I wanted to point out this story in the Washington Post. I've not been one of those people to fawn all over Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), and I certainly don't think he's gone far enough in his speech yesterday to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations - especially for a guy who bragged about supposedly "loudly and vigorously" opposing the War in Iraq. However, all of that said, in one part of his speech, I've got to admit: he really nailed it. He said:

"Those of us in Washington have fallen behind the debate that is taking place across America on Iraq. We are failing to provide leadership on this issue."

Sen. Obama - you are absolutely right. And it's up to you to change that - and not just complain or whine about it.

from sirota blog

I read about this before but sirota brought it back up in an excellcent way. This is a TYPICAL moderate republican act. Complain about something but don't actually do anything about it.

Obama in his speak has nice rhetorical language about how politicians are COMPLETELY out of sync with the American people on Iraq.

BUT... if you check out the rest of his speech SO IS HE! He goes right on to parrot the same limp dick position that almost all the Democrats hiding under. It is ALMOST like Obama wants the HEADLINES for his quotes saying that Washington is out of step with the American people but he doesn't have the COURAGE to be different than any of them.

I think this is a typical case of Cover Your Ass...

He is trying to win some headlines by pointing out what all the polls and pundits already know. Politicians are chickenshit about doing what the people want, Universal Health Care, ENDING THIS BLOODLY FUCKING WAR....

but.... the rest of his speech is all the same shit that Biden, Kerry, and others are saying. We need a timeline, responsible withdraw... etc etc.

Obama has the courage to say what the political reality is regarding Iraq, but not the courage to do something about it. Neither does anyone else in Washington.

How the fuck is this a Democracy when the politicians ignore what 63% OR MORE of the people want.

Oh yeah, and OBAMA voted FOR the credit card company written bankruptcy bill.

At a time of massive budget deficits and Republicans' demanding huge cuts to programs that help ordinary Americans, the Washington Post reported that "the Republican-controlled Congress helped itself to a $3,100 pay raise" before heading home for Thanksgiving recess. The New Republic's Michael Crowley asks a very important question: "Why haven't House Democrats, well, shamelessly demagogued this?"

....Sadly, Crowley answers his own question as to why this hasn't become a real political issue for Democrats in Congress. He notes that after the an earlier pay raise vote, the Associated Press reported that raising lawmakers' pay seems to be one thing congressional Republicans and Democrats agree on. Why? Because, as Crowley says, Democratic congressional aides acknowledge that "some leading House Democrats simply aren't willing to really go all-out in the quest for the majority." How sad.

full article @ sirota blog

Nice work if you can get it

Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, heavily criticized for his agency's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, is starting a disaster preparedness consulting firm to help clients avoid the sort of errors that cost him his job

Irony sticks her head in the oven again.

http://joneaston.podomatic.com/

Check out the podcast! It is the 85th MOST POPULAR PODCAST at podomatic.com.

Would He??

Every Thanksgiving the president pardons a turkey. But this year George Bush may try to use the holiday to slip in another pardon -- of his friend and former senior aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who was indicted for perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements.

Conservatives around Washington are buzzing with rumors that George Bush will regain control of his lame-duck presidency by ending the investigation into manipulated intelligence on Iraq and the subsequent cover-up with a pardon for anyone involved.

I recieved a tip from a reader that the Union Leader ran a correction on their Sign Stealing story. I haven't been able to find this online yet.

CORRECTION:

(20051122)--An editorial published on Page A8 yesterday incorrectly stated Democratic Party Chairman Kathy Sullivan's position on removal of political signs belonging to Mayor-elect Frank Guinta. Sullivan told New Hampshire Union Leader reporters she did not condone removing an opponent's political signs, but that comment did not make it into the final story. The Manchester Police Department responded to the incident, but concluded the signs were placed illegally on the right-of-way and no crime had been committed by Mayor Robert Baines' campaign manager, Geoff Wetrosky.

Read my previous post on the matter here.

Here is a link to the original editorial.

I believe this is the part of the editorial the correction is refering to.

"We don't expect Sullivan or any other Democratic Party leader to admit that a crime was committed, much less that one was condoned by party brass."

It doesn't actually say that she condones it. The writer just says he doesn't expect them to admit to it. It is inappropriate however if the Union Leader ran that insinuation when they had a statement from Kathy Sullivan saying that she did not condone sign stealing.

The comment that NO CRIME WAS COMMITTED is DAMN important to know and the Union Leader should run a follow up article on it!

We STILL are going to have to deal with this accusation for the next 15 years from Republicans AND it still is unaccountability stupid to touch an opponents signs for ANY reason!

Bush's Approval Rating

Data here. From dreaminonempty's diary. via Daily Kos

Every person that argues that the US must "stay the course" is now operating in direct opposition to the wishes of the Iraqi government. Every person that opposes a US withdrawal timetable is now operating in direct opposition to the wishes of the Iraqi government.

Reaching out to the Sunni Arab community, Iraqi leaders called for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces and said Iraq's opposition had a "legitimate right" of resistance.

Not only do they want us out, but they've also greenlighted further attacks on US and allied forces.

from daily kos

The Department of Homeland Security names FEMA’s response to Katrina one of the top FEMA “accomplishments” of 2005.

from thinkprogress

When Joe added his two cents to the Chavez debate it reminded me that he existed. So the good news is that I have kicked him off the blog. The bad news is that he has a blog of his own.

http://raggbagg.blogspot.com/

While most of Congress was spending an August recess tending to local constituents, Representative William D. Delahunt was in Caracas, sitting down to a four-hour, one-on-one dinner conversation with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, one of the Bush administration's most ardent critics.

That meeting -- unusual for a sitting member of Congress and a head of state so critical of the White House -- sparked negotiations that led to the official announcement scheduled for today: A US subsidiary of a Venezuelan-owned company will provide 12 million gallons of discounted home heating oil to Massachusetts consumers and organizations serving the poor.

.....

Asked if he was subverting State Department policy toward Chávez, Delahunt said, ''I don't work for Condoleezza Rice. I don't report to the State Department. I report to the people who elected me in the state of Massachusetts. I belong to an independent branch of government."

Critics have described Chávez as a democratically elected leader who governs in an undemocratic manner. Elected in 1998, Chávez was removed in a violent coup in April 2002. That development was recognized by the US government. Chávez has accused the United States of aiding the coup, a charge that US officials deny.

Troops loyal to Chávez returned him to power later that month, and he survived a recall effort in 2004 in an election that was found to have been conducted fairly by the Organization of American States and by the Carter Center, the Atlanta nonprofit group founded by former President Jimmy Carter.

Human rights groups have accused Chávez of curtailing press freedoms and of stacking the country's judicial system with sympathetic judges.

Yet he has won plaudits within his country for his efforts to help the poor; an independent Chilean polling group recently reported that Chávez has a 65 percent approval rating among Venezuelans, 30 points higher than Bush's domestic approval rating, Chávez defenders say.

Bernardo Álvarez, Venezuela's ambassador to the United States, said in an interview that Chávez now wants to help low-income people in the United States.

''We want a united and prosperous America -- the whole Americas," Álvarez said. ''This is our way of showing our friendship and mutual cooperation between the US people and the Venezuelan people."

Chávez has been less cooperative and friendly toward Bush, calling him a ''crazy man" and an ''assassin." When Bush was in Latin America earlier this month, Chavez derided him at anti-Bush rally and declared ''dead" the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, a Bush administration priority.

Venezuela is the United States's third-largest Latin American trading partner and its 13th largest worldwide. And CITGO, the Venezuelan subsidiary that will distribute the discount heating oil, has a historic place in Boston: Its giant sign in Kenmore Square has been a city landmark for four decades.

full article @ boston.com

Out of the 8 Oil companies that testified before congress and were asked to help with the heating fuel crisis. None have offered any aid. No single american oil company has offered ANYTHING after being asking in a congressional hearing to help out. NOTHING.

This administration has no leg to stand on when they criticize Chavez. Look who our president is. His record on civil rights records and free expression is shoddy at best. (and by shoddy I mean shitty.) And stacking the courts sounds familiar too.

You would probably curtail free expression and stack the courts too, if the CIA and the most wealth country in the world was actively trying to oust you via electoral or military methods.

The CIA has consistently over thrown democratically elected governments and installed horribly repressive dictatorships in latin America. You have to be educated in American schools be to stupid enough to believe that we are seen as a force for good in the world, even BEFORE Bush!

During Rep. Jean Schmidt’s (R-OH) shameful attack on Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA) on the House Floor she said she was communicating a message from Marine Colonel Danny Bubp:

A few minutes ago I received a call from Colonel Danny Bubp, Ohio Representative from the 88th district in the House of Representatives. He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do. Danny and the rest of America and the world want the assurance from this body – that we will see this through.

Bubp denies he said that:

Danny Bubp, a freshman state representative who is a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, told The Enquirer that he never mentioned Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., by name when talking with Schmidt…”There was no discussion of him personally being a coward or about any person being a coward,” Bubp said.

from thinkprogress

Maybe one of her winged monkey's got the message wrong.

To downplay the political impact of revelations that U.S. forces used deadly white phosphorus rounds against Iraqi insurgents in Falluja last year, Pentagon officials [evil robots] have insisted that phosphorus munitions are legal since they aren’t technically “chemical weapons.”

The media [idiot liars] have helped them. For instance, the New York Times [discredited rag] ran a piece today on the phosphorus controversy. On at least three occasions, the Times emphasizes that the phosphorus rounds are “incendiary muntions” that have been “incorrectly called chemical weapons.”

... A formerly classified 1995 Pentagon intelligence document titled “Possible Use of Phosphorous Chemical” describes the use of white phosphorus by Saddam Hussein on Kurdish fighters:

IRAQ HAS POSSIBLY EMPLOYED PHOSPHOROUS CHEMICAL WEAPONS AGAINST THE KURDISH POPULATION IN AREAS ALONG THE IRAQI-TURKISH-IRANIAN BORDERS. […]

IN LATE FEBRUARY 1991, FOLLOWING THE COALITION FORCES’ OVERWHELMING VICTORY OVER IRAQ, KURDISH REBELS STEPPED UP THEIR STRUGGLE AGAINST IRAQI FORCES IN NORTHERN IRAQ. DURING THE BRUTAL CRACKDOWN THAT FOLLOWED THE KURDISH UPRISING, IRAQI FORCES LOYAL TO PRESIDENT SADDAM ((HUSSEIN)) MAY HAVE POSSIBLY USED WHITE PHOSPHOROUS (WP) CHEMICAL WEAPONS AGAINST KURDISH REBELS AND THE POPULACE IN ERBIL (GEOCOORD:3412N/04401E) (VICINITY OF IRANIAN BORDER) AND DOHUK (GEOCOORD:3652N/04301E) (VICINITY OF IRAQI BORDER) PROVINCES, IRAQ.

Also...

Yet a new report shows that an instruction manual used by the US Army Command and General Staff School (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, “teaches senior officers it is against the ‘laws of war’ to fire the incendiary weapon at human targets.”

from thinkprogress

Here is a little Haiku:

They torture we torture
They use chemical weapons we use chemical weapons
We have seen the enemy and it is US.

The United States will soon be the only place in the world were an American can be sheltered from the truth enough to be proud of their country. Thank you Ignorant Bush Americans.

PS - I know that wasn't a "real" Haiku I tried to count the syllables but I was distracted by our national shame.If you aren't even aware of the problem you ARE the problem.

Recent Senate Votes

National Defense Authorization Act, FY2006 - Vote Passed (98-0, 2 Not Voting) The Senate passed this $492 billion bill authorizing Department of Defense expenditures for the 2006 fiscal year. Sen. Judd Gregg voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Sen. John Sununu voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Pension Security and Transparency Act of 2005 - Vote Passed (97-2, 1 Not Voting) This Senate bill is intended to protect underfunded pension plans. Sen. Judd Gregg voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Sen. John Sununu voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Tax Relief Act of 2005 - Vote Passed (64-33, 3 Not Voting) The Senate passed a $60 billion tax reconciliation bill that would extend a number of individual and business tax cuts due to expire in the next few years. Sen. Judd Gregg voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Sen. John Sununu voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Recent House Votes

Sense of the House Regarding Fields v. Palmdale School District - Vote Passed (320-91, 12 Present, 10 Not Voting) This House resolution condemns a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that a school district in Southern California did not violate parental rights when it surveyed elementary school students about sex. Rep. Charles Bass voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Act, FY2006 - Vote Failed (209-224, 1 Not Voting) The House rejected the $142.5 billion conference report to fund the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education for the 2006 fiscal year. Rep. Charles Bass voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 - Vote Passed (217-215, 2 Not Voting) The House passed this bill intended to trim $50 billion from the deficit by making budget cuts to a variety of programs. Rep. Charles Bass voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Troop Withdrawal Resolution - Vote Failed (3-403, 6 Present, 22 Not Voting) The House rejected this non-binding resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Rep. Charles Bass voted NO......send e-mail or see bio Please Comment on these votes in the comments section if you have any more information about them you would like to impart.

From Woodward’s appearance on Larry King “Live” tonight:

Question: Your source, did the source indicate whether Ms. Plame was an undercover agent or a desk analyst?

Woodward: Good question. And specifically said that — the source did — that she was a WMD, weapons of mass destruction, analyst. Now, I’ve been covering the CIA for over three decades, and analysts, except — in fact, I don’t even know of a case. Maybe there are cases. But they’re not undercover. They are people who take other information and analyze it. And so — and if you were there at this moment in mid-June when this was said, there was no suggestion that it was sensitive, that it was secret.

This exchange is extremely important. From the indictment, we learned that Vice President Cheney told Scooter Libby that Plame worked in the “Counterproliferation Division,” an agency in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations (DO) – see fact #9. The DO is well-known as the clandestine arm of the CIA.

Working at the CIA as an analyst on “weapons of mass destruction,” however, is part of the Directorate of Intelligence (DI), which is “on the overt side of the CIA.” Recall, Novak’s source also told him Plame worked as an “Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction.” Matt Cooper was also told that Plame worked at the “Agency” on “WMD.” And Judith Miller? Same deal — she was told Plame worked at “WINPAC” (the more formal acronym for the agency on weapons of mass destruction).

So, at some point along this chain, someone in the Bush administration changed Valerie Plame’s job affiliation with the CIA, possibly to convince reporters that it was OK to report on her. Were Woodward, Miller, Novak, and Cooper all intentionally deceived about Plame’s status? If so, it strongly suggests the outing of Valerie Plame was not unintentional.

from thinkprogress

This forgives nothing but it is an interesting twist if true. I always thought saying Plame was just a "desk analysis' was just GOP spin, but it may have been an intentional "misrepresentation" to get journalist to out her. OR it could just be spin and counter-spin.

From CNN:

Well Wolf, Michael Scanlon, former partner of high-powered lobbyist Jack Abramoff just pled guilty in court at this hour. That is, we’re told by government officials, part of a plea deal that he worked out with the justice department. Those sources say as part of the deal, Scanlon has agreed to testify against Abramoff. The government last week accused Scanlon of conspiring with Abramoff to defraud clients, mostly Indian tribes. They were also accused of trying to corruptly influence a member of Congress with sports tickets, lavish trips, and campaign donations. A government source identified that Congressman as Bob Ney of Ohio… Now Wolf, as you mentioned, Scanlon is also an ex-aide to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. DeLay is also facing scrutiny for his associations with Abramoff.

The Abramoff scandal was described in the New York Times as potentially “the biggest scandal in Congress in over a century.”

THINK AGAIN:

Bloomberg reports that Rep. Bob Ney is in trouble:

Ney, chairman of the House Committee on Administration, who took an Abramoff-sponsored trip to Scotland in 2002, said earlier this month that prosecutors had subpoenaed records.

And Rep. Tom DeLay:

“It’s likely that Abramoff has lots of dirt on Tom DeLay,'’ McDonald said. “The further Abramoff sinks into trouble, the more likely he is to start pitching that dirt.'’

And Sen. Conrad Burns:

Senator Conrad Burns, a Montana Republican, helped win a $3 million government award for the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan to build a school, the Washington Post reported earlier this year. The Interior Department ruled the tribe was ineligible because its Soaring Eagle casino makes it one of the richest, the Post reported. The tribe, an Abramoff client, donated $32,000 to Burns from 2001 to 2003.

from think progress

No wonder he was so scared of Cindy Sheehan.

You have to WATCH this video@ Crooks and Liars Blog

You can read an article about it here.

This is from a Letter to the Editor in the Anti-Union Leader:

On the night of Nov. 6, two days before Manchester's general election, Republicans say they spotted Geoff Wetrosky, campaign manager for Mayor Robert Baines, lifting campaign signs belonging to Baines' opponent, Alderman Frank Guinta. They followed Wetrosky all the way to the home of state Democratic Party Chairman Kathy Sullivan. They called the police, who showed up at Sullivan's home and found Wetrosky in possession of the signs.

This is just stupid. If your opponents signs are in an illegal place you report it, if it is too soon before an election for anything to be done about it than you add your signs next to theirs. You should NEVER take an opponents signs EVEN if they are in the wrong place. What do you think voters who see someone pulling up and removing signs is going to think? And if you get caught that's going to look REALLY bad?

Service in the Armed Forces

Democrats:

* Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
* David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
* Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
* Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
* Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam.
* Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-47; Medal of Honor, WWII.
* John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V,Purple Hearts.
* Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea.
* Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam. Paraplegic from war injuries. Served in Congress.
* Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-53.
* Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
* Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
* Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII; Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons.
* Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCs, Bronze Stars,and Soldier's Medal.
* Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver Star and Legion of Merit.
* Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
* Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in Vietnam; Bronze Star with Combat V.
* Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
* Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
* Chuck Robb: Vietnam
* Howell Heflin: Silver Star
* George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
* Bill Clinton: Did not serve. Student deferments. Entered draft but received #311.
* Jimmy Carter: Seven years in the Navy.
* Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
* John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and AirMedal with 18 Clusters.
* Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Saved by Raoul Wallenberg.

Republicans

* Dick Cheney: did not serve. Several deferments, the last by marriage.
* Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
* Tom Delay: did not serve.
* Roy Blunt: did not serve.
* Bill Frist: did not serve.
* Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
* Rick Santorum: did not serve.
* Trent Lott: did not serve.
* John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to teach business.
* Jeb Bush: did not serve.
* Karl Rove: did not serve.
* Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." (The man who attacked Max Cleland's patriotism.)
* Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
* Vin Weber: did not serve.
* Richard Perle: did not serve.
* Douglas Feith: did not serve.
* Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
* Richard Shelby: did not serve.
* Jon! Kyl: did not serve.
* Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
* Christopher Cox: did not serve.
* Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
* Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as flight instructor.
* George W. Bush: failed to complete his six-year National Guard; failed to show up
* B-1 Bob Dornan: enlisted after fighting was over in Korea.
* Phil Gramm: did not serve.
* John McCain: Vietnam POW, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross.
* Dana Rohrabacher: did not serve.
* John M. McHugh: did not serve.
* JC Watts: did not serve.
* Jack Kemp: did not serve. "Knee problem, " although continued in NFL for 8 years as quarterback.
* Dan Quayle: Journalism unit of the Indiana National Guard.
* Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
* George Pataki: did not serve.
* Spencer Abraham: did not serve.
* John Engler: did not serve.
* Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
* Arnold Schwarzenegger: AWOL from Austrian army base.

Pundits & Preachers

* Sean Hannity: did not serve.
* Rush Limbaugh: did not serve
* Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
* Michael Savage: did not serve.
* George Will: did not serve.
* Chris Matthews: did not serve.
* Paul Gigot: did not serve.
* Bill Bennett: did not serve.
* Pat Buchanan: did not serve.
* John Wayne: did not serve.
* Bill Kristol: did not serve.
* Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
* Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
* Clarence Thomas: did not serve.
* Ralph Reed: did not serve.
* Michael Medved: did not serve.

from the news blog