"strategy of eternal baseless war for corporate profit and greed is bad"

[understandinglife]

By the time every Democratic member of the House and Senate return from their holiday recess, they should be quoting, for the record, these words -- from a true leader of the free world -- Cindy Sheehan.

I posted a thread late Saturday evening entitled We each know what we must do. It cannot be more obvious. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4424222

Earlier in the week I had posted My fellow Americans -- 'We The People .... Have No Clothes'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4385436

We know we have been deceived, but I detect aversion to a robust purge, not just of the Bush neoconster regime, but of those who continue to enable them, irrespective of what their political affiliation happens to be.

Bush has now sunk lower in the polls than Nixon a la Watergate. But, we have yet to see what we should have been seeing from the entire Democratic membership of the Senate and HR since at least at the time of the publication of the Downing Street Minutes. Without the actions of a few courageous members of the House, led by Congressman Conyers, essentially nothing would have happened.

However, certain events make it clear that, in_deed, it is the power of the committed individual that still matters most. Paul Hackett, Sibel Edmonds, Kristen Breitweiser and others prove it, everyday.

And, then we have Cindy Sheehan.

Today, David Swanson and Cindy Sheehan present two views of why we can no longer wait to purge Bush and Cheney and the neoconsters.

The views are based on facts, unassailable facts of past deceptions and crimes, and ongoing deceptions (did you listen to Bush, today) and crimes.

The Washington Post on Sunday wondered out loud whether Cindy Sheehan might be a "catalyst for a muscular antiwar movement." In translation, this is an assertion that Cindy Sheehan has already become an accepted reason for the corporate media to finally acknowledge the existence of, and consequently help to build, the antiwar movement. There has, of course, been a major anti-war movement longer than there has been a war. And Cindy Sheehan has been speaking eloquently at anti-war events for many months. What has changed is primarily the media.

<clip>

And this way of thinking has been accepted thoughtlessly by most Democrats in Congress. While 58 percent of Democrats favor impeachment (Zogby), most progressive Democratic congress members are afraid of the idea. They and their staff members recite the same mantra endlessly: "That would allow the Republicans to attack us." If you don't believe me, call up your congress member. Even call up some of the most progressive members of congress just for kicks. Ask them why in the world they haven't introduced articles of impeachment. They will say the following words: "That would allow the Republicans to attack us." But what could be better for a Democrat than to be attacked by Republicans over this war? This war is going to drag its supporters down, and any remaining faith in our governmental system along with them, unless an anti-war party develops.

Democrats say they can't attempt things because they are in the minority. But if they do not attempt things that people want, they will stay in the minority.

The case for impeachment is overwhelming. The evidence is compiled at www.afterdowningstreet.org The congress member who speaks up first will be the hero of a muscular anti-war movement.

From Sheehan Breakthroughs, Unbridgeable Divides, and Taboos Unbroken by David Swanson on August 22, 2005

Link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-swanson/sheehan-breakthroughs-un_b_6015.html

And, Cindy Sheehan has shown every Democrat exactly how to emerge from being a minority.

She demonstrates exactly what Democratic members of Congress and their staffs should be doing and saying every time a Republican attacks.

The second reason this command from the self-righteous right offends me is that I believe that what I am doing is for my children, and the world's children. I think that the strategy of eternal baseless war for corporate profit and greed is bad for all of our children: born and unborn. We heard a few weeks ago that Rummy said that we would be in Iraq for at least a dozen more years, and we recently heard over the weekend that the military is planning for four more years of this occupation, at least. If Rummy is correct, then Soccer Safety Mom Susie's kindergartener will be fighting and dying in the harsh sands of the Middle East and if the military is correct than NASCAR Dad Nick's middle-schooler should start boot camp now. I hate to be the one to break it to America, but constant war is not a positive family value and this administration's policies are not making us more secure.

We as mothers need to stop buying into the load of misogynistic crap that our children need our constant presence in their lives so they can thrive and grow. What we need as families are strong support systems that allow each family member to grow and achieve his/her full potential as human beings. What we as Moms need to stop doing is giving our children to the military industrial war complex to be used as human cluster bombs: to kill innocent civilians and to perhaps die enriching and feeding the gluttonous war machine.

It is up to us Moms to make sure our children are whole and safe. We can start doing this by always opposing the wars that bury our kids before us. So what I am saying to the people who want me to go home and take care of my kids: I AM taking care of my kids, and yours, too.

From Go Home and Take Care of Your Kids by Cindy Sheehan on August 22, 2005

Link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cindy-sheehan/go-home-and-take-care-of-_b_6039.html

Time for 10s of millions of Americans to bring corporate america to a halt until Bush and Cheney resign.

Time for the era of american empire to be replaced by our American Republic.

Time for all Democratic members of Congress to demand Bush and Cheney's resignation and back it up with filing articles of impeachment.

Cindy Sheehan said it first "I hate to be the one to break it to America, but constant war is not a positive family value and this administration's policies are not making us more secure." All they need to do is quote it for the record.

How long are they going to stay on the sidelines and watch Cindy Sheehan take all the heat for speaking truth to the liars, murderers and torturers of the Bush regime?


Peace.

[whistle]

1. It will be the one hundred and fifty years war which began in 1939

...and will continue through 2089.

[understandinglife]

2. "He Can't Hide in Crawford, He Can't Hide in Washington"

While Bush tries to hide at his ranch in Crawford for five weeks, pretending world opinion isn't against him, reality is bearing down. And when he returns to the White House, that reality will appear in front of him in a massive display on the streets. His advisors have said that he won't meet with Cindy Sheehan (who rode to Crawford in a bus emblazoned with "Impeachment") because, according to the Washington Post, "he does not care to meet with protesters or to reward them." The fact is, he and his administration can't hide. The tide of opposition is overwhelming them, along with their arrogant plans for conquest abroad and destruction of civil rights at home.

ImpeachBush and VotetoImpeach members are organizing contingents from around the country to be at the White House on September 24 to join in the huge antiwar protest and march. We have learned that the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, which is organizing the antiwar protest at the White House, has obtained permits to rally on both sides of the White House and has secured the first march permit in years to go on Pennsylvania Avenue directly in front of the White House! If you haven't made your transportation arrangements yet, you can go the national transportation page set up by A.N.S.W.E.R. (with whom we're coordinating transportation):

http://answer.pephost.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ANS_S24_transportation&JServSessionIdr006=qy65shjwi1.app2a

to get your bus tickets or find out about cars and vans coming from your area. You can easily buy NY to DC tickets online:

http://www.antiwarstore.org/resources/page5.html

and if you are already organizing transportation, you can list it on the national board. Let's make the Impeachment call resound throughout Washington.

http://impeachbush.pephost.org/site/News2?abbr=VTI_&page=NewsArticle&id=6315

Peace.

[understandinglife]

3. "This is the question I have for my fellow Christians who support the Bush

... administration: how long will the support for this administration continue in light of their increasing betrayal of the core commitments of Jesus? What will it take to demand either that they stop wrapping themselves in the mantle of Christian faith or that they begin to live up to the obligations that attend that mantle? Almost daily, I find myself speechless at the audacity of this administration and the deafening silence of so many Christian leaders.

Consider:

We now know this president had contemplated the benefits of being a “war president” even prior to his election and that he and members of his administration were moving toward war with Iraq from even before 9/11.

In spite of the evidence, they continue to claim there was a link between 9/11 and Iraq.

We now know the intelligence regarding Iraqi WMDs was wrong and that this should have been known at the time.

<clip>

For the entire list and more insights by Chuck Gutenson in What Would It Take? on August 22, 2005:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chuck-gutenson/what-would-it-take_b_6038.html

Most important insight of all is the sentence in Mr Gutenson's closing paragraph, "My guess is that the answer is just this: as long as this administration talks up its opposition to abortion and homosexuality, they can do whatever else they please."

I hope more and more Christians will rally with Mr Gutenson as a result of meditating on -- "I wonder if the support of this administration has not shined a light deep into our being and revealed our own bankruptcy. Do we even have the will to see it and to repent?"

Yes, my fellow Americans ... we have no clothes.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

4. "It was the sophisticates of the establishment who bought every bit of ..

... snake oil the administration was selling."

We are the ones who pointed out the fact that Bush's delusional PNAC/TeamB/CPD braintrust had been wrong about everything since the dawn of time and were the last people who should be trusted with a pre-emptive war doctrine. We're the ones who noticed that you didn't have to be a nuclear scientist to see that the "evidence" of Saddam's arsenal had a bit of a comic book flair to it. (The drone planes should have been a tip-off.) We're the ones who understood that people tend to not like being invaded by foreign troops even when they despise their own leaders.

<clip>

I don't know if I represent the zeitgeist of the rank and file, but I do know that I and others of "the left" who saw this debacle for what it was have earned a little fucking respect.

From Credibility Gap by Digby on August 22, 2005

More at the link:

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2005_08_21_digbysblog_archive.html#112473063876905185

Clearly earned.


Peace.

[Karenina]

17. I do so wish I'd saved the "drone" pix...

Balsa and duct tape beauties they were. And the tubes buried in the rosebushes... :eyes:

[understandinglife]

20. Ask and you shall receive ...

Deadly drone is a prototype: "Held together with tin foil and duct tape"

Link:

http://www.unknownnews.net/attackofthedrones.html#0313


Peace.

[understandinglife]

5. Congressman Conyers: The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan and 2000 Letters

... for Cindy

Frank Rich wrote another good New York Times Op-Ed piece yesterday, The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan.

Rich writes critically of the Administration's history of making personal attacks against their critics to distract attention from their foreign policy failures.

He chronicles these attacks against war heroes such as John McCain, Max Cleland, and John Kerry as well as those well-positioned to offer enlightened criticism like Richard Clarke, Specialist Thomas Wilson, and Ambassador Joseph Wilson.

Considering the White House has consistently used smear campaigns which we eventually learn have no basis in fact, it is disturbing that these falsehoods are so willingly parroted by the White House press corps.

More at the link:

http://www.conyersblog.us/archives/00000212.htm

Congressman Conyers continues to lead.

It is not difficult to imagine him as President of the United States of America.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

6. Yahoo: "Edwards signals shift against war"

For John Edwards, who voted as a senator to support the invasion of Iraq, his wife's outreach to subscribers of their One America Committee Web site bears a distinct anti-war voice that could augur a new tack for Edwards as he prepares for a potential run for president in 2008.

"The president says he knows enough, doesn't need to hear from Casey's mother, doesn't need to assure her that Casey's is not one small death in a long and seemingly never-ending drip of deaths, that there is a plan here that will bring our sons and daughters home," Elizabeth Edwards wrote in her e-mail last week. "He claims he understands how some people feel about the deaths in Iraq. The president is wrong."

The Edwardses left questions about the e-mail to spokeswoman Kim Rubey, who said, "When Elizabeth read about Cindy Sheehan and her son, she immediately felt a strong personal connection."

Rob Tully, a Des Moines lawyer who campaigned for John Edwards in 2004, suggests that Elizabeth Edwards' battle with cancer since the election has given her an added perspective. "She has gone through her own life-threatening experience, and that is life-changing," Tully said.

Link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/chitribts/20050822/ts_chicagotrib/edwardssignalsshiftagainstwar&printer=1;_ylt=Am51i3MGOC6NMq440vWf4k_qbr8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

It was an honorable and courageous act for Elizabeth Edwards to write and send her letter and I am grateful she did it.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

7. Yahoo: "They also took note of the strong showing of Democrat Paul Hackett

The internal schism has become all the more evident in recent weeks even as Americans have soured on Bush and the war in poll after poll. Senate Democrats, according to aides, convened a private meeting in late June to develop a cohesive stance on the war and debated every option -- only to break up with no consensus.

The rejuvenation of the antiwar movement in recent days after the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq set up camp near Bush's Texas ranch has exposed the rift even further.

Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) broke with his party leadership last week to become the first senator to call for all troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by a specific deadline. Feingold proposed Dec. 31, 2006. In delivering the Democrats' weekly radio address yesterday, former senator Max Cleland (Ga.), a war hero who lost three limbs in Vietnam, declared that "it's time for a strategy to win in Iraq or a strategy to get out."

Although critical of Bush, the party's establishment figures -- including Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) -- all reject the Feingold approach, ....

<clip>

More at the link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/washpost/20050822/pl_washpost/democrats_split_over_position_on_iraq_war

The fact that every single Democratic member of the Senate and House of Representatives have not condemned Bush for his illegal war and demanded his immediate resignation for all the crimes his administration has committed is the real problem and it only got hightlighted, in the most disgustingly ironic manner, by Hagel's truthful statements.

It is indeed a cruel, horrible irony that Cindy Sheehan can take all the crap the right wing neoconster crime machine can dish and she responds with:

"I think that the strategy of eternal baseless war for corporate profit and greed is bad for all of our children: born and unborn."

And with:

What we as Moms need to stop doing is giving our children to the military industrial war complex to be used as human cluster bombs: to kill innocent civilians and to perhaps die enriching and feeding the gluttonous war machine.

Why are we not hearing those words from Reid, Biden, Clinton, Kerry, Feinstein, Lieberman, ............... WHY?


Peace.

[understandinglife]

8. "Now he tells us this?"

The Bush Administration is amassing a nice little group of folks who say the right things about two years too late. But the truly poignant part of this piece comes near the end:

The editor in chief of Military Review, Col. William M. Darley, said in an e-mail message that the essay was part of a series initiated by Lt. Gen. William Wallace, commander of the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where the journal is published. General Wallace asked that the journal focus on lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan, Colonel Darley wrote.

Lessons learned--we seem to have heard that phrase before. Didn't we learn the lessons of Vietnam? Weren't they encapsulated in the Powell Doctrine? Haven't we violated that doctrine top to bottom? Can we learn these lessons again before I stop hitting the question mark button?

From Let's Have a Plan, People by Harry Shearer on August 22, 2005

Link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-shearer/lets-have-a-plan-people_b_6052.html

Maybe focusing on just one lesson would be worthwhile and Cindy Sheehan had the courage to say it better than it's ever been said before, "What we as Moms need to stop doing is giving our children to the military industrial war complex to be used as human cluster bombs: to kill innocent civilians and to perhaps die enriching and feeding the gluttonous war machine."


Peace.

[Karenina]

19. War is a Racket.

Where's General Smedley Butler when you need him?

[understandinglife]

21. I wonder how many Americans even know who he is. His essay ..

... should be mandatory reading.

Published in 1935

Chapter One

WAR IS A RACKET

WAR is a racket. It always has been.

It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.

A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.

In the World War I a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows.

How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?

Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few – the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill.

And what is this bill?

This bill renders a horrible accounting. Newly placed gravestones. Mangled bodies. Shattered minds. Broken hearts and homes. Economic instability. Depression and all its attendant miseries. Back-breaking taxation for generations and generations.

<clip>

Link:

http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0922915865/103-2078024-4567024?v=glance

"So...I say, TO HELL WITH WAR!" and, so do I, General Butler.


Peace.





Peace.

[understandinglife]

9. "All Hell Breaks Loose in Utah - 2000+ Protest Bush"

The protest was led by none other then the Mayor of Salt Lake City himself - Rocky Anderson !!

And his tag line in his speech to the crowd - "we're not going to take it anymore!"

Full story and lots of links:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/8/22/202433/261

Another leader, ready to take it to the Republicans and their neoconster gang of war criminals, deep in the heart of "red" America.

Senator Clinton, Reid, Kerry, Biden ... -- here's a suggestion:

Fly to Crawford.

Demand that Bush and Cheney resign.

Demand a full tribunal to investigate and prosecute all the crimes committed in Iraq by Bush and the neoconsters.

Declare you are not running for President and that you support Congressman Conyers as the next Democratic Party candidate for President of the United States of America.

Make history. Make a difference. Demonstrate at least as much courage as Mayor Anderson and Cindy Sheehan.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

10. Feingold: "but the Party & Leaders decided to take a pass on the Iraq war"

Steve: In your announcement this week you spoke about the "taboo" of suggesting withdrawal. Has the administration been effective in framing the Iraq issue as a matter of patriotism, and in turn, make overt opposition muted and tentative?

Senator Feingold: Unfortunately, until very recently, they have been extremely effective. I mean, we could have won that election in 2002. We were way ahead on domestic issues, but the Democratic Party and Democratic leaders decided to take a pass on the Iraq war. They decided to defer to the President, and I have to tell you many Democratic leaders knew better. This was a bad idea, but they allowed the Bush administration to brilliantly intimidate them into not standing up and saying this doesn't fit in with the fight against Al Qaeda and the terrorists that attacked this country on 9/11. Of course, I didn't buy into this and I voted no, but I was even in the minority among Democrats in the Senate. And now were making the same mistake, now that it's clear that the administration took us into Iraq under false premises. We have a situation where they are doing a terrible job managing this war. They are doing a terrible job of having a plan to win the war and win the peace. Yet, Democrats are allowing the President to set the terms of the debate. If somebody says "what about a plan to bring the troops home", the President labels it cut and run. Democrats have become silent, so I do think perhaps that we have allowed this to become a taboo. My purpose this week is to break that taboo, let other Democrats know it's safe to go in the water. It's safe to talk about how we can succeed and bring our troops home. Why shouldn't we Democrats be talking about that?

More at the interview:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/22/151548/685

So, Senator Feingold is getting the water all warm and full of bubble bath and bath oils for all the rich, overpaid, supposed representatives of us; sworn defenders of the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC.

Thank you Senator Feingold for your leadership. Hopefully some of your colleagues will return to their beltway digs, all sun-tanned and ready to maybe DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION AGAINST ALL ENEMIES, foreign AND DOMESTIC -- for starters they should all stroll down Pennsylvania Ave and tell the two biggest domestic enemies of the Republic, the two of the biggest traitors in the history of the United States, to resign.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

11. "Winter Soldier" NYC update

For those in the NYC area, these are the last four days to see WINTER SOLDIER! Sadly, it ends Thursday, so hurry on down to the Quad Cinema (34 West 13th Street). For more information how to get to the cinema and the screening times, please visit www.quadcinema.com AND! Please call and email your friends to do the same!

For those not in the area, please visit our website http://www.wintersoldierfilm.com/upcoming.html for upcoming dates in your area. (Make sure to hit the "refresh" button if you've visited before.) Many more cities have been booked including San Francisco (starting September 2nd at the Roxie!), Los Angeles, Tucson, Chicago, Houston, Montpelier and many more!

And in case you missed some of the great press, you can click on these links to read or listen to pieces including interviews of some of the filmmakers and soldiers

THE NEW YORK TIMES, August 9, 2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/movies/09wint.html?8hpib

VILLAGE VOICE, August 9th, 2005
http://www.villagevoice.com/generic/show_print.php?id=66679&page=atkinson2&issue=0532&printcde=MzM3MDgyMTU2Nw==&refpage=L2ZpbG0vaW5kZXgucGhwP2lzc3VlPTA1MzImcGFnZT1hdGtpbnNvbjImaWQ9NjY2Nzk=

THE NATION August 29, 2005 http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050829&c=2&s=klawans

NPR Morning Edition. Listen to it at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4800067

NPR Fresh Air. Listen to it at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4793878

WNYC Radio. Listen to it at http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/08092005

I am continuing to encourage them to show the film in DC on either the night of the 23rd or 24th of September. Perhaps some of you can write and urge them to do so.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

12. Larry Johnson: "WHAT GEORGE BUSH SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CASEY SHEEHAN"

There are some things that George Bush should know about Casey Sheehan should he choose to sit down and talk with his mom. ... Perhaps the conversation ought to start about the other seven men who died on April 4, 2004 in Sadr City.

Maybe George Bush could clarify why these men died. According to several press reports, they were attacked and killed by forces loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. And where is al-Sadr today? He's a player in the Shiite community in Iraq which is on the verge of installing Islam as the basis of government in Iraq. In effect, Casey and his comrades were killed by people whose leaders are on the verge of taking control in Iraq. It would be one thing if George Bush could tell Casey's mom and the moms of the other boys who died that their sons gave their lives to create a secular Iraq. But we now know that is not true. They gave their lives in a cause that is allowing some Islamic extremists loyal to Iran to play a major role in the "new" Iraq.

I don't know if Casey Sheehan's mom is specifically angry about that fact, but my cousin, Kathy Emmett-Meek, is furious. Her son, Brian, was in Alpha Company of the 2-5 Cavalry on April 4, 2004 when Charlie Company from the same Division were ambushed. Brian and his buddies were alerted and entered Sadr City to rescue their comrades. As they lept from their vehicle they were hit with a hurricane of bullets and RPGs. One bullet shattered Brian's left tibia. An RPG exploded nearby and peppered his right ankle with shrapnel. Brian fired several clips at the enemy and only stopped shooting when he passed out from loss of blood. My cousin and his buddies were and are warriors.

Brian survived. .... What really sucks is that he is fighting the VA Bureaucracy to get his benefits. They still have not assigned him a disability status. He described his separation from the Army as a boot in the ass and good luck.

More at the link:

http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/08/what_george_bus.html

All kinds of reasons to haul Bush and the neoconsters before a tribunal; all kinds. And, then we should haul each of them to various VA hospitals and have them serve, day and night, for the remainder of their lives, those whom they have caused so much unjustified pain and torment.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

13. NY Times Editorial: "Americans continue dying in Iraq, but their mission

... creeps steadily downward. The nonexistent weapons of mass destruction dropped out of the picture long ago. Now the United States seems ready to walk away from its fine words about helping the Iraqis create a beacon of freedom, harmony and democracy for the Middle East. All that remains to be seen is whether the White House has become so desperate for an excuse to declare victory that it will settle for an Iranian-style Shiite theocracy.

From Iraq's Unsettling Constitution on August 23, 2005

And a little more pablum from the 'paper of record':

The draft constitution given to Iraq's national assembly last night does little to advance the prospects for a unified and peaceful Iraq. Nor does it reflect well on the Bush administration, which let its politically motivated obsession with an arbitrary deadline trump its responsibility to promote inclusiveness, women's rights and the rule of law.

Link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/23/opinion/23tue1.html?pagewanted=print

This is the best that the 'old grey lady' can do. Still serving us Chalabi-under-obfuscation, yesterday, this rag should be writing a daily editorial that combines contrition for it's role as second only to Fox News in the propaganda-spewing department with a aggressive demands for Bush and Cheney's immediate resignation. And, then they should get truly serious and begin suggesting who should be on the international war crimes tribunal to hold Bush, Cheney and their neoconster war criminals accountable.

As to exposing the continued obfuscation, deception of ye'old grey lady, we reliably turn to the new media -- Huffington Post:

It's hard to believe, but the New York Times is back on Chalabi. Not unlike Courtney Love, the paper of record swears it's going to go straight, stop using, be responsible, really change this time, and then it happens again. For whatever reason, the paper falls off the wagon.

It's an addiction. And addicts embarrass themselves again and again. And you feel stupid for ever having given them the benefit of the doubt. And they try to hide it. Just look at today's above-the-fold, front-page story on Iraq's constitution. It's headlined "Leaders in Iraq Report Progress on Constitution."

Who are those "leaders"? Once again, Ahmad Chalabi and an American official speaking "on condition of anonymity." And Chalabi is simply identified as "the deputy prime minister."

From The New York Times Falls off the Wagon by Arianna Huffington on August 22, 2005

Much more and comments at the link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/the-new-york-timese_b_6053.html

Well, it fits. Just a couple of drunks; one constantly falling off the wagon, and the other constantly falling off his bikey.

While they struggle to recover lives are vaporized and mangled and billions of dollars, that could be being spent on education, food and shelter, are either being 'lost' or siphoned by companies like Halliburton, Blackwell and Bechtel.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

14. Sting: "They Dance Alone"

"They Dance Alone"

Why are these women here dancing on their own?
Why is there this sadness in their eyes?
Why are the soldiers here
Their faces fixed like stone?
I can't see what it is that they despise

They're dancing with the missing
They're dancing with the dead
They dance with the invisible ones
Their anguish is unsaid

They're dancing with their fathers
They're dancing with their sons
They're dancing with their husbands
They dance alone They dance alone

It's the only form of protest they're allowed
I've seen their silent faces scream so loud
If they were to speak these words they'd go missing too
Another woman on a torture table what else can they do...

One day we'll dance on their graves
One day we'll sing our freedom
One day we'll laugh in our joy And we'll dance

Like so many women whose voices are never heard Sheehan has a truth to tell and she has found a way to bring light to what many women know from their gut to be true. With the death of her son she has been given the gift of clarity that politicians so often lose.

From Sheehan and Sting by Kelly Meyer on August 23, 2005

More at the link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelly-meyer/sheehan-and-sting_b_6054.html

And, millions already hear the very clear message of Cindy Sheehan, and they want to hear more.

Politicans, awaken. Speak the truth or look elsewhere for a job.

The American people -- the Chairwomen and Chairmen of your Board of Directors -- are going to fire everyone of you who does not defend the Constitution from its gravest threat since Jefferson Davis resigned from the Senate and attempted to shred the Republic.


Peace.

[mod mom]

15. Thank you UL! We need to get this out to people other than DUers !

[understandinglife]

16. "It matters why people are critical of the US war effort in Iraq."

All the talk about the urgent need for a strategy to win in Iraq amounts to approval for more US leadership in mass slaughter. And the United States government does not need a "strategy" to get out of Iraq any more than a killer needs a strategy to stop killing.

"It is time to stand back and look at where we are going," independent journalist I.F. Stone wrote. "And to take a good look at ourselves. A first observation is that we can easily overestimate our national conscience. A major part of the protest against the war springs simply from the fact that we are losing it." Those words appeared in mid-February 1968. American combat troops remained in Vietnam for another five years.

It matters why people are critical of the US war effort in Iraq. If the main objections stem from disappointment that American forces are not winning, then the war makers in Washington retain the possibility of creating the illusion that they may yet find ways to make the war right.

Criticism of the war because it isn't being won leaves the door open for the Bush administration to sell the claim that - with enough resolve and better military tactics - the war can be vindicated. It's time to close that door.

From Bush's Option to Escalate the War in Iraq by Norman Solomon on August 22, 2005

Link:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082205Q.shtml

Martin Luther King Jr., as Norman Solomon notes, called it "the madness of militarism."

We can NEVER WIN in Iraq; we lost a big chunk of "America" the day Bush and the neoconsters launched their illegal war of aggression and the murdering and torturing began, and we are losing more and more of "America" every day we remain illegal occupants of that Nation.

The path of our Iraq is the path back to being "America."

Out means no bases.

Out means no control of Iraq's economy.

Out means a logistical plan to extract troops and equipment with the same precision and urgency that our expert logisticians inserted them.

Out means Americans holding Bush and the neoconsters accountable to all the laws they violated.

Out means American leadership at the UN, NATO, G8, World Bank, ..., establishing mechanisms by which we Americans compensate Iraqi citizens for the destruction of their infrastructure and the cleanup of ordinance and DU along with some form of retribution for all the torture and killing perpetrated under the watch of CIC Bush.

If we do the above and we show the world we will not ever elect a government that acts in an imperialistic manner, we may, in decades, become a trusted partner, globally, and a true practitioner of the principles of our Constitution.

We may not be safe from terrorists, but at least we will know that America is not a rogue nation terrorizing women and children wherever, whenever our avarice compels us to invade and occupy.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

18. "Yes. Our ultimate Christian said that we should kill the man dead."

Two days ago, Hugo Chavez, the democratically elected president of Venezuela, defended his government’s policy of providing oil to poor nations at concessional prices.

Yesterday, Reverend Pat Robertson, the influential American religious leader and former presidential candidate, said that the United States should kill President Chavez for spreading “communism.” Yes. Our ultimate Christian said that we should kill the man dead.

What is to become of our society?

I listen for public outrage and hear nothing.

From The Dying American Soul by Randall Robinson on August 23, 2005

Link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randall-robinson/the-dying-american-soul_b_6075.html

Instead of outrage, a current AOL poll shows 25 % responding with "I respect" what Robertson said:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4433119&mesg_id=4433119

Recently, I posted So, what would happen if Bush met with Cindy Sheehan and told the truth? and found the response of DUer Generator insightful and steadily being validated by the behavior of folk like Robertson and those who approve of his call for murder driven avarice:

I just don't find anybody so innocent in all of this. And frankly, somehow (yeah I'm getting metaphyisical) I think this government is some deep shadow of our own selves. It's not unconnected. And it's not all about George Bush. Many books have been written about the appeal of Hitler to the German people,and I think there is more to any story than greed or resources. The very idea of ourselves is at stake. So the scarier proposition is what if he told the truth and no one really cared-just find the cheap gas George!

I'm starting to believe the peak oil thing more as time goes on. The water thing? Mmmm..but if he told the truth and said we need the oil..otherwise-$10 a gallon-or change your whole way of life-howmany Americans would choose the war?

Link:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4378946&mesg_id=4380699

We have plenty of evidence who the real enemies of the Republic, those who pose the most immediate threat to our Constitution. The rot from within is now easily detected and you do not need to take a deep breath, my fellow Americans.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

22. Rep Woolsey: "There is only one solution: Bring the troops home."

But having received no satisfactory answer, I decided to take matters into my own hands. On September 15, I am convening a hearing (modelled on the one organized by Rep. John Conyers about the Downing Street memos), where we'll hear from academics, military personnel and other experts about strategies to achieve military disengagement while still playing a constructive role in the rebuilding of Iraqi society.

<clip>

Earlier this month, we learned of a November 2003 incident in which soldiers stuffed an Iraqi general in a sleeping bag, tied him up with a cord, and beat him to death. Cause of death, as announced by the military: natural causes. We've discovered over the last year that Abu Ghraib was just the tip of the torture iceberg. But not a single military higher-up has been held accountable.

This past week, however, someone was disciplined. Four-star Gen. Kevin Byrnes was relieved of his command...for having a consensual adulterous relationship with a civilian woman, even though he was separated from his wife at the time. The message is clear: Sadistic interrogation techniques? Good work. Extramarital romance? Clean out your desk.


<clip>

How distressing that energy is being wasted on slogans and catchphrases, as if this were a marketing campaign for a new line of detergent. More statesmanship, less salesmanship, please. Everything about this war has been a ruinous debacle: the way we got into it, the way we've conducted it, the refusal of a plan for disengagement, the high price—in dollars and lives—we've paid for it. It must end as soon as possible. There is only one solution: Bring the troops home.

From It's Time To Debate Iraq" by Rep. Lynn Woolsey on August 23, 2005

Link:

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050823/its_time_to_debate_iraq.php

Agreed.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

24. Petition Launched; Hearings Scheduled -- Iraq Exit Strategy

Petition Launched in Support of Exit Strategy for Iraq -- Congressional Hearings Scheduled for Next Month

Last week, two organizations seeking an end to the Iraq War, began collecting signatures on a petition to Congress calling for an exit strategy. Thus far over 13,000 signatures have been collected on the websites of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) and Peace Action.

The petition, whose chief author is PDA Cofounder Tom Hayden, can be read at: http://www.pdamerica.org or http://www.peace-action.org

It will be delivered to members of Congress on September 15.

A growing number of organizations are promoting the petition, including: After Downing Street, National Organization for Women (NOW), Democrats.com, Women's Action for New Directions, Peace Majority, and others.

On May 25, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey introduced on the floor of the House an amendment that would have called on President Bush to develop a plan for the withdrawal of U.S. forces and a plan for the reconstruction of Iraq. 123 Democrats and 5 Republicans voted in favor of the amendment.

Today Rep. Woolsey said: "Everything about this war has been a ruinous debacle: the way we got into it, the way we've conducted it, the refusal of a plan for disengagement, the high price - in dollars and lives - we've paid for it. It must end as soon as possible. There is only one solution: bring the troops home."

Woolsey has for months requested official bipartisan hearings on an exit strategy, but been blocked by Republican committee chairs. This week she announced unofficial hearings to be held on Capitol Hill on September 15.

The second week of September will witness two opposing events in Washington, D.C., a pro-war march and concert sponsored by the Pentagon on September 11, and the first serious discussion of an exit strategy in Congress four days later.

An op-ed on this issue by Congresswoman Woolsey is posted at:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/2008

Rally Planned Outside White House Following Hearings

PDA, the After Downing Street Coalition, and Code Pink will sponsor a rally in Lafayette Square Park, across from the White House, at 5 p.m. ET on September 15. Members of Gold Star Families for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, and Iraq Veterans Against the War have been invited to speak.

State Democratic Parties Support Withdrawal

This past weekend, the Arizona Democratic Party became the seventh state Democratic party to pass a resolution in favor of bringing all troops home from Iraq.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/2016

Statements

"The petition was developed as part of PDA's ongoing effort to build an authentic anti-war voice inside the Democratic Party. Since its founding at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004, PDA has successfully led efforts to pass resolutions opposing the U.S. war in Iraq at state Democratic Party meetings in California, New Mexico, and Massachusetts and most recently at the annual convention of Young Democrats of America."

PDA director Tim Carpenter

"The majority of Americans are anti-war and over 13,000 thousand have signed a petition to Congress with a statement of principles on how to get out of Iraq. The hearing on an exit strategy being held by Representative Woolsey is an example of Congress doing what it was supposed to do — represent the will of the people of America. After the hearings, the voice of the anti-war majority will rally at the White House and make the President think he's back in Crawford."

Kevin M. Martin, executive director of the Peace Action Education Fund

"The American people want an exit strategy for George Bush's disastrous war in Iraq. Rep. Lynn Woolsey and Progressive Democrats of America are stepping up and providing the leadership the American people want. It's high time George Bush started listening to the champions of peace, rather than the champions of never-ending war."

Bob Fertik, President of Democrats.com

"If we continue to build this movement in the coming weeks, it will become harder for members of Congress in either party to have a reelection strategy without having an exit strategy for Iraq. I won't be surprised if some Republicans participate on the 15th. Whether they do or not, the Democratic Party will have moved a large step closer to having an identity for which people can vote next year. Citizens who want an exit strategy should call their Congress Members and Senators and ask them to take part in this event."

David Swanson, Co-Founder After Downing Street Coalition

Peace.

[understandinglife]

32. Rep Jim Leach (R, Iowa) has joined Rep Lee in co-sponsoring HR 375

Received from David Swanson, AfterDowningStreet.com.

Congressman Jim Leach (R, Iowa) has informed Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D, California) that he will co-sponsor her Resolution of Inquiry into Bush Administration communications with the U.K. about Iraq at the time of the Downing Street Memos. Leach is the first Republican member of Congress to publicly support a demand for an inquiry into the Bush Administration's pre-war claims. The 131 congress members who have signed Congressman John Conyers' letter to the President about the Downing Street Memo are all Democrats. The 11 Senators who have asked the Senate Intelligence Committee to do the investigation it committed to in February 2004 but never did are all Democrats.

The Resolution, H. Res. 375, is a privileged resolution which must be brought to a vote in the House International Relations Committee by September 16th, or Lee is permitted to demand a vote of the full House. Fifty-two Democrats, including Lee, have co-sponsored the Resolution. Leach is the first Republican to join them, and he is a member of the International Relations Committee..

The International Relations Committee has 27 Republican members and 23 Democratic members. Thus far 10 of the Democrats have co-sponsored the Resolution. If the other 13 vote for it as well, then along with Leach, one more Republican vote will be needed for a tie, or two more for passage.

Leach has questioned Bush's war policies for years and was one of five Republicans in May to vote for Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey's amendment requiring an exit strategy. Another of those five, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, also serves on the International Relations Committee.

"Congressman Leach has broken the silence of the Republican Party on the Downing Street Minutes," said John Bonifaz, Co-Founder of the After Downing Street Coalition. "His willingness to co-sponsor Congresswoman Barbara Lee's Resolution of Inquiry is bound to make the White House nervous. It is not possible for the President to paint this demand for documents as coming solely from his opponents. This is a demand for the truth. Did the president deliberately deceive and mislead the United States Congress and the American people about the basis for going to war against Iraq? We as a people -- from Crawford to Des Moines to Washington, DC, regardless of our political persuasion, deserve to know the answer to that basic question."

"Congress returns to Washington from its summer break on September 6," said David Swanson, Co-Founder of the After Downing Street Coalition. "The first 10 days will test the Democrats' ability to stand together and challenge the Bush Administration, as well as Republicans' willingness to break ranks on an issue where public opinion has diverged widely from White House policy."

The text of the Resolution, H. Res. 375, a list of current co-sponsors, and what you can do to help:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/902

Leadership from Democratic members of Congress like Congresswoman Lee and Woolsey and Congressman Conyers is something all Americans should be grateful and the Democratic Party should be totally and robustly supportive.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

23. Digby: "Make them take ownership of this war, gas prices all the simmering

Right now I think the right political move is to keep the pressure on the Republicans. Make them take ownership of this war, gas prices all the simmering discontent that you can see lurking in all the polls on every issue. Separate ourselves, not with our intellectual superiority (which is a given in any case :evilgrin:) but by our energy and our disgust with the status quo.

The think tanks and pundits can debate the various strong points of withdrawing on a six month vs a two years modified pull back or an urban withdrawal backed by air support or whatever. I think that's great. But since we have no chance of implementing any plan ourselves and since it is, in my view, almost impossible that any action the Bush administration undertakes will be successful no matter how perfectly we design a plan for him to implement --- from a political standpoint all this wonkery beside the point.

What we should be debating is how we win elections. The base of the party is ready to support anyone who is willing to speak in clear, straightforward terms about the contrast between the Republicans and the Democrats and they believe that it could be a winning electoral strategy to do that. Certainly, they are extremely impatient with the split the difference, triangulation strategies that have failed to win majorities for the last several election cycles.

That, I think, is the real question here. Will our "shrillness" help or hurt the party? I think the netroots believes it's time to try a message that has a little more heat than lukewarm water. The establishment, still smarting from their seminal loss in 1972, is scared to death of anything that resembles real passion. Far more than a serious division in the party over specific policy, that, I think is the real fault line. What kind of politics --- not policies --- do the Democrats think will win?

From Politics vs Policy by Digby on August 22, 2005

Link:

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2005_08_21_digbysblog_archive.html#112476182281109354

America has spent the past 3 years proving to the world that it is a rogue super-power willing to engage in premeditated, preemptive wars of aggression, White House sanctioned torture, and unbridled avarice regarding the world's resources.

I think a little passion is in order.

I think one's politics today, in America, is starkly easy to select. You are either a supporter of imperialistic fascism, mass murder, torture and willful destruction of other Nations, or you are not.

You are either a defender of the Constitution or an advocate of the American fascist state.

The American Republican party has emerged during the past 5 years as an historical first not because of its fascist core values, or its blatant imperialism, but because it is the first fascist party to control a vast nuclear arsenal.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

25. Sheehan to George -- "You are breeding more terror."

"Bush said he planned to go on a hike and have dinner later Tuesday with Kempthorne and the Idaho congressional delegation. Bush said he also planned to spend 'quality time' with first lady Laura Bush, who is traveling with him."

I would give everything I own, will own, or have owned to have one more glimpse of my son. Dare I even say...one last hug or phone call? How dare he go on vacation and live a normal life when he has ruined mine by his lies? How dare he take 5 weeks off when he is waging a devastating and needless war?

"Bush, who is seeking to quell growing criticism at home over the Iraq war, told the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Salt Lake City on Monday that 'a policy of retreat and isolation will not bring us safety.'"

His policies of preemptive wars of aggression for power and greed don't bring America safety, either.

"Bush made a rare reference of the U.S. military death toll -- more than 2,000 killed in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. 'We owe them something. We will finish the task that they gave their lives for ... by staying on the offensive against the terrorists, and building strong allies in Afghanistan and Iraq that will help us win and fight -- fight and win the war on terror,- he told the VFW convention."

How does he honor the soldiers by killing more of their buddies?People say Casey is ashamed of me and I dishonor his memory! I knew my son better than anyone on earth and I know he is appalled by the continued carnage in his name. George: you can't win the war on terror by killing more of our soldiers and innocent Iraqi people. You are breeding more terror. And judging from the fact that you are now tied with the worst president in US history (Nixon) in your abysmal poll numbers, the people of our country realize this too and want you stopped.

From My Response to George as he Speaks From his Vacation Away From his Vacation by Cindy Sheehan on August 23, 2005

Much more at the link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cindy-sheehan/my-response-to-george-as-_b_6098.html

George you are no match for Cindy Sheehan.

Park your bike, return to the White House.

Call Cheney into your office.

Have him sign his resignation.

Sign yours.

Return to your dude ranch (and hire a bunch more lawyers).


Peace.

[understandinglife]

26. In time, the strong Gem State winds will blow away the stench of ...

... your visit.

Mr. President, get the hell out of my state.

by Serephin on August 22, 2005



Get out, Mr. Bush. Get your lying, cowardly road show out of Idaho and never, ever come back. By your very presence you sully the memories of those honorable men and women from Idaho who left their lives and futures back in the sands of Iraq. You insult the conscientious men, women and children of our great state with your mewling about "staying the course" and your galling lectures on how our "sons and daughters died for a noble cause." There is no question that our fallen troops are noble -- how could they be otherwise? But it was your lies, Mr. Bush -- your lies and cowardice and venality that begat their deaths. You lied -- and they died.

Leave Idaho, Mr. Bush. Go spend the rest of your "recreation" at your pretend ranch in Crawford, Texas. There's a woman camped out near there by the name of Cindy Sheehan -- maybe you've heard of her? Her son, Casey, was one of the soldiers killed in Iraq, sent there by your lies. She wants to speak with you, Mr. Bush. She wants the truth from you about why you sent her 24-year-old son to die. Was it for al-Qaida, who were never in Iraq until after we invaded? Was it for oil? For empire? For your sick, twisted relationship with your father -- your ruthless need to prove yourself better than him, no matter how many lives it cost? Mrs. Sheehan demands the truth, Mr. Bush, she demands you tell her why you sent her son to his death in the desolation become Iraq.

But you can't do that, can you, Mr. Bush? You are far, far too great a coward to face a grief-stricken, middle-age woman, aren't you? Because you'll be unable to foist your lies on her. She won't let you. Cindy Sheehan will reach out and wrap her fingers around that small, black, oily cancer you call a soul and she will not let go until you tell her the truth. And that would destroy you.

Get out of Idaho, Mr. Bush. Get out of my beloved state, and never come back. In time, the strong Gem State winds will blow away the stench of your visit. The cleansing rain will wash away the slime of your cowardice, and the bright Idaho sun will disinfect the residue of the lies you'll leave behind. Remove your minions and yourself from our borders immediately, and let Idaho mourn her honored dead in peace, remembering her fallen servicemen and women free of your wretched shadow.

Link:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/22/22591/3921

Georgie boy, do you 'get it,' yet?


Peace.

[understandinglife]

27. Tomgram: George's Lucky "Top 13" Summer-of-Cindy Reading List

A Besieged-in-Crawford Reading List for the President

By Tom Engelhardt

But in his summer of non-fun, further steps on the book front may be in order. Admittedly, he's already signed on for 1,500 pages of heavy reading, but tsars, salt, and the flu? As the berms go up and the universe closes in, what the President really needs is a genuinely useful summer-of-Cindy reading list and, as a longtime editor in publishing, I decided I could provide exactly that. So I took an informal survey of editors and writers I know, asking for their thoughts on a presidential reading list that might bring closure to George's beleaguered August. The books, I suggested, should be attention-grabbing, informative, and above all utilitarian.

<clip>

13 Problem-solving Books for George:

On Handling the New Neighbors

1. Waiting for the Barbarians by J. M. Coetzee: A South African fable about strangers at the gates of a disintegrating empire.

On Drawing a Line in the Sand without an Oasis in Sight

5. A Prince of Our Disorder: The Life of T. E. Lawrence by John E. Mack: The biography of a modern Western intruder who helped establish a base line for disorder in the Middle East.

Domestic Conundrums Wrapped in Administration Enigmas

9. Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife: In case the President's poll numbers really do turn out to be in freefall.

Looking Back with Feeling

12. Pat the Bunny (touch and feel book) by Dorothy Kunhardt: For reassurance when your aides are indicted, your numbers in the toilet, your soldiers in the quagmire, your Party's never heard of you, and history's knocking on the door.

Link to all the wonderful suggestions:

http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=15267

And, I'm sure Tom and his editor/publisher friends will have much longer lists of suggested items for you, George, to keep you company during your long incarceration.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

28. If such gross malfeasance in office is not a "high crime" under the

... Constitution, then nothing is.

From Foggy Bottom Memos: The Hemorrhaging of Iraq War Minutes by William E Jackson, Jr., on August 23, 2005

Introduction

It was such a disgraceful performance by the Bush White House that it is painful to be reminded of it on television: the most credible figure in the Administration, Secretary of State Colin Powell, was trotted out at the UN in February 2003 to present a pile of official legerdemain -- based on shoddy intelligence -- that provided the WMD rationale for the imminent invasion of Iraq. Has anyone been held accountable? Powell's performance on the world stage was transmitted uncritically by the mainstream press.

Presumably, "Dead Wrong" is CNN's penance for such a colossal meltdown in news reporting. In the process, Powell's code of honor has been left in tatters. Not to mention the tragically irresponsible leadership of the Bush-Cheney White House; the cowardice and pliability of the CIA director; and the cavalier conduct of the secretary of defense.

<clip>

The CNN documentary, hosted by David Ensor, raised more questions than it answered; but it delivered authoritative primary source material on the American decision-making process that led to war on Iraq. Ensor: "For the first time we hear from key players, on camera and on the record, who were there when some of the mistakes were made."

<clip>

Much, much more at the link for an article that leaves little doubt that grounds for impeachment are quite solid:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-e-jackson-jr/foggy-bottom-memos-the-h_b_6084.html

Some interesting comments, as well.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

30. dKos: High Ratings for CNN's "Dead Wrong"

High Ratings for CNN's "Dead Wrong"
by pontificator

Tue Aug 23rd, 2005 at 17:15:37 PDT

CNN President Jonathan Klein's strategy of replacing inane political bobble head shows (like Crossfire and The Capitol Gang) with quality news documentaries has an early sign of success:

"I bet someone that CNN's Dead Wrong, which aired 8PM Sunday night, would probably be near dead last in the weekend cable news ratings. Are the numbers in yet?," an e-mailer asked.

Yes they are, and I'm afraid you lost the bet. The premiere of CNN's investigation into pre-war intelligence failures averaged 673,000 viewers on Sunday night, 43% more than CNN Presents' 2005 average of 470,000 viewers.

Congratulations to CNN for producing a quality documentary, and for getting high ratings for doing so.

Many comments at the link:

http://dailykos.com/story/2005/8/23/201537/595

Josh Marshall's source provided a solid 'headsup' last Friday:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4398643

And, certain comments in that thread fall short of the mark.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

29. Dowd: "Talk about a vicious circle: the killing keeps justifying itself."

"We owe them something," he told veterans in Salt Lake City (even though his administration tried to shortchange the veterans agency by $1.5 billion). "We will finish the task that they gave their lives for."

What twisted logic: with no W.M.D., no link to 9/11 and no democracy, now we have to keep killing people and have our kids killed because so many of our kids have been killed already? Talk about a vicious circle: the killing keeps justifying itself.

Just because the final reason the president came up with for invading Iraq - to create a democracy with freedom of religion and minority rights - has been dashed, why stop relaxing? W. is determined to stay the course on bike trails all over the West.

This president has never had to pull all-nighters or work very hard, because Daddy's friends always gave him a boost when he flamed out. When was the last time Mr. Bush saw the clock strike midnight? At these prices, though, I guess he can't afford to burn the midnight oil.

From My Private Idaho By MAUREEN DOWD on August 24, 2005

More at the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/opinion/24dowd.html?pagewanted=print

As Ms Dowd notes "So our overextended troops must prepare for more forced rotations, while the president hangs loose."

Yes, he deserves to hang loose, just as Mussolini and his buddies did.

Though as much as I despise him, I would want him and each neoconster war criminal to receive robust due process, be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and instead of hanging loose, I'd prefer that they serve as orderlies in VA hospitals for the remainder of their evil lives.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

31. Gary Hart: Who Will Say 'No More'?

Who Will Say 'No More'?

By Gary Hart

Wednesday, August 24, 2005; A15

"Waist deep in the Big Muddy and the big fool said to push on," warned an anti-Vietnam war song those many years ago. The McGovern presidential campaign, in those days, which I know something about, is widely viewed as a cause for the decline of the Democratic Party, a gateway through which a new conservative era entered.

Like the cat that jumped on a hot stove and thereafter wouldn't jump on any stove, hot or cold, today's Democratic leaders didn't want to make that mistake again. Many supported the Iraq war resolution and -- as the Big Muddy is rising yet again -- now find themselves tongue - tied or trying to trump a war president by calling for deployment of more troops. Thus does good money follow bad and bad politics get even worse.

History will deal with George W. Bush and the neoconservatives who misled a mighty nation into a flawed war that is draining the finest military in the world, diverting Guard and reserve forces that should be on the front line of homeland defense, shredding international alliances that prevailed in two world wars and the Cold War, accumulating staggering deficits, misdirecting revenue from education to rebuilding Iraqi buildings we've blown up, and weakening America's national security. But what will history say about an opposition party that stands silent while all this goes on?

<clip>

The real defeatists today are not those protesting the war. The real defeatists are those in power and their silent supporters in the opposition party who are reduced to repeating "Stay the course" even when the course, whatever it now is, is light years away from the one originally undertaken. The truth is we're way off course. We've stumbled into a hornet's nest. We've weakened ourselves at home and in the world. We are less secure today than before this war began.

Link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/23/AR2005082301178_pf.html

Gary Hart concludes with the question "Who now has the courage to say this?"

And the answer is -- Cindy Sheehan.

Hopefully, soon, many more.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

33. Extending the analysis of the deception to which Cindy Sheehan ...

... is bringing more and more Americans to realize is what their government did to them, Michael Smith, the journalist who broke the "Downing Street Minutes" story has published an analysis at Raw Story.

Exclusive: Downing Street reporter dissects pre-war Iraq intelligence

Michael Smith

August 24, 2005

Details 'chill factor' imposed around Iraq intelligence; Putting Downing Street docs in perspective

LONDON -- "The Commission found no evidence of political pressure to influence the Intelligence Community's pre-war assessment of Iraq's weapons programs."

That is only one of a number of strange conclusions by those charged with investigating the way flaky intelligence was used to justify the 2003 Iraq War.

<clip>

Full analysis at the link:

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Downing_Street_reporter_dissects_Iraq_intelligence_in_leadup_0824.html

Beyond going to war based on deception, it is this quote that frames the massive scale of abuse to the people of Iraq better than any single sentence I've read yet - "Blair ignored all of this advice and went to war with no clear idea of 'what happens on the morning after.'"

And, obviously, so did Bush (and his neoconster fellow war criminals).

We get only glimpses of the horror done to Iraqi citizens. But, what we can readily now see that they are in the early stages of civil war and the responsibility for that goes straight to Bush and Blair.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

34. Will summarize this thread and start a new one, with additional ...

... annotated links to some past information. Probably post the next installment sometime before Friday evening, 26 August 2005.

Have requested the mods lock this one.


Peace.

[Technowitch]

35. Locking per OPs request

Done and done.

-Technowitch
DU Moderator