Is Iraq Full of Republicans?

They waste time on nonsense while the country is falling down around them...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's temporary new national flag was raised over the country's parliament for the first time on Tuesday, trumpeted by the government as a break with the past and a step towards reconciliation.

Fixing the violence, daily bombings, electicity, sewers, jobs, infastructure? Anybody? Nope didn't get it done but we got a new flag. Ridiculous.

White House Cites ‘Experience From September 11th’ To Justify Staying In Iraq

In today’s White House press briefing, spokeswoman Dana Perino tried to justify President Bush’s escalation in Iraq by stating, “The terrorists that are seeking a safe haven in Iraq, if we were to leave, would find one, just like they had one in Afghanistan.” When reporter Helen Thomas asked how she knows that statement is true, Perino replied, “Well, based on experience from September 11th, that’s how we know it.”

Ms. Perino was probably not saying that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. What I believe she means is that allowing a post-Saddam Iraq to become a haven for Al Qaeda-like terrorists, as Afghanistan was before 9/11, would pose a significant danger to the U.S. and the West.

OK...to the best of our knowledge that is WRONG. A new survey of military and diplomatic analysts concludes that “the likelihood that enemy combatants from Iraq might follow departing U.S. forces back to the United States is remote at best.”

But let's assume it is in the US interest to fight terrorism in Iraq and I believe it is as there were no terrorists to speak of before the US got there. It's sort of our responsibility to help.

The problem is that the US staying in Iraq is what is breeding more new terrorists by the day. Heck according to al Qaeda messing with Iraq in Gulf War I was a primary reason they gave for attacking on 9/11. So what Bush is doing is ass backwards as always.

Hillary Clinton's statements that as president she would keep **some** troops in Iraq to battle Al Qaeda if needed makes MUCH more sense. Removing most or all of the US troops would remove the reason the terrorists are in Iraq. There are very few terrorists in Iraq and most of the violence is due to civil war insurgents but if Iraq requested our help to limit the terrorism I see no reason not to grant them a reasonable level of assistance...but most of the US troops should be redeployed. It's hurting having US troops in Iraq, more than it is helping. If 9/11 taught us anything...it's that.

Apparently, the US Is NOT Occupying Iraq

The Bush administration responded with shock to King Abdullah’s declaration that the U.S. is “illegitimately” occupying Iraq. “We were a little surprised to see those remarks,” said Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns. White House spokesman Dana Perino claimed, “It is not accurate to say that the United States is occupying Iraq.”

Hmmm...The US is not occupying Iraq. That's interesting. In related news.

Black is white.
Water isn't wet.
The sky isn't blue.
The sun rises in the west.
And you're not really reading this.

From the novel 1984:

The Ministry of Truth -- Minitrue, in Newspeak -- was startlingly different from any other object in sight. It was an enormous pyramidal structure of glittering white concrete, soaring up, terrace after terrace, 300 metres into the air. From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party:

WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

The Fox News "Mentality"

There is a portion of America (sadly) that will not watch or read real news about things that actually effect them. These are unfortunately the same people that buy the National Enquirer, People magazine, and Cosmo every week religiously. They do this to escape reality which is very complicated sometimes. Reality and the need to actually think about the unpleasant, especially when it goes against their pre-conceived ideas, scares them. Fox news puts everything into a good and evil column without drumming up complicated concepts...so it attracts these same National Enquirer, People magazine, and Cosmo folks.The dumbing down of America is happening at an alarming rate.

Now back to something important that really effects my life...Next on Fox News a crazy astronaut lady pissed herself on the way to Florida to kill a romantic rival...

Another Bushbot Reality Bubble Moment

Apparently the GOP assclowns that still support our White House disaster monkey think it's just dandy to fire US Attorneys because they are investigating members of their party, or because they aren't investigating enough people of the other party.

The rest of us call this obstruction of justice and abuse of power.

The Crows Moved And the Scam Went On

Where I grew up there was a lot of development going on. New homes, businesses and roads were being put in. The fact they were being built mostly in an area that had been polluted with chemicals and garbage for the previous 70 years seemed to be well ignored by most. Heck as kids we used to throw pebbles at rocks close to the ground and watch it spark and the ground would burst into flames. I remember they tried to put up a fence to keep people out of the more polluted areas. They put up a fence alright...they put it up about 8 times by my count and each time the ground would eat through the metal fence posts and the fence would fall over.

Eventually they gave up.No one with any sense thought anyone would care about this land because it was essentially useless if you liked breathing and not glowing in the dark. But then came the politicians...

The land was cleaned up enough to make it look presentable. All the garbage heaps, old tires, and abandoned cars were removed but then they made the mistake of chopping the trees down. Crows had been living in this area of town pretty much undisturbed for decades. There were 10's of thousands of them.Sure roads and buildings are nice but the land is still polluted and NOW all these crows needed a home and they found one.

They went to Churchville, the next town over, they crapped everywhere, chased animals and people, ate out of and made a mess out of all the garbage cans in town and were a general nuisance. The people yelled, the mayor gave speeches, the town council met and they decided to hire a guy who handled situations like this by using dogs and small explosives to drive the crows away. It worked and the crows left.

They went to Waterville, the next town over, they crapped everywhere, chased animals and people, ate out of and made a mess out of all the garbage cans in town and were a general nuisance. The people yelled, the mayor gave speeches, the town council met and they decided to hire a guy who handled situations like this by using dogs and small explosives to drive the crows away. It worked.

They went to my town, they crapped everywhere, chased animals and people, ate out of and made a mess out of all the garbage cans in town and were a general nuisance. The people yelled, the mayor gave speeches, the town council met and they decided to hire a guy who handled situations like this by using dogs and small explosives to drive the crows away.

And so it went and still goes to this day. The crows every year from one town to the next and then back again.

Sometimes I think about the crows, my town, Waterville, and Churchville and the stupid politicians developing useless land when I see these "troop surges" to clean up towns of insurgents and I wonder how many years they'll be pushing crows around in Iraq. The people feel powerless, the mayors like it because they look like they're doing something, and the guy moving the crows around keeps making a fortune every year for something that's never going to end.

Was it all worth the money and aggravation that the crows caused? If only they thought about the long term problems before hand and not the short term $$$ the politicians put in their pockets, none of this ever would have happened. Sort of sounds like Iraq huh?

Anyone want to buy some vacant buildings on polluted land covered in crow shit? How about a $500 million embassy in the middle of a civil war torn nation? If so I know where you can go to get both.

Did the White House Send Reuters The Info For This Article?

White House trades new weapons to support troops

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House plans to shift $3.2 billion in defense spending -- partly from new weapons like the Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter -- to support troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, a trade publication reported on Monday.

In a letter to Congress detailing revised plans for its fiscal 2007 emergency wartime spending request, the White House said it would reduce spending on three aircraft programs by $923 million, freeing up money for armor kits and transport vehicles needed by U.S. troops.

What a crock of shit!!!

So let me get this straight either the assclowns that currently occupy the White House fucked up and didn't allocate enough funds for armor kits and transport vehicles in Iraq they should have KNEW they were going to need so they're shifting funds to cover their ass now OR they always intended to shift the funds and never buy the aircraft in the hopes some asshole reporter would be fooled by this obvious pandering for PR from the WH. God does it ever stop with this White House? They're nothing but friggin' low life scum.

Don't Get Fooled Again

The really sad part of all this is that IF the neocons who pushed, exaggerated, manipulated and lied to get this war cared about their country in the LONG TERM and not just filling their pockets with $$$ in the SHORT TERM none of this would have happened. These are some very evil people who think of little more than making money no matter who or what they have to step on to do it. Morals, patriotism, and compassion for their fellow man are things they consider a weakness. Any one who supported or still supports this war basically supported making a bunch of super rich people more rich at the expense of themselves, their family, and their country. Some would say the aftermath of the invasion was poorly planned. I say the people who brought you this unnecessary war planned it out very well. The longer this "war" goes the richer they get. And in 20 or 30 years, when people forget, they'll try it again. Vietnam was essentially the same thing as Iraq. A waste for American tax payers that made a bunch of rich guys even richer. Don't get fooled again.

Priests to Purify Site After Bush Visit

GUATEMALA CITY -- Mayan priests will purify a sacred archaeological site to eliminate "bad spirits" after President Bush visits next week, an official with close ties to the group said Thursday.

Can we get those guys to come to Washington DC? The Republicans would scatter like cockroaches when a light is turned on. Heck Dick Cheney would burst into flames, Ted Stevens would probably melt, and Karl Rove would probably fall to the ground, turn into a few hundred bats and fly away.

The Damage Done By Libby

When Plame was outed, everyone associated with the Brewster Jennings cover was outed. This group was responsible for tracking weapons of mass destruction around the world, and may well have foiled a plot to smuggle WMDs into Iraq, North Korea, Iran, Mexico or even the US that could have been stopped.

This at best severely damaged CIA covert operations and national security and at worst did all that and got some agents killed.

Feel free to argue the trivia of legality but this did severe damage to our safety as a nation and the safety of all the other agents and their contacts under the Brewster Jennings cover. How any American can defend this is beyond my comprehension.

Libby got off light. He should be hanging from a rope IMO.

Ughhh!!! The Members of the Libby Jury Are a Bunch of Morons

This might not bode well for justice being served...

The other day they requested a dictionary to look up the meaning of the term 'reasonable doubt.' The judge denied the request. The jury instructions they received included three whole pages explaining the concept in excruciating detail. This is why the judge denied the request. Exactly how dumb are these people? I guess the verdict will go a long way toward answering that question once and for all.

A dozen informed people, under oath, contradicted Libby's statements...this isn't that hard to figure out.

More Nonsense From BushCo

Bush hails UK pullout as 'sign of success'

Tony Blair's announcement today that Britain is to withdraw about 1,600 troops from Iraq over the coming months shows that US-led operations in the country are succeeding, American leaders say.

President George W Bush views the plan to cut British forces to about 5,000 by the end of the summer as "a sign of success", according to a US National Security Council spokesman, Gordon Johndroe.

OK...If the UK's announcement of a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq is a "sign of success" why can't the announcement of a timetable for withdrawal by American troops be the same "success"???

A Poor Decision, the US Has Lost Its Way

WASHINGTON - Guantanamo Bay detainees may not challenge their detention in U.S. courts, a federal appeals court said Tuesday in a ruling upholding a key provision of a law at the center of President Bush's anti-terrorism plan.

I'm really disappointed in our justice system today. This court decision is completely wrong and goes against the very basic concepts of human rights and justice IMO.

Now I know the "conservatives" are going to be "thinking" terrorists shouldn't get the same rights as Americans. The problem is, the detainees at GITMO may or may not be terrorists...we don't know what they are...because they can't get a trial...everyone see the problem now?

Tony Snow Might Actually Have a Point

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House on Sunday disagreed with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's claim that the Iraq war was "the worst foreign policy mistake" in U.S. history.

Tony Snow might have a point (and not just the one on his head).

Reducing forces in Afghanistan, encouraging the spread of nuclear weapons, driving much of Latin America into the Castro camp, walking away from peace negotiations with Israel and Palestine, encouraging and wallowing in the hatred of the rest of the world's nations, refusing to cooperate in international efforts to curb climate change, undercutting the Geneva Conventions, holding out on concessions to the North Koreans until after they tested a few nukes and then giving in....all of these are definitely in the running for the "worst".

Flying Saucers, a Flood, George W. Bush, and Iraq

On December 20 1954, a woman known as Marion Keech gathered her followers in her garden in Lake City, Illinois, and waited for midnight, when flying saucers were supposed to land and save them from huge floods about to engulf the planet.

As dawn rose on December 21 with no flying saucer in sight, Keech had another revelation. Sananda told her that the group's advanced state of enlightenment had saved the entire planet. They rejoiced and called a press conference. "A man with a conviction is a hard man to change," wrote Festinger in his book on the cult, When Prophecy Fails. "Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts and figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point."

George Bush is a man of conviction and clearly a hard man to change. When reality confronts his plans he does not alter them but instead alters his understanding of reality. Like Keech and her crew, he stands with a tight band of followers, both deluded and determined, understanding each setback not as a sign to change course but as further proof that they must redouble their efforts to the original goal.

And here we sit and watch plans for an attack on Iran unfold even as the official narrative for the run-up to the Iraq war unravels.

Once George Bush has got hold of a bad idea he just can't let it go.

SIX Years Later

AFTER health care premiums have risen 87% in six years...

Bush: fixing health care is "urgent priority"

Worst president ever.

Bush Tells 8% of the Truth and Protects His Saudi Oil Friends

Only 8% of the GI's killed in Iraq have come about as a result of Iran supplying weapons to the Shiite Militias.

It's the Sunnis (you know Saddam Hussein's people) who are overwelming responsible for killing and wounding US Troops - and who supports the Sunnis?

Saudis reportedly funding Iraqi Sunni insurgents

CAIRO (AP) — Private Saudi citizens are giving millions of dollars to Sunni insurgents in Iraq and much of the money is used to buy weapons, including shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles, according to key Iraqi officials and others familiar with the flow of cash.

Saudi government officials deny that any money from their country is being sent to Iraqis fighting the government and the U.S.-led coalition.

But the U.S. Iraq Study Group report said Saudis are a source of funding for Sunni Arab insurgents. Several truck drivers interviewed by The Associated Press described carrying boxes of cash from Saudi Arabia into Iraq, money they said was headed for insurgents

(thanks to red_state_mess on the HAL board for pointing this out. I hope someday he gets a blog. I'd read it daily.)

Soul, Conscience, & Principles...Things Most Religious ''Conservatives'' Don't Have

On the escalation:

Those who say they attend religious services weekly were more supportive of the administration's move to increase U.S. troops levels in Iraq. But a majority still opposed that idea.

Attend church weekly: 46% favor troop increase, 53% oppose.
Nearly weekly/monthly: 35% favor, 62% oppose.
Seldom/never: 34% favor, 63% oppose.

Those who say they attend religious services weekly were the least likely to support the idea of Congress setting a timetable to bring U.S. forces home by the end of next year. But a majority still supported the proposal.

Attend church weekly: 56% support, 41% oppose.
Nearly weekly/monthly: 68% support, 31% oppose
Seldom/never: 65% support, 33% oppose

Just goes to show that going to church (you know the place where they preach "thou shalt not kill") doesn't give someone moral superiority over those that don't attend church. Giving up on the very principles of ones beliefs (in this case religious beliefs) shows how weak and unprincipled many of these people are.

I know...I know...some "conservative" is going to tell us "but we gots to kill them crazy murderous religious nuts for they get us and our kin".

Of course they never think there are people in Iraq targeting Americans saying "but we gots to kill them crazy murderous religious nuts for they get us and our kin".

The irony is overwelming.

Quote of the Day

“The benefits were temporary, the bodybags were permanent.” — Rep. Ric Keller (R-FL), on past escalation efforts and why he’s opposing the current one.

''But It's OK 'Cuz We're the Good Guys''

Tonight, I had an interesting but frustrating conversation with an acquaintance named Alan. I was having dinner with him and some other people and he had Fox Noise on (yuck) before we ate. The "reporters" were babbling about how insurgents were allegedly being armed with weapons from Iran and said they could tell from serial numbers, etc.

Alan said "We should nuke Iran and that would fix the problem"

I explained "That really isn't an option and you have to admit it's pretty crazy to suggest such a thing because you'd be paying $500 for a barrel of oil and you'd kill a lot of innocent people"

Alan said "Yeah you're right but we gotta do something because it's not right that they're arming our enemies."

I said "Well would you expect anything different? We did the EXACT SAME THING during the Iraq-Iran war by arming Iraq against Iran. Isn't Iran just doing what we did to them? Why is it right for us to arm their enemy but they can't arm ours? They're just doing what we did to them."

He said "Well yeah it's the same thing...but we're the good guys."

I said "Sometimes there aren't good guys and everything is sort of dark gray"

He let it drop after that but what bothers me is this guy is a fairly vocal born again Christian (ugh!). The born again thing sort of explains his immature, narrow minded, black and white world view but suggesting the nuking of another country would seem to go against all of his alleged "beliefs".

It amazes me how many followers there are in this world that don't ever bother to look at who and what they are following even when it goes against all their beliefs.