ThinkFast: April 9, 2008
ThinkFast: April 9, 2008
On Friday, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) posted a video from his March 22 trip to Iraq, in which he is “gesturing to a building behind him” and naming two other places hit by rocket attacks. VoteVets.org sharply criticized McHenry, noting that the information revealed in his video could be used by terrorists to “kill Americans in the Green Zone” in the future. The Pentagon has now agreed with VoteVets, and has told McHenry that he cannot re-air the video.
“You can’t tell the enemy in Iraq anymore without a scorecard,” writes the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank of Gen. David Petraeus’ and Ambassador Ryan Crocker’s discussion yesterday of Iranian-backed “special groups” in Iraq. “Of course, the new focus on the ’special groups’ also served to highlight the fact that the American presence in Iraq is creating new and special enemies.”
Yesterday, on ABC’s Nightline, Gen. Petraeus said of Iraq, “We will need to be there for a while.” Ambassador Crocker described American involvement as a “multi-year project.” “We’re not looking for Jeffersonian Democracy. … Iraq is not there yet right now, and there is certainly more work to be done,” Petraeus added.
A congressional investigation has found that Julie Myers, the nation’s top immigration enforcement official, “ordered the destruction of photographs of an office Halloween party” that showed her with “a white agency employee dressed as a black detainee.” Myers had reportedly ordered the photos removed from a digital camera in a “‘coordinated effort to conceal‘ her role in awarding one of the top costume prizes to the employee.”
A federal investigation has concluded that Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-CT) 2006 re-election campaign was to blame for the crash of its Web site “the day before Connecticut’s heated Aug. 8 Democratic primary.” In Dec. 2006, Lieberman campaign spokesman Dan Gerstein claimed, “Our Web site consultant assured us in the strongest terms possible that we had been attacked,” blaming supporters of challenger Ned Lamont.
A new GAO audit “found widespread abuses in a purchasing program meant to improve bureaucratic efficiency” with “[f]ederal employees [having] used government credit cards to pay for lingerie, gambling, iPods, Internet dating services, and a $13,000 steak-and-liquor dinner.” The audit said that “nearly half the ‘purchase card’ transactions it examined were improper.”
“The gap between rich and poor in many states has broadened at a quickening pace since the last U.S. recession, which could make it difficult for low-income families to weather the current economic downturn,” according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute. The report found that “the average incomes of the top five percent of families” are now “12 times the average incomes of the bottom 20 percent.”
The Bush administration “plans to expand a government program that helps struggling borrowers keep their homes.” The expansion “is designed to help about 100,000 homeowners, including many who owe more than their houses are worth, reduce their monthly payments” and to encourage “lenders to write down the value of the loans.”
“In a major shift of policy,” the Justice Department “has put off prosecuting more than 50 companies suspected of wrongdoing over the last three years.” Instead, the companies “have avoided the cost and stigma of defending themselves against criminal charges with a so-called deferred prosecution agreement, which allows the government to collect fines and appoint an outside monitor to impose internal reforms without going through a trial.”
And finally: “Oliver Stone’s new film,W, portrays George Bush as a foul-mouthed, dried-out drunk with a baseball obsession and a difficult relationship with his father.” Bush, played by actor Josh Brolin, is depicted as “as a party animal living in the shadow of his esteemed father before he uses religion to turn his life around.” His new purpose in life? To “achieve the presidency ahead of his brother Jeb, who was being groomed for high office by his father.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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US Lawmakers Financially Invested in Iraq, Afghanistan Wars
Information edited from:
April 9th, 2008 at 9:01 amhttp://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/08/8155/
strong>Surge Protectors: The Media's 2nd Greatest Failure
Information edited from:
April 9th, 2008 at 9:03 amhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/surge-protectors-the-medi_b_95436.html
“The gap between rich and poor in many states has broadened at a quickening pace since the last U.S. recession..."
____________________________________________
And at a quickening pace, we are becoming a banana republic as our middle class erodes.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:06 am“In a major shift of policy,” the Justice Department “has put off prosecuting more than 50 companies suspected of wrongdoing over the last three years.”
______________________________________________
On the one hand, this policy of allowing these companies to "avoid the cost and stigma of defending themselves" could just be a bone thrown to them in payment for all their campaign contributions. On the other hand, the telecoms may not be the only companies asked by our government to perform illegal acts.
Sounds like there may be even more slime under the rock.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:10 am“In a major shift of policy,” the Justice Department “has put off prosecuting more than 50 companies suspected of wrongdoing over the last three years.”
This 'deferment policy' over prosecution is why John Ashcroft is picking up a cool $52 million to 'monitor' a company that should be prosecuted.
Once again, our Justice Dept is living up to Gonzo & Mukasey's low expectations.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:11 amAnd through all of Betrayus' lies, Lieberman's pandering and posturing, and the GOP's happy sacrifice of American troops, comes the clarion thruth from Amb. crocker: "the biggest danger is from Al Qaeda on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border". In other words, iraq was the wrong target, a mistake, a giant cluster-fu(k of mass-murder and weapons profits. How disgusting that an aemrican government can get away with this.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:11 amGeorgie's taken a dump in the Bush crime family's political well. I gotta believe Jeb's a tad peeved at "Bush" becoming the equivalent of "Iscariot."
April 9th, 2008 at 9:14 am“In a major shift of policy,” the Justice Department “has put off prosecuting more than 50 companies suspected of wrongdoing over the last three years.”
This is also done, I think, to short-curcuit any class-action, or civil suits, that additionally might be brought against company execs for their actions.
A two-fer.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:16 am“Oliver Stone’s new film,W, portrays George Bush as a foul-mouthed, dried-out drunk with a baseball obsession and a difficult relationship with his father.”
Ladies & Gentlemen, the President of the United States!
April 9th, 2008 at 9:16 amPatrick McHenry continues to prove that he's not the brightest bulb on the string. Unfortunately, he will probably be returned to Congress by his heavily Republican district here in NC (and no, he's not my Congressman).
April 9th, 2008 at 9:17 am"you can't tell who is the enemy in Iraq"?? No $hit, Sherlock!
We never identified a real enemy there and have been working both sides of their Civil War....paying off Al Sadr to "NOT" fight so Bush's infamous "surge" appears successful.
Let's face it - if these con men go to this extreme (paying off people to NOT fight) how low would the stoop to get unchecked power? How low would they stoop to ensure that the people's rights were squelched by the Patriot Act? Just how low would these criminals go?
I think we know the sick, sorry answer to that one. There is absolutely NO NADIR to which these traitors would stoop - yes, even to stage a false flag event in order to change this country as they have.
We have a unitary executive run-amok.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:17 amSomehow Patrick McHenry's name is associated with the gay prostitution ring run inside the beltway and the murders of two young men in Florida. Is there smoke here?
April 9th, 2008 at 9:19 amPatrick McHenry: Aiding and embedding the enemy.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:20 amIs there smoke here?
Doesn't he share a Washington residence with another republican congressman?
April 9th, 2008 at 9:21 amI'll say it again: (according to my co-workers, I have "extreme views")
The Corporate CONtrolled Media will keep us in Iraq. Too many of the law makers in DC are making money in this Military Industrial Complex to pull out of Iraq. The seeds for an invasion of Iran are being sewn today as Betrayus recited Cheney’s words on Capitol Hill.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:21 amPatrick McHenry:
'Give me Liberty or Give me Oil!'
(Kudos to yesterday's poster on that quote)
April 9th, 2008 at 9:22 am“Oliver Stone’s new film,W, portrays George Bush as a foul-mouthed, dried-out drunk with a baseball obsession and a difficult relationship with his father.” Bush, played by actor Josh Brolin, is depicted as “as a party animal living in the shadow of his esteemed father before he uses religion to turn his life around.” His new purpose in life? To “achieve the presidency ahead of his brother Jeb, who was being groomed for high office by his father.”
In other words, a documentary.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:22 amHere's the real scoop on Patrick McTapper!
April 9th, 2008 at 9:22 amhttp://patgobyebye.blogspot.com/2007/08/mchenry-ally-found-dead-with-two-other.html
hmmm. Prescott Iscariot, George H.W. Iscariot. George W. Iscariot, Neil Iscariot, Jeb Iscariot.
A whole lineage of Judases. It fits.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:23 amAnd it looks like ole' Tom Feeney, another of Florida's criminals, is tied to these guys as well. What webs we weave, indeed.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:23 am"Give me Liberty or Give me your Oil!"
April 9th, 2008 at 9:24 amGive me liberty,
Or give me SNARK!
April 9th, 2008 at 9:24 amAnd yet....don't get us started on bro' Jebbie and what a criminal he is. Once the new HBO flick "Recount" is aired, both Katherine Harris and Jeb Bush had better go into hiding.
Jeb Bush will NEVER grace the steps of the white house unless he's attending some function there as a peon.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:25 am“You can’t tell the enemy in Iraq anymore without a scorecard,” writes the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank of Gen. David Petraeus’ and Ambassador Ryan Crocker’s discussion yesterday of Iranian-backed “special groups” in Iraq.
My question has always been, how in the hell do they know who is shooting at them. How do they know the person is the so-called "AQ in Iraq"? Do they wear armbands saying "AQ"? How do they know that they were trained in Iran? Again, do they wear armbands saying "Trained in Iran"?
Most of what Betrayus and Crockof$hit had to say was made up to meet their purposes, which is to stay in Iraq long enough to steal their oil and make lots of money for their contractor friends. I often wonder what the Bush Crime Family has offered to people like Betrayus and Crocker to sell their souls to the devil.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:30 amMcHenry is on his way to leading the next generation of corrupt neocons.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:30 amJeb Bush will NEVER grace the steps of the white house unless he’s attending some function there as a peon.
You know that's got to make for some tense family gatherings; senior Bush, with his favorite son, ragging on The Idiot for ruining the Bush brand and not listening to his father's sage advice about invading Iraq. I wonder how the rest of the family treats Bush's kids, knowing that he's the slow one.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:33 amI cannot believe that our government can't seem to provide any meaningful oversight on employees' use of government credit cards.
Every company I've worked for, large and small, has issued company credit cards to employees who need to spend money on the company's dime (particularly those who travel for the company), and every company has a system of accountability for those expenditures.
There are two basic systems to handle the oversight. First is "spend and reimburse". The card is issued by the employer in the employee's name, with a credit limit appropriate for the amount of spending the employee is expected to do. The employee spends what he needs, and is personally billed for the expenses. In order to be reimbursed for these expenses, he must file an expense report. Unauthorized or non-business expenses are not reimbursed. The second system is "spend and report". The employee spends, the bill goes to the employer and the employer pays. However, the employee is expected to report all expenditures and their legitimacy. Unauthorized expenditures will be met with disciplinary action and/or being billed back to the employee.
Yes, there are abuses under either system, but they are always caught and dealt with swiftly. Why then, does the GAO have such difficulties with this?
It's not that the U.S. government can't operate efficiently. Medicare operates with a much lower overhead than private insurers. Our postal service (one of the bigger offenders in the credit card department) is often pointed to as a model of operating efficiency. The IRS manages to collect my taxes with an efficiency I could almost call annoying.
The capability is there. Surely they can figure it out.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:33 amThe audit said that “nearly half the ‘purchase card’ transactions it examined were improper.”
So, what is going to be done about it? Are the people who abused the system and purchased personal items going to be fired?
The Bush Crime Family has looked at the Federal Government as a giant cookie jar for Republicans. They should be made to repay all the misappropriated money, especially the money misappropriated from the VA. You know, the VA that doesn't have enough money to treat our veterans but has enough money to party hearty and buy personal items for their employees?
April 9th, 2008 at 9:34 am“The gap between rich and poor in many states has broadened at a quickening pace since the last U.S. recession, which could make it difficult for low-income families to weather the current economic downturn,” according to a new report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute.
That is because, thanks to the policies of the Bush Crime Family, many people never recovered from the last recession. So they were already down when this one hit. Now they are double-down.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:35 amBilbo; I have the answer for you. It's relatively simple.
Label EVERYONE as AQ. It was the same in Vietnam, if it was dead and Vietnamese, they're VC.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:35 amDid you know?
Philip Zelikow, the 9/11 Commission Executive Director in 1998 co-authored an essay on "catastrophic terrorism" :
"If the device that exploded in 1993 under the World Trade Center had been nuclear..., the resulting horror and chaos would have exceeded our ability to describe it. Such an act of catastrophic terrorism would be a watershed event in American history. It could involve loss of life and property unprecedented in peacetime and undermine America's fundamental sense of security, as did the Soviet atomic bomb test in 1949. Like Pearl Harbor, this event would divide our past and future into a before and after . The United States might respond with draconian measures, scaling back civil liberties, alowing wider survelliance of citizens , detention of suspects, and use of deadly force"
This does seem odd. For someone 3 years prior to 9/11 to write such a thing.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:36 amDid you know?
Philip Zelikow, the 9/11 Commission Executive Director in 1998 co-authored an essay on "catastrophic terrorism" :
"If the device that exploded in 1993 under the World Trade Center had been nuclear..., the resulting horror and chaos would have exceeded our ability to describe it. Such an act of catastrophic terrorism would be a watershed event in American history. It could involve loss of life and property unprecedented in peacetime and undermine America's fundamental sense of security, as did the Soviet atomic bomb test in 1949. Like Pearl Harbor, this event would divide our past and future into a before and after . The United States might respond with draconian measures, scaling back civil liberties, alowing wider survelliance of citizens , detention of suspects, and use of deadly force"
This does seem odd. For someone 3 years prior to 9/11 to write such a thing.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:36 amA security guard is doing his job as he was trained and obviously doing it well with no exceptions. So little whiny pussy McHenry wants to go where he is not allowed and it's confirmed by the security guard so little whiny pussy McHenry denigrates the guard publicly by calling him a "two bit security gurad."
April 9th, 2008 at 9:36 amMcHenry is nothing but a two bit whore.
sorry about the double posting.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:36 amGhost of 9/11 Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Ghost, give it a rest. Starting each Thinkfast thread with your identical post can be called spamming. I'm not exactly sure why TP allows it.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:37 amFor those interested, Amb. Crocker, and Gen. Petreaus are now on C-Span at a congressional hearing.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:39 amThe Corporate CONtrolled Media will keep us in Iraq. Too many of the law makers in DC are making money in this Military Industrial Complex to pull out of Iraq. The seeds for an invasion of Iran are being sewn today as Betrayus recited Cheney’s words on Capitol Hill.
Personally I think that anyone in Congress that has a financial investment in our occupation should be forced to recuse themselves from any vote on Iraq. That is a major conflict of interest if you ask me. Of course no one asks me, I'm not rich enough to have an opinion.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:41 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
Of course no one asks me, I’m not rich enough to have an opinion.
...and I'm not rich enough for a tax break...
April 9th, 2008 at 9:44 amAll of this crap that we are going through today : Iraq Occupation, Afghanistan, Civil Liberties eroding, secret prisons, wiretapping, Mega Military Budget etc are all because this great country was hijacked (literally) by the PNAC NeonCONs 8 years ago, and until we The Sleeping Sheeple wake the hell up and realize that 9/11 was a false-flag event -- nothing will change.
What scares me now is what could happen between now and the election (if we even have one) : another false-flag event to involve Iran.
Fasten your seat belts, folks. And Betrayus on Capitol Hill is spewing a bunch of crap that the Corporate Controlled Media will spin into saying the this surge is working. Iraq is Hell.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:49 ami just found this... haven't read it yet... but, first reaction: holy crap.
Who trumps bin Laden as a cyberthreat? Look in the mirror
CNET News.com - 7 hours ago
SAN FRANCISCO--It turns out al-Qaida's leader and his cohorts aren't the biggest threat to our cybersecurity. You are. Six years ago, Osama bin Laden represented the nightmare scenario for the computer security establishment.
Chertoff Calls For Private InternetNews.com
Chertoff promises cybersecurity Manhattan Project ZDNet
um... manhatten project... nuke the tubes!
April 9th, 2008 at 9:49 amPersonally I think that anyone in Congress that has a financial investment in our occupation should be forced to recuse themselves from any vote on Iraq.
I believe that laws for members of congress dictate they must keep investments in blind trusts, to remove the profit incentive to shade their votes.
Or has that changed?
April 9th, 2008 at 9:50 amChertoff Calls For Private Sector to Help Secure 'Net
At the RSA conference, the homeland security chief lays out an agenda requiring corporate and individual participation. But is it money well spent?
April 8, 2008
By David Needle
SAN FRANCISCO -- Uncle Sam needs you.
While the U.S. government can't be sure what the next big cyber-threats will be and from where they'll come, that isn't stopping the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from working to develop preventative measures.
But it can't go it alone. In an address here at the RSA security conference, DHS chief Michael Chertoff detailed ongoing cyber-dangers in an effort to lobby for new and deepened partnerships between government and the private sector to head them off.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:53 am[...]
http://www.internetnews.com/government/article.php/3739511/Chertoff+Calls+For+Private+Sector+to+Help+Secure+N.htm
Yesterday Petreaus told the American people that they have found more weapons in Iraq in 2008 thus far than any previous year's total. He said it in a positive tone. What is happening in Iraq is this : America is giving money to militia's (including those with "ties to iran") so that they don't fight each other. These militias are then using that money to buy weapons so that when the US does leave they can better "protect" themselves from the carnage which is bound to ensue. I, for one was appalled by the level of discourse in congress yesterday. Not ONE of the questions revolved around US financing of militias and how that's where the money was going in Iraq. I'd also like to question them on those charts that they produced. Quite frankly, their presentation resembled that of a middle school show and tell than a congressional hearing on a fractious war. I'm starting to think the whole country is asleep at the wheel.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:55 amthis one's good - short and to the point, a point...
Chertoff promises cybersecurity Manhattan Project
April 9th, 2008 at 9:56 amhttp://government.zdnet.com/?p=3751
You know, I'm kind of glad that Betrayus and Crocker are telling the American public that there is no end in sight for the Republican occupation of Iraq. It gives voters a very clear picture of the way out of Iraq. And that is electing Democrats to Congress and a Democrat as President.
And to all of you who worry about the fact that McCain occasionally beats Obama or Hillary in national polls, think about this. McCain has no where to go but down. He's polling under 50% at a time when he is unopposed and the press is still hailing him as a moderate, a hero and a "maverick". When the Democratic party strips away those false images, McCain has no where to go but down.
If McCain was polling at 60 or above, I might think we have our work cut out for us. But the fact that he can't even break 50% with the false image that is being projected of him, I believe he's in deep doo doo.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:58 amI believe that laws for members of congress dictate they must keep investments in blind trusts, to remove the profit incentive to shade their votes.
Yet, when your "blind trust" is up over 300% since the war began, you'd have to be dumber than a bag of rocks to not see the connection between the two.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:58 am1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
4. Supremacy of the Military
5. Rampant Sexism
6. Controlled Mass Media
7. Obsession with National Security
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined
9. Corporate Power is Protected
10. Labor Power is Suppressed
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
14. Fraudulent Elections
April 9th, 2008 at 10:00 amReport: Lack of health insurance takes toll on Tenn.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:01 amBizjournals.com - 39 minutes ago
Nearly 13 Tennesseans die every week due to lack of health insurance, according to a report published this week by Families USA. That number means about 676 Tennesseans died in 2006 for the same reason, the national organization for health-care ...
Report looks at life and death of uninsured Houston Chronicle
Lack of insurance kills 960 a year in Illinois Chicago Sun-Times
I, for one was appalled by the level of discourse in congress yesterday. Not ONE of the questions revolved around US financing of militias and how that’s where the money was going in Iraq.
Maybe that will happen today when the House gets a crack at them. The House seems to have grown a spine lately, unlike the Senate. Perhaps they will show that spine today. I'm looking forward to Murtha getting his hands on them. I'm fairly sure that Murtha regrets his "the surge is working" comment, even though it was taken totally out of context. Today I believe he will make sure everyone knows what he thinks about the "surge".
April 9th, 2008 at 10:02 ami'm (not) sorry, but this cracked me up:
Reagan UCLA hospital opening delayed after flood
San Francisco Chronicle - 1 hour ago
Flooding from a faultily installed commercial coffee maker will postpone the planned May 4 opening of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, which has suffered several cost overruns and construction delays, officials said.
a FLOOD???
April 9th, 2008 at 10:03 amI believe that laws for members of congress dictate they must keep investments in blind trusts, to remove the profit incentive to shade their votes.
Blind how? You think that these people don't know what is happening to their investments? Do you think they forgo looking at the stock prices in the newspaper? They all know what their stock was selling at when it went into the blind trust and they know what the stock is selling at today. They know how much they are profiting from this occupation.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:05 amReagan UCLA hospital opening delayed after flood
who cares? tell that to people who suffered under Katrina!
April 9th, 2008 at 10:05 amKay at 10:00 has just described the 14 characteristics of a fascist government- ours.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:06 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
Maybe that will happen today when the House gets a crack at them. The House seems to have grown a spine lately, unlike the Senate.
The Senate has become America's 'House of Lords'.
While the 'House of Commons' has grown a spine, it has yet to 'grow a pair'.
Bilbo, I hope you're right about today's hearing. We need to have a discussion about paying Iraqis to 'not fight'. I can't believe the Senate could leave that question unasked.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:06 amPerhaps, a la Nixon, Bush will have a "new and special enemies" list!
April 9th, 2008 at 10:08 amOn Friday, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) posted a video from his March 22 trip to Iraq, in which he is “gesturing to a building behind him” and naming two other places hit by rocket attacks. VoteVets.org sharply criticized McHenry, noting that the information revealed in his video could be used by terrorists to “kill Americans in the Green Zone” in the future. The Pentagon has now agreed with VoteVets, and has told McHenry that he cannot re-air the video.
And once again , we have a typical GOP imbecile , auditioning for a role on Monty Python's New Flying Circus ..........
April 9th, 2008 at 10:08 amHere's what we can expect from Murtha today.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-john-murtha/what-the-surge-in-fact-pr_b_95700.html
April 9th, 2008 at 10:08 amJulie Meyers the latest Federal Records Act criminal? High crimes and misdemeanors?
April 9th, 2008 at 10:09 amF_ck CNN :
this is the headline right now:
President Bush takes part in commemorative tree planting.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:10 amWatch Now: Live on CNN.com »
Kay, I love your spunk...keep it coming!
April 9th, 2008 at 10:13 amOn Friday, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) posted a video from his March 22 trip to Iraq, in which he is “gesturing to a building behind him” and naming two other places hit by rocket attacks. VoteVets.org sharply criticized McHenry, noting that the information revealed in his video could be used by terrorists to “kill Americans in the Green Zone” in the future. The Pentagon has now agreed with VoteVets, and has told McHenry that he cannot re-air the video.
They sure know how to prioritize their classified stuff, eh? Video that compromises troop and civilian safety or "executive privilege" garbage.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:14 am#42 barfly Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 9:50 am
I believe that laws for members of congress dictate they must keep investments in blind trusts, to remove the profit incentive to shade their votes.
Or has that changed?
April 9th, 2008 at 10:16 amYet, when your “blind trust” is up over 300% since the war began, you’d have to be dumber than a bag of rocks to not see the connection between the two.
Except for that niggling little Carlyle bankruptcy...
Blind how?
I have no idea what my 401(k)has in it, and I'd be surprised if they know what they are invested in, either. Unless you have some proof that says otherwise?
April 9th, 2008 at 10:16 am... discussion yesterday of Iranian-backed “special groups” in Iraq. ...
why, still no mention of SAUDI backed "special groups" in iraq?
seriously, how can this be avoided? i know "why", but how can it continue to
April 9th, 2008 at 10:16 ambe ignored?
Thanks to everyone who posted the Chertoff securing the net story. I love the bit about "stopping cyber attacks before they start." It's all getting a bit Minority Report up in here. Does anyone else think it would be better for homeland security just to follow Dick Cheney around? They would know about everything before it happened.
Bush and his tree planting is another example of the hard hitting journalism that CNN expounds.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:18 amA new GAO audit “found widespread abuses in a purchasing program meant to improve bureaucratic efficiency” with “[f]ederal employees [having] used government credit cards to pay for lingerie, gambling, iPods, Internet dating services, and a $13,000 steak-and-liquor dinner.” The audit said that “nearly half the ‘purchase card’ transactions it examined were improper.”
This garbage inflames me. We are expected to be held accountable for our actions, why is gov't not held to the same standard? The new revolution's mantra will be no taxation without accountability! What the hell are they going to do when they bankrupt the people they tax? Who are they going to steal money from then?
April 9th, 2008 at 10:18 amZimzone, thanks!
Can you believe it? People are losing their homes left and right, our men and women (and Iraqi) are dying everyday in Iraq and Afghanistan ETC. but CNN thinks THIS is important!
A Moron Prez that has done more to destroy our environment and the lead story is about this Chimp planting a friggin' tree!
God, help us all!
April 9th, 2008 at 10:18 am#42 barfly Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Personally I think that anyone in Congress that has a financial investment in our occupation should be forced to recuse themselves from any vote on Iraq.
I believe that laws for members of congress dictate they must keep investments in blind trusts, to remove the profit incentive to shade their votes.
Or has that changed?
The chapter in the Shock Doctrine I read last night portrays a petulant Rumsfeld refusing to divest himself, as required by law, spit in the face of it, and did so with immunity. I guess all bets are also off for the chickensh** lawmakers who allowed him to exponentially increase his wealth while being involved in policy decisions directly affecting his investments.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:19 amoopsie...sorry about the first misfire ;)
April 9th, 2008 at 10:19 amimpunity...not immunity.....fingers not awake yet.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:19 amBilbo, you're smearing all congress, by asserting they know what they are invested in. How do we know some Bluedogs aren't also heavily invested in war industries? Or is it OK for them?
April 9th, 2008 at 10:20 amThe chapter in the Shock Doctrine I read last night portrays a petulant Rumsfeld refusing to divest himself, as required by law, spit in the face of it, and did so with immunity. I guess all bets are also off for the chickensh** lawmakers who allowed him to exponentially increase his wealth while being involved in policy decisions directly affecting his investments.
That's the administration, not congress.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:21 amUnless you have some proof that says otherwise?
Their lack of action to change anything in Iraq speaks volumes to their knowledge of the "benefits" of the "war".
April 9th, 2008 at 10:23 amHow do we know some Bluedogs aren’t also heavily invested in war industries?
Of course they are! Their investors are no doubt heavily into the energy sector as well.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:24 amTheir lack of action to change anything in Iraq speaks volumes to their knowledge of the “benefits” of the “war”.
I'm talking causes (their investments are blind, and so doesn't cause them to influence their decisions), you're talking about effects (since they won't change policy, in effect, it must mean they are knowingly making money off of their congressional votes).
They might be heavily invested in energy stocks, which are also showing an enormous return.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:30 amWhat does it say about mass media when Bush's tree planting gets live coverage and an attack by Palestinians on Israel which kills two Israelis during a time when they are involved in a massive terror drill gets no coverage whatsoever?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080409/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians
What kind of hideous mutant baby will be produced once all these "birth pangs" cease?
April 9th, 2008 at 10:30 amThat’s the administration, not congress.
It's still a conflict of interest, no matter who's involved. We don't tolerate such behavior in the private sector, so we should be DAMNED to allow it in our Government, especially in the Executive branch.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:30 amTheir investors are no doubt heavily into the energy sector as well.
Ya' got there before me, but it's the truth.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:32 amSorry guys, but I can keep this secret no longer. I'm going public. I've revealed my ties to the Liberal-Islamo-Atheist-Stalinist-Fascist Axis of Evil.
I hope my fellow liberals will one day forgive me.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:33 amSorry barfly,
But even your coveted Bluedogs are prone to financial influence - they're basically 'reared' on such behavior from the time they begin campaigning for office.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:33 amthis may have been posted... ah, yes - 2 million... well this one has a chart!
US lawmakers have as much as $196 million invested in defense companies
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3101735
i'm not likin' who's #1 either... got some splainin' to do...
April 9th, 2008 at 10:36 amCorporate NeoCOn News doesn't think this is important:
The following report suggests that Israel is on a war footing.
These war games are not defensive in nature as claimed by the Israeli government. These military exercises are part of the broader US-Israeli military agenda in relation to Iran and Syria.
***
Israel readies largest exercise ever to prepare for Iran-Syria missile war
TEL AVIV — Israel plans to conduct its largest exercise ever to set contingencies for massive missile attacks by Iran and Syria. The government has been preparing for a five-day exercise in April that would simulate conventional and nonconventional missile strikes from Iran, Lebanon and Syria. Officials said the exercise would test emergency response as well as evacuation of cities struck by enemy missiles.
The exercise, scheduled to begin on April 6, has been organized by National Emergency Authority. The authority was established in 2007 as part of recommendations in the aftermath of the Hizbullah war a year earlier, in which 4,500 rockets landed in Israel.
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna’i has been responsible for the exercise, meant to integrate efforts by the military, police and emergency services. The exercise also envisioned missile and rocket attacks on southern Israeli cities by the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.
The exercise would include a simulation conducted by the government. Officials said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would convene the Cabinet to order a response to the enemy strike.
Officials said the exercise could take place annually amid an assessment that Iran would assemble a nuclear bomb as early as 2009. In 2007, the military halted an effort to replace gas masks distributed in the late 1990s
April 9th, 2008 at 10:37 amfor a while.” Ambassador Crocker described American involvement as a “multi-year project.” “We’re not looking for Jeffersonian Democracy. … Iraq is not there yet right now, and there is certainly more work to be done,” Petraeus added.
Yeah, it would take at least a hundred years to get to "Jeffersonian Occupation".
April 9th, 2008 at 10:39 amaw, jeez! toasterhead - post a FAIR WARNING...
i vowed never to click on that garbage dump...
jeezuz...
April 9th, 2008 at 10:40 amGhost of 9/11 Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 9:03 am
President Bush,
You are aware that there were explosives in the World Trade Center buildings on 9/11, aren’t you? How did that happen?
_____
Do you honestly think an administration as incompetent as this one could possibly have pulled off the type of conspiracy you're accusing them of?
Sorry, I just don't buy it.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:40 amWe don’t tolerate such behavior in the private sector, so we should be DAMNED to allow it in our Government, especially in the Executive branch.
You mean The Silly Putty Branch: it stretches, and bounces, and makes crude copies of reality that can be stretched with ridiculous, and ghastly rationalizations into all sorts of obscenely-distorted pictures.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:41 amThe audit said that “nearly half the ‘purchase card’ transactions it examined were improper.”
Cue the dumfu(k trolls claiming this is evidence that Federal programs don't work.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:41 amkaty Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 10:40 am
aw, jeez! toasterhead - post a FAIR WARNING…
i vowed never to click on that garbage dump…
____
No no - that's ThinkProgress Watch Watch - not ThinkProgress Watch. It's my garbage dump, not Mr. P's... :)
April 9th, 2008 at 10:41 amDo you honestly think an administration as incompetent as this one could possibly have pulled off the type of conspiracy you’re accusing them of?
Yes, I do.
That PNAC bunch, military and Wall Street types are real smart.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:42 amIf there was money in peace we'd be a heck of a lot safer. I'm thinking they should privatize hugging.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:44 amHi gang. Just a word of caution. The trolls seem to be raising the stakes and have been posting links to porn sites, and lord knows what. I urge you all to be careful about clicking suspicious links.
Fight the good fight and have a great day.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:45 amoh... ok, toasterhead... whew...
April 9th, 2008 at 10:47 ami clicked away so fast i didn't notice any details...
sorry...
And a good day to you, Squire Pete.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:48 amKay Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Yes, I do.
That PNAC bunch, military and Wall Street types are real smart.
_____
Yes, but in 2000/2001 they were falsifying evidence for the occupation of Iraq. I think the 9/11 attacks were more of a pleasant surprise for the PNAC folks - something they could spin to help their cause.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:50 amNow that this ass hat McHenry has made it easier for "them' to target the green zone by way of his little video, I'd like to ask Lieberman, Lindsey, McConnell, Murphy(R Pa) and all the other war supporters to go have another visit. ;)
April 9th, 2008 at 10:52 amrobertoroberto Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 10:44 am
If there was money in peace we’d be a heck of a lot safer. I’m thinking they should privatize hugging.
____
Shhhh! Don't give them any ideas...
April 9th, 2008 at 10:52 amMaybe we SHOULD go to those porn sites and post links to think progress? Pete, how do we know who the trolls are? Are the trolls the ones who are simply "pre-empting" attacks on their own sites by spamming think progress?
April 9th, 2008 at 10:52 amThe chapter in the Shock Doctrine I read last night portrays a petulant Rumsfeld refusing to divest himself, as required by law, spit in the face of it, and did so with immunity. I guess all bets are also off for the chickensh** lawmakers who allowed him to exponentially increase his wealth while being involved in policy decisions directly affecting his investments.
Cheney refused as well.
I finally finished reading this book. It took me three months to read it as the more i read the more pissed I became.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:53 am#95:
there are too many holes in the Official Conspiracy Theory.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:57 amThe 9/11 Commission Report was a block of swiss cheese.
Pete, how do we know who the trolls are? Are the trolls the ones who are simply “pre-empting” attacks on their own sites by spamming think progress?
That, of course, is the problem.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:00 ampete Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Hi gang. Just a word of caution. The trolls seem to be raising the stakes and have been posting links to porn sites, and lord knows what. I urge you all to be careful about clicking suspicious links.
Fight the good fight and have a great day.
Right On Pete, I'd like to go a step further and urge EVERYONE to IGNORE THEM and Flag them Silently, don't announce that you've just flagged them, Just FLAG THEM and move on. I think they get off on the attention so if they get none they will slither off. By all means fill free to talk about them and their assinine ideas or correct any lies that they spew, just don't do it to them, only about them. i.e. "can you believe that some moron just said... or "the pathetic illinformed lunatic fringe thinks..." And Keep urging TP to ban by IP address. To make them harder to come back. I am not advocating Banning all opposing view points ala RadState, because that would mean that we are just as intolerant as they are. I am simply advocating that we find a way to eliminate the freaks that just want to hijack a thread and have no interest in having a conversation.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:04 amKay Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 10:57 am
there are too many holes in the Official Conspiracy Theory.
The 9/11 Commission Report was a block of swiss cheese.
_____
Agreed. But I think the "real story" is more about the linkages between the neocons and the Saudis, not planted explosives and vanishing airplanes. I also think that some of the more outlandish theories are red herrings planted to obscure the real story.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:05 amIs there anyway we could just blame 9/11 on global warming and be done with it?
April 9th, 2008 at 11:10 amI miss the thinking republicans and conservatives that used to come here every blue moon to actually debate and expose their points of view with rational arguments.
Yes, Virginia, they do exist. But lately they've been pretty hard to find.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:10 amLindsey Graham: McCain's 'little jerk'
Amie Parnes
Politico.com
If anyone else called him “little jerk,” Sen. Lindsey Graham might be offended.
But the jab comes from Sen. John McCain, so he wears it like a badge of honor.
“If John’s not belittling you, you’re in trouble,” Graham said. “He calls me lots of other names, too, but they’re not appropriate for the newspaper.”
McCain and Graham aren’t just friends. They’re inseparable, so much so that colleagues, staffers and journalists have begun making cracks about the relationship between the freshman senator from South Carolina and the man who would be president.
Some call Graham a lapdog. Others say he acts as though he’s one of McCain’s legislative aides. One Senate aide, who called Graham and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) “Pips” to McCain’s Gladys Knight, said that Graham “fawns over McCain like there’s no tomorrow.” In the run-up to this week’s hearings for Army Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, The Washington Post’s Tom Ricks said Graham “sometimes seems like McCain’s ‘Mini-Me.’”
http://tinyurl.com/6z6x8q
I'm hurling like I'm never going to stop. Anyone care to join me...?
~A
April 9th, 2008 at 11:23 amTheRadicalRightisRadicallyWrong Says at 11:04 am
... I am simply advocating that we find a way to eliminate the freaks that just want to hijack a thread and have no interest in having a conversation.
agreed... ignoring would go a long way...
there are ways to address the ISSUE and the LIE...
April 9th, 2008 at 11:27 ambut no good reason to address the trooll...
hussein toasterhead Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 10:41 am
No no - that’s ThinkProgress Watch Watch - not ThinkProgress Watch. It’s my garbage dump, not Mr. P’s… :)
I, always up for a challenge, went to TPW. My side hurts! I'm still laughing at it's juvenile content. Then, I went to your TPWW. Now my sides are permanently aching. Great Parody!
-DRxJ, a proud member of the Islamo-Facial Brigade!
April 9th, 2008 at 11:36 am~Annie, it's like the faux popular kid in school who has to have a couple of flunkies around to berate constantly.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:36 amA Sure as Shit sign of a low self esteem bully. Geebus if this moron becomes president, we're exceedingly fu(((ked.
~A, arrrggghhhh! Ick, I just joined you...
April 9th, 2008 at 11:37 amHusseinToasterSkull! Kudos on your TPWW site. I personally talked with the rotting corpse of Chairman Mao and he enjoys his brief resurrections for your meetings.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:37 amZimzone, here's a slightly used barf bag, for your convenience...
April 9th, 2008 at 11:38 amhussein toasterhead Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Sorry guys, but I can keep this secret no longer. I’m going public. I’ve revealed my ties to the Liberal-Islamo-Atheist-Stalinist-Fascist Axis of Evil.
I hope my fellow liberals will one day forgive me.
**bowing to the great master toasterhead**
April 9th, 2008 at 11:41 amThe Bush administration “plans to expand a government program that helps struggling borrowers keep their homes.” The expansion “is designed to help about 100,000 homeowners.
This isn't going to help, what only 100,000 homeowners? They know there are 1.4 million homeowners going through or are facing foreclosure by early fall.
Please don't get too generous... By actually solving the major housing crisis.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:44 amFrom Congressional Quarterly:
In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker announced Tuesday that they would recommend an open-ended freeze of U.S. troop drawdowns from Iraq after July to assess the security situation there.
Democratic leaders were troubled by the announcement and said they would find ways to attach policy strings to the upcoming Iraq War supplemental spending bill and the defense authorization bill.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., said such measures could include a binding version of withdrawal legislation, language that would require further U.S. reconstruction assistance to Iraq to be provided in the form of loans and a new G.I. bill that would significantly expand educational benefits for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
So, the talking heads on Stefanopolous' show were correct.
This bill will get moderate republican cross-over, since their seats are targets and they will be feelling the most heat, both to restore in voters minds some semblance of "fiscal conservatism," and to follow the will of their constituents in regard to a timed withdrawl of troops from Iraq.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:52 amjust a reminder...
Militant Cleric Postpones Big Baghdad Protest
April 9th, 2008 at 12:01 pmNew York Times - 10 hours ago
A Sadr City man negotiated with a taxi driver to take his family to another part of Baghdad. By STEPHEN FARRELL and ERICA GOODE BAGHDAD - The radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr on Tuesday called off a huge demonstration in Baghdad, citing fears for ...
Curfew marks fall of Baghdad Aljazeera.net
Baghdad anniversary curfew fails to stop violence Reuters India
via http://www.crooksandliars.com/
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi had this to say after Petraeus’ and Crocker’s testimony yesterday:
April 9th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
A federal investigation has concluded that Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-CT) 2006 re-election campaign was to blame for the crash of its Web site “the day before Connecticut’s heated Aug. 8 Democratic primary.” In Dec. 2006, Lieberman campaign spokesman Dan Gerstein claimed, “Our Web site consultant assured us in the strongest terms possible that we had been attacked,” blaming supporters of challenger Ned Lamont.
*********************************************************
Of course, an intelligent person sees that this actually goes beyond merely the decision that Lieberman's accusations are unfounded -- it also says something about Lieberman's good sense and/or that of those who work for him, or rather their lack thereof. After all, it seems reasonable to assume that the Lieberman campaign would have had technical people working on their website -- but wouldn't one would think that a qualified IT professional have been able to configure the server correctly (since that was judged to be part of the reason for the problem), or at least had the ability to tell the difference between a crash caused by an internal failure vs. external attack?
April 9th, 2008 at 12:09 pm“You can’t tell the enemy in Iraq anymore without a scorecard,” writes the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank of Gen. David Petraeus’ and Ambassador Ryan Crocker’s discussion yesterday of Iranian-backed “special groups” in Iraq. “Of course, the new focus on the ’special groups’ also served to highlight the fact that the American presence in Iraq is creating new and special enemies.”
But speaking loud and English isn't enough aywhere in the world to be obeyed immediately?
Yesterday, on ABC’s Nightline, Gen. Petraeus said of Iraq, “We will need to be there for a while.” Ambassador Crocker described American involvement as a “multi-year project.” “We’re not looking for Jeffersonian Democracy. … Iraq is not there yet right now, and there is certainly more work to be done,” Petraeus added.
Well, guess they prefer their own 3000 year old culture than a scarce 200 years old one. Who could have guessed that?
A congressional investigation has found that Julie Myers, the nation’s top immigration enforcement official, “ordered the destruction of photographs of an office Halloween party” that showed her with “a white agency employee dressed as a black detainee.” Myers had reportedly ordered the photos removed from a digital camera in a “‘coordinated effort to conceal‘ her role in awarding one of the top costume prizes to the employee.”
Too late, the internets 0wnz your butt, Julie!
A federal investigation has concluded that Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-CT) 2006 re-election campaign was to blame for the crash of its Web site “the day before Connecticut’s heated Aug. 8 Democratic primary.” In Dec. 2006, Lieberman campaign spokesman Dan Gerstein claimed, “Our Web site consultant assured us in the strongest terms possible that we had been attacked,” blaming supporters of challenger Ned Lamont.
Incompetents tend to lie about their incompetence. Prez does so.
“In a major shift of policy,” the Justice Department “has put off prosecuting more than 50 companies suspected of wrongdoing over the last three years.” Instead, the companies “have avoided the cost and stigma of defending themselves against criminal charges with a so-called deferred prosecution agreement, which allows the government to collect fines and appoint an outside monitor to impose internal reforms without going through a trial.”
So all the checks and balances are reduced to bribing the Republican GOP. Full Capitalism in action!
And finally: “Oliver Stone’s new film,W, portrays George Bush as a foul-mouthed, dried-out drunk with a baseball obsession and a difficult relationship with his father.” Bush, played by actor Josh Brolin, is depicted as “as a party animal living in the shadow of his esteemed father before he uses religion to turn his life around.” His new purpose in life? To “achieve the presidency ahead of his brother Jeb, who was being groomed for high office by his father.”
I love Stone's movies, even the ones I've not seen yet!
April 9th, 2008 at 12:21 pmbut wouldn’t one would think that a qualified IT professional have been able to configure the server correctly (since that was judged to be part of the reason for the problem), or at least had the ability to tell the difference between a crash caused by an internal failure vs. external attack?
More than coincidental that Lieberman hasn't pushed for answers about the missing White House e-mails? Perhaps the Senator relied on some "help," from RNC techies?
April 9th, 2008 at 12:23 pmkaty Says:
April 9th, 2008 at 9:56 am
this one’s good - short and to the point, a point…
Chertoff promises cybersecurity Manhattan Project
http://government.zdnet.com/?p=3751
So there is enough money for a Matrix style Manhattan Project, but not to curb Global Climate Change, I see.
April 9th, 2008 at 12:27 pmWhat is clear to me, watching the hearings, is that Crocker is two-faced. He repeatedly fobs of democrats' questions by saying "I am not going to answer that, asit is a hypothetical situation," yet SC. republican Joe Wilson just asked a hypothetical question, and he was happy to answer it, because it re-inforced his talking point. TP should put a staffer on researching how many times during the hearings he did this. I'll bet it was more than once.
April 9th, 2008 at 12:34 pmterrible, abysmally lacking questioning of betrayus and crockofit by congress.. ive heard more thorough questioning on "the peoples court"....point blank betrayus should be asked about the close iranian ties the iraqi government has, and also why he pays people who kill american soldiers to stop killing them, and if he would suggest using the "pay em to play nice" model to solve other american problems, like say, the immigration problem. the right wing would be having hystrionic seizures if anyone even dared SUGGEST that we pay mexicans one peso a year not to try and jump the border, yet somehow paying american taxpayer money to foreigners to stop shooting our troops is just "surginess as usual"...then again these are people who beleive in the sanctity of unconscious, single celled life but dont mind painfully killing real children if it serves their purposes, so i guess no amount of hipocracy from these people would or could be shocking..
April 9th, 2008 at 4:16 pm> is that Crocker is two-faced.
a two faced member of the bush administration?
you don't say.. ;)
some colorful coloquialism about bears and woods comes to mind..
April 9th, 2008 at 4:27 pm"Not looking for Jeffersonian Democracy" in Iraq - and destroying it, here. WOW - this is what success looks like.
April 9th, 2008 at 5:26 pm“Not looking for Jeffersonian Democracy” in Iraq - and destroying it, here. WOW - this is what success looks like.
While making your buddies rich beyond their dreams.
Another Bush Trifecta.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:56 pmwell, bummer... listening to elizabeth edwards on countdown...
she's not calling it an endorsement for hillary, but since the ONLY reason she
gives for backing her health care plan over obama's is the mandates, i'd say
that, and the new connection to Center for American Progress, amounts to
a hillary endorsement from the edwards'...
bummer... not sure why i'm surprised... but, oh well...
April 9th, 2008 at 10:18 pmIf only Condi saved her dressessohbet instead of cleaning them. But in today’s twisted America, I don’t believe anything would happen if George Bush was cetcaught in bed with a dead girl AND a live boy. And it all procedes with a cheeky grin and a sickening smugness that is as arrogant as it is insultingBedava mp3 indir.
April 11th, 2009 at 1:19 pm