There is an alternative.
"Let's get out of Iraq and rebuild America first."
--Merle Haggard
Showing posts with label Flint Michigan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Flint Michigan. Show all posts
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Thursday, February 08, 2007
crony military contractor has six degrees of separation from Michigan
Anyone who hasn't heard the mothers of hirelings of military contractors killed in Iraq had a chance today to hear their testimony before Congress.
How their sons were under equipped and left in harm's way. How does this jibe with no bid and cost plus? PROFIT is JOB ONE!
(Jebsus would be Soo Proud of his little Christian Coalition military profiteers.)
Remember the vision of the burned dragged corpses hanging from the bridge?
Those mothers saw those images too.
Blackwater has a particular reputation that we should note. But Blackwater doesn't only contract in Iraq.
Remember N.O. LA after Katrina? The stadium, the guarded bridges out, the shooting at black "looters" (as opposed to white survivors) carrying loaves of old bread from flooded stores? Blackwater had that lucrative FEMA security contract.
And now Blackwater is contracting outsourcing "police" work in these United States as public police agencies are downsized underfunded and squeezed by Reaganomic politics.
Blackwater should also be of special interest to Michiganders who just voted down Dick DeVos' bid for governorship in 2006, a message in times when the downsizing of Michigan's manufacturing base has caused a crisis.
And Dick sunk a personal fortune into one of the richest races in history for any governorship.
Well, you ask, what is Blackwater's relationship to Michigan? Dick DeVos' wife Betsy, who once ran the Republican Party in Michigan, is Betsy Prince DeVos, her brother Eric Prince is the founder and CEO of Blackwater.
NOTE: I live by coincidence... I just Googled "CEO Eric Prince" to verify my memory, and right on top was this:
Erik Prince, Blackwater War Profiteer, Attacks Iraq for Sale
By Robert Greenwald on the Huffington Post
"Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers" tells the story of Erik Prince and Blackwater, and their consistent profiting from the war. As the film is seen across the United States, it is having a powerful effect on audiences. People are responding strongly to the emotional and gut wrenching story of Prince choosing profit over patriotism as he cuts corners at Blackwater in his relentless pursuit of money.
The film tells the story of two young men who are killed as a result of Blackwater focusing on profits, and their grieving and enraged mothers. These mothers are taking the fight to Blackwater and when they see the film, audiences are also activated to take steps to stop Blackwater.
Sadly, rather than working to help and heal the mothers who have suffered this loss, Prince and his profiteering co-horts, have gone into attack mode. And in this case, ironically so with a company who sent out an email after the '04 election saying, "Bush Wins Four More Years!! Hooyah!" attacking Iraq for Sale for being "election year left wing politics."
This from the man who after interning in the Bush Sr. Whitehouse said, "I saw a lot of things I didn't agree with - homosexual groups being invited in, the budget agreement, the Clean Air Act, those kind of bills." This from a man whose car says "Bush: "Let's Roll" Kerry: "Let's Roll Over." This from a man who, together with his family have given over 2 million dollars to Republican candidates and use their political access to protect Blackwater from scrutiny.
We at Brave New Films are proud to be helping raise the issue of profiteering as the election approaches; it should be an issue we judge our candidates by. Are they protecting us? Are they protecting our tax dollars? The fact that Prince has hired a disrespected PR flack, Mark Corallo, whose claim to fame was defending the disgraced Bob Livingston for cheating on his wife, speaks to the issue of Prince's morality.
Profiteering during a time of war is indeed a serious and important issue. I invite Erik Prince to see the film, to meet with our researchers and to have a full and open discussion about the way he is profiteering.
And for those who would like to see the Prince story and the mansion, purchased from his profiteering, check out this video...
How their sons were under equipped and left in harm's way. How does this jibe with no bid and cost plus? PROFIT is JOB ONE!
(Jebsus would be Soo Proud of his little Christian Coalition military profiteers.)
Remember the vision of the burned dragged corpses hanging from the bridge?
Those mothers saw those images too.
Blackwater has a particular reputation that we should note. But Blackwater doesn't only contract in Iraq.
Remember N.O. LA after Katrina? The stadium, the guarded bridges out, the shooting at black "looters" (as opposed to white survivors) carrying loaves of old bread from flooded stores? Blackwater had that lucrative FEMA security contract.
And now Blackwater is contracting outsourcing "police" work in these United States as public police agencies are downsized underfunded and squeezed by Reaganomic politics.
Blackwater should also be of special interest to Michiganders who just voted down Dick DeVos' bid for governorship in 2006, a message in times when the downsizing of Michigan's manufacturing base has caused a crisis.
And Dick sunk a personal fortune into one of the richest races in history for any governorship.
Well, you ask, what is Blackwater's relationship to Michigan? Dick DeVos' wife Betsy, who once ran the Republican Party in Michigan, is Betsy Prince DeVos, her brother Eric Prince is the founder and CEO of Blackwater.
NOTE: I live by coincidence... I just Googled "CEO Eric Prince" to verify my memory, and right on top was this:
Erik Prince, Blackwater War Profiteer, Attacks Iraq for Sale
By Robert Greenwald on the Huffington Post
"Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers" tells the story of Erik Prince and Blackwater, and their consistent profiting from the war. As the film is seen across the United States, it is having a powerful effect on audiences. People are responding strongly to the emotional and gut wrenching story of Prince choosing profit over patriotism as he cuts corners at Blackwater in his relentless pursuit of money.
The film tells the story of two young men who are killed as a result of Blackwater focusing on profits, and their grieving and enraged mothers. These mothers are taking the fight to Blackwater and when they see the film, audiences are also activated to take steps to stop Blackwater.
Sadly, rather than working to help and heal the mothers who have suffered this loss, Prince and his profiteering co-horts, have gone into attack mode. And in this case, ironically so with a company who sent out an email after the '04 election saying, "Bush Wins Four More Years!! Hooyah!" attacking Iraq for Sale for being "election year left wing politics."
This from the man who after interning in the Bush Sr. Whitehouse said, "I saw a lot of things I didn't agree with - homosexual groups being invited in, the budget agreement, the Clean Air Act, those kind of bills." This from a man whose car says "Bush: "Let's Roll" Kerry: "Let's Roll Over." This from a man who, together with his family have given over 2 million dollars to Republican candidates and use their political access to protect Blackwater from scrutiny.
We at Brave New Films are proud to be helping raise the issue of profiteering as the election approaches; it should be an issue we judge our candidates by. Are they protecting us? Are they protecting our tax dollars? The fact that Prince has hired a disrespected PR flack, Mark Corallo, whose claim to fame was defending the disgraced Bob Livingston for cheating on his wife, speaks to the issue of Prince's morality.
Profiteering during a time of war is indeed a serious and important issue. I invite Erik Prince to see the film, to meet with our researchers and to have a full and open discussion about the way he is profiteering.
And for those who would like to see the Prince story and the mansion, purchased from his profiteering, check out this video...
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Bush Punishes Frilly Michigan
State winces with Bush budget plan
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
By Sarah Kellogg
WASHINGTON -- Michigan's budget woes may be getting worse.
We Didn't elect DeVos!
President Bush's proposed 2008 federal budget, which was released Monday, would siphon hundreds of millions of dollars from key state-federal programs, ranging from Medicaid to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
KILL the POOR!
That leaves Michigan officials scrambling, trying to figure out where to plug holes in the state budget and hoping that a Democratic Congress won't adopt the Republican president's $2.9 trillion spending plan for 2008 without major changes.
And the Flint Journal STILL publishes those damn Flushing rightwingnut opinions that this is all the fault of the Dems~
"Michigan's got a lot of critical issues we're facing, especially in the coming weeks," said Dan Beattie, a spokesman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm. "The federal budget is clearly not going to advance state citizens' interests in a whole variety of programs."
Gotta get us some LOCKHEED-MARTIN Factories!
Michigan faces a $1 billion state budget shortfall this year, and it could be looking at even more in 2008. The governor will release her 2008 budget on Thursday. The state and federal budget years start Oct. 1.
Why oh why would anyone want to govern Michigan?
Bush administration officials were quick to point out that efforts to balance the budget by 2012 while paying for the war in Iraq leave little room for frills.
Michigan = A Frill
"Getting balanced requires keeping the economy strong, and sensible and realistic spending restraint," said Rob Portman, director of the Office of Management and Budget. "The president's budget is able to achieve both of these goals while funding critical priorities."
Fact: Historically Michigan Is A DONOR State. We are not the Entitlement Pigs, the WELFARE QUEENS of these 50 states, Oh, no, we pay more to the Federal system and get less back.
Bush's budget would eliminate or reduce 141 government programs, saving about $12 billion over five years. It also would reduce farm subsidies by $18 billion over five years. The biggest savings -- $100 billion over five years -- would come in Medicare.
KILL The POOR!
Tell me, my Fundie Friends, what was it your Lord and Savior said about the sick and suffering?
"We owe it to the American taxpayer to balance our books," said Michigan U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland. "The president's budget would provide surpluses in 2012 without raising taxes. Clearly Congress needs to closely examine the details of this budget and make our own policy, but Congress should balance the budget without raising taxes."
A Faith Based Budget. All the poor, homeless, and sick should be dead by then?
Keeping spending in check comes at a cost, though.
But not to Richie Rich guys. Thanks to Bush, The Middle Class Worker pays a higher rate of income tax than a Lazy Capitalist who lives off of investment income.
The president's budget would reduce Michigan funding in 2008 by $100 million for Medicaid, $40 million for Community Development Block Grants, $17 million for Social Services Block Grants and $27 million for LIHEAP.
KILL the POOR!
"The budget should be a reflection of our national priorities, (KILL the POOR!) but once again President Bush has shown he is out of step with the majority of Americans," said Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat, in a written statement. "The president's budget sends billions of dollars in new reconstruction funds to Iraq while cutting vital domestic programs."
KILL the POOR, BLAME the WAR, but don't STOP the WAR, Debbie!
More than 78,000 of Michigan's poor seniors and some mothers and their children would lose access to the federal Commodity Supplemental Food Program, under the Bush budget. The program, which provides monthly food packets to eligible participants, would lose its entire $108 million national budget.
Bombs not food.
Advocates for the poor say proposals to freeze funding at 2007 levels can be just as devastating as cutting spending, since the cost of doing business continues to grow.
The middle class who run programs won't give up the annual raise.
The Bush administration has proposed flat funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides health care for poor children, along with Headstart and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
LET THEM EAT CAKE!
"The essential flat-funding of child health care and Medicaid is really a big concern," said Jane Zehnder-Merrell, a spokeswoman for the Michigan League for Human Services, a research and advocacy group based in Lansing. "We're already losing (health care) providers because we pay such low rates....These freezes are being absorbed financially by providers and parents, and in a real way by kids."
KILL THE POOR'S KIDS! Hey It's Their Fault they were born to poor parents! JEBSUS WILL LOVE 'EM.
A bright spot in the budget was funding for Great Lakes programs. The Great Lakes Legacy Act would receive $35 million to fund toxic sediment cleanups and another $7.65 million would be made available to construct a barrier across the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to block Asian carp from coming into Lake Michigan.
OOOH a Bright Spot.
Who dumped the toxics?
Are they living la vida loca somewhere, sending their kid to Yale?
Why do taxpayers get the bill?
Why is sludge in landfill better than sludge in riverbottoms?
Who got the contract to dredge and store?
Who got the contract for the fish fence?
A program to keep ALIEN fish from invading EL NORTE Lake Michigan.
Scientists don't even agree it'll work!
And maybe we should have a program phamphleting Chinese restaurants to educate the folk that it really ain't lucky to dump any ole good luck fish into bodies of water.
But the president's budget would eliminate nearly $200 million for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which helps finance improvements in city sewer systems. The 2008 budget recommendation is $687.5 million.
Faith Based Sanitation.
"The president's budget is a mixed bag (A flaming bag-o-shit on the front porch) for the Great Lakes," said Jordan Lubetkin, a spokesman for the Great Lakes office of the National Wildlife Federation, an environmental group. "Playing seesaw with Great Lakes programs, some going up and some going down, is not going to comprehensively restore the Great Lakes."
Hey Global Warming and Global Ballast and "Ice Mountain" Nestle and those aforementioned sewers and the soon to be re-proposed drilling are going to kill the the Great Lakes just fine. We got Armegeddon coming soon (the bible and George W.tells me so) and who cares anyway?
Several federal programs that have helped Michigan manufacturers and their employers are slated for cuts, although there are no exact numbers on how Michigan would be impacted. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which helps train small manufacturers, would lose almost $60 million, and the Advanced Technology Program, which helps manufacturers develop new technologies, would lose $67 million.
KILL the MIDDLE CLASS, TOO! After all, we got a WAR MACHINE in the Backyard that WANTS Feedin'!
Original unmarked-up copy from Booth Newspapers.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
By Sarah Kellogg
WASHINGTON -- Michigan's budget woes may be getting worse.
We Didn't elect DeVos!
President Bush's proposed 2008 federal budget, which was released Monday, would siphon hundreds of millions of dollars from key state-federal programs, ranging from Medicaid to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
KILL the POOR!
That leaves Michigan officials scrambling, trying to figure out where to plug holes in the state budget and hoping that a Democratic Congress won't adopt the Republican president's $2.9 trillion spending plan for 2008 without major changes.
And the Flint Journal STILL publishes those damn Flushing rightwingnut opinions that this is all the fault of the Dems~
"Michigan's got a lot of critical issues we're facing, especially in the coming weeks," said Dan Beattie, a spokesman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm. "The federal budget is clearly not going to advance state citizens' interests in a whole variety of programs."
Gotta get us some LOCKHEED-MARTIN Factories!
Michigan faces a $1 billion state budget shortfall this year, and it could be looking at even more in 2008. The governor will release her 2008 budget on Thursday. The state and federal budget years start Oct. 1.
Why oh why would anyone want to govern Michigan?
Bush administration officials were quick to point out that efforts to balance the budget by 2012 while paying for the war in Iraq leave little room for frills.
Michigan = A Frill
"Getting balanced requires keeping the economy strong, and sensible and realistic spending restraint," said Rob Portman, director of the Office of Management and Budget. "The president's budget is able to achieve both of these goals while funding critical priorities."
Fact: Historically Michigan Is A DONOR State. We are not the Entitlement Pigs, the WELFARE QUEENS of these 50 states, Oh, no, we pay more to the Federal system and get less back.
Bush's budget would eliminate or reduce 141 government programs, saving about $12 billion over five years. It also would reduce farm subsidies by $18 billion over five years. The biggest savings -- $100 billion over five years -- would come in Medicare.
KILL The POOR!
Tell me, my Fundie Friends, what was it your Lord and Savior said about the sick and suffering?
"We owe it to the American taxpayer to balance our books," said Michigan U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland. "The president's budget would provide surpluses in 2012 without raising taxes. Clearly Congress needs to closely examine the details of this budget and make our own policy, but Congress should balance the budget without raising taxes."
A Faith Based Budget. All the poor, homeless, and sick should be dead by then?
Keeping spending in check comes at a cost, though.
But not to Richie Rich guys. Thanks to Bush, The Middle Class Worker pays a higher rate of income tax than a Lazy Capitalist who lives off of investment income.
The president's budget would reduce Michigan funding in 2008 by $100 million for Medicaid, $40 million for Community Development Block Grants, $17 million for Social Services Block Grants and $27 million for LIHEAP.
KILL the POOR!
"The budget should be a reflection of our national priorities, (KILL the POOR!) but once again President Bush has shown he is out of step with the majority of Americans," said Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat, in a written statement. "The president's budget sends billions of dollars in new reconstruction funds to Iraq while cutting vital domestic programs."
KILL the POOR, BLAME the WAR, but don't STOP the WAR, Debbie!
More than 78,000 of Michigan's poor seniors and some mothers and their children would lose access to the federal Commodity Supplemental Food Program, under the Bush budget. The program, which provides monthly food packets to eligible participants, would lose its entire $108 million national budget.
Bombs not food.
Advocates for the poor say proposals to freeze funding at 2007 levels can be just as devastating as cutting spending, since the cost of doing business continues to grow.
The middle class who run programs won't give up the annual raise.
The Bush administration has proposed flat funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides health care for poor children, along with Headstart and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
LET THEM EAT CAKE!
"The essential flat-funding of child health care and Medicaid is really a big concern," said Jane Zehnder-Merrell, a spokeswoman for the Michigan League for Human Services, a research and advocacy group based in Lansing. "We're already losing (health care) providers because we pay such low rates....These freezes are being absorbed financially by providers and parents, and in a real way by kids."
KILL THE POOR'S KIDS! Hey It's Their Fault they were born to poor parents! JEBSUS WILL LOVE 'EM.
A bright spot in the budget was funding for Great Lakes programs. The Great Lakes Legacy Act would receive $35 million to fund toxic sediment cleanups and another $7.65 million would be made available to construct a barrier across the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to block Asian carp from coming into Lake Michigan.
OOOH a Bright Spot.
Who dumped the toxics?
Are they living la vida loca somewhere, sending their kid to Yale?
Why do taxpayers get the bill?
Why is sludge in landfill better than sludge in riverbottoms?
Who got the contract to dredge and store?
Who got the contract for the fish fence?
A program to keep ALIEN fish from invading EL NORTE Lake Michigan.
Scientists don't even agree it'll work!
And maybe we should have a program phamphleting Chinese restaurants to educate the folk that it really ain't lucky to dump any ole good luck fish into bodies of water.
But the president's budget would eliminate nearly $200 million for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which helps finance improvements in city sewer systems. The 2008 budget recommendation is $687.5 million.
Faith Based Sanitation.
"The president's budget is a mixed bag (A flaming bag-o-shit on the front porch) for the Great Lakes," said Jordan Lubetkin, a spokesman for the Great Lakes office of the National Wildlife Federation, an environmental group. "Playing seesaw with Great Lakes programs, some going up and some going down, is not going to comprehensively restore the Great Lakes."
Hey Global Warming and Global Ballast and "Ice Mountain" Nestle and those aforementioned sewers and the soon to be re-proposed drilling are going to kill the the Great Lakes just fine. We got Armegeddon coming soon (the bible and George W.tells me so) and who cares anyway?
Several federal programs that have helped Michigan manufacturers and their employers are slated for cuts, although there are no exact numbers on how Michigan would be impacted. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which helps train small manufacturers, would lose almost $60 million, and the Advanced Technology Program, which helps manufacturers develop new technologies, would lose $67 million.
KILL the MIDDLE CLASS, TOO! After all, we got a WAR MACHINE in the Backyard that WANTS Feedin'!
Original unmarked-up copy from Booth Newspapers.
Friday, February 02, 2007
An Opportunity for Flint, Michigan
Dubya can't find a location that wants his library.
Pshaw, we have lots of spare room he could move his favorite mementos and secret files into- vacant lots, vacant stores, vacant factories... it'd be perfect to illustrate in concrete terms the apotheosis of global free market capitalism.
The people of Flint are spunky survivors. But 35 years of a slow-moving corporate Katrina have left them on the ropes.
New Orleans and Baghdad ain't got nothin' on Flint!
Pshaw, we have lots of spare room he could move his favorite mementos and secret files into- vacant lots, vacant stores, vacant factories... it'd be perfect to illustrate in concrete terms the apotheosis of global free market capitalism.
The people of Flint are spunky survivors. But 35 years of a slow-moving corporate Katrina have left them on the ropes.
New Orleans and Baghdad ain't got nothin' on Flint!
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Michael Moore is a Prophet and Dubya Runs Out the Clock
Can SOMEONE now say, "Michael Moore was right!"?
In my Perfect World, every sh*thead on Clear Channel and FOX news would have to apologize to Michael Moore. But in my Perfect World, those people are in jail for being public liars.
Mike's letter to Dubya is a keeper, and oh, so well written.
Did Dubya say Sacrifice? I only tuned in half way through, and had a hard time concentrating on his speech. Wow! That was boring!
Are you telling me we waited around since Mid October for THAT speech!?!
Did he say how he's going to pay for it? I heard somone say our grandchildren will have to pay $2 for ever $1 we are putting on the charge card right now.
I think the corporations who are making out on this deal should have a special War Tax to cover the expenses. The American citizen-soldier should only have to give blood, and limbs, and lives.
Whenever Bush says Nouri al-Maliki I keep hearing a faint past echo of PeeWee Herman's Magic Words: "meka leka hi meka heinie ho."
A small boy wishing hard.
He got some clue from his stylists about that, obviously, as he said 'Prime Minister Maliki' last night. Ruined my fun.
He doesn't look too slappy-happy anymore does he.
Did you wonder if he ever read any of those books in the WH library?
Just recollecting here, but remember when the set designers used to put banners, and repetitive memes, and significant portraits or even halos and large phallic symbols behind Dubya? I particularly liked the Teddy Roosevelt painting that one time. The big gun was hilarious.
If he's serious about trying to appear serious (go read it at carpetbagger's blog, I can't get my thingie to work here.)... all of a sudden, maybe Dubya could take a fashion pointer or two from the Afganistani Prime Minister, you know, that guy with all of the colorful robes and the seriously interesting hat... unless they've already figured that someone like me might be reminded of PeeWee's magic pal in a box, Jambi.
Gaaah, FOXnews is using Surge as a verb.
If you don't want to read Scott Ritter or Seymour Hersh, then GO read Pat Buchanan's recent article... he and I were right about keeping out of Vietraq even if we are on opposite ends of the political spectrum. I guess that's what America is all about? Debate. Opinion. Freedom of Speech... Or was at one time, before the Hannity Enemy Watch or whatever that fascist pig calls his black list...
Check this out...beachimpeach.com
Wish I was there...
Speaking of showing up for a good old fashioned anti-war protest, I'm really sorry I didn't get to the Peace Triangle on Sunday as planned, had a family commitment. I just heard theres' another one on Sunday. Of course, Pat has been there EVERY Sunday for 3 years. That man deserves our thanks. The windiest corner in Flint, Michigan is NOT a day on the beach.
War protest marks death No. 3,000
FLINT TOWNSHIP
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Monday, January 08, 2007
By Chad Swiatecki
There are times when Bonnie Petee feels hopeless at the daily news of more military and civilian deaths in Iraq. Combating that dread by banding together with others who want an end to the war brought the Swartz Creek resident out in the cold rain Sunday. "I'm just saddened at the number of kids we've lost in the three years we've been there, and I don't really know what else to do," said Petee, one of about 40 peace marchers on the corner of Ballenger and Miller roads. "The American public doesn't really feel any day-to-day hardship from this like there was during World War II, so they don't think about it as much, and that frustrates me. I'm not sure exactly what the direction forward is from where we are now as a country, but I know it's not the way we're going." The war protests at the "peace triangle" have taken place almost weekly since before the war started in March 2003. But Sunday's demonstration - organized by the Progressive Caucus of Genesee County - was held in special observance of the war's 3,000 U.S. military deaths. As marchers toted signs calling for "Peace Now" and calling for an end to the war, passing vehicles honked in either support or defiance. Among the demonstrators were former state Rep. Jack Minore, D-Flint, and Flint resident Lila Lipscomb, mother of Sgt. Michael Pedersen, who was one of the first U.S. troops killed in the war. Lipscomb was a central figure in filmmaker Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" movie on the war and has used her position to advocate political change and continuing support for injured veterans. "I chose to take a stand, and now that the Democrats have taken back the House and the Senate, it's time to take America back," a tearful Lipscomb told the crowd. "It's time to get back to the America that was loved and respected around the world instead of despised and hated for what we've done." President Bush is scheduled to give a report on changes in strategy in Iraq this week , which is expected to include an increase in troop levels. That means such demonstrators as Maryion Lee could be at it for a while longer. "We haven't all been out here every week because some of us have worked at other ways to spread the education this is a false war that never should have happened," said Lee, chair of the Progressive Caucus. "We're here today because every death has been terrible, but 3,000 is a milestone, and we're using it as a chance to show we're united in our cry for peace."
2007 Flint Journal
"No point is of more importance than that the right of impeachment should be continued. Shall any man be above Justice? Above all shall that man be above it, who can commit the most extensive injustice?" - George Mason, one of America's founding fathers, July 20, 1787
(George Mason was the guy who was really concerned about the Constitution NOT including a Bill of Rights, and finally refused to sign it, I think. I'm in a hurry right now and can't take time to Google it, and Bloggedy Blogger is acting finicky again.)
Deadline looms as US toll reaches 3,000
01 January 2007
As United States President George Bush hacked down brushwood and rode his bike at his Crawford ranch this weekend, he gave the impression of a US president little preoccupied by two Iraq milestones that complicate his deliberations on a change of strategy.
The first, the hanging of Saddam Hussein, found Bush asleep, and according to advisers he spent only a short time discussing the execution. The second, the reports of the 3 000th US fatality in Iraq, evinced a only general remark.
"The most painful aspect of the presidency is the fact that I know my decisions have caused young men and women to lose their lives," Bush said at an end-of-year press conference in Texas. A White House spokesperson added simply that the president "will ensure their sacrifice was not made in vain".
The 3 000 figure was arrived at by the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, an internet-based monitoring group, and by the Associated Press, which keeps its own tally of US military deaths. The Pentagon disputed the figures, saying that the total of confirmed dead was 2 983. Nonetheless, the widespread reporting of the grim milestone appeared set to offset whatever boost Bush will get from the news about Saddam's death.
The White House is due to announce a new course for Baghdad on January 10. Time is running out for the US and British governments. The insurgents and those engaged in the sectarian killing can afford to wait. But domestic political pressures put a question mark over US staying power.
As a former Texas governor who signed a near-record number of death warrants, Bush will have had few qualms about the execution. There was also a personal element: he blamed Saddam for an assassination attempt on his father during a visit to Kuwait in 1993.
But far from marking the closure of an era in Iraq, Saddam's execution will exacerbate sectarian tensions. The fears of the minority Sunni Muslims will have been increased by the comments of his Shia executioners in support of the Shia militia leader, Moqtada al-Sadr.
Bush acknowledged the scale of the Iraq crisis on Saturday in a short statement on Saddam's death. Abandoning the gung-ho approach of past years, he cautioned that Saddam's demise would not halt the violence. "Many difficult choices and further sacrifices lie ahead," he said.
A US adviser involved in the talks on a new strategy said: "There is recognition that the present strategy is not working. But alternative options are limited." The source said there was a general disillusionment in the US administration with the Shia Muslim-dominated government led by the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, which is increasingly viewed as condoning -- or at least failing to act against -- sectarian killing. "It would have been easier to implement a new strategy in 2005. It gets harder every day. We have painted ourselves into a corner with this [Iraqi] government," the source said.
The debate within the administration about what to do next is still to be resolved. Dick Cheney, the Vice-President, is leading those in favour of the "surge" approach: sending a further 20 000 to 40 000 US troops to Baghdad to reinforce the present US force of 140 000 in a final attempt to subdue the Iraqi capital.
But the White House was given several warnings on Saturday from figures across the political spectrum that any change of course in Iraq should be conducted in consultation with the new Congress. Richard Lugar, the outgoing Republican chairperson of the Senate foreign relations committee, told Fox News that should the administration proceed with any move to increase troop numbers without involving Congress, Bush could anticipate "a lot of hearings, a lot of study, a lot of criticism".
Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter argued that only a surge in troop numbers, of 300 000 to 400 000 would make a difference. Speaking on CNN, Brzezinski criticised the core group gathered around Bush to determine Iraq policy. With the exception of the new Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, he noted "a narrow decision-making group embedded in its own opinions ... is now making the decision about a change of course."
Also feeding into the White House are the views of the Pentagon, the state department, the intelligence services and, the catalyst for the rethink, the Iraq Study Group report, published last month. The debate is being conducted against a domestic political background in which opposition to the war is growing.
A senior US military source identified the core of the problem as the US pursuit of democratic government ahead of security and economic reconstruction. What Washington had ended up with was an Iraqi government that shared different objectives from the US: establishing the dominance of the Shia rather than fostering reconciliation and unity. He said the view of the US military in Iraq is that the police force was so riddled with sectarianism that the only possible course was to disband it and start again; it was also rife in the Iraqi army, a trend encouraged by the Iraqi government.
"We are still in charge. The Iraqi government is a facade," the military source said. "How can our strategy be to accelerate the handover to this government and the Iraq army. This is a rush to failure."
The British government privately shares the US administration's disappointment with Maliki.
Saddam's execution posed a special problem for the British government, given its opposition to the death penalty. The British Foreign Office said it had made repeated approaches to the Iraqi government, making clear its opposition to the execution. Officials had planned a last-minute plea for clemency by the ambassador, Dominic Asquith, to the Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani, and Maliki. But the plan was abandoned. A Foreign Office source confirmed that no final approach to the Iraqi government was made by a senior British diplomat.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, questioned about the prospect of the death penalty in November, proved initially reluctant to denounce it, but eventually did so. On Saturday, the British Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, reiterated Britain's opposition to the death penalty but welcomed the fact that he had been tried by an Iraqi court. "He has now been held to account." she said.
Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
Selective Service plans "readiness" tests for military draft
By Kasie Hunt, Associated Press Writer
December 22, 2006
href http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/
articles/2006/12/22/selective_service_plans_readiness_
tests_for_military_draft?mode=PFWASHINGTON
(AP) The Selective Service System is making plans to test its draft machinery in case Congress and President Bush need it, even though the White House says it doesn't want to bring back the draft.
The agency is planning a comprehensive test -- not run since 1998 -- of its military draft systems, a Selective Service official said. The test itself would not likely occur until 2009.
Scott Campbell, the service's director for operations and chief information officer, cautioned that the "readiness exercise" does not mean the agency is gearing up to resume the draft.
"We're kind of like a fire extinguisher. We sit on a shelf," Campbell told The Associated Press. "Unless the president and Congress get together and say, 'Turn the machine on' ... we're still on the shelf."
Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson prompted speculation about the draft Thursday when he told reporters in New York that "society would benefit" if the U.S. were to bring back the draft. Later he issued a statement saying he does not support reinstituting a draft.
The administration has for years forcefully opposed bringing back the draft, and the White House said Thursday that policy has not changed and no proposal to reinstate the draft is being considered.
The "readiness exercise" would test the system that randomly chooses draftees by birth date and its network of appeal boards that decide how to deal with conscientious objectors and others who want to delay reporting for duty, Campbell said.
The Selective Service will start planning for the 2009 tests next June or July, although budget cuts could force the agency to cancel them, Campbell said.
President Bush said this week he is considering sending more troops to Iraq and has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to look into adding more troops to the nearly 1.4 million uniformed personnel on active duty.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, increasing the Army by 40,000 troops would cost as much as $2.6 billion the first year and $4 billion after that. Military officials have said the Army and Marine Corps want to add as many as 35,000 more troops.
Recruiting new forces and retaining current troops is more complicated because of the unpopular war in Iraq. In recent years, the Army has accepted recruits with lower aptitude test scores.
In remarks to reporters, Nicholson recalled his own experience as a company commander in an infantry unit that brought together soldiers of different backgrounds and education levels "in the common purpose of serving."
Rep. Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat, plans to introduce a bill next year to reinstate the draft. House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi has said such a proposal would not be high on the Democratic-led Congress' priority list.Hearst Newspapers first reported the planned test for a story sent to its subscribers for weekend use.The military drafted people during the Civil War and both world wars and between 1948 and 1973. Reincorporated in 1980, the Selective Service System maintains a registry of 18-year-old men, but call-ups have not occurred since the Vietnam War.
Associated Press writers Sara Kugler in New York and Devlin Barrett in Washington contributed to this report.
2006 The New York Times Company
In my Perfect World, every sh*thead on Clear Channel and FOX news would have to apologize to Michael Moore. But in my Perfect World, those people are in jail for being public liars.
Mike's letter to Dubya is a keeper, and oh, so well written.
Did Dubya say Sacrifice? I only tuned in half way through, and had a hard time concentrating on his speech. Wow! That was boring!
Are you telling me we waited around since Mid October for THAT speech!?!
Did he say how he's going to pay for it? I heard somone say our grandchildren will have to pay $2 for ever $1 we are putting on the charge card right now.
I think the corporations who are making out on this deal should have a special War Tax to cover the expenses. The American citizen-soldier should only have to give blood, and limbs, and lives.
Whenever Bush says Nouri al-Maliki I keep hearing a faint past echo of PeeWee Herman's Magic Words: "meka leka hi meka heinie ho."
A small boy wishing hard.
He got some clue from his stylists about that, obviously, as he said 'Prime Minister Maliki' last night. Ruined my fun.
He doesn't look too slappy-happy anymore does he.
Did you wonder if he ever read any of those books in the WH library?
Just recollecting here, but remember when the set designers used to put banners, and repetitive memes, and significant portraits or even halos and large phallic symbols behind Dubya? I particularly liked the Teddy Roosevelt painting that one time. The big gun was hilarious.
If he's serious about trying to appear serious (go read it at carpetbagger's blog, I can't get my thingie to work here.)... all of a sudden, maybe Dubya could take a fashion pointer or two from the Afganistani Prime Minister, you know, that guy with all of the colorful robes and the seriously interesting hat... unless they've already figured that someone like me might be reminded of PeeWee's magic pal in a box, Jambi.
Gaaah, FOXnews is using Surge as a verb.
If you don't want to read Scott Ritter or Seymour Hersh, then GO read Pat Buchanan's recent article... he and I were right about keeping out of Vietraq even if we are on opposite ends of the political spectrum. I guess that's what America is all about? Debate. Opinion. Freedom of Speech... Or was at one time, before the Hannity Enemy Watch or whatever that fascist pig calls his black list...
Check this out...beachimpeach.com
Wish I was there...
Speaking of showing up for a good old fashioned anti-war protest, I'm really sorry I didn't get to the Peace Triangle on Sunday as planned, had a family commitment. I just heard theres' another one on Sunday. Of course, Pat has been there EVERY Sunday for 3 years. That man deserves our thanks. The windiest corner in Flint, Michigan is NOT a day on the beach.
War protest marks death No. 3,000
FLINT TOWNSHIP
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Monday, January 08, 2007
By Chad Swiatecki
There are times when Bonnie Petee feels hopeless at the daily news of more military and civilian deaths in Iraq. Combating that dread by banding together with others who want an end to the war brought the Swartz Creek resident out in the cold rain Sunday. "I'm just saddened at the number of kids we've lost in the three years we've been there, and I don't really know what else to do," said Petee, one of about 40 peace marchers on the corner of Ballenger and Miller roads. "The American public doesn't really feel any day-to-day hardship from this like there was during World War II, so they don't think about it as much, and that frustrates me. I'm not sure exactly what the direction forward is from where we are now as a country, but I know it's not the way we're going." The war protests at the "peace triangle" have taken place almost weekly since before the war started in March 2003. But Sunday's demonstration - organized by the Progressive Caucus of Genesee County - was held in special observance of the war's 3,000 U.S. military deaths. As marchers toted signs calling for "Peace Now" and calling for an end to the war, passing vehicles honked in either support or defiance. Among the demonstrators were former state Rep. Jack Minore, D-Flint, and Flint resident Lila Lipscomb, mother of Sgt. Michael Pedersen, who was one of the first U.S. troops killed in the war. Lipscomb was a central figure in filmmaker Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" movie on the war and has used her position to advocate political change and continuing support for injured veterans. "I chose to take a stand, and now that the Democrats have taken back the House and the Senate, it's time to take America back," a tearful Lipscomb told the crowd. "It's time to get back to the America that was loved and respected around the world instead of despised and hated for what we've done." President Bush is scheduled to give a report on changes in strategy in Iraq this week , which is expected to include an increase in troop levels. That means such demonstrators as Maryion Lee could be at it for a while longer. "We haven't all been out here every week because some of us have worked at other ways to spread the education this is a false war that never should have happened," said Lee, chair of the Progressive Caucus. "We're here today because every death has been terrible, but 3,000 is a milestone, and we're using it as a chance to show we're united in our cry for peace."
2007 Flint Journal
"No point is of more importance than that the right of impeachment should be continued. Shall any man be above Justice? Above all shall that man be above it, who can commit the most extensive injustice?" - George Mason, one of America's founding fathers, July 20, 1787
(George Mason was the guy who was really concerned about the Constitution NOT including a Bill of Rights, and finally refused to sign it, I think. I'm in a hurry right now and can't take time to Google it, and Bloggedy Blogger is acting finicky again.)
Deadline looms as US toll reaches 3,000
01 January 2007
As United States President George Bush hacked down brushwood and rode his bike at his Crawford ranch this weekend, he gave the impression of a US president little preoccupied by two Iraq milestones that complicate his deliberations on a change of strategy.
The first, the hanging of Saddam Hussein, found Bush asleep, and according to advisers he spent only a short time discussing the execution. The second, the reports of the 3 000th US fatality in Iraq, evinced a only general remark.
"The most painful aspect of the presidency is the fact that I know my decisions have caused young men and women to lose their lives," Bush said at an end-of-year press conference in Texas. A White House spokesperson added simply that the president "will ensure their sacrifice was not made in vain".
The 3 000 figure was arrived at by the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, an internet-based monitoring group, and by the Associated Press, which keeps its own tally of US military deaths. The Pentagon disputed the figures, saying that the total of confirmed dead was 2 983. Nonetheless, the widespread reporting of the grim milestone appeared set to offset whatever boost Bush will get from the news about Saddam's death.
The White House is due to announce a new course for Baghdad on January 10. Time is running out for the US and British governments. The insurgents and those engaged in the sectarian killing can afford to wait. But domestic political pressures put a question mark over US staying power.
As a former Texas governor who signed a near-record number of death warrants, Bush will have had few qualms about the execution. There was also a personal element: he blamed Saddam for an assassination attempt on his father during a visit to Kuwait in 1993.
But far from marking the closure of an era in Iraq, Saddam's execution will exacerbate sectarian tensions. The fears of the minority Sunni Muslims will have been increased by the comments of his Shia executioners in support of the Shia militia leader, Moqtada al-Sadr.
Bush acknowledged the scale of the Iraq crisis on Saturday in a short statement on Saddam's death. Abandoning the gung-ho approach of past years, he cautioned that Saddam's demise would not halt the violence. "Many difficult choices and further sacrifices lie ahead," he said.
A US adviser involved in the talks on a new strategy said: "There is recognition that the present strategy is not working. But alternative options are limited." The source said there was a general disillusionment in the US administration with the Shia Muslim-dominated government led by the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, which is increasingly viewed as condoning -- or at least failing to act against -- sectarian killing. "It would have been easier to implement a new strategy in 2005. It gets harder every day. We have painted ourselves into a corner with this [Iraqi] government," the source said.
The debate within the administration about what to do next is still to be resolved. Dick Cheney, the Vice-President, is leading those in favour of the "surge" approach: sending a further 20 000 to 40 000 US troops to Baghdad to reinforce the present US force of 140 000 in a final attempt to subdue the Iraqi capital.
But the White House was given several warnings on Saturday from figures across the political spectrum that any change of course in Iraq should be conducted in consultation with the new Congress. Richard Lugar, the outgoing Republican chairperson of the Senate foreign relations committee, told Fox News that should the administration proceed with any move to increase troop numbers without involving Congress, Bush could anticipate "a lot of hearings, a lot of study, a lot of criticism".
Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter argued that only a surge in troop numbers, of 300 000 to 400 000 would make a difference. Speaking on CNN, Brzezinski criticised the core group gathered around Bush to determine Iraq policy. With the exception of the new Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, he noted "a narrow decision-making group embedded in its own opinions ... is now making the decision about a change of course."
Also feeding into the White House are the views of the Pentagon, the state department, the intelligence services and, the catalyst for the rethink, the Iraq Study Group report, published last month. The debate is being conducted against a domestic political background in which opposition to the war is growing.
A senior US military source identified the core of the problem as the US pursuit of democratic government ahead of security and economic reconstruction. What Washington had ended up with was an Iraqi government that shared different objectives from the US: establishing the dominance of the Shia rather than fostering reconciliation and unity. He said the view of the US military in Iraq is that the police force was so riddled with sectarianism that the only possible course was to disband it and start again; it was also rife in the Iraqi army, a trend encouraged by the Iraqi government.
"We are still in charge. The Iraqi government is a facade," the military source said. "How can our strategy be to accelerate the handover to this government and the Iraq army. This is a rush to failure."
The British government privately shares the US administration's disappointment with Maliki.
Saddam's execution posed a special problem for the British government, given its opposition to the death penalty. The British Foreign Office said it had made repeated approaches to the Iraqi government, making clear its opposition to the execution. Officials had planned a last-minute plea for clemency by the ambassador, Dominic Asquith, to the Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani, and Maliki. But the plan was abandoned. A Foreign Office source confirmed that no final approach to the Iraqi government was made by a senior British diplomat.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, questioned about the prospect of the death penalty in November, proved initially reluctant to denounce it, but eventually did so. On Saturday, the British Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, reiterated Britain's opposition to the death penalty but welcomed the fact that he had been tried by an Iraqi court. "He has now been held to account." she said.
Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
Selective Service plans "readiness" tests for military draft
By Kasie Hunt, Associated Press Writer
December 22, 2006
href http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/
articles/2006/12/22/selective_service_plans_readiness_
tests_for_military_draft?mode=PFWASHINGTON
(AP) The Selective Service System is making plans to test its draft machinery in case Congress and President Bush need it, even though the White House says it doesn't want to bring back the draft.
The agency is planning a comprehensive test -- not run since 1998 -- of its military draft systems, a Selective Service official said. The test itself would not likely occur until 2009.
Scott Campbell, the service's director for operations and chief information officer, cautioned that the "readiness exercise" does not mean the agency is gearing up to resume the draft.
"We're kind of like a fire extinguisher. We sit on a shelf," Campbell told The Associated Press. "Unless the president and Congress get together and say, 'Turn the machine on' ... we're still on the shelf."
Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson prompted speculation about the draft Thursday when he told reporters in New York that "society would benefit" if the U.S. were to bring back the draft. Later he issued a statement saying he does not support reinstituting a draft.
The administration has for years forcefully opposed bringing back the draft, and the White House said Thursday that policy has not changed and no proposal to reinstate the draft is being considered.
The "readiness exercise" would test the system that randomly chooses draftees by birth date and its network of appeal boards that decide how to deal with conscientious objectors and others who want to delay reporting for duty, Campbell said.
The Selective Service will start planning for the 2009 tests next June or July, although budget cuts could force the agency to cancel them, Campbell said.
President Bush said this week he is considering sending more troops to Iraq and has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to look into adding more troops to the nearly 1.4 million uniformed personnel on active duty.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, increasing the Army by 40,000 troops would cost as much as $2.6 billion the first year and $4 billion after that. Military officials have said the Army and Marine Corps want to add as many as 35,000 more troops.
Recruiting new forces and retaining current troops is more complicated because of the unpopular war in Iraq. In recent years, the Army has accepted recruits with lower aptitude test scores.
In remarks to reporters, Nicholson recalled his own experience as a company commander in an infantry unit that brought together soldiers of different backgrounds and education levels "in the common purpose of serving."
Rep. Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat, plans to introduce a bill next year to reinstate the draft. House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi has said such a proposal would not be high on the Democratic-led Congress' priority list.Hearst Newspapers first reported the planned test for a story sent to its subscribers for weekend use.The military drafted people during the Civil War and both world wars and between 1948 and 1973. Reincorporated in 1980, the Selective Service System maintains a registry of 18-year-old men, but call-ups have not occurred since the Vietnam War.
Associated Press writers Sara Kugler in New York and Devlin Barrett in Washington contributed to this report.
2006 The New York Times Company
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