Saddam's Execution Imminent...Maybe

Hopefully everybody had a Merry Christmas. Mine was merry and bright, but not white, sadly. It was rainy on Christmas Eve, but dry on Christmas Day, which is always nice.

As everyone knows by now, former President Gerald Ford, the only man never to be elected to either the Vice Presidency or Presidency, has died at the age of 93. He held out just long enough to claim the record of longest living former president from Ronald Reagan. If you are hoping to see a sweeping article about Ford's interesting presidency, you've come to the wrong place. I'll leave the news outlets to that sort of thing. I wasn't around yet when he was President, so I don't really have any firsthand knowledge of how he did his job.

Moving on to the world's biggest former annoyance, Saddam Hussein...

Saddam could be executed in a matter of hours, tomorrow, or by Sunday, depending on which Iraqi minister who wants his 15 minutes you want to believe. Supposedly, "key legal issues" have been hashed out, which has cleared the path to Saddam's hanging. One course to the news outlets has the Iraqi P.M. still talking to judges and other political figures, trying to figure out when this will take place.

Whenever that may be, it'll do to things. 1) it will shut up that bearded fool (who would look like Mel Gibson if he grew his beard out longer) and we won't have to hear about him anymore and, 2) his execution will more than likely piss off his "followers" (i.e. the al-Qaeda branch who uses his removal as a reason to finally kill their enemies) to the point that a massive surge of violence will ensue, causing many deaths. Of course, to counter the massive surge in violence, President Bush will want to add more troops, and go against everything that everybody is telling him...

...If you give a mouse a cookie.

-Adam

The Generals Who Couldn't Get Through

The President is set to decide in the next few days whether or not it would be a good idea to increase the U.S. troop presence in Iraq. This, obviously is not a good idea, given the fact that Iraqi insurgents stepped up attacks last time there was a troop increase in Baghdad, and for once I have U.S. generals to back me up. What Bush has decided to do, however, is increase the size of the Army & Marines.

Bush seems to be standing alone on this one. However, being the determined fellow he is, he's sent newly-appointed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Baghdad to get military leader's opinions on the subject. General John Abizaid, who commands all the U.S. soldiers in the middle East, does not agree with the idea of an increase in troops, as he told a Senate Committee last month. Interestingly enough, Gen. Abizaid, along with Gen. George Casey (commender of all U.S. troops in Iraq) are planning to resign in the coming months. While CentCom says that Abizaid's resignation has been a long time coming, I have to wonder whether or not it was "encouraged", especially after he came out and disagreed with an increase in boots on the ground. In the interest of fairness, he also disagreed with a decrease in troops.

Former General & Secretary of State Colin Powell also disagrees with the Presidents proposal to a troop increase. Powell says that the military is overextended and "about broken". However, being the ever-loyal soldier, Powell hasn't gone as far as saying something along the lines of "We've screwed up", "The President didn't think before he leaped", or "Oops!"; hopefully he will before too long, especially at the rate he's speaking out.

I really, really hope Bush doesn't go out on his own, forging ahead with out listening to the military officers who actually know what they're talking about. But Bush will be Bush.

-Adam

Senate May Hang In The Balance

Senator Tim Johnson's (D-SD) possibly life-threatening illness, which required him to have brain surgery on Wednesday could put the Senate in Jeopardy. If by some horrible means Senator Johnson doesn't recover enough to carry on his elected duty in the Senate, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds, a Republican, is empowered with the gut-wrenching ability to pick a replacement, who will finish the remainder of his elected term.

Naturally, the most important thing is that Johnson lives, since this is potentially life-threatening, and hopefully he'll be alright and God-willing fully recover, even if he cannot continue his term.

If Johnson has to resign, Rounds will more than likely choose a Republican, which would knock the Senate back to a 50-50 split, this giving Cheney veto power. I urge the Governor that, if he is forced to pick a replacement, he respect the voters' opinions and pick a Democrat with similar views as Senator Johnson.

Will he do that? Most likely not, at the probable urging/threatening of the GOP. It would show his trust in th voters, and is naturally the best thing to do. It would be hard, but I hope the petty partisan bickering can be put aside for one moment, and the Republicans face the face that this is life, life isn't always fair, the voters weren't happy, and they need to try again in 2008.

But when the last time Republicans actually tried listening to the people?

-Adam

One Year Old; Senator Angered Over Iraq; Rep. Pushing Impeachment Bill

Editor's note: This blog turned one year old on December 7th. A big thanks to everybody who's taken the time to come here.

So many things have happened since my last update (Rumsfeld resigns, Gates confirmed as new DefSec; Iraq Study Group reveals results which Bush doesn't like; North Korea says U.S. hiding nukes in South Korea; V.P.'s lesbian daughter pregnant, you know, the important stuff.) I've been somewhat busy and somewhat more lacking at drive to write. But I'm over my block, so here we go.

For the record, I think that Gates will make a good Defense Secretary. At least better than Rummy, anyway. There's a reason he was voted in 95-2 (the two against being two Republican Senators, faithful-follower Rick Santorum being one of them.)

Senator Angered
Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR, one of my Senators) took the floor of the Senate Thursday night, the eve of the last day of this sitting Congress, and made a sweeping speech denouncing the Iraq war & how President Bush carried it out. Smith, who until Thursday officially was a "good soldier" and supported the war, said that he wouldn't have voted for the war if he knew the intelligence was as faulty as is has been proven, and that whether the U.S. "cuts and runs or cuts and walks" just as long as the troops are brought home.

I'm proud of you, Senator, for looking at the situation objectively, arriving at your own opinion, and not allowing your party's official policy to drag you through the mud. Most of the American people agree with your speech, and have already reached "the end of [our] rope" with this pathetic, poor-excuse-for-a-policy policy, and no longer support Bush and his leadership.

God, please let the President actually read a newspaper or turn on the T.V., just once (not FOX) so he can see how many American people hate it. The American people, Senator Smith, and a well-known, very conservative, unnamed Senator who came to Smith's office after the speech and tole him that he "felt the same way", no longer support the war, the direction of this country, and especially this fool I get to see on T.V. everyday behind the Presidential podium.

Rep. Pushing Impeachment
Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), the headline grabber who felt that putting on her Congressional pin or stopping to tell the guard who she was, and instead decided to take a swing at him, has taken a last stand (after losing her House seat) against the Bush administration by introducing a bill Friday to impeach the President... yes, impeach.

I'm really not keen on impeaching our national mistake of electing Bush, not only because I don't want the Democrats to fall to the level the Republicans were on back during Clinton's term, but also because she's only doing it to grab more headlines, and go down in flames.

Bush has not defended the Constitution as well as he swore he would, but McKinney's last-ditch effort is completely absurd. This bill, not to mention McKinney herself, is a waste of breath by the news anchors; the bill will not pass. Even incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has said she refuses to entertain the idea of impeaching the President.

She needs to go away from the public limelight, instead of overly embracing it (she's joined groups urging to look into government knowledge of 9/11 before it happened), just like President Bush should do in 2008.

-Adam

Praying Imams Removed From Flight In Minneapolis

Six Imams were removed from a U.S. Airways flight Monday after a passenger became concerned over their "suspicious" activities. What was the "suspicious" activity, you ask?

......They were praying.

We have now entered a world where, if you happen to be one of the 1.2 Billion people who share a religion with 19 evil men, you will immediately be considered a terrorist and arrested. When did this happen, and better yet, why did we allow this to be so? Simple answer......President Bush's and the Republicans injection of fear into society.

Did ANYBODY even bother to gather information, such as, I don't know, ask them what they were doing? Or did the flight attendant, who received a note nonchalantly passed to her by a concerned, uninformed, close-minded passenger decide to run to the captain and get the plane landed? I'm willing to be it's the latter.

One recent contribution the current administration has made to the "see a Muslim and hide" effort was the commercial used right before the election, in which picture of UBL appeared, along with an audio recording of one of his hate-filled speeches, and the line "These are the stakes" appearing at the end (echoing Lyndon B. Johnson's "Daisy" commercial.) This commercial
was designed solely to inject fear into Americans, and remind them who was in power during 9/11, and that they should stick with them.

The Patriot Act, which many people consider unfair, and which has been used used to detain "enemy combatants" for unjust long periods of time, has also contributed to this problem. I'm sure the fact that every single Bush speech, one way or another since the War on Terror began, has mention the War on Terror.

And, while I hate to say it, it seems if anybody is going to hijack a plane and use it as a weapon, it would be a Muslim, given the history. However, the small amount of Muslims who are extremists don't even put a dent in those Muslims who are normal humans, and would do no such thing. However, this seems completely unapparent to the close-minded citizens who, as passengers on airplanes, decide that a Muslim wearing a T-shirt saying "We shall not be silenced" in Arabic is enough to get someone booted (these are the same people who believe that women who are breastfeeding their babies also deserved to get the boot.)

Sadly I must admit that the fear has even gotten to me. While flying in October of 2004, a handful of people decided to get up and use the lavatory after the 10,000-feet announcement (which is a BIG no-no.) A few of these people looked as if they either were from, or were descendants from, the Middle East. I'm sorry to say, in this world where everybody should be accepted, my heart skipped a beat. In fact, when the flight attendant made the announcement that everybody was to remain seated, these men were the first to retake their seats.

The world we live in does have it's dangers, this being apparent to the soldiers serving overseas more than anybody else. However, we need to get past our "Shoot first, ask questions later......but only if he's Arab" approach, and learn to ask questions, and learn that those in the aisle praying are thanking God for everything they have, and aren't trying to harm you, or anybody else. If a Christian, a Jew, of a Buddhist got into the aisle to pray, that person would probably be asked to return to his/her seat, but only if they were clogging up the aisle.

Muslims? Nope, they have to be detained. Thanks a bunch, Mr. President, you just turned the U.S. back to the 1950's. We'll probably need an Arab equivalent to MLK, Jr. to fix the equality problem, but unfortunately, he was detained due to the Patriot Act.

-Adam (not a Muslim, just a level-headed American)

Read The Full Story Here

Guiliani Makes That Leap

Just about 48 hours after I my last post, in which I guessed Guiliani would hop onto the train heading towards the White House, he does.

Rudy Guiliani formed an exploratory committee yesterday to investigate whether or not it would be lucrative for him to make a run for the White House. According to a poll I saw on CNN this morning, Guiliani had a three-point lead on Sen. John McCain, who formed his own committee last Friday.

Now that both of the BIG names have came forward with their possible intentions of wanting to succeed President Bush, no doubt all eyes will be on the Democratic Party, to see if some of our BIG names will run.

Also, the U.S. Senate has decided who it's leaders will be.

-Adam

Vilsack Announces W.H. Run; McCain Exploring Idea

Possible Contenders?
Two more people could be added to the "Possible '08 Contenders" list. Iowa governor Tom Vilsack (D), currently in his second term, has decided to forego running for a third term, and has instead decided to run for President of the United States. He made the announcement Thursday. Vilsack won the governorship in 1998, marking the first time in 30 years a Democrat was the executive of that state. Vilsack's had to deal with a Republican state legislature for a majority of his time in office. Hopefully, if he wins, he won't have to deal with that, thanks to the incredibly smart and well-informed Americans who voted on Tuesday.

Also giving politics and bloggers something to talk about on Friday was the announcement of an exploratory committee by Arizona Sen. John McCain (R). Republican officials said that the committee would be formed next week, and a bank account has already been created. McCain's aides said that McCain would consult his family, and that he would have an answer in December.

Thanks to McCain's announcement, I'll be sitting on my hands to see if the ONE Republican that could actually win the Presidency will run. If McCain doesn't run, then the Democrats have a fairly good chance of winning. Obviously, Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani could throw a wrench into a "Bush screwed up, let's vote Democrat" movement, especially considering Guiliani relates with Democrats on most big issues.

Could they Win?
I don't know too much about Gov. Vilsack to say either way, but I do honestly think that John McCain or Rudy Guiliani could become the next President. Despite being Republicans, both are very moderate, on occasion even liberal, and could appeal to a wide base. HOWEVER, Senator McCain's recent "flip-flopping" (yes, I said it) between supporting the President, no doubt to gain votes from the more conservative voters, and clashing with him has, I believe, created some distrust among those swing-voters and Independents who do not like the President's policies. This could open the door to Guiliani, especially if he comes out against some of Bush's actions and standpoints.

Democrats will definitely have some grand contenders vieing for the presidency, if those names who are rumored, or have hinted at running, decide to make that giant leap.

-Adam

Beaking Senate News

Moments ago, MSNBC just posting a breaking news story at the top of their homepage. It's the most beautiful thing in the world:

"Associated Press projects Jim Webb the winner in Virginia Senate race." Webb ran against current incumbent Republican Senator George Allen.

If this is indeed true, and if Jon Tester can hold onto slight lead in Montana over incumbent Conrad Burns, then the Democrats have, for the first time since their loss in 1994, control of (both houses) of Congress.

-Adam
MSNBC Homepage

Democrats Seize House, Gain Governors; Senate Still Waiting For Leader

WOW! What a night.

The Democrats , for the first time in 12 years, have control of a house of Congress. This could also be the first time, since modern voting began, where one house has gone one way, and another house possibly going another. Of course, that's all up to the voters in Montana & Virginia.

Who would have thought that Montana could be the focus of the country. In Montana's Senate race, John Tester (D) holds a slight lead over Conrad Burns (R), 49-48% (Tester leads by roughly 4,000 votes, with 84% of the precincts reporting.) I assume there will be a recount here.

In Virginia's Senate race, Democrat Jim Webb picked up a small gain, LATE. In fact, the very last county to report it's results in VA was a primarily Democratic county, which placed Webb in the leading spot. His opponent, incumbent Sen. George Allen, is trailing 50-49% (Webb leads with 1,170,412 vs. Allen's 1,162,293.) Under the current rule in VA, any candidate who loses by less than one percentage point can ask for a recount. There definitely will be here.

In other, already determined races:

Democrat Harold Ford, Jr. lost his bid at the Tennessee Senate seat to Republican Bob Corker, 51-48%. A bright spot in Tennessee is that Democrat Phil Bredesen easily won reelection over GOP challenger Jim Bryson. Ford's loss brings the Senate that much closer to Republican control; on the other hand, it shows that Democrats are gaining a strong foothold in the state.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic challenger Bob Casey beat out current Republican Senator Rick Santorum for his senate seat. Santorum, who is an extremely strong supporter of President Bush, lost 59-41%. Hopefully is has become painstakingly apparent for the soon-to-be ex-Senator that siding with everything the President does does not sit well with Pennsylvanians, along with most of the country.

In Connecticut, Democrat-turned-Independent Joseph Lieberman won reelection over Democratic challenger Ned Lamont & left behind GOP challenger Alan Schlesinger, 50-40-10%, respectively. Those on T.V., which CNN & MSNBC insist on calling "experts" estimated that 1/2 of Democrats & 1/2 of Republicans would vote for Lieberman. I don't know how it broke down, but obviously did something right (I guess running after losing the Democratic nomination would be the first thing.)

Missouri's Senate race came down to the wire, but in the end Claire McCaskill, the Democrat's answer to Republican incumbent Jim Talent, 49-47%.

Ohio & Massachusetts picked up Democratic governors, after having GOP executives in about a decade (leave me a comment if this estimate is wrong.) In Ohio, Democrat Ted Strickland beat GOP J. Kenneth Blackwell 60-37%; Massachusetts Democrat Deval Patrick beat GOP challenger Kerry Healey 56-35%. Of course, the news touted the fact that Patrick was the first black man elected governor of Massachusetts. So what? As long as he's a Democrat, I don't care if he's purple.

To no one's surprise, both of New York's top positions up for grabs went to Democrats. Current Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, easily won the governorship over GOP rival John Faso (69% - 29%.) Governor George Pataki met his term limits and could not run again. As far as the New York Senate race went, the intelligent voters of New York swiftly choose incumbent Democratic Senator (and former FLOTUS) Hillary Clinton, to represent them for the next two, er... I mean six years. Many people think, since Clinton was to easily beat GOP challenger John Spencer (not the late actor) for her second term, that she might be set to run for President in 2008.

She might, and we might get an answer, since she said that she was thinking about the '06 elections first. Well, the '06 elections are over, Mrs. Senator... have you made a decision? Personally, while she's definitely one to watch, I'm also keeping my eye on a certain Hispanic executive in the south-west, or a "skinny kid with a funny name" from the a mid-western state.

Well, if I missed anybody who's an attention-grabber, just turn on a cable news channel, I'm sure they'll be on there. I'm tired, and I'm getting sick of all the squiggly red lines under the names of candidates that Blogger doesn't recognize, so I better stop now.

Keep on eye on Montana & Virginia, they could throw this country, and President Bush, for a loop. And congratulations to California Rep. Nanci Pelosi, who not only won reelection, but picked up the job Speaker of the House. Next time you year the House's Sargent-at-Arms do his "Mr. Speaker" line, it'll be "Mrs. Speaker", and he'll be talking to her. I hope he can get the line straight.

P.S. Projections currently set Democrats having as 33-seat lead over the GOP in the House.

-Adam

Election Day

Well, the day is finally here. If you are registered to vote (which I really hope you are) you NEED to show up to your polling place today, and carry out one of our most important Constitutional rights.

If you are not sure who to vote for, if you want to know about who's running or what measures are up, of if you just want to follow today's news, here are a few sites which might help you.

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/US/Midterm_Elections_2006/
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15593981/
http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm
http://www.electoral-vote.com:2006/

If you are here, you are probably someone who is voting for a change. I encourage you to do so. If you are against any policies of the current administration, or don't like how Congress is being run, send a strong signal to The Powers That Be. Do NOT neglect this. If you don't vote, you won't die, but no one will feel sorry for you if you grumble how "your guy lost", since you didn't cast your ballot.

I hate to sound like a scratched CD (is that a suitable replacement for "broken record"?), but sometimes people have to be motivated.

After the results are in, I'll be back to update this place with results. Until then...

-Adam

[Another] Congressional Settlement

9/11 Remains
Five years, and 21 days after the September 11 attacks, victim's remains are still being found at Grounds Zero:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061102/ts_nm/sept11_remains_dc


U.S. Representative paying off ex-mistress

Don Sherwood, a Representative from Pennsylvania, is paying Cynthia Ore, his former mistress, a $500,000 settlement reached at the end of last year. As it turns out, Ore was to file charges against Rep. Sherwood, claiming abuse. Sherwood denied the claim, and agreed to the payment.

The kicker, though, is that there was a clause stating that if she came forward to the press BEFORE the upcoming elections, she would lose part of the settlement money. Pretty bold of the Rep. to put in an election clause. Chances are, though, this will not hurt his reelection bid, since the story has now come out.

-Adam

Kerry Redux

This post is sponsored by Iran. On your next trip to Iran, book with an Iran travel agency, and help support the local economy; and be sure to tell them that Amhadinejad sent you.


Kerry, Kerry, Kerry...

With one week to go until DemoVictory '06, Senator John Kerry made a "misspeak", like oh so many politicians do, and pissed off a bunch of Fox News watchers in the process (not saying that's necessarily a bad thing.)

Kerry, trying to make a joke about the president's obvious learnt disabyl-eighties, insinuated that troops serving in Iraq were people who weren't smart enough to get a higher education. Naturally, this is untrue, since a lot of people join the armed forces to receive money for college.

Unfortunately, as politics goes, the GOP took this opportunity to twist Kerry's real words into a fake meaning. Kerry was trying to make a joke about how uneducated the president is (although he does have degrees from Yale & Harvard) and obviously failed. Senator Kerry does not know how to joke, especially scripted jokes, since I don't seem to remember him as being the life of the party during the 2004 election.

In any case, Kerry needs to shut up until after the elections. In fact, EVERY Democrat in Washington & on the campaign trail, excluding those who are actually running for office, needs to keep their mouth shut for another week. Then they can talk all they want, within bounds, until about September of 2008. We cannot lose this election based on the fact that a few speech-writers & aides try to be witty.

I do accept Kerry's explanation of what happened, and what he really meant is painfully obvious if you get the opportunity to see the whole thing (a la Fox News, which I'm sure hasn't taken the initiative to show it all.) C'mon, Kerry, try harder, unless you're not running, like in this election, when you shouldn't have to try at all.

Kerry has canceled all future stumps for other candidates, with the exception of those who canceled with him first.

-Adam

Thrid Party Strategies To Win

First off, I hope the new template works out. It should, since it's one of the official Blogger ones, but if it doesn't look right to you, drop me a line and I'll see if I can fix it.

Now, I'm (obviously) not a member of a third party, in fact, it would be downright weird, considering the name of this site, but I have a few ideas about how third parties could better organize for elections. After all, I'd rather have an Independent in office than a Republican.

1. When you vote, you want your guy to win. In third parties, the guys don't win. They can't win big elections. Not now, anyway, maybe in the future. When the Democrats & Republicans band together, they can get enough votes to make their guy win. If all the Independent & third party voters got together and voted for one guy (which would never happen), he still wouldn't win. State races might be possible, especially in Oregon, where Libertarians are the third-largest party.
2. If you want a third party candidate to win, the first thing you need to do is build up the party, from the ground. Parties need to make a stand at the local & state levels. Then, once they, and more importantly, their views are established and known among the public, they can run for a national offices. The Office of the President is the Omega of all political offices. You can't just jump into the drivers seat if you're from a third party.
3. It'll take a generation or two, but then the third parties who are serious about being in the political world will be "dug in" and ready to actually be a major campaign. In another completely pathetic cliche, third party candidates such as Ralph Nader & Pat Buchanan just wanted to skip to the end of the movie, without first watching the character development.

Or, for those of you who are familiar with Operating Systems:

They are like the operating system Linux. It's all based on the same core software, but they're all different, with differing standards. If they were to unite, on even the most basic issues, they would be just as strong as Microsoft & Apple. The same goes with third-party politics. There are WAY to many parties, when they're not that many different points of view. If they were to unite on some basic ideas, they would be taken [really] seriously. But until then, there are too many choices.

Now, I realize that not all third parties have the same views. But many of the smaller ones are very similar, and should unite and compromise, in order to gain political footing. Yes, some are there to "make a point", but making a point, and not seriously trying to win, can be dangerous. Just look at 2000. That whole fiasco may have not happened if Darth Nader didn't need to make a point.

Gee, thanks Ralph.

-Adam

New Poll Numbers

Okay, for a while there, I got really sick of politics. I almost got to the point where I hated it, but then I realized "Hey, the Republicans are screwed in the midterms"; thus, I am back here. I'm going to try to breathe new life into this place (maybe a new template would be nice), but for right now, I've got some new poll numbers (these I got off of MSNBC this morning.)

-------------------------

Okay, in a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll,

On the subject of Iraq,

Now - 68% are feeling less optimistic about Iraq
Now - 20% are felling more optimistic about Iraq
June - 44% are feeling less optimistic about Iraq
June - 45% are felling more optimistic about Iraq

On the subject of the president's approval rating:

38% approve of the president's overall job. That's down three points from the last poll.

On the subject of who Americans would like in power:

52% - Democrats, 37% - Republicans -- That's the widest gap ever measured on this poll.

-------------------------

Okay, over on CNN, they had a few other numbers:

Is Congress out of touch with Americans?

Now - 74% say YES!
1994 - 75% said YES!

In 1994, the Democrats lost control of Congress to Republicans.

Does big business have too much influence over the Bush Administration?

79% - Yes, 19% - No

-------------------------

Denny Hastert: remember to leave the keys to the speaker's office on the counter, so the Democrats can pick them up afterwards.

I'm not sure how many seats Democrats will pick up, but I know it'll be enough. Remember to vote this November.

-Adam

Why I Hate Bill O'Reilly

Okay, I'm not exactly sure how old this video I found on Throw Away Your T.V. is, but some of the footage it contains isn't new. No matter, if you hate Bill O'Reilly, you want to watch this.

I haven't made to big of a case about how evil Bill O'Reilly is, but when I saw this, I got really pissed off at him. He has some horrible things to say to this guest, who just happens to be the son of a Port Authority officer killed when the WTC collapsed. NOBODY, for any reason, should treat someone who directly suffered from that day, like this.

Now, if anyone reading this is a conservative, who happens to be a fan or supporter of Mr. O'Reilly, please don't immediately brush this aside. Please watch this. O'Reilly eventually accuses the son of the PA officer of accusing President Bush of plotting 9/11. This kid does not say that, no level-headed would say that. The Bush Administration dropped the ball, but they did not cause it; and this guy did not say that they did.

Now that I've made the once-in-a-lifetime point of defending President Bush, let's move on to the video:



I now join the legions of those who officially hate Bill O'Reilly.

America Gets Quizzed

We Americans, as it turns out, have NO idea what's going on in the world. This video is so pathetic, I'm putting it on my misc. blog and here.

Please, pay attention, and don't be like these people:

http://view.break.com/135988

Bush IS Violating Constitution; Net Neutrality

BUSH IS VIOLATING CONSTITUTION

According to a task force group from the American Bar Association, President Bush continuing trend of signing personal exceptions to laws he has just signed violate the U.S. Constitution.

"The ABA group, which includes a one-time FBI director and former federal appeals court judge, said the president has overstepped his authority in attaching challenges to hundreds of new laws.

"The attachments, known as bill-signing statements, say Bush reserves a right to revise, interpret or disregard measures on national security and constitutional grounds."

"ABA's president, Michael Greco: . . ."If left unchecked, the president's practice does grave harm to the separation of powers doctrine, and the system of checks and balances that have sustained our democracy for more than two centuries."

-CNN.com

President Bush has about 800 of these "bill-signing statements", while ALL the other Presidents combined have signed about 600. So, it appears that the President is indeed completely bypassing federal & constitutional laws which have stood for over 200 years.

Use the CNN.com link above to read the whole story. I anxiously wait for the 2008 elections.

NET NEUTRALITY

So there's been this debate about "Net Neutrality" going on lately. Basically (if you don't know about it) some people want to make an "express lane" for information transfer for "accredited" companies. Google, Amazon, eBay, and news channel websites would be among these.

Most smaller and personal websites, such as small businesses or, ahem, blogs probably would be among those to use the fast lane. Most of these websites would be required to use the slow lane, and have slower transfer times...meaning pages load slower & info doesn't get to you as quickly.

While it's something to be concerned about, as that would be WRONG to do, but why not have a little fun with it? Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who heads the committee on the internet, does an excellent job in describing the internet & how it works.

Then the Daily Show does a good job explaining what the net neutrality act means to you.

You have to understand Democratic humor to get it, though. Until next time...

-Adam

Middle East Headed To War...Again

Well, it appears that Israel & Palestinian militant group Hezbollah have escalated their conflict into a conflict, which, if eitherside is provoked in certain ways, could be turned into an all-out war.

In most countries of the world, when you exchange bomb and missle fire with another country, you're already at war. But in the Middle East, especially that area, it's reported that they're heading for a "major conflict". Israel & their Palestinian enemies are the only two countries in the would that can begin & end wars in days, without anyone winning or losing. And a few years later, it will happen again...and again.

If the U.S. would have been in this situation (thank God we haven't), we'd be at WAR by now. Of course, we'd discover, one way or another, that Cuba has some old militants lying around and end up invading them instead.

I don't think it helped matters when the U.S. vetoed the U.N. resolution condemning the attacks & that Israel pull out of Lebanon. Yes, we're their friends and allies, but sometimes, even friends make mistakes, and they need to know when you don't support their actions.

Will Israel & Hezbollah go to war, or will they make some sort of "roadmap" peace deal, which could last anywhere from 2 days to 2 decades. Every hour this conflict changes, evolving into a new campaign with new rules. Lets hope and pray for peace, before all chances of peace between these countries are lost altogether.

Let's also hope that the U.S. stays out of this for a while. Lets, for once, only help if we're called upon, or if their conflict threatens to harm innocent countries. Basically, not another Iraq.

-Adam
Source: CNN.com-UPDATES,
CNN.com-RESOLUTION

A New Post: Sorry For The Lack Of Updates

WOW! It's been the better part of a month since I last made a post.

Let's see, since my last post:

1. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed, then immediately replaced. His death was symbolic and didn't really mean anything.

2. Seven Marines & 1 Sailor currently face murder charges for an assult on Iraqi citizens.

3. We reached the 2,500 deaths mark for U.S. troops in Iraq. So far, there have been about 310 deaths in Ahfghanistan & we've been there since 2001.

4. The Democrats offered two bills in Congress for pulling out of Iraq, one nearly immediate withdrawl, the other a phased withdrawl. The Republicans decided to blindly follow President Bush by rejecting both measures.

Number 3 is an extremely sad event. Why did so many soldiers have to die? What's out plan for exiting Iraq? And most of all, What's President Bush feeling right now? Does he even care?

NOT JUST A NUMBER---

I found this animation from Peace Takes Courage, a website dedicated to, well, peace. I think everybody should watch this quick animation. Really helps remind you about the Iraq war:

Peace Takes Courage

I'll try to keep this place updated a little more. Until next time.

-Adam

New Treasury Secretary; Why Listen To Frist?

SNOW RESIGNS, PAULSON TAPPED

Treasury Secretary John Snow (the guy who signs your money) has resigned. His departure has been rumored for about a month. The Treasury Dept. has been facing a falling Dollar in the world economy lately.

Henry Paulson, CEO of Goldman Sachs, has been nominated by President Bush to replace Snow.

Not super exciting, I know...Let's move on to Frist...

FRIST'S COMMENTS

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R) recently changed his tune on the (most likely) illegal search & seizure of documents in Rep. William Jefferson's office. Frist NOW says that it was leagal, and the right thing to do.

First of all, he's a heart surgeon & U.S. Senator. What does he know about the LAW?

Second, this is a House of Representatives issue. I can understand Speaker Hastert & Minority Leader Pelosi commenting on it, but Frist is in the Senate. What does his opinion matter? He is disambiguous of the House, until Bills are passed, and half the time they can't even do that!

Frist won't have to deal with any internal punishment Jefferson may recieve, like asking him to step down from his committee chairmanships. That's Rep. Pelosi & Speaker Hastert's job. Forgive the continuous critisism, but that's like a member of Microsoft's Board of Directors embezzeling, and the CEO of Google asking him to step down.

Keep your focus on the Senate, Senator Frist. It needs enough work as it is...

-Adam
Source: CNN/Money

Rep. William Jefferson

"Former associates have said Jefferson accepted more than $400,000 in bribes to help them sell telecommunications technology to Nigeria and other West African countries."

"Two of those associates have pleaded guilty to bribery charges, and the FBI disclosed on Sunday it has videotaped Jefferson accepting bribe money and has found $90,000 in cash in his freezer."

-Reuters.com

Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) is the target of an FBI investigation, as stated above. Then, the day before yesterday, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R) joined Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi in asking the Dept. of Justice to release the information seized from Rep. Jefferson's Congressional office back to Congress. They claimed that the Constitution prevented the DoJ from using evidence seized from a Congressman's official office from being used in an investigation (If you want to read about the ABC's accusation towards Hastert, using an interestingly-timed leaked info, read below.)

Now, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Deputy Atty. Gen. Paul McNulty, & FBI Director Robert S. Mueller all threated to resign if the White House ordered them to return the information to Congress. President Bush has order an immediate 45-day freeze on the documents, until the DoJ & Congress can work out a solution.

I'm really not sure who's lawfully right, but since I like to see the Bush's Administration crumble under its own weight, I'd tell the President to give 'em back. Is that wrong? Maybe. But then again, I'm not in politics...yet.

[Note: I forgot to mention in my last immedate post (directly below) that CNBC reported that Secretary of Treasury John Snow, will resign once Bush has picked a replacement.]

-Adam

Source: Reuters.com

The United States Senate (And A Little More)

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been feeling sick the last few days, but I'm better now, and ready to lash out at our Conservative leaders (when they deserve it).

The Senate's been very active the last few days:

General Michael Hayden, who has spent most of his life in the Air Force, is now head of the CIA. Hayden is leaving his job as head of the NSA, which he's held since 1999. Hayden was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 78-15. I don't know where the other 7 senators were. I assume he's qualified, since he was easily confirmed. But I'm proud to say that my senator, Ron Wyden, laid into Hayden over the wiretapping, which he [Hayden] oversaw.

Hayden now oversees the CIA, which I guess is good, because he won't be able to wiretap (the CIA operating in the U.S. is illegal.)

The whole "English as a National Language" OR "English as a Unifying and Common Language" issue. Take your pick. It really won't matter. Congress members admit that it's largely symbolic. I get the feeling, however, that it will cost $200M+ a year to uphold.

President Bush, during his recent joint press-conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, admitted that the U.S. had made some mistakes during the Iraq war. This follows up Secretary Rice's earlier admission that errors had been made. I didn't watch it, but I imagine that no large admissions of guilt were made.

Also, as you have may heard, ABC News reported that Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert may be involved in the same scandal that Jack Abramoff was in. Rep. [Speaker] Hastert demanded a retraction of the story. ABC stands by the story. The White House declined they released the story in an effort to "punish" Speaker Hastert for criticizing the probe on Rep. William Jefferson (see above story.)

There's one more thing I'm forgetting...let me think...

...Oh! We're giving some of those who came here illegally citizenship. Even worse, we're giving others the chance to "gain" citizenship. The Congress is effectively making a 2nd class citizen. They had something like that about 250 years ago. They were called Indentured Servants.

[Note: Each House of Congress has passed a different version of this bill. Chances are something will be lost during negotiations.]

-Adam

Phone Companies Deny; Border Plan Half-baked

ASSTANCE DENIED
This is just getting weirder. Both BellSouth & Verizon deny the fact that they turned over phone record information to the NSA, as reported in an article for the NYT.

As they pointed out on CNN this morning, though, it was the wording of the company statements that could draw attention. They statements were along the lines of 'we didn't give any information to the NSA'. Which, I suppose, leaves open the possibility that they gave the records to someone else, or the information was not volutarily given. Of course, as of right now, there's no evidence to support either of those senarios.

GUARDS TO BORDER
President Bush, in his primetime address to the nation, really didn't impress anyone. The President ordered the National Guard, the official 'minutemen' of our country, to the southern border, to keep out all the illegal immigrants. Makes me wonder if Bush will bring back the rest of them from Iraq to defend our country here. That's what their supposed to do, but the President obviously doesn't know that.

The 6 thousand he's posting along the border probably aren't enough. And they won't have the ability to detain or arrest, either. This means that they'll either need to have a few Border Patrol officers with them at all times, or call BP and hope they show up before the "crossers" get away. EIther way, this will draw resources from other areas where BP could have been posted.

Once again, President Bush has an entry plan for the situation, but NO CLUE what to do when he gets there. The border security issue is an all-or-nothing-at-all situation. The U.S. needs to have the ability for 'easy entry' for those who wish to come here legally, a plan for those who are already here illegally, and a stategy for those who are willing to challenge the troops posted on the border.

Bush's plan is half-baked.

-Adam
Source: CNN.com

May 11: The CIA Scandal Gets Worse

It's getting worse.

1. First, CIA Director Porter Goss suddenly resigned without a public explanation.
2. Hours later, the CIA's Executive Officer (#3 guy) Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, resigned.
3. The Director of National Intelligence's top deputy, General Michael Hayden, is tapped by President Bush as the next CIA Director.
4. Criticism arises due to the fact that Hayden is in the Army, possibly making him a 'pointman' for the SecDef.
5. Gen. Hayden said he may resign his post if he's confirmed by the Senate.
6. The NSA is now monitoring tens of millions of calls across the country, and General Hayden oversaw it.
7. "Dusty" Foggo was issued a search warrant by the FBI for his home & CIA office.

Dusty Foggo apparently has connections to the same Defense Contractor which Cal. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham was involved with, and ultimately went to jail over. So far, at least, I assume his resignation had to do with this issue, not anything having to do with the NSA or anything else.

It's getting nasty. The CIA has suddenly been engulfed in scandal, which is not what it needs right now. Maybe the government needs to "reboot" the CIA, like they're going to do with FEMA. After all, it's just a government agency. It's not like it has any public respect, anyway.

This post brought to you by Verizon, AT&T, and BellSouth, and the National Security Agency. "We're listening."

-Adam
NOTE: This post is not sponsored by any phone companies or any government agency.

Moussaoui Jailed For Life; May Day Protests

BREAKING NEWS: Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person held in the attacks on America on September 11, 2001, has been sentenced to like in prison without the possibility of parole.

Moussaoui will rot in prison for the rest of his life. But from what the news is reporting, it was NOT a unanimous verdict. The majority of the jury concluded that some mitigating circumstances, including his upbringing, may have contributed to him joining the terror group al-Qaeda.

MAY DAY PROTESTS

Well, the protests were two days ago, and the stores are still open. In fact, I only know of two establishments of which had to close on the 1st, throughout the whole state of Oregon. Both were Burger Kings, who didn't have enough employees show up to stay open.

Over 1 Million people protested H.R. 4437, which would make all people who enter America illegally, felons. However, it sounded more like the protests took place to protest the U.S. stance on immigrants altogether (Leave a comment if you think I'm wrong...or right).

But I don't think the numbers are in yet, as far as financial damage. Since it was an economic boycott, the only way to see if it was truly effective is to wait for monthly earning reports. I know that many immigrants (illegal, legal, naturalized citizens) did not skip work and protest, due to the concern that they may not have a job on the 2nd.

I can understand wanting rights (if you're here legally), but the economic protest probably hurt this country. How does that help you? Doesn't it also damage the economy you've been working for? The one you, and everyone else, relies on?

Maybe I'm wrong, but maybe not...

-Adam

Snow New Pressman; Soldiers Not So Receptive

NOTE: A new poll has been posted.

Tony Snow is new White House Secretary

FOX News (former) anchor Tony Snow will be the new White House Press Secretary, the White house announced the other day. Snow, who was a speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush, will replace current Press Secretary Scott McClellan. McClellan replaced Ari Fleischer as Press Secretary about 2 years ago.

Some political analysts have said that Snow will be "more open" with the press than McClellan was. One analyst, who's name I can't recall, said that Snow will do a better job "handling" NBC's White House Correspondent, who presses McClellan, or whoever the Press Secretary may be, to be clearer with his answers & not 'dance' around the questions.

Some soldiers could care less about Rummy & Rice's "Suprise" visits to Iraq

Some U.S. soldiers currently serving in Iraq said they really didn't care whether or not Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld & State Secretary Condie Rice came and visited Iraq for their suprise tours.

In fact, many troops don't get to see, or even don't know about, the VIP's when they visit. Most soldiers are simply too busy doing their job to praise Rummy & Rice when they come to Iraq on their 'trips'. One unidentified soldier, on his second tour, said that if he got the opportunity to see Rumsfeld, he'd "...ask him for a plane ticket home to see my wife. I have barely seen her in the last two years."

For more about this story, including a story about what one Division was doing during Rumsfeld's visit: http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/27/damon.baladtroops/index.html

-Adam
source: CNN.com

New Orleans Voted...It's A Runoff

38% of New Orleans resident eligible to vote cast their ballots for Ray Nagin, the current mayor of New Orleans. He recieved the most votes, but he also failed to secure 62% of the votes, which could hurt him when the runoff election takes place.

Under the current NOLA law, the Mayor must recieve 50% of the votes, otherwise a runoff would occur. The other candidate to appear in the runoff will be Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, who recieved 29%. The third place finisher, business Ron Foreman, who recieved 17% of the vote & will not be in the runoff, threwhis support behind Landrieu. This is understandable, because a person who comes in third in anything would never throw his support behind the leader.

I don't live in New Orleans, so don't really know how Mayor Ray Nagin is viewed down there. It sounds like he's popular, but there might be some mistrust in the workings of the government in that area, which is understandable, considering all the failures.

NOTE: The jury is now deliberating in the Zacharias Moussaoui case. It'll be interesting to see what verdict he recieves...and how fast the defense will appeal over the fact that the trial was not "fair".

-Adam
SOURCE: MSNBC.com

Change Is Upon The White House

Unfortunately, Donald Rumsfeld will not be among them, according to President Bush.

Scott McClellan, the White House Press Secretary, announced his resignation today. This comes right after McClellan relayed new Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten's message that "whoever wants to leave better get out now".

McClellan said in a statement with the President in tow on the White House "press" lawn that he looked forward to the next chapter of his life, and would stay on to help with the transition of a new, not-yet-announced Press Secretary.

CNN has learned from a senior WH official that Karl Rove, the Deputy Chief of Staff, will be shifting his focus from White House policy to the ever-increasing importancy of political strategy. This is what he's best at. I don't think he was at all qualified to be a policy director.

Joel Kaplan, a Deputy Director of the Office of Budget & Management, is expected the take the Deputy Chief of Staff position of policy advisor, which has been held by Rove since the beginning of Bush's first term. Joshua Bolten, the Chief of Staff, was formerly the Director of the Office of Budget & Management. Looks like he's bringing in his own people to fix the situation.

All this comes a few weeks after Andrew Card, the former White House Chief of Staff, resigned. I bet the WH isn't done.

-Adam
SOURCE: CNN.com

9/11 Transcripts

But first, an interesting story:
‘No-fly’ list delays Marine's Iraq homecoming

9/11 Transcripts:
The cockpit tape recording of Flight 93's events were played for the first time ever in public yesterday. The tape was played as evidence in the courtroom, which was closed to T.V. cameras & audio recorders, in the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. If you haven't read it yet, here it is:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12286423/

Moussaoui helped the jurors expedite their decision of sentencing him to death by saying that it 'made his day' hearing what happened on 9/11 (he was already in jail), and would like to see similiar attacks "every day".

He also insulted a Navy sailor when she cried during her testimony of two of her fellow sailors' deaths. He said is was discusting for a military soldier to die, ands since she is in the military, she should expect people to die.

Moussaoui said he was convinced that before the end of the President's term, he [Bush] would free him [Moussaoui]. I somehow don't see this happening.

-Adam
SOURCE: MSNBC.com

Multi-City Immigration Protests

Protests are taking place in approximately 70 U.S. cities today, in response to H.R. 4437. Part of the House of Representatives resolution would classify all illegal immigrants as felons. They have all been non-violent, and legal immigrants & American-born relatives of immigrants are taking part, in addition to many illegals.

These marches follow up several marches that took place on Sunday.

What could be the largest nationally-organized protest ever could take place on May 1st of this year. Many Hispanic rights groups are planning a national economic boycott on what is commonly referred to as "May Day", in which they ask all Hispanics to stay home from work and not buy any items which are marked "Made in the USA", in an effort to show that, with out Hispanics, the U.S. economy will come to a standstill. Today's marches could be just a peek into what we may see on May 1st.

However, I doubt that the economy will shut down on May 1st, considering every product in the U.S. is manufactured overseas already. Also, how patriotic is it to try and shut down the U.S. economy? One day of that many people not showing up for work can send our economy into a freefall, of which could take months to fully recover. That's not good for anybody, natural-born citizens, legalized immigrants OR illegal aliens.

I would holeheartedly understand if this was something like revoking the 1986 amnesty act, but this in in defense of illegal immigrants. They didn't come here the right way; their not supposed to be in this country in the first place. All people who have either moved to the U.S. & became citizens, or those who have work visas, welcome to America. I doesn't bug me one bit that you're here. In fact, it's some of those who were born here I find irritating.

If you're an illegal immigrant, I recommend that you become a U.S. citizen. There's a lot of great perks to it. Just because you're not born here, doesn't mean you cant't be a citizen. I've heard the process isn't the funnest thing to go through, but in the end, it'll be worth it.

I know this sounds a little, dare I say it, conservative, but the law's the law.

-Adam
SOURCE: MSNBC.com

Was Bush The Source Of the CIA Leak?

UPDATE:

IT APPEARS THAT PRESIDENT BUSH WON'T CHALLENGE THE TESTIMONY GIVEN BY LIBBY WHICH REVEALS HIM AS THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK. Is Bush just ignoring invalid claims from someone who's no longer under his payroll, or has Libby backed the President in a corner and he doesn't know what to say?

The story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12187153/

THE STORY:

President Bush's approval rating now site at 36%. Only 73% of Republicans support him.

Former Chief of Staff to V.P. Cheney, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, told the grand jury investigation the leak was authorized by President Bush. Cheney, according to Libby, thought it was "very inportant" to leak the document indentifying Valierie Plame, but told Libby not to, because the President had not authorized it.

Later, Cheney informed Libby that the President indeed has authorized the information to be released. Linny proceeded to leak the document to NYTime sreporter Judith Miller. Miller was sent to jail by a federal judge until she revealed the name of her source. She is no longer being detained, since we now know the source was Libby.

I still wonder if the report mentioning Plame was released because her husband, Fmr. Ambassator Joseph Wilson, critisized the Bush Admin. over their War in Iraq. What other reason could releasing Plame's name & destroying her career serve?

-Adam

Department Of Homeland Sex Soliciting?

I was about to post a "DeLay-ed" post about Rep. Tom DeLay pulling out of his re-election bid, and I still will, but I found this interesting...

Brian J. Doyle, who currently serves as the deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, and who's job is to be one of the faces of DHS, to get the agency's actions into (or keep them out of) the media spotlight, is now in it.

Doyle was arrested on charges of "use of a computer to seduce a child and transmission of harmful material to a minor." Doyle thought he was talking to, and trying to seduce, was not a 14-year-old girl, but a Polk County Sheriff Dept. Detective.

It gets worse. Doyle sent pornography clips to the "girl". He sent pictures to her, which were not of sexual nature, but instead pictures of him IN the DHS offices, while WEARING his credentials. He felt it was okay to give her the number to the government issued cell phone. Doyle also asked the "girl" to purchase a webcam & perform sexual acts while on camera.

The evening in which he was to see her on camera, and while he was currently talking to the undercover detective, the police paid a visit to his house. They cuffed & stuffed the deputy press secretary, and, earning the title of sexual predator, is now being held in the county jail.

This is really sick. He was the fourth highest ranking official at the DHS, and you'd think he'd know better, being in the public spotlight. Actually, he just should've known better...

-Adam
SOURCE: MSNBC.com

MOUSSAOUI ELIGIBLE FOR DEATH

ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI, the only person in the U.S. to be charged in the 9/11 attacks, has been found eligible to recieve the Death penalty. Moussaoui's lies to the FBI, juror's believed, made him responsible for at least one death during the September 11 attacks.

Moussaoui had already pleaded guilty on helping in the 9/11 attacks, so the trial was waived. The most recent ruling means he is now able to get the death penalty from Jurors, if they so choose.

-Adam
SOURCE: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12134752/

Stories In The News

Sorry it's been so long since the last update. Here's some of the ongoing stories...

- Lobbyist Jack Abramoff was sentenced to 5 years, 10 months in Prison.

JILL CARROLL RELEASED
Christian Science Monitor journalist Jill Carroll was released Thursday, nearly three months after her capture. The strangest thing I took notice of was the fact that Carroll, in her first video-interview after being set free, all but praised her captors for her treatment.

Carroll was released by her captors, the "Revenge Brigade" after, supposedly, the demands for Carrolls release had been met. According to official statements, the U.S. Embassy did NOT pay for her release. However, the statement leaves a loophole the size of L.A., leaving the possibility that another U.S. entity secured her release. The Christian Science Monitor denies paying a ransom.

RICE RECOGNIZES ERRORS
And in a newer story, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today, during her trip to England, admitted that there are errors in the way the War in Iraq was carried out. Rice said "I know we've made tactical errors, thousands of them I'm sure," and followed up this perfectly good moment with "But when you look back in history, what will be judged will be, did you make the right strategic decisions." It was nice while it lasted, but I know no one in the administration will admit to any large errors, w/o putting spin on it, until after Bush is out of Office.

FOOLISH CONGRESSMAN?
Howard Kaloogian, who is running as the Republican challenger for the California 50th Con. District, posted a picture on his campaign websiteshowing that Iraq is really a peaceful place, and that the press was distorting the real story.

The problem is, the picture is NOT from Iraq, it's from Instanbul, Turkey. The office of the prospective Congressman said that the photo was placed by mistake,andhas since been "corrected". The new photo, however, does not completely work with new picture, which is either taken from a helicopter or a tall building, and thus lacking detail.

Here's the picture.

IMMIGRATION BILLS
This whole immigration bill thing is getting out of hand. I don't even know all the details of it, it's so confusing. As far as I understand, there's two bills, but two proposed amendments to them or something.

And I took note that at least some of the political blog sites aren't even talking about it that much. I don't know where my party officially stands on this bill. From what I understand, the Democrats are split on the "Guest-Worker Program", which is being offered in the Senate bill, but not the House, and a majority of the Republicans are behind it, but not all.

Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California had the interesting idea of having the prisoners pick the fruit.

CoS Andrew Card Resigns Post

NOTE: A new poll on this issue has been added in the right-hand column.

White House Chief of Staff, and possibly the closest aide to the President, Andrew Card has resigned. "Andy", as the President commonly refers to him, has held his position since Bush took office in early 2001.

It appears that Card chose to leave, saying he was ready to "move on". However, Bush is facing very low poll numbers & heat over illegal wiretapping and, of course, growing animosity over the War in Iraq.

Joshua Bolten, who currently is the White House Budget Director, will replace Card. Andrew Card will step down April 14th. Bolten himself is an interesting choice, since his Budget Office has done such a "GREAT"* job of managing the U.S. Budget.

Let's see if Bolten brings the fresh thinking that the White House wants, of if it's the same rhetoric, with a different face.

For more, go to: CNN & MSNBC

-Adam

*Sarcasm

The Worthless Legislature?

I'm going to switch gears and beat on Congress.

You may or may not have seen a story the news channels have been running on the actual amount of days Congress will be in session this year. The 109th Congress, as if the 27th Amendment* wasn't enough, has been taking an extended amount of days off each session.

Since the start of the new year, the House of Representatives has been in session a total of 19 days. The Senate has a little better record with 33 days. Today is the 82nd day of the year. I don't expect Congress to work everyday, because they're job is so demanding, but stick with me, because it gets worse.

Congress is still in break for St. Patrick's Day, and they will be until the 28th of this month. St. Patty's Day was, what, the 17th? Oh, and they adjourned before the 17th. They also go on Spring Break next month. This is in addition to the extended weekends they usually take.

This is where is gets good. Congress is on track to work a whopping 97 days this year! This is rediculous! The news channels were quick in reminding us, however, that they come home and hold town halls with the voters. Sorry, I haven't heard of any town halls starring my Congressmen.

Congress was quick to note that they are predicted to work 120 days this year. I'm not willing to completely trust Congresses "predictions". Plus, 120 doesn't sound that much better. In 1948, President Harry Truman called his Congress the "Do-Nothing" Congress. They were in session for 108 days. Looks like the 109th is trying to beat that record.

I think we're getting cheated. The Court recently fell to the right, The President's terrible at his job, and now Congress won't do their's...

...Oh well, I've come to expect it.

-Adam

* The 27th Constitutional Amendment basically states that no one (including the President) can change Congresses salary, unless Congress votes & approves it first. This Amendment was originally proposed September 25, 1789, and ratified 203 years later, on May 7, 1992. The Bill of Rights was ratified December 15, 1791; which means Congress (if they had worked faster) could have made the 27th Amendment the FIRST one to appear in the Constitution. Figures...

Happy War Anniversary

I'd just like to congratulate those in Washington a happy 3 year anniversary on the War in Iraq. That's right, it's been three years since the one of the biggest mistakes in American history took place. What do you get a screwed up government for a "Third Year of Death" anniversary?

2,317 troops have died in Iraq, 2,180 of them since the end of "Major Combat Operations".

-Adam

Whether Or Not To Censure Bush

I'm finally deciding to write about this. It's been a few days, and at first, I didn't know what to think about Sen. Russ Feingold's (D-Wis) resolution to censure President Bush. I think I've come to a decision. While I'm not overly enthustiastic for it, I think that this should be pursued.

The censure resolution is being introduced due to President Bush's failure to report wire-tapping to the FISA court. President Bush did not do this on a whim. I'm sure the President could have allotted 72 hours for an emergengy submission. Actually, it was only a 24 time limit, but the President himself changed it to 72.

Many people do support the wire-tappings. In some cases, I support it, too. However, whether people supported it or not, what the President did was illegal. And people who break the law need to be punished.

A censure, as defined by Mirriam-Webster OnLine, is the "act of condemning sternly" or an "official reprimand". This is what the President deserves for his actions, even if they were meant well and for National Security purposes. Besides, a censure, if I understand it correctly, technically carries any weight. It's simply a stern warning.

Sen. Bill Frist (R-Ten), the Senate Majority Leader, has publically cme out against the motion.

Actually, I'm suprised that no one has introduced a censure against the president over the war in Iraq. The disapproval numbers on that issue are WAY lower than the numbers on the wire-tapping. Some have recommended impeaching President Bush. I still don't know where I stand on that, though. On one hand, I really don't want to have to listen to another impeachment trial. On the other hand, he REALLY screwed up on Iraq.

Back to the censure, I think it has merit to an extent, but I'm not sure Congress has the guts to persue this. But, as I've said before, only time will tell in politics.

To read more about the censure, go to:
http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/Politics/story?id=1715495&page=1

-Adam

Frist Wins [Tennessee] Straw Poll

The The Southern Republican Leadership Conference recently met in Memphis, Tennessee for a vote to test the waters, as it were, to see who the best person to endorse in 2008 for the Republican 'Nod would be. Southern and Midwestern Republicans took part in the poll.

Sen. Bill Frist, the Senate Majority Leader, came in first with 36.9%. That suprised me at first, asking why anyone would want someone like him (i.e. someone like Bush) in The White House. Then I remembered that he's from Tennessee, which probably really helped him clench the win.

Gov. Mitt Romney, of Massachusetts, came in a "suprising" second. That's "suprising" because no one thought that a moderate Republican from the north, who runs the BLUEST state in the country, would be popular in the south. Either those in the south are changing, or the southerners know what they'r looking for!

John McCain, who would have gotten 120% of the Democratic vote if it wasn't GOP only, announced that instead of putting his name on the ballot, he asked that all those who would have voted for him to write-in President Bush. Now obviously, President Bush will never be allowed to hold the Office of the President of the United States again (which is actually a good thing), but McCain requested it so they could "show support for the President". It kind of failed.

President Bush only got just over 10% of the vote. Obviously, most of the voters were smart enough to figure that doing such a thing would be a wasted vote, so they more than likely went with their second choice. Also, I believe, while many Republicans will publicly stand up for Bush, in private (such as on a ballot) they want to pick someone who is FAR away from the President. McCain should have clenched this opportunity to point out differences between himself and the President.

I believe also that if McCain would have submitted his name to the ballot, instaed of supporting "the wasted vote" system, he would have won, possibly with a count near a majority.

It should also be noted that out of 1,427 ballots cast, all but 97 of them were from people who live in Tennessee. Now that we know who Tennessee wants, how about the other 49 states?

-Adam

BUSH SUNK IN HARBOR

Well, the Ports Deal appears to be dead, hopefully . . .

Except it wasn't President Bush who admitted his mistake in backing this deal. Instead, as you already know (sorry I didn't post this earlier, by the way), DP World passed an announcement to Sen. John Warner (R-VA), who readit on the Senate Floor.

The announcement stated that DP World would back out of the U.S. ports part of the purchase, saying that they would "Transfer [management] of the ports to a U.S. entity." Transfer? Not buy? U.S. entity? I'd be cautious about those two key words. A transfer incinuates that the company who takes management would have some connection to DP World. The word entity is more interesting, because there is no company in the U.S. that specializes in running ports.

While this is a great thing, I'm more disappointed that it didn't go another way.

The day before the Ports Deal was announced, Congress was ready to take action. That's right, Congress, the one that's controlled by Republicans (and yes, I'd rather have Republicans control Congress than a foreign country run our ports), was about to forcefully halt the Ports Deal.

The House Appropriations Sub-Committee, which I assume is part of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, had voted 62 - 2 to attach a "Kill Deal" amendment to the President's Defense Spending Bill, which provides the billions of dollars to run the wars in Afghanistan & Iraq. The spending bill was slated as a "Must-Pass Emergency Spending Bill", so adding the amendment to kill the Ports Deal was a great idea.

On this one occasion, I'd like to congradulate the House Republicans on doing the right thing. But naturally, I'm a little disappointed. I would have loved to see the President admit defeat, and sign the bill. He's already hovering at about 34%, and I'm positive that would have sent his numbers below 30%.

But nonetheless, I'd rather have National Security than a failing President. I'll still wonder, though, what Bush had to consent to for DP World to pull out, and help him save face? DP World doesn't care about our National Security. They don't care if we get attacked again, like we did on 9/11. They don't care that two of the terrorists were from Dubai. They couldn't care less. That's why we need to protect ourselves, not just save money by exporting our security.

They never have cared, and they never will . . .

-Adam

Banned Abortions & Funeral Protesters

I've got TWO stories for you today!

But first, I support the troops, but not the war. But reguardless of what you think, support the troops by contributing to the Fallen Heroes Fund or by buying a Hero Bracelet. Fallen Heroes Fund has made it's goal, but they still need help. Use the links to the right if you would like to help out.

SOUTH DAKOTA BANS ALL ABORTIONS...

Okay, so I support abortions, but I don't think they should be used as birth control. People need to be responsible. But, we're Americans, which (anymore) seems to mean we're completely stupid. Just look at the Ports Deal, but that's for another post.

In the infinite wisdom of the South Dakota State House & Senate, and signed off by Governor Mike Rounds, South Dakota has become the first state to ban virtually all abortions. The one and only exception is if the woman would die if she didn't have one performed.

Than means if the pregnancy or giving birth would be harmful, but not fatal, no abortion would be performed. It also means that, in cases of pregnancy by rape or incest, no abortion would be performed. I certainly hope the press exagerates all those cases of women being raped & getting pregnant, because a few women are about to, without choice, carry a criminal's child.

That is COMPLETELY wrong ! ! ! What reason does the state have to force women to carry children that resulted from a criminal act? They don't. Yet, they are doing it anyway...

It is now a crime for doctors to perform the procedure. Planned Parenthood is planning to challenge the law. Planned Parenthood operates the only abortion clinic in the state, which is located in Sioux Falls.

The law goes into effect July 1st.

Source: MSNBC.com

GROUP PROTESTS SOLDIERS' FUNERALS...

Fred Phelps is a sick-o evil anti-American, who I think is mentally disturbed and lives in a distorted reality. Fred Phelps is the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, located in Topeka Kansas. (I've talked about his website, "God Hates Fags", before; you can find the previous post in the Archives).

Mr. Phelps, in addition to running a church made up of incestuous family members & claiming that "George Bush worships Mr. Peanut, whose name is the great god Goober" (confirmation still pending on whether the President does! LOL!), Phelps is going to as many fallen soldiers' funerals as he can, protesting not the war, not even the administration, but the country & the soldiers themselves!

He and his family/congregation is showing up to funerls with signs that state "Thank God for IED's" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers." He is protesting because he says that the soldiers "are serving in an army that represents a country that accepts homosexuality."

However, as CNN has reported, a group of motorcyclists, calling themselves the "Patriot Guard Riders", are going to all the funerals that the Phelps' group is protesting, and protests them. These motorcycle-patriots always, sometimes metting up with citizens who have saw the story on T.V. and wish to help "protest the protesters."

The "Patriot Guard Riders" sing patriotic songs, and sometimes, while the funeral service is taking place, turn on there motorcycles and rev their engines to drown out the crazy chanting that Phelps, and his fellow anti-American loser protesters, scream out.

Now, I don't think the "Patriot Guard Riders" are a pro-war group. But even if they were, they are more-so a pro-Soldier group, which means that I support them, and all action they take to make these psycho devil-worshipers, who pretend they're a religious organization, go away.

Source: Paula Zahn Now (on CNN), CNN.com

-Adam

New Poll Posted

I've posted a new poll about the security of our ports. Will the U.A.E. purchasing control of our ports makeus more or less safe?

Take the "Ports Deal" poll.

-Adam

Bush Knew Wrath Of Katrina

I was going to write about how the DP World was "kindly" giving us a 45-day review of the deal, but this sounds a little more important.

But first, the Patriot Act just passed the Senate by a vote of 81-18*. Now on to the story...

September, 2005 --
President Bush: "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." It turns out President Bush really did know how bad Hurricane Katrina really was going to be.

On August 28, 2005, the day before Katrina made landfall on the gulf coast, Bush and Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security Secretary, joined in a video tele-conference with top FEMA officials and the Louisiana and Mississippi governors. During the tele-conference, hurricane expert Max Mayfield warned that massive devastation was going to come with Katrina.

Mayfield said that "no one with any certainty" could say whether or not the levees would fail. He called the possible breaching of the levees a "very, very big concern." He also stated that Katrina would be in the top 10 or 15 worst natural disasters.

Michael Brown, former director of FEMA, feared there weren't enough disaster teams to help those who were held up in the Superdome (Of course, we now know that they didn't even try to find out if people were seeking shelter in the Convention Center!). He also feared that the roof wouldn't be able to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. Brown later said that he warned the President that the situation in LA would be "dire."

However, during the tele-conference, where President Bush and DHS Sec. Chertoff were broadcasting from Bush's ranch, the President assures the governors that the federal government is "fully prepared" (my emphasis), and they were ready to help during the storm and move in immediately after the storm (Again, emphasis mine).

I don't know, I watched a LOT of the coverage, and it seemed that CNN's Anderson Cooper help people more than the government did. They BOTCHED this one, folks.

NOLA Mayor Ray Nagin said "you know, from the looks of this tape, it looks like everybody was fully aware." I agree.

NBC News attained a transcript of a tele-conference that occurred on the 29th, the day of the storm, which quoted Brown as saying that The President is "...very engaged and is asking a lot of really good questions." Brown went on to say that the Bush asked about hospitals, the Superdome, and the levees possibly breaching.

Asked a "lot of good questions", huh? I'd like to note that on the taped tele-conference (August 28th), the President did NOT ask a single question.

And finally, the White House said that the tape does not contradict anything the Bush Administration has said about Hurricane Katrina. Doesn't contradict? What about "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." ? ? ?

By the way, Bush's approval rating is down to 34%.

For parts of the video, visit either of the sources below. (It's not the whole thing)

-Adam
Sources: MSNBC.com & CNN.com

* The Patriot Act passed the Senate by a vote of 81-18, not 89-10. This has been corrected. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Outsourcing Our Ports - To The Middle East

A company based in Dubai, U.A.E., Dubai Ports World, has purchased Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation, a British- owned company, which manages six U.S. seaports. The deal, at $6.8 Billion, will place Dubai Ports World in management of these ports.

In case you're interested, the ports they are tasking control of are: New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami, & Philadelphia. That's EVERY major East Coast port, and a state-run MiddleEastern country is going to run them? I don't even think that the old British company should have run them. You just can't outsource safety!

Dubai was the location of a nuclear technology sale, led by a Pakistani scientist named A.Q. Khan. More importantly, Two of the hijackers involved in the September 11 attacks were from the U.A.E. They also got money from Dubai-based banks.

There has been rising concerns in Congress over the sale. Congressmen, Senators & Reps., Democrats & Republicans, many do not believe that this sale is right. I wholehearted-ly agree. The President & his "servants", however, defended the deal. President Bush even threatened to use his very first veto of his Presidency in the event Congress tries to block it. Ooh, scary. I just hope Congress doesn't shove it's tail between it's lega and "bow to the Chief".

It was reported (yesterday, I believe) that the President had "no knowledge" of the sale, until it was complete. That's sad. It also shows one of two things: the White House staff conspires on political behind the President's back, then presents it to him with that famous Washington spin, OR the President really is an idiot, and he has all his staffers do his work for him.

Hey, I have a GREAT idea! After this is a done deal, let's outsource our Border Patrol to Mexico! It'll save money and decrease American jobs, all at the same time! And this Blog has just been outsourced to China!

-Adam (counting down the days to the 2008 election)

Top 10 Presidential Blunders

Well, other than "Cheney" Fudd, there hasn't been too much political news . . .

I found this online. A survey, conducted by the University of Louisville's McConnell Center, asked presidential historians what the top "Presidential Blunder" ever was. Depending, you may or may NOT be surprised by the results.

Here's the finalists . . .

10. The Bill Clinton, for the Monica Lewinski scandal

9. Ronald Reagan, for the Iran-Contra Affair

8. John F. Kennedy, for allowing the Bay of Pigs Invasion

7. Thomas Jefferson, the Embargo act of 1807

6. James Madison, not keeping the U.S. out of the War of 1812

The Top 5 . . .

5. Richard Nixon, Watergate

4. Woodrow Wilson, not compromising on Treaty of Versailles

3. Lyndon B. Johnson, allowing Vietnam War to intensify

2. Andrew Jackson, opposing justice improvements for blacks after Civil War

And, the Number 1 "Presidential Blunder", is . . .

1. James Buchanan, for failing to avoid the Civil War

For more, including defined reasons, CLICK HERE.

-Adam

Source: CNN.com

CHENEY SHOOTS FELLOW HUNTER

Cheney Accidently Shoots Fellow Hunter - From CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/12/cheney/index.html

This is the second of TWO new posts. Scroll down to see the other --

LIBBY, ABRAMOFF, BROWN, & DeLAY

LEWIS "SCOOTER" LIBBY, the former Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, said that his "Superiors" authorized him to leak the name of (now) former CIA agent Valerie Plame. The funny thing is, since he was Cheney's CoS, he answers to only a few people. Mosthe President's Chief of Staff Andrew Card, his boss the Vice President, and the President himself are the ONLY people who fall into this category. He did not, however, name names.

For more, visit: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060210/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cia_leak

A few Senators, from both the Democratic & Republican Parties, said that V.P. Cheney SHOULD be investigated in the CIA leak probe. The probe is currently being carried out by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.

For more, visit: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11310787/

JACK ABRAMOFF, the embattled former Washington lobbyist, said that he had "met with the guy" (President Bush) at least half a dozen times. "TIME" magazine has run a photo of Jack Abramoff at an event at the White House. The President is in the foreground, and Abramoff is in the background. The White House has confirmed it IS authentic, proving that Abramoff has told the truth (so far) & that President Bush has been incorrect (or lied?).

Fore more, including THE PHOTO, visit: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11310507/

MICHAEL BROWN, the FEMA Director who was first removed from overseeing the Hurricane Katrina recovery and was eventually removed from his post, revealed that he has emails between him and the President. The emails supposedly show that Brown kept the White House informed on Katrina, possibly proving that the administration really DID know what was going on.

TOM DeLAY, former U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader who is caught up in the Jack Abramoff scandal, has been appointed to two key House Committees: the House Appropriations Committee & the Sub-Committee on Judicial Review. Both seats were left empty by former California Rep. Duke Cunningham, who oddly enough resigned over his own financial scandal. The KICKER: The Judicial Review Sub-Committee is charged with investigating the JACK ABRAMOFF SCANDAL ( THE ONE HE IS PART OF ! ! ! ).

State of the Union & Alito's First Vote & the IAEA

Again...Sorry. I figured I'd end up being behind someday. From now on I'll try to be better.

-- STATE OF THE UNION --
I'm sorry to say, it's been too long for me to remember the State of the Union clearly, so I'll try to call up points from memory and the Internet.

Admission of Recession . . .
The President admitted that our country's economy is in recession. This is the first time I recall him actually saying that. Before he's denied it. This leads us to. . .

The Economy . . .
The Budget, the President said, will help three goals: winning the war; protecting our homeland; reviving our economy. He also asked Congress restrain spending and acts in a fiscally responsible manner. (That will be hard!) Bush said he supports "extending unemployment benefits and direct assistance for health care coverage". He also encouraged "investment in factories and equipment, and speeding up tax relief so people have more money to spend". He asked that Congress pass his stimulus package.

Education . . .
Bush called for an upgrade of "Teacher Colleges" & teacher training, so teachers will be more qualified. He also wants a to "launch a major recruiting drive with a great goal for America: a quality teacher in every classroom". Bush said that "we need to prepare our children to read and succeed in school with improved Head Start and early childhood development programs."

Oil . . .
They say at one point or another, every American is addicted to something! Who would have thought it would have been oil? Bush called for increased energy production, so we be less dependent on foreign oil.

Homeland Security . . .
The President said that his "Budget nearly doubles funding for a sustained strategy of homeland security, developing vaccines to fight anthrax and other deadly diseases...increased funding to help states train and equip our heroic police and firefighters...improving intelligence collection and sharing, expand patrols at our borders, strengthen the security of air travel, and use technology to track the arrivals and departures of visitors to the United States". Stricter border enforcement," Bush said, "will help combat illegal drugs." (How 'bout protecting us against people who sneak over the border?)

Stand and applaud . . .
All the Democratic Congressmen stood up and applauded when Bush pointed ou that his privitazation of Social Security did NOT pass. Bush just stood there, looking at them, not knowing whether to smile or to make a mean face.

Healthcare and Retirement . . .
He wants to enact a patients' "Bill of Rights", modernize Medicare system to include coverage for prescription drugs, enact new safeguards for 401K and pension plans. He also called on corporate America to be more accountable to employees and shareholders.

USA Freedom Corps . . .
Bush encouraged people to help each other, their neighborhoods, their country, and the world. He invited people to join the new Freedom Corps, which focuses on responding in case of crisis at home; rebuilding our communities; and extending American compassion throughout the world.

The Environment and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina weren't talked about that much . . .

It boils down to this . . .
It sounds pretty good, but unfortunately, only half of what he called for will ever happen, and half of the things that DO happen will be screwed up, and NOT be as good as it sounds. You REALLY don't need me to sum up The State of the Union for you. It is, sadly, just like the other ones. It all sounds good, but you he doesn't get down into the facts of each of these things.

Where will all the money come from? What will be lost in comittees to get these programs passed? This speech promises the same things as last year.

To sum it up . . .
You either like it, or you don't!

For a transcript or to watch the speech, go to:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html

-- IN CASE YOU MISSED IT --

They just grow up so fast . . .

Justice Samuel Alito made his first vote late last week. He split with Conservative Justices Roberts, Scalia, & Thomas, instead voting with the Liberals on the Court, upholding a stay of execution in Missouri.

In a 6-3 decision, The Supreme Court stayed the execution of Michael Taylor, who was convicted in 1989 of kidnapping, raping, and murdering Ann Harrison, a 15-year-old in Kansas City, Missouri.

Conservatives are saying this shows that he can be non-partisan. But making one vote to uphold a temporary stay does NOT prove to me, nor many others, that he is the best for the job. I'm not convinced yet, but as I have said before, only time will tell . . .

IAEA Referral . . .

The IAEA, the United Nation's nuclear watchdog group, recommended sanctions against Iran to the U.N. Security Council. That kind of pissed off Iran. If the Security Council decides to enact sanctions, which could be cut-offs in trade, U.N. troops in Iran, etc., then Iran may raise oil prices, or even cut off oil supplies to the United States and other countries.

The recommendations for sanctions are due to the fact that Iran is, most likely, developing nuclear power. While this COULD be used for energy, they are probably trying to build their first Nuclear Weapon. They may use it, or provide it to another country or a terrorist group.

-Adam