Wednesday, September 28, 2005

DELAY INDICTED! IT'S ABOUT TIME!

Anyone who has ever been subpoenaed, or for that matter indicted, you know that the person serving the subpoena can show up anywhere at any time. You could be at work, at home, in the grocery store, or at school like I was when I got served once-upon-a-time, or sometimes they save any possible embarassment and just mail it to you.

I wonder where Tommy-boy was when he was served his indictment today. Chances are that it was done in private, but I sure hope not. I hope the prick was with a group of GOPers, or with some of his rich campaign backers.

Anyway, the state of Texas lowered the boom on his ass today. Tommy-boy says he'll be cleared of all charges, but I don't think he's going to be able to slink away from this one as easily as he has with some of the things he's been accused of in the past.

Below you'll find links to more on this.

CNN:Indicted majority leader steps down
ABC:Rep. DeLay Calls Indictment 'Baseless'
BBC:Bush ally faces criminal charge
New York Times:DeLay Is Indicted and Forced to Step Down as Majority Leader
Reuters:Blunt picked to replace DeLay as US House leader

And a little more from one of the local TV stations:
Video: Delay Says Indictment 'A Sham'
Video: Delay's Political Life Texas Tough
Video: White House Calls Delay 'Good Ally'

BRAIN TRUST


Tuesday, September 27, 2005

MICHAEL BROWN BLAMES EVERYONE ELSE

The Congressional committee hearing into the FEMA screw-up before, during, and after Hurrican Katrina started today.

Michael Brown, the man who was in charge at the time and has since resigned but is still being paid, turned everything around and blamed all that went wrong on Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin. He blamed the state of Louisiana for being "dysfunctional".

Never mind that it was Brown's department, FEMA, that sat on their hands while people were dying. Never mind that it was FEMA that wouldn't allow two truck loads of water to be delievered to the people of Jefferson Parrish. Or that they wouldn't allow the Coast Guard deliever fuel to those who needed it to get out. Or that FEMA setup a blockade to keep people from leaving the Dome and Convention Center.

There has been alot said about the school buses that were not used to get people out. It has now been discovered that FEMA wouldn't allow them to be used because they weren't air conditioned. I really don't think anyone would have cared about the lack of air conditioning as long as they were going to get out of the city and to a place of safety.

Tonight on the news I heard about a Dr. Lutz from New Orleans that got an ambulance from his clinic and went around treating people because FEMA wouldn't. Dr. Lutz was also keeping dead bodies in his home because FEMA wouldn't pick them up.

Here are a few places that have the story on most of what went on today.
From CNN:Brown blames Louisiana officials
ABC:Brown Shifts Blame for Katrina Response
BBC:Brown Shifts Blame for Katrina Response
New York Times:Former FEMA Chief Blames Local Officials for Failures
Reuters:Brown blames locals for Katrina response

This is my opinion of Michael Brown.
He is an arrogant fucking bastard that thinks everyone else should take the heat for his stupidity and incompotance.
He is another one of Bush's you're a friend of a friend of mine so you get a high-ranking job even if you don't know shit about the job.

The asshole was a lawyer for a horse club, for christsake.

Monday, September 26, 2005

CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS GETS ON BUSH ABOUT HALLIBURTON

Just got this in an email from Halliburton Watch.

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 26, 2005
CONTACT: BILL GOOLD
(202) 225-5161 OR (202) 226-4055


CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS CO-CHAIRS AND MEMBERS
OPPOSE PRESIDENT BUSH AWARDING HURRICANE –RELATED CONTRACTS AND TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO DISCREDITED HALLIBURTON CORPORATION AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Representatives Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee, Co-Chairwomen of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and 17 of their colleagues today released a copy of their letter to President Bush demanding that Halliburton be suspended from eligibility for any additional hurricane –related or other federal contracts pending resolution of all current allegations alleging waste, fraud, and other contract-related abuses by this company in Iraq and elsewhere.

“It took President Bush nearly five days after Hurricane Katrina hit to mobilize a federal response and relief effort that was even partially effective,” Woolsey noted. “Even then among his first actions were to suspend the applicable labor laws, effectively cutting the paychecks of the American workers involved in recovery and reconstruction of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans (e.g. Davis-Bacon Act). Adding insult to injury, he also awarded a lucrative, no-bid contract to a subsidiary of Vice President Cheney’s old company – The Halliburton Corporation. Yet, there is mounting evidence that Halliburton is guilty of egregious waste, fraud, and abuse of the hard-earned money of the American taxpayers. It is wrong for the President to award Halliburton and its subsidiaries new, sole-source contracts on top of the more than $10 billion that this company has already received since the Bush-Cheney Administration took office.”

“The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the tragic consequences of having an Administration where cronyism trumps competence,” said Lee. “The fact that the President would cut wages for impacted workers, while handing out millions in no-bid contracts to well connected firms is a perfect snapshot to this Administration’s priorities.”

D.C. COPS BUST CINDY SHEEHAN

The Emperor Chimp should be as happy as a pig in a pile of shit...uhh...he is a pig in a pile of shit, so that should be easy for the asshole.

This report from one of the local TV stations.


Related To Story
Cindy Sheehan is arrested by United States Park police outside the White House, Washington, D.C.
AP Image
Cindy Sheehan is arrested by United States Park police outside the White House, Washington, D.C.

Police Arrest Cindy Sheehan During Anti-War Protest

POSTED: 12:50 pm CDT September 26, 2005
UPDATED: 2:13 pm CDT September 26, 2005
Cindy Sheehan, the California woman who has used her son's death in Iraq to spur the anti-war movement, was arrested Monday while protesting outside the White House.

Sheehan and several dozen other protesters sat down on the sidewalk after marching along the pedestrian walkway on Pennsylvania Avenue. Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along, then began making arrests.

Sheehan, 48, was the first taken into custody. She stood up and was led to a police vehicle while protesters chanted, "The whole world is watching."

Sheehan's 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in an ambush in Sadr City, Iraq, last year. She attracted worldwide attention last month with her 26-day vigil outside President George W. Bush's Texas ranch.

Sheehan was among several hundred demonstrators who marched around the White House on Monday and then stopped in front and began singing and chanting "Stop the war now!"

The demonstration is part of a broader anti-war effort on Capitol Hill organized by United for Peace and Justice, an umbrella group. Representatives from anti-war groups were meeting Monday with members of Congress to urge them to work to end the war and bring home the troops.

The demonstrators who were arrested cooperated with police.

A police spokesman said they would be charged with demonstrating without a permit, which is a misdemeanor. Sheehan and the others were taken to a processing center to be fingerprinted and photographed. They'll be given a ticket and released.

SO THIS ASS IS OUR PRESIDENT

We've all heard of or seen pictures of the chimp giving the press and others the one finger salute.
The National Enquirer even ran a piece about him hitting the sauce again.

My wife came across this item from Capital Hill Blue. It tells of just how nasty the chimp has gotten.


From Capitol Hill Blue

Bush Leagues
Bush's Obscene Tirades Rattle White House Aides
By DOUG THOMPSON
Aug 25, 2005, 06:19

While President George W. Bush travels around the country in a last-ditch effort to sell his Iraq war, White House aides scramble frantically behind the scenes to hide the dark mood of an increasingly angry leader who unleashes obscenity-filled outbursts at anyone who dares disagree with him.

"I'm not meeting again with that goddamned bitch," Bush screamed at aides who suggested he meet again with Cindy Sheehan, the war-protesting mother whose son died in Iraq. "She can go to hell as far as I'm concerned!"

Bush, administration aides confide, frequently explodes into tirades over those who protest the war, calling them "motherfucking traitors." He reportedly was so upset over Veterans of Foreign Wars members who wore "bullshit protectors" over their ears during his speech to their annual convention that he told aides to "tell those VFW assholes that I'll never speak to them again is they can't keep their members under control."

White House insiders say Bush is growing increasingly bitter over mounting opposition to his war in Iraq. Polls show a vast majority of Americans now believe the war was a mistake and most doubt the President's honesty.

"Who gives a flying fuck what the polls say," he screamed at a recent strategy meeting. "I'm the President and I'll do whatever I goddamned please. They don't know shit."

Bush, while setting up for a photo op for signing the recent CAFTA bill, flipped an extended middle finger to reporters. Aides say the President often "flips the bird" to show his displeasure and tells aides who disagree with him to "go to hell" or to "go fuck yourself." His habit of giving people the finger goes back to his days as Texas governor, aides admit, and videos of him doing so before press conferences were widely circulated among TV stations during those days. A recent video showing him shooting the finger to reporters while walking also recently surfaced.

Bush's behavior, according to prominent Washington psychiatrist, Dr. Justin Frank, author of "Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President," is all too typical of an alcohol-abusing bully who is ruled by fear.

To see that fear emerges, Dr. Frank says, all one has to do is confront the President. "To actually directly confront him in a clear way, to bring him out, so you would really see the bully, and you would also see the fear," he says.

Dr. Frank, in his book, speculates that Bush, an alcoholic who brags that he gave up booze without help from groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, may be drinking again.

"Two questions that the press seems particularly determined to ignore have hung silently in the air since before Bush took office," Dr. Frank says. "Is he still drinking? And if not, is he impaired by all the years he did spend drinking? Both questions need to be addressed in any serious assessment of his psychological state."

Last year, Capitol Hill Blue learned the White House physician prescribed anti-depressant drugs for the President to control what aides called "violent mood swings." As Dr. Frank also notes: "In writing about Bush's halting appearance in a press conference just before the start of the Iraq War, Washington Post media critic Tom Shales speculated that 'the president may have been ever so slightly medicated.' "

Dr. Frank explains Bush's behavior as all-to-typical of an alcoholic who is still in denial:

"The pattern of blame and denial, which recovering alcoholics work so hard to break, seems to be ingrained in the alcoholic personality; it's rarely limited to his or her drinking," he says. "The habit of placing blame and denying responsibility is so prevalent in George W. Bush's personal history that it is apparently triggered by even the mildest threat."

© Copyright 2005 Capitol Hill Blue


There's even more on the chimp's erratic behavior in the White House, in front of White house aides.
For that click on this link:
Capitol Hill Blue: Bush's Erratic Behavior Worries White House Aides

Sunday, September 25, 2005

HOW TO SURIVE IN THE U.S. AS A LEFTIST

I came across this article through Uruknet Info this morning. Some of you may find this not only interesting, but also helpful.

A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR LIVING IN THE U.S.
Malcom Lagauche

NOLA AFTERMATH: ONE MAN'S PERSPETIVE

My wife hooked me up to this blog by a guy, Jason Berry, who lives in New Orleans. He went around the city after Katrina and got alot of video.

Very interesting. He's got stuff that never made the networks.

Here's the link to his blog:
http://katrenema1.blogspot.com/2005/09/wasteland.html

Go check it out.

BUSH NEEDS DONATIONS TO REBUILD IRAQ

While crusin' through the blogs thismorning that I like to hit, I found something very interesting...if not funny in a sick sorta way...from Skippy The Bush Kangaroo.

Most of you who pay attention to all the crap that the chimp and his morons spew will remember his plea for donations from the American public to help in the rebuilding of his favorite hot-spot, Iraq.

Skippy had a link to the article at The Observer which is part of Guardian Unlimited. I thought I'd put up the article for your reading enjoyment.

Bush plea for cash to rebuild Iraq raises $600

Mark Townsend in Houston
Sunday September 25, 2005
The Observer


An extraordinary appeal to Americans from the Bush administration for money to help pay for the reconstruction of Iraq has raised only $600 (£337), The Observer has learnt. Yet since the appeal was launched earlier this month, donations to rebuild New Orleans have attracted hundreds of millions of dollars.

The public's reluctance to contribute much more than the cost of two iPods to the administration's attempt to offer citizens 'a further stake in building a free and prosperous Iraq' has been seized on by critics as evidence of growing ambivalence over that country.

This coincides with concern over the increasing cost of the war. More than $30 billion has been appropriated for the reconstruction. Initially, America's overseas aid agency, USaid, expected it to cost taxpayers no more than $1.7bn, but it is now asking the public if they want to contribute even more.

It is understood to be the first time that a US government has made an appeal to taxpayers for foreign aid money. Contributors have no way of knowing who will receive their donations or even where they may go, after officials said details had be kept secret for security reasons.

USaid's Heather Layman denied it was disappointed with the meagre sum raised after a fortnight. 'Every little helps,' she said.

In the past 12 months, Americans raised some $250bn for charity, including other foreign causes such as the Asian tsunami victims. Layman said: 'There is no financial goal. People are looking for a way to help rebuild Iraq and this is a way to facilitate that.'

The fundraising comes amid concern that some US projects in Iraq will be scrapped or only partly completed because of rising costs. Some officials fear that money may run out before key projects are completed.

Last week, the number of US troops killed in Iraq rose above 1,900.


Now, I would think, if the Emperor Chimp wanted donations that bad he could raise the funds alot faster and more of them by going to those who have profited from his fiasco in the first place. They're the ones with all the big bucks. They're the ones who wanted this illegal war, so they could make the big bucks.

Hey chimpy, go ask your buddies at Halliburton and all your buddies in the oil industry to cough-up the billions to rebuild Iraq. They profited from your lovely little war, not the American public who have to pay for your war through the taxes we have to pay to cover the tax cuts you gave all the rich bastards. While you're at it, hit-up Dick-head Cheney for some. I'm sure he's gotten plenty of kick-backs from Halliburton for his help in getting them the contract to fuck-over our troops.


Saturday, September 24, 2005

INTERNET POLITIKING SHOULD GET GREEN LIGHT

Remember awhile back when the Federal Election Commision wanted to put a clamp on personal support of political candidates on the internet? Well, it looks like their proposal is going to be shot down by Congress.

There seems to be wide spread support to leave bloggers alone to do what they do best, telling what the MSM is afraid to say.

Check out this link from Media Channel:

Politicos Want to Shield Net from Election Laws
A controversial plan by the Federal Election Commission to regulate political blogging may be short-lived after all.

ALBERTO GONZALES VS THE PORN INDUSTRY

Looks like the war on terror must be over. U.S. Att. Gen. Alberto Gonzales has the FBI working on putting a stop to the porn industry in this country.

This has nothing to do with the kiddie porn that pedophiles love so much. Oh, no, this is the garden variety adult porn you can get at your local video store.

I guess Gonzales doesn't think things like terrorists, meth labs, and crack are a problem any more.

Click this link for the story via Buzz Flash:

Star Tribune: Why is porn a top priority of Gonzales's FBI? 9/25

I'd like to know just what the hell Gonzales is thinking...if he can think.
Must be getting alot of pressure from the holier than thou religious right.

V.P. CHENEY'S SURGERY

Just got this from Yahoo News.
Dickhead Cheney's surgery for aneurysms behind both knees was a success.
It's too bad that the aneurysms were there and not in his arrogant brain.
Of course, if he had one behind each knee there is a posibility that he may have more somewhere else in his body. We can only hope that they will be in his brain and go undetected until they burst.

BRITISH SCREW-UP IN BASRA

This is a continuation of the previous post on Democracy in Iraq from a different source.
From Aljazeera News:

Iraqi judge: Re-arrest British soldiers


Basra officials have stopped all cooperation with British forces


An Iraqi judge has issued arrest warrants for two British undercover soldiers who have been freed after a controversial British raid in the city of Basra.

Judge Raghib Hasan accused the men of killing an Iraqi policeman and wounding another, carrying unlicensed weapons and holding false identification, said Qasim al-Sabti, the head of the lawyers syndicate in the southern city, on Saturday.

Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Saturday the warrants had no legal basis.

"All British troops in Iraq come under the jurisdiction of Britain," a defence spokesman said in London.

The whereabouts of the two soldiers was not clear.

British forces mounted a bid to free the two soldiers on Monday by surrounding the police station where they were being held with several tanks and armoured vehicles.

But a crowd quickly gathered, angered by the death of the Iraqi policeman.

Five Iraqi civilians were killed and three British soldiers were wounded as the crowd threw petrol-bombs at armoured vehicles.

Basra authorities had said British troops also killed two Iraqi policemen during the raid.

Cooperation hurt

Later, British forces returned and armoured vehicles flattened cars parked nearby as they broke down the walls of the police station and jail.

Iraqi police said the police station
was destroyed in the British attack

Iraqi authorities said the jail and the police station were demolished.

The two soldiers were later freed from a private house nearby, where British military authorities believed they were being held by a local militia.

Monday's flare-up has harmed the relationship British forces were able to build with local Iraqis in and around Basra, a relatively stable city compared with other parts of Iraq.

Officials said the Basra's governing council stopped all cooperation with the British until they apologise, guarantee that similar actions are not taken again and provide compensation for the damage inflicted during the operation.

Investigation

An investigation into the events leading up to the rescue is under way by Iraqi authorities and the British military.

"We will continue to work closely with the Iraqis and the inquiry which the Iraq government has begun into the events of Monday," the British defence spokesman said.

Britain's secretary of defence said he stood by the actions of the forces on the ground.

"They did what they judged was appropriate at the time and I commend them for the swift and decisive action in very difficult circumstances," John Reid said.

DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ

The Emperor Chimp's goal...or so he says...is for Iraq to have freedom and democracy. It appears that some form of democracy has come to the southern city of Basra, which is in the hands of the British.

Arrest warrants were served for two British soldiers accused of killing an Iraqi civilian.
Here's the rest of the story from the BBC:

Basra warrant for two UK soldiers
A judge in the Iraqi city of Basra issues an arrest warrant for two British soldiers over the death of a civilian.

Friday, September 23, 2005

SEX, SLAVES, SAUDI ARABIA, AND THE CHIMP

World-wide trafficing in slave prostitutes, child sex workers, and forced laborers is a large and ever increasing problem. This country puts sanctions on other countries that allow the operation of these things.

Well, at least we used to. Read the following from SFGate and see the favoritism shown to some by the Emperor Chimp.

Bush Waives Saudi Trafficking Sanctions
-
Wednesday, September 21, 2005

(09-21) 18:40 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --

President Bush decided Wednesday to waive any financial sanctions on Saudi Arabia, Washington's closest Arab ally in the war on terrorism, for failing to do enough to stop the modern-day slave trade in prostitutes, child sex workers and forced laborers.

In June, the State Department listed 14 countries as failing to adequately address trafficking problems, subjecting them all to possible sanctions if they did not crack down.

Of those 14, Bush concluded that Bolivia, Jamaica, Qatar, Sudan, Togo and the United Arab Emirates had made enough improvements to avoid any cut in U.S. aid or, in the case of countries that get no American financial assistance, the barring of their officials from cultural and educational events, said Darla Jordan, a State Department spokeswoman.

Cambodia and Venezuela were not considered to have made similar adequate improvements. But Bush cleared them nonetheless to receive limited assistance, for such things as combatting trafficking. In the case of Venezuela — which has had a tense relationship with the United States under the leadership of President Hugo Chavez, one of Latin America's most outspoken critics of U.S. foreign policy — Bush also allowed funding for strengthening the political party system and supporting electoral observation.

In addition to Saudi Arabia, Ecuador and Kuwait — another U.S. ally in the Middle East — were given a complete pass on any sanctions, Jordan said. Despite periodic differences, oil-rich Saudi Arabia and the United States have a tight alliance built on economic and military cooperation.

That left Myanmar, Cuba and North Korea as the only nations in the list of 14 barred completely from receiving certain kinds of foreign aid. The act does not include cutting off trade assistance or humanitarian aid, Jordan said.

The White House statement offered no explanation of why countries were regarded differently. Jordan also could not provide one.

As many as 800,000 people are bought and sold across national borders annually or lured to other countries with false promises of work or other benefits, according to the State Department. Most are women and children.


This doesn't say much for the chimp and his "christianity".

FEMA THUMBS IT'S NOSE AT A BLUE STATE

On 18 August 27 tornadoes struck southern Wisconsin, one of which was an F3 that cut through Dane County.

Governor James Doyle, a Democrat, asked for federal assistance from FEMA which has since been turned down. Could it be that the request for federal aid was turned down because Wisconsin carried Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election?

Channel3000.com

Related To Story

FEMA Denies Wisconsin Disaster Aid

POSTED: 4:34 pm CDT September 23, 2005
Gov. Jim Doyle announced late Friday afternoon that Wisconsin counties hit by a tornado on Aug. 18 will not receive aid from FEMA."I'm dismayed by this decision, having seen firsthand the damage these tornadoes caused," Doyle said. "While I understand that FEMA's resources are strained, the country shouldn't be in the position of having to choose between victims of one disaster and victims of another," Doyle said in a news release.Doyle requested federal disaster assistance for Dane, Richland, and Vernon Counties after 27 tornadoes struck southern Wisconsin, killing one person and injuring 23.An F3 tornado touched down in Dane County causing a 17-mile-long and one-half-mile wide path of destruction. More than 400 homes were damaged and 67 were destroyed. "We will appeal this decision and do everything we can to help the people whose lives were disrupted by these devastating tornadoes," Doyle said.The state may still request low interest loans from the Small Business Administration for homeowners affected by the tornadoes.

REPUBLICANS HELPING THE 1% THEY LOVE

The repukes in Congress have a plan for where they can get the billions of dollars to cover the cost of rebuilding after Hurrican Katrina, and now Rita, and it doesn't have anything to do with rolling back th tax cuts that the wealthiest 1% got in 2001 and 2003.

Here's what these kind-hearted (gag, cough) people...if you can call them people...have in mind for the other 99% and third world countries.

From Salon:

This is going to hurt you more than it's going to hurt me
The House Republicans' plan for Katrina: Cut funding for the Third World, energy conservation and contraception. Punish PBS fans, art lovers and graduate students.
Tim Grieve

FAIR TRIALS, A THING OF THE PAST

This country is supposed to be the bedrock of freedom and democracy, where everyone gets a fair shake in court before a jury of their peers.

Not so in up-state New York. Four protesters are on trial in Binghampton, and their trial is anything but fair.

Click here to read the full story of the judicial abuse they are facing:

War protesters tried on federal conspiracy charges in New York
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/sep2005/sp4-s23.shtml

Thursday, September 22, 2005

NEW NATIONAL EMBLEM

Found this at a blog I came across. Thought y'all'd get a laugh outta it.
Here's the blog where I found it: http://kebmillard.blogspot.com/

GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENT


Today the United States government announced that it is changing th
e national emblem from an Eagle to a condom. The reasoning behind this strategic move is that some believe the condom more accurately reflects the governments’ political stance. A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives you a sense of security while you're actually being screwed. Author Unknown

GOP SAVING THOSE POOR RICH FOLKS

The Republicans are going to stick to there promise to all those poor rich folks whose taxes they cut last year.
Yeah, help the rich, tax the poor and screw everyone in the military.

The following is from David Sirota.

Protecting tax cuts, GOP proposes cuts to military health care
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush and Republicans in Congress have refused to consider rolling back the $336 billion in new tax cuts that the richest 1 percent are slated to get over the next five years. They say we need to pay for reconstruction not by asking the wealthiest to sacrifice just a little bit, but by massive cuts to spending. And now we see what that means: The Navy Times today reports that those cuts "include trimming military quality-of-life programs, including health care." This, while troops are in battle.

The Republicans have put their cutting efforts in military terms, calling it "Operation Offset" - a further insult to the men and women in uniform they are now trying to screw over. The specifics are ugly. They are, for instance, asking troops to "accept reduced health care benefits for their families." Additionally, "the stateside system of elementary and secondary schools for military family members could be closed." In the past, this idea "has faced strong opposition from parents of children attending the schools because public schools [in and around bases] are seen as offering lower-quality education."

None of this, I suppose, is all that surprising. In the past, we've seen tax cuts put before making sure troops have adequate body armor heading into war - a tax/budget decision that very likely increased U.S. casualties. We've also seen Republicans vote down efforts to reduce tax cuts for the very wealthy in order to restore cuts to military family housing. And we've seen tax cuts come as the White House has refused to adequately fund a variety of other programs for troops. The truth is, the GOP has in moments of candor admitted that they care about cutting taxes for the wealthy far more than they care about the troops.

As you may recall, it was Tom DeLay who said before the Iraq invasion "Nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting taxes." Apparently to the Republicans, nothing is more important in the face of a war AND massive destruction to the homefront than cutting taxes either.


These are the same bastards that have been telling us that if we don't support the illegal war in Iraq we don't support the troops. Well look whose not supporting the troops now.

HALLIBURTON HATES U.S. TROOPS

Here's two items that Halliburton is not only using U.S. troops to increase it's collective wealth, but they also have no concern for their health.

In 1 year, Halliburton's stock doubles as troop deaths double
20 Sept. 2005
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- Since the beginning of the Iraq war, Halliburton, the Texas energy giant once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, has seen its stock price more than triple in value. When the U.S invaded Iraq in March of 2003, Halliburton's stock was selling for $20 per share. The stock price at the close of market activity on Monday was $66.

In the last 12 months, the total number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq almost doubled as Halliburton's stock doubled. Halliburton's stock rose from $33 per share in September 2004 to $66 yesterday while U.S. deaths in Iraq increased from 1,061 to almost 1900.

Three graphs at this link starkly depict the dramatically similar rise of Halliburton's stock price, revenue and U.S. soldiers killed during the past thirty months of war in Iraq.

Read the rest here:
 http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/news/stock_troop2.html


Whistleblowers' stomach-curdling story:
Halliburton serves contaminated water to troops

20 Sept. 2005
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- Outrage overflowed on Capitol Hill this summer when members of Congress learned that Halliburton's dining halls in Iraq had repeatedly served spoiled food to unsuspecting troops. "This happened quite a bit," testified Rory Mayberry, a former food manager with Halliburton's KBR subsidiary.

But the outrage apparently doesn't end with spoiled food. Former KBR employees and water quality specialists, Ben Carter and Ken May, told HalliburtonWatch that KBR knowingly exposes troops and civilians to contaminated water from Iraq's Euphrates River. One internal KBR email provided to HalliburtonWatch says that, for "possibly a year," the level of contamination at one camp was two times the normal level for untreated water.

"I discovered the water being delivered from the Euphrates for the military was not being treated properly and thousands were being exposed daily to numerous pathogenic organisms," Carter informed HalliburtonWatch.

Read the rest here:
 http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/news/stock_troop2.html


Now you decide. Is Halliburton in Iraq to supply and aid our troops, or are they there just to increase their corporate wealth at the cost of U.S. troops lives?

Saturday, September 17, 2005

THEY MUST THINK WE'RE AS DUMB AS THEY ARE

I used to be amazed at how the Evil Emperor Chimp and his band of goons would do and say things that were flat-out stupid. Like all the bullshit about WMD's in Iraq, the Iraq-9/11 connection that was never there...but the chimp still uses, repeatedly. Then there's the chimp's Alfred E. Newman impression of "What, me worry?" that he has refined to an art.

For some time now, though, there has been nothing that these idiots and assholes do that amaze me. If they we're little kids some of the stupid things could be understood. But they are not little kids, they are supposed to be grown men with fairly decent amount of intelligence.

I can see now that intelligence is one of their lesser qualities, if they have any at all. Because of this lack of power in the gray matter they seem to think that all of us are fools and rubes.

Here are some examples from Salon that I think will help prove my point.

How to rebuild New Orleans? Pass more tax cuts.
And, believe it or not, allow drilling in Alaska and support school vouchers.
Andrew Leonard

"You're surely kidding"
More information about FEMA comes to light.
Aaron Kinney

The Bush administration's love affair with animals
First it put Michael Brown in charge of FEMA. Now a veterinary expert will lead the FDA's Office of Women's Health.
T.G.

Understatement of the day
Three years is a very long time.
T.G.

It's all God's fault
The president says he'll take responsibility for the government's failings in Katrina, but he blames all the consequences on a higher power.
T.G.

Friday, September 16, 2005

HALLIBURTON'S ABUSIVE AND THREATENING TACTICS

So, Halliburton thinks it can do what it wants and to who it wants.

This from Halliburton Watch.


Halliburton threatens Army officials who point out contract abuse
16 Sept. 2005
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- A former contracting officer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) told a congressional committee today that Halliburton regularly threatens government officials who complain about contracting abuse.

Christy Watts, who was Chief of Contracting at USACE in Louisville, Kentucky, said Halliburton and USACE "habitually" violate contracting regulations and demand employees conceal it from the public. She described a culture of fear and intimidation designed to protect Halliburton's bottom line.

Read the whole story here:
http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/news/watts.html 


click for info

Thursday, September 15, 2005

STUPID DEMOCRATS: JOE BIDEN & STENY HOYER

Idiots, both of them. Chicken-shits afraid of a chimp.

Check this out, from David Sirota:

Poll shows Americans want troops brought home; Top Dems ignore the public
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll tells us what we already know: a strong majority of Americans favor bringing troops home from Iraq. Specifically, 55% support a withdrawal, while just 36% back Bush's position that current troop levels should be maintained.

This latest poll is consistent with other polls that show Americans oppose the war, want an exit strategy, believe the conflict is damaging U.S. national security, and think the war is hurting the effort to win the War on Terror.

Yet, as we see in Sen. Joe Biden's (D) Washington Post op-ed today, top Democrats still can't find the guts to push for withdrawing troops, and instead continue to drone on with the same split-the-difference posturing and weak-kneed whining that has marked their electoral decline in the last few years. As Atrios's Duncan Black notes, all Biden and the D.C. Democratic Establishment seem to be able to muster is, "If only a bunch of stuff that won't happen would happen, Iraq would be a lot of fun."

This kind of pathetic cowering isn't limited just to the Senate. Roll Call reports today that House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D) "has assembled a kitchen cabinet of fellow moderate Members to shape the Democratic strategy on national security issues." What's troubling is that every single member mentioned in the article as working with Hoyer recently voted against legislation to force President Bush to detail an exit strategy from Iraq. Similarly, nearly every member voted for the Iraq War (including Hoyer).

This apparent exclusion by D.C. Democratic Establishment types like Hoyer of those who want troops withdrawn from Iraq doesn't seem inadvertent. In fact, it seems like Hoyer is going out of his way to put a thumb in the eye of the few courageous Democrats who are trying to get their party to take a real position on the war. As the article notes, Hoyer is unveiling his group's agenda "just as some of the Caucus’ left-leaning Democrats are becoming ever more vocal about their opposition to the war in Iraq and heightening their call to bring U.S. forces home."

As I have written before, the longer the insulated D.C. Democratic Establishment practices its trademark thumb-in-the-wind, split-the-difference politics on the most important national security issues, the more the public will perceive the Democrats as standing for nothing. And ultimately, no matter how much we drive down Republicans' approval ratings, America will not reward a political party that tries to win by taking no clear positions at all.

HALLIBURTON KEEPS ON WINNING

This fucking crap has to stop! Fuck Bush and plan to help the rich get richer.

Halliburton CEO's stock rises by $78 million since Iraq invasion

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- War and skyrocketing oil prices have been good to Halliburton's CEO David Lesar, whose stock in the company increased by an estimated $78 million since the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, a HalliburtonWatch analysis reveals.

Full story here: http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/news/lesar_stock.html

Sunday, September 11, 2005

FREEDOM MARCH?

It is four years since the tragic events of 11 September 2001. I have no doubt that everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the first news reports of a plane flying into the World Trade Center.

I was working construction at the time and was on my way to the job site with a co-worker. When we heard the first report we both thought it was a small plane. When the second plane hit we realized they weren't small planes, they were airliners.

Then came the "attack" on the Pentagon. I do not now, and probably never will, believe that the "attack" on the pentagon was a jetliner. For one thing there was no wreckage from something as large as a passenger jet. Another is that the lawn at the Pentagon was virtually untouched.

My heart went out to those who lost loved ones because of this terrorist attack and I still, to this day, feel for their loss.

What I have a problem with is how the Bush (mis)administration, as well as many other republicans, has continued to use tragedy of 9/11 to rally the public to it's agenda and political asperations. Bush has repeatedly used 9/11 to connect to Saddam, the war in Iraq, the loss of personal freedoms through the (Un)Patriot Act, and now even Hurricane Katrina.

Today, the fourth anniversary of that fateful day, the Pentagon's "Freedom March" is to be held with the blessings of George Dumbya Bush.

Some freedom march. In order to be allowed to march you would have had to register before last Friday night. There will be no press coverage allowed in the march, they will have to stand on the sidelines and watch from behind a four foot high fence that has been set up along the route so the march will be kept sterile. If you aren't registered you can't participate, it has to be kept sterile.

All of this tells me that the only people the Pentagon wants to participate are Bush backers and the war chicken-hawks. Protesters will not be allowed. Some freedom march.

Once again, the Bush (mis)administration is using the loss and suffering of the people of this once great land for political gain. I know that not everyone will agree with me on this. That's fine, it's still a, somewhat, free country where you can express your opinion just as I can. In my opinion if you do not see this march for what it really is your eyes are shut, your mind is closed, and you are a fool of the greatest magnitude.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

CONCERN FROM A CANADIAN FRIEND

This is a post that an internet friend had posted on her blog. I thought some of you might like to see it. It says alot. Her blog is: Notes From An Exile

Friday, September 09, 2005

Disgust.

Rage. Incredulity.

I have been watching from afar, America, Dear Heart, and this man doesn't care about you.

He doesn't care about your well-being or your longevity or the welfare of your children.

He doesn't give a damn about keeping you safe or out of harm's way.

He doesn't care about black people. He doesn't care about poor people.

He has no notion of how his actions, or those of his administration, have led to the needless, horrific suffering of thousands of his own people. He has no compassion. Only a patently insincere show of faux sympathy that he turns on for the TV cameras.

Misinformed, willfully ignorant, he asks, "What didn't go right?"

His own mother -- elegant, imperial, grotesque -- voices the thought that 'these people' are now better off, anyway.

Bear in mind that a psychopath is defined thus:

psy·cho·path

n. A person with an antisocial personality disorder, manifested in aggressive, perverted, criminal, or amoral behavior without empathy or remorse.

Mr Bush may not have been looting on the streets of New Orleans, America, but he has been looting your treasury and stealing from your poor to give to the rich, to cut short the lives of many of your young men in a war that is unwinnable, in a country that -- if not already hostile to your kind of democracy -- will be now.

He kneels before his God, does Mr Bush. And he sleeps soundly at night.

Yet he has lied to you, America. Over and over again.

Wake up, you sleeping giant. Show him your strength. Your hope for something better.

And your ire.