Barack, FISA, and Our wars

Barack Obama is going to make decisions that I do not like. Barack Obama is not the "liberal" he has been defined by the right and misunderstood by many on the left. Just because a hippy lefty, like me, believes he could be one of the Great Leaders (certainly American) of my lifetime does not mean Barack is a hippy leftie. And being against the War in Iraq does not make someone "a liberal" either. He's left of center certainly, but not all his stances match the progressive left. The politics he preaches talks of sitting down with both sides of an argument and coming to a mutual agreement and understanding. A welcome change from "you're with us or your against us", but a bit of a pill to take when the decision lands on the side of the argument opposite yours. I haven't had a real problem with any of Obama's decisions thus far . I thought he should take a hit not taking public finance moneys allotted by the 10% of Americans that check the box on their tax forms, and he did. But it was a smart move. But this FISA bill vote really pisses me off. Senator Barack Obama, along with 68 other Senators, voted in favor of giving the president the right into Our privacy without fear of reprisal or oversight, even for the then criminal acts he and the "we were only following orders" telecoms perpetrated before the law went through. Not to mention, it was something he said he would not vote for. More of the same new mccain missed the vote, like he has every other one this year.

There are a couple, not to say they're legitimate, rationales I can think of for Congress's "bowing" to the president and giving him right and reign over any detail of any of our lives he deems fit to explore. In a Rachel Maddow interview with Russ Feingold. He seems to think that it may be okay, though "it was one of the greatest assaults on Our Constitution", that Obama voted yea on the new FISA, because it is something Obama and the Democrats will fix after he becomes President. So they vote pro-spying on American Citizens, the republicans can't say they're weak on the terrorists, and after they win, they'll change it back. That coupled with the pro-spying contingent having enough votes to pass it anyway might be enough of a pathetic excuse, but there may be more. Also passed that day was a "landmark" Medicare Bill, that brought Senator Edward Kennedy out of his sick bed for a deciding vote. The bill hits the insurance companies and helps the doctors and the patients. Was this close Medicare vote negotiated by giving certain votes on FISA? I don't know, but I still don't like it. It's not enough to sway my support for Barack Obama for president of the United States of America, but I don't like it.

In other news that smells funny, have you heard about the fake Iranian missile pictures? I wonder who made those. Maybe it was Iran thumping it's chest like it's nemesis Israel, whose planes may be practicing on Our bases in Iraq. Or... Maybe... it was the same "folks" that forged those Nigerian Uranium documents they helped cheneyco. rush us into war in Iraq. Either way if we go to war with Iran, oil prices will spike even higher, and there will have to be a draft.

In other news, the befuddled one said he would balance the budget by 2012 with the help of "savings from Victory in Iraq". That's right. The money that we have been "deficit or debt" spending in Iraq can be used as income once we can stop "deficit" spending it for war. Obama defended his stance that children should learn foreign languages, his economic plan came out some months ago. And Our "Free Market is the Best" government bailed out a couple more huge private companies. But my favorite bit of the week, no it has nothing to do with a-rod, was the video of candidate "i'm not the man I used to be" mccain being asked by a reporter if it was "fair" that insurance companies pay for viagra, but not birth control pills. Squirm, johnny squirm.

And finally, onto Our two wars. In Afghanistan, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, is now saying that, unless we pull troops out of Iraq, we will not have enough troops in Afghanistan to fight the resurgent taliban and al qaeda there. Pakistan as recently said the US can no longer hunt bin Laden there. And in Iraq, the Iraqi government is pushing for a TIMETABLE for the withdrawal of US/foreign fighters. Those surrender monkeys, why do they hate Iraq? You know, here's Senator Barack Obama's Plan for Iraq. I'm sure I'll type more about both wars later, along with the economy, energy, political satire, and patriotism.

Update: Congress overided (is that a word?) presnit bush's veto of the Medicare Bill.

George Fucking Carlin!

It's a sad day when such a funny man dies, but George Carlin was more than a funny man. He spoke truth to power and to people about the stupidity, the dumbing down and the bullshit that flies through our political correct, sterilized language and into Our two faced, "polite" society.

He was Absolutely One of the Greats!

Carlin at Carnegie Hall (complete with the 200 Dirty word list) is a must see and the only HBO show that has had any Real and lasting impact on my person.

"Rat shit, bat shit, dirty old twat! 69 assholes tied in a knot! Hooray! Lizard shit! Fuck!"

Mr. Carlin, You will be missed.

georgie and john

Representative Dennis Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment of george w. bush (co-sponsored by Representative Robert Wexler) has been sent to committee for the Democratic "leadership" to slow kill, though Kucinich vows to not let it die (you can help). Just to set the record straight, I do not support impeachment out of some sort of partisan, competitive, "You impeached 'us' we'll impeach you" bullshit. If President Barack Obama (yeah, I typed it) illegally spies on and/or detains American citizens indefinitely and without charge... if he invades a sovereign nation, breaking international law, based on cherry picked, false, and fabricated intelligence ignoring and shooing aside "doubters"... if he uses publicly funded Propaganda to mislead the Nation... if he derelicts his duty and lets Americans citizens drown from inaction against a foretold disaster, leaving the survivors to remain displaced, their homes and neighborhoods in ruin for YEARS... if he condones torture, of any type or name, in United States detention facilities or ships US prisoners to other nations to be tortured, I will call for his Impeachment and removal from office. Whether it is in his first year, his last year or his last week as president. It is Congress's Responsibility to keep a check on the president. Illegality, impropriety, and incompetence should and needs to be met with accountability. We do not have a king. No one is above the law. If anything it's because of partisanship that he has NOT been impeached. I know we're a Nation that gets more outraged by reports of referees fixing games than United States Senate reports of a president and his underlings fixing intelligence to rush Our Country into war. A war that has cost the lives of thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands (a conservative estimate) of innocent Iraqi. Dick-tator saddam was hanged for killing under 200. Our Laws, their enforcement, and Our adherence to them, even when it comes to Our prisoners, are what keeps us from chaos and fascism.

But let's talk about the man who wants to continue georgie 24%'s policies, both foreign and domestic. That's right, ol' flip floppin' john has had another less than stellar week. Let's see... He taught us vladmir putin (the president of Russia) was the president of Germany. He told his supporters, who can now donate and receive non-elitist golf supplies, that he would "veto every beer". When asked if he would like to have vice president dick (currently at 18% approval) in his administration McSame responded "hell yeah". We found out that this 21st century candidate is computer "illiterate". And the biggest gaffe for "senior moment" johnny was when he said it's "not too important" when Our troops leave Iraq. That last one really pissed some people off. His supporters say johnny third term has never been for "timetables", despite him coming out and saying that if he becomes president (evolution forbid), Our troops would be home by 2013. His supporters say he can say what he wants, he was in the military. But finally some military personnel are beginning to speak out and say that being a Navy aviator, POW, and Senate liaison does not give you "carte blanche" on all things military. It's gotten so bad for the 72 year old candidate that he's having trouble with endorsements from elected officials in his own grand Old party. Oh, and since I mentioned the military, Obama's "short list" of Vice Presidential candidates sure is getting interesting.

With Our current president being protested in Rome and the Iraqi government rejecting the idea of 60 US bases on their soil, saying it would "lead to colonization", it's no wonder that the international community likes the idea of a change from the current "your either with us or your against us" American leadership that has dragged Our Country's reputation into the muck. Not that Our reputation problem is only international. With crap like faux news's "terrorist fist jab" and the ever classy reference to Michelle Obama as "Obama's baby mama" (yeah, they're a respectable news organization) it's no surprise most people are and will remain uber-cynical, pessimistic and/or apathetic, at least until something Changes?

Possible future Ink topics:

• The dramatic rise in gas and food prices and the people who have been talking about conserving resources for 30 years.
• Foreclosures, inflation and all the other indicators that illustrate how the US economy is sucking wind.
• The internetic system of tubes and Campaign 2008
• The things I don't like about Barack Obama.
• www.fightthesmears.com

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

This is not the first time someone has stood up to attempt to hold the President of the United States accountable for his actions. It is, however, the first time it has been, although still minimally, covered by the press.

More on the case for impeachment hearings and "McFlipper" the candidate that would like to continue this "misunderstood" president's failed foreign and domestic policies later.

Representative Kucinich's Full Articles of Impeachment are available here.

Washington, Jun 10 - Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio
In the United States House of Representatives
Monday, June 9th, 2008
A Resolution

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT FOR PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

Resolved, that President George W. Bush be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against President George W. Bush for high crimes and misdemeanors.

In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has committed the following abuses of power.

INDEX
Article I
Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq.

Article II
Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression.

Article III
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War.

Article IV
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States.

Article V
Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression.

Article VI
Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of H. J. Res114.

Article VII
Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.

Article VIII
Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter.

Article IX
Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor.

Article X
Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes.

Article XI
Establishment of Permanent U.S. Military Bases in Iraq.

Article XII
Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation's Natural Resources.

Article XIIII
Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other Countries.

Article XIV
Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Article XV
Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq.

Article XVI
Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors.

Article XVII
Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives.

Article XVIII
Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy.

Article XIX
Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to "Black Sites" Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture.

Article XX
Imprisoning Children.

Article XXI
Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government.

Article XXII
Creating Secret Laws.

Article XXIII
Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.

Article XXIV
Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment.

Article XXV
Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens.

Article XXVI
Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements.

Article XXVII
Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply.

Article XXVIII
Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice.

Article XXIX
Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Article XXX
Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare.

Article XXXI
Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil Emergency.

Article XXXII
Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change.

Article XXXIII
Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.

Article XXXIV
Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001.

Article XXXV
Endangering the Health of 911 First Responders.

The Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee

Once he earned 2,118 pledged delegates, Senator Barack Obama won the Democratic National Primaries. Below is his victory speech from last night. It was given at the site of this year's republican national convention in the "red" state of Minnesota. That's probably why only 20,000 enthusiastic supporters showed up.



Part 2


Part 3


GObama!!!!

Sometimes there's just too much to say.

It's amazing to me how much happens when I skip a week or two of typing. Was it crazy to think that talk of, and the subsequent backpedaling from, "appeasers" who want to talk to our enemies, like Sec. of Defense robert gates, exxon's favorite Secretary of State condi rice, and most recently, Israel, who is now negotiating directly with Syria, would have lasted more than a few days? Or the resignation of five top aides to formerly pro-campaign finance reform johnny third term, because of lobbyist ties, and worse yet ties to the bastards in Myanmar that kept rescue aid at bay for weeks? Even LIEberman, who will be speaking at pastor "catholicism is the great whore" hagee's joint, and graham, not to be confused with the old man's economic advisor gramm, who's been lobbying for one of the 'architects' of the mortage crisis, had to step down from their positions at the "527" Vets for Freedom group because of conflicts of interest. And on the pastors of bush jr. jr. mccain, johnny has finally rejected pastor hagee, whose endorsement he Actively sought. All it took was for hagee to tell us all that hitler was doing god's work. The oldest man to run for a first term also rejected his "spiritual guide", I assume for comments about how Men, like Washington and Jefferson, formed this country to destroy the "false religon" of Islam.

But why focus on all the problems of candidate mccain, when hillary is comparing her staying in the race until June with her husband's race. Unlike Senator Clinton's primary campaign, President Clinton had all but declared victory way in advance of June, and there were a helluva a lot more late primaries then (California was in June). And of course her campaign, remember she Was the shoe-in establishment candidate, is the same as Bobby Kennedy's 1968 Presidential campaign. Bobby Kennedy entered the race in March of 1968. That means he was running for three months by the time June came around. The woman, that moved to New York to run for Senate, entered the 2008 race in January of 2007. The real story here is that hillary clinton reminded us all that inspirational speakers, who speak of real change get killed. In a race, where I have personally been told of hillary's opponent "I'm so scared he's gonna get killed" or the even more simplistic "someone's going to kill him", she's using fear mongering politics, like roveco. used to fool a country, telling people "Bobby Kennedy was assasinated in June". So, you know, anything can happen. This was the fourth time in the campaign she brought up Senator Robert Kennedy's murder. This time only a week after his brother, Senator Edward Kennedy, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. But enough about her. That race will be over next week.

Let's talk about the friggin' chest bumper-in-chief. Seems his old mouth piece is out and about with a tell all book, and it's got them all in a feeding frenzy. Sweet Schadenfreude! The co-conspirator that let a GOP lovin' gay prostitute, writing for a tiny little website, into the White House briefing room week after week to ask the talking chimp softball questions, says his old boss is self, and publicly, deceptive. That the Iraq NIE was declassified by the president for leakage to the press, and they were all lying about the outing of a CIA agent. He writes of little georgie bush and friends' failure and "state of denial" before, during, and in the wake of the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina. And the big bombshell... that the lead up to the war in Iraq was propaganda, as opposed to candor, honesty and a real discussion about the necessity of war. It should be said that I, like the little prince, have not read the book, just the reports on it. What does rover have to say about scotty turning on the administration? He says former mouthpiece mcclellan sounds "like a left wing blogger". You know what I have to say to that? Thats' because he's speaking the truth!

"I am concerned-as I believe most Americans are concerned-that the course we are following at the present time is deeply wrong... I am concerned-as I believe most Americans are concerned-that we are acting as if no other nation existed, against the judgment and desires of neutrals and other historic allies alike"

"But past error is no excuse for its perpetration. Tragedy is a tool for the living to gain wisdom... Now, as ever, we do ourselves best justice when we measure ourselves against ancient texts, as in Sophocles [from Antigone] 'All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil"

"the young men we have sent there [Vietnam]; not just the killed, but those who have to kill; not just the maimed, but all those who must look upon the results of what they are forced and have to do"

"the price we pay in our innermost lives, and in the spirit of this country"

"war is not an enterprise lighltly to be undertaken, nor prolonged one moment past its absolute necessity"

"Our Country is in Danger: not just from foreign enemies; but above all, from our own misguided policies-and what they can do to the nation that Thomas Jefferson once said was the last, great hope for mankind. there is a contest on, not for the rule of America but for the heart of America"
- Senator Robert F. Kennedy

appeasement golf

Keith Olbermann!!!!

Joe Biden and more Joe Biden

Jon Stewart

Chris Mathews

On bush's "bullshit" statements on "appeasement" at an event In Israel celebrating its 60th Birthday and his "tone deaf, arrogant, embarassing gesture" to give up golf in "solidarity" with military families and soliers in Iraq.

More from me later on this out of touch, utterly incompetent, failure in Our White House, who has created one hell of a mess after 7+ years.

The Unthinkable, The Unconscionable, and The Noble

It is feared that as many as 100,000 people have died due to the catastrophic cyclone that hit Myanmar, or as some still refer to it, Burma, on Friday May 2. 1,500,000 people have been effected by this incredible storm. A storm more devastating perhaps than anything seen before. Why then has the UN suspended aid to Myanmar? The "junta" government in Myanmar has been seizing the aid before it gets to the victims that need it. This military government is Denying international aid to its dying public. It is unthinkable and unforgivable, and further proof that there are governments in the world, especially those installed by gun point, that have not a care for the people they "govern".

Smoke continues to rise and bullets continue to fly in Lebanon, where "militants" and the military once again battle. "Pro-government fighters" have lost Beirut to hezbollah and other Shiite militias. You may recall Israel taking on hezbollah, who is backed by Syria and Iran, in a month long conflict, because of the capture of two Israeli soldiers. When the conflict ended, hezbollah declared a 'divine victory'. An all out civil war, which is feared by many in Lebanon, would give the unstable region even more instability. But we have a different possible civil war on Our minds. A civil war that would occur as a result of a "pre-emptive" strike, or invasion, by the United States of America. A "doctrine" that has inflamed instability in the region of Asia We refer to as the Middle East.

In wartime news, Congress is just about set to give the chickenhawk-in-chief another blank check, but with caveat this time. The addition of an increase in education benefits for veterans has "blue dog" Democrats and little georgey 29% up in arms. You see the "blue dog" Democrats, or as I like to call them "Pick your party or go independent" democrats are for "pay as you go" which means no spending unless you have the funding source. This "principle" of course doesn't count when talking about $70,000,000,000.00+ in funds for a war that has cost Us $500,000,000,000.00 already. Maybe I should refer to them as "pick and choose" Democrats. Senator Jim Webb has proposed a new GI Bill which enlarges education benefits to veterans. Little prince AWOL and his henchmen (and woman) are against it, because it would make it harder to get people to re-enlist. After serving their Country, more soldiers would want to go to college instead of going back to the frontlines from which they have just returned. You heard right, if we give them to many benefits for fighting for "Our Freedom" then they may want to use them instead of going on their SEVENTH tour of duty. Unconscionable! Of course, grumpy "i was a prisoner of war" grampa, being the biggest superstar hero veteran of the universe is... not sure/against it. What a pandering, bullshit express jerk the distinguished Senator from Arizona has turned out to be, since he trading in his pre-2000 maverick status for the title of bush jr. jr.

Since I mentioned johnny third term, and in the interest of equal time, Senator Barack Obama has taken an undeniable and increasingly insurmountable lead in pledged delegates, state contests, and the Popular vote in the Democratic Party's Presidential Primary. And has now taken the lead in superdelegates. Senator Clinton is remaining in the race. Recently, using Indiana and the southern state of North Carolina to base how all us whites vote, she recently gave "Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again" as the reason for her continuing. At least it's a noble cause.

Just a side note: Gallup says Obama's support among whitey is as high as Candidate Kerry's was in 2004. The uninspiring Senator Kerry didn't have the youth, black, or new vote that Senator Barack Obama has. If he did, maybe the last four years would have gone a little differently.

I know what I said but it's poetry.

I know it's barely a week since I said I would stay out of primary rantings. But at least I wrote it in poem form.

What They Say
(An Ode to the Clinton Campaign)

Who has lived in the castle should be the next king.
First Family Clinton has such a nice ring.

It’s not Inspiring Millions to engage for their first.
The only way to “real” change is more Senate experience with the worst.

Don’t judge by our words, the ones we’ve “misstated”.
Judge by the pastor we once celebrated.

Behind in the polls, we’re the only shoe-in.
Just keep moving the goal posts to know how to win.

We'll yell and we"ll cackle, we'll cry and we'll drink.
We’ll fight the way they do. We know how they think.

The Ex-President's not asking for votes. He's asking for prayers.
The scandals we'll bring will certainly be rare.

We'll beat those darn reds. It's still us against them.
Even the ones who vote Our primary against Him.

Oh and my vote on the war I'm so dead against
I was duped by the smartest president yet.

Mission Accomplished

Five years ago yesterday a flight suited cheerleader-in-chief told Us all that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended". The media swooned. Johnny third term agreed and shouted of Our great victory. Now, five years later, little georgie 29%'s mouth piece says it wasn't the president's fault that the banner reading "Mission Accomplished" was misunderstood. Their defense is, don't laugh, "the Navy did it". The banner was framed in the top of almost every photograph from the empty headed tyrant's press corps simply for composition and of course was completely coincidental. This overly orchestrated, flight suited, image conscious, scripted event certainly wasn't paying attention to the backdrop. But let's talk about the Mission that has been Accomplished.

April 2008 in Iraq had the highest American casualty rate since August 2008. 4,064 troops have died. 3,924 since "Mission Accomplished" flew behind the failure-in-chief's bloated head. The bloated cost of the neo-con war in Iraq has climbed past $500,000,000,000.00. $435 million a day, $3 billion a week, $12 billion a month. More than any war the US has fought, with the exception of WWII. Iraqi reconstruction is not being paid for with Iraqi oil money, as war architects had promised. Water treatment plants in Baghdad still aren't working well enough. Electricity is still not at pre-invasion levels. The president of Iran can visit Iraq in broad daylight with advanced notice, and the president of the United States still has to make surprise visits and can't leave the "green zone". Hamas and Hezbollah have all gained strength during junior's "freedom march". Oil is $120 a barrel. Gas is at $3.62 per gallon. And al qaeda is gaining strength in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which is right where little george left them.

Mission Accomplished??? At least the worst president in history and his vice dick's buddies at haliburton and exxon/mobil have succeeded.

Enough!

A friend of mine recently told me that she was worried that Obama may be "another Carter", which is better than the more recent McGovern nonsense that's being spread now. I don't really know what she meant by it. My first thought was Obama is certainly not the pacifist President Carter is, nor is he a southern baptist peanut farmer from the south. There is, however, a comparison that does seem analogous. When President Carter ran for a second term in 1980, he had a challenger that fought him all the way to the convention, Ted Kennedy. Senator Kennedy was down and just about out mathematically when... he won Pennsylvania. He still didn't have a real mathematical chance, but the race went on. Some say the divided bitter primary was a factor in Jimmy Carter's loss. Others say the State of the Union at the time, coupled with ronald raygun's "optimism" were insurmountable obstacles. So yeah, if Obama is Carter circa 1980 then Clinton is Kennedy, except for one thing. The deck was stacked, the establishment lined up, and the clear front runner/"imminent" nominee was not Obama, as was the case with then incumbent President Carter. This time around it was Senator Clinton.

Candidate Clinton has run as change, while allowing people to believe it'll be Bill Clinton's third term. And we all remember how good it was back then, right? She was supposed to be unstoppable, with her coronation taking place on Super Tuesday. But an, in Hillary's vernacular, "inexperienced" Junior Senator from Illinois is not only giving her a run for her money, but is beating her. She still claims that she would have an easier time with, the candidate that stands up for full disclosure and campaign finance reform as he breaks campaign finance laws and withholds the tax returns of the woman who's family Fortune he married into, media darling Grandpa McSame. If that's the case then why can't she beat this political novice from Lincoln's Home State (Please note the 16th President's experience in National Politics prior to election)

The Junior Senator from New York has every right to run and continue to run for President, as does any American. She does not have to leave the race because mathematically it's almost impossible for her to win (See Ralph Nader). Her campaign's recent spin to quiet their growing math problem was truly something to behold. Her campaign made the following statement the day after the Pennsylvania primary. "More people have voted for Hillary than any other candidate". Why is this so misleading, because it counts Florida whose delegates were discounted because they did not abide by the DNC's path to hillary's victory. Because it counted Michigan, who's delegates were discounted for the same reason and didn't even have Barack on the ballot. And finally, the piece de resistance, they didn't count the caucuses at all. The Clinton Campaign is being dishonest. Maybe that's why Hillary's Campaign manager and former DNC Chairman terry mccauliffe is in this ad for fox news. Don't get me started on the republicans for hillary. They may be there for the primaries, but to be sure they won't be in the general.

All that being said, the primaries are going to go on at least until June, despite the fact that Clinton's "Great Victory" (by just shy of 10%) in PA only netted her 10 of the 160+ delegates she needed to catch Barack and 200,000+ of the 700,000+ votes she needed in the popular vote. Even loud mouth matthews is starting to realize that the media is keeping this horse race alive. He, of course, isn't a media outlet that has "jumped ship on obama". In the Hope that my head doesn't explode prematurely and I don't turn into the very thing that makes me so nauseous when it comes to Hillary Clinton's campaign since Feb. 5th, I'm gonna try my damnedest to make this my last anti-Clinton/Democratic Primary blog.

Candidate mccain will be the target of my bile (I mean blog) from here on out. Perhaps a rant about mchypocrite's "honored to have his endorsement" pastor hagee, who thinks god damned America with Katrina, because of gay pride and that Catholicism is "the great whore". Maybe one about the flip flops of the hundred year old candidate between his campaign in 1999, when rover was out telling South Carolina that mcold fathered an illegitimate child of color, and Campaign 2008, where he panders as much as he can to those he once called "the agents of tolerance". But I'll save some of those guns for later.

There are some other NEWS stories out there to shake my fists at the air about. The Pentagon's propaganda machine has officially infiltrated almost all of the Mainstream Media. US contracted ships fired eleven "warning shots" at Iranian boats causing oil to jump $3. There's the admitted criminal activities of both the FBI and the CIA, some of which are ongoing. Foreclosures are Still on the rise. Rice and food rationing are causing riots around the world. A recent verdict in New York shows once again we are a "shoot first, and ask questions later" Nation, as long as you're a cop. For the rest of Us it's "guilty until proven innocent". There are some fun stories out there too, like bush's disapproval rating is the highest in Gallup history or the new images of colliding galaxies shot by the Hubble telescope.

And in bushco.'s war on a noun/tactic news... Our man in Afghanistan, President Karzai, escaped a "well-coordinated assasination attempt" at the Afghan National Day Military Parade. Afghanistan is the country george conquered before moving Our forces to Iraq. And, of course, there's THE WAR IN IRAQ. The war candidate mcthird term of bush is still all for, and said would be easy.

Earth Day, Every Day!

Green is the new black. It's hip to go hybrid. As Brad, Leo, and Ed Begley Jr. go, so goes a Nation. A Nation that up until about 8 years ago was on the forefront of the Environmental movement. A movement that started some 38 years ago. An important idea has come out of this resurgence/evolution of the environmental movement. The idea that the little things you do matter. If everyone decided to act, buy, and use with conscience, the "environment" (and the people in it) would be better off. Environmental options, products, and solutions are more abundant and easily accessed than ever before. There are even green options for you naughty adults "out there".

Switching your light bulbs to compact fluorescents, unplugging your chargers (or anything that has a little light on when it's "off"), wearing a sweater (instead of turning up the heat) and taking showers together all help reduce our consumption of energy, and the resources that give us that energy (i.e. oil, natural gas, coal and the small percentage that comes from "alternatives"). And to those who complain of the "horrible" light given off by Compact Fluorescent bulbs, I say buy a lampshade (and not a plastic one).

Buying items with less packaging and/or plastic, and bringing your own grocery bag to the supermarket reduces the amount of waste we create, as well as the amount of resources needed to make that packaging or those little plastic and paper bags. Aside from the nutritional benefits from cooking, or "processing", your own food, the more non-processed foods you buy, the less energy is used to process them. It also takes far less energy and resources to grow and harvest fruits and vegetables than it does to raise and harvest meat. I try to have one vegetarian day a week.

I don't do these things because Al Gore told me to. I do them because they save me money. I don't do them, because it's what a hippy is supposed to do. I do them, because Our reliance on foreign sources of energy is dangerous and deadly. I don't do what I do, because it's Earth Day or Earth Week. I do it to do my part as one of many human beings on a planet covered with life, so generations of humans will continue to have air to breathe, water to drink, and soil to farm.

I leave you with the Green Team. Happy Earth Week!

In the news (and in politics)

First, I guess we should get Campaign 2008 out of the way. "Third term of 28%" mccain has been out on, as John Stewart put it "an old man wants you to get on a bus so he can tell you stories about his life" tour. On the road, candidate mccain continues to make mistakes about his big, blue ribbon issue, the facts on the ground in Iraq. He continues to confuse the fact that Iraqi "law makers" called for the mahdi army's cease fire while they were meeting in Iran. It is understandable that most of the American public may not have the time, nor the inclination, to keep track of these kind of details, but He certainly should. The mccain "look how traditional my life has been" tour is a set up for his race against Senator Obama, though marrying into a billionaire beer distributing family may not be so "traditional". Maybe voting against Martin Luther King Day and standing by the Ariznona governor when he rescinded it was? For all his age and "experience", his confusion about the facts in Iraq, his "economics is not something I've understood as well as I should" confessions, and the flips his campaign has made since Campaign '99 are all very telling negatives.

In primary '08 news, The Clintons put out tax returns showing they earned more than $109,000,000 since President Clinton left office. I knew they were rich, but that's almost as much as some New York Yankees. Camp Clinton's head strategist mark penn resigned from the campaign. He didn't give any specific reasons. Maybe it was because of the recent surge in super delegates endorsing Obama. Or the fact that Senator Clinton's lead in the polls in PA is vanishing. The Obama campaign couldn't be reached for comment. They were out drinking Yuengling's, eatin' chili dogs, and joking about bowling.

And finally in important news that's blocked out by the Glow of Campaign 2008, Attorney General mukasey testified before Congress and said "And before 9/11, that's the call that we didn't know about. We knew that there has been a call from someplace that was known to be a safe house in Afghanistan and we knew that it came to the United States. We didn't know precisely where it went.". If he's not lying, this is a blunder of US intelligence that could have helped to stop the attacks of September 11th, while remaining within the laws as they stood at the time. In more disheartening news from Our government, two JUSTICE Department memos were released. One saying the Law doesn't matter when it comes to the torture and inhumane treatment of US captives. The other a memo explaining why the Constitution does not matter, when it comes to the US government spying on US Citizens. When the founding fathers, with all their faults, created this Country, they understood that We are a Nation of Law, and not of Men. No man, king, nor president should be held superior to the Law in the United States of America. What kind of Country are we when we torture? What kind of Country do we become when we treat Our citizenry as subjects of Our leader's whim and perusal? I guess, sadly, you could call it bush/mccain country. Let's hope that savior Petraeus will tell Congress today of the wonderful world of rainbows Our success in Iraq has created and is building for Iraq's "liberated".

Major shake up at the White House.

President george bush jr. resigned today in disgrace. Not because he was booed while throwing out the first pitch (America's Pastime, indeed), but because of the commencement of impeachment proceedings in the House of Reprensatives. The articles of impeachment presented by Congressmen Waxman, Conyers, and Kucinich read like a laundry list. On top of which sits "Lying and knowingly misleading the American Public into an Invasion of the soveriegn nation of Iraq." Vice president cheney could not be reached for comment, as he has moved back to his Wyoming ranch after an existing heart condition became aggravated. His waning health has most in Washington thinking his resignation is imminent, which would leave Speaker Pelosi at the helm in the Oval Office. Let's hope she'll do more with that power than she has as Speaker.

In future presidents news, Senator Hillary Clinton, after being declared the loser in the Texas primary/caucus and her direct connection to the "vast right wing conspiracy" was exposed, announced that "for the sake of the Party" she is ending her bid for the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States of America. And after the recent disqualification of Senator John McCain from the race for breaking campaign finance laws. It is simply a matter of time and formality until Senator Barack Obama is sworn in as President number 44.

In economic news, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the victims of the predatory lending schemes of large investment banks like Bear Stern, who recently received government welfare in the form of Billions of Dollars in loans and assurances, causing a renewed confidence among average citizens, investors, and consumers in the United States of America's economic policies. And after the UN, NATO, and a host of nations around the world agreed to work with Our New Leadership in fixing the problems of security, infrastructure, unemployment, and government development in Iraq, Oil prices have, after six years of almost steady increase, finally begun to come down.

Oh and one more thing...

APRIL FOOLS!

After 5 years of getting things wrong.

In January of 2007, the failure-in-chief announced and deployed his "surge", or as the more honest like to call it, his troop "escalation" in Iraq. 20,000+ troops were added to Our 132,000 troops already stationed there. By Summertime, violence in Iraq was starting to ease a little, after a short spike of course, but the escalation was only one part of the reason. In August of 2007, muqtada al sadr's mahdi army declared a six month, self imposed cease fire. It's hard to remember al sadr among all of the Public Enemy No. 1's, rationales for war, and definitions of victory constantly thrown at the American public when it comes to Iraq. The mahdi army (a Shiite militia) has recently taken to "civil disobedience". They have shut down sections of Baghdad and Basra and are marching by the thousands for Our Exit and the disbandment of Prime Minister Maliki's government in Iraq. This "disobedience" is turning uglier and uglier by the day, making a Shia civil war a rising issue once again. An issue We should want no part of. A Maliki issued 72 hour "crackdown" ultimatum seems to have done little good to quell the resurgence of the mahdi army. We'll have to see where this leads, but the signs are not good. A major oil pipeline just south of Basra, Iraq was bombed, sending crude prices even higher. Remember when We were told Iraqi oil would pay for the invasion? Why are so many still listening, without question, to "people" that got it so WRONG in the first place? Maybe we should be listening to voices that know something about Iraq, like these men who actually lived there.

The recent rise in bombings and killings in Iraq is not a result of al qaeda (who was not there before we were) as john mcwhat the hell is going on and his little buddy bush would like Us to believe. The republican, bill clinton continues to Promote as "an honorable man" who "loves this country" (more than Barack by implication), whose "lifetime of experience " hillary continues to tout, thinks Shiite dominated and Governed Iran is training militant Sunnis it has been warring with for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. I know, it was a "senior moment". He "misspoke". You know, like she did about her Bosnia trip or her effect on the Northern Ireland peace proccess. But I'm not going to talk about their "gaffes", or the one candidate who hasn't made a major one yet, in this Ink. This one is about the War We are in, in Iraq. A war we are in because of men like john mccain. A war we are in because of faith based, politically safe, votes made by elected officials, like hillary clinton. A War that was started on false pretenses, both known and unknown, Five Years Ago. A war that has cost 4,000+ Americans their lives and has injured over 29,000. A war that has cost $500,000,000,000.00+. A war that has killed an unknown number of Iraqi civilians. We don't count them. How many Iraqis was saddam hanged for killing?

Military leaders recently took the chickenhawk-in-chief behind closed doors at the Pentagon to tell him of the strains on military forces. A situation that has been talked about and predicted for years now. When the military thins it becomes harder to deal with other conflicts as they arise or as they already exist in places like Afghanistan. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel (who wouldn't be a bad choice for Secretary of Defense, or even Vice President) recently called the disgrace-in-chief's latest speech, on the "undeniable" success in Iraq, "another episode of 'Alice in Wonderland" where "What's up is down, and what's down is up." And in what some might call a major combat operation, the United States military dropped bombs on Basra today. Of course we all know "major combat operations ended" on May 1, 2003. President Make Believe told us so. Why should anyone listen to what this incompetent has to say? He has been wrong and has Wronged the American public and American Ideals with every decision he has made, foreign or domestic. It's time for a new style of leadership. It's time for new policies and new ways of forming them. It's time for the United States government to agree with its people and admit that Iraq was a mistake and to pull out, at least enough to let the people of Iraq, and hopefully the world george thumbed his nose at in 2003, clean up the mess this Invasion has made. I can only Hope the damage caused to Our country and theirs is not irreversible.

UPDATE:
I guess we shouldn't "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" just yet. After a week's worth of renewed violence in Basra (the City that England "secured" and left to the Iraqi Security forces) claimed 400 lives, a "peace deal" was struck to quell the violence. That deal, between mahdi militia leader al sadr and Iraqi prime minister maliki took place in... Iran. I thought president ahmadinejad arriving Iraq to fanfare (sweets and flowers), in the daylight, and with a smaller security detail than any American diplomat showed who holds more power since Our invasion, but Iran negotiating the "peace deal" for the nation bushco. is trying to build? Well thought plan PNAC. Well thought out plan.

Racialism, questions, and timing.

Senator Barack Obama, who has recently been endorsed by several "experienced" military big wigs, and more comically, one Tracy Morgan, responded to critics who have been equating him to his former pastor, and more specifically to that pastor's words. One would have thought that his "vehement" condemnation of the statements in question would have been enough. In the reactionary, all or nothing, with us or against us, political system we live with, it was not. So what did the Senator do? Did he run from his church and join Bob Jones University, like say a mccain would? No. Did he play the victim and fire nasty shots back at his critics, like say a clinton would? No. He gave a speech. (Big surprise, I know.) But to read the speech, is to see someone who thinks beyond the rhetoric. Obama spoke to the reasons behind the anger of blacks And the reasons behind the anger of whites. Not just the tit for tat argument we've had since Martin Luther King Jr. And President Lyndon B. Johnson came together on "Civil Rights" legislation. Race Is still an issue in America. It is an issue we should not forget, dismiss nor give up on. The only way to move forward is together. Even if it means working with some unsavory characters. Here's some initial pundit reaction to the speech.

I do have a couple of quick questions (one related) for the mcold campaign. 1. Is it Legal to Campaign for president as part of a tax payer funded "congressional delegation" to the Middle East? And not to get all clintonian, but 2. Does mccain denounce and reject the Support of pastor hagee who has said the Catholic Church is "the Great Whore" and the devastation of Katrina was because of the gays?

Not to leave anyone out, here's one for the gentle lady from New York. Is sending your email list a message saying, in highlighted bold text "You've let every little girl in America know that she can be anything she wants to be." playing the "gender card"? I know that question is very un-Obama, but I had to.

And finally, one last note on "the spitzer scandal", unless he gets charged and goes to trial. I do not condone governor eliot spitzer's alleged paying of a prostitute to cross state lines and meet him in DC, where still-Senator david vitter used to meet his hookers. But my Real problem was with the incredible hypocrisy of this "white knight" against prostitution, the mob and all things unethical, going to prostitutes. It is a little coincidental, however, that, at the prosecutor's discretion, this enemy of wall street giants was outed as "client #9" the same time the "free market fixes all things" bush administration/Fed decided to give away hundreds of billions of dollars to save Us, or should I say the big banks, from the mortgage bank crisis. $30,000,000,000.00 of which went to save Bear Stearns, helping JP Morgan buy the once wall street giant for $2.00 a share (over 90% below it's value three days before the purchase). It's also interesting to note that it was the "Patriot Act" that was used to catch "terrorist" spitzer. After all the talk of how the rover cabal took down the governor of Alabama, it does lead me to question a few things. But hey, I'm sure the Federal Justice Department acted completely legitimately.

March 19th is the Fifth Anniversary of the United States invasion of Iraq. Scream, Cry, and/or "Pray" accordingly.

Bullshit (or why I should turn off my computer)

I've been a little angrier, not to mention more vulgar, than usual lately, when it comes to politics. Maybe I need a break or a deep breath. But I just Had to vent my frustrations with all the mounting BULLSHIT seen, read, and heard lately, though it's certainly nothing new.

While speaking (via satellite) to US military and civilian personnel, the embarassment-in-chief had this to say of Our soldiers in Afghanistan. "I must say, I'm a little envious," Bush said. "If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed." "It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks," This bit of bile raising bullshit came from the chicken hawk who avoided freeing mccain's "gooks" in Vietnam from communism. And skirting his duties in the Texas National Guards "champagne unit" to go campaigning. What planet does this guy live on. He's starting to seem more insulated and out of touch than a third world dictator.

Lil' george's third term, AKA old man mccain, has been running on the idea that the "surge is working". BULLSHIT! Savior/saint Petraeus says "no one" in the U.S. and Iraqi governments "feels that there has been sufficient progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation," or in the provision of basic public services. More troops reduced violence, but for the "surge" to "succeed" it needed to be coupled with political progress. Not only that, but will the reduction in violence, which is starting to swing back up recently, hold without the additional troops? What's the point if it just increases Our, currently open ended, commitment to the country bush pushed us to invade? And here's some more Iraq bullshit, the Pentagon was going to release (before it wasn't) a report stating that, after going through 600,000 documents found in Iraq, There was no link between saddam and al qaeda. But that's old bullshit! Here's some recent bullshit from Johnny "come 26 years ago" (actually it's 7 years if you only count this "new mccain"). He's out there, with others, saying This economy is strong. BULLSHIT! With big investment firms like Bear Stearns being bailed out and the Carlyle Capital group collapsing (and those are only the two most recent negative Economic factors to come out), it's time to Call Bullshit on these "America is always number one", nothing to see here, huge tax cuts for the rich and loopholes for huge corporations "trickle down" to the Americans that need help, Lying sacks of well... bullshit.

But the bullshit isn't only coming from the three terms of bush. The hillary clinton campaign, and no I'm not going to go on and on about the statements made by the former congressperson and vice presidential candidate, who left office to spend more time with her drug dealing son and crooked husband. You know what, on second thought, maybe geraldine was right. Maybe "he [Obama] would not be in this position" if he "was a white man", because, you know, it's so much easier for a black man to get ahead in politics these days. Oh wait, that's BULLSHIT! But wait, there's more bullshit from Camp Clinton, "We believe fundamentally it provides a very test of who can really win the general election," senior clinton advisor mark penn said. "We believe this will again show Hillary is ready to win and Senator Obama really can't win a general election." Aside from the fact that saying things like "Senator Obama really can't win a general election.", camp clinton both sounds like, and is helping, the republicans more than anyone else, the idea that if Obama doesn't win in the Democratic primary in PA or the other "big" states, the Democrats, that voted for hillary, will vote for mccain. States like NY, NJ, and CA will go republican, if the candidate that didn't win their primary is the nominee? BULLSHIT! There's a better chance of Texas going blue, than NY or CA going red. Even the clinton support topping governor of Pennsylvania, who recently said some whites are "not ready to vote for an African American" thinks it's bullshit.

Who's calling them on their bullshit? The liberal, Obama loving, media, whose busy trying to decide if they should run more stories on what Obama's pastor has said? Wait, Pastor??? I thought Barack was muslim? I know, "as far as" hillary "knows" he's not. But seriously, are all the Catholics that attended church services lead by pedophile priests, pedophiles themselves? It's BULLSHIT! "News" reports just continue to repeat lies and spin without saying they are lies and spin. Camp hillary, bushco., or the wackos on the way right come out with some bullshit, and it is simply reported on, if not as fact, at least without correction. To be fair, the media did run the former vice presidential candidate, whose team lost in a huge landslide, out of campaign '08 after giving her interview after interview to spew her ignorance. Lord knows the clintons weren't going to.

What's really important to the "mainstream" media right now is some hooker's myspace page. It's amazing. The reds can yell impeachment the day after a sex scandal breaks (no charges have been filed yet), but when a republican breaks international law, not to mention treaties, when his administartion surveils Us without warrant, or sometimes, reason, when an administration breaks National Security laws, misleads and lies Us into war, hell when a republican Senator is connected with a prostitution ring, impeachment is only for the "crack pots". Liberal media indeed. I call bullshit on the lot of them. BULLSHIT! BULLSHIT! BULLSHIT!

I think I'll spend my weekend at a wintery beach yelling at the ocean.

The Son of A Bitch-in-Chief

I'm sorry, but this really pissed me off. I really get no pleasure in hating the president of My Country, but with

• American soldiers and Iraqi civilians are still dying in the unnecessary invasion of choice in Iraq.
• Oil and gas prices hitting new records daily.
• Home Foreclosures still on the rise.
• The FBI, and others, admitting to breaking the law in spying on US Citizens without warrants.
• White House officials withholding documents from Congress, being held in contempt of Congress, and "losing emails".

Scandals from editing health and environmental reports for political reasons, to firing members of the judiciary for political gain, to torture, to losing billions in war funds, to stifling dissent.

...and this son of a bitch-in-chief has the balls, the audacity, to sing something like this! It's like joking about WMDs while Americans die looking for them, oh wait he did that too.


It reminds me of a little kid on the playground going nyahnah nah nah nah nah, certainly not the president of the United States. Truly Pathetic.

Here are some other "great moments" from the worst president in history.
Thank you Mr. Letterman.

Spin and hypocrisy

My favorite headline from the "clinton bashing" media the day after what they dubbed "super tuesday II" came from CNN. The "world news leader" declared "Clinton Trounces Obama". To be fair, similar headlines were everywhere. Senator Clinton did "trounce" Barack Obama in Rhode Island. She also beat him by 10% in Ohio. In Texas, however, it seems the "hillary hating" media and the Hillary Clinton campaign may have been either shortsighted, unaware of how the Texas Democratic Party (yes there is one) disperses its delegates or maybe (just maybe) they were Spinning last Tuesday into more of a big deal than it was. That way Senator Clinton could continue without much pressure to drop out. Something the "biased against Senator Clinton" media and the Hillary Clinton Campaign both want. Maybe that's why they all kept talking about the "next contest" being in Pennsylvania, leaving out second class states like Wyoming, which Obama won last week, and Mississippi, which he is poised to win today. Oh yeah, and on "super tuesday II" Barack did trounce Hillary in Vermont. I do realize that his 21% trouncing only gave him a net increase of 3 delegates, but Senator Clinton's incredibly trouncing turning point in Ohio only gave her a Whopping gain of 9.

Turns out Senator Clinton wasn't the only one laughing and smiling as the confetti came down for her 10% victory in Ohio (if Obama had confetti at every victory of 10% or more, he'd have had 22 by now, 18 of those victories were by more than 20%). Blabber mouth limbaugh was celebrating on his radio show. Not for mccain clinching the republican nomination, but for the fact that Senator Obama hadn't. Seems he was telling his Texas listeners to go out and vote for Clinton in the "open" voting that allows republicans to vote in the Democratic "Primary". Maybe that's why the caucuses had different results than the straight voting.

Senator Obama's campaign released their fundraising numbers for February last week. The campaign raised $55,000,000.00 from 727,972 donors, including 385,101 new contributors. The Barack Obama for President campaign has received donations from 1.07 Million donors. His campaign currently holds the lead in the Democratic Primary's popular vote, state total, and delegate count, leading the Senator to say this in response to the ClintonS' talk of a "dream ticket". "I don’t know how somebody who’s in second place is offering the vice presidency to someone who’s in first place".

In other political news, the hypocrisy of the righteous seems to have added another chapter with the fall of the "white knight", Eliot Spitzer, in New York. Though the Governor of New York, a democrat, has not been charged with a crime. He has apparently been connected to online hookers. Communications concerning price, transportation, and hotel room info is the evidence released so far released for "client no. 9". A sex scandal has a much longer, and louder, media shelf life than say a crimes against the Constitution story. Spitzer would have to be a republican congressman (see larry or david) to think he'll get over this scandal without resigning.


My first quote from an ass (outside of bush administration "officials"):
"If Obama is the nominee, we [republicans] are doomed," - limbaugh on Feb. 6

There's no "end" in quagmire.

Today three bombs killed at least 17 people in Baghdad, which is less than half the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli missiles on Saturday.

The surge in Iraq has made parts of Iraq more secure. Imagine that. More troops equaling more security. The political process isn't making the same progress, though it did recently make some. I mention Iraq, because we are still at war there, as we are in Afghanistan. We also shot missiles into Somalia today in an attempt to kill "a known al Qaeda terrorist". This last military strike is most likely what we'll see more of, if the War in Iraq ever does actually end. Specific strikes on "al qaeda" where they live and train will be a change from invading and occupying a nation for five years (Iraq not Afghanistan) that had little, to nothing, to do with al qaeda until after we arrived. The president of Iran is visiting Iraq and is receiving the "red carpet" treatment in a country whose old tyrant-in-charge was an archenemy of Iran. When will mahmoud ahmadinejad finally thank the neo cons for giving Iran the only clear victory, so far, in their War in Iraq? His nemesis is gone. The, albeit more secular than Iran, shi'a majority in Iraq hold the majority of the seats in the Iraqi government. Not only that, the Iraqi government, whose nation we have spent 4,000+ American lives and $500 Billion to build, has now given him a pulpit to say "the US should get out of Iraq". Well done cheney, rumsfeld, wolfowitz, perle, chalabi and every other bullshit artist that the alcoholic cheerleader-in-chief had "faith" in.

The Mahdi Army, headed by "cleric" moqtada al sadr, has had a cease fire in place since August. Do you think that might have something to do with the reduction of violence since the summer?

The blunders made by the men and woman in charge of Our government, in particular the War in Iraq, have created an impossible situation. Whether intentional or not, allowing the looting of government buildings, libraries, and museums, some of which housed 5000 year old artifacts from Mesopotamia (the land of Babylon), unemploying thousands of low to middle ranking military men, and the slow to fix/lack of improvements to infrastructure essential for Iraqi survival (electricity, water, etc.) has created a situation where military aged, and younger, Iraqi males are angry, desperate, and broke. A situation that certainly makes militias like the mahdi army, and worse, look better to those "left behind" during the "liberation". It also makes it so, in the US military's eyes, every, of age, male Iraqi is a suspect to be detained, and that's not very encouraging to Iraqis either. The fall of the oppressive dictator saddam hussein is seen as an improvement by many in Iraq, but the overall life they have been left with thus far in the US occupation of their Country is not an improvement. Maybe they really did want to greet us with sweets and flowers, but didn't when they saw that we really didn't give a damn about them or their culture. We just wanted saddam, and a big old base/embassy right smack dab in the middle of the region.

The question now is what happens next and when. When, and if, we leave, what will we leave? Will al sadr's "army" come out guns a blazing at the Sunnis? Will the Shi'a rule the government and be allied with Iran's Shi'a theocracy? Will the country, bush is "bringing democracy" to, be forced to fracture into three segregated regions, like Senator Biden has been calling for for years? And the 80 pound gorilla in the room... How long can Our Military sustain these troop levels, with troops having longer and more numerous tours, without a draft?

The atrocious mistakes made in the first weeks of this war have lead to a much longer and more expensive occupation than we were told was estimated by the chicken hawks-in-charge. The anger and desperation that these mistakes caused make it hard to leave without thinking that the violence will erupt upon departure. Some say Our presence is causing more violence than it's preventing. I hope they're right, because we are going to begin Our troop drawdown/redeployment once a Democrat takes the White House. A redeployment based more on attacking al qaeda, and other terrorists, specifically, and not invading nations with tenuous, if any, ties to them.

This is one Hell of a disgusting mess these men and a woman have created in Iraq and the greater "middle east" region. Iran, Hamas, Hezzbollah have become more powerful, because of the failed and flawed policies of this administration. Policies made by Experienced men, like dick and rummy. I say, try them all for treason for willfully misleading Our Nation to war under false pretenses, or try them at the Hague for invading a sovereign nation without provocation, or not abiding by the Geneva Conventions, or for the bush doctrine of pre-emptive war. The "bush doctrine"... I Hope no one uses it on US?