Historian Arthur Schlesinger has died.

He was 89 and suffered a heart attack, his son reported. He was a Pulitzer Prize winning author/historian. MSNBC has a fine piece up about him, a short blurb of it here:

Among the most famous historians of his time, Schlesinger was widely respected as learned and readable, with a panoramic vision of American culture and politics. He received a National Book Award for "Robert Kennedy and His Times" and both a National Book Award and a Pulitzer for "A Thousand Days," his memoir/chronicle of President Kennedy's administration. He also won a Pulitzer, in 1946, for "The Age of Jackson," his landmark chronicle of Andrew Jackson's administration.

Mr. Schlesinger was one of the good guys. He helped define that word which causes contempt and hatred among the rightwingers...LIBERALISM.

Rest in Peace kind sir.

Yesterday I did an indepth piece on what Al Gore has done since he left politics..Gore didn't sit on his ass my dear reader. You would be amazed at what he has done. If your unfamiliar with his accomplishments, please check out my piece over at The Blue Republic here. Gore has created opportunities, companies and PAC's. Unlike the average pol who leaves office and sits his laurels on a board or two, Al has been busy generating good works.

The back is trashed. The weather has been cold and rainy here..doesn't help my personal situation, so forgive my brevity here, I have been sleeping alot..back doesn't hurt as much when I am doped up and sleeping don't ya know...

Al Gore and the rights smear campaign

Bright and early monday morning, A rightwing think tank in TN, TCPR.. issued a press release that stated Al Gore is a hypocrite, among other things. They put out what is supposed to be his annual energy bill for his house in TN. They did NOT get anything right other than the dollar value of his energy bill.

ThinkProgress released Gore's reponse to this bs here. Let me save you the trouble of clicking the link:

1) Gore’s family has taken numerous steps to reduce the carbon footprint of their private residence, including signing up for 100 percent green power through Green Power Switch, installing solar panels, and using compact fluorescent bulbs and other energy saving technology.

2) Gore has had a consistent position of purchasing carbon offsets to offset the family’s carbon footprint — a concept the right-wing fails to understand. Gore’s office explains:

What Mr. Gore has asked is that every family calculate their carbon footprint and try to reduce it as much as possible. Once they have done so, he then advocates that they purchase offsets, as the Gore’s do, to bring their footprint down to zero.

At least the man reduces his ‘footprint’. I am sure most people do not go to the extreme of purchasing ‘offsets’ to negate their energy usage.

Someone needs to hold the rightwing nutjobs accountable for how many offsets THEY purchase to reduce their energy footprint. I would bet the number is barely above a drop in the proverbial bucket my dear reader. Then we will see who the hypocrites really are.

tags; Carbon Footprint, Politics, Al Gore, Hypocrites on the right

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs: Our military capability is eroding

Strained by the demands of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is significant risk that the U.S. military won't be able to quickly and fully respond to yet another crisis, according to a new report to Congress.

The assessment, prepared by General Peter Pace, is significantly worse than last years assessment of our military readiness. Per an AP article:

"Pace's report comes as the U.S. is increasing its forces in Iraq to quell escalating violence in Baghdad. And top military officials have consistently acknowledged that the repeated and lengthy deployments are straining the Army, Marine Corps and reserve forces and taking a heavy toll on critical warfighting equipment."

Another thing to note: This report was prepared prior to BushCo's decision to send over 20,000 more troops into Iraq. Here is a quote attributable to Pace regarding our level of readiness:

"may take several years to reduce risk to acceptable levels."

All this, and the Jackass in the Oval office,his buddy the Big Dick Cheney and the SOS Condo Rice still posture and run their pieholes about Iran, and that ALL options are still on the table. Its another game of....wait for it... you ready?

FEAR FACTOR with your host's George Bush and Dick Cheney.

Of course the fear is that we will stretch everything and every military branch to the breaking point so that IF the terrorists actually attack America..we can't mobilize quick enough to deal with it.

Ain't this some bat guano my dear reader....and while Bush and his boy Cheney fiddle and spin...it all turns to crap before our very eyes.

Tags: Politics, Bush, Iraq,War on Terror, Military Strength Assessment, Peter Pace

This just into the Newsroom: Terrorists bomb Afghan base where the Big Dick Cheney was holed up..they missed him, but the number of casualties is unknown.

More on Big Dick Cheney's world tour and his words from 1991

Dickie took a spin through Pakistan today..He took the time to tell them that our Congress will cut off Pakistan's funding if they don't clean up their act.

I found this fairly amusing in light of our Congress threatening to do the same to Bush's War in Iraq. Cheney's response then was:

"Bullshit". Or something close to that. I don't recall his exact response..perhaps he told them to go fuck themselves..one of his favorite retorts for individuals that lean Democratic and give him a hard time.

The fine folks over at the Carpetbagger Report have a lovely piece up about Big Dick. It reminds us of his words back in 1991. Lets travel back in history, shall we, via Carpetbagger:

In a 1991 speech, Cheney delivered a rather defensive speech on the subject, noting the intense sectarian rivalries that dominate Iraqi society and the likely inability to maintain stability in Baghdad. As for replacing Saddam with a democracy, Cheney asked his audience, “How much credibility is that government going to have if it’s set up by the United States military when it’s there? How long does the United States military have to stay to protect the people that sign on for the government, and what happens to it once we leave?”

Cheney also said:

“The notion that we ought to now go to Baghdad and somehow take control of the country strikes me as an extremely serious one in terms of what we’d have to do once we got there. You’d probably have to put some new government in place. It’s not clear what kind of government that would be, how long you’d have to stay. For the U.S. to get involved militarily in determining the outcome of the struggle over who’s going to govern in Iraq strikes me as a classic definition of a quagmire.”

Now, ABC News' Jonathan Karl has an interview up with the Big Dick from last week and he actually asked our Vice President about his statements from '91. This is rich folks..really..it is..

Karl: Back in 1991, you talked about how military action in Iraq would be the classic definition of a quagmire. Have you been disturbed to see how right you were? Or people certainly said that you were exactly on target in your analysis back in 1991 of what would happen if the U.S. tried to go in --

Cheney: Well, I stand by what I said in '91. But look what's happened since then -- we had 9/11. We've found ourselves in a situation where what was going on in that part of the globe and the growth and development of the extremists, the al Qaeda types that are prepared to strike the United States demonstrated that we weren't safe and secure behind our own borders. We weren't in Iraq when we got hit on 9/11. But we got hit in '93 at the World Trade Center, in '96 at Khobar Towers, or '98 in the East Africa embassy bombings, 2000, the USS Cole. And of course, finally 9/11 right here at home. They continued to hit us because we didn't respond effectively, because they believed we were weak. They believed if they killed enough Americans, they could change our policy because they did on a number of occasions. That day has passed. That all ended with 9/11.

For the love of GOD..Big Dick once again..and true to form uses 9/11 as justification for going into Iraq. Invoking 9/11 is the fall back for our current administration when all else fails. These fuckwits can't make sense so they attempt to baffle us with their bullshit. Not to mention..

How is Big Dick 'standing by his statement' he made in '91 which contradicts everything BushCo has done????

Amazing..simply friggin amazing..

Tags: Terrorism, Politics, Cheney, Iraq, Pakistan

Crossposted at Bring it On!

Big Dick Cheney still delusional and trying to start another war.

On his current "Rehab the American image" tour, Cheney, true to form, has uttered the following at various stops along the way:

At a news conference Saturday, Cheney warned that "all options" are on the table if Iran continues to defy United Nations-led efforts to end Tehran's nuclear ambitions, leaving the door open to military action.

He took a similarly uncompromising stand on Iran, criticizing its defiance of a U.N. deadline for freezing its uranium-enrichment programs. While the White House seeks a peaceful resolution to the problem, he said, he did not rule out military action. Mr. Cheney was more diplomatic, but no less direct, on Friday when he discussed North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and China's rapid modernization of its 2.3 million-strong military forces.

He better be careful when bitching about China..they are funding the war in Iraq..do not bite the hand that feeds your war fix Dicky.

Lifelong hunter and tv show host trashed by NRA

Look, my family has a long history of hunting. I didn't eat store bought meat until I was 8 or 9 years old. But this story is total bullshit:

SEATTLE - Modern hunters rarely become more famous than Jim Zumbo. A mustachioed, barrel-chested outdoors entrepreneur who lives in a log cabin near Yellowstone National Park, he has spent much of his life writing for prominent outdoors magazines, delivering lectures across the country and starring in cable TV shows about big-game hunting in the West.

Zumbo's fame, however, has turned to black-bordered infamy within America's gun culture -- and his multimedia success has come undone. It all happened in the past week, after he publicly criticized the use of military-style assault rifles by hunters, especially those gunning for prairie dogs.

Going after any animal with a friggin assault rifle isn't hunting..its killing. My father has hunted with everything BUT an assault rifle, he even uses a bow and arrow at times.This man spoke out on principle and the NRA has crucified him and fucking bragged about it. They say anyone should expect this kind of response if they try to take away their rights to own and use an assault rifle. FUCK THAT SHIT, you people are fucking out there. Its pathetic and fuckwitted. It has nothing to do with hunting..notta damn thing. Everyone is allowed a POV on ANYTHING. For this man to be ostracized for his POV is outrageous..but it shows you the length and breadth these fucking idiots will go. Reminds me of the damn pro-lifers that found it acceptable to attack women and bomb clinics.

New actions planned for March and April 28th

On March 18-20, Impeach07 will organize local events for peace and impeachment around the country:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/event

A growing network of organizations and individuals has launched a new campaign to pursue the immediate impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney through widespread public protest, creative dissent, media activism, education, and coordinated lobbying. We believe that Bush and Cheney have committed high crimes and misdemeanors, including misleading the nation into an aggressive war, spying in open violation of the law, and sanctioning the use of torture.

Participating Organizations

After Downing Street
Backbone Campaign
Center for Constitutional Rights
Citizens Impeachment Commission
CODE PINK Women for Peace
Constitution Summer
Consumers for Peace
Democrats.com

Participating Organizations

Democracy Rising
Gold Star Families for Peace
Green Party of the United States
Hip Hop Caucus
Impeach the President
Military Free Zone
National Lawyers Guild
Patriotic Response to Renegade Govt
Progressive Democrats of America
Independent Progressive Politics Network
Velvet Revolution
World Can't Wait

No more room: California to release non-violent criminals

Since Arnolds plan to send inmates out of state was shot down in the courts, he has now announced he will be forced to release prisoners convicted of non-violent crimes. A judge has threatened Federal oversight if something isn't done about the overcrowding in our state prisons.

We already have the prison healthcare system under Federal Receivership.

Jurist has a legal POV and the SFChron has a writeup here as well.

Doesn't this make everyone feel warm and fuzzy....Bet the pot smokers in jail are looking at this new move with interest.

A powerful film about torture at Abu-Gharib

Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, a new documentary by Rory Kennedy

Its showing on HBO. Here is a taste. Thanks to Spared for the 411 on this movie..I forgot to thank her when I originally put this post up.

Soldier sentenced to 100 years, eligible for parole in 10 in murder of Iraqi girl

Full link to article here.

ROSE FRENCH

Associated Press

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - A U.S. soldier was sentenced to 100 years in prison Thursday for the gang rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family last year.

Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, 24, of Barstow, Calif., was also given a dishonorable discharge. He will be eligible for parole in 10 years under the terms of the plea agreement.

The military judge hearing the case, Col. Stephen R. Henley, issued a sentence of life in prison without parole, the maximum for the charges. Under military law, the defendant is given the lesser sentence unless he violates terms of the plea agreement.

Earlier Thursday, tears rolled down Cortez's face as he apologized for the rape and murders. He said he could not explain why he took part.

OK...sentenced to 100 years, but can be paroled in 10..doesn't make sense to me and frankly I think it sucks pond scum. Bear in mind that some folks are still in GITMO after 5 years without charges and in subhuman conditions..great justice there military..simply fucking great. The Psych officer "testified about the mental hardships of war during the sentencing hearing.

Five soldiers who served with Cortez in Iraq said that conditions were harsh and that soldiers lacked running water at times and suffered from sleep deprivation. They said Cortez's actions were out of character." When is raping and killing an entire family 'in character"?

Cross posted at Progressive Blogwire
Bring it On and The Blue Republic

Ap reports:Democrats plan bill to limit U.S. war mission

Wow wee, they couldn’t get a consensus on a non-binding resolution but AP is reporting that ’sources’ have told them, per this writeup:

Senate Democrats are drafting legislation to limit the mission of U.S. troops in Iraq, effectively revoking the broad authority Congress granted in 2002, officials said Thursday. While these officials said the precise wording of the measure remains unsettled, one draft would restrict American troops in Iraq to combating al-Qaida, training Iraqi army and police forces, maintaining Iraq’s territorial integrity, and otherwise proceeding with the withdrawal of combat forces.

These are of course..anonymous sources..stay tuned..might get interesting..and Cspan will be worth watching again.

Tags: Politics, Iraq War, Dems rent a set of Nads

Is WaPo a liberal rag?

Editor and Publisher has a transcript up of a partial interview with Len Downie, executive editor at The Washington Post for many years. The interviewer is Lowell Bergman. The transcript is part of a 4 part “Frontline” series running on PBS on the media.

Q. Do you worry about [reporter] Dana Priest being subpoenaed, maybe going to jail?

Yes. She worries about that a lot. She worries about some of her sources going to jail or being subpoenaed or being criminally prosecuted for providing information the public should have. … I worry about Dana Priest and a number of our other reporters who are potential targets of either government subpoenas or civil suit subpoenas. Where people are going to demand that they reveal confidential sources which they’re not going to do. And I worry that the ultimate end of that will be that somebody will have to go to jail. That worries me a lot.

Q. In my 37 years in the business, I don’t remember anything like this going on before. … There’s apparently a couple of squads of FBI agents at the Washington field office; that’s all they’re doing, looking for leaks.

Right. I can’t remember a precedent for this either. …

Q. Today I talked with a source of mine, who said he just got polygraphed.

Yeah, that’s going on all around town. There’re investigations of sources going on all around town, and it’s very, very worrying. It’s not good. It’s not good for the free flow of information to the public, and it’s not good to criminalize sources and reporters who are merely engaged in trying to keep the American public properly informed.

Its a very interesting and informative read, I don’t want to post all of it, so check it out if you have a few minutes.

This administration seems to try harder than all other administrations before it, to keep information from the public since the FOIA was enacted. The main role of the media is to inform and maintain a certain amount of transparency in our govt..imho. The FOIA, or Freedom of Information Act, is an important tool that the media uses to gather information that is pertinent to current issues or events. Our current administration has secret-ized more information than any other, thus making it even harder for the media to provide us with information which allows us to make an informed decision on many issues or events. Bush’s administration is now systematically polygraphing more and more government employees to determine who is leaking information.

But, it was ok to leak the name of a CIA operative and no one gets charged or complains(on the right anyway)..an illegal wiretapping scheme by the federal government..not so much.

Tags: Politics, Washington Post, Mainstream Media, Goverrnment Secrecy

Small U.S. towns bear scars from Iraq

This AP article is quite depressing. It made me seriously mad. It shows, once again, that the poor are the ones paying the bulk of the price for Bush’s War in Iraq and there is a 'backdoor draft'. Small towns are never ‘middle class’, they are very seldom self-sufficient.

“Across the nation, small towns are quietly bearing a disproportionate burden of war. Nearly half of the more than 3,100 U.S. military casualties in Iraq have come from towns like McKeesport, where fewer than 25,000 people live, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. One in five hailed from hometowns of less than 5,000.”

“The AP analysis found that nearly three quarters of those killed in Iraq came from towns where the per capita income was below the national average. More than half came from towns where the percentage of people living in poverty topped the national average.”

Many of these soldiers believed in what they were doing. I do not question that. What I question is how the military offers opportunities for advancement and education as an enticement to these young men and women. When an individual lives in a dying steel town for instance, the opportunities for a decent life are far and few between. College is too expensive for even middle class families, and student loans will eat you alive after you graduate. Many of our best and brightest minds went into the war to pay off their student loans…ask tammara about that.

The AP article also brings up the financial burden of being a member of the National Guard or Reserves in the War in Iraq. Soldiers who were previously entrepreneurs are going bankrupt or losing their businesses. Families that were dependent on one spouse as sole income provider are experiencing a nightmare all their own.

The final blow is how the military delivers the bodies of military personnel killed in Iraq only to the nearest major airport. This is also a burden felt by the rural or small town inhabitants. It’s not only cruel, it is immoral to expect these grieving families to get the soldiers remains back to their hometown AND bear the cost of doing so. A bill has been introduced to cure this disgusting habit by a Democrat. Yes, I said a Democrat. Where are the Republican representatives on this issue? Will they fight this extra cost being added to the military budget?

Bastards better not. Our fallen soldiers and their families deserve better.

Bring their Buddies home-Mondays Activist Art in Carlsbad

I wasn't able to attend, living up in the San Joaquin valley and being unable to drive the distance with my hosed up back...but I do want to share with people how it went and what is being said in San Diego about the event Jeeni Criscenzo set up.

There is a moving video on the North County Times website here. Their article about the silent protest/activist art is here. It was cold, rainy and windy, yet people by the hundreds turned out. Bless them all and I thank them for their dedication.

*Photo from the North County Times article. Thanks to Bluegrrl for the links to the NCTimes piece :)

The other face of Walter Reed Hospital

I read this article with so many emotions running through my body: frustration, despair, sorrow, agony and worst of all fear. I fear that my niece will end up there if she is injured in Afghanistan, but I digress. Two WaPo reporters spent four months visiting the ‘other’ Walter Reed Hospital, the one for outpatients from the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

First some facts about outpatients at W.R.; The average stay is 10 months, but some have been stuck there for as long as two years. They outnumber hospital patients at Walter Reed 17 to 1. They suffer from brain injuries, severed arms and legs, organ and back damage, and various degrees of post-traumatic stress. Almost 700 of them -- the majority soldiers, with some Marines -- have been released from hospital beds but still need treatment or are awaiting bureaucratic decisions before being discharged or returned to active duty.

George Bush’s war in Iraq has overloaded the outpatient section of W.R. past the breaking point. Five years of injured soldiers and Marines has caused the outpatient population to explode on the 113-acre site. Families and injured soldiers are being put up in roach and mice infested housing, and nearby hotels are being used to take up the slack. With modern medicine now able to save more soldiers than ever, the over 21,000 soldiers who have needed some level of medical or psychological services have overwhelmed the military medical system. W.R. is the shining star in the military medical galaxy, yet the outpatients are living in filth and moldy conditions in buildings like the one written about in the WaPo article, Bldg. 18. Almost 1 of every 4 injured soldiers has been treated at some point at W.R. For a look into the bureaucracy that these injured soldiers have to deal with on top of their living conditions and their injuries, read this section from the WaPo article:

“Life beyond the hospital bed is a frustrating mountain of paperwork. The typical soldier is required to file 22 documents with eight different commands -- most of them off-post -- to enter and exit the medical processing world, according to government investigators. Sixteen different information systems are used to process the forms, but few of them can communicate with one another. The Army's three personnel databases cannot read each other's files and can't interact with the separate pay system or the medical recordkeeping databases.”-These are men and women who have lost limbs, had half their face blown off, serious brain injuries or just suffer from a top-level case of PTSD. These soldiers are just trying to cope with being alive and making it through the day..yet our bonehead officials in the bureaucracy have not attempted to make anything easier for these proud servicemen and women. When you add to this their living conditions..its unconscionable my dear reader. It’s fucking felonious in my opinion.

Platoon sergeants attempt to meet the needs of these injured soldiers and keep track of them as they work their way through the system. They themselves are patients. Patients get tired of the bs and just leave. No one follows up on these soldiers or attempts to find out where they are or where they are going but the platoon sergeants. Soldiers are dying in their rooms as witnessed by this story from the WaPo article:

“The soldier, 19 year old Cpl. Jeremy Harper, returned from Iraq with PTSD after seeing three buddies die. He kept his room dark, refused his combat medals and always seemed heavily medicated, said people who knew him. According to his mother, Harper was drunkenly wandering the lobby of the Mologne House on New Year's Eve 2004, looking for a ride home to West Virginia. The next morning he was found dead in his room. An autopsy showed alcohol poisoning, she said.”

The Army posthumously awarded Harper a Bronze Star for his actions in Iraq. That doesn’t ease his mother’s pain of losing a child. Losing him not in the war, but at home, in one of the best hospitals in America, Walter Reed Army Hospital.

The public is volunteering in huge numbers to help these wounded soldiers. Business’s are offering tickets to sporting events, movies and free steak dinners..but that won’t help the mounting problems these wounded soldiers face trying to deal with a government that hasn’t a clue about what is going on and how it affects these soldiers ability to recuperate. Living in a room with mold on the walls and being able to view the bathtub in the room above you isn’t what these kids signed up for. Employees who have seen the horrible conditions and can no longer ignore them have tried to work their way through the maze of government paperwork. Take the story of Wilson;

“Wilson, the clinical social worker at Walter Reed, was part of a staff team that recognized Building 18's toll on the wounded. He mapped out a plan and, in September, was given a $30,000 grant from the Commander's Initiative Account for improvements. He ordered some equipment, including a pool table and air hockey table, which have not yet arrived. A Psychiatry Department functionary held up the rest of the money because she feared that buying a lot of recreational equipment close to Christmas would trigger an audit, Wilson said. In January, Wilson was told that the funds were no longer available and that he would have to submit a new request. "It's absurd," he said. "Seven months of work down the drain. I have nothing to show for this project. It's a great example of what we're up against. A pool table and two flat-screen TVs were eventually donated from elsewhere.

But Wilson had had enough. Three weeks ago he turned in his resignation. "It's too difficult to get anything done with this broken-down bureaucracy," he said."

As a result of the WaPo story, the government is now scrambling to fix Bldg.18, and all the other problems associated with the hundreds of outpatients at W.R. The people in charge of Walter Reed and Army officials have been "meeting continuously for three days" since the articles began appearing. A large roundtable meeting with Army and Defense Department officials will take place at the Pentagon early Monday morning to continue talks about improvements in the outpatient system. Social workers will now be stationed around the clock at Mologne House, the 200-room hotel on the post where many of the outpatients live. Plans are being developed to better train other staff members who deal with outpatient needs.

That’s fine and dandy...but its pathetic that it took two women 4 months of hard, journalistic work to bring these atrocities to the public’s attention, to get anything done by our government who has known that these problems were getting worse by the month and as each year passed.

No matter how you feel about the war in Iraq, this type of treatment should never be allowed to happen to our injured soldiers, yet its been going on for almost 5 years and has gotten progressively worse. The problem will get worse before it gets better since we are sending more troops into Iraq. During the Republican’s reign in the halls of congress, many of the problems and shortcomings of dealing with our wounded soldiers were raised...only to fall on deaf ears. The reality is that more will be put in this position as the fighting heats up in Iraq and soon, Afghanistan.

This government has no excuse for cutting corners and subjecting our servicemen and women to any hardship that only increases their inability to deal with a shattered life and body. This isn’t a partisan issue my dear reader. As far as I am concerned the terrorists are walking the halls of government, until every single soldier is cared for compassionately and correctly as befitting their service to our country.

Cross-posted at The Blue Republic

tags: Politics, Walter Reed, Veterans Administration, Bureaucratic Bullshit

"The surge"...how is that going George?

As I sat and wrote up an article for The Blue Republic, the local news was on the TV. It was more background noise, but I did occasionally perk up and pay attention..like when I heard this phrase:

The War in Iraq is making a turn for the better.

I damn near shat myself as I sat there, listening to the talking heads tell me how things are going great in the Baghdad suburbs since the "crackdown".

I guess they didn't get the memo about the 'brazen' attack on a US base north of Baghdad.

Two suicide car bombers tore through the main gate and detonated their explosives, destroying part of the building, which the U.S. military took over after Iraqi policemen abandoned it last summer because they were threatened by Sunni extremists who control that area.

A gun battle between U.S. troops and armed men raged for about 20 minutes after the initial explosions, as helicopters from the large U.S. military base nearby in Taji rushed to the scene.

The WaPo article goes on to point out that this type of attack is unheard of..until now. Usually mortars or rockets are lobbed at the bases, but actual coordinated attacks show the insurgents are getting bolder and bolder..no shit you say?

The abandoned police station should of been a clue, I think. An Iraqi police unit trained in Jordan deserted last year after being threatened by insurgents.

The US military refused to provide much info on the attack. They also refused to confirm the Iraqi version of what happened.

The U.S. military on Monday reported the deaths of seven other service members killed in recent days, including three soldiers who died Monday when a roadside bomb exploded while they were on patrol southwest of Baghdad. Also, three Marines and a soldier were killed in the western province of Anbar in fighting since Saturday, the military said.

But..its going swimmingly over there..just ask the talking heads here in the reddest city in the reddest county in California.

Tags: Iraq, War on Terror,

Nutjobs of the Week: Republican Swiftboaters against Hillary.

Cross-posted at:

Let me start by saying, I am no fan of Hillary’s. I do appreciate what she went through when her hubby Bill was in office, there is no denying the fact that she put on a happy face and trudged through that part of her life. It has become obvious however, why she did that.

She wanted the job. Hillary has been running for President since the day Bill Clinton took the oath of office. And as she has said: ‘She’s in it to win it’.

This is causing major concern for the GOP activists. They friggin hate ol’ Hill with a passion usually saved for Michael Moore, Cindy Sheehan and various other anti-war activists on the left. Funny, but Hillary isn’t anti-war..she is a hawk, don’t ya know?

Dick Morris, who actually worked for Bill Clinton is spearheading the Anti-Hillary campaign with a documentary on her. Per this article this is what the likes of Dicky Morris thinks about Hillary;

"People are doing what they're doing because they want to defeat her before she has a chance to win. You can't hold off your silver bullet to the end," said veteran Republican operative David N. Bossie, who is involved in the film project with Dick Morris, a former advisor to Bill Clinton.”—Damn, this woman worries them doesn’t she now? I mean, the first primaries aren’t for about a year for the love of god. The same article calls her a formidable threat.

Yet, I cannot find one person on the left who would readily vote Mrs. Clinton for President in ’08. The left doesn’t want her and the right is poised to stop her at all costs. Hillary has been waiting for this she says. She knows how to handle the rightwing nutjobs:

At a recent Democratic National Committee gathering in Washington, Clinton told party officials, "I know how they think, how they act and how to defeat them" — a battle call echoing her 1998 evocation of a "vast right-wing conspiracy" during the furor over her husband's affair with intern Monica S. Lewinsky.

Back to Dick Morris..aka Dicky Mo. He has written scathing columns about Hillary. Then, he has actually come to her defense when Ed Klein wrote an unsubstantiated hit piece intimating that not only was Hillary gay, Bill raped her and …this is the really good part..that was how Chelsea was conceived. This fuckwittery is telling. The right FEARS Hillary. Sweet Jebus in a speedo, they fear Hillary Clinton will become our next President.

There are websites up already, StopHerNow.com and StopHillaryPAC.com. I won’t link to them..sorry. But they are like rabid dogs after an injured animal my dear reader. It actuallys makes one pause..and think…

Damn, has this bitch really got a chance to win? Could Hillary win? As the LAT article quotes one of the StopHillaryPAC folks:

"Those Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were the real heroes of the 2004 election," one online exhortation reads. "We at the StopHillaryPAC want to do the same thing to Hillary."

The Swiftboaters are the same ones that KO’d Kerry’s campaign, oilman T. Boone Pickens and Houston real estate developer Robert Perry.

Isn’t that nice of those mutha fucka’s..they want to play dirty again. It almost makes you want to expose them, and if that is the case..you would also be giving Hillary a helping hand at the same time. Dick Morris btw, was fired in 1996, from Bill Clinton’s staff after it was found that he had a dalliance with a..ahem..prostitute.

But if Hillary knows anything, it’s how to fight back. I mean, think about it..she had to endure the sexcapades during Bill’s first run at the White House. There was the whole “Whitewater” fiasco and TravelGate, which in spite of millions spent by government investigators, never did nail the Clintons to wall on anything. And of course…MonicaGate. Hillary doesn’t sit and wait, she has already hired her own dirt diggers. She has people that do nothing but scour the media and the internets. She hired Judd Legum, previously research director for the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank headed by former Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta. Legum is pretty good at digging the dirt, I get the email from C.A.P. that he used to head until he left last month to go over to Hillary’s team. Another fact not well know is that Hillary played a ‘key role’ in the formation of the website Media Matters, which has a huge research staff and provides excellent research on anything the rightwing nutjobs say or do in the media. If you don’t subscribe to their email alerts, I suggest you do, if you’re into those sort of things. The DLC, that stalwart fan of Big Business loves Hillary and Bill. They helped get the first Clinton into office and he promptly rewarded them with NAFTA. Hillary hired Senator Harry Reid’s son this weekend as part of her inner circle.

The rights mantra is that Hillary is a leftwing nutjob in centrist’s clothing. I personally see her as slightly right of center. They vilify her like no other except John Kerry, who said fuck it, and decided not to run again. Can’t blame him, he doesn’t have the stones to run for President

But Hillary has, my dear reader, she has big brass ones. I think in many respects she is smarter than her husband. I think women want to believe her and leftwingers will vote for her if they have to in the general election next year. Even Ralph Nader hates her. He has threatened to run if Hillary is the Democratic nominee. Of course Ralph hates Obama and Edwards too, he is just a grouchy old fuck. The right points at her early socialistic view of healthcare as a major reason they hate her and proof that she isn’t a moderate. They will play as dirty as they have to, and they don’t care what it costs. They want her gone. To me, that says they are very afraid of this woman. That can only be a good thing. She does have one weapon at her disposal: Bill Clinton. Bill’s public approval ratings were still higher than Bush’s when he left office. People think he got a bum deal, or maybe Monica’s indiscretion wasn’t as important as the Iraq War.

We could do worse you know..we could get Newt Fuckwit Gingrich who would hand over every right we have if it was up to him. Another horror movie is John “Weathervane” McCain. If it comes down to Hillary Clinton and a republican..what would you do? That’s what the rightwing activists are afraid of.

Tags: Politics, Hillary Clinton

Bring their Buddies home-Monday in Carlsbad

Join us this Monday, Feb. 19^th (Presidents' Day)

Hwy 101 (Carlsbad Blvd) at Tamarack Ave, Carlsbad
Arrive 9 - 9:30 AM to sign & and get positioned,

Stand in silence 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Wear Black, No Signs

On Monday, Feb. 19^th (President's Day) hundreds of San Diego residents will come together in a collaborative effort to illustrate the tragic consequences of war and champion non-violent solutions to conflict, by being part of an Act of Art. You may remember that I organized a similar event in November 2005, the day after Thanksgiving.

The Bring Their Buddies Home Vigil will happen between 10:00 and 11:00 AM along Hwy 101 in Carlsbad, stretching north and south of Tamarack Ave. Everyone is invited to participate by standing in silence, dressed in black, with each person wearing a memorial page with the name of one of the fallen troops. The vigil is meant to declare, by our silent presence, that we honor the sacrifice of the U.S. troops who have died in Iraq and that it's time to Bring Their Buddies Home.

Bring your family and friends - the larger the turnout, the more effective our message will be. Here is a non-confrontational way to show that you support our troops AND want to bring them home.

The Press is already giving this event great coverage. Today's Local News covered it on the front page on Wednesday, and it was written up in the Union Tribune, Light Connection and Zengers. North County Time will have a stroy about it on Saturday. NPR & KPBS have called for interviews. This is going to be a historical event - please come be a part of it.

See www.BringTheirBuddiesHome.com for details. Call me, Jeeni Criscenzo, at 760-529-9809 if you have any questions.

Duplicit and complicit? I think so.

duplicity: contradictory doubleness of thought, speech, or action; especially : the belying of one's true intentions by deceptive words or action.

complicity: association or participation in or as if in a wrongful act

The man in this article over on Editor and Publisher is both of the things listed above imho. This man is described as an Army veteran and Arabic linguist who worked in Iraq as a contract interrogator with the 82nd Airborne in early 2004. His name is Eric Fair, and the opinion piece is titled “An Iraq Interrogator’s Nightmare.”

Eric also kept his mouth shut about what he saw and what he and others did in the name of our country. His time as an interrogator at Abu Ghraib or in Fallujah was surely a horrible nightmare for anyone with an ounce of compassion in his body or soul.

But, that said, he did participate. He is now trying to cleanse himself by 'coming clean' in various written media formats like the WaPo article above and a newspaper in Tennessee.

I question his motives for doing this. I do not feel comfortable taking his word on anything that happened over 3 years ago, and is subject to his emotional interpretation...or worse, his personal agenda...such as a book deal in the works perhaps. He was in the Army and then went into Iraq as a civilian contractor..more money that way, don't ya know?

If he wants to come clean, this guy needs to say his piece in front of a congressional hearing. A dramatic, chilling OpEd piece in WaPo doesn't cut it for me.

tags: Iraq, Torture, Contractor, Eric Fair, Abu Gharib

Wilkes, Foggo indicted by Grand Jury

Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, executive director of the CIA until he resigned in May, and his close friend, San Diego defense contractor Brent Wilkes have been indicted on 11 counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. These indictments stem from the same case that sent Randy"Duke" Cunningham to prison for a long time.

Foggo and Wilkes could each be punished by up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Lets hear it for justice being served..god willing and the jury agrees.

Amanda Marcotte resigns from Edwards campaign

You can read her announcement on her blog, Pandagon here.

"Regardless, it was creating a situation where I felt that every time I coughed, I was risking the Edwards campaign. No matter what you think about the campaign, I signed on to be a supporter and a tireless employee for them, and if I can’t do the job I was hired to do because Bill Donohue doesn’t have anything better to do with his time than harass me, then I won’t do it. I resigned my position today and they accepted. "

Somehow I knew this wasn't over. Fucking rightwing nutjobs are partying tonight.

tags: Politics, Amanda Marcotte

Some tidbits from Scooters Grand Jury testimony

Testimony..ah yes, You can read the transcript of Scooters GJ testimony here and here. Attention Kmart shoppers, they are PDF files..Have I mentioned lately that Mary Matalin is a bitch with a capital B? Thank you to Firedoglake for the links and liveblogging they have been doing throughout the entire trial.

Now, some of the good stuff:

Q. It still remains that it is possible that the Vice President could have told you to talk to people about Wilson's wife working at the CIA, but you do not remember that?
A. It's, it's not what I had on my card from that meeting, and I don't recall him telling me to talk to the — to anybody about the wife working at the CIA on the airplane that day.

Q. But you do recall him telling you back in June, from your notes dated June 12th, and you recall that that stuck in his mind then in June as a curious fact the way he observed to you that his wife worked there. Correct?
A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you do know that Vice President Cheney was quite frustrated during the week of July 6th through July 12th at how the media was treating this issue, and the fact that he was being unfairly maligned in the media. Correct'?
A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you had gotten an e-mail, I believe, from Jay Carney of Time magazine the day before saying people are pointing fingers at OVP. Correct?
A. That sounds right, sir. I haven't looked at it recently, but that sounds right.

Q. And so, on July 12th, Vice President Cheney was still determined to get the full story out. Correct?
A. That's correct, sir.

Q. And the notes show all week he said, anything less than the complete truth would be a mistake. Correct?
A: Correct, sir.

Q. And during that time the Vice President was also expressing doubts about the validity of Ambassador Wilson's conclusions because, number one, he didn't think that — he thought it unusual that they had used a former ambassador to take this trip. Correct?
A. You say, "during that week," and it could be during that week. I just don't recall it as — I don't recall there was a discussion during that week, but that could be, I recall them later, and as you pointed out, we have — he had something like that on the lunch of the 18th. When Vice President Cheney said, "get the full story out," what I understood by that was the NIE, the January 24 document, the CIA's comments in February to the IAEA, those sorts of things. The substance, the full substance that he wasn't the one who was told, et cetera.

Q. Well, when Mary Matalin, we saw her notes last time, talked about "get the full Wilson story out, get Wilson motivation out." Correct?
.A. Mary Matalin had said that. Yes, sir.

Q. . She talked about ["Wilson's a snake" — redacted in files]. Correct? ' .
A. I don't know if that was her word. That was my note about the type of things she was saying, I think.

Q. And Vice President Cheney talked about it with you for the first time that your notes reflect, he brought up that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA in the functional Office of Counterproliferation. Correct?
A. Back in June… yes, sir.

Q. And the column July 6th written by Mr. Wilson with the Vice President's annotations asked, "did his wife send him on a junket." Correct?
A. Whenever he made that note. Yes, sir.

Q. And so you told the FBI in your first interview, or one of your two interviews, that it's possible that the Vice President could have told you on Air Force Two that you should tell the press about Wilson's wife, but you do not recall that happening. Correct?
A. Correct.

Q. And does that remain true?
A. It remains true that it was possible, I don't remember it happening.

You might be a Republican if...

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Edwards blogger debacle is over..or has it just started?

Slate has what can be considered the MSM's view on this shitstorm over the two ladies lefties he hired..or should I say his staff did. Edwards had never met them nor read their blogs.

WTF???? Did anyone read their blogs before they hired them? This is felony dumb folks.

Edwards apologized. He made the two bloggers apologize and retract their words, or in one instance at least..the blogger called it satire..both apologized on Edwards website. Edwards apologized.

Not once did anyone address the double standard..apparently its ok for Donohue to degrade and talk shit about "hollywood types"..I linked to some of his nasty bigotted tirades a couple of days ago on this subject. Media Matters has all of Donohues bigoted bullshit on their site if you care to look it over..its pretty nasty..just no "f-bombs" BIG FUCKING DEAL. HE IS STILL A NASTY VILE BIGOT AGAINST GAYS AND LIBERALS FROM THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD.

ok..Now for Donohues response on his website..apparently its not enough..The fuckwit says he will stay on Edwards ass about it..scream it from the roof tops..here is a piece:

“We will launch a nationwide public relations blitz that will be conducted on the pages of the New York Times, as well as in Catholic newspapers and periodicals. It will be on-going, breaking like a wave, starting next week and continuing through 2007. It will be an education campaign, informing the public of what he did today. We will also reach out to our allies in the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist communities. They worked with us before on many issues, and are sure to do so again. What Edwards did today will not be forgotten.”

WHAT.A.FUCKING.DICK.

Kiss off Donohue..your a legend in your own mind..you and your 350,000 sheep..shut the fuck up and get over it. Your nothing more than a hitman for the rightwingers and a political terrorist.

I am done on this subject.

Tags: Politics, Political Terrorists, Donohue is a fuckwit

The 4th branch of our Federal Government: Contractors

The federal government has outsourced more and more of its duties. By doing this, they can claim they have lowered their workforce, thus saving us millions of bucks in benefits that would have to be paid to these employees if they were on the federal government payroll, among other things.

What also happens is that oversight, transparency and auditing of the work is lost. The government just writes checks out to companies like Halliburton, CACI, KBR, Blackwater and a host of other corporations figuring the job is being done correctly and it saves us all lots of money in the long run.

Wrong, carpetbagger breath. The billions paid to companies like I have named above is many times just wasted. Since the federal government no longer has their finger in a specific pie, they also give these companies carte blanche to charge us whatever they want, and workmanship is a dirty little word to these corporations..they just want their check. They create their own work standards without any oversight by the federal government, who is now relegated to just being a “customer”. The contractor can now sub-contract part, if not the entire job, to another contractor with little or no oversight by the federal government or the original company who was given the contract. Where do you think their loyalties lie? The following is a quote from David M. Walker, who as comptroller general of the United States, said this about contractors and their loyalty: “There’s something civil servants have that the private sector doesn’t, and that is the duty of loyalty to the greater good — the duty of loyalty to the collective best interest of all rather than the interest of a few. Companies have duties of loyalty to their shareholders, not to the country.”

What is the biggest and scariest part of this whole “contract out the government” scheme is, as the NYT writes, these contractors have slowly become the 4^th branch of our federal government.

Besides the obvious Iraq Reconstruction carpetbaggers, we have contractors who collect our income taxes and work up agency budgets, operate unmanned spy aircraft and act as secretary’s taking the minutes at policy meetings on the war in Iraq. They sit next to federal employees at nearly every agency; more people work under contracts in our federal government than are directly employed by our federal government.. Let me type that again for you: More people work under contracts in our federal government than are directly employed by our federal government. One that makes me howl in amazement is the government’s online database for tracking contracts, the Federal Procurement Data System, has been outsourced. We have outsourced the checks and balances on our outsourcing. Ain’t that a friggin’ hoot my dear reader?

Not really. It’s pathetic and its fuckwitted.

To cull some of the key information that has been unearthed about our outsourcing, here are some of the highlights, which come from the NYT article mentioned above:

¶Competition, intended to produce savings, appears to have sharply eroded. An analysis by The New York Times shows that fewer than half of all “contract actions” — new contracts and payments against existing contracts — are now subject to full and open competition. Just 48 percent were competitive in 2005, down from 79 percent in 2001.

¶The most secret and politically delicate government jobs, like intelligence collection and budget preparation, are increasingly contracted out, despite regulations forbidding the outsourcing of “inherently governmental” work. Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group, said allowing CACI workers to review other contractors captured in microcosm “a government that’s run by corporations.”

¶Agencies are crippled in their ability to seek low prices, supervise contractors and intervene when work goes off course because the number of government workers overseeing contracts has remained level as spending has shot up. One federal contractor explained candidly in a conference call with industry analysts last May that “one of the side benefits of the contracting officers being so overwhelmed” was that existing contracts were extended rather than put up for new competitive bidding.

¶The most successful contractors are not necessarily those doing the best work, but those who have mastered the special skill of selling to Uncle Sam. The top 20 service contractors have spent nearly $300 million since 2000 on lobbying and have donated $23 million to political campaigns. “We’ve created huge behemoths that are doing 90 or 95 percent of their business with the government,” said Peter W. Singer, who wrote a book on military outsourcing. “They’re not really companies, they’re quasi agencies.” Indeed, the biggest federal contractor, Lockheed Martin, which has spent $53 million on lobbying and $6 million on donations since 2000, gets more federal money each year than the Departments of Justice or Energy.

¶Contracting almost always leads to less public scrutiny, as government programs are hidden behind closed corporate doors. Companies, unlike agencies, are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Members of Congress have sought unsuccessfully for two years to get the Army to explain the contracts for Blackwater USA security officers in Iraq, which involved several costly layers of subcontractors.

Now, after reading that laundry list of crap..do you feel safer? Do you feel your tax money is being spent correctly? And lastly, do you feel this type of bullshit is in our best interests? Because I do not my dear reader, not for the one stinking second that it took for me to write this sentence.

Our pitbull in the Senate, Henry Waxman is trying very hard to warn us about the inherent problems associated with outsourcing the bulk of the duties our federal government is supposed to perform. He is holding hearings this week on the carpetbaggers that are known by the name of “contractors” in Iraq. You can watch or listen online. I watch CSPAN or listen to it in the background all day. I am tired of the spin we put up with from our current administration, our elected representatives and from the MSM. I can formulate my own opinions based on what is actually said..not on what the MSM writes up the following day. I think the problems we face as a nation are far too important to be left to the MSM, to let them provide me with their daily take on what was said or done in our name. When a good in-depth report comes out, like the one the NYT is doing now on contractors, I think it’s worth telling people about. I hope I can pique your interest enough to get you to read it..even if its long and in four parts. I hope that you will get pissed off enough to do something about it..even if that means all you do is call your elected rep’s or write them a long nasty diatribe, blog about it on your own or tell others what is being done in our name. If we do any or all of those things..perhaps we will see real change. If we don’t..We will get the idiots and disloyal fuckwits we deserve running our Federal Government. That is tantamount to the fox guarding the henhouse my dear reader..but you know that, don’t you?

Tags: Politics, Federal Contractors, Waxman

The rightwing nutjobs are going after Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan

Sumo brought this to my attention this morning. Seems the nutjob Bill Donohue is making a mountain out of a molehill here..and the MSM has picked up on it. Donohue is demanding the Edwards camp fire both the liberal bloggers they hired recently for past posts that bitch-slapped the Catholic rightwingers. The NYT has a nasty hitpiece up about the ladies here..and WaPo evidently is running with the story as well.

Glenn Greenwald has nicely dealt with these smarmy assholes by bringing up the rights skeletons with regard to bloggers they have hired as well. Take for instance John 'flipflop' McCains boy Patrick Hynes. Pat is a real piece of work my dear reader. The word fuckwit comes to mind when I think of Patty-boy.

Mahablog also takes exception to the rightwing nutjobs attacks on our liberal ladies by posting some YouTube videos of that idiot extraordinaire Michelle Malkin and her daddy Bill O'reilly. She also sounds off about this latest smear crusade on Shakes Sister and Pandragon's lady here.

Media Matters has pulled some of Donohues skeletons out of his closet as well.

The right can never do no wrong..and the left never does anything right..if you listen to the rightwing nutjobs..hopefully Edwards campaign won't. Only time will tell.

I will say this..if Edwards fires either of those ladies..I won't be voting for that thin skinned sumbitch.

Tags: Politics, Rightwing Terrorism, Patrick Hynes is a Tool

Watada's case is declared a mistrial

From MSNBC:

FORT LEWIS, Wash. - The judge overseeing the court-martial of an Army lieutenant who refused to deploy to Iraq declared a mistrial Wednesday, saying the soldier did not fully understand a document he signed admitting to elements of the charges.

First Lt. Ehren Watada was fighting charges of conduct unbecoming an officer and missing movement for refusing to leave last June with his unit, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

They state the site will be updated as more information is given.

tags:

Hearing on billions wasted by the Coalition Provision Authority live on the web

Cspan is a wonderful thing..it provides us with a window into what the asshats in the Senate and House are doing with their time and our tax dollars. If your even remotely interested in wtf went wrong with the billions that were handled by the Coalition Provision Authority you can click here and watch it live on the internet. It will continue for the rest of the week. The great thing is ..you can make up your OWN friggin mind, and not have to read the spin in the media tomorrow. Wotta deal! Paul Bremer is back peddaling with regard to what he wrote in his book and what he has said in public. Bowen is spot on in his assessments of what went wrong.

Bagh"Dads" Gonna Kill Me-A video

Richard Thompson has a new anti-war song out from the 'grunt's perspective. The title is "Dads Gonna Kill Me"-Dad being short for Baghdad. RawStory has a good article up about Mr. Thompson and his music. This song seemed perfect for another video..so I made one. This song will be on his new album due out in May entitled " Sweet Warrior".



If for some reason, you can't get the video to work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBCiYBMuuxQ

A joke at The Shrub and Cheney's expense

A driver is stuck in a traffic jam on the highway. Suddenly a man knocks on his window. The driver rolls down his window and asks, "What's going on?"

"Terrorists down the road have kidnapped George W. Bush and Dick Cheney," the man says, "They're asking $100 million ransom. Otherwise they're going to douse them with gasoline and set them on fire. We're going from car to car taking up a collection."

The driver asks, "How much is everyone giving on average?"

The man responds: "Most people are giving about a gallon."

Stolen from WallStreetJackass

Molly Ivins on the Shrub and TX art

To view the other three parts of this, go here. This one starts out w/Ann Richards introducing Molly..good stuff folks.

The second one is Molly explaining Art TX style..hilarious indeed.

Blogger made me switch...

I am not happy about it..I gotta figure this crap out now..I do not mind change, but when its forced on you and messes up your stuff..its fuckwitted.

Everyone's comments are showing up as anonymous..I don't get it..

Dancing with the Devil in the pale moonlight.

Russ Feingold has a well-written article up on TomPaine.com about ending the war in Iraq and Congress’s ability to do that. I am sure it’s no surprise that Russ is vehemently against the escalation of the War in Iraq. He chaired a hearing earlier this week, in the Senate Judiciary Committee, that addressed Congress’s power to end the war in Iraq. I question Congress’s commitment to ending the war. Many of the Democrats ran on a platform of ending the war this past November, did they not? Yet, we see nothing but posturing and non-binding resolutions coming out of the Senate and House. Even some republicans have stated they question the logic in sending more troops into the civil war currently taking place in Iraq. Republican Senators such as John Warner and Chuck Hagel have come out against an escalation of the war. Every group has an idea of how to send the President a message that we simply cannot increase our troop numbers in the war in Iraq. The Moderates, the Left and even some on the Right all have an opinion on how to send the Shrub a message.

Well, as the old saying goes: Opinions are like asshole’s..everybody has one.

I do not want anymore posturing and messages being sent to the President. If they wish to send him a message, text-message the sumbitch, ok? He has heard the message loud and clear. He has sent forth his minion, our Vice President, to spread his “message” regarding our message in November:

Bush and Cheney don’t care what the majority of American’s want. Bush is the Decider-in-Chief and he will do as he sees fit with regard to the war in Iraq..so suck it up and deal folks.

Back to the non-binding resolutions; they are weak and a waste of their time and our tax money. In order to gather all the congressmen and women together, the majority of legislators against the escalation of the Iraq War have decided to back the Warner-Levin resolution. This resolution is the weakest of them all my dear reader. So far, 7 republicans are backing the “Warner-Levin Resolution” which merely states that these folks, who we elected to represent us, “disagree” with the Shrub’s plan to send more troops into Iraq.

To which I offer a hearty..WTF?

I find myself agreeing with Senator John McCain on the subject of non-binding resolutions. In an LAT writeup there is this quote from Mr. McCain:

“Where is the intellectual honesty if you think that you’re sending young Americans into harm’s way in a futile effort?” McCain asked. “I know if I felt that way, I would say, ‘My resolution is a binding resolution that cuts off funding.’ That’s the intellectually honest approach.”

Now, bear in mind that I have no love for Mr. McCain. I just happen to agree that it’s intellectually dishonest as hell to push a resolution that does nothing other than voice an opinion. An analogy that comes to my mind is a child that insists on running across a busy street without stopping to look for oncoming traffic. Do you merely stand there and tell the child to stop, or do you grab that child’s arm and say; "Don’t do that again!" I would hope that you would stop the child from carrying out an activity that is dangerous to his or her health and well-being.

The Warner-Levin resolution is the former. This resolution also includes language that opposes any funding cutoff in an attempt to lure more republicans to support it; “The Congress should not take any action that will endanger United States military forces in the field, including the elimination or reduction of funds for troops in the field.”- Nothing like a non-binding resolution without any teeth and removes from the table a valuable tool that is the sole hammer the legislative branch has with regard to the war in Iraq; Cut off the funding for the War.

Up steps Russ Feingold and Christopher Dodd. They are the only ones putting their money where their mouth is at this point, by stating they will not support the Warner-Levin resolution. Feingold proposed legislation Wednesday that would mandate a withdrawal from Iraq within six months after the bill is passed. In a WaPo article Friday, Dodd and Feingold are quoted as saying the following about Warner’s resolution:

Dodd called it “essentially an endorsement of the status quo” in Iraq, while Feingold denounced it as “a deal with the devil.” “This is the United States Senate. This is not some city council somewhere,” Dodd said. “It seems to me sending something down that engages the president, that forces the administration to pay attention is something we ought to be considering.”

Our elected officials are afraid to put their money where their mouth is. The Pro-Bush Republican’s are threatening a filibuster of any resolution that goes against the President’s plan. Democrats are now jumping on board the Warner-Levin resolution like it’s the best idea since sliced bread, in order to circumvent the threatened filibuster and get their weak-ass opinion out there and on The Shrub’s desk. For weeks now, both the Senate and the House have spent precious time arguing about how to tell Bush NO.

Our elected representatives are dragging their feet on doing what Congress has the power to do: Stop funding the War. It’s the responsibility of Congress to reign in an executive branch that no longer represents the majority of Americans. There is precedence for Congress exercising its constitutional authority to stop U.S. involvement in Iraq. In 1970, Congress prohibited the use of funds for introducing United States ground combat troops into Cambodia or providing U.S. advisors to Cambodian military forces. In late June 1973, Congress set a date to cut off funds for combat activities in Southeast Asia. President Clinton signed into law language that prohibited funding after March 31, 1994, for military operations in Somalia, with certain limited exceptions. And in 1998, Congress passed spending legislation that prevented U.S. troops from serving in Bosnia after June 30, 1998, unless the president made certain assurances.

All this time-wasting, non-binding bullshit needs to stop. Its time for Congress to step up to the plate and push for an end to the funding of this war as many of them promised during their election runs this past year. Let the citizens of America see who is continuing this debacle, which is costing billions of dollars and hundreds of lives each month it continues unchecked. Every elected representative must be held accountable for his or her vote on the issue of ending the War in Iraq by using the checks and balances our Constitution has given them. Its time to put up or shut up my dear reader. I am sick of this Congress acting like they are doing something about the war in Iraq when in actuality they are doing nothing but wasting time grandstanding for the cameras. If they won’t rent a set of balls and stop funding the war, then they need to sit the hell down and shut up about it, and deal with the consequences of their actions..or more accurately, their non-actions.

Tags: Politics, Iraq, Iraq Redeployment Act of 2007

Cross-posted at Bring it On!

Larry Johnson on the new Iraq NIE

Jesus Christ in a speedo..Larry Johnson pretty much sums up what many of us have been saying all along:

The Iraq version of the Hatfields and McCoy's won't end anytime soon. In fact, it won't end before 2008, if ever.

Its a disgusting assesssment of Iraq, and folks..its straight out of the Intelligence branch of our Federal Fuckwits at the Helm.

Read it and weep, here.

John Edwards has hired one of our own.

Shakespeares Sister is now part of Edwards campaign. She has accepted a job with his campaign committee. You can read what she has to say about it on her blog here. I respect her and I think she will add plenty to his run for the highest office. She pulls no punches and she doesn't suffer fools easily. Stop by and congratulate her if your of mind to do so.

On a different note, I have started up physical therapy again. This should be good news but the fact is..my workers compensation insurance company are such assholes, that I have been without PT for months now..so its like starting all over again. How much blogging I will do depends on the level of pain I experience. If Tuesday is any indication..I will be medicated up to my eyeballs quite a bit..so forgive me if my posts seem out there..its the drugs people...not moi.