Damn Laura...I wish I'd used that Preparation H....

“She knew there were no weapons of mass destruction over there,” he declared. “But Coretta knew and we knew there were weapons of misdirection right here. Millions without health insurance, poverty abounds. For war, billions more. For the poor, no more.” ---- Rev. Joseph Lowery

Carry on

Just because a liar and fool walks into the room you don't sit around lying and acting like a fool. Carry on, say what needs to be said and let things fall where they may fall. Bush should be embarrassed. Unfortunately for Dubya, Karl Rove and his thugs didn't get to pick, and screen and pre-package this audience. "President Bush changed his schedule at the last minute to attend Coretta Scott King's funeral. It might have been a mistake. Not only was he overshadowed by the Bill and Hillary show, but several speakers, including former President Jimmy Carter, aimed sharply pointed darts at the commander in chief as he sat squirming on the dais. "We know now that there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew, and we know, that there are weapons of misdirection right down here," chanted the Rev. Joseph Lowery, an 85-year-old King compatriot who drew the massive audience to its feet for a two-minute ovation. "For war, billions more - but no more for the poor!" he added, to more cheers. Bush, who rarely hears criticism to his face, wore a tight grin as he sat behind Lowery. When Lowery finished, however, Bush shook his hand with a big smile. Carter brought the audience to its feet again at Bush's expense when he mentioned the "secret government wiretapping" of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., a clear reference to the current snooping controversy. And the megachurch erupted once more - first with gasps, then with applause - when Carter brought up the worst moment in Bush's relationship with the black community. "The struggle for equal rights is not over," Carter said

his shadow

Republicans cover-up for Gonzales and the Administration

In another display of cover-up and obstruction of justice for our nation, Republicans on the Judiciary Committee once again chose Party over country by allowing Alberto Gonzales to testify before them without swearing in under oath. The blatant criminality and corruption by Republicans does not get any clearer than that. What logical reason can be given for allowing Gonzales to testify without being sworn in under oath? Anyone who appears before Congress to give testimony should be required to swear in under oath. Alberto Gonzales or Condi Rice should not be given a free pass so that they can continue their lying. Watch the video Read the transcript; SPECTER: So the question is, should the ruling of the chair be upheld that Attorney General Gonzales not be sworn? HATCH: Aye. GRASSLEY: Aye. DEWINE: Aye. GRAHAM: Aye. KYL: Aye. CORNYN: Aye. SPECTER: By proxy, for Sen. Brownback, aye. Sen. Coburn – We’ve got enough votes already. Sen. Leahy? LEAHY: Emphatically, no. KENNEDY: No. BIDEN: No. KOHL: No. FEINSTEIN: No. FEINGOLD: No. SPECTER: Aye. The ayes have it. FEINGOLD: Mr. Chairman, I request to see the proxies given by the Republican senators. SPECTER: Could you repeat that Sen. Feingold? FEINGOLD: I request to see the proxies given by the Republican senators. SPECTER: The practice is to rely upon the staffers. But without counting that vote – Well, we can rephrase the question if there’s any serious challenge of the proxies. This is really not a very good way to begin this hearing. Think Progress

Iraq-$9+ Billion a Month!

"The country's two overseas wars and its homeland defense could cost as much as $10 billion a month this year - nearly 50 percent more than last year, the White House estimates. White House estimates indicate that the U.S. will spend more than $125 billion during the fiscal year ending in September. An additional $50 billion already is being planned as a downpayment for war costs in 2007".. Another example of the two wars, one right, was so wrong, being commingled. Unfortunately, we have 10 times more troops in Iraq than Afghanistan and are spending 90-95% of the $10 billion each month in war that didn't need to be.

Rove arm-twisting

Rove strong arms Committee Republicans to go along or else The White House has been twisting arms to ensure that no Republican member votes against President Bush in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation of the administration's unauthorized wiretapping. Congressional sources said Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove has threatened to blacklist any Republican who votes against the president. The sources said the blacklist would mean a halt in any White House political or financial support of senators running for re-election in November. "It's hardball all the way," a senior GOP congressional aide said.

The Irony

They are angry because 'Muhammed' and Islam are being portrayed as violent. So what do they do? They go out and riot, ravage and pillage and chant, 'death to everyone'...

Four U.S. Marines Die in Western Iraq

Two bombs exploded minutes apart Tuesday near a central Baghdad square, killing at least seven people and wounding 20 as violence increased ahead of a major Shiite holy day later this week. Also Tuesday, the U.S. military said four Marines died in separate explosions in western Iraq and masked gunmen killed a Sunni Arab cleric who headed the city council in the western city of Fallujah. 2,258

Santa Ana Winds Fan Sierra Fire

ANAHEIM HILLS, Calif. -- Santa Ana winds with gusts up 50 mph and near-record temperatures heightened the danger of wildfires across the region on Tuesday, while nearly 1,000 firefighters worked to contain a blaze in Orange County.

Colin Powell's Righthand Man Repents

Lawrence B. Wilkerson Powell's former chief of staff on Iraq intel: 'I participated in a hoax'

DAVID BRANCACCIO: We've been talking grand policy. The then director of the CIA, George Tenent, Vice President Cheney's deputy Libby, told you that the intelligence that was the basis of going to war was rock solid. Given what you now know, how does that make you feel? LAWRENCE WILKERSON: It makes me feel terrible. I've said in other places that it was-- constitutes the lowest point in my professional life. My participation in that presentation at the UN constitutes the lowest point in my professional life. I participated in a hoax on the American people, the international community and the United Nations Security Council. How do you think that makes me feel? Thirty-one years in the United States Army and I more or less end my career with that kind of a blot on my record? That's not a very comforting thing.

Lawrence Wilkerson, a retired Army Colonel, with 31 years of honorable service and Colin Powell's chief assistant for 15 years, is Dick Cheney's worst nightmare and will be one of the prosecution's star witnesses once the impeachment hearings start. More from Wilkerson;

DAVID BRANCACCIO: You're worried that we not have come to that but that we're heading down this path of-- LAWRENCE WILKERSON: Oh I think it's come to that. I think we've had some decisions at this administration that were more or less dictates. We've had a decision that the Constitution as read by Alberto Gonzales, John Yoo and a few other very selected administration lawyers doesn't pertain the way it has pertained for 200-plus years. A very ahistorical reading of the Constitution. And these people marshal such stellar lights as-- Alexander Hamilton. They haven't even read Federalist Six. I'm sure they haven't. Where Alexander Hamilton lays down his markers about the dangers of a dictate-issuing chief executive. This is not the way America was intended to be run by its founders and it is not the interpretation of the Constitution that any of the founders as far as I read the Federalist Papers and other discussions about their views would have subscribed to. This is an interpretation of the constitution that is outlandish and as I said, clearly ahistorical.

Support a Traitor

Friends and supporters of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby have raised $2 million to help him pay his legal bills. The Scooter Libby Legal Defense Trust hopes to raise $5 million to $6 million, or more, said Barbara Comstock, a Republican strategist who is helping the fund's steering committee. Comstock said contributions have been made by hundreds of people across the country in amounts up to $11,000 or $12,000, the threshold to avoid tax liability for the donors. Simply put, the despicable just being despicable.

IRAQ'S CIVIL WAR HAS COST $4,300 PER U.S. FAMILY-- SO FAR

Richard Reeves piece here is off by at least $96 billion but you get the idea. Bush has already spent well over $300 billion in Iraq and he wants to waste another $70 billion by this September 30th. Reeves' $3,000 per family cost estimate is grossly understated and the true cost is actually closer to $4,300 for each American family of four. And, that is only what the cost has been to date, and does not include the additional $120 billion Bush just asked for. When you're getting screwed you should at least know how bad you're getting screwed.

"God forbid critics of the war on Iraq should compare it with the war in Vietnam. But perhaps it is worth mentioning that the liberation of Iraq is now costing more each month than the preservation of the Republic of South Vietnam did more than 30 years ago. As the admitted direct cost of the war reached $250 billion last week -- and the White House asked for $120 billion more on Thursday -- new analyses estimate that the invasion of Iraq could end up costing $2 trillion before it is over. If you remember, the White House's own economic adviser, Lawrence Lindsey, was fired for predicting, in September 2002, six months before the invasion, that the total cost of the war might reach between $100 billion and $200 billion. What I (and perhaps others who questioned the wisdom of the war before it began) remember is the hundreds of e-mails and letters I received after I quoted Lindsey and used the higher figure as more likely. "Moron" and "traitor" were among the more polite epithets of the day".

Cut Omar's head off!

Omar Bakri Mohammed, the radical Muslim cleric, has said the cartoonist behind caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed that have sparked outrage across the Arab world should be tried and executed under Islamic law. The cleric said the cartoonist had insulted Islam and must pay the price.

"Foreign" Oil

Crude Oil Imports Released on January 23, 2006 (Top 15 Countries) (Barrels per Day) Country--------------Nov-05 CANADA------------- 1,776,000 MEXICO------------- 1,658,000 SAUDI ARABIA----- 1,267,000 NIGERIA------------- 1,163,000 VENEZUELA-------- 1,009,000 ANGOLA---------------- 641,000 IRAQ-------------------- 572,000 COLOMBIA------------- 281,000 KUWAIT---------------- 273,000 ALGERIA--------------- 265,000 ECUADOR-------------- 264,000 UNITED KINGDOM--- 229,000 EQUAT. GUINEA------ 107,000 NORWAY--------------- 103,000 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO----------- 70,000 Monthly data on the origins of crude oil imports in November 2005 has been released and it shows that two countries have exported more than 1.5 million barrels per day to the United States. Including those countries, a total of five countries exported over 1.0 million barrels per day of crude oil to the United States (see table above). The top sources of US crude oil imports for November were Canada (1.776 million barrels per day), Mexico (1.658 million barrels per day), Saudi Arabia (1.267 million barrels per day), Nigeria (1.163 million barrels per day), and Venezuela (1.009 million barrels per day). The rest of the top ten sources, in order, were Angola (0.641 million barrels per day), Iraq (0.572 million barrels per day), Colombia (0.281 million barrels per day), Kuwait (0.273 million barrels per day), and Algeria (0.265 million barrels per day). Total crude oil imports averaged 10.265 million barrels per day in November, which is an increase of 0.885 million barrels per day from October. The top five exporting countries accounted for 67 percent of United States crude oil imports in November and the top ten sources accounted for approximately 87 percent of all U.S. crude oil imports.

Did anyone notice who our 5th largest importer, with over 1 million barrels per day, is? Venezuela. Is there any wonder why Bush and the neocons would even contemplate 'liberating' Venezuela away from Hugo Chavez?

Feeding the Insurgency

U.S., Iraq: Oil graft helps fund insurgency Iraqi and U.S. officials say they are seeing a pattern of government corruption enabling the flow of Iraqi oil money and other funds to the insurgency. Ali Allawi, Iraq's finance minister, estimated that insurgents reap 40 to 50 percent of all oil-smuggling profits in the country. Funding the killing of Americans...

unsportsmanlike...

“We knew it was going to be tough going up against the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Holmgren told the fans at Qwest Field. “I didn’t know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well.” ...But true....

'I am al Qaeda'

"Proclaiming "I am al Qaeda," Zacarias Moussaoui was removed -- twice -- from a federal courtroom as jury selection began Monday at a trial to determine whether he should be executed for terror conspiracy". "Moussaoui pleaded guilty to all six counts in April. The first four counts made him eligible for the death penalty". What do we need a trial for? I've already heard enough. Send the asshole off to find those 72 virgins! ...What do you mean, Virginians? CNN

Bush's $2.77 Trillion Budget

Bush submitted a $2.77 trillion budget plan to Congress today That's what Bush proposes for FY07. Here's what's projected to occur this year; In the budget period that we are currently in, FY06, it is projected that Bush will spend $2.71 trillion. Projected revenue is $2.29 trillion creating a projected deficit for the year to be $423 billion, another Bush record. When Bill Clinton left office in 2001, the FY01 federal spending totaled, $1.86 trillion. Revenue for FY01 was $1.99 trillion, resulting in a federal surplus for 2001, of $128 billion. A few things to ponder...Since Bill Clinton left office five budgets ago, federal revenue has increased 15%. Federal spending in that same period has increased 46%. And the difference between a surplus of a $128 billion and a deficit of $423 billion, or $551 billion, is a lot of money. And, the $551 billion is a yearly difference not the total difference between the two administrations, so multiply by five years ($2.5 trillion) to get the real effect of what Bush and the Republicans have cost you. SmartMoney

If he could only vote.....

Dubya would like you to think that a little democracy is all he needs...

Alberto Gonzales to be grilled today

Feingold wants an explanation from Gonzales about his blatant lie before the Committee last year "A year ago, Alberto Gonzales sat before the Senate Judiciary Committee as the Bush administration's nominee for attorney general. He will return Monday in dramatically different circumstances to testify as the chief legal defender of a domestic eavesdropping operation that has touched off a stormy debate over its legality. Gonzales, who as White House counsel provided legal support for the program of surveillance without warrants, is scheduled to be the sole witness before a panel led by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who has made clear his skepticism about the administration's legal rationale. Sen. Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, a member of the Judiciary Committee, is angry over a response from Gonzales during his confirmation hearing when Feingold asked, "Does the president, in your opinion, have the authority, acting as commander in chief, to authorize warrantless searches of Americans' homes and wiretaps of their conversations in violation of the criminal and foreign intelligence surveillance statutes of this country?" At the time, the spy program was well under way. Gonzales denied that the administration was engaged in anything illegal and said, "So what we're really discussing is a hypothetical situation." Feingold, who voted against Gonzales' nomination, recently sent Gonzales a letter reminding him of the exchange -- "misleading testimony," he called it -- and telling him to be prepared to explain it Monday".

Alberto Gonzales flat-out lied in his confirmation hearing for Attorney General. Come on...Just how much more corruption can you get out of one administration?

I'll have the caesar with that crow

"Two big plays, one a straightforward running play that turned into a record-breaking jaunt, the other involving a little trickery, lifted the Pittsburgh Steelers to their fifth Super Bowl title, a 21-10 victory Sunday over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL".

Willie Parker's 75 yard run was phenomenal and Antwaan Randle El's pass to Hines Ward was back breaking. There's 14 points in those 'two big plays' alone, and Seattle only scored 10 so that's basically the game there, it would seem. But, the key play of game came with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh leading 14-10 and Jerramy Stevens catches the pass from Hasselbeck all the way down to the two yard line but Seattle get's called for holding. There wasn't any holding on that play. Even John Madden said just that. That, without question was the call that killed the Seahawks. Instead of first and goal at the two, the ball comes back to the thirty, there's a sack, and the next play after that Hasselbeck get's intercepted. To rub salt into his wound, Hasselbeck is called for a 'chop clock' when tackling the ball carrier returning the interception and get's an additional 15 yards tacked on. There's no goddamn such thing as a chop block on a guy carrying the ball. That's a ridiculous call. Seahawks couldn't buy a break. Forget about the offensive interference call on Jackson's early touchdown. That call goes either way 50% of the time. Forget about the fact that Roethlisberger, 9-21 for 123 yards and 2 interceptions, still hasn't gotten that the ball across the goal line. No way, that wasn't a touchdown, But that's only 4 points. Pittsburgh would have at least kicked the field goal or maybe even score the touchdown if Cowher goes for it on fourth down. But, Roethlisberger wasn't in the end zone. Fourth down, not a touchdown. Officials don't have the guts to make the right call on the review there. Jerramy Stevens dropped more balls than he caught. His drops were key.. But his 20 yard catch down to the two that was caught and called back was even more of a key. It could have been 17-17 at that point, the way I see it. And, if Stevens catches one out of the three he drops, Seattle might have even been up. But, Seattle didn't close it out and the Steelers came through with the big plays when they had to..... I didn't see much of Joey Porter...but he has a ring, doesn't he?....Pass the crow...

Seahawks Silence Steelers, 27-17

Seattle Wins Its First Super Bowl and Some NFC Respect The 'terrible towels' went limp with 7:14 left in the third quarter when the Seattle Seahawk's behemoth left guard, Steve Hutchinson on a beautiful cross-blocking sweep around left end collided and knocked Pittsburgh Steeler's motor mouth linebacker, Joey Porter out cold, and out of the game. Hutchinson’s crushing block on Porter paved the way for a Shaun Alexander 8 yard run into the end zone and his second touchdown of the game, giving the Seahawks a 24-10 lead. The Steelers had cut the Seahawk's 17-3 halftime lead in half just minutes earlier on a one yard plunge by Jerome Bettis that was set up by a 58 yard run on a reverse by Antwaan Randle El three plays earlier. But a 64 yard return on the ensuing kickoff by Josh Scobey to the Steeler's 28, quickly sent the Steeler's defense back on their heels and Alexander grinded out the remaining 28 yards on four consecutive carries, scoring from 8 yards out. Alexander's two touchdowns gave him an even 30 for the year and along with his 132 yards on 27 carries, enough votes to earn him the 40th Super Bowl’s MVP. Alexander became only the seventh player to win both the League MVP and Super Bowl MVP in the same year. Hutchinson, in his fifth year out of the University of Michigan, in a display of emotion not very Wolverine-like, stood over the stunned, dazed and almost unconscious Porter momentarily, half-mocking his comment from earlier in the week by tapping his helmet and glaring at coach Bill Cowher and the Steeler's bench. Porter, this year’s Super Bowl ‘goat’, who taunted tight end Jerramy Stevens and the rest of the Seahawk offense most of the week for being 'soft', did not return from the locker room after his injury. Cowher reported in the post game press conference that Porter had been taken to Henry Ford Hospital for further observation on what was believed to be a concussion. Initial scans of his brain came back negative. Although it was Alexander's consistent power running that led the way for the Seahawks, Seattle's quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck picked apart the Steeler's pass defense by completing 25 of 38 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown, a 23 yarder to Stevens with 1:23 left in the first half. The Steeler's second year quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, could not shake the Seahawk's pass rush, getting sacked four times, twice by Bryce Fisher, and once by Grant Wistrom, and throwing two untimely interceptions, one to rookie middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu, and one to strong safety Michael Boulware, that led to 10 Seattle points. Roethlisberger ended his disappointing day by completing just 21 of 45 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown, a 24 yarder to Hines Ward with 1:03 left in the game. One major disappointment for the Steelers and for the Detroit hometown fans, Bettis playing in probably his last game was held to just 49 yards on 22 carries but did score the Steeler's first touchdown on the one yard run early in the third quarter. Another Detroit hometown favorite though, Steeler's linebacker, Larry Foote, and also a former Wolverine, turned in one of his best games of the season with 11 tackles, 6 unassisted. Steeler's running back, Willie Parker had a little easier go at it than Bettis, finishing with 88 yards on 28 carries, but Parker had a crucial fumble early in the first quarter on Pittsburgh's 40 yard line that led to the Seahawk's first touchdown. It's good to see the NFC back as Super Bowl Champs. Seattle didn't appreciate being a 4 1/2 point underdog and then getting dissed by Porter all week. Way too many Johnny Come Lately Steeler fans forgot to give Matt Hasselbeck or the Seattle defense their due and Mike Holgrem totally schooled Bill Cowher. But, at least the Steeler fans at Ford Field had towels to wipe away their tears with. GO SEAHAWKS!

Face it, Scooter flat out lied under oath

If your boss tells you a 'secret', a secret that is so sensitive that it's actually an act of treason to expose it, and your boss is Dick Cheney, the vice-president of the United States, do you think it's realistic to believe that you could confuse that conversation with another one you had with Tim Russert? I don't either.....

New Details Revealed on C.I.A. Leak Case "...Dick Cheney's former chief of staff told prosecutors that Mr. Cheney had informed him "in an off sort of curiosity sort of fashion" in mid-June 2003 about the identity of the C.I.A. officer at the heart of the leak case, according to a formerly secret legal opinion, parts of which were made public on Friday. The newly released pages were part of a legal opinion written in February 2005 by Judge David S. Tatel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. His opinion disclosed that the former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., acknowledged to prosecutors that he had heard directly from Mr. Cheney about the Central Intelligence Agency officer, Valerie Wilson, more than a month before her identity was first publicly disclosed on July 14, 2003, by a newspaper columnist. "Nevertheless," Judge Tatel wrote, "Libby maintains that he was learning about Wilson's wife's identity for the first time when he spoke with NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert on July 10 or 11." Mr. Russert denied Mr. Libby's account. Over all, the new material amplified and provided new details on charges outlined in the October 2005 indictment against Mr. Libby. The indictment accused Mr. Libby of falsely telling investigators that he had first learned about Ms. Wilson from reporters, when he had, according to the charging document, learned of it from other government officials like Mr. Cheney".

Scooter Libby obviously lied and he lied for a reason. He's covering up for something, or someone, and he needs to face serious prosecution, with serious jail time so that he feels compelled to tesitfy against that boss, Dick Cheney.

We didn't need to invade-Iraq wasn't a threat and Bush knew it

"Watch This British News Video and Then Ask Why is Bush Still in the White House and Not In Jail? And This is Just One of His Impeachable Offenses". Buzzflash Those of you who fell for Bush's ruse about an 'immediate threat', and those of you who 'bent over' when he said, 'just trust me', you should be embarrassed and humiliated now that you have learned Bush knew all along it wasn't true. He just wanted to go to war. And it's cost us what?

2,250

2,250

Eating their own

"Having plunged us into an unnecessary war, Bush now confronts the real possibility of strategic defeat and a failed presidency".~Pat Buchanan There's nothing much better than seeing Republicans begin to fall apart and start attacking each other. It's refreshing to hear Pat Buchanan, who is one of a few true conservatives in this country, speaking the truth about all the phony big spending globalists who have wreaked havoc on this nation over the last five years. "Why would a president use his State of the Union to lash out at a school of foreign policy thought that has had zero influence in his administration? The answer is a simple one, but it is not an easy one for Bush to face: His foreign policy is visibly failing, and his critics have been proven right".

Dick Cheney-Lying War Criminal

"The campaign against Joseph Wilson continued even after the CIA concluded that Iraq had not tried to buy uranium from the African nation of Niger".

Cheney Feigned Ignorance on Yellowcake Claim On September 14, 2003, Vice President Dick Cheney appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press to discuss the faulty pre-war evidence on Iraq. Here was Cheney’s response on the question of whether Iraq was trying to acquire uranium:

I guess the intriguing thing, Tim, on the whole thing, this question of whether or not the Iraqis were trying to acquire uranium in Africa. …. I don’t know what the truth is on the ground with respect to that. [Meet the Press, 9/14/03]

Today, Murray Waas, writing in the National Journal, reveals Cheney’s false pretense. Three months before he appeared on Meet the Press, Cheney and his chief of staff Scooter Libby were personally presented a memo by CIA Director George Tenet that debunked the uranium acquisition theory:

CIA analysts wrote then-CIA Director George Tenet in a highly classified memo on June 17, 2003, “We no longer believe there is sufficient” credible information to “conclude that Iraq pursued uranium from abroad.” The memo was titled: “In Response to Your Questions for Our Current Assessment and Additional Details on Iraq’s Alleged Pursuits of Uranium From Abroad.”

So, three months after receiving a memo from the CIA informing him Iraq was not purchasing uranium, Cheney went before a national televised audience and refused to tell the truth about what he knew. All this coming from a man who said, "The suggestion that’s been made by some U.S. senators that the President of the United States or any member of this administration purposely misled the American people on pre-war intelligence is one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired in this city."

Think Progress

DOD News Release(s) 4 Marines, 2 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/nr20060203-12419.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 095-06 February 3, 2006 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DoD Identifies Marine Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pfc. Sean T. Cardelli, 20, of Downers Grove, Ill., died Feb. 1 from enemy small arms fire while conducting combat operations near Fallujah, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/nr20060131-12398.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 085-06 January 31, 2006 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DoD Identifies Marine Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of two Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lance Cpl. Hugo R. Lopez, 20, of La Habra, Calif., died Jan. 27 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, from wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Rawah, Iraq on Nov. 20, 2005. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, (Forward). Cpl. Felipe C. Barbosa, 21, of High Point, N.C., died Jan. 28 from a non-hostile vehicle accident in Fallujah, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 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/nr20060130-12389.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 080-06 January 30, 2006 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. David L. Herrera, 26, of Oceanside, Calif., died in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 28, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. Herrera was assigned to the 2nd 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/nr20060130-12395.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 083-06 January 30, 2006 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DoD Identifies Marine Corps Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Lance Cpl. Billy D. Brixey Jr., 21, of Ferriday, La., died Jan. 27 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, from wounds received as a result of an improvised explosive device while traveling in a convoy in Afghanistan on Jan. 25. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. During Operation Enduring Freedom, his unit was attached to 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/nr20060130-12387.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 079-06 January 30, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Spc. Brian J. Schoff, 22, of Manchester, Tenn., died in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 28, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Schoff was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bush say's one thing and does another

Does anyone other than the Bush-Butt People, who have their heads up Bush's ass so far they can't think straight, actually believe the habitual liar anymore? What's it been, 3 or 4 days since his SOTU and he's been exposed for at least two lies already?

Energy goal, cuts don’t jibe President Bush made his strongest-ever pitch for alternative energy Tuesday night, about a month after the federal government cut the budget of the Golden-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory by $28 million.

How Coincidental...

Trial of Libby for spy leak set for 2007 "A federal judge on Friday set former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby’s trial date for January 2007, two months after the midterm congressional elections. Libby, who faces perjury and obstruction of justice charges, will go on trial Jan. 8, said U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton. Walton said he had hoped to start the trial in September but one of Libby’s lawyers had a scheduling conflict that made an earlier date impossible".

Huh, what a coincidence that Libby's trial will now be held 2 months after the mid-term elections. His attorney has a "scheduling conflict". Any judge that had a pair of gonads would tell Libby and his lawyers, tough shit, but then again, good ol' Reggie is a Bush appointee and a Republican, after all. He's also part of the obstruction of justice team for the criminal conspirators in the administration, too. When is it time to take these people out?

Proof that it wasn't about WMDs

Tony, don't worry about it. If I can get 60 million of these dumbasses to vote for me, believe me, they'll fall for anything ... They're nothing but stupid little sheep..

Bush knew there was "no evidence" of WMDs "A memo of a two-hour meeting between the two leaders at the White House on January 31 2003 - nearly two months before the invasion - reveals that Mr Bush made it clear the US intended to invade whether or not there was a second UN resolution and even if UN inspectors found no evidence of a banned Iraqi weapons programme. "Mr Bush told Mr Blair that the US was so worried about the failure to find hard evidence against Saddam that it thought of "flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft planes with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colours". Mr Bush added: "If Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach [of UN resolutions]".

What more proof does this country need that Bush lied us into needlessly invading Iraq? Bush was "so worried about the failure to find hard evidence", that he, Cheney, Wolfowitz and the rest of these conspirators, made it up. This should be the final straw that leads to the impeachment and conviction of George Bush who should now be considered a war criminal. He needs to be held accountable for the massive loss of lives, the 16,000 gravely wounded Americans and the incredible waste of $500 billion. The British news

They even cheat among themselves

We all know from Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004 that Republicans can't win elections without cheating and what happened in the House vote for Majority Leader is just another clear example of how they cheat even among themselves. They had to throw out the first vote because there were more votes than actual representatives there to vote. What more needs to be said about these cheating bastards? Thanks to Mark over at the Liberal Avenger and, Roll Call

Bush's $120 billion bait & switch

One of Bush's favorite ways to confuse his ignorant followers is talk as if the Iraq war is a 'war on terrorism'. The well educated and those with integrity know the difference and know that the war in Iraq is not about terrorism. So when the news media reports that Bush is asking for an additional $120 billion for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars the public should demand the two be separated. Bush should not be allowed to commingle the justified war in Afghanistan that 100% of the American people and almost every single country in the world supported with his fiasco in Iraq. The article from ABC below points out that after this additional $120 billion, Bush has squandered $500 billion and although the article doesn't point out the fact that Afghanistan is LESS than 1/20th of that, less than $25 billion, I will. Bush should not be allowed to further disguise the cost of his lying blunder of invading in Iraq. He was allowed to do that and was able to get re-elected because Americans were not smart enough to figure that out in 2004, but those days are over. The gig is up, Dubya. Bush will never tell the American public the truth but we expect the truth about the difference between Afghanistan and Iraq by our free press and we shouldn't accept anything less.

Bush to Request $120B More for War Funding The Bush administration said Thursday it will ask Congress for $120 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and $18 billion more this year for hurricane relief. If approved by Congress, the war money would push spending related to the wars toward a staggering half-trillion dollars. (CORRECTION FROM THE NEWS MEDIA-BUSH REQUESTS ADDITIONAL $114 BILLION FOR IRAQ FIASCO AND $6 BILLION FOR AFGHANISTAN, RAISING THE COST OF THE NEOCON'S LIES TO $475 BILLION AND RIGHTFUL ACTION IN AFGHANISTAN TO $25 BILLION)

DEMAND THE TRUTH. DON'T BE A WEAK-KNEED CHUMP. GET OFF YOUR KNEES, YOU'RE EMBARRASSING YOURSELF!

Boehner, nothing else needs to be written

I was going to write a blog story on the Republican's new corrupt Majority Leader, John Boehner and then I realized, I didn't need to waste anymore time on just another Republican crook. I could just refer you to my earlier writings here and here. John Boehner is what the Republicans have as their best shot at "reform"? They're in big trouble. Replacing one politician who is a whore to lobbyists with another whore isn't going to fool anyone.

Temperatures Rise Over Cartoons

(My favorite)

'An international dispute over European newspaper cartoons deemed blasphemous by some Muslims gained momentum on Thursday when gunmen threatened the European Union offices in Gaza and more European papers pointedly published the drawings as an affirmation of freedom of speech. In Gaza, masked gunmen swarmed the European Union offices on Thursday to protest the cartoons, and there were threats to foreigners from European countries where the cartoons have been reprinted. The gunmen stayed about 45 minutes'.

More

'Moving toward'? Republicans have already long been there!

"NOVAK: Bush appeared to be moving toward bigger government..." That sentence above was what Drudge had up on his site as lead-in to a Bob Novak article that he wrote for TownHall. 'Moving toward'? It's always amazing to me just how stupid people really are. Even grouchy old bastards like Bob Novak who is suppose to be oooh so smart, is just an utter fool or maybe, just like most Republicans, a revisonist liar. George Bush 'moving toward' bigger government? Bush, like his father and Ronald Reagan before him, are the pure definition of 'bigger government'. All these fools have to do is check the facts. Don't read and believe what these lying revisionist, phoney-ass conservatives try to portray, follow the money. Republicans are NOT conservatives. They are the Party that has grown government and federal spending at ridiculous levels every single year that they were in office. And if you read this blog and you say differently, then you are a liar, too. Because you damn well know better. Oh yeah, in case the fact that Republicans are the guilty party when it comes to growing government isn't enough to convince you that they are the party of ruin, how about a little social security trivia? Which president was the first to ever tax social security? Hmmm, give up? Well, he's the guy seated below signing the bill that did just that. Ronald Reagan Signing of the Social Security Amendments Act of 1983

Just because he's an asshole

I'm writing this blog story for no other reason than to point out the obvious; Bill O'Reilly is an a perverted asshole. I got the idea from MediaMatters who got it from Keith Olbermann. It's certainly not news but it sure is interesting. O'Reilly is almost as big of a hypocritcal perverted asshole than the big three-time married, three-time divorced, closeted homo 'conservative' family-values oxycontin pig-boy Limbaugh himself. And, that is extremely hard to do. For all you phoney conservatives out there, be sure to read about one of your true heros at the Smokinggun.com. You assholes deserve each other.

Shut up and do what you're paid to do

So the Joint Chief of Staff are upset with Tom Toles and the Washington Post about Toles cartoon here. Well, tough Generals. We civilians are not in your chain of command anymore and we don't have to listen to you. This isn't Nazi-Germany or Stalin's Soviet Union and you need to shut the fuck up and mind your own goddamn business. Maybe for starters you could begin with the First Amendment! If you would defend your soldiers, marines and airmen as much as you defend Rumsfeld and his boss, Toles wouldn't need to draw cartoons that so perfectly describe what you have given us. Again, you are the military-we are civilians-shut the fuck up and stay out of our business! Nice job, Toles. Great editorial cartoon that hits the nail on the head with these traitorous bastards! We understand that your cartoon is NOT a knock on our military men and women but on Rumsfeld and his boss, who have sent them there based on lies and without the proper armor for their vehicles or themselves. The Joint Chief of Staff are only angry because of their guilt and shame of sitting by silently while they've allowed it to happen. They damn well should feel ashamed and they should resign their commission.

Reagan, not Clinton was the 'Paper Tiger'

I'm sure you have heard the story many times of Osama bin Laden referring to Bill Clinton as a 'Paper Tiger' in reference to the tragedy of Somalia in 1993. That is false. Bin Laden wasn't referring to Bill Clinton or the United States. He was referring to, the American soldier, wrongly of course, but nonetheless, he wasn't referring to Clinton. Here's what he said in an interview with ABC reporter John Miller in a May 1998 hour-long interview at his mountaintop camp in southern Afghanistan; "After leaving Afghanistan, the Muslim fighters headed for Somalia and prepared for a long battle, thinking that the Americans were like the Russians," bin Laden said. "The youth were surprised at the low morale of the American soldiers and realized more than before that the American soldier was a paper tiger and after a few blows ran in defeat. And America forgot all the hoopla and media propaganda ... about being the world leader and the leader of the New World Order, and after a few blows they forgot about this title and left, dragging their corpses and their shameful defeat." So, once again, you learn something here on this blog. You have now learned that what you've thought and what you may have even said, isn't true after all. Osama bin Laden did NOT refer to Bill Clinton or the United States as a "Paper Tiger'. But, if there was a president that showed himself as a 'Paper Tiger', that would be Ronald Reagan when he cut and ran after his dismal failure to protect our Marines in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983. Yes, as Caspar Weinberger has now come forward and told the nation, not only did Reagan run like a girl from Beirut, but he also refused to protect those 241 Marines in the first place. He failed at that, too. And, the biggest crime of all, you know, you've read about it here many times before; Reagan turned around a couple of years later and sold those same Iranian terrorists, Hezbollah, who killed our Marines in Beirut, thousands of TOW missiles!

Aide: Reagan Warned Before Beirut Blast A former defense secretary for Ronald Reagan says he implored the president to put Marines serving in Beirut in a safer position before terrorists attacked them in 1983, killing 241 servicemen. "I was not persuasive enough to persuade the president that the Marines were there on an impossible mission," Caspar Weinberger says in an oral history project capturing the views of former Reagan administration officials. But he said one of his greatest regrets was in failing to overcome the arguments that "'Marines don't cut and run,' and 'We can't leave because we're there'" before the devastating suicide attack on the lightly armed force. "They had no mission but to sit at the airport, which is just like sitting in a bull's-eye," Weinberger said. "I begged the president at least to pull them back and put them back on their transports as a more defensible position."

You didn't think Bush was telling the truth, did you?

Administration backs off Bush's vow to reduce Mideast oil imports 'One day after President Bush vowed to reduce America's dependence on Middle East oil by cutting imports from there 75 percent by 2025, his energy secretary and national economic adviser said Wednesday that the president didn't mean it literally'.

If the 'Dumbone's' lips are moving, chances are he's lying.

Another way to skin a cat

Bush Says Don't Expect Oil Price Breaks George Bush defended the huge profits of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) Wednesday, saying they are simply the result of the marketplace and that consumers socked with soaring energy costs should not expect price breaks. In an interview with The Associated Press, Bush also addressed oil's future, offering a more ambitious hope than in his State of the Union speech for cutting imports from the volatile Mideast. However, he said his oft-stated goal of a Palestinian state in the region cannot be realized if a Hamas-led government refuses to renounce its desire to destroy Israel. Bush, a former Texas oilman, said of oil costs, "I think that basically the price is determined by the marketplace and that's the way it should be."

I have to agree with that. Energy prices are driven by the market and let's face it, we all need gasoline so what, as consumers can we do about a company that earns $38 billion a year and is still gouging? You boycott Exxon. As I said, we all need gasoline but we don't have to buy from Exxon. If NO ONE bought gas from Exxon for six months they'd get the message. After six months, boycott Shell. Another six months, boycott Standard Oil. Believe me, they would get the message.

Bush: Would send twin daughters to defend Israel against Iran

"U.S. President George W. Bush vowed on Wednesday the United States will rise to Israel's defense if needed against Iran and denounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for "menacing talk" against Israel. In a Reuters interview aboard Air Force One en route to Nashville, Bush also said he saw a "very good chance" that the governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency will refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. "I am concerned about a person that, one, tries to rewrite the history of the Holocaust, and two, has made it clear that his intentions are to destroy Israel," Bush said. "Israel is a solid ally of the United States, we will rise to Israel's defense if need be. So this kind of menacing talk is disturbing. It's not only disturbing to the United States, it's disturbing for other countries in the world as well," he added. Asked if he meant the United States would rise to Israel's defense militarily, Bush said: "You bet, we'll defend Israel."

I guess Bush is ready to send his slutty twin daughters off to fight for Israel. I know he's certainly ready to sacrifice every one else's sons and daughters so if he can get his two skanks off the bottle and off their backs long enough to do 12 weeks of bootcamp, maybe they can pitch in on his next war.

Driving while Black

Senior Airman Elio Carrion and his wife

Deputy shoots unarmed Iraq vet airman The FBI is investigating possible civil rights violations in connection with home video of a California deputy shooting an Air Force security officer back from Iraq who appeared to be obeying his commands, according to a Local 6 News report. Officials said 21-year-old Senior Airman Elio Carrion had just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq and was a passenger in a Corvette that was involved in a chase and crash. The 40-second video shows Carrion cowering next to the Corvette after the crash with the deputy standing over him. An amateur photographer said he began shooting the video after the Corvette crashed into a wall "I'm in the military, OK," Carrion can be heard saying on the home video. "Believe me." The deputy said, "Get up, get up." "OK, I'm getting up," Carrion responded. The deputy then fired several shots at Carrion seconds later for no apparent reason. "Shots fired, shots fired," someone can be heard on the tape yelling. The Air Force officer was hospitalized late Tuesday with wounds to his chest, ribs and leg, relatives told a TV station in Los Angeles. Carrion does not face any charges in connection with the incident.

I saw this on Olbermann tonight. Carrion was complying with what the cop was telling him to do but the officer still shot him three times. Then allegedly the cop swore at him several times as he laid there in agonizing pain from his gunshot wounds. This is an all too common occurrence with black men in this country. Watch the video

Give Them Their Wish

According to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey, two thirds of Americans support reducing the number of U.S. troops (66 percent) – up 18 points from 48 percent who supported reducing troops last summer. This represents a 10-point increase in the percentage of Americans who want a troop withdrawal since President Bush starting his latest “stay the course” public relations campaign for his strategy in Iraq. In Iraq, another new poll sponsored by the Program on International Policy Attitudes finds that 70 percent of Iraqis support withdrawing U.S. troops.

Think Progress Seventy percent of the Iraqis want us out? Not a problem-See Ya! Sixty-six percent of Americans want to withdraw? Sounds like a fairly good majority to me. It's very unfortunate that the 46% (only 20% of us said 'don't go', before the invasion and 80% were too stupid to know better) didn't figure that out before November 2004. We wouldn't be having all the problems were stuck with now. 3 members of the 80% that were too sheepish, and too scared to know better

The 'anti-Muslim' cartoons that have Muslims in an uproar

source

SOTU-The Big Whiff!

He swings and misses. The man who ignorantly proclaimed in last year's SOTU to 'have a mandate' and to have 'political capital he was now going to spend', when he had just squeaked by Kerry with 50.7% of the vote, the smallest percentage victory of an incumbent in history, came out once again and struck-out bigtime! The 'axis of evil' lost one of it's axis I guess. Not one word about North Korea. Hey, when you're a loser, don't bring it up. I didn't hear anything about his party's congressional scandals either. Same rule obviously. Definitely the best part of the night though was when he whined about his attempt to destroy social security and the Democrats gave him a rousing standing ovation. Just classic! I thought the wimp was actually going to cry! After all, it's only the real stupid and the Bush suck-ups in this country who think and write that Bush tried to 'reform' social security by eliminating 26% of the money going into it. Of course, that is how the ignorant Party thinks since that's how they've fucked up the national deficit/debt every time they had the chance. George Bush has lost it. Hopefully this November he assists his Party in losing it and we can send the cowboy, who is afraid of horses, back to the ranch about 2 years early. Maybe he should raise sheep since he sure has proven to be able to herd them awfully well. There's nothing that could help this country more than getting the sheep herder out of our White House.

The Cold Hard Facts & A Die-Hard Liar on 9/11

"President Bush and Vice President Cheney have publicly stated that the top-secret domestic spying program Bush authorized in 2002 could have thwarted the 9/11 attacks had the controversial, and possibly illegal, measure been in effect prior to the terrorist strike on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Bush's and Cheney's comments have gone virtually unchallenged by reporters covering the spying story and by a majority of Democratic lawmakers critical of the issue. However, the reality is much different from what Bush and Cheney would have you believe. The fact of the matter is that the Bush administration ignored hard evidence from its top intelligence officials between April and September of 2001 about an impending attack by al-Qaeda on US soil. There's no chance that the National Security Agency's domestic wiretapping initiative would have saved the lives of 3,000 American citizens if an intelligence memo titled "Bin Laden determined to attack inside US" that President Bush received a month before 9/11 couldn't move Bush to take such threats seriously".

The Pathologically Lying George Bush When George Bush was asked what he was doing when he first heard about 9/11 here's what he said in a nationally televised event. Keep in mind, this was less than three months after 9/11; "I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the tower—the TV was obviously on. And I used to fly, myself, and I said, well, there's one terrible pilot. I said, it must have been a horrible accident. But I was whisked off there, I didn't have much time to think about it." [House, 12/4/01] So, what's wrong with that reply you ask? Nothing actually, it just shows that he's a pathological liar because there was no live video of the first plane that attacked the WTC and no video was released of it until over 24 hours later. That's what you call being a pathological liar, folks. It's a very common trait among Republicans.

More Lies from Bush

Since I'm on the subject of the pathological lying George Bush, here's one that's a subject of current interest and one that will hopefully be used over and over again at his impeachment hearing next year. Buffalo, New York, April 20, 2004 "Secondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution". Well documented lies and wonderful evidence for the prosecution.