16 Pakistani Soldiers Killed in Attack

Militants attacked security forces Wednesday in northwest Pakistan, killing 16 soldiers and wounding up to 21 others in two separate strikes against military convoys, officials said.

The escalating violence follows the scrapping by militant leaders of a 10-month-old peace accord with the government in the Afghan frontier region of North Waziristan.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said he would not declare a state of emergency in face of the mounting bloodshed and claimed that al-Qaida in Pakistan was on the run, his spokesman told The Associated Press.

"Al-Qaida has weakened because of the actions taken by Pakistani forces," Musharraf was quoted by spokesman Rashid Quereshi as telling newspaper editors.

The president said elections scheduled for later this year would be held on time.

Adding to Musharraf's woes was a suicide bombing Tuesday night in Islamabad before a rally to support the country's chief justice in his face-off with the president. Supporters of former Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry accused the government of being behind the attack, which killed 16 people. Musharaff tried to fire the independent-minded Chaudhry, sparking a popular backlash.

The meltdown in Pakistan continues. Pervez Musharraf is hanging onto power by a thread and if he is toppled we will be faced with one of the most dangerous situations the world has ever known. Where will we get the military resources to stop a nuclear armed, terrorist controlled Pakistan? Now can you finally understand why the war in Iraq has been an even bigger disaster than previously thought? The problems in Pakistan are a direct result of our decision to invade Iraq instead of continuing the fight against al-Qaida in Afghanistan.

Senate To Vote at 11:00 AM on Cloture

The Senate will vote at 11:00 AM To end debate on the Reed-Levin Bill that would require troop withdrawal within 120 days.

Sixty votes are required to end the Republican filibuster against the amendment sponsored by Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Democrats are expected to fall short.

At most, Democrats are likely to muster about 52 votes with the help of three Republicans, Olympia Snowe of Maine, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon.

This filibuster to stop a vote on ending the war is being conducted by the same people who insisted and got an up or down vote on two Supreme Court nominees. The Republicans have one set of rules for themselves and a completely different set for everyone else.

The facts is that this war in Iraq is not winnable because no one knows what winning is. The Bush administration is responsible for the worst foreign policy disaster in our history. The effects of this war on the region will be felt for a generation long after this fool has left office to go back to doing what he is most qualified to do - nothing.

In 2008 we must all make our voices heard and hold to account those lawmakers who put party over country and special interests over the public interest. Only when lawmakers realize that we are paying attention and will hold them to account will the political situation in this country improve. There are no good options left in Iraq which is the result of a bad policy coming home to roost. The violence will increase no matter when we leave. The question is how many of our troops will die needlessly trying to prevent the inevitable.

The people of Iraq deserved better than a policy based on revenge. Saddam Hussein is dead as George W. Bush wanted but the people of his country will suffer for a generation. His people and our troops are now being used as pawns in a deadly game of chess where there can be no winner.

Senate To Pull An All Nighter

The Senate has rolled in cots and will stay in session until they get a vote on a proposal to get our troops out of Iraq.

Republican leaders are using procedural tactics to block the measure from moving forward on the Senate floor.

Senators are debating a plan, proposed as an amendment to a defense bill, that calls for a U.S. troop pullout from Iraq to begin within 120 days and completed by next April.

Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, is a key sponsor.

"The Bush administration's current policy is straining our military, inhibiting our ability to fight the war on terrorism, diminishing our standing in the international community, and rapidly losing the support of the American public," he said. "In sum, it is a policy that cannot be sustained."

This will most likely not accomplish its stated goal but it will highlight for the American people the intractable Republican position. Hopefully people will finally relaize that this war can not end until there are 60 votes to get any proposal to the Senate floor and 2/3 of each house to override a sure presidential veto.

The republicans will use the argument that they need to stay to fight Al-Qaeda in Iraq. We must continually remind them that this terrorist group did not exist prior to our invasion of Iraq. The basis for the war was all lies and the execution of the war a complete disaster. How many more must die before the Republicans will do the right thing and end this disastrous war.

Al-Qaeda Re-Emerging in Pakistan

I have been writing for some time on my belief that Pakistan is the most dangerous country on earth. This report confirms what I have been saying.

The al-Qaeda terrorist network has been regenerating its ability to carry out attacks on US soil by finding refuge in a remote region of Pakistan, a US intelligence report released Tuesday said.

Al-Qaeda's top operatives and leadership have found safe-haven in Pakistan's frontier areas near the border with Afghanistan, a region referred to as the Pakistan Federally Administered Tribal Areas, where the government exercises little control, the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) said.

Am I the only one that remembers when President Bush said any country that harbors terrorists will be dealt with by the United States? Instead he attacked Iraq, a country that did not harbor terrorists. You will hear people point to Saddam Hussein's payments to the families of suicide bombers as proof of his involvement with terrorists. The goverment of Saudi Arabia does exactly the same thing and 14 of the 19 hijackers of 9/11 were Saudi yet no military action was taken on the Saudi government. This is exactly the same thing that is happening with Pakistan while we continue the drumbeat for war with Iran.

When will the American people finally realize that our citizens are being used as pawns in a very dangerous game. If premptive war is fine for Iraq then why haven't they used the military to attack the training camps now flourishing in Pakistan? Possibly no money can be made by attacking Pakistan since they are not known for their oil reserves and Saudi Arabian military purchases are already enriching American firms with ties to the Bush administration. The empty rhetoric of the Bush administration has left America more vulnerable to terrorism but has enriched his cronies. That simple fact alone should be grounds for impeachment.

Editorial That Tells It Like It Is

From the Albuquerque Journal:

It's hard to know what to think these days about U.S. security, what with attempted car bombings at Britain's airports, terrorist threat assessments rising in the United States, nonspecific warnings of a possible terrorist attack this summer and President Bush finally facing a serious policy showdown on Iraq.

Americans should be miffed when U.S. counterterrorism officials say al-Qaida is revived and reinvigorated and Iraq has made little to no progress toward its own independence and security - and when Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says he has "a gut feeling" that the U.S. will be attacked this summer. Nothing specific, nothing factual, nothing credible, mind you, Chertoff says. Just his uneasy gut.

Attentive Americans have figured out since Sept. 11, 2001, and the Homeland Security Advisory System of colors was introduced that it always seemed the threat level was raised whenever some otherwise unfavorable administration news was occurring. What color is gut?

Is it coincidence that with Republican senators jumping off Bush's floundering Iraq ship - like bullfrogs off a hot tin roof - the specter of a bigger, meaner al-Qaida is being raised and terrorist-attack guts are being checked? Perhaps.

But maybe from the people's perspective - those 70 percent or so of Americans who now want the United States out of Iraq - the timing is the perfect storm. The convergence is amazing for those who want to spin the news right back at an administration that:

Has obsessed over Iraq, which posed no threat to the United States when it was invaded.

Has ignored al-Qaida's growth and resurgence in Pakistan and, perhaps, parts of Afghanistan.

Hasn't a clue where Osama bin Laden is.

Continues to represent the civil war in Iraq as a terrorist threat to the United States.

Insists in the face of the brutal realities on the ground, and in its own reports and assessments, that the United States and/or the Iraqis are making progress.

One of the blunt realities of this week's al-Qaida threat assessment, which found the terrorist group "considerably operationally stronger" and "regrouped to an extend not seen since 2001," should be that Bush's policies not only permitted this to happen by waging an unnecessary and all-consumptive war in Iraq, but it also created a grand opportunity for al-Qaida to do battlefield training during our four-year occupation of Iraq.

Given that U.S. forces have been largely pinned down in the bloody Iraq occupation and civil war for the past four years, should it surprise anyone in Washington, Peoria or Albuquerque that al-Qaida has regrouped and grown stronger in its historic stomping grounds of Pakistan and Afghanistan?

Is it also coincidence that almost nobody is talking about persistent homeland vulnerabilities here, including U.S. ports, power plants, refineries, depots and other vital elements of infrastructure?

Would it really shock any American if Chertoff's gut proved right? After four years in Iraq, does it appear we have terrorism on the ropes? How many Americans believe Bush when he says, for what must be the hundredth time, that we are making progress in Iraq and we can "win." And would we know it if it happened?

Do Americans feel any safer approaching the sixth anniversary of 9/11, given the dismal performance of Homeland Security during and after Hurricane Katrina? Not to mention, of course, that two years after that gruesome tragedy, the inexcusable reality remains that much of New Orleans and the Katrina-afflicted Gulf Coast look like they belong in Iraq, not the American South.

And what of the governors who say our National Guard and Reserve units are understaffed and ill-equipped and, worse, not here to respond to domestic emergencies or natural disasters?

Americans deserve honest assessments of terrorist threats, as well as our vulnerabilities to them, and Congress must evaluate them honestly and stringently.

But more importantly, Americans deserve action from a government that has failed to focus its power, resources and precious people on the real security problems at home and abroad.

This administration's policies have completely missed the mark on all fronts.

The Senate, including the Republican minority, should be leading this nation, in the gross absence of sensible leadership from a president and commander-in-chief who continues to fail us miserably.

It is not about accepting failure in Iraq anymore. It is about recognizing and changing the policies that have utterly failed our soldiers, failed the people of Iraq and continue to fail the American people.

Dow Jones, Murdoch Reach a Deal

This is not good news as more of our media is put in the hands of the owner of Fox News.

Executives from Dow Jones have agreed to the major terms of a deal to sell the company to News Corp., a move that would give Rupert Murdoch long-sought control of the Wall Street Journal, the nation's preeminent financial newspaper, according to a source familiar with the talks.

The Dow Jones board will meet as early as this afternoon to formally consider Murdoch's unsolicited $5 billion bid, made in April, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are ongoing.

The consolidation of our media into just a few hands is dangerous for our Democracy and must be resisted. The fourth estate, as the media is often called, should be neutral. Is there anyone that thinks the common good is being served by our current media?

What they will do next is try to bring the last bastion of media freedom, the internet under the control of these same firms. This must be resisted at all costs. One of the major reasons that the American public is so uninformed on the issues of the day is the sad state of our media.

One only has to look at the run up to the Iraq War to understand how our media has let us down. Instead of being a place that would examine all aspects of the proposed war they simply reported what was being sold by the Bush administration. That has led us to where we are today. This latest power grab by News Corp is very troubling. We must go back to the time when media ownership was limited. Without that you can kiss this democracy goodbye.

Hypocrisy Republican Style

With the recent revelations that pro family, anti-gay Senator Vitter from Louisiana likes to frequent prostitutes where is the outrage among the Conservatives? Am I the only one who finds it hypocritical that a man, who believes my relationships are worthless because I am Gay, has engaged in an illegal activity and violated the vows he swore to uphold?

I would like to tell Mr. Vitter a few things:

1) I have never cheated on anyone I was in a committed relationship with
2) I have never illegally paid for sex.

You said during the Clinton impeachment that he should be judged on the moral issues, I ask that you do the same for yourself. Is it moral to frequent prostitutes in violation of the law while satisfying your sexual fantasies? I have no problem with your diaper fetish as I believe what two people do behind closed doors is their business it is you who feels the government belongs in my bedroom. If you follow your own words you will resign immediately.

The Conservatives ridiculed Hillary Clinton for staying with her husband. Where is the same ridicule for your wife? The Conservative movement has nothing to do with morality and everything to do with gaining power. The Conservative motto should be "Do as I say not as I do". I believe America is finally waking up and realizing the most immoral among us are those that scream out for morality the loudest.

It is time for your resignation Senator Vitter. Pack up your diapers and head back to Louisiana.

Pakistan Tries To Salvage Militant Truce

The government sent tribal elders to meet with militant leaders in Pakistan's lawless northwest frontier Monday in an attempt to salvage a cease-fire renounced amid a series of suicide attacks and bombings, officials said.

Islamic militants at the weekend disavowed the 10-month-old agreement in North Waziristan and launched attacks that killed 73 people — most of them soldiers and police recruits.

The truce had reduced violence in the region, but critics like the United States argued it only allowed extremists to grow stronger in the Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold — and plan more attacks on U.S. and NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan.

Akram Khan Durrani, the top elected official of North West Province, said that failure of the peace deal would have "dangerous consequences."

Without a truce it becomes more likely that the current government will fall to militants. The United States, while being critical of the truce, should understand that the alternative could be a Taliban like government with nuclear capabilities.

I have written extensively about Pakistan and my feeling that it is the most dangerous nation on earth. Unfortunately it is not on every nightly newscast. The American people need to understand that while our government makes a case to attack Iran, the situation in Pakistan grows ever more bleak.

We are witnessing the total collapse of an intelligent American foreign policy under this administration. The so called neocons of this administration are not looking at Pakistan but Iran as their next great heist. Maybe we should try to convince them that Pakistan is loaded with oil. I am sure that would get their attention. Don't say I didn't warn you when you wake up and hear the news that the government of Pakistan has fallen. If you think we have trouble now just think of the possibilities of a nuclear Pakistan under a rogue Taliban supporting government. Iraq will look like a day at Disney in comparison.

Insurgent Bombers Kill 74 In Iraq

Insurgents killed at least 74 people in four separate bombing attacks Monday in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk.

In the predominantly Kurdish city of Kirkuk, a bomb-laden truck blew up in a busy commercial part of the city, killing 65 people and injuring 170 others, CNN quoted police as saying.

So you completely understand what is happening in Iraq I want you to follow along in this little experiment. Close your eyes and ask yourself what you see? Nothing correct!! That is the number of car bombs that were in Iraq prior to the United States invasion.

We pushed this country into civil war and are responsible for the death and destruction that has resulted. It is exactly the same as if we threw gasoline on the floor and then lit a match. Do you still think they hate us for our freedom? We have wrought more death and destruction onto a people who we supposedly wanted to liberate than any one thought possible.

Bush On Saddam: ‘That Motherf*cker Tried To Take Out My Dad’

From Think Progress:

President Bush attempted to convince the nation that Saddam Hussein had WMD as justification for invading Iraq in 2003. In Oct. 2002, for example, he stated, “If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous weapons today — and we do — does it make any sense for the world to wait to confront him as he grows even stronger and develops even more dangerous weapons?”

But today on the progressive radio program The Cappy McGarr Show, host Cappy McGarr reveals through a conversation with former Sen. Majority Leader Tom Daschle that in private, Bush’s real motivation was a personal vendetta:

Of all the reasons used to justify this awful war, the one that stunned me the most…and will shock you…was the one I heard from a close friend of mine former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Senator Daschle was Majority Leader at the time.

The Senate and The House Leadership were meeting with President Bush for a weekly breakfast back then, and as our country was leading up to the Iraq war. … Bush got to talking about why we needed this war, and here’s what he said to Senator Daschle “We need to get Saddam Hussein…that Mother _______ tried to take out my Dad.”

People have been saying that this was the reason for the war for some time. I could not believe that his advisers would allow our country to be taken into a war to satisfy a personal vendetta. Then all you need to do is remember that the Project For a New American Century wanted this war back in the 90's during the Clinton Administration. President Clinton had the good sense to reject this policy. When George W. Bush was elected they realized that they had someone of limited intellect that could be persuaded to start this war. They knew just what buttons to push. The result is a Middle East in turmoil, staggering loss of life and a generation of debt. Electing a fool has consequences.

British Very Worried About Pakistan

As a complement to what I recently posted about Pakistan comes this report from a British newspaper.

Britain's most senior generals have issued a blunt warning to Downing Street that the military campaign in Afghanistan is facing a catastrophic failure, a development that could lead to an Islamist government seizing power in neighbouring Pakistan.
Amid fears that London and Washington are taking their eye off Afghanistan as they grapple with Iraq, the generals have told Number 10 that the collapse of the government in Afghanistan, headed by Hamid Karzai, would present a grave threat to the security of Britain.

It is good to see a newspaper reporting what I have been saying since I started this site. This is due to a colossal failure of the Bush administration when they decided to participate in the biggest heist of natural resources in world history instead of actually destroying the real enemy.

When your Republican friends tell you that they feel safer now than before 9/11 please have them read this. I doubt it will do any good but you can try. They seem to live in a fantasy world of good and evil where good always triumphs. In the real world evil in the form of terrorism is evident but evil in the form of foreign policy is debated as people around the world die. I beleive that terrorism in any form is evil and that includes what we did to the people of Iraq. Is there anyone who still belives that our reason for the invasion of Iraq was actually nuclear weapons when Pakistan has always been a country that harbored terrorists and has had nuclear capabilities for some time? You can dress a pig up but its still a pig. That is our policy in Iraq and the consequences are being felt all the way to Pakistan.

Militants Kill 38 in Northwest Pakistan

Suicide attackers struck a police headquarters and a military convoy on Sunday in Pakistan's northwest, killing as many as 38 people in an intensifying anti-government campaign in an area long known as a haven for the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Militants in the Afghan border region disavowed a 10-month old truce with the government that critics said gave them a safe haven from which to launch attacks on Afghan, U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

I have been writing extensively on Pakistan. I believe it to be the most dangerous nation on earth. When we invaded Iraq and took the troops out of Afghanistan we in effect destabilized Pakistan. Now the results of that destabilization are being felt. If Pakistan falls to the terrorists it will almost surely lead to some sort of nuclear conflict. Pakistan is a nuclear country and if their government falls we could be looking at a terrorist controlled country with a military and nuclear capabilities.

My question is why no one seems to be talking about this in these terms. Are they afraid of giving the American people the truth or are they just afraid that the American people will finally figure out that the Bush administration has been responsible for creating an ever more dangerous world.

Obama: Shift troops to fight al-Qaida

The U.S. should shift troops from Iraq to pursue al-Qaida along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Saturday.

He said President Bush's war-fighting policies have left the United States at greater risk from terrorists. The first-term Illinois senator said decisions by the Republican president had allowed Osama bin Laden and his deputies to elude capture.

"We cannot win a war against the terrorists if we're on the wrong battlefield," Obama said. "America must urgently begin deploying from Iraq and take the fight more effectively to the enemy's home by destroying al-Qaida's leadership along the Afghan-Pakistan border, eliminating their command and control networks and disrupting their funding."

This is what all the Democratic candidates need to be saying. The fact is that the war in Iraq has diverted us from the real enemy while creating hundreds of thousands more. Nothing makes me want to scream more than those who keep talking about terrorists now in Iraq. They always forget to mention that they were not there until we invaded. Our Middle East policies are the reason for their intense hatred for us. If you believe that they simply hate us for our freedom then you are simply unable to understand the world around us. Unfortunately people in that category include this dim witted President.

New Bin Laden Videotape Appears

A new al-Qaida videotape posted Sunday on a militant Web site featured a short, undated clip of a weary-looking Osama bin Laden praising martyrdom.

The bin Laden clip, which lasted less than a minute, was part of a 40-minute video featuring purported al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan paying tribute to fellow militants who have been killed in the country.

Bin Laden glorified those who die in the name of jihad, or holy war, saying even the Prophet Muhammad "had been wishing to be a martyr."

"The happy (man) is the one that God has chosen him to be a martyr," added bin Laden, who was shown outdoors wearing army fatigues and looking tired.

The authenticity of the video could not be verified, but it appeared on a Web site commonly used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of as-Sahab, al-Qaida's media production wing. It was not immediately clear when the video of bin Laden was filmed.

Everyone reading this report should remember that Bin Laden was the one responsible for 9/11 but was allowed to escape at Tora Bora. What John Kerry said during the 2004 election was absolutely correct. We also had the chance to catch Ayman al-Zawahri and we did not. Remember that when al-Qaida strikes again. Stupidity has consequences and when the President of the United States is an intellectual lightweight this is the result.

The Republicans Are Caving On Iraq

The public has long since lost patience with the Iraq War. By and large Americans realize it is an untenable situation whose cost in lives and dollars is simply no longer worth it. This fact has been expressed in the low approval ratings for the Democratic Congress which was elected to end this disastrous war. What is happening now points to an extremely smart political plan to bring as many Republicans as possible over to the Democratic position to begin the pullout of our troops.

When the President vetoed the war spending plan the war was funded through March 07 but the bill that the President finally signed only funded the war through September. With every passing day the news from Iraq worsens and the Republican revolt, especially from those up for re-election in 2008, grows.

There is a new plan being discussed by Senators Lugar and Warner that would demand a new strategy by mid-October to restrict the mission of U.S. troops.

The two senators are considered the GOP's foremost national security experts. Warner was the longtime chairman of the Armed Services Committee until stepping down last year, while Lugar is the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee.

The legislation also draws heavily from existing GOP-backed proposals, increasing the chances of attracting support.

It would require Bush to submit by Oct. 16 a plan to "transition U.S. combat forces from policing the civil strife or sectarian violence in Iraq" to a narrow set of missions: protecting Iraqi borders, targeting terrorists, protecting U.S. assets and training Iraqi forces.

The bill suggests the plan be ready for implementation by next year.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid balked at the proposal because it would not require Bush to implement the strategy. He said he prefers legislation the Senate will vote on next week that would order combat troops to be out of Iraq by next spring.

Any legislation that does not require a withdrawal is just window dressing to provide cover for scared Republican lawmakers. It is time to cut off the funds for this war and tell Mr. Bush that playtime is over. He lost the game and now needs to be sent to his room to read "My Pet Goat" and ponder his ranking as the worst President in American history.

"Feel Good"

This animation puts the Iraq War in perspective through humor whose intention is not to make you laugh but to make you angry and sad and it does that brilliantly. How can we as Americans feel good about our country as the images of a destroyed Iraq and its people roll forward on this animation? My guess is that a large majority of Americans will not and will take stock of exactly what has been done in our name by these lunatics currently running our government.

Do You Ever Wonder Who Makes Up The 29% Who Support Bush?

Watch this and see the intellect of the 29% who still support this administration and its war in Iraq. This man is a moron. Lets hope he can read and that he understands that the Army did not meet its recruitment goals. He is 31 and they accept recuits up to age 42 now. They need him and he said he would go. How much do you want to bet this fool would never put his money where his mouth is? This is who supports this war. They are so willing to send your son or daughter off to die while making every excuse in the world for themselves. Oh wait, I guess the President and Vice President would also fall into that category.

Iran - Keep The Dollars and Pay us in Yen

Many people have speculated that the real reason for the War in Iraq was the decision of Iraq to change the way it was paid for Oil. The rumor is that they were going to request that all payments be made in Euros. Now Iran is starting to request payment in yen from the Japanese.

Iran asked Japanese refiners to switch to the yen to pay for all crude oil purchases, after Iran's central bank said it is reducing holdings of the U.S. dollar.

Iran wants yen-based transactions ``for any/all of your forthcoming Iranian crude oil liftings,'' according to a letter sent to Japanese refiners that was signed by Ali A. Arshi, general manager of crude oil marketing and exports in Tehran at the National Iranian Oil Co. The request is for all shipments ``effective immediately,'' according to the letter, dated July 10 and obtained by Bloomberg News.

The problem for our currency is that Iran is not the only country dumping dollars.

Iran isn't alone in wanting to drop the dollar for pricing oil. Russia has been examining plans to price the Urals oil export blend in rubles to curb currency risks. The nation plans to open the Energy Stock Exchange in St. Petersburg in the first half of next year to trade oil in rubles, UBS AG reported June 14.

Our currency which was the standard around the world is slowing becoming as welcome as Hillary Clinton at a Heritage Foundation conference. The unfortunate part of the slide of the dollars value around the world has been that it has not significantly increased our exports or lowered our trade imbalance.

Will the United States attack Iran for its decision to stop using the dollar? For those who think that was the real reason for the Iraq War, sleeping at night must be difficult.

Exxon Mobil Hits Milestone

Exxon Mobil becomes the first company on earth valued at $500 billion dollars.

Shares of Exxon Mobil rose 2.7 percent Thursday pushing the market capitalization of the Irving-based company to $504.9 billion — more than the annual economic output of Argentina, Finland and Kazakhstan combined. A 40 percent gain in the past 12 months made Exxon Mobil 26 percent bigger than General Electric Co., the next largest U.S. company.

A bottleneck in U.S. refining capacity also helped earnings for integrated companies such as Exxon Mobil that produce, process and market petroleum.

As you read this remember that this company receives tax breaks from the United States. This is an example of your tax dollars at work. It is time for a windfall profits tax.

What If You Had A Debate And No One Showed Up

The NAACP sponsored a Republican debate yet only one candidate showed up. Tom Tancredo, the immigrant hating candidate from Colorado was the only person at the podium with all the other chairs empty.

The Republicans hate civil rights and showed their distain for them by not showing up. Lets hope the African-American community does the same for them in 2008 and votes even more overwhelmingly for the Democratic candidate.

Maybe some of them were busy bailing out campaign staff for drugs and solicitation.

We Could Have Had Al-Qaeda's Number 3 But We Did Nothing

When you hear people say how Bill Clinton could have had Osama Bin Laden three times and did nothing tell them to read this post on AMERICAblog.

There is one set of rules for the Clinton Administration and a completely different set for the Bush Administration. Mistakes were certainly made by the Clinton Administration but how anyone can still claim our current situation is the fault of Bill Clinton either is a complete partisan or a complete fool.

They had Ayman al-Zawahri and decided not to go after him because they did not want to anger the governement of Pakistan. It is OK to overthrow a government and destroy their infrastructure while lying to your own people about the reasons but you are worried about the diplomatic problems of killing one of those responsible for 9/11. If you believe that I have a former NY Mayor you should vote for in the next Presidential election.

If you still beleive we are safer now than we were on September 10, 2001 then you are living in a fools paradise.

Al-Qaeda urges Pakistanis to revolt against Musharraf

Just today I posted this about a much stronger Al-Qaeda. Now comes this latest information.

Al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri urged Pakistanis to revolt against President Pervez Musharraf following the storming of the Red Mosque in Islamabad, in an audiotape posted Thursday on the Internet.

"I call upon the Ulama (Muslim clergy) in Pakistan... Musharraf and his hunting dogs have tarnished your honour in service of the crusades and the Jews," Zawahiri said, after stating that he was speaking on the "occasion of the criminal aggression" on the mosque.

"If you do not revolt, Musharraf will annihilate you. Musharraf will not stop until he uproots Islam from Pakistan," he added.

Remember my words, Pakistan could become the most dangerous nation on Earth if Musharraf is toppled. Pakistan is nuclear and Al-Qaeda is stronger because George W. Bush decided to get involved in the biggest heist in world history instead of destroying the group that had actually attacked us. How many American lives will be lost when the inevitable happens and we need to disarm a now hostile nuclear Pakistan?

CIA Said Iraq Instability Seemed 'Irreversible'

Long before the surge it was already obvious that Iraq was lost.

Early on the morning of Nov. 13, 2006, members of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group gathered around a dark wooden conference table in the windowless Roosevelt Room of the White House.

For more than an hour, they listened to President Bush give what one panel member called a "Churchillian" vision of "victory" in Iraq and defend the country's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. "A constitutional order is emerging," he said.

Later that morning, around the same conference table, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden painted a starkly different picture for members of the study group. Hayden said "the inability of the government to govern seems irreversible," adding that he could not "point to any milestone or checkpoint where we can turn this thing around," according to written records of his briefing and the recollections of six participants.

"The government is unable to govern," Hayden concluded. "We have spent a lot of energy and treasure creating a government that is balanced, and it cannot function."

Later in the interview, he qualified the statement somewhat: "A government that can govern, sustain and defend itself is not achievable," he said, "in the short term."

If the goverment of Iraq is unable to govern what are our soldiers fighting to save? Wasn't the reason for the surge to prop up the government? You can prop up a corpse but it is and will always be a corpse. After this report the question becomes if we knew the situation was already lost why did the Bush administration decide to use a surge strategy? The answer is either a President so out of touch with reality that he simply refuses to accept what is right in front of his face or it was a political calculation to not have to admit defeat publicly. My guess is that this was a political calculation and that the additional dead soldiers were acceptable collateral damage in an attempt to salvage the legacy of President Bush.

I realize this is a completely cynical view but with what we have seen over the past seven years it is obvious that these people will do anything and say anything to further their political agenda. A report like this should make people realize that this is a dangerous administration and impeachment proceedings may be the only way to stop them from committing further damage to our nation.

U.S. Warns Of Stronger Al-Qaeda

Do you remember after September 11, 2001 when President Bush said that those who attacked us would be hunted down and smoked out of their caves? Well the result after nearly six years is not so much.

Six years after the Bush administration declared war on al-Qaeda, the terrorist network is gaining strength and has established a safe haven in remote tribal areas of western Pakistan for training and planning attacks, according to a new Bush administration intelligence report to be discussed today at a White House meeting.

The report, a five-page threat assessment compiled by the National Counterterrorism Center, is titled "Al-Qaida Better Positioned to Strike the West," intelligence officials said. It concludes that the group has significantly rebuilt itself despite concerted U.S. attempts to smash the network.

The question we need to be asking is whether this war in Iraq has limited our ability to dismantle Al-Qaida. The answer is a resounding yes and the fault for this lies with the Bush administration. Before the War in Iraq Al-Qaida was not a presence within Iraq but now has a strong foothold and is one of the major stumbling blocks to stabilizing the country.

Pakisatan which harbors this group in the remote tribal areas has nuclear capabilities and could overnight become the most dangerous nation on earth if the government of Pervez Musharraf was to fall into rebel hands.

Should the United States be hit with another terrorist attack it will be the incompetence of the Bush administration that will be partially responsible. Instead of concentrating on the group that actually attacked us they chose to orchestrate the biggest heist in world history with the theft of the Iraqi oil.

The American people need to take the time to understand the issues as they currently stand. Our media has let us down so it is our responsibility as citizens to educate ourselves and take appropriate action.

The Firefighters Take a Swing At Rudy

Watch this Video and understand the true Rudy Giuliani. Hopefully people will finally understand that he is an opportunistic fraud who has made a fortune off of 9/11. Take the time and watch this whole video.

Inherent Contempt

With the Bush administration using commutation of sentences and executive privilege to hide its criminal behavior the question becomes how can you uncover the truth with so much stonewalling. Today Harriet Miers attorney said she will not be showing up tomorrow in response to a Congressional Subpoena, at the orders of the President. Yes you read that right, she will not even show up. Apparently the Bush administration feels they are above the law but Congress has a seldom used tool in their arsenal. That tool is called "Inherent Contempt".

Under this process, the procedure for holding a person in contempt involves only the chamber concerned. Following a contempt citation, the person cited for contempt is arrested by the Sergeant-at-Arms for the House or Senate, brought to the floor of the chamber, held to answer charges by the presiding officer, and then subject to punishment that the House may dictate (usually imprisonment for punishment reasons, imprisonment for coercive effect, or release from the contempt citation.)

Concerned with the time-consuming nature of a contempt proceeding and the inability to extend punishment further than the session of the Congress concerned (under Supreme Court rulings), Congress created a statutory process in 1857. While Congress retains its "inherent contempt" authority and may exercise it at any time, this inherent contempt process was last used by the Senate in 1934, against the Postmaster-General. After a one-week trial in the Senate floor (presided by the Vice-President of the United States, acting as Senate President), the Postmaster-General was found guilty and sentenced to 10 days imprisonment.

The Postmaster General had filed a petition of Habeas Corpus in federal courts to overturn his arrest, but after litigation, the US Supreme Court ruled that Congress had acted constitutionally, and denied the petition in the case Jurney v. MacCracken

It is time for Congress to take swift action against these criminals and restore the rule of law to the executive branch of our government. Write and call your representatives and tell them about this seldom used tactic.

Politics with Your Health

Former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona told a Congressional panel Tuesday that top Bush administration officials repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because of political considerations.

The administration, Dr. Carmona said, would not allow him to speak or issue reports about stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, or prison, mental and global health issues. Top officials delayed for years and tried to “water down” a landmark report on secondhand smoke, he said. Released last year, the report concluded that even brief exposure to cigarette smoke could cause immediate harm.

Dr. Carmona said he was ordered to mention President Bush three times on every page of his speeches. He also said he was asked to make speeches to support Republican political candidates and to attend political briefings.

How can we believe anything that comes out of this administration? All administrations are political but this administration brings it to a whole new level.

You have to wonder was anything ever done for the good of the people or was everything about getting Republicans elected. With each passing day we find out more and more of the corrupt practices of this administration. Impeach them now, 2008 may be too late.

Even The Green Zone Is Completely Unsafe

The fortified Green Zone has come under increasing attack in Baghdad. The Green Zone is home to the American Embassy, Iraqi Parliament and other government institutions. How can we say the situation is getting better when we can not even stop the attacks in this zone?

At least 20 mortar rounds and Katyusha rockets struck the fortified Green Zone on Tuesday afternoon, killing an American service member and two other people in an attack on the heart of U.S. and Iraqi government facilities in the capital.

An Iraqi and a third person of unknown nationality were killed in the attack, according to a statement released by the U.S. Embassy. About 18 people were injured, including two U.S. military personnel and three American contract employees, the statement said.

Brig. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf, a spokesman for Iraq's Interior Ministry, said 20 mortar shells and rockets had struck, while another source in the ministry put the number of blasts at more than 30. Khalaf said that between 15 and 20 people were injured.

The situation in Iraq is out of control and continues to deteriorate. How many more have to die due to the stupidity and stubbornness of this President?

The American people need to understand that any legislative action in Iraq will require 60 votes in the Senate to stop a filibuster and 67 votes to override a presidential veto. At this point the votes are not there. With each passing day more and more Republicans realize that this war is lost and are moving more towards the Democratic position.

What we must do is keep the pressure on those who refuse to face the truth. While most people seem annoyed at what they feel is the lack of Democratic action on Iraq, I see a strategy that is finally working. When the report on progress comes out in September you will see more defections from the Republican camp but this will not happen without pressure from us all.

Isn't it sad that it is the political realization that they could lose their jobs and not the senseless death of our brave young soldiers that will finally force them to act. How do any of them sleep at night?

LEADING PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO PARTICIPATE IN HISTORIC FORUM ON GAY ISSUES

Logo, a division of Viacom’s MTV Networks, and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation today announced they will co-present a historic televised forum on issues of importance to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community with the leading 2008 Democratic presidential candidates, including, currently confirmed and in alphabetical order, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

The one-hour event will be held on Aug. 9 at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET in Los Angeles before a studio audience and broadcast live, without commercial interruption, exclusively on Logo’s 24/7 cable television channel as well as through live streaming video at LOGOonline.com. Logo is the nation’s leading television and broadband channel for the GLBT audience and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the nation’s largest GLBT civil rights organization.

This event, which marks the first time in history the major presidential candidates will address a live GLBT television audience, is part of MTV Networks’ award-winning pro-social efforts and dedication to engaging its audiences on the issues that are most important and relevant to them.

The event also continues the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s efforts to educate and bring awareness to issues of equality and fairness that continue to affect the lives of GLBT Americans.

Candidates currently agreed to participate in the forum and share their views with the GLBT community are, in alphabetical order, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The candidates will appear sequentially and engage in conversation with co-panelists Melissa Etheridge, performer and advocate, and Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The panelists plan to cover a range of issues including relationship recognition, marriage equality, workplace fairness, the military, hate crimes, HIV/AIDS and other important issues.

“In the 2008 presidential election, issues of concern to the GLBT community have already been at the forefront of the national conversation,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. “From the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ to the recent signing of a civil unions bill in New Hampshire, there is no doubt that voters will demand answers to important questions affecting our community.”

“We’re honored to give the presidential candidates a historic opportunity to share their views directly with the LGBT audience,” said Brian Graden, president, entertainment, MTV Networks Music Group, and president, Logo. “This forum continues MTV Networks’ tradition of engaging vital niche audiences with voting and the electoral process.”

The forum will include significant online components at LOGOonline.com and HRC.org, including online question submission. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Logo invited the leading Democratic and Republican candidates to participate in the forum.

The GLBT vote is considered a decisive electoral force and according to exit poll data makes up approximately 4 percent of the voting population. Los Angeles was chosen as the site for the event because of the state’s early primary election, on Feb. 5, 2008. The event will take place at Studio City, Calif., at HD Vision Studios, and this event represents the first live event airing on Logo.

Michael Moore on CNN

Watch this report from Dr. Gupta on the Michael Moore film "Sicko" then watch Michael Moore take apart Wolf Blitzer and the mainstream media. Until we all understand how the mainstream media is not doing what is expected of them, we will never fully understand what is happening in our nation today.



Michael Moore posts the real facts about Dr. Gupta's report

U.S. Envoy Offers Grim Prediction on Iraq Pullout

The United States ambassador and the Iraqi foreign minister are warning that the departure of American troops could lead to sharply increased violence, the deaths of thousands and a regional conflict that could draw in Iraq’s neighbors.

“In the States, it’s like we’re in the last half of the third reel of a three-reel movie, and all we have to do is decide we’re done here, and the credits come up, and the lights come on, and we leave the theater and go on to something else,” he said. “Whereas out here, you’re just getting into the first reel of five reels,” he added, “and as ugly as the first reel has been, the other four and a half are going to be way, way worse.”

Hoshyar Zebari, the foreign minister, sounded a similar warning at a Baghdad news conference on Monday. “The dangers vary from civil war to dividing the country or maybe to regional wars,” he said, referring to an American withdrawal. “In our estimation the danger is huge. Until the Iraqi forces and institutions complete their readiness, there is a responsibility on the U.S. and other countries to stand by the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people to help build up their capabilities.”

Are they saying that we need to stay to stop a regional conflict? Shouldn't the powers that be have thought of these consequences before they invaded and overthrew Saddam Hussein? The post war planning was non existent and this is the result. What is the guarantee that staying will stop the carnage they are describing since the carnage is already happening?

They have been wrong about every aspect of this war and I have no reason to believe they are right about this. Our presence in Iraq is fueling hatred and violence and when we leave the violence will not just stop but it will be a step in the right direction.

This war opened up the gates of hell and no matter when we leave this situation will explode. George Bush wanted to be a war President and he got his wish. Remember that saying "be careful what you wish for". He got what he wished for and turned Iraq into a failed state and his Presidency into a colossal failure.

Official: Iraq Gov't Missed All Targets

A progress report on Iraq will conclude that the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad has not met any of its targets for political, economic and other reforms, speeding up the Bush administration's reckoning on what to do next, a U.S. official said Monday.

The "pivot point" for addressing the matter will no longer be Sept. 15, as initially envisioned, when a full report on Bush's so-called "surge" plan is due, but instead will come this week when the interim mid-July assessment is released, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the draft is still under discussion.
But another senior official said Bush's advisers, along with the president, decided last week there was not enough evidence from Iraq to justify a change now in current policy.

The United States has spent over $400 billion dollars in Iraq and lost 3600 U.S. Soldiers in four years yet there has been no measurable progress. Over 655,000 Iraqis are dead who would have otherwise been alive as a result of this war yet we still do not even know the real reason this war was started.

Freedom and Democracy for the Iraqi people is as likely as truth from Fox News. Those that took us to war based on lies are as responsible for needless death as the dictator they removed. No one has been held to account for the disaster that is current day Iraq.

The Bush administration cares more about the political ramifications of its actions then it does the senseless daily carnage that has engulfed Iraq. History will remember this administration as corrupt and inept and will forever judge President Bush as the worst president in our history.

It is obvious that this war will be left for the next administration to deal with. What can never be forgotten is that this is a Bush war and the calamity that is sure to come when its over will be solely on his head.

ARMageddon: Record bill due

More than two million subprime adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are poised to reset at much higher rates in coming months, worsening an already suffering housing market.

Borrowers who took out hybrid ARMs in 2004 and 2005 to secure low "teaser" rates for the first two or three years of the loan may see their monthly mortgage payments climb by 35 percent or more.

Consumer groups and politicians worry that hundreds of thousands of subprime ARM borrowers will be unable to keep up with their mortgage payments and will lose their homes.

"In October alone more than $50 billion in ARMs will reset," according to Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody's Economy.com. That's a record, according to Zandi.

A buyer in 2005 with poor credit and limited means might have signed on for a $200,000 2/28 hybrid ARM, locking in a fixed rate of 4 percent for two years. After paying $955 a month, his bill would now be set to spike to $1,331, a 39 percent increase.

I posted this article as a complement to the one posted earlier today about the effect of foreclosures on Atlanta. It is obvious by the numbers of foreclosures already filed and the possibility of hundreds of thousands more that the housing industry is just starting its downturn.

This will eventually cause trouble throughout the economy as loans adjust. It will certainly leave less money for discretionary spending and could cause the economy to slip into recession. Two thirds of the economy is consumer spending and if mortgage payments rise as much as expected it will have to have an effect on spending.

Hopefully this experience will lead to tighter lending practices and more stable home prices but if there is money to be made by screwing the middle class, the corrupt practices will continue.

Army Missed Recruiting Goal Again

Where will the President get new cannon fodder if this continues?

Already stretched thin by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army is having a hard time finding new recruits. ABC News has learned the Army missed its recruiting goal in June for the second month in a row. It's the first time in more than two years that the Army has missed recruiting goals for two consecutive months.

The figures are especially worrisome because the summer is traditionally the peak recruiting season. Army officials are now worried that July and August will be difficult as well, raising the possibility that the Army will miss its annual goal of 80,000 new recruits for fiscal year 2007, which ends on September 30. The Army has missed an annual recruiting goal only twice in the last decade -- in 1999 and 2005.

You need to remember that the services lowered their standards to keep recruitment up. What would the numbers have been like with higher standards? It seems that people are finally realizing that joining the service is not in their best interest. If this continues you will begin to hear talk of a draft returning.

The Obstruction of Justice Continues

President Bush invoked executive privilege Monday to deny requests by Congress for testimony from two former aides about the firings of federal prosecutors.

The White House, however, did offer again to make former counsel Harriet Miers and one-time political director Sara Taylor available for private, off-the-record interviews.

In a letter to the heads of the House and Senate Judiciary panels, White House counsel Fred Fielding insisted that Bush was acting in good faith and refused lawmakers' demand that the president explain the basis for invoking the privilege.

Wasn't it generous of President Bush to give them permission to testify in private and not under oath? What do they have to hide? Scooter Libby had his sentence commuted to keep his mouth shut.

This is a criminal administration who fears open testimony for fear it will lead to impeachment. The Congress needs to seriously look at impeachment if for no other reason than to show that the rule of all applies to all citizens including the President. If enough information is uncovered the likelihood of removal grows. That is the fear and the reason they obstruct justice at every turn.

More Propaganda About Iran?

The sudden flurry of digging seen in recent satellite photos of a mountainside in central Iran might have passed for ordinary road tunneling. But the site is the back yard of Iran's most ambitious and controversial nuclear facility, leading U.S. officials and independent experts to reach another conclusion: It appears to be the start of a major tunnel complex inside the mountain.

A tunnel complex would reduce options for a preemptive military strike to knock out Iran's nuclear program, according to U.S. officials who closely follow Iran's nuclear activities. It also could further heighten tensions between the Bush administration and the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has said he is committed to pursuing a peaceful use of nuclear power.

In response to suggestions by Vice President Cheney and others that the United States might consider using force to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions, Ahmadinejad has shrouded the program in additional secrecy and threatened to suspend cooperation with international nuclear inspectors.

Iran has been enriching uranium at Natanz on a small scale for more than four years, creating a less-enriched product that can be used for generating electricity. With further enrichment, the uranium could be used in making weapons.

A report like this makes you realize that Iran is expecting a military attack by the United States. It is well known that Dick Cheney favors military action but he was very willing to do business with Iran while running Halliburton. A war with Iran would make Iraq look like a day at Disney World. Will the people of the United States sit by while yet another war is started in our name with an oil rich Muslim nation? It is time for everyone to take notice to the reporting on this issue. Will the media finally do its job and report both sides of the story or will they once again just parrot the administration talking points?

Increasing Rate of Foreclosures Upsets Atlanta

Despite a vibrant local economy, Atlanta homeowners are falling behind on mortgage payments and losing their homes at one of the highest rates in the nation, offering a troubling glimpse of what experts fear may be in store for other parts of the country.

The real estate slump here and elsewhere is likely to worsen, given that most of the adjustable rate mortgages written in the last three years will be reset with higher interest rates, said Christopher F. Thornberg, an economist with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles. As a result, borrowers of an estimated $800 billion in loans will be forced in the next 12 months to 18 months to make bigger monthly payments, refinance or sell their homes.

The questions people need to be asking is why were lenders allowed to loan money to people who could not afford the payments? The ease of credit has been a contributing factor to the steep rise in home prices. People were willing to borrow more than they could afford with the thought that the price of the home would rise so quickly that if they could no longer afford it a quick sale would result in a large profit. Those days appear to be over with home prices falling and foreclosures now at all time records.

The problems include not just people losing their homes, but also sharp declines in property values, particularly in lower-income and working-class neighborhoods.

For example, a three-bedroom house near Turner Field, where the Atlanta Braves baseball team plays, fetched a high bid late last month of $134,000 at an auction by the bank that took possession of it. Almost three years ago, the new home was bought for $330,000.

Once again it is the lower and working classes who will bear the brunt of this downturn but it will eventually work its way into all areas of the economy. Unscrupulous lenders will frequently target the poor and working class giving them the hope that they too can own a home. The subprime mortgage disaster is the result of these lending practices.

So far, the pain has been limited to those on the financial margins, but as more loans are reset to higher rates and home prices continue to slide, more homeowners will be unable to meet rising payments or to refinance. “This is a process that is starting low and will go high,” said Mr. Thornberg, the economist in Los Angeles.

The housing market will continue to decline for at least the next year as these subprime loans reset. In the end a correction in the housing market will be good for the middle class as homes go back to prices that are affordable but those caught in the foreclosure crunch could see their credit ratings destroyed for life.

Sheehan Considers Challenge to Pelosi

Cindy Sheehan, the soldier's mother who galvanized the anti-war movement, said Sunday that she plans to seek House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's congressional seat unless she introduces articles of impeachment against President Bush in the next two weeks.

Sheehan said she will run against the San Francisco Democrat in 2008 as an independent if Pelosi does not seek by July 23 to impeach Bush. That's when Sheehan and her supporters are to arrive in Washington, D.C., after a 13-day caravan and walking tour starting next week from the group's war protest site near Bush's Crawford ranch.

"Democrats and Americans feel betrayed by the Democratic leadership," Sheehan told The Associated Press. "We hired them to bring an end to the war. I'm not too far from San Francisco, so it wouldn't be too big of a move for me. I would give her a run for her money."

I have a great deal of respect for Cindy Sheehan. In many ways it was her voice, after the death of her son, that started a true anti-war movement but I must disagree with this tactic.

I think it is very naive to think that a simple change in Congressional leadership could end this war. The Democrats simply do not have the votes to override a presidential veto and stop this war. I am totally for impeachment of this President and Vice President but there again the votes are simply not there for removal.

Simplistic resolutions to the war and impeachment of this President do not exist. Cindy Sheehan has a right to challenge Speaker Pelosi as does any other citizen in the district that feels she has not performed her job as well as expected. The issue is not her right to challenge but her motives for doing so. Cindy Sheehan has become an expert on how Washington works and she knows better than anyone that there is no magic wand to stop this war.

Cindy Sheehan should spend her time persuading waivering Republicans that this war needs to end. Getting 67 votes to override a Presidential veto is the only hope of stopping this war.

Amen Keith

Everyone in the United States needs to see this. Truer words were never spoken.

Vacation Time

Isn't it funny when you book a place with supposed internet access to find out that the access is limited to the lobby and only works sporadically? That is my current dilemma but I will be home on Sunday and will try to catch up on all the news that was missed.

Seems more of the GOP are abandoning Bush on the war and the commutation of Libby's sentence is still being debated.

Have a nice weekend.

Taking Stock On The Fourth Of July

Today is a day for reflection on what it means to be an American. I love this country and I am fearful for its future. Once recently someone told me that "America is Great because it is good" and I agreed. What happens when America is no longer good? It will cease to be great.

That is the current dilemma facing this nation. Will we go back to the days when we were known for our genousity and leadership or will we remain a rogue nation in the eyes of the world. Our new status in this world is the result of the most disastrous presidency in our history. Will we show the world through our actions that we, the American people, are also disgusted with what we see and want wholesale change or will further embrace the militarism that is America today?

My hope is that we will return to a country known for good and then we will return to being a nation known as great.

Key Home Sale Index Slides To 6-Year Low

Existing home sales are likely to see more declines in coming months as a key reading of pending deals fell to nearly a six-year low in May, a real estate group said Tuesday.

The National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales, which reflects homes under contract, sank to 97.7 in May from 101.2 in April. The latest reading is 13.3 percent lower than May 2006.

Maybe the housing market will finally correct and become more affordable for the average middle class American. The current pain being felt in the industry may actually lead to better regulations and a healthier housing market.

Many middle class Americans can no longer afford a simple home. The rate of foreclosures is exploding with more pain expected as nearly $100 billion worth of subprime loans adjust to rates unaffordable to those that hold the loans. I remember the early 1990's saw a housing market in distress. In my own residential complex I saw prices drop from a high of $100,000 paid for a one bedroom apartment in the late 1980's to a similar unit selling for $25,000 just ten years later. I think this correction will last for years and is necessary if we are to maintain a middle class in this country.

Iran Denies U.S. Claim of Hezbollah in Iraq

An Iranian official slammed what he called "ridiculous and false claims" from U.S. officials about the "arrest of a foreign citizen in Iraq and his relation with Iran."

CNN reported in an exclusive on Sunday that a top special operations officer from Lebanon's Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah had been captured in Iraq. The U.S. military later publicly confirmed the report and provided details about the arrest.

U.S. officials identified the Hezbollah operative as an explosives expert who played a key role in the January 20 attack that killed five American troops in Karbala, a southern Iraqi city that is one of the most revered to Shiites.

Is this event going to be used by the United States to begin military action against Iran? If that happens the quagmire in Iraq could look like a day at Disney World. The Bush administration, especially Dick Cheney have been pushing for military action against Iran. The funny thing is that while head of Halliburton, Cheney had no problem doing business with Iran in violation of U.S. Law. When will this country wake up and understand that this is a criminal administration. Watching this administration work is like watching The Sopranos.

White House Won't Rule Out Libby Pardon

Was there anyone that really thought that the commutation of the sentence would be the last act on the Scooter Libby case? Today the WORST President in United States history declined to rule out the eventual pardon of Mr. Libby.

The White House on Tuesday declined to rule out the possibility of an eventual pardon for former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. But spokesman Tony Snow said, for now, President Bush is satisfied with his decision to commute Libby's 2 1/2-year prison sentence.

"He thought any jail time was excessive. He did not see fit to have Scooter Libby taken to jail," Snow said.

Snow said that even with Bush's decision, Libby remains with a felony conviction on his record, two years' probation, a $250,000 fine and probable loss of his legal career. "This is hardly a slap on the wrist," Snow said.

Are we to believe that somehow life for Mr. Libby will be difficult? Will he have the same problem finding new employment as many other felons? He will most likely be given a nice cushy job by one of the other felons in this administration.

Yesterday President Bush crapped all over the American public and told them to enjoy the smell. It is time to bring these felons to justice and remove them from office. How exactly are we supposed to explain to the children of our nation that crime is wrong? Should we just be honest and tell them that this is the act of a desperate President to cover his lying ass? When will the President be commuting the sentences of those accused of using drugs sitting in prison for years on end?

My Grandafather used to say "The Fish stinks from the Head" and the head of our governement stinks worse than the NJ Turnpike on a hot summer day.

Isn't It Ironic?

Paris Hilton spent more time in jail than Scooter Libby. What does that teach us? Treason is now less of a crime than driving with a suspended license. Impeach them all now.

Reaction To Libby Travesty

"When it comes to the law, there should not be two sets of rules - one for President Bush and Vice President Cheney and another for the rest of America. Even Paris Hilton had to go to jail. No one in this administration should be above the law." - Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

"Accountability has been in short supply in the Bush administration, and this commutation fits that pattern." - Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

"This is exactly the kind of politics we must change so we can begin restoring the American people's faith in a government that puts the country's progress ahead of the bitter partisanship of recent years." - Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

"Only a president clinically incapable of understanding that mistakes have consequences could take the action he did today. President Bush has just sent exactly the wrong signal to the country and the world." - former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C.

"The Constitution gives President Bush the power to commute sentences, but history will judge him harshly for using that power to benefit his own vice president's chief of staff who was convicted of such a serious violation of law." - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

"The president said he would hold accountable anyone involved in the Valerie Plame leak case. By his action today, the president shows his word is not to be believed." - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

"It is time for the American people to be heard - I call for all Americans to flood the White House with phone calls tomorrow expressing their outrage over this blatant disregard for the rule of law." - Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.

"By commuting Scooter Libby's sentence, the president continues to abdicate responsibility for the actions of his administration. The only ones paying the price for this administration's actions are the American people." - Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

"The arrogance of this administration's disdain for the law and its belief it operates with impunity are breathtaking. Will the president also commute the sentences of others who obstructed justice and lied to grand juries, or only those who act to protect President Bush and Vice President Cheney?" - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Scooter Skates

President Bush has commuted the prison term of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, facing 30 months in prison after a federal court convicted him of perjury, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators.

Earlier Monday, a federal appeals court unanimously ruled that Libby could not delay his sentence.

The charges relate to the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.

Libby was only weeks away from surrendering to a prison.

Bush was under great pressure by Libby allies to pardon the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

In a written statement issued hours after that ruling, Bush called the sentence "excessive."

I think it is now time to call for the impeachment and removal of both President Bush and Vice President Cheney. We now know that the rule of law means nothing to these people. They will stop at nothing to further their agenda and believe they are above the law. I remember when candidate Bush said he would "restore honor and dignity to the White House". Nothing could have been further from the truth.

His action today told the American people that there is one set of rules for the common people and another set for the elite. He is no better than the thug dictators he rails against. This is the most criminal administration in our nations history. It really is time to remove them from power.

Officials: Captured Hezbollah Agent Helped Plan Deadly Karbala Raid

A top special operations officer from Lebanon's Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah has been captured in Iraq, where U.S. officials say he played a key role in a January attack that killed five Americans.

Ali Mussa Daqduq, an explosives expert, was captured in March in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, where he was helping train and lead Shiite militias fighting coalition troops, U.S. intelligence officials told CNN.

Daqduq pretended to be deaf and mute when captured, and his identity was not known for weeks, the officials said.

Intelligence officials say Daqduq is one of Hezbollah's top special operations commanders, an expert in the use of roadside bombs. The Americans say he, along with the Iraqi militia commanders he worked with, has admitted working with Iran's elite Quds Force special operations unit.

Will the United States use this information to gain public support for military action against Iran? If we do use this information to start military action, will we do the same against Saudi Arabia which has long been suspected in funding Sunni insurgents within Iraq?

Reid Says Republicans Are Obstructionists

From Senator Reid:

Too many congressional Republicans have stood in the way of legislative progress Senator Harry Reid said Saturday.

“The immigration vote we had this week was just the latest example,” the Nevada senator said in the weekly Democratic radio address. “With that bill, we had a rare chance to make progress on one of the country’s top problems. The overwhelming majority of Democrats voted to move forward on a bill even President Bush supported, but just a handful of Republicans joined us.”

Reid was also critical of Republicans regarding legislation currently pending in the Senate. “The ethics reform bill passed by a vote of 96-2, but now Republicans are blocking it. The 9/11 commission bill passed with heavy Republican support, but they are also blocking this critical legislation.”

In his remarks, Reid said putting partisan politics aside was the best way forward. “This can start next week with the Defense Authorization Bill, which is a new opportunity to change course in Iraq.” The bill is expected to include measures that would seek to hasten a pull out of U.S. troops from Iraq. “While a growing number of Republicans are saying the right things on Iraq, we’ll soon find out if they have the courage to vote the right way also.”

The goal of the Republicans at this point is to stop any progress by the Democratic Congress. By creating the appearance of a "Do nothing" Congress they feel they can regain lost seats in 2008. What the American people need to understand is the procedures by which the Senate operates. It takes 60 votes to advance any legislation and the Democrats simply do not have the votes.

There are only 49 Democrats and two independent Senators. Bernie Sanders from Vermont is a reliable vote for the Democrats but then there is the asswipe from Connecticut. Joe Lieberman is a Democrat in name only and sides with President Bush on many issues. Everyone needs to remember that when issues important to the American public are not addressed.

Moving Beyond Kyoto

Read this op-ed from Al Gore.

After Bill’s Fall, G.O.P. May Pay in Latino Votes

Many Republican lawmakers returned to their home districts in triumph this week, having beat back a comprehensive immigration bill that many of their constituents had denounced as untenable.

But the bill’s demise may have greatly damaged the party’s ability to meet its enduring goal of attracting a large percentage of the growing number of Hispanic voters — thousands of whom are ostensibly in line with the party on a host of other issues, said many Republican lawmakers, consultants and Hispanic voters.

“There may be some short-term gain from this,” said Linda Chavez, who served in the Reagan administration and is now chairwoman of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative public policy group. “But in the long term, it is disastrous for the Republican Party.”

The nasty rhetoric of the Republican Party during this debate could only be viewed by Latinos as bigotry. The problem they had with the bill was not the guest worker program, that would benefit big business at the expense of both the immigrant and the working poor, but the so called amnesty provision that would have given them a path to citizenship.

This is the same party that wants to make English the national language by statute. How can they expect to sway legal immigrants to the Republican party with such bigoted positions?

Those so opposed to amnesty need to ask themselves exactly what did these people do that was so horrible that it can not be forgiven? They simply came for a better life from places where life is tough and feeding your family is a struggle. There are ways to express your views without being a bigot. The Republican party does not know how to do with with immigrants, minorities or the Gay and lesbian population.

If the Latinos were smart they would never vote for any Republicans until the party is reclaimed from the fanatics that now control it.

Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, a leading opponent of the measure, at one point in the debate, said, “The bill would provide amnesty and a path to citizenship for people who broke into our country by running past the National Guard.”

That quote is one of the examples of the bigoted rhetoric during the debate on this issue. Is it any wonder why the Latino vote will surely swing Democratic?

I was not in favor of passage of this bill either. I felt it lacked the necessary teeth to secure the borders and punish the employers who hire illegal immigrants but it was not out of any prejudice for the immigrants. I don't think the Republican party can say the same thing.

Bush Presidency Fading Fast

Facing eroding support for his Iraq policy, even among Republicans, President Bush on Thursday called al Qaida "the main enemy" in Iraq, an assertion rejected by his administration's senior intelligence analysts.

In the space of a single short week, Bush was hit with more Republican defections on Iraq, more bad news from the battlefield, more subpoenas from a hostile Congress, a new assault on his signature education plan and embarrassing disclosures about his vice president.

He also found himself in a fight over executive privilege that begs comparisons to Richard Nixon's legal battles during the Watergate scandal.

"It's the incredible shrinking presidency. He's lost battles in the courts. He's lost battles in Iraq. He's lost battles on Capitol Hill," said Paul Light, a professor of public service at New York University.

"His bank account is empty and there's nowhere to go for more. I think his presidency is essentially over."

Light proposed a headline to sum up the week: "The president loses his legacy."

The President will always have his legacy of a failed war based on lies that killed hundreds of thousands of people. That legacy will remain forever as will the horrible taste in most Americans mouths of a Presidency that will rank as the worst in American history.

5 U.S. Soldiers Killed In Iraq

When will this madness and senseless death end?

A coordinated attack in southern Baghdad killed five American soldiers and wounded seven others, raising the total number of U.S. fatalities in June to 100, the U.S. military said Friday.

The soldiers were on a combat patrol Thursday when a roadside bomb exploded near them. Insurgents quickly followed with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, according to a statement. Of the seven soldiers evacuated to a military hospital, one was able to return to duty. The soldiers' names were withheld until their families could be notified.

The attack pushed the number of American deaths to 100 or more for the third straight month, the deadliest three-month period of the Iraq war for U.S. soldiers, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, a website that tracks fatalities.

The only surge that seems to be working is the surge in American deaths. The time has long since past to get out of this civil war. When will the American people take to the streets and demand and end to this madness?

Not One More Roberts Or Alito

Just say no to any more nominees like Roberts or Alito.

High Court to Hear Terror Detainee Case

The Supreme Court said today that it would review the rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees to challenge their confinements in federal court, reversing a decision in April not to take up that issue.

The justices did not say what had changed their minds. The Bush administration had praised the court's earlier decision not to review the matter.

At the time, only three of four justices necessary to grant review--David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer--were willing to take the two cases involved, saying "these questions deserve this court's immediate attention.'' Two other justices, John Paul Stevens and Anthony M. Kennedy, issued a statement saying they might want to hear the issue in the future.

The court consolidated two cases, Boumediene v. Bush and Al Odah v. U.S., and will hear them together sometime after its new term begins next October. In addition, the court said it would consult the findings of the D.C. circuit appeals court in two other pending cases in which detainees challenge the judgment of the military tribunals that determined them to be enemy combatants.

The court has considered the rights of detainees twice in the last three years, ruling both times against the administration.

This is good news from a Court that has recently turned far to the right with the addition of Justice Roberts and Justice Alito.

The United States has always stood for freedom and equal justice under the law. How can we just hold people without charge for as long as we want? This sounds more like the tactics of a dictatorship than a democracy. Military tribunals without public oversight is not the image we want to present to the world. If the people being held are terrorists, prove it in a court of law. The first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 resulted in the arrest and convictions of those involved. If we do not return to our democratic roots than the terrorists have won by changing the very definition of what it means to be American. Free and open trials are the backbone of our democracy and if the detainees are truly terrorists then provide the evidence in open court.

Car Bomb Found In London

Police in London say they have deactivated a bomb packed with nails and capable of creating huge casualties, raising renewed fears of a terrorist strike almost two years after the city was hit by deadly suicide bombers.

The device, consisting of 200 liters of fuel, gas cylinders and nails linked to a triggering mechanism, was found in a car in Haymarket, in the city's busy nightclub and theater district shortly before 2 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Friday.

British police anti-terror chief Peter Clarke said the explosives would have resulted in significant injury and loss of life had they detonated

A stretch of road near Buckingham Palace in London has also been closed due to a suspicious vehicle. there is no word yet if this is another car bomb or a false alarm. I will post more information as it becomes available.

The Reason That Nothing Gets Done In Congress

Use of Race in School Placement Curbed

In a decision of sweeping importance to educators, parents and schoolchildren across the country, the Supreme Court today sharply limited the ability of school districts to manage the racial makeup of the student bodies in their schools.

The court voted, 5 to 4, to reject diversity plans from Seattle and Louisville, Ky., declaring that the districts had failed to meet “their heavy burden” of justifying “the extreme means they have chosen — discriminating among individual students based on race by relying upon racial classifications in making school assignments,” as Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the court.

This ruling can be seen as a direct assault on the Brown vs. Board of education decision in 1954. Is it possible that we will go back to the separate but equal school system that we had without ever having to state that publicly?

The rationale of the chief justice’s opinion relied in part on the historic 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education that outlawed segregation in public schools — a factor that the dissenters on the court found to be a cruel irony, and which they objected to in emotional terms.

“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discrimination on the basis of race,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote.

That is the most simplistic and idiotic explanation for a ruling that I have ever heard. In what world does Justice Roberts live? If stopping discrimination was that easy we would not have the racial prejudice that exists in this country today.

Will this ruling be used as the legal precedent to get rid of affirmative action? If you listen to Justice Roberts it would appear that is a strong possibility.

Mark Rahdert, a Temple Law School professor and a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, said that today’s ruling means that “racial balance” will be “the new catchphrase conservatives will use to attempt to eradicate any form of affirmative action.”

As for Justice Kennedy’s “willingness to leave the door open to some forms of affirmative action,” it will be impossible as a practical matter, Mr. Rahdert said.

The National Urban League issued a statement asserting that today’s decision “could end up legalizing re-segregation nationwide by raising the bar for achieving racial diversity.”

Dissenting Justice Stephen Breyer said to an open court "It's not often that so few, have changed so much for so many."

Immigration Legislation Is Dead

President Bush's immigration bill essentially died Thursday in the Senate, when members voted against advancing the controversial legislation.

The tally was 46 to 53, 14 votes shy of the 60 needed to end debate.

The president, who visited the Capitol this month to push hard for the legislation, delivered a brief statement shortly after the vote saying he was "sorry" Congress could not reach agreement, calling its "failure to act" a "disappointment."

"Congress really needs to prove to the American people that it can come together on hard issues," Bush said.

The bill would have provided a path to citizenship for some of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and toughens border security.

the question is now what will happen? Doing nothing is amnesty for both illegal immigrants and those that hire them.

I truly believe the solution is tougher enforcement of the employment laws. If employers who hired illegal immigrants were arrested and jailed it would make the cheap labor much less attractive. There needs to be a national database where employers can check vital statistics of the people applying for jobs. I understand that many people use forged documents or stolen identities to work and a national database would help eliminate this practice.

There also needs to be a concerted government effort to help the countries in the region such as Mexico to improve the economic prospects of its own citizens. As long as it is hard to feed your family in these countries, the immigrants will continue to come by any means necessary.

The status quo is not working.

White House Rejects Subpoenas on Firings of U.S. Prosecutors

The White House asserted executive privilege and rejected two subpoenas from lawmakers probing last year's firings of eight U.S. prosecutors.

"The president has decided to assert executive privilege and therefore the White House will not be making any production in response to these subpoenas for documents," White House Counsel Fred Fielding wrote in a letter to Senator Pat Leahy of Vermont and Representative John Conyers of Michigan, chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.

The White House resistance is likely to touch off a constitutional showdown over Congress's ability to investigate the firing of prosecutors and the president's ability to obtain frank counsel from advisers.

"The principles at stake here are of the utmost importance," Fielding said in the letter to lawmakers. "Presidents must be able to depend upon their advisers and other executive branch officials speaking candidly and without inhibition while deliberating and working to advise the president."

I thought Dick Cheney was not part of the executive branch? Lets all watch watch while the Republicans, who insisted Bill Clinton testify about a private affair, rally around this decision by the President. This is a criminal administration and needs to be held accountable.

Are The Walls Finally Closing in For Bush on Iraq

With the 2008 elections looming large the White House is having a hard time keeping Republican support for a war that is wildly unpopular.

A majority of senators believe troops should start coming home within the next few months. A new House investigation concluded this week that the Iraqis have little control over an ailing security force. And House Republicans are calling to revive the independent Iraq Study Group to give the nation options.

While the White House thought they had until September to deal with political fallout on the unpopular war, officials may have forgotten another critical date: the upcoming 2008 elections.

The Republicans are more concerned with saving their jobs then they are about the death and destruction that has destroyed Iraq.

The situation has grown progressively worse yet they have stayed with the President. It is only when they see the real possibility of losing their jobs that they decide staying with the President may not be such a smart political move.

Call me cynical but people have been dying in Iraq daily while these people stayed silent. It is only the possibility of losing their day jobs that have moved them to take action. It will be fun to watch as Republicans eat their own in a desperate attempt to distance themselves from this war.

White House Subpoenaed Over Eavesdropping

The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's office Wednesday for documents relating to President Bush's warrant-free eavesdropping program.

Also named in subpoenas signed by committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, were the Justice Department and the National Security Council.

The committee wants documents that might shed light on internal disputes within the administration over the legality of the program.

"Our attempts to obtain information through testimony of administration witnesses have been met with a consistent pattern of evasion and misdirection," Leahy said in his cover letters for the subpoenas. "There is no legitimate argument for withholding the requested materials from this committee."

Echoing its response to previous congressional subpoenas to former administration officials Harriet Miers and Sara Taylor, the White House gave no indication that it would comply.

"We're aware of the committee's action and will respond appropriately," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.

This is a huge issue and will generate a constitutional crisis. The White House will not answer these subpoenas as they have operated as if they are above the law. Could this be the first piece of a puzzle whose ending is impeachment? What about Dick Cheney, will he claim executive privilege after saying he was not part of the executive branch of government?

This is what oversight looks like. The free ride is over for this criminal administration.