Bin Laden's Taped Message

I only have one question about the Osama bin Laden tape that was released yesterday. Does the following quote sound like a statement from an ally of Saddam Hussein or an enemy of Saddam Hussein? "The US and its agents are using the same barbaric tactics once used by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein" Another one of the many, "I told you so's".

Rick Santorum - "Seriously Ethically Challenged.”

Here is just another example of the deep-seated corruption that is the Republican Party. When they were exposed recently with Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff's scandals, the Republicans set out to look for an 'ethics czar' in an attempt to close the barn door after the horse was already out. And who did they choose, Rick Santorum. Forget the fact that Santorum was already up to his eye balls in the K street scandal, he was about all the Republicans had left. Well, the American Prospect did a lengthy investigation into the life of Rick Santorum, who is about as good of an example of a classic phony-conservative Christian hypocrite as there gets. Pennsylvania, if you re-elect this criminal in November, you deserve what you get. Hell, he doesn't even live in your state, fools! Send Bob Casey Jr. to Washington in place of Santorum and try to get back some respect. Read the American Prospect about the Republican's new 'ethics czar', who is just another right wing criminal who is in the pockets of lobbyists.

Bush administration fears an investigation

White House Working to Avoid Wiretap Probe Originally Bush, Alberto Gonzalez, Andrew Card and their ilk stuck to their story that no laws were broken during their illegal wire-tapping of American citizens and they were ready to battle it out with Congress. That was until they realized they didn't have the votes to stop an investigation by the Intelligence Committee and now all of sudden they're looking for a compromise. Congress should not compromise and they should appoint an independent counsel, independent of Gonzalez's department since he should be an eventual defendant if the law is properly followed. Congratulations to two of the very few Republicans with integrity, Olympia Snowe and Chuck Hagel who chose their constitutional responsibility over party politics. You don't see that very often from Republicans and it's refreshing to see.

$400 billion and 2,276 lives later....

U.S. Warns Iraq It Won't Support Sectarian Goals "The United States is investing billions of dollars" in Iraq's police and army, said American ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad. "We are not going to invest the resources of the American people to build forces run by people who are sectarian." What a waste.

Let the games begin

Poll shows more Americans ready for a woman president Clinton got the greatest support with 51 percent saying she should be on the ballot; 48 percent think Condoleezza Rice should run. Bartcop

'President's gone insane'

Peter Gadiel (l.), whose son died in 9/11 attacks, joins Sen. Chuck Schumer at yesterday's press conference It's nice to see the country is starting to realize

"How, asks Gadiel, whose son James died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, can a company owned by a terror-linked country get control of our nation's ports? "I'm a lifelong Republican and I think the President's gone insane," said Gadiel, 58, who heads 9/11 Families for a Secure America. Two of the 19 9/11 hijackers were citizens of Dubai, the Arab emirate whose bid to run ports in New York, New Jersey and four other cities was okayed by the White House even though investigators have found signs that money used to finance terrorism flowed through Dubai banks".

George Bush would sell his mother to the highest bidder if he could get the right price for her. But don't worry Americans, the Congressional Democrats won't allow Bush and the Republicans to get away with this one. Because of Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer and other Democrats that have come forward and expressed outrage, Bush and company will have to pull out of this deal!

What being Republican means....on President's Day

Being Republican to me means much higher deficits and a huge eruption of debt since the two stooges on the right there, along with the one stooge's father, are directly responsilbe for over 90% of the $8 trillion+ national debt. Being Republican also means higher unemployment, under employment and stagnant wages. It also means less money for research, less money for student loans, the disabled and the poor. Being Republican means fewer good jobs here and tax incentives for U.S. corporations to move offshore. Being Republican also means the rest of the world goes through a period of disdain for the United States. The rest of the world certainly looks at us and can't figure out how some one like George W. Bush could ever get elected president. And they should. Being Republican means the federal government will go through scandal, after scandal, after scandal, that are far more serious than whether some one got a blow job from another consenting adult, and because Republicans control Congress, those scandals go on and on without even the slightest investigation. Being Republican means choosing your party over the good of the nation regardless if it requires you to commit an act of treason that has an egregious effect on our security. Being a Republican would mean I didn't care much for my country, and that's why I'm not.

Even the $500 billion in corporate kickbacks?

Frist: Medicare Will Be Political Plus "Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Sunday the new Medicare prescription drug program will be "a huge plus" for Republicans, despite Democrats' hopes to benefit politically from the program's rocky start".

Bill Frist, who is one of most dishonest and corrupt men in all of Congress, thinks the Republican's Pharmaceutical and Insurance Corporation Kick-Back Program, legislation that the Republicans literally had lobbyists from those industries write, and rip taxpayers off for hundreds of billions, will be a 'political plus' for Republicans. Bill Frist knows very well who got the 'plus'. In fact, Frist's family's business will probably reap untold millions from the Republican prescription drug scam. It will only be a 'political plus' for Republicans if the people remain ignorant and allow them to get away with it. Below here is a nice description of how and why the Republicans crammed that prescription drug bill down our throats back in 2003. An informed public would not vote for Republicans. People in this country really need to get their heads out of their asses!

"In June 2004, the consumer interest group Public Citizen reported that "to help push through Medicare prescription drug legislation that will safeguard their bottom lines at the expense of America's taxpayers, the pharmaceutical industry, HMOs and related interests spent nearly $141 million on Washington lobbying in 2003." The data revealed that the pharmaceutical industry spent $108.6 million on federal lobbying activities while managed care companies spent $32.3 million. In addition, a total of 824 individual lobbyists were employed by the former and 222 by the latter. The influence peddling documented by Public Citizen's researchers was not confined to lobbying. Both industries also gave generous campaign contributions to candidates. The group found that 21 drug industry and HMO executives or lobbyists ranked among Bush's "Pioneers" and "Rangers" -- honorary titles for those who have raised at least $100,000 or $200,000, respectively, for one of Bush's presidential campaigns. "They paid a disproportionate share of their campaign contributions to the Republicans, and basically they got a good return on their investment is what it looks like,"

Pass the lube, suckers!

Life Below the Line

37 million poor hidden in the land of plenty "A shocking 37 million Americans live in poverty. That is 12.7 per cent of the population - the highest percentage in the developed world. They are found from the hills of Kentucky to Detroit's streets, from the Deep South of Louisiana to the heartland of Oklahoma. Each year since 2001 their number has grown. Under President George W Bush an extra 5.4 million have slipped below the poverty line. Yet they are not a story of the unemployed or the destitute. Most have jobs. Many have two. Amos Lumpkins has work and his children go to school. But the economy, stripped of worker benefits like healthcare, is having trouble providing good wages. Even families with two working parents are often one slice of bad luck - a medical bill or factory closure - away from disaster. The minimum wage of $5.15 (£2.95) an hour has not risen since 1997 and, adjusted for inflation, is at its lowest since 1956. The gap between the haves and the have-nots looms wider than ever. Faced with rising poverty rates, Bush's trillion-dollar federal budget recently raised massive amounts of defence spending for the war in Iraq and slashed billions from welfare programmes".

Under the leadership of Republicans the United States is becoming a third world nation. And the rest of the world (the Observer here) looks at us in amazement for what we've allowed ourselves to become.

The Hell That's Samarra

SSgt Cortez Powell "No one told me why I'm putting my life on the line in Samarra, and you know why they didn't? Because there is no fucking reason." "The gunfight by the Tigris River was over. It was time to retrieve the bodies. Staff Sgt. Cortez Powell looked at the shredded jaw of a dead man whom he'd shot in the face when insurgents ambushed an American patrol in a blind of reeds. Powell's M4 assault rifle had jammed, so he'd grabbed the pump-action shotgun that he kept slung over his shoulders and pulled the trigger. Five other soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division scrambled down, pulled two of the insurgents' bodies from the reeds and dragged them through the mud. "Strap those motherf-----s to the hood like a deer," said Staff Sgt. James Robinson, 25, of Hughes, Ark. The soldiers heaved the two bodies onto the hood of a Humvee and tied them down with a cord. The dead insurgents' legs and arms flapped in the air as the Humvee rumbled along. Iraqi families stood in front of the surrounding houses. They watched the corpses ride by and glared at the American soldiers. Fifteen months earlier, when the 1st Infantry Division sent some 5,000 Iraqi and U.S. soldiers to retake Samarra from Sunni Muslim insurgents, it was a test of the American occupation's ability not only to pacify but also to rebuild a part of Iraq dominated by the country's minority Sunnis. More than a year later, American troops still are battling insurgents in Samarra. Bloodshed is destroying the city and driving a wedge between the Iraqis who live there and the U.S. troops who are trying to keep order".

The Names of Troops Killed in Crash Released

Military Releases Names of 10 U.S. Troops Killed in Helicopter Crash Off Djibouti The Pentagon said the Marines killed in the crash were: 1st Lt. Brandon R. Dronet, 33, of Erath, La. Sgt. James F. Fordyce, 22, of Newton Square, Pa. Lance Cpl. Samuel W. Large, Jr., 21, of Villa Rica, Ga. Sgt. Donnie Leo F. Levens, 25, of Long Beach, Miss. Cpl. Matthieu Marcellus, 31, of Gainesville, Fla. Sgt. Jonathan E. McColley, 23, of Gettysburg, Pa. Lance Cpl. Nicholas J. Sovie, 20, of Ogdensburg, N.Y. Capt. Bryan D. Willard, 33, of Hummelstown, Pa. Also killed in the crash were Senior Airman Alecia S. Good, 23, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, of the 92nd Communications Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.; and Staff Sgt. Luis M. Melendez Sanchez, 33, of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, of the 1st Communications Squadron, Langley Air Force Base, Va.

This day in history-February 19

On February 19, 1807, Aaron Burr, the only Vice-President besides Dick Cheney to have shot someone, was arrested in Alabama for treason.

Correlating Factors

Utah, Idaho, Alabama, Wyoming, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Montana Would you want to live in any of those states? Me either. Those are the only states left, out of all the 'red'neck states that voted for Bush, that still 'approve' of his job performance. That 'red state/blue state map' would look a little different now, don't you think? Utah-#49, Idaho-#48, Alabama-#41, Wyoming-#47, Nebraska-#29, Oklahoma-44%, Montana-#43 Those same seven states. What do you think the numbers beside those same seven states represent? They are each of those states' ranking in IQ levels. That is a clear example of a simple, but certainly telling, 'correlating factor'. The dumber you are, the longer it takes for you to figure things out. Also, take a look at another seven states below that also voted for Bush in 2004. That is their current 'approve' and 'disapprove' percentages listed. Ohio, 37% approve and 60% disapprove. Iowa 38%-57%, Missouri 39%-57%, Colorado 39%-58%, Nevada 41%-57%, Arkansas 41%-56%, Florida 42%-55% Ohio, 37% approval rating! If only the dumbasses could have figured out what a loser Bush was before the election. There's really no excuse because, besides Katrina, everything Bush and the Republicans have screwed up, happened before November 2004. But were stuck. And it's due to stupidity. SurveyUSA - Released 2/16/06 Be sure to take a good look at the data here on how IQ correlates with party politics. The data shows a definite correlation and should be embarrassing to Republicans. A very strong majority of intelligent people do not vote Republican. And that's a fact!

U.S. military: 10 died in twin copter crash

The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that 10 U.S. troops died when two transport helicopters crashed into the sea last week off the coast of the African nation of Djibouti. The CH-53E choppers, carrying a dozen crew and troops from a U.S. counterterrorism force, went down Friday in the Gulf of Aden, near the northern coastal town of Ras Siyyan. Two crew members were rescued. The troops included U.S. Marines and two Air Force airmen.

'Churches' finally figure out it's wrong to murder women and children

U.S. Church Alliance Denounces Iraq War "A coalition of American churches sharply denounced the U.S.-led war in Iraq on Saturday, accusing Washington of "raining down terror" and apologizing to other nations for "the violence, degradation and poverty our nation has sown." The statement, issued at the largest gathering of Christian churches in nearly a decade, also warned the United States was pushing the world toward environmental catastrophe with a "culture of consumption" and its refusal to back international accords seeking to battle global warming. "We lament with special anguish the war in Iraq, launched in deception and violating global norms of justice and human rights," said the statement from representatives of the 34 U.S. members of World Council of Churches. "We mourn all who have died or been injured in this war. We acknowledge with shame abuses carried out in our name."

Cartoon Editorial

10 Marines Feared Dead in Helicopter Crash

CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter No Casualty Report in U.S. Africa Crash All 12 crew members from two United States military helicopters that crashed off Djibouti on Friday have been accounted for, the military said there on Saturday. But information on whether the 10 people who were missing overnight had survived or died would not be released until 24 hours after their families had been notified, a military spokeswoman said. Two crew members who were rescued Friday were in stable condition. "I can't confirm either way," the spokeswoman, Maj. Susan Romano, said of the condition of the 10 crew members accounted for Saturday. The two Marine helicopters were on a training mission in northern Djibouti at the time of the crash. Each CH53 marine transport helicopter was carrying six crew members.

Guards Murder 14 Year Old-Call it a 'Disease'

Gina Jones, left, mother of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson, wipes her face as her attorney Ben Crump, right, speaks at a news conference regarding the murder by guards of her young son Go to this web link and watch the video and try to say with a straight face that you believe the authorities' explanation that this 14 year old kid died of a 'blood disease'. Yeah, if getting the shit beat out of you by 10 grown men causes a 'blood disease', massive internal bleeding, and you want to classify that as a 'disease' that's fine, just as long as those who caused the 'disease' get life without parole, that's fine with me. The kid died a 1/2 hour after this beating and they want us to believe it was sickle cell? They must think we're fucking stupid!

Another in a long series of "I Told You So"

Taking Saddam Hussein out of power in Iraq has caused the Middle East and Persian Gulf region to be more dangerous to the United States and not less dangerous, as the Bush administration and their many incompetent constituents would like you to believe. And, I'm not missing the chance to say, 'I told you so', and once again remind all of you who ignorantly 'went along' like scared little lambs, how wrong you were.

Invasion of Iraq has backfired in stabilizing Middle East Opponents of Iraq invasion proven right once again "The Islamic government in neighboring Iran watched with trepidation in March 2003 when U.S.-led troops stormed Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime and start remaking the political map of the Mideast. In retrospect, the Islamic Republic could have celebrated: The war has left America's longtime nemesis with profound influence in the new Iraq and pushed it to the apex of power in the region. Now Iraq's fledgling democracy has placed power in the hands of the nation's Shiite majority and its Kurdish allies, many of whom lived as exiles in Iran and maintain strong religious, cultural and linguistic ties to it. The two groups sit atop most of Iraq's oil, and both seek a decentralized government that would give them maximum control of it. A weak central government would also limit Sunni influence".

Another in a long line of "I told you so"! It's hard being so right...

DOD News Release(s) 4 Soldiers, 2 Marines

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/nr20060217-12520.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 144-06 February 17, 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- DoD Identifies Army Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died north of Deh Rawod, Afghanistan, on Feb. 13, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during combat operations. Killed were: FOUR SERGEANTS Sgt. 1st Class Chad A. Gonsalves, 31, of Turlock, Calif. Gonsalves was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C. Staff Sgt. Edwin H. Dazachacon, 38, of Belleville, Ill. Dazachacon was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C. Staff Sgt. Clinton T. Newman, 26, of San Antonio, Texas. Newman was assigned to the 321st Civil Affairs Brigade, San Antonio, Texas Sgt. Alberto D. Montrond, 27, of Suffolk, Mass. Montrond was assigned to the Group Support Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, 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/nr20060216-12519.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 143-06 February 16, 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- DoD Identifies Marine Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of two Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Killed were: Lance Cpl. Matthew R. Barnes, 20, of West Monroe, La. Cpl. Rusty L. Washam, 21, of Huntsville, Tenn. Both Marines died Feb. 14, when a suicide car bomber attacked their vehicle near Al Qa’im, Iraq. They were assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division; II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. --------------------------------------------------------------------------