Date:

02 Nov 2006

Time:

22:09:10

Comments

For those of you who still believe human nature is not inherently self destructive, then you have not been paying attention to yourselves or others around you.

Date:

03 Nov 2006

Time:

06:00:22

Comments

Newly released video footage shows how, in dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his Homeland Security Chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, put lives at risk in New Orleans' Superdome and overwhelm rescuers. Bush did not ask a single question during this final briefing before Katrina struck. Four days later Bush declared "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees" that gushed deadly flood waters into New Orleans

Date:

03 Nov 2006

Time:

13:11:31

Comments

FOCUS | British Believe Bush Is More Dangerous Than Kim Jong-il

America is now seen as a threat to world peace by its closest neighbours and allies, according to an international survey of public opinion published today that reveals just how far the country's reputation has fallen among former supporters since the invasion of Iraq.

Date:

04 Nov 2006

Time:

09:27:53

Comments

The Military Times speaks truth to power and to America with its call for Rumsfeld to go. This is the beginning of the end for the Republican policy of failure, arrogance, corruption, dishonesty and war partisanship.

On Monday Marine Corps Times, Army Times, Navy Times, and Air Force Times are taking the extraordinary and courageous step of calling for Rumsfeld to go.

The voice of commanders, the troops and their families will speak. This madness must end. This policy must change. Rumsfeld must go. Enough is enough.

The pre-election timing of this statement is extraordinary; that the voice of our military and families would speak so powerfully for change, in the hours before the nation votes, is a breathtaking and decisive statement of how strongly they feel that this madness must end.

To save any semblance of rationality for American policy in Iraq new leaders, a Democratic Congress and the resignation of Secretary Rumsfeld are urgently needed…

Date:

05 Nov 2006

Time:

08:38:50

Comments

"There is no line this president has not crossed - or will not cross - to keep one political party in power," says Keith Olbermann. "He has spread any and every fear among us in a desperate effort to avoid that which he most fears - some check, some balance against what has become not an imperial, but a unilateral presidency."

Date:

05 Nov 2006

Time:

08:41:42

Comments

Doris "Granny D" Haddock | Our Eyes Are Wide Open

"If Diebold designed their ATM machines the way they design their voting machines, none of us would have a dime left in our bank accounts. Such remarkable facts are usually not the result of incompetence, but of design. When the top man at Diebold promised to deliver Ohio's electoral votes to Bush, you are allowed to be a little paranoid," says Doris "Granny D" Haddock.

Date:

06 Nov 2006

Time:

13:59:55

Comments

David Olive | End of the Neo-Cons

David Olive writes: "Whether or not the Republicans lose control of one or both houses of the US Congress on Tuesday, the neo-conservative vision that has guided American foreign policy since 2001 has run its course. The neo-cons' grand design lies in ruins, having accomplished nothing other than to shrink America's stature in the world."

Date:

06 Nov 2006

Time:

14:01:40

Comments

Robert Fisk | This Was a Guilty Verdict on America as Well, Robert Fisk writes: "So America's one-time ally has been sentenced to death for war crimes he committed when he was Washington's best friend in the Arab world. America knew all about his atrocities and even supplied the gas - along with the British, of course - yet there we were yesterday declaring it to be, in the White House's words, another 'great day for Iraq.'"

Date:

07 Nov 2006

Time:

05:15:36

Comments

Rumsfeld and Hussein: Partners in Crime

"In the course of making the world less safe for democracy, Donald Rumsfeld has overseen the slaughter of 650,000 Iraqis and 3,000 Americans. He has targeted civilians, journalists, hospitals, and ambulances. He has used white phosphorous as a weapon on civilian families. He has used depleted uranium and a new form of napalm. (When did melting the skin off children become a family value?) He has approved the hiding of prisoners from the Red Cross, the detention of Americans and non-Americans without charge or counsel, and the use of torture. Acceptable torture techniques were posted on the wall at Abu Ghraib in the form of a memo from Rumsfeld," writes David Swanson.

Date:

07 Nov 2006

Time:

05:39:48

Comments

Bechtel, the giant engineering company, is leaving Iraq. Its mission - to rebuild power, water and sewage plants - wasn't accomplished: Baghdad received less than six hours a day of electricity last month, and much of Iraq's population lives with untreated sewage and without clean water. But Bechtel, having received $2.3 billion of taxpayers' money and having lost the lives of 52 employees, has come to the end of its last government contract.

As Bechtel goes, so goes the whole reconstruction effort. Whatever our leaders may say about their determination to stay the course complete the mission, when it comes to rebuilding Iraq they've already cut and run. The $21 billion allocated for reconstruction over the last three years has been spent, much of it on security rather than its intended purpose, and there's no more money in the pipeline.

The failure of reconstruction in Iraq raises three questions. First, how much did that failure contribute to the overall failure of the war? Second, how was it that America, the great can-do nation, in this case couldn't and didn't? Finally, if we've given up on rebuilding Iraq, what are our troops dying for?...

Date:

07 Nov 2006

Time:

05:42:32

Comments

It's all the fault of the Iraqi people

At least the squirming, conniving neconservatives in this Vantiy Fair article are blaming their failed war on George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. As ugly as it is to watch the war's prime architects and chief advocates pretend that they had nothing to do with this disaster, more despicable still are the ones who are blaming the Iraqi people for what has happened. Look at what Paul Mirgenoff at Powerline said yesterday:

Unfortunately, though, more was required of the Iraqi people than just voting. The situation called on them to elect leaders who would work in good faith for national reconciliation, rather than tilting substantially in the direction of one sectarian faction. The Iraqis failed to do this when they voted in the Shia-militia-friendly Maliki government, thereby making it difficult, if not impossible, for the U.S. to work with the current government to curb sectarian violence.

The Iraqis, of course, are not the first people to make a very bad decision at the polls. The fact that they did so is not necessarily evidence of some national "genetic" flaw, much less a demonstration that democracy can't work in the Middle East. It just means that the Iraqi people did less than what a difficult situation required, and that we must face up to and deal with the consequences.

We invaded their country, removed their government, disbanded their military, shattered their infrastructure, and -- for the last three years -- all but stood by while the country was taken over by murderous gangs and lawless militias and predictably collapsed into civil war. But it's all their fault because they voted for the wrong candidate six months ago. If only the Iraqis had elected Ahmad Chalabi as Prime Minister, it would have all worked out great.

What makes Paul's excuse-making extra disgusting is that -- like so many of these war advocates who are blaming others for this debacle by claiming that it's all due to past mistakes by other people which they never criticized at the time -- Paul praised Maliki's election in April as the key event for achieving "national unity"…

Date:

07 Nov 2006

Time:

05:44:23

Comments

We invaded their country, removed their government, disbanded their military, shattered their infrastructure, and -- for the last three years -- all but stood by while the country was taken over by murderous gangs and lawless militias and predictably collapsed into civil war. But it's all their fault because they voted for the wrong candidate six months ago. If only the Iraqis had elected Ahmad Chalabi as Prime Minister, it would have all worked out great.

Date:

07 Nov 2006

Time:

13:59:12

Comments

Amidst all the different theories as to what led up to 9-11, what happened that day, and what actions followed it, there is one thing that every BuzzFlash reader can agree upon: The "official" version of 9-11 is a politically fabricated narrative.

We may each have our own theory on the true story, but we know the "official" story is not true.

As to what really led up to 9-11, who were all the parties involved, who financed it, and how the government responded, we can only say as one of the "Jersey Girls" says in this documentary: "They lied, they all lied."

Get the new DVD, 9-11: “Press for the Truth”

Date:

09 Nov 2006

Time:

11:59:01

Comments

Mr. Bush squandered the collective good will of the country and the world. After 9-11, we had the sympathy of the entire world and Mr. Bush seemed to seize the moment by grabbing the bullhorn from a rescue worker in NYC and giving an impromptu speech to the nation. That speech resonated in everybody's mind. However, he didn't follow-up - he surrounded himself with ideologues, doctrinaires and zealots and managed to mire the country in malarkey, malfeasance and malapropisms. He also led us to a quixotic war in Iraq that immediately became a global cause célèbre apart from being a killing field for our kids and the Iraqis (also don't forget for the $285M daily tab - coming from Tax Payers money). Notwithstanding all this bravado about "Fighting Terrorism", he failed to capture the 'Big Kahuna" of global terrorism: Bin Laden. I guess, the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back was the fact that Mr. Bush totally ignored the vox populi and indulged in unilateral decision making, bristled at criticism, wanted to paint the opponents as traitors, started having delusional thoughts about speaking to God and above all, tried to portray himself as sacrosanct.

Well, now the shoe is on the other foot - the Democrats should not squander this opportunity either. They should seriously get down to the business of governance and stop whining. The Democrats should also be cognizant of the fact that Bipartisanship and Centrism is the zeitgeist of our times - let's not get into partisan rancor.

Date:

11 Nov 2006

Time:

07:32:27

Comments

For Europe and much of the rest of the world, US voters' repudiation of the Bush administration in midterm elections Tuesday and the dismissal of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Wednesday confirmed the widespread view that President Bush and his policies have done more to tarnish America's image abroad and strain its global relations than any other US president in recent history.

Date:

11 Nov 2006

Time:

07:46:12

Comments

Already, today MSNBC's poll has 87% wanting impeachment. 87%!!!

And this is BEFORE any investigations begin. Wait till people see what's been done with their money and their name. The public out-cry will be so loud any so-called "promise" is out.

Date:

11 Nov 2006

Time:

15:32:14

Comments

George Bush Should Fire Karl Rove, And Democrats Can Build A New Majority For A Generation

11.11.2006

Prediction: Karl Rove will soon leave the White House.

Fact: the American people overwhelmingly rejected the core politics that Karl Rove sold to the Republican Party, which inevitably led to the disaster of Iraq and the corruption that has run rampant in one party Republican Washington.

What Rove stands for, is a strategy that aimed at mobilizing the extreme narrow base of right wing Republicanism, demonizing everyone else in America, disrespecting anyone with alternate views, and ultimately alienating the heartland of America…

My hope is, that the new Democratic Congress will be principled and aggressive on those issues such as torture, which must be ended, and constitutional rights on matters such as eavesdropping, which must be restored. On these matters, and others, Democrats have the high moral ground and the winning political ground…

The Democrats have one of those golden moments of a generation, to build a new realignment and majority of the American people, based on the idea that America must always be America, and that those who trust and respect the American people will ultimately prevail over those who demonize and divide us.

Date:

17 Nov 2006

Time:

04:46:57

Comments

Williams Rivers Pitt writes that although Democrats won control of Congress this month, the president refuses to heed the change in direction that voters are demanding: "George W. Bush gets smacked in the head with an electoral baseball bat, and he still refuses to get the message. This will prove to be an interesting two years indeed."

Date:

17 Nov 2006

Time:

04:50:18

Comments

President George Bush has told senior advisers that the US and its allies must make "a last big push" to win the war in Iraq and that instead of beginning a troop withdrawal next year, he may increase US forces by up to 20,000 soldiers, according to sources familiar with the administration's internal deliberations.

So why bother with elections???? Matilda

Date:

18 Nov 2006

Time:

21:33:39

Comments

Just days after the election, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei referred to the GOP losses in the congressional elections a “victory for Iran."

Officials from Iran and Syria said that a Democrat-controlled Congress could help relieve pressure that had been put on them by the current administration.

Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, leader of Iraq’s al Qaeda wing said the Democrat victory was a step in the right direction. Then he said, "I swear by God we shall not rest from jihad until we ... blow up the filthiest house known as the White House."

Just to let you know you are in good company. Heil islam.

Date:

19 Nov 2006

Time:

14:57:44

Comments

So why bother with elections???? In case nobody else noted, the elections were not for the Precidency, so George is STILL president. You may also take note of the election of Joe Lieberman.

Date:

04 Dec 2006

Time:

03:56:31

Comments

"With Iraq falling apart, it's getting lonely at the top for President Bush. His hawkish neo-con advisers are deserting him. He had to fire Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The Democrats have won control of Congress. US allies are angry at his Iraq policies. And even Henry Kissinger - one of Bush's foreign policy advisers and a key architect of the Vietnam debacle - has decided Iraq is a can't-win situation," says Helen Thomas.

Date:

04 Dec 2006

Time:

04:01:24

Comments

Frank Rich - Has He Started Talking to the Walls?

"It turns out we've been reading the wrong Bob Woodward book to understand what's going on with President Bush," says Frank Rich. "The text we should be consulting instead is 'The Final Days,' the Woodward-Bernstein account of Richard Nixon talking to the portraits on the White House walls while Watergate demolished his presidency. As Mr. Bush has ricocheted from Vietnam to Latvia to Jordan in recent weeks, we've witnessed the troubling behavior of a president who isn't merely in a state of denial but is completely untethered from reality. It's not that he can't handle the truth about Iraq. He doesn't know what the truth is.

Date:

04 Dec 2006

Time:

04:06:18

Comments

Eleanor Clift | Senator-Elect Webb Not to Be Toyed With

Eleanor Clift writes: "Every so often a politician comes along who doesn't pander to the president. Fresh off a nasty campaign that centered on the war in Iraq, Virginia senator-elect Jim Webb had no interest in a picture of himself with President Bush, and he didn't want to exchange small talk with the man whose war policies he opposes. So he skipped the receiving line at a White House reception for newly elected members of Congress, creating the first of what we should all hope will be many ripples in Washington."

Date:

08 Dec 2006

Time:

04:57:31

Comments

Audit Says FEMA Squandering Katrina Aid

One year after Katrina, the government is still squandering tens of millions of dollars in wasted disaster aid, including $17 million in bogus rental payments to people who had already received free trailers and apartments, federal investigators said Wednesday.

NB WHO is investigating this kind of fraud??? Surely with all we spend on CIA and FBI, there MUST be some way to hunt down the perpetrators, make them pay back and then punish them, no? Matilda

Date:

08 Dec 2006

Time:

21:13:51

Comments

INvESTIGATIVE REPORTER MISSING Has anyone seen the "investigative reporter" David Podvin?

Did the black helecopters take him away? redstaterusa.blogspot.com

Date:

09 Dec 2006

Time:

12:11:08

Comments

So this is the challenge: Can we, as a people, can we as a species, see beyond our own immediate short-term self-interest, and make the wrenching political, economic and social changes that would be required to prevent the destruction of our planet?

I am pessimistic.

As things stand, we have an ignorant president who openly scoffs at the whole idea of global warming, and who is actively working to block even small efforts to combat it (Bush, a creature of the energy industry, is the one who is having the EPA challenge the effort to limit carbon dioxide emissions by cars), and we aren't even calling him to account.

As individuals, we know not to pull rafters off the roof to make a fire, because the house will fall in. We know we have to cut down dead trees in the yard before they fall on the house - even if we have to spend some of the kids' college fund to do it. We know we have to get our kids vaccinated so they won't get polio. So far, however, as citizens, we're content to put the rafters in the fireplace, we're killing all the trees in the yard, and we're letting the whole planet run a fever without doing anything about it.

------- Dave Lindorff

Date:

14 Dec 2006

Time:

21:42:20

Comments

please just say hello from Linda Greenberg (Nee Sokol) to Mme Lipscomb with whom I have tried fruitlessly to get in contact with in the past. Merry Christmas from myself and my children. Lindafeline@aol.com

Date:

21 Dec 2006

Time:

05:30:02

Comments

Robert Scheer - Bush Can't Kick the Habit

Robert Scheer writes: "Here we go again: A new secretary of defense and yet another call for ending the war in Iraq by escalating it. What are they smoking in the Bush White House?"

Date:

21 Dec 2006

Time:

06:15:40

Comments

Eugene Robinson | A "Surge" in Wasted Sacrifice

Eugene Robinson writes: "Here's an idea: Let's send more US troops to Iraq. The generals say it's way too late to even think about resurrecting Colin Powell's 'overwhelming force' doctrine, so let's send over a modest 'surge' in troop strength that has almost no chance of making any difference - except in the casualty count. Oh, and let's not give these soldiers and Marines any sort of well-defined mission. Let's just send them out into the bloody chaos of Baghdad and the deadly badlands of Anbar province with orders not to come back until they 'get the job done.'"

Date:

21 Dec 2006

Time:

12:12:22

Comments