Government Accountability
The Real Iraq We Knew
Tuesday October 16, 2007
File
this under "Heck of a job, Bushie..."
Billions of your tax dollars at work, untold lives destroyed or lost....
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This column was written by 12 former Army captains: Jason Blindauer served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Elizabeth Bostwick served in Salah Ad Din and An Najaf in 2004. Jeffrey Bouldin served in Al Anbar, Baghdad and Ninevah in 2006. Jason Bugajski served in Diyala in 2004. Anton Kemps served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Kristy (Luken) McCormick served in Ninevah in 2003. Luis Carlos Montalván served in Anbar, Baghdad and Nineveh in 2003 and 2005. William Murphy served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Josh Rizzo served in Baghdad in 2006. William "Jamie" Ruehl served in Nineveh in 2004. Gregg Tharp served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Gary Williams served in Baghdad in 2003.
The Real Iraq We Knew
By 12 former Army captains
Today marks five years since the authorization of military force in Iraq, setting Operation Iraqi Freedom in motion. Five years on, the Iraq war is as undermanned and under-resourced as it was from the start. And, five years on, Iraq is in shambles.
As Army captains who served in Baghdad and beyond, we've seen the corruption and the sectarian division. We understand what it's like to be stretched too thin. And we know when it's time to get out.
What does Iraq look like on the ground? It's certainly far from being a modern, self-sustaining country. Many roads, bridges, schools and hospitals are in deplorable condition. Fewer people have access to drinking water or sewage systems than before the war. And Baghdad is averaging less than eight hours of electricity a day.
READ MORE...
Billions of your tax dollars at work, untold lives destroyed or lost....
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This column was written by 12 former Army captains: Jason Blindauer served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Elizabeth Bostwick served in Salah Ad Din and An Najaf in 2004. Jeffrey Bouldin served in Al Anbar, Baghdad and Ninevah in 2006. Jason Bugajski served in Diyala in 2004. Anton Kemps served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Kristy (Luken) McCormick served in Ninevah in 2003. Luis Carlos Montalván served in Anbar, Baghdad and Nineveh in 2003 and 2005. William Murphy served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Josh Rizzo served in Baghdad in 2006. William "Jamie" Ruehl served in Nineveh in 2004. Gregg Tharp served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Gary Williams served in Baghdad in 2003.
The Real Iraq We Knew
By 12 former Army captains
Today marks five years since the authorization of military force in Iraq, setting Operation Iraqi Freedom in motion. Five years on, the Iraq war is as undermanned and under-resourced as it was from the start. And, five years on, Iraq is in shambles.
As Army captains who served in Baghdad and beyond, we've seen the corruption and the sectarian division. We understand what it's like to be stretched too thin. And we know when it's time to get out.
What does Iraq look like on the ground? It's certainly far from being a modern, self-sustaining country. Many roads, bridges, schools and hospitals are in deplorable condition. Fewer people have access to drinking water or sewage systems than before the war. And Baghdad is averaging less than eight hours of electricity a day.
READ MORE...
War, Made Easy
Monday October 01, 2007
A
new documentary film that promises to expose "how
Presidents and pundits keep spinning us to death."
War Made Easy
War Made Easy
U.S. Senate Tied in Knots
Thursday September 20, 2007
Unprecedented Use of the
Filibuster
With a bare 51-49 Senate majority, Democrats have trouble mustering 60 votes; they've fallen short 22 times so far this year. That's largely why they haven't been able to deliver on their campaign promises.
This year Republicans also have blocked votes on immigration legislation, a no-confidence resolution for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and major legislation dealing with energy, labor rights and prescription drugs.
Read more about it...
Yesterday, Republicans filibustered the Webb Amendment on troop rotations.
With a bare 51-49 Senate majority, Democrats have trouble mustering 60 votes; they've fallen short 22 times so far this year. That's largely why they haven't been able to deliver on their campaign promises.
This year Republicans also have blocked votes on immigration legislation, a no-confidence resolution for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and major legislation dealing with energy, labor rights and prescription drugs.
Read more about it...
Yesterday, Republicans filibustered the Webb Amendment on troop rotations.
Going After Gore
Tuesday September 04, 2007
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -As he was running for president, Al Gore said he'd invented the Internet; announced that he had personally discovered Love Canal, the most infamous toxic-waste site in the country; and bragged that he and Tipper had been the sole inspiration for the golden couple in Erich Segal's best-selling novel Love Story (made into a hit movie with Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal). He also invented the dog, joked David Letterman, and gave mankind fire.
Could such an obviously intelligent man have been so megalomaniacal and self-deluded to have actually said such things? Well, that's what the news media told us, anyway. And on top of his supposed pomposity and elitism, he was a calculating dork: unable to get dressed in the morning without the advice of a prominent feminist (Naomi Wolf).
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How did this happen? Was the right-wing attack machine so effective that it overwhelmed all competing messages? Was Gore's communications team outrageously inept? Were the liberal elite bending over backward to prove they weren't so liberal?
Read more at Vanity Fair
Bushies Set Priorities: Limit Health Care Program Aiding Children
Tuesday August 21, 2007
From
The New York Times
The Bush administration, continuing its fight to stop states from expanding the popular Children's Health Insurance Program, has adopted new standards that would make it much more difficult for New York, California and others to extend coverage to children in middle-income families.
After learning of the new policy, some state officials said yesterday that it could cripple their efforts to cover more children and would impose standards that could not be met.
"We are horrified at the new federal policy," said Ann Clemency Kohler, deputy commissioner of human services in New Jersey. "It will cause havoc with our program and could jeopardize coverage for thousands of children."
Stan Rosenstein, the Medicaid director in California, said the new policy was "highly restrictive, much more restrictive than what we want to do."
More at The New York Times
New Rules May Limit Health Care Program Aiding Children
The Bush administration, continuing its fight to stop states from expanding the popular Children's Health Insurance Program, has adopted new standards that would make it much more difficult for New York, California and others to extend coverage to children in middle-income families.
After learning of the new policy, some state officials said yesterday that it could cripple their efforts to cover more children and would impose standards that could not be met.
"We are horrified at the new federal policy," said Ann Clemency Kohler, deputy commissioner of human services in New Jersey. "It will cause havoc with our program and could jeopardize coverage for thousands of children."
Stan Rosenstein, the Medicaid director in California, said the new policy was "highly restrictive, much more restrictive than what we want to do."
More at The New York Times
Plumbing Supplier Charges Pentagon One Million Dollars for Two Washers Worth 38 Cents
Saturday August 18, 2007
$403,436 for
six screws worth $59.94
$492,096 for a machine thread plug
445,640 for shipping one elbow pipe worth $8.75
$1,000,000 for two washers worth 19 cents each.
Read More at The Guardian
$492,096 for a machine thread plug
445,640 for shipping one elbow pipe worth $8.75
$1,000,000 for two washers worth 19 cents each.
Read More at The Guardian
Mine Safety Czar Richard
Stickler:
Another Fox Guarding the Henhouse
Wednesday August 15, 2007
MORE From The Huffington Post:
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The man who will oversee the federal government's investigation into the disaster that has trapped six workers in a Utah coal mine for over a week was twice rejected for his current job by senators concerned about his own safety record when he managed mines in the private sector.
President George W. Bush resorted to a recess appointment in October 2006 to anoint Richard Stickler as the nation's mine safety czar after it became clear he could not receive enough support even in a GOP-controlled Senate.
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Read More...
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The man who will oversee the federal government's investigation into the disaster that has trapped six workers in a Utah coal mine for over a week was twice rejected for his current job by senators concerned about his own safety record when he managed mines in the private sector.
President George W. Bush resorted to a recess appointment in October 2006 to anoint Richard Stickler as the nation's mine safety czar after it became clear he could not receive enough support even in a GOP-controlled Senate.
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Read More...
Utah Mine Owner:
Troubling Safety Record,
Useful Political Clout
Tuesday August 14, 2007
From The Huffington Post:
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In 2003, when safety inspectors ordered the owner of a Utah coal mine where six workers have been trapped for more than a week to shut down one of his Ohio operations because of repeated safety problems, local press reports say he did not hesitate to flex his political muscle to get the inspectors off his back.
West Virginia Public Radio reporter Jeff Young filed a story at the time that said Murray Energy Corp. CEO Bob Murray had a meeting in Morgantown, W. Va. with Tim Thomspon, then a district manager for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Young obtained notes from the meeting which showed Murray threatening to have MSHA employees fired.
"I will have your jobs. They are gone. The clock is ticking," Young quotes Murray as saying at the meeting.
The notes then go on to say Murray dropped the name of a pair of powerful Republicans in order to underscore his own political clout.
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Read More...
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In 2003, when safety inspectors ordered the owner of a Utah coal mine where six workers have been trapped for more than a week to shut down one of his Ohio operations because of repeated safety problems, local press reports say he did not hesitate to flex his political muscle to get the inspectors off his back.
West Virginia Public Radio reporter Jeff Young filed a story at the time that said Murray Energy Corp. CEO Bob Murray had a meeting in Morgantown, W. Va. with Tim Thomspon, then a district manager for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Young obtained notes from the meeting which showed Murray threatening to have MSHA employees fired.
"I will have your jobs. They are gone. The clock is ticking," Young quotes Murray as saying at the meeting.
The notes then go on to say Murray dropped the name of a pair of powerful Republicans in order to underscore his own political clout.
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Read More...
President Bush on Accountability
Thursday August 09, 2007
President
Bush, in a Press Conference on August 9, 20007,
courtesy of >Talking Points Memo
(click for video)
courtesy of >Talking Points Memo
(click for video)
Fifth Amendment? What Fifth Amendment?
Friday July 27, 2007
The
Fifth Amendment of the United States
Constitution:
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No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
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Oh, well. Those were the days. A July 17th executive order from the White House broadly does away with some of that quaint old dribble with wording that purports to be limited to the war in Iraq, but legal scholars and others on both the so-called conservative right (read here) and so-called liberal left (read here) find that the wording is vague enough to allow for the property to be seized from any United States citizen without due process, without appeal. If someone in the executive branch decides you are up to no good, your goods are taken away. For good. Good bye. You will have no opportunity to respond, no due process. You've been fingered, nailed. You do not have the right to challenge your accusers. That's all so September 10th.
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No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
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Oh, well. Those were the days. A July 17th executive order from the White House broadly does away with some of that quaint old dribble with wording that purports to be limited to the war in Iraq, but legal scholars and others on both the so-called conservative right (read here) and so-called liberal left (read here) find that the wording is vague enough to allow for the property to be seized from any United States citizen without due process, without appeal. If someone in the executive branch decides you are up to no good, your goods are taken away. For good. Good bye. You will have no opportunity to respond, no due process. You've been fingered, nailed. You do not have the right to challenge your accusers. That's all so September 10th.