September 30th, 2006
Larry Johnson, a former CIA agent, wonders out loud, Just what does it mean to be a Republican nowadays? And questions those that still, with a straight face, claim to be part of the GOP. Larry Johnson writes:
I once considered myself a Republican. In light of the record of the Bush Administration and the Republican controlled congress, I can no longer claim to be a Republican. Now we have George “AWOL” Bush and his sidekick, Dick “Five-Deferment” Cheney calling Democrats who question their failed Iraq strategy, “cut and runners”.
[...]
If you start a war in Iraq while lying to the American people that Saddam was tied to Osama Bin Laden, you might be a Republican.
If you failed to complete your own National Guard service and your Vice President received five deferments to avoid service in Vietnam, but accuse political opponents who challenge your failed foreign policy in Iraq of being cowards, you might be a Republican.
If you call dark skinned people Macacas and Niggers, you might be a Republican.
If you ignore intelligence community warnings that Bin Laden is determined to strike inside the United States, you might be a Republican.
If you follow policies that squander a budget surplus and create an $8.5 trillion dollar budget deficit, you might be a Republican.
If you expose the identity of an undercover CIA officer in charge of tracking down Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, you might be a Republican.
If you believe the President should be entitled to jail, without recourse to Habeus Corpus, anyone he decides is a threat, you might be a Republican.
Oh, and given recent reports that Republican representative Mark Foley has stepped down from his congressional seat, after revelations of repeated attempts to seduce teenage boys, Larry Jonhson wonders:
If you enjoy soliciting teenagers and children for sex over the internet, you might be a Republican:
Congressman Mark Foley. Republican Rep. Mark Foley resigned yesterday after the exposure of several sexually suggestive messages he sent to underage boys. Mr. Foley, a Florida Republican and chairman of the Missing and Exploited Children Caucus, led efforts to overhaul sex-offender laws, apologized in a brief statement that did not mention the electronic correspondence with the former congressional pages.
(http://washingtontimes.com/national/
20060930-010821-5764r.htm)
Randall Casseday. Metropolitan Police today charged the director of human resources at The Washington Times with one count of attempting to entice a minor on the Internet. Randall Casseday, 53, was arrested at 9:45 p.m. yesterday in the 1300 block of Brentwood Road NE, where police said he had arranged to meet who he thought was a 13-year-old girl. He had actually exchanged Internet messages and photographs with a male police officer posing as a girl.
(http://washingtontimes.com/metro/
20060927-054303-9103r.htm)
Brian J. Doyle. The deputy press secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was arrested Tuesday for using the Internet to seduce what he thought was a teenage girl, authorities said. Brian J. Doyle, 55, was arrested in Maryland where he lives on charges of use of a computer to seduce a child and transmission of harmful material to a minor. The charges were issued out of Polk County Fla.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/04/05/
department-of-homeland-se_n_18517.html)
So, who are those people that still call themselves Republicans without shame?
September 30th, 2006
An astute poster over at DailyKos.com has decided to trust her instincts, in spite of the ridiculing from the so-called "moderate" talking heads in the media, which constantly tell the American public: This is a time to be bipartisan, let’s not look back and certainly don’t give into conspiratorial notions.
That’s what the so-called moderates tell us. In other words, don’t rock the boat. Don’t question, just go along to get along.
Well, JuliaAnn, over at DailyKos.com, says enough is enough. She’s tuning out the un-inquisitive and timid voices of the unnerved moderates; and, instead, has decided to trust herself and go with her gut, which is telling her the following:
1. Hillary Clinton was right about the "right wing conspiracy." Wasn’t that funny when she said that on the Today Show [what seems like decades ago] and everyone had a big old belly laugh? She was dead on, and we are living with its fruits today.
2. There is a ton about 9-11 we do not know. And none of it is good. I think the Commission was a monumental blow job, and that there are a hundred [at least] unanswered questions and inconceivable conclusions. I think there were Republican plants on the commission and serious flaws in both the process and the product. I think the American people are being sheltered, or bamboozled, by a lot of powerful people with agendas. My gut tells me I can trust Michael Moore. It tells me Thomas Keane is a corrupt asshole who did — and continues to do — what’s been asked of him.
3. The Republican Party is sick and twisted. I don’t mean just bloated with power and arrogance, and totally corrupt. I mean sick and twisted. If our country has a prayer, it means this party must die. Intellectually, I try to tow the line. I try to avoid comments about people’s looks, or their accents, or their idiosyncracies. I try to wait for facts, and for evidence. But my gut told me about Allen and Foley a long time ago. And it tells me that the GOP is the party of fearful and perverted people who get their jollies from pissing on others. These are the brownshirts, the psychologically unbalanced, the racists, the uncool kids, the thin-lipped fat white bad dancers, the authoritarians, the C students, the control freaks, and the dispossessed — all joined together in one political party dedicated to sticking it to whomever they can momentarily feel better than. I can look at the Republicans in my own family and see the truth: these are people who are more afraid and less educated, and willing to do almost anything to be "on top" because they spent a pivotal time in their lives feeling unimportant. They need counseling, but they won’t get it. Sure, we can discuss it — for days, for months, for years. My gut says: these people are dangerous — at every time and in every place they have appeared in history.
4. Elections have been stolen and will continue to be without a serious "event." Let’s keep batting that ball around through 2006… and 2008. Yes, I want Diebold whistleblowers to come clean. Yes, I want impartial election officials and paper ballots. And sure, I want to learn a whole lot more about exit polling and Zogby vs. Quinnipiac. In the meantime, my gut says: the Republicans have, at the highest levels of our government, colluded to tamper with elections and have committed election fraud. Go read Blue Shark for fun for the latest
5. Cheney is the president. I’m going to love being proved wrong on this one. Believe me, I want to be proved wrong. Bush the Lesser wanted to be president, all right, and he wanted to push his MBA agenda. Like the rest of his creepy crew, he aimed to drown government in the bathtub, as well as New Orleans, and as many of us as he could get swirled down the drain. But it is Cheney pulling many of the ickiest strings. He had the real agenda: to get his hands on that oil, to enrich Halliburton and himself, to dismantle all that he hates: OSHA, the EPA, the national park system, liberals, you name it. Bush just repeats the platitudes, fed to him daily. My gut tells me Cheney has his hands all over the darkest deeds of the last six years, from Valerie Plame to the detention centers.
6. Speaking of "detention centers," my gut tells me this is one of the scariest of the unreported stories the MSM has pledged to keep ignoring. A $385 million contract to Halliburton subsidiary KBR to build holding pens for people and nobody gets to the bottom of it? This is nuts, by any standard. We got multiple news reports when the outgoing Clinton administration was falsely accused of stealing $48.29 worth of W’s off West Wing typewriters — but nothing on multi-million dollar homeland security "housing"? My gut tells me that these detention centers are bad news, and that by the time we learn more we’ll be very, very sorry no one paid attention.http://www.consortiumnews.com/…
7. I bet that my name — and possibly yours — is on a list of characters to watch. My gut tells me that the huge, all-encompassing intelligence gathering apparatus in this country — the one that has created lists of anti-war groups and the names of people at Quaker gatherings — would include many of us. My gut also tells me there is a reason why so many figures of national prominence are remarkably silent during these most disturbing times. The Republicans are masters at digging up dirt and using it. My guess is that they have many citizens by the balls and are squeezing tight.
8. If the Republicans can steal 2006 — by whatever stealth methods are available to them — I expect an Internet crackdown. My gut tells me that Rove has spent a lot of time bitching about liberals on the internet messing up their shit. And I’d bet the media is none too happy, either — all 5 or 6 of those fat white guys who own the country’s airwaves. Like social security, I think this is the quiet before the storm. They’ll try to hold onto their majority, then storm the ramparts again — this time for blood.
9. We live in an era of untruth. No matter what the hearing, commission, or investigation — we’re being psy-opped into a stupor. "The Path to 9-11" was one little piece. Remember the staging of the Saddam statue take-down? Does anyone remember Jessica Lynch? http://en.wikipedia.org/… Most of the material in the national consciousness has been deliberately faked, massaged, produced, packaged, and fed to us. My gut tells me that — should we be so fortunate as to someday unravel the mountain of disinformation that is Bushco — we will be stunned.
10. Yes, Bush cheated during the debates. I believe he was fed the bulk of his lines. I’ve watched the film a million times, I’ve watched his face and measured the cadence. I’ll be happy to let this one go, really I will. But my gut says: the guy was definitely wired.
What is your gut telling you about what’s transpired over the past five years since the Bush administration grabbed power?
September 27th, 2006
This is a great post over at DailyKos.com. According to the writer, the Democrats have an October surprise of their own, which involves the following:
The Clintonian Region: where Democrats no longer cede points to blowhard media pundits who are trying to set them up with attack questions just short of "when did you stop beating your wife." This region, exemplified by Bill Clinton’s monumental ass-handing of Rove’s Fox News sockpuppet, Chris Wallace. The Clintonian region allows every Democratic candidate to raise their chin, look their questioner in the eye and tell them that they will not get away with ridiculous, leading, prejudicial questions.
The Testorian Region: is the core of the Democratic spine. This is where Democrats show that they’re not willing to settle for compromise with idiocy and immorality. This is showcased in Jon Tester’s clear response that he wouldn’t "weaken" the Patriot Act, he would repeal this appallingly misguided legislation. A strong Testorian region enables Democrats to no longer fuss around with the details of programs that are fundamentally wrong — whether it’s the Patriot Act, illegal wiretaps, or the presidential torture approval act. With this bit of spine, they can stand straight and say "that is simply immoral, and it’s not something we’re going to tolerate in this country."
The Lamontian Region: is at the base of the new Democratic spine. It’s the base on which Democratic candidates are building a new, enthusiastic coalition of supporters who are willing to put their time and money into the proposition that there can be real change in Washington. The clearest example is Ned Lamont’s smashing defeat of Joe Toady Lieberman. This strong foundation puts Democrats on their feet and gets them marching door to door, bringing the message that a new day is coming.
Go read the post, it’s worth the read.
September 27th, 2006
Here’s a cause worth supporting: an Iraq war veteran walking across Utah in support of our troops and against the war. As he put it, After a year in Iraq, I owe it to my fellow soldiers to bring them home.
The soilder’s name is Sgt. Marshall Thompson, and this is what he plans to do:
The goal is to walk from the Utah/Idaho border to the Utah/Arizona border in 26 days, that’s one day for every 100 soldiers who have died in Iraq. The trip will cover almost 500 miles and I’ll have to average about 20 miles a day.
[...]
I chose to walk Utah in particular for two main reasons. One, it’s my home state and it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. If, for some crazy reason, you’ve got to walk 500 miles, it would be nice to do it in the natural wonder of Utah. And two, Utah is often called “the reddest state in the nation.” It seems to be a stronghold for those who advocate simply staying the course. I hope the walk will soften hearts and open minds to the idea of a responsible and timely withdrawal of troops. Plus I’d like the politicians to realize that even in good old Utah, people are demanding change.
I don’t know if the walk will get the troops home. If nothing else, however, I’ll know that I did everything I could to save the lives of my brothers and sisters in Iraq.
If you live in Utah or simply need something to do in October that involves walking, and can afford to find your way to Utah, for a great cause, make sure to join Marshall Thompson — his planned walking schedule is here.
This is the type of peace action, I think, that needs to be highlighted and brought to the attention of the national media.
Marshall was on Democracy Now this morning, which is how I heard of his cause, why he’s doing it and what motiviates him. He struck me as thoughtful and a voice worth having join the debate. Here’s some of what he said:
SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: Well, I got back from Iraq about two months ago, and I knew I’d have to do something to make things right. And so I decided, my wife and I, that it would be a good idea to do a walk through Utah. Utah is my home state, and I love it. It’s also the reddest state in the nation. It’s kind of a symbol of the last bastion of support for the war. So I thought that if I could walk through Utah in a peaceful manner and show that there’s support in Utah for peace, then that just might be what turns the tide.
AMY GOODMAN: What did you do in Iraq?
SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: I was a military journalist. It was a great job. I got to travel all around Iraq and interview thousands of soldiers. So I really got a good idea of what’s going on over there.
[...]
AMY GOODMAN: Were you able to print anything you wanted in the Anaconda Times?
SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: No, we were not able to print everything we wanted. We tried. We saw our mission as supporting the troops, so we were always trying to give them the good information of what was really going on, because they know what’s going on. They’re not being fooled by anybody. And so we wanted to be credible with them and print everything that happened. Of course, there is a level of censorship when you’re working for the U.S. Army. It’s just the way it goes.
AMY GOODMAN: Like what? Give an example.
SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: There were a few times I wanted to do some stories about how, for instance, Turkey was sending special forces over the border to attack Kurdish groups, you know, without permission, violating Iraq’s sovereign borders. I was kind of outraged, and I wanted to print that story, but that was one that got squashed.
AMY GOODMAN: By who?
SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: By my commanders. They’re all very well-intentioned, but nobody wants to get in trouble. And that was a story that looked like trouble, and so it did not make it.
AMY GOODMAN: Turkey, a U.S. ally, attacking the country that the U.S. is occupying.
SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: Exactly. Plus it was kind of — they were using the same rationale that we used to go into Iraq, saying, well, they’ve got a terrorist problem. If they can’t handle it, then we’ll go in and help them with it. And so we have no moral high ground there. We couldn’t tell them not to do it. And they continue to do it to this day.
[...]
AMY GOODMAN: How did you come to the conclusion that [the Iraq war is] unjust?
SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: Well, it happened before the war started. I was on the fence. And when Colin Powell addressed the UN, I believed him, like most people did, I think. But then there was something in me that kept bothering me, and it was that the decision to go to war with Iraq was based on fear, fear of something that hadn’t happened yet. And those are never good decisions. We can’t make fear-based decisions. So I decided that even if they had weapons of mass destruction, that I was going to be opposed to the war.
Then, years later when I went to Iraq, spent a year there, saw what happened, it was only reinforced. And I knew that I was going to have to come home and do something to make it right for my participation in it and just because I feel more responsible for what goes on over there, having been there for one year.
AMY GOODMAN: You interviewed hundreds of soldiers?
SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: Thousands.
AMY GOODMAN: Thousands of soldiers in Iraq. What is their attitude to the war?
SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: Most soldiers want to withdraw. That is proven. There was a Zogby poll. 72% of recently turned Iraqi vets want to be out of Iraq by 2006.
AMY GOODMAN: 2006?
SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: By 2006. That means this year. And my experience backs that up absolutely. There is a lot of pressure for soldiers not to speak out. There’s fear of court-martials. There’s fear of their commanders getting mad at them. There’s a lot of reasons why soldiers don’t speak out. But nobody should be fooled. Soldiers know what’s going on over there, and they are not happy about it.
You can hear the entire radio interview here — definetely worth a listen. And make sure to visit Sgt. Marshall Thompson’s website, A Soldier’s Peace, where you can findout more information about his walk for peace through Utah.
