Gen. Wesley Clark

Getting to Know the General

Clark: "Ordinary Americans are now much more interested in the world beyond. And in combination with the war on terror, you've got a sort of rollback to a sort of imperial presidency., a presidency that's much more private, and an investigatory service with greater authority to come after ordinary Americans. We thought we put that to rest after the excesses of the Nixon administration and Vietnam. I believed that when I fought in Vietnam I represented the right of all Americansto express their views. So I'm concerned.' "
...

The great theme of the post-Vietnam military reforms that transformed the U.S. Army, he explained to Esquire, was personal accountability. "In the Navy, when a ship runs aground," he said "the commanding officer is relieved of duty, no matter what the reason. Now, I'm not saying we ought to hold politicians to that standard, but still..."

He didn't finish the thought, but he did say "the ultimate consideration for anyone running for president against George Bush [is] 'how much pain you can bear.'" My hope is that watching this administration of country club toughs stonewall a proper 9/11 investigation, deceive the American people about a non-existent Iraqi nuclear threat, then alibi that it's not Junior's fault because the president and his national security advisor failed to read the "National Intelligence Estimate," will convince Clark that his country needs him again.

Draft Wesley Clark

- rob 5:17 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

Bush's Gaffes - Forgivable?

A nice piece explaining that basically because everyone thinks he's an idiot Bush can say anything he wants, and it's okay.

On July 14, during a joint Oval Office news conference with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Bush was asked why he made the uranium assertion even though U.S. intelligence agencies had questioned its accuracy.

Bush replied that the CIA had cleared the speech, then added: "The larger point is, and the fundamental question is, did Saddam Hussein have a weapons program? And the answer is, absolutely. And we gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in [italics added]."

The last sentence in that sequence simply can't be squared with the record of what happened in Iraq.
...

To Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia scholar who has studied the presidency for years, the most notable thing about Bush's statement is that it attracted so little notice. And he says the process by which that happens offers an important clue to Bush's ability to sustain public support.

Sabato says many listeners mentally "fill in the brackets" of a presidential gaffe, imputing what they think was meant regardless of the actual words. And Sabato himself is inclined to accept Bush's statement as a simple slip of the tongue, not a calculated lie or a fundamental lack of awareness of the facts.

He acknowledges that this is giving Bush "an enormous benefit of the doubt," but says he's prepared to do so - in part because the alternative is so unthinkable. "If he actually thought that was true, we would have an enormous crisis on our hands because we would have a president disconnected from reality," he said.

Folks, we have an enormous crisis on our hands.

- rob 4:57 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

It's Friday, so the Store has many updates. Things you'll never use like TCS Postcards and Greeting Cards. And things that will make you wonder how you ever lived without them, like orange alert lunch boxes.

We've also changed our bumpersticker offering:



Buy as much as you want. We don't mind.

- rob 4:01 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

This picture is just odd.



"Because you never know when I might need to write on a flag."

- rob 3:55 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

Political Activism Resources

Handy list if you're feeling like changing the world (a whee bit at a time).

- rob 3:22 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

Why competition matters

Huge attack would target Windows

The U.S. government has issued a stern warning that computer hackers may be preparing to launch a sweeping attack that could potentially compromise millions of computers running Microsoft Corp.'s popular Windows operating systems.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's cyber-security branch reported that it had detected a dramatic increase in Internet-wide scanning for vulnerable computers.

Okay, now how am I going to turn this bit of news against bush?

1) Though Microsoft was found quilty of uncompetitive practices by the Clinton Justice Department, the Bush Justice Department has said "don't worry about it," and Microsoft has continued to utilize and expand on all the uncompetive practices it has been found quilty of, leaving more of our nations computers at risk.

2) The Department of Homeland Security (still an awful name) gave Microsoft the contract for 140,000 of its computers.

So for the security of our nation, if you have windows, install the patch already. If you don't have windows have a cookie. If you don't have a computer get one that runs Mac OSX, Linux, or something else not Windows.

- rob 3:21 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

Finding Iraqi Arms Isn't About Politics (2 Letters)

Citizens are smart. 2 Letters to the NYTimes:

To the Editor:

Re "President Denies He Oversold Case for War With Iraq" (front page, July 31):

President Bush let slip some crucial information at his news conference when he said, referring to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, "In order to placate the critics and cynics about intentions of the United States, we need to produce evidence."

If the Iraqi weapons exist, we need to find them not to placate critics but to prevent them from being used for devastating attacks on the United States! The weapons that the administration described before the war could be used by whoever now possesses them to kill us by the thousands or millions.

The fact that President Bush did not express concern about this prospect, but instead described the stakes as a matter of political credibility, indicates that he privately assumes that the weapons do not exist.
ALAN M. MACROBERT
Bedford, Mass., July 31, 2003

•

To the Editor:

President Bush maintains that we will find the weapons of mass destruction (front page, July 31).

Well, let's hope that they do not exist, because the question that raises the hairs on the back of my neck is, Who has access to them until we find them?
BOB LUPO
Old Greenwich, Conn., July 31, 2003

- rob 10:11 AM - [PermaLink] -

----

Poindexter to Quit Pentagon Post Amid Controversy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Poindexter, the retired Navy admiral who spearheaded two sharply criticized Pentagon projects, intends to resign from his Defense Department post within weeks, a senior U.S. defense official said on Thursday.
...

Poindexter was involved with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's abandoned futures-trading market for predicting assassinations, terrorism and other events in the Middle East, and earlier with the so-called Total Information Awareness program that drew fire from civil rights groups.

The official indicated that Poindexter had become a lightning rod for criticism. Poindexter served as President Ronald Reagan's national security adviser in the 1980s and was convicted for his role in the Iran-contra scandal, a conviction that later was set aside.

So this begs the question why is one who has been found quilty of abusing govenment power given a job like this? His conviction was set aside, but he wasn't found innocent. A conservative judge decided that the partial immunity given to him by congress (for their investigation) made his conviction (which did not use the congressional hearings as evidence) void.

So we have a man convicted of abusing government power (specifically the Iran-Contra affair) given a job where he creates TIA, a program to spy on every citizen, and PAM where terrorists can make a buck via market manipulation. While he was the head of the NSC under Reagan he wrote up white papers on how to put the consitituion on hold.

The scandal is not what he did while at DARPA. He did what his history would show he would do. The scandal was he was hired.

- rob 9:44 AM - [PermaLink] -

----

Yeah Schumer!

Lawmakers demand probe into ousting of undercover CIA agent

In a letter last week to FBI Director William Mueller, Schumer, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said the FBI should investigate “reports that two senior members of the Bush administration made the identity of an undercover Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative public.”

- rob 4:54 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

another quote found by P.

I think all men recognize that in time of war the citizen must surrender some rights for the common good which he is entitled to enjoy in time of peace. But, sir, the right to control their own Government according to constitutional forms is not one of the rights that the citizens of this country are called upon to surrender in time of war.--Robert M. La Follette, Free Speech in Wartime

- rob 4:50 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

The news is getting out:

Voting systems 'can't be trusted'

"What we know is that the machines can't be trusted. It's an unlocked bank vault ..., a disaster waiting to happen," said David Dill, a Stanford University computer science professor who has prompted more than 110 fellow scientists to sign a petition calling for more accountability in voting technology.

The researchers fear that problems with software systems will result in hacking and voter fraud, allowing people to cast extra votes and poll workers to alter ballots undetected.

Of course, it's too late for Georgia and Maryland, and probably many others who have spend millions on these pieces of junk.

Others dismiss such warnings as paranoid conspiracy theories.

"It's fear-mongering by a few people who want to go back to the 19th century-way of voting," Adams County Clerk and Recorder Carol Snyder said.

Is this paranoid:

April 2002, Johnson County, Kansas - Johnson County’s new Diebold touch screen machines, proclaimed a success on election night, did not work as well as originally believed. Incorrect vote totals were discovered in six races, three of them contested, leaving county election officials scrambling to make sure the unofficial results were accurate. Johnson County Election Commissioner Connie Schmidt checked the machines and found that the computers had under- and over-reported hundreds of votes. “The machines performed terrifically,” said Bob Urosevich, CEO of Diebold Election Systems. “The anomaly showed up on the reporting part.”

The problem, however, was so perplexing that Schmidt asked the Board of Canvassers to order a hand re-count to make sure the results were accurate. Unfortunately, the touch screen machines did away with the ballots, so the only way to do a hand recount is to have the machine print its internal data page by page. Diebold tried to re-create the error in hopes of correcting it. “I wish I had an answer,” Urosevich said. In some cases, vote totals changed dramatically.

November 2002, Baldwin County, Alabama - No one at the voting machine company can explain the mystery votes that changed after polling places had closed, flipping the election from the Democratic winner to a Republican in the Alabama governor’s race. “Something happened. I don’t have enough intelligence to say exactly what,” said Mark Kelley of ES&S. Baldwin County results showed that Democrat Don Siegelman earned enough votes to win the state of Alabama. All the observers went home. The next morning, however, 6,300 of Siegelman’s votes inexplicably had disappeared, and the election was handed to Republican Bob Riley. A recount was requested, but denied.

For more scary stories, and a scary article go to Bigger Than Watergate! (article originally posted here, do read the post if you want to know which representative is trying to deal with this).

Now if you want to get real scared (and maybe a little paranoid), read: How George W. Bush Won the 2004 Presidential Election

- rob 4:47 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

When I say that the contest of 1900 is a contest between Democracy on the one hand and plutocracy on the other I do not mean to say that all our opponents have deliberately chosen to give to organized wealth a predominating influence in the affairs of the Government, but I do assert that on the important issues of the day the Republican party is dominated by those influences which constantly tend to substitute the worship of mammon for the protection of the rights of man.
--William Jennings Bryan, Against Imperialism

(quote found by P - thanks!)

- rob 4:33 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

Bush's Vietnam-sized credibility gap

Because I haven't linked to a Helen Thomas piece in a long time, and it is a good one.

- rob 4:30 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

Bush in Free Fall

This essay goes a little in the direction of what I've been thinking lately. Them Democrats should not go after Bush on the economy alone, it will improve and people will forget it was so bad for so long. Go after his true weakness: The War on Terror. This is his real weakness, when American realizes his war was so poorly pursued Bush will be in trouble. Here is where the arguement against Bush can be made:

Iraq war may help al-Qaida, MPs report

The overthrow of Saddam Hussein has not lessened the security threat to Britain from weapons of mass destruction and international terrorism, MPs warned today.

The Commons foreign affairs committee said that the war in Iraq may actually have "impeded" efforts to combat Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terror network.

Okay, it is a report from the British, and we know they are not very reliable these days: what with Bush's 16 words from them "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa" (Bush's infamous state of the union address - which had a lot more than 16 words wrong with it).

But others are saying it too: THE SEARCH FOR OSAMA

To the frustration of many of the people involved in the fight against Al Qaeda, the Bush Administration is said to have been distracted by competing priorities—most notably, the war in Iraq. Rohan Gunaratna, a Sri Lankan terrorism expert who has analyzed thousands of Al Qaeda documents recovered by various governments, said, “I feel that if they had not gone to Iraq they would have found Osama by now. The best people were moved away from this operation. The best minds were moved to Iraq. It’s a great shame. It’s the biggest military failure in the war on terrorism so far. The Americans need more resources, and more high-level people exclusively assigned to this task.”

Supporters of the Iraq war suggest that this view overlooks longer-term benefits that have yet to be fully appreciated. Ambassador Oakley, for example, said, “I think the war in Iraq has made governments much more cautious about allowing terrorists into their countries—Iran and Syria, for instance—because they can see the consequences to themselves from the U.S.”

Many intelligence insiders, however, shared Gunaratna’s concerns. Cannistraro, the former C.I.A. official, said that the effort to find bin Laden had “lost at least half of its original strength.” He added, “Arabic speakers are in short supply. You still have some intelligence-collection assets in Afghanistan, but mostly it’s just small teams looking for signals. That’s because of Iraq.”

This war on Iraq is Bush's ultimate failure. And its an example of his ability to grasp defeat out of the jaws of victory. Just a couple of weeks before the war the threats from Bush had Saddam agree to almost everything save for stepping down. Bush could have declared victory there. Bush took down Saddam, a man no one liked, and yet he is managing to make it a bad move.

Even his own people are getting upset:

Administration officials hear bipartisan Senate criticism on Iraq

Even committee Chairman Richard Lugar, R-Ind., told the officials that the administration should provide "at least some idea of what is likely to be required of the American taxpayer."

But it isn't the cost of the war that'll get Americans angry (a billion here a billion there is such an insanely high number you might as well be saying "this war is costing 3 blobtropts a month."). What will get them angry is that Iraq wasn't the vengence against 9/11 that was promised. Basically a day that is now sacred to Americans was used as a pitch, and used as honestly as your average door to door salesman.

Some lawmakers of both parties have criticized the administration's rationales for the war and its postwar policies.

Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee, among the Senate's most moderate Republicans, said "we just haven't seen the proof" of links the administration has claimed existed between Iraq and the terror network al-Qaida.

Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., accused the administration of "constantly trying to pretend that Sept. 11 and Iraq are the same issue."

And when you start getting editorials like this: Sidestepping on Iraq, from the NYTimes which, though historically liberal has been very easy on bush, especially since 9/11; you know things aren't good for Bush.

Throughout his political career, George Bush has been famous for sticking to a few issues, and repeating a few well-burnished talking points over and over. Wide-ranging news conferences do not play to his considerable strengths, and as president, he has generally avoided them. But having decided to make a rare exception yesterday, Mr. Bush should have been able to come up with better responses to two big and obvious questions: why he ordered the invasion of Iraq and why he pushed for tax cuts that have left the nation sinking into a hopeless quagmire of debt.

Mr. Bush's vague and sometimes nearly incoherent answers suggested that he was either bedazzled by his administration's own mythmaking or had decided that doubts about his foreign and domestic policies could best be parried by ignoring them.

Mr. Bush will simply not engage the issue of whether his administration exaggerated the Iraqi threat in the months leading up to the American invasion. When asked whether the United States had lost credibility with the rest of the world since neither weapons of mass destruction nor a strong Al Qaeda connection had been uncovered in Iraq, the president veered off into a tour through American history and the difficulty of coming up with an Iraqi version of Thomas Jefferson. He then skidded to a halt with the announcement that "I'm confident history will prove the decision we made to be the right decision."

Mr. Bush still hung onto his most well-worn buzzwords, however. Iraq was a "threat" — just as the tax cuts were "a job-creation program." The president and his advisers obviously still believe that the constant repetition of several simplistic points will hypnotize the American people into forgetting the original question.

"Tell us what you really think." Wow, I think they finally are.

- rob 4:12 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

Sorry for the delays in posting today. Blogger was giving me troubles. Most of today's postings thanks to Sy.

Heroes

ACLU files lawsuit against Patriot Act - Jul. 30, 2003

"This lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, which vastly expands the power of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to obtain records and other 'tangible things' of people not suspected of criminal activity," the lawsuit states.

I wonder what other things are "tangible" according to this law. "You there! I like your car, hand it over." "Why?" "To fight the war against terror." "oh. okay. here."

- rob 3:54 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

Remember. You are supposed to be afraid. At all times, afraid. Otherwise you might ask: What the hell is going on?

Lately you've seemed to forget that, so just in case if you did:

Memo Warns Of New Plots To Hijack Jets

Terrorists operating in teams of five may be plotting suicide missions to hijack commercial airliners on the East Coast, Europe or Australia this summer, possibly using "common items carried by travelers, such as cameras, modified as weapons," according to an urgent memo sent last weekend to all U.S. airlines and airport security managers.

Okay, I'm scared. But not as much as I would have been in 2001. Why since then Bush has made American more secure. Air Marshalls are back in the air. Security at airports has been tightened. Though expensive, Bush understand's this is war and this is the safety of Americans we're talking about here. He's made sure the money was spent on the right things.

The threat comes just as the federal government has started to trim the nation's new airport security agency, by cutting the number of security screeners and other resources. Just one day before the memo was distributed, an official with the undercover Federal Air Marshal Service canceled what are considered some of the most vulnerable flight missions because they required marshals to spend nights in hotels, as well as cut training for Washington-area agents next month. The official cited "monetary considerations," according to an e-mail obtained by The Washington Post.

Oh yeah right, what was I thinking. Bush hasn't spent a time on domestic security. But his friends bought a new car!

- rob 6:27 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

The Onion | What Do You Think? Uday And Qusay On Display

"So, we've got Uday and Qusay. Now, how about the eapons-way of ass-may estruction-day?"

"Now the Iraqis will love us, like they were supposed to in the first place."

- rob 3:36 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

Yahoo! News - Less than half of US would vote to return Bush to White House: poll

Going Down. Reality has that effect.

- rob 3:34 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

Deleted Images of DARPA's PAM Assassination Site

Just to give you an idea of how truly odd that idea was.

- rob 3:31 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

CNN.com - Bush wants marriage reserved for heterosexuals - Jul. 30, 2003

"I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and I believe we ought to codify that one way or the other and we have lawyers looking at the best way to do that," the president said a wide-ranging news conference at the White House Rose Garden.

Insecurity strikes again. What are they scared of? If gay marriage is legal or they worried they will leave their wives for Felipe the extremely handsome pool boy? Does "lead me not into temptation" mean that everything that might be a "sin" be removed from site? (I thought it was a prayer to god and not to the GOP... though there is only 1 letter difference).

"I am mindful that we're all sinners and I caution those who may try to take a speck out of the neighbor's eye when they got a log in their own," the president said." Before he was interrupt by the woodpecker banging at log stickin' out of his head.

Maybe I'm being unfair. Maybe Bush is thinking about family values. Marriage is a sacred vow between man and wife and the foreign ladies you can't even keep track of (in Neil Bush's case). I dunno, wouldn't marriage remain sacred if the partner's loved each other?

- rob 3:29 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

U.S. Adopts Aggressive Tactics on Iraqi Fighters

"Col. David Hogg, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, said tougher methods are being used to gather the intelligence. On Wednesday night, he said, his troops picked up the wife and daughter of an Iraqi lieutenant general. They left a note: 'If you want your family released, turn yourself in.' Such tactics are justified, he said, because, 'It's an intelligence operation with detainees, and these people have info.' They would have been released in due course, he added later. "

Aggressive Tactic... or kidnapping.

This New American Century ain't for me. It ain't for most Americans either. I love America. Bush and his cronies love power, quite frankly, and American just happens to be where they live.

- rob 4:30 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

'TERROR BETTING' DROPPED

Pentagon: Oh... never mind.

- rob 2:34 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

House unable to produce quorum

All Right Texas!

The 54 missing representatives are in addition to the 11 state Senators who fled the state Monday to prevent the Legislature from passing a bill on congressional redistricting. Gov. Rick Perry called a second special session Monday which can last for 30 days.
...

This is the first time in Texas history that both chambers have failed to have a quorum.

- rob 2:30 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

DARPA. Okay they brought us NASA and the Internet. Very Good. Good job. Umm.... PAM?

Organizations Behind PAM

The Policy Analysis Market (PAM) refines this approach by trading futures contracts that deal with underlying fundamentals of relevance to the Middle East. Initially, PAM will focus on the economic, civil, and military futures of Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Turkey and the impact of U.S. involvement with each.

Here you place your bets on who blows up first.

- rob 10:26 AM - [PermaLink] -

----

Off the Kuff: Morning roundup

The above has a good summary of the Texas thang (see below for my brief on it).

- rob 10:13 AM - [PermaLink] -

----

ahhhhhhhh Texas.

Texas Democrats bolt again -- this time to Albuquerque

The Republican party has no problem destroying decades of tradition and has turned this whole country ugly with it's need to win at all costs (good morning).

In California we have Grey Davis, who everyone hates, but let's be honest here, this hate for him is not a new thing, they hated him just as much in the last election, but the Republicans ran an even more awful person against him. They lost. Now they want to do a "do over." Now the recall is legal, but in the end Grey will still be governor (or hopefully a decent democrat, if the party lets someone run) and California will be even in worse shape than it is in now. Also, the precedent has been set. You got money, you don't like the governor. Recall!

The Senate confirmation hearings on judges. During Clinton's term, the republican senate blocked many (if not most) of Clinton's judge nominees. The democrats whined and whined. Now under Bush, the democrats are blocking some (but not nearly as many as were blocked in the Clinton era, and quite frankly some of these nominees are scary) nominees, and the republicans are whining. Fine. But now they are serioulsy considering changing the rules. Now when republicans aren't getting what they want they just change the rules.

Remember how the Republicans pooh poohed any critics of Bush that pointed out that Gore won the popular vote? "We are a nation of laws, and popular vote does not count according to law." Of course, had Gore won the electoral vote and not the popular vote, the republicans would be singing a different tune: The GOP's Popular-Vote Hypocrisy. Yes the modern Republicans do have a moral compass... but it only points to "win at all costs."

And that brings us to Texas. Gerrymandering is stupid and both sides do it. But it is done every 10 years based on the census and by whichever party controls the state legislation at the time. Texas was redestricted 2 years ago by a judge (the legislation never got its act together). Well now the Republicans are in charge and want to redestrict again (rather than wait 8 years like they are supposed to). They've tried twice so far. The first time the Texas dems fled to Oklahoma. So the Governor spent state money and called for a "special session." Well a republican senator joined the democrats and refused to allow the issue to come to a vote (state rules requires 2/3rds of the legislation to agree to bring something to a vote). Republicans have used this to their advantage in the past. So this time the governor calls a second special session, and this time they are ignoring the rules and bringing it to a vote. So the senate dems fled, this time to New Mexico.

Remember that Bush would do to America what he did to Texas. Texas is in debt, polluted, high in crime, and isanely politically disfunctional. Fight the Future.

- rob 10:12 AM - [PermaLink] -

----

ahhhh.... California:

http://www.georgyforgov.com

Georgy Porgy pudding and pie, votes for her make Bushies cry.

- rob 5:19 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

It's Monday: The Top Ten Conservative Idiots

1. The Bush Administration
The latest blow to the administration's credibility is last week's release of the 9/11 Commission Report. The report clearly states that many mistakes were made by various intelligence agencies, and while a terrorist attack like 9/11 may have been inevitable, the FBI and CIA didn't exactly go out of their way to prevent it. So, the FBI and the CIA suck. That's not exactly new information. But what is interesting is that in case nobody noticed, we appear to be stuck in a bloody guerilla war in Iraq, which we started because people like Colin Powell made statements like this to the UN: "These al Qaeda affiliates, based in Baghdad, now coordinate the movement of people, money and supplies into and throughout Iraq for his network, and they've been operating freely in the capital for more than eight months." It's no surprise that recent polls showed that more than 50% of people thought that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11 - the administration has spun an incredibly effective propaganda web. Yet here comes the 9/11 Commission Report which definitively proves that the United States had no intelligence whatsoever to substantiate such a claim. Mind you, while there wasn't really anything in the report about Iraq, there was an awful lot of stuff about Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately it was all blacked out. Quite upsetting for the 9/11 relatives from what I hear, but this is national security, dontcha know. Classifed information. If they want to be good Americans they shouldn't ask why their relatives died, they should just grin and bear it for the good of the country. After all, we're at war with Iraq because they, uh, help terrorists and, um, rule by brutal dictatorship, but we're not at war with Saudi Arabia because they're, er, our very good friends who, mmm, wouldn't harm a fly. And besides, we don't want America to find out that Poppy Bush and friends have been giving aid and comfort to the enemy, do we?

- rob 4:09 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

Is there nothing Halliburton can't do?

Army has hired Halliburton's Kellogg Brown & Root subsidiary to feed and house up to 100,000 troops in Iraq; Army spokesman says $200 million project could include construction of semipermanent wooden buildings

Boy, its great this White House has such a great relationship with Halliburton, because whatever its needs (from oil rigs to slop for breakfast) Halliburton is willing to be paid to do it.

from: AFTER THE WAR: OCCUPATION

- rob 4:03 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

"Well since I piss all over what it stands for, what's the big deal if I write on it."

- rob 3:30 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

White House, CIA Kept Key Portions of Report Classified

President Bush was warned in a more specific way than previously known about intelligence suggesting that al Qaeda terrorists were seeking to attack the United States, a report on the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks indicated yesterday. Separately, the report cited one CIA memo that concluded there was 'incontrovertible evidence' that Saudi individuals provided financial assistance to al Qaeda operatives in the United States.

Okay that looks bad. The fact that Iraq is mentioned once in the report (i.e. Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11), that also looks bad. When people start paying attention, really paying attention, they are going to get really annoyed at Mr. Bush. Its not nice to lie about 9/11. That will really touch a nerve.

- rob 2:41 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

Iraq Flap Shakes Rice's Image

hmmm.... is she a liar or is she grossly incompetent? Either way its not a good thing when questions like that are being asked. I feel sorry for her, even the ship Chevron named after has been changed (admittedly 2 years ago, but I still feel bad for her).

- rob 2:39 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

IOL : Our president is God, says state radio

"He can decide to kill without anyone calling him to account and without going to hell because it is God himself, with whom he is in permanent contact, who gives him this strength."

Oh, thank God. For a second I thought Bush lost it and went all out.

In a programme dealing with "peace, tranquillity and the order reigning in the country", it declared that President Teodoro Obiang Nguema [of Equatorial Guinea] was "like God in heaven. He has all power over men and things.

Dang, these folks really need to talk to Ashcroft and Bush. They really know what God wants and they'll set them straight.

- rob 2:34 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

“Uh… Hi Dad”

“Hi Boy.”

“Um… you know how I took down that man. That bad bad man. You know the one that tried to kill you?”

“Yes son. I am proud of you boy.”

“Well, its kind of gotten messy there and I… well….”

“No need to go on son, here’s Baker’s phone number. He’ll take care of it. He's always been there for us Bushes.”

“Thanks Dad, you’re the greatest.”

Bush Considers New Overhaul of Postwar Iraq Administration (is this the new Iraqi administration? It must be Monday)

As part of an effort to beef up the reconstruction, the White House is considering asking several major figures, including former secretary of state James A. Baker III, to help with specific tasks like seeking funds from other countries or helping restructure Iraq's debt.

Oh, he’ll be doing much more than that.

If Bush called on Baker, 73, the assignment also would be the latest of a series of high-profile missions he has undertaken for the Bush family. Baker headed the Republican team during the Florida recount litigation after the disputed election of 2000. Against Baker's wishes, he agreed to manage President George H.W. Bush's reelection campaign in 1992. Baker was secretary of state in the first Bush administration, and treasury secretary and White House chief of staff under President Ronald Reagan.

Against Baker’s wishes Baker agreed to manage daddy’s reelection campaign. Umm… okay.

- rob 2:29 PM - [PermaLink] -

----

Subscribe to the TCS Feed

Having trouble with some of the poor English on this site?
Imagine what it looks like when translated by a machine:

Search TCS

Archive

Archive Index Page

What is this?

This is a "team" blog.  We are a bunch of Americans, whose rising distress in our leader's decisions brought us together to make this site.  As Bush said, he's a "uniter."  Many of us have never even met.
That's the internet for you.

This Century Sucks Store

Buy our cool stuff.
And tell everyone what you feel.  

We have a little Store you can visit.  

Our store's selection of items is constantly growing. Come see what we have.

 

We're also Amazon Associates, so if you want to buy something from Amazon, please search for it below, and we will get a few bucks from the sale.

Search Now:

Sites we often like:

Tin Foil Caps

The Free Speech Zone

The office of the independent blogger

Buzzflash

Tom The Dancing Bug

VerifiedVoting.org

Get Your War On

This Modern World

Eschaton / Atrios

Daily Kos

Contribute to America's Future

It is now more important then ever.

Donate to the Democractic Congressional Campaign Committee

Donate to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

Some More Site Mottos

"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



"Government has a final responsibility for the well-being of its citizenship. If private cooperative endeavor fails to provide work for willing hands and relief for the unfortunate, those suffering hardship from no fault of their own have a right to call upon the Government for aid; and a government worthy of its name must make fitting response."
 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt



"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions, but laws must and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."
- Thomas Jefferson



"The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home."

"All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree."
- James Madison



"I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, in the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. It is, I believe, the faith in our fellow citizens as individuals and as people that lies at the heart of the liberal faith. For liberalism is not so much a party creed or set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man's ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves."
- John F. Kennedy



"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are [a] few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

More Sites we often like:

more coming...

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