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Why I Believe Bush Must Go
Why I Believe Bush Must Go
Nixon Was Bad. These Guys Are Worse.
By George McGovern
Sunday, January 6, 2008; B01
As we enter the eighth year of the Bush-Cheney administration, I have belatedly and painfully concluded that the only honorable course for me is to urge the impeachment of the president and the vice president.
After the 1972 presidential election, I stood clear of calls to impeach President Richard M. Nixon for his misconduct during the campaign. I thought that my joining the impeachment effort would be seen as an expression of personal vengeance toward the president who had defeated me.
Today I have made a different choice.
Of course, there seems to be little bipartisan support for impeachment. The political scene is marked by narrow and sometimes superficial partisanship, especially among Republicans, and a lack of courage and statesmanship on the part of too many Democratic politicians. So the chances of a bipartisan impeachment and conviction are not promising.
But what are the facts?
Bush and Cheney are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses. They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly "high crimes and misdemeanors," to use the constitutional standard.
From the beginning, the Bush-Cheney team's assumption of power was the product of questionable elections that probably should have been officially challenged -- perhaps even by a congressional investigation.
In a more fundamental sense, American democracy has been derailed throughout the Bush-Cheney regime. The dominant commitment of the administration has been a murderous, illegal, nonsensical war against Iraq. That irresponsible venture has killed almost 4,000 Americans, left many times that number mentally or physically crippled, claimed the lives of an estimated 600,000 Iraqis (according to a careful October 2006 study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) and laid waste their country. The financial cost to the United States is now $250 million a day and is expected to exceed a total of $1 trillion, most of which we have borrowed from the Chinese and others as our national debt has now climbed above $9 trillion -- by far the highest in our national history.
All of this has been done without the declaration of war from Congress that the Constitution clearly requires, in defiance of the U.N. Charter and in violation of international law. This reckless disregard for life and property, as well as constitutional law, has been accompanied by the abuse of prisoners, including systematic torture, in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
I have not been heavily involved in singing the praises of the Nixon administration. But the case for impeaching Bush and Cheney is far stronger than was the case against Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew after the 1972 election. The nation would be much more secure and productive under a Nixon presidency than with Bush. Indeed, has any administration in our national history been so damaging as the Bush-Cheney era?
How could a once-admired, great nation fall into such a quagmire of killing, immorality and lawlessness?
It happened in part because the Bush-Cheney team repeatedly deceived Congress, the press and the public into believing that Saddam Hussein had nuclear arms and other horrifying banned weapons that were an "imminent threat" to the United States. The administration also led the public to believe that Iraq was involved in the 9/11 attacks -- another blatant falsehood. Many times in recent years, I have recalled Jefferson's observation: "Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just."
The basic strategy of the administration has been to encourage a climate of fear, letting it exploit the 2001 al-Qaeda attacks not only to justify the invasion of Iraq but also to excuse such dangerous misbehavior as the illegal tapping of our telephones by government agents. The same fear-mongering has led government spokesmen and cooperative members of the press to imply that we are at war with the entire Arab and Muslim world -- more than a billion people.
Another shocking perversion has been the shipping of prisoners scooped off the streets of Afghanistan to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and other countries without benefit of our time-tested laws of habeas corpus.
Although the president was advised by the intelligence agencies last August that Iran had no program to develop nuclear weapons, he continued to lie to the country and the world. This is the same strategy of deception that brought us into war in the Arabian Desert and could lead us into an unjustified invasion of Iran. I can say with some professional knowledge and experience that if Bush invades yet another Muslim oil state, it would mark the end of U.S. influence in the crucial Middle East for decades.
Ironically, while Bush and Cheney made counterterrorism the battle cry of their administration, their policies -- especially the war in Iraq -- have increased the terrorist threat and reduced the security of the United States. Consider the difference between the policies of the first President Bush and those of his son. When the Iraqi army marched into Kuwait in August 1990, President George H.W. Bush gathered the support of the entire world, including the United Nations, the European Union and most of the Arab League, to quickly expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The Saudis and Japanese paid most of the cost. Instead of getting bogged down in a costly occupation, the administration established a policy of containing the Baathist regime with international arms inspectors, no-fly zones and economic sanctions. Iraq was left as a stable country with little or no capacity to threaten others.
Today, after five years of clumsy, mistaken policies and U.S. military occupation, Iraq has become a breeding ground of terrorism and bloody civil strife. It is no secret that former president Bush, his secretary of state, James A. Baker III, and his national security adviser, Gen. Brent Scowcroft, all opposed the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq.
In addition to the shocking breakdown of presidential legal and moral responsibility, there is the scandalous neglect and mishandling of the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe. The veteran CNN commentator Jack Cafferty condenses it to a sentence: "I have never ever seen anything as badly bungled and poorly handled as this situation in New Orleans." Any impeachment proceeding must include a careful and critical look at the collapse of presidential leadership in response to perhaps the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.
Impeachment is unlikely, of course. But we must still urge Congress to act. Impeachment, quite simply, is the procedure written into the Constitution to deal with presidents who violate the Constitution and the laws of the land. It is also a way to signal to the American people and the world that some of us feel strongly enough about the present drift of our country to support the impeachment of the false prophets who have led us astray. This, I believe, is the rightful course for an American patriot.
As former representative Elizabeth Holtzman, who played a key role in the Nixon impeachment proceedings, wrote two years ago, "it wasn't until the most recent revelations that President Bush directed the wiretapping of hundreds, possibly thousands, of Americans, in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) -- and argued that, as Commander in Chief, he had the right in the interests of national security to override our country's laws -- that I felt the same sinking feeling in my stomach as I did during Watergate. . . . A President, any President, who maintains that he is above the law -- and repeatedly violates the law -- thereby commits high crimes and misdemeanors."
I believe we have a chance to heal the wounds the nation has suffered in the opening decade of the 21st century. This recovery may take a generation and will depend on the election of a series of rational presidents and Congresses. At age 85, I won't be around to witness the completion of the difficult rebuilding of our sorely damaged country, but I'd like to hold on long enough to see the healing begin.
There has never been a day in my adult life when I would not have sacrificed that life to save the United States from genuine danger, such as the ones we faced when I served as a bomber pilot in World War II. We must be a great nation because from time to time, we make gigantic blunders, but so far, we have survived and recovered.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/04/AR2008010404308_pf.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/06/politics/main3679720.shtml
Ed Note: I have reprinted the Op-ed in whole. Please take the time to write, call, or fax the WaPo to thank them for printing it. Remember, the other side will be busy spreading lies and threats after this. So it's up to us to encourage this kind of honesty in the media.
Also, Ralph suggested we fax this to Pelosi as well as your Congressman. Sounds like a good plan to me. Print it up and fax away!
So spread the word.
Another article on it in the AFP
181518
I wonder why the WaPo published McGovern's piece and not Wexler's?
Agreed ralpheh - we need to thank them for this article and ask why they disregarded Wexler.
181518???? sparrow??? does this mean something?
And BTW - there's a radio discussion on here right now - about liberalism and the Liberal party. So, I still can't wear the Liberal tag - but I'm happy to wear the Left tag.
Woz it's the number of signers at wexlerwantshearings.com
Sadly, it's only gone of 60 since I posted that number.
Glad to see the McGovern thing getting posted around. It's at http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com with pictures (you can see Bill Clinton in the '70s with his wild hair) and at http://www.radrobin.com, for a couple - but really, it's showing up anywhere that's anywhere!
Am listening to old Artie Shaw from the 1940s.
Was just reading that Huckabee has dropped the "religious leader" thing he used in Iowa now that he's in New Hampshire. He's playing bass with rock groups and coming across like a cross between Ron Paul & John Edwards. Slimy shady sneaky shift snake oil salesman!
It's coming out more - how the 2004 election was stolen
http://www.democracynow.org/2007/12/17/harvey_wasserman_on_new_ohio_voting
Something is wildly wrong that things would have gotten this far - Bush still in office, the war still going on etc.
Huckabee advocates a 30% national sales tax. He's nuts.
http://www.alternet.org/story/72864/
IMPEACHMENT:
I will repost this email I received from Wexler:
Dear R. E.,
In my last email to you, I wrote how your support for our efforts to hold impeachment hearings for Vice President Cheney has helped us get some attention from the mainstream media. My editorial was recently published in the Philadelphia Inquirer and newspapers from coast to coast have covered our success. 175,000 supporters have now signed up at WexerWantsHearings.com and the number continues to build.
Over the past weeks, I have put significant financial resources behind this effort, including advertising, multimedia, blog ads, and technical support for WexlerWantsHearings.com. Thank you to the hundreds of people who have already generously supported the cause.
Now, with your help – I want to expand this effort.
With your support I want to make a major Internet advertising buy on Google that will guarantee that for the next two weeks, every person that looks up "Dick Cheney" on Google sees an advertisement for our petition. With your help we can own "Cheney" on the web.
In addition, I want to publish blog ads, such as you see to the right, throughout the web to galvanize Americans in support of our cause. (You may have to right mouse click and select "Download Pictures" to see the ad).
It is time to reach beyond those that are regular readers of the political blogs, and expand the number of people mobilized to help push for impeachment hearings. The truth is that the number of Americans who support our efforts is immense and we need to do everything possible to reach out to them and maximize our strength.
I cannot do this without your support, so click here if you'd like to contribute to our work.
When Congress reconvenes on January 15th I will deliver the hundreds of thousands of names we have collected to my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee and I will do everything I can do to convince them to support immediate impeachment hearings. I will also be entering all of the collected names into the Congressional Record and present them to the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
The mainstream media has not done enough to cover this effort but with your help we will force the issue into the national dialogue.
Click here if you'd like to help sponsor this effort.
We must now redouble our efforts to ensure that Vice President Cheney and the Bush Administration are held accountable.
In order to continue funding this effort we need your help. Please consider making a financial contribution to help us expand our advertising advocating impeachment hearings for Vice President Dick Cheney. Your help will go a long way toward stopping the out of control Bush Administration.
I will also repost my question about whether to proceed with impeachment knowing that the Senate will not convict (2/3rds majority needed) either Cheney or Bush.
This is Conyers's talking point on impeachment, now. He says that impeachment is a waste of time because the Senate won't convict.
There is yet a third option - censure of Cheney and Bush.
One Freshman Democrat in the House said he could not support impeachment but that he thought censure was a better option. My guess that this was a throw-away line, he knowing that censure wasn't going to go anywhere either.
Conyers may be right because the House has a relatively larger majority than the Senate, which actually doesn't because of that traitor Lieberman.
Well, I will point out something that may make a difference. In Iowa, there was a big increase of people voting Democratic over Republican in the caucuses. If the Republicans start to panic about the number of people leaving their party, and the new Democratic people coming into the system, they may be more willing to stop harming their party and the public at large.
Same with the NH primary. Because that is a pattern that will exist for quite a while.
Also, the Democratic party may begin to worry that the people coming in will be so angry at them, that they will ban together to 'throw all the bums out!!!"
Something for those jerks in Congress and the Senate to think of.
I just read about the sales tax nmp. And that every month everyone will get a rebate up to the poverty line, so that people below the poverty line won't ever have to pay tax. And people who live above the poverty line - like a billion times above the poverty line - those people will get a rebate every month just like the poor!!! Except many hundreds of thousands of dollars more because, for these people, spending is unlimited. They don't know the word budget. They have no need for such a word.
Ok. So. Someone who is living below the poverty line has to pay 30% extra for every single good or service for one month. And then apply for a rebate. Oh that's fair! Make them pay out 30% more for everything when their income is below the poverty line.
It just proves that those who have plenty really don't have any idea how some people have to balance survival. In the first month of this new rule; those with almost no money must come up with *almost no money* plus a third of *almost no money* for a whole month. Impossible.
Watch horrors of poverty-caused family breakdowns, suicides and homeless increase under this regime.
woz
The stiff national sales tax is a once-radical but now-mainstream right-wing idea in the US, to shift even more of the tax burden to those who can least afford it. It would replace the income tax.
All the more reason to make sure the Republicans cease to exist. PERIOD.
The problem with what you're talking about woz and ally is that libertarians and even poor 'middle class' type people think that it's the only way to level the playing field.
I don't see how taking away the tax and creating a sales tax does that. To me, it seems like it places a bigger burden on the poor--particularly if the rich can go purchase their stuff tax free from somewhere else. Or maybe they'd close that loophole.
I just don't get it myself. But I can tell you that there are many many middle-class people who think a sales tax levels the playing field, because they think that the rich-when they buy their goods--would be paying their fair share. Also, they think that there are too many loopholes in our tax code that only help the rich.
OT aka Open Thread aka Off Topic
A little glimpse into my personal life right now - yes - I do have one. I won't be around for the rest of the day at least. I have just received 3 parcels full of TREASURES. I told you that my mother died in October and my sister in November. My younger sister cleaned the house - on her own, poor thing - and set aside things that needed to be sent to each of Mum's children. One was a letter from my mother, addressed to "all my children and their partners". She also stuck a poem onto it about love and death and "undue grief".
But - and I've only touched the surface. I had a serious car accident when I was 35. I was in a coma for 17 days so everyone came to my house to be with my boys. My mother kept this poem from my eldest, Jeremy. Written at that time, probably after I'd woken up and was going to live. He was aged 10.
I love my mummy because she's really nice
She gives me very bad advice
She said
Don't go out in the rain.
You might catch that awful cold again.
I love you Mummy because you're really nice.
But I hate that bloody dumb advice.
Because I want to go out in the rain again.
To catch that bloody cold again.
God - reading Mum's letter and this poem that Mum had kept for me. She's also kept newspaper letters I'd written and one Jeremy wrote and drawings and letters from both Jeremy and Trent who was 9 at the time of the above disaster.
I think I'll miss the rest of this thread - I've only opened one package. My mother has kept absolutely everything my children ever did. I have nostalgia and grief and laughter and tears to go through. And my poor, poor youngest sister who went through all of this alone when she packaged up everything for Mum's 7 children and all of their children.
I'm only down about 4 layers of about 100 in this package.
In the meantime - Get the word out! Cheers for McGovern. And Wexler. And all who are determined to Get the Word Out!
Till I get back - love and strength to all
Ralph Said:
"I will also repost my question about whether to proceed with impeachment knowing that the Senate will not convict (2/3rds majority needed) either Cheney or Bush."
How do you KNOW they will NOT convict?
The evidence has not even been laid out yet!
See, pelosi has the same argument, and there is no way IN HELL she can possibly KNOW they won't convict.
Once the evidence is laid out, they will have NO CHOICE but to convict or angry mogbs just may start pitchforking elected officials.
IMMMMMPPPEACH DAMN IT!
The ONLY WAY we can 'know' 2/3rds will not convict is if they have already been paid and have made promises not to convict NO MATTER WHAT evidence is presented.
And if that is the case, they should be pitchforked then.
I hope that answers that question.
NOW IMPEACH DAMN IT!
Flat taxers are insane.
If such a program is implemented ever, we should turn to barter.
Grow our own food somehow, buy nothing, reuse everything.
Create a do-it-yourself economy outside the system.
Already I am trying to give as little money as possible to mainstream corporate business and as little psychic energy as possible to mainstream media. I do not even listen to radio if it has commercial advertising.
If you want the link to Gore woz just click on kangaroo it will direct you there.
Hey, I'm thinking of starting a garden this summer and pitchforking the bunnies and the deer so that I can have food next year.
(Though I suspect that the bunnies and deer will forever be safe from me! I don't think I could really hurt one of them.)
nmp:
I was looking for something (else) on the IRS site the other day, and noticed they have a big push to close the "tax gap". The "tax gap" is people under-reporting or not reporting what the IRS considers "income".
One of the things they considered "income" was when you bartered goods or services with someone else, even if you both received a relatively equal value good or service.
VAT (a flat sales tax of 17% or more) is common in Europe and elsewhere. It hasn't reduced anyone's tax burden or made the tax system more progressive by any means. Their taxes are a lot higher but there are also a lot more services provided. It's always a trade-off. There are a lot of otherwise middle-class folks that are deep in debt though, struggling to survive, sort of the American equivalent of working class. Everything is very expensive.
One of Ms. Thatcher's legacies was to eviscerate the middle class in England and make it very hard for there to be any economic class mobility. Horatio Alger is part of the American myth and part of the "American Dream" so enticing to immigrants. Whatever we do with our twisted tax system, we must preserve or strengthen economic class mobility - it is so uniquely American.
woz,
I love that poem. I know it will be difficult going through all that stuff, so hang tough and just remember that there's a lot of love in the keepsakes you're going through.
V--were you in England during the end of Thatcher's reign?
Also, V....where's my drink?
V
I'm afraid that here, any form of tax we had might be used for war rather than services and safety nets and the greater common good.
I wonder if maybe IRS isn't cracking down on things like eBay, or trying to. If things get too crazy, we will just develop more of a black market, like third world countries or the old Soviet Union.
I also doubt they will ever catch all the underground economy people, like pimps and prostitutes and drug dealers. That would be alot of revenue.
What would really help is closing the tax breaks given to corporations, big box stores and those in the upper income brackets.
I have had to pay in every year that I can remember. I've been working since I was a teen and only remember getting a return a couple of times.
Here's the Youtube link of O'Reilly being a jerk. You can hear it but not see that much.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rcMCiAGyIQ&eurl=http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=24994
In This Race, Independents Are the Prize
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010608A.shtml
Jeff Zeleny, The New York Times, writes: "The race for president, steeped in appeals to each party's base for nearly a year, is for the next few days largely in the hands of voters who identify themselves as neither Republican nor Democrat."
Oh..btw...the drink thing was a hint to anyone who can visit in the irc. I will be there until 11 est then I'm going to bed.
Anyone feeling cynical? I found these images when Googling around about "Oligarchy."
That top poster, nmp, is really chilling!
NMP, you won't believe what I just painted! HAHA!
Give me ten minutes then check the art blog.
America the Oligarchy - How the Candidates are Chosen
I wasn't living in England then; but I visited, and my brother's lived his whole life there.
I am shocked by how much debt is just a part of life there for even relatively high-earning folks. Not American-style credit card debt so much; more mortgage debt, car loans, home equity loans, a lot of personal loans, and most prevalently, "accounts" at every shop you visit, as in "put it on my account". Kind of like a store credit card I guess. Overdrafts are very common too, which I never quite figured out but are a way to "overdraw" your checking account for limited amounts of money for a limited time, at no interest or low interest.
I'll wash out the glasses and open up the irc bar for a bit...
I would join yall but I tend to p*ss off and alienate people in real time.
NMP, it's up, go check it out.
Hello --
I'm back in NYC and went to Marjorie G's tonight to meet Norm Siegel, who is aiming to become the NYC public advocate (a job he has informally filled for years). Great discussions which I will share when it is not so late!
Woz--enjoy your memories!!
And for your entertainment this evening:
Not sure why that didn't work but try again:
http://blip.tv/file/520347?filename=Deanopp-NEWBUSHCOINS434.flv
The comments section for McGovern's op-ed piece was freeped. Reading the comments reassures me that there will always be a need for Special Education and Remedial Education teachers in this country. The comments are truly disgusting, horrendous, hateful, illogical flat out lies. Some are unintentionally funny with their attempts at seriousness and sobriety.
IRC chat tomorrow (Monday 1/7) at 9PM Eastern/6PM Pacific/2AM Tuesday GMT (since that's what seems to work out the best).
See you then - and thanks V and sparrow for the chat tonight.
Questions on Iran as Bush heads to Mideast
-snip-
In Israel, which he is visiting for the first time as president, Bush is likely to be greeted as one of the country's greatest friends. But in the Arab world, his presidency has been perceived as damaging to the region and to U.S. prestige.
The overthrow of Saddam Hussein's Sunni Arab regime in Iraq, which long served as a counterweight to Shiite Muslim Iran, has allowed Iran's influence to grow. At the same time, Arab leaders blame the breakdown, until recently, of Israeli-Palestinian talks on Bush's refusal to assume the U.S. president's traditional hands-on role in Middle East peace negotiations.
Arab dissidents were elated and then devastated when Bush called for democracy in the region in 2005, only to appear to back away after election victories in Iraq and the Palestinian territories by religious blocs -- the only groups that had built popular support under autocratic governments. Bush plans to offer something of a report card on his Middle East "freedom agenda" when he stops in the United Arab Emirates' capital, Abu Dhabi, next week.
In Arab streets, many blame Washington for the plight of Iraqis and Palestinians. Bush's presidency has been "disastrous," said Hisham Kassem, an Egyptian journalist who received a National Endowment for Democracy award from him last fall. "America's neither feared nor loved. It's neither feared by the regimes anymore, and it's hated by the people of the Middle East. . . . That's the Bush legacy."
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22531798/
Right on cue...
BREAKING NEWS: NBC: U.S. says Iranian gunboats harrassed its warships
CNN: Breaking News - U.S. officials: 5 Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats harassed, provoked 3 U.S. Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
To hell with Iran.
And to hell with george w bush.
In that order, Christy?
Yes Sir!
Make it so Monkey, spread the word!
U.S. says Iranian gunboats harassed warships
Officials describe incident as a 'significant provocative act'
WASHINGTON - Iranian Revolutionary Guard gunboats harassed three U.S. Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz Sunday, in what the U.S. military considers a "significant provocative act."
Military officials told NBC News that two US Navy destroyers and one frigate were heading into the Persian Gulf through the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz when five armed "fast boats" of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard approached a high speed, darting in and out of the formation.
At one point a radio message from one of the Iranian boats warned, "You are going to blow up within minutes."
The Navy warships went into defensive mode, radioed the usual warnings to steer clear, and in the end no shots were fired. U.S. military warships believe the Revolutionary Guard boats were "testing our defenses," the officials said.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22537199/
...or making severe fun of us.
And the day before NH too...
tsk.
Before we stop bush, first we have to stop those among us that would attack Iran for him.
Even after the NIE, still 80% of our people believe Iran DOES HAVE nukes and are an immediate threat.
Ironic, isn't it, that this alleged event happened Saturday, yet the press isn't "notified" until the day before Bush is scheduled to head to the Middle East, and Iran is one of the top items on the agenda during his visit.
Save It For A Cheney Day
The only way bush can get away scott free, is if too many people are dying for anyone to notice him walking out the backdoor into history with all OUR money.
He has to start another war and he only has 10 months to do it.
We are in more danger from him now more than ever.
It may be all about NH. Seriously, they are terrified of Huckabee.
McCain will look good to anyone who is afraid or concerned about all those brown people trying to take our jobs (which were given away by the corporations long ago) and kill us (as if we weren't killing them first). He is immoveable, solid, unyielding. That is the good news and the bad news about McCain. He has absolutely no imagination. Principles, yes. But no ability to see beyond, to possibilities.
Who ya gonna call?
The Holy Ghostbusters?
I think you're somewhat right about it being about Huckabee. In addition to your reasons, I'm sure there is a connection to Bush going to Israel right now. Particularly since the latest wave of Christianity is to embrace their Jewish roots.
The way they do that is by supporting Israel. So for Bush to go over there now, after a Christian-right approved Huckabee wins is a message too.
I'll let you know if I figure out what message!
Blacks in the United States are “consistently” more likely than whites to receive “inferior cancer treatment.” According to the findings published the the journal Cancer, the problem was “just as bad in 2002 as in 1992.”
http://thinkprogress.org/
AND they get less pain meds than whites too.
And people wonder why I get so worked up about it. Because this is a total freaking shame, that's why. AND it says more about our country than most studies.
No matter how much I think about it, or see it or hear about it, it just keeps making me more and more furious.
They should be terrified of huckleberry. Other than the 'white christian' part, he IS an Iranian.
I can not get this image out of my head.
"Hey, I'm thinking of starting a garden this summer and pitchforking the bunnies and the deer ......"
God I love Sparrow.
Just don't give her any sharp objects. Think of the BUNNIES!
Does anyone still have the email contacts for msnbc - particularly Dan Abrams, Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews?
You can't email the shows anymore from the website.
Chris Matthews was ridiculous this morning on the today show. He didn't even mention Edwards - it was all about Hillary and Obama, as if Edwards didn't even exist. The corporate world must really be afraid of what Edwards might do if he won.
More than 10,000 police will guard Bush during Israel visit
Israeli officials in Jerusalem are to deploy more than 10,000 police officers in a vast security operation ahead of the arrival this week of George Bush, the first US president to visit in a decade. Graffiti are being cleaned off walls, road markings are being repainted and hundreds of American flags are being put up across the city. The floodlights which illuminate the stone ramparts of the Old City will stay on for an extra two hours every night, until 2am, to give the president the chance to catch the view.
Hundreds of hotel rooms across Jerusalem have been booked for Bush's group, as well as for the media and even Israeli officials, who fear they might not be able to make it home in the evenings.
Bush, who arrives on Wednesday for his first visit as president, will stay at the King David hotel. Eight truckloads of equipment have already arrived in advance of his two-night stay. All the hotel's rooms will be taken by his entourage - tourists have had their bookings cancelled.
The security precautions, dubbed Operation Clear Skies by the Israeli security services, are immense. Roads around the hotel will be blocked, despite the huge traffic jams that will entail. A force of 10,500 police and security staff will be deployed and Bush will be flown in to the hotel by helicopter from the airport near Tel Aviv. "There will be so much security nobody will be able to get anywhere near the president," said Micky Rosenfield, Israel's police spokesman.
more at http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2236314,00.html
Iranian boats "provoke" U.S. Navy ships in Hormuz: CNN
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats harassed and provoked three U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, CNN reported.
The CNN report on Monday, citing unidentified U.S. officials, said the Iranian vessels came within 200 yards (meters) of the U.S. ships and that after a threatening radio communication, U.S. sailors manned their ships' guns and were very close to opening fire.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080107/ts_nm/usa_iran_ship_dc_1
Bush gives meaning to words
.....First he spoke to Israeli reporters:
Q Mr. President, you just mentioned Iraq. Can you clarify to us whether there was any Israeli involvement in your decision to invade Iraq?
THE PRESIDENT: No, not at all. None whatsoever. My decision was based upon U.S. intelligence, based upon the desire to provide security for our peoples and others. It was based upon my willingness to work with the international community on this issue. Remember, if you look back at the history, there was a unanimous vote in the Security Council: disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences. And when he defied, when he refused to allow the inspectors in, when he made a statement by his actions that he didn't really care what the international community said, that I decided to make sure words meant something.....
And so I acted based upon our own security interests. And -- but it also fit into this notion of -- and remember, Zarqawi, there was some terrorist connections -- not with the 9/11 attacks, but terrorist connections; Abu Nadal; he had been using -- he'd been funding families of suicide bombers. In other words, as far as we were concerned, he had weapons of mass destruction which could have been used in a deadly way. It turns out he didn't have the weapons, but he had the know-how on how to make weapons, which could easily have been reconstituted. The sanctions regime turns out to have been corrupt and wasn't working. In other words, there's a variety of aspects to my decision, all of which were aimed at making sure that U.S. security, first and foremost, was enhanced.
.....
In a second interview with Arab reporters:
Q ...Mr. President, I wanted to ask you, your visit to the region will not include the Maghreb Arab.
THE PRESIDENT: Will not include --
Q The Maghreb Arab --
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, that's right.
Q -- Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Those countries actually played a very important role in the peace process in the past and I think that they are willing to do it again. And my question, Mr. President, if there is any reason for excluding the Maghreb Arab from your visit?
THE PRESIDENT: Only because I ran out of time. It's certainly not as a result of any lack of respect or understanding that the contribution of those -- of that area would be a significant contribution to achieving peace. ...
And having said that, one of my great trips as a civilian -- I guess you'd call me a civilian -- non-President, non-political figure -- was when I went to Morocco. I had the great pleasure of going to Marakesh, for example, and I'll never forget drinking crushed almond milk, and enjoyed the wonders of the desert, and then was able to see snow-capped mountains shortly in the distance, in the short distance. And so it's -- I threw snowballs in Morocco one time in the Atlas mountain range. So I had a wonderful experience there. Not to be kind of nostalgic, looking back, but -- you know, it's interesting -- for example, there are a lot of Moroccan Jews in Israel.
Q And in Morocco also.
THE PRESIDENT: What?
Q And in Morocco.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, and in Morocco, which provides the King an interesting opportunity to be a healer and a unifier. And I believe he's committed to that.
Bush is asked by a Kuwaiti reporter about prisoners held in Gitmo:
Q ...Now, back in Kuwait, as your visit is approaching, the Kuwaitis are actually wondering if there will be an end to the four Kuwaiti detainees in Guantanamo. There are four of them; to the best of our knowledge all paperwork has been done, all security assurances have been --
THE PRESIDENT: To be transferred back to --
Q To Kuwait.
THE PRESIDENT: -- from Guantanamo to Kuwait. We'll look at it. Our strategy, by the way, is to transfer as many Guantanamo detainees back to their countries of origin as possible, subject to the no torture agreement.
Q The security assurances and the paperwork --
THE PRESIDENT: Security assurances -- right, as well as the assurances that the people will be treated humanely. I just will have to look into this.
Q That will be great news, Mr. President, actually.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/1/6/2196/51146/317/430909
aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Carol, I have it although I don't know if it's any good. Also you could try the PDA and see if they still have their media mailer. (Our forum may have one too. I seem to remember popping one in there before.)
Also...Christy. Hey. I did say the bunnies were probably safe from me. But one day I may tell you the story of my 5' 90 pound cousin and the mouse in her garden.
It's pretty fitting that one day after one of the biggest events this campaign season, the New Hampshire primaries, the Supreme Court will be hearing arguments on a case that could significantly effect the 2008 election: the fight over Indiana's voter ID law.
The issues behind Crawford v. Marion County Election Board are pretty simple to understand. The Indiana law, passed by Republicans, prevents citizens from voting without a picture ID, and they say it will stop voter fraud, though they can't point to a single instance of criminal voter impersonation occurring in the state. It is a solution in search of a problem.
Or rather, it's a solution to a very different problem. In this issue of New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin writes that the voter ID laws, which Republicans have pushed in states throughout the country, are a reminder that, though racism has disappeared from mainstream political discourse, "racial discrimination itself" has not been banished from politics:
“Let’s not beat around the bush,” Terence T. Evans, the dissenting Court of Appeals judge in the Indiana case, slyly wrote. “The Indiana voter photo ID law is a not-too-thinly-veiled attempt to discourage election-day turnout by certain folks believed to skew Democratic.” He’s not the only one to notice: the three federal judges who approved the Indiana law were appointed by a Republican President; the lone dissenter was appointed by a Democrat. It was also Republican-dominated legislatures that produced the Indiana and Georgia laws, both of which were signed by Republican governors.
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004401.php for more
PLEASE NOT McCAIN
McCAIN'S IMPERIAL PLAN (goes perfectly with the news about Iran)
from today at http://www.americanprogressaction.org/progressreport/
At the end of last year, President Bush quietly revealed his intention to create an endless, "enduring" relationship with Iraq. In September, Gen. David Petraeus said a 50-year presence in Iraq would be a "realistic assessment." Echoing this sentiment, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said last week that it "would be fine" with him if the U.S. military stayed in Iraq for "a hundred years" or even a "million years" in order to ensure a stable Iraq.
(snip)
THE COST OF OCCUPATION: Yesterday on the Sunday talk shows, McCain suggested that he supports "permanent bases" in Iraq, adding that Americans would endorse such an occupation plan. "I don't think Americans are concerned if we're there for 100 years or 1,000 years or 10,000 years," he said, as long as troop deaths are minimal. McCain, however, is ignoring the immense cost of occupation. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) recently said that the Iraq war and war on terror are now costing "$15 billion a month." E
(snip)
TOUGHER RHETORIC: While McCain is aligning himself with Bush, progressives are doing the opposite. As the Los Angeles Times notes today, Iraqi security forces have had only "a mixed track record" despite billions of dollars in U.S. investment. (snip)
Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL) have also recognized the risks of training without political progress and reconciliation. Obama gave a speech earlier this year saying he would continue training Iraqis if political progress was made and the Iraqi forces did not act in a sectarian manner. Though less clear, Clinton also has issued similar qualifications saying she would support training "only to the extent we believe such training is working."
NO LONGER DRIFTING: In October, the Center for American Progress Action Fund warned that heading into 2008, progressives were at risk of "drifting themselves into offering only a vague and muddled vision" for Iraq in light of declining violence levels. Progressive candidates have responded and toughened their stances on redeployment. Clinton told a New Hampshire audience on Friday that she would have "the Joint Chiefs, the Secretary of Defense, and my security advisers draw up the plans necessary to begin withdrawing our troops within 60 days" of entering office. Edwards's plan also calls for continuing "a steady redeployment until all combat troops are out in roughly nine to ten months," a quicker withdrawal than his previous emphasis on the "gradual reduction of forces and training of Iraqi forces." Obama recently called for a "complete redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2009, starting immediately."
More on stopping McCain (how) - I am concerned.. ?
http://silencedmajority.blogs.com/silenced_majority_portal/2008/01/nh-live-free-or.html
Major fire spreads at Iraq's biggest oil refinery
At least 36 workers hurt after explosion at fuel storage tank
BAIJI, Iraq (Reuters) - An explosion at a fuel storage tank caused a huge blaze at Iraq's largest refinery on Monday, injuring at least 36 workers, and the fire was spreading, witnesses said.
A Reuters cameraman at the Baiji refinery complex, some 110 miles north of Baghdad, said he had seen at least one dead body and had counted at least 36 others suffering from burns.
"This is the biggest fire I have ever seen at Baiji refinery. We have not had a fire like this before," said an engineer, employed at the plant since 2003, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22536856/
How do you KNOW they will NOT convict?
The evidence has not even been laid out yet!
See, pelosi has the same argument, and there is no way IN HELL she can possibly KNOW they won't convict.
Once the evidence is laid out, they will have NO CHOICE but to convict or angry mogbs just may start pitchforking elected officials.
IMMMMMPPPEACH DAMN IT!
@@@@@@@
Tell this to Conyers
and
Pelosi..............................
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy took 29 seconds Monday to open and close the Senate, the latest move in a standoff with President Bush over recess appointments.
Kennedy was the only senator in the chamber when he gaveled the session open shortly after 9 a.m. ET. Four women from the anti-war group Code Pink also were on hand.
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/07/senate.pro.forma/index.html
Iran being harrassing??? Really????? What do you call preemptive striking threats about Iran that have gone on for months. Geez. I'd call the US and Israeli threats pretty damned threatening.
Who can blame Iran if they came out with warships and all guns blazing. I thought they were restrained under the circumstances. I'll bet the US would have blasted them to hell if they'd encroached in US territory/water.
woz
All it takes to start a war against Iran will be a staged incident. This could be it.
IRC reminder - I will be online at 9PM Eastern/6PM Pacific. Would love to see many of you there!
I'm there Ally - all alone here in irc :(
What will happen with Labor in this country .. it's sad .. The Democrats got an increase in the minimum wage but there are still so many problems & the economy is sucking more & more, esp. construction, which will spillover in alot of other areas.
The Labor Board is doing bad things (see below) and our most pro-labor candidates (Gravel, Kucinich, Edwards) are not enough in the running. Clinton has some labor support as well as Edwards- if Obama beats her it will probably go to him but he doesn't have it yet. Certainly won't be the Republicans - they hate labor. One primary doesn't a movement make, but two might shake things up.
Max Fraser | Beyond the Labor Board
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/010708LB.shtml
In The Nation, Max Fraser says, "This past September, the National Labor Relations Board issued a startling sixty-one decisions in a legal blitzkrieg on working Americans. The NLRB has been led by a pro-business majority of Bush appointees since 2002. Its bias was never more apparent than during this latest round of decisions, labeled a 'September massacre' by the AFL-CIO."
Obama Win Shakes Up Labor
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/010708LA.shtml
The Associated Press's Jesse J. Holland reports: "Despite racking up almost all of the endorsements from organized labor, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards came in behind Barack Obama - the only Democratic front-runner with no national union support - in the Iowa caucuses. That left at least one union looking for a new candidate Friday."
The U.S. Navy also received a radio transmission that officials believe came from the Iranian boats. The transmission said, "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes," the U.S. military officials told CNN.
When the U.S. ships heard that radio transmission, they took up their gun positions and officers were "in the process" of giving the order to fire when the Iranians abruptly turned away, the U.S. officials said.
After the radio transmission, one of the Iranian boats dropped white boxes into the water in front of the U.S. ships, the officials said. It was not clear what was in the boxes, the officials said.
-snip-
A Pentagon spokesman characterized the incident as "perplexing" and "cause for real concern."
"Such actions are dangerous and could have quickly escalated into something much worse," said Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary. "We see it as further evidence that Iran is unpredictable and remains a threat."
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman downplayed the incident, calling it "ordinary," IRNA reported. Mohammad Ali Hosseini said that similar incidents had occurred in the past between Iranian and American ships, and the issues were resolved as soon as the ships recognized each other, IRNA reported.
The Strait of Hormuz, which is in international waters, is near much of the world's oil supplies.
The White House urged Iran to refrain from "such provocative actions that could lead to a dangerous incident in the future," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States probably would not make a formal protest to Iran about the incident.
McCormack said, "I can't speak to their rationale, their reasoning, their motivations."
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/07/iran.us.navy/index.html
This is one weird-ass story...
It is on video, check it out.
New Hampshire: Sean Hannity chased by Ron Paul supporters
In New Hampshire Sean Hannity flees from Ron Paul supporters after being chased out of a resturant because Congressman Paul was banned from the FOX New Hampshire Debate.
http://rawstory.com/rawreplay/?p=425
Republicans eating republicans. HAHAHA!
The liar of Washington is not welcome in Palestine
So, how could a man as such be trusted, or even respected?
Comment by Khalid Amayreh in Occupied E. Jerusalem
...Then, Bush, a man who has the tongue of a Judas, the heart of a Hitler, and the mind of an imbecile, acquiesced to the Nazi-like blockade the Judeo-Nazi regime of Israel has been imposing on 1.5 million Gazans, ostensibly for the purpose of bullying them to turn against the Hamas-led government. This is the same Bush who continues to speak about "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians while keeping silent in the face of unrelenting Israeli settlement expansion which flies in the face of everything said during the recent Annapolis conference in Maryland...
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m39905&hd=&size=1&l=e
Kangaroo... now THIS is the part of the article that NAILS it, pardon the pun...
Finally, Bush will travel to Bethlehem for a spiritual encounter with the aura of Jesus Christ, when in fact Bush’s evil discourse ever since his inauspicious arrival at the White house seven years ago constitutes the exact antithesis of everything that Jesus preached. Indeed, Bush’s behaviors and acts are a cancer upon the conscience of Christianity.
Undoubtedly, Jesus will not be proud of George Bush just as Muhammed, the Prophet of Islam, won’t be proud of those who kill innocent people in the name of Islam.
THIS is the part of the article that NAILS it, pardon the pun...
Amen
I'm on IRC now, sparrow is also there...
"Then, Bush, a man who has the tongue of a Judas, the heart of a Hitler, and the mind of an imbecile..."
I was hoping no one had noticed.
It is to my enternal shame that we could not contain this truth, and now every body knows.
Damn. That is embarrassing.
Funny cause I am in IRC and niether of you are here.
Sparrows name is here.. but the nest is still empty.
Ralph said...
Tell this to Conyers
and
Pelosi..............................
I have told them that often. Or more I told the person made to answer their phones and pretend to care about you until you start asking pointed questions.
But, this is hardly the point. Your question did not specify I had to answer AND convince them.
Are you convinced? Does that effectively address your question?
If it did then we must answer it the same way all the time so others will be convinced as well.
Maybe even a pelosi and conyers, but I doubt it because they have went beyond the line of passive bystander into flat out complicity.
No one wants to get caught. Too bad for them everyone already knows they are helping to dismantle our Constitution, because now it is just a matter of time before they change their ways or get caught.
Christy
I had to leave by 7PM Pacific, sorry!
Hey all you Edwards and Obama fans:
Where do they stand on impeachment? Or does that fight only apply to Conyers and Pelosi and Reid and Clinton? Where is that big, brave, public record on that or are they, perhaps, dare I say it, triangulating? Watching the polls, as it were, with their high-paid consultants and hangers-on? Waiting for something to break one way or the other so they can be on-top of the issue? You can bet your dang last dollar they are. That is the way of the world, people. Doesn't freak me out but it does freak out some.
Chuck in Houston
Personally, I like Edwards. Obama is OK for a preppie, though I have no idea what he stands for (is he right of Clinton or left?). I'd vote for either in a heart-beat against a GOP candidate for POTUS. But then, I don't freak out too easy. I've had some experience in that regard (I mean, freaking out to easy) and I've drawn some appropriate conclusions.
Chuck
Good point!! LOL (about impeachment)
Actually, reading my posts above, I realized that, for what it's worth, I neglected to mention that I support Hillary Clinton for the nomination of the Democratic Party for President. Actually, I liked Biden best for POTUS but he never had a chance and dropped out. I thought I would like Edwards, but in the debates Clinton spoke most directly to me. Of course, my opinion will never count as I live in Texas so others will decide this question for me. Ain't democracy fun?
Chuck in Houston
Atleast Obama and Edwards are not offering to send daddy georgie to go clean up little georgies messes personally. Or their spouses.
It doesn't freak anyone out to know Obama or Edwards is just as anti impeachment as hillary is.
Ofcourse they are anti-impeachment, because no one will allow the full scope of the evidence to be presented.
And once it is presented Hillary will have no chance but to huff and puff and pretend like she had NO IDEA what she herself was party too.
NMP:
Thanks! On the freak-out thing, well, I should probably expand on that. That happened to me once at a Stones concert in the Kingdome -- no relation to politics other than me yelling out "Keith Richards for President!" (I do remember that bit -- I always thought Mick Jagger got an easy ride with the press). Then I noticed that nobody around me noticed that I had freaked out, and, as I made it back to Portland without ever being arrested (and actually drove the whole way), I drew all the appropriate conclusions, which I hold to fast to this day, right or wrong.
Chuck
Christy:
So I guess the whole impeachment thing is sort of situational ethics -- sometimes a person has to be for it and sometimes they get a pass. And if their family name is "Clinton" they cannot get a pass because Bill Clinton was once President. Or if they happen to be in positions of power in the US Congress (Pelosi, Reid), then they must be held to a certain standard (Impeach!), but if they are "anti-Clinton" Democrat Presidential candidates then a different standard applies? Did I get that right or did I miss something? I'm still learning....
Chuck in Houston
I bought "Cribbage" for the family for Christmas, and when I sat down to teach my 8-year old duaghter the rules, I realized how complicated they were! And I hadn't even attempted Crib for decades. So, all you progressives out there, please feel free to refresh my poor old mind as to why it is that when some people support some things it's OK but when others support the same thing it is bad, and, the obverse, when some refuse to support something it's OK but when others do it it is bad.
People -- dont't follow leaders and feed your parking meters. These so-called leaders aren't the issue and never will be. Electors (read: us) put up with this -- that is why it happens. And that will not change soon! Or fast!
Chuck, democratically yours, in Houston, Texas, USA
May the circle
Be unbroken
By and by, Lord
By and by
Well, this is kind of hokey, but the words are the way I remember them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxcTZ9fbiFE
Chuck in Houston
PS: That's supposed to be "May the Circle, be unbroken...."
Chuck
I would much rather have Keith Richards for President. He's a survivor.
He has written hundreds of original songs.
He beat a nasty drug habit.
He's done benefit concerts for the blind.
He married a model (just like Sarkozy is).
He has cordial relations with his first wife (though he never really married her, he calls her his wife also).
An only child, he kept a vigil by his mother's side when she died of cancer.
He tells others (such as Amy Winehouse) not to follow his example of drug abuse.
He said he snorted his father's ashes but his manager says he said that "in jest."
He has appeared as the father of Captain Jack Sparrow.
He quite drugs, not for health reasons, but because they were not strong enough anymore.
He survived a serious head injury incurred when he fell out of a tree in Fiji.
He was also granted a pardon for drunk driving by Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a fellow musician.
By the way, I have a blog with two other people and one of them has jumped on the anti-Hillary bandwagon, which I am not on. What I did was put up the video of Ron Paul fans chasing Sean Hannity, and then wrote about Ron Paul appearing on Leno when he was excluded from the debates by Fox. I agree with Paul on Iraq and the Patriot Act but not on his dumb flat tax and a bunch of other stuff. He does say he is closer to Kucinich on foreign policy than to any of the others.
I am not reading candidate diaries such as at Daily Kos because they are getting beyond petty. Had enough of that in 2004 with all the Kerry, Dean, Clark wars. I will be happy to merely turn on my car radio while driving home tomorrow and given our time difference, the results will be all but in by the time I pull up to my garage.
I have not seen a single democrat freak out because clinton is anti-impeachment.
If nothing else she actually has the better excuse to avoid it on a personal level. Anyone else see clinton being attacked for being anti impeachment cause I've been here and other than maybe Ralph, I have not seen a single rant on how horrible clinton is for being anti impeachment.
BTW, I don't know anyone getting a 'pass' on being anti- impeachment. In fact all of the arguments against it are becoming more desperate by the day. Those still trying to avoid it are fast becoming outnumbered BY THE HOUR.
NMP:
I won't make any difference anyhow, whatever is on the radio tomorrow. Where does that come from: "All is Vanity?" Is that Shakespeare?
Chuck in Houston
PS: Please elucidate for me -- when someone jumps on the "anti-Hillary Bandwagon," what is it that they are for, that she is against? And is "anti" going to be on the ballot anywhere? Does he or she have a website I could look at? Is anti-Hillary a Republican or a Democrat or an Indendent? If the latter, of what stripe? I am sorry; inquiring minds want to know these things so we can make something resembling an informed decision. Not that I intend to but then again I just might.
So, Christy, help me out as I am slow:
Which Democrat candidates for POTUS have come out in favor of impeachment? Or does that only count for congress people? If so, why?
Chuck in Houston
Kucinich.
" Or does that only count for congress people? If so, why?"
That does not even make any sense.
Last I heard Kucinich is in congress.
AND you have this backwards...
"when someone jumps on the "anti-Hillary Bandwagon," what is it that they are for, that she is against?"
It seems to be what everyone is AGAINST that she is FOR that is the real problem.
Christy:
Is Clinton anti-impeachment?
Chuck