Tidal Waves, Mirrors, and American Dreams...

We have been disenfranchised; our votes no longer count.

Endless war feeds munitions and "reconstruction" transnationals.

Our military are used as mercenaries for corporate ambitions.

The costs of gasoline, insurance, health-care, and necessities
have skyrocketed while wages and purchasing power declined.

The rich get richer, the middle class shrinks, and the poor...
increasingly are left to starve, freeze, or die.

Students are priced out of college, just when it is most essential
that we retrain our people a new globally-interconnected economy.

Our nation is in decline, while corporate "internationalalists"
move jobs and capital overseas and invest in China and India.

The so-called hall of mirrors: the mean right wing spin machine,
is indeed becoming less capable of fooling the American public.
Most of America understands that a coup has taken place in America,
and it is far from bloodless. The casualties are above one hundred
thousand and rising.

And the solution to this carnage is no more likely to be found in
Hillarious attempts at Bush-lite elitism, than it is to be found in
staying a course of disaster and dishonor.

Working people in America, devastated by amoral corporate
con-men... are beginning to understand that they no longer
have control of their lives or destinies.

But as I look out on the horizon... I do not yet see any tidal wave of
dissent to save us. This administration, the congress, corrupted
military leadership, the justice system, and a co-opted fourth
estate... still pander to the thugs in charge and cling fiercely to
the power they have so ruthlessly stolen.

While there may not be any tidal wave to count on, the hall of mirrors
has lost its magic, and we might, by sheer numbers, be able to remove
and replace those who are tainted, corrupted, or compromised by the
criminals at the helm.

And IF we dislodge a significant number of traitors this November,
we are still left with lame-duck Bush, loose-cannon Cheney, ruthless
Rumsfeld, and too many clueless congressmen.

Instead of searching the horizon for mythic waves to dash our fears,
or pinnning our hopes and dreams on tipping the balance,
we must build a "tidal wave" of activism which will continue.

It will not appear on the horizon, but rise up from within our shores.
Average Americans, working stiffs, persecuted professionals, our
shrinking middle class, and those least able to defend themselves,
will create "waves" of righteous activism.

Nobody is going to hand us back our country on a silver platter.
Unions, Progressives, Conservatives, Independants, PTA's, Fraternal
Organizations, Chambers of Commerce, Police Associations, Non-Profits,
Educational Institutions, Foundations, Neighborhood Associations,
Citizens committees, Local publications, Churches, Libraries, Public
Television & Radio, Families, Friends, and even some enlightened
Foes... must put aside differences, explore the ties that bind,|
and form coalitions to demand that our voices be heard.

A civic-commitment can wash away crime, corruption, graft, corporate
hubris, congressional arrogance, and the sociopathic me-firstism of the
right wing mean extreme who have kidnapped America, suspended the law,
trampled on the constitution, and betrayed our nation.

Set aside some time. Canvass, vote, educate, call, speak, write,
persuade, argue, demand, and inform. Mr. Sirota's dream of a tidal
wave can become an American reality.

But rather than stepping back to pontificate upon the absurdity of
the universe and avoiding the trench wars... We must stop "beholding,
considering, advocating, and conferencing" ourselves into seclusion
and delusion.

We must step up instead of stepping back. We must man the trenches
and engage the enemy. Instead of rejecting reality, we must suffer
the bitter taste of defeat as we rail against the chains which bind
us. It is a time to act.

The damages are devastating. Each morning paper brings more horror.
But surrender to despair is not an option. We must embrace these
sorrows until they blossom into the joy of victory.

If tidal waves of courage, faith, hope, passion, unity, and
solidarity... rise up and sweep across this nation, we will
reclaim our heritage, repair our government, reconcile our
differences, and reinvent America.

Tim

Accountability....

I am so tired of hearing the Republicans blame everything on Clinton
and the Democrats. The Republicans have been in power for almost six years.
When will they be responsible for anything? Now they are blaming 9/11
on Clinton because he did not take out Osama bin Laden.

We were not at war. Clinton only had the CIA that was so inept it didn’t know that Saddam Hussein did not have WMDs. Bush has had five years, the full might of the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force, and he has yet to take out Osama bin Laden.
If it is so easy, what is his excuse?

Clinton got us through the millennium unscathed. Counter-terrorism was a cabinet-level post with meetings with the president who kept the pressure on.

Bush came in and couldn’t care less about terrorism for eight months,
including an entire month on vacation just before the attacks on 9/11 happened.

Democrats had a post-9/11 outlook before 9/11; it took a catastrophe for the Republicans to take notice.

Jan Chism Wright, Falls City

Attacks from Within

Fear-mongering distracts us from identifying the source of the scourge of terror which has spread acrosss the globe. The festering corporate sore of incursions, secret prisons, torture, bombings of civilians, colonialism, occupation, and worse...
is the attack from within which has already wounded this nation.]

The petty tyrants in Saudi Arabia are only successful in their pithy attacks, due to Mr. Bush and his con-men playing into their hands while corporate felons to use our troops as mercenaries, while Osama and his henchmen to run free...

This is a failed, corrupt, administration which has betrayed America. They deserve impeachment, removal, and prosecution according to the laws of the land which they are so determined to ignore, flaunt, and disrespect. Until they are removed, we will be unable to secure the peace and reclaim our legacy. Freedom, liberty, justice, and human rights matter. When Bush and his ilk compromise these principles, theirs is a tacit surrender to chaos.

tim

On Bad Behavior by the Right Wing Mean Extreme

Taking the low road will cost the GOP this fall.
As for myself, I do not take it personally.
In time, Rovian deceit, wrong-headed right wing radio,
and a corrupted corporate media mean extreme....
are wearing quite thin.

Most of America has little patience for such abysmal ignorance.
I hope they keep it up. Their clueless behavior converts people from across the political spectrum to progressive ideas
and patriotic activism to take back America.

Rove may as well re-register as a Democrat.

Tim


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The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right

The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right
By Rob Lanham, AlterNet. Posted September 1, 2006.
A hilarious new book provides instructions on how to argue the big issues with ultra-conservative fundamentalists

Editor's Note: The following excerpt has been reprinted with permission from
The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right by Rob Lanham, Penguin Putnam, 2006.

"The real theological problem in America today is no longer the religious Right, but the nationalistic religion of the Bush administration."
-- Reverend Jim Wallis, God's Politics.

Until the sixties, evangelicals were just as likely to be Democrats as they were to be Republicans.

Many evangelicals were on the front lines in the fight for women's suffrage, were vocal antiwar opponents, and led the fight for civil rights. Meanwhile, tent revival pastors fueled McCarthyism and covertly organized KKK meetings among their church elders. But the advent of the ERA Movement, the Roe v. Wade decision, and a godless culture filled with bra burnings and rock music created a unifying shift to the right. By the time abortion was made legal, many evangelicals found themselves curled up in the fetal position inside the headquarters of the RNC waiting for the world to end.

Following the election of Jimmy Carter, an outspoken Christian who was candid about being born-again, Time deemed 1976 "The Year of the Evangelical." Ironically, most evangelicals felt little kinship with this moderate Democratic president, given his support of ERA and his refusal to deny women the right to choose.

Evangelical leaders like Jerry Falwell and Tim LaHaye believed the time had come to get evangelicals mobilized behind a candidate that represented their values. That candidate was Reagan, the first president to come to power with the help of what has come to be known as the Religious Right. Reagan was also the first high-level politician to work opposite a chimpanzee (as he did in Bedtime for Bonzo), a noble tradition carried on today by Vice President Dick Cheney. ...
Fundamental Contradictions: Picking and Choosing
Anyone who's read the Bible knows some of its disturbing content could give "Grand Theft Auto" a run for its money.

War, murder, rape, slavery, men who wear sandals -- parts of the Bible should come with adult content warning labels. If you want a peaceful religion, even Ted Haggard of the National Association of Evangelicals says, "Choose Buddhism." Nevertheless, many evangelicals love the Bible so much they're willing to accept the whole darn thing, even the bizarre parts, at face value. They brag that they don't "pick and choose" from the Bible and refer to themselves as "Bible-believin'" Christians.

Yet the glaring list of passages that typical evangelicals ignore could fill Falwell's dessert refrigerator at the Moral Majority to capacity. Leviticus 19:27, for instance, prohibits shaving, a commandment to which millions pay no attention. Likewise, Leviticus 19:19 forbids the wearing of mixed fibers. Needless to say, Pat Robertson is clearly guilty of defying this commandment, given his collection of polyester flag ties.

And most glaringly, as progressive evangelical leaders like Jim Wallis continue to drive home, there are roughly three thousand verses in the Bible devoted to helping the poor, yet typical evangelicals spend more time griping about the costs of welfare or bashing The Da Vinci Code than choosing to help the less fortunate.

Truth be told, Bible-believin' evangelicals are more guilty of "picking and choosing" than the liberal Christians they often accuse of the same transgression. Here are some key verses Bible-believin' evangelicals pick and choose to ignore.

Key Verses Bible-Believin' Evangelicals Pick and Choose to Ignore:
On slavery: "Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh." (1 Peter 2:18, NIV)
On rape: "If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver." (Deuteronomy 22:28, NIV)

On women wearing veils: "And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head." (Corinthians 11:5, NIV)

On illegitimate children being barred from church: "A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord." (Deuteronomy 23:2, KJV)

On Falwell's apparent love of McNuggets: "...put a knife to thy throat, if thou [be] a man given to appetite." (Proverbs 23:2, 3, KJV)

Homosexuality: God Hates Fags (and Shrimp Scampi)
Since much of the Bible reflects archaic customs (the blood sacrifice of animals is commanded by God in many scriptures, for instance), deciphering which biblical laws Christians should abide by has become the jurisdiction of theologians and televangelists, the latter group being completely unreliable since they're often stoned from their own hairspray fumes. When faced with troubling or inconvenient laws -- like the Bible's promotion of slave owning or its ban on shaving -- most evangelicals say, "That's an irrelevant Old Testament-era commandment," and change the subject to activist judges. Still, when the Bible says God finds an act "detestable" or calls something an "abomination," evangelicals insist it must be avoided at all costs. According to most evangelicals, the big abomination is (no shocker here) homosexuality.
True to form, evangelicals don't pay attention to some of the other things the Bible designates as being abominable. Most glaringly, Leviticus 11:9-12 says eating shrimp is an abomination:
9. ...whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. 10. And all that have not fins and scales in the seas...they shall be an abomination unto you: 11. They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.

Forget picketing abortion clinics. Head over to Popeye's and Red Lobster! The devil is in the scampi. Evangelicals should be organizing boycotts against Long John Silver's if they want to be consistent. Evidently every person in Maine is going to hell too. Last time we looked, lobsters don't have any fins or scales either....

How to Argue with Ultraconservative Fundamentalists

On Defending the Environment (what they call "Creation Care"):

Fundamentalists say: God says in Genesis "let mankind have dominion over all the earth." Plus, the Rapture is coming soon, so why bother picking up our beef jerky wrappers if the end is near?
Sinners say: God also promoted stewardship of the Earth in Genesis. And dominion isn't a synonym for pillage. Otherwise Genesis would state, "kick the living shit out of that tick-infested dump, it sucks worse than Hell." Environmental disasters, like Katrina or polluted waterways, hit the poor the hardest. In fact, the progressive Christian charity, Christian Aid, released a report in 2006 warning that close to 200 million people could die in Africa by the year 3000 as a result of famine, drought, and floods brought on by climate change. And remember, Revelation 11:18 says God will destroy those who destroy the earth.

On Gay Marriage:

Fundamentalists say: What's next? Are you gonna let them have sex with cocker spaniels? God calls it an abomination.

Sinners say: Why do evangelicals always use cocker spaniels as an example? Cocker spaniels are straight. Greyhounds, on the other hand. Now they're into that gay shit. Despite evangelicals' rhetoric about the institution of marriage being placed under attack by the liberals and the gays, the real assault is coming from within their own ranks. According to Barna Research, Born Again Christians have a higher divorce rate than any other social group in the United States.

Intelligent Design
Fundamentalists say: Humans are too complex to not have a Creator.
Sinners say: Who created God? He's complex too, right? Does God have an Intelligent Designer as well? Plus, there are many unintelligent imperfections in nature, such as the human eye, whose inside-out retina causes a blind spot in our field of vision. And come on, would an Intelligent Designer really create Matchbox 20, Vin Diesel, or men with nipples? If you want to teach Intelligent Design, save it for philosophy class. It's not science.

Euthanasia:
Fundamentalists say: The Youth-in-Asia worship oriental dragon gods and don't realize that the fortunes inside those cookies are tools of Satan.
Sinners say: God never intended for us to be kept alive on machines, otherwise he'd have included a power switch on our asses.

Michael Moore:
Fundamentalists say: He's annoying.
Sinners say: He's annoying.

Women
Fundamentalists say: Women need to accept their traditional gender role as casserole-cooking servants. They allowed sin to enter the Garden of Eden and are weaker than men emotionally and physically.
Sinners say: The Old Testament often compares God to a mother. Jesus loved women too. He appeared to Mary Magdalene first after resurrecting instead of revealing himself to some smelly disciple with a fig-leaf jockstrap.

Capital Punishment
Fundamentalists say: The Bible says an eye for an eye.
Sinners say: The Bible also says thou shall not kill. Jesus spent his time on earth forgiving and healing sinners, not strapping them to a chair and shooting lightning bolts.

The Iraq War
Fundamentalists say: We support the troops but often wonder why there was no cool T-shirt line, like in Operation Desert Storm.
Sinners say: We support the troops but wonder why there was no planning or exit strategy.

The Holidays
Fundamentalists say: A banner at Target says Happy Holidays! Quick, tell the kids to crouch beneath their desks! There's a war on Christmas!
Sinners say: It's true. We've waged war on the holiday because there is strong evidence to support that Christmas has tried to obtain highly refined aluminum tubes from Africa to reinstate its WMD program. Come on...Nobody, except Falwell and O'Reilly, cares if you want to call it Christmas or even Baby Jesus Birthday Cake Day. As long as you're okay with Jews wishing you Happy Hanukkah and sending you a Cracker Barrel gift basket where the pork sausage stick has been replaced with Kosher liverwurst, a decorative menorah, and a yarmulke. And incidentally, Bush has sent out a generic "happy holidays" card every year since he's taken office.

Faith-Based Initiatives
Fundamentalists say: Church-based social services groups should definitely receive government funding, as long as they're not of an immoral non-Christian faith, of course.
Sinners say: People in need of social services and relief should be able to find help without having to visit a government-subsidized group of faith healers who want to convert them and teach them how to handle rattlesnakes. Many "secular" groups have been losing funding to faith-based initiatives, especially if they promote condoms, education about abortion, or break with the evangelical agenda. George Bush even created the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in 2001. And let's be honest, "faith-based" means Christian. Buddhists and Wiccans aren't getting the money to run sex-ed classes and operate homeless shelters.

Stem Cells:
Fundamentalists say: We couldn't hear what they said...it was something inaudibly shrill about babies, the Holocaust, and Ted Kennedy.
Sinners say: You've got to be kidding. Why not defend the rights of the psoriasis flakes from Pat Robertson's scalp. Or how about boogers?

The Poor:
Fundamentalists say: We don't want no welfare nation. Tax-'n'-spend Communists like Howard Dean want to give our money away to the lazy people in society.
Sinners say: The Bible mentions helping the poor over three thousand times. It mentions tax-'n'-spend liberals, um, zero times.

Abstinence Education:
Fundamentalists say: Sex education sends a mixed message. Virgin does not mean loser.
Sinners say: Did you wait until marriage? Probably not. And to be clear, virgin does, in fact, mean loser. Look it up.

Abortion:
Fundamentalists say: You're pro-death, not pro-life.
Sinners say: A member of George Bush's own bioethics team, the neuroscientist and author Michael Gazzaniga, claims that embryos are about as aware as "sea slugs" in their first twenty-six weeks.

Booze;
Fundamentalists say: God condemns getting drunk.
Sinners say: Jesus's first miracle in John was to turn water into wine for a bunch of drunk people: "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you [Jesus] have saved the best till now."

Affirmative Action
Fundamentalists say: Minorities don't know how good they've got it here. In fact, they just hired a couple of them coloreds down there at Roy's Discount Muffler Shop. Roy even lets 'em work the cash register when the cameras are turned on!
Sinners say: End affirmative action when equal opportunity actually exists.

The Rapture and End-Times
Fundamentalists say: Once the prophecies are fulfilled, Jesus will Rapture the church, just like in that Kirk Cameron movie "Left Behind."
Sinners say: The word "Rapture" is never once mentioned in the Bible. And with regard to Jesus returning, Matthew 24:36 says, "No one knows about that day or hour." Sometimes we also say, Are you insane?

best regards, Tim Flanagan tflanaga@pcc.edu

Portland Community College Faculty Federation
AFT Oregon / AFL-CIO/ Local 2277

Box 22 / Lake Oswego, OR 97034-0003
phone: 503.697.1670 ICQ#: 41518726
tim@peaceresource.com
unions@writingresource.org
www.WritingResource.org/

Union Resources www.UnionResource.org/
www.InternationalPeaceresources.org/
www.Peaceresource.com
www.WritingResource.info/
www.WritingResource.net/

Politics: Labor Unions Poison Senior Citizens & Feed Babies To Rabid Pit Bulls

Posted by Scott Moore at 02:25 PM
Perhaps not all together surprising considering the looming election, anti-labor union ads have been popping up recently on local television—offering 30 seconds of the most histrionic, factless, over-the-top allegations to appear since the Defense of Marriage Coalition’s Measure 36 ads. The commercials come courtesy of a D.C.-based organization called the “Center for Union Facts.”
The ads feature DMV workers ignoring a line full of customers so they can chat about their exorbitant taxpayer-funded amenities like “sick time” and “vacation.” One, called “What if Unions Controlled Class Elections?” paints a pint-sized union leader as a stereotypical Italian mobster. Another features an African-American man sarcastically saying he loves his union because they “discriminate against minorities.”
(DMV employee faking an illness due to her union’s effectiveness at securing sick time. Evil.)
The message: Unions are evil, and not only are they destroying America, they’re also destroying your life. The weird thing, though, is that there is nothing on the ballot this November that has anything to do with labor unions. The Oregonian’s Dave Hogan wrote a piece last Friday about the ads, pointing out that the “Center” has placed these ads in three other states—Michigan, Montana, and Nevada—which, in addition to sharing alphabetical geography with Oregon, are also considering strict state spending limits like the forthcoming Measure 48. Hogan attempts to link the ads with the “TABOR” spending limits, although there doesn’t appear to be a direct connection.
Oregon AFL-CIO director Tom Chamberlain had an excellent guest column last week on BlueOregon.com called “Union Facts: Pure Fiction,” detailing the history and supposed motivations of the group and its founder, Richard Berman.
Maybe it’s already obvious to everyone, but it hasn’t been mentioned much—this ad campaign has nothing to do with any ballot initiatives, or even whether public employees receive excessively high compensation, and everything to do with the governor’s race.
Gov. Kulongoski has the unwavering support of public employee unions--not to mention private employee unions--and has former AFL-CIO director Tim Nesbitt on staff as a campaign consultant. Republicans are clearly trying to turn that advantage into a liability, painting Kulongoski as a "puppet" of union "henchmen." And what better way to smear him than by painting those unions as evil-intentioned?
Of course, these ads say nothing about the race, or even about Oregon, so it'd be difficult to consider them "independent expenditures." As polls continue to show Kulongoski firmly ahead of Republican Ron Saxton (especially now with Ben Westlund out of the race), expect to see the anti-union rhetoric ratchet up to a shrill level.
permalink

http://www.angelfire.com/blues/writing/thugs.html" title="external link"> Issues List

Here are my latest comments on the thugs in the White House....

http://www.angelfire.com/blues/writing/thugs.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Unfortunately, the Bush administration, blinded
by dollar signs, has destabilized the region in and
around Iraq. This serves to strengthen the Iranian
and Saudi Arabian positions, while undermining our own.
The Bush administration refuses to face the issue, and
has even removed our military bases from Saudi Arabia,
home country of those who attacked us!

"European nations would like the United States to join talks with Iran
-- now involving Germany, France and Britain -- by offering Tehran
security and economic guarantees in exchange for abandoning its nuclear
ambitions. The Bush administration has refused to participate in the
talks."

http://www.thetruthaboutgeorge.com/rogue/

This administration has betrayed America at so many
levels, and to such a degree, that we must clean house
in Washington if we hope to stop our perilous decline.

tmf


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The American people are learning to ignore the debris
spinning around them. What they find at the center of this
hurricane is incompetence, fraud, and betrayal. Through
this difficult learning process, they have been provided with
enough information to do the right thing.

Now we need a vehicle for reform. Americans and the rest of
the planet understand the problem. If we can fix our broken
electoral process before next November, our voices will be
heard, these thugs will be be removed from power, and the
healing of America can begin.

tim


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I understand the efficacy of information wars...
in general... but the information war being
waged against the American people, by their
own government...is treason. It is getting
American troops killed and undermining our
cultural and technological development. This
civil war on American values is shrinking the
middle class, destabilizng our economy, and
putting Americans out of work.

We need new leadership. "Staying the course"
will cost more lives, damage American credibility,
and undermine national and international security.
These transnational corporate pawns have got
to go. We have a nation to rebuild. And it is
not called Iraq. Retro-colonialism is a dead end.

We must eliminate the corruption and graft
which are the foundation of the Bush administration.
For too long, unelected criminal elements have taken
over the direction of our foreign policy and bungled
our domestic agenda. We need to bring freedom,
democracy, and accountability back to America.
And we need to do it yesterday.

tmf


seeya next week!
best regards, Tim Box 22/Lake Oswego,OR/97034-0003
503-697-1670 shalom@peaceresource.com
www.peaceresource.org/
www.unionresource.org/



Tim

Issues List

Middle East Peace What lies beneath Israel's political ‘earthquake' this week?
"The depiction of Sharon as a moderate, risking it all to salvage the peace process, along with his more progressive colleagues is a misguided, if not an embarrassing inference, to say the least."


http://www.angelfire.com/blues/writing/middleeast.html

best regards, Tim Box 22/Lake Oswego,OR/97034-0003

Activism Resource Alternative News Computers
Current News Impeachment International Peace
Issues Peace News Peace Resource
Union Resource WritingResource
503-697-1670 ICQ#: 41518726
activism@peaceresource.com

best regards, Tim Flanagan tflanaga@pcc.edu

Portland Community College Faculty Federation
AFT Oregon / AFL-CIO/ Local 2277

Box 22 / Lake Oswego, OR 97034-0003
phone: 503.697.1670 ICQ#: 41518726
tim@peaceresource.com
unions@writingresource.org
www.WritingResource.org/
Union Resources www.UnionResource.org/
www.InternationalPeaceresources.org/
www.Peaceresource.com
www.WritingResource.info/ www.WritingResource.net/

The Pentagon knew about the hijackers a year in advance...

A top-secret military intelligence unit identified four of the 9/11 suicide hijackers as Al Qaeda operatives, including two of the pilots, more than a year before the September 11 terrorist attacks, a front-page report in the New York Times revealed Tuesday.
The article by reporter Douglas Jehl, cites Republican Congressman Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania and an unnamed former military intelligence officer as its sources.
Jehl’s report confirms what has been widely reported overseas but long covered up by the Bush administration and the American media: Mohammed Atta, believed to be the operational leader of the 9/11 attacks, was under US intelligence surveillance even before he came to the United States in 2000. How Atta was able to enter and re-enter the country on multiple occasions over the next year, enroll in flight school, and use credit cards and bank accounts in his real name, despite being a known Al Qaeda operative, has never been explained.

* Why were known Al Qaeda members permitted to enter the United States and carry out their plans?

* Who made the decisions which facilitated the work of the terrorists and why have they not been held responsible?

* Why have the facts about September 11 been covered up, not only by the White House and the intelligence agencies, but by congressional Democrats and the American media?

CIA Knew About 3 Hijackers 20 Months Before 911 Attacks
Pentagon accused of hijack cover-up Sydney Morning Herald (subscription)
Secret military unit tracked hijackers before 9/11 Times Online
Members of 9/11 commission ask whether Pentagon withheld a warning International Herald Tribune
Guardian Unlimited - all 569 related »
9/11 Commission Wants Atta Claims Pursued
What Bush Knew Before Sept. 11 What Bush Knew Before Sept. 11.

The election was stolen

Change is in the air, however, and the Republican Party is enduring one of its last gasps. The Democratic Party has increased its fundraising by 50% since the last non-election year while Republicans have stagnated. Democrats continue to make up 36% of the population, while the “Republican revolution” has grown in 40 years from 27% of the population to 28% of the population. The days of a Reagan-like electoral romp are history, as Bush, arguably the most popular Republican since Reagan and likely for the next generation, snuck through with the two closest election victories in history. Despite Republican spin, the Democratic Party is raising more money, represents a plurality of Americans, and is squarely in line with American values. George Bush, the biggest star the Republican Party will have for years to come is disapproved of by a majority of the country. For a party at an all-time high running against a party at an all-time low with a lackluster candidate, this does not bode well for the future of the Republican Party.
Compounding the future problems for Republicans are that they are fighting squarely against the things Americans believe in. Large majorities of Americans believe the country is going in the wrong direction, that Bush doesn’t share their priorities, that the war in Iraq wasn’t worth it, that stem-cell research should be pursued, that Democrats have a better plan for Social Security, that Democrats will protect the Environment better, and that the President can’t be trusted. Most people can’t think of anything Congress has done except for intruding in the Terri Schiavo case, and almost everyone disapproved of that. By an overwhelming 2-1 margin Americans do not want Roe v. Wade overturned; yet President Bush has nominated John Roberts for a position as a Supreme Court Justice where he is all but certain to help overturn the case.
These and other issues put Democrats squarely in the mainstream of American values and Republicans at the fringes. Polls taken the day before the 2004 election as well as the day after tell us clearly that the Democrats are already where most Americans are on the issues and also on values. A post-election Zogby poll asked respondents to name the moral values most important to them. Two to one, they named “greed and materialism” and “poverty and economic justice” over “abortion” and “same sex marriage.” Thus, Democrats already represent the aspirations of the majority of Americans and don’t need a “makeover” as many Republican have suggested.More fine reading at Blogcritics.org.
best regards, Tim Flanagan Box 22 / Lake Oswego, OR 97034-0003 phone: 503.697.1670 ICQ#: 41518726
tim@peaceresource.com
www.WritingResource.org/
Enjoy!

The Face of America

February 14, 2005 By PeaceResources

George Bush has exported fear abroad and extinguished hope in America.
The face of America has changed from a smile of welcome
to a smirk of beligerrance, while freedom is diminished and
our security, jobs, and health care, become more elusive.

We can reverse this decline...
if we Impeach the criminals who
are destroying our nation.
http://votetoimpeach.org/

www.WritingResource.org/
Enjoy!

The Destruction of Social Security

The Bushies are about to launch a $50 million to $100 million dollar propaganda campaign to convince us the Social Security system is in crisis. Actually, it's not. It's quite robust and has astonishingly low administrative costs, less than 1 percent.
According to President Bush's own Commission to "Strengthen Social Security," the administrative costs of keeping track of private accounts will be 10 to 30 times the cost of administering the current system.

The Social Security System is in no danger whatsoever of going broke, or even of having to pay out less than full compensation for at least 50 years. There are any number of statistical models and premises one can argue about here, but when the administration begins with a premise that requires fixing Social Security based on an extrapolation to infinity, you know you are not dealing with people who argue in good faith.

Even if Social Security were in full-fledged crisis, none of the sensible, cheap, effective ways to fix it would involve the massive trillion-dollar boondoggle this administration contemplates.

Let's get this straight. The Republicans do not want to fix Social Security, they want to kill it. Period. They don't want to "partially privatize" Social Security, they want to end it.



from "Lynching Social Security"

By Molly Ivins, AlterNet. Posted January 6, 2005.


While health care and global warming are serious problems, Social Security isn't. We are, however, about to be swamped by an election-style campaign to convince us it is.


best regards, Tim: Box 22/Lake Oswego, OR/97034-0003
ICQ#: 41518726 tim@peaceresource.com
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"Life is fine, fine as wine, life is fine..." ~Langston Hughes

The Bush agenda...

The Bush agenda is to bankrupt the states (done), destroy Social
Security (beginning salvos), shrink the middle class (done),
increase burdens on those who can least afford them (done), and
enrich the richest three to five percent of this country. (done)

This policy has been a disaster. Our social safety net is in
tatters. More seniors, children, newborns, students, and homeless
are at more risk. Our healh care costs are skyrocketing, while
we lag seven million jobs behind. Our water and air quality have
been undermined, while our military has been stretched thin. We
are losing the "war on terror" while we spin our wheels in the
quagmire of corporate occupation.

Wake up, take off the rose-colored lenses, pull your head out
of the sand, dust yourself off, reclaim some human dignity, and
throw the rascals out.

Time to take our country back from these depraved criminals.

Tim ~OO~
Box 22 / Lake Oswego, OR 97034-0003
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Bluesmachine@WritingResource.org
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Issues List: The Corporate Agenda in Iraq

Issues List

20.1

Does anyone really think we would be there if there wasn't oil involved?

Nope. Iraq has no weapons, but lots of oil. Korea has weapons of mass destruction but no oil. We invaded Iraq, We did not invade Korea.

Me. I heard a quite interesting talk last night on C-SPAN by George Friedman, author of "America's Secret War" (a book about our strategy in the war on terrorism). He says our primary reason for being in Iraq is to intimidate the Saudis into cutting of the flow of Saudi funds to Al Qaeda.

This is patently absurd. Iraq was the Saudi's most threatening competitor. After the Saudi's financed the attacks on America and 19 Saudi nationals attacked us, we did them the favor of invading Iraq. Far from intimidating Saudi Arabia..they are laughing all the way to the bank.
He says it worked. His evidence is that Al Qaeda started attacking the Saudis right after we went into Iraq, because the Saudis started cutting off the flow of funds.

So the evidence that our invasion increased terrorist attacks proves that our invasion was useful?
George Orwell would appreciate this doublespeak..

Al Qaeda didn't hit us because of "oil". We are not hitting them because of "oil".

Al Quaida hit us because the Bush administration was not paying attention.
We have not hit them. We invaded Iraq instead.

This line of thinking represents the continuing intellectual failure of liberals/progressives, who are committed to thinking that everything springs from economic motives.

Or this line of thinking represents right wing extremists, who will keep apologizing for George Bush until our economy is a shambles, our military resources are depleted, and future generations are mortgaged to the hilt.

This idea originally comes from Marxism, a delusional ideology that was born in the 1800's and failed spectacularly in the 1900's in every single place where it was tried.

Actually it comes from capitalism. Money talks... And it would be utter nonsense to pretend that the corporate sponsors of this war are just disinterested parties. They are raking in billions. Just facts.

best regards, Tim

Treason

That's generally true of theology, but the problem is, 1) theology has no place in government
Fact.
and 2) the particular theology that holds sway in Washington today has been proven false. Over and over. --ann
Not sure what this means... but Bush's theology of exclusion, aggression, and destruction... is not my cup of tea.
To begin with, they haven't read the Bible.
Some have, some haven't...but the Bible can be "interpreted" to "support" a multiplicity of "readings." Literary torture.
Yep, they claim it's inerrant, but they haven't read it. If they read it they would be aware that it contains a multitude of errors.
Those humans are so messy. It is ludicrous to claim that arbitrary writings cobbled together somehow inculcate perfection.
Or maybe they are just incapable of understanding what they read.
A likely story. Sometimes too likely.
So they claim Jesus said things not reported in the Bible.
The eleventh commandment. Bomb Iraq into submission while corporate giants capitalize on her resources.
They have also repeatedly said things would happen that didn't happen.
Jobs, health care, hugs and flowers receptions on the streets of Baghdad...
Didn't happen over and over.
Jobs, funding for education, support for social services, homeland security, etc...
Boring.
The consequences are not boring but tragic. We are a nation in decline with pirates at the helm. Thirty years from recovery.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I know George and his wife do not generally attend church, except just before elections. This is not to say they don't have "religious" beliefs, nor do I mean to denigrate the faith of those who do not attend services. ~OO~ But George is all talk.
When principles are on the line, Bush goes for the corporate bottom line, and the hell with ethics, morals, and such naive concepts as human dignity or compassion. This fatalistic ignorance is undermining our nation. We are not trusted, believed, confided in, or seen as an ally. The Bush "religion" of belligerent arrogance, rigid fundamentalism, and irresponsible neglect is unseemly, unconstitutional, embarrassing, and more often than not criminal. Impeachment seems prudent.
We need to put a man of substance in charge. Bush is a vapid opportunist whose congressionally enabled behavior is treason.
In two years we can remove the gutless wonders from both sides of the aisle who did not challenge this madness.
best regards, Tim

In My Humble Onion

In My Humble Onion

Issues List

Issues List"Rumsfeld has pushed for a lighter and swifter military, often putting him at odds with Congress and his generals."
And as a consequence we have too few troops in Iraq and they have become targets for the terrorists they have attracted but cannot control or contain.

"Historians note that in the U.S. approach to war, it is common for some senior military leaders, either civilian or uniformed, to be let go during the fighting. In their view, the Bush administration is unusual in leaving all its top generals and civilian defense officials in place, particularly given the mixed results in Iraq, where the postwar occupation has been far bloodier than Pentagon planners expected.

Rumsfeld won praise for the swiftness with which his forces unseated Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), but he is widely seen as having ignored the State Department's postwar planning.

Bush ran in 2000 on a platform of modernizing the military, and Rumsfeld has pushed to transform forces into lighter and more agile units that rely more on technology. But the secretary has faced resistance from Capitol Hill and from the military leadership, and experts on military reform say that so far his track record in this area is mixed."

~~~If the object is "winning..." why do we keep a loser of a Secretary of Defense who failed at his job, presided over torture and war crimes, and did not secure this nation or our troops? After Rumsfeld blindly misdirected our military into a quagmire, he should have been fired.


Rumsfeld To Remain At Pentagon - 1 day ago

Rumsfeld's failures continue...

Insurgent Attacks Kill 21 in North Iraq - 2 hours ago
U.S. General Speaks Out on New Abuse Probe - 3 hours ago
Top brass stayed silent on prisoner interrogation techniques: report - 15 minutes ago
Neglect Follows Siege of Fallujah -
Iraq's Catch-22 - 21 hours ago
Iraq carnage kills 21 as UN official warns time not ripe for polls - 4 hours ago
Insurgents Kill 23 Iraqis Countrywide - 1 hour ago
Report: Bin Laden's Trail Has Gone Cold http://info.netscape.com/fwd/mytop05n1/http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/
McCain criticizes Pentagon on Iraq war

Issues List

It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.--William Tecumseh Sherman

A time will come when a politician who has willfully made war and promoted international dissension will be as sure of the dock and much surer of the noose than a private homicide. It is not reasonable that those who gamble with men's lives should not stake their own.--H. G. Wells (The Salvaging of Civilization)


Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.
quote verified at snopes.com Hermann Goering:

Unconditional war can no longer lead to unconditional victory. It can no longer serve to settle disputes. It can no longer be of concern to great powers alone. For a nuclear disaster, spread by winds and waters and fear, could well engulf the great and the small, the rich and the poor, the committed and the uncommitted alike. Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind. John F. Kennedy:

Issues List

It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.--William Tecumseh Sherman

A time will come when a politician who has willfully made war and promoted international dissension will be as sure of the dock and much surer of the noose than a private homicide. It is not reasonable that those who gamble with men's lives should not stake their own.--H. G. Wells (The Salvaging of Civilization)


Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.
quote verified at snopes.com Hermann Goering:

Unconditional war can no longer lead to unconditional victory. It can no longer serve to settle disputes. It can no longer be of concern to great powers alone. For a nuclear disaster, spread by winds and waters and fear, could well engulf the great and the small, the rich and the poor, the committed and the uncommitted alike. Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind. John F. Kennedy:

a little right-wing philosophy from Coulter and Carlson

Issues List

"Coulter: Canada is "lucky we allow them to exist on the same continent"
Carlson: "Without the U.S., Canada is essentially Honduras"
( quotes provided by Mark S.)

More xenophobia from the Republican Noise Machine hacks.
Again, the idea that "we're the big kids, and we can crap on the rest of
the world" is insane. (Mike M.)

Time to put adults back in charge... (Tim)

American's lust to consume has created a voracious
monster that can only be satisfied by cheap foreign products.

This may be overstating the case. Perhaps is is less America's lust to consume
than it may be corporate America's lust for the almighty dollar...at any cost to
our security or long-term economic well-being. Consumers do not determine our
trade balance. They are captive to the corporate CEO's who are now the primary
architects of our foreign and domestic agendas...

The dollar hit HISTORIC LOWS earlier this week against the Euro and the Yen.
The World will get the last laugh in this. Maybe sooner than later.

The extremists in the Bush administration favor a weak dollar, exporting jobs, and
other transnational corporate bottom lines. These policies are bad for America, but
what is good fro America seems the least of their concerns... "Internationalists" first,
and American be damned. (The policy line of George Herbert Walker Bush. The acorn
does not fall far from the tree.

tmf

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” Dr Martin Luther King,Jr.Sources and Resources

"Is Bush a good Christian and family man?"

"Is President Bush a good Christian and family man."
Hell no. Bush does not go to Church. His faith is based on lip-service to talking points to get himself "saved" from the consequencesof his bad behavior. His religion is a self-serving crutch.
He behaves like a neo-fascist. His actions as president contradictthe Judaic truths at the heart of Christianity. He lies like a rug and is absolutely corrupt. As for family, he did not bother to attend his daughters' graduations. And his policy decisions are anti-family, anti-women, anti-environment, and anti-thetical to common sense. He is an amoral charlatan, whose only values are fooling most of the people as often as he can, staying out of jail, maintaining deniability, and panderingto his corporate sponsors. Morally bankrupt according to any religious mythology. A criminal according to constitutional and international law.

On Politics and Religion...

Leviticus is from the old Testament, and Christianity is actually based in the teachings of the Old Testament. Judaic texts of the old testament were the basis for all of the teachings of the Rabbi Jesus, ostensibly the center of Christian faith. The new testament writings were a response to, and an interpretation of, those teachings. The original Christians were Jews. I do not think people should be treated according to the letter below...but what the letter means to suggest is that fundamentalist religion is a poor basis for government. And that language, mythologies, and human relationships cannot remain fixed in the past but must include some creative synthesis with the present and intellectual concern for the future. It is an argument for the Jeffersonian separation of church and state.
A vote for common sense would be to recognize that religious mythologies are conceived and created by very fallible human beings. The most enduring truths which reside among the writing in the Old Testament are what provide the foundation for both Judaic and Christian theology. The letter below does not seem a form of ridicule. It is perhaps useful commentary on the ebb and flow of history and the subjective nature of language and rhetoric. Rigid fundamentalism within most religious contexts is extremism when used as a model for government. Basing our social behavior on translations of belief systems concocted centuries ago, might not be the best choice. When George tells us he is guided by a G-d who defines his actions and that he and G-d are infallible, he is telling us that his religious beliefs may be interfering in his capacity for governance. The old testament is wide and deep. It reveals the all the warts and imperfections of human pretensions intermixed with precious wisdom. While we can only hope that some of this wisdom informs our governance, we must endeavor to insure that those warts, imperfections, and pretensions do not hold sway in the course of determining the agenda of this nation at home or abroad. Even presidents make mistakes. But a refusal to acknowledge error, based on religious fervor, is dangerous and unseemly.
I do not think that most people who post on this list intend to ridicule anyone's beliefs, but many who post here make an attempt to challenge rigid belief systems in order to test their veracity and usefulness. I think we should be very careful in our willful suspensions of disbelief. A balance must be found between the human frailty evident in the authors of the bible and the divine truths which may well reside in much of that writing. There is a delicate balance which must exist between faith and fealty. Our faith should inform our political considerations, but our primary loyalty must be to the rule of law at the basis of our politics, rather than some strict constructionist interpretation of religion. We must walk the walk of constitutional law and international reconciliation if we hope to regain the credibility and respect we once deserved., John Kerry has examined this very necessary framework for governance. While faith may inform his soul, law will inform and guide his governance. If George Bush held the law in more esteem, we would not attempt to redefine freedom and torture to fit corporate policy or political purposes. We need to return to our roots, those being the constitution, our the bill of rights, and the rule of law. These cornerstones have allowed us to become, more often than not, the greatest country in the world. The compact between individual Americans and their deity or faith will continue to inform our behaviors, but we must govern and choose our foreign and domestic agenda based on the best interests of our nation, rather than balancing the republic on some narrow ledge defined by exclusion, innuendo, situational ethics, or partisan religious doctrine. We can do better, and with John Kerry, we will. best regards, Tim

Dear President Bush,
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's law. I have learned a great deal from you and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states, it to be an abomination. End of debate.I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them:
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not to Canadians.Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors.They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states that he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that, even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality.?I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there "degrees" of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them (Lev. 24:10-16)? Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws(Lev.20:14)?I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help.Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

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Chasing Osama...or letting him go...

In Video Message, Bin Laden Speaks to the U.S.
It would seem prudent for us to have captured Osama...
rather that wasting our energy, resources, and troops on a misbegotten corporate adventure in Iraq. We need new leaders with more reasonable priorities. The "CIA asset" Osama...and his financiers in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan...should be actively pursued and prosecuted. Our first resort should have been his capture, rather than the economic disaster and diplomatic suicide of our ill-timed and ill-advised occupation of Iraq. The corporate rush to war was a mistake. Now we need to pick up the pieces and carry on, rather than acquiescing in four more years of the same mistakes or four more wars of choice.
best regards, Tim

Issues List.. 100 Mistakes of George

International Issues, Global Politics, and Local Action
During a prime time press conference on April 13, 2004 President Bush was asked to name a mistake that he has made since taking office and what he has learned from it. Bush, who was unable to answer the question, admitted "maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with [a mistake]." But weeks later, Bush still hadn't answered the question. In the interest of assisting the President with this surprisingly difficult task we've compiled this list of 100 mistakes he has made since taking office. He can take his pick.
Iraq
1. Failing to build a real international coalition prior to the Iraq invasion,
forcing the US to shoulder the full cost and consequences of the war.
2. Approving the demobilization of the Iraqi Army in May, 2003 – bypassing the Joint Chiefs of Staff and reversing an earlier position, the President left hundreds of thousands of armed Iraqis disgruntled and unemployed, contributing significantly to the massive security problems American troops have faced during occupation.
3. Not equipping troops in Iraq with adequate body armor or armored HUMVEES.
4. Ignoring the advice Gen. Eric Shinseki regarding the need for more troops in Iraq – now Bush is belatedly adding troops, having allowed the security situation to deteriorate in exactly the way Shinseki said it would if there were not enough troops.
5. Ignoring plans drawn up by the Army War College and other war-planning agencies, which predicted most of the worst security and infrastructure problems America faced in the Iraq occupation.
6. Making a case for war which ignored intelligence that there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.
7. Deriding "nation-building" during the 2000 debates, then engaging American troops in one of the most explicit instances of nation building in American history.
8. Predicting along with others in his administration that US troops would be greeted as liberators in Iraq.
9. Predicting Iraq would pay for its own reconstruction.
10. Wildly underestimating the cost of the war.
11. Trusting Ahmed Chalabi, who has provided faulty intelligence the president used to get congress to give him power to topple Saddam.
12. Disbanding the Sunni Baathist managers responsible for Iraq's water, electricity, sewer system and all the other critical infrastructure.
13. Failing to give UN weapons inspectors enough time.
14. Including discredited intelligence concerning Nigerian Yellow Cake in his 2003 State of the Union.
15. Announcing that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended" aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003, below a "Mission Accomplished" banner – more U.S. soldiers have died in combat since Bush's announcement than before it.
16. Awarding a multi-billion dollar contract to Halliburton in Iraq, which then repeatedly overcharged the government and served troops dirty food.
17. Refusing to cede any control of Post-invasion Iraq to the international community, meaning reconstruction has received limited aid from European allies or the U.N.
18. Failing to convince NATO allies why invading Iraq was important.
19. Having no real plan for the occupation of Iraq.
20. Limiting bidding on Iraq construction projects to "coalition partners," unnecessarily alienating important allies France, Germany and Russia.
21. Diverting $700 million into invasion plans without informing Congress.
22. Shutting down an Iraqi newspaper for "inciting violence" – the move, which led in short order to street fighting in Fallujah, incited more violence than the newspaper ever had.
23. Telling Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan about plans to go to war with Iraq before Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Counterterrorism
24. Allowing several members of the Bin Laden family to leave the country just days after 9/11, some of them without being questioned by the FBI.
25. Focusing on missile defense instead of counterterrorism before 9/11.
26. Thinking al Qaeda could not attack without state sponsors, and ignoring evidence of growing threats unrelated to Iraq.
27. Threatening to veto the Homeland Security department – The President now concedes such a department "provides the ability for our agencies to coordinate better and to work together better than before."
28. Opposing the creation of the September 11th commission, which the President now expects "to contain important recommendations for preventing future attacks."
29. Denying documents to the 9/11 commission, only relenting after the commissioners threatened a subpoena.
30. Failing to pay more attention to an August 6, 2001 PDB entitled "Bin laden Determined to Attack in U.S."
31. Repeatedly ignoring warnings of terrorists planning to use aircraft before 9/11.
32. Appointing Henry Kissinger to head the 9/11 commission – Kissinger stepped down weeks later due to conflicts of interest.
33. Asking for testimony before the 9/11 commission be limited to one hour, a position from which the president later backtracked.
34. Not allowing national Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice to testify before the commission –then Bush changed his mind under pressure.
35. Cutting an FBI request for counterterrorism funds after 9/11.
36. Telling Americans there was a link between Saddam and al Qaeda.
37. Failing to adequately secure the nation's nuclear weapons labs.
38. Not feeling a sense of urgency about terrorism or al Qaeda before 9/11.
Afghanistan
39. Reducing resources and troops in Afghanistan before fully secure.
40. Not providing security in Afghanistan outside of Kabul, leaving nearly 80% of the Afghan population unprotected in areas controlled by Feudal warlords and local militias.
41. Committing inadequate resources for reconstruction of Afghanistan.
42. Counting too heavily on locally trained troops to fill the void in Afghanistan once U.S. forces were relocated to Iraq.
43. Not committing US ground troops to the capture of Osama Bin Laden, when cornered in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan in November, 2001.
44. Allowing opium production to resume on a massive scale after the ouster of the Taliban.
Weapons of Mass Destruction
45. Opposing an independent inquiry into the intelligence failures surrounding WMD – later, upon signing off on just such a commission, Bush claimed he was "determined to make sure that American intelligence is as accurate as possible for every challenge in the future."
46. Saying: "We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories."
47. Trusting intelligence gathered by Vice President Cheney's and Secretary Rumsfeld's "Office of Special Plans."
48. Spending $6.5 billion on nuclear weapons this year to develop new nuclear weapons this year – 50% more in real dollars than the average during the cold war – while shortchanging the troops on body armor.
Foreign Policy
49. Ignoring the importance of the Middle East peace process, which has deteriorated with little oversight or strategy evident in the region.
50. Siding with China in February, 2004 against a democratic referenda proposed by Taiwan, a notable shift from an earlier pledge to stand with "oppressed peoples until the day of their freedom finally arrives."
51. Undermining the War on Terrorism by preemptively invading Iraq.
52. Failing to develop a specific plan for dealing with North Korea.
53. Abandoning the United States' traditional role as an evenhanded negotiator in the Middle East peace process.
Economic
54. Signing a report endorsing outsourcing with thousands of American workers having their jobs shipped overseas.
55. Instituting steel tariffs deemed illegal by the World Trade Organization – Bush repealed them 20-months later when the European Union pledged to impose retaliatory sanctions on up to $2.2 billion in exports from the United States.
56. Promoting economic policies that failed to create new jobs.
57. Promoting economic policies that failed to help small businesses
58. Pledging a "jobs and growth" package would create 1,836,000 new jobs by the end of 2003 and 5.5 million new jobs by 2004—so far the president has fallen 1,615,000 jobs short of the mark.
59. Running up a foreign deficit of "such record-breaking proportions that it threatens the financial stability of the global economy."
60. Issuing inaccurate budget forecasts accompanying proposals to reduce the deficit, omitting the continued costs of Iraq, Afghanistan and elements of Homeland Security.
61. Claiming his 2003 tax cut would give 23 million small business owners an average tax cut of $2,042 when "nearly four out of every five tax filers (79%) with small business income would receive less" than that amount.
62. Passing tax cuts for the wealthy while falsely claiming "people in the 10 percent bracket" were benefiting most."
63. Passing successive tax cuts largely responsible for turning a projected surplus of $5 trillion into a projected deficit of $4.3 trillion.
64. Moving to strip millions of overtime pay.
65. Not enforcing corporate tax laws.
66. Backing down from a plan to make CEOs more accountable when "the corporate crowd" protested.
67. Not lobbying oil cartels to change their mind about cutting oil production.
68. Passing tax cuts weighted heavily to help the wealthy.
69. Moving to allow greater media consolidation.
70. Nominating a notorious proponent of outsourcing, Anthony F. Raimondo, to be the new manufacturing Czar—Raimondo withdrew his name days later amidst a flurry of harsh criticism.
71. Ignoring calls to extend unemployment benefits with long-term unemployment reaching a twenty-year high
72. Threatening to veto pension legislation that would give companies much needed temporary relief.
Education
73. Under-funding No Child Left Behind
74. Breaking his campaign pledge to increase the size of Pell grants.
75. Signing off on an FY 2005 budget proposing the smallest increase in education funding in nine years.
76. Under-funding the Title I Program, specifically targeted for disadvantaged kids, by $7.2 billion.
77. Freezing Teacher Quality State Grants, cutting off training opportunities for about 30,000 teachers, and leaving 92,000 less
teachers trained than the president called for in his own No Child Left Behind bill.
78. Freezing funding for English language training programs.
79. Freezing funding for after school programs, potentially eliminating 50,000 children from after-school programs.
Health
80. Not leveling with Americans about the cost of Medicare – the president told Congress his new Medicare bill would cost $400 billion over ten years despite conclusions by his own analysts the bill would cost upwards of $500 billion over that period.
81. Silencing Medicare actuary Richard Foster when his estimates for the Administration's Medicare bill were too high.
82. Letting business associate David Halbert, who owns a company which stands to make millions from new discount drug cards, craft key elements of the new Medicare bill.
83. Underfunding health care for troops and veterans.
84. Allowing loopholes to persist in Mad-Cow regulations.
85. Relaxing food labeling restrictions on health claims.
86. Falsely claiming the restrictions on stem cell research would not hamper medical progress.
87. Reducing action against improper drug advertising by 80 percent.
Environment
88. Abandoning the Kyoto Treaty without offering an alternative for reducing greenhouse effect.
89. Counting on a voluntary program to reduce emissions of harmful gasses—so far only a tiny fraction of American companies have signed up.
90. Gutting clean air standards for aging power plants.
91. Weakening energy efficiency standards.
92. Relaxing dumping standards for mountaintop mining, and opening the Florida Everglades and Oregon's Siskiyou National Forest to mining.
93. Lifting protection for more than 200 million acres of public land.
94. Limiting public challenges to logging projects and increased logging in protected areas, including Alaska's Tongass National Forest.
95. Weakening environmental standards for snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles while pushing for exemptions for air pollution proposals for five categories of industrial facilities.
96. Opposing legislation that would require greater fuel efficiency for passenger cars.
97. Reducing inspections, penalties for violations, and prosecution of environmental crimes.
98. Misleading the public about the Washington mad cow case and the likely effectiveness of USDA's weak testing program.
99. Withdrawing public information on chemical plant dangers, previously used to hold facilities accountable for safety improvements.
Other
100. Cutting grants to state and local governments in FY 2005, forcing states to make massive cuts in job training, education, housing and environment.
100 Mistakes bythe President© Center for American Progress:
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=64326
Tim Flanagan http://welcome.to/peaceresources
Box 22, Lake Oswego, Oregon 97034-0003
"The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite." -- Thomas Jefferson
Kerry campaign: http://www.johnkerry.com
Bush campaign: http://www.georgewbush.com
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Incompetence in the White House

Many on the right contend that it is unpatriotic to accuse this administration of incompetence and arrogance in wartime. This is nonsense.
Our current troubles in Iraq stem from incompetence! Most experts and military observers concur. Too few troops and too little research. This administration ignored expert advice and now must react to ongoing disasters instead of proactively winning the peace.They made inappropriate assumptions on insufficient evidence. They underestimated the relative difficulty of their constantly-changing"mission" and have yet to develop any specific objectives or workable exit strategy. This shoddy work has cost lives. What could you call this except... incompetence? And while Bush and his cronies are still in denial, the casualties continue to mount.
If one does not feel Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are arrogant, they should pay more attention. (It's no secret.) It's easy to prove. None of these three have exhibited any diplomatic acumen or the ability to learn from errors. There is no point in castigating "the left" for pointing out incompetence and hubris. It's our duty as Americans to point out obvious threats to national security. Even if they reside in the White House.
Constructive criticism is responsible civic commitment. We need more, not less. When things are going wrong, it's time to speak up and find a way to set things right. Pretending all is well and denying that we have a problem is no solution. Not only is it not right, it's not smart.
Tim Flanagan... http://www.bloglines.com/blog/PeaceResources

Casualties in Iraq

September 12, 2004 Casualties in Iraq
By PeaceResources
List last updated 09/11/04 12:32 pm EDT Date Totals
American Deaths Since war began (3/19/03): 1,007
Total Wounded: 7,040
Other Coalition Troops 127
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan 132
Iraqi Military (estimate) 4,895 to 6,370
Civilians killed in Iraq Min Max 11,797 13,806
http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/nav/start.asp?webtag=peaceresource

Concerning Mr. Gillespie's complaints....

When Georgia's senior Senator, Democrat Zell Miller, delivered the keynote speech at the Republican convention in New York City, his hatred and zealotry were clear.
In response to convention proceedings which outlined President Bush's lack of an agenda for America's Future and a smear of Senator Kerry's service in the military and the Senate, the Bush campaign confirmed their obsession with mud-slinging and leadership by submitting to the the politics of personal destruction. They continued their strategy of vicious personal attacks against the good Senator and his wife.
Faced with the reality that John Kerry has an enviable record, while Bush refused to serve in Vietnam and has now bankrupted our country at home, the Republican party continues to run from the Bush record of failure and defeat.
Bush is clearly too far out of the American mainstream and without an agenda on which to base his campaign. The Democrat strategy is clear, however. Rather than embracing extreme partisans like Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, and Wolfowitz...the Democrats offer experience, intelligence maturity, and real plans for real solutions. All the Republicans are able to do, saddled with the Bush disaster, is attempt to hide Republican policy failures with character assassination and deceit. The Kerry campaign started the campaign on an upbeat note. They spoke truth to power and outlined viable alternatives to the failed policies of the Bush administration. But now, they are taking off the gloves and pointing out that Bush and Cheney have not carried out their duties. In response to Republican salvos of character assassination and crude insults directed towards our veterans, Kerry is speaking truth to power. Each time Bush and Cheney insult our veterans, lie about the economy, or dissemble about the war...another Republican decides that they can no longer, in good conscience, vote for these criminals. President Bush appears gutless to some and others have questioned his intelligence, but his primary stumbling block is his abysmal record. The Republican spin machine may or may not be right when they trumpet accusations that Vice President Cheney may or may not be a "dirt bag" or "ignorant big time." And while it clearly is a moot question whether or not "George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are a couple of nobodies," most of us know by now that Cheney calls the shots, collects our tax money from Halliburton, and continues his machinations while George forfeits our economic strength, our military readiness, and our national reputation to his corporate handlers' agenda.
The recent comment by Democrat Susan Estrich that the President and Vice President of the United States are alcoholics is nothing new. They were both arrested for drunken driving. Cheney was arrested several times before washing out of college. Bush was only arrested once before washing out of the National Guard service he failed to complete. But these historic weaknesses are only symptoms. The most serious problem we have is their misbehavior and malfeasance in office. Senator Harkin said Thursday that President Bush lied about his National Guard service, and lied about the War In Iraq. And that seems to be the case. Last month Sen. Harkin called Vice-President Cheney a "coward." In the context of Cheney's dishonorable "Fuck you" statements and dishonest draft evasion, this claim is understandable, if perhaps a bit shrill. In context, Cheney is less a coward than a bully abusing the power of his office.
Just this week former Vice President Al Gore compared President Bush's personal faith to the radical impulses of fundamentalist Islam. The comparison is apt. The RNC complains that earlier this year he implied that campaigners for the President are Nazis by calling them 'brownshirts.' I would suggest that Republicans not play the Nazi card. The comparisons between Nazi fascism and Bush fascism are chilling, but clearly George Bush's failures at home and abroad do not make him Adolph Hitler.They do provide evidence that he is weak and incompetent. Our "president by proxy," Dick Cheney, is more disturbing with his clear conflicts of interests and disdain for America. The tax dollars wasted by Halliburton, Bechtel, and others in no-bid contracts which guarantee that American taxpayers must sacrifice 200 billion and thousands of soldiers lives...are testament to his depravity and incompetence.
Next week, NBC's "Today Show" will be featuring Kitty Kelley's book, which promises to expose President Bush. Her previous efforts document that the late President Reagan was a flawed man. Cleary Repulicans are concerned with her research, as evidenced by their preemptive personal attacks.
We should all brace ourselves for the final rounds of this campaign. Any mention of John Kerry's votes for truth and accountability in government will be countered with the worst kind of personal attacks. Such desperation is unbecoming of American Presidential politics. Bush, Cheney, and their cohorts will pay a price for it at the polls. But Kerry and his loyal supporters will stay focused on policies of growing our economy, cultivating cooperative relationships with our allies, bringing our troops home from Iraq, and ending corporate adventurism. He will simultaneously redeploy our troops in a focused effort to root out terrorism with intelligence, discretion, valor, and courage. It will make us all sleep better at night to have a pragmatic, intelligent and eloquent leader who can restore our jobs, protect our borders, and secure our nation against corporate greed and the politics of fear. Come January, Americans will support President Kerry's positive vision for a safer world and a more hopeful America. And Bush will be relegated to the dustbins of history, while we repair the wounds from his tenure and rebuild a strong and respected America.
best regards, Tim (with apologies to Mr. Gillespie)

Guns, Freedom, mismanagement, and miscalculation

Subject: Guns, Freedom, mismanagement, and miscalculation
http://forums.delphiforums.com/peaceresource/messages
"I agree. You don't use a gun to shove democracy down the throats ofpeople. But, you can use the gun to defend democracy by shoving it downthe throats of the enemies of democracy."
This intellectual sophism and macho posturing does nothing to address real issues or solve real problems. George Bush tried war as a first choice instead of a last option. He removed a sovereign, contained government pre-emptively. He removed a government which had attacked no country in ten years based on lies. He then claimed he intended to save the country by destroying it. The Iraqi people clearly did not see his logic.
They do not appreciate big brother George forcinghis democracy down their throats at the point of a gun. They do not appreciate oureconomic and military domination of Iraq and will continue to resist our occupation.We have put our troops at risk and the Iraqi people in harms way to enforce an economiccolonialism. This policy is a failure... It is an unwinnable and unjustifiable conflict.
We need mature leadership to open up the bidding on reconstruction and reconciliation. This step is what is required to internationalize the peacekeeping troops and pacify the country so that the Iraqis can determine their own destiny and take back control of theirresources, industries, infrastructures, and lives. This is the reality George Bush will never address. He must be removed from office. His crimes are costing lives and the carnage will get only get worse. How many more thousand must die needlessly?
"Could you, though, win the hearts of the enemies of democracy with wordsand ideas instead of with guns and bombs, given opportunity?"
With effective leadership, the people of Iraq will open their hearts when we communicate faith, trust, fidelity, and solidarity with their cause. Attacking religious shrines, torturing prisoners, and selling off their assets to a cabal of transnational corporations is not effective policy. It is guaranteed failure and a witless waste of resources.
"You don't shove freedom down people's throats at the end of a gun barrel. George is trying... but failing."
We need a mature diplomatic leader to engineerthe internationalization of the nation-building process in Iraq. The first step of that process is to replace guns with butter. Provide books, schools, hospitals, and security so that the Iraqi people can reeducate themselves, heal their wounds, and determine their own destiny. Rather than forcing them to accept a brutal militaryoccupation and and economic colonialism, we must give them back their country and provide the security and tools necessary for them to do for themselves what nobody can do for them. "That's not freedom, it's freedom fries. Different bird."
This petulant, adolescent ethnocentrism is despicable and counterproductive. These schoolboy antics do not belong in the national or international discourse. This type of petty divisiveness is what caused the current problem, and this nonsense has made targets out of our troops. It is time to grow up and act like adults, rather than engaging in silly sloganeering, pointless pouting, and meaningless derision of our allies. If the current administration had the guts to rise above this nonsense, we would not be spending 200 billion alone. In the first Gulf war we spent nothing because we worked with our allies and listened to the military experts.If the current administration could find the courage to walk the walk, we would notbe bringing home caskets, enabling criminals, undermining our intelligence, and losing credibility.
As for birds.... We need to remove the turkey from the White House and releasethe American eagle held captive to the whims of corporate CEOs....We must refuse to capitulate to corporate terror so that we can effectively rebuild our nation, mend ouralliances, secure the peace, and do what is right for America and best for the world.Time to throw the rascals out and restore legitimacy and respect in America and abroad.
best regards, Tim

Leadership

09/06/2004 Lake Oswego, Oregon. www.WritingResource.org/
Leadership... Well, the conventions are over and the landscape has been established. The Democratic convention outlined specific solutions to the problems we face. On the other hand, Dennis Hastert lies about the opposition, using the power of his office to commit slander. Bush smears three decorated veterans in three years. Rove dishonorably attacks all veterans who have received the purple heart with his Band-Aid caper at the convention. Cheney, while collecting millions from Halliburton (while they receive no-bid contracts despite clear evidence of criminal negligence in previous business deals), disgraces himself and his office by shouting profanities on the senate floor. Rumsfeld is not disciplined for torture and execution on his watch and says "no problem." Clearly our experiment with hiring drunks and criminals to lead the country has been a failure. Lets take back America so that we can regain our economy, legitimacy, and self-respect. We need good-paying jobs in America, effective schools, affordable heath care, and responsible government. George Bush has only delivered bankruptcy, war, chaos, fear, surrender, insecurity, broken alliances, abrogated treaties, arrogance, intransigence, and disrespect. He then tells us at the RSC convention that these disasters mean we are "turning a corner" and "winning?" He thinks runaway deficits, an overburdened military, and undermined security are as good as it gets. In November lets deliver a message to George Bush. We can do much better. Visit our Blogs and Issues... www.WritingResource.org/
Shalom,
Tim Flanagan Box 22 / Lake Oswego, Oregon / 97034-0003 tim@peaceresource.com ICQ#: 41518726 “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unions, Peace, Activism, Peaceresources, Computers, Writing, Sources, Resources, Blogs, and Blues,

Labor Day 2004

Labor Day 2004: Lets talk about jobs, health care, and civil rights...
On this Labor Day 2004, hotel workers are rising up to renew our faith in the American dream, and to create new dreams for millions of others who labor without the benefit of a union, without medical insurance, pensions, respect and just reward. We all have a stake in the hotel workers' fight to make service jobs a path to the middle class, rather than a highway to hopelessness. We must endorse their right to speak with one voice and therefore to align their contract expirations in 2006. We must march with them, get arrested with them, and support them in every way possible. Then shall we all be together on the road to liberation.
Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. a working colleague of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from 1957 to 1968.
Liberation and Labor Day AlterNet - Sep 3, 2004... Then shall we all be together on the road to liberation. Rev. James M. Lawson Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Los Angeles ...
The GOP Hijacks 9/11
The Republicans know that angry and fearful citizens will follow a leader who stirs their blood.
Will Labor Come Back?
If so, perhaps Labor Day, despite its history, won't seem like such a sham. Liza Featherstone explains.
Celebrating the holiday early, in August the Bush White House and its rich friends no doubt toasted new regulations that will deprive up to 6 million additional American workers of overtime, defined as time-and-a-half pay for working more than forty hours a week. Even more disturbing, in June the Administration's National Labor Relations Board quietly moved to "review" the legitimacy of the card-check procedure, by which an employer recognizes a union when presented with cards signed by more than half of the shop's employees. The labor board has upheld card check many times since the 1930s, when the procedure was first established. Repealing it would effectively deprive countless Americans of the right to organize and put an immediate halt to many of labor's most promising campaigns.

International Issues, Global Politics, and Local Action
"If Bush turns one more "corner," we will end up going backwards. This is no time for retreat. With John Kerry we can build roads, remove barricades, and move forward. ~~~ TMF
The Iraq Reconstruction Fiasco: After a year of mismanaging the reconstruction, the White House is finally looking to experts on Iraq and
the Arab world to turn it around... things have gone so obviously wrong with America's approach to rebuilding Iraq that even the Bush administration is now willing to listen to some informed advice. Before the invasion, the White House and Pentagon contemptuously ignored post-invasion planning memos drafted by State Department experts knowledgeable about Iraq, the Arab world and the broader problems of nation-building. Now some of those same State Department experts are quietly being called back to try to repair the damage. Their re-emergence is welcome, but late in the game. Winning back the good will and trust of ordinary Iraqis will be, at best, an uphill fight.
Almost a year after Congress approved an American contribution of more than $18 billion to rebuild Iraq, very little of this money has been spent. Very little has actually been built in Iraq, and most of what has been done has been paid for out of Iraq's own revenues. This is more than an embarrassing case of dysfunctional aid management and shifty accounting. It helps explain why so many Iraqis have come to resent the American occupation even though it removed a hated dictator and ended 13 years of punishing economic sanctions. Even people who initially welcomed the invasion have had a hard time understanding or accepting why, 16 months after American troops took Baghdad, electricity and clean water are only intermittently available and nearly half of employable Iraqis are without work.
Of the $18.4 billion Congress approved last fall, only about $600 million has actually been paid out. Billions more have been designated for giant projects still in the planning stage. Part of the blame rests with the Pentagon's planning failures and the occupation authority's reluctance to consult qualified Iraqis. Instead, the administration brought in American defense contractors who had little clue about what was most urgently needed or how to handle the unfamiliar and highly insecure climate.
Occupation officials also felt free to tap into Iraqi revenues, which are subject to far less oversight and looser controls than Congressionally appropriated funds. Late last year, for example, the Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root was awarded a no-bid contract out of Iraqi revenues. At the time, Congress might have balked at further dealings with a company facing questions about the inflated prices it charged for importing gasoline into Iraq and about a no-bid contract awarded by the Army Corps of Engineers just before the invasion. Last week, The Washington Post reported that almost $2 billion in Iraqi revenues had been awarded to American companies.
State Department experts now suggest a switch to smaller-scale projects that can produce visible results more quickly. They are also talking about deeper Iraqi involvement in the planning and carrying out of American-financed reconstruction projects. Greater Iraqi involvement would spread public awareness of these projects, provide new jobs for Iraqis and drastically reduce costs. Iraqi construction labor costs about one-tenth of what is typically paid to foreign contractors. Closer consultation with the Baghdad ministries and local councils would also add some plausibility to Washington's claims that Iraqis now exercise sovereignty in their own country. Despite all it has gone through, Iraq remains one of the Arab world's most advanced societies, with considerable professional expertise that should be put to better use.
All of this should have been done a year ago. It still needs to be done now. Iraq's reconstruction needs have only become more urgent and most of that huge appropriation is still unspent.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018
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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
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Corporate Crime

When large corporations are given billions of dollars in "corporate welfare" while paying little or no taxes, the tax burden on the middle class has been increasing. Halliburton has been stealing with impunity, yet they continue to be awarded contracts, even though they continue to lie, cheat, and steal in the contracts they administer. Enron siphoned off the life savings and retirements of thousands of investors, yet the corporate CEO's paid themselves billions of dollars in bonuses. And while these criminals continue to bleed us dry, the Bush administration tells us that it is a good thing to outsource our jobs while we have a jobless "recovery" at home.
John Kerry, a principled and intelligent man, will help us take our government back from these thieves. best regards, Tim

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