:: Da' Militant One's Lair ::

:: Friday, December 31, 2004 ::

Another Blast from the Past

Saturday, June 21, 2003 ::

Memo to Sheep:These are the words of leading conservative republicans in the matter of presidential lies and misleading statements:Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Illinois), “There is a visibility factor in the president's public acts, and those which betray a trust or reveal contempt for the law are hard to sweep under the rug...They reverberate, they ricochet all over the land and provide the worst possible example for our young people.” Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin) “The truth is still the truth, and a lie is still a lie, and the rule of law should apply to everyone, no matter what excuses are made by the president's defenders…We have done so because of our devotion to the rule of law and our fear that if the president does not suffer the legal and constitutional consequences of his actions, the impact of allowing the president to stand above the law will be felt for generations to come…laws not enforced are open invitations for more serious and more criminal behavior.” Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) “It would be wrong for you to tell America's children that some lies are all right. It would be wrong to show the rest of the world that some of our laws don't really matter.” Steve Buyer (R- Indiana) “I have also heard some senators from both sides of the aisle state publicly: I think these offenses rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors. Now, to state publicly that you believe that high crimes and misdemeanors have occurred but for some reason you have this desire not to remove the president -- that desire, though, does not square with the law, the Constitution, and the Senate's precedents for removing federal judges for similar offenses.” Rep. Lindsey Graham (R - South Carolina, Now Senator) “The president of the United States sets atop of the legal pyramid. If there's reasonable doubt about his ability to faithfully execute the laws of the land, our future would be better off if that individual is removed. And let me tell you where it all comes down to me. If you can go back and explain to your children and your constituents how you can be truthful and misleading at the same time, good luck.” Of course, the president that they were speaking of was Bill Clinton. The president that their words apply to is George Bush. Lying about sex: Number of casualties - 0. Lying about war: 190+ killed, hundreds wounded and counting. Who are you going to believe Bush, or your own lying eyes?::

Da' Militant 1 6/21/2003 01:41:35 PM [+] :: ...

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 12/31/2004 06:48:00 AM [+] ::
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What does it take?

After arguing that C+ Augustus was getting a bum rap by not commenting on the Tsunami disaster, the right wing is now pointing fingers at Kofi Annan for staying on a ski vacation instead of heading back to the UN. What Kofi Annan did or did not do in no way absolves the "village idiot" from his failure to show leadership. The standing U.S. pledge in $35 million for Tsunami relief. Bush's inauguration costs $40 million. Does anybody see anything wrong with this picture. I know Bill Clinton only wishes that Monica did to him what the right wing is doing to Bush.

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 12/31/2004 06:32:00 AM [+] ::
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Hillbilly Armor

Soldiers Must Rely on 'Hillbilly Armor' for Protection

Updated 10:34 PM ET December 8, 2004

They call it "hillbilly armor" -- U.S. military vehicles protected with scrap metal salvaged from landfills. And now U.S. soldiers want to know how long they will have to scavenge for junk to protect themselves in combat.
At Camp Buerhing in Kuwait, a Tennessee Army National Guardsman with the 278th Regimental Combat Team put the question directly to visiting Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

"Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles?" asked Spc. Thomas Wilson of Ringgold, Ga. His question was met with shouts of approval and applause from the estimated 2,300 soldiers who had gathered to see Rumsfeld.
"It isn't a matter of money, it isn't a matter on part of the Army of desire," Rumsfeld responded. "It's a matter of production and capability of doing it. As you know, you go to war with the Army you have."
Soldiers say trucks and transport vehicles that lack sufficient armor leave them vulnerable for attack.
"What we basically have is what we call hillbilly steel, hillbilly armor," said Col. John Zimmermann, a senior officer with the Tennessee National Guard. "It's real frustrating for these soldiers."

Zimmermann said 95 percent of the unit's 300 trucks do not have appropriate covering. In October, Army reservists refused an order to deliver fuel in Iraq, saying their vehicles were unsafe. Army Spc. Blaze Crook, a 24-year-old college student who will be heading into Iraq within days, was taken aback when he saw the condition of the vehicle that will take him there. "It's got huge windows on the front of my truck," he said. "It's basically like a window of opportunity to get shot, or shrapnel or anything like that to come through. It just doesn't make me feel good that I'm riding up there without the proper armor." Rumsfeld said soldiers can still be injured even in armored vehicles, but he said the Army is doing the best they can to protect them.
Improvised Armor In the meantime, the Marines of Fox 2/5 Company have learned to improvise, using scrap metal to shore up their transport trucks in Iraq. "One of the main problems [soldiers] have is exposure from the shoulder up, and that is one of the main reasons they came over to us and asked us to raise their sides and high-backs," said Kurt Hendler, a reservist serving with the Seabees, the Navy's construction force.
Hendler and his welding partner, Joe Parrot, are customizing the standard equipped personnel trucks with new steel doors, higher sides and deflecting roofs -- all fashioned from steel plates intended for road repairs in Iraq.

"We cover up the doors and put on some three-inch plate to protect the passenger and driver's side from IED [improvised explosive device] attacks, sniper fire and any other small-arms fire," Hendler said.
This makeshift armor ended up saving the life of a crew whose vehicle took a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenade. They say it will take 2 ½ months to get a new door to replace the one that was damaged. While the Pentagon works on supplying troops with more armored vehicles, replacement parts, and modification kits to combat units in the field, similar improvising is springing up in bases throughout Iraq. It has become a matter of life and death.

ABC News' Martha Raddatz in Kuwait and Mike Cerre in Iraq filed this report for "World News Tonight."

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 12/08/2004 10:43:00 PM [+] ::
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From the Associated Press

A Daily Look at U.S. Iraq Military Deaths
By The Associated Press

As of Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004, at least 1,280 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq (news - web sites) war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. At least 1001 died as a result of hostile action, the Defense Department said. The figures include three military civilians.

The AP count is four higher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated at 10 a.m. EST Wednesday. The British military has reported 74 deaths; Italy, 19; Poland, 13; Spain, 11; Ukraine, nine; Bulgaria, seven; Slovakia, three; Estonia, Thailand and the Netherlands, two each; and Denmark, El Salvador (news - web sites), Hungary and Latvia one death each.
Since May 1, 2003, when President Bush (news - web sites) declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended, 1,142 U.S. military members have died, according to AP's count. That includes at least 892 deaths resulting from hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 12/08/2004 10:37:00 PM [+] ::
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Donald Rumsfeld Revisited

I gave him a break after prisoner torture fiasco and now he pretty much has told the troops who are going to Iraq that they are expected to go regardless if they are properly protected or not. What arrogance and callousness. Time to go. U.S. killed and wounded amount toat least 10,000. How do we lose more men and women AFTER major combat operations are declared over? My white conservative friends have a hundred and one excuses, but in reality they are trying to rationalize their vote for an administration that is one of the most incompetent in U.S. history. I hope you all remain bothered by your consciences for the next four years. Of course Kerry was a "reed in the wind," but he was also a fresh start and that is what we as a country need. It should be about all of us not just you. While I voted for Kerry, I was concerned that he was too much of a stateman and while there is a time to fight, the fight must first be preceeded by a proper amount of discernment. That quality is sorely lacking from this administration. We are all up the creek now. May I borrow a paddle?


Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 12/08/2004 10:17:00 PM [+] ::
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No Title

I just want to rant a little bit. For those of you who voted for Bush, I sure hope that you get what you deserve. Granted John Kerry was as resolute as a reed in a strong wind, he at least may have staunched the flow. Instead you folks reward Bush who has gotten us into this mess. We're saver because we haven't been attacked since 9/11. Bush can protect us. Bush had been president for eight months when the towers fell. He had eight months to do something. What one concrete step did he take? As far as not being attacked in the past three years, does Osama really have to attack us again. Just the specter of what he might do is causing us incalculable damage. What is Bush doing? We now have over 10,000 casualities in Iraq. For what? These people will never give in to us and you can bet that whoever is elected in January will not have the support of a significant number of Iraqis. It is truly amazing that you folks are allowing this slaughter to take place. Like I said no title just a little rant.



Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 11/24/2004 11:16:00 PM [+] ::
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Voter Fraud in Ohio

Too bad that John Kerry turned out not to be much of a fighter. There is a good reason why he shouldn't have conceded the election. Check this out on today's Drudge Report:
Ohio Machine Error Gives Bush Extra Votes
Nov 5, 7:34 PM (ET)By JOHN McCARTHY
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - An error with an electronic voting system gave President Bush 3,893 extra votes in suburban Columbus, elections officials said.

Franklin County's unofficial results had Bush receiving 4,258 votes to Democrat John Kerry's 260 votes in a precinct in Gahanna. Records show only 638 voters cast ballots in that precinct. Bush's total should have been recorded as 365.

Bush won the state by more than 136,000 votes, according to unofficial results, and Kerry conceded the election on Wednesday after saying that 155,000 provisional ballots yet to be counted in Ohio would not change the result.

Deducting the erroneous Bush votes from his total could not change the election's outcome, and there were no signs of other errors in Ohio's electronic machines, said Carlo LoParo, spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell.

Franklin is the only Ohio county to use Danaher Controls Inc.'s ELECTronic 1242, an older-style touch-screen voting system. Danaher did not immediately return a message for comment.
Sean Greene, research director with the nonpartisan Election Reform Information Project, said that while the glitch appeared minor "that could change if more of these stories start coming out."

In one North Carolina county, more than 4,500 votes were lost in Tuesday's election because officials mistakenly believed a computer that stored ballots electronically could hold more data than it did.

And in San Francisco, a voting software malfunction could delay efforts to declare the winners of four county supervisor races.

In the Gahanna precinct, multiple copies of each ballot were recorded: two on the machine and three to a removable cartridge, said Matthew Damschroder, director of the Franklin County Board of Elections. When voting ends, each cartridge is taken to one of five zones in the county, where the results were loaded into a laptop. Those results were transferred by secure data lines to the county.

Damschroder said the malfunction occurred when one machine's cartridge was plugged into a laptop computer and generated faulty numbers in several races. He could not explain how the malfunction occurred. He had, however, ruled out a problem with software at the central vote collection office, as well as tampering.

"We tested if there was some possibility of human intervention and it was not possible," Damschroder said.

Kimball Brace, president of the consulting firm Election Data Services, said it's possible the fault lies with the software that tallies the votes from individual cartridges rather than the machines or the cartridges themselves.

Either way, he said, such tallying software ought to have a way to ensure that the totals don't exceed the number of voters.

Damschroder said people who had seen poll results on the election board's Web site called to point out the discrepancy. The error would have been discovered when the official count for the election is performed later this month, he said.

The reader also recorded zero votes in a county commissioner race on the machine.
Other electronic machines used in Ohio do not use the type of computer cartridge involved in the error, state officials say.

But in Perry County, a punch-card system reported about 75 more votes than there are voters in one precinct. Workers tried to cancel the count when the tabulator broke down midway through, but the machine instead double-counted an unknown number in the first batch. The mistake will be corrected, officials say.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, a glitch occurred with software designed by Election Systems & Software Inc. for the city's new "ranked-choice voting," in which voters list their top three choices for municipal offices. If no candidate gets a majority of first-place votes, voters' second and third-place preferences are then distributed among candidates who weren't eliminated in the first round.

When the San Francisco Department of Elections tried a test run Wednesday, some of the votes didn't get counted. The problem was attributed to a programming glitch that limited how much data could be accepted, a threshold that did not account for high voter turnout.

In New York, voting machine problems surfaced in a contested state Senate race. Elections officials disclosed in court that seals were missing or broken on 22 impounded voting machines.
Lawyers for both Republican and Democratic candidates said when a recount begins Monday, the machines' tally will be compared to written records logged Tuesday night. Differences could indicate tampering, they said, and the judge would have to decide how to count the vote.
The unofficial count has incumbent Republican Sen. Nicholas Spano ahead by 1,674 votes over Democrat Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

Somebody ought to get locked up. Thousands of phantom votes and the republicans were accusing the democrats of vote fraud. Let the investigations begin!


Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 11/06/2004 08:08:00 AM [+] ::
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Revisting the Iraq War Vote

My blogs have been sparse recently. I have had to take a break from the political season because this year has been too surreal. Bush likes to say that everybody had the same intelligence and came to the same conclusion on Iraq. He uses Congress' vote authorizing him to use military force against Iraq if necessary as a linch pin in his defense. The Senate vote to authorize Bush to use military force against Iraq if necessary was 77-23. The House voted 296 to 133 to give Bush auhtorization. In other words, 156 out of 535 congressmen and women voted against giving Bush the authorization. Why? Here is an article from the New york Times describing the House and Senate votes:

Senate Passes Iraq Resolution 77 to 23

Alison Mitchell and Carl Hulse New York Times October 11, 2002The Senate voted overwhelmingly early this morning to authorize President Bush to use force against Iraq, joining with the House in giving him a broad mandate to act against Saddam Hussein.
WASHINGTON, Friday, Oct. 11 — The Senate voted overwhelmingly early this morning to authorize President Bush to use force against Iraq, joining with the House in giving him a broad mandate to act against Saddam Hussein. The hard-won victory for Mr. Bush came little more than a month after many lawmakers of both parties returned to Washington from summer recess expressing grave doubts about a rush to war. It reflected weeks of lobbying and briefings by the administration that culminated with a speech by the president on Monday night.
The Republican-controlled House voted 296 to 133 Thursday afternoon to allow the president to use the military "against the continuing threat" posed by the Iraqi regime. The Democratic-run Senate followed at 1:15 a.m. today with a vote of 77 to 23 for the measure.

After the House voted, President Bush said the support showed that "the gathering threat of Iraq must be confronted fully and finally." He added, "The days of Iraq acting as an outlaw state are coming to an end." While the votes in favor of the resolutions were large and bipartisan, they highlighted a sharp split in the Democratic party over how and when to use force. This was particularly true in the House. Even though Representative Richard A. Gephardt, the House minority leader, put his weight behind the force authorization, more House Democrats voted against the resolution sought by the president than for it, splitting 126 to 81. Only 6 Republicans opposed it.

The opponents cited a host of reasons for their vote, including doubts that Iraq would imminently develop nuclear potential, fears that military action would take away from the war on terrorism, and sentiment against war among constituents.

In the Senate, as the debate stretched on, some prominent Democrats announced they would support the president, including Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, who had proposed a more restrictive resolution and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who called the vote "probably the hardest decision I've ever had to make." Mrs. Clinton said she had concluded that bipartisan support would make the president's success at the United Nations "more likely and, therefore, war less likely."

Other Democrats, like Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, were determined to vote against the measure, saying there were still many questions about how a war would be waged, what its costs would be and how long it would last. "We have very little understanding about the full implications in terms of an exit strategy," Mr. Kennedy told reporters.

In the end, the Senate Democrats split, with 29 for and 21 against the measure. One Republican and one independent opposed it. Most Republicans stood behind the president, including Representative Dick Armey of Texas, the majority leader, who had been one of the Republicans skeptical about the president's Iraq policy. Despite his differences with Mr. Bush on the issue, Mr. Armey closed the House debate with a plea for authorizing force. Mr. Armey, 62, who is retiring at the end of this session, cried as he spoke of the troops who might be sent to war.
"Mr. President," he said, "we trust to you the best we have to give. Use them well so they can come home and say to our grandchildren, 'Sleep soundly, my baby.' " He choked up and walked out of the House chamber.

The Senate was also on track to approve the use of force. It voted 75 to 25 to cut off the delaying tactics of Democratic dissidents who had been trying to force the chamber to hold a far lengthier and more deliberative debate. With that vote, final passage was assured. It was just a matter of when, as the Senate defeated a handful of Democratic amendments. Senator Tom Daschle, the majority leader, gave Mr. Bush his backing, saying, "I believe it is important for America to speak with one voice at this critical moment."

He alone among the four senior Congressional leaders had not signed off on the final wording when a compromise on using force was struck at the White House a week ago.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So at least 25% of Congress had misgivings about Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the streets of nation prior to the war. With this in mind where was the due diligence on Iraq? You had folks begging Bush not to rush into the war, to think the situation through. But alas, that was too much to ask. Now we are paying for Bush's foolishness in treasure and blood.



Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 10/29/2004 03:11:00 AM [+] ::
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The Liar

It's been a while since I posted anything. I've been busy. Anyway, George Bush now says that he complied with all orders and that is why he received an honorable discharge. The record shows that he did not take a required physical and was suspended from flying. What a liar. If some of you sheep are still willing to vote for him by all means be stupid!
Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 9/19/2004 01:13:00 AM [+] ::
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John Kerry "Liar"

John Kerry has for years insisted that he was in Cambodia during the Christmas of 1968. Well he LIED. He was in Cambodia in ... January 1969! Boy is he a liar! See he wasn't in Cambodia risking hi life at Christmas 1968, he was risking his life in January 1969. What a liar! Here is an except from the Drudge Report:

TOUR OF DUTY author and John Kerry historian Doug Brinkley is rushing a piece for the NEW YORKER: to set-the-record-straight on Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia tale, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. Kerry has turned to author Brinkley for a "modification" after it was exposed that Kerry was not in Cambodia during Christmas of 1968, as he once claimed from the Senate floor. The Brinkley piece for the NEW YORKER will now say that Kerry was not in Cambodia during Christmas, but rather in January, publishing sources tell DRUDGE. MORE Since the early 1970s, Kerry has spoken and written of how he was illegally ordered to enter Cambodia. Kerry mentioned it in the floor of the Senate in 1986 when he charged that President Reagan’s actions in Central America were leading the U.S. in another Vietnam. Here’s what he said as excerpted from the new book, UNFIT FOR COMMAND: "I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia. I remember what it was like to be shot at by the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and have the president of the United States telling the American people that I was not there; the troops were not in Cambodia. I have that memory which is seared--seared--in me." John O’Neil’s, author of UNFIT FOR COMMAND, comments on the “clarification:”“John Kerry describes Christmas Eve in Cambodia as a critical turning point in his life. We now know that his story is completely false. My question is how many people do you know have invented a turning point, one that is seared in his memory? While it makes sense for John Kerry to come clean about the Cambodia story, it is one of several tales that the Kerry campaign will have to face and clarify.”“By claiming we were engaged in a war crime and crossing international borders, John Kerry damaged the credibility of all the commanding officers above him and insulted the sailors who served with him,” said John O’Neill, member of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.”

As you can see much is being made of John Kerry's recollections of the Vietnam War. I wonder what George W. Bush's memories are?

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 8/13/2004 11:06:00 PM [+] ::
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Racism and the Republican Party

I know that many of you have taken offense to me interjecting race in many of many recent posts. Here's why:

Unabashed Racist Wins GOP Primary in Tenn.WOODY BAIRDAssociated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - An unabashed racist will represent the Republican party in the November election for a congressional seat after a write-in candidate failed to derail his effort.
With 86 percent of the primary vote counted Thursday, write-in candidate Dennis Bertrand had just 1,554 votes compared to 7,671, or 83 percent, for James L. Hart, a believer in the discredited, phony science of eugenics.
In November, the GOP candidate will oppose Rep. John Tanner, a Democrat who has represented the northwest Tennessee district for 15 years.
Hart, 60, vows if elected to work toward keeping "less favored races" from reproducing or immigrating to the United States. In campaign literature, Hart contends that "poverty genes" threaten to turn the United States into "one big Detroit."
"I didn't expect to win," Hart said. "I thought their network would beat my ideas."
He has run for the 8th District seat before and drawn little attention. But people began to notice this time because he was the only Republican on the ballot.
Since the deadline for getting on the ballot had passed, Bertrand, also a Republican, began a write-in campaign, saying he wanted to protect the party's honor.
"I think his beliefs are not beliefs of any party that I know of," Bertrand said Thursday night. "I knew it was going to be a really long shot, but in good conscience, I had to at least give it an attempt."
Bertrand, a financial analyst and former military officer, was on active duty with the National Guard when the deadline to get on the primary ballot passed.
Hart said he will have lots of time to campaign for the general election since he was forced Wednesday to resign from his job as a real estate salesman because of the attention he drew during the primary.
"They didn't say 'You're fired' in exactly those words, but it was pretty clear what they wanted," Hart said.
While campaigning, Hart sometimes wears a protective vest and carries a .40-caliber pistol, but he said he has run into no trouble.
"When I knock on a door and say white children deserve the same rights as everybody else, the enthusiastic response is truly amazing," he said.
If a black person opens the door, he says he simply drops off campaign literature and leaves.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Perfect example of what I've been saying and that's why black folk don't vote republican.



Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 8/07/2004 06:50:00 AM [+] ::
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Al Sharpton Tonight at the Democratic Convention
 
Whiter than white Howard Fineman threw a fit tonight because of Al Sharpton.  That Fineman is a reporter and should only be reporting the news is another story.  His running commentary deserves to be responded to and that tonight is my job.  Understand that black folks are always going to speak their minds and it doesn't matter that white America agrees or disagrees.  I don't notice that white America ever looks to black America and says "What do you think?"  Al Sharpton is a flawed human being who has definitely made several serious errors in judgement over the course of his life.  That however in no way negates the truth that he spoke tonight.  While I am still holding on to my republican voting card, I do not trust the current group of white extremist conservative republican politicians, nor would I ever consider them my fellow Americans.  For black folks, it not what you say, it's what you do when it comes to dealing with us.  The current republican party caters to the benign racist tendencies of many whites.  Now this doesn't mean that every white who harbors these feelings is a klansman, but with their world perspective they can not accept that black folks are their equals.  Listening to Howard Fineman tonight, brought back many memories of when I was a kid and black folks points of view where ridiculed and dismissed out of hand.  Well Howie those days are over.  Al Sharpton did nothing more than tell the truth tonight.  You can call it hate speech or whatever suits your fancy, but it was honest and forthright.  Well, Howie you can expect more of the same in years to come.  Amos 'n Andy and dead and buried.

 

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 7/28/2004 08:57:00 PM [+] ::
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Al Gore tonight at the Democratic Convention
 
Gone was the angry man.  Replaced was the almost pathological anger.  Both replaced with a well reasoned and persuasive message on why C+ Augustus should be vanquished.  Al Gore has set the standard for the convention and I hope all take heed.  No need to be wild-eyed and frothing, just state the facts.  If the sheep still vote for Bush this November then they deserve to be slaughtered.  Al Gore stated the case with eloquence and dignity.  Better to remain above the fray and maintain one's sanity.  The Big Dog is going to speak later tonight and the country will once again see the difference between a true president and a frat boy who thinks he hit a triple from third base.

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 7/26/2004 08:59:00 PM [+] ::
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The 9/11 Commission
 
I haven't yet spoke about the findings of the 9/11 Commission.  For one, I think it's a whitewash and two, the report was geared not to blame "C+ Augustus."  (I heard someone refer to Bush as such and the name fits.)  Bush had eight months to do all the thinngs that Clinton did not.  Tighten airport security, declare war on Bin Laden, and crack down on illegal immigration.  He did none of these and I guess personal accountability is only reserved for white liberals, blacks, and Latinos.  That the Commission said that we are still woefully unprepared says it all about the farce that is C+ Augustus and his legions.

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 7/26/2004 08:53:00 PM [+] ::
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The Democratice Convention
 
Alright, sports fans the games are about to begin.  This is John Kerry's moment in the sun.  He will either sink or swim this week.  He at least needs to stay afloat.  My advice to Kerry is to accept the nomination give a short "can do" speech and get the hell off the stage.    The democrats strongest point is its diversity which is also its weakest point.  White conservative America is most frightened by seeing a bunch of minorities (blacks and latinos) running around with clout.  Many of them feel that what's good for minorities is bad for them.  This is because white politicians constantly remind them of this.  The key to the success of the democratic convention is to be vocal, but responsible in its message.  No name calling and no lunatics at the podium.  Joh Kerry has a tall order to fill let's hope that he is up to the challenge.

 
Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 7/25/2004 12:24:00 PM [+] ::
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"Poor" Sandy Berger
 
What an idiot!  Of course the Bush Administration leaked word about the criminal investigation of Berger.  That's their nature.  That's what they do.  However, none of that absolves Berger of anything.  If he should be prosecuted then prosecute him.  Now if Berger is indicted and tried, I expect to see the same action taken toward the two "senior" administration officials that outed Valerie Plame to Robert Novak.  See, to have credibility you have to be consistent and Berger should not receive any preferential treatment. 

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 7/23/2004 08:37:00 AM [+] ::
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The "Peace" President?

This is a excerpt from George W. Bush's interview with Tim Russert on Meet The Press in February of this year:

Russert:  Shouldn't the American people have the benefit of the commission before the election?

President Bush:  Well, the reason why we gave it time is because we didn't want it to be hurried.  This is a strategic look, kind of a big-picture look about the intelligence-gathering capacities of the United States of America, whether it be the capacity to gather intelligence in North Korea or how we've used our intelligence to, for example, learn more information about A.Q. Khan.  And it's important that this investigation take its time.

Now, look, we are in a political season.  I fully understand people — He's trying to avoid responsibility.  There is going to be ample time for the American people to assess whether or not I made a — good calls, whether or not I used good judgment, whether or not I made the right decision in removing Saddam Hussein from power, and I look forward to that debate, and I look forward to talking to the American people about why I made the decisions I made.

The commission I set up, Tim, is one that will help future presidents understand how best to fight the war on terror, and it's an important part of the kind of lessons learned in Iraq and lessons learned in Afghanistan prior to us going in, lessons learned that we can apply to both Iran and North Korea because we still have a dangerous world.  And that's very important for, I think, the people to understand where I'm coming from to know that this is a dangerous world.  I wish it wasn't. 

I'm a war president.  I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign-policy matters with war on my mind.  Again, I wish it wasn't true, but it is true.  And the American people need to know they got a president who sees the world the way it is.  And I see dangers that exist, and it's important for us to deal with them.
_____________________________________________________________

Now listen to George Bush today from Reuters:

By Adam Entous
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Reuters) - After launching two wars, President Bush said on Tuesday he wanted to be a "peace president" and took swipes at his Democratic rivals for being lawyers and weak on defense.
With polls showing public support for the war in Iraq in decline, Bush cast himself as a reluctant warrior and assured Americans they were "safer" as he campaigned in the battleground states of Iowa and Missouri against Democrat John Kerry and his running mate, former trial lawyer John Edwards.

"The enemy declared war on us," Bush told a re-election rally in Cedar Rapids. "Nobody wants to be the war president. I want to be the peace president... The next four years will be peaceful years." Bush used the words "peace" or "peaceful" a total of 20 times.

Bush has called himself a "war president" in leading the United States in a battle against terrorism brought about by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America. "I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my mind," he said in February.
_____________________________________________________________

So there you have it.  And he calls John Kerry a "flip-flopper."  What an absolute disgrace.  Talk about saying ANYTHING to get elected!  Once again sheep, this is why you do not vote for ordinary Americans with ordinary intelligence.  They don't do well is critical situations.  That's why you should vote for someone who actually learned something is school.  For Bush to have an undergraduate degree from Yale and a MBA from Harvard, he is woefully inept.  Makes you wonder about the "affirmative action" program they have for the children of the rich, the powerful , and the white.  Bush is now in free fall and is sinking fast.  The country has been on edge almost from the day that he took office.  Remember that before 9/11, his ratings were in the toilet.  It took Bush less than two years to squander the goodwill of the country and the world.  Soldiers and Marines are still dying in Iraq at the rate of two a day.  Deaths are 900+ and total casuslties are 6,000+,  Medical evacuations are 20,000+.  And Bush is a "peace" president?

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 7/23/2004 08:16:00 AM [+] ::
...

The Village Idiot Part Deux

So the Dauphin thinks that it was a good idea to invade Iraq despite the lack of WMDs because the world is better off without Saddam. White hard-right conservatives you are embarassing yourselves supporting this village idiot. Most of you admitted that Al Gore was the smarter candidate and was more conversant on the issues. I remember Bush being interviewed on ABC before the election. He damn near agreed with every position of the Clinton Administration. Cokie Roberts pronounced that Bush had passed the foreign policy test. What an absolute farce! It seems that having to be the best qualified on applies to black folk. You say that the economy is coming back. Well sometimes broken legs heal, but they don't heal right. Check out the jobs that are being created against those being lost. Use you brains for once. You beat everyone else over the head constantly with your perceived moral superiority. Yet, you engage in the most perverse type of morality by supporting someone that has reduced the country to a pariah. And about that supposed colition in Iraq. Find out how much money and other goodies most of those pee-wee countries got for joining us.

I will be hammering white hard-right conservatives from here on out. In 1960 there were 4 million KKK members. What ever happened to them? Look in the republican party. They and their offspring populate and embrace the neo-confederate culture as if harking back to the "good old days." You beliefs have been emotionally and racially driven from day one. As long as Condi and Colin stay in line you will adore them. If they deviate from your ideal than you will scorn them. Your agenda is narrow, self-centered, and truly vapid. You point to the southern democrats to show that the democrats were the ones against civil rights. Well Bush is a republican and so am I and we have nothing in common. I gave him his props for his handling of the aftermath of 9/11. Yeah, I know what Michael Moore says, but Lincoln didn't become "the Great Emancipator" until he faced a crisis. Remember the Civil War? After the war want did Lincoln do? He tried to heal the country. Contrast that to Bush. Bush had a 90% approval rating. He squandered his greatness by being petty, vicious, and arrogant. You can continue to prop him up, but he will continue to follow his nature. It is all he can do.

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 7/13/2004 07:47:00 PM [+] ::
...

Gay Marriage

I am not against gay marriage. Quite frankly as a christian marriage to me is between a man and a woman. As a christian gay marriage is not my thing. That I try to walk a half way decent path to God means that I don't have to spend a lot of energy trying to stop folks of the same sex who love each other from getting "married". It's not a "christian" marriage so why should I be upset? I don't care what they call the union or if it's performed in a church. My God through his word says that it is unholy. That is enough for me. Now should I expend all kind of energy fighting that which I know has no bearing on me or my faith. What are we going to do? Make gay marriage illegal? On what basis? The divorce rate is nearly 50% in the country. There's a whole lot of heterosexuals that are denigating the institution of marriage. Now I don't now what God's ultimate judgement will be on gay people, but I have gay relatives and friends that I love dearly and want them to be happy in life. I may not personnally approve based on my beliefs, but if it makes folks more committed, productive and positive as people why not let gay folks enjoy the same rights as straight folks? I know that marriage in my eyes is between a man and a woman so let the gay folks have their day. Riddle me this. What is more destructive to our children, two gay men that want to marry, or a 50% percent divorce rate?

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 7/13/2004 07:33:00 PM [+] ::
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Messege to Kerry Supporters

Here's a email that I sent to Mary Tarr a Kerry supporter in Maryland:

Mary,

It's time to take off the gloves. Kerry and Edwards need to demand debates witrh Bush and Cheney immediately and if they don't accept curse them for the cowards that they are. We've got troops still dying almost daily. What
is Kerry waiting for? He fought in an insane war. He has an obligation to take the fight to Bush now! Also Kerry and Edwards don't need to apologize for the words of anybody that opposes Bush. Use Cheney's behavior on the
Senate floor as an example. He said he was glad that he told Leahy to "F--- off." Bush is steadily lying daily. Kerry should call him on it. Look this election is going to be one of the nastiest ones on record. Let Edwards talk about domestic policies. Kerry needs to focus on Bush, his
record, and foreign policy. You've got Iraq getting ready to boil over. The Iraqi President is calling for NATO and the Kurds are calling for independence. If Kerry doesn't begin to engage Bush, "forcefully" then events may overwhelm his message. For each issue he debates, Kerry should release a white paper that clearly states his position and views. He is not going to please everybody. So don't try. Also, it's time to connect that crook Delay to the Bush Administration's criminal culture. Time is of the essence. I told you, I worked in the RNC. I have been a republican for 18 years. I was raised in D.C. so I know when I am in a street fight. I have a blog: militantone@blogspot.com use any and all information and comments with my blessing. How embarassed are we supposed get over these clowns? Haven't they disgraced us enough? Let's get this party started right!

Peace,

Da' Militant One

:: DM1 7/13/2004 07:28:00 PM [+] ::
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The Flip Wilson Show

I just finished watching the Flip Wilson Show. Flip did a skit with the Supremes and a duet with Bing Crosby. Those of you who are under 30 probably don't know about Flip Wilson. Flip Wilson was a talented comedian and entertainer and his show was very successful. If I remember it ran from 1968 to 1974 and I watched it every Thursday night. They just don't make them like that anymore. He could be funny without cursing and tell a story that would keep you laughing. Flip died a few years ago, but if you watch his show it's like he never left.


Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 7/10/2004 05:20:00 PM [+] ::
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Phony Christians of the Conservative Right

Today's Washington Post has an article on page A3 which notes that at least some of George W. Bush's payroll records were destroyed in 1996 and 1997. A Pentagon Spokesman says that he is unable to provide complete copies of Bush's payroll records because of "inadvertent destruction of microfilm containing certain National Guard payroll records." What a surprise! White Conservative America, you spent eight years telling us that Bill Clinton was the devil, a liar, a crook, and generally a despicable human being. Yet you continue to support a liar, a crook, and a generally despicable human being. Yes, I am speaking of George W. Bush. Your continued support of this person is amazing because most of you profess to be Christians and hold dear the Ten Commandments. Why don't hold Bush to these standards. The flap over Bush's Guard service is a perfect example. He knows that he didn't serve all of his time because if he did the information would have come out long ago. How convenient that his records were "destroyed" accidentally. Does anybody with a kernel of honesty in their body actually believe that? Yet white conservatives go around strutting with a fake moral authority.

The devil also invokes God's name and we know where he is coming from. Where is Jesus in your lives that you can see so clearly the "log" in Clinton's eye, but not the "Redwood" in your own. The devil's goal is to bring death and destruction to whatever he touches. Compare Clinton's eight years to Bush's four years. Clinton for all of his faults at least tried to reconcile and reach out to his enemies. That is my opinion is Jesus-like. This doesn't mean that you get walked over, but at least you try. Bush on the other hand has alienated at least three quarters of the world against the U.S. Where is his Jesus-like behavior? I have yet to see it. Folks are mad about Michael Moore's movie "Farenheit 9/11" saying that it is full of lies and distortions. Well the footage I've seen of Bush doesn't appear to be doctored in any way. Basically, it's an ass acting like an ass. That such an unworthy lout is allowed to debase this country says a lot about the phony christians that populate the republican party. Clinton may have been an unworthy lout, but at least nothing was handed to him. Clinton didn't have a rich daddy with friends to clean up his messes and he was held accountable for his behavior. Remember the impeachment? What about Bush? You spent eight years on Clinton's weapon of mass destruction (his genitals), yet, with Bush, you provide him the "full Monica" daily. It's time now to put away your presidential kneepads for the good of the country and the world.


Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 7/10/2004 07:49:00 AM [+] ::
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Ronald Reagan

The "Gipper" is dead. While I thought many of his policies were wrongheaded, at this moment I would trade "The Gip" for the current occupant. Reagan was an eternal optimist and at least made you feel hopeful about the future. On the Fox News Channel yesterday the clones took great pains to compare George W. to Reagan. How disgraceful. As presidents go the Dauphin can't hold the Gipper's jock. Reagan defeated Communism with out a shot or nuclear weapon being fired. Now I know some folks dispute his legacy, but you have to give credit where credit is due. After 9/11 the country rallied around Bush and instead of being like Reagan and raising people's spirits, Bush took that good will and squandered it. No he is definitely no Ronald Wilson Reagan. Reagan was a man unto himself. I've got a Ronald Reagan memory myself. Back in the 1980s, I worked for the Republican National Committee. One day someone came into my office and said that they were looking for volunteers to see Reagan off on some trip. Well I jumped at the chance. After all how many times in one's life does he get to see the President. They bussed us over to the White House and escorted us to the South Lawn. The President's helicopter was revved up and out came Reagan in that brown corduroy jacket and yes I did wave and act a fool. Reagan bless his heart waved and went into the helicopter smiling all the way. R.I.P. Gipper.


Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 6/06/2004 06:06:00 AM [+] ::
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Tired

I think the word that properly describes many Americans is "tired." We tired of listening to Bush Administration lies and we are tired of their accolytes' constant lies and distortions. We are tired of hearing how the Iraqis have new schools, clean water, electricity and the like when the United States' infrastructure is crumbling. We are tired of soldiers dying and mothers crying. We are tired of the conservative right wing of the republican party using God in fundamentally dishonest ways. We are tired of the lack of personal and professional accountability. We are tired of legitimate criticsm of Bush being called unpatriotic and Bush hating. We are tired of the lie that is the Iraq war. We are tired of the Bush Administration's failure to acknowledge that the huge budget deficcits will definitely hurt America economically in the long run. We are just plain tired! John Kerry may not be the end all be all, but he can not screw it up any more than it already is.

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/23/2004 08:15:00 AM [+] ::
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Torture Defined

Torture as defined by the Look Way Up web site:

1. [v] torment emotionally or mentally. More...

2. [n] extreme mental distress. More...

3. [v] subject to torture. More...

4. [n] the act of torturing someone. More...

5. [n] the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean. More...

6. [n] intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain. More...

7. [n] unbearable physical pain. More...


Now based on what you have seen in the Iraqi Prisoner photos, is it torture?



Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/23/2004 08:11:00 AM [+] ::
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Rummy

I have an admission to make. I actually like Donald Rumsfeld and I don't think that he should resign. Rummy is not the problem. The real problem is Dick Cheney and his neo-cons. Look they even got to Colin Powell. (Remember the speech at the U.N.) I think the Rummy and Colin are two decent guys who were duped by Cheney and his accolytes. Like Powell I think that Rumsfeld is now trying to now deal with reality. This is what happens when you lay down with dogs: You get up with fleas.


Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/13/2004 07:30:00 PM [+] ::
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The Man Who Should Be President

He's a Vietnam Vet and a highly decorated soldier. He has served in the United States Senate for many years. He has been unfairly maligned by the Bush Administration and his minions. He is truly a man of our time. He is fair and balanced, thoughtful, and decisive. He should be the next President of the United States. I just watched him on television giving an interview. The conservative republicans have made a grave mistake because this man has integrity and true character. The next President of the United States should be ... John McCain! I had you all going there for a minute. I still like Johnnie Mac and he would be a hugh improvement over the Dauphin and Lurch!

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/10/2004 09:35:00 PM [+] ::
...

Interview with Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Fred Barnes

Militantone: Gentlemen, I understand that you believe that John Kerry and the Democrats are playing politics with the Iraqi prisoner issue.

Hannity: Waahh! Waahhh! Waaaahhhhh!
Limbaugh" Heh, heh, heh!
Barnes: Aarraugghhh!

Militantone: Alright? Next question. Are the democrats acting unpatriotic for wanting to know the truth behind the Iraqi prisoner incidents?

Hannity: Waahh! Waahhh! Waaaahhhhh!
Limbaugh" Heh, heh, heh!
Barnes: Aarraugghhh!

Militantone: Okay, gentlemen, I see that we are having difficulty holding in our emotions. Let me try one more time. How does the title, "President Kerry," strike you?

Hannity: Waahh! Waahhh! Waaaahhhhh!
Limbaugh" Heh, heh, heh!
Barnes: Aarraugghhh!

Militantone: Well there you have it. The best articulation I've heard to date of the conservative right's position on the Iraqi prisoner issue and John Kerry. This is the Militant One signing off.

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/10/2004 06:15:00 PM [+] ::
...

The Far Left and War

Some on the Far Left are confusing just wars with unjust wars. Afghanistan is a just war. Osama crashed planes into the World trade Center and the Pentagon. He was being habored by the Taliban. We attack the Taliban and drive them from power. See that is what you do when you are attacked and innocent civilians are slaughtered. That Bush has screwed up certain victory by not committing enough troops does not diminish the justness of the war.

Now Iraq is a differect story. It is an unjust war. We went in on phony evidence and drove out Saddam. Excuse me, but I thought the two primary objectives of the war were WMD and regime change. There are and never were any WMD and Saddam is history. So now what is the point? Democracy? Better schools and hospitals? Oil? We are now fighting mostly Iraqis. Many who were oppressed under Saddam. Liberators? Hardly. The Iraqi people are showing that our presence is no longer required. Fine. Let's turn this thing over lock, stock and barrel come June 30th and leave. Wait, what do you mean? We broke it so we own it? Oh yeah, that's what Colin Powell said to Bush prior to the invasion.

The Far Left is now railing against both wars. Their arguments would be more effective if they acknowledged that some wars were necessary even if bungled by politicians. There are valid and cogent points to be made in both cases; however, the United States need never apologize for defending itself. Now making up evidence to go to war is a different issue altogether!

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/09/2004 05:53:00 AM [+] ::
...

Ted Rall is an Idiot

In case you don't know Ted Rall is a cartoonist who is part of the far left. He drew a cartoon the other day that pretty much called Pat Tillman a fool for giving up pro football to serve his country as a soldier. Pat Tillman was a very decent guy who realized that he wanted to do something more meaningful for his country. That he was killed is tragic, but he was no fool. Even I called a recruiter after 9/11. It's been almost 20 years since I left the Army, but I was ready to go back in. Since I am the only republican in my family I didn't have much support. In addition no one wants to deal with the prospect of me not surviving a tour in Iraq or Afghanistan. Well Pat Tillman didn't just think about it, he actually gave up his glamourous life to serve his country. I think the fool in this cartoon flap is Ted Rall. Pat Tillman is not responsible for Bush's Iraq debacle. Also, Tillman was in Afghanistan, a war which was appropriate to prosecute after 9/11. Do not confuse the two. That we screwed up in Afghanistan by not finishing off Osama is not Tillman's fault either. Tillman is one of many brave Americans who gave their lives in the service of the country. Ted Rall is an idiot!

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/09/2004 05:12:00 AM [+] ::
...

I'm Not The Only One

Here's part of an article that appears this morning in the Washington Post:

Dissension Grows In Senior Ranks On War Strategy
U.S. May Be Winning Battles in Iraq But Losing the War, Some Officers Say
By Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 9, 2004; Page A01


Deep divisions are emerging at the top of the U.S. military over the course of the occupation of Iraq, with some senior officers beginning to say that the United States faces the prospect of casualties for years without achieving its goal of establishing a free and democratic Iraq.



Their major worry is that the United States is prevailing militarily but failing to win the support of the Iraqi people. That view is far from universal, but it is spreading and being voiced publicly for the first time.

Army Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, who spent much of the year in western Iraq, said he believes that at the tactical level at which fighting occurs, the U.S. military is still winning. But when asked whether he believes the United States is losing, he said, "I think strategically, we are."

Army Col. Paul Hughes, who last year was the first director of strategic planning for the U.S. occupation authority in Baghdad, said he agrees with that view and noted that a pattern of winning battles while losing a war characterized the U.S. failure in Vietnam. "Unless we ensure that we have coherency in our policy, we will lose strategically," he said in an interview Friday.

"I lost my brother in Vietnam," added Hughes, a veteran Army strategist who is involved in formulating Iraq policy. "I promised myself, when I came on active duty, that I would do everything in my power to prevent that [sort of strategic loss] from happening again. Here I am, 30 years later, thinking we will win every fight and lose the war, because we don't understand the war we're in."

The emergence of sharp differences over U.S. strategy has set off a debate, a year after the United States ostensibly won a war in Iraq, about how to preserve that victory. The core question is how to end a festering insurrection that has stymied some reconstruction efforts, made many Iraqis feel less safe and created uncertainty about who actually will run the country after the scheduled turnover of sovereignty June 30.

Inside and outside the armed forces, experts generally argue that the U.S. military should remain there but should change its approach. Some argue for more troops, others for less, but they generally agree on revising the stated U.S. goals to make them less ambitious. They are worried by evidence that the United States is losing ground with the Iraqi public.

Some officers say the place to begin restructuring U.S. policy is by ousting Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, whom they see as responsible for a series of strategic and tactical blunders over the past year. Several of those interviewed said a profound anger is building within the Army at Rumsfeld and those around him.

A senior general at the Pentagon said he believes the United States is already on the road to defeat. "It is doubtful we can go on much longer like this," he said. "The American people may not stand for it -- and they should not."

Asked who was to blame, this general pointed directly at Rumsfeld and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz. "I do not believe we had a clearly defined war strategy, end state and exit strategy before we commenced our invasion," he said. "Had someone like Colin Powell been the chairman [of the Joint Chiefs of Staff], he would not have agreed to send troops without a clear exit strategy. The current OSD [Office of the Secretary of Defense] refused to listen or adhere to military advice."

Like several other officers interviewed for this report, this general spoke only on the condition that his name not be used. One reason for this is that some of these officers deal frequently with the senior Pentagon civilian officials they are criticizing, and some remain dependent on top officials to approve their current efforts and future promotions. Also, some say they believe that Rumsfeld and other top civilians punish public dissent. Senior officers frequently cite what they believe was the vindictive treatment of then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki after he said early in 2003 that the administration was underestimating the number of U.S. troops that would be required to occupy postwar Iraq.

Here a post I did a few days ago:

Thu May 06, 06:57:03 PM | Da' Militant 1 | edit ]
The Dauphin Capitulates

George Bush capitulated to the Arab world today during a shameful and incoherent press conference. It did not help that the King of Jordan spoke better english than the so-called leader of the free world. The Dauphin acknowledged that he told the King of Jordan that he was sorry for what happened to the Iraqi prisoners at the hands of the U.S. military. That he was too cowardly to say that he was sorry yesterday when he truly had the world's spotlight has once again caused the U.S. to lose even more of its already tattered credibility. The Arab world now sees the Dauphin in his true light. A craven and moral coward who should never had been appointed to the presidency. Those of you "kool aid" drinkers out there who still support him, why? You are for ever telling the rest of us that he is doing a wonderful job. And he is, only it is in recruiting more talent for Osama and all other folks who can't stand America. I guess there are no more standards of conduct for a president. I will trade Bill Clinton's lie about Monica over Bush's serial crimes any day. Read through my other posts if you want a running documentary of his crimes. This is a "Chistian" nation? You allow an incompentent fool to continue to masquerade as president and everything he touches turns to failure. The war in Iraq is unwinnable no matter how many Iraqis we kill and maim. See, the war has been lost in the court of world opinion and we no longer hold the moral high ground. Read Colin Powell's interview in this month's GQ. It says it all. High crimes, misdemeanors and assorted other crimes have been perpetrated by the Bush Administration and it is time for another impeachment. The lies of Iraq, the outing of a CIA operative, the funnelling of $700 million for the Afghanistan war to plan for the war in Iraq just to name a few of the "high crimes." Like Master Po told Grasshopper, "It is time for you to leave."
Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/09/2004 04:53:00 AM [+] ::
...

Sit Down and Shut Up

Memo to conservative republicans. It's time for some of you to shutup and sit down. The country has been doing it your way for the past three years. We have record deficits, two wars that don't seem to have a conclusion, and the hatred of the world. This is what happens when arrogant phony hypocrites hijack America foreign policy. To see you pontificating at the Iraqi prisoner abuse hearings is a joke. Your boy Rush doesn't have to filter or shade his words and you know that most of you feel the same way. Rush says its no more than a "fraternity prank" and troops letting off steam. Your biggest outrage is that this has come to light and the world is outraged. The fact that you have to qualify all of your comments about how wonderful the rest of the troops are performing is an indication at least to many that your outrage is dubious at best. Most of the world knows that the vast majority of American soldiers are solid professionals. That some in the Arab world and Europe feel differently is more of a function of their overall disdain for the Bush Administration and its policies. Get used to it because if the Dauphin is reappointed we will have at least four more years of disgrace and misery. You talk about schools being built, clean water being available and hospitals being built in Iraq. Sounds like a job for the Peace Corps. How about the hospital closings that have gone on in the Nation's Capital in the past few years? Don't hear you bragging about that.

The bitter truth is that the American government has moved so far to the right that it no longer represents those high ideals that were hallmarks to the rest of the world. No dissent was allowed after 9/11. Not once did you look back and admit a mistake. You just kept on pushing your narrow ideological agenda damn the consequences. Is it that you think biblical prophesy is being revealed? Well don't be surprised if you will be taking the "down" elevator because there is nothing christian about what is going on with the so-called christian right. None of the carnage would be happening without your blessing to the Bush Administration. Your insistence that the country go to war in Iraq was wholly without merit or substance. Any reader of history and warfare would have surmised that the true battles in Iraq would be fought in the cities not the desert. Saddam had no air force. His armor was poor and his soldiers were not very good desert fighters against the U.S. Now if the Iraqis could lure the Americans into the cities, they could then start the body count. And now the battle has been joined. Surprise, surprise! Pictures of naked Iraqis and sadistic American soldiers begin to flood the Internet. Why are you surprised? Our policies have been anti-arab and pro-Israel for many years. The soldiers who now serve in Iraq grew up hearing and seeing nothing, but negative images of arabs and Iraqis. You then send them over to fight these images and guess what? Some American soldiers begin to humilate and degrade a bunch of worthless so and sos who are killing their friends and keeping them from seeing their families. That the abuse was probably at least tacitly ordered by military intelligence or some other entity shows how easy even the best of us can be pulled into the madness. The fact is that the conservative right has had its chance and has screwed up at every turn. Now it's time for you to sit down and shut up!

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/08/2004 03:03:00 PM [+] ::
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Sounds like War Crimes

Groups Say They Cited Iraq Prison Abuse

By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq oldest human rights group and the international Red Cross said Thursday that they complained repeatedly last year about mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners, long before the U.S. Army began investigating abuse allegations. The Human Rights Organization in Iraq said it got little response from American administrators, although the Red Cross said U.S. officials made some changes after it pointed to specific practices at the Abu Ghraib prison. The U.S. military began an investigation at Abu Ghraib in January, after an American guard informed commanders of abuses inflicted by colleagues. The probe has since widened into a look at whether there was systematic abuse at detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan. The scandal mushroomed after pictures became public last week showing abuses at Abu Ghraib. Photos of smiling American guards stripping Iraqi prisoners and sexually humiliating them set off an international outcry and outraged Arabs. President Bush apologized Thursday, saying he was "sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families." He said the images had made Americans "sick to their stomach." Adel al-Allami, an official at the Iraqi human rights organization, said his group tried for months last year to get an audience with U.S. occupation officials. He said it wanted to present a list of reported abuses at prisons as well as complaints about mistreatment of Iraqis during U.S. raids on homes in the search for insurgents.
"We knew of many human rights violations and sent a number of memos," al-Allami said, saying the group had reports of detainees being beaten and deprived of sleep. Iraqi civilians also complain about heavy-handed methods used by soldiers during raids, including the hooding of detainees, damage to homes and theft of property, he said. The human rights organization, which was founded in 1960 but kept a low profile during Saddam Hussein 's regime, asked repeatedly for meetings with coalition officials, but each time officials "would give excuses for not meeting," al-Allami said.

The group finally got a meeting three weeks ago and presented requests for compensation for mistreated Iraqis, he said. "The treatment of these issues has not been positive at all," he said of U.S. administrators. "They have felt that Americans have total protection from any sort of prosecution ... This is the authority of the strong over the weak." Red Cross teams have been visiting Abu Ghraib every five or six weeks since last year, the organization's regional spokeswoman, Nada Doumani, told The Associated Press by telephone from Amman, Jordan. "We were aware of what was going on, and based on our findings we have repeatedly requested the U.S. authorities to take corrective action," she said.
She said U.S. officials did make some changes, but added that they were not necessarily connected directly to "this issue about having naked people like this or like that, or homosexual practices." She said Red Cross regulations prevented her from being specific about what practices the organization complained about or what corrections were taken. The Army investigation at Abu Ghraib found that military police had on at least one occasion hidden prisoners during a visit by a Red Cross delegation. A two-month-old report, disclosed last week, said the incident included six to eight prisoners and noted that "this maneuver was deceptive, contrary to Army Doctrine and in violation of international law."

Secretary of State Colin Powell telephoned the international Red Cross president, Jakob Kellenberger, on Thursday to assure him that the U.S. government was dealing with the reported abuse of Iraqi detainees. "We will answer in a comprehensive way," Powell told reporters. Six American guards have been charged and seven other officials have been disciplined for abuses investigated in January. But since then, evidence has grown that abuse was not an isolated occurrence. The Army disclosed Tuesday that it was looking into 10 prisoner deaths and said two other deaths already had been ruled homicides. On Wednesday, an intelligence official said the CIA inspector general was examining two additional deaths involving agency interrogators.


Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/06/2004 07:25:00 PM [+] ::
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My Take on John Kerry

I think that John Kerry is a good man and a weak candidate. He can't seem to put passion in his words or inspiration in his actions. Now is the time for Kerry to seize the moment and engage Bush fully. Instead he is an antidote for No-Doz. Unbelievably lackluster and wooden. Kerry one big asset is that he is not George W. Bush. However, this is not enough to beat Bush. Bush is a spoiled rich kid who needs to be confronted face to face with zeal and conviction. Alas, I don't know that Kerry is the man to do it.

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/06/2004 07:13:00 PM [+] ::
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Should Rumsfield be fired?

In a word, "No." Rumsfield is not doing anything that Bush is disapproving of. Who should take Runsfield's place? Another hand-picked incompetent? Come Novmber you all can make sure that both Rumsfield and Bush join the ranks of the unemployed

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/06/2004 07:05:00 PM [+] ::
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The Dauphin Capitulates

George Bush capitulated to the Arab world today during a shameful and incoherent press conference. It did not help that the King of Jordan spoke better english than the so-called leader of the free world. The Dauphin acknowledged that he told the King of Jordan that he was sorry for what happened to the Iraqi prisoners at the hands of the U.S. military. That he was too cowardly to say that he was sorry yesterday when he truly had the world's spotlight has once again caused the U.S. to lose even more of its already tattered credibility. The Arab world now sees the Dauphin in his true light. A craven and moral coward who should never had been appointed to the presidency. Those of you "kool aid" drinkers out there who still support him, why? You are for ever telling the rest of us that he is doing a wonderful job. And he is, only it is in recruiting more talent for Osama and all other folks who can't stand America. I guess there are no more standards of conduct for a president. I will trade Bill Clinton's lie about Monica over Bush's serial crimes any day. Read through my other posts if you want a running documentary of his crimes. This is a "Chistian" nation? You allow an incompentent fool to continue to masquerade as president and everything he touches turns to failure. The war in Iraq is unwinnable no matter how many Iraqis we kill and maim. See, the war has been lost in the court of world opinion and we no longer hold the moral high ground. Read Colin Powell's interview in this month's GQ. It says it all. High crimes, misdemeanors and assorted other crimes have been perpetrated by the Bush Administration and it is time for another impeachment. The lies of Iraq, the outing of a CIA operative, the funnelling of $700 million for the Afghanistan war to plan for the war in Iraq just to name a few of the "high crimes." Like Master Po told Grasshopper, "It is time for you to leave."

Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/06/2004 06:57:00 PM [+] ::
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Victory in Fallujah

The Iraqi insurgents and terrorists celebrated a victory today when the Bush Administration ordered marines to withdrawal from Fallujah. The proud marines were forced to stand down as the casuality rate is too high and is starting to interfere with Bush's reelection campaign. A senior admnistration official stated that "one or two soldiers dying each week is better for our re-election efforts. Besides we only wanted the oil fields anyway." The Iraqi insurgents and terrorists say that their great victory is made greater by the fact that with Saddam gone they now have no one to keep them in check. They laughed and said that while they knew that Saddam was keeping a lid on a hornet's nest, they hoped to convince the world that he was an "evil doer", a "bad man", and a "brutal dictator". They all proceeded to shout "Mission Accomplished".

Back in the White House George W. Bush took a nap while Dick Cheney fielded questions.

Question: Where is the president?

Cheney: He is taking his afternoon nap.

Question: Shouldn't he be answering these questions?

Cheney: Heh, heh, heh. Look little Georgie had a rough day. They pre-empted the Bugs Bunny Roadrunner Hour this morning and we were all out of Bosco.

Question: Wow, that does sound like a rough morning.

At that moment, the president walked into the room rubbing his eyes and crying that the loud voices woke him up. Vice President Cheney preceded to give the President a glass of warm milk, burbed him and sent him back to bed. The President began to cry and Cheney read him his favorite bedtime story, "Curious George". The President finally fell asleep and Cheney asked us to lower our voices

Cheney: I only have time for a few questions.

Question: Why did we withdraw from Fallujah?

Cheney: We did not withdraw, we redistributed our forces.

Question: But the Iraqi insurgents and terrorist elements are calling this a major defeat for the U.S. and a victory for terrorism.

Cheney: Listen, no one is more committed to fighting terrorism than this president. That show off John Kerry would have terrorists running his foreign policy.

Question: Then why give up on Fallujah?

Cheney: We haven't. As we speak we have one of Saddam's former generals leading an all-Iraqi battalion in Fallujah.

Question: A former general of Saddam's?

Cheney: You betcha'.

Question: Wasn't one of the objectives of the war to rid Iraq of Saddam and his military apparatus?

Cheney: Of, course.

Question: Then why is the general being permitted to lead troops.

Cheney: Have you seen those Iraqi insurgents and terrorists? They're mean guys. They keep shooting at us.

Question: Well, Sir, this is a war and we are shooting at them.

Cheney: Yeah, but they were supposed to welcome us with open arms.

Question: What happened?

Cheney: They didn't get the memo.

Question: What is the strategy now?

Cheney: No further questions.


Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/02/2004 11:10:00 AM [+] ::
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Ode to Sleepy John


Awake, awake my stout tall friend
the election is a coming
the Bush machine is in full swing
it's locked, loaded and humming.

Now is the time to make your name
so leap into the fray
not tomorrow, not next week
right now, right here, today

Awake from your slumber the hour is late
and your chances are growing slimmer
The country can't afford another four years of Bush,
the Dauphin, our light is growing dimmer

Open your eyes and stand to post
For you have a charge to keep
and I have many more posts to write
and miles before I sleep


Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/02/2004 10:01:00 AM [+] ::
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John Kerry Lives

Despite news to the contrary John Kerry is alive. Yeah I know, I saw him on Meet the Press and I couldn't tell either. John get some pep in your step. You don't have to Howard Dean it, but can you at least show some passion? Bush has given you so many openings and all you can do is argue about ribbons and medals. Who cares what Cheney and the chickenhawks say? Just look them in the eye call them cowards and move on. I here that vitamin B-12 does wonders. I thought that at one point during your interview with Tim "Fats" Russert, he was going to put a mirror under your nose to see if you were still breathing. The dour patrician statesman look is old. Show some energy!


Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/02/2004 09:46:00 AM [+] ::
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Email address is: militant.one@att.net
I read all responses. I will post responses along with my reply. Watch raw language. Remember Michael Powell runs the FCC.

:: DM1 5/02/2004 09:39:00 AM [+] ::
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Iraqi POWs

What can you say? We blew it. What little dignity we have left is gone. This is what happens when you start to dig a hole and can't stop. It's had to have the moral pulpit when you are doing the same thing that you are accusing others of. Well at least we didn't burn them and string the from a bridge. That is your response? If that's the best you can do, then we are truly in big trouble!

:: DM1 5/02/2004 08:48:00 AM [+] ::
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Here's A Letter from an Old Man who has it Right

Cowards shouldn't quibble or accuse
May 1, 2004

WHAT'S ALL this horse manure about ribbons and medals? And it comes from absentee Dick Cheney and semi-AWOL George Bush. How dare the administration's Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz, who skipped the war of their time, send 700 young Americans to their deaths.

We now watch in amazement as the coalition of wimps tries to diminish John Kerry's service!

I won some medals flying against the Nazis. Now I can't even find my medals or ribbons. The terminology is irrelevant. The ribbons are just the wearable stand-ins for the medals. They aren't important except for being symbols of service. All sevicemen's discharge papers record the awards.

I recall the day my wife and I camped out on Lexington Green with John Kerry and the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. We and hundreds of the region's solid citizens believed that members of the US military who had been hoodwinked into fighting a dirty and mistaken war deserved our support.

Kerry was right as a patriot to put his life on the line and then, with the wisdom that came from his experience in Vietnam, to do his best to end the slaughter of young Americans. If that's what this Republican flip-flop issue is about, I think the Bush camp should be ashamed. Cowards shouldn't quibble and accuse. They didn't earn the right.

RICHARD C. BARTLETT
Cotuit

That pretty mush sums up a lot of the anger towards the "chickenhawks". I will give Rummy and Colin their due because they served honorably. Bush, Cheney, Woofy, and the rest didn't step up when they could have. Neither did Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly, Hume, Barnes, or Kristol. All of you could have spoken loud and clearly by serving your country in uniform, but you didn't. It's not that any of you didn't serve in combat, it's that you didn't serve. Bush doesn't get the benefit of the doubt because his daddy's pull got him in the National Guard. All of you phonies out there know that back in day folks like Bush joined the Guard to get out of going to Vietnam. Don't try the justification that Bush flew jets and was in a dangerous MOS. I bet most of the soldiers in Vietnam would have traded flying jets in Texas to sloushing in rice patties being shot at. So just go away. If Ollie or G. Gordon want to take Kerry to task, fine, let's have at it. The rest of you haven't earned it. Peace

MilitantOne
U.S. Army 1981-85
Expert M-16 and Grenade (and I was a computer programmer)
Army Achievement Medal 1985
West Point 1980 (Before the good old boys ran me out)

:: DM1 5/02/2004 08:37:00 AM [+] ::
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Contact Info


For those of you who want to respond to one of my blogs, you can respond at "militant.one@att.net" I will post your email and my response. You can be raw, but keep in mind that Michael Powell runs the FCC. I take on all comers. Peace.

:: DM1 5/02/2004 08:03:00 AM [+] ::
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Shout Out to My "Number 1" Fan

I just want to give props to my #1 Fan. He is a white conservative republican and needs to run for office like I have been suggesting for years. Now don't get me wrong he's got a little dirt under his fingers just like I do. He also could bring some perspective to the conservative wing of the party. He's been around black folks and white liberals and though he may not agree with all that is going down, he would be a breath of fresh air to the narrow-minded self-centered folks who hover at the top. That the two of us have been able to break bread for lo' these many years I think bodes well for the human condition. Anyway, he's a good friend and I want to spotlight our friendship in this blog. Peace.

:: DM1 5/02/2004 07:51:00 AM [+] ::
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Blinders

Some white republican conservatives remind me of a horse pulling a buggy with "blinders" on. The only thing they can see is the direction that they want to go. One more time, not all of the rest of the world wants to be like America. Other people have their own cultures and traditions. What does it take to get that through your skulls? You are led by emotion and ideology and you are destroying this nation. You say you are Christians, where are your works? You got rid of Saddam? Well since you put him there you were only making things right. You believe in tough love for liberals and minorities. Yet white conservatives get passes from you. For example, Bill "The $8 Million Gambler" Bennett; Rush "The Oxycotin Man" Limbaugh; George "Mission Accomplished" Bush; Dick "Other Priorities" Cheney; Sean "I was not called to serve" Hannity; Tom "I don't remember if I was the CEO" Delay, and on and on. A bunch of frauds who get passes from folks in the "red" states. Then you have Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima, I mean Colin and Condi. What? I shouldn't have said that? Go back and look at slave life. Massa always had a couple of "Negroes" who they trusted and who would stay by Massa no matter what. That Colin Powell can be uppity and virtuous at times really riles some of you. Until you look past your own narrow world you will never achieve that which you seek. Face it, the entire government is run by conservative white republicans and where is our country. Who in the world can we count on? Who can count on us? How many soldiers must die in Iraq before your bloodlust has been satisfied? I have stayed clear on talking about race in certains contexts until recently. However, now is the time to question white, conservative republicans in the same manner that they question liberals and minorities with labels and contempt. Who is really blind, the man with eyes who refuses to see or the man who is blind and can not see?

:: DM1 4/29/2004 11:36:00 PM [+] ::
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Dick Bergen and George W. McCarthy

The "Dummy" is about to speak and give Unka' Dick's version of their sit down routine with the 9/11 Commission. What is really galling is that he didn't have the moral courage or leadership to appear before the Commission by himself. nor has he ever taken responsibility for any of the failures that have occurred on his watch. Folks like to call the "Big Dog" (Bill Clinton) a disgrace, but you are looking at the true definition the word in George W. Bush. What's really bothering me is that I voted for his father and would again tomorrow, but this apple has fallen far from the tree. He's been a slacker his entire life and if it wasn't for hhis daddy and his daddy's friends he would be dumpster diving for a living. I wonder if Bush sat on Cheney's knee during the interview and if one could see Cheney's lips move. A more important question is if Bush did sit on Cheney's knee where did Cheney place his hand? I'm sure that you know where I am going with this. If Cheney did place his hand where I think he did, did he first have to remove Bush's head? Stay with me, I don't want this blog to get censored so I have to talk around the subject some what. Now the "dummy" is out in the Rose Garden reading what Rove and Unka' Dick have placed in front of him. Thoroughly pathetic. It's time to end this side show. John Kerry, it's time for you to "ruck up" and stop being a statesman. If you want to beat this crowd you are going to have to get in the gutter with them because that is where they do their best work.

:: DM1 4/29/2004 01:27:00 PM [+] ::
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Well, well, well.

I just posted a comment about the looming fight in Fallujah and I run across this. Just a taste of the article.

April 25, 2004
Bush's Decision on Possible Attack on Falluja Seems Near
By DAVID E. SANGER
and THOM SHANKER

WASHINGTON, April 24 — Facing one of the grimmest choices of the Iraq war, President Bush and his senior national security and military advisers are expected to decide this weekend whether to order an invasion of Fallujah, even if a battle there runs the risk of uprisings in the city and perhaps elsewhere around Iraq.

Did you get that? The Bush Administration is going to decide if Fallujah is going to be attacked not the military commanders in the field. All we can hope for now is that the military is able to carry out what is a twisted and poorly thought out strategy. It is folly send the marines house to house because death will be behind many a corner. How about airstrikes, first? Understand that you will have to destroy Fallujah to save it. Bottom line. I sure hope that I am wrong, but looking through my columns I have been right most of the time. I hope for the sake of the Iraqis and the American soldiers that I lose this one.

:: DM1 4/24/2004 08:24:00 PM [+] ::
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WWSD

I wonder what Saddam would do if he was faced with multiple uprisings. Oh, yeah that's right he killed those who were uprising along with many civilians. Now what is the U.S. getting ready to do? How about killing those who are uprising along with many civilians. Wait a minute, we took out Saddam because he was suppressing and killing his people. We are killing and suppressing Saddam's people because we are trying to liberate them. What? How bizarre is it that we are doing exactly what Saddam would do? Only Saddam did it better. If folks were shooting at Saddam's troops from a Mosque, Saddam would have had the Mosque blown up. See that is how war is fought. I am so glad that in Fallujah we have given the Iraqi rebels many days to reinforce their positions and coordinate their tactics. Can you say more dead Americans? I am so glad that the Bush Administration is making sure that this war is a quagmire. Keep tying the military's hands and it will get worse. Say what you will about Saddam he had a docile electorate and he didn't have to worry about uprisings. Could he have been on to something or did he realize that the Shia, the Sunnis, Baathist and the Kurds would never live together under one flag unless forced? Pandora has left the building and she is raising some big time hell. What to do, what to do? The question that should be asked now is whether or not Iraq is worth saving in it's current form. Like I said, "WWSD"?

:: DM1 4/24/2004 08:09:00 PM [+] ::
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I See Dead People

I've been mulling ovee the pictures of the coffins of American soldiers. Should they be shown? Why not? Loudmouth couldn't wait to "prance" across that flight deck last year and imply that the worst was over. Major combat operations over? I think not. I don't know if there is a conflict in history where more folks were killed AFTER major combat operations. I don't think that I can take another day of the Iraqis loving us. The country is a killing zone and American soldiers are the target. Dauphin, what is the frequency? No plan and no exit strategy, thousands wounded and killed. And that's why the coffins should be shown, daily.

:: DM1 4/24/2004 07:54:00 PM [+] ::
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One Reason Why Afghan President Hamed Karzai is Known as the "Mayor of Kabul"

From the Seattle Times:

Woodward book tells of Bush's march to war in Iraq

By The Associated Press and The Washington Post


WASHINGTON — President Bush quietly ordered creation of a war plan against Iraq in November 2001 while overseeing a divided national-security team, including a vice president determined to link Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida, a new book says.

Journalist Bob Woodward, in "Plan of Attack," says Secretary of State Colin Powell believed Vice President Dick Cheney developed — as Woodward puts it — an "unhealthy fixation" on trying to find a connection between Iraq and the Sept. 11 attacks. Bush dismissed such characterizations of Cheney.

Another key revelation: Bush in mid-2002 secretly approved the diversion of hundreds of millions of dollars meant for Afghanistan to projects that would set the stage for a massive deployment of U.S. troops to the Persian Gulf region.

Did you get that? Bush secretly diverted hundreds of millions of dollars FROM Afghanistan to Iraq. The war in Afghanistan was supposed to bring democracy to the country and culminate in the capture or killing of Osama Bin Laden. Instead Bush chose to chase Saddam. Didn't he tell us that we would get Osama "dead or live"? I bet you all thought he meant it. Now you find out that he half-a**ed it. Basically told you anything he wanted to and then went behind your back and subverted the march to victory in Afghanistan. Now Hamed Karzai walks, and very quickly I might add, around the streets of Kabul trying to appear presidential. This I might add is striking similar to what Bush has been doing in the U.S. Bush diverted milions and millions of dollars away from our efforts to capture or kill Public Enemy #1 Osama to go after Saddam. Not one Iraqi was among any of the hijackers of 9/11. I submit that this revelation as well as other proveable breaches of the public's faith call for a strong response from the citizenry and Congress. Can you say impeachment? The only WMD that the republicans were looking for in the 90s belonged to Bill Clinton and when they found it they impeached him. The only person who was attacked by Clinton's WMD was Monica and she has the stained dress to prove it. Bush's search for nonexistent WMD in Iraq has caused thousands of U.S. and Iraqi casualities and deaths. It is time for this embarassment as a president to leave office. We need new leadership and I don't care which John Kerry shows up on election day, either one of them is better than what we have now, the boy who would be king.

:: DM1 4/18/2004 07:56:00 AM [+] ::
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