2/28/05

2/28/05 NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release: February 26, 2005 Contact: Zack Kaldveer, Citizens Act, 415-637-4125 NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE, AND ELECTORAL REFORM GROUPS GATHER IN LOS ANGELES AND OAKLAND FOR ‘WHO GOT GLITCHED’ CONFERENCE Conference begins as Kerry-Edwards campaign files explosive new challenges to legitimacy of Ohio recount. Filings cite manipulation of vote count, destruction of evidence, and violation of election laws (CA) - Civil rights, peace, and electoral reform groups gathered today in Oakland and Los Angeles for an historic "Who Got Glitched" conference which includes public ‘teach ins’ and the viewing of yet to be released video footage of election day abuses. The gathering offers event participants the opportunity to share mounting evidence that November’s election was rife with fraud, discuss and coordinate strategies to most effectively reform the country’s broken electoral system, and educate the press, public, and elected officials of the myriad of pitfalls a privatized, corporate controlled, electronic vote counting system poses to America’s democracy. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, one of 31 Democratic House Members to challenge the legitimacy of Ohio Electors on January 6th, will be the Keynote Speaker for Sunday’s ‘Teach In" in Los Angeles, and Ian Masters of KPFK will serve as the moderator. Saturday evening’s "Film as Evidence", also in Los Angeles, features three separate filmmaking teams presenting footage of Election Day civil rights violations, voter disenfranchisement, and evidence of fraud. "Voting is perhaps the most important action a citizen can take. Throughout our history that fundamental access to democracy has been denied to many, but eventually all Americans won the right to vote," said Congresswoman Maxine Waters. "Unfortunately, the 2000 and 2004 Presidential elections highlighted the fact that many obstacles still remain. This weekend’s gathering demonstrates just how strongly Americans value their vote and it will take this level of commitment from experts, community leaders, elected officials, academics and activists to ensure the electoral process is returned to its rightful owners, the people." The 2-day symposium began as explosive new court filings by the Kerry/Edwards campaign were released to the public. The filings question the legitimacy and legality of the Ohio recount and renew the debate over the accuracy of the state’s certified election results. The Kerry/Edwards campaign also came out in support of the Green and Libertarian Party’s motion to preserve all ballots and machinery connected to the 2004 presidential election and to investigate Triad Government Services, Inc. for allegedly tampering with machinery and ‘rigging’ recount results. ﾒThe charges being filed by the Kerry/Edwards campaign come as no surprise to those of us who have been investigating electronic voting and the corporations that control it for the past 3 years," said Bev Harris of Black Box Voting, the country’s leading expert on electronic voting. "After traveling to 20 states, visiting county after county, we have found that the problems enumerated in Ohio are consistent with those found across the country." ﾒThis weekends conference has nothing to do with Kerry versus Bush," said Sheri Myers, Co-Founder, Citizens Act, the group initiating the event in Los Angeles. "People across the country are working harder than ever to bring attention to the fraud that occurred on November 2nd. This past election was the first in American history to be ‘owned’ by partisan corporations with secret 'proprietary control' over our vote. We cannot let this issue die, because if we do, democracy dies with it." ### - Zack

2/25/05

Bush pisses off Canada Our president has claimed control of Canadian air space. The arrogance of this is simply astounding. PM DRAWS FIRE OVER MISSLES Prime Minister Paul Martin said yesterday that Canada has to be involved in any U.S. decision to shoot down an enemy missile in Canadian airspace, but the American ambassador said the country had given up its right to be involved in any such decision. [..] “We will deploy,” Mr. Cellucci said. “We will defend North America. “We simply cannot understand why Canada would in effect give up its sovereignty, its seat at the table, to decide what to do about a missile that might be coming towards Canada.” Moments earlier, Mr. Martin had told reporters he expected the United States to consult with Canada. “Canada is a sovereign nation and we would expect and insist on being consulted on any intrusion into our space,” Mr. Martin said. More There is much more on this story at CBC News: U.S. must not intrude on Canadian airspace: Martin Prime Minister Paul Martin said Canada must be consulted before the U.S. decides to fire on missiles that enter Canadian airspace, despite Ottawa's refusal to participate in America's missile defence program. "I don't think that anyone expected that there would be any other finger on a button than the Americans," Martin said Friday, a day after his decision not to join the program. "But in terms of Canadian airspace, yes we would expect to be consulted. This is our airspace. We're a sovereign nation. And you don't intrude on a sovereign nation's airspace without seeking permission," Martin said. [...] Martin repeated that the nearly $13 billion allocated for the military in Wednesday's budget proves Canada is committed to taking its share of responsibility for national and international security. "I think the other important thing is the other affirmation of sovereignty is the very large defence budget, which is designed to protect our coast, borders and Arctic sovereignty and also make sure we can play a role in the world. That is also an affirmation of our sovereignty," he said. More And in a related story the Missile Defense System doesn't even work: Missile Defense Fails Test Again A test of the national missile defense system failed Monday when an interceptor missile did not launch from its island base in the Pacific Ocean, the military said. It was the second failure in months for the experimental program. [...] In Monday's test, the interceptor missile was to target a mock ICBM fired from Kodiak Island, Alaska. The target missile launched at 1:22 a.m. Monday EST without any problems, but the interceptor did not launch. Bush continues to piss off the entire planet. What a brat! - Jordan I am loving this photo on Yahoo News   US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) speaks in Bratislava 24 February 2005. Europe is realizing Bush's 'vision' might work and should stop demanding from the US 'a high price for its political favors'(AFP/Joe Klamar) classic - Jordan Zack's Link Roundup 2.25.05 The Gannon Special Edition HOW LONG CAN JOURNALISTS GAIN ACCESS TO THE WHITE HOUSE WITHOUT AN FBI BACKGROUND CHECK? Most White House journalists have what is called a "hard pass," a permanent pass obtained after undergoing a rigorous FBI background check. Gannon skipped over that step. Instead, as Salon's Eric Boehlert explains, "the White House waved him into press briefings for nearly two years using what's called a day pass." Now, day passes are special exceptions that are "designed for temporary use by out-of-town reporters who need access to the White House, not for indefinite use by reporters." If the background check is necessary for reporters with extended access to the White House, why were the rules circumvented for Gannon? Is there a limit to how long a reporter can slide on "day" passes, as Gannon did for years? HOW DID GANNON GET A WHITE HOUSE PRESS PASS TWO MONTHS BEFORE HIS SUPPOSED PUBLICATION EVEN EXISTED? Bush Press Secretary Scott McClellan admitted the White House gave Gannon his first day press pass in February 2003. The problem: His "publication," Talon News, didn't exist until April 2003. BY WHAT CRITERIA DID THE WHITE HOUSE EVALUATE TALON NEWS? Talon News is the brainchild of a Republican activist from Texas, Bobby Eberle. Eberle, who runs the aptly named "GOPUSA," told the New York Times he created Talon News because he wanted to quietly construct a news service with a conservative slant: "if someone were to see 'GOPUSA,' there's an instant built-in bias there." In denying Gannon a pass, the congressional press office pointed out Gannon was unable to show that "Talon News has any paid subscribers." They also found that while actual working reporters can show their principal income comes from reporting stories for publication in actual news services, Talon's "paying a single reporter a 'stipend' does not meet the intent of the rule." As the Washington Post's Dana Milbank put it, Gannon was "representing a phony media company that doesn't really have any such thing as circulation or readership." HOW DID GANNON GET A WHITE HOUSE PRESS PASS UNDER A FAKE NAME? Jeff Gannon's real name is James Guckert. (He told Wolf Blitzer that he changed his name because "Jeff Gannon" was easier to pronounce.) Although all applications for White House press passes are supposed to be thoroughly vetted, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said he was unaware that Gannon was using an alias. His predecessor, Ari Fleischer, also pleads ignorance. Gannon signed in to the White House each day as "Jeff Guckert," a name which did not match his pass ­ yet no one seemed to thing that was strange. In fact, no one at the White House seems overly concerned with what amounts to a stunning national security breach. WHAT IS GANNON'S CONNECTION TO THE VALERIE PLAME CASE? Jeff Gannon has been interviewed by FBI agents who are investigating another security breach in the White House, namely, the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's name to the press. So far, Gannon has been coy, giving "conflicting signals, over many months, concerning whether he saw a secret document or merely knew about it from other sources." Today he says he never really saw the memo, he'd only read about it in the Wall Street Journal. Reps. Conyers and Slaughter are asking Patrick Fitzgerald, the lead prosecutor in the Plame investigation, to subpoena the journal Gannon kept over the past two years to find out what Gannon actually knew, and when. SOCIAL SECURITY ­ HOUSE PRIVATIZATION LEADER A WALL ST. LUSH: The Republican chairman of the House Social Security Subcommittee, Louisiana Rep. Jim McCrery, has accepted nearly $200,000 in contributions over four years from the very same Wall Street firms that would likely reap billions if President Bush's privatization scheme is made law. Campaign for America's Future, a progressive advocacy group, yesterday accused McCrery of a severe conflict of interest, and announced plans to run "newspaper advertisements against Mr. McCrery under the headline 'Who Does This Man Work For?' in his hometown, Shreveport," the New York Times reports. McCrery responded by attacking the group's "extreme liberal bias," while ignoring the substantive charges. Lots more right here folks -Zack

2/24/05

When "Reason" Rings Hollow This is a fantastic piece by my friend Greg. It is worth your time for sure. Nick Gillespie, who I've never heard of before today, has a piece up for Reason entitled, Beyond the Politics of Personal Destruction: What the Bush tapes reveal about policy disputes. Once I was done reading it I found myself appalled by the lack of any reason to this piece. His arguments are almost all torn down by reality. Let's begin this dissection, shall we? His first paragraph I'll quote verbatim: "If Ronald Reagan was the Teflon president, and Bill Clinton was the Kevlar president (and Jimmy Carter the irrevocably stained Polyester president), what 21st-century wonder material describes George W. Bush, who is surely the most underrated—and seemingly invulnerable—politician in recent memory?" "Oh, really," I gently mused to myself. "He's the most 'seemingly invulnerable politician in recent memory,' eh? Is that why he lost the popular vote?" And yes, I know he's President and Al Gore isn't, but Gore beat Bush and lost the Presidency through what some would call "bad luck" (damn Ralph Nader, damn the electoral college!) and what others would call "fraud" (damn Katherine Harris, damn the protestors who stormed the canvassing board, damn Jeb Bush and damn the Supreme Court!). But George Bush didn't beat Gore. Our system did, if we want to be nice, and for the sake of being reasonable I will be nice. And underrated? I thought it was the Bush White House that has always made it a top priority for Bush to be underrated? You know, to help make him "folksy." It's always been a joke amongst Democrats, like myself, that if George Bush throws a press conference and doesn't drool on himself the press will talk about how he's mastering the office. He is on a roll. Check it..... - Jordan

2/23/05

Detroit Free Press Shows Promise I am dying to see a main stream newspaper ask some hard hitting questions about Gannon. I mean how did a reporter, working for a fake news organization, who has no credentials, slip past the White Houses background check? Not to mention the fact that this man was slingin' crotch on the side. Well the Detroit Free Press has shown the rest of 'em how it is done: Press Impostor At the White House, don't duck the real questions How is it that an administration that screened thousands of people for attendance at Bush campaign rallies repeatedly let a fake reporter into the sanctorum of the White House pressroom under a false name? Who was running that background check? How could a president who declares that national security is his prime concern be so ill served for nearly two years by his own security detail? What is the public to make of the fact that legitimate protesters are kept far away from President George W. Bush while an illegitimate "journalist" who's really working for a Republican propaganda mill is repeatedly allowed into the White House pressroom and regularly called upon by the president and the president's press secretary to ask questions? Is it possible that the administration's formidable public relations machine was well aware that reporter "Jeff Gannon" of the Talon News Web site was really James Guckert, and that Talon and the Web site GOPUSA have the same owner and often the same pro-Republican content? More More More See it is safe to come out and play journalists! More of this please. - Jordan Gannon Video And yes these videos are work safe. Lets start it off by watching Gannon squirm a bit when questioned (real questions mind you) by CNN's Anderson Cooper. Props to Cooper for not tossing Mr. Softball any soft ones. Video Here Now let us move over to the great John Stewart, who had a fantastic piece on Gannon on the Daily Show recently. Worth seeing again. Video Here Lastly we have Bill Maher who is back from vacation and had a superb piece on his opening show about the gannon scandal. Video Here - Jordan Priceless Rick Santorum was out pimping for the destruction of Social Security yesterday. Of course Democrats gathered around for a good ol' chant of "hey hey, hoho, Rick Santorum has got to go". Well the rethugs gathered were not to be out done. Oh no. They started up with the brilliant chant of "hey hey, hoho, Social Security has got to go!". Letting the true colors shine though. Chuck Pennacchio has some video of it on his blog. - Jordan

2/22/05

Now this is what I come to expect from my senators From Rawstory Senate Democratic leadership joins push for Gannon inquiry The Senate Democratic leadership is privately circulating a letter calling for other senators to join a call for an investigation into discredited White House reporter Jeff Gannon, RAW STORY has learned. The letter, issued from Minority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), calls on President Bush to “order a full inquiry” into how a “fake” journalist working for a “sham” news organization got access to the president. The letter was leaked to RAW STORY this evening. A decision on taking action on Gannon has been brewing for about a week, since Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) called on the White House to turn over all documentation relating to Gannon’s credentialing. The Senate Democratic leadership is encouraging members to sign onto the letter behind the scenes. As Congress is in recess, Democrats will be calling on members in their home districts before the Senate reconvenes next week. Senator Durbin’s letter follows. - Jordan From Pollingreport   Not much action today. A few articles under the must read column. I have been spending some time doing a redesign of the site. Look for that soon.... - Jordan

2/18/05

Taking The Red Pill This is an article written by my friend Zack, who you all know from the great news roundup segments that are posted here. He wrote it about a year and a half ago but it seems more true today than the moment it was written. It's a great read and could be particularly eye opening for those who have tuned out to politics, succumbed to cynicism, and feel like they can't make a difference so why even try? Check out these two passages from the column: In many ways, Americans are faced with a similar choice offered to Neo. Do you take the blue pill, and continue living your life in the false comfort of the Matrix? Or, do you take the red pill, and decide you want the increased responsibilities and challenges that knowing the truth will bring? - snip - Indeed, the competition for the attention of our minds is a fierce one. This mass media overload produces short attention spans, short memories, and conditions us to seek what is entertaining and simple, not what is complex or demanding. In other words, how does the truth, in all its uncomfortable detail, get through all these competing messages? And if it does, are we really going to recognize it? Read 'Take the Red Pill' in its entirety by clicking the image below: - Jordan

2/17/05

Fried Rice Interesting. Saw this on a Kos diary. It's worth posting here to get the word out fast. Rep. Henry A. Waxman and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney are both calling for new hearings to ascertain the truth about who knew what, when they knew it, and whether this administration has continued its habit of deceit about warnings given regarding 9/11.  This is edited. Click HERE for full version. Dear Mr. Chairman:     We are writing to request that our Committee hold hearings to investigate two extremely serious questions raised by an article that appeared in this morning's New York Times. The first question is whether the Administration misused the classification process to withhold, for political reasons, official 9/11 Commission staff findings detailing how federal aviation officials received multiple intelligence reports warning of airline hijackings and suicide attacks before September 11. The second question relates to the veracity of statements, briefings, and testimony by then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice regarding this issue. Declassification Process     The first question Committee hearings should address is whether the Bush Administration abused the classification process to improperly withhold the 9/11 Commission findings from Congress and the public until after the November elections and the confirmation of Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State. Although the 9/11 Commission staff completed its report on August 26, 2004, the Bush Administration refused to declassify the findings until January 28, 2005, less than 48 hours after Ms. Rice was confirmed as Secretary of State. [2] At that time, the Department of Justice delivered both a classified version and an unclassified version to the National Archives, the agency charged with collecting and retaining all 9/11 Commission documents.     During the period between August 26 and January 28, the Administration was reportedly reviewing the Commission's report to determine whether it contained any information that should be classified in the interest of national security. Problems with this process had been raised previously by the 9/11 Commission. [3] The Committee should investigate the process by which the Administration handled the declassification, redaction, and release of this 9/11 Commission report. Specifically, the Committee should investigate the following questions: (1) What was the process for declassifying, redacting, and releasing this report, and who specifically was responsible for these actions? (2) Were there political considerations behind the declassification, redaction, or timing of the release of the report? (3) What were the specific rationales for each redaction in the report? Were these redactions appropriate?     On December 2, 2004, we joined with Rep. Christopher Shays, Chairman of the National Security Subcommittee, and 23 other members in a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft specifically requesting the 9/11 Commission report at issue. [4] We noted that "there have been a number of calls for its release, to no avail," and we expressed concern that "politics may be playing a role in its release." This specific congressional request was apparently ignored by the Administration. When the staff report was declassified on January 28 and sent to the National Archives, no notice was provided to us. As the Kos diary notes, here is the real kicker:   Document Request     Finally, we request that the Committee obtain from the Administration the following documents identified in the New York Times article this morning: (1) A full, unredacted copy of the classified version of the 9/11 Commission report on FAA intelligence warnings delivered to the National Archives; (2) Full and unredacted copies of the 52 intelligence reports received by the FAA; (3) Full and unredacted copies of the CD-ROM presentation distributed to airlines and airports in 2001; and (4) Full and unredacted copies of slides, reports, or other documents used in classified briefings for security officials at 19 airports in mid-2001.     Sincerely,     Henry A. Waxman     Ranking Minority Member     Carolyn B. Maloney     Member of Congress More This is the stuff dreams are made of. But I am not holding my breath... - Jordan

2/16/05

Do you ever wan't to see a Democrat in the White House again? I do too. Thats why this is THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE we currently face. There is work for you to do: Senator John Ensign of Nevada recently introduced the "Voting Integrity and Verification Act" (VIVA, S.330). This bill requires a voter-verified paper ballot, and ensures that paper ballots govern in case of any discrepancy between a machine count and paper count. Voter-verified paper ballots also make it possible to recover from e-voting machine malfunctions, such as those experienced last year in California, Georgia, North Carolina, and elsewhere, without having to re-run a costly election from scratch. The bill is simple and straightforward, and provides the necessary "bottom line" without which we cannot have reliable elections. The bill's passage will mean that all the states and counties still seeking to purchase new voting equipment can only buy systems which can provide a voter-verified paper ballot. It is far easier and more cost-effective to start out with a verifiable system than to retrofit! To pass quickly, S.330 must have strong bi-partisan support. You can make the difference: contact your Senators today and urge them to co-sponsor this critically important legislation! Click Here and be heard Click here for Gvernment Employee contact information Write your Senators and Reps. This is it. There is no more important battle than this one. - Jordan Operation "Destabilize The Entire Middle East" is well under way With "Operation Saddam Hussein Attacked Us On 911" "Operation Free The Iraqi People" out of the way, we can move on to the next phase. With the assassination of prime minister Rafik Hariri in Lebanon the other day, I see a growing shit-storm on the horizon. With the White House itching for another war in the middle east, they quickly pointed the finger at Syria, even though we have no evidence of such a connection. In fact such a move by Syria seems not to benefit them at all since the reaction is a call for the withdrawal of all of Syria's troops in the region. The whole things just doesn't add up. Syrian Expatriate Affairs Minister Buthaina Shaaban said she was "baffled" by the US reaction to the killing. "To point to Syria in a terrorist act that aims at destabilizing both Syria and Lebanon is truly like blaming the US for 9/11," she told the BBC. Indeed. I am no expert on this but I think we could look a bit deeper before claiming to know who is responsible. The whole Saddam Hussein was behind 911 fiasco comes to mind. Look how that one turned out! Why are we there again? But heck, Syria is on the short list Bush keeps under his pillow of evildoer nations and that seems to be good enough for the chimp. Syria did it! Syria did it! Thats right people. Are you ready for shit-storm 2.0? We point the finger at Syria and look what happens. Russia tells Syria it will be happy to sell them an advanced missile system. Then to put the cherry on the cake Iran tells Syria it will help them defend themselves against US aggression. Oh boy look! We are creating dangerous alliances in the Middle east! Oh joy! It's not like we are over extended militarily or anything. It is not as if we can't afford this war. Sigh.... - Jordan

SITE REDISGN TOOK PLACE HERE

2/15/05

Liberal Igloo / This Century Sucks - A Winning Combo

Just went over to This Century Sucks to check in and saw a great bit of news. Greg, from The Liberal Igloo, is joining up with the TCS team!

This makes me happy on so many levels.

TCS (This Century Sucks) is one of the first Blogs I ever read. I blame them for getting me into this whole blogging thing. I have been a big fan of their work for a long time. The Liberal Igloo is my more recent favorite. Greg does great work and is starting from the bottom. I have tried to send both of these great pages a few hits because they deserve it. They are very informed and funny. Just the way I like it.

So a congrats to them is in order. Well played. May your hit counters be exponentially expanded.

- Jordan

Idiocy

I had no idea they even made penis' that small...

(Link is work safe)

- Jordan

Lots of stuff going on.

I haven't been going into depth on the "Gannon" controversy because news was just breaking so fast and others were doing such a great job on this one. Americablog is the go to Blog for news on all the news you could possibly want in regards to certain military-stud-male-prostitute-'reporters'. I swear this stuff reads like fiction but this is the seedy underbelly of the republicans seeing the light. It happens very rarely, but when it does it tends to make noise. FOIA's have been submitted and Democratic Senators are going into attack mode on this one as they should. The election results from Iraq are coming in and it looks like the U.S. might be in for a surprise. To top it all off Greg over at the Igloo has another great smackdown for Faux 'News'.

Should keep you all busy for a second.

- Jordan

It's about time!

The Washington Post is reporting that two reporters might be jailed if they refuse to answer questioned in front of a grand jury in regards to the Valerie Plame case. If they know what is good for them they will just testify and stop bending over backwards to protect the very people that used them and then tossed them aside.

Reporters Must Testify in Plame Case, Court Rules

A New York Times reporter and a Time magazine reporter can be jailed if they continue to refuse to answer questions before a grand jury about their confidential conversations with government sources, a federal appeals court decided this morning.

The decision upholds a trial court judge's ruling last year that Judith Miller of the New York Times and Matthew Cooper of Time magazine should be forced to answer these questions or be sent to jail. Both reporters fought to stop a subpoena from the Special Counsel to appear before a grand jury investigating whether senior Bush administration officials knowingly leaked the identity of Valerie Plame, a covert operative, to the media in the summer of 2003.

Lawyers said both the New York Times and Time magazine will seek a stay of the decision, to avoid having their reporters go to jail, while they appeal to the full appeals court and likely to the Supreme Court. But that request for a stay would have to be granted by Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan, who first held Miller and Cooper in contempt of court and ruled they must obey the subpoena.

More

- Jordan

Zack's Link Roundup 2.14.05 (A Day late)

IRAQ ­ VIOLENCE INCREASES POST-ELECTION: Those who warned against viewing the recent elections as a cure-all for Iraq, once considered pessimists, are now, unfortunately, being proven correct. The New York Times reports that insurgent attacks have spiked upwards since the Jan. 30 election; suicide bombings are on the rise, and attacks are increasingly focused on unarmed civilians. More than one hundred Iraqis have been killed in the last week alone, attacked at a Shiite mosque, a hospital, police facilities, a bakery in a Shiite neighborhood, even in residential neighborhoods. [...]

CORPORATE WATCH ­ THIRD TIME'S A FAILURE: From the government-bankrolled corporation that brought us the failed FBI computer upgrade and the non-existent Iraqi security force comes another failure in a string of, well, failures. Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) recently informed "some of the nation's most influential former military and intelligence officials" that they were "at risk of identity theft" due to a robbery at the SAIC offices. [...]

The United States credit card industry rakes in $2.5 billion a month in profits ­ largely in fees and interest charged to the American consumer. But its thirst for additional profits is insatiable. Credit card corporations are showering Congress with cash in an attempt to squeeze every last dime out of those who can afford it least to by making it harder for them to get out of debt. The industry is pushing for a bill that would deny bankruptcy relief to "people with low or moderate incomes who have fallen on hard times because of illness, job loss or divorce." Meanwhile the bill does nothing to stop "abusive lending practices by credit card companies." (Share your thoughts on the bankruptcy bill at ThinkProgress.org.)

INCREASED BUREAUCRACY: The bankruptcy bill is an attempt to prevent people from filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy ­ which gives people a clean slate ­ and make them file under Chapter 13, which requires continued payments to the credit card companies. Already, judges can deny Chapter 7 protection if they think the law is being abused. The bankruptcy bill would require consumers to complete a complex array of forms to "prove" they qualify for Chapter 7. The law would also require those seeking Chapter 7 protection to "obtain counseling from a court-approved counseling center before filing." But according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, just "3 percent of people who file under Chapter 7 could continue to pay under a court-supervised plan if they filed under Chapter 13." So the real impact of the bill would not be to prevent abuse of the system but to "make filing for bankruptcy much more costly" for those who genuinely need it.

Want more?

- Zack

2/14/05

Dean has our back.

Let's show him that we have his as well. Contribute to the DNC today:

- Jordan

2/11/05

Checking in with the Igloo Crew

Greg is doing some good work over at the Liberal Igloo. Here are two stories that are worth your time:

Sick of hearing right-wingers compare Truman to Dubya? Me too. Click here for a great piece on this issue.


The other piece is an in in-depth dissection of Dick Morris' lies in his piece about Condi v. Hillary in four years that appeared yesterday. Greg catches him with his pants down as it were. Check it out.

- Jordan

Gannongate - A starter kit

For those of you who haven't heard of this scandal here is a primer.

This is another frightening example of how this administration has used propaganda like no other administration. Faked news stories, paying reporters to promote white house policies and now this. This is also a great example of how Blogs are doing the work that the main stream media should be doing. Note how once the Bloggers at Dailykos blew this story wide open the main stream media came limping in after the fact.

To get us up to date lets look at the Gannongate starter kit made by the diarists over at daily kos (This is edited. Click here for the complete version):

Prompted by a Jan. 26 report by MediaMatters.org regarding Guckert's "softball" questions to White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan and President Bush, members of DailyKos, an online community, began investigating the matter. [...]

In his Talon News profile, Guckert claimed he had a degree in Education from the "Pennsylvania State University System."  His only journalistic "experience" was attendance at the Leadership Institute Broadcast Journalism School.  [...] 

Guckert's "training" at the Leadership Institute was a two-day seminar, tuition for which was $50.

Despite his lack of journalistic experience, Guckert used an assumed name and was granted access to the elite White House Press Corps.  [...]

In a press briefing on Feb. 10th, White House Press Secretary McClellan claimed that Guckert was granted White House access because he "showed that he was representing a news organization that published regularly."

However, Talon News came into existence on March 29, 2003.  It was granted White House Press Corps access just four days (approx. 96 hours) later.  During that four-day time period, Talon News published a total of nine "stories."  [...]

According to the Washington Post, Guckert may have had access to a leaked internal CIA memo which revealed the identity of Ambassador Joe Wilson's wife, then an undercover CIA operative.  [...]

For the complete unedited version of the Gannongate primer click here.

The main stream media chimes in:

Democrats Want Investigation of Reporter Using Fake Name
Two Democrats in Congress are pressing for investigations into how a Washington reporter who used a pseudonym managed to gain access to the White House and had access to classified documents that named Valerie Plame as a C.I.A. operative.

The Democrats, Representatives John Conyers Jr. of Michigan and Louise M. Slaughter from Rochester, wrote yesterday to Patrick Fitzgerald, the independent prosecutor appointed in the Plame case, seeking an investigation into how the reporter, James D. Guckert, who used the name Jeff Gannon, had access to classified documents that revealed the identity of Ms. Plame.
The rest

For those of you lookin for more here are two great video clips of news stories concering Gannongate. One is a CNN piece and the other is from MSNBC's Countdown. Both are very well done. The Countdown one has great video of the actual softball questions Gannon was throwing to McClellan.

Video One
Video Two

- Jordan

2/10/05

Why is this not on the front page of every paper in the country?

Reading the paper this morning I came across this story hidden on page A6 of the San Francisco Chronicle. Why this is not a front-page story God only knows.

9/11 Report Cites Many Warnings About Hijackings

In the months before the Sept. 11 attacks, federal aviation officials reviewed dozens of intelligence reports that warned about Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, some of which specifically discussed airline hijackings and suicide operations, according to a previously undisclosed report from the 9/11 commission [...]

Mind you this is aside form the many warnings Bush received including the now famous PDB memo entitled "Bin Laden determined to attack the United States" which Rice mentioned to the 911 commission. For more information on the many warnings Bush recieved that mention Al Queda and their plans to attack the united states, just read chapter 8 of the 911 Commission report, whis is aptly named "The System Was Blinking Red". (PDF)

But I digress...

The report takes the F.A.A. to task for failing to pursue domestic security measures that could conceivably have altered the events of Sept. 11, 2001, like toughening airport screening procedures for weapons or expanding the use of on-flight air marshals. The report, completed last August, said officials appeared more concerned with reducing airline congestion, lessening delays, and easing airlines' financial woes than deterring a terrorist attack. [...]

Among other things, the report says that leaders of the F.A.A. received 52 intelligence reports from their security branch that mentioned Mr. bin Laden or Al Qaeda from April to Sept. 10, 2001. That represented half of all the intelligence summaries in that time.

52. Not a few, not a couple, but 52. This is not negligence. This is gross incompetence. This is the White House classifying, as secret, a paper that shows them for the frauds they are. The real kicker though was when I read this passage:

The Bush administration has blocked the public release of the full, classified version of the report for more than five months, officials said, much to the frustration of former commission members who said it provides a critical understanding of the failures of the civil aviation system.

The rest

Now the question begs being asked so I will go ahead and do the asking. Why would Bush want to stop the release of this report? What does he have to hide from? I think people know by now that Bush had enough warnings about a possible attack that he should have taken some kind of action. Tightening airport security, public posting of the faces of the Al Queda members that they knew had entered the United States, increased armed air marshals on flights etc. Bush did none of this. Not only did he neglect to prevent the attack but he is now trying to hide this fact by blocking the public release of this report. If you look at this it is almost as if Bush wanted the attacks to take place. That’s right I said it.

Let’s take a flash back to the past. Let us revisit a little paper written by a group of warhawks that included such names as Jeb Bush, Dick Cheney, Dan Quayle, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz. The paper these people wrote is called "Project For a New American Century" and the portion I will cite comes from a sectioned entitled "Rebuilding America’s Defenses". This can be found on the PNAC web page as a PDF. The PDF cites many goals including increasing a permanent military presence in the Middle East, fighting and winning multiple simultaneous wars throughout the world and increasing military spending. All very nasty stuff. But the interesting part comes on page 63 of the PDF:

"Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor." (emphasis added)

Now that is interesting indeed. In order to quickly achieve their stated military goals and to maintain global super power status, they would need a Pearl Harbor type event to take place.

So lets review.

- They needed a "catalyzing event" to take place to achieve their goals quickly.

- They had received plenty of warnings about the possibility of an attack by Al Queda within the United States.

- On 911 Bush sat and did nothing to counter the attacks as they took place.

- No fighters were scrambled; no response was made until it was too late. He sat and read about goats when he could have been saving thousand of lives.

- Bush is blocking the release of the CIA report that will show his negligence.

Am I the only one who is seeing the big picture here?

I’m just sayin’...

- Jordan

2/9/05

Zack's Link Roundup 2.1.05

A closer look at the administration's 2006 budget shows an economic agenda promoting the wrong choices and wrong priorities. Rolling back massive tax cuts for millionaires is off the table, but the Bush administration has no qualms about raising taxes on average Americans. The budget President Bush submitted to Congress yesterday imposes $5.3 billion in new, regressive taxes. (They are conveniently listed in table 18-3 on page 305 of the Analytic Perspectives supplement to the budget.) The administration's budget contains new taxes that will increase the price of a six pack of beer, an airline ticket and prescription drugs for veterans. Meanwhile, the budget cuts funding for education, public health and environmental protection and includes $1.4 trillion in new tax cuts for the wealthy. Welcome to Bushonomics.

THE SHELL GAME: No matter which way you slice it, the administration's budget is egregiously fiscally irresponsible ­ by its own estimates, it will result in a $390 billion deficit in 2006. Worse, that figure is only arrived at through trickery. The budget includes over a billion dollars in revenue from drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), even though Congress hasn't authorized such drilling and has rejected President Bush's proposal to open ANWR to oil exploration for the last four years. Budget Director Josh Bolten defended the move, claiming, "the budget is the right place to present the entirety of the president's policies, so all of his proposals are reflected in there." Really? The Bush budget excludes all funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the administration's $2 trillion Social Security package.

THE MEDICARE MESS: The industry-backed prescription drug bill President Bush jammed through Congress is a bad law that keeps getting worse. While the bill was pending before Congress, the administration promised the bill would cost $400 billion over 10 years and threatened to fire the Medicare actuary who knew that figure was too low. Later, the administration revised its estimated price tag to $534 billion over 10 years, largely due to excessive payments to private insurers and HMOs. Now, in the most recent budget, the Bush administration estimates the bill will cost $395 billion over five years. In the meantime, drug companies have already jacked up their prices enough to offset any discount to seniors.

FUNDING FOR ABSTINENCE-ONLY PROGRAMS INCREASED: Apparently, President Bush isn't concerned that abstinence-only programs are misleading the nation's children about sex. A study last year found that some of the most popular programs pushed lies, such as claiming that mutual masturbation can cause pregnancy and condoms fail to prevent the transmission of HIV 31 percent of the time. President Bush's budget increases funding for abstinence-only education by $39 million, to a total of $209 million.

Why yes there is more

- Zack

GOP abandons King Bush and casts it's evil eye to 2008

 

Just after our so called elected president gave his Sate of the Union Speech the phone rang. My fiance answered and it was an organization conducting a poll. Happy to participate she began answering questions. "No..... 10. No.... Strongly, 10..." I was very curious what it was all about. I figured it was about the presidents speech. That his minions were polling to see which of his lies were the most palpable to the people. Nope. When she hung up she told me it was mostly about family issues, but there were a few question that they snuck in there that seemed off topic.

"would you support Condi Rice as a presidential candidate in 2008?"

"No"

"How strongly do you feel on this issue from 1-10, 10 being the strongest"

"Strongly....10"

Oh crap here we go. With "president" Bush elected the GOP casts its eye to 2008. This is how the GOP works. They are not loyal to the president. They are loyal to the party. Already they are working to make sure they remain in power in 2008. Bush is a lame Duck president now. Already the GOP have stopping toeing the line with him. When he released his budget yesterday it was not only democrats who objected to his obscene proposal

As President Bush began promoting a 2006 budget plan that calls for reductions in an array of popular domestic programs, congressional Republicans started searching for ways Tuesday to achieve his overall deficit-reduction targets without slaying such political sacred cows as farm subsidies and aid to states.

Many of the proposals in Bush's $2.57 trillion spending plan drew fire not only from Democrats, but also from members of the president's own party who are reluctant to cut programs because they -- unlike Bush -- will face re-election in 2006 and beyond.

Concern about persistent budget deficits, as well as resistance to deep spending cuts, could make it harder for Bush to achieve other priorities, such as making his 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent.

Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, who provided a key vote for Bush's tax cuts, said he now opposed making them permanent because of the deficit.

Now the Republicans have to worry about 2006 and 2008. They will not blindly support the president budget which slashes education, health care and scraps 9,790 border patrol agents. They have the 2006 election to worry about and they can't be seen as weak on education andsecurity. So they question the wreckless budget Bush puts forth. A budget that will increase the deficit. All this without even adding the numbers for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not to mention the Trillions of dollars that will be added to the deficit when Bush tries to "Fix" Social Security Bush will find it harder now to sell his lies to the american people now that the Republican party is looking to the future. A future that does not have Bush in it. The strategy is to undermine the Democratic base and pull some of our votes away by running a black woman. They can sense that Hillary is going to run. A woman candidate would energize the Democratic party. So they are testing the waters to see how to counter that. It seems Rice is their answer.

The political fact is that a Rice candidacy would destroy the electoral chances of the Democratic Party by undermining its demographic base. John Kerry got 54 percent of his vote from three groups that, together, account for about a third of the American electorate: African-Americans, Hispanics and single white women. Rice would cut deeply into any Democrat’s margin among these three groups and would, most especially, deny Clinton the strong support she would otherwise receive from each of them.

So they want to run an African American woman as president to undermine Democratic votes. Once again integrity and honesty and ability are all thrown out the window in the name of strategy. They will run as a candidate the very person who lied to us about Iraq. The woman who brought us such great hits as:

"We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."

and the classic

"I believe the title was Bin Laden Determined To Attack Inside the United States."

Oh Condi you devil you. So the Rethugs will once again run on incompetence. Running the woman who was National Security Advisor during the attacks of 911. They are running her because of the color of her skin. Not because she did a Goof job as our NSA. Certainly not because of her integrity or competence because she has neither. So how will Democrats respond? How can Democrats beat an African American? A woman? Well thats no problem. We can do the same and as a bonus we can run people who are competent and brilliant.

2008

- Jordan

2/8/05

Deepthroat, David Kay, Richard Clarke, Iran and Social Security Oh my

Greg over at Liberal Igloo has some good stuff up. Go give this guy a bookmark. He has good information up on a variety of topics. Well worth your time.

http://www.politicaligloo.blogspot.com/

- Jordan

Link Roundup 2.8.05 - From Zack

The conservative ideological agenda on the economy has hit full stride: aggressively slash taxes on the wealthy; run up huge budget deficits; then push for massive cuts in critical domestic spending under the guise of fiscal responsibility. President Bush will introduce a budget today that is so callous Vice President Cheney felt compelled yesterday to assure viewers of Fox News that "it's not something we've done with a meat ax." Just as with its push for privatizing Social Security, the White House plans "an elaborate marketing strategy to sell the cuts to voters and lawmakers." The message: they aren't cutting government programs for the needy, they are "centralizing government services and saving tax payer money."

JOB TRAINING CUT BY $500 MILLION: At a time when overseas outsourcing has left many American workers ­ especially in the manufacturing sector ­ out of work, President Bush will propose cutting federal spending on job training by a half-billion dollars. Federal job training programs, including dislocated-worker training, will be cut by $200 million. Federal aid to states for job training, including funding to train veterans, will be cut by $300 million.

FUNDING FOR POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS SLASHED: On 2/2/02, President Bush appeared at the New York Police Department Command Center and said, "Police and firefighters of New York, you have this nation's respect, and you'll have this nation's support." Three years later Bush is seeking to decimate vital funding for police officers and firefighters. The administration's budget is expected to reduce federal grants to local police forces from $600 million to $60 million. Grants to local firefighters would be cut by $215 million dollars.

BIG CUTS IN BIOTERRORISM PROTECTION: On 6/12/02, President Bush told the American people, "bioterrorism is a real threat to our country...It's important that we confront these real threats to our country and prepare for future emergencies. Protecting our citizens against bioterrorism is an urgent duty of...American governments." Now, Bush's budget will cut a "range of public health programs, including several to protect the nation against bioterrorist attacks and to respond to medical emergencies." Funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would be reduced by 9 percent under Bush's plan. Specifically, "the public health emergency fund of the [CDC], which helps state and local agencies prepare for bioterror attacks, would be cut 12.6 percent."

LEAVING THE POOR IN THE COLD: Prices for home heating oil are skyrocketing. Nevertheless, Bush's budget proposes cutting the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program (LIHEAP), which helps people pay their heating bills, by 8.4 percent. At last year's funding levels, only one-sixth of low-income families who qualified for the program were able to receive assistance. Last year's funding for LIHEAP was 23 percent lower than in 2001. For continually updated information on the Bush administration's budget, check out our 2006 Budget page.

Here is the rest

- Zack

2/7/05

And then there was one

Dean will run with no opposition. It's all done but the voting. So begins a new era of Democratic leadership.

Roemer withdraws from DNC chair race
Tim Roemer, the only remaining opponent of Howard Dean in the race to be chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Monday he's bowing out of the race -- but he offered a warning to Democrats.

Dean, the former presidential candidate and governor of Vermont, is expected to win the DNC chairmanship at the election February 12.

Roemer, a former congressman from Indiana and a member of the September 11 commission, said Democrats must be more inclusive in their outreach to fast-growing parts of the country.

"I got into this race five weeks ago to talk about the devastating loss we experienced in November," Roemer said in an interview. "It was not about 60,000 votes in Ohio. It was about losing 97 of the 100 fastest growing counties in the country. If that's a trend in business or politics you're in trouble."

Republicans are in the strongest position they've been in since the early 20th century, Roemer said.

Let the work begin

- Jordan

Take One Down and Pass it Around - New artwork From The Free Speech Zone
To add the smaller version as an image (linked to www.thereisnocrisis.com) just add this html to your page.

Bush continues to peddle the destruction of Social Security across the nation like some 2 bit used cars salesman. The only difference is his suit isn't tweed. The sell is the same. The reliance on people not being educated on the subject is the same. Same lies. Same game.

But unlike other crisis situations Bush has warned us about, people do know something about Social Security. People were able to be fooled on Iraq because most people didn't know much about it. It was all so far away. It was "over there" and we were trusting the white house to know better.

Not this time. This is right here at home. Bush is trying to sell young people on this idea of private investment accounts but the problem is todays young people know better. We are not ignorant on this subject. Many of us already have a ROTH IRA or 401 k or a similar account. We are already owners of private investments. Social Security is to be the backup. The one that will always be there. Don't let Bush take that away.

In Montana, Bush Faces a Tough Sell on Social Security

Nowhere is the challenge facing President Bush on Social Security more apparent than here, at an open meeting held by Senator Max Baucus on Friday, the day after the White House road show rolled through Montana. [...]

The anxiety and confusion were palpable in the crowd, which was composed mostly of retirees - the very group assured by Mr. Bush, again and again, that they would not be affected. Why change the program so fundamentally, several asked. Sylvia Stugelmeyer, a retired courthouse worker, declared: "I'm against the privatization of Social Security. It was put into a trust for us many years ago, and I hope to God it stays that way."

Doris Lundin, 77, asked, "How much money has the government spent from Social Security and put in i.o.u.'s?" As the audience applauded, she added, "And why can't they pay it back?"

Mr. Baucus provided essential support to Mr. Bush on two of his most important domestic initiatives in his first term, the 2001 tax cut and the sweeping overhaul of Medicare. But not this time. "You've got to call them as you see them," Mr. Baucus says, and he seems comfortable in his opposition to the Bush plan, even in a state that Mr. Bush carried by 20 percentage points last fall. [...]

Mr. Baucus said his constituents were generally "very nervous" about private investment accounts in Social Security, and retirees, who are most likely to vote on the issue, "are quite opposed." He added, "It's new, it's radical, and it's so different from Social Security as they know it." [...]

But after the speech, when asked where he stood on the Bush plan, Mr. Burns said he was still "crunching numbers" and was worried about the deficit. Critics have asserted that the transition costs to create a system of private accounts would significantly worsen an already serious deficit.
The headline in The Tribune on Friday, right under "Bush Sells With Charm," said, "Montana's Lawmakers Still Aren't Convinced."

The rest

- Jordan

2/4/05

I am going to keep this at the top through the weekend so the artwork posted below can make the rounds. E-mail it to everyone you know. You can download poster sized versions right below the image.

T-shirts are in the store.

I will be posting some great "Must Read Articles" though, so check those out. They are to the right-->

 

2/4/05

From a great Rapid Response thread over at kos comes this:

Tonight, George W. Bush provided few new details of his Social Security privatization plan and once again failed to come clean on the three key questions that the American people continue to ask.  Bush failed to acknowledge the extent to which benefits will be cut, debt will be increased and whether the Republican privatization plan will increase the long-term solvency of the program.

Diaries :: Senate Democratic Communications Center's diary ::
Bush Failed to Address Benefit Cuts:  Tonight Bush said, "Your money will grow, over time, at a greater rate than anything the current system can deliver - and your account will provide money for retirement over and above the check you will receive from Social Security."  
[George W. Bush, State of the Union, 2/2/05]

* But, CBO Says Bush's Plan Will Cut Benefits by 45 Percent or More for Seniors.  The Bush plan will reduce benefits for all seniors, even those who choose not to invest in privatized accounts.  According to the Congressional Budget Office, "benefits for the 1980s birth cohort would be...30 percent lower...and benefits for the 2000s cohort would be...45 percent lower."  
[CBO, "Long-term Analysis of Plan 2 of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security," 7/21/2004, pp. 11 and Figure 2A]

Bush Failed to Address Increases in Debt:  Tonight Bush said, "We will make sure this plan is fiscally responsible, by starting personal retirement accounts gradually, and raising the yearly limits on contributions over time, eventually permitting all workers to set aside four percentage points of their payroll taxes in their accounts."
[George W. Bush, State of the Union, 2/2/05]

* But, The President's Plan Adds Over $4.5 Trillion in Debt.  "Over the first ten years that the plan actually was in effect (2009-18), it would add more than $1 trillion to the debt.  Over the next ten years (2019- 28), it would add over $3.5 trillion more to the debt.  All told, the plan would add more than $4.5 trillion to the debt over its first 20 years."
 [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, "New Details Indicate Administration Social Security Plan," 2/2/05]

More

- Jordan

A Sneak Preview of tonights State of the Union Address:

Thank you fellow americans.

Iraqi elections, Social Security, Liberty, History in the Making, Freedom, Iraqi elections, Freedom, Fire, Iraqi elections, Freedom and Democracy.

Liberty, Social Security crisis, Social Security personal accounts, Liberty and Freedom, Iraqi elections, September 11, Terrorism, Democracy in the Middle East, September 11, Liberty, Family Values, Iraqi elections, saving Social Security with individual investment accounts, September 11, 2001, Democracy in Iraq, Fire, Iraqi elections and Freedom.

Iran, The War on Terror, Liberty, Crisis, Iraqi Elections, Iran, September 11, Terrorism, and Democracy in the Middle East.

Iran Crisis.

War on Terror, God bless America.

You saw it here first. And when I saw "here" what I mean is here.

- Jordan

The State Of Our Union

Today is the day our "leader" tells us how our great country is fairing. How we are the beacon of light shining as an example of the world. If you ask Bush, we represent all that is good and great. If you ask any other country we represent the greatest threat to world peace that currently exists. Many people, like me, have preemptively ignored his SOTU speech. We know before he even opens his mouth that it is lies that will fall out. All politicians lie. But it has been a long time indeed since such massive and widespread death and destruction has been the price of such lies.

Does it suprise us that our country has become so feared? That when I hear Bush speak of "freedom" and "liberty" all I can think of is death and destruction? Does it surprise anyone that we are about to be lied to yet again in another address by the president? After all this is a man with a track record of absolute incompetence and deceit. Time and time again he has made errors in judgment that have cost the American people money and anguish and all too often the lost life of a loved one.

No. I will not let this fool tell me how my country is. I know all too well how it is. The rosy picture Bush will paint in his speech is much like the rosy picture he painted of how the war in Iraq would go over. We would be greeted as liberators. It was a slam dunk. They would greet us with flowers. Or like the rosy picture he painted for us when he "landed" that plane on that aircraft carrier and told the nation that the mission was accomplished. Hard to say what that mission might be since our stated goals in Iraq seem to change back and forth with each day. Republicans have a word for that.

We were there because they had WMD's. That didn't pan out so they toned it down. Now we were there because they were involved in weapons related program activities (and had significant amounts of equipment! Significant mind you!) At one time we were there because they had nukes, we were there because saddam was involved in the 911 attacks. We are there to bring democracy to the iraqi people. First we were told they found weapons, then recently we were told there were no weapons. So far nobody has paid any price for this incompetence. Instead we see the people responsible for the blunders rewarded or promoted. So many reasons given for our war with a nation that posed no threat to us and yet none of them are the real reason. Sadly enough, the real reason had very little to do with leace and prosperity.

Although the reasons have changed the cost remains the same. As of today 1,438 troops have died in Iraq since the war began. Not that you would hear much about it since the White House has made it illegal for press to cover the coffins that return from Iraq. Not that president Bush seems to care much, as he has attended a total of 0 funerals of the soldiers who have died for his war. In fact Bush seems oblivious to the pain and suffering his ignorant foreign policy decisions has created for countless peoples lives.

Bush's plan to Bomb the Iraqi people into peace has been riddled with mistakes from day one. With the low estimated for civilian casualties in the tens of thousands and the injured civilians estimates around 40,000, we must stop and ask ourselves, is there not a better way? Can't we bring peace to a region without first bringing death and destruction? Don't the fools in power see that this reckless foreign policy is only making more terrorist? Don't they see that terrorism is now at the highest levels we have seen in 20 years? All this with no exit plan. No plan to win the peace. They throw all this money at the problem and still go in with very little equipment and preparation. The Administration took over 8 months to supply soldiers with sufficient body armor, and there is still a shortage of armored Humvees. Newsweek has estimated that as many as 25% of casualties could have been avoided if our troops had proper equipment from the start (PDF).

The Bush administration has spent over 140 Billion for this war of choice in Iraq. They have Just asked for another 80 billion. Countless Billions have disappeared and are unaccounted for. Surprisingly small fractions of this money that should go for reconstruction is being spent for that purpose. Of the $18.4 billion Congress approved last year for Iraqi reconstruction, only $1.1 billion has been spent because of violence and other problems. One might ask... who pays for all this? The estimated long-term cost of war to every U.S. household: $3,415. Your children's children will still be footing this bill.

All this reckless spending has created a record deficit. But Bush won't be mentioning that in his State of the Union speech tonight. Because then the Republicans might realize that they are supposed to be the fiscaly responsible party. Why Republicans aren't fuming over Bush's reckless spending is a mystery. When Bush became president the Budget surplus stood at $127 billion. By 2003 the surplus was gone and we had a record budget deficit of $374 Billion. The numbers are even worse today, as it climbs up at an estimated $1.58 billion a day. Let that sink in. How many schools could be funded with that money? How many children could be provided with health care for that amount? How many people could we feed in Africa with that kind of money? $1.58 a day. Of my money. Your money. Waisted. Each American citizen is asked to pay $23,920 to fix this mess. Which would be easier if we had jobs. During the first three years of the Bush administration 2.4 million Americans lost their jobs. President Bush is the first President since Herbert Hoover to have a net loss of jobs--around 800,000--over a four-year term. More than 1.5 million private-sector jobs have been lost under President Bush, compared to nearly 21 million private-sector jobs created under President Clinton. Long-term unemployment has more than doubled under Bush. The unemployment rate has gone up 1.4% since Bush took office.

The state of our union is far from strong. Bush likes to say we have a strong economy. That a recent rise in jobs has cleared him of any wrong doing in regards to his economic policies. It is a simple thing to put that in perspective. Americans know better. We remember better days. And we remember who was in charge in times when our economy was thriving.

So tonight when Bush proclaims victory in Iraq do not be fooled. When he claims social security is in crisis, do not be fooled. When he speaks of freedom and liberty do not be fooled. When he tells us that things in Iraq are just peachy do not be fooled. Remember the civilians tortured in the name of America. Remember that even now Bush is rewarding the "few bad apples" that made that torture possible. Remember what America TRULY stands for.

And above all know that the Democratic party is stronger and growing stronger. There will be a better day. Our union will become strong in time. We will once again be respected instead of feared. Education jobs and health will become American values. Our day will come and when it does we will create in reality what Republicans dream of. We will some day bring the state of our union back to greatness.

- Jordan

2/1/05

There Is No Crisis

Once again Bush has attempted to create a crisis where there was none. But this time his Plan is DOA. Social Security seems to be safe for now.

This from Senator Reid:

Not a single Senate Democrat will support President Bush’s proposal to divert a portion of the Social Security payroll tax to personal investment accounts, Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday.

If he is right, Bush’s plan will be dead on arrival in the Senate, where a supermajority of 60 votes will be needed to overcome a filibuster by opponents. Republicans have 55 seats.

...

“We want to make sure that the American people understand that we’re not for benefit cuts and we’re not for privatization,” Reid said. “There’s no crisis in Social Security.”

Another sign of a strong Democratic party.

- Jordan

Saying NO to torture

45 Democrats will soon vote on Alberto Gonzales for Attorney General. All 45 should vote against him. This probably will not happen but it does look like we will come close.

Momentum against Gonzales grows; Vote against Gonzales may run as high as 40 Dems

Serious concerns about Bush’s Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales among Democrats is turning the tide of the party against him.

A senior Senate aide who spoke on condition of anonymity told RAW STORY Tuesday the vote against Gonzales is now definitively above 30 Democrats and “may go as high as 40.”

And...

Reid: Most Senate Democrats Oppose Gonzales

Up to two thirds of the 45 Democrats in the Republican-led U.S. Senate prepared on Tuesday to oppose Alberto Gonzales as the next U.S. attorney general because of his role in helping craft policies they blame for contributing to the abuse of foreign detainees. [...]

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, predicted that up to 30 of the 45 Senate Democrats would oppose Gonzales, who rose from poverty to sit on the Texas Supreme Court before serving Bush at the White House.

The battle over Gonzales has focused largely on an Aug. 1, 2002, memo he approved that stated only the most severe types of torture were not permissible under U.S. and international agreements. The memo was withdrawn after a public outcry.

Gonzales has also drawn fire for writing in January 2002 that parts of the half-century-old Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war were "obsolete" and "quaint."

This is a good start. Next step is voting Dean in. This party is about to become an effective party. It's about time.

- Jordan

Better Late Than Never

Somebody go see if there are snowballs in hell. Check the sky for pigs while you are at it.

A report, the first of its kind, says Baghdad ended its chemical weapons program in '91

In what may be a formal acknowledgment of the obvious, the CIA has issued a classified report revising its prewar assessments on Iraq and concluding that Baghdad abandoned its chemical weapons programs in 1991, intelligence officials familiar with the document said.

Talk about re-writing history... Sheesh! Too bad the damage is done.

The report marks the first time the CIA has officially disavowed its prewar judgments and is one in a series of updated assessments the agency is producing as part of an effort to correct its record on Iraq's alleged weapons programs, officials said.

Right. Correcting the record after the fact. Reminds me of when they corrected the exit polls to match the Bush win. Man that was good times.

The CIA's decision to distribute the report — titled "Iraq: No Large-Scale Chemical Warfare Efforts Since Early 1990s" — in classified channels underscores the awkwardness the agency faces as it continues to reconcile its prewar reporting with postwar realities in Iraq. Before the war, the CIA asserted that Iraq had stockpiled biological weapons and was reconstituting its nuclear weapons program.

Read More

They also connected Saddam to 911, which is a flat out lie. They also mentioned mushroom clouds. These are all things they should think about as they begin the process of selling us the war in Iran.

- Jordan

Zack's Link Roundup 2.1.05