After reading the news you don't find on MSM (Main Stream Media), go to www.goleft.tv and watch the real news. Go Left TV is brought to you by Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Mike Papantonio of Air America's weekend show, Ring of Fire.
Aug. 13, 2008
These are the dog days for politics. Barack Obama is on a week-long vacation in preparation for the Democratic Party convention in a couple of weeks, and McSame is continuing his four-month long vacation, allowing his staff to do all the work and talking for him.
I have found this analysis of McSame (as George W.) in the Daily Kos by "Bill in Portland Maine." I think you'll find this interesting and will help you in the next argument you have with your right-wing "friends."
It was recently revealed that John McCain has been stripped of the things that once made him an appealing candidate. Now firmly "contained" under the thumb of Karl Rove's goons, he has surrendered his maverick status and become a subservient yes-man, complicit in a campaign retooled to belch smears and lies all day. C&J has obtained a partial list of the things that McCain can and cannot have while he's under new management:
John McCain can't have:
Unfettered cellphone access
Sharp objects
Give and take
Any more green backgrounds or supermarket photo-ops
Original ideas
Calls at 3am, lest he appear tired the next day
A moment alone with anyone other than his campaign manager
Another mistress
Unsupervised questions from reporters
His old integrity back
John McCain can have...
Ice cream
A private jet
Fresh pairs of $520 loafers
Unlimited funds from corporate lobbyists
A still-fawning press that makes Obama jump the highest bar, but lets McCain jump the lowest
Tums
A painfully boring convention
An 11th house
An affiliation with sleazy campaigners that will be a black stain on his reputation for the rest of his life
Bottled hot water in case he spots any dehydrated babies
Naps
Kool-Aid
3 x 5 index cards with talking points HE CAN NEVER DEVIATE FROM!!!!!!!
Sad. The big brave maverick who so decisively insists on staying and fighting in Iraq is too scared to run a campaign on his own principles, integrity and record.
Brilliant move.
The Democratic National Committee has come out with a new ad and a new name for McCain--ExxonJohn. This is good. www.exxonjohn.com
Aug. 5, 2008
The auto industry has completely debunked McCain's mocking of Obama's "inflate tires to save gas" statement by presenting a plethora of facts supporting Obama's claims. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/05/auto-makers-on-tire-inflation/
The republicans are trying to take credit for the drop in oil-barrel costs by stating that their publicity stunts caused the decrease. Surely, it is all about them and not about the fact that the $4/gallon cost was killing middle- and lower-class family budgets. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/05/conservatives-gas-prices/
Aug. 4, 2008
McCain is mocking Obama for stating that inflating tires will save gas, even though many republicans have that very statement on their websites and that McCain himself agreed with that concept a couple of weeks ago. The great crime in this mocking despite all the above is that his campaign is stating that Obama said that inflating tires will break our dependence of foreign oil, which he never said. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/04/mccain-obama-tires/
Ron Suskind has written a book discussing the tactics the Bush administration took to justify going to war with Iraq. He is stating that Bush ordered forging of documents to make his charges against Saddam, in retrospect, look plausible. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/05/suskind-iraq/
In a related story, a former FBI official is stating that Bush and his crime family gave FBI director Mueller all kinds of flack for not finding a link of the anthrax attack to al Qaeda. There are still many questions about the supposed suicide of the supposed developer and sender of the anthrax in 2002. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/04/al-qaeda-anthrax/
July 30, 2008
KBR, Inc., is in the firing sites of many groups, but the Pentagon has been caught covering up for them. The crime? They built military buildings in which soldiers were getting electrocuted when taking showers. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/30/pentagon-kbr-electrical/
More proof that the White House politicized the Justice Department: a May 17, 2005, email from the WH political office showed that they wanted as many Bush loyalists as possible. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/washington/31capital.html?_r=2&oref=slogin
The Inspector General who investigated the DoJ scandal has stated that he does not see enough evidence to convict those aides such as Monica Goodling. Uh, what? http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/30/doj-ig-we-found-no-sufficient-basis-for-criminal-prosecutions-against-goodling-or-sampson/
Finally, the House Democrats discovered their cajones. The House Judiciary Committee found Rove in contempt of Congress. Let's see how this plays out. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/30/house-panel-votes-to-hold-karl-rove-in-contempt/
July 29, 2008
Do you think Iraq should be a colony of the US? Evidently, that was the real motivation of this occupation. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bennet-kelley/bush-reveals-true-reason_b_115487.html
July 28, 2008
Monica Goodling is getting nailed for a Department of Justice Inspector General report that the aides like Goodling used an issues litmus test in hiring attorneys. Goodling, an alumna of the disreputable Regent University Law School, admitted in a Congressional hearing that she, indeed, had done this, but the report goes into great detail. Oh, and this violates federal law. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/28/goodling-googler/ and http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/28/goodling-gay/ and http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/28/goodling-passed-over-experienced-counterterrorism-prosecutor-because-wife-was-a-democrat/ and http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/28/doj-report-on-hiring/
Before endorsing Maliki's statement of a 16-month removal of troops from Iraq, Bush tried to pressure Maliki out of it, and it would have worked had not the various publications that published the initial report debunked every excuse made for contrary statements. Evidently, Bush had pressured Maliki from making a similar statement in 2006. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/28/bush-forced-maliki-to-backdown-on-withdrawal-in-2006/
Oh, John! McCain was interviewed by Newsweek magazine and told the reporter that the U.S. does not torture. McCain, by the way, voted against banning waterboarding in February. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/28/mccain-torture-anyone/
This is a must-see. This is a preview of Oliver Stone's upcoming movie, W. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/28/leaked-movie-trailer-of-w/
July 24, 2008
Minority whip of the House, John Boeher (r-OH and pronounced Bayner, but acts like the apparent pronunciation) appeared on the hideous Glenn Beck Show and proclaimed with him that the Arctic refuge area of dispute over oil is actually not a haven for wildlife, but is a wasteland. For more on this egregious statement, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/24/beck-boehner-wildlife/
Oh, the whining that is going on about Obama's incredibly successful trip overseas! McCain's camp is complaining that too many reporters are following Obama around, but it seems that the camp restricted the number of reporters that could go along. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/24/media-bias-obama/
McCain, the pseudo-expert on foreign affairs seems to have forgotten that the attacks on Afghanistan after 9/11 existed. He is under the impression that the Iraq occupation was the first major military action after 9/11. He said this to CBS, which, of course, cut out this comment as well as his comments about the Iraq-Pakistan border. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/24/mccain-iraq-first-major/
Do you remember when Hillary kept insisting that Obama could not win the Hispanic vote? According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Obama is leading in their latest poll of Hispanic voters 66% to 23%.
July 23, 2008
VoteVets has a commercial that is powerful. http://votevets.org/pages/?id=0012
There is a grass-roots movement to get Karl Rove thrown in jail for contempt of Congress in his avoidance of explaining his hoodwinking of this country. Presently, there are over 100,000 petition signers. Here is the link. http://sendkarlrovetojail.com/
Another one of McCain's poorly chosen concepts is that drilling is now safer to the envrionment. To prove this, he planned a trip to an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. He had to cancel the trip but will not say what the reason was, other than being weather related (Hurricane Dolly is hitting Texas and Mexico). It might have something to do with an oil spill in the Mississippi River that has shut down barge traffic there. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/23/mccain-cancels-on-rigs/
In Michigan, the composite polling shows Obama leading McCain 48%-39%. The composite polling in Florida finds McCain ahead 46%45%.
July 22, 2008
When interviewed by CBS, John McCain stated that the surge led to the calming of Anbar Province. Ummm, John, Anbar Province was calmed down before the surge even began. However, the most egregious part of this was not his statement, although that was very bad, was that CBS cut out his statement so that the country (or what little of the country actually watches the CBS nightly news) could not see this horrific gaffe. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/22/mccain-anbar-history/
We all know how Bush hates science because he does not like to be contradicted. He and his fellow nutjobs tried to redefine what carbon dioxide is so that companies can more easily stay in line for carbon emissions. Wow. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/22/bush-cronies-tried-to-redefine-carbon-dioxide-to-save-power-plants-from-emissions-regulations/
Paul Krugman, famous columnist for the New York Times, has announced that the NYT ownership told him to lay off Bush at the off-set of the Iraq occupation. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/22/krugman-reveals-the-nyt-urged-him-to-lay-off-the-bush-administration/
Pat Robertson has advocated the bombing of Iran before the end of Bush's term. Either Pat is senile, or he never believed in the doctrines of Jesus Christ. I suspect the latter. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/22/robertson-israel/
In Virginia, the Democratic candidate, Warner, is beating his republican opponent, Gilmore, by 25 points in the latest Pubic Policy poll. In Colorado, Democratic Udall is beating republican Shaeffer by 3 points, according to Rasmussen. In both states, Obama is ahead by 2-3 points.
July 21, 2008
Oh, John! On ABC, he stated that things were bad in Afghanistan, but we must not forget that things are bad along the Iraq-Pakistan border. There is no Iraq-Pakistan border. And he is the foreign affairs expert? For more, including video and a map, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/21/mccain-warns-of-hard-struggle-on-the-iraq-pakistan-border/
DailyKos does an analysis of the Presidential race in 4 red/purple states that are in play this election cycle. In Alaska, Obama is down 45-40, but that is within the margin of error. Obama is down 9 points in Georgia, but that is an improvement from the 10 points in an earlier poll. These are both Rasmussen results. In New Hampshire the composite poll shows Obama with a 10-point lead. And in Ohio, Obama is up 7 points in the composite poll. www.dailykos.com
July 20, 2008
I have made it my mission since the MSM as so buddy-buddy with McCain to give you the gaffes, horrors, and downright lies perpetuated by this man and his campaign. Frank Rich of the New York Times nails this perfectly concerning McCain's lack of knowledge about the economy. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/opinion/20rich.html?th&emc=th
Sure enough, another one of McCain's aides is part of a scandal. This time it is the Bush Library cash scandal that was mentioned earlier. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/20/scheunemann-payne/
July 19, 2008
You would think this is made up, but it is not. When McCain's camp heard about the Maliki endorsement of the Obama withdrawal plan, panic set in with them. One proclaimed that they were in trouble (in much more colorful terms) and another stated that voters don't care what Iraqi leaders think. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/19/mccain-camp-reacts-to-malikis-call-for-withdrawal-voters-dont-care-about-iraqi-leaders/ and http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/19/maliki-endorses-16-month-us-withdrawal-from-iraq/
July 18, 2008
OK, so what is he thinking? John McCain has released to the press the approximate whereabouts of Barack Obama during his trip overseas. This is curious behavior for a man who went ballistic when the press announced much earlier that his son was fighting in Iraq. Now, he is informing enemy combatants of where his political rival is going to be. I wonder why. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/07/mccain_says_obama_trip_to_iraq.php
McCain is perpetuating the lie about the oil drilling in the Gulf during Katrina and Rita. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/18/mccain-rigs/
July 17, 2008
Karl Rove, the criminal who escaped the country to avoid being called before a House committee investigating him, announced that the Bush administration has spent more on renewable sources than any other adminstration. Um-------no. For an analysis on Bush's history of this, go to http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/07/17/deconstructing-george/ and http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/17/bush-cuts-alt-energy/
Obama was harangued by the Bush adminstration, McCain, and Hilary Clinton for demanding that the US have negotiations with its enemies, particularly Iran. The criticisms were long and merciless. According to The Guardian, the WH administration has decided to sit in on negotiations with Iran for the first time in 29 years. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/17/usa.iran
In Alaska, republican incumbant Senator Ted ("The internet is a bunch of tubes") Stevens is running behind Democratic challenger Mike Begich by 2 points. Alaska has traditionally been extremely republcan. Alaska also has one representative. The republican incumbant Don (Bridge to Nowhere) Young is running behind Ethan Berkowitz by 11 points. Both republicans have been in the center of controversies in their state.
July 16, 2008
The republicans are still lying about oil exploration and Katrina. The propaganda machine is revved up into overdrive. http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Officials_lobbyists_spread_false_not_drop_0716.html
As global warming continues to creep up the US, the likelihood of getting kidney stones increases along with it. http://www.motherjones.com/blue_marble_blog/archives/2008/07/9008_ouch_cimate_cha.html
Today's McCain flip-flop deals with education. McCain went before the NAACP (that's funny in itself) and proclaimed his desire to off educational benefits for the poor. This is after he voted for cuts in the federal educational funds. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/16/mccain-votes-down-edu/
July 15, 2008
A billboard in St. Cloud, FL, states "Please don't vote for a Democrat." That's no problem, this country being a free country for stating opinions. The problem is that the statement is over a picture of the burning of the Twin Towers. For more details of this scurrilous billboard, go to http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Billboard_uses_burning_WTC_to_say_0715.html
The author of Helter Skelter has come out with a book titled The Prosectution of George W. Bush for Murder. Haven't heard of it? No surprise there--the MSM has completely ignored it in hopes the book will flounder. http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Bush_murder_trial_book_faces_media_0714.html
Phil Gramm is getting some of the blame for the downturn in the economy because of his push in the Senate to deregulate the banking industry. He is also the guy accusing Americans of being whiners concerning the economy, claiming the recession is mental only. He is also one of the senior advisors for--ta da--John McCain. Now, The Nation magazine has an article about a failed business he had. What was the business? Soft-core porn! http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/336933
McCain flip-flop #750--He stated yesterday that we could send 3 brigades from Iraq to Afghanistan since things are going well in Iraq. Right after his statement at a town-hall meeting, he stated at his bus that maybe the 3 brigades can come from NATO. See this. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/15/mccain-flip-flops-on-sending-three-more-brigades-to-afghanistan/
Oh, and McCain again asserts that Czechoslovakia is a country. That's 4 times that he's said that.
McCain has tried to get the evangelicals on his side by being hard-nosed against the gay community. He is starting to backtrack in response to the great amount of heat he has been receiving about his statements of gay parents. Now the radical right-wing Christian extremists are flipping out. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/15/mccain-backtrack-adoption/
Two states with polling results for the Senate have been announced. In Louisiana, incumbent Democrat is ahead of republican incumbent John Kennedy 49-44, according to Rasmussen polling. This is a 2 point increase over their last polling. In Colorado, Democrat Mark Udall is ahead of republican Bob Schaffer 47-38, according Public Policy Polling. According to Daily Kos, this is the fourth time in a row that Udall has had a nine to ten point lead.
July 14, 2008
Democrats need to keep in mind that not only the Presidential election is very important, but the Senate races are very important. I will be supplying updates on that. Remember: the magic number is 60. That's how many Democrats we need to stop any of the filibusters put forward by the criminal republican party. This session alone has seen 85 filibusters by this party--the most ever.
The initial report on the Senate front deals with Minnesota. Al Franken, former head writer for Saturday Night Live and Air America host, is running against Bush toadie incumbent, Norm Coleman. For the first time in this election cycle, Rasmussen polling has announced that Franken is now ahead in their poll. http://rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_senate_elections/minnesota/election_2008_minnesota_senate
Now the McCain campaign, along with McCain himself, is lying about the ecological damage done to Louisiana by the oil drilling during Hurricane Katrina. They are saying that drilling off the coast is ecologically safe because during the hurricane, no damage was done. LIE!!!!! http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/14/mccain-spokesperson-lies-katrina-and-rita-didnt-spill-a-drop-of-oil/
According to The Dark Side, authored by Jane Mayer (mentioned earlier), VP Cheney had meetings with the Inspector General of the CIA, which are considered to be highly unusual. The IG's investigation of torture was effectively closed after these meetings. Coincidence? I think not. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/14/cheney-helgerson-mayer/
Oh, by the way, if John McCain ever decides to have a conversation with you and starts to talk about Czechoslovakia, please remind him that Czechoslovakia has not been a country for the past 15 years. Evidently, he does not know this. Well informed in foreign affairs indeed!
Did you ever wonder why John Ashcroft left the Attorney General position? According to David Iglesias, one of the 8 US Attorneys who were ousted by Karl Rove in a political move, Bush pushed Ashcroft out because he would not sign off on an illegal wiretapping program Bush wanted. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/14/iglesias-ashcroft/
Remember when Bush said he quit golf to show solidarity with the families of soldiers who have died? He will this weekend be at a fundraiser put on by his parents for John McCain. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/14/bush-fundraiser-golf/
In an effort to show how useless and futile he is, Bush has lifted the ban on off-shore drilling. Not only does this allow potential ecological disasters, it will have ZERO effect on the price of oil. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/14/bush-lifts-his-fathers-ban-on-offshore-oil-drilling/
July 13, 2008
We have been spending a lot of time dealing with this rather less-than-intelligent republican candidate for President, John McCain. Now, Max Bergmann of the Huffington Post has come up with an analysis of the horrific blunders of McCain of this past week. Read and watch. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-bergmann/the-week-that-should-have_b_111983.html
July 12, 2008
An aide of the Homeland Security office is caught on tape offering access to Bush if money is donated to Bush's Presidential Library. I didn't know comic books could be so expensive. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/12/bush-library-donation-scandal/
The Army is reviewing a situation in which a whistleblower allowed the press to see a funeral for a soldier who fought in Iraq. For years, the Bush administration has blacked out any media coverage of the dead returning home, but the director of Public Relations at the National Cemetary broke ranks and was summarily fired. For more, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/11/AR2008071102767.html
July 11, 2008
The Supreme Court reprimanded earlier that the WH administration allow the Environmental Protection Agency to do its job by enforcing the laws on the books and allowing reports to be published. Now the WH is contradicting the latest report about global warming released by the EPA. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/11/administration-disavows-its-own-global-warming-report/
A woman is suing the Justice Department for forcing her out of her position in the Civil Rights office. The Civil Rights office has been turned into an organization that works against those who are fighting for their civil rights. For more, go to http://tri-statedefenderonline.com/articlelive/articles/2977/1/Veteran-Justice-Department-employee-takes-civil-rights-division-to-court/Page1.html
Jane Mayer of the New Yorker Magazine has contradicted Bush concerning his statements that he never saw the Red Cross secret report on torture. He had stated at a news conference that he had not read it because we don't torture. So, if one were to take his logic then, he must have read it because we indeed do torture. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/11/bush-red-cross-torture/
Think Progress has done a great analysis of why our suffering through the recession is not mental, as Phil Gramm insists. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/11/economy-not-mental/
McCain criticized Obama for voting for the FISA bill. One problem--McCain skipped the vote and was known to favor it.
July 10, 2008
In fulfilling his promise to press the issue, Dennis Kucinich introduced just one article of impeachment instead of the 65 he had originally plannned. He is hoping more will cosponsor the resolution by limiting the proposal to one article. For more and video, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/10/kucinich-introduces-article-of-impeachment-against-bush/
Karl Rove left the country in order to avoid the subpoena to the House Judicial committee. Many are calling for his arrest. Oh, if only. . .
I rightly criticize McCain for his inanities and his baseless fear-mongering. Now, he has shown how shallow and uninformed he really is. He finally admits that he has no understanding of the nature of the Iran threat. Still, he continues to call on a hawkish view toward the Iranians. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/10/despite-all-his-fearmongering-mccain-admits-he-doesnt-know-the-nature-of-the-threat-from-iran/
What did our classy President say to the final G8 meeting and group that he will be facing? "Good-bye from the world's greatest polluter." Must he embarrass us with his so-called sense of humor? For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/10/bush-to-g8-goodbye-from-the-worlds-biggest-polluter/
July 9, 2008
The Senate Democrats, like the House Democrats, wimped out to George Bush by voting for immunity for the telecoms in the FISA bill. It is a dark day for America, despite the heroic and patriotic efforts of Chris Todd and Russ Feingold. For analysis, go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/09/compromise-fisa-bill-pass_n_111709.html http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/07/09/feingold-dodd-amendment-fails-on-fisa/ Shame on you, Barack Obama, and thank you so very much for trying to protect our privacy, Dick Durban and Phil Hare. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/09/turley-fisa-felony/
John McCain's economics leader claims we are not in a recession and that Americans are simply whining. You have got to check this out. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/09/gramm-mental-recession/
In response to Iraq's Prime Minister al-Malaki calling for American troop withdrawals and/or a timetable, McCain states that he is not really calling for a timetable. Really? http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/09/mccain-the-iraqis-are-not-asking-for-a-timetable-for-withdrawal/
The Senate, led by a resurgent Ted Kennedy, voted a veto-proof approval not to cut Medicare benefits. Only one Senator missed the vote--John McCain. He blasted the Senate (and many of his fellow republicans) for voting for it. Sheesh. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/09/kennedy-medicare/
July 8, 2008
McCain makes a joke about killing Iranians. Why is this guy even close to Obama in the polls? http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/08/mccain-jokes-about-killing-iranians-again/
General Petraeus has instructed that any description of Iraq not include the words "we're winning." Note to Petraeus--tell John McCain. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/08/petraeus-prohibits-phrase-were-winning-in-connection-with-iraq/
John McCain was approached by a Vietnam vet and was accused of not supporting veterans, which is true as evidenced by his multiple votes and statements against the GI Bill of Rights just passed. McCain then tried to bully the vet by proclaiming falsely (i.e. lie) he is supported by 100% of all veteran groups. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/08/mccain-veterans-award-redux/
June 26, 2008
The controversial bill dealing with FISA and immunity for the telecom corporations for potential illegal activities in allowing the government to wiretap American citizens has been shelved because of the action of 15 Democratic Senators. Of particular interest to those who live here, the courageous and patriotic Senators who oppose the trashing of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution are our Dick Durbin, Wisconsin's (and my personal hero) Russ Feingold, and Iowa's Tom Harkin. If you have time, call at least Durbin up and thank him for defending our Constitution so stridently. Supposedly, the bill is doomed to pass, but they have vowed to continue to fight against the bill. Obama? He is for it. Sigh. So is McCain.
McCain was asked in a town-hall meeting that he is against impeachment against Bush. However, he voted for Clinton's removal in 1998. Evidently, he feels extra-marital oral sex is an egregious offense against the Constitution while lying to the American people into an illegal war, committing torture on detainees against international law, committing the treasonous act of outing a CIA agent, politicizing the Department of Justice, and on and on are minor trifles in comparison to Clinton's transgressions. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/26/mccain-impeachment/
June 25, 2008
Brave New Films, led by Glenn Greenwald, has released a video called Lieberman Must Go. This is about the turncoat known as Joe Lieberman. The website, http://liebermanmustgo.com/ , has a description about the words and damage caused by Joe Lieberman, (I-CT).
Oh, this is special. Karl Rove is criticizing the New York Times for outing Valerie Plame. After Scott McClelland's book pretty much points at Rove for setting up the whole operation, this move is clearly intended as a third-grade move by screaming that somebody else did the bad deed instead of himself. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/25/rove-nyt-cia-agent/
The Supreme Court recently ruled that detainees must be told that they are either enemy combatants or not. The problem is that the White House is not allowing the lawyers to tell their clients. And we haven't impeached these guys because. . . ? For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/25/parhat-combatant-solitary/
June 24, 2008
The LA Times and Bloomberg Magazine released their latest poll about Bush's popularity, which is at an all-time low of 23%. My question is who are those 23%, and when are they going to start reading newspapers again?
McCain, in probable realization that his desire for opening up more land/sea for drilling, now states that doing this will be a psychological boost. His grasping at straws is another attempt at a rationalization when his mind and his aides' minds are not quite working at high gear, as they should. For more and video, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/24/mccain-psychological-offshore/
In a report about the political bias of the Justice Department, evidence points to selective hiring of conservatives over liberals as opposed to hiring the best qualified lawyers. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/24/fed-society-doj-report/
The high prices of oil/gasoline were pre-ordained by the oil companies in a hotel room in Brussels, Belgium. Representatives of the big-oil companies took a map of Iraq and put red circles on it, and the oil was now divvied up. For more, go to http://www.gregpalast.com/obama%e2%80%99s-secret-war-profiteering-tax/#more-2026
June 23, 2008
Douglas Feith, one of the architects of the Iraq war, is being subpoenaed by a House subcommittee to discuss his role in approving and implementing interrogation methods at the various detention centers around the world, including the infamous Guantanamo Bay. He backed out of an earlier appearance, causing the subpoena to be possibly issued. This is the same guy who still claims that the mushroom cloud statement by Bush was no mistake. For more, go to http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=1399 and http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/23/feith-mushroom-cloud/ (I forget the General's name, but a General once called Feith the dumbest guy he knew--like we needed confirmation of that.)
Sometimes it is too easy with these republicans. While McCain has been trying to distance himself from Bush in terms of policy, others in the party agree with what Barack Obama and other Democrats have been saying: McCain will be a third-term Bush presidency. Now Liz Cheney, daughter of Darth Vader, is parroting this sentiment. For more, including video, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/23/liz-cheney-mccain/
Houston, Texas, car dealers say that sales in Maseratis have increased by 86% in the past year. Guess why. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/23/as-americans-suffer-at-the-pump-energy-industry-basks-in-luxury/
Do you remember the good old days when republicans constantly held hearings to make sure taxpayer dollars were not being wasted? It seems like decades ago, doesn't it? Well, the White House has just refused to let the Army do more oversight on spending in Iraq. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/23/waste-army-proposal/
June 20, 2008
The House passed the scandalous FISA compromise, uh, er, I mean captitulation. However, let it be known to us in District 17 that Phil Hare voted against this. I hope he continues bucking Pelosi and Stoyer to keep doing the right thing.
Barack Obama has stated that the White House aides need to step up and do the right thing by testifying before Congress without using executive privilege to weasel out. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/20/obama-white-house-aides-should-comply-with-congressional-subpoenas/
June 19, 2008
Florida is not happy with McCain. He has proposed that more drilling be done off the coast of Florida. Even republicans are flipping out. Political leaders, albeit not the governor, are coming out against his statements. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/19/republican-fl-house-speaker-calls-mccain-disingenuous-for-linking-drilling-to-gas-prices/
McCain was asked by Iowa Gov. Culver to stay away from Iowa so that state workers could spend time working on the flood situation. McCain went anyway. Last week, Obama was requested by the governor not to go. He stayed away. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/19/mccain-ignored-request-to-cancel-visit-to-flood-ravaged-iowa/
Man, this was a day for reactions to McCain's antics. This time, he and other neo-cons have been repeating the lie that Katrina did not cause any oil leakage. Many sources are sited by Think Progress to contradict the lie that they kept repeating. For more and video, http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/19/mccain-oil-katrina/
June 18, 2008
The rape of Iraq is almost complete now. There are potential no-bid contracts with the oil of Iraq with the 4 large oil companies. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/18/exxon-oil-giants-prepared-to-sign-no-bid-oil-deals-in-iraq/
In what is probably symbolic of the moral decay of this administration, a former chief of staff of a Secretary of State stated today that at least 25 were murdered at Guantanamo Bay during torture sessions. This took place at a hearing before the House. For more, including video, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/18/ex-state-dept-official-hundreds-of-detainees-died-in-us-custody-at-least-25-murdered/
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) jumped all over a former Pentagon general counsel for making soldiers think they were not breaking the law when torturing detainees. While the ex-counsel objected, Reed objected to his amoral stance that has helped to stain America's standing in the world. For more and video, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/18/ex-state-dept-official-hundreds-of-detainees-died-in-us-custody-at-least-25-murdered/
Watch CBS correspondent Lara Logan explain why Americans don't understand what is going on in Iraq. This is compelling stuff. Go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/18/cbss-lara-logan-tell-me-the-last-time-you-saw-the-body-of-a-dead-american-soldier/
June 17, 2008
Joining McCain in the flip-flop of the futile gesture of getting oil off-shore is Florida Governor Charlie Crist. It was only last week when Crist stated that he was opposed to oil-drilling off the coast of Florida. Oh, did anybody mention that he is being considered strongly to be McCain's Vice-Presidential pick? For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/17/crist-offshore/
If you get emails about Barack Obama that looks like it was sent by a republican, you need to check out The Fight the Smears page on http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/fightthesmearshome/ to see if the issue has been debunked. There is a lot of horrible stuff out there that the vapid right wing is trying to dump onto the American public.
June 16, 2008
The lie about China drilling off of the coast of Cuba is being perpetuated by a large number of semi-reputable republicans, semi-reputable until now. They are continuing the idea that if a lie is repeated often enough, that the general public will accept it as fact. People, it's a lie! For more, go to http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/40776.html
While time is running out on this Congress, some are still persuing justice. Henry Waxman has just subpoenaed for the FBI interviews of Bush and Cheney in concerns with the Valerie Plame/CIA leak case. For more, go to http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=1382
Oh please, please, please--Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal may be put on the republican ticket as Vice-President with John McCain. Jindal just announced that he feels that intelligent design should be a science class required in all high schools. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/16/jindal-creationism/
June 13, 2008
According to CNN, the Iraqis are going to drop the proposal by Bush's crime family in the agreement they tried to force on them and go it alone. Many have been shocked by the open brazenous of the disregard of the Iraqi people in the so-called potential agreement described earlier. For more, including video, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/13/cnns-ware-iraqis-reject-security-agreement-want-to-go-it-alone-and-take-over-this-war-from-us/
Is he lying? Is he flip-flopping? Does he have Alzheimer's? Or does he not know the internet exists? John McCain is now saying he never supported the privatization of Social Security. To quote Kyle's mom, wha-wha-wha-what? For a detailed analysis of his, um, statements, including video, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/13/mccain-social-security-bamboozle/
McCain in 2003, despite what he is saying now, criticized the detaining of prisoners at Gitmo, despite his claims that the Supreme Court just made the worst decision ever by demanding that habeas corpus stay intact there. Poor John, he is so confused. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/13/mccain-gitmo-detention/
June 12, 2008
You want to know why nothing gets done in the Senate? Watch this. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/12/video-two-straight-days-of-gop-obstructionism/
A poll was taken of 24 countries around the world as to which of the 2 presidential candidates is trusted the most. Guess who won? For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/12/poll-world-has-more-confidence-in-obama-than-mccain/
June 11, 2008
Democrats know that McCain is just another George Bush, but it is a matter of convincing those who are not sure of this fact. We have a description and a video of words out of McCain's own mouth in 2005 stating this fact. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/11/mccain-in-05-im-totally-in-agreement-with-bush-on-the-most-important-issues-of-the-day/
The House voted 251-166 to send Kucinich's bill on to committee to decide how to impeach George Bush. The same committee has the bill for the impeachment of Dick Cheney. John Boehner (r-MD) is not amused. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/11/boehner-blames-left-wing-bloggers-for-impeachment-efforts/
June 9, 2008
Dennis Kucinich has done it again. Perhaps the only Democrat in the House with a true backbone, he spent five hours on the House floor, introducing a 35-article resolution to impeach George W. Bush. For more, go to http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Kucinich_presents_Bush_impeachment_articles_0609.html
Here is something so depressing. 74% of all republican lawmakers do not believe that global warming exists. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/09/poll-26-percent-of-gop-lawmakers-dont-believe-in-manmade-global-warming/
John McCain has not got the concept of You Tube and video recording figured out yet. Here he is caught in yet another lie, this time about how the media treated Hillary Clinton. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/09/mccain-denies-criticizing-media-even-though-he-actually-did/
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Bush and is hinting that a nuclear war with Iran is close. Oh boy. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126416
Fox News is getting desperate and pathetic. The fist pound that Barack Obama has been using on stage and has been used by virtually every athlete in the U.S. is being called a "terrorist fist jab." For more and video, http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/09/fox-news-anchor-calls-the-obamas-fist-pound-a-terrorist-fist-jab/
June 6, 2008
Our republican friends are trying to find a way to tie Tony Rezko and Rob Blagojevich to Barack Obama. Read this from the Chicago Political blog. http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2008/06/state-gop-seeks.html
June 5, 2008
The neo-cons in the White House may have overplayed their hand in Iraq. According to the Independent of the UK, Bush and his crime family are pressuring the Iraqi legislature and President al-Maliki to accept a deal with the US that is, how should we say, rather interesting. They are calling for 50 permanent bases, control of air space, and immunity for all forces from prosecution. For more, go to http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/revealed-secret-plan-to-keep-iraq-under-us-control-840512.html
Mike Malloy, progressive radio host for Nova M radio, analyzes three recent new pieces that have potentially devastating ramifications. To say he is concerned is the world's greatest understatement. Listen to his scary 6/5/podcast on http://www.novamradio.com/mikemalloy/podcasts.php?NAVID=3
In a related story, in a recent Public Agenda poll, only 7% of Americans support an attack on Iran. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/05/only-7-percent-support-taking-military-action-against-iran/
June 4, 2008
John McCain spoke to the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and made even more false claims. He stated that sanctions against South Africa worked in changing their apartheid government. What he neglected to say is that he voted against those sanctions in 6 different ways in the 1980's. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/04/mccain-divestment/ Oh, by the way, he just lied about his votes to help residents in New Orleans. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/04/mccain-katrina/
Minority leader Mitch McConnell (r-KY) shut down the Senate in an attempt to halt any vote on the Global Climate change vote before them by having the clerk read the entire 500-page substitution offered by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA). For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/04/mcconnell-shuts-down-the-senate/
This is not cool! Israeli Prime Minister and also a potential felon Ehud Olmert is in Washington to convince Bush to attack Iran. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i1rUAelbtCg7hJrCLc7gkojTyGpw
June 3, 2008
Sen. James Inhofe (r-OK) has claimed that everything in Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth has been debunked by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The problem with his wild statement is that the IPCC won the Nobel Prize along with Al Gore and did no such thing that crazy-man Inhofe claimed. For more and video, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/03/inhofe-everything-in-gores-science-fiction-movie-has-been-refuted/
Henry Waxman (D-CA), chairman of the House Committe on Oversight and Government Reform, has called for FBI papers dealing with the interviews of Bush and Cheney about the Valerie Plame/outing of a CIA agent scandal. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/03/waxman-calls-for-release-of-fbi-interviews-with-bush-and-cheney/
May 28, 2008
Scott McClelland, former spokesman for the President, has released a memoir (“What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception”) that criticizes harshly the White House during his tenure with them. Needless to say, the White House and its hounds are spitting nasty epithets about McClelland. In other words, he has struck a lot of nerves. For more, go to http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10649.html
According to Congressional Quarterly, John McCain voted with Bush 100% of the time in 2008. Anybody up for a third term of this criminal administration? http://www.progressivemediausa.org/2008/05/27/john-mcsame/
According to Keith Olbermann's Countdown, Phil Gramm, a former Senator and current economic adviser to John McCain, had his hand in changing the banking rules in the Senate that led the way to the horrible mess the industry is in right now. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/28/mccain-adviser-phil-gramm-shaped-mccains-economic-policy-while-lobbying-for-foreign-bank/
May 27, 2008
The Asia Times is confirming what the Jersualem Post stated in that Bush plans to attack Iran in the next two months. The White House is denying this still. For more, go to http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JE28Ak01.html
John McCain and George Bush had a fundraiser that was private and without press and took place in a private home instead of at a sports arena, as originally planned, because there were not enough people to attend. The big problem for us in this is that taxpayers paid for Bush's trip to Arizona. For more and video, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/27/taxpayers-pay-for-mccain-bush-fundraiser/
Earlier in the week, McCain's website was echoing his calls for even more troops in Iraq. Now, he has removed this suggestion from the site, begging the question "Does he still believe this is a reasonable option in his mind?" For more and video, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/27/mccain-bush-website/
May 26, 2008
Karl Rove denies knowing anything about the Donald Siegelman case until he read it in the newspapers. Right. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/25/rove-siegelman-non-denial/
Sorry about the drought of updates. I have been recovering from heart surgery. My heart is now strong enough to handle to disgusting behavior of our White House.
May 19, 2008
The Jerusalem Post has quoted an Israeli official as saying that Bush plans on attacking Iran. Supposedly, the person quoted was in a meeting with a senior official of the administration, but the Bush cabal flatly deny the allegation. For more, go to http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668683139&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
While McCain denies that he has any lobbyists working for him, his campaign staff is still filled with lobbyists such as Charlie Black, who has represented a number of dictators and murderers throughout the world. Another lobbyist is Rick Davis, whom McCain claims has not been a lobbyist in the past five years, but his "old" firm states he can still work for them since his name is still on the letterhead of the company. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/19/mccains-campaign-managers-name-still-on-lobbying-firms-letterhead/
Lt. Gen. William Owen, who is retired, has stated that the analysts who have been caught in the New York Times article about the collusion between the Pentagon and retired generals on the boards of various members of the industrial-military complex have not come forward because of the conspiratorial nature of this relationship. Neo-cons see no problem with this, but many are concerned that the country is being fed false analyses to justify wars for profit. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/19/odom-military-analysts/
May 16, 2008
In a move many progressives are excited about, Federal Election Committee chairman-nominee Hans von Spakovsky has had his name removed from consideration by the Senate. Von Spakovsky was involved in many shady acts by the Civil Rights division of the Justice Department.
McCain's campaign again got caught in a lie when his camp stated that they never used the word "appeasement" in agreeing with Bush and disagreeing with Obama concerning comments on how to deal with our enemies. See the video and updates on http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/16/mccain-appeasement/
May 15, 2008
This is must-see TV. Chris Matthews absolutely b***h-slapped loud-mouthed, right-wing radio host Kevin James on Hardball today because James kept using the word "appeasement" in criticizing Obama but did not know what the word meant. Watch! http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/15/kevin-james-appeaser/
McCain also does not seem to understand what the word meant when he supported Bush in his statements about appeasement to the Knesset today. He then praised Reagan's negotiations with Iran in realeasing the hostages, despite the fact that they did not fear Reagan, but that Reagan had broken the law by selling them arms (Hello--Iran-Contra scandal?). For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/15/mccain-obama-appeasement/
May 14, 2008
Bush's story in the Politico about his giving up golf because his heart was not in it because he was thinking of the mothers of the fallen soldiers is not holding up to scrutiny. His statements about August of 2003 is belied by the fact he was found playing golf on October of 2003 with 3 cohorts. Keith Olbermann's comments on his continuous lies and cynical use of dead soldiers' mothers are not to be missed. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/14/bushs-golf-story-doesnt-hold-water/
The American Civil Liberties Union has obtained documents from the Department of Defense about the deaths of prisoners in Iraq. See the documents here: http://www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/35271res20080514.html
In a taste of the incredible racism that still exists down South, a bar owner in Georgia is selling Curious George shirts that say "Obama in '08". You can see one here: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/14/curious-george-shirt/
May 13, 2008
McCain again shows how partisanship is more important than the troops he is supposedly behind. His camp is exclaiming the GI Bill of Rights that Democratic Jim Webb has put forward does nothing to address the enlistment problem, which is blatantly false. For more, including a video, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/13/mccain-adviser-gi-bill/
McCain's absolutely bizarre logic on accepting the endorsement of the two highly radical evangelicals continues. When confronted about Rev. Hagee, he stated that he has accepted the endorsement without agreeing with everything he says. "Hypocrisy, thy name is John McCain." For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/13/mccain-on-whether-hes-still-comfortable-with-hagees-endorsement-ive-accepted-his-endorsement/
May 10, 2008
The State Department has re-upped Blackwater's contract for at least one more year. This is done in spite of the 17 Iraqi deaths at the hands of Blackwaters guns without a concluding investigation. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/10/state-department-renews-blackwaters-iraq-contract-for-at-least-another-year/
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)on the Keith Olbermann show on MSNBC stated that President Bush on the sixth anniversary told him after complaining about the occupation in Iraq to "bring 'em on." This is the same comment that many, including himself, criticized for aggravating the situation and helping the recruiting for al Qaeda. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/10/reid-bush-bring/
The right wing has already begun its dirty tricks in earnest for this election cycle. One organization has taken an Al Gore speech and spliced and diced it to make it sound like he was blaming the cyclone of Myanmar on global warming. This was then posted on the unreliable Drudge Report. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/10/gore-cylcones-clip-doctored/
May 9, 2008
Another republican is advocating torture. The "Christian-values" party sinks to new lows again when Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) insisted that the Army Field Manual get rewritten to allow more stringent interrogation methods. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/09/bond-torture/
This is one of my favorites for the week. John McCain gave a speech at a New Jersey museum that was paid for in a number of pork barrell additions to bills. He has sworn to get rid of all pork-barrel projects that are attached to unrelated bills. To learn more of his hypocrisy, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/09/mccain-earmark-new-jersey/
The Congressional Budget Office has proven that John McCain's claims that his opposition to the Webb-Hagel GI Bill of Rights bill is baseless. McCain and the Pentagon oppose it because they are afraid the soldiers might actually use it, costing billions and billions of dollars. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/09/cbo-webb-hagel/
May 8, 2008
The number of MSM networks explaining their roles in the Pentagon scandal involving planted generals acting as experts has increased to two: CNN and ABC.
KBR is now being hit with a sexual harrassment suit by the British Embassy in Iraq. Three women lost their jobs because they would not sleep with KBR members. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/08/latest-kbr-scandal-contractors-accused-of-sexual-harrassment-at-british-embassy-in-iraq/
Speaking of KBR, it and two other contractors (MPRI and CSA, Ltd) have been accused of avoiding taxes by having accounts in the Cayman Islands. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/08/cayman-islands-subsidiary-allows-pentagon-contractor-assisting-war-in-iraq-to-avoid-millions-in-taxes/
Meet Rev. Ron Parsley, John McCain's other spiritual adviser. http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/38133-mccain-s-spiritual-guide-wants-america-to-destroy-islam
May 7, 2008
Extreme nutjob neo-con John Bolton has predicted that Bush will order the bombing of Iran before he leaves office. Watch this. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/07/bolton-again-on-iran/
EPA chief administrator claims he can't testify to Congress about the California EPA situation and the changing of ozone levels because of back pains. Last month, he had to make a trip to Australia. These guys are trying to play out the clock so that they don't have to be accountable for their criminal acts. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/07/epas-johnson-claims-%e2%80%98ongoing-back-issues%e2%80%99-prevent-him-from-testifying-before-congress/
The Joint Chief of Staff Chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, has stated that the military is ready to repeal the infamous "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that was established during the Clintn administration. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/07/mullen-dadt/
May 2, 2008
The House Judicial Committee is setting a deadline of May 12 for Karl Rove so that he answer questions relating to the Donald Siegelmann situation in Alabama. If he does not appear, there will be a subpoena sent for his appearance. For more, go to http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/House_committee_threatens_Rove_with_05012008.html
The telcos that helped Bush violate the FISA law are worried as the Senate drags its feet and vows not to give them immunity for breaking the law. The administration is refusing to release the companies who have done this, but the Freedom of Information Act may be the savior for those who want this information. For more, go to http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/House_committee_threatens_Rove_with_05012008.html
Well, this is interesting! McCain has admitted that the US invaded Iraq because of oil. Watch this. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/02/mccain-implies-iraq-war-was-about-oil/
Fareed Zakaria, a reporter for Newsweek, is examining the radical statement that McCain made in late March about kicking Russia out of the G8 organization. Zakaria stated that McCain is lacking a forethought when considering that Russia is a leader in helping the US keep rogue countries from getting nuclear substances, as well as other problems. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/02/mccain-russia-g8/
In a great example of putting party before country, Sen. James Inhofe (D-OK) quietly withdrew his support for James Webb's (D-VA) bill for an updated GI Bill of Rights. Now, an Oklahoma veteran rips into Inhofe. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/02/oklahoma-vet-slams-inhofe-for-ditching-webbs-gi-bill/
Finally, in a sign that America is getting more and more fed up with this insane, illegal, and immoral occupation in Iraq, longshoremen on the West Coast in 29 cities stayed away from work and protested. At least they have courage. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/02/thousands-of-dockworkers-protest-iraq-war/
May 1, 2008
Both Obama and Clinton have been on Fox "News" in the past two weeks, and that concerns Robert Greenwald, head of Brave New Films and director of Outfoxed. He feels that the candidates will not be served well, and are being set up by the republican propoganda network. For more, go to http://rawstory.com/rawreplay/?p=946
John McCain's tour of pandering to voters is getting to the point that he is getting away without any critical analysis since everybody is focused on the Obama-Clinton saga. The proposals he has put together turn out to be extremely expensive, and he has shown no ways of paying for them. For more, go to http://www.rawstory.com/news/mochila/McCain_seeks_costly_tax_cuts_but_va_05012008.html
This is the fifth anniversary of Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech. 'Nuff said.
Apr. 30, 2008
The head of the GSA (General Services Administration) has been hounded by Democrats after she allowed her department to be corrupted into a republican support group. Lurita Doan finallly was asked to resign yesterday, giving her one day to clear out her stuff. Some say something else is going on here after a year of trying to get her fired and now she is done in one day. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/30/doan-resign/
In advocating his new health-care plan, John McCain allowed a heatlh-care lobbyist to introduce introduce him. One can only imagine how serious he is about making health care a priority if he is surrounded by lobbyists. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/30/mccain-introduced-at-health-care-event-by-health-care-lobbyist/
Apr. 29, 2008
John McCain's health care plan is such a joke and is totally not being covered as it should by the MSM. He does a photo-op with a family in Florida whose child is getting a cleft-palate surgery, but his plan would not cover that surgery. He does a photo-op in a children's hospital when he led the charge against expanding SCHIP. Now, Elizabeth Edwards, a fellow cancer-stricken person, is weighing in on his pathetic health policy. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/29/elizabeth-edwards-mccains-health-plan-shows-he-is-completely-out-of-touch-with-reality/
Paul Wolfowitz, another of the list of neo-con architects of this Iraqi disaster, is accepting the fact that he was clueless concerning what to do after the fall of Baghdad, but insists the Gen. Eric Shenseki was way off the mark when insisting that many hundreds of thousands US troops were needed to maintain order. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/29/wolfowitz-shinseki-wrong/
John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is following up on Phillipe Sand's book about David Addison's (Cheney's chief of staff) trip to Guantanamo Bay to observe torture methods, by wanting to issue subpoena's to find out what happened. Not suprising, the lawyers for the VP are stating that Congress has no ability to oversee his office. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/29/addington-testify-torture/
Apr. 28, 2008
Trivia question: What is the most common language spoken in Afghanistan? A: Pashto How many Americans in Afghanistan speak Pashto? A: 2 (Yikes)
More trivia questions: How many Presidential candidates have condemned the Pentagon's use of veteran soldiers who are members of the Boards of various members of the military-industrial complex (e.g. Barry McCaffery)? A: 2 Who are they? A--Obama and Clinton (McCain is being silent on this) How many television networks are covering this scandal? A: 1 (NPR)
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, an extreme, almost radical rightist, claims that torture is not a violation of the cruel and unusual punishment clause. The Pope has come out against torture. Scalia is a Catholic. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/28/scalia-60-minutes/
Apr. 25, 2008
The republicans in the House of Representatives have kept Rep. Rush Holt's (D-NJ) bill about demanding a paper trail for all votes from getting a vote. This important bill, important particularly with the 2008 election coming up, is being stonewalled to keep it from being implemented for this election. For more, go to http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9841.html
A recent Homeland Security report says that rhetoric that John McCain uses, e.g. "Islamic terrorists" and the always absurd and nonesensical "Islamofascist," only serves to inflame hatred by the Islamic community against the U.S. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/25/homeland-security-report-sharply-rebukes-mccains-islamic-extremism-rhetoric/
Apr. 24, 2008
John McCain announced today that he has never voted for a pork-barrel piece of legislation. While he says this, he backtracks on a number of items that he would keep. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/24/mccain-falsely-claims-he-never-voted-for-a-single-earmark-or-pork-barrel-project/
63% of U.S. troops now say it was a mistake to go to Iraq. That is a record. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/24/record-high-63-percent-say-us-made-a-mistake-in-sending-troops-to-iraq/
George Bush was on Deal or No Deal on Monday night. It turns out that, despite the advanced hype, it was tied for the lowest rated Monday night version of the show. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/24/bush-cameo-sinks-deal-or-no-deal/
Rush Limbaugh has crossed the line again, as he did yesterday. He refuses to back down his call for riots in Denver this summer. A caller asked him to clarify his comments about this, and he went ballistic on her, calling her a racist and a mush-head (whatever that is.) It is astonishing that his call for violence is not being taken seriously by the FCC. (www.fcc.gov) Listen to this ugly man again go after this woman. http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/04/24/draft-limbaugh-gets-pwnd-by-caller-over-his-wishing-for-a-operation-chaos-and-white-riot-hangs-up-on-her/
Apr. 23, 2008
It has been 14 days since the news broke about Bush's okaying torture as part of the interrogation techniques. Finally, a reporter (Helen Thomas) who finally got the courage to ask about it. When she was getting stonewalled by (too-much-cappaccino) Dana Perino, she looked around at the remaining "journalists" and wondered out loud where the rest of the reporters were on this story. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/23/thomas-chides-colleagues-torture/
Another sign of an impending attack on Iran: David Petraeus was named US Central Commander of the Middle East theater. He takes over for Adm. Fallon, who was against the administration's desire to go to Iran. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/23/petraeus-chosen-as-new-centcom-commander/
Rush says he is dreaming of riots in Denver during the Democratic Convention. To emphasize his point, he sang "White Christmas". I wonder why he picked that song. For more, go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/25/rush-limbaugh-sings-im-dr_n_98615.html
Apr. 22, 2008
As Hillary unsurprisingly wins the Pennsylvania primary, one needs to keep in mind that Americans still are paying attention to these debates. The despicable ABC news-led debate is having a hugely negative effect on the viewer numbers of the nightly news for ABC. NBC beat ABC by about 600,000 viewers, which is an incredibly wide difference for evening news, since the debate. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/22/abcs-ratings-drop-after-much-criticized-debate/
Evidently, according to Time Magazine, the role of the Iraqi army in the calming of the violence in Basra against the Sadr army, was greatly exaggerated. This has upset some American soldiers. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/22/troops-basra/
Apr. 18, 2008
A former aide has released a 48-page critique of the Iraq occupation through the Pentagon, calling the occupation "a major debacle" and the outcome "in doubt." This harsh report by a retired colonel was the result of interviews of many of the members of the military who were involved from the beginning. For more, go to http://rawstory.com/news/2008/ExRumsfeld_aide_calls_Iraq_war_major_0418.html
Not unsurprisingly, Attorney General Michael Mukasey has not responded to the letter by Democrats about his surprising speech in San Francisco in which he declared the administration that al-Qaeda was making phone calls into the US but falsely (also?) claimed that they did not have the resources to intercept the phone calls. (Cue Pinocchio's nose to begin growing.) The House Democrats have demanded answers to their letter, but the Justice Department will only say that he was in error when making that statement. For more, go to http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Mukaseys_non_responsive_explanation_of_pre911_0418.html
Apr. 17, 2007
The Environmental Protection Agency has declined to turn over papers asked by a subpoena concerning the California request for exception to EPA rules. This piece of chutzpah follows the audacity of intentionally violating a Supreme Court ruling of enforcing laws concerning greenhouse gases. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/17/epa-defies-subpoena-to-turn-over-documents/
One of John McCain's advisors has stated on the radio that he believes in private accounts for Social Security. The former CEO of Hewlett-Packard made the statement on Bill Bennett's radio show. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/17/mccain-social-security/
Is America safer after 9/11? This debatable question is up for even more debate after the General Accounting Office made its report about the White House and its lack of a coherent plan in defeating al-Qaeda and world terrorism in general. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/17/gao-us-has-no-plan-to-fight-al-qaeda-in-pakistan/
Apr. 16, 2008
Fox Noise commentator, Sean Hannity, was seen off-stage during the pathetic Democratic debates on ABC. He had co-moderator George Stephanopoulis on earlier in his show. Many suspect that Hannity was feeding questions to Stepho. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/17/steph-hannity-audio/
Rush Limbaugh and Hugh Hewitt, despite being complete idiots in coming up with impossible words such as Islamofascists (proving they have no idea what they are talking about) are now stating that Iran and al-Qaeda will be campaigning for the Democrats. For more of the pig study, http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/16/limbaugh-islamofascists-are-campaigning-for-democrats/
Doug Feith, one of the neo-con designers of this occupation, has stated one of the greatest lies of the new century. Throw out "the check's in the mail" and "I'm not married." Now add "the administration never said it would be easy in Iraq." For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/16/feith-iraq-war-easy/
Apr. 15, 2008
This has been boiling under the surface for a year. Many diplomats want nothing to do with Iraq, as a near revolt in the State Department occurred during a meeting with Condoleeza Rice. The number of volunteers for Iraq keeps decreasing; so, Rice has threatened the diplomatic corps with mandatory service there. Grumbings are continuing. For more, go to http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/15/rice-diplomats-iraq/
Apr. 14. 2008
Obama's truthful remarks about frustrated middle class workers have had interesting effects. The most vocal critics have been the elite of Washington, proclaiming they know how the middle class feels--people like Bill Krystol and Hugh Hewitt. When Hillary Clinton tried to criticize him in front of a union meeting, she got booed. For more, go to http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Audience_responds_as_Clinton_critical_of_0414.html
The South has been flirting with overtly racist candidates in Mississippi and other states. Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY) called Obama "boy" when describing his inexperience. He later apologized after being criticized by Obama for such obvious racism. For more, go to http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_hits_back_at_inexperience_charge_0414.html
The Democratic National Committee has filed a lawsuit against John McCain for daily violations of the Federal Elections Act that he himself helped write and enact. For more, go to http://rawstory.com/news/2008/As_lawsuit_filed_DNC_says_McCain_0414.html