PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA has been elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African-American elected to the office. Mike O'Sullivan reports, the Democratic senator from Illinois promised to unify the country when he takes office, January 20, 2009.

The old fucking nut doesn't fall too far from the tree ...

"My father's obviously a famous war hero. No one knows what war is like other than my family, period."

We got this for a lousy $217,000?

US Power Company Linked to Bush Is Named Top Polluter

An American power company with close financial links to President George Bush has been named as one of the world’s top producers of global warming pollution. The first-ever worldwide database of such pollution also reveals the rapid growth in global-warming emissions by power plants in China, South Africa and India. Power plants already produce 40 per cent of US greenhouse gas and 25 per cent of the world’s. But it is the enormous carbon footprint of Southern Company - among the largest financiers of Republican Party politicians - which has raised eyebrows. Southern’s employees handed George Bush $217,047 to help him get elected, and they and the company have contributed an extraordinary $6.2m to Republican campaigns since 1990. A single Southern Company plant in Juliette, Georgia already emits more carbon dioxide annually that Brazil’s entire power sector. The company is in the top two of America’s dirtiest utility polluters and sixth worst in the world.

Money always talks -- And big time political contributors always walk ...

You voted for that guy?

"As yesterday's positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured."

As a candidate, George W. Bush once asked, "Is our children learning?" Now he has an answer. "Childrens do learn," he said Wednesday. The setting was, yes, an education event where the president was taking credit for rising test scores and promoting congressional renewal of his signature education law. To create the right image, the White House summoned the city's chancellor of schools, a principal, some teachers and about 20 eager students from P.S. 76. The visual worked fine. The oral? Not so much.

Happy Easter

The Resurrection of Christ by Pieter Pauwel Rubens c.1612

Stuck in the middle

$74,000 for cleaning job "On her 83rd birthday, Lillian Winkel celebrated the same way she spends every day -- going to work at a General Motors Corp. metal stamping plant in Indianapolis. The great-great grandmother, who is the second-oldest woman working at GM, made $74,000 last year cleaning floors and emptying wastebaskets. "I always work on my birthday," said Winkel, who turned 83 on March 2. "I don't know anybody else who's going to give me three hundred and some-odd dollars for my birthday. Thank God for General Motors."

Exxon Top oil executive was paid on average $144,573 per day

"For his efforts, Lee Raymond, Exxon's chairman and chief executive officer, who retired in December, was compensated more than $686 million from 1993 to 2005, according to an analysis done for the New York Times by Brian Foley, an independent compensation consultant. That is $144,573 for each day he spent leading Exxon's "God pod," as the executive suite at the company's headquarters in Irving, Texas, is known. Despite the company's performance, some shareholders, academics, corporate governance experts and consumer groups were taken aback when they learned for the first time this week the details of Raymond's total compensation package, including the more than $400 million he received in his final year at the company".

Damn, is there any wonder why cars and gasoline are so expensive? It seems pretty clear why General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are having so many problems. You can't pay janitors $74,000 a year to empty waste baskets and expect to stay competitive! And Exxon...what the hell! They pay their CEO $145,000 PER DAY? You could hire 508 janitors at GM for that! It's tough being stuck in the middle of all this bullshit!

Why's everybody picking on Rummy?

"It wasn't Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld who stood up in front of the UN and identified two mobile latrines as biological weapons labs, was it, General Powell? It wasn't Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld who told us our next warning from Saddam could be a mushroom cloud, was it Condoleeza? It wasn't Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld who declared that Al Qaeda and Saddam were going steady, was it, Mr. Cheney? Yes, Rumfeld is a swaggering bag of mendacious arrogance, a duplicitous chicken-hawk, yellow-bellied bully-boy and Tinker-Toy Napoleon -- but he didn't appoint himself Secretary of Defense".

Greg Palast, WHY RUMSFELD SHOULD NOT RESIGN

Marines Reissue Medals to Ted Williams' Family

"They were assumed either lost in a hurricane when Ted Williams lived in Islamorada, Fla., or "borrowed" by Teddy Ballgame’s army of "friends," says Williams’ lawyer,Peter Sutton. But thanks to Sutton's efforts, the U.S. Marines have agreed to reissue to Claudia Williams, Ted's daughter and heir, the many medals her father earned during his nearly five years of duty in two wars. Williams served as a Marine pilot from November 1942 to January 1946, then reenlisted in May 1952 and was discharged as a captain in July 1953. Among his many military honors: the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Air Medal with two gold stars, the World War II Victory Medal and the American Campaign Medal".

Boston Herald

Darrell Green and "Republican principles"

"Former Washington Redskins cornerback Darrell R. Green is being urged to run for the state Senate from Loudoun County next year by leading Northern Virginia Republicans who hope he can use his fame on the football field to oust newly elected Democrat Mark R. Herring. Green, one of the most well-known Redskins from the team's recent golden era, lives in Loudoun and has been running a nonprofit foundation since he left the team three years ago. "That name is on many lips," said former senator William C. Mims (R), whose Loudoun seat Herring won after Mims left to work in the attorney general's office. "[Green] is a longtime Loudoun resident who has been active in the community. He is highly respected and has an outlook that's consistent with Republican principles."

Looks like another token for the Republicans. "Republican principles"? What does that mean - That he's cheating on his third wife while praising God and spending twice as much as he earns?

"Chatty Cathie"?

Cathie Martin, second from the left

Cheney Authorized Leak Of CIA Report, Libby Says "Moreover, on July 12, 2003, the same day that Libby spoke to both Cooper and Miller, Libby and Cheney traveled aboard Air Force Two for the dedication of a new aircraft carrier in Norfolk, Va. During the flight either to or from Norfolk, Cheney, Libby, and Cathie Martin, then-assistant to the vice president for public affairs, discussed how they might rebut Wilson's charges and discredit him, according to federal court records, and interviews with people with first-hand knowledge of accounts that all three provided to federal investigators. The previously unreported grand jury testimony is significant because only hours after Cheney reportedly instructed Libby to disclose information from the CIA report, Libby divulged to then-New York Times reporter Judith Miller and Time magazine correspondent Matthew Cooper that Plame was a CIA officer, and that she been involved in selecting her husband for the Niger mission".

Isn't that interesting? What a coincidence that on the very same day that Scooter told Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper that Valerie Plame was a covert CIA agent, he and Dick Cheney were on Air Force 2 scheming of ways to discredit her husband, Joe Wilson. And, there was a third person in the conversation-a Ms. Cathie Martin. Scooter has given up a whole lot of information on leaks already but Patrick Fitzgerald hasn't been able to get him to implicate Cheney on Plame yet. That's the charge that's going to nail ol' Dick-Head Cheney. Can't Fitzgerald break Ms. Martin? You know damn well Cheney and Libby talked about Plame's role at the CIA on the flight that day and she more than likely was involved in that conversation. Doesn't she realize the book and movie deals she's missing out on? So what if you've already testified, and perjured yourself, Fitzgerald will grant you immunity. Come on, Chatty Cathie, you know Cheney told Scooter to leak Plame's name...Come clean. They could have Renee Zellweger or Hillary Swank play the role of you.... You could be a big star. The National Journal

Free cartoons over at http://www.wisgrove.com/

Thanks LA/Sirk and 'John'

What if? What if Plame had been working these last 3 years?

Now that Colin Powell has come out and vindicated Joe Wilson and admitted that Bush, Cheney and their underlings lied about Iraq trying to acquire uranium from Niger, people need to be reminded about the damage that was done to national security when they outed Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame. Valerie Plame worked under cover on Iran's 'weapons of mass destruction'; more specifically, she was "involved in monitoring the nuclear proliferation black market", that Iran was involved in with Pakistan. Because Bush and Cheney just couldn't get over it and would not allow anyone to question their motives, they totally disregarded what was essential to national security and outed a covert CIA agent to spite Joe Wilson. That is treason*. George Bush has continually reminded us that "we are at war". Treason during war-time is punishable by death. Impeachment is the absolute minimum sentence that should be imposed. *UPDATE-CORRECTION-Outing a CIA agent is not an act of treason. It is espionage, but not treason. (I'm too lazy to change the paragraph)

DOD News Release(s) 5 Soldiers, 1 Marine

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/nr20060413-12815.html IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 315-06 April 13, 2006 DoD Identifies Army Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died of injuries sustained in Taji, Iraq on April 11, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their Bradley Fighting Vehicle and they subsequently came under small arms fire during combat operations. All three soldiers were assigned to the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. Killed were: Cpl. Joseph A. Blanco, 25, of Bloomington, Calif. Pfc. James F. Costello III, 27, of St. Louis, Mo. Pfc. George R. Roehl Jr., 21, of Manchester, N.H. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/nr20060413-12814.html IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 314-06 April 13, 2006 DoD Identifies Missing Marine and Sailor The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lance Cpl. Eric A. Palmisano, 27, of Florence, Wis., died April 2, after the truck he was riding in rolled over in a flash flood near Al Asad, Iraq. The incident also resulted in the death of six other Marines and a Navy petty officer. Palmisano was listed as Duty Status - Whereabouts Unknown until his body was recovered April 11. He was assigned to 1st Transportation Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. Petty Officer 3rd Class Marcques J. Nettles, 22, of Beaverton, Ore. is still listed as Duty Status - Whereabouts Unknown as a result of the incident and search efforts continue. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/nr20060413-12809.html IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 312-06 April 13, 2006 DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Cpl. Kenneth D. Hess, 26, of Asheville, N.C., died in Rawah, Iraq on April 11, as the result of a suicide bomber attack while Hess was conducting a dismounted patrol. Hess was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/nr20060412-12806.html IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 310-06 April 12, 2006 DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Spc. Shawn R. Creighton, 21, of Windsor, N.C., died in Rawah, Iraq on April 8, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Stryker vehicle during patrol operations. Creighton was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zacarias Moussaoui's soon to be resting place

Swine manure lagoon Zacarias Moussaoui made it known today in court testimony that he no longer wants to be executed because it's 'against Islam'. So, I would grant him his wish. I would sentence him to 'life' and then assign him a bunk in one of our most notorious federal prisons with the Aryan Brotherhood. Before I gave him his plush assignment I would let him know where his headless body would be placed for eternity. His body would be dumped into one of the many 'swine lagoons' we have throughout the country. And then I would let it be known to every single Islamic nation in the world that if you come to our country and commit an act of terror, your body will join his for eternity. Got the message?

Colin Powell tries to cleanse his soul

"I didn't need Wilson to tell me that there wasn't a Niger connection. He didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. I never believed it...That was all Cheney." --- Colin Powell-4/10/06-Trying to wash away the shame of his complicity in the deaths of 2,400 American troops and the waste of $400 billion. Colin Powell may actually have a conscience after all. Either that or he's going to make an attempt to run for office, but either way, he deserves no sympathy from anybody when it comes to his crimes that led us needlessly into war.

"On Monday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell told me that he and his department's top experts never believed that Iraq posed an imminent nuclear threat, but that the president followed the misleading advice of Vice President Dick Cheney and the CIA in making the claim. Now he tells us. The harsh truth is that this president cherry-picked the intelligence data in making his case for invading Iraq and deliberately kept the public in the dark as to the countervailing analysis at the highest level of the intelligence community. While the president and his top Cabinet officials were fear-mongering with stark images of a "mushroom cloud" over American cities, the leading experts on nuclear weaponry at the Department of Energy (the agency in charge of the U.S. nuclear-weapons program) and the State Department thought the claim of a near-term Iraqi nuclear threat was absurd".

Republicans and phoney-conservatives used to fall all over themselves over Colin Powell-He was their straw man that allowed them to hide their ingrained racism. Well, I wonder what they think of him now that he's exposing all the lies that they've been basing most of their arguments on?

"I listen to the Generals"

U.S. First Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen. John Batiste attends a ceremony in Tikrit, Iraq, in March 2004. The Liar-In-Chief often says he 'listens to the Generals" but we know that's obviously not true because if he did, Rumsfeld would be long gone. In fact, so would he.

"The retired commander of key forces in Iraq called yesterday for Donald H. Rumsfeld to step down, joining several other former top military commanders who have harshly criticized the secretary of defense's authoritarian style for making the military's job more difficult. "I think we need a fresh start" at the top of the Pentagon, retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004-05, said in an interview. "We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them. And that leadership needs to understand teamwork." Batiste noted that many of his peers feel the same way. "It speaks volumes that guys like me are speaking out from retirement about the leadership climate in the Department of Defense," he said earlier yesterday on CNN".

DOD News Release(s) 6 Soldiers, 3 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/nr20060411-12799.html IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 304-06 April 11, 2006 DoD Identifies Army Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died of injuries sustained in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, on April 9, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during combat operations. The soldiers were assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky. Killed were: Sgt. 1st Class Randall L. Lamberson, 36, of Springfield, Mo., died in Balad, Iraq on April 10th. Sgt. David S. Collins, 24, of Jasper Ga., died in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, on April 9th. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/nr20060411-12798.html IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 303-06 April 11, 2006 DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Spc. James W. Gardner, 22, of Glasgow, Ky., died in Tal Afar, Iraq, on April 10, from a non-combat related cause. Gardner was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), 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/nr20060411-12794.html IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 300-06 April 11, 2006 DoD Identifies Marine Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of two Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lance Cpl. Bryan N. Taylor, 20, of Milford, Ohio, died April 6 after being shot by an Iraqi Army soldier on a coalition base near Al Qaim, Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. The incident is currently under investigation. Cpl. Richard P. Waller, 22, of Fort Worth, Texas, died April 7 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, 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/nr20060411-12793.html IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 299-06 April 11, 2006 DoD Identifies Marine Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lance Cpl. Juana Navarro Arellano, 24, of Ceres, Calif., died April 8 from wounds received while supporting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. She was assigned to 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/nr20060411-12791.html IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 298-06 April 11, 2006 DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pfc. Joseph I. Love, 22, of North Pole, Alaska, died in Balad, Iraq, on April 9, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during convoy operations. Love was assigned to the 84th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy), 8th Sustainment Command (Theater), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/nr20060410-12790.html IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 297-06 April 10, 2006 DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pvt. Jody W. Missildine, 19, of Plant City, Fla., died in Tal Afar, Iraq, on April 8, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during convoy operations. Missildine was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Friedberg, Germany. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/nr20060410-12787.html IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 296-06 April 10, 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 Gregory S. Rogers, 42, of Cincinnati, Ohio, died in Ar Ramadi, Iraq on April 9, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during convoy operations. Rogers was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky. --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another lie from Bush-the 'biolabs'

Lacking Biolabs, Trailers Carried Case for War Administration Pushed Notion of Banned Iraqi Weapons Despite Evidence to Contrary On May 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his administration in Iraq: Two small trailers captured by U.S. and Kurdish troops had turned out to be long-sought mobile "biological laboratories." He declared, "We have found the weapons of mass destruction." The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true. A secret fact-finding mission to Iraq -- not made public until now -- had already concluded that the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons. Leaders of the Pentagon-sponsored mission transmitted their unanimous findings to Washington in a field report on May 27, 2003, two days before the president's statement.

How much more evidence does the prosecution need to convict these lying traitors?

Convicted felon's direct line to the White House

The continuing saga of the culture of corruption 'Court records show that convicted phone-jamming conspirator James Tobin made dozens of calls to the White House in the weeks leading up to - and following - the voting on Nov. 5, 2002'.

"Key figures in a phone-jamming scheme designed to keep New Hampshire Democrats from voting in 2002 had regular contact with the White House and the Republican Party as the plan was unfolding, phone records introduced in criminal court show. The records show that Bush campaign operative James Tobin, who recently was convicted in the case, made two dozen calls to the White House within a three-day period around Election Day 2002 -- as the phone-jamming operation was finalized, carried out and then abruptly ended. Nearly all the calls to the White House went to the same number, which currently rings inside the political affairs office. In 2002, White House political affairs was led by Ken Mehlman, now chairman of the Republican National Committee. The White House declined to say which staffer was assigned that phone number in 2002. The national Republican Party paid millions in legal bills to defend Tobin".

Gingrich hasn't lost that Republican touch

On Monday, former House speak Newt Gingrich declared that the occupation of Iraq has been a mistake for the last 34 months:

It was an enormous mistake for us to try to occupy [Iraq] after June of 2003.

For Gingrich, it’s a dramatic reversal. In December 2003 (six months after he claimed the occupation of Iraq became a mistake), Gingrich expressed his support for the continuing operations:

I think it’s easy to go back now and second-guess. But when I look back and I think about what we felt in February and March and April, I think it was the right war, it was the right decision. [Fox, Hannity & Colmes, 12/8/03]

In September 2004 (15 months after he says the occupation was a mistake) Gingrich blasted critics who complained "we’re not winning fast enough":

And instead of applauding this deliberate effort to minimize American casualties and to strengthen the Iraqis, we have some of our friends here at home who want it both ways. They want to complain that we’re not winning fast enough, and they want to complain if we take any casualties. You can’t have it both ways. [Fox, Hannity & Colmes, 9/27/04]

Meet the new Newt. Nothing like the old Newt. Think Progress Newt positioning himself for 2008. Man, I think Newt Gingrich would be the perfect Republican nominee. I'll definitely vote for him in the Republican primary. You can still cross-over vote in the primaries, can't you? Or did they stop that back when all the republicans used to go to the polls and vote for Jesse Jackson? I think they did....Damn, maybe I won't get the chance to vote for ol' Newt after all.

Tiktaalik, 375 million years ago?

But, the earth is only 5,000 years old!??!!!

"The fossilized remains of Tiktaalik, a roughly 375-million-year-old fish, are a pivotal entry in the annals of science. This discovery has great value for several reasons. It adds to the biological records. It rebuts inaccurate claims made by creationists. And it shows the passion, patience, and power of scientific research. Scientists say that Tiktaalik is the missing evolutionary link between creatures that lived in water and those that walked on land. Inside Tiktaalik's fins was the skeletal structure of arms, including wrists and elbows. The fish also had a modified ear region and a mobile neck. So while Tiktaalik probably wasn't pondering a move with the spouse and kids to a drier neighborhood, evolution was making way for just such a relocation plan, clearing a path for limbed creatures, including, eventually, humans. As they are frequent guests on free-for-all talk shows, science and religion will no doubt clash over this finding. Tiktaalik will add to the problems of strict creationists, who believe the world was created by God quickly, and not so very long ago. But there's still plenty of room for respectful coexistence between those who believe that evolution is a gift of God and those who believe it is a rational and replicable scientific theory".

More on Tiktaalik

Leaker In Chief

Quotes from the "Leaker In Chief" explaining to students and foreign policy analysts at the Johns Hopkins University on Monday, April 10, why he had Scooter Libby meet Judy Miller at a hotel for 'breakfast' and give her half of the NIE report. Of course the 'other half' of the report was the part about the information not being "very credible".

"I thought it was important for people to get a better sense for why I was saying what I was saying in my speeches. And I felt I could do so without jeopardizing ongoing intelligence matters. So I did." "After we liberated Iraq, there was questions in people's minds, you know, about the basis on which I made statements - in other words, going into Iraq. And so I decided to declassify the [report] for a reason. I wanted people to see what some of those statements were based on."

I wish one of those students or foreign policy analysts would have asked him the simple question as to why he didn't have a press conference if he "wanted people to see what some of those statements were based on." No one has asked Bush that yet. I'm curious to see how he worms his way out of that one.

Powell: U.S. mistakes hurting Iraq

"U.S. mistakes in the invasion of Iraq led to the current insurgency and sectarian fighting, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says. "We made some serious mistakes in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad," Powell told the National School Board Association's annual conference in Chicago. "We didn't have enough troops on the ground. We didn't impose our will. And as a result, an insurgency got started, and ... it got out of control."

Colin Powell was the Secretary of State when we invaded Iraq. Powell went before the United Nations to sell the war on information he knew was a lie. As Secretary of State and a former general he had the opportunity to ensure we had the proper troop strength but he ignored General Shinseki, and we have lost many young American lives because of his stubbornness. Colin Powell has absolutely no credibility left and he needs to be indicted along with all the other war criminals in the Bush administration.

The 'Un' Christian Coaltion needs your support

The right-wing's spiritual leader doesn't pay his debts just like they don't

"In an era when conservative Christians enjoy access and influence throughout the federal government, the organization that fueled their rise has fallen on hard times. The once-mighty Christian Coalition, founded 17 years ago by the Rev. Pat Robertson as the political fundraising and lobbying engine of the Christian right, is more than $2 million in debt, beset by creditors' lawsuits and struggling to hold on to some of its state chapters. "There's a trail of debt. . . . We believe, our board believes, any Christian organization has an obligation to pay its debts in a timely fashion."

"Pay its debts in a timely fashion"? Why would this organization feel the need to be any different than the Republican Party that they support so 'religiously'? Republicans don't pay their debts and in fact, not one single one of them has paid their debt since Dwight Eisenhower. All you phoney-Christian wingnuts better start sending more money to your hero, Pat Robertson, because it's awfully embarrassing to you Republicans that the organization that's ran by your direct 'spokesman to God' is failing so miserably. I guess ol' brother Pat, better get his signal back on his open line to Jesus pretty quick.

The Bush affect on our military

Young Officers Leaving Army at a High Rate "Young Army officers, including growing numbers of captains who leave as soon as their initial commitment is fulfilled, are bailing out of active-duty service at rates that have alarmed senior officers. Last year, more than a third of the West Point class of 2000 left active duty at the earliest possible moment, after completing their five-year obligation".

Got fooled again

Lt. General GREGORY NEWBOLD, Retired director of operations at the Pentagon's military joint staff.

"From 2000 until October 2002, I was a Marine Corps lieutenant general and director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After 9/11, I was a witness and therefore a party to the actions that led us to the invasion of Iraq--an unnecessary war. Inside the military family, I made no secret of my view that the zealots' rationale for war made no sense. And I think I was outspoken enough to make those senior to me uncomfortable. But I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat--al-Qaeda. I retired from the military four months before the invasion, in part because of my opposition to those who had used 9/11's tragedy to hijack our security policy. Until now, I have resisted speaking out in public. I've been silent long enough". The rest...

Another general that wasn't listened to. Bush has made it a habit of saying he 'listened to the generals' on what was needed in Iraq but General Newbold is another clear example of what a liar Bush actually is.