The Legend of the Two Wolves

A lovely ending to the evening, ABQ John. Thank you.

or begining to the morning....
I wish we could more folks to think about this administration on this level...

mkh,

Maybe we can. It's a story-a story to be retold. And the more we make the connections in a story-like form the more people will listen and understand.

I remember a wise woman telling me during the campaign how she used stories to help people see JK's rightness for the Presidency. Can you guess who that is?

But I want everyone to remember 08 is so far away. We have to make our inroads on the 06 electins. We need to make it harder for the majority party to continue to bully the minority party and we need to make it harder for them to stand by their "evil" master! And the stories have to start now--the stories of how an evil entity COULD have been stopped, but who were the brave ones who stepped up and showed courage?

Out for the day...

Great, great legend, abqjohn. Thank you.

Remember when the GOP used "bear" imagery to link Democrats and communists, then tried last time to use "wolf" imagery to link Democrats and terrorists?

We are on this planet to celebrate life and when we do that we support the good wolf. Right now many of those who pretend to be "moral" support the bad wolf. This is blasphemy against their own teachings and it is happening in several religions.

hmm...I guess it's ok for televangelists to call for assassination when the target is someone who is a friend of the poor in his country and wants to provide cheap gas and medical care to the poor of ours.

"Inappropriate behavior" is what we use to describe a mis-behaving child. Is that ALL the administration has to say?

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Rumsfeld has just been poking around in Ecuador and that our administration actually does support funny business in South America (where oil is produced and citizens want more say and more profit share). Have we never supported banana republic mentality? I don't think we can say that! Can anyone think of democratically-elected leaders (not just in South America) that our CIA has helped overthrow or dictators that we have supported when it was in the economic interest of our multimillionaires? Iran comes to mind (Mossadeq for Pahlevi, resulting in Khomeini - setting the country back 500 years).

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/aug242005/update859522005824.asp

"Kill Chavez" call is inappropriate : Bush administration

The right-wing Christian Coalition founded by Mr Pat Robertson gave a call for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez but it provoked no strong official condemnation.

He said on a popular TV show that the US government should take out Mr Chavez which would be cheaper than a war.

Of course, the defence and state departments distanced themselves from a "private citizen's view". But in response to questions, a state department spokesman would not call Mr Robertson a "terrorist". The Bush administration expressed no shock or anger.

Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, at his press conference, said: ``Our department doesn't do that kind of thing. It's against the law. He (Pat Robertson) is a private citizen. Private citizens say all kinds of things all the time.''

At the state department briefing, a correspondent suggested that had Mr Robertson been living in Britain, he would have been deported for making a terroristic statement.

The spokesman said: "Well, we're not living in Britain."

While the US denied that it was planning any "hostile action" against Mr Chavez, the Venezuelan ambassador in Washington demanded that special protection should be provided to his country's President when he visits the United Nations next month.

The state department spokesman reiterated the usual US criticism of the Chavez government and called Mr Robertson's statement merely "inappropriate".

The spokesman said: "Pat Robertson is a private citizen and that his views do not represent the policy of the United States. We do not share his view and that his comments are inappropriate and that, as we have said before, any allegations that we are planning to take hostile action against the Venezuelan Government are completely baseless and without fact.

Another correspondent persisted: "In other cases when somebody, a private citizen suggests the killing of a foreign leader you consider that guy a terrorist. Do you consider Pat Robertson -- his ideas to be -- also embracing terrorist -- acts of terrorism against other leaders?

The spokesman: "I've said what I'm going to say on the matter."

He said concerning Venezuela, the administration expressed its concerns in the past regarding some of Venezuela's behaviour in the hemisphere.

A correspondent drew the spokesman's attention to the fact that Mr Robertson expresses the views of people who are clearly the President's base -- a big part of that base, at least, which are Christian conservatives and Republicans. So it will be interpreted that Mr Robertson's views are shared by a big part of the Republican Party.

The spokesman said: "I would think that people around the world would take the comments for what they are.

They're the expression of one citizen. And we have been very clear -- I have been very clear that this is not the policy of the United States Government. We do not share his views and that his comments are inappropriate.''

Read also what Rumsfeld and Rice have been up to in South America:

http://www.petroleumworld.com/Lag082305.htm

Watch the neocon plan to control the oil of the world. Read "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" with special attention to the chapters on Pat Robertson and on the Carlyle Group (hint: both own diamond mines), which Tony Blair will become part of once he leaves office. http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082305B.shtml

From Petroleum World, some background on South America (the next middle east) - read at http://www.petroleumworld.com/Lag082305.htm to see what's up not just in Venezuela but in Paraguay, Ecuador and elsewhere:

• U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visited Paraguay and Peru this week and reiterated claims that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez had been “unhelpful[ly]” involved in the ouster of Bolivian President Carlos Mesa. If this is true, where is the evidence?

• U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has made similar comments, also lacks conclusive evidence.

• If the Bush administration is truly concerned about the health of democracy in Latin America, Rumsfeld, while visiting Peru yesterday, should have focused his and the U.S.’ attention on the country's failing democracy, instead of Chávez's exploits and the recent political turmoil in Bolivia.

• Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo's approval ratings dropped to eight percent last weekend over the fallout regarding the controversial appointment of Fernando Olivera as Foreign Minister.

In another example of touch and go diplomacy, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld spent just a few short days in both Paraguay and Peru this week, where he echoed claims made ealier by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is a destabilizing force in the region and had been “unhelpful[ly]” involved in the recent political turmoil in Bolivia. Yet thus far, neither Rice nor Rumsfeld have presented the slightest shred of evidence to support their assertions that Chávez was involved in the ouster of Bolivian President Carlos Mesa. It is a near certainty that neither Rice nor Rumsfeld possess any such evidence; if they did, presumably they would race to publicly announce their bombshell revelation confirming the Bush administration’s long standing mutterings that Chávez has been a subversive influence in Latin America.

Economies More Than Ideology on Their Minds

Rice and Rumsfeld’s real fear is that oil-rich Venezuela will threaten the continued shipment of oil to the U.S., stoked by the shift in Chávez's oil policy to favor the Caribbean, Uruguay, Brazil and China, at the expense of U.S. energy interests. They also worry that Chávez may successfully push for the economic unification of Latin America through the expansion of MERCOSUR, the fleshing out of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) along with the implementation of Petrocaribe in order to challenge U.S. influence and interests in the hemisphere. But stuck with no evidence as to how the political developments in Bolivia are contrary to U.S. interests or how Chávez is undermining U.S. objectives there, Rumsfeld and Rice are forced to make blanket accusations that the issues are somehow connected and are destabilizing the continent and are detrimental to the U.S.' welfare.

More Oxymorons from the Main Stream Media

Radical Peace Group

Interesting...

Up is down, left is right, war is peace...

Not for much longer.

We've got them on the run!!!

No more "Hail to the Chief"...more like...

No Bail for the Thief

Here we go again:

International Atomic Energy Commission says Iran is at lesst a decade away from making nuclear weapons and US Administration says it's a lie. The same thing led us into Iraq.

Take a gander at lst Google result for top international news story:

US slams 'no evidence' report on Iran nukes
NDTV.com 
The United States has criticised an independent investigation which found no evidence that Iran was working on a secret nuclear weapons programme.

US dismisses IAEA report on Iran Aljazeera.com
US says IAEA report won't end concerns over Iran

So .. what will our excuse be now? Spread more freedom & democracy? Never mind that 30 years ago Iran was much more modern, secular and friendly - til we meddled in the first place (overthrew democratic government, helped install dictator, ended up with radical extremist after revolution we could do nothing about but which resulted from installing of dictator).

These things are done for the benefit of the richest 1% or 2% of Americans, who have more money and power than the rest of us put together. Yet approx. half of us support it!

I keep the wolf from the door
But he calls me up
Calls me on the phone
Tells me all the ways that he's gonna mess me up
Steal all my children
If I don't pay the ransom
But I'll never see him again
If I squeal to the cops
No no no no no no no

(Wolf at the Door, Radiohead "Hail to the Thief)

Veritas,

Exactly. Why is the government--supposedly led by educated people--so completely short-sighted when it comes to foreign powers?

I guess it's the world domination thing--my teens are convinced that that's what THEY are going for--but then, they get over it, after the world gives them *feedback*.

The problem is, this administration has not received the necessary *feedback* that would allow them to think through the consequences of trying to have it their way all the time.

That's why we have to keep pointing out that they are bullies and gangsters.

I am astounded, daily, at the adolescent behavior of the neo-cons. It's as if the country was one big high school, and the head of the Student Council was also the schoolyard bully. We need intervention.

Come to Washington.

President Bush spent Tuesday at a resort in the Idaho Rockies, mountain biking around a rugged trail circuit before going fishing in a small pontoon boat on a wind-whipped lake.

Well, it's off to work for me.

US Dodges Robertson Comments on Chavez

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-5230178,00.html

how embarrassing and disgraceful

This picture from our greatest generation says it all!!!

http://tinyurl.com/a2ce4

Two little bits from American Progress... I really do think they're becoming unhinged - or at least very P.O.'d that we're making them work so hard in August, a month that's normally very quiet for the whole administration (so that Little Georgie can bike, nap, fish...)

RUMSFELD COMPARES CRITICS TO COMMUNISTS, STALINISTS: In a press briefing yesterday Donald Rumsfeld, referring to Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), noted that "it's been alleged that we're not winning" in Iraq. Rumsfeld made it clear that he has no respect for people who question his policies or progress in Iraq. He noted that "[t]hroughout history there have always been those who predict America's failure just around every corner. At the height of World War II ... [m]any Western intellectuals praised Stalin ... [f]or a time, Communism was very much in vogue." Rumsfeld added, "those being tossed about by the winds of concern should recall that Americans are a tough lot and will see their commitments through." Apparently, our most important commitment is a reflexive acceptance of Rumsfeld's policies.

BUSH SAYS SHEEHAN DOESN'T SPEAK FOR MOST FAMILIES: The White House touts the "private meetings" President Bush has with the families of fallen soldiers. Yesterday, at a resort in Donnelly, Idaho, Bush dispensed with confidentiality to score political points. Speaking with reporters, Bush claimed Cindy Sheehan -- a war critic who lost her son in Iraq -- "doesn't represent the view of a lot of the families I have met with." Bush was met in Donnelly, a town of 130 people, by more than 200 protesters.

***
BTW, where's Scottie McClellan? Haven't heard a peep out of him, have we? (Not that he ever has anything important to say...)

Carolyn Kennedy should be considering the mayor of Salt Lake City, a very, very red city, for her annual John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award.

"Anti-war protesters cheer Salt Lake mayor
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - An outspoken Democrat in one of the most conservative states in the nation, Mayor Ross "Rocky" Anderson's days are rarely dull."

Posted by: Ira at August 24, 2005 10:55 AM

Agreed, Ira. So should Cindy Sheehan.

Pro-Peace Protests

During the course of the last few weeks the Bush Administration and its sponsors have called the protests anti-war, anti-troops, anti-american but we will not allow them the luxury of once again controlling the spin on this most important cause.

We are PRO-Peace...we are PRO-Troops...and we most certainly are and always have been PRO-American!!!

Out of all this, for those of us visiting Camp Casey and indeed around the country and the world this has been a great time of creativity, solidarity, strength, compassion, empathy, understanding, tolerance, generosity, truth, faith and hope.

A Poem from The Camp Casey II Round Table Warriors...a PRO-Peace band of bretheren.

Brethren

Days ago they were but strangers,
Hearing the cry of one mother’s tears
Heeding the call of all humanity…
What is left of it in this world.

Days ago they were but strangers,
Living lives of corrosive regret
All the while yearning to be heard
Above the deafening silence of apathy.

Days ago they were but strangers,
But by chance or cosmic fate
Did they arrive at the center of the Universe
To outstretched arms of hope and faith.

Days ago they were but strangers,
Now finding strength and inner calm
Within the hearts and souls of Brethren
Forever bound as one...for Peace.

Hey, here's just how kooky the Pat Robertson's of the world have really gotten.... and there is a handy link to the 700 Club website too!

How Leftists Aid Radical Islam
By Dale Hurd
CBN News Sr. Reporter

CBN.com –The London subway bombing was never supposed to happen in Britain, according to the British left.

For years they have said the U.S. War on Terror was a fraud , and the al-Qaeda threat was made-up. Summed up in the popular BBC TV series "The Power of Nightmares," the War on Terror has been a White House scheme to dominate the world. That's the same view as Al-Qaeda's, by the way.

It's alleged that the radical left in the west has forged an alliance with radical Muslims who want to destroy the west. CBN News witnessed this strange coalition in London in 2003: a massive anti-American, anti-war demonstration by radical leftists and radical Muslims. They are two groups with seemingly nothing in common except hatred of America, capitalism, and Israel.

The Hip Hop music and the pot smoke was an odd mix with the headscarves and the Muslim call to prayer. But it got even stranger when the leftists, who had been shouting obscenities and death threats against George Bush, became reverent during the prayer.

It's a strange mix: radical leftists who hate religion and radical Muslims who want to make the whole world religious.

But much of what the left is now saying about the war on terror, Iraq, and Israel, is the same thing said by radical clerics on Arab satellite TV channels. At their joint demonstrations, the two groups speak the same language, with this claim by the head of the Muslims Association of Britain, that the Al-Qaeda threat is made up.

"And they keep talking about al-Qaeda,” said Dr. Azzam Tamimi, of the Muslim Association of Britain. “What is al-Qaeda? Any of you know what is the dimension of al-Qaeda? Isn't this a phenomenon created by George Bush and Tony Blair?"

But why would the left join with radical Muslims who hate most of their causes- like women's rights and gay rights, not to mention the radical left's lifestyle of sex, drugs, and rock- and-roll? We asked a former leader of the radical left in America.

"Leftists do not understand who they're dealing with," said David Horowitz, author of the book 'Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left.""In the real world, you say, 'You know, when these guys win, the first guys they're going to behead you.’ But leftists don't think that way. They have a kind of magical thinking. "

He says what the radical left sees is an ally in its long-running war against American Capitalism.

"Corporations are evil. There's a corporate ruling class,” he added. “And then along came these Muslims and they're blowing it up. Now, what did they blow up? They blew up Wall Street. The World Trade Center is the main target of the left. It's Wall Street. That's why Ward Churchill said they're all little Eichmanns, little Nazis. That's because in his demented view, if you're a part of the business system in America, you're killing people."

read more... http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/news/050715a.asp

a former leader of the radical left in America... David Horowitz???

Talk about delusional...

Republican Congressman Breaks Ranks, Joins Demand for Documents on ...

Political Affairs Magazine, NY - 1 hour ago
Congressman Jim Leach (R, Iowa) has informed Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D, California) that he will co-sponsor her Resolution of Inquiry into Bush ...

http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/1719/1/32/

Cindy Sheehan arrives back in Crawford at 4:30 p.m; Bush, too returns today as networks roll in... NBC, ABC on the ground...

Poll Shows Bush Approval Ratings
Sink to Lowest Point in Presidency

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
August 24, 2005

President Bush's job approval ratings are at their lowest point of his presidency as only 40% of U.S. adults have a favorable opinion of his job performance and 58% have a negative opinion, according to a Harris Interactive poll.

This is a decline from just two months ago in June when the president's ratings were 45% positive and 55% negative. Much of this decline can be tied to the public's opinion on important issues. The war in Iraq has climbed to the top of a list of issues Americans say it's most important for the U.S. to address and the economy is now viewed as the second most important issue, according to the poll.

At the same time, Vice President Dick Cheney's approval ratings slipped to 35% from 38% in June, while Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's approval ratings dropped to 40% from 42%. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is the only cabinet member whose approval ratings rose, to 57% from 52% in June.

John,

I really loved your story. Which do we feed and how can we change peoples' diet.

Thanks!

MonKeY,

Why on earth did Condiliars ratings IMPROVE? I don't get it? Did she go out in a miniskirt or something?

Did she go out in a miniskirt or something?

Posted by: sparrow at August 24, 2005 01:09 PM

Good grief, I hope not.

I mean, I already know she's nuts... do I really need to see for myself?

Monkey,

Have we heard much from Condiliar lately? Perhaps that's why her numbers are up...she's keeping silent!

Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at August 24, 2005 12:44 PM

YES! It's about time. Let's see how many more courageous Republicans there are out there to break ranks from the corrupt regime.

Robertson: Chavez remarks misinterpreted
Broadcaster says 'take him out' didn't mean assassination

Wednesday, August 24, 2005; Posted: 1:40 p.m.

(CNN) -- Conservative religious broadcaster Pat Robertson said Wednesday that his remarks about the removal of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez were taken out of context and that he never called for the killing of the Latin American leader.

"I didn't say 'assassination.' I said our special forces should 'take him out.' And 'take him out' can be a number of things, including kidnapping; there are a number of ways to take out a dictator from power besides killing him. I was misinterpreted by the AP [Associated Press], but that happens all the time," Robertson said on "The 700 Club" program.

The controversy began Monday when Robertson called Chavez "a terrific danger" bent on exporting Communism and Islamic extremism across the Americas.

"If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it," said Robertson on Monday's program. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war." (Watch Robertson's comments)

"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," he said. "We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."

more... http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/24/robertson.chavez/index.html

Right.

Up is Down. Right is Left. War for Profit is War for Freedom and Democracy. Bad is Good.
Assassinate is Really Kidnap, Or Somethin' Like That.

It all just gets scarier, doesn't it?

Speaking with reporters, Bush claimed Cindy Sheehan -- a war critic who lost her son in Iraq -- "doesn't represent the view of a lot of the families I have met with." Bush was met in Donnelly, a town of 130 people, by more than 200 protesters.

uh...duh...because you're meeting pre picked folks!!!
Whare are the questions for this guy- !!!????

Posted by: mkh at August 24, 2005 02:22 PM

Bingo. What w is saying, in a nutshell, (and make no mistake about it, that IS a nutshell) is that he doesn't meet with families who don't share his viewssss.

According to new poll data, that doesn't leave a whole lot for w to have actually heard "his" views from.

Mr. Hide, your Jekyll is showing

Excellent post, John.

I like this because we *all* have both wolves. If this country is ever to get together, we have to recognize that. I like that the CDP blog is generally feeding the right wolf. I'm finding many blogs just feed the hatred. (you know, blogs overly obsessed with that Malkin lady. I won't read those posts any more)

I'm finding many blogs just feed the hatred.
Posted by: Beth at August 24, 2005 02:47 PM

It does seem like the general level of negativity has risen lately.

That's why I'm here. This blog is a refuge from all the Dem bashing from both the far-left and the far-right.

Holy smokes, batman!

Reporter who broke the DSM dissects the intellgence used to get us into this war.

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Downing_Street_reporter_dissects_Iraq_intelligence_in_leadup_0824.html

This is why Robertson/BushCo don't like Hugo Chavez:

Looking for an easy way to protest Bush foreign policy week after week? And an easy way to help alleviate global poverty? Buy your gasoline at Citgo stations.
And tell your friends.

Of the top oil producing countries in the world, only one is a democracy with a president who was elected on a platform of using his nation's oil revenue to benefit the poor. The country is Venezuela. The President is Hugo Chavez. Call him "the Anti-Bush."

Citgo is a U.S. refining and marketing firm that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company. Money you pay to Citgo goes primarily to Venezuela -- not Saudi Arabia or the Middle East. There are 14,000 Citgo gas stations in the US. (Click here http://www.citgo.com/CITGOLocator/StoreLocator.jsp to find one near you.) By buying your gasoline at Citgo, you are contributing to the billions of dollars that Venezuela's democratic government is using to provide health care, literacy and education, and subsidized food for the majority of Venezuelans.

Instead of using government to help the rich and the corporate, as Bush does, Chavez is using the resources and oil revenue of his government to help the poor in Venezuela. A country with so much oil wealth shouldn't have 60 percent of its people living in poverty, earning less than $2 per day. With a mass movement behind him, Chavez is confronting poverty in Venezuela. That's why large majorities have consistently backed him in democratic elections. And why the Bush administration supported an attempted military coup in 2002 that sought to overthrow Chavez.

So this is the opposite of a boycott. Call it a BUYcott. Spread the word.

Of course, if you can take mass transit or bike or walk to your job, you should do so. And we should all work for political changes that move our country toward a cleaner environment based on renewable energy. The BUYcott is for those of us who don't have a practical alternative to filling up our cars.

So get your gas at Citgo. And help fuel a democratic revolution in Venezuela.

Jeff Cohen is an author and media critic (www.jeffcohen.org)

Sorry - here's the link for that:

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0516-25.htm

One Big McCain in the arse...

On Tuesday, he sided with the president on two issues that have made headlines recently: teaching intelligent design in schools and Cindy Sheehan, the grieving mother who has come to personify the anti-war movement.

McCain told the Star that, like Bush, he believes "all points of view" should be available to students studying the origins of mankind.

The theory of intelligent design says life is too complex to have developed through evolution, and that a higher power must have had a hand in guiding it.

At a breakfast meeting Tuesday with the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, McCain said Sheehan is probably being used by organizations opposed to the U.S. mission in Iraq. But, he added, she is "a symptom, not a cause" of growing public discontent with the war.

more... http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/politics/90069

Aug. 24, 2005, 12:00PM

Ex-Bush aide expected to be appointed to state high court

By JANET ELLIOTT
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - Don Willett, an Austin lawyer best known for helping President Bush set up faith-based government programs, is expected to be appointed today to the Texas Supreme Court.

Gov. Rick Perry will hold a news conference at 11:30 a.m. today, but his office would not say whether it would be to announce a replacement for Priscilla Owen, who was appointed to a federal appeals court this summer by Bush.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3322826

looks like McCain drank the evangelical cool aid and the straight talking express has hit a curve. We should have seen that coming last summer.

American Legion Declares War on Protestors -- Media Next?

By E&P Staff

Published: August 24, 2005 4:20 PM ET

NEW YORK The American Legion, which has 2.7 million members, has declared war on antiwar protestors, and the media could be next. Speaking at its national convention in Honolulu, the group's national commander called for an end to all “public protests” and “media events” against the war, even though they are protected by the Bill of Rights.

"The American Legion will stand against anyone and any group that would demoralize our troops, or worse, endanger their lives by encouraging terrorists to continue their cowardly attacks against freedom-loving peoples," Thomas Cadmus, national commander, told delegates at the group's national convention in Honolulu.

The delegates voted to use whatever means necessary to "ensure the united backing of the American people to support our troops and the global war on terrorism."

In his speech, Cadmus declared: "It would be tragic if the freedoms our veterans fought so valiantly to protect would be used against their successors today as they battle terrorists bent on our destruction.”

He explained, "No one respects the right to protest more than one who has fought for it, but we hope that Americans will present their views in correspondence to their elected officials rather than by public media events guaranteed to be picked up and used as tools of encouragement by our enemies." This might suggest to some, however, that American freedoms are worth dying for but not exercising.

Without mentioning any current protestor, such as Cindy Sheehan, by name, Cadmus recalled: "For many of us, the visions of Jane Fonda glibly spouting anti-American messages with the North Vietnamese and protestors denouncing our own forces four decades ago is forever etched in our memories. We must never let that happen again….

"We had hoped that the lessons learned from the Vietnam War would be clear to our fellow citizens. Public protests against the war here at home while our young men and women are in harm's way on the other side of the globe only provide aid and comfort to our enemies."

Resolution 3, which was passed unanimously by 4,000 delegates to the annual event, states: "The American Legion fully supports the president of the United States, the United States Congress and the men, women and leadership of our armed forces as they are engaged in the global war on terrorism and the troops who are engaged in protecting our values and way of life."

Cadmus advised: "Let's not repeat the mistakes of our past. I urge all Americans to rally around our armed forces and remember our fellow Americans who were viciously murdered on Sept. 11, 2001."

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001020671

For the American Lesion...

Abu Ghraib General Lambastes Bush Administration

By Marjorie Cohn
t r u t h o u t | Report

Wednesday 24 August 2005

"I had been hesitant to speak out before because this Administration is so vindictive. But now I will ... Anybody who confronts this Administration or Rumsfeld or the Pentagon with a true assessment, they find themselves either out of a job, out of their positions, fired, relieved or chastised. Their career comes to an end."
-- Janis Karpinski, interview with Marjorie Cohn, August 3, 2005

Army Reserve Brigadier General Janis Karpinski was in charge of the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq when the now famous torture photographs were taken in fall of 2003. She was reprimanded and demoted to Colonel for her failure to properly supervise the prison guards. Karpinski is the highest ranking officer to be sanctioned for the mistreatment of prisoners. On August 3, 2005, I interviewed Janis Karpinski. In the most comprehensive public statement she has made to date, Karpinski deconstructs the entire United States military operation in Iraq with some astonishing revelations.

When Karpinski got to Abu Ghraib, "there was a completely different story than what we were being told in the United States. It was out of control. There weren't enough soldiers. Nobody had the right equipment. They were driving around in unarmored vehicles, some of them without doors ... So, knowing that they were ill-equipped and ill-prepared, they pushed them out anyway, because those two three-stars wanted their fifteen minutes of fame, I suppose."

Karpinski said that General Shinseki briefed Rumsfeld that "he can't win this war, if they insist on invading Iraq, he can't win this war with less than 300,000 soldiers." Rumsfeld reportedly ordered Shinseki to go back and find a way to do this with 125,000 to 130,000, but Shinseki came back and said they couldn't do the job with that number. "What did Rumsfeld do?" Karpinski asked rhetorically. "If you can't agree with me, I'm going to find somebody who can. He made Shinseki a lame duck, for all practical purposes, and brought in Schoomaker. And Schoomaker got it. He said, 'Oh yes sir, we can do this with 125,000.'"

-snip-

When Karpinski inquired, "What's this about photographs?" the sergeant replied, "Ma'am, we've heard something about photographs, but I have no idea. Nobody has any details, and Ma'am, if anybody knows, nobody is talking." When Karpinski asked to see the log books, the sergeant told her that the Criminal Investigation Division had taken everything except for something on a pole outside the little office they were using.

"It was a memorandum signed by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, authorizing a short list, maybe 6 or 8 techniques: use of dogs; stress positions; loud music; deprivation of food; keeping the lights on, those kinds of things," Karpinski said. "And then a handwritten message over to the side that appeared to be the same handwriting as the signature, and that signature was Secretary Rumsfeld's. And it said, 'Make sure this happens' with two exclamation points. And that was the only thing they had. Everything else had been confiscated."

more... http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082405Z.shtml

Carolyn Kennedy should be considering the mayor of Salt Lake City, a very, very red city, for her annual John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award.

Posted by: Ira at August 24, 2005 10:55 AM

Great idea, Ira! You can nominate him for the Profiles in Courage Award here:

http://www.jfklibrary.org/pica_information.html
(scroll to the bottom)

Karen,

I've started my own blog - it's brand spankin new! Would it be OK to link to this blog from it?

http://niteswimming.blogspot.com/

cheers,
cali dem

P.S. Please come by everyone and check it out. Right now it's just my poor husband who's getting bugged to look at every new post & my cat who's trying to decide what to do for his Friday cat blogging debut.

Very nice blog, Cali Dem. You put some time into that! I was going to leave you a post but couldn't figure out how to do it.

So get your gas at Citgo. And help fuel a democratic revolution in Venezuela.

Jeff Cohen is an author and media critic (www.jeffcohen.org)

Posted by: Carol at August 24, 2005 04:39 PM

CAROL: LET'S REALLY ADD FUEL TO THE FIRE:

Chavez Offers Cheap Gas to Poor in U.S.
By David Pace
Wednesday, August 24, 2005 by Reuters http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0824-06.htm

HAVANA, Cuba - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, popular with the poor at home, offered on Tuesday to help needy Americans with cheap supplies of gasoline.

Venezuela could supply gasoline to Americans at half the price they now pay if intermediaries who "speculated ... and exploited consumers" were cut out, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

"We want to sell gasoline and heating fuel directly to poor communities
in the United States," the populist leader told reporters at the end of
a visit to Communist-run Cuba.

Chavez did not say how Venezuela would go about providing gasoline to poor communities. Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA owns Citgo, which has 14,000 gas stations in the United States. The offer may sound attractive to Americans feeling pinched by soaring prices at the pump but not to the U.S. government, which sees Chavez as a left-wing troublemaker in Latin America.

Gasoline is cheaper than mineral water in oil-producing Venezuela, where consumers can fill their tanks for less than $2. Average gas prices have risen to $2.61 a gallon in the United States, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Chavez said Venezuela could supply gasoline to Americans at half the price they now pay if intermediaries who "speculated ... and exploited consumers" were cut out.

Venezuela supplies Cuba with generously financed oil and plans to help Caribbean nations foot their oil bills.

Chavez, in Cuba to attend the graduation of Cuban-trained doctors from 28 countries, was seen off at the airport by Cuban President Fidel Castro. Washington has accused the two leaders of being a destabilizing influence in South America.

Chavez and Castro offered to give poor Americans free health care and train doctors free of charge.

I was going to leave you a post but couldn't figure out how to do it.

Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at August 24, 2005 07:46 PM

Thanks for checking it out. I hope you'll consider going back & making a comment.

http://niteswimming.blogspot.com/

{snip}

And he singled out for praise the family of Tammy Pruett, an Idaho woman who has four sons serving in Iraq with the National Guard.

Pruett's husband and another son returned from duty there last year, the pResident said.

"America lives in freedom because of families like the Pruetts," Bush said.

Bush's acknowledgment of military families comes as opponents of the war have rallied around Sheehan, who says she wants to meet with the president to ask what "noble cause" her son -- an Army mechanic who was killed in Baghdad -- died to achieve.

{snip}

So the Pruetts have four sons fighting for Bush so she gets to talk with Bush twice. And notice how he says that America lives in freedom because of the Pruetts - and didn't mention the ultimate sacrifice that Casey Sheehan has made for his wars.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/08/24/bush.speech/

I'm not a fan of Chavez's mental health, but am currently reading Stephen Kinzer's "All the Shah's Men" - the story of 1953 CIA-led coup in Iran, led by Kermit Roosevelt, a grandson of Teddy. Anybody who claims that there's no difference between the Democratic and Republican parties has got to read this book, and see how differently Dean Acheson and Harry Truman saw the situation, and acted, in comparision to the Eisenhower-Dulles team. And Eisenhower would be a moderate today!

Bottom line is that the oil of other nations belongs to those nations - not to the British or the US, or anyone else. We may see Chavez as a bit nutty, and even dangerous, but people around the world see Dubya in pretty much the same fashion. And I can't blame Chavez for trying to do something for the poor in his nation. Dubya and Norquist, on the other hand, are trying to make America more like Venezuela...

"It'd be a lot easier if it were a dictatorship -- as long as I'm the dictator."

George W. Bush

Cali dem,

Great blog. I, like Truth, couldn't figure out how to post on it.

Posted by: abqjohn at August 24, 2005 08:44 PM

John,

I said exactly the same thing when I heard what Bush said - so it's families like Pruett's who ensure America's freedom, not families like the Sheehans, who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

I guess since Casey died, he failed in ensuring our freedom? That's what it sounded like to me. Very thinly veiled. What an a**hole. Sorry.

That idiot makes me sick.

Hey -

For those trying to post on Cali Dem's new blog, click on the word "comments" near "Link".

Carol & sparrow -

Thanks for checking out my new blog. Maybe I should make the "comments" feature stand out. It was a different color but I changed it to black. Don't ask how long it took me to figure out how.

http://niteswimming.blogspot.com/

Fe
Thanks!