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.