Suntzu-You absolutely made my day! I’ve saved the photo to my desktop for prurient viewing and uncharitable mocking.

rw cole should consider starting a blog.
Very trenchant comments.

Bush and Blair were declared personae non-grata in Buenos Aires at the start of the Iraq war.
His approval ratings among Argentines approximate those among African Americans. There is no enthusiasm for his free trade proposals. Why in the hell did he go?

I read in the WSJ a cfew days ago that one resilt of the budget cuts for the poor was 40,000 children will not receive a lunch.

That is premeditated abuse by the GOP. Scorn them when they claim they have superior morals and mention the 40,000 children they have knowingly harmed.

Haven’t seen much coverage of the disputed phase 2 hearings in the intelligence committee.

There was an article in this morning’s paper. Apparently Roberts- the gooper who heads the group:

1) Won’t allow staffers to draw preliminary conclusions from the data that have been collected.

2) Wants the group to look at statements from both the Clinton and Bush administrations- with no names attached- and to force senators to draw conclusions without the aid of names.

In other words, he wants to nail the Clinton administration for lying to go to war- even though the Clinton administration didn’t GO to war.

Goopers are mad.

colleen –

Thank you, although I’m not sure what would inspire awe.

On the other hand, every time I read “colleen military mom” I am awed. When I think of what must be the white-hot burning in your heart of anger at the obscenity of this criminal war…and to know what a constant burden that must be.

Do you belong to any of the organizations I heard about during Cindy’s stay at Bubble Boy’s brush ranch?

If you have time, I’d love to learn more about your son/daughter? in the service. Apologies if you already mentioned it in a thread I missed.

Now I have to head out for physical therapy, but will check back later for any response — and to see if the conversation here continues.

Is our children learning ethics?

Mrs. K8

Every time I read one your comments I am awed.

From a lapsed Catholic

Oops! I meant WWII, of course. Although they weren’t necessarily helpful during the “War to End All Wars,” either.

Oh Norske, not to worry!

And I should apologize if I gave any impression of “piousness.” Really, I’ve been very lucky, having gone to a high school that was diocesan, but not at all what other such schools in the region were like.

It was during Vietnam, and we were progressive as all get-out. Nuns and priests (and lay teachers) assigning books like “Autobiography of Malcolm X,” “Soul on Ice,” Theodore Roszak’s “Making of a Counterculture,” Trumbo’s “Johnny Got His Gun.” My history seminar was called “History of Civil Disobedience in the United States” (beginning with the colonial era), and my project was an interview with Arlo and Lyle Tatum (Quakers who had written “Handbook for Conscientious Objectors”). Class trip was to the Vietnam Moratorium in DC. I got to see Phillip Berrigan (Jesuit) debate an Army Recruiter officer on “justification” for the war — a whole school assembly for that one.

No, I am aware that my background and training and education was not typical. So I suppose it’s not so useful to bring it up, huh? ;-)

In the meantime, my heart is sickened at the fascist apologists in the church today. I studied at Hans Kueng’s Institute in Germany and got to know plenty of people who know Pope Benny personally. Nothing could have dismayed me more in the selection of a new pontiff than picking Ratzinger. Now I don’t go to church anymore, since I live in a place with limited access and brainwashed congregations. I got tired of getting up and walking out during sermons last year. :-)

The people I love in the church were along the lines of John XXIII, Dorothy Day (Catholic Worker Movement), Thomas Merton, the Ploughshares movement (got to know some of those folks), even got to meet Martin Sheen (before his 68th arrest).

The abortion and homosexuality fanatics are destroying the church, and it makes me ill. Since I don’t have the energy for both fights, we’re shopping for an Episcopal (but not the reactionary version) option.

I know all about the Opus Dei thugs, the silent complicity of too many during WWI, the anti-Semitism in my grandfather’s Polish village, AS WELL AS the evil origins of the Jesuit order.

Big hugs to you, sweetie. I understand.

Pacifica don’t be foolish. First of all, being timidly reasonable has got us where we are now. Secondly, until the 1980’s most folks KNEW that corporations were unamerican and the corporations didn’t title their politics with the corporate logo.

We simply must call a spade a shovel and not approach the American people as if they are stupid.

..and corporations are unamerican.

I don’t think it helps to be stridently anti-corporation. It alienates a lot of people and drives people away from the Democrats. We want a balance between benefitting society and employees and building strong businesses. We want fair and ethical businesses that operate on a level playing field. For every Halliburton there are numerous ethical businesses that are run by honest, hardworking people. Whether it is through their 401k or through their pension fund, almost everyone in the middle class benefits from a growing, dynamic economy. Businesses that create (quality) jobs contribute to the reduction of poverty.

And while we can blame businesses for moving jobs offshore, we need to look at the contribution that we, as consumers, have made to necessitate this strategy.

Mrs. K8, I am truley sorry if I left ya with the impression that I thought you aren’t understandin of the stakes or willin ta lead the fight…I jest overreacted ta the Jesuit reference, the Jesuits do have a great history but they also have some terribly bloody bad stuff in there too.

Again I am sorry fer my insensitivity (sometimes).

Valley Girl: Bradblog is awesome.

RW: by this spring we are gunna see at least 60-70 Republican seats in play and we haven’t even begun ta see all the vulnurable Senate seats.

Talk Left, MYDD and Donkey Rising are all good places ta keep track. But I think we must assume that there ken be more seats in play ‘cuz if we don’t take that attitude there won’t be.

Norske –

I know it’s everybody’s welfare. I’m horrified by what suffering they are causing in kicking the poor around and how they’re pushing the middle class down into serfdom. I know that. My point is that I don’t mind the FIGHT, and nobody can buy me off with a “tax cut” or some other such nonsense meant to appeal to selfishness. They can’t divide me from other Americans by appealing to the notion of “gated communities” or “good neighborhoods” or any other concept of fear of “those people.” In that sense, I feel better equipped than some who might still be addicted to their crap possessions — and who might enjoy GOP blandishments to get in with the “in-crowd” of greedy pigs. I’m not susceptible to them telling me “what I want to hear” because I already know it’s manipulative nonsense.

I guess I was just lucky regarding Jesuits. The ones I got to know worked in Central and Latin America and put their lives on the line to try to help the poor get economic and political justice in THIS LIFE. Universally, they despised Reagan (and Negroponte and Abrams and, and, and).

Re: Irag Stratigy

OK Bushco is bad, bad, bad. Lied about the war, only cares for corporations. Hypocrits to the max.

But they are stupid too. They could have acheived regieme (sp) change and their goal of controlling the Mid East oil by not bombing the shit out of Irag.

Thus preserving essential services.

Just the first thing I don’t get.

Second: Retaining some or most the standing Irag military. Instead of turning them into insurgents.
And securing weapons caches.

I knew Irag was being fucked by the US when the incredable museums were looted.

Woody wazn’t inta the aesthics a the toolz of hiz trade waz he? I got the impression that he didn’t give a ratz ass what he waz playin on(afterall he wazn’t Segovia er Jimmi Hendrixx on the gitfiddle).

If anything is going to improve, we need honest elections as the bedrock. I am so pissed at the Dims for rolling over on this one. It made me really angry when Paul Hackett lost by a small margin in an election that had so many red flags up signalling fraud and violation of election rules (power outage in Clermont Co., etc. etc.) and Hackett didn’t force the issue. That could have been a watershed moment. Instead the Dims were celebrating because Hackett lost by the usual (!) 48% 52%. And, of course, I won’t mention Kerry, Mr. “every vote counts.”

If anyone wants to delve more into the fair elections issue, check out Bradblog. This is Brad’s #1 issue. Lots of info there:

http://www.bradblog.com/
-

Norske- stay aware of the fact that the battle will be mostly in red states and red districts in 06.

There are said to be 30 competitive house races this time around. With a 15 seat deficit- that’s formidable. Dems would need to win 23 out of 30 and hold everything else. Those numbers won’t work.

We need to broaden the competitive districts to at least 50- that may mean running some candidates (like Reid) who don’t pass the litmus test.

The key question is “Will this candiate vote for dem leadership”.

It will of necessity be a very pragmatic year.

Oops- I just read that Guthrie’s guitar read “this MACHINE kills fascists” and it was a Gibson (although he later got sane and bought a cheap Martin- an 0-15)

Can’t find out what model of Gibson it was yet.

Mrs. K8, it ain’t our own personal well bein’ that iz at stake here…itz EVERYbody’z. I had the chance ta go ta gradschool at a Jesuit place and believe me I waz left with the distinct understandin’ that the Jesuits knew that there were alwayz gunna be some rich folks around and they were gunna see to it that they waz on the right side a thoze folks when the s**t hit the fan.

RW, I think you are right about how ‘06 iz gunna play out, but I don’t think we ken play small ball this time. We need ta advance a “total victory” message. A message that sayz:
1. we can’t trust the Republicans and corporations are unamerican.
2. we must increase taxes in order ta secure the Nation and pay fer the war.
3. we CAN restore our economy(even if we can’t)
4. we must restore the United Nations and use ‘em ta get us out of Iraq and secure the oil.

Whatever our message is it can NOT be fascist light and we can NOT let the media distract us inta the details. The people of our country are NOT stupid and ARE informed by their experience…we must structure a message that tatooz the war in Iraq and the economy on the forhead of every Republican candidate. And we must tar ALL the encumbants with the brush of “unamerican”.

There is some nasty-ass karma cooking up for ol’ Dubya. The man’s got telltale hearts beating everywhere.

Indeed! I can hardly wait to see how he reacts to the first righteous smackdown of his life.

I’m looking for a copy of Woodie Guthrie’s Martin guitar with the sign “This instrument kills Fascists”

Anyone know where to get one?

Norske –

I guess I am ahead of the game. Thanks to my leftist Jesuit education, as well as the grade school old-time Catholic teachings of “what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, etc.” I’ve never, ever been seduced by material crap.

I picked Mr. K8 for his integrity not his wallet, and was astonished at a grad school room-mate of mine who moved to Texas/Houston so she could “meet and marry a millionaire.” God knows what happened to her, I’m not interested in finding out.

Parents and grandparents taught us all about the Great Depression. The fact that we were “spoiled” with great abundance was a fact that took hold with me.

While I’m afraid of dying in great physical pain, I’m not really THAT afraid of diminished financial/material prospects. NOT that I want to get poor, mind you, oh no!

But money’s just not where my treasure is. I’ll find a way to be happy if I can help build community and keep demanding justice for the evil bastards.

Norske

The plan for 06 will be “little ball”

Dems will have a national platform of sorts bases on decriminalizing politics, fixing the deficits, beginning the process of drafting a national healthcare plan, saving social security, and returning to a govt that represents the interests of all the people.

The real game is about finding and supporting local candidates- and the party needs to allow them to run on whatever issues will win locally- whether or not they are consistent with the national image.

It will be about money and door knocking.

The war will be primarily fought in red states. It will not be pretty- it will not be inspirational- it will be ugly, dirty and mean- and if the ball bounces their way- they may pull off an upset and take at least one house.

The game in 08 will be entirely different- that is where there will be a clash of contrasting ideologies- and the copy for that war should be written NOW.

it iz clear that the strategy of the neofascists (”starve the government until its so small we can drown it in the bathtub”) has been achieved. Even if we reinstitute the tax rates of 1998, with oil prices now and supplies runnin out in 25 years, we will hafta institute confiscatory taxation in order ta raise the level a services in education, health and human services ta 1998 levels…this of course would kill what little iz left of the production sector of our economy, in short dear friendz we are fucked

yeah, these guys are past masters of the fait accompli. Cutting taxes for the rich (one area where the avg US citizen still seems especially obtuse), its placed the Demos in the absolute politically untenable position of having to advocate tax increases to pay for stuff they want.

same way with the war. one reason they wanted to go to war so fast, not listen to the inspectors, was because they knew once they were in it would be hell to get out of Iraq and anyone advocating withdrawal could be smeared as anti-patriots, not supporting the boys (and tax raisers to boot)

Mrs. K8, you are indeed a light in this nightmare and rwcole you are gettin’ too bogged down in yer anger and the present we need ya ta help bring us inta the future and here iz the future:

it iz clear that the strategy of the neofascists (”starve the government until its so small we can drown it in the bathtub”) has been achieved. Even if we reinstitute the tax rates of 1998, with oil prices now and supplies runnin out in 25 years, we will hafta institute confiscatory taxation in order ta raise the level a services in education, health and human services ta 1998 levels…this of course would kill what little iz left of the production sector of our economy, in short dear friendz we are fucked.

The strategy of the fascists with regard ta treasongate iz ta dump everythin on Cheney and hope there are enuff corrupted judges in the federal system (they’ve been packin it since 1981) ta keep everythin from comin’ out. That iz why Libby iz not gunna flip, if the judge in hiz trial doez not throw it out on national security groundz then hez gunna hunker down and wait fer a pardon.

Our onliest hope iz fer Fitz ta bring more an more charges, movin’ right up the food chain ta espionage and conspiracy ta commit espionage. Politically the fascists are screwed but so iz the country. It will take 2 more election cycles ta get the legislative and executive branches back and 30 years ta get the judiciary back. In the meantime economically we are lookin’ at medeival Europe az the model of what our country iz gunna look like in 5 years. And that iz the optimistic view.

We will take back the government over the next 4 years but I’m very disparin’ a what we are gunna be left with when we do…and we will not have a Europe willin ta invest enough in us ta underwrite a Marshall Plan fer us.

Jonah Goldberg also published an op/ed to the effect that Clinton thought Saddam has WOMD- ergo President Clusterfuck didn’t lie. It’s the line of the month among fascist op/ed writers.

Of course it is a total logical joke.

Whatever Clinton did or didn’t believe about WOMD is totally irrelevant to whether or not Clusterfuck lied.

The only way to defend Clusterfuck is to claim that he really believed that the aluminum tubes were for uranium enrichment- although we was told otherwise- and that Saddam really did attempt to buy yellowcake- all evidence to the contrary.

In short- the only way to defend Clusterfuck is to claim that he is a madman who continues to believe in myths despite all evidence to the contrary.

I haven’t seen any of the fascists take this line- but who knows.

Every person who placed a higher priority on discriminating against gays than on combating poverty bears some guilt.

Absolutely correct. Yet I am heartened by the fact that those people are most definitely NOT in the majority. While at the same time being DISHEARTENED that this minority of haters has a disproportionate influence at the polls. And at the same time being DEEPLY DISHEARTENED that the polls themselves have been tinkered with such that many of their “electoral victories” have been frauds.

Still and all, I’m glad that the majority of my neighbors are NOT committed to this kind of hatred. I had been afraid for some time that fascism had taken hold on the hearts of most citizens. In the long run, electoral fraud will not keep at bay the reality of public sentiment.

Sadly, it will take the “long run” for these things to shake out — and I hope there won’t be too much violence in the course correction. Millions of people will suffer both here and abroad before the fraudsters are deposed. But there is nothing for us to do but fight them, in whatever non-violent ways are open to us. And to encourage community amongst those who now recognize them as frauds and thieves.

My uncle and godfather died last year. A World War II vet, he had been hoodwinked by the GOP for many years, but came to his senses years before 2000. On his deathbed he confessed to me that he allowed his fear of “others” (i.e. race) to be used by the manipulators at the top, and expressed deep regret at not being more open-hearted earlier. “Thugs and thieves” he called Bushco. “Fight ‘em, K8, however you can” he said. A former devout member of the Knights of Columbus, this staunch Catholic realized that this focus on abortion and homosexuality was insane, a real sucker’s game for the sheep.

I was very lucky to see the transformation of this man, which had begun and taken hold years before he became terminally ill. It was not just a “deathbed confession.” He had been spreading the “good news” of his wake-up from sheepdom to all his friends for some time.

For sure, not every kool-aid drinker can snap out of it. Some will be hopeless. But my godfather gave me something to fuel my desire to keep fighting.

The GOP’s relentless impeachment drive against Bubba is coming back to haunt them, but causing the public to view impeachment as less of a big deal. Before Clinton, I think a lot of people viewed impeachment as something they did a hundred years ago that would not happen in modern times. But the GOP has gotten them over that hump. Sure, impeachment is a modern device. You used it once, why not again.

Plus, like the romans, American’s enjoy a good circus. that’s why, IMO, the media flocks to a Scott Peterson trial, or what the criminal trial de jour is. And what bigger circus is there than an impeachment.

Kevin Drum still refuses to admit Bush lied. He wrote a horrible post about this yesterday, beginning with the “everyone thought saddam had WMD” lie at the beginning. If left of center warbloggers like Drum are still so delusional, imagine how things are for true believers on the Right.

The current gooper infestation is like having a nest of scorpions in your house.

You can’t spray for scorpions- they are resistant to insecticides.

They carry their young on their bodies and drop them only when they are mature.

The only way to eradicate them is to kill them one scorpion at a time.

Don’t expect this to be easy.

Gravatar Puzzled- yes it’s a good sign- of course that question was posed hypothetically- “if it were shown that he lied etc.”

yes, but even at that it shows that the majority easily comprehend that lying about the war = a really bad thing to do, so bad that they’re willing to approve the drastic act of impeachment. That, IMO, is half the battle…no longer can the BCF rely on the country’s disinterest as to war lies to protect them. Another trench line has fallen.

Puzzled- yes it’s a good sign- of course that question was posed hypothetically- “if it were shown that he lied etc.”

Of course it’s blatantly obvious that he lied- but many americans refuse to embrace the truth.

don’t assume that the goopers are out of the game just because they had a bad quarter. They’re tough- and they have not yet begun their campaign charge for 06. It’s going to be a battle.

Dems need to open up their wallets and get ready for a fight.

It truly will be a battle, and the fight is not over by a long shot. And don’t think because they are down, they are out.

These people are sociopaths, and they won’t give up until their hearts stop beating. When they are down, it means you have to double up your efforts and kick them harder, and more often.

And never let up.

someone should print up some bumperstickers that say

“Impeach ‘Em Both”

He sent thousands of young gooper faithful to Iraq to transfer the nation to “the free enterprise system”.

This is a great idea!!! Like a gooper peace corps. You pay to send gooper volunteers to Iraq, give them old right wing newspapers to wrap up in for body armor, and send them out into the streets preaching the gooper message.

Problem solved. The next gooper you talk to, see if you can get them to volunteer for the preznits program :)
Me | Homepage | 11.05.05 – 8:47 am | #

I personally am willing to pay the air fare and the bus fare for three groups to go to Iraq.

Because I believe in freedom and freedom of choice they can pick any one of these exciting destinations:

Sadr City.

Anywhere else in Baghdad except the green zone.

Fallujah

Najaf

Nineveh

Basrah

I’ll even pay for their water purification tablets (so that they won’t be able to pretend that their underwear is the colour it is because of bad water.)

Am I not wonderfully generous ME? :-)

and on the issue of whether the American people are spoiled (yes) and stupid (no)…consider these astounding numbers..

November 4, 2005
If He Lied, He Must be Tried
A Majority Now Favors Impeachment

By DAVID LINDORFF

Impeachment of the president has gone mainstream.

An astonishing 53 percent of Americans in a new poll released today by Zogby International now support impeachment of President George W. Bush if it can be shown that he lied to get the US into a war with Iraq.

Equally stunning, the poll, which was commissioned by the organization After Downing Street, shows that even among so-called independents, support for impeachment is 50 percent, and among Republicans, it has reached 29 percent or more than one in four.

The poll, which surveyed 1200 people across the country during the Oct. 29-November 2 period, shows a marked rise in support for impeachment in recent months.

In late June, Zogby, a non-partisan survey organization, polled using the same question, and found 42 percent of the public in favor of impeachment of the president.

Less than a month ago, Ipsos Public Affairs also polled on impeachment and found 50 percent in favor.

John Zogby confesses to having been “surprised” at the latest result, calling the 19 percent shift in favor of impeachment over four months’ time “remarkable” and “much higher than I expected.”

The numbers have to be worrisome to an increasingly embattled White House. After all, it suggests that a higher proportion of the American public now favors impeachment than voted for him, even using the official vote totals from the scandal-plagued 2004 election

see rest of article at

http://counterpunch.com/lindorff11042005.html

One of the funniest job postings in Iraq involved Ari Fleischer’s brother. He was in Iraq to teach Iraqis about American practices like competitive bidding, etc.
He said—I swear i’m not making this up—he said that he was showing them how to operate without cronyism!

Look it up on google. I’m sure you can find it.. the guy had NO clue. I’m sure he wasn’t being facetious.

Don’t know about Powell. He may be approaching a watershed moment- he has reached an age where he can afford to let the chips fall where they may if he wishes. He is unlikely to ever assume another public office.. He probably has as much dirt on this administration as any living american. It is not unthinkable that he would decide to let it fly.

Sending out his number two guy to do battle is a half measure- if Powell himself decides to gird up for one last battle- the results could be spectacular. It’s not in his nature- but he could rise above his normal instincts to not upset apple carts.

For many years now, whenever I see the face of Colin Powell I see My Lai and scores of the slaughtered Vietnamese poor. He was the apologist for evil back then, too.
Mrs. K8

another excellent point. MyLai and the UN speech are perfect bookends to CP’s career of opportunism.

Maggie:

For the umpteenth time, Powell has NO credibility. Harry Belafonte pegged the reason why, long ago.

Doyle –

Yes. For many years now, whenever I see the face of Colin Powell I see My Lai and scores of the slaughtered Vietnamese poor. He was the apologist for evil back then, too.

We are still a nation of superficial spoiled brats who are incredibly gullible.

Mrs. K8 – I think that I have to agree with rwcole here. I think that there is shameful behavior in this country that extends far beyond the government. We are (or at least were) the most powerful nation in the world. With that power comes responsibility. IMO at least 50% of the voting public in this country has to bear some of the guilt for wielding this power irresponsibly.

I think every person who accused someone of being unpatriotic for raising questions about the war bears some guilt. Every person who placed a higher priority on discriminating against gays than on combating poverty bears some guilt. Every person who defended torture because we were the “good guys” doing it bears some guilt.

I am not sure that as a nation, we are responsible enough to carry this responsibility that we have (had). But guess what? I probably won’t need to worry about that much longer. Because as a result of this nation’s actions, supported by a majority of the voting public, we probably won’t have to worry about how we wield power in the future – because we won’t have any.

Occasionally I am tempted to subscribe to this thesis, especially when I’m discouraged by how much Little Boots and his band of merry warmongers has gotten away with
Mrs K8

Little Boots! good one. I hadn’t thought of that, but it kinda fits.

Frankly, I’d be happier if he tried to appoint a horse to the SCotUS

If Shorr is correct and Powell deeply regrets the UN speech. He should show some cajones and start talking publicly on the matter.

Forget Powell, the obedient waterboy for evil.
He could have stopped the Iraq misadventure in its tracks by resigning instead of shaming himself at the UN, or by speaking up and getting fired by Cheney.

Instead he saluted and parroted his script and looked out for himself at the expense of his country, like every other greedy fuck in this maladministration.

Yes, the money of the middle class is being successfully siphoned upwards to the pockets of the already obscenely rich.

These people pretend like they’ve never read a history book. Paris in 1789. St. Petersburg during the Russian Revolution. This sort of behavior will not turn out well for them, not in the long run.

When I run into pseudo-Christian kool-aid swillers who shriek about the threat of “communists” like Hugo Chavez, I remind them that if Christians had simply behaved as their Lord asked them to, there would never, ever have been a violent revolution. Anywhere.

They were very lucky in getting FDR, in spite of their calling him a “traitor to his class.” His programs prevented a real violent revolution here. What will happen next time?

The first thing to do is to campaign relentlessly, in every way at hand, to get the scandal of last year’s election on the national radar screen. Unless we do that, all our policy suggestions will mean nothing.

Sounds like someone wrote their own job description ;)

Mrs. K

I got the “Americans are too stupid (or perhaps it was- ignorant” to elect their own leaders from Walter Cronkite the other night on Larry King. He got on a soapbox for a few minutes and said that education should be our primary focus because Americans are too stupid to engage in democracy.

Guess he is in a cynical mood.

I am not in a dark mood currently. I think that the experiment with fascism will eventually play itself out- particularly if the fascists in charge are as clumsy and stupid as the current breed in the White House.

I do think that 06 is an important election- and that while goopers are likely to lose seats- they are unlikely to lose control of either house. We have three more years of fascism at least.

__ A letter to the MSM __

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..h_cia_leak

Today I am reading that our incompetent President Bush has ordered his staff to undertake additional ethics training. This is a joke coming from this adminstration. It is nothing more than propaganda.

President Bush is a man who has repeatedly lied to the American people. You in the press spread the lies for the administration.

Let’s go back and do a little contrast comparison shall we? In his first year in office President Bush said:

“We must always maintain the highest ethical standards. We must always ask ourselves not only what is legal, but what is right. There is no goal of government worth accomplishing if it cannot be accomplished with integrity.”

This is a President who would tell Americans he is for truth, justice and the American way… While at the same time he would lie across the board to take the country into an illegal and unjust war based on those lies. This is a President who has set up secret prisions in order torture human beings held without trial or legal representation. This is a President who maintains members on his staff that have been implicated in a criminal investigation involving the outing of the CIA agent.

Please do not disseminate additional propaganda about some little ethics class for the White House staff. This is a sham, don’t buy into it.

People talk about the “Criminalization of politics”, the truth is, these people act more like criminals than politicians. The media should not kow-tow to this adminstration; President Bush has been _bad_ for America, and for Americans.

Sincerely,
***

Click here for the Media List: http://fusioner.proboards60.co…..1131129004

This group may have had a bad quarter in the news but their bank rollers had a huge quarter….so the money will not be drying up.

rwcole —

Yes! I was just thinking about how impossible it is to capture the complex reality which is American society in a quick post on a blog, and you stepped in and said it eloquently. We contain many, many paradoxes within our boundaries.

I guess I was worried about the sentiment that “Americans are too stupid to elect their own leaders.” If you proceed from that assumption, there’s really nowhere to go, is there? Except to hope for a more “benevolent” dictator. I think it’s more a question of ignorance, and that’s a different (albeit very challenging) problem, given the fact that there are too many who seek to manipulate that ignorance for selfish ends.

And I do know how easy it is to slip into a deep funk over the state of public discourse in the nation. What I try to do, and am not always successful in doing, is to refrain from posting when I’m in a state of mind that might contribute to the general discouragement of others. No sense in my inadvertantly sounding, for mood-based reasons, more like Tokyo Rose than Thomas Paine. [That’s why I wasn’t around much yesterday!] One of the reasons why I love this particular blog is that people are so supportive of each other in our fight to take back democracy — WITHOUT being unrealistically optimistic or approaching complex problems armed with mere slogans.

Thanks for your thoughtful post — and I love the discussion, too.

If Shorr is correct and Powell deeply regrets the UN speech. He should show some cajones and start talking publicly on the matter. He could get some of his credibility back if only he would!

rwcole -

I hear ya. I, for one, will not let up. But, Gilroy’s point is well-taken. These are determined, dangerous people for whom no underhanded tactic is beyond the pale.

—

Bobby- “just surrender”

Hell no- but the author of that piece has a helpful message- don’t assume that the goopers are out of the game just because they had a bad quarter. They’re tough- and they have not yet begun their campaign charge for 06. It’s going to be a battle.

Dems need to open up their wallets and get ready for a fight.

zennurse–
Thanks for your rant.
I have worked in nursing for over 20 years, and witness the watertorture, drop by drop, distruction of healthcare. The profiteers (Frist, Big Pharma and Insurance Co.) have no view to the human issues, Congress and really all those in secure jobs with healthbenefits of reasonable quality and who have been blessed with no personal health crisis can not grasp the experience of many of those who have passed through my care.
There must be a better answer a more humane way to make this work.

This entire issue needs to be aggressively worked until we have an answer. If the Dems don’t take it up seriously and lead on this they are missing a huge opportunity.

TOM GILROY THROWS DOWN:

Nothing could be more damaging for the bridge club of armchair politicians known as the Democratic Leadership than the recent spate of sound bytes like ‘Bush’s worst week in Office,’ ‘A White House Demoralized,’ and ‘Bushies on the Brink of Collapse’.

You can already feel Schumer, Dean, Hillary, and their media addicted minions being taken over by that familiar self-satisfied stupor, validating their inaction and cowardice, even repositioning it as though it was part of a grand plan, an agenda, even an ideology.

ItÂ’s like a bunch of fat people on a couch learning about the obesity epidemic from 60 Minutes and concluding they must be skinny.

The problem with these snappy doomsday pronouncements—collective wishes really—is that they bear no relationship to reality. You really have to wonder what kind of bloated house-bound moron could think slumping polls and plummeting approval ratings would worry a gang of fanatics who stole two elections in a row, invaded a country they knew couldn’t defend itself, and gave a male hustler White House security clearance.

As long as Democrats and their well-fed punditocracy measure Bush, et al with a yardstick of morality, popularity or ethics, they will never recapture the majority, and hereÂ’s why; Bush, et al arenÂ’t driven by morality, popularity, or ethics. TheyÂ’re driven by money.

You can almost deduce what Rove will tell them to do next by simply asking yourself what would be best for the rich. But ask yourself what would any normal person do when their egregious gluttony, mendacity and utter scorn for the common man was exposed and you’ll find the Bushies actions baffling. You’ll wait for their humble confession until you’re blue in the face—uninsured at an underfunded emergency room. Judge them by their drive to get at even more of our public resources and money, and suddenly you’ll recognize they’re still a well oiled machine.

So they don’t ‘Reel With Frustration’ or ‘Rethink Their Message’ or ‘Try to Recapture the Public Mood,’ that’s just delusional journalists waxing poetic over how a decent person would behave. But these people aren’t decent, they’re crooks, and crooks don’t give a shit about you seeing them for what they really are. They don’t care what you see as long as they’re getting you’re money.

But ‘On the Brink of Collapse?’ ‘A Crack in the Empire?’ Running Scared?’ ‘Drowning in an Ethical Quagmire?’ ‘Crisis of Leadership?’ ‘Humbled by the Damage to Their Legacy’?

Yeah ,sure.

TheyÂ’re so humbled they just last week passed landmark changes gutting FloridaÂ’s Medicaid and Medicare programs, to be used as a model for other red states so their Republican governors can appear fiscally responsible. So you crippled grandmother better not exceed her spending cap next year, or sheÂ’s shit out of luck; her dog food rations will have to go up to 3 meals a week just to pay for her meds. Boy, thank God the GOPÂ’s been humbled by the ethical quagmire.

TheyÂ’re so humiliated by their treasonous lies and media intimidation in the lead-up to the illegal war, they just nominated a raving puritan lunatic to the Supreme Court, a brown-shirted lemming so in thrall of corporate power and totalitarian government control he makes Maggie Thatcher look like a feminazi. Running scared!

Dick Cheney’s act of contrition for the public discovering he’d sacrifice a CIA agent ‘s head on a silver platter so an illegal war could funnel money to Halliburton was to replace his indicted chief of staff with David Addington, a stealth gorgon who’s hatred of democracy reaches back to Iran/contra and co-authoring Gonzales’s Torture Memo.
DickÂ’s so horribly ashamed heÂ’s even bucking the entire Congress to force a torture loophole into a bill that would otherwise compel America to abide by The Geneva Conventions. You remember The Geneva Conventions, those rules of ethics drafted by all of humanity in response to the Nazis gassing 6 million Jews? Clearly, our VP is so demoralized he must be triple popping Prozac just face his morning coffee.

W is so decimated by the embarrassment of his (and his mother’s) classism, racism and venal cronyism in the wake of Katrina, he could barely muster the courage to eliminate minimum wages and environmental protections in the great domestic funneling of cash to Halliburton , otherwise known as the rebuilding of New Orleans. Just look at the chickenshit run! We got ‘im now!

Talk about cowering at the feet of liberals. That’s why they’re offering up the olive branch of the Guest Worker Program, that nice euphemism for a lot of poor people without constitutional rights, occupational protections, health insurance, the ability to establish or practice their culture, send their kids to school, or have a permanent home—all for below poverty wages. Which is of course another way of saying slavery. Boy, they’re in the final throes!

And the face man for torture and CIA-trained death squads from Honduras to Nicaragua, John Negroponte, is still running Iraq, probably using an Ottoman vase as a chamber pot while tallying up our weekly Geneva Convention violations on a centuries-old Koran with a Sharpie.

Boy, are they reeling in humiliation. I’m surprised they can muster the dignity to get out of bed in the morning, they ‘re so debilitated and demoralized.

HereÂ’s a little secret; they never reel because they are never demoralized. They donÂ’t measure success and failure they way you and I do, by analyzing public benefit or desire, or even legality, or ethics. They measure success by how much more money they feast on from the public trough. And by that measure, they hogs are literally drowning in shit.

So while you fold your arms in the triumphant reassurance that ScooterÂ’s indictment and the GOPÂ’s plummeting ratings reveal the world to be what youÂ’ve always had faith it was, think again. The pendulum you always talk about is not swinging back. The Truth has not come out. What has happened is what youÂ’ve known all along has merely been reiterated. There is no new information, and so there will be no new consequences. And while you smirk and feel validated theyÂ’ll go right along gobbling up more and more, laughing at you between belches.

Because they donÂ’t care about your moral indignation, your ethical judgment, or what the public thinks. They donÂ’t care whatÂ’s popular, legal, or good for the country. They want your money.

So while the Democrats brunch and strategize about who to run in 2008 (choosing from the 3 frontrunners, all of whom want to INCREASE troop numbers in Iraq), the dozens of Rove wannabees over at the The Federalist Society are planning their fifth, sixth, seventh move from now in their uninterrupted plunder. They’re thrilled you think they’re running scared, because that means you’ll go back to watching ‘Sex & The City ‘ marathons.

Because while you’re in your HBO or ‘Desperate Housewives’ coma, they’re moving way beyond small potatoes stuff like Valerie Plame and Patrick Fitzgerald. They’re plotting new ways to get at our money in places you’ve never even thought of. They’re gonna spread those Medicaid cuts to every state in the union, they’re gonna make billions overcharging us for avian flu vaccine, they’re plotting ways to dissolve land trusts via ‘eminent domain.’ They’re paying lawyers to strategize ways to let every corporation in America out of honoring pension and health insurance commitments.

While you’re smirking about them finally getting their comeuppance, they’re hiring investigators to find out if Barack Obama ever had gay sex, Elliot Spitzer ever paid a maid under the table, or Kenye West ever went to a hooker. They’re plotting Phase II of the ‘social security debate,’ and the PR sliming of China and Venezuela into the new Russia and Cuba. They’ll have every anchorperson in America calling environmental and animal rights activists ‘domestic terrorists,’ Homeland Security monitoring the email records of college students, and the ATF following future Cindy Sheehans by tracking their EZ Pass.

Think I’m wrong? Ten years ago, could you have imagined evolution being challenged, ‘affirmative action’ a political liability, or a pregnant GI posing for torture photos?

If these are the actions of a humiliated cabal, imagine what an emboldened one would try to get away with. The mind reels.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..10159.html

—
Yikes. Uhhh.h…OK. What now? We just surrender?
—

your optimism is much appreciated, Mrs. K8.

Mrs. K

Humans are a maddening lot. They contain selfless instincts, craven impluses, and great potential for self deception.

As Mark Twain said:

“Man is the only animal that blushes- or needs to”

I don’t suppose that we will succeed in capturing human nature in a 200 word essay here- but I greatly value your posts and the discussions we have here.

Let’s hope that for whatever reason- we get a good turnout in 06 and that americans decide that they have had enough fascism- a little goes a long way.

I am cautiously hopeful- but fear that goopers will continue to control both houses of congress after the dust settles.

There is a GREAT list also at Harper’s featuring time-lined events related to George W.

http://www.harpers.org/GeorgeW…..86604359E8

Question #1: Where is Juan? I want to laugh.

Observation: Iraq was supposed to be over in 3 weeks, and from there we were supposed to invade Iran.

What we have instead is a lost cause and an extremely powerful mini-state sitting on a huge percentage of the world’s oil reserves which is basically the 51st state of…Iran.

These people can fuck up a free lunch. In addition to being soulless pedophile predators (ten year olds, remember?) they are abysmally incompetent. Completely incompetent.

George must have something to do with running the government, because I doubt there is anyone else on earth stupid enough to have accomplished what has been accomplished.

Best not to get too pollyana however in my opinion.

We are still a nation of superficial spoiled brats who are incredibly gullible.

It is not the least bit “pollyanna” to state that it’s good news that Americans are NOT eager to rush headlong into the arms of fascism and corporatism.

THAT’S what I’m talking about. Years ago I studied and researched cultural life during the Weimar Republic, and the development of public acceptance of fascist principles in Germany.

I had been VERY worried that Americans would swallow state propaganda easily. That is NOT the case. That, by any definition, is GOOD news, especially considering how bombarded we are with that propaganda at every turn.

And I really take issue with the entire “nation of superficial spoiled brats” theme. Yes, people are too addicted to the teevee, but there really is a hunger for community I see around me. In my city, when Katrina survivors were flown in, the response by “just folks” was overwhelming. There are indeed many selfish people in this society, and the GOP panders to them. But the fact that poll after poll indicates the broad swathe of the American public does NOT support the naked personal greed espoused by the goopers is telling.

I don’t know about where you live, but I see around me middle and lower middle class folks eager to help when they can — after they work their two jobs for crappy wages and no health insurance. A study was done last year that showed that consistently the middle class and the poor give much, much more to charity in terms of percentage of income than the greedy top of the heap.

I’m not pollyanna, but neither will I see gloom where it does not exist, since we have so much of it to begin with already. Let’s not make it worse.

“ethics class”

Actually it is a classic CEO trick- sounds like Cheney.

CEOs use “training” as a first line of defense against catastrophe- the second line of defense is to sponsor remedial legislation that pushes disclosure- and nothing else. (Well I told you it might kill you!)

NPR link correction:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb….._11-4.html

Regarding concern about the difference between polls prior to the election in Virginia and the results of election day, Mark Crispin Miller has a new book, Fooled Again, which details how the 2004 election was stolen.

He participated in an online discussion at Democratic Underground and addressed what we can do about voting “irregularities.” Here’s a snippet:

The first thing to do is to campaign relentlessly, in every way at hand, to get the scandal of last year’s election on the national radar screen. Unless we do that, all our policy suggestions will mean nothing.

As we do that, though, we should also be resisting the proliferation of touch-screen voting machines sold by private vendors——Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia——and agitating on behalf of paper ballots, unless and until we learn about a tamper-proof computer-based system (if such is possible). That would be a local matter, by and large. We also should be working very hard to get the Voting Rights Act renewed completely. (The Busheviks want to remove certain provisions from it, so that it can then be junked by the Scalito Court.) And we must support Rep. Jesse Jackson III’s call for a constitutional amendment formally confirming every adult American’s right to vote, and establishing a uniform federal voting system. We should also enable same-day registration, extend the voting period to, say, a week, advocate for Instant Run-off Voting (IRV), and do whatever else it take to make the system truly democratic.

Famous leaker Danny Schorr has a nice short and sweet summary in CSM: http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1104/p09s02-cods.htm

And News Hour has a nice chat with Wilkerson including the fantasy about leaving Chalabi in charge (which, gee, if he’s Deputy. PM, I guess did work out for him afterall)
ttp://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/white_house/july-dec05/wilk_11-4.html

And, speaking of Ahmed C, AP has an overview of his upcoming 8 day trip including meetings with Condi on Wednesday http://www.newsday.com/news/po…..-headlines

The ethics refresher course will apply to Vice, too, right?

Bush’s “ethics” class is a joke, but beyond that, it’s a transparent attempt to distance the president from the Plame scandal. Smells like… Rove.

The WH has had a truly remarkable record of successfully selling Bush as a strong, honest, just-folks, no-nonsense guy.

It’s important to watch the public response to this stunt: is it conceivable that Bush will get away with another jaw-dropping whopper?

Bobby- thanks for the link and the recap. Wish some senators would get astride that horse. It’s a little complicated to communicate in soundbites- but it’s an incredible story. A movie could bring it all to life.

Jane- a movie Jane- could it be sold?

rwcole -

As I observed on my anti-Bush web page last year:

It is argued that Bush “had no plan” for “postwar” Iraq. That could not be more wrong. (Read the above Naomi Klein article “Baghdad Year Zero.”)

The “plan” was simple, an 11-Step Program (appropriately for GW, one step shy of an AA regimen):

[1] Shock & Awe;
[2] Bad Guys pee their aggregate britches and vanish “at the first whiff of gunpowder” (the ‘cakewalk’ thing);
[3] Us Noble Liberators are greeted with showers of flowers;
[4] Secure the Oil Ministry;
[5] Hang out the “Iraq-is-Now-Open-For-Business” sign (as Paul Bremer in fact did. Again, see Klein’s article);
[6] Install Ahmad Chalabi — the Iraqi Andrew Fastow — as Prime Minister;
[7] Oil gushes forth, reconstruction is “cost-free”;
[8] We get our strategic Big Footprint smack in the middle of the region;
[9] All regional Hostiles are duly cowed into compliance before the Blinding Majesty of Bushdom;
[10] PNAC opening salvo complete;
[11] On to Damascus and Tehran and beyond.

Simple. elegant. “Light and Mobile.” It just didn’t work. They NEVER considered that it might not, so in the thrall of their own fevered visions of Magnificence were they.

Wake the fuck UP, America!

—

Percy- well Virginia has a dem governor currently- who is also a presidential candidate. Maybe we’ll find out if diebold works both ways.

I want to thank our faithful Latin American reader, zaba, for the information on the army George has taken to SA and today will use my energy to pressure the media to report on this responsibly.

Regarding cuts, I have worked for nonprofit agencies (visiting nurses and now hospice) where medicare and medicaid are our primary source of reimbursement. We never refuse anyone based on their ability to pay and rely on donations to cover the many aspects of their care that these programs will not. Over the 20 years, we have seen these rates cut and left to stagnate in favor of big business which contributes far less to the health of our communities. I also have a son who is disabled and survives on Medicaid and a puny SSDI monthly amount. Obtaining these services was truly a nightmare and I knew the system better than most and live in MA where we have more money than a lot of other states; unfortunately we also have Mitt the twit..

this administration has offered nothing in terms of improvement for our crumbling healthcare systam except from the perspective of creating mega-medical systems which provide medical care from a business model and disregard the parts of the whole which are the foundation of the care provided. They have done nothing to address the nursing shortage which will have a huge impact on this country in the next 10-20 years. Have you lost a local hospital? Mayve you didn’t notice, but I’m sure it has happened. Its’ because of these low Medicare rates, big business eating up the hospital and medical health systems, and the huge losses smaller hospitals have sustained as the rates have stagnated, while Big Pharma gains massive profits.

This is what I think about when I read that “four AWAC spy planes” have been deployed to Argentina at a cost that would probably keep my agency afloat for a year.

Thanks. I don’t rant often, but I do think this is important.

after several months of the Occupation Authority, the WaPo had a lengthy article about about the Heritage Foundation kids sent over there. It was the first big national story. Simply awful! One of those occupiers was Michael Ledeen’s daughter!
It really showed the indifference to competent governing that the wingers display. Katrina and Brown brought that point home to many Americans…

rwcole: “The Virginia election is a barn burner- with the gooper now a few points behind in the polls.”

Something else to watch in that election: the “spread” between the polls and the final votes.

Will this be another critical race in which blue polls turn into red returns?

Thanks Bobby- the Harper’s article linked above is a blockbuster- but it gets very little play. It’s the key to understanding this administration I believe. Their defining characteristic is incompetence- fueled by wishful thinking- with a dash of true evil thrown in for good measure.

rwcole -

My wife is Director of QA for a company with remediation and reconstruction contracts in Iraq (a relatively small player, they are). I can tell you that the “Baghdad Year Zero” article is accurate. We have made a huge mess over there via Gooper “instant-free-enterprise-makeover” naivete.

—

Attention emptywheel fans:

Reading Judy, Part One

Mrs. K

I am admittedly cynical about this administration and the four years of support it has gotten from the american people.

There is certainly lots of good news about today- the media seems to be awakening from it’s dogmatic slumbers ala Kant- and congress seems to be on the verge of realizing that they may get their asses kicked if they continue their stonewalling and enabling of a criminal administration.

Best not to get too pollyana however in my opinion.

We are still a nation of superficial spoiled brats who are incredibly gullible.

The wild call of the gooper still appeals to the something for nothing crowd.

That is a great pickup on the costs in that e mail, Jane. Included this in the roundup on Summit of the Americas at Wild About Bush Oy.

rwcole –

The price of gasoline has nothing to do with Terry Schiavo, for instance. Prices hadn’t even gone up that much by then, IIRC. It also has nothing to do with social security, and it was next to impossible to find a single journalist to state the obvious: the president’s “plan” was a scam.

How do gasoline prices account for polling which shows that Americans would forgo tax cuts if the money would go to education or the environment (or way back when — when the topic was discussed — to pay for the national debt)? That was true in Bubble Boy’s first term: there never was majority sentiment for tax cuts (Bubble Boy just didn’t care what most Americans wanted) — and the polling about tax cuts has been the same both before and after increases in gas prices.

Don’t overlook the good news that’s really there…although I know it’s quite easy in these dark times to be cynical, we’ve all been shell-shocked by “The Horror” aka the Bush Administration.

U.S. Should Repay Millions to Iraq, a U.N. Audit Finds

An auditing board sponsored by the United Nations recommended yesterday that the United States repay as much as $208 million to the Iraqi government for contracting work in 2003 and 2004 assigned to Kellogg, Brown & Root, the Halliburton subsidiary.

I thought that the Iraq was supposed to pay us with oil profits. Oh! I forgot this is Hallibuton.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11…..FWHdkOe/tA

Mrs. K

Yes perhaps there is an “inner wisdom” in the american voter- but don’t count on it!

In truth- the polls turned mostly because the price of gasoline went up.

Many of the other CPA postings were equally ideological. The Green Zone, the city within a city that houses the occupation headquarters in Saddam’s former palace, was filled with Young Republicans straight out of the Heritage Foundation, all of them given responsibility they could never have dreamed of receiving at home. Jay Hallen, a twenty-four-year-old who had applied for a job at the White House, was put in charge of launching Baghdad’s new stock exchange. Scott Erwin, a twenty-one-year-old former intern to Dick Cheney, reported in an email home that “I am assisting Iraqis in the management of finances and budgeting for the domestic security forces.” The college senior’s favorite job before this one? “My time as an ice-cream truck driver.” In those early days, the Green Zone felt a bit like the Peace Corps, for people who think the Peace Corps is a communist plot. It was a chance to sleep on cots, wear army boots, and cry “incoming”—all while being guarded around the clock by real soldiers.

(From the Harpers article linked above)

Yep- George Bush sent young republicans to Iraq to gooperize it. He really did. How many americans know about ANY of this?

It reaffirms the thesis that americans are too stupid to elect thier own leaders.

Occasionally I am tempted to subscribe to this thesis, especially when I’m discouraged by how much Little Boots and his band of merry warmongers has gotten away with.

However, lately I’ve begun to see things differently. Americans may be too IGNORANT to elect effective leaders, but not too stupid. There’s a difference.

How else to explain poll numbers this year? Consider the blanketing of the airwaves with non-stop propaganda from Bushco and the “conservative” machine.

By poll numbers, I mean not just approval/disapproval ratings for Clusterfuck, but all the “issues” polling in 2005: Schiavo, social security, Iraq, budget/taxation matters (”would you rather have a tax cut or pay for public schools” etc.), responsibility for hurricane-related fuck-ups, environmental protections, etc. etc.

Before the Schiavo circus unfolded I was terribly worried about how successful the regime’s propaganda machine was, seeing how dense the blanketing of Newspeak was wherever a television or radio was playing. To my happy surprise, this entire year has revealed that the majority of Americans are not buying the crap that’s blared at them. This is amazing, and is quite good news. It shows that, despite unfortunate levels of IGNORANCE, Americans still have quite good basic instincts.

That fact is quite heartening. I had been afraid that the public was perhaps ready to rush headlong into the arms of fascism. Not so.

What’s so remarkable is that these good instincts are maintained, even WITHOUT having clear, coherent, fact-based journalism at their disposal.

Imagine what could be accomplished with decent reporting and common-sense (not Newspeak) analysis! Imagine what concerns could be fostered if ever Americans were ever exposed to genuinely decent reporting about other parts of the world — and the multinational corporate scam that “free trade” really is!

Cardinal Rule: If you’re gonna do it – Don’t get caught.

Something tells me that Bush can take a trip just about anywhere these days and get the same reception.

Hell, if he visited Antarctica there’d probably be thousands of penguins rioting and hurling molotov snowballs.

(OK, I know the logic of that statement is shaky, but the abstract premise is realistic)

Oops- I have found a copy of the syllabus for the ethics class.

Lesson One- ethics are good

Lesson Two- ethics must be balanced with other important concerns

Lesson Three- The most important ethical requirement is saving the president’s ass.

Lesson Four- Research shows that ethical violations that are never caught do no harm.

Lesson Five- In the unlikely event that you are ever caught in an ethics vilation- accuse everyone you can think of – of ethics violations.

Lesson Six- What do you know about presidential pardons?

Bush Orders Staff to Attend Ethics Briefings

Ensures that everyone knows EXACTLY what to cover up!

__ Target of the Day __

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert:
http://www.house.gov/hastert/write1.shtml
202-225-0697 – fax

Hastert is holding up a majority in the House of Representives on the McCain torture legislation. He is shilling for Cheney and The Nazgûl in the Senate.

He needs pressure. I have already dunned him and The Nazgûl today… But one voice is not enough.

Hastert is woefully corrupted, I doubt there is much man left in the shell of his body. But it’s worth a try.

Use ammo if you wish: http://www.democracynow.org/ar…..10/1346254

Me -

Lovely recounting of how the Iraqi transforation played out located here:

http://www.harpers.org/BaghdadYearZero.html

It was all gonna be SO relatively easy. They never doubted for one minute the infallibility of their plan for Iraq. No contingency planning necessary.

We see the upshot.

—

You know how successful the US media lockdown has been by how well they hide the fact that Bush is the most loathed human on the planet. He couldn’t even out-poll Saddam or Kim Jong Il.

Scooter must have flunked it last semester.

I doubt that the President of the Uniyed Schates can even pronounce the word “ethics.”

But, hey, Freedom’s on th’ march, and he remains on th’ hunt fer them “terrists.”

The question is: is our voters learning?

—

“I found the ethics training seminar to be the most important class I have ever attended”

Karl Rove

He sent thousands of young gooper faithful to Iraq to transfer the nation to “the free enterprise system”.

This is a great idea!!! Like a gooper peace corps. You pay to send gooper volunteers to Iraq, give them old right wing newspapers to wrap up in for body armor, and send them out into the streets preaching the gooper message.

Problem solved. The next gooper you talk to, see if you can get them to volunteer for the preznits program :)

Jane you kick the most ass with the least words of anybody. Many bravos for all your recent posts.

Bush in South America = Karen Hughes in Middle East = turd in punchbowl. For some reason they keep thinking they can sell it.

Karl you’ve been a bad boy…you have to take
the refresher course.

“The president takes this VERY SERIOUSLY”

And in that ethical training class they’ll show a little comedy video to get started: Georgy looking under a couch, “now where the hell are those ethics, heh, heh?”

The ethics class will no doubt contain a paragraph that says “you could be reprimanded if you violate the law- unless there is an ongoing investigation”.

When someone drops a nuke by mistake- Clusterfuck will schedule classes on safety.

Bush Orders Staff to Attend Ethics Briefings

Huh. Do they think they are in junior high?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..02040.html

Most hilarious news item of the day. . .so far.

There is some nasty-ass karma cooking up for ol’ Dubya. The man’s got telltale hearts beating everywhere.

Just another example of why I come here to read Jane and Redd.

Today’s paper has an interesting article about a change in military strategy in Iraq.

The change follows a mass reading of the history of Viet Nam. Advocates of the strategy change claim that when Abrams came into Viet Nam- he developed a successful strategy (Pacification) which supplanted the privious “search and destroy” strategy.

What this all boils down to, apparently, is a realization by the military that invading Iraqi cities, killing some people, and then leaving, is not a successful strategy.

Seems that they could have come to that conclusion two years ago- but no- it took the reading of a book about another failed war to bring them to their senses. Rumor is that Condi has read the book as well. Great!

Someone needs to make a movie about the aftermath of the Iraq invasion- highlighting not the lies that led to war- but the naivette that led a president of the US and his band of goons to assume that the whole show would come off without a hitch. That’s your crime ladies and gentlemen.

The walls are starting to come down and the light peeping in…

Let us NOT forget what this is about; ALL the perpetrators need to be included in the “roundup”

Hea yah, get along prosecution !

“…Bush is head of state, Cheney is head of government…” – John Dean

Sorry to be running off at the mouth this morning- but I have done quite a bit of reading and can’t seem to shut up.

I was struck by accounts that the initial plan in Iraq (according to Powell apparently) was that after a few months of occupation, Chalabi would be put in power in the country and we would boogie.

In my opinion, this is the most lethal charge yet leveled against Clusterfuck. He invaded a country based on a game plan that called for total capitulation and control within days.

Why didn’t he have a plan for the insurgency? Cause he was sure that there wouldn’t be one.

He sent thousands of young gooper faithful to Iraq to transfer the nation to “the free enterprise system”. He planned to sell off all Iraq’s national assets to private corporations.

It was a total mindless wet dream- and this story has yet to capture the imaginations of the media. It’s the big story- the story of a president who swallowed a wet dream in it’s entirety.

When Clusterfuck swaggered across the carrier deck and declared “Mission Accomplished”, he actually believed that it was.

Incredible!

Other big news- McCain is standing behind his anti torture bill- which has majority support in both houses despite a Clusterfuck veto threat.

Clusterfuck has withdrawn the veto threat- but is asking for a CIA exemption.

McCain now says that if necessary- he will attach the bill as an amendment to every piece of important legislation until the prez agrees to it.

This is pretty incredible- a GOP candidate for pres openly defying Clusterfuck- and getting wholesale gooper support in congress. It would have been unthinkable a year ago- it is tangible evidence of how low Clusterfuck has sunk.

Another example of the law of unintended consequences. It is highly doubtful if Bush intended to alienate most of the world when he invaded Iraq, but that is one of the consequences.

Does he get it? I doubt it. He has the power to lead, but neither the wisdom nor the compassion.

Just read both the San Diego Union and the LA times.

Traitorgate is beginning to disappear from the pages.

Next week is an election week and coverage of Arnie’s ballot measures and the Virginia Gubenatorial election will probably dominate.

The Virginia election is a barn burner- with the gooper now a few points behind in the polls.

He (Kilgore) has avoided President Clusterfuck to date- deliberately staying away from a previous Bush visit. On monday, however, Bush will appear with him in a last minute bid to turn out the gooper vote.

Writers are playing this as a test of Clusterfuck’s political power- or lack of it. If this last minute bid backfires- goopers across the nation will find ways to keep Clusterfuck out of their states come 2006 election season.

Should be interesting.

The untold story in south america is that south americans bought a US prescription for democracy and free enterprise decades ago- and that it has failed miserably

Bush is selling snake oil to latin america- and it already has a lifetime supply on hand.

Most americans are blissfully unaware of the criminal actions that it’s govt. has perpetrated in Latin America in our names- including the United Fruit takeover in Guatamala under the unsavory Dulles brothers- who owned large interests in the banana company.

Guatamalens have not forgotten!

Americans are unable to evaluate or vote on any issues that involve Latin america- they are willfully ignorant of the history of their “neighbors”.

It reaffirms the thesis that americans are too stupid to elect thier own leaders.

Bonnie Prince Charles has found the orgasm button. This is a must-see.

http://derenegade.blogspot.com…..arles.html

A man who fears that many people probably has that many enemies and he can’t hope for any kind of good outcome.

Good times….