Where Are They Now? Dead.

Odd Casey... when I first read that article my first instinct was to wonder if those young men were murdered not just assuem they were victims of war.

And in 1 year, we'll be the same except for the dead people because we'll be hearing the same old lies from the White House and all 'reports' coming out about the Occupation.

If it's not Petreaus shovelling out the lies, it will be the next person whose head is on the chopping block.

This is very sad news. I saw it first at Daily Kos.

I SPOKE WITH MY CONGRESSMAN YESTERDAY - GOT RIGHT IN HIS FACE.

Here are the details

9-11 Anniversary; my little city was making a big deal of the anniversary this year (don't remember any big deal on the anniversary last year or the year before). There was a public service in a public park which was going to honor a person who had died in the World Trade Center tower and a soldier who had died in Iraq (the second thing was what bothered me because, as we now all know or should know, Iraq had nothing to do with the attack on 9-11). A National Guard General was going to be the keynote speaker. It looked to me like it was going to be another rah-rah war, rah-rah military, rah-rah Bush event. I had originally thought of video taping it.

I show up and start to observe who put this thing together and who was in attendance. I was surprised - quite surprised - to see my controversial congressman sitting on the stage. All the other semi important local officials were there (most of them Republicans of course) The Sheriff, The Mayor, the two state Representative, our state Senator, a couple of county Commissioners etc..

I was surprised to see the Congressman there - I thought he would either be in Washington or at some bigger/ more important event. After double checking and making sure it was the Congressman (I had not met him before just knew him through photographs), I decided to try to confront the Congressman about Iraq after everyone had left to go back to there safe and warm homes. BTW this event was not well attended by the general public - there were almost as many dignitaries, honorees, participants as there was audience members - so it was quite likely the the C-man would have a few moments to chat with me.

I waited until the end of ceremony was done and people began to go to their cars. I saw the C-man shake and hands and circulate a bit. Then, when he was alone for a minute or so, I approached and grabbed his hand to shake it (this being very important to shake hands LOL). I asked him what Iraq had to do with the attack on 9-11. He told me, without hestitation "Al Qaeda". I told him that Iraq had nothing to do with the Al Qaeda attack on 9-11. He said no there were Al Qaeda in Iraq. I said no, not according to the 9-11 Commission Report. Then I asked him if he had read the 9-11 Commission report - he barked "yes". I then pointed out that of the 19 hijackers on 9-11 none were Iraqis. At this point, the C-man knew that his false and misleading talking points were not going to go over with me. When he went back to the Al Qaeda being in Iraq, I think I called him a liar. At this point the C-man knew exactly what to do - RETREAT AND GET OUT. He said there was nothing to discuss etc... and backed away from...

But I felt happy - I had two minutes with the C-man and I didn't even have to go to Washington, buy a ticket, or schedule an appointment...

Sparrow,

If they would kill Pat Tillman and then cover it up, they are capable of anything.

The more I think about Tillman the more I feel it was literally an assasination as oppossed to just a situation that got out of control.
His entire unit wanted him dead, buried and forgotten.

The way they come down on dissent here is scary enough, it is hard to fathom what they are deliberately doing to soldiers on the front that just can no longer stay silent.

Great post Ralph!

" I think I called him a liar. At this point the C-man knew exactly what to do - RETREAT AND GET OUT!"

HAHAHAHA!!! That's great!

Basically, Afghanistan has caused the collapse of Japans ruling party. Putin and Japan. ok, now I really don't feel safe.

Japan's Prime Minister Says He'll Resign

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070912/japan-abe/

" I think I called him a liar. At this point the C-man knew exactly what to do - RETREAT AND GET OUT!"

HAHAHAHA!!! That's great!

Posted by: Christy at September 12, 2007 09:29 AM

@@@@@@@@@

I think I said that he was lying... BTW this guy - our pro-war, pro-violence, lying C-man is, supposedly, a reverend/ minister.... (before he became a politician). I think he is the one of the biggest frauds in Washington right now... Despite this the Dems will have a tough battle unseating him...

You know Ralph, I think I understand now why the masses are not 'marching', per se.

I think the 'Revolution' will be staged at the ballot boxes. Don't be surprised if the other 140 million people eligible to vote, suddenly show up on election day.

EVERYONE I know is not only worried, but p*ssed.

I personally do not believe ANY incumbent is 'safe'. Especially the republican ones.

Calling congressmen liars to their face when they lie! God I LOVE IT!

I heard a republican say something I thought was a good idea once. (You know, back before republicans were batsh*t insane). He said:

'I never vote for the same person twice.'

I miss those days when republicans were capable of good ideas.

Posted by: Christy at September 12, 2007 09:38 AM

Christy, it's actually a good thing that Japan's Democratic Liberal Party prime minister will resign.

The Democratic Liberals are neither democratic nor liberal, and are among W's most important enablers (along with the Labours and the Tories in the UK and the Liberals in Australia).

It's about time Japan had a regime change too.

Er, my mistake... it's Liberal Democratic Party, not the other way.

Posted by: Christy at September 12, 2007 10:20 AM

Not even my incumbent is safe. Sure, my neighborhood is completely Republican, but the congressional district also includes Democratic patches - AND a DCCC-funded challenger.

The "HONK TO IMPEACH" sign I mentioned from a few weeks back has been repaired and resurrected ...

gonna grab a faux toe & uplow -- duh

Fear and loathing at the airport
Everyone is unhappy with air travel, but no one can do anything about it

By Chris Palmeri and Keith Epstein
BusinessWeekOnline
Sept 11, 2007

When Marion C. Blakey took over at the Federal Aviation Administration in 2002, she was determined to fix an air travel system battered by terrorism, antiquated technology, and the ever-turbulent finances of the airline industry. Five years later, as she prepares to step down on Sept. 13, it's clear she failed. Almost everything about flying is worse than when she arrived. Greater are the risks, the passenger headaches, and the costs in lost productivity. Almost everyone has a horror story about missed connections, lost baggage, and wasted hours on the tarmac. More than 909,000 flights were late through June of this year, twice the level of 2002.

And if you think the Summer from Hell is over, fasten your seat belt. The FAA predicts 1 billion passengers a year will take to the skies by 2015, a 36 percent increase from the current level. FAA officials say this year's Labor Day crunch could become an everyday flying fiasco within eight years, costing America's economy $22 billion annually.

There was a time not long ago when the head of the FAA would be the last person you'd expect to express public doubts about potential catastrophe. Today, Blakey is unabashed about the rising risk of flying. There have been 339 incidents so far this year where planes got too close to each other or to objects on the ground, up from 297 in the same period last year. On Aug. 16 a passenger jet on the runway at Los Angeles International Airport came within just 37 feet of another airliner — the eighth such incident this year at LAX alone. "While it is the safest form of transportation," Blakey says, "deep in your heart you still know that [when you're] flying at 30,000 feet with no safety net you're counting on the system — a system that is at the breaking point."

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20724859/

comforting, huh?

But I felt happy - I had two minutes with the C-man and I didn't even have to go to Washington, buy a ticket, or schedule an appointment...

Posted by: Ralpheh at September 12, 2007 09:20 AM

Good for you!!!!

Pity you did'nt have a microphone with you to ask the questions to the sleezebag, while the ceremony was in progress, after all the ceremony was based on lies.

Probably would have been thrown out, but it would have been worth it.

kudos to thy cajones, sir ralpheh

Hey yall go vote!

Do you believe President Bush's actions justify impeachment? * 551841 responses

Yes, between the secret spying, the deceptions leading to war and more, there is plenty to justify putting him on trial.
89%

No, like any president, he has made a few missteps, but nothing approaching "high crimes and misdemeanors."
4.2%

No, the man has done absolutely nothing wrong. Impeachment would just be a political lynching.
5.2%

I don't know.
1.9%

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10562904/?polls=is_open

kudos to thy cajones, sir ralpheh

Posted by: monkey at September 12, 2007 03:35 PM

@@@@@@@@

Happy to be of service... at this point, it is my duty -

very few in my town will speak out and I have nothing to lose

BTW: check out my fresh, homemade You Tube videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A3q5doKMBs

http://www.youtube.com/v/wUO8ZxcxOiI

Here:

Vote for my video in a poll here:

http://proctoringcongress.blogspot.com/

My Video: WHAT conversation?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFFpv3_rUGU

Description: The "lack" of conversation at Hillary Clinton's You Tube website. Very strange indeed.............

Here are the choices:

Campaign Video Of The Week -- September 8, 2007
September 8 -- War For Peace : Big Brother Takes On Iran !!!
September 7 -- A Letter To New Hampshire
September 6 -- Change

September 5 -- WHAT conversation*!*!*!*!*

September 4 -- Senator John Edwards' Memorial Day Message

Citizens offer new take on news
Source: British Broadcasting Corporation

A news agenda formulated by citizens would be radically different from that put together by journalists.

That is the conclusion of a US study which compared what made the headlines in the mainstream media with that of three diverse user-driven news sources.

The study - conducted by a wing of the US Pew Research centre - compared stories over seven days.

Its results will make interesting reading for news editors as well as the new breed of citizen journalists.
Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6990033.stm

Monkey
I think they are eventually going to a GPS type system instead of radar. Supposedly that will help with all the planes in the sky. It's alot of fuel though. It really bugs me to hear about someone flying a long distance for a one hour meeting, but that's what I heard on business news that alot of people still do. Think what it costs to fly the moron around, but at least there is only one of him (unless he has "doubles," like Saddam did).

Casey - what a terrible story. The bullet in the head sounds very suss to me.

I don't know about anyone else, but I always believed that Betrayus would put Bush's spin on his report. That's why Bush kept up the charade of "wait for the report". He was chosen by Bush to do his bidding. What's happened to all the others chosen by him to do his bidding? They've ALL gone. Betrayus is risking the ending of his career dishonourably to go along with this apalling crap. He will be exposed.

The Senate shut down Bush's Mexican Trucking Program.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/12/14838/0069

Interesting to see how the Republicans voted since they were the ones who so overwhelmingly supported it in 01.

Posted by: Christy at September 12, 2007 04:57 PM

Uptick?
Bush’s Iraq standing improves

By Mark Murray
Deputy political director
NBC News
Updated: 58 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - With President Bush set to address the nation Thursday night with a prime-time speech on Iraq, the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll finds that Bush’s standing on Iraq has improved slightly.

Still, only three in 10 approve of his handling of Iraq; a substantial majority of respondents believe removing Saddam Hussein from power was not worth the U.S. casualties and the cost of the war; and almost two-thirds want American soldiers to begin leaving Iraq now or within the next year.

“The bottom line remains: Victory is not possible, and the war is not worth it,” says Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted the survey with Republican pollster Neil Newhouse.

But Newhouse has a bit of a different take. “There is a sense we’re making progress,” he observes. “But, politically, Americans need to see more to justify our troops being there.”

“They are looking for more than military progress.”

Republican opinion provides bump
The survey — which was conducted of 1,002 adults from Sept. 7-10, and which has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points — comes as Bush prepares for his Thursday night address, in which he’s expected to endorse Gen. David Petraeus’ call to gradually withdraw 30,000 troops from Iraq, which would keep approximately 130,000 U.S. soldiers there by next summer.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Wednesday called that “unacceptable,” arguing that reducing the number of troops to the pre-surge level is not enough.

According to the poll, just 30 percent approve of Bush’s handling of Iraq, but that’s an eight-point improvement from July. The increase comes primarily from Republicans, men and independents, the NBC/Journal pollsters say.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20748524/

Posted by: not my president at September 12, 2007 06:31 PM

Oil prices hit $80 for first time in history
A production increase from OPEC fails to calm market’s concern

Oil futures prices rose sharply Wednesday, briefly climbing above a record $80 a barrel after the government reported a surprisingly large drop in crude inventories and declines in gasoline supplies and refinery activity.

The report from the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration suggested oil supplies are tightening as demand remains strong. That’s why oil prices are rising despite OPEC’s decision on Tuesday to boost crude production by 500,000 barrels per day this fall, analysts said.

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12400801/

Sen. Lieberman, like Captain Ahab, goes nuts proposing war with Iran.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibpyameu5Zc

I suggest giving Lieberman's D.C. office a call 202-224-3121

WASHINGTON - A day before Bush was to deliver a major address on the war, Senate Democrats rejected a four-star general’s recommendation to keep some 130,000 troops in Iraq through next summer and called for legislation that would sharply limit the mission of U.S. forces.

Their proposal was not expected to set a deadline to end the war, as many Democrats want, but instead restrict troops to a narrow set of objectives: training the Iraqi military and police, protecting U.S. assets and fighting terrorists, party officials told the Associated Press.

The goal of the tempered measure is to attract enough Republican votes to break the 60-vote threshold in the Senate needed to end a filibuster — something Democrats have been unable to do since taking control of Congress eight months ago.

“I call on the Senate Republicans to not walk lockstep as they have with the president for years in this war,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said at a Capitol Hill news conference. “It’s time to change. It’s the president’s war. At this point it also appears clear it’s also the Senate Republicans’ war.”

more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20745157/from/RS.3/

Spy Master Admits Error
Intel czar Mike McConnell told Congress a new law helped bring down a terror plot. The facts say otherwise.

Web exclusive
By Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball
Newsweek

Sept. 12, 2007 - In a new embarrassment for the Bush administration top spymaster, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell is withdrawing an assertion he made to Congress this week that a recently passed electronic-surveillance law helped U.S. authorities foil a major terror plot in Germany.

The temporary measure, signed into law by President Bush on Aug. 5, gave the U.S. intelligence community broad new powers to eavesdrop on telephone and e-mail communications overseas without seeking warrants from the surveillance court. The law expires in six months and is expected to be the subject of intense debate in the months ahead. On Monday, McConnell—questioned by Sen. Joe Lieberman—claimed the law, intended to remedy what the White House said was an intelligence gap, had helped to “facilitate” the arrest of three suspects believed to be planning massive car bombings against American targets in Germany. Other U.S. intelligence-community officials questioned the accuracy of McConnell's testimony and urged his office to correct it. Four intelligence-community officials, who asked for anonymity discussing sensitive material, said the new law, dubbed the "Protect America Act,” played little if any role in the unraveling of the German plot. The U.S. military initially provided information that helped the Germans uncover the plot. But that exchange of information took place months before the new “Protect America” law was passed.

After questions about his testimony were raised, McConnell called Lieberman to clarify his statements to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, an official said. (A spokeswoman for Lieberman confirmed that McConnell called the senator Tuesday but could not immediately confirm what they spoke about.) Late Wednesday afternoon, McConnell issued a statement acknowleding that "information contributing to the recent arrests [in Germany] was not collected under authorities provided by the 'Protect America Act'."

The developments were cited by Democratic critics on Capitol Hill as the latest example of the Bush administration's exaggerated claims—and contradictory statements—about ultrasecret surveillance activities. In the face of such complaints, the administration has consistently resisted any public disclosure about the details of the surveillance activities—even though McConnell himself has openly talked about some aspects of them.

CONTINUED...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20749773/site/newsweek/

monkey,
When I was in the JK hearing last week, on the GAO report, my jaw dropped when Walker and Norm Coleman spoke matter-of-factly about classified vs. unclassified numbers. Apparently, the GAO report is based on the UNclassified numbers, and not the (apparently) MUCH BETTER classified numbers that Sen. Coleman got to see.

NO ONE around me even blinked. Now you know I have been around the block a few times, and generally I think there are no surprises left.

But this floored me. WTF are we even TALKING about if there are so many sets of numbers that you feel like you're at a ping pong match, trying to figure out who's going to win?

I just got back from the Code Pink house, which is really filling up with folks from out of town, for this Saturday's march. Medea said Obama came out with some good incentives for peace today, and that may pull Hillary away from the bad influences of the DLC and her advisors. At any rate, it is evidence of messages getting through, at least to the candidates.

We need to keep asking the hard questions and demanding good answers. Don't let up, anyone.

Meteor Blades (at kos) has a diary up about the Democrats funding troops only to come home.

Maybe they are finally listening to my messaging.

Still...I don't think they can stop Iraq or Iran unless they bite the bullet and impeach.

Read David Brock's piece about conservative syndicated columnists being more pervasive than 'liberal' sydnicated columnists.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/12/172458/061

Casey,

Thanks (I guess) for this thread. I hadn't read this story, and it just makes me ill.

What have we become?

President Bush's strategy all along has been to run out the clock until he can hand off Iraq to the next president -- and then claim they screwed it up. This is one giant reprehensible game to avoid blame for the catastrophe in Iraq. The president wants to be able to say that the dog ate his homework and that's why Iraq didn't work out. I keep hearing that Shaggy song running through my head, "It wasn't me! It wasn't me!"

If it hadn't been for those darn Democrats everything he did would have worked out okay. Except in this scenario, hundreds, if not thousands, of more Americans will die and get their arms and legs blown off so that George Bush can feel a little better about himself. How many more American lives is George Bush's ego worth?

Is anyone really going to be so gullible as to buy into this cheap magician's trick? According to The New York Times, unfortunately, that's an excellent possibility. Democrats are considering buckling for a record one millionth time in a row. The so-called compromise that is being discussed within the Democratic caucus right now is nearly identical to Bush's proposal. That is so stupid it makes the head hurt. Can someone please help us? Will anyone represent us? Where are our so-called leaders?

I would like to buy the Democrats a clue. According to the latest USA Today/Gallup poll, 60% of Americans are to the left of you! They answered that they are in favor of hard deadlines for withdrawal no matter what the conditions on the ground are. That is considerably starker than the average Democrat's position.

By the way, this was a poll question loaded to get a low answer. Who is really going to say they are for withdrawal no matter what the conditions are? Well, apparently a huge majority of Americans. Even with that kind of loaded question, sixty percent said we have to go -- no matter what.

Are you listening Democrats? The amount of disdain the Democrats will have earned if they buckle again will be immeasurable. Even with overwhelming American support behind them, the most deeply unpopular president of all time and the country in a mood for dramatic change, if they give in to Bush again, the world will not be able to contain our disgust with them.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/last-chance-saloon-will-_b_64008.html

What all has Bush done in office you ask...

DATE: 9/11/2007

•I attacked and took over 2 countries.

•I spent the U.S. surplus and bankrupted the US Treasury.

•I shattered the record for the biggest annual deficit in history (not easy!).

•I set an economic record for the most personal bankruptcies filed in any 12 month period.

•I set all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the stock market.

•In my first year in office I set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history (tough to beat my dad's, but I did).

•After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, I presided over the worst security failure in US history.

•I set the record for most campaign fund raising trips by any president in US history.

•In my first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their jobs.

•I cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any other president in US history.

•I set the all-time record for most real estate foreclosures in a 12-month period.

•I set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president, since the advent of TV.

•I presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.

•I cut health care benefits for war veterans.

•I set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind.

•I dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history.

•I've made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable of any in US history.

•Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history. (The poorest multimillionaire, Condoleeza Rice, had a Chevron oil tanker named after her for a while.)

•I am the first president in US history to have all 50 states of the Union simultaneously struggle against bankruptcy.

•I presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world.

•I am the first president in US history to order a US attack AND military occupation of a sovereign nation, and I did so against the will of the United Nations and the vast majority of the international community.

•I have created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States, called the "Bureau of Homeland Security

•I set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any other president in US history (Ronnie was tough to beat, but I did it!!).

•I am the first president in US history to compel the United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission.

•I am the first president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the Elections Monitoring Board.

•I removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US history.

•I rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant. I withdrew from the World Court of Law.

•I refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.

•I am the first president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors access during the 2002 US elections.

•I am the all-time US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations.

•The biggest lifetime contributor to my campaign, who is also one of my best friends, presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).

•I spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.

•I am the first US president to establish a secret shadow government.

•I took the world's sympathy for the US after 9/11, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world (possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).

•I am the first US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability.

•I changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.

•I have removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any other president in US history.

RECORDS AND REFERENCES:

• I have at least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine
(Texas driving record has been erased and is not available).

•I was AWOL from the National Guard and deserted the military during time of war.

•I refuse to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use.

•All records of my tenure as governor of Texas have been spirited away to my fathers library, sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

•All records of any SEC investigations into my insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

•All minutes of meetings of any public corporation for which I served on the board are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

•Any records or minutes from meetings I (or my VP) attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.

http://www.funnycracker.com/index.cfm?target=features.cfm&view=details&id=353

When you look at it that way, it really is quite overwhelming.

Is Admiral Fallon questioning authority?

From the DU thread (can't say if it is true... but a third carrier never did go to the Gulf)

He demonstrated his independence from the White House when he refused in February to go along with a proposal to send a third naval carrier task force to the Persian Gulf, as reported by IPS in May. Fallon questioned the military necessity for the move, which would have signaled to Iran a readiness to go to war. Fallon also privately vowed that there would be no war against Iran on his watch, implying that he would quit rather than accept such a policy.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2988998#2989018

---Also getting email from Quakers in CA, Maine & Seattle about Reverend Yearwood & Lori Perdue. They say it's like the '60s & are outraged.

"This administration stands indicted for incompetence and mendacity. That it still commands the loyalty of even a quarter of our fellow citizens is testament to the persistence of willful ignorance."

Gary Hart

When I was commuting & listening to NPR on the car radio, I heard a Senator asking General Petraeus if the war in Iraq was making us safer. He said "I..don't..know"..

Looks like Kayakbiker has put up a video of it, edited down by VoteVets.
http://silencedmajority.blogs.com/silenced_majority_portal/

Posted by: monkey at September 12, 2007 07:32 PM

Re Bush's rising standing, I can tell you something. My son took a political science class where the professor told the class that Bush could go on television and take a dump & his standing would go up .. temporarily. It's the pure media exposure .. doesn't much matter what he says. It's publicity & makes him more iconic & some swallow his BS too but it doesn't really stick & then he has to turn around & try it again.

Remember - the guy is on his 4th press secretary & almost everything he does is staged. When he goes to important international meetings he thinks he's a standup comic.

Watchdog asks: Why is Bush's kid brother getting federal bucks?
An independent watchdog agency has asked the Department of Education to investigate why President Bush's younger brother, Neil, has received money earmarked for the president's signature education initiative to sell a curriculum program that has not been subjected to the rigorous evaluation it deserves.

Neil Bush, 52, who has no background in education, founded Ignite! Learning in 1999 with donations from his parents and a slate of international business interests. The company produces "Curriculum on Wheels" devices -- computer/projectors that are pre-loaded with software aimed at preparing students for standardized tests that are the central tenet of the president's No Child Left Behind law.

The "COWs" are sold to school districts at a cost of $3,800 to $4,200, although they have not been subjected to peer-reviewed scientific studies, according to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. CREW says nearly $1 million has been spent on the systems in 16 school districts, mostly in Texas, where George W. Bush served as governor before his election in 2000, and Florida, where brother Jeb Bush is governor.

The watchdog group is requesting an investigation from the Education Department's inspector general, alleging that the Ignite! systems do not meet the standards laid out by Congress dictating how NCLB funds can be spent.

"It is astonishing that taxpayer dollars are being spent on unproven educational products to the financial benefit of the president’s brother," Melanie Sloan, CREW's executive director, said in a news release. "The IG should investigate whether children’s educations are being sacrificed so that Neil Bush can rake in federal funds."

Neil Bush first attracted public scrutiny for his role in the Savings and Loan scandals of the late 1980s when a Colorado S&L on whose board he served failed. The scandal cost taxpayers $1.6 billion.

Some school districts identified by CREW spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal money on the mobile projectors, which include curriculum for math, science or social studies. In addition to their baseline cost -- $3,800 for a single-subject COW or $4,200 for one covering all three subjects -- the units impose on schools a $1,000 annual licensing and upkeep fee, CREW says. Schools also have the option of purchasing lifetime contracts for $6,800, according to the New York Times. >>>cont
http://rawstory.com//news/2007/Watchdog_asks_Why_Bushs_kid_brother_0912.html

Why George W. Bush Has Not Failed, By A Democrat

For a long time now our nation has been engaged in a national discussion that has merited little progress. Talking points have come to over take rational points of logic, and many things we say have been deliberately nuanced to provide double meanings which can be distrorted at will.

The argument about wether Bush is stupid, or just incompetent will, either way, inevitably dead end into meaninglessness that resulted in the same reality. A complete failure of government, leadership, and tradition.

Yet, does this failure belong to George W. Bush ? Let's look deeper...shall we?

We often hear phrases like this one "George W. Bush has failed the poor." The poor have been severely abused, to be sure. However, to assume that he is the one who failed them, you also simultainiously must assume...that he was working for their benefit in the first place.

Not one single time has he ever done anything of true benefit for the poor. Not ever.

To say "George W. Bush has failed the working class." Again, you must assume he was working on their behalf to begin with. Never has he given workers more thought or rights than their corporate overlords who give him money and power. Not one single time has he ever failed to better the odds in favor of corporate interests.

Failure to capture bin Laden? He never wanted bin laden captured. Bin Laden escaped, because George W. Bush was successful at refusing to capture him at every single turn.

When we speak of how badly Bush has failed the US Constitution, the oath he swore to uphold to it...Once more, we must assume he meant it, and was in favor of the US Constitution all along. He wasn't, He hasn't been. He isn't now. He never was and never will be.

Not one single time has he allowed the US Constitution to stand in the way of unbelievable and even horrific acts he has decided he will proceed with, the law be damned. He has stripped us of right, after right, and perverted doctrines and traditions beyond all recognition. He has committed open High Crimes, felonies, and yes, even war crimes and high treason, and to this point has gotten away with every single thing he wanted to do without a single moment of accountability. It is hard to call that a failure for him.

If his goal all along was to loot our Treasury to the bone, steal another nations resources, and completely dismantle the United States Constitution, then he has not failed a single time to meet those objectives.

We watch as time and time again, every one of his so called 'failures' personally enriches him, his family and a common group of cronies and insiders, yet, we all tend to view this as coincidence. How can every failure produce profits for him and his friends, and it possibly be said he failed?

If a theft of a lifetime was the whole point, George W. Bush has not failed a single time in ensuring its' success.

If there was a true and tragic 'failure' here, it belongs to We, the People. We have collectively failed to understand the nature of a monster. We failed to see the monster at all, assuming no president we could elect would openly commit treason against us. We failed to realize a US President would work to subvert the United States of America into a failed nation for his own personal gain.

Well. He has. Repeatedly. He has not failed a single time.

Japan's Prime Minister Says He'll Resign

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070912/japan-abe/

Posted by: Christy at September 12, 2007 09:38 AM

Christy, he's been so long that I'll believe it when it truly happens.

It's alot of fuel though. It really bugs me to hear about someone flying a long distance for a one hour meeting

Posted by: not my president at September 12, 2007 06:31 PM

nmp, to me it's inexcusable. Video conferencing/meetings have been around for almost 20 years. What nonsense, flying anywhere for 1 hour! People who do that should pay quadruple and more from their own personal income. Only when it costs them in disposable dollars will they change their greedy habits.

When you look at it that way, it really is quite overwhelming.

Posted by: Christy at September 12, 2007 11:14 PM

You are not kidding!!

How can we get this list to Bush's own eyes/ears (since he's illiterate)

Is Admiral Fallon questioning authority?

Posted by: nmp at September 12, 2007 11:59 PM

Good for Admiral Fallon! How sad there are not more who really have brain cells and a conscience.

When he goes to important international meetings he thinks he's a standup comic.

Posted by: nmp at September 13, 2007 12:12 AM

Since it's international - his audience thinks he's a standup comic too. They all know that he's certainly NOT a president!

Posted by: Christy at September 13, 2007 12:42 AM

Interesting take on it all, Christy. We have to berate Bush. Otherwise we have to turn blame upon ourselves - and that would be too horrible to contemplate - that all the murder and mayhem is the consequence of our inaction.

Remembrance of 9/11 leaves us untouched
September 13, 2007

Americans need to look long and hard at how they use their freedoms, writes Derrick Jackson.

SIX years after the September 11 atrocities, America has yet to turn sombre remembrance into sober reflection.

On Tuesday, we rightfully condemned the terrorists who killed nearly 3000 of us, and we praised the heroes who lost their lives saving lives.

Today is just another ordinary day of national and global gluttony.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/remembrance-of-911-leaves-us-untouched/2007/09/12/1189276805395.html

The D.C. establishment versus American public opinion

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/09/09/dc_establishment/index.html

President Petraeus? Iraqi official recalls the day US general revealed ambition
Source: The Independent (UK)
The US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, expressed long-term interest in running for the US presidency when he was stationed in Baghdad, according to a senior Iraqi official who knew him at that time.
Sabah Khadim, then a senior adviser at Iraq's Interior Ministry, says General Petraeus discussed with him his ambition when the general was head of training and recruitment of the Iraqi army in 2004-05.
"I asked him if he was planning to run in 2008 and he said, 'No, that would be too soon'," Mr Khadim, who now lives in London, said.
General Petraeus has a reputation in the US Army for being a man of great ambition. If he succeeds in reversing America's apparent failure in Iraq, he would be a natural candidate for the White House in the presidential election in 2012.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2956422.ece

US Suffers Decline In Power And Prestige, Survey Reveals
Source: Financial Times
The US has suffered a significant loss of power and prestige around the world in the years since George W. Bush came to power, limiting its ability to influence international crises, an annual survey from a well-regarded British security think-tank concluded yesterday.
The 2007 strategic survey from the non-partisan International Institute for Strategic Studies picks the decline of US authority as one of the most important security developments of the past year - but suggests the fading of American prestige began earlier, largely due to its failings in Iraq.
The deterioration of American power had led to a "non-polar" world in which other actors, such as Russia, had been able to assert themselves.
The report says the US failure in Iraq had meant the Bush administration suffered from a much-reduced ability to hold sway in both domestic and international affairs.

truthisfreedom
What do you expect from a cokehead dry-drunk?
His brain is jelly. There was no hope for America once he got in power.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0d6ac3f8-6191-11dc-bf25-0000779fd2ac.html

Bonuses Up To $150K Offered To Vets
Source: AP
DENVER -- The Army, which has already given hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to recruit soldiers and get veterans to re-enlist, will be offering incentives of up to $150,000 to senior special forces members nearing retirement.
Karen Linne, spokeswoman for Fort Carson, said the bonuses are being offered Army-wide, and that bonuses have traditionally been used to try to keep skilled people beyond their retirement dates.
Veterans of other groups also are being offered thousands of dollars to re-enlist, based on their skill and length of service. The so-called "enhanced selective re-enlistment bonus" program offers $1,500 to $33,000, according to a list published in Army Times.
The Army has several programs aimed at competing with Blackwater and other companies who provide security, often ex-soldiers, but at much higher pay than the Army can offer.

Now where is this money going to be coming from I ask?
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/14102211/detail.html

US Suffers Decline In Power And Prestige

Posted by: rossiann at September 13, 2007 04:49 AM

... and THAT is why I was so distraught after Theft 2004...

History will pass judgement on who was right... like it'll matter by then.

FGWB

indy mmmmmmeteorologist monkey reporting... Humberto is coming ashore in Texas... there SHERRRRR has been a lot of hurricanes and storms hittin Texas this year...

We go now live to Rev. Pat Robertson in our Ivory Tower studios for a comment on why God would single out Texas at this time in history...

Pat?

Hey Ally,

Pick an accent color to go with olive green and baby blue.

I would suggest either white, black or yellow, but you may have a third color option already to accent the blue and green.

BTW, I am not telling you what it is, but I will give you a hint. It is not on canvas.

Now that the sketching is all done I can not wait to paint it! It is very freaking cool, I think you will like it.

Rev. Pat: Thank you Brother Monkey!

The Lords hurrycanes are targeting Texus, because you see, it sits next to Loosianna.

And everyone knows Loosianna is an evil menace!

It is all Hugo Chavez fault, so lets bomb his people in the name of the Lord.

Ayyye-men.

Rossian
Interesting analysis from the British thinktank on the ebb of US power & influence. Demographics are not on our side, and we don't produce much but just consume. Bush has accelerated a trend that was happening in the developed world, especially with extreme free markets.

Bush couldn't push through his immigration bill because he is a lame duck, but lamer than most because of the growing unpopularity of the war. His bill favored business but not conservative populist sentiment, which tends toward racism and protectivism (though they are not bright enough to understand the concept of unionizations, which the confuse with socialism).
& Americans are complicent when they buy cheap foreign Walmart goods on credit, which Walmart in turn buys on credit, and the government also runs the war on credit.

As for the Israeli/Palestinian situation, the US attempts to influence the situation have been too little too late, consisting mostly of sound bites from Condi. The only thing the US can really do is sell daisy cutters, cluster bombs etc. to Israel. From the beginning, the Bush administration has largely ignored the situation and it's heavy symbolism to the rest of the Muslim world (not just Arab world, as Iran is not Arab; not just mideast, as Malaysia, Phillipines etc. is heavily involved, along with parts of Africa).

Then there is climate change and another factor that forced Bush's hand, after refusing Kyoto and trying to deny and reframe the whole problem, was business itself. Businesses pollute but some of them also innovate and they don't wait for the government if there is public pressure, competition from other companies (probably multinational) and money to be made. Nor do Mayors or Governors wait for the feds.

There was a time when "states rights" was a very bad way to go, but this administration has changed that, just as they have proven that they are not actually conservative, but radical ideologues of a new stripe.

The US has gone down because of bad monetary policy, bad foreign policy and failure to lead, coupled with an epidemic of just plain embarrassing people in the public eye (Bush, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Anne Coulter, etc.) who are all treated as media stars and fairly equivalent. Our infrastructure has been allowed to crumble while we are watched by the whole world, and at the same time, that of Iraq was destroyed and hasn't even been rebuilt despite spending 8 billion a week (give or take a large rounding error).

Watch this video:
http://www.atomfilms.com/film/haha_america.jsp or click on my name and scroll down til you see the face of the little laughing Chinese man - laughing at America.

Posted by: Christy at September 13, 2007 09:13 AM

Ahhh, aye git it... Texas is bigger n'stronger and way more moraler than Looseranna, so it can HANDLE all them storms...

Gotcha (wink)

Rossian
You ask where the money will come from for the military re-enlistment bonuses of 150 grand or so.

It will come from Children's Health, for one. It could cost me my job. We have a program calls CHIPS up for renewal as it expires soon, and Bush may veto its continuation.

I heard a talking voice (disembodied talking head) on public radio and he said there is only so much money so the poorest kids get care first and the rest just get cut off. That means the children of the working poor.

So there will be plenty of money and if not, they will just borrow it from the Saudis and the Chinese and drive the dollar down further. Interest rates will have to come up, causing a recession, but if it was good enough for Reagan (who wasn't even in a war, just preparing for Star Wars), it's good enough for GWB.

Monkey

When my French friend was here I took him to Goodwill and he found a t-shirt with a map of Texas on the front and it said,
"Texas is bigger than France." He wears it proudly.

He wore a "God Bless America" pin that he found to purchase tickets at a train station in Paris and the Muslim clerk asked him about it. He said, "I am wearing it ironically." She nodded.

Then I saw a stencil on the pavement that said, "Paris is my Bagdad" and my friend said, "Whoa...." (an expression picked up during his Greyhound bus trip from NYC to Portland via Chicago, St Louis, Salt Lake City & Boise).

He also saw two Arabic guys picking up fascist ballots (Front National) the first time he went to vote at the primaries.

Strange world.

America gave away keys to the store to a proven loser.

Astounding to this very day.

Ex-Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner says he'll run for the U.S. Senate in '08

Jesus H. Christ.

6-Year-Old Girl Found Hanged in Texas

6-Year-Old Girl Found Hanged in Her Garage in Small Texas Town After Sexual Assault

A 6-year-old girl was found hanged inside her family's garage and had been sexually assaulted before she died, police said Wednesday.

Authorities have made no arrests or named any suspects since Hannah Mack's body was discovered by her mother on Monday. They are saying little about their investigation.

"I will confirm that the hanging and sexual assault were part of this scenario," Navarro County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Mike Cox said.

Cox said several people have been interviewed and no one has been ruled out as a suspect.

"We don't want to do anything that would compromise a successful prosecution of this case," Cox said Wednesday before abruptly ending a brief news conference.

http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3592465

Omg. I can not function after reading that.

My baby is also 6.

Oh man that is so twisted I just want to throw up.

:Pick an accent color to go with olive green and baby blue.:

I'm thinking ivory. It has just enough yellow in it to add a warm-cool dynamic to the palette.

But, just butting in here with my unsolicited opinion.

Bush to tout Iraq progress, official says

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush is expected to emphasize what his administration calls "bottom-up" political progress in Iraq in a major address to the nation Thursday night, a senior administration official said.

Amid Democratic criticism and Republican concerns that the so-called troop surge has failed to produce national reconciliation at the top levels in Baghdad, the official said the president is expected to argue that grass-roots efforts by Iraqis are "laying the groundwork for national reconciliation" but there is a "long haul and tough work ahead."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/13/bush.speech/index.html

Iraq war critic Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, will deliver the Democratic response after Bush's speech.

I heard a talking voice (disembodied talking head) on public radio and he said there is only so much money so the poorest kids get care first and the rest just get cut off. That means the children of the working poor.

So there will be plenty of money and if not, they will just borrow it from the Saudis and the Chinese and drive the dollar down further. Interest rates will have to come up, causing a recession, but if it was good enough for Reagan (who wasn't even in a war, just preparing for Star Wars), it's good enough for GWB.

Posted by: not my president at September 13, 2007 09:25 AM
Isn't that the truth, Georgies land of the free, opportunities and dreams

America gave away keys to the store to a proven loser.

Astounding to this very day.

Posted by: monkey at September 13, 2007 09:28 AM

That above all else monkey, blows my mind, that the majority of the people kept their heads in the sand for 8 years, now the untold damage to the majority of those people, will give them a lifetime to reflect those decisions.