Bury Me Broken: June 2005

Thursday, June 30, 2005

My Letter to the Orlando Sentinel - Room for Flexibility

Room for Flexibility

The biggest gamble in staying the course is that if there are failures in the steps taken toward a free Iraq, the dire consequences will be American lives, Iraqi lives and a country already said to be a haven and training ground for terrorists.Tuesday night, the president delivered an excellent message.

For the first time, this Democrat truly got the message that when Iraq is a stable democracy, the entire region will be affected for the better.I have but one problem. We have heard from the mouths of military officers in Iraq that they don't have enough troops to maintain territory that was recently liberated.

The president said that more troops would undermine the strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead and would suggest that we intend to stay forever. I don't believe that.

Building permanent military structures suggests that we are intending to stay forever far more than sending additional troops to quell the violence. Iraqis would be happy to see additional troops -- those who are happy that we have the troops there presently as they foment democracy.

Staying the course seems both resolute and inflexible. The situation in Iraq is the exact opposite of inflexibility; it requires contingency upon contingency, which staying the course does not address.

Darryl McClain
Orlando

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Nelson Holds Solid Lead Over Harris

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) leads Rep. Katharine Harris (R-FL) 50% to 38%, according to the latest Quinnipiac Poll.

The most important finding: Voters disapprove 43% to 33% of the role Harris played in the 2000 presidential vote count and 37% say they are less likely to vote for her because of it.

[ http://politicalwire.com/archives/2005/06/29/nelson_holds_solid_lead_over_harris.html ]

We will be doing everything that we can to insure that Katherine Harris fades into the background. We must insure that we defeat those individuals that wear multiple hats as secretaries of state and Republican chairmanships, swaying and skewing state voting procedures to create difficulties for over populated and lower socioeconomic and minority demographics that traditionally vote Democrat.
Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Army Whistleblower, Halliburton Contracts Worse Seen

Top Army procurement official turned whistleblower Bunny Greenhouse says that in twenty years, the contracts with Halliburton are the worse case of abuse she has ever witnessed.

"I can unequivocally state that the abuse related to contracts awarded to KBR (Kellogg Brown and Root) represents the most blatant and improper contract abuse I have witnessed during the course of my professional career," said Greenhouse, a procurement veteran of more than 20 years.

Her blistering criticism came as Democrats released a new report including Pentagon audits that identified more than $1.03 billion in "questioned" costs and $422 million in "unsupported" costs for Halliburton's work in Iraq.

The hubris of this administration knows no bounds. Or, alternatively, in their Bizarro universe, it is just coincidence that Vice President Cheney is the former head of Halliburton from 1995-2000.

"I observed, first hand, that essentially every aspect of the RIO (Restore Iraqi Oil) contract remained under the control of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. This troubled me and was wrong," said Greenhouse.

So much of the unchecked actions of this administration has been allowed because of the tragedy of 9/11 and the nation standing behind the president in dangerous times. Unfortunately, this gave way to the 'war on terror' and the cost of the blank check issued to the president has
snowballed astronomically.

[Update 28 Jun 05, 1309 hrs - another article in this story]
This from another AP writer Charlie Cray:

Rory Mayberry, a former manager of Halliburton's mess halls in Iraq, who testified that KBR fed U.S. troops expired food on a daily basis, and fed Turkish and Filipino workers "leftover food in boxes and garbage bags after the troops ate," while using beef, chicken, salads and sodas intended for the troops to cater parties and barbeques for KBR management and employees. He also said he was informed that "if we talked, we would be rotated out to other camps that were under fire."

Who Will Cover the President's "Saddam was Evil" Speech

After having seen alphaaqua at DailyKos post that NBC will not air the president's address from Ft. Bragg, I found an AP article that says as of present, other networks have not committed to showing the address although I am sure we will have more word later in the day.

As of late morning, ABC was the only broadcast network planning live coverage. CBS, Fox and NBC had announced no decision. The cable networks CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC were planning to carry the president's remarks.

Of course, there is no doubt that Fox will carry the address but what if NBC or CBS actually did not have live coverage. A chink in the armor that has been the 'if you don't do it like I say do it then you're giving aid and comfort to the enemy' existence of this country since the executive branch conspired to tie Iraq into the terrorist event that has 1700 Americans dead, 13,000 American soldiers disabled and hundreds of thousands of lives devastated. Oh, if NBC shows prime time television I will watch the crap. If CBS has regular programming, I will turn the television in the den on CBS.

[Update 28 Jun 05 1218hrs: alphaaqua's diary quoted Matt Lauer saying that NBC will not cover the address. Sorry, read it and blew it that quick.]

'Discussion Strategy' for the War for Democrats

I hope Kos will forgive me but I am copying his entire post because it is brilliant and it is a winning strategy:

Democrats have been loathe to talk about Iraq, as their palpable fear get in the way of leadership on this increasingly important issue.

So here are two ways to talk about the war that don't betray weakness:

Promoting a withdrawal

We have a lot to be proud of over the past three years. We have freed the Iraqi people from a brutal dictator and given them their first taste of freedom. Iraq held successful presidential elections earlier this year, and the nation is now run by a democratic-elected government. We have accomplished what we set out to do -- bring freedom to Iraq and rid the region of the specter of Saddam's terror.

But now it is time to let the Iraqis take charge of their own lives. The future belongs to a free democratic Iraq, but it is a future they must fight for themselves.

Afraid to call for withdrawal? Hammer on "accountability".

We are facing a crisis in Iraq, and yet no one is being held accountable. Our troops don't have enough men, equipment, or armor to effectively and safely do their job, yet those responsible for these deadly miscalculations remain at their jobs. They claim, as they always have, that Iraq is about to turn yet another corner, pass yet another milestone on the road to peace and prosperity. But the reality on the ground mocks those assertions.

We must have accountability in order to win this war. Those responsible for so many catastrophic mistakes must replaced by more competent, more effective, people.

The war will be the issue in 2006. I've already talked to several Democratic candidates who think they can get elected talking about social security and health care. Rubbish. That's what Democrats thought in 2002 and 2004, and the war intruded both cycles. Given the way things are going over there, 2006 promises to be no different.

The American public has turned heavily against the war, despite the absence of an anti-war movement, despite the 24/7 cheerleading of the war in the cable news networks, and despite the lack of coherent Democratic opposition to the war. Democrats must ride that wave into 2006, and can do so in ways where they don't sound like hippy retreads.

What is NOT an option is remaining silent on the war, as so many Democrats would obviously prefer.

This is a strategy, that in some moderation, should have been utilized long before now. I am learning that discussing certain points e.g. the run up to the war, are futile to certain audiences at this time. They are defensive just as we are defensive (some of us, I should say). Framing this argument without regard to the run up to the war, even giving them an out as this framework does, addresses the present quagmire in a way that allows them to get on board.

Monday, June 27, 2005

Making It Up As They Go Along

This administration has excellent PR and gives off an aura of robust, unwavering assurance that everything is going as planned and on schedule. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Judd from Think Progress quotes Donald Rumsfeld from Sunday's Meet the Press:

Anyone who tries to estimate the end, the time, the cost or the casualties in a war is making a big mistake.

The problem is, when every single one of them went before Congress, they made those estimates with assurance and it turned out to be a big mistake:

Donald Rumsfeld, 3/7/03:

It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.

Vice President Dick Cheney, 3/16/03:

I think it will go relatively quickly, . . . (in) weeks rather than months

New York Times, 2/2/03:

The administration’s top budget official [Mitch Daniels] estimated today that the cost of a war with Iraq could be in the range of $50 billion to $60 billion.

To date, the war has lasted 27 months at a cost of over 200 billion dollars.

What would really be nice is if a reporter or two actually knew what they were doing and could actually step in and say that you committed the same mistake that you are accusing the supported liberal, naysaying doomsdayers of doing.

Medgar Evers Brother, A Republican, Discusses Issues

A new website, http://www.storiesinamerica.org/ , has this interview with Charles Evers, brother of slain civil rights activist and leader Medgar Evers, a Republican and radio talk show host via Daily Kos:

How did you feel about the 2004 election and all the mudslinging? It was pretty ugly.
First of all, I knew that a Democrat was not going to win. I knew that. You know why? This is a racist country. Anybody who runs for President in this country and comes out as strong as they were about helping the poor folks and black folks is not going to win. It's that simple. Not in America. Two people will never be President in my lifetime. A woman and a black. They can run Mrs. Clinton if they want to. She'll be beaten. America is still a bigoted country. Mark my words. I guarantee I won't live to see it. I would love to, but it won't happen. I told Colin Powell, don't you be a fool. You want to be embarrassed? Run.

Monday almost noon Round-Up

From around the blogosphere.

The latest in Iraq from Juan Cole including the violence and death toll ... leader of two organizations Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim denouncing Zarqawi as "crimimal and the wreaker of corruption in the land ... Al-Hakim praised Egyptian Grand Imam Tantawi for denouncing violence ... Tantawi calls for Sunnis and Shiites to unite ... Egyptian newspaper editorial asks US to internationalize Iraq war as never before
Via Daily Kos, Bob Herbert, at the NYTimes says: There are always plenty of hawks in America. But the hawks want their wars fought with other people's children.
AP: No retirement announced for Chief Justice William Rehnquist
AP: Advocacy groups say US misusing material witness law to detain terror suspects even when the people are cooperative and have strong ties to the community
Steve Gilliard says: "Bush will have to face a realistic choice, either call for conscription or leave Iraq."
"Bush's Political Machine Fails at Governing" from Political Wire.

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Bargaining with the Terrorists

Blaghdad at DailyKos asks what happened to we don't bargain with terrorists in light of Sunday British newspaper article, U.S. military negotiating with Iraqi insurgents.

Oh no. We have it all wrong. He isn't bargaining with terrorists per se; they are negotiating with insurgents.

See, if they were talking to those "foreign fighters" coming in from across the Syrian border and causing this entire brouhaha that has kept the Iraqis from throwing flowers at our feet, then that would be bargaining with terrorists. Instead, they are talking to inserrrrgents (said with a sarcastic exaggeration) and that is much different; that is keeping in line with policy.
Wait a minute. Wasn't it the administration that was calling Iraqis engaged in bombing in Iraq 'terrorists' while everyone else referred to them as 'insurgents'? Well so much for that terrorist/insurgent argument.

The biggest problem with absolutists like Rove, Rumsfeld and the president is that they have no concept of contingency. This is what happens to the rest of America, say an Army reservist whose wife's mother is keeping the toddlers while she works two jobs and maxes out the credit cards to keep the house while his tour is forcefully extended. When you have powerful friends of your father to sink money into your failing business ventures, you have no real sense of a contingency plan, what to do when your present efforts fail.

The game in this administration is to make the president appear to be the most resolute man on the planet, even more ideological than Reagan and the bloodthirsty, brainwashed core constituency will buy even more 'W' stickers while children go to bed hungry and there ain't no jobs in Ohio.

The problem with making the president appear resolute/ absolute/ unwavering is that absolutism doesn't work. It clashes with infinity.

Saturday, June 25, 2005

Funds for Health Care for Veterans $1Bil Short

From the Washington Post:

The Bush administration, already accused by veterans groups of seeking inadequate funds for health care next year, acknowledged yesterday that it is short $1 billion for covering current needs at the Department of Veterans Affairs this year.

The disclosure of the shortfall angered Senate Republicans who have been voting down Democratic proposals to boost VA programs at significant political cost. Their votes have brought the wrath of the American Legion, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and other organizations down on the GOP.
...
Murray cited an April 5 letter written by (Secretary of Veteran Affairs) Nicholson to the Senate in a bid to defeat her amendment: "I can assure you that VA does not need emergency supplemental funds in FY2005 to continue to provide timely, quality service that is always our goal," he had said.

Garnering a 2004 victory with the support of the military and by portraying themselves as the party of and for the military, the military will slowly and surely see that the words of the Administration are not matched by its actions.

US to Consider Lifting Sanctions in Sudan (despite Darfur gang rapes)

From the AFP wire:

Sudan's Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has agreed to consider the possibility of lifting sanctions imposed on the northeast African state.

Let me get this right. The greatest genocide and displacement of a nation of people since Rwanda and Secretary Rice begins the process of lifting sanctions when we have received NOT ONE GUARANTEE OR ASSURANCE THAT THEY WILL STOP RAPING WOMEN, KILLING MEN AND pushing thousands from their homes.

The Bush administration is so, so, so out of touch. So far from reality, it defies imagination. If a militia of men gang raped ten thousand white Texan women, I wonder would we be so cavalier?

House Approves Cuts to Labor Programs

From the AP:

Funding for job training, rural health care, low-income schools and help for people lacking health insurance would face big cuts under a bill passed Friday by the House.

But new demands, including $870 million to administer the new Medicare prescription drug program, have forced cuts in scores of programs.

This means that if the American people weren't robbed with the prescription drug law, we would have more money for poor people.

The cuts include the outright elimination of 48 programs whose current budgets total $1 billion. Among the programs to be eliminated is the Healthy Communities Access Program, currently funded at $83 million, which helps communities offer health care to the uninsured.

Also eliminated is the $205 million budget for an Education Department grant program targeted at low-income and underachieving schools.

...an 84 percent cut — from $300 million down to $47 million — in training programs for doctors and nurses, and $806 million in cuts to Bush's No Child Left Behind education initiative, a more than 3 percent drop. Grants for local community-action agencies that help the poor would be cut in half, to $320 million.

Once again, the 'values voters' need to pay close attention to the 'values' of this administration. Jesus ministered to the poor. I will hammer point over and again.

Noble College Repubs Help Iraq

The College Republican National Committee met and speaker Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council remarked about how heroic the soldiers are and that "they're giving their lives as you're giving your time."

My wife said it is the age of rhetoric. I say it is the age of the totally disillusioned.

Gilliard says:
Motherfucker, if being a soldier is so goddamn great, you can sign up at any recruiter you fucking choose. I see a bunch of healthy young men and women here. So why the fuck are they here and not at MCRD Parris Island or Ft. Jackson. If you love soldiers so goddamn much, go fucking be one. Take the oath. Your time doesn't mean dick. Not to the 11B's or the truck drivers or the ER nurses or surgeons or the orthopedics nurses. Your time? Fuck your time.Tell that to the families of five women marines. They have to bury their barely out of high school daughters, and you want to talk about your goddamn time? Time. Let's talk about your service. You love this war so goddamn much, go fucking be part of it. They can have their families cheerlead.Fucking cowards. Hiding behind people who's asses they aren't fit to wipe.

Gilliard link: http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/2005/06/more-from-college-war-avoiders.html
Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Black Elite and Black Interests

Responding to a post at Daily Kos entitled Faith Based: Bastardization of the Black Church via Black Commentator, I posted this in reference to Black churches supporting the Republican agenda:

I have listened intently as my mother (history professor and civil rights protester), my uncle (one of the original Freedom Riders) and others discussed a couple of ideas that are still relevant and occurring today.

The first one is that Black elite pastors have been complicit with the establishment, convincing their congregations in the 60s not to be agitators and not to destroy the gains Blacks were making. Secondly, the idea of Blacks being treated as a homogenous body and "assigned" a leader or leaders to represent our entire population.

So, in the 21st century, when certain "elite" ministers of Black congregations are manuevering for their own personal agendas, we in the Black, informed community are not the least bit surprised. When some churches opened their doors to students having nonviolent practice sessions, others met the establishment to say "they don't speak for us." (sound familiar) The sad thing, then and now, is that the congregation is convinced to tow the line from a religious standpoint without understanding the political and personal gains that their religious leader is receiving.

They, like white christians, that are improperly placed in the fundamentalist category, are simply being convinced to 'do the right thing' without consideration that Jesus never mentioned homosexuality but that his ministry for the poor and that which you do for the least was second only to one's personal salvation. The same ministers hammering against homosexuality and abortion make no mention of one of Jesus' primary causes.

As for the other point, it is probably even more frustrating because anyone solicitling Armstrong Williams to convince Black people of anything is as uninformed and ignorant as one can get. If one is trying to get Black voters and support, Williams is the last person Blacks that are moderates, liberals, Democrats or Independents would listen to.

The Democratic party may have taken Blacks for granted in the recent past but they've taken a lot of folk for granted including labor, other minorities and other groups. Although we are loyal, we still need to be riled up, megaphoned and bombarded with the party's platform and continually hammered into understanding that the Republican party offers absolutely nothing to Blacks, Hispanics, poor and middle class whites or blue collar, John Q. average American.

Friday, June 24, 2005

9/11 Widow Precise on MSNBC Hardball

Kristen Breitweiser delivered a poignant and precise statement on the misuse of 9/11 as a political football. I wish I had access to the transcript to reprint. She did say that we are less safe than we were before 9/11 and that a Republican controlled Congress and a Republican administration have no excuse for us being less safe in so far as securing loose nukes, finding Osama bin Laden, etc. She also said that Afghanistan was a legitimate target after 9/11 but that Iraq has nothing to do with the tragedy.

The other guest on the show lost his son and disagreed with Breitweiser when she said that all of the world was with us after 9/11 (there were pro bin Laden t-shirts south of our border and in central America) and that all of the world is against us. He did say that the president is against controlling our border which is where he is concentrating his post 9/11 efforts. Breitweiser is concentrating her efforts on the release of documents.

More Friday Round Up (until T-Mobile express mails my Blackberry)

Krugman warns of what our forefathers knew of war and President Bush as wartime president in his editorial "The War President:"

America's founders knew all too well how war appeals to the vanity of rulers and their thirst for glory. That's why they took care to deny presidents the kingly privilege of making war at their own discretion.
But after 9/11 President Bush, with obvious relish, declared himself a "war president." And he kept the nation focused on martial matters by morphing the pursuit of Al Qaeda into a war against Saddam Hussein.

In November 2002, Helen Thomas, the veteran White House correspondent, told an audience, "I have never covered a president who actually wanted to go to war" - but she made it clear that Mr. Bush was the exception. And she was right.

Media Matters for America weekly wrap-up June 24
From the Washington Post, Pentagon creates student database:

The Defense Department began working yesterday with a private marketing firm to create a database of high school students ages 16 to 18 and all college students to help the military identify potential recruits in a time of dwindling enlistment in some branches.
The program is provoking a furor among privacy advocates. The new database will include personal information including birth dates, Social Security numbers, e-mail addresses, grade-point averages, ethnicity and what subjects the students are studying.

Zorn, Chicago Tribune, says what Durbin should have

"Durbin should have stood up for his opinion," says columnist Eric Zorn in this Chicago Tribune opinion piece:

"If anything I said caused you to believe that I was equating American soldiers with Nazis or equating American leaders with Adolf Hitler or Pol Pot, then you are an idiot."

I said nothing of the kind."

I said that our mistreatment of wartime prisoners is of the sort you'd expect to see in a brutal, totalitarian dictatorship, not in a nation that has long congratulated itself on its exceptionally high standards of liberty and law."

It's a troubling similarity. It's a warning that we're slipping.

Read the entire article. It is focused, precise and backboned.

Democrats Demand Apology from White House for Karl Rove

Dan Balz at the Washington Post:

Democratic leaders angrily demanded a retraction from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove yesterday after he accused liberals of responding with restraint and timidity to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but White House and Republican officials rallied to his defense and rebuffed calls for an apology.

In his speech, Rove said no issue better illustrated the philosophical difference between liberals and conservatives than national security. "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war," he said in a prepared text released by the White House. "Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."

It angers me that since 9-11, individuals that have absolutely no idea what the ideals of this country are have sat and watched complicitly AS REPUBLICANS HAVE SCREWED US. GOING TO WAR WITH NO WMD, NOT ENOUGH TROOPS, NOT DENOUNCING PRISONER ABUSE.
They even have t-shirts that say "Whatever happens in Gitmo, Stays in Gitmo" like this detainee prison is Vegas.
THE NEW WAVE OF TERRORISM ON AMERICA WILL BE THE DIRECT RESPONSIBILITY OF THE REPUBLICANS AND NEOCONS SCREWING AMERICA AT THIS VERY MOMENT. May God have mercy on our children.

Off the Grid Round Up

Since I'm floating around (Philly right now) and my blackberry is busted (T-Mobile can kiss my behind with this back order crap), I'm at Kinko's just to be connected to civilization. Here's what I'm reading:

U.S. admits torture to the UN from this post at Daily Kos
Why Africa won't condemn Zimbabwe blitz from BBC News via Steve Gilliard
Mother of Fallen U.S. Soldier Speaks out via The Yellow Dog Blog
From AmericaBlog, White House defends Karl Rove's comments

Monday, June 20, 2005

Anti-Lynching Bill and Race Politics

The passing of the Anti-Lynching bill with a voice vote was an example of racial politics at its finest. Senator Frist denies that anyone asked for a roll call vote but he also denied that he said anything contrary to Terri Schiavo being in a persistent vegetative state so his credibility is zero. Besides, he blocked the Anti-Lynching bill to come to a vote a few weeks before so we know exactly who is constituency is and what his politics are.

Eight senators remain holdout on cosponsoring which is simply signing one's name in support of the measure. According to the NYTimes:

Absent were Lamar Alexander of Tennessee; Thad Cochran of Mississippi; John Cornyn of Texas; Mike Enzi of Wyoming; Judd Gregg of New Hampshire; Trent Lott of Mississippi; John Sununu of New Hampshire; and Craig Thomas of Wyoming.

There excuses were the obvious to the callous.

Some said they didn't find it necessary to "co-sponsor every nice piece of legislation," in the words of Senator Sununu. Others, like Senators Enzi and Gregg, said through spokesmen that they supported the measure, noting that it could not have passed by voice vote if they had objected.

Senator Alexander, in a lengthy speech submitted for the Congressional record, argued the best way for the Senate "to condemn lynching is to get to work" on legislation promoting good schools and better health care for blacks.

Alexander offers this as if working to help Blacks and alleviate disparities in my community, much of which has its roots in the racist actions of a generation go is not his job as senator. You don't condemn the Klan by working for opportunities for poor rural whites in Klan areas; you condemn the Klan by saying the Klan is wrong. You don't condemn the Holocaust, to use recent controversy, by promoting understanding of Jewish culture or finding opportunities, you condemn the Holocaust.

But some, like Senators Cochran, Cornyn and Lott, raised pointed questions about the wisdom of official apologies.

Is it necessary, they asked, for politicians to confess to sins they personally did not commit? And when the government begins apologizing, where and when does it stop?

To question the wisdom of official apologies is to continue to sweep under the rug the conversation that a nation should have in order to move forward. This language reminds me of my white History professor that never looked at his majority African American class and never used the word slavery as he lectured, looking downward at his legal pad on the "peculiar institution." Furthermore, one cannot confess sins one did not commit but the use of religious imagery by the Right, reminiscent of the moneychangers Jesus threw out of the temple is another subject for another day.

There are times when I feel like an American citizen, a champion of democracy, free speech, life and liberty and an ambassador for goodwill worldwide. Other times, I feel the second class citizenship of being African American when politicians, my representatives, are callous as they dismiss me, the unique consideration of my race and heritage in America and the legacy of America as it concerns African Americans.

Tom Delay ridiculed President Clinton on his 1998 trip to Uganda for expressing regret for the American role in the slave trade. So does DeLay represent Blacks? I would like to know. I want the answer as to whether politicians who dissemble and excuse their refusal to simply make a statement.

Racial politics is a nasty affair that begets anger and dredges up dormant feelings of disgust and disdain as politicians smile and hold babies as if they represent all and yet are unable to simply state that something in the past was wrong as they tightrope between politically correct, politically necessary and not associating with anything that would distance them from their prejudiced constituencies.

I have know Lamar Alexander for years. As a native Nashvillian, his name and face are as familiar as my old neighborhood. I participated in activities for lower socioeconomic Nashvillians of which he had a hand in, listened to his state of the state addresses as my governor and even participated in political activities, wearing campaign t-shirts and buttons and attending rallies. I represented Senator Alexander well; today he fails me.

I am accustomed to the "pecularities" of the South. I am accustomed to stopping for gas in Mississippi and Arkansas adn seeing "Tommy Hillbilly" bumper stickers with Confederate flags. "Southern by birth, rebel by choice" is the surroundings of my teenage upbringing. I heard "the South will rise again" at my schools and riding the buses. I live in Florida now; I know the South.

But I never feel like a second class citizen until I am dismissed by Senator Alexander with the tired excuse of actions speaking louder than words.

I never feel like a second class citizen until Senator Lott places the legacy of killing is equated to social security in the same way they falsely claim Senator Durbin made an analogy.

I never feel like a nigger until Senator DeLay ridicules former President Clinton for expressing regret over the U.S. role in the slave trade.

The Republican party reaching out to African Americans (here, here, and here from a simple Yahoo search) begins with an end to duplicity and dissembling. After all, Senator Alexander said in so many words that actions speak louder. Little does he know how loud his speak.

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Bush Radio Address Demonstrates Divide

President Bush demonstrated the divide between the parties with each specific point that he made in his radio address. Said to be the most ideological president since Reagan, and maybe more so, he hammers home the same points demonstrating a steadfastness and supposed strength regardless of the results. Via Daily Kos via NYTimes:

''The terrorists and insurgents are trying to get us to retreat. Their goal is to get us to leave before Iraqis have had a chance to show the region what a government that is elected and truly accountable to its citizens can do for its people,'' Bush said in his weekly radio address.

But can the president understand the concept that the Iraqis might possibly have a successful, elected and accountable government with our troops withdrawing? Can the president understand that maybe withdrawal of troops will signal to insurgents that we are not looking to be in Iraq permanently (although we have been erecting permanent military structures)?

The president should also stop talking about these mythical people that don't believe Iraq can be successful. There is no group of Democrats, ultra-liberals, people in the Middle East or people in Europe saying that Iraq can't be free or successful or democratic or have a constitution or elect officials or stop the violence. All men are created equal and if given the opportunity can accomplish what they will.

But back to the radio address.

On the economic front, the president addressed the trade agreement with Central America, Social Security legislation and the bill. Once again, he demonstrates the divide. A trade agreement with Central America is one where Americans are apprehensive after the downside of the North America Free Trade Agreement. We don't want the short end of the stick. I am sure once it is demonstrated that CAFTA doesn't have the unanticipated pitfalls of NAFTA, an agreement can move forward.

Social Security, however, is not relevant to a stagnant job market. We have heard economic indicators on the uptick for the past two years but if you go talk to many John Q. Americans, they are unemployed or underemployed. An addition of 50,000 low paying jobs in a month, especially in the service industry does not make up for the jobs lost since President Bush took office in 2001. He promised his tax cuts would stimulate the economy and create jobs. His economic plan hasn't met the promise of job production three months in a row for five years and privatizing Social Security doesn't address the failure of his tax cuts for the average American.

Finally, the energy bill also will not directly affect the economy. Do we need an energy bill to move toward alternatives to crude oil? Yes. Do we need all of the White House's corporate friends to meet in secret and receive a lot of deals and friendly legislation and pass a bill that harms the average American. No we do not.

See Mr. President, your legislation hurts the average American, the out-of-work Ohioan whose plant closed, the barely make ends meet Tennessean who has seen no significant gains from the massive tax cuts and the other faces around the country that you don't see because you are the only president in the history of America to stage rallies with no one opposing you allowed past a sea of ear-piece wearing, fake secret service agents out checking to make sure the cars in the parking lot don't have any ACLU, I Brake for Seals or Give Peace a Chance bumper stickers. Heaven forbid as you travel the country pitching social security privatization, that you would allow me, John Q. American taxpayer that happens to be a Democrat to be addressed by you, my president (taxation without representation).

You don't know what we look like because Rove and Co. have done a masterful job of shielding you from us, shielding you from reality, shielding America from seeing our soldiers come home blind or without legs and shielding the facts from being healthily debated in the media.

Your bankruptcy bill doesn't help America; it helps corporate America. Your stopping terrorism progress reports doesn't help America, it hurts America. Your attack on science doesn't help America, it hurts America. Your lowering of environmental standards doesn't help America, it helps the White House corporate friends, your Pioneers and Rangers. Your overtime bill doesn't help America, it helps corporate America. Your energy bill doesn't help America, it helps corporate America. Your anti-class action legislation doesn't help the average citizens demonstrate corporate negligence, it helps corporate America hide negligence.

''We need to work together to ensure that opportunity reaches every corner of our great country,'' Bush said.

What opportunity Mr. President?

''Some may disagree with my decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but all of us can agree that the world's terrorists have now made Iraq a central front in the war on terror,'' he said.

No one disagreed with your decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power because you never stated that as a decision. You said he was non-compliant with weapons inspections and yet you had Mohammed El-Baradei and IAEA inspectors, Hans Blix and UN inspectors get out of Iraq because we were waging war. If you had said we were removing Saddam Hussein, it could have been disagreed with.

No one except Saddam Hussein's family and governmental loyalists are unhappy with him being removed. We are unhappy that you are shaking hands with Pakistan as they aid the insurgents. We are unhappy that we don't have enough troops to secure an area after we've launched an offensive. We are unhappy that we don't have the troop strength to guard the Iraqi-Syrian border. We are unhappy that last week a military officer said we can't win this with our military. But no one, no Senator Durbin, no Howard Dean, no Nancy Pelosi or Reid is unhappy that Saddam Hussein is out of power. There goes those mythical people again you use in your speeches.

''Time and again, the Iraqi people have defied the skeptics who claim they are not up to the job of building a free society,'' he said.

What skeptics Mr. President? People that disagree with your invasion of Iraq aren't skeptical that Iraqis can't build a free society. Who are these people that believe this and why do they believe this? You certainly aren't addressing xenophobes that hate foreigners, or racists that don't believe Middle Easterners have a productive culture and society or anti-Muslim people. Surely you aren't addressing the world in reference to those people because America believes that all men are created equal.

God bless America and everybody else.

Bush Radio Address Demonstrates Divide

President Bush demonstrated the divide between the parties with each specific point that he made. Said to be the most ideological president since Reagan, and maybe more so, he hammers home the same points demonstrating a steadfastness and strength regardless of the results.

''The terrorists and insurgents are trying to get us to retreat. Their goal is to get us to leave before Iraqis have had a chance to show the region what a government that is elected and truly accountable to its citizens can do for its people,'' Bush said in his weekly radio address.

But can the president understand the concept that the Iraqis can have a successful, elected and accountable government with our troops withdrawing? Can the president understand that maybe withdrawal of troops will signal insurgents that we are not looking to be in Iraq permanently (although we have been erecting permanent military structures)?

But back to the radio address.

On the economic front, he addressed trade agreement with Central America, Social Security legilation and energy bill. Once again, he demonstrates the divide. A trade agreement with Central America is one where Americans are apprehensive after the downside of the North America Free Trade Agreement. We don't want the short end of the stick. I am sure once it is demonstrated that CAFTA won't hurt America like NAFTA, it will pass.

Social Security, however, is not relevant to a stagnant job market. We have heard economic indicators on the uptick for the past two years but if you go talk to John Q. American, he is unemploed or underemployed. An addition of 50,000 low paying jobs in a month, especially in retail does not make up for the jobs lost since President Bush took office in 2001. He promised his tax cuts would stimulate the economy and create jobs. His economic plan hasn't met the promise of job production three months in a row for five years and privatizing Social Security doesn't address the failure of his tax cuts for the average American.

Finally, the energy bill also will not directly affect the economy. Do we need an energy bill to move toward alternatives to crude oil? Yes. Do we need all of your corporate friends and V.P. Cheney's friends to meet in secret and receive a lot of deals and friendly legislation and pass a bill that harms the average American. No we do not.

Your bankruptcy bill doesn't help America; it helps corporate America. Your stopping terrorism progress reports doesn't help America, it hurts America. Your attack on science doesn't help America, it hurts America. Your lowering of environmental standards doesn't help America, it helps the White House corporate friends, the Pioneers and Rangers. Your overtime bill doesn't help America, it helps corporate America. Your energy bill doesn't help America, it helps corporate America. Your anti-class action legislation doesn't help the average citizens demonstrate corporate negligence, it helps corporate America hide negligence.

''We need to work together to ensure that opportunity reaches every corner of our great country,'' Bush said.

What opportunity Mr. President?

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Felons and Disenfranchisement

From MYDD, I went to righttovote.org and was quite surprised at the numbers.

Permanent disenfranchisement for some felony convictions:
AZ, DE, MD, MS, NV, TN, WA, WY

Permanent disenfranchisement for all felony convictions:
AL, FL, IA, KY, VA

All other states have restoration of voting rights after released from prison (DC, HI, IL, IN, MA, MI, MT, NH, ND, OH, OR, PA, SD, UT), released from prison and complete parole (CA, CO, CT, NY) released from prison and completion of parole and probation (AK, AR, GA, ID, KS, LA, MN, MO, NE*, NJ, NM, NC, OK, RI, SC, TX, WV, WI) or no voting rights removed regardless of felony conviction (ME, PR, VT ).

There is also a map that allows you to look at individual states and the number of disenfrachised, percentage of population, number of African Americans and percentage of African Americans disenfrachised.

For example, TN where I was born has: 91,149 or 2.2%; 41,759 African American or 6.6% of that population in TN.

Where I presently reside, FL, the numbers are horrendous: 827,207 or 7% of the population of FL has no vote as well as 256,392 or 16% of African Americans in FL without a vote.

VA has 310, 661 or 5.9% with 161,559 African American or 16.1%.

TX has 525,967 or 3.5% of the population and 164,873 African Americans or 9.2%.

CA has 288,362 or 1.2% of its population while GA has 286,277 or 4.9% of its population and AL has 212,650 or 6.4% of its population without the right to vote. The state of NY only has 131, 273 or 1%.

Some states with small African American populations had tremendous percentage of total population with IA at the top with 24.9% of its African American population without the right to vote.

Jerk of the Week: Gov. Jeb Bush for bitter grapes

And the jerk of the week award goes to the governor of my state, FL Governor Jeb Bush for ...

(drum roll please)

asking Florida prosecutor to look into the length of time it took Terri Schiavo's husband to make the 911 call 15 years ago.The autopsy of Terri Schiavo revealed that her brain volume was half that of normal which means she was in a persistent, vegetative state and that she was blind.

This contradicts what Senator Bill Frist said when he watched videotape of the woman and concluded the doctors who had examined her and cared for her for the past 15 years was wrong.Then he lied about it but he's on video standing before the Senate (although you can't tell if anybody is in there, a stunt they pull all the time) contradicting the doctors.

So, because they can't be wrong, Gov. Jeb Bush is asking the prosecutor to look into the 911 call. Talk about your dirty, evil and bitter tactics.

Friday, June 17, 2005

Frist Looks Foolish After Sciavo Autopsy

From the LA Times:

In the wake of the Terri Schiavo autopsy results, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has come under renewed fire for past statements that questioned her doctors' dire assessment of her medical condition, based on his own review of a videotape.

Frist, a surgeon and potential presidential candidate in 2008, on Thursday denied that he had contradicted doctors who had said the brain-damaged Florida woman was in a persistent vegetative state before her feeding tube was removed March 18.

Senator Frist continues to be his undoing. He makes me shame to be from Tennessee. He blocked the Anti-Lynching bill. He blocked justices from getting an up or down vote during the Clinton presidency and then turned around and screamed bloody murder now that the Republicans are in the majority. Senator Frist is of poor character. He has been corrupted.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-frist17jun17,0,1567488.story?coll=la-home-nation

Pakistani Heroine Jailed

Mukhtaran Bibi was gang raped by four women as punishment because her brother, a twelve-year-old was accused of a crime which turned out to be false. Bibi fought back suing, winning and opening two schools in her village, one for boys and one for girls. Bibi was about to come to the United States but Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had her house arrested and upon her using her cell phone, had her jailed.

The post at Tom Watson gives the entire story as well as an opportunity for you to get involved.

http://tomwatson.typepad.com/tom_watson/2005/06/musharraf_cowar.html

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Republicans Attack the Red Cross

Via Body and Soul:

Senate Republicans are calling on the Bush administration to reassess U.S. financial support for the International Committee of the Red Cross, charging that the group is using American funds to lobby against U.S. interests.

The Senate Republican Policy Committee, which advances the views of the GOP Senate majority, said in a report that the international humanitarian organization had "lost its way" and veered from the impartiality on which its reputation was based. The Republican policy group titled its report: "Are American Interests Being Disserved by the International Committee of the Red Cross?"

The congressional criticism follows reports by the Swiss-based group that have faulted U.S. treatment of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"Lost its way" means that the ICRC won't stay in its place, handing out bags of rice and corn to tsunami victims and stay out of the businesss of speaking on anything other than. The ICRC dares say something in opposition to the U.S. is in keeping with the post 9/11 'you are either for us or giving aid and comfort to the enemy' mentality that has brother against brother here in the U.S.

The ICRC realizing that it is humanitarian to remove land mines instead of taking up donations for children to get prosthetic torsos is overstepping their bounds. To say something about the U.S. while we wage war is to not "support the President and the troops." So ICRC, United Nations and any other body to which we've given money, that money is not for operational expenses. It is hush money.

Our sad state of affairs reminds me of the relationship between an overbearing, must be right father and his family. My way or the highway because I pay the bills around here and I don't even want to hear you say anything. How dare you?

The United States is demanding that no one have an opinion except the opinion of the Republican evangelical opinion because even if the autopsy reveals that the patient had 50% of brain volume and was blind, Sen. Frist in his medical Dali Llama brilliance can analyze a videotape in an area not his expertise but with Jesus as his wingman, come to the conclusion of his choice, medical world be damned.

"Love thy neighbor if you are a Republican, evangelical Christian. That is the new Sermon on the Mount." -my mother

From Democratic Underground:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) refused repeated requests for a roll call vote that would have put senators on the record on a resolution apologizing for past failures to pass anti-lynching laws, officials involved in the negotiations said Tuesday.

In conclusion, if you're from Tennessee like me, both of your senators have impeded legislation on anti-lynching with Frist being an obstructionist before and Sen. Alexander not cosponsoring because he's holding out his one Black cosponsorship for the critical and crucial Black History Month legislation.

Republicans Attack Sesame Street

Republican power knows no bounds. They have a mandate and they will not allow facts to intefere. From AP:

A House subcommittee voted yesterday to sharply reduce the federal government's financial support for public broadcasting, including eliminating taxpayer funds that help underwrite such popular children's educational programs as "Sesame Street," "Reading Rainbow," "Arthur" and "Postcards From Buster."

In addition, the subcommittee acted to eliminate within two years all federal money for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- which passes federal funds to public broadcasters -- starting with a 25 percent reduction in CPB's budget for next year, from $400 million to $300 million.

Expressing alarm, public broadcasters and their supporters in Congress interpreted the move as an escalation of a Republican-led campaign against a perceived liberal bias in their programming. That effort was initiated by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's own chairman, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson.

The unmitigated brazenness in which America is being attacked by the Republican party and the handful of fundamentalist big wigs that have convinced America is under attack by Hollywood and the ACLU is unbelievable. For them to cut the funding so that children can't see Reading Rainbow is unbelievable as they increase the funding for programs that are absolute failures such as the abstinence-only sex education.

The only people that see public braodcasting as having a liberal slant are conservatives; America does not.

Five U.S. Marines Killed, Violence has Particularly Political Aim

From the AP wire:

A roadside bomb attack killed five U.S. Marines, and gunfire killed an American sailor in a western Iraqi town, the U.S. military said Thursday.

The attacks came amid an upsurge in violence appeared to be aimed at derailing stepped-up efforts by Shiite politicians to bring the disaffected Sunni Arab minority into the political process.

It is very disturbing to see that increased violence has a definitive political aim. The violence in Iraq was made to seem wanton and opportunistic for a long time; it was portrayed as desperadoes striking in a hit-or-miss fashion. This is obviously not the case.

Updated List of Pro Lynching Senators

From AmericaBlog, this is the updated list of senators refusing to cosponsor the Anti-Lynching Bill:

Senator Landrieu, who sponsored the resolution, has a list of the cosponsors AND "supporters" up on her site. Interestingly, and confusingly, she lists other Senators who "support" the legislation, but still refuse to cosponsor. That's a bit odd, and strikes me as some CYA that Landrieu is doing for the pro-lynching crowd. These Senators currently have the choice to add their names retroactively to the list of cosponsors and they're not doing it. And I'd like to know why. Because it's creepy as hell, particularly since they're all Republicans. Walks like someone pandering to racists, quacks like someone pandering to racists...

You'll note that Crapo (R-ID) has now cosponsored, but we discovered that Gordon Smith (R-OR) is NOT a cosponsor.

Alexander (R-TN)
Bennett (R-UT)Cochran
R-MS)Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
Enzi (R-WY)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lott (R-MS)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thomas (R-WY

My call to Senator Alexander met with an admin that had obviously fielded this inquiry many times before during the day. She said that she still had not received word concerning whether he would cosponsor this legislation. I told her I would call back. She made a sound, an exhalation of breath which I believed to mean she believed that I would call back.

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Gitmo Released Return to Battlefield

From Reuters:

A dozen prisoners released from Guantanamo Bay have returned to "the battlefield" to fight against the United States, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said on Wednesday.

"There are several people that we have released that we know have come back and fought against America because they have been recaptured or killed on the battlefield," he said after meetings in Brussels with European Union officials.

He said 12 people may have been recaptured or killed.

If we had detained individuals that demonstrated being a threat to the United States, why didn't we give them due process of law instead of releasing them. Simple.

On Dean's Recent Controversy

Here are a few links that are commentary on the recent Dean controversy.

Spanking the Chairman, Paul Waldman, 14 Jun 05, www.tompaine.com

Dean Was Right, William Rivers Pitt, 11 Jun 05, www.truthout.org

Military Officers Say They Can't Win in Iraq

From Knight -Ridder newspapers via Truthout:

A growing number of senior American military officers in Iraq have concluded that there is no long-term military solution to an insurgency that has killed thousands of Iraqis and more than 1,700 U.S. military personnel during the past two years.

Instead, officers say, the only way to end the guerrilla war is through Iraqi politics -- an arena that so far has been crippled by divisions between Shiite Muslims, whose coalition dominated the January elections, and Sunni Muslims, who are a minority in Iraq but form the base of support for the insurgency.

This comes as absolutely no surprise to anyone but the administration and those whose mantra are the daily Republican talking points. Watching Connected on MSNBC yesterday and one of the guests quoted an officer to which the other guest hollered "that is ridiculous." Obviously, he is too busy memorizing talking points to actually watch the news or listen to press conferences. He must have been in makeup.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Johnny Depp under the direction of Tim Burton is redoing Willie Wonka. It looks incredible.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Justice Thomas Is Ridiculous

The Supreme Court found in the case of a Texas man's murder conviction that racial discrimination was a part of the prosecution when the DA used all but one preemptory strike against Blacks. From the New York Times:

"In a dissenting opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas complained that the majority had permitted itself to be "swayed" by Mr. Miller-El's "charges of racism." He said that "on the basis of facts and law, rather than sentiments, Miller-El does not merit the writ.""

Thomas never fails to overlook the obvious and works ever so hard to deny the rights of the individual.

Anti-Lynching Bill and Race Politics

Also in the New York Times article on the Senate Anti-Lynching Bill was this:

"The memories were especially painful for the relatives of Anthony Crawford, whose family was torn apart by the lynching. Mr. Crawford had been a wealthy black landowner in Abbeville, S.C., a cotton farmer, registered voter and community leader who founded a school for black children and a union for black families. In 1916, after a dispute with a white man over the price of cotton seed, he was hanged from a pine tree and shot more than 200 times. His family lost his land, and the relatives scattered."

As many whites have been able to pass on their legacy including attaining an education, land, homes, inheritance or even just family stability, Blacks were crushed for decades after slavery and is a significant role in the legacy of projects, lack of education, poverty and even ignorance.

It was also interesting to know that Senator Allen has a Confederate flag flying and a noose in his office. Once again, that's racial politics at its finest.

"Others described the resolution as an act of expediency for Mr. Allen, who is a likely presidential candidate and who has been criticized for displaying a Confederate flag at his home and a noose in his law office. Mr. Allen said that they were part of collections of flags and Western paraphernalia..."

Senator Allen isn't representing Blacks with a noose in his office, or is he?

Twenty Senators Did Not Vote for Anti-Lynching Bill

Politicians play a delicate balance of not offending their prejudiced constituency. I will definitely find out the list of senators who are for the lynching of Blacks. This from the New York Times:

"Although the Senate garnered praise on Monday for acting to erase that stain, some critics said lawmakers had a long way to go. Of the 100 senators, 80 were co-sponsors of the resolution, and because it passed by voice vote, senators escaped putting themselves on record."

Sad and pathetic.

Gen. Pace says 60 Iraqi Attacks a Day not bad

Concerning 50 or 60 attacks in Iraq per day, Gen. Pace said during the daily Pentagon Briefing a couple of minutes ago:

"It's not a good number. It's not a terrible number. It's just a fact."

It has become cliched, passe and redundant but the rhetoric or the top brass or not in touch with reality. Sixty attacks a day is not a terrible number? American soldiers dying dauily is not a good thing or bad thing, it's just a fact?

Monday, June 13, 2005

The Downing Street Memos and the Revenge of the Bloggers

This is excellent coverage of the role of bloggers and the gathering momentum concering the Downing Street Minutes from Juan Cole:

When Michael Smith of the London Times wrote about a further leaked British cabinet document on decision-making about the Iraq war in July 2003, he did not simply report the revelations in the document.

Most commentators on the Smith story have missed his open acknowledgment of the role of the blogging world in turning the Downing Street Memo and other leaked British documents from a provincial Whitehall story into a world (and American) phenomenon. Smith writes,

"The briefing paper is certain to add to the pressure, particularly on the American president, because of the damaging revelation that Bush and Blair agreed on regime change in April 2002 and then looked for a way to justify it.

There has been a growing storm of protest in America, created by last month’s publication of the minutes in The Sunday Times. A host of citizens, including many internet bloggers, have demanded to know why the Downing Street memo (often shortened to “the DSM” on websites) has been largely ignored by the US mainstream media." [Emphasis added.]

If this story had broken in the 1970s, it probably would just have been buried by the mainstream US press and remained an oddity of UK's Fleet Street. But here you have the Times of London actually acknowledging the wind under its sails from the blogging world!

Smith continues:

"Frustrated at the refusal by the White House to respond to their letter, the congressmen [led by John Conyers] have set up a website — www.downingstreetmemo.com — to collect signatures on a petition demanding the same answers.

Conyers promised to deliver it to Bush once it reached 250,000 signatures. By Friday morning it already had more than 500,000 with as many as 1m expected to have been obtained when he delivers it to the White House on Thursday.

AfterDowningStreet.org, another website set up as a result of the memo, is calling for a congressional committee to consider whether Bush’s actions as depicted in the memo constitute grounds for impeachment.

So Smith not only acknowledges the pressure put on the US corporate media by the bloggers, but he also points to a virtual social movement around the DSM, with emails and petitions circulating in the hundreds of thousands and giving the Democrats in Congress their first high-profile investigatory opportunity of the Bush presidency.

The seeping of blogistan into the pages of the Times of London with regard to its own scoops seems to me a bellwether of the kinds of changes that are being produced in our information environment by the blogging phenomenon. The gatekeepers at the New York Times and the Washington Post can no longer decide whether a leak is a story or a non-story. The public decides what a story is.

The magnitude of the change is clear in the coverage at the Washington Post. The post, like the New York Times, Newsday, and others, ignored the original Downing Street Memo, published in the London Times on May 1.The first Washington Post story on the Downing Street Memo was not published until May 13, nearly two weeks after the leak. Walter Pincus, despite doing an excellent job in explaining the significance of the Memo, was however relegated by the editors to page 18.

This post goes on to talk about not being able to verify sources and with the Dan Rather episode, the reluctance of editors to releas an unverifiable story but also says that the story could have been covered as an editorial the way Paul Krugman did and that the Wash Post's Pincus has covered it after some verification. This entire is worthy of reading twice.

posted by niteskolar @ 8:38 PM 0 comments

On Fox News

On Fox News, they were showing excerpts from a new movie "The Real Reagan" and they spelled the word 'exerpts' at 1:05 ET. I wonder if Fox ever does a one-hour bio on a non-condervative. Just curious.
My political machinations can be found at www.burymebroken.blogspot.com

Sunday, June 12, 2005

Contractors in Iraq by Jeanne d'Arc at Tom Tomorrow

From Tom Tomorrow: [I copied the entire post because it is the most poignant piece on the subject I have heard.]

Jeanne d'Arc:
Contractors

The Los Angeles Times had a somewhat confusing he said/she said piece last week about a group of mostly American contractors in Falluja who the Marines detained and -- according to the contractors -- physically abused:

Mark Schopper, a lawyer for two of the contractors, said that his clients, both former Marines, were subjected to "physical and psychological abuse." He said his clients told him that Marines had "slammed around" several contractors, stripped them to their underwear and placed a loaded weapon near their heads.

"How does it feel to be a big, rich contractor now?" the Marines shouted at the men, Schopper said, in an apparent reference to the large salaries security contractors can make in Iraq.
He also said that during their detention, the workers' relatives in the United States received phone calls from people with American accents threatening to kill their loved ones if they talked about the incident.

AP picked up the story yesterday.

The Marines deny they abused anyone, but the tension between underpaid military and overpaid contractors rings true. We've been hearing about this from the beginning, and the LAT returns to the topic today with an interesting follow-up on those resentments and disputes.

On the other hand, the Marines say they took the contractors into custody for firing indiscriminately on both Marines and Iraqi civilians, and for carrying unauthorized weapons -- which the contractors deny. But today's LA Times piece, while not relating to the charges against these specific contractors, lends credence to the overall complaints about contractor behavior:
Some troops and officials see the contractors as "cowboys" who enrage ordinary Iraqis with wanton behavior. Journalists have observed them pointing their guns and firing rounds at Iraqis who come too close. Contractors have been seen racing around Baghdad, Fallouja and other hotspots in armored SUVs, forcing Iraqi civilians off the road.

Yes, I know. There's a bit of hypocrisy in American troops and officials accusing contractors of alienating people in Falluja, but that shouldn't evoke any sympathy for the contractors. According to Iraq's interior ministry, they kill at least 12 Iraqi civilians every week in Baghdad.

More than a year ago, Phil Carter wrote about the problem of accountability among people who "[l]egally speaking..actually fall into the same gray area as the unlawful combatants detained at Guantanamo." People out of uniform engaging in combat and all that stuff that's supposed to land you in the -- warning, political incorrectness approaching -- "gulag." (Quite a useful word, actually.)

"Gray area" is probably the polite way of phrasing it. From my angle, it looks a lot darker. According to CorpWatch, Zapata, the company whose employees were detained, is licensed as an engineering company, not a private security company, and is therefore operating illegally in Iraq. But, conveniently, everything in Iraq is so chaotic that nobody agrees on what it means to operate legally or illegally there.

What I find most interesting and sad about this story is a single line in today's LAT piece:
One of the few things both sides largely agree on is that the Marines treated the contractors like any other detainees — treatment the contractors found abusive and humiliating.
One of the detained Americans complains about being treated like "insurgent terrorists."
In other words, it would have been okay if the same treatment were given to an Iraqi.
It reminded me of a sad anecdote in last week's Washington Post piece on tensions between American and Iraqi forces:

Last week, U.S soldiers from 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, and Iraqis from 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, clambered into their vehicles to patrol the streets of Baiji. The Americans drove fully enclosed armored Humvees, the Iraqis open-backed Humvees with benches, the sides of which were protected by plating the equivalent of a flak jacket. The Americans were part of 1st Battalion, 103rd Armor Regiment of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.As an American reporter climbed in with the Iraqis, the U.S. soldiers watched in bemused horror."You might be riding home alone," one soldier said to the other reporter."Is he riding in the back of that?" asked another. "I'll be over here praying."

I wondered whether the American soldiers cared at all that the Iraqi soldiers they had so much contempt for lived with that level of danger on a daily basis. It's a grim joke if an American, even a reporter, faces it. An accepted part of the routine if it's an Iraqi.

It will be interesting to see if Americans complaining about being abused by our military will get a more sympathetic hearing from our press than Iraqis have. I have a terrible feeling that all the ugly stories we've been hearing about contractors in Iraq since the war began, will, ironically, work to the military's advantage, making it all the easier to find scapegoats for everything that goes wrong, and provide one more way of swatting away charges of abuse.

Several decades from now, we can always apologize. Right now victims can't even get that.

posted by Jeanne d'Arc at 07:27 PM link

Friday, June 10, 2005

Rich Get Richer (Same Ole Same Ole)

Via Daily Kos, columnist Paul Krugman details the economic divide in America in a NYTimes editorial "Losing Our Country" :

Working families have seen little if any progress over the past 30 years. Adjusted for inflation, the income of the median family doubled between 1947 and 1973. But it rose only 22 percent from 1973 to 2003, and much of that gain was the result of wives' entering the paid labor force or working longer hours, not rising wages.

But the wealthy have done very well indeed. Since 1973 the average income of the top 1 percent of Americans has doubled, and the income of the top 0.1 percent has tripled.

Every other breath should be the economic divide that is continuing to widen in this land of opportunity (for some).

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Democratic Senators Back Dean

From the Political Wire:

The recent round of criticism from fellow Democrats "about Howard Dean's four-month tenure as Democratic National Committee chairman has prompted Senate leaders to rise to his defense at a public event planned for today," the Boston Globe reports.

"Originally scheduled as a private meeting between Dean and the leadership team of Senate minority leader Harry Reid of Nevada, today's session instead will now include a news conference and photo opportunity as a public embrace of Dean, who has rocked the political world over past week with provocative condemnations of the Republican party."

However, the Washington Times has a different spin, saying several SenateDemocrats will use the event to force Dean to apologize for his recent comments.

Chaiman Dean has definitely given the opposition fodder to paint him as a far left, liberal ideologue and guess what, "I love it." If Senate Democrats are forcing an apology, it works for us because it demonstrates that we are galvanizing. If this meeting iis a simple show of support, great because it shows we are galvanizing. For all the scary Senate Dems like Joe Biden, you are going to need us and "us" is the hard-working, informing, day-to-day, in the trenches, donating and volunteering blue-collar supporters of the entire party including its chair, Howard Dean.

Objections to Justice Brown in Times a Day Late

The Daily Howler asks how come one day after Janice Rogers Brown is confirmed that the front page tells of the legitimate objections that Democrats had with this nominee:

THE DAY AFTER: Finally! David Kirkpatrick was really smokin’ in his New York Times profile of Janice Rogers Brown. “[S]ome Senate Democrats have even singled her out as the most objectionable of President Bush's more than 200 judicial nominees,” the Times tough-talker said. Nor did he shrink from explaining Dem fury; Dems had been “citing [Brown’s] criticism of affirmative action and abortion rights but most of all her sweeping denunciations of New Deal legal precedents that enabled many federal regulations and social programs—developments she has called ‘the triumph of our socialist revolution.’” Indeed, at the very start of his piece, he laid out the justice’s oddball views. The headline in our hard-copy edition: “Seeing slavery in liberalism:”

KIRKPATRICK (pgh 1): Janice Rogers Brown, the African-American daughter of Alabama sharecroppers...often invokes slavery in describing what she sees as the perils of liberalism.
(2) ''In the heyday of liberal democracy, all roads lead to slavery,'' she has warned in speeches. Society and the courts have turned away from the founders' emphasis on personal responsibility, she has argued, toward a culture of government regulation and dependency that threatens fundamental freedoms.
(3) ''We no longer find slavery abhorrent,'' she told the conservative Federalist Society a few years ago. ''We embrace it.'' She explained in another speech, ''If we can invoke no ultimate limits on the power of government, a democracy is inevitably transformed into a kleptocracy—a license to steal, a warrant for oppression.''
(4) To her critics, such remarks are evidence of extremism.Indeed, it was wild and wacky stuff—and Kirkpatrick was fearlessly laying it out, right on page one of the Times! Why, he even took an extremely cursory look at some of Brown’s judicial decisions!

But there’s one slight problem with Kirkpatrick’s report; it appears in this morning’s Times, the day after Brown’s confirmation! Much like its cowardly buddy (the Washington Post), the Times refused to profile Brown in the weeks before her Senate vote, when a tough-talking front-page profile like this might have sparked some real debate. But then, this is exactly what the fearless Times did in the case of another disputed judge, Priscilla Owen. Kirkpatrick did a front-page profile of Owen last Thursday—also on the morning after the Senate voted to confirm.

With these day-after profiles, the Times announces a fact; the paper has officially stood down from traditional journalistic duties. The paper will hide from the day’s leading issues; it will only lay out a few facts after the issue is settled. Did readers deserve to read about Brown before the Senate took its vote? To all appearances, that obvious course would be too risky for the greatest of all Gotham papers. Instead, its editors took the view—the rubes could read about Owen and Brown after George Bush got his druthers.

These occurrences on the part of what is labeled the "liberal media" demonstrate why more and more Americans are seeking alternative media sources as well as blogging in order that at least a few facts are introduced into the Bizzaro media-compliant, political environment of present.

Wheels Turning on Gitmo Closing

The single most damaging act to the goodwill and cooperative spirit of nations around the globe and the United States is the imprisoning of hundreds of "enemy combatants" in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Detainees from dozens of countries held over three years now without access to an attorney, without being accused of any crime and not allowed to even see their family, denied the basic rights that America stands for and the human rights it presses others to follow and now we are nonchalantly about to close Gitmo.

From AP:

The United States would rather have detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp imprisoned by their home countries, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday.

Also from AP:

President Bush on Wednesday left open the possibility that the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could be shut down.

From Gulf News:

The top US Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has urged the US to close the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"I think more Americans are in jeopardy as a consequence of the perception that exists worldwide with its existence than if there were no Gitmo." said Senator Joseph Biden, as he appeared on ABC's "This Week" program.

Now Joint Chiefs head Gen. Myers and Sec. Rumsfeld are saying that the prison doesn't need to be shut down but this is typical of what we've seen in the past from the administration. A couple of officials stand in opposition and are the temporary scapegoats, taking one for the team while we move ahead and make the decision.

The prison should not have been in existence in the first place. We cannot suspend the rules that we hold as the hallmark of our nation because others are not Americans. We have already released prisoners from Gitmo without charging them and they are back home with their families after 18 months to three years of prison. Some men were held because rival tribal families turned them in for the $5,000 being offered by U.S. military for suspects in Afghanistan.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." -- Martin Luther King Jr.

Update 15 Jun 05: Republican senator from my state adds to the growing tide here:

Senator Mel Martinez of Florida said Friday that the Bush administration should consider closing the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Mr. Martinez is the first high-profile Republican to make the suggestion.
"It's become an icon for bad stories, and at some point you wonder the cost-benefit ratio," Mr. Martinez said at the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors/Florida Press Association convention. "How much do you get out of having that facility there? Is it serving all the purposes you thought it would serve when initially you began it, or can this be done some other way a little better?"

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Russell Simmons Courted by Repubs

From Political Wire, Russell Simmons, the grandfather authority of hip hop and activism is unhappy with Howard Dean:

After a meeting yesterday with RNC chairman Ken Mehlman, Hip Hop mogul and "loyal Democrat" Russell Simmons told the New York Daily News, "When it comes to reaching out to poor people and minorities, I think there's no enthusiasm on Howard [Dean]'s part, while Ken shows a real willingness to listen."

I respect Russell Simmons and I am sure that he has had more face time with Dean than I did but a willingness to look you in your face and go "uh huh, go ahead" in no way translates to the Republican party embracing our community values, attacking poverty in our community, tax cuts affecting Head Start, childen going to bed hungry, No Child Left Behind killing state budgets, legislation making class action lawsuits more difficult, double the unemployment rate for black youth, siding with credit card companies with bankruptcy law, siding with corporations on everything, ad nauseum.

If the Republican party wants to court me, the African American voter, I'm more than happy to listen. However, from what I've heard - their values of tax cuts for the wealthy, legislation for corporations (e.g. the energy bill) and nothing for the blue collar, middle class is a far divide from my values which are driven by Jesus message concerning the poor and what you do for the least, you do for him.

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

World Court Launches Darfur Genocide Investigation

From the NYTimes:

Prosecutors for the International Criminal Court announced Monday that they had begun an investigation into war crimes in Sudan, opening the door for indictments and warrants for those considered most responsible for the ethnic violence and starvation that has exterminated hundreds of villages in Darfur.

But the Sudanese government, blamed by a United Nations inquiry for much of the violence, has said it will not accept the court's jurisdiction. It has already begun to try to delay legal action by using some of the safeguards built into the court's rules, like insisting that it is conducting its own investigations and will hold its own trials.

Slowly the wheels are turning for a halt to the genocide and government sanctioned raping of women to drive them out of territory of which they rightly inhabited. Slowly.

They Don't Refer to Other Judge Nominees as Sharecropper Daughter

If I hear Janice Rogers Brown is the daughter of an Alabama sharecropper just one more time, I am going to stab myself in the eye with a rusty fork. They don't say the other justice nominees are the son of a coal miner or daughter of a saw mill plant worker, only the Negro. These folk are so stupid that they don't know that they are being insulting. Furthermore, the Republican party acts as if we can't disagree with any Negro they choose. Heaven forbid I disagree with Dr. Condoleeza Rice or former Secretary Colin Powell or that jerk they had heading Education Rod Paige that called the National Educators Association a terrorist organization. Heaven forbid we say something about Justice Clarence Thomas. Why don't you listen to Armstrong Williams? He's a darky like you.

Black Pre-Kindergarteners Twice as Likely Expelled says Yale study

From BlackPress USA:

According to researches at Yale University, African-American children in pre-kindergarten are twice as likely to be expelled as Hispanic and White children and more than five times as likely to be expelled as Asian children. According to most, a lack of support in the classroom is to blame.“

These three and four year olds are barely out of diapers. No one wants to think about children this young being kicked out of school, especially not their parents and teachers. All teachers in state-funded prekindergarten programs should have access to the support staff they need to effectively manage classroom behavior. When they do, expulsion rates are cut nearly in half,” said Walter Gilliam, author of the Yale University study “Prekindergartners Left Behind.”

According to the study, state expulsion rates for pre-kindergartners exceed those in K-12 classes. Gilliam found that expulsion rates are lowest in classrooms located in public schools and Head Start and highest in faith-affiliated centers, for-profit childcare and other community-based settings. In classrooms where the teacher had no access to a psychologist or psychiatrist, students were expelled twice as often.

Of course the present administration's assault on Head Start, other budgetary cuts forcing discretionary spending to decrease in states makes this unfortunate phenomenon to be on the rise.

In Nashville Civil Rights Commemoration Meeting

It is fascinating to listen to the anecdotes and stories of folks in the movement. These participants including my mother, Elizabeth McClain, now an assistant professor of history of 30 plus years, have such joy in their voices as they tell of the herculean efforts to dismantle Jim Crow Nashville.

One particular study I've found incredible was of 68 year old Alman E. Runyan who was arrested by police on a charge of pulling a pocket knife on demonstrators and collapsed. The man died of a heart attack that day. I found this to be incredible; herculean doesn't begin to describe their effort.

My Wife is in Town

I have been on the road for two months now. My wife and I talk on the phone, detailing our day and catching up on each other's lives. The Blackberry has been a lifesaver in that we can e-mail each other constantly including itineraries from Outlook, Mapquest directions and airport and rental car info by cc'ing each other.

Well I am watching her right now talking on the phone. She is beautiful, wonderful and a special gift from the Universe and I am blessed to know her. When I get home (very soon), I will follow her like a puppy and wait on her hand and foot like a royal servant until the newness wears off. I'm kidding.

Seriously, I want the commitment that she has for me and I for her for my country, for the liberal agenda, for the common man. I want the tireless effort of the organizations like MoveOn.org and the Daily Kos community. They inspire me as does she. The horizon is limitless.

Monday, June 06, 2005

Soldiers in Iraq Spitting while at War

Also from Newsweek, these cats are putting down lyrics from Iraq. They call themselves Fourth Quarter (4th25) and their song trailer "Live from Iraq" is here:

It took only a few ambushes, roadside bombs and corpses for Neal Saunders to know what he had to do: turn the streets of Baghdad into rap music. So the First Cavalry sergeant, then newly arrived for a year of duty in Sadr City, began hoarding his monthly paychecks and seeking out a U.S. supplier willing to ship a keyboard, digital mixer, cable, microphones and headphones to an overseas military address. He hammered together a plywood shack, tacked up some cheap mattress pads for soundproofing and invited other Task Force 112 members to join him in his jerry-built studio. They call themselves "4th25"—pronounced fourth quarter, like the final do-or-die minutes of a game—and their album is "Live From Iraq." The sound may be raw, even by rap standards, but it expresses things that soldiers usually keep bottled up. "You can't call home and tell your mom your door got blown off by an IED," says Saunders. "No one talks about what we're going through. Sure, there are generals on the TV, but they're not speaking for us. We're venting for everybody."

I'm sure they will have a lot to say about studio gangstas and being in a war for real.

Soldiers in Iraq Spitting while at War

Also from Newsweek, these cats are putting down lyrics from Iraq. They call themselves Fourth Quarter (4th25) and their song trailer "Live from Iraq" is here:

It took only a few ambushes, roadside bombs and corpses for Neal Saunders to know what he had to do: turn the streets of Baghdad into rap music. So the First Cavalry sergeant, then newly arrived for a year of duty in Sadr City, began hoarding his monthly paychecks and seeking out a U.S. supplier willing to ship a keyboard, digital mixer, cable, microphones and headphones to an overseas military address. He hammered together a plywood shack, tacked up some cheap mattress pads for soundproofing and invited other Task Force 112 members to join him in his jerry-built studio. They call themselves "4th25"—pronounced fourth quarter, like the final do-or-die minutes of a game—and their album is "Live From Iraq." The sound may be raw, even by rap standards, but it expresses things that soldiers usually keep bottled up. "You can't call home and tell your mom your door got blown off by an IED," says Saunders. "No one talks about what we're going through. Sure, there are generals on the TV, but they're not speaking for us. We're venting for everybody."

I'm sure they will have a lot to say about studio gangstas and being in a war for real.

Newsweek Bureau Chief Leaves Baghdad, Final Thoughts

Having read this at Daily Kos, I went over to Newsweek to read the entire article, "Good Intentions Gone Bad":

NEWSWEEK's Baghdad bureau chief, departing after two years of war and American occupation, has a few final thoughts.

The most shocking thing about Abu Ghraib was not the behavior of U.S. troops, but the incompetence of their leaders. Against the conduct of the Lynndie Englands and Charles Graners, I'll gladly set the honesty and courage of Specialist Joseph Darby, the young MP who reported the abuse. A few soldiers will always do bad things.That's why you need competent officers, who know what the men and women under their command are capable of—and make sure it doesn't happen.

Living and working in Iraq, it's hard not to succumb to despair. At last count America has pumped at least $7 billion into reconstruction projects, with little to show for it but the hostility of ordinary Iraqis, who still have 18 percent unemployment rate. Most of the cash goes to U.S. contractors who spend much of it on personal security. Basic services like electricity, water and sewers still aren't up to prewar levels. Electricity is especially vital in a country where summer temperatures commonly reach 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Yet only 15 percent of Iraqis have reliable electrical service. In the capital, where it counts most, it's only 4 percent.

The most powerful army in human history can't even protect a two-mile stretch of road. The Airport Highway connects both the international airport and Baghdad's main American military base, Camp Victory, to the city center. At night U.S. troops secure the road for the use of dignitaries; they close it to traffic and shoot at any unauthorized vehicles. More troops and more helicopters could help make the whole country safer. Instead the Pentagon has been drawing down the number of helicopters. And America never deployed nearly enough soldiers. They couldn't stop the orgy of looting that followed Saddam's fall. Now their primary mission is self-defense at any cost—which only deepens Iraqis' resentment.

The four-square-mile Green Zone, the one place in Baghdad where foreigners are reasonably safe, could be a showcase of American values and abilities. Instead the American enclave is a trash-strewn wasteland of Mad Max-style fortifications. The traffic lights don't work because no one has bothered to fix them. The garbage rarely gets collected. Some of the worst ambassadors in U.S. history are the GIs at the Green Zone's checkpoints. They've repeatedly punched Iraqi ministers, accidentally shot at visiting dignitaries and behave (even on good days) with all the courtesy of nightclub bouncers—to Americans and Iraqis alike. Not that U.S. soldiers in Iraq have much to smile about. They're overworked, much ignored on the home front and widely despised in Iraq, with little to look forward to but the distant end of their tours—and in most cases, another tour soon to follow. Many are reservists who, when they get
home, often face the wreckage of careers and family.

We deserve an honest assessment of the exact situtation in Iraq. We, the Amerian public deserve an honest assessment. That honest assessment should be given without regard to whether one is for or against the war, whether one believes we are safer without Hussein in power or that Iraqis are now free to form a democracy. The American people deserve to know that some military officers are saying they are undermanned or that the violence the past month is as bad as ever or that the plan of Iraqi security is realistically a long way away.

Bury Me Broken

Thursday, June 30, 2005

My Letter to the Orlando Sentinel - Room for Flexibility

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Nelson Holds Solid Lead Over Harris

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Army Whistleblower, Halliburton Contracts Worse Seen

Who Will Cover the President's "Saddam was Evil" Speech

'Discussion Strategy' for the War for Democrats

Monday, June 27, 2005

Making It Up As They Go Along

Medgar Evers Brother, A Republican, Discusses Issues

Monday almost noon Round-Up

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Bargaining with the Terrorists

Saturday, June 25, 2005

Funds for Health Care for Veterans $1Bil Short

US to Consider Lifting Sanctions in Sudan (despite Darfur gang rapes)

House Approves Cuts to Labor Programs

Noble College Repubs Help Iraq

Black Elite and Black Interests

Friday, June 24, 2005

9/11 Widow Precise on MSNBC Hardball

More Friday Round Up (until T-Mobile express mails my Blackberry)

Zorn, Chicago Tribune, says what Durbin should have

Democrats Demand Apology from White House for Karl Rove

Off the Grid Round Up

Monday, June 20, 2005

Anti-Lynching Bill and Race Politics

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Bush Radio Address Demonstrates Divide

Bush Radio Address Demonstrates Divide

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Felons and Disenfranchisement

Jerk of the Week: Gov. Jeb Bush for bitter grapes

Friday, June 17, 2005

Frist Looks Foolish After Sciavo Autopsy

Pakistani Heroine Jailed

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Republicans Attack the Red Cross

Republicans Attack Sesame Street

Five U.S. Marines Killed, Violence has Particularly Political Aim

Updated List of Pro Lynching Senators

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Gitmo Released Return to Battlefield

On Dean's Recent Controversy

Military Officers Say They Can't Win in Iraq

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Justice Thomas Is Ridiculous

Anti-Lynching Bill and Race Politics

Twenty Senators Did Not Vote for Anti-Lynching Bill

Gen. Pace says 60 Iraqi Attacks a Day not bad

Monday, June 13, 2005

The Downing Street Memos and the Revenge of the Bloggers

On Fox News

Sunday, June 12, 2005

Contractors in Iraq by Jeanne d'Arc at Tom Tomorrow

Friday, June 10, 2005

Rich Get Richer (Same Ole Same Ole)

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Democratic Senators Back Dean

Objections to Justice Brown in Times a Day Late

Wheels Turning on Gitmo Closing

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Russell Simmons Courted by Repubs

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

World Court Launches Darfur Genocide Investigation

They Don't Refer to Other Judge Nominees as Sharecropper Daughter

Black Pre-Kindergarteners Twice as Likely Expelled says Yale study

In Nashville Civil Rights Commemoration Meeting

My Wife is in Town

Monday, June 06, 2005

Soldiers in Iraq Spitting while at War

Soldiers in Iraq Spitting while at War

Newsweek Bureau Chief Leaves Baghdad, Final Thoughts

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