A little Joe Bonamassa for the New Year

The song is classic blues BURNING HELL..

its what I wish for the Shrub and his minions when they meet their maker.



Everyone of my dear readers..have a safe New Years Eve..

We have hit a benchmark..in deaths of American Soldiers

Of course its not a benchmark to be proud of and according to Tony Snowjob,its just a number.

But its a big number..and when you add to it the number of wounded and permanently injured soldiers..

Its a outrage that we are even considering sending more troops into Iraq.

tags: Terrorism, Politics, Bush, Iraq, War on Terror, Federal Fuckwits at the Helm

Almost at the 3k mark, protests planned and the Pentagon wants Billions o Bucks

Damn..all this on a Saturday? I am trying to busy myself with reading. My back is killing me with the temperature at 40 freaking degrees at high noon here. The dampness doesn't help. So whilst I listen to the Metropolitan Opera, I read..

Pentagon to Request Billions More in War Money

Oh man, that just jacked my jaw...Sure that will be enough? How do you plan to fund this expenditure?

Bombings killed at least 68 people in Iraq. Just another day in the War on Terror, right? God, when I was watching the sunrise in Baghdad last night..the talking head said he didn't know if people were shooting off guns to celebrate Saddam's demise or just the usual sectarian violence..wtf is wrong w/this picture?

But this one gave me hope that people are still pissed off enough to get out and bitch: U.S. death toll in Iraq seen spurring anti-war protests. I don't know if I will make this one, but I hope I will. I have to see what's happening where and how close..long trip ain't in the cards right now.

I might switch to some blues after today's headlines..but right now "The Magic Flute" sounds good.

Year end Videos from PeaceTrain and TBR

These are two very good sites you might wish to visit whilst you wander the internets. Glenda and Dude run PeaceTrain and The Blue Republic respectively. Both videos are excellent and I would appreciate all three of my readers watching them...ok, all four of you.

Saddam will be hung by Sunday

Seems the Iraqi's are in a big hurry for Saddam to meet his maker, plus they don't want to ruin their upcoming religious celebration. Updated article on MSNBC here.


Tags: Politics,Saddam

Ford Disagreed with Bush about invading Iraq.

Disagreed with the whole shooting match..no pun at Deadeye Dick intended..he also didn't have much nice to say about Rummy and Cheney regarding the Iraq war either..Good read up over at WaPo. Its an interview Ford did a few years ago, but wouldn't allow it to be published until after his death..and with good cause after you read it. Some choice quotes from the interview:

"Rumsfeld and Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq. They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction," Ford said. "And now, I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do."

*snip*

"Well, I can understand the theory of wanting to free people," Ford said, referring to Bush's assertion that the United States has a "duty to free people." But the former president said he was skeptical "whether you can detach that from the obligation number one, of what's in our national interest." He added: "And I just don't think we should go hellfire damnation around the globe freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own national security."

Go check it out my dear reader..worth your time I think.

Tags: War on Terror, Iraq, Bush, Politics, President Ford

So, how much does the war really cost Mr. President?

Remember that old song, “Me and my Shadow”? Well, the Decider-in-Chief has been using a “shadow budget” to fund the war in Iraq from the start. This isn’t news to people that have been paying attention. Bush has used emergency spending bills to cover virtually the entire costs of the war in Iraq. Not only are lawmakers bitching, the Iraq Study Group stated the budgetary system should not be circumvented.

No kidding gents.

The real complaint about this method of funding the war is that the oversight duties of the legislature are removed, not to mention how it screws up the federal budget projections. Three senators have sent a letter to the President demanding an end to this “shadow budget”. The 2 senators and 1 congressman who drafted and signed this letter: Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, current chairman of the Senate Budget Committee; Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota, incoming chairman of the Senate Budget Committee; and Democratic Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina, incoming chairman of the House Budget Committee.
“
A very telling excerpt from a Rueters article on this subject explains quite a bit;

“In legislation passed in June to authorize the latest infusion of funds for Iraq, an amendment was added requiring the president to finance the war costs through the annual budget. But Bush indicated in a signing statement that he does not necessarily view that requirement as binding because it is the president’s role to submit the budget. “

Ah yes..the infamous signing statement…best way to circumvent any laws or bills the Decider-in-Chief doesn’t like, is it not my dear reader?

This war is estimated to cost American taxpayers roughly $8 Billion a month. Let me type that again…..$8 Billion a month. Surely there is a better way to spend that money which would offer more protection to the U.S.? The line” If we don’t fight them there, they will follow us home” got a lot of airplay..but I don’t think most folks are buying that bs any longer, other than perhaps the staunch neocons that still support Bush and his war-mongering ways.

Incoming Senate Budge Committe Chairmain, Rep. John Spratt(D,S.C.) has stated in this MSNBC article: “When the president talks about staying the course, he never mentions cost as a factor,” Spratt said. “But it is a factor, particularly when you get costs over $100 billion a year.”

The MSNBC article also tallies up for us the “terror-related” spending since that fateful day known as 9/11…here it comes..are you sitting down?

FIVE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS

That money of course was approved by a legislature that was controlled by the Republicans. Yes, the Democrats went along for the ride. Even if every Democrat had voted against most of the expenditures..they would of passed.

The Democrats now hold the purse strings, do they not? They have the power to hold hearings and subpoena people within the government. The budget deficit has declined..amazingly..to a mere $248 Billion. This is explained by White House Budget Director Rob Portman this way: “Revenues are up because of a growing economy, “That has enabled us not just to afford the relatively high [war] supplementals — higher than we expected — but actually to decline the deficit.”

The Democrats explain away this logic by stating “the annual deficit is kept artificially low with cash borrowed from the Social Security trust fund. The nation’s overall indebtedness is approaching $9 trillion, and interest on that debt grew by 23 percent last year, making it the fastest-growing part of the budget.”

Thanks to the ever-expanding military budget, there is roughly only 20% of the budget left to spend on things like education, highways, housing and courts, and the like. You know, things that keep our country going. Wasn’t it nice of the Republican-led Congress to leave unfunded most of the programs needed to run this country and provide services critical to our citizens?

Not really. But never fear, the Democrats have a plan..they want to cut out the “pet funding” otherwise known as PORK or Earmarks from the federal budget. That will teach the bastards to rubber stamp the war in Iraq, won’t it?

Not really. It does however, provide the Democrats with a huge dilemma on how to carry out many of the promises made such as cutting interest rates for student loans in half, getting rid of the Medicare drug plan “doughnut hole”, more cash for veterans and children’s health services and all the other programs and promises made during the mid-term election.

The Democrats will have to get creative. But first, we need to know what this friggin war is really costing us.

Cross-posted at Bring it On!

Tags: Politics, Bush, Iraq, War on Terror

Robert Scheer: Its not the Oil, its the MIC

The MIC=Military Industrial Complex. In his latest piece for TruthDig, Robert Scheer examines the whys and where-for's of the reasons we are still in Iraq. His title is: "Ike was right". What we need to fear is the MIC. I blogged about this angle earlier in the year. I think Ike was spot on, and Scheer, like myself, quotes Ike's final speech on the subject:

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”

The phrase "unwarranted influence whether sought or unsought" really jacks my jaw. Its true you know, there is far too much influence brought to bear on what we do in our foreign policy based on what private companies, such as Halliburton, can reap.

One paragraph I smirked at in Scheer's piece was this:

"Yes, some, like Paul Wolfowitz, the genius who was the No. 2 in the U.S. Defense Department and has been rewarded for his leadership with appointment as head of the World Bank, did argue that Iraq’s oil revenue would pay for our imperial adventure. A recent study by Nobel Prize-wining economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard University’s Linda Bilmes marked that absurdity by estimating the true cost of the Iraq adventure to U.S taxpayers at a whopping $2.267 trillion, in excess of any cost borne by the Iraqis themselves."

Wolfowitz is a fucking tool, and he has done everything in his power to distance himself from the fray that is the war in Iraq. This nimrod was part and parcel of the group that planned and executed the beginnings of the war. He needs to be singled out on the same level as Rummy and Bush when it comes down to the idiots that got us into this nightmare.

Its a good read if you wish to avail yourself of Scheer's words. They echo many of my sentiments from the August post. I want a strong military, I just don't want private corporations little greedy fingers involved in it without tremendous oversight by our legislative branch.... I am looking at you the Democratic-led 110th Congress.

Tags: Politics, Robert Scheer, Military Industrial Complex, Halliburton Sucks

President Gerald Ford has died.

His wife Betty made the announcement a few minutes ago. He was 93,and the story will be updated here as it develops. He was the 38th and the ONLY unelected President of our nation. He lost his election bid. His time as our President was only 895 days long. He originally replaced disgraced Spiro Agnew, then his boss Nixon.

Rest in Peace President Ford, you ran things when the country was divided and at war..God bless you sir, even if you did pardon Richard Nixon.

Tags: Politics, President Gerald Ford

Katrina fraud and corruption: $2 Billion and counting...

This quote from a Forbes article this morning says it all for me:

“Based on their track record, it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw another billion more in waste,” said Clark Kent Ervin, the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general from 2003-2004. “I don’t think sufficient progress has been made.”

So, the Katrina corruption could actually rival that of the Iraq reconstruction fraud and corruption..friggin great, more waste of tax dollars.

In reports set to be released in January, auditors examined over $12 Billion in contracts. One of the charges that will be leveled are political favoritism via No-Bid contracts. Under pressure last year, Federal Emergency Management Agency director David Paulison pledged to rebid many of the agreements, only to backtrack months later and reopen only a portion.

Here is another quote from Ervin: "It's a combination of laziness, ineptitude and it may well be nefarious,". Ain't that some shit my dear reader.

I get to use my favorite tag today: Federal Fuckwits at the Helm

Other tags: Katrina, Corruption, Waste

Cross-posted at Bring it On!

Christmas Day in Afghanistan 2006

I woke up to these pictures in my inbox this morning. My beloved niece spent her Christmas Day on the firing range in Afghanistan, thanks to the Shrub and his military minions. Her beautiful face in the midst of all that hardware and military garb..it just makes me crazy. But I am thankful for each email I get from her. I am thankful for being able to see that beautiful face smiling out at me.

I hope next Christmas every single soldier is home for the holidays, then I will be able to have a Merry Christmas indeed.

From my crazy house to yours..

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

More Troops, we need more troops!

The generals and commanders on the ground in Iraq have steadfastly refused the idea that throwing more troops into Iraq would fix the problems there.

Until now.

Suddenly, the lightbulb’s went on all over the military this week. Why hell yes! That’s the ticket! More troops, we need more friggin troops! We don’t know what the hell we will do with them, but we definitely need more troops in Iraq.

As this article in the LAT Saturday points out: “Commanders have been skeptical of the value of increasing troops, and the decision represents a reversal for Casey, the highest-ranking officer in Iraq. Casey and Gen. John P. Abizaid, the top commander in the Middle East who will step down in March, have long resisted adding troops in Iraq, arguing that it could delay the development of Iraqi security forces and increase anger at the United States in the Arab world.” The article also points out that the commanders don’t really know the exact number of new troops they need.

Just keep throwing bodies at it until its fixed. Smother it and it will die. “It”, being the insurgency and the inability of the American Military to secure a “win” in Iraq.

The problems within Iraq are not simple. Iraq is comparable to that bad stepchild whom you would really like to “slap the shit out of, and make his teeth rattle”, as my dear ol mum used to say. There are laws against that sort of corporal punishment now of course, but it doesn’t make the urge go away now does it?

After everyone, and I mean everyone…shook their collective heads for the last year and said “A military win isn’t possible in Iraq”…now, it’s just on the horizon if our President and his military minions have anything to say about it.

Is this bastard in denial or what?

It’s taken us 3 years to admit we haven’t given our troops already on the ground the proper equipment and to do their jobs. For the last 3 years our military leaders have been unable to build, equip and maintain Iraqi security forces that have any semblance of readiness. The body count has done nothing but rise every year, both Iraqi civilians and our own men and women. Within the last year, troop levels have been raised slowly, so as not to gain the attention of those of us keeping the home fires burning.

Another piece of the LAT article that made me either want to laugh hysterically or cry like a car just hit my dog was this:

To read the rest of this sermon, please visit The Blue Republic. Or, if your so inclined you can visit The Peace Train to read it as well today.

UN Security council approves Iran sanctions.

Shades of Saddam Hussein...it appears the UN Security Council has gotten together, on a Saturday no less, right before Christmas break to whack Iran on the knuckles. The council unanimously approved a resolution that would impose sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program, culminating two months of tough negotiations aimed at getting Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment. CNN has a writeup here.

Gee..what will the new year hold.

Navajo's and Uranium: A lethal mix

There is a 4 part series up by the LAT regarding the affects of Uranium mining by the US decades ago. In part 1, the subject is the discovery of the radiation problems created by the world's richest uranium deposits, in a reservation spanning parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

Part 2 covers the effects that contaminated groundwater have on the animal and human life that uses the lakes and ponds for drinking water.

Part 3 deals with the contamination and how the government promises safety and a clean up but can not or will not deliver it.

Part 4 shows that since Uranium is now needed for weapons and other killing machines, Mining companies want to plunder the booty again. The Indians don't see things the same way and in reality..can you blame them?

Tags: Uranium Mining, Environmental Protection, Navajo Indians

If your loved one is fighting the war, and you hate the war..what do you wish for?

My neice, whom I love as my daughter, is "over there" now. She has sent me pics, which I will post, but it has made me think about so much stuff..I think my head my explode.

I have remembered her days in "travel ball", when we all went city to city across So Cal, watching her and rooting her and the team on to victory in softball. She played catcher, our little "johnny bench",whacking that ball out of the park like it was nothing. She was good at it too folks, got a full-ride scholarship to Sam Houston State and graduated very high in her class..She is reading my blog now! Her comment is in the post below this one. She graduated with a degree in criminology, and in less that 4 years..makes me proud of that kid.

She will be the first one to tell you she can't stand Bush. That doesn't mean she isn't behind what she is doing over there..because she is. She knows how I hate the war and everything it represents. Its not a conundrum for us because I love her and only want her to be happy and safe.

But for me, this changes things.

I have a vested interest in the War on Terror now. I am a stockholder. My stock is that tiny, beautiful blonde-haired kid..who really is an adult..I have to keep reminding myself of that you know…but I digress.

George Bush is the President and fucking CEO of this war, and as a stockholder I have a right to bitch, I have a right to complain and ask for an accounting. I have the right to ask him just wtf he is doing to wrap this shit up and bring them all home safe and sound. We have had troops there since October 2002. We are now looking 2007 square in the eyes. Thats almost five years of soldiers over there, fighting the “War on Terror” and trying to capture Osama. Tony Snowjob will tell you our forces have done a great job over there, Karzai was elected and we have broken the back of Al-Qaeda.

I will tell you that based on various news reports..its going backward more than forward over there in Afghanistan. The opium trade is alive and well. The farmers have no choice and we haven’t offered them one either, as far as I can tell. The “bad guys” are running back and forth between Pakistan and the mountains of Afghanistan. The people of the region have been suffering through decades of wars and this decade isn’t any different. Its the same ol’ shit, just a different country running the war now.

We talk about Iraq because its front and center in our news and our consciousness. Its the war thats going “badly”, to put it in a general term. To be more specific..its a real fucking mess in Iraq. But I now hope we can actually FIX Afghanistan. I want all the lives we have sacrificed to be for the common good of the citizens of Afghanistan, to make their lives better. I want it to work, I don’t want Afghanistan to fall back into the clutches of the Taliban, I want alot of things..but you can’t always get what you want..sometimes, you get what you need.

I have asked Chris to write me a long email, telling me how she sees her job, and how other’s see her job there. I told her I wanted to tell a story from her pov. As I have said before, she will tell you in a heartbeat that she can’t stand Bush43, but she seems excited about what she is doing, and for that..I am thankful. I thank god everytime I see a new email from her in my inbox. She has read my personal blog and commented on it for the first time yesterday. She is a good kid, she never shirks away from a job or responsibility. I bet she is tired of me tellling her to be safe. I hope she never tires of me telling her I Love Her.

This is her home away from home now. A fucking tent. But as long as the emails keep coming..I am happy and I thank Bush for at least allowing her internet access with all the billions spent over there..this one I won't bitch about.


Tags: Politics,War on Terror, Afghanistan

ITs freaking cold here!

I had an idea it was going to be cold when I saw snow on the ground for the last 90 minutes of our drive. A beautiful but strange site in the Mohave desert and surrounding mountains.

Ok, so when I arrived in the town known as sin city..it was 43 degrees. Seriously, it was 43 friggin degrees at 4pm. As I write this, at 5:46am..its a balmy 34 degrees. This just ain't right folks!

Did someone move the Vegas Strip to northern Canada? WTF is this crap? When we got all our luggage up to the room, the ball and chain waltzed over to the window, looked down at the pool and said..gee, no one is swimming.

Well no shit sherlock, these pools aren't heated, and only an idiot would be swimming when its its in the low 40's outside.

The high today is expected to be..ready for it? 49 degrees.

The casino is kept very warm..too damn warm in my opinion. I am used to being able to hang meat in my living room, The ball and chain keeps the thermostat on 60, not because he is saving the environment, because he is a cheap sob. In my office it's always warmer..but jeez..not as warm as the casino.

So, I plunked down a $20 bill, shoved it into the poker machine as I talked up Pat, my favorite bartender who always remembers my drink of choice: Grey Goose and soda, two limes. I run it up to $60 bucks in a matter of minutes..cool, this might be a good trip. I watch the basketball game, having the power to command what is on each of the 6 tv channels at the bar..Pat is such a dear, and besides he knows I tip well. I flirt with the $100 range for awhile on the poker machine, finding out all the newest gossip here, watching the Lakers and rooting for them to lose. Pat keeps those drinks a-coming..christ, I have to tell him I need a breather..I am not longer able to sling them back with the rest of em as I did when I was a young drunkard. When the trip to the bathroom becomes an exercise of putting one foot in front of the other, I announce to the ball and chain its time to get some grub.

Oh, the poker machine...I ended up with $50 bucks. Not bad for a $20 investment and all the Grey Goose I could drink.

The temperature is still 34 degrees. Why did I bring my bathing suit? Why did I envision a nice lil tan? I ain't going anywhere near the damn pool, much less outside unless an extreme emergency arises...I forgot to bring my snow boots and parka.

As for politics..the Decider-in-Chief is holding a news conference in a few minutes..gotta go.

Into the land of the heathens I merrily go...

I will be heading here today, Tuesday. Life is more than politics..its good booze on occasion and good music. Gambling isn't my thang, but it keeps the ball and chain occupied..so have a good week. I will blog from there, the hotel has wireless thank god. I have no idea if I will make any sense...we shall see. But enjoy your week my dear reader..Stop and smell the gardenias..its good for the soul. The cat below represents what my usually docile signature cat does when he goes to sin city. He lets down his hair..and lights up the occasional smoke whilst he makes a few bets on the remaining football games this week before the playoffs.

Gates sworn in..starts towing the company line right off the bat.

Gates said, and I got this from 20 different sources so take your pick..

"Robert Gates assumed the helm at the Pentagon on Monday, warning in his first public remarks as defense secretary that failure in Iraq would be a "calamity" that would haunt the United States for years."

WTF does that mean? It's such a damn vague statement.Then, WaPo has this direct quote from his swearing in speech-i-fying:

"But as the president has made clear, we simply cannot afford to fail in the Middle East. Failure in Iraq at this juncture would be a calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility, and endanger Americans for decades to come."

Christ, Fuck you Gates, your the same bag of batshit, but in a different suit. As long as you mention our young men and women in the same paragraph, you get by with this shit..don't ya dude?

Our credibility is in the shitter dude..wake up and smell the car bomb ok? We are endangering American's for decades to come by continuing this friggin worthless war that has cost us billions upon billions of bucks. Who is going to pay for this horseshit? How many more dead will you guys rationalize to accomplish your misssion?

fuck you Gates..long and hard.

tags: Terrorism, Politics, Iraq, War on Terror, Gates sworn in

Government spys running into each other..

Which is how I take this story today from the LAT. Keystone Cops came to mind also. A short blurb:

"The spy missions are part of a highly classified program that officials say has better positioned the United States to track terrorist networks and capture or kill enemy operatives in regions such as the Horn of Africa, where weak governments are unable to respond to emerging threats. But the initiative has also led to several embarrassing incidents for the United States, including a shootout in Paraguay and the exposure of a sensitive intelligence operation in East Africa, according to current and former officials familiar with the matter. And to date, the effort has not led to the capture of a significant terrorism suspect."

What fuckwittery this is with our tax money. Millions upon millions of bucks. But since it's a "classified" endeavor..we aren't allowed to know what they do and how much money they spend to do it.

Tags: War on Terror,Federal Fuckwits at the Helm

California's pitbull from the 30th District.

While most people will agree that the 109^th Congress was the most inept, useless group of elected officials to ever grace the halls of congress, there was one man who kept his nose to the grindstone and kept holding hearings and attacking the actions and misdeeds of our current administration.

That man is Henry Waxman.

He has consistently held the current administration accountable on many issues. He has held hearings as the ranking minority member of the Committee on Government Reform. Reid and Pelosi might be the Queen Bee's, but the worker bee has been Waxman. This report from Waxman’s committee identifies 15 key oversight issues involving President Bush and his Administration that the 108^th and 109^th Congress failed to investigate. They are:

• The role of the White House in manipulating intelligence about Iraq’s
weapons of mass destruction and ties to al Qaeda;
• The responsibility of senior Administration officials for the abuse of
detainees;
• The role of White House officials in leaking the identity of a covert CIA
agent;
• The role of the Vice President’s office in the award of Halliburton
contracts;
• The responsibility of senior White House officials in the failed response to
Hurricane Katrina;
• The secret wiretapping of U.S. citizens by the National Security Agency;

• The identity of the energy industry contributors who met with the Vice
President’s energy task force;
• The role of the White House in withholding key Medicare cost estimates
from Congress;
• Evidence of conflicts of interest at multiple federal agencies and the White
House;
• The increasing politicization of science-based federal agencies;

• The failure of the Department of Justice to enforce voting rights laws;

• Contract abuses at the Department of Homeland Security;

• The influence of industry lobbyists in writing EPA regulations;

• The influence of the tobacco industry lobbyists on U.S. tobacco policies;
and
• The role of former Attorney General John Ashcroft in illegal campaign
finance activities.

Now, that is one hell of a laundry list of fuck-ups by the Bush Administration. Most of them, if not all, are issues that have been raised in the media and by bloggers. Our current resident of the Oval Office has had the protection of a Republican-controlled Congress, which made it easy for him to ignore the questions raised in Mr. Waxman’s 22-page report.

He doesn’t have that luxury any longer. Ain’t that a bitch.

To read the rest of this, hit the TBR button

Tags: Politics, Bush,Henry Waxman

Rumsfelds Legacy

In 1984 Donald Rumsfeld hugged Saddam Hussein in Baghdad and with a big toothy grin, shook his hand vigorously. 19 years later, on Rumsfeld’s watch, Saddam was pulled from a hole in Tikrit and arrested. The Donald’s legacy will be forever tied to Saddam Hussein in one way or another.

Yesterday was the last day as a public servant for Donald Henry Rumsfeld. He has served as Secretary of Defense twice; once under Gerald Ford and the most recent under George Bush. He was both the oldest and youngest Secretary of Defense. The Donald was also the only person to hold the position for two non-consecutive terms, according to Wikipedia. All in all, Rumsfeld has spent most of his life in service to the United States, including four terms in the House of Representatives…but I digress.

President Bush said this about Donald Rumsfeld today:

“This man knows how to lead, and he did. The country’s better off for it,” The president called Rumsfeld “one of America’s most skilled, energetic and dedicated public servants.”

Excuse me if I don’t buy what the President was selling. Rumsfeld was the main architect of the occupation of Iraq, also known as the Iraq War. I will not be the one to judge Bush’s Secretary of Defense. History and God will do that. The President tried to paint a rosy picture today of Rumsfeld’s role in the Iraq war. Perhaps the 61% of the Americans that no longer believe that the Iraq war is a winnable endeavor would disagree with the Presidents assessment of Rumsfeld. I know I do. Rumsfeld virtually had no plan after the invasion of Iraq, and our troops are paying a heavy price for his lack of foresight today. Rumsfeld was asked what the worst day of his time in office under Bush43 was. His response: the day he saw the pictures from Abu Ghraib.

Up to the bitter end of his reign, Rumsfeld was still chirping about the importance of ‘winning” in Iraq. Speaking to a gathering of employees 10 days before he left office, Rumsfeld defended his record on Iraq and Afghanistan and warned of “dire consequences were we to fail” in the war.

We have failed in Iraq Donald. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it’s a colossal failure and there is no chance of “winning” a military victory there. How could this man, that many perceived as the brains behind the Afganistan and Iraq wars, even think for one minute that Iraq is still winnable? He was asked what he thought of the ISG report. His response was that there was nothing new in there. Donald Rumsfeld was bullshitting everyone up to the very end, still spouting off publicly that we can win in Iraq, but writing a memo that held a more realistic view.

Most of the articles I have read use the word “arrogant” to describe Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld refused to believe the words coming out of the mouths of the leaders on the ground until it was too late. Rumsfeld was a control freak according to some, and this seems plausible since he continued to believe our troops could defeat the insurgency even when it became obvious they couldn’t. As Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institute puts it: “He was the primary architect of the war plan. He was no scapegoat. He deserves the blame he received.”

A WaPo article from 2005 seems to put it all into perspective, for me, about what exactly is the legacy of Donald Rumsfeld:

“Now he is being held to account and facing a formidable indictment: rejecting a top general’s advice on the force levels that would be needed to restore order to Iraq after Saddam Hussein’s regime had been toppled; dismissing State Department advice and plans on postwar reconstruction; failing to realize the seriousness of the early looting and chaos; supporting the disbanding of the Iraqi army without regard to the likely consequences of turning loose thousands of armed and angry unemployed soldiers; and inviting a public relations disaster by circumventing the laws of war to facilitate the indefinite holding and periodic torturing of prisoners. More recently, Rumsfeld has been rebuked for his dismissive treatment of soldiers anxious about inadequate equipment and for adding insult to injury by having a machine sign his condolence letters to bereaved families.”

These are the things that will make up Donald Rumsfeld’s legacy..an arrogant, stubborn man who refused to see the writing on the wall, listen to the voices of truth from his generals in the field and ultimately sacrificing thousands of American and Iraqi lives for his vision of what and how it should be “over there”.

Yet, he still thinks the press didn’t give him his due, give him a fair shake. He shed a tear or two today at his final public appearance. There are still millions of tears to be shed by mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, husbands and wives of soldiers who will be forced to clean up Donald’s mess and deal with his inadequacies as the top military leader, our Secretary of Offense, as it were. Perhaps God will deal with Rumsfeld on a different level. I do not see that happening here on terra firma. Here, his legacy is nothing to be proud of..not now, and not in the near future.

Robert McNamara came to grips with his legacy, years after the Vietnam War was over. He wrote a book about his involvement with sending over 58,000 American soldiers to their deaths. He was interviewed for the documentary “Fog of War” and spilled his guts, even insinuating he could be a “war criminal”. Some how, I just don’t see Donald Rumsfeld ever coming clean like that. I think he will go to his grave denying he did anything wrong with regard to the Iraq War.

I hope I am wrong, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Tags: Politics, Donald Rumsfeld, Iraq,War on Terror

Cross-posted at Bring it On!

Another year older, and deeper in debt...

But my gift to you, my half dozen or so dear readers is a video from the man whom I will be going to Vegas to see next Tuesday. I will most likely be horizontal for most of the ride since the ol' back ain't what it was even a year ago. The ball and chain always takes me to Vegas for my birthday. Truth is...I don't like Vegas, but he loves it. I go to hear good music and this year..my boy Joe Bonamassa is playing there..GRATIS!!!! Two nights in a row at two of the sister casino's of the Palace Station. So, without further ado, here is my favorite blues player with his version of "You upset me Baby". Please watch and listen..hes a mere 27 years old..but there is an old blues master in that body somewhere :)



If you really enjoy this one..my fluff blog will have a different song over there.

Federal judge invokes Military Commissions Act to reject Gitmo habeas petition

Over at Jurist, they have the latest ruling that affects those being held in perpetuity in Gitmo.The case was brought by Guantanamo detainee Salim Hamdan. This is the same judge that originally ruled in favor of Hamdan in his case Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. The judge declared in his current ruling that since our government has passed the MCA(Military Commissions Act) this case was,according the the Jurist writeup: “clearly barred under the controversial habeas-stripping language of the new Military Commissions Act (MCA) even though it was pending at the time the Act was passed.”

The Jurist writeup also has this to say about Judge Robertson’s recent ruling:

In the context of his ruling Robertson left unaddressed Hamdan’s general arguments that the Military Commissions Act is unconstitutional “because it does not provide an adequate substitute for habeas review, because it violates the principle of separation of powers by instructing the courts to ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling that the Geneva Conventions afford judicially enforceable protections to petitioner Hamdan, because it is an unlawful Bill of Attainder, and because it violates Equal Protection.”

So, the Bush Administration gets a ruling which supports the detaining of people who have committed no crime in some cases, but their religion makes them an individual that can be held without trial or charges until our government sees fit to either charge them or release them. I do so love how the MCA also applied to everyone held prior to the bill’s passage. Isn’t America grand?

Tags: Politics, Gitmo, MCA, Federal Fuckwits at the helm

Shades of the Pentagon Papers...

From WaPo:

The ACLU says that the 3 1/2 -page document contains no information that should be classified and that the memo is only "mildly embarrassing" to the government. Some legal scholars said the case bears similarities to events in the "Pentagon Papers" case more than three decades ago.

The subpoena issued in the Southern District of New York provides the latest example of the Justice Department's aggressive use of the anti-spying law, a broadly worded and little-used statute that has become the bedrock in a series of leak-related investigations by the Bush administration.

In a motion filed in federal court, the ACLU called the subpoena an "unprecedented abuse" of the government's grand-jury powers that violates the First Amendment and is aimed at suppressing information rather than investigating a crime.

Read the rest of it here.

Tags: Politics, ACLU

Cross-posted as Bring it On!

Dem senator from S. Dakota suffers a stroke

The implications of this are huge. The governor is a Republican. Stay on top of this sports fans..link to a writeup is here.

Human Rights Day speakers also remembered the victims of Katrina

One of the Basic Human needs is housing. I do not for one minute think the federal goverment should house everyone. But, that said, I think they should house those who were living in a humble abode prior to Katrina. Da Levee’s broke. It wasn’t an act of God..it was an act of negligence.

Over 1 million people were uprooted because of Katrina and the levees. Around 300,000 still remain homeless now. TomPaine.com has a good article up that address’s the needs of those still homeless that weren’t that way prior to Katrina.

Human Rights Day in Santa Barbara Sunday Dec 10th

Here are some of the pictures I took yesterday at the Human Rights Day rally. Sumo and I went down together to Santa Barbara to attend the event. The speakers were great, over two hours of people talking about the madness that is our Current Administration. People like:

-Colonel Ann Wright, one of three U.S. State Department officials to publicly resign in direct protest of the invasion of Iraq in Mar. 2003.(picture in montage)
-David Swanson, co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org
-Rae Abileah, Code Pink(picture in montage)
-Elizabeth De la Vega, author of U.S. v. Bush,(picture in montage)
-Dr. Dennis Loo, co-author of Impeach the President: The Case Against Bush and Cheney(picture in montage)
-Geoffrey Millard, National Guardsman and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War(picture in montage)

I have included pictures of Col. Wright and Dennis Loo. The sponsor of the event, Dinah Mason can be seen in the bottom right corner of Dennis Loo's picture. The weather was cold and blustery, which turned into rain towards the end of the speakers. With my trashed back, I did not feel up to the march, so sadly, Sumo and I had to leave.



There is also a brief video on a local Santa Barbara TV station website which you can watch here. I am in the beginning of the video in my nifty black T-shirt which says: "He's not my President-United for Peace and Justice". Why do they always seem to find me for these shots? Gawd help me. I do so LOVE the elderly couple and their home-made sign, don't you?
This video below is my first shot at making a video..bear with me folks..the female speaker is Col. Ann Wright.. and she got very emotional..as I did through most of the speakers. I would like to thank Ed Hat over at his blog for the additional pictures I have included.


Tags: Human Rights Day, Politics, Impeach Bush and Cheney

John Kerry's sister refused to meet with Cindy Sheehan?

Per this article by AP, John Kerry's sister, who works at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and is the mission's liaison for non-governmental organizations,refused to meet with Ms. Sheehan and others trying to deliver an anti-Iraq war petition. They were allowed to do this in 2005. This, from the article:

Kerry refused to meet with the women in the presence of Cindy Sheehan and the news media. She testified during the trial that the presentation seemed like a publicity stunt.

I think her brothers last publicity stunt kind of fell on its face. But for some reason, John Kerry's sister doesn't allow others to include the press when they are making statements. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Cindy and several others received a sentence of conditional discharge, which means if she is caught doing the same thing within the next six months their ass is in real hot water. She also rec'd a 95 fine for court costs.

I have never been a big fan of John Kerry. Now, I really can't stand his sister. Thanks for supporting the peace movement bitch.

Tags: Politics, Peggy Kerry no friend of the peace movement, John Kerry, Peggy Kerry

DeLay launches new conservative website/begging site.

I rec'd this piece of news this morning in my inbox from The Hill, an inside the beltway news blog. I will give Tommy this; he is probably the best corrupt politician in the last 20 years to figure out new ways to beg for money from the party faithful.

DeLay launches new conservative force

By Jackie Kucinich

Former Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) announced the launch of an Internet-based grassroots organization aimed at raising money and uniting Republican activists to take back and hold the GOP majority in Congress, according to a release today.
The new organization, comparable to the left’s MoveOn.org, is called GAIN (Grassroots, Action, and Information Network) and will be hosted on www.tomdelay.com, a blog that will feature comments from DeLay and other conservative bloggers and activists.
GAIN’s goal is to unite conservatives in “restoring American government to its constitutional roots and advancing the conservative first principles of order, justice and freedom.”
The site was developed and set to launch before the Nov. 7 elections, but the Republicans’ heavy midterm losses prompted DeLay to alter the concept to “reflect the need for Republicans to change course.”
“The Democrats didn’t win this election, Republicans lost it, and the most important lesson we can take from our defeat is that conservatives must act on our first principles,” DeLay said in the release. “We must organize and act to protect the very principles of order, justice, and freedom that are the touchstones of our nation’s founding, and that’s what the blog and GAIN will work to accomplish.”

If you wish to read the entire press release, here is the link. Perhaps we should all saunter by today and show him some love...

Edit..please visit James blog which is known as TomDeLaydotcom to enjoy folks' unabashed POV on DeLay.

Cross-posted at Bring it On!

The best picture of todays Human Rights Day rally in Santa Barbara

Impeachment: Morally Right but Politically Wrong?

Today's post is entitled:

IMPEACHMENT: MORALLY RIGHT BUT POLITICALLY WRONG?

You can read this doozey of post at and it's also up at
Please go visit one of these fine upstanding sites and add your two cents to the arguement. I am on my way to Santa Barbara to take part in todays Rally. Its Human Rights Day and for good measure, they tossed in Impeach the President too. Its raining but that won't stop us from also honoring our fallen soldiers at the Arlington West Memorial, set up at the sandy beaches of beautiful, although very wet today, Santa Barbara. If you wish to take part in one of the rally's being held across the land..go to AfterDowningStreet.org

May we have peace in 07...

"It has the world's second-largest known Oil reserves"

So, would someone like to try and make the arguement that going into Iraq was NOT about the oil? On page 20 of the ISG report the phrase I quoted above is the second sentence.

The report also admits that many of the Shia militias are government sponsored. This isn't news if you watched a video I linked to last week from a British news group.

"Four of Iraq’s eighteen provinces are highly insecure—Baghdad, Anbar, Diyala, and Salah ad Din. These provinces account for about 40 percent of Iraq’s population of 26 million."--That is too many unsecure people don't ya think? 40% of the population is living under the rule of the thugs. No wonder almost 2 million residents of Iraq have said fuck it, and moved on out of the country.

I have been reading the ISG report, not for its ideas on how to get the hell out of there..but for the information about how bad it is there..for everyone; our troops and the residents.

"Many military units are under significant strain. Because the harsh conditions in Iraq are wearing out equipment more quickly than anticipated, many units do not have fully functional equipment for training when they redeploy to the United States. An extraordinary amount of sacrifice has been asked of our men and women in uniform, and of their families. The American military has little reserve force to call on if it needs ground forces to respond to other crises around the world."--Our troops are wearing out the equipment faster than we can replace it. This isn't good any way you look at it. This scares the shit out of me, I fear for our troops and their safety even more when they aren't protected as they should be. The planning for this war has just been a complete and utter fucking mess.

"Significant questions remain about the ethnic composition and loyalties of some Iraqi units—specifically, whether they will carry out missions on behalf of national goals instead of a sectarian agenda. Of Iraq’s 10 planned divisions, those that are even-numbered are made up of Iraqis who signed up to serve in a specific area, and they have been reluctant to redeploy to other areas of the country. As a result, elements of the Army have refused to carry out missions".--How are we to trust them when our troops are assigned as advisors to these units in the near future?

• Units lack leadership. They lack the ability to work together and perform at higher levels of organization—the brigade and division level. Leadership training and the experience of leadership are the essential elements to improve performance.

• Units lack equipment. They cannot carry out their missions without adequate equipment. Congress has been generous in funding requests for U.S. troops, but it has resisted fully
funding Iraqi forces. The entire appropriation for Iraqi defense forces for FY 2006 ($3 billion) is less than the United States currently spends in Iraq every two weeks.

• Units lack personnel. Soldiers are on leave one week a month so that they can visit their families and take them their pay. Soldiers are paid in cash because there is no banking
system. Soldiers are given leave liberally and face no penalties for absence without leave. Unit readiness rates are low, often at 50 percent or less.

• Units lack logistics and support. They lack the ability to sustain their operations, the capability to transport supplies and troops, and the capacity to provide their own indirect fire support, close-air support, technical intelligence, and medical evacuation. They will depend on the United States for logistics and support through at least 2007.

The second point shouldn't be a surprise, we can't even provide our own soldiers with what they need in a timely manner.

"Iraqi police cannot control crime, and they routinely engage in sectarian violence, including the unnecessary detention, torture, and targeted execution of Sunni Arab civilians. The police are organized under the Ministry of the Interior, which is confronted by corruption and militia infiltration and lacks control over police in the provinces".--As I said, watch the video I link to in the beginning of this post. Talk about corrupt..Jack Abramoff has nothing on the Ministry of the Interior in Iraq, my dear reader.

And our last bit of info for the day, only because I can not stomach reading anymore of it:

"The Facilities Protection Service poses additional problems. Each Iraqi ministry has an armed unit, ostensibly to guard the ministry’s infrastructure. All together, these units total roughly 145,000 uniformed Iraqis under arms. However, these units have questionable loyalties and capabilities. In the ministries of Health, Agriculture, and Transportation—controlled by Moqtada al-Sadr—the Facilities Protection Service is a source of funding and jobs for the Mahdi Army. One senior U.S. official described the Facilities Protection Service as “incompetent, dysfunctional, or subversive.” Several Iraqis simply referred to them as militias."

I just don't see how anyone can "fix" Iraq. Its corrupt from within. Our current administration refuses to admit how bad it is going over there. People want "happy news" out of Iraq. There isn't any sports fans..there just isn't.

Tags: Terrorism, Politics, Iraq, War on Terror, ISG Report

Cross-posted at Bring it On!

P.S.- Please go over and vote for Bring it On! at the annual Weblog Awards. You can vote ala Chicago style..once every 24 hours until Dec 15th..my birthday!

McKinney introduces a bill to Impeach Bush

In what was likely her final legislative act in Congress, outgoing Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney announced a bill Friday to impeach President Bush.

The legislation has no chance of passing and serves as a symbolic parting shot not only at Bush but also at Democratic leaders. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has made clear that she will not entertain proposals to sanction Bush and has warned the liberal wing of her party against making political hay of impeachment.

Complete AP writeup can be seen here.

There are over 60 marches and rally's planned for Sunday Human Rights day and Impeach the Pres day, to find one near you..click here.

Neil Young's Lets Impeach the Prez

In honor of the marches and rally's to be held accross the land this Sunday Dec 10th, we can listen to Youngs song.

The ISG report..the Cliff Notes version

This article purports to list all 79 friggin points in the ISG report. I really would like to take their word for it, since I do not even want to attempt to tackle a 160 page report that will bore me to sleep if the truth be known.

I feel bad at admitting this. I feel everyone should read everything in order to insure they know exactly what is what. But in reality..how many actually will read every last word?

Its not my call. But for anyone that HAS read the entire report..let me if this article is correct about each and every one of those 79 points ok?

Thanks, and carry on my dear reader

Tags: Politics, Iraq, ISG Report

New Non-Lethal Weapon has been tested on humans, ITS A GO!

Yes, boys and girls, we have a new weapon which is touted as a non-lethal method of crowd control. It has been in development and testing for over 10 years. It is called Active Denial System, or ADS. The anniversary rally against the war earlier this year in Santa Barbara had a speaker that warned of this technology. Its a form of radiation. Wired obtained information on this weapon by using the Freedom of Information Act or FOIA.

Wired does mention that there is always the possibility of mis-use of this or any other any type of weapon which will then cause permanent injury. A short blurb from the article:

"According to documents obtained for Wired News under federal sunshine laws, the Air Force's Active Denial System, or ADS, has been certified safe after lengthy tests by military scientists in the lab and in war games. The ADS shoots a beam of millimeters waves, which are longer in wavelength than x-rays but shorter than microwaves -- 94 GHz (= 3 mm wavelength) compared to 2.45 GHz (= 12 cm wavelength) in a standard microwave oven. The longer waves are thought to limit the effects of the radiation. If used properly, ADS will produce no lasting adverse affects, the military argues. In more than 10,000 exposures, there were six cases of blistering and one instance of second-degree burns in a laboratory accident, the documents claim."

Isn't that friggin grand? Better science with our tax dollars. The estimated amount of cash spent on this baby: $40 million. Of course with all the hidden budgets all over hells half acre, how do we know that is all of it?

Tags: War on Terror,Politics, FOIA, ADS

December 10 Is National Human Rights Day

This Sunday is National Human Rights Day. Check here to see what rallys and marches are in your area. AfterDowningStreet.org is organizing this effort nationwide. Please join us in honoring our dead and demanding the truth. You can listen to Dinah's radio ad here on the subject. The Dem's might have taken Impeachment off the table, but that doesn't mean we have to, as citizens of this country. This is also a day to show your support for our troops.

Robert Gates gets the job, senate confirms him.

It wasn't unanimous however. 95-2. I haven't seen who the two dissenters were. Good for them whoever they are. For me, its the same chump just a different suit. MSNBC has a writeup.

The ISG report is, of course, no bfd. It doesn't say anything everyone doesn't already know. This shouldn't be a surprize. But it is out there now and the Shrub can't ignore the common sense aspect now. Everyone out by 08? Hell, whats wrong w/ 07?




Tags: Politics, Gates Confirmed

Get your copy of the ISG report here.

I am sure every one is so jacked up at the idea of reading this 160 page report that we all have a copy of it by now. But if you don't. here is a pdf version of it.

Enjoy! I will slog through it and give a brief rundown later for the two folks that read this blog.

Bush to kiss some Democratic behind

These are the conservative and moderate folks in the Democratic Par-tay. Per an email I got, hot off the presses of "The Hill":

Bush to Meet with Centrist Dems

By Josephine Hearn

President Bush has invited leaders of the conservative Blue Dog and New Democrat coalitions to the White House Friday to discuss areas of “mutual cooperation” in the words of one Democratic Congressional aide.

The outreach comes at a time when Bush’s image on Capitol Hill and around the country has taken a serious beating. The meeting is scheduled just two days after the Iraq Study Group is scheduled to release its findings and one day after the Senate Armed Services Committee plans to hold hearings on them.

Reps. Alan Boyd (Fla.), Dennis Moore (Kan.) and Mike Ross (Ark.) will represent the Blue Dogs, a coalition of usually southern, conservative-leaning Democrats and Reps. Joe Crowley (N.Y.), Artur Davis (Ala.), Ron Kind (Wis.), Adam Smith (Wash.) and Ellen Tauscher (Calif.) are set to represent the New Democrats, a group of business-friendly centrists, at the meeting, which the president is expected to attend.

Business-friendly centrists..is that code for "fuck the regular folks?" I know that all Dem's are not my friend, but I surely hope they aren't jumping on the sinking ship known as the Bush Administration...on ANY issue.

Tags: Politics, Bush, Democrats, Blue Dogs

A Homegrown Terrorist is sentenced to 30 years..where is the MSM?

He was convicted in April of attempting to obtain a chemical weapon and possession of stolen explosives. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison last Tuesday by U.S. District Judge James Todd in Jackson. Our terrorist, born and bred in the U.S., told undercover FBI agents of his desire to explode a briefcase bomb while Congress was in session, was found guilty by a jury in about 90 minutes in April. Wow, that was quick wasn't it?

He was convicted of accepting what he believed to be ingredients to make Sarin nerve gas and a block of C-4 explosive from undercover agents in October 2004.

He was convicted on five charges: one count of attempted possession of a chemical weapon, one count of inducing another person to acquire a chemical weapon, one count of possession of stolen explosives, one count of possession of explosive material with intent to harm an individual or damage or destroy a building, and one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device.

During his trial, prosecutors showed audio and video tapes of convo's he had with undercover agents, he had a very open hatred of all things to do with the government of the United States. He plotted to buy these weapons of mass destruction while his 4 yr old child was sitting in the truck with him.

This homegrown terrorist is Demetrius Crocker, a 40 yr old white father of two. If you don't believe me, click here to check out his picture and read the writeup about him. But you won't see or hear anything about him in the MSM..it just isn't news, don't ya know? He isn't Muslim, he isn't brown skinned and he wasn't a member of Al-Queda or any other Middle East terrorist group. He was a racist and a Neo-Nazi however..but like I said..its not really news.

Tags: Terrorism, War on Terror,Homegrown Terrorist

Sunday's sermons..

Today we have a blog extravaganza sportsfans! I have two..count em two posts up.

First one..over at
is entitled: The Life and Death of Malachi Ritscher



The Second over at is entitled: Bush takes the P out of the EPA.


Enjoy and thank you in advance for checking out both forums..they are very good spots for the price :)