Whaaaat...?

Listening to Dubbyuh chide Putin about backsliding on "...democracy and the rule of law..." almost had me choking on my coffee this morning. If ever there was someone who needed upbraiding and an education into the meaning of democratic values, it is Dubbyuh.

His criticism of Putin for limiting freedom of the press in Russia rings rather hollow in the face of Dubbyuh's desire for a pliable and complacent news media in this country. And while Dubbyuh may not be issuing executive orders limiting the press, his campaign backers, many of whom own major news outlets are quasing editorial dissent. Although, the political appointees to the board of PBS seem to be doing a splendid job of gutting that media outlet of anything but the party line.

As for democracy and the rule of law, the Reichpublican...er...Republican party seems to be of the mind that they are above the law and can do anything they wish. All protestations to the contrary aside, their moral values on this issue are more than a little lacking. Their record on democracy is more than a little questionable as well. Republican support for a verifiable paper audit trail for electronic voting systems is tepid, at best. Such systems were used in Nevada in 2004, contrary to the protestations of folks from Diebold, and others that it wa not feasible to do so. In fact, the most hard-core gambler in the sleaziest gambling-hell in Vegas has more and greater protections in place on gaming machines than the nation does for their voting machines.

So, Dubbyuh, save the hypocrisy for someone who will buy it. It certainly isn't me, and the increasing number of Americans who aren't buying your crap. BTW If you can't push your Social Security "reform" through, are we going to start haveing terror threat alerts again so you can sneak it through? Ya pig.

Coming home to roost...

At least the chickens from the Bush administration's economic policies are. With Asian markets already saturated by US debt, South Korea announced that it was seeking to diversify its holdings in non-dollar equities. This in the face of record US trade and budget deficits and an already weak dollar. The net result was a drop in US bond prices with a rise in the yields. Down the road, this will result in higher consumer interest rates at a time when already over-stretched US borrowers can ill afford it. Also of note here is that more European central banks are starting to shift their holdings from dollar to euros

Of course, this will likely result in a whole slew of new bankruptcies. And, if the new bankruptcty bill makes it out of the House and Senate, otherwise responsible folks will be facing years of indentured servitude to their creditors when they default on their debt due to medical emergencies, job loss or divorce. But the little fact that the majority of bankruptcies are the result of these causes has done little to deter the bills passage through committee...So much for compassionate conservatism. If creditors want to limit their losses, they need to stop extending credit to dead-beats. Can you say "responsible lending"...? I knew you could.

So, I hope you see that the fiscal irresponsiblity of the Bush administration has broad and far reaching consequences, both at home and abroad. My wife and I are going to be re-financing out of our ARM for a fixed rate mortgage in May, I would suggest anyone else with an ARM do the same.

Links:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4287413.stm

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/6934a1a6-8541-11d9-a172-00000e2511c8.html

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/bankruptcy_bill.html

Outsourcing Torure

Article 3

1. No State Party shall expel, return ("refouler") or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture. - CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE

"Extaordinary rendition"...a polite euphemism for transporting detainees to third party nations which, by the way, are neither signatory nor parties to any treaty prohibiting torture. A favorite destination is Syria. The act of transporting persons to such nations for the purpose of torture is a violation of the UN Convention Against Torture. Now, I'm sure some sick bastard will say that the US is under no obligation to adhere to the provision of the Convention, and this is true since the US is only signatory to the Convention and has not, much to our shame, ratified the it. While not legally bound to honor the provisions of the Convention, as signatory to it, the US is MORALLY obligated to honor its provisions. You know...The moral issue was a big one for the Republicans in 2004. But hey, they were more concerned with keeping same-gender couples from getting married than from preventing some rag-head from being tortured. We gotta keep our priorities straight...Right?

Under the "Foreign Affairs Reform and Resturucturing Act of 1998", however, This activity is a violation of US law. Yet we now have as the Attorney General of the United States a man who worked to justify such activities, and as President we have a man who has sanctions these activities. These activities demand the appointment of a special prosecutor and, if sufficient grounds are found, the trial and impeachment of all who aided and abetted this violation of US law, international treaties and human decency.

For further information on this issue, I am providing the following links:

http://www.aclu.org/ImmigrantsRights/ImmigrantsRights.cfm?ID=16165&c=95

http://www.newyorker.com/printable/?fact/050214fa_fact6 (the same link as in the header if it shouldn't work)

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/crs/rl32276.pdf

http://www.hrweb.org/legal/cat.html

Surprise...!

America's prosperity requires restraining the spending appetite of the federal government. I welcome the bipartisan enthusiasm for spending discipline. I will send you a budget that holds the growth of discretionary spending below inflation, makes tax relief permanent, and stays on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009. My budget substantially reduces or eliminates more than 150 government programs that are not getting results, or duplicate current efforts, or do not fulfill essential priorities. The principle here is clear: taxpayer dollars must be spent wisely, or not at all. - George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, 02/02/05 (emphasis mine)

Looks like sound fiscal policy to me. And I'm certain that that will surprise many of you to see me agreeing with Dubbyuh. And I would agree with him if he actually meant it, but he doesn't.

On Monday, the failure of Dubbyuh's pet project, the national missile defense system, was reported(1.)...again. At $85 million a pop, that adds up rather quickly. This Reagan-era weapons program does squat all to protect our borders from a pocket nuke in a shipping container, it has been plagued by technical problems and has, thus far, proven anything but successful. The program is not getting results, by any definition. By the standards Dubbyuh laid out in the SOTUS, funding for this program should be eliminated.

Already facing budget cuts(2.) because of the reliability issues, there are other forces at work to cut funding to the program. First and foremost of these is the "war on terror". After 9/11, the focus was shifted from a conventional military threat to the unconventional threat posed by international terrorism. Despite the $10 billion already poured down this particular rat-hole, there remains "no demonstrated capability" to even get off the ground, much less knock down an incoming missile. But that simply doesn't appear to enter into the calculus. How many humvees would that $10 billion have armored? How many flak-jackets would it have provided?

Thus far, however, funding is only being cut for the program, when, according to the criteria laid out in the SOTUS, it should be cancelled. But this apparent contradiction should come as no surprise to anyone. Dubbyuh has a long and checkered history of saying one thing and doing another.

Citations:

(1.) The San Francisco Chronicle, pg A3, 02/15/2005. Also, here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/15/MNGISBB1R01.DTL&type=printable

(2.) Business Week Online, 02/04/05

Budget...? What budget...?

Dubbyuh's budget, such as it is, calls for some $350 billion in cuts to discretionary and mandatory programs for 2006. In addition, the budget includes a number of tax changes that would reduce revenue by $1.3 trillion dollars over the next ten years. (And he wants to spend $2 trillion to "save" Social Security?!?!)

Since Dubbyuh rolled into DC, the ability of the government to raise revenue has dropped precipitously. At less than 17% of GDP, federal revenue is lower than it has been in the last 40 years. And, contrary to Dubbyuh's contentions, government spending is not "out of control". The most recent increase in spending has not beenon social safety net programs, but rather in higher defense and national security spending.

In the four years since Dubbyuh first graced the corridors of the White House, America has gone from a surplus of some $236 billion to a deficit of nearly $427 billion. And despite Dubbyuh's, and his handler's, claims otherwise, the dficit has only deepened. The 2006 budget doesn't include the costs, even estimated, of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also conveniently excluded are the costs of Dubbyuh's "plan" to save Social Security and fixes to the Alternative Minimum Tax. When you add these costs, as well as the interest on them, the deficits over the next ten years soars to nearly $5 trillion

And don't expect any changes in Dubbyuh's tax policy...More of the same crap different day. He's pushing to make the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 permanent, costing more than $1 trillion. He's also proposing other tax changes that will cost $117 billion over the next ten years. Also buried in the budget is the elimination of the "PEP" and "PEASE" provisions of the tax code which limit the size of personal exemptions and itemized deductions the wealthiest taxpayers can take. This will some $115 billion through the end of the decade, with 97% of the benefit going to households earning more than $200,000 per year. According to Tax Policy Center estimates, extending teh provisions of 2001/2004 tax changes would yield about $150,000 in tax cuts for those making over $1 million per year while yielding a significantly smaller proportion in tax relief to middle class taxpayers. The Adminstration seems bent on continuing its policies which extends preferential treatment to income generated by capital rather than by work. These tax policies are punitive towards work while they allow the very wealthy to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

The process is skewed even further and the deficit deepened by PayGo rules which mandate expansions in government services to be paid for by cuts elswhere in the budget, however the proposed tax cuts and other changes to the tax code which will further reduce federal revenues are exempt from these rules.

We are already reaping the bitter harvest of Dubbyuh's previous domestic policy decisions. States all over the country are cutting funding to Medicaide programs, education and infrasturcture. Under this budget, these cuts will only deepen, leading to cuts in health and long-term care benefits for over 50 million people. The republican governnor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee said, "People need to remember that to balance the budget off the backs of the poorest people inthe country is simply unacceptable. You don't pull feeding tubes from people. You don't pull the wheelchair out from under the child with muscular dystrophy." The truly sad part of this is that the proposed cuts won't even begin to balance the budget.

Dubbyuh has made much of his "record" on defense and the "war" on terror. But guess what...? The Department of Homeland security only gets a 1% increase in its fiscal '06 budget, which doesn't even keep up with inflation. And as the need for troops is increasing due to casualties and attrition, the budget contains no funds to increase the size of the Army, the Army Reserve, or the Army National Guard. Can you say "draft"? I knew you could.

That the policies Dubbyuh is putting forth are contrary to American values is a gross understatement. It fails the poor and the middle classes, who must work ever harder to keep their heads above water while the wealthiest 1% bask in the benefits of those policies. And we have yet to pay the piper for these policies. But you can rest assured that the poor and the middle class will be the ones to take it in the shorts.

Iran...Uh, yeah...right...

With the rhetoric against Iran from the Bush administration growing ever more bellicose, it would behoove him and his handlers to pay close attention to the realpolitik of any actio against Iran.

China is about to ink a $70 billion deal to develope oil fields in Iran. Since China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, any attempt to garner support for sanctions against Iran will fail. Venezuela is already in the process of diverting some of its production away from US markets and to Chinese markets. THis has the effect of limiting US leverage with oil producers as there now exist large, hungry oil markets elsewhere in the world

Europe is unlikely to provide any support for military action against Iran, and the US will be left pretty much to it's own devices. Unless, of course, you count whatever third world banana republics Dubbyuh's administration blackmails into supporting the venture.

Pursuing military action in Iran will effectively isolate America from the rest of the world and risk destabilizing not only the US economy, but also economies the world over, making the Great Depression look like a Sunday school picnic. Accompanying such an event would be a wave of terrorists activity before which all others pale in comparison. But Dubbyuh doesn't think in such terms. He only thinks in terms of his own infallibility and self-appointed mission for God. So, he will foolishly go where angels fear to tread.

Can anyone appreciate the irony...

...Of the stink being raised over illegal oil trades by Benon Sevan, administrator of the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program in Iraq? After all, we're talking $1 million in illegal oil sales...Money that went into Saddam's coffers rather than to aid the Iraqi people. And, of course, the picture wouldn't be complete without trying to implicate Kofi Annan and his son Kojo in the affair. Another ironic twist to this already twisted tale, is that the Administration turned a blind eye to the illegal oil sales as the embargo was hurting the economies of Jordan and Turkey.

Contrast this with what happened on Proconsul Bremer's watch in Iraq. During his time as head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, approximately $8.8 billion simply went missing...unaccounted for...gone. In one case, of a payroll of 8,206 names, only 602 could be verified and there was no paper trail to verify the disposition of the the rest of the cash. Yet, aside from a few small pieces hidden in Time, and elsewhere, there seems to be little media interest in the story, and no interest in hauling Bremer before a grand jury to ddemand an accounting else he face charges of misappropriations of governemnt funds.

And to think this boob recieved the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his incompetence. But that seems to be a pattern for Dubbyuh's administration. Now, I'm just trying to figure out where Rummy screwed up and succeeded at something to get knocked out of the running for a medal.

Holy flashback Batman...!

Shades of Campaign '04! Never ones to retire old tricks, Dubbyuh's handlers have stacked the audiences at Dubbyuh's appearances on the stump for his "plan" to "save" social security with party loyalists. No dissenting voices are allowed. Just like the good ole days out on the campaign trail, where never is heard a dissenting word.

But the election is over, and yes, the chuckle-head won. And no, he DOESN'T have a mandate, no matter how much he wishes otherwise. His own party is beginning to feed on its own as the whole issue of social security rears its head. And, his ratings in the polls are sinking like the Titanic.

Before Dubbyuh decided to create a crisis in social security, the Social Security commission reported that it would be solvent until 2042, at which point, it would begin paying out more than it took in. But the reality of the matter is that in 14 of the last 47 years Social Security has paid out more than it took in, so this dire warning is essentially meaningless. If, as the Administration talking points imply or state outright that Social Security trust funds have no real assets, then the treasury bonds held all over the world aren't real assets either, and not worth the paper they are printed on. That's a real confidence builder for the folks overseas that are holding US debt.

As Dubbyuh told the Wall Street Journal, the real debate on the issue will be one of whether there is actually a problem or not. Of course, Dubbyuh would have alot more credibility if he hadn't been beating this horse since 1978, when he first ran for Congress. In '78, he said the Social Security was going to be "...flat bust..." by 1988. The only thing that went "flat bust" in Dubbyuh's little world was Arbusto Energy.

So, Dubbyuh fields softball questions from slavishly adoring crowds, safe in his bubble. Unsullied by the real world, our very own American Nero fiddles on.

Holy shit Batman!

Gay marriage ban hits the fan

Be it Resolved by the People of the State of Ohio:

That the Constitution of the State of Ohio be amended by adopting a section to be designated as Section 11 of Article XV thereof, to read as follows:

Article XV

Section 11. Only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this state and its political subdivisions. This state and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage.

Issue 1, as it was listed on the balllot in November, was passed by around 61% of Ohio voters. The problem is, they didn't read it very carefully. As a result, the first steaming legal dogpile its passage left behind has been steppped in.

In Cuyahoga County, the Public Defender's Office is using this amendment to dismiss domestic violence cases involving unmarried individuals who are living together and have no children. Their rationale is that, under this amendment, the state can only recognize the relationship bewteen a married couple of different genders. However, if the state recognizes that domestic violence occurs between two unrelated, unmarried people who are cohabitating regardless of gender, the state would be recognizing that relationship. Based upon this interpretation of Ohio's Constitution, that is simply not allowed.

The crux of the issue here is that this interpretaion would place the amendment in violation of the equal protection clause of the US Constitution. Maried couples would have protections under domestic violence laws which are unavailable to unwed couples who are living together. And, like it or not, that protection applies to same gender couples as well. If it doesn't, the Constitution isn't worth the match it would take to burn it. It applies to all, or it applies to none. Deal with it.

Republicans play the race card...

Listening to Orrin Hatch play the race card with regards to Alberto Gonzales' confirmation as AG rather put me to mind of a prostitute sermonizing on the virtues of chastity in Sunday school. The last time the party of Lincoln had anything truly constructive to do with race relations in this country was during Lincoln's era and shortly thereafter. It might be said that they helped pass the Civil Rights Act of 1957, but that was simply due to the number of boll weevil democrats who voted against the Act and later switched their party affiliations to that of...Republican. But the Democratic party was better off without them.

Mr. Hatch, and the other Republicans who seem to have sold their souls to the devil, and their asses to the highest bidder, just don't care to understand that opposition to Alberto Gonzales does not stem from his race but rather his principles or, more appropriately, his lack thereof. Mr. Gonzales was the principle architect of policies which run counter to those of the rest of the civilized world. He dismissed the Geneva Conventions as "quaint" and "obsolete". He helped narrow the definition of torture to "...injury such as death, organ failure, or serious impairment of body functions ...". At ihs request, the DOJ drafted a memo authorizing the CIA to transfer Iraqi detainees to other nations which would have no compunction against torturing these individuals which is a violation of the Geneva Conventions and federal law. He argued that there was essentially no limit to the authority of the POTUS to invade any nation he suspected of harboring terrorists whter or no they were linked to any specific incidence, this contrary to the narrow language of the joint resolution passed on 9/14/01 which limited his authority to attack only those countries specifically linked to the attacks of 9/11.

In short, the Senate Republicans seem intent on confirming as USAG, responsible for upholding and defending the Constitution of the United States, a man seemingly more intent upon subverting and underminig said document. What this says about the intent of the Republican leadership, which has seized control of all three branches of government, is unclear. But their apparent eagerness to confirm Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General, despite his history...present and past, will give us a good idea of the America they want. And it seems a sure bet that it's nothing the Founding Fathers envisioned.

Call your Senators...TODAY! The vote for his confirmation is tomorrow.

The policies of Dubbyuh and Alberto repudiated...

It seems that prisoners in Guantanamo are indeed able to claim constitutional protections under the law. So much for secret military tribunals, indefinite detention without charge and lack of access to counsel.

U.S. Judge: Guantanamo Suspects Have Rights

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge dealt a setback to the Bush administration and ruled on Monday that the Guantanamo Bay terrorism suspects can challenge their confinement and the procedures in their military tribunal review process are unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Joyce Hens Green said the prisoners at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have constitutional protections under U.S. law.

"The court concludes that the petitioners have stated valid claims under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and that the procedures implemented by the government to confirm that the petitioners are 'enemy combatants' subject to indefinite detention violate the petitioners' rights to due process of law," Green wrote.

It's been one setback after another with regards to the administration's assertions regarding detainees and "enemy combatants". We have yet, however to hear a word of apology or admission of error on their part. But it's not likely that we will hear any such from this Administration. Their hubris is beyond belief, and will never permit them to admit that they have made mistakes...And that makes Dubbyuh and his merry band all the more dangerous. They cannot admit to error, so they will continue to make the same errors. And we see what their errors have bought us thus far.

It's getting a bit drafty...

On Friday, January 28th, the Project for a New American Century...you remember them, they were the architects of Dubbyuh's foreign policy, sent a letter to Bill Frist, Harry Reid, Denny Hasturt and Nanccy Pelosi. This breezy little missive oulines the necessity for increasing troop levels in Iraq, and elsewhere, as well as the means for meeting those needs. That being Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution. In other words, a draft.

Now, Dubbyuh explicitly stated that there would be no draft. But in the FY 2004 budget, there was an additional $28 million appropriated to fill all 10,350 draft board and 11,070 appeals board positions. Also, some 63% of the Army's combat force are tied up in potential, or actual, combat zones around the world, this includes Afghanistan and Iraq. This leaves US ground forces grossly overextended, and such long term operational commitments are sustainable only if there are about twice as many troops in the pipeline for rotation to the field. This leaves the US forces about 125,000 soldiers short. Also, the US and Canada signed a "Smart Border Declaration", which would make it more difficult for draft dodgers to seek refuge in Canada. With these items, as well as PNAC's cheery little note, it becomes apparent that Dubbyuh is set to break that campaign promise without a thought.

So, keep your children close, because they'll soon be wearing dogtags, and sent off to die just because Dubbyuh says so.

When the world's richest man bets against the dollar, it's time to pay attention.

Microsoft's Gates, World's Richest Man, Bets Against the Dollar

Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Bill Gates, the world's richest person with a net worth of $46.6 billion, is betting against the U.S. dollar.

``I'm short the dollar,'' Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp., told Charlie Rose in an interview in front of an audience of about 200 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. ``The ol' dollar, it's gonna go down.''

Gates's comments reflect the same view as his friend Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who has bet against the currency since 2002. Buffett said last week that the country's trade gap will probably further weaken the dollar, which fell 21 percent against a basket of six major currencies between January 2002 and the end of last year.

``It is a bit scary,'' Gates said. ``We're in uncharted territory when the world's reserve currency has so much outstanding debt.''

The U.S. is borrowing to finance record budget and trade deficits. Total U.S. government debt stood at $7.62 trillion as of Jan. 27, up 8.7 percent from a year earlier.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are betting aginst the dollar. As Dubbyuh's ruinous economic polices and reckless foreign policies continue to drive up both the foreign trade and federal budget deficits, the dollar continues to slide. This despite rhetoric from John Snow that the Administration is taking action to strengthen the dollar.

With the US borrowing some $2 billion a day to finance it's debt, one can only wonder when the world markets will be saturated with US debt. Indications are that this is already happening as China has cut its holdings of US debt as well as Russia. European central banks are drawing down their dollar holdings in favor of the euro and many asian central banks are aso drawing down their dollar holdings in favor of the basket of currencies reflecting foreign trade.

Yet our American Nero continues to fiddle. Dubbyuh does nothing...aside from making vague, reassuring noises that fewer and fewer people are willing to pay heed to. How long it takes for the bubble to burst remains to be seen. But when it does, those of us who aren't in that top 5% income bracket will be the one left to foot the bill.

Dubbyuh and his Merry Band: Head in the sand...? Or, up their asses...?

In its report, World Economic Situation and Prospects 2005, the world body said on Tuesday that the twin budget and trade deficits of the United States were throwing the global economy off balance.
.
It echoed warnings already issued by the International Monetary Fund and other financial institutions in saying that the United States cannot continue to maintain such huge debts. - The International Herald Tribune

Despite growing alarm in the world-wide economic community, the Bush administration has failed to even begin to address the issues of trade and budget deficits. The warning signs are all around us...A dollar in free-fall...European central banks shifting more of their assets out of US currency and bond markets...Murmurs, increasingly loud, from asian markets that it is becoming increasing difficult to maintain the dollar as their reserve currency...China and Japan muttering darkly about selling their dollars while they still can.

All of these things add up to a financial disaster in the offing, but our American Nero fiddles on. His ideologically driven agenda supercedes any other concerns, which may be of more pressing importance...He can't even take the time to honor the memory of 31 troops killed in a helo crash in Iraq during his press conference to tout the "great progress" in Iraq.

So, how can he be bothered with the possibility that world financial markets may stop buying US debt? He has more important things to do, like make the world safe for democracy. But that sounds like a cliche more fitting to a bad movie than from the POTUS. With the spending of some $2 billion a day to finance the debt his administration has run up, what's going to happen when the world stops buying that debt? And, that time is coming, perhaps sooner than anyone thinks. With outrage growing daily over the Bush administration's hubris and growing isolation, Europe is growing closer collective economic action against the US, and when that day comes, it's not going to be pretty on our shores. We will look back fondly on the Great Depression. But what will he do? Deny everything...Blame it on someone else...That's a pattern more fitting to an alcoholic than to a head of state. But wait, Dubbyuh is an alcoholic. He may be off the sauce, but he has never sought treatment fot the underlying causes of his ETOH and substance abuse. He is a dry-drunk, which entails all of the behavior patterns of a drunk.

If they want to escape being pilloried when it all comes crashing down around their ears, Dubbyuh's handlers need to get him medicated and reign in the reckless, feckless policies he has outlined and is pursuing. Ahhh shit...! They're the ones who formulated those policies to begin with, and they'll never admit that they're wrong. We're well and truly screwed, and I truly hope that I'm wrong.

CONDI CONFIRMED

85 to 13...That was the final vote for Condi-Mima's confirmation to the post of Sectreary of State.

The questions raised about her complicity in lying America into war were ignored. Instead, the Reichpublican leadership chose to focus on her work in academia and her upbringing, neither of which inherently qualify her for the post. They chose to ignore her contradictory testimony before the 9/11 Commission and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where Barbara Boxer pointed out the contradiction between her earlier testimony and that which she gave before the Committee. At this, Condi-Mima bridled and accused Senator Boxer of "impugning" her credibility and integrity. Well, it's somewhat difficult to impugn one for characteristics which they entirely lack.

One can only hope that the Senate democrats put up a more spirited opposition to Alberto Gonzales' confirmation to the post of Attorney General. I don't have much hope of that though. It's more likely they'll roll over, spread their legs and squeal, "Do me and do me now, you Republican love monkey!"

Dubbyuh and Hypocrisy...Can't have one without the other.

"We know that a culture that does not protect the most dependent, the handicapped, the elderly, the unloved, or simple inconvenient, becomes increasingly vulnerable." - George W. Bush, 1/24/2005

Hmmmm...Let's see here, First, Medicare benefits get cut, then he wants to "reform" Social Security, cuts to funding for Head Start, cuts in Medicaide funding, falling wages and rising numbers of uninsured...So much for protecting "...the most dependent, the handicapped, the elderly, the unloved, or simply inconvenient...". But wait, they're actually living, breathing and walking around. But they don't count, especially when it costs nothing to deny a woman's right to choose the course of her own life.

And therein lies the great flaw in the "Pro-Life" movements argument. They equate the potential for human life with actual human life. A mass of undifferentiated cells has the same value as a human being born and growing, not. Hell, if they had their way, contraception would be illegal, and some are pushing for that. But the only reason Dubbyuh's behind the issue of banning abortion is that it inflames the irrational, it polarizes debate and it costs him nothing, unlike the social safety net programs he and his handlers are intent on gutting.

There is nothing compassionate about his conservatism. It is as petty and mean-spirited as he is. He and his handlers want power, and if women have to die at the hands of back-alley butchers again just so they achieve it, well, that seems a price they are willing to pay. That is the pattern of Dubbyuh's life, though. Somebody else pays the price for his errors, while he remains securely insulated from the consequences of his actions.

By-the-way, did you notice he couldn't be troubled to cross the street and join the rally? Dubbyuh and hypocrisy...You just can't have one without the other.

Rumsfeld...Grand Poobah of Intel

I don't know which worries me more...That there is a secret organization gathering intel for the Pentagon or that Rummy has control over it.

The fact that the organization has been operating for about two years does nothing to inspire confidence. We need only look back to the days of Rummy's Office of Special Services and their pro-administration spin on the intel prior to the invasion of Iraq to see where this will take us. It will take us into another reckless, feckless round of foregin adventurism which will make Iraq look like a Sunday picnic.

And then there's the issue of the commander of this little group of spies. Colonel George Waldrup, that's "GW" to his friends, has no background in intel.The Army reservist, who worked for INS before his reserve activation, has most recently been responsible for security and transportation for the teams searching for WMD's in Iraq. How this qualifies him for such a sensitive post is beyond me. It seems likely that he's a friend of someone in the administration, and as we've seen, this adminstrition place a higher premium on loyalty than on competence.

The likely end of this little boondoggle will, at a best, be an incident which greatly embarasses the administration. At worst it will mean a loss of life that will shock us all. Either way, the administration has shown little inclination to be moved by such matters, and we're all the worse for it.

Dubbyuh's Inauguration Speech...Between the Lines

On this day, prescribed by law and marked by ceremony, we celebrate the durable wisdom of our Constitution (Which I will ignore at my convenience), and recall the deep commitments that unite our country (You do what I say, when I say it). I am grateful for the honor of this hour, mindful of the consequential times in which we live, and determined to fulfill the oath that I have sworn and you have witnessed.
At this second gathering, our duties are defined not by the words I use, but by the history we have seen together. For a half a century, America defended our own freedom by standing watch on distant borders. After the shipwreck of communism came years of relative quiet, years of repose, years of sabbatical. And then there came a day of fire.
We have seen our vulnerability and we have seen its deepest source. For as long as whole regions of the world simmer in resentment and tyranny prone to ideologies that feed hatred and excuse murder, violence will gather and multiply in destructive power, and cross the most defended borders, and raise a mortal threat. There is only one force of history that can break the reign of hatred and resentment, and expose the pretensions of tyrants and reward the hopes of the decent and tolerant, and that is the force of human freedom.
We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands (So, as long as we are engaged in illegal and unjust wars of aggression abroad, I will continue to curtail civil-liberties and undermine the Constitution here at home.). The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion (Of US markets…) of freedom in all the world.
America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one (America uber allen!). From the day of our founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value (Not so much so, since slavery was an institution in this country for the first 100 years or so, but I knew that), because they bear the image of the maker of heaven and earth. Across the generations we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government because no one is fit to be a master and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our nation. It is the honorable achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's security, and the calling of our time.
So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture (But only so long as they allow US corporations to exploit their resources and populations unchecked), with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.
This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary (And…whenever we feel like it.). Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen, and defended by citizens (Just like in Iraq.), and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities . And when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the institutions that arise may (Just like in Iraq.) reflect customs and traditions very different from our own. America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling . Our (Just like in Iraq.) goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way (Just like...Awww hell, you get the idea.).
The great objective of ending tyranny is the concentrated work of generations(So we’re gonna be at war for the foreseeable future…Get over it) . The difficulty of the task is no excuse for avoiding it. America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed, America's influence is considerable (At least it was before I pissed it away by invading Iraq.), and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause (Whenever we feel like it or when US corporate interests are threatened.). My most solemn duty is to protect this nation(Especially US corporate interests abroad.) and its people from further attacks and emerging threats. Some have unwisely chosen to test America's resolve, and have found it firm.
We will persistently clarify the choice before every ruler and every nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right. America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude (Unless, of course, they’re single mothers on welfare, living in poverty, and can’t find a decent job or affordable daycare), or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies (Unless, of course, you disagree with me.).
We will encourage reform in other governments (Offer void in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, China and all of Africa) by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people. America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies. Yet rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without human liberty (Unless they interfere with US corporate interests and their profit margins).
Some, I know, have questioned the global appeal of liberty though this time in history, four decades defined by the swiftest advance of freedom ever seen, is an odd time for doubt. Americans, of all people, should never be surprised by the power of our ideals (But they should be surprised if I actually live up to them.). Eventually, the call of freedom comes to every mind and every soul. We do not accept the existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the possibility of permanent slavery (Unless, of course, it yields a higher annual profits for US companies and my campaign contributors.). Liberty will come to those who love it.
Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you (Offer void in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and the whole of Africa.).
Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know: America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country (But only so long as you allow US corporations and my campaign contributors rape your nation.).
The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did: Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it (But not me…I’m on a mission from God.).
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know: To serve your people, you must learn to trust them (But only as long as they agree with you. At the first sign of dissent, crush them like grapes.). Start on this journey of progress and justice and America will walk at your side (If I feel like it.). And all the allies of the United States can know: we honor your friendship, we rely on your counsel (When I feel like it), and we depend on your help (But only when I’ve gotten America’s ass in a crack that it can’t get out of.). Division among free nations is a primary goal of freedom's enemies (And I’ve done a pretty damn good job of isolating the US from the rest of the world). The concerted effort of free nations to promote democracy is a prelude to our enemies' defeat (Just like in Iraq.). Today, I also speak anew to my fellow citizens: From all of you, I have asked patience in the hard task of securing America (And I really haven’t done anything to secure America.), which you have granted in good measure. Our country has accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill, and would be dishonorable to abandon (You remember that thing about our ass being in a crack?). Yet because we have acted in the great liberating tradition of this nation, tens of millions have achieved their freedom (Where did that happen again?). And as hope kindles hope, millions more will find it. By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well, a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those who fight its progress (Get in our way and we’ll bust a cap in your dumb ass.), and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world. A few Americans have accepted the hardest duties in this cause (Me too! Just like in Vietnam.) in the quiet work of intelligence and diplomacy, the idealistic work of helping raise up free governments, the dangerous and necessary work of fighting our enemies. Some have shown their devotion to our country in deaths that honored their whole lives and we will always honor their names and their sacrifice.
All Americans have witnessed this idealism, and some for the first time. I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes. You have seen duty and allegiance in the determined faces of our soldiers. You have seen that life is fragile, and evil is real (I see it every time I look in the mirror.), and courage triumphs. Make the choice to serve in a cause larger than your wants, larger than yourself and in your days you will add not just to the wealth of our country (But only to that of my campaign contributors.), but to its character (Which I totally lack).
America has need of idealism and courage (Which I totally lack.), because we have essential work at home, the unfinished work of American freedom. In a world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and promise of liberty (At least until I suspend the Constitution and declare myself “President for life”.).
In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of economic independence (Until it interferes with the profits of my campaign contributors.), instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence (For as long as we can get away with keeping you there.). This is the broader definition of liberty that motivated the Homestead Act, the Social Security Act and the G.I. Bill of Rights. And now we will extend this vision by reforming great institutions to serve the needs of our time (We’ll gut them like fish so my buddies on Wall Street can charge everyone fees out the wazoo.). To give every American (Not really, just all y’all that donated so much time and money to my coronation festivities.) a stake in the promise and future of our country, we will bring the highest standards to our schools (But the funding will never be made available because I’m gonna make them tax-cuts permanent.) and build an ownership society (Owned by me and my good buddies.). We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement savings and health insurance preparing our people for the challenges of life in a free society. By making every citizen an agent of his or her own destiny (Social safety-net…? You must be joking.), we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and fear (Thanks to our ministry of propaganda, also know as the “mainstream media”, that's what you'll think anyways.) , and make our society more prosperous and just and equal (With me and my campaign contributors being waaaaay more equal than the rest of y’all.).
In America's ideal of freedom, the public interest depends on private character (Which I am completely lacking…), on integrity and tolerance toward others (Also completely lacking…), and the rule of conscience (Nope, don’t have one of those either.) in our own lives. Self-government relies, in the end, on the governing of the self (My colorful past shows how capable I am of that.). That edifice of character is built in families, supported by communities with standards, and sustained in our national life by the truths of Sinai, the Sermon on the Mount, the words of the Koran, and the varied faiths of our people. Americans move forward in every generation by reaffirming all that is good and true that came before ideals of justice and conduct that are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by service, and mercy and a heart for the weak (Compassionate conservatism – Shoot the wounded. It’s a mercy, and we don't have to pay for their health-care.). Liberty for all does not mean independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember that even the unwanted have worth (Especially as cannon fodder and slave labor). And our country must abandon all the habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time.
From the perspective of a single day, including this day of dedication, the issues and questions before our country are many. From the viewpoint of centuries, the questions that come to us are narrowed and few. Did our generation advance the cause of freedom (Not on my watch we won’t!)? And did our character bring credit to that cause?
These questions that judge us also unite us, because Americans of every party and background, Americans by choice and by birth, are bound to one another in the cause of freedom. We have known divisions, which must be healed to move forward in great purposes and I will strive in good faith to heal them (I’m gonna reach out to the loyal opposition…And bitch-slap ‘em until they do what I tell ‘em.). Yet those divisions do not define America. We felt the unity and fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack, and our response came like a single hand over a single heart (Remember…? I told y’all to go shopping.). And we can feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice, and the captives are set free (So, y’all just keep shopping and ignore what’s going on in the rest of the world.).
We go forward with complete confidence in the eventual triumph of freedom. Not because history runs on the wheels of inevitability; it is human choices that move events. Not because we consider ourselves a chosen nation (That’s because I’m God’s chosen.); God moves and chooses as He wills (And his will is my will because he told me so.). We have confidence because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind, the hunger in dark places, the longing of the soul. When our Founders declared a new order of the ages, when soldiers died in wave upon wave for a union based on liberty, when citizens marched in peaceful outrage under the banner Freedom Now they were acting on an ancient hope that is meant to be fulfilled. History has an ebb and flow of justice, but history also has a visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty (And liberty is what I tell you it is, so GET OVER IT.).
When the Declaration of Independence was first read in public and the Liberty Bell was sounded in celebration, a witness said, It rang as if it meant something. In our time it means something still. America, in this young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world, and to all the inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength, tested but not weary we are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom.
May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of America (‘Cuz God’s on our side. He told me so this morning.).

Irony and Hypocrisy: Dubbyuh's Close, Personal Relationship with God

An interview with a woman just leaving Dubbyuh's coronation...er...inauguration left me chocking on my coffee. She stated that she was "glad to see a good Christian man like George W. Bush as president...". Now, I don't know about anyone else, but "good" and "Christian" are not two words I would use to describe Dubbyuh.

For a man so passionately devoted to Christ, his actions are singularly devoid of anything which reflects that devotion. He carefully avoids any mention of being born again or being an evangelical, and there is little evidence that he attempts to spread the gospel, beyond what makes a good sound-bite in his speechifying. This in contrast to Jimmy Carter whose telling every foreign dignitary he met about the good news of Jesus Christ is legendary. But then, Carter walks it like he talks it.

Dubbyuh is, at best, a salad bar Christian. "Hmmm...I'll take a bit of this...A little bit of that...Oooh, and that looks yummy...", but that describes many who call themselves Christian these days. Dubbyuh's distinction lies in that he picks and chooses those parts of biblical scripture which work to his political advantage.

For example, there are around fourteen (give or take a couple) verses in the Bible which make reference, direct or indirect, to homosexuality. Yet there are over three thousand which deal with providing aid and comfort to those less fortunate than ourselves. But which one was a theme of Dubbyuh's campaign and a plank in the Reichpublican platform? Yep, homosexyality, and not a word about helping those in need. If anything, Dubbyuh's plans for the next four years will only serve to throw more people into poverty that he already has.

Yet many born-again evangelicals accept Dubbyuh as one of their own. For one to be born-again, one must acknowledge their innate sinfullness and then they must turn away from it completely. But Dubbyuh, twice within the last year was, apparently, stymied when asked to name mistakes he had made during his first term. An appaling lack of humility in one so devoted to his religion.

Over the years, Dubbyuh's policies, both as Governor of Texas and POTUS, have failed to show a triumph of religious values over partisan politics, at any point. Nor has he shown that he pays more than lip service to his religious values. The true irony, though, is that so many who call themselves Christian, regard him as a fellow traveler, this despite his apparent hypocrisy.

This guy just doesn't quit...

In his continuing endeavor to prove just how unfit he is to serve as Attorney General, Alberto Gonzalez has announced that, "Officers of the Central Intelligence Agency and other nonmilitary personnel fall outside the bounds of a 2002 directive issued by President Bush that pledged the humane treatment of prisoners in American custody..." while at the same time stating that, "the C.I.A. and other nonmilitary personnel are fully bound", by Dubbyuh's directives on the humane treatment of prisoners. Indecision is a terrible thing.

In his written testimony, Alberto continues to dodge the question of just what constitutes torture or which practices should be banned. It seems that Dubbyuh and his merry band are quite willing to condemn the torture of prisoners in US custody publicly, but behind the veil they are more than willing to sanction its use. This administration has shown us that in fighting the beast, they are all too willing to become the beast. One can only imagine the rapt fascination with which they gaze into the abyss, never realizing that the abyss is gazing back...until it is too late and they are swallowed up by it.

The Smoking Gun...

As referenced in Alberto Gonzales' memo of January 25 of 2002, on January 18 of 2002, George W. Bush declared that the Geneva Convention did not apply to Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners captured in Afghanistan. For the first time in over a century, since the US was signatory to the Second Geneva convention in 1882, the US government has decided not to honor its obligations under the Conventions.

In 1956, the US signed and ratified the Fourth Geneva Convention. And it was in 1996 that Congress passed the War Crimes Act. Thus, a "grave breach of the GC is a federal crime punishable by the imprisonment of the violator "for life or any term of years". The GC also states, in no unclear language that,

The High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances. - Article 1 (emphasis mine)

The upshot of this, and the ICRC analysis of Article 1 agrees, is that nations signatory to the Geneva Convention are bound by its provisions under any and all circumstances. There can be no valid reason for failure to respect any part of the Convention.

In denying Geneva Convention protections to Taliban and Al Qaeda prisoners, and later to prisoners in Iraq, which falls under Article III of the Convention as an occupied territory, the Bush administration has, in essence if not in fact, sought to subvert the Geneva Convention. This is a violation of federal law under the War Crimes Act of 1996. Thus it behooves the Senate to call for a special prosecutor to investigate this matter and, if warranted, begin impeachment proceedings for George W. Bush et al. Any who had a hand in the formulation and implementation this policy, beginning with Alberto Gonzales, former Deputy Attorney General John Yoo and Special Counsel Robert J. Delahunty, should be brought before the bar to answer for their actions in this matter as well.

The smoking gun has been found. All that remains to be seen now, is whether anyone is possessed of the courage to use the evidence before us and bring a close to this sorry chapter in American history.

We lost the war, and we never even noticed...

Could it be that Dubbyuh has already lost the "war on terrruh" and we haven't so much as even noticed?

It all began with the disclosures of the photos from Abu Ghraib. In them, Iraqis were subjected to abuses that are almost unspeakable to Muslims. Forced to strip naked...forced to mastubate in front of other Iraqis, US MP's and MI personel, some of them women...prisoners flexi-cuffed into what are euphemistically called "stress positions"...beatings...all recorded for posterity, causing further shame for them, and outrage in the rest of the Muslim world.

Then we were confronted with the Taguba Report, the memos from Alberto Gonzales dismissing the Geneva Conventions as "quaint" and "obsolete", the definition of torture as being "pain equivalent in intensity to major organ failure or death", the IRC report that methods used to interrogate prisoners at GTMO, Abu Ghraib and other US installations were torture.

All this, taken as a whole has ensured contiuing conflict with Muslim extremists for the foreseeable future. But what makes all this even more tragic is that these actions were relegated to a far back-burner. While they are being investigated by miltary authorites, those investigators can only look down the chain of command and not up it, to where the real culpability lies. With Republicans in control of both houses of Congress, one can rest assured that no active investigation will take place that might assign blame where it truly belongs...The Oval Office.

While we are shocked by the images coming from Abu Ghraib, those images have compartmentalized prisoner abuse to a "few bad apples" at that facility, despite documented evidence of such abuses being wide-spread in Iraq and elsewhere. The abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners, a direct outgrowth of Administration policy, has raised no outrage amongst US citizens. The Administration stands, albeit delicately, clear of the fallout from these abuses. And we, the people, continue to wonder, "why do they hate us?" We've lost the war...and we never even noticed.

Bitten in the ass...

Abu Ghraib, Gitmo scandals leave no room for U.S. to talk of human rights: Khatami

DAKAR (IRNA) -- President Mohammad Khatami rejected Saturday U.S. charges of human rights violations in Iran, denouncing Washington's own record in abusing prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Cuba.

"Of all the people entitled to speak about human rights, we don't regard the Americans as having the right to talk about the respect for human rights in Iran," he told reporters here.

The United States was quoted Thursday as having expressed 'grave concern' over the human rights situation in Iran and potential court action against 2003 Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi. Khatami said, "I believe the Americans' claims of human rights violations in Iran are lies and they had better stand accountable for their own crimes in Iraq's Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons."

Thanks to the policies promulgated by the Bush administration with regards to prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and Afghanistan, we have lost the moral high-ground. By denying prisoners from the Taliban and Al Qaeda, detained in GTMO and elsewhere, protection under the Geneva Conventions the Administration has abandoned the ideals for which generations of Americans have fought and died for. The Adminsitration has also acted contrary to both US and international law in this arena.

The end result now is that a nation with a miserable record on human rights, such as Iran...or China...or Myanmar...or North Korea can tell the US to pound sand with impunity. The decision to torture prisoners was made at the highest levels in the Administration, even to the Oval Office. The architect of those policies, Alberto Gonzalez, now stands to be the next Attorney General of the US. If he is confirmed in that office, America will lose what moral authority it has left, and we will all bear a measure of guilt for the policies he was instrumental in developing and the President allowed to be implemented. Most of us stood by passively and allowed this to happen. The scandal that should have bright down an administration was shuffled quietly into the background, and was not even an issue during the campaign, though it should have been.

So, when do we take a stand? If not now, when? If we let Alberto Gonzales become the next AG, how can we ever erase the shame he and the Bush administration have brought on this nation...For the first time in our history, our government sanctions torture, and makes a mockery of the values of "freedom and democracy" that Dubbyuh claims to be delivering to Iraq and throughout the Middle East. Write, e-mail, call, or camp out in, the office of your senators...let your voices be heard.

The price of pain

January 15, 2005

Declassified FBI and military documents point the finger at the White House for allowing the torture of suspected terrorists. Marian Wilkinson reports on the investigations and their implications for Australia.

The "urgent report" landed on the desk of the FBI director, Robert Mueller, just as Washington was preparing for the summer vacation last June. It was carefully copied to every key law enforcement officer in the bureau. It could not be lost, destroyed, misplaced or overlooked. It was explosive.

A witness had walked into the Sacramento office of the FBI with first-hand accounts of "serious physical abuses of civilian detainees" in Iraq. He described to agents "strangulation, beatings, placement of cigarettes into detainees' ear openings and unauthorised interrogations".

But these claims alone did not hold the shock value in the report. Two months earlier, sensational photographs from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq depicting gross sexual and physical abuse of Iraqi detainees had been splashed across front pages and television screens around the world. What was more disturbing in this report was the allegation from the witness that US officials "were engaged in a cover-up of these abuses".

With Charles Graner, an army reserve Spc, found guilty on ten charges regarding the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, the first scapegoat has been sacrificed. And there seems to be little impetus to look higher up the chain of command, let alone the Oval Office. This despite continued allegations from FBI officers that the orders condoning torture seem to have emanated from that source.

Also at issue here is the apparent transfer of prisoners to third party nations which are neither signatories to UN Convention Against Torture and are known for there lack of inhibition regarding torture. According to the Convention, which the US is signatory to, "No State Party shall expel, return ("refouler") or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture." - Article 3; Para 1. This is a clear violation of the convention and while the US is signatory to the Convention, it has not yet ratified it, it is not legally bound to abide by its provisions. There is, however, a moral obligation to do so. However, the Bush Administration seems to be singularly lacking in morals.

A few, though, are questioning the policy put forth in the infamous torture memos. Among them is Senator Lindsay Graham, R- South Carolina. Senator Graham states,

"When you start looking at torture statutes and you look at ways around the spirit of the law ... you are losing the moral high ground," he said. The abuse at Abu Ghraib "has hurt us in many ways," he added. "I travel throughout the world like the rest of the members of the Senate, and I can tell you it is a club that our enemies use, and we need to take that club out of their hands."

This warning was also sounded by military commanders and lawyers even as these memos and orders were disseminated for implememtation. But they were ignored. So too were the protestations of trained interogators, who KNOW that torture provides little or no useful intel, ignored.

The pattern of abuse at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and elsewhere, shows very clearly that these acts were not isolated cases of abuse carried out by a few "bad apples". But rather, they are the product of policy decisions made at the highest levels of US government, possiblly even to the Oval Office and George W. Bush. All due diligence must be applied to ferreting out the truth of this matter, regardless of where, or how high, the trail leads. And with that, the perpetrators brought to justice.

However, I am cynical enough to think that this will never happen. To many vested interests are at stake for the Bush Dynasty to be toppled over this issue. So, a few non-coms, and perhaps even a few low-ranking officers, will be thrown to the wolves while the true perpetrators go free. And this will be to our detriment. America wil have truly and thoroughly lost the moral high ground. The values of freedom and democracy will be made a mockery of and the Republic will perish from the face of this earth.

Those Who Forget History...

Of course, it helps to have learned history in the first place.

In 1215, a document was produced that became the foundation for western jurisprudence and our own Constitution. That document was the Magna Carta. Most relevant to the discussion at hand are are articles 38 and 39 of the Magna Carta, which is the basis of habeas corpus.

38 In future no official shall place a man on trial upon his own unsupported statement, without producing credible witnesses to the truth of it.

"39 No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.

Heady stuff in those days, but the application was strictly for landed gentry and nobles until about 1628. Until then, the typical yeoman could be imprisoned by the king without charge or recourse to the courts.

In 1628, several knights, imprisoned over a tax-dispute with the king. These knights invoked habeas corpus, where they were to be freed or on bail unless they have been convicted of a crime.

In response, Charles I invoked his right, as king, to imprison anybody he wanted, any time he wanted. This led to the a series of laws over the next 50 years which strengthened habeas corpus to the point where only Parliament could revoke it, which they did in the case of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Mow, fast forward to the 21st century. Dubbyuh has invoked per speciale Mandatum Domini Regis, or the right to imrison anyone he wishes any time he wishes. But unlike George III in the case of Napoleon, Dubbyuh feels he needs no act of Congress to overturn the 4th through 8th amendments to the Constitution. In order to circumvent these protections, new legal terms such a 'enemy combatants' and 'terrorists' were created as well as a whole new set of laws to deal with them.

Dubbyuh forgot one thing though. He does not have the right to suspend habeas corpus. While the Constitution provides a mechanism for the temporary suspension of habeas corpus, he does not have the power to do so...Only Congress has that power, and they have...not...done...so.

Since this country was founded, there are two classses of people who can be legally imprisoned, prisoners of war and criminals. This first class is protected under the Geneva Convention and US law while the second class is protected under the US Constitution. These two classes have covered every threat to nations and their people in the 800+ years since the Magna Carta was signed on the banks of the Thames.

But jast as Hitler and his fellow travelers used the burning of the Reichstag to justify an unending war on terrorism and suspension of habeas corpus, so to have George W. Buhs and his merry band, including Alberto Gonzalez.

"The establishment of the writ of habeas corpus ... are perhaps greater securities to liberty and republicanism than any it [the Constitution] contains. ...[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny. The observations of the judicious [British 18th century legal scholar] Blackstone, in reference to the latter, are well worthy of recital:

"'To bereave a man of life,' says he, 'or by violence to confiscate his estate, without accusation or trial, would be so gross and notorious an act of despotism, as must at once convey the alarm of tyranny throughout the whole nation; but confinement of the person, by secretly hurrying him to jail, where his sufferings are unknown or forgotten, is a less public, a less striking, and therefore A MORE DANGEROUS ENGINE of arbitrary government.''' [Capitals all Hamilton's from the original.]

This by Alexander Hamilton, one of the most conservative authors of the Federalist Papers. The Founding Fathers recognized no situation in which the President could arbitrarily suspend habeas corpus.

While we are all familiar with Mr. Gonzales' involvement in the torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, this is just a part of a larger issue. That being whether the POTUS has the right to ignore the Constitution, international law and treatties, violate civil and human rights and build concentration camps for the permanent imprisonment of untired and uncharged individuals. Dubbyuh's exercise of per speciale Mandatum Domini Regis puts us all at risk of imprisonment by presidential fiant. Do we really want a man as Attorney General of the US who agrees with such policy? They always start with the terrorists first.

"A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE THE BUSH SUPPORTER"

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union.

If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune. It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans.

The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like me!

The Myth Exploded, or, The Emperor STILL Has No Clothes

Four months after Charles A. Duelfer, who led the weapons hunt in 2004, submitted an interim report to Congress that contradicted nearly every prewar assertion about Iraq made by top Bush administration officials, a senior intelligence official said the findings will stand as the ISG's final conclusions and will be published this spring.

And the conclusion is...SURPRISE!...no different than it was four months ago. No evidence of reconstituted NBC programs has been found. No evidence of the movement of stockpiles of NBC weapons to other countries has been found. No evidence of transfer of said weapons or technologies to third parties has been found. Zero...Zilch...Nada...Zip. And the Bush administration stands, yet again, naked and blinking stupidly into the sun still trying to convince us that they are clothed in magnificent robes of righteous indignation.

They are still trying to spin their fabric of lies in a futile attempt to justify the invasion of Iraq. They continue to defend the indefensible. They still try to convince us of their good intentions, as they pave the road to hell with them.

Now, I'm sure there are those of you who will buy the party line and say, "But intelligence agencies all over the world said...", blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Mohammed El Baradei, Hans Blix, and former UNSCOM inspectors, including Scott Ritter stated flat out, before this whole nightmare even began, that there were no WMD's in Iraq...That these programs had not be reconstituted. They had the most recent experience in Iraq. They had most recently had boots on the ground in Iraq. The intel available to Bush, Blair, and others was had from the since discredited Ahmed Chalabi and other members of the Iraqi National Congress, who were all looking to set themselves up as the leaders of a new Iraq. And in case you haven't noticed, as soon as it looked as if the whole premise for war was going to be exposed as a lie, Chalabi was branded a criminal and and a traitor, with a warrant issued for his arrest on murder charges. What was it Machiavelli said about "foreign princes"?

As this new information comes to light, if it ever does, you can be certain that the Adminstration will go on high spin cycle. Even though the initial Duelfer Report exploded the myth that Iraq had WMD's and was poised to strike with them, Dick Cheney went so far as to say the Duelfer Report "confirmed our assertions". This in the hopes that enough people who would never read the report would accept his word as the gospel truth. As November 2 showed, enough did buy into the lie.

Reagan's Ghost Haunts the Bush Administration

The shade of Ronald Reagan has been spotted in the White House. He keeps moaning "El Salvador...! El Salvador...!"

Since then, there has been talk in the Administration, the military and the CIA about instituting US special forces trained and/or led Iraqi units to engage in operations throughout Iraq and even into Syria. What has yet to be decided though is whether these operations will be snatch-and-grabs or outright assassination. Having seen what occured in El Salvador and Central America during the Reagan administration, the latter choice seems to be the likely one.

Another strange reminder of that era is that John Negroponte is now the ambassador to Iraq, despite the fact that he has no previous experience in the Middle-East. He was however, US ambassador to Honduras during the Reagan administration. During that time, he was the goto for coordination between the the CIA and Nicaraguan Contra death-squads as well as the death-squad in Honduras. These two items, taken together seem to make the death-squad option the most likely choice.

That this discussion is occuring now...on the eve of elections in Iraq...shows just how desperate the situation is becoming in that country. The insurgents strike with impunity and increasing ferocity against both Iraqis and our troops, who were wrongly sent into harms way to begin with. We have the mass resignation of the members of the Independent Election Commission in Mosul...Polling places will not be named until shortly before the election...insurgents have warned that snipers will be stationed around polling places.

The best hope of salvaging the situation will be if Iraqi voters, as did voters in El Salvador, remain undeterred by these threats and turn out to vote despite them. Equally important is the participation of ALL parties...Sunni, Shia'a and Kurd as well as the other ethnic minorities. Failing either of these two things will lead to further chaos and likley a bloody civil war.

While we may fervently wish for a peaceful transfer of power to a legitimately elected government in Iraq and the safe return of our troops, wishing accomplishes nothing. We can only watch an wait. And pray to whatever powers we might believe in that peace, or at least a semblance of it, comes to pass.

We don't need no steenkeen mandate...!

As the day of Dubbyuh's coronation...er...inauguration approaches, we should examine Dubbyuh's mandate or rather, his lack thereof.

Let's take a brief look at the historical record. In 2000, Dubbyuh lost the popular vote, and his "political capital" was non-existent though he claimed a mandate even then. He barely maintained his hold on power in 2004, and his "political capital" was only marginally better than that in 2000.

As for this election cycle Dubbyuh only won by 34 electors, the smallest margin of electoral victory for any US president. His margin of victory in the popular vote was 51%, hardly an overwhelming majority and not the mandate he claims. His 3% margin of victory is well within the margin of error given most polls.

As for the mandate he claims, reforming social security, selecting conservative judges and "simplifying" the tax code, were not the issue he ran on in the election. Had he run on those issue he would have been soundly defeated. Intsead, Karl Rove played the fear card. Fear of terrorism...fear of attack...fear of same-gender marriage...He did not run on substantive domestic issues. He ran on intangible emotional issues.

In the end, Dubbyuh's mandate is, like the rest of his administration, a fabric of obfuscation, disinformation, misdirection and outright lies. The emperor has no clothes, nor does he have a mandate.

It's Just Plain Wrong

In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Rear Admiral John Hutson pointed out that Mr. Gonzales’ recommendations regarding torture brought increased animosity toward the United States, hurt our intelligence effort, and increased the risks to our troops.

This is true. Torture IS counterproductive. But actually it’s a lot worse. It’s also just plain wrong .

That’s why there are so many laws against it. Not because it’s counterproductive...but because it’s just plain wrong. And it is the rule of law that distinguishes us from animals who don’t know right from wrong.

With some things—like torture, like slavery—well, no matter how many people might say such practices are okay, they are not okay. They are objectively evil. They are morally abhorrent...or, at least, they should be.

Antonio Gonzales attempted to justify inhumane practices in pursuit of a higher good, but no good can ever come from such practices. They merely serve to desensitize others to those practices and dehumanize those who are the subjects of those practices.

Mr. Gonzales is a professed born again Christian, yet I don't ever recall Jesus advocating torture. He admonished us to visit prisoners, not torture them. In attempting to rationalize and justify torture and the violation of international human rights accords the US is signatory to, Mr. Gonzales acted contrary to his own self- professed religious beliefs. Like many in the current administration, Mr. Gonzales wears the mantle of religion like a rabid wolf wears sheeps clothing, so it may go ravening amongst the flock.

Mr. Gonzales, by his words and deeds, has shown himself unfit for the post of Attorney General of the US. He should, in good conscience, remove himself from consideration for this, or any other government post.

An Election Stolen

Ten preliminary reasons why the Bush vote does not compute, and why Congress must investigate rather than certify the Electoral College (Part One of Two)
by Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
January 3, 2005

The presidential vote for George W. Bush does not compute.

By examining a very wide range of sworn testimonies from voters, polling officials and others close to the administration of the Nov. 2 election; by statistical analysis of the certified vote by mathematicians, election experts and independent research teams who have conducted detailed studies of the results in Ohio, New Mexico, Florida and elsewhere; from experts who studied the voting machines, tabulators and other electronic equipment on which a fair vote count has depended; and from a team of attorneys and others who have challenged the Ohio results; the freepress.org investigative team has compiled a portrait of an election whose true outcome must be investigated further by the Congress, the media and all Americans -- because it was almost certainly not an honest victory for George W. Bush.

The major media outlets have pooh-poohed this story. The Reichpublicans decry it as a wild-eyed conspiracy theory, methinks they dost protest too much. If all of the evidence is not brought to light and examined...NOW...it will be buried and forgotten, along with the Republic.
The major media outlets have pooh-poohed this story. The Reichpublicans decry it as a wild-eyed conspiracy theory, methinks they dost protest too much. If all of the evidence is not brought to light and examined...NOW...it will be buried and forgotten, along with the Republic.

The Scum Also Rises...

U.S. officials who take part in torture, authorize it, or even close their eyes to it, can be prosecuted by courts anywhere in the world [under international law].
Kenneth Roth, executive director, Human Rights Watch, December 27, 2002

U.S. Navy documents released today by the American Civil Liberties Union reveal that abuse and even torture of detainees by U.S. Marines in Iraq was widespread. . . . ACLU executive director Anthony D. Romero [said] "this kind of widespread abuse could not have taken place without a leadership failure of the highest order."
American Civil Liberties Union, December 14, 2004

The president insists that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will remain in office, and on December 19, Bush's chief of staff, Andrew Card Jr., said on ABC News' This Week that "Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a spectacular job and the president has great confidence in him."

However, on December 9, Senator Jeff Bingaman, Democrat of New Mexico, wrote Rumsfeld to express his "deep concern over issues related to detainees being held in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Recent reports indicate that not only were detainees mishandled and interrogated in a manner inconsistent with the Geneva Conventions, but that subsequent internal reports of abuse appear to have been suppressed . . .

"...internal reports of abuse appear to have been suppressed . . ." If that isn't damning in and of itself, I don't know what is. Beginning with Alberto Gonzales' vetting and signing off on memos which condoned mistreatment and torture of prisoners and dismissed the Geneva Convention as "quaint" and "obsolete" to the current flip-flop on the issue, the Bush administration has been complicit and complacent with regards to the mistreatment of prisoners. And let's not forget the utter contempt the Administration has displayed towards international law, save where it advances US business interests.

It also shows us that Abu Ghraib was not the result of a "few bad apples" "blowing off steam" with a few "fraternity pranks". It was the result of policy explicitly stated by the administration, and implemented in the field by members of our armed forces. But that does not excuse their actions. That such policies would be known and condoned in the highest circles of governement, all the way up to the Oval Office, only reveals the unfitness to command at those levels.

The Administration did a grave disservice to our troops in producing the DOJ memos in an attempt to justify outright violations of international law, the Geneva Convention, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and plain human decency. The recent attempts to distance themselves from those earlier memos with one repudiating them shows that they know that they were in violation of the afore mentioned laws and treaties. Their guilt is plain for all to see. Their actions brand them war-criminals and they must be brought to justice as such. This Administration and its actions represent a shameful chapter in US history...A chapter which should be brought to a close with all deliberate speed.

And the First Rat Outta the Trap Is...

Off to a bad start

January 3, 2005

AUSTIN, Texas -- Oh boy! Starting the year off briskly, lending it such tone already, such cachet, such je ne sais quoi -- those Republicans are so special, aren't they? Their first move, first rat out of the trap, top priority: lower ethics standards. Yessiree, this 2005 is going to be quite a year, some pip.

Let's put that to a vote. Many problems before us -- Iraq, a Social Security "crisis," a real health care crisis, world terrorism, our international reputation possibly at its lowest ever ... who is in favor of lowering ethics standards first? Who thinks ethics standards in Washington are too high?

With the moral waters already murky, the current Reichpublican efforts to further gut the already toothless ethics rules will only further stir up the mud. These folks are getting waaaaay to big for their britches, they seem intent on placing themselves above the law...No, wait, they are the law, and they can do anything they damn well please.

And I thought my expectations for our great and fearless leaders couldn't get any lower. Suprise! They are now lower than whale-shit on the bottom of the ocean. I expect nothing but the worst from our elected leaders, and I am certain they will deliver.

If these changes to the ethics rules pass, the Reichpublicans will have abandoned even the pretense of moral superiority they so successfully played on during the 2004 election. Their morality does "...indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness..." . They are hypocrites of the worst stripe.

Modern Pharisees

26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto 1whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,

30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the 1children of them which killed the prophets.

32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? - Matthew 23; 26-31

In perusing the websites of the various religious broadcasters, I find little or no mention of the devastation and tragedy in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and other areas ravaged by earthquake and tsunami. On Jerry Falwell's website, the focus is on registering "...millions of new evangelical voters..." and hawking tickets for a cruise with Mr. Falwell on the Queen Mary II. No mention of, or solicitation for, donations to help the victims of the afore mentioned disaster.

The World Harvest Church pastored by Rod Parsley, seems to be more concerned with the non-threat posed by same-gender marriage and fattening the church's coffers. Again, no mention is made of the victims of natural disaster of last week.

I found the same thing on John Hagee's website and Jimmy Swaggart's website. What I want to know is, "what has become of the imperative to feed the hungry...? Clothe the naked...? Give shelter to the homeless...? Tend to the sick...?" Are they more interested in pursing a political agenda rather than the teachings of their faith. If so, they are, indeed, modern day Pharisees...Outwardly righteous, but inwardly full of hypocrisy and iniquity.