The Housing Boom Is OVER, Economic Slowdown Imminent

...2006 is going to be a tough tough year financially for many.

The U.S. median price of a single-family home was $218,000 in October, according to the National Association of Realtors. It's more than three times that in the San Francisco area ($721,900), more than twice that in New York ($461,100, and that's not including Manhattan), and about double in Boston ($430,900). Rental prices are climbing, too.

People earning the median income can afford only 2% of the homes in the Los Angeles area and 24% in Boston.

And now that the housing boom is over, LOOK OUT...

The housing industry accounts for only about 5 percent of the U.S. economy and yet generated half of the growth in this year's first six months and more than half of the private jobs added since 2001.

Oh and mid-term election years (like 2006) are typically bear markets.

Bush Sure Does Take Care of the People...On His Payroll.

Ahmed Chalabi, after being trounced in the latest elections, has been appointed to head the Iraqi oil ministry.

A brief history for those who missed it.

1) Chalabi gave false information regarding WMDs that were a main component of the Bush case for war. All the information turned out to be false. Bush paid MILLIONS of tax dollars to get this MIS-information but it gave Bush what he needed to make a case for invasion. The MIS-information provided by Chalabi was used by Bush even though it was known to be false or at the very least was unproven.

2) Bush airlifted Chalabi and 800 of his followers into Iraq (he left Iraq decades earlier) just after the invasion. You may remember seeing Chalabi and his people in the staged photos the US took of Saddam's statue being pulled down.

3) Bush pushed for this guy to be Prime Minister of Iraq.

4) Bush asked the King of Jordan to pardon Chalabi (the guy who provided the fake WMD info) of fraud charges and a 22 year prison sentence. Chalabi fled Jordan in the trunk of a car to avoid prosecution.

5) Chalabi is appointed Deputy Oil Minister and then appointed Oil Minister...of Iraq. Second biggest oil reserves in the world. Nice work if you can get it.

If you have any ability to think, reason and use logic one can see that Chalabi is Bush's boy. Bought and paid for. Feel free to offer an alternate explanation as to how a man that never worked in oil, is a convicted felon, and hadn't even lived in Iraq for decades gets appointed Oil Minister if Bush didn't make it happen. Imagine, Chalabi LIES the United States into war and Bush REWARDS him.

Chalabi and Bush should be sharing a jail cell.

Bush Has No Idea Why Iraq Was Invaded

"Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly -- yet, our purpose is sure. The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder."
-- President Bush, 3/19/03

VERSUS

HOST: "If the weapons [of mass destruction] had been out of the equation because the intelligence did not conclude that [Iraq] had them, it was still the right call [to invade]?"
BUSH: "Absolutely."
-- President Bush, on how the ***purpose*** of the Iraq war was actually irrelevant, 12/15/05

Bush Caught on Tape: “A Wiretap Requires A Court Order. Nothing Has Changed.”

"Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution."

George W. Bush 20-April-2004

It's Too Bad...

It's too bad that hyping evidence to start an unnecessary war, breaking the law to spy on Americans without a warrant, torturing prisoners in secret prisons, and outing CIA agents doesn't leave sperm stains on dresses or we could just impeach Bush and most of his administration right now.

The Magic Word

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security."

--Ben Franklin

Since October 2001, the super-secret National Security Agency has monitored, without court-approved warrants, the international phone calls and e-mails of people inside the United States.

Apparently the Bush administration feels "terrorist" is a magic word that when spoken allows them to do any old thing they like regardless of how many rights or laws are violated.

If the government can just yell terrorist and do anything they want with no oversight (and completely ignore the laws of this nation) your rights and mine are GONE.

Anyone out there who somehow thinks Bush did nothing wrong here is out of their mind. The President in authorizing surveillance without seeking a court order has committed a crime. The Federal Communications Act criminalizes surveillance without a warrant. It is an impeachable offense.

Putting that aside, ask yourself: If someone accuses you of being a terrorist does that mean you support the idea that the government can just tap your phone without a warrant? What other rights will you be giving up? When they throw you in a hole for a few years without due process, falsely accusing you of being a terrorist, will that be OK too?

Bush Trying To Rewrite History AGAIN

From the AP:

"We are in Iraq today because our goal has always been more than the removal of brutal dictator," Bush said. "It is to leave a free and democratic Iraq in his place."

Umm maybe Dubya should review the tapes. We went into Iraq to remove the threat posed by WMDs and Iraq's working relationship with al Qaeda (neither of which existed at the time the US invaded). That's what Bush and his cronies gave as the rationale for invasion to the world, the media, the United Nations and the American public. The WMDs they said could hit the US. The ones that would cause a "mushroom cloud" in an American city. All lies.

To further illustrate the point:

"Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly -- yet, our purpose is sure. The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder."
-- President Bush, 3/19/03

VERSUS

HOST: "If the weapons [of mass destruction] had been out of the equation because the intelligence did not conclude that [Iraq] had them, it was still the right call [to invade]?"
BUSH: "Absolutely."
-- President Bush, on how the sole "purpose" of the Iraq war was actually irrelevant, 12/15/05


I'm not sure if Bush is the biggest failure I've ever seen or the biggest liar I've ever seen. Ahh heck, he's both.

Context

CONTEXT....George Bush gave a speech Wednesday in which he acknowledged that we got lots of bad intelligence about Iraq's WMD before the war but failed to take any personal responsibility for demanding that very intelligence in the first place and ignoring all dissenting views. Of the major news outlets, only Knight Ridder bothered to point that out:

"It's true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong," Bush admitted — omitting that he and top aides had ignored warnings from midlevel intelligence agents that some of the evidence was suspect....

See how easy that is? Why can't they all do this?

The Soldier's Deaths Are Bush's Responsibility

From The Times Union:

Recent remarks from the White House and on various message boards have claimed that those with honest disagreement about the President's handling of the war in Iraq, and whether the United States belongs there at all, are somehow unpatriotic, that those that disagree with the administrations poor leadership are, in fact, aiding terrorism causing more of our young men and women to get blown up.

I must say I will NEVER feel responsible for these thousands of deaths, and will continue to point the finger at George Bush and his cronies who manipulated data to suit their already decided-upon goals, and who had, clearly, no plan on how to deal with the aftermath of the invasion that never should have happened.

I am reminded of this quotation: "Opposition to the war in this country is the single greatest weapon working against the U.S." This was Richard Nixon, in the mid-60s. Nixon was wrong about the Vietnam War and wrong about opposition to it, and so is George Bush today about HIS war, and so too is anyone who would suggest that patriotic Americans who think we have no business in Iraq (and never did) are responsible for the deaths of our soldiers.

Someone who does not want the soldiers to be in Iraq is certainly not responsible in any way for their deaths. If they weren't there, they wouldn't be dead. How about we point the finger at the "leaders" who lied and misled this country into putting soldiers into this unnecessary, foolish war in the first place?

Roadside Bomb Kills 10 Marines in Iraq

(AP) BAGHDAD, Iraq - A roadside bomb killed 10 Marines and wounded 11 while they were on a foot patrol near Fallujah, the Marine Corps said Friday, in the deadliest attack on American troops in nearly four months.

Thank goodness the Bush administration secured Fallujah early on and that our Commander-in-Chief sent enough troops to secure that 380 tons of explosives at Al Qaqaa. Because if Bush just let that stuff get looted, Bush would have to be an idiot, right?

Tons of Iraq explosives missing
'Massive' facility also held large caches of artillery

(CNN) -- Some 380 tons of explosives powerful enough to detonate nuclear warheads are missing from a former Iraqi military facility that was supposed to be under American control, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency says.

''It's Raining'' Say Bush Supporters

Being a Bush supporter must be tough. Insulating oneself from reality ALL THE TIME must be tiring.

George Bush keeps climbing up on a chair and pissing in their face and Bush supporters just keep repeating "It's raining". The fact there isn't a cloud in the sky or that they are indoors doesn't seem to bother them either...they just keep repeating "it's raining" until they believe it.

No WMD, SS Raided, nation building, environmentally negative legislation, huge deficits, government intervention in private matters, cover ups, deceit, propaganda, whoring themselves out to corporations, taking the country to war based on lies. This is what the Bush administration is.

You really would have to be in complete denial or functionally retarded to support Bush and his policies which seems a fair description of the Bush supporters I've seen.

Bush Flip Flops...AGAIN

White House claims 'strong consensus' on Iraq pullout

The White House for the first time has claimed ownership of an Iraq withdrawal plan, arguing that a troop pullout blueprint unveiled this past week by a Democratic senator was "remarkably similar" to its own.

It also signaled its acceptance of a recent US Senate amendment designed to pave the way for a phased US military withdrawal from the violence-torn country.

WOW!!!! Bush looks like a complete jackass even more than usual.

Bush's attitude toward Iraq is NOW remarkably like his opposition. I suppose the "cowards" routine he engaged in a week or so ago was jealousy that he couldn't unveil it first.

I'm really tired of Bush. The man studiously ignored each and every chance he had to correct the flaws of his Iraq strategy and (gasp!) really win his own war.

Why? Yes, he's about a stupid and unenergized a man as we've ever had as president. But most of his inaction was based on bloody-minded pride.

Now he has his "mind" clarified by, not evidence or reasoned argument---These have always been available in abundance.

No, Bush runs squealing like a pig from the upcoming 2006 elections.

A year ago it was predicted that Bush would dump Iraq and say, with a straight face, that what was left was victory.

He should resign. What's he going to do with the next three years? Rally the nation with his intellect and decisiveness?

The But But But Clinton Defense...

The GOP is STILL hiding behind Democrats and their illogic is incredible.

Anytime anyone points out a Bush administration lie, deception, blunder, or dishonest action some right-wing Rove-bot shows up with some meaningless out of context Clinton quote to try to justify the Bush administration lie, deception, blunder, or dishonest action. The Rove-bots do not ever address the substance of the remarks about the Bush administration they just fire off some irrelevant anti-Clinton propaganda point.

The funny thing is, what they are basically saying is sure the GOP and especially Bush are complete scumbags but here's a guy that is also allegedly a scumbag.

This is a defense??!!

That's like standing up in open court and saying "Yeah I murdered that woman but that guy you put in jail before me stole a candy bar. How does that guy live with himself stealing candy bars like that?".

Let's see:

GOP President ---------------- Check.
GOP Congress ----------------- Check.
GOP Supreme Court ------------ Check.

Yet somehow GOP apologists expect people to believe somehow Clinton and/or the Democrats are somehow to blame for a current situation.

What ever happened to that GOP talking point about "taking responsibility for one's own actions"? Pointing fingers at others does not absolve one from responsibility for his or her own actions. The few Bush supporters that are left seem to have forgotten that.

The Question For War Supporters Is...

If Bush had told the truth and said before the war: "The inspections have found no WMD's in Iraq, there is no current threat of Iraq attacking the US or its allies with WMDS, and Iraq has no working relationship with al Qaeda but we must invade Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power and bring freedom and democracy to Iraq, even if it means staying there for 10 years, spending hundreds of billions of dollars, and might cost 2000 US lives," would this country have supported the invasion, let alone Congress?

(Hint: No)

Bush Makes an Ass Out of Himself AGAIN

From the AP

"Reasonable people can disagree about the conduct of the war, but it is irresponsible for Democrats to now claim that we misled them and the American people," Bush said in his prepared remarks.

So Bush doesn't actually say he did NOT mislead anyone. He's just saying that the imaginary time limit for calling him on his lies has passed? Maybe Bush should take note of the fact it's irresponsible to mislead people and that it's RESPONSIBLE to call liars like Bush on their lies.

"Only one person manipulated evidence and misled the world and that person was Saddam Hussein," Bush added.

Yep, the Bush administration manipulated, manufactured, and hyped up evidence and reality didn't match the ridiculous story they fed the American people. How dare Saddam not have WMDs or a working relationship with al Qaeda when Bush told everyone Saddam did.

So there you go everyone Saddam and the Democrats are responsible for Bush's lies. What Bush told the world would have been true if the facts were totally different and you ignore reality completely.

The old, it's everyone else's fault but mine defense. Very shrewd...if you're five years old.

Will Bush Ever Run Out of Lies?

From Yahoo

"The stakes in the global war on terror are too high and the national interest is too important for politicians to throw out false charges," the president said in his combative Veterans Day speech.

Oh. Do you mean like telling the American people it was necessary to invade Iraq because they had WMDs (including nuclear weapons) and that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the US and it's allies? Or suggesting to the American people Iraq and al Qaeda had a working relationship? Or suggesting on numerous occasions that Iraq had something to do with 9-11?

"Some Democrats and anti-war critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and mislead the American people about why we went to war," Bush said.

No. Many of us have ALWAYS KNOWN that. And we've been saying that since before the war began.

Like this, this, this, and of course this.

[Bush] said those critics have made those allegations although they know that a Senate investigation "found no evidence" of political pressure to change the intelligence community's assessments related to Saddam's weapons program.

Ummm Dubya they NEVER investigated that. That is why the Democrats called for a closed session of Congress just ten days ago to FORCE the GOP to actually START the investigation that they promised 2 YEARS ago.

When it became glaringly apparent no weapons of mass destruction would be found in Iraq, the Senate Intelligence Committee began an investigation into what went wrong. Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and John Rockefeller (D-WV) agreed to divide the investigation into two parts: a section on the shortcomings of the intelligence community and an examination of White House pressure and manipulation of intelligence that would be released later. When the first section on the intel community was released in July 2004, Tim Russert asked Roberts if the section on White House culpability would be ready in time for the election. "I don't know if we can get it done before the election," Roberts responded. "It's more important to get it right." Recently Roberts revised his views; instead of getting it right, he'd rather not do it at all. After President Bush was reelected, Roberts changed his tune, first saying the investigation was "basically on the back burner," then calling it a "monumental waste of time."

The web of Bush lies grows daily..

What Was and What Shall Be

Bush "won" the last election because the people who allegedly voted for him have very misplaced ideas about what's important.

The 4 biggest issues according to the voters in the election were Moral values, Iraq, Economy/Jobs, & Terrorism.

When asked what the most important issues were to voters here was the breakdown:

• Moral values (i.e gay marriage, abortion, etc) was the main issue for most voters who voted Bush.
• Terrorism was the other the other issue most voters who voted Bush cited.
• Iraq was the main issue for most voters who voted Kerry.
• Economy/Jobs was the other the other issue most voters who voted Kerry cited.

Both issues each candidate took wide margins in winning on those issues.

The Bush voters have completely misplaced priorities in my opinion. Abortion and gay marriage are so far down on the list of things people should be concerned about it is laughable that it is the main issue many Bush voters cited as a reason for voting for Bush.

I'd say the US being at war with another nation and the economy are MUCH MUCH more important issues as they actually effect the health of this nation and people's lives more directly.

Bush winning on terrorism (his poll numbers have dropped considerably on that issue since the election) is almost laughable. The two places that were effected by terrorism on 9/11, New York and DC overwhelmingly voted for Kerry.

I'd say people with misplaced priorities, little sense of what's really important, Bush campaign smear tactics and a somewhat poor campaign by Kerry are what gave Bush the election. Bush sure didn't earn it for anything he's done.

Bush has lost his majority support on the issue of terrorism and he's done nothing and will do nothing about abortion and gay marriage.

The good news is Bush is now a lame duck with extremely low approval ratings and members of his own party are treating him like a leper so the amount of damage he can do will be limited until he leaves office.

After 2006 it looks like the Democrats will control the Senate so from that point on we will have gridlock which is probably the best thing for this country as it will limit spending and re-engage partisan checks and balances.

The Last Two Weeks Were A Nightmare for the GOP

Their corruption and incompetence in ALL branches of government has been put on full display for all to see.

• The Republican majority leader, Bill Frist is under investigation for insider trading.

• The Republican majority leader in the House, Tom DeLay was forced to step down when he was indicted.

• Bush's poll numbers hit an all time low AGAIN (35%).

• Harriet Miers didn't meet the approval of the religious right enough she was forced to remove her nomination to the Supreme court and out of a position of weakness Bush was made to appoint a radical right wing activist judge to please the religious right.

• The Democrats called a closed session of congress to try to get the Republicans to FINALLY investigate whether the evidence to go to war with Iraq was hyped and manipulated. This investigation was promised TWO YEARS ago and they've done NOTHING because they are covering up for Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, etc who did indeed hype, manipulate and manufacture evidence to sell the war in Iraq.

• President Bush's main adviser, Karl Rove is still under investigation and is likely to soon lose his security clearance.

• Vice-President Dick Cheney's chief of staff Scooter Libby was indicted for obstruction of justice and perjury for lying to the grand jury and the FBI.

• Iraq is still a disaster with over 90 soldiers dying in October.

• A Senate investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff that has drawn attention to his ties to members of President Bush's inner circle of advisers opened.

• Iraq war architect Paul Wolfowitz admitted he can’t get the World Bank into Iraq because of bad post war planning. (oh the irony)

• It was reported that the CIA is hiding and interrogating Al Qaeda captives in covert, illegal prison systems.

• Vice-President Dick Cheney came out with a PRO-torture amendment. Is this the compassionate conservatism we hear so much about from our corporate media?

That covers most of it..so far..that we know about. The GOP is taking on water and the 2006 elections are going to be another GOP nightmare.

Bush Supporters: Seeing the World in Black and White

It's easy to understand the world when there are only 2 sides of black and white. To Bush supporters politics is just a game. It's a professional wrestling match where the sides are clearly defined and all you have to do is sit with your popcorn and cheer. It's a ridiculous way to think but many, many have been fooled and our corporate media plays to these black and whites because that's what elicits the strongest emotional response and hence, ratings.

One has to dig to learn the nuances of the deeper story and attempt to uncover facts no matter if they support or go against what you believe. From what I've seen the Bush supporters just don't have it in them to do this. Too many are gift wrapped obvious facts that don't tend to support their BELIEFS but since that would mean "their side is losing" in their minds they just shut their eyes to the facts and yell Liberal like it is some magic word that will change the reality of things.

No WMD, SS Raided, nation building, environmentally negative legislation, huge deficits, government intervention in private matters, cover ups, deceit, propaganda, whoring themselves out to corporations, taking the country to war based on lies. This is what the Bush administration is but Bush supporters just keep on ignoring that because they think their "side" is winning but sadly it is America that is losing.

It's Time To Leave Iraq

If you can read this headline:

45% Of Iraqi Citizens Think Suicide Attacks Against US, Brits Justified

and still think that being in Iraq is a good idea and will end successfully for the US you should seek professional help RIGHT NOW.

The chance for the US to make any real progress has long been lost. It was lost in the torture rooms of Abu Ghraib. It was lost in the rubble of bombed out schools in Fallujah. It was lost in the newly filled graveyards of Tikrit. The hearts and minds of the Iraqi people are long lost and so is any opportunity for the US to actually achieve anything meaningful in Iraq.

• Forty-five per cent of Iraqis believe attacks against British and American troops are justified - rising to 65 per cent in the British-controlled Maysan province;

• 82 per cent are "strongly opposed" to the presence of coalition troops;

• less than one per cent of the population believes coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security;

• 67 per cent of Iraqis feel less secure because of the occupation;

• 43 per cent of Iraqis believe conditions for peace and stability have worsened;

• 72 per cent do not have confidence in the multi-national forces.

The numbers don't lie. It's time to leave Iraq. Invading was a mistake. Having no plan for occupation was a mistake. And allowing the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people to slip away was the biggest mistake of all because once lost they can NEVER be regained.

There is nothing wrong with making mistakes. Just don't respond with encores.

It's time to leave Iraq.

More GOP Hypocrisy

Here's an interesting quote from Republican Senator Kay Hutchison on Meet The Press

MR. RUSSERT: Senator Hutchison, you think those comments from the White House are credible?

SEN. HUTCHISON: "Tim, you know, I think we have to remember something here. An indictment of any kind is not a guilty verdict, and I do think we have in this country the right to go to court and have due process and be innocent until proven guilty. And secondly, I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn't indict on the crime and so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste of time and taxpayer dollars...."

Gee kinda like someone lying about a blow job? That wasn't such a technicality for the likes of the GOP when they were pursuing their witch hunt against Clinton. Perjury is only a "technicality" when the person perjuring themselves is a Republican?

How convenient.

If the GOP feels perjuring oneself about a blow job between two consenting adults needs to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law then shouldn't perjury charges related to the outing of a CIA agent, that endangered people's lives and damaged national security, be pursued with at least the same amount of vigor?

Oh and Sen. Hutchinson you might want to try to be consistent so people won't bring up stuff like THIS and throw it in your hypocritical face...

"If there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality."
-- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, 10/23/05

VERSUS

"Something needs to be said that is a clear message that our rule of law is intact and the standards for perjury and obstruction of justice are not gray...And I don’t want there to be any lessening of the standard. Because our system of criminal justice depends on people telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That is the lynch pin of our criminal justice system and I don’t want it to be faded in any way."
-- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, 2/2/99

The Corporate Welfare Energy Bill: See Who the Sellouts Are

$14.5 billion for an Energy Bill that, according to the Dubya, does NOTHING to help the energy crisis and doesn't do a damn thing to reduce our dependence on foreign oil or lower gas prices. The Energy Bill, legislation written by energy and oil companies, gives them $9 Billion in tax cuts while they are posting record profits. Exxon alone made 10 BILLION last QUARTER (a record). It's unavoidably obvious that we need a real policy of energy conservation. But President Bush can barely choke out the word "conservation." And can you imagine Dick Cheney, who has already denounced conservation as a "personal virtue" irrelevant to national policy, now leading such a campaign or confronting oil companies for price gouging?

The Energy Bill is a travesty.

The bill never should have been passed and for anyone out there reading this, please consider voting your senator out of office if they voted for this bill. To see how your Senator voted go "here"

Grouped By Vote Position YEAs ---74
Akaka (D-HI)
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Allen (R-VA)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
Dayton (D-MN)
DeMint (R-SC)
DeWine (R-OH)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Frist (R-TN)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hagel (R-NE)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
McConnell (R-KY)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-NE)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Santorum (R-PA)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Stevens (R-AK)
Talent (R-MO)
Thomas (R-WY)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)

NAYs ---26
Biden (D-DE)
Boxer (D-CA)
Carper (D-DE)
Chafee (R-RI)
Clinton (D-NY)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Dodd (D-CT)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Sununu (R-NH)
Wyden (D-OR)

P.S. Both of my Senators voted AGAINST this bill.

Harriet Miers Must Have Lived in a Cave With Mongoloids Her Whole life.

What the National Review’s David Frum had to say about Miers:

In the White House that hero worshipped the president, Miers was distinguished by the intensity of her zeal: She once told me that the president was the most brilliant man she had ever met.

What???!!! Dubya???!!! This is a man that if you wanted to assasinate him all you'd have to do is put a scratch-n-sniff sticker on the bottom of his swimming pool and wait.

Lies, Damn Lies, & Whatever Dubya Says

"At this moment, more than a dozen Iraqi battalions have completed training and are conducting anti-terrorist operations in Ramadi and Fallujah. More than 20 battalions are operating in Baghdad. And some have taken the lead in operations in major sectors of the city. In total, more than 100 battalions are operating throughout Iraq. Our commanders report that the Iraqi forces are operating with increasing effectiveness."
-- President Bush, 9/28/05

VERSUS

"The number of Iraqi battalions capable of combat without U.S. support has dropped from three to one, the top American commander in Iraq told Congress Thursday."
-- Associated Press, 9/29/05

Bush's Veil Over History

SECRECY has been perhaps the most consistent trait of the George W. Bush presidency. Whether it involves refusing to provide the names of oil executives who advised Vice President Dick Cheney on energy policy, prohibiting photographs of flag-draped coffins returning from Iraq, or forbidding the release of files pertaining to Chief Justice John Roberts's tenure in the Justice Department, President Bush seems determined to control what the public is permitted to know. And he has been spectacularly effective, making Richard Nixon look almost transparent.

But perhaps the most egregious example occurred on Nov. 1, 2001, when President Bush signed Executive Order 13233, under which a former president's private papers can be released only with the approval of both that former president (or his heirs) and the current one.

Before that executive order, the National Archives had controlled the release of documents under the Presidential Records Act of 1978, which stipulated that all papers, except those pertaining to national security, had to be made available 12 years after a president left office.

Now, however, Mr. Bush can prevent the public from knowing not only what he did in office, but what Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan did in the name of democracy. (Although Mr. Reagan's term ended more than 12 years before the executive order, the Bush administration had filed paperwork in early 2001 to stop the clock, and thus his papers fall under it.)

Bill Clinton publicly objected to the executive order, saying he wanted all his papers open. Yet the Bush administration has nonetheless denied access to documents surrounding the 177 pardons President Clinton granted in the last days of his presidency. Coming without explanation, this action raised questions and fueled conspiracy theories: Is there something to hide? Is there more to know about the controversial pardon of the fugitive financier Marc Rich? Is there a quid pro quo between Bill Clinton and the Bushes? Is the current president laying a secrecy precedent for pardons he intends to grant?

The administration's effort to grandfather the Reagan papers under the act also raised a red flag. President Bush's signature stopped the National Archives from a planned release of documents from the Reagan era, some of which might have shed light on the Iran-contra scandal and illuminated the role played by the vice president at the time, George H. W. Bush.

LINK

So When Iraqis Steal It's Illegal...

and people are arrested but when Americans steal 9 times as much it's not illegal and no one is arrested?? That's some "logic".

In any case there is now approximately $10 Billion in American taxpayer money now missing in Iraq.

Ex-Iraqi Officials Sought in $1B Theft

Iraq has issued arrest warrants against the defense minister and 27 other officials from the U.S.-backed government of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi over the alleged disappearance or misappropriation of $1 billion in military procurement funds, officials said Monday.

**VERSUS**

$8.8 Billion Missing In Iraq

An audit by the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction found that the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), under the leadership of L. Paul Bremer, cannot account for nearly $9 billion of U.S. taxpayers' money.

Your Tax Dollars at Work....

91,000 tons of ice to cool food, medicine and victims of Katrina costing taxpayers over $100 Million, most of it never delivered.

Cheney: How long will it be before we hear that Hallibuton received those NO BID ice storing contracts?

Bush: Did they lose the recipe for ice? That's some tricky stuff. Makin' ice is hard work.

Brownie: It's everyone else's fault but mine.

Frist: Quick sell my ice related stocks...but keep it quiet.

DeLay: You need someone to money launder that $100 million? I know some guys.

Rove: It's Clinton's fault and the fault of all these undercover CIA agents whose names are...

Rumsfeld: We know where the ice trucks are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat. Oh wait I already used that lie...ummmm...errrr...no comment.

Bring It On 2

Geez I thought "Bring It On 2" was just a bad movie about cheerleaders. Apparently, it's a line given by bad leaders who used to be cheerleaders.

"President Bush warned there will be increased violence in Iraq before next month's elections, as terrorists do everything they can "to try to stop the march of freedom." He said U.S. troops "are ready for it."

I guess ol' Dubya is talking big AGAIN while others fight his wars. What no flight suit George?

And "the march of freedom."??? LOL. ROTFLMAO. Ummm Dubya you're marching toward the edge of a cliff.

Dubya says stay the course, even though the course is severely fucked up.

Like Talking to a Wall...

I was speaking to my brother this weekend and the hurricane coverage on the radio led us to discussion of the last election.

I stated the obvious by saying I just don't see how anyone with any sense could have voted to re-elect Bush and I detailed the various policy decisions implemented by Bush (the unnecessary war, a pork filled energy bill, corporate welfare of the drug bill and energy bill, isolating ourselves from allies, deficits, poverty rising, etc. etc. etc.)

He responded with "I voted for Bush. Kerry was going to raise my taxes and I didn't like what he did protesting against Vietnam."

I asked him do you think Vietnam was worth fighting? And how much longer would you have liked to have seen it go on?

He responded. "No, I don't think Vietnam was worth fighting and he said he wished they ended it sooner".

I pointed out they ended the war because people like Kerry protested against the war and essentially forced them to end it.

He said "Yeah but I didn't like him protesting and he was going to raise my taxes."

Being against the Vietnam war and being critical of someone who protested it of course made no sense and I told him so but I moved on and asked him how the Hell he thought Kerry ever said he was going to raise HIS taxes?

His reply was "That's what Kerry said he was going to do."

I told him "No what Kerry said is he was going to try to repeal the tax cuts that people making over $200,000 got."

He said you call it a repeal I call it raising my taxes.

I pointed out that he and his wife don't make anywhere near $200,000 so his taxes wouldn't get raised even if the impossible happened and the tax cut repeal somehow got through the Republican led Congress.

He replied "Kerry was going to raise my taxes."

I said "OK, I think you made a mistake and your reasons for not voting for Kerry are unsupportable. Your vote didn't count anyway because NY went to Kerry so let's talk about something else before this gets ugly."

It's amazing that even when confronted by facts some people won't change their opinion. It's like talking to a wall. It is absolutely amazing how uninformed and poorly thought out the American electorate is.

Bush: “It’s Gonna Cost Whatever It Costs”

Hurricane Katrina shows yet again the poor leadership and incompetent management Americans have witnessed from the Bush administration since Dubya entered the White House. Excluding the disaster of Dubya becoming our "leader", there have been 3 major disasters for this country since Dubya became our "leader": 9/11, Iraq, and Hurricane Katrina. All of them have led to mismanagement and poor oversight of relief funds.

9/11 Funds
Despite multiple reports warning the federal government of lax oversight, the $5 billion effort to help small businesses recover from the Sept. 11 attacks was so loosely managed that it handed out millions in low-interest loans to undeserving businesses, including a tanning salon in Louisville, Kentucky, and a Colorado Quiznos sandwich shop.

$8.8 Billion Missing In Iraq
An audit by the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction found that the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), under the leadership of L. Paul Bremer, cannot account for nearly $9 billion of U.S. taxpayers' money.

And now Hurricane Katrina is going down the same road...
Reporter: What will it cost?

Bush: Well, it's gonna cost whatever it costs, and we're gonna be wise about the money we spend. I mean, you’re ask– I, I, I — we haven’t totaled up all the bridges… and highways.

Yep, ol' Dubya just screams "fiscal conservative". A real penny pincher. A guy who knows what he's spending and why. The presidency of George W. Bush has been one of misleadership, poor management, and fiscal irresponsibility.

One more time:

"it's gonna cost whatever it costs"

Billions of our tax dollars are "missing" already. That means the Bush administration is either incompetent or is just using these events to raid the treasury. Given those choices I'd like to believe Bush is incompetent but I can't do that. The Bush administration has employed cronyism, deception, no bid contracts and outright thievery to raid the treasury. Believe it.

Right wing pundits like Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Coulter, etc. pounded the table and shrieked about the looting of grocery stores in New Orleans during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They cheered when a shoot on sight order for looters was put in place. But the silence from the right will be deafening as Bush uses Katrina as another excuse to loot the U.S. Treasury.

"it's gonna cost whatever it costs"

Let those words ring in your ear for the rest of the day. Then take your wife (the one who is not to good with the credit cards) to the mall, hand her your wallet, and tell her to go buy herself a new outfit for the cocktail party you'll be attending next week. Ask her how much she thinks it will cost. Then feel a sense of regret and sickening panic when she answers...

"it's gonna cost whatever it costs"

What If the US Had Not Invaded Iraq?

* Saddam still might be in power but under the close scrutiny of UN inspectors.

* There would still be no Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.

* US troops would still be cleaning up Afghanistan instead of leaving it to warlords.

* Real progress might have been made rounding up Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

* Thousands of US servicemen wouldn't be dead.

* 25,000 innocent Iraqis (and counting) wouldn't be dead.

* The US would be hundreds of billions less in debt and might be able to afford education, infustructure and medicine for its own citizens.

* 150,000 US servicemen would now be home with their families.

* The US would still have its international partners in the terror war.

* The US and UN could have used their newfound influence to pressure Saddam into a peaceful transition of Iraq to a Democratic government.

* Iraq would not be the terrorist breeding ground it has become today.

* George W. Bush wouldn't have his present reputation as an international war criminal.

Two Very Revealing Quotes From The Right Wing

"We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did."

-- Rep. Richard Baker (R-LA), quoted by the Wall Street Journal, "overheard" in a conversation with lobbyists. "Baker explains later he didn't intend flippancy but has long wanted to improve low-income housing."

"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this -- this [she chuckles slightly] is working very well for them."

-- Barbara Bush, quoted by on American Public Radio's Marketplace program, on New Orleans residents evacuated and re-located to the Astrodome in Houston.

As watch_n_wait over on the HAL board said

"Baker's comment and Babsy's recent observations expose the ugliness of the right-wing idealogues. It is fueled by an undeserved feeling of superiority and an unfounded belief that they have all the answers.

What is so ironic is that their performance during these past five years demonstrates that they are incompetent; they not only don't have all the answers . . . they seldom even know the right questions. GDumbya is the epitome of their failings."

I couldn't agree with watch_n_wait more.

9-11 Taught the Bush Administration Nothing

“The same mistakes made on 9/11 were made over again, in some cases worse,” says former Gov. Thomas Kean (R-NJ), who chaired the 9/11 Commission. “Those are system-wide failures that can be fixed and should have been fixed right away.”

Two thoughts come to mind:

1) Everytime history repeats itself the price seems to goes up.
2) The Bush Administration: We waste your money, so you won't have to, and we make ourselves rich in the process.

The Ever Incompetent Bush

SFGate.com: "What I intend to do is lead an investigation to find out what went right and what went wrong," Bush said. "We still live in an unsettled world. We want to make sure we can respond properly if there is a WMD (weapons of mass destruction) attack or another major storm."

Now go back and read that quote one more time. "We want to make sure we can respond properly if there is a WMD attack or another major storm." He said this on September 6, 2005, nearly four years to the day since September 11, 2001 and Bush intends, soon, to lead an investigation to make sure we can respond to a WMD attack? Unbelieveable!!!!

Wasn't that the reason we have the Patriot Act?
Wasn't that the reason for creating and funding the Department of Homeland Security?
Wasn't that the point of the $300 billion Americans have given Bush in the last four years?

And Dubya is going to start now??!!!

What the hell did he do with all that money?
What the hell did he do in all that time?

The incompetence of this administration never ceases to amaze me.

Bush Makes More Poor People

From the AP

WASHINGTON - The nation's poverty rate rose to 12.7 percent of the population last year, the fourth consecutive annual increase, the Census Bureau said Tuesday.

Read that again. Poverty increased every year Dubya has been in office. Says something about Dubya's policies.

And lets keep in mind that a family of four was considered living in poverty last year if annual income was $19,307 or less. For a family of two, it was $12,334. How the hell do you live on THAT? If the poverty line was ever moved to what it should be the percentages would be much higher. Of course it is not in any politician's best interest to report ACCURATE poverty figures so they'll never do it.

The Bush Tax Cuts Were a Scam

Everyone pays taxes. You buy a loaf of bread, you pay taxes. You pay tolls on roads you pay taxes. The problem is that if the corporations are paying less taxes (and they are) and the rich are paying less INCOME taxes (and they are) then the difference must be made up.

The lowering of taxes for the rich will only put more of a burden on the middle class and poor and I think we agree their burden is enough already at this point.

Feel free to believe whatever you want but let's face it, the "tax cuts" were a scam. They are really just a "tax deferral" WITH INTEREST.

The Bush administration has raised our tax burden by well over 2 trillion dollars since he took office, and there's no end in sight. With the help of a lapdog Congress, Bush merely cut the rate at which those most able to pay taxes have to pay them. Then he made a hefty surplus (his impetus for tax cuts in the first place) disappear from our treasury, and proceeded to run up half a trillion dollars a year in deficit. The fact that the tax code was adjusted to favor those at the top in no way exonerates the rest of us from having to pay back all the money. What's more, the longer it takes us to do it, the more interest we have to pay.

Bush could have at least tried cutting spending. Currently the U.S. is running a deficit of ONE MILLION DOLLARS A MINUTE. Bush promised budget surpluses....I would have settled for a good attempt at a balanced budget.

Someone will have to pay back these "tax deferrals" and the TAX INCREASE that is coming is going to be a doosey. I look at these tax cuts like a night of hard drinking. Have fun now because the hangover is coming and it's going to hit HARD. Spending money like a drunken sailor is not something I'm interested in continuing.

When you have a deficit, such as the large one this administration created, you can either raise taxes to cover it or pay for it with inflation by allowing market forces to intervene. There is no free lunch in this world.

There should NEVER be a tax cut unless the budget is balanced or running a surplus and a corresponding cut in spending takes place. That's called good sense.

Bush Supporters Should Be Allowed to Park In Handicapped Spaces

Lets face it, the only people that should support Bush are millionaires/billionaires, corporate heads, and Bush's inner circle. That's it. If you are not in the above list you would have to be functionally retarded to support Bush and his policies which seems a fair description of most of the Bush supporters I've seen

No WMD, SS Raided, nation building, environmentally negative legislation, huge deficits, government intervention in private matters, cover ups, deceit, propaganda, whoring themselves out to corporations. This is what the Bush administration is.

To support this is to go against your own interests assuming you aren't a multimillionaire.

Bottom line is, anyone who has an "I voted for Dubya" bumper sticker on their car should be allowed to park in a handicapped space.

A Prediction

With ever falling poll numbers a major (but not full) withdrawal from Iraq will begin sometime in the Summer of 2006 regardless of conditions in Iraq. This will occur we will be told because our mission has been completed but in fact it will be done in a failed attempt to help the GOP in the 2006 elections.

"The United States and Britain are drawing up plans to withdraw the majority of their troops from Iraq by the middle of next year, according to a secret memo written for British Prime Minister Tony Blair by Defense Secretary John Reid," the Washington Post reports.

They want to sit on the info to make it fresh in the minds of voters for the 2006 elections.

The pretend cowboy is playing politics again and soldiers will be paying for this with their lives. Dying for nothing. Since there aren't any elections until 2006 we'll have to wait until then for the Bush administration to "care".

Of course US troops will be in Iraq for the rest of our lifetimes...or until the oil runs out.

Mission Accomplished

Over two years after the Iraq invasion, the looting of the treasury is complete, the social security trust fund is emptied, and in it's place is a $450 Billion dollar budget deficit, equal to half of our total annual military spending, most of which goes into the pockets of the Carlyle Group, the Bechtel Group, Wackenhut, Halliburton, Dick Cheney's company, and Lockheed-Martin, Lynne Cheney's company. This unabated spending is threatening to deflate our economy for the first time since the Great Depression. Meanwhile the Federal government is telling its people, who pony up their hard earned money year after year for the neocon wars, that they have no money for health care, education, transportation, environmental concerns, social services, or retirement security. Add to that mix our two new colonies in the Middle East that are draining American money like two giant under-chlorinated swimming pools in the middle of Hell and you see why the treasury has nothing in it but IOUs and Bush's footprints.

The neocons get what they want and the American, Afghani and Iraqi people are left out in the cold. Anyone who supports the Bush administration is functionally retarded in my book.

Start Bracing for the Coming Bear Market

The perfect recipe for a stock bear market is forming: rising inflation, higher interest rates, record oil prices (tripled since 2002), record consumer and government debt, record trade deficits, a slowing economy, and converging long and short term interest rates.

Inflation is obviously occurring. Healthcare, housing, pharmaceuticals, groceries, etc. have all gone up.

Oil Prices are at record highs and since World War II, all major oil spikes but one have brought on a recession, observes Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com. The reason: Each sustained $10 increase in oil prices shaves almost a percentage point off growth. Current forecasts of an increase of 4 percent or more in gross domestic product assume oil at $45. A higher price, Zandi believes, means slower growth, which could lead to lower stock prices.

Consumer debt levels have more than doubled in 5 years to over $11 trillion.

Government debt has increased at a growing rate every year of the Bush presidency. In the last 4 years $2.2 trillion dollars has been added to the national debt and this drags on the market. Deficits matter because the increased government borrowing creates a drag on the economy. It reduces the amount of capital available for private investment and consequently the increased national income that would result from greater investment. The deficits are not going to end any time soon either.

The trade deficit is not closing and it is currently ranging in approximately the $50 to 60 billion per month range. The widening of the trade deficit reflects slow growth in U.S. export markets. Money is leaving the US and going elsewhere and like a dyke that has sprung a leak, disaster is just a matter of time if something is not done.

The Conference Board, the firm which publishes the U.S. Leading Economic Indicators series, said its index has declined 1.9 percent in the year to May. This generally signals a sharp economic slowdown.

Long and short-term interest rates are converging which says the bond folks are anticipating deflation brought on by a bursting of the real estate bubble or a more serious economic slowdown.

Also, according to Economist.com:

"The housing market has played such a big role in propping up America's economy that a sharp slowdown in house prices is likely to have severe consequences. Over the past four years, consumer spending and residential construction have together accounted for 90% of the total growth in GDP. And over two-fifths of all private-sector jobs created since 2001 have been in housing-related sectors, such as construction, real estate and mortgage broking.

One of the best international studies of how house-price busts can hurt economies has been done by the International Monetary Fund. Analyzing house prices in 14 countries during 1970-2001, it identified 20 examples of busts, when real prices fell by almost 30% on average (the fall in nominal prices was smaller). All but one of those housing busts led to a recession, with GDP after three years falling to an average of 8% below its previous growth trend. America was the only country to avoid a boom and bust during that period. This time it looks likely to join the club."

Since December 2000 employment in U.S. manufacturing has fallen 17 percent, but membership in the National Association of Realtors has risen 58 percent. Housing is holding the economy up and we don't have manufacturing to fall back on anymore.

The housing bubble already appears to be busting with two declining months of housing starts in May and June. The bubble will burst and you can see the extreme negative effects it could have on the economy.

A recession and a market decline seem very likely in the coming months. My advice is be VERY careful and stay conservative in what you invest in. Don't get caught in a bear trap and always remember cash is king.

Rove is Going Down For Perjury

Rove has been spouting for TWO years in the press he had nothing to do with the outing of Plame. I'm VERY sure that when rove testified in the grand jury regarding Plame he was asked if he had any involvement. What do you think he said?

The smart money is Rove said no he had no involvement with the incident at all or more likely he said he only talked about it AFTER the Novak column came out on July 14th. Rove has been making the above statements and those similar to these in the press for 2 years. He specifically told the FBI that he talked about PLAME AFTER the Novak column came out on July 14th. Now it's possible he's been telling the press something that was not true for 2 years and came clean with the grand jury but does anyone believe that after 2 years of lying Rove suddenly told the truth to the grand jury and admitted outing Plame on purpose or by accident? Not that any of that matters because he lied to the FBI and that is a criminal offense.

Once again, the Novak column came out on July 14th. Rove outed Plame as CIA to Cooper on July 11th. Unless Rove has a time machine he almost undoubtedly committed perjury. He lied to the press, he lied to the grand jury, he lied to the FBI, and he lied to the American people. Also, Rove either lied to Dubya or Dubya knew the truth and has been lying to the American people for 2 years to cover it up. Also keep in mind Rove at this time was an adviser to the president and Rove had no reason to know who Plame was, except as part of a public relations attack against her husband. It was a classic case of punishing the messenger for delivering unwanted news.

Rove is going down, now the question is who else is going with him?

Bush is Either a Liar or a Fool

Invasion of Iraq as we have all seen was completely unnecessary. There were no WMDs and there was no threat to the US or its allies.

Now you must ask yourself was the Bush Administration lying or unbelievably incompetent? Do you believe Bush is an EVIL liar who took us into an unnecessary war or an incompetent fool that got tricked into taking this country into an unnecessary war? It must be one or the other. In either case getting rid of the whole lot ASAP would be good for the country.

Dubya Has the TALKING Tough Part Down

"We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts, and those who harbor them."
-- President Bush, 9/11/01

VERSUS

"When you go to the question of dealing with sanctuaries in sovereign states, you're dealing with a problem of our sense of international obligation, fair play."
-- CIA Director Porter Goss, 6/19/05, on searching for Osama bin Laden in Pakistan

Oh and By the way...

Pakistan has weapons of mass destruction. Pakistan has bought them from and sold them to terrorist states. Pakistan has close ties with al Qaeda and the Taliban. Pakistan has given al Qaeda and the Taliban weapons and training, and financial and military support. Pakistan is most likely harboring high ranking al Qaeda officials. And Pakistan is admittedly the greatest nuclear proliferator in the history of the world.

[sarcasm on]
A great ally and beacon of freedom's light, we wouldn't possibly want to offend.
[sarcasm off]

Support is Not Yellow Ribbons

Some people think we should show our support for our troops in Iraq by putting yellow ribbons on our vehicles. It's the least we can do. And I mean that. By definition it is the very least someone can do.

This war is about oil more than anything else and there is nothing more foolish than someone driving around in an SUV getting 10 MPG with an American flag on one side and a yellow ribbon on the other. It's the equivalent of a whore wearing a rosary.

There are much better actions we could take to show our support of our brave troops and to help get them all home safely.

We could all write letters to our elected officials stating that we have had enough of our valiant women and men getting killed fighting an unjust war.

We could participate in demonstrations saying, "Bring our boys and girls back home now.

We could let our President and his oil baron cronies know that he is killing our service people, our sons and daughters, our wives and husbands, our fathers and mothers, in a war that we know was based on faulty and intentionally misleading information, and that we want that war stopped. That would be the best way we could all show our support for our troops.

Perjury Can Now Be Proved In Plame Incident

Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper agreed Wednesday to testify about his sources in a government leak of a CIA agent's identity, a dramatic about-face which came as he faced going to jail.

"I am prepared to testify. I will comply" with the court's order, Cooper told U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan.

With Novak ratting out his sources to the prosecuter it is already known who the two leakers were (which is also why Novak wasn't twisting in the wind like Cooper & Miller) but it is going to be next to impossible to prove that the Intelligence Identities Protection Act was violated by ANYONE because they'd somehow have to prove the alleged violators knew Plame was an undercover CIA agent at the time they disclosed information on Plame. Not gonna happen in a million years. With Cooper giving up his sources there is now a possibility they can prove perjury (need 2 witnesses). Novak is one witness and Cooper is the other. Proving perjury is much easier than proving the Intelligence Identities Protection Act was violated but was impossible without Cooper's cooperation.

This is HUGE. Perjury can now be PROVED. With Novak and Cooper testifying, the source of the information CAN be charged with perjury. Someone may actually do time for outing PLAME now.

The US Needs an Iraq Exit Strategy

"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
--Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)

"If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy."
--Karen Hughes, speaking on behalf of George W Bush

I couldn't agree more. So what's the hold up Mr. Bush?

One question I hear often about Iraq is: "Should the US send more troops?"

I've been saying for sometime without a timetable with benchmarks and approximate dates the mission in Iraq is doomed to failure. (Whatever that mission is. No one seems to know what the mission is anymore.) Without an exit strategy and milestone-goals to achieve that exit strategy suggesting more troops is a waste. If more troops will allow the US to reduce the violence, turn over the country and security duties to Iraqis, and allow a complete pullout of US troops by lets say January 2006 then OK but let's see the exit strategy.

Unless you have well understood goals and objectives that you can hold people to, you'll never get anything done. We need firm targets and timelines in Iraq to have any chance of success there.

Asking for the number of troops to be increased, without a timemarker-plan to eventually decrease troops is a waste in my opinion. A policy of writing blank checks and essentially throwing money in a hole with NO END IN SIGHT is something I can not support. Pulling out immediately is folly but staying without any real plan or goal date as to when to leave is worse in my opinion. The longer we stay and there is no estimate date for complete (or mostly complete) pullout the more public support for this war will erode. We saw it during Vietnam and we're seeing it now in Iraq.

Moral Leadership

We were told it was necessary to invade Iraq because they had WMDs (including nuclear weapons) and that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the US and it's allies. That was a lie. Bush has manufactured scores of excuses to justify a war that was based on bad intelligence at best and outright lies at worst. Moral leadership (something Dubya knows nothing about) should consist of the truth and tough choices based on facts backed up by evidence. It is not moral to lie to the American people, send them to war and then change the reason we went in the first place.