"The Truth Will Emerge"
Senator Robert C. Byrd

excerpts:

Regarding the situation in Iraq, it appears to this Senator that the American people may have been lured into accepting the unprovoked invasion of a sovereign nation, in violation of long-standing International law, under false premises. There is ample evidence that the horrific events of September 11 have been carefully manipulated to switch public focus from Osama Bin Laden and Al Queda who masterminded the September 11th attacks, to Saddam Hussein who did not. The run up to our invasion of Iraq featured the President and members of his cabinet invoking every frightening image they could conjure, from mushroom clouds, to buried caches of germ warfare, to drones poised to deliver germ laden death in our major cities. We were treated to a heavy dose of overstatement concerning Saddam Hussein's direct threat to our freedoms. The tactic was guaranteed to provoke a sure reaction from a nation still suffering from a combination of post traumatic stress and justifiable anger after the attacks of 911. It was the exploitation of fear. It was a placebo for the anger.

Since the war's end, every subsequent revelation which has seemed to refute the previous dire claims of the Bush Administration has been brushed aside. Instead of addressing the contradictory evidence, the White House deftly changes the subject. No weapons of mass destruction have yet turned up, but we are told that they will in time. Perhaps they yet will. But, our costly and destructive bunker busting attack on Iraq seems to have proven, in the main, precisely the opposite of what we were told was the urgent reason to go in. It seems also to have, for the present, verified the assertions of Hans Blix and the inspection team he led, which President Bush and company so derided. As Blix always said, a lot of time will be needed to find such weapons, if they do, indeed, exist. Meanwhile Bin Laden is still on the loose and Saddam Hussein has come up missing.

The Administration assured the U.S. public and the world, over and over again, that an attack was necessary to protect our people and the world from terrorism. It assiduously worked to alarm the public and blur the faces of Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden until they virtually became one.

What has become painfully clear in the aftermath of war is that Iraq was no immediate threat to the U.S. Ravaged by years of sanctions, Iraq did not even lift an airplane against us. Iraq's threatening death-dealing fleet of unmanned drones about which we heard so much morphed into one prototype made of plywood and string. Their missiles proved to be outdated and of limited range. Their army was quickly overwhelmed by our technology and our well trained troops.
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Despite our high-blown claims of a better life for the Iraqi people, water is scarce, and often foul, electricity is a sometime thing, food is in short supply, hospitals are stacked with the wounded and maimed, historic treasures of the region and of the Iraqi people have been looted, and nuclear material may have been disseminated to heaven knows where, while U.S. troops, on orders, looked on and guarded the oil supply.

Meanwhile, lucrative contracts to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure and refurbish its oil industry are awarded to Administration cronies, without benefit of competitive bidding, and the U.S. steadfastly resists offers of U.N. assistance to participate. Is there any wonder that the real motives of the U.S. government are the subject of worldwide speculation and mistrust?

And in what may be the most damaging development, the U.S. appears to be pushing off Iraq's clamor for self-government. Jay Garner has been summarily replaced, and it is becoming all too clear that the smiling face of the U.S. as liberator is quickly assuming the scowl of an occupier. The image of the boot on the throat has replaced the beckoning hand of freedom. Chaos and rioting only exacerbate that image, as U.S. soldiers try to sustain order in a land ravaged by poverty and disease. "Regime change" in Iraq has so far meant anarchy, curbed only by an occupying military force and a U.S. administrative presence that is evasive about if and when it intends to depart.

- rob 5:08 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Bush (and friends) Lies (tm):

Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.
Dick Cheney / Speech to VFW National Convention / August 26, 2002

Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons.
George W. Bush / Speech to UN General Assembly / September 12, 2002

If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world.
Ari Fleischer / Press Briefing / December 2, 2002

We know for a fact that there are weapons there.
Ari Fleischer / Press Briefing / January 9, 2003

We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have.
George W. Bush / Radio Address / February 8, 2003

Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.
George W. Bush / Address to the Nation

We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.
Donald Rumsfeld / ABC Interview / March 30, 2003

Much more to be found at: What a Tangled Web We Weave . . .
. . . when first we practice to deceive!

- rob 4:23 PM - [PermaLink] -

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You know. I didn't like the fact the Clinton lied under oath about a blow job. It is considered a criminal offense. But doesn't that just seem so damn quaint now where the Bush lies about why we should go to war, lies about the war, and lies about the end of the war (as of yesterday 20 American soldiers have died since Bush said "Mission Accomplished"). Krugman is good again:

Waggy Dog Stories

Last fall the former head of the C.I.A.'s counterterrorism efforts warned that "cooked intelligence" was finding its way into official pronouncements. This week a senior British intelligence official told the BBC that under pressure from Downing Street, a dossier on Iraqi weapons had been "transformed" to make it "sexier" — uncorroborated material from a suspect source was added to make the threat appear imminent.

It's now also clear that George W. Bush had no intention of reaching a diplomatic solution. According to The Financial Times, White House sources confirm that the decision to go to war was reached in December: "A tin-pot dictator was mocking the president. It provoked a sense of anger inside the White House," a source told the newspaper.

Administration officials are now playing down the whole W.M.D. issue. Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary, recently told Vanity Fair that the decision to emphasize W.M.D.'s had been taken for "bureaucratic reasons . . . because it was the one reason everyone could agree on." But it was the W.M.D. issue that stampeded the Senate into giving Mr. Bush carte blanche to wage war.

For the time being, the public doesn't seem to care — or even want to know. A new poll by the Program on International Policy Attitudes finds that 41 percent of Americans either believe that W.M.D.'s have been found, or aren't sure. The program's director suggests that "some Americans may be avoiding having an experience of cognitive dissonance." And three-quarters of the public thinks that President Bush showed strong leadership on Iraq.

- rob 4:13 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Now of course The Onion in satire, but I wouldn't be surprised these days:

With the nation safely distracted by the NBA playoffs, Congress passed the terrifying Citizenship Redefinition And Income-Based Relocation Act of 2003 with little opposition Monday.

"This piece of legislation is essential, both for more efficient implementation of the New American Ideal and to give law enforcement the broad discretionary powers necessary to enforce certain vital civil and behavioral mandates," said U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), addressing an empty press room Sunday, midway through game four of the NBA Eastern Conference finals. "We are confident that Americans will embrace this law, should they eventually realize it has been passed."

Its a comedy piece. It supposed to be funny. But we are living an administration that believes debate and discussion on an idea does not improve an idea. They call that leadership. Leadership to them is to come up with an idea (say like saying "Iraq has WMDs" because you can't think of any other reason to go to war) and to move ahead with it. No discussion. No debate. And make the change when no one is looking. Is that leadership or wannabe dictatorship?

- rob 3:45 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Of course the end result of this will be that newspapers layoff more to make up for the slow classified ad revenue....

Help-wanted advertising falls to 41-year low as firms delay hiring

The volume of help-wanted advertising in major U.S. newspapers fell in April to the lowest in more than 41 years as companies put off hiring to focus on cutting costs.

The Conference Board's help-wanted advertising index dropped to 35, the lowest since September 1961, from 38 in March. It was the third consecutive monthly decline. The index stood at 47 in April 2002.

- rob 3:38 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Want some dry reading that'll scare you? (if you can pay attention).

A method of counting the votes that is decided upon in secret, and is so complex and confidential that it cannot be verified by anyone other than the manufacturer of the machine doing the counting is simply not acceptable, no matter how well-intentioned or objective the manufacturer may be. The lack of certification is even more troubling. A full, public investigation is required to ensure that the people involved in running the last election fulfilled their responsibilities to the citizens of Georgia.

- rob 3:36 PM - [PermaLink] -

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The Deficit Matters

The Republicans harped on it over and over in the eighties: Lower The Deficit. And you know what? They were right (not that anyone was arguing for the deficit). Well now we've raised our borrowing limit to 7.4 Billion Dollars to keep up with the growing deficit. So what kind of debt are we talking about. Well, assuming American is 250 Million strong, we're talking about $29,600 of debt for every person in this nation. That means my family's debt burden alone is $118,400; I guess I need a second mortgage. That would be if the government suddenly started living within its means of course. But that isn't going to happen anytime soon. Why the federal government is sitting on a report that estimates the budget deficit growing to 44.2 Trillion dollars. Now you're talking real money.

US 'faces future of chronic deficits'

The Bush administration has shelved a report commissioned by the Treasury that shows the US currently faces a future of chronic federal budget deficits totalling at least $44,200bn in current US dollars.

The study, the most comprehensive assessment of how the US government is at risk of being overwhelmed by the "baby boom" generation's future healthcare and retirement costs, was commissioned by then-Treasury secretary Paul O'Neill.

But the Bush administration chose to keep the findings out of the annual budget report for fiscal year 2004, published in February, as the White House campaigned for a tax-cut package that critics claim will expand future deficits.

Ah yes, wouldn't want to hurt or chances of passing that big welfare for millionaires tax cut. Yes, you are right it did speed up the child tax credit for us less then millionaire folks, that will be nice to get that check this summer. Of course, if you are poor, you don't get that either:

Tax Law Omits Child Credit in Low-Income Brackets

But after studying the bill approved on Friday, liberal and child advocacy groups discovered that a different group of families would also not benefit from the $400 increase families who make just above the minimum wage.

Because of the formula for calculating the credit, most families with incomes from $10,500 to $26,625 will not benefit. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal group, says those families include 11.9 million children, or one of every six children under 17.

I love it when you hear Republicans yell that Democrats are practicing "class warfare" whenever thing bring facts like that up, because that is what the Republicans are in fact doing. They are waging class warfare. Though they have little class themselves.

Any, back to the earlier fun article about the 44.2 Trillion Dollar future deficit:

The study's analysis of future deficits dwarfs previous estimates of the financial challenge facing Washington. It is roughly equivalent to 10 times the publicly held national debt, four years of US economic output or more than 94 per cent of all US household assets. Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve chairman, last week bemoaned what he called Washington's "deafening" silence about the future crunch.

Hmm... What will we do about that?

The study asserts that sharp tax increases, massive spending cuts or a painful mix of both are unavoidable if the US is to meet benefit promises to future generations. It estimates that closing the gap would require the equivalent of an immediate and permanent 66 per cent across-the-board income tax increase.

Ouch. ummm. ewww. Thanks George!

- rob 2:58 PM - [PermaLink] -

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"When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."
--Thomas Jefferson

For the sake of freedom George, please fear us!

- rob 12:56 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Boy I'm never on time with these, but here's this weeks Top Ten Conservative Idiots. Much Fun had by all.

- rob 12:54 PM - [PermaLink] -

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So would you like Bush's people to continue picking some really scaring folks to be judges? If you would, then don't go to this petition.

Let Democratic leaders know that you will stand with them as they fight to protect American values from Bush's right-wing judicial nominees.

Here's what I added to my signature (In a sad desperate attempt to wake up the sleeping push over that is Daschle):

Unfortunately the time for the traditional Democratic Agenda is not now. The Democrats have been pushed into the role of the opposition party, for the sake of America's future they better take that roll seriously. Tell the truth. Fight the fight. Focus on one thing only: Stop Bush from destroying this nation.

Get the word out, let your constituants know the truth, this isn't politics as usual, this is a systematic dismantling of American's democratic traditions by a party that controls all three branches of the government and is not in anyway hesitant to ABUSE this power.

Please wake up to the importance of your role in the America George is creating. Please realize your importance in America's future history: keeping American free.

I'm not exagerating.

- rob 12:53 PM - [PermaLink] -

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US finds evidence of WMD at last
(in Maryland)

The good news for the Pentagon yesterday was that its investigators had finally unearthed evidence of weapons of mass destruction, including 100 vials of anthrax and other dangerous bacteria.

The bad news was that the stash was found, not in Iraq, but fewer than 50 miles from Washington, near Fort Detrick in the Maryland countryside.
...

Even more embarrassing for the Pentagon, there was no documentation about the various biological agents disposed of at the US bio-defence centre at Fort Detrick. Iraq's failure to come up with paperwork proving the destruction of its biological arsenal was portrayed by the US as evidence of deception in the run-up to the war.

Umm... why do I have to go to the UK to read about this. Are we going to bomb Maryland now? Let me know, I want to warn some people there.

- rob 5:13 PM - [PermaLink] -

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White House insider cleans up Bush's image on film

Ahh... yes... We have sunk that low. Bush's people are now making a propaganda film for cable to be aired this September (11th maybe) about how heroic our pResident was on that fateful day:

Trapped on the other side of the country aboard Air Force One, the President has lost his cool: "If some tinhorn terrorist wants me, tell him to come and get me! I'll be at home! Waiting for the bastard!"

His Secret Service chief seems taken aback. "But Mr. President . . ."

The President brusquely interrupts him. "Try Commander-in-Chief. Whose present command is: Take the President home!"

I wonder how they'll do the scene of him reading the book about the goat. (warning that link is real video).

- rob 5:00 PM - [PermaLink] -

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A Canadian perspective of flyboys, Leocons, a docile fawning media and a good question about our military on 9/11, every word of which is completely accurate.

"[A]nyone questioning the Commander-in-Chief or his policies is promptly dissed by hostile Bush supporters who display a virulent, anti-democratic contempt for public debate or even, often, civilized discourse.

"So, for instance, Fox News 'host' Bill O'Reilly last February interviewed an anti-war activist whose father was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks. One might have thought that losing a father in that American tragedy would have at least earned the activist a respectful hearing on an American interview program. Wrong. O'Reilly never let up his verbal abuse during the interview, and afterwards promptly told the activist to 'Get out of my studio before I tear you to f----ing pieces.'

"Or, as Chris Hill, business development vice-president for Showtime Digital Media in California, wrote me after a recent column questioning U.S. actions in Iraq: 'Please do us all a favor and take a long walk off a short pier, you spineless, leftist, Canadian ---- (expletive for female genitalia).'

"In a less coarsely worded attempt to shut down public debate, historian Michael Bliss vehemently denounced the [Toronto] Star's Michele Landsberg for even posing questions in her column that any normally curious person (let alone a historian) would want answered, like: How come the world's best military was unable to do anything about hijacked airplanes flying over its territory for more than an hour on Sept. 11?"

How come indeed.

- Michael 8:43 AM - [PermaLink] -

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Ahh Texas...

Your use of 'WD-40' as your caucus logo or as the trademark of your group of 'Anglo, male, Democrats over 40' dilutes WD-40 Company's trademark rights and in addition may lead the public to believe that WD-40 Company has given you permission to use their name," Pasulka told Reps. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, and Mark Homer, D-Paris.

On Saturday, the lawmakers got some support from three legislators who sent Pasulka a response squeaking with humor and sarcasm.

The trio said they're "appalled and offended that you and your client, The WD-40 Company, would recklessly inject the issue of race in your letter. We were not aware that your client harbored reservations about doing business with Anglo white males over 40."

The letter, also sent to company president Gary O. Ridge, pointed out that Texas owns thousands of shares of WDFC stock worth millions in its state funds and that perhaps the stock could be sold to help with a $9.9 billion budget shortfall.

"We hope this letter clears the air as to any confusion you may have in this matter," it said.

The letter was signed by Republican Reps. Rick Hardcastle and Dennis Bonnen, and "special counsel to rural white boys" Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, a Democrat.

- rob 3:48 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Krugman is excellent again: Stating the Obvious

The pain of these benefit cuts will fall on the middle class and the poor, while the tax cuts overwhelmingly favor the rich. For example, the tax cut passed last week will raise the after-tax income of most people by less than 1 percent — not nearly enough to compensate them for the loss of benefits. But people with incomes over $1 million per year will, on average, see their after-tax income rise 4.4 percent.

The Financial Times suggests this is deliberate (and I agree): "For them," it says of those extreme Republicans, "undermining the multilateral international order is not enough; long-held views on income distribution also require radical revision."

How can this be happening? Most people, even most liberals, are complacent. They don't realize how dire the fiscal outlook really is, and they don't read what the ideologues write. They imagine that the Bush administration, like the Reagan administration, will modify our system only at the edges, that it won't destroy the social safety net built up over the past 70 years.

But the people now running America aren't conservatives: they're radicals who want to do away with the social and economic system we have, and the fiscal crisis they are concocting may give them the excuse they need. The Financial Times, it seems, now understands what's going on, but when will the public wake up?

- rob 3:45 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Remember "Changing the tone" in Washington?

Well Bush certainly did that. We didn't used to hear things like:
"Bipartisanship is another name for date rape"

Oh don't worry, in context it doesn't sound any better:

"We are trying to change the tones in the state capitals - and turn them toward bitter nastiness and partisanship," said Grover Norquist, a leading Republican strategist, who heads a group called Americans for Tax Reform.

"Bipartisanship is another name for date rape," Norquist, a onetime adviser to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, said, citing an axiom of House conservatives.

- rob 3:43 PM - [PermaLink] -

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For those few among you who still have disposable income in Georgie's America here's a great way to dispose of some of it:

Contribute to the Media Monopoly ad campaign

In partnership with Common Cause and Free Press, we have developed television and newspaper ads that discuss the possible consequences of an approved rule change. The ads feature conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch, the man behind the Fox News empire. Under the new rules, Murdoch could acquire hundreds of new outlets, and wield tremendous influence through biased and one-sided reporting.

With your help, we'll run ads in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Daily Variety. This will cost us around $80,000. We're also planning to place TV ads on the same theme, starting Thursday in New York and Washington D.C., for another $100,000.

- rob 1:37 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Here's an item to raise some hackles: Having control of all three branches of government, Republicans have decided to simply throw out all the rules. Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Mr. DeLay recently revealed how he felt about rules of general applicability. When he tried smoking a cigar in a restaurant on federal property, the manager told him it violated federal law. His response, according to The Washington Post, was, "I am the federal government."

Apres moi, le deluge.

- Michael 10:14 AM - [PermaLink] -

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Less then a week to go before the FCC tries to hand over our airwaves to Rubert Murdoch! If you haven't already, please go to The Stop the FCC Petition.

On June 2, the Federal Communications Commission intends to lift restrictions on media ownership that could allow your local newspaper, cable provider, radio stations, and TV channels all to be owned by one company. The result could be the disappearance of the checks and balances provided by a competitive media marketplace -- and huge cutbacks in local news and reporting. Good, balanced information is the basis for our democracy.

If that doesn't get you interested in stopping them, perhaps a little read about how the FCC conducts its business would:

FCC Travel Routinely Funded by Industry

Vegas. Rio. 'Frisco. Paris. The Big Easy. Over the past eight years, Federal Communications Commission officials have taken 2,500 business trips to global tourist spots, most of which were paid for by the media and telecommunications companies the agency oversees, according to a study to be released today.

The report, released by the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, comes as the FCC is poised to relax or eliminate key media ownership rules, a step that has been criticized by some as putting too much power in the hands of a few media giants.

Look, if the FCC wants to go on a trip let the government pay for it. If it wants the money for such trips charge more for licensing. Folks the reason there is an FCC is that the air waves are ours. We, the people, own the air, therefore the government acts as our representative in negotiating the rights to our air. Anyone can own a newspaper, but to own a TV station that broadcasts in our air you need our (via the FCC) permission. The FCC is not acting as our agent. Please remind them of their duty.

- rob 9:54 AM - [PermaLink] -

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"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American people."
- Teddy Roosevelt



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 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt



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- James Madison



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- Dwight D. Eisenhower

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"There's nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed by what's right with America." - Bill Clinton.