READING BETWEEN THE LINES

"Little Bush says we are at war, but we are not at war because to be at war Congress has to vote for it. He says we are at war on terror, but that is a metaphor, though I doubt if he knows what that means. It's like having a war on dandruff, it's endless and pointless. We are in a dictatorship that has been totally militarised, everyone is spied on by the government itself. All three arms of the government are in the hands of this junta."
Gore Vidal

The Bush administration is asking for another $100 billion ($100,000,000,000.00) for Iraq (and a little of it goes to the war in Afghanistan). This is off the budget books. It may get figured in eventually, but when the budget deficit estimate was made this fall, it was not included even though Bush knew he would ask for this money. Bush is also planning to ask for another $145 billion, which is also not in the regular budget. Basically, around the time Bush goes out of office we may know what the real deficits were that he ran. Cost of his wars so far adjusted for inflation: $663 billion ($663,000,000,000.00) Juan Cole/February 3, 2007

The words outside of parentheses are those of the Decision Maker Decider Torturer Long War President George W. Bush. Mad Plato's words are in Italics between parentheses.



We enter the year 2007 with large endeavors underway, and others that are ours to begin.
(Iraq is underway…way under…and Iran will soon begin.)

Each of us is guided by our own convictions -- and to these we must stay faithful.
(I, for example, will be convicted for lies and fabrications that I was faithful to in order to take this nation to war.)

Yet we're all held to the same standards (except me), and called to serve the same good purposes: To extend this nation's prosperity (but not during my administration); to spend the people's money wisely (but not during my reign); to solve problems, not leave them to future generations (As I have done with my Pre-Emptive Iraq War); to guard America against all evil (except my own); and to keep faith with those we have sent forth to defend us (unless they are killed).

Our citizens don't much care which side of the aisle we sit on (which we’re doing most of the time) -- as long as we're willing to cross that aisle when there is work to be done (When I cross that aisle I fly to Crawford).

First, we must balance the federal budget.
(Applause.)
(Just not during my reign)

We can do so without raising taxes.
(Applause.)
(We can but not tomorrow’s children.)

What we need to do is impose spending discipline in Washington, D.C
(But not on my watch.)

To win the war on terror we must take the fight to the enemy.
(This means that the Iraq War will never end; our enemies will stay in Iraq as long as we stay and fight.)

This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we're in.
(And it’s the fight that I wanted.)

Every one of us wishes this war were over and won.
(Just don’t hook me up to a lie detector when I say this.)

Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk. (Applause.)
(What were our promises?)


We didn't drive al Qaeda out of their safe haven in Afghanistan only to let them set up a new safe haven in a free Iraq.
(But that’s what happened…except not in a free Iraq.)


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!

DREAMS

By diverse means

We have our dreams

Which take us

Here and there

Into the past or

Into the future.

By diverse means

Our horrible dreams

Engender some screams

About unreal monsters

And impossible scenes.

What do we do

Or think

To receive

Such

Strange dreams?

TWO ROBBERS AND THE CORN KING

Henry Mullins "The Corn King"

I was fifteen and working as a sweeper and bag boy in a big grocery store.
The manager was a strict German who charged 5 cents for every piece of paper that I missed when I did my sweeping.
I don't think I ever had to pay a nickel.
In the winter I was given the honor of starting his car.
But it wasn't on his watch the night that robbers paid the store a visit.
It was another younger manager on duty.

I was looking down at the floor as I pushed the big broom.
Then the broom bumped into two pairs of shiny black shoes.
I stopped and looked up.
Black pants, black suit coats, black ties, black sunglasses and black hats.
And two shiny guns.

The holdup men made all employees go to the back of the store.
Then they made us lie face down on the cold, concrete floor.
I lifted my head and one of the thieves pointed the shiny pistol at me and said not to raise my head again.
I didn't.
The two men left us and went with the manager to the cash registers.

And then an unbelievable thing occurred.
One of the employees got up and ran to the upstairs office to call the police.
But just as he reached the top of the stairs the men in black were coming back.
Our would-be hero was back in a flash and back down on the floor with us.

We were then escorted to the large room where the incinerator was located.
The two robbers told us to put a tall ladder against the heavy metal door.
They warned us not to come out.
We stayed inside for about ten minutes.
Then the manager went out and took a look.
He returned and told us that they had left.

My other experience may not seem as exciting.
It was the same day that I accidentally bumped the cart where eight cases of dill pickles were sitting.
Not too many jars broke, but the smell was still quite strong.

It was this same day the Corn King visited.
I can't remember now whether it was bacon or vegetables that he was promoting.
All that I remember is that he was A VERY TALL PERSON WITH HUGE FEET!
I think the Corn King shocked me more than those two robbers.

ANSWERS TO JACK CAFFERTY FILE QUESTIONS AND A LETTER TO SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Three former senior U.S. military officials warn that any military action against Iran would have "disastrous consequences" and urged Washington to hold immediate and unconditional talks with Tehran.

In a letter to London's Sunday Times newspaper, the three former U.S. military leaders said attacking Iran "would have disastrous consequences for security in the region, coalition forces in Iraq and would further exacerbate regional and global tensions," they wrote.

"The current crisis must be resolved through diplomacy," they said.

The letter was signed by retired Army Lt. Gen. Robert Gard, a former military assistant to Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Hoar, a former commander in chief of U.S. Central Command; and retired Navy Vice Adm. Jack Shanahan, a former director of the Center for Defense Information.

They urged the U.S. government to "engage immediately in direct talks with the government of Iran without preconditions.

"There is time available to talk, we must ensure that we use it," they said.
CNN.com/February 3, 2007

[Note: After my own Letters, I have quoted at length from an essay by Paul Craig Roberts about the catastrophic impasse the world now faces.]


How many Senate resolutions on Iraq are enough?
Resolutions are meaningless.
This president will
WAR
WAR
WAR
Until he is stopped by Impeachment.

But after he is impeached Dick Cheney will be president and he
Will continue to
WAR
WAR
WAR.
At no other time in this nation’s history has diplomacy become such a necessary and emergency measure to stop its own leaders and those of other nations from igniting World War.
Forget the resolutions.
The Senate and House must resolve to impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney now before our nation is taken farther down the road to HELL.
Their good intentions are killing us.
In the meantime, and before any actions to Impeach, Congress must stop funding the Decision Maker’s deluded and dangerous vision that is now embodied in his latest decision to escalate the Iraq War.




What are President Bush's intentions when it comes to Iran and Syria?
President Bush’s intentions are to go to war with Iran and Syria.
Especially Iran.
Iran is meddling in Iraq, and has been for some time. But the Decision Maker has ignored diplomacy.
He dismissed the suggestions for diplomacy that were given by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.
President Bush, as usual, has given ominous hints that are impossible to ignore.
This president is on his own manic and imperial mission to destroy the terrorists that he has mostly created.
10,000,000 people begged the Decision Maker not to bomb Iraq.
70% of Americans now want the Decision Maker to stop his madness in Iraq.
The Decision Maker will not abandon his Let's Roll and Smoke Them Out philosophy.
He and Iran's nutty leader are both dangerous.
Again, diplomacy is the most important factor to stop impending conflagrations and World War.


P.S.

Dear Madam Speaker:

I noticed how nice George W. Bush was to you before he delivered his State of the Union.
But I guess that was the gentleman inside of the Decision Maker Torturer Long War President.
As the Speaker, I believe you need to respond to and listen to the VOICES OF AMERICA.
The volume of these voices is increasing day by day, and they are asking for the IMPEACHMENT of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.
It will not be too late if IMPEACHMENT is done BEFORE the president and the vice-president leave office.
It will be too late if George W. Bush and Dick Cheney bomb Iran, or if they assist Israel when it begins its bombing.
The lies that George W. Bush and Dick Cheny concocted and foisted upon the American public in order to pre-emptively attack Iraq should be prosecuted, not merely critiqued, criticized and admonished.
It will be too late after Iran is attacked.
It will be too late when a World War begins.
Are you afraid to do this?
Why don't you support this action?
To show the world that the people of this country did something when their leaders made false claims to go to war will increase our worth and our character, not weaken them.
Non-binding resolutions are meaningless.
Just criticizing this administration is not enough.
For the sake of our country and the good of our Constitution, as well as for the Honor of our Nation and the safety of this planet:
IMPEACH
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!


***


The real game plan is to orchestrate a war with Iran and to initiate wider conflict in the Middle East before public and military pressure forces the Bush Regime to withdraw US troops from Iraq.
Two US carrier attack groups have been deployed to the Persian Gulf. US missile systems are being sent to oil producing countries to counter any incoming missiles from Iran should any survive the US attack. Israeli pilots have been training for an attack on Iran. US war doctrine has been changed to permit pre-emptive nuclear attack on non-nuclear countries. US attack aircraft have been deployed at bases in Turkey. A neocon admiral who attends AIPAC events has been made commander in chief of US forces in the Middle East. Obviously, the ground war in Iraq and Afghanistan are not the focus of the Bush Regime's new military deployments. The Bush Regime is focused on attacking Iran.
In CounterPunch (January 16) Col. Sam Gardiner reports that the Bush Regime has put into operation a group led by National Security Council staff whose mission is to create and foment outrage against Iran. Col. Gardiner details various signs of the Bush Regime's escalation and indicates some of the final deployments that will signal an imminent strike on Iran, such as "USAF tankers moved to unusual places, like Bulgaria" in order to position them for refueling B-2 bombers on their way to Iran.
Both Michel Chossudovsky (ICH Jan. 17) and Jorge Hirsch (CounterPunch Jan. 20) have recently documented evidence that the Bush Regime is orchestrating a crisis with Iran that can lead to the use of nuclear weapons to attack Iran.
Civil libertarians who have observed the Bush Regime's concentration of dictatorial powers in the presidency expect that war with Iran, especially if fearful nuclear weapons are used, will be accompanied by Bush's declaration of a state of emergency. The Bush Regime will use the state of emergency to grab more arbitrary and dictatorial powers in the name of protecting "national security interests" and American citizens from "terrorism."
As the Regime's crimes against the US Constitution and humanity will be monstrous, dissent will be throttled in ways that will make Americans afraid to speak, or even to think, the truth. By stifling dissent, the Bush Regime will escape accountability for launching wars on the basis of blatant lies. It will complete its destruction of the civil liberties that protect free speech, dissent, and Americans from arbitrary arrest and indefinite detention without charges or access to attorneys.
Congress is wasting precious time with non-binding resolutions and debates over cutting off war funding. The Bush Regime is rushing the country into a war and a domestic police state. Writing in Slate, Dahlia Lithwick reports that one of the main goals of the so-called "war on terror" (essentially a propagandistic hoax) is to achieve a massive expansion in unaccountable executive power. This is a long-time goal of VP Cheney and his chief of staff, David Addington. It is also the main goal of the "conservative" Federalist Society, an organization of Republican lawyers from whose membership Republican judicial nominees are drawn.
American public opinion is being manipulated. In the name of protecting "American freedom and democracy," the Bush regime rides roughshod over both as it ignores both the public and Congress and proceeds with a catastrophic policy supported by no one but the Bush Regime and a cabal of power-mad neoconservatives.
Nothing can stop the Regime except the immediate impeachment of Bush and Cheney. This is America's last chance.

From The Manipulation of the American Mind
Only Impeachment Can Prevent More War
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
January 22. 2007

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions. He can be reached at: PaulCraigRoberts@yahoo.com

YANKEE GO HOME...AGAIN

“It’s somewhat self-evident that there’s going to be a fairly sizable commitment to Iraq by the U.S. government in all forms for several years.”
State Department spokesman Justin Higgins

***

I'm thinking about moving to the new Baghdad Embassy in Iraq.
I've lived in Muslim countries before, but never with the luxuries that this billion-dollar, 104 acre embassy is going to have.


"It will have its own water wells, electricity plant and wastewater-treatment facility, systems to allow 100 percent independence from city utilities", says the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee report, the most authoritative open source on the embassy plans. Besides two major diplomatic office buildings, homes for the ambassador and his deputy, and the apartment buildings for staff, the compound will offer a swimming pool, gym, commissary, food court and American Club, all housed in a recreation building.
[MSNBC]



Well, maybe I won't go.
Although this embassy will be well-fortified, I foresee a time when hordes of angry citizens (not just the current warring sects) will try to expel Americans.

The 105 acres of land belong to the United States (Iraq’s interim government transferred the land to U.S. ownership in October 2004, under an agreement whose terms were not disclosed. MSNBC).

I can understand why a majority of the Iraqi people no longer think they were liberated by George W. Bush.

It's the same old story of Yankee Go Home.

A war that was started based upon false data now seems to be a war with ourselves as much as with radicals, extremists and terrorists.

It was a Pre-Emptive Invasion, then an Occupation, and now a Civil War.

Thanks to the Arrogant and Smirking Decider-Torturer Long War President and Mr. Pious and Delusional Dick Halliburton Cheney.


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!


***

Somewhere In Iraq, July 21, 2003

(CBS) In an exclusive interview with CBS News, three men who claim to have participated in several recent and deadly attacks on U.S. soldiers say they're not doing it for love of Saddam -- but instead for God and their country.

U.S. officials blame "remnants of Saddam's regime" -- "dead enders" they call them -- for the unending attacks.

"Are any of you former Saddam loyalists? Work for Saddam? Love Saddam?" asked CBS News Correspondent David Hawkins.

The men all shook their heads "no" as a translator said, "They just follow the instruction of Holy Koran."

"So this is a religious war?" questioned Hawkins. "It's a holy war?"

"Yes, yes," said one man. "We are farmers. We're Iraqis. This isn't about politics."

The three claim to be the ones who attacked a military convoy last week west of Baghdad -- an attack that killed one American soldier. A Baghdad gun-runner arranged a meeting with them for CBS News.

"Why do you fight? Why do you attack American soldiers?" Hawkins asked.

"This is occupation, so we fight against the occupation," said a fighter.

"You're very upset the Americans are here," asked Hawkins, "but are you glad Saddam is gone?"

"We feel happy now because we can speak freely, but at the same time we don't want Saddam neither, or America. We just want the American soldiers to leave our country," reported the translator.

The Iraqi fighters chose the meeting spot in the middle of the desert -- in the middle of nowhere really, because they felt safe there. They said they know the territory well and the Americans don't.

"All of them will die here. We advise them that they have to leave Iraq before they die here," stated one fighter.

Threats from these men won't frighten anyone away, but their fanaticism and fervor suggests that they'll put up a fight -- for some time to come.

©MMIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc.

BUGS ON SHIPS

What's the story with all of these flu bugs on cruise ships?
What's causing so many passengers to become ill?
The food?
The air?
The water (on and off of the ship)?
I've always wondered what one of these cruises might be like.
Now I wonder if I ever want to find out.
Maybe microbes grow and evolve faster than we can kill them.
But don't blame the microbes.
We are their creators.
We pollute and they revolt.
The microscopic revolutions by these microbes prompt pharmaceutical companies to develop quick remedies---for profits and cures.
Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't create cures or satisfactory treatments.

I've had my Jack LaLanne Power Juicer for more than a year now.
I've used it once.
I think it's time that I start juicing as much as I can.
Maybe I can drown these new and improved microbes
inside the rich anti-oxidant rivers of my blood.
I hope so.
I’m going to the produce section right now.


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!

THIRTY-NINE MINUTES OF PROMISES AND PERPETUAL WAR

If Bill Clinton can be impeached because of his penis, then George W. Bush can certainly be impeached because of his administration's HARD (lies put) ON
the American people so that he could start this tragic Pre-Emptive Iraq War.
The United States of America now has a Perpetual War.

The president's eyes were glowing red.
No horns.
No beard.
No pitchfork.
Just glowing red eyes.
Then came the State of the Union.
Full of glowing promises.

The word Iraq was long coming.
But it finally did come.
After about 3200 words.
War.
Iraq.
Victory.
Iraq
War.
No Diplomacy.

A Santa Claus president can promise many presents, but the delivery of them is far more difficult.

I was glad to hear promises being made for Universal Health care, Energy Independence, a better and more successful educational system, a sound and fair Immigration policy.
But after almost seven years, why haven’t these promises been delivered?
Too busy.
Not enough money.
Got to win this Perpetual War.

This president said that the problems of his reign will become the problems of others who follow him.
Gosh.
Thanks for gifts that keep on giving.


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!

A SHORT DITTY BEFORE THE STATE OF THE UNION

George W. Bush was connected at the Knee
To that baldheaded Halliburton guy Cheney

And now the Decider-Torturer Long War President's
Losing his shirt and pants in the Debacle of Iraq.

Hillary and Barack
Want to see if they can
Stop all of the bombing
In Baghdad, Iraq.

Tonight the President
Is going to give us
Another song and dance
But the country is fed
Up with him and his trance.


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!

ONCE AGAIN ANOTHER VERY VERY SHORT STATE OF THE UNION

This is my seventh State of the Union (but who's counting?).
I am not the man that I was back then.
The country is not the country that it was back then.
The world isn't the same either.
My speech writers have decided that I should stick to domestic issues since I am so stuck in Iraq.
But I will still tell you this:
The United States will not stop its global war on extremism, terrorism, radicalism and liberalism; nor will I take my eyes off of a gathering storm called Iran.
All obstacles are on the table.
Although the United States is stuck in the sand of Iraq, it will stick like glue to its mission to bring radicals, extremists and terrorists to justice.
Sure it's tough in Iraq, but that's why we must get tougher and tougher if we are going to win.
Seventy-one percent of you don't think I'm on the right track.
But you must be patient.
Keep an open mind.
Give me more time.
Give me more blood and money.
Miracles don't occur overnight.
I also want to say a couple words about Global Warming: Chill out.
The ice caps won't melt overnight.
Let the lucrative oil companies continue to have more and more of their soaring profits!
Earnings will trickle down and go into your tanks.
I'm sure that tomorrow's children will rescue the planet from our indulgence and ignorance.
Carpe Diem, America!
The economy is strong.
Freedom and Peace are on the march!
Shop until you're dead!
God bless you.
And God bless America!


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!

SPACE WEAPONS AND ADDICTION DEMONS

"If God asked you to bombard, invade and occupy Iraq for four years, why did he send an opposite message to the Pope?"
GEORGE MCGOVERN
January 17, 2007


"We reserve the right to defend ourselves against hostile attacks and interference with our space assets. We will, therefore, oppose others who wish to use their military capabilities to impede or deny our access to and use of space. We will seek the best capabilities to protect our space assets by active or passive means."
Robert G. Joseph
Undersecretary of State
December 2006


"The War in Space Has Already Begun"
George C. Marshall Institute


***


China launched a missile and destroyed one of its own satellites in space.
The U.S. plan to own space is now challenged.
The United States doesn't want any nation to possess technology or weapons that are superior (or a threat) to its own.
This makes sense (and cents...lots of them!).
After so many movies and books about war in space, we shouldn't be surprised that space is being exploited for its service in future wars.
If we do not own space, then someone else will.
First in space, first on earth.
The United States doesn't sign treaties that weaken its hand.
Treaties about chemical or biological weapons.
Treaties about regulating carbon dioxide emissions.
Treaties about regulating outer space.

Addictions to money and power will never end.

The sky is the limit.

Or in this case OUTER SPACE.

If George W. Bush can make a mess in the Middle East, he is quite capable of making one in outer space.


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Heads are Hanging

&

Heads are Falling

(off)


War is Surging

&

Bush's Splurging


Pelosi's Gavelling

&

Obama's Running


Trump's Firing

&

Rosie's dancing


The World's Warming

&

Mankind's Warring.


Happy New Year...


Again?


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!

RELIABLE REPLACEMENT WARHEADS

"The reason I can' t follow the old eye-for-an-eye philosophy is that it ends up leaving everyone blind."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"Anyone who feels, and there are still a lot of people who feel that way, that war can solve the social problems facing mankind is sleeping through a great revolution. President Kennedy said on one occasion, "Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind." The world must hear this. I pray to God that America will hear this before it is too late, because today we’re fighting a war."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"The military-industrial-complex [would] cause military spending to be driven not by national security needs but by a network of weapons makers, lobbyists and elected officials." Dwight D. Eisenhower

"There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket." General Smedley D. Butler


***


The Earth is full of foolish men and formidable weapons.
Although the United States is worried about terrorists, radicals, extremists and evil-doers having their own nuclear weapons, this government is whole-heartedly willing to develop newer nuclear weapons.
They are the cash cows for the corporate machines and rich CEOs.
What do other leaders think when they know that the U.S. is not going to end or slow down its own hunger for WMD?
These other rogue nations and evil axis opponents will hunger even more for their own WMD.
They've got 'em and so we'll get 'em too.
Is it because our current president and Iran's subscribe to prophetic paths of Armageddon that they talk and act the way they do?
If God told George W. Bush to bomb Iraq did He also tell the Decider that he should carry out Armageddon?
Does Mahmoud Ahmadinejad get similar communications?
Many years ago, I was a vocal opponent to the existence of Nuclear Weapons.
I rode around in my old Chevy with ANTI-NUCLEAR bumper stickers.
But bumper stickers and protests did not end the march to Armageddon. As one person told me, "You can stand in the middle of the road but you can't stop the traffic."
These newer WMD are as much for profits as they are for protection.
But instead of protection we just encourage other nations to stay on the path of Armageddon.
Dinosaurs.
Humans.
Cockroaches.
Which ones became extinct?


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!



***



"Suspicions that the United States is actually trying to build up its nuclear capabilities are undercutting Washington’s arguments for restraining the nuclear appetites of Iran and North Korea."

"Then there’s the tens of billions it is likely to cost. And the most important question: Nearly two decades after the country stopped building nuclear weapons, does it really need a new one? The answer, emphatically, is no. This is a make-work program championed by the weapons laboratories and belatedly by the Pentagon, which hasn’t been able to get Congress to pay for its other nuclear fantasies.
One crucial argument for the new program took a major hit in November when the Jason — a prestigious panel of scientists that advises the government on weapons — reported that most of the plutonium triggers in the current arsenal can be expected to last for 100 years. Since the oldest weapons are less than 50 years old, supporters of the new warhead have fallen back on warnings that other bomb components are also aging, and that the nuclear labs need the work to attract and train the best scientists. But the labs are already spending billions on studying and preserving the current arsenal.
America would be much safer if the president focused on reducing the number of old nuclear weapons still deployed by the United States and the other nuclear powers. The new Congress should stop this program before any more dollars are wasted, or more damage is done to America’s credibility."

Editorial
Busywork for Nuclear Scientists
The New York Times
January 15, 2007

MORE WAR!

"Nothing can stop the criminal Bush from instituting wider war in the Middle East that could become a catastrophic world war except an unequivocal statement from Congress that he will be impeached."
From Bush Must Go
Only Impeachment Can Stop Him
January 15, 2007
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

[Paul Craig Roberts was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under President Reagan.]


***


The Unitary Executive...
The Urinary Executioner...
The Decider-Torturer and Commander-in-Chief...
The Long War President...
Mad King George wants More war.
More gore.
More blood.
MORE WAR!
MORE WAR!
Since Iraq is lost---with or without surge and augmentation---the Unitary Executive is planning to begin war with Iran.
Legacy is more important to the Decider than Legitimacy.
If George W. Bush believes that he is a Winston Churchill, then his dog Barney is General Eisenhower.
Starting war is easier than ending it.
A war with Iran now would produce more negative consequences than if Iran already had nuclear weapons.


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!



"...so how does Congress stop him?
They can start by growing a spine and quit saying,
'He's the Commander-in-Chief. There is nothing we can do.'
There are lots of things they can and should do.
They need to rescind the Authorization to Use Military Force given to Bush after the attacks of September 11, 2001--along with every other power and/or authority that Congress may have granted him for his so-called War on Terror.
Bush has proved, repeatedly, that he cannot be trusted with any kind of power and that he is unfit to be our Commander in Chief (having done far more harm to our military than the 'enemy' could possibly do)."
"If the Founding Fathers found it wise to give Congress the sole authority to declare war, it is hard to believe that Congress cannot declare the end to a war.
They should not hesitate to cut off funding for Mr. Bush's wars--except for what is needed to bring the troops home.
The American people know the difference between supporting the troops and sacrificing them in a lost cause. "
"Congress should also dismantle the web of unconstitutional laws, signing statements, and legal mumbo-jumbo that have congealed together into the abomination called the 'unitary presidency'.
There is widespread agreement that many of these laws, enacted to expand the powers of the President, are unconstitutional and will eventually be struck down by the courts.
Until then, though, King George will continue to wield his new found powers to spy, torture, kidnap and murder around the globe. Congress must act to reinstate the U.S. Constitution as the supreme law of the land."
"This means a Constitutional confrontation between Congress and the Bush Administration is inevitable, and the sooner--the better.
The King has already dispatched warships to the Persian Gulf to threaten and provoke Iran, and according to retired Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner, who taught strategy at the Air Force college, the Naval College and the National War College:
• The decision has been made and military operations are under way in Iran."
ThinkProgress.com, 4/18/06


I think the plan's been picked: bomb the nuclear sites in Iran. It's a terrible idea, it's against US law and it's against international law, but I think they've decided to do it.
The Nation, 9/21/06


The stage is being set and Iran has been cast as the villain. The war drums are beating. Once again, the Bush Administration is leading us to the brink, and America is just one big lie or "incident" away from another senseless war.
Now is the time for the Democrats and Republicans in Congress to unite in rebellion against King George--before it is too late.
January 13, 2007 at 08:38:07
It Is Time to Rebel Against King George
by Mick Youther
www.opednews.com

AUGMENTATION TODAY AND IRAN IS THE TARGET TOMORROW

"Call it whatever you want, we're providing muscle."
Tony Snow
1-11-07

“This president is standing alone in the world.”
Joe Scarborough
1-11-07

“The American people have not been told the truth.”
Senator Chuck Hagel
(R-Nebraska)
1-11-07

“”He is keeping us there under false pretenses.”
Senator Russ Feingold
(D-Wisconsin)
1-11-07


***

Call it a surge.
Call it a defensive measure.
Call it an augmentation.
But don't call it an ESCALATION!
Augmentation.
Isn't that what’s done to the upper frontal superstructure?
The Mushroom Cloud Lady CONdoLeeza Rice wants her own augmentation...that is, she wants to call the Bush surge an augmentation.
Ah, sweet euphemisms for a hellish quagmire and the lies and liars that created it.
We sent a country to the gallows.
We hanged that country's dictator.
We American citizens have been swindled and hanged.
Now the Truth hangs in the balance.
Now the safety and health of the planet hangs in the balance.
George W. Bush, Commander-in-Chief of the United States of America, Decider and Torturer Long War President now is holding a gun to the head of Iran.
What and who can stop him now?


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!

LAST MINUTE SOUND BITES BEFORE THE BUSH SPEAKS

It's the last ditch effort.
It's the last hurrah.
It's the best thing going even though it may fail.
We cannot lose in Iraq.
We must finish the job.
Mistakes were made.
It’s not a pretty picture.
People are dying.
People are suffering.
But the region must be secured.
Iraq must not become the center for Global Extremism.
If the Global War on terrorism is to be won, then Iraq must not lose to extremists and radicals who want to destroy the hope for democracy, justice, peace and freedom.
America started this war and America has to end it.


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!

ROSIE O'DONNELL AND DONALD TRUMP IN THE MUCK

Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump should be blindfolded and meet in a big ring to mud wrestle.
Three judges will decide who wins.
No spitting, hair-pulling or headlocks.
Biting remarks are fine, but biting is not.
This event will be a charity event at one of the Casinos in Las Vegas.
Charge $5,000 for front row seats.
Rosie and Donald will wear helmets, not just to cover the Trump’s mop, but to protect each of their big heads.
Let the mud wrestlers go five rounds in the messy muck, and make each round two minutes with a one minute break.
Rosie and Donald will not be permitted to see each other at the end of the match.
(Heaven knows what ugly faces these two mudslingers might make. It could produce a riot.)
Rosie and Donald will remain blindfolded when they leave the ring.
Bodyguards will escort Rosie and Donald to their rooms.



IT'S THE OIL STUPID!

WHO'S MOON WALKING IN IRAQ?

It isn't Michael Jackson.
It isn't Neil Armstrong.
It’s George W. Bush!
And his jig is up.
Americans knows where the Letter Snooping Deceitful Torturer-Decider Long War President took them.
AND WHY.
Americans know where the Decider will take them this week in his war dance.
The Decider’s dance steps are going to surge, they are going to step up once again, and these steps are stepping all over our toes as they have been doing ever since the Decider’s Pre-Emptive, misleading, unnecessary, blundering war was started.
Wednesday we will hear the script from the Decider’s latest dance routine.
These dance steps are like moon walking steps.
It appears that the Decider is moving forward.
But the Decider isn’t really moving.
And the war is not really improving.
America is dancing, too.
It is following a lead dancer who seems insane.

Washington Post-ABC Newhttp: Six in 10 respondents said the war is not worth fighting, three-quarters disapproved of how Bush has handled the situation, and there was no consensus about how the United States should adjust its policies in Iraq. Only 17 percent called for an increase in U.S. forces, the "surge" believed to be a centerpiece of the new Bush plan.
[January 8. 2007]


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!

BUSH ON CRACK AND SUPERVIAGRA: THE POSTAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND ENHANCEMENT ACT

I am making (another) signing statement on this law so that I can read the mail of all my fellow citizens and all potential radicals and extremists.
(And I’ve always wanted to be a mind reader.)
As your Decider and Long War President it is not enough that I can only spy on your phone calls and your emails on the Internets.
I must be able to open your mail.
Just don't get too personal.
And keep your letters short.
I want to spend as much time as possible at Crawford as my presidency reaches the end of its rope.
By perusing your personal mail
(perusing has an arousing sound)
I will be protecting your freedom.
I will be securing your safety again.
Trust me.
I may not have time to read all of your letters, but I'll get old Rove to figure out how.
O.K.
I need to relax my eyeballs so I can get down to the business of reading your letters.
I kind of feel like a Santa Claus who’s starting early this year.
Hah…hah…hah…
Happy New Year!


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!


***


W pushes envelope on U.S. spying
New postal law lets Bush peek through your mail

BY JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

President Bush added a "signing statement" in recently passed postal reform bill that may give him new powers to pry into your mail - without a warrant.

WASHINGTON - President Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant, the Daily News has learned.
The President asserted his new authority when he signed a postal reform bill into law on Dec. 20. Bush then issued a "signing statement" that declared his right to open people's mail under emergency conditions.
That claim is contrary to existing law and contradicted the bill he had just signed, say experts who have reviewed it.
Bush's move came during the winter congressional recess and a year after his secret domestic electronic eavesdropping program was first revealed. It caught Capitol Hill by surprise.
"Despite the President's statement that he may be able to circumvent a basic privacy protection, the new postal law continues to prohibit the government from snooping into people's mail without a warrant," said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the incoming House Government Reform Committee chairman, who co-sponsored the bill.
Experts said the new powers could be easily abused and used to vacuum up large amounts of mail.
"The [Bush] signing statement claims authority to open domestic mail without a warrant, and that would be new and quite alarming," said Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies in Washington.
"The danger is they're reading Americans' mail," she said.
"You have to be concerned," agreed a career senior U.S. official who reviewed the legal underpinnings of Bush's claim. "It takes Executive Branch authority beyond anything we've ever known."
A top Senate Intelligence Committee aide promised, "It's something we're going to look into."
Most of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act deals with mundane reform measures. But it also explicitly reinforced protections of first-class mail from searches without a court's approval.
Yet in his statement Bush said he will "construe" an exception, "which provides for opening of an item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection in a manner consistent ... with the need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances."
Bush cited as examples the need to "protect human life and safety against hazardous materials and the need for physical searches specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection."
White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore denied Bush was claiming any new authority.
"In certain circumstances - such as with the proverbial 'ticking bomb' - the Constitution does not require warrants for reasonable searches," she said.
Bush, however, cited "exigent circumstances" which could refer to an imminent danger or a longstanding state of emergency.
Critics point out the administration could quickly get a warrant from a criminal court or a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge to search targeted mail, and the Postal Service could block delivery in the meantime.
But the Bush White House appears to be taking no chances on a judge saying no while a terror attack is looming, national security experts agreed.
Martin said that Bush is "using the same legal reasoning to justify warrantless opening of domestic mail" as he did with warrantless eavesdropping.

Originally published on January 4, 2007

STOP THE BLANK CHECK STOP THIS BLIND WAR

"Victory is not an achievable mission."
John Murtha
January 4, 2007



Stop the spigot of dollars funding the Decider Long War President's bleeding and bloody war.

Stop this U.S. president from continuing HIS wrong, wasteful and unnecessary war.

The WAY FORWARD will be a WAY DOWNWARD if more troops are sent to Iraq.

Stop the curse and the course of this president's war.

Congress should fund the soldiers who are in Iraq now.

Congress should fund the soldiers who require any medical treatment.

Congress should fully fund and support the soldiers who finally return to America after their service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Anything less is a disservice to our soldiers who have been fighting, dying and getting wounded in President George W. Bush's tragic war.

Congress should fund shipment of the best defensive-protective equipment for our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But Congress must stop the blank check.

Congress must end this blind war.

Congress must stop this president.

Now not later.


IT'S THE OIL STUPID!


***



Before the coming of George Bush and his shadow president Dick Cheney, the greatest military blunder in American History was thought to be Custer's Last Stand. It did not take a lot of hindsight to know that general Custer's vain assault on a much larger force of better-armed native Americans would come to no good end. His own turncoat Indian scouts told him the encampment at Little Bighorn was far too large to be attacked. They were changing back into their native clothes en masse so as not to be associated with the white man. But in his supreme arrogance Custer believed that HE knew better than his own best sources of intelligence. We all know the result of that one.

How uncanny are the parallels to the current situation in Iraq? The neocon ideologues who seized dictatorial control of our government brushed off all contrary advice and manufactured intelligence to support their case. They dismissed any challenge to their vision of the absolute power of American military dominance as a matter of right. They fired any underling who dared to try tell them the truth, that deposing Saddam would lead directly and inexorably to an Islamic theocracy, if not a sectarian civil war. They used the power of their crony associates in the corporate media to smear any public critic. And they are still doing it.


[From http://www.peaceteam.net]

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

CARNATIONS
&
LILACS.

GARDENIA
&
MUSK.

CINNAMON
&
PINE.


FRANKINCENSE
&
CEDAR.

PLUMERIA
&
PATCHOULI.

SANDALWOOD
&
LAVENDER.
&
JASMINE...

THESE ARE A

FEW OF MY

FAVORITE

FRAGRANCES.


IT'S ABOUT RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND FRAGRANCES.