Friday, April 30, 2004
Kerry Criticizes Bush's Policy in Iraq (washingtonpost.com)
[excerpt]-Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee to run against Bush in the Nov. 2 election, delivered a more critical prognosis in a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo., the scene of a 1946 speech by Winton Churchill on the menace of an "Iron Curtain" dividing Europe. The college was also the site of an address Monday by Vice President Cheney, who took the opportunity to attack Kerry at length and question his judgment on national security.
Cheney's speech prompted the Westminster president, Fletcher Lamkin, to complain of "Kerry-bashing" and to offer the four-term senator from Massachusetts a chance to deliver a rebuttal.
While avoiding harsh partisan rhetoric in his speech, Kerry described the Bush administration's Iraq policy as teetering on the brink of disaster, with the United States shouldering too much of the burden.
[excerpt]-Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee to run against Bush in the Nov. 2 election, delivered a more critical prognosis in a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo., the scene of a 1946 speech by Winton Churchill on the menace of an "Iron Curtain" dividing Europe. The college was also the site of an address Monday by Vice President Cheney, who took the opportunity to attack Kerry at length and question his judgment on national security.
Cheney's speech prompted the Westminster president, Fletcher Lamkin, to complain of "Kerry-bashing" and to offer the four-term senator from Massachusetts a chance to deliver a rebuttal.
While avoiding harsh partisan rhetoric in his speech, Kerry described the Bush administration's Iraq policy as teetering on the brink of disaster, with the United States shouldering too much of the burden.
Monday, April 26, 2004
The New York Times > Washington > Hundreds of Thousands March for Abortion Rights
[excerpt]-"Speaker after speaker declared that President Bush and his allies in Congress were trying to impose an ideological agenda on abortion and family planning programs, both at home and abroad. The advocates warned that the erosion might be stealthy and incremental — regulations and restrictions rather than outright bans — but asserted that the trend was unmistakable.
"We are determined to stop this war on women," said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority, a sponsor of the march. Gloria Steinem, one of many feminist icons who turned out Sunday, said, "We are here to take back our country."'
[excerpt]-"Speaker after speaker declared that President Bush and his allies in Congress were trying to impose an ideological agenda on abortion and family planning programs, both at home and abroad. The advocates warned that the erosion might be stealthy and incremental — regulations and restrictions rather than outright bans — but asserted that the trend was unmistakable.
"We are determined to stop this war on women," said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority, a sponsor of the march. Gloria Steinem, one of many feminist icons who turned out Sunday, said, "We are here to take back our country."'
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Michigan Preparing To Let Doctors Refuse To Treat Gays
[excerpt]-"(Lansing, Michigan) Doctors or other health care providers could not be disciplined or sued if they refuse to treat gay patients under legislation passed Wednesday by the Michigan House.
The bill allows health care workers to refuse service to anyone on moral, ethical or religious grounds."
[end]
What are we coming to? In the most powerful democracy in the world in the year 2004, not only can you be without adequate healthcare coverage, but now, even if you have it, doctors can refuse to treat you if they don't like you. We can't live like this. :(
[excerpt]-"(Lansing, Michigan) Doctors or other health care providers could not be disciplined or sued if they refuse to treat gay patients under legislation passed Wednesday by the Michigan House.
The bill allows health care workers to refuse service to anyone on moral, ethical or religious grounds."
[end]
What are we coming to? In the most powerful democracy in the world in the year 2004, not only can you be without adequate healthcare coverage, but now, even if you have it, doctors can refuse to treat you if they don't like you. We can't live like this. :(
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Sunday, April 18, 2004
Yesterday I participated in MoveOn.org's Bake Sale for Democracy, and I'm proud to say our little bake sale raised over 2000 dollars!! Here's a link to some pictures. According to an email I got from our coordinator we registered 5 new voters too!! What a great day! I will definately participate in the next one whatever it may be and urge anyone who reads this to do the same. In the mean time you can find out how you can help by clicking on MoveOn.org or by picking up a copy of 50 Ways To Love Your Country , MoveOn's new book on do it yourself activism. It's so exciting when you feel like you can personally make a diffrence, and I encourage everyone to get involved, only then can we truly say we have a working Democracy!
P.S.-Here's some signs I put on my cookies.-
(That last one said "Rummy's Yummy's on it!)
P.S.-Here's some signs I put on my cookies.-
(That last one said "Rummy's Yummy's on it!)
Saturday, April 17, 2004
First there's this-
US Unloading WMDs in Iraq
[excerpt]-"TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency) -- Over the past few days, in the wake of the bombings in Karbala and the ideological disputes that delayed the signing of Iraq's interim constitution, there have been reports that U.S. forces have unloaded a large cargo of parts for constructing long-range missiles and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the southern ports of Iraq.
A reliable source from the Iraqi Governing Council, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Mehr News Agency that U.S. forces, with the help of British forces stationed in southern Iraq, had made extensive efforts to conceal their actions. "
Then There's This-
New Reports on U.S. Planting WMDs in Iraq
[excerpt]-"BASRA -– Fifty days after the first reports that the U.S. forces were unloading weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in southern Iraq, new reports about the movement of these weapons have been disclosed.Sources in Iraq speculate that occupation forces are using the recent unrest in Iraq to divert attention from their surreptitious shipments of WMD into the country.
An Iraqi source close to the Basra Governor’s Office told the MNA that new information shows that a large part of the WMD, which was secretly brought to southern and western Iraq over the past month, are in containers falsely labeled as containers of the Maeresk shipping company and some consignments bearing the labels of organizations such as the Red Cross or the USAID in order to disguise them as relief shipments."
I'm not surprised in the least-just remember this when suddenly they find the long missing WMD's before the election.
US Unloading WMDs in Iraq
[excerpt]-"TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency) -- Over the past few days, in the wake of the bombings in Karbala and the ideological disputes that delayed the signing of Iraq's interim constitution, there have been reports that U.S. forces have unloaded a large cargo of parts for constructing long-range missiles and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the southern ports of Iraq.
A reliable source from the Iraqi Governing Council, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Mehr News Agency that U.S. forces, with the help of British forces stationed in southern Iraq, had made extensive efforts to conceal their actions. "
Then There's This-
New Reports on U.S. Planting WMDs in Iraq
[excerpt]-"BASRA -– Fifty days after the first reports that the U.S. forces were unloading weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in southern Iraq, new reports about the movement of these weapons have been disclosed.Sources in Iraq speculate that occupation forces are using the recent unrest in Iraq to divert attention from their surreptitious shipments of WMD into the country.
An Iraqi source close to the Basra Governor’s Office told the MNA that new information shows that a large part of the WMD, which was secretly brought to southern and western Iraq over the past month, are in containers falsely labeled as containers of the Maeresk shipping company and some consignments bearing the labels of organizations such as the Red Cross or the USAID in order to disguise them as relief shipments."
I'm not surprised in the least-just remember this when suddenly they find the long missing WMD's before the election.
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Broken US troops face bigger enemy at home
-excerpt-
"The army specialist came within inches of death last November 15, when the Humvee he was driving hit a roadside bomb, killing his sergeant. The entire left side of Gunn's body was splattered with shrapnel, his elbow was shattered and, as he lay in the US military hospital bed in Germany, he was tortured by nightmares.
Late on March 23, Gunn told his mother, Pat, that his commanders were putting pressure on him to return to Iraq, but there was no way he was getting on that plane. A few hours later, he was airborne. This week, Gunn's distraught mother, who is herself a navy veteran, received a first official response to her demands to know why a soldier, who was being treated by military doctors for combat stress, was sent back to the war.
The note, which acknowledged Gunn suffered post-traumatic stress, said: "After discussion of his case it was determined ... this may be in his best interest mentally to overcome his fear by facing it. Therefore, he has been cleared for redeployment."
(I saw this on Bartcop)
-excerpt-
"The army specialist came within inches of death last November 15, when the Humvee he was driving hit a roadside bomb, killing his sergeant. The entire left side of Gunn's body was splattered with shrapnel, his elbow was shattered and, as he lay in the US military hospital bed in Germany, he was tortured by nightmares.
Late on March 23, Gunn told his mother, Pat, that his commanders were putting pressure on him to return to Iraq, but there was no way he was getting on that plane. A few hours later, he was airborne. This week, Gunn's distraught mother, who is herself a navy veteran, received a first official response to her demands to know why a soldier, who was being treated by military doctors for combat stress, was sent back to the war.
The note, which acknowledged Gunn suffered post-traumatic stress, said: "After discussion of his case it was determined ... this may be in his best interest mentally to overcome his fear by facing it. Therefore, he has been cleared for redeployment."
(I saw this on Bartcop)
The point-counter point on John Kerry's plan to get the UN in to help us in Iraq has come down to this-
point -" We need to rebuild the once strong alliances we had with the rest of the world and get some UN troops in to help us democratize Iraq."
counter point-"you're a pussy who wants to turn tail and run!"
But there's a really good reason that we need UN intervention. It's psychological. We are occupiers. We are-no two ways about it. And when a country you've been bombing for 12 years, imposing sanctions on, and then invading isn't gonna throw roses at your feet no matter what Donald Rumsfeld says. With UN help it's seen as less an occupation and more of a relief effort, and thus becomes harder to recruit people for an insurgency. And it makes the insurgents look like the thugs the president says they are and less like revolutionaries to be martyred. Mostly tho it's become obvious we need more troops, our guys there now are overworked and the deployments are too long, and, I know no one wants to hear this, but there's already a plan with selective service to reinstate the draft in 2005 if Bush gets elected. Before any of this happens we need to take the freedom fries off the menu and kiss some international ass.
point -" We need to rebuild the once strong alliances we had with the rest of the world and get some UN troops in to help us democratize Iraq."
counter point-"you're a pussy who wants to turn tail and run!"
But there's a really good reason that we need UN intervention. It's psychological. We are occupiers. We are-no two ways about it. And when a country you've been bombing for 12 years, imposing sanctions on, and then invading isn't gonna throw roses at your feet no matter what Donald Rumsfeld says. With UN help it's seen as less an occupation and more of a relief effort, and thus becomes harder to recruit people for an insurgency. And it makes the insurgents look like the thugs the president says they are and less like revolutionaries to be martyred. Mostly tho it's become obvious we need more troops, our guys there now are overworked and the deployments are too long, and, I know no one wants to hear this, but there's already a plan with selective service to reinstate the draft in 2005 if Bush gets elected. Before any of this happens we need to take the freedom fries off the menu and kiss some international ass.
Monday, April 12, 2004
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: For Ralph Nader, but Not for Presidentby Howard Dean
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Friday, April 09, 2004
'The Wizard of Oz Letter'By Eleanor Clift
"April 2 - This was the week the curtain got pulled back on the Bush presidency. In exchange for allowing Condoleezza Rice to testify under oath, President Bush gets to bring along his vice president when he appears privately before the commission.
A top Republican strategist dubbed the legal document striking the unusual deal “the Wizard of Oz letter” because it strips away the myth that Bush is in charge. Until now, it’s been all speculation about Vice President Cheney’s influence. With the revelation of the tandem testimony, nobody with a straight face can deny Cheney is a co-president or worse, the puppeteer who pulls Bush’s strings."
"April 2 - This was the week the curtain got pulled back on the Bush presidency. In exchange for allowing Condoleezza Rice to testify under oath, President Bush gets to bring along his vice president when he appears privately before the commission.
A top Republican strategist dubbed the legal document striking the unusual deal “the Wizard of Oz letter” because it strips away the myth that Bush is in charge. Until now, it’s been all speculation about Vice President Cheney’s influence. With the revelation of the tandem testimony, nobody with a straight face can deny Cheney is a co-president or worse, the puppeteer who pulls Bush’s strings."
A Bureaucrat TestifiesBY Howard Fineman
This article sums up Condi's testimony, perhaps a bit too tidily, but it does the job. I particularly liked the inclusion of the following since it was something about her testimony that was troublesome to me as well...
"Asked at the hearing why she hadn't pressed the FBI more closely about what it knew, or didn't know, about domestic terrorist threats, Rice acted as though the question was an odd one: it wasn't her job. Well, in retrospect, it was and now certainly is."
This article sums up Condi's testimony, perhaps a bit too tidily, but it does the job. I particularly liked the inclusion of the following since it was something about her testimony that was troublesome to me as well...
"Asked at the hearing why she hadn't pressed the FBI more closely about what it knew, or didn't know, about domestic terrorist threats, Rice acted as though the question was an odd one: it wasn't her job. Well, in retrospect, it was and now certainly is."
Thursday, April 08, 2004
I want someone who was at the hearings today to run a piece about who was in the gallery. I heard the victims family steering committee cheering and applauding when Rice was asked tough questions. That was expected and a repeat of what they did when they got a commitee member with a spine last time. But what threw me was the applause for Condi when she defended the president. Plus I think I heard some booing at one point when she was being grilled on the Aug. 6th PDB. Yes it's possible she had a supporter or two, but it was a bit unprecedented for these proceedings. What's not unprecedented however is the notion that this administration may have put plants in the gallery to cheer for their side of the story. We know they're not above that sort of thing, so I'm just curious about who the Condi fan club was at the hearings today, that's all. Somebody please help me out with this one...
Well, Dr. Rice is still in her opening remarks and she's already full of shit. Let's hope the questioning can catch her in her lies. I can't say for sure she's "lying" since these guys are awesome at choosing their words so they aren't blatent untruths, but so far she's made statements that directly refute Richard Clarke's testimony so somebody's guilty of perjury. And considering how less than forthcoming Dr. Rice and other current administration officials have been about cooperating with this commision I tend to throw the credability to Clarke. BTW Dr. Rice, this is not a campaign commercial-it's a fact finding mission.
The hearings are about to get underway, and Josh Marshall pointed me to this list of questions for Dr. Rice from the times.
Op-Ed Contributor: Questions for Dr. Rice
It should be interesting. Let's just hope this doesn't turn out to be a political softball game. We deserve some real answers to these and myriad other questions surrounding that terrible day.
Op-Ed Contributor: Questions for Dr. Rice
It should be interesting. Let's just hope this doesn't turn out to be a political softball game. We deserve some real answers to these and myriad other questions surrounding that terrible day.
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Alright, alright, I've been slacking off on my blog lately. to my reader, i apologize. I have been listening to a lot of Air America Radio Online. They rock more than I could've even imagined. They cover everything from actual news to conspiracy theories, and anything you've read or may have missed on the blogosphere. But enough endorsing. The link is on the left, I highly recommend you listen in -especially to the O'Franken factor. On to the recent unpleasentness.
U.S. Rockets Reportedly Kill Over 2 Dozen Iraqis in Falluja
Coalition forces battle Sunni, Shiite forces
Muslim rivals unite in Baghdad uprising
Shiites, Sunnis join forces against U.S. troops
In case anyone forgot we're still at war. It sucks. There's no way you can look at it that it doesn't suck. And we still don't know the truth as to why we're there. People all over are losing their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, mothers, and fathers.No matter what we can't forget that. Things seem to be getting worse. Much worse. Everyone on the right is in a lather over Sen. Kennedy saying this is Geo. W. Bush's Vietnam, and it's probably because they can see the truth in that statement and it's a political a-bomb. I think they need to give more of a shit about the actual bombs going off on the other side of the world and stop using all their energy to cover their asses politically.
U.S. Rockets Reportedly Kill Over 2 Dozen Iraqis in Falluja
Coalition forces battle Sunni, Shiite forces
Muslim rivals unite in Baghdad uprising
Shiites, Sunnis join forces against U.S. troops
In case anyone forgot we're still at war. It sucks. There's no way you can look at it that it doesn't suck. And we still don't know the truth as to why we're there. People all over are losing their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, mothers, and fathers.No matter what we can't forget that. Things seem to be getting worse. Much worse. Everyone on the right is in a lather over Sen. Kennedy saying this is Geo. W. Bush's Vietnam, and it's probably because they can see the truth in that statement and it's a political a-bomb. I think they need to give more of a shit about the actual bombs going off on the other side of the world and stop using all their energy to cover their asses politically.
