On Sunday's NBC Meet the Press, Vice President Joe Biden hinted that Iran's election results last week didn't seem quite right... politicos shake their heads over the odor of corruption and huffing news outlets question their validity.
Of course, our own elections have been rife with questionable results.... think of the Supremes deciding the 2000 presidential contest.... while our hackable electronic ballot systems are nothing to brag about.
What we have here seems to be very wishful thinking, and an attitude of "do as I say, not as I do."
Americans want Middle East peace, they want President Ahmadinejad and his scary rhetoric shown the door.... just like we did to Bush/Cheney in 2004.... oh yes, we didn't do that to The Decider and Darth Dick. Instead, while the world held it's breath, we elected them to a second term, after they lied us into the worst foreign policy blunder in our nation's history, the war in Iraq.... the Middle-East-destabilizing war in Iraq.
Well, now we know how the world felt. According to the Washington Post, the rumors of Ahmadinejad's political demise were very premature. As reported by Ken Ballen and Patrick Doherty in "The Iranian People Speak," it appears the "election results in Iran may reflect the will of the people."
On what do they base such an outlandish statement.... on a scientific national poll conducted in Iran three weeks before the election. Ahmadinejad was the preferred candidate two to one, and those results reflect the election's results. The poll was "conducted by telephone from a neighboring country, field work was carried out in Farsi by a polling company whose work in the region for ABC News and the BBC has received an Emmy award." Oh.
That's not what we want to believe. Our instant-gratification conditioning hasn't the patience. But, closing our minds and living in a blame-game la-la land won't change the reality.... nor a system where all Iranian candidates are chosen by a non-elected supreme leader. Here is where the poll's results are very interesting, and encouraging. And, far from the expected safe answers one might expect in a country with an oppressive regime in power.
While preferring Ahmadinejad, for now, four out of five indicated in answer to the poll's questions that they wanted to elect the supreme leader, chose free elections and a free press as priorities, and 77 percent "favored normal relations and trade with the United States." Those weren't safe answers.
So, while choosing Ahmadinejad.... change is in the air. Isn't that what we should be talking about, and encouraging?
In Iran, there are now major protests by supporters of the opposing candidate. One thing all the ballyhoo has done is to evidently unsettle the supreme leader. He's now calling for an investigation into the election. But then, why not. He can't lose. He picked all the candidates.
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Monday, June 15, 2009
Monday, June 08, 2009
Friday is Iran's Defining Moment
There is an event this week that could spell the difference between a peaceful settlement of the Israel/Palestine conflict, reduced tensions in the Middle East, and a halt to the threat of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists; or.....
Escalating the current dangerous Israel/Palestine conflict, increasing tensions in the Middle East, while enabling the unstable ambitions of a nuclear-capable terrorist-funding regime. A regime headed by a holocaust-denying puppet of radical religious leaders.
There is an election scheduled for this Friday in Iran, and much of President Barack Obama's aspirations for Middle East peace, and curbing the bloody mayhem of jihad-inspired terrorism, rest on the outcome.
As reported in the Washington Post, "In Iran, Harsh Talk as Election Nears," by Robert F. Worth, this final week of Iran's presidential campaign, "has reached a level of passion and acrimony almost unheard-of in Iran."
As Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hurls fantastic accusations at his opponents, he is also ducking incoming fire, impassioned fire, and not from just his rivals, but also from long-suffering Iranians who are mad and not going to take it anymore.
For years Ahmadinejad has resorted to inciteful and false rhetoric.... from a constant refrain of threats against Israel, "to wipe them off of the face of the earth"..... and against any Western power that stands by Israel who "from now on will not see any result but the hatred of the people. You should not claim that we did not give a warning," he saber-rattles, to his oft repeated denial of the horrific WWII Jewish holocaust.
But, he also misled and terrorized his own people. In his last presidential campaign he promised the Iranians relief from poverty and a focus on domestic issues, what they got was a "police state" as one Iranian openly charged, and a foreign policy his leading opponent, reformist Mir Husein Moussavi, calls "adventurism, illusionism, exhibitionism, extremism and superficiality.”
This time, Ahmadinejad's hateful-rhetoric is backfiring.... unofficial polls suggest 54 percent of Iranian voters would support Moussavi, while Ahmadinejad lags at 39 percent.
So much rests on the result of Friday's election, and not just for the Iranian people. By showing Ahmandinejad the door, they can lop off the festering head of a regime bent on taking the people back to the zealous, social-freedom-eviscerating, hard-line piety of the 1979 revolution, and stop the plunge toward a nuclear abyss.
As one Moussavi supporter said, “...at the beginning of the Islamic revolution we were all like Ahmadinejad, but we changed our path and our way. ” Another Iranian added that she was speaking on behalf of her friends, "We love our religion, but they have used it as a tool to take people’s rights.”
The good Iranian people can send a message to a hopeful world.... we're taking our lives and our country back. We chose peace over conflict, hope over fear. We're looking forward.
We wish them Allah's speed.....
Escalating the current dangerous Israel/Palestine conflict, increasing tensions in the Middle East, while enabling the unstable ambitions of a nuclear-capable terrorist-funding regime. A regime headed by a holocaust-denying puppet of radical religious leaders.
There is an election scheduled for this Friday in Iran, and much of President Barack Obama's aspirations for Middle East peace, and curbing the bloody mayhem of jihad-inspired terrorism, rest on the outcome.
As reported in the Washington Post, "In Iran, Harsh Talk as Election Nears," by Robert F. Worth, this final week of Iran's presidential campaign, "has reached a level of passion and acrimony almost unheard-of in Iran."
As Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hurls fantastic accusations at his opponents, he is also ducking incoming fire, impassioned fire, and not from just his rivals, but also from long-suffering Iranians who are mad and not going to take it anymore.
For years Ahmadinejad has resorted to inciteful and false rhetoric.... from a constant refrain of threats against Israel, "to wipe them off of the face of the earth"..... and against any Western power that stands by Israel who "from now on will not see any result but the hatred of the people. You should not claim that we did not give a warning," he saber-rattles, to his oft repeated denial of the horrific WWII Jewish holocaust.
But, he also misled and terrorized his own people. In his last presidential campaign he promised the Iranians relief from poverty and a focus on domestic issues, what they got was a "police state" as one Iranian openly charged, and a foreign policy his leading opponent, reformist Mir Husein Moussavi, calls "adventurism, illusionism, exhibitionism, extremism and superficiality.”
This time, Ahmadinejad's hateful-rhetoric is backfiring.... unofficial polls suggest 54 percent of Iranian voters would support Moussavi, while Ahmadinejad lags at 39 percent.
So much rests on the result of Friday's election, and not just for the Iranian people. By showing Ahmandinejad the door, they can lop off the festering head of a regime bent on taking the people back to the zealous, social-freedom-eviscerating, hard-line piety of the 1979 revolution, and stop the plunge toward a nuclear abyss.
As one Moussavi supporter said, “...at the beginning of the Islamic revolution we were all like Ahmadinejad, but we changed our path and our way. ” Another Iranian added that she was speaking on behalf of her friends, "We love our religion, but they have used it as a tool to take people’s rights.”
The good Iranian people can send a message to a hopeful world.... we're taking our lives and our country back. We chose peace over conflict, hope over fear. We're looking forward.
We wish them Allah's speed.....
Monday, June 30, 2008
What's Bush Up To?
Apparently not satisfied with the nation-rending disaster of the war in Iraq, Seymour M. Hersh of The New Yorker now reports that The Decider is "Preparing the Battlefield..... The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran."
A gutless or ill-informed Democratic Congress approved Bush's request for funding for a major escalation of covert operations in Iran late last year.... at about the same time that the National Intelligence Estimate (released in December) concluded that Iran had halted its work on nuclear weapons in 2003.
The administration didn't want to hear that kind of talk. Bush questioned the N.I.E.'s conclusions, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain all bobble-headed into line in his dismissal of the report.
But, evidently having second thoughts about the headlong rush down the hawkish road The Decider wants to travel, Gates and the "Joint Chiefs of Staff are 'pushing back hard' against White House pressure to undertake a military strike against Iran.... 'at least ten senior flag and general officers, including combatant commanders have weighed in on that issue."
And late last year Gates met with the Senate Democratic caucus where he warned of the consequences of a preemptive strike on Iran.... "We'll create generations of jihadists, and our grandchildren will be battling our enemies here in America." Asked if he was speaking for Bush and Vice President Cheney, Gates replied, "Let's just say that I'm here speaking for myself."
Admiral William Fallon, former head of U.S. Central Command in charge of American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, was outspoken in his reservations about an armed attack on Iran.... which resulted in his resigning under pressure in March.
What about Congress?.... "The Democratic leadership's agreement to commit hundreds of millions of dollars for more secret operations in Iran was remarkable.... 'The oversight process has not kept pace - it's been co-opted' by the Administration.... The process is broken, and this is dangerous stuff we're authorizing.' " according to someone familiar with the process.
How did that happen? "After September 11 the President signed an Executive Order giving the Pentagon license to do things that it had never been able to do before without notifying Congress.... called 'preparing battle space'.... circumventing congressional oversight."
While an overwhelmed America watches these events with alarm and frustration at being led further into the explosive Middle East quicksand by the reckless Bush/Cheney cabal, the no-longer-hibernating Russian bear, and oil-hungry China are seizing the day.
As reported by assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration Richard Perle in "Coalition Of the Ineffectual,"..... (WaPo) " 'A successful multilateral coalition' is how Condoleezza Rice described those countries, 'united in confronting Iran,' on which the administration's Iran policy critically depends.
" 'A complete failure' is Barack Obama's description of the Bush administration's Iran policy."
Perle points out that they are both right, but that the "coalition that Rice thinks is a success, and Obama a failure, is, at best, a 'do-nothing decisive' group, with at least half its members - Germany, Russia and China - maneuvering for self-serving advantage in their dealings with the mullahs in Iran."
"Russia continues to assist Iran's nuclear program while selling Iran advanced weapons. China is prowling for oil deals and selling advanced weapons. German businessmen fill the lobbies of Iranian hotels.... the Russians and Chinese have made it clear that they will not support sanctions that are severe enough to exert any real influence."
And what about Iran?.... "Report: Iran to hit Israel if attacked." (WaPo) "The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned that Tehran would respond to an attack against it by barraging Israel with missiles and controlling a key oil passageway in the Persian Gulf," according to a Tehran newspaper report published Saturday.
Soooo...... what has all of this saber rattling produced? "Oil near $143 on Israel-Iran tensions." (WaPo) "Oil rose more than $3 a barrel on Monday to a new record above $143, propelled by heightened market fears of conflict between Israel and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program.
"A fall in the U.S. dollar to three-week low versus the euro helped boost the market..... oil prices have jumped more than 40 percent this year, extending a six-year rally, in response to Middle East tensions...."
It's one minute until midnight.... do you know where your government is?
A gutless or ill-informed Democratic Congress approved Bush's request for funding for a major escalation of covert operations in Iran late last year.... at about the same time that the National Intelligence Estimate (released in December) concluded that Iran had halted its work on nuclear weapons in 2003.
The administration didn't want to hear that kind of talk. Bush questioned the N.I.E.'s conclusions, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain all bobble-headed into line in his dismissal of the report.
But, evidently having second thoughts about the headlong rush down the hawkish road The Decider wants to travel, Gates and the "Joint Chiefs of Staff are 'pushing back hard' against White House pressure to undertake a military strike against Iran.... 'at least ten senior flag and general officers, including combatant commanders have weighed in on that issue."
And late last year Gates met with the Senate Democratic caucus where he warned of the consequences of a preemptive strike on Iran.... "We'll create generations of jihadists, and our grandchildren will be battling our enemies here in America." Asked if he was speaking for Bush and Vice President Cheney, Gates replied, "Let's just say that I'm here speaking for myself."
Admiral William Fallon, former head of U.S. Central Command in charge of American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, was outspoken in his reservations about an armed attack on Iran.... which resulted in his resigning under pressure in March.
What about Congress?.... "The Democratic leadership's agreement to commit hundreds of millions of dollars for more secret operations in Iran was remarkable.... 'The oversight process has not kept pace - it's been co-opted' by the Administration.... The process is broken, and this is dangerous stuff we're authorizing.' " according to someone familiar with the process.
How did that happen? "After September 11 the President signed an Executive Order giving the Pentagon license to do things that it had never been able to do before without notifying Congress.... called 'preparing battle space'.... circumventing congressional oversight."
While an overwhelmed America watches these events with alarm and frustration at being led further into the explosive Middle East quicksand by the reckless Bush/Cheney cabal, the no-longer-hibernating Russian bear, and oil-hungry China are seizing the day.
As reported by assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration Richard Perle in "Coalition Of the Ineffectual,"..... (WaPo) " 'A successful multilateral coalition' is how Condoleezza Rice described those countries, 'united in confronting Iran,' on which the administration's Iran policy critically depends.
" 'A complete failure' is Barack Obama's description of the Bush administration's Iran policy."
Perle points out that they are both right, but that the "coalition that Rice thinks is a success, and Obama a failure, is, at best, a 'do-nothing decisive' group, with at least half its members - Germany, Russia and China - maneuvering for self-serving advantage in their dealings with the mullahs in Iran."
"Russia continues to assist Iran's nuclear program while selling Iran advanced weapons. China is prowling for oil deals and selling advanced weapons. German businessmen fill the lobbies of Iranian hotels.... the Russians and Chinese have made it clear that they will not support sanctions that are severe enough to exert any real influence."
And what about Iran?.... "Report: Iran to hit Israel if attacked." (WaPo) "The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned that Tehran would respond to an attack against it by barraging Israel with missiles and controlling a key oil passageway in the Persian Gulf," according to a Tehran newspaper report published Saturday.
Soooo...... what has all of this saber rattling produced? "Oil near $143 on Israel-Iran tensions." (WaPo) "Oil rose more than $3 a barrel on Monday to a new record above $143, propelled by heightened market fears of conflict between Israel and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program.
"A fall in the U.S. dollar to three-week low versus the euro helped boost the market..... oil prices have jumped more than 40 percent this year, extending a six-year rally, in response to Middle East tensions...."
It's one minute until midnight.... do you know where your government is?
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Bush Spinning in Place....
The Bush administration, and their heir-abhorrent John McSame, are now saying that we are overcoming al Qaeda in Iraq.... of course they fail to mention that al Qaeda wasn't in Iraq until we invaded and set the stage for them.
McCain is loudly trumpeting that our troops are at pre-surge levels. Well, actually we have 155,000 troops on the ground in Iraq... the pre-surge level was 135,000.
What to believe.
As Scott McClellan, former Bush White House press secretary, makes clear in his just-published memoir, the Bush White House operates in constant campaign mode, spewing propaganda steadily in order to manipulate public opinion.
So..... let's step back. Instead of listening to the tornadic spin from those who have everything to lose if Iraq and the fight against terrorism isn't a rosy picture, and be informed by the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Donald M. Kerr, and his national intelligence analysis delivered in a speech Thursday evening.
As reported in "Intelligence Official Sees Little Progress Before Bush Exits" (WaPo), Kerr "predicted that the Bush administration would make little progress before leaving office on top national security priorities including an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, political reconciliation in Iraq and keeping Iran from being able to produce a nuclear weapon.
"A regenerated al Qaeda will remain the leading terrorism threat... "
As the White House issues it lies and distortions, and McCain promises more of the same, Kerr soberly warns against making intelligence a partisan issue, "The Middle East threats and challenges I've laid out.... are nonpartisan in nature and will confront our nation regardless of who is in the Oval Office..." to receive intelligence briefings.
But, as The Decider made clear about his approach to governing as revealed in a statement as governor of Texas.... "I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican."
And, John McSame promises to slip into Bush's Decider boots and march off the cliff....
McCain is loudly trumpeting that our troops are at pre-surge levels. Well, actually we have 155,000 troops on the ground in Iraq... the pre-surge level was 135,000.
What to believe.
As Scott McClellan, former Bush White House press secretary, makes clear in his just-published memoir, the Bush White House operates in constant campaign mode, spewing propaganda steadily in order to manipulate public opinion.
So..... let's step back. Instead of listening to the tornadic spin from those who have everything to lose if Iraq and the fight against terrorism isn't a rosy picture, and be informed by the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Donald M. Kerr, and his national intelligence analysis delivered in a speech Thursday evening.
As reported in "Intelligence Official Sees Little Progress Before Bush Exits" (WaPo), Kerr "predicted that the Bush administration would make little progress before leaving office on top national security priorities including an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, political reconciliation in Iraq and keeping Iran from being able to produce a nuclear weapon.
"A regenerated al Qaeda will remain the leading terrorism threat... "
As the White House issues it lies and distortions, and McCain promises more of the same, Kerr soberly warns against making intelligence a partisan issue, "The Middle East threats and challenges I've laid out.... are nonpartisan in nature and will confront our nation regardless of who is in the Oval Office..." to receive intelligence briefings.
But, as The Decider made clear about his approach to governing as revealed in a statement as governor of Texas.... "I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican."
And, John McSame promises to slip into Bush's Decider boots and march off the cliff....
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Hagel and Lieberman Turnabout
What a difference a day makes.... even more so, eight years.
In the 2000 presidential campaign Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in his long-shot presidential bid.
In 2000, Sen. Joe Lieberman (was D, now I-CT) was the vice presidential running mate on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore.
Fast forward to the 2008 campaign.
Tuesday night Hagel said of McCain's criticism of Barack Obama's pledge to engage with Iran... "I'm very upset with John with some of the things he's been saying. And I can't get into the psychoanalysis of it. But I believe that John is smarter than some of the things he is saying."
Hagel said that unlike McCain, he believes engaging in high-level talks with Iran, unconditionally, is not appeasement and praised Obama's policy of engagement... "I am confident that if Obama is elected president that is the approach we will take.... It is essential."
When asked about a rumor that the Bush administration was ginning up the possibility of war with Iran, Hagel threw the "I" bomb.... "You've got the power of impeachment...." an attack on Iran without the consent of Congress "would bring with it.... outstanding political consequences, including for the Republican party." (Huffington Post)
The subject of Iran and foreign policy brings us to Lieberman's opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal today.... "Democrats and Our Enemies."
Decrying Obama's position of talking with our enemies, Lieberman takes aim at the Democratic party and especially it's presumptive nominee... "Sen. Obama stands in stark contrast to John McCain, who has shown the political courage throughout his career to do what he thinks is right.... John also understands something else that too many Democrats seem to have become confused about lately - the difference between America's friends and America's enemies."
Embracing The Decider's Iraq war and Middle East policies, Lieberman asserts.... "I felt strongly that Democrats should embrace the basic framework the president had advanced for the war on terror as our own..."
Not only has Lieberman embraced the administration's failed foreign policies, but he acts as tender to McCain on his travels, jumping in to clean up McCain's misstatements and filling in as poster boy for McCain's self-proclaimed bipartisan support.
Hagel praises Obama, and Lieberman endorses McSame.... and so the political world turns in the political do-si-do.
In the 2000 presidential campaign Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in his long-shot presidential bid.
In 2000, Sen. Joe Lieberman (was D, now I-CT) was the vice presidential running mate on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore.
Fast forward to the 2008 campaign.
Tuesday night Hagel said of McCain's criticism of Barack Obama's pledge to engage with Iran... "I'm very upset with John with some of the things he's been saying. And I can't get into the psychoanalysis of it. But I believe that John is smarter than some of the things he is saying."
Hagel said that unlike McCain, he believes engaging in high-level talks with Iran, unconditionally, is not appeasement and praised Obama's policy of engagement... "I am confident that if Obama is elected president that is the approach we will take.... It is essential."
When asked about a rumor that the Bush administration was ginning up the possibility of war with Iran, Hagel threw the "I" bomb.... "You've got the power of impeachment...." an attack on Iran without the consent of Congress "would bring with it.... outstanding political consequences, including for the Republican party." (Huffington Post)
The subject of Iran and foreign policy brings us to Lieberman's opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal today.... "Democrats and Our Enemies."
Decrying Obama's position of talking with our enemies, Lieberman takes aim at the Democratic party and especially it's presumptive nominee... "Sen. Obama stands in stark contrast to John McCain, who has shown the political courage throughout his career to do what he thinks is right.... John also understands something else that too many Democrats seem to have become confused about lately - the difference between America's friends and America's enemies."
Embracing The Decider's Iraq war and Middle East policies, Lieberman asserts.... "I felt strongly that Democrats should embrace the basic framework the president had advanced for the war on terror as our own..."
Not only has Lieberman embraced the administration's failed foreign policies, but he acts as tender to McCain on his travels, jumping in to clean up McCain's misstatements and filling in as poster boy for McCain's self-proclaimed bipartisan support.
Hagel praises Obama, and Lieberman endorses McSame.... and so the political world turns in the political do-si-do.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
McCain's Free Ride
It's clear.... John McCain is getting a free ride from the media, maybe lulled by their chummy hops on his Straight Talk Express.
McCain has dodged his lobbyist ties to his bimbo eruption.... he's disarmed his misleading "safe" stroll around a Baghdad market while being guarded by the might of the U.S. military... he's silenced the fallout from his "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" warbling.... he's stepped away from his 100 years in Iraq commitment.... he's tamped down his Mad Max persona....
He's downplayed his pandering to far-right hate purveyor Jerry Falwell and seeking the endorsement of Catholic-and-gay-bashing televangelist John Hagee.... he's expounded unchallenged on his recommendation for less "regulatory, accounting and tax impediments to raising capital" in the face of the Bear Stearns billions bailout even though he admittedly doesn't understand the economy....
And, he's excused for his who-is-who stumbles in Jordan, that a hovering Joe Lieberman whisperingly corrected, on Iran training their enemy al Qaeda.
Just imagine.... imagine if Barack Obama had made these fumbles. He would be history. Imagine if Hillary Clinton didn't know that Iran and al Qaeda are enemies..... she'd be out of the race. But McCain.... the news organizations like the cut of his jib. Never mind that he's not up to the job, he's a nice guy.
Haven't we heard this before? Remember during his presidential campaign when The Decider couldn't name world leaders. Ha, ha, ha, the press said. Isn't that cute. Just like they are treating a not-ready-for-prime-time McSame.
As Harold Meyerson points out today in "McCain on the Red Phone" if McCain becomes president we had better hope that Lieberman bunks with him so if that call comes in the middle of the night he can whisper in McCain's ear.
Meyerson makes the case that McCain made the Iran-al Qaeda mistake more than once, it "wasn't just a passing thought. It was a thought that had taken up residence in McCain's brain.... Whether it was a simple mistake, a neoconservative delusion or a habit of mind that lumps together all of America's enemies we cannot say. What we can say is that the idea of any or all of these options is profoundly disquieting.
"The very thought of a president who deliberately conflates or erroneously confuses our adversaries with each other is appalling, though not without precedent. We're mired in a war that has its roots in George W. Bush's both imagining and fabricating an alliance between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. Do we really want to perpetuate these habits of mind in the next administration?"
Meyerson points out that "McCain's meshugas didn't really get the attention it deserved.... he was fortunate that his descent into fantasy occurred in the same week as Barack Obama's reverend crisis and Wall Street's near-meltdown.
He got a pass from the media, Meyerson says, because his statement "ran so completely counter to his image as an expert on national security."
But just what is that expertise? Has anyone seriously assessed his beliefs? His neoconservative, war-first stance.... The Decider on steroids.
Meyerson bemoans.... "Hard to say what's more dangerous - McCain's approach to the economy or McCain's approach to the world. The thought of him answering the red phone at 3 a.m. fills me with foreboding. Hell, I don't want him answering the phone at 3 p.m."
Monday, March 03, 2008
Are We Safer?....
President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez directed in a radio address this weekend.... "Mr. Defense Minister, move 10 battalions to the border with Colombia for me, immediately--- tank battalions, deploy the air force.... we don't want war, but we aren't going to permit the U.S. empire, which is the master [of Colombia].... to come to divide us." (WashingtonPost)
As the military from leftist Ecuador and Venezuela deploy on their borders with Columbia, a U. S. ally, the tense crisis threatens to erupt into war.
The reason.... a raid by Colombia into Ecuador which killed a leader of the rebel leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) which has fought to overthrow the Colombian government for 40 years.
Colombia said its police and air force shot back at targets in Ecuador only after its forces came under fire from FARC rebels about a mile inside Ecuador.
Chavez warned "This is something very serious. This could be the start of a war in South America" and threatened to retaliate with Sukhois.... recently purchased Russian warplanes.
And... in the Middle East, Iranian's President Ahmadinejad is visiting Baghdad today and telling the U.S. to get out of Iraq and the region. (WashingtonPost)
During his two-day trip, Iran and Iraq will sign seven agreements on customs, transportation links, improving cooperation in industrial development, highlighting the new, closer relations between the former foes.
Since the U.S. overthrow of Saddam and the installation of a new U.S.-backed government, both Iraq and Iran are now run by Shiite majorities.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) decried our lack of focus on Afghanistan and nuclear-armed Pakistan. (NYTimes)
"Afghanistan is slipping toward failure. The Taliban is back, violence is up, drug production is booming and the Afghans are losing faith in their government"... Biden warned.
"If we should have had a surge anywhere, it is Afghanistan.... Afghanistan's fate is directly tied to Pakistan's future and America's security. When President Musharraf of Pakistan concluded that we were not serious about finishing the job in Afghanistan, he began to cut deals with extremists in his own country.
"As a result, the border area remains a freeway of fundamentalism: the Taliban and Al Qaeda find sanctuary in Pakistan, while Pakistani suicide bombers wreak havoc in Afghanistan."
The fruits of the Bush administration's Iraq-obsessed foreign policy.... deep unrest with the specter of war in our backyard, and an obscenely costly war in Iraq that has played into Iran's ambitions in that country while emboldening fundamentalism in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Heck of a job, Georgie.
As the military from leftist Ecuador and Venezuela deploy on their borders with Columbia, a U. S. ally, the tense crisis threatens to erupt into war.
The reason.... a raid by Colombia into Ecuador which killed a leader of the rebel leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) which has fought to overthrow the Colombian government for 40 years.
Colombia said its police and air force shot back at targets in Ecuador only after its forces came under fire from FARC rebels about a mile inside Ecuador.
Chavez warned "This is something very serious. This could be the start of a war in South America" and threatened to retaliate with Sukhois.... recently purchased Russian warplanes.
And... in the Middle East, Iranian's President Ahmadinejad is visiting Baghdad today and telling the U.S. to get out of Iraq and the region. (WashingtonPost)
During his two-day trip, Iran and Iraq will sign seven agreements on customs, transportation links, improving cooperation in industrial development, highlighting the new, closer relations between the former foes.
Since the U.S. overthrow of Saddam and the installation of a new U.S.-backed government, both Iraq and Iran are now run by Shiite majorities.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) decried our lack of focus on Afghanistan and nuclear-armed Pakistan. (NYTimes)
"Afghanistan is slipping toward failure. The Taliban is back, violence is up, drug production is booming and the Afghans are losing faith in their government"... Biden warned.
"If we should have had a surge anywhere, it is Afghanistan.... Afghanistan's fate is directly tied to Pakistan's future and America's security. When President Musharraf of Pakistan concluded that we were not serious about finishing the job in Afghanistan, he began to cut deals with extremists in his own country.
"As a result, the border area remains a freeway of fundamentalism: the Taliban and Al Qaeda find sanctuary in Pakistan, while Pakistani suicide bombers wreak havoc in Afghanistan."
The fruits of the Bush administration's Iraq-obsessed foreign policy.... deep unrest with the specter of war in our backyard, and an obscenely costly war in Iraq that has played into Iran's ambitions in that country while emboldening fundamentalism in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Heck of a job, Georgie.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Gramm is McCain's $$ Man
This is a problem for GOP candidate John McCain in November.... "Inflation, Consumer Prices Rise in January." (WaPo)
"Inflation accelerated in January as the rising cost of energy, food and transportation led price increases across a broad array of goods and services..... and yesterday "oil closed at a record high of more than $100 a barrel.... ."
You get the picture, our economy is in the dumper. Yet candidate McCain admitted to the Wall Street Journal editorial board in January that he "doesn't really understand economics" and looks to his adviser and former Senate colleague, Phil Gramm.... whom he had brought to the meeting.... as his expert on the subject! (HuffPost)
Phil Gramm! "By your advisers we shall know you" should be a heeded campaign commandment. Because we now know a lot more about McCain by his choice of an economic guru.
Gramm, who prides himself on meanness, once wrote a vanquished opponent, "I feel sorry for your many problems, but you deserve them."
Elected as a tight-fisted Texas conservative in 1984, over time he was shown to be all sermon and no scripture.... "Gramm spoke of belt-tightening, but forced it only on folks he didn't need, notably immigrants and the poor. He began his career railing against corporate subsidies, but he never pulled the trigger. Instead he became one of the biggest recipients of campaign contributions from energy, banking, health-care, and insurance companies." (Slate)
During his 18 years in the Senate, Gramm helped spearhead the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act which allowed commercial and investment banks -- like Citigroup --to more easily merge. He's all about big business is better and anti-government.
Gramm also reflects the world-view of in-Iraq-100-years, bomb-bomb-bomb-Iran, jobs-will-never-come-back McCain. Gramm ran for president himself in 1996, and failed.... "What killed Gramm in '96 was not that he's hypocritical or too ambitious or ugly (one of his talking points) or even condescending. What killed him was that he has a deeply gloomy view of the world. Gramm lives on fear. We're on an escalator to hell..... He sees enemies everywhere."
He's been described as having "a rare quality in a successful politician. He is a man smaller than life." Making Gramm the perfect ideologial fit for McCain, but not for a country bent on change and hope for the future.
McCain's handlers and the Republican mover-doers know that McCain is weak on economics but strong on war and fear, especially fear. Watch for the fear meter to go to red by November.... a terrorist incident, escalating problems in the Middle East.... we'll know it when we see it. It'll be a commander-in-chief moment tailor-made (literally?) for MadMax McCain. Or at least spun to holocaustic-heights by the Republican myth-makers.
In November citizens will have a clear choice.... the McCain-Gramm continuance of The Decider's boogieman style and downward economic spiral, or turning the page and moving forward. No decision should be easier.
"Inflation accelerated in January as the rising cost of energy, food and transportation led price increases across a broad array of goods and services..... and yesterday "oil closed at a record high of more than $100 a barrel.... ."
You get the picture, our economy is in the dumper. Yet candidate McCain admitted to the Wall Street Journal editorial board in January that he "doesn't really understand economics" and looks to his adviser and former Senate colleague, Phil Gramm.... whom he had brought to the meeting.... as his expert on the subject! (HuffPost)
Phil Gramm! "By your advisers we shall know you" should be a heeded campaign commandment. Because we now know a lot more about McCain by his choice of an economic guru.
Gramm, who prides himself on meanness, once wrote a vanquished opponent, "I feel sorry for your many problems, but you deserve them."
Elected as a tight-fisted Texas conservative in 1984, over time he was shown to be all sermon and no scripture.... "Gramm spoke of belt-tightening, but forced it only on folks he didn't need, notably immigrants and the poor. He began his career railing against corporate subsidies, but he never pulled the trigger. Instead he became one of the biggest recipients of campaign contributions from energy, banking, health-care, and insurance companies." (Slate)
During his 18 years in the Senate, Gramm helped spearhead the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act which allowed commercial and investment banks -- like Citigroup --to more easily merge. He's all about big business is better and anti-government.
Gramm also reflects the world-view of in-Iraq-100-years, bomb-bomb-bomb-Iran, jobs-will-never-come-back McCain. Gramm ran for president himself in 1996, and failed.... "What killed Gramm in '96 was not that he's hypocritical or too ambitious or ugly (one of his talking points) or even condescending. What killed him was that he has a deeply gloomy view of the world. Gramm lives on fear. We're on an escalator to hell..... He sees enemies everywhere."
He's been described as having "a rare quality in a successful politician. He is a man smaller than life." Making Gramm the perfect ideologial fit for McCain, but not for a country bent on change and hope for the future.
McCain's handlers and the Republican mover-doers know that McCain is weak on economics but strong on war and fear, especially fear. Watch for the fear meter to go to red by November.... a terrorist incident, escalating problems in the Middle East.... we'll know it when we see it. It'll be a commander-in-chief moment tailor-made (literally?) for MadMax McCain. Or at least spun to holocaustic-heights by the Republican myth-makers.
In November citizens will have a clear choice.... the McCain-Gramm continuance of The Decider's boogieman style and downward economic spiral, or turning the page and moving forward. No decision should be easier.
Monday, January 28, 2008
McCain... Bush on Steroids
Because of his service to our country and years in captivity as a POW in Hanoi, Sen. John McCain is respected, even revered, by many.
But, unlike others who have experienced war.... for instance President Eisenhower, who as U.S. General of the Army and commander of allied forces in Europe during WWII, ever after abhorred war and warned of the "military-industrial complex" taking the country into war.... McCain is daily making it increasingly clear, he'll be a war president.
Talking about the casualties of war at a campaign stop Sunday, and what will be the need for more medical facilities for the many anticipated "combat wounds," he gave his straight-talk assessment.... "There's going to be other wars," and repeated "I'm sorry to tell you, there's going to be other wars. We will never surrender but there will be other wars." (YouTube video)
Other wars? Never surrender? Is this a presidential candidate or a latter-day Dr. Strangelove?
For those looking for a president who can, and evidently will, keep us in costly wars.... McCain's your guy. It's not like we had no idea that war is his shtick. After all, he gave us his rendition of a Beach Boys song last April.... "Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran." (YouTube video)
And, let's not forget his opining that he would support having troops in Iraq for a 100 years.
Of course, some of this macho talk is to divert the campaign rhetoric away from our limping economy.... an economy in trouble in no small part due to the devastating cost of the Iraq war.... because his strongest opponent Mitt Romney claims expertise in the economic arena while that admittedly isn't McCain's strong suit.
For those who bemoan our very long campaign season, look at it this way. The constant campaigning spotlight will eventually illuminate the nooks and crannies where each candidate ticks.... and, in McCain's case, we are slowly realizing it's not a pretty picture.
But, unlike others who have experienced war.... for instance President Eisenhower, who as U.S. General of the Army and commander of allied forces in Europe during WWII, ever after abhorred war and warned of the "military-industrial complex" taking the country into war.... McCain is daily making it increasingly clear, he'll be a war president.
Talking about the casualties of war at a campaign stop Sunday, and what will be the need for more medical facilities for the many anticipated "combat wounds," he gave his straight-talk assessment.... "There's going to be other wars," and repeated "I'm sorry to tell you, there's going to be other wars. We will never surrender but there will be other wars." (YouTube video)
Other wars? Never surrender? Is this a presidential candidate or a latter-day Dr. Strangelove?
For those looking for a president who can, and evidently will, keep us in costly wars.... McCain's your guy. It's not like we had no idea that war is his shtick. After all, he gave us his rendition of a Beach Boys song last April.... "Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran." (YouTube video)
And, let's not forget his opining that he would support having troops in Iraq for a 100 years.
Of course, some of this macho talk is to divert the campaign rhetoric away from our limping economy.... an economy in trouble in no small part due to the devastating cost of the Iraq war.... because his strongest opponent Mitt Romney claims expertise in the economic arena while that admittedly isn't McCain's strong suit.
For those who bemoan our very long campaign season, look at it this way. The constant campaigning spotlight will eventually illuminate the nooks and crannies where each candidate ticks.... and, in McCain's case, we are slowly realizing it's not a pretty picture.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Biden Takes Aim
Truth telling. That is Sen. Joe Biden's (D-DE) way to campaign for the presidency.
For instance, Biden defends the role of the CIA in the administration's decisions on Iran, especially their recent reports about Iran's nuclear weapons capability.... "It's not been so much that we've gotten bad intelligence, but that what we've gotten is manipulation of that intelligence by the president."
Ba-ba boom!
Further, Biden explains, the CIA is "tired of being manipulated by a president who in fact uses the information they produce to do things that do not justify what the report says."
He continues to remind us that while Iran may be a problem in the future, it is Pakistan that is "bristling with nuclear weapons."
How refreshing.... a hard-hitting opinion. About a real problem. Not religious pandering or interest group targeting.
Because of his grasp of the issues, his breadth of experience and his straight-forward commitment to resolve our thorniest issues .... Biden would be a sound choice for thoughtful Iowa caucus goers on January 3.
For instance, Biden defends the role of the CIA in the administration's decisions on Iran, especially their recent reports about Iran's nuclear weapons capability.... "It's not been so much that we've gotten bad intelligence, but that what we've gotten is manipulation of that intelligence by the president."
Ba-ba boom!
Further, Biden explains, the CIA is "tired of being manipulated by a president who in fact uses the information they produce to do things that do not justify what the report says."
He continues to remind us that while Iran may be a problem in the future, it is Pakistan that is "bristling with nuclear weapons."
How refreshing.... a hard-hitting opinion. About a real problem. Not religious pandering or interest group targeting.
Because of his grasp of the issues, his breadth of experience and his straight-forward commitment to resolve our thorniest issues .... Biden would be a sound choice for thoughtful Iowa caucus goers on January 3.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
1986: When U.S. Was Arming Iran
For those of you who only hear the GOP rewriting of history.... especially the Ronald Reagan presidential-greatness fable.... today is a perfect time to shine some sober light on the myth.
On this day 21 years ago.... November 25, 1986.... Reagan finally fessed up in a press conference.... he had not been in full control of his administration's Iran policy, and as a consequence up to $30 million intended to pay for American arms had been secretly diverted to rebel forces in Nicaragua. (NYTimes)
At the same time, another now mythical figure was also outed as Reagan announced that Lieut. Col. Oliver North had left his post after "serious questions of propriety had been raised."
Yes... Reagan's administration had been shipping clandestine arms to Iran and the money from this sale of arms to Iran was diverted to the Nicaragua contras.... even though Congress had barred military aid to them.
Attorney General Edwin Meese, Reagan's Alberto Gonzales, was quick to shield Reagan, announcing that "The only persons in the United States Government that knew precisely about this--the only person--was Lieut. Colonel North,".... but when asked if he would name a special prosecutor to examine the matter Meese answered with a quick "no."
Meese contended that the first United States-sanctioned arms shipment to Iran took place in 1985 without Reagan's knowledge and was approved by the president only after the fact.
A distinction without a difference it would seem to all but the White House.
A tense Reagan devoted less than four minutes to this revealing and explosive press conference and then briskly walked out of the briefing room, leaving Meese to field questions.
Here ended the Reagan fairy tale.... and, our country did not live happily ever after Reagan's "shadow government," budget-busting administration.
On this day 21 years ago.... November 25, 1986.... Reagan finally fessed up in a press conference.... he had not been in full control of his administration's Iran policy, and as a consequence up to $30 million intended to pay for American arms had been secretly diverted to rebel forces in Nicaragua. (NYTimes)
At the same time, another now mythical figure was also outed as Reagan announced that Lieut. Col. Oliver North had left his post after "serious questions of propriety had been raised."
Yes... Reagan's administration had been shipping clandestine arms to Iran and the money from this sale of arms to Iran was diverted to the Nicaragua contras.... even though Congress had barred military aid to them.
Attorney General Edwin Meese, Reagan's Alberto Gonzales, was quick to shield Reagan, announcing that "The only persons in the United States Government that knew precisely about this--the only person--was Lieut. Colonel North,".... but when asked if he would name a special prosecutor to examine the matter Meese answered with a quick "no."
Meese contended that the first United States-sanctioned arms shipment to Iran took place in 1985 without Reagan's knowledge and was approved by the president only after the fact.
A distinction without a difference it would seem to all but the White House.
A tense Reagan devoted less than four minutes to this revealing and explosive press conference and then briskly walked out of the briefing room, leaving Meese to field questions.
Here ended the Reagan fairy tale.... and, our country did not live happily ever after Reagan's "shadow government," budget-busting administration.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Deadly Middle East Meddling
Here we go again!
Regime change to solve a problem.... like the U.S.-supported shah of Iran. And, we all know how that turned out. Iran now has a radical Islamic controlling party and the United States is the enemy.
Learning nothing from history, The Decider tried regime change in oil-rich Iraq. So far what that has gotten us are countless U.S. and Iraqi casualties, a virtual tsunami of national debt, and an unstable warring nation bordering on, and largely politically controlled by, neighboring U.S.-unfriendly Iran. With no good resolution in sight.
The United States had one "friend" in this Middle East cluster, military-coup president Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan. He "supported" the Iraq invasion while dealing with very unstable Islamic elements in his own country.... obviously not very successfully as al Qaeda and The Taliban relocated and revitalized their command and control operations to Pakistan's mountainous northwestern region, even infiltrating and overrunning some cities.
So..... a meddling Bush twisted Musharraf's arm to allow exiled former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto to return to Pakistan in order to forge a power-sharing government. A government pleasing to the United States. This set the stage....
When those negotiations not surprisingly broke down, rather than relinquish his dual role as president and head of the military, Musharraf declared a national emergency.
You see, the "term of Pakistan's current government expires on Thursday, and it also would have been the final day of Musharraf's current stint in office had he not extended it by declaring emergency rule." WaPo
So now, this nuclear-armed nation is coming apart at the seams, and rival leaders are under detention or have been "carted off by the police." NYTimes
Opposition politician Imran Khan, a popular former cricket player, appeared at a university anti-Musharraf protest Wednesday. You probably saw the media accounts.... signs that read "No to Emergency" and "Go Musharraf, Go." Not the "Go" rallying cry of football games, but the "Go" of leave office now.
What you may not have seen were the students at the protest affiliated with the radical Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami who were chanting slogans against President Bush and the United States. Kahn was seized by students belonging to Islami Jamiat-e-Talba, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. They detained him until he was arrested by police.... obviously the radical Islamics are emboldened by recent events.
So, here is the "shah of Iran" showdown once again.... and Musharraf, by aligning himself with the United States, is the enemy of the radical Islamists, but has also alienated the Pakistani moderates with his suspension of the constitution and national-emergency strong-arm tactics....
But this Pakistan showdown is deadly different from Iran's uprising..... for whoever controls Pakistan controls a nuclear-armed nation.
Regime change to solve a problem.... like the U.S.-supported shah of Iran. And, we all know how that turned out. Iran now has a radical Islamic controlling party and the United States is the enemy.
Learning nothing from history, The Decider tried regime change in oil-rich Iraq. So far what that has gotten us are countless U.S. and Iraqi casualties, a virtual tsunami of national debt, and an unstable warring nation bordering on, and largely politically controlled by, neighboring U.S.-unfriendly Iran. With no good resolution in sight.
The United States had one "friend" in this Middle East cluster, military-coup president Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan. He "supported" the Iraq invasion while dealing with very unstable Islamic elements in his own country.... obviously not very successfully as al Qaeda and The Taliban relocated and revitalized their command and control operations to Pakistan's mountainous northwestern region, even infiltrating and overrunning some cities.
So..... a meddling Bush twisted Musharraf's arm to allow exiled former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto to return to Pakistan in order to forge a power-sharing government. A government pleasing to the United States. This set the stage....
When those negotiations not surprisingly broke down, rather than relinquish his dual role as president and head of the military, Musharraf declared a national emergency.
You see, the "term of Pakistan's current government expires on Thursday, and it also would have been the final day of Musharraf's current stint in office had he not extended it by declaring emergency rule." WaPo
So now, this nuclear-armed nation is coming apart at the seams, and rival leaders are under detention or have been "carted off by the police." NYTimes
Opposition politician Imran Khan, a popular former cricket player, appeared at a university anti-Musharraf protest Wednesday. You probably saw the media accounts.... signs that read "No to Emergency" and "Go Musharraf, Go." Not the "Go" rallying cry of football games, but the "Go" of leave office now.
What you may not have seen were the students at the protest affiliated with the radical Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami who were chanting slogans against President Bush and the United States. Kahn was seized by students belonging to Islami Jamiat-e-Talba, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. They detained him until he was arrested by police.... obviously the radical Islamics are emboldened by recent events.
So, here is the "shah of Iran" showdown once again.... and Musharraf, by aligning himself with the United States, is the enemy of the radical Islamists, but has also alienated the Pakistani moderates with his suspension of the constitution and national-emergency strong-arm tactics....
But this Pakistan showdown is deadly different from Iran's uprising..... for whoever controls Pakistan controls a nuclear-armed nation.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Hillary's Fright Night
Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY) got a scare on Halloween eve.... the Democratic presidential debate last night at Drexel University in Philadelphia jarred her inevitability mask as the seven candidates mixed it up, and at times tripped her up.
The bogeymen asking the questions, NBC's Brian Williams and a relentless Tim Russert, delivered one of the liveliest debate forums to date.
Clinton was reduced to sputtering while trying to have it both ways on Russert's question about Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer's proposal to give illegal immigrants a drivers license, and her statement in Nashua, New Hampshire that it makes a lot of sense.
Clinton defended her statement saying, "Well, what Governor Spitzer is trying to do is fill the vacuum left by the failure of this administration to bring about comprehensive immigration reform."
Sen. Chris Dodd (CT) disagreed, "This is a privilege... a license is a privilege, and that ought not to be extended, in my view."
Clinton quickly jumped in, "I just want to add, I did not say that it should be done, but I certainly recognize why Governor Spitzer is trying to do it. And we have failed---"
Dodd didn't let that pass, "Wait a minute. No, no, no. You said yes, you thought it made sense to do it."
Clinton responded, "No, I didn't Chris. But the point is, what are we going to do with all these illegal immigrants who are----"
As Clinton's nose grew, Russert tried to get a straight answer from Clinton... "I just want to make sure what I heard. Do you, the New York Senator Hillary Clinton, support the New York governor's plan to give immigrants a driver's license? You told the Nashua, New Hampshire, paper it made a lot of sense..... Do you support his plan?"
Now in full defensive crouch, Clinton responded, "You know, Tim, this is where everybody plays gotcha. It makes a lot of sense.... Do I think this is the best thing for any governor to do? No. But I do understand the real sense of desperation.... "
Former senator of North Carolina John Edwards also didn't give Clinton a pass.... "Unless I missed something, Senator Clinton said two different things in the course of about two minutes just a few minutes ago and I think this is a real issue for the country.
"I mean, America is looking for a president who will say the same thing, who will be consistent, who will be straight with them. Because what we've had for seven years is double-talk from Bush and from Cheney, and I think America deserves us to be straight."
Sen. Barack Obama (IL) pronounced his confusion at Clinton's answer, "I can't tell whether she was for it or against it, and I do think that is important. You know, one of the things that we have to do in this country is to be honest about the challenges that we face."
But, in the end, Obama agreed with Spitzer's plan leaving Dodd with his most shining moment as the only candidate willing to voice his opposition for Spitzer's dangerous proposal... which opens the floodgates for massive voter fraud by illegal aliens registering to vote using their drivers license for identification. An obvious boon for the Democratic party.
Dodd had other barbs for Clinton. When asked about his statement to an NBC station alluding to problems with Clinton's national electability he didn't dodge. "Well, first of all, I think electability is a very critical issue. Look at the end of this process here, we need to have a Democrat in the White House come January 20th, 2009.... the fact of the matter is.... there are 50 percent of the American public that say they're not going to vote for her."
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson refused to join the haunting of Clinton... "I'm hearing this holier-than-thou attitude toward Senator Clinton.... Yes, we need to point out our differences, and I have big differences with her. Over the war. I would get all our troops out. Over No Child Left Behind. I'd get rid of it.
"I also have differences over Iran. I think that was the wrong vote for her to cast, because I think it was saber-rattling. But I think it's important that we save the ammunition for the Republicans."
Richardson was ready when he was finally asked about one of his best issues, education. He said without equivocation.... "I'd get rid of No Child Left Behind." He would also have 100,000 new science and math teachers and a minimum wage for teachers of $40,000 per year
This is the issue on which Richardson is most passionate, but it's seldom he rises to the occasion on other issues which makes his overall performance unmemorable and reinforces the notion that he is really running for Clinton's Vice President.
While Richardson and Dodd had their moments, Sen. Joe Biden (DE) delivered a strong overall performance, especially on the issues of Iraq and Iran.... of overweening concern to the electorate.
Biden on Iran and the bomb: "The fact of the matter is the Iranians may get 2.6 kilograms of highly enriched uranium; the Pakistanis have hundreds, thousands of kilograms of highly enriched uranium.
"If by attacking Iran to stop them from getting 2.6 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, the government in Pakistan falls, who has missiles already deployed, with nuclear weapons on them, that can already reach Israel, already reach India, then that's a bad bargain."
Biden didn't pull his punches with the opposition either.... "Rudy Giuliani, probably the most underqualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency.... I mean, think about it, Rudy Giuliani. There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11."
Sis-boom! The most memorable line of the evening.
Responding to Richardson's oft made assertion that he's the only one on the stage with negotiating experience, Biden set the record straight.... "I led a delegation of 19 senators negotiating the START agreement with Brezhnev, I was deeply involved in Bosnia.... I'm running to be the leader of this country, to put it back on track..."
On the recent Kyl-Lieberman resolution.... which basically says Iran is a danger to our war in Iraq and the The Decider has enhanced power to act.... Clinton, the only one on the stage who voted for it, said it was because she wanted to "maximize the pressure on Iran."
Edwards response was scathing.... "So the way to do that is to vote yes on a resolution that looks like it was written literally by the neocons? I mean, has anyone read this thing? I mean, it literally gave Bush and Cheney exactly what they wanted.
"It didn't just give them what they wanted; they acted on it. a few weeks later, they declared the Iranian Revolutionary guards a terrorist organization and-- this is going to sound very familiar; remember from Iraq, the prelude to Iraq?--proliferators of weapons of mass destruction. The way you put pressure on this administration is you stand up - you say no."
When Biden was asked if he agreed with Sen. Webb that this resolution was de facto a declaration of war.... "I think it can be used as a fact - a declaration" And, that there are other "consequences for what we do -- and it's not even about going to war."
"Let's look at what happened from the moment that vote took place.
"Oil prices went up to $90 a barrel.... Secondly, we have emboldened Bush at a minimum. His talk of World War III, totally irresponsible talk. We've emboldened him....
"Thirdly, this has incredible consequences for Afghanistan and Pakistan.... we have now driven underground every moderate in Pakistan and in Afghanistan. This literally -- literally -- puts Karzai, as well as Musharraf, in jeopardy.
"The notion here is it plays into this whole urban legend that America is on a crusade against Islam. This was bad policy -- Big nations can't bluff."
When Clinton was pressured about releasing her papers as first lady from the National Archives now, and not as President Clinton requested until 2012, Clinton had the vapours.... why Bill made that decision, these things just take time.
Obama didn't let that go unremarked upon, admonishing her, "We have just gone through one of the most secretive administrations in our history, and not releasing... these records at the same time, Hillary, as you're making the claim that this is the basis for your experience, I think is a problem.
Obama also hit at the reason the GOP candidates are targeting Clinton, because "It's a fight they're comfortable having. One they've been having since the 90s."
Edwards put a different light on the subject... "I mean, another perspective on why the Republicans keep talking about Senator Clinton is -- they may actually want to run against you, and that's the reason they keep bringing you up....
".... I think that voters have to ask themselves, do you believe that the candidate who's raised the most money from Washington lobbyists, Democrat or Republican; the candidate who's raised the most money from the health industry -- drug companies, health insurance companies; the candidate who's raised the most money from the defense industry, Republican or Democrat; -- and the answer to all those questions is, that's Senator Clinton -- will she be the person who brings about change in this country?"
"You know, I believe in Santa Claus, I believe in the Tooth Fairy, but I don't think that's going to happen. I really don't. And I think that if people want the status quo, Senator Clinton's your candidate."
Yes, Clinton's "turn the page" rhetoric was left in tatters. So Williams thought he would lighten things up a bit. He asked Biden if, with the Holiday season nearly here, he would advise Americans against buying imported toys from China in light of the health and safety problems.
Biden took the question head on.... "If I were president, I'd shut down, flat shut down any imports from China, period, in terms of toys -- flat shut it down, number one.
Number two.... they [China] have a mortgage on our house because Bush mortgaged us to a trillion dollars to them. He is responsible for this. This is outrageous."
Obviously, not a subject Biden takes lightly.
But, we did have the impish Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH) to bring a smile. He handled well the mild ridicule aimed at him by Russert about his allegation he had seen a UFO.... "I did.... it was an unidentified flying object, okay.... I'm also going to move my campaign office to Roswell."
Ending the debate on a spooky note, Williams asked Obama what he will be for Halloween.... "I am thinking about wearing a Mitt Romney mask, which I think.... has two sides to it."
The bogeymen asking the questions, NBC's Brian Williams and a relentless Tim Russert, delivered one of the liveliest debate forums to date.
Clinton was reduced to sputtering while trying to have it both ways on Russert's question about Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer's proposal to give illegal immigrants a drivers license, and her statement in Nashua, New Hampshire that it makes a lot of sense.
Clinton defended her statement saying, "Well, what Governor Spitzer is trying to do is fill the vacuum left by the failure of this administration to bring about comprehensive immigration reform."
Sen. Chris Dodd (CT) disagreed, "This is a privilege... a license is a privilege, and that ought not to be extended, in my view."
Clinton quickly jumped in, "I just want to add, I did not say that it should be done, but I certainly recognize why Governor Spitzer is trying to do it. And we have failed---"
Dodd didn't let that pass, "Wait a minute. No, no, no. You said yes, you thought it made sense to do it."
Clinton responded, "No, I didn't Chris. But the point is, what are we going to do with all these illegal immigrants who are----"
As Clinton's nose grew, Russert tried to get a straight answer from Clinton... "I just want to make sure what I heard. Do you, the New York Senator Hillary Clinton, support the New York governor's plan to give immigrants a driver's license? You told the Nashua, New Hampshire, paper it made a lot of sense..... Do you support his plan?"
Now in full defensive crouch, Clinton responded, "You know, Tim, this is where everybody plays gotcha. It makes a lot of sense.... Do I think this is the best thing for any governor to do? No. But I do understand the real sense of desperation.... "
Former senator of North Carolina John Edwards also didn't give Clinton a pass.... "Unless I missed something, Senator Clinton said two different things in the course of about two minutes just a few minutes ago and I think this is a real issue for the country.
"I mean, America is looking for a president who will say the same thing, who will be consistent, who will be straight with them. Because what we've had for seven years is double-talk from Bush and from Cheney, and I think America deserves us to be straight."
Sen. Barack Obama (IL) pronounced his confusion at Clinton's answer, "I can't tell whether she was for it or against it, and I do think that is important. You know, one of the things that we have to do in this country is to be honest about the challenges that we face."
But, in the end, Obama agreed with Spitzer's plan leaving Dodd with his most shining moment as the only candidate willing to voice his opposition for Spitzer's dangerous proposal... which opens the floodgates for massive voter fraud by illegal aliens registering to vote using their drivers license for identification. An obvious boon for the Democratic party.
Dodd had other barbs for Clinton. When asked about his statement to an NBC station alluding to problems with Clinton's national electability he didn't dodge. "Well, first of all, I think electability is a very critical issue. Look at the end of this process here, we need to have a Democrat in the White House come January 20th, 2009.... the fact of the matter is.... there are 50 percent of the American public that say they're not going to vote for her."
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson refused to join the haunting of Clinton... "I'm hearing this holier-than-thou attitude toward Senator Clinton.... Yes, we need to point out our differences, and I have big differences with her. Over the war. I would get all our troops out. Over No Child Left Behind. I'd get rid of it.
"I also have differences over Iran. I think that was the wrong vote for her to cast, because I think it was saber-rattling. But I think it's important that we save the ammunition for the Republicans."
Richardson was ready when he was finally asked about one of his best issues, education. He said without equivocation.... "I'd get rid of No Child Left Behind." He would also have 100,000 new science and math teachers and a minimum wage for teachers of $40,000 per year
This is the issue on which Richardson is most passionate, but it's seldom he rises to the occasion on other issues which makes his overall performance unmemorable and reinforces the notion that he is really running for Clinton's Vice President.
While Richardson and Dodd had their moments, Sen. Joe Biden (DE) delivered a strong overall performance, especially on the issues of Iraq and Iran.... of overweening concern to the electorate.
Biden on Iran and the bomb: "The fact of the matter is the Iranians may get 2.6 kilograms of highly enriched uranium; the Pakistanis have hundreds, thousands of kilograms of highly enriched uranium.
"If by attacking Iran to stop them from getting 2.6 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, the government in Pakistan falls, who has missiles already deployed, with nuclear weapons on them, that can already reach Israel, already reach India, then that's a bad bargain."
Biden didn't pull his punches with the opposition either.... "Rudy Giuliani, probably the most underqualified man since George Bush to seek the presidency.... I mean, think about it, Rudy Giuliani. There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11."
Sis-boom! The most memorable line of the evening.
Responding to Richardson's oft made assertion that he's the only one on the stage with negotiating experience, Biden set the record straight.... "I led a delegation of 19 senators negotiating the START agreement with Brezhnev, I was deeply involved in Bosnia.... I'm running to be the leader of this country, to put it back on track..."
On the recent Kyl-Lieberman resolution.... which basically says Iran is a danger to our war in Iraq and the The Decider has enhanced power to act.... Clinton, the only one on the stage who voted for it, said it was because she wanted to "maximize the pressure on Iran."
Edwards response was scathing.... "So the way to do that is to vote yes on a resolution that looks like it was written literally by the neocons? I mean, has anyone read this thing? I mean, it literally gave Bush and Cheney exactly what they wanted.
"It didn't just give them what they wanted; they acted on it. a few weeks later, they declared the Iranian Revolutionary guards a terrorist organization and-- this is going to sound very familiar; remember from Iraq, the prelude to Iraq?--proliferators of weapons of mass destruction. The way you put pressure on this administration is you stand up - you say no."
When Biden was asked if he agreed with Sen. Webb that this resolution was de facto a declaration of war.... "I think it can be used as a fact - a declaration" And, that there are other "consequences for what we do -- and it's not even about going to war."
"Let's look at what happened from the moment that vote took place.
"Oil prices went up to $90 a barrel.... Secondly, we have emboldened Bush at a minimum. His talk of World War III, totally irresponsible talk. We've emboldened him....
"Thirdly, this has incredible consequences for Afghanistan and Pakistan.... we have now driven underground every moderate in Pakistan and in Afghanistan. This literally -- literally -- puts Karzai, as well as Musharraf, in jeopardy.
"The notion here is it plays into this whole urban legend that America is on a crusade against Islam. This was bad policy -- Big nations can't bluff."
When Clinton was pressured about releasing her papers as first lady from the National Archives now, and not as President Clinton requested until 2012, Clinton had the vapours.... why Bill made that decision, these things just take time.
Obama didn't let that go unremarked upon, admonishing her, "We have just gone through one of the most secretive administrations in our history, and not releasing... these records at the same time, Hillary, as you're making the claim that this is the basis for your experience, I think is a problem.
Obama also hit at the reason the GOP candidates are targeting Clinton, because "It's a fight they're comfortable having. One they've been having since the 90s."
Edwards put a different light on the subject... "I mean, another perspective on why the Republicans keep talking about Senator Clinton is -- they may actually want to run against you, and that's the reason they keep bringing you up....
".... I think that voters have to ask themselves, do you believe that the candidate who's raised the most money from Washington lobbyists, Democrat or Republican; the candidate who's raised the most money from the health industry -- drug companies, health insurance companies; the candidate who's raised the most money from the defense industry, Republican or Democrat; -- and the answer to all those questions is, that's Senator Clinton -- will she be the person who brings about change in this country?"
"You know, I believe in Santa Claus, I believe in the Tooth Fairy, but I don't think that's going to happen. I really don't. And I think that if people want the status quo, Senator Clinton's your candidate."
Yes, Clinton's "turn the page" rhetoric was left in tatters. So Williams thought he would lighten things up a bit. He asked Biden if, with the Holiday season nearly here, he would advise Americans against buying imported toys from China in light of the health and safety problems.
Biden took the question head on.... "If I were president, I'd shut down, flat shut down any imports from China, period, in terms of toys -- flat shut it down, number one.
Number two.... they [China] have a mortgage on our house because Bush mortgaged us to a trillion dollars to them. He is responsible for this. This is outrageous."
Obviously, not a subject Biden takes lightly.
But, we did have the impish Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH) to bring a smile. He handled well the mild ridicule aimed at him by Russert about his allegation he had seen a UFO.... "I did.... it was an unidentified flying object, okay.... I'm also going to move my campaign office to Roswell."
Ending the debate on a spooky note, Williams asked Obama what he will be for Halloween.... "I am thinking about wearing a Mitt Romney mask, which I think.... has two sides to it."
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Iran: Reason and Recklessness
At last, a voice of sanity on the subject of Iran, "Stalin, Mao And... Ahmadinejad?" (Newsweek)
If ever there was a must-read article about the current White House saber-rattling against Iran, it is this one-pager in the current issue of Newsweek.
Written by someone who understands and rejects fear-based policies on terrorism, Fareed Zakaria brings reason to the emotion-charged subject of our danger from oil-rich Iran.
Zakaria, born in India to a Muslim family, has been Newsweek's International editor since 2000 and has a rich grounding in foreign affairs including a PhD in Political Science from Harvard. Soon after the 9/11 attacks he wrote a seminal cover-story essay for Newsweek entitled "The Politics of Rage: Why Do They Hate Us?"
In it, he argued that Islamic terrorism has its roots in the stagnation and dysfunctions of the Arab world with decades of failure under tyrannical regimes who claimed to be Western-style modernizers.
Of course, these regimes only produced violent opposition to those Western values. Since the Mosque is the one place where people can gather in an Arab country, that is where the opposition to these tyrannies grew.
Zakaria, as a political "realist" advocates that the United States should help Arab countries to modernize their economies and societies as the path to liberty rather than forcing elections and democracy.
And, while as a Muslim he has a depth of understanding of the religion and culture, Zakaria's is a political moderate who believes the world needs an open and confident United States.
In this week's article, Zakaria exposes the war-mongering wizard behind the curtain. He points out that Iran has an economy the size of Finland's, while the U.S. has a GDP that is 68 times larger, and defense expenditures that are 110 times greater. What's more, Israel and every Arab country (except Syria and Iraq) are quietly or actively already allied against Iran.
But, the most chilling observation Zakaria makes: "We're on a path to irreversible confrontation with a country we know almost nothing about.... Iran is a black hole to us--- just as Iraq had become in 2003."
Remember the "Alice in Wonderland" prediction last year by Princeton scholar, Bernard Lewis.... a close adviser to The Decider and Darth Cheney.... that on August 22, 2006, Iran's President Ahmadinejad was going to end the world.
Well, we're still here. But so are the administration's Middle East ambitions. Secretary of State Rice today breathlessly announced, "U.S. Imposes New Sanctions Against Iran." (WaPo)
Unilateral sanctions.... designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and of the elite Quds Force as a supporter of terrorism.
It's all too terrifyingly familiar....
If ever there was a must-read article about the current White House saber-rattling against Iran, it is this one-pager in the current issue of Newsweek.
Written by someone who understands and rejects fear-based policies on terrorism, Fareed Zakaria brings reason to the emotion-charged subject of our danger from oil-rich Iran.
Zakaria, born in India to a Muslim family, has been Newsweek's International editor since 2000 and has a rich grounding in foreign affairs including a PhD in Political Science from Harvard. Soon after the 9/11 attacks he wrote a seminal cover-story essay for Newsweek entitled "The Politics of Rage: Why Do They Hate Us?"
In it, he argued that Islamic terrorism has its roots in the stagnation and dysfunctions of the Arab world with decades of failure under tyrannical regimes who claimed to be Western-style modernizers.
Of course, these regimes only produced violent opposition to those Western values. Since the Mosque is the one place where people can gather in an Arab country, that is where the opposition to these tyrannies grew.
Zakaria, as a political "realist" advocates that the United States should help Arab countries to modernize their economies and societies as the path to liberty rather than forcing elections and democracy.
And, while as a Muslim he has a depth of understanding of the religion and culture, Zakaria's is a political moderate who believes the world needs an open and confident United States.
In this week's article, Zakaria exposes the war-mongering wizard behind the curtain. He points out that Iran has an economy the size of Finland's, while the U.S. has a GDP that is 68 times larger, and defense expenditures that are 110 times greater. What's more, Israel and every Arab country (except Syria and Iraq) are quietly or actively already allied against Iran.
But, the most chilling observation Zakaria makes: "We're on a path to irreversible confrontation with a country we know almost nothing about.... Iran is a black hole to us--- just as Iraq had become in 2003."
Remember the "Alice in Wonderland" prediction last year by Princeton scholar, Bernard Lewis.... a close adviser to The Decider and Darth Cheney.... that on August 22, 2006, Iran's President Ahmadinejad was going to end the world.
Well, we're still here. But so are the administration's Middle East ambitions. Secretary of State Rice today breathlessly announced, "U.S. Imposes New Sanctions Against Iran." (WaPo)
Unilateral sanctions.... designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and of the elite Quds Force as a supporter of terrorism.
It's all too terrifyingly familiar....
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Fighting Them Where?.....
The Decider and his course-whisperer Darth Cheney keep telling us to be very afraid....a Middle Eastern country wants nuclear weapons.... fight Islamic militants there so we don't have to fight them here.
They are describing the next country in their cross hairs, Iran.
But.... Iran doesn't have nuclear weapons, and isn't a base for Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda or the Taliban.
What they won't tell you because it doesn't fit their "axis of evil" mentality.... is that arguably the most dangerous country in the world, one "Where the Jihad Lives Now," and, "Islamic militants have spread beyond their tribal bases, and have the run of an unstable, nuclear-armed nation"....is Pakistan. (Newsweek)
Just ask Benazir Bhutto how dangerous Pakistan is. Upon her return from exile in Dubai last Thursday, suicide bombers unleashed explosions that killed at least 134 bystanders and police, and injured 450 more on her motorcade's parade route in Karachi.
You see, Pakistan created militant Islamist groups for their own purposes.... originally recruited, trained and armed by the Inter-Services Intelligence agency.... who have now become a rampaging monster, twice nearly succeeded in assassinating the country's autocratic leader, General Pervez Musharraf.
Al Qaeda doesn't have to look to Iran or any other country for its nuclear bomb, it's right in their Pakistan backyard where the "Taliban and Qaeda elements have now turned much of the country, including some cities, into a base that gives jihadists more room to maneuver, both in Pakistan and beyond."
Dozens of Taliban commanders have moved their wives and children to Pakistan from Afghanistan. Islamist fighters now operate relatively freely in cities like Karachi after lying low in remote mountain villages since 2001. The Taliban work closely with Qaeda leaders in the tribal regions, "planning attacks together and pooling their skills."
Meanwhile.... the dastardly D.C. duo, led by Cheney, are pounding the war drums on Iran, echoing the same drumbeat that justified the attack on Iraq. Sunday Cheney called Tehran, "the world's most active state sponsor of terror" and vowing "serious consequences".... and The Decider uttered the "W" word last week.... WW III.
So while our reckless leaders go charging after old scores to settle in Iran, the deadly jihadist cancer spreads in Pakistan.... nuclear-armed unstable Pakistan.
They are describing the next country in their cross hairs, Iran.
But.... Iran doesn't have nuclear weapons, and isn't a base for Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda or the Taliban.
What they won't tell you because it doesn't fit their "axis of evil" mentality.... is that arguably the most dangerous country in the world, one "Where the Jihad Lives Now," and, "Islamic militants have spread beyond their tribal bases, and have the run of an unstable, nuclear-armed nation"....is Pakistan. (Newsweek)
Just ask Benazir Bhutto how dangerous Pakistan is. Upon her return from exile in Dubai last Thursday, suicide bombers unleashed explosions that killed at least 134 bystanders and police, and injured 450 more on her motorcade's parade route in Karachi.
You see, Pakistan created militant Islamist groups for their own purposes.... originally recruited, trained and armed by the Inter-Services Intelligence agency.... who have now become a rampaging monster, twice nearly succeeded in assassinating the country's autocratic leader, General Pervez Musharraf.
Al Qaeda doesn't have to look to Iran or any other country for its nuclear bomb, it's right in their Pakistan backyard where the "Taliban and Qaeda elements have now turned much of the country, including some cities, into a base that gives jihadists more room to maneuver, both in Pakistan and beyond."
Dozens of Taliban commanders have moved their wives and children to Pakistan from Afghanistan. Islamist fighters now operate relatively freely in cities like Karachi after lying low in remote mountain villages since 2001. The Taliban work closely with Qaeda leaders in the tribal regions, "planning attacks together and pooling their skills."
Meanwhile.... the dastardly D.C. duo, led by Cheney, are pounding the war drums on Iran, echoing the same drumbeat that justified the attack on Iraq. Sunday Cheney called Tehran, "the world's most active state sponsor of terror" and vowing "serious consequences".... and The Decider uttered the "W" word last week.... WW III.
So while our reckless leaders go charging after old scores to settle in Iran, the deadly jihadist cancer spreads in Pakistan.... nuclear-armed unstable Pakistan.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Bush's Reckless Relevance
At any moment today during The Decider's press conference it seemed he would flash double overhead Nixonian Vs and declare.... "I'm not a crook!"
Of course, despite his declaration, President Nixon was a crook and resigned the presidency in disgrace, just one step ahead of slam-dunk impeachment proceedings.
What President Bush did declare today was "I am relevant!"
Which, of course means he's become a cipher, not only irrelevant, but to most of the country an embarrassment too.
Ah.... but The Decider has a way to get our attention, he says, the power of his veto.... "one way to ensure I am relevant."
In the irrelevant race, Bush's 24 percent job approval rating has now tied Nixon's for an all-time low. But the cocky Bush also reminded us that it wasn't just his veto (whose use by Bush is akin to a red-faced tantrum) that makes him relevant.... it's also his "bully pulpit."
Boy, does he have that right! Bush and his bully boys use the force of the executive to gut the Constitution and pervert the rule of law, and then take the pulpit to deny and obfuscate.
Which brings us to another statement made by The Decider today.... "we don't torture."
Department of Justice memos have surfaced recently outlining the administrations "approved" tortures. So, when asked today for his definition of torture, he said "That's defined in U.S. law, and we don't torture." When asked what that means to him, he said "Whatever the law says." And, of course, Bush directs the writing of the torture guidelines.... the law.
What was torture today was listening to The Decider's grade school intellect.... coupled with his unbounded and unwarranted arrogance.... and then to realize this is the clueless cowboy who has been leading our country for last seven excruciating years, and it's not over yet!
Feeling full of his pulpit-power, Bush didn't want to let the country off of the hook with just his relevance-making veto and tinny bully pulpit, he wanted to instill fear.... the easiest way after all to keep the electorate compliant.... with a red alert warning about his new favorite target, Iran.
".... So I told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them [Iran] from having knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," Bush recklessly lectured.
With trademark Bush barroom delivery and lack of dignity, when asked about the recent tete-a-tete between Russia's President Putin and Iran's President Ahmadinejad in Tehran, and Putin's supportive words to Iranian leaders, Bush poo-poohed the thought that anything was amiss in our... or, as he views it, his.... relationship with "Wily" Putin.
With a wink and a nod he said he would talk to Putin and get the real lowdown on what happened on Putin's visit to Iran. Bet Putin appreciated Bush's public implication that Putin would compromise Iran and tell Buddy Bush the real skinny.
And, aren't you starting to feel a little sorry for Secretary of State Rice and the world perception under which she has to labor. More than once The Decider referred to "Condi" not "Secretary Rice" which would give her much needed stature. His "Condi" reduces her to just one of his stable of unprofessionals.... "Heck of a job, Brownie."
But, the scariest moment of the press conference came with a question about Putin's intent to continue ruling Russia after his term expires next spring, possibly by becoming prime minister.
The Decider was asked if he should get tougher with Putin... "what would it mean for Russian democracy if, when you leave power.... assuming you do in January 2009 (laughter).... that Vladimir Putin is still in power?"
Bush's answer was evasive. But, it was the question that made the blood run cold.... "assuming" Bush leaves power in January 2009. The reporters in the room laughed.... but, to even touch on the possibility really isn't funny at all.
There's that as yet unfocused disquiet.... why is the White House so secretive, and so intent on accumulating so much power.
Of course, despite his declaration, President Nixon was a crook and resigned the presidency in disgrace, just one step ahead of slam-dunk impeachment proceedings.
What President Bush did declare today was "I am relevant!"
Which, of course means he's become a cipher, not only irrelevant, but to most of the country an embarrassment too.
Ah.... but The Decider has a way to get our attention, he says, the power of his veto.... "one way to ensure I am relevant."
In the irrelevant race, Bush's 24 percent job approval rating has now tied Nixon's for an all-time low. But the cocky Bush also reminded us that it wasn't just his veto (whose use by Bush is akin to a red-faced tantrum) that makes him relevant.... it's also his "bully pulpit."
Boy, does he have that right! Bush and his bully boys use the force of the executive to gut the Constitution and pervert the rule of law, and then take the pulpit to deny and obfuscate.
Which brings us to another statement made by The Decider today.... "we don't torture."
Department of Justice memos have surfaced recently outlining the administrations "approved" tortures. So, when asked today for his definition of torture, he said "That's defined in U.S. law, and we don't torture." When asked what that means to him, he said "Whatever the law says." And, of course, Bush directs the writing of the torture guidelines.... the law.
What was torture today was listening to The Decider's grade school intellect.... coupled with his unbounded and unwarranted arrogance.... and then to realize this is the clueless cowboy who has been leading our country for last seven excruciating years, and it's not over yet!
Feeling full of his pulpit-power, Bush didn't want to let the country off of the hook with just his relevance-making veto and tinny bully pulpit, he wanted to instill fear.... the easiest way after all to keep the electorate compliant.... with a red alert warning about his new favorite target, Iran.
".... So I told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them [Iran] from having knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," Bush recklessly lectured.
With trademark Bush barroom delivery and lack of dignity, when asked about the recent tete-a-tete between Russia's President Putin and Iran's President Ahmadinejad in Tehran, and Putin's supportive words to Iranian leaders, Bush poo-poohed the thought that anything was amiss in our... or, as he views it, his.... relationship with "Wily" Putin.
With a wink and a nod he said he would talk to Putin and get the real lowdown on what happened on Putin's visit to Iran. Bet Putin appreciated Bush's public implication that Putin would compromise Iran and tell Buddy Bush the real skinny.
And, aren't you starting to feel a little sorry for Secretary of State Rice and the world perception under which she has to labor. More than once The Decider referred to "Condi" not "Secretary Rice" which would give her much needed stature. His "Condi" reduces her to just one of his stable of unprofessionals.... "Heck of a job, Brownie."
But, the scariest moment of the press conference came with a question about Putin's intent to continue ruling Russia after his term expires next spring, possibly by becoming prime minister.
The Decider was asked if he should get tougher with Putin... "what would it mean for Russian democracy if, when you leave power.... assuming you do in January 2009 (laughter).... that Vladimir Putin is still in power?"
Bush's answer was evasive. But, it was the question that made the blood run cold.... "assuming" Bush leaves power in January 2009. The reporters in the room laughed.... but, to even touch on the possibility really isn't funny at all.
There's that as yet unfocused disquiet.... why is the White House so secretive, and so intent on accumulating so much power.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
What Happened To Our Country?
The Decider's speech at the U.N. yesterday was like a bad comb-over.... he tried without success to hide the fact that his bald assertions about the human rights abuses of his perceived enemies didn't mask those of his perceived friends. Nor his own.
He called on the countries in the U. N. to live up to the freedoms and rights promised almost sixty years ago, denouncing Burma (Myanmar) Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Zimbabwe as brutal regimes that should be confronted for their abuses.
The Decider barely mentioned the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nor the nuclear ambitions of Iran, nor the suppressive regimes of Pakistan, Turkey, China or Russia.
It was a sorry show, it was at once selective in its call for sanctions, and myopically self-congratulating ignoring our occupation of Iraq, and saber rattling at Iran as his destructively aggressive agenda drags the Middle East toward the abyss.
He talked about the needy children of the world while holding his veto pen over the medical insurance needs of millions of children in the United States.
But, as bad as was The Decider's smoke and mirrors show at the U. N., it was nothing compared to the hysteria surrounding the visit from the tin-hat from Iran. Strong, confident nations can engage in dialogue with their enemies without name calling and plain rude behavior. Remember the cold war complete with nuclear standoff? For 70 years the Soviet Union threatened to eradicate American capitalism and democracy. But, there were no juvenile spit-ball antics.
Well, that United States is gone.
It's been replaced by a nasty, jingoistic nation howling at the visiting heels of the puppet of Iran's mullahs, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It was embarrassing to watch a university president lambaste it's invited guest while Bush-incited news outlets like FOX twirled dervishly about at the thought of the "foul-smelling fruitbat Ahmadinejad" speaking at "that crack house known as Columbia University."
It's the Limbaughization of our country.... rude, crude, uncomprehending and egotistically self-righteous. It'll be a long road back. The journey starts November 2008.
He called on the countries in the U. N. to live up to the freedoms and rights promised almost sixty years ago, denouncing Burma (Myanmar) Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Zimbabwe as brutal regimes that should be confronted for their abuses.
The Decider barely mentioned the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nor the nuclear ambitions of Iran, nor the suppressive regimes of Pakistan, Turkey, China or Russia.
It was a sorry show, it was at once selective in its call for sanctions, and myopically self-congratulating ignoring our occupation of Iraq, and saber rattling at Iran as his destructively aggressive agenda drags the Middle East toward the abyss.
He talked about the needy children of the world while holding his veto pen over the medical insurance needs of millions of children in the United States.
But, as bad as was The Decider's smoke and mirrors show at the U. N., it was nothing compared to the hysteria surrounding the visit from the tin-hat from Iran. Strong, confident nations can engage in dialogue with their enemies without name calling and plain rude behavior. Remember the cold war complete with nuclear standoff? For 70 years the Soviet Union threatened to eradicate American capitalism and democracy. But, there were no juvenile spit-ball antics.
Well, that United States is gone.
It's been replaced by a nasty, jingoistic nation howling at the visiting heels of the puppet of Iran's mullahs, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It was embarrassing to watch a university president lambaste it's invited guest while Bush-incited news outlets like FOX twirled dervishly about at the thought of the "foul-smelling fruitbat Ahmadinejad" speaking at "that crack house known as Columbia University."
It's the Limbaughization of our country.... rude, crude, uncomprehending and egotistically self-righteous. It'll be a long road back. The journey starts November 2008.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Another Turn of the Iraq Hour Glass
Now we know, the long awaited word from General Petraeus.... we need more time in Iraq. Gee... who would have thought?Eugene Robinson in his editorial today, " 'Six Months' Without End" sums up the Bush administration's morass of a "stay the course" policy that is the occupation of Iraq...."The next six months in Iraq are crucial - and always will be. That noise you heard yesterday on Capitol Hill was the can being kicked further down the road leading to January 2009, when George W. Bush gets to hand off his Iraq fiasco to somebody else."
Oh yes, and the big drawdown the General is promising. Well, the White House raised the numbers (surge) before they reduce the numbers..... back to where they were. The grand hokey-pokey as Iraq's prime minister al-Maliki's so-called central government deteriorates and he creeps steadily toward Iran's waiting arms.... his "other friends."
And, that is the White House Iraq strategy in a nutshell. Stall, skew the numbers, and then shuffle off to Buffalo... or in this case,Texas.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Terrorism in Transit
Remember in July when Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff had a "gut feeling" about an increased terrorism risk this summer based on patterns and intelligence he wouldn't disclose?
Then this week we had two unsettling events.... first, another Osama bin Laden "boo." Although this pre-9/11 video (transcript) reads more like a U.S. history lesson and Islam conversion screed.
And, CIA Director, Gen. Michael Hayden, spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations.... at his request, decked out in his military uniform.... and defended his agency's controversial program of detaining terrorism suspects in secret jails abroad.
Then, Hayden cited the findings of the recent National Intelligence Estimate.... the one issued in July... saying that "Al-Qaeda is focusing on targets that would produce mass casualties, dramatic destruction, and significant economic aftershocks." (WaPo) When pressed on this warning, he wouldn't give details.
So, just what did that NIE report say that was so upsetting to Chertoff's guts and now elicits warnings from Hayden?
The published public NIE report, "The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland," of July, 2007 is short. The "Key Judgments" just a terse page and a half. And, yes, it did give Hayden's warning.
And, this sobering assessment too: "... globalization trends and recent technological advances will continue to enable even small numbers of alienated people to find and connect with one another, justify and intensify their anger, and mobilize resources to attack - all without requiring a centralized terrorist organization, training camp, or leader."
Interesting. So, our government is taking extra precautions.... right?
No. Just the opposite.
Because... and this really is unbelievable.... Thursday our own Department of Transportation started allowing Mexican trucks to roll over the U.S. border, freely roaming anywhere in the U.S. No need to spell out the terrorism risks, the economic and safety pitfalls, or the unbelievable joy of the Mexican drug dealers.
Just as nothing changes the course set by the The Decider's "vision" for the Middle East (more on that in a moment).... not the cost in blood and treasure, not the outrage of the American public.... also, nothing deters Bush in his determination for open borders with Mexico and his covert push toward a North American Union.
Now, if you can stand it, this last tidbit today from the Columbia Journalism Review, called "An Iran Plan?"
CJR reported that Barnett Rubin, a New York University professor and widely-respected Afghanistan expert and fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, wrote that just before the Labor Day weekend, the Office of the Vice President had issued "instructions" to a group of right wing think tanks and media outlets, asking them to mount an anti-Iran PR offensive after Labor Day with the goal of building support for U.S. military action.
When the assistant editor, Clint Hendler, at the CJR contacted Rubin to see if any journalists had contacted him to run down the story, Rubin replied, "Let's say I have not been overwhelmed with the volume. No one has contacted me from the NYT, WP, WSJ, or FT. No wire services."
It all just doesn't make sense.... administration warnings about homeland terrorism yet opening our borders to Mexican trucking.... in over our heads in Iraq yet serious saber rattling on Iran.
Congress.... it's up to you to stop this runaway White House and their monstrous hidden agenda.
Then this week we had two unsettling events.... first, another Osama bin Laden "boo." Although this pre-9/11 video (transcript) reads more like a U.S. history lesson and Islam conversion screed.
And, CIA Director, Gen. Michael Hayden, spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations.... at his request, decked out in his military uniform.... and defended his agency's controversial program of detaining terrorism suspects in secret jails abroad.
Then, Hayden cited the findings of the recent National Intelligence Estimate.... the one issued in July... saying that "Al-Qaeda is focusing on targets that would produce mass casualties, dramatic destruction, and significant economic aftershocks." (WaPo) When pressed on this warning, he wouldn't give details.
So, just what did that NIE report say that was so upsetting to Chertoff's guts and now elicits warnings from Hayden?
The published public NIE report, "The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland," of July, 2007 is short. The "Key Judgments" just a terse page and a half. And, yes, it did give Hayden's warning.
And, this sobering assessment too: "... globalization trends and recent technological advances will continue to enable even small numbers of alienated people to find and connect with one another, justify and intensify their anger, and mobilize resources to attack - all without requiring a centralized terrorist organization, training camp, or leader."
Interesting. So, our government is taking extra precautions.... right?
No. Just the opposite.
Because... and this really is unbelievable.... Thursday our own Department of Transportation started allowing Mexican trucks to roll over the U.S. border, freely roaming anywhere in the U.S. No need to spell out the terrorism risks, the economic and safety pitfalls, or the unbelievable joy of the Mexican drug dealers.
Just as nothing changes the course set by the The Decider's "vision" for the Middle East (more on that in a moment).... not the cost in blood and treasure, not the outrage of the American public.... also, nothing deters Bush in his determination for open borders with Mexico and his covert push toward a North American Union.
Now, if you can stand it, this last tidbit today from the Columbia Journalism Review, called "An Iran Plan?"
CJR reported that Barnett Rubin, a New York University professor and widely-respected Afghanistan expert and fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, wrote that just before the Labor Day weekend, the Office of the Vice President had issued "instructions" to a group of right wing think tanks and media outlets, asking them to mount an anti-Iran PR offensive after Labor Day with the goal of building support for U.S. military action.
When the assistant editor, Clint Hendler, at the CJR contacted Rubin to see if any journalists had contacted him to run down the story, Rubin replied, "Let's say I have not been overwhelmed with the volume. No one has contacted me from the NYT, WP, WSJ, or FT. No wire services."
It all just doesn't make sense.... administration warnings about homeland terrorism yet opening our borders to Mexican trucking.... in over our heads in Iraq yet serious saber rattling on Iran.
Congress.... it's up to you to stop this runaway White House and their monstrous hidden agenda.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
"W" Stands for Wimpy
Evidently "Darth" Cheney took The Decider to the neocon woodshed.
Just one day after his comments at the North American summit where he expressed disappointment at Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki's lack of political progress, now "Bush Offers Support for Embattled Iraqi Leader." (WaPo)
Gone is Bush's common-sense approach to Maliki's political failures.... "If the government doesn't respond to the demands of the people, they will replace the government".... a fate undoubtedly awaiting the GOP next November.
Instead, in an about-face today, Bush fell into line and saluted the Maliki flag, terming him a "good man with a difficult job, and I support him."
Maliki, evidently determined to bite the hand that feeds him, today snapped at his U.S. critics after his three-day visit to Syria, "No one has the right to place timetables on the Iraq government. It was elected by the people..... We care for our people and our constitution and can find friends elsewhere." Like Iran or Syria?
In case there was ever any question, The Decider is definitely not the swaggering cowboy taking on the international bullies.... Mexico's presidents push him around, thumbing their nose at our immigration laws, dumping their destitute and criminal population into our lap.
And now Maliki.... who last year flippantly stood up The Decider for dinner.... is slapping around the United States as we pour our lifeblood and hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars into Iraq to prop up his pitiful government.
Our Cheney-puppet president is allowing ugly comments from the forked tongue of a double-dealer like Maliki to go unanswered. And worse, plays up to him as a "good guy."
Maybe The Decider needs to remove himself to a shelter for battered leaders. He's no longer able to stand up for himself, or for our scorned country.
Congress.... it's time for an intervention.
Just one day after his comments at the North American summit where he expressed disappointment at Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki's lack of political progress, now "Bush Offers Support for Embattled Iraqi Leader." (WaPo)
Gone is Bush's common-sense approach to Maliki's political failures.... "If the government doesn't respond to the demands of the people, they will replace the government".... a fate undoubtedly awaiting the GOP next November.
Instead, in an about-face today, Bush fell into line and saluted the Maliki flag, terming him a "good man with a difficult job, and I support him."
Maliki, evidently determined to bite the hand that feeds him, today snapped at his U.S. critics after his three-day visit to Syria, "No one has the right to place timetables on the Iraq government. It was elected by the people..... We care for our people and our constitution and can find friends elsewhere." Like Iran or Syria?
In case there was ever any question, The Decider is definitely not the swaggering cowboy taking on the international bullies.... Mexico's presidents push him around, thumbing their nose at our immigration laws, dumping their destitute and criminal population into our lap.
And now Maliki.... who last year flippantly stood up The Decider for dinner.... is slapping around the United States as we pour our lifeblood and hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars into Iraq to prop up his pitiful government.
Our Cheney-puppet president is allowing ugly comments from the forked tongue of a double-dealer like Maliki to go unanswered. And worse, plays up to him as a "good guy."
Maybe The Decider needs to remove himself to a shelter for battered leaders. He's no longer able to stand up for himself, or for our scorned country.
Congress.... it's time for an intervention.
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