DOD News Release(s) 4 Soldiers

U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060110-12286.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 024-06 January 10, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Spc. Clinton R. Upchurch, 31, of Garden City, Kansas, died in Samarra, Iraq, on Jan. 7, during patrol operations when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV and enemy forces attacked using small arms fire. Upchurch was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060110-12287.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 025-06 January 10, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. Radhames Camilomatos, 24, of Carolina, Puerto Rico, died in Taji, Iraq, on Jan. 7, from non-combat related injuries. Camilomatos was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060109-12283.html On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060109-12283.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 021-06 January 9, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DoD Identifies Army Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died in Umm Qasr, Iraq, on Jan. 7, when their HMMWV was hit by a civilian vehicle. Killed were: Sgt. Nathan R. Field, 23, of Lehigh, Iowa. Field was assigned to the Army Reserve's 4249th Port Security Company, Pocahontas, Iowa. Spc. Robert T. Johnson, 20, of Erwin, N.C. Johnson was assigned to the Army Reserve's 805th Military Police Company, Raleigh, N.C. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pig Boy Lies Twice in Same Week About Same Issue..

Boy, things must be getting awfully desperate for pig boy when he has to lie to his ditto-sheep about the same issue twice in the same week. Of course what choice does he have since his beloved Republican party in falling to pieces with all their scandals. And we know he, just like O'Reilly, reads Media Matters everyday so he knows he's lying. But, we also know pig boy and most of his sheep are pathological liars, now don't we?

Limbaugh again falsely claimed FISA court blocked search of Moussaoui's computer For the second time in a week, nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court denied the FBI a warrant to search the laptop computer of Zacarias Moussaoui. But in fact, the FBI never petitioned the court for a warrant after bureau attorneys determined they did not have sufficient evidence.

cutting back....

Mummified Body In Home 2 1/2 Years The mummified body of a woman who didn't want to be buried was found in a chair in front of her television set 2 1/2 years after her death, authorities said. Johannas Pope had told her live-in caregiver that she didn't want to be buried and planned on returning after she died, Hamilton County Coroner O'Dell Owens said Monday. Pope died in August 2003 at age 61. Her body was found last week in the upstairs of her home on a quiet street. Some family members continued to live downstairs, authorities said. No one answered the doorbell at Pope's home Monday afternoon.

It does sound like a fairly good way to save on funeral costs... Initial reports said that the air-conditioner was left on year round to help in the mummification process. (check out the air conditioner in the upstairs window)

OOOPS-Alito says Constitution protects the right to privacy

Alito Says Right to Privacy Is Protected by Constitution "Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. said today that the Constitution protects the right to privacy and that, if confirmed, he would approach the question of a woman's right to an abortion with "an open mind … absolutely." Mmmm, is Harriet still looking for a job......? "Senator, I do agree that the Constitution protects a right to privacy. And it protects the right to privacy in a number of ways," Alito told Specter

A Lot More Class than the Current Ass!

Clinton Surprises Returning U.S. Troops Former President Clinton Surprises Returning U.S. Troops During an Extended Stopover in Maine BANGOR, Maine - Former President Bill Clinton surprised U.S. troops arriving from Iraq when his refueling stop at the Bangor International Airport coincided with the arrival of two flights carrying soldiers. Clinton was returning Monday night from Paris where he had met with French President Jacques Chirac to discuss plans for his charitable organization, the Clinton Foundation. "Thank you for your service," Clinton said as he shook hands and hugged many of the soldiers. He autographed hats, cards and other items. The soldiers, about 600 of them, were returning to bases in Oklahoma, Texas and Georgia. Their two chartered aircraft had landed for fuel. "This is great," Staff Sgt. Anthony Thompson of New York City told the Bangor Daily News.

It was George Bush the Elder that installed the policy of not allowing our returning American military's caskets to be photographed and it was Bill Clinton who discontinued that policy. And, of course, it was the current classless idiot, George the Dumber who re-installed it. While Bill Clinton was greeting our men and woman returning from Iraq, it's been reported Bush was too busy riding his bicyle around Camp David.

Bremer & Powell come clean on the lies

More Rats scurrying from the ship "We're constantly reviewing their [the troops] needs. Troop strength now and in the future is determined by the situation on the ground. If additional forces are needed, I will send them". - Bush lying to the American public on 4/13/04 George Bush has made that statement numerous times and now we find out he was lying the whole time. L. Paul Bremer and Colin Powell have now come forward and admitted that Bush was lying and in fact, Bremer asked him personally to increase troop strength to 500,000 troops and Bush's reply? He'd try to get international troops to go to Iraq. All the Bush apologists are running out of excuses. They've always made their derogatory comments about the United Nations' troops and who was it that Bush was trying to get to relieve our troops? Instead of giving our leaders on the ground in Iraq the troops they needed, he refused to do it. And, what has it cost this country? Twenty-two hundred+ men and women and over $300 billion to date. Bush needs to tried for his lying and his war crimes and hopefully after the Democrats take over the Congress in November that justice will be served.

Bremer: Request for More Troops Was Ignored L. Paul Bremer III, who led the U.S. civilian occupation authority in Iraq after the 2003 invasion, said he had urged President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to increase postwar troop strength in the country, but his pleas were ignored. In an interview on NBC Television broadcast Sunday night, Bremer said he sent a memo to Rumsfeld suggesting that half a million soldiers would be needed, three times the number deployed by the Bush administration. "I never had any reaction from him," the former diplomat told NBC's Brian Williams on "Dateline." Although he never heard back from his direct boss, Bremer said he discussed his concerns with Bush, who told him he would seek troops from other countries, but did not mention increasing U.S. forces. Bremer thought the Pentagon painted a false picture of the capability of the Iraqi force that would take over when the Americans departed. "I raised my concerns about the numbers and quality of these [Iraqi] forces — really right from the beginning," he said. Asked why he did not go public with his concerns, Bremer defended what he considered his obligation to "tell the president what you think ... in private, through the appropriate channels, as I tried to do." Bremer's remarks echoed those he made in a 2004 speech, in which he said, "We never had enough troops on the ground" after the fall of Baghdad.

Powell admits errors in war He says lack of troops impeded U.S. success "The mistake in Iraq was not that the U.S. invaded, he said. It was that "we didn't have enough troops to take control on the ground" and didn't immediately impose martial law in order to protect the various ministries and infrastructure throughout Iraq".

Well, of course Powell is dead wrong about it not being a mistake to invade Iraq and everyone knows that. The fact that he does not have the integrity to admit it is not a surprise though. After all, Colin Powell was once a very admired man by a huge majority of the country and he'll never get that back because he allowed himself to be duped by the administration and because of him and those in the administration this country has lost so much.

Mark Warner, the country's next President?

'Mark Robert Warner, the businessman-turned-politician, faced an immense budget gap, a steep learning curve and a legislature happy to see him fail when he was inaugurated as Virginia's 69th governor in 2002. Over the next four years, he slashed the state's budget, stumbled repeatedly, proposed two tax increases -- and wound up as one of the most popular governors in the commonwealth's history. In November, Virginians chose a successor who campaigned as the second coming of Mark Warner'.

It's along time to 2008 but hopefully someone like Mark Warner, or Russ Feingold can make Hillary a life-long Senator.

DOD News Release(s) 3 Marines 3 Soldiers

U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060107-12279.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 018-06 January 7, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lt. Col. Michael E. McLaughlin, 44, of Mercer, Pa., died in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, on Jan. 5, when he was conducting a dismounted patrol at an Iraqi police recruiting station and an individual-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his position. McLaughlin was assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Washington, Pa. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060109-12280.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 019-06 January 9, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DoD Identifies Marine Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of three Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. Adam L. Cann, 23, of Davie, Fla. Cpl. Albert P. Gettings, 27, of New Castle, Pa. Lance Cpl. Ryan S. McCurdy, 20, of Baton Rouge, La. Cann was killed in action Jan. 5 by a suicide bomb attack on an Iraqi police recruitment center in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to Security Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). Gettings and McCurdy died Jan. 5 from wounds received as a result of enemy small-arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Fallujah, Iraq. Gettings was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. McCurdy was assigned to Headquarters Company, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060109-12283.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 021-06 January 9, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DoD Identifies Army Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died in Umm Qasr, Iraq, on Jan. 7, when their HMMWV was hit by a civilian vehicle. Killed were: Sgt. Nathan R. Field, 23, of Lehigh, Iowa. Field was assigned to the Army Reserve's 4249th Port Security Company, Pocahontas, Iowa. Spc. Robert T. Johnson, 20, of Erwin, N.C. Johnson was assigned to the Army Reserve's 805th Military Police Company, Raleigh, N.C. -------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Spreading Democracy"?

Our military is taking on the ways of the Republicans in the White House. During these times of spying on citizens, making people take loyalty oaths to attend public rallies, and paying off journalists to make up false stories to sell their lies, I guess it's not surprising that our military thinks their actions have anything to with 'democracy'. When you have poor role models for what democracy should be, this is the results you'll end up with. I'm sure the Iraqi people look at us as great examples of guardians of freedom of the press....

US Troops Seize Award-Winning Iraqi Journalist American troops in Baghdad yesterday blasted their way into the home of an Iraqi journalist working for the Guardian and Channel 4, firing bullets into the bedroom where he was sleeping with his wife and children. Ali Fadhil, who two months ago won the Foreign Press Association young journalist of the year award, was hooded and taken for questioning. He was released hours later.

The Real Cost of Bush's War

...And, he's not done yet.

Experts Say Iraq War Will Cost $1 Trillion A new study by a Nobel Prize-winning economist and a budget expert puts the total cost of the Iraq War at $1 trillion to $2 trillion. In a paper presented to this week's Allied Social Sciences Association annual meeting in Boston, Linda Bilmes of Harvard and Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz of Columbia University said the final bill is likely to be much higher than the Bush administration estimates. The study includes the cost of disability payments and health care for the over 16,000 injured military personnel -- one-fifth of whom have serious brain or spinal injuries. Stiglitz and Bilmes also analyzed the costs to the economy, including the economic value of lives lost and higher oil prices.

Add that to the $2.5 trillion in debt that he's on target to add by the time he's through his 8 years of pillaging this country. Stand up Republicans and take a bow. And bend over and grab your ankles while you're at it.

Dick Cheney Rushed to Hospital

Is there any word yet from Pat Robertson on what God is trying to signal to us about this?

Vice President Dick Cheney was hospitalized early this morning after suffering from shortness of breath, but doctors ruled out any recurrence of his long-standing heart problems, according to a statement issued by his office.

Initial reports say that Cheney's problem stems from the foot that has been giving him trouble. And yes, it's the same foot that he's always sticking in his mouth.

"philo-Semitism"

They can call it what they want but the bottom line is, evangelical Christians who pretend in public to love and care so much for Jews and Israel, are taught from day one that Jews will burn in hell. All of us 'Christians' are taught that if you don't 'accept' Jesus as the savior then you won't have 'eternal life'. If it's not eternal life, than it's eternity on the rotisserie, pal. And, don't give me any of that 'limbo' or purgatory bullshit either because these wacked-out evangelicals don't believe in that bullshit either. So when Pat Robertson, Jimmy Swaggert, James Dobson or this previously unknown fool here, 'Rev. Lamarr Mooneyham', try to act like they're all concerned about Israel and the Middle East-they're not worried about the Jews themselves but the land they're sitting on. Just thought you'd want to know that-not that you didn't already...

Among Evangelicals, A Kinship With Jews Some Skeptical of Growing Phenomenon "Everyone who worships at the Tabernacle quickly learns three facts about its deeply conservative pastor. He comes from a broken home. He rides a canary-yellow Harley. And he loves the Jews. There is some murmuring about the motorcycle. But the 2,500 members of this Bible-believing, tradition-respecting Southern Baptist church in southern Virginia have embraced everything else about the Rev. Lamarr Mooneyham. Out of his painful childhood experiences, Mooneyham, 57, preaches passionately about the importance of home. Out of his reading of the Bible, he preaches with equal passion about God's continuing devotion to the Jewish people. "I feel jealous sometimes. This term that keeps coming up in the Old Book -- the Chosen, the Chosen," says the minister, who has made three trips to Israel and named his sons Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. "I'm a pardoned gentile, but I'm not one of the Chosen People. They're the apple of his eye."

2,206

2,206

Blackhawk Crash in Iraq Kills All 12 Aboard

5 marines were also killed fighting insurgents "An American UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter went down in northern Iraq late Saturday, killing all 12 aboard, and 5 marines were killed in fighting with insurgents throughout central Iraq over the weekend, the military reported today. The helicopter, carrying eight passengers and four crew members, went down in a sparsely populated region about seven miles east of Tal Afar just before midnight, the military said. Officials said the dead were probably all Americans, but they did not say whether any were civilians. "All I can say at this time is that they are all believed to be U.S. citizens," a military spokesman, Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, said".

While the Iraqi security forces practice parade marching and refuse to 'stand on their own', Americans keep dying for Bush's lies. It's way past time for not only the troops to come home but for the Iraqis to fight for their own freedom. But, why should they fight for their own freedom when we have an administration that has no problem with sacrificing our young men and women for such a needless cause?

Going against the Constitution

"No member of the Senate who takes seriously the oath they have sworn to defend the Constitution will vote to confirm judicial activist Samuel Alito's nomination to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court".

Ignorant people often quote James Madison without even realizing they are espousing views that are the exact opposite of what he called for.

Hugh Thompson, My Lai massacre hero, dies

Hugh Thompson, a former US Army helicopter pilot honoured for rescuing Vietnamese civilians from his fellow soldiers during the My Lai massacre, died early yesterday. He was 62. Thompson, whose role in the 1968 massacre did not become widely known until decades later, died at the Veterans Affairs Medical Centre in Alexandria, hospital spokesman Jay DeWorth said. Trent Angers, Thompson’s biographer and family friend, said Thompson died of cancer. “These people were looking at me for help and there was no way I could turn my back on them,” Thompson recalled in a 1998 interview. Early in the morning of March 16, 1968, Thompson, door-gunner Lawrence Colburn and crew chief Glenn Andreotta came upon US ground troops killing Vietnamese civilians in and around the village of My Lai. They landed the helicopter in the line of fire between American troops and fleeing Vietnamese civilians and pointed their own guns at the US soldiers to prevent more killings. Colburn and Andreotta had provided cover for Thompson as he went forward to confront the leader of the US forces. Thompson later coaxed civilians out of a bunker so they could be evacuated, and then landed his helicopter again to pick up a wounded child they transported to a hospital. Their efforts led to the cease-fire order at My Lai. My Lai massacre

Comedic Reactions to Delay

Republican comedy hour

"My belief is that Tom will eventually be cleared and exonerated, and my hope is that our conference will one day again benefit from Tom's rare commitment to the principles of smaller government and freedom for which all Republicans fight."- Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who is considered likely to seek the job of majority leader. "My good friend Tom DeLay has made a very difficult decision. ... It is my firm belief that he will beat these baseless charges and will continue to be a strong, effective and committed leader in our efforts to protect our country, limit the scope of government, and win the battle of ideas. ... I know Tom's legacy as one of the most effective Republican leaders in history is assured." - Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo, the GOP whip who temporarily has filled in for DeLay and is likely to run for the job.

'Committed to smaller and limited government'? Are these two guys joking? Tom Delay committed to smaller government? What a bunch of bullshit! Delay has sat around cheerleading while George Bush has driven this country's federal budget into the ground. When Bill Clinton left office in 2001 the federal budget was $1.863 trillion. This year's federal budget, under all Republicans and led in the House by Delay, will be $2.6 trillion+. Bush and the rest of these phony-conservatives have added over $1.3 trillion to the nation's debt in their first 4 years in office. That's what Republicans call 'smaller' government. That, by the way, is not new with Bush the Dumber. Ronald Reagan and Bush the Elder did the exact same thing. Neither of them ever came close to balancing a budget and they both averaged nearly $400 billion in deficits every year they were in office. Those three presidents are directly responsible for over 90% of our $8 trillion national debt! And, 'limited' government? You would have one hell of a time convincing someone like Michael Schivao that Tom Delay or any Republican, are for 'limited' government. And, it's not a 'limited' government when you needlessly invade another country that costs you 2,300 lives and $300-400 billion! There's nothing limited about that! Those types of quotes by those two idiots, who just so happen to be the two men who will vie to replace Delay as majority leader, are not only ridiculously laughable but they're also a big part of what's wrong with this country. You see, the Republican base (and believe me, I know this very well personally because I deal with some of these fools everyday who are totally clueless to reality) are ignorant to what are the facts. A lot of them do not read and they get most of their information from Oxycotin Pig-Boy and Fox News so they go around spouting off about being for 'smaller' and 'limited' government when they know nothing about what they're talking about. But there was one quote in this article that is right on the money. And, of course, it comes from a Democrat who calls a spade a spade;

"For years, at the expense of the American people, the House Republicans have enabled and benefited from the Republican culture of corruption engineered by Tom DeLay. The culture of corruption is so pervasive in the Republican conference that a single person stepping down is not nearly enough to clean up the Republican Congress." - House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

Detroiters Show Some Class

Homeless people to get Super Bowl party Organizers say it's not just a quick fix Detroit's homeless people won't be left out of the NFL experience during Super Bowl weekend. In fact, they'll be invited to a party. So says Chad Audi, chief executive officer of the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, which will open its activities center at 138 Stimson to the city's homeless people Feb. 3-5, with four big-screen televisions inside for people to watch Super Bowl coverage. They also will get food and clothes and talk to providers about long-term care. "Our goal, first of all, is to treat them with respect," Audi said. "We want to let them enjoy the game like everyone else." The three-day party -- which will be from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Feb. 3 and 4 and from 8 a.m. until the game concludes Feb. 5 -- coincides with a ramped-up effort to get homeless people into shelters across the city with so many out-of-towners, not to mention international media, in the city for the game.

United States receiving foreign aid

While Republicans in Congress vote to cut heating aid to the poor and other aid to the poor and college students, Hugo Chavez, an alleged communist, continues to do his part in helping the needy in our country. That must be what they mean when they say 'compassionate conservatism, huh? Republicans embarrass us.

'Venezuela said Friday it will expand a program to provide discounted home heating oil to low-income Americans, bringing savings to some Indian tribes in Maine. Venezuelan-owned Citgo Petroleum Corp. has already begun selling cheaper fuel in some areas of Massachusetts and New York City as part of a plan by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to aid poor communities that he claims are neglected by Washington. Chavez's opponents accuse him of using Venezuela's oil wealth to win friends while trying to one-up President Bush, a frequent focus of his verbal attacks. But Chavez's supporters defend the heating oil program as another example of a generous deed by a president leading a socialist revolution for the poor. Bernardo Alvarez, Venezuela's ambassador to the US, said he will sign an agreement next week with the Penobscot, Micmac, Passamaquoddy, and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians to provide the cheaper heating oil. "The Penobscot Nation is very grateful," tribal chief James Sappier said by phone from the reservation near Bangor, Maine. "This is probably one of the greatest decisions for our tribe in years."

Bugman hammered

Delay will be losing a lot more than just the majority leader position and in fact will be sharing a bunk with 'Bubba' about this time next year. The sweet smell of justice is permeating the air...... DeLay quits bid to regain post Tom DeLay agreed Saturday to relinquish his quest to return to power, paving the way for a fresh Republican majority leader as the party fights to maintain control of the House in the midterm election year. The hammer got hammered... the exterminator got exterminated....One down and few more to go....

He shouldn't have the ability to be spouting off

If Bush and Tommy Franks had finished the job in Afghanistan instead of foolishly leading us into the unnecessary debacle in Iraq, Zawahiri would not be able to be taunting us now. This is just another clear example of what a miserable failure Bush has been.

In Video, Al Qaeda's No. 2 Tells Bush to Admit Defeat in Iraq Al Qaeda's second-in-command said President Bush had admitted defeat in Iraq by announcing plans to reduce the American troop presence in the country, saying the move would be a victory for Islam. Ayman Zawahiri's videotaped remarks, broadcast on al-Jazeera television Friday, came after two days of suicide bombings in Iraq killed almost 200 people, 11 of them U.S. soldiers. Al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq is widely believed to have been behind the deadliest of the attacks. "Bush, you must admit that you have been defeated in Iraq and that you are being defeated in Afghanistan and that you will soon be defeated in Palestine," Zawahiri said, according to a translation of his statement by the Washington-based SITE Institute. Zawahiri, an Egyptian who is al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant, warned Americans that "as long as you do not deal with Muslim nations with understanding and respect, you will still go from one disaster to another. And your calamity will not end, unless you leave our lands and stop stealing our resources and stop supporting the bad rulers in our countries." News services quoted U.S. officials as saying the tape was probably authentic.

A good reason why Murtha said what he said

Jack Murtha, a 37 year highly decorated Marine, when asked if he would join the military now if he had it to do all over again said, 'NO' he wouldn't. The outcry, which was mostly from people who have never served their country, went ballistic. Well, here's a good reason why anyone who is thinking about joining the military while George Bush and Don Rumsfeld are running it would be an outright fool to do so. If you think Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest of these traitors in the administration give a damn about your sons and daughters who serve our country, you had better wake up and buy yourself a clue.

Pentagon Study Links Fatalities to Body Armor 'A secret Pentagon study has found that as many as 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to the upper body could have survived if they had had extra body armor. Such armor has been available since 2003, but until recently the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops despite calls from the field for additional protection, according to military officials. The ceramic plates in vests now worn by the majority of troops in Iraq cover only some of the chest and back. In at least 74 of the 93 fatal wounds that were analyzed in the Pentagon study of marines from March 2003 through June 2005, bullets and shrapnel struck the marines' shoulders, sides or areas of the torso where the plates do not reach. Thirty-one of the deadly wounds struck the chest or back so close to the plates that simply enlarging the existing shields "would have had the potential to alter the fatal outcome," according to the study, which was obtained by The New York Times. For the first time, the study by the military's medical examiner shows the cost in lives from inadequate armor, even as the Pentagon continues to publicly defend its protection of the troops '.

America, you need to extract your heads from these Republican traitors' asses. They don't care about your children and their children are out running the bars and sitting on their pompous asses safely at home.

Oxycotin Pig-Boy Lying to his Ditto-Idiots Again

Limbaugh repeated Moussaoui myth to wrongly criticize FISA judges Summary: Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court prevented the FBI from accessing the laptop computer of Zacarias Moussaoui -- the alleged "20th hijacker" in the September 11, 2001, terrorist plot -- immediately prior to the attacks. In fact, the Moussaoui case never reached the FISA court.

Is there any wonder why those who get their information from the Republicans' favorite drug addict are the dumbest and most misinformed people in the country? There shouldn't be.

Of course it's Illegal

Report Rebuts Bush on Spying

'A report by Congress's research arm concluded yesterday that the administration's justification for the warrantless eavesdropping authorized by President Bush conflicts with existing law and hinges on weak legal arguments. The Congressional Research Service's report rebuts the central assertions made recently by Bush and Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales about the president's authority to order secret intercepts of telephone and e-mail exchanges between people inside the United States and their contacts abroad. The findings, the first nonpartisan assessment of the program's legality to date, prompted Democratic lawmakers and civil liberties advocates to repeat calls yesterday for Congress to conduct hearings on the monitoring program and attempt to halt it. The 44-page report said that Bush probably cannot claim the broad presidential powers he has relied upon as authority to order the secret monitoring of calls made by U.S. citizens since the fall of 2001. Congress expressly intended for the government to seek warrants from a special Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court before engaging in such surveillance when it passed legislation creating the court in 1978, the CRS report said'.

You do not need a 'nonpartisan assessment' to determine that Bush's wiretapping of American citizens without a warrant is 'illegal'. All you have to do is simply read the law that even the most simple-minded people should be able to comprehend. Even Republicans.

Eating their own...

Rebels in G.O.P. Call for DeLay to Be Replaced "A rebellious band of House Republicans moved Friday to bar Representative Tom DeLay of Texas from regaining his position as majority leader, demanding a vote to replace him permanently at the top of the party hierarchy. Acting in the wake of Tuesday's guilty plea to corruption charges by the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, once a close ally of Mr. DeLay, Representatives Jeff Flake of Arizona and Charles Bass of New Hampshire began circulating a petition on Friday to collect 50 signatures needed to call a party leadership election. By midafternoon, they had commitments from about two dozen lawmakers, aides said. "Rightly or wrongly, Mr. DeLay is seen as the public face of Washington, and it is not healthy right now," Mr. Flake said. "We need a course correction."

This country will finally get its groove back once we get the Republican majority out of power and Americans are finally starting to wake up to that. With Bush in the White House and Republican majorities in both houses of Congress we've not only ruined the country financially but we've lost respect from every country in the world. If Democrats can regain the majority in Congress this November, which is doable but will be a stiff challenge, we can impeach Bush for his war crimes and start back on road to getting the country back to the solid position financially and with world-wide respect, Bill Clinton left us with, 5 long years ago.

DOD News Release(s) 11 Soldiers

U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060106-12278.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 017-06 January 6, 2006 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DoD Identifies Army Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 5, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during convoy operations. Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga. Killed were: Sgt. Jason Lopezreyes, 29, of Hatillo, Puerto Rico. Spc. Ryan D. Walker, 25, of Stayton, Ore. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060106-12277.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 016-06 January 6, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- DoD Identifies Army Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of five soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died in An Najaf, Iraq, on Jan. 5, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during convoy operations. The soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. Killed were: Maj. William F. Hecker, III, 37, of St. Louis, Mo. Capt. Christopher P. Petty, 33, of Vienna, Va. Sgt. 1st Class Stephen J. White, 39, of Talladega, Ala. Sgt. Johnny J. Peralez, Jr., 25, of Kingsville, Texas. Pvt. Robbie M. Mariano, 21, of Stockton, Calif. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060103-12257.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 006-06 January 3, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Spc. Prince K. Teewia, 27, of Durham, N.C., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 29, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. Teewia was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060103-12260.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 008-06 January 3, 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. 1st Class Shawn C. Dostie, 32, of Granite City, Ill., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 30, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during patrol operations. Dostie was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060103-12256.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 005-06 January 3, 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Staff Sgt. Ayman A. Taha, 31, of Vienna, Va., died in Balad, Iraq, on Dec. 30, when he was preparing a munitions cache for demolition and the cache exploded. Taha was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, Fort Campbell, Ky. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060103-12261.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 009-06 January 3, 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. 1st Class Jason L. Bishop, 31, of Williamstown, Ky., died in As Siniyah, Iraq, on Jan. 1, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during patrol operations. Bishop was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't you hate it when that happens?

U.S. says bomb hit wrong house in Iraq Strike aimed at insurgents killed 6 family members A bomb that killed six civilians Monday near Baiji, Iraq, missed its target by 65 feet (20 meters) and hit the wrong home, military officials said. The bomb, which was dropped by a U.S. fighter plane, was aimed at a building that three men entered after planting a roadside bomb as an unmanned surveillance plane watched from overhead, the officials said. A U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat fighter jet strafed the building before the bomb was dropped, according to a U.S. military statement released after the nighttime attack.

Coming Home to Roost

"If they don't produce enough income to support their security forces, members of those forces could turn to ulterior purposes and could become militias or armed gangs." We'll train them, we'll arm them and then they'll turn their weapons against us. A 'democracy in the Middle East"...The people in this country who fell for that are ignorant fools who don't deserve to be heard any longer. I've told you that for three years and I won't let you forget how stupid you turned out to be and how I've been right every step of the way...

"The top American operational commander in Iraq has offered a sober assessment of the hurdles facing a new Iraqi government, voicing concerns that sectarian rivalries and incompetence could cripple major ministries and turn newly American-trained Iraqi security forces into militias for hire. The commander, Lt. Gen. John R. Vines of the Army, warned in an interview on Wednesday that the development of the Defense and Interior Ministries that sustain Iraqi security forces lags behind the fielding and prowess of more than 220,000 Iraqi soldiers and police officers. ...General Vines said the fact that Iraqis voted in such large numbers on Dec. 15 was uplifting, but he lamented that the balloting broke down largely along religious and ethnic lines. "The vote is reported to be primarily along sectarian lines, which is not particularly heartening," he said. "There was enormous enthusiasm for the election. But it must be a government by and for Iraqis, not sects. I don't think we can know that yet."

Demand Bush Bring Them Home!!

11 U.S. Troops Killed in One Day in Iraq The U.S. military on Friday announced the deaths of six more American troops killed in the recent barrage of violence that has swept Iraq, bringing to 11 the number of troops killed on the same day.

The Republicans' #1 Preacher Talks to his Flock

Republicans and social conservative's most beloved man of God, Pat Robertson, has once again stuck his foot firmly in his mouth. Of course, the vast majority of them feel the exact same way and the scary part? They actually believe it.

"Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson on his television program Thursday linked Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke to God's "enmity against those who 'divide my land.' " "He was dividing God's land and I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the EU (European Nation), the United Nations, or the United States of America," Robertson said on "The 700 Club," broadcast from his Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach. "God says 'this land belongs to me. You better leave it alone.' "

Poor George, "They Don't Tell Him Anything"

Poor George, he's really just a figure-head and because he is so stupid, he's always the last one to 'get it'. A national and a world-wide disgrace because of his total ignorance, those around him are constantly having to correct him. He's such an embarrassment-I'm almost beginning to feel sorry for him..... Well, not really...

'My theory is that they don't tell him anything, that's why the president keeps sounding like he doesn't know what he's talking about. There he was at Brooke Army Medical Center over the weekend, once again getting it wrong: "I can say that if somebody from al-Qaida's calling you, we'd like to know why. In the meantime, this program is conscious of people's civil liberties, as am I. This is a limited program ... I repeat, limited. And it's limited to calls from outside the United States, to calls within the United States." So then the White House had to go back and explain that, well, no, actually, the National Security Agency's domestic spying program is not limited to calls from outside the United States, or to calls from people known or even suspected of being with al-Qaida. Turns out thousands of Americans and resident foreigners have been or are being monitored and recorded by the NSA. It's more like information-mining, which is what, you may recall, the administration said it would not do. But now Bush has to investigate The New York Times because Bush has been breaking the law, you see? I really don't think he'd sound like an idiot if they kept him informed. He would, however, still sound like a kid trying to get out of trouble by tattling on something Billy did.

The Dumbass in the Middle

Bush called in former Defense Secretaries and Secretaries of State to get their input on Iraq. Problem is the dumbest person in the room is 2,187 dead, 15,955 wounded and $300+ billion too late in seeking their advice. And, Colin Powell sat 'silent'? Of course he did. He's the most embarrassed man in the country for allowing himself to be used like the fool he turned out to be. Can you imagine what all those dignitaries thought sitting around listening to such an idiot like George Bush? Classic.

"Colin Powell said nothing - a silence that spoke volumes to many in the White House today".

How's that new democracy coming along?

Iraq Blasts Kill at Least 130 Iraqis, 5 U.S. Soldiers

'Separate acts of violence across Iraq Thursday claimed at least 130 Iraqi lives and killed five U.S. soldiers, according to officials and eyewitnesses. The deaths brought the brutal two-day toll of fatalities to at least 189. The five U.S. troops died as a result of a single blast from an improvised explosive device, the military said. The soldiers were on patrol in the Baghdad area, according to a military news release, which provided no further details'.

You know we wouldn't be having all these problems in Iraq if only the 'liberal' (sic) media would stop reporting what's actually happening. It's the media's fault. That's what the ignorant sheep want you to believe anyway. Of course, that's why they're sheep.

'Marlboro Man' in Iraq War Photo Suffers from PTSD

Lance Cpl. Blake Miller So whatever happened to Lance Cpl. Blake Miller -- the U.S. Marine pictured as a kind of war-weary "Marlboro Man" in one of the most widely published iconic images of the Iraq war? The 2004 photograph by Luis Sinco of the Los Angeles Times showing Miller, face dirty under a helmet, a cigarette dangling from his lips, went around the world and back again, hitting front pages everywhere. Now Miller, of Jonancy, Ky., is a civilian "and is having trouble adjusting to civilian life," CBS News reports. Back home, he got married in June, but on duty during the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, Miller suffered from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and was granted an honorable discharge from the Marines in November. "The more and more I talk to [other guys], the more I found out there were a lot of Marines that are going through same or similar emotions. It's tough to deal with. Being in Iraq is something no one wants to talk about."

The Pimping of the Presidency

Jack Abramoff and Grover Norquist Billing Clients for Face Time with G.W. Bush

Four months after he took the oath of office in 2001, President George W. Bush was the attraction, and the White House the venue, for a fundraiser organized by the alleged perpetrator of the largest billing fraud in the history of corporate lobbying. In May 2001, Jack Abramoff’s lobbying client book was worth $4.1 million in annual billing for the Greenberg Traurig law firm. He was a friend of Bush advisor Karl Rove. He was a Bush “Pioneer,” delivering at least $100,000 in bundled contributions to the 2000 campaign. He had just concluded his work on the Bush Transition Team as an advisor to the Department of the Interior. He had sent his personal assistant Susan Ralston to the White House to work as Rove’s personal assistant. He was a close friend, advisor, and high-dollar fundraiser for the most powerful man in Congress, Tom DeLay. Abramoff was so closely tied to the Bush Administration that he could, and did, charge two of his clients $25,000 for a White House lunch date and a meeting with the President. From the same two clients he took to the White House in May 2001, Abramoff also obtained $2.5 million in contributions for a non-profit foundation he and his wife operated. The White House press office has not responded to our questions about other visits Jack Abramoff might have made to the White House or about Norquist using the official residence of the President to raise funds for Americans for Tax Reform. None of the political contributions Abramoff insisted the tribes make as yet have been returned.

Jack Abramoff has had over 200 meeting at the White House since Bush took office and Bush wants us to believe he didn't know Jack Abramoff. Yeah-sure, Dumbya. You tried to tell us at one time that you didn't know 'Kenny Boy' Lay either until all the photos and personal letters between the two of you were released. The most corrupt administration in history is being exposed. See you in November.

Like Rats Jumping From the Ship

Bush and Others Shed Donations Tied to Lobbyist

President Bush and senior Republican lawmakers moved on Wednesday to dump thousands of dollars in campaign donations from Jack Abramoff, the former lobbyist, hastily distancing themselves as he pleaded guilty to two more criminal counts under his agreement with prosecutors. Mr. Bush will donate $6,000, the amount he received from Mr. Abramoff, Mr. Abramoff's wife and a lobbying client in his re-election campaign in 2004, to the American Heart Association, a spokesman said. The former House majority leader Tom DeLay, Republican of Texas, and his successor, Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, also announced plans to give away campaign cash related to Mr. Abramoff. "The funds were donated in full compliance with federal law and disclosed properly and publicly," said a spokeswoman for Mr. DeLay, Shannon Flaherty. After months of insisting that there was nothing wrong with his alliance with Mr. Abramoff, with whom he traveled repeatedly overseas, Mr. DeLay decided to return $15,000 in donations that flowed from Mr. Abramoff. Mr. Abramoff's "admission of guilt and improper actions warranted our action to make something positive come of all this by donating the money to local charities rather than retaining it," Ms. Flaherty said.

So now all of a sudden these guys are scurrying like rats trying to distance themselves from Abramoff. Little late, don't you think? If you take stolen property from a thief or you take part of a bank robber's take, do you get a free pass by giving the proceeds to charity when you get caught? I smell an awful lot of rats. Isn't it funny how George Bush and all of his sheep now try to act like Abramoff, a former president of the College Republicans and a man who gave $120,000 to Bush/Cheney just last year, is an 'equal money dispenser' to both parties? Abramoff NEVER gave a dime of his personal money to a Democrat. Not a dime. Time to clean house. Bush and the Republicans are far too deep into this to allow the U.S. Justice Department to handle all these crooks. The public needs to demand an independent investigation into the Republicans 'culture of corruption'.

His death "was a waste"

Lance Cpl. Edward "Augie" Schroeder II By Paul E. Schroeder

'Early on Aug. 3, 2005, we heard that 14 Marines had been killed in Haditha, Iraq. Our son, Lance Cpl. Edward "Augie" Schroeder II, was stationed there. At 10:45 a.m. two Marines showed up at our door. After collecting himself for what was clearly painful duty, the lieutenant colonel said, "Your son is a true American hero." ...Since August we have witnessed growing opposition to the Iraq war, but it is often whispered, hands covering mouths, as if it is dangerous to speak too loudly. Others discuss the never-ending cycle of death in places such as Haditha in academic and sometimes clinical fashion, as in "the increasing lethality of improvised explosive devices." ...I am outraged at what I see as the cause of his death. For nearly three years, the Bush administration has pursued a policy that makes our troops sitting ducks. While Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that our policy is to "clear, hold and build" Iraqi towns, there aren't enough troops to do that. In our last conversation, Augie complained that the cost in lives to clear insurgents was "less and less worth it," because Marines have to keep coming back to clear the same places. Marine commanders in the field say the same thing. Without sufficient troops, they can't hold the towns. Augie was killed on his fifth mission to clear Haditha. ...Though it hurts, I believe that his death -- and that of the other Americans who have died in Iraq -- was a waste. They were wasted in a belief that democracy would grow simply by removing a dictator -- a careless misunderstanding of what democracy requires. They were wasted by not sending enough troops to do the job needed in the resulting occupation -- a careless disregard for professional military counsel. But their deaths will not be in vain if Americans stop hiding behind flag-draped hero masks and stop whispering their opposition to this war. Until then, the lives of other sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers may be wasted as well'.

Sure, all the Bush-apologists, most of whom have never served our country of course, will now call Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder, 'terrorist sympathizers', 'traitors' and they'll certainly use their favorite line for those who dare speak the truth, 'they're dishonoring their son's sacrifice'. But, who cares what they think? Please read all of Mr. Schroeder's letter.

U.S. Troops Draw Up Own Exit Strategy

Staff Sgt. Cornelius Woods debriefs Pfc. Jack Colin

Citing the Bush Administration's ongoing refusal to provide a timetable for withdrawal, the U.S. troops stationed in Iraq have devised their own exit strategy. "My marines are the best-trained, best-equipped, most homesick fighting force in the world," said Staff Sgt. Cornelius Woods. "Just give us the order, and we will commandeer every available vehicle to execute a flanking maneuver on the airstrips of Mosul. By this time tomorrow, we will have retaken our positions at our families' dinner tables in full force." In a striking rebuke of the assertions of the Pentagon and the White House that a swift exit is neither practical nor possible, soldiers of varying rank have outlined a straightforward plan of immediate disengagement, dubbed "Operation Screw This." "We kicked around several withdrawal scenarios in our barracks, but ultimately settled on the idea of getting out of here as soon as possible," said Maj. Brian Garcia, who is on his third tour of duty in Iraq. Supporters of the Iraq war say the reconstruction of politically and economically devastated Iraq will take decades, and the gradual process of departure will begin only after a lengthy occupation. "I'm familiar with the 'years of occupation to facilitate reconstruction' theory," said Army Spc. Megan Beaulieu. "However, virtually every soldier I know—including myself—gives more credence to the successful Dutch and Spanish approach of 'we've done all we can here, let's move out.'" She added: "Apache helicopters could rendezvous with us in Fallujah. If we left our supplies behind, we could be out of here in 15 minutes." "I served in South Korea and Germany," said Capt. Barry Graves of the Maryland National Guard, a Vietnam veteran who at 57 was called back into service last year. "I still carry shrapnel in my leg from Khe Sanh. Is it time to go home yet?" A recent ABC News poll found that the American people are split on the exit strategy. A University of Baghdad survey, however, finds that the exit strategy has the support of approximately 99.3 percent of the Iraqi population. Pfc. Barbara Terland expressed the sentiment of many soldiers and Iraqis. "If the real reason we're here is to let the Iraqis run their own country, I have the perfect solution: my ass on a plane to St. Louis."

I didn't know that-Should have figured it though

I didn't know ol' Jack Abramoff was a Bush "Pioneer". Of course not many people know he worked on Reagan's campaigns either. I wonder if this will turn out to be more scandalous than Bill Clinton getting a blowjob or not? "Abramoff during the Bush administration became the most influential lobbyist in the country; in 2004 he was a Bush "Pioneer," raising over $100,000 for Dubya's re-election". Here's what our pathological lying president said about Jack Abramoff 2 weeks ago; Abramoff seems to have been "an equal money dispenser". Lying sack of shit.

Winning their hearts and minds

Hey, no biggie. As they used to say in Nam, kill them all-let God separate them! Oh, that's right, they won't see "God". But what the heck, war is hell after all even if it is an unnecessary war. Jesus is an aMurican and he understands! U.S. Air Strike Kills Iraqi Family of 12 'A U.S. air strike that Americans said was directed at suspected bombers killed a family of 12 in their home north of Baghdad Monday night, Iraqi officials said Tuesday. A Washington Post special correspondent watched as rescuers removed the bodies of women and children still in their nightclothes. Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, confirmed the air strike in the Baiji area, about 155 miles north of the capital, but said he had no immediate information on casualties'.

Calling All 'College Republicans' and other Republican Chickenshits

Murtha says he wouldn't join military now Rep. John Murtha, a key Democratic voice who favors pulling U.S. troops from Iraq, said in remarks airing on Monday that he would not join the U.S. military today. A decorated Vietnam combat veteran who retired as a colonel after 37 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Murtha told ABC News' "Nightline" program that Iraq "absolutely" was a wrong war for President George W. Bush to have launched. "Would you join (the military) today?," he was asked in an interview taped on Friday. "No," replied Murtha. "And I think you're saying the average guy out there who's considering recruitment is justified in saying 'I don't want to serve'," the interviewer continued. "Exactly right," said Murtha. Murtha did not respond directly when asked whether a lack of combat experience might have affected the decision-making of Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and their former top deputies. "Let me tell you, war is a nasty business. It sears the soul," he said, choking up. "And it made a difference. The shadow of those killings stay with you the rest of your life."

What fool would join the military while George Bush and the rest of his Chickenhawk followers were running this country? You'd have to be a fucking complete idiot not to do everything you could possibly to do to discourage your sons and daughters from joining the military. There's absolutely NOTHING honorable about the war in Iraq! Oh sure, those young men and women who were shipped there because of all the neocon liars are serving honorably but those who lied and sent them there have NO honor. How many members of Congress have children or grandchildren volunteering to go Iraq? How many people pictured here are serving this noble cause in Iraq? What are Bush's two little slutty daughters doing? They've been out of college for a year now and what are they doing? I'm a vet and I served proudly but you can bet I've told my sons not join while these Republicans are in office. Fortunately, they're smart enough to know better. But, as for the children of the Iraq War supporting chickenhawks out there, have your sons and daughters join and become fodder for the lies. Of course you won't do it. You didn't serve when you had the chance and just like then, you're all talk as long as you can hide behind your wife's skirt. Sign-up or tell your kids to sign up. If this country ever had to wait on republicans to do our battles we'd be speaking the King's English, German or Japanese right now. Fucking big-mouth pussies!

Republican's Money Man Pleads Guilty

Jack Abramoff leaves the Federal Courthouse in Washington Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud and agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors in bringing Tom Delay, Bob Ney, Ralph Reed and Grover Norquist and many other Republicans to justice Former high-powered lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty today to three felony charges in a deal with federal prosecutors that helps clear the way for his testimony about members of Congress and congressional staffers in a wide-ranging political corruption investigation. Appearing crestfallen and speaking softly in U.S. District Court in Washington early this afternoon, Abramoff, 46, expressed deep sorrow for what he called his "multitude of mistakes" in a career that once brought him to the pinnacle of power and influence among Washington lobbyists. After pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion, he told U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle that he would seek forgiveness from God and from those he had wronged. An attorney for Abramoff, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement that his client "intends to continue to work with the Justice Department and others to fully resolve all matters of interest, to provide restitution to anyone he has harmed, and to seek absolution from all."

It's About Time They Woke Up

Finally, the troops are starting to wise up to the Liar in Chief and it's about damn time. My only question would be, when are the other 54% going to get a clue?

Support for Bush drops among US military - poll 'Support for President George W Bush's Iraq policy has fallen among the US armed forces to just 54 pct from 63 pct a year ago, according to a poll by the magazine group Military Times published yesterday. In its annual survey of the views of military personnel, the group reported on its website that support for Bush's overall policies dropped over the past year to 60 pct from 71 pct. While still significantly more supportive of the president than the broad US population, the fall in support by military personnel tracks a similar decline in the president's popularity among the general public'.

DOD News Release(s)

U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060102-12254.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 003-06 January 2, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Vanderhorn, 37, of Pierce, Wash., died in As Sinia, Iraq, on Jan. 1, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during patrol operations. Vanderhorn was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060102-12253.html On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060102-12253.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 002-06 January 2, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Spc. Marcelino R. Corniel, 23, of La Puente, Calif., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 31, when an enemy mortar attack occurred in the vicinity of his observation post. Corniel was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, Fullerton, Calif. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060101-12251.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 001-06 January 1, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pvt. Jonathan R. Pfender, 22, of Evansville, Ind., died in Bayji, Iraq, on Dec. 30, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during patrol operations. Pfender was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release www.defenselink.mil/releases/2005/nr20051231-12250.html On the Web: http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2005/nr20051231-12250.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 1342-05 December 31, 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pfc. George A. Lutz, II, 25, of Virginia Beach, Va., died in Fallujah, Iraq, on Dec. 29, when his dismounted patrol was attacked by enemy forces using small arms fire. Lutz was assigned to the Army's 9th Psychological Operations Battalion, 4th Psychologial Operations Group, U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

This will help Iraqis love our troops

Maybe George Bush, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, Condi Rice and the rest of the losers could schedule a one or two week period where they could go around the country of Iraq and have sort of 'town-hall' type meetings with the Iraqi people where they explain to them that the U.S. will not be rebuilding their country after all. I'm all for cutting the Iraqis off but not just dollars but our military's young men and women's lives, too. The Iraqis need to fight their own battles right along with rebuilding the mess we leave them with. When the Iraqis figure out what Bush and his ilk just announced the insurgency's attacks will go way up, not down, and I think the losers mentioned above should be the ones to tell them. As Colin (Lie, Run and Hide) Powell said, It's "Pottery Barn rule" of foreign policy. That is: "you break it, you own it."

U.S. Has End in Sight on Iraq Rebuilding Documents Show Much of the Funding Diverted to Security, Justice System and Hussein Inquiry BAGHDAD -- The Bush administration does not intend to seek any new funds for Iraq reconstruction in the budget request going before Congress in February, officials say. The decision signals the winding down of an $18.4 billion U.S. rebuilding effort in which roughly half of the money was eaten away by the insurgency, a buildup of Iraq's criminal justice system and the investigation and trial of Saddam Hussein. Just under 20 percent of the reconstruction package remains unallocated. When the last of the $18.4 billion is spent, U.S. officials in Baghdad have made clear, other foreign donors and the fledgling Iraqi government will have to take up what authorities say is tens of billions of dollars of work yet to be done merely to bring reliable electricity, water and other services to Iraq's 26 million people. "The U.S. never intended to completely rebuild Iraq," Brig. Gen. William McCoy, the Army Corps of Engineers commander overseeing the work, told reporters.

The Army, Faced With Its Limits

"ONE million men and women serve in the United States Army, so why is it proving nearly impossible to keep a mere 150,000 of them in Iraq? The Pentagon expects to face many Iraq-type conflicts in the coming years, wars that involve battling insurgents and restoring stability. As a result, a debate is beginning to churn in defense policy circles: Should the government enlarge the military so it can more easily fight these wars? Or should the government alter its policies, so as not to fight such wars as often, at least not alone"?

Why that's even a question is astounding to me. We have a million man ARMY (that doesn't include Marines, Air Force or Navy) and we spend more on our military than the rest of the world combined! Our military does not need to be spread as thin as it is now and it's only because Bush and the neocons foolishly led us into Iraq when it was not necessary and did not have anything to do with defending our country. You only need leaders to be competent and trustworthy-something you will never get from a Bush, or any Republican that I can think of, for the matter, to be able to manage a million-man Army against a bunch of rag-tag terrorists. Withdraw our troops from Iraq immediately. Re-deploy 25,000-30,000 of the freshest troops we have to Afghanistan and rotate each of them every six months until Osama bin Laden and every member of al-Qaeda who was involved in 9/11 is dead. Either impeach George Bush and arrest Dick Cheney or take away all of any power they have to senselessly lead us into another war that does not qualify as 'defending' the country.

More Bought Democracy

Muslim Scholars Were Paid to Aid U.S. Propaganda

WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 - A Pentagon contractor that paid Iraqi newspapers to print positive articles written by American soldiers has also been compensating Sunni religious scholars in Iraq in return for assistance with its propaganda work, according to current and former employees. The Lincoln Group, a Washington-based public relations company, was told early in 2005 by the Pentagon to identify religious leaders who could help produce messages that would persuade Sunnis in violence-ridden Anbar Province to participate in national elections and reject the insurgency, according to a former employee.

Where do we get all this money? Maybe all those welfare recipients who just got knocked off the roles by the Republicans in Congress ought to move to Iraq. It seems like we have an awfully lot to spend on their needy.

Who's "Sicko"?

Shoot, I was hoping Moore's next film would be another one on Bush when I saw that title. But, it will be good to have the world's best documentarist rip at the drug industry almost as well. Did you know that in the over 2 years that they have had time for rebuttal, not a single scene or episode in Fahrenheit 9/11 has been proven to be untrue? Excellent documentary and Moore had Bush pegged right from the start. Can't wait for 'Sicko'. Still think that would make a good title for a Bush sequel, though....

Checking the pulse on Moore's 'Sicko' Where in the world is Michael Moore? This time last year, word was that the incendiary auteur behind "Fahrenheit 9/11" had the country's top pharmaceutical companies looking over their shoulders in anticipation of "Sicko," his look at the American healthcare industry. But since then, the usually outsized Moore has been mum on "Sicko's" health. Calls to Moore and his production company's PR reprep went unreturned. His Website, michaelmoore.com, last mentioned "Sicko" on Dec. 23, 2004, linking to a L.A. Times report that the drug companies were up in arms over the pic. Moore's tactic of sauntering into major corporations and confronting execs no doubt became more difficult after "Fahrenheit 9/11" made him the docudocu bizbiz's most famous gadfly. But reports have said that Moore is using hidden cameras in doctors' offices to expose corruption within the drug biz. And a person close to the project says the helmer was most recently in Miami shooting at a weight-loss clinic.

Stay tuned for 'Sicko' and if you haven't seen Fahrenheit 9/11, you're missing out.

Republican Family Values -- Sluts and Nuts

'Mary Bono, who understandably guards her privacy, broke the wall of silence this week to say she and Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla., are romantically involved; they have been an item since late September. A budding romance between the two Republican members of Congress has been the subject of speculation among the Washington press corps since at least mid-October. They wanted to tell their story in their own way, in their own time. They have decided now is the time; this column is the place. Mack, 38, announced his divorce from his wife, Ann, in August; he has two children. Bono, 43, followed with her own announcement on Sept. 28 that she would separate - and ultimately divorce - her husband, Glenn Baxley. It was her second marriage; her first husband, Sonny Bono, was killed in a skiing accident in 1998.

Fine young Republican couple extolling the traditional family values in the traditional way a lot of the hypocrites on the right are so good at. Good old Sonny's been dead seven years and Mary working on her third husband. And, she's 43? Her biography on her web page says she was born in 1961. Connie Mack? When did he leave the Philly's?

Hey, it's great to see those purple fingers really worked, huh?

13 Car Bombs Wound 20 People Across Iraq 'Militants blew up 13 cars in three hours Sunday, injuring at least 20 people while 13 Iraqis were killed in other violence that fed the turmoil following last month's contested parliamentary elections'. Starting the New Year out with a bang!!

RepublicanEconomics101

What's good will go down, what's bad will go up Stock markets in Japan and Europe make double-digit gains in 2005

Stock markets in Japan and across Europe traded lower on Friday but finished the year with double-digit gains, significantly outperforming U.S. stock markets. For the year, the Nikkei gained 40.24 percent -- the biggest annual gain since 1986 amid encouraging signs of an economic recovery in Japan. European stock indexes ended the year with smaller double-digit gains, propelled by buyout activity, a weaker dollar and corporate restructurings. The FTSE 100 climbed over 16 percent, Germany's DAX 30 gained 28 percent and the French CAC 40 jumped around 24 percent. By way of comparison, the Dow Jones industrials fell 0.61 percent for the year, closing in the negative territory for the first time since 2002, while the S&P rose 3 percent and the Nasdaq gained 1.37 percent.

We got our asses kicked by the Japanese and the Europeans last year in the stock market. Life when Republicans rule...

The Leaker?

Ashcroft's top deputy, James B. Comey, wouldn't sign-off on Bush's illegal wiretapping; Is he the man who 'leaked' the fact that the administration was breaking the law? If so, he deserves a medal.

'A top Justice Department official objected in 2004 to aspects of the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program and refused to sign on to its continued use amid concerns about its legality and oversight, according to officials with knowledge of the tense internal debate. The concerns appear to have played a part in the temporary suspension of the secret program. The concerns prompted two of President Bush's most senior aides - Andrew H. Card Jr., his chief of staff, and Alberto R. Gonzales, then White House counsel and now attorney general - to make an emergency visit to a Washington hospital in March 2004 to discuss the program's future and try to win the needed approval from Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was hospitalized for gallbladder surgery, the officials said. The unusual meeting was prompted because Mr. Ashcroft's top deputy, James B. Comey, who was acting as attorney general in his absence, had indicated he was unwilling to give his approval to certifying central aspects of the program, as required under the White House procedures set up to oversee it'.

Days of Rage and Peril

Two weeks after holding successful elections, Iraq is plagued by insurgent violence and political strife. Scenes from the struggle for a nation's future-enter

Ring in the New Year when Jack rats on Tom - 'as early as Tuesday'

2006 will be the year Tom Delay finally gets what he deserves. The 'exterminator' neglected to get rid of one rat, Jack Abramoff, that will now do him in.

Federal prosecutors and lawyers for Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff are putting the finishing touches on a plea deal that could be announced as early as Tuesday, according to people familiar with the negotiations. The plea agreement would secure the lobbyist's testimony against several members of Congress who received favors from him or his clients. Abramoff and a former partner were indicted in Miami in August on charges of conspiracy and fraud for allegedly lying about their assets to help secure financing to purchase a fleet of gambling boats. Meanwhile, The Washington Post, in an extensive report on Saturday, revealed that The U.S. Family Network, a public advocacy group that operated in the 1990s with close ties to Rep. Tom DeLay--and claimed to be a nationwide grass-roots organization--was funded "almost entirely by corporations linked to Abramoff, according to tax records and former associates of the group."

It's so typical of Republicans to use something so sweet sounding as 'The U.S. Family Network' to scam and launder millions, isn't it? The party of hypocrites!

RepublicanEconomics101

What's good will go down, what's bad will go up Stock markets in Japan and Europe make double-digit gains in 2005

Stock markets in Japan and across Europe traded lower on Friday but finished the year with double-digit gains, significantly outperforming U.S. stock markets. For the year, the Nikkei gained 40.24 percent -- the biggest annual gain since 1986 amid encouraging signs of an economic recovery in Japan. European stock indexes ended the year with smaller double-digit gains, propelled by buyout activity, a weaker dollar and corporate restructurings. The FTSE 100 climbed over 16 percent, Germany's DAX 30 gained 28 percent and the French CAC 40 jumped around 24 percent. By way of comparison, the Dow Jones industrials fell 0.61 percent for the year, closing in the negative territory for the first time since 2002, while the S&P rose 3 percent and the Nasdaq gained 1.37 percent.

We got our asses kicked by the Japanese and the Europeans last year in the stock market. Life when Republicans rule...

Bush's Sweep 2005

I'm with Stupid... Just like the Bushs to hog everything by sweeping all three medals in the "Dumbest Quotes of 2005" contest. At least they've found their niche'. BRONZE MEDAL "Wow! Brazil is big" --George Dumbya embarrassing himself and the rest of us when shown a map on a visit to Brazil. SILVER MEDAL " What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. So many people in this arena, here, you know, were underprivileged, so this is working very well for them." -- Barbara Bush, while visiting Katrina evacuees in the Houston Astrodome. GOLD MEDAL "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job." -- President Bush, during his first visit to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, commending then-FEMA head Michael Brown. Bush fired 'Brownie' three days later.

2006