The C.A.S.E. for recounting Ohio's votes.

The sunshine and brillant blue sky mocked the enthusiastic crowd in front of Ohio's statehouse today, as biting winds rattled the trees and sent flags snapping on their masts. The crowd had gathered for a rally sponsored by Citizens’ Alliance for Secure Elections. C.A.S.E. is a non-partisan organization of people from all over Ohio working to ensure reliability, security and access for all Ohio voters.

As I arrived, "The Carpenter Ants", warmed the crowd up with their mix of soul/gospel/bluegrass tunes. As they finished their set, Susan Truit, a founding member of C.A.S.E., stepped up to begin presenting speakers at the rally.

The speakers included Anita Rios, Co-Chair of the US Green Party; Judith Powell, a local black activist; Reuben Herrera, Chairman of Adelante - Latino/Latina Democrats, Greg Moore of the NAACP; John Bonifaz, founder of and and general counsel to the National Voting Rights Institute; Harvey Wasserman, senior editor of "The Columbus Free Press"; Bob Fitrakis editor of "The Columbus Free Press" and Greg Palast, BBC documentarian, investigative journalist and irritant to all of the right people.


The goal of the rally was to gather support for action leading to a timely and accurate recount of all of Ohio's ballots from the 2004 election. Standing in the way of this is Ohio Secretary of State and chairman of Ohio's committee to re-elect the president, J. Kenneth Blackwell.

While Mr. Blackwell could have certified the election results as early as December 2nd he has, instead, chosen to wait until December 6th. This is one day before he certifies Ohio's electors. Two lawsuits to attempt to force Blackwell to certify the results earlier were denied in the federal courts as the courts determined "no harm" would be done to the plaintiffs as a result of delaying the vote certification. Of course, the harm done by an illegitimate presidency to the nation as a whole is irrelevant.

For more the full rundown on election issues in Ohio, go here:

The FreePress

Greg Palast at C.A.S.E. rally in Columbus, Ohio

The Scum also Rises

U.S. lawyers file complaint over abuses in Abu Ghraib
Rumsfeld, others named in case taken to German court

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER NEWS SERVICES

BERLIN -- A group of American civil rights attorneys filed a criminal complaint in German court yesterday against top U.S. authorities, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, for acts of torture committed at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

The complaint also names former CIA Director George Tenet; the former commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez; and seven other military leaders.

Attorneys from the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights said they filed the complaint because they were disappointed in U.S. investigations into the Abu Ghraib abuses and hoped the filing would prompt an investigation by German authorities.

Just how wrong have things gone in this country, when a foreign government is asked to look into the misdeeds of our own government? Ever since the attrocities at Abu Ghraib were revealed, the Bush administration ahs stone-walled or quashed any investigation into it.

But with the revelations of the DOJ memos approved by Alberto Gonzales and IRC reports of conditions at Guantanamo Bay being nothing short of torture, the moral bankruptcy of Dubbyuh's administration is being revealed. The attrocities at Abu Ghraib and the mistreatment and torture of detainees at Gitmo show a government dedicated, not to the ideals of "freedom loving people", but rather one dedicated to power at any cost...achievement of the ends by any means necessary...a callous disregard for human suffering. To win the "War on Terror", our government must live up to the ideals it so blatantly pays lip service to. Otherwise the war is lost, the terrorists will have won, not because of their moral or military superiority, but because of the weakness, the shortsightedness, the hypocrisy and utter moral bankruptcy of our elected leaders.

Fallujah and Jeddah, A Tale of Two Cities

Fallujah...A hotbed of anti-American activity in Iraq. Or, at least it was until the USMC rolled over it. Of course, the guerillas simply rolled up their operations and moved them elsewhere. So, while our Marines get capped by second and third stringers in the insurgency, the big boys(on both sides) run the show from a safe distance.

Also of interest is Fallujah's historical ties to Wahhabism. Ibn Abdul Wahhab spent many years in what is now Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and spread his teachings through out the region. His area of influence also encompassed what is now Fallujah, and for nearly two centuries that city has had a strong wahhabi following which even Saddam Hussein could not supress. Their dedication to a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam makes Jerry Falwell look like a drunken sybarite.

Now, let us turn to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Today, the US consulate compound came under attack from unknown Islamic terrorists. While no US personnel were injured, eight people are known dead with two of the attackers captured. While Saudi authorities attribute the attacks to a "deviant group", a common catch-phrase for followers of Osama bin Laden, it should be noted that Osama and the House of Saud spring from the same philosophical roots...Wahhabism.

Now, US forces are mopping up in Fallujah and, in the process, desecrated several mosques and sites sacred to the al-Muwahhiddun, or Wahhabis an attack is made on a US compound in Saudi Arabia. Now, with the Saudis brutally efficient secret police network, they should have caught this attack before it happened. There is every evidence that the attackers were well trained in small-unit tactics and were wearing combat fatigues and flack-jackets. Could there have been support for this attack from inside the Saudi state or even the government?

But this is just paranoid speculation...Or is it?

And Nero fiddles...

Surprise! The dollar is continuing its slide, accelerated somewhat by last weeks disappointing employment numbers. Economists were expecting in the neighborhood of 200,000 jobs, only about 112,000 were created.

As a result, Japan is now threatening a huge dollar sell-off to protect its fragile economic recovery. According to Kaoru Yosano, chairman of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party's policy committee, Japan is going to ask for a strong dollar policy from Dubbyuh's administration that amounts to something more than vague talk. Japan is also going to ask other G7 nations to demand that the Administration deal with the massive deficits that are the driving force behind the dollars slide.

But when we look at the policy stance of Dubbyuh's administration, social security privatization and tax-cuts, will deliver a $2 trillion plus hit to the US budget in the years to come. This could lead the US to a situation similar to Argentina, which followed similar policies and wound up defaulting on $100 billion in foreign debt in 2001. Given the size of the US economy, its outstanding debt overseas and its foreign trade deficit, the effects of such a collapse in the US are magnified far beyond the scale of what happened in Argentina.

The situation is reaching a point where Stephen Roach, of Morgan-Stanley, gives the US only a 10% chance of avoiding "economic Armageddon". This bearish outlook is being echoed by many others in the economic community.

The fact that Dubbyuh and his merry band don't find anything particularly worrisome here should give us all pause to wonder just how long our very own American Nero is going to continue to fiddle. With the US soaking up nearly $2.6 billion a day over overseas just to keep the doors open in Washington, one cannot help but wonder when the excrement is going to intersect the fan-blade. When it does, don't blame me...I didn't vote for his dumb ass.

Our only consolation is that the mid-term elections in '06 will allow us to put those members of congress, who have permitted the administration to spend tax-dollars like a drunken sailor on liberty, out to pasture. Hopefully, it won't be too late at that point, but it's not looking good.

PRESIDENT BUSH 'OUT OF TOUCH' WITH REALITY

By Joyce Marcel,
American Reporter Correspondent,
Dummerston, VT.

DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- As the election recedes, there's good news and bad news. And we're not going to like any of it.

Welcome to the world of investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, whose remarkable career has been bookended by two of the most shameful events in America's military history: My Lai in Vietnam, a story he broke as a free-lance reporter, and the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq, a story he broke for The New Yorker.

During his 38-year career, Hersh has written eight books, won the National Book Critics Circle Award, a Pulitzer and a host of other prizes. His sources serve at the highest levels of many governments, including our own.

In person, Hersh is tall, stooped, rumpled, gray-haired and bespectacled. He speaks rapidly and intensely in a deep voice. Currently touring to "pimp," as he put it, his newest book, "Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib," he spoke last week at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., to a rapt audience of about 900 people. They greeted him with applause; he said, "Thank you, but you'll be less happy once I'm done."

Hersh's message is simple and frightening: "(George W.) Bush is an ideologue, a Utopian," Hersh said. "He wants to clean out the Middle East and install democracy. He doesn't care how many body bags come back home. There's nothing more dangerous than an ideologue who is completely bonkers and no one is going to tell him."

President Bush is committed to perpetual war, Hersh said.

The emperor continues to wander about with no clothes on and, seems intent on remaining in a state of deshabillé. This highlighted by the fact that he is stacking his cabinet with like-minded ideologues, also known as 'yes men'. In Condi's case, that would be 'yes woman'. Dubbyuh's cabinet, like so many bobble-head figures, will avidly nod yes at his every suggestion, no matter how ludicrous or outright mad it may be.

As his disconnect with reality continues to widen, events will spiral more and more wildly out of control and Dubbyuh will remain insulated in his blood-stained bubble. In the meantime, more of our soldiers will come home in body bags...Iraq will slide into civil-war...The US economy will continue to crumble, this as the world trades in euros rather than dollars...And our American Nero will continue to fiddle.

It's getting a bit drafty, don't you think

The number of US troops in Iraq is being ramped up by some 12,000 in advance of January's elections in Iraq. Dubbyuh's refusal to delay the elections ot the behest of Iraq's own political parties, is nothing short of simple, bullheaded intransigence. Especially in light of the decaying security situation in the country. When the folks on the ground and living there say, "Let's slow down a little.." it might be wise to listen to them.

In order to cover this build-up of personel units are, yet again, having their tours extended. The ready and inactive reserves are also being called up. Contributing to a shortage of personel is the ARNG's failure to meet its recent enlistment quotas. As troop losses mount and raw recruits are shipped in to replace the losses, unit cohesion and morale begin to decay. But this doesn't seem to matter to the administration. But that's the beauty of an all-volunteer force. When the potential enlistees begin to see how badly they would be used in some misguided foreign adventurism, they simply stop enlisting.

Of course, given the nature of Dubbyuh's administration, they would find an alternative. It's getting a bit drafty, don't you think?

American Cowboy

America's number 1 cowboy action-hero, George W. Bush, seems to be under the impression that America can pretty much do as it pleases. He seems to think that America can "..go it alone, if necessary..." with military adventurism wherever and whenever it wishes. He's fogettting one important fact though...America is a debtor nation.

Suppose, just for the sake of argument, that our foreign creditors failed to show up at US bond auctions to buy that debt? The possibility of this happening grows with each day the dollar continues to slide.

The fall in the dollar’s external value per se may not cause additional financing difficulties, but if this fall is symptomatic of a generalised withdrawal of foreign credit, then the whole underlying credit structure could fall apart, as it has done many times before in other financial crises. Given the size of the US, the global fall-out will obviously be substantially greater. - Marshall Auerback

Remeber the peso crisis in Mexico? Remember the economic collapse of Southeast Asia in the 90's? As speculators dump US treasury notes on favor of euro based notes, the dollars decline will accelerate leading to a decline in the US economy similar to that which occured in those emerging markets. Only, because of the size of the US markets, the global effects will be much worse...not to mention the effects here at home. This also provides an economic lever to influence US foreign policy, in case you haven't figured that out by now.

So, America's #1 cowboy action-hero needs to wake up and smell the coffee, before he smells the ashes of his pyhrric victory on November 2nd.

A More Secure America?

I think not. Denny Hasturt has refused to bring the Intelligence Reform Bill to a vote. With the CIA in chaos due to Porter Goss' purge, we need solid, meaningful intelligence reform now, not a year from now.

But no...The House Reichpublican leadership is more interestd in turf wars and control of funding than they are in passing intelligence reform. While Dubbyuh has mouthed phrases of support for the bill, yet again, his actions fall far short of his words. Let us remember that Dubbyuh fought the formation of the 9/11 Commission tooth and nail, and he had to be dragged kicking and screaming to speak before it...This with Uncle Dick at his side telling him what to say. So, don't expect Dubbyuh to stand up and fight for intel reform.

Failure to pass these much needed reforms can be laid squarely upon the doorstep of the right-wing Reichpublican leadership. Their dedication to ideological purity over reality will be the undoing of us all.

So, contact your Representative and iform them of your displeasure, if not your being outright pissed-off, by their food dragging on this important issue.

American Hero...?

At least that's the way Dubbyuh's supporters would paint him. The reality, though, is far from the image.

The Israeli/Palestinian peace process languished...Dubbyuh did nothing.

The mean global temperature continues to rise, the Kyoto Protocols remain unratified...Dubbyuh does nothing.

The violence in Iraq spirals further and further out of control...Dubbyuh does nothing.

The social safety net continues to erode, leaving more and more people in poverty...Dubbyuh does nothing.

The budget and trade deficits continue to balloon, with no end in sight...Dubbyuh does nothing.

The dollar's freefall continues unchecked, threatening American and world economic progress...Dubbyuh does nothing.

We have not an American Hero, but an American Nero. Just as Nero was content to sit idly by while Rome burned, to rebuild it according to his own plans, perhaps Dubbyuh is content to let America burn in order to rebuild it according to his own ideological bent. And why not? After all, the blueprints were drawn up in "Rebuilding America's Defenses" written by the neo-con think-tank, The Project for the New American Century. Amongst its members are those who have played a role in either the Bush White House or the neo-con movement.

So, we have a choice. We can sit by and do nothing. Or we can start writing, calling, faxing, camping out in the offices of, our elected representatives asking them to do the right thing, not the politically expedient thing. Failing that, we remove them from office at the next election or begin recall movements where they are permitted. Failing these options, we have the The Declaration Of Independence to look to...

"--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new guards for their future security --"

We can do, as the citizens of Massachusetts did in 1774 when they rose up and took back control of the mechanisms of government from the British after Governor Thomas Gage passed the "Massachusetts Government Act" which effectively violated the Charter of 1691 and disenfranchised all of the citizens of Massachusetts. The choice is ours. We can chose to "suffer, while evils are sufferable". Or we can act before the evils become insufferable.

A parable for our times...

George W. Bush and the Republican party support state's rights and trust the wisdom of the voters...Except when states and voters views are contrary to his.

Earlier this month, John "Beaten-by-a-Dead-Man-and-don't-let-the-door-hit-your-sorry-ass-on-the-way-out" Ashcroft, resumed his efforts to undermine Oregon's death-with-dignity law. This law was passed by a majority not once, but twice.

Now the Justice Department is putting the screws to folks using marijuana for medical purposes. This in states, and there are 10 of 'em, where the use of the ol' wacky weed is legal for medical purposes. The case they're bearing down on now involves a woman with an inoperable brain tumor. Ya gotta wonder, with the threats facing America and the world today, don't they have anything better to do? They've had absolutely zero, zip, nada for successful prosecutions of those accused of terrorist activities in this country. The best they can do is try to justify the continued imprisonment, without charge, of some ex-gangbanger from Chicago who's guilty of nothing but an excess of stupidity.

Yeah, I feel alot safer knowin' them scofflaw medical marijuana users are behind bars.

OUT AND ABOUT TO GET UGLY

How many closet cases does it take to reelect a president?

By Michelangelo Signorile

IF YOU DRIVE a Volvo and you do yoga, you are pretty much a Democrat," the Bush-Cheney campaign manager Ken Mehlman—soon to be the head of the Republican National Committee—reportedly told a meeting of Republican governors last week. "If you drive a Lincoln or a BMW and you own a gun, you're voting for George W. Bush."

Since he's so confident labeling people based on outward characteristics, Mehlman must understand why his being a 37-year-old "bachelor" who refuses to answer questions about his sexual orientation is a tip-off to many that he's a pathetic closet case, and a pretty vile one at that, having used antigay hatred (aka "moral values") to help elect Bush. Mehlman was actually boasting to the governors about his slick new strategies, telling them that the Bush-Cheney campaign studied voters' consumer habits—basically snooping into voters' personal lives—in targeting them.

Studies have shown that the most virulent homophobes are those who are the most insecure about their own sexuality or are deeply closeted homosexuals themselves. It will be interesting to watch as many stauch supporters of the "moral majority" are outed, and to see the hypocrisy of their movement revealed. Even more interesting is seeing who will be dragged kicking and screaming from their closets.

Reality does not enter into Dubbyuh's lexicon

Yet again, Dubbyuh's words and actions diverge from each other. Since 2003, the dollar has declined nearly 25% against the euro. Dubbyuh contends that he believes in maintaining a strong dollar. Yet the dollar continues the unchecked free-fall it has been in since 2001.

Granted, this makes US exports cheaper overseas, but America continues to import far more than it exports and the continuing trade deficit is saturating foreign markets with dollars. In some of these markets, China in particular, currency traders are exchanging their dollars for renminbi which they view as being safer than the dollar.

Despite its "strong dollar" rhetoric, the Bush administration sees a weakening dollar as a means of getting a handle on the trade deficit. The problem here though is that while it provides some relief for US exporters, it leaves the rest of us open to sharp inflationary spikes and higher interest rates. But if you don't play in the Bush League, which most Americans don't, you're just shit outta luck.

The only sensible solution to the problem is to address the ballooning budget deficit. There is a direct correlation between the dollars slide and the runaway deficit spending of Dubbyuh and his merry band. But that would put a crimp in their ability to provide tax-cuts to their corporate pimps and johns. And, a viable social safety-net doesn't even make it on their radar screen.

So when the dollar and the US economy crash don't blame me. I voted for Kerry.

US battle plans begin to unravel

By Michael Schwartz

In the New York Times this week the first crack appeared in the armor of the "victory in Fallujah" facade maintained by the major US media since the battle began. Eric Schmitt and Robert Worth discuss a secret Marine Corps report that reveals the major bind the US has gotten itself into by sweeping through Fallujah and attempting to pacify it. This US strategy has created exactly the dilemma that many critics of the war had been predicting: in order to hold Fallujah the United States has to keep large numbers of troops there, and then the Americans will not have sufficient troops to handle the uprising elsewhere in the Sunni areas.

Indeed, while US forces have been occupied with Fallujah, the insurgents have simply packed up their toys and moved elsewhere. Mosul is now all but in the hands of the insurgents, and terrorists strike at will throughout Iraq.

And this is how it will go in Iraq. It'll be like that okd arcade game where you hammer a gopher only to have one pop up elswhere. For every brushfire insurgency the US tries to stamp out, more will erupt elsewhere.

All the while the US media fails to report the true scope of the story and Dubbyuh remains in his rose colored bubble. And all the while our troops are dying in an ill-concieved, illegal war.

But hey, y'all voted for him, and when the excrement intersects the fan-blade, I'll just sadly shake my head and say, "I told you so...".

Morals and values…? They’re certainly not mine.

When Republican operatives aren’t busy stealing elections, they’re apparently occupied robbing Native Americans.

Jack Abramoff, a fundraiser for the Bush/Cheney campaign, and Michael Scanlon, former press aid to Tom DeLay (now where have we heard that name before) are under investigation by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. These two apparently took a number of tribes to the cleaners to the tune of around $66million with promises of access and influence in Congress.

A case in point is that of the Tigua Indians. Their casino was closed down after a successful anti-gambling campaign was waged in Texas. Heavily involved in this campaign was Ralph Reed. Scanlon and Abramoff paid Reed $2.4 million for his involvement. After the Casino was closed down, Scanlon and Abramoff went to the tribe, claiming to be their saviors. They convinced tribal leaders that they had sufficient influence with both Dubbyuh and DeLay to get the restrictions on gambling in Texas lifted. Of course, there was a price tag attached…$4.2 million in fees as well as several hundred thousand dollars in political contributions.

Tigua representatives told the Senate Committee that Scanlon and Abramoff would be able to get Representative Bob Ney, R-Ohio, and Senator Christopher Dodd, D-Conn, on board. Ney’s assistance came at the price of $32,000 to campaign fund raising groups he supported. Ney inserted language into the election reform bill that would have authorized the re-opening of the Tiguas casino. That particular bill failed.

Opponents of campaign finance reform say that there is no demonstrable quid pro quo between campaign contributions and legislative action. And while the language inserted by Representative Ney and the bill that contained it ultimately failed, there is a demonstrable link between the campaign contributions and the legislative action here.

The irony of the revelation of these activities is that the perpetrators have ties to both the Bush White House and to Tom DeLay. And this in an election that was decided on the apparent moral superiority of the Republicans. Well, hypocrisy is as hypocrisy does, and morals and values are obviously meaningless to this administration unless, of course, they refer to the moral short-comings of their opponents.

A long four years

November 17, 2004

AUSTIN, Texas -- My, my, gonna be a long four years. House Republicans have rewritten the ethics rules so Tom DeLay won't have to resign if indicted after all. Let's hear it for moral values. DeLay is one of the leading forces in making "Republican ethics" into an oxymoron.

The rule was passed in 1993, when Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, was being investigated for ethics violations. And who helped lead the floor fight to force him to resign his powerful position? Why, Tom DeLay, of course. (Actually, it's sort of a funny story. The D's already had a caucus rule that you had to resign from any leadership position if indicted. The R's changed their rules to match the D's, except they deliberately did not make their rule retroactive, so the highly indicted Rep. Joseph McDade, senior Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, could, unlike Rostenkowski, retain his seat.)

DeLay has already been admonished by the House ethics committee three times on separate violations of ethics rules. Please note, that is the Republican-dominated ethics committee. The hilarious rationale offered by the R's for the new rule to exempt DeLay is that no one can accuse them of taking the moral low road here because, "That line of reasoning accepts that exercise of the prosecutor in Texas is legitimate."

Uh, that would Ronnie Earle of Austin, who is a known Democrat. One the other hand, Earle is quite noted for having indicted more Democratic officeholders than Republicans, so it's a little hard to argue that this is a partisan political probe. Or it would be, if facts made any difference these days to talk-show screamers. - Molly Ivins

Yep...A long four years indeed. And you gotta love the unmitigated gall of the House Reichpublicans for their dazzling display of ethical and moral behavior. Hypocrisy never entered into the conversation or the equation.

It's beginning to look more and more like one party rule in the next Congress. Of course, Tom DeLay might be incovenienced, what with having to attend sessions of Congress in an orange jump-suit and wearing shackles and leg-irons. But hey, its a small price to pay for bringing ethics and values back to Congress.

Debate over Modern Uses of Torture

Why is this debate even occuring? Study after study has shown that torture provides no useful information, and serves no other purpose than to strike fear into a population targeted for torture.

Article 5.

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Th Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed by the United States in 1948. Thus it has been the law of the land ever since. The Administration has willingly flouted its provisions. The administrations actions have left our own troops open to the same, or worse, treatment at the hands the enemy in the event of their capture.

The Bush administration abandoned the moral high-ground when it sought legal advice from Mr. Gonzales regarding the circumvention of the Geneva Convention and international law with regards to torture. Dubbyuh, and his merry band, have brought us down to the level of the terrorists, and the attrocities revealed at Abu Ghraib only served to fuel anti-American sentiment in the region. This, in turn, has provided Al Qaeda and similar organizations with throngs of new recruits willing to sacrifice their lives in an effort to drive the invaders from their soil.

We see the consequences, a barely contained Fallujah...Rebellion threatening to boil over in Mosul...Terrorists striking with impunity throughout Iraq, this despite a declaration of martial law. These are the bitter fruits of the Bush doctrine in Iraq, and the harvest has only begun.

Ohio hearings show massive GOP vote manipulation, but where the hell are the Democrats & John Kerry?

November 17, 2004

Columbus, Ohio---Hour after hour the testimonies are the same: angry Ohioans telling of vicious Republican manipulation and de facto intimidation that disenfranchised tens of thousands and probably cost the Democrats the election.

At an African-American church on Saturday and then at the Franklin County Courthouse Monday night, more than 700 people came to testify and witness to tales of the atrocity that was the November 2 election.

Organized by local ad hoc groups, the hearings had a court reporter and a team of lawyers along with other appointed witnesses. At freepress.org we will be making the testimonies available as they're transcribed and organized, and we will present a fuller accounting of the hearings, along with a book that includes the transcripts.

But one thing was instantly and abundantly clear: the Republican Party turned Ohio 2004 into an updated version of the Jim Crow South.

Indeed, just where are John Kerry and the Democratic party on this issue? Why haven't they made their voices heard? John Kerry and John Edwards did, after all, prominse not to give up until every vote was counted. Yet, after some people stood in line for up to 11 hours on that rainy election day, Kerry conceded the election not even 24 hours after the last vote was cast in Ohio.

Thanks for nothing Senator Kerry.

Morals...? Values...? We don't need no steenkin' morals and values!

The irony of the party, which swept into office on a rising tide of 'morals and values', setting itself above the moral and ethical standards THEY set for THEMSELVES is almost too much to bear.

House Reichpublicans decided to change their own ethics rules to allow their leadership to remain in their leadership roles should they be indicted, tihs on behalf of one of their more ethically challenged members...Tom DeLay. Such hypocrisy is, apparently, becoming part and parcel of the Reichpublican ethos.

Given their leader, George W. Bush, this should come as no surprise though. In Dubbyuh we have the embodiment of a man who has never been held accountable for his actions. From his arrest on charges of disorderly conduct to his insider trading at Harken Energy, Dubbyuh has been bailed out by family and family friends, absolved of all wrongdoing by the mere mention of his family name. Were he not the son of George H.W. Bush and grandson of Prescott Bush, he would be pumping gas in some dusty little Texas hell-hole, drinking his brains out and beating his pit-bulls every night.

Instead, though, he has America bent over the proverbial brass-rail, it knickers around its ankles, its skirts over its head, suffering the humiliation of his unwanted attentions.

The Artful, but Tactless, Dodgers

With any and all who have failed to toe the Administration line, or embarrassed the Administration in any way, dropping like flies, it behooves us to examine just what Dubbyuh is up to.

What he is doing, is further insulating himself from the real world. His appointments to his cabinet are based, not upon ability, but upon personal loyalty to Dubbyuh and his policies. This will squeeze the last vestiges of dissent out of his administration, and leave him in an ideologically pure vaccum.

This new cabinet will only serve to further isolate Dubbyuh from the consquences of his actions. But its nothing more than the logical extension of Dubbyuh's dodging of responsibility since he was a teen-ager.

Speaking of dodging responsibility, it appears that House Reichpublicans...er...Republicans are about to change their own rules of conduct to protect one of their own from certain leagal entanglements. I'm speaking, of course, of the the head of the GOP's Committee on Gerrymandering, Tom DeLay.

Apparently, if the leader of the House Reichpublicans is indicted for a felony, he/she must give up his post. Since three of DeLay's staffers have been indicted in Texas, and Tommy seems to be next on the list, the House GOPers are taking pre-emptive action. They are seeking to change the ethical guidelines which would require Tommy to give up his position as Majority Leader, should he be indicted. They're calling the investigation into his fund raising activities "politically motivated". I think it's up to the courts, and not the House leadership to make decisions as to Tommy's guilt or innocence.

The utter hypocrisy of this stance should be obvious...The Reichpublicans swept to power this year on a wave of concern for "values and ethics". Apparently they have neither of these qualities.

Colin and Condi-mima

So, Colin Powell resigns. No surprise that, but he should have done so when it became clear that Dubbyuh was up to no good in waging war on Iraq. But no...He sat before the United Nations and lied, and you could tell he was pissed off at having to repeat the bullshit the Administration was spewing. But did he do the right thing...? Did he resign in protest...? No. He played the "good soldier" and followed his marching orders without question. But you know what...? From Nuremberg forward, obeying orders hasn't shielded war criminals from responsibility for their actions.

Yes, Colin turned to the dark side. He, not always quietly, lapped up the excrement the Administraion put forth as manna from heaven and did nothing to stem its abuses of power.

But now, we have the "New and Improved" Condi-mima as Secretary of State. And we thought Colin was Dubbyuh's lap dog.

What Price Security?

For those of you who remain unconvinced as to Alberto Gonzales' willingness to ignore, not only the Constitution, but also international law, I suggest you goto "Alberto Gonzales: A Record of Injustice". It provides a full disclosure of his past actions with links to the memos(pdf) in question.

Now, let me ask you...Why are you willing to give up the freedoms, paid for by the blood of our forefathers, so easily? Why so eager trade these hard won freedoms for a small measure of illusory security? If it's for fear of further attack, that is the price of living in a free and open society. Unless you are willing to live in a closed and tightly controlled state, you should be careful what you wish for.

I know I feel safer...

Dubbyuh's disconnect from reality continues to grow. While 15,000 troops are slogging through Fallujah, the guerillas are striking at will throughout Iraq, Mosul has all but fallen to them...All this under a state of martial law declared by Iraq's puppet prime-minister. In Dubbyuh's little world, however, everything is absolutely peachy.

Dubbyuh and his merry band continue to underestimate the forces arrayed against our troops in Iraq, and their policies reflect that lack of understanding. But all those loyal Bushies voted for him. Now, despite the spectres of war, poverty, soaring healthcare costs, a crumbling social safety-net and budget deficits as far as the eye can see that still ahunt us, at least we are now safe from the horror of same-gender couples being able to have the same rights, benefits and responsibilities of straight married couples. I know I sleep easier at night.

Homeland...? Security...?

Today in a small town just south of Columbus, OH, Dick(less) Cheney spoke of the Bush administration's commitment to preventing NBC attacks on US soil. This commitment rings hollow in light of the facts.

Our seaports are largely unsecured, and only a tiny fraction, about 5%, of cargo containers entering the US are inspected. More money is spent on the war in Iraq in 3 days than has been spent on securing our seaports in the last three years.

Thanks to the Republican controlled Congress a bill to tighten security at nuclear facilities and petro-chemical plants was scuttled. "It would cost too much..." industy lobbyists poor-mouthed. 123 of the sites are in areas where 1 million or more people could be sickened injured or killed outright.

Nearly half of all cargo on US airliners is screened, and instead of no-fly zones over US nuclear and chemical facilities, they are instituted over Disneyworld, Disneyland and the SuperBowl.

Nearly $99 billion is needed to bring US first responders up to even mininmal capacity to deal with large scale attacks, yet in its 2006 budget, cuts are made in funding to firefighters and first responders, with funding for police cut nearly in half.

Yes boys and girls, America is (not) safer under the firm hand and steadfast leadership of the Bush administration and the neocon chicken-shits...er...hawks that currently infest the halls of our nation's capitol. So, you can('t) sleep safer tonight knowing that the Bush Administration is(n't) on the ball and (sure as hell) is(n't) working hard to keep America secure.

The president who can't be mistaken

By Ellen Goodman,

Globe Columnist | October 13, 2004

NOW THAT her 15 minutes of fame are over, may I tip my hat to Linda Grabel? It isn't easy to give the president of the United States a pop quiz. But at the second debate, the 63-year-old legal secretary asked: "Please give three instances in which you came to realize you had made a wrong decision and what you did to correct it."

By now it's well known that the president couldn't come up with a single mistake except, shucks, maybe an appointment or two. The question, as he restated it, was, "Did you make a mistake going into Iraq?" And his answer was: "Absolutely not."

Was anyone really surprised? George W. Bush is now officially The Man Who Wouldn't Ask Directions. This candidate doesn't do windows or introspection. He's running on an alchemy platform as the politician who transforms inflexibility into strength.

Inflexible...? Indeed, but it goes far beyond that . It is a philosophical and epistemological rigidity that makes the hardest steel look positively mushy. But the harder the steel, the more brittle it is...The more easily it breaks. Lacking the flexibility to bend and then spring back, it snaps at the point of stress. And so it will be with Bush...His mental rigidity will lead him to break at the point of greatest stress. Can we really afford that in our president?

Unease Shadows Bush's Optimism

Noting the administration's request to divert $3.4 billion in Iraq reconstruction money to a series of emergency measures, including efforts to improve security, conservative Rep. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) said: "Now, that does not add up, in my opinion, to a pretty picture, to a picture that shows that we're winning. But it does add up to this: an acknowledgment that we are in deep trouble."

The committee's moderate Republican chairman, Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, expressed exasperation at the administration's rosy prewar assessments that as soon as Hussein was deposed, a euphoric Iraqi population would embrace democracy.

"The nonsense of that is [now] apparent," he said. "The lack of planning is apparent."

And so, the Republicans begin to feed on their own...They begin to question the wisdom of the man they recently nominated in New York, shamelessly politicizing 9/11 and the "war on terror". The light of truth begins to intrude upon their unquestioned allegiance to Dubbyuh and his administration. And all that needs to be said to them is, "Told ya so..."

U.S. Intelligence Paints a Darker Picture Than Dubbyuh Would Have Us Believe

By DOUGLAS JEHL

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 - A classified National Intelligence Estimate prepared for President Bush in late July spells out a dark assessment of prospects for Iraq, government officials said Wednesday.

The estimate outlines three possibilities for Iraq through the end of 2005, with the worst case being developments that could lead to civil war, the officials said. The most favorable outcome described is an Iraq whose stability would remain tenuous in political, economic and security terms.

The NIE, pooh-poohed by Mark McClellan as being "pessimistic" gives lie to the Administration's rosy picture of Iraq and its future. The best case scenario is one of a future little different from the present in Iraq. THe Worst case is outright civil war between the Sunnis, Sh'ias and Kurds. It should be pointed out that the word "pessimist" was created by optimists to describe realists.

Tom DeLay and Denny Hasturt: Special Interest Whores

Tom DeLay and Denny Hasturt wouldn't let an extension of the assault weapons ban come to the floor for debate, let alone a vote. The NRA drew them aside and whispered sweet nothings in their ears, and being the eager whores that they are, they promptly rolled over and spread their legs squealing, "Do me! And do me, NOW!"

With this act of blatant political prositution, Tom DeLay and Denny Hasturt proved, unequivocally, that America is no longer a nation of the people, by the people and for the people. America is now a nation wholly at the mercy of corporate interests, a situation exacerbated by this Administration and its Republican cronies in Congress.

Never mind that some 65% of the American people WANT the assault weapons ban to remain in effect. Never Mind that law enforcement agencies all accross the country support extending the assault weapons ban. Never mind that some 57% of GUN OWNERS support the assault weapons ban. Never mind that a MAJORITY of Americans, gun owners and non-gun owners alike support tightening the ban The NRA, with its siren song of more campaign contributions, renders all of that moot. A parliament of whores...Indeed!

What he really said...Part 1

I believe every child can learn, and every school must teach so we passed the most important federal education reform in history. Because we acted, children are making sustained progress in reading and math, America's schools are getting better, and nothing will hold us back.

Unfortunately he forgot to mention that his “No Child Left Behind initiative was underfunded to the tune of $9.4 billion, or that 38 educational programs would be cut from the budget in 2004.

I believe we have a moral responsibility to honor America's seniors so I brought Republicans and Democrats together to strengthen Medicare. Now seniors are getting immediate help buying medicine. Soon every senior will be able to get prescription drug coverage, and nothing will hold us back.

Yet Medicare Chief Actuary, Richard Foster was told to keep quiet about the actual costs of the recently passed Medicare legislation. Nor, was the fact that the government is barred from negotiating for lower drug prices under this scheme mentioned. Also not mentioned was the fact that some 60% of the new “drug benefit” actually goes to the pharmaceutical companies.

I believe in the energy and innovative spirit of America's workers, entrepreneurs, farmers, and ranchers so we unleashed that energy with the largest tax relief in a generation. Because we acted, our economy is growing again, and creating jobs, and nothing will hold us back.

Unfortunately, the estimates for the federal deficit now stand a some $5.2 trillion over the next ten years. Also the tax cuts Dubbyuh ramrodded through Congress shifted more of the tax burden to the middle-class. Oh…and, by the way…the Administration’s budget estimates don’t even include the costs of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Dubbyuh left Texas’ economy a smoking crater in the earth. We won’t know the damage he’s done to the US economy for a while as the mushroom cloud is still rising.

I believe the most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.

This is the administration that cut requested FBI counter-terrorism funding by 2/3 after 9-11.Bush also opposed creation of the largely ineffectual Department of Homeland Security and the 9-11 Commission. Also “on His watch”, a bill to strengthen security at US nuclear and petrochemical sites was scuttled by the Republican controlled House and Senate. And our seaports remain largely unsecured.

New dirt thrown in squabble over candidates' war records

By Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles

The controversy over John Kerry's Vietnam War record looked set yesterday to escalate into a duel between the two competing presidential campaigns, after new, unflattering details emerged about George Bush's much questioned National Guard service in Texas and Alabama in 1971-72.

The widow of one of the Bush family's closest confidants of the period alleged that the reason the young Mr Bush was transferred to Alabama was that his drunken, boorish behaviour was becoming a political liability for his father - who was serving as US ambassador to the United Nations - and the family was keen to get him out of Texas.

Linda Allison said she never once saw him in uniform in Alabama, despite the Bush family's protestations to the contrary. Instead, he was attached to the Republican Senate campaign that her husband Jimmy was running. Corroborating earlier first-hand accounts, she said George W would sleep in late after all-night benders, arrive at the office around noon and leave early.

On election night, when it became clear that the campaign to unseat the incumbent Democratic senator, John Sparkman failed, Ms Allison said she encountered Mr Bush urinating on a car in the campaign parking lot. She later heard that he had yelled obscenities at police officers.

Ms Allison's account, which she gave to the online magazine Salon.com, was one of a number of indications of a backlash against the President after weeks of attacks on Senator Kerry's Vietnam War record by a group of ardent pro-Bush Republicans calling themselves Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Like the proverbial turd in a punchbowl, the sordid truth of Dubbyuh's "war years" floats to the surface. Yessiree folks, this is the man who want to steer the ship of state. The only problem is he's about to gut the ship on the reefs of the real world rather than sail on the seas of his ETOH impaired vision of the world. Twenty plus years of alcohol abuse leaves a permanent mark on one's cognitive abilities, as Dubbyuh so readily demonstrates. It's time to throw the cap'n overboard and get a steady hand at the helm.

Zell slips off the deep end...

Yeah buddy! Ol' Zell, he's a veritable paragon of reason and sanity. F'r instance, how's about where he went off on Chris Matthews who chided him for the "defending America with spitballs" comment. That's when Miller slid off the deep end and said that he wished he "could get a little closer up into your face" and that he lived in a time "where you could challenge a person to a duel".

Yep ol' Zell, he's a great DINO (Democrat In Name Only)...Soon he and his kind will be extinct, or at least live out their lives as curiosities kept in carefully controlled reserves with other breeds of conservative. There they will be protected from the harsh relities of the world around them, and they will always have their rose colored glasses.

Does Dick CHENEY no he's not really on the ticket?

HYPOCRITES!!!!!!!!!!!

And they said they wouldn't use the memory of 9/11 for political ends...Did anyone really believe that fatuous lie? To say that the Riechspartei...er...Republican National Convention is manipulative is like saying Marcel Marceau was a little quiet.

Yes indeed folks the keynote for Tuesday night was "Never forget 9/11...", As if we could. But we were presented with a long string of speakers who reminded us of 9/11 with every breath.

And the evening was kicked off by John McCain (sellout) and Rudy Giulianni (adulterous dog), who are both also known for their courage and leadership...Two qualities Dubbyuh would like to have associated with him.

All in all this outpouring of beteiligt-geist has been most nauseating, and one can only hope these hypocritical fuckers are beaten like a gong come November and whipped naked and howling into the wilderness

"Meet the New Boss..."

Bush Pretends He Never Gave Secret Prison Order

Two weeks ago, President Bush appeared on Arab television claiming that he wanted to stop the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison and implying that he had nothing to do with the policies that led to them. During his appearance Bush said, "We want to make sure that if there is a systemic problem -- in other words, if there's a problem system-wide -- that we stop the practices"1. However, a new report appears to show that the President and top Administration officials may have authorized procedures that led to the abuses in the first place.

A new investigation by Newsweek "shows that President Bush, along with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft signed off on a secret system of detention and interrogation that opened the door to such methods" of abuse and torture as documented at Abu Ghraib2. The secret orders were designed "to sidestep the historical safeguards of the Geneva Conventions, which protect the rights of detainees and prisoners of war. In doing so, they overrode the objections of Secretary of State Colin Powell and America's top military lawyers."

The President has repeatedly said he wants to "usher in an era of personal responsibility"3. Yet, despite these revelations, the White House has yet to admit any culpability. When asked whether a crucial Presidential legal memo4 attempting to skirt the Geneva Conventions5 helped to create the atmosphere that led to the prison abuses, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, "Absolutely not"6.

Sources:

1. President Bush Meets with Al Arabiya Television on Wednesday, 05/05/2004.

2. "The Roots of Torture", Newsweek, 05/24/2004.

3. President Bush Discusses Progress in Education in St. Louis, 01/05/2004.

4. "Memos Reveal War Crimes Warnings", Newsweek, 05/19/2004.

5. "Report: White House Memo Backed Abuse", San Francisco Chronicle, 05/17/2004.

6. Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan, 05/17/2004.

(emphasis mine)

"Personal responsibility" is a concept on the dim and distant horizon of Dubbyuh's consciousness, trotted out only when it seems politically expedient. Also, that Antonio Gonzalez expressed concerns about these actions violating provisions od the Geneva Convention and the War Crimes Act is telling. But since he also stated that the Geneva Convention was "quaint" and "obsolete", those reservations can be taken with a grain of salt. More telling is that the Dubbyuh and his band o' thugs didn't let such concerns stand in their way. It is but the latest example of the Administration's complete and utter disregard for international law, except where it directly benefits US interests.

Having utterly abandoned the moral high ground and descended to the level of such human rights luminaries and Stalin and Pohl Poht, this administration has abdicated its stated goal of bringing democracy to Iraq and the Middle East. "...Meet the new boss, same as the old boss..."

Pentagon distorted Iraqi casualty issue, says new report

Press Release, Project on Defense Alternatives

20 February 2004

18 February 2004 -- Weapons of mass destruction is not the only Iraq war-related subject clouded by misinformation. According to a new study, the Pentagon conducted "perception management" campaigns during the Afghan and Iraq wars that also obstructed the public's awareness of civilian casualties.

These activities included Pentagon efforts to "spin" casualty stories in ways that minimized their significance or cast unreasonable doubt on their reliability. Efforts also may have included the placement of misleading news stories. Such activities are "antithetical to well-informed public debate and to sensible policy-making," according to the report's author, Carl Conetta.

The report, Disappearing the Dead: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Idea of a "New Warfare", was released Wednesday by the Project on Defense Alternatives at the Commonwealth Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Besides examining several case studies, the report reviews the "news frames" promoted by defense officials to shape the public debate over casualties.

Among the suspect stories promoted by US officials were reports that the Hussein regime was stockpiling cadavers before the war in order to stage phony casualty incidents and blame them on the coalition. Another story asserted that the Iraqis were procuring uniforms like those of US troops so that they might commit atrocities that would be attributed to the United States. As in the case of Iraq's reputed possession of prohibited weapons, neither story was subsequently verified.

Hmmm...Sounds like one more unsettling parallel to Vietnam, which was another politically driven war.

Bush Chooses the F.D.A.'s Chief to Run Medicare and Medicaid

By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 — President Bush announced on Friday that he would nominate Dr. Mark B. McClellan, the food and drug commissioner, to run Medicare and Medicaid, the health insurance programs for more than 70 million Americans. The Republic is dead, long live coporate America!

Dr. McClellan faces a huge logistical and political challenge: to provide prescription drug coverage to the elderly while fending off Democratic attacks on the new Medicare law, which Mr. Bush sees as his greatest achievement in domestic policy.

If confirmed by the Senate, Dr. McClellan will become administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which spends more than $480 billion a year and regulates nearly every sector of the nation's health care system.

While firmly committed to the president's free-market policies, Dr. McClellan has shown a knack for working with members of both parties in a pragmatic way that blends science, economics and politics.

Dr. McClellan, a physician and economist, has received rave reviews from drug companies for his work as chief of the Food and Drug Administration, a post he assumed in November 2002. He served earlier at the White House, as health policy coordinator and a member of Mr. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers. In the Clinton administration, he worked on domestic policy, as a deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury in 1998-99.

Dr. McClellan, 40, will need all that expertise and more to carry out the new Medicare law successfully.

Under that law, Medicare beneficiaries can obtain drug discount cards this June and full-fledged drug benefits starting in January 2006. But the law also gives private health insurance plans a big new role in Medicare, and Democrats, who attack the legislation as overly generous to pharmaceutical and insurance companies, want sweeping changes, which the administration is resisting. As commissioner of food and drugs, Dr. McClellan has tried to stamp out, on safety grounds, a wave of support for allowing imports of lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada.

Dr. McClellan is the brother of the White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, and a son of the Texas comptroller, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who has hinted that she may run for governor in two years.

Can you say cronyism?...I knew you could.

It's also another case of selling out the interests of the American people to the folks who have been camping out on Dubbyyuh's ass for years. The Republic is dead! Long live corporate America!

Iran Parliamentary Elections:Iranians Vote in Election That May End Reform Drive

By Parinoosh Arami and Paul Taylor
Fri February 20, 2004 06:24 AM ET

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Urged by prayer leaders to "slap America in the face," Iranians voted Friday in a disputed parliamentary election set to tighten hard-liners' grip on power and end President Mohammad Khatami's faltering reform drive.

A short, lackluster campaign was overshadowed by a ban on most reformist candidates and a crackdown on pro-reform media amid apparent public indifference. The main uncertainty concerns the turnout, with even the size of the electorate in dispute.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, among the first to cast his ballot, said the Islamic Republic's enemies were trying to deter young people from voting -- an apparent reference to a boycott by blacklisted reformist lawmakers and student groups.

"You see how those who are against the Iranian nation and the Islamic revolution are trying so hard to prevent people from going to the polls," Khamenei told state television.

Conservatives seem certain to dominate the new assembly after the Guardian Council, an unelected panel of hard-line clerics, disqualified 2,500 mainly reformist aspirants and a further 1,179 contenders withdrew.

As I, and many others, predicted the rhetoric against Iran and the actions of Dubbyuh's administration in the Middle East have lead to a retrenchment of Iran's hardliners. This will set back the progressive reforms that have been under way in Iran by several years, if not decades.

So long as Dubbyuh and his merry band remain in control of this nation, we can only expect more, and more serious, blowback from their policies.

A Comparison...

I've taken to watching C-SPAN when they braodcast procedings in the House of Commons, and I must say that the difference between Britain's Parliament and America's Congress is striking.

The level, speed and quality of the repartee in the House of Commons is, at times, breathtaking. The representatives are always there, and are not speaking before an empty gallery as theire counterparts in Congress often are.

And although he's Dubbyuh's lapdog and his intellectual superior (most anybody is), Tony Blair answers all of his critics cogently and with a sense of humor. I simply cannot see Dubbyuh engaging in such a rapid fire debate in Congress. He would stutter, stumble, get pissed off and storm out of the room.

Were it not for his daddy's name, Dubbyuh would be pumping gas in some dusty little Texas hell-hole and drinking what few brains he has out every night

U.S. Reasserts Right to Declare Citizens to Be Enemy Combatants

By ERIC LICHTBLAU

Published: January 8, 2004

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 - The Bush administration on Wednesday reasserted its broad authority to declare American citizens to be enemy combatants, and it suggested that the Supreme Court consider two prominent cases at the same time.

The Justice Department, in a brief filed with the court, said it would seek an expedited appeal of a federal appeals court decision last month in the case of Jose Padilla, jailed as an enemy combatant in 2002.

The divided Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in New York, ruled on Dec. 18 that President Bush lacked the authority to indefinitely detain an American citizen like Mr. Padilla who was arrested on American soil simply by declaring him an enemy combatant. Mr. Padilla has been held incommunicado at a military brig in South Carolina. American authorities say he plotted with operatives of Al Qaeda overseas to detonate a "dirty" radiological bomb in the United States.

But the Justice Department said in its brief that the ruling was "fundamentally at odds" with court precedent on presidential powers.

The decision "undermines the president's constitutional authority to protect the nation," Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson wrote.(emphasis mine)

In ruling that President Bush lacked the authority to indefinitely detain a US citizen, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit simply reaffirmed the basic protections of the Constitution for US citizens. In advocating for the use of "enemy combatant" status for US citizens, the Bush administration is undermining the foundation of the Republic. The Administration is actively working to undermine the document its members have sworn to uphold and protect.

From Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

What does the arbitrary detention of a U.S. citizen, idefinitely and without charge, have to do with preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution? Nothing beyond the attempt to undermine and subvert it. This is how America will come under the yoke of tyranny. It will not come through violent revolution, it will come quietly, like a thief in the night. And this is but the beginning...

Orange Alert!...Yawn

I would take the orange alert alot more seriously if a few things had, or hadn't, occurred.

Firstly, it would have been nice if Congress had passed a bill requireing the US petro-chem industry to tighten security around the many plants in, or near, major US population centers. A few whispers in well placed ears and a few bucks in well placed pockets killed that bill. Opponents argued that passing the bill and putting it into force would have been to costly. What price human life?

It would have been nice if the Air Traffic Safety Administration hadn't laid off some 6,000 baggage screeners because the couldn't afford to pay them. Odd, the Bush administration found $89 billion lying around to provide a tax=cut for his campaign contributors. At an average of $10.00 an hour, it would cost roughly $120 million a year for 6,000 baggage screeners.

So, the next time Tom Ridge starts braying about the threat level, keep those figures in mind.

“Arrest shows U.S. critics wrongheaded”…

…At least that’s the header for a Dec 15th column by Cal Thomas. He says, “The critics – political and journalistic – who said the administration’s efforts were failing have been proved wrong.” I have to ask, “How so..?”

There have, as of this writing, been no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq. Nor has any credible evidence of the existence of said weapons been found. The threat of weapons of mass destruction was, after all, the primary justification set forth by the Bush administration for the invasion of Iraq. But, just as the sands of Saudi Arabia shift with each little gust of wind, so to do the reasons set forth by the Bush administration for its dirty little war.

The possibility of a trial for Saddam must be giving those who supported his regime, both at home and abroad, chills at the thought of all their dirty linen being aired. But Mr. Thomas contends that “…Embarrassment should not be a reason for any cover-up…” I can’t help but wonder if Mr. Thomas feels the same when those who stand to be embarrassed are named Bush (Poppy), Rumsfeld, Cheney, Wolfowitz…I could go on, but I’m sure you get the point. Any mention of those names, and others who supported his rise to power, by Saddam will be scrubbed from any publicly released transcripts of his trial.

The entire Middle-East in general, and many Iraqis in particular, seem skeptical of U.S. motivations for invading Iraq. To say that it was just about oil is too simplistic. But it’s a safe bet that if Iraq’s only export had been arts and crafts, we wouldn’t be there now. Other motivating factors are were the need for the U.S. to draw down it’s military presence in Saudi Arabia…all of those troops are now in Iraq. And an attempt to take some of the pressure off of Ariel Sharone’s government by having the new Iraqi government make peace with Israel.

And let’s not forget all of the U.S. companies, who also not coincidentally, were contributors to Bush’s election campaign. Iraqi contractors can’t afford the kind of grease used on those skids. Iraq is being looted at the expense of the average Iraqi and the U.S. taxpayer. So, Mr. Thomas, how are the critics wrong?

The soldiers Bush didn't visit on Thanksgiving

By Joan Vennochi, 12/11/2003

THANKSGIVING in Baghdad was a political success for President Bush, and more. Even if the turkey he hoisted was chosen strictly for its photogenic qualities, the event showed the president connecting in a human way with men and women, far from home, in a place where life is blown apart in a cruel instant. Watching those young faces reminded all Americans, Bush backers or not, that war puts the country's flesh and blood on the line, not just its national pride or presidential politics.

For all that it conveyed, however, the Bush Thanksgiving extravaganza showed only one tiny slice of the daily, ugly reality of war and its aftermath for thousands of US service personnel and those who care for them...

"My `Bush Thanksgiving' was a little different . . . I spent it at the hospital taking care of a young West Point lieutenant wounded in Iraq. He had stabilization of his injuries in Iraq and then two long surgeries here for multiple injuries; he's just now stable enough to send back to the USA. After a few bites of dinner I let him sleep, and then cried with him as he woke up from a nightmare. When he pressed his fists into his eyes and rocked his head back and forth he looked like a little boy. They all do, all 19 on the ward that day, some missing limbs, eyes, or worse...

"It's too bad Mr. Bush didn't add us to his holiday agenda. The men said the same, but you'll never read that in the paper. Mr. President would rather lift fake turkeys for photo ops, it seems. Maybe because my patients wouldn't make very pleasant photos . . . most don't look all that great, and the ones with facial wounds and external fixation devices look downright scary. And a heck of a lot of them can't talk, anyway, and some never will talk again. . . Well, this is probably more than you want to know, but there's no spin on this one. It's pure carnage . . .

Howdy's support for the troops is limited to the high profile photo ops he gets at their expense. And no major US media outlet questioned the flummery and feel-good images from Howdy's visit to Iraq.

Bush laughs off critics of 'spoils of war' bidding

By Rupert Cornwell in Washington

12 December 2003

George Bush poured fuel on the flames of the Iraq contracts dispute yesterday with a sneering dismissal of a suggestion by the German Chancellor that the decision to bar Germany, France Russia and Canada from bidding might violate international law.

"International law? I'd better call my lawyer," the American President joked in response to a reporter's question at the White House.

Gerhard Schröder had spoken earlier after a meeting in Berlin with Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general. Mr Annan called the decision by Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Defence Secretary, "unfortunate" and likely to damage attempts to rebuild transatlantic ties bruised by disagreement over the war. The EU is examining the legality of the US moves to stop countries that had not participated in the war from bidding for the $18.6bn (£10.7bn) of contracts, on vague "national security" grounds.

Democrats seized on the episode as further evidence of Bush diplomatic blundering. "How do we get a coalition together when we're putting it out on a government website that a country like Canada is a national security risk to the United States?" Marty Meehan, a Democratic member of the House Armed Services Committee, said.

Howdy and Co seem hell-bent on alienating every ally we have ever had, or are likely to have. And he wants his consigliori, James Baker, to sweet talk Europe and Russia into restructuring Iraqs debt? They're just going to tell Baker to "Fuck off.", leaving American tax-payers saddled with both the federal deficit the Adminstration is running up AND Iraqs national debt. In the meantime, Howdy's corporate sponsors are laughing all the way to the bank.

Presidents Remade by War

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Anyone who has listened to President Bush's recent speeches about the need to promote democracy in the Arab-Muslim world can't but walk away both impressed and dubious — impressed because promoting democracy in the Arab world is something no president before has advocated with Mr. Bush's vigor, and dubious because this sort of nation-building is precisely what Mr. Bush spurned throughout his campaign. Where did Mr. Bush's passion for making the Arab world safe for democracy come from?

Though the president mentioned this theme before the war, it was not something he stressed with the public, Congress or the U.N. in justifying an Iraq invasion. Rather, he relied primarily on the urgent need to pre-emptively strip Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.

A cynic might say that Mr. Bush was always interested only in stripping Iraq of its W.M.D. But with no W.M.D. having been unearthed thus far in Iraq, and with the costs of the war in lives and dollars soaring, the president felt he needed a new rationale. And so he focused on the democratization argument.

But there is another explanation, one that is not incompatible with the first but is less overtly cynical. It is a story about war and events and how they can transform a president.

"It often happens," argues Michael Sandel, the Harvard political theorist, "that presidents, under the pressure of events, especially during war, find themselves needing to articulate new and more persuasive rationales for their policies — especially when great sacrifices are involved.

The only sacrifices currently being made in Iraq and, lest we forget, Afghanistan, are the lives of US troops and innocent civilians. Here in the States, we get testy if we have to pay more than $1.75 for a gallon of gas. And the Adminstration urges us to go shopping in support of the war on terrorism...so much for biting the bullet in support of the war effort.

In securing the Homeland, some 6,000 airport baggages screeners were cut from the federal payroll to save money, yet $87 billion could be found to pay for the tax-cuts to Howdy's campaign contributors. Chemical factories, ready made WMD's near and in major US metropolitan areas continue to go unprotected, and legislation to force them to bring their security measures up to the threat has been killed in Congress...at the behest of the petro-chem industry.

Sorry, I got off track there...Bush's shift to justifying the war on Iraq as part of spreading democracy rings hollow in the face of all that has gone before it. It has the sound of the death row conversion of a convicted mass murderer...or a whore preaching about the virtues of chastity in Sunday school.

Bush's man-of-action persona plays well in political arena

James McWilliams
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Monday, November 24, 2003

Call the man dim, call him corrupt, but call him president until 2008. George W. Bush certainly has vulnerabilities, but he's been smart enough to model himself on a man who pioneered the fine art of political image-making: Andrew Jackson. Democrats, as a result, are doomed...
...Bush embroiled the country in a war based on a series of false assumptions. His genius has been to recognize that, politically, it doesn't matter. Saddam Hussein has been ousted and if anyone is still nagging us about those pesky weapons of mass destruction, it's just sour grapes...
...The nation has no patience for long-winded justifications. In fact, it is suspicious of them. Until someone figures out that the house of cards the administration has built must be crumbled by a yeoman with a sledgehammer and not a smarty-pants with a book, King George's manifest destiny will be to reign as the favored son of King Andrew.

As to why people fall for the cheap populist swill Howdy et al offers up, THEY'RE STUUUUPID! Years of inadequate funding, concerted attacks by social conservatives and half-assed educational theories have stripped our public education system of the ability to teach people to reason to a valid conclusion. Anymore, folks don't want to think, they simply want to react...they can't see beyond the immediate moment to the long term consequences of their actions. And a reactionary government, like Howdy's, thrives on that attitude. "Don't worry, go shopping...!" was the Administration's advice to Americans after the fall of the World Trade Center. And people didn't question it. No sacrifices have been asked of the American people(unless you count those screwed by various Administration domestic policies) in the war on terrorism...Good heavens no, we can't have the voters at all uncomfortable especially with elections coming up. We have to have cheap gas available for all those Hummers out there on the road.

Same Gender Marriage...What's the big deal?

Why do y'all get such a lather up about gays and lesbians having their relations recognized? My wife and I are happily married, and we know a number of gay and lesbian couples who are in happy, loving relationships...have been for years, and nothing would make us happier than to see them be able to tie the knot.

I mean folks are all up in arms about "...Defending family values..." and that's what marriage for same-gender couples would be. It would allow them to establish their families and have them legally recognized and entitled to all the rights any other married couple is entitled to. And as for this tired crap about "...Securing future generations...", well hell, women can use artificial insemination, and men can adopt. There are plenty of kids out there that go unadopted by you good christian folk. But I guess you're just afraid their parents(biological or adoptive) will turn 'em queer. Sorry to burst your bubble folks, but there's not one jot of evidence to suggest that happens.

So, my suggestion to all you good and righteous (as in smugly self-righteous) folks just need to get off yer high horse and deal with the simple fact that everybody in this nation is entitled to "...Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...". And if their pursuit of happiness leads them to fall in love with someone of the same gender, then SO...BE..IT. It's none of your damn business anyways.

Governing council put in frame as US makes no bones about how situation is unravelling

Rory McCarthy
Thursday November 13, 2003
The Guardian

The unscheduled summit in Washington over the future of Iraq reflected intense White House unease about the way the situation is unravelling in the country.

Paul Bremer, who was flying back to Baghdad last night, has been leading a Coalition Provisional Authority that has become frustrated with the work of the Iraqi Governing Council.

In private, American and British officials in the CPA can barely disguise their disappointment at a body which has been criticised for tardiness and inefficiency.

The council, now 24 people, was intended to be an advisory group, but under pressure from Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN special representative killed in a bombing in August, it was handed more responsibility. US officials hoped its members would quickly chose a leader, then appoint ministers. But it took several weeks even to decide who should be president and in the end settled on a compromise: nine of them would lead the council in a rotating presidency.

Weeks later, ministers were named, but the council has yet to make a decision on its most important task: the creation of a committee to draft Iraq's new constitution - the Americans had hoped the drafting would begin as early as last August. Last month a committee reported to the council on forming a group to write the constitution. Yet no decision has been taken on its proposals.

Officials complain that several council members are routinely absent from the three days of meetings each week, often leaving only four or five of the original members at the table.

For their part, the Iraqis on the council are aware that as American appointees they lack the legitimacy of an elected body. They say they lack authority and that key decisions are taken without reference to the council.

The disarray of the Iraqi Governing Council merely reflects the disarray of the Bush Administration and the Coalition Provisional Authority regarding policy in Iraq. Howdy et al went into Iraq with absolutely no frim plan for a port war Iraq. They went in on the assumption that America would be welcomed as a savior, an assumption fostered by Paul Wolfowitz, Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and our beloved President himself. This assumption was based on information from Iraqi National Congress and thoroughly spun through the "Office of Special Projects" (Rummy's ideologically bent intel office).

The Administration has no one to blame for the quagmire in Iraq but themselves. But following the pattern they have throughout their political careers, they seek to blame others for their failings.

US wants ban on protests during Bush visit

By Kim Sengupta, 12 November 2003

Anti-war protesters claim that US authorities have demanded a rolling "exclusion zone" around President George Bush during his visit, as well as a ban on marches in parts of central London.

The Stop The War Coalition said yesterday that it had been told by the police that it would not be allowed to demonstrate in Parliament Square and Whitehall next Thursday - a ban it said it was determined to resist. The coalition says that it has also been told by British officials that American officials want a distance kept between Mr Bush and protesters, for security reasons and to prevent their appearance in the same television shots.

The Metropolitan Police banned the Parliament Square and Whitehall route by the use of Sessional Orders - which can be enforced for such a purpose when Parliament is in session.

MPs supporting the protests say demonstrations have been allowed while Parliament was sitting, and, in any case, it was unlikely it will be doing so on the day of the proposed march.

The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said yesterday that Mr Bush should not be shielded from public anger about the Iraq war, and Londoners should not have to pick up the £4m policing bill. He said: "To create a situation in which perhaps 60,000 people remain unseen would require a shutdown of central London which is just not acceptable."

It seems that London is about to deliver a big, fat "Fuck You!" to Howdy. But in a move reminiscent of Joesph Stalin, Howdy wants public demonstrations banned during his visit. Wouldn't be good press you know, him being the self-annointed Champion of Democracy that he is. Yep, all them furinners screaming "Yankee go home!", and burning his effigies in public just wouldn't do his image any good...if they actually made on the air in the US that is.

Trials and Error

By Philip Allen Lacovara

Wednesday, November 12, 2003; Page A23

Two years ago this week, President Bush authorized trials by military commission for people accused of membership in al Qaeda or attacks on the United States. Six men have been identified thus far to appear before these commissions.

Shortly before the president issued his executive order, and just weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, I raised my voice in strong support of military commissions. As deputy solicitor general in the Nixon administration, I had been in charge of the government's criminal and internal security cases before the Supreme Court. I understood how the Bush administration could invoke the laws of war sanctioned by the Supreme Court to deal with international terrorists -- as distinct from "mere felons" (including mass murderers) and legitimate combatants entitled to protection under the 1949 Geneva Convention as prisoners of war. I urged the administration to do so.

When I proposed using military commissions to try terrorists, I conceived of trials with fair and reliable procedures designed to ascertain guilt -- or, equally important, innocence. I knew there would be critics of this approach but was confident that both legal and policy factors justified such trials.

Now, two years later, I reluctantly conclude that the administration's approach to military commissions confirms many of the critics' worst fears.

The rules governing military commissions depart substantially from standards of fair procedure. Most problematic, they undermine the basic right to effective counsel by imposing significant legal constraints on civilian defense attorneys. The rules negate normal attorney-client confidentiality and authorize the withholding of key evidence from defendants and their civilian counsel. In addition, the military commission rules permit the Defense Department to restrict defense lawyers' ability to speak publicly about a case -- while Pentagon officials face no such constraint.

It appears that George "Staunch Defender of Democracy" W. Bush has no compunction about abrogating the rights of others, especially when it is convenient for him. Consider the cases of Yasser Hamdi and Jose Padilla. These two men are US citizens, yet they have had all rights to due process negated at the whim of the President. They have been declared enemy combatants and stripped of ALL of their constitutionally guaranteed rights. They are being held incommunicado. They have no access to nor, apparently, any right to counsel. They cannot confront their accusers. They cannot see the evidence against them.

Their cases are the first on a slippery slope which endagers all of us, and renders null and void the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as set forth in the Constitution. Their case if not challenged and overturned will pave the path to unbridled presidential power and firmly set the foundations for an American police state.

The Bush administration poses a greater threat to peace and freedom in this country than any terrorist threat ever could. Bush et al prey upon the fears of America and turn those fears to their own use, namely the consolidation of their power. It is time to remove this administration from office. It matteres not whether it is by impeachment or election, but the sooner the better.

Countering the Radical GOP

By E.J. Dionne Jr.

Tuesday, November 11, 2003; Page A25

Our foreign policy debate right now pits radicals against conservatives. Republicans are the radicals. Democrats are the conservatives.

That jarring but shrewd perspective, offered by Anthony Lake, President Clinton's former national security adviser, explains much that is strange in our national discussion. And while Lake is critical of President Bush's policies, he does not use the word "radical" to make a partisan point. He is also critical of his own party's newly discovered conservatism.

In Bush's speech last Thursday on the need to promote democracy, particularly in the Arab world, the president embraced much of what liberal human rights advocates have been saying for years. Lake himself, when he worked for Clinton, proposed the idea of "democratic enlargement" as the underlying principle of American foreign policy.

Bush explicitly rebuked a narrowly realist worldview. "Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe," Bush said, "because in the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty." The United States, said Bush, must promote democratic change even in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, nations ruled by America's longtime friends.

..."because in the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty."

A significant point missed by Mr. Dionne is that Howdy isn't practicing what he preaches at home. There are changes being made to the electoral system, across this nation, that would not be tolerated in an internationally monitored election in a third world country. Perhaps we should have international monitors at our polling places in 2004. At the rate things are going, we're gonna need 'em. And let's not forget that horribly mis-named "PATRIOT" Act and the Administrations attempts to strenghten many of its provisions. No, listening to Howdy preach about the vitues of democracy is like listening to a whore preach about the virtue of chastity in Sunday school.

George W. Bush...Our Commander-in-Chief?

As a veteran, it truly burns my ass to hear Howdy talk about the sacrifices our soldiers are making in his dirty little war. It disgusts me to think of him placing a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Listening to him talk about fighting for freedom and democracy around the world makes my gorge rise.

Yes, George W. Bush, aka "shrub", aka "Howdy-Doody", scored just above not-being-able-to-walk-and-chew-gum-at-the-same-time, and leapfrogs over hundreds of other far more qualified applicants to a sinecure in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam war. Just goes to show that money talks and shit walks. That wouldn't have been so bad, but the arrogant little peckerwood didn't even finish his term in the Guard. After being grounded for failing to take a flight physical, he goes AWOL for the last two years of his term in the ANG. The $10,000 reward for anyone who can verify that he showed up at ANY drills during that time frame still goes unclaimed.

Yes, this snivelling little craven is our Commander-in-Chief or, more appropriately, our Commander-in-Thief.

Sorry...I got a little carried away there.

The Incredible Lying BushCo

This just in: More irrefutable proof that Dubya's is the slimiest administration in 100 years
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Friday, October 31, 2003


Like you even needed more proof.

Like you even need to read about the incredible and ever-increasing list of lies and misinfo and deeply, colon-clenchingly humiliating wrongness shot forth from the mouth of the GOP machine, a truly jaw-dropping assortment of falsehoods and fabrications about war, and war, and war. Oh, and the economy. And the environment. And war.

Look. There is no doubt left. Zero. None. Even many high-ranking Republicans are deeply worried over the increasingly embittered national timbre regarding BushCo's lies, as reflected in his ever-slipping ratings and declining reelectability quotient and his smug little smirky emptiness.

Do you need to be reminded? Do you need to see it again?

Very good, then. Let us recap: No WMDs. Biggest joke on the American public in the past 50 years. Saddam doesn't have 'em, and probably never did. Over 1,400 of BushCo's own investigators and specialists and scientists -- affectionately known as the Iraq Survey Group -- canvassing postwar Iraq for six months, not to mention the teams of original U.N. investigators, and finding not a trace of anything resembling huge stockpiles of massive scary weaponry.

Which is to say, no nukes. No biotoxins. No big cannons full of scary Korans and rusty bullets and old gum. Nothing at all resembling what Condi Rice and Cheney and Rummy and Wolfowitz, et al., said were absolutely positively no question going to be found any day now because after all that's why we went to war. Except that it wasn't. And they knew it.

Foul, putrescent, gut-wrenchingly malodorous lies. Howdy's political fortunes are built on lies, from the day he entered Texas politics to the present. And "We, the People..." swallow this hellbroth without batting an eye. Why? Are "We the people..." so self-absorbed and dissolute that we can't be bothered? Or is it simply easier to abdicate resposiblity and let the fuckers have their way? Or are we just so intellectually lazy and morally bankrupt that our indifference to the situation is overwhelming?

Iraq vets join ranks of have-nots under Bush administration

BY JESSE JACKSON
October 28, 2003

Former POW Shoshana Johnson has finally returned home, still suffering from injuries she received in the military. But now her postwar wounds are exceeding her war wounds.

First, she had to fight simply to get an assessment of her injuries so she could get medical care and disability payments. She had been shot in both ankles, beaten and imprisoned for 22 days, and her military career was cut short. For all this, she has received $600 a month disability compensation, far beneath her needs or what she deserves.

But Johnson isn't an exception. America's soldiers and veterans seem to be at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to Iraq.

Dick Cheney's former company Halliburton is earning hundreds of millions charging U.S. taxpayers 85 percent more than Iraqi companies to import oil into Iraq. This tidy profit is on top of what Halliburton will earn for the multimillion dollar, no-bid contract it was awarded to rebuild Iraq's oil fields.

Even as taxpayer money is sluicing to Halliburton, the U.S. military refused to spend the money needed to supply soldiers on the front lines in Iraq with the modern body armor. Assigned to an occupation for which they are neither trained nor equipped, thousands of soldiers were sent out with outdated Vietnam-era vests. Desperate mothers and fathers have been buying their sons and daughters the modern vests -- even as the Pentagon dawdles.

So much for Howdy's "support" for our troops. The Administration seems more focused on lining the pockets of Haliburton, and other war profiteers.