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Hell Is Now
Hell in Iraq just became one giant step closer to Hell in America.
The sacred Askari Mosque was destroyed by an explosion today.
As a result, there will be Hell to pay.
Read Mark from Ireland's translations:
“My brothers this is no coincidence consider that in the space of a few days we have:
1. The Danish cartoons.
2. More photos of the evil the crusaders do in and are still doing in Abu Ghraib.
3. We have the British army assaulting Muslim children.
4. We have an “incident” at the jail. [I don’t know what incident this was but everyone else seemed to and this comment got lots of agreement. - mfi ]
5. Our brother Shiite’s mosques in Pakistan have been bombed just yesterday.
6. Just yesterday the massacre of Shiites and now;
7. This most heinous act of desecration.
No reasonable person can believe that any of these acts are random, they were all planned and co-ordinated by the Americans and the Danes and the English to plunge us to war so they can continue to rape our land.”
Now read this personal diary from Riverbend's blog:
"We woke up this morning to news that men wearing Iraqi security uniforms walked in and detonated explosives, damaging the mosque almost beyond repair. It’s heart-breaking and terrifying. There has been gunfire all over Baghdad since morning. The streets near our neighborhood were eerily empty and calm but there was a tension that had us all sitting on edge. We heard about problems in areas like Baladiyat where there was some rioting and vandalism, etc. and several mosques in Baghdad were attacked. I think what has everyone most disturbed is the fact that the reaction was so swift, like it was just waiting to happen.
All morning we’ve been hearing/watching both Shia and Sunni religious figures speak out against the explosions and emphasise that this is what is wanted by the enemies of Iraq- this is what they would like to achieve- divide and conquer. Extreme Shia are blaming extreme Sunnis and Iraq seems to be falling apart at the seams under foreign occupiers and local fanatics.
No one went to work today as the streets were mostly closed. The situation isn’t good at all. I don’t think I remember things being this tense- everyone is just watching and waiting quietly. There’s so much talk of civil war and yet, with the people I know- Sunnis and Shia alike- I can hardly believe it is a possibility. Educated, sophisticated Iraqis are horrified with the idea of turning against each other, and even not-so-educated Iraqis seem very aware that this is a small part of a bigger, more ominous plan…
Several mosques have been taken over by the Mahdi militia and the Badir people seem to be everywhere. Tomorrow no one is going to work or college or anywhere.
People are scared and watchful. We can only pray."
And now read the facts from Juan Cole:
Shiites came out in the thousands all over the Shiite south on Wednesday to protest. Quoting Sunni Arab spokesmen, the wire services are saying 75 Sunni mosques have been attacked, with two burned to the ground and 3 Sunni clergymen assassinated, with 6 Sunni Arabs dead altoghether in the violence.
In the southern city of Kut, AP says, 3,000 protesters came out to rally against the United States and Israel.
AFP says that 10,000 people in East Baghdad converged on the office of Muqtada al-Sadr, chanting against "Wahhabis" and America.
AP also describes some of the other violence:
' Large protests erupted in Shiite parts of Baghdad and in cities throughout the Shiite heartland to the south. In Basra, Shiite militants traded rifle and rocket-propelled grenade fire with guards at the office of the Iraqi Islamic Party. Smoke billowed from the building.
Shiite protesters later set fire to a Sunni shrine containing the seventh century tomb of Talha bin Obeid-Allah, companion of the Prophet Muhammad, on the outskirts of the southern city. Police found 11 bodies of Sunni Muslims, most of them shot in the head, in two neighborhoods of Basra, police Capt. Mushtaq Kadhim said. Two of the dead were Egyptians, Kadhim said.
Protesters in Najaf, Kut and Baghdad's Shiite slum of Sadr City also marched through the streets by the hundreds and thousands, many shouting anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans and burning those nations' flags.'
The hardline Shiite Mahdi Army has come out of Sadr City and is all over Baghdad. They are clashing with Sunnis in Basra.
Sunni leader Tariq al- Hashimi threatened reprisals for reprisal killings.
Abdul Aziz al-Hakim blamed the US for holding back the Badr Corps.
Grand Ayatollah Sistani called for nonviolent street protests that he must know won't be nonviolent.
Iran is blaming Bush and the Israelis, which is ridiculous but already widely believed in Iraq and Iran.
Postscript:
A reader writes in:
' An hour ago [my Iraqi Shiite fried] received a call from Najaf. You know the Najaf boys are losing their heads over what happened.
No wonder. 80 years or so ago their relatives bought some land up there [at Samarra] and established Shia communities around the mosque and in Samarra. So the boys had been working there living there from time to time and some really settled down for good. A month or two ago lots of Shia were expelled, thrown out of town or scared off.
And now this.
They told B. how the demolition was carried out. You see, it was nothing like a hipshot sneaking up bombing by night. It was meticulous, skilful piece of work, taking a lot of time, the guards knowing all about what was going on. At least that´s what they told him today.
So now they all gather downtown Nejef rallying, preparing a gruesome revenge.
Sistani tries hard to stop them, they told him, but the boys won´t listen. They´re heading for Samarra. '
And now read the latest media update from Bloomberg 40 minutes ago:
Iraq Insurgents Trying `Everything' to Spark War, Minister Says
Feb. 23 -- Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said insurgents are trying ``everything'' to foment civil war as reprisal attacks followed yesterday's bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, sacred to Shiite Muslims.
``Anti-democratic forces have tried everything to push the country into a civil war and sectarian violence,'' Zebari said today in a phone interview from Baghdad, blaming the attack on extremists and supporters of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein. ``This is the biggest challenge we as Iraqis face, and efforts are under way to prevent it.''
After the Samarra blast destroyed the shrine's golden dome, about 30 Sunni Muslim mosques were attacked, and at least three Mullahs, or religious leaders, were killed, Zebari said. Eighty bullet-ridden corpses have been taken to a Baghdad morgue since yesterday afternoon, Agence France-Presse reported.
At an extraordinary meeting of the Iraqi cabinet yesterday, ministers decided to increase security surrounding mosques and other places of worships, a curfew was placed on Baghdad and Salahaddin province, where Samarra lies, and meetings were called for Iraq's political and religious leaders, Zebari said.
If you're not scared then you're not getting the full picture of what exactly has happened in Iraq over the last 24 hours.
We are not spreading democracy instead, all Hell has broken loose and we're about to get burned from the fire.
Well done piece, Suz.
Of course, sleep will now be a thing of the past, but well done.
All while most Americans went about their daily business without batting an eye.
Where in the Good Book does it say that the end times will be prematurely brought on, even encouraged, by an idiot and masses of the blindly obedient?
Speaking of Hell NOW, Don't Forget Nigeria...
ONITSHA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Christian youths burned the corpses of Muslims on Thursday on the streets of Onitsha in southeastern Nigeria, the city worst hit by religious riots that have killed at least 138 people across the country in five days.
Christian mobs, seeking revenge for the killings of Christians in the north, attacked Muslims with cutlasses, destroyed their houses and torched mosques in two days of violence in Onitsha, where at least 85 people have died.
"We are very happy that this thing is happening so that the north will learn their lesson," said Anthony Umai, a motorcycle taxi rider, standing close to where Christian youths had piled up the corpses of 10 Muslims and were burning them.
http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=11316380&src=rss/topNews
All in the name of religions who claim PEACE as their mantra.
Hey Monkey:
I've got one for you. Why is it that everytime I post of an evening (local time), a new thread appears? (E.g., Posted by: chuck at February 23, 2006 10:43 AM.)
Chuck in Doha
Peace. Now.
Check out http://www.peacemajority.org/index.html for peace info, actions, & events.
Posted by: chuck at February 23, 2006 11:06 AM
It's obviously a vast left wing conspiracy.
Post Haste.
Roger that, Monkey. It all started with fluoridation. Purity of essence and all that.
Chuck in Doha
Posted by: Casey Morris at February 23, 2006 10:35 AM
I haven't slept so why should you? ;)
Also, on topic (sort of), I thought this was a decent article (Fred Kaplan from Slate):
http://www.slate.com/id/2136720/
I especially like this paragraph:
"The thing is, Iranian leaders really do pay attention to what American officials say. Kenneth Pollack tells an instructive story in his book, The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America. Shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Bush officials started meeting with Iranian officials. The two countries shared an interest in overthrowing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and they took cooperative steps toward that common goal; two decades of mutual hostility began to melt away. Then, in January 2002, President Bush delivered his State of the Union Address—linking Iran with Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil"—and the Iranians instantly ended all talks. More than that, the Western-leaning factions within the Iranian regime were delegitimized and crushed."
Chuck in Doha
"[T]he only solution to this is to hand over everything to the Iraqis as fast as humanly possible. Because we just can't control these crazy people."
-- Fox anchor Bill O'Reilly, 2/21/06
VERSUS
"These pinheads running around going, 'Get out of Iraq now,' don't know what they're talking about. These are the same people before Hitler invaded in World War II that were saying, 'Ah, he's not such a bad guy.' They don't get it."
-- Bill O'Reilly, 11/30/05
Think Progress has quite a bit of good info about Iraq...
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp?c=klLWJcP7H&b=917053
Madame:
For what it's worth the whole thing seems to me to be a big old, tragic mess. I hate to say it but I think there are a lot of nuances that have to be considered. The one thing I know is that I don't trust the folks that got us into this mess to get us out. They are too invested in it politically and emotionally to see the forest (shades of MacBeth there, come to think on it). They are more interested in coming out of this smelling like a rose (at least for an election cycle or two) than doing the right thing be the people of the United States or the Middle East.
Chuck in Doha
Oops -- "be the people ... " = "by the people .. " in my last post (which for some reason don't post for several minutes or longer)
Chuck in Doha
Posted by: chuck at February 23, 2006 11:54 AM
"Be the ball, Danny." - Chevy Chase, Caddyshack
Posted by: madame defarge at February 23, 2006 11:40 AM
Good quotes!
Posted by: chuck at February 23, 2006 11:53 AM
I agree!
Great diary here.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/2/23/2152/43299
Debt, lower wages clip net worth growth
A Federal Reserve survey finds slowest increase in Americans' net worth in over a decade.
By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer
February 23, 2006: 12:18 PM EST
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – Americans' net worth grew between 2001 and 2004, but not nearly as strongly as it did between 1998 and 2001, according to the Federal Reserve's triennial Survey of Consumer Finances released Thursday.
The big reason: while household assets increased, thanks largely to increased home ownership and higher housing prices, debts – especially home debt -- rose considerably more.
Income Another reason: A decline in wages. While the median income rose 1.6 percent to $43,200 after adjusting for inflation, median wages fell 6.2 percent. Wages make up the largest part of family income. Investment income also fell.
Despite lower interest rates between 2001 and 2004, families spent more of their incomes paying off their debt.
more... http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/23/pf/consumer_fedsurvey/index.htm?cnn=yes
George W. Bush.... doing for America what he's done for every other business venture he's ever touched.
From http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds29533.html :
----------------------
Michael Stipe, Rufus Wainwright and others are planning a concert demanding US troops leave Iraq.
The Bring 'Em Home Now! event will be held at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom on March 20 –- the third anniversary of the invasion.
Other acts lined up include Fischerspooner and Peaches. Anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan will give a speech before touring 15 US cities along with anti-war authors.
Casey Spooner of Fischerspooner said: "It is impossible not react to the current state of affairs through personal action and artistic production."
Concert proceeds will go to Veterans For Peace and Iraq Veterans Against The War.
----------------------
When the day is long and the night,
The night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life,
Well, hang on
Don't let yourself go,
Cause everybody cries and
Everybody hurts sometimes
Sometimes everything is wrong,
Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone,
Hold on, hold on
If you feel like letting go, hold on
When you think you've had too much of this life,
Well, hang on
'Cause everybody hurts
Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts
Don't throw your hand
Oh, no, don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone, no,
No, no, you are not alone
If you're on your own in this life,
The days and nights are long,
When you think you've had too much of this life to
Hang on
Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries, and
Everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes
So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts
You are not alone
----------------------
these songs of freedom cause all we ever have,
Otter
Clean up on aisle 5!
I tried to leave an inconspicous comment at the end of the previous thread and there were strange problems. Well, I ended up triple posting - sorry!
Great post, Suz. I'm reminded of that scene early on in F 9/11 showing a protester at Bush's inauguration. The man was holding up a big sign that said: Lord help us.
There is a federal rule on the books called CFIUS requiring the Treasury Secretary Snowe and the AG requiring mandatory investigation within 45 days, when foreign corporations take over US operations. It is also listed under the Defense Product Act for which I cannot find any information about. Apparently there are no laws this administration feels they have to comply with.
There is a federal rule on the books called CFIUS requiring the Treasury Secretary Snowe and the AG requiring mandatory investigation within 45 days, when foreign corporations take over US operations. It is also listed under the Defense Product Act for which I cannot find any information about. Apparently there are no laws this administration feels they have to comply with.
Nice pickup Ira, worth repeating.
Ira... is this what yer lookin for?
Defense Production Act: The Government's Old but Powerful Procurement Tool
October 10, 2005
(This article was first published in the April 1, 2002, edition of Legal Times.)
Back to Industry Newsletters
By Stuart B. Nibley
Thelen Reid & Priest LLP
Introduction
The events of September 2001 have altered the federal procurement landscape dramatically, certainly for the foreseeable future and possibly beyond. In response to those events and the threats they present to national security, President Bush and Department of Defense officials rapidly issued a number of Executive Orders, Presidential Proclamations and Defense Department (DOD) Policy Memoranda. The documents were designed to free federal procurement contracting officers from a host of statutory and regulatory constraints. Collectively, these documents declared that the government's response to the terrorist events and continuing threats met the statutory and regulatory definitions that permit the Secretary of Defense and the heads of the military agencies to waive onerous and time-consuming requirements that are mandatory in times of peace. Contracting officers have been encouraged by their superiors to limit the number of contractor proposals they consider in connection with particular procurements, to consider only a single source if necessary, to authorize or prohibit disclosure of specific procurement-related information, and even to award and change contracts using verbal directions.
In many cases, the procurement tools the government is using to respond to the national state of emergency and the ways it is using the tools are new.
However, at least one procurement tool the government is using vigorously to accelerate its response to the terrorist threats has been in the government's toolbox since 1950: the seldom-used Defense Production Act
more... http://www.constructionweblinks.com/Resources/Industry_Reports__Newsletters/Oct_10_2005/defe.html
I love REM. I'm having a vote for Best Political Song at my little ol' blog. There are eight nominees & they represent a great range in music and songwriting styles. Come over and check it out:
http://tinyurl.com/ofvrv = Vote for Best Political Song
cali, the post I made about the Ney race yesterday came from a Washington Post story. The crux of the story is that Emanuel is having a difficult time recruiting topped tiered candidates to run against Ney and that they expect to lose to Ney again unless he is taken off the floor of Congress in handcuffs(that was the writer's conclusion which seems amazing). I believe Congressman Trafican actually held onto his seat from jail. The reason I was attractted to that story is its mentioning that Ney has broad support from business and labor. My curiosity is why labor continues to support folks like Ney and Specter and how labor often makes the difference in close elections like Specter's last. Those were not my opinions cali.
cali:
Any supposed contest for "Best Political Song" that doesn't include Country Joe & The Fish's classic "Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin-To-Die-Rag" [cf http://www.countryjoe.com/rag.htm for you younger and/or clue-impaired folks out there] really ain't worth even clicking on, much less voting in.
just my over-the-hill $.02,
Otter
Rimshot for Otter!
(jello shots for monkey)
This is such an important blog post--thanks, Suz. Last night we had a vigil at the SCOTUS, in support of a return to the Constitution, and the speeches and stories inevitably drifted to the Iraq War, and the many lies and crimes of this administration.
We read from Jefferson, Eleanor ROosevelt, Samuel Adams, and Abraham Lincoln, as well as the 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights. I cannot tell you how BIZARRE it is to read those words at the Supreme Court, and to realize how foreign they sound. Will we ever be able to embrace those principles again?
Today, right now, I am at the Campaign for America's Future panel on the future of progressive politics. Jeff Faux (http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/economist#faux) and Gene Sperling (http://www.cfr.org/bios/9151/gene_b_sperling.html) will be speaking, so there will be a decided economic slant to the discussion. I will report here and at Kos as interesting notions come up. But I am all too aware of official Washington's ability to narrowcast the issues, and the pictures above are very much on my mind.
U.S. Christians create umbrella organization to lobby for Israel
By Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz Correspondent
WASHINGTON - A new group in the United States, Christians United for Israel, will serve as an umbrella organization for Christian congregations that support Israel, and will lobby for Israel.
Some 400 Christian community leaders met in San Antonio, Texas, two weeks ago to establish the group, which Christians United officials said represents about 30 million Americans.
The organization's main goal is to create a rapid-response network "targeted to reach every senator and congressman" in the United States. It is led by evangelical leaders Dr. John C. Hagee and George Morrison; fundamentalist Baptist minister Jerry Falwell; and Gary Bauer, president of the American Values organization aimed at protecting marriage, family and faith.
more ... http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/686241.html
Lovely. Jussssst lovely.
Pardon me, but...
While the subject is an undoubtedly important one, all that this particular thread header had to offer was quotes and links from a number of other blogs and newsfeeds -- nothing original, no thoughts or concepts unique to the DCP, nothing that many or most of us wouldn't have already heard about or seen references to elsewhere.
So please explain to me how and/or why this sort of thing constitutes "such an important blog post". I'm sorry, maybe I missed a memo regarding what constitutes actual content or something... but for quite some time now I've been reading a higher and higher percentage of DCPosts that do nothing but regurgitate outside news stories and/or only contain blogpimping to outside links, and I'm finding that to be increasingly distasteful.
just my own personal and disappointed but probably irrelevant in the long run $.02,
Otter
Otter,
Feel free to write something yourself.
My own experience of the moment is sitting in a session, listening to Gene Sperling talking about shared growth--the "rising tide lifts all yachts" notions of the Clinton era. I am trying to think about whether or not I am buying this idea while our very democracy is under attack. I am thinking about whether or not a growing middle class is even a possibility while the wealthy consolidate money and power and the middle is hollowed out.
What do you think?
http://wcco.com/realitycheck
I got quoted on WCCO's Reality Check last night. Almost in context, even.
To the right of the screen (big pix of Saddam Hussein), click on Play for an excerpt from last night's Reality Check. If you're on dial-up, let it play through with all the jerkiness the first time until it's done... then click on Play again, and it will play through without the jerkiness. I suspect if you're on a high speed connection it will work just fine the first time through when you click Play. If you want to see last week's partial debunking of the first war propaganda commercial (which prompted my first email to Kessler - he replied to that, then I replied to his reply, which is where he took my quote from - my third email to Kessler deconstructed the script of the second war propaganda commercial, and that was ignored, of course), click on the section next to the Reality Check logo on the left of the screen (last week's segment now has a commercial before the Reality Check segment plays).
monkey these guys don't give a darn about Israel. They are just itching for Armageden and the rapture where Jews are anhiliated. No Jews or Israelis I know are taken in by this stupidity that Tom DeLay pushes.
karen:
As you know, I have often done and will continue to "write something myself."
That has no bearing on the point I was trying to bring to the surface, though. But thanks for responding.
thoughts are things and words are tools,
Otter
Otter--I am hoping you will weigh in on what I am sharing here--this is a challenging talk to listen to--Sperling is talking about being comfortable in a think tank, and Washington's self interests and tendency to operate as if the rest of the country is also trying to get their kids into private schools...
Sperling talking about the progressive tax system now. We can't judge the source of wealth--there will be inequities. But we assure that those who are fortunate must share.
What should be disturbing to us, is that we now have a system of winner-take-all. Under this system, those who are lucky enough to work for a successful company can make out like bandits and pay 15% and pass their winnings along to their descendents without sharing. Someone working for an unsuccessful company will pay 25% of their much smaller income.
The Boston Globe reports that the Administration is once again puffing the numbers of elderly who have signed up for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit as 25 million while Medicare states the actual number is only 5 million.
Jeff Fauz about to talk about the global elite. His book is The Global Class War: How America's Bipartisan ELite Lost Our Future--and What It Takes to Win.
The social contracts equalize the balance of power between political power and economic power. We have traded off the interests of American workers with the interests of the global elite.
Faux talking about the outsourcing, and describing NAFTA as the template for all of the outsourcing. Sperling writing fast...
is this just gossip reported on Capital Hill Blue?
Secret Service agents say Cheney was drunk when he shot lawyer
By DOUG THOMPSON
Feb 22, 2006, 07:35
snip
"Secret Service agents guarding Vice President Dick Cheney when he shot Texas lawyer Harry Whittington on a hunting outing two weeks ago say Cheney was "clearly inebriated" at the time of the shooting.
Agents observed several members of the hunting party, including the Vice President, consuming alcohol before and during the hunting expedition, the report notes, and Cheney exhibited "visible signs" of impairment, including slurred speech and erratic actions.."
Otter
I disagree.
I have long maintained that many Americans do not pay enough attention to world news and put the pieces together with what is happening in American policy.
Synthesizing is not regurgitating.
I valued this blog entry very much and love it when DCP does something like this.
These are critical times. We can use humor, spirit, news and action - we don't have to be completely focussed all the time. We need to regroup, reanalyze, resynthesize and keep deciding what to focus on & how. Also, there is alot of room for individuality, not groupthink.
Ira,
Capitol Hill Blue is not a reliable source...
Faux just took down the Democratic Party for having no health care plan. Much applause...
There are two references on here to Christians doing things that make the world situation worse - fighting with Muslims in Nigeria, propping up Israel in particular in such a way as to inflame problems already existing. & first thing Bush did after 9/11 was refer to our "Crusade."
I don't know if there will be questions here, but does anyone have any?
Posted by: nmp at February 23, 2006 03:17 PM
Bingo nmp, that's why I posted both of em.
If I hadn't, would you have known?
Faux just addressed the issue of campaign financing and spending. He recommends a constitutional amendment to address the spending.
"I think it's time for us to get out from the shadow of Ronald Reagan" Jeff Faux
Sperling saying he wonders about whether or not we can effect the market effectively in a way that does not do more harm than good.
He also pounded the podium re. the Clinton health care plan--he described it as universal health care.
karen:
I wouldn't know anything about "being comfortable in a think tank," and I can't really think of anyone I know that does either. It is a topic that is 99.9 percent irrelevant to virtually everyone else in the country except those who either participate in or interact with people in think tanks. Frankly, my dear, we don't give a damn whether they're comfortable in there or not.
More of us give a damn about the private-versus-public schools issue, of course. But most of us don't have the financial wherewithal for that even to be a question, much less a choice. And for every year that goes by under the current affirmative-action-for-the-top-one-percent government mentality, less and less of us can even consider private school -- or any other kind of beyond-basics education -- as an option.
Do the common people out here in flyover country recognize, disparage, and deeply distrust both the conservatives and the non-conservatives who are so steeped in inside-the-beltway thinking that they can no more comprehend what it feels like to be Joe and Jane Voter than they can comprehend what it feels like to live on Mars?
Yeah. We do. You can bet our tiny little last remaining untaxed unspent unbankrupted dollars we do. I mean, *we* can bet our tiny litle last remaining dollars on it. We have to. And we have to bet them every day. We don't have any other choice. They're all we have left.
The Shrubyites' patently-fake non-populist "populism" is only a tiny degree removed from the professional-Democrats' bogus noblesse-oblige popularism. It's all smoke and mirrors either way, and everybody out here already knows that.
As far as Joe and Jane are concerned, it's crap. It's all crap. And our crap is only marginally better than their crap -- if that. People out here in the real world don't trust professional Democrats any more than they trust professional Republicans, which is a mighty low standard to live down to in the first place.
I'm lucky in some ways, in that I'm a relatively well-connected and well-educated, well-informed guy. But I'm also a guy who's spent the last couple of years living in what most people would consider a blue-collar industrial backwater. Well, guess what? A surprisingly high percentage of the locals here *do* read above a third-grade level, they *do* pay attention to what's happening beyond the end of their own noses, and they *do* know a lot more than I once would have assumed about what's going on in Washington and New York and Seattle and San Francisco.
But you know what? They also believe that far and away the largest part of any and all information and opinion they receive from all those think tanks and those pundits and those high-paid op-ed writers out there is basically worthless bullcrap. They figure that all the blahblahblah has nothing to do with what they know and think and feel out here on the ground, and that the people spouting it couldn't possibly care less about them.
That's what they think, that's what they feel, and that's what they believe. That's what they tell me, every day. And you know what? I've pretty much run out of ways to keep trying to convince them that they're provincial and shortsighted and unaware and wrong about those things. Why?
Because, by now, I don't think that they are anymore.
so that's me weighing in on this,
Otter
Karen you might ask Mr. Sperling if he is familiar with the CFIUS and Defense Product Act and explain it and why the Admisitration believes that they are exempt from it as reported on Rush this morning.
Ira, Please give more info--no time to listen and research!
Otter,
Yeah I hear you. I am learning here, but also well aware of the realities of people's lives across this country. Is this debate angels dancing on the head of a pin?
Sperling going into the language issues now...
I have never been interested in economic issues but I have recently come to understand how up-close-and-personal all this is. If it was simple, we would all be on the same side, right?
Sperling and Faux are clearly characterizing each other's perspectives, and I feel much more aligned with Faux than Sperling. But maybe that is because Faux's arguments are simpler. Sperling seems to be reflecting the multi-layered complex perspectives of the mobile economy folks. Faux sees it all through the social concerns.
I sit here wondering if any of it is critical to the impending loss of democracy and the health of the planet.
Faux just hit the nail on the head--he said the issue is power, and official Washington avoids overt discussion of the power issues. Debates need to be held on the conflation of economic and political power. But nowadays, those who don't have the power are embarrassed about it, and those who have it find no advantage in discussing it.
The tight-lipped folks are the problem.
its the rules requiring a 45 day cooling off period before companies can take over US operations specifically related to port security.
When are the Fortune 500 companies going to pound on Congress's doors and demand relief regarding healthcare. Corporate healthcare costs are rising 15% annually and eating into jobs and corporate growth.Healthcare relief is good for business, good for the Chamber crowd and good for the US economy. Its a conservative issue that Wallstreet would love why can't we as Progressives get that across to voters and the conservative media like the Wallstreet Journal Karen?
Faux: globalization has changed the "we". The global elite have disconnected people from power.
Sperling: we should be and are not talking about:
a tax system that does not reward saving, especially for those at the lower end of the economy. Let's have a universal 401K, for all families.
Universal after-school care is critical to parents staying in the work system.
Universal health care.
Stopping the trade agreements will not help any of this.
Faux adds:
Labor reform is critical
Let's stop negotiating the trade agreements that don't have a social program attached.
Questioner mentioning education:
trade is not the only growth. There are other sources of growth. Social growth matters.
Commenter saying that it is hard to decide between these two perspectives (Faux and Sperling)--they are both doing a good job.
Schumer and Gramm Bill being discussed--China trade assistance.
Sperling on trade with China: they are tough negotiators. They see that the Bush Admin. was not tough on them until Kerry and Edwards brought it up.
(Ira; I am trying to ask your question above)
Faux--free trade was sold as an elixir for itself. But now we know it's not enough.
Sperling pointing out that progressives need to think seven steps down the road. Although I have no idea how anyone sees that far...
I am thinking about whether or not a growing middle class is even a possibility while the wealthy consolidate money and power and the middle is hollowed out.
What do you think?
Posted by: karen at February 23, 2006 02:48 PM
Yes. It will just take time...and some long-term planning and effort.
Re: Healthcare. I maintain this should be offered through labor unions vice through employers. Who has the real interests of the workers at heart? How else can the younger generation maintain their coverage through the 8-10 jobs they are expected to hold (on average) through the course of their career?
Labor unions need to provide companies with the one product they need most desperately: a 21st century workforce of choice.
Oh and: If we think the UAE deal is fishy, just wait until China starts calling in all of its financial chips. Then we'll start to understand the meaning of debtor nation from a rather contorted and uncomfortable position. After a while, IOU's just don't cut it any more.
Sperling pointing out that progressives need to think seven steps down the road. Although I have no idea how anyone sees that far...
Posted by: karen at February 23, 2006 04:14 PM
Gotta be a chess player. And young :)
V.:
Hah. Easy for *you* to say. Ahem.
classic-vintage bleeding heart liberal and still proud of it,
Otter
question: how can we bring a social compact to the global marketplace?
Faux--NAFTA lacked a social compact but we can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. He suggests developing one for this continent--Canada, Mexico, and the US. We need to get serious about the issue. If we here turned our attention to revising NAFTA and evolving a social compact here, it would inspire people in Europe as well. Let's begin to get from here to there. A progressive government would strengthen the ability to connect with international labor issues. We need a deal between people.
Sperling: Three thoughts:
It's important for progressives to have a sense of a social compact, but trade should not be the focus for it. We need to help people deal with dislocations and outsourcing. He makes the argument that you lose business support when you argue against open trade.
Second: Part of the compact has to be that you will fight for jobs. This is going to be a big issue. How can we encourage job growth here? We need to take on the burden of health care (Ira's question).
Third: We need a richer discussion about all of this. When he was in the White House, both sides said similar things to him about labor issues. There are too few issues reaching the powerful. What other tools might be in the tool kit?
Great posts here folks. I'll add to this after I get home. Gotta pass out DCP cards now...
Posted by: Otter at February 23, 2006 04:27 PM
Or: Young at heart.
Karen,
Thanks for the updates. I too believe the universal healthcare is one way to uplift the poor and help them out. AND the middleclass needs it too since they're joining the poor.
Veritas,
I agree with you post about the unions and healthcare, except breaking up the unions is what the neoCONS have been trying to do for years.
And we will reel when China pulls out their loans.
Bush backs off on port security. What hot air.
Posted by: karen at February 23, 2006 03:49 PM
Karen, honestly, it's this liknd of process speak that democrats do that drives me insane. discussion of what we SHOULD be talking about are frigging useless. Just talk about it and then do it, dammit. It so weakens the dems message to use that idiotic process talk.
Posted by: cali at February 23, 2006 12:42 PM
Cali,
Believe it or not, I have not seen the movie yet. It's still sitting next to me wrapped up.
But that's exactly how I felt when I read the news yesterday. And if it's the fear of Hell that makes fundies vote and act the way they do, then they need to look no farther. They've created Hell on earth. (Ok..it was here before, but they certainly made it a lot worse.)
Casey, Karen, Cali, Dianne, thank you for your nice comments.
Karen,
This is one time I do NOT envy you being able to be right involved in things. Personally, I'd rather go clean up my dirty dishes than sit there in an economic meeting which I wouldn't understand anyways. I do understand the simple stuff though.
And simply put: Americans are suffering. If the job loss doesn't break you, then the medical care or insurance will. If those are not your problem, then the cost of food and gas will drive you bankcrupt.
Frankly, the way to HELP is to do what Christy always said, "Bring people HOPE!" Hope comes with specific plans and with a group of individuals--use to be known as public servants--working together to improve the odds for BOTH individuals and a side-effect Corporations.
a tax system that does not reward saving, especially for those at the lower end of the economy. Let's have a universal 401K, for all families.
Posted by: karen at February 23, 2006 03:49 PM
I have a problem with the whole system of corporate-run savings and retirement plans.
Someone always seems to abscond with the funds, and that leaves bankrupt corporations and the people who leave their own money, deducted from their wages, are left to fend for themselves just when they are about to retire, and then they find out they can't because their money was lost to crooked corporate executives.
Save, by all means, yes. Just not through corporate or government-run savings or pension plans which practically guarantees the money will not be there when needed, and some corporate scammer will abscond with the funds and put them in off-shore banks....
The same principle applies to the Social Security and health savings accounts. It leaves *our* money in the hands of corporations and/or government.... Not the safest place for any money nowadays.
So, what's wrong with good old-fashioned savings accounts in one's own name at one's own bank where one has access to all of one's own money at all times???
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060223/ap_on_go_co/ports_security_72
Senator Challenges Ports Deal Procedure
Excerpt:
Bush, talking to reporters at the conclusion of a Cabinet meeting earlier Thursday, said that "people don't need to worry about security."
"The more people learn about the transaction that has been scrutinized and approved by my government," Bush said, "the more they'll be comforted that our ports will be secure."
{{{Ri-i-i-i-ght.... This is the same individual who has - for five long years - been brainwashing us with his paranoid xenophobic rheteoric that talks about "these people" and "those people" (meaning anyone from the Mideast) as "our enemies" and has been saying they are "extremists" who can't be trusted because they support terrorists..... Then he illegally invaded another country which created more 'terrorists' and he created a "war" on terror (never mind the petty little detail that no one in any Mideast country was an "enemy" of America until he made enemies of them by illegally invading one of their countries and now he has his sights set on invading another one...). Now, overnight, because some crony or other of his stands to make millions or billions off of a sale of six major American ports, he turns around and says if we don't agree with his overnight flip-flop on who is or is not a "terrorist nation" we're suddenly supposed to trust him (again!) because he believes this sale is okay?!?!? This is the man who has talked half this nation's people into being racist and prejudiced by calling people in the Arab world our 'enemies' for the last five years, and now he wants us to reverse course and show how unbigoted and unprejudiced we can be by selling our ports to a country that has supported terrorists in the past and where two 9/11 hijackers were from??? We're still supposed to trust the person who has lied to us every day and/or week since 2000??? Ya, sure, you betcha...!}}}
Otter,
I am not quite sure what you think constitutes a brilliant or important blog post, but a more constructive strategy to that end might be to write one.
Blog posts that I find useful and hlepful come in all varieties, whether it is in the form of editorial/opinion, or as a news agreggate, et cetera.
What I found important about this particular post, was that Suz went out there and found several good blogs who wrote from different viewpoint on the same issue, which takes TIME and EFFORT, found useful pictures to go with them, which also takes TIME and EFFORT. Many people wither don't know where to get good information, or have the time to aggregate for themselves and this type of post serves a very useful purpose, and is a well done example of a news aggregate post.
I will not debate what makes something a good blog post. My assumption is that a good blog post, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder, or in this case, the editor. There is room here for all point of view and blogpost styles, including yours, and while I don't find your point of view irrelevant, I do find it tiresome, and insulting to people who volunteer their personal time to write posts. And I would say the same thing if someone held your work up to this pointless and tiresome criticism.
This request could have been made politely and respectfully (for example, "Hey, blogwriters, can we have a few less links in posts and more deconstruction of issues?") and I suspect you are having a crappy day and your post is some spillover, because I think you are a nice mammal.
For what it's worth on the irrelevant scale, here's my opinion: I like the Otter who is irreverent, not irrelevant, and I hope tomorrow is better than today has obviously been.
I remember having to invoke the dreaded Kumbaya on the Kerry blog, and I'm not afraid to use it again people!
;-)
Let Love Rule
Bush backs off on port security. What hot air.
Posted by: Ira at February 23, 2006 04:39 PM
Here's what I found on this...they're back peddling so fast right now, I'm getting chilled from the draft...
Bush 'willing to accept' delay in Dubai deal
The Bush administration on Thursday signalled that it would be willing to give lawmakers more time to review Dubai Ports World's controversial takeover of US terminals following an intense backlash against the deal in Congress.
National security concerns raised by lawmakers, including Republican leaders in the House and Senate, were "entirely appropriate", Karl Rove, adviser to President George W Bush, said. It was important that "members of Congress have the time to get fully briefed on this".
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11526718/
I seem to remember someone saying "We gotta fight the terraists over there so we don't hafta fight'em here."
Unless, that is, we sell them six major U.S. port operations. Then, we can fight 'em here and cut down on travel time.
Dubai - Dubya - all dubbish to me.
Posted by: sparrow at February 23, 2006 04:49 PM
Bravo, Sparrow!!!!
This is the best post I have ever read!!!!
EVER!!!
The idea is to be helping someone. And, if I have said it once I have said it a thousand times, take your skill, your talent, and apply it. It doesn't matter if your skill isn't the same as anyone elses.
Look at this thing like a body. The grassroots movement is a big body. We have brains. Some people are naturally gifted to be a little brainier than others. They can retain everything they read, see, or hear, and their brains are like large computers. They are able to quickly process things and hopefully have found an avenue to inform others what would take them forever, or maybe never, to find and understand the meaning of without a little help. We have many MANY people here at the DCP who are excellent at that.
I myself am a large computer, but I am meticulous and very thoughtful, and very thorough. I am also cautious, so I am content for the time being to continue to learn, research, disect and process. Then when I know my stuff, I am very VERY capable and effective - I soar. I also love and need a good laugh, because this is extremely heavy stuff. So I will post a funny quip or cartoon because I know if I deserve a good laugh after reading all the depressing news, so does someone else.
Others here are encouragers, and offer hope. I come here to offer hope and to get hope.
Eyes see, ears hear, arms hands legs and feet create art forms to get out their message. They partake in going to meetings, planning efforts, organizing peaceful protest, and organizing other efforts and following through on them as far as things like getting us educated here at the DCP, and organized and sent out on our "missions" to further build this grassroots movement.
Doesn't do any good to insist everyone do everything the way we do it, or the way it gets
done, because good moral is a must to keep groups bonded together.
If God wantus us to all be carrots he would have made us all orange with green hair.
I enjoy your wit so much, otter, and so do everyone else. I just think that we have a greater possiility to break out of our limited rut and join and enjoy other people who all want the end result. Gotta take our country back.
And besides, Otter, you can't be a carrot because you aren't orange and green either.
BTW, on topic with this thread...based on what I heard/read today from various sources, it looks like the next 24-48 hours in Iraq are very critical and will be very telling as to the path this war will take. Apparently, Alawi claims it's already in a stage 2 civil war while georgie claims there is no civil war...
Meanwhile, over 130 Iraqis & 7 US troops killed yesterday...
Uh-oh...this can't be good...
Sunni party quits Iraq government talks after mosque bombing
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's most powerful Sunni Muslim party quit talks to form a new government Thursday after reprisal attacks for the bombing of an important Shiite mosque.
--snip--
Amid reports of more than 100 killings since the attack -- with many Sunnis among the dead -- the Sunni Accord Front announced it is leaving political unity talks after meeting with Talabani and Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
--snip--
Including Sunnis in the government is seen as key to establishing law and order and defeating Iraq's insurgency, whose supporters are largely Sunni. Shiites were largely persecuted by ruling minority Sunnis during the reign of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/23/iraq.main/index.html
At the bottom of the article, there's this...Please keep Jill Carroll in your thoughts...
There was no word about female detainees held by Iraqi or U.S. authorities. Kidnappers who've been holding American journalist Jill Carroll have threatened to kill her unless U.S. and Iraqi authorities free all female detainees.
The latest deadline announced by Carroll's abductors is Sunday. The freelance reporter for the Christian Science Monitor was kidnapped on January 7.
otter,
You seem a little cranky today. Lighten up. I'm taking nominations for best political book, film and song of 2005 becuase I want people to stop and think about what musicians, writers and filmmakers have done as a part of their own progressive activism. People made thoughtful nominations and the range of types of music is exciting. By dismissing these songs, you're missing out. Take a look at the lyrics to the McMurty song. I think it stands up to County Joe and the Fish's protest songs (which I agree, are terrific).
People might not be compelled to vote but I hope some will check out these 8 songs and maybe stick around for a few moments and read the lyrics, watch the videos and listen to the songs. Very powerful anti-Iraq war and references to the many failures of our gov's response to Katrina.
But, it would be nice to see some votes too.
http://tinyurl.com/ofvrv
cali:
Any supposed contest for "Best Political Song" that doesn't include Country Joe & The Fish's classic "Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin-To-Die-Rag" [cf http://www.countryjoe.com/rag.htm for you younger and/or clue-impaired folks out there] really ain't worth even clicking on, much less voting in.
just my over-the-hill $.02,
Otter
Posted by: Otter at February 23, 2006 02:07 PM
FWIW, I didn't take issue with the threader per se. I took issue with the subsequent anointing of it.
Posted by: cali at February 23, 2006 05:52 PM
cali -- good list.
Have you seen this video of Robert Cray's recent song "Twenty"? Is it too late to add it to your list?
http://www.afsc.org/iraq/cray-video.htm
Actually on topic (that even surprises me)
I have a magnetic bumper sticker on my car that says: Protect the troops, bring them home.
That sentiment couldn't be any truer than now. Americans are sitting ducks in a civil war that we were strategic in formenting, and neither side wants us there.
I suspect that the Iraqi security forces will totally collapse under the weight of this evolving civil war. I hope I am wrong about that.
Posted by: oncall at February 23, 2006 07:09 PM
Oncall,
Yes they will. I could have done a better job of cleaning up this mess than Rummby or Bush!
Jeez o peez! Even if one wanted to argue the initial war was necessary, what can not and should not be overlooked was that competency might have prevented it from going this far.
Please, just someone tell me that the people with the yellow ribbons on their cars would actually support the troops with armor and everything they require to at least keep them a 'little safer' in a war zone!
Interesting comments today.
Suz - thanks again for organizing this particular blog post. I have been sick to my stomach for two days after hearing about this particular incident. It is stronger because I've visited a little in the mideast and been in some mosques. We even have 9 of them in this area. I'm thinking about the people killed, the unrest this will trigger for a long long time, and the fact that when something is 3000 years or so old it can't be replaced. There is more to a mosque like that than just the physical structure. I am not even conventionally religious but I know that much.
Monkey - thanks for posting the articles I mentioned. I might have seen them but what I want is to be able to tie things together, make connections.
Otter- I grew up with people who think world affairs don't pertain to them but they are wrong, wrong, wrong. When their jobs are outsourced, when their farms are lost to corporate ones, when prices go up at the pump, when their schools suck - it is never unrelated to what is going on in the rest of the world.
Their inability to figure it out is exactly what makes them keep voting against their own interests. I would sure hate to be a pregnant rape victim in my former home state, for example.
One more topic - the UAE port issue may be the ultimate wedge issue. I listened on NPR today to the Justice Dept. guy who convinced Bush how much his power would expand in time of war. I also learned that if both Houses feel he misused his power, they have the right to impeach him. This legal specialist believes Bush has almost dictatorial power in time of war otherwise. The problem is, the War on Terror is not a real war -it's a figure of speech. The War in Iraq is a fake war - we were not invaded, we were not really threatened, & who can prove it wasn't just an oil grab. Bush so much more deserves legitimately to be impeached - more than Nixon or Clinton ever did.
Bush so much more deserves legitimately to be impeached - more than Nixon or Clinton ever did.
Posted by: DiAnne at February 23, 2006 07:33 PM
And the winner of the understatement of the century award goes to....
Wanna see incredible irony in action? From the folks who don't believe they have to follow the rules or the Constitution or advise or consent with anyone...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawyers for Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide asked a federal judge Thursday to dismiss his indictment on grounds that the special prosecutor in the CIA leak case lacked authority.
In a court filing, lawyers for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby said his indictment violated the Constitution because Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald was not appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate.
The defense attorneys also said Fitzgerald's appointment violated federal law because his investigation was not supervised by the attorney general. They said only Congress can approve such an arrangement.
The lawyers said illegal assignment of "unsupervised and undirected power" to Fitzgerald requires that he be relieved of his duties in the investigation and that all actions he has taken be voided.
more... http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/23/libby.charges.ap/index.html
Think there's a reason besides humanitarian that UAR recently donated 100 million dollars for Hurricane Katrina relief?
Watch for .. Wolfowitz .. FBI .. Guantanamo .. ACLU
Got to run
Posted by: madame defarge at February 23, 2006 05:57 PM
"Twenty" by the Robert Cray Band
Thanks for pointing out this song & video. It's been added.
Hmmm- and the UAE also donated a million dollars to pappy Bush's library.
Very interesting.
Jack Murtha says...
We've Lost the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People
I've said for the last few months it's a civil war and our troops are targets caught in the middle. If we had 100 Iraqis and seven Americans killed in the last couple days, that's just an indication of how bad things have gotten: we've lost the hearts and minds of the people.
They now have elected officials, it was their election, we've got to let them know we're going to get out, we're not going to be occupiers, and they have to settle this themselves.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-john-murtha/weve-lost-the-hearts-and_b_16257.html
I listened on talk radio today to Jeff Miller, the US Representative from my district here in Pensacola , make the first negative statement I've ever heard come from his mouth re. George W Bush. I nearly had an auto accident- I was that shocked.
Miller said that he'd travelled around his district over the last few days, and could not find a single voter who approved of the sale of the ports to the company from the UAE.
This is Pensacola, the reddest city in the reddest area of America we're talking about.
And very few people here believe that Georgy didn't know about the deal in advance- they aren't even giving him the benefit of the doubt about that. ( They think he's too bright to have really been in the dark about it all- Ha!).
However, Miller's opinion is that the deal should just be put "on hold" until the American electorate can be " reassured" about it and brought around to the President's way of thinking. I hope Miller is typical of all the Republicans in Congress- I hope they go before the voters like he did today and let them know that all they want to do is stall until the American public can be conned into thinking this thing is good for them. Because not even Pensacola is ever going to swallow this deal, and Bush has lost the very heart of his base down here in the South over this issue.
It's about time these people woke up. I've said "I told you so" a lot the last few days, but it's really not very satisfying. Only an impeachment could ever be truly satisfying.
And even some people down heah in the Southland are beginning to talk about that now.
Just maybe the Republic can be restored after all.
I feel like there's a pink elephant in the room and everyone is doing their best to pretend that it's not there. So I'm just going to say a couple of quick things.
Last night, at approximately midnight, I checked our magic thread header box to see what was there for tomorrow. Sadly, the magic elfs neglected to put in a blog post for the morning, so I figured I'd help out if I could.
You can see from what I wrote the kind of mood I was in. And ironically, I had just finished emailing a friend saying, "Tomorrow the dark cloud returneth" as a way to tell him I'd try to help out more than I had been.
So there I was at around midnight, pretty dead on my feet and not in a bubbly sparrow kind of mood.
So I wrote what I wanted to say, with the pictures I wanted to use. Yes, and Casey was right when she suggested that I spent hours finding the exact pictures to use and the quotes as well.
I sat there for a half an hour with a blank screen. Then I sat there another half hour with one sentence.
I determined I wanted to keep my voice to a minimum in the piece. I wanted the words and the darkness that commeth to speak for themselves. So I crafted this simple peice exactly how I wanted it to be.
Yes, it's in essence only other peoples' words but in this case they were the ones who deserved to be the voice. Not me.
By two am, I shuffled to bed, but I hoped the day might be a little lighter for the elfs who stock the thread header pile. Or for Casey or anyone else who may have had to quickly write one. But, I fully realize as a professional essay scorer that the post itself is only 'average' but I it's not meant to be a doctoral thesis paper. I intentionally chose and crafted the simple and stark words in it.
Maybe someone out there in cyberspace was touched or convinced or felt something they hadn't before. That's all I wanted. It's why I'm here and why all of you are here.
It reminds me of this time I was on the FDL site and they were talking about encryption spying. And Prof asked for help. I had no clue what they were talking about, but I jumped in to help anyway...posting a little this and a little of that. Somebody over there told Prof his head was inflated and I was silly. Yet another person stood up for each of us by saying, "We all were at a starting point at one time and we're all at different points in our understanding." And that one person made it OK for everyone to respect my "beginner status" and prof's elitist status.
Three days later, I finally figured out what encryptic spying was... Yeh, you could say the learning curve was slow, but yet I reached a little plateau that I wouldn't have without compassion from other posters on the site.
Little things like that make a big difference. We are all different and we are all ok exactly where we're at. That's been a special thing here at the DCP, and though we are fighting our way through this darkness, we do have to try to remember that we're fighting together against something big and powerful and ugly. (No, it's not the pink elephant in the room.)
Now..I'm getting out of the way so monkey can finish singing Kumbaya.
PETL:
Exactly.
Just a little reminder. Kerry/Edwards emphasized the hole we had in securing our ports in their debates 16 months ago and how significant that issue is to our national security. How prescient they were. It would be interesting to hear JK's exact words and Bush's hollow response which I am sure was something to the effect that our administration is taking care of that. Hot air in '04, more hot air in '06.
HERE IS HOW AOL NEWS IS REPORTING THE IRAQ STORY:
Updated: 07:05 PM EST
IM This E-mail This
Shiites Battle Sunnis South of Baghdad
Mayhem After Shrine Bombing Leaves More Than 100 People Dead
By ROBERT H. REID, AP
.........
......
Iraq stands at the brink of civil war, and America's exit strategy faces collapse.
And here's someone who needs a welcome to the DCP...
http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=1028&view=findpost&p=3984
She's active in Louisiana.
A note about how serious things are getting in Iraq: my Clear Channel Rah-Rah Bush radio station has a locally produced morning program. For weeks they have ignored the Iraq story since there was very little good news to report (like an election). Today my local Talk Jock sounded shaken when he announced the topic of the morning's show - Is Iraq sinking into civil war? Remarkable few phones calls came in from the listening audience - it was as if the radio audience was stunned and shocked into dumbfoundedness. The two D.J. were very subdued - Bush's whole plan in the Middle East was going down the tubes.
Posted by: ralpheh at February 23, 2006 09:04 PM
I was going to say, "Reality sucks"
but what I really should say is, "knowing about reality really sucks!"
Karen, thanks for voting for Best Political Song.
My daughter made a video for Bright Eyes for their summer tour last year. She created it for the song "The Devil's in the Details." I guess this is one reason I think it's important to listen and appreciate new songwriters & filmmakers.
I love the "Mercy Now" video & am anxious to hear what Sara thinks of it.
Suz,
I liked your topic. I, for one, barely have time to get here these days, let alone to surf for all the news. I appreciate you condensing it for me. It is helpful!
Friend otter, we're all frustrated with our democratic "leadership". We're all frustrated that it feels like we might not be making much of a difference. We're all frustrated that "if we ran the world" things would be better. Let's not take it out on each other. Then the other side wins.
On Dubai (since I'm talking to myself here),
I think there are two possibilities:
1. BushCo. are so incredibly greedy/stupid that they overlooked the security issues. (I find this hard to believe).
but if that's not it,
2. Maybe there isn't a security issue afterall. Maybe there never has been. They know there is nothing to worry about, so why not make this deal? (I find this equally hard to believe, but somehow more likely than the first option)
Of course, that was all before the latest version of hell came to Iraq yesterday. Suddenly Bush is backpeddaling - maybe NOW there is a real security issue. Maybe NOW we will start to reap what we've sown. Maybe NOW he's waking up and is scared shitless.
Then again - that would make him human.
pbs,
Why don't you have the courage to clearly state your opinions on this site? Is it because realizing that Buscho's policies have been a total failure forces you to use a hit and run tactic? Go ahead, bury your head in the sand and ignore the facts. Bush is an incompetent failure, and it doesn't take Democrats to prove it, he is doing a good job of that on his own. No surprise that Bush is able to fail as miserably as he has. His administration is based on lies, and that is one of the reasons why Americans now are beginning to wake up to what the rest of the world already knew.
The Abraham Lincoln quote about Congress not supporting the troops is more applicable to Bush and his administration, not Kerry or Kennedy. For example, Bush cut veteran's benefits and the Defense Department does not provide American citizens, who willingly join the armed forces, the proper protection that is needed in Iraq. Doing war on the cheap in order to give tax breaks to rich supporters is what is underming the morale of the troops. Why do you think there are so many more Iraqi war veterans running as Democrats and not as Republicans?
pbs, you are a fool. And I say that with the utmost sympathy, not anger.
My comments to pbs seem incredibly out of place, but I would like to add that trolls who post their blogs on this site are going to suffer the same fate as their fellow coward.
Just for laughs, I cut and pasted my comment to PBS on their site.
Maybe NOW he's waking up and is scared shitless.
May be wishful thinking on my part, but O'Reilly looks like that tonight. Much to his chagrin.
When it comes to the concept of framing - something that was quite in vogue several yeas ago - we need to consider that none of us wants to see the total disintegration of Iraqi society. We should be careful not to gloat that the Bushco policies have come to the point of total failure. It does all Americans no good for us to do anything than offer reasonable solutions (something that we have offered all along the way) to correct what has happened. Thank God we have an election approaching. Instead of the strong father figure frame, it is time to consider the strong family frame. America can be a strong family as long as we support each other.
Posted by: Ira at February 23, 2006 02:50 PM
Ira, Israel itself is taken in by it. They need the financial support to survive in the Middle East. Unfortunately, I see the whole endeavor as a subplot by the Dominionists and their greedy cousins the Neocons to keep the Middle East stirred up like a hornets nest.
American Imperialism is addicted to war.
Shock over Iraqi reporter's death
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4743050.stm
Take a look at her face. I'm sure she was a favorite. Hearts and minds. I don't believe much of this would have happened without our involvement. We had no business in Iraq, either time.
Good night.
I have a friend who thinks NPR is nothing but lies. I listen to it all the time and I think it is fair and balanced. Maybe she expects it to be like Air America. That's not its purpose. It gets me the information I need to know - who is saying and doing what, & leaves me as an active listener, to draw some of my own conclusions. I accept that responsibility. I do not want to be spoonfed by the left anymore than by the right.
I like to listen to "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross. She had Newsweek's Paris bureau chief on tonight for almost an hour. I came out of my car and into the house and turned it on. I really depend on my two radio broadcasts a day as I really meant it when I got pissed and swore off tv news almost totally during the First Gulf War.
Anyway, he has covered the middle east beat for years and is based in Paris, where he was interviewed. She was able to ask him everything I would have wanted - about likelihood of war with Iran, about biggest problem in our relations with middle east, about the Dubai port deal, about Hamas & Israel/Palestine conflict, about who funds what, about sectarian violence in Iraq & likelihood of civil war, about ethnic/immigrant tensions & dangers in Europe, the cartoon protests & much more.
I really like that level of analysis. I also find it hard to find enough international news in newspapers & using Google News, alot of the sources are foreign. Some stories are not even covered by US media or hardly at all. Example: the Jewish guy who was held and tortured for a month by a radical gang from Ivory Coast, then killed & on Sunday there will b