Sunday, October 30, 2005

Case Study

“It is time to take stock, hold people accountable and change course.” - Ft. Worth (Texas) Star Telegram, Sunday 10/30/05

Less than a week before the March, 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the Fort Worth, Texas Star Telegram warned:

An invasion would produce “a theocratic leadership made up of radical Muslim fundamentalists.”;

The cost of the war and aftermath would be prohibitive;

There was no indication in Iraq of “resumed nuclear activities”;

The US had not made a convincing case that Iraq posed a clear and immediate threat and that is was hard to understand the urgency of using military force.”;

And, the harsh realities today:

Iraq now seems destined to be yet another fundamentalist Muslim government, ultimately hostile to US interests (and who will blame them after the insanity of this war?);

Casualties are now over 2,000 American dead, over 15,000 wounded, and VA projections that over 100,000 will ultimately seek medical help as a result of this war;

Costs of the over two and a half year war (and still counting) and restructuring Iraq are now projected to well surpass $400 billion, with no end in sight - in spite of Donald Rumsfeld’s dismissive claims before the war that it would be over in six months and would cost less than $50 billion;

The US national debt now tops $8 TRILLION;

Almost every claim justifying the war has turned out to be false, and justifications are now being widely viewed as actual administration deceptions (i.e., "lies" - they've pretty much given up even the pretense of the "WMD's);

US allies in the war - the “Coalition of the Willing” became the “Multi-national Force” as participants withdrew in wholesale lots, and is now moving rapidly towards “All bailed Out”;

US Army FY 2005 recruiting goals were missed by over 8%, the first full year deficit since 1999, and the largest shortfall in 26 years;

Half the US troops now in Iraq are reservists - the highest proportion ever in history;

Predictably, this administration will become a Case Study in the future on “HOW NOT TO RUN A NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION”. It is hard to understand how anyone could do a worse job, even deliberately!

Recent Quotes of Note

Some recent statements from interesting sources bear repeating:

“I’m very disappointed in Libby, and the White House, and the vice president and the president. They should have taken care of this a long time ago. They should have done their own investigation. They're going to get very little sympathy on Capitol Hill, at least from me. ... They brought this on themselves."
- House Govt. Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-VA

"The president got a pretty good wakeup call. He needs to stop thinking about his grand legacy and being the all-time hero of the Republicans and concentrate on doing the job he was elected to do. He really has to get a grip on his administration."
- Former Congressman Mickey Edwards, R-OK

“Clinton's approval ratings remained above 60 percent throughout the impeachment battle, while Bush's are in the low 40s. When Clinton said, 'I'm going back to do my work,' people cheered, when Bush says, 'I'm going to do the job I've been doing,' people say, 'Oh, no.' "
- John Podesta, President Bill Clinton’s Chief of Staff

"I very much doubt they will be able to repair the damage. Once you lose credibility, it's almost impossible to get it back."
-Tom De Luca, professor of political science at Fordham University.

"The criminal indictments of a top White House official mark a sad day for America and another chapter in the Republicans' culture of corruption."
- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA

"They wanted the president to restore honor and integrity to the White House. Whatever agenda the president wants to pursue, if he hasn't re-established a strong ethical standard, he's going to fail. ... Americans don't like to be lied to."
- Rep Christorpher Shays, R-Conn

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Trashing Our World

In recent decades, 95% of scientists the world over have warned about ‘global warming’ and potential destructive weather as a result;

A few years ago, many of the world’s concerned governments, including the US, got together in agreement to try to avoid global climatic catastrophe;

But the US administration under GW Bush & Neo-Con dogma, quickly torpedoed the Kyoto Accord, refusing to sign and effectively killing that process. This was a purely political and nonscientific decision in favor of big business and unsupported by scientific data. The lame excuse was that ‘global warming hasn’t been proven yet’ - which really amounts to a scam on the world at large in favor of business;

The Earth’s average temperature has risen over the past several decades, and an apparently dramatic acceleration is now in process;

Recently, the world has been hit by several increasingly catastrophic natural calamities, with destructive extent beyond anything ever recorded before;

The number of tropical hurricanes in 2005 equals the highest ever recorded in our historical record to date, with almost two months left in the current hurricane season;

The most powerful and destructive hurricane ever in recorded history is currently bearing down on Florida, as of 10/19/05;

The current hurricane season set a record for the number of most powerful storms;

Arctic sea ice has retreated the furthest extent ever recorded or known, and is projected to disappear completely with unknown climatic consequences;

Arctic climates are currently undergoing dramatic and drastic change in temperatures, threatening the stability of their environments and ecosystems;

Rare and destructive weather phenomenon is now almost commonplace across the entire planet.;

Computer models show unknown and potentially devastating consequences for our current ‘business as usual’, and indeed actually accelerated assaults on the natural environment;

Without any supporting data, this administration doggedly insists global warming is not proven and that the current, unprecedented climatic changes are ‘normal’ and a ‘natural fluctuation”. This is in the face of universally strong and pervasive scientific evidence to the contrary.
http://www.heatisonline.org/disinformation.cfm
How long will people accept the trashing of the planet now being done by the fools currently in charge of the United States of America? What kind of world will be left for our children and grandchildren? Will Neo-Con doctrine kill their world?

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Yet Another Neo-Con Screw-up?

The Neo-Cons are pulling out all stops to stack the deck - just as they always try to do, al la Tom Delay, etc.

But, in their eagerness to 'prove' Saddam Hussein guilty of war crimes (as if there were any doubts), will Bush, et all compleely screw up the trial of Saddam Hussein too? Sure looks like it:


Asked why he has declined to defend Hussein in his upcoming ‘trial’, famed Swiss international legal expert Marc Heinzelin had this to say:

“I would not like to see the trial turn into a circus show.”

“Investigating magistrates were killed, as well as witnesses and evidence was destroyed . . . “

comparing Nuremberg to the trial of Hussein: “The tribunals can only be compared in part. In both cases it is the victors holding court over the losers. But the difference is that the trials of Nuremberg had a historic goal. They wanted to get as close as possible to the truth about Nazi crimes.”

“The trial of Saddam Hussein is the exact opposite. The trial focuses on a small part of the criminal record of the Iraqi regime . . .”

“I think it is all about justifying the United States’ invasion of Iraq and to string Saddam Hussein up sooner rather than later without asking too many questions.”

“What’s the point of a trial if the defense has not been able to take part in the investigation?”

“The trial of Saddam might provide wonderful material for a US television series with a lawyer and a prosecutor crossing swords. But, this has got nothing to do with a fair trial.”

“In light of the Geneva and the Hague Conventions . . . . this court is clearly illegal. Occupying powers have no right to change the legal system of a country. This is precisely what the US has done.”

“. . . this is not a regular court deliberating the case. Special tribunals are completely against international law.”

“What’s more, the judges were not elected but appointed by the occupying powers. They flew in a nephew of *Mr. Chalabi. . . . he was a lawyer in London specializing in commercial law. Later he was appointed president of the Iraqi special tribunal.”

They are probably gonna completely bomb here too!

* Now, where oh where have we heard THAT name before?

Monday, October 17, 2005

Prime Recipe for Disaster:

First, you invade and militarily conquer a country which poses little threat to you;

Your main excuse to justify the invasion, is ‘locating and destroying’ that country’s “Weapons of Mass Destruction” which in fact do not exist;

You attempt to stifle opposition to your deceit in your own country by destroying careers of high government employees;

When no “WMD’s” are found, not even one little one, you attempt to morph your justification for your unilateral war into “removing a despotic leader and bringing Freedom and Democracy” to the invaded country, and ‘fighting a war on terror;

You bring up the example of “9/11” many thousands of times in your attempts to justify your invasion, even though the invaded country had absolutely nothing to do with that attack. This is done primarily to propagandize your own country’s citizens since most of the world recognizes the falseness of your claims;

You destroy the invaded country’s entire military and civilian infrastructure, essentially returning the country to worse than third world status and reducing the populace to desperation;

Your invasion forces utilize policies and tactics guaranteed to inflame and enrage the citizens of the country and all Islamic religious factions everywhere in the world, thereby providing the greatest fundamentalist Islamic recruitment rational in history;

Your actions create a deadly and steadily growing 'insurrection' in the invaded country costing thousands of lives and billions of dollars;

Your invasion of the non-offending country costs many billions of dollars, taken directly from other pressing needs of your own country, the true extent of the amounts spent will be hidden and never known;

In your increasing desperation to extricate yourself from the awful & increasingly deadly mess you have created, you insist on the invaded country’s adoption of a new ‘democratic’ constitution and 'self-government', under a timetable set by you, which would be optimistic even in a settled, already democratic country. You reach the point where any signed piece of paper will do, so long as you can claim you have helped the invaded country ‘achieve democracy and stability’, but like everything else you have done, that too is a gross lie and bald deception.

You have now reached the point of not only lying to your own countrymen, but also to yourself. What is so tragic is that you are apparently now believing your own lies.

Here is the proof:

New US sponsored & insisted upon Iraqi constitution:

1. Splits Iraq into three semiautonomous regions;
a. Suuni
b. Kurdish
c. Shiite

2. Each region will have it’s own military force;

3. Current oil fields will be “Federally managed”, meaning by Iraq as a whole, with the three regions combined; (This is likely to permit the control and exploitation of those oil fields by American energy companies)

a. But, all new oil fields will be ‘owned’ by the region in which they are built;

4. Islam is to be the “basic source” of all legislation and no law may contradict the ‘established provisions of Islam’; (no joke!)

5. Kurds have successfully put themselves beyond the reach of the overall Iraqi Supreme Court;

6. Women in the north of Iraq will have different rights than women in the south, with issues of divorce and inheritance to be based on religion and with different standards based on where one happens to live;

7. Shiite and Kurdish majorities make no secret of their overall power over the Suunis.

If anyone ever authored an exorbitantly expensive, undemocratic document and stupid recipe for disaster, this one is it! This so bad in fact that one is forced to wonder whether the real goal isn't destabilization in the region!

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Setting the Record Straight

Lately there’s been a big misunderstanding about what GW Bush was quoted as saying and what he actually said and meant. This is to try to set the record straight:

The Quote:
“George W. Bush told me: “I’m driven with a mission from God.”
- Former Palestinian foreign Minister, Nabil Shaath 10/6/05

What actually happened: Bush caught his wienie in his zipper. In his excrutiating pain and fundamentalist 'Christian' that he is, he began lamenting’, “I’m riven with a pissin’ from God.”

The Quote:
“George W. Bush told me: ”God told me. George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan,”” and I did.”
- Former Palestinian foreign Minister, Nabil Shaath 10/6/05

What actually happened: Still in excrutiating pain GWB screamed,
“My wienie's in a chicken fight and tearing off in my hand!” and it did.

The Quote:
“Then, George W. Bush told me: “And, then God would tell me, “”George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq!”” and I did.”
- Former Palestinian foreign Minister, Nabil Shaath 10/6/05

What actually happened: Bush had a thought and said: “George, go and mend yer bennie in an ice pack!” And he did.

The Quote:
“Then, George W. Bush told me: “And, now again I feel God’s words coming to me; ‘Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security and get peace in the Middle East.’ and by God, I’m agonna do it!”
- Former Palestinian foreign Minister, Nabil Shaath 10/6/05

What actually happened: By this time GWB had snorted a couple lines of coke and was beginning to float about 15 feet above the Palestinian foreign minister and other more common Earthlings. At this point he thought and said: ‘Now then, ideally God’s turds are cumming on me, and no offset Pennsylvanian bear bait and being surreal is where impurity’s sweat grease in the fiddle priest, and tie rod I’m agonna screw it!”

So, you can see how these misunderstanding get started. In an effort to set the record straight about God being on a first name basis with, and speaking directly to GW Bush, White House spokesman Scott McClelland had this to say:

“That’s absurd! I've been in many meetings with him and never heard such a thing!"

Of course in all fairness it must be noted that Mr. McClelland is in the actual business of and paid for lying, so one should always believe the opposite of whatever comes out of his mouth.

Transcripts of the interview in question will be published by the BBC next month and we can see and listen to the record being set straight.

Friday, October 07, 2005

GW Bush vs. Reality

GWB Quote: "This form of radicalism exploits Islam to serve a violent, political vision : the establishment, by terrorism and subversion and insurgency, of a totalitarian empire that denies all political and religious freedom." (Referring to Osama Bin Ladin on 10/6/05)

Reality: This administration’s idea and method of “bringing Freedom and Democracy to the Middle East” is guaranteed to and has proven to mobilize every radical Moslem fundamentalist on the planet into fomenting terrorism, subversion, insurgency and the establishment of totalitarian Islamic regimes wherever they can. That has led to the greatest surge of Islamic fervor since before the Crusades.


GWB Quote: "Evil men obsessed with ambition and unburdened by conscience must be taken very seriously and we must stop them before their crimes multiply," (10/6/05)

Reality: Prophetic words also used before the 2000 US presidential election, but which went unheeded in preventing our national disaster of having that election hijacked by the Neo-Cons.


GWB Quote: "We have seen this kind of shameless cruelty before, in heartless zealotry that led to the gulags and the Cultural Revolution and the Killing Fields." (10/6/05)

Reality: Apparently unconsciously referring to this Administration's blind dogma resulting in prison torture, indefinite imprisonment without trial, unilateral bombing, shelling and slaughter of civilian noncombatants (euphemistically being referred to as ‘collateral damage’), and wholesale violations of basic human rights the world over - including our own US citizens!


GWB Quote: "Like the ideology of communism, our new enemy pursues totalitarian aims. Its leaders pretend to be an aggrieved party, representing the powerless against imperial enemies. In truth, they have endless ambitions of imperial domination, and they wish to make everyone powerless except themselves." (Referring to Osama Bin Ladin on 10/6/05)

Reality: Again, perhaps unconsciously but very accurately referring to the present US administration.


GWB Quote: "Observers look at the job ahead and adopt a self-defeating pessimism. It is not justified," Bush said, arguing that Iraq had made "incredible political progress" (10/6/05)

Reality: Iraq has made incredible progress towards anarchy and civil war, with terrorist attacks up 300% since 2003, resulting in universal condemnation of the stupidity of US actions in the Neo-Con manufactured ‘Global War On Terror, aka the “GWOT”.


GWB Quote: "In Iraq, there is no peace without victory. We will keep our nerve and we will win that victory," (10/6/05)

Reality: There will be little peace when Iraq descends into the hell of civil war, Islamic revolution and domination. This administration has already made all the wrong moves and lost it’s nerve. Our eventual, shameful pullout is only a matter of time.


GWB Quote: "I'll remind them that we were not in Iraq on September the 11th, 2001, and al-Qaida attacked us anyway. The hatred of the radicals existed before Iraq was an issue and it will exist after Iraq is no longer an excuse." (10/6/05)

Reality: Not one single iraqi was involved in the attacks on September 11th, 2001, the Al Qaida was Iraq’s enemy until then, and Iraq was never an issue until the Neo-Cons made it one - so what is GWB’s point anyway? Why do these idiots keep insisting on what the whole world knows is a lie? It’s getting pretty tiresome.


GWB’s words: Bush compared terrorist leaders to ideological "fanatics" Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Nazi tyrant Adolf Hitler, and Cambodia's Khmer Rouge kingpin Pol Pot.

Reality: The biggest group and most damaging group of terrorists on the planet today is the group of Neo-Cons now running the US government, under the titular ‘leadership’ of GW Bush. Not incidentally, this group also controls the greatest assemblage of WMD’s ever known to mankind. They may well be the death of our country, having already damaged us perhaps beyond repair in our lifetimes.

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Timeline on a Meltdown . . .

It's really, really hard not to feel sorry for this arrogant bunch of smarmy Bastards. . . Wait a minute! No it's not! After all, here's a shot of them gleefully & busily 'trainwrecking the government' when Newt the Pervert was still around.

As a veteran, I know why these old boy veterans are feeling so glum about this occasion. Delay tries suck in some glory without ever paying the price. That shit-eating face kinda looks like he knows he can't pull this bullshit off, doesn't it? (But, he did try to volunteer according to him, but, "all the 'slots' were being filled by minorities!" We're not making this up!)


This is known as a 'graphical subterfuge'. So partisanly eager to slam Democrats that Delay is most conveniently ignoring the fact (lying about it!) that the DJIA was over 11,000 when GWB took office - and it still hasn't gotten back to that level yet! This shot was made in 2002.

If ever two people ever deserved one another . . . . this is 'em! Too bad Micheal Brown, ex-FEMA director couldn't make this shot. Losers all.


"Whoops! What's that sound? Does it really mean that I might not be able to bulldoze my way through breaking the law? Hey! Wait just a damned minute! I AM the freaking government, remember?"



Uh Oh!

Presidential Press Interview

Recent press interview with President George W. Bush:

Press Secretary Scott McClelland: "Ladies and gentlemen; The President of the United States!"

GWBush: " Good afternoon everyone. Glad to be here."

Reporter's question: "Mr. President, we're told that yesterday two Brazilian soldiers were killed in iraq. Any comment?"

GWB's Response (Involuntary): "Oh my God!" (Looks beseechingly around for Press Secretary Scott McClelland) "Hey, Scottie - just how the heck many is a bazillion anyway?"


Reporter's question: "Mr. President, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the the Roe vs. Wade controversy."

GWB's Response: "Listen, I don't really care how those people got out of New Orleans, just so long as they did."


Reporter's question: "Yes Sir, Mr. President concerning Hurricane Katrina, many people have criticized the government and you for the length of time it took to evacuate New Orleans. Would you care to comment on that?"

GWB's Response: "Well, look now. It took us five weeks to evacuate Crawford, Texas when that Cindy Sheehan person was camped out around there. In comparison, I'd consider two weeks pretty darned good for New Orleans."


Reporter's question: "Mr. President, you and FEMA were severely criticized for not having a plan for New Orleans after the hurricane hit. Did you have a plan, and if so what was it?"

GWB's Response: "Well of course we have a plan. We've had one all along. I won't go into too much detail here, but it's a faith-based plan and involves a great big boat."


Reporter's question: "Mr. President, the people of New Orleans have suffered terribly. What will the federal government be able to do for them now?"

GWB's Response: "Well, listen. What really counts is that all but a few thousand of them survived and in a few years it will all be just a distant memory and we don't really need to do anything more. In fact, for most of them it's just a great big holiday. Besides, everyone is forgetting that I suffered too. I entirely lost the last three days of my vacation."


Reporter's question: "Mr. President, there's a lot of the blame game going around, and you yourself have said the federal response was unacceptable. Would you care to elaborate?"

GWB's Response: "Well of course I will. You'll remember when I told the FEMA director he was doing a heck of a job - well at that time I thought FEMA actually stood for 'Fix Everything My Ass', but have since learned it has something to do with emergencies. Anyway, you're not going to be able to blame me. Hell, I was on vacation!"


Reporter's question: "Mr. President, it took an awfully long time to send in troops to help out in New Orleans. Any comment?

GWB's Response: "Well I guess in a way it did, but you can bet we sent in all we could just as soon as I found out there was a lot of oil down there."


Reporter's question: "Mr. President, It has been reported that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay took several ethically questionable golf trips paid for by foreign lobbyists and that his wife and daughter were paid $500,000 from his own political action committee. What are your thoughts?"

GWB's Response: "These sorts of attacks just have to stop! This is just another seedy attempt by the liberal media to embarrass Republicans with our own actions, words and illegal doings!"


Reporter's question: "Mr. President, we all know that you and Congressman Tom Delay are close political and personal friends. Do you intend to do anything to help Mr. Delay?

GWB's Response: "Well yes in fact I am and I'm glad you've asked that question. At Congressman Delay's urgent request, I'm going to immediately get a bill fast tracked through Congress to outlaw prison rape."


Reporter's question: "Mr. President, concerning the scandal surrounding Congressman Delay and the Republican Party in general and they way it seems to be headed these days, is there any comment you'd care to make?"

GWB's Response: "As a Republican, I am quite proud of my party and I must consider our return to traditional, core Republican values to be a good thing."


Scott McClelland: "Thank you, and that's all people. It's time for the President's afternoon nap.