Bush: "...they could try to stop me from doing it, but, uh, I've made my decision and we're going forward."

dontcha just love a strong, decisive leader...?

In an interview set to air on this Sunday's 60 Minutes, President George W. Bush vows to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq "no matter what" the Democratic-controlled Congress tries to do.

"Do you believe as Commander in Chief you have the authority to put the troops in there no matter what the Congress wants to do," 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley asks Bush in the short clip uploaded to the CBS News web site Friday night.

"I think I've got, in this situation, I do, yeah," Bush said.

"Now I fully understand they will," Bush continued, "they could try to stop me from doing it, but, uh, I've made my decision and we're going forward."

particularly one who won't hesitate to tell one and all to go f*** themselves, that he's going to do what he goddam well pleases, and the devil take the hindmost...

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Less than half a day's accumulation of spam

i always marvel at the ceaseless ingenuity of spammers... the senders' names, the email titles... such imagination...!

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The NYT on Cully Stimson, arch-weasel

i can't help but believe that mr. stimson was dispatched on a deliberate campaign to discredit legal pro bono work being conducted on behalf of those whose rights have been seriously and illegally abridged...

No one who has followed President Bush’s policies on detainees should be surprised when a member of his team scorns American notions of justice. But even by that low standard, the administration’s new attack on lawyers who dare to give those prisoners the meager representation permitted them is contemptible.

[...]

It does not seem to matter to [Cully Stimson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs], who is a lawyer, that a great many of those detainees did not deserve imprisonment, let alone the indefinite detention to which they are subjected as “illegal enemy combatants.” And forget about the fundamental American right that everyone should have legal counsel, even the most heinous villain.

once again, hard evidence that there is nothing to which this administration will not stoop...

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Gonzales: Is there a way to make Congress happy without giving them what they want?

read this carefully and see if you don't reach the same conclusion...

[Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales] said the Justice Department would review each Congressional request in an effort to comply with Congressional demands: “Is there a way to limit the scope of the request? Is there a way to give them the information without actually turning over the documents? Would it suffice to provide a briefing without compromising something that would be extremely damaging to the national security of our country? Could we provide a summary, a written summary, that they would want to see? Perhaps someone in the executive branch would read a portion of a document. We have legal obligation to see what can be done.”

they obviously feel they have a "legal obligation to see what can be done" without really doing anything...

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Murray Waas, Plame, Wilson, Libby, Cheney, and pre-trial research

waas has another detailed and well-researched run-down on plamegate as the libby trial looms ever closer... it ain't lookin' all that good for darth...

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A failed president, the "sense of Congress," and the epic battle of war and peace

brent budowsky writing in robert parry's consortium news...

The Democrats opened the new Congress with an immediate volley -- almost universal and unequivocal opposition to the Bush Iraq "surge." That will be followed by the first legislative shot, a vote offered by Democrats on a non-binding "sense of Congress" resolution opposing the escalation. Meanwhile, the Democrats are considering other options including a possible fund cutoff.

The "sense of Congress" resolution has been falsely called "symbolic." In fact, it could be powerful, because it presents congressional Republicans with no escape from going on the record for, or against, the Bush escalation. It has already prompted a growing number of Republicans to oppose the escalation, ranging from Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who called the Bush speech the biggest mistake since Vietnam, to Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, a conservative leader and a surprising addition to the anti-escalation ranks.

Many Republicans privately have long thought Bush's Iraq policy was dangerously wrong but have lacked the courage and conviction to take him on. Now, with the resolution, they have only two choices. They can oppose the President's policy on the record or they can anger the voters back home and support Bush's "surge," increasing the odds of Republican defeats in 2008.

George Bush may be safe in treating the voters with contempt and arrogance, but many Republican senators must face the wrath of the voters in two years. Increasingly they view George Bush as the new Republican Herbert Hoover, the kiss of political death, which is why a growing number of Republicans are lining up against the President's escalation.


[...]

The tectonic plates of Washington have shifted in powerful and historic ways. All across the country Americans are aggressively pushing for an end to the escalation, an end to war fever, an end to the arrogance of power from a failed President who defies the will of the people and claims to be above the law.

[...]

The playing field has changed; the pressure is mounting; the challenge to the policy is widening; the people are reclaiming the power; and the epic battle of war and peace has finally begun in earnest.

"Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness grinds He all."

the hardest part for me right now is practicing patience... it's been six VERY long years, each day of which has brought more pain as i've watched my country raped and pillaged, and turned into something well-nigh unrecognizable...

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Next up: more efficient ways to fight and kill

ain't technology wonderful...?

The Pentagon is hoping that a new type of suit will give its soldiers super-human powers. It would be made from a newly developed super-strong but super-lightweight fabric that could stop bullets and increase the soldiers muscle power up to a hundredfold.

The US military has long been searching for an "Exoskeleton" that would amplify the muscle strength of combat soldiers. However, up until now each attempt had been too inefficient, cumbersome or mechanical to be used.

Now the superpower's military is hoping to profit from the findings of nanotechnologist Ray Baughman from the University of Texas. He has managed to develop chemically grown nanotubes, which are like tiny muscles. The microscopically tiny particles contract when an electrical voltage is applied and get their energy from a mini fuel cell, that runs on hydrogen and oxygen. The mini muscles are a hundred times stronger than human muscle tissue -- and can be woven into a fabric that would contract when heated and go back to its original shape when cooled.

when i stop and think what all this money, research, brainpower, and amazing technology could accomplish if it was dedicated to peaceful purposes and improving the lot of humankind, i just have to shake my head in disgust...

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The deep, deep shame of the United States

how long must my country continue down this road to hell...?

By Jumah al-Dossari, JUMAH AL-DOSSARI is a 33-year-old citizen of Bahrain. This article was excerpted from letters he wrote to his attorneys. Its contents have been deemed unclassified by the Department of Defense.

At Guantanamo, soldiers have assaulted me, placed me in solitary confinement, threatened to kill me, threatened to kill my daughter and told me I will stay in Cuba for the rest of my life. They have deprived me of sleep, forced me to listen to extremely loud music and shined intense lights in my face. They have placed me in cold rooms for hours without food, drink or the ability to go to the bathroom or wash for prayers. They have wrapped me in the Israeli flag and told me there is a holy war between the Cross and the Star of David on one hand and the Crescent on the other. They have beaten me unconscious.

[...]

I would rather die than stay here forever, and I have tried to commit suicide many times. The purpose of Guantanamo is to destroy people, and I have been destroyed. I am hopeless because our voices are not heard from the depths of the detention center.

can any one of us imagine ourselves in his place...? i certainly can't... i can't conceive of the mental, emotional, and physical agony that he and his fellow detainees endure on a daily basis...

i must admit, however, that, given bush administration denials that this kind of treatment even exists, the letters were allowed to be released...

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Bush's "preaching to the choir" strategy turns to shit

just like everything else he touches...

There are few places the president could go for an unreservedly enthusiastic reception the day after unveiling his decision to order 21,500 more troops to Iraq. A military base has usually been a reliable backdrop for the White House, and so Bush aides chose this venerable Army installation in western Georgia to promote his revised strategy to the nation while his Cabinet secretaries tried to sell it on Capitol Hill.

To ensure that there would be no discordant notes here, Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski, the base commander, prohibited the 300 soldiers who had lunch with the president from talking with reporters. If any of them harbored doubts about heading back to Iraq, many for the third time, they were kept silent.

BUSH, CHENEY AND THE ENTIRE CABINET MUST SUBMIT THEIR RESIGNATIONS... IMMEDIATELY...

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Upping the odds that Guardsmen and Reservists can die in an illegal war

to accommodate a criminal and out-of-control president, dead-set on waging an illegal war that will undoubtedly result in more guardsmen and reservists dying...

Until now, the Pentagon's policy on the Guard or Reserve was that members' cumulative time on active duty for the Iraq or Afghan wars could not exceed 24 months. That cumulative limit is now lifted; the remaining limit is on the length of any single mobilization, which may not exceed 24 consecutive months, Pace said.

In other words, a citizen-soldier could be mobilized for a 24-month stretch in Iraq or Afghanistan, then demobilized and allowed to return to civilian life, only to be mobilized a second time for as much as an additional 24 months. In practice, Pace said, the Pentagon intends to limit all future mobilizations to 12 months.

Members of the Guard combat brigades that have served in Iraq in recent years spent 18 months on active duty — about six months in pre-deployment training in the United States, followed by about 12 months in Iraq. Under the old policy, they could not be sent back to Iraq because their cumulative time on active duty would exceed 24 months. Now that cumulative limit has been lifted, giving the Pentagon more flexibility.

BUSH, CHENEY AND THE ENTIRE CABINET MUST SUBMIT THEIR RESIGNATIONS... IMMEDIATELY...

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Who IS this odious weasel...? Oh, a Bush appointee... Never mind...

it's been clear for a long time that the principal selection criterion for appointment to the bush administration is unwavering loyalty to bush... the second most important is an unquestioning willingness to do precisely what you're told... i suppose also being a completely odious toad is considered a lucky bonus...

"Actually you know I think the news story that you're really going to start seeing in the next couple of weeks is this: As a result of a FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request through a major news organization, somebody asked, 'Who are the lawyers around this country representing detainees down there,' and you know what, it's shocking," he said [Cully Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs].

Mr. Stimson proceeded to reel off the names of these firms, adding, "I think, quite honestly, when corporate CEOs see that those firms are representing the very terrorists who hit their bottom line back in 2001, those CEOs are going to make those law firms choose between representing terrorists or representing reputable firms, and I think that is going to have major play in the next few weeks. And we want to watch that play out."

Asked who was paying the firms, Mr. Stimson hinted of dark doings. "It's not clear, is it?" he said. "Some will maintain that they are doing it out of the goodness of their heart, that they're doing it pro bono, and I suspect they are; others are receiving monies from who knows where, and I'd be curious to have them explain that."

It might be only laughable that Mr. Stimson, during the interview, called Guantanamo "certainly, probably, the most transparent and open location in the world."

But it's offensive -- shocking, to use his word -- that Mr. Stimson, a lawyer, would argue that law firms are doing anything other than upholding the highest ethical traditions of the bar by taking on the most unpopular of defendants. It's shocking that he would seemingly encourage the firms' corporate clients to pressure them to drop this work. And it's shocking -- though perhaps not surprising -- that this is the person the administration has chosen to oversee detainee policy at Guantanamo.

no, not surprising at all... after all, how could such an individual possibly conceive of wanting to stop endless detention, detainee torture, and to restore basic legal rights that are supposedly the foundation of this country to those who are being deprived of them...

my question is this... how many rocks have to be turned over to get something like cully stimson to crawl out...?

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I've had it

i am so unbelievably f*****g disgusted with my country, specifically the presidential administration of george w. bush, i can barely type these words in a restrained enough fashion to keep from damaging my keyboard... why bush and his criminal compadres weren't frogmarched out of the white house post-katrina is still beyond me... in any case, i am past rage, i am past frothing, and, for today, at least, i am well past putting up one more post about our embarrassing excuse for a president... 'nite all...

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Thumbs-down to Bush in post-speech poll

no bounce here...

The poll found that 61 percent of Americans oppose sending more than 20,000 additional troops to Iraq, with 52 percent saying they strongly oppose the plan. Just 36 percent said they back the president's new proposal.

Bush fared better among the 42 percent of Americans who actually watched the speech. Among that group, 47 percent support sending more troops, while 51 percent oppose. But the President's supporters were disproportionately represented among the audience.

the reason the president's supporters were disproportionately represented among those who actually watched the speech is simply because you would have to BE a supporter to be able to stomach watching the man... i can't abide him and watching him just makes it that much worse...

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"Has Mr. Bush really not noticed that the American people long ago lost faith in the Iraqi government — and in him as well?"

the nyt turns shrill...

President Bush told Americans last night that failure in Iraq would be a disaster. The disaster is Mr. Bush’s war, and he has already failed. Last night was his chance to stop offering more fog and be honest with the nation, and he did not take it.

Americans needed to hear a clear plan to extricate United States troops from the disaster that Mr. Bush created. What they got was more gauzy talk of victory in the war on terrorism and of creating a “young democracy” in Iraq. In other words, a way for this president to run out the clock and leave his mess for the next one.

yes, indeed... it is bush's war, and his alone... mccain and lieberman can jump right in there as bush wannabes, but no one can dispute that iraq is bush's disaster to have and to hold...

Mr. Bush’s excuses were tragically inadequate. The nation needs an eyes-wide-open recognition that the only goal left is to get the U.S. military out of this civil war in a way that could minimize the slaughter of Iraqis and reduce the chances that the chaos Mr. Bush unleashed will engulf Iraq’s neighbors.

What it certainly did not need were more of Mr. Bush’s open-ended threats to Iran and Syria.

[...]

[H]e said he had warned the Iraqis that if they didn’t come through, they would lose the faith of the American people. Has Mr. Bush really not noticed that the American people long ago lost faith in the Iraqi government — and in him as well?

[...]

There is nothing ahead but even greater disaster in Iraq.

time once again to trot out my own shrillness...

BUSH, CHENEY AND THE ENTIRE CABINET MUST SUBMIT THEIR RESIGNATIONS... IMMEDIATELY...

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Bush is now a dictator, so, constitutional showdown, here we come...!

When it comes to Iraq, Bush has become a dictator.
The nation is going to have to come to terms with
this fact.

oh, no... it isn't just "when it comes to iraq..." bush has become a dictator, period - in every way...

It’s hard to know what to think. Should we be outraged? Or incredulous? Bush may be ignorant, but he is not stupid. It’s hard not to conclude that his arrogance knows no bounds. Or that he’s crazy. Talk that he might face impeachment by the newly Democratic House of Representatives — a fitting dream, but an unlikely reality — should be replaced by calls that he undergo a psychiatric evaluation. But even if Bush were found to be certifiable, the thought of his being replaced by that even more dangerous political psychopath, the aptly named Dick Cheney, is even more frightening.

There is no elegant way to put it: we’re screwed. Given the intricacies of the federal budget, Bush already has the money to get more troops into Iraq. It’s likely the first step in stopping him would be to place a limit on the number of troops that could be deployed. But some key congressmen think no meaningful fiscal hobblers can be put on Bush’s escalation of troop levels until next year. And even if Congress were to summon the gumption, the courage, to do the right thing, the commonsensible thing, and deny funding for additional troops, as Senator Edward M. Kennedy wisely urges, there is absolutely no reason to believe — let alone hope — that Bush would accept the duly constituted authority of Congress. It seems more certain that the nation will eventually face a constitutional showdown.

bring it on... fercryinoutloud... LET'S DO THIS THING...!

(thanks to one pissed off liberal at daily kos...)

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A Senate Dem and a Senate R jointly introduce legislation to establish data mining oversight

now, THIS is the kind of bipartisanship we need to see more of, not bush's phony "my-way-or-the-highway" kind...

U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John Sununu (R-NH) have reintroduced legislation requiring federal agencies to report to Congress on the use and development of data mining programs.

[...]

"This bill is a way for Congress and the public to finally understand what is going on behind the closed doors of the executive branch so that we can start to have a policy discussion about data mining that is long overdue," Feingold said. "The possibility of unchecked, secret use of data mining technology threatens one of the most important values that we are fighting for in the war against terrorism – freedom."

"Data mining and other technologies can be essential tools in detecting predictive patterns and possible outcomes from anonymous records. However, it is imperative that we understand the impact of such technology on Americans' personal privacy. In order to do this, Congress must be fully informed of the current data mining technologies, new ones that are being developed, the effectiveness of those technologies, and the privacy protections in place," said Sununu.

nice, and long overdue... let's see if it makes it through...

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The latest in Human Resources training

< sigh > in a former life, i spent a lot of time with corporate human resources folks... in my initial naivete, i actually believed they had the best interests of the employees at heart... silly me...

How to Protect Your Organization from USERRA Lawsuits

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) covers employer obligations to employees returning to civilian work after military
service. The act also prohibits discrimination against veterans, present members, and applicants of the uniformed services. USERRA's reach is broad—with more than 25 million people covered under USERRA and two court decisions even holding management and supervisors personally liable for violations.

Here's what you'll learn ...

* Your company's obligations under USERRA.
* Employment actions constituting USERRA discrimination and how to avoid them.
* How USERRA affects employee benefits.
* Training tips and policies concerning leaves of absence.

gosh, and with the escalation bush will announce tonight, there'll be even MORE than 25 million...

(you can register here...!)

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The "Blackadder Victory Plan" for Iraq

both hysterical and very sad at the same time...

Chris in Paris was telling me that Bush's "new" plan for victory in Iraq reminded him of an episode of the hysterical BBC comedy "Blackadder." With a little sleuthing, Chris was able to find the episode in question. The relevant part begins about 2 minutes into the video - I've transcribed the dialogue, but you can find the video itself at the end of this post.

GENERAL: Now, Field Marshal Hague has formulated a brilliant new tactical plan to ensure final victory in the field.

CAPTAIN BLACKADDER: Ah, would this brilliant plan involve us climbing out of our trenches and walking very slowly towards the enemy, sir?

CAPTAIN DARLING: How could you possibly know that Blackadder, it's classified information?

CAPTAIN BLACKADDER: It's the same plan that we used last time, and the seventeen times before that.

GENERAL: Ex... ex... ex... actly! And that is what is so brilliant about it! It will catch the watchful Hun totally off guard. Doing precisely what we've done eighteen times before is exactly the last thing they'll expect us to do this time!

There is, however, one small problem.

CAPTAIN BLACKADDER: That everyone always gets slaughtered in the first ten seconds?

GENERAL: That's right. And Field Marshal Hague is worried that this may be depressing the men a tad. So, he's looking to find a way to cheer them up.

CAPTAIN BLACKADDER: Well, his resignation and suicide would seem the obvious.

(thanks to chris in paris and john in d.c., both with americablog...)

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"A more than 3½-year-old war that has only gotten deadlier with no end in sight"

bush and his team have, once again, set the agenda... it's either escalate or withdraw, no middle ground, no diplomacy, no innovation, no nada...

For a little over 20 minutes Wednesday night, Bush is to explain why a gradual buildup of additional U.S. troops, along with other steps expected to include pumping $1 billion into Iraq’s economy, is the answer for a more than 3½-year-old war that has only gotten deadlier with no end in sight.

it's a false choice, and i can only hope that every american citizen with a pulse sees it for what it is - a jaw-dropping disconnect from even the slightest hint of reality...

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Sirota: "...refuting his insanity"

there seems to be more than enough insanity to go around...

Who really is “out of sync with the American public?”
You make the call:

"The activist left is out of sync with the American public." - DLC leader Will Marshall on progressive efforts to prevent a military escalation in Iraq, LA Times, 1/10/06

VERSUS

"The American public in general opposes the concept of an increase in troops in Iraq. A number of polls have shown that when given a choice between a set of alternative ways of handling the troop situation in Iraq, only about 10% of Americans opt for the alternative of increasing troops. The rest opt for withdrawal of troops." - Gallup Polling Company, 1/9/06

Someone please tell me why the media continues to quote people like Will Marshall as a credible voice with a credible perspective? I mean, honestly - what point, what level of sheer, unadulterated dishonesty disqualifies you from being quoted in major newspapers? And perhaps even more importantly, if a major agenda-setting newspaper like the LA Times insists on quoting someone with no credibility, how can they do so without even as much as a mention of the actual public opinion data refuting his insanity?

we've seen some incredible disasters with bush as president, preventable disasters that he obviously had no desire to prevent... tonight's speech and what he is planning in iraq has to qualify as the pinnacle of gall... flaunting the will of the american people at this level of magnitude is truly beyond belief... if we sit still for it, we are worse than fools... we will be selling out our own country in the most malign definition of treason...

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WaPo crap: "An election that many Democrats interpreted as a mandate to begin withdrawing troops"

what's this "MANY DEMOCRATS" shit...? even a half-hearted stab at the truth would say, "MOST of the AMERICAN PEOPLE interpreted..."

As Bush plans it, the military will soon be "surging" in Iraq two months after an election that many Democrats interpreted as a mandate to begin withdrawing troops.

i'm sick of your bushco spin, wapo... the bush administration is a bullet train headed off the rails at full speed and you make it sound like the democrats are the only ones trying to slam on the binders... there's more than just a few r's that are opposed to bush's certifiable insanity, a number of the neocons have jumped ship, even the old gunslinger, ollie north, is now a naysayer, which, added to the vast majority of the u.s. populace, means that bush is acting virtually alone...

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68 R's vote with Dems on H. Res. 1

i guess you might say the r's lockstep ain't no more...

A House bill (H. Res. 1) to implement recommendations suggested by the September 11th Commission passed by a vote of 299 to 128, with eight members of Congress not voting.

Just after 7:15 PM Eastern, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the bill had passed, and gaveled the end of the vote. Joining 231 Democrats were 68 Republican members of Congress.

House Republican Leadership had urged a no vote to the legislation, reasoning that it had not been considered with appropriate hearings by House committees, and amendments on the House floor were not permitted.

this does NOT bode well for bush, but, for me, it's one hell of a nice way to end a posting day...

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Ted Kennedy's proposed legislation on Iraq

the senator's diary in daily kos...

I am on my way to the National Press Club in Washington in a few minutes to speak about a new bill. If passed, it will prohibit escalation in Iraq without express Congressional approval of a plan and budget.

President Bush owes the American people a clear explanation about what he's trying to accomplish in Iraq, and that's why I'm introducing legislation that will force him to explain himself.

In October 2002, Members of Congress authorized a war against the regime of Saddam Hussein, not to send our troops into a civil war. I voted against that resolution and feel an escalation of this war only compounds the original mistake of going in the first place.

The American people know, and our generals agree, that a military escalation in Iraq would not strengthen our national security – instead it would further weaken it by enabling the Iraqis to avoid taking responsibility for their own future. More than 3,000 American soldiers have died in Iraq and more than 22,000 have been wounded. It’s time to get this right.

Here's the text of the legislation:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Section 1. Prohibition on use of funds for escalation of United States forces in Iraq.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal funds may be obligated or expended by the United States Government to increase the number of United States forces in Iraq above the level for such forces which existed as of January 1, 2007, without a specific authorization of Congress by law for such an increase.

it's long past time that the boom was lowered on this so-called president...

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JAN 11: INTERNATIONAL DAY TO SHUT DOWN GUANTÁNAMO

let's be perfectly clear here... it isn't just guantánamo that needs shutting down... there's also bagram and all those cia "black sites..."

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Foreign Policy, Argentina edition, says the Bush "revolution" is over

i spotted this billboard advertising the current issue of the argentina edition of foreign policy magazine on sunday evening as i was walking from a friend's place to catch the train back home...



as often seems to be the case, the u.s. edition neither features the article nor do they even include it in the magazine...

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So, who wants escalation...? Basically, nobody... Who wants Bush...? Damn few...

bush goes live tomorrow night right square in the middle of the argentina-colombia futbol match... given a choice, particularly since we've all seen his speech before (SEVERAL times, in fact), i think my viewing choice is clear...

President Bush will outline his "new way forward" in Iraq on Wednesday to a nation that overwhelmingly opposes sending more U.S. troops and is increasingly skeptical that the war can be won.

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday shows a daunting sales job ahead for the White House, which is considering a plan to deploy up to 20,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq.

Those surveyed oppose the idea of increased troop levels by 61%-36%. Approval of the job Bush is doing in Iraq has sunk to 26%, a record low.

[...]

Among key findings:

• Nearly half of those surveyed say the United States can't achieve its goals in Iraq regardless of how many troops it sends. One in four say U.S. goals can be achieved only with an increase in troop numbers.

• Eight in 10 say the war has gone worse than the Bush administration expected. Of those people, 53% say Bush deserves "a great deal" of blame; 41% place a great deal of blame on Iraqi political leaders.

• By 72%-25%, Americans say Bush doesn't have a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq. Congressional Democrats fare only a little better: 66%-25%.

Even so, Democrats take control of Congress amid a wave of good feeling. By 2-to-1, Americans say they want congressional Democrats, not Bush, to have more influence over the direction of the nation.

i'm sorry, i simply do not understand why congress and the people of the u.s. aren't rising up and tossing this guy and his buds out on their collective asses... how the hell long does it take this ship to sink - ANYWAY...?

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Disgusting, arrogant, low-life, son-of-a-bitch... And, he's our PRESIDENT...!

can you believe this...?

President Bush has no evident interest in consulting with, let alone drawing in, the new Democratic Congress as a war partner. An example: the new chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee — Carl Levin, an important character now — sent Bush a private letter three weeks ago offering his counsel. Levin never got a reply. Bush can be just as deaf to Republicans. At a recent White House ceremony, Sen. Susan Collins offered to brief him on her Iraq visit. He responded by escorting her to the office of his deputy national-security adviser — and then left before she told her story.

< sigh > of course you can...

(thanks to think progress...)

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Our freedoms, our rights, our laws, our liberties are at stake

i'm just a lone blogger without benefit of a big megaphone, but i'm gonna keep bangin' on this drum, day after repetitive day, as long as it takes...

Our freedoms, our rights, our laws, our liberties are at stake. None of us wish this were so. None of us want to see this have to happen. But the Constitutional Crisis is real, and the Democrats must respond with the respect for their office, for our Constitution, and for us that we rightly expect them to show.

why now...? after all, the new congress has only just started... because "now" should have been months, if not years, ago...

There are those who suggest it is too early to judge how the new Congress will act. That we need to give them time to get settled in. It's been only 3 days since they were inaugurated, after all.


At any other time in our recent history I would agree with this. Not now. Like FDR in 1933, the 110th Congress has taken office during a major crisis. There is simply no time to wait. And as Bush is clearly signaling, the first impressions make all the difference.

"there is simply no time to wait..." indeed...

(thanks to eugene at daily kos...)

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The U.S. military is a key strategic asset to any business plan

apropos of last night's post...



(thanks to the unknown candidate and the old american century...)

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We aren't making progress, we don't have the patience, AND it's an illegal war...

nyt's quotation of the day...

"I believe the American people, if they feel we are making progress, they will have the patience. I think the frustration is that they think we are not making progress."

- LT. GEN. RAYMOND T. ODIERNO, the American operational commander in Iraq.

ray, baby... listen up... the "frustration" is that we were lied to, that hundreds of thousands of people have died with more dying every day, that big oil is signing up to take 75% of the profits from iraqi oil, that our president doesn't give a tinker's damn about congress or the will of the american people, and that same president is creating a scenario of endless war to continue his transformation of our republic into an authoritarian state... now, how hard is that to understand...?

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I'm rubber, you're glue... Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you...!

maliki must be taking "bush" lessons...

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Saturday threatened to cut off diplomatic relations with countries that criticized the execution of Saddam Hussein. He defended the decision to execute him on the Sunni feast of sacrifice, saying that Saddam had profaned religious holidays. Note to al-Maliki: 1. Don't compare yourself to Saddam and 2. when you have a capital so dangerous that countries are afraid to send embassies, it isn't really that much of a threat when you say you'll cut off diplomatic relations.

puh-l-e-e-e-eeze...

(thanks to juan cole...)

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Political operatives aren’t going to save this country

a great post from e. buttler at the barstool chronicles...

Fact is, people like Cindy Sheehan and Sunsara Taylor understand full well that our real opponent is the apparatus, the machine, not merely its Republican/Neo-Con wing. They’re not so blindly naive and drowning in wishful thinking to believe that Pelosi and Reid and Emanuel -- and the entire coterie of “off the table” Democrats they lead -- represent an authentic answer to anything, simply by virtue of not being Republicans. Just like the Repugs, Democrats in Congress are politicians, first and foremost, burdened with all the baggage such a designation entails. Posing as self-righteous alternatives to the corrupt bottom-feeders on the Right, the Dems have to be held to a higher standard; Cindy, Sunsara, and others know this intuitively. Too bad a few well-meaning libs at DU don’t seem to have a clue. Political operatives aren’t going to save this country -- real people like Cindy and Sunsara just might.

there's more here...

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Molly ain't blind either, and she's pissed

good on her... she's a terrific asset to this country and i trust her perspective implicitly...

We need to make sure that the new Congress curbs executive power, which has been so misused, and asserts its own power to make this situation change. Now.

NOW... as in, RIGHT NOW... as in, NOT TOMORROW... as in, ASAP... as in, AHORA...

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The U.S. government is only too happy to sacrifice lives in order to expand the oil business

it's a heckuva deal when you have the entire might of the taxpayer-supported united states goverment ready and willing to sacrifice people's lives in order to increase your opportunities for expanding business and increasing profits... you don't have to beat down or buy out the competition, you don't have to go through the tediousness of exploration and test drilling, you don't have a huge investment in new infrastructure, the economy is already in ruins so labor costs are laughably low... what's NOT to like...?

"Iraq's massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days," Danny Fortson, Andrew Murray-Watson and Tim Webb report in the cover story [Britain's The Independent on Sunday].

According to the paper, the law "would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972."

"Supporters say the provision allowing oil companies to take up to 75 per cent of the profits will last until they have recouped initial drilling costs," the article continues. "After that, they would collect about 20 per cent of all profits, according to industry sources in Iraq. But that is twice the industry average for such deals."

reading things like this, i just get this incredible feeling of pride in my country... is the u.s. a great place, or what...?

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Screw the goddam "hints" and kick Steny in the nuts

we don't need no ste-e-e-e-nking hints...

Pelosi hints at resisting Iraq surge

WASHINGTON - Democrats now running Congress will not give President Bush a blank check to wage war in Iraq, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday, suggesting they could deny him the money should he call for additional troops.

stand up there, nancy... you don't need to hint around... give 'im both barrels... and go give your #2, steny, a big, pointed ferragamo in the groin, and tell him he had better get his friggin' ducks in a row...

While leading Democrats reaffirmed their opposition to a troop buildup, several did not join Pelosi in suggesting it was possible Congress could deny Bush the money for the additional forces.

"I don't want to anticipate that," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

yeah, great... the dems have congress, and we already got shit coming out of the majority leader's mouth... let's all just pussy-foot around while bush reads our mail and builds domestic detention camps... as long as we can still go shopping at costco, no worries...

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The Dems had better get their asses in high gear FAST and start DEALING with this crap

in an earlier post, i expressed this opinion...

honestly, i'm starting to feel slightly hysterical... i had this momentary flush of optimism after the november elections, even though i realized full well that the constitutional crisis would continue unabated as long as george bush remained in office... but i hoped that there would be some serious democratic action to at least slow it down, if not halt it outright... i'm beginning to think that isn't going to happen, and, as a result, i'm feeling even more frightened about america's future than i was BEFORE the election...

to which i received this comment...

Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! Profmarcus, you posted this on January 5th, not even 48 hours into the new Congress. Get a grip prof and give them some time. Let's see what the investigations pull up. No one wants to see this war ended more than I do, but to throw up your hands before they've even gotten started is nuts.

to clarify... i believe the dems should have come out swinging on november 8... that's how serious things are... sitting around, waiting until last thursday before even BEGINNING to speak out, and then not forcefully on the issues that matter most, has only allowed bush to continue to consolidate his power and to prepare to stiff-arm the congress and the american people once again... the nyt notes what has happened in that interim...

In 2006, the voters sent Mr. Bush a powerful message that it was time to rein in his imperial ambitions. But we have yet to see any sign that Mr. Bush understands that — or even realizes that the Democrats are now in control of the Congress. Indeed, he seems to have interpreted his party’s drubbing as a mandate to keep pursuing his fantasy of victory in Iraq and to press ahead undaunted with his assault on civil liberties and the judicial system.

they also seem to recognize that the u.s. is at a critical juncture...

We ... hope ... Democratic leaders are not swayed by the absurd notion circulating in Washington that the Democrats should now “look ahead” rather than use their new majority to right the dangerous wrongs of the last six years of Mr. Bush’s one-party rule.

This is a false choice. Dealing with these issues is not about the past. The administration’s assault on some of the nation’s founding principles continues unabated. If the Democrats were to shirk their responsibility to stop it, that would make them no better than the Republicans who formed and enabled these policies in the first place.

the time for talk, consensus building, and politics as usual is long past... we need ACTION, firm, direct, positive ACTION - NOW... our constitution is at stake along with the very future of the united states...

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