Remember when the largest crisis facing America was Bill Clinton getting a blow job from Monica Lewinsky? For over four years all the media and Republicans talked about was Bill Clinton’s blow job. Man, those were the days.

We had not a care in a world as a Nation. There were no terror alerts, no Patriot Act, no Iraq War, and no Dept of Homeland Security. There was no Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, and unchecked spying on Americans. The NeoCons were NOT on TV day in and day out calling for World War 3. The economy was roaring as more Americans entered the Middle Class. The rich got richer and so did the poor.

We had a budget surplus and plans to pay off the National Debt by 2012.

When the 2000 election campaign started, the Republicans and Bush promised to restore “honor and dignity” to the White House. Is that what we have now? Honor and dignity in the White House?

Republicans can change a lot of things. They can bomb countries and shrink the Middle Class. They can fuck up Medicare and outsource jobs. They can cut student loans and ruin our military. Republicans can even send an asshole like John Bolton to the U.N.

But there is one thing Republicans CANNOT change and that is how great the 90’s were and what an awesome President Bill Clinton was. Republicans will never take that away from me. I lived through 1992 – 2000 and I can tell you those years were spectacular. Had I knew that in 2006 things would be this fucked up I would have made sure to enjoy the 90’s even more than I did.

Now, Republicans can try to convince people that the 90’s weren’t all that great. They can try to blame all of Bush’s failures on Clinton but what they cannot do is change the facts.

The majority of Americans lived through the 90’s and understand what a glorious time it was. No amount of Republican Orwellian double newspeak can change that. They may be able to, in the future, convince a younger generation that was not alive during the 90’s that the time under Clinton’s Presidency was horrible but they will never be able to convince the living of this.

I guess if you are an authoritarian personality with a bad case of warmongering and happen to be in the top 3% of wage earners then perhaps the Clinton Presidency wasn’t so good for you. If you are a wingnut who wants to be tucked in at night and have government check under your bed for terrorists before night-night time then the Clinton Presidency must have sucked.

For all others, the 77% of Americans, the Clinton Era was the Golden Age of America.

Posted by PoliShifter at 06:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

"While we hoped that popular revolt or coup would topple Saddam, neither the U.S. nor the countries of the region wished to see the breakup of the Iraqi state. We were concerned about the long-term balance of power at the head of the Gulf. Trying to eliminate Saddam, extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would have violated our guideline about not changing objectives in midstream, engaging in "mission creep," and would have incurred incalculable human and political costs.
#
We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. The coalition would instantly have collapsed, the Arabs deserting it in anger and other allies pulling out as well. Under those circumstances, furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-cold war world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the U.N.'s mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression we hoped to establish.

Had we gone the invasion route, the U.S. could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different--and perhaps barren--outcome."

- George H W Bush

From The Memory Hole

Excerpt from "Why We Didn't Remove Saddam" by George Bush [Sr.] and Brent Scowcroft, Time (2 March 1998)
the same passage appears on page 489 of Bush and Scowcroft's book, A World Transformed (Alfred A. Knopf, 1998)

Link to quote: The Memory Hole - Reasons Not to Invade Iraq

Posted by PoliShifter at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Our purpose for invading and occupying Iraq was to secure a military stronghold in the Middle East. The purpose for having a large military footprint in the Middle East is two fold:

1) Provide a military buffer for Israel which is flanked by hostile countries
2) Protect our oil interests

Since this is our objective, what we should have done, indeed what we should do, is buy a piece of God-Forsaken land somewhere in the Middle East, preferrably Western Iraq bordering Syria. One the escrow closed we then could have and still could begin building a Vatican Like Fortress as we are doing now in Baghdad.

In this world money is everything; it has the power to make friends out of enemies. The King of Saudi Arabia is best friends with Bush. Yet most of the 9/11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia as well as Osama Bin Laden. We buy oil from Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia gives money to Lebanon. We have military installations in the U.A.E. which bought 29 of our ports AND launders money for Al Qaeda. We sell nuke components to India which in turn sells them to Iran. Money is everything.

Instead of spending $400 billion on a failed invasion that in the process cost the lives of 2579 U.S. soldiers and 100,000 Iraqis, we could have bought a piece of Iraq for about $100 Billion then used the rest of the money to build our huge base.

Think about...Do you really think Saddam would have pulled any shit knowing the U.S. military is next store?

Do you think Hezbollah would fuck with Israel knowing the U.S. Military is right next store? We would have battle ready troops well versed in desert combat that at a momments notice could quash any militia uprising.

Once our military footprint is established we could then begin building a Middle Eastern Interstate highway system much like our currrent highway system. This would provide jobs, fuel the economy, and make sure our military had viable supply lines throughout the Middle East.

Once we have the Middle East highway completed then we would be able to move troops anywhere and everywhere in the Middle East at a momment's notice. Supply lines would be a non-issue.

The result would be peace and stability. Ofcourse our designs from the get-go would have to be heavily laquered with economic advantages of having a Middle Eastern highway system as well as a U.S. military presence. Once peace and stability are established, people can go about the business of living rather than dying. The process of living involves consumption which leads to market places and the formation of an economy.

One of the reason the United States is so successful is because we are all tamed. We no longer seek to violently overthrow our government or its political parties. This was done in part by killing off 95% of the indigenous population but also by connecting the entire country. First there was the transcontinental rail road and later the Interstate Highway system. Our military is so advanced and so mobile that it can quickly destroy any militia or armed political party that is seeking to obtain power. We are all good sheep chewing the grass without a care in the world so long as the TV works and the internet tubes aren't clogged.

The Middle East doesn't have this luxury. Small countries do not have adequate armies or viable supply routes. This makes it possible for organized militias to create instability in the region. The instability leads to the death of innocent civilians which in turn pushes public support to be in favor of the militias.

The sad thing about the current situation is that for all the brilliance and experience of our military and the British military, we have all been played by Hezbollah which even out stratgerized Israel.

Now, I have read that the two Israeli troops taken prisoner by Hezbollah were actually in Southern Lebanon, not Israel but that is another story. What happened either way was that Hezbollah took 2 Israeli soldiers knowing Israel would respond disproportionately. Hezbollah hid within the civilian population so that when they were targeted, innocent civilians were killed. This has only fueld more public support in Lebanon for Hezbollah.

Bush and Blair are suckers

But that is an article for another time.

Posted by PoliShifter at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Ain't this fun? Nothing like good old fashioned war profiteering making money off both sides of the conflict while simultaneously setting yourself up to make more money off of future conflicts.

From Boston.Com - The Boston Globe:

Markey accuses White House of duplicity
Says Bush delays news of sanctions on Indian firms

By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff | July 29, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Massachusetts congressman Edward Markey yesterday accused the Bush administration of delaying an announcement that the United States plans to impose sanctions on two Indian companies for assisting in Iran's missile program.

Markey , a Malden Democrat, said the administration is withholding the announcement for fear that it would jeopardize chances of getting congressional approval for a controversial proposal to sell nuclear technology to India.

The measure, which would make India the only country in the world to receive sensitive nuclear technology from the United States without signing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, was overwhelmingly approved by the House of Representatives late Wednesday. It now goes to the Senate.

The State Department is not expected to release the report on which Indian firms have been sanctioned until next week. But Reuters quoted two US officials yesterday saying that two Indian firms were being sanctioned for selling missiles-related technology to Iran.

``The Bush administration has once again delayed, obfuscated, and misled this Congress by withholding information about these violations by Indian entities before we voted to grant historic nuclear cooperation with the Indian government," Markey, one of the most vocal critics of the measure, said in a statement yesterday.

The Bush administration has touted the nuclear deal with India as a way to cement a historic new US-India alliance and said that helping India build civilian nuclear power plants would also make the rapidly growing South Asian nation less reliant on Iranian oil and gas and more willing to support sanctions on Iran over it's nuclear program.

But opponents of the pact say that it will not push India to give up its friendship with Iran.

Continue reading at Boston.Com - The Boston Globe

How much longer will the wingnuts believe that Bush the so-called President really wants to keep us safe? How much longer will they fall for the tired fear mongering rhetoric?

Here we have Bush who wants us all to pee our pants over the prospect of Iran gettting nukes. And yet, Bush wants to sell nuclear technology to India which we already know is selling that technology to Iran!!

We have Bush who wants to keep us safe so what does he do? Push for selling our ports to the United Arab Emirates, a company that funded Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden!! Guess what? The U.A.E. STILL owns our ports!!

Wake up wingnuts. Bush will not keep you safe; he will not protect you. He will keep you in a constant state of fear so he can lord power over your but he will never keep you safe. The Bush Administration wants more conflict and more tension in order to maintain the only two things they care about: Power and Money.

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Regarding today's press conference:

Why does the President get so angry and talk down to us as if we were children? As if we have done something wrong and now he has to punish us?

Posted by PoliShifter at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm watching Blair and Bush give their pep rally today. One thing they keep saying is that they want to establish Freedom and Democracy.

Correct me if I am wrong but I thought Hezbollah was democratically elected?

yep, they were...

Who are the violent, brutal killers? The U.S. or Hezbollah? What are the death tolls committed by Hezbollah and Al Qaeda versus Israel and the United States?

We've got more than a perception problem, we've got a reality problem: A failure to perceive reality exactly how it is.

Our leaders know the truth, goals and designs for the Middle East but they are feeding you a bunch of Bull Shit.

Will you be fooled (again)?

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by PoliShifter at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Reuters Alert:

By Lin Noueihed

BEIRUT, July 27 (Reuters) - Along Lebanon's sandy beaches and rocky headlands runs a belt of black sludge, 10,000 to 30,000 tonnes of oil that spilled into the Mediterranean Sea after Israel bombed a power plant.

Lebanon's Environment Ministry says the oil flooded into the sea when Israeli jets hit storage tanks at the Jiyyeh plant south of Beirut on July 13 and 15, creating an ecological crisis that Lebanon's government has neither the money nor the expertise to deal with.

"We have never seen a spill like this in the history of Lebanon. It is a major catastrophe," Environment Minister Yacoub al-Sarraf told Reuters.

"The equipment we have is for minor spills. We use it once in a blue moon to clean a small spill of 50 tonnes or so. To clean this whole thing up we would need an armada ... The cost of a full clean-up could run as high as $40-50 million."

Continue Reading

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bill Clinton "gay"
Al Gore "total fag"
Liberals "sucking the brains out of little babies"

Watch it...or not...One thing is certain is that her style of getting media attention to sell books, works.

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach like I am stuck on a 747 in the process of crashing only the passengers are the entire planet and George W Bush is the pilot.

It’s been nearly five years since the tragedy of 9/11 and STILL I hear wingnuts propagandizing that tragedy for their own political gain. Exactly what is their political gain?

It seems more and more the wingnuts on the right being driven by NeoCon ideology are gleefully calling for all out war. These people want more bloodshed on a massive scale. Their instinct is war not peace. To what end? Those that wear moderate masks won’t dare say the goal is to wipe out Islam and kill as many Muslims as possible. However, the “moderates” are being driven by the extremists in this country to accomplish that very goal. In a similar fashion the moderates in Shi’a countries are being driven by the extremist’s call to wipe out Israel.

The sad thing about all of this is that the wingnuts for being as smart and savvy as they think they are, are being completely bamboozled by the Bush Administration.

The only doctrine that drives the Bush Administration consists of maintaining Power and Money. That’s all that drives the Bush Administration, nothing else. They want to make as much money as possible while maintaining power.

This is why the Bush Administration plays both sides of this conflict. We send bombs to Israel while at the same time sending humanitarian aide to Lebanon. Doesn’t that seem counterproductive? The Bush Administration does not care. All they want is the ability to sell more weapons, more bombs, which will lead to more destruction, which ultimately will lead to more government contracts to their corporate crony buddies.

The Bush Crime Family has been involved in War Profiteering since World War 1 going all the way back to GrandPappy Prescott Bush who as a Nazi Sympathizer.

The difference between the Bushstappo and most normal people is this:

When normal people see a photo of a dead mother clenching her dead baby, normal people are visibly moved and upset over the horrific image presented.

When the Bushstappo looks at an image of a dead mother clenching her dead baby, a glint occurs in their eye. Immediately they wonder how they were killed, what type of weapon was used, who sold it to them, and can this event be capitalized on in such a manner to increase the conflict.

Controlled chaos is the goal; a permanent state of war in the world in order to line the pockets of the War Profiteers.

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Source: Think Progress

Here is some of the right wings' mass email:

Text of GrasstopsUSA Email:

KILL ‘EM ALL. LET ALLAH SORT ‘EM OUT.
GrassTopsUSA Exclusive Commentary
By Don Feder
07-25-06

To counteract reigning confusion about the latest Middle East mayhem, here’s a spectator’s guide to World War III — the Lebanese Front.

The Sons of Allah started it. (The Sons of Allah always start it.)

The current round of bloodletting began on June 25, when Hamas tunneled into Israel from its Gaza lair, kidnapped an Israeli soldier and killed two others. Then their Shiite brethren in Lebanon staged a raid into Israeli territory, killed 8 soldiers and grabbed two. (For what this scum does to captives, consider the fate of the two U.S. soldiers captured by the terrorists in Iraq — tortured to death, their bodies mutilated.)

Israel responded with pinpoint air strikes, hitting Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Hezbollah began launching rockets into the heart of Israel (1,400 in the first five days of the latest fighting). On the July 16, one of its rockets killed 8 people in Haifa, Israel’s third largest city.

A disproportionate response is the best kind.

The Europeans are whining (after all, it’s what they do best) that Israel’s response to the kidnapping/murder of its citizens, and rocket attacks on its cities, is “disproportionate.” Israel’s retaliation is “totally disproportionate,” croaked French President Jacques Cirac (pity the chronic collaborationists — who are hooked on surrender — weren’t able to formulate a disproportionate response to the German jihad of 1940)

What would a proportionate Israeli response be? Snatching two Hezbollah fighters, torturing them to death, cutting off their genitals and stuffing them in their mouths? Sending a suicide bomber into a Gaza shopping mall to turn Palestinian women and children into body parts? Blowing up a Syrian skyscraper (do they even have them?) and burying 3,000 office workers under several tons of rubble?

Proportionate responses let the terrorists establish the rules of engagement — set the parameters of the conflict. (We kill three of them; they kill three of us.) Given the population disparity in the Middle East (100 Muslims for every Jew), Hamas and Hezbollah — Iran and Syria — are happy to engage in this type of attrition.

In “The Untouchables,” Sean Connery as the old Irish cop advising Eliot Ness on how to deal with the Capone mob, urged a disproportionate response: “If you open the can on these worms you must be prepared to go all the way because they’re not gonna give up the fight until one of you is dead… . You wanna know how to do it? Here’s how, they pull a knife, you pull a gun. He (Capone) sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way, and that’s how you get Capone. — Or any criminal gang masquerading as a business — or a religion.

Lebanon used to be a nice little country, before the Sons of Allah got their blood-smeared hands on it.

Believe it or not, Beirut was once called the Paris of the Middle East (all the elegance, none of the French). Lebanon was the most advanced and prosperous country in the Arab world — because a majority of Lebanese were Christians.

Then came the influx of Palestinian refugees (charming folks, really) in 1948 and 1967. When the PLO was kicked out of Jordan by King Hussein, they set up shop in Lebanon. A civil war ensued, with the local Muslim population allied with their Palestinian cousins.

Continue Reading At Think Progressl

From Think Progress: Right-Wing ‘Guide to World War III’: ‘Kill ‘Em All, Let Allah Sort ‘Em Out’
#
GrasstopsUSA is no fringe group. Its executive director, Christopher Carmouche, for last year’s high-profile “tribute” to then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) (along with luminaries like Grover Norquist), and was a member of the National Coalition to End Judicial Filibusters, the conservative umbrella group run by Manuel Miranda, former staffer to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN).
#
Read more at Think Progress

Posted by PoliShifter at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Doesn't this seem counter-productive to Bush's support of Israel to bomb Lebanon? What type of friend is King Abdullah to Bush? After all, their families have business relationships going back 30 years. Do you think this upsets Bush? Shouldn't it? $1.5 Billion dollars can buy a lot of rockets and feed a lot of Hezbollahs. Doesn't Bush want to destroy Hezbollah?

Saudi king offers Lebanon $1.5bn

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has promised to give $500m to Lebanon to pay for reconstruction.
He also approved $1bn for the Central Bank of Lebanon to support the economy.

The Saudi monarch warned that Israel's military offensives in Lebanon and Gaza could ignite a war in the region.

continue reading

Posted by PoliShifter at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

After all, aren't we all really post-term snowflake embryos? Aren't we all precious post-embryonic snowflake human beings? Aren't we all unique and one-of-a-kind like a snowflake?

So here is my survival kit for Iraqis and Lebanese. They should don this mask and T-shirt and refer to themselves as post-term snowflak babies.

In the mean time it looks like more post-term Lebanese snow flake babies were killed today...

Posted by PoliShifter at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I have heard it said in the past that The President doesn’t have much power in American Politics; that he is just a “figure head”. I think now we can all agree that The President does have tremendous power especially under Bush who has increased the powers of The Executive to unprecedented levels.

But there is a far more important role The President plays in American Society than the mere Power of Authority. The President sets the tone for our country, our society, and our foreign policy. The President is like the conductor of an orchestra. An adept conductor can orchestrate a musical piece in such a way that is flows smoothly, on beat, and on time. He knows just when to cue in the string section or the woodwinds. And while the conductor may be great in his own right, it is the greatness of his musicians that really makes the music wonderful

An orchestra conducted by an inept conductor will suffer no matter how good the musicians are. If the star Cellist is directed to come in too early or too late it will not only ruin the whole orchestral piece but the Cellist’s reputation as well. Then, depending on the character of the Conductor he could either take responsibility for his mistake or blame the Cellist.

In our case, George W Bush is our President and like a poor Conductor, he is setting the tone for our country, our society, and our foreign policy. Mr. Bush is inept, unable to deal effectively with every day issues that a President needs to handle effortlessly.

Mr. Bush cannot think with his own brain. He is fine when prepped, given notes, and ginned up to answer certain questions, but when asked something he is not prepared for he immediately becomes defensive, hostile, and down right rude.

Bush has come to personify America and not in a good way. Bush is rash, rude, incompetent, and violent. Bush’s instinct is war not peace, strong arming not diplomacy, and making idiotic decisions.

The Presidency is more important to America than just being a Decider or Authoritarian. The President, if competent, can inspire our society, win over the hearts and minds of other nations, and direct our future course.

The American People can do anything but they still need the proper direction. They need to be challenged in a constructive way. President Kennedy told the American People that we would go to the moon. President Kennedy himself did not know how to do it but he could inspire others who were smart enough to figure it out. America was up to the challenge and answered.

Good Presidents set out a vision and plan for our nation that Americans want to follow by choice not because the President is an authority figure, but because the plan makes sense. Bush's plans make no sense.

Mr. Bush lacks any vision for America except the vision for war. He is very rude, brash, cockey, and unstable. He cannot be trusted to make the right decisions let alone speak to the public unscripted. Bush is incapable of handling any situation diplomatically and has made America a laughing stock of the world. The world does not take America seriously anymore especially as it watches our military bog down in Iraq. We have become a paper tiger despite all of Bush's tough talk.

Bush has set the tone for America as well as the direction by nature of the office he holds. The problem is that the tone and direction Bush has set for America is so detrimental that it will take 20 years to undo the failed Bush policies. Some of Bush’s poor decisions will reverberate throughout the entire century such as the decision to invade Iraq. Like an incompetent conductor, Bush has taken the greatest Orchestra in the world, America, and turned us in to a third rate band that can't even book a gig at a retirement home.

Posted by PoliShifter at 08:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Here in California it was so totally hot...It's been hot for over a month. It's so hot that even Paris Hilton is saying "it's like totally hot outside...."

Posted by PoliShifter at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

LONDON (AP) — Security agents in Jordan are torturing terrorism suspects on behalf of the United States in hopes of forcing confessions, the human rights watchdog Amnesty International contended in a new report Monday.

The report said its investigators had identified about 10 suspected cases of men subjected to rendition from U.S. custody to interrogation centers in Jordan, a close U.S. ally in the Middle East.

"Jordan appears to be a central hub in a global complex of secret detention centers operated by the U.S. in coordination with foreign intelligence agencies," said Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa unit and an author of the report.

The United States has consistently said it does not permit suspects to be shipped to countries that practice torture.

The report said more than 100 defendants in terrorism-related trials in Jordan have complained over the past decade of being subjected to torture by Jordan's General Intelligence Department.

Continue Reading

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There is much blatant hypocrisy in Bush’s recent veto of the stem cell research bill. The obvious being using tax payer dollars to build better bombs which are then used to destroy people versus destroying an embryo for research that may lead to cures for diseases such as Parkinson’s. The former Bush approves and the later is against Bush’s Life Principle.

But there is a deeper, unspoken hypocrisy that lies within the Bush Doctrine on Life. Bush says he is opposed to using in vitro fertilized embryos consisting of about 150 cells for research. He would rather have these embryos adopted or placed in permanent storage. The Religious Right is embracing this issue and calling the embryos “snowflakes” due to their uniqueness. Just like every other human being on the planet, these embryos are one of a kind.

The drive is to get all these embryos adopted and presumably placed in an accepting womb. Many on the right scream that the use of these embryos for anything but impregnating a woman is tantamount to murder. They say that experimenting with embryos is not natural; that harming these embryos is m u r d e r.

Here in lies the hypocrisy. These embryos were created by taking an egg from a woman and sperm from a man then fertilizing the egg in vitro to create an embryo. Couples who cannot conceive naturally turn to in vitro fertilization. Anonymous donors give their eggs and sperm to fertility clinics so that those couples who are not fertile can have the opportunity to have kids.

During the implantation process up to 12 embryos are set in to the woman. Many do not take and die. This process is artificial. It is not natural for a human to stuff 12 embryos in to a woman’s womb. Often the process has to be repeated multiple times before a successful implantation is achieved.

How many embryos are m u r d e r e d during this process?

How is it that a Christian couple who cannot conceive can go to a fertility clinic and get an embryo implanted? They shuck through the embryos like oysters until one finally implants and starts to develop. And thanks to advanced fertility drugs triplets and quintuplets are becoming common place.

Also, no one talks about the embryos that have birth defects or die during development or during birth. Why isn’t this considered murder? It’s not a natural process. And for all the Science hating the right does, this process would not be around if it were not for Science.

If Bush and the Radical Religious Right really wanted to solve this issue they would have put forth a ban on in vitro fertilization. Do this and there will be no embryos for anyone to experiment with and couples won’t be committing murder while trying to get pregnant. Why didn’t Bush attach a signing statement to the Bill making in vitro fertilization illegal? If he cares so much about saving these embryos he would turn his attention immediately to banning in vitro fertilization.

Bush won’t do this because Bush really doesn’t give a shit about the embryos. For him it’s all about politics. Vetoing the stem cell research Bill earned him some badly needed political capital with the fanatical religious wing of the Republican Party.

If you want to stop the murder of embryos then stop in vitro fertilization. This only creates embryos that will be murdered either when attempting to implant a woman with them or when they are discarded because they are so old that they are no longer viable.

It’s hypocritical for the right to support in vitro fertilization and the implantation process that kills tens of embryos just to get a one woman pregnant AND NOT be for using the embryos for research. The embryos ARE being used for research when they are used to get a woman pregnant. That is how better and more effective methods are developed as well as more effective fertility drugs; through research on embryos! Science!

For those of you who supported Bush’s veto: Jesus does not approve of hypocrisy

For the record I am IN FAVOR of stem cell research on embryos that are going to be discarded and never implanted in to a woman. I am also IN FAVOR of using donated eggs and sperm to create embryos in vitro for stem cell research. I am AGAINST using aborted fetuses for stem cell research. No one that I know of is advocating this.

Posted by PoliShifter at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

May 31st 2005

source

I am not sure I understand this life principle Bush is talking about. Can someone explain it to me?

Posted by PoliShifter at 05:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Presumably we want to increase our military footprint in the Middle East in order to secure our future oil needs. The Middle East is seen as the last large reserve of oil. We also don’t want China, Russia, or the EU getting total control over that oil. So our plan has been to make a big super oil highway connecting Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. The problem is that this plan is not only deeply flawed, but terribly misplaced if the long term goal is only to secure oil reserves.

Common Sense dictates that we should be using all of our resources to develop alternatives to oil. But Bush don’t use common sense. He uses idiot sense which dictates we should use all the oil up in the world before we have to forcibly give up oil as an energy source. Here’s where Antarctica comes in.

Which is why Bush needs to start building an Antarctic Invasion Force right now. Currently all our military hardware is being converted over to desert warfare. Well, twenty years from now when all the oil has been sucked out of the Middle East the world will turn its sites on Antarctica. We’ll be forced to compete and fight with other nations over the right to drill the shit out of Antarctica. And all our military hardware will be all tooled for desert warfare, not Antarctic conditions.

Think about it. Building a new Antarctic Invasion Force would help juice our military industrial complex. Since warfare is the largest component of our economy, it should help create jobs. Second, there are no people in Antarctica except for a few researchers so there’ll be very little collateral damage. Third, while some nations will complain that we are violating some treaty (we know Bush thinks treaties are just pieces of paper to be used as toilet paper), no one will oppose us. Sure they may scream at us at the U.N. but we’ll just have Bolton bounce them on their head a few times. Fourth, common…Since when does Bush listen to environmentalists? He’s not going to let a few penguins, whales, and seals stop him.

Yes, Antarctica is the future. Bush could declare himself Emperor of the South Pole. We can suck all the oil out of there before anyone else and tell the Middle East to piss off. And with Global Warming in full effect, Antarctica is likely to become a tropical paradise in about 100 years. This means that once we suck all the oil out of it, we can turn it into a resort destination. Long after Hawaii gets too hot to visit, Antarctica will be just perfect. Hell, even conservatives are walking around right now saying “why, it’s unusually hot outside today”. Well, think about Antarctica; ahhh…just right….

Posted by PoliShifter at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

There's this crazy old bitch named Pamela who has a blog at http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com. I really doubt that she has even read Atlas Shrugged but ya never know...

Watch her video at your own risk...

I really doubt this character believes what she is saying. She strikes me as a self-aborbed person as many wingnuts are (examples: Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and mAnn Coultergeist to name a few). She also apparenly thinks she is really hot. The problem is that she is so ugly on the inside that it makes what's left of her exterior appear absolutely hideous.

Even sadder are the people who do beleive what she says and hang on her every word. Even worse are the men out there that find this hag attractive.

Obviously this wannabe beeotch faux celeb is vying for some sort of radio show or guest spot with Hannity. Perhaps she should try accompanying Rush on one of his trips to the Dominican Republic. E.D. or no E.D., he'll have the copious quantities of Viagra required just to get an erection with her.

"You save one life you save the world entire...that's, that's how it is..." - Crazy Pamela Atlas Wingnut Bitch

Obviously that statement is very selective. Wingnut logic advocates killing tens of thousands of innocent people but then wraps itself up with little statements like these. Just as Bush calls using an embryo for research that is about to be discarded MURDER and the killing of thousands of innocent Iraqis foreign policy, so does this Pamela Character think Israel should kill thousands of innocent men, women, and children in order to save 2 soldiers.

Obviously the issue is much more complicated than that.

One thing is certain: It's blatantly hypocritical to be a pro-life advocate while supporting mass killing. It sounds impossible but somehow these wingnuts pull it off.

Thanks to Sadly No!

Posted by PoliShifter at 05:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

I am really at a loss for words today. I have never read nor heard so many fat, pasty old white guys just drooling over the prospect of a widening war in the Middle East.

What bothers me the most about all of the Foxsperts paraded on TV is that they aren't just discussing the war between Israel and Hezbollah. They start off discussing the war between Israel and Lebanon then during their conversations they take a big left turn at World War 3 and how the United States needs to bomb Syria as well as Iran. What starts off as a debate about the Israeli-Lebonese conflict ends as a great opportunity for the U.S. to bomb the shit out of Iran.

These War Pigs such as Bill O'Reilly, Decider Bush, Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich, and Cheney are not military men. They have not served in combat and don't know the first thing about war and strategery. Yet these pigs want to sit on the TV day in and day out telling the American People that we need to bomb Iran; that we need to bomb Syria.

This PNAC NeoCon formula of taking advantage of a current crisis just to foment another not only doesn't work, it's completely absurd. The problem with wingnut pundits is they want war for all the wrong reasons. They want war for ratings, political capital, and broadening control over the minds of Americans.

The wingnuts know they are in trouble this November. They know if they are swept out of office that their dreams of turing America into a militarized totalitarian state will likely crumble. The wingnuts need a broadening war in order to maintain their power. Pundits such as Hannity need a bigger, better war so they can improve their ratings. A full scale war involving the U.S. would also make their brand of authoritative fear mongering more appealing to their base.

This to me is what is sickest of all about the current state of the United States. We have this group of wingnut pundits who use war to their advantaage. War to them is just a tool to improve ratings and garner political power. They have no care or concern for the innocent blood that is shed. They have no cares or concerns for the soldiers and the families of soldiers who will die in the wars these assholes are trying to foment. For them, war is just a convenient opportunity to further their influence over American Society. Never mind the death, monitary cost, and long term political effets. Those aren't important to war pigs.

Generals gathered in their masses,
just like witches at black masses.
Evil minds that plot destruction,
sorcerers of death's construction.
In the fields the bodies burning,
as the war machine keeps turning.
Death and hatred to mankind,
poisoning their brainwashed minds.
Oh lord, yeah!

- War Pigs by Black Sabbath


Thanks to Danny Guam

Posted by PoliShifter at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

All We Are Saying Is Give Peace A Chance

Posted by PoliShifter at 07:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Pictured above is a Blastocyst, A preimplantation embryo of about 150 cells produced by cell division following fertilization. (Stem Cell Information from the NIH)

These are the frozen embryos, tens of thousands of them that are about to be thrown away, that Scientists want to use for research purposes. According to Mr. Bush, using these 150 cell blastocysts for research is committing M-U-R-D-E-R. Throwing them away I guess is considered taking out the garbage.

Pictured above is an Iraqi Girl killed in the Iraq War. According to Mr. Bush this is not murder. This is just necessary foreign policy in order to protect you from Al Qaeda and win the war on terror. This is "just a casuality" of the war on terror. It's not murder.

To sum up, using that ball cells pictured at the top of the post (known as a blastocyst) for research is Murder.

Killing Iraqi Children is just foreign policy.

Any Questons?

Posted by PoliShifter at 05:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Using a frozen embryo for research that is going to get thrown away is murder.

But killing 130,000 Iraqis, 2500 U.S. troops, and executing 150 prisioners is uh, is uh, well that's just politics, it ain't murder...It's good foreign policy.

All life is sacred which is why Bush vetoes the stem cell research bill...

But 255 Lebonese killed is a real good reason to bomb Iran.

Anyone who uses a frozen embryo for research is a m-u-r-d-e-r-e-r...

But Reporters who publish information that is harmful to the Bush Regime should be executed, not murdered...

Trying to understand the Bush Paradox is nearly impossible. On the one hand life is sacred, killing is murder, and against the will of God. But on the other hand bombing innocent civilians is protecting us from terror.

I guess it just depends on what your definition of life is...is...

Update:

Tony Snow says that Stem Cell Research won't be made illegal...Private companies can still do it. But the Federal Gummint won't fund Stem Cell Research cause it's m-u-r-d-e-r...But Private companies can do it!

Phew! I was starting to worry about all the private military contractors, Halliburton and weapons manufacturers, that they wouldn't be able to commit "murder" any more. But Tony Snow cleared that right up! Private companies can still commit murder! Yippeee!

Hmm...that must be why our military is continually being privatized. You see, Bush thinks the Government should not fund murder, but private companies can. This means we really can't have a Federal Government funding a State Sponsored Military. We need the Private Military Corporations to do the murdering for us cause Bush don't believe in murder. And using Federal Funds to commit murder is m-u-r-d-e-r but using private funds to kill is GOOD Business.

Posted by PoliShifter at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

4 years, 10 months, and 19 days Al Qaeda attatched us on Septhember THE 11th, 2001. Shortly thereafter came the NeoCon drumbeat from people like Bill Kristol, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and Paul Wolfowitz trying to assert that Iraq had something to do with the attacks on 9/11.

Once they had the public fooled in to beleiving that Saddam had attacked us on 9/11 they then moved right in to convincing us that Iraq had nuclear weapons. Bush didn't want the "smoking gun" to be a mushroom cloud. We were told Saddam had UAV's capable of reaching the United States that could unleash biological warfare upon us. The American People, hearing this from their trusted government officials, were terrified.

Shortly thereafter they began beating the drums of war calling for an invasion of Iraq. In order to settle the nerves of The People, Cheney told us we would be greated as liberators (rose petals and chocolates anyone?). Rumsfeld said he doubted the conflict would last more than 6 months. Wolfowitz said that the Iraq Oil would more than pay for the reconstruction. Hearing all this, the American People tepidly supported the war. I wouldn't call it full blown support, but they trusted their leaders and felt that their government would not lie to them, so they weren't initially AGAINST the war as the first bomb dropped.

We now know all of things the NeoCons said were total bullshit. The occupation of Iraq is likely to last until at least 2016 according to conservative military estimates. Iraq Oil is NOT paying for the reconstruction of Iraq, we are. And more importantly no nuclear weapons were found.

To sum up, we were attacked by Al Qaeda on 9/11 and we invaded Iraq.

Fast forward to the present. There is a war brewing between Israel and Lebanon. So what do the NeoCons want to do? Bomb Iran and Syria. We are once again plagued by fuzzy NeoCon math.

So far about 25 Israelis have been killed while 295 Lebanese have been killed. And yet the NeoCons would have you believe it's all Iran and Syria's fault. Bush recently said that if Syria would just knock this shit off it would stop.

Rather than calling for calm and peace between Israel and Lebanon, the NeoCons are calling for the bombing and invasion of Iran. It's being pitched to the American People that somehow invading Iran would solve the war between Israel and Lebanon. We are being told that invading Iran would ensure they don't develop nuclear weapons. One again we are faced with fuzzy NeoCon math.

Cheerleaders like Rush Limbaugh are calling the Israel-Lebonese war a gift. The wingnuts say "we can finally get Iran". Once again, we are faced with fuzzy NeoCon math.

Just as when Al Qaeda attacked us on 9/11 so therefore we invaded Iraq, now we have a conflict between Israel and Lebanon so according to NeoCon logic we must bomb and invade Iran.

There are more than several flaws in the NeoCon logic. First and foremost, the notion that bombing Iran would somehow solve the Israeli-Lebanon conflict is bogus. All it would do is widden the war to include more Islamic States. Second, the focus right now should not be on how we can figure out a way to invade and bomb Iran or Syia. The Focus RIGHT NOW should be how we can stop the killing going on between Israel and Lebanon.

The third flaw in the NeoCon argument is this notion that we have to have a sense of urgency in regards to Iran because they are close to achieving a nuclear weapon. While this plays well with pussy wingnuts who live their lives in a constant state of fear, it is once again a bogus argument. Pakistan has nuclear weapons and is governed by a military dictatorship propped up by the United States. Should that country collapse, which could come at any momment, their nuclear weapons will fall in to the hands of Islamic Extremists.

North Korea not only has nuclear weapons, but they have increased their arsenal since Bush has been President AND they have a mad man running their country. Yet, we are doing nothing to contain North Korea. We are not sailing warships over there. The NeoCons are not on parade on Fox News beating the war drum for attacking North Korea or Pakistan for that matter.

NeoCons are simply put, misguided. We cannot know their real reasons for wanting to foment war and instability in the Middle East. The initial speculation was that is was about controlling the oil. But the invasion of Iraq has proven that having an American Footprint in the Middle East is doiing nothing for oil prices down or securing supply. They do not seem an overly religious bunch so I don't think ther goal is to stamp out Islam. Although if this were their goal they would not exactly broadcast it but I doubt they could also keep it a secret for over 10 years.

It's really a shame that the NeoCons are so misguided. We could use their zeal and zest for war to help us cheerlead the capture of Bin Laden. It would be nice to see Bill Kristol on the TV everyday shaking down North Korea and threatening to bomb them rather than Ian. It would be nice to see the NeoCons putting their brains together figuring out how to stop Al Qaeda rather than wasting their energy fomenting yet another quagmire of a war that won't solve any problems but will surely make more.

Posted by PoliShifter at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

"This current conflict represents an opportunity to finally do something about Iran before they get their nukes, because I don't know if anybody has a plan for dealing with them after that. That's why I say this situation is a gift to the world." - Rush Limbaugh

The Power of Narrative:

For Limbaugh and all the others like him, this is the perfect "opportunity" to have the confrontation they have wanted all along: the final battle with Iran.

Croosk and Liars:

"Limbaugh goes over the top once again and is calling this conflict a gift to the neocons and to the world. Just try to imagine the kind of evil involved in this type of thinking."

Pacific Gazaette: The Gift

"That's why I think this is a gift to the world, folks. This is an opportunity finally to do something about Iran. Iran is the elephant in the room in all of this, and if we sit here and say it's Hezbollah or it's Assad or it's Syria or it's Hamas, we are blaming the tentacles and not the brain, and Iran is the center and the focus of this, and that's why this is a gift." - Rush Limbaugh

The Fall of Humanity

The Mills Rive Progressive:

"The Neocons can scarecely contain their delight at the (additional) warfare that has broken out in the Middle East. Newt "psycho-muppet" Gingrich declared that "this is World War III, and the President should just declare it", and Rush "tiny limp-bits" Limbaugh says that "this is a gift from God, because now we can finally do something about Iran..." Hooray, Armageddon! "

Posted by PoliShifter at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

In what is shaping up to be yet another shameful election year ploy, Neons, Republicans, and their wingnut cheerleaders are antagonizing any possible plan for peace in the middle east and already declaring that we are in the midst of world war 3, 4, and 5.

Setting the tone for the wingnuts was The Walrus John Bolton who vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an end to the conflict.

Mean, while when asked directly by Helen Thomas why the U.S. veteod the U.N. Resolution aimed at ending the conflict Tony Snow flat lied saying the U.S. did no such thing.

What people need to understand is that the NeoCon led Republicans want war. And they want war for all the wrong reasons. They want war to help their election chances and increase their chances at fatting the pockets of their war monger cronies. And they want to use the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict as a wedge issue to divide and conquer Democrats.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict deeply divides Democrats. On the one hand many Liberals have a gut loyalty to Israel no matter how many atrocities Israel committs against the Palestinian People. On the other hand there are liberals who are against Israel no matter how many atrocities the Palestinians committ against Israelis.

Those that criticize Israel are immediately being painted as anti-semites by wingnuts. Those that support Israel are being demonized as war mongers by their left-leaning counterparts.

It's divide and conquer time for the NeoCons. Republicans know they are perilously close to being swept out of office this November which is why they have latched on like a rabid dog to this current conflict. They know they can split Democrats on this issue. They think if they can peel off enough pro-Israel votes from Democrats then they may at least maintain power in November.

The sickest thing of all about how low Republicans will stoop to maintain power is watching them cheerlead the killing of innocent women and children on both sides of this conflict.

The priority right now should be finding a way to work together with the rest of the world so that we can help restore peace to the Middle East, not foment more war and sensless killing.

This is such a multi-faceted bag of prizes for the NeoCon wingnuts that it will take a major screw up on their part to come out on the downside of this one.

First, if you listen closely to the Bush Administration NeoCon hacks they are already stearing the debate toward Syria and Iran. That's because they want to bomb both countries and they see an opportunity with the current events to garner public support for bombing both Syria and Iran.

Second, the sycophantic wingnut cheerleaders absolutely hate Muslims. They call them "koranimals" and would just assume nuke them all. The type of rhetoric coming out of the NeoCon camps plays right in to their hatred and provides justification for their unfound hatred of Muslims.

Third, a large consituent of the Radical NeoCon Party is their Christian Extremist base. These people are in ecstasy over the idea that this could be the start of the apocalypse. They are loosening their tennis shoes and making sure they are certified Rapture Ready.

The only antecdote I see to the radical right's vitriol is for Democrats to preach a message of peace, tolerance, and love. These are the three key things that are needed to achieve peace in the Middle East. You would expect such a Christ-Like message to come from the right since they continually cloak themselves with the Bible and Religion but it won't.

It's up to Democrats to provide a United Front for peace. We owe it to each other and the world. If we do not, then many thousands will die for no reason except to get Republicans elected and fatten the pockets of war profiteers.

Posted by PoliShifter at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

UN says 6,000 Iraqi civilians killed in May-June

BAGHDAD, July 18 (Reuters) - About 6,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in the last two months alone as casualties continued an "upward trend", the United Nations said on Tuesday.

The estimate, compiled with data from Baghdad morgue and the Health Ministry, is the latest attempt to give some statistical expression to the daily bloodshed in Baghdad and elsewhere. It was part of a bi-monthly U.N. report on human rights in Iraq.

In a country with barely functioning public institutions, where relatives routinely remove the bodies of victims for burial with little legal formality, any estimates of mortality from the violence are highly approximate.

Continue Reading

And yet if you go to any wingnut blogger that is a member of the 101st Fighting Keyboardist or a Captain's Quarters sycophant you would hear that Iraq's doing great! Why, they are consuming more electricity than ever, are getting a warter park, and new olympic size swimming pools! The streets bustle with commerce as wingers happily "bet on the dinar" as many wingnut blogs proclaim.

Never mind the 6000 dead Iraqis. That's just the stupid liberals focusing on the negative. What they aren't reproting is the the 160,000 people around Baghdad that DID NOT get dead..now that's progress...

Posted by PoliShifter at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by PoliShifter at 07:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Does Laura know about this?

Thanks to Mash via Bild De T Online

Editor's Note: While Bush may heart Merkel, it is clear that in no way does Merkel heart Bush. To be fair, the video clip that these images came from only lasts a few seconds and Merkel throws up her arms with clenched fists as if to say "get your hands off me creep!". I don't think any woman likes to be touched by Bush...except Condi.

Posted by PoliShifter at 07:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

"Let's celebrate, it's alright! There's a conflict going on over there, a regional war that will last for years and years. So bring your big guns, and a bomb or two, we're going to celebrate and bomb the shit out of you. Come on now, NeoCon Celebration...Let's all celebrate and have a waring good time..."

NeoCons and Wingnuts alike from sea to shining sea are celebrating the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Bolstered by their Dear Leader Bush who recently called out Syria. Tthe wingnuts are now rallying around Bush and pushing for the bombing and invasion of Syria. Does it make sense? Heck no. Is it supposed to make sense? No. Everyone loves a good war, especially a wingnut. And having another good war just in time for elections is nothing less than a blessing from God delivered to the Republicans.

From Think Progress:

"Former CIA Director James Woolsey, who signed his name to a letter addressed to President Clinton in 1998 arguing for the Iraq war, appeared on Fox to make the case against Syria. “I think we ought to execute some air strikes against Syria,” adding, “The last thing we ought to do now is to start talking about cease-fires and the rest.”

Crooks and Liars: Limbaugh: Invasion is a Gift to the World!

For Limbaugh and others who share this delusional, genocidal view of the world, this is the ultimate "clash of civilizations." As I write this, he is now saying that this war was "never intended to stop with Iraq." This is "finally" our chance to go after Iran. As he puts it, there will be no peace until one side finally defeats the other completely. I will leave to you the determination of precisely what such a defeat might entail, and how many people will have to die. And then, once the other side is finally defeated, "the winner must set the terms of surrender to the loser."

Crooks and Liars has the audio

Alternet: Middle East Violence: Neocons' Fantasy

The champions of American global empire are using the latest upsurge of violence in the Middle East to give new life to their discredited plan to extend the war in Iraq to Syria and Iran. The neo-con Weekly Standard has taken the lead in its July 24th cover issue, proclaiming that the current violence is "Iran's Proxy War" against the West.

As Standard editor William Kristol puts it, "It's our war." America's, that is.

"What's under attack," Kristol argues "is liberal democratic civilization, whose leading representative right now happens to be the United States." The logical conclusion of this "war of civilizations" analysis is Kristol's advice to the Bush Administration:

"our focus should be less on Hamas and Hezbollah, and more on their paymasters and real commanders -- Syria and Iran. And our focus should be not only on the regional war in the Middle East, but also on the global struggle against radical Islamism."

Continue Reading At Alternet

What? DId I just read "liberal democratic civilization"?? Who the fuck associated "liberal" with democratic? I thought the liberals were the enemies? I thought wingnuts have been crusading againts the "liberal media" and "democratic institutions" for decades now? Hasn't the wingnut dream been to undo all of FDR's liberal programs? And now the wingnuts want to take FDR off the dime and put Reagan on instead.

How dare Bill Kristol mention Liberal and Democrat in the same paragraph in a Conservative Rag The Weekly Standard. Think the 101st Fighting Keyboardists and Captain's Quarters will get all bunged up over Kristol's "liberal" remark? Does Bush know he's fighting to establish "liberal democratic" civiliations in the Middle East? If he knew, he'd probably change his mind on the whole thing. There's an idea...Someone inform Bush that we are fighting to establish liberal democratic civilizations. That should fry him up so bad that he just might call for an immediate withdrawl of our troops from the region...

Oh yeah, Remember Iraq? Gunmen Kill 50 in Iraqi Market Attack

And then there is this gem:

American military leaders don't see a US exit from Iraq until 2016

Just ten more years to go baby..Speaking of babies, do you have an 8 year old? He just might die in Iraq. Hug and kiss him or her before you go to bed tonight and extra few times.

Celebrate NeoCon Times Come On!

Posted by PoliShifter at 05:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Cowboy diplomacy lives!

It's now being widely reported that Bush was caught "cursing" on tape and video. Shouldn't he be fined by the FCC for that? Isn't that a $1.2 million dollar S-Bomb?

"What they need to do is get Syria to get Hizbollah to stop doing this s**t, and it’s over," -George W Bush 7/17/06

Yeeehaaa! Saddle up boys! We're gonna get ourselves a posse and go catch them Hezbollahs and Qaedas. There's got to be some Qaedas over there too somewhere's....Ain't got not time for this Syria shit. They better not make me no never mind or else I'll come over there and kick them square in the nuts!

There'sa variety of sources and presentations on this event.

AP Reports: Bush curses Hezbollah during G-8 luncheon

Crooks and Liars also has video

Posted by PoliShifter at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

"button, button, who's got the button?"

There's so much going on in the world today that it's simply imposible to keep track of it all. And, as has always been the case, certain people profit in chaos. Afte all, it takes the full attention of the colletive consciousness these days in order to force politicians to do the work of The People. Let's face it, today's political leaders are not going out of their way to better the lives of their constituents unless forced to do so by the collective.

Recent world events have made it even easier for the War Profiteers to fly unde the radar. The news is a vast shell game with the media playing a feversihly fast form of distraction. Now you care, now you don't. There is simply no way to keep track of all that is going on. The media will ultimately decide what issues we care about and what issues we do something about.

All the while the robber barons will profit madly as blood runs in the streets. If you really think that anyone gives a shit that's in power, then you're just naive. There is enough money being made right now off the chaos of war to end world hunger and provide everyone with a college education. But the powers at be don't want that. There's no profit in peace.

Corruption Cited in Iraq's Oil Industry

By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 17, 2006; A12

U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker told Congress last week that "massive corruption" and "a lot of theft going on" in Iraq's government-controlled oil industry is hampering the country's ability to govern itself.

"It took me about, you know, a second and a half to realize that, obviously, there was massive corruption going on, because the numbers just didn't add up," Walker said, referring to a trip he took to Iraq this year in which he was shown figures on oil production and revenue.

Walker, who heads the Government Accountability Office, made his remarks at a House Government Reform subcommittee meeting last Tuesday called to examine implementation of the Bush administration's 2005 "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq." He said one of the failures of the U.S. program was related to the prewar assumption that Iraq would be able to pay for its reconstruction "in large part through oil revenues."

He said about 10 percent of Iraq's refined fuels and 30 percent of its imported fuels are being stolen, in part because the subsidized Iraqi price of gasoline, about 44 cents a gallon, is less than half the regional price of 90 cents a gallon. "That provides a tremendous incentive to be able to steal these fuels and be able to sell them for whatever purposes, corruption or otherwise," Walker said.

Continue Reading

Bush really needs a crony appointed to the GAO. I think the GAO is the last bastion of hope this country has at this point.

Meanwhile...

Israel answers attack with lethal blows

By HAMZA HENDAWI and LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writers

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah and Israel traded fierce barrages for a sixth day Monday, as the latest eruption of warfare in the Middle East showed no sign of easing. Rockets struck deep inside Israel, killing eight people in Haifa and bringing waves of retaliatory airstrikes from Lebanon's north to south and in the eastern Bekaa Valley near Syria.

The toll on both sides rose to above 200. In addition to the Israeli victims at a rail repair facility in Haifa, an Israeli rocket blew up a Lebanese army position, killing eight soldiers, and a sea-launched missile killed at least nine people in the southern Lebanese port of Tyre.

Continue Reading

It doesn't quite rise to the level of death called for according to Kissengerism but we'll get there seeing as how Bush has no interest in stopping the conflict.

Welcome to the NeoCon Dream. A Century of glorious warfare; The Project for the New American Century is death on a massive scale that will make WW2 look like a piker.

Posted by PoliShifter at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Leiberman is about the only person left who can stand being coddled and kissed by George Bush. Maybe Condi Rice. I doubt Laura still kisses him.

How could anyone (except Lieberman ofcourse) kiss Bush without throwing up?

I understand exactly how this baby feels.

Posted by PoliShifter at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

"In England a King hath little more to do than to make war and giveaway places; which, in plain terms, is to empoverish the nation and set it together by the ears. A pretty business indeed for a man to be allowed eight hundred thousand sterling a year for, and worshipped into the bargain! Of more worth is one honest man to society, and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived."

- from Common Sense by Thomas Paine 1776

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

It’s almost too much to stomach anymore watching Bush ride his Huffy around clicking his bell as the streamers on the handle bars blow in the wind while the rest of the world blows itself up.

I can’t fathom what goes through Bush’s mind when he tells us the economy is great and that the world is a safer place due to his Presidency. Only God knows what Bush is thinking when he shows more concern for carving the Roast Pig at an upcoming feast rather than what is going on in the Middle East.

Does Bush think we are stupid or is he just a total fucking moron? Does he honestly believe that the American People are going to take what he says seriously? He’s claiming his economic policies are growing our economy! He’s going around telling everyone that his tax cuts helped cut the deficit. How stupid does he think we are? Or is he just that stupid?

The deficit was created by Bush. He gets no kudos for supposedly “helping” to reduce the deficit. Job creation? I don’t know what jobs he’s talking about. All I see are more jobs moving overseas and across the border. The “tax cuts” certainly are not helping research. I am seeing professor after professor unable to get the necessary funding to continue their research.

Bush says our economy is the “envy of the world”. It may still be right now, but it won’t be 5 years from now if Bush’s failed policies are allowed to continue.

Bush’s policy is to outsource as much as possible, provide as many tax breaks to corporations as possible, and provide the cheapest labor possible to his corporate cronies. America simply cannot be sustained with this type of short-sighted policy.

And now the one area where America has excelled, Research & Development, is in severe jeopardy. President Bush doesn’t believe in Science and therefore sees no need to fund it. He’d rather fund faith based initiatives. The end result of this ignorant view will be the loss of America’s once cutting edge: Technology.

Countries throughout the world are building up rival research institutions that can and will compete with the U.S. America was once the place for foreign talent to come and get educated, work, and contribute to America’s greatness. Now these talented people are finding more opportunity and a warmer welcome in other parts of the world.

Even our military technology is being outsourced. We have also become one of the largest exporters of military hardware. It’s all we have left in our economic engine. And sooner or later even our cutting edge in military technology will be lost. After all, you can’t do Rocket Science without Science. There is no field (yet) called Rocket Faith. Maybe Bush is working on that but I haven’t heard about it.

Yes, Bush has successfully convereted our economy into an economy once again dependent on continuous war.

My conclusion on Bush is that he really doesn’t give a shit. He truly lives in a luxurious bubble. He doesn’t give a shit about America or the American People. He’s got his; He’s got his ranch, money, and secret service protection for life. If worse comes to worse he can probably go live with his Saudi buddies in a nice villa.

Bush sees himself as a global citizen, not an American. He has no loyalty to the American People, Our Constitution, Our Government, and our way of life. Bush sees himself as Global Royalty. He’s secured his place in history and his family fortune. He has made enough people wealthy at the expense of the American Taxpayer that he will never have to worry again. And that is all Bush really cares about.

Posted by PoliShifter at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Carlos Mencia - The Rich Skeik



The Daily Show on Steven's Internet Tubes



Snakes on a Plame

Posted by PoliShifter at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

What did you expect? Do you really think Bush wants peace and an end to the conflict? Hell No. He's Rapture Ready. Everything to the Bushstappo is how to win at politics. I am sure that Karl Rove, Cheney, and Bush are busy discussing not how to solve the crisis but how they can benefit from having Bush portrayed as a "War Time President" again; a "Commander-In-Cheif". He doesn't give a shit about anything except himself and maintaining his stranglehold on power.

Bush refuses to press Israel for truce

By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - President Bush refused to press Israel for a cease-fire in Mideast violence Friday, risking a wider breach with world leaders at a weekend summit already confronting crises with Iran and North Korea.

Flying here from Germany, Bush called the leaders of Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan to explore ways to end three days of furious fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Turning aside complaints that Israel is using excessive force, Bush rejected a cease-fire plea from Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.

"The president is not going to make military decisions for Israel," White House press secretary Tony Snow said. He said it was unlikely that either side would agree to a cease-fire now.

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Posted by PoliShifter at 03:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Where the fuck is the money going?

reported by MSNBC:

Budget woes force Army bases to cut services
$530 million shortfall at garrisons takes toll on basic supplies, functions

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas - A diversion of dollars to help fight the war in Iraq has helped create a $530 million shortfall for Army posts at home and abroad, leaving some unable to pay utility bills or even cut the grass.

In San Antonio, Fort Sam Houston hasn’t been able to pay its $1.4 million monthly utility bill since March, prompting workers in many of the post’s administrative buildings to get automated disconnection notices.

Fort Bragg in North Carolina can’t afford to buy pens, paper or other office supplies until the new fiscal year starts in October.

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The irony about this next article below is that at the website while I was reading it I noticed Google Adsense ads selling "support the troops" bracelets. Fucking unbelievable. "Support our troops bracelets! $.99 in Stock Same Day Shipping" YIPPPEEE!!

As reported by commonvoice.com:

U.S. Military Suffers Equipment & Base Shortfalls

Diane M. Grassi
July 14, 2006

For the last quarter of 2006 United States Army bases stateside face a funding deficit of $530 million while troops active in Iraq and Afghanistan will not see the promised replacement levels of military equipment previously committed. Additionally, payroll for active-duty troops is short $1.4 billion while the Army Reserve and National Guard face a $500 million deficiency.

The Installation Management Agency is responsible for overseeing the funding for 117 Army posts in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Garrisons of the posts administer the services the post receives such as mail delivery, garbage removal and firefighting while contracting services for dining halls and grounds maintenance. In order for many services to be provided, both temporary and term personnel are sub-contracted by the garrisons. However, in early June 2006, Installation Commander, Col. Kenneth O. McCreedy, mandated major cuts in services on all Army bases at least until September 30, 2006, when the 2006 fiscal year ends.

The reduction in services includes a 100% civilian hiring freeze; the release of temporary and term employees as quickly as possible unless vital for the support of life, health, safety and the Global War On Terrorism; development of spending plans by commanders for Fiscal Year 2007 based upon such reduced services; cancelling or reducing contracts until October 1, 2006. Garrisons have also reduced vehicle usage by as much as 20%, and cut cell phone and paging services.

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Posted by PoliShifter at 01:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Bombs and mortars struck Shiite and Sunni mosques in the Baghdad area Friday, the latest in a week of tit-for-tat sectarian attacks that have killed more than 250 people.

The deadliest explosion came as worshippers left services at a Sunni mosque in northern Baghdad, killing 14 people and wounding five, police said.

The bomb, planted near the door of the mosque, exploded during a four-hour driving ban starting at 11 a.m. Fridays in the capital, aimed at preventing car bombs that have frequently targeted weekly prayers.

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BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that his group is ready for “open war” with Israel and warned that an Israeli warship that has been firing missiles into southern Beirut will be destroyed.

Speaking defiantly in an audiotape aired on Hezbollah’s Al Manar television, Nasrallah addressed himself to Israelis, saying: “You wanted an open war and we are ready for an open war.”

“Look at the warship that has attacked Beirut, while it burns and sinks before your very eyes,” Nasrallah said. It was not clear whether he meant that the warship has already been attacked.

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By DONNA CASSATA

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans are in jeopardy of losing their grip on Congress in November. With less than four months to the midterm elections, the latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that Americans by an almost 3-to-1 margin hold the GOP-controlled Congress in low regard and profess a desire to see Democrats wrest control after a dozen years of Republican rule.

Further complicating the GOP outlook to turn things around is a solid percentage of liberals, moderates and even conservatives who say they'll vote Democratic. The party out of power also holds the edge among persuadable voters, a prospect that doesn't bode well for the Republicans.

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Posted by PoliShifter at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, well, well....Senator Arlen Specter has reached an agreement with the White House that would make all of Bush's illegal spying activities legal AND grant him retroactive pardons for the laws he has broken. As well all know the President is ALWAYS right even when he's wrong. As Nixon said "you see, when the President does it, that means it's not illegal..."

I don't even know what to do with this bullshit anymore. How can the American People tolerate this? Where has our common sense gone? Our American Values? Our respect for The Constitution? Our respect for the balance of powers?

Our government has become one where if you buy/rig enough elections and become President you can then legislate from the oval office thereby making the laws as you go along to suit your own personal needs and desires. It's completely fucked up and why the American People are not outraged by this is beyond me. Bush has become the dictator he dreamed up becoming.

Arlen Specter has some nerve to try to sell this Bush Amnesty plan to the American People as a "comprimise".

thanks to Fat Cat Politics

Glenn Greenwald has extensiveinformation on this latest Bushtastrophe.

Glenn Greenwald writes:

"The idea that the President's allies in Congress would enact legislation which expressly shields government officials, including the President, from criminal liability for past lawbreaking is so reprehensible that it is difficult to describe. To my knowledge, none of the other proposed bills -- including those from the most loyal Bush followers in the Senate -- contained this protective provision. And without knowing anywhere near as much as I would need to know in order to form a definitive opinion, the legality of this provision seems questionable at best. It's really the equivalent of a pardon, a power which the Constitutional preserves for the President. Can Congress act as a court and simply exonerate citizens from criminal conduct?"

Posted by PoliShifter at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

TONY JONES: Well, Israel has tonight issued a warning to Lebanon to evacuate all residents from a southern Beirut neighbourhood, where it believes the Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah lives. Hezbollah has responded to the warning and the implied threat of an imminent assault by saying it will bombard Israel's third largest city, Haifa, if there are any further Israeli attacks on Beirut. The rising tensions come as Israel continues its blockade of Lebanon, along with an air, sea and ground offensive aimed at forcing Hezbollah militants to release the two Israeli soldiers it kidnapped yesterday.

Lebanon Prepares for Long and Difficult Siege

The lines at gas stations stretched for blocks today and supermarkets and bakeries were packed as this nation prepared for a potentially long and difficult siege. With Israeli warships visible off the coast and the occasional roar of planes rattling nerves, Lebanese re-enacted some of the same ritual preparations they had abandoned 15 years ago when the country’s bloody civil war ended.

War in the Mid-East
Israel Warns Lebanon: “Nothing is Safe”

In the worst conflict the area has seen in more than ten years, Israel is now fighting a two-front war. As world leaders speak out regarding Israel’s recent invasion of Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, the crisis in the Middle East continues to escalate.

(Click the links to read the full articles)

Posted by PoliShifter at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

"They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." - Micah 4:3

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." - Matthew 5:9

We hear over and over again from the fanatical right wingnuts as well as our President how the United States is a Christian Nation founded on Christian Principles with Divine Right from God. We hear over and over how because we are Christian Nation under God that we must not allow stem cell research, gay marriage, abortion, and the teaching of evolution.

Because politicians and preachers profess their belief that these things must be purged from our society they call themselves men of God. They tell themselves and their constituents that they are doing God's Work. They invoke the name of Jesus Christ every chance they get in order to garner the Christian Vote, political support, and social support. And saying that you are against stem cell research, gay marriage, abortion, and the teaching of evolution gives a politician bonifides in the right wing community.

How sad the state of religion and Christianity has become when all one has to do in order to be considered a good Christian is be against stem cell research, gay marriage, abortion, and the teaching of evolution.

Christianity and Religion do provide us for a framework for how to live our lives but the focus of the teachings of Jesus Christ is NOT preaching against stem cell research, gay marriage, abortion, and the teaching of evolution. Jesus was about Love and Peace, not War and Hate:

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" Matthew 5:43-44

The first people in this country to call for blood, murder, and revenge are the fanatical wingnuts on the right. These people are the first to want to kill anyone who opposes their view point. They refer to Muslims as koranimals, they call for the assasination of the Supreme Court Justices, and call for the hunting down of reporters who print articles they disagree with.

The first to want to go to war, to glorify war, and to desire revenge killing are the fanatics on the right who always claim Christian Bonafides.

Try as one might, this type of behaviour is not Christ-Like nor God-Like.

Indeed, the United States as a whole has a policy of military intervention, hostile diplomacy, and focusing the might of its treasury on developing more advanced weapons for war rather than helping those who are less fortunate or planting seeds of peace that they may flourish in the future.

If the United States was truly a Christian Nation, a Nation Under God, then the focus would be on not building better weapons systems but in helping those that are less fortunate. We would be turning our swords into plowshares rather than making more swords.

If we were a Christian Nation we would be focused on waging peace not waging war.

There is no room in Christ's teachings for this hostile, judgemental, violent, self-serving, and materially obessed doctrine that Christianity has morphed in to. Jesus taught humility, peace, and love. Doing Good Deeds and serving God were not actions to be broadcast from the mountain tops for all to see so that one could garner political or social support.

"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." - 6:1-4

I pray to Jesus every day we could become a True Christian Nation: One that puts love and peace above war and greed. I pray to Jesus every day that we could become a True Christian Nation that does not pass judgement on others, takes care of the sick and needy, places spirituality above materialism, and loved its enemies instead of bombing them.

I wish we could be a shining example as a Nation to the rest of the world as to how to live and behave. Instead we have become truly Godless as a Nation. Our Gods have become money and war. No amount of shellacking America with anti-gay marriage, anti-evolution, anti-stem cell research, and anti-abortion legislation can change what America is.

I call on all those who call themselves Christians and profess a belief in God to repent, ask for forgiveness, and work to make this Truly a Nation uder God, not a Nation under Money and War.

Posted by PoliShifter at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If I didn't know better I'd say we are on the brink of world war 3. We have India and North Korea lobbing missiles, Japan considering a first strike against North Korea, and tensions rising between Pakistan and India.

We have Israel invading Lebanon while being flanked by Syria and Palestine. We have Iran pusing its nuclear weapons program. Meanwhile the United States is smack dab in the middle of al this occupying Iraq and Afghanistan.

We have militant Islamic warlords running Somalia and tensions between Russia and Chechnya just keep getting worse.

Worst of all, we have a total fucking idiot in charge of our country's military. We have dipshit George W Bush as President who doesn't understand the first thing about diplomacy. And he' such a pussy that even his "cowboy diplomacy" is a failure.

We all know Bush misspeaks all the time. One slip up at the wrong time and Bush will plunge the world into World War 3.

Ofcourse, this is likely what Bush wants since he views himself as being appointed President by God to do God's Will. Since Bush is an evangelical end-timer who views Muslims as evil and would love to see the coming of Christ in his full glory so Bush himself could take up his sword to crush the infidel, I have to wonder if he isn't actively pursuing an Armageddon Policy.

The President of Iran also believes we are in the end times and that Allah appointed him President of ran in order to facillitate the coming of the Mahdi.

Then we have Kim Jong-il. I have no idea if this guy uses religion to justify his actions, but he's fucking crazy.

At a time when the world needs calm and sanity the most, we have crazy ass bastards deciding policy that will affect all of us.

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As many of you are aware, the DHS released its compiled database of US assests that could be high priority targets for Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. Many of these targets inluded such high value targets the Mule Day Parade, the Sweetwater Flea Market, an unspecified “Beach at End of a Street", and ofcourse the Amish Country Popcorn company.

I was listening to the John and Ken Show and heard the owner of the Amish Country Popcorn interviewed.

He has a total of five employees and his security consists of a large black lab that tries to lick to death anyone who tries to steal the popcorn. Al Qaeda beware! There's been no reported sightings of suspected terrorists in the area surrounding the Amish Country Store but they are after all in Amish Country. A terrorist could blend in quite well there with a hat and a beard...Which must be why this 5 person operation is considered a potential target for Al Qaeda.

So help this guy out and order some popcorn. He had no idea he was in the DHS database let alone a target for terrorists. He may need an extra dog or perhaps some barbed wire fence. Even those $50 webcams can be a successful deterent against Qaedas. Anything to help keep out those damned Qaedas.

Posted by PoliShifter at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

We need weapons to defend ourselves from hostile forces. But once we have the weapons and see their power we realize we can easily conquer other weaker people. We also realize that we need to test these weapons just to see if they are even effective in war. This leads to the manufacturing of war just so we can simply test weapons systems so we can improve upon them in time for the next manufactured war.

The War Paradox

War has always been a part of human history. For at least about the past 6000 years as we know it, man has been striving to perfect his weapon systems and its efficiencies in slaughtering his enemies.

Whether or not war is a necessary part of the human condition is open for large debate. Certainly the origins of war are easy to comprehend and resonate throughout the ages all the way up to modern times.

Typically a group of people goes out in search of life sustaining resources as well as suitable territory in which to settle their population. However as is often the case, the choice land with vast amounts of resources are usually populated by other groups of people.

At this point several things can happen, which largely depend on the cultures of the populations involved. Certainly the two groups of people can negotiate and trade resources. But as is often the case, if one group is larger and more armed than the other, the larger group will take over the smaller group’s resources by force often laying waste to its population.

And so the arms race was born. People knew they had to defend themselves from hostile interests who would literally kill them for their land and resources. The best way to defend one’s self is to train a group of fighting men and arm them with effective weapons.

Much of our history has been preoccupied with making better weapons for war and defense. This in turn becomes a major component of a society’s economy which comes to depend of the manufacturing of weapons systems as a source of employment and revenue.

But there is a dangerous paradox in the manufacturing of weapons and training of standing armies; a paradox so elusive that I don’t know if it can be reconciled.

As new weapons systems are developed and new armies trained, an inherent need grows to test these systems. After spending much of a Nation’s Treasury in building weapons systems, there comes a natural instinct to want to try them out before they once again become obsolete.

This leads to unprovoked hostilities toward other nations as well as war doctrines of pre-emption. It also leads to the wandering eye of a Nation looking around the globe for weak nations with vast resources that can easily be conquered by a superior military force. Indeed we witnessed such a period of our history where a few super powers due to their military force were able to colonize much of the world.

This type of behavior can be traced back to the Assyrians, Babylonians, Hebrews, Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans to name a few. In modern times we can look back just a few hundred years and see that a bulk of the planet was a colony of either France, Spain, Britain, Portugal, or Denmark.

After the Civil War in America, vast amounts of money was poured in to developing new military technologies. Repeating arms, machine guns, and iron clad ships were developed as well as gun turrets for ships. After about twenty years of developing and testing this new technology there cam a great need to test them to see if they were even effective in war.

This need led to the Spanish-American War. The desire to go war was largely manufactured by the media. Historians have given this a term and call it “yellow journalism” where atrocities committed by the Spanish in Cuba were largely exaggerated in order to garner public support for the invasion of Cuba.

Then something happened. No one is quite sure how it happened but an explosion occurred on USS Maine battleship in the Havana harbor and sank. The Public was now in full support for an invasion of Cuba and war with Spain. During this war we learned much our the effectiveness and efficiency of our weapons which lead to the development of new weapons.

Covering World War I and World War II in this post is beyond the scope of this topic. Certainly there are wars of choice and wars of necessity. After the Korean War we found ourselves in a Cold War with the USSR which fueled the need for yet even more advanced weapons systems.

War had taken on a whole new color. We now were at a point where if we waged a large scale war in its full glory, due to the advent of nuclear weapons, we would likely destroy the entire planet.

This led to the need for small, well equipped task forces that could go in to a combat situation quickly, neutralize the enemy, and leave. As the military re-tooled itself there was once again the need to test these new weapons systems and new military tactics. The pressure became so great that we once again manufactured the need to go to war. Something happened in the Gulf of Tonkin that provoked us in to full scale war with Vietnam. Whether or not those two US Destroyers were attacked by the Vietnamese is not certain.

But what is certain is that we learned a lot about how effective the helicopter could be in combat. We also we able to test out this new notion of warfare where we could fly in troops to the combat zone, drop them off, then extract them after the mission was complete whisking them back to the safety of a base.

But a hideous side to the War Paradox creeped up on us during the Vietnam War and this the insatiable desire to make money by War Profiteers. The greed for money became so great during this time period that our desire to win the war actually faded. Instead, what the powers at be wanted was protracted military involvement that would last indeffinately.
We could have won the war in Vietnam if we wanted to but greed got the best of us.

During the 80’s we saw a massive resurgence once again in the development of new military technologies. Amazing pieces of equipment were made such as the Apache Helicopter, Humvee, and M1 Abrams to name a few.

And once again the need to test these technologies before they became obsolete grew so great that it became clear another war was needed.

Saddam Hussein had told the US that he had plans to invade Kuwait which he accused of slant drilling in to his oil fields. The US told Saddam that they didn’t care and would not take action. After all Saddam was sort of our ally. We armed him and gave him money.

Once Saddam invaded Kuwait the US unleashed the full might of its military machine complete with night vision goggles, smart bombs, depleted uranium shells, JDAMs, Apaches, and A-10 Warthogs. We decimated Saddam’s army in short order. Mission Accomplished.

The invasion of Iraq lives a little more recently in our minds. Certainly we were attacked on 9/11 which fueled the public’s appetite for war but we were not attacked by Iraq. Now we are in Iraq with no end in site in part because we did not learn the lessons of Vietnam. For one, the people of an occupied country will always resist occupation. And two, if you allow people to profit madly off of warfare, there will be no incentive to end the war.

So this paradox of war continues on and is a part not only of American History but human history as well. We need weapons to defend ourselves from hostile forces. But once we have the weapons and see their power we realize we can easily conquer other people. We also realize that we need to test these weapons just to see if they are even effective in war. This leads to the manufacturing of war just so we can simply test weapons systems so we can improve upon them in time for the next manufactured war.

It’s truly a Catch 22

Posted by PoliShifter at 03:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

"You mean I don't get the requisite 6 week vacation this year? Can't I make it a working vacation? I promise I'll take the PDB's more seriously this time..."

Via Think Progress from The Houston Chronicle:

The White House is concerned enough about President Bush's job rating and its possible effect on Republican chances in the November elections that word of reduction in vacation time at Crawford next month is being put about.
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"White House officials have decided too much is at stake this year for Bush to spend so much time on vacation," the Associated Press reported.

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Posted by PoliShifter at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Crooks and Liars has the sound: Adam Carolla hangs up on Coulter

Did you all hear Senator Ted Stevens go on his rant about the internet being just a bunch of tubes being clogged up by emails? Well, it's now been made in to a catchy techno-bump song. It takes a few seconds to load but it's worth it.

From Boldheaded.com: DJ Ted Stevens Techno Remix: "A Series of Tubes"

MP3 Audio Link

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

From From Glenn Greenwald's Unlcaimed Terrirtory via Eschaton:

Prominent right-wing blogger today calls for the murder of Supreme Court Justices - the Right fails to condemn it

Posted by Emperor Darth Misha:

"The unelected, black-robed tyrants have a long history of not giving a fig about the Constitution if they don’t like what it says, not to mention a long tradition of usurping the powers of the legislative and executive branch by ruling by judicial fiat.

“Separate but equal” be damned.

So keep that in mind. Should we ever make the mistake of capturing any of the perpetrators of the war crime against PFCs Menchaca and Tucker alive, we can forget about interrogating them in order to catch the rest, according to the Supreme Whores. Well, unless they’re willing to give up information if we ask “pretty please?”, since anything other than that has been deemed illegal by those blackrobed tyrants. Are we exaggerating? Try doing anything to those mutilating darlings of the Supremes in order to extract life-saving intel from them, and then wait for the Supreme Whores to decide that you were “humiliating” them in doing so.

Five ropes, five robes, five trees.

Some assembly required.

Until then, here’s the message to our troops overseas: Shoot to kill, don’t bother taking prisoners. The Supreme Court has decided that they’re actively on the other side, so the only thing we’re likely to get from NOT shooting the koranimal swine is a bill for hosting their stay in Gitmo. Until the Supreme Whores decide that that’s against some penumbra of an emanation of Miss Cleo’s crystal ball as well, that is, at which point they’ll probably decide that we owe the hadjis a few million bucks in compensation as well.

Let me make a few things clear here:

We’re at war. We’re at war with the most inhumane, subhuman enemy we’ve ever faced.

We have two sets of enemies.

We have the ones without, the koranimal butchers that will not hesitate to do to each and every one of us, ourselves, our wives, our husbands, our children, and every single one of our friends what they did to PFCs Menchaca and Tucker and, on top of that, celebrate and ululate about it.

Those are the ones we can easily defeat. They have no chance in Hell against our weaponry, our training and our technology.

And then we have the dangerous ones, the ones within, the ones who will pay no price, shy away from any burden, refuse any hardship, handicap any friend, appease and encourage any foe, in order to assure the death and destruction of liberty, be it by tying both hands of our brave and honorable soldiers behind their backs, making sure that our animal foes never suffer a moment of indignity no matter how many American lives such cuddling will cost, or by exposing and publishing every single classified bit of information they can lay their hands on in order to further the cause of our enemies, the enemies that murdered 3,000 of our countrymen a scant 4 and a half years ago."
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" in order to assure the death and destruction of liberty"...Uh, Bush and his sycophants such as this Misha character have already done that.

Can you say Republican Authoritarian? This is a prime example. Some people such as this person don't deserve to be Americans. But America tolerates varied views and respects freedom of speech and freedom of the press; the very things that allow this wingnut to rage on are the things they are trying to destroy.

Liberty? Freedom? Where's the liberty and freedom in warrantless wire tapping, data mining, and spying on Americans with satelites? Where's the liberty in allowing Bush to violate The Constitution 700 times?

And how can a wingnut consider themselves better than a "koranimal" when they actively lobby for their right to do EXACTLY what "koranimals" do? What's the difference between a "koranimal" and a wingnut? There's very little difference except skin color, political affiliation, and geography. Both are authoritarians, both see violence as the only solution, and both claim relgious beliefs in order to justify their inhumanity.

You are what you hate.

Posted by PoliShifter at 03:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)

After World War 2, researchers undertook large studies aimed at uncovering what personality traits enabled, allowed, and tolerated the rise of fascism and anti-semitism in Germany. The result was "the 1950 study The Authoritarian Personality by Theodor W. Adorno, Else Frenkel-Brunswik, Daniel J. Levinson and R. Nevitt Sanford. Conducted at the University of California at Berkeley" -(Wikipedia).

Researchers used their collected data to create a personality test known as the F Scale that measures a person's authoritarian tendency.

John Dean on Keith Olbermann's show recently said that about 23% of the U.S. population falls under this Authoritarian Personality type. Which is what I think is probably about the right percentrage of true, hardcore Bush sycophantic supporters in this country. If the cap fits...

So what are the traits?

The Authoritarian Personality

excessive conformity
submissiveness to authority
intolerance
insecurity
superstition
ridged, stereotyped thought patterns

Sound familiar?

Wiki has a more detailed list:

Conventionalism -- the tendency to accept and obey social conventions and the rules of authority figures; adherence to the traditional and accepted (think anti-gaymarriage)

Authoritarian Submission -- submission to authorities and authority figures (those that support Bush no matter what he does)

Authoritarian Aggression -- an aggressive attitude towards individuals or groups disliked by authorities; particularly those who threaten traditional values (think the recent attacks on the New York Times and Conservative Bloggers who threatened to hunt down NYT editors)

Anti-Intraception -- rejection of the subjective, imaginative and aesthetic (think about how conservatives feel about art and music)

Substitution and Stereotypy -- superstition, cliché, categorization and fatalistic determinism ("cut and run", "fight'em over there so we don't fight'em over here", "you are with us or with the terrorists", "war on terror")

Power and Toughness -- identification with those in power, excessive emphasis on socially advocated ego qualities (gonna smoke'em out right? Dead or Alive?)

Destructiveness and Cynicism -- general hostility, putting others down (think Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter)

Projectivity -- the tendency to believe in the existence of evil in the world and to project unconscious emotional impulses outward (Bush and his "axis of evil")

Sex -- exaggerated concerns with respect to sexual activity (Think Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly)

So what does all this mean and what are the consequences?

Well, we now have 23% of the population who are willing to kill other Americans in order to defend and protect their belief system. We have neo-nazis infiltrating our military. And we have a government that is becoming ever increasingly more intrusive, more authoritative, and more militarized.

All of this is a recipe for brewing up a vat of Fascism. People always say it can't happen here because "this is America". Well, Germans said the same thing to themselves as they slowly watched the rise of the Third Reich.

Further we have this 23% of the population that is etremely vocal, dominating, threatening, and overlording the rest of America with their views. There is also a large segment of the population who will go along with whomever they perceieve as being the winning side based on their instincts of fear and survival.

The propaganda machine is rumbling along quite confidently. Just flip through the network news (especially Fox) and right wing radio and you will hear continual lie after lie aimed at propagating their authoritarian belief system. These peole know all they need to do is maintain their current followers and intimidate 20% more of the population into letting them do what they want. This is enough control over the population to prevent them from being effectively challenged in any meaningful way.

If it is not stopped the end result is going to be some weird mix of fascism and christian theocracy where science is rejected, our leaders are viewed as being hand picked by God, homosexuals are persecuted, and anyone that questions the authority of The Decider or The State will be branded a traitor. We are so close, dangerously close.

Will the next step be implemented? The next step being the jailing and persecution of those that oppose the Authortarian State? Certainly there are wingnuts out there pushing for this. The question is, will the rest of the population go along with them out of fear and a strong instinct to survive?

Further Reading:

It's Happening Here

"We will not recognize it as it rises. It will wear no black shirts here. It will probably have no marching songs. It will rise out of a congealing of a group of elements that exist here and that are the essential components of Fascism.... "

How Conservatives Have Become Authoritarians and What it Means

Posted by PoliShifter at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)

In a previous post I discussed how 2006 will be the year of the Cut & Run.

Media Matters Reports:

Continuing a pattern in the media of uncritically repeating Republican attacks on Democrats over the Iraq war and national security and simply adopting GOP talking points characterizing the actions of Democrats, Fox News' Carl Cameron asserted that being "the anti-war party" puts Democrats in "a very tenuous position" and leaves the party open to "Republican criticism that they're a bunch of cut-and-runners."

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Carl Cameron: Well, obviously, the Republicans believe they're wrong on the -- that they're right on the war and that they're strong. Democrats now put themselves in a very vulnerable position because, by definition, they are beating up on Joe Lieberman for taking a tough and strong national security position. That makes them look weak. And in a war-time election, the Democratic Party has to ask themselves if they really want to make an example of a guy who has been a Democratic senator for three terms, been endorsed by virtually every major Democratic interest group there is, whether it's labor or abortion rights -- just, the list is almost complete -- and yet, you see him in this very tough primary. Lieberman leads, but Lamont's gaining, and it's essentially because of this Iraq position. The Democratic Party, if it's to be the anti-war party and leave nothing open to discussion, puts itself in a very tenuous position and opens itself to the Republican criticism that they're a bunch of cut-and-runners.


Read the full transcript and watch the video at Media Matters


Nice to see Fox News shilling for Lieberman...just drives home the obvious even more...

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We continually hear from various politicians, pundits, and journalists that we are "turing the corner" in Iraq; as if Iraq was just some large city block that we are traveling along until we see it is time to turn and view a whole new side of the block.

Thomas Friedman has gained notoriety as of late for continually preaching the turning the corner mantra in regards to Iraq. In fact, in the blogosphere, a time period of 6 months has become known as one Friedman because about every six months Freidman comes out and says the next 6 months will be critical in how the occupation of Iraq turns out. This has been going on for nearly 7 Friedmans now.

I am not sure how it works but apparently the Friendman comes out of his hole about every six months. If he sees his shadow then the next 6 months (the next Friedman) will determine the course of the occupation of Iraq. If he doesn't see his shadow then the previous Friedman hasn't finished playing out and so it is too early to say if the next Friedman will really determine the outcome of Iraq or if we will just be turning another corner. Sound confusing? Well, that's because it is.

You see, when you take a Sovereign Nation such as Iraq that you invaded and now occupy, then reduce it to a city block that simply needs to be circumnavigated in order to define success, all you have done is insult Iraqis.

The problem comes from the view that if you spend enough time (i.e. enough Friedmans) simply turing corners that somhow this will make things get better in Iraq in the long run. As we have wintessed over the past three years this is simply not true.

In fact, if you keep turning corners for the total of 4 Friedmans all you have really done is end up where you started. Only the point from which you started has deteriorated even more so than when you started due to the effects of time and distance.

So what's the problem here? Well for one, viewing Iraq like a city block that one simply needs to turn corners on in order to succeed has proven to be naive. You can't keep going on without making changes to your policy and expect that each turn of the corner is going to somehow spontaneously create a different result. Indeed, the policy of the Bush Administration has been to rely on time to solve all of their problems; as if they only put in enough Friedman's they will finally get their just due. The Bush Administration has treated Iraq like some sort of job; they feel if they spend enough time on it that sooner or later they'll get a promotion.

The main problem with the Bush Administrations policies toward Iraq is that they insist on "staying the course" . They don't change what we are doing even when it has become clear that what they are doing is simply not working. They continue to view Iraq as one large city block. They seem to think that because each turn of the corner offers a slightly different scene that somehow they are making progress.

Iraq isn't a large city block, it's a Soveriegn Nation. And we aren't turning corners or Friedmans in Iraq; we are simply going round and round. We're not turing the corner in Iraq, we are turing the arc. We keep going around this cirlce of death expecting a different result. And that is just pure insantiy.

As Franklin and/or Einstein said:

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. "

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By Dave

“If you don’t support the President, you are helping the terrorists and endangering America”. Well that’s just bull shit. As illogical as it is, many Americans still believe it. They give The Decider their unquestioning loyalty and a blank check to do whatever he thinks is appropriate. No matter how much he lies, deceives, and assaults our civil rights, they will stick by that irresponsible code of loyalty. These citizens have abdicated their responsibility to hold their government accountable.

“I support the troops, but I’m against the war in Iraq.”

Before I begin my rant, I want to be clear that the last thing I want is to go back to the stereotyping of soldiers as “babykillers”. I did not serve in Vietnam, but returned from overseas in 1970 to receive the abuse. It was like I had a brand on my forehead. I know that the vast majority of soldiers serving in Iraq, as was true in Vietnam, are honorable, compassionate, decent human beings doing a tough job.

Still, there has been an increase in coverage of incidents involving inappropriate or illegal behavior by soldiers in Iraq. On the high end of the scale of atrocities is a psychopath who raped and murdered innocent Iraqis. On the low end are the soldiers that are “culturally insensitive” when kicking down doors, walking across a families evening dinner, or throwing an old man to the ground and breaking his arm.

One of my fears at this stage of this illegal war is that in our well placed concern for the welfare of the troops we are not vigilant in our monitoring what is going on in the ranks. I hear that lowered recruiting standards have allowed lowlife racists organizations to infiltrate infantry units. Racist graffiti is showing up on walls in Baghdad. I hear that some soldier’s conduct in Iraq is creating insurgents. Forty-five percent of some infantry units are asking for mental health counseling. What are the suicide rates in units stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan? What mental health services are available to soldiers between deployments and after discharge?

I am afraid that as this quagmire drags on and recruiting quotas are not met, the current high standards required of recruits is slipping. Less physically, psychologically, and emotionally qualified soldiers are being enlisted. The morale of the most modern and professional military in the world is eroding. In the future drug abuse, PTSD, depression, and suicide rates will increase. As frustration with a continued loss of troops by EID and suicide bombers increases, the distinction between ”the enemy” and Iraqis at large will blur. The standards for appropriate force and action that is acceptable for self preservation will erode.

How does the “Cakewalk”, “Mission Accomplished”, “Bring-em-on” administration plan to deal with this decompensation of the military? Will they confront the problems head on, or deny, lie, and hide them? How will the cow-towed media deal with it? Will they follow the mandate of the free press or will they shrink from Rove accusations of treason. Most important, how will the American public continue to honor our true heroes while condemning the repulsive actions of the sick and misguided fringe?

I support the troops by giving up my place in line at the supermarket to the guy in BDUs. I support our troops by writing my senators and representatives demanding restoration of funding for the Veteran’s Administration budgets cut under the Bush Administration. I support the troops by speaking out about the lack of proper equipment for soldiers to do their job. I support them by speaking out about the poor planning that resulted in the death and maiming of hundreds of thousands of Americans and Iraqis. I support them by demanding the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

I also support the troops by demanding that the Secretary of Defense confront the failures and maintain the high standards of professionalism of the men and women in the military.

I will not be intimidated by those who will call me a terrorist lover or accuse me of not supporting the troops when I demand the Code of Conduct be enforced in every level of military ranks.

Posted by PoliShifter at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

Who ever is the biggest cut & runner political party in 2006 will win the election.

There's one caveat however...You have to be THE BIGGEST cut & runner political party AND denounce the OTHER political party for being nothing but cut & runners.

From Zeenews.com:

US to hand over security of half Iraqi provinces this year

Washington, July 08: The United States plans to transfer control of security to Iraqis in half the country`s 18 provinces by the end of the year, a senior US military official said.

Brigadier General Kurt Chichowski said yesterday that coalition forces would remain in an "overwatch" role in case of trouble, and as trainers, but that responsibility for security would be turned over to Iraqis under detailed agreements with the new Iraqi government.

"I will tell you, it is our hope that approximately half of the provinces by the end of the year will have done this security transfer," he said in a videoconference from Iraq.

The first province to be turned over to the Iraqis will be Muthana in south-central Iraq, which will occur in the "very, very near future," he said.

Chichowski would not say which other provinces are in line for transfer, or how long the US military expects it will take to turn over all 18 provinces to Iraqis.

Likewise, he would not say whether the handovers will lead to a reduction in the 127,000-strong us force in Iraq.

"And while we have a road map for those kinds of things and we actually have projections, to associate to a direct timeline would be disingenuous," he said.

The General said that the 1,400 coalition troops in Muthana will move out of the cities and "into what we call an overwatch, or at least a reinforcing position, to be there in case -- as conditions require and the prime minister asks."

Bureau Report

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We all know how the wingnuts went crazy over the so-called "leak" of the SWIFT banking program. This really wasn't a leak to begin with since SWIFT has its own website swift.com which includes a very helpful FAQ. Also, Bush had already many years ago let it be known that we were going to track the finances of terrorists.

Thus it seems that there is a double standard when it comes to leaks. After all, the Bush Administration has been leaking like a seive when it comes to information that may benefit them politically such as the outing of CIA Operative Valerie Plame, the leak that allowed al-Qaeda suspects to escape, or the leak of General Casey's troop reduction plan.

Tony Snow must click his heels every day he goes to work and ask:

"are you a good leak or a bad leak"?

I mean, doesn't it make sense to keep this quiet so we can smoke out even more terrists? Now our cover is blown. Any ties to Al Qaeda or other Jihadists groups are lost.

Further, how is this leak in the public's best interest? Wouldn't it be better for society to remain ignorant of such plots and schemes? Couldn't knowledge of such things being made public threaten our social stability? Isn't it then un-patriotic to leak such information?

So why was it leaked? Well, this gives Bush a feather in his cap to wag at any intrepid reporters who dare ask him questions:

"We got them terrists who were gonna blow up NYC...It's my job to protect you and that's what I'm doing"

You know what would have been real damage done by a leak? If the NYT leaked the super duper ubber double dog dare secret Bush domestic spying program during the '04 election. But they didn't. They sat on the story for a year. Why? Because they didn't want to unduly affect the election.

Now that is putting country first. So the next time you wingnuts call someone un-patriotic, look in the mirror.

Would a wingnut sit on a story for a year if they knew it could influence the result of an election AGAINST a Democrat? I don't think so. Wingnuts have no values except self-interest.

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A Redux Post from June 17th 2006 originally published on my other pissed on politics blog before the change over

On Thursday's episode of the Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert, Stephen did another installment of formidable opponent where he debates himself. The topic: Gitmo.

It's a must see! Here is a link to the video at Comedy Central...click on the "enter now" at the middle of the page after the link opens. You have to watch a 30 second commercial but it's worth it.

Here is a transcript prepared by me, PoliShifter. Enjoy!

For those of you who don't know, Formidable Opponent is a regular installment on the Colbert Report where Stephen debates a controvertial topic with himself.

In this episode, Stephen is wearing a Blue Tie (BT) while the other Stephen is wearing a Red Tie (RT).

Colbert (RT): Now, I understand how important it is to keep our country safe from terrorists Stephen and no one believes in locking up the bad guys more than I do. But holding men without trial, isn't that un-American?

Colbert (BT): Evidently not...

Colbert (RT): Well, isn't America supposed to be the number one defender of human rights? These men are being kept under terrible conditions...

Colbert (BT): Terrible conditions? Gitmo's in the Carribean! It's like Club Med!

Colbert (RT): Where you're kept in a tiny cell, you're told what to do all day, and if you don't eat your're force fed!

Colbert (BT): Ok, it's more like a cruise ship...

Colbert (RT): Well, isn't this prison losing us the hearts and minds of the Arab street?

Colbert (BT): You're right! We'll close it...

Colbert (RT): Really?

Colbert (BT): Sure! We'll just ship them off to our secret prisons in Eastern Europe...

Colbert (RT): No, you're missing the point! America is supposed to be a beacon of freedom in the world! We need to either charge these guys and give them their fair trials and let them go...

Colbert (BT): We can't give these terrorists trials, we don't have any evidence...

Colbert (RT): Then how do you know their terrorists?

Colbert (BT): How do you know they're not? I mean 460 arabs arrested in Afghanistan and Iraq, some of them gotta be terrorists...

Colbert (RT): Well that's blatant racial profiling!

Colbert (BT): You're just talking like a whitey...

Colbert (RT): Now but, what about the guys who are innocent?

Colbert (BT): What about'em?

Colbert (RT): We can't keep innocent people there forever!

Colbert (BT): Well if they're really innocent, they won't mind being locked up

Colbert (RT): Na, I don't...how so?

Colbert (BT): Ok, let's say you're an inmate at Gitmo...

Colbert (RT): Oh No! No! Wha, what have I done? Am I a terrorist?

Colbert (BT): No, you're perfectly innocent...

Colbert (RT): Whoo! I was pretty sure I wasn't a terrorist... Wait a minute! I'm an innocent man at Gitmo! I demand to see my lawyer! Clangity Clankity Clang!

Colbert (BT): Ooooh can't do that! We've kept you here for four years, you drink yellow water, it's possible the guards humiliate you and your religion, and maybe(keep it on the QT), you've been tortured. If you're found innocent, how will we look then?

Colbert (RT): But I have the right to an attorney, it's one of the fundamental rights of this country!

Colbert (BT): Uh, by "this country" do you mean Cuba? Because uh, that's where you are...

Colbert (RT): Ok then under the Geneva Convention...

Colbert (BT): Ba Ah Ah Ah! You're not really a prisoner of war...

Colbert (RT): Well, what am I?

Colbert (BT): Well, I think you're a terrorist

Colbert (RT): You do?

Colbert (BT): Well you are in Gitmo

Colbert (RT): But you just said I was innocent!

Colbert (BT): You were innocent...four years ago. This place has changed you. I mean, all that time you've been kept in a cage without trial, aren't you a little angry?

Colbert (RT): Damn right! I am furious!

Colbert (BT): What would you do if you could get a hold of me?

Colbert (RT): I'd fucking kill you! Oh no!

Colbert (BT): see?

Colbert (RT): Oh my God! You can't let me go! You have to keep me in here to prevent me from hurting innocent people like me!

Colbert (BT): Yep, you're a good man!

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This is absolutely outrageous. Why aren't the wingnuts up in arms about what Bush said? I mean, that man who is supposed to protect them doesn't even know that North Korea is building more nukular weapons!

All that talk about smokin' em out, axis of evil, Iran building nukes, and Saddam having nukes; all this constant barrage of propaganda about how we under constant threat of another attack by terrists and Bush completely drops the ball on the biggest threat facing America.

The only threat larger than North Korea right now is the incompetence of George W Bush.

From Friday's Press Conference:

Suzanne.

Q Mr. President, if I could follow up, you say diplomacy takes time --

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, it does.

Q -- but it was four years ago that you labeled North Korea a member of the "axis of evil." And since then it's increased its nuclear arsenal, it's abandoned six-party talks and now these missile launches --

THE PRESIDENT: Let me ask you a question. It's increased it's -- that's an interesting statement: "North Korea has increased its nuclear arsenal." Can you verify that?

Q Well, intelligence sources say -- if you can -- if you'd like to dispute that, that's fine.

THE PRESIDENT: No, I'm not going to dispute, I'm just curious.

Q Our intelligence sources say that it's increased the number -- its nuclear capability --

THE PRESIDENT: -- dangerous -- it has potential danger.

Q It's increased is nuclear capabilities. It's abandoned six-party talks, and it's launched these missiles.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q Why shouldn't Americans see the U.S. policy regarding North Korea as a failed one?

THE PRESIDENT: Because it takes time to get things done.

Q What objective has the U.S. government achieved when it comes to North Korea? And why does the administration continue to go back to the same platform process if it's not effective in changing North Korea's behavior? Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Suzanne, these problems didn't arise overnight, and they don't get solved overnight. It takes a while. Again, I think if you look at the history of the North Korean weapons program, it started probably in the '80s. We don't know -- maybe you know more than I do -- about increasing the number of nuclear weapons. My view is we ought to treat North Korea as a danger, take them seriously. No question that he has signed agreements and didn't stick by them. But that was done during -- when we had bilateral negotiations with him, and it's done during the six-party talks.

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Bush is a whiny little bitch. Someone needs to kick the crap out of him, preferably his dad.

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It's been weeks since Wayne Madsen reported:

Mayflower Hotel sources in Washington, DC have gone from "neither confirm nor deny" the presence of Laura Bush there last week to conceding that if she stayed there "she would have been registered under a different name." This is standard procedure when the Secret Service wants to cover the presence of a VIP, especially the First Lady whose presence at the hotel last week was bound to fuel speculation about her rocky relationship with George W. Bush.

The Mayflower Hotel is owned by Marriott Corporation and insiders report that the corporate headquarters has warned against anyone talking about the presence last week of the First Lady. Longtime employees are definitely "afraid to talk about this Mrs. Bush thing," said one source.

From a State Department source, WMR has learned that there is definitely "something to the Bush-Rice" relationship. "They definitely have something going on between them," said the source speaking on strict anonymity.

Previously Wayne had reported:

Mayflower, however, her security detail has been present at the hotel during hours when the First Lady would normally be residing in the White House.

While she was National Security Adviser, Rice, who has never been married, referred to George W. Bush as “my husband” before she corrected herself and said, “President. Bush” Rice was speaking at a dinner hosted by New York Times bureau chief Philip Taubman when she made her “husband” remarks.

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I was sort of hoping the Republicans in Congress would call up Kenneth Starr and have him start another $80 million investigation into a President's sex life. I was looking forward to Linda Tripp perhaps having lunch with Condi Rice in order to tape her most intimate conversations about Sex with George.

Does George like cigars too? Does Condi have any stained skirt suits?

What is George's definition of an affair? I was looking forward to getting to all these National Security issues just as we did when Clinton was President.

But alas, it seems our do-nothing Congress doesn't care if Bush is banging Condi or if Laura Pickles Bush is having a lesbian affair.

No, our Republican dominated Congress is way too focused on making sure the Voting Rights Act is not renewed, NOT increasing minimum wage, keep our troops in Iraq indefinately, and making sure their corporate cronies keep getting billions of tax payer dollars in contracts.

I mean, after all, shouldn't a President's sex life remain a private matter? Does it really affect National Security that much if George bangs Condi once in a while? I'd rather have them banging each other than dropping bombs on Iran. I say we send them some levitra.

Hell, why not go three-way and have Laura join in? If we can keep them occupied then maybe we won't invade and occupy any other sovereign nations based on faulty intelligence.

George Bush Having an Affair with Condi Rice....QUICK RIGHTWINGERS, IMPEACH HIM!!

How can the Christian GOP stand for this? Isn't this a slap in the face of the sacred institution of marriage? Someone find Kenneth Starr and start an investigation! There's bound to be a few stained dresses, cigars,and bottles of Jm Beam around some where!

Wayne Madsen reports:

June 1, 2006 -- Rocky shoals for Bush marriage? Informed sources Inside the Beltway report that First Lady Laura Bush has established temporary residence in the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC as a result of a tiff with President Bush over an extramarital relationship involving her husband. Mr. Bush's tryst is said to involve Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

It is not known how long Mrs. Bush plans to remain at the Mayflower, however, her security detail has been present at the hotel during hours when the First Lady would normally be residing in the White House. While she was National Security Adviser, Rice, who has never been married, referred to George W. Bush as "my husband" before she corrected herself and said, "the president." Rice was speaking at a dinner when she made her "husband" remarks.

Would Bush Affair with Rice Be Impeachable Offense?

Did Quixtar-backed Bush have affair with Rice? And how did Amway-backed Blackwell play role in rigging Bush re-election in Ohio?

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

This is actually quite sickeing to me. Several Senate Democrats are rushing to Leiberman's aid, namely Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware, Barbara Boxer of California and Ken Salazar of Colorado. They are going to campaign for Ol' Joe.

Meanwhile the DNC is apparently fretting over a ticket-split in Connecticut thereby "handing" the election to the Republicans. The DNC appears also to be worried about having to pump money into Lieberman's Campaign.

Here's the deal. Lieberman will split the ticket and hand his seat to Republicans ONLY if the DNC allows it. How?

If certain Democratic Senators decide to back Lieberman and if the DNC decides to pump money in to Lieberman's campaign then it keeps Lieberman a viable candidate thereby splitting the ticket.

Note to DNC: DUMP LIEBERMAN! The memo should go out ASAP from Howard Dean that Joe is no longer considered a Democrat. Absolutely no Democratic Politicians should support Joe and Joe should NOT receive any DNC money. That money should go to Lamont. You do that and the ticket is not split and Lamont wins.

Let Lieberman run as an O'Reilly Indenpent if he wants. Let him use his own money. Let him cater to Republican voters. Split the ticket between the Republican candidates and Joe, NOT Joe and Lamont.

Do this and Lamont will win.

I personally feel that Biden, Boxer, and Salazar are taking a tremendous risk. The People are tired of the occupation of Iraq, they are tired of Bush's policies, and they are tired of the corruption. Throwing one's support behind Bush's Favorite Democrat could come back to haunt them in the near future.

From The Washington Post:

WASHINGTON -- Embattled Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman is getting a little help from his Senate friends as he tries to fend off an anti-Iraq war challenger in an intraparty fight.

Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware, Barbara Boxer of California and Ken Salazar of Colorado plan to campaign in Connecticut for Lieberman between now and the Aug. 8 primary. Their goal is to reassure the party faithful of the three-term senator's loyalty to Democratic causes, including women's issues, labor and the environment.

"It will be a reminder to voters of the work he's done on progressive issues," Lieberman spokeswoman Marion Steinfels said Wednesday. "Some of his colleagues wanted to come here and campaign for him on issues that matter to him and them."

The rush of support from his Senate colleagues comes two days after Lieberman, the party's 2000 vice presidential nominee, surprised Democrats by announcing that he would start collecting signatures for an independent campaign if he loses the primary.

Lieberman's staunch support for the Iraq war has helped fuel a challenge from Ned Lamont, a wealthy Greenwich, Conn., businessman and political newcomer.

Lamont backers scoffed at the notion that senators campaigning in Connecticut for Lieberman would have an impact.

"I'm not sure, in a year where people are fed up with Washington, having a bunch of Washington politicians travel the state for Joe Lieberman will help at all," said Lamont campaign manager Tom Swan. "It would only reinforce the idea that Joe is more about Washington than Connecticut."

Lieberman's move toward an independent bid put national party leaders in a bind. Many support Lieberman personally, but they also are eager to tap the anti-war sentiments of many liberals in hopes of recapturing Congress this fall.

Democrats fear Lieberman and Lamont could split the November vote and hand the Republicans a Senate seat in a three-way runoff. Party officials also did not anticipate having to devote scarce campaign resources to Lieberman in reliably Democratic Connecticut.

Continue Reading:

This is really a no fucking brainer. DUMP JOE! If the DNC and Senate Democrats fuck this up it will be their fault. They will be demonstrating once again that Democrats just don't know how to win elections.

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When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

- From The Declaration of Indenpendence July 4th, 1776

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Iraqis gather around the site where a car bomb exploded in a busy market in Baghdad's poor Sadr City neighborhood. At least 66 people have been killed when a car bomb hit a Baghdad Shiite neighbourhood, ripping through a massive security crackdown in the Iraqi capital in the second deadliest attack this year.(AFP/Ali Al Saadi)

Car bombing in Baghdad market kills 66

By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 33 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A parked car bomb exploded at a popular outdoor market Saturday in a Shiite slum in Baghdad, killing at least 66 people and wounding dozens, authorities said. It was the bloodiest attack to hit Iraq since the death of terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

The blast, which occurred around 10 a.m. when the Sadr City market was packed with shoppers, destroyed the stalls where food and clothes are peddled and sent up a plume of gray smoke. Flames shot out the windows of several scorched cars.

Ambulances rushed to the scene and carried the victims to hospitals, where men cradled crying babies as doctors bandaged them. Rasoul Zaboun, an official from the Imam Ali Hospital in Sadr City, said 66 people were killed and 87 wounded.

Continue Reading

Residents gather at the scene of a car bomb attack at a market, which killed 60 people and wounded 80 others, in Baghdad's Sadr City district July 1, 2006. (Kareem Raheem/Reuters)

Iraqis inspect the site where a car bomb exploded in a busy market in Baghdad's poor Sadr City neighborhood. At least 66 people have been killed when a car bomb hit a Baghdad Shiite neighbourhood, ripping through a massive security crackdown in the Iraqi capital in the second deadliest attack this year.(AFP/Ali Al Saadi)

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