The Daily Brew
No Investigation Necessary
© June 15, 2003
The Daily Brew
EXCERPT:
There is no longer any real question about whether Bush lied to Congress and the American people about Iraq. He did. The aluminum tubes, the uranium from Niger, the unmanned drones rigged to spew clouds of bio-toxins over New York City at any second? All lies. The Bush administration's public statements themselves demonstrate these were lies, and no further Congressional inquiry is necessary to prove it.
But if the lies were bad, the innuendos were worse. Brazenly exploiting the tragedy, the administration intentionally (and successfully) created a connection between Iraq and September 11th in the mind of the public that simply did not exist. Bush sold the attack using the same smoke and mirrors Enron used to earn "profits." Again, Congress need not hold hearings to establish this fact. The Bush administration's public statements already on record are all that is needed.
Thus it really doesn't matter if they ever find weapons of mass destruction. The Bush administration isn't going to find Nigerian uranium or drones capable of attacking the United States no matter how hard they look. Even if they do find something else, Bush still lied.
While congressional hearings might provide some nice political theater (and have therefore been blocked by the Republicans), they are not really necessary. The fundamental question created by the war on Iraq has been answered.
Sunday, June 15, 2003
Censored 2003: The Top 25 Censored Media Stories of 2001-2002
#1: FCC Moves to Privatize Airwaves
#2: New Trade Treaty Seeks to Privatize Global Social Services
#3: United States' Policies in Colombia Support Mass Murder
#4: Bush Administration Hampered FBI Investigation 46 into Bin Laden Family Before
#5: U.S. Intentionally Destroyed Iraq's Water System
#6: U.S. Government Pushing Nuclear Revival
#7: Corporations Promote HMO Model for School Districts
#8: NAFTA Destroys Farming Communities in U.S. and Abroad
#9: U.S. Faces National Housing Crisis
#10: CIA Double Deals in Macedonia
#11: Bush Appoints Former Criminals to Key Government Roles
#12: NAFTA's Chapter 11 Overrides Public Protection Laws of Countries
#13: Henry Kissinger and Gerald Ford Lied to the American Public about East Timor
#14: New Laws Restrict Access to Abortions in U.S.
#15: Bush's Energy Plan Threatens Environment and Public Health
#16: CIA Kidnaps Suspects for Overseas Torture and Execution
#17: Corporate Media Ignores Key Issues of the Anti-Globalization Protests
#18: World's Coral Reefs Dying
#19: American Companies Exploit the Congo
#20: Novartis's Gene Research Endangers Global Plant Life
#21: Large U.S. Temp Company Undermines Union Jobs and Mistreats Workers
#22: Fish Farms Threaten Health of Consumers and Aquatic Habitats
#23: Horses Face Lives of Unnecessary Abuse for Drug Company Profits
#24: Wal-mart Takes
In These Times | Neocon Convergences
That neocons are galvanized by race is no surprise. One of the founding documents of neoconservatism is Norman Podhoretz’s 1963 essay “My Negro Problem—and Ours.” In that famous Commentary essay, Podhoretz’s comments helped create a gap between blacks and Jews that has yet to be bridged. Among other things, he suggested that the solution to America’s racial problem would be for blacks to accept miscegenation as an unobtrusive form of genocide.
Victims of these evils see the link between neo-imperialism and neoracism much more easily than the victimizers. And they fear this axis of evil much more than the one concocted by Bush’s speech writers. That’s likely one reason black Americans resisted overwhelming media propaganda and opposed the Iraq invasion. The funding priorities of the Bradley Foundation show those fears are not misplaced.
That neocons are galvanized by race is no surprise. One of the founding documents of neoconservatism is Norman Podhoretz’s 1963 essay “My Negro Problem—and Ours.” In that famous Commentary essay, Podhoretz’s comments helped create a gap between blacks and Jews that has yet to be bridged. Among other things, he suggested that the solution to America’s racial problem would be for blacks to accept miscegenation as an unobtrusive form of genocide.
Victims of these evils see the link between neo-imperialism and neoracism much more easily than the victimizers. And they fear this axis of evil much more than the one concocted by Bush’s speech writers. That’s likely one reason black Americans resisted overwhelming media propaganda and opposed the Iraq invasion. The funding priorities of the Bradley Foundation show those fears are not misplaced.
Saturday, June 14, 2003
When It Raines...
Powerful people and institutions have a strong self-interest in resisting journalistic inspection and the public accountability it can inspire. But their resistance weakens the democratic bond between the powerful and the powerless that can prevent unchecked corruption where it matters most. Irresponsible attacks by the right on just about all tough-minded, independent reporting come at the cost of the very information citizens need to understand the political, social and economic context of their world. The ability of the Times to report honestly on the forces that govern our lives--and, by doing so, to help set the agenda for the rest of the media--is one of the few institutional obstacles in the path of those who misuse their power. And that's why, for all its flaws, the Times must be defended. We have, alas, seen the alternative.
Powerful people and institutions have a strong self-interest in resisting journalistic inspection and the public accountability it can inspire. But their resistance weakens the democratic bond between the powerful and the powerless that can prevent unchecked corruption where it matters most. Irresponsible attacks by the right on just about all tough-minded, independent reporting come at the cost of the very information citizens need to understand the political, social and economic context of their world. The ability of the Times to report honestly on the forces that govern our lives--and, by doing so, to help set the agenda for the rest of the media--is one of the few institutional obstacles in the path of those who misuse their power. And that's why, for all its flaws, the Times must be defended. We have, alas, seen the alternative.
From the blog of Katrina vanden Heuvel...
Editor's Cut How to Really Save Private Lynch
"We face an unemployment problem that is certainly without precedent in my lifetime," said Paul Bremer, the US-appointed Governor of Iraq, as he unveiled a $100 million public works program for that battered country, using funds drawn from the Iraqi Central Bank. The move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is part of a broader effort to get Iraqis back to work, rebuild the country's hospitals and highways and, generally, jump-start the moribund economy.
Meanwhile, back in Palestine, West Virginia--best known as the hometown of Private Jessica Lynch--nearly half of the adults in Wirt county are unemployed, the poverty rate hovers near 20 percent and funds for civic projects like rebuilding the 41-year old county swimming pool have completely dried up.
Importance of Breathing Through The Nose
The first rule for correct breathing is that we should breathe through the nose. This may seem obvious, but many people breathe principally through the mouth. Mouth breathing can adversely affect the development of the thyroid gland. It can retard the mental development of children.
The nose has various defense mechanisms to prevent impurities and excessively cold air entering the body. At the entrance to the nose, a screen of hairs traps dust, tiny insects and other particles that may injure the lungs if you breathe through the mouth. After the entrance of the nose, there is a long winding passage lined with mucus membranes, where excessively cool air is warmed and very fine dust particles that escaped the hair screen are caught. Next, in the inner nose are glands which fight off any bacilli which have slipped through the other defenses. The inner nose also contains the olfactory organ-our sense of smell. This detects any poisonous gases around that may injure our health.
The yogis believe that the olfactory organ has another function: the absorption of prana from the air. If you breathe through the mouth all the time, as many people do, you are cheating yourself of all this free energy (prana). The yogis say this is a major factor in lowered resistance to disease and impairs the functioning of your vital glands and nervous system. Add to this the fact that pathogens can enter the lungs via mouth breathing, and you can see2
The first rule for correct breathing is that we should breathe through the nose. This may seem obvious, but many people breathe principally through the mouth. Mouth breathing can adversely affect the development of the thyroid gland. It can retard the mental development of children.
The nose has various defense mechanisms to prevent impurities and excessively cold air entering the body. At the entrance to the nose, a screen of hairs traps dust, tiny insects and other particles that may injure the lungs if you breathe through the mouth. After the entrance of the nose, there is a long winding passage lined with mucus membranes, where excessively cool air is warmed and very fine dust particles that escaped the hair screen are caught. Next, in the inner nose are glands which fight off any bacilli which have slipped through the other defenses. The inner nose also contains the olfactory organ-our sense of smell. This detects any poisonous gases around that may injure our health.
The yogis believe that the olfactory organ has another function: the absorption of prana from the air. If you breathe through the mouth all the time, as many people do, you are cheating yourself of all this free energy (prana). The yogis say this is a major factor in lowered resistance to disease and impairs the functioning of your vital glands and nervous system. Add to this the fact that pathogens can enter the lungs via mouth breathing, and you can see2
Friday, June 13, 2003
Welcome to uExpress featuring Ted Rall -- The Best Advice and Opinions The Universe!
NEW YORK--George W. Bush told us that Iraq and Al Qaeda were working together. They weren't. He repeatedly implied that Iraq had had something to do with 9/11. It hadn't. He claimed to have proof that Saddam Hussein possessed banned weapons of mass destruction. He didn't. As our allies watched in horror and disgust, Bush conned us into a one-sided war of aggression that killed and maimed thousands of innocent people, destroyed billions of dollars in Iraqi infrastructure, cost tens of billions of dollars, cost the lives of American soldiers, and transformed our international image as the world's shining beacon of freedom into that of a marauding police state. Presidents Nixon and Clinton rightly faced impeachment for comparatively trivial offenses; if we hope to restore our nation's honor, George W. Bush too must face a president's gravest political sanction.
NEW YORK--George W. Bush told us that Iraq and Al Qaeda were working together. They weren't. He repeatedly implied that Iraq had had something to do with 9/11. It hadn't. He claimed to have proof that Saddam Hussein possessed banned weapons of mass destruction. He didn't. As our allies watched in horror and disgust, Bush conned us into a one-sided war of aggression that killed and maimed thousands of innocent people, destroyed billions of dollars in Iraqi infrastructure, cost tens of billions of dollars, cost the lives of American soldiers, and transformed our international image as the world's shining beacon of freedom into that of a marauding police state. Presidents Nixon and Clinton rightly faced impeachment for comparatively trivial offenses; if we hope to restore our nation's honor, George W. Bush too must face a president's gravest political sanction.
Released last week, the FAIR study reports that "official voices" — U.S. government and military, past and present — dominated TV newscasts, "squelching dissent'' and crowding out alternative viewpoints, including foreign perspectives.
American television viewers "were more than six times as likely to see a pro-war source as one who was anti-war; with U.S. guests alone, the ratio increases to 25 to 1,'' the study's authors, Steve Rendell and Tara Broughel, report in the May/June edition of FAIR's magazine Extra!
They looked at 1,617 talking heads and other on-camera sources, coding them by name, occupation, nationality, position on the war and the network on which they appeared. (In CNN's case, they targeted Wolf Blitzer Reports.) Turns out that, not only did Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld take over Iraq for the U.S., he also scored a clear victory over the media.
Indeed, military types got twice as much face time as civilians did. They were reinforced by the Pentagon's slickest marketing move of all time, the embedding of hundreds of journalists with the troops.
Obviously, the anti-war brigade didn't get much attention, even if its members were with the government or military. FAIR found a mere 3 per cent of U.S. sources "represented or expressed opposition to the war,'' and that includes senators and members of Congress."
American television viewers "were more than six times as likely to see a pro-war source as one who was anti-war; with U.S. guests alone, the ratio increases to 25 to 1,'' the study's authors, Steve Rendell and Tara Broughel, report in the May/June edition of FAIR's magazine Extra!
They looked at 1,617 talking heads and other on-camera sources, coding them by name, occupation, nationality, position on the war and the network on which they appeared. (In CNN's case, they targeted Wolf Blitzer Reports.) Turns out that, not only did Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld take over Iraq for the U.S., he also scored a clear victory over the media.
Indeed, military types got twice as much face time as civilians did. They were reinforced by the Pentagon's slickest marketing move of all time, the embedding of hundreds of journalists with the troops.
Obviously, the anti-war brigade didn't get much attention, even if its members were with the government or military. FAIR found a mere 3 per cent of U.S. sources "represented or expressed opposition to the war,'' and that includes senators and members of Congress."
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Up to 7,000 civilians killed in war, researchers say At least 5,000 civilians may have been killed during the invasion of Iraq, an independent research group has claimed. As more evidence is collated, it says, the figure could reach 10,000.
Iraq Body Count (IBC), a volunteer group of British and US academics and researchers, compiled statistics on civilian casualties from media reports and estimated that between 5,000 and 7,000 civilians died in the conflict.
Iraq Body Count (IBC), a volunteer group of British and US academics and researchers, compiled statistics on civilian casualties from media reports and estimated that between 5,000 and 7,000 civilians died in the conflict.
Violence flares as Israel and Hamas head for all-out war Israeli helicopters killed seven Palestinians, including a senior militant, his wife and infant daughter, as Israel and the Islamic group Hamas dropped any pretense of peace and declared all-out war.
That Bush sure is an effective leader! He asks for peace...and gets all-out war. Well...it IS Friday 13th!
That Bush sure is an effective leader! He asks for peace...and gets all-out war. Well...it IS Friday 13th!
Thursday, June 12, 2003
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Hamas warning after Gaza strikes
The World's Stupidest Man, George W. Bush, has a plan. He says he wants peace in the Middle East. Unfortunately he is a proven liar...
The Middle East is about to go up in smoke...
Great guns, Georgie!
The World's Stupidest Man, George W. Bush, has a plan. He says he wants peace in the Middle East. Unfortunately he is a proven liar...
The Middle East is about to go up in smoke...
Great guns, Georgie!
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
TOMPAINE.com - Declaring Independence What makes the actions of the Bush administration so troublesome is the lack of honesty.
It amounts, in the end, to a pattern of deception and distortion; ultimately that does not respect the wisdom of the American people.
It amounts, in the end, to a pattern of deception and distortion; ultimately that does not respect the wisdom of the American people.
Welcome to Our Future.org
BILL MOYERS
Prepared remarks upon receiving
America's Future Lifetime Leadership
Award
This is your story - the progressive
story of America.
Acceptance Speech (PDF Format)
Speeches
Robert L. Borosage
Co-Director, Campaign for America's Future
Opening Speech (PDF Format)
Heather Booth
Organizer
Prepared Remarks (PDF Format)
James Galbraith
Professor, University of Texas
Prepared Remarks (PDF Format)
Stan Greenberg
Chairman and CEO of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research Inc.
Conference Presentation (Microsoft Power Point)
BILL MOYERS
Prepared remarks upon receiving
America's Future Lifetime Leadership
Award
This is your story - the progressive
story of America.
Acceptance Speech (PDF Format)
Speeches
Robert L. Borosage
Co-Director, Campaign for America's Future
Opening Speech (PDF Format)
Heather Booth
Organizer
Prepared Remarks (PDF Format)
James Galbraith
Professor, University of Texas
Prepared Remarks (PDF Format)
Stan Greenberg
Chairman and CEO of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research Inc.
Conference Presentation (Microsoft Power Point)
This is Your Story - The Progressive Story of America. Pass It On. "If you think these guys are bad, you should see their constituents."
Monday, June 09, 2003
Flood Story Flood Story
By Doug Hurst, August 14, 2001
Outdoor travelers are at the mercy of the weather. It is often noted that nothing makes one feel smaller than nature’s awesome power. I have known this for many years. On the morning of July 8th at our home on Laurel Creek in Beckwith, WV, (Fayette County) my wife, two children, mother-in-law, and myself learned a lot more about nature’s power and feeling small.
I remember reading in an ecology textbook in 1988 that any stream of water over three meters wide is technically a river. Judging from the normal appearance of Laurel Creek, a quaint trout stream in the New River Gorge, I was surprised to be informed that I was living on a river. Over the years I forgot that fact. On July 8th, 2001, I was reminded. On that day, my family and I witnessed a river in our back yard.
At 7:00 a.m. we awoke to a rainy Sunday morning. Ah, a day of rest and reading. I knew it had been raining since about 4:00 a.m.. The creek looked just a little high; not out of its banks, not threatening. Soon we noticed how fast it was rising. A rising that was new, different. Coupled with the sudden realization that this loud, heavy, unceasing rain meant business we found ourselves facing the possibility of a flood. Yet even then, we had no idea what the next 5 hours was to bring.
By Doug Hurst, August 14, 2001
Outdoor travelers are at the mercy of the weather. It is often noted that nothing makes one feel smaller than nature’s awesome power. I have known this for many years. On the morning of July 8th at our home on Laurel Creek in Beckwith, WV, (Fayette County) my wife, two children, mother-in-law, and myself learned a lot more about nature’s power and feeling small.
I remember reading in an ecology textbook in 1988 that any stream of water over three meters wide is technically a river. Judging from the normal appearance of Laurel Creek, a quaint trout stream in the New River Gorge, I was surprised to be informed that I was living on a river. Over the years I forgot that fact. On July 8th, 2001, I was reminded. On that day, my family and I witnessed a river in our back yard.
At 7:00 a.m. we awoke to a rainy Sunday morning. Ah, a day of rest and reading. I knew it had been raining since about 4:00 a.m.. The creek looked just a little high; not out of its banks, not threatening. Soon we noticed how fast it was rising. A rising that was new, different. Coupled with the sudden realization that this loud, heavy, unceasing rain meant business we found ourselves facing the possibility of a flood. Yet even then, we had no idea what the next 5 hours was to bring.
Saturday, June 07, 2003
FindLaw's Writ - Dean: Missing Weapons Of Mass Destruction To put it bluntly, if Bush has taken Congress and the nation into war based on bogus information, he is cooked. Manipulation or deliberate misuse of national security intelligence data, if proven, could be "a high crime" under the Constitution's impeachment clause. It would also be a violation of federal criminal law, including the broad federal anti-conspiracy statute, which renders it a felony "to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose."
Friday, June 06, 2003
So many governments to overthrow, so little time | csmonitor.com So many governments to overthrow, so little time
Thursday, June 05, 2003
Wednesday, June 04, 2003
GETTING BADDER or Bush's Theme
(to the tune of "Getting Better", Beatles)
It’s getting badder all the time...
I used to get mad at my stool.
The people who bought me weren't cool.
Propping me down, burning me crown,
Feeling me up with your tools...
I’ve got to admit it’s getting badder,
It’s a little badder all the time.
I have to admit it’s getting badder,
It’s getting badder, since you’re Ben Klein...
Me used to be angry young man
Me hiding me head in the sand
You gave me a turd
From sheep I can herd
I’m doing the least that I can...
I admit it’s getting badder,
It’s a little badder all the time,
Yes I admit it’s getting badder,
It’s getting badder, since you’re Ben Klein.
I used to be cool to my woman,
I bleated and cut her a fart on the
Things that she loved
Man I was wrong but I’m changing my thong
And I’m doing the least that I can...
I admit it’s getting badder,
A little badder all the time.
Yes I admit it’s getting badder,
It’s getting badder, since you're Ben Klein.
Getting so much badder all the time...
--------------------------------------
Come To Get Him
(to the tune of "Come Together", Beatles)
Here come old Chimpy he come thinkin' so slowly
He got greedy eyeball on those holy rollers
He got Dick down to his knee
Got to be a poker he just poke what he please
He bring no sunshine he got Enron baseball
He got monkey finger he shit coca-cola
He say "I screw you, you pay me"
One thing I can tell you is you're not to be free
Come to get him right now offa me
He Oil production he got Walker midname
He got bigtime sidekick who one final cracker
He got brain down below his knee
Hold you in his hostile you can get his disease
Come to get him right now offa me
He neither-coaster he give yellow warning
He cause muddy water he one money filter
He say "One and one and one is four
Got to be a-cooking books he such a cash-whore.
Come to get him right now offa me...
(to the tune of "Getting Better", Beatles)
It’s getting badder all the time...
I used to get mad at my stool.
The people who bought me weren't cool.
Propping me down, burning me crown,
Feeling me up with your tools...
I’ve got to admit it’s getting badder,
It’s a little badder all the time.
I have to admit it’s getting badder,
It’s getting badder, since you’re Ben Klein...
Me used to be angry young man
Me hiding me head in the sand
You gave me a turd
From sheep I can herd
I’m doing the least that I can...
I admit it’s getting badder,
It’s a little badder all the time,
Yes I admit it’s getting badder,
It’s getting badder, since you’re Ben Klein.
I used to be cool to my woman,
I bleated and cut her a fart on the
Things that she loved
Man I was wrong but I’m changing my thong
And I’m doing the least that I can...
I admit it’s getting badder,
A little badder all the time.
Yes I admit it’s getting badder,
It’s getting badder, since you're Ben Klein.
Getting so much badder all the time...
--------------------------------------
Come To Get Him
(to the tune of "Come Together", Beatles)
Here come old Chimpy he come thinkin' so slowly
He got greedy eyeball on those holy rollers
He got Dick down to his knee
Got to be a poker he just poke what he please
He bring no sunshine he got Enron baseball
He got monkey finger he shit coca-cola
He say "I screw you, you pay me"
One thing I can tell you is you're not to be free
Come to get him right now offa me
He Oil production he got Walker midname
He got bigtime sidekick who one final cracker
He got brain down below his knee
Hold you in his hostile you can get his disease
Come to get him right now offa me
He neither-coaster he give yellow warning
He cause muddy water he one money filter
He say "One and one and one is four
Got to be a-cooking books he such a cash-whore.
Come to get him right now offa me...
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Wolfowitz: Iraq war was about oil Wolfowitz: Iraq war was about oil
George Wright
Wednesday June 4, 2003
Oil was the main reason for military action against Iraq, a leading White House hawk has claimed, confirming the worst fears of those opposed to the US-led war.
The US deputy defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz - who has already undermined Tony Blair's position over weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by describing them as a "bureaucratic" excuse for war - has now gone further by claiming the real motive was that Iraq is "swimming" in oil.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
George Wright
Wednesday June 4, 2003
Oil was the main reason for military action against Iraq, a leading White House hawk has claimed, confirming the worst fears of those opposed to the US-led war.
The US deputy defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz - who has already undermined Tony Blair's position over weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by describing them as a "bureaucratic" excuse for war - has now gone further by claiming the real motive was that Iraq is "swimming" in oil.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Media figures in glass houses-Buchanan, Savage, Coulter, and Limbaugh-decry New York Times falsehoods One of the most troubling ironies to come out of the controversy over fraudulent reporting at The New York Times is that the most passionate expressions of outrage have come from some of the most notorious fabricators in the media—and that no one seems to have noticed the breathtaking hypocrisy and double standard.
First it was Mesopotamia, now comes Persia.
Bush Makes War on the Ancients
Despite thin intelligence reports, US plans to overthrow Iranian regime Despite thin intelligence reports, US plans to overthrow Iranian regime
Bush Makes War on the Ancients
Despite thin intelligence reports, US plans to overthrow Iranian regime Despite thin intelligence reports, US plans to overthrow Iranian regime
Tuesday, June 03, 2003
CHIMPY SCREWS THE POORTIME - Joe Klein - Blessed Are the Poor — They Don't Get Tax Cuts There are moments in public life when all is revealed, when the true priorities of a politician or a political party — as opposed to the boilerplate and blather — stand naked in the public square. George W. Bush had one last week. The White House and the Republican congressional leaders were desperate to squeeze the Bush tax cut into the $350 billion limit set by the Senate. There were plenty of ways to do this; all sorts of accounting flummeries had already been perpetrated, but a final tweak was needed. So the Republicans decided that the working poor, who pay little or no income taxes — families with incomes from $10,500 to $26,625--should not receive the expanded child tax credit. Almost 12 million children were effectively denied stipends of up to $400. This saved an estimated $3.5 billion, or 1% of the final bill.
Chimpy Screws the Poor
TIME - Joe Klein - Blessed Are the Poor — They Don't Get Tax Cuts There are moments in public life when all is revealed, when the true priorities of a politician or a political party — as opposed to the boilerplate and blather — stand naked in the public square. George W. Bush had one last week. The White House and the Republican congressional leaders were desperate to squeeze the Bush tax cut into the $350 billion limit set by the Senate. There were plenty of ways to do this; all sorts of accounting flummeries had already been perpetrated, but a final tweak was needed. So the Republicans decided that the working poor, who pay little or no income taxes — families with incomes from $10,500 to $26,625--should not receive the expanded child tax credit. Almost 12 million children were effectively denied stipends of up to $400. This saved an estimated $3.5 billion, or 1% of the final bill.
TIME - Joe Klein - Blessed Are the Poor — They Don't Get Tax Cuts There are moments in public life when all is revealed, when the true priorities of a politician or a political party — as opposed to the boilerplate and blather — stand naked in the public square. George W. Bush had one last week. The White House and the Republican congressional leaders were desperate to squeeze the Bush tax cut into the $350 billion limit set by the Senate. There were plenty of ways to do this; all sorts of accounting flummeries had already been perpetrated, but a final tweak was needed. So the Republicans decided that the working poor, who pay little or no income taxes — families with incomes from $10,500 to $26,625--should not receive the expanded child tax credit. Almost 12 million children were effectively denied stipends of up to $400. This saved an estimated $3.5 billion, or 1% of the final bill.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/03/opinion/03KRUG.html?ex=1055611954&ei=1&en=41f31e1d053d1d43 It's long past time for this administration to be held accountable. Over the last two years we've become accustomed to the pattern. Each time the administration comes up with another whopper, partisan supporters — a group that includes a large segment of the news media — obediently insist that black is white and up is down. Meanwhile the "liberal" media report only that some people say that black is black and up is up. And some Democratic politicians offer the administration invaluable cover by making excuses and playing down the extent of the lies.
If this same lack of accountability extends to matters of war and peace, we're in very deep trouble. The British seem to understand this: Max Hastings, the veteran war correspondent — who supported Britain's participation in the war — writes that "the prime minister committed British troops and sacrificed British lives on the basis of a deceit, and it stinks."
It's no answer to say that Saddam was a murderous tyrant. I could point out that many of the neoconservatives who fomented this war were nonchalant, or worse, about mass murders by Central American death squads in the 1980's. But the important point is that this isn't about Saddam: it's about us. The public was told that Saddam posed an imminent threat. If that claim was fraudulent, the selling of the war is arguably the worst scandal in American political history — worse than Watergate, worse than Iran-contra.Indeed, the idea that we were deceived into war makes many commentators so uncomfortable that they refuse to admit the possibility.
But here's the thought that should make those commentators really uncomfortable. Suppose that this administration did con us into war. And suppose that it is not held accountable for its deceptions, so Mr. Bush can fight what Mr. Hastings calls a "khaki election" next year. In that case, our political system has become utterly, and perhaps irrevocably, corrupted.
If this same lack of accountability extends to matters of war and peace, we're in very deep trouble. The British seem to understand this: Max Hastings, the veteran war correspondent — who supported Britain's participation in the war — writes that "the prime minister committed British troops and sacrificed British lives on the basis of a deceit, and it stinks."
It's no answer to say that Saddam was a murderous tyrant. I could point out that many of the neoconservatives who fomented this war were nonchalant, or worse, about mass murders by Central American death squads in the 1980's. But the important point is that this isn't about Saddam: it's about us. The public was told that Saddam posed an imminent threat. If that claim was fraudulent, the selling of the war is arguably the worst scandal in American political history — worse than Watergate, worse than Iran-contra.Indeed, the idea that we were deceived into war makes many commentators so uncomfortable that they refuse to admit the possibility.
But here's the thought that should make those commentators really uncomfortable. Suppose that this administration did con us into war. And suppose that it is not held accountable for its deceptions, so Mr. Bush can fight what Mr. Hastings calls a "khaki election" next year. In that case, our political system has become utterly, and perhaps irrevocably, corrupted.
The Ballad of George W. Bush
OR
"I'm the Squanderer"
Oh well I'm the type of guy who will never settle down
Where precious oil is welled, you know that I'm around
I wink 'em and I wank 'em 'cause to me they're all the same
I shock 'em and I awe 'em they don't even know my game
They call me the squanderer, yeah the squanderer
I foam around around around...
Oh well there's Flow on my left and there's Moab on my right
And Cheney is the churl that I'll be with tonight
And when he asks me which one I love the best
I tear open my shirt I got Enron on my chest
'Cause I'm the squanderer yeah the squanderer
I foam around around around...
Oh well I foam from town to town
I go through life without a care
'cause I've the cerebrum of a clown
With my two fists of lead and I'm going nowhere...
'Cause I'm the squanderer yeah the squanderer
I foam around around around my mouth
and the Media saysn't a thing...
-Anon
OR
"I'm the Squanderer"
Oh well I'm the type of guy who will never settle down
Where precious oil is welled, you know that I'm around
I wink 'em and I wank 'em 'cause to me they're all the same
I shock 'em and I awe 'em they don't even know my game
They call me the squanderer, yeah the squanderer
I foam around around around...
Oh well there's Flow on my left and there's Moab on my right
And Cheney is the churl that I'll be with tonight
And when he asks me which one I love the best
I tear open my shirt I got Enron on my chest
'Cause I'm the squanderer yeah the squanderer
I foam around around around...
Oh well I foam from town to town
I go through life without a care
'cause I've the cerebrum of a clown
With my two fists of lead and I'm going nowhere...
'Cause I'm the squanderer yeah the squanderer
I foam around around around my mouth
and the Media saysn't a thing...
-Anon
BUSH: "I'M A SQUANDERER"
Duh! The World is Less Than Nonplussed at American Shock and Awe
Shock and Awe...or Shuck and Jive?
Either way...we have squandered...
[picture Bush singing: "I'm a squanderer..."]
IHT: Poll shows U.S. isolation: In war's wake, hostility and mistrust The poll forcefully supported the finding of an earlier survey that a U.S. war with Iraq would fuel anti-American sentiment.
Duh! The World is Less Than Nonplussed at American Shock and Awe
Shock and Awe...or Shuck and Jive?
Either way...we have squandered...
[picture Bush singing: "I'm a squanderer..."]
IHT: Poll shows U.S. isolation: In war's wake, hostility and mistrust The poll forcefully supported the finding of an earlier survey that a U.S. war with Iraq would fuel anti-American sentiment.
Monday, June 02, 2003
ic Teesside - War crime threat to Blair
The mother of a North soldier who died in the Gulf has said that Tony Blair should be prosecuted as a war criminal if no weapons of mass destruction are found in Iraq.
Ann Nichol lost her Royal Marine son John Cecil, 36, in the Iraq war when the Sea Knight helicopter he was travelling in crashed in Kuwait in the first days of the conflict.
Now she has reacted angrily to the admission by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that weapons of mass destruction - WMD - may never be found in Iraq. Before the war Mr Blair and President Bush justified the toppling of Saddam by claiming he had biological and chemical weapons.
Ann said: "If this turns out to be a lie then Tony Blair should resign. He should also be prosecuted under international law as a war criminal.
"If they don't find any weapons of mass destruction then this war has been based on a pack of lies and they have put all of our sons and daughters lives on the line for a lie."
And to think...he was such a swell guy once...
Tony! If you're listening...go back to your roots. Read Eckhart.
You are choking on the Mammon that you are trying to gobble down, and in the process, you are losing your spirit. Literally. Eckhart warned what you would give up in your pursuit of material things.
You are losing the gift.
Change. Change. Change.
The mother of a North soldier who died in the Gulf has said that Tony Blair should be prosecuted as a war criminal if no weapons of mass destruction are found in Iraq.
Ann Nichol lost her Royal Marine son John Cecil, 36, in the Iraq war when the Sea Knight helicopter he was travelling in crashed in Kuwait in the first days of the conflict.
Now she has reacted angrily to the admission by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that weapons of mass destruction - WMD - may never be found in Iraq. Before the war Mr Blair and President Bush justified the toppling of Saddam by claiming he had biological and chemical weapons.
Ann said: "If this turns out to be a lie then Tony Blair should resign. He should also be prosecuted under international law as a war criminal.
"If they don't find any weapons of mass destruction then this war has been based on a pack of lies and they have put all of our sons and daughters lives on the line for a lie."
And to think...he was such a swell guy once...
Tony! If you're listening...go back to your roots. Read Eckhart.
You are choking on the Mammon that you are trying to gobble down, and in the process, you are losing your spirit. Literally. Eckhart warned what you would give up in your pursuit of material things.
You are losing the gift.
Change. Change. Change.
USATODAY.com - Insults thrown, left and right Bill O'Reilly, the conservative talk show host, first decried political commentators who "call people names." Then he called Al Franken, the liberal humorist, an "idiot."
More on how Al Franken told television's favorite slabberdegullion, Bill O'Reilly, to go fuck himself...
More on how Al Franken told television's favorite slabberdegullion, Bill O'Reilly, to go fuck himself...
NYPOST.COM Entertainment: POLITICAL THRILLA By JOHN MAINELLI "This isn't your show, Bill" OR How Al Franken told Bill O'Reilly to go fuck himself.
Yahoo! News - Leave Iraq, Tribesmen and Sacked Troops Tell U.S. "The Iraqi people did not fight the Americans during the war, only Saddam's people did. But if the people decide to fight them now, they are in big trouble."
Sunday, June 01, 2003
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Democracy Now Transcript Archives
Gore Vidal on the "United States of Amnesia," 9/11, the 2000 Election and the War in Iraq
Gore Vidal is one of America's most prolific and best-known writers. He has written more than 22 books and more than 200 essays -- a collection of his essays won the National Book Award in 1993. Vidal is the author most recently of Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace and Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Bush-Cheney Junta. Taken together, the books constitute a comprehensive attack on America’s imperialist ambitions and the military industrial complex. Writing in the Scotsman, critic Gavin Esler called Perpetual War "the finest serious critique of America's use and abuse of power in the 21st century that I have read."
Gore Vidal on the "United States of Amnesia," 9/11, the 2000 Election and the War in Iraq
Gore Vidal is one of America's most prolific and best-known writers. He has written more than 22 books and more than 200 essays -- a collection of his essays won the National Book Award in 1993. Vidal is the author most recently of Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace and Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Bush-Cheney Junta. Taken together, the books constitute a comprehensive attack on America’s imperialist ambitions and the military industrial complex. Writing in the Scotsman, critic Gavin Esler called Perpetual War "the finest serious critique of America's use and abuse of power in the 21st century that I have read."
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
Saturday, May 24, 2003
Friday, May 23, 2003
"These stories of Bush administration dishonesty and abuse have not been denied in the conservative press as much as they have been ignored. In researching this column, I could not find a single substantive defense of Bush's UAV claim, or his filibuster plan, or his uranium allegation, in any elite conservative publication. Fred Barnes last week defended the Texas redistricting plan in The Weekly Standard but, incredibly, never acknowledged the key issue: that states traditionally limit themselves to one redistricting per decade. For conservatives, it seems, this administration's decency and honesty are ideological axioms that require no empirical defense. President Bush is not President Clinton. That's all they need to know. "
The New Republic Online: Character Witness
The New Republic Online: Character Witness
Thursday, May 22, 2003
Santa Monica Mirror: Mothers To Stage Own Day
"Commentator, author and activist Arianna Huffington and Ohio Congressman, candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination and author of the initiative for the Department of Peace, Dennis Kucinich, will kick off the event.
Huffington and Kuchinich will be followed by other special guests and a concert featuring Ricki Byars Beckwith, Director of the Agape Choir, Jacqueline Fuentes, Barbara Williams, and the Los Angeles Women’s Circle. "
"Commentator, author and activist Arianna Huffington and Ohio Congressman, candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination and author of the initiative for the Department of Peace, Dennis Kucinich, will kick off the event.
Huffington and Kuchinich will be followed by other special guests and a concert featuring Ricki Byars Beckwith, Director of the Agape Choir, Jacqueline Fuentes, Barbara Williams, and the Los Angeles Women’s Circle. "
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
Hacked By ShelzZ
Message on page:
Hacked By ShelzZ.
ShelzZ Own U'r lamo box. Russia cool. Only Russia.
Gr33tz: DWC, DHG, GipsHack, and to all my friends. Admins fuck off
Message on page:
Hacked By ShelzZ.
ShelzZ Own U'r lamo box. Russia cool. Only Russia.
Gr33tz: DWC, DHG, GipsHack, and to all my friends. Admins fuck off
Tuesday, May 20, 2003
Monday, May 19, 2003
How Does George W. Bush Compare with Other Presidents on Job Creation? - BuzzFlash Reader Commentary
How Does George W. Bush Compare with Other Presidents on Job Creation?
A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
by Rick Gilmore
Presidental Term and Jobs created per month:
Truman 1: 60,000
Truman 2: 113,000
Eisenhower 1: 58,000
Eisenhower 2: 15,000
Kennedy: 122,000
Johnson: 206,000
Nixon 1: 129,000
Nixon/Ford: 105,000
Carter: 218,000
Reagan 1: 109,000
Reagan 2: 224,000
G. Bush: 52,000
Clinton 1: 242,000
Clinton 2: 235,000
G.W. Bush: 69,000 jobs DESTROYED per month
- Since Bush signed the biggest tax cut in American history in June of 2001, more then 1.7 million jobs have been destroyed in the economy.
- Even if Bush's new tax cut does create 1 million new jobs by the end of 2004, as he claims, his presidency will still have destroyed nearly 3 million jobs.
- Bush is about to become the first president since Herbert Hoover to preside over a 4-year economy that destroyed jobs.
- The only two Republican presidents to fail in reelection bids were named Hoover and Bush.
Average Monthly Job Creation Since Truman:
Democrat Presidents: 171,000 jobs created per month
Republican Presidents: 78,000 jobs created per month
Rick Gilmore
A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
How Does George W. Bush Compare with Other Presidents on Job Creation?
A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
by Rick Gilmore
Presidental Term and Jobs created per month:
Truman 1: 60,000
Truman 2: 113,000
Eisenhower 1: 58,000
Eisenhower 2: 15,000
Kennedy: 122,000
Johnson: 206,000
Nixon 1: 129,000
Nixon/Ford: 105,000
Carter: 218,000
Reagan 1: 109,000
Reagan 2: 224,000
G. Bush: 52,000
Clinton 1: 242,000
Clinton 2: 235,000
G.W. Bush: 69,000 jobs DESTROYED per month
- Since Bush signed the biggest tax cut in American history in June of 2001, more then 1.7 million jobs have been destroyed in the economy.
- Even if Bush's new tax cut does create 1 million new jobs by the end of 2004, as he claims, his presidency will still have destroyed nearly 3 million jobs.
- Bush is about to become the first president since Herbert Hoover to preside over a 4-year economy that destroyed jobs.
- The only two Republican presidents to fail in reelection bids were named Hoover and Bush.
Average Monthly Job Creation Since Truman:
Democrat Presidents: 171,000 jobs created per month
Republican Presidents: 78,000 jobs created per month
Rick Gilmore
A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
The New Yorker: Online Only
"AMY TÜBKE-DAVIDSON: You spent four months watching Fox News. What did you see?
KEN AULETTA: I saw a news network that was not, as advertised, free of bias and "fair and balanced." This is not to say that Fox News doesn't do some things well. It is to say that the network, like many political candidates, is not always what it claims to be. The network proclaims, "We report. You decide." But, too often, Fox both reports and decides. The anchors are opinionated throughout the day, not just in the evening hours, with Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity. Too often, the commentators tilt to the right and don't provide both sides—certainly not the nonconservative side—and many of the network's "liberal" commentators are somewhat meek. Many Fox reporters do offer opinions. In its desire to right the excesses of what it sees as liberal press bias, Fox often goes overboard.
Who watches Fox News?
The largest segment of cable-news viewers is made up of conservatives. According to a Pew Research Center poll, forty-six per cent of Fox viewers identify themselves as conservative, compared with forty per cent of CNN viewers. But, because Fox viewers are more intense, they watch seventy per cent more cable news than CNN viewers do. This intensity of viewing on Fox helps account for its ratings success, since length of viewing and not just total number of viewers is counted by the Nielsen ratings service. Fox's core viewers are conservatives, and they would seem to identify with Fox as their club for news. Thus, on the occasion of Ronald Reagan's birthday, in February, Fox treated it as a cause for celebration, with live remotes throughout the day from the Reagan ranch and with interviews with former friends and associates." MORE...
"AMY TÜBKE-DAVIDSON: You spent four months watching Fox News. What did you see?
KEN AULETTA: I saw a news network that was not, as advertised, free of bias and "fair and balanced." This is not to say that Fox News doesn't do some things well. It is to say that the network, like many political candidates, is not always what it claims to be. The network proclaims, "We report. You decide." But, too often, Fox both reports and decides. The anchors are opinionated throughout the day, not just in the evening hours, with Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity. Too often, the commentators tilt to the right and don't provide both sides—certainly not the nonconservative side—and many of the network's "liberal" commentators are somewhat meek. Many Fox reporters do offer opinions. In its desire to right the excesses of what it sees as liberal press bias, Fox often goes overboard.
Who watches Fox News?
The largest segment of cable-news viewers is made up of conservatives. According to a Pew Research Center poll, forty-six per cent of Fox viewers identify themselves as conservative, compared with forty per cent of CNN viewers. But, because Fox viewers are more intense, they watch seventy per cent more cable news than CNN viewers do. This intensity of viewing on Fox helps account for its ratings success, since length of viewing and not just total number of viewers is counted by the Nielsen ratings service. Fox's core viewers are conservatives, and they would seem to identify with Fox as their club for news. Thus, on the occasion of Ronald Reagan's birthday, in February, Fox treated it as a cause for celebration, with live remotes throughout the day from the Reagan ranch and with interviews with former friends and associates." MORE...
News
?W
Why did the lucrative school testing contracts, which are the main part funded from the "no child left behind" bill, get passed along to your cronies?
How many Enron executives have gone to jail?
Recently, a Fox News reporter was fired for refusing to report a lie. She sued for wrongful termination, but on appeal, the courts held that the United States has no law that requires news to be true. Do you support this opinion?
Mr. Bush has had several skin lesions removed from his face. Why is it, then, that he does not support environmental legislation that would help reduce skin cancer?
To what extent does this administration appreciate and follow the lessons in...
Mein Kampf?
Does Mr. Bush believe that certain parts of the Constitution are outdated?
Why did George Bush Sr. give clemency to known terrorist Orlando Bosch, who admits to setting at least 40 bombs and blew up an airliner carrying 73 passengers?
Can you please explain why Mr. Bush thought an embezzler was an appropriate choice for a leadership position in Iraq?
As you'll recall H.R. Haldeman ended up getting indicted; John Mitchell, who held the position now held by John Ashcroft, went to jail. Do Andrew Card and John Ashcroft fear for their own rectal virginity?
Where are the WMD you promised us? (State of the Union speech, Jan. 2003: "25,000 liters of anthrax ... 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin ... materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent ... upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents ... several mobile biological weapons labs ... thousands of Iraqi security personnel ... at work hiding documents and materials from the U.N. inspectors."
You describe yourself as a military fighter pilot. Is it true that you were suspended from flying? Where were you in 1972? photocopies of George Bush military documents
Why did you shoot journalists in Iraq?
Who short sold United and American right before 9-11?
After Andrew Card notified you on 9-11 that America was under attack, why did you spend almost 20 minutes reading a story about a pet goat? Documentation on this
What are the plans to balance the social services spending in Iraq vs. in the United States?
Is it true that the tax cuts are actually a way to force changes in our social services infrastructure, eliminating the safety net and rolling back service to pre-FDR times?
Three times, you have stated that it would be easier to be a dictator. It's getting easier, don't you agree?
Why did you ask the president of Brazil if there are any blacks there?
Why did your administration lobby Tom Daschle to drop the investigation of 9-11?
Why haven't you let the public see the 800-page 9-11 investigation report?
Why do you overreact so to a little old lady like Helen Thomas, who has interviewed every president for 40 years?
When Florida was called for Gore, why did Mr. Bush insist that results were going to change?
How do you explain the worldwide animosity America now faces?
Why did you not take steps to protect the museums and nuclear power plants in Iraq?
If universal healthcare is important for Iraq, why not here?
Will you, Mr. Bush, take the tests that you require schoolchildren to pass?
Why did Bush tell the FBI to back off the bin laden family?
What will you do to make sure elections are properly audited in the next election?
Mr. Bush appears to have trouble slurring his words and has gin blossoms on his face. Has he resumed his substance abuse habits?
Does Mr. Bush resort to the use of look-alikes and doubles in public events?
And why hasn't Worldcom been prosecuted for its 9 billion accounting fraud?
When Mr. Rumsfeld illustrates his words with a hand like a claw is he trying to remind us of that movie "Liar Liar" with Jim Carey?
I'd like to ask why Bush and Powell both cited a forged document as evidence of Iraq's alleged nuclear program, even though the C.I.A. told them it was a fake.
Why did NORAD deviate from Standard Operating Procedure on the morning of 9-11, failing to scramble jets?
Why did the administration deny that it was drafting a second Domestic Security Enhancement bill (Patriot Act II)?
(Question from the back!) With Homeland Security initiatives like First Responders being under-funded how do you reason that creating more foreign enemies is making us any safer?
Why is it that $65 million was invested in investigating Clinton's penis, and $50 million allocated to investigate the Columbia shuttle disaster, yet only $3 million was allocated to investigate 9-11?
Why has the Justice Dept. consistently refused to supply information to Congress on how the USA PATRIOT Act is being implemented, especially in light of the fact that passage of the act was conditional upon adequate oversight by Congress?
Why is Mr. Bush so anxious to seal records that are nearly 20 years old?
Why did the President renege on his campaign promise to support the Kyoto Treaty on global warming?
Where were you, Mr. Bush, between 1972 and 1973 when you were supposed to be in the national guard? (more info)
How do you justify the budget cuts for veterans benefits at precisely the time you are ramping up the military for permanent war?
Is it true that you are recruiting soldiers in Mexico?
What exactly did you mean when you referred to 9-11 as "hitting the trifecta?"
WHy did the White House start taking Cipro right after 9/11 and why didn't they advise the American people that an attack was imminent?
Why did anthrax only go to Democrats and media enemies?
Why doesn't the press ask and follow up on these questions?
"Just who the hell do you think you are?" in my most scolding tone of voice.
Mr. Bush has been reported as saying to a common man in Philadelphia, "who cares what you think?" Is this view of Mr. Bush's reserved for "little" people, or everyone?
Mr. Bush*, do you still "not give a damn" where Osama Bin Laden is?
Why have we relegated free speech to designated "First Amendment Zones?"
More importantly, why are people rounded up and arrested before protests, held without charges, and then released?
In 1989, you reportedly said that you are a media creation. Has anything changed?
Why have people started saying "be careful what you say?"
Why would Mr. Bush rather play golf on lushly watered greens in the desert than talk to citizens at a town meeting?
Why redact information about 9-11 by classifying it when it is on videotape and has already been printed in the newspaper?
Do you feel it is an abuse of power to classify 9-11 documents in order to avoid embarrassment for the administration about evidence that it failed to act?
On the morning of 9-11, why was Cheney hustled to a secure location while Bush was not?
Why is broadcasting knowingly false news legal in America but illegal in England?
Who exactly was with Cheney in his secret underground government? Rummy? Perle? Wolfowitz? Powell?
What is the LEGAL definition of a "shadow government?"
Is it true that it cost $800,000 to $1 million for the "Top Gun" photo op on the aircraft carrier?
What precisely did Bush mean when he promised a "humble foreign policy" while campaigning for president?
(Inappropriate question): Would you trust the chastity belts for your twins if they had the same locking mechanism as your "lockbox" for Social Security
Where are the WMD?
?W
Why did the lucrative school testing contracts, which are the main part funded from the "no child left behind" bill, get passed along to your cronies?
How many Enron executives have gone to jail?
Recently, a Fox News reporter was fired for refusing to report a lie. She sued for wrongful termination, but on appeal, the courts held that the United States has no law that requires news to be true. Do you support this opinion?
Mr. Bush has had several skin lesions removed from his face. Why is it, then, that he does not support environmental legislation that would help reduce skin cancer?
To what extent does this administration appreciate and follow the lessons in...
Mein Kampf?
Does Mr. Bush believe that certain parts of the Constitution are outdated?
Why did George Bush Sr. give clemency to known terrorist Orlando Bosch, who admits to setting at least 40 bombs and blew up an airliner carrying 73 passengers?
Can you please explain why Mr. Bush thought an embezzler was an appropriate choice for a leadership position in Iraq?
As you'll recall H.R. Haldeman ended up getting indicted; John Mitchell, who held the position now held by John Ashcroft, went to jail. Do Andrew Card and John Ashcroft fear for their own rectal virginity?
Where are the WMD you promised us? (State of the Union speech, Jan. 2003: "25,000 liters of anthrax ... 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin ... materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent ... upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents ... several mobile biological weapons labs ... thousands of Iraqi security personnel ... at work hiding documents and materials from the U.N. inspectors."
You describe yourself as a military fighter pilot. Is it true that you were suspended from flying? Where were you in 1972? photocopies of George Bush military documents
Why did you shoot journalists in Iraq?
Who short sold United and American right before 9-11?
After Andrew Card notified you on 9-11 that America was under attack, why did you spend almost 20 minutes reading a story about a pet goat? Documentation on this
What are the plans to balance the social services spending in Iraq vs. in the United States?
Is it true that the tax cuts are actually a way to force changes in our social services infrastructure, eliminating the safety net and rolling back service to pre-FDR times?
Three times, you have stated that it would be easier to be a dictator. It's getting easier, don't you agree?
Why did you ask the president of Brazil if there are any blacks there?
Why did your administration lobby Tom Daschle to drop the investigation of 9-11?
Why haven't you let the public see the 800-page 9-11 investigation report?
Why do you overreact so to a little old lady like Helen Thomas, who has interviewed every president for 40 years?
When Florida was called for Gore, why did Mr. Bush insist that results were going to change?
How do you explain the worldwide animosity America now faces?
Why did you not take steps to protect the museums and nuclear power plants in Iraq?
If universal healthcare is important for Iraq, why not here?
Will you, Mr. Bush, take the tests that you require schoolchildren to pass?
Why did Bush tell the FBI to back off the bin laden family?
What will you do to make sure elections are properly audited in the next election?
Mr. Bush appears to have trouble slurring his words and has gin blossoms on his face. Has he resumed his substance abuse habits?
Does Mr. Bush resort to the use of look-alikes and doubles in public events?
And why hasn't Worldcom been prosecuted for its 9 billion accounting fraud?
When Mr. Rumsfeld illustrates his words with a hand like a claw is he trying to remind us of that movie "Liar Liar" with Jim Carey?
I'd like to ask why Bush and Powell both cited a forged document as evidence of Iraq's alleged nuclear program, even though the C.I.A. told them it was a fake.
Why did NORAD deviate from Standard Operating Procedure on the morning of 9-11, failing to scramble jets?
Why did the administration deny that it was drafting a second Domestic Security Enhancement bill (Patriot Act II)?
(Question from the back!) With Homeland Security initiatives like First Responders being under-funded how do you reason that creating more foreign enemies is making us any safer?
Why is it that $65 million was invested in investigating Clinton's penis, and $50 million allocated to investigate the Columbia shuttle disaster, yet only $3 million was allocated to investigate 9-11?
Why has the Justice Dept. consistently refused to supply information to Congress on how the USA PATRIOT Act is being implemented, especially in light of the fact that passage of the act was conditional upon adequate oversight by Congress?
Why is Mr. Bush so anxious to seal records that are nearly 20 years old?
Why did the President renege on his campaign promise to support the Kyoto Treaty on global warming?
Where were you, Mr. Bush, between 1972 and 1973 when you were supposed to be in the national guard? (more info)
How do you justify the budget cuts for veterans benefits at precisely the time you are ramping up the military for permanent war?
Is it true that you are recruiting soldiers in Mexico?
What exactly did you mean when you referred to 9-11 as "hitting the trifecta?"
WHy did the White House start taking Cipro right after 9/11 and why didn't they advise the American people that an attack was imminent?
Why did anthrax only go to Democrats and media enemies?
Why doesn't the press ask and follow up on these questions?
"Just who the hell do you think you are?" in my most scolding tone of voice.
Mr. Bush has been reported as saying to a common man in Philadelphia, "who cares what you think?" Is this view of Mr. Bush's reserved for "little" people, or everyone?
Mr. Bush*, do you still "not give a damn" where Osama Bin Laden is?
Why have we relegated free speech to designated "First Amendment Zones?"
More importantly, why are people rounded up and arrested before protests, held without charges, and then released?
In 1989, you reportedly said that you are a media creation. Has anything changed?
Why have people started saying "be careful what you say?"
Why would Mr. Bush rather play golf on lushly watered greens in the desert than talk to citizens at a town meeting?
Why redact information about 9-11 by classifying it when it is on videotape and has already been printed in the newspaper?
Do you feel it is an abuse of power to classify 9-11 documents in order to avoid embarrassment for the administration about evidence that it failed to act?
On the morning of 9-11, why was Cheney hustled to a secure location while Bush was not?
Why is broadcasting knowingly false news legal in America but illegal in England?
Who exactly was with Cheney in his secret underground government? Rummy? Perle? Wolfowitz? Powell?
What is the LEGAL definition of a "shadow government?"
Is it true that it cost $800,000 to $1 million for the "Top Gun" photo op on the aircraft carrier?
What precisely did Bush mean when he promised a "humble foreign policy" while campaigning for president?
(Inappropriate question): Would you trust the chastity belts for your twins if they had the same locking mechanism as your "lockbox" for Social Security
Where are the WMD?
Sunday, May 18, 2003
CNN.com - Lawmakers blast Pledge ruling - June 27, 2002
"And to the Republicans"
I pledge egregious servitude to the graven images of the United States of America, and to the Republicans for which it stands, one nation fanatical, very divisible, with bigotry and injustice for all.
"The Real Pledge of Allegiance"
I pledge allegiance to the spirit of the United States of America, and Democracy for which it stands, one nation, a unity of diversity, with liberty, freedom and justice for all.
"And to the Republicans"
I pledge egregious servitude to the graven images of the United States of America, and to the Republicans for which it stands, one nation fanatical, very divisible, with bigotry and injustice for all.
"The Real Pledge of Allegiance"
I pledge allegiance to the spirit of the United States of America, and Democracy for which it stands, one nation, a unity of diversity, with liberty, freedom and justice for all.
Thursday, May 15, 2003
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
Monday, May 12, 2003
Smoking Out Bad Journalism
SMOKING OUT BAD JOURNALISM
Jayson Blair is just the tip of the iceberg.
Should Jayson Blair, the NY Times reporter who happened to get caught bullshitting us, get fired? Shouldn't everyone who doles out the bullshit also get fired? And do we limit our firing campaign to mere reporters?
Aim higher! Fire the editors, columnists, and pundits as well!
Do I fear such a move?
Not in the least.
Do you?
The right wing is notorious for a lack of fact-checking. Will THEY clamp down now?
And what about sins of omission?
Shouldn't these also be considered, when firing the errant? It's often what they DON'T tell us that is the worst win.
Top to bottom...journalism is in need of this crisis of trust. We are not being well-served. They are snail-oil salesmen. Quack doctors. Even worse...ambitious.
Their tongues are brown
and yellow. Brown from the lick. Yellow from the missing backbone.
Will Fox News take rigorous action to weed out untruths? Or will they merely pretend to do so...while only using it as a whip of self-censorship, intimidating the reports and such to "keep it simple"?
Which News and/or Opinion organs, in your opinion, are the most egregious abusers of truth?
Use the crisis to improve the product. The product is information.
We need good information.
Not just feel-good information.
More that that though,
we need wisdom...
Diplomats on the Defensive
Diplomats on the Defensive
State Dept. loyalists say the Pentagon is usurping foreign policy and undermining Powell. Conservatives say 9/11 has changed the rules.
Diplomats on the Defensive
State Dept. loyalists say the Pentagon is usurping foreign policy and undermining Powell. Conservatives say 9/11 has changed the rules.
Sunday, May 11, 2003
Friday, May 09, 2003
Jim Crow revived in cyberspace
Jim Crow revived in cyberspace
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Martin Luther King III and Greg Palast
Originally published May 8, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Astonishingly, and sadly, four decades after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. marched in Birmingham, we must ask again, "Do African-Americans have the unimpeded right to vote in the United States?"
Jim Crow revived in cyberspace
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Martin Luther King III and Greg Palast
Originally published May 8, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Astonishingly, and sadly, four decades after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. marched in Birmingham, we must ask again, "Do African-Americans have the unimpeded right to vote in the United States?"
Thursday, May 08, 2003
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