The New Patriots

First!!

Is there a way to make the link live so it'll open faster?

Lovely .. the propaganda appears to be working

(Ass. Press)
One bright spot for the White House was a new poll showing that a strong majority of Americans oppose, as does Bush and most lawmakers, an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The AP-Ipsos poll found 57 percent of those surveyed said the U.S. military should stay until Iraq is stabilized.

Get out your checkbooks, folks. Forget about infrastructure here.

I know firsthand of a military man who has served two tours of duty in Iraq on the ground as they went into Baghdad and Fallujah.

Listen to this: He is being deployed in January to be "on call" in case they need to go aground again.

Any bets?

A lot of the guys and gals from my local National Guard unit have just shipped out (yes, right before Christmas -- sorry honey, sorry kids, daddy has to be somewhere else when Santa comes) for, get this, their *third* tour in Afghaniraqnam.

These aren't professional troops or even backup reservists. These are freakin' local National Guard folks, for crying out loud. They have jobs, families, lives right here at home. They leave holes in the community whenever they get called into service. Great big gaping holes.

They'd be proud to be called up to help patch things up after a hurricane or an earthquake. They'd be proud to be called up to defend our state against foreign invaders (although the odds of a horde of Canadians coming across Lake Erie with guns drawn are reassuringly small these days).

They're also proud to be called up to fight for their country and defend our famous freedoms. After all, that was part of the deal, should things get grim and necessity dictate that they leave their jobs, family, lives.

But by now, the pride is wearing awfully thin. And the local National Guardians are getting awfully tired.

This is the third rotation back to Afghaniraqnam for a lot of these hometown heroes. The *third*. It's the second time around for most of them. There aren't that many newbies in the group since our misadventure in OilWorld began. Gee, I wonder why.

These aren't professional troops. They have jobs, families, lives -- from which they have just been ripped away for the third time in as many years. The third freakin' time.

Surely the Founding Fathers (and Mothers, ahem) didn’t have empire-building in faraway lands in mind when they called for the creation of a volunteer civilian militia.

In fact... isn't that precisely what they chose to stand and fight so very hard against in the first place?

no more blood for oil,
Otter

Go look what I just Posted on Reb..

“Mr. President,” one aide in the meeting said. “There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution.”

“Stop throwing the Constitution in my face,” Bush screamed back. “It’s just a goddamned piece of paper!”

http://rebellenation.blogspot.com/

No.
More.
Blood.
For.
Oil.

chimpeach,
Otter

WHAT!!!

The appointee to the FEC is Plamegate’s Viveca Novak

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2005/12/17/jane-hamsher-why-didn_n_12458.html

Bush Appoints Husband Of Plamegate’s Viveca Novak To FEC Over Opposition of John McCain…

Right on!

A President above the Law
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121705A.shtml
Civil libertarians say the latest revelations of Bush's vow to continue secretly spying on Americans adds to their frustration with the Bush administration. "If we are a nation of laws, then the president must be bound by the rule of law," said Lisa Graves, senior counsel at the ACLU in Washington. "This is clearly in violation of FISA and a violation of the Constitution. The president, no matter who he is, does not have the power to decide which laws he will follow."

--Just had a surreal time out there in the real world - washing my car. The car wash guys were about 18 & were commenting on all my progressive bumper stickers, which practically obscure my vision. At the vacuum was a young guy who must have been all of 18, in full military dress, cleaning out his car which had a sign that said "Iraqi Freedom Soldier." Next to the car wash I saw alot of big SUVs and other trucks parked & couldn't figure out what they were there for til I saw a sign that said "Rick's Nightclub." Then I saw young girls, also about 18, going in & realized they were erotic dancers & the guys were old pervs.

Otter
My son's friend's boyfriend just signed up for Afghanistan through the local Guards because he says "It's better than going to Iraq." Famous last words.

Sparrow
Cronyism? (V Novak's husband) It's all one big dysfunctional family, I guess! (incestuous)

Posted by: Christy at December 17, 2005 06:23 PM

Hi Christy,

Long time no see!

I saw a great comment on that here: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/5683

AP: Frist AIDS Charity Paid Consultants
By JONATHAN M. KATZ and JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writers
2 hours, 31 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's AIDS charity paid nearly a half-million dollars in consulting fees to members of his political inner circle, according to tax returns providing the first financial accounting of the presidential hopeful's nonprofit.

The returns for World of Hope Inc., obtained by The Associated Press, also show the charity raised the lion's share of its $4.4 million from just 18 sources. They gave between $97,950 and $267,735 each to help fund Frist's efforts to fight AIDS.

The tax forms, filed nine months after they were first due, do not identify the 18 major donors by name.

Frist's lawyer, Alex Vogel, said Friday that he would not give their names because tax law does not require their public disclosure. Frist's office provided a list of 96 donors who were supportive of the charity, but did not say how much each contributed.

The donors included several corporations with frequent business before Congress, such as insurer Blue Cross/Blue Shield, manufacturer 3M, drug maker Eli Lilly and the Goldman Sachs investment firm.

http://tinyurl.com/culq4

And there shall be wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

your W decal won't get you into heaven anymore,
Otter

Sparrow

Follow the money! They buy their way into office. It's all about bribes & promises.
As corrupt as any Banana Republic.

I am at Busboys and Poets, where we just heard some South African music and are about to see a film.

What makes this event amazing is that white and black SOuth africans are sitting together in this crowded room and talking about how they all got through "the dark days". We are listening because we are in our own "dark days."

Please go recommend this diary:

http://www.dailykos.com/

Love your country.

Impeach your president.

it's the least, and the best, thing we can do,
Otter
+

From previous thread:
The Cretin just is a yes-man for the multinational corporations. They continue to profit under this system. The religious right probably doesn't realize they were used.
Posted by: DiAnne at December 17, 2005 04:03 PM

Time to spike their kool-aid with a lot of caffeine, make them wake up and smell and see and hear and taste the evil they've condoned in their willingness to believe lies, and lies to cover the original lies, their willingness to spread the propaganda of the lies, and see and hear the reality about the evil little cretin who believes he is above the laws of this nation.... And if the caffeine in their kool aid fails to wake them up, dump ice water over them....

If I sound snarky, it's because I'm sick and tired of trying to deal with people who refuse to accept or deal with the harsh reality they've helped create by believing delusions.... I'm fresh out of patience....

posted by: Christy at December 17, 2005 06:23 PM

Great group of posts, Christy!

It all just gets more and more unreal. I just can't believe that the country hasn't risen up.

It's like they're all just stepford people - in a deep trance. Where's that purple dress when we need it? We need to rig up a little Paula Jones/Monica action ASAP!

Check out Hong Kong WTO action

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/asiapacific/article_1069710.php/Police_fire_tear_gas_as_WTO_activists_paralyze_Hong_Kong

corny faux patriot shopping site to celebrate conspicuous consumption in the name of christ day

http://store.yahoo.net/freedomhq/chho.html

Wait...recommend THIS diary:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/12/17/203038/30

Posted by: Otter at December 17, 2005 06:20 PM

My youngest nephew, a member of a Guard unit, just left for "training" earlier this month, two days before his father's (my brother's) birthday. After four months of training his unit is scheduled to be sent to Afghanistan for a year. By the time he gets back, his sons, now ages three and one, will have forgotten him. And, if the Red River floods again next spring like it did in '97, who the heck is going to help the farmers feed stranded livestock and rescue people who are stranded out in the dingtoolies like the Guard did in '97? He is a member of a Guard unit that is from the exact same place that got hit the hardest by the flood in '97, so he's less than an hour away from being able to help anyone (with other members of the same unit) in an emergency situation....

The only thing that "consoles" me is that (for the present moment) Afghanistan is a safer place to be than Iraq. I still firmly believe that no pResident should illegally attack another country when the regular military is not large enough to handle the job, and ALL Guard units in this country need to be here on our own soil to help people in times of emergencies or crisis situations.... Sending Guard units overseas is NOT "keeping us safe at home" while they're on some godforsaken "mission" they are sent to handle on foreign soil, thanks to a cretin who couldn't fulfill his own military responsibilities and went AWOL when he "served his country."

http://www.orangeamerican.org/

Posted by: Otter at December 17, 2005 06:20 PM

It is awful.

What is interesting about my friend I spoke about above on this thread is that he is ground troops, used for primary invasion and storming strongholds.

If they ship him off in January, float him around on a ship for a month or so, it would be early March. Are we going to invade another country, or go in stronger in Iraq?

Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at December 18, 2005 12:05 AM

It is, after all, just in time for the '06 elections. Probably Iraq so they can start pulling some troops out in time for the campaign and election.

If they keep control of the Senate they can invade another country after.

It is so crucial we take back Congress.

Truth Shall Prevail

Did you see the articles speculating that Israel and Iran could get into it in about March?

There are always things known that we do not know, and planned but not planned well.

Barf
I am not going to watch, as it'll be plastered all over for at least a week anyway, dissected & interpreted & replayed.

from AP:

In an effort to build public support for his Iraq policy, President Bush planned an Oval Office address for Sunday night to discuss the U.S. mission and what lies ahead in 2006.

The speech will be his first from the Oval Office since March 2003 when he announced the invasion of Iraq. In the past two weeks, the president has given four speeches on Iraq.

Here you can hear some audio live from Mall of America, the Reverend Billy Stop Shopping tour - recorded by Bert from Minneapolis. The Reverend isn't really clear but the spirit of the choir comes through loud & strong!!

http://silencedmajority.blogs.com/silenced_majority_portal/

Should be adding photos too. This was also on French tv yesterday.

Seen today:
Someone had pasted over their Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker a sticker that said "Bush Happens"

Posted by: DiAnne at December 18, 2005 01:17 AM

DiAnne,

No, I didn't see that one yet. I have been busy-busy, and am planning on going home for Christmas so will be gone over a week starting about Wednesday.

I hate that I am getting behind on the news, but it can't be helped right now.

My fear is Iran, but it probably wouldn't be a good political move right now before the elections.

But, who knows. As we have all said, in this world down is up, black is white, good is bad.

Don't know what news to believe either.

Do you have a link for that?

Posted by: not my president at December 18, 2005 01:23 AM

It is very unfair that our President can get free air time that is actually used for a "campaign speech" under the guise of "speaking to the American people". Propaganda.

We must meet his claims with facts.

I personally don't know if it is worth one more American life to stay until Iraq is stabilized. As Murtha said, it is looking like another Vietnam, and may not be stabilized, but rather turn into civil war when we leave, no matter when that is.

I am disappointed in my Senator's stand on the war, so shall make it a point to write to him before I leave for my holiday trip.

I love this quote from the gang over at AmericaBlog -- it's just so succinct, yet still so full of implications:

-----

I truly believe it's the far right, not the religious right but the far right, that is going to be our biggest ally here. There's a reason the NRA wants Americans to have the right to bear arms, and it's protect them from the very government that Bush is creating.

BOB BARR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: "What's wrong with it is several-fold. One, it's bad policy for our government to be spying on American citizens through the National Security Agency. Secondly, it's bad to be spying on Americans without court oversight. And thirdly, it's bad to be spying on Americans apparently in violation of federal laws against doing it without court order."

-----

http://www.americablog.org/

being a 2nd-Amendment democrat myself,
Otter

Also stolen, er, I mean borrowed directly from AmericaBlog this very ayem:

-----

Kissinger on Iraq Exit Strategy

"Who else are you going to ask for comments when you're talking about a failed war and attempts at saving face while in a quagmire? Lemme guess... B-52 carpet bomb poor innocent civilians, make sure that fragging goes through the roof since nobody wants to be the last one to die for a failed war and support a corrupt government no matter how bad they are? How can the guy can actually be taken seriously after his complete failure in SE Asia not to mention the tarnished reputation that he left the US with after the war?

"Since people want to talk about the Iraqi-ization of the war, they ought to take a look at what that meant in Vietnam. During that war, despite pumping money into the corrupt South Vietnamese administrations, much of that money only made it into the pockets of the leading politicians and military brass like what we are witnessing in Iraq. It was standard government policy in South Vietnam for the troops to fail in combat because once the US troops left, they knew the money would leave. Take a look at Afghanistan and tell me that Iraq would be any different. They have to know that the US has a long history of ditching responsibilities once the hot moment is over.

"All we ever hear is about the Iraqi troops that are coming into the mix but if this is something that they really wanted, would it honestly be taking so long? Let's put a bit of reality into this picture because the GOP wants to live in a fantasy land with Iraq, just like they did during Vietnam. Kissinger had a failed plan during Vietnam and his new plan for Iraq doesn't sound much different. Why does the MSM give this disgrace the time of day? He's an embarassment and he ought to have been brought up before The Hague for war crimes."

-----

To read the complete Kissinger article in today's Washington Post:

http://tinyurl.com/79bq8

everything old is new again,
Otter

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
-- H.L. Mencken

'nuff said,
Otter

This just in, from this morning's WaPo:

-----

Bush's Fumbles Spur New Talk of Oversight on Hill

After a series of embarrassing disclosures, Congress is reconsidering its relatively lenient oversight of the Bush administration.

Lawmakers have been caught by surprise by several recent reports, including the existence of secret U.S. prisons abroad, the CIA's detention overseas of innocent foreign nationals, and, last week, the discovery that the military has been engaged in domestic spying. After five years in which the GOP-controlled House and Senate undertook few investigations into the administration's activities, the legislative branch has begun to complain about being in the dark.

On Friday, after learning that the National Security Agency was eavesdropping on conversations in the United States, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said that the activity was "wrong and it can't be condoned at all," and that his committee "can undertake oversight on it."

Full story is here: http://tinyurl.com/bb98m

-----

Gee... Congress might finally be doing what it's supposed to have been doing all along, like for example checking and balancing the powers of the Executive branch? Who'd'a thunk it!

It looks as though maybe -- just maybe -- our elected representatives collectively might have finally grown themselves a pair. And they just might even be finally ready to use 'em, too.

Like I said... who'd'a thunk it?

better late than never,
Otter

And from the OtterWorld Classic Quotes Department:

"America's credibility must not be squandered, especially by its leaders."
-- Henry A. Kissinger

mr. pot, meet mr. kettle,
Otter

Oversight?

Isn't that word LOST in their vocabulary?

Oversight, you say?

"We're looking over some four-leaf clovers, that we overlooked before..."

sorry, shrubmonkeys, but four cloven hoofs still don't add up to four-leaf clovers,
Otter

Late night political jokes

"President Bush spoke today about the elections in Iraq. Bush admitted the elections won't be perfect. Well, luckily for him, they're not perfect over here, too. That's how he got elected." --Jay Leno

"You know President Bush and his father have nicknames for each other? President Bush calls his father 41, because he was the 41st president, and his father calls him 43, because that's his approval rating." --Jay Leno

"It was so cold in Washington, Tom DeLay was wearing an extra layer of bribe money." --Jay Leno

"During an interview yesterday, President Bush said 'You can call me anything you want, but don't call me a racist.' Brian Williams responded: 'Whatever you want, Dumbass.'" --Conan O'Brien

"In a recent interview, President Bush said, this is a quote, 'I know a lot of people who are glad that we're in Iraq.' When asked who, the president said the leaders of North Korea and Iran." --Conan O'Brien

"President Bush's approval ratings on the way up. They've gone up 5 points this week. You know what you call that? A Christmas miracle. He's now up to 42% favorable. President Bush said his goal was to get it up to 49% -- like it was on Election Day." --Jay Leno

"The price of heating has gone up so much that people are now asking Santa for coal in their stockings." --Jay Leno

"Heating bills this winter are the highest they've been in five years, but President Bush has a plan to combat rising bills. It's called global warming." --Jay Leno

"The Energy Department's Argon National Lab has determined that Beethoven died from lead poisoning. Now when did he die, 1827? And you thought you had to wait a long time for your lab results. Apparently, Beethoven was one of the first members of an HMO plan." --Jay Leno

"While speaking in North Carolina this week, President Bush said, the economy is strong, and the best is yet to come. Adding: Also, the war's going great, we don't torture people, I'm 11 feet tall, and if you don't believe me, you can ask my unicorn." --Tina Fey

"It's predicted that USC running back Reggie Bush will be the overwhelming vote-getter for the Heisman Trophy award. That's tomorrow, isn't it? It's also the first time the words 'Bush' and 'overwhelming vote-getter' appeared in the same sentence." --Jay Leno

"A rumor is circulating that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will retire next year. Today, Rumsfeld denied it, saying if you've seen my work in Iraq, you know I don't plan that far ahead." --Conan O'Brien

"For those of you who aren't Jewish, Hannukah is the celebration of when a tiny amount of oil lasted for eight days. Boy, sound's like a Republican's worst nightmare, doesn't it? A fuel-efficient device that doesn't use a lot of oil?" --Jay Leno

"First Lady Laura Bush read 'The Grinch Who Stole Christmas' to a group of children. Unfortunately, the first lady was interrupted when Dick Cheney yelled 'Go Grinch.'" --Conan O'Brien

"There was so much snow in Washington, D.C. that Dick Cheney had to take the chains off a detainee and put them on his car." --Jay Leno

[On anti-torture legislation negotiations]: "It works like any negotiation. ... Both sides go in overreaching with their best-case scenario going forward, knowing they're probably not going to get exactly what they want. McCain has opened with no torture, any time, any place. The administration has countered with, we want to do whatever we want, whenever we want, to whomever we want, and we don't want anybody knowing about it. So they're not really that far apart. There's some wiggle room there. And if you know anything about torture, you do not want to spend any time in the wiggle room." --"Daily Show" Senior Human Rights Correspondent Jason Jones

"President Bush is being criticized by Christian groups because his holiday cards don't have the word 'Christmas' in them. In response, President Bush said, 'You try spelling it.'" --Conan O'Brien

"According to CNN, Donald Rumsfeld said the war in Iraq did not go according to plan. And President Bush said, 'What? We had a plan?'" --Jay Leno

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/17/AR2005121701233.html
Pushing the Limits Of Wartime Powers
{Reminder: Bu$hCo started the illegal war in Iraq!!! Claiming unlimited wartime power after the fact by falsely saying we're in a war on unknown terrorists in a country that didn't have anything to do with 9/11 is a dictatorial move. He's so paranoid he can't even name his fictitious enemy, and just uses 'war on terror' in a generic term to scare the paranoid sheeples. Every time I hear that generic phrase 'war on terror,' I think of a cartoon character in a tizzy, frantically looking around, saying "What terrorists? Where are they? Who are they?" But Osama Been Forgotten is still on the loose....}

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/opinion/18sun1.html
December 18, 2005
Editorial
This Call May Be Monitored ...

Oh, and BTW, the 9/11 criminals got around all this high-tech spying by using low-tech undetectable methods - calling cards, disposable cell phones, sending money in small amounts that don't need to be recorded, paying cash for everything so credit card purchases couldn't be tracked, using public internet services, etc. The only real way to catch those kinds of criminals is by old-fashioned detective work (like the FBI agent, Coleen Rowley, who was tracking Moussaui and then couldn't get her supervisors to listen to her when she legally went through the chain of command, so she blew the whistle on them...). And remember, the suicide and roadside bombers in Iraq (and elsewhere) are using low-tech methods to gain their objectives - so much for all the high-tech gadgets used by our military personnel; the low-tech methods are more effective and deadly. There is no reason to use illegal, or high-tech, secret domestic monitoring - they'll only "catch" mostly innocent people who have no idea they're even being monitored - like the college student who was visited by the Feds for taking out an old Chinese communist book being tracked at the university library (WHY was the book being tracked at a university library, of all places??? A true subversive would just go buy the book for cash at a bookstore....), and the student was only going to use the book as a reference for a class project... no illegal activities! A true terrorist would succeed like the 9/11 criminals by using low-tech non-trackable methods to gain their objectives anyway. Sheesh! Georgie is WAY off base with this one, illegally acting outside the law, violating 4th Amendment rights, just as he's WAY off base by ordering and condoning torture.... IMHO: The #1 terrorist in the US is Bu$h himself for ordering all these illegal activities. It's time the sheeples recognized the fact that he's a wannabe dictator and Congress needs to put a leash on his illegal and arbitrary decisions, which have resulted in his breaking many laws and treaties, if Congress can't make up their minds to impeach the SOB because he's broken so many laws and treaties with his illegal war and his illegal spying and his illegal, unethical, and immoral torture. The US desperately needs to go back to the balance of power for the three branches of government as laid down by the Founding Fathers.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051218/ap_on_re_mi_ea/cheney_iraq
VP Cheney Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq
Excerpt:
A majority of Americans have said they disapprove of Bush's handling of the war and the White House has been pushing back hard against calls for troop withdrawals.

"You've heard some prominent voices advocating a sudden withdrawal of our forces from Iraq," Cheney told hundreds of service members gathered to hear a "mystery guest." "Some have suggested that the war is not winnable and a few seem almost eager to conclude the struggle is already over. But they are wrong. The only way to lose this fight is to quit and that is not an option."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While Cheney was surrounded by U.S. forces guarding him with guns at the ready, the Iraqi soldiers had no weapons but held their arms out like they were carrying imaginary guns.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

{How can the US "win" a war that was universally disapproved of (and illegal) when The Cretin ordered the attack based on LIES?!? "Winning" is not an option. Any way one looks at it, the only "winners" are the oil corporations. By any other standards, the US lost the war in Iraq the moment The Cretin ordered the attack.}

Starting today, wear orange everywhere you go. Orange shirts, orange ribbons, orange socks. I don't care.

SPEAK up about these crimes and wear your orange proudly!

2000 Florida Election may have been hacked!

By: Brad Friedman-Investigative Reporter

Sun Dec 18, 2005 3:51 AM ET

Leon County's Ion Sancho Believes Electronic Manipulation of Votes Occurred in Florida's Contested Presidential Race!

Fallout Continues to Rock E-Voting World in Light of Recent Hack Demo of Machines made by Diebold, Inc.

MACON, GA. (http://www.bradblog.com/)- The "hack test" of a mock election using Diebold voting equipment earlier this week in Leon County, Florida -- in which results of the election were completely flipped from 2-6 to 7-1 without even a trail of evidence left behind -- has continued to send shockwaves from Florida to Ohio to California and everywhere else in between.

The Director of Elections in Leon County, Ion Sancho reportedly proclaimed, after the stunning results of last Tuesday's test, that he would never use Diebold voting machines in any election in the county again.

Television news coverage began hitting last night in Tallahassee, the Florida state capital, which also happens to be in Leon County. And in a remarkable admission, Sancho now says he believes that such a hack occurred in the 2000 Presidential Election in Volusia County, Florida.
http://www.wesh.com/news/5542983/detail.html

Sunday, December 18, 2005
Journalists' Credentials Pulled After Publishing War Photo Of Bullet-Ridden Humvee
The U.S. Coalition Forces Land Component Command in Kuwait pulled the credentials of two embedded journalists from the Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Norfolk, Va., after publishing a picture of a bullet-ridden Humvee parked in a Kuwaiti camp.

Reporter Louis Hansen and photographer Hyunsoo Leo Kim lost their embed credentials after the newspaper published a Dec. 10 story on the removal of battle-damaged military vehicles.

The rule they broke was not widely known by military reporters, because it had been changed since the start of the Iraq War.

Major Matthew Mclaughlin of U.S. Central Command, which oversees the embedding program, acknowledged to Editor & Publisher that the Army command in Kuwait had issued a new set of ground rules, including tighter photography control.

Military Reporters and Editors (MRE) Vice President Jim Crawley, a military writer with MediaGeneral, was among those protesting the rule change, pointing to photos on the U.S. Army and Marines official websites that clearly show damaged vehicles.

When asked about the military websites posting of damaged vehicle photos, Mclaughlin said he had not seen them. "I think it is (the Army command's) contention that there is a good deal of difference between the photos," he said.

But that sort of spin isn't appeasing the trade group, which plans to urge the Pentagon to review its embed rules next year.

"Our job is not to be stooges of the administration or the Pentagon and be complicit in their attempt to manage the news," Sig Christenson, MRE president and a military writer with the San Antonio Express-News, told E&P. "We are here to tell our readers about the war."

With the 5th Fleet: Scouring the skeletons of war

By LOUIS HANSEN, The Virginian-Pilot
© December 10, 2005

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT — In a mostly vacant, sand-covered lot, a dozen heavy Marine vehicles were parked in a square formation, unattended in the mid day sun.
The light armored vehicle sat hidden in the middle.
Navy Chief Petty Officer Donald Hatch and Senior Chief Petty Officer Michael Blank walked around the troop carrier. Heat melted four of its eight tires. Flames had scorched parts of the cream-colored body, and rust ate the rest. Shrapnel pocked the thick armor.
Hatch, then Blank, stuck their heads into the open rear door. It was quiet.
Gray ash covered the floorboard. Unspent rounds from a twisted ammunition belt poked above the cinders. There was a flame-licked page from a men’s magazine, and a .50-caliber round exploded into the shape of an orchid.

Here, five Americans died.
Marine policy dictates cleaning the vehicle and shipping it home. Hatch and Blank did not think that was a good idea.
“My God,” Blank said quietly.
At Camp Arifjan in southern Kuwait, machines and men arrive from the war broken. The sailors cannot fix the vehicles or heal the soldiers’ trauma. But they can collect the pieces of battle-scarred hardware, scour the war from them and send them home.
A Williamsburg-based battalion of 450 Navy reservists took over customs work from the Air Force in January. The Air Force had assumed the job from a strained Army force eight months earlier.
The Navy picked reservists from 46 states and from many different jobs: boat and truck drivers, technology experts, and cooks.
A two-month crash course in Norfolk and Williamsburg prepared the sailors to become customs agents. They arrived in Kuwait in August. By the time they leave in April, the members of the Naval Expeditionary Logistics Support Force will have inspected and cleaned 72,000 combat-worn vehicles and will have inspected the luggage for 36,000 departing passengers.
“Anything and everything comes through customs,” said Hatch, 39, from Horseheads, N.Y. He supervises about 100 of the blue-vested customs agents at the base.
Every person, military or civilian, who comes through Arifjan spends time with the agents. Admirals, generals, grunts and guests stop through the airy, two-story white tent filled with about a dozen wooden tables.
Larger units are taken to basketball and tennis courts, where they spread their gear across dusty concrete. There, agents ask the men and women to unpack, set gear out on blankets and muster for a briefing.
They gather them close and read them a list of things they may not carry home. The list takes almost 10 minutes to recite. Sand, soil, rocks and marble are forbidden, because t hey may carry invidious insects.
“Even the ants over here are different,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Bruce Nixon, 42, of Long Island, N.Y. “We saw one ant carrying a Cheerio on his back.”
Outbound travelers may not leave the country carrying alcoholic beverages, canned meat, live ammunition, shell casings, mines, pornography, human remains, loot taken from Iraqi soldiers, switchblades or Cuban cigars.
At the end of the briefing, agents point to an empty box and give the troops five minutes to dump contraband before inspection. Amnesty boxes also dot the compound.
The team expects to collect or seize 12,000 items during their tour. Anything , from Arabic books to shrapnel picked from a soldier’s wound, has become a souvenir.
The sailors try to give the combat Marines and soldiers space and understanding, Hatch said.
Small contraband is taken, but soldiers are usually not punished.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Kennie McFall has confiscated ammunition, knives, pornography, bottles of sand and maps. He also finds empty stares.
“You can see that look on their faces. They just want to go home,” said McFall, a 24-year-old carpenter from Culpeper, Va. “A couple of guys … some of them are just not there.”
Truck convoys as long as five miles rumble into Camp Arifjan from “up north,” as the troops call Iraq.
Flatbeds haul Humvees pierced by grenades, improvised explosive devices, shrapnel and bullets to the desert yards. Scores of combat-scarred Humvees must be washed, drained and inspected.
Foreign workers and service members dressed in heavy waterproof gear hose down the machinery with power washers.
Dried blood, bone, fluid, oil, shrapnel and spent munitions flush down long drains around the large concrete wash yard.
Inspectors yank up upholstery at the end of the wash to catch any live ammunition before the vehicles go back to the states.
Most equipment will sail from Kuwait to New Jersey or Charleston, S.C. From there, the vehicles and machinery will be placed on trains and hauled back to military bases across the country.
Sailors stare at the Humvees, tanks and light armored vehicles and try to piece together their combat stories.
Some are so blown apart “to a point that just makes you wonder,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Troy Saunders, 41, of Chesapeake. “All of us do.”
Saunders escorts the convoys from camp south to the Kuwait Naval Base. Soldiers have shared their war stories, and they all laughed. It doesn’t make sense, Saunders said.
“You’re laughing,” he said, “but it’s that laughter of relief.”
The scorched light armored vehicle in the middle of the square remained a question.
A Marine sergeant inspecting nearby tanks approached Hatch and Blank. They walked around the burnt, rusted shell again. The men spoke.
Blank, a serious 49-year-old from Pennsylvania, nodded in agreement with the sergeant. No one wanted to send that thing home. The charnel house should stay in the desert.
Their commanding officers might later disagree.

Was Wal-Mart wounded in the war on Christmas?

Church groups confront Wal-Mart for dropping Christmas message

Link: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/13431831.htm.

And for a little levity in the struggle to save Christmas by Tom Tomorrow:

http://www.workingforchange.com/comic.cfm?itemid=20059.

Not sure what to make of this new war - I'll get back to you after the holidays.

Frank Rich: “It's Reporters Who Didn't Have Top-Level Access To The Likes Of Mr. Bush And Mr. Cheney Who Have Gotten The Iraq Story Right”…
New York TImes | Frank Rich | Posted December 4, 2005 09:30 AM

READ MORE: George W. Bush, Bob Woodward, Patrick Fitzgerald, Dick Cheney, Iraq, Halliburton, Washington Post
When "all of the facts come out in this case," Bob Woodward told Terry Gross on NPR in July, "it's going to be laughable because the consequences are not that great."

Who's laughing now?

Why Mr. Woodward took more than two years to tell his editor that he had his own personal Deep Throat in the Wilson affair is a mystery best tackled by combatants in the Washington Post newsroom. (Been there, done that here at The Times.) Mr. Woodward says he wanted to avoid a subpoena, but he first learned that Joseph Wilson's wife was in the C.I.A. in mid-June 2003, more than six months before Patrick Fitzgerald or subpoenas entered the picture. Never mind. Far more disturbing is Mr. Woodward's utter failure to recognize the import of the story that fell into his lap so long ago.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2005/12/04/frank-rich-its-repor_n_11658.html

Cheney Visits Iraq; Attacks Kill 19
AP - 1 hour, 1 minute ago
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A string of attacks killed 19 people, including two relatives of a senior Kurdish official, and Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit Sunday in which he suggested that Iraq's recent elections were a major step toward withdrawing U.S. troops. Cheney's visit, under heavy security, was so secret that even Iraq's prime minister said he was surprised when he showed up for what he believed was a meeting with the U.S. ambassador only to see Cheney waiting to greet him.
http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/iraq

Cheney finally sees a war-zone. He couldn't defer it anylonger.

Anyone else think this is a sudden ploy towards November elections?

Cheney visits Iraq amid calls for US pullout
By Gideon Long
30 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney visited Iraq on Sunday for the first time since the 2003 invasion, as hardline leaders from both sides of the country's sectarian divide renewed calls for American troops to go home.

Cheney, a chief architect of the war to oust Saddam Hussein, met Iraq's prime minister and president during his 8-hour visit, and hailed last Thursday's election as "tremendous."

But Saleh al-Mutlak, a Sunni Arab nationalist who stood in the parliamentary election and has spoken up for insurgent views, said Americans were not welcome in Iraq and should leave.

His comments echoed those of outspoken Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who accused the Americans on Saturday of peddling their own agenda and disregarding Iraqis.

A lull in violence around the largely peaceful vote was shattered by a bomb in a busy Baghdad market on Sunday which killed five people and injured at least seven. It exploded close to a Shi'ite mosque, although it was unclear if that was the target.

A suicide bomber killed one police officer in an attack in Baghdad and another blew himself up near the capital when his explosive belt detonated prematurely.

Police in the northern city of Kirkuk said two relatives of a local Kurdish political leader were shot dead on Saturday. In Baghdad, police said a member of the Badr Brigades, a militia loyal to Iraq's biggest Shi'ite party, was killed, also on Saturday.

While neither Sadr nor Mutlak will head the next government, both are influential within their respective communities, and their dissent highlights the size of the task facing the next administration, charged with keeping Iraq's rival sects and ethnic groups in check while building a stable democracy.

Mutlak, a wealthy businessman and head of a secular Sunni coalition, said U.S. President George W. Bush was deluding himself if he believed the election was truly democratic.

He also said some of his candidates had been killed in the largely Shi'ite south of Iraq on election day. It was the first report of candidates being killed and could not be confirmed.

"Mr President, do not believe that a real democratic process took place in Iraq," he told a news conference, addressing Bush, who was due to make a speech on Iraq from the Oval Office later. "If anyone tells you that, they are wrong."

QUITTING IS NOT AN OPTION

The United States hopes the election, widely hailed as a success, will allow it to start pulling troops out of Iraq in significant numbers next year.

Faced with weak approval ratings, over 2,100 U.S. war dead and widespread anxiety about his Iraq policy, Bush was expected to stress the success of the poll in his speech.

Cheney, in Iraq for the first time in 14 years, visited the Taji military base just north of Baghdad and also addressed a rally of U.S. troops, telling them "the only way to lose this fight is to quit, and that is not an option."
http://tinyurl.com/by4yc

sparrow:

Luvyababe, but --

-- The "Orange American" link you gave us earlier didn't work. So we're not sure just what you're talking about with your "wear orange" exhortation.

-- None of your references to the Virginian Pilot article you were so adamant amount actually included a link to the story, so we can't follow up on your posts about it.

---

after you subtract the first amendment and subtract the fourth amendment, then what you've left for the people is the second amendment,
Otter

Sloppy Seconds?

Thirsty Firsties?

chimpeach 'em all,
Otter

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Sunday will give his first speech from the Oval Office since March 2003, when he first announced the war in Iraq, the White House said Friday.

In what a senior administration official called "symmetry," Sunday's speech will also focus on Iraq.

"That was a key moment, and now, three elections later, we're at another key moment," the official said.

The speech will begin at 9 p.m. ET and is scheduled to last about 20 minutes.

Bush will cap four recent speeches he has delivered on Iraq as part of the White House effort to bolster support for the war effort, a senior official said.

The speech comes just days after millions of Iraqis cast ballots in Thursday's election for a four-year parliament -- an endeavor that, so far, has been hailed as a success by Iraqis, Americans and international observers.

Bush told PBS' "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" that he was pleased by the news of high Sunni turnout in the election "because part of our strategy is to encourage a political process that will marginalize those who want to use violence to achieve ends."

The speech also comes after a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released this week that indicated most Americans don't believe Bush has a plan that will achieve victory in Iraq.

Fifty-eight percent of those polled said Bush doesn't have a clear plan on Iraq, compared to 38 percent who said Bush does have a plan for victory.

On March 19, 2003, Bush announced from the Oval Office that the war in Iraq had begun and he predicted it would be "a broad and concerted campaign."

"We come to Iraq with respect for its citizens, for their great civilization and for the religious faiths they practice. We have no ambition in Iraq, except to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people," Bush said in the 2003 speech.

Asking for action:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/12/17/233929/95

The New York Times: This Call May Be Monitored ...
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121805Z.shtml
After 9/11, says The New York Times, Americans expected some reasonable and carefully measured trade-offs between security and civil liberties. They trusted their elected leaders to follow long-established democratic and legal principles and to make any changes in the light of day. But President Bush had other ideas. He secretly and recklessly expanded the government's powers in dangerous and unnecessary ways that eroded civil liberties and may also have violated the law.

FOCUS | Pentagon Knew Contractor Was Planting News Stories
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121805Y.shtml
US military officials in Iraq were fully aware that a Pentagon contractor regularly paid Iraqi newspapers to publish positive stories about the war, and made it clear that none of the stories should be traced to the United States, according to several current and former employees of Lincoln Group, the Washington-based contractor.

Posted by: Otter at December 18, 2005 11:44 AM
I lost the link

Otter:

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=96667&ran=61927

My hometown paper. They have been following the 5th Fleet for quite some time. If you type in "5th Fleet" to the search bar at the Pilotonline.com site, you can pull several of them up.

Here's the article about the yanked credentials:

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=96943&ran=140857

The lead story in the Virginian-Pilot today is about a recently returned National Guardsman who has PTSD. It's a sobering story and puts a face on the condition. One out of every 25 soldiers who had returned from Iraq/Afghanistan has been diagnosed with PTSD. That doesn't count all those who haven't been diagnosed yet. And our local area has the fourth-largest concentration of vets returning from Iraq/Afghanistan. These soliders are broken inside even if they are intact on the outside.