CHS!

I think that’s three Zed’s this week. Weird.

PEANUT!!

Once again, we see GWB “listening to his Generals”.

And then doing whatever he damn well pleases.

jayt at 4 — Pretty much sums it up right there. And people wonder why the news makes me cranky…

I once had occasion to be in a tiny lobbyist meeting (long story) where Mike Fitzpatrick (the guy Murphy defeated) visited. Fitzpatrick was soft-spoken and, to me he seemed pretty nice. Then somebody asked him about taxes and he said our gov needs to have taxes on the middle class “because that’s where all the money is.”

I was pretending to be a conservative at the time (long story), so I kept my mouth shut.

EPU’d from last thread:

87 Biodun says:

February 16th, 2007 at 9:28 am

There’s stuff accumulating in the air: Critical mass. The Libby trial; FDL’s coverage of it; front-page NYTimes article on FDL’s coverage of it; the controversy surrounding the two feminist bloggers working for Edwards; MSM’s role in how BushCo took the US into a pointless war: all pointing to political and media practices leading to 2008 and how that will be covered. We’re witnessing a truly interesting moment in contemporary US history.

dialing…. thanks Christy, I love your calls for action! Please call your Republican members of Congress they need to hear from us most of all, imo.

Have folks ever watched the four part series that Fox News Carl Cameron reported about”alleged” Israeli spying in the fall of 2001, and Israeli controlled communication companies that have access to the majority of U.S. phone companies and our “allegedly” conducting data mining. (Amdocs and Comverse INsofy) It is at the INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE website. Fox was forced to take this series off of their website by Camera (the right wing media watch group)Jinsa and ADL (Anti-degamation league). GO WATCH THE REPORT

I appreciate Gen. Schoomaker’s honesty. He has made the administration squirm because of it.

EPU LINK Does Seder post past shows’ audio on his website? If so, please post the link to CHS’s guest spot this morning. TY.

Please take the time to view the following video online:

http://video.google.com/videop…..0426590918

Information Clearing House “Israel Is Spying In and On the U.S.” Part I,2,3 and 4. 12/12/01

Hi Christy. My question keeps getting lost at the bottom of threads. I’ll try again.

In his closing statment, can Fitz (or the other prosecutors) refer to the fact that the defense claimed (or at least inferred) that they’d call both Cheyney and Libby? I know he can’t imply that Libby’s reluctance to testify = guilt, but can he say something to the effect of “The defense promised we’d hear from them. What happened to that?” If he could, would he want to?

Also, does anyone know if they’ll be room for visitors on Tuesday. I’d love to go, but I’d rather not travel from NYC for nothing.

Thanks again for all your amazing work and coverage of this trial!

http://www.sfgate.com/comics/fiore/

Fiore cartoon this week is great!

surfsup at 14 — Prosecutors have to be very careful about mentioning anything that alludes to the defendant failing to testify — this is a big no no. And I am told by courthouse personnel that they are expecting a big crowd on Tuesday.

And I am told by courthouse personnel that they are expecting a big crowd on Tuesday.

Here too.

OT, but here’s a link to Greg Sargent comparing / contrasting press response to executive stonewalling. We’re in a sad state.

My Republican rep (Candice Miller, R-MI 10) says she’s voting for the resolution. Mr HotFlash and I have been calling and e-mailing and urging all our friends and rellies in the district to do the same. Can’t claim credit but wow, our *very* R rep is breaking ranks. And she was like that with Tom Delay — maybe she just recognizes the buttered side. Whatever, it’s encouraging.

Toles does a cartoon on the Libby trial

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

This being The Decisive Ideological Struggle Existential Conflict of Our Time and all, I’ll have another tax cut please, thank you very much.

Hooooo-ah!!!

Stay the Course.

At Ease, dismissed.
_

I watched a number of speeches this morning on CSPAN. The Republicans kept repeating that if we leave Iraq ‘they will follow us home.’
What damnable nonsense.

This is a great call to action, thank you.

MoveOn is relentlessly emailing voters to do the same so this morning I backed up my earlier email message to Chris Shays (you know, the Vietnam Era conscientious objector, the last remaining official Republican in congress from CT) by calling his office in DC. And then, watched him get up and make a little speech against the resolution.

How can any person say they can’t personally serve for religious reasons and then send other people’s kids (including MINE) to a war? He just has to be replaced.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 16

surfsup at 14 — Prosecutors have to be very careful about mentioning anything that alludes to the defendant failing to testify — this is a big no no. And I am told by courthouse personnel that they are expecting a big crowd on Tuesday.

Again, Christy, thanks so much. Guess I’ll keep pounding the FDL servers on Tuesday (and contributing again!).

Ben Sargent cartoon and GW’s own world
http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/bs/

old gold @
22

I watched a number of speeches this morning on CSPAN. The Republicans kept repeating that if we leave Iraq ‘they will follow us home.’
What damnable nonsense.

Have any of the Dems asked who they followed on 9-11 to get here?

Getting reeady to write a letter to the despicable Rep. (R – brain dead) Don Young re his speech yesterday. Any ideas?

Tony Snow on the art of war:

JESSICA YELLIN, ABC NEWS: Slides from a prewar briefing show that by this point the U.S. expected that the Iraqi army would be able to stabilize the country, and there‘d be as few as 5,000 U.S. troops there. What went wrong?

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I‘m not sure anything went wrong. At the beginning of the Civil War, people thought it would all be over in Manassas. It‘s very difficult—you know, I‘m a—Jessica, the fact is, a war is a big, complex thing, and what you‘re talking about is a 2002 assessment. We‘re now in the year 2007, and it is well known by anybody who‘s studied any war that war plans immediately become moot upon the first contact with the enemy.

My representative is Joe Sestak, who won last election ending an almost 20 year incumbancy by Curt Weldon. Joe’s voting for the resolution. My senatory, Spector, got a call from me this morning. He’s obstructing the debate, the SOB, but undecided on the resolution itself (liar). So he knows my position. Now we will see what he does.

Biodun @ 28

Tony Snow on the art of war:

JESSICA YELLIN, ABC NEWS: Slides from a prewar briefing show that by this point the U.S. expected that the Iraqi army would be able to stabilize the country, and there‘d be as few as 5,000 U.S. troops there. What went wrong?

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I‘m not sure anything went wrong. At the beginning of the Civil War, people thought it would all be over in Manassas. It‘s very difficult—you know, I‘m a—Jessica, the fact is, a war is a big, complex thing, and what you‘re talking about is a 2002 assessment. We‘re now in the year 2007, and it is well known by anybody who‘s studied any war that war plans immediately become moot upon the first contact with the enemy.

Those plans become moot upon first contact withe enemy . . . . Like Bush’s present escalation plans? Moot on arrival.

I wrote my Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA) using the service at http://www.Congress.org. The email was also sent to my Senators and the President. It’s easy and fast. Try it HERE

Iraq War Escalation?
If we went to Iraq secure WMDs, then the mission was FUBAR.

If we went there to depose Saddam, then it’s mission accomplsihed. If we went there to incubate democracy, then it’s mission accomplsihed.

If we went there because of 9/11 to fight al-Qaeda, then the mission was FUBAR 2 and shame upon President Bush. If we went there to secure natural resources, then the mission was FUBAR 3 and shame upon President Bush and his deliberate deception of the American people.

Bring our boys home, not precipitously but orderly before January ‘09, and before another American soldier dies for a lie.

hey christy,

just want to thank you and the other fdl’ers for your great libby coverage, and congrats on the nytimes story!

legaleze @
29

My representative is Joe Sestak, who won last election ending an almost 20 year incumbancy by Curt Weldon. Joe’s voting for the resolution. My senatory, Spector, got a call from me this morning. He’s obstructing the debate, the SOB, but undecided on the resolution itself (liar). So he knows my position. Now we will see what he does.

You might be surprised- Spectre occasionally listens to the people- the older he gets the more he fears death and wants to cleanse his soul- he might not vote right on THIS one, but hes going to eventually; my hometown is near Hazleton

Neil @
11

EPU LINK Does Seder post past shows’ audio on his website? If so, please post the link to CHS’s guest spot this morning. TY.

Sam posts his podcasts here:
http://www.airamerica.com/premium/show.php?sid=6

Friday has not been posted yet

al-Queda has maps of the world. They don’t need to follow C-31 troop transports to find North America.

Stanley Brand, with Keith Olbermann, on the Libby trial:

STANLEY BRAND, WASHINGTON DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good to see you, Keith.

OLBERMANN: What are we to make of the fact that some of the highest-paid legal minds in the capital could only manage to pull together three days of testimony on Mr. Libby‘s behalf?

BRAND: Well, one of two things. Either they believe they have such a clear winner that they don‘t want to put the defendant on and run the risk that they could lose, or they think they‘re so far in the hole that to put him on adds additional risk that Fitzgerald will cross-examine him in such a devastating way that they will most assuredly get convicted.

My guess is it‘s the latter, because he has boxed them with a very, very tight case, and, as you say, not one, not two, not three, but seven witnesses who contradict what he told the grand jury.

katymine @ 34. Thank you for the link.

glad to see people are also contacting their senators for tomorrow’s vote.

been watching the senate floor (c-span2) for a bit, and after senators kennedy and feingold did an excellent job of speaking out against the war… now i’m listening to joe lieberman say that he will vote against cloture tomorrow (to prevent the senate from voting on the house resolution that will hopefully pass tonight).

From Tim Grieve:

What Americans really think of Bush

Twice a year, pollsters for the Pew Research Center ask Americans to say the “one word that best describes” their “impression of George W. Bush.” As late as February 2005, the top two volunteered responses were “honest” and “good.” The new top two: “incompetent” and “arrogant.”
_

Ed*ard Teller @ 27

Getting ready to write a letter to the despicable Rep. (R – brain dead) Don Young re his speech yesterday. Any ideas?

Our Candice Miller (Very R) has a really tight speech, compatible with R ethos and still comes to conclusion she’s voting FOR the resolution. You may find some cover there, look for Candice Miller in the Michigan section on CSPAN here.

Neil @ 35

al-Queda has maps of the world. They don’t need to follow C-31 troop transports to find North America.

Just confiscate all the breadcrumbs.

Pelosi live on C-SPAN…

Neil @ 35

al-Queda has maps of the world. They don’t need to follow C-31 troop transports to find North America.

Q: Is Google Earth providing “material assistance” to the Terrists in violation of the Patriot Act?
_

old gold @
22

I watched a number of speeches this morning on CSPAN. The Republicans kept repeating that if we leave Iraq ‘they will follow us home.’
What damnable nonsense.

which would mean that they’re as crazy and stupid as fuckwad…..

Why were there layoffs in 2005 & 2006?

My question asked after reading the article linked above comes this gem:

Schoomaker stressed the ongoing need for funding to repair, replace and upgrade Army equipment, criticizing funding shortfalls in 2005 and 2006 that forced layoffs and slowdowns in production at Army repair depots.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01524.html

More Brand with Olbermann:

OLBERMANN: So the symbolism, the political meaning, even the history that‘s been provided by this trial, you‘re convinced, having seen this almost all the way to the end, that none of these factors worked into Mr. Fitzgerald‘s planning on this?

BRAND: No, none at all. I think this—I think Fitzgerald is what I would consider a classic prosecutor in a mold that we have not seen in a while, and that is, I‘m going to stick to my knitting, I‘m going to charge what I can prove, and I‘m going to do no more than that. And I‘m not going to reach for higher-ups simply to put a scalp on the wall, unless I think they‘ve committed a crime, and I can nail them for it.

Neil @ 31

I wrote my Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA) using the service at http://www.Congress.org. The email was also sent to my Senators and the President. It’s easy and fast. Try it HERE

Iraq War Escalation?
If we went to Iraq secure WMDs, then the mission was FUBAR.

If we went there to depose Saddam, then it’s mission accomplsihed. If we went there to incubate democracy, then it’s mission accomplsihed.

If we went there because of 9/11 to fight al-Qaeda, then the mission was FUBAR 2 and shame upon President Bush. If we went there to secure natural resources, then the mission was FUBAR 3 and shame upon President Bush and his deliberate deception of the American people.

Bring our boys home, not precipitously but orderly before January ‘09, and before another American soldier dies for a lie.

I have just written to Senators Webb and Warner of VA, and Rep. Frank Wolf.

selise @ 38

glad to see people are also contacting their senators for tomorrow’s vote.

been watching the senate floor (c-span2) for a bit, and after senators kennedy and feingold did an excellent job of speaking out against the war… now i’m listening to joe lieberman say that he will vote against cloture tomorrow (to prevent the senate from voting on the house resolution that will hopefully pass tonight).

Lieberman SUCKS and he’s a traitor and a liar and apparently without morals of any kind. Oh, wait, most of us already know that. It is shameful to be represented by him and I still have my Ned Lamont bumper sticker on my car.

fahrender @ 44

old gold @
22

I watched a number of speeches this morning on CSPAN. The Republicans kept repeating that if we leave Iraq ‘they will follow us home.’
What damnable nonsense.

which would mean that they’re as crazy and stupid as fuckwad…..

Of course, everyone knows that leaving Iraq means a total military and intelligence and law enforcement demobilization and stand-down, everywhere on the planet.
_

Brand on Scooter’s defense attorneys (last installment from KO):

OLBERMANN: And I‘m just stuck on the idea, do you—looking at this from a distance, is it possible that the people representing Scooter Libby did not know to the degree that he seems to be in trouble from the testimony in this case, that any of it was to this extent?

BRAND: No, I think these defense lawyers are smart, experienced lawyers. They went in with their eyes open. They knew how tough a case this would be. You know, in our profession, everybody‘s entitled to a defense. You give them the best that you can, and sometimes you just come up short.

My bold. This resonates with what EPU (the Omniscient one) has been saying all along.

Biodun @ 50

Brand on Scooter’s defense attorneys (last installment from KO):

OLBERMANN: And I‘m just stuck on the idea, do you—looking at this from a distance, is it possible that the people representing Scooter Libby did not know to the degree that he seems to be in trouble from the testimony in this case, that any of it was to this extent?

BRAND: No, I think these defense lawyers are smart, experienced lawyers. They went in with their eyes open. They knew how tough a case this would be. You know, in our profession, everybody‘s entitled to a defense. You give them the best that you can, and sometimes you just come up short.

My bold. This resonates with what EPU (the Omniscient one) has been saying all along.

Wells will be paid handsomely for all the lipstick he’s had to apply to this stuck pig. I’m sure he really gives a shit at the end of the day.
_

Biodun @
50

Brand on Scooter’s defense attorneys (last installment from KO):

OLBERMANN: And I‘m just stuck on the idea, do you—looking at this from a distance, is it possible that the people representing Scooter Libby did not know to the degree that he seems to be in trouble from the testimony in this case, that any of it was to this extent?

BRAND: No, I think these defense lawyers are smart, experienced lawyers. They went in with their eyes open. They knew how tough a case this would be. You know, in our profession, everybody‘s entitled to a defense. You give them the best that you can, and sometimes you just come up short.

My bold. This resonates with what EPU (the Omniscient one) has been saying all along.

Is it possible that they put together a defense, launched it and then Word From Higher Up put the kibosh on it? Not necessarily that Wells and Cline caved, but Libby wouldn’t cooperate with them. Otherwise, why set themselves up with the Karl UnderBus defense and not do it.

Ed*ard Teller @ 27

Getting reeady to write a letter to the despicable Rep. (R – brain dead) Don Young re his speech yesterday. Any ideas?

I would ask him to consider a real Lincoln quote:”The mystic chords of memory, stretching
from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of our union when again touched, as surely the will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

Oh, for a Lincoln!

Just a tip for you that will conserve internet bandwidth and make the pages load faster for your readers:

The Wicked Witch of the West graphic that accompanies this article is being displayed at what appears to be a nice small quick-loading size. But this is the graphic that the user is being forced to download : (a 500 pixel x 721 pixel monstrosity), while the browser is only displaying it smaller. A 500×721 pixel graphic is approximately 25 times larger than it needs to be, meaning more bandwith being used, more strain on the servers, and a slower-loading page for the user (and this is if only ONE graphic is so-used on the page. Multiply the effect if the same mistake is being made multiple times on the same page). This is more like it.

Use an online image resizing source like: ShrinkPictures.com to make smaller versions of fullsize graphics. Don’t resize them using the height/width attributes of the html img src tag.

No charge, for the consultation.
: )

[Mod Note; Thanks for the information. Bandwidth saving tips are always appreciated.]

selise @ 38

glad to see people are also contacting their senators for tomorrow’s vote.

been watching the senate floor (c-span2) for a bit, and after senators kennedy and feingold did an excellent job of speaking out against the war… now i’m listening to joe lieberman say that he will vote against cloture tomorrow (to prevent the senate from voting on the house resolution that will hopefully pass tonight).

The Senate is deadlocked in procedural wrestling match and as such remains mute on the question of escalating the war in Iraq.

In spite of obstruction by the minority party Kennedy, Feingold, Byrd, Schumer, Leahy are making their cases against war escalation… not that George Bush is waiting to hear the outcome… or would change his plan due to the overwhemling majority of citizens, congressmen and senators who oppose it.

There is an absurdity to this situation that reminds me of a line from Animal House:

Did we quit when the germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

SusanM @ 48

Lieberman SUCKS and he’s a traitor and a liar and apparently without morals of any kind. Oh, wait, most of us already know that. It is shameful to be represented by him and I still have my Ned Lamont bumper sticker on my car.

i still (proudly) have my Ned Lamont sign in my window…. and i live in MA!

every time i see lieberman on the senate floor, or a committee hearing… all i can think of what it would be like if Ned Lamont was there in his place.

painful.

BobbyG @ 49

fahrender @ 44

old gold @
22

I watched a number of speeches this morning on CSPAN. The Republicans kept repeating that if we leave Iraq ‘they will follow us home.’
What damnable nonsense.

which would mean that they’re as crazy and stupid as fuckwad…..

Of course, everyone knows that leaving Iraq means a total military and intelligence and law enforcement demobilization and stand-down, everywhere on the planet.
_

true. our entire defense strategy is predicated on “winning” in iraq. why can’t everybody see that? the cold war has been over for sixteen years* but the domino theory is still as valid as it ever was, and iraq is the key domino, until iran becomes the key domino, which could happen any day now …..

* but it’s been scheduled for resuscitation

Ed*ard Teller @
27

Getting reeady to write a letter to the despicable Rep. (R – brain dead) Don Young re his speech yesterday. Any ideas?

not that you should put in print…

pray for guidance, then let it rip ;->

LoudounLib @ 47 “I have just written to Senators Webb and Warner of VA, and Rep. Frank Wolf. “

Warner announced he is going to vote for cloture!

Just had a happy Friday thought….. I truly will NOT have to hear blowheart JD Hayworth give a spew of crap on the floor of the house….

Because…. thankfully the voters of Arizona finally saw the light.

And ET… I am still trying to clean up the spew residue off my desk from the Rep. Goode rant yesterday.
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/15/goode-iraq/

The WashPost article Christy linked above shows that Bush himeself has now become a national-security risk. By limiting all US military training to readiness (and in some cases inadequate readiness) for Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush is exposing the US to other threats can might come from other precincts.

Kerry is on CSPAN2. Maybe he won’t tell both sides of the argument before he declares which side he’s on… His values are in the rightplace but damn that run-on mouth betrays his credibility.

katymine @ 60

Just had a happy Friday thought….. I truly will NOT have to hear blowheart JD Hayworth give a spew of crap on the floor of the house….

Because…. thankfully the voters of Arizona finally saw the light.

And ET… I am still trying to clean up the spew residue off my desk from the Rep. Goode rant yesterday.
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/15/goode-iraq/

Glad JD is gone too but the local NPR station played some of Renzi’s comments this morning, the usually spew that I sure you can imagine.

Did anyone see Oliver north’s comment about the Escalation for Bush’s war?
i’m wondering what fox news will do with him/
Or that 54% of people polled think that Congress should limit the money congress gives Bush for Bush’s war. This was FOX’S own poll!!!

Bush has to be impeached.
We need to support the Senators and Congressmen who are against the escalation and put pressure on those who are for the escalation.
Contact your congressmen and senator today!!!!

answer to a question nobody asked me:

I am incredibly impressed w/ Speaker Pelosi. She is the real deal and is taking charge.

That is all…..

AZ Matt@63

the local NPR station played some of Renzi’s comments this morning, the usually spew that I sure you can imagine.

Shocked that Renzi won his last race and PO’ed that the corruption issues he is being investigated for have not come out. Would love to see him give that tearful Dukestir presser and have The Gov appoint Ellen Simon to his seat!

gerstein’s back and he’s still just as (sm)ugly;

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0207/2787 DOT HTML

[CHS notes: I’m not throwing that jerk traffic from this blog. Sorry — you’ll have to type in the URL by hand.]

katymine @ 66

AZ Matt@63

the local NPR station played some of Renzi’s comments this morning, the usually spew that I sure you can imagine.

Shocked that Renzi won his last race and PO’ed that the corruption issues he is being investigated for have not come out. Would love to see him give that tearful Dukestir presser and have The Gov appoint Ellen Simon to his seat!

Would be nice but since Gonzales has his ownperson in the US Attorney position now who knows what might happen.

What Tim says @ 65. Nice to have someone taking charge at long last.

Duncan Hunter now arguing (C-SPAN) that we have an obligation to change the world (by forcibly spreading freedom at gunpoint, of course) or it’ll change us. Lame analogy to WWII.

Also using the “Democrat leadership” diss.
_

Just amazingly powerful. Is the media even covering these speeches?

BobbyG @ 70

Duncan Hunter now arguing (C-SPAN) that we have an obligation to change the world (by forcibly spreading freedom at gunpoint, of course) or it’ll change us. Lame analogy to WWII.
_

Sounds very Presidential to me.

What does this mean??????????????????????????

“We are in a dangerous period,” said Schoomaker, adding that he recently met with his Chinese counterpart, who made it clear that China is scrutinizing U.S. capabilities.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01524.html

BobbyG @ 70

Duncan Hunter now arguing (C-SPAN) that we have an obligation to change the world (by forcibly spreading freedom at gunpoint, of course) or it’ll change us. Lame analogy to WWII.

Also using the “Democrat leadership” diss.
_

His closing ‘thought’ was the most ridiculous part of his ridiculous speech.

C. Chalmers @ 73

What does this mean??????????????????????????

“We are in a dangerous period,” said Schoomaker, adding that he recently met with his Chinese counterpart, who made it clear that China is scrutinizing U.S. capabilities.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01524.html

It means we have a big fat bullseye on our back thanks to Chimpy.

dab from CT @ 71

Just amazingly powerful. Is the media even covering these speeches?

CNN broke away from covering ANS long enough to show half of Pelosi’s speech.

Just a curiosity. Last night the top story at MSNBC was “Iran’s Stealth Force: Iran’s Quds Force Enmeshed in Iraq”.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17175714/

The article erroneous stated that a high Quds official Mohsin Chizari (probably should be Chirazi) was arrested in Erbil in January 2007. He was arrested in the Green Zone in Baghdad in December at the house of a lieutenant of Abdul Aziz al Hakim, the leader of SCIRI and a US ally. He was released a few days later by us under pressure from the Iraqi government which had been aware of and sanctioned his presence in the country.

I have no idea if an email I sent them had any effect but the story disappeared from the featured location and indeed from the front page altogether. It can still be found uncorrected on the world news page. I’m glad it is in a less prominent position. I would be happier if it had been corrected.

That MSNBC and the AP since it was their article don’t fact check an article on an incendiary issue tells you a lot about how sloppy and unprofessional they are. I get the feeling that they have been used to carrying water for this Administration for so long that it has just become habit.

moeman @ 67:

I read that earlier and was thinking about linking to it. Why give that idiot any publicity? Joe Lieberman’s former communications director. Gimme me a break.

education! Education is key to a democracy. Right now, the Iraqis DO NOT have the educational tools to have a functional democracy. Therefore, this is the most IMPORTANT goal that we need to focus on if we want Iraq to truly be a democracy.

The steps to education are:
1. Creating a safe atmosphere for learning
2. Allowing for education to be applied

My plan would start with the region-to-region, door-to-door seizure of all guns, ammo, explosives.

Close the borders and make the sales and owning of weapons to be a crime.

Implant all Iraqi government and police forces with more American oversight. Since vast amounts of violence can be attributed to psuedo police forces or paramilitary, ALL government employees must be trackable and accountable at all times. If the guns are removed from the streets, this cannot be an opportunity for deathsquads.

EDUCATION. The one field of Iraq which I see the most important is rebuilding. Engineering and civil engineering would be ideal classes to teach. The communities must be rebuilt, and Iraqi hands must be the ones to do it. No other way is possible.

Since it is impossible to learn in dangerous environments, I propose a very outlandish, but necessary plan to teach the youth away from cities and scourges of violence. That’s right – Military academy style. Just like the U.S. military, it won’t matter what your lifestyle was, or what your sect is, you will learn to live and fight alongside your countrymen.

Call me a fascist for taking away the guns and instituting a state-run learning environment that parallels military boot camp. But these freedoms must be given up to allow for freedoms in the next generation.

Our biggest mistake in handing governance to the Iraqis was their unpreparedness to accept it. Too many freedoms were granted in the first six months, and this led to anarchy. I wouldn’t hand the keys to my truck to a nine year old and expect them to drive down a busy highway. Especially when there are so many others who would force them to crash.

Before education, security must be established. With no security, people will not learn. And duh, if people cannot learn, then they will not have democracy.

AZ Matt @ 72

BobbyG @ 70

Duncan Hunter now arguing (C-SPAN) that we have an obligation to change the world (by forcibly spreading freedom at gunpoint, of course) or it’ll change us. Lame analogy to WWII.
_

Sounds very Presidential to me.

I’m eagerly awaiting the inevitable headline:

“Presidential Candidate Indicted”.

How very GOP.

C. Chalmers @ 73:

See my # 61 above.

Just called my senator’s office. Unfortunatly that would be Jim Imhoff from Oklahoma. The person answering the phone politely took my message. I was also polite but I’m sure the anger and frustration I am feeling over this administration was very evident in my voice.
Peace.

Wells will be paid handsomely for all the lipstick he’s had to apply to this stuck pig. I’m sure he really gives a shit at the end of the day.

I’ll disagree. First, I don’t know of anyone who is good at what they do if they just do it to collect a paycheck. And, specifically with respect to criminal defense attorneys I know (and I’m talking about people who practice at the highest levels of the profession), they work very hard and really do care – so much so that to an extent it becomes personal to insure the client gets the best defense and their rights are protected. And, to bring it full circle, that is why they get to charge high fees and why clients pay those fees.

I’m not saying there aren’t attorneys who only collect a paycheck or that there aren’t attorneys who don’t care, though I do think those are rare, but when you get to the level of criminal defense work that your talking about – not a chance in hell.

Gooper liturgy on House C-SPAN thus far…

“CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! CODE BROWN!!! The Caliphate is Coming!!! …”

steelthing @
81

Just called my senator’s office. Unfortunatly that would be Jim Imhoff from Oklahoma. The person answering the phone politely took my message. I was also polite but I’m sure the anger and frustration I am feeling over this administration was very evident in my voice.
Peace.

I am having very good results talking to my Rep’s local staff. Somebody (Rayne?) suggested that the local offices were not a busy. It’s pretty quiet there, they have time to chat, which we usually do, and I am trusting that info does get down the pike to DC. They are very nice kids and helpful. I am learning their names. They are learning mine. Can’t hurt.

EPU at 83 — That has been my experience as well. Top level criminal defense attorneys work their butts off — and take their job defending not only their clients, but their client’s rights under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, very seriously. As do prosecutors who take their jobs seriously. And they ought to do so. Wells, Jeffress and Cline may be reppresenting someone that I think is likely very, very guilty — but that does not mean that they shouldn’t do their respective jobs as well as they possibly can. At the end of the day, the burden of proof is on the government, and it ought to be in any crimnal case. When I was doing defense work, the single most frustrating thing was to have a hard case and a client who would not plead when offered a more than fair deal, and trust me when I say that makes the job a helluva lot harder and the paycheck a lot tougher to cash out of frustration.

Bustednuckles @
75

C. Chalmers @ 73

What does this mean??????????????????????????

“We are in a dangerous period,” said Schoomaker, adding that he recently met with his Chinese counterpart, who made it clear that China is scrutinizing U.S. capabilities.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01524.html

It means we have a big fat bullseye on our back thanks to Chimpy.

It’s all about the bottomline. Money that gets printed or doesn’t get printed and who pays the interest and how. It’s all about “who’s your daddy”….

Brett @ 33

legaleze @
29

My representative is Joe Sestak, who won last election ending an almost 20 year incumbancy by Curt Weldon. Joe’s voting for the resolution. My senatory, Spector, got a call from me this morning. He’s obstructing the debate, the SOB, but undecided on the resolution itself (liar). So he knows my position. Now we will see what he does.

You might be surprised- Spectre occasionally listens to the people- the older he gets the more he fears death and wants to cleanse his soul- he might not vote right on THIS one, but hes going to eventually; my hometown is near Hazleton

Hi Brett, I’ve suffered with Specter for far too long to think he will ever get it right. He’s a great pretender at being moderate, but when the rubber meets the road, he falls in line with the rest of the Republicans almost every time. He’s pathetic. How he continues to win and keep his seat is beyond me. My guess is that he won’t run again due to age. He won’t be missed.

moeman @
67

gerstein’s back and he’s still just as (sm)ugly;

[CHS notes: I’m not throwing that jerk traffic from this blog. Sorry — you’ll have to type in the URL by hand.]

Oops, I initially saw the story mentioned at

http://cliffschecter.blogspot.com/

Bobby G #84,

“The Caliphate is coming” is an easy way to identify the really around the bend, goofy tunes Republicans.

Now there is another one saying this is all a ploy to raise money so that the FAR LEFT can elect more of their own.

Why is it with these guys it’s either them or the apocalypse?

Hugh @ 89

Bobby G #84,

“The Caliphate is coming” is an easy way to identify the really around the bend, goofy tunes Republicans.

Now there is another one saying this is all a ploy to raise money so that the FAR LEFT can elect more of their own.

Why is it with these guys it’s either them or the apocalypse?

Re electing more of the Far Left. Think it’ll work?

Donita is up, with a fantastic playlist this week. :)

Rep Harold Rogers (R-KY) basically says terrists watching this ‘debate’ on CSPAN in their caves.

EPU 83 & Christy 86 -

My Bad in overly cynical choice of words. Never meant to imply that defense counsel are all just indifferent hacks with their meters running. While IANAL, I too know many attorneys, and have had to observe criminal trials. One thing I have seen is that they do everything they can, and, after having made their arguments, accept the results (of bench rulings within trials, or the end results of trials) and then just move on.

But, I hear you both.
_

Biodun @
28

Tony Snow on the art of war:

JESSICA YELLIN, ABC NEWS: Slides from a prewar briefing show that by this point the U.S. expected that the Iraqi army would be able to stabilize the country, and there‘d be as few as 5,000 U.S. troops there. What went wrong?

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I‘m not sure anything went wrong. At the beginning of the Civil War, people thought it would all be over in Manassas. It‘s very difficult—you know, I‘m a—Jessica, the fact is, a war is a big, complex thing, and what you‘re talking about is a 2002 assessment. We‘re now in the year 2007, and it is well known by anybody who‘s studied any war that war plans immediately become moot upon the first contact with the enemy.

At the beginning of the civil war the Congress knew they were fighting the Confederacy and the survival of the country was at stake.

They weren’t told that it was essential to fight Aborigines in Australia.

The Congressional Resolution was premised on the use of US forces to compel Saddam to comply with UN Security Council resolutions. The resolution says NOTHING about the United States using those forces in a civil war, in a sectarian conflict, and certainly nothing that gives Bush the authority to begin a war with IRAN!

The purpose of the Congressional Resolution has long ago lapsed. Bush is well over any time level that would allow him to maintain US Forces in Iraq.

Congress should state that this use of Forces is UNCONSTITUTIONAL without an additional War Powers Resolution broadening his authority. They should tell Bush…YOU NEED AUTHORIZATION OR ARE ACTING UNCONSTITUTIONALLY!

And Snow should be treated with the same respect they showed Baghdad Bob.

twolf1 @ 93

Rep Harold Rogers (R-KY) basically says terrists watching this ‘debate’ on CSPAN in their caves.

Think they have HDTV? Plasma or LCD? Direct way is helping the terrorists! *Gasp*

I guess we should just stop being a Democracy and be just like the other guys until someone kills all of the other side. The Hatfields and McCoy arguement is alive and kickin’.

Neil @
35

al-Queda has maps of the world. They don’t need to follow C-31 troop transports to find North America.

And I always thought that al Qaida wanted to have a safe-spot in Iraq.

Seems that they would have a hell of a time establishing one if they had to face Shiite militias without our troops standing between. Unlike Afghanistan, where al Qaida had the support of a Pakistan base…and a largely supportive populace…they would have one hell of a time doing very much in Iraq except covering their tails. They’d likely be safer in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey or any number of other places where militias weren’t out hunting “foreign Sunnis”.

So the whole idea that al Qaida following us home is actually quite silly. If we could close off the borders they’d be trapped like rats in a dog-pit.

read this infuriating article quoting outgoing Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Peter Schoomaker. Appalling does not begin to describe it.

no, appalling doesn’t come close to describe

alllow me a few guts and pastes;

will potentially require thousands of additional support troops and trainers, as well as equipment — further eroding the Army’s readiness to respond to other world contingencies.

you want to see dsigusting, it’s the polticiians that are going to sit and watch this president deliberately bring our armed wbranches to their knees

and this

Schoomaker, in one of his last congressional testimonies as Army chief, also made it clear that he had raised concerns in advance about President Bush’s plan to increase troops in Iraq because it would further deplete Army units at home.

it actually looks like the president is bringing our armed forces down with deliberate intention

look at this;

Virtually all of the U.S.-based Army combat brigades are rated as unready to deploy,

and it goes on and on

what this president has done to our armed forces is not only irresponsible, it looks as if it’s delieberately intended to weaken our ability to protect ourselves

time for congress to do something about it

C. Chalmers @
73

What does this mean??????????????????????????

“We are in a dangerous period,” said Schoomaker, adding that he recently met with his Chinese counterpart, who made it clear that China is scrutinizing U.S. capabilities.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01524.html

Taiwan.

Eureka Springs, AR @ 96

twolf1 @ 93

Rep Harold Rogers (R-KY) basically says terrists watching this ‘debate’ on CSPAN in their caves.

Think they have HDTV? Plasma or LCD? Direct way is helping the terrorists! *Gasp*

I guess we should just stop being a Democracy and be just like the other guys until someone kills all of the other side. The Hatfields and McCoy arguement is alive and kickin’.

I see bicycle driven generators powering HDTV with Dish TV reception just outside their caves..

WHAT planet do these idiots live in??
Just like trying to shut down some talk show host on Air America…. Ya right….. in Baghdad where they only have a few hours of electricity per day, their priority is to listen to Air America Radio.

katymine @
100

I see bicycle driven generators powering HDTV with Dish TV reception just outside their caves..

…just like on that episode of Gilligan’s Island

katymine

Just like trying to shut down some talk show host on Air America…. Ya right….. in Baghdad where they only have a few hours of electricity per day, their priority is to listen to Air America Radio.

They love their Sam Seder!

Marcy has a thread up over at Dkos

Libby’s Evolving Defense Claims
http://www.dailykos.com/storyo…..13926/4078

Overheard family conversation by a US soldier in Baghdad, ” Honey, turn up CSPAN, I can’t hear it over the gunfire and soldiers trying to kick in our doors.”

Voting now begins on Iraq War Resolution in the House…

Thugs are racing ahead in early voting! (feels like a horse race)

Hugh @
77

Just a curiosity. Last night the top story at MSNBC was “Iran’s Stealth Force: Iran’s Quds Force Enmeshed in Iraq”.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17175714/

The article erroneous stated that a high Quds official Mohsin Chizari (probably should be Chirazi) was arrested in Erbil in January 2007. He was arrested in the Green Zone in Baghdad in December at the house of a lieutenant of Abdul Aziz al Hakim, the leader of SCIRI and a US ally. He was released a few days later by us under pressure from the Iraqi government which had been aware of and sanctioned his presence in the country.

If they are asserting that the Quds force is meddling…well then it seems that perhaps the Pentagon should be arresting those that are interacting with the “evil-doers” too!

Oh wait, Hakim was the one that Bush asked to meet with after he had problems with al-Maliki…the one that Bush encouraged to threaten having a Ministerial coup-de-tat in order to get al Maliki in line…and allow the US to get hardline with Moqtada al-Sadr.

Of course, it’s actually SCIRI that is closest to IRAN and the Iranian Revolutionary Gaurds…not Sadr. SCIRI regiments were trained and supplied by the Revolutionary Gaurds…largely with US tacit encouragement. And to think that they would not have brought their equipment across the border with them when we invaded is absurd. But given that the vast majority of IED attacks (and likely, given the numbers asserted by the Pentagon also these more “sophisticated” IEDS) are still in Sunni areas, something smells quite rotten here. How are the Sunnis getting these bombs that supposedly derive from IRAN?

And how is it that the US Government is ignoring the fact that Sadr is the LEAST tied to IRAN of all the various militant Shiite political factions. Hakim/Jabaari were far more pro-Iranian. Sadr largely raised his militia from the poor lads of the slums of Baghdad and not from the exiles across the border.

This Byzantine world of political manipulation is such that its clear Bush can’t fathom just who is using him in the Iraqi landscape. There’s no way that the Iraqi National Gaurd or police will become malleable to U.S. INTERESTS…they will attend to the desires of their clan or sectarian leaders. To embed our troops with such forces would place them at risk of fragging, or being shot in the back by our “allies”.

Perhaps that is why the first movements today into militia controlled areas had no joint Iraqi-US teams. They were 100% US Stryker forces. Any Iraqi groups operated independently.

Ripped from a poster from think progress

I can tell you that the only thing that moves members more than hearing from the troops is hearing from constituents. The Senate resolution will pass only if their phones are flooded with demands from their constituents. Please do your part and take a few seconds to make a call (800-614-2803)

MSNBC breaking news: House passes Iraq war resolution critical of Bush plan

Stephen Parrish, CPA @ 109

MSNBC breaking news: House passes Iraq war resolution critical of Bush plan

White House reaction: Yawn

twolf1 @ 93

Rep Harold Rogers (R-KY) basically says terrists watching this ‘debate’ on CSPAN in their caves.

Yeah… most Cable/Satellite systems in the US don’t carry C-SPAN so we really think that the Satellite serving Iraq is going to be downloading it into Iraq and Afghanistan?

You want to know what increases the morale of the “ter’rists”?

1) The ability to get weapons from ungaurded Iraqi Military weapons depots!

2) The ease of crossing borders into Iraq as there was no longer an Iraqi Border police to contend with when the US invaded.

3) The shift of focus from Taliban and al Qaida forces encircled in Afghanistan to Iraq. When Special Forces and surveillance drones were shifted from Afghanistan it allowed the al Qaida leadership to escape.

4) The involvement of the US in a sectarian civil war…thus distracting half or more of US operations away from dealing with al Qaida in Iraq.

5) Increasing Bush distraction with Iran rather than al Qaida…and the increasing likelihood that the US will get involved in yet another conflict it can’t handle in the Middle-East…and create a whole new recruitment tool for terrorism.

6) The placing of nuclear weapon and nerve gas plans in ARABIC on the “internets”. Thanks Sen. Hoekstra and Roberts for saving al Qaida the need to undertake trying to obtain these plans through surrepticious means. You gave it to them free, and without risk!

Yep! All those and more would be far more likely to “encourage” and increase the morale of Al Qaida.

That, and the fact that we’ve done three of these “surges” before, and all they have accomplished is increased U.S. casualties. I’m sure that al Qaida is rubbing their palms together and saying…”more targets…I hope the Shiites leave US SOME!”

246-182…The Democrats got enough Republicans to eclipse the 60 vote barrier the Republicans needed to limit the Resolution.

Now on to the Senate!

Just got this in my e-mail, and thought some folks would be interested: Senator Feingold will appear on ABC’s Good Morning America at 7:05 am ET tomorrow as well as C-SPAN’s Washington Journal at 8:00 am ET to talk about the Iraq debate.

TPM has Lieberguy’s speechifying on this:

The lack of recognition that things are FUBAR. The predictable line about 535 commanders in chief. The usual assumption that those who aren’t for Bush are against the entire structure of US government. The warning about a constitutional crisis; the other one about Congress micromanaging the war.

It certainly sounds like his speeches are written by the GOoPers.

cinnamonape @ 112

246-182…The Democrats got enough Republicans to eclipse the 60 vote barrier the Republicans needed to limit the Resolution.

Now on to the Senate!

only because it was non binding, they would have stayed more together otherwise

P J Evans @ 114

TPM has Lieberguy’s speechifying on this:

why can’t ct recall liarman like california recalled grey?

cinnamonape @ 112

246-182…The Democrats got enough Republicans to eclipse the 60 vote barrier the Republicans needed to limit the Resolution.

Now on to the Senate!

Not entirely an aside…it’s gratifying to see that the House GOP isn’t herding its sheep quite as well as it used to do.

perris @ 116

P J Evans @ 114

TPM has Lieberguy’s speechifying on this:

why can’t ct recall liarman like california recalled grey?

IANAL, but Davis (gov) was a Constitutional Officer of CA State. Therefore, the state constitution’s specific provisions for removal/replacement applied to his office (California governor).

Liarman is a US Senator and hence his removal (or replacement) are determined by the US Constitution.

[as some with more knowledge and dexterity than I have likely written by this time…]

Lots of different threads in here (Libby, the resolution, etc.). I wrote about military readiness today over at my site, and I had a different viewpoint than what was discussed in this particular FDL thread. I hadn’t seen Gen. Schoomaker’s article, although a piece by Gen Pace is what inspired me to write my post.

It’s a different take, a bit more wonkish than what is written here, but I thought it might generate discussion.

The two or three times I have posted comments in here, they usually have generated a pretty decent response, so here it goes.

Cheers.