The Sound of Silence
What is the definition of silence?That would be Vice President Dick Cheney, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich getting together to swap war stories, or simply to reminisce about their military service.We in The Whirlpool would add BubbleWrap Bush's explanation of his National Guard absence to "The Sound of Silence".
BubbleWrap's Ft. Bragg Festival of Excuses
BubbleWrap Bush dropped in to Fort Bragg and surrounded himself with soldiers in order to speak to try to continue the con he's foisted on to the American people. In an attempt to stop the slide occurring in numerous polls, he mentioned
9-11 six times.
The main reason he committed American boys and girls to die in the Iraqi dessert, Weapons of Mass Destruction was not mentioned a single time. I'm sure that will come as an incredible surprise to the parents and widows of the 1750 dead American soldiers because of Saddam's eminent threat to America.
Over 60% of Americans have figured out that the joke has been on us and the troops. But, BubbleWrap is still trying find an excuse for war that will stick.
Several Million to Go!
One Republican quits.An excerpt:
Republican decisions made in 2002 and 2003 have killed almost 2,000 of the most capable patriots our country has to offer - volunteers, every one. Support for those decisions was gathered through what appeared at the time to be spin and marketing, but which now turns out to have been deliberate planning and falsehood. The Blair government's internal documentation only confirms what has been suspected for years: Americans are dying every day for Republican lies first crafted in 2002, expanded and embellished upon in 2003, and which continue to this day. This calculated deception is now burned into the legacy of the party, every bit as much as Reagan's triumph in the Cold War, or Nixon's disgrace over Watergate.
They Still Don't Let Dissention Near the Bubble Wrap President
Are US Tax dollars still paying for these propoganda junkets?
Bush's Invitation-Only Speech Riles Crowd in MontgomeryOpponents of President, Social Security Plan Block Traffic
By Nancy Trejos
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 24, 2005; A08
President Bush visited Montgomery Blair High School yesterday for a town hall-style meeting to discuss his plan to partially privatize Social Security -- an appearance that drew about 400 protesters outside the Silver Spring school.
The loudest voices came from some Montgomery County residents and Blair students who questioned why they were not allowed inside. They were kept far from the president, but their shouts and beating drums could be heard by some of the 500 invitees waiting to pass through security.
Although Montgomery police officers tried to confine them to one area, many of the demonstrators broke away and briefly disrupted traffic on University Boulevard. "I feel like he's kind of trespassing," said Katie Frank, 16, who will be a Blair senior next school year. "He should know we don't support him."
Trent Duffy, a White House spokesman, said blocks of tickets were distributed to several nonprofit organizations, including Young America's Foundation, which selected the individuals who received them. The event was organized by the National Retirement Planning Coalition, a financial industry and advocacy group. Comedian and author Ben Stein, a Blair alumnus, is the group's honorary chairman.
Duffy said he did not know if any of those invited were county residents. "Once we give the tickets to the organizations, the White House doesn't ask for residency information," he said.
Bush said the Montgomery meeting and similar events across the country are important opportunities for him to explain his plan, which would give workers a chance to divert some payroll taxes to private investment accounts.
Bush said the system should be improved for younger workers, giving them "the ability, if they so choose, to take some of their money -- after all, it's your money in the payroll taxes -- and set it aside in what we call a voluntary personal savings account. . . . I like the idea of giving somebody a chance to build a nest egg that the government can't spend."
U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a possible candidate for Senate next year, joined County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) and state Sen. Ida G. Rubin (D-Montgomery) at a news conference outside the school to speak out against Bush's Social Security plan. Duncan is expected to run for governor.
Van Hollen said Bush should return to the school in the fall to talk to Blair students. "The president has very carefully scripted these meetings," he said after the news conference.
Kennedy scores a knock out!
You have to love Teddy. He takes a lickin’ but he keeps on tickin’.
I think Senator Kennedy is probably the Democrat Repugs love to hate most. He’s definitely in the top 5.
In
Senate Armed Services Committee meeting yesterday, he was asking questions of Sec. Rumsfeld. Rummy was heavily into his normal “everything’s going peachy” shtick. Teddy scored a knockout with this:
“Sec. Rusted. In baseball, it’s ‘three strikes, you’re out’. What is it for you?”
Rummy shuffled his papers and said, “Well….. that’s quite a statement.”
Good comeback! You’re a notch or two above Dubya with that one.
Turd Blossom Rove Apologizes! Don't hold your breath.
Karl Rove Apologizes for 9/11 Remarks -- Weeps Like a Baby While Asking Liberals, 9/11 Widows, and Therapists for Forgiveness*wink* *wink*
The Huffington PostWednesday, June 29, 2005; 9:55 am
A week after claiming that liberals responded inappropriately to the 9/11 attacks, deputy White House chief of staff Karl Rove apologized at an emotion-filled Rose Garden press conference.
“Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line,” said the man the president affectionately calls “Turd Blossom," biting his lip and fighting back tears. “To them I extend my heartfelt apologies."
Rove said that while he actually did mean to exploit the 9/11 attacks for “political, opportunistic purposes," just as his critics have claimed, and wasn’t really sorry that he had done so, he decided to apologize because “everyone else was doing it… and I didn’t want to be left out -- like I always was in high school.”
On the road still trying to drum up support for his plan to privatize everything, President Bush called Rove’s apology “an honorable step toward placating the liberal media attack dogs.”
Rove’s Rose Garden mea culpa came a week after the man known as Bush’s Brain gave a speech to the Conservative Party of New York State in which he said: “Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers.”
The comments drew widespread criticism from Democrats -- many of whom demanded an apology. “Karl Rove doesn’t own me an apology,” said John Kerry. “He owes the country an apology.”
Nevertheless the rotund Bush advisor insisted on specifically apologizing to Kerry along with everybody else.
Here is Rove’s apology in its entirety (any similarity to Dick Durbin’s apology is strictly intentional)
“More than most people, a cagey political operative lives by his words. Words are the coin of the realm in our profession. Occasionally, words will fail us, and occasionally we will fail words. And every now and then we will actually use the word “fail” -- but never in relation to the war in Iraq. On June the 22nd, I took to the podium at a partisan political event and raised my genuine, heartfelt concerns about how some Americans not of the conservative persuasion reacted to the events of 9/11. I raised legitimate concerns that others have raised, including any number of AM radio hosts and Fox News commentators. During this speech, on my own, in my own words, I brought up 9/11 and Al Jazeera and Dick Durbin, and used the phrases “motives of liberals” and “putting America’s men and women in uniform in greater danger” in connection to each other. I’ve since come to understand that this might not have been the brightest choice of words -- that some may believe my remarks crossed the line. To them, I extend my heartfelt apologies. There’s usually a quote from Abraham Lincoln that you can turn to in moments like this. But Dick Durbin already used the one I wanted to use… and I’m saving the other good ones for Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean, and all the other liberal Democrats my fellow Republicans have demanded apologies from. I’d also like to apologize to John Kerry… just because.”
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld who had earlier gone on Fox News Radio and compared Durbin’s Guantanamo comments to Jane Fonda calling U.S. soldiers war criminals during a visit to North Vietnam in 1972, had no comment on either Rove’s 9/11 remarks or his apology.Arianna Huffington
Just when we thought a Democrat had some balls!
Sen. Durbin looked great the other day when he stood on the Senate floor and told the truth: The President and the rest of his administration have created abominable conditions that should not be tolerated. If you had the torture tactics described to you without knowing they were being done by our people, you would think it was being done by some other repressive regime. The tactics being used at Gitmo are so reprehensible they cannot be done on our soil. Gitmo isn't in Cuba due to lack of space here in the good ol' USA. It was put in Cuba in an attempt to avoid needing to answer to US law.
Then he stands up on the floor and gives a completely unecessary wimpy apology! For What?!?!?!? For telling the truth.
What a cop out. What did they do to you, Richard?
Did you really think it couldn't happen here?
FBI trawls libraries for terrorist readersJamie Wilson in Washington
Tuesday June 21, 2005
Guardian
The bookish calm of a public library might not seem like the most obvious place to hunt for terrorists, but according to a report, the FBI and other US law enforcement agencies involved in counter-terrorism have made more than 200 requests for information about borrowers from libraries since September 11.
A list of people who had borrowed a book about Osama bin Laden was among the information to have been demanded since the introduction of the patriot act, the legislation that has enhanced the government's powers to investigate alleged terrorist activity after the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.
The power to subpoena library records has been fiercely resisted by the American Library Association, which believes it could put people off reading certain books or subjects.
It commissioned the study after the justice department sought to play down the likely number of requests for library records.
"What this says to us is that agents are coming to libraries and they are asking for information at a level that is significant, and the findings are completely contrary to what the justice department has been trying to convince the public [of]," Emily Sheketoff, the executive director of the library association's Washington office, told the New York Times.
The use of the patriot act to request information from librarians came to public attention last year when a library in Washington state received a demand for information after a user took out a book on Bin Laden and found a handwritten note in the margin that said: "Hostility toward America is a religious duty and we hope to be rewarded by God."
The borrower went to the FBI who in turn went to the library seeking names and information on borrowers who had taken out the biography since 2001.
The library turned down the request and fought a subsequent subpoena.
Critics claim that the patriot act is an infringement of civil liberties and that it has increasingly been the subject of debate in Congress.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
The Link
These days, anything is possible.
Fake News, Fake Reasons for War, Unfortunately, Really Our President
Remember the Repuglican's
Contract On America? Well, Dubya has a
War On the World.
Go Durbin.... Go Durbin..... Rile the Bastards Up!
Of course the White House is screaming. It's no wonder Repuglicans are jumping up and down. They are
raising Cain about Senator Durbin's remarks on the Senate Floor.
He quoted a memo from an FBI Agent that said,
"On a couple of occasions, I entered interview rooms to find a detainee chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food or water. Most times they urinated or defecated on themselves, and had been left there for 18–24 hours or more. On one occasion, the air conditioning had been turned down so far and the temperature was so cold in the room, that the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold. . . . On another occasion, the [air conditioner] had been turned off, making the temperature in the unventilated room well over 100 degrees. The detainee was almost unconscious on the floor, with a pile of hair next to him. He had apparently been literally pulling his hair out throughout the night. On another occasion, not only was the temperature unbearably hot, but extremely loud rap music was being played in the room, and had been since the day before, with the detainee chained hand and foot in the fetal position on the tile floor.And then in his own words said:
If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime—Pol Pot or others —that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners. But, they are not quoting the real admonition that he made:
It is not too late. I hope we will learn from history. I hope we will change course. The President could declare the United States will apply the Geneva Conventions to the war on terrorism. He could declare, as he should, that the United States will not, under any circumstances, subject any detainee to torture, or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The administration could give all detainees a meaningful opportunity to challenge their detention before a neutral decisionmaker. Because the real admonition was to the President, not our soldiers.
They are calling for him to apologize; even questioning his wisdom or suitability to hold office.
All of this is to distract a completely obedient media from the real story. That is,
President Bush's rush to war; the manipulation of intelligence data to suit his predisposed policy; the capitulation of a willing and culpable Dick "Go Fuck Yourself" Cheney and Condoleeeeeeeeza "the lizard" Rice!Now that they are talking about
The Downing Street Memo, it's just a matter of time. The castle walls are falling.
We'll try not to gloat... too much.
The Downing Street Minutes
SECRET AND STRICTLY PERSONAL - UK EYES ONLY
DAVID MANNING
From: Matthew Rycroft
Date: 23 July 2002
S 195 /02
cc: Defence Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Attorney-General, Sir Richard Wilson, John Scarlett, Francis Richards, CDS, C, Jonathan Powell, Sally Morgan, Alastair Campbell
IRAQ: PRIME MINISTER'S MEETING, 23 JULY
Copy addressees and you met the Prime Minister on 23 July to discuss Iraq.
This record is extremely sensitive. No further copies should be made. It should be shown only to those with a genuine need to know its contents.
John Scarlett summarised the intelligence and latest JIC assessment. Saddam's regime was tough and based on extreme fear. The only way to overthrow it was likely to be by massive military action. Saddam was worried and expected an attack, probably by air and land, but he was not convinced that it would be immediate or overwhelming. His regime expected their neighbours to line up with the US. Saddam knew that regular army morale was poor. Real support for Saddam among the public was probably narrowly based.
Bush's Watergate?
C reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action.
CDS said that military planners would brief CENTCOM on 1-2 August, Rumsfeld on 3 August and Bush on 4 August.
The two broad US options were:
(a) Generated Start. A slow build-up of 250,000 US troops, a short (72 hour) air campaign, then a move up to Baghdad from the south. Lead time of 90 days (30 days preparation plus 60 days deployment to Kuwait).
(b) Running Start. Use forces already in theatre (3 x 6,000), continuous air campaign, initiated by an Iraqi casus belli. Total lead time of 60 days with the air campaign beginning even earlier. A hazardous option.
The US saw the UK (and Kuwait) as essential, with basing in Diego Garcia and Cyprus critical for either option. Turkey and other Gulf states were also important, but less vital. The three main options for UK involvement were:
(i) Basing in Diego Garcia and Cyprus, plus three SF squadrons.
(ii) As above, with maritime and air assets in addition.
(iii) As above, plus a land contribution of up to 40,000, perhaps with a discrete role in Northern Iraq entering from Turkey, tying down two Iraqi divisions.
The Defence Secretary said that the US had already begun "spikes of activity" to put pressure on the regime. No decisions had been taken, but he thought the most likely timing in US minds for military action to begin was January, with the timeline beginning 30 days before the US Congressional elections.
The Foreign Secretary said he would discuss this with Colin Powell this week. It seemed clear that Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran. We should work up a plan for an ultimatum to Saddam to allow back in the UN weapons inspectors. This would also help with the legal justification for the use of force.
The Attorney-General said that the desire for regime change was not a legal base for military action. There were three possible legal bases: self-defence, humanitarian intervention, or UNSC authorisation. The first and second could not be the base in this case. Relying on UNSCR 1205 of three years ago would be difficult. The situation might of course change.
The Prime Minister said that it would make a big difference politically and legally if Saddam refused to allow in the UN inspectors. Regime change and WMD were linked in the sense that it was the regime that was producing the WMD. There were different strategies for dealing with Libya and Iran. If the political context were right, people would support regime change. The two key issues were whether the military plan worked and whether we had the political strategy to give the military plan the space to work.
On the first, CDS said that we did not know yet if the US battleplan was workable. The military were continuing to ask lots of questions.
For instance, what were the consequences, if Saddam used WMD on day one, or if Baghdad did not collapse and urban warfighting began? You said that Saddam could also use his WMD on Kuwait. Or on Israel, added the Defence Secretary.
The Foreign Secretary thought the US would not go ahead with a military plan unless convinced that it was a winning strategy. On this, US and UK interests converged. But on the political strategy, there could be US/UK differences. Despite US resistance, we should explore discreetly the ultimatum. Saddam would continue to play hard-ball with the UN.
John Scarlett assessed that Saddam would allow the inspectors back in only when he thought the threat of military action was real.
The Defence Secretary said that if the Prime Minister wanted UK military involvement, he would need to decide this early. He cautioned that many in the US did not think it worth going down the ultimatum route. It would be important for the Prime Minister to set out the political context to Bush.
Conclusions:
(a) We should work on the assumption that the UK would take part in any military action. But we needed a fuller picture of US planning before we could take any firm decisions. CDS should tell the US military that we were considering a range of options.
(b) The Prime Minister would revert on the question of whether funds could be spent in preparation for this operation.
(c) CDS would send the Prime Minister full details of the proposed military campaign and possible UK contributions by the end of the week.
(d) The Foreign Secretary would send the Prime Minister the background on the UN inspectors, and discreetly work up the ultimatum to Saddam.
He would also send the Prime Minister advice on the positions of countries in the region especially Turkey, and of the key EU member states.
(e) John Scarlett would send the Prime Minister a full intelligence update.
(f) We must not ignore the legal issues: the Attorney-General would consider legal advice with FCO/MOD legal advisers.
(I have written separately to commission this follow-up work.)
MATTHEW RYCROFT
(Rycroft was a Downing Street foreign policy aide)
Open Letter to The Kansas School Board
All Hail The Flying Spaghetti Monster!
Let's Make a Deal with Sen. Joe Biden
Check out
Sirotablog.
I'm From the Government and I'm Here to Help!
Are these shits looking at how we can deal with the largest debt in the history of man? Nope.
Are they trying to get us out of a War that was started under false pretenses and has killed over 1700 of our best and brightest? Nope.
Are they working on important issues like dealing with our porous borders? Nope.
Our fearless leaders in the Senate are taking up the critical issue of
Flag Burning! Watch for a bunch of Democrats to jump on board in order to look like Republicans...... Demos like Joe Biden.
A "Wall of Shame"
The Senators that refusted to sponsor the Anti-lynching Resolution:
Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Christopher Bond (R-MO)
Jim Bunning (R-KY)
Conrad Burns (R-MT)
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Michael Crapo (R-ID)
Michael Enzi (R-WY)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Trent Lott (R-MS)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
John Sununu (R-NH)
Craig Thomas (R-WY)
George Voinovich (R-OH)
Repug County Councilman Dunn Must Have Been Trained By "No Promise Too Good That I Can't Break It" George Nethercutt!
Disgracing "honor" a Dunn deal
Nicole Brodeur
Reagan Dunn is showing his age: He's what, 6 years old?
How else to explain the antics of this political child who said he would "personally ... honor" the decision of the King County Republican Party on who should be entered in the fall primary? Dunn, 34, a Metropolitan King County councilman from Bellevue, lost the GOP nomination for the 9th District seat Saturday to fellow Councilman Steve Hammond, R-Enumclaw, 234-209. In no time, Dunn ditched his pledge to "personally plan to honor the process."
"I can't abandon this campaign because of 24 votes in June." (Actually, it was a 25-vote margin, but whatever.)
Yesterday, Dunn told me of a caveat I didn't know about: "I said I would honor the process if my opponent adheres to the 11th commandment," which is not to speak ill of another candidate in your party.
And Hammond did that?
Oh, grow up.
But there's more. Dunn said it ain't over till the fat lady — rather, the federal judge — sings.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly will hear arguments July 13 on a GOP lawsuit seeking to have the so-called "top two" primary tossed out.
If that happens, Dunn and his 47 percent of his party are on the ballot.
"Look at it through my eyes," Dunn urged me. "I have been working on this for six months, on the phone four hours a day."
Well, look at it through a voter's eyes, Reagan. "Personally." "Honor." Those words mean a lot when it comes to who gets our votes.
I am far from endorsing Hammond, 51, a former preacher whose views on things like abortion are as easy for me to swallow as cod-liver oil with a Robitussin chaser.
But if I were a card-carrying member of the GOP, I'd have a problem with a political hopeful who turns on his word before he's even elected to office.
While some see Dunn's defeat Saturday as evidence of the country Republicans beating the country-club Republicans, I see it as a short course on Dunn.
He seemingly was born with a silver elephant in his mouth. The son of former U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn, he was named for Republican icon and former President Ronald Reagan. He was appointed to the County Council in February.
His donor list looks like a GOP "Circus of the Stars": Former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, KVI-AM (570) talk-show host John Carlson. McCaws. Skip Rowley. You get the picture.
While Hammond has raised $24,000, Dunn has raked in $167,000.
"Don't you think I owe it to my supporters to wait and see what the court process turns out to be?" Dunn asked.
Perhaps. But I think he owes it to the system as it stands now to follow the rules, honor his own word and live by the vote of his party.
If your mother taught you grace, I told him, you would support Hammond like a grown man.
"You may see grace," Dunn said. "But I want to wait four weeks."
Nicole Brodeur's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Reach her at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com.
She runs with scissors.Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company
Don't say we didn't tell you! Part Deux ...... Thanks to BuzzFlash!
GOP House Judiciary Chair Uses Pinochet Tactics to Abruptly and Unilaterally Shut Down Hearing Into Abuses of the (Un)Patriot Act, Because He Was Afraid the Truth Would Come Out. America: "IT" is Happening Here. Democracy is Being Dismantled by GOP Thugs. A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
This morning, House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) unilaterally and arbitrarily shut down committee hearings on the reauthorization of the Patriot Act without comment or issuing a statement. Sensenbrenner gaveled the committee hearings in the middle of witnesses testifying about human and civil rights abuses at Guantanamo Bay, racial profiling of individuals of Middle Eastern descent, prolonged detentions of Americans after September 11th and other abuses.
The suppression of free speech and testimony in the congressional committee in charge of protecting our civil liberties shows the Republican’s power grab has no limits and no decency. The irony was not lost on anyone.
The witnesses appearing before the House Judiciary Committee included, Chip Pitts, Chair of the Board of Amnesty International USA; Dr. James J. Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute; Deborah Pearlstein, Director of the U.S. Law and Security Program “Human Rights First”; and Carlina Tapia Ruano of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
The witnesses were called by the indomitable Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) who continues to stand up to the right-wing’s attempt to eviscerate American Constitutional liberties.
“ There are few issues that are more important to this Committee or this Congress than the Patriot Act and the war against terror. This not only affects the rights and privacy of every American, but impacts the extent to which our nation is able to hold itself out as a beacon of liberty as we advocate for democracy around the world,” said Congressman Conyers as he opened the committee hearings.
Sixteen provisions in the USA Patriot Act are expiring because Rep. Conyers fought for sunset provisions to keep the erosion of civil liberties from becoming permanent when the Patriot Act was first introduced in the fervor following September 11th. Now the Bush administration is seeking to not only reauthorize but expand the reach and power of the Patriot Act, such as giving the FBI the ability to issue secret wire taps and conduct searches without warrants approved by a federal judge. A policy tantamount to creating a secret police force above the rule of law.
“ Rather than making us safer, the abuses and excesses of our war against terrorism are actually tarnishing our nation's reputation and making us less safe,” said Conyers.
Chip Pitts of Amnesty International USA in his written statement to be addressed to the House Judiciary Committee – before Sensenbrenner effectively muzzled him and other witnesses – observed that the Patriot Act has a “chilling affect on freedom.” Pitts added “the law jeopardizes due process and fair trial procedures by encouraging a presumption of guilt until proven innocent. …The Patriot Act is of concern both in itself, and also because it has inspired a significant cascade of similar legislation around the world that weakens the rule of law which is so essential to the protection of human rights.”
The overarching fear with expanding the Patriot Act is the lack of oversight given to judges, the denial of due process to American citizens such as keeping detainees from the right to see a lawyer, and the broad discretion given to police and homeland security officials in the Bush administration. You can be labeled a suspected terrorist, if not presumed guilty, if the Bush administration says you are. The secretive Busheviks appear more interested in obtaining Stalin-like police powers than in protecting Americans from terrorism.
Sensenbrenner's Soviet-style tactic of gaveling a meeting to end it because he didnt like what he heard about the Bushevik abuses of our civil liberties is a horrifying example of what America faces if the GOP one-party state is given expanded police powers to invade the rights of Americans.
“ The governments that are most effective in safeguarding human security are those that operate strictly under the rule of law: that is, under a system in which people are governed by public laws that are set in advance, applied equally in all cases,” said Deborah Pearlstein, Director, U.S. Law and Security Program who was called to testify.
The Bush administration has routinely flouted the rule of law since September 11th claiming the need for broad police powers to protect security and prevent terrorism. But the Bush administration as well as Department of Justice and Homeland Security officials have been routinely discredited and rebuked for their actions. They have repeatedly initiated arrests and invasions of privacy for public relations purposes, only to drop charges later.
In short, many Americans and organizations just don’t trust the Bush administration, and rightly so after a systematic pattern of abuse and erosion of the Constitution. The Busheviks are clearly using the fear of terrorism as a means to consolidate dictatorship like powers.
What member of Congress in their right mind could possibly consider giving more power to an Administration that endorses torture and indefinite detentions?
Democracies do not fail overnight. They slowly erode and descend by denying rights to the minority, the takeover of an independent judiciary, suppressing speech and assembly, and the rise of secrecy and repressive police powers in the executive branch.
Sensenbrenner’s belligerent act to shut down dissent and gag witnesses warning about the broad police powers given to the administration should give Americans pause as the Republican Party inches closer and closer to turning American into a one-party state.
The witnesses to the Bushevik violations of our Constitution, civil liberties, and individual rights valiantly continued to speak after Sensenbrenner formally shut down the hearing (probably as a result of a phone call from the White House). But their voices were hardly heard, which was the objective of the Busheviks.
What makes the barbarians in the White House shudder most is a bright light of truth reaching the American public.
They have been unusually successful in intimidating the media into enabling their lies. Now, they are just preemptively breaking laws and the rules of Congress to suppress the truth.
It can happen here, and it is.
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
What in the Hell is Biden thinking?
The Democrats finally have someone with some balls that will talk straight with and about Republicans and this "Shit-for-Brains" Joe Biden, who
sold out the working folks of America with his stupid goddam vote on the bankruptcy bill
talks trash about him.
Wake up, Joe! The Republicans are killing you. They've kicked your ass every time you've turned around. You're such a goddam wienie that now you're celebrating if they only give you a noogie! "At least they didn't give me another wedgie!"
What a gutless piece of ass wipe.
Come on, Joe! Dean the Scream didn't say that "
no Republicans have ever held a job". He said, "
Lots of them have never had to hold a job." Isn't that true? Which side has the higher percentage of inherited wealth? I wonder. When is the blogasphere going to give us the dope?
Biden's backstabbing of Dean,
along with John Edwards, who at least had the balls to
correct himself and defend Howard, isn't helping the situation. There are lots of ways that the big guns in the Democratic party could have sucked up to their money-bag contributors without trying to hang Howard out to dry.
In case no one has noticed, the Democrats are in the minority. They should be the Loyal Opposition. Listen to
Hillary, for god's sake! "I mean, c'mon, toughen up, guys, it's only our Constitution and country at stake," she said. "Let's get some spine." You need to be pointing out all the bad things about the Bush Regime's programs ... all the time!
Stash
Jimmy speaks! Listen up, George! Don't you just miss having Carter around more? What a guy!
Carter: Close down GuantanamoBERNARD McGHEE
Associated Press
ATLANTA - Former President Jimmy Carter on Tuesday called for the United States to shut down its Guantanamo Bay prison to demonstrate the country's commitment to protecting human rights.
"Despite President George W. Bush's bold reminder that America is determined to promote freedom and democracy around the world, the U.S. continues to suffer terrible embarrassment and a blow to our reputation as a champion of human rights because of reports concerning abuses of prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo," Carter said in a news conference following the close of a two-day human rights conference at his Atlanta center.
In addition to closing Guantanamo Bay and two dozen other secret detention facilities, the former president said the United States needs to make sure no detainees are held incommunicado and that they all be told the charges against them.
His other recommendations included that the United States stop transferring detainees to foreign countries where torture has been reported and that an independent commission be created to investigate where terrorism suspects are held in U.S. custody.
Carter also said the United States should reaffirm its commitment to due process and international law, and assure that the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners are enforced.
Carter said many countries, including the United States, are using the campaign against terrorism as an excuse to restrict freedoms and silence human rights activists.
"In fact, combating terrorism, defending human rights and ensuring our collective security go hand in hand," Carter said.
The former president also pointed out abuses in other countries, including:
_ In Indonesia, efforts to reform the state intelligence body are being resisted in the name of safeguarding security.
_In conflict zones such as Chechnya and Colombia, crimes against humanity, and the targeting of human rights activists, are justified as counterterrorism.
_Persistent poverty contributes to insecurity and violence in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, and Uzbekistan.
A delegation of human rights defenders from around the world will be in Washington on Wednesday to present their testimony to key leaders of the U.S. government.
Despite his criticism of the Guantanamo Bay prison, Carter said Amnesty International should not have called it "the gulag of our time" when the describing the facility in a report last month.
Calling it "an ill-advised term," Carter said the abuses said to take place at Guantanamo Bay could never compare with the Soviet-era gulags, where thousands of people died.
"I think it's unfortunate that their choice of words has become the focal point of the debate," Carter said.
Novak's List: Even a stopped clock is right twice a day!
Bob Novak provides
a list of (fortunately) stalled initiatives in Congress. We can only hope that Bush's success continues.
The House passed a stem cell research funding bill marked by Bush for his first veto after GOP leaders made a deal with liberals to bring the measure to the floor in return for their votes on the budget.
The Senate's highway bill exceeds the president's overly generous spending limits, peppered with pork projects earmarked by individual senators.
Senior Republican senators cut a deal on judicial confirmations that threw overboard at least two of the president's nominees.
Republican Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio delayed and broke the momentum for confirmation of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, preparing a bid for the GOP presidential nomination, has put a hold on the nomination of longtime Bush supporter Julie Finley as ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) because of her abortion activism.
CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) ratification is in deep trouble and will need more effort than shown so far by the White House.
The president's top legislative priority, Social Security reform, is becalmed. What Bush wants cannot pass either chamber of Congress.
Typical Republican, Wrong-Wing, Lies and Distortions!
Highlighting Republican voter suppression activities, DNC Chair, Howard Dean said in a speech, "
You think people can work all day and then pick up their kids at child care or wherever and get home and still manage to sandwich in an eight-hour vote? Well Republicans, I guess can do that. Because a lot of them have never made an honest living in their lives."Wrong Wing Radio and
Conservative Blogs are already on the attack saying, "Dean said, 'Republicans have never made an honest living in their lives". Big difference, huh?
Check out the
actual video for yourself and see what he said.
It will be interesting as this develops to see the percentages of Republicans and Democrats that inherited their wealth from parents and/or grandparents (Hilton, Rockefeller, etc.), rather than earned it (Turner, Gates, etc.).
We at The Whirlpool know that there are examples of both on both sides and expect the Blogasphere to provide the information. But, the fact that the Republican controlled, Wrong-Wing media feel compelled to distort this very clear statement is compelling.
