Comment of the Day

Yeah. This about sums it up.

One of the rhetorical devices the GOP-prepped candidates (like Bush & McCain) like to use is talking about "blinking". They often say how a leader cannot blink in the face of a crisis, how they will not blink when confronting islamic terrorism, how we must not blink in the face of monumental challenges.

Well, now McCain and his entire campaign is blinking - blinking at the press, blinking at debates, blinking at the financial crisis. And it seems to me that on 9/11/01, President Bush did nothing but blink for seven minutes. After which he massively overreacted in one of the most memorable and devastating acts of cover-my-ass in American history, causing orders of magnitude more damage to America than Bin Laden could have dreamed of.

That should show everyone what these people are: bullshit artists who cower at the prospect of accountability and responsibility.

Voter Supression - The Red American Way

If the Republicans can't win an election on the merits - they lie. When they can't win on the numbers - they change the rules. No wonder they HIDE behind the flag and bible. Otherwise this is what people would see they are doing. If you ever need to think of an example of the long term damage the conservative movement has done to our once thriving democracy, here's a nice example to cite. Sadly, it will be only 1 chapter in the fat history books of the future which explain the demise of the United States.

...White Republicans in some areas will keep eligible blacks from voting by requiring driver's licenses. Not only is this new-fangled discrimination constitutional, it's spreading. GOP proponents of the move say they are merely trying to reduce voter fraud. But while occasional efforts to stuff ballot boxes through phony absentee voting still surface, the incidence of individual vote fraud—voting when you aren't eligible—is virtually non-existent.

Distorting and Distracting Republicans are Dividing and Destroying America

So the Republican are succeeding in diverting voters attention away from the important issues of the day. You can't blame them - not only do they have no answers to make things better but their "dumbing down" strategy has worked over the past 30 years almost without fail. It's deja vu all over again in 2008. This year we are being asked to get all excited about Sarah Palin while ignoring the fact that she is the most unqualified, dishonest and unimpressive candidate to take the national stage in recent memory. Therefore, the McCain team wants to talk about lipstick and other idiotic topics. The press, of course, is more than happy to follow.

I no longer have patience for this type of crap. The American people really have a stark choice to make in this election. It is crystal clear that the GOP wants to distract and divide the nation even more than it is now so they can hold on to power. It's is also clear that Obama is trying to propose real solutions to our very real problems. If the American public, once again, gets distracted and votes for the superficial, then this nation will join hundreds of others in dissolving into the dustbin of history. As I mentioned before, many of us will not stop it from happening. With democracy comes responsibility on the part of the electorate. If the American public fails again to live up to this responsibility - then democracy will have failed - and so will have the great experiment called the United States of America.

I will continue to do my part to spread the word about the serious choice we face in November. However, I may not be posting as much about politics as you would expect. We'll see. If the debate turns serious again, I will welcome a real discussion on the issues. But if the media and the GOP continue to distract and divide, I will let them. After all, a country which rewards this stuff time and time and time again does not deserve to survive and is certainly not worthy of my time, energy or efforts.

Reality Bites!

Been really taking it easy since getting to Florida but I do have to comment on the bounty of positive news in the past few days. I say positive because it all reinforces the positions of Barack Obama and those of us who have spent years calling for a reality check. Looks to me that the check is not only in the mail, but also going to nearly every household in the world - yep, even that house at 1600 Pennsylvania avenue.

1. Dialogue with Iran. The Bush Administration, after 7 1/2 years of ineffectively using the stick, has move to trying carrots with Iran. While they deny it, the discussion they are having are contradictory to what the Bush/McCain doctrine has been for years and lines up pretty closely with the Obama position.

2. Troop withdrawal from Iraq. While the Bush Administration hopes that calling the timeline a "time horizon" will fool people, it is apparent that they are looking to remove troops from Iraq and increase the presence in Afghanistan. Hmmm ... where have I heard that before.

3. Iraqi PM agrees with Obama position. His words: "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right time frame for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes," - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Imagine how the Reds would be jumping on this if Maliki had said "we need troops here indefinitely - please do make any plans to go". He didn't say that.

After 8 (I would say 28) years of falling under the spell of myth making and reality busting politicians - it appears that the American people are breaking free from this hypnotic illusion. The rest of the world, no longer fearing Bush's bombs and sensing the change in the USA (Obama's near nomination having a large part to do with it), are also becoming more free to speak truth to power and more willing to interact with a nation who's people seems to be regaining their sanity.

It is very late in coming - we'll see if it is too late - but I suppose it's better than if it had never come at all.

Forward Thinking Political Analyst For Immediate Hire

It is nice to see that after years of studying politics and providing analysis, all my hard work is finally being rewarded. Oh, not financially of course (at least not yet). But the surge of Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama, which has confounded traditional experts, is actually playing out just as I predicted. Of course, there is a long way to go and anything can happen, but I am personally pleased (and maybe even a little bit relieved) that all the unpaid effort I have put in over the years has not been a waste of time. At least I am gaining an understanding of things.

Now that Mike Huckabee is getting closer the position of Republican front runner, he is becoming a huge target by political opponents. A couple of issues from his past have resurfaced recently. First, the fact that a man he helped release from jail, raped and murdered again. It's a tragic case, and one that he had more responsibility for than he first admitted. However, it really doesn't sound like something, in my opinion, that SHOULD stop his Presidential prospects. I remember the Wille Horton ads and thought it was dishonest for Bush I to suggest that it showed a flaw in the character of Michael Dukaksis. The same goes for Huck. Yes, it was a tragic mistake. But I am convinced that he has learned from it. What else can you ask of someone?

The next issue is with AIDS. In 1992 Huck said that AIDS patients should be quarantined and that funding should be held back because of the moral issues involved with this disease. He now says that he was wrong and excuses himself by saying that knowledge of the disease was much less then than it is now. This doesn't really make sense to me. After all, this was 1992 -not 1982! There was more than enough information out there for Huckabee to have avoided such ridiculous comments. Clearly he was pandering to the GOP base at the time without doing his research. Bad Huck!

It is important to remember that even though Huckabee is the best in his group, he is still a Republican. I'm sorry to say that modern Republicanism is grounded either in (intentionally disseminated) misinformation or a complete ignorance of facts. Huckabee certainly was no exception in the 1990's. He bought into all that "movement conservative" denial of reality stuff. But, here is the difference I see with Mike Huckabee - rather than stay set in his ways and continue to ignore reality, Huckabee educated himself and adjusted his positions and policies (including AIDS) based on what he learned. For a party which seems hell bent of forcing the world to adjust to their backward policy positions, it is nice to see at least one candidate in the GOP actually adjust his positions based on the facts on the ground. For a modern Republican that is groundbreaking stuff and I am hopeful that voters in their primary will continue to see the need to purge their party of ideologues and keep Huckabee on top for their party's nomination. It would do this country a lot of good to have someone from the GOP that, if not completely grounded in reality, at least is familiar with the concept.

As far as Obama is concerned I remain optimistic. He represents change and I just don't see the supporters of Edwards, Richardson or any of the other going to anyone but Obama. Barack should do well in Iowa and New Hampshire (probably win both) and the 2nd tier candidates will begin falling off. This will only strengthen Obama and should send him on his way to the nomination.

Enough of all that. Lets return to my favorite hobby of self congratulatory back patting. (I have learned that if you wait for others to notice you are doing a good job - you will probably never get what you deserve. Sad but true.) Below is an opinion piece by NY Times columnist Frank Rich. He is one of the best in the business and has penned a piece today that echos what I have been saying for months now. He is as right now as I was when I said it months ago. (P.S. Yes, this is all a thinly disguised attempt for anyone out there who might want to hire a political analyst and commentator that is often is well ahead of the curve. Contact me by e mail - I am available for immediate employment!)

Here's some of Rich's column:
COULD 2008 actually end up being a showdown between the author of “The Audacity of Hope” and the new Man from Hope, Ark.? It sounds preposterous, but Washington’s shock over Mike Huckabee’s sudden rise in the polls — he “came from nowhere,” Robert Novak huffed last week — makes you wonder. Having failed to anticipate so much else, including the Barack Obama polling surge of days earlier, the press pack has proved an unreliable guide to election 2008. What the Beltway calls unthinkable today keeps turning out to be front-page news tomorrow.

What really may be going on here is a mirror image of the phenomenon that has upended Hillary Clinton’s “inevitability” among Democrats. Like Senator Obama, Mr. Huckabee is the youngest in his party’s field. (At 52, he’s also younger than every Democratic contender except Mr. Obama, who is 46.) Both men have a history of speaking across party and racial lines. Both men possess that rarest of commodities in American public life: wit. Most important, both men aspire (not always successfully) to avoid the hyper-partisanship of the Clinton-Bush era.

The fact to remember about Mr. Huckabee’s polling spike is that it occurred just after the G.O.P. YouTube debate on CNN, where Mr. Romney and Rudy Giuliani vied to spray the most spittle at illegal immigrants. Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado, the fringe candidate whose most recent ads accuse the invading hordes of “pushing drugs, raping kids, destroying lives,” accurately accused his opponents of trying to “out-Tancredo Tancredo.”

Next to this mean-spiritedness, Mr. Huckabee’s tone leapt off the screen. Attacked by Mr. Romney for supporting an Arkansas program aiding the children of illegal immigrants, he replied, “In all due respect, we’re a better country than to punish children for what their parents did.” It was a winning moment, politically as well as morally. And a no-brainer at that. Given that Mr. Tancredo polls at 4 percent among Iowan Republicans and zero nationally, it’s hard to see why Rudy-Romney thought it was smart to try to out-Tancredo Tancredo.

The real reason for Mr. Huckabee’s ascendance may be that his message is simply more uplifting — and, in the ethical rather than theological sense, more Christian — than that of rivals whose main calling cards of fear, torture and nativism have become more strident with every debate. The fresh-faced politics of joy may be trumping the five-o’clock-shadow of Nixonian gloom and paranoia favored by the entire G.O.P. field with the sometime exception of John McCain.

Enemies of America

I have always said that the authoritarian nature of the Bush administration is not unique to him but reflects the anti-American agenda of the "conservative movement". I'm sure most of you all have heard how right wingers in California are trying to change the electoral college (for their state only!) in order to gain that "Permanent Republican Majority" these little fascists dream about. Of course in order to accomplish this they need to fool people into thinking they are doing something else. Nothing new here, but if they succeed, the chance of a Democrat EVER becoming President becomes almost mathematically impossible. To Hell with the will of the people. Listen, even when George W. Bush is long gone, these dangerous forces will remain in the United States. Like a disease that can be controlled but never cured, the "conservative movement" has to be continuously monitored and always fought otherwise it will kill this country.

The American Renewal Act of 2009

This is a great idea! All responsible people must admit that the past 7 years of the Bush Administration have been disasterous to our nation. To be honest, the damage done is so great, I am not convinced that we can rebond. However, an important first step to trying to save the USA would be to repudiate everything about what I have been calling the era of "Red America".

Commentator and cartoonist Ted Rall has come up with a brilliant idea which could help save this sinking ship and leave a lesson for the future on how to prevent it from ever happening again:

Now is the time. Write (an actual letter, not email) to your favorite presidential candidate and declare that you are a single-issue voter. Swear that, if he or she agrees to sign the following Pledge, your vote is assured. If not, promise to stay home or vote for someone else.

"I, ______________, hereby solemnly pledge that my first act upon assuming the office of President shall be to sign an American Renewal Act of 2009, which shall declare all laws, regulations, executive orders, treaties and actions undertaken by the federal government during the illegitimate and unlawful administration of George W. Bush to be null, void and without effect."

Government Waste

After her second tour of bleeding the taxpayer, Bush confidant Karen Hughes is resigning (again) to be with family (again) after failing at a high paid government job (again). God, to be a Bush crony! In the latest job to be mishandled by her, Hughes was given the responsibility to change the hearts and mind of Muslims toward the Unites States. Heck of a job Hughie. From what I can gather she made only one publicized trip to the region and that was a disaster. She may have made more trips and worked behind the scenes but her mission of "winning the hearts and minds of the Muslim World" clearly has failed miserably. Of course "success" in Bushworld only means being loyal to the imbecile, so she will be warmly embraced by the Republican establishment and undoubtedly financially rewarded in the future with another sweet job. Meanwhile, twice during the past 7 years, she has stuck you and I with the bill.

Long-time Bush adviser Karen Hughes will leave her post as undersecretary of state at the State Department in mid-December, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Wednesday. Hughes served as undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs since her appointment to the post in March 2005, and was charged with running the State Department's campaign to "win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world."
In September of that year, Hughes traveled throughout the Middle East as part of what she dubbed a "listening tour" to repair America's image among Muslims. But it was a tough sell, and many Arabs criticized her for what they called her lack of understanding of the region. Rice praised Hughes' accomplishments in polishing the U.S. image, especially in the Muslim world, and thanked Hughes for her "wisdom and advice."
Hughes previously served for 18 months as the president's White House counselor,
and has been one Bush's closest advisers since his days as Texas' governor. CNN

Political Prisoners

Yes. Right here in Red America. Richard Thornburgh worked in the Reagan and first Bush administration so his Republican credentials are indisputable. Thornburgh has gone public to state that the Bush Justice department have prosecuted people for the crime of being outspoken opponents of the GOP. Close followers of politics have seen this for years, but to have someone so entrenched in the Republican party admit this is very important.

Thornburgh, who served as attorney general from 1988 to 1991 and whose law firm represents Cyril Wecht, a nationally known coroner from Pittsburgh, testified yesterday that Wecht had been indicted for mail fraud and a "hodgepodge" of other charges by overzealous prosecutors keen on pleasing political appointees in Washington.

"He has always been a contentious, outspoken, highly critical and highly visible Democratic figure in western Pennsylvania," Thornburgh told the House Judiciary Committee. "In other words, he would qualify as an ideal target for a Republican U.S. attorney trying to curry favor with a department which demonstrated that if you play by its rules, you will advance."

I know for the most part I am preaching to the converted. But the point is so important to make. We are no longer living in the America we all grew up in. We are under the jurisdiction of a fascist regime. This is not just George W. Bush but the entire Republican party. Now I know many individual Republicans who are fine and good people. But the party they belong to is no longer an organization that respects America or Americans. Either by design or accident they have become nothing short or a democratic authoritarian government which harasses or imprisons those who speak out against it. This is no joke and may have already ended the grand experiment of the USA. Only when these people are outed, purged and put on trial can we begin to repair the significant damage done over the past generation of Republican dominance.
I know that this sounds pretty extreme but doesn't locking up people for their political views? I know it all seems impossible. After all we all grew up respecting a diversity of opinion and believing that America was great and was destined to stay that way forever. In case no one else has told you - we are not great at the moment and the path that those fascists hiding in plain view in the Republican party are taking us WILL end America as we know it forever if they are not stopped immediately.

911 Only Changed Their Excuse

This story is shocking - even to hardened skeptics like me. It seems that the Bush Administration sought Americans private phone records BEFORE the 9-11 attacks. Those who have excused the destruction of our constitutional rights because of the attacks that day, now find themselves embarrassed once again by their defense of the Bush Administration's un-American activities. Oh by the way, Qwest denied the request from the government which was followed by their business being blackballed for some government contracts and their leader arrested on insider trading allegations.

The phone company Qwest Communications refused a proposal from the National Security Agency that the company’s lawyers considered illegal in February 2001, nearly seven months before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, the former head of the company contends in newly unsealed court filings.
The executive, Joseph P. Nacchio, also asserts in the filings that the agency retaliated by depriving Qwest of lucrative outsourcing contracts.The filings were made as Mr. Nacchio fought charges of insider trading. He was ultimately convicted in April of 19 counts of insider trading and has been sentenced to six years in prison. He remains free while appealing the conviction.
Mr. Nacchio said last year that he had refused an N.S.A. request for customers’ call records in late 2001, after the Sept. 11 attacks, as the agency initiated domestic surveillance and data mining programs to monitor Al Qaeda communications.
But the documents unsealed Wednesday in federal court in Denver, first reported in The Rocky Mountain News on Thursday, claim for the first time that pressure on the company to participate in activities it saw as improper came as early as February, nearly seven months before the terrorist attacks.

Damage Done - Gonzo Gone

Alberto Gonzales has finally resigned, putting aside his selfish desire to further pad his resume. Of course, this is long overdue. Gonzo allowed the Justice Department to be run by political operatives who abused power in order to get "a permanent Republican majority". Gonzo was a puppet and figurehead who was there pretty much to serve four main purposes for George W. Bush. 1. It proved loyalty - Gonzo got Bush out of trouble a lot over the years, so the AG job was a personal reward. 2. He was easily manipulated - this allowed Karl Roves' people to run the department putting the interests of the Republican party over that of our nation. 3. It made Bush look inclusive - the main qualification in Bush's mind was that Gonzo was Hispanic. We all remember Bush pointing to Condi Rice and Colon Powell to prove he didn't hate blacks. Gonzo was there to show that he didn't hate Hispanics either. 4. It made Bush feel smart. Hard to believe but Gonzo was actually more shallow and less intellectually curious than George W. Bush. It must has been great for W to have someone around that actually was more dimwitted than himself.

Gonzo is a perfect analogy of the Bush administration and the current Republican party. He "believed" in the right things and refused to let facts ever get in the way of those ideals. He was a loyal crony who provided no criticism or oversight over the misdeeds of his sponsors or his party. And he was simply terrible in his job even as he harbored illusions of self grandeur. Adios Gonzo - go sign that fat contract with FOX news now so they can have another lackey to put front and center.

The truth can set US free

If you haven’t seen the news highlights from yesterdays hearing with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales you really should check it out. I agree with the consensus that there has never been a worse performance in Congressional history. Like a fifth grader trying to talk his way out of trouble, Gonzales’ answers were moronic, dishonest and an insult to the American people. In a way I’m pleased - because now we have a historical record of what happens when an authoritarian, crony based government has control. You get incompetent “yes men” who have no trouble lying their ass off, knowing full well they have the protection of the President. In an effort not only to point out this obvious fact, I also would suggest that people keep track of those Republicans (in and out of office) who continue to let our nation suffer from this Administration. They should be tagged for life as Un-American partisans and should NEVER be allowed to hold power over the American people again.

Having said that, you would have been hard pressed to find many Republicans supporting Gonzales yesterday. At least half of GOP committee members yesterday told Gonzo point blank that he was unfit for office. Of all the Republicans who pressed the AG yesterday, none was more hard-hitting than Senator Arlen Spector of Pennsylvania. He sees what going on and tore Gonzo a new one. So what does FOX News do? Well they change Spector's party affiliation from Republican, which he has been for 30+ years, to a Democrat! (Of course it’s not the first time they have done something like that). I show you this not only to reinforce my point that there is an organized propaganda program in place by the right wing, but to silence the critics who still refuse to believe that something so sinister could be happening in the United States. It’s happening, and is plain to see for everyone. In my opinion, if you don’t do something to stop it (especially if you are a Republican!) then you are just part of the problem. As American citizens, we have the DUTY to correct mistakes like this. Survival of our once great country will not withstand further appeasement of the Bush Administration by politicians, citizens or the media.

"They just wanted us to be Bush automatons."

With a Democratic Congress providing some cover to intimidated public officials, we are just beginning to understand just how much a Republican run government mirrors the old Soviet Union. That's to say: Protect "The Party", hail the "Supreme Leader", and above all do not let any truth that goes against the Party or Leader be spoken aloud. Here is just the latest evidence of this widespread abuse of power by the communists .. I mean the other Reds ... the Republicans.

Price Floyd left the State Department on April 1, after 17 years. He said he was fed up with the relentless partisanship and the unwillingness to consider other points of view. His supervisor, a political appointee, kept "telling me to shut up," he said. Nothing like that had occurred under Presidents Bill Clinton or George H.W. Bush. "They just wanted us to be Bush automatons." Does that sound familiar? Earlier this month, former Surgeon General Richard Carmona told Congress that Bush Administration officials had repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because they clashed with administration dogma. He said he was ordered to mention Bush three times on every page of his speeches.

Ohhh Mitt!

If I were to make a prediction today, (I guess that's exactly what I am doing) I would say that Mitt Romney will be the GOP nominee for President. He has the money, the organization and the focus which seems to me will prevail over the lackluster campaigns of his Republican opponents (including Frederick of Hollywood). I do not support Romney, but have not been a hater. As I've mentioned, I am generally supportive of Mormons and I think that of the Republican candidates Romney is closer to having a grip on reality than anyone else in the top tier. But, he is making mistakes that will not only hurt him in this campaign, but could also permanently bury his political career. Romney is pandering to the far right and it is about to kill his chances for victory in 2008. This picture shows him holding a sign that is idiotic at best and hateful at worse. No serious candidate would be caught dead holding that up. I suspect that deep down Romney thought it was a hateful sign - but felt he had to earn points with the far right. Does he? I don't think so. These extremists have called the shots in Republican politics for a generation but I think the tide is turning.

By now, Romney has flipped flopped on so many major issues in an attempt to appease the extremists he has all but destroyed any chance of winning in a general election should he capture the nomination. I am surprised that he did not learn the lesson from John McCain. McCain had some real people power in 2000 because he rejected the nuts in his party. Fast forward to the present and McCain support is weak because regular people hate his embrace of the fascist element of the GOP and the extremists won't accept anyone who is not and has not been a purist. I guess I'm saying that any candidate who wants to be President of ALL of America must reject the far right wing. Otherwise, they will end up like Mitt Romney, looking like a hateful idiot pandering to people who deserve to be condemned - not embraced.

A Perfect Example...

... of the real harm caused every day by "Conservative" ideologues. Detached from the reality of the real world they believe what they believe and the rest of us (poor children included) can go straight to Hell.

Washington Post
President Bush yesterday rejected entreaties by his Republican allies that he compromise with Democrats on legislation to renew a popular program that provides health coverage to poor children, saying that expanding the program would enlarge the role of the federal government at the expense of private insurance. The president said he objects on philosophical grounds to a bipartisan Senate proposal to boost the State Children's Health Insurance Program by $35 billion over five years.

Why I Blog

When I started this blog during the summer of 2004 it was mostly to promote my upcoming election party. It was a great success! Then it evolved into making a case against George W. Bush and for John F. Kerry. It did not succeed. Then I used it to make the case that the Bush administration is incompetent, dishonest and operates contrary to the American way. Most people have FINALLY come around to this point of view. Now, I need to illustrate how the failures of the past 6 years are only one part of the overall problem. That’s to say that George W. Bush, while singularly the worst President ever, is only the latest tool of a political party who have destroyed (intentionally in my opinion) all that was once great in this country.

Why do they do that? The reasons are many. First and probably foremost there is “Greed”. We see that in the privatization wave called for by Republicans. Look at Iraq - funny how Republican companies and individual right wing ideologue have actually become millionaires from this fiasco. If you look at just about any policy of the Republicans - follow the money and you will see their supporters (often ONLY their supporters) benefiting. Next, there is “Cronyism”. Rewarding loyalty is essential to the party because to be fair or objective would be destructive to the secret meetings and deals; institutionalize lies and propaganda schemes that have characterized the rise of the modern GOP. “Hiding behind the flag, the troops and the Bible”. The right wing has been very effective in fanning the hatred of people who oppose abortion, gay rights by creating a fictional attack on Christianity. They have used the techniques of religious leaders to frame arguments as a good vs. evil, with them being good. Likewise they label anyone who does not tow the line as unpatriotic. Tapping into these basic human instincts and insisting on an overly simplistic world view protects them from a critical review of their policies.

I feel that most of America now see and reject this behavior from the Bush administration. However, I am not convinced that people realize that he is only the latest figurehead for this movement. If in 2008, we elect a Republican President or Congress you have to know that will do things the same way as always. We have to remember how the GOP establishment, religious leaders and right wing media turned a mean spirited, underachieving son of a former President into a straight talking, all American Christian coming to clean up Washington. We must not forget the way the Republican Congress let Bush do exactly what he wanted with no oversight or accountability even as evidence of his destructive actions were plain for all to see. My worry is that if people forget and elect Republicans in 2008, it may take another 6 years for people to again realize their errors. By then it will be far too late to save our country.

This news story is the latest example of what I am saying. The USA Today reports that Pentagon knew that troops were ill equipped yet did not act to correct it. Yes, it was the Bush Defense Department filled with loyal Republicans - many of which will be around for decades - running for office, lobbying or becoming right wing media stars. Also keep in mind that the Republican Congress did nothing to correct this and the right wing media did nothing to report this to the American people. If you think that somehow by 2008 these all these folks will change their stripes - then good for you. I don’t think so and I am not willing to risk it. Therefore, I blog on - in the hopes that I can do just a little bit to warn those who care about our future but do not yet know of the domestic dangers we face.

On Monday, USA TODAY reported that the Pentagon has known for years that vehicles called MRAPs could keep U.S. troops safer from most roadside bombs, but until recently it did little to deploy the vehicles to Iraq, even as hundreds of Americans died. ---snip--- The Defense Department could have launched a crash program as early as 2004 to build MRAPs and ship them to Iraq. It did not. Infuriatingly, officials approved construction of some MRAPs for Iraqi forces, while insisting that U.S. troops stick with armored Humvees. When Marines made an urgent request for 1,169 MRAPs in February 2005, the answer was to wait for development of a new combat vehicle — in 2012.

Good News / Bad News Friday

It’s a Good News/Bad News Friday folks! The good news can be seen in this map. (click to enlarge) It shows a Red America on the ropes. If you look at the map only 1 state - Utah - still supports George W. Bush. (I am usually pro-Mormon. I’ve know many and they are very good people. But this seems to indicate a detachment from reality that can sometimes accompany strong religious belief. The fact that they still have not completely caught on to the failure of this Presidency makes me wonder if this is some sort of cultish mentality at play here.) Outside of that one state (and even the numbers for Utah are just barely over 50%) The rest of America seems to be rejecting the GOP. That’s the good news.
The bad news can be seen in this short video clip from my favorite news program Washington Journal. A young Republican, a protégé of one of architects of the Iraq war Bill Kristol, came on support the continued occupation. “Conservatives” love to train and indoctrinate their people young and this guy is so typical of the youthful zealots that the right wing cultivates. In his life, he will be paid well, get tons of TV and radio spots and regular magazine columns as long as he continues to push an authoritarian state run by the right wing. Anyway, in this video the very first caller criticizes him. Watch as this well trained young Red deftly deflects the question and brings up a series of irrelevant and distracting arguments. Some gall?!? Actually it’s a strategy of proven success. It was similar tactic of propagandizing that gave us the “Republican Revolution”. Clearly they think it will work again.

So while, the chart at the top of the page shows that a majority of Americans are not buying that line of crap any more, the video below warns us there are thousands of young conservatives out their being trained by the right wing to “take back” the country. This propaganda machine, with the appeasement of the mainstream media, will continue to endanger this nation for decades to come. That’s the bad news.

America Under Attack

Sheer frustration has caused me to hesitate writing anything about the latest rape of our constitution by the Bush Administration. Namely, the claim by Vice President Cheney that he is not part of the Executive branch and, in fact, outside the bounds of any part of government. I could write pages about this shocking attack on America, but it is not worth the time. Vice President Cheney, even as his office has been forced to back of his claim, has shown his hand. He is a fascist. He is un-American and he should be impeached immediately. Until this occurs, I will probably be writing less about “left/right” politics. Why? Because to “debate” Republicans at this point would only serve to legitimize them. If the America people want to save this nation, they have to remove the current regime. Until then, I will decline, as much as possible, to even acknowledge the legitimacy of the President and Vice President. Not only do they support failed conservative policies, not only are they incompetent in protecting our nation and her people, but clearly they have total disregard for American law and the US Constitution. I’ve had enough of trying to reason with them and their supporters. I’m fed up with pretending that their ideas for this nation are sincere or stand any chance of helping average Americans and I’m fed up with the “liberal” media allowing this assault on our nation to continue. Unless and until the Bush regime exits the White House, I have no choice but to consider us under attack by domestic (political) terrorists.

Red on Black (with update)

If trends continue and America turns away from Red leaders we can expect a lot more of this type of story. The more the American people take political power away from Reds, the more they will turn to threats and violence.

A white-supremacist Web site angered by a Leonard Pitts Jr. column alluding to the murder of a white couple, posted The Miami Herald writer's home address and phone number -- leading to threats against the 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner.When Herald Managing Editor/News Dave Wilson asked Overthrow.com to delete the address and phone number, site editor Bill White replied: "We have no intention of removing Mr. Pitts' personal information. Frankly, if some loony took the info and killed him, I wouldn't shed a tear. That also goes for your whole newsroom."
UPDATE: This is a different story, but also an example of the embrace of domestic violence by Red Americans. Believe it or not, some of our conservative friends are planning a big event to celebrate Paul Hill, the right wing hero that killed an abortion doctor ten years ago. I wish this story was not true - but it is - and just the tip of the iceberg of the domestic terrorist groups that scheme among us.

They all look the same to them

I am always fascinated as to the wide gulf between red and blue America. Here is a little story that shows how subtle racism is still widely used by those on the right to keep that division alive.
UPDATE: Rep John Conyors responds to FOX.

FOX News is so sorry