'THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB'?

Brillantly written piece by Matt Taibbi in RollingStone.

Mocks both sides and does a fine job of describing the atmosphere down in Crawford Texas.


"I never knew," Cindy Sheehan said, sighing. "Not only that I would become the face of the anti-war movement but also that I would become the sacrificial lamb of the anti-war movement."


Bush vs. the Mother

On the president's doorstep -- a dead soldier, an aggrieved housewife and the start of something big

By MATT TAIBBI

Crawford, the home of President George W. Bush, is a sun-scorched hole of a backwater Texas town -- a single dreary railroad crossing surrounded on all sides by roasted earth the color of dried dog shit. There are scattered clumps of trees and brush, but all the foliage seems bent from the sun's rays and ready at any moment to burst into flames.

The moaning cattle along the lonely roads sound like they're begging for their lives. The downtown streets are empty. Just as the earth is home to natural bridges, this place is a natural dead end -- the perfect place to drink a bottle of Lysol, wind up in a bad marriage, have your neck ripped out by a vulture.

It is a very unlikely place for a peace movement to be born. But that's exactly what happened a few weeks ago, when an aggrieved war mom named Cindy Sheehan set up camp along the road to the president's ranch and demanded a meeting with the commander in chief.

Sheehan's vigil began on Saturday, August 6th, and was originally a solitary affair.

WHOM WOULD JESUS WHACK?

"Hardly a reach for the founder of the Christian Coalition"










"The Rev. Pat Robertson's suggestion Monday that the United States kill a foreign head of state would have come as a surprise only to those who haven't kept up with the loony televangelist..."

"Surprise? No. Nor is it surprising that the forces of the right-wing morality police were silent or unavailable. The Christian Coalition, the Family Research Council and the Traditional Values Coalition saved their anger for those opposing Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. Even Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, while disagreeing, said, "Private citizens say all kinds of things all the time."

But this private citizen meets with the president. Is it because this private citizen can deliver some votes? No surprise there".

HEY, WHAT THE...

I guess he didn't read that section in Karl's pre-rally loyalty oath agreement!

DOING WHAT HE DOES BEST

SPENDING YOUR MONEY

"Getting President Bush from here to there consumes an enormous amount of fuel, whether he's aboard Air Force One, riding in a helicopter or on the ground in a heavily armored limousine. The bill gets steeper every day as the White House is rocked by the same energy prices as regular drivers. Taxpayers still foot the bill.

Almost every vehicle Bush uses is custom-made to add security and communications capabilities, and the heavier weight of these guzzlers further drives up gas and jet fuel costs.

The White House declines to discuss travel costs related to the presidential entourage, and did not respond to a request for the overall effect of higher fuel prices on its budget.

It is not Bush's choice to be ferried around in a less than fuel- efficient manner. Those arrangements are dictated by tradition and the Secret Service, whose mission is to protect him.

But Bush is one of the nation's most-traveled presidents.

He has visited 46 countries, some of them several times, during his presidency. He has been to all states except Vermont and Rhode Island.

So far this year, he has made 73 domestic and foreign trips, including crisscrossing the country on a 60-day, 60-city tour to promote his Social Security plan. He was on the road Wednesday, speaking to a military audience in Idaho, before returning to his Texas ranch to resume his summer vacation.

About the only vehicle Bush has much say in is the 2001 white Ford F250 pickup he keeps on his ranch. At the nationwide gasoline average of $2.61 a gallon, it would cost at least $75 to fill the Ford's tank. The 1999 four-wheel-drive model gets 13 miles per gallon in the city, 17 on the highway, according to an Energy Department Web site, http://www.fueleconomy.gov .

But much as he seems to relish any chance to get behind the wheel, Bush actually drives the pickup very little, confined as he is to only occasional visits to his ranch and to remaining on its 1,600 acres when he's driving himself.

Elsewhere, whether in Washington, Des Moines or Tbilisi, Bush is driven in a large motorcade. The typical presidential caravan has well over a dozen vehicles, including Bush's limousine and an identical limo put in as a decoy.

The motorcade generally doesn't cruise placidly at fuel-efficient speeds, but rather hurries along its route as fast as possible. It also often idles outside while Bush is at an event, burning up fuel but ready to depart at a moment's notice.

The president's limos alone consume lots of gas.

Starting with his inaugural in January, Bush began tooling around in new 2006 Cadillac DTS limos.

The full-sized luxury sedan version, available to the general public, has an 18-gallon tank that would cost about $47 to fill at that $2.61- a-gallon rate. (White House vehicles are fueled at a special, dedicated facility and the price paid per gallon there is not released.) Cadillac spokesman Kevin Smith said the Cadillac DTS sedan gets 18 mpg in the city, 27 on the highway.

The vehicle Bush uses is a much different animal _ with different gas mileage. An outside company customizes the DTS for presidential use by "stretching" it to limo length, adding bulletproof glass, heavy armor and other bells and whistles _ all making it significantly heavier and less fuel-efficient, Smith said.

The same thing for the Chevrolet Suburbans that are sometimes used as limo substitutes. The mass-marketed 2005 K1500 Suburban would cost nearly $81 to fill up with its large 31-gallon tank. It gets 15 mpg in the city, 19 on the highway, according to http://www.fueleconomy.gov . But it's not clear exactly which trim model of Suburban Bush uses, and his are custom-fitted with extra gear that would reduce the gas mileage.

In the air, Bush most often flies on a Boeing 747-200B laden with, among other things, an anti-missile system. Like gas for cars, fuel costs for the largest plane in the Air Force One fleet have gone up dramatically _ from $3,974 an hour in fiscal 2004 to $6,029 per hour now, according to the Air Force.

John Armbrust, publisher of Jet Fuel Report, said Air Force One is no different from its commercial counterparts in that respect.

"It's an expensive proposition to fly these planes, whether its Air Force One or a regular 747," he said.

Reducing his appearances outside the White House and making other gestures toward fuel conservation could help cut down on costs.

But some suggest that could do more harm for national morale and Bush's image than good for the financial bottom line.

Remember Jimmy Carter donning a sweater and asking Americans facing an energy crisis to turn down their thermostats? Or giving the speech about the nation's "crisis of confidence" that led to his permanent association with "malaise?" Carter's critics turned both utterances into emblems that contributed to his political undoing".

ASK AYATOLLAH SISTANI!

Excellent post by Timothy Noah of Slate Magazine.






An interesting look at the 'draft' of the Iraqi constitution and the man, Ayatollah Sistani, the Iranian-born Shiite leader who'll be pulling the strings, or more like cracking the whip, in Iraq soon.

I'm not sure Sistani was what the Bush administration had in mind when they said we'd be 'spreading democracy in the Middle East'. Especially since the constitution's Article II is titled 'Islam is a main source for legislation'.

Some funny, informative and strange links. Be sure to check out Sistani's site.

A good read.

VETERANS KNOW

Vets understand Iraq War criticism is not criticism of our troops

"In case Democrats were worried that opposing the President's Iraq War policy will raise the ire of those in the military, they should read this piece in the Pensacola News-Journal. The story, from a town with a sizable military population, notes that "If there's growing sentiment against the war in Iraq, many area veterans of the fight aren't taking it personally. Vets see the opposition as a protest against policy, not them or their service."

"The thing is, it insults the intelligence of our soldiers to think that they will automatically believe that questioning the President's misguided Iraq War policy - and the lies that got us to that policy - is undermining the troops. In fact, as I wrote earlier today, when Democrats demand answers and an exit strategy, they are being pro-soldier, in that they are saying it is unacceptable for our political leaders to leave our troops in a perilous situation without a serious plan to bring them home."

KILL IN THE NAME OF GOD

What Jefferson, Adams and Madison warned the country about



More proof why this country needs to get Republicans out of power. Pat Robertson, one of the main inspirational leaders of the wacky Republican base, the 30-35% of the American population who masquerade as Christian, once again proves that Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Adams knew what they were doing when they wrote the Constitution. Protect the country from these insane rightwing bastards!

History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes.
-Thomas Jefferson to Alexander von Humboldt, Dec. 6, 1813.

The question before the human race is, whether the God of nature shall govern the world by his own laws, or whether priests and kings shall rule it by fictitious miracles?
-- John Adams, letter to Thomas Jefferson, June 20, 1815

The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries.
-- James Madison, 1803

A SAFE AUDIENCE?

"Cheney is the last person who should be sent out to stiffen our resolve to stay the course in Iraq. Last week, while Bush was vacationing at his Texas ranch, with a small army of antiwar activists camped outside the gate, the vice president was dispatched to Springfield, Mo., to speak at the 73rd annual convention of the Military Order of Purple Hearts, a safe audience".

'A safe audience?'

"After all, he avoided military service in Vietnam with repeated student deferments, once explaining that he had "other priorities" at the time".

Why would any veteran group be a 'safe audience' for someone as despicable and as big of a shameless chickenhawk as Dick Cheney?

I don't get it.

THEY AREN'T BUYING IT

"U.S. President George Bush is mounting a new campaign this week to shore up dwindling support for the war in Iraq.

Aides said Bush will give a series of speeches in which he will remind the country of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and will suggest the war in Iraq is similar to other long conflicts, like World War II."

Bush and his administration continue to lie to the American public but the people aren't buying it anymore.

When Bush refers to 9/11 for justifying invading Iraq the people now know he's grasping for straws and that he's desperate because his poll numbers are plummeting.

And now he wants to compare his made-up war with World War II. What a joke.

Well...I guess you could compare the two if FDR had declared war on Indonesia instead of Japan after Pearl Harbor.

CARTOON EDITORIAL

PRIORITY

U.S. Struggling to Get Soldiers Updated Armor
By MICHAEL MOSS


For the second time since the Iraq war began, the Pentagon is struggling to replace body armor that is failing to protect American troops from the most lethal attacks by insurgents.

The ceramic plates in vests worn by most personnel cannot withstand certain munitions the insurgents use. But more than a year after military officials initiated an effort to replace the armor with thicker, more resistant plates, tens of thousands of soldiers are still without the stronger protection because of a string of delays in the Pentagon's procurement system.

The effort to replace the armor began in May 2004, just months after the Pentagon finished supplying troops with the original plates - a process also plagued by delays. The officials disclosed the new armor effort Wednesday after questioning by The New York Times, and acknowledged that it would take several more months or longer to complete.

Citing security concerns, the officials declined to say exactly how many more of the stronger plates were needed, or how much armor had already been shipped to Iraq.

"We are working as fast as we can to complete it as soon as we can," Maj. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sorenson, the Army's deputy for acquisition and systems management, said Wednesday in an interview at the Pentagon.

While much of the focus on casualties in Iraq has been on soldiers killed by explosive devices aimed at vehicles, body armor remains critical to the military's goals in Iraq. Gunfire has killed at least 325 troops, about half the number killed by bombs, according to the Pentagon.

Among the problems contributing to the delays in getting the stronger body armor, the Pentagon is relying on a cottage industry of small armor makers with limited production capacity. In addition, each company must independently come up with its own design for the plates, which then undergo military testing. Just four vendors have begun making the enhanced armor, according to military and industry officials. Two more companies are expected to receive contracts by next month, while 20 or more others have plates that are still being tested.

An important material that strengthens the ceramic plates also remains in short supply despite a federal initiative aimed at prodding private industry into meeting the growing demand, military officials said.

"Nobody is happy we haven't been able to do it faster," Maj. Gen. William D. Catto, head of the Marine Corps Systems Command, said Wednesday in the interview.

"If I had the capability, I'd like to see everybody that needs enhanced SAPI to have it and at the rate we have now, we're going to have months before we get the kind of aggregate numbers we want to have," General Catto said, referring to the thicker plates, known as the Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert. "That's just a fact of life because of the raw materials paucity and the industrial base."

Throughout the war, the military's procurement system has struggled to stay ahead of the insurgency. Most notably, efforts by the Defense Department to add armor to the Humvee - a vehicle never intended for combat - often have been undermined by the insurgents' relentless ability to build more powerful bombs.

Military officials say they have kept the effort to supply troops with the stronger body armor quiet to avoid alerting the insurgency, which they say is adept at mining news media reports for any evidence of weaknesses in the American force. At the request of the Pentagon, The Times has omitted from this article details that would expose vulnerabilities in the original armor and the types of munitions that the original plates cannot repel.

Upgrading the plates for American troops in Iraq will cost at least $160 million, according to industry estimates.

Body armor arose as an issue in Iraq shortly after the invasion in March 2003, when insurgents began attacking American troops who had been given only vests and not bullet-resistant plates. The Army had planned to give the plates only to frontline soldiers. Officials now concede that they underestimated the insurgency's strength and commitment to fighting a war in which there are no back lines.

The ensuing scramble to produce more plates was marred by a series of missteps in which the Pentagon gave one contract to a former Army researcher who had never mass-produced anything. He was allowed to struggle with production for a year before he gave up. An outdated delivery plan slowed the arrival of plates that were made. In all, the war was 10 months old before every soldier in Iraq had plates in late January 2004.

Four months later, the Pentagon quietly issued a solicitation for the enhanced plates that would resist stronger attacks. At the same time, it worked to make improvements to the vests, including adding shoulder and side protection.

Pentagon officials said they had been hampered in their efforts by the need to make the armor as light as possible.

"You can trace this back to the early centuries ago when they started wearing body armor to the point they couldn't get on the horse," General Sorenson said. "We are doing the same sort of thing. You can only put so much armor on a soldier to the point where they can't move."

The new enhanced SAPI plates weigh about one pound more than the original plates, bringing the total body armor system with vest to about 18 pounds, military officials said.

Among the first soldiers to use the stronger armor were the military's special forces, who are known to cut the handles off their toothbrushes to reduce the weight of their packs.

Shortly after the Iraq war began, insurgents began attacking American soldiers engaged in stationary tasks like directing traffic or less arduous combat operations.

Cpl. Nicholas Roberts, 23, a marine from Colorado, was wounded last December in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, when his armor plates failed to deflect an insurgent's attack. He just started walking again this summer after nine operations. In wearing the armor, he said, "you know your risks, that it's not going to stop everything."

"Unfortunately," he added, when told about the enhanced plates, "they didn't have that when I was in."

Among the first companies to begin making enhanced SAPI for the military was Simula, a safety technology company based in Phoenix, military contracting records show. It was awarded a contract in August 2004, and received a new $12 million order this month.

Armor Holdings, a company based in Jacksonville, Fla., that owns Simula, has an exclusive contract to armor the military's Humvees. The company stirred some concern in the Pentagon in January when it balked at selling its legal rights to the Humvee armor, which the military wanted so it could involve additional manufacturers.

Col. Bruce D. Jette, who directed a special unit at the Pentagon known as the Rapid Equipping Force until he retired last fall, said the military's reliance on small companies to make body armor succeeded in spurring innovation. But in failing to acquire the rights to those designs, the military may be passing up an opportunity to increase production, he added.

Pentagon officials said the pending addition of two more vendors to the four that are now producing enhanced SAPI would increase production to 25,000 sets of the plates a month from 20,000. Each vest requires two plates. Worldwide, the Army would need nearly 2 million plates to supply all 996,000 troops using body armor with the enhanced plates.

Industry officials say they are charging the military roughly $600 each for enhanced SAPI plates, compared with $400 for the original plate.

Cercom, an advanced materials company based in Vista, Calif., began making enhanced plates for the Pentagon this summer and said it was working round the clock to fill its part of the military order. To go even faster, Richard J. Palicka, Cercom's president, said it would "need additional furnace capacity and that's expensive."

But industry and military officials say production is also constrained by a lingering shortage of an advanced fiber used to make the plates.

The material is made by only two companies, Honeywell and DSM, a Dutch concern. DSM, which built a new plant in Greenville, N.C., last year at the military's urging, and Honeywell say they are continuing to step up production. DSM said it planned to add another production line next year.

Mike Ryan, a Honeywell executive, said his company was meeting the demand for its version of this material, known as Spectra Shield, until just last month when orders from plate makers surged. "There is a learning curve here that we are trying to come up," Mr. Ryan said.

The military is still trying to assess just how well body armor is working. Pentagon officials said Wednesday during the interview that numerous lives had been saved. To emphasize the point, they played a video taken recently by an Iraqi insurgent in which an American soldier - knocked down by a bullet striking his vest - got back on his feet unharmed and took cover.

The Armed Forces Medical Examiner's Office which has undertaken a number of initiatives in the Iraq war to reduce casualties, has urged the Pentagon to have field commanders return the body armor of slain soldiers so it can be examined along with their wounds. Earlier in the war, the military medical corps helped spur improvements in eye protection and set off an examination of the Army's new helmet by studying wound patterns.

But in interviews this spring, the Medical Examiner's Office said it was receiving only about 10 percent of the vests worn by slain soldiers, too few to get a complete picture of the armor's performance.

Meanwhile, a burst of research is under way to develop even stronger body armor, though some earlier efforts appear to have slipped through the cracks. At the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Stephen D. Nunn said his group formulated a polymer that can be added to the ceramic plates to increase their strength. "Our material and assembly seems to perform better than anything else I've read about," he said.

But the group's contract was limited to fortifying helicopters. When that project ended in 2001, there was no money to extend the work to body armor, Mr. Nunn said.

At the behest of the military, researchers are also studying how to make body armor more resistant to explosive devices. In a recent technical paper, one scientist, Thomas Friend, said that more work needed to be done on analyzing the shock waves produced by these blasts and how they interact with the body and the armor.

Some armor, he warned, could aggravate the damage from blasts by twisting the waves as they pass through the body.

DESPERATE DESPERADOS

THE SHEEP HERD IS DWINDLING FAST

Proving those wrong who say the ‘miserable failure’ known as ‘W’, doesn’t pay attention to polls, a desperate and rattled ‘Dubya’ will begin a 5-day campaign in an attempt to convince the sheep that his needless invasion of Iraq was worth the cost.

Even though it’s been proven over and over again, and the majority of the people now know that Iraq wasn’t a threat or involved in 9/11, ‘W’ will once again attempt to link the two. Unfortunately for him, and his 30-35% base, who love the Republican Party more than their country and certainly more than the ‘troops’, it won’t work.

"By advancing the cause of liberty in a troubled region, we are bringing security to our own citizens and laying the foundations of peace for our children and grandchildren."

Oh really, ol' Liar-in-Chief? You better hope you'll be able to re-convince all those sheep who swallowed the last time you said that; it doesn't look good.

It's 10 months too late to save the country from this miserably failing administration but hopefully the nation will wise-up and elect a Democrat majority into the House of Representatives in 2006, so we can impeach the liar and convict those guilty of lying about the link between Iraq and 9/11.

That will be an impeachment that's justified.

THE POLITICS OF WAR

Hey, What's That Sound?





Richard Nixon, like George W. Bush and unlike George Herbert-Walker Bush, knew the value of keeping a war going. "We had a lot of success with that in 1972," he told his stunned audience.

Newt Gingrich, is sounding a little more reasonable these days and must be thinking about running for something with quotes like, "Any effort to explain Iraq as 'We are on track and making progress' is nonsense".

Henry Kissinger, who is the only person to win a Nobel Peace Prize and be a wanted war criminal all in the same lifetime, gives some simple advice to 'Bikey W' on winning his war in Iraq by laying out these few 'easy' steps;

train a real Iraqi Army that includes all religious and ethnic groups,
make the Shiites stop hating the Sunnis and the Kurds stop hating everyone,
keep the Iranians from creating a theocratic dictatorship in Iraq,
our troops have to defeat the vicious Iraq insurgency,
and Dubya needs to keep domestic support for the war.

Not a problem...I think we can do all that.

War advice from three huge Republican losers to the biggest republican loser in history, 'Bikey W'.

Thanks Maureen...keep up the good work.

THE SYSTEM WAS BLINKING RED

Let's summarize what the Bush administration knew during the months leading up to 9/11.

From the 9/11 Commission Report, Chapter Eight,
'The System Was Blinking Red'


During 2001, Director of Central Intelligence GeorgeTenet was briefed regularly regarding threats and other operational information relating to Usama Bin Ladin. He in turn met daily with President Bush, who was briefed by the CIA through what is known as the President's Daily Brief (PDB).

There were more than 40 intelligence articles in the PDBs from January 20 to September 10, 2001, that related to Bin Ladin.

The Drumbeat Begins
In the spring of 2001, the level of reporting on terrorist threats and planned attacks increased dramatically to its highest level since the millennium alert.

On March 23, in connection with discussions about possibly reopening Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House, Clarke warned National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice that domestic or foreign terrorists might use a truck bomb-their "weapon of choice"-on Pennsylvania Avenue.

He (Clarke) also told her (Rice) that he thought there were terrorist cells within the United States, including al Qaeda. The next week, Rice was briefed on the activities of Abu Zubaydah and on CIA efforts to locate him.

Over the next few weeks,the CIA repeatedly issued warnings-including calls from DCI Tenet to Clarke-that Abu Zubaydah was planning an operation in the near future.One report cited a source indicating that Abu Zubaydah was planning an attack in a country that CIA analysts thought might be Israel, or perhaps Saudi Arabia or India. Clarke relayed these reports to Rice. In response to these threats, the FBI sent a message to all its field offices on April 13, 2001.

The next day, (April 20, 2001) a briefing to top officials reported "Bin Ladin planning multiple operations." When the deputies discussed al Qaeda policy on April 30, they began with a briefing on the threat.

In May 2001, the drumbeat of reporting grew louder with reports to top officials that "Bin Ladin public profile may presage attack"and "Bin Ladin network's plans advancing." In early May, a walk-in to the FBI claimed there was a plan to launch attacks on London, Boston, and NewYork.Attorney General John Ashcroft was briefed by the CIA on May 15 regarding al Qaeda generally and the current threat reporting specifically.

The next day (May 16,2001) brought a report that a phone call to a U.S. embassy had warned that Bin Ladin supporters were planning an attack in the United States using "high explosives."

On May 17, based on the previous day's report, the first item on the CSG's agenda was "UBL: Operation Planned in U.S." The anonymous caller's tip could not be corroborated.

Late May brought reports of a possible hostage plot against Americans abroad to force the release of prisoners, including Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the "Blind Sheikh," who was serving a life sentence for his role in the 1993 plot to blow up sites in NewYork City. The reporting noted that operatives might opt to hijack an aircraft or storm a U.S. embassy.

Reports similar to many of these were made available to President Bush in morning intelligence briefings with DCI Tenet, usually attended by Vice President Dick Cheney and National Security Advisor Rice.

On May 29, Clarke suggested that Rice ask DCI Tenet what more the United States could do to stop Abu Zubaydah from launching"a series of major terrorist attacks,"

High Probability of Near-Term "Spectacular" Attacks

A June 12 , 2001 CIA report passing along biographical background information on several terrorists mentioned, in commenting on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, that he was recruiting people to travel to the United States to meet with colleagues already there so that they might conduct terrorist attacks on Bin Ladin's behalf.

On June 22, 2001 the CIA notified all its station chiefs about intelligence suggesting a possible al Qaeda suicide attack on a U.S.target over the next few days. DCI Tenet asked that all U.S. ambassadors be briefed.

A terrorist threat advisory distributed in late June indicated a high probability of near-term "spectacular" terrorist attacks resulting in numerous casualties. Other reports' titles warned,"Bin Ladin Attacks May be Imminent" and "Bin Ladin and Associates Making Near-Term Threats."

On June 21,near the height of the threat reporting,U.S.Central Command raised the force protection condition level for U.S. troops in six countries to the highest possible level, Delta.The U.S. Fifth Fleet moved out of its port in Bahrain, and a U.S. Marine Corps exercise in Jordan was halted.

On June 25, 2001 Clarke warned Rice and Hadley that six separate intelligence reports showed al Qaeda personnel warning of a pending attack…

On June 28, Clarke wrote Rice that the pattern of al Qaeda activity indicating attack planning over the past six weeks "had reached a crescendo.""A series of new reports continue to convince me and analysts at State, CIA, DIA [Defense Intelligence Agency], and NSA that a major terrorist attack or series of attacks is likely in July…"

On July 2, the FBI Counterterrorism Division sent a message to federal agencies and state and local law enforcement agencies summarizing information regarding threats from Bin Ladin.

Clarke and others told us of a particular concern about possible attacks on the Fourth of July. After it passed uneventfully, the CSG decided to maintain the alert. To enlist more international help, Vice President Cheney contacted Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah on July 5.

On July 5, representatives from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the FAA, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, Customs, the CIA, and the FBI met with Clarke to discuss the current threat.

That same day, the CIA briefed Attorney General Ashcroft on the al Qaeda threat, warning that a significant terrorist attack was imminent. Ashcroft was told that preparations for multiple attacks were in late stages or already complete and that little additional warning could be expected.

The next day, the CIA representative told the CSG that al Qaeda members believed the upcoming attack would be "spectacular," qualitatively different from anything they had done to date.

On July 9, when 37 officials from 27 agencies and organizations were briefed on the "current threat level" in the United States.

On July 23, the lead item for CSG discussion was still the al Qaeda threat,and it included mention of suspected terrorist travel to the United States.

Tenet told us that in his world "the system was blinking red." By late July, Tenet said, it could not "get any worse."

On June 30, the SEIB contained an article titled "Bin Ladin Threats Are Real." Yet Hadley told Tenet in July that Deputy Secretary of Defense PaulWolfowitz questioned the reporting.

On July 27, Clarke informed Rice and Hadley that the spike in intelligence about a near-term al Qaeda attack had stopped. He urged keeping readiness high during the August vacation period,warning that another report suggested an attack had just been postponed for a few months "but will still happen."

On August 3, the intelligence community issued an advisory concluding that the threat of impending al Qaeda attacks would likely continue indefinitely.

Two CIA analysts involved in preparing this briefing article believed it represented an opportunity to communicate their view that the threat of a Bin Ladin attack in the United States remained both current and serious.35 The result was an article in the August 6 Presidential Daily Brief titled "Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US." It was the 36th PDB item briefed so far that year that related to Bin Ladin or al Qaeda, and the first devoted to the possibility of an attack in the United States. The President told us the August 6 report was historical in nature.President Bush said the article told him that al Qaeda was dangerous, which he said he had known since he had become President.

DCI Tenet visited President Bush in Crawford,Texas, on August 17 and participated in PDB briefings of the President between August 31 (after the President had returned to Washington) and September 10.

Once again, Bush was vacationing in Crawford-ironically returning on 9/10.  10/26/13-that is incorrect.  Bush returned to Washington on, 8/31.  Hey, I went to public school.

This information comes from Chapter 8, of the 9/11 Commission's Report, titled, 'The System was Blinking Red'. For those of you who are interested in knowing the truth-read it. For those of you who have no interest in knowing the truth-watch Fox News.

JUST SAY NO TO DOPES

Limbaugh Going Insane

One of the finer things to witness is the Republican’s three-time divorced, hypocritical drug addict, ‘Mr. Republican Family Values’, Eldrugbo Limbaugh, losing it.

Limbaugh’s many lies are well documented almost daily on the excellent website, Media Matters for America.

The effect of Eldrugbo’s oxycotin addiction was not only the loss of his hearing but his mind is also failing fast.

Only two short days after comparing Cindy Sheehan to Bill Burkett, the Republican’s most admired drug-addict denied saying it. Even after posting the comment on his website.

Polls show that listeners of Limbaugh’s radio show are the second most misinformed people in the country-second only to Fox News viewers. And most of those listeners can’t figure out why they can’t stand up on debating the issues. Duh.

As I said, there’s nothing much better than seeing this despicable piece of garbage losing his mind. Poor fat-ass.

Eldrugbo Limbaugh on 8/17/05
“Apparently, what's out there is that I said that Cindy Sheehan is no different than Bill Burkett, that Bill Burkett lied and Cindy Sheehan lied. They're actually out there, people saying that I am accusing Cindy Sheehan of making up the fact that she had a son and making up the fact that her son died in Iraq. And of course, I've never said this”.

Eldrugbo Limbaugh on 8/15/05
“I mean, Cindy Sheehan is just Bill Burkett. Her story is nothing more than forged documents. There's nothing about it that's real…”

Get a new hero, losers!

Well, on second thought, it is more fun with you being stupid...

Roadside Blast Kills Four U.S. Soldiers

Blood Runs Red, Not Blue

Four U.S. troops were killed in a roadside bomb blast north of Baghdad on Thursday.


For all the talk of supporting the troops, they are a low priority for most Americans. If the nation really cared, the president would not be frolicking at his ranch for the entire month of August. He'd be back in Washington burning the midnight oil, trying to figure out how to get the troops out of the terrible fix he put them in.

If the war in Iraq is worth fighting - if it's a noble venture, as the hawks insist it is - then it's worth fighting with the children of the privileged classes. They should be added to the combat mix. If it's not worth their blood, then we should bring the other troops home.

If Mr. Bush's war in Iraq is worth dying for, then the children of the privileged should be doing some of the dying.


Sign them up, chickenhawks. Of course, they won't volunteer, so I suggest we go to the list of registered Republicans and re-start the draft.

I wonder how quickly we'd be pulling out of Iraq with that suggestion?

WAY BACK IN 1999

You know how the hypocrite party, the Republicans, like to question anyone’s patriotism for questioning this lying administration ‘during wartime’? Here are some quotes from some of those hypocrites that occurred during Kosovo.

“You can support the troops but not the president”-Tom Delay

"This is President Clinton's war, and when he falls flat on his face, that's his problem." – Richard Lugar

"[The] President…is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation’s armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy.”- Rick Santorum

"The two powers that have ICBMs that can reach the United States are Russia and China. Here we go in. We're taking on not just Milosevic. We can't just say, 'that little guy, we can whip him.' We have these two other powers that have missiles that can reach us, and we have zero defense thanks to this president." – James Inhofe (Oklahoma redneck)

“If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy.”- Karen Hughes

"You think Vietnam was bad? Vietnam is nothing next to Kosovo." – Tony Snow

And, my favorite;

“Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?” - Sean Hannity

Well Sean, no body bags, not one single one, came ‘home’ from Kosovo but there’s been 1,857 of them so far that have ‘come home’ since your hero lied and led us needlessly into Iraq.

Not one, smart ass. Lying treasonous hypocrites!

MAYBE IT IS A GENETIC DEFORMITY

How could President Bush be cavorting around on a long vacation with American troops struggling with a spiraling crisis in Iraq?

Wasn't he worried that his vacation activities might send a frivolous signal at a time when he had put so many young Americans in harm's way?

"I'm determined that life goes on," Mr. Bush said stubbornly.

That wasn't the son, believe it or not. It was the father - 15 years ago.

Maureen Dowd, shows that maybe being so uncaring and disconnected isn't really Dubya's fault-it's in his genes. After all, we do remember what his mother, Dog Bush, said about not wanting to be bothered by thoughts of body bags coming from Iraq.

Nice family, them Bush's.

ISRAEL, OUR BIGGEST WELFARE STATE

Ariel Sharon wants $2 billion from American taxpayers for the removal of 8,500 Jewish settlers from Gaza. That’s over $235,000 per person. So, for a family of four, that’s a cool million from us Americans who, as you know, have gobs and gobs of extra cash just lying around. $235,000 per person!!

Since the signing of the Camp David Accords in 1978, American taxpayers have given Israel anywhere from $3-$5 billion per year. There are approximately 6 million Israelis. That means American taxpayers are giving every citizen in Israel $833 per year. For a family of four, that’s a nice little supplement of $3,300-$3,400 every year.

Am I only the only American taxpayer who is tired of this bullshit?

“Our strongest ally in the middle east”. Well, no shit. I wonder why that is?



(Update-I just read in my Wednesday morning newspaper that it's "1,600 families" that are being evicted from Gaza. That works out to $1,250,000 for every family.)

MORTGAGED TO THE HOUSE OF SAUD

Nice piece from Robert Scheer telling it the only way he knows how.







"Yes, it has stuck deep in the craw of many of us Americans that after 9/11, Washington squandered global goodwill and a huge percentage of our resources invading a country that had nothing to do with Al Qaeda, while continuing to pander to this dysfunctional dynasty. After all, Saudi Arabia is believed to have paid Bin Laden's murderous gang millions in protection money in the years before 9/11, and it lavishly funds extremist religious schools throughout the region that preach and teach anti-Western jihad.

"Al Qaeda found fertile fundraising ground in the kingdom," noted the 9/11 commission report in one of its many careful understatements. The fact is, without Saudi Arabia, there would be no Al Qaeda today.

Our president loves to use the word "evil" in his speeches, yet throughout his life he and his family have had deep personal, political and financial ties with a country that represents everything the American Revolution stood against: tyranny, religious intolerance, corrupt royalty and popular ignorance. This is a country where women aren't allowed to drive and those who show "too much skin" can be beaten in the street by officially sanctioned mobs of fanatics. A medieval land where newspapers routinely publish the most outlandish anti-Semitic rants. A place where executions are held in public, torture is the norm in prison and the most extreme and expansionist version of Islam is the state religion".

THINGS ARE GETTING UGLY

I have a very busy day ahead-I'll be a little held up.

Besides, the big news of the day is the Iraqis didn't finish their constitution, the Israeli settlers are resisting pulling out of Gaza, John Roberts, like most republicans, doesn't think much of the first amendment to our constitution and the so-called conservatives (LOL)are all excited about this year's budget deficit being 'only' $333 billion. And, oh yeah, Bush is still on vacation.

That ain't news. That's reality.

THE BOTTOM LINE VS. THE RIGHT THING TO DO

I saw the tail-end of an interesting news segment on CNN Sunday morning about the drug, ImmTher. ImmTher is an experimental drug that has shown great success in the treatment of pediatric bone cancer, specifically, an often deadly form known as, Ewing’s sarcoma.

The segment featured a woman, who I believe was Dr. Eugenie S. Kleinerman, from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, and a mother and her six-year old daughter. The little girl had developed Ewing’s Sarcoma at the age of four and after all other therapies had failed and she was expected not to survive, her mother was offered one last hope. ImmTher. The little girl’s tumor vanished after this experimental treatment and she’s been in remission for the last two years. ImmTher saved her life.

So what’s the problem? Wouldn’t you think the drug’s manufacturer, Endorex Corporation, and the FDA would rush to get this new wonder drug to market?

Not quite. You see, Ewing’s sarcoma is a very rare cancer and Endorex and its shareholders decided last year that the continued research and development costs of ImmTher were not worth the expected return in revenue, so they canceled production of the drug.

Dr. Kleinermann and M.D. Anderson only have a very short supply of ImmTher left in their inventory and after that, children and young adults with this rare form of bone cancer will be subjected to a nearly hopeless situation in a lot of these cases.

Is this decision by Endorex and its shareholders to go with the ‘bottom line’ the ethical and/or right thing to do? Is this what good ‘capitalists’ have come to- choosing profit over what’s the moral and ethical thing to do?

I know the answer-it’s very obvious to me.


Ewing 's sarcoma can occur any time during childhood, but usually develops during puberty, when bones are growing rapidly. It is uncommon in African-American, African, and Chinese children.

The tumor may arise anywhere in the body, usually in the long bones of the arms and legs, the pelvis, or the chest. It may also develop in the skull or the flat bones of the trunk.

There are few symptoms. The most common is pain and occasionally swelling at the site of the tumor. Children may also break a bone at the site of the tumor after a seemingly minor trauma (pathologic fracture). Fever may also be present.

The tumor often spreads (metastasis) to the lungs and other bones. Metastasis is present in approximately one-third of children with this condition at the time of diagnosis.

JAWBREAKER

Kerry was right-Bush did outsource that job

‘The man who led the CIA undercover team assigned to capture or kill Osama bin Laden in the dying days of the Afghan war was Gary Berntsen.

Now he is on a new mission: to convince the US public -- and the White House -- that the al-Qa'ida chief was genuinely within his grasp during the operation, codenamed Jawbreaker, in the Tora Bora mountains.

In his book Jawbreaker, due for publication in October, Berntsen claims the CIA team had pinpointed bin Laden's location and "knew for certain" he was there.

Berntsen's manuscript is being vetted by the CIA, but he is suing his former employers for taking too long to assess his material and for demanding excessive cuts for supposed security reasons.

A spokesman for the White House last week repeated a claim made during last year's presidential election by General Tommy Franks: "We don't know to this day whether bin Laden was at Tora Bora in December 2001."


"We don't know to this day whether Mr. bin Laden was at Tora Bora in December 2001. Bin Laden was never within our grasp." General Tommy Franks

“Franks is "a great American. But he was not on the ground out there. I was." Ex-CIA field commander and author of, ‘Jawbreaker’, Gary Berntsen .

John Kerry during the third 2004 presidential debate;
“ I would not take my eye off of the goal: Osama bin Laden. Unfortunately, he escaped in the mountains of Tora Bora. We had him surrounded. But we didn't use American forces, the best trained in the world, to go kill him. The president relied on Afghan warlords and he outsourced that job too. That's wrong”


source

THEY CALL HIM, FLIPPER

Some call ‘W’ Flipper, I call him what he is - a liar

Second Presidential Debate-Washington University, St. Louis, Mo 10/8/04

BUSH: I remember sitting in the White House looking at those generals, saying, "Do you have what you need in this war? Do you have what it takes?"
I remember going down to the basement of the White House the day we committed our troops as last resort, looking at Tommy Franks and the generals on the ground, asking them, "Do we have the right plan with the right troop level?"
And they looked me in the eye and said, "Yes, sir, Mr. President." Of course, I listen to our generals. That's what a president does. A president sets the strategy and relies upon good military people to execute that strategy.

Dubya on Friday, 8/12/05 while ‘dressing down' Army Gen. George W. Casey and Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who dared to say that troop strength in Iraq could be lowered by 30,000.

"The decision finally will be made by me — upon the recommendation of Gen. Casey, through [Defense] Secretary [Donald H.] Rumsfeld, to me," – George Flipper Bush

Lt. General Vines, by the way, is the top ground commander in Iraq and General Casey is the highest-ranking military commander in Iraq. Sure Flipper, when everyone was watching, it was ‘up to the generals’; now, it’s up to you .

George Flipper Bush-when he was looking for votes and wanted to criticize the Clinton administration on Kosovo.

"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is."

"I think it's also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn."

George Flipper Bush now;

"It doesn't make any sense to have a timetable. You know, if you give a timetable, you're - you're conceding too much to the enemy."

Bush also said this a that same debate in St. Louis;

“My opponent says he has a plan; it sounds familiar, because it's called the Bush plan. We're going to train troops, and we are. We'll have 125,000 trained by the end of December. We're spending about $7 billion”.

Seven months later…
“By late last month, American commanders said, only 3 of the 107 military and paramilitary battalions had achieved that standard’.

The ‘standard’ is, “able to plan, execute and sustain independent counterinsurgency operations”.

Bush knew he was lying about the ‘125,000 trained’ Iraqi troops and he failed to mention that those already trained would need to have their hands held in combating the insurgency.

I heard that word “Flipper’ coming from a lot of Bush sheep-boys during the 2004 election. I wonder why I don’t hear it too often anymore..

SUNDAY MORNING HUMOR

THEY DON'T ALL FIT YOUR PROFILE

SHOULD WE START PROFILING RIGHTWING WHITE BOYS?


Charles Dreyling Jr., 24, from a prominent Republican family in Oklahoma City, whose character witness at his hearing was Kirk Humphreys, former Republican Mayor of Oklahoma City, was released into the custody of his parents after being caught boarding an airplane with a live pipe bomb.

Oklahoma City of all places! If any area of the country should know about rightwing white boy terrorists, Oklahoma City should certainly know.

Is Dreyling Jr., who says he's been making pipe bombs for 'recreational purposes' since he was 14 and learned his trade well from such websites as, ‘The Anarchist’s Cook Book’, a young rightwing terrorist wannabe in the mold of Timothy McVeigh or Eric Rudolph, or is he just your average rightwing kid who innocently forgot that his 'explosive device' was in his carry-on baggage?

And of course, we all know that if good ol' boy Charlie would have happened to be an Arab or a black dude, they too would be released into the custody of their parents.

Yeah..sure...




source
http://www.ktok.com/cc-common/feeds/view.php?feed_id=135&feed=/local.html&instance=1&article_id=27539

THERE THEY GO AGAIN?

Sheep Herding or Legitimate Threat?

The poll numbers are down, you got some loudmouth bitch of a “Mom” sitting out at the front gate making you look like an uncaring fool, more than half the country knows you lied about Iraq and the social security ‘thing’ didn’t work, so what do you do?

You call a terror alert! Good one, Turd Blossom!

Now…could be the real thing, I guess. Or, since the ‘threat’ was ‘developed from an overseas source’, maybe the Saudis just turned the vice grip on Abdul’s testicles a couple of more times-you never really know with terror ‘warnings’ from the Bush administration.

After all, Bush’s own former Director of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, admitted that the administration played politics and misused the color coded ‘terror warning’ system during the run-up to the 2004 election.

Ridge commented at a Washington forum in May, “There were times when some people were really aggressive about raising it, and we said, 'For that?' "

Hey, what the hell? Kept the sheep in line, didn’t it?

But who knows-the threat could be true; Al-Qaeda is more than likely planning some type of attack and a fuel truck would seem an easy target. But unfortunately, with this administration’s record, you never know if it’s a legitimate threat, or just one used to herd the sheep back in again...

BEAT ‘EM, CHEAT ‘EM, BUT DON’T BANG ONE OF ‘EM

You can lie your way into an unnecessary war, you can lie about armor for the troops and you can lie about diverting the troops' money to Halliburton, and you might get the Presidential Medal of Freedom from this corrupt administration. But goddamn it, you had better not bang somebody outside of marriage or you’re gone!


Gen. Kevin P. Byrnes, 55, led the Army's Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va., where he supervised the recruitment and academic programs at 33 Army schools, from basic training to the war colleges. Byrnes, who several military sources said had a previously unblemished record, was set to retire in November after 36 years of service.

Several defense sources familiar with the case, speaking anonymously because the investigation is not complete, said Byrnes is accused of having an "inappropriate relationship," and some described him as being involved in an extramarital affair.

NARAL, LET IT GO

OVERTURN ROE v. WADE

So the NARAL Pro-Choice America group gave in to pressure and is withdrawing its television ad that linked John Roberts to violent anti-abortion activists? That’s good.

We, the progressive, clear thinking segment of the population need to use our heads a little on this Supreme Court nominee of Bush’s. We need Roberts to be selected to take the place of Sandra Day-O’Connor and hope that he is that final vote in overturning Roe v. Wade.

Most people are under the mistaken assumption that overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade case would make abortion illegal in this country. It would not. Overturning Roe v. Wade would merely give the decision back to the states and that’s when Democrats and Independents can finally rid themselves of Republican control of government. State and federal.

Polls consistently show that Americans, by a 2 to 1 margin, support Roe v. Wade but you would never know that by what you hear on TV or radio or by reading the newspaper. The general impression is that the country is evenly divided on woman’s constitutional right to choose an abortion. That is a lie.

Please confirm John Roberts and please let him finally be that 5th vote in overturning Roe v. Wade.

Sure, Republicans will always have Mississippi, Alabama, Utah and probably Indiana, but who cares?

When the people of those purple states realize that ‘sis’ could go to prison (or worse) for something they currently feel should be a woman’s right, they will be forced to vote Republicans out of office and then the country can get back to prosperity and freedom.

So, let’s hope John Roberts gets selected to the Supreme Court and let’s hope he’s lying when he say’s he would respect the precedent of Roe v. Wade.

Go ahead, overturn it. Make my day!




http://www.pollingreport.com/abortion.htm

LETS MAKE A DEAL, JACK

"When one of my closest and dearest friends, Jack Abramoff, your most able representative in Washington, D.C., invited me to the islands,…”

Big time Republican lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, who is not only closely (and criminally) linked to Tom Delay but also to such Republican heavy-weights as Grover Norquist, Ralph Reed and congressman, Bob Ney from Ohio, was indicted by a federal grand jury today in a fraud case in which the person Abramoff bilked out of $23 million, ended up murdered in Ft. Lauderdale.

Sounds like Jack ought to start ‘chirping’- give up some of that valuable information you have on some of those big shooters. Maybe we could get some of those special Gitmo interrogators...time to make that deal Jack...

MIAMI, Aug. 11 -- Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday and federal agents were searching for him as part of a wide-ranging wire fraud case stemming from the purchase of a Florida casino cruise line from a businessman later murdered in Fort Lauderdale, sources close to the case said.

Abramoff, a key figure in ethics investigations into House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), was expected to be arrested and taken to a U.S. magistrate. He was indicted along with Adam Kidan, the former owner of the Dial-A-Mattress franchise in Washington. Kidan, 41, of New York City, is expected to surrender himself to the FBI here by Friday morning.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/11/AR2005081101108.html

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

Isn't That Sort of Like Being an 'Indian Giver'?

Don’t you really miss those days when our ‘executive branch’ played both sides with its foreign policy? Reagan managed to supply Saddam with anthrax and its enemy, Iran (Reagan revisionists, please see ‘Iran/Contra’) with stinger missiles. The same Iranians responsible for the murder of our 241 Marines in Beirut too, by the way.

But then again, I guess if you consider the cost of Dubya’s war in Iraq-it is a lot cheaper to supply them with the needs to kill each other verses trying to referee their civil wars.

“The culture was sent to the United States, which exported samples to Iraq during Saddam’s war against Iran in the 1980s. Inspectors have found that this batch of anthrax was the dictator’s choice in his attempts to create biological weapons”

'SWIFT BOAT MOMS FOR TRUTH'

You're Either With Us...

Republicans support the troops and the mothers and fathers of the troops, just as long as you play by their rules and don’t criticize ‘W’ or anyone else in his administration.

From the right’s criticism of Paul Hackett’s service in Iraq, to their despicable treatment of Pat Tillman’s parents, to their rejection of Jessica Lynch to now their attempt to discredit Cindy Sheehan, they prove once again that they’ll support you, but you had better play by their rules or face the wrath of ‘Turd-Blossom’…

‘The Bush team tried to discredit "Mom" by pointing reporters to an old article in which she sounded kinder to W. If only her husband were an undercover C.I.A. operative, the Bushies could out him. But even if they send out a squad of Swift Boat Moms for Truth, there will be a countering Falluja Moms for Truth’

CHICKENHAWKITIS

I certainly would have to agree that fighting a 'war of ideas' would be most people's preference over dodging IED's in Haditha or Baghdad but we are having problems filling the Army and Marines recruiting goals, after all.

I guess the cheerleading chickenhawk syndrome could be a defective gene passed on.

YANKEES IN GEORGIA

Last month my youngest son and I went to Tennessee to visit relatives in Knoxville and to do some white-water rafting. We had rafted the Pigeon River last year and were looking forward to rafting the Ocoee River, the river used for rafting in the 1996 Olympic Games, which would take us to an area 25 miles north of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

And although the rafting on the Ocoee was breathtaking and well worth the 1 ½ hour drive from Knoxville it would end up being secondary to our visit to the Chattanooga and northern Georgia area.

If you’re interested in Civil War history, Chattanooga, Tennessee and just south of there in northern Georgia at a battlefield named Chickamauga near Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia, is a place definitely worth the visit.

On September 19, 1863, 130,000 Union and Confederate troops battled for the control of Chattanooga at Chickamauga in ‘the bloodiest two-day battle of the Civil War’.

Confederate General Braxton Bragg and his 43,000-man Army of Tennessee along with an additional 23,000 reinforcements from Mississippi and Virginia were dug in 20 miles south of Chattanooga defending the ‘gateway to the heart of the Confederacy’ and Atlanta, Georgia.

Union Major General William S. Rosecrans and his almost 70,000 strong Army of the Cumberland had pursued Braggs from Murfreesboro where six months earlier, after a three day clash, Braggs and his army were forced to retreat to Chattanooga and into the area of northern Georgia.

In a densely wooded area called Chickamauga, which in Cherokee means ‘river of blood’, 130,000 men battled, many times hand to hand, for two days in what would be one of the Confederates biggest, albeit short-lived, victories of the war.

There were 34,000 casualties (1) in those two days of battle and although the Union had less casualties, they were forced to now retreat to Chattanooga, where from Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge the Confederates kept the Union army hemmed in for two months in an effort to ‘starve them out’.

Rosecrans would lose his command of the Army of Cumberland to Major General George H. Thomas, the ‘Rock of Chickamauga’ and Ulysses S. Grant, Major General Joseph Hooker and Major General William Tecumseh Sherman with an additional 50,000 Union reinforcements would eventually rout the Confederates two months later and capture Look Out Mountain, Missionary Ridge and the rest of Chattanooga region in what would become the ‘beginning of the end’ for the Confederacy.

The following spring, May 1864, General Sherman would lead 99,000 Union troops from Chattanooga in his 'March to the Sea' assault from Atlanta to Savannah that would divide and eventually bring down the Confederacy.

The battlefields of Chickamauga and Chattanooga are well worth the visit for anyone interested in Civil War history. Peering down from the summit of Lookout Mountain onto Chattanooga and the 20 mile long, 400 foot high, Missionary Ridge, to driving the seven mile tour of the 5,300 acre Chickamauga battlefield with it’s hundreds of monuments, the area is a historical gold mine for people interested in the country’s history.

Some damn good rafting down there, too.

Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park




(1) Casualties during the civil war were those killed, those wounded (which resulted in death many times) and those ‘missing’. ‘Missing’ of course could have meant their bodies were not found but most of that category could have meant ‘hightailed it out of there’ missing. An ‘estimated’ breakdown of ‘casualties’ at Chickamauga is;
Union – 1,650 killed, 9,300 wounded, 4,900 missing
Confederate – 2,400 killed, 13,400 wounded, 2,000 missing

AUGUST 6TH

August 6, 1945 8:17 AM

August 6th. Hiroshima Day, a day to either feel guilty or in-your-face defensive. For as long as I can remember, I have been hawkish and contentious and even a little in-your-face a few times about the U.S. dropping the 'bomb' on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on that day in 1945.

Growing up in the 1950's and 60's I had heard all the stories of how brutal and fanatical and willing to fight to the death, the Japanese were and I could do simple arithmetic. My father was born in 1929 which meant he would have been 16 years old at that time and my maternal grandfather, who had fought and defeated the Germans in North Africa and Europe, would probably have been part of the dreaded invasion of Japan, too. So I have never felt one bit of remorse. In fact, I was always glad it happened.

Having lived 10 years in Los Angeles (79-89) there was always the option of going to the protest, or 'silent protest' down Wilshire Boulevard on 'Hiroshima Day'. Working only blocks away on Sepulveda Blvd for around 5 of those years I had the opportunity a few times to drive by and contribute my 'moment of silence' by honking my horn and flipping them off. I just never felt a need to apologize and I didn't feel like other people should apologize for me either.

I did a paper on stress once for a Psychology class and the most documented cases of stressed-out humans in recorded history were prisoners of the Japanese during WW II. The Japanese Imperial army was ruthless and determined to fight to the death. We had already wrapped things up in Europe by May 1945 but Japan refused to surrender unconditionally. An invasion of the Island of Japan would have undoubtedly cost a couple hundred thousand American lives. The bastards attacked us first at Pearl Harbor. My father would have been part of that invasion...

Nah, I don't feel any guilt or remorse about that morning in Hiroshima, 60 years ago today. None whatsoever.

August 6, 2001

Another significant August 6th happened just four years ago. Much less significant and in fact, many of those on the far right would tell you insignificant.

On one of his many 'working vacations' at his Crawford ranch, Bush and Condi Rice were briefed that day by some one from national security with the August 6, 2001 'presidential daily briefing', known as the 'PDB'. This particular PDB would later be part of some of the more interesting testimony before the 9/11 Commission-you know, the commission that Bush refused for nearly a year to allow Condi Rice to testify before and the one that he refused to testify before under oath and without Dick Cheney at his side?

Well, the following exchange between 9/11 Commission member Richard Ben-Veniste and Condi Rice about that 8/6/01 PDB happened, under oath, in April 2004 and I think it has some significance.

RICE: It did not warn of attacks inside the United States. It was historical information based on old reporting. There was no new threat information, and it did not, in fact, warn of any coming attacks inside the United States.

BEN-VENISTE: And I ask you whether you recall the title of that PDB?

RICE: I believe the title was, "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States."

Yeah, the 'most powerful woman in the world' - Condi Rice. I'm all for nominating her for the Republican nominee for president in 2008. Condi in 2008-Can't Wait!

Happy August 6th.

SOMEONE NEEDS TO TAKE THE GENERAL FOR A RIDE

Maybe Dubya or Rummy Could Use a Lift

Brig. Gen. Donald Alston, speaking to reporters in Baghdad, insisted that despite the devastating bomb and an ambush that killed six Marines the day before, the fight against insurgents was going well and that the situation was improving with fewer suicide car bombs per day. "There's a clear indication that the tempo has decreased... "This is not an expanding insurgency. What we're seeing is probably the opposite," Alston said. He declined to release any charts or data showing the patterns of recent months.

I believe the day following this statement from Gen. Alston 14 more Marines were killed. Either that or he's talking about 6 more killed the day following the death of those 14 Marines. Twenty-nine Americans have died in the first five days of August.

Maybe the good General should leave the Green Zone and take a ride through Haditha in one of those amphibious sardine cans (aren't 'amphibious' things made light so they can float?) and maybe then he could get a better, more accurate accessment of what's happening to his men over there.


source

WHEW! THAT WAS CLOSE!

Last night's News About Judge Rehnquist Scares This Assumed Heathen

Imagine my concern when I heard the news last night that Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist was once again rushed to the hospital after I had only hours before heard on the radio that Pat Robertson had asked his 'flock' to pray for the demise of members of the Court.

Robertson, a pillar of the Republican Party and influential leader of the Republican Christian hypocrtical base misfired though and Judge Rehnquist was reported to have only another 'fever' related to his treatment for thyroid cancer.

It was enough of a scare though that I would like to take this moment to share with you a prayer for brother Pat and his flock of sheep.


Sister Betty Bowers;

Call us timid, O Lord, but it makes us rather nervous when a man who just went through a bout of prostrate cancer, thinks is wise to ask his Creator to start killing people with cancer. We are concerned that you might respond to Brother Pat's imprecatory prayers in that ironic way of Yours and, well, kill him, too.

AMEN.

BUDDY BELL'S NEPHEW KILLED IN IRAQ

Current Kansas City Royal and former Detroit Tiger manager and former Cincinnati Red great third baseman, Buddy Bell's nephew, Timothy Bell, was one of the Marines from Ohio killed in Iraq this week.

SENATE SHAMEFULLY BOWS TO NRA & GUN INDUSTRY

Last Friday, after a seven year battle, the Senate finally caved in to the NRA and the gun industry and passed a bill that shields firearms manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits when their weapons are used in crimes.

The bill, S.397 passed the Senate on a vote of 65-31 with 14 Democrats voting ‘yes’ and 2 Republicans voting ‘no’. The bill’s language is very clearly written and leaves no ambiguity at all;

S.397
Title: A bill to prohibit civil liability actions from being brought or continued against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms or ammunition for damages, injunctive or other relief resulting from the misuse of their products by others.


Listed below are four different cases where guns were used in various crimes. Before the passage of S.397 the victims of these crimes would have been able to sue these ‘manufactures, distributors, dealers or importers’ for their negligence but now with it's passage, ‘civil liability is prohibited’. The bill also applies to current cases that haven't been settled yet when it states it prohibits 'actions' from being 'continued'.

Read the various crime summaries below and decide for yourself if the Senate, the NRA and the gun industry didn’t put the shaft to the American public by passing Senate bill S.397. Do the dealers and manufacturers in these cases now deserve to be shielded from liability for their negligence?



1. Bushmaster, Bull's Eye Shooter Supply Pay $2.5 Million To D.C. Sniper Victims -
In September 2004, the families of victims of the D.C. sniper shootings won a $2.5 million settlement from Bull's Eye Shooter Supply, the dealer who "lost" the snipers' assault rifle, along with at least 238 other guns, and Bushmaster, the assault weapon maker who negligently supplied Bull's Eye despite its disgraceful record of missing guns and regulatory violations. Further, as part of the settlement Bushmaster agreed to inform its dealers of safer sales practices that should prevent other criminals from obtaining guns - something Bushmaster had never done before. Sharing in the settlement were the families of Conrad Johnson, James "Sonny" Buchanan, Hong Im Ballenger, Premkumar Walekar, Sarah Ramos and Linda Franklin, as well as two victims who survived the shootings, Rupinder "Benny" Oberoi and 13-year-old Iran Brown.

2. Gun Dealer Changes Practices, Compensates Wounded Police Officers – In June 2004, Ken McGuire and Dave Lemongello, former New Jersey police officers shot in the line of duty with a trafficked gun negligently sold by a West Virginia dealer, won a $1 million settlement. The dealer had sold the gun, along with 11 other handguns, in a cash sale to a straw buyer for a gun trafficker.

3. Mother Of Slain Seven Year Old Ends Long Fight to Hold Reckless Dealer Accountable - In August 2004, Tennille Jefferson, whose seven-year-old son, Nafis, was unintentionally killed by another child with a trafficked gun, won a settlement from gun dealer Sauers Trading. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the settlement amounted to $850,000. The handgun was one of many the dealer had sold to the trafficker, despite clear signs that the guns were headed straight to the underground market.


4. Kahr Arms - Another case that remains before the courts, is a lawsuit brought by the family of a young man named Danny Guzman, an innocent bystander who was shot on the street in Worcester, Massachusetts on Christmas Eve in 1999. After the shooting, the loaded gun used in the shooting was found behind an apartment building by a four-year-old child. The gun had no serial number.
Police investigators determined that the gun was one of several stolen from Kahr Arms, a Worcester gun manufacturer, by Kahr's own employees who were hired despite their long criminal records. One of the thieves, Mark Cronin, had been hired by Kahr to work in its plant despite his history of crack addiction, theft to support that addiction, alcohol abuse and violence, including several assault and battery charges. Cronin had been able to walk out of the factory with stolen guns, even before they had been stamped with serial numbers. Cronin told an associate that he takes guns from Kahr "all the time" and that he "can just walk out with them." Cronin later pled guilty to the thefts. The investigation also led to the arrest of another Kahr employee, Scott Anderson, who also had a criminal history and who pled guilty to stealing guns from Kahr. At least fifty Kahr firearms disappeared from its manufacturing plant in a five-year period. Worcester Police Captain Paul Campbell classified the record keeping at the Kahr facility as so "shoddy" that it was possible to remove weapons without detection.
Brady Center attorneys represent Danny Guzman's family in a wrongful death suit against Kahr arms, charging Kahr with negligence in completely failing to screen its employees for criminal history and in maintaining a security system so inadequate that employees repeatedly were able to walk out of the plant with unserialized guns.
In April, 2003, a Massachusetts trial judge denied Kahr's motion to dismiss the suit, finding it supported by general principles of Massachusetts law. It is now in pretrial discovery. Had immunity legislation been passed, the ruling of the Massachusetts court would have been nullified and Danny Guzman's family would be denied the right to justice against a gun maker that allowed drug criminals to "help themselves" to free lethal weaponry.


The gun industry has contributed $17 million to Congress since 1990, with two-thirds going to Republicans and, as everyone knows, the NRA is a very powerful and persuasive group.

S.397 is a disgrace in that it's not a bill to protect the constitutional ‘right to bear arms’ but a bill specifically put into law to shield the gun industry from being held responsible for blatant negligence.

As you can plainly see these lawsuits against the gun industry are not always frivilous and the fact that Congress can shield this industry is just one more example of the corruption that runs rampant through it, and the lack of principle that's coming out of it.

Source-1-4

ONLY IN AMERICA

Convicted Killer Buried at Arlington National Cemetery

NEW YORK A convicted murderer found his final. resting place at Arlington National Cemetery, with full military honors, last week but may not remain there long, thanks to a Maryland newspaper.

The cremated remains of Russell Wagner, 52, were placed at the Virginia cemetery at the request of his sister. At the time of his death, Wagner was in prison serving two life sentences for killing an elderly Maryland couple in 1994.

IRAQ FATIGUE?

It's Not 'Iraq Fatigue', It's Iraq Embarrassment.

Have you noticed Hannity & Colmes, Bill O'Reilly and most all rightwing TV and radio talk show hosts spend the majority of their time now talking about missing blondes in Aruba, newly wed grooms disappearing from cruise ships and whether Jennifer Anniston will get through her marriage breakup?

Bob Herbert has a column in the NY Times today that points out that "viewers, readers and editors are tiring of stories about the war and the number of deaths".

'Tiring, fatique'? No, it's a simple case of embarrassment. When Dubya and his co-conspirators diverted our country's real 'war on terror' in Afghanistan to Iraq, 80% of the country fell for the deception and now that number is down to 39%. Over 50% of the country now acknowledges that Dubya and Co. lied about the threat from Iraq.

People aren't fatigued about all the war deaths, they're embarrassed that the 20% of us who warned them are not going to let them bury the news and forget their ignorance. I've got some of these stooges now trying to pin me down on when and if we should withdraw, or 'surrender', when the answer is simply; no dumbass, if you would have listened there would be no need to 'surrender' because there was no need to go into Iraq because they didn't have anything to do with 9/11 and weren't a threat, just like I said back in March 2003.

Originally Bush and his minions lied and convinced the sheep that Iraq was trying to buy yellowcake uranium from Niger and that if we didn't act soon there could be a 'mushroom cloud' over New York and unfortunately, the vast majority (80%) fell for it. Soon, when it was proven those were lies (George Tenet and others admitted publicly that Bush should NOT have used those infamous 16 words in the 2003 SOTU)and not a single 'WMD' was ever found in Iraq, all of sudden the reason for going to war was to 'spread democracy in the middle east". Now the simple-minded try to use the 'we're drawing the terrorists into Iraq' excuse-which couldn't get much lamer.

This all kind of reminds me of the reverse of the Henry Aaron hitting number 715 scenario. You know, where there's now 250,000 people who swear they were there when he broke Babe Ruth's homerun record? The 80% is dwindling rapidly and soon you won't be able to find 10 people who will admit they fell for Dubya's lies. Sixty million people voted for Bush and soon you'll be lucky to find many who will admit to it. It's already happening where I live. I have a neighbor across the street from me who had 4 Bush/Cheney lawn signs in his yard just 8 months ago and he says he didn't vote for Bush? Ducking, running and hiding.

It's not 'fatigue'-it's simply embarrassment and it's certainly understandable. You WILL continue to get updated on the war casualties-the results of Bush's lies at this blog, because I'm not 'fatigued' at all about reminding you-I told you so.

"HONOR OURS BY TRAINING THEIRS"?

Our Totally Discombobulated and Clueless President

Bush mourns Marine deaths, sees no early pullout

GRAPEVINE, Texas (Reuters) - President Bush, following the deadliest roadside bomb attack on U.S. forces in Iraq, said on Wednesday the best way to honor those killed was to fight the insurgents and train Iraqi troops, and he rejected any early U.S. pullout.

"We're at war. We're facing an enemy that is ruthless. If we put out a (pullout) timetable the enemy would adjust their tactics," he said in a speech.

I wonder if he thinks one of his daughters' lives would be worth 'training Iraqi troops"?

Those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said, "have died in a noble cause and a selfless cause."

'Iraq and Afghanistan'-two entirely different and totally unrelated situations. One, Afghanistan, he, Rumsfeld and Tommy Franks completely screwed up and Iraq, he led the country into needlessly at the cost of 1,820 lives and $300 billion.

He also did a little boasting on the U.S. economy, crediting his tax cuts for the growth and citing a recent forecast that the U.S. budget deficit this year will be $94 billion lower than expected.

"Some have questioned in Washington whether or not you can cut taxes and increase revenues from the Treasury," he said.

Some one needs to clue Dubya in to the fact that the country is STILL collecting over $100 BILLION a year LESS than when he took office. And, his budget deficit? It will still be the 3rd largest budget deficit in history-third only to his 2 previous record shattering deficits in 2003 and 2004 and after 4 years of him and total republican control of Congress an additional 1.5 TRILLION in additional debt. Yeah, Dumbya has a lot to 'boast' about, doesn't he?

THE GRIM REALITY

I don't know if any of you caught it last night but there was a news segment on TV that showed surviving members of this Marine unit, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, from the Cleveland area back at their barracks mourning the loss of 7 of their buddies that were killed earlier yesterday. A couple of them admitted they were scared and concerned about their safety in going out the next day to face the Iraqi insurgents. And today? Fourteen more were killed and I'm sure a few of them were the ones who appeared on that news segment.

We should have never went to Iraq. Iraq was never a threat to us but unfortunately way too many people in this country are just ignorant and a nothing but followers. Just sheep.

Bring them home now!

The Associated Press
Wednesday, August 3, 2005; 10:47 AM

Ohio-Based Battalion Loses 14 More Marines

BROOK PARK, Ohio -- The 14 Marines killed in Iraq on Wednesday by a roadside bomb were members of the same Ohio-based battalion that lost six Marines two days earlier, a Marine Corps spokesman said.

The Marines were members of the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines based in this Cleveland suburb, according to Gunnery Sgt. Brad R. Lauer, public affairs chief with the unit.

The local unit to which the 14 Marines were assigned wasn't disclosed.

The battalion has units in Brook Park, where the six Marines lost Monday were assigned, and in Columbus and Akron, Ohio; Moundsville, W.Va.; and Buffalo, N.Y.

The 14 died when a Marine armored vehicle on patrol during combat operations near the Syrian border hit a roadside bomb. It was one of the deadliest single attacks in Iraq against American forces. A civilian interpreter also was killed.

The first six died northwest of Baghdad while on sniper duty on Monday.

BUSH VACATIONS WHILE OUR MARINES DIE

When I read my morning newspaper this morning I was stunned that there was not one single word mentioning the death of our 7 Marines yesterday in Iraq. Not one word!

Well, I'm not going to ignore the deaths of our military just so the conservative (sic) rightwing sheep that fell for Bush's lie can run and hide from the reality of what they have produced. No, you're going to read about it here whether you like it or not.

But today, sadly, is twice as bad as yesterday. 14 more Marines were killed today and I suspect Dubya will be out chopping wood and clearing brush and giving the country the photoop for tonight's 6 PM news.

All the Bush-ass kissing losers need to scrape all those "Support the Troops' decals off your bumpers because you're not supporting the troops-you're killing them.

DUMB & LAZY = WHAT YOU HAVE

When you're dumb AND lazy it's a recipe for disaster and that's why this country is worse off than it's been since Herbert Hoover.

Dumbya is set to break even Ronnie Reagan's record (and he's only in year 5!) for taking vacation by spending his 49th trip to his ranch in Crawford. Dumbya has been on vacation more than 20% of the time since being (s)elected president.

You get what you pay for.

THE 'BROWN SHIRT' REGIME

Great and informative article on the 'sheep on prozac' who support the losers in the White House. At least that number is sinking rapidly every week even if it's 8 months too late. 'Sheep on prozac'- the perfect characterization of Republicans.

GOING BACKWARDS WITH REPUBLICANS

'Intelligent Design'?. Don't these idiots know what Sunday school is for?

With Republican views on embryonic stem cell research and the 'intelligent design' theory, we're very fortunate as a country that we've been able to get around this rather stupid and simple-minded party throughout our history. Can you imagine if Bush and those like him were president during, say, the beginning of our space program or the development of some of the many cures we have for certain diseases? Now, that's a scary thought.

DID WE MENTION?

Oh, by the way, 7 Marines Were Killed, too.


So much for the 'Liberal Media'. Even the 'liberal' New York Times has become insulated from the needless deaths of our soldiers and Marines in Bush's war. The lead part of their story is on the 'transfer' of our military in certain areas of Iraq; Of course, transfer OUT of areas that will be deemed safe enough that all those Iraqis we've trained so well can fend for themselves.

But what did you expect from a period of time when the 'commander-in-chief' (sic) doesn't have the common decency to meet and pay respect to any of the 1,806 fallen when their bodies return and whose mother, the one and only ugly bag of a bitch, Barbara, said she didn't want to 'waste her beautiful mind' with images of body bags of those who sacrificed their lives for her son's lies?

Real nice family, them Bushes.