Thanks, once again, to Scott Ritter at Truthdig for another clarifying article;
"The vice president is the single greatest threat to American and international security in the world today. Not Osama Bin Laden. Not the ghost of Saddam Hussein. Not Ahmadinejad or Kim Jung Il. Not al-Qaida, the Taliban, or Jose Padilla himself.
Not even George W. Bush can lay claim to this title. It is Dick Cheney’s alone.
Operating in a never-never land of constitutional ambiguity which exists between the office of the president and the Congress of the United States, Cheney’s office has made its impact felt on the policies of the United States of America as had no vice president’s office before him. Granted unprecedented oversight over national security and foreign policy by executive order in early 2001,
many months prior to the terror attacks of 9/11,
Cheney has single-handedly steered America away from being a nation among nations (albeit superior), operating (roughly) in accordance with the rule of law, and toward its present manifestation as the new Rome, a decadent imperial power bent on global domination whatever the cost. The absolute worst of the rot that has infected America because of the policies and actions of the Bush administration has originated from the office of the vice president. The nonsensical response to the terror attacks of 9/11, seeking a “global war” versus defending the rule of law at home and abroad, taking the lead in spreading the lies that got us involved in Iraq, legitimizing torture as a tool of American jurisprudence, advocating for warrantless wiretappings of U.S.-based communications (regardless of what the Fourth Amendment says against illegal search and seizure), and pushing for an expansion of America’s global conflict into Iran—
...all can be traced back to the person of Cheney as the point of origin."
http://www.truthdig.com/report/page2/20070821_why_cheney_really_is_that_bad/
Repost-Repost-Repost!!!
No More Excuses!!!!
BRING THEM HOME!
TROOPS COULD LEAVE ANY TIME,
AND IT WOULD ONLY TAKE A FEW WEEKS!
"US General Says Pullout Plan "Ready To Go"
NBC Nightly News says that while military planners "say it could take two years for a complete withdrawal from Iraq," a "top US commander here in Kuwait says, from a logistics standpoint, he's already got the plan and he's ready to go. All he needs is the President's order." The Washington Post reports Lt. Gen. R. Steven Whitcomb said facilities in Kuwait "have handled as many as 240,000 troops moving into and out of Iraq in as little as a three-month period during the war's major rotations. " http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_070802.htm
CLEARLY, LOGISTICS AREN'T THE PROBLEM, IT IS SIMPLY GREED. THOSE NO-BID BOOK-COOKING CORPORATIONS WITH TIES TO THE BUSH AND CHENEY CABAL ARE THE ONLY REASON WE ARE STILL THERE!
BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!
Showing posts with label Cheney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cheney. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Cloudy Friday
Red text is the "real" headline buried in the news.
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.
BUSH'S REAL LEGACY BEGINS TO SHOW;
HIS STACKED SUPREME COURT NOW DECIDEDLY CONSERVATIVE;
The decision, coming on the last day of this year's term, highlighted the fact that a conservative bloc led by Roberts prevailed in nearly all of the major cases that came before the court. On abortion, religion, campaign finance and now school integration, the chief justice has put together a five-member majority to move the law to the right. Roberts cited the decision in Brown in support of his opinion in the current case. Just as Brown struck down forced segregation nationwide, he said, the court is now declaring that students may not be classified "based on the color of their skin."The court's four liberal justices accused the majority of turning its back on Brown and the promise of racial integration."This is a decision that the court and the nation will come to regret," Justice Stephen G. Breyer said in a long dissent delivered in the courtroom."It is not often so few have quickly changed so much," he said at one point.In a separate dissent, 87-year-old Justice John Paul Stevens noted how far the court had moved in his long tenure. "It is my firm conviction that no member of the court that I joined in 1975 would have agreed with today's decision," he wrote.
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-scotus29jun29,0,2454560.story?coll=la-tot-topstories&track=ntothtml
BUT HE'S NOT DONE SO WELL ON THE DOMESTIC FRONT
The paradigm shift that senior adviser Karl Rove saw (and convinced every doofus on the right was inevitable, which inevitably led to some very careless arrogance and delusions of legal impunity) after the 2004 election has now proved illusory. The Ownership Society that Bush promised to build in 2005 is rarely mentioned these days. (that's because "they" already own all of it!!!) Even the hope-against-hope optimism of finding bipartisan common ground after the 2006 elections has officially evaporated. "Sand is flowing out of the hourglass," said Fred I. Greenstein, a Princeton University scholar on the presidency, who was struck by the gloomy tone of Bush's televised statement. "He looked much less like the kid on the cover of Mad magazine without a care. . . . He looked very angry and almost having difficulty getting the sentences out. (Alfred E. Bush, the consumate oriator) That seems to me to contrast with some of the early stages" of his presidency. Bush emerged from reelection (election theft chapter 2) with four main domestic priorities for his second term, as identified by Rove and other aides: He planned to reinvent Social Security to allow investment of some funds in the stock market, overhaul the tax code from top to bottom, bring millions of illegal immigrants out of the shadows and impose tough new curbs on what he called excessive litigation. He is now almost zero-for-four.
The Social Security plan died when a Republican Congress decided not to take it up. Tax overhaul died when Bush took the report he commissioned and put it on a shelf because it would be too provocative. And though he pushed through limits on class-action lawsuits, the rest of his litigation program -- proposals to restrict medical malpractice awards and settle long-standing asbestos claims -- has been stalled for years. Bush has lately sketched out a new agenda in areas such as energy and health care, and he may yet make progress on those in the 18 months he has left. But going forward, aides acknowledged, the once swaggering president will be in a defensive crouch. His immediate domestic plans include imploring lawmakers to reauthorize his No Child Left Behind education program, while trying to stop Congress from expanding a children's health insurance program and, with it, the federal deficit. (maybe some of those corrupt no-bid KBR/Halliburton contracts would be a better place to cut those deficits? ...not if you're a no-bid Halliburton executive profiteer.) Although each fight has had its own dynamics, aides broadly blame the collapse of Bush's domestic agenda on the war in Iraq, (can I get a group "DUH!") which soured Congress and the public even before Democrats won control of the Hill last November. (IT IS THE REASON DEMOCRATS WON IN NOVEMBER!)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/28/AR2007062802585.html?referrer=email
CHENEY WATCH
More solid opinions from the Seattle PI, (I sure do agree with these Seattle folks so often...) this time from columnist Bonnie Erbe;
Cheney and t(his) administration are not only toxic, they are downright radioactive. It is almost as if they covet the No. 1 spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the worst administration in American history. (unless you are a Halliburton executive raking in all that no-bid cash) Any Republican running for president knows that an affiliation with the Bush administration is the political equivalent of Superman touching green kryptonite. Democrats will be able to posture and do nothing for decades and win elections merely by running against the Bush legacy. A front-page story in Wednesday's New York Times reveals the depth of damage the Angler and his co-president, "W," have done to the party. The Times reports on a poll showing that young Americans have shifted dramatically left in their political thinking. "They share with the public at large a negative view of President Bush, who has a 28 percent approval rating with this group, and of the Republican Party. They hold a markedly more positive view of Democrats than they do of Republicans." What Republican in his right mind would want an affiliation with this crowd? (key words; right mind...)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/321727_erbe29.html
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.
BUSH'S REAL LEGACY BEGINS TO SHOW;
HIS STACKED SUPREME COURT NOW DECIDEDLY CONSERVATIVE;
The decision, coming on the last day of this year's term, highlighted the fact that a conservative bloc led by Roberts prevailed in nearly all of the major cases that came before the court. On abortion, religion, campaign finance and now school integration, the chief justice has put together a five-member majority to move the law to the right. Roberts cited the decision in Brown in support of his opinion in the current case. Just as Brown struck down forced segregation nationwide, he said, the court is now declaring that students may not be classified "based on the color of their skin."The court's four liberal justices accused the majority of turning its back on Brown and the promise of racial integration."This is a decision that the court and the nation will come to regret," Justice Stephen G. Breyer said in a long dissent delivered in the courtroom."It is not often so few have quickly changed so much," he said at one point.In a separate dissent, 87-year-old Justice John Paul Stevens noted how far the court had moved in his long tenure. "It is my firm conviction that no member of the court that I joined in 1975 would have agreed with today's decision," he wrote.
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-scotus29jun29,0,2454560.story?coll=la-tot-topstories&track=ntothtml
Which brings us to the blog quote of the day,
"Just say no."
The Senate’s Democratic majority—joined by all Republicans who purport to be moderate—must tell President Bush that this will be their answer to any controversial nominee to the Supreme Court or to the appellate courts. The Senate should refuse even to hold hearings on Bush’s next Supreme Court choice, should a vacancy occur, unless the president reaches agreement with the Senate majority on a mutually acceptable list of nominees. And no Bush nominee to a lower court deserves any deference now that we learn that U.S. Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh may have misled the Senate during his confirmation hearings. Kavanaugh claimed he was not involved in administration discussions about setting the rules for the treatment of enemy combatants. The Washington Post reported that he actually was. Although a spokeswoman for Kavanaugh insisted that his testimony was “accurate,” Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy said, “I don’t believe that he was truthful with us.” As for the Supreme Court, we now know that the president’s two nominees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito, are exactly what many of us thought they were: activist conservatives intent on leading a judicial counterrevolution. Thursday’s 5-4 ruling tossing out two school desegregation plans was another milestone on the court’s march to the right.
The Senate’s Democratic majority—joined by all Republicans who purport to be moderate—must tell President Bush that this will be their answer to any controversial nominee to the Supreme Court or to the appellate courts. The Senate should refuse even to hold hearings on Bush’s next Supreme Court choice, should a vacancy occur, unless the president reaches agreement with the Senate majority on a mutually acceptable list of nominees. And no Bush nominee to a lower court deserves any deference now that we learn that U.S. Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh may have misled the Senate during his confirmation hearings. Kavanaugh claimed he was not involved in administration discussions about setting the rules for the treatment of enemy combatants. The Washington Post reported that he actually was. Although a spokeswoman for Kavanaugh insisted that his testimony was “accurate,” Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy said, “I don’t believe that he was truthful with us.” As for the Supreme Court, we now know that the president’s two nominees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito, are exactly what many of us thought they were: activist conservatives intent on leading a judicial counterrevolution. Thursday’s 5-4 ruling tossing out two school desegregation plans was another milestone on the court’s march to the right.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070629_three_words_for_bush_and_his_judges/
AND WITH THAT SOCIAL ISSUE OUT OF THE WAY, HERE'S THE R E A L REASON THESE CONSERVATIVE JUDGES ARE SEATED RIGHT NOW; CORPORATE GREED TRUMPS PUBLIC INTEREST EVERY TIME, 5-4
Striking down an antitrust rule nearly a century old, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that it was not automatically unlawful for manufacturers and distributors to agree on minimum retail prices. Five justices, agreeing with the nation’s major manufacturers, said the new rule could in some instances lead to more competition and better service. But four dissenting justices agreed with 37 states and some consumer groups that abandoning the old rule could result in significantly higher prices and less competition (now wasn't that paltry sum they spent on Republican political campaigns over tha past ten years a great investment!!!) for consumer and other goods. The court struck down the 96-year-old rule that resale price maintenance agreements were an automatic, or per se, violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. In its place, the court instructed judges considering such agreements for possible antitrust violations to apply a case-by-case approach, known as a “rule of reason,” (sounds like a floating decimal point is being tacked on the "rule of law") to assess their impact on competition. The new rule is considerably more favorable to defendants (big corporations). The decision was handed down on the last day of the court’s term, (as were some other very historically significant decisions, this is like a Supreme Court version of a Friday dump!) which has been notable for overturning precedents and for victories for big businesses and antitrust defendants. It was also the latest of a series of antitrust decisions in recent years rejecting per se rules that had prohibited various marketing agreements between companies. (are they simply protecting gasoline manufacturers ??? Bush is doing pretty well by book-cooking, no-bid CEO standards)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/washington/29bizcourt.html
AND WITH THAT SOCIAL ISSUE OUT OF THE WAY, HERE'S THE R E A L REASON THESE CONSERVATIVE JUDGES ARE SEATED RIGHT NOW; CORPORATE GREED TRUMPS PUBLIC INTEREST EVERY TIME, 5-4
Striking down an antitrust rule nearly a century old, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that it was not automatically unlawful for manufacturers and distributors to agree on minimum retail prices. Five justices, agreeing with the nation’s major manufacturers, said the new rule could in some instances lead to more competition and better service. But four dissenting justices agreed with 37 states and some consumer groups that abandoning the old rule could result in significantly higher prices and less competition (now wasn't that paltry sum they spent on Republican political campaigns over tha past ten years a great investment!!!) for consumer and other goods. The court struck down the 96-year-old rule that resale price maintenance agreements were an automatic, or per se, violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. In its place, the court instructed judges considering such agreements for possible antitrust violations to apply a case-by-case approach, known as a “rule of reason,” (sounds like a floating decimal point is being tacked on the "rule of law") to assess their impact on competition. The new rule is considerably more favorable to defendants (big corporations). The decision was handed down on the last day of the court’s term, (as were some other very historically significant decisions, this is like a Supreme Court version of a Friday dump!) which has been notable for overturning precedents and for victories for big businesses and antitrust defendants. It was also the latest of a series of antitrust decisions in recent years rejecting per se rules that had prohibited various marketing agreements between companies. (are they simply protecting gasoline manufacturers ??? Bush is doing pretty well by book-cooking, no-bid CEO standards)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/washington/29bizcourt.html
BUT HE'S NOT DONE SO WELL ON THE DOMESTIC FRONT
The paradigm shift that senior adviser Karl Rove saw (and convinced every doofus on the right was inevitable, which inevitably led to some very careless arrogance and delusions of legal impunity) after the 2004 election has now proved illusory. The Ownership Society that Bush promised to build in 2005 is rarely mentioned these days. (that's because "they" already own all of it!!!) Even the hope-against-hope optimism of finding bipartisan common ground after the 2006 elections has officially evaporated. "Sand is flowing out of the hourglass," said Fred I. Greenstein, a Princeton University scholar on the presidency, who was struck by the gloomy tone of Bush's televised statement. "He looked much less like the kid on the cover of Mad magazine without a care. . . . He looked very angry and almost having difficulty getting the sentences out. (Alfred E. Bush, the consumate oriator) That seems to me to contrast with some of the early stages" of his presidency. Bush emerged from reelection (election theft chapter 2) with four main domestic priorities for his second term, as identified by Rove and other aides: He planned to reinvent Social Security to allow investment of some funds in the stock market, overhaul the tax code from top to bottom, bring millions of illegal immigrants out of the shadows and impose tough new curbs on what he called excessive litigation. He is now almost zero-for-four.
The Social Security plan died when a Republican Congress decided not to take it up. Tax overhaul died when Bush took the report he commissioned and put it on a shelf because it would be too provocative. And though he pushed through limits on class-action lawsuits, the rest of his litigation program -- proposals to restrict medical malpractice awards and settle long-standing asbestos claims -- has been stalled for years. Bush has lately sketched out a new agenda in areas such as energy and health care, and he may yet make progress on those in the 18 months he has left. But going forward, aides acknowledged, the once swaggering president will be in a defensive crouch. His immediate domestic plans include imploring lawmakers to reauthorize his No Child Left Behind education program, while trying to stop Congress from expanding a children's health insurance program and, with it, the federal deficit. (maybe some of those corrupt no-bid KBR/Halliburton contracts would be a better place to cut those deficits? ...not if you're a no-bid Halliburton executive profiteer.) Although each fight has had its own dynamics, aides broadly blame the collapse of Bush's domestic agenda on the war in Iraq, (can I get a group "DUH!") which soured Congress and the public even before Democrats won control of the Hill last November. (IT IS THE REASON DEMOCRATS WON IN NOVEMBER!)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/28/AR2007062802585.html?referrer=email
CHENEY WATCH
More solid opinions from the Seattle PI, (I sure do agree with these Seattle folks so often...) this time from columnist Bonnie Erbe;
Cheney and t(his) administration are not only toxic, they are downright radioactive. It is almost as if they covet the No. 1 spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the worst administration in American history. (unless you are a Halliburton executive raking in all that no-bid cash) Any Republican running for president knows that an affiliation with the Bush administration is the political equivalent of Superman touching green kryptonite. Democrats will be able to posture and do nothing for decades and win elections merely by running against the Bush legacy. A front-page story in Wednesday's New York Times reveals the depth of damage the Angler and his co-president, "W," have done to the party. The Times reports on a poll showing that young Americans have shifted dramatically left in their political thinking. "They share with the public at large a negative view of President Bush, who has a 28 percent approval rating with this group, and of the Republican Party. They hold a markedly more positive view of Democrats than they do of Republicans." What Republican in his right mind would want an affiliation with this crowd? (key words; right mind...)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/321727_erbe29.html
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Thursday; Another wet and cloudy day...
Red text is the"real" headline buried in the news.
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.
CHENEY'S CLAIM TO UNLIMITED EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE
HITS A SENATE WALL
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday issued subpoenas to the White House, Vice President Dick Cheney’s office and the Justice Department after what the panel’s chairman called “stonewalling of the worst kind” of efforts to investigate the National Security Agency’s policy of wiretapping without warrants. The move put Senate Democrats squarely on a course they had until now avoided, setting the stage for a showdown with the Bush administration over one of the most contentious issues arising from the White House’s campaign against terrorism. Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is chairman of the committee, said the subpoenas seek documents that could shed light on the administration’s legal justification for the wiretapping and on disputes within the government over its legality. In addition, the panel is seeking materials on related issues, including the relationship between the Bush administration and several unidentified telecommunications companies that aided the N.S.A. eavesdropping program. The panel’s action was the most aggressive move yet by lawmakers to investigate the wiretapping program since the Democrats gained control of Congress this year. (I would guess Cheney already gave his "Pat" answer a while back in the Senate when he advised Leahy to go "f" himself, no doubt the entire White House crew will have a similar response to this subpoena. The constitutional crisis that began with Bush V. Gore has now come to its inevitable conclusion, a "constitutional collision.")
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/washington/28nsa.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&emc=th&adxnnlx=1183029567-RrPz/hxXobo4jjeLAfssmQ
And just why DOES our system of government demand
three separate branches?
It isn't just a management construct, it is an outline applied to naturally occurring divisions between vested social and economic interests that exist inherently in any organized, cultured civilization, (especially meaningful to a delusional culture that might fancy itself as a lone world superpower.)
Here's Montesquieu, from his 1748 "Spirit of the Laws."
My own commentary is, as usual, in blue text.
"When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person.... there can be no liberty, because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyranical laws, (Patriot Act, domestic wiretaps, this basically describes the 107th, 108th and 109th Congresses) to execute them in tyranical manner. Again, there is no liberty if the judiciary be not separated from the legislative and the executive. Were it joined with the legislative, the life and liberty of the subject (citizen) would be exposed to arbitrary control; for the judge would then be the legislator (Bush V. Gore, conservative activist judges, trumped-up political charges). Were it joined to the executive power, the judge might behave with violence (shock and awe, renditions and torture) and oppression." (habeas corpus delecti).
http://www.constitution.org/cm/sol.txt
DHS TAKES A NO-BID BOOKKEEPING (COOKING?)
LESSON FROM HALLIBURTON
The project started in 2003 with a $2 million contract to help the new Department of Homeland Security quickly get an intelligence operation (what, we need another one?) up and running. Over the next year, the cost of the no-bid arrangement with consultant Booz Allen Hamilton soared by millions of dollars per month, as the firm provided analysts, administrators and other contract employees to the department's Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection offices. By December 2004, payments to Booz Allen had exceeded $30 million -- 15 times the contract's original value. When department lawyers examined the deal, they found it was "grossly beyond the scope" of the original contract, and they said the arrangement violated government procurement rules. The lawyers advised the department to immediately stop making payments through the contract and allow other companies to compete for the work. But the competition did not take place for more than a year.
During that time, the payments to Booz Allen more than doubled again under a second no-bid arrangement, to $73 million, according to internal documents, e-mail and interviews. (there's the money line...)
The arrangements with the McLean consulting firm, one of the nation's largest government contractors, illustrate a transformation in the way the federal government often gets its work done: by relying on private, sometimes costly consultants to fill staffing shortfalls in federal agencies.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702988.html?referrer=email
Which brings us to the blog quote of the day,
from Dave in MA at The Daily Kos, crossposted from his Accountable Strategies Blog
"...a lack of centralized authority, ineffective internal controls, poorly drawn contracts, insufficient oversight, and staffing shortages. DHS is far from an agency created and operating according to a sense of national purpose, in response to a national emergency." (more like a gravy-train for Halliburtonish executives and some of the newly formed Maryland/Virginia-based [read "D.C."] Bush-bubba firms...)
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/6/27/102725/804
IRANIAN MOB SETS GAS STATIONS ABLAZE
Angry drivers set fire to at least two gas stations overnight in Tehran after the government announced that gasoline rationing would begin Wednesday just after midnight.
The state television news said Wednesday that “several gas stations and public places had been attacked by vandals.” While there were some reports that a large number of gas stations had been set on fire, only two fires were confirmed. The government had been planning for a year to put rationing into effect but held off because of concerns that it could cause unrest. Some officials indicated it might have been started now because of the threat of stronger economic sanctions by the United Nations over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran contends that its nuclear enrichment program is for civilian energy purposes, while the United States and some other Western nations contend that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Under the new regulations announced by the Oil Ministry on Tuesday evening, private cars will be able to buy a maximum of 26 gallons of gasoline a month at the subsidized price of 34 cents per gallon. Taxis will be allowed 211 gallons a month. Parliament would have to determine whether individuals would be allowed to buy more at market rates. (at least the Iranian consumers know how to protest higher prices... but at 34 cents per gallon, even rationed out, it still seems like a bargain, ours is nearly 10 times costlier.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/world/middleeast/28iran.html?th&emc=th
THE BUSH WARS:
BUSH AND COMPANY SEEKING PERPETUAL WAR
Opinion from the Seattle PI
As if four years of fighting in Iraq hadn't already made this point clear, here it is again: We're not getting anywhere over there. And this "surge," this acceleration of fighting the Bush administration has been ballyhooing as a critical step in turning our failures in Iraq into some sort of glowing democratic success, is futile. (Futile...now there is the best one-word description of this war ever put to page. Futile, that is, unless you are a KBR/Halliburton Executive, raking in all that no-bid cash, then you're probably pretty happy with this war's chaos. it is a perfect cover for your profiteering and corruption.) Senior military officers say that despite tossing at least 30,000 more human beings (aka "troops") into the fray, Iraq won't be more secure. Why? Because no matter how many people we send in to fight, the second we leave, things will go to hell, yet again. Iraqis don't have the soldiers and police to deal with the remaining insurgents. The places American forces "secure" in critical areas, such as Baghdad, will represent only temporary gains. Staying in Iraq, then, becomes virtually meaningless in any tactical sense. (unless you are a KBR/Halliburton Executive, raking in all that no-bid cash) Things might get worse there if/when we leave. But they're already unfathomable: NPR reported on Wednesday that Iraqis now actually celebrate deaths that result from natural causes as "blessings," because they're becoming increasingly rare. Perhaps concentrating our resources on building an Iraqi security force -- trained and paid -- would yield better results. But this administration's stubborn stance is impervious to common sense. (unless you are a KBR/Halliburton Executive, raking in all that no-bid cash) As Stephen Colbert (the snarkmaster) told anti-war activist Tom Hayden on "The Colbert Report" Monday night, "(The war) is only lost if we leave. The president has said so. We can only lose if we leave. If we never leave, we never lose."
What a jacked up way to measure success. (unless you are a KBR/Halliburton Executive, raking in all that no-bid cash) http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/321508_surgeed.html
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.
CHENEY'S CLAIM TO UNLIMITED EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE
HITS A SENATE WALL
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday issued subpoenas to the White House, Vice President Dick Cheney’s office and the Justice Department after what the panel’s chairman called “stonewalling of the worst kind” of efforts to investigate the National Security Agency’s policy of wiretapping without warrants. The move put Senate Democrats squarely on a course they had until now avoided, setting the stage for a showdown with the Bush administration over one of the most contentious issues arising from the White House’s campaign against terrorism. Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is chairman of the committee, said the subpoenas seek documents that could shed light on the administration’s legal justification for the wiretapping and on disputes within the government over its legality. In addition, the panel is seeking materials on related issues, including the relationship between the Bush administration and several unidentified telecommunications companies that aided the N.S.A. eavesdropping program. The panel’s action was the most aggressive move yet by lawmakers to investigate the wiretapping program since the Democrats gained control of Congress this year. (I would guess Cheney already gave his "Pat" answer a while back in the Senate when he advised Leahy to go "f" himself, no doubt the entire White House crew will have a similar response to this subpoena. The constitutional crisis that began with Bush V. Gore has now come to its inevitable conclusion, a "constitutional collision.")
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/washington/28nsa.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&emc=th&adxnnlx=1183029567-RrPz/hxXobo4jjeLAfssmQ
And just why DOES our system of government demand
three separate branches?
It isn't just a management construct, it is an outline applied to naturally occurring divisions between vested social and economic interests that exist inherently in any organized, cultured civilization, (especially meaningful to a delusional culture that might fancy itself as a lone world superpower.)
Here's Montesquieu, from his 1748 "Spirit of the Laws."
My own commentary is, as usual, in blue text.
"When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person.... there can be no liberty, because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyranical laws, (Patriot Act, domestic wiretaps, this basically describes the 107th, 108th and 109th Congresses) to execute them in tyranical manner. Again, there is no liberty if the judiciary be not separated from the legislative and the executive. Were it joined with the legislative, the life and liberty of the subject (citizen) would be exposed to arbitrary control; for the judge would then be the legislator (Bush V. Gore, conservative activist judges, trumped-up political charges). Were it joined to the executive power, the judge might behave with violence (shock and awe, renditions and torture) and oppression." (habeas corpus delecti).
http://www.constitution.org/cm/sol.txt
DHS TAKES A NO-BID BOOKKEEPING (COOKING?)
LESSON FROM HALLIBURTON
The project started in 2003 with a $2 million contract to help the new Department of Homeland Security quickly get an intelligence operation (what, we need another one?) up and running. Over the next year, the cost of the no-bid arrangement with consultant Booz Allen Hamilton soared by millions of dollars per month, as the firm provided analysts, administrators and other contract employees to the department's Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection offices. By December 2004, payments to Booz Allen had exceeded $30 million -- 15 times the contract's original value. When department lawyers examined the deal, they found it was "grossly beyond the scope" of the original contract, and they said the arrangement violated government procurement rules. The lawyers advised the department to immediately stop making payments through the contract and allow other companies to compete for the work. But the competition did not take place for more than a year.
During that time, the payments to Booz Allen more than doubled again under a second no-bid arrangement, to $73 million, according to internal documents, e-mail and interviews. (there's the money line...)
The arrangements with the McLean consulting firm, one of the nation's largest government contractors, illustrate a transformation in the way the federal government often gets its work done: by relying on private, sometimes costly consultants to fill staffing shortfalls in federal agencies.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702988.html?referrer=email
Which brings us to the blog quote of the day,
from Dave in MA at The Daily Kos, crossposted from his Accountable Strategies Blog
"...a lack of centralized authority, ineffective internal controls, poorly drawn contracts, insufficient oversight, and staffing shortages. DHS is far from an agency created and operating according to a sense of national purpose, in response to a national emergency." (more like a gravy-train for Halliburtonish executives and some of the newly formed Maryland/Virginia-based [read "D.C."] Bush-bubba firms...)
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/6/27/102725/804
IRANIAN MOB SETS GAS STATIONS ABLAZE
Angry drivers set fire to at least two gas stations overnight in Tehran after the government announced that gasoline rationing would begin Wednesday just after midnight.
The state television news said Wednesday that “several gas stations and public places had been attacked by vandals.” While there were some reports that a large number of gas stations had been set on fire, only two fires were confirmed. The government had been planning for a year to put rationing into effect but held off because of concerns that it could cause unrest. Some officials indicated it might have been started now because of the threat of stronger economic sanctions by the United Nations over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran contends that its nuclear enrichment program is for civilian energy purposes, while the United States and some other Western nations contend that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Under the new regulations announced by the Oil Ministry on Tuesday evening, private cars will be able to buy a maximum of 26 gallons of gasoline a month at the subsidized price of 34 cents per gallon. Taxis will be allowed 211 gallons a month. Parliament would have to determine whether individuals would be allowed to buy more at market rates. (at least the Iranian consumers know how to protest higher prices... but at 34 cents per gallon, even rationed out, it still seems like a bargain, ours is nearly 10 times costlier.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/world/middleeast/28iran.html?th&emc=th
THE BUSH WARS:
BUSH AND COMPANY SEEKING PERPETUAL WAR
Opinion from the Seattle PI
As if four years of fighting in Iraq hadn't already made this point clear, here it is again: We're not getting anywhere over there. And this "surge," this acceleration of fighting the Bush administration has been ballyhooing as a critical step in turning our failures in Iraq into some sort of glowing democratic success, is futile. (Futile...now there is the best one-word description of this war ever put to page. Futile, that is, unless you are a KBR/Halliburton Executive, raking in all that no-bid cash, then you're probably pretty happy with this war's chaos. it is a perfect cover for your profiteering and corruption.) Senior military officers say that despite tossing at least 30,000 more human beings (aka "troops") into the fray, Iraq won't be more secure. Why? Because no matter how many people we send in to fight, the second we leave, things will go to hell, yet again. Iraqis don't have the soldiers and police to deal with the remaining insurgents. The places American forces "secure" in critical areas, such as Baghdad, will represent only temporary gains. Staying in Iraq, then, becomes virtually meaningless in any tactical sense. (unless you are a KBR/Halliburton Executive, raking in all that no-bid cash) Things might get worse there if/when we leave. But they're already unfathomable: NPR reported on Wednesday that Iraqis now actually celebrate deaths that result from natural causes as "blessings," because they're becoming increasingly rare. Perhaps concentrating our resources on building an Iraqi security force -- trained and paid -- would yield better results. But this administration's stubborn stance is impervious to common sense. (unless you are a KBR/Halliburton Executive, raking in all that no-bid cash) As Stephen Colbert (the snarkmaster) told anti-war activist Tom Hayden on "The Colbert Report" Monday night, "(The war) is only lost if we leave. The president has said so. We can only lose if we leave. If we never leave, we never lose."
What a jacked up way to measure success. (unless you are a KBR/Halliburton Executive, raking in all that no-bid cash) http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/321508_surgeed.html
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wednesday Morning US Blues
Red text is the"real" headline buried in the news.
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.
BUSH WARS
ETHNIC CLEANSING OF CHRISTIANS FROM IRAQI NEIGHBORHOODS
The two men knocked on Abu Salam's door on a Friday morning. He was one of the last remaining Christians on his block. "Peace be upon you," they said, and Abu Salam, a man in his 50s, repeated the greeting. The pair, one fat and the other thin, spoke politely. Both were cleanshaven and wore slacks and button-down shirts. "You are now aware the neighborhood of Muwallamin belongs to the Islamic State of Iraq," the bigger man said. "We have three conditions you can accept: You can pay a tax, become a Muslim or you can leave your house and we will help you take out your furniture. "We'll let you make up your mind. "Peace be upon you," the men repeated as Abu Salam watched them leave.Within hours, Abu Salam and his family left their neighborhood of more than 50 years. They joined an exodus that has all but emptied Dora, a large district in south Baghdad, of its once-thriving Christian population. Abu Salam, who spoke on condition that he not be fully identified, citing fears for his safety, is staying elsewhere in Baghdad for now."People will leave if things don't get better. It is chaos," he said. "If there is no imminent solution, Iraq is finished."Christian leaders say 500 families left Dora in April and May. The U.S. military acknowledges that a large number of Christians were uprooted but says the number is significantly less. The United Nations' refugee agency said it counted 100 families at one location who had fled Dora.The flight of Dora's Christians is an example of how the initial phase of the U.S. security crackdown here has failed to establish security and stop the sectarian "cleansing" of Baghdad's neighborhoods.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-christians27jun27,0,695981.story?coll=la-tot-world&track=ntothtml
PROBING ROVE
ROVE ACCUSED OF INFLUENCING ALABAMA DOJ PROSECUTIONS
The convicted former governor of Alabama, Don E. Siegelman, faced prosecutors who urged a long prison sentence here on Tuesday in a federal corruption case that has unexpectedly transcended the confines of this sleepy state capital. The talk in the courtroom was of local things — dubious warehouses, a landfill, a lucrative hospital. But as he emerged from court today, Mr. Siegelman, a Democrat, tried to paint a bigger picture, saying he was a victim of Karl Rove, the senior political adviser in the White House. The origins of this case are political,” Mr. Siegelman said. “There’s no question that Karl Rove’s fingerprints are all over this case, from the inception.” His words, in turn, have been fueled by an affidavit that seems to link his prosecution to high government circles, which has given the case a serious jolt. Mr. Siegelman was convicted of bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud last year after being accused of persuading Richard M. Scrushy, then the chairman of the HealthSouth Corporation, to pay off $500,000 in debt from a lottery campaign the governor had initiated, in exchange for a seat on a state hospital licensing board. (...how does that compare to Bush and Rove handing out plum State Department posts, particularly ambassadorships, to Rangers and Pioneers? Lets focus the same laws on Bush that were applied here, maybe that magnifying glass will heat things up a bit.) Mr. Scrushy was also convicted. It was a small part of a voluminous Justice Department bribery-and-racketeering case, most of which — 25 out of 32 counts — was dismissed by the jury. Nonetheless the government is urging a sentence of 30 years and is asking Judge Mark Fuller of Federal District Court to even weigh charges on which Mr. Siegelman was acquitted. That incomplete government victory, in turn, loomed in the background of the arguments of Mr. Siegelman’s lawyers Tuesday as they urged Mr. Fuller, an appointee of President Bush, to go easy on their client, who was sitting in the dock with Mr. Scrushy. In particular, Mr. Siegelman and his backers refer to the affidavit of a Republican lawyer, released this month, that appears to implicate Mr. Rove. The lawyer, Jill Simpson, claims to have heard a top Alabama Republican operative with longstanding links to Mr. Rove boast over the phone in 2002 that Mr. Siegelman’s political career would soon be scuttled.
(...so when does Karl's career get to be ruined?)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/us/27alabama.html?_r=2&th&emc=th&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
GONZALES DUG IN LIKE A TEXAS TICK
Opinion from Joel Connelly at the Seattle PI
If Attorney General Alberto Gonzales steps foot in the federal courthouse while visiting Seattle on Wednesday, it'll be akin to a teenager entering a high school that he just vandalized. Our city's federal bench has been home to first-rate, non-ideological judges, regardless of who held power in Washington, D.C. Cool, professional U.S. attorneys, of both parties, have prosecuted difficult cases. Six months ago, a politically driven Justice Department under Gonzales fired one of those U.S. attorneys -- John McKay -- because of his professionalism and resistance to pressure. Gonzales violated what our courthouse represents, as well as the independent legal-judicial system, which is the key check on power in the American government... The "other" Washington is, increasingly, an Orwellian place of twisted language and wars by proxy. As in Iraq, the casualties are those of lower ranks. Cheney gets angry about Ambassador Joseph Wilson's editorial, and retaliates by "outing" Wilson's CIA agent wife, Valerie Plame. What happens? Scooter Libby is convicted, Cheney carries on. "Fredo" fires a bunch of U.S. attorneys for improper reasons. The consequences? Virtually all of his top deputies resign under pressure. Gonzales goes free. (... at least thus far...)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/321410_joel27.html
CHENEY, EVER THE HALLIBURTON CEO
Blog Quote of the Day,
from Robert Scheer at Truthdig
No company has profited more from the carnage in Iraq than Halliburton, which Cheney headed before choosing himself as Bush’s running mate. One shudders at the blissful arrogance of this modern Daddy Warbucks, who sees no conflict of interest over the blood-soaked profits garnered by the once-bankrupt division of the company that left him rich. This week’s evidence of the continuing corruption of Halliburton and its subsidiaries profiteering from contracts costing American taxpayers an unbelievable $22 billion stems from a report by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. The report, only one of many about Halliburton’s recently severed subsidiary KBR, focuses on work done in Baghdad’s super-secure Green Zone. While parent company Halliburton insults U.S. taxpayers by relocating its headquarters to the tax shelter of Dubai, subsidiary KBR has been spun off to focus more directly on the American military contracts that form the core of its operations. The corrupt reconstruction project has left a wasteland of failed energy, water, educational and political reform plans. As report after report details, garbage is not collected, hospitals are not staffed, schools close soon after they are opened and factories sit idle in shocking refutation of the vaunted efficiency of the United States’ political economic model. (...I wonder just what the total corruption $ figures are, Bush's bubbas and Cheney's partners have all done quite well by this war, over and under the table.)
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070626_taxpayers_losses_halliburtons_gains
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.
BUSH WARS
ETHNIC CLEANSING OF CHRISTIANS FROM IRAQI NEIGHBORHOODS
The two men knocked on Abu Salam's door on a Friday morning. He was one of the last remaining Christians on his block. "Peace be upon you," they said, and Abu Salam, a man in his 50s, repeated the greeting. The pair, one fat and the other thin, spoke politely. Both were cleanshaven and wore slacks and button-down shirts. "You are now aware the neighborhood of Muwallamin belongs to the Islamic State of Iraq," the bigger man said. "We have three conditions you can accept: You can pay a tax, become a Muslim or you can leave your house and we will help you take out your furniture. "We'll let you make up your mind. "Peace be upon you," the men repeated as Abu Salam watched them leave.Within hours, Abu Salam and his family left their neighborhood of more than 50 years. They joined an exodus that has all but emptied Dora, a large district in south Baghdad, of its once-thriving Christian population. Abu Salam, who spoke on condition that he not be fully identified, citing fears for his safety, is staying elsewhere in Baghdad for now."People will leave if things don't get better. It is chaos," he said. "If there is no imminent solution, Iraq is finished."Christian leaders say 500 families left Dora in April and May. The U.S. military acknowledges that a large number of Christians were uprooted but says the number is significantly less. The United Nations' refugee agency said it counted 100 families at one location who had fled Dora.The flight of Dora's Christians is an example of how the initial phase of the U.S. security crackdown here has failed to establish security and stop the sectarian "cleansing" of Baghdad's neighborhoods.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-christians27jun27,0,695981.story?coll=la-tot-world&track=ntothtml
PROBING ROVE
ROVE ACCUSED OF INFLUENCING ALABAMA DOJ PROSECUTIONS
The convicted former governor of Alabama, Don E. Siegelman, faced prosecutors who urged a long prison sentence here on Tuesday in a federal corruption case that has unexpectedly transcended the confines of this sleepy state capital. The talk in the courtroom was of local things — dubious warehouses, a landfill, a lucrative hospital. But as he emerged from court today, Mr. Siegelman, a Democrat, tried to paint a bigger picture, saying he was a victim of Karl Rove, the senior political adviser in the White House. The origins of this case are political,” Mr. Siegelman said. “There’s no question that Karl Rove’s fingerprints are all over this case, from the inception.” His words, in turn, have been fueled by an affidavit that seems to link his prosecution to high government circles, which has given the case a serious jolt. Mr. Siegelman was convicted of bribery, conspiracy and mail fraud last year after being accused of persuading Richard M. Scrushy, then the chairman of the HealthSouth Corporation, to pay off $500,000 in debt from a lottery campaign the governor had initiated, in exchange for a seat on a state hospital licensing board. (...how does that compare to Bush and Rove handing out plum State Department posts, particularly ambassadorships, to Rangers and Pioneers? Lets focus the same laws on Bush that were applied here, maybe that magnifying glass will heat things up a bit.) Mr. Scrushy was also convicted. It was a small part of a voluminous Justice Department bribery-and-racketeering case, most of which — 25 out of 32 counts — was dismissed by the jury. Nonetheless the government is urging a sentence of 30 years and is asking Judge Mark Fuller of Federal District Court to even weigh charges on which Mr. Siegelman was acquitted. That incomplete government victory, in turn, loomed in the background of the arguments of Mr. Siegelman’s lawyers Tuesday as they urged Mr. Fuller, an appointee of President Bush, to go easy on their client, who was sitting in the dock with Mr. Scrushy. In particular, Mr. Siegelman and his backers refer to the affidavit of a Republican lawyer, released this month, that appears to implicate Mr. Rove. The lawyer, Jill Simpson, claims to have heard a top Alabama Republican operative with longstanding links to Mr. Rove boast over the phone in 2002 that Mr. Siegelman’s political career would soon be scuttled.
(...so when does Karl's career get to be ruined?)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/us/27alabama.html?_r=2&th&emc=th&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
GONZALES DUG IN LIKE A TEXAS TICK
Opinion from Joel Connelly at the Seattle PI
If Attorney General Alberto Gonzales steps foot in the federal courthouse while visiting Seattle on Wednesday, it'll be akin to a teenager entering a high school that he just vandalized. Our city's federal bench has been home to first-rate, non-ideological judges, regardless of who held power in Washington, D.C. Cool, professional U.S. attorneys, of both parties, have prosecuted difficult cases. Six months ago, a politically driven Justice Department under Gonzales fired one of those U.S. attorneys -- John McKay -- because of his professionalism and resistance to pressure. Gonzales violated what our courthouse represents, as well as the independent legal-judicial system, which is the key check on power in the American government... The "other" Washington is, increasingly, an Orwellian place of twisted language and wars by proxy. As in Iraq, the casualties are those of lower ranks. Cheney gets angry about Ambassador Joseph Wilson's editorial, and retaliates by "outing" Wilson's CIA agent wife, Valerie Plame. What happens? Scooter Libby is convicted, Cheney carries on. "Fredo" fires a bunch of U.S. attorneys for improper reasons. The consequences? Virtually all of his top deputies resign under pressure. Gonzales goes free. (... at least thus far...)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/321410_joel27.html
CHENEY, EVER THE HALLIBURTON CEO
Blog Quote of the Day,
from Robert Scheer at Truthdig
No company has profited more from the carnage in Iraq than Halliburton, which Cheney headed before choosing himself as Bush’s running mate. One shudders at the blissful arrogance of this modern Daddy Warbucks, who sees no conflict of interest over the blood-soaked profits garnered by the once-bankrupt division of the company that left him rich. This week’s evidence of the continuing corruption of Halliburton and its subsidiaries profiteering from contracts costing American taxpayers an unbelievable $22 billion stems from a report by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. The report, only one of many about Halliburton’s recently severed subsidiary KBR, focuses on work done in Baghdad’s super-secure Green Zone. While parent company Halliburton insults U.S. taxpayers by relocating its headquarters to the tax shelter of Dubai, subsidiary KBR has been spun off to focus more directly on the American military contracts that form the core of its operations. The corrupt reconstruction project has left a wasteland of failed energy, water, educational and political reform plans. As report after report details, garbage is not collected, hospitals are not staffed, schools close soon after they are opened and factories sit idle in shocking refutation of the vaunted efficiency of the United States’ political economic model. (...I wonder just what the total corruption $ figures are, Bush's bubbas and Cheney's partners have all done quite well by this war, over and under the table.)
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070626_taxpayers_losses_halliburtons_gains
Friday, June 22, 2007
One More Lawless Friday
CHENEY'S LATEST LEGAL LOOPHOLE MAY BE MORE THAN POLITICS
From The Bible;
2 Thessalonians ch2, v7-10;
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one, (whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming) will be revealed; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved."
http://unbound.biola/
Maybe it is just delusional speculation, but if ever there was a moment in time when we have the living proof that Cheney changes "the law" to match his needs, it is printed here in this article today, (I picked the LATimes version here, but it is all over the MSM;)
...For the last four years, Vice President Dick Cheney has made the controversial claim (to put it mildly) that his office is not fully part of the Bush administration in order to exempt it from a presidential order regulating federal agencies' handling of classified national security information, officials said Thursday. Cheney has held that his office is not fully part of the executive branch of government despite the continued objections of the National Archives, which says his office's failure to demonstrate that it has proper security safeguards in place could jeopardize the government's top secrets. According to documents released Thursday by a House committee, Cheney's staff has blocked efforts by the National Archives' Information Security Oversight Office to enforce a key component of the presidential order: a mandatory on-site inspection of the vice president's office. At least one of those inspections would have come at a particularly delicate time — when Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, and other aides were under criminal investigation for their suspected roles ("likely roles?") in leaking the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame. In an eight-page letter to Cheney on Thursday, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) also charged that Cheney or his top staffers tried to abolish the Information Security Oversight Office this year after its director tried repeatedly to force Cheney's office to comply with the presidential order. (If they had retained former KS Gov. John Carlin as our national archivist, in the first place, this would never have happened) Some legal scholars and government secrecy experts noted the irony in Cheney's stance that his office is not fully part of the executive branch, given his claims of executive privilege when refusing to provide information requested by Congress. (OK, so now I get it...Executive Privilege = Protecting Energy Company Executives!?!? How could we all have missed something so OBVIOUS?)
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-cheney22jun22,0,4111313.story?coll=la-tot-topstories&track=ntothtml
In the same vein, here's the blog quote of the day
from C. Hardin-Smith at Firedog Lake;
"In a few short years in office, George Bush has managed to undercut the very foundations of lawful societies and of cohesive objection to the lawlessness which underpins the chaos of terror. Through a concerted campaign of fundamental disrespect for the rule of law. Through a lack of understanding and respect for the norms that civilized nations across the globe have put forth for generations as ideals toward which all decent people should strive. Through a foreign policy based on some variation of “my way or else – yee haw.” And the results, as shown by the multiplying numbers among those who would fight against our nation are nothing short of catastrophic. It is the lack of respect for the rule of law, across the board, which the Bush Administration has pushed in every aspect of its policy decisions."
In other words, these Bush/Cheney rogues aren't simply outlaws and lawbreakers, they are completely lawless, and they use their executive privilege to change the statutes they are willing to be subject to like dirty underwear. This line in particular relates the irony of the foxes running the hen-house;
"cohesive objection to the lawlessness which underpins the chaos of terror."
They not only refuse to object to it, they actually promote "the chaos of terror" in order to keep their fickle flock of nanny and billy-goats in constant fear, so they can continue to promote a profitable world weapons market. And to do so, they must also keep the nations of the world locked in perpetual war.
So lets address that classic Hallelujah Chorus question; "why do the nations rage so furiously together?" Answer; for war profiteers to profit from.
And the next line "why do the People imagine a vain thing?" ...might "The People" mentioned here actually be "We, The People?" ...and that vain thing be the title "lone world superpower?"
Just food for thought...
From The Bible;
2 Thessalonians ch2, v7-10;
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one, (whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming) will be revealed; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved."
http://unbound.biola/
Maybe it is just delusional speculation, but if ever there was a moment in time when we have the living proof that Cheney changes "the law" to match his needs, it is printed here in this article today, (I picked the LATimes version here, but it is all over the MSM;)
...For the last four years, Vice President Dick Cheney has made the controversial claim (to put it mildly) that his office is not fully part of the Bush administration in order to exempt it from a presidential order regulating federal agencies' handling of classified national security information, officials said Thursday. Cheney has held that his office is not fully part of the executive branch of government despite the continued objections of the National Archives, which says his office's failure to demonstrate that it has proper security safeguards in place could jeopardize the government's top secrets. According to documents released Thursday by a House committee, Cheney's staff has blocked efforts by the National Archives' Information Security Oversight Office to enforce a key component of the presidential order: a mandatory on-site inspection of the vice president's office. At least one of those inspections would have come at a particularly delicate time — when Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, and other aides were under criminal investigation for their suspected roles ("likely roles?") in leaking the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame. In an eight-page letter to Cheney on Thursday, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) also charged that Cheney or his top staffers tried to abolish the Information Security Oversight Office this year after its director tried repeatedly to force Cheney's office to comply with the presidential order. (If they had retained former KS Gov. John Carlin as our national archivist, in the first place, this would never have happened) Some legal scholars and government secrecy experts noted the irony in Cheney's stance that his office is not fully part of the executive branch, given his claims of executive privilege when refusing to provide information requested by Congress. (OK, so now I get it...Executive Privilege = Protecting Energy Company Executives!?!? How could we all have missed something so OBVIOUS?)
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-cheney22jun22,0,4111313.story?coll=la-tot-topstories&track=ntothtml
In the same vein, here's the blog quote of the day
from C. Hardin-Smith at Firedog Lake;
"In a few short years in office, George Bush has managed to undercut the very foundations of lawful societies and of cohesive objection to the lawlessness which underpins the chaos of terror. Through a concerted campaign of fundamental disrespect for the rule of law. Through a lack of understanding and respect for the norms that civilized nations across the globe have put forth for generations as ideals toward which all decent people should strive. Through a foreign policy based on some variation of “my way or else – yee haw.” And the results, as shown by the multiplying numbers among those who would fight against our nation are nothing short of catastrophic. It is the lack of respect for the rule of law, across the board, which the Bush Administration has pushed in every aspect of its policy decisions."
In other words, these Bush/Cheney rogues aren't simply outlaws and lawbreakers, they are completely lawless, and they use their executive privilege to change the statutes they are willing to be subject to like dirty underwear. This line in particular relates the irony of the foxes running the hen-house;
"cohesive objection to the lawlessness which underpins the chaos of terror."
They not only refuse to object to it, they actually promote "the chaos of terror" in order to keep their fickle flock of nanny and billy-goats in constant fear, so they can continue to promote a profitable world weapons market. And to do so, they must also keep the nations of the world locked in perpetual war.
So lets address that classic Hallelujah Chorus question; "why do the nations rage so furiously together?" Answer; for war profiteers to profit from.
And the next line "why do the People imagine a vain thing?" ...might "The People" mentioned here actually be "We, The People?" ...and that vain thing be the title "lone world superpower?"
Just food for thought...
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
LIBBY BOUND FOR JAIL; CHENEY LIES AGAIN
Red text is the"real" headline buried in the news.
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.
LIBBY SENTENCED TO
30 MONTHS HARD TIME,
2YRS PROBATION,
$250,000 FINE
CHENEY PERPETUATES THE BIG LIE
TO WYOMING HIGH SCHOOL KIDS
Thanx to AfterDowning Street.com for this link
This post, written by Nico Pitney, originally appeared on Think Progress
"Addressing about 100 wide-eyed Wyoming high school students learning about government and the political process," (the smart ones actually got a lesson in how these Bushies have been lying to "the People") Vice President Cheney yesterday repeated one of the key fabrications that helped send the United States into war. During the question and answer session, one student asked, "I was wondering -- I'm not trying to start a debate, or anything, but do you still think that the Iraq war can be won?"
Cheney immediately answered "yes," adding, "I think we're making significant progress now." (he must have recently been shopping in the new McCain Plaza there , somewhere north-south-east or west of the Green Zone!!)
He then launched into a justification of the war, citing the September 11 attacks. "The fact of the matter is Iraq is part of the global war on terror," he told the students. "And you've got to go back and look at what happened on 9/11." Cheney recounted the tale of the late al-Qaeda operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, one of the administration's great pre-war myths:
The worst terrorist we had in Iraq was a guy named Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a Jordanian by birth; served time in a Jordanian prison as a terrorist, was let out on amnesty. (key-word usage here) ... Then when we launched into Afghanistan after 9/11, he was wounded, and fled to Baghdad for medical treatment, and then set up shop in Iraq. So he operated in Jordan, he operated in Afghanistan, then he moved to Iraq.
The implication that Zarqawi helped justify the war was thoroughly debunked last year by the Senate Intelligence Committee, then chaired by Bush loyalist Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS.) It found: Saddam Hussein attempted, unsuccessfully, to locate and capture al-Zarqawi and...the regime did not have a relationship with, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi. [p. 109]
Adding insult to injury, earlier in the event, Cheney was asked about the "values or philosophy" he has developed (I'm surprised that he didn't tell this questioner to go f*&k themself) during his 40 years of government service. He answered, "I basically developed a great respect for American history." (..but he obviously hasn't learned anything from it, especially that one "piece of paper"...)
Nico Pitney is the Deputy Research Director for Think Progress.
SO, YOU THINK WE ONLY HAVE ONE "OFFICIAL" CHENEY TO WORRY ABOUT?
READ THIS...
THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS NEWS OF THE DAY!!!
Lynne Cheney slated to replace deceased Wyoming Senator????
I read it somewhere this morning, still looking for the link: if it is true, we have an even more serious Cheney problem!!!
SHADES OF MARTHA MITCHELL!!!
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.
LIBBY SENTENCED TO
30 MONTHS HARD TIME,
2YRS PROBATION,
$250,000 FINE
CHENEY PERPETUATES THE BIG LIE
TO WYOMING HIGH SCHOOL KIDS
Thanx to AfterDowning Street.com for this link
This post, written by Nico Pitney, originally appeared on Think Progress
"Addressing about 100 wide-eyed Wyoming high school students learning about government and the political process," (the smart ones actually got a lesson in how these Bushies have been lying to "the People") Vice President Cheney yesterday repeated one of the key fabrications that helped send the United States into war. During the question and answer session, one student asked, "I was wondering -- I'm not trying to start a debate, or anything, but do you still think that the Iraq war can be won?"
Cheney immediately answered "yes," adding, "I think we're making significant progress now." (he must have recently been shopping in the new McCain Plaza there , somewhere north-south-east or west of the Green Zone!!)
He then launched into a justification of the war, citing the September 11 attacks. "The fact of the matter is Iraq is part of the global war on terror," he told the students. "And you've got to go back and look at what happened on 9/11." Cheney recounted the tale of the late al-Qaeda operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, one of the administration's great pre-war myths:
The worst terrorist we had in Iraq was a guy named Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a Jordanian by birth; served time in a Jordanian prison as a terrorist, was let out on amnesty. (key-word usage here) ... Then when we launched into Afghanistan after 9/11, he was wounded, and fled to Baghdad for medical treatment, and then set up shop in Iraq. So he operated in Jordan, he operated in Afghanistan, then he moved to Iraq.
The implication that Zarqawi helped justify the war was thoroughly debunked last year by the Senate Intelligence Committee, then chaired by Bush loyalist Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS.) It found: Saddam Hussein attempted, unsuccessfully, to locate and capture al-Zarqawi and...the regime did not have a relationship with, harbor, or turn a blind eye toward Zarqawi. [p. 109]
Adding insult to injury, earlier in the event, Cheney was asked about the "values or philosophy" he has developed (I'm surprised that he didn't tell this questioner to go f*&k themself) during his 40 years of government service. He answered, "I basically developed a great respect for American history." (..but he obviously hasn't learned anything from it, especially that one "piece of paper"...)
Nico Pitney is the Deputy Research Director for Think Progress.
SO, YOU THINK WE ONLY HAVE ONE "OFFICIAL" CHENEY TO WORRY ABOUT?
READ THIS...
THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS NEWS OF THE DAY!!!
Lynne Cheney slated to replace deceased Wyoming Senator????
I read it somewhere this morning, still looking for the link: if it is true, we have an even more serious Cheney problem!!!
SHADES OF MARTHA MITCHELL!!!
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Saturday's Morning News
Red text is the "real" headline buried n the article.
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.
PELOSI'S MASTERFUL HAND
Nancy Pelosi knew Earl Blumenauer would be a hard case, but she left two messages on his cellphone anyway. A liberal, bow-tied, bicycle-riding peacenik from Oregon, Blumenauer had voted against the Iraq war and every dollar since to pay for it. He was not about to embrace a bill that threw $100 billion more into the fighting, even if it would force the president to bring the troops home. "I've been trying to get ahold of you," the House speaker said when she caught up with the Portland Democrat in the Capitol's basement. They sat down. She said she empathized with his dilemma — she too had opposed the war from the start and wanted it ended fast. But in her mind the choice was simple: Hand President Bush a victory or hand him a rebuke. "She convinced me," said Blumenauer, whose vote helped give Pelosi her most important legislative victory. "For me, there was no attempt at pressure. I was able to convey my concerns. She was there. She was listening." Pelosi's performance on the war spending bill highlighted what has become her signature: an aggressive leadership style that seeks to put Congress on par with the White House (isn't that what the founders of our nation meant in the first place by creating co-equal branches of government?) and prove that her notoriously fractious party (hey, a big tent is a big tent) can indeed govern. Her style has surprised some in the caucus. (not me) Liberals who expected camaraderie say she's a poor listener, (read; pragmatist) and conservatives who expected a cold shoulder say listening is one of her better skills. (read; statesman extraordinaire)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pelosi14apr14,0,3546220.story?track=ntothtml
BLOG QUOTE OF THE DAY (thanx to Glenn Greenwald and Salon.com)
Norah O'Donnell does not understand why anyone would think that there is reason to believe that the White House and Rove may not be entirely forthcoming when answering the Senators' questions. She literally does not comprehend the general concept of oversight and specifically the rationale as to why someone would be reluctant to place blind trust in the Bush administration's assertions.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/?last_story=/opinion/greenwald/2007/04/14/various_items/
AFRICA
Heavily armed security forces took to Nigeria's streets Friday on the eve of elections that many people here fear will spark violence across an already tense nation. In a nationally televised address, President Olusegun Obasanjo declared Nigeria ready to begin its two-part election, with races for state governors and legislators on Saturday and a vote for president a week later. But he warned, "The federal government will leave no stone unturned in vigorously checking . . . acts of violence and thuggery."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041302047.html?referrer=email
LABOR UNIONS AND EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP
After five years of multi-billion-dollar losses, airlines began making money in 2006 and executives are cashing in, setting the stage for contentious negotiations with employees whose labor contracts start expiring later this year."It's going to get nasty," said Michael Boyd, an industry consultant. The airlines "have really messed this up. The employees worked hard, gave back and it looks like management is basically saying, 'Thanks for the giveback, suckers.' " At United Airlines Inc., which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, workers were infuriated when they learned about Chief Executive Glenn Tilton's 2006 shares and options package, potentially worth $38 million. Unions representing United's pilots and flight attendants on Friday urged members who hold stock in the company to vote against management's nominees for the board, including Tilton.
(we need more unions encouraging and enabling employee ownership on a bigger scale, i.e. democracy in the workplace)
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-airlines14apr14,0,4597869.story?track=ntothtml
DOJ DOCUDUMP UNCOVERS MORE DECEPTION BY BUSH ADMINISTRATION
Long before they fired a group of U.S. attorneys, senior White House and Justice Department officials were already discussing some politically connected insiders for their replacements, documents released Friday show. The documents, turned over to congressional investigators in a widening probe of the firings, undercut earlier claims that the prosecutors were terminated for purely performance reasons. They also show that the administration prized attorneys who shared its Republican ideology. For instance, the personnel charts of some prosecutors note their membership in the conservative Federalist Society. (the red badge of shame?)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-usattys14apr14,0,497040.story?track=ntothtml
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.
PELOSI'S MASTERFUL HAND
Nancy Pelosi knew Earl Blumenauer would be a hard case, but she left two messages on his cellphone anyway. A liberal, bow-tied, bicycle-riding peacenik from Oregon, Blumenauer had voted against the Iraq war and every dollar since to pay for it. He was not about to embrace a bill that threw $100 billion more into the fighting, even if it would force the president to bring the troops home. "I've been trying to get ahold of you," the House speaker said when she caught up with the Portland Democrat in the Capitol's basement. They sat down. She said she empathized with his dilemma — she too had opposed the war from the start and wanted it ended fast. But in her mind the choice was simple: Hand President Bush a victory or hand him a rebuke. "She convinced me," said Blumenauer, whose vote helped give Pelosi her most important legislative victory. "For me, there was no attempt at pressure. I was able to convey my concerns. She was there. She was listening." Pelosi's performance on the war spending bill highlighted what has become her signature: an aggressive leadership style that seeks to put Congress on par with the White House (isn't that what the founders of our nation meant in the first place by creating co-equal branches of government?) and prove that her notoriously fractious party (hey, a big tent is a big tent) can indeed govern. Her style has surprised some in the caucus. (not me) Liberals who expected camaraderie say she's a poor listener, (read; pragmatist) and conservatives who expected a cold shoulder say listening is one of her better skills. (read; statesman extraordinaire)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pelosi14apr14,0,3546220.story?track=ntothtml
BLOG QUOTE OF THE DAY (thanx to Glenn Greenwald and Salon.com)
Norah O'Donnell does not understand why anyone would think that there is reason to believe that the White House and Rove may not be entirely forthcoming when answering the Senators' questions. She literally does not comprehend the general concept of oversight and specifically the rationale as to why someone would be reluctant to place blind trust in the Bush administration's assertions.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/?last_story=/opinion/greenwald/2007/04/14/various_items/
AFRICA
Heavily armed security forces took to Nigeria's streets Friday on the eve of elections that many people here fear will spark violence across an already tense nation. In a nationally televised address, President Olusegun Obasanjo declared Nigeria ready to begin its two-part election, with races for state governors and legislators on Saturday and a vote for president a week later. But he warned, "The federal government will leave no stone unturned in vigorously checking . . . acts of violence and thuggery."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041302047.html?referrer=email
LABOR UNIONS AND EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP
After five years of multi-billion-dollar losses, airlines began making money in 2006 and executives are cashing in, setting the stage for contentious negotiations with employees whose labor contracts start expiring later this year."It's going to get nasty," said Michael Boyd, an industry consultant. The airlines "have really messed this up. The employees worked hard, gave back and it looks like management is basically saying, 'Thanks for the giveback, suckers.' " At United Airlines Inc., which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, workers were infuriated when they learned about Chief Executive Glenn Tilton's 2006 shares and options package, potentially worth $38 million. Unions representing United's pilots and flight attendants on Friday urged members who hold stock in the company to vote against management's nominees for the board, including Tilton.
(we need more unions encouraging and enabling employee ownership on a bigger scale, i.e. democracy in the workplace)
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-airlines14apr14,0,4597869.story?track=ntothtml
DOJ DOCUDUMP UNCOVERS MORE DECEPTION BY BUSH ADMINISTRATION
Long before they fired a group of U.S. attorneys, senior White House and Justice Department officials were already discussing some politically connected insiders for their replacements, documents released Friday show. The documents, turned over to congressional investigators in a widening probe of the firings, undercut earlier claims that the prosecutors were terminated for purely performance reasons. They also show that the administration prized attorneys who shared its Republican ideology. For instance, the personnel charts of some prosecutors note their membership in the conservative Federalist Society. (the red badge of shame?)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-usattys14apr14,0,497040.story?track=ntothtml
As (Paul) pointed out earlier, one of the documents released today apparently catches Kyle Sampson in another bind. And during a conference call with reporters today, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that Sampson had not been fully honest with the committee last month. At issue is whether Sampson gave a false impression when he said that he didn't have "in mind any replacements" for any of the U.S. attorneys who were asked to resign. "He left a clear impression that they did not have people in mind for a replacement," Schumer said, calling it "extremely troubling." "The contradictions continue to pile up.... The issue of replacements now becomes central." (thanx again to Paul Kiel at TPM) http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/
THE BUSH WARS
A platoon of elite Marine Special Operations troops reacted with "excessive force" after an ambush in Afghanistan last month, opening fire on pedestrians and civilian vehicles along a 10-mile stretch of road and killing 12 people -- including a 4-year-old girl, a 1-year-old boy and three elderly villagers -- an investigation by an Afghan human rights commission alleges.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041302171.html?referrer=email
A suicide bomber blew himself up outside an Afghan police headquarters in the east of the country on Saturday, killing at least eight people, officials said. The attack came as the U.S.-led coalition said it had killed 35 Taliban insurgents in fierce fighting two days ago. Seven of those killed in the suicide attack in Khost were border police and the eighth was a civilian, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Six policemen were also wounded. Taliban commander Mullah Hayatullah Khan told Reuters by telephone his insurgents had carried out the attack. (thanx to Needlenose for the Reuters link) http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2007-04-14T123131Z_01_ISL213969_RTRUKOC_0_US-AFGHAN-VIOLENCE.xml
SPY ON US WHILE YOU CAN, MONKEYBOY
The proposed revisions to FISA would also allow the government to keep information obtained "unintentionally," unrelated to the purpose of the surveillance, if it "contains significant foreign intelligence." Currently such information is destroyed unless it indicates threat of death or serious bodily harm. And they provide for compelling telecommunications companies and e-mail providers to cooperate with investigations while protecting them from being sued by their subscribers. The legal protection would be applied retroactively to those companies that cooperated with the government after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041301932.html?referrer=email
CHENEY HISSES AGAIN
Vice President Cheney (propagandist-in-chief) accused congressional Democrats today of reviving the "far-left platform" of George McGovern from the 1970s, an agenda that he said would raise taxes, declare surrender in an overseas war and leave the United States exposed to new dangers. In a sharp-edged speech, Cheney escalated the Bush administration attack on Congress for passing war spending legislation that would mandate withdrawing at least some U.S. troops from Iraq.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041301980.html?referrer=email
ROVE WATCH
(thanx to Marci Wheeler at The Next Hurrah, author of "Anatomy of Deceit)
So we've learned that Karl Rove does 95% of his emailing on the RNC servers. No word if he spends an equivalent percentage of time on RNC-supplied phones (now that question would clarify why Rove was using the RNC laptop, wouldn't it?). But I'm going to assume, for the moment, that that 95% figure also means Karl Rove perceives 95% of the work he does to be political--to be unrelated to our nation's business. There's only a few conclusions I can draw from that. Either, we're paying Rove $165,200 for 104 hours of work (52X40/20). Or almost $1600/hour. (the high price of our political sado-masochism) Which I'm guessing would rank right off the charts on the government pay scale.
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/04/95.html
Karl Rove's personal attorney yesterday dismissed any suggestion that the White House senior adviser purposely deleted e-mail to evade scrutiny, saying that Rove was always under the impression that his messages were being saved (So, just who actually took the illegal initiative to delete them? Is there another Scooter or Sampson in wings waiting to take the fall?) by either the White House or the Republican National Committee. "He has always understood that his e-mails, that his RNC and campaign e-mails, were being archived from very early in the administration," said Robert D. Luskin.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041302043.html?referrer=email
GROWING WOLFOWITZ WORLD BANK ROMANCE SCANDAL
World Bank President Paul D. Wolfowitz personally dictated the terms under which the bank gave what it called his "domestic partner" substantial pay raises and promotions in exchange for temporarily leaving her job there during his tenure, according to documents released by the bank's executive board yesterday. The board issued a statement saying it will "move expeditiously to reach a conclusion on possible actions to take," amid rising speculation over whether the embattled Wolfowitz will resign or be asked to step down.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041300788.html?referrer=email
The woman at the center of the storm surrounding World Bank President Paul D. Wolfowitz has spent the past few months trying to get one of the signature efforts of President Bush's Middle East democracy campaign off the ground. The Foundation for the Future, as the effort is called, has made no grants and held only two board meetings since its creation 1 1/2 years ago. Though Shaha Riza, who has been romantically linked to Wolfowitz, is not listed as part of the staff on the organization's Web site, she is the only person working in the group's offices, located within the Henry L. Stimson Center, a think tank. The Washington office is listed as a "branch," according to the site, which promises that soon a main office will be established in Beirut. The United States contributed almost two-thirds of the foundation's $56 million budget, (for one lone employee to manage?) according to the State Department, which said last night that the foundation plans to hire a chief operating officer and chief financial officer next month.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041302172.html?referrer=email
...now it is clear that the chorus of calls in recent days for Mr. Wolfowitz’s ouster is only partly about his involvement in setting up a comfortable job, with a big pay raise, for a bank officer who is Mr. Wolfowitz’s companion. At its core, the fight about whether Mr. Wolfowitz should stay on at the bank is a debate about Mr. Bush and his tumultuous relationship with the rest of the world, particularly the bank, the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency, which have viewed themselves — at various moments since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 — as being at war with the Bush White House and its agenda.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/14/washington/14assess.html
THE ENVIRONMENT
The driving season stretching from Memorial Day through Labor Day is known for pinching motorists. But since the devastating hurricanes of 2005, the pain at the pump each year has returned earlier and with a particularly sharp bite, prompting cries from legislators and causing automakers to scramble to produce smaller, fuel-efficient models. (isn't Honda's and Toyota's domination evidence that we have actually been demanding this for decades?) This year, the federal government's Energy Information Administration is predicting that motorists will pay an average of $2.81 a gallon, just six cents less than last summer's steep levels. Others, including James Mulva... of ConocoPhillips, warn that prices could hit an average of $3.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041302126.html?referrer=email
A little over four years ago, when the forces of deregulation were riding high, this page observed that the federal courts could turn out to be the last, best hope for slowing the Bush administration’s assault on the body of bipartisan environmental law established over the last four decades and, by extension, on the environment itself. As things have turned out, this is pretty much what has happened. In the last few weeks alone, federal judges at the district or appellate level have: Rejected efforts to weaken protections for the national forests, including the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest; Overturned a government plan that would have hastened the decline of endangered salmon in the Pacific Northwest; Rebuffed challenges to clean air laws governing pollution from older power plants; Invoked the Clean Water Act to prevent mining companies from laying waste to streams and valleys in Appalachia. In some cases the courts have done more than just play defense. In the Supreme Court ruling on global warming two weeks ago, the court not only protected existing law but aggressively enlarged its reach, (guess who the dissenters were...) ruling that the Clean Air Act all but required the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/14/opinion/14sat1.html?th&emc=th
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