On January 15, 2008, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) formally began a massive public reeducation and public relations effort in an aggressive and expensive attempt to stem the chorus of objections voiced thus far over the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC).

The Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) is a multi-lane highway system that would include toll roads for automobiles and rail lines and would run parallel to the eastern side of Interstate Highway 35 in Texas. Two corridors are being proposed, one parallel to I-35, named TTC 35, and another that will run from Northeast Texas down to Mexico, referred to as TTC 69.

The Trans-Texas Corridor is the first leg of a new superhighway which will extend from Mexico to Canada so that the North American Free Trade Agreement, better known as NAFTA, can function even more “smoothly” to remove American jobs as if NAFTA hasn’t done enough already. The highway will take about half a million acres of Texas out of agricultural production – and according to opponents hasten the advent of a North American Union.

How does anything like the Trans-Texas Corridor impact us here in good, old Indiana? Think Interstate 69 from Indy to Evansville. The route is an extension of the Interstate which already runs through northeast Indiana. The website of the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration has the following description of plans for the I-69 corridor:

Corridor from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, through Port Huron, Michigan, southwesterly along Interstate Route 69 through Indianapolis, Indiana, through Evansville, Indiana, Memphis, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Shreveport / Bossier Louisiana, to Houston, Texas, and to the Lower Rio Grande Valley at the border between the United States and Mexico, as follows:

1. In Michigan, the corridor shall be from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, southwesterly along Interstate Route 94 to the Ambassador Bridge interchange in Detroit, Michigan.
2. In Michigan and Illinois, the corridor shall be from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, through Detroit, Michigan, westerly along Interstate Route 94 to Chicago, Illinois.
3. In Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, the Corridor shall–
   1. follow the alignment generally identified in the Corridor 18 Special Issues Study Final Report; and
   2. include a connection between the Corridor east of Wilmar, Arkansas, and west of Monticello, Arkansas, to Pine Bluff, Arkansas
4. In the Lower Rio Grande Valley, the Corridor shall-
   1. include United States Route 77 from the Rio Grande River to Interstate Route 37 at Corpus Christi, Texas, and then to Victoria, Texas, via United States Route 77; [I-69 East]
   2. include United States Route 281 from the Rio Grande River to Interstate Route 37 and then to Victoria, Texas, via United States Route 59; [I-69 Central] and
   3. include the Corpus Christi North-side Highway and Rail Corridor from the existing intersection of United States Route 77 and Interstate Route 37 to United States Route 181, including FM511 from United States Route 77 to the Port of Brownsville.

Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP):

The SPP is a Bush White House-led initiative among the United States and the two nations it borders - Canada and Mexico. The “goals” are to increase security and to enhance prosperity among the three countries through greater cooperation. The SPP is based on the principle that our prosperity is dependent on our security and recognizes that our three great nations share a belief in freedom, economic opportunity, and strong democratic institutions.

The SPP outlines a comprehensive agenda for cooperation among our three countries while respecting the sovereignty and unique cultural heritage of each nation. The SPP provides a vehicle by which the United States, Canada, and Mexico can identify and resolve unnecessary obstacles to trade, and it provides a means to improve our response to emergencies and increase security, thus benefiting and protecting Americans.

The SPP is short for dumping on the American people again by the Bush Administration. Unnecessary obstacles to trade can be read to mean more profit for the large corporations as they whiz the jobs out of the United States via the superhighway. And, you can almost hear the hum of the truck traffic from Mexico bringing in cheap goods produced in a country ridden by poverty and lax on environmental standards as well as worker standards.

The only ones who will benefit from this NAFTA Superhighway are the corporate powers that have their hands in Bush’s pocket and their cash in Bush’s wallet.

Study: False statements preceded war
Posted by Amy Branham for Amy's Head
 

All I can say is WELL, DUH! It's about friggin' time someone caught up with the times and figured this one out...

By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL, Associated Press Writer Wed Jan 23, 6:43 AM ET

WASHINGTON - A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."

The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public Integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel did not comment on the merits of the study Tuesday night but reiterated the administration's position that the world community viewed Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, as a threat.

"The actions taken in 2003 were based on the collective judgment of intelligence agencies around the world," Stanzel said.

The study counted 935 false statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and administration officials stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or had links to al-Qaida or both.

"It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction or have meaningful ties to al-Qaida," according to Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith of the Fund for Independence in Journalism staff members, writing an overview of the study. "In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003."

Named in the study along with Bush were top officials of the administration during the period studied: Vice President Dick Cheney, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan.

Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq's links to al-Qaida, the study found. That was second only to Powell's 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.

The center said the study was based on a database created with public statements over the two years beginning on Sept. 11, 2001, and information from more than 25 government reports, books, articles, speeches and interviews.

"The cumulative effect of these false statements — amplified by thousands of news stories and broadcasts — was massive, with the media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for several critical months in the run-up to war," the study concluded.

"Some journalists — indeed, even some entire news organizations — have since acknowledged that their coverage during those prewar months was far too deferential and uncritical. These mea culpas notwithstanding, much of the wall-to-wall media coverage provided additional, 'independent' validation of the Bush administration's false statements about Iraq," it said. ___ On the Net: Center For Public Integrity: http://www.publicintegrity.org/default.aspx Fund For Independence in Journalism: http://www.tfij.org/

Eyewitnesses See Bigfoot in Minnesota Woods
From The Boomer Chronicles

Apropos of absolutely nothing, I think it’s time for some new Bigfoot reports. Just four months ago, a family of six had this encounter near the town of Wright in Carlton County, Minnesota. Here is part of the report they made to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization:

“We had been riding our 4 wheelers through the woods, and grouse hunting. My husband spotted some birds up ahead so we all shut off our 4 wheelers. He went through the thick saplings and made a loop, as he was walking back, it jumped up in front of him about 30 feet, it made a loud crash and took off running… It was in the evening, the sun was setting, so I was able to see its entire side image as it ran by. As it ran, it made an incredibly loud “stomping” sound, and it made another crashing noise. It was black, it had a cone-like shaped head. It was running on 2 feet, and I [saw] its arms swinging as it went by. It was large and VERY fast. We couldn’t believe how fast it was able to run through such thick saplings. This area had been logged off roughly 8 years ago. It scared the crap out of all of us, so we got out of there. We are very sure of what we saw!!! Before this incident, I was a skeptic of Bigfoot, but Now I KNOW they are here!!

See the rest of the details here.

While you’re at it, read about this 2007 sighting in Mansfield, New Jersey. And this recent sighting in Orange, Texas.

Daytime TV
From By Ken Levine

Why the CIA is the World's Number One Terrorist Organization
By Len Hart for The Existential Cowboy

The CIA. itself a ruthless, terrorist organization inspires terrorism in response. In some cases, notably the CIA and al Qaeda, the relationship between the CIA and terrorism is symbiotic. The CIA has perpetrated an "American Holocaust", the deaths of some 6 million people from its inception to the year 1987. As Long as the CIA Exists, the US will never be safe from terrorism.

CIA operations follow the same recurring script. First, American business interests abroad are threatened by a popular or democratically elected leader. The people support their leader because he intends to conduct land reform, strengthen unions, redistribute wealth, nationalize foreign-owned industry, and regulate business to protect workers, consumers and the environment. So, on behalf of American business, and often with their help, the CIA mobilizes the opposition. First it identifies right-wing groups within the country (usually the military), and offers them a deal: "We'll put you in power if you maintain a favorable business climate for us." The Agency then hires, trains and works with them to overthrow the existing government (usually a democracy).

--Steve Kangas, A Timeline of CIA Atrocities

Pakistan is almost a case in point.

Since 9/11, the Bush administration has been propping up Musharraf's military regime with $3.6 billion in economic aid from the US and a US-sponsored consortium, not to mention $900 million in military aid and the postponement of overdue debt repayments totaling $13.5 billion. But now the administration is debating whether Musharraf has become too dependent on Islamic extremist political parties in Pakistan to further US interests, and whether he should be pressured to permit the return of two exiled former prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, who have formed an electoral alliance to challenge him in presidential elections scheduled for next year.

--Pakistan: Friend or Foe? The US shouldn't prop up President Musharraf's military regime, Selig S. Harrison

The late Benazir Bhutto revealed the truth before she was brutally gunned down in the streets of Karachi: US policy causes world terrorism. She died before she could tell the rest of the story.

When the United States aligns with dictatorships and totalitarian regimes, it compromises the basic democratic principles of its foundation -- namely, life, liberty and justice for all. Dictatorships such as Musharraf's suppress individual rights and freedoms and empower the most extreme elements of society. Oppressed citizens, unable to represent themselves through other means, often turn to extremism and religious fundamentalism.

Benazir Bhutto, A False Choice for Pakistan

A favorite CIA tactic is the CIA "front".

The May 12 terrorist attacks on the al Hamra, Jadawal and Vinnell compounds in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, which killed more than 90 people, were not merely assaults on “symbols” of the imperialist West. The bombers were also intent on weakening the rule of Saudi royal family.

While the timing of the bombings in Saudi Arabia and in other countries — just hours before US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Saudi Arabia — suggested a coordinated assault on US targets, the bombings in Riyadh were targeted at key props of the reactionary regime.

All three Saudi Arabian targets were associated with Saudi Arabia's role as a US client state: residential compounds housing mainly expatriates working in the country, the offices of the Vinnell Corporation and the residences of its employees.

Vinnell, founded in California in 1931, first gained a foothold in Saudi Arabia in 1975. An article by Matt Gaul in the June 1998 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, revealed that it was the culmination of a close relationship between the corporation, the US military and Washington's intelligence agencies. This relationship stretched back to the end of World War II, when the US government used the company to ship supplies to the China's counter-revolutionary party, the Kuomintang.

During the 1950s and '60s, Vinnell constructed US military airfields in Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, Thailand and southern Vietnam. According to Gaul, it was during this period that Albert Vinnell, the corporation's founder, “offered his staff's services to the [CIA], and several CIA agents used employment with Vinnell as cover for operations in Africa and the Middle East”.

-- Rohan Pearce, CIA front targeted in terrorist attacks, 28 May 2003

How does the CIA do it?

It uses every trick in the book: propaganda, stuffed ballot boxes, purchased elections, extortion, blackmail, sexual intrigue, false stories about opponents in the local media, infiltration and disruption of opposing political parties, kidnapping, beating, torture, intimidation, economic sabotage, death squads and even assassination. These efforts culminate in a military coup, which installs a right-wing dictator. The CIA trains the dictator’s security apparatus to crack down on the traditional enemies of big business, using interrogation, torture and murder. The victims are said to be "communists," but almost always they are just peasants, liberals, moderates, labor union leaders, political opponents and advocates of free speech and democracy. Widespread human rights abuses follow.

--Steve Kangas, A Timeline of CIA Atrocities

The CIA uses all those methods to install dictators like Musharraf, whom it most certainly trained. The CIA is ruthless in its on-going efforts to eliminate with torture and murder, if necessary, all opposition to the interests of American imperialists. Saddam Hussein was among the dictators propped up by the US, the CIA specifically. Saddam ran afoul of Bush Sr by opposing efforts by the Bush regime to keep the price of oil high. The transcript of US Ambassador April Glaspie's interview with Hussein on the eve of his invasion of Kuwait proves conclusively that Hussein had been set up by the master spy --George Bush Sr. The CIAs allegiance to the US oil industry is overt and is most certainly at the very heart of well-founded suspicions about the CIA, Texas oil barons, and JFK. Dealy Plaza is said to have been the nexus of all three!

The origins of Bush's war in Iraq may be found in the Arab Oil embargo of the 1970s.

Three decades ago, in the throes of the energy crisis, Washington's hawks conceived of a strategy for US control of the Persian Gulf's oil. Now, with the same strategists firmly in control of the White House, the Bush administration is playing out their script for global dominance.

In the geopolitical vision driving current US policy toward Iraq, the key to national security is global hegemony -- dominance over any and all potential rivals. To that end, the United States must not only be able to project its military forces anywhere, at any time. It must also control key resources, chief among them oil -- and especially Gulf oil.

--Robert Dreyfuss, Mother Jones

JFK promised to "smash the CIA into a thousand pieces". Bill Clinton, on the 50th anniversary of "the company", defended it with an absurdity that one might have expected from the GOP! Americans, Clinton said, don't know or understand what the CIA does and should, therefore, lay off!

Our not knowing what the CIA is up to is precisely the problem. Bill Clinton is as dead wrong on this issue as Barack Obama is dead wrong about Ronald Reagan. Both positions are premised upon the idea that the American people are stupid and those that are not ought to be! The fact is: the CIA is out of control and they will continue to get away with it as long as the American people are either ignorant, kept in the dark, or both! Because the CIA is unaccountable. it remains a cancerous source of unchecked corruption and most certainly the inspiration for generations of American hating terrorists who will fight back in kind!

Much has been written about the CIA’s operations, [The Modus Operandi of the CIA] by insiders and outsiders. One insider who has chronicled what he witnessed in the CIA is Ralph McGehee. He worked for the CIA from 1952 until 1977 and now writes about intelligence matters, notably the book Deadly Deceits -- My 25 years in the CIA (New York: Sheridan Square Press, 1983). He has compiled a computer data base on CIA activities. Persons interested may write to him at: 422 Arkansas Ave., Herndon, VA 22070. (See http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/CIA/CIA_SOP.html .) Here are some excerpts of what he has written:

“...it is essential to provide background on the scope and nature of its worldwide operations. Between 1961 and 1975 the Agency conducted 900 major or sensitive operations, and thousands of lesser covert actions. The majority of its operations were propaganda, election or paramilitary. Countries of major concern, such as Indonesia in the early 1960s, were usually subjected to the CIA's most concerted attention. Critics of the CIA have aptly described the mainstays of such attention: "discrediting political groups... by forged documents that may be attributed to them. . . ," faking "communist weapon shipments,'' capturing communist documents and then inserting forgeries prepared by the Agency's Technical Services Division.

--Ralph McGehee

Much of the rest of the world knows the truth about the CIA; Americans are kept in the dark. The media dare not tell the truth about the CIA and the Bush administration, in particular, is complicit. Rare media outlets that dare tell the truth are demonized. "Liberal" activist Steve Kangas, for example, turned up dead just outside the office of Richard Mellon Scaife, the multi-billionaire about whom it is no stretch to say he coordinated and bankrolled the "vast right wing conspiracy" to impeach, remove and, in other ways, smear Bill Clinton.

As more documents are declassified and the hidden history is made painfully clear, the CIA’s predictable response is compared to the Medieval Church’s oppressive response to the Scientific Revolution. Indeed, there are many things about the CIAs relationship to the world around it that are medieval: intolerance, fear, repression, secrecy and torture. Initially, the CIA would merely harass American writers but foreign writers were tortured and/or murdered. With the death of Steve Kangas, one wonders if the CIA now operates against the domestic media. What's next? An inquisition?

The CIA, whose very is name is enough to inspire generations of "terrorists", has outlived its usefulness. The time has come to abolish the CIA --to smash it into a thousand pieces! Its leadership should be dismissed and investigated. Where there is probable cause, CIA members should be investigated and tried for crimes against humanity.

The CIA: The World's Number One Terrorist Organization

• The Secret Government
• Documents reveal CIA recruited five of Eichmann's associates
• PDF: Documents reveal CIA recruited five of Eichmann's associates>
• Documents show CIA covered up Nazi war criminals during Cold War
• PDF: A CIA Officer's Calamitous Choices
• A CIA Officer's Calamitous Choices By Jerry Meldon May 15, 2003
• Opening of CIA Records under Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act

Sierra Club Wants Reporters to Ask About Global Warming
From Libhom for Godless Liberal Homo

Holding on for a leader ...
From QuakerDave for Les Enragés.org

Democratic Superdelegate System: Double Plus Ungood
From Shane C. Mason for Montana Netroots

Almost always looking backward
From Pissed Off Patricia for Morning Martini

When Hurricane Katrina was looming near the gulf coast, all of us knew something bad was about to happen. We didn’t know how bad it would eventually turn out to be, but we knew it would be bad.

When we saw all the sub prime mortgages being handed out to people who couldn’t afford them, we knew something bad was going to happen. We didn’t know exactly how bad it would be, but we knew it would be bad.

In both the cases above we knew the danger was lurking but apparently the bush administration was either not caring or they were looking the other way. In both situations they did not act until the harm and destruction had been done.

Also in both these situations they noticed too little and too late. Was it incompetence or was it neglect? With Katrina it was incompetence on one level and lack of concern at a higher level. I would suggest the same thing happened with the financial debacle.

I find it strange that for almost seven years this administration has been looking ahead and constantly reminding us that another terror attack could occur as they took frightening measures to prevent such an event, yet they did not take any preventative measures to quickly react to other real and actual catastrophes.

It would seem they are viewing the world through a soda straw and seeing only what might be, instead of diligently seeing the larger and more realistic world of what is real and now.

... what is really going on here ...
From Topbop! for Only One Day

David Geoffrey Smith
International Forum on Education and Society,
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

On Enfraudening the Public Sphere, the Futility of Empire and the Future of Knowledge after 'America'

ABSTRACT This article examines various ways the current Bush Administration in the USA is conducting an information war to mask its larger imperial aims. The implications of this for public education and for the meaning of public knowledge are explored, particularly through Enrique Dussel's analysis of Euro-American modernity. The 'myth' of modernity has two faces, the surface face of 'emancipative reason' and the historically silenced underside face of 'sacrificial reason.' Understanding the continuity between these is foundational for any new global ethic, and for the epistemic conditions of future human knowing.

Read this article, here...

....hmmmm...

Time for an Intervention
From DCup for PoliTits

I'm lying here, face down in my own drool because I've watched MSNBC ten minutes too long today. I worked from home, but foresake my old movies so that I could monitor MSNBC all day to see if anyone besides the First Look reporter would cover the 935 lies told by the Bush Administration.

I'd predicted to a friend that I wouldn't hear a peep about it until Olbermann (I was right), but by then, it was too late. I was curled in a fetal position under my desk whispering "Will Britney ever get custody of her kids again?"

I would have been better off surfing porn while listening to my Amy Winehouse CD on repeat. It would have been more mentally healthy and much more educational.

Nevertheless, I'll attempt recovery on my own, but I'm looking to you, dear reader, to give me a poke with a long e-stick if you don't hear from me for a couple of days.

Tomorrow, dear Scarlet, is another day. I will be strong. I will never go news hungry again!

I know me, though. I'll get up in the morning and flip on that television. Channel 209. Just one more look, just check in with Morning Joe. Is he going to do his Bill Clinton imitation or cover some real issues?

Nah. I've gotta give it up. I've got to take Nancy Reagan's advice and just say no. I can't keep taking MSNBC like a junkie. It doesn't provide neato weightloss effects like meth or the cache that coke has. It's definitely not as relaxing as Oxycontin and it's not as much fun as shrooms.

Tomorrow, it's pornhub. I'm thinking hardcore. Or maybe bukkake. Who knows? And old movies. And maybe Amy Winehouse. And definitely one of those croissants in the pantry.........maybe I'll have one of the Spawn lock out Channel 209 so I'm safe from the siren song of it's newsy gossip and financial management commercials. Yeah, I don't trust myself.

Bill Clinton shaken by comparisons to Lee Atwater and Karl Rove
From The Richmond Democrat

Bill Clinton is having a meltdown:

DILLON, S.C. - Bill Clinton said Wednesday he expects blacks to vote for Barack Obama and women to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the dynamic may cause his wife to lose the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary Saturday.

The comments by the former president — who also lashed out at Obama and the news media — mark one of the starkest commentaries yet on the possible role of race, although it has been a subtext of the Obama-Clinton rivalry for months. The comments also furthered the Clintons' bid to play down Sen. Clinton's☼ chances of winning in a state where Obama seems to be ahead.

There is so much wrong with Clinton's response that it's hard to know where to begin. Is he implying that Blacks are racists who can't look beyond Barack Obama's race? Is he implying that Obama, a Black, is somehow unworthy of the presidency? What about women? Are they incapable of voting for anyone other than another woman? Are they incapable of making an informed choice based on their examination of the facts?

As far as Hillary Clinton's collapsing numbers among African Americans goes, common sense would make it obvious to anyone that the Clintons are suffering a backlash from the false and negative attacks they have been aiming at Barack Obama since he won the Iowa caucuses. Since that night, the Clintons have run a negative campaign that would make Karl Rove or Lee Atwater blush.

In particular, there is a growing recognition that Hillary Clinton used dogwhistle tactics to exploit latent anti-Black racism among Latinos in New Hampshire and Nevada. Add to that over 1,600 allegations of electoral misconduct by the Clinton campaign in Nevada, and you have plenty of grounds for discontent among African Americans, particularly those in South Carolina.

If that were not bad enough, you had Hillary's notorious gaffe in which she implied that Martin Luther King, Jr. was just a big talker (like Obama) and it took a mover and shaker like Lyndon B. Johnson (and Hillary) to actually get civil rights legislation passed. All of this happened just before the annual observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, when African American voters got a chance to compare Obama and the Clintons up close and personal.

Bill Clinton fell asleep in the middle of the memorial service he attended (yawn).

Now compare that to Barack Obama, who took the time to write and deliver one of the most inspirational American political speeches in living memory:

That's a pretty stark comparison by anyone's standards.

So instead of lashing out at reporters, maybe the Clintons need to look beyond race and gender for an explanation of their sinking numbers in South Carolina and among African Americans nationwide. Perhaps the Clintons would do well to examine their own behavior (false attacks, lies about Obama, and so on) and make some appropriate adjustments before it is too late.

Got a Band? Enter a Contest!
From Station Agent for The Walrus Speaks
 

I may even enter my band in this sucker! Can a band that never toured have a reunion tour?

From Sneak Attack Media:

UBER.com, in conjunction with A&R Worldwide’s MUSEXPO, Atlantic Records, Peer Music Publishing, Rebel Group/ADA Distribution and The Agency Group, announced the launch of the online music talent search, YOU BRING THE TALENT.

The winning musician/band will receive:

-An EP deal with Atlantic Records
-A music publishing deal with Peer Music
-A Booking Deal with The Agency Group
-Distribution through ADA from The Rebel Group
-A Showcase at The House of Blues in Hollywood, CA

WHAT TO KNOW:

1) The contest is open until March 31st, so there's plenty of time to sign up and get people to vote for you.

2) Your fans can vote ONCE EVERY 24 HOURS. That's right--all of your friends and fans can vote for you once every day, so let people know at your shows and on your website (where you can definitely put up your Voting Module.)

3) Think about this -- If you've got 1000 MySpace friends and half of them vote for you three times a week, that's 15,000 votes. Not too shabby.

4) You can check out the official rules here.

More Information here.

Good luck!

Why do I vote pro-choice?
From Melissa for Written Rebellion

Nuclear Guinea Pigs
From RickB for Ten Percent

Kucinich causes House floor fuss in announcing Bush impeachment drive

Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich caused a stink on the House of Representatives floor this morning during a speech where he announced he’ll introduce articles of impeachment against President Bush on Monday, Jan. 28, the day Bush delivers his State of the Union speech.

“We already know the State of the Union,” Kucinich says in his speech, which has been posted on YouTube (see above) . “It’s a lie.”

Republicans objected to Kucinich’s statements, and the Cleveland congressman returned to the floor a few minutes later to withdraw his “offending words.”

Florida GOP Rep. Cliff Stearns called Kucinich’s statements a “clear and egregious violation of House rules” but said he’d accept Kucinich’s request to withdraw his remarks.

“Both sides here attempt to restore civility, calmness here with legitimate debate and not utter personal accusations,” Stearns said.

UPDATE: In a statement issued to The Plain Dealer this afternoon, Stearns explained his objections to Kucinich’s remarks:

“This morning, Rep. Kucinich used the House floor to launch a personal attack against President Bush and Vice President Cheney and accused them of lying to the American people. He also said that the House was ‘living a lie.’ His outburst was a violation of House rules and I asked that his remarks be taken down and the Speaker upheld my objection. Kucinich withdrew his remarks rather than have his words struck down, which would have forced him to leave the House floor for the day. After he decided to withdraw his remarks, I stated that I would not object ” ‘with the understanding that these egregious accusations are in violation of the House rules and his statements must stop for the civility of the House and
debate.’ “

A warning of the future to come: Boston's Federally funded Big Dig Debacle and Today's Federally mandated economic rescue, heed must be paid!
From James Joiner for An Average American Patriot

I woke this morning to cries of disgust on the radio as to the so called "restitution" being paid by those responsible for the Big Dig Boondoggle. I have written extensively of it in the past primarily because the project started with good intentions as a $2 Billion dollar tunnel Project under the Charles River. Plagued by corruption right from the beginning I warned of the dangers to life and limb due to the fact that there was no oversight amidst warnings of corners being cut at every turn and major leaks even years ago that warned that someday the tunnel would return to the sea!

Today with innumerable leaks amounting to millions of gallons monthly the project ballooned to a cost of $16 Billion under Republican Romney who destituted Massachusetts and wants to continue Bush's Destitution of America as our President. Now after promises of constant oversight from Romney which never materialized, Whoops I'm sorry it was overlooked, and Billions added by Bush because he had hopes of having Massachusetts in his pocket again with no oversight, the enormity of the federally funded disaster has been known to some of us from the beginning but is starting to be felt by some officials here in Boston as they realize $400 million is a slap in the face and it may not even cover the repair costs to come in the future. I will guarantee you it will not. With so far one dead due to a roof that was built from inadequate compromised material and labor and laughingly held up by glue, the death toll will grow and Bechtel under the agreement can live and do this to the State and the country once again as no one once again admits to wrong doing and they are not held accountable.

The state and Big Dig contractors are reportedly close to announcing a settlement worth 400 million dollars that would cover costs related to leaks, design problems and the fatal tunnel collapse. That's according to a person close the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn't been made public. That person confirmed a WBZ-TV report that says the agreement would be announced in the coming days. The attorney general's office refused comment. Under the settlement, project managers Bechtel Parsons Brinkerhoff would not face criminal charges in the July 2006 death of Milena Del Valle in the tunnel ceiling collapse. But they would be liable for any future accidents related to the Big Dig. In December, a separate company that provided the epoxy blamed in the tunnel collapse agreed to a 6 million dollar settlement with the woman's family. The slap in your face settlement.

Amidst this federally funded and enabled Disaster we worthlessly hear that The House is set to pass a national highway tunnel inspection program to try to prevent tragedies such as the Big Dig's fatal ceiling collapse. Congressman Michael Capuano says he expects the measure to be approved. There are no national standards for tunnel inspections. A federal transportation safety panel report on the 2006 Big Dig accident that killed a mother of three called for a national tunnel inspection program similar to the one already used for bridges. One of the report's major finding was that the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority failed to implement a timely tunnel inspection program to detect flaws. The Senate is expected to take up the bill later this year.

That is worthless! We know from recent past experience that the people will be placated and nothing will be done. Remember the Bridge disaster in Minneapolis. Nothing has come from Bush's promises as expected and the State is still working on what to do it themselves. Knowing that Maintenance on highways, bridges, dams, and water treatment systems is a convenient place to cut corners when politicians need to appear tough on spending, since the results of routine upkeep are not flashy. But perpetual underfunding and deferred maintenance accelerates structural decay and contributes to disasters, as in the cases of the New Orleans levees or Minneapolis bridge. It’s time to make planes, trains, and automobiles safe again and restore the jewels of American ingenuity and engineering.

Our bridges are crumbling. 590,750:Number of bridges in the United States. 160,570: Number of bridges in the United States rated structurally deficient or functionally obsolete* as of 2003. It’s not just bridges. The 50-year-old interstate highway system is decaying and in need of modernization, too. Funding levels aren’t even adequate for basic maintenance. And it’s not just bridges and roads. Infrastructure of all types faces neglect and funding shortfalls. Tunnels, Dams, everything is failing and Bush wants to ignore it while giving the wealthy back more taxes? If he cared about Average American's and our America not his, he would do just what I suggest. How can he be this openly ignorant? Look at these Stats.

** With yesterdays rate cut of of 3/4 of a point that was called unprecedented and significant along with proposed tax incentives and indications from the Fed that there is more help coming if needed I have to say that there will have to be more help to come because this will get a lot worse. With that said there is any easy answer to this that will of course be ignored but would kill at least 2 or 3 birds with one stone. *There is an easy long term 2 part fix to this if helping average American's and our America was Bush's goal.

1. It seems to me that like everything else Bush does his plan is counterproductive. As usual he wants to help those that do not need it and ignore those that do in his creation of a new societal order! This will be a big fight and Bush will cry again until he gets his way. I say give a rebate to the 44 million households who would put it right back into the economy and under Bush's plan would get nothing. I do hear a move in this direction but we will see. Anyway The wealthy will just save it as they do not need it to survive which is purposely getting harder for average Americans under Bush.

2. Put average Americans back to work in meaningful constructive jobs that would rebuild our America and her failing infrastructure. The Interstate Highway System turned 50 last year, but the government neglected to give the system a much-needed birthday present. The government at all levels consistently underfunds infrastructure projects, from dams, bridges, and highways to aviation, railroads, and water systems. The tragic collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis was a wake up call to pay attention to our decaying infrastructure. But really, this bridge is the third wake up call for the United States to reevaluate how we treat critical infrastructure. The first was 9/11, which showed us that infrastructure is vulnerable to terrorism. Hurricane Katrina was a second wake up call, which showed us that infrastructure is vulnerable to natural disasters. This time, we know that infrastructure is vulnerable to use, age, and neglect. along with growing corruption as proven by Boston's Big Dig Boondoggle and we see examples of daily.

** We have been failed by our State and Federal Officials on every level and a rate cut or tax refund is not going to get us out of this still developing problem. We the people must actively get involved and be an active part of the solution. The corruption also must be stopped and we have got to be able to hold all parties including the Government accountable for criminal negligence and corruption!

Pelosi’s Lack of Leadership Stalls Meirs And Bolten Contempt
From NY Texan for BlueBloggin

Once again Nancy Pelosi has shown us that our over paid members of Congress can only handle one task at a time. Or is it that Nancy Pelosi missed the meaning of Speaker of the House and her duty to the American public. Pelosi has decided that while Congress and Bush put together a stimulus package in a bipartisan fashion, the contempt charges against White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers are set aside.

Pelosi has delayed bring these contempt charges to the floor since July 25 when Conyers and the Judiciary Committee approved them. What irritates me is that Pelosi was encouraged by John Conyers to hold off. What’s up with that? Conyers has been calling for impeachment and investigation for years. Now that he has the power to do something he sits in the corner. Maybe it’s time for Conyers to go.

Pelosi believes that voting on the contempt charges would “step on their message” of bipartisan unity in the midst of the stimulus package talks. It obviously doesn’t bother Pelosi when Bush steps on the Constitution or the American people. I now get her message!

Now a few things go through my head; 1) Pelosi is again bowing to Bush so he can get his way on both the too little too late economic package and for his corruption be over looked; and 2) Pelosi has proven her point that our Congress can only focus on one thing at a time. Impeachment is off the table because Congress has too many things to cover so now contempt is obviously off the table because Congress has another task.

Worthless I tell you, the whole lot of them. Pelosi needs to be removed as Speaker of the House since she can not seem to get it through her head that Congress can multi task. Not everyone in Congress is working on the stimulus package, at this time only the leaders are. The leg work for contempt charges have been done so a vote wouldn’t occupy much of their time. Congress seemed to find the time to pass bullshit legislation like H.Res 847: Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith or dedicating post offices. Obviously Pelosi doesn’t grasp the value of the word leadership or Constitution.

By the way the economy has been tanking for some time now, foreclosures have been ongoing, job loss has been ongoing and the Fed has been putting band aids on the economy for several years. So for Pelosi to act like this is an emergency that happened while she and the rest of Congress where on their many vacations is absurd. Pelosi and Reid should have been dealing with this all along.

Senior Democrats have decided that holding a controversial vote on the contempt citations, which have already been approved by the House Judiciary Committee as part of its investigation into the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, would “step on their message” of bipartisan unity in the midst of the stimulus package talks.

“Right now, we’re focused on working in a bipartisan fashion on [the] stimulus,” said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), indicating that the contempt vote is not expected for weeks, depending on how quickly the stimulus package moves.

Brendan Daly, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said “no decision has been made” as to when a criminal contempt vote would be held by the House.

The Judiciary Committee approved contempt citations against Bolten and Miers on July 25, but Pelosi has yet to bring the measures to the floor.

The lack of leadership that exists in both houses of Congress is beyond disappointing. Chris Dodd should challenge Reid and get some serious work accomplished. Pelosi should be challenged by member like Wexler who understand the meaning of our Constitution and the duties of Congress. While were on this topic of congressional incompetence, what the heck does Steny H. Hoyer do? He blocked Kucinich’s impeachment of Cheney and sent that to committee. Now he thinks it’s a good idea to send contempt charges to the Pelosi table of things never to be seen again.

We no longer need the old guard in Washington to pander to each other for capital and political gains. Pelosi is the perfect example of everything wrong in Congress. The days of go along with Bush to get along need to come to a halt. Unfortunately that won’t happen with Pelosi and Reid and their misguided direction of leadership. We need to change them both.

When expedience and fear triumph
From Distributorcap NY

Immigration is one of the hot button topics of 2008 America. The issue is extremely complex and emotional. Any decision that is worked out (and that is a big if) will have major implications economically, legally, sociologically and politically. The big open secret about immigration is that most of the underlying concerns wreak of racism, since a large majority of immigrants today are from Latin America. The Republican Party, led by such 'warm and fuzzy' assholes like Tom Tancredo, basically just want to shut the doors and deport all illegals – it is that simple to them. There is not one single thought as to the consequences of those actions. During this 2008 campaign season, most of the leading GOP candidates (except John McCain) are following lock, stock and goose step with Tancredo. However immigration policy, no matter your political beliefs, does have consequences. Just like it did in 1939:

 

 

 

Steal This Post: Alan Greyson
Posted by Windspike for Educational Whisper

One of the things that ticks me off about the one sided war in Iraq is the non-stop “No Bid” contract awards. With those awarded contracts comes a lot of corruption and waste. The waste is called double billing, triple billing or just plain outright billing without doing a damn thing. The money that pays for all of this abuse and neglect is our tax dollars. Wouldn’t you think that all of them pesky Conservative Republican’s would want to clean this mess up right away? That isn’t even close to the facts of the matter. Looking the other way is the mantra of the Bush 2 dynasty.

What it takes to clean this mess up and prosecute the bastards stealing all of our children’s future is to put people in the Congress that will aggressively go after anyone that steals from the American people. One of the most feared terms of any company that does business with any state or federal agency is called Disbarment. If any company is found guilty of thievery then they face disbarment. Over at Down With Tyranny they have this great piece on Alan Grayson that will go after war profiteers in the next Congress.

There's probably no one who knows more about war profiteers in Iraq-- outside of Cheney and the folks at Halliburton and KBR-- than Alan Grayson, an attorney prosecuting numerous war profiteering cases. We came across him because he is running for Congress against corrupt Republican rubber stamp Ric Keller in central Florida's 8th CD (Orlando area). Next weekend Alan will be our guest at Blue America sessions at Firedoglake and Crooks and Liars. But I called him today and asked him this tough question-- the one about Republican voters. Do these Americans actually support this kind of behavior?  Before we take a look at what Alan told me take a look at this CBS News clip I found on his website:

"I think that the Republicans, from top to bottom, are genuinely trying to change America into Amerika with a 'k.' They want America to be a place where ordinary workers cannot organize, where everybody tries to undercut everybody else in the labor market, and where the people in charge are the people who can best tap into war profiteering profits... These people want to change America and change it to make it something that Eisenhower warned us about half a century ago. They want everything in America to be under the control-- and in the teeth-- of the military-industrial complex."When I talk to Republicans in general these days, they're very unhappy about the war. The problem is, they're unhappy about the war because they don't like to lose-- and that's just the wrong way of looking at it. They have become willing participants in a war that at this point is approaching imperialism. If they read in newspapers everyday that we were winning the war, they would be just as happy with the war as the characters in Orwell's 1984 are happy with their endless war against some unnamed enemy that they can never clearly understand the purpose of. Republican voters have, in effect, collaborated in this effort despite their misgivings about the war and the primary reason why they're not happy right now isn't because the war is wrong or unjustifiable but because we're not not winning." - Down With Tyranny

The Ugly Face of Christianity
From Christopher for From the Left

The vile, homophobic Westboro Baptist Church, led by religious nutcase, Fred Phelps, today announced they will picket Heath Ledger’s funeral.

Calling Ledger a “pervert” Phelps said their religious protest is intended to be a warning:

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked.” Gal. 6:7. Heath Ledger thought it was great fun defying God Almighty and his plain word; to wit: God Hates Fags! & Fag Enablers! Ergo, God hates the sordid tacky, bucket of slime seasoned with vomit known as ‘Brokeback Mountain’ - and He hates all persons having anything whatsoever to do with it. Heath Ledger is now in Hell, and has begun serving his eternal sentence there - beside which, nothing else about Heath Ledger is relevant or consequential.”

Ain’t Christianity great?

Not So Fast, Hillary and John
From James for Genius of Insanity

"Hillary and I will always remember President Ronald Reagan for the way he personified the indomitable optimism of the American people, and for keeping America at the forefront of the fight for freedom for people everywhere," their statement said.

When you think about what Ronald Reagan did to the American people, to the middle class to the working people,” said Edwards.

“He was openly – openly – intolerant of unions and the right to organize. He openly fought against the union and the organized labor movement in this country. He openly did extraordinary damage to the middle class and working people, created a tax structure that favored the very wealthiest Americans and caused the middle class and working people to struggle every single day. The destruction of the environment, you know, eliminating regulation of companies that were polluting and doing extraordinary damage to the environment.”

“I can promise you this: this president will never use Ronald Reagan as an example for change.”

For 50 years, presidents from Truman and Dwight Eisenhower to and Bill Clinton Ronald Reaganbuilt strong alliances and deepened the world’s respect for us. We gained that respect by viewing our military strength not as an end in itself but as a means to protect a system of laws and institutions that gave hope to billions across the globe. In avoiding the temptation to rule as an empire, we hastened the fall of a corrupt and evil one in the Soviet Union. The lesson is that we cannot only be warriors; we must be thinkers and leaders as well.

Millions of people imprisoned behind the Iron Curtain silently cheered the day President Reagan declared, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Even if these ordinary men and women did not always agree with our policies, they looked to our president and saw a person — and a nation — they could trust.

Why Men are Happier ...
From John Good for Left in Aboite

Men Are Just Happier People. . .What do you expect from such simple creatures?

Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal.

You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100. People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time.

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.

Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck.

You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

The Clintons, Race, and Smearing Obama
From Ron Chusid for Liberal Values

The classic example of chutzpah is for someone to murder their parents and then throw themselves upon the mercy of the court because they are an orphan. Bill Clinton might not be going that far, but he is certainly showing quite a bit of chutzpah in his attacks on Barack Obama. After stooping to inject race into the campaign, he how has the chutzpah to accuse Obama of stirring the race issue.

Raising race was the last thing Barack Obama really wanted to do as it only works to his disadvantage. The Clinton’s goal is to downplay a loss in South Carolina as a racial fight with Obama winning the black vote. The Clintons next hope that this will increase Hillary’s share of the white vote in subsequent primaries. Bill and Hillary Clinton had everything to gain by making this election about race, even if it means retroactively losing Bill’s title as the unofficial first black president.

Whether the Clintons succeed in their strategy of smears depends largely upon whether enough people see thorough them. As just one example, The Hill’s Pundit Blog summarizes how the Clintons have brought race to the campaign:

I have found myself more and more troubled as the Clinton Machine seeks to derail the candidacy of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Sure, politics is a vicious game and the Clintons are well seasoned in the art of hand-to-hand combat.

No, what disturbs me most about the Clintons is the manner in which they have targeted the senator and initiated a disingenuous campaign where they claim they would never focus on race — all the while focusing on race in the campaign.

I first took stock of this when the husband of former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen alluded to Obama’s drug use and then noted it would be the Republicans who would make an issue of it, not the Democrats. Hmm … I wonder who brought that up in the first place? Team Clinton.

Then we had the former president’s comments regarding Obama’s stance on the Iraq war as being nothing more than a fairy tale. Was Bill really talking about the war, or was he alluding to the fact that a black junior senator’s candidacy was nothing more than a fairy tale?

And the most recent flap, of course, was over the assertion by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) that it took a president (white, Southern LBJ) to actualize the dream that Martin Luther King was seeking to achieve by signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. The implicit question being, Do voters want a junior black senator in the Oval Office when they could have the seasoned, white Clintons calling the shots? All this, mind you, came during the week in which we take time to reflect on the contributions and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I’m sick of this — and I’m sick of the Clintons doing one thing and claiming, till they’re blue (or in his case, red) in the face, that they haven’t done what they just did. For the supposed “first black president” to throw everything including the kitchen sink at a candidate is one thing. For the Clintons to play the race card against Sen. Obama is sick, in my opinion.

Jim Walsh (R - NY 25th) to spend more time with family
From Jazz for Middle Earth Journal

This just in from the Politico last night.

Republican Rep. Jim Walsh of New York is expected to announce his retirement soon, according to a GOP aide familiar with the decision, giving Democrats another pick-up opportunity following a wave of Republican retirements this cycle.

McCain's Age: Who's the President of Germany Again?
From Oliver Willis

Bush/GOP to Children:  "Screw You!"
From TomCat for Politics Plus

Democrats cited the nation’s economic problems as a reason to expand a popular health insurance program for children on Wednesday, but their effort failed as the House sustained President Bush’s veto of a bill to provide coverage to nearly four million uninsured children.

The vote for the bill was 260 to 152. Supporters were 15 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the measure over the president’s objections.

“Amid this economic downturn, with skyrocketing energy costs, a record number of mortgage foreclosures and fewer new jobs, the rate of unemployment has jumped dramatically,” said Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz, Democrat of Pennsylvania. “Two-thirds of unemployed individuals lose health care coverage for their families when they lose their jobs. In times like these, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program is needed most.”

Republicans said the vote was a political stunt, intended to embarrass Mr. Bush before his State of the Union address next week...

Inserted from <NY Times>

One DINO betrayed us and voted with Bush and the GOP:

Jim Marshall

Thirteen DINOs hid their betrayal by not voting:

Brian Baird, Howard Berman, Jerry Costello, Danny Davis, Rubén Hinojosa, Tom Lantos, Grace Napolitano, Nick Rahall, Bobby Rush, Loretta Sanchez, Brad Sherman, Hilda Solis, Charles Wilson

If these fourteen had voted for children, we would have been only one vote short.

One hundred fifty two GOP pigs goose-stepped behind their Fuhrer:

Robert Aderholt, Todd Akin, Rodney Alexander, Michele Bachmann, Spencer Bachus, J. Gresham Barrett, Roscoe Bartlett, Joe Barton, Judith Biggert, Brian Bilbray, Gus Bilirakis, Rob Bishop, Marsha Blackburn, Roy Blunt, John Boehner, Jo Bonner, John Boozman, Charles Boustany, Kevin Brady, Paul Broun, Henry Brown, Ginny Brown-Waite, Michael Burgess, Dan Burton, Steve Buyer, Ken Calvert, Dave Camp, John Campbell, Chris Cannon, Eric Cantor, John Carter, Steve Chabot, Howard Coble, Tom Cole, Michael Conaway, Ander Crenshaw, Barbara Cubin, John Culberson, Geoff Davis, David Davis, Nathan Deal, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart, John Doolittle, Thelma Drake, David Dreier, John 'Jimmy' Duncan, Vernon Ehlers, Mary Fallin, Tom Feeney, Jeff Flake, Randy Forbes, Jeff Fortenberry, Virginia Foxx, Trent Franks, Rodney Frelinghuysen, Elton Gallegly, Scott Garrett, Phil Gingrey, Louie Gohmert, Virgil Goode, Bob Goodlatte, Kay Granger, Sam Graves, Ralph Hall, Doc Hastings, Robin Hayes, Dean Heller, Jeb Hensarling, Wally Herger, Peter Hoekstra, Kenny Hulshof, Duncan Hunter, Bob Inglis, Darrell Issa, Sam Johnson, Tim Johnson, Walter Jones, Jim Jordan, Ric Keller, Steve King, Jack Kingston, John Kline, Joe Knollenberg, Randy Kuhl, Doug Lamborn, Robert Latta, Jerry Lewis, Ron Lewis, John Linder, Daniel Lungren, Connie Mack, Donald Manzullo, Kenny Marchant, Kevin McCarthy, Michael McCaul, Thad McCotter, Jim McCrery, Patrick McHenry, Buck McKeon, John Mica, Jeff Miller, Marilyn Musgrave, Sue Myrick, Randy Neugebauer, Devin Nunes, Ron Paul, Stevan Pearce, Mike Pence, John Peterson, Chip Pickering, Joe Pitts, Ted Poe, Tom Price, Adam Putnam, George Radanovich, Thomas Reynolds, Hal Rogers, Mike Rogers, Mike Rogers, Dana Rohrabacher, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Peter Roskam, Edward Royce, Paul Ryan, Bill Sali, Jim Saxton, Jean Schmidt, Jim Sensenbrenner, Pete Sessions, John Shadegg, John Shimkus, Bill Shuster, Lamar Smith, Adrian Smith, Mark Souder, Cliff Stearns, John Sullivan, Tom Tancredo, Lee Terry, Mac Thornberry, Todd Tiahrt, Timothy Walberg, Greg Walden, Zachary Wamp, Dave Weldon, Jerry Weller, Lynn Westmoreland, Ed Whitfield, Joe Wilson, Robert Wittman

If any of these are yours, here's the widget for your rep's contact info.  You know what to do.

Instant Congress Phone Number Lookup   Street number and name only: Zip Code (5 digits):   Call or fax your members of Congress today. Should we bring the troops home from Iraq NOW? Isn't it past time for impeachment? Just submit your street address and 5 digit zip above to get all their phone numbers.

The reason Bush and the GOP oppose SCHIP is simple: Every penny spent helping a sick child is a penny Bush and the GOP can't spend on a millionaire.

This Just In: George W. Bush is a Lying M#$%&$F#!$%&
From Tom Harper for Who Hijacked Our Country

If you have at least two brain cells to rub together, you’ve already known this since 2002 if not before.

For me that moment of clarity (or “DUUHH” moment, whatever you want to call it) occurred during the summer of 2002. The Enron and Harken (Bush’s former company) scandals were all over the headlines. Bush made a big show of signing an Enron-inspired reform bill. As soon as the ceremony was over, he quietly deleted a small part of the legislation (i.e. the teeth). And it was right then that the headlines unanimously switched from corporate sleaze to “Iraq Has Weapons of Mass Destruction” and “Saddam Hussein is Hitler.”

By then it was crystal clear to me that things weren’t as they seemed. But now it’s official. The Mainstream “Media” is now telling us what we've already known (here and here).

Well, it’s a start. Maybe this story will become even more mainstream and you'll see it in your favorite newspaper, right next to the usual headlines. “Britney Vomits On Lindsay, Grabs Kids, Crashes Car” — “George W. Bush Murdered Four Thousand American Soldiers.”

Two nonprofit journalism organizations have found that Bush and his puppetmasters issued hundreds of public false statements about Iraq between 2001 and 2003. All of these statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."

One of these organizations, the Center for Public Integrity, has this report posted at their website. The other group is the Fund for Independence in Journalism.

Two staff members of the Fund for Independence in Journalism said: "In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003."

The Bush Administration made a total of 935 false statements — in speeches, briefings, interviews — during this 2-year period. There were 532 statements claiming that Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction and/or was closely tied with al Qaeda.

The people named in the study were: Bush, Cheney, Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Paul Wolfowitz, and White House press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan.

Bush scored the highest with 259 lies. Colin Powell came in second with 244.

The study concluded with: "The cumulative effect of these false statements — amplified by thousands of news stories and broadcasts — was massive, with the media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for several critical months in the run-up to war. Some journalists — indeed, even some entire news organizations — have since acknowledged that their coverage during those prewar months was far too deferential and uncritical. These mea culpas notwithstanding, much of the wall-to-wall media coverage provided additional, 'independent' validation of the Bush administration's false statements about Iraq.”

Any questions?