The Big, Evil, Demented Plan - Part Two

This WaPo article is about events BEFORE-9/11. BEFORE-9/11, President George W. Bush spied on Americans. BEFORE-9/11, before the so-called “war on terror,” the Bush Administration contacted communication companies and asked them for information about their customers. BEFORE-9/11, Bush was pushing for warrantless surveillance of Americans!

Stram, can't you just hear the gasps, pointing and name calling from Hank and his Anon alias now..??

A former Qwest Communications International executive, appealing a conviction for insider trading, has alleged that the government withdrew opportunities for contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars after Qwest refused to participate in an unidentified National Security Agency program that the company thought might be illegal.

Former chief executive Joseph P. Nacchio, convicted in April of 19 counts of insider trading, said the NSA approached Qwest more than six months before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to court documents unsealed in Denver this week.

(snip)

Details about the alleged NSA program have been redacted from the documents, but Nacchio's lawyer said last year that the NSA had approached the company about participating in a warrantless surveillance program to gather information about Americans' phone records.


Not only did the Bush Administration ask Qwest to spy on Americans, it punished the company because it refused to do an illegal act. The company lost "contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars." One wonders whether the inside trading conviction was part of the "punishment" as well.

Now Bush has the audacity to tell Congress to pass a bill that gives immunity to companies that were "patriotic" and complied with the illegal request. Congress should encourage true patriotism, the kind that was shown by Qwest when it refused.

Congress does not even have the information it requested from the Whitehouse. It should do nothing until it gets this information. And then it must produce a law that protects American citizens from warrantless wire tapping.

All his talk about the "war on terror," making us safe at home and fighting for democracy abroad is just that, talk. Killing innocent Iraqi's and the slaughter of our brave soldiers is just his means to continue his evil ways. Of course he can get away with it! Hitler kept Germany afraid too...

Now tell me this isn't an evil, demented plan. Tell me that we should rally behind the evil empire and "allow them to protect us." My only question is... who's going to protect us from them?

The Big, Evil, Demented Plan - Part One

"Everything changed after 9/11."
"Live a clean life and you won't have to worry about spying and wire tapping."
"We aren't giving up liberties, we are being kept safe."

The list of ramblings from the right is much longer. I am going to stop there though, it's starting to make me gag.

I do find this most interesting. Despite the ranting of the afraid, would you believe me if I told you this secret government/wire tapping plan was hatched long before 9/11? Would the right?

I caught an episode of Frontline that made my flesh crawl. It was on the secrecy fixation of Cheney. It told of how he never writes anything down, refrains from email and voicemail. He, like the bad guys in the superhero movies, likes to move in the dark of night, disapear without an trace - leaving no trail to follow.

" they came in, spurred by Dick Cheney, to have an enlarged sense of the presidency, to have a penchant for secrecy, to basically have a view that the Congress, in effect, works for us, not with us; that we're the lead branch, not a co-equal branch. -- David Gergen

On this link, you can also watch the entire episode.... if you dare)

For three decades Vice President Dick Cheney conducted a secretive, behind-closed-doors campaign to give the president virtually unlimited wartime power. Finally, in the aftermath of 9/11, the Justice Department and the White House made a number of controversial legal decisions. Orchestrated by Cheney and his lawyer David Addington, the department interpreted executive power in an expansive and extraordinary way, granting President George W. Bush the power to detain, interrogate, torture, wiretap and spy -- without congressional approval or judicial review.

The downfall of this democracy began shortly after Cheney took office in 2001 and he won't stop, evidently, until the President of the United States has all the power of the dictators that they call evil - for doing the exact same thing.

War Oil Treason - The Real WOT

In the last few days, amid Craig news, we have been beaten with the "Benchmarks" that the Iraqi government has failed to achieve. Three out of eighteen were. Bush is demanding, without yet seeing this report, that we give his "surge" more time to work. He's also demanding another 50 billion (yep! That's dollars) for his little war, all the while eyeing Iran.
With that in mind, think about this little benchmark:

Allow two-thirds of Iraq’s oil fields to be developed by private oil corporations. In contrast, the oil industry has been nationalized in every other major Middle Eastern producer for over 30 years.

Place governing decisions over oil in a new body known as the Iraqi Federal Oil and Gas Council, which may include foreign oil companies;

Open the door for foreign oil companies to lock up decades-long deals now, when the Iraqi government is at its weakest.

Ah the pivotal benchmark that has not been met!

We are not at war with Iraq. That now is certain. We are holding them hostage. And, with Iran years from a nuclear weapon, no wonder Bush is eyeing them so closely and taking every opportunity to point at Iran and blame. No nukes and lots of oil!

The left has insisted this war was not a war of terror, but a war for oil. We have been called anti-American. We have been been told we hate the troops and do not support them. We have been laughed at and ridiculed. Even though, we were absolutely right.

If you think about it, the only ones Bush and Co. has been able to hold hostage with his wars and his fear mongering are the right wings that, unfortunately, help occupy this country.

Bedtime For Gonzo

"It has been one of my greatest privileges to lead the department of justice."

Alberto Gonzales August 27th 2007


And what a great leader he was!

He lead left leaning US Federal Prosecutors right out of their jobs.
He lead a nation, who prides itself on being moral and just, to redefine torture and not only allow it, embrace it.
He lead that same country to go against all that we stand for by banishing the term "POW" from this disaster that is called the "War on Terror". They, now being referred to as "Enemy Combatants", do not fall under the same rights as Prisoners of War. These "enemies" have no rights.

(Bush) called Gonzales a man of integrity, decency and principle. He said he had been reluctant to accept the resignation, which came after "months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction at the justice department".

He would see it that way... wouldn't he?

So, good bye Gonzo. It's nice to know that you stayed true to the bushies form. You lied, were about to get caught, then bolted and ran for cover. You Helped in the destruction of the American Constitution. You have raped and pillaged every single American right and liberty. You helped the American people feel nice and safe as you sought, and won, to remove every ounce of dignity and privacy they had. You, with your fingerprint on the detainee bill, helped this country become even more hated. You proved to those who didn't like us, that they had solid ground to hate.

Oh, sleep well Gonzo you did the kings bidding and like many before you, paid the price. I certainly hope the pay was worth the destruction of a county.

Sweet dreams, and may you and all of your destructors of human life and democracy rot in hell. May the door hit you squarely in ass on your way out.

And This is the Way we Support Our Troops

Imagine living in a world or a country where doing the right thing, was wrong. Welcome to the land of Bushco!

If you saw a robbery, would you report it?

What if, in reporting that robbery, you were detained and tortured?

I know, this sounds a little too sci-fi to be real. Unfortunately, it isn't. It's happening now, today.

One after another, the men and women who have stepped forward to report corruption in the massive effort to rebuild Iraq have been vilified, fired and demoted.

Or worse.

For daring to report illegal arms sales, Navy veteran Donald Vance says he was imprisoned by the American military in a security compound outside Baghdad and subjected to harsh interrogation methods.

There were times, huddled on the floor in solitary confinement with that head-banging music blaring dawn to dusk and interrogators yelling the same questions over and over, that Vance began to wish he had just kept his mouth shut.

He had thought he was doing a good and noble thing when he started telling the FBI about the guns and the land mines and the rocket-launchers — all of them being sold for cash, no receipts necessary, he said. He told a federal agent the buyers were Iraqi insurgents, American soldiers, State Department workers, and Iraqi embassy and ministry employees.

The seller, he claimed, was the Iraqi-owned company he worked for, Shield Group Security Co.

“It was a Wal-Mart for guns,” he says. “It was all illegal and everyone knew it.”

So Vance says he blew the whistle, supplying photos and documents and other intelligence to an FBI agent in his hometown of Chicago because he didn’t know whom to trust in Iraq.

For his trouble, he says, he got 97 days in Camp Cropper, an American military prison outside Baghdad that once held Saddam Hussein, and he was classified a security detainee.

Also held was colleague Nathan Ertel, who helped Vance gather evidence documenting the sales, according to a federal lawsuit both have filed in Chicago, alleging they were illegally imprisoned and subjected to physical and mental interrogation tactics “reserved for terrorists and so-called enemy combatants.”

Why isn't this on the headline of every news station, every paper? Oh, that's right! We are living in the land of Bushco where reality does not exist. Where fear and domination reign. A kingdom that does not recognize human rights or human suffering.

The madness of King George, unfortunately, lives on.

A High Five to Murtha!

It looks like our impeachment efforts are making a real difference. On CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, Rep. John Murtha raised the possibility of impeaching the president.

"We've already compromised," Murtha said. "And we need to make this president understand, Mr. President, the public has spoken. There's three ways or four ways to influence a president. One is popular opinion, the election, third is impeachment, and fourth is the purse." Host Bob Schieffer followed up, pressing him on whether impeachment was a serious option on the table. Murtha responded, "I'm just saying that's one way to influence a president."

Murtha no doubt cleared his comments with Speaker Nancy Pelosi before his appearance, which would indicate that impeachment is back "on the table" where it belongs. But Murtha is going to get a lot of heat for speaking truth to power, and his staff will be inclined to back off. Murtha needs to hear our support and encouragement immediately.

Call Jack Murtha to thank him and ask him to sign onto Dennis Kucinich's bill to begin impeachment proceedings against Vice President Cheney: (202) 225-2065.
___________________

Tell the Pollsters: No More Excuses

There is no longer any possible excuse for polling companies' refusal to ask Americans whether they support the impeachment of Cheney or Bush. Articles of impeachment have been introduced in Congress. Prominent Congress Members are discussing the topic on television talk shows. Please go here to ask all the polling companies to start asking the question.

On Saturday, April 28th, impeachment events were held in 43 states and several foreign countries. George W. Bush met a major protest in Miami, Fla. The California Democratic Party passed a resolution demanding impeachment at a convention in San Diego hosted by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Citizens on both coasts spelled I-M-P-E-A-C-H with their bodies on numerous beaches. Rallies and town forums gathered crowds and made the news everywhere.

Together, our one voice has brought us this far. Did you really think we would be seeing this two years ago? We did this. We can finish this. Then... We celebrate! then... we work together to rebuild this great nation to all that we know it can be, that it should be, that it once was and shall be again!

Daddys Blame, Sons Game

October 13, 1993, Bush expressed concern that the humanitarian mission to Somalia that he had launched nearly a year earlier was being "messed up" by the Clinton administration. "If you're going to put somebody else's son or daughter into harm's way, into battle, you've got to know the answer to three questions," Bush told the students. He said the president has to know what the mission is, "how they are going to do it," and "how they're going to get out of there." Several news reports noted that Bush's comments appeared to violate his earlier pledge not to publicly criticize Clinton during his first year in office. [The New York Times, 10/14/93; The Boston Globe, 10/23/93]

That was George Sr. It does make one wonder what he thinks of his son, does it not?

While campaigning with Dole days before the 1996 presidential election, Bush suggested that Clinton had compromised the "integrity of the White House. "What matters to me now is the integrity of the White House," he said. "I believe in duty, honor, country," he continued. "I believe in service. I believe in keeping the White House above partisan politics, away from these puny, terrible disputes we're seeing." [Chicago Tribune, 11/1/96]

In a letter released on April 23, 1998, Bush "criticized the White House and its allies for their continuing public campaign to criticize [independent counsel Kenneth] Starr and undermine his investigation," according to a New York Times article published that day. In the letter, Bush professed to hold Starr -- who at the time was investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair -- "in high regard."

On the 4th anniversary of some bullshit "mission accomplished" speech, dickhead jr saw fit to veto a bill that gave him billions of dollars. All he had to do in return was save hundreds, maybe thousands of lives. Thus, we enter the spin zone.

Welcome to the world of the great double standard. Sr bashed Clinton, jr commits the crimes. I say we agree with Sr. Impeach them all = ASAFP.

Spinning a Web of Lies

How many of us have heard the mantra, "We can win in Iraq" or something similar?

I have spent three years listening to this. Again, we are now listing to the minorities in Congress rant this phrase over and over. If it isn't this it's words like "victory" and another personal favorite, "losing is not an option." Which ranks right up there with "If we don't fight them there, we'll have to fight them here". All lies.

We've heard that during WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam.... Can we get some originality in this administration - please!

Back on the Iraq mantra's, what is there to "win" in Iraq? We are bombarded with this "victory" ideal, yet no one can seem to answer that question. Hell, I have yet to see anyone ask. According to Bush's speech leading us into this abyss, it was to find WMD's, oust Saddam and liberate the Iraqi people. Maybe I was dreaming, but it seems to me these points have been "mission accomplished". So, whats to win?

Let's see, Bush's new stock is in coffin making companies? Flag making Companies? Ethnic cleansing isn't "mission accomplished"?

Or could it be, this?

Iraq could hold almost twice as much oil in its reserves as had been thought, according to the most comprehensive independent study of its resources since the US-led invasion in 2003.

The potential presence of a further 100bn barrels in the western desert highlights the opportunity for Iraq to be one of the world’s biggest oil suppliers, and its attractions for international oil companies – if the conflict in the country can be resolved.

If confirmed, it would raise Iraq from the world’s third largest source of oil reserves with 116bn barrels to second place, behind Saudi Arabia and overtaking Iran.

Now, with such an honest and God fearing president, that can't possible be true right?

Remember this?

We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas. Saddam Hussein also has experience in using chemical weapons. He has ordered chemical attacks on Iran, and on more than forty villages in his own country. These actions killed or injured at least 20,000 people, more than six times the number of people who died in the attacks of September the 11th.

And surveillance photos reveal that the regime is rebuilding facilities that it had used to produce chemical and biological weapons. Every chemical and biological weapon that Iraq has or makes is a direct violation of the truce that ended the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Yet, Saddam Hussein has chosen to build and keep these weapons despite international sanctions, U.N. demands, and isolation from the civilized world.

How about this?

America believes that all people are entitled to hope and human rights, to the non-negotiable demands of human dignity. People everywhere prefer freedom to slavery; prosperity to squalor; self-government to the rule of terror and torture. America is a friend to the people of Iraq. Our demands are directed only at the regime that enslaves them and threatens us. When these demands are met, the first and greatest benefit will come to Iraqi men, women and children. The oppression of Kurds, Assyrians, Turkomans, Shi'a, Sunnis and others will be lifted. The long captivity of Iraq will end, and an era of new hope will begin.

We all know how that worked out, don't we?

Now, this:

We did not ask for this present challenge, but we accept it. Like other generations of Americans, we will meet the responsibility of defending human liberty against violence and aggression. By our resolve, we will give strength to others. By our courage, we will give hope to others. And by our actions, we will secure the peace, and lead the world to a better day.

What about March of '03?

We come to Iraq with respect for its citizens, for their great civilization and for the religious faiths they practice. We have no ambition in Iraq, except to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people.

I know that the families of our military are praying that all those who serve will return safely and soon. Millions of Americans are praying with you for the safety of your loved ones and for the protection of the innocent. For your sacrifice, you have the gratitude and respect of the American people. And you can know that our forces will be coming home as soon as their work is done.

Well, those are Bush's words, not mine. So, tell me, what's to win? Why are we still there? And what makes Bush or Cheney or any neocon for that matter believe that they are better than these "terrorist producing" states? Maybe it's just me, but when I re-read these speeches, I thought I saw this administration become what they say they are defending us from.

These words and actions are acts of treason. We must impeach now and bring our troops home. It will take decades to recover from the lies and hell the last six years have done to us, to other nations, to our reputation, to our people.

Support our troops with respect and honor they deserve. Demand Impeachment.

*Thanks to Jim at Derosas World for the Link.

United We Stand

I know it seems I've been derelict in my duties lately, and for that I apologize. I have an URI and all I seem to care to do is sleep. Except in times like this.

We have sat back and watched the double-standard corruption of a stolen presidency. We have screamed "enough!" and our voices were cast aside under the guise of "patriotism". We have sat on the sidelines, bound and gaged, as this administration led us into an illegal war and defied engineers who demanded the levees of New Orleans be replaced. My God! Spend money there?? What about the Carlyle group? Halliburton? .... wait.... I mean the troops...

We fought for truth when we heard the lies, we fought for honesty in the middle of corruption. We stood for sanity while they insisted we be afraid and pointed at maps calling blobs WMD's. We heard the people cry over their flag draped coffins while they used them as pawns for political gain. We heard "stay the course" while mothers, Iraqi and American, wept. We heard, "...in the last throws.." and knew lies. We heard, "troop surge" and saw truth.

The only thing we have not seen, the only thing we have not heard these last seven years in hell, is justice. We have demanded, cried and begged for it. Now, with the power of the pen, we may see it.

Please join me. Sign this, pass it to your readers, your friends, your enemys, anyone, everyone. The time is now to end the madness, the corruption. The last mother has cried out at the needless death of her child. The last child has wept at his parents grave site. The time is now for the American people to stand up and demand to be heard. The only way for us to be heard, is in one voice.

Stem Cell Research is Bad for Bush Business

Not a soul out there thinks that I think this administration is semi-sane. Not one would think I believe they have our best interests at heart. Now, I think, is just one more nail in the GOP coffin. Why wouldn't they like the idea of helping their fellow man? Why would the idea of stem cell research be bad?

President Bush continues to celebrate the recent passage of Medicare legislation and to advocate for a federal medical malpractice bill that would limit the legal rights of severely injured patients.

Both measures have been vigorously supported by drug manufacturers, insurance companies, HMOs, nursing homes and medical device companies, as well as doctors and lobbyists. And both would deliver paybacks to Bush's elite fundraisers.
(snip)
In the final push for Medicare prescription drug legislation, the pharmaceutical industry, HMOs and related interests spent more money and hired more lobbyists in 2003 than ever before, according to The Medicare Drug War, a new report by Public Citizen. The pharmaceutical and managed care industries spent a combined $141 million last year. Drugmakers and HMOs hired 952 individual lobbyists in 2003 – nearly half of whom had "revolving door" connections to Congress, the White House or the executive branch.

Drug industry and HMO executives and lobbyists also rank among President Bush’s elite fundraisers. Twenty-one executives and lobbyists achieved "Ranger" or "Pioneer" status. These Rangers and Pioneers have collected at least $3.4 million for Bush so far.

Ah ha! If Bush's main contributions come from drug companies and HMO executives, my wondering would stop here. Knowing that these "people" are driven by cash, is the exclamation point. He can not let down his best buds. For example, stem cell research could mean less insulin produced, less pricey medications needed.

All of this makes me wonder further, just who does this idiot work for? Drug companies? Oil companies? Halliburton? Because it sure as hell doesn't seem to be the American people.

ITMFA!

Where'd They Go?

How long is 18 minutes? How long is 18 minutes missing from your favorite CD? How long was an 18 minute gap on Nixon's tape? Being a betting person, I'll bet it's actually not quite as long as this White House losing five million e-mails. Nope, that was not a type-o. 5,000,000 How in the hell do you "lose" them? Only one word comes to my mind. DELETE.

In the Nixon era, 18 minutes lost on a tape meant a few prison sentences and an impeachment (or would have been if Nixon had not resigned.)

Flash forward 30ish years, what will 5,000,000 "lost" subpoenaed e-mails mean? My guess? Nothing, the Presidential Records Act calls for the saving, not the deletion, of White House records. Looks like a crime has been committed here. Yet we all know what happens next - nothing.

Senate Judicial Committee Chairman Pat Leahy requested information from the White House regarding the recent firing of 8 U.S. attorneys. Amazingly, the newspapers tell us:

FIVE MILLION e-mails were lost by the White House according to a just released report from CREW called "WITHOUT A TRACE: The Missing White House Emails and the Violations of the Presidential Records Act." FIVE MILLION...that's insane.
Maybe it's insane for the rest of us. Not for the Bush White House. In any even, does anyone believe this? Not Leahy:

“They say they have not been preserved. I don’t believe that!” Leahy shouted from the Senate floor. “You can’t erase e-mails, not today. They’ve gone through too many servers. Those e-mails are there, they just don’t want to produce them. We’ll subpoena them if necessary.... Like the famous 18-minute gap in the Nixon White House tapes, it appears likely that key documentation has been erased or misplaced. This sounds like the Administration’s version of ‘the dog ate my homework.’”

The secretive government is at it again!

Bush decided that many White House emails would contain "politically sensitive" information and should not get into the hands of pesky Democrats. So, several top officials were issued laptops with which they could tie into the email system of the RNC. This they used whenever the occasion called for it. Pretty neat, eh?

Have we had enough yet?