Kathy Kattenburg: President Bush ignorantly compares Iraq’s situation to that of South Korea’s during the Cold War, meaning Iraqis can expect real democracy around 2038.
Pres. Bush is having visions again, and in his visions he sees the United States staying in Iraq for the next 50 years, just like we did in South Korea:
President George W. Bush would like to see a lengthy U.S. troop presence in Iraq like the one in South Korea to provide stability but not in a frontline combat role, the White House said on Wednesday.
The United States has had thousands of U.S. troops in South Korea to guard against a North Korean invasion for 50 years.
“The Korean model is one in which the United States provides a security presence, but you’ve had the development of a successful democracy in South Korea over a period of years, and, therefore, the United States is there as a force of stability,” Snow told reporters.
He said U.S. bases in Iraq would not necessarily be permanent because they would be there at the invitation of the host government and “the person who has done the invitation has the right to withdraw the invitation.”
“I think the point he’s trying to make is that the situation in Iraq, and indeed, the larger war on terror, are things that are going to take a long time. But it is not always going to require an up-front combat presence,” Snow said. “The president has always said that ultimately you want to be handing primary responsibility off to the Iraqis,” he said.
“You provide the so-called over-the-horizon support that is necessary from time to time to come to the assistance of Iraqis but you do not want the United States forever in the front.”
The man who tried to equate resistance to corporate globalization with the terrorism of al Qaeda now takes over the World Bank following Paul Wolfowitz’s scandal-ridden tenure.
Nine days after the September 11 terrorist attacks, I opened up The Washington Post and stared right into the flinty mind of one Robert B. Zoellick, the Bush administration’s pick for new World Bank president.
While the rest of the country was still in a haze of horror and confusion, Zoellick had seized the moment to advance his agenda as U.S. trade representative. In a commentary titled “Fighting Terror with Trade,” he argued that Congress needed to pass fast track trade negotiating authority as part of their support for the “War on Terror.”
Having failed to sell the legislation on its merits, Zoellick had moved with breathtaking speed to take advantage of public fears and pressure on lawmakers to stand with the president during a national crisis.
In a speech at the Institute for International Economics four days later, Zoellick really let loose by insinuating that there were links between the September 11 terrorists and anti-globalization protestors.
“In the wake of the shock of 13 days ago, many people will struggle to understand why terrorists hate the ideas America has championed around the world,” Zoellick said. “It is inevitable that people will wonder if there are intellectual connections with others who have turned to violence to attack international finance, globalization, and the United States.”
Spitman puts on a poor performance, as he tries to justify his actions at the World Bank, while bolstering his ego. Charlie asks him a few questions more than once, but the only answers he got were irrevelent to the subject matter.
Here in Oregon the show is at 12:00 AM, and I doubt that any uninformed people are watching at this hour. Why do all of the neonservative ideologues think that there is an audience for political spin and misrepresentation for the facts. Everybody who has read the PNAC agenda and their plans for control of the whole Middle East are amazed at the Ludicrous lack of accountability and the lack of admission of facts that speak for themselves. This was an interview of sorts, but Wolfie changed the subject to Africa or other third world countries every time he was asked anything about Iraq. In my opinion he made himself look very guilty, not only about the loss of his position, but also about his involvement in Iraq.
There are some great comments on the blog below the video. One of them was actually in defence of Spitman…ROTFLOL
Summer always brings those fun county and state fairs. As a kid, I looked forward to the cotton candy and candy apples! Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the rides, especially those that flipped me upside down and threw me all over the place! I did the rides after eating the hotdogs, cotton candy and candy apples though. I knew what my priorities were… and every year I always ended up being sick after those rides! 😆
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s test firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday was in response to U.S. steps that have sparked an arms race and undermined world security, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.”Our American partners have left the ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) Treaty. We have warned them then that we will come out with a response to maintain the strategic balance in the world,” Putin told a news conference.
“We conducted a test of a new strategic ballistic missile with multiple warheads, and of a new cruise missile, and will continue to improve our resources.”
“We are not the initiators of this new round of the arms race,” said Putin. “(Our partners) are stuffing eastern Europe with new weapons. A new base in Bulgaria, another in Romania, a site in Poland, radar in the Czech Republic . . . what are we supposed to do? We cannot just observe all this.”
Russia test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday featuring multiple warheads that senior officials said could pierce any missile defense system, including the planned U.S. shield in Europe.
I’m sorry….the world’s not scary enough????
Not that we didn’t see this coming. Even regular readers of this blog had to know:
“The Cold War left us ‘unexploded bombs’ – double standards and templates of bloc-centered thinking,” Putin said at a security conference in Munich on Saturday.“A single-polar world has never come around. No latter(sic) how much this term is adorned, it means only one thing – one centre of power, one centre of force, the world of one master, one sovereign. This is pernicious for the system itself and for the sovereign, too, because destroys it from within,” the president said.
Remarkable in this short excerpt from the speech (deliberately posted by the Russian government on the Tass website) is the veiled threat that Putin makes in the guise of a prediction: that the US will destroy itself. This hearkens back to Kruschev’s “We will bury you” 1960 speech at the United Nations, which is often deliberately misquoted to mean that the Soviet Union, through its aggression and actions, would overtly destroy the US, when what he said could also be construed as “we will outlast you and see you at your funeral.”
So it’s not really fair to call today’s story a deus ex machina, although it certainly comes as a surprise…and a shock to the storm troopers of the right who probably believed Putin was as cowed by Bush as Bush was by Putin.
You heard me…”cowed”. Despite the braggadoccio of this administration, the clear pattern of Bush’s dealings with Putin have always been an attempt to impress upon Vladi his strength and his seriousness.
The problem for Bush is, Putin reads the newspaper. And his intelligence reports. Hell, he probably watches CNN International!
Bush has become the laughingstock of the world, and the US is paying a dear price for his idiocy. An immature, spoiled little brat, who clowns around at the drop of a hat with people who have earned the respect of being treated with dignity.
One can understand that the buffoon himself is uncomfortable with the trappings of office: since he never really had to work hard at anything, having “people” handle things for him (like getting him out of the draft, like bailing his businesses out, like paying for a new stadium for his team, like stealing elections for him), he never felt he deserved the majesty of office.
Fine. But people like Angela Merkel deserve better than to be molested in a G8 meeting. She worked hard for her money.
And Vladimir Putin rose up through the ranks of a notoriously vicious and shark-infested agency, the KGB. To think that he’s going to take Bush seriously at all was a joke, and that’s before you take into account his clowning.
It’s hard to imagine this comparison, but the poor kid from Hope, Arkansas, who had a hardscrabble existence, born of a poor family, who sweated and worked hard to make something of himself, had more polish and class and elegance than the guy born with the silver tea set in his mouth, third generation scion of a political dynasty, who attended Exeter and Andover and Yale and Harvard, all on his family’s name.
I traveled to DC’s George Washington University tonight to hear the President-elect speak about his new book, The Assault on Reason. To a sold-out crowd, Gore reminded everyone why they fell in love with him in the first place.
When the announcements were finished and Gore finally walked onto the stage at GWU’s Lisner Auditorium, he was given a very long and very enthusiastic standing ovation. Gore smiled and modestly motioned us to sit.
Gore covered the thesis of his book—That, thanks to television and the decline of the written word, America’s arena of democratic debate has shrunk to one-way conversations begun and framed by the elite—very thoroughly. He talked extensively on the decline of the importance of reason and fact in political discussions. In a move that could be taken as a comment on potential primary competitors, Gore said that he doesn’t blame those who say “If I knew then what I know now…” regard the Iraq War for their lack of foresight, but he does wonder why they didn’t ask the right questions or look at the obvious facts when they could have made a difference.
Then Gore did something that surprised me quite a bit: He threw out applause lines. He listed down all the top mistakes made by the Bush administration that fly in the face of reason (paraphrase):
The warrentless wiretapping, that was a mistake! *applause*
The media holding on to information about the wiretapping, that was a mistake! *applause*
Having Congress pass a law that retroactively legalized illegal wiretapping, that was a mistake! *applause*
Censoring information about the climate crisis, that was a mistake! *applause*
It was like a section of a stump speech. Gore was working the crowd, and doing a wonderful job!
After his speech, Gore did a little Q&A. The first question was about America’s drastic wealth discrepancy between the richest and the rest. Gore said that it would be impossible to tackle such a problem until we change the frame of debate. To illustrate his point, Gore said (paraphrase):
Say we have two proposals that are made and given equal time in a healthy, democratic debate. The first proposal, idea A, would spend government money and ensure that every America has basis healthcare coverage, including the millions of Americans who are currently left out of the private system. This would not only help the public welfare and not only save millions in productivity and medical bills, but it would help the private sector who are suffering from international competition, as American companies are pressured to give private health insurance to their employees. Businesses would save money and people would live longer.
The second proposal, proposal B, says that we should repeal what’s left of the Estate Tax for the tiniest 1% sliver of the wealthiest Americans. In a reasonable democratic arena, these ideas would be given equal time and we’d choose one over the other.
Which would we choose? Healthcare for all, or tax cuts for zillionaires? Gee, I wonder… *Wry look, audience laughter*
However, for some reason proposal B has gotten so much more attention due to who controls the media and who controls debate in DC. We can’t address discrepancies in wealth until we can change the discussion to give these proposals an equal footing.
After the Q&A, the audience lined up to get our books signed. I finally decided on what I would say to Gore as he signed by book. As my copy was slid in front of Gore, I shook his hand and said:
“Sir, I was in Dirksen for your testimony to the Senate. You were wonderful. You’re one of my greatest heroes.”
Gore seemed to be taken aback. He looked at me and said,
“Thank you. That’s very kind of you to say. That means a lot to me.”
I then said to him:
“Please, at least think about running for President.”
Gore smiled and replied,
“Thank you. I am.”
I smiled and trotted off the stage. Al Gore continues to impress me and continues to fine tune his rhetoric to take tiny steps towards a run. If you saw him on Olbermann tonight, you saw that as Gore once again refused to rule out a run. But from what I gathered tonight as I spoke to him, Al Gore is thinking about running for President.
They have informed me that they are also kicking off a person to person canvassing initiative. Sorry, this is so lengthy and I can’t link it because it was an email. The details are below:
In this alert we will propose a plan of action, which if we execute it faithfully, WILL result in the impeachment of Vice President Cheney by the end of the summer. So please read on, we think this is VERY important strategic stuff.
Memorial Day is the traditional kickoff to the summer season, and we are planning a kickoff of the biggest impeachment initiative ever. More and more people have begun to realize that the core problem with Congress is getting them to actually CONFRONT the Cheney administration.
That’s right, we said the Cheney administration. Whether even he knows it or not, Bush has made no actual decisions since he was first installed. And if it weren’t for the talking points they give him to rehearse, he would not be able to complete a logical sentence in English in public. He can barely do that as it is.
At the same time we recognize, and as demonstrated by the vote on the Iraq supplemental capitulation, that about half the Democratic members of Congress and most of the Republicans are basically throwaways in terms of actually standing up for we the people. And we are even now hearing widespread talk of election and primary challenges on the basis of this one vote alone.
Our experience in the last election cycle teaches us that nothing is more important in winning an election campaign, whether in a primary or a general election, than having organized boots on the ground. With enough warm bodies in place whatever money is needed will come. Regardless of what else we do we need to spend the next 6 months building a cadre of seasoned canvassers, the core of a volunteer activist campaign oriented base. And we have an incredible opportunity to use the National Cheney Impeachment Poll as a vehicle to do just that.
If each one of the people who has ALREADY submitted a vote in the National Cheney Impeachment Poll (more than 50,000 already) were to print out just one of the vote sheets above, and collect just 20 votes from their friends and neighbors, we’d be over a million votes, bam, just like that. And at the same time, those who do the best job organizing this canvassing would naturally emerge as the actual candidates we need to turn the tide. In short, on top of everything else, we are proposing using this vote collection drive as a way to TEST DRIVE your potential as a candidate or volunteer in a REAL election, and to use that opportunity to get invaluable “on street” training. Just print out some of the vote sheets above, grab a clip board and some pens, and you’re ready to rock.
We had one volunteer in Hollywood, CA this afternoon at one of the larger health food markets, and in just about an hour they filled up one of these vote sheets with 20 votes. This is going to be EASY. All you have to do is say to people, “Hello . . . will you vote in the Cheney impeachment poll?”, and hold up your clip board so they can see the sign up sheet. If the name Cheney catches 10% of their ears you will quickly be able to engage and mobilize the people in your community who will speak out, and before we know it, the base of the future will be built.
No matter where you go to collect votes, you are just NOT going to find a lot of people who don’t think Cheney should be impeached. Based on his current approval rating (if not his impeachable crimes) there is zero chance he will ever break 10% in this poll (we’re currently running 99.36% YES in favor of impeachment). You can tell people we are not asking if he WILL be impeached, we are asking if he should be impeached. The most important thing to remember if you are going to participate in this is
ENTHUSIASTICALLY ACCEPT ALL VOTES WHETHER YES OR NO
The other side knows they can only win by skewing the vote. All we have to do to win is ensure the vote is not skewed.
Wherever you decide to do this, if it is a place of business FIRST seek out the premises manager and ask their permission to collect signatures for the poll. Emphasize that this is poll, and people can freely vote either way, and you can also suggest you will only be doing it for an hour or so. Then introduce yourself to the security where you will be standing and tell them the name of the manager who gave you permission.
We don’t have to sell people on impeachment. Anybody who is remotely paying attention should jump at the opportunity to speak out on this. For those who rush by, trying to keep their heads down, just let them go, and trust that we will get them also, as they hear more and more about the National Cheney Impeachment Poll. We don’t have to chase any votes around the block.
You will meet people who are very gung ho. Of the 20 people who signed with our volunteer this afternoon, two were into it enough that they were given blank sign up sheets to make their own copies of and collect signatures on their own. So carry extra sign up sheets for this purpose. This thing can spread like wildfire if we just get out there.
You are probably already thinking of your own creative places to collect votes, people in your apartment building, your school, office, church, lines at movie theaters, swap meets, anywhere that people gather. You should be welcome everywhere as long as you keep it straight, and act as the impartial pollster. If people ask your own personal position, feel free to tell them, but emphasize that all votes are accepted and duly entered.
There are instructions on the vote gathering sheet to tell you what to do with the entries you collect, of which the email address is critical. We will be using this to confirm their vote by email. Therefore, one more thing cannot be overemphasized
BE SURE TO READ BACK THEIR EMAIL ADDRESS TO THEM TO CONFIRM THE SPELLING
We don’t want to lose any votes to scribbled or ambiguously written email addresses. Is it a “two” or is it the letter “Z”, is it a “one” or is it the letter “L”, is it a “zero” or is it the letter “O”, etc. Make sure you yourself can read all entries so that you can accurately enter them on the web input form we are providing. If necessary, make additional small notes on the sheets to remind yourself of the correct spellings.
And when you finish go back and thank the premises manager for their gracious hospitality, so that our next volunteer will also be welcome.
Once we get a million votes things will start to snowball, and we can put serious pressure on our members of Congress, and let them know that fulfilling the duty of impeachment is the only way for them to keep their jobs. With that many key mobilized activists we can have impact on every election in the next cycle, and we will find many ways of letting them know what they are in for long before that.
Nothing in this alert should be construed as advocating for or against a particular candidate in any particular race. Until we actually mobilize we will not know who will step up to the plate and who will not. But we need to mobilize just as hard EVERYWHERE regardless, for none can be counted on unless we do.
SAN ANTONIO — In the blur of smoke and blood after a bomb blew up under his Humvee in Iraq, Sgt. Tawan Williamson looked down at his shredded leg and knew it couldn’t be saved. His military career, though, pulled through. Less than a year after the attack, Williamson is running again with a high-tech prosthetic leg and plans to take up a new assignment, probably by the fall, as an Army job counselor and affirmative action officer in Okinawa, Japan.
In an about-face by the Pentagon, the military is putting many more amputees back on active duty _ even back into combat, in some cases.
Williamson, a 30-year-old Chicago native who is missing his left leg below the knee and three toes on the other foot, acknowledged that some will be skeptical of a maimed soldier back in uniform.
“But I let my job show for itself,” he said. “At this point, I’m done proving. I just get out there and do it.”
Previously, a soldier who lost a limb almost automatically received a quick discharge, a disability check and an appointment with the Veterans Administration.
But since the start of the Iraq war, the military has begun holding on to amputees, treating them in rehab programs like the one here at Fort Sam Houston and promising to help them return to active duty if that is what they want.
“The mindset of our Army has changed, to the extent that we realize the importance of all our soldiers and what they can contribute to our Army. Someone who loses a limb is still a very valuable asset,” said Lt. Col. Kevin Arata, a spokesman for the Army’s Human Resources Command at the Pentagon.
Internal Department of Justice investigators are expanding their probe into hiring practices to include alleged improper political litmus tests applied to those seeking jobs within the department’s Civil Rights Division, DOJ Honors Program and Summer Law Intern Program, according to a letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday.
“It is deeply troubling that the crisis of leadership at the department allowed the White House and others to wield political influence over key law enforcement decisions and hiring policies,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said in a written statement. “It is unacceptable that a senior Justice Department official was allowed to screen career employees and some judicial appointments for political loyalty, and it confirms our worst fears about the unprecedented and improper reach of politics into the Department’s professional ranks.”
The letter from the Justice Department’s Inspector General and a lawyer for its Office of Professional Responsibility comes in the wake of last week’s testimony by Monica Goodling, the department’s former White House liaison.
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