A Blog From Baghdad

"today [sic] my father and brother went out to see what happening in the city, they say that it does look that the hits were very precise but when the missiles and bombs explode they wreck havoc in the neighborhood where they fall. Houses near al-salam palace(where the minister Sahaf took journalist) have had all their windows broke, doors blown in and in one case a roof has caved in. I guess that is what is called “collateral damage” and that makes it OK?" — Salam Pax, from Baghdad, in his Blog, Where is Raed?

...in a Feb. 26 debate in the British Parliament, George Galloway, a Labor Party backbencher from Scotland, declared that "that born-again, right-wing, Bible-belting, fundamentalist Republican Administration in the United States want war." — from Bush, the Bible, and Iraq by Stan Crock of BusinessWeek

War, a new world order, and the return of Jews to the land God promised Abraham are three things Bush believes precede the return of Christ. I'm convinced he thinks that he's bringing on Armageddon. His Dad praised the new world order and W has done everything he can to increase it's skull and bones centered power. Bush has not pushed the Jews to stop expanding settlements in the land God promised Abraham. And war, well, St. Patricks day looks like it. Yup. These bible thumpers are going to screw us all to push their bullshit agenda, making themselves rich in the mean time, so they can be sitting in their mansions when the rapture comes. Anybody else think we should be sending the guys in white coats to put stright jackets on 90% of the Bush administration? Anybody else starting to realize that there's no difference between the fundamentalists in the White House who will kill civilians to meet their greedy goals, and the ones in caves in Afghanistan?

Bush's slips of the tongue often reveal the truth

As Mark Crispin Miller says in The Bush Dyslexicon, what we, and especially the corporate press, often think is a slip of Bush's mangled tongue, actually is a glimpse into the truth. Just one such glaring example in last night's "press" conference should give Syria, Iran, North Korea, and many others (including peace lovers everywhere) reason to worry.

"But in the name of peace and the security of our people, if he won't do so voluntarily, we will disarm him, and other nations will join him — join us in disarming him." — W

Other nations will join him. Well, of course they will, because the one thing Karl Rove (Bush's Brain) has calculated is that W won't get re-elected unless there is a war actually going on during the election in 2004. Oh, and if you'd like to see what actual reporting looks like, by a guy who works for a non-profit news organization, check out Greg Palast, author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.

"A number of key [USDA] personnel have bought into much of the industry proposal.... [The rules were weakened because of] industry efforts made at the White House level." — National Food Processors Association newsletter, November 11, 2002

Just in case you were wondering, yes, the NFPA gave almost all of its political donations to Republicans, and gave HEAVILY to Bush. The listeria outbreak in question made it to public schools while the Bushies hid the recall for two weeks. Don't believe me? Read all about it in the lawsuit against Wampler Foods. Oh, and if Bush has his way, this lawsuit will be limited, because he thinks getting sued when you kill people is bad for bidness.

Face of Peace (Seri)

Pablo Picasso

Buy This Art Print At AllPosters.com

Tom DeLay - House Majority Hypocrite

Bush's Buddies getting rich off war

That's the sticker, in the shape of an arrow, I'm going to have made for sticking on the gas pump, pointing at the price. Especially good thing to do in swing states (see the 2000 "election"), and in wealthy, redneck, NRA, and Soccer Mom neighborhoods.

"Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion ... and you allow him to make war at pleasure. ...If today he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, 'I see no probability of the British invading us,' but he would say to you, 'Be silent.: I see it if you don't.'" — Abraham Lincoln

"Corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed." — Abraham Lincoln, in an 1864 Letter

War Profiteers and Pains in the Asses

Talk of war raises gas prices and possible price gouging (war profiteers and robber barons are the same people?). Bush is big oil. Talk of war makes big oil rich. War makes Carlisle Group rich. Who owns the Carlisle Group? Wow. Big oil and big defense. A lot of the same people? Hmmmm..... What is Iraq sitting on top of? The second largest reserve of oil in the world? Hmmmm... And yet, I still hear chicken-hawks, like draft-dodger, cyst-ass Rush Limbaugh, saying Bush's war mongering isn't about oil. OK, but it sure helps, huh? Meanwhile, Bush's biggest buddies, contributors, conspirators, and future employers are getting rich off the mere talk of war. I'm sure W is happy to help out the people who got him appointed.

"We will not deny, we will not ignore, we will not pass along our problems to other Congresses, to other presidents, and other generations." — Resident Bush, 2003 State of the Union Address

"Instead of surpluses, we now face a period of budget deficits.... The re-emergence of deficits is not welcome news." — Resident Bush's 2004 Budget

Sexual References in The Lion King

For two and a half years I've been running the fly-rail automation for the Los Angeles Production of the Lion King at the Pantages Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. We're in the middle of the 929th show right now and I realized I never posted the sexual references from the show. I've been meaning to do this for a long time now.

Simba: You're so weird.
Scar: You have no idea.

Scar: You'll be beating off buzards for your next bite.

Bonzai: That lousy Mufasa! I won't be able to sit for a week.

Scar: You won't get a sniff without me.

Hyenas: I need a fix of flesh.

Scar: I need a Queen.

Timone: Night after night... in search of the perfect spot.

Pumba: He's got all that youthfull energy, if you get my drift.

Timone: It's big, wet, and in a hurry.

"I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had of followed our lead we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."—Trent Lott at Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party, as reported Dec. 6 in ABC News' political Weblog, The Note.

"I want to tell you, ladies and gentleman, that there's not enough troops in the army to force the southern people to break down segregation and admit the Nigra race into our theaters, into our swimming pools, into our homes, and into our churches."—Strom Thurmond, then-governor of South Carolina, in a speech from his 1948 "Dixiecrat" presidential campaign.

Puke on Bush

So, I took a long break to contemplate the fact that outspending democrats 2 to 1 gets Repblicans a small gain. The lesson they will learn from this is that the need to take in even more money, outspend democrats 3 to 1 or more next time, and get even bigger gains, while becoming more beholden to the special interests that give them the money. Luckily for the GOP, most of those special interests share the James Wattian view that it's OK to destroy the environment, because Jesus is returning soon.

Meanwhile, Bush cronies throughout the government get nice fat bonuses, while civil servants don't get their raises, the unemployed don't get extensions, nobody gets condomns, more people get aids, and Bush's Texas oil buddies get sweet contracts to drill for oil in countries with dictators and horrible human rights records, like Equatorial Guinea (today's LA Times). Maybe we should invade that little country first, while the inspectors are looking for weapons in Iraq. Someone said, well, Equatorial Guinea doesn't have any weapons of mass destruction. I said sure they do, they have machetes and they've killed tens of thousands of people with them....

The Bush hypocrasy makes me sick. I'd throw up on the asshole if I could get within two feet of him. I'm sure the Japanese would consider it payback for Pappa puking on them.

Finally, today, with the two new vacancies in the Bush Junta, we're in a recession without a chief economic advisor, a Treasury Secretary, or an SEC Chief. Wow. These guys really are clueless. I'm sure another trickle down replacement is in the wings waiting right now, like all those scabs waiting for your union jobs. Remember, when it comes to the rich, the only thing that trickles down is the shit down their legs.

NRA is not for tough enforcement of existing gun laws. Huh. More lying Republicans.

From USA Today

The NRA's traditional call for strict compliance with existing laws suggests it would favor tough enforcement. In fact, the opposite is true. For years, the gun lobby has fought to weaken enforcement by adding loopholes to gun-control laws, while undercutting efforts to keep guns from criminals and crack down on lawbreaking dealers. Consider:

* Punishing dealers. The Tacoma gun shop that once owned the sniper rifle has a history of sloppy record keeping, according to The Seattle Times. Two years ago, the shop could not account for 150 guns, as required by law, but it kept on doing business. Now investigative sources say a federal inspection has found that another 100 guns are missing from the shop, which raises the risk that guns are falling into the hands of criminals.

Such lax monitoring can be traced to a 1986 NRA-backed law that hampers the ability of federal authorities to inspect dealers and prosecute violators. The measure limited inspections of shops to once a year, reduced penalties for dealers who failed to keep proper sales records and added new burdens on prosecutors bringing criminal charges. That helps explain why in 1999 federal agents found 21,000 guns missing from dealer inventories, but revoked just 20 licenses.

* Barring sales. A 2000 court order in Washington state barred Muhammad from harassing his then-estranged wife and children -- an order that would prevent him from legally buying a gun. A 1994 federal law forbids the sale of firearms to individuals who are subject to such restraining orders. Yet, if the NRA had its way, even that protection would be gutted. It unsuccessfully tried to kill the 1994 measure, which expanded the list of those barred from buying guns to include stalkers or harassers under court ''stay away'' orders.

* Tracking guns. Last week, after investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) spent days combing the Tacoma gun store for records of the sniper weapon, the dealer belatedly filed a report saying that the $1,600 rifle was stolen between July and October. The dealer had not noticed that the rifle was missing until agents asked about the gun found in Muhammad's car, the Tacoma News Tribune reported.

Little wonder the BATF didn't investigate the shop sooner. With 500 inspectors to regulate 64,000 dealers, the agency has trouble ensuring that sellers keep better track of guns, and the NRA has worked to keep it that way. For two decades, it has sought to undermine the BATF's authority, cut its budget and damage its reputation. In a 1995 fundraising letter to supporters, for instance, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre called BATF agents ''jackbooted thugs'' bent on harassing law-abiding gun owners.

more

The Bush administration even wants an FDA panel on women’s health policy to include a doctor who doesn’t approve of prescribing contraceptives to adult women, but will if they really insist. He also suggests reading Scripture to treat PMS.

Now we know where Enron got the idea!

Seems that while an executive at Harken, Dubya signed off on the same schemes Enron used to hide losses! When will we get a special prosecutor? The Republicans smelled a stupid land deal and had a special prosecutor the next day. Now we've had all kinds of evidence that Dubya and Dick were up to no good when they were corporate executives, but still no special prosecutor. I sure hope these lying scumbags get what's coming to them, but I'll bet they'll not only get away with it, but will be re-elected to boot. Typical hypocrasy from the right, with a typical lack of response.

Some Democrats are “willing to do anything to try to prevent the president of the United States from having the basic authority he needs to deal with a dangerous threat to the American people, but Democrats need to be careful what they call for. They’re liable to get it.” -- Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.)

I call for draft-dodger Trent Lott to drop dead and for GW Bush and Dick Cheney to go to prison for their corporate crimes.

Remember the lost disc that a Democratic Senator's aide found in a Washington DC park? It was Karl Rove's PowerPoint presentation for some rich Republicans (redundant?). Read all about it here. Great stuff, like:

"No evidence that Enron attacks, POTUS political activity or economy has significantly impacted the President's rating."

I just wanted to take this moment to mention a few subjects the White House desperately wants you to forget about:

Harken
Halliburton
Enron
Kenny Boy
Energy Policy
Environment
Economy
Unemployment
Poverty

I don't think that we should allow anything to diminish our focus on avenging the 3,000 Americans who were murdered and dismantling the network of terrorists who we know to be responsible for it. The fact that we don't know where they are should not cause us to focus instead on some other enemy whose location may be easier to identify. — Al Gore, speech to the Commonwealth Club, in San Francisco, 9-23-02

There is an old saying in Tennessee. I know it's in Texas. They say, "Fool me once, shame on you." You can fool me, but you can't get fooled again. — GW Bush, 9-17-02

What are the National Security implications of allowing Mexican trucks into the US?

The environmental angle is reason enough to stop this madness.

The proposed presidential action once again raises a question central to the NAFTA debate: Must increased free trade come at the expense of American environmental standards and the public health?

Yet another bone-headed move from an administration that many Republicans are beginning to hate: the extreme right wing, the ones that think Jesus is coming back soon, so it's OK to screw the whole planet up, you know, the James G Watt. Terrorism is a holy war to them, too. Well, they act like it's a war, until it starts messing with their cash flow. See, Mexican trucks mean a lot of CEOS just made a nasty way to make money perfectly legal. They want to do this because it will save them a fortune in shipping to hire non-union driven, smog-belching, death traps to ship goods on US highways.

But, what kind of inspections will these trucks be subject to? Tom Ridge is talking about tightening borders, while his "boss" is going to sign a bill to let any Mexican truck in? McVey's little rental truck bomb was nothing compared to what an 18 wheeler full of oxidizer will do.

I'm beginning to think that Bush is still doing coke! Either that, or his particular brand of extreme right wing politics makes a person act like they're wasted.....

Remembering John O'Neill

A few people have asked me what I'll be doing on September 11. I've heard suggestions that we all say the pledge. I won't say the pledge again until Bush is out of office. And even then, I never say "under God" anyway, which just pisses people off. Hey, I do love to piss off Republicans. So, on September 11, I've decided I'm going to remember John O'Neill.

"No longer is it just the fear of being attacked by international terrorist organizations -- attacks against Americans and American interests overseas. A lot of these groups now have the capability and the support infrastructure in the United States to attack us here if they choose to do so."—John P. O'Neill, 1996

I'm going to start reading the book about September 11 that actually tells the Forbidden Truth. I'm going to hug my family. Oh, and I'm going to work.

What Bush Really Thinks of Our Union Firefighters

I've been taking a bit of a break out of pure disgust for the Brunch Bushians (from an Arianna Huffington essay in the LA Times that my wife pointed out to me this morning) who just had their own little pep rally with their wacko friends down in Waco. But a New York Daily News story my brother-in-law brought to my attention really pissed me off. In fact, I immediately printed out a copy and distributed it to my co-workers, starting with the NRA members who swore Gore would take away their guns. Yeah. Right. Well, the price of voting based on this misinformation is coming due.

The International Association of Firefighters caused a furor yesterday by voting unanimously to consider boycotting President Bush's October speech honoring the 343 FDNY personnel who died in New York.

The umbrella group for the nation's firefighter unions is furious that Bush cut $340 million in funding last week, some of which would have improved outdated radio equipment - a key reason so many firefighters didn't hear warnings to get out of the twin towers Sept. 11.

I guess Bush doesn't have any buddies who make high tech radio gear for firefighters. If, for example, the Carlyle Group made these radios, I guarantee there'd be plenty of "your money," as W likes to put it, to go around. Be sure to read the whole story about Bush cutting funding for firefighters. The last little bit of hypocrisy is typical Republican BS.

Just hours after signing it, Bush waters down the new Corporate Fraud law

Bush spokeswoman Claire Buchan said the White House views the provision as shielding whistle-blowers from company retaliation only if they talk to a congressional committee “in the course of an investigation.” The protections would not apply when evidence is provided to individual lawmakers or aides, she said.

Even Republicans were dismayed by this blatant effort to water down the new law, which will, of course, slip under the national radar, like all the other sneaky back-room deals from the Bushies.

Our intention is to protect any whistle-blower who exposes wrongdoing to an individual member of Congress, a congressional committee, a media outlet or any other public entity. Whistle-blowers need full protection. Otherwise they won’t come forward. Problems won’t see the light of day.”—Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa

If anybody actually thought this President would do anything to hurt his CEO buddies, read the last entry directly below, from the only socialist member of congress.

“The hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions made by the wealthy and powerful profoundly shape public policy. The end result of that process is that Congress pays far more attention to the needs of the rich, than to ordinary citizens.... [We must have taxpayer funding of elections] otherwise our capital will continue being a playground for corporate lobbyists.” —Rep. Bernie Sanders, Socialist, Vermont