Know what....The so-called "War on Christians" is obscene. These political operatives in the Republican Party and their enablers in the celebrity wing of the evangelical, affuent megachurches must be desparate for a cause. So they come up with the War on Christians. Well, I've got news for them....
I watched C-Span this morning. One guest was a weird Congressman from Kansas, Republican. He was back from Iraq and talking things up. Mentioned the fact that he believes Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, was actively trying to buy yellow cake from Niger and had connections to 9/11. Surreal. I suppose if they say it often enough, some people will continue to believe.
It occurred to me that its time to perform a kind of cost/benefit analysis of this war. Here are my thoughts. I hope you will add yours.
Eric Alterman shows us what we are missing on this the 16th day of February in the year of our Lord 2006 and in addition to putting our troops in tremendous danger it is putting our country at risk for years to come.
Today on Reliable Sources, Howie did a piece on Al Jazeera International; the transcript of this piece is below the fold. I am curious, do any of you know whether some media outlets are going to include this channel in their cable offerings? Will it be limited like Air America? Al Jazeera International seems to be garnering some good journalists.
Think Progress is now pointing to the obvious. Yet another British memo is out in both the Independent and the Guardian. Both papers are noting that BushCo was determined to invade Iraq no matter what and two months before he did so. The reputable British press is reporting this information. Not one U.S. paper or television outlet has covered this story.
Webster's Dictionary defines war as "an armed and declared conflict between nations or states?" The Constitution expressly states that Congress and only Congress may declare "war". So, are we at war?
BushCo is making noises now about not critcizing his actions since the US is at "war". He's also preempted enormous power to himself under the guise of Commander-in-Chief in a time of "war".
Can we acknowledge what no media outlet seems to realize? Democrats got campaign dollars from Abramhoff's victims of fraud; i.e. Indian tribes. Republicans got money from Abramhoff who got his dollars by defrauding Indian tribes.
This topic may have been addressed in previous diaries but it is important to note the extreme reaction of the right as to Bush's actions in violation of the warrant requirements of the FISA law. In fact, FISA is not at issue, the 4th Amendment is.
Admission: I'm a lawyer, albeit one who is long away from ConLaw and although practicing, doing so in an area that does not involve issues involving the Constitution. So, I welcome the contributions/corrections of those Kossacks who know this area of the law much better than I.
A friend sent us a holiday card via email. Perhaps you have seen it. Beautiful pictures with text complete with stats. The one that touched our family most was as follows:
If you have some money in a bank and loose change in a dish somewhere in you home, you are among the 8% of the population of this world considered "wealthy".
Presumably, one can use his/her one per day diary space to express a holiday wish in two parts. So, here's mine. I wish the Kos Community could push for the framing of real internet polling questions on the cable television channels. Where real questions of importance arise, I wish the magical mystery folks who run this site could develop an alert system so that we could respond to those questions en masse.
True story time and my fellow lawyers may lamblast me for it. In my salad days as a criminal defense attorney, I had to sit in on a polygraph test for a person who had molested his/her own child. Those who have witnessed this procedure will attest that the real thing is nothing like the movie version. In a real polygraph, it can take several hours for the polygrapher to set up the eight to ten questions to be asked. All must be close-ended; i.e. yes or no. This process may require an extensive interview with the person to be tested.
As I listen to the crowd claiming that any doubts about the War in Iraq hurts the troops, it occurs to me that the underlying message is that the troops are partisan Republicans. Bush and his apologists appear to have several things in common we should highlight. They are to a man, incompetent, corrupt and cowardly. They hide behind the troops and to a man are boneheaded, unable to make course corrections or admit mistakes. I can't think of a single person I respect who cannot admit to error.
For several years now as a resident of a Red State, our family has called upon the elder to ask our Thanksgiving Blessing (my dad). He watches Fox, thinks BushCo is great and hopes beyond hope, that he can trust BushCo. Our children know better and our son is leaving for Iraq next week. Perhaps many Kossack don't relate, but I entered this dairy despite you because even at the advantaged age of 58 I find myself more in tune with you than many of those within my own age group. So.....here's what my husband and I have decided to do based in part on the advise of former President Carter.
So now we know. Murtha offers a sensible alternative plan to redeploy troops from Iraq "over the horizon". Trotsky Republicans will have none of that. Stay the course = perpetual war.
John Murtha's Plan is right, workable, likely backed by commanders in the field, and provides a winning strategy for the Iraq War. Democrats, Kossacks, progressives of every stripe, independents, and yes, even Republicans should embrace it. The only ones who have reason to oppose it are the Neocons; i.e. those who favor empire building through permenent bases in Iraq.
For nearly a century, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cementary has been hallowed ground. Today, it was defiled. BushCo had to have a geographic platform to launch a PR blitz. Presumably even Rove/Bartlett wouldn't let him stage a political charade at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier so hOllow men that they are, they broke with years of tradition for Veterans' Day and sent Bush to a "safe speech haven" to deliver dirt to the base and sent someone else to Arlington.
See Meet the Press and Faux News Sunday today. Both were devoted to the Mier nomination. Something extraordinary happened on both programs. The black hole that constitutes the "Pro-Life Movement" was exposed for all to see. Both Pat Buchanan and Gary Bauer pointed out the obvious; i.e. that Mier could be "pro-life" and still not agree that Roe v. Wade should be overturned.
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In a discussion of spending on Hurricane Katrina this Sunday, Bill Kristol told the tale of a victim of Katrina who had used his/her FEMA debit card to rent a DVD. (Anonymously sourced of course; Drudge will undoubtedly embellish.) This little story is what the Republican base who disliked Bush's one sentence reference to race in his speech in Jackson's Square has been waiting for.
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