I know Bushieboy probably can't spell hypocrisy, let alone pronounce it. But you'd think he'd at least know what it is and have a minor sense of shame and irony for the situation he and his minder Dick have put America in. Last week before attention was diverted to the Caucasus, the Torturor-In-Chief was lecturing China on its human right record. This is a man who through his lies and criminal acts created a humanitarian crisis in Iraq where some 5 million people are refugees and tens to hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are dead and more than 30,000 Americans where mislead to there deaths and dismemberment. This is a man who has knowingly presided over the imprisonment, torture and murder of the innocent along with the guilty and consistently shredded the very bedrock of what America is, the Constitution, all in the name of an imperial presidency.
This week Bush and his neocon bretheren are waging their fingers at Russia for invading a sovereign nation and calling on the U.N. Security Council (on which Russia sits) to condemn the action because it wasn't authorized by by the Security Council. Russia is claiming that its response is humanitarian because Georgian president Saakashvili attacked his own people (he did) and that Russia is acting its own interest, pre-empting a threat to national security. Oh and by the way, there is control of natural gas and oil at stake as well.
If this doesn't all sound familiar it should. Bush did not have the U.N Security Council authorization required for all military action against another nation with the exception of when actually attacked and he used the rationale that Saddam had attacked his own people. And we're not in Dafur why? Oh right, no oil there. Bush and Cheney have also claimed and acted on the right to attack another country if there is even a perceived 1% threat that they might threaten America's security (The Bush Doctrine AKA the 1% Doctrine).
The bushites have undermined international law and America's moral standing in the world. Bush condemning the Chinese and Russians for their actions simply exposes him for the empty-headed hypocrit that he is and the world is laughing at him. Putin isn't just laughing though, he's using Bush's own actions to poke him right in the eye. And since we're so bogged down in his Iraq boondoggle there's nothing Bush can do about it because he has also undermined America's strategic position by bring America's all volunteer military to the breaking point. And Vlad, the man whose soul Bush gazed upon with approval when he looked into his eyes is calling Georgie's Georgian bluff and proving that when Bush look into his eyes he saw only exactly what his "friend" Vlad wanted him to see. Just another piece of evidence among many that Bushieboy was never really up to the task that he thought was his by right of descent. The more Bush wags his finger the more foolish he looks for paving Putin's way (and perhaps others) in justifying his actions by mirroring those of Dubya.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
CIA Forged Letter Linking Saddam to Al Qaeda
Ron Suskind's new book The Way of the World, with the support of on-the-record CIA officials, states that the Whitehouse ordered the CIA to forge a letter from Iraq's head of intelligence to Saddam stating that 9/11 ring leader Mohammed Atta was trained in Iraq for the attacks.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/08/05/10809/
This letter published by the Sunday London Telegraph in December 2003 was designed to provide justification for the invasion that had been planned since Bush took office before 9/11.
Suskind further claims that based on a report by British Intelligence (among other sources, including inspectors on the ground) that the bushites knew that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction and no programs to produce such weapons. They of course ignored this information because it didn't suit their goals of war on Iraq and war on reality.
This provides one more set of evidence in an ever mounting pile of evidence that George W. Bush is murderer and a traitor and should be brought to legitimate justice before the law.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/08/05/10809/
This letter published by the Sunday London Telegraph in December 2003 was designed to provide justification for the invasion that had been planned since Bush took office before 9/11.
Suskind further claims that based on a report by British Intelligence (among other sources, including inspectors on the ground) that the bushites knew that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction and no programs to produce such weapons. They of course ignored this information because it didn't suit their goals of war on Iraq and war on reality.
This provides one more set of evidence in an ever mounting pile of evidence that George W. Bush is murderer and a traitor and should be brought to legitimate justice before the law.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Paul Ryan's Reform Misses The Mark
Paul Ryan completely missed the mark with his opinion piece about the need to reform Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in last week’s Standard Press. Although perhaps that was intentional since what really needs reform is the Republican Party. The problems faced by these two institutions are not the result of internal flaws, but rather the deeply flawed and greed motivated deregulation agenda of the GOPsters. You see in 1999 the Glass-Steagall Act was repealed under the sponsorship of none other than former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX), millionaire and McCain’s “economic advisor” before he had to be thrown under the Straight Talk Express for among other things, calling the American People “whiners”.
Glass-Steagall was enacted after the Great Depression to prohibit banks from owning brokerage firms and vice versa, to prevent conflicts of interest between these two sectors of the financial system and it worked well for 60 years. But greed got the better of the banking industry and our representatives and upon repeal the big banks went on a feeding frenzy, buying up the brokerage firms. So when all these bad loans were made and sold as quickly as possible to the big banks to keep the fees but offload the risk, the big banks in turn used their brokerage arms to bundle these loans into securities to sell for investment. But whereas there was once an incentive for the brokerage to check the teeth of what they were buying from the banks for bundling and resale to their customers, now there is in fact a disincentive to question the value of your own assets. Bad for business don’t you know. So they passed along bad paper and Freddie and Fannie along with financial institutions and investors around the world bought it on good faith in the American financial system, faith that was unfortunately misplaced.
Of course Paul Ryan isn’t going to point out these facts. Instead he sees it as another opportunity to push the shock doctrine capitalism and privatization agenda of the far right who don’t believe that we should share in anything in this country, that nothing should be public. Paul makes the laughable argument that, if privatized, the citizenry would not be called upon to bail out these entities again in the future should the need arise. Apparently Ryan has never heard of Bear-Stearns & Co., a private “too big fail” firm bailed out by the Federal Reserve just last spring.
There is a constantly repeated theme of GOPish deregulation followed by financial meltdown and public bailout from the savings & loan crisis to WorldCom, to Enron (also the result of Sen. Gramm’s manipulations) to the current sub-prime mortgage mess. I know that it’s an article of faith in the GOP that all corporate regulation is bad, but it’s an article of blind faith that in revelation has been shown to be wrong over and over again. You’d think the American people would learn from this history. A certain amount of regulation actually makes sense for the public good and obviously in the end for the good of the overall business sector as well, except for the few greedy and corrupt individuals who manage to profit from debacles like these. Not that Mr. Ryan will ever come around to see that, but at least if you’re going propose cures you ought to treat the cause of the disease and not just address its symptoms, or we’ll be right back here again in a few years with another GOP inspired fiasco, throwing more good money after bad. That’s just plain old common sense.
Glass-Steagall was enacted after the Great Depression to prohibit banks from owning brokerage firms and vice versa, to prevent conflicts of interest between these two sectors of the financial system and it worked well for 60 years. But greed got the better of the banking industry and our representatives and upon repeal the big banks went on a feeding frenzy, buying up the brokerage firms. So when all these bad loans were made and sold as quickly as possible to the big banks to keep the fees but offload the risk, the big banks in turn used their brokerage arms to bundle these loans into securities to sell for investment. But whereas there was once an incentive for the brokerage to check the teeth of what they were buying from the banks for bundling and resale to their customers, now there is in fact a disincentive to question the value of your own assets. Bad for business don’t you know. So they passed along bad paper and Freddie and Fannie along with financial institutions and investors around the world bought it on good faith in the American financial system, faith that was unfortunately misplaced.
Of course Paul Ryan isn’t going to point out these facts. Instead he sees it as another opportunity to push the shock doctrine capitalism and privatization agenda of the far right who don’t believe that we should share in anything in this country, that nothing should be public. Paul makes the laughable argument that, if privatized, the citizenry would not be called upon to bail out these entities again in the future should the need arise. Apparently Ryan has never heard of Bear-Stearns & Co., a private “too big fail” firm bailed out by the Federal Reserve just last spring.
There is a constantly repeated theme of GOPish deregulation followed by financial meltdown and public bailout from the savings & loan crisis to WorldCom, to Enron (also the result of Sen. Gramm’s manipulations) to the current sub-prime mortgage mess. I know that it’s an article of faith in the GOP that all corporate regulation is bad, but it’s an article of blind faith that in revelation has been shown to be wrong over and over again. You’d think the American people would learn from this history. A certain amount of regulation actually makes sense for the public good and obviously in the end for the good of the overall business sector as well, except for the few greedy and corrupt individuals who manage to profit from debacles like these. Not that Mr. Ryan will ever come around to see that, but at least if you’re going propose cures you ought to treat the cause of the disease and not just address its symptoms, or we’ll be right back here again in a few years with another GOP inspired fiasco, throwing more good money after bad. That’s just plain old common sense.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Sign Of The Times
Last week I was afforded a sight that warmed the cockles of my heart (whatever they are). I was coming back down from the north woods and went past the Hummer dealership on HWY 45 in Menominee Falls. I've been driving past and cursing this this temple to glutonous excess for several years now, but this time to my delight it was being torn down. And to add a knife twist to to GM's nearsightedness, there was a Smart Car dealership going up right next to it.
I've never figured out just exaclty what deficiency the drivers of these monstrosities are trying to compensate for, but I do know this HUMMERS ARE FOR DICKHEADS!>
I've never figured out just exaclty what deficiency the drivers of these monstrosities are trying to compensate for, but I do know this HUMMERS ARE FOR DICKHEADS!>
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Supreme Hackery
It’s long past time to publicly finance Wisconsin’s Supreme Court races. Last week we saw the injustice and cost to the citizenry that results from allowing democracy subverting special interests to buy seats on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court as Annette Ziegler led the charge for her corporate sponsors at Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC). The corporatists at WMC paid millions of dollars to put the ethically bankrupt Ziegler on the bench and now she’s dutifully returned their investment to the detriment of the citizenry.
Menasha Corporation bought SAP, a several million dollar canned software package, thousands of copies of which are sold worldwide, and they had to pay sales tax on it. They then claimed it was a custom package, therefore tax exempt because they had to pay consulting fees to integrate it and learn how to use it. They then sued the state, in conjunction with WMC, who filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of Menasha.
Annette of course sided with the corporate interests rather than the citizen’s interest and ordered not only Menasha’s money to be returned, but another $300 million in similar taxes. Talk about your judicial activism!
Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson stated correctly that the citizens of Wisconsin will now have to make up for the returned money and an estimated $100 million every year from now on because of this ludicrous ruling. That’s a pretty sweet deal for the corporatists. Spend a few tens of thousands of dollars in “consulting” fees and skate on the $300,000 tax bill owed to the People of Wisconsin.
In her former position Zeigler not only didn’t recuse herself from cases that involved her husband’s business, but kept those conflicted interests secret from the parties involved. For this violation of ethics rules she got a slap on the wrist from her fellow “justices” on the bench and as a result the citizenry has been slapped in the face. And once again she failed to recuse herself, in this case involving the group who paid for her seat on the bench. But then again there really is no conflict in her interest, we know exactly where that lies.
Justice Abrahamson is up for re-election next year and you can bet that WMC and national groups interested in forcing the corporatist agenda on America will spare no expense in buying that seat as well (as they did for Gableman this year) to put the final nail in the coffin of supreme justice here in Wisconsin.
Fortunately a good corporate citizen, Epic Systems of Verona has stepped in and made the following statement; “We believe that what we tolerate is what we stand for, and as corporate citizens, we stand for the preservation of the foundation of the judicial system," "… After careful consideration, we made a decision to try to work only with vendors that do not support WMC with its current management. This was not a decision we made lightly, but believe it is the right thing to do.” BRAVO!
Menasha Corporation bought SAP, a several million dollar canned software package, thousands of copies of which are sold worldwide, and they had to pay sales tax on it. They then claimed it was a custom package, therefore tax exempt because they had to pay consulting fees to integrate it and learn how to use it. They then sued the state, in conjunction with WMC, who filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of Menasha.
Annette of course sided with the corporate interests rather than the citizen’s interest and ordered not only Menasha’s money to be returned, but another $300 million in similar taxes. Talk about your judicial activism!
Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson stated correctly that the citizens of Wisconsin will now have to make up for the returned money and an estimated $100 million every year from now on because of this ludicrous ruling. That’s a pretty sweet deal for the corporatists. Spend a few tens of thousands of dollars in “consulting” fees and skate on the $300,000 tax bill owed to the People of Wisconsin.
In her former position Zeigler not only didn’t recuse herself from cases that involved her husband’s business, but kept those conflicted interests secret from the parties involved. For this violation of ethics rules she got a slap on the wrist from her fellow “justices” on the bench and as a result the citizenry has been slapped in the face. And once again she failed to recuse herself, in this case involving the group who paid for her seat on the bench. But then again there really is no conflict in her interest, we know exactly where that lies.
Justice Abrahamson is up for re-election next year and you can bet that WMC and national groups interested in forcing the corporatist agenda on America will spare no expense in buying that seat as well (as they did for Gableman this year) to put the final nail in the coffin of supreme justice here in Wisconsin.
Fortunately a good corporate citizen, Epic Systems of Verona has stepped in and made the following statement; “We believe that what we tolerate is what we stand for, and as corporate citizens, we stand for the preservation of the foundation of the judicial system," "… After careful consideration, we made a decision to try to work only with vendors that do not support WMC with its current management. This was not a decision we made lightly, but believe it is the right thing to do.” BRAVO!
These ”justices” can put on robes if they want to in a vain effort to instill a sense of mystery and awe surrounding their deliberations. But there’s no mystery about what lies beneath the robes of the likes of Zeigler and Gableman, a couple of bought and paid for supreme political hacks. It’s time for the citizens resume ownership of their court and the justices that sit on it by funding the elections with public money.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Campaign Office grand Opening Celebrations!
The Grand Opening Celebration of the Racine for Obama Campaign for Change headquarters is next Wednesday July 16th – 6:00 PM at 522 6th Street in downtown Racine.
The Walworth Co. Democrats are celebrating the opening of their campaign office at 21 E Walworth St. in downtown Elkhorn tomorrow Sat. July 12th at 3:00 PM, with Congressional and State Assembly candidate speeches beginning at 4:00.
As many people of goodwill as possible are encouraged to attend both events!
The Walworth Co. Democrats are celebrating the opening of their campaign office at 21 E Walworth St. in downtown Elkhorn tomorrow Sat. July 12th at 3:00 PM, with Congressional and State Assembly candidate speeches beginning at 4:00.
As many people of goodwill as possible are encouraged to attend both events!
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Great News!
Dr. Jeffrey Thomas did not file his 1st CD nomination papers to reprise his repeated role as a non-viable democratic candidate. This makes it far more likely that we will get a real candidate running as democrat to unseat the regressive Mr. Ryan.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Empirial Over Reach
This is what the Bushite Neocons mean establishing a free and sovereign Iraq. Yeah turn Blackwater and CACI loose with immunity on the already beleaguered citizens of Iraq, that'll go well. Not to mention the launching pad for war with Iran and then Syria that this is intended to facilitate. From today's Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org/2008/6/13/headlines
Iraqi PM: Talks With US at "Dead End"
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is claiming talks on a long-term agreement with the US have reached what he calls "a dead end." US demands have included maintaining fifty-eight permanent military bases in Iraq, immunity for American troops and contractors, a free hand to conduct military operations without Iraqi approval, and control of Iraqi airspace. Speaking in Jordan, Maliki said, "We have reached an impasse, because when we opened these negotiations we did not realize that the US demands would so deeply affect Iraqi sovereignty, and this is something we can never accept." The Independent of London reported last week the US is leveraging tens of billions of dollars in seized Iraqi assets to push through its demands. The Bush administration has angered Iraqi officials by refusing to lift support for Iraq's UN designation as a threat to international security. The New York Times reports Iraqi officials will ask the UN Security Council today to expend its protection of Iraq against compensation claims.
Iraqi PM: Talks With US at "Dead End"
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is claiming talks on a long-term agreement with the US have reached what he calls "a dead end." US demands have included maintaining fifty-eight permanent military bases in Iraq, immunity for American troops and contractors, a free hand to conduct military operations without Iraqi approval, and control of Iraqi airspace. Speaking in Jordan, Maliki said, "We have reached an impasse, because when we opened these negotiations we did not realize that the US demands would so deeply affect Iraqi sovereignty, and this is something we can never accept." The Independent of London reported last week the US is leveraging tens of billions of dollars in seized Iraqi assets to push through its demands. The Bush administration has angered Iraqi officials by refusing to lift support for Iraq's UN designation as a threat to international security. The New York Times reports Iraqi officials will ask the UN Security Council today to expend its protection of Iraq against compensation claims.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Pre-Existing Political Condition (You're Denied!)
Below is a piece by Jack Lohman of www.ThrowTheRascalsOut.org from most recent edition of his bimonthly newsletter on clean elections and healthcare reform. It's an excellent snapshot of the train wreck we find ourselves in with regard to healthcare and disfunctional politics, with a republican party both in denial of the problem and ideologically unequiped to address the healthcare issue and two parties that are enmeshed in the status quo of money driven politics. The full newsletter can be viewed at www.ThrowTheRascalsOut.org/eNewsletter71.htm You can sign up for this excellent source of information by sending a blank email to jlohman@execpc.com with “Subscribe eNewsletter” in the subject line.
Three steps to Health Care Reform
By Jack E. Lohman
I’ve got it!
Step One: Refuse insurance coverage for 15% of our politicians, under-insure another 15%, and put the rest on a high-deductible health savings account.
Step Two: Ban all campaign contributions moving from the healthcare and insurance industries to the politicians.
Step Three: Actually, step three isn’t needed. Without health insurance or industry money, the politicians will fix the system virtually overnight. Even if we just eliminated the industry money, the politicians would do the right thing.
Sad, isn’t it? That the guys and gals that are paid by us actually work for them. But that’s the world we live in.
That’s the way it’s going to be until November and we throw out the old and bring in the new.
Yeah, some of the indestructible young bucks will be okay with the high deductible plans, at least until one of their kids is diagnosed with genetically contracted diabetes or something of the like. No amount of, what do they call it, personal responsibility and keeping fit, will protect them from this family tragedy.
Then they’ll want to convert to a standard policy, but it’ll be too late. It’s that “pre-existing disease” thingy we’ve been talking about.
It is what it is; live with it.
This just puzzles the hell out of me. We are all paying for everyone’s health care already. . . . in cost shifting, bankruptcy costs, and when businesses add their costs to the price of their product and we (even us old geezers) reimburse them at the cash register.
Why don’t we just pool everybody into one system and all share the costs in a forthright manner, and pay less dollars than we are paying today? And at the same time make our businesses more competitive with imports!
For the same amount of dollars we are spending on health care today, we could provide first class care to 100% of our population. We’d use the same private doctors, the same private hospitals and we’d have wait times no longer than we have today.
Under a single-payer universal healthcare system, no one would have to declare bankruptcy because of exhorbitant healthcare costs, where those costs are now borne by the rest of us.
Why are we spending more to avoid doing it the right way, than it would cost to do it right in the first place?
I know of no intelligent business leader that would design a system like today’s. But I do know of many politicians who would. What’s that tell you?
Source: http://moneyedpoliticians.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/three-steps-to-health-care-reform/
Three steps to Health Care Reform
By Jack E. Lohman
I’ve got it!
Step One: Refuse insurance coverage for 15% of our politicians, under-insure another 15%, and put the rest on a high-deductible health savings account.
Step Two: Ban all campaign contributions moving from the healthcare and insurance industries to the politicians.
Step Three: Actually, step three isn’t needed. Without health insurance or industry money, the politicians will fix the system virtually overnight. Even if we just eliminated the industry money, the politicians would do the right thing.
Sad, isn’t it? That the guys and gals that are paid by us actually work for them. But that’s the world we live in.
That’s the way it’s going to be until November and we throw out the old and bring in the new.
Yeah, some of the indestructible young bucks will be okay with the high deductible plans, at least until one of their kids is diagnosed with genetically contracted diabetes or something of the like. No amount of, what do they call it, personal responsibility and keeping fit, will protect them from this family tragedy.
Then they’ll want to convert to a standard policy, but it’ll be too late. It’s that “pre-existing disease” thingy we’ve been talking about.
It is what it is; live with it.
This just puzzles the hell out of me. We are all paying for everyone’s health care already. . . . in cost shifting, bankruptcy costs, and when businesses add their costs to the price of their product and we (even us old geezers) reimburse them at the cash register.
Why don’t we just pool everybody into one system and all share the costs in a forthright manner, and pay less dollars than we are paying today? And at the same time make our businesses more competitive with imports!
For the same amount of dollars we are spending on health care today, we could provide first class care to 100% of our population. We’d use the same private doctors, the same private hospitals and we’d have wait times no longer than we have today.
Under a single-payer universal healthcare system, no one would have to declare bankruptcy because of exhorbitant healthcare costs, where those costs are now borne by the rest of us.
Why are we spending more to avoid doing it the right way, than it would cost to do it right in the first place?
I know of no intelligent business leader that would design a system like today’s. But I do know of many politicians who would. What’s that tell you?
Source: http://moneyedpoliticians.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/three-steps-to-health-care-reform/
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
BAP at Chocolatefest
The Burlington Area Progressives had a successful run promoting progressive values at this year's chocolatefest. We would like to thank the Kenosha, Racine and Walworth Co. Democratic Parties for supporting this effort and the progressive candidates that spent some time at C-Fest and our booth including State Assembly candidates Doug Herrod (Dist. 32), Mike Orr (Dist. 66) and Larry Zamba (Dist 66), as well as Wisconsin 1st Congressional District Candidates Paulette Garin and Marge Krupp.
We also had information and literature provided for distribution by State Senator Robert Wirch (Dist. 22) and Linda Flashinski, candidate for State Assembly (Dist. 63)
Our presence was well received. We met people and handed out literature. To see the BAP literature that we posted and/or handed out please see the Chocolatefest 2008 file on our yahoo group, the link to which is under "Join the Discussion" on the left-hand side of this page. Photos of our booth will also be posted soon. We also registered 8 new voters!
The results of our presidential straw poll are as follows:
McCain 0
Clinton 8
Obama 8
Well it seems there's just no decisive result to be had in this regard (at least between the dems).
Thanks again to all who helped, stopped by or provided general encouragement. Particular thanks go out to Kay Collins-Schultz for meritorius service above and beyond the call. We couldn't have done it with out you!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
BAP at C-Fest
If you're at C-Fest this weekend stop in, say hi and see our booth in cooperation with the Dems of Kenosha, Racine and Walworth Co.
Our booths looks great and it's awesome to see that finally the GOPsters don't have C-Fest to themselves anymore. In addition to Our booth, Assembly cadidates Larry Zamba and Mike Orr also have booths and other progressive candidates Marge Krupp (House) and Doug Harrod (Assembly) have alsp put in appearance with more expected. The GOP doesn't know what hit 'em!
We're registering voters , handing out literature and conducting a one dollar/vote presidential straw poll with proceeds going to BAP to defray the costs. So stike a blow (or $5) for your cadidate!
Have a great Holiday!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Bush Torturer-In-Chief
Well Bush has finally admitted that he is a war criminal. In discussing the use of torture by the U.S. government with ABC news recently http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/LawPolitics/Story?id=4635175&page=1 Bush stated "And yes, I'm aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved." He was referring to Dick Cheney, Condolezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeldt, George Tenet, John Ashcroft and Colin Powel who met and authorized specific techniques for use on suspected terrorists, including water boarding.
Water boarding AKA the drowning torture, conceived by the Spanish Inquisition is used to repeatedly induce the sensation and terror of drowning. Since the U.S. prosecuted Japanese troops after WWII for war crimes for using this technique on our troops it is clearly a war crime and a form of torture as recognized the world over.Our founders held that certain truths were self evident, that all men, not all Americans, but ALL men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights including due process and not to be subjected to cruel and inhuman punishment. George Bush has betrayed the very foundation of what America stands for in the world.
Furthermore, George Bush has asserted that as Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces during wartime he is above justice and the rule of law. This is a further betrayal of the Constitution and our founding. Do we want to confer these powers on Obama, Clinton, McCain or any other future executive? NO! If this principle is allowed to carry forward we are unlikely to ever see the end of wartime, as we will elect a series of dictators to four-year terms.
It’s time for our representative Paul Ryan and the rest of the House, to stop collaborating with the Torturer-In-Chief and clean up the moral cesspool that is the Bush Administration once and for all by bringing to bear impeachment and criminal proceedings against these perpetrators.
From Abu Grabh to Gitmo to the secret blacksites around the globe this President has betrayed American values and diminished our standing as a nation. This is self-evident, torture is evil! By any name, for any purpose, by anyone, to anyone, no ifs, ands or moral relativisms.
If the Executive can detain you secretly, indefinitely, without charge, recourse or due process, if he/she can torture you, extract testimony and use it against you in a tribunal, you are not free. You are merely at large at the executive’s discretion. The Bushites have done all of these things. It’s time to stand up for freedom and put the criminal George Bush behind bars where he belongs.
Water boarding AKA the drowning torture, conceived by the Spanish Inquisition is used to repeatedly induce the sensation and terror of drowning. Since the U.S. prosecuted Japanese troops after WWII for war crimes for using this technique on our troops it is clearly a war crime and a form of torture as recognized the world over.Our founders held that certain truths were self evident, that all men, not all Americans, but ALL men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights including due process and not to be subjected to cruel and inhuman punishment. George Bush has betrayed the very foundation of what America stands for in the world.
Furthermore, George Bush has asserted that as Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces during wartime he is above justice and the rule of law. This is a further betrayal of the Constitution and our founding. Do we want to confer these powers on Obama, Clinton, McCain or any other future executive? NO! If this principle is allowed to carry forward we are unlikely to ever see the end of wartime, as we will elect a series of dictators to four-year terms.
It’s time for our representative Paul Ryan and the rest of the House, to stop collaborating with the Torturer-In-Chief and clean up the moral cesspool that is the Bush Administration once and for all by bringing to bear impeachment and criminal proceedings against these perpetrators.
From Abu Grabh to Gitmo to the secret blacksites around the globe this President has betrayed American values and diminished our standing as a nation. This is self-evident, torture is evil! By any name, for any purpose, by anyone, to anyone, no ifs, ands or moral relativisms.
If the Executive can detain you secretly, indefinitely, without charge, recourse or due process, if he/she can torture you, extract testimony and use it against you in a tribunal, you are not free. You are merely at large at the executive’s discretion. The Bushites have done all of these things. It’s time to stand up for freedom and put the criminal George Bush behind bars where he belongs.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Return to Sender - Iraq Veteran Gets the Call Again
The following are snippets from a letter in the SF Chronicle Open Forum (emphasis mine)
Colby Buzzell
Thursday, May 8, 2008
"When I voluntarily enlisted in the Army, I remember asking my recruiter about the fine print on the contract about being called back up to active duty once my enlistment was completed. He assured me not to worry, that every contract said that and it would only happen if "World War III" broke out."
"On way out of my building two weeks ago, I checked my mailbox and found a letter from the Department of the Army with "Important Document" printed in all caps on the middle. I immediately felt sick, so I went back to my room, locked the door, grabbed a beer from the fridge and stared out my window for a while. People outside were all wearing sunglasses and walking about enjoying the sun. I took a picture."
"Looking back, would I have joined the military if I were doing something that I loved? Or had a job that paid $100,000 a year? Probably not. Those are the men and women I feel that we need to mail these letters to. Let's see what happens when they receive letters telling them to put on a uniform and ship out immediately to the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Read the rest of his letter and get the link to where he blogs here.
Colby Buzzell
Thursday, May 8, 2008
"When I voluntarily enlisted in the Army, I remember asking my recruiter about the fine print on the contract about being called back up to active duty once my enlistment was completed. He assured me not to worry, that every contract said that and it would only happen if "World War III" broke out."
"On way out of my building two weeks ago, I checked my mailbox and found a letter from the Department of the Army with "Important Document" printed in all caps on the middle. I immediately felt sick, so I went back to my room, locked the door, grabbed a beer from the fridge and stared out my window for a while. People outside were all wearing sunglasses and walking about enjoying the sun. I took a picture."
"Looking back, would I have joined the military if I were doing something that I loved? Or had a job that paid $100,000 a year? Probably not. Those are the men and women I feel that we need to mail these letters to. Let's see what happens when they receive letters telling them to put on a uniform and ship out immediately to the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Read the rest of his letter and get the link to where he blogs here.
Faith groups mount campaign against torture
They're protesting Bush administration policies. But polls show Americans are split on the issue.
By Jane Lampman Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the May 8, 2008 edition
As Congress and the Bush administration skirmish over still-secret interrogation techniques, American faith communities are mounting a national campaign to prohibit torture and cruel and inhumane treatment of US-held detainees.
More than 175 religious organizations have joined the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT). Their aim is to build a moral consensus among Americans on the issue and to bring government policies in line with US law and international norms.
"Religions of the world do agree on basic tenets about how people should treat each other because of the dignity of the human person," says the Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director. The group involves mainline and evangelical Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and other members.
The campaign has its work cut out for it. Polls since 2001 show great divergence and ambivalence in public attitudes toward the interrogation and treatment of alleged terrorists. And Congress so far has not convinced the administration to change course.
NRCAT worked for congressional passage of the 2008 intelligence bill, which required the Central Intelligence Agency and other agencies to conform to the Army Field Manual in their interrogations. The manual, revised in 2006 after the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, prohibits the use of waterboarding (simulated drowning), military dogs, beatings, and electric shocks, among other techniques.
Rest of story here
By Jane Lampman Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the May 8, 2008 edition
As Congress and the Bush administration skirmish over still-secret interrogation techniques, American faith communities are mounting a national campaign to prohibit torture and cruel and inhumane treatment of US-held detainees.
More than 175 religious organizations have joined the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT). Their aim is to build a moral consensus among Americans on the issue and to bring government policies in line with US law and international norms.
"Religions of the world do agree on basic tenets about how people should treat each other because of the dignity of the human person," says the Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director. The group involves mainline and evangelical Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and other members.
The campaign has its work cut out for it. Polls since 2001 show great divergence and ambivalence in public attitudes toward the interrogation and treatment of alleged terrorists. And Congress so far has not convinced the administration to change course.
NRCAT worked for congressional passage of the 2008 intelligence bill, which required the Central Intelligence Agency and other agencies to conform to the Army Field Manual in their interrogations. The manual, revised in 2006 after the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, prohibits the use of waterboarding (simulated drowning), military dogs, beatings, and electric shocks, among other techniques.
Rest of story here
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Scumbag Scalia
Scumbag Scalia says that torture is not cruel and unusual punishment. Here we have a reactivist judge twisting words and using pretzel logic that is easily undone. Scalia is struggling to arrive at a predetermined conclusion regarding our Constitution that the founder would have never endorsed, to excuse the actions of our Torturer-In-Chief and to take us back to a time when the executive could do as he please with his subjects.
The Scumbag Scalia’s argument turns on his ludicrous conclusion that torture is not “punishment” but merely an attempt to extract information. Scalia in making this lead asks; “What’s he punishing you for?”
My simple and completely obvious reply is that you are being PUNISHED for not divulging information that your torturer believes you may have and that he believes he is entitled to. Logical? DUH!
It is absolutely pathetic that this is the caliber of man who wraps himself in the robes of justice and has sworn to protect our Constitution. This shows that for Scalia the end justifies the means when it comes to executive power and that his proclaimed originalist interpretation of our Constitution is just a sham.
Below is Scalia’s stuttering defense of his medieval beliefs in an interview with Leslie Stahl on CBS’s 60 minutes. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/24/60minutes/main4040290_page4.shtml
Oh and by the way, his final conclusion that “Anyway, that’s my view. And it happens to be correct.” Is also ridiculous.
The justice has been explaining his positions publicly more and more, and even delving into some thorny issues, like torture. "I don't like torture," Scalia says. "Although defining it is going to be a nice trick. But who's in favor of it? Nobody. And we have a law against torture. But if the - everything that is hateful and odious is not covered by some provision of the Constitution," he says.
"If someone's in custody, as in Abu Ghraib, and they are brutalized by a law enforcement person, if you listen to the expression 'cruel and unusual punishment,' doesn't that apply?" Stahl asks.
"No, No," Scalia replies. "Cruel and unusual punishment?" Stahl asks.
"To the contrary," Scalia says. "Has anybody ever referred to torture as punishment? I don't think so."
"Well, I think if you are in custody, and you have a policeman who's taken you into custody…," Stahl says.
"And you say he's punishing you?" Scalia asks.
"Sure," Stahl replies.
"What's he punishing you for? You punish somebody…," Scalia says.
"Well because he assumes you, one, either committed a crime…or that you know something that he wants to know," Stahl says.
"It's the latter. And when he's hurting you in order to get information from you…you don’t say he's punishing you. What’s he punishing you for? He's trying to extract…," Scalia says.
"Because he thinks you are a terrorist and he's going to beat the you-know-what out of you…," Stahl replies.
"Anyway, that’s my view," Scalia says. "And it happens to be correct."
The Scumbag Scalia’s argument turns on his ludicrous conclusion that torture is not “punishment” but merely an attempt to extract information. Scalia in making this lead asks; “What’s he punishing you for?”
My simple and completely obvious reply is that you are being PUNISHED for not divulging information that your torturer believes you may have and that he believes he is entitled to. Logical? DUH!
It is absolutely pathetic that this is the caliber of man who wraps himself in the robes of justice and has sworn to protect our Constitution. This shows that for Scalia the end justifies the means when it comes to executive power and that his proclaimed originalist interpretation of our Constitution is just a sham.
Below is Scalia’s stuttering defense of his medieval beliefs in an interview with Leslie Stahl on CBS’s 60 minutes. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/24/60minutes/main4040290_page4.shtml
Oh and by the way, his final conclusion that “Anyway, that’s my view. And it happens to be correct.” Is also ridiculous.
The justice has been explaining his positions publicly more and more, and even delving into some thorny issues, like torture. "I don't like torture," Scalia says. "Although defining it is going to be a nice trick. But who's in favor of it? Nobody. And we have a law against torture. But if the - everything that is hateful and odious is not covered by some provision of the Constitution," he says.
"If someone's in custody, as in Abu Ghraib, and they are brutalized by a law enforcement person, if you listen to the expression 'cruel and unusual punishment,' doesn't that apply?" Stahl asks.
"No, No," Scalia replies. "Cruel and unusual punishment?" Stahl asks.
"To the contrary," Scalia says. "Has anybody ever referred to torture as punishment? I don't think so."
"Well, I think if you are in custody, and you have a policeman who's taken you into custody…," Stahl says.
"And you say he's punishing you?" Scalia asks.
"Sure," Stahl replies.
"What's he punishing you for? You punish somebody…," Scalia says.
"Well because he assumes you, one, either committed a crime…or that you know something that he wants to know," Stahl says.
"It's the latter. And when he's hurting you in order to get information from you…you don’t say he's punishing you. What’s he punishing you for? He's trying to extract…," Scalia says.
"Because he thinks you are a terrorist and he's going to beat the you-know-what out of you…," Stahl replies.
"Anyway, that’s my view," Scalia says. "And it happens to be correct."
Friday, April 04, 2008
The Blog Is Back
After a prolonged sleep, the Burlington Area Progressives blog is active again. In fact, the blog will now be the main venue for sharing information and opinions related to BAP. The BAP Yahoo group will continue, and probably continue to be a lively forum for debate among group members, both progressive and otherwise. Check the bottom of the page to subscribe to this blog. Thanks for dropping by!
Healthy Wisconsin
Recently I had the pleasure of hearing State Senators Jon Erpenbach and Robert Wirch give presentations on the Healthy Wisconsin Bill to the Burlington Area Chamber of Commerce and the Burlington Area Progressives, respectively.
Healthy Wisconsin (HW) is not socialized medicine. HW will create a pool of all working Wisconsinites to buy the same private health insurance our legislators enjoy, saving $1.76 BILLION per year and slowing the increase in medical costs. HW will cover the 600,000 of our fellow citizens, including many children, farmers and small business people who have no health coverage. The more than 10,000 family bankruptcies per year due to medical expenses will be eliminated, ceasing the endless parade of feel-good but ineffective tavern fundraiser band-aids.
Our citizens will be able to choose their own doctor and have prescription, physician, hospital and mental health coverage, because the brain is an organ too. Pre-existing conditions that make benefit slaves out of workers will no longer exist and health coverage will be portable. Doctors will be able to practice their craft rather than doing paperwork and fighting insurance companies. Preventive care will be encouraged and emergency rooms will cease to be the health care source of last resort for the uninsured, which we all pay for. Businesses will be attracted to Wisconsin and will be more competitive globally. People will not come to Wisconsin just for HW because you need to have a job to be covered. For more information visit www.healthywisconsin.net.
At the Chamber, State Assembly members Robin Vos and Samantha Kerkman, in denial of the fact that we have a health care crisis tried unsuccessfully to attack HW and defend the status quo that is preferred by the insurance and health industry lobbyists they represent. Mr. Vos made the argument that with healthcare costs anticipated to rise 6% per year under HW and working people’s pay barely keeping pace with inflation at 3% per year, something would have to give with respect to the payroll based funding. This is a potentially logical argument until you consider the rest of the truth, that without HW medical expenses are predicted to rise at over 10% per year, doubling in a decade, thus making his point meaningless as the ship sinks twice as fast.
Ms. Kerkman discussed the fact that during her recent difficult pregnancy she had to drive to Kenosha for medical services, making one wonder what her point was with respect to the bill and what she would do if she lacked coverage like roughly 10% of her constituents. The only solution offered by the Republicans are expensive health savings accounts (HSAs). But with median family income at $42,000 average Wisconsinites just can’t afford HSAs and will remain without coverage, demonstrating the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of GOP.
It’s time to use OUR government to promote progress in making the private sector work efficiently for the citizens of Wisconsin. If Vos and Kerkman are opposed to citizens having the same health coverage that they do, perhaps they should forego that coverage and turn to the golden bull of the supposed “free” market that they worship so dutifully and see how they fare. Come on in ya’ll, the water’s cold!
Healthy Wisconsin (HW) is not socialized medicine. HW will create a pool of all working Wisconsinites to buy the same private health insurance our legislators enjoy, saving $1.76 BILLION per year and slowing the increase in medical costs. HW will cover the 600,000 of our fellow citizens, including many children, farmers and small business people who have no health coverage. The more than 10,000 family bankruptcies per year due to medical expenses will be eliminated, ceasing the endless parade of feel-good but ineffective tavern fundraiser band-aids.
Our citizens will be able to choose their own doctor and have prescription, physician, hospital and mental health coverage, because the brain is an organ too. Pre-existing conditions that make benefit slaves out of workers will no longer exist and health coverage will be portable. Doctors will be able to practice their craft rather than doing paperwork and fighting insurance companies. Preventive care will be encouraged and emergency rooms will cease to be the health care source of last resort for the uninsured, which we all pay for. Businesses will be attracted to Wisconsin and will be more competitive globally. People will not come to Wisconsin just for HW because you need to have a job to be covered. For more information visit www.healthywisconsin.net.
At the Chamber, State Assembly members Robin Vos and Samantha Kerkman, in denial of the fact that we have a health care crisis tried unsuccessfully to attack HW and defend the status quo that is preferred by the insurance and health industry lobbyists they represent. Mr. Vos made the argument that with healthcare costs anticipated to rise 6% per year under HW and working people’s pay barely keeping pace with inflation at 3% per year, something would have to give with respect to the payroll based funding. This is a potentially logical argument until you consider the rest of the truth, that without HW medical expenses are predicted to rise at over 10% per year, doubling in a decade, thus making his point meaningless as the ship sinks twice as fast.
Ms. Kerkman discussed the fact that during her recent difficult pregnancy she had to drive to Kenosha for medical services, making one wonder what her point was with respect to the bill and what she would do if she lacked coverage like roughly 10% of her constituents. The only solution offered by the Republicans are expensive health savings accounts (HSAs). But with median family income at $42,000 average Wisconsinites just can’t afford HSAs and will remain without coverage, demonstrating the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of GOP.
It’s time to use OUR government to promote progress in making the private sector work efficiently for the citizens of Wisconsin. If Vos and Kerkman are opposed to citizens having the same health coverage that they do, perhaps they should forego that coverage and turn to the golden bull of the supposed “free” market that they worship so dutifully and see how they fare. Come on in ya’ll, the water’s cold!
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Burlington Area Progressives
Bu$h et al think it's irresponsible for Americans to want to know how they used the intelligence leading up to the war on Iraq, as was promised. Me thinks they doth protest too much.
People forget that there were WMD inspectors on the ground in Iraq for several months before the invasion and they weren't find anything (despite bu$h's later statement that Saddam wouldn't let the inspectors in and so we had to invade, which is a lie). If Rumsfeldt knew exactly where the WMDS were as he stated presumably he would have directed the inspectors to those locations. But since they were cooking the intelligence to get the war they wanted from day one of this administration and before, they couldn't do that because the inspectors would have found nothing, harming their hidden agenda.
Similarly, when Powell went to the UN, two of his most compelling points were the aerial photographs of the mobile chemical weapons trailers and the terrorist training camp in northeastern Iraq. The WMD trailers were described as being in central Iraq. Everybody knows we had total aerial dominance. So why would these photographed trailers not be traced and why weren't the weapons inspectors directed to their locations? The answer is obvious. The trailers turned out to be producing hydrogen for weather balloons despite the artist renderings that Powell produced at the time. Hardly cause to justify their war.
Furthermore the location of the terrorist training camp in northeastern Iraq was beyond Saddam's control in the independent Kurdish north. So the administration's use of this camp to link Saddam to his Al Qiada enemies is another obvious cooked intel lie. By the way, since the Kurds were our allies and we had aerial dominance of the entire country, it begs the question of why was this terrorist camp allowed to remain operating unmolested when we could have easily taken it out.
And these are just small pieces of a string of lies and misinformation that betrayed the trust of the American people and violated the democratic principle of informed consent. Their lies are coming home to roost. Reality can be denied only so long. They're starting to get a little of what they deserve. It's such a same that so many others have paid so high a cost for their crimes.
It's a shame. If people and the press would only have been paying better attention at that time and engaging their skepticism and critical thinking skills, we might have avoided this cooked up disaster, instead of waiting until now to wake up see the truth. Unfortunately, ignorance/apathy, which are two sides of the same coin, is by far the greatest problem facing our democracy and the root cause of most, if not all of the other problems we're facing.
People forget that there were WMD inspectors on the ground in Iraq for several months before the invasion and they weren't find anything (despite bu$h's later statement that Saddam wouldn't let the inspectors in and so we had to invade, which is a lie). If Rumsfeldt knew exactly where the WMDS were as he stated presumably he would have directed the inspectors to those locations. But since they were cooking the intelligence to get the war they wanted from day one of this administration and before, they couldn't do that because the inspectors would have found nothing, harming their hidden agenda.
Similarly, when Powell went to the UN, two of his most compelling points were the aerial photographs of the mobile chemical weapons trailers and the terrorist training camp in northeastern Iraq. The WMD trailers were described as being in central Iraq. Everybody knows we had total aerial dominance. So why would these photographed trailers not be traced and why weren't the weapons inspectors directed to their locations? The answer is obvious. The trailers turned out to be producing hydrogen for weather balloons despite the artist renderings that Powell produced at the time. Hardly cause to justify their war.
Furthermore the location of the terrorist training camp in northeastern Iraq was beyond Saddam's control in the independent Kurdish north. So the administration's use of this camp to link Saddam to his Al Qiada enemies is another obvious cooked intel lie. By the way, since the Kurds were our allies and we had aerial dominance of the entire country, it begs the question of why was this terrorist camp allowed to remain operating unmolested when we could have easily taken it out.
And these are just small pieces of a string of lies and misinformation that betrayed the trust of the American people and violated the democratic principle of informed consent. Their lies are coming home to roost. Reality can be denied only so long. They're starting to get a little of what they deserve. It's such a same that so many others have paid so high a cost for their crimes.
It's a shame. If people and the press would only have been paying better attention at that time and engaging their skepticism and critical thinking skills, we might have avoided this cooked up disaster, instead of waiting until now to wake up see the truth. Unfortunately, ignorance/apathy, which are two sides of the same coin, is by far the greatest problem facing our democracy and the root cause of most, if not all of the other problems we're facing.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Getting to the bottom of torture
One more thought to those GOP senators who want to get to the bottom of leaks:
It is vastly more important to put an end to torture in the name of the United States (and find out who's at the bottom/top of that policy) than it is to be concerned with who leaked the existence of the CIA's European hostile-hostels.
Save your rage for those who deserve it--the ones who've undermined what America's stood for far longer than the Republican Revolution.....
Steven Schend
It is vastly more important to put an end to torture in the name of the United States (and find out who's at the bottom/top of that policy) than it is to be concerned with who leaked the existence of the CIA's European hostile-hostels.
Save your rage for those who deserve it--the ones who've undermined what America's stood for far longer than the Republican Revolution.....
Steven Schend
On the elections this week
Listening to the morning natter on the radio driving in today and I came to this conclusion: It was not a victory for the Democrats so much as a failure by the Republicans.
If the Democratic Party lauds itself on the governors' wins in NJ and VA, they're kidding themselves. They were not an organized concern that helped defeat the GOP contenders. What happened on Thursday was two things: A) the voters are fed up with business as usual under the GOP, and B) The GOP failed to do its usual fear tactics to scare people into voting for them.
Me, I'm just glad that Kilgore in Virginia didn't get in, after sending out bogus Democratic/Progressive voting packets (paid for directly by his campaign committee) that urged voters to vote for the independent candidate, not Tim Kaine. Sigh....
If the Dems start thinking they're going to have an easy time taking back the Congress at mid-terms, they're only fooling themselves. They can take advantage of the weakening of the GOP bulwarks, as dissension among the ranks has started to show the GOP as three true parties--the fiscal, social, and religious conservatives--none of whom really agree with the others but have lock-stepped together for years in their mutual hatred of the Clintons.
Me, I just wish the Democrats could find a way to A) produce a consistent message, as opposed to the poll-driven mush-mouthed pablum they've spouted in hopes of never offending or challenging anyone; B) be the opposition party they should've been the past 5 years (and only Harry Reid, Russ Feingold, and scarce others really step up to the plate there); and C) realize they're not going to take the White House in 2008 unless they nominate a governor or someone who never had to vote on going to war in Iraq.
Anyone who gets up now in opposition to the war because it's now popular to be so is doomed by hypocrisy, and I don't care to hear the rationalizations. If you voted for it, you can't claim to have always been against it. And you undermine yourself even more if you whine about how the administration deceived you with bad intel; YOU are responsible for putting such power in their hands because YOU didn't do your job and investigate or even question the rightness of the actions. You ate up the trough of fear they fixed for you, and we're all paying for that.
If the Congress is starting to rethink the fixing of intel and how we got into Iraq, when's anyone other than Feingold really going to start asking the same questions on whether or not we were rooked into other bad decisions like the hypocritically named Patriot Act?
Steven Schend
If the Democratic Party lauds itself on the governors' wins in NJ and VA, they're kidding themselves. They were not an organized concern that helped defeat the GOP contenders. What happened on Thursday was two things: A) the voters are fed up with business as usual under the GOP, and B) The GOP failed to do its usual fear tactics to scare people into voting for them.
Me, I'm just glad that Kilgore in Virginia didn't get in, after sending out bogus Democratic/Progressive voting packets (paid for directly by his campaign committee) that urged voters to vote for the independent candidate, not Tim Kaine. Sigh....
If the Dems start thinking they're going to have an easy time taking back the Congress at mid-terms, they're only fooling themselves. They can take advantage of the weakening of the GOP bulwarks, as dissension among the ranks has started to show the GOP as three true parties--the fiscal, social, and religious conservatives--none of whom really agree with the others but have lock-stepped together for years in their mutual hatred of the Clintons.
Me, I just wish the Democrats could find a way to A) produce a consistent message, as opposed to the poll-driven mush-mouthed pablum they've spouted in hopes of never offending or challenging anyone; B) be the opposition party they should've been the past 5 years (and only Harry Reid, Russ Feingold, and scarce others really step up to the plate there); and C) realize they're not going to take the White House in 2008 unless they nominate a governor or someone who never had to vote on going to war in Iraq.
Anyone who gets up now in opposition to the war because it's now popular to be so is doomed by hypocrisy, and I don't care to hear the rationalizations. If you voted for it, you can't claim to have always been against it. And you undermine yourself even more if you whine about how the administration deceived you with bad intel; YOU are responsible for putting such power in their hands because YOU didn't do your job and investigate or even question the rightness of the actions. You ate up the trough of fear they fixed for you, and we're all paying for that.
If the Congress is starting to rethink the fixing of intel and how we got into Iraq, when's anyone other than Feingold really going to start asking the same questions on whether or not we were rooked into other bad decisions like the hypocritically named Patriot Act?
Steven Schend
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)