; a few Republicans want to disengage (such as Donald Devine of the American Conservative Union, who wrote last week that "the only solution is for the U.S. to exit before the whole thing comes apart"; or Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who Sunday described the U.S. position as "a bogged-down problem not unsimilar or dissimilar to where we were in Vietnam").
But most Republicans have chosen to fall in line behind the White House.
On topic & relevant -- and good news...
Bush: Less Popular Than Nixon During Watergate
Via Atrios, an American Research Group poll released today shows that George Bush has dropped to staggering new lows:
George W. Bush’s overall job approval ratings have dropped from a month ago even as Americans who approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president are turning more optimistic about their personal financial situations according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 36% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 58% disapprove. When it comes to Bush’s handling of the economy, 33% approve and 62% disapprove.
Among Americans registered to vote, 38% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 56% disapprove, and 36% approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 60% disapprove.
For a little perspective, recall that Richard Nixon’s approval rating in the summer of 1973 (when the Watergate scandal was in full swing) was 39%. (http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2005/08/08/opinion/09opart.1.ready.html )
Compared to Bush, that’s downright sunny.
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/08/22/bush-nixon/
But most Republicans have chosen to fall in line behind the White House.
Posted by: cali dem at August 22, 2005 08:09 PM
So they're falling in line behind a liar! Says something about their ethics!
sparrow -
You like this:
Anti-War Imagery and the Iconography of Hate
By Paul Begala (TPMCafe Special Guests)
It seems to me the American people never really forgave the Democrats for being right about Vietnam.
http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/8/18/03721/8483
Ira,
Most people here seem to be of the notion to let Taft twist in the wind unless something else is revealed. They don't seem to think that with Republican control of both the house and senate that impeachment would have much chance. Almost all office holding Republicans have been involved in the culture of corruption in some way. It's just business as usual for them. Taft is just the only one to be convicted of a crime as yet.
There may be more charges against him eventually. The papers say that Tom Noe's lawyer charged that Taft has known about the coin investments since 2001. Taft says he learned of them only in April of this year.
I'm sad to say that Sherrod Brown has decided not to run against DeWine for senator. The Toledo Blade had an article over the weekend accusing Brown of putting himself above the good of the party by not running. They fear that Marci Kaptur will be recruited to run. She is the congresswoman from Toledo and has done wonderful things for that region and they don't want to lose her.The article also said that DeWine may not run either, so things are up in the air.
Atta confirmed terrorist 1 year prior to 9/11:
http://nytimes.com/2005/08/22/politics/23cnd-intel.html?hp&ex=1124769600&en
=ed47ced9232725eb&ei=5094&partner=homepage
who messed up & why
question is, if it becomes the Little League dads, Pop Warner moms, then the White House has a big problem."
Stereotypes about 'liberals' and Democrats abound.
Posted by: cali dem at August 22, 2005 08:05 PM
I am a Little League Dad. I talked to a father of an Army Ranger stationed in Iraq. It was a fascinating conversation. His son tells him that it is widely agreed that the war is a lie, but the marching orders are to support the company (Bushco) line. The conversation touched on other issues as well. If what this father says is true (and I have no reason to doubt him), then our all volunteer armed forces is not as likely to vote for Republicans as they were the last time around.
Posted by: cali dem at August 22, 2005 08:42 PM
I agree with that Cali dem.
email is so easy to ignore
overwhelm the post office....
Posted by: oncall at August 22, 2005 09:11 PM
Isn't funny the assumptions people make? I guess if you attend a protest at Camp Casey you'll have to wear a T-shirt with "I am a Little League Dad" on it so you won't be counted as as some Peta, communist, feminist type.
I hope your sense of a changing political perception amongst our troops from your conversation with the military Dad is correct and we begin to see this change in the midterm elections.
Posted by: sparrow at August 22, 2005 09:31 PM
I thought you'd like it.
"For me, one of the most incendiary moments of the entire Bush war in Iraq occurred when a right-wing thug ran his pickup truck over hundreds of crosses bearing the names of heroic Americans killed in Iraq. He also took out scores of American flags in the process. Police say the perp is Larry Chad Northern, a Waco real estate agent and gun nut. Mr. Northern is, of course, entitled to the presumption of innocence, despite the fact that the local sheriff's office says Ol' Larry was spotted at 9:30 Monday night changing a tire on his pickup truck. Citing sheriff's office reports, the Waco Tribune-Herald, reported that, "Small white crosses were found stuck in the truck's undercarriage."
Nice, Larry. Real Nice." ~ Paul Begala
email is so easy to ignore
overwhelm the post office....
Posted by: mkh at August 22, 2005 09:31 PM
Post office never gets there.
Posted by: cali dem at August 22, 2005 09:35 PM
I'm shaking my head here, Cali dem!
Absolutely amazing.
Women aren't necessary to the development of democracy????
Click below for the whole column...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/russert-watch-were-goi_b_5999.html
Posted by: dwahzon at August 22, 2005 10:18 AM
Well, that IS how the Bu$hCo administration is treating women.... WE know Bu$hCo isn't in Iraq to elevate the status of women - he only throws that in when he wants to make a point to women in his invitation-only audiences. He's in Iraq to make money for himself, his family, and his cronies through controlling the oil and rebuilding Iraq, and to attain his objective for being a 'war president' as he implied in 1999 - and as far as the administration is concerned, a woman's 'real' place is at home, barefoot and pregnant.... He never had any respect for women, never will have, and won't change his mind in the future about that, no matter what LIES he or his supporters say about the matter to the contrary.
Posted by: mkh at August 22, 2005 09:31 PM
Sorry...didn't see the word "snail" in your previous post. How's this for an address:
President Pee Wee
In hiding on Prairie Chapel Road
Crawford, Texas 76638
Thought this was interesting. I thought he was passing us propaganda, and he did admit it. Interesting.
"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." George W Bush — Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005
Posted by: not my president at August 22, 2005 10:24 AM
When pResNitwit was in MN for his SS or Medicare stump speeches, he said essentially the same thing - they showed sound bytes of it on in-state TV. "Have to repeat things over and over to get the message across" is a quote I remember, altho he didn't use the word 'propaganda' - just the 'repeat over and over' part....
It's the repetition part that makes a LIE some semblance of accepted "fact" or "truth" (per the Bu$hCo administration) and that's what MSM does so well when they constantly repeat the same White House and Pentagon propaganda LIES over and over and over.... People tune it out and repeat some hazy justification for being in Iraq, but the kool-aid drinkers who don't listen to anything other than Faux still repeat the LIES over and over and over....
Puppies for Peace
Save America...
Lift Your Leg on Bush!
Posted by: Indy at August 22, 2005 05:00 PM
How about:
Puppies for Peace
Save America...
Lift Your Leg
On The Burning Bush
listening to Al Green streaming from Paris!
http://www.novaplanet.com - I recommend it!
I was just handed something really cool - a postcard from Seattle Public Library.
It's called THE SEPTEMBER PROJECT - highlights:
-- Floyd Abrams, constitutional lawyer and New York Times reporter will discuss his new book, "Speaking Freely: Trials of the First Amendment" (on Judith Miller's legal team)
-- A Film Screening: Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties
-- Danger: Books - readings by Book-It Rep Theater
-- The Chilling of Speech in America - panel
-- All Powers Necessary & Convenient -- staged play
All events free and open to the public
All events paid for willingly and gladly by our
tax dollars.
"You must pursue this investigation (Watergate) even if it leads to the president. I'm innocent. You've got to believe I'm innocent. If you don't, take my job." - Richard M. Nixon
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/22/politics/23cnd-intel.html
Navy Officer Affirms Assertions About Pre-9/11 Data on Atta
"Atta was identified by Able Danger by January-February of 2000."
I've seen this story on different links from e-newsletters from the first person who stepped forward, and now there's a second person who has stepped forward to confirm that Atta was ID'd by Feb. 2000 as a terrorist... and the military did not share their info with the FBI... who could have investigated the case, too, but didn't because no one told them.
I wonder what Colleen Rowley would have to say about that since she was a major whistleblower in the FBI and her supervisors didn't listen to her...?
Too many things leading up to 9/11 were botched all the way around, including the Aug 2001 info that may or may not have been given to pResNitwit by Condisleazy....
I'm convinced that had there been any kind of open lines of communication between law enforcement agencies on the federal level that 9/11 would never have happened. The Dept. of Homeland Security and the new law enforcmeent info czar's jobs are totally redundant and the money for those positions are wasted pork, and the Patriot Act was unnecesary.
All that would have been necessary to begin with was to open the lines of communication between law enforcement agencies so they could work together and put all the puzzle pieces in place....
NonnyO
My friend from Mpls said Colleen Rowley debated the "MoveForward" (rightwing copying of MoveOn) guy on tv today and was articulate and calm & that he was @%#^$&%*#(*$* (profane language)
SEAN PENN IN IRAN
Sean Penn, Special to The Chronicle
Monday, August 22, 2005
DAY ONE
In June, Sean Penn and two friends traveled to Tehran. It was Penn's first trip to the country. What he found was a culture in conflict. Although the nation is ruled by a very conservative, tradition-bound government, Penn talked to many younger Iranians who have a strong interest in Western culture and want their own country to liberalize its policies on individual rights. Beginning today, The Chronicle will publish a five-day series of his reports from Iran:
It's the week preceding presidential elections. Candidates attack one another's credibility. Activists push to boycott the vote. Traffic and pollution choke the cities. Leftists support a no-win idealist. Preachers guide their flocks toward political starboard. The media have fallen under the grip of standing power, and should they defy it, they're imprisoned. University students promote human rights, while fundamentalists deny them. It is a culture in love with cinema. With Brad Pitt. Angelina Jolie. And anything Steven Spielberg. It is a nation of nuclear power, where the lobbies of the religious right effectively blur the lines between church and state. But it is also a country of good and hospitable people. And when the local team wins a big match, there is dancing, kissing, drinking and drugs in the streets. Women are graduating the campuses in higher and higher numbers, occupying government in higher and higher numbers. Sound familiar? But wait. The women. Look at the women. All is not well. I'm thinking about the women. This is Iran.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It had been six weeks since my friend, author Norman Solomon, and I sat around in my living room deciding to travel to Iran and called journalist Reese Erlich to join us. Reese immediately began applications for visas. Over the month and a half that followed, he slogged through U.N. attaches and the cultural and foreign ministries of the Islamic Republic of Iran and swam doggedly upriver through the multiple bureaucracies that lead to a journalist's visa. This process led to continual rescheduling and revised itineraries.
When the visas were finally approved, two days beyond our latest planned departure, I was in England visiting my wife who was working there. On the afternoon of June 8, I watched the Iranian World Cup team dominate Bahrain on the television of the Iranian Consulate in London. Iran's victory gave me further reason to mourn our most recent travel delay, because it meant I would miss the jubilance that would surely explode in the streets of Tehran.
Article continues vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/08/22/DDGJUEAF041.DTL&feed=rss.news
Posted by: Paul Smith at August 22, 2005 05:49 PM
Thanks Paul.
Posted by: not my president at August 22, 2005 10:09 PM
I would expect that of Rowley. She kept her head in front of the Senate and described how her efforts to move ahead with the investigation into Moussaoui had run aground with her FBI supervisors. So far, everything I've heard and seen about Rowley speaks well of her keeping her head while those about her are losing theirs - she has a good deal of common sense, it seems.
Rowley and MN State Senator Beckey Lourey (Lourey's son was recently killed in Iraq) went to Camp Casey, TX last week and just got back. They were on in-state TV news today. Rowley has declared her candidacy for State Rep in the '06 election against Kline. I fully expect a neoCon slime machine to be imported against Rowley, just as they did for another Rep seat in the '04 election that the Dems lost. If Rowley gets the Dem nod, I'm hoping she wins, of course! :-) She lives in a different district from me, so I can't vote for her, unfortunately.
Fresh deadline for Iraq document
Iraqi negotiators have been given three more days to reach agreement on the draft of a new constitution.
MPs met for a brief session minutes before the 2000 GMT deadline to receive the draft expired, but did not vote.
The session came after a day of drama during which Shia negotiators said a text had been agreed with the Kurds.
But Sunni Arabs protested - saying the document may lead to Iraq being split up. Kurds were also against imposing a text without Sunni approval.
--snip--
Sunnis have expressed concerns that allowing for federalism may lead to the creation of an autonomous Shia area in southern Iraq - like the Kurdish north but under Iran's influence.
The Sunnis fear greater autonomy for the Kurdish north and Shia south could compromise their share of revenues from those oil-rich regions.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4175112.stm
Note that nothing was said about women's rights, which from what I've heard, barely exist -- if at all -- in the new constitution. Yeah, we've really done Iraq a favor by bringing them freedom...
Check out this video from kos! It's awsome!
2000 protest in UTAH!
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/8/22/202433/261
More pictures from Utah.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/8/22/154318/188
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050823/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush
Bush Compares War on Terror to World Wars
{{{ Setting his self-described moniker as a "war president?" Who the hell does he think he's kidding?!? Only the Faux-watching-kool-aid-drinkers would ever believe him.... Lucky I was sitting down watching in-state noon news today, 'cuz they showed video of the pro-peace demonstrators in SLC today as the pResNitwit's motorcade was shown driving by them, otherwise I'd have fallen over from shock that such wonderful video had come across the air waves in spite of the White House and Pentagon propaganda machine.... }}}
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050822/ap_on_re_us/peace_mom_caravan
Bush Backers Amass to Counter 'Peace Mom'
{{{ There was a blurb on the in-state noon news - which followed the video about the SLC speech - about the newest group of demonstrators in Crawford who are supposedly set up near the Peace House. Interestingly, no video from the pro-war group supporting the Chicken Hawk-in-Chief in Crawford has been shown here (yet), and no mention of the numbers of pro-war people there.... }}}
More pictures from Utah's protest. Love the top one that reads, "Send Jenna".
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2026290
another great sign,
"President Bush, I am the mother of a national guard airman, before you send him to Iraq again send your daughters. Then you will understand."
Paul Krugman | Don't Prettify Our History
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205E.shtml
Election 2000 may be receding into the past, Krugman remarks, but the Iraq war isn't. As the truth about the origins of that war comes out, there may be a temptation, once again, to prettify the story. The American people deserve better.
Rep. Lynn Woolsey Announces Hearings on Exit Strategy
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205B.shtml
The war in Iraq, now entering its 30th month, seemingly brings a new atrocity or source of shame every day. Having received no satisfactory response from Bush, Rep. Lynn Woolsey takes matters into her own hands by convening a hearing where several experts will discuss strategies to achieve military disengagement while still playing a constructive role in the rebuilding of Iraqi society.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=680&e=14&u=/usatoday/20050822/en_usatoday/newsweekliesslipatthenewsstand
Newsweeklies slip at the newsstand
{{{ Do you suppose if the weeklies did any in-depth reporting that didn't parrot White House or Pentagon propaganda and didn't mirror TV's infotainment 'news' that their sales just might go up?!?}}}
BUSH'S OTHER IRAQ INVASION
Antonia Juhasz, AlterNet
As Iraqis draft a new constitution, U.S. corporations maintain a stranglehold on almost every economic issue.
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/24307/
The Terrorist of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
By Doug Thompson
It is no longer Osama bin Laden and his fanatical followers who pose the greatest threat to the future of this country. It is George W. Bush and his equally-fanatical, zoned-out legions who buy into his destructive, anti-American actions.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9909.htm
Time to Break the Silence
What mythic view of American righteousness and omnipotence blurred the vision of Bush supporters when they bought a story that millions of people in the United States, Canada, France, England, Germany, India, Spain, Japan, Australia and elsewhere saw through from the start?
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0822-23.htm
Norman Solomon | Bush's Option to Escalate the War in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205Q.shtml
Norman Soloman warns that opposition to the War in Iraq must keep returning to the war's false premises. Mainstream opposition to the war is more about the fact that we are losing, leaving an opening for Bush to mount an escalation in order to "win."
Excerpt:
Cleland's statement may have been focus-group tested, but it amounts to another permutation of what Martin Luther King Jr. called "the madness of militarism." All the talk about the urgent need for a strategy to win in Iraq amounts to approval for more US leadership in mass slaughter. And the United States government does not need a "strategy" to get out of Iraq any more than a killer needs a strategy to stop killing.
. . . . . . . . . .
It matters why people are critical of the US war effort in Iraq. If the main objections stem from disappointment that American forces are not winning, then the war makers in Washington retain the possibility of creating the illusion that they may yet find ways to make the war right.
Criticism of the war because it isn't being won leaves the door open for the Bush administration to sell the claim that - with enough resolve and better military tactics - the war can be vindicated. It's time to close that door.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/22/AR2005082201447.html
No Proof Found of Iran Arms Program
Uranium Traced to Pakistani Equipment
{{{ When pResNitwit starts in on the latest LIE about Iran having 'noo-kew-lur' weapons, this fact needs to be screamed out at the top of the lungs by all persons in Congress - and voters who are paying attention and not drinking their kool-aid.... Oh, and that LYING snake, Bolton, is mentioned in this article, too...}}}
The next World War starts in Iran
There is no evidence that Iran has a nuclear weapons program.
By Mike Whitney
This is not a detail that you should expect to see in the western media. Of the hundreds of articles I've combed through on Iran only 1% to 2% even casually mention this salient fact. The reasons for this are fairly obvious to those who watched the media carefully build the case for war with Iraq based entirely on false information.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9908.htm
CAMP CASEY, PTA
Amanda Marcotte, AlterNet
Cindy Sheehan's rapidly-growing contingent of moms in floppy hats and comfortable shoes throws the cowardice of the opposition into sharp relief.
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/24392/
Cindy's Crawford's Camp Casey Continues to Grow Despite Sheehan's Absence:
I'm Minnesota State Senator, Becky Lourey. My son, CW-4, Matthew Scott Lourey, a wonderful American hero, died on May 26, saving his colleagues' lives in Iraq. And I'm reading you a letter written by all of us here.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9917.htm
David Sirota | Beltway Dems Regurgitate Right-Wing B.S. on Iraq; Grassroots Fights Back
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0822-21.htm
{{{ VERY good analysis for politicians to read for the upcoming '06 elections.... }}}
Tom Engelhardt | George’s Lucky "Top 13” Summer-of-Cindy Reading List
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0822-22.htm
:-)
THE 'BIG LIE' ON BUSH'S NIGHTSTAND
Kir Slevin, AlterNet
The fact that Bush's handlers are still pushing the lie that the President reads anything at all -- much less scholarly tomes -- shows how much contempt they have for the public.
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/24441/
Britons willing to trade civil liberties for better security: poll:
Almost three quarters of Britons are willing to give up some civil liberties in return for better security, according to a poll conducted since the deadly bombings on London’s transit system.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9914.htm
{{{ I hope Britain's MPs are smarter than our Congressional members who allowed the Patriot Act to be shoved through Congress without senators or representatives even reading the danged thing...! }}}
Tony Blair to join Carlyle Group?:
The job could net Mr Blair up to £500,000 a year for only a few days work a month giving speeches and making "networking" trips on behalf of the company.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9913.htm
{{{ Has anyone besides me been wondering what Blair's payoff would be for supporting pResNitwit's war in Iraq?!?!?}}}
Exposed: The Carlyle Group :
I defy you to watch this 48 minute documentary and not be outraged about the depth of corruption and deceit within the highest ranks of our government.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3995.htm
Charley Reese :
No Accountability: Excuse me. You want me to believe that you love a people — who for 13 years we bombed and impoverished with sanctions — so much that you will gladly spend 2,000 American lives to relieve them of a dictator the U.S. once supported? This is insane.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9904.htm
India: Everything Gets Worse With Coca-Cola
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0822-01.htm
{{{We not only outsource jobs, but also outsource carcinogenic waste products.... }}}
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050823/ap_on_re_us/no_child_lawsuit
Conn. Challenges No Child Left Behind Law
Excerpts:
HARTFORD, Conn. - Connecticut on Monday became the first state to challenge the No Child Left Behind law in court, arguing that the centerpiece of President Bush's education law amounts to an unfunded mandate from the federal government.
. . . . . . . . . .
The state is not the first entity to sue in response to No Child Left Behind. The National Education Association, a national teacher's union, filed a lawsuit last spring on behalf of local districts and 10 state union chapters, including Connecticut.
"It is an interesting case," said Jack Jennings, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Education Policy. "It's interesting because a judge has to consider the fact that this is a state that's suing. It's not a school district. It's not a teacher's union. It's the state of Connecticut. So that adds a lot more gravity to the lawsuit."
In Utah, the state legislature passed a measure defying the federal law, and it was signed by Gov. Jon Huntsman on May 2. The law gives state educational standards priority over the requirements of No Child Left Behind.
Connecticut officials say they will go forward with or without the support of other states.
"If there's a bully on the playground, it often takes one brave soul to step forward and stand up to the bully," said Rep. Andrew Fleischmann, D-West Hartford, co-chairman of the legislature's Education Committee.
It's Nonnypalooza!
Posted by: NonnyO at August 23, 2005 07:03 AM
One of the recommended books in Tom Engelhardt's list of 13 -
12. Pat the Bunny (touch and feel book) by Dorothy Kunhardt: For reassurance when your aides are indicted, your numbers in the toilet, your soldiers in the quagmire, your Party's never heard of you, and history's knocking on the door.
- "History? We'll all be dead". - George W. Bush
***(NonnyO, thanks again for all the research and links!)***
Getting back to the topic of the blog post, what is forgotten is how much George Bush Sr. had in common with Richard Nixon. Remember, it was Bush who showed contempt for civil liberties as he bashed "cared carrying members of the ACLU." It was Bush who also made travels to flag factories a central part of his campaign. At least he was smarter than his son in realizing the problems in going into Iraq (although I also bet Nixon wouldn't have been as dumb as Bush Jr. on this either).
My most recent Letter to the Editor:
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[COLOR=blue][B]Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio[/B][/COLOR]
To all of you who voted for John Kerry in the 2004 election and then complained that he and the Democratic Party lost because they ran a bad campaign, consider this: There is a strong probability that it’s even worse than you thoughtâ€â€we didn’t lose, we won (as we did in 2000) and, again as in 2000, the Bush Republicans stole it.
Wishful thinking, paranoid conspiracy theory, you say? That’s what the Bush Republicans have been chortling. But for the past nine months, the data dribbling out into the press about fraud in the Ohio election is deeply disturbing to any serious-thinking American citizen, of any party.
Concern about this began immediately after the election with the persistent investigative reporting of local Ohio newspapers like [U]The Toledo Blade [/U]and the Columbus [U]Free Press[/U], and websites like Keith Olbermann’s “Countdownâ€Â. On January 5, the committee formed by Representative John Conyers of Michigan, that traveled to Ohio to investigate possible voter fraud, issued a report, “Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio,†that gathered evidence backing thousands of charges of fraud and malfeasance. Slowly, reluctantly, the Ohio story is spreading, particularly with the publication of Mark Crispin Miller’s summary article, “None Dare Call It Stolen†in [U]Harper’s[/U] (August issue).
Here, briefly, is what Miller found: The Conyers report states that the wrongs, done intentionally in Ohio, include not only an abundance of Republican dirty tricks but violations of the U.S. Constitution, the Ohio Constitution, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Help America Vote Act. There was voter suppression in Democratic districts, illegal destruction of thousands of ballots and registration forms, and hacking of the vote-counting machines that resulted in such impossibilities as some districts giving Bush more votes than the total number of registered voters. This whole scene was managed by Ohio’s Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, who, it happens, was also chair of Ohio’s Bush-Cheney campaign.
So why hasn’t there been more outrage at this destruction of our right to vote, more law-breakers indicted and drowned in scandal and disgrace? Because we Americans don’t want to believe that political parties are as important as individual candidates, that one party in America can gather so much power and become so corrupt, as has happened with the Republican Party under Bush. This administration has contempt for us and our rights, and uses our fearsâ€â€of terrorism, of threats to the family, of losing our earnings, of national problems that seem too big for us to handleâ€â€to tempt us into a child-like, non-thinking dependence on them. This is the worst kind of corruption in a democracy.
But in the 2004 election, the Democratic Party began a resurgence. It was uniting and regaining its voice in speaking for the whole nation on issues of social justice. Kerry’s probable victory in Ohio demonstrates this. But his ostensible loss demonstrates that one individual candidate and one campaign staff can’t do it alone, against an entrenched and power-mad opposition. The real lesson for us in Ohio is that political parties matter mightily in our system and that we need to re-power ours, beginning at the local level.
Tela Zasloff, Williamstown, MA
[I]The writer is author of [U]A Rescuer's Story: Pastor Pierre Charles Toureille in Vichy France[/U] (The University of Wisconsin Press, 2003).[/I]