t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | Bad for the Country

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | Bad for the Country

In looking at the current status of General Motors, Krugman identifies two major factors contributing to GM's problems: the trade deficit and the cost of health care. While not letting GM off the hook for obvious corporate failings, Krugman very much agrees with Robert Reich, who in his article 'Calling It Quits', recommended an end to corporations providing health care to workers and instead, using the resulting government tax windfall as a down payment on Universal Healthcare--government sponsored healthcare for all citizens.

Krugman writes, "According to A. T. Kearney, last year General Motors spent $1,500 per vehicle on health care. By contrast, Toyota spent only $201 per vehicle in North America, and $97 in Japan. If the United States had national health insurance, GM would be in much better shape than it is."

"Dealing with our trade deficit is a tricky issue I'll have to address another time. But GM's woes are yet another reminder of the urgent need to fix our health care system. It's long past time to move to a national system that would reduce cost, diminish the burden on employers who try to do the right thing and relieve working American families from the fear of lost coverage. Fixing health care would be good for General Motors, and good for the country."

SEE ALSO: The Unknown Candidate: Calling It Quits: A Solution to the Healthcare Crisis

JOKE OF THE DAY: Brown to start emergency planning consulting business

CLICK TO READ: CNN.com - Brown to start emergency planning consulting business - Nov 24, 2005

CLICK TO READ: Brown's New Job: Readiness Consultant - Washington Post

I hereby nominate Michael Brown for my "Delusional Idiot of the Year" award. What planet is this guy living on?

"If I can help people focus on preparedness, how to be better prepared in their homes and better prepared in their businesses -- because that goes straight to the bottom line -- then I hope I can help the country in some way," said Brown.

Help the country in some way? Here's one suggestion of how you can help the country, Mikey: Leave it.

As a disaster preparedness expert, Brown has unsurpassed experience in disasters, specifically: How to make them worse. Much worse.

The slogan for his new consulting firm? Let's see, how about:

"Michael Brown & Co: If you think it's a disaster now, wait until you hire me!"

or how about:

"Prepare for the Most Disastrous Disaster: Michael Brown."

PHOTO: Michael D. Brown, the former head of FEMA, said he hopes "I can help the country in some way." (Susan Walsh - AP)

The News Revolution Has Begun

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - John Pilger | The News Revolution Has Begun

Pilger discusses how the failures of tradional news media are leading to a new, more trusted news source: the internet. I'm not convinced that this transition will happen completely or overnight, but it is happening slowly, and it is certainly the internet investigative news sources - and bloggers - who are shaming traditional news into doing a better job. I've noticed that the kinds of stories that used to appear on the internet--never to see the light of day on the 6:00 evening news--some of those stories are being picked up mainstream news and are appearing only one or two days later (rather than 3 or 4 weeks later or not at all.

"The insurrection is well under way. In trying to make sense of a dangerous world, millions of people are turning away from the traditional sources of news and information and toward the world wide web, convinced that mainstream journalism is the voice of rampant power. The great scandal of Iraq has accelerated this. In the United States, several senior broadcasters have confessed that had they challenged and exposed the lies told about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, instead of amplifying and justifying them, the invasion might not have happened
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CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Michael Massing | The Press: The Enemy Within

Messing analyzes "the press's internal problems - not on its many ethical and professional lapses, which have been extensively discussed elsewhere, but rather on the structural problems that keep the press from fulfilling its responsibilities to serve as a witness to injustice and a watchdog over the powerful."

Interesting read, and some interesting anecdotes about the reporting on vote fraud during the last presidential election.

t r u t h o u t - Jonathan Schell | The Fall of the One-Party Empire

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Jonathan Schell | The Fall of the One-Party Empire - The Nation & Tom Dispatch

Jonathan Schell muses over the downfall of the Bush fantasy:

" The imperial dreams are in ruins. But the ruins, strangely, are not of things that were built and then collapsed; they are of fantasies. We are not dealing here with the decline of a new Rome. It is not that a great power has been brought down - although the casualties of the war, American and Iraqi, have been tragically real - but that a world of fancy and fraud has been exploded by facts.

And the one-party state at home? It was not the mirage that the empire was. The structure of the American state and, to a lesser extent, the economy, really has been deeply altered. Real hundreds of millions of dollars have poured into the coffers of the GOP while real hundreds of billions poured into the pockets of the rich. Real laws were passed that tore gaping holes in the Bill of Rights. A real shift of the judiciary toward the radical right was set in motion. An unprecedented concentration of power - fusing government, corporations, the military, portions of the media, and a hugely expanded secret police apparatus - was created. And yet this structure, too, has been shaken by recent events."

Let we all thow our hands up in despair, Schell ends on an optimistic note:

"...The failed empire, in the shape of its failed war, has driven down the President's support to the point at which others, cowed until now, feel free to attack him. The institutions of government and the economy, drawn like iron filings into the magnetic field of power, failed at first to check the administration. But the public, represented by opinion polls, has stepped in, and the institutions are following. Not since the Soviet Union fell fourteen years ago have we witnessed a greater reversal of fortune."

t r u t h o u t - Max J. Castro | Republican Budget Bill Savages the Poor

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Max J. Castro | Republican Budget Bill Savages the Poor

Max Castro is appalled, as should be we all, by the hypocracy and inequities of the Republican Congress' approach to both their fiscal and tax responsibilities:

"They are at it again. Anyone who hoped that the images of the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, which made the extent of squalor in America visible and dramatized the life-and-death consequences of inequality, would stir the conscience of our ruling party was wrong. Dead wrong....

"The 'Christian' Republicans who run Congress and the 'Christian' president who sits in the White House consistently turn this fundamental Christian principle exactly on its head. They do so not only through budget cuts that savage the poor but also through lavish tax cuts that benefit the rich."

Perhaps most puzzling and most depressing is this:

"The latest Republican attack against the "poor and defenseless" was so cruel and brazen that 14 Republicans withstood withering pressure from their party's leaders in the House and voted their conscience in opposition. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, that champion of Little Havana's viejitos, was not among them. What business does Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, whose district includes few millionaires but many poor senior citizens and children who will be the main victims of the perverted priorities embodied in the Republican budget, have voting for these shameful cuts?"

Letters, people. Write letters, call, scream, do whatever you have to do to make your representatives listen. Demand that they stop playing political pork games with your tax money. Demand that they start easing the burden on those who need the most help and stop giving handouts in the form of more tax breaks to the rich. Demand that they start balancing the budget now and stop adding to the debt of our children. Let them know that everyone -- even their rich corporate doners and constituents -- should be happy to sacrifice during a time of war and you are sick and tired of putting all of that burden on the shoulders of those who can least carry it. Tell them your priorities: Health care for ALL. Quality education for all. Tell them to cut their rediculously bloated military budget. Tell them you want accountability for every dime spent in Iraq or Afghanistan -- and you're tired of the stories of money being misused or pilfered in those countries. Tell them, very simply, what you expect them to do for you--if they want your vote.

The long march of Dick Cheney by Sidney Blumenthal

CLICK TO READ HERE: t r u t h o u t - Sidney Blumenthal | The Long March of Dick Cheney OR HERE: Salon.com | The long march of Dick Cheney by Sidney Blumenthal

"For his entire career, he sought untrammeled power. The Bush presidency and 9/11 finally gave it to him -- and he's not about to give it up."

Blumenthal paints a frightening picture of unrestrained power as manifest in the person of Dick Cheney. He takes us from Cheney's early days of sewing the seeds of ruthlessness with Donald Rumsfeld in the Nixon White House, where his designs for an unchecked imperial presidency were spoiled by Nixon's resignation, to his service in the Ford administration where he and Rumsfeld "quickly gained control of the White House staff, edging out Ford's old aides," to present day. All in all, it's not a pretty picture (of Cheney or Rumsfeld) and it should make you more than a little furious. You may want to hold your nose while you read it, but read it just the same and pass it on to anyone who thinks either one of these guys could possibly be good for America.

A few excerpts:

"The hallmark of the Dick Cheney administration is its illegitimacy. Its essential method is bypassing established lines of authority; its goal is the concentration of unaccountable presidential power. When it matters, the regular operations of the CIA, Defense Department and State Department have been sidelined....

...Even though experts and pundits contradict his talking points, Cheney presents them with characteristic assurance. His rhetoric is like a paving truck that will flatten obstacles. Cheney remains undeterred; he has no recourse. He will not run for president in 2008. He is defending more than the Bush record; he is defending the culmination of his career. Cheney's alliances, ideas, antagonisms and tactics have accumulated for decades."

PHOTO: Dick Cheney: Have you ever seen anyone who LOOKS more evil than this man? Photo by AP Photo/John Bazemor

SEE ALSO: t r u t h o u t - Robert Scheer | Cheney's Trouble with the Truth

Jose Padilla Case Reveals Failures of Bush Policies

CLICK TO READ: Shift on Suspect Is Linked to Role of Qaeda Figures - New York Times

The extent of the failures of this administration's perverted justice and interrogation policies are emerging daily.
Sadly, they have not only undermined our system of justice and the Geneva Accords, but they have failed to do what the government said they needed them to do: enable them to better fight the war on terror by producing better intelligence and more successful prosecutions of accused terrorists. In fact, their policies have produced the opposite results.

New information emerges on the government's abandonment of it's earlier--and more serious--charges against Jose Padilla.
It seems that in order to prove those charges, the government would have to allow testimony from two senior members of Al Qaeda, "Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, believed to be the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and Abu Zubaydah, a top recruiter, who gave their accounts to American questioners in 2002 and 2003."

The problem. It seems that they were subjected to rather "harsh questioning, current and former government officials said Wednesday." The two are being held in secret prisons by the CIA, "whose internal reviews have raised questions about their treatment and credibility, the officials said."

"One review, completed in spring 2004 by the C.I.A. inspector general, found that Mr. Mohammed had been subjected to excessive use of a technique involving near drowning in the first months after his capture, American intelligence officials said."

"The decision not to charge [Padilla] criminally in connection with the [original] more far-ranging bomb plots was prompted by the conclusion" that should Mr. Mohammed and Mr. Zubaydah be called as witnesses, "that could expose classified information and could open up charges from defense lawyers that their earlier statements were a result of torture, officials said."

"Without that testimony, officials said, it would be nearly impossible for the United States to prove the charges. Moreover, part of the bombing accusations hinged on incriminating statements that officials say Mr. Padilla made after he was in military custody - and had been denied access to a lawyer.

'There's no way you could use what he said in military custody against him,' a former senior government official said.

The officials spoke a day after Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales repeatedly refused to address questions a news conference about why the government had not brought criminal charges related to the most serious accusations. The officials, from several agencies, sought to emphasize that the government was not backing off its initial assertions about the seriousness of Mr. Padilla's actions.

The officials were granted anonymity, saying to be identified by name would subject them to reprisals for addressing questions that Mr. Gonzales had declined to answer...."

See also earlier post: The Unknown Candidate: Jose Padilla's Dirty Secret

HUMOR FOR THE DAY: Fool Me Once

CLICK TO VIEW: Fool Me Once - SaveTheCourt.org - Alito Video

Very clever (and effective, I think) Alito Video. It will definitely make you smile (but not about Alito).

Antiwar Protesters Arrested Near Bush Ranch

CLICK TO READ: Antiwar Protesters Arrested Near Bush Ranch

Among those arrested Wednesday were Daniel Ellsberg and the sister of Cindy Sheehan. Their crime: camping on a roadside near President Bush's ranch in violation of a new ordinance. The group timed their protest to coincide with Bush's arrival at his ranch to celebrate Thanksgiving.

"After the August protests, McLennan County commissioners passed a new ordinance that prohibits parking and camping in the ditches along the winding two-lane roads leading to Bush's ranch.

The protesters have been invited by a local rancher to camp on his land, where they have erected a large white tent and hung a banner that says 'No Pardon for Crawford's Turkey.' But they have also challenged the constitutionality of the county's new rules. On Wednesday, a small group set up tents in the early morning hours on the small patch of public land that had been dubbed Camp Casey in August, after Sheehan's 24-year-old son, a soldier."

"'The ordinance was very plainly meant to prevent people from protesting in front of Bush's ranch,'" Dave Jensen, 54, a former Marine and a protester who witnessed the arrests, said. "'We feel that's a First Amendment issue. It's intentionally designed to curtail freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.'"

SEE EARLIER POST HERE.

PHOTO: Daniel Ellsberg, second from right, and other antiwar activists were arrested by McLennan County sheriff's deputies near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Tex. (By Evan Vucci-Associated Press)

Jose Padilla's Dirty Secret

CLICK TO READ: Early Warning by William M. Arkin - Jose Padilla's Dirty Secret - washingtonpost.com

"Former "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla's criminal indictment for conspiracy to "murder, kidnap and maim," has rightly focused attention on the Bush administration's policy of denying basic rights to "enemy combatants."

Padilla was arrested in May 2002 after allegedly having spent time in an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. The Brooklyn-born Muslim convert was accused of plotting to detonate a radiological device in a U.S. city and former attorney general John Ashcroft described Padilla's plot as one of the most serious threats to America after 9/11.

Yesterday's criminal charges make no mention of the dirty bomb accusations. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez wouldn't answer questions on the issue."

Arkin goes on to question the voracity of the entire "dirty bomb" scenario so hyped by the administration after 9/11. His research leads him to believe it was just another instance of the White House ratcheting up our level of fear in order to make it easier to restrict our freedoms and liberties.

But the dirty secret is "not only that the threat is hyped, but also that the hundreds of millions of dollars spent in the Padilla industry has failed to provide the basic security needed to safeguard the radiation sources that are out there. Sandia [National Laboratories in Albuquerque] concludes that in their study security for shipments of all of these sources in the United States 'was not very rigorous.'

Jose Padilla was "planning" a dirty bomb attack, Ashcroft and the Bush administration once said. I am planning to win the lottery.

What is disheartening but not surprising is that the federal government is so addicted to big bang weapons of mass destruction scenarios it still can't even carry out its core functions."

SEE ALSO:
TomPaine.com - The Padilla Debacle: "The imprisonment for three years without charges of U.S. citizen Jose Padilla stands as one of the most glaring examples of the Bush administration's disregard for the Constitution and the civil liberties it enshrines. Many observers believe Tuesday's indictment was motivated by Bush administration lawyers hoping to squelch Padilla's case in front of the Supreme Court...."

Three Years Late - Washington Post Editorial: It seems most people are in agreement regarding the appalling treatment of Padilla over the last 3 plus years. Everyone, it seems, except the Bush administration.

"...The Padilla case was not only offensive to the principles of a free society; it also dangerously gambled with the very executive powers the administration was seeking to defend. The Supreme Court rebuked the military in the related case of Yaser Esam Hamdi, and a majority of justices intimated that they viewed Mr. Padilla's detention with suspicion. Yet the government continued to litigate the matter. Only with Mr. Padilla's case heading once more to the high court, where the military might well have faced another setback, did the government move to regularize his status.

Dumping Mr. Padilla back in federal court cannot undo the lengthy detention-without-charge that he has endured. But it does help to reestablish the principle that no one can be held indefinitely based only on allegations by the executive branch. The public at long last will see what evidence the government can muster to prove that Jose Padilla is a dangerous terrorist, and a jury will decide whether that evidence justifies his incarceration."

SEE EARLIER POST: Padilla Is Indicted on Terrorism Charges

Think Progress �Exclusive: Classified Pentagon Document Described White Phosphorus As 'Chemical Weapon'

CLICK TO READ: Think Progress - Exclusive: Classified Pentagon Document Described White Phosphorus As 'Chemical Weapon'

" A formerly classified 1995 Pentagon intelligence document titled “Possible Use of Phosphorous Chemical” describes the use of white phosphorus by Saddam Hussein on Kurdish fighters:

IRAQ HAS POSSIBLY EMPLOYED PHOSPHOROUS CHEMICAL WEAPONS AGAINST THE KURDISH POPULATION IN AREAS ALONG THE IRAQI-TURKISH-IRANIAN BORDERS. […]

IN LATE FEBRUARY 1991, FOLLOWING THE COALITION FORCES’ OVERWHELMING VICTORY OVER IRAQ, KURDISH REBELS STEPPED UP THEIR STRUGGLE AGAINST IRAQI FORCES IN NORTHERN IRAQ. DURING THE BRUTAL CRACKDOWN THAT FOLLOWED THE KURDISH UPRISING, IRAQI FORCES LOYAL TO PRESIDENT SADDAM ((HUSSEIN)) MAY HAVE POSSIBLY USED WHITE PHOSPHOROUS (WP) CHEMICAL WEAPONS AGAINST KURDISH REBELS AND THE POPULACE IN ERBIL (GEOCOORD:3412N/04401E) (VICINITY OF IRANIAN BORDER) AND DOHUK (GEOCOORD:3652N/04301E) (VICINITY OF IRAQI BORDER) PROVINCES, IRAQ.

In other words, the Pentagon does refer to white phosphorus rounds as chemical weapons — at least if they’re used by our enemies."

SEE ALSO EARLIER POSTS:
More Evidence: White Phosporous
U.S. Admits: Phosphorus may have killed civilians in Iraq
Fallujah - The Hidden Massacre
Falluja Atrocity: DAY 4 AND COUNTING ...
Use of chemical weapons by the US military in Iraq. Veteran admits: Bodies melted away before us.
DAY 10: Pentagon Admits Using White Phosphorous in Iraq
More on White Phosporous in Fallujah

The Price of Freedom

CLICK TO READ: The Price of Freedom by Timothy J. Freeman:

Tmothy Freeman's "The Price Of Freedom" philosophizes on our current "state of the union", the war in Iraq, freedom, war, neo-cons and more. The piece is compelling -- and quite an interesting read for philosophy fans of Thoreau, Nietzche, Locke, Kant and Hobbes.

THIS IS A MUST READ --ESPECIALLY IF YOU STILL ACTUALLY THINK THE IRAQ WAR IS JUSTIFIED.

"...Perhaps morality simply comes down to the choices that we make; and it is through those choices that we define ourselves. A nation, too, perhaps defines itself by its moral choices. Now with the curtain pulled back on the war in Iraq, the American people have a choice. We can continue to be blinded by the Bush Administration’s campaign of deception and manipulation of our fear, and thus allow the neo-con power play to turn the United States into a rogue nation and the world into a lawless Hobbesian state of nature. If we do, however, the future promises to be plagued by constant wars and a never ending problem of terrorism – and the life of mankind will be nasty, brutish, and short.

We can, on the other hand, rededicate ourselves to striving to become a just nation, a responsible member of a federation of nations truly committed to peace and respect for human rights. When we have truly renounced wars of aggression perhaps one day we may once again by a light to all nations...."

"...America is only an experiment in democracy, and it must always remain thus. We can never take for granted that it has already been a mission accomplished.

If the people do not have the capacity or the courage for the examined life, then there will always be the problem of the tyranny of the majority. Those who have taken our freedom for granted and have not dared to question authority and think for themselves, those who allowed this nation to be led blindly over the cliff and into the abyss of this unnecessary and unjust war, have not paid the price of freedom."

School of the Americas Protest - A Film by Rebecca MacNeice

CLICK TO WATCH: t r u t h o u t - MultiMedia - School of the Americas Protest

Rebecca MacNeice reports from the 16th annual School of the Americas protest at Fort Benning, GA. 20,000 people participated in the protest, including 41 who were arrested. The protesters focused their attention on the School because of its involvement in the training of many Central American military officers who went on to commit human rights abuses.

Fury over Gagging Threat 'To Spare Bush's Blushes'

CLICK TO READ: Fury over Gagging Threat 'To Spare Bush's Blushes' - Britain, The Times

How low will Tony Blair go to protect his good buddy George Bush from yet another scandal? Evidently, pretty darned low:

"THE Attorney-General was accused last night of using the Official Secrets Act “big stick” to gag newspapers in an attempt to save President Bush from further embarrassment over Iraq.

Lord Goldsmith threatened newspapers on Tuesday with prosecution under the Act if they published details from a record of a conversation between Mr Bush and Tony Blair from April last year, when the President is alleged to have suggested bombing al-Jazeera, the Arabic television network."

SEE ALSO:
Press Freedom or Freedom to Bomb the Press? The Bush Plan to Bomb Al-Jazeera by Stephen Soldz

UK Vows to Prosecute Editors Over Al-Jazeera Report

Qatar shock at al-Jazeera bombing report

Mirror.co.uk - IRAQ WIFE 'TO SUE U.S' "THE widow of an al-Jazeera journalist killed in Iraq by an American attack is considering suing the US Government."

Will the US Seize the Opening for Troop Withdrawal?

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Ray McGovern | Will the US Seize the Opening for Troop Withdrawal?

THE UNKNOWN CANDIDATE: Could it be that the real reason we don't want to leave Iraq has nothing to do with spreading democracy or freedom and more to do with making sure we get our spoils?

"The surprising degree of consensus reached by the main Iraqi factions at the Arab League-orchestrated Reconciliation Conference in Cairo last weekend sharply undercuts the unilateral, guns-and-puppets approach of the Bush administration to the deteriorating situation in Iraq. The common demand by Shia and Kurds as well as Sunnis for a timetable for withdrawal of occupation forces demolishes the administration's argument that setting such a timetable would be a huge mistake. Who would know better - the Iraqis or the ideologues advising Bush?"

SEE ALSO: Bush set to pull out 60,000 troops - World - Times Online

The Spoils of War

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - The Spoils of War - By Philip Thornton, The Independent UK

Looks like some of us were right all along about the reason for going to war in Iraq and it sure wasn't to "spread freedom". No, my friends, it was oil. And the jockeying for control and power and gluttony over Iraqi oil is in full force.
----------------
CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Iraqis Miss Oil Fortune: Report - Australian Financial Review

According to a social and environmental group, up to $194 billion in Iraqi oil revenues are going to multinational oil companies under long-term contracts--and NOT to the Iraqi people.

Food for Thought: Thanksgiving and More Taking

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Norman Solomon | Thanksgiving and More Taking

Norman Solomon points out the irony of America's current Thanksgiving as a contradiction of being thankful against the backdrop of a media frenzy that encourages wanting more. "In its unadorned state, the idea of being thankful is on a collision course with "Thanksgiving" the commercialized media phenomenon," says Solomon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Cindy Sheehan | Blessings? Cindy Sheehan speaks of her blessings and her hopes this Thanksgiving. However, she says that her blessings are always hampered by the reason for them this year: The death of her son Casey.

CLICK TO READ: Reasons To Give Thanks "Despite the war, the ongoing struggle to rebuild the Gulf Coast equitably and the far-right's lock on power in Washington, progressives have plenty to be grateful for. The blog team at the Center for American Progress offers these reasons to give thanks this year."

t r u t h o u t - Anti-War Protesters Arrested Near Bush's Ranch

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Anti-War Protesters Arrested Near Bush's Ranch

"A dozen war protesters were arrested Wednesday for setting up camp near President Bush's ranch in defiance of new local bans on roadside camping and parking...."

THE UNKNOWN CANDIDATE: Cindy Sheehan was not among those arrested as she had been called away on personal matters.

I imagine it went down something like this:

GEORGE: I don't want all those pesky protesters spoiling my Thanksgiving appetite. Git 'em outta here. All of 'em -- especially the Cindy somebody girl -- put her in jail and throw away the key. She's a nuisance and she's embarrassing me in front of all my red-neck, good 'ol boy neighbor friends and countrymen 'n all.

LACKEY: But, sir, it's Thanksgiving.

GEORGE: Yep and too bad about theirs--heh heh heh--guess they won't be gobblin' down any turkey this Thanksgiving. Heh heh heh.

LACKEY: But sir, how will it look--having people arrested for peaceful protesting -- right before Thanksgiving?

GEORGE: I don't give a gull-darn HOW it looks. I'm George W. Bush! I can do whatever I want. I can start wars whenever I want! I can torture people whenever I want! I can have people arrested whenever I want! And I want them outta here. Arrest 'em--Arrest 'em all-- Ya hear me? Git! Git 'em outta here! And you, too! Git! Git! I'm George W. Bush!! Ya hear me!?!

THE UNKNOWN CANDIDATE: Ok, so I took a little creative license toward nastiness. Heck, what am I apologizing for? You can't get much nastier than arresting citizens exercising their right to peaceful protest -- right before Thanksgiving!

George Monbiot: Behind the phosphorus clouds are war crimes within war crimes

Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | George Monbiot: Behind the phosphorus clouds are war crimes within war crimes

"But we shouldn't forget that the use of chemical weapons was a war crime within a war crime within a war crime. Both the invasion of Iraq and the assault on Falluja were illegal acts of aggression. Before attacking the city, the marines stopped men 'of fighting age' from leaving. Many women and children stayed: the Guardian's correspondent estimated that between 30,000 and 50,000 civilians were left. The marines treated Falluja as if its only inhabitants were fighters. They levelled thousands of buildings, illegally denied access to the Iraqi Red Crescent and, according to the UN's special rapporteur, used 'hunger and deprivation of water as a weapon of war against the civilian population'....

So the question has now widened: is there any crime the coalition forces have not committed in Iraq?"

SEE PREVIOUS POST: Think Progress Exclusive: Classified Pentagon Document Described White Phosphorus As 'Chemical Weapon'

Does Patrick Fitzgerald have a "Deep Throat"?

CLICK TO READ: The Washington Note - by Steven C. Clemons

This is all pretty much speculation at this point, but Steven Clemons poses an interesting question: "Who is Patrick Fitzgerald's "Deep Throat" Source? Is there a Counter-Leaker on Plame Case Working for the Side of Good?"

His reasoning makes perfect sense (and I sure hope it's true): "There is a high level official in the Bush administration who helped give the "inside scoop" on the earliest moves by the White House in the Valerie Plame investigation -- but who is it?

On September 28, 2003, Washington Post writers Dana Priest and Mike Allen clearly note the existence of a source with knowledge about the outing campaign conducted as "a vendetta" against Joe Wilson by senior officials in the Bush White House.

This source clearly had concerns about the behavior of these officials, and to some degree, this Washington Post source appears to be a key "counter-leaker" in the Valerie Plame investigation, i.e. someone attempting to make sure that the real story about the Plame leak and reasons for it were told."

Put on your detective hats, and click on the link above to read the whole article.

Padilla Is Indicted on Terrorism Charges

Padilla Is Indicted on Terrorism Charges - Washington Post

Number of Days U.S. Citizen Jose Padilla Has Been Jailed Without formal charges filed In Bush's Gulag 1293 = 3 Years and 198 Days.

Now, finally, charges are filed. And while they allege Padilla was part of a terrorism conspiracy, they do not include the government's earlier allegations that he planned to target the United States by using a radioactive dirty bomb and that he planned to blow up apartment buildings with natural gas.

My guess is that the only reason he is being charged now is in an attempt to avoid a Supreme Court showdown with Padilla's lawyers, who have filed suit over his unfair and unconstitutional treatment by the government. (Remember, he is a U.S. citizen--ANY one of us could be treated in a similar manner should the government decide to accuse us--falsely or not--of being a terrorist). No more constitutional protections for U.S. citizens, folks. This is the way fascism works, not democracy. And if you think Padilla will finally now get a fair trial ... well, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Will the Real Turkey Please Stand Up? Or, Yes, But Did the Turkey Pardon the President?

This year, at the traditional Presidential Turkey Pardon on the White House lawn, it was tough to distinguish the Thanksgiving Turkey from the President. You could tell the Turkey wasn't the Vice President because when the latter tried to smile, his fangs were showing through his sneer, and turkeys don't have fangs. Anyway, I think the one at the podium trying to be warm and fuzzy and doing the "we honor our men in uniforms" speech was the President, but it was really hard to tell with all the obigatory gobbling.

This year, instead of sending the turkey to a nice petting zoo, it's going to Disneyland to be the grand marshall of the Disneyland Thanksgiving Day parade. After the reprieve on the White House lawn, the turkey and it's alternate were on their way, by police escort, to a Washington-area airport, where they'll fly first-class to Los Angeles. Following the parade, the turkeys will spend the remainder of their days at a Disneyland ranch.

Now, all of this got me to thinking. With all the really serious problems this president has, would it not have been a more appropriate gesture if the turkey had pardoned the President? After all, I could think of a lot worse places for a President to live out his days in exile than Disneyland. And, when you think about it, for a President who has run the country based on half-truths, twisted-truths, unbelieveable policies, and fantasies, well, Disneyland seems more appropriate than ever.

So what do you think? If the Turkey pardoned the President--and all of the corrupt people around him--and sent them all to Disneyland, we could all be thankful that we wouldn't have to live through months and months of nasty investigations of the White House, Patrick Fitzgerald would be thankful to forget about Scooter and be able to once again focus on Chicago political corruption, and everyone in America would be happy that we no longer have a Turkey running the country. Sounds like a plan.

MORE MURTHA FALLOUT

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST HERE.

CLICK TO READ: The Independent - White House used 'gossip' to build case for war - By Rupert Cornwell No longer appalling. But still true.

Opening the Door to Debate, and Then Shutting It by Dana Milbank, Washington Post Cheney's feeble attempt to refrain from visciousness. Of course he failed.

Iraq and the 'L' Word by Richard Cohen, Washington Post Accusations from republicans that dems called them the "L' word! Turns out -- surprise, surprise, it's not true.

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Marc Ash | Leaving Baghdad
" Leaving Saigon was hard, but we had no choice, the time had come. The war in Iraq is now, and always was, unwinnable. We will leave. The only question is how many men, women and children will die as we come to that conclusion. In 1971, a young Navy Lieutenant returning from duty in Vietnam sat before the US Senate and challenged the entire premise for the war, and in doing so laid the groundwork for peace. He said:

"Someone has to die so that President Nixon won't be, and these are his words, 'the first President to lose a war.' We are asking Americans to think about that because how do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"

Exclusive: Bush Plot To Bomb His Arab Ally

CLICK TO READ: Exclusive: Bush Plot To Bomb His Arab Ally

Looks like all those paranoid claims that the US was targeting journalists in Iraq (let's face it, a good number of them WERE killed "accidentally" by U.S. troops) may have been not so paranoid and all too true:

"PRESIDENT Bush planned to bomb Arab TV station al-Jazeera in friendly Qatar, a "Top Secret" No 10 memo reveals.
But he was talked out of it at a White House summit by Tony Blair, who said it would provoke a worldwide backlash...."

Watergate, Iran-Contra, Impeachment, and Plamegate

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Judith Coburn | The Mother of All Constitutional Crises

Excellent, excellent article putting the current White House crisis in historical context. MUST READ.

"George W. Bush and his associates must have remarkably short memories. While he has been careful to mouth words of cooperation in the Plamegate case, he has depended on the Republican control of Congress to stonewall on just about every egregious misdeed that has seen the light of day, blocking public hearings into Abu Ghraib, the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo, the CIA secret prison system, faux intelligence on Iraq, and Plamegate itself."

"No Exit" Starring President Bush

CLICK TO READ & WATCH VIDEO: BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Door thwarts quick exit for Bush

I can see it now. A Broadway Production of Sartre's "No Exit" starring President Bush. A dark comedy. Or maybe Theatre of the Absurd.

Seriously, the poor guy couldn't bare one more "reaaalllly haaarrrrd" question from U.S. reporters at a news conference in Beijing on Sunday, so he decided to make a dash for the exit stage right. And that's when things got really entertaining. Click here to watch the fun.

t r u t h o u t - Philippe Boulet-Gercourt | America: The Fundamentalist Invasion

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Philippe Boulet-Gercourt | America: The Fundamentalist Invasion

MUST READ.
"These reactionaries who judge in God's name.
They're in the White House, already control the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court. Today, the ultras of the extreme religious right also want to stuff their own men into the whole judicial apparatus...."

"...The supposed objectivity of the fundamentalists and the ideologues of the right, in fact, covers up a much more sinister ambition. It's a question of imposing reforms that the majority of Americans don't want through the judiciary. Catherine Crier revisits recent polls and shows that two thirds of citizens do not want to see "Roe versus Wade" (the famous decision on abortion) annulled. On euthanasia, gun control, or stem cell research, Americans profess to equally moderate positions. Therefore, for the religious right, the only way to impose its views remains the judicial route. Hence its monomaniacal, obsessive relentlessness, up until now crowned with success."

Thousands in Mass. to get cheaper oil - The Boston Globe

CLICK TO READ: Thousands in Mass. to get cheaper oil - The Boston Globe

Where there is a will, there is a way. And there is a will to ease the price of oil this winter for the poor in Massachusetts:

"A subsidiary of the Venezuelan national oil company will ship 12 million gallons of discounted home-heating oil to local charities and 45,000 low-income families in Massachusetts next month under a deal arranged by US Representative William D. Delahunt, a local nonprofit energy corporation, and Venezuela's president, White House critic Hugo Chávez."

Three cheers for Rep. Delahunt, Hugo Chavez, and Joseph P. Kennedy II.

Read the whole story here. Then ask your representatives what they are doing to ease the burden of higher heating prices on the disadvantaged in YOUR state?

RELATED ARTICLE: Chavez Pushes Petro-Diplomacy

Some Things Never Change ...

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Cheney Attempts to Tie Iraq to 9-11 Again

I love this:

"Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday said he strongly disagrees with a battle-tested congressman [Murtha] who advocates quickly pulling all US troops from Iraq, calling such a proposal 'a dangerous illusion.'"

A "dangerous illusion"? The only dangerous illusions I know of are the reasons given for going to war, among them tying Osama Bin Ladin and 9/11 to Iraq: "Cheney added, 'Those who advocate a sudden withdrawal from Iraq should answer a few simple questions, including whether the United States be "better off or worse off" with terror leaders such as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden, or Ayman al-Zawahiri in control?" There he goes again. And, by the way, where IS Osama bin Laden and the rest of those guys???

And then there is this from Bush: "Bush, who was returning Monday from a tour of Asia, praised Murtha as 'a fine man' and said that disagreeing with the administration was not unpatriotic." Gee. That may be the first truthful thing this President has ever said. In fact, Mr. Bush, disagreeing with your administration is downright patriotic. You ought to try it sometime.

Iraq and Vietnam: Dejavu

More and more, parallels are being drawn between the Vietnam War and Iraq. Lies, Quagmires, and Political Philosophies invite comparisons. The following articles all deal with this subject and make for some though-provoking reading.

CLICK TO READ ANE WATCH VIDEO: Democracy Now! | From Vietnam to Iraq: Sen. George McGovern Discusses the Lies of War from the Gulf of Tonkin to Iraq's WMDs

The 1972 presidential candidate looks back at how the U.S. entered the wars in Vietnam and Iraq in an interview with Amy Goodman. Watch an excerpt from the new documentary "One Bright Shining Moment (narrated by Amy): The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern."

Murtha Fallout

I don't know about you, but I think Time Magazine 'Man of the Year' ought to go to John Murtha -- hands down. In a few short days, the entire political mood in this country has errupted. I hesitate to say it, but It feels as though we've finally, finally turned the corner on the war. Yesterday, the administration -- Cheney, Rummy, et. al. stridently resorted to their usual "smear" and "deny and lie" tactics. But it didn't work. Nobody believes them. They just make people angrier every time they tell another lie.

So today, they quickly switched gears: the media was drowning in respectful, politically correct criticisms from republicans and administration officials of Murtha's VIEWS, while almost lauding Murtha the military man. Even the most viscious of the neo-con talking heads and administration officials were today suddenly genteel and almost fearful in choosing their words. Wow. All because Murtha had the guts to go public with the truth.

And now, suddenly, one by one, politicians--of both parties--are backing Murtha's position. Too politically frightened to state the obvious until they were CERTAIN the tides had changed, now they can't "come out" fast enough to please their constituents. (Shows you how many politicians actually follow their conscience and do the right thing just because it IS the right thing -- instead of because it's politically expedient -- few to none.)

One never knows what tomorrow will bring, but for now I'm basking in the fallout of Murtha's speech. Just take a look at what's happening so far:

CLICK TO READ: Iraqi leaders demand timetable for troop withdrawal

CLICK TO READ: TomPaine.com - Murtha And The Colonels

CLICK TO READ: Losing the Fear Factor - How the Bush Administration Got Spooked by Tom Engelhardt - Tom Dispatch

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Norman Solomon | Getting Out of Iraq

CLICK TO READ: Unforgiveable by Charley Reese

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Marjorie Cohn: Ending the Occupation

t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | Time to Leave

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | Time to Leave

And now, entering the Iraq "to leave or not to leave" debate, comes a voice of logic and reason: Paul Krugman. His opinion? Like the headline says, it's time to leave Iraq. Krugman's reasons for getting out are identical to mine, but he says it far better than I. So read the article here. Then pass it around to everyone you know who still harbors delusions of grandeur about winning a military victory in Iraq.

U.S. Press for Reform Prompts Talk of Showdown at the U.N. - New York Times

CLICK TO READ: U.S. Press for Reform Prompts Talk of Showdown at the U.N. - New York Times

My worst fears about John Bolton have been realized. Heavy handed bully techniques, reminiscent of a 5-year old having a tantrum, have no place in the United Nations. Yet this is John Bolton's modus operandi. Once again, the United States comes off as a belligerant, arrogant, self-absorbed nation that couldn't care less what other nations in the world think. It's our way or the highway. And it is nothing less than disgraceful.

Coupled with our policies on pre-emptive war and torture, our national gluttony, and our hypocritical messages at every turn, as a nation, we continue to lose the moral high ground which once garnered the world's respect. As long as the current administration remains in power, it will get only worse.

If I could, I'd stand up in Congress right this instant and call for the resignation of the entire administration. Really, people, this is OUR country, and Bush & Company are very quickly destroying everything we once loved about it.

Woodward Evokes Ire of Many

CNN.com - Washington Post rebukes Bob Woodward - Nov 20, 2005 Well, yeahhhh. I would think so.

CLICK TO READ: TomPaine.com - Woodward's Weakness by Russ Baker Baker spins the Woodward story into a bigger one: what's wrong with journalism in America. He is dead on.

CLICK TO READ: Woodward Talks of Admission, Apology - Washington Post If you saw Woodward on Larry King Live last night, there's not much new here. I watched the show, and all I can say is Woodward looked more uncomfortable than a sixteen year old whose father just caught him doing crack. He was squirmily, wormily defensive while he fumphied and figited his way though the interview. My opinion: he has been resting on his Watergate laurels for 20 years too long and enjoying an unearned reputation as a great "investigative reporter" ever since. Somehow, writing books on Bush and the White House and taking what they tell him as fact without investigating whether or not it is factual does not equate to great investigative reporting. But all those book sales sure did wonders for inflating his ego along with his wallet. Oh well, another hero bites the dust....

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Jason Leopold: Woodward Provides Clues about His Source Leopold plays investigator of supposed investigative reporter Woodward in an attempt to identify his source.

Smears, Lies & Videotape: A Leak Scandal Documentary

CLICK TO VIEW: QuickTime Streaming Video: Smears, Lies and Videotape

For your viewing pleasure, a short documentary to help us separate the reality from the spin. Courtesy of thinkprogress.org.

The Patriot Act - "The Civil Liberties Seven"

CLICK TO READ: TomPaine.com - The "Civil Liberties Seven"

An update on and summary of what exactly is at stake in the renewal of the Patriot Act and why, if Congress doesn't get it right, it's worth a fillibuster:

"The Senate left town on Friday for two weeks. Before disparaging the senators for taking such a long recess, consider that the country is really better off with Congress on vacation or deadlocked. So many of their top agenda items—extending Bush's tax cuts, slashing social spending—at best don't benefit ordinary Americans, and at worst, do them harm. Add to that list the push to renew provisions of the PATRIOT Act without strong assurances that civil liberties will be protected. Thanks to the principled resistance of a bipartisan group of senators, the Senate didn't manage to vote on the controversial legislation before heading home.

The senators threatened to fillibuster the legislation because it did not go far enough in 'making reasonable changes to the original law to protect innocent people from unnecessary and intrusive government surveillance.'"

Find out why conservatives are joining Democrats in opposing this legislation.

RELATED ARTICLE: Patriot Act extension shelved - The Boston Globe

Calling It Quits: A Solution to the Healthcare Crisis

CLICK TO READ: TomPaine.com - Calling It Quits by Robert Reich
Robert B. Reich is the Maurice B. Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy at Brandeis University, and was the secretary of labor under former President Bill Clinton.

Robert Reich is on to something. In the article above, he makes an excellent case for the following as a way to solve the nation's healthcare crisis:

"...It’s time for the nation to wise up. Instead of condemning companies for looking for ways to cut their health bills, we ought to be instructing companies to stop providing health benefits altogether. Eliminate the current $126 billion tax subsidy. Use the money instead as a down payment on a universal and affordable system of health insurance—available to everyone regardless of how much they earn, where they work, or even whether they have a job."

See Previous Posts on Solving the Healthcare Crisis here.

RELATED ARTICLES: CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Doctors Objecting to Planned Cut in Medicare Fees

Alito: So Far, The Scales of Justice Weigh Heavily to the Right

Following are a bunch of articles on Supreme Court nominee Alito. I'm honestly trying, despite the Right's ecstacy over his nomination, to evaluate his candidacy objectively and not react to political spin -- from either the right or left. Problem is, the more I read, with a few exceptions, the more it seems he really is a Right-winger's dream candidate. I thought I'd share the articles with you all and see what you think. So, what DO you think?

CLICK TO READ: CNN.com - A fight with a twist by Massimo Calabresi - Nov 21, 2005
"'The tactic is going to be to frame it as a debate over broader rights, including privacy, civil rights and women's rights,' says Jim Manley, the spokesman for Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid. This will avoid, Manley says, 'the divisive debate over the word [abortion] itself.'"

CLICK TO READ: Jewish Group Votes to Oppose Alito - Washington Post
" ...More than 2,000 delegates of the Union for Reform Judaism adopted a resolution saying Alito would "shift the ideological balance of the Supreme Court on matters of core concern to the reform movement" on abortion rights, women's rights, civil rights and the scope of federal power."

CLICK TO READ: The forces that molded Judge Alito by Warren Richey | csmonitor.com
"The man who could be the nation's next Supreme Court justice is smart, hard-working, quiet, self-effacing, even shy. But if you really want to understand appeals court judge Samuel Alito, focus on three things, say those who know him best: his family, the law, and the Philadelphia Phillies."

CLICK TO READ: Judge Alito on the States - Washington Post
"THERE IS perhaps no area of American constitutional law as important and as in flux at the Supreme Court as the balance of power between the federal government and the states. Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. does not have extensive writings on the subject as a lower court judge, but he has written two opinions that liberal groups cite as evidence of the grave danger his confirmation would carry."

CLICK TO READ: Alito Often Ruled for Religious Expression by Neil A. Lewis - New York Times
"During his 15 years sitting in Newark as a member of a federal appeals court, Judge Alito has sided almost uniformly with those who have complained vigorously in recent years that zealousness in enforcing the Constitution's separation of church and state has unfairly inhibited religious practices."

CLICK TO READ: Campaign for the Supreme Court - The Politics of the Nomination of Samuel A. Alito Jr.
The Washington Post has compiled a list of links to many more articles on Alito which you can find here.

SEE PREVIOUS POSTS HERE:
Alito: The Wolf At The Door
Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito has enviros worried |By Amanda Griscom Little |Grist Magazine | Muckraker | 01 Nov 2005
Alito's Professor Offers Insights
Buffalo News - Alito's record a bad omen for women
TomPaine.com - The Family Values Sideshow
Abortion Case From 1991 May Be Central in Confirmation - New York Times
Alito Attempts to Downplay Views on Abortion in '85 Letter
Alito Signals Reluctance to Overturn Roe v. Wade
The Democrats and Judge Alito - New York Times
Democrats Raise Red Flag on Alito
'85 Document Opens Window to Alito Views - New York Times
Court Nominee Has Paper Trail Businesses Like - New York Times
Nominee Is Said to Question Church-State Rulings - New York Times
Just When You Thought it Was Safe ....

ABC News: Congress Helps Self to $3,100 Pay Raise

ABC News: Congress Helps Self to $3,100 Pay Raise but Postpones Action on Spending and Tax Bills

So happy to see Congress is so committed to doing the people's business. And for my next joke:

"WASHINGTON Nov 18, 2005 — The Republican-controlled Congress helped itself to a $3,100 pay raise on Friday, then postponed work on bills to curb spending on social programs and cut taxes in favor of a two-week vacation."

PHOTO: House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., holds a press conference with other House GOP members to summarize GOP efforts before Thanksgiving recess on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 18, 2005. Behind him are House Majority Leader Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., right, and Rep. Eric Cantor R-Va. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The Man Who Sold the War

CLICK TO READ: The Man Who Sold the War by James Bamford, Rolling Stone

The lengths this administration will go to disinform the public for their own political ends are nothing less than astounding as evidenced by this fascinating article in Rolling Stone:

"Meet John Rendon, Bush's general in the propaganda war....One of the most powerful people in Washington, Rendon is a leader in the strategic field known as 'perception management,' manipulating information -- and, by extension, the news media -- to achieve the desired result. His firm, the Rendon Group, has made millions off government contracts since 1991, when it was hired by the CIA to help 'create the conditions for the removal of Hussein from power.' Working under this extraordinary transfer of secret authority, Rendon assembled a group of anti-Saddam militants, personally gave them their name -- the Iraqi National Congress -- and served as their media guru and 'senior adviser' as they set out to engineer an uprising against Saddam. It was as if President John F. Kennedy had outsourced the Bay of Pigs operation to the advertising and public-relations firm of J. Walter Thompson...."

"...Indeed, Rendon is already thinking ahead. Last year, he attended a conference on information operations in London, where he offered an assessment on the Pentagon's efforts to manipulate the media. According to those present, Rendon applauded the practice of embedding journalists with American forces. "He said the embedded idea was great," says an Air Force colonel who attended the talk. "It worked as they had found in the test. It was the war version of reality television, and for the most part they did not lose control of the story." But Rendon also cautioned that individual news organizations were often able to "take control of the story," shaping the news before the Pentagon asserted its spin on the day's events.

"We lost control of the context," Rendon warned. "That has to be fixed for the next war."

MUST READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE.

ILLUSTRATION: Rolling Stone, by Matt Mahurin

The Observer | It's great up north

CLICK TO READ: The Observer | It's great up north by Henry Porter, The Guardian

Oh, that it could be possible for the United States to put aside its arrogance and illusions of superiority long enough to look to Canada to find out how to balance both its budget and its life....

More Evidence: White Phosporous

CLICK TO READ: Fallujah: Shake And Bake - The Dirty War - By Trevor Royle [Sunday Herald]

"There is evidence of 'massive and indiscriminate' use of a weapon banned in areas where insurgents and civilians are indistinguishable."

See earlier post: The Unknown Candidate: U.S. Admits: Phosphorus may have killed civilians in Iraq

What I Knew Before the Invasion by Bob Graham

CLICK TO READ: What I Knew Before the Invasion by Bob Graham - Washington Post:

THE UNKNOWN CANDIDATE: From his congressional vantage point, Bob Graham, former Democratic Senator from Florida, talks about what he knew and didn't know before the Iraq war and how he based his vote on whether to give Bush the authority to go to war. "As chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence during the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, and the run-up to the Iraq war, I probably had as much access to the intelligence on which the war was predicated as any other member of Congress."

Highly critical of the president's recent attacks on Democrats, Graham says congressmen can no longer trust Bush.

BOB GRAHAM: "From my advantaged position, I had earlier concluded that a war with Iraq would be a distraction from the successful and expeditious completion of our aims in Afghanistan. Now I had come to question whether the White House was telling the truth -- or even had an interest in knowing the truth.On Oct. 11, I voted no on the resolution to give the president authority to go to war against Iraq. I was able to apply caveat emptor. Most of my colleagues could not."

Bush's Forgotten Failure: Corrupt Nation Building in Afhanistan

CLICK TO VIEW VIDEO: Following the Money in Afghanistan

Proof of rampant corruption in the rebuilding of Afghanistan:

"The U.S. government sought to build new schools and clinics that would help Afghanistan and encourage stability in the former Taliban stronghold. But the projects, which cost millions in taxpayer dollars, have run into widespread construction problems and complaints of corruption. Washington Post reporters Joe Stephens and David Ottaway talk about their investigative project and a surreptitious video that shows construction monitors demanding a $50,000 payoff from Afghan builders in exchange for positive reports on construction projects."

SEE ALSO: A Rebuilding Plan Full of Cracks by Joe Stephens and David B. Ottaway, Washington Post "After the routing of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Bush administration launched a $73 million program to construct schools and clinics. But design flaws and other problems soon plagued the effort."

Corrupted Intelligence? Where to Go for Answers.

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Ray McGovern: Corrupted Intelligence

Ray McGovern cautions us not to hold our collective breaths waiting for Congress to begin Phase 2 of the investigation into possible pre-war manipulation of intelligence by the administration. Instead, he tells us how to start finding answers ourselves -- now. The article includes links to his recommended source materials.

Ray McGovern was an analyst at CIA for 27 years, and is on the Steering Group of VIPS (Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity).

More Evidence of Mishandling of Intelligence by Bush administration

CLICK TO READ: How U.S. Fell Under the Spell of 'Curveball' - Los Angeles Times

It's getting tough to keep up with all of the information, coming out daily, on the possible mis-use of intelligence by an administration trying to sell an unnecessary war. Now, from five senior officials of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service comes this: The Bush administration and the CIA repeatedly exaggerated the claims of an Iraqi defector code-named Curveball. Read more.

PHOTO: President Bush used information from Curveball to charge in his 2003 State of the Union address that Iraq had "mobile biological weapons labs" designed to produce "germ warfare agents." He was wrong. (Ron Edmonds/AP)

RELATED ARTICLES:

Click to read: Iraq War Debate Eclipses All Other Issues by Jonathan Weisman and Charles Babington, Washington Post

t r u t h o u t - Frank Rich: One War Lost, Another to Go

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Frank Rich: One War Lost, Another to Go:

THE UNKNOWN CANDIDATE: Overlooked in the recent brouhaha over the run-up to and run-down of the Iraq war -- the war which had nothing to do with the original threat to the United States by Al Qaeda as evidenced on 9/11 -- overlooked is that original threat: Al Qaeda. As more and more republicans facing re-election race to distance themselves from Bush and his growingly unpopular "stay the course" Iraq policy, as more and more of their constituents cry for an end to the Iraq war, and as the Bush administration spends all of it's time trying to defend it's defenseless Iraqi war decisions by saturating the airwaves with more lies (witness Rummy's performance on Wolf Blitzer this morning) -- no one seems to be thinking about the orginal, presumably real problem. Even if we extricate ourselves from Iraq tomorrow, we will still need to effectively deal with the ongoing threat of Osama Bin Ladin and company. Frank Rich delves into this issue in the above article. It is well worth the read.

RICH: "If anyone needs further proof that we are racing for the exits in Iraq, just follow the bouncing ball that is Rick Santorum. A Republican leader in the Senate and a true-blue (or red) Iraq hawk, he has long slobbered over President Bush, much as Ed McMahon did over Johnny Carson. But when Mr. Bush went to Mr. Santorum's home state of Pennsylvania to give his Veterans Day speech smearing the war's critics as unpatriotic, the senator was M.I.A...."

"...The arguments about how we got into Mr. Bush's war and exactly how we'll get out are also important. But the damage from this fiasco will be even greater if those debates obscure the urgency of the other war we are losing, one that will be with us long after we've left the quagmire in Iraq."

Lawmakers Focus on Daily Brief In Prewar Intelligence Debate

CLICK TO READ: Lawmakers Focus on Daily Brief In Prewar Intelligence Debate by Walter Pincus, Washington Post

Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) led the way to push for access to Bush's Classified pre-war CIA reports as Democrats continued to challenge White House statements that Congress saw the same prewar Iraq intelligence that Bush saw. How much do you want to bet that the White House refuses to release the portions of Presidential Daily Briefs requested? No takers? No surprise.

PHOTO: Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), left, with Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) at a Capitol Hill news conference, urged the House intelligence panel to investigate prewar intelligence on weapons of mass destruction. (By Mark Wilson -- Getty Images)

More Scuttlebutt on Corruption: Scanlon & Halliburton

CLICK TO READ: FT.com / World / US - Threat of federal charges against DeLay grows

CLICK TO READ: Corruption Inquiry Threatens to Ensnare Lawmakers - New York Times

CLICK TO READ: DeLay Ex-Aide to Plead Guilty in Lobby Case - New York Times

CLICK TO READ: Witness May Have Pivotal Role in Probe of Alleged Corruption

Scuttlebutt No. 1 -- is about Michael Scanlon, a top official for Rep. Tom Delay and ex-partner of lobbyist Jack Abramoff. According to his lawyer, Scanlon agreed to plead guilty in a deal with the feds. Looks like the investigation will be delving into possible corruption involving top members of Congress. One Congressman identified by lawyers in the case to be complicit is Representative Bob Ney (R-Ohio). No telling how many others may be involved in the alleged conspiracy.

PHOTO: Michael Scanlon, a former business partner of ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, is to plead guilty tomorrow in a deal with prosecutors. (Gerald Herbert - AP)

CLICK TO READ: t r u t h o u t - Halliburton Case Is Referred to Justice Department

Scuttlebutt No. 2 -- involves our good friend, Halliburton. According to a Democratic senator who has been holding unofficial hearings on contract abuses in Iraq, Pentagon investigators have referred allegations of abuse in how the Halliburton Company was awarded a contract for work in Iraq to the Justice Department for possible criminal investigation.

"The allegations mainly involve the Army's secret, noncompetitive awarding in 2003 of a multibillion dollar contract for oil field repairs in Iraq to Halliburton, a Texas-based company. The objections were raised publicly last year by Bunnatine H. Greenhouse, then the chief contracts monitor at the Army Corps of Engineers, the government agency that handled the contract and several others in Iraq."