What?

*We went to war in Iraq on an estimate????? I watched the George Tenet interview on 60 Minutes last night and Tenet said that they went to war because they estimated that Sadam Hussein had WMDs. An estimate? An estimate to go to war? Don't you use an estimate when you guess how many jelly beans are in a jar? These were people's lives they were determining and they guessed that Sadam had WMDs. When it didn't pan out, did they say 'ooops' or 'sorry'? How about all the families that lost loved ones over their 'estimate'?

*Bush's latest comment about a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq was, "Don't test my will."
Excuse me, but when did he become king?
"Don't test my will." Will he start cutting off the heads of Democratic leaders? Bush is the President of the United States not Emperor of the United States! As any school child will tell you, there are three equal branches of the federal government-- the Legislative, the Judicial, and the Executive.

*Secretary of State Condi Rice said she may decline a subpoena to appear before the U.S. Senate. How do you decline a subpoena???? Is she immune from testifying?
MSNBC:
"...Meanwhile, Rice said she will not appear in person before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to answer questions about the Bush administration’s prewar intelligence. Rice said she already has addressed claims that Iraq had sought uranium from the African nation of Niger.

The committee voted 21-10 last week to issue a subpoena to compel her testimony.

Asked about the possibility of being held in contempt by the committee chairman, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., Rice said, “That’s the chairman’s prerogative. I respect the oversight — the oversight responsibilities of Congress — but I frankly think this one has been looked at and looked at and looked at.”

Yes, it has been looked at but you have yet to tell us anything resembling the truth!!!!!!!

Jon Husted and Kevin DeWine Are Still Trying to Hurt Ohioans

Why can't these Republicans stop trying to rob Ohioans? Republican Speaker of the Ohio House, Jon Husted, and his BFF (Best Friend Forever) Kevin DeWine, are doing their best to strip money from the budget to benefit their own home turf near Dayton. Husted, who in the past has demanded and gotten the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to create unnecessary roads through his district, is now trying to bring development money to his district. However, the money Husted and DeWine are trying to take is money that has been designated for job development FOR THE WHOLE STATE OF OHIO (see Dispatch)!!!! Husted and DeWine should be ashamed of themselves. They are acting like spoiled, self-centered children. Please let these bozos know that their greed has been noticed and will NOT be tolerated.

Contact Jon Husted
(614) 644-6008
FAX at (614) 719-3591
Email: district37@ohr.state.oh.us

Kevin DeWine
(614) 228-2481
FAX at (614) 228-1093
Email: info@ohiogop.org (Attention: Kevin DeWine)

How could anyone consider voting for him?

When I think of Rudy Giuliani, I cannot help but think of the following:

- in the years he was mayor of New York City, and before 9/11, he failed to fix the communication system used by NYPD and FDNY. As a result, on 9/11, people died because they were unable to contact each other with walkie talkies.
-Giuliani signed an agreement that used rubble and waste from Ground Zero to be made into pothole to fill the streets of the city. As a result, bone fragments from 9/11 victims were used to fill those potholes.
-Giuliani had a public adulterous affair while he was married to wife #2. He announced his intention to divorce to wife #2 at a press conference.
-Giuliani is using fear to gain votes. Keith Olbermann took him to task in a recent Special Comment on MSNBC. Here are some excerpts from that Special Comment that respond to Giuliani's assertion that a Democratic President would bring disaster:

....Which party held the presidency on Sept. 11, 2001, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party held the mayoralty of New York on that date, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party assured New Yorkers that the air was safe and the remains of the dead recovered and not being used to fill potholes, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party wanted what the terrorists wanted — the postponement of elections — and to whose personal advantage would that have redounded, Mr. Giuliani?

Which mayor of New York was elected eight months after the first attack on the World Trade Center, yet did not emphasize counter-terror in the same city for the next eight years, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party had proposed to turn over the Department of Homeland Security to Bernard Kerik, Mr. Giuliani?

Who wanted to ignore and hide Kerik’s organized crime allegations, Mr. Giuliani?

Who personally argued to the White House that Kerik need not be vetted, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party rode roughshod over Americans’ rights while braying that it was actually protecting them, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party took this country into the most utterly backwards, utterly counterproductive, utterly ruinous war in our history, Mr. Giuliani?

Which party has been in office as more Americans were killed in the pointless fields of Iraq than were killed in the consuming nightmare of 9/11, Mr. Giuliani?

Drop this argument, sir.

You will lose it....

(Thank you, Keith, for saying exactly what we've all thought.)

Giuliani has no foreign diplomatic experience. Does it matter? Yes. Bush had no foreign diplomatic experience and look where it got us! We don't need a President Rudy and First Lady Judi (promoted killing dogs for company sales demonstrations: 1)

"No one suffers more than their president and I do."

Raw Story: According to the first lady, when it comes to Iraq, "No one suffers more than their president and I do."

During an interview on NBC's Today show Wednesday concerning Malaria Awareness Day, Laura Bush talked to Ann Curry about "other challenges her husband is facing."

Oh, really? The military families who've had to endure their loved ones serve two, three, and even four tours of duty to Iraq are not suffering as much as Bush and Laura?

"No one suffers more than their president and I do."

The wives, husbands, mothers, and fathers who've lost their husbands, wives, sons, and daughters are not suffering as much as Bush and Laura?

"No one suffers more than their president and I do."

The children who've lost their fathers and mothers are not suffering as much as Bush and Laura?

"No one suffers more than their president and I do."

The friends who've lost their best pals, neighbors, work colleagues, teammates have not suffered as much as Bush and Laura?

"No one suffers more than their president and I do."

When families must cope with returning loved ones who have lost limbs or sustained mentally or physically disabling wounds, they are not suffering as much as Bush and Laura?

"No one suffers more than their president and I do."

Mrs. Bush's should never have said those words. It diminishes the suffering, stress, and hardships of our military families. When families lose a someone in war, they not only lose that loved one, but they suffer an emotional loss that will endure for the rest of their lives. Families face financial problems as well.

Mrs. Bush's words show an arrogance and a real lack of empathy for our military families. How can she compare her emotions with that of a child who has lost a parent in war? The President and Mrs. Bush have had no experience in losing a family member in war. Neither has known the pain of having a loved one serve in a war zone.

They Said It

* Sen. Harry Reid said he would not engage in a war of words with Vice President Cheney. Why?
“I’m not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a 9 percent approval rating,” Mr. Reid said. (NY Times)
Give him hell, Harry!

* Rudy Giuliani thinks it would be bad to elect a Democrat as President: If a Democrat is elected president, Giuliani said he feared the country would “go back on defense, like it was in the pre-9/11 era.” (The Telegraph)
Yo, Rudy! When we were hit on 9/11, there was a Republican in the White House. When we were hit on 9/11, that Republican in the White House, George W. Bush, had ignored the warnings he received in his presidential daily briefings. When we were hit on 9/11, Bush continued to remain in a classroom instead of reacting to an attack. Don't give us any baloney about what would happen if a Democrat is elected President!

* There is more on the Tillman coverup. The following is from Forbes:
An Army Ranger who was with Pat Tillman when the former football star was cut down by friendly fire in Afghanistan said Tuesday a commanding officer had ordered him to keep quiet about what happened.
The military at first portrayed Tillman's death as the result of heroic combat with the enemy. Army Spc. Bryan O'Neal told a congressional hearing that when he got the chance to talk to Tillman's brother, who had been in a nearby convoy on the fateful day, "I was ordered not to tell him what happened."
"You were ordered not to tell him?" repeated Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
"Roger that, Sir," replied O'Neal, dressed in his Army uniform.....
Incredible. This administration used Tillman as their poster boy but would not disclose the circumstances of his death to his family.

* The families of the 82nd Airborne Division have sustained major losses in Iraq. Santa Barbara News-Press:
FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Nine soldiers killed in a double suicide truck bombing on their outpost belonged to a small Fort Bragg unit that has taken a staggering number of casualties in recent weeks.
The 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry of the famed 82nd Airborne Division went to Iraq with about 330 soldiers, but has lost 18 in just five weeks, as well as two others late last year. The squadron's casualty rate has climbed so high so quickly that it has turned families' nagging worries into vivid fear.

Kara Honbarger, 29, figures that if anything happens overnight to her husband, squadron chaplain Capt. Craig Honbarger, that the notification team will show up about 6:30 a.m.
"'I think most of us look out our windows in the morning to make sure there's no car there,'' she told reporters Tuesday afternoon at Fort Bragg. ''I think we get nervous when the doorbell rings.''
The squadron is fighting in an insurgent stronghold, Diyala Province, that for much of the war has been overshadowed by fighting in Baghdad and Anbar province, but is emerging as one of the most dangerous places for U.S. troops....

How much more will they need to sacrifice for Bush's war?

John McCain on The Daily Show

Sen. McCain was on The Daily Show on Tuesday evening. He acted like an real jerk. He kept saying, "We are where we are." I thought he was absolutely rude. I don't think McCain won any support from the studio or viewing audience. As a matter of fact, the studio audience actually booed McCain at least twice for his comments.

Send A Simple Message

Update: I have been watching CSPAN-3 this morning. There is a hearing investigating the coverups of friendly fire death of Pat Tillman and the purposeful misleading information involving the capture and injuries of Jessica Lynch. It is absolutely incredible how this administration used this tragedies for their own benefit. Kevin Tillman said that there is such a disconnect from what really happened to what was reported. If you have the chance to catch any rebroadcast of this hearing, seize it.

MSNBC News:
A suicide car bomb struck a patrol base northeast of Baghdad on Monday, killing nine U.S. soldiers and wounding 20 in the single deadliest attack on American ground forces in more than a year, the military said....

When I heard about the 9 soldiers that were killed in Iraq, I remembered the following article from the Washington Post, August 4, 2005:
A Marine Reserve company that was known as "Lucky Lima" before suffering heavy casualties in May was hit Wednesday by the deadliest roadside bombing of the Iraq war, a massive explosion that killed 14 Marines and the unit's Iraqi interpreter, according to witnesses and military spokesmen....

The numbers from ICasualties are getting larger:

U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD:	3320
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation:	12
Total	3332

How many more will have to die for Bush's war in Iraq? If you think it is time to bring our military home from Iraq, call and e-mail your member of Congress and your Senators with this simple message:

END the War in Iraq, Bring the Troops Home Now!

The Facts

1. Where else would 75,301 people pay $5 to watch a college football team practice? This of course only happens in football crazy Columbus, Ohio. Over 75,000 people went to Ohio Stadium to attend the Buckeyes annual spring game. Check out the photo slide show at The Dispatch. As a tribute, the Buckeyes wore the Virginia Tech logo on their helmets.

2. Oh, no. Some people actually profited financially from Bush's No Child Left Behind Act. It is apparent that students did not profit. Since schools did not get they financial support they needed, it is no surprise that some well-place people did get federal dollars for their special texts and materials.
Washington Post:

The Justice Department is conducting a probe of a $6 billion reading initiative at the center of President Bush's No Child Left Behind law, another blow to a program besieged by allegations of financial conflicts of interest and cronyism, people familiar with the matter said yesterday.

The disclosure came as a congressional hearing revealed how people implementing the $1 billion-a-year Reading First program made at least $1 million off textbooks and tests toward which the federal government steered states....

I bet you also didn't know that the President's brother, Neil Bush, is also making big bucks from the program.

Corpwatch:

...A 5th grader at Rosa Parks Elementary school in Berkeley, California last year, Vanessa is part of a grand experiment pushed by the federal Department of Education to re-make government-funded public schools. Educational corporations, from European-based multinationals, to start-ups such as Ignite, founded by Neil Bush, the president's brother, are swarming into the schools, offering prepackaged curriculum, tests and educational materials to meet the legislative mandate to "teach to the test'" in a narrow range of subjects.....

Isn't it amazing that the crooks are even robbing federal dollars from children?

Just Wondering

Gonzales-
I watched the hearing yesterday with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. I was very disappointed. He used the phrase "I do not recall/remember" over 70 times. Is this what we are to expect from the Attorney General of the United States?

Bush in Ohio-
Raw Story found this story about Bush's rambling speech in Ohio yesterday. Here are some excerpts from the article:

...When Bush went to Ohio on Thursday to talk about terrorism, he ended up musing about marriage and chicken-plucking plants, the agony of death and his Oval Office rug, which resembles a sunburst.....

"The best thing about my family is my wife. She is a great first lady. I know that sounds not very objective, but that's how I feel. And she's also patient. Putting up with me requires a lot of patience."

"There are jobs Americans aren't doing. ... If you've got a chicken factory, a chicken-plucking factory, or whatever you call them, you know what I'm talking about."

"I've been in politics long enough to know that polls just go poof at times."

Makes you wonder if Bush is cracking under the strains of his office.

What They've Done

How have the Republicans shaped the way we live?
>>Corruption: Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, Bob Ney, Duke Cunningham, Tom Noe, Bob Taft are just a few names of Republicans who have brought scandal to a new level in government and politics.

>>>Voting scandals: All you have to do is mention Florida and Ohio and people can recall the voting irregularities that have occurred in both states. Here in Ohio, the Republican-controlled boards of elections, delivered ballots for Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, because of strategically placed people like Robert Bennett (head of Ohio's GOP) and former member of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

>>>>The Supreme Court: Bush has stacked the Supreme Court with strong right wingers. The latest court opinion indicates their stance. USA Today: The Supreme Court ruled for the first time Wednesday that governments can ban a particular abortion procedure. The decision emphasized the value of fetal life and made plain how a single change in a justice can affect the law of the land.

By a 5-4 vote, the court revived a federal ban on a method critics call "partial birth" abortion and upheld a law that lacks an exception for a mother's health......

Let me emphasize that last part ".....and upheld a law that lacks an exception for a mother's health....."

>>>>>Iraq: The President and his Republican supporters are going to keep the war in Iraq going no matter the human and financial costs. Because they will not admit to their arrogance, ignorance, and mistakes, we are must suffer the results of their continuing support for their war in Iraq.

As we look forward to November 2008's presidential election, remember that it DOES MATTER if you vote Democratic. We must find a way out of this mess that this administration and the Republicans have placed us.

More Questions Than Answers

* Why did Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, have to acknowledge his support of gun rights on the day of the Virginia Tech tragedy? (Raw Story) Why didn't he say that he'd wait to discuss it? Why did he need to give his approval of gun ownership just as the news of the killings were unfolding?

Although a majority of Americans have stated their support of a certain amount of gun control, the NRA has successfully lobbied lawmakers and the current occupant of the White House so that the discussion of any gun control is a not allowed.

* The Ohio State University has some ties to the victims at VT. The Newark Advocate:
A Toledo native who graduated from Ohio State University and went on to teach at Virginia Tech was among those killed during the shooting rampage at the school, the man’s brother said Tuesday.

Kevin Granata, 45, a professor of engineering science and mechanics, was in the classroom building either doing research or holding office hours where the shootings occurred, Paul Granata of Toledo said school officials told relatives....

....Granata attended John Carroll University in Cleveland as a physics major, then finished his bachelor’s degree in 1984 at Ohio State University in physics and electrical engineering. He earned his master’s from Purdue University in 1986 and doctorate in biomechanics from Ohio State in 1993.....

* A professor who survived the Holocaust, saved his students, but was also killed. Chicago Sun-Times:

The e-mails from grateful students arrived soon after Liviu Librescu was shot to death, telling how the Holocaust survivor barricaded the doorway of his Virginia Tech classroom and saved their lives.

Librescu, an Israeli engineering and math lecturer who survived the Nazi killings and later escaped from Communist Romania, was a victim of Monday's shootings, which coincided with Israel's Holocaust remembrance day.....

The Tragedy at Virginia Tech

My thoughts and prayers go out to the students, their families, faculty, staff, and friends of Virginia Tech University.

The events surrounding the killings will be examined by experts for days and months to come. However, it makes us wonder how to prevent similar tragedies.

When I was a teacher, building administrators arranged and conducted various types of drills (fire, tornado, evacuation, and intruder) for staff and students. However, those drills were for one building.

I was a student in May 1970 at the Ohio State University when the students were killed at Kent State University. Ohio State, which had an enrollment of around 50,000 then, had an increased security response. We had Columbus Police in riot gear surrounding the outside of the campus and OSU police and armed National Guard troops on the campus. Classes were canceled and students had to leave campus by noon the next day. I believe OSU was closed for at least a week. When OSU reopened, National Guard troops were on campus, a strict curfew was enforced, and security was at an all time high.

Even today, I cannot forget the events in spring of 1970 at Ohio State and Kent State.

Once again, I offer my thoughts and prayers for those associated with VT.

Wolfowitz's Behavior

Paul Wolfowitz has managed to embarrass himself in his conduct at the World Bank. Countries are starting to lose confidence in his decision-making.
NY Times: ....Wolfowitz has said he will not stand down over a promotion he approved for his girlfriend despite increasing fears among bank member governments that the affair is hurting its image as an agency that is tough on corruption....

MSNBC has this:
World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz remained defiant on Sunday as finance and development ministers from around the world expressed "great concern" over the turmoil at the bank.

In an unprecedented statement, ministers representing all the bank's member governments, including the US, said "we have to ensure that the bank can effectively carry out its mandate and maintain its credibility and reputation as well as motivation of staff".

Staff are in open revolt over revelations that Mr Wolfowitz was personally involved in securing an attractive secondment deal for Shaha Riza, a bank official with whom he was romantically involved.....

Wolfowitz's behavior has damaged the reputation of the World Bank. I am not surprised he refuses to step down. He was one of the major architects of the invasion of Iraq and we know how that has progressed. He seems unwilling to take responsibility for his distracting scandalous conduct.

Iraq, Iraq, Iraq

People in Connecticut! Is this what you wanted from Joe Lieberman when you re-elected him?
Raw Story:
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., says he supports the idea of appointing a senior-level official in the Bush administration to manage operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, adding that his committee might be able to play "a constructive role" in creating the new post.

"I like the idea," Lieberman told CongressDaily in an interview Thursday.....

Have you started a recall effort to get this guy out of the Senate? Aren't you embarrassed to have President Bush's second biggest cheerleader (John McCain is #1) as your U.S. Senator?

-------

Raw Story is also reporting that General David Petraeus was recently surprised-----

The timing of the announcement raising the standard length of active Army Iraq deployments to 15 months took the U.S. commanding general in Iraq by surprise, according to a senior U.S. military official here.

Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the U.S. military operation in Iraq, learned of the change in policy during a briefing from his staff the morning after the Defense Department announcement, according to the senior military official....

While the Republicans keep attacking Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's recent trip to Syria, they have failed to mention the Republican delegations that also visited Syria just before and immediately after Pelosi. I think Nancy Pelosi is doing a great job. Why do the Republicans continue to insult her? Do they hate women in leadership?

*****I was listening to a recent the White House press briefing. Here is part of the transcript from 4/12/07:

(I've highlight some words/phrases.)

Q Senator Reid says the President needed to come to the Hill because what he's being told here is what he wants to hear, and not what he needs to hear.

MS. PERINO: The President has -- hears from a lot of different people. You all have covered all the different people that he hears from. The President extended an invitation to Senator Reid and the rest of the bicameral, bipartisan leadership. We are glad that they took us up on the offer. We need to get the money to the troops. And I think the tit-for-tat is just something I'm not going to get into.

Q Dana, on the supplemental, on Tuesday the President said that because the Democrats have not gotten this in yet -- "The failure to fund our troops will mean some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines, others could see their loved ones headed back to war sooner." Why did the President mention -- this is a day before his own Pentagon is going to announce that, actually, those loved ones are going to stay in harm's way longer. And he clearly had to know that this policy was going to take place, that the deployments were going to be stretched from 12 months to 15 months. So why did he tell the American Legion that people would be staying in Iraq longer because of the Democrats, when his own Pentagon, 24 hours later, was going to keep people there longer?

MS. PERINO: Well, one, I don't know if the President knew about the -- the meeting -- remember, yesterday morning is when Secretary Gates came and talked to the President. But also, Secretary Gates was talking about a longer-term policy, to make sure that the dwell times are going to be long enough so that we can keep our troops refreshed and get them time with their family. The long-term goal, ultimate goal is to have for active duty one year deployed with two years off, and then for reservists, one year on and five years off.

We have never said that if we got the money immediately tomorrow, that folks would be able to have just a 12-year [sic] deployment and a 12-year [sic] dwell time.*** Every day that we don't get the money is one that, as Secretary Gates and General Pace have said, creates problems in terms of the training. And so by piecemeal, you see some troops have been there for 16 months, and that's what we're trying to avoid.

Q Is that really the first time the President -- it's a pretty big policy, to keep people in Iraq three months longer --

MS. PERINO: No, I think that we've known for a while --

Q -- he just heard about it yesterday morning?

MS. PERINO: I think we've known for a while that Secretary Gates was trying to figure out a way to make sure that we can alleviate this problem of having longer deployments, or troops being deployed for a longer period of time. And one of the things that he did yesterday was to say that we need more certainty for the troops. And I talked to the President about that this morning, that having more certainty for a military family to plan ahead is something that is probably priceless. I can't imagine what it's like for a youngster, when three months seems like five years, that their parent isn't going to be home.

So the point was that the end strength of the Army and of the Marines is going to be expanded. But until we get there, there are going to be these 15 -- what Secretary Gates wanted to do was give people more time to plan, because what's been happening is that you have people out there for 12 months, and then you extend them by another month, and another month, and another month. And that's quite disruptive to the troops and their families.

Q But if the President really wants certainty for the families, he had an opportunity before the American Legion, a highly respected veterans organization, to say, you know what, for certainty's sake for these families, tomorrow we're going to announce a pretty big change. They're going to stay in harm's way longer. Why wasn't he straightforward with the American Legion about his own policy?

MS. PERINO: I think the President was absolutely straightforward. And remember, I don't -- I know that Secretary Gates came and talked to the President yesterday morning, so that speech you're talking about was last Tuesday. We've known for a while that we're going to have to --

Q Two days ago, the speech.

MS. PERINO: Yes, two days ago, right.

Q And so the President didn't know about his own policy until Wednesday?

MS. PERINO: I'm not aware that the President knew that there was going to be -- that Secretary Gates had come to any decisions. But we did know that people, one, needed more certainty, because that had been a complaint and that's one that we had heard about; and two, we need to make sure that we can get the money for the troops so that the readiness issue, the training issue -- because if the troops here can't be trained, which is one of the issues that Gates and Pace said is a problem of not having the money now -- if they can't be trained, then you can't get the fresh troops out in the field. And that means that the people who are there have to stay longer.....

The White House is certainly doing a lot of spinning. Jon Stewart shows how President Bush explains how Iraq is making progress.

The Case of the Lost E-mails

When I read that the White House had lost 5 million e-mails, I immediately thought of Rosemary Woods "accidentally" erasing 18 minutes of tape from the Nixon White House. Thank goodness, Sen. Patrick Leahy doesn't believe this crap.

Yahoo News:
The White House's claim that e-mails sent on a Republican Party account might have been lost was challenged Thursday by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy who quipped that even his teenage neighbor could find them.

"They say they have not been preserved. I don't believe that!" Leahy shouted from the Senate floor as the dispute over the firing of federal prosecutors continued at a high pitch.

"You can't erase e-mails, not today. They've gone through too many servers," said Leahy, D-Vt. "Those e-mails are there; they just don't want to produce them. We'll subpoena them if necessary."

Does the White House think that the American people are stupid? (I already know that they do.) The Senate Judiciary committee will just go get some computer person and find those e-mails in a jiffy. Why were so many of them related to Karl Rove? Just asking.

Poor Baby

The continuing story about Anna Nichol Smith's baby looks like it won't end. Now Virgie Arthur, Anna Nichole's mother, is fighting for custody of the baby and its millions of dollars. Virgie did such a horrible job with her own daughter, Anna Nichole. Do you think the court will give her a chance to ruin another young woman's life? I hope that Virgie can only have supervised visits with her granddaughter.

Bush Looking for Someone to Handle the War

**Apparently, President George W. Bush has become bored with one aspect of his job---Commander in Chief. According to Article 2, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, the President is the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States. Does Bush want to give up this power? Does he have the right to give away the power to control wars? Can anyone apply? Why are so many current and former members of the military refusing the job as "war czar"? Is it because they don't want to have a job in which you must follow the failed Bush policy in Iraq?

***The Ohio State Men's Basketball team attended a celebration (10TV): Nine days after playing in the NCAA tournament championship game, the Ohio State men's basketball team was cheered on by thousands on Thursday evening.

Coach Thad Matta was among the dignitaries who spoke at the Schottenstein Center, which included Columbus mayor Michael Coleman and Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith.....

....Oden, who is considering turning professional, was dogged by questions from local and national media throughout the season about his future.

He did not give any indication about what his decision would be. Hosket joked by asking Oden the question everybody wanted to know -- what Oden had for lunch.

"Chicken," Oden replied....

The Results of Bush's Surge

I found this at Iraq Coaltion Casualties:

U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD:	3287
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation:	7
Total	3294

The Air Force Times is reporting the following--

Air Force planes and medical crews airlifted more than 850 wounded and injured servicemen out of war zones during March, according to the Air Force. In February, the Air Force flew out 767 patients.....

>> Now the administration is looking for a "war czar." Apparently, some high-ranking military officials have already turned down the job. If everyone in this administration was doing their damn job, then we wouldn't need a "war czar." They are just looking for someone to blame instead of the president. The people in this administration overestimated the time and the human and financial costs of invading Iraq. They had no plan for getting out when they went into Iraq and they still don't have a plan! The entire administration is filled with less than the best and the brightest our country has to offer.

Take for example the 150 "law school" graduates the administration got from evangelist Pat Robertson. Many have no real legal or prosecuting experience but there they are making decisions on civil rights, personal freedoms, and laws. This particular "law school" was only accredited in 1999. Has anyone asked how many of the "lawyers" from Regent Law School attended the school before, during, or immediately after it was accredited?

We have a Secretary of State who refuses to meet with certain country's leaders. Obviously, they've never heard of diplomacy. Entire continents and countries are being ignored by this administration. Can you imagine the allies and friends this country has lost?

The Senate and the House of Representatives must stand up and say "NO" to the president. He can't have anymore blank checks like the Republicans gave him.

Fire Him

I've been listening to the discussions concerning radio/TV talk show host Don Imus and his recent comments about the Rutgers Women's Basketball team. I think it is time for Mr. Imus to pack up his stuff and stay on his ranch.

If Imus had said those things about my daughters, he would not have a hair on his head. Imus insulted all women, African-Americans, female athletes, and everyone associated with their school, Rutgers University. It is 2007. Although Imus is a product of a different generation, his comments are unacceptable in the world we live in today. As the mother of daughters, I believe it is time for Imus to go. His programs' advertisers must understand that their commercials will appear as endorsements for Imus and his words. I am suggesting that the way to end his continuing hurtful remarks is to fire him.

More Smart Car News

*Changes are coming to the auto industry in the U.S. With gas prices going up higher, drivers are looking for alternatives to their gas guzzlers. Here are some statistics from Consumer Affairs:

....The large number of Prius sales just in the last two years have whittled away at government tax breaks available to Prius consumers.

So far this year, Toyota has sold 61,635 hybrids in the United States, up 68 percent from the first three months of last year. That includes 28,453 hybrids last month....

....In the land of small cars the Smart Car is still waiting in the wings but consumers looking at the two-seater can reserve a Smart Car production model for a $99 deposit.

The tiny car made by DaimlerChrysler AG already sells in Europe and Canada and is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. market in the first quarter of 2008.

The $99 deposit is refundable and doesn't lock a potential buyer into a particular color or trim level. Potential buyers can make changes to their order and the $99 reservation fee will be factored into the total sum for the car.

Excluding destination fees, tax and costs of added options, the entry-level Smart ForTwo starts under $12,000, the ForTwo coupe is less than $14,000 and the ForTwo Cabriolet is priced under $17,000.

More than 46,000 people have registered on the Smart Car Web site and asked to be updated on an ongoing basis as the vehicle's launch date nears.....

I am one of those people who have plunked down a $99 reservation fee for a Smart Car. I'll keep you updated on any news that develops.

If you'd like more information about Smart Cars, visit Smart Car USA.

I just can't get enough of these cute little cars!

Bush Prays For American Troops

The headlines across the country on TV and in newspapers said that the President went to church and prayed for the American troops. Although that is an admirable thing to do, he must also work to bring our troops home. With the American people becoming more and more dissatisfied with Bush's war in Iraq, Bush runs for cover by appearing in front of uniformed troops.

Our military is stretched thin. The President ignored his generals on troop numbers when he started this war. Bush ignored his father's advice. When a general or commander has voiced an opposition to Bush's war plans, that particular high-ranking military expert suddenly "retires." The quagmire in Iraq will not be solved by this president if he has his way. He'll dump it in the lap of the next elected president.

With American deaths in Iraq nearing 3300, Bush needs to do more than pray. If he refuses to do something to bring the troops home, then the American people must put pressure on their elected officials to get the troops home now.

Things I've Learned

Here it is just 8am, and already I've learned so much:
1. Another person within the ethically-challenged Bush administration is in trouble. NY Times:
A senior official at the federal Education Department sold more than $100,000 in shares in a student loan company even as he was helping oversee lenders in the federal student loan program.

The official, Matteo Fontana, now general manager in a unit of the Office of Federal Student Aid, was identified yesterday from government documents as a stakeholder in the parent company of Student Loan Xpress who sold shares in 2003....

2. The love fest between Geraldo Rivera and Bill O'Reilly is over. O'Reilly hates immigrants. See Raw Story.

3. Despite the fact that the Ford Motor Company is losing money, their CEO made $28 million for only working for four months. CNN: Struggling Ford Motor Co., which posted a record $12.7 billion net loss in 2006, gave its new CEO Alan Mulally $28 million for four months on the job, according to the company's proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday....

Shouldn't the salary of the CEO be tied to the success or failure of the company? How can this man accept this money knowing full well that he did not do a good job?

4. Climate experts are concerned about climate change (but Sen. Inhofe won't believe it!). MSNBC: Top climate experts warned Friday that global warming will cause faster and wider damage than previously forecast, ranging from hunger in Africa and Asia to extinctions and rising ocean levels....

5. The people at the New York Sun are so funny!!!! They've suggested that Vice President Dick Cheney should run for President in 2008 (see Raw Story). Is this a late April Fool's day joke?

Hatching Lies

I saw this over at Crooks and Liars and thought it deserved some special comments. Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch has never been a favorite of mine. I still remember those hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee in which Hatch accused Professor Anita Hill of lying about the sexual harassment she endured from then Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas. (See Time: 1991) Hatch was not a very nice man and he was very disrespectful toward Ms. Hill. When I saw this at Crooks and Liars, I knew that once again Hatch was acting badly.
Crooks and Liars:
Rachel Maddow's Open Letter to Orrin Hatch

Dear Senator Hatch -

You don't call, you don't write…
I've just about exhausted myself trying to get someone in your office to call me back this week. Please apologize to your adorable receptionist on my behalf - the poor man now gets audibly exasperated as soon as I say "hello".
What I'd like to talk with you about is very simple: on NBC's Meet the Press this past Sunday, you said this about Carol Lam, the US Attorney for San Diego who was fired by the Justice Department in December:

"She was a former law professor, no prosecutorial experience, and the former campaign manager in Southern California for Clinton"

I checked the transcript against the video (or click here for the specific clip) and it's clear to me that you weren't misquoted....
....Here at Air America, we called John Emerson, who managed Clinton's California campaign in '92 and again in '96 to ask if Carol Lam had been the "campaign manager in Southern California for Clinton" - you might have thought we'd asked him if the sky was green.

First of all, uh, NO, she wasn't.

And second, Carol Lam was an Assistant US Attorney at the time of Clinton's campaigns, and she therefore couldn't have also been a campaign manager for any presidential candidate without violating the (ironically-named) Hatch Act, which restricts political activity by federal government employees.

Then we called a source close to Carol Lam in California, who expressed utter bewilderment at what old Orrin said on Meet the Press.
The source confirmed for us publicly-available documents about Lam's career which indicate that she is not a law professor, she's "been a federal prosecutor for nearly 18 years and [has] never been a fundraiser for any president".....

Rachel Maddow said it better than I could. Thank you, Rachel Maddow! (NOTE: We used to be able to hear the Rachel Maddow Show in Columbus, Ohio, until the talk radio station she was on traded liberal talk for radical right talk. Fortunately, for that same radio station, their ratings have slipped into the toilet. The ratings are so low at that right wing station, I don't know how they pay their electric bill.)

Shame, shame, shame, Sen. Hatch! Why do you feel the need to smear people with your lies? Didn't you learn you should never tell a lie?

Swift Boat Supporters Being Rewarded

Raw Story:
President George W. Bush circumvented Senate opposition today and recess appointed a controversial nominee as Ambassador to Belgium. Sam Fox, who donated thousands of dollars to the anti-John Kerry Swift Boat Veterans For Truth before the 2004 Presidential election, received the nod from the White House in a quiet personnel announcement this afternoon that caught Senate Democrats off guard.

President Bush had formally withdrawn Fox's nomination last week when it appeared likely that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would reject it and prevent him from receiving a full vote on the Senate floor. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) issued a strong response shortly before boarding an airplane late in the day, questioning the legal basis for the action.

"I seriously question the legality of the President's use of the recess appointment authority in this instance," said the senior Senator from Connecticut, and presidential candidate. "This is underhanded and an abuse of Executive authority - sadly this behavior has become the hallmark of this administration."

Senator John Kerry (D-MA), who squared off with Fox in a February confirmation hearing, offered similar words, comparing Fox's appointment with Michael Brown, the former FEMA head who mishandled the response to Hurricane Katrina.

"When it comes to getting body armor for our soldiers or relief for New Orleans, they're AWOL, but they'll move heaven and earth to reward a smear," he said. "Today's move shows it is wedded to the politics of personal character assassination that they are willing to take unprecedented steps to reward donor Sam Fox with an Ambassdorship."

Kerry also assailed the legality of the move.....

Also, from Raw Story:

Using membership dues paid in part by federal tax dollars, the National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA) hired the Washington, DC, public relations firm, Creative Response Concepts, best known for the 2004 "Swift Boat Veterans" ads against John Kerry, to launch a public relations effort supporting the failedunpopular abstinence only education policies. and

Without a proven proactive program of their own to reduce STDs and unintended pregnancies, NAEA is likely to attack supporters of successful public health methods, like comprehensive sexuality education. While progressives are promotiong Prevention First and Responsible Education About Life, social conservatives once again will use fear and smear to distract voters, evidenced in the hiring of Creative Response Concepts (CRC), to exagerate the influence of the fewer than 1-in-5 voters who support failed abstinence education efforts.....

Bush continues to reward his buddies and we continue to pay for it.

Republicans Forgot to Mention

While the White House criticized the overseas trip of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the administration forgot to mention that Republican lawmakers made the same trip last weekend to Syria. Why do they forget to tell us the details?

When the righties condemned a picture showing Pelosi in a scarf while in Syria, they failed to talk about Mrs. Laura Bush in a similar scarf when she visited a mosque (China Daily) May 23, 2005 in Jerusalem.

Rudi, Judi, and John

Thrice married Rudy Giuliani wants the press to give his wife, Judi, a break. However, after reading this story, I'm finding it impossible to do.
NY Post: Judith Giuliani once demonstrated surgical products for a controversial medical-supply company that used dogs - which were later killed - in operations whose only purpose was to sell equipment to doctors, The Post has learned.

"It was a horribly cruel, outrageous program," Friends of Animals President Priscilla Feral said about the demonstrations of medical staplers on dogs conducted by U.S. Surgical Corp. employees during Giuliani's tenure there in the late 1970s.

Feral said U.S. Surgical's demonstrations on hundreds of dogs each year through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s were done to boost sales, not for medical re search or testing.

The dogs were "either put to death following the sales demonstrations because they can't re cover from them, or they die during them," Feral said.....

....(Judi) Giuliani spent four years at U.S. Surgical.

The company, now part of Tyco Healthcare, has long acknowledged its salespeople routinely demonstrated staples on anesthetized dogs as part of sales pitches to doctors.

Then-CEO Leon Hirsch defended the practice in the 1980s, saying there was no other way to properly show how the staplers worked.

"A dead dog doesn't bleed," Hirsch said in a 1988 issue of Time magazine. "You need to have real blood-flow conditions, or you get a false sense of security."

Doggie killer?????????????????? In case you need reminding, here are some pictures of dogs---- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Here is that Time magazine article about U.S. Surgical and their puppy killing procedures. Here is an excerpt from the 1988 Time article:

....Since 1981, U.S. Surgical has been the target of heckling demonstrators, some carrying signs reading STAPLE HIRSCH and KILL HIRSCH. Animal-rights activists have also launched at least two unsuccessful legal efforts to revoke the company's license to use live animals. According to Hirsch, U.S. Surgical uses hundreds of dogs a year to train doctors and the company's own salesmen with the high-speed surgical staplers it manufactures. The trainees practice by stapling multiple surgical incisions on anesthetized dogs, after which the animals are destroyed....

>>>Sen. McCain wants us to believe that his recent trip to a Baghdad open market was like a walk in the park. Why did he need a bulletproof vest, 100 American troops (no Iraqi soldiers), and 3 circling helicopters?

Is McCain's campaign out of touch and low on funds? Check out this article from Politico.

In my opinion, McCain is about as exciting and inspiring a gray linoleum.

The Iraq War is Getting Worse

The Iraq war is getting worse. How do we know? There are statistics that prove it at ICasualties and the right wing media has offered a distraction.

From ICasualties we have the following statistics:

U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD:	3247
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation:	10
Total	3257

Secondly, the right wing media has tried to create a distraction. Instead of focusing on the war, troop deaths, and the Democratic plan for withdrawal, the righties want us to look at Rosie O'Donnell. (Don't look at the war, look at the liberal lady over here.) Right wing talk show buffoon, Bill O'Reilly, has suggested that ABC and The View fire Rosie O'Donnell. Does O'Reilly want us to take him seriously? O'Reilly's program is losing major viewers (his average viewer is 75yrs old), while The View is gaining more and more viewers. I think O'Reilly is trying to create a diversion while the war gets worse and he is trying to punish Rosie for her liberal opinions.

The View is part of the entertainment division of ABC. The View is gaining viewers because the program allows the hosts to speak their views. I would rather watch The View than listen to some other show on who is the baby's daddy or how to remove ink from the carpet. The View is lively, thought-provoking, and relevant. Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limpball, and the rest of the righties should mind their own business and concentrate on real news not fake right wing news.

Finally, O'Really and Limpball shouldn't attack Rosie. She is a Mom, and a person who contributes her time and money to many charities. Besides, her views are probably a lot closer to the opinions of real Americans. Those two pompous right wing a**es do nothing but fill their own pockets.

If You Can't Take the Heat.....

I saw this story's headlines over at the Huffington Post and I had to put in my two cents:
(WCBS-TV): Giuliani To Media: Lay Off My Wife

....The former New York City mayor is fending off increased media scrutiny of his third wife -- the former Judith Nathan. Rudy is now asking the media to back off.

"Attack me all you want," Giuliani said. "There's plenty to attack me about. Please do it. But maybe, you know, show a little decency."

That's a tough sell for a man who suggested he might invite his wife into cabinet meetings....

Giuliani, the man who announced at a press conference that he was divorcing his second wife, will probably not get his wish this time. Giuliani and his wife, Judi Nathan Giuliani, have been parading around talking up their experience in dealing with the public. However, it appears that they cannot handle the scrutiny that comes with their very public lifestyle.

Giuliani may choose not to remember the media frenzy surrounding other presidential candidate's spouses (Hillary Clinton, Theresa Heinz Kerry, Elizabeth Edwards, etc). However, if Giuliani and other candidates want to win the hearts, minds, and votes of Americans, they must expect questions from the media. Voters will watch candidates react to the publicity because it indicates how these candidates and their spouses will respond to pressure and the spotlight in office. As the saying goes---if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Republicans: Buzz Words and Plaid Shirts

Why does Republican Newt Gingrich just continue to say stupid things? Gingrich, who hopes to be president one day (heaven forbid!), expressed his opinions about bilingual education. Here are some excerpts:

From WSB-TV:
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich equated bilingual education Saturday with "the language of living in a ghetto" and mocked requirements that ballots be printed in multiple languages.
Gingrich made the comments in a speech to the National Federation of Republican Women.
"The American people believe English should be the official language of the government. ... We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto," Gingrich said to cheers from the crowd.
"Citizenship requires passing a test on American history in English. If that's true, then we do not have to create ballots in any language except English," he said.
Peter Zamora, co-chair of the Washington-based Hispanic Education Coalition, which supports bilingual education, called the comments hateful and said research has shown "that bilingual education is the best method of teaching English to non-English speakers."
.....Bilingual programs teach students reading, arithmetic and other basic skills in their native language so they do not fall behind while mastering English. Since 1975, the Voting Rights Act has required ballots and other election assistance in languages other than English in jurisdictions where at least 5 percent of voting-age citizens are not proficient in English and literacy rates are below the national average.

Gingrich is an idiot. Does he think he can just insult people? Besides, he probably hasn't visited a public school with bilingual education. Gingrich wants an "English immersion" program? That sounds interesting, but not even remotely doable. Teachers are still waiting for Bush's No Child Left Behind Act to get funded. Newt gave he speech in front of a very safe audience----- elderly Republican women. I'd like to see him give that speech in the middle of a large American city.

---> Did you see that picture of McCain and other Republicans in Iraq? They were trying to demonstrate how safe it was in Baghdad. McCain appeared at a news conference in the heavily fortified Green Zone wearing a plaid shirt. Why do Republicans wear plaid shirts when they are trying to be like regular folks? Anyway, McCain said the truth is not getting out about the successes in Iraq. Do you know why the "truth" is not getting out? There are no successes in Iraq!

As we approach the election, the Republicans will continue to try to excite their base with the use of their buzz words: English-only, family values, protect the flag, 9/11, support the troops, etc., etc. However, Americans have realized that these and other words used by the GOP are empty words. If they really supported the troops, Republican lawmakers would bring the troops home and vote for military health care. How can candidates who have been married multiple times (Gingrich-3, McCain-2, Giuliani-3, Fred Thompson -2) talk about family values when they never valued their own family?

See Sunday's Doonsebury cartoon to see what cutting off funding for the war means.