ThinkFast: June 10, 2008
ThinkFast: June 10, 2008
“The White House had stronger ties to disgraced superlobbyist Jack Abramoff than it has publicly admitted,” according to House Oversight Committee report. “President Bush himself met Abramoff on at least six occasions, the report said, citing White House documents; the White House had previously acknowledged only two.”
Iraqi lawmakers say that the Bush administration is “demanding 58 bases as part of a proposed ’status of forces’ agreement that will allow U.S. troops to remain in the country indefinitely.” Jalal al Din al Saghir, a leading lawmaker from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, called the deal “more abominable than the occupation.”
The Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran, which bills itself as “transpartisan,” is launching a drive today to head off an American military attack on Iran by pushing for high-level negotiations with Tehran. Carah Ong, a campaign organizer, said the goal is to “raise the fact that a military attack is likely and it needs to be prevented.”
In a 6-3 decision, the “Supreme Court on Monday limited the rights of public employees, ruling that a state worker who said she was fired by a supervisor who was out to ‘get rid of’ her could not sue the government for denying her equal protection of the laws.”
On the trail today: Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) continues the “Change That Works For You” tour in St. Louis where he will work a morning shift at a local hospital. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) gives the keynote address to the National Small Business Summit in Washington D.C. and then travels to New York City.
A new Human Rights Watch report found that “[o]ver two-thirds of the detainees in the Guantanamo Bay prison are suffering from or at risk of mental problems because they are kept isolated in small cells with little light or fresh air.” The report said that “[d]etainees held in this manner include many that have not been charged with crimes and have already been cleared for release or transfer.”
Senate Republicans “are hungry” for the advice of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, hoping he can be an election guru in “the harshest climate for their party in over a decade.” The Hill reports that Gingrich “is quietly expanding his influence in the upper chamber, where he is selling ideas on refurbishing the GOP’s image.”
Lobbyists may be one of the only groups who don’t mind high oil prices. Since gas prices have been on the rise, lobbyists have found steady employment fending off “a variety of legislation that would do everything from opening OPEC up to antitrust lawsuits” to taxing “windfall profits” the industry now gets and redirecting the money to promote renewable energy.
The Senate is expected to vote today “on whether to consider a windfall profits tax against the five largest U.S. oil companies and rescind $17 billion in tax breaks the companies expect to enjoy over the next decade.”
The BBC reports that the “final withdrawal of British troops from Iraq could be announced by the end of the year.” The UK still has approximately 4,000 troops in the country, down from a peak of 26,000 in 2003.
And finally: During rough weather last week, Capitol police instructed everyone “to get away from the windows because of an approaching tornado.” But the Hill reports that Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) refused to comply, using the chance to break the building’s no-smoking rules. Rahall stood just “inside the balcony door to the Speaker’s Lobby, puffing away on his stogie. … At one point he stood outside and jumped at a startling crack of thunder. Still, he never once put out the cigar.” Rahall said he was never afraid of the tornado, “just nervous about finishing my cigar.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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McCain wastes no time in turning negative
The Democratic hopeful Barack Obama took his campaign to the Republican bastion of North Carolina yesterday, while his opponent, John McCain, launched the first television attack ad of the presidential election.
Despite promises to stay on the higher ground, Mr McCain’s commercial uses imagery to suggest that Mr Obama is a friend of America’s enemies. It shows an apparently badly shaven Mr Obama looking across at the bearded face of the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As soon as Mr McCain clinched the Republican nomination his office sent out a memo calling for “a respectful campaign focused on the issues and values that are important to the American people”.
That honeymoon is now a distant memory and signalling that the gloves are about to come off for the final phase of the election. Mr Obama’s trip to North Carolina, which has not voted Democrat in 30 years, is a bold attempt to redraw the red-blue map of America, which has hardly changed over the past four elections. The Democratic nominee is focusing on the hard times being faced by ordinary Americans as they struggle with high petrol and food prices in the midst of an economic downturn.
He said yesterday that he would impose a windfall profits tax on American oil companies if elected. He also accused Mr McCain of threatening the country with even greater debt by promising more tax cuts for the wealthy. Mr Obama is attempting to focus the general election campaign on the economy while Mr McCain continues to talk about the need for victory in the war in Iraq. “You don’t have to read the stock tickers or scan the headlines in the financial section to understand the seriousness of the situation we’re in right now,” Mr Obama said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mccain-wastes-no-time-in-turning-negative-843556.html
I’m not surprised that McCain, in his desperation to get voters, has resorted to typical Republican Politics. But, what he has done is open pandora’s box. In all previous elections we could never actually catch a politician in a lie or in McCain’s instance a flip-flop. The video footage was not readily available to the public. We have YouTube now, and in this election it will weigh heavily against John McCain. My suggestion is pull the video on John ruining the Beach Boys hit by replacing the words with Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran and run a TV ad. That a political candidate would actually joke about bombing a country has no business (or proper decorum) leading a nation to a prosperous future.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:01 amIn a 6-3 decision, the “Supreme Court on Monday limited the rights of public employees, ruling that a state worker who said she was fired by a supervisor who was out to ‘get rid of’ her could not sue the government for denying her equal protection of the laws.”
I know they never consider these things, but what are the neocons going to do when they’ve finally milked the middle class dry?
June 10th, 2008 at 9:03 amGlobal Military Spending Soars 45 Percent in 10 Years
World military spending grew 45 percent in the past decade, with the United States accounting for nearly half of all expenditures, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said Monday. In 2007, 1,339 billion dollars (851 billion euros) was spent on arms and other military expenditures, corresponding to 2.5 percent of global gross domestic product, or GDP, and 202 dollars for each of the world’s 6.6 billion people. The United States spends by far the most towards military aims, dishing out 547 billion dollars last year, or 45 percent of global expenditure.
Russia, whose expenditures ballooned 13 percent last year, was responsible for 86 percent of the growth in the region, according to SIPRI. North America meanwhile saw its military spending swell 65 percent, largely driven by the United States, which has seen its costs grow 59 percent since the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/09/9503/
The US government is spending all this money on the military when we have many other problems that need to be addressed. For example, (these are issues the politicians need to address) The US has the highest rate of poverty of any Industrial Country. We have the highest incarceration rate in the world, 1 in every 100 citizens is in jail. The US is the biggest CO2 polluter in the world. The US has the worst infant mortality rate of any Industrial Country (except for China). Which leads me to Universal Health Care; we are the only Industrial Country that leaves millions of citizens without coverage.
What George Bush has done is put all of these important issues on the back burner. Instead, we have Blackwater, paid mercenaries who make between $500 to $1,000 a day. Yes, you heard correctly, up to $1,000 a day. That equates to $15,000 to $30,000 a MONTH. Did I mention that it is TAX-FREE. George Bush has single handedly made Eric Prince, owner and formerly a Navy Seal, a billionaire. He is one of the greatest profiteers of the Iraq war. Eric and his private army “operate outside of the US Military Code of Conduct”.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:05 amunbelievable Says:
I know they never consider these things, but what are the neocons going to do when they’ve finally milked the middle class dry?
You’re not paying attention. They’re going to bring in Newt Gingrich to polish their image. Nothing to it.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:06 amThe Hill reports that Gingrich “is quietly expanding his influence in the upper chamber, where he is selling ideas on refurbishing the GOP’s image.”
Newt Gingrich as guru on ethic reform? ha ha ha ha. Someone over on the other side really aught to check out his past. Then again, nevermind. The entertainment factor alone could be worth it.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:06 amFull text of Kucinich’s articles of impeachment is now available.
http://chun.afterdowningstreet.org/amomentoftruth.pdf
June 10th, 2008 at 9:06 amgummitch Says: You’re not paying attention. They’re going to bring in Newt Gingrich to polish their image. Nothing to it.
How will anyone actually see that image if none of us can afford electricity to turn on our tvs or computers?
June 10th, 2008 at 9:10 amThe Hill reports that Gingrich “is quietly expanding his influence in the upper chamber, where he is selling ideas on refurbishing the GOP’s image.”
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Refurbishing the GOP’s image? Some problems can’t be solved by marketing alone. The only way to change the image of the Republican party is to completely change the way they operate. They could return to the honest but conservative values espoused by Republicans like Barry Goldwater. Or they could go back even further and embrace the progressive values championed by Republicans like Theodore Roosevelt. Whatever they do, they should abandon the criminal values that currently have the party in a stranglehold.
But no — they will just keep trying to polish the turd. And they’ll find Gingrich isn’t any better at it than anyone else.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:11 amThe Senate is expected to vote today “on whether to consider a windfall profits tax against the five largest U.S. oil companies and rescind $17 billion in tax breaks the companies expect to enjoy over the next decade.”
Well it is about time they started paying their share. The US is the only Industrial Country that gives tax breaks to large corporations. The Senate better start looking out for it’s constituents or the constituents won’t be their for them during their re-election campaigns
June 10th, 2008 at 9:11 amWayne,
Thank you for posting the 35 articles of impeachment on TheZoo!
You’re the greatest! :-)
June 10th, 2008 at 9:11 amAbramoff in bed with Cheney White House; Cheney wants fifty-eight permanent bases in Iraq, Iraq’s “sovereign government” finds this abominable; Britain to shatter the facade of “coalition; oil companies’ tax breaks in the face of highest profits in recorded history; China’s equity market takes huge dive….
Wonder which will lead the cable news tonight: “How black is Obama?” or, “Does Hill really heart Barack?”
June 10th, 2008 at 9:12 amI stayed up late last night, watching Dennis Kucinich draw out his 35 articles of impeachment. Not only was it refreshing to hear the truth coming out of a politician’s mouth, it recapped & ‘timelined’ all the dirty deeds the Bush crooks have pulled on our Country in the last 7 1/2 years.
It took Rep. Kucinich nearly 3 hours to orate the charges. They included everything from illegal spying PRIOR to 9/11, telecom ‘immunity’, US Attorney scandal, Gonzo lying to Congress, voter caging, military & political propaganda, the Plame outing, mercenary contractors & ‘no bid + cost, and much more decadent debris spewed on us all by these crooks & thugs.
Thank you, Mr. Kucinich.
America needs the truth shouted from the rooftops right now, and you’ve given the Nation a rallying point to gather around.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:13 amThe White House had stronger ties to disgraced superlobbyist Jack Abramoff than it has publicly admitted,” according to House Oversight Committee report. “President Bush himself met Abramoff on at least six occasions, the report said, citing White House documents; the White House had previously acknowledged only two.
No shit.
But now that Abramoff is off the Corporate Media radar, who cares?
June 10th, 2008 at 9:14 am/snark
In a 6-3 decision, the “Supreme Court on Monday limited the rights of public employees, ruling that a state worker who said she was fired by a supervisor who was out to ‘get rid of’ her could not sue the government for denying her equal protection of the laws.”
**Any public employee who has been on the receiving end of being harassed to “get rid of them” is not entitled to the same rights as everyone else in the private sector? Civil service or civil slaves? I was a union shop steward when I worked for our county government and some of the things these supervisors and managers did to their employees is unbelievable. I saw some people reduced to a nervous wreck by the time management got through with them. Harass until they resign and use co-workers if possible to turn up th heat.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:15 amIraqi lawmakers say that the Bush administration is “demanding 58 bases as part of a proposed ’status of forces’ agreement that will allow U.S. troops to remain in the country indefinitely.” Jalal al Din al Saghir, a leading lawmaker from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, called the deal “more abominable than the occupation.”
Keep yelling about this al Saghir — no saving face for Bush.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:16 amZooey Says:
Wayne,
Thank you for posting the 35 articles of impeachment on TheZoo!
You’re the greatest! :-)
/blush
=)
June 10th, 2008 at 9:16 amSo Iraq doesn’t want the United States to establish 58 permanent military bases in their country? Imagine that!
Their reaction is probably about the same as ours would be if, say, China decided to come over here, occupy our country, and establish a similar concentration of military bases all over the U.S. They’re well on their way to owning our country anyway — they could decide to move into their new real estate.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:16 amWayne Says: Full text of Kucinich’s articles of impeachment is now available.
Too bad he won’t be taken seriously.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:16 amcaption:
Abramhoff: “You got the cash?”
June 10th, 2008 at 9:17 amHenchman: “Jeez, I almost left it on the seat…”
What mainstream media didn’t report about:
516-Mile Range In A Fuel Cell Vehicle You Can’t Fuel
With all of the Prius hybrids on the road these days and Toyota’s emphasis on gas-electric drivetrains, it’s easy to forget the company is a big player in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles – and it’s developed one that sets a benchmark for range. The FCHV-adv has a maximum cruising range of 516 miles on a single tank of hydrogen, more than twice the range of its predecessor and considerably higher than the 270 miles of the FCX Clarity that Honda will begin leasing to a very small number of people this summer. Toyota says the FCHV-adv has been certified by the Japanese government, and the company plans to begin leasing them in Japan later this year. That just leaves the matter of creating the fueling infrastructure…
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/06/516-mile-range.html
The only kink is that the hydrogen fuel cell is expense right now. But they are working on that also, that is why they are only leasing the cars. Toyota will always be one of the great pioneers for new technology in cars.
FDA Approves Cloned Animals for Store Shelves
The FDA announced today that cloned animals (and offspring and milk produced by said clones) are safe to consume. The agency said that cloned cows and pigs and other farmed animals “are as safe to eat as food from conventionally bred animals.” Which, as you may have read, isn’t saying much. If you don’t want to buy clones or cloned offspring, caveat emptor: the FDA “is not requiring labeling or any other additional measures for food from cattle, swine, and goat clones” or their offspring because the agency considers clones and non-clones identical.
http://www.motherjones.com/blue_marble_blog/archives/2008/01/6870_fda_approves_cl.html#comments
With GMO fruits, vegetables and grains, I have started growing many of my own vegetables. We need to demand that the FDA label cloned meat. Buy only organic fruits, veges and meat, not only will you feel better, the food will taste better.
Hypermilers Push the Limits of Fuel Efficiency
Yahya Fuhimuddin got tired of spending $60 to fill his Jeep, so he bought an old Honda Insight hybrid and took up hypermiling to squeeze every last mile from a gallon of gas. He’s getting about 45 mpg and says he’d do better but the clutch is shot. Once he fixes the clutch and hones his driving skills he expects to get 60 mpg. He’s a hypermiler, one of a growing number of people going to often extreme lengths to get 40, 50, even 60 mpg or more. “It’s like a videogame,” he says. “Can I beat my new high score?” “Try the speed limit,” says Rick Harrell, a moderator at the website ecomodder.com and its list of more than 100 ways to improve fuel economy. “It’s a crazy idea, but it works.” These days he’s driving a 1998 Acura Integra and getting as much as 40 mpg in a car the EPA rates at 24. “The instant feedback was great,” Harrell says. “Simple things like slowing down on the highway, timing traffic lights (to maintain) momentum and coasting with the engine off started to push that fuel-efficiency number higher and higher.”
http://www.wired.com/cars/energy/news/2008/06/hypermilers09
These guys are incredible they have come up with over a 100 ways to get more bang for your buck out of a gallon of gas. It works.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:18 amJohn McCain also attacked Barack Obama on below market loans to a “campaign staffer”.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/09/attacking-on-loans/#comment-1105354
However, the NYT failed to search their website. The same James A. Johnson is mentioned in a 2004 piece on the selection of VP running mate, Senator John Edwards. Jim’s current job? It’s selecting Obama’s running mate.
Flashback to ‘04, the slam dunk was Edwards performance at the annual Bilderberg Group meeting, a gathering of international leaders from government and business. John Edwards handled Ralph Reed like the New York Knicks.
Guess where James A. Johnson spent the weekend? In Chantilly, Virginia at the annual Bilderberg Group meeting. Rumors have Barack and Hillary “dropping by”. It’s a Martix like deja vu, which we all know reveals an error in the program. This one involves party insiders and big money. What a surprise!
June 10th, 2008 at 9:19 am#14 – And the beat goes on Says:
June 10th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Well, the Supreme Court members are “public employees”. Maybe we should do everything we can to “get rid of” the 6 a-holes who decided that equal protection isn’t so “equal” after all???
June 10th, 2008 at 9:20 amA new Human Rights Watch report found that “[o]ver two-thirds of the detainees in the Guantanamo Bay prison are suffering from or at risk of mental problems because they are kept isolated in small cells with little light or fresh air.” The report said that “[d]etainees held in this manner include many that have not been charged with crimes and have already been cleared for release or transfer.”
Radicalized and mentally ill. Thank you, George W. Bush — you f_cking fascist.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:21 amIn the first sign that voters are coalescing around Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee, two daily tracking polls notice a widening of the gap over his Republican rival John McCain. Both Gallup and Rasmussen now have Obama holding a gap of 6% over McCain. The numbers in parentheses show the point change from last week:
Gallup
Obama 48% (+3)McCain 42% (-4)
Margin of error: 2%
Rasmussen
Obama 50% (+4)McCain 44% (-2)
Margin of error: 4%
Chris Bowers notices that the gap grew significantly after Hillary’s concession speech on Saturday, which suggests that the spread has only just begun:
Obama appears to be rising even faster following Hillary Clinton’s concession speech on Saturday than he rose from Wednesday through Friday. Since Clinton’s speech, despite only a two-day sample, Obama has gained 5% relative to McCain in Gallup, and 3% relative to McCain in Rasmussen. Cumulatively, that is more than half of Obama’s gain, despite only having a two-day sample (the tracking polls measure three days, according to both websites).
Rasmussen also notices that Obama is not doing poorly among women voters, as is commonly presumed in most coverage:
Pollster Scott Rasmussen says that as of today, based on 3,000 automated telephone surveys over the past three nights, Obama gets support from 52% of the women in his national tracking poll compared with 40% for presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. He says that’s better than Democrat John Kerry did with women against President Bush in 2004.
Scott attributes Obama’s performance to unification within the Democratic Party over the past few days. “Before last Tuesday, Obama routinely earned around 70% of vote from Democrats,” he tells us in an e-mail. “He’s up to 81% today. Clearly the party has been coming together.”
All of this, of course, should be taken with a grain of salt. A bump is one thing, but it remains to be seen is Obama will sustain this lead over McCain.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/09/obama-polls-number-bump-u_n_106160.html
June 10th, 2008 at 9:22 amHeh. It’s snowing in Washington state. I can’t wait to get back home!
June 10th, 2008 at 9:24 amFreedom Rebel says:
We need to demand that the FDA label cloned meat.
COOL, (country of origin labeling), was a part of the last Farm Bill. It was intentionally left ‘dormant’ because meat importer & large meat packing interests didn’t want American consumers knowing where the animal originated.
Nice, huh?
We need to make a ruckus about this. Ask your local Congress critter why COOL has not been implemented, even though it’s law.
Of course, the Bush administration sided with the corporate interests & willingly held this important consumer resource hostage.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:25 amMortgaging America
America’s for sale. Just ask Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
With the U.S. economy in shambles, Paulson just spent four days touring the Middle East, hat in hand, looking for investors to bail us out. Specifically, on Monday, Paulson met with heads of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the world’s largest “sovereign wealth fund” with roughly $875 billion in assets, and encouraged them to buy American businesses.
Of course, it’s nothing new for U.S. officials to reach out to the deepest pockets in the world in times of crisis. Just a century ago, J.P. Morgan became an American icon by single-handedly rescuing the financial markets during the stock market panic of 1907.
What is new, however, is that our economic problems have become so big that they no longer can be remedied by a few affluent individuals or investment firms. Only extremely wealthy countries have the resources to clean up this mess. So Paulson is forced to visit flush, oil-slicked Arabian emirates from Qatar to Abu Dhabi and beg for help.
snip
But on a practical level, the growing influence of SWFs really brings up much more basic concerns. What does it mean for Americans to have decisions about our jobs, our home loans, our school loans and so on to ultimately rest with foreign governments? What does it mean to surrender this level of control over our own economy?
The trouble is, we don’t know. And that raises perhaps the most important question of all: What if the cure to our mortgage crisis is more deadly than the disease itself?
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-weiner4-2008jun04,0,3578069.story
**Thanks for link to this article Calibleu! Lets see what these conversations might sound like. Give us all your oil so we can bomb you. Bail us out of our credit crunch so we can bomb you. Buy up our worthless mortgages so we can bomb you. I just don’t think it’s going to work, but maybe it’s just me.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:25 amLobbyists may be one of the only groups who don’t mind high oil prices. Since gas prices have been on the rise, lobbyists have found steady employment fending off “a variety of legislation that would do everything from opening OPEC up to antitrust lawsuits” to taxing “windfall profits” the industry now gets and redirecting the money to promote renewable energy.
Enjoy it while you can, you un-American wankers. We’ll remember who you are.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:26 amIraqi lawmakers say that the Bush administration is “demanding 58 bases as part of a proposed ’status of forces’ agreement
The Bush Admin might as well give this one up. The Iraqi Parliament knows that all it needs to do is wait until Obama takes office. Then we will begin to end our occupation of Iraq. This is what the American people want and this is what the Iraqi people want.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:27 amunbelievable Says:
You’re not paying attention. They’re going to bring in Newt Gingrich to polish their image.
Newt Gingrich – turd polisher extroardinaire.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:27 amDoes anyone else have trouble taking someone named NEWT seriously?
June 10th, 2008 at 9:27 am#25 Zooey Says:
Heh. It’s snowing in Washington state. I can’t wait to get back home!
Good Morning Zooey! Sorry to hear the weather is not good there. We have been in a heat wave in Ohio, the 80’s. Today is rainy but that is great for my garden. It is suppose to clear up soon. Is your mom almost done with her rehab?
June 10th, 2008 at 9:29 amFreedom Rebel,
I know GMO has gotten a bad wrap. I’m not sure why. A gene from a fish is made up of the exact same stuff as a gene from a tomato. It’s basic evolution that we all share the same A, T, C and Gs.
Richard Dawkins wrote about this subject in one of his books (I forget which one now). He said that genetic engineering was really no different than articial selection, as we’ve been doing for centuries with companion and food animals.
In fact, cloning healthy animals would help ensure a healthier supply of meat. As a vegan, I like the idea because it means that millions of slaughtered animals won’t wind up in the landsill, their lives wasted, because of some meat recall.
Of course, the meat industries’ practices are a whole other matter entirely.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:29 amI just watched John McCain and wife departing from an airplane.
They rarely if ever look at one another. He doesn’t hold her hand walking down the ramp. They rarely touch. There’s always daylight between them.
Just what we need, another doddering old president, and his brittle wife in designer dresses.
FSM help us…
June 10th, 2008 at 9:30 amFrom Wikipedia:
The Newt is an amphibian of the Salamandridae family, order Urodela or Caudata, found in North America, Europe, and Asia. Their eggs are laid singly in ponds or slow-moving streams, attached to aquatic plants. This distinguishes them from the free-floating eggs of frogs, that are laid in clumps, or toads, that are laid in strings. The larvae leave the water as a terrestrial form called an eft, returning to the water when mature to live or to breed. The adult form has a lizard-like body and is either aquatic or semi-aquatic.
That pretty well describes the ‘Newtster’, eh? Is he an ‘eft’ yet? These slimy creatures emerge, do their thing and return to the water. It doesn’t mention anything about cheating on their disabled mates, perhaps this is an evolutionary quirk that applies only to the Southern species…
June 10th, 2008 at 9:32 am#26 Zimzone Says:
Freedom Rebel says:
We need to demand that the FDA label cloned meat.
COOL, (country of origin labeling), was a part of the last Farm Bill. It was intentionally left ‘dormant’ because meat importer & large meat packing interests didn’t want American consumers knowing where the animal originated.
Nice, huh?
We need to make a ruckus about this. Ask your local Congress critter why COOL has not been implemented, even though it’s law.
Of course, the Bush administration sided with the corporate interests & willingly held this important consumer resource hostage.
Good Morning Zimzone! I agree with you completely…
June 10th, 2008 at 9:33 amI’m planning on sending emails and letters. Pretty soon people will not know what they are eating. We wonder why cancer is going up? Hormone enhanced beef, Gene Snythesized Seeds and Crops it is scary what Monsanto and some of the other privitized companies have been doing, in our so called best interest. Yea Right!!!
Freedom Rebel Says:
——————————————————————————–
Good Morning Zooey! Sorry to hear the weather is not good there. We have been in a heat wave in Ohio, the 80’s. Today is rainy but that is great for my garden. It is suppose to clear up soon. Is your mom almost done with her rehab?
June 10th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Good morning, Freedom Rebel! I’m still in Illinois — I wish I were in WA state! Maybe the snow will make it to Idaho by the time I get there. It would be an interesting change, for about one day. :)
Mom is being discharged from the rehab unit on Friday. I’ll drive the parents to Chicago and put them on an airplane home, then I’ll head west — 80 mph. Woo!
June 10th, 2008 at 9:33 amZooey, I think there’s a task undone at the Zoo. Morning. Secret doings . . .
June 10th, 2008 at 9:34 amMcClellan to testify before House Judiciary next week on Plame affair
Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan will testify before the House Judiciary Committee next week on the Plame affair, the Associated Press reported today.
“President Bush’s former spokesman, Scott McClellan, will testify before a House committee next week about whether Vice President Dick Cheney ordered him to make misleading public statements about the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity,” the AP reported.
“McClellan will testify publicly and under oath before the House Judiciary Committee on June 20 about the White House’s role in the leak and its response, his attorneys, Michael and Jane Tigar, said on Monday.”
http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0608/McClellan_to_testify_before_House_Judiciary_next_week_on_Plame_affair.html
June 10th, 2008 at 9:35 amgummitch Says:
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Zooey, I think there’s a task undone at the Zoo. Morning. Secret doings . . .
June 10th, 2008 at 9:34 am
So?
:-D
Channeling Dick. Ewwww….
June 10th, 2008 at 9:38 amOnce again we intent to obstruct justice and conceal suspect behavior in the sudden classification of Secret Service White House visitor logs!
June 10th, 2008 at 9:38 amEven teh rich aren’t immune to the Great Housing Depression
Housing crisis hits 90210 hoods
Across the country, real estate agents and home sellers in wealthy neighborhoods who grew accustomed to seven-figure bidding wars during the boom are feeling the sting of the housing crunch. CNNMoney.com reports three of the nation’s richest zip codes saw particularly steep home-price declines in the three months ending April 30, compared with the previous three months.
http://www.cnn.com/
June 10th, 2008 at 9:40 amWill Bush use EP to disallow McLelland’s testimony?
I hope he does. We need EP pushed to a tipping point that will enable all Americans to understand & see first hand how this administration has abused this privilege.
We all heard a lot about ’serving the President’, whether it was Gonzo or Gannon. What we never did hear was the ‘President serves the American People’.
It’s time to get that straight. We’ve been served bullshit. They’ve been served subponeas. Now, it’s time to serve just desserts.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:40 amScotus decision reprehensively further restricts the average worker from access to justice–the Supreme Court alone is sufficient reason to vote against McBush!
June 10th, 2008 at 9:40 amBush Wishes For A Pony
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/united_states/article4100259.ece
Bush also wished for a pony
I’m not going to do any work to save up for a pony–ponies are to be wished-for, not worked-for, and I deserve a pony.
I already have a pony, but everyone else’s ponies have much glossier manes and sparklier hooves, so all I can do is talk- up my rickets-riddled sway-backed pony and trash talk everyone else’s poney in the hopes someone will swap their actually much-better pony for mine. My best friend in the whole world, the MSM, will help me. After-all, I deserve a better pony, and i WANT a better pony!
.
WHat? Noooo…that’s not mange! He’s a…a…magic pony!! They all look like that! Want to swap? Oh I do hope I get a pony!
Just having some fun with the London Times Exclusice interview with Bush–just three actual quotes from Bush in the 1200 word article purporting to be about economics, not ponies.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:41 am#33 unbelievable Says:
Freedom Rebel,
I know GMO has gotten a bad wrap. I’m not sure why. A gene from a fish is made up of the exact same stuff as a gene from a tomato. It’s basic evolution that we all share the same A, T, C and Gs.
Richard Dawkins wrote about this subject in one of his books (I forget which one now). He said that genetic engineering was really no different than articial selection, as we’ve been doing for centuries with companion and food animals.
In fact, cloning healthy animals would help ensure a healthier supply of meat. As a vegan, I like the idea because it means that millions of slaughtered animals won’t wind up in the landsill, their lives wasted, because of some meat recall.
Of course, the meat industries’ practices are a whole other matter entirely.
Good Morning Unbelievable!!!
One of the problems I have is that Monsanto and some of the other companies are making farmers use their genetically engineered seeds. So the farmers can’t do their normal seed culivation, they have to pay these big companies for seeds. Their have been farmers who have had whole crops ruined by these seeds and Monsanto sued them. Talk about adding insult to injury. One of the cases is a farmer I was reading about in Canada, it is very tragic story. (The GMO seeds were contaminated and ruined his other non-GMO crops because the disease spread.)
June 10th, 2008 at 9:42 amHecklers at the McCain speech…
June 10th, 2008 at 9:42 amThe report said that “[d]etainees held in this manner include many that have not been charged with crimes and have already been cleared for release or transfer.”
Do these ugly people actually get off on being cruel? It sounds like they do. I hope that the first thing Obama does as President will be to shut down Gitmo and apologize to those who have been held there indefinitely with no charges against them. Most of them were either in the wrong place at the wrong time or sold to our government by greedy neighbors.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:44 amSenate Republicans “are hungry” for the advice of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, hoping he can be an election guru in “the harshest climate for their party in over a decade.”
Wonderful, the Republicans are looking towards the guy who was responsible for the Contract on American, which began the slide of the party into the gutter, for answers as to how to get themselves out of the gutter. Makes perfect sense to me.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:46 amLots of heckling at McCain. It’s affecting his speech — it’s worse than ever.
He’s going to keep the tax rates low, no matter what. The morons are clapping.
See ya later, all.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:47 amThe BBC reports that the “final withdrawal of British troops from Iraq could be announced by the end of the year.” The UK still has approximately 4,000 troops in the country, down from a peak of 26,000 in 2003.
Ok, haven’t they been planning on pulling these troops for over a year now? What’s the hold up?
June 10th, 2008 at 9:47 amMcCain: Free trade = lower prices.
Says the rich man….
June 10th, 2008 at 9:48 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says: …Most of them were either in the wrong place at the wrong time or sold to our government by greedy neighbors.
This is truly disgusting. Could we please sell Bush/Cheney to some ‘greedy neighbors’? We’ll sell them cheap…as is, no warranty and no returns on sale. We’ll even throw in Cheney’s 10 gallon hat for his pint-sized brain!
June 10th, 2008 at 9:49 amFreedom Rebel Says:
My suggestion is pull the video on John ruining the Beach Boys hit by replacing the words with Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran and run a TV ad. That a political candidate would actually joke about bombing a country has no business (or proper decorum) leading a nation to a prosperous future.
I agree. All the ad needs to be is a loop of him singing that ditty and then ending up with “Is this who you want to be your President?”.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:51 amFreedom Rebel Says: One of the problems I have is that Monsanto and some of the other companies are making farmers use their genetically engineered seeds. So the farmers can’t do their normal seed culivation, they have to pay these big companies for seeds. Their have been farmers who have had whole crops ruined by these seeds and Monsanto sued them. Talk about adding insult to injury. One of the cases is a farmer I was reading about in Canada, it is very tragic story. (The GMO seeds were contaminated and ruined his other non-GMO crops because the disease spread.)
I think almost anything in the hands of Corporate Greedy is going to end up corrupted – even puppies and kittens :D
It seems illegal that they are forcing farmer’s to use their seeds – as they would constitute a monoply. Perhaps they should take this to court?
Yeah, you definitely have to start out with a healthy seed in order to clone another healthy seed. In the beginning of life, reproduction was all about cloning. If you were an ill paramecium, you propogated only other ill paramecium, which wasn’t a great way to pass along your genes.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:53 amThe Bushies lied about Abramoff — gee, what a surprise!
June 10th, 2008 at 9:55 amWe’d be better if we just assume that everything they say is a lie and report only the instances if they tell the truth.
Sales of Spam—that much maligned meat—are rising as consumers are turning more to lunch meats and other lower-cost foods to extend their already stretched food budgets.
Spam’s maker, Hormel Foods Corp., reported last week that it saw strong sales of Spam in the second quarter, helping push up its profits 14 percent. According to sales information coming from Hormel, provided by The Nielsen Co., Spam sales were up 10.6 percent in the 12-week period ending May 3, compared to last year.
Kimberly Quan, a stay-at-home mom of three who lives just outside San Francisco, has been feeding her family more Spam in the last six months as she tries to make her food budget go further. … Quan just bought a couple more cans of Spam on sale and some ramen, the instant noodle dish long a staple on college campuses. Her food and gas budgets are together, so she’s had to cut back on food spending while the cost of gas increases. Her favorite Spam meal? Spam and macaroni and cheese.
http://www.dailykos.com/
June 10th, 2008 at 9:58 amThe Constitution says the government may not “deny to any person . . . the equal protection of the laws”. So now the highest court in the land doesn`t have to follow the Constitution, what`s next a dictatoship???????
June 10th, 2008 at 9:58 amZimzone Says:
Will Bush use EP to disallow McLelland’s testimony?
I hope he does. We need EP pushed to a tipping point that will enable all Americans to understand & see first hand how this administration has abused this privilege.
I wonder what Bush would do if Scotty said, tough, I’m going to testify anyway. Do you think that Bush would have him arrested? What is the punishment for ignoring EP?
June 10th, 2008 at 9:59 amSpam! You hear that, Zooey? Spam! Bwahahahaahaa!
June 10th, 2008 at 10:00 am#56 unbelievable Says:
Freedom Rebel Says: One of the problems I have is that Monsanto and some of the other companies are making farmers use their genetically engineered seeds. So the farmers can’t do their normal seed culivation, they have to pay these big companies for seeds. Their have been farmers who have had whole crops ruined by these seeds and Monsanto sued them. Talk about adding insult to injury. One of the cases is a farmer I was reading about in Canada, it is very tragic story. (The GMO seeds were contaminated and ruined his other non-GMO crops because the disease spread.)
I think almost anything in the hands of Corporate Greedy is going to end up corrupted – even puppies and kittens :D
It seems illegal that they are forcing farmer’s to use their seeds – as they would constitute a monoply. Perhaps they should take this to court?
Yeah, you definitely have to start out with a healthy seed in order to clone another healthy seed. In the beginning of life, reproduction was all about cloning. If you were an ill paramecium, you propogated only other ill paramecium, which wasn’t a great way to pass along your genes.
I agree with you that the GMO seeds probably started out as a good thing. But unfortunately, these 6 or 8 companies have filed 532 patents internationally to corner the market. The farmers are stuck between a rock and a hardplace because if they want to grow crops for them they are forced to use their seeds. The 532 patents are for seeds that are genetically engineered to withstand drought, flooding and other extreme weather conditions.
I agree with you about fighting them in court, the only problem is Monsanto and the other companies as you stated pretty much have a monopoly and these farmers don’t have the money to go up against the Goliaths of the industry. So far, the have lost all the court battles I have read about. The government is going to have to step in at some point. Because Monsanto and the other companies are able to charge whatever they want for food also. That is the other scary part.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:06 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
I wonder what Bush would do if Scotty said, tough, I’m going to testify anyway. Do you think that Bush would have him arrested? What is the punishment for ignoring EP?
Excellent question, Bilbo. Additionally, would they issue a subponea, only to have McLelland refuse to comply? This could turn out to be quite entertaining! Given the fact that EP isn’t in our Constitution, the WH would have to take it to the Supremes so their ‘good ‘ol boys’ could make the Right decision.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:08 amIn the first sign that voters are coalescing around Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee, two daily tracking polls notice a widening of the gap over his Republican rival John McCain.
I attended my son’s high school graduation yesterday. Besides the usual valedictory address, the 40 Summa Cum Laude graduates (one of which was my son) elected one of their peers to give what amounted to a keynote address. This young man was fabulous. Without naming any names or party affiliations, he exhorted his fellow graduates to join the millions of new, young voters to embark on the journey of helping their generation to become the “new greatest generation” by voting in candidates who are committed to peace, ending torture and curbing global climate change. He had passion, personality and a sense of humor. He embraced all religions, races and lifestyles. He was fantastic. It was one of those speeches that I didn’t want to end. That young man made me yearn to be 18 again. Here’s the best part folks……He got numerous rounds of applause, including thunderous applause from his peers. The speech sounded like it could’ve been written by Obama. It was uplifting, inspirational and amazing. I left even more hopeful of the Obama landslide I’ve been predicting.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:12 amWhen are we going to call a spade a spade?
Jack Abramoff is not a DISGRACED former lobbyist, he is a CRIMINALLY CONVICTED AND INCARCERATED former lobbyist.
There’s a big difference, yet I keep seeing this again and again.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:12 amHmmm…58 military bases. Should be enough to control the oil. Not much and close to nothing is said on the daily news about oil production in Iraq. Is there anyone out there who knows how many barrels of oil a day are produced in Iraq? How much of an effect is this on the price of oil today? If I have my facts straight, Iraq is second to Saudi Arabia in oil capacity.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:13 amZooey Says:
Channeling Dick
You and your senator larry craig :)~
June 10th, 2008 at 10:16 amFreedom Rebel Says: So far, the have lost all the court battles I have read about. The government is going to have to step in at some point. Because Monsanto and the other companies are able to charge whatever they want for food also. That is the other scary part.
That’s just criminal. But I guess the government has more pressing matters right now? What are they waiting for?
I was in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1998 when their economic market had collapsed. People were living in the streets and the papers were talking about another Revolution. There was this interesting article in which someone explained that Revolutions don’t happen until people have nothing left to lose and are dying in the streets. That’s certainly the set of conditions that Corporate America is pushing toward.
I’d like to think that the recent situation in this country will for once and all end the discussion about Trickle Down Theory. It not only doesn’t not work – it outright stinks.
7 months, one week and three days to go…
June 10th, 2008 at 10:27 amFreedom Rebel Says:
My suggestion is pull the video on John ruining the Beach Boys hit by replacing the words with Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran and run a TV ad. That a political candidate would actually joke about bombing a country has no business (or proper decorum) leading a nation to a prosperous future
Run this video right next to McCain’s latest “I hate war” ad and point out the flip-flopping, untrustworthy nature of this candidate.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:33 amunbelievable Says:
Wayne Says: Full text of Kucinich’s articles of impeachment is now available.
Too bad he won’t be taken seriously.
That depends on how many people call their representatives.
Read the text, check his citations, and you will see he has made a very strong case that is now a permanent part of the public Congressional record. It is now a permanent record of the shame that has befallen our country.
Any Representative that argues the crimes do not meet the conditions set in the Constitution should be kicked out of office, no matter theparty.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:36 am“The White House had stronger ties to disgraced superlobbyist Jack Abramoff than it has publicly admitted,” according to House Oversight Committee report. “President Bush himself met Abramoff on at least six occasions, the report said, citing White House documents; the White House had previously acknowledged only two.”
************************************************************
Another lie. Surprise, surprise…
At this point, if the Bush administration claimed that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west…you can bet your life (never mind your life savings) that I’d still set my alarm and check the truth for myself!
June 10th, 2008 at 10:36 am#64 Exit Stage Left Says:
He had passion, personality and a sense of humor. He embraced all religions, races and lifestyles. He was fantastic. It was one of those speeches that I didn’t want to end. That young man made me yearn to be 18 again. Here’s the best part folks……He got numerous rounds of applause, including thunderous applause from his peers. The speech sounded like it could’ve been written by Obama. It was uplifting, inspirational and amazing. I left even more hopeful of the Obama landslide I’ve been predicting.
Thank you for sharing such a great story. It is amazing to see how much this generation is becoming active in making positive changes. Many are doing wonderful things as far as community service and outreach programs also. This movement can only lead to a more peaceful and productive future.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:50 amHave a great day Exit Stage Left :)
Full outline of all 35 Articles of Impeachment
Article I — Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq.
Article II –Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With
Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression.
Article III — Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War.
Article IV — Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States.
Article V — Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression.
Article VI — Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of HJRes114.
Article VII — Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.
Article VIII — Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter.
Article IX — Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor
Article X — Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes
Article XI — Establishment of Permanent U.S. Military Bases in Iraq
Article XII — Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation’s Natural Resources
Article XIIII — Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other Countries
Article XIV — Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency
Article XV — Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq
Article XVI — Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors
Article XVII — Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives
Article XVIII — Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy
Article XIX — Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to “Black Sites” Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture
Article XX — Imprisoning Children
Article XXI — Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist
Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government
Article XXII — Creating Secret Laws
Article XXIII — Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act
Article XXIV — Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment
Article XXV — Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the
Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens
Article XXVI — Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements
Article XXVII — Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply
Article XXVIII — Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice
Article XXIX — Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Article XXX — Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare
Article XXXI — Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil
Emergency
Article XXXII — Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change
Article XXXIII — Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist
Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.
Article XXXIV — Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001
Article XXXV — Endangering the Health of 911 First Responders
June 10th, 2008 at 10:51 amTime is running out on the Chimperor. Only 7 more months to do as much damage to the USA as he can to leave Obama an even more horrible mess to deal with. 58 permanent bases in Iraq, bomb Iran, get the oil prices a little higher, and spend as much money as possible so that there will be none left for domestic spending, after tax cuts for the rich of course.
So many accomplishments to date though, it’s been a good run of fece flinging:
Ignored warnings of 9/11, at the least complicit in 3,000 dead at WTC.
Responsible for 4,000 soldiers deaths, and 40,000 wounded.
Many hundred thousand Iraqis dead and multiples more wounded.
Sowed hate and seeds of revenge across Muslim world.
Made the USA left safe.
Joined the torture fraternity.
Invaded Iraq to start a discretionary War.
Ruined USA honor across the world.
Ran up massive debt, after pissing away surplus.
Bald faced lies to his countrymen.
Prison camps and rendition.
Ruined economy.
Record gasoline prices.
Installed two right wing fanatics on the Supreme Court.
Divided our country as never before.
There is so much more, this is the tip of the iceberg. Or, tip of the pile of rotten carrion left by Bush and his black evil soul.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:52 amIraqi lawmakers say that the Bush administration is “demanding 58 bases as part of a proposed ’status of forces’ agreement that will allow U.S. troops to remain in the country indefinitely.”
Not gonna happen. Unless each ‘base’ has one soldier in it.
Now that might just work, if the Embassy was donated to the Iraqis, and our embassy was in a tiny little office above the rug seller’s stall.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:55 am#69 PatrioticLiberalChristian Says:
Freedom Rebel Says:
My suggestion is pull the video on John ruining the Beach Boys hit by replacing the words with Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran and run a TV ad. That a political candidate would actually joke about bombing a country has no business (or proper decorum) leading a nation to a prosperous future
Run this video right next to McCain’s latest “I hate war” ad and point out the flip-flopping, untrustworthy nature of this candidate.
That is a great suggestion also. He has so many clips to choose from that can be used. It will be interesting to see which ones end up on TV ads. I can’t wait to see him take some abuse from the media over all his many contradictions.
Have a good morning PatrioticLiberalChristian :)
June 10th, 2008 at 10:55 amObama ~ work a shift at a hospital in MO.
McIIIrd ~ meet with lobbyists to wring more cash out of them.
June 10th, 2008 at 11:29 amThe media killed Howard Dean by playing his “scream” endlessly. McCain and his simultaneously juvenile and senile “Bomb, bomb bomb” song should be rubbed in the faces of the public. This unstable old fool ditched his crippled wife for a “Paris Hilton”.
June 10th, 2008 at 11:56 amgummitch Says:
——————————————————————————–
Spam! You hear that, Zooey? Spam! Bwahahahaahaa!
June 10th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Things are worse in this country than I thought… :P
June 10th, 2008 at 12:11 pmHuffpo’s Sam Stein wrote of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Selebius as Barack’s ideal running mate:
http://arisfreedomswitch.blogspot.com/2008/06/vetting-kathleen-for-trinity-role.html
She attended the Bilderberg Group meeting this past weekend. James A. Johnson, the man charged with selecting Obama’s #2, was also in attendance. While in Chantilly, The Wall Street Journal revealed Mr. Johnson got over $7 million in below market loans from subprime lender Countrywide Financial. That’s our government industrial monstrosity at work!
June 10th, 2008 at 12:17 pmIf I read the article today, they just ruled that a state employee couldn’t sue the state government in federal court for discrimination when they were the only ones being “discriminated” against. Ordinary remedies for malicious termination still apply.
June 10th, 2008 at 12:41 pmI again have to ask: didn’t w and his minions state unequivocally that we did not seek a permanent military presence in Iraq? Why such a struggle to gain these bases and legal agreement for our troops to roam over Iraq without any supervision or accounting? Why are the dems not shouting about this?
June 10th, 2008 at 1:32 pm“didn’t w and his minions state unequivocally that we did not seek a permanent military presence in Iraq?”
Yes. Those statements were only window dressing to appease both the Iraq and American people. Such a large amount of (American) public support would not have been possible if he told the truth from the beginning.
“Why such a struggle to gain these bases and legal agreement for our troops to roam over Iraq without any supervision or accounting?”
Many said (predicted), including PNAC themselves, that this was their plan all along: to have a permanent footprint in the Middle East from which to launch military strikes. Taking that one step further: to secure the oil. This is an energy war that we are fighting, not much more.
“Why are the dems not shouting about this?”
…because many of them are in on it too. At the very least, many of them are making money off of the continued conflict in Iraq and nothing says “continued conflict” like the announcing of permanent bases.
June 10th, 2008 at 3:24 pm