"Stand Up Against the Surge"

Thank you, Rick.

Some of my favorite Molly quotes:

“What you need is sustained outrage...there's far too much unthinking respect given to authority.”

“Any nation that can survive what we have lately in the way of government, is on the high road to permanent glory.”

“Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention.”

Repost...

Gore's new nomination: Nobel Peace Prize
He 'has put climate change on the agenda,' two Norwegian sponsors say

Updated: 32 minutes ago
AP

OSLO, Norway - Former Vice President Al Gore was nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his wide-reaching efforts to draw the world’s attention to the dangers of global warming, a Norwegian lawmaker said Thursday.

“A prerequisite for winning the Nobel Peace Prize is making a difference, and Al Gore has made a difference,” Conservative Member of Parliament Boerge Brende, a former minister of environment and then of trade, told The Associated Press.

Brende said he joined political opponent Heidi Soerensen of the Socialist Left Party to nominate Gore as well as Canadian Inuit activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier before the nomination deadline expired Thursday.

“Al Gore, like no other, has put climate change on the agenda. Gore uses his position to get politicians to understand, while Sheila works from the ground up,” Brende said.

"I think climate change is the biggest challenge we face in this century," Brende said.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16920923/from/RS.1/

Senate foes of Bush troop buildup join forces

February 1, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two senators -- a Republican and a Democrat -- leading separate efforts to put Congress on record against President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq joined forces Wednesday, agreeing on a nonbinding resolution that would oppose the plan and potentially embarrass the White House.

Sens. John Warner, a Virginia Republican, and Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, had been sponsoring competing measures opposing Bush's strategy of sending 21,500 more U.S. troops to the war zone, with Warner's less harshly worded version attracting more Republican interest.

The new resolution would vow to protect funding for troops while keeping Warner's original language expressing the Senate's opposition to the buildup.

Levin replaced Warner as chairman of the Armed Services Committee when the Democrats took control of the Senate in January. Their resolution could well gain more support from members of both parties than their separate versions had been attracting.

It lacks Levin's language saying the troop increase is against the national interest, and it drops an earlier provision by Warner suggesting Senate support for some additional troops.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he wants to begin debate Monday on the new measure, bypassing committee review. Levin's original resolution would no longer be considered unless offered as an amendment.

"I believe we have a better chance now" of passing a resolution against the president's plan, said Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat.

The resolution is likely to pose a threat to the White House because of its potential appeal to Republicans who have grown tired of the nearly four-year war and want a chance to express their concerns.

The White House has been hoping to avoid an overwhelming congressional vote criticizing Bush's handling of the war.

"It's been a hard work in progress," Warner said of his resolution, which has been struggling to win support of 60 senators so as to prevent a filibuster.

The agreement comes as several leading Republicans who support the troop buildup said they will give the administration and the Iraqis about six months to show significant improvement.

Many other Republicans say they are deeply skeptical additional troops in Iraq, rather than a political settlement, would help calm the sectarian violence.

more...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/01/us.iraq.ap/index.html

Exxon Mobil sets annual profit record
No. 1 oil company posts mark despite lower fourth-quarter income.

February 1 2007: 9:07 AM EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. posted the largest annual profit in U.S. history Thursday, even though fourth-quarter earnings fell on lower natural gas prices and shrinking gasoline margins.

For the year, Exxon Mobil earned $39.5 billion, up from its previous record $36.1 billion in 2005.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/01/news/companies/exxonmobil/index.htm?cnn=yes

"Oil me!", said the Tin Man in the White House and his VP with no heart...

I'm so sad about Molly. I do remember being so delighted with her commentaries on NPR.

There's a really phenomenal diary about John Kerry's life at dailykos that could use some recommends now

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/1/8430/89348

Check it out. The diarist spent a lot of time on it.

And speaking of setting a deadline and doing everything we can to force the Shrubi'ia to STFU and GTFO of Iraq, he segued only semi-ingenuously...

There is already an unofficial merchandise site set up by supporters of setadeadline.com where one can get t-shirts, bumper stickers, buttons, and other nifty stuff to help you get the message out loud and clear to everyone around you:

http://www.cafepress.com/setadeadline

we're here, we're clear, get used to it,
Otter

Posted by: Otter at February 1, 2007 10:07 AM

Funny how those two at the head of this regime lack the things missing in the Oz'ers:
no heart, no brains, no courage.

mdf: true dat.

Otter:

In 2003, I had the pleasure of meeting Molly Ivins while she was here to read from her latest book. What an incredible whisky voice and a wit like a laser. There's a pain in my heart for her loss.

We're working on a modern version of the Greek classic anti-war play "Lysistrata", and I brought in Molly's last column for the cast to read. We all agreed we're going to put that last paragraph of hers as a closer.

Lysistrata has always been a rowdy play, and I believe Molly Ivins would appreciate her words used as a salvo to further fuel the anti-war movement, particularly in a comedy.

I wonder if Aristophanes didn't already have a Molly Ivins in mind when he developed the character of Lysistrata? Molly Ivins was and is, above all, a classic.

we're here, we're clear, get used to it,

Posted by: Otter at February 1, 2007 11:01 AM

OMG, I chuckled my chips thru my chiclets.

Posted by: madame defarge at February 1, 2007 11:06 AM

And a bunch of people who really just want to go home to Kansas.

Which, of course, reminds me of this...someone in here posted it a while back:

http://www.dudehisattva.com/wizard_of_oil.htm

This ones for Molly...

By Richard Wolffe and Holly Bailey
Newsweek
Updated: 5:21 p.m. ET Jan 31, 2007

Jan. 31, 2007 - On Tuesday, President Bush popped in for a surprise visit to the Sterling Family Restaurant, a homey diner in Peoria, Ill. It’s a scene that has been played out many times before by this White House and others: a president mingling among regular Americans, who, no matter what they might think of his policies, are usually humbled and shocked to see the leader of the free world standing 10 feet in front of them.

But on Tuesday, the surprise was on Bush. In town to deliver remarks on the economy, the president walked into the diner, where he was greeted with what can only be described as a sedate reception. No one rushed to shake his hand. There were no audible gasps or yelps of excitement that usually accompany visits like this. Last summer, a woman nearly fainted when Bush made an unscheduled visit for some donut holes at the legendary Lou Mitchell’s Restaurant in Chicago. In Peoria this week, many patrons found their pancakes more interesting. Except for the click of news cameras and the clang of a dish from the kitchen, the quiet was deafening.

“Sorry to interrupt you,” Bush said to a group of women, who were sitting in a booth with their young kids. “How’s the service?” As Bush signed a few autographs and shook hands, a man sitting at the counter lit a cigarette and asked for more coffee. Another woman, eyeing Bush and his entourage, sighed heavily and went back to her paper. She was reading the obituaries. “Sorry to interrupt your breakfast,” a White House aide told her. “No problem,” she huffed, in a not-so-friendly way. “Life goes on, I guess.”

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16908975/site/newsweek/

Posted by: monkey at February 1, 2007 12:27 PM

Everyone knows that if you don't play well in Peoria, you're screwed...

Everyone, that is, except delusional deciders.

http://www.dudehisattva.com/wizard_of_oil.htm

Posted by: V at February 1, 2007 12:16 PM

V that was great! I had not seen it before.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The top U.S. commander in Iraq told a Senate panel Thursday that he believed it would take fewer than half as many extra troops to improve security in Baghdad as President George W. Bush chose to commit.

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on his nomination to be Army chief of staff, Gen. George Casey said he had asked for two additional Army brigades, based on recommendations of his subordinate commanders. Bush announced January 10 that he would send five extra brigades as part of a buildup that would total 21,500 soldiers and Marines.

Asked by Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia, why he had not requested the full five extra brigades that Bush is sending, Casey said, "I did not want to bring one more American soldier into Iraq than was necessary to accomplish the mission."

With many in Congress opposing or skeptical of Bush's troop buildup, Casey did not say he opposed the president's decision. He said the full complement of five brigades would give U.S. commanders in Iraq additional, useful flexibility.

Even so, Casey's comments seemed put distance between his views and those of Bush and some lawmakers like Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who have questioned whether Bush's troop increase will be enough.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/01/casey.confirm.ap/index.html

Official: Almost 2,000 civilians killed last month

Offering the first indication of the war's toll on regular Iraqis this year, a Health Ministry official said 1,990 civilians had been killed in violence during January, a more than three-fold increase from the 548 civilians reported killed by the ministry in the same month last year. Counts kept by other groups, including the United Nations, have listed far higher numbers.

The official, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to release the figures, said 1,936 civilians also had been wounded according to the figures, which were compiled from daily reports sent by morgues and hospitals nationwide.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/02/01/iraq.ap/index.html

Heading off to Busboys to see Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Activist. Will attempt to blog from there. (plugs often in short supply there...)

All day today I have been thinking about Molly Ivins, and humor, and truth-telling. We need more Molly. I certainly do anyway. A friend suggested making a Garden of Truth, with quotes from Molly and Art Buchwald, and others who have cut through bs and made us laugh and recognize what is happening.

More on Jody Williams:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070126/williams_darfur_070126/20070126?hub=World

Molly -

In your memory, we will most assuredly try to "raise more hell!"

From your position at the right hand of the Goddess, please try to influence our Congress Critters to favor impeaching Shrub.... You know, better than most, how much we need to get those cretins out of power....

LIBBY TRIAL: SMOKING GUN FOR IMPEACHMENT?
By Robert Scheer, Truthdig
The Libby case testimony, centered on the chicanery of the vice president, certainly suggests that impeachable offenses occurred at the highest level of the White House.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/47477/

In the Comments section, a bumper sticker: Impeachment: It's not just for blow jobs anymore.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SAY THAT WE'VE LOST IN IRAQ?
By Jan Frel
If you're willing to admit that we've lost in Iraq, don't stop there: what are the implications?
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/47480/

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/uclickcomics/20070201/cx_nq_uc/nq20070201
Non Sequitur

One previously apolitical radio station aimed at youth just put this at the end of its morning email:

Jae Moon
Thursday, December 28 2006
Rocky Mountain News Young Moon received one of the best Christmas gifts a father could receive from a son stationed in Iraq. His son, Jae, had been badly wounded by a roadside bomb on Dec. 14 while helping direct a patrol in Baghdad, but on Christmas Eve a relieved Moon heard his son's voice on the phone. "I was talking to him, and he called me around 7 p.m., and he said, 'I'm OK, Dad. I'm busy. I'm a leader now, and I have a lot of soldiers. I'm taking care of them. Don't worry about me, Mom and Dad,' " Moon recalled. "That's why I was very happy. It was a Christmas present for me." But less than 10 hours later, Moon's Christmas joy vanished. Sgt. Jae Moon, 21, succumbed to his injuries on Christmas Day.

Jason Denfrund
Thursday, December 28 2006
News 4 (December 27, 2006) - - Christmas Day brought heartbreak to a Southern Tier family. News 4's Luke Moretti reports that Army Sergeant Jason Denfrund of Cattaraugus is among the latest local casualties of the war in Iraq.Diane Wienk, Denfrund's mother, said, "He wished us a Merry Christmas, and to tell us he'd been thinking about us, loved us and missed us."
Diane Wienk is talking about the last phone call home her son made. That was last Wednesday. On Christmas Day, 24-year-old Sergeant Jason Denfrund died in Iraq after an improvised explosive device detonated. Randy Wienk, Denfrund's father, said, "He was proud to be there, and serve his country. We're proud of him for that. He's just a hero."

Elias Elias
Thursday, December 28 2006
San Gabriel Vally Tribune -- GLENDORA - Army Spc. Elias Elias, 27, of Glendora was killed by an explosive detonated near his vehicle Saturday, Department of Defense officials said Wednesday. Elias, reportedly Glendora's first casualty in the Iraq War, was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo. Efforts to reach family members Wednesday were unsuccessful. City officials have not yet been able to meet with family members and said they are being careful to respect their privacy.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family at this time of loss," said the Rev. Karen Davis, a Glendora city councilwoman.

Wilson Algrim
Thursday, December 28 2006
Daily Press and Argus -- Judy Algrim remembered when her oldest son, Wilson, would play around the house as a child and pretend to be his favorite superhero. "He liked Superman," she said. "He used to run around the house in a Superman outfit and pretend that he was flying."
Army Spc. Wilson Algrim grew up to become a real-life hero who served his country in Iraq and made the ultimate sacrifice. On Wednesday, the Department of Defense announced that he died from wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations."I would say he was gregarious, courageous, curious," said Judy Algrim, when asked to describe Wilson. "He was very friendly and smiled a lot. He was loving and affectionate." Wilson Algrim was one of three soldiers from Michigan who died on Dec. 23 in Salman Pak, Iraq. Army Spc. Chad J. Vollmer, 24, of Grand Rapids and Army Pvt. Bobby Mejia II, of Saginaw, also died Saturday. All three were assigned to the Michigan Army National Guard First Battalion, 125th Infantry from Big Rapids.

Bobby Mejia II
Wednesday, December 27 2006
Mlive.com -- Bobby Mejia II loved the classics -- Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the Road Runner. And the Saginaw resident sought to take that joy of art and turn it into a career. "His dream was to be an artist," his father, Bobby Mejia Sr., said Wednesday of his namesake. "He told me he always wanted to work for the Walt Disney Company. He loved cartoons and animation. Mejia, 45, lost his only child Saturday when an improvised explosive device detonated near the vehicle that his son and two other soldiers were traveling in during combat operations in Salman Park, Iraq, the Department of Defense reported. Army Spc. Mejia II was 20. The three soldiers were assigned to the First Battalion 125th Infantry from Big Rapids. Mejia II was a 2004 Saginaw High School graduate. His mother is Lovea Hernandez.

Ryan L. Mayhan
Wednesday, December 27 2006
Marine Lance Corporal Ryan L. Mayhan, 25, Hawthorne, California, was killed in action in Anbar province on December 21, 2006. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, California.

Stephen L. Morris
Wednesday, December 27 2006
Houston Chronicle -- A Lake Jackson family spent Christmas Day mourning the loss of a son — a Marine killed Sunday in the line of duty in Iraq. Stephen Lloyd Morris, 21, was killed in fighting in the Anbar province, said his father, Lloyd Leroy Morris Jr., who was informed of his son's death Sunday evening by two staff sergeants. "I was hoping they were going to tell me he was injured," he said. "I knew it wasn't going to be good news." Morris was sent to Iraq about four months ago. He was supposed to return home in March, his father said. It was the second time Morris had been sent overseas since he joined the Marines about 2 1/2 years ago after graduating high school, his father said. He was in Afghanistan about a year ago.

Fernando S. Tamayo
Wednesday, December 27 2006
The Press Enterprise -- Growing up in Fontana, Fernando S. Tamayo never had an enemy but had many friends. Now, his family and friends are mourning his loss. Tamayo, a 19-year-old Marine Corps lance corporal, was one of three Marines and a sailor to die Thursday while conducting combat operations in Iraq's Al Anbar Province, the Pentagon announced Tuesday. "It is very tragic for his family," said Marine 1st Sgt. Bill Toves, a family spokesman. "He was well loved. He never had an enemy growing up." Tamayo, the youngest in his family, was a driver of a Humvee that was hit by a roadside bomb, Toves said. He was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, or I MEF, based in Twentynine Palms.

Joshua D. Sheppard
Wednesday, December 27 2006
NewsOK -- QUINTON — Army Spc. Joshua Sheppard wanted to promise his mother that he'd make it back to Oklahoma and stay. "He had promised me he would come back," said Julie Young, Sheppard's mother. "He wasn't sure he could keep that promise." Sheppard, described by his mother as a "peacemaker," was killed Friday during a gun battle in Baghdad,Iraq. Sheppard, 22, and members of his patrol encountered an enemy using small arms fire, Young said. The death remains under investigation by the military. Sheppard was a member of the 642nd Engineer Support Company out of Fort Drum, N.Y. He began his tour in Iraq on Sept. 15. He had been issued a four-day pass for the Christmas holiday, but was told to he was needed as senior operator on a mission, said Young, who talked to her son a day before he was killed. She had expected to talk to him Christmas, but instead got news he had died. "He's a good boy," Young said. "Everybody loved him. I'm just amazed by the outpouring of love we've received from the community."

Curtis L. Norris
Wednesday, December 27 2006
The Mercury News -- DANSVILLE, Mich. - A 28-year-old Lansing-area Army sergeant was killed Saturday in Iraq, devastating the holidays for his family in Michigan. Curtis L. Norris died in Baghdad of wounds he received when an improvised explosive device went off near his vehicle, the Defense Department said Tuesday. Instead of celebrating Christmas, William and Connie Norris are planning their son's funeral. The presents in their home sit unopened. "You don't think about Christmas when this happens," William Norris told the Lansing State Journal. The Norris family lives in Ingham County's Ingham Township, near Dansville and about 60 miles west of Detroit. Curtis Norris served with the 210th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, N.Y.

At Busboys: lots of info on Iran and it's not good. But the peace community here: Phyllis Bennis, Gael Murphy, Andy and Marjan Shallal (he is Iraqi; she is Iranian), and several others whose names I do not yet know but who are doing amazing work to prevent this impending disaster. Also, check out Campaign against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran:
http://www.campaigniran.org/casmii/

Discussion of a coalition between liberals and conservatives discussed yesterday--Some conservatives are against an action against Iran as well, because of gas prices, etc. SO there will be a letter constructed together.

Here's a truly frightening article about Iran...

Iran Clock Is Ticking
By Robert Parry

While congressional Democrats test how far they should go in challenging George W. Bush's war powers, the time may be running out to stop Bush from ordering a major escalation of the Middle East conflict by attacking Iran.

Military and intelligence sources continue to tell me that preparations are advancing for a war with Iran starting possibly as early as mid-to-late February. The sources offer some differences of opinion over whether Bush might cite a provocation from Iran or whether Israel will take the lead in launching air strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities.

But there is growing alarm among military and intelligence experts that Bush already has decided to attack and simply is waiting for a second aircraft carrier strike force to arrive in the region - and for a propaganda blitz to stir up some pro-war sentiment at home.

One well-informed U.S. military source called me in a fury after consulting with Pentagon associates and discovering how far along the war preparations are. He said the plans call for extensive aerial attacks on Iran, including use of powerful bunker-busting ordnance.

Another source with a pipeline into Israeli thinking said the Iran war plan has expanded over the past several weeks. Earlier thinking had been that Israeli warplanes would hit Iranian nuclear targets with U.S. forces in reserve in case of Iranian retaliation, but now the strategy anticipates a major U.S. military follow-up to an Israeli attack, the source said.

Both sources used the same word "crazy" in describing the plan to expand the war to Iran. The two sources, like others I have interviewed, said that attacking Iran could touch off a regional - and possibly global - conflagration.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020107C.shtml

“Hogwash.”

That’s the word Vice President Cheney used last week to dismiss suggestions that the Bush Administration’s blunders and failures have hurt its credibility on Iraq. He even went on to boast, “Bottom line is that we've had enormous successes, and we will continue to have enormous successes.”

Cheney’s statements come in response to increased criticism of the Bush Administration’s recent plan to escalate the war in Iraq by increasing the amount of troops there by over 21,000.

This is just the latest bit of evidence that the Bush Administration is entirely out of touch with the will of the American people – and with reality. That is why Council for a Livable World is working with Friends Committee on National Legislation to promote a National Call In Day today to tell Congress to oppose escalation.

Please join tens of thousands of others today by calling your Senators and telling them to support legislation opposing escalation. Here is the number to call:

800-594-1015
Tell the operator what state you live in and they will connect you with your Senators. Tell them you want them to vote against Bush’s escalation. Your support can make a real difference.

The American public overwhelming disapproves of President Bush and opposes his escalation plan. A recent CBS News poll indicates that an overwhelming 72% of Americans do not support President Bush’s handling of the war in Iraq and a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll reports that 66% of Americans oppose the President’s escalation plan.

Congress is both listening and acting. In the Senate, there are currently two pieces of legislation criticizing President Bush’s escalation: one resolution being promoted by a bipartisan group of Senators, including Joseph Biden, (D-DE), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Carl Levin (D-MI), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), while another version is being pushed by Senators John Warner (R-VA), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Ben Nelson (D-NE). Efforts are being made to forge a compromise between the two resolutions.

A vote on the Biden-Hagel-Levin-Snowe resolution could come as early as this week or the week after. Please call your Senators at 1-800-594-1015 and tell them to support legislation opposing escalation and to vote “aye” for cloture, a Senate procedure requiring 60 Senators to vote “aye” in order to proceed with the debate and votes.

In a recent interview with GQ Magazine, Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), previously a strong supporter of the Administration, sharply criticized President Bush for his handling of the Iraq War, noting, “The more I look back on it, the more I think that the administration knew there was some real hard question whether [Saddam Hussein] really had any WMD. … So to answer your question – Do I regret that vote [authorizing the use of force against Iraq]? Yes, I do regret that vote.”

We need more Senators like Chuck Hagel speaking out against President Bush’s terrible blunders and failures in Iraq. Please call your Senators at 1-800-594-1015 and tell them to support legislation opposing escalation and to vote “aye” for cloture on the Biden-Hagel-Levin-Snowe resolution.

Sincerely,

John Isaacs and Guy Stevens

P.S. Help spread the word! Forward this email on to five friends.

The administration has said we won't PRE-EMPTIVELY strike Iran. But we are certainly prodding at them, and if they were to take any action against us, the faster the response would be. We must talk about this possibility.

Phyllis Bennis: We need to focus on Europe for a bit. Germany is threatening to arrest 13 CIA agents and Italy has warrants out for 25 CIA agents. There is growing anger against us and we need to link up with the peace movements in those countries.

Lori Perdue poems here:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/

Virtual march today...may as well keep it up.
http://pol.moveon.org/virtualmarch

Andy talking about People-to-People efforts, especially with students on videoconferencing between the US and Iran.

Ann Wright talking about putting ads in the Army Times, the Navy Times, etc--appeal to conscience and to what the world looks like. She believes that many will be responsive and responsible.

At Busboys: lots of info on Iran and it's not good. But the peace community here: Phyllis Bennis, Gael Murphy, Andy and Marjan Shallal (he is Iraqi; she is Iranian), and several others whose names I do not yet know but who are doing amazing work to prevent this impending disaster. Also, check out Campaign against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran:
http://www.campaigniran.org/casmii/

Discussion of a coalition between liberals and conservatives discussed yesterday--Some conservatives are against an action against Iran as well, because of gas prices, etc. SO there will be a letter constructed together.

Posted by: karen at February 1, 2007 05:45 PM

We are "prodding" at someone who is at least as much of a diplomatic cowboy as our own president, who is all too eager to score points against the US and Israel to bolster his image, who has the support of the pissed-off Sunni Iraqis, and who has cut arms deals with Russia and China.

Oh yeah, and who, unlike Iraq, actually HAS nuclear weapons, and has no compunction about using them.

And meanwhile we are calling Congressfolks and getting a busy signal.

V:

And your thoughts?

Suggestions?

(ALWAYS welcome from you!)

Rev. Yearwood speaking now. They have been working on poverty issues and he points out that those working on poverty tend to be black; those working on immigration issues tend to be brown, and the peace movement white. He wants to de-segregate these efforts.

He is doing a "Books not Bombs" tour. Begins March 19:

March 21, New Hampshire

March 24: NYC

March 28 Orangeburg SC

March 30: Atlanta

April 4: Memphis

April 7: Las Vegas

April 11: SF

April 18 NOLA

(I missed a couple of cities)

Regarding when the bombs might start falling in Iran, a few different pieces of evidence point to a time frame in early March. More on this later this evening.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/012238.php

sparrow--we are hearing that it could be sooner.

The administration has said we won't PRE-EMPTIVELY strike Iran. But we are certainly prodding at them, and if they were to take any action against us, the faster the response would be. We must talk about this possibility.

Posted by: karen at February 1, 2007 05:45 PM

Sadly, all it takes is something staged and minor. As in, stage an accident, kill an American soldier, then blame it on Iran. Anything is going to be enough of a provocation for W to expand his war into Iran.

local grassroots movement to impeach - hope this happens all over - see interesting comments

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamieson/301987_robert01xx.html

There is growing anger against us and we need to link up with the peace movements in those countries.

Posted by: karen at February 1, 2007 05:45 PM

Not only just the peace movements, but also the human rights movements, LGBT movements, and labor movements as well, if there is to be any resistance to the global corporate powers in our age of globalization.

A while ago, V spoke eloquently in the chat about a need for labor unions to work globally together, and for union leaders to take MBA curricula to better understand the economics out there.

Globalization can be a good thing. The key is not to let it be just a globalization of money and products (what we have, and pretty bad), but let it also be a globalization of cultures and ideas and people (good).

Molly Ivins remembrance by Joel Connelly, reporter & one of earliest press to back John Kerry in the US for 2004

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattlepolitics/archives/111048.asp

Discussion of a coalition between liberals and conservatives discussed yesterday--Some conservatives are against an action against Iran as well, because of gas prices, etc. SO there will be a letter constructed together.

Posted by: karen at February 1, 2007 05:53 PM

Paleoconservatives can be good allies in this time and age, when the neocons in power, and in control of the Republican Party, are all about reckless expansion of government powers and spending.

Just like there is nothing liberal about "neoliberalism" (euphemized in America as "libertarianism"), there is nothing conservative about neoconservatism.

Just like there is nothing liberal about "neoliberalism" (euphemized in America as "libertarianism"), there is nothing conservative about neoconservatism.

Posted by: Ally McRepuke at February 1, 2007 06:32 PM

That's a tongue-twister!

British commentary reflecting how militarised America appears

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/edward_pearce/2007/02/post_1042.html

love the comments as they are American, British, Canadian, Australian - at least. My comment was "Dude, you nailed us."

Posted by: not my president at February 1, 2007 06:49 PM

Especially love the neocon comments, proving their idiocy to the world once and for all.

(And the other Americans who have to constantly apologize for the neocons' behaviors.)

Bill Moyers, her friend, and fellow Texan, on Molly:

What a foot-stompin’ reunion there must be at this very moment in that great Purgatory of Journalists in the Sky. I can see them now—Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, Ray Stannard Baker, Upton Sinclair, Henry Demarest Lloyd, Ida B. Wells, David Graham Phillips, George Seldes, I. F. Stone, Walter Karp, Willie Morris—welcoming our darlin’ to their bosoms.

Oh, my, how she comes trailing clouds of truth-telling glory! Look at her—big-hearted as ever, leaning over the balustrade and reaching down to the tormented of Hades, moistening Tom DeLay’s lips, patting down Bob Perry's hair, erasing George W's sandstone scribblings. In the celestial light she glows as irrepressibly and vividly as she did here on Earth, where she made the mighty humble, the wicked ashamed, and the good ol' boys reach for the barrel to hide their forlorn nakedness. And, oh, the stories she must be telling as we speak.

At a PBS meeting a few years ago, she ended her talk with a joke that would have gotten anyone else arrested or excommunicated. But she was carried out on the crowd's shoulders, as right now she is being ushered into the Council of Ink-Stained Immortals, where the only religion is truth. Save some room up there, Molly: You have inspired us earthbound wretches to keep trying to live up to your legacy in the hope of joining you there one day.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003540601

Off topic -

Followed NMP's link to The Stranger, where I dug up this article on Mary Cheney.

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=150579

As NMP likes to say, these people need to PAY and PAY.

madame et al,

We are going to plant that "garden" of Molly's gems tomorrow, so feel free to research and nominate your faves.

We will be "planting" these in a public location.

Code Pink is doing this...

Another Bush ally pleaded for patience.

"Years ago I used to see bumper stickers that said 'Give peace a chance,' " Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, said. "I think today we need to dust off some of those bumper stickers and write a couple of words that say give the president's plan for peace a chance."

And a third Republican who has been a strong voice on the need to continue the war in Iraq, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, called any resolution opposing the administration's strategy counterproductive.

"This is a degree of micromanagement which is absolutely Orwellian," McCain said. "That alone should cause us to reject this kind of foolishness."

Another Bush supporter, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said the Warner resolution would be a vote of confidence in Gen. David Petraeus, the incoming commander of U.S. and allied troops in Iraq. And McCain, who has blasted the Bush administration's handling of the war, said his proposal is a sign the United States is willing to go "all in" in the now-unpopular conflict.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/01/us.iraq/index.html

Journalist on CNN's Anderson Cooper's 360 right now talking about the "four wars" in Iraq now, and the hidden war with Iran.

Many have called it the best explanation of the situation in Iraq they have heard to date.

I think this may be a rerun from earlier tonight. I will see if I can find a transcript and post the link here.

(It is 10:15 p.m. here. I keep forgetting about the time difference between us (Central) and you in the East.

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/

Thursday, February 01, 2007
Iran using 'Green Beret' tactics in Iraq

There's been a lot of news this week about the alleged role Iran has played in the ongoing violence in Iraq. Click on the image above to hear CNN Correspondent Michael Ware's take on how, nearly four years into the war, Iran is not only involved, but has been a major factor since the very beginning.

Ware has been reporting from Iraq since the war began in 2003. What started as a war between Coalition and Iraqi forces, according to Michael, has turned into four separate wars: the war with insurgents, the war with al Qaeda, the civil war between Sunni and Shia and this fourth war with Iran.

Michael was in New York last week and sat down with Anderson to discuss the various wars being waged in Iraq. The clip above is taken from this conversation. We're airing the entire hour-long interview tonight, and it's truly the most raw, sobering and frankly scary discussion I've heard on the Iraq war.
Posted By Chuck Hadad, CNN Producer: 5:10 PM ET

Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at February 1, 2007 11:08 PM

360 Transcript not available yet. Will check tomorrow.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/acd.html

Truth Shall Prevail
Congressman McDermott spoke about his trip to the middle east, where he spoke with "Voices from the Middle East." They told him how Saddam had 24 checkpoints between Iran/Iraq at the border and now there are 2. The border was made more porous by our invasion. Saddam was a counterbalance between the traditional Arabian and Persian empires, in a sense, in spite of his maliciousness. We don't take out heads of state just because they are dictators or have or may develop WMD - they need to be holding vast oil reserves.

Double the Troops in "Surge"

President Bush and his new military chiefs have been saying for nearly a month that they would "surge" an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, in a last, grand push to quell the violence in Baghdad and in Anbar Province. But a new study by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says the real troop increase could be as high as 48,000 -- more than double the number the President initially said.

That's because the combat units that President Bush wants to send into hostile areas need to be backed up by support troops, "including personnel to staff headquarters, serve as military police, and provide communications, contracting, engineering, intelligence, medical, and other services," the CBO notes.

more at:
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003239.html

Posted by: monkey at February 1, 2007 08:56 PM

What Kyle and others like him do not understand is that their wording is Orwellian. They only understand 'war is peace.'

They are saying 'give war a chance.'

That has nothing whatsoever to do with peace.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070202/ap_on_sc/france_climate_change

Warming 'likely' man-made, unstoppable

PARIS - The world's leading climate scientists said global warming has begun, is "very likely" caused by man, and will be unstoppable for centuries, according to a report obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

Excerpt:

Some, but not all, of the projected temperature and sea level rises are slightly lower than projected in a previous report in 2001. That is mostly due to use of more likely scenarios and would still result in dramatic effects across the globe, scientists said.

Many scientists had warned that this estimate was too cautious and said sea level rise could be closer to 3-5 feet because of ice sheet melt.

Nevertheless, scientists agreed the report is strong.

"There's no question that the powerful language is intimately linked to the more powerful science," said one of the study's many co-authors, Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria, who spoke by phone from Canada. He said the report was based on science that is rock-solid, peer-reviewed, and consensus.

"It's very conservative. Scientists by their nature are skeptics."

The scientists wrote the report based on years of peer-reviewed research and government officials edited it with an eye toward the required unanimous approval by world governments.

NonnyO: Are you an insomniac by some chance?

Posted by: woz at February 2, 2007 05:34 AM

Usually. Also, for a little over a week I've had a cold-flu-bronchial thing and have been sleeping irregular hours....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mona-gable/on-molly-ivins_b_40152.html
Mona Gable: On Molly Ivins

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/01/AR2007020101496.html
E.J. Dionne, Jr. : Molly Ivins's Joyful Outrage
{Love his ending paragraphs!}

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/02/01/open-thread-386/
Interesting cartoon.... Dang, but the truth of humor is always more real than reality....

http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/nq/
Non Sequitur

http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/wpopu/
Opus

Official Lies Over Najaf Battle Exposed
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020107R.shtml
Iraqi government lies over the killing of hundreds of Shias in an attack on Sunday stand exposed by independent investigations carried out by IPS in Iraq.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/01/AR2007020101152.html
Iraq at Risk of Further Strife, Intelligence Report Warns
A long-awaited National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, presented to President Bush by the intelligence community yesterday, outlines an increasingly perilous situation in which the United States has little control and there is a strong possibility of further deterioration, according to sources familiar with the document.

Iraq War Protesters Step Up Pressure to Bring US Troops Home
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020107S.shtml
US anti-Iraq War activists, after a massive demonstration Saturday in Washington, are mobilizing this week to pressure lawmakers to stop the deployment of additional troops to Iraq.

South Dakota Abortion Ban Is Bouncing Back
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/020107WA.shtml
Just months after voters rejected it, lawmakers are pushing for a slightly revised version of a sweeping abortion bill that supporters hope will lead to a legal challenge of Roe v. Wade.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-libby2feb02,0,1948022.story
Video undercuts Libby's defense
His assertion that he was a scapegoat clashes with the White House stance that he had no role in leaking a CIA operative's identity.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/01/AR2007020101784.html
A Failed Cover-Up
What the Libby Trial Is Revealing

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-allies02feb02,0,7388651.story
No more renditions
If the U.S. wants European allies to help in the war on terror, it has to respect their laws.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-brooks2feb02,0,7409069.story
President Sunbeam
Bush recognizing global warming is a welcome if overdue step. But space mirrors?

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2208257.ece
Ten years left to avert catastrophe

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-bonin2feb02,0,6442067.story
Confessions of a Prius snob
One day, just a regular motorist with a regular car. Then along came the hybrid, and the snobbery.

http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2208256.ece
All pupils to be given lessons in climate change
Children will learn about the dangers faced by the environment - and what they can do about it
{Incidentally, The Independent has recently run articles about needless packaging on everything from food to those giant hulks that hold little tiny memory cards for things like digital cameras. They're irritated about all the needless garbage, too. Remember when we used to be doing that kind of thing in the US...?}
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2208281.ece
MPs and retailers rally behind campaign to reduce packaging

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/by-what-definition-is-gav_b_40201.html
By What Definition is Gavin Newsom's Sex Life 'Breaking News'?

Truthout 2007: Freedom and Democracy Awards
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020107W.shtml

Today we are announcing the recipients of the first annual Truthout
Freedom and Democracy Awards. These awards have been granted to three
individuals who have done the most in the past year to promote freedom and
democracy. These recipients will each receive an honorarium of $1,000
to assist them in continuing their work.

This year's recipients, in alphabetical order, are:

• Gold Star Mother of US Army Spc. Casey Sheehan and peace activist
Cindy Sheehan, who has taken her protest of the War in Iraq to the
president's doorstep and worked tirelessly to bring an end to US engagement in
Iraq.

• 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, US Army, the first commissioned military
officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq, stating that the war was not
legal.

• Ann Wright, former member of the military and a US State Department
Foreign Service member who resigned her post in protest of the Iraq War
and has joined the fight to end the war.

Each of these recipients has shown a deep commitment to efforts to
strengthen freedom and democracy in a time of great need. Truthout salutes
these honorees for their work.

REMEMBERING MOLLY IVINS
By John Nichols, TheNation.com
Molly Ivins died this Wednesday at the age of sixty-two. If anyone picked a fight with the powerful, she was there, writing with passion, humor and unbridled joy.
http://www.alternet.org/stories/47508/
{Highly Recommended Reading!}
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com/
Tom Degan regularly blogs at Alternet. This is his tribute to Molly Ivins.

WHY MOLLY IVINS' DEATH IS SO SAD
By Evan Derkacz
One reason of many...
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/47496/

GOOD GOLLY, HOW WE'LL MISS MOLLY
By Arianna Huffington, HuffingtonPost.com
Unlike so many of the smart-assed satirists of our day, she was a woman. A classy lady with a pair of brass cojones.
http://www.alternet.org/stories/47512/

9/11: THE CASE ISN'T CLOSED
By Sander Hicks, AlterNet
In defense of the "9/11 truth movement."
http://www.alternet.org/stories/45726/
Excerpt:

When George W. Bush, and his gang of bloodstained Iran/Contra suspects seized the White House, they ushered in a new era of intimacy between the federal government and international mega-capital. After all, "Dubya" Bush had wasted a good chunk of his life in a cocaine and whiskey stupor, but the other half was spent in bad business deals with people like Saudi heavyweight Khalid bin Mahfouz. Mahfouz, alongside Salem bin Laden (Osama's half-brother), was a 1977 investor in Arbusto Energy, Bush's first oil company. Mahfouz later became the majority shareholder of BCCI. Mahfouz helped broker the deal for Bush when he wanted to unload his Harken energy stock. This same Khalid bin Mahfouz was branded by a report to the UN Security Council as one of the seven top Saudi al Qaeda money men. Shortly after the Bush/Harken deal, Mahfouz donated a quarter of a million dollars to Osama bin Laden's Mujahadeen in the late 1980s. According to Forbes, he put $30 million into the Muwaffaq Foundation, which the Treasury Department labeled an al Qaeda front. (Mahfouz also legendary for suing anyone who says so, and has terrified and constrained independent publishers in Canada and the UK.) Is it any wonder then, that the heavily compromised, Bush-White House connected 9/11 Commission took a dive to the mat on the "financing of 9/11" question? They said the money behind 9/11 was "of little practical significance" when behind the curtain stood an old friend of Bush, controlling a bogeyman named "al Qaeda." Senator Bob Graham said he was "stunned that we have not done a better job of pursuing" the question of foreign financing, and that crucial information had been "overly classified."

HOLDING BUSH BACK FROM ATTACKING IRAN
By Marjorie Cohn, AlterNet
Bush will not likely ask permission to make war on Iran, and it's up to Congress to stop him
http://www.alternet.org/stories/47519/

Exerpt:

On Tuesday, the administration stepped up its inflammatory rhetoric. US officials said Iranians may have trained attackers who killed five Americans in Karbala on January 20. They also implicated the Mahdi Army, the militia controlled by Moktada al-Sadr. It's very interesting that the New York Times characterized the focus on Iran and the Mahdi Army as "convenient from the point of view of the Bush administration."

Investigators were stumped at how the attackers, who wore American-style uniforms, secured forged US identity cards and American-style M-4 rifles, and used stun grenades like those used only by US forces. They are also confounded at the way the attackers' convoy of S.U.V.'s gave the impression that it was American and slipped through Iraqi checkpoints. Wednesday's article in the Times cites a theory that "a Western mercenary group" may have been involved. In the past the US government used the CIA to covertly overthrow governments, such as Iran's in 1953 and Chile's in 1973. Could mercenaries now be doing the Bush administration's dirty work?
~~~~~
Congress should immediately pass a binding resolution reaffirming the United States' legal obligations and informing the Bush administration that it will not concur in any invasion or military action against Iran, would refuse to approve any funding for it, and would consider actions taken in contravention of the resolution as impeachable offenses.

Paul Rockwell | A Soldier's Right to Disobey Illegal Orders
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020107D.shtml
Paul Rockwell writes: "It is a sad day in American jurisprudence when a soldier of conscience is court-martialed not for lying but for telling the truth, not for breaking a covenant with the military but for upholding the rule of law in wartime.

Excerpt:

Lieutenant Watada's legal arguments, however, are strong and deserve to be heard in court. The audacious officer is raising matters of principle that concern the right of all soldiers to full protection of the law. Under the enlistment contract, every soldier has a right, even a duty, to disobey illegal orders. The legality of Lieutenant Watada's orders pursuant to a "war of choice" is the central issue of the trial.

No American soldier has any obligation to participate in military aggression, in "crimes against peace," or in any operations that violate the Geneva Conventions. Under constitutional government, the authority of military command derives not from one person alone but from the rule of law itself.

There are only two conditions in which a war is legal under international law: when force is authorized by the U.N. Security Council, or when the use of force is an act of national self-defense and survival. Apart from these conditions, war is an act of aggression. The U.N. Charter, based on the Nuremberg Conventions, prohibits war "as an instrument of policy." And the war in Iraq is just that - a war of choice.

There is a common tendency among lawyers and military commanders to sneer at international law. But the Constitution is unambiguous. Article VI states: "All treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby."

There is no exception for the military, no wall between domestic and international law.

Lieutenant Watada reminds us that the U.S. Army Field Manual states: "Treaties relating to the law of war have a force equal to that of laws enacted by Congress. Their provisions must be observed by both military and civilian personnel with the same strict regard for both the letter and spirit of the law which is required with respect to the Constitution and statutes."

Nevertheless, in a pretrial hearing Jan. 16, Judge Head denied all defense motions to present hard evidence of ongoing war crimes in Iraq. Judge Head also upheld a pivotal government motion "to prevent the defense from presenting any evidence on the illegality of the war." Judge Head ruled that Lieutenant Watada's case is a political issue beyond the jurisdiction of the court.

Judge Head is wrong, and his ruling denies American soldiers protection of the very laws for which they sacrifice their lives. Lieutenant Watada is not taking political positions in his trial. The United States may be overextended; the invasion may create blowback; unilateral actions may alienate allies; war debts may boomerang on the economy; anarchy in Iraq may be hopeless. These are political questions, to be sure. But they are not part of Lieutenant Watada's defense.

Lieutenant Watada is being persecuted because he is challenging the legality, not the political wisdom, of the war. The commander in chief is the final arbiter in foreign policy, but only so long as policies are in accordance with the law. Law trumps politics, not the other way around. The "political question doctrine," as attorneys call it, is nothing more than judicial abdication.

House Panel Probing Bush's Record on Signing Statements
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020107E.shtml
The new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, said yesterday that he is launching an aggressive investigation into whether the Bush administration has violated any of the laws it claimed a right to ignore in presidential "signing statements."

So how much will the surge really cost in lives & $$$$$$$$$...

Cost balloons when 'surge' support troops are counted

• Cost could go as high as $27 billion, Congressional Budget Office says
• White House has estimated cost of troop increase at $5.6 billion
• Pentagon mentions only combat troops, budget office says
• 15,000 to 28,000 support troops needed, CBO report states

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A report from the Congressional Budget Office says President Bush's plan for a troop increase in Iraq could cost up to $27 billion for a 12-month deployment.

The plan could mean sending thousands of support troops in addition to the 20,000-plus combat troops the Defense Department has set for deployment.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/01/iraq.surge/index.html

Report: Corruption, extremism imperil Iraq stability

February 2, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The latest National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq describes an increasingly perilous situation in which the U.S. has little control and further deterioration is possible, The Washington Post reported Friday.

While optimistic at times about improvement in Iraq, the study casts uncertainty over whether Iraqi leaders will be effective in fighting sectarian interests and extremists, establishing effective national institutions and stopping corruption, the Post reported.

No conclusion is reached over the question of whether civil war has engulfed Iraq, unidentified sources familiar with the document told the newspaper.

The report says that al Qaeda activities remain a problem but cites Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence as the primary source of conflict and the most immediate threat to U.S. goals, the Post said.

The 90-page classified report, written by the National Intelligence Council with assistance from the intelligence community, was delivered to the White House on Thursday.

A two-page declassified summary was scheduled to be released publicly on Friday after Congress received the classified version.

National Intelligence Director John D. Negroponte, who briefed President Bush on the report Thursday, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this week that Iraq was "at a precarious juncture."

"That means the situation could deteriorate, but there are prospects for increasing stability," said Negroponte, who is stepping down as the nation's top intelligence official to join the State Department as its No. 2 official.

However, he cautioned that stability depended on bringing an end to sectarian violence and fighting all extremist elements.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/02/iraq.estimate.ap/index.html

Yeah, that's what we wanna send more of our troops into. (Comment smothered in sarcasm)

Krugman on Molly - He reinforces what I've been thinking about how humor & satire are our most powerful tools to get our message out.

Missing Molly Ivins

--snip--
I can’t claim to have known her well. But I spent enough time with her, and paid enough attention to her work, to know that obituaries that mostly stressed her satirical gifts missed the main point. Yes, she liked to poke fun at the powerful, and was very good at it. But her satire was only the means to an end: holding the powerful accountable.

She explained her philosophy in a stinging 1995 article in Mother Jones magazine about Rush Limbaugh. “Satire ... has historically been the weapon of powerless people aimed at the powerful,” she wrote. “When you use satire against powerless people ... it is like kicking a cripple.”

Molly never lost sight of two eternal truths: rulers lie, and the times when people are most afraid to challenge authority are also the times when it’s most important to do just that. And the fact that she remembered these truths explains something I haven’t seen pointed out in any of the tributes: her extraordinary prescience on the central political issue of our time.

--snip--
Nov. 19, 2002: “The greatest risk for us in invading Iraq is probably not war itself, so much as: What happens after we win? ... There is a batty degree of triumphalism loose in this country right now.”

Jan. 16, 2003: “I assume we can defeat Hussein without great cost to our side (God forgive me if that is hubris). The problem is what happens after we win. The country is 20 percent Kurd, 20 percent Sunni and 60 percent Shiite. Can you say, ‘Horrible three-way civil war?’ ”

--snip--
“I’ve got an even-money bet out that says more Americans will be killed in the peace than in the war, and more Iraqis will be killed by Americans in the peace than in the war. Not the first time I’ve had a bet out that I hoped I’d lose.”

Was Molly smarter than all the experts? No, she was just braver. The administration’s exploitation of 9/11 created an environment in which it took a lot of courage to see and say the obvious.

Molly had that courage; not enough others can say the same.

And it’s not over. Many of those who failed the big test in 2002 and 2003 are now making excuses for the “surge.” Meanwhile, the same techniques of allegation and innuendo that were used to promote war with Iraq are being used to ratchet up tensions with Iran.

Now, more than ever, we need people who will stand up against the follies and lies of the powerful. And Molly Ivins, who devoted her life to questioning authority, will be sorely missed.

(It's part of the Time Select service.)
http://select.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/opinion/02krugman.html

CNN: A U.S. helicopter has crashed near Baghdad -- the fourth U.S. helicopter to come down in Iraq in two weeks -- CNN confirms. It is not known if the AH-64 Apache was shot down, or the fate of its crew.

Maya Angelou's tribute to Molly

She strode onto the stage and over to the microphone. She gave me an enveloping hug and said, in that languorous Texas accent, "Maya Angelou and I are identical twins, we were separated at birth."

I am also six feet tall, but I am not white. She was under 50 when she made the statement, and I was in my middle 60s, but our hearts do beat in the same rhythm. Whoever separated us at birth must know it did not work. We have been in the struggle for equal rights for all people since we met on that Waldorf Astoria stage. We have laughed together without apology and we have wept when weeping was necessary.

I shall be weeping a little more these days but I shall never forget the charge. Joshua commanded the people to shout and the walls came tumbling down.

Molly,
I am shouting,
With two voices,
Walls come down!
Walls come down!
Walls come down!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/01/AR2007020101909.html

Bush to request Billions for Iraq

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/02/AR2007020201936.html

3/4 of a trillion

$2073/person (in the US)