"Tax breaks for corporations (and their
investors, particularly large ones) were a major part of the Administration's 2002 and 2003 initiatives. If class warfare is being waged in America, my class is clearly winning."
- Warren Buffett
"For eight years, Iran tried, and failed, to defeat Iraq. Then, in the span of just over
two weeks between March 20 and April 9, 2003, American Apache helicopters, F-16's and Hellfire missile obliterated the
Iraqi army, unintentionally handing Iran a victory it could never have achieved on its own.
Destroying Iraq was the greatest strategic blunder this country
has made in its history. ...... there's every reason to believe the Iraq war will end up changing the United
States more than it will ever change Iraq."
- Robert Baer, The Devil We Know; Dealing with the new Iranian
superpower
"President
Bush and his top advisors have repeatedly claimed that they did not
exaggerate the threat (from Iraq), and top CIA officials have publicly argued
that their ominous assessments that Iraq had on-going weapons programs
were fully justified by the available intelligence. But in fact, many CIA officials -
from rank-and-file analysts to senior managers
- knew before the war that they
lacked sufficient evidence to make the case for the existence of Iraq's weapons
programs. Those doubts were stifled because
of the enormous pressure.... CIA
Victory there won't look like you think. Time to get out and give up on nation building.
Bacevich is professor of history and international relations at Boston
University, and the author, most recently, of “The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism.”
Oct 3, 2009 ... Today's column is for all hawkish
Americans currently wrestling with looming doubts about the pointlessness of the US mission in Afghanistan...
...not by basing, supplying and supporting a military colossus in Islamic, landlocked Central Asia.
It is
time, as retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely first told me last April, to "let Afghanistan go." It is not in our
interests to civilize it.
godsownparty.com —This is no coincidence, nor is it to be taken lightly. Lynn Vincent is a devout Dominionist!
If there has been ANY lingering doubt that my assertions regarding
Political
news coverage from POLITICO.com on Congress and Capitol Hill. Blog postings in Politico Live from John Bresnahan, Patrick
O'Connor, Josephine Hearn, Daniel W. Reilly, and Josh Kraushaar. Complete ...
The nation's
top military officer says more U.S. troops will likely be needed to win the war in Afghanistan. Adm. Mike Mullen's comments
before the Senate Armed Services committee came as Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan underscored his opposition to additional
forces, and Sen. John McCain, the committee's ranking Republican, shot back that any delay in sending troop reinforcements
would have catastrophic consequences.
It’s
not every day that retired generals denounce a Vice President. But two distinguished military leaders felt compelled to speak
out against Mr. Cheney’s support of torture, in an op-ed in today’s Miami Herald. (full article below) Help us
fight back against Mr...
General Charles C. Krulak and General Joseph P. Hoar have this to say:
In the fear that followed
9/11, Americans were told that defeating Al Qaeda would require us to “take off the gloves.” As a former Commandant
of the U.S. Marine Corps and a retired Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Central Command, we knew that was a recipe for disaster.
But we never imagined that we would feel duty-bound to publicly denounce a Vice President of the United States, a man who
has served our country for many years. In light of the irresponsible statements recently made by former Vice President Dick
Cheney, however, we feel we must repudiate his dangerous ideas – and his scare tactics.
It’s Time for a New Course in Afghanistan/ Senator Feingold's petition:
Eight years after the war in Afghanistan began, I agree with Senator Feingold and believe that
the time has come for a flexible timetable to withdraw our brave troops from that country. Continuing to send more troops
into Afghanistan, with no end in sight, is not a well-thought out strategy. The time has come to plot a new course one that
helps us to succeed in Afghanistan and strengthens our own national security.
A bill
in the U.S. Congress: To require the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to Congress outlining the United States exit
strategy for United States military forces in Afghanistan participating in Operation Enduring Freedom.
"Yesterday," reads the e-mail from Allen,
a Marine in Afghanistan, "I gave blood because a Marine, while out on patrol, stepped on a [mine's] pressure plate
and lost both legs." Then "another Marine with a bullet wound to the head was brought in. Both Marines died this
morning."
Demonstrations,
lobbying, teach-ins and memorials in October are to publicize the casualty count and cost of the war and pressure Congress
to demand an exit strategy.
[Members
of the James Younger Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in 2006.] Looking into the background of Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South
Carolina, after his heckling of President Obama last night, I came across this: Joe also has been a member of
npr.org —U.S. officials say the window to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon could close as
early as 2013. The Obama administration wants to use diplomacy to stop that, but it also reserves the right to use military
means.
Despite
the recent addition of 17,000 American troops and extra security efforts surrounding the presidential election, the situation
in Afghanistan is deteriorating.
scrippsnews.com —The House chalked up a signal success by passing the 12th and last spending bill to fund the
government next year on schedule. But that rare feat came at a cost -- a $636 billion military spending bill filled with planes
and weapons that Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Pentagon doesn't need or want.
npr.org —Carbon dioxide isn't just affecting our climate, it is also increasing the acidity of
our seas. Scientists worry that corrosive conditions will harm marine life, and could change our oceans in ways they're
just now starting to understand.
global-warming.accuweather.com —AccuWeather.com's global warming center offers a daily blog of news related to the topic
of global warming. An unbiased look at myths, articles, and anything related to global warming
nytimes.com —In a few weeks, the Treasury Department’s czar of executive pay will have to answer:
Should Andrew J. Hall get his bonus? That suggests that last summer, drivers paid more at the pump, at least in part, because
of people like Andrew J. Hall. How do you hand $100 million
to a guy who may have profited because gas hit $4 a gallon
reuters.com —By Steve Eder - Analysis NEW YORK (Reuters) - Under normal circumstances,
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) might be afforded a moment of gloating as it struts toward what could be a banner earnings
announcement just nine months after being roiled by..
New York Times:::::
NEW
YORK — Even on Wall Street, the land of six- and seven-figure incomes, jaws dropped at the news Tuesday: After all that
federal aid, a resurgent Goldman Sachs is on course to distribute bonuses that could rival the record paydays of the heady
bull-market years.
Goldman posted the richest quarterly profit in its 140-year history and, to the envy of its rivals,
announced it had earmarked $11.4 billion so far this year to compensate its workers.
At that rate, Goldman workers
could, on average, earn roughly $770,000 each this year — or nearly what they did at the height of the boom.
nytimes.com —The program was designed after the Sept. 11 attacks, but the plans were never carried out
before Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A. director, canceled it last month.
pubrecord.org —John Conyers who famously opposed impeachment of George W. Bush now says Bush committed an
"impeachable offense" by personally approving surveillance.
nytimes.com —The proposal, a clear expression of Democrats’ perceived mandate, calls for a surtax
on individuals earning at least $280,000, but it faces opposition in the Senate.
The below economic conditions resulted in the
stock market crashes and implosions of 1873, 1893, 1929, 1987, 2000 and 2007
npr.org —NPR turned the camera on the lobbyists> attending a recent Senate hearing on health care reform,
instead of the senators. Whatever health care bill emerges from Congress will affect one-sixth of the economy, and the profiteers
were out in force. Know any? Help identify them: Have a look, then email dollarpolitics@npr.org.
huffingtonpost.com —Never has it been more clear that Bush II's war in Iraq was a pre-decided war in desperate search of a public
rationale. In this Wednsday segment of Olbermann's "Worst Person's in the World." Keith decimates Bush and
his legacy.
time.com —After
years of public demand, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced the launch of an inquiry into Britain's role
in the Iraq War. But will it provide answers or just more questions?
huffingtonpost.com —No one should be surprised that the ACLU would issue a call to prosecute those who authorized torture on detainees.
But what grabs my attention, is the thorough argument presented by ACLU executive director Anthony Romero to hold accountable
everyone from President Bush, to Cheney, Condolezza Rice, VP Chief of Staff Addington, plus many more.
Three months ago, in a courtroom in Bridgeport, Conn., a 72-year-old
former Morgan Stanley broker named Richard A. Kwak was cleared of any involvement in a small-time stock manipulation scheme.
latimes.com —The
plan would give the government new powers to seize key companies whose failure jeopardizes the financial system, as well as
creation of a watchdog agency to look out for consumers' interests. The Obama administration this week will propose the
most significant new regulation of the financial industry since the Great Depression, including a new
nytimes.com —Representative Peter Visclosky should step down as chairman of his defense subcommittee until the PMA investigation
is completed. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is reportedly at odds with her majority leader, Steny Hoyer, who wants to defuse Republican
criticism with an ethics committee resolution. The speaker would be wise to get ahead of the scandal
nytimes.com —Congressional Democrats’ concerns about a potentially endless conflict have complicated the White House’s
push for $83.4 billion in war spending and other aid.
youtube.com — If Peak
Oil is real, why don't politicians ever use the words "Peak Oil"? Well they do, you just haven't been noticing.
Plus more of them should.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
The
ratio of pay of the top 1% (dark blue) income earners and top .1% (light blue) income earners compared to the bottom 90% income
earners (starting in 1945 until 2006).
nytimes.com —The
Obama administration appointed Kenneth R. Feinberg to the new post, giving him broad discretion to set pay for 175 top executives
at seven of the nation’s largest companies.
Published: June 10, 2009
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s sweeping new proposal to restrict executive pay is likely to be a humbling exercise for seven of the nation’s largest companies, which have received billions of dollars
in federal assistance to survive the economic crisis.
greencarreports.com —It appears the Senate and House have agreed to include $1 billion to fund the program through September 30. The
funding is part of a $106 billion wartime spending bill that's expected to pass next week.
gov.ca.gov — "Just today,
a total of 30 governors acting as the Governors’ Energy and Climate Coalition, the largest, most diverse group ever
assembled, called on Congress to pass this kind of legislation. I congratulate the House members of both political parties
that today voted to move America toward a more energy secure and sustainable future.
“I applaud
today’s bipartisan vote in Congress to move forward the Waxman-Markey Clean Energy and Security Act. I will work with
the California delegation to improve it further, this Act represents the kind of strategy to use energy more efficiently,
produce more clean energy here at home
nytimes.com —A
stalled clean energy bill needs to be revised, and quickly, if there is a chance for comprehensive climate change legislation
to be passed by this Congress.The heart of the bill is a provision to reduce greenhouse gases by 20 percent from 2005 levels
by 2020 and 83 percent by midcentury — cuts scientists say are necessary to avert the worst cons
reuters.com —WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - Pentagon spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to fight terrorism elsewhere has reached $685.7 billion
since 2001, a U.S. government watchdog agency said on Monday. The Government Accountability Office, or GAO, said...
nytimes.com —Congressional
Democrats’ concerns about a potentially endless conflict have complicated the White House’s push for $83.4 billion
in war spending and other aid.
npr.org —Retired
Army Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez was in charge of the ground forces in Iraq when some of those techniques were used
at the Abu Ghraib prison. The recent release of the so-called "torture memos" detailing some of the Bush administration's
reasons for using harsh interrogation techniques has opened the floodgates. Human rights organiz
nytimes.com —Money
that in the past might have been restored to a military spending bill after first being stripped out is now likely to be kept
out.......
nytimes.com —Top
Air Force officials said Monday that they supported the Obama administration’s decision to buy only four more of the
advanced F-22 fighter jets, making it less likely that Congress will insist on extending its production.
npr.org —Defense
Secretary Robert Gates on Monday recommended halting production of the F-22 fighter jet and scrapping a new helicopter for
the president as he outlined deep cuts to many of the military's biggest weapons programs.
news.yahoo.com —The money announced Wednesday will pay to excavate contaminated soil from hundreds of residential lawns in Evansville,
Ind., Minneapolis, Minn., Madison County, Mo. and Omaha, Neb. Up to $25 million will connect 180 houses in southeastern North
Dakota to public drinking water. Their wells were tainted with arsenic from bait applied to control gra
autobloggreen.com —A bill was introduced in the Senate earlier this month that seeks to offer a $10,000 incentive for low-income families
to trade in their old cars for newer, more fuel efficient models. First, a few details: eligible individuals are those who
earn less than $25K per year. Autos must be rated at 25 miles per gallon plus and are 4.9 mpg better than th
fora.tv — "At least 75% of the
American people want an investigation as to what happened on Wallstreet. I'm not saying a criminal investigation, they
just want to know. In order for us to make the right decisions going forward, we need to know what happened to get us here."
independent.co.uk —Whether it's a credit crunch to fix or an Olympics to plan, the list of Goldman Sachs alumni is sure to have
a candidate. Almost whatever the country, you can find Goldman Sachs veterans in positions of pivotal power.
marketplace.publicradio.org —A congressional committee is discussing criteria to use in determining if a financial institution is too
big to fail. Duke law professor Zephyr Teachout talks to Bob Moon about whether antitrust laws can be used to break up the
financials.
oxdown.firedoglake.com —"Stiglitz: ‘The Too-big-to-fail Institutions Have Succeeded in Managing Their Risk’"
Just starting now, JEC hearing: Too Big to Fail or Too Big to Save? Examining the Systemic Threats of Large Financial Institutions
(live webcast at the link) Witnesses: Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize recipient, 2001; University Professor, Columbia University;
online.wsj.com —It is time for the government to take the radical step of breaking financial firms into smaller, more transparent companies,
top economists told U.S. lawmakers.
thedailybeast.com —Spanish prosecutors have decided to press forward with a criminal investigation targeting former U.S. attorney general
Alberto Gonzales and five top associates over their role in the torture of five Spanish citizens held at Guantánamo,
several reliable sources close to the investigation have told The Daily Beast. Their decision is expected to be an
youtube.com — Nobel
prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz explains what drove the US economy off a cliff and what steps need to be taken to
rectify the situation during a Nation Institute panel discussion held to mark the release of a new book: "Meltdown: How
Greed and Corruption Shattered Our Financial System and How We Can Recover"
marketplace.publicradio.org —Tim Geithner says he might fire the heads of big banks that are being bailed out, just as he disposed of
Rick Wagoner, the former CEO of General Motors. And before Wagoner, the old heads of AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac. Geithner's
tough talk is designed to reassure a public that's lost all faith in the bank bailout. At the rate the bailout m
rawstory.com —In
an explosive interview on PBS' Bill Moyers Journal, William K. Black, a professor of economics and law with the University
of Missouri, alleged that American banks and credit agencies conspired to create a system in which so-called "liars loans"
could receive AAA ratings and zero oversight, amounting to a massive "fraud" at the epicenter.
truthout.org —
In its last days as an independent company, Merrill gave performance-based bonuses exclusively to employees earning $300,000
a year or more and holding a rank of vice president or higher, according to their financial statements. $3.62 billion was
handed out to these executives - a sum equal to 36.2 percent of the $10 billion in taxpayer funds th
The Obama administration sought to reduce the bonuses, but the insurer, which received more
than $170 billion in aid, said it was obligated to pay them.
nytimes.com —In
the absence of good-faith measurement of the banking system, taxpayer-financed purchases of bad assets could court huge unnecessary
risks.
nytimes.com —If
Barack Obama’s bank rescue plan fails, it is unlikely that Congress will come up with more funds to do what should have
done in the first place.
But the real problem with this plan is that it won’t work. Yes, troubled assets
may be somewhat undervalued. But the fact is that financial executives literally bet their banks on the belief that there
was no housing bubble, and the related belief that unprecedented levels of household debt were no problem. They lost that
bet. And no amount of financial hocus-pocus — for that is what the Geithner plan amounts to — will change that
fact.
npr.org —Bank
of America CEO Ken Lewis received a subpoena from New York state officials who want to know about bonuses paid to Merrill
Lynch employees. The investigation focuses on whether the bank withheld information from investors during its acquisition
of Merrill.
pubrecord.org —Rep. John Conyers has recommended that Attorney General Eric Holder appoint a special prosecutor to launch a criminal
inquiry to investigate, among other things, whether “enhanced interrogation techniques” used against alleged terrorist
detainees violated international and federal laws against torture.
rawstory.com —Investigative
reporter Seymour Hersh ’s bombshell earlier this week that Vice President Dick Cheney controlled an “executive
assassination ring” continues to reverberate throughout Washington, with Nixon aide John Dean going so far as to accuse
the former VP of murder if the charges are true.
antiwar.com —"Although
the successful campaign to keep Amb. Charles "Chas" Freeman out of a top intelligence post marked a surface victory
for the pro-Israel hardliners who opposed him, the long-term political implications of the Freeman affair appear far more
ambiguous.
alternet.org —Chas
Freeman states the obvious: the ‘Israel lobby’ torpedoed his nomination because he didn’t embrace the ubiquitous
pro-Israel bias required of those operating in U.S. foreign policy circles.
alternet.org —According
to a poll by Gallup the majority of Americans Want Investigations on Possible attempts to use Justice Dept. for political
purposes,use of telephone wiretaps without a warrant use of torture in terror interrogations
huffingtonpost.com —Proposing the idea of a
truth and reconciliation commission to investigate abuses during the Bush-Cheney administration, which may include the use
of torture, warrantless wiretapping, extraordinary rendition, and executive override of laws.
CITIGROUP'S CORPORATE JET
Bombardier BD 700 Global Express
Shortly after Merrill Lynch was purchased by Bank of America, CEO John Thain was publicly demonized for
requesting a $10 million bonus and spending $1.2 million on office renovations while his company faced a $15.3 billion loss in the fourth quarter.
Several weeks after that agreement was struck, a top deputy to Mr. [Kenneth]
Lewis met with Mr. Thain and asked him to lower the bonus pool below $3.5 billion and to increase the portion paid in cash.
Mr. Thain agreed to do so, according to two people familiar with the meeting.
Mr. Thain, meanwhile, lobbied for a bonus
of his own until December, according to people familiar with his board discussions. The initial $40 million suggestion floated
on his behalf was no longer viable and Mr. Thain himself suggested a figure of $5 million to $10 million. After that number
was pilloried in public, he formally asked the board to award him nothing.
nytimes.com —Merrill Lynch paid out bonuses of more than $1 million
apiece to 696 people last year just as the firm ’s merger with Bank of America closed, according to the New York attorney
general.
soapboxroadshow.blogspot.com —Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla) $45,900; Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) $41,375; Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) $28,200; Sen.
John McCain (R-Ariz)* $28,150; Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) $27,500; Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) $20,100; Sen. John Cornyn
(R-Texas)$19,700; Sen. Charles E. Schumer $17,000 Rep. Charlie A. Gonzalez (D-Texas) $15,500; Rep. Max Sandlin
alternet.org — During the election, the Mormon Church pumped hundreds of
thousands of dollars into the push to ban same-sex marriages in California -- a campaign that deprived people in a different
state of a fundamental civil right.
truthout.org
—Obtuse hardly does justice to the social stupidity of our late, unlamented financial overlords.
John Thain of Merrill Lynch and Richard Fuld of Lehman Brothers, along with an astonishing number of their fraternity brothers,
continue to behave like so many intoxicated toreadors waving their capes at an enraged bull, oblivious even when gored.
news.yahoo.com —President Barack Obama on Wednesday imposed $500,000 caps on senior executive pay for the most distressed financial
institutions receiving federal bailout money, saying Americans are upset with "executives being rewarded for failure."
news.yahoo.com —Iraq said Thursday it will bar Blackwater
Worldwide from providing security protection for U.S. diplomats because its contractors used excessive force, sanctioning
a company whose image was irrevocably tarnished by the 2007 killings of 17 Iraqi civilians. The move will deprive American
diplomats of their main protection force in Iraq.
blogs.moneycentral.msn.com —Investors may not be happy with the performance of bank executives and their top employees these days, but,
apparently, compensation committees are satisfied. The NYT kicks off its business coverage today with some numbers that are
hard to swallow. New York's financial institutions paid out a gaudy $18.4 billion in bonuses in 2008
huffingtonpost.com —God Wall Street is so disgusting. President Barack Obama issued a withering critique Thursday of Wall Street
corporate behavior, calling it "the height of irresponsibility" for employees to be paid more than $18 billion in
bonuses last year while their crumbling financial sector received a bailout from taxpayers. "It is shameful," Obama
said from the Oval Office. "And part of what we're going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for
help to show some restraint, and show some discipline, and show some sense of responsibility."
editorial.autos.msn.com —U.S. cars emit 85 percent more carbon dioxide and consume twice as much fuel as European and Japanese cars.
The average year-to-date fuel consumption figure for cars, minivans and SUVs in the U.S. market stands at 22.6 mpg, compared
with 40.3 mpg in Europe and 40.6 mpg in Japan. Those are staggering differences, and they make us wonder why it will
take American automakers until 2020 to reach a mandated average fuel-efficiency rating of 35 mpg, when European and Japanese automakers already do. (That's food for thought, folks.)
What Recession?? Dubya's new Digs in Dallas
Iraq Veterans Against the War
Letter regarding the election of Barack
Obama
Dear IVAW Supporter,
On November 4th Americans came together across lines of race,
gender, class, and religion to elect Barack Obama as President of the United States, marking an historic moment for our
nation.
Over the course of President-elect Obama’s campaign, many were ignited with the hope that change
is possible, and we share that hope. As we take a moment to reflect on the significance of this vote, it is important
for us to remember that our struggles did not end on election night. Real change has never come because of the actions
of any one person, but only through the combined efforts of grassroots organizing by people with the courage and conviction
to see their struggle through to the end.
Over the last four and a half years, Iraq Veterans Against the War
has brought our message of change to our fellow veterans and members of the military, the American public, and
indeed the world. Our message remains the same: it is time to immediately withdraw all occupying forces from Iraq;
it is time to end the death and destruction facing the people of Iraq and address the needs of the Iraqi people; and it
is time to provide our veterans with the care and benefits that they need and have earned through their service to our country.
In recent months, we have expanded our focus to address the political parties, and we look forward to continuing
an open dialogue with our new President and his staff in the months to come. We will remind President-elect Obama
of his statement in August 2007, that “ending this war will be my first priority when I take office.” While
we understand and share concern that addressing our economic crises must be a top priority, we know that we cannot repair
our economy if we continue the costly occupation of Iraq – an immense financial burden which is simply unsustainable.
We acknowledge the shift in focus from the war in Iraq to the war in Afghanistan, and we encourage President-elect
Obama to listen to the Afghan people and U.S. veterans of that conflict before making any decision to escalate the occupation
of Afghanistan.
As veterans of these wars, we have seen through our experiences that the first casualty in
war is the truth. We have also seen the power that exists when soldiers and veterans find their voices and tell their stories,
resurrecting the truth that has been lost in the false glory and heroism of war.
These are messages that Iraq
Veterans Against the War will continue to spread, because we know that one leader, one Administration, or one political
party is not going to make the change we need. Rather, it is up to us collectively to continue organizing for that
change. The election of Barack Obama affords us a fresh opportunity in our struggle, but as our history tells us when
it comes to ending wars and occupations, the power is truly in the hands of the people and our military. We will continue
to keep fighting for our goals and ask that you join us.
To read IVAW’s open letter to President-elect Obama,
click here.
In order to continue organizing troops and veterans to end the occupation of Iraq, we need your help. Please donate today to help us amplify the voices of our over 1,400 members.
Huge jump in the third quarter over the same
period last year
updated 8:18 a.m. ET,Thurs.,
Oct. 23, 2008
WASHINGTON - The number of homeowners ensnared in
the foreclosure crisis grew by more than 70 percent in the third quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2007,
according to data released Thursday.
Nationwide, nearly 766,000 homes received at
least one foreclosure-related notice from July through September, up 71 percent from a year earlier, said foreclosure listing
service RealtyTrac Inc.
By the end of the year, RealtyTrac expects more than a million
bank-owned properties to have piled up on the market, representing around a third of all properties for sale in the U.S.
Six states — California, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Michigan and Nevada — accounted for more
than 60 percent of all foreclosure activity in the quarter, with California alone making up more than a quarter of all U.S.
foreclosure filings.
Joe The Plumber, famous, unlicensed
Thomas Joseph, the business manager of Local
50 of the United Association of Plumbers, Steamfitters and Service Mechanics, based in Toledo, said Thursday that Mr. JOE
Wurzelbacher (pictured above) had never held a plumbers license, which is
required in Toledo and several surrounding municipalities. He also never completed an apprenticeship and does not belong to
the plumbers union, which has endorsed Mr. Obama. On Thursday, he acknowledged that he does plumbing work even though he does
not have a license.
A review of "State of War" by James Risen
Damning and dismaying... As a national
security reporter for the New York Times, Risen has produced some of this era's
best journalism on the Central Intelligence Agency and the dysfunctional relationship between
the White House and the U.S. spy community... As one of the Washington press corps' best reporters on national
security issues, Risen has a record of being right... State of War is a welcome reminder that American hournalism has a higher purpose than shallow pandering
to the lowest pop-cultural denominator. Somewhere, beyond celebrity, there are issues and ideas that matter. James
Risen's book as an urgent contribution to the country's common good by a skillful and courageous reporter."
- Los Angeles Times
Bailout: AIG Executives
go to Spa, St. Regis
Spend
over $400,000
See the bill below:
Pork barrel Spending in Alaska
and Wasilla, Alaska
Palin SUPPORTED the $200,000,000
Bridge to Nowhere before she
OPPOSED it. -
The Double Talk Express
Palin Was a Director of
Embattled Sen. Stevens's 527
Group
Conyers to launch probe into
forged CIA letter
For Immediate Release: Monday, August 11, 2008
Conyers Announces Review of Allegations of Bush Administration's
Forged Iraq Intelligence
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) today announced plans to
review allegations that senior Bush Administration officials ordered the forgery and dissemination of false intelligence documents
as reported by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Ron Suskind, in his new book, "The Way of the World: A Story of Truth
and Hope in an Age of Extremism."
"Mr. Suskind reports that the Bush Administration, in its pursuit of war,
created and promoted forged documents about Iraq," said Conyers. "I am particularly troubled that the decision to
disseminate this fabricated intelligence is alleged to have come from the highest reaches of the administration. The administration's
attempt to challenge Mr. Suskind's reporting appears to have been effectively dismissed by the publication of the author's
interview recordings and transcripts. I have instructed my staff to conduct a careful review of Mr. Suskind's allegations
and the role played by senior administration officials in this matter."
A number of issues raised in Mr. Suskind's
book to be reviewed include:
The origin of the allegedly forged document that formed the basis for Bush's
2003 State of the Union assertion that Iraq sought yellowcake uranium from Niger;
The role of this document in creating
the false impression that 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta had a working relationship with Iraq;
The relationship between
this document and other reported examples of the Bush Administration considering other deceptive schemes to justify or provoke
war with Iraq, such as the reported consideration of painting a U.S. aircraft with UN colors in order to provoke Iraq into
military confrontation;
Allegations that the Bush Administration deliberately ignored information from Iraq's
chief intelligence officer that Iraq possessed no WMDs;
The payment of $5 million to Iraq's chief intelligence
officer and his secret settlement in Jordan, beyond the reach of investigators;
The September 2007 detainment and
interrogation of Mr. Suskind's research assistant, Greg Jackson, by federal agents in Manhattan. Jackson's notes were
also confiscated.
New Book:
Bush administration may
have forged documents
to show Atta-Iraq link
"The Way of the World"
by Ron Suskind
@@@@@@@@@@@@@
More on the Ron Suskind book
"Way of the World"
Author Ron Suskind says his sources are under "enormous pressure" to change their stories after revealing to him
that the Bush administration had ordered the CIA to forge a letter from the head of Iraqi intelligence connecting Iraq to the 9/11 hijackers.
On Tuesday, former
CIA official Robert Richer, who is one of Suskind's sources, sent a statement to news outlets in which he wrote, "I never received direction from George Tenet or anyone else in my chain of command to fabricate a document from Habbush
as outlined in Mr. Suskind's book."
Richer's statement also quoted Suskind's other source, former
CIA officer John Maguire, as saying, "I have no knowledge to the origins of the letter."
Suskind told NBC's
Meredith Vieira on Wednesday morning, "It's interesting. ... Rob Richer talked to me, and actually other reporters
too, yesterday morning. He was fine, he'd gotten the book Monday night, read it. And then something happened yesterday
afternoon."
"It's one of these instances where you've got a few people whose testimony could mean
the impeachment, ostensibly, of the president," Suskind explained. "It's enormous pressure on both men."
Suskind had appeared on Countdown with Keith Olbermann the previous evening, where he had explained, "They've
got to feed their families. They really survive off the government, they're contractors, both of them. ... They can be
brought into a moment of crisis by the government saying, 'You'll never work again.'"
Suskind insisted
to Vieira, however, that "I'm actually not concerned," telling her, "I've spent a lot of time with
them. Their interviews are taped. ... They talked to me at length, hour after hour ... and all of that is on the record."
Suskind emphasized to Olbermann that "Maguire, I think, will still stand up in daylight." He noted that
Maguire recently said he understands why the first and second amendments appear in that order, because "the first amendment
is the most important amendment. If they take that one away, then you should start loading your weapons."
The Beginning of the End in
Iraq
Dear MoveOn member,
Three big things happened on Iraq this week. They could mean the beginning of the end of the war.
But since the media have mostly ignored them, I wanted to make sure you
saw what's going on.
Here's the scoop:
Iraqis want U.S. Troops out. No one was expecting
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to speak up in favor of withdrawal—after all, he's close with the Bush administration.
But with elections in Iraq coming up, and a great majority of Iraqis opposed to a prolonged U.S. occupation, Maliki can't
afford to toe the Bush line. So he's surprised everyone by standing up this week for a timetable for troop withdrawals
and a date certain to end the war. The LA Times headline reads, "Iraqi prime minister advocates withdrawal
timeline."1
As a result, the "endless
war agreement" Bush has been pushing fell through. Since January, hundreds of thousands of us pushed Congress
to stand up to President Bush's proposed treaty with Iraq, which would have tied the next President's hands and made
it much harder to get out. This week, the Washington Post reported that that agreement has fallen through—Iraqi
leaders are putting their feet down and demanding a much shorter agreement.2
And now even the Pentagon is considering faster timelines. According to reporter
Michael Hirsh at Newsweek, "a forthcoming Pentagon-sponsored report" will recommend a big drawdown of
troops—suggesting "that U.S. forces be reduced to as few as 50,000 by the spring of 2009, down from about 150,000
now."3
In other words, it's now clear:
Most Americans are for a timeline, and so are most Iraqis. And even experts in the Pentagon agree.
For his part, Barack Obama is using these developments to hammer home the point
that John McCain and President Bush are now isolated in their resistance to any kind of timeline for withdrawal. He wrote
an Op-Ed in the New York Times yesterday that reaffirmed his commitment to a timeline that would have all combat
troops out of Iraq in 16 months.
It concludes, "Unlike
Senator McCain, I would make it absolutely clear that we seek no presence in Iraq similar to our permanent bases in South
Korea. . . [F]or far too long, those responsible for the greatest strategic blunder in the recent history of American foreign
policy have ignored useful debate in favor of making false charges about flip-flops and surrender. It's not going to
work this time. It's time to end this war."4
It's
important that we all work to get the word out about these developments. You can even start by just forwarding this email.
Most Americans still don't know that the Iraqis want us out. And that may be the single most important fact to share
at this point in time.
I'm always shocked when someone
points out that it's been six years since we first started working together to prevent an Iraq war. This week, we're
turning a corner in that fight. Bush's permanent war agreement has fallen through. The Iraqi politicians are speaking
up. And if we keep working together, we just might see the remaining holdouts in Washington coming around as well.
Thanks for all you do,
–Eli Pariser
PS. Minutes ago, Barack Obama finished
making a major speech on Iraq and foreign policy. Here's how he described the Bush-McCain approach:
George Bush and
John McCain don't have a strategy for success in Iraq—they have a strategy for staying in Iraq. They said we couldn't
leave when violence was up, they say we can't leave when violence is down. They refuse to press the Iraqis to make tough
choices, and they label any timetable to redeploy our troops "surrender," even though we would be turning Iraq over
to a sovereign Iraqi government—not to a terrorist enemy. Theirs is an endless focus on tactics inside Iraq, with no
consideration of our strategy to face threats beyond Iraq's borders.
Another Critical Expose
of the Bush administration:
The Darkside:
How the War on Terror turned into a war on
American
Ideals
By Jane Mayer
700 Page official U.S. Army history
details Iraq war blunders
The Army's new official history of the Iraq war says its senior leaders failed to properly plan for the aftermath of the
2003 invasion. It's a conclusion that others have reached before. But this time, the Army — in a 700-page book released
today — is criticizing itself.
Shortly after the fall of Baghdad in April 2003, the top U.S. commander in the Middle
East, Gen. Tommy Franks, may have sealed the U.S. military's fate in Iraq for the next four years.
Franks ordered
the team that led the invasion — the Coalition Forces Land Component Command, or CFLCC — to leave Baghdad and
to set up shop in Kuwait.
CFLCC was an operational unit run by some of the Army's most experienced commanders, known
as "the dream team" among senior officers including Gen. Jack Keane, who was the Army's vice chief of staff
at the time.
"They had been together for about eight or nine months, almost a year, in preparing for the war, then
executed the invasion, and now they were going to move to Kuwait and essentially just be a support headquarters. It seemed
to be, in my judgment, very ill-advised to do something like that," Keane said.
With CFLCC in Kuwait, Franks assigned
the Army's Fifth Corps to take its place. The only problem was that Fifth Corps was a tactical unit, trained to fight
and defeat Saddam Hussein's army.
"It was a very conscious decision that was made by General Franks to do
that, because in my assessment, he believed that the war was over and that most of the forces would be out by August. And
therefore he just needed a caretaker headquarters, if you will, on the ground to manage the re-deployment of forces,"
said Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the Fifth Corps commander at the time.
Sanchez's headquarters was understaffed and
ill-equipped to handle what unfolded in Iraq.
"It did put us on a path during the first 18 to 24 months of having
tremendous difficulties. It led to the enhanced insurgency, and to the tremendous instability that we faced in the country,"
Sanchez said.
The decision to place Sanchez's Fifth Corps in charge of Iraq may have been the single biggest military
blunder after the fall of Baghdad, according to the Army's new official history of the war.
Franks was not available
for comment.
The book, released today, is based on interviews with 200 senior Army officers involved in the invasion
and its aftermath.
It's an attempt to expose the mistakes that were made — in the hope that they won't
be repeated by future officers.
Retired Gen. Bob Scales, a former Army historian himself, says the book is remarkably
candid. He calls it a "chronicle of failure."
"The Army's got a strong internal culture of self-criticism.
Hidden from the general population is the passion and often the vitriol that goes on, particularly among and between officers,
particularly general officers, over the conduct of operations," Scales said.
While the book doesn't single
out specific officers for criticism, it is hardly a ringing endorsement of the general officer corps — generals, the
report implies, who failed to insist on better post-invasion planning.
"I think we could have asked tougher questions.
... Why didn't we ask 'What happens if the regime doesn't surrender?' " Keane said.
The next installment
of the Army's official Iraq war history is due out in about a year.
The WMD Intelligence "Failure"
Press Release of Senate Intelligence Committee re.
(WMD WEAPONS OF MASS
DESTRUCTION)
Senate Intelligence Committee Unveils Final Phase II Reports on Prewar
Iraq Intelligence
-- Two Bipartisan Reports Detail Administration Misstatements on Prewar Iraq Intelligence,
and Inappropriate Intelligence Activities by Pentagon Policy Office --
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Washington, DC -- The Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence,
John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, and a bipartisan majority of the Committee (10-5), today unveiled the final two sections of
its Phase II report on prewar intelligence. The first report
details Administration prewar statements that, on numerous occasions, misrepresented the intelligence and the threat from
Iraq. The second report details inappropriate, sensitive intelligence activities conducted by the DoD’s Office of the
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, without the knowledge of the Intelligence Community or the State Department.
“Before taking the country to war, this Administration owed it to the American people to give them a 100
percent accurate picture of the threat we faced. Unfortunately, our Committee has concluded that the Administration
made significant claims that were not supported by the intelligence,” Rockefeller said. “In making the case
for war, the Administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when in reality it was unsubstantiated, contradicted,
or even non-existent. As a result, the American people were led to believe that the threat from Iraq was much greater
than actually existed.”
“It is my belief that the Bush Administration was fixated on Iraq, and
used the 9/11 attacks by al Qa’ida as justification for overthrowing Saddam Hussein. To accomplish this, top Administration
officials made repeated statements that falsely linked Iraq and al Qa’ida as a single threat and insinuated that Iraq
played a role in 9/11. Sadly, the Bush Administration led the nation into war under false pretenses.
“There is no question we all relied on flawed intelligence. But, there is a fundamental difference
between relying on incorrect intelligence and deliberately painting a picture to the American people that you know is not
fully accurate.
“These reports represent the final chapter in our oversight of prewar
intelligence. They complete the story of mistakes and failures – both by the Intelligence Community and the Administration
– in the lead up to the war. Fundamentally, these reports are about transparency and holding our government accountable,
and making sure these mistakes never happen again,” Rockefeller added.
The Committee’s report
cites several conclusions in which the Administration’s public statements were NOT supported by the intelligence. They
include:
Ø Statements and implications by the President and Secretary
of State suggesting that Iraq and al-Qa’ida had a partnership, or that Iraq had provided al-Qa’ida with weapons
training, were not substantiated by the intelligence.
Ø Statements
by the President and the Vice President indicating that Saddam Hussein was prepared to give weapons of mass destruction to
terrorist groups for attacks against the United States were contradicted by available intelligence information.
Ø Statements by President Bush and Vice President Cheney regarding the postwar situation
in Iraq, in terms of the political, security, and economic, did not reflect the concerns and uncertainties expressed in the
intelligence products.
Ø Statements by the President and Vice President
prior to the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq’s chemical weapons production capability and
activities did not reflect the intelligence community’s uncertainties as to whether such production was ongoing.
Ø The Secretary of Defense’s statement that the Iraqi government
operated underground WMD facilities that were not vulnerable to conventional airstrikes because they were underground and
deeply buried was not substantiated by available intelligence information.
Ø
The Intelligence Community did not confirm that Muhammad Atta met an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in 2001 as the Vice
President repeatedly claimed.
Additionally, the Committee issued a report on the Intelligence
Activities Relating to Iraq conducted by the Policy Counterterrorism Evaluation Group and the Office of Special Plans within
the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. The report found that the clandestine meetings between Pentagon officials
and Iranians in Rome and Paris were inappropriate and mishandled from beginning to end. Deputy National Security
Advisor Steve Hadley and Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz failed to keep the Intelligence Community and the State Department
appropriately informed about the meetings. The involvement of Manucher Ghobanifer and Michael Ledeen in the meetings
was inappropriate. Potentially important information collected during the meetings was withheld from intelligence
agencies by Pentagon officials. Finally, senior Defense Department officials cut short internal investigations of the
meetings and failed to implement the recommendations of their own counterintelligence experts.
Today’s
reports are the culmination of efforts that began in March 2003, when, as Vice Chairman, Senator Rockefeller initially requested
an investigation into the origin of the fraudulent Niger documents. In June 2003, he was joined by all Democrats on
the Committee in pushing for a full investigation into prewar intelligence, which was eventually expanded by the Committee
in February 2004 to include the five phase II tasks.
The Committee released its first report on July 9,
2004, which focused primarily on the Intelligence Community’s prewar assessments of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction
programs and links to terrorism. Those findings helped lay the foundation for some of the intelligence reforms enacted into
law in late 2004.
In September 2006, the Committee completed and publicly released two sections of Phase
II: The Use by the Intelligence Community of Information Provided by the Iraqi National Congress; and Postwar Findings
About Iraq’s WMD Programs and Links to Terrorism and How They Compare with Prewar Assessments.
In
May 2007, the Committee released the third section of Phase II: Prewar Intelligence Assessments About Postwar Iraq.
Separately, in early 2007, the Pentagon Inspector General released its own report on the intelligence activities conducted
by the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and also concluded that those activities were inappropriate.
Suicide among soldiers highest in years
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Army soldiers committed suicide in 2007 at the highest rate on
record, and the toll is climbing ever higher this year as long war deployments stretch on. At least 115 soldiers killed
themselves last year, up from 102 the previous year, the Army said Thursday.
Nearly a third of
them died at the battlefront — 32 in Iraq and four in Afghanistan. But 26 percent had never deployed to either
conflict.
"We see a lot of things that are going on in the war which do contribute — mainly
the longtime and multiple deployments away from home, exposure to really terrifying and horrifying things, the easy
availability of loaded weapons and a force that's very, very busy right now," said Col. Elspeth Ritchie
psychiatric consultant to the Army surgeon general.
"And so all of those together we think are part
of what may contribute, especially if somebody's having difficulties already," she told a Pentagon
news conference.
Some common factors among those who took their own lives were trouble with relationships,
work problems and legal and financial difficulties, officials said.
Your Daily Politics Video Blog: There's been a lot of chatter over the last few days about John McCain's
embrace of Pastor John Hagee, who's well-known for a history of anti-Catholicism and claims that God will send terrorists
to create a "bloodbath" in America for its support of a two state solution in Israel/Palestine. So what is it exactly
that Hagee's said and just how much has McCain cozied up to him? We thought we'd put all the choicest moments into
one quick video so you could take a look and make up your own mind.
From Wikipedia on Hagee:
Financial controversy
In 2003, the San Antonio Express-News reported that, in 2001 alone, John Hagee had received over 1.25 million dollars in total compensation for his position
as CEO at the non-profit corporation, Global Evangelism Television (GETV). This made him one of the highest-paid televangelists in 2001 [45].
According to the Form 990 that GETV filed for tax year 2003, Hagee received almost a million dollars in compensation
for his work for GETV that year, which amounted to approximately 16 hours per week [46]. (The GETV Board of Directors, which determines his pay, consisted of John Hagee himself, his wife, his son, and a
Cornerstone Church member.) However, because he claimed that he worked "80 hours a week" writing books, singing
songs, meeting international dignitaries and answering the call to preach the word of God, John Hagee argued: "I deserve every dime I'm getting".
Other observers, including many evangelical Christians, criticize Hagee's handling of finances [47]. Considering his combined pay from both donor-supported ministries (his separate church and TV ministries), his pay
has been over $1 million per year.
Hagee said he was certain his finances complied with requirements of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) because he hired tax lawyers and accountants to make sure that his books complied with tax laws. Hagee said, 'We want a set of books so that when the IRS comes in
here and looks they'll say, those people are clean'", Hagee said. "And I am waiting for the day that the
IRS is going to come look at our books. I have spent a chunk of money waiting for them" [45].
In September 2004, Hagee re-registered GETV as a church under the name Grace Church of San Antonio, and became
exempt from filing detailed returns with the IRS. A further reorganization in July 2006 moved all assets into Cornerstone Church.
Above, Rev. Wright meets with President Bill Clinton in 1998.
Disappearing Republican Senators
Recently
defeated Republican Senators with their last approval rating:
Conrad Burns (MT): 39%
Rick Santorum (PA): 39%
Mike
DeWine (OH): 48%
Jim Talent (MO): 48%
George Allen (VA): 49%
Lincoln Chafee (RI): 52%
Instead of these six (sorry Linc) Bush rubber stamps, we now have Senators Tester, Casey, Brown, McCaskill, Webb, and Whitehouse.
The polling date from Rasmussen indicates that in January we will be rid of one Senator Smith (Oregon) and will instead be thanking our lucky stars to have either a Senator Merkley or a Senator Novick.
NPR Responds to "Pentagon Pundits" controversy and
their pundit, General Scales
Pentagon recruited "stealth" spokesmen for media campaign
"Responsible Plan for Iraq" Challengers
running for Congress
By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
BOSTON - Former Clinton Cabinet member Robert Reich on Friday endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Rodham Clinton in the
battle for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Two other Democratic elder statesmen, former Sens. Sam Nunn of Georgia and David Boren of Oklahoma, also said they were
supporting the Illinois senator.
Reich, who served as Labor secretary under Bill Clinton, said in a blog post that "although Hillary Clinton has offered
solid and sensible policy proposals, Obama's strike me as even more so."
Reich also said Obama's plans for reforming Social Security and health care have a better chance of succeeding, and his
approach to the nation's housing crisis and financial market failures are sounder than the New York senator's.
Reich is a longtime friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton. He ran for governor in Massachusetts in 2002 and now is a professor
A number of other former Clinton cabinet members have endorsed Obama. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who was U.N. ambassador
and energy secretary under Clinton, endorsed former rival Obama in March despite heavy wooing by the former president. Former
Denver Mayor Federico Pena, who headed the transportation and energy departments under Clinton, became a co-chair of Obama's
campaign last September. Former Clinton Commerce secretaries Norman Mineta and William Daley also have endorsed Obama.
Nunn and Boren will serve as advisers to Obama's National Security Foreign Policy Team.
Nunn served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1987-95, while Boren was the longest-serving chairman
of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
- Lord Acton
"Wars begin when you will but do not end when you please."
- Machiavelli
"Old men start wars, young men fight and die in them."
"Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is, perhaps, the most dreaded."
- James Madison
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those
who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
- President Eisenhower
Jefferson's quote on "standing armies" for 1802
Sec. of State Condi lied about torture program..
Another KBR Employee Alleges Rape in Iraq
See the article online in the Nation - written by Karen Houppert
FRONTLINE Bush's War Mar 24 & 25 @ pbs.org/frontline
On the 5th anniversary of the Iraq invasion, FRONTLINE presents the definitive documentary analysis of "Bush's War"
http://www.pbs.org/frontline/bushswar/
From the horror of 9/11 to the invasion of Iraq; the truth about WMD to the rise of an insurgency; the scandal of Abu
Ghraib to the strategy of the surge—for six years, FRONTLINE has revealed the defining stories of the war on terror
in meticulous detail, and the political dramas that played out at the highest levels of power and influence.
Now, on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, the full saga unfolds in the two-part FRONTLINE special Bush's War,
airing Monday, March 24, from 9 to 11:30 P.M. and Tuesday, March 25, 2008, from 9 to 11 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings).
Veteran producer Michael Kirk ("The Torture Question," "The Dark Side") draws on one of the richest archives
in broadcast journalism—more than 40 FRONTLINE reports on the war on terror. Combined with fresh reporting and new
interviews, "Bush's War" will be the definitive documentary analysis of one of the most challenging periods in the
nation's history.
Following the broadcast: a new TV/Web experience. View the entire "Bush's War" online, integrated with more
than 100 video clips of key moments since 9/11, drawn from FRONTLINE's robust online video archive and integrated into a master
annotated chronology of the war.
_________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: State Rep. Sally Kern
Capitol: (405) 557-7348
Kern Responds to Activist Criticisms
OKLAHOMA CITY – State Rep. Sally Kern (R-Oklahoma City) issued the following statement today in response to
the criticisms of homosexual activists who have objected to a recent speech she gave on their efforts to promote their agenda
at both the federal and state level.
“To put this simply, as a Christian I believe homosexuality is not moral. Obviously, you have the right as an
American to choose that lifestyle, but I also have the right to express my views and my fellow Oklahomans have the right to
debate these issues.
“In recent years homosexual activists have begun to aggressively promote their agenda through the political
process, often providing substantial financing to candidates who agree with their views, including many running for state
legislative races. National publications such as Time, The Atlantic and USA Today have noted that trend. That is their right,
just as it is my right to voice opposition to their agenda, which I have been asked to do at several public forums in recent
months. That’s what democracy is all about. It appears some homosexual activists believe only one group is allowed
a voice in this debate. I disagree.
“A vigorous debate on an issue is not ‘hate speech’ – it’s free speech.
I have made clear my opposition to the agenda of homosexual activists, but I have never endorsed or supported any hateful
action targeting individuals on the other side of this debate and never will. The fact that many gay rights activists claim
anyone opposing their agenda is engaging in ‘hate speech’ says more about them than me.
“Most Oklahomans are socially conservative and believe marriage is a sacred institution, the union of one man
and one woman, and that the traditional family is worth protecting and preserving. When I campaigned for office, I promised
my constituents to stand up for those values, and I do not apologize for keeping my word.”
Top U.S. Defense Contractor registered its shell
companies as "foreign owned company"
CAYMAN ISLANDS: Top Iraq contractor skirts US taxes offshore
Shell companies in Cayman Islands allow KBR to avoid Medicare, Social Security deductions
CAYMAN ISLANDS - Kellogg Brown & Root, the nation's top Iraq war contractor and until last year a subsidiary of Halliburton
Corp., has avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicare and Social Security taxes by hiring workers
through shell companies based in this tropical tax haven.
When Texas pipe-fitter Danny Langford applied for unemployment compensation after being let go by Service Employers International
Inc., he was rejected, he was told, because he worked for a foreign company.
More than 21,000 people working for KBR in Iraq - including about 10,500 Americans - are listed as employees of two companies
that exist in a computer file on the fourth floor of a building on a palm-studded boulevard here in the Caribbean. Neither
company has an office or phone number in the Cayman Islands.
The Defense Department has known since at least 2004 that KBR was avoiding taxes by declaring its American workers as
employees of Cayman Islands shell companies, and officials said the move allowed KBR to perform the work more cheaply, saving
Defense dollars.
But the use of the loophole results in a significantly greater loss of revenue to the government as a whole, particularly
to the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. And the creation of shell companies in places such as the Cayman Islands
to avoid taxes has long been attacked by members of Congress.
A Globe survey found that the practice is unusual enough that only one other ma jor contractor in Iraq said it does something
similar.
"Failing to contribute to Social Security and Medicare thousands of times over isn't shielding the taxpayers they
claim to protect, it's costing our citizens in the name of short-term corporate greed," said Senator John F. Kerry, a
Massachusetts Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee who has introduced legislation to close loopholes for companies registering
overseas.
With an estimated $16 billion in contracts, KBR is by far the largest contractor in Iraq, with eight times the work of
its nearest competitor.
more: www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14962
The Boston Globe
March 6th, 2008
Defense contractor KBR charging triple for monogrammed white towels
In a hearing today on waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said the defense contractor KBR, formerly of
Halliburton, has been stamping its logo on towels given to U.S. troops. Dorgan said a contractor told him that he ordered
plain white towels for troops, but the "superviser" said the towels must have the KBR logo on them — despite
the cost to taxpayers: He said the problem is, that will triple or quadruple the price. His superviser said, 'doesn't matter.
This is a cost-plus contract. Taxpayers pay for that.' So this is the towel the troops got, with KBR embroidered on it
ABOVE: "Enduring" or permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.
The Don Siegelman Case
Television Black-out in Alabama
Kerry Requests FCC Investigation of Alabama Media Blackout of CBS's 60 Minutes
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Kerry sent a letter to Kevin Martin, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission today,
asking him to investigate an Alabama television station that "blacked out" during a controversial segment of 60
Minutes. Allegations have been raised that the blackout, which the station blames on "technical difficulties", was
an example of censorship.
"The airwaves belong to the American people, and they have a right to know whether this blackout was the result of
technical difficulties, or whether it was an act of censorship," said Sen. John Kerry. "I think a full and thorough
investigation by the FCC is owed to the public, especially those in Alabama who, for whatever reason, tuned in to watch 60
Minutes and didn't get a chance to evaluate the fairness of this story on their own that night."
March 5, 2008
The Honorable Kevin J. Martin
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554
Dear Chairman Martin:
According to recent press reports, on Sunday, February 24th, a segment of “60 Minutes” addressing
the conviction of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman failed to air on WHNT-TV in Huntsville, Alabama. Instead of the regularly
scheduled segment, viewers were subjected to several minutes of dead air. Following the completion of the segment, the station
resumed its broadcast of “60 Minutes” without further incident.
Although the station reportedly blamed the black out on a technical malfunction, questions have been raised as to whether
the nature of the content played a role.
I understand that you will be looking into the details of this incident, including the reason for the station’s
failure to broadcast this segment. Upon the completion of your inquiry, I ask that you share your findings and conclusions
with interested members of the congressional committees of jurisdiction, so that we will know that a complete inquiry has
been conducted.
It is a fundamental responsibility of the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that broadcasters fulfill their
duties as trustees of the public airwaves. As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, I will be monitoring this situation
closely, and I look forward to the resolution of your inquiry.
Cc: The Honorable Michael J. Copps, FCC Commissioner
The Honorable Jonathan S. Adelstein, FCC Commissioner
The Honorable Deborah T. Tate, FCC Commissioner
The Honorable Robert M. McDowell, FCC Commissioner
CLICK THE ABOVE LINK
WHY THIS WEBSITE???
(written in December 2007)
This is a new and experimental attempt at a pre-emptive and grassroots campaign within the Democratic, liberal and progressive
circles of the American electorate. People in these Democratic and progressive circles are witnessing, seemingly, a troubling
and hasty effort by the mainstream media and other powerful types to nominate Hillary Clinton for president even before a
single primary has taken place or before a single vote has been cast. The presidential primary system that used to be open,
democratic and deliberative, and that used to winnow out candidates and select the front-runners, has given way to a media-driven,
beauty-contest, horse-race frenzy that selects the front runner/nominee after just one or two primaries - this is the bad
(and corrupting) system we have today.
Hillary is already amassing the monies for her Big Campaign. But rather than hold this fund-raising contest, let's hold
an election!!! It would seem to me that a healthy debate and discussion of the issues facing the country within the Democratic
Party and during the presidential primaries, would be much better for the party, the voters and the nation. Just a thought....
www.350.org"
