We the People

Cheney says Americans don't want Iraq retreat
Visiting troops in Japan, he says goal is to 'get it done right,' then leave

Updated: 23 minutes ago
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan - Vice President Dick Cheney reaffirmed the Bush administration's commitment to the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq on Wednesday, saying the U.S. wants to finish its mission, then "come home with honor."

Cheney, who arrived in Japan on Tuesday, was given a 19-gun salute as he boarded the USS Kitty Hawk at this U.S. Navy base just south of Tokyo.

"The American people will not support a policy of retreat," Cheney told about 4,000 troops in the hangar bay. "We want to complete the mission, we want to get it done right, and then we want to come home, with honor."

more on...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17257494/from/RS.4/

Dick Cheney is a doink.

Posted by: Otter at February 21, 2007 10:13 AM

Basically what Uncle Dick is saying is "the American people will do whatever the f(Cheney) we say they will do, period!"

CrackerJack Palance

This was a problem we encountered in Ohio in '06 where photo ids were required:

Lower Voter Turnout Is Seen in States That Require ID

"By CHRISTOPHER DREW
Published: February 21, 2007
States that imposed identification requirements on voters reduced turnout at the polls in the 2004 presidential election by about 3 percent, and by two to three times as much for minorities, new research suggests."

snip

"The study, prepared by scholars at Rutgers and Ohio State Universities for the federal Election Assistance Commission, supports concerns among voting-rights advocates that blacks and Hispanics could be disproportionately affected by ID requirements. But federal officials say more research is needed to draw firmer conclusions about the effects on future elections."

"Tim Vercellotti, a professor at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University who helped conduct the study, said that in the states where voters were required to sign their names or present identifying documents like utility bills, blacks were 5.7 percent less likely to vote than in states where voters simply had to say their names."

I love the pic of the woman with the pen... it says that we continue to endorse the Constitution & that it is a living document... I don't want to hear BushCo base any arguments on "the founder's intentions"... they have forfeited the right to appeal to them.

Thanks, DiAnne--great photos, as always!

(That's Bill Moyer in the tri-cornerd hat in the second photo from the top, and in profile in photo #4. What a cutie!)

I'm having a Kos run; please feel free to support the conversation over there too:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/21/72315/3502

DiAnne,

NOTE this:

http://www.joy2u.org/EmmaMar4.JPG

Pat and Sandy of Emma's Revolution are friends also. Wish we could be there too!

Posted by: monkey at February 21, 2007 10:06 AM

And how the h-e-double-toothpicks would Darth Cheney know what the h-e-double-toothpicks the American people want...?!?

He's never effing ASKED what the American people want! He just tells us what corporate America wants, which conveniently agrees with his opinion because he's getting mega-bucks off of Halliburton's involvement in this private war fought by our public military and paid for with our tax dollars!

Dickie Cheney is a *&^@$&* *&$#%#*!!!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

(That's Bill Moyer in the tri-cornerd hat in the second photo from the top, and in profile in photo #4. What a cutie!)
Posted by: karen at February 21, 2007 12:10 PM

LOL-- I thought you meant Bill Moyer of Public Broadcasting... not what I expected scrolling up...

aimzzz, many people make that mistake. But it's Bill MOYERS who is the pater familias of public broadcasting, and Bill MOYER who is the best damn puppeteer and political street theatre guy around.

Moyer has been creating effective messaging tools for a few years now. We met him the first time at Take Back America in 2005, when the DCP table was next to the Backbone table, and we suffered internet access hell together.

But DiAnne met him first, when she was doing her mighty GOTV efforts back in 2004.

Fitzgerald: "There Is a Cloud Over the Vice President"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022107A.shtml
During closing arguments Tuesday in the obstruction of justice and perjury trial of former vice presidential staffer I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald told jurors that "there is a cloud over the vice president É a cloud over the White House over what happened," according to a copy of the transcript of Fitzgerald's statements.

{"Must read" for other Fitzgerald quotes...}

http://www.americanprogress.org/cartoons/2007/02/022107_oil.html
Fill 'er up?

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/02/21/worlds-worst-accused-gop-terrorists-billo-and-davy-crockett/
World’s Worst: Accused GOP Terrorists, BillO and Davy Crockett

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aUH33Wy4MVh4&refer=home
Britain, Denmark Say They'll Reduce Presence in Iraq

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070221/wl_afp/britainiraqbasra_070221155723
Iraqis welcome British and Danish pullout

Denmark to Withdraw From Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022107F.shtml
The Associated Press reports from Copenhagen of Denmark's plan to withdraw troops from Iraq. The Danish announcement came Wednesday as British Prime Minister Tony Blair said his country would withdraw about 1,600 troops in the coming months, if local forces can secure the southern part of the country.
{The Danes are sending more troops to Afghanistan for NATO, however.}

Robert Parry | Bush Is Losing the "War on Terror"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022107D.shtml
Robert Parry writes: "Bush has become the ugly face of America, mouthing pretty words about freedom and democracy while threatening other nations and bludgeoning those who get in his way. Perhaps even worse, Bush has shown himself to be an incompetent commander, especially for a conflict as complicated and nuanced as this one."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070221/ts_nm/usa_iraq_murder_dc_6
Tearful U.S. soldier recounts Iraqi rape-murder

just received an email quoting Media Bistro that the Nevada Democratic Party is negotiating with Fox News for their sponsorship of their August Presidential debate. If true that is truly insane.

Karen
I hope to go to the event on March 4th & do a follow-up. It's great to have someone who gets some really nice visual and positive "street theater" going, and that's definitely this Bill Moyer, and yes he is good looking, that's true.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rick-jacobs/dorgan-kerry-and-leahy-_b_41375.html
Dorgan, Kerry and Leahy: Iraq's Not For Sale

http://iraqforsale.org/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070221/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cheney_mccain
Cheney disagrees with McCain on Rumsfeld

{{{Hmmmm.... All those accepted apologies aren't gonna stop a Rovian slime machine. I sense the political assassination of Pavlovian-puppy-dog McCain in the future....}}}

We really need Congress to pass the bill and move it on to the Senate that will restore "posse comitatis" so the feds can't send in troops at Bush's whim, here within the US. It got snuck into a defense funding bill & there was a NYT Editorial about it on Monday. It's up at TruthOut but I have to rush off to a meeting.

We do not need to be under martial law.

All you techno types, enjoy this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6382119.stm
Iraq PM sacks 'rape case' critic
Iraq's prime minister has sacked an official who demanded an international enquiry into the alleged rape of a Sunni woman by Iraqi security forces.
Moving to quash disquiet in his mixed government, Nouri Maliki, who is Shia, also released a copy of a US medical report saying no rape had taken place.

Mr Maliki has accused opponents of using the story to discredit Iraq's Shia-dominated security forces.

The woman says she was raped after a wrongful arrest for helping insurgents.

The allegation and ensuing controversy comes as the Shia-led government is pushing a new security plan that will see mainly-Shia police units being deployed in predominantly Sunni Muslim districts.

{{{More on link. Yeah, we're exporting American-style "freedom and democracy"...!}}}

Heh, Karen. Geekiness is next to godliness (at least in very short condensed dictionaries). But I guess once an editor, always an editor too -- I was jarred to a screeching halt on the first pass while skimming the video when I caught the typo at 1:06 minutes into the piece, lol.

just received an email quoting Media Bistro that the Nevada Democratic Party is negotiating with Fox News for their sponsorship of their August Presidential debate. If true that is truly insane.

Posted by: Bubba at February 21, 2007 02:50 PM

Is Nevada THAT pathetic?

Even with all the union and Democratic strength in Las Vegas?

If yes, the Dems don't even deserve to exist.

Posted by: Ally McRepuke at February 21, 2007 04:30 PM

1-800-Hooked On Phonies

Hmm, he mused to himself, I wonder if there's a twelve-step program for that?

"Hi, my nick is Otter, and I am powerless over copy-editing..."

More bipolarized politics at work. Not to mention long-term Kool-Aid damage.

---------------

WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday challenged GOP presidential hopeful John McCain's assertion that Donald H. Rumsfeld was one of the country's worst defense secretaries.

"John's entitled to his opinion. I just think he's wrong," said Cheney, a friend of Rumsfeld. He also disclosed that the Arizona senator had apologized to him for a previous comment that the vice president had "badly served" President Bush on Iraq.

"John said some nasty things about me the other day, and then next time he saw me, ran over to me and apologized. Maybe he'll apologize to Rumsfeld," Cheney said in an interview with ABC News.

McCain's campaign declined to comment on Cheney's remarks.

Despite having low job approval numbers overall, the vice president continues to be very popular among rank-and-file Republicans, and many of them are likely to vote in next year's GOP presidential caucuses and primaries.

[snip]

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20070221/D8NEBPKO0.html

----------------

thank you for not breeding,
Otter

And every single time, our own military has tried to lie to us about it before finally being forced to come clean. Nice to know we can trust our government, isn't it?

--------------

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A U.S. helicopter was shot down and crashed north of Baghdad on Wednesday, the military said after initially stating that the chopper made a "hard landing." All aboard were safely evacuated by a second helicopter.

At least seven U.S. helicopters have crashed or been forced down under hostile fire since Jan. 20.

[snip]

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20070221/D8NEBMP00.html

--------------

investigate indict impeach imprison,
Otter

Someone get out the smelling salts. I feel faint.

I just got a nice long email from my rep answering my email about supporting the non-binding resolution, his declared support of bills coming up for a vote and a list of the numbers of the bills he's supporting or co-sponsoring to try to end DimWit's war, and after his signature it included a transcript of his speech on the House floor regarding the non-binding resolution (I did see his speech the day he gave it, incidentally, so I knew what he'd said already, 'cuz I had C-SPAN 2 on for most of the speeches given).

Okay. I feel invigorated. This gives me some sort of inkling that my repeated emails to my Congress Critters occasionally get read and someone on their staff at least responds occasionally - and since the header included my name and address, I hope it wasn't a form letter where multiple people got the same thing (altho I realize it's possible to do that with modern technology nowadays).

If the staff person thought I'd be satisfied with an answer and that I wouldn't write any more, that staffer was wrong. A response only encourages me to write more often.... I don't actually much care whether they answer or not as long as they read what I say and take it to heart and pass on the info to my rep, since I'm well aware that my opinion is that of the majority of people in this state and in this country. However, it was still nice to get a response addressed directly to me, whether it was a form letter with the personal touch inserted or not....

So, I will continue to write my rep and at least one senator (sometimes the second one, altho he's a neoCon just posing about his new-found anti-war stance so he can try to get re-elected in '08).

I encourage all people who live in the dingtoolies to keep on writing in lieu of the impossibility of personal contact. I printed out my rep's email because I now have to write back and quibble about withdrawing "with honor"... the war was dishonorable from the get-go, so it's a simple matter of withdrawing. Period.

I'm easy to please. All it takes is one teeny-tiny iota of common sense on the part of legislators to do right by the people who voted for them....

(*grin*)

At least seven U.S. helicopters have crashed or been forced down under hostile fire since Jan. 20.
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20070221/D8NEBMP00.html
investigate indict impeach imprison,
Otter
Posted by: Otter at February 21, 2007 05:00 PM

At least one of those helicopters was owned by Blackwater. It was a "US helicopter," yes, but it was not a US MILITARY helicopter. It was owned by and staffed by Blackhawk mercenaries.

I'm quibbling about the detail because I have such a low opinion about mercenaries who engage in war for profit....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/02/21/BL2007022101033_5.html
The Cloud Over Cheney
{I found this link on C&L, which had the note "Froomkin does his homework." That courtroom performance by Wells must have been something to behold!}

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070221/ap_on_re_us/south_dakota_abortion
Abortion ban fails in S.D. Senate panel

Released From Hospital, Tim Johnson Eyes Re-election
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022107O.shtml
Senator Tim Johnson had put his re-election plans on hold and halted putting together a campaign team pending his recovery from the brain hemorrhage he suffered on December 13. But with Johnson's rehabilitation following brain surgery going well, his aides now say they anticipate he will seek another term.
{Go Tim Johnson! :-)}

Iran Demands West Halt Enrichment As Well
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022107P.shtml
Iran's chief nuclear envoy said Tuesday his country wants to negotiate over its uranium enrichment program, on the eve of a UN Security Council deadline that carries the threat of harsher sanctions. But President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran will halt enrichment only if Western nations do the same.

Nuclear Bomb Plant's Safety Questioned
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022107L.shtml
Electrical failures have shut down the plant. The roof has leaked. Decrepit machinery dates back more than 40 years. Safety lapses led inspectors to levy fines twice within two years. And employees, under deadline pressure, complain they often are worked past the point of exhaustion. If this factory were producing medical devices or refining gasoline, the conditions would be serious enough. But this is where they work on nuclear bombs.

William Fisher | The Weapon of Mass Change
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022107J.shtml
William Fisher begins: "One of the uglier paradoxes of our time is that, as the world becomes vastly more complicated, the punditocracy becomes more simplistic. Today, those who get paid to deliver their opinions and convictions in newspapers, on television, in the White House, and on the floor of Congress are more undeniably, more absolutely, more positively certain their point of view is not only the right one, but the only one. What ever happened to respect for the ideas of another?"

Brenda Peterson | Ludicrous Dolphin Plan Shows We Are Scared Silly
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/022107EB.shtml
Brenda Peterson writes: "When news of the US Navy's anti-terrorism plan to deploy Atlantic bottlenose dolphins to patrol the Bangor submarine base made headlines here in the Puget Sound region, I was contacted by concerned citizens called Knitting for Dolphins. This group is symbolically knitting sweaters to keep the dolphins from freezing to death in our Puget Sound. 'Is this a joke?' I asked Jan Bailey, wildlife rehabilitator and member of Knitting for Dolphins."

{WTF?!? If you can't stand reading about animal cruelty, skip this link; it will make you ill. DiAnne, this article came from the Seattle PI. I'd be interested in your comments.}

William Rivers Pitt | Another Long Walk
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022107T.shtml
"The moment is as iconic as any within the pages of American history. Three prominent Republican senators embarked upon the 'Long Walk' to the White House in the summer of 1974. The purpose of their journey was straightforward. The sound and fury of Watergate had reached a brittle crisis point, and those three men were delivering a message to Richard Nixon: it was time to give up the fight," says William Rivers Pitt.
Excerpt:

One would think these two factors - newly empowered Democrats and angry Republicans - guarantee some sort of brave new political world dominated by this new majority, but as of yet, this has not materialized. The Senate has become almost useless, thanks to an astonishingly early start for the 2008 presidential run. Several of the most powerful Democrats in that body are in the race, and are therefore as tepidly cautious as long-tailed cats in a rocking-chair factory. House Democrats, while far more assertive, are faced with having to deal with this sleepy Senate if they wish to see any groundbreaking legislation make its way to the Oval Office.

The elephant in the room, however, happens to be the same 2008 race that has stalled out the Senate. All eyes and minds are focused on the massive crowd of candidates who have already come out, but the most important part of this next election has thus far been ignored.

Simply put, 22 of the 34 senators who have to run for re-election in 2008 are Republicans. Each has the dead-weight millstone of Bush, Cheney, Iraq and the scandals around their neck, and each knows full well that the weight of these burdens could easily pull them down into the darkest depths of defeat. In the worst-case GOP scenario, 2008 could become the kind of electoral wipeout that would make last November's annihilation quaint by comparison.

{And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the essence of why there is such a major hang-up about IMPEACHMENT. The House can likely start it okay - IF Pelosi can be brought to see REASON... but it's the Senate where the trial takes place, and right now there are just too many cowardly senators within that slim majority, and the warmongering neoCon 'Publicans can stop an impeachment trial unless they face the grim fact that they will quite likely not win any '08 elections with the millstones hanging around their necks.... Perhaps the neoCon 'Publicans need a wake-up call about '08, the likelihood of lost elections, if they really want to stay in the Senate after Nov. '08...??? Well, they still may lose anyway 'cuz they've supported the war criminal all along, but it wouldn't hurt to slap them upside the head with FACTS - that means all the 'Publicans and the DINOs and other fence-sitters who talk out of both sides of their mouths, try for the middle with their rhetoric when they answer a simple yes or no question in 25 words or more... and do nothing whatsoever constructive.}

In the worst-case GOP scenario, 2008 could become the kind of electoral wipeout that would make last November's annihilation quaint by comparison.

Posted by: NonnyO at February 21, 2007 07:10 PM

I wouldn't count on it.

The Republican machine still knows how to campaign much better than the Democratic machine, especially at the state level. The state-level Dems are in severe disarray, even in "blue" states like California.

Here in Orange County, California, there was a county supervisor election where the Dems and their union supporters poured huge amounts of support into its candidate. They lost big to a small but determined Vietnamese-American bloc, which sent two of its own, both Repukes, to the board of supervisors.

I can tell you again and again that the California Democratic Party is absolutely irrelevant in suburban Southern California. The Republicans are on the verge of retaking California, and will do so given the right conditions.

Once that's done, the Democratic Party will belong only in the history books.

Deniz Yeter | US Baiting Iran Into First Strike
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022107R.shtml
Hillary Mann Leverett, the former National Security Council director for Iranian and Persian Gulf affairs under the Bush administration from 2001 to 2004, has issued a sober warning to the public concerning Bush's intentions with Iran. In a recent interview on CNN, she accused the Bush administration of "trying to push a provocative, accidental conflict" with Iran as a pretext to justify "limited strikes" against the country's crucial nuclear and military infrastructures.

{Excellent analysis by Brzezinski, in particular, covering several paragraphs, as well as insightful comments by others. "Must read."}

Europeans Agree to Cut Emissions Sharply If US and Others Follow Suit
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/022107EC.shtml
Seeking to persuade other nations to curb greenhouse gas emissions, European Union ministers pledged Tuesday to raise their own targets if industrialized countries like the United States made similar efforts. European governments would be ready to cut emissions 30 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, but only if other heavy polluters joined in, said Sigmar Gabriel, the German environment minister.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070221/us_nm/environment_usa_ikea_dc
Ikea to charge U.S. customers for plastic bags

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/uclickcomics/20070221/cx_crwiz_uc/crwiz20070221
Wizard of Id

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070221/ap_on_re_us/rhode_island_gay_marriage
R.I. may recognize gay unions from Mass.

http://www.womenspress.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=2606
Gardasil update
ThinkAboutIt...More: New criticism muddies the waters on HPV vaccine
{For anyone interested, the online subscription to Minnesota Women's Press is free. They send a monthly newsletter and they also have a printed version of the monthly newspaper. I am in no way connected to them, other than I receive the monthly newsletter and live in the same state.}

So I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas on why Fitz hasn't charged Cheney with conspiracy.

I'm also wondering if the evidence in this trial can be used in the house to impeach Cheney.

John's entitled to his opinion. I just think he's wrong," said Cheney, a friend of Rumsfeld. He also disclosed that the Arizona senator had apologized to him for a previous comment that the vice president had "badly served" President Bush on Iraq.

"John said some nasty things about me the other day, and then next time he saw me, ran over to me and apologized. Maybe he'll apologize to Rumsfeld," Cheney said in an interview with ABC News.

McCain's campaign declined to comment on Cheney's remarks.

@@@@@@@@@@@@

NOTE TO DICK CHENEY:

PLEASE TALK TO PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH ABOUT RUMSFELD. I THINK IT WAS BUSH WHO FIRED RUMSFED.....

Ally McRepuke
Mitt Romney's whole strategy is to try to take California. They have enough electoral votes for him - that's why. He's trying to get the Fundamentalists by convincing them his moral values are in sync with theirs even is he's a different religion.

Meanwhile, McCain is trying to get back in the favor of the fundamentalists, hoping they'll forget how he tried to distance from them last time he ran.

NonnyO
I read the dolphin article and thanks! Well, dolphins are warm-blooded mammals like we are, and can tolerate more cold but like us, within a small margin of error. Dolphins are peaceful animals that have nothing to do with human warfare and when the Navy harnesses them into service, they are certainly unlawfully detained and the place where they are held is like a Guantanamo for dolphins.

Iranian ska, anyone?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IMLhsvxVSY

Posted by: DiAnne at February 21, 2007 10:28 PM

Sam Brownback can do it too. His huge "interest" in North Korean "human rights" means that the Korean community will vote for him in droves. Of course, the Koreans also share his intense misogyny and homophobia.

And with at least half a million Koreans in California, the election will easily tip.

Brownback is to the Korean community what McCain is to the Vietnamese community. Two communities that are forever lost to the progressive cause, partly because of all the politically correct bickering among Dems.

Ally McRepuke
I know it makes no sense when people vote against their own interest, because of some misguided sentiment.

I used to live in South Dakota and it never failed to amaze me how "the people" could vote for the rich elite, prevent themselves from having a good wage, and perpetually end up in the bottom 40 of the 50 states on about anything that was measured.

Posted by: DiAnne at February 22, 2007 12:04 AM

Well even though I am in ND, I see that trend changing, at least this last election cycle it did.

The population is changing here, I believe, from the "folks" on the farm who didn't get out much, had little time or resources to educate themselves. Alot of them have sent their children to college, and the children relocate to the cities for the most part.

There is a county down near the SD border both has the least populated county in the U.S., and the highest aged population of any other county in the U.S.

The people of working age here in this little town who were not educated but have made sure their kids got their college educations are getting on the internets some and get cable tv these days, so they are getting a little more savy.

It is amazing though how many still remain the way you said, though, and don't watch the news, read the news, and haven't got a clue about current events. This population is aging though.

For anyone who is in Oregon or knows anyone in Oregon, please read this diary. If you're so inclined, perhaps you can think of some action to take.

Oregon Senator has 61 and 78 yo women arrested
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/22/72341/7487

This is NOT what democracy looks like.

BTW, the senator is -- you guessed it -- from the Republic Party.

"What I'm worried about is that the American public will be quite perplexed by the president adding forces while our principal ally is subtracting forces," said Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), a longtime war supporter who opposes Bush's troop increase. "That is the burden we are being left with here."

The notion that the British pullback actually signals success sounds like bad spin, added Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). "I think it's Alice in Wonderland looking through the looking glass," he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17268926/

Pull my finger, it whistles dixie.

Vice President Cheney was the latest to jump on Murtha's plan, yesterday calling it "a huge mistake" and a "policy of defeat" that would embolden terrorists.

"If we were to do what Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are suggesting, all we'll do is validate the al-Qaeda strategy," he told ABC News in Japan, where he is traveling. "The al-Qaeda strategy is to break the will of the American people."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17268926/

Uh, thanks DICK, but you and yours have done a far better job of breaking the will of the American people than anyone on earth, bar none.

DICK AND AL-QAEDA SITTIN IN A TREE....

Truth Shall Prevail
Yes, when I am in ND visiting my mom, and from her reports, I gather that the population is aging where she lives and alot of young people leave the area (like I did).

I was poor enough to get 3 degrees for $1200 - I got grants, scholarships and fellowships from 1970-1884! Yesterday we had a presentation at work where I found out that people with my training now may pay $20,000/year! I started at University of South Dakota. Now I'm afraid it would be out of reach!

My mom also talks about how many National Guards have been redeployed out of her area of ND, and many funerals are mentioned. I could see the effect on the people when I were there. There is a patriotism, but a tired one.

When I get calls from Univ. of SD asking me for money (as an alumni), I grill them about choice and the war. When I was a student, there were definitely some aware young people at the University. It was Vietnam era and many were sleeping and in denial as well, but people began to wake up.

Too bad our leaders forgot the lessons of Vietnam.

Monkey
Cheney doesn't want Japan to join what Franken calls the "coalition of the leaving."

I haven't always been well-disposed towards David Geffen (it's a music industry thing...I worked in/around the business for a long time) but I thought his remarks about Hillary were honest and direct.

Geffen and Obama have nothing to apologize for.

Hillary and Bill were able to deflect legitimate criticism in the past, claiming it was all part of "a right wing conspiracy". But you can't use that defense when it's coming from loyal Democrats and former supporters.

The truth may hurt, but maybe it's supposed to hurt? Maybe it's the coming to grips with the legitimate wound or character flaw that underlies the pain that sets us free?

On the topic of privatizing military health care, got this response from a friend, which mirrored what I'd been thinking:

Norquist wants to shrink the goverment until it's small enough to godown a bathtub drain.

But no conservative wants to shrink the military, which is over halfof our government spending, whether discretionary or not (overpayments on our debt, social security, medicare/aid, and all domesticprograms.)

Eisenhower's warning about the military-industrial complex couldn't have been more prescient. All those years of Cold War have left us with the mentality that war is the only way we can survive, when in fact, our military spending is another welfar system, but this time on a grander scale than anybody could imagine.

We're redistributing wealth, but not to the poor. It's rare to see a military contractor that doesn't pay outstanding wages.

Cyrano

I'm going to let Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Giuliani, McCain and Romney get in a big pile and duke it out.

I caught BBC World News on PBS early this morning.

In Australia police and protestors got into a tangle at a demonstration against Darth Cheney. I'm sure that snooze item won't get into Lamestream Media in this country....

Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, the first to speak, brushed aside a suggestion from some administration allies that the withdrawal of troops from Iraq would create chaos.

“How much more chaos could there be in Baghdad than exists today?” he asked to applause from the audience at a union-sponsored event near the Nevada state capitol.

“Time has run out on what President Bush has tried to do in Iraq,” said Clinton when she took her turn on stage. She touted her legislation to begin a troop withdrawal within 90 days, and as she has repeatedly, declined to apologize for her vote to authorize the war in 2002.

‘What have you done today?’
Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack struck a similar note. “I want to challenge every single one of you and ask a simple question, what have you done today? What have you done today to end this war in Iraq?

“It needs to be ended now. Not six days from now, not six months from now. Not six years from now. It needs to be ended now, and it is up to you,” he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17262144/

The Sydney Committee For Meeting War Criminals will be on hand on Friday morning to greet Dick
Cheney when he arrives at the Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney tomorrow morning.

"Skellies will dance, witches and wrathful deities will stomp, ghouls and demons will wail a welcome to Cheney," says the Carnival organiser, Captain Graeme Dunstan, operations manager for The Sydney Committee for Welcoming War Criminals.

(snip)

Wear basic black, put on a skull mask, bring a drum and if you haven't got a drum, bring a pot and bang it'" Dunstan urges.

"We want our street theatre to invite the vengeance of the dead upon Cheney's head and upon all who gather to kowtow to him."

"We want to create an image of the torment that awaits him and his mates in the hell realms, a cacophony of sound and the dance macabre," he said.

http://peacebus.com.cyber-pod.com/CheneyVisit /

(hat tip to Astrobuff)

Monkey
I heard it on the radio - Bill Richardson asked Democrats to stop infighting. I am with that, as I do not want to give Rove's crowd ideas for the general election by broadcasting weaknesses of candidates on the internet without knowing who will be the nominee in either party. Some may want to work hard for candidates during the primary. This time, I think I'll stick with informing myself on issues and advocating for them. I want to know candidates' positions on issues and when it comes to the war, only one makes the grade anyway, and that's Kucinich who chanted "President without Strings, President without Strings" and he is only a symbolic candidate in this messed-up scheme.

Donald Trump has Condi's number:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/488574p-411470c.html

Donald Trump says in an interview set to air tonight that Rice seems like a nice person, but when it comes to her role as the nation's chief negotiator, he'd like to use his trademark line on her: "You're fired."

Americans "want someone that knows how to negotiate, that knows the art of the deal," he said in an interview on FOX News Channel's "Hannity's America."

"In all fairness, I see Condoleezza Rice - she goes on a plane, she gets off a plane, she waves, she goes there to meet some dictator. ... They talk, she leaves, she waves, the plane takes off. Nothing happens, it's a joke, nothing ever happens. I think she's a very nice woman, but I don't want a nice woman. I want someone that's not necessarily nice."

I want someone that's not necessarily nice."

Posted by: not my president at February 22, 2007 10:46 AM

I do not think of Condoleeza Rica as "nice". I do think of her as "limited'. She is narrow in her perspective and that makes her less than capable as a diplomat.

She is on a pathway and it is highly circumscribed. She's determined but under-informed. She is focused and committed but not a very good listener.

She's a warrior without grounding. It's actually disturbing to watch her work so hard for such inappropriate goals.

But nice? not hardly.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/02/22/the_tower.php
Stopping big media... Video.

http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070221/REPOSITORY/702210315/1028/OPINION02
Concord Monitor (NH). Ignore the head line and scroll down to:
Uncle Sam wants you!
The war of words between GOP Chairman Fergus Cullen and Rep. Carol Shea-Porter continues.
~~~~~
Shea-Porter hit back: "If Fergus Cullen has the courage of his convictions, he should go enlist, because they're having trouble meeting their quota. He's young, he's single and he's healthy. If he needs to know where the recruiters are, call me."

{{{Smack Down!!! Go to link for full story.}}}

The New York Times | American Liberty at the Precipice
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022207K.shtml
"In another low moment for American justice, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that detainees held at the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, do not have the right to be heard in court. The ruling relied on a shameful law that President Bush stampeded through Congress last fall that gives dangerously short shrift to the Constitution. The right of prisoners to challenge their confinement - habeas corpus - is enshrined in the Constitution and is central to American liberty. Congress and the Supreme Court should act quickly and forcefully to undo the grievous damage that last fall's law, and this week's ruling, have done to this basic freedom." writes the New York Times.

{Excellent and short editorial. The senators mentioned need to be contacted....}

25 in Congress Criticized Escalation but Voted for It Anyway
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022207L.shtml
Twenty-five members of Congress caved to partisan pressure and voted in favor of troop escalation in Iraq, despite having publicly criticized President Bush's strategy in the weeks prior to the vote.

{List of names....}

Sherwood Ross | Hardware King Bush Hits Iran for Peddling Arms
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022207M.shtml
"Even if he's not lying this time, President Bush's outrage over Iran's Quds Force supplying armor-piercing weapons to Iraq's 'insurgents' rings hollow coming from the world's Number One 'Merchant of Death'," writes Sherwood Ross.

The People vs. Richard Cheney
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022207N.shtml
Resolved, that Richard B. Cheney, vice president of the United States, should be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that these articles of impeachment be submitted to the American people.

Excerpt:

Herewith, in the absence of action for the past six years by a timid Republican Congress and a refusal to act by the new Democratic leadership, we, the Fourth Estate, take the mantle of indictment unto ourselves and present these Articles of Impeachment, to be adopted by the United States House of Representatives and voted upon by the United States Senate, at their earliest possible leisure:

{Long... but a good summary of the crimes of Richard B. Cheney....}

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6383747.stm

Prince Harry will serve in Iraq
Prince Harry's regiment is to be sent to Iraq for a six-month tour of duty, defence officials have confirmed.
His Blues and Royals regiment will serve as part of the latest deployments to the country, they said.

While in Iraq, the prince will carry out "a normal troop commander's role", a joint statement by the Ministry of Defence and Clarence House said.

He will be the first senior royal to serve on the front line since Prince Andrew in the Falklands in 1982.

This will involve "leading a troop of 12 men in four Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicles, each with a crew of three" from the regiment's "A squadron", the statement added.

"The decision to deploy him has been a military one, made by Chief of General Staff, Gen Sir Richard Dannatt, in conjunction with Cornet Wales' commanding officer," it said.

"The Royal household has been consulted throughout."

Further details of exactly where Harry would serve, or his specific role, would not be released because such a move would be "potentially dangerous", the statement added.

A Blues and Royals source said Harry, who has long expressed his determination to see front-line action, was "over the moon" at the deployment.

Last year, the prince said: "There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country."

{{{More on link. Someone needs to inform Prince Harry that, like the US, the troops are not "fighting for their country." They are fighting to preserve, protect, and defend the oil wells and oil fields in Iraq, thanks to the coercion of George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney and the corporate cronies they represent. No one who is part of the "coalition of the willing" is in Iraq "fighting for their country!!!" Iraq did not attack anyone, they had nothing whatsoever to do with 9/11, and thanks to the US and it's "allies" the country is now destabilized to the point that Iraqis are engaged in a sectarian civil war, and the invasion itself, based on lies for oil, is a war crime. If the Iraqis really and truly wanted to get the US and others out of Iraq, they'd make at least a temporary truce with each other which would leave no excuse for the US or anyone else to stay in Iraq or even in the region, and once they are all gone, then resume their civil war if they've such a mind to continue killing each other for reasons no one but they understand. Furthermore, with just the info provided in world media, there is more than ample info for any of the criminals who commit terrorist acts to track down Prince Harry's unit and either kill or capture him/them.... Duh.}}}

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070222/ap_en_ce/britain_prince_harry_iraq
Prince Harry to be sent to Iraq

{{{If Tony Blair wanted to pull a PR coup that might gain favor with with the Brits, he'd end the British presence in Iraq before Prince Harry's unit has a chance to be sent to participate in the war crime that is the occupation of Iraq....}}}

Karen
I agree about Condi. Was interesting that Trump to any extent pegged her though, and on Fox.

Condi is still fighting Commies, like McCain. They can't transfer to this century.

Neither can the neocons or Bush, even though he says "9-11 changed everything."

Posted by: karen at February 22, 2007 12:19 PM

Well said about Condi. I totally agree with your summary of her.

I just saw this post DiAnne. So heartening to know about this campaign. I'll try to spread the word about backbone.org and March 4th.