Hell, I live in Dallas and until this thread, I didn't even know there WAS a northwest Texas. Much less that we Texans had any terrestrial adjuttances beyond that of the majestic, breath-taking, myriad myriad millenia-old natural wonder-of-a-formation that is the eerily green neon-shrouded obelisk downtown known as the Bank of America Tower, or as affectionately known to the locals: "The Bank of America Building--You Know, The Green One".

I knew all of those things. I totally knew them.

I FEEL #10 WAS DIRECTED AT ME. FEEL FREE TO CHECK WEB SITES www.278ACR.COM OR http://iraq.billhobbs.com/ FOR INFORMATION ON MY UNIT OR IF YOU WISH YOU CAN CHECK WITH DR. ALAN LIVINGSTON POSTING AND CONTRIBUTING HERE. I HAVE BLOGGED OPPOSITE HIM FOR SOME TIME. WE HAVE WHAT IS CALLED CHU-NET IN IRAQ (INTERNET IN OUR CONTAINERIZED HOUSING UNITS) AND NOW THE TROOPS HAVE ACCESS TO INTERNET 24/7. SOME PEOPLE HERE IN IRAQ LIKE TO READ BOOKS, WATCH MOVIES, OR TV DURING THEIR DOWN TIME, I LIKE TO HELP ENLIGHTEN THE LIBERAL ELITISTS AND GIVE THEM A CLEARER PICTURE OF HOW THE RELENTLESS ATTACKS ON OUR PRESIDENT HURTS THE MISSION IN IRAQ AND THE MORALE OF THE TROOPS FIGHTING HERE. IT ENCOURAGES THE INSURGENTS AND TAKFIRISTS, THE ENEMIES OF IRAQ, TO CONTINUE TO FIGHT AGAINST PEACE AND PROSPERITY HERE AND TO CONTINUE THEIR ATTACKS ON THE US AND IRAQI SECURITY FORCES. I AM A TROOP SERVING IN IRAQ. I ONLY USE MY NAME WHEN POSTING AND I'LL NEVER CALL ANYONE HERE ANYTHING WORSE THAN YOU CALL THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. SCOUTS HONOR.

THANKYOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

In the context of Hurricane Katrina, the pejorative word "socialist" means the following:

1) Someone who expects government agencies ALREADY IN EXISTENCE to do their jobs.

2) Someone who wants qualified people in charge, instead of discredited horse-show judges running emergency management agencies.

3) Someone who recognizes that the Army Corps of Engineers falls under the Pentagon, not under the State of Louisiana or the City of New Orleans.

4) Someone who has heard Bush say often, "My main job is to protect the American people."

5) Someone who understands that the federal government can print money, borrow money, and impose taxes on a scale that no state or city can.

6) Someone who doesn't give a rat's ass about being called a socialist by some wingnut using one alias after another.

Here's something I know:

Things are far worse than anyone imagines.

The Congressional Budget Office today announced that Katrina damage will NOT push the US into a recession. Does anyone believe that is good news? It's not. It means that our economy is off its fucking rocker.

How about this?--the stock markets have been completely UNAFFECTED by this unprecedented disaster. Does anybody believe that's good news? Because it's not. It means that the Dow and the S&P are now controlled by the government, not by "free market forces." For God's sake, how is it possible that we lose a major city, the homes and jobs of over a million Americans, and the stock market actually goes UP all week?

For those who don't realize it, the 50 billion going to the hurricane victims is being borrowed from China. We are beyond broke. We are so fucking broke that we can't even BORROW enough money to keep us afloat anymore. So the Treasury prints money and USES IT TO BUY THE DEBT ISSUED BY THE FEDERAL RESERVE. That's called monetizing the debt. Get it? We are now printing money to buy the T-bills we use to finance our gov't, because we can't find enough suckers around the world any longer to buy those T-bills.

Here's the truth, guys. The reason that the MSM lies to us is simpler than you think. It's not because they're afraid of Bush. No, it's far worse than that. The MSM has a basic rule it abides by, and which governs all it tells us:

Don't let them know how bad it is. Because if they (we) get even an inkling of how bad things are, all bets are off. There will be a collapse, a revolution, and everyone in charge will be massacred.

Which is to say, you can bet that we'll never be told how many died in New Orleans.

We have one lousy hope. That is that Fitzgerald indicts the whole lot, and that it leads to a fairly bloodless revolution in which we, the People, renounce our trillions of debt to the rest of the world, and are ALLOWED, by China and Russia and Korea and Taiwan and India, to keep our houses and farms, while they get everything else.

You lefties love death. You want to parade death across the screen every chance you get. You want to show as many dead bodies as you can.

Remember the blog that there will be 40000 dead?
Where are they? You like the high death counts so you can use them politically even when they are false.

You make me sick.

HCOCDR -
With all the "free" time you have it would seem you have an administrative job if you are in Iraq. Because my guys tell me it is a day to day grind where they are. And they are lucky to get hours off let alone time to read or e-mail. And relax ? Forget it, they are preparing mentally for the next patrol.

It is constant worry every time they have to go out who will come back or if they come back. And they have all been extended, one for more than a year. So they figure the odds go up the longer you are there.

Have you had to watch your best friend bleeding and in terrible pain from burns, or not being able to see and wonder if you ever will again. Or be twenty-five years old and have no arms to hold your baby. My guys have and the toll is unmeasurable to their minds.

HCOCDR you pride yourself on being informed, well check out Dahr Jamail's information, he is embedded with our guys and tells it like it is.
Open your eyes, and if you still want to believe, so be it.

When you are wounded and it is if, not when, let me know where you are and I will write your letters if you lose your hands or arms.

I guess what you can't understand in your youth is, we have seen this before and it was all lies and 58,000 died, our friends, our brothers and husbands.

Those of us "lowering morale ?" no, we want to save your life.

A war undertaken without sufficient justification is a war that is almost certain to inspire dissent. That is one very important reason why, in a Democracy, or something purporting to be a Democracy, war HAS to be, MUST be a last resort.

In a Democracy, the possibility of dissent is part of the deal. If troop morale depends on elimination of dissent at home, the troops should be withdrawn.

If enemy strategy depends on dissent at home, that is an issue that should have been considered before the war was undertaken. To try to pin the blame for that on dissenters is, in my opinion, a bogus and irresponsible argument. Those who dissent about the war typically want the soldiers out of the situation where success on the battlefield depends on lack of dissent at home, which translates to lack of democracy at home.

If we have to sacrifice our Democracy to pursue Military goals, than clearly we have put the cart before the horse. We need to rethink our military objectives and tactics, if to succeed militarily requires jettisoning Democracy.

Yes, most people who oppose the Iraq war care about and support the troops. Most of us know that the soldiers are family, friends, neighbors, fellow citizens.

Hcocdr, you seem to assume that all Liberals are elitists. That seems to me to be a cheap dodge on your part, the same sort of dodge as a peacenik saying that all soldiers are thugs. Liberals are family, friends, neighbors, fellow citizens.

What about soldiers who oppose the war? What would it do to their morale if there was no dissent at home?

Dissent is part of the deal in a Democracy. That has to be taken into account before a Nation undertakes war.

Unirealist, you make a good point about the economy. I would assume that Wall Street is anticipating big profits coming from the work that needs to happen in NO in clearing and rebuilding. Who knows, maybe as well there is enthusiasm about darker possibilities of taking advantage of the disaster, though I'm not sure what those might be. One way or another, it all seems disconnected from the actual fortunes of the country and that could be frightening for a number of reasons.

But hasn't that been true about Wall street for a long time? In my opinion, Wall Street is still rooted in the old imperial attitudes, the mercantile notions that wealth of the few is rooted in suffering of the many. Someone, somewhere has to have little so that I can have a lot.

A better business model would, in my opinion, understand that wealth grows for all as the health of the community grows, overall and for all. Sudden wealth and extremes of wealth might not be as accessible under such a business model, but how important are such things?

HCOCDR #4 You don't need to SHOUT to be heard here. We are listening.

Speaking of listening, you should listen to the words of Ron Paul, a republican congressman from Texas. He is a conservative.

He tells us why you are in Iraq. The real reason. You may not like it, but he has the right to speak his mind, just like you are allowed to here on this blog. Just like many of your fellow soldiers, who have a different opinion than you do. Yet they fight beside you under a concept of duty.

The link to the talk (thanks Doug E) is here.

Good luck.

Medium Right, what is sickening is to ascribe the motivation of rejoicing in death to those who disagree with you politically. It would be just as easy for me to claim that those who have been enthusiastically blaming the victims over the past weak and a half have been rejoicing in seeing black people and poor people suffer and die. I have been tempted to say that at times, but I have not. I remember that we are all in the end fellow citizens and fellow human beings. You should remind yourself of that before you cast heinous and cheap aspersions about your fellow human beings.

I believe that most people want to see the pictures for the same reason that most people want to visit with the bodies of dead loved ones. There is something about seeing such things that brings home the tragedy and the sorrow in a sacred way, a way that honors, a way that deepens our sense of connection. I think that for most Americans at this time, the victims and survivors of New Orleans are family.

We are grieving.

Thus, your comments on the subject of photos of the dead are inappropriate and indecent, in my opinion. They are profane.

And I think it profanes the dead to hide the reality of their suffering and death. When you go into a church, you will see a statue of Jesus on the cross, very graphically presented sometimes. Suffering does not dishonor those who have suffered. To hide suffering and tragedy dishonors.

"HOW THE RELENTLESS ATTACKS ON OUR PRESIDENT HURTS THE MISSION IN IRAQ AND THE MORALE OF THE TROOPS FIGHTING HERE."

That there are so many, with such compelling reasons to object to the war seems to me like an excellent reason not to engage in it in the first place.

I said it before the war in Iraq and all throughout. We've been given LOTS of reasons for the war, but almost NO EVIDENCE for those reasons.

A good leader would present CLEAR evidence of the reasons for the war to find out if the PEOPLE are behind it. Not the politicians, the PEOPLE. An American war without the support of the people will NEVER go the distance, whether those people exercise their rights and speak their mind or not.

Telling the American people that we can pay for it with Iraqi oil was irresposible at best. If you can't pay for the war, don't fight it. Relying on the resources of a conquered foe in your planning is foolish and dangerous!

A bad leader operating on poor reasoning is more dangerous than any military. Don't believe me? Ask the chinese about Mao's "Great Leap Forward". Ask the poor of New Orleans, lots of bad leaders in that debacle.

For Unirealist: As someone who spent 28 years as a broker with Wall Street firms, and now an author of history books, I can provide some perspective on why the market has been going up.

The government will be printing money like mad. This permits spending on new construction, Home Depot-style repairs, and public projects (which create jobs and profits for Halliburton). If insurance companies have to pay out $100 billion in claims (that might be low), they'll be able to raise their rates afterward to compensate...and once the rates go up, they'll never go back down.

The oil companies will be making huge windfall profits, which Wall Street folks love. Alan Greenspan will stop raising short-term interest rates, which they'll love even more.

The people who have suffered the most aren't people Wall Street cares about, anyway. They don't buy stock, and Wall Street doesn't give a damn about anyone it considers "a drag on the system." What we're seeing from Bush is entirely predictable, given his family background. Prescott Bush and G.H. Walker would also have said, "Brownie, you're doing a fantastic job."

Ok Brad, I'm with you on everything EXCEPT #3... WTF is that, satire?

I soooo agree with #14 on Brads list.I would have used all caps for THAT one, and lots of these, !!!

It is my belief that HCOCDR was banned from Mr Conyers blog because of his unique efforts to 'enlighten' the posters there.

I am not as young and uninformed as you think. If someone is telling you they are out every day in a fire fight here in Iraq. I can tell you they are lying. For the truth you can read some of the stories of Lee Pitts he got the troop to ask the armor question of Mike Yon (michaelyon.blogspot.com) he is out with the troops and it is not an every day fight. One car bomb in an area the size of the East Coast and thats all you see on the news. Here is the reason I am in Iraq.

Repeating History

I understand that many people love America and it's ideals and that not everyone who was against this war or doesn't like President George W Bush is a leftist moron.

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From the birth of our nation we have believed

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Yes, we are the nation of

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When President Harry Truman

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While WMD's were

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Boycott Days Inn!

# 15

"""Ok Brad, I'm with you on everything EXCEPT #3... WTF is that, satire?'''

Inside joke, he was putting up something good about the President. It gets rid of the argument he never does.

Amen Nana ! Just curious, never heard someone refer to themself as "I am a troop".

It would be lovely to be able to believe in our government, sometimes it would be great to be a coolaide drinker, with blinders on.

There will always be the greedy and if there wasn't a Bradblog allowing questions to be asked and answered the greedy would take over. As it is, those of us fighting back are hanging on by a shoe string.

HCOCDR why not rename yourself IAMATROOP

There would be no reason for my son to lie to me, and the guys in our VA are VERY real.

SHAME ON YOU !

24 Texaslady

I hearya! 'Golden Years', my arse.

To HCOCDR:

What kind of doublethink and mental gymnastics is required to simultaneously believe we "invaded Iraq to 'free' the Iraqi people" and at the same time believe "We're turning Iraq into a battlefield that draws 'terrorists' from all over to it so we don't have to fight them in America"?

To HCOCDR:

Furthermore, everyone that has at minimum a fifth-grade education should be able to realize that everything the Bushites told us in the run-up to this farce was a lie, all except that, yes, Iraq is sitting on a lake of oil as the world's second-largest oil producer. Do you honestly not realize this is the reason for the invasion and occupation or are you just pretending not to realize it?

To HCOCDR:

Ask yourself: "If Iraq's main resource it had to offer the world was beeswax would 140,000 U.S. troops be in the country right now?"

HCOCDR - The "President" is a public figure and a perfectly appropriate and patriotic target of criticism and attack. Personal attacks on private commenters here is inappropriate and will not be tolerated. If you can't follow those rules, please go post elsewhere.

One other rule I didn't mention...COPYING and PASTING entire text, as you did, is also not allowed. I'm on the road, so can't delete quickly, but if Winter Patriot gets this, please do so. A few grafs and a link to what you are COPYING and PASTING is fine.

I appreciate your opinion that you feel discussing news of what is actually going on in the world is somehow dangerous to the troops. I also appreciate the opinions of the scores of other troops, both in Iraq and Afghanistan right now, as well as recently returned who have thanked me for what I do here and asked me to continue. I will do so on their behalf as best as I can.

MEDIUM RIGHT - The 40,000 number that was posted here by David Edwards (I believe) first came to *me* from Fox News Radio and then again via the ultra-"Conservative" Lars Larson when I was on his program. If you have any complaints about it, take it to Fox News and the other wingnut talk radio programs who've been using that number.

SUKABI - Read items #4 - #7 that follow #3. Then #3 will likely make sense to you. And yes, it was satire.

KRAIG - Please don't forget to remind Bush apologist, HCOCDR that Bush never mentioned *anything* about "Freedom and Democracy" when requesting that Congress invoke the War Powers act that lead to the invasion of Iraq.

HCOCDR - ELEVEN soldiers have been killed since SEPT 1st - and we are only at Sept 9th today.
Anti-War.com Source D.O.D. And we are not talking fire fight, we are talking IED which has been the chief source of killing and wounding...which you should know being a troop (your word)

SINCE MONDAY -
Jeffrey Williams 20 years old Support Squadron 3rd Armoured Calvary Regiment - Combat Medic
killed by an IED

Sgt. Jude Jonaus 27 years old and
Sgt Franklin Viloric 26 years old
Brigade Troops Battalion 3rd Infantry Division
killed by an IED

NUMBER OF COUNTED AMERICAN SOLDIERS LOST SO FAR 1895, 14,362 wounded and since the day is not over the count will go up.

You need a different arguement when praising your Commander in Chief to this audience.

I figured it ( #3) was satire Brad, but as early in the a.m. as I read it, and in the list surrounding it - it stuck out like a sore thumb and I wasn't quite sure if it was indeed satire or if the talk radio had claimed your brain.

Raw Story writes that Chertof just announced the resignation of Michael Brown. Michael Brown said "the press made him the scapegoat, but the president didn't ".

Probably still get a medal in a month or two.

Now why would we think that Bush's handlers will think that will take the heat off?

To Brad:

You're correct, I forgot to mention that the "freedom & democracy" claptrap was conspicuously absent from the fearmongering used to get Congress to give the pResident what is supposed to be a power reserved for the Senate. This would be because Bush knew it wouldn't sell, that the only thing he could use to get the American public behind this illegal war was fear of boogeymen. This explains why the "freedom & democracy" talk was thrown in later once the original lies were exposed as lies. People like HCOCDR carefully overlook this matter in their quest to reassure themselves that Americans are dying and killing innocent people for "some" purpose besides the obvious, crude oil. Their blinders must be the size of billboards.

Ok, I was too much in a hurry...Brown did not resign he has been sent to Washington to "oversee the government's response to potential disasters." Per USA TODAY

Boy, what a relief ! Brown will use his expertise to protect another state (s)

I'm glad you've discovered the beautiful gumdrop mountains of
West Texas, Brad. Someday I'm going to go back there and paint
(pictures of) them. And yes, Joseph Cannon is a genius.

Godspeed, drive carefully, and enjoy the ride.

texaslady #37

Hope it isn't my state!

Have you seen this yet?

"DELAY TO EVACUEES:
'IS THIS KIND OF FUN?'"

Un-f**cking-real! These folks haven't a clue

I'm back from a trip and just overwhelmed trying to catch up on news, as I was unable to have Internet access for a week and a half and forced to rely on pitiful reporting via CNN to keep up with the news. It's just unbelievable that in these days of instant communication via the Internet so little real news is relayed globally via American news TV programs. CNN = Catapulting NeoCon Nonsense !

Anyway - for dial-up folks or those who have problems loading in videos & mp3s or just want to read - I found the transcript for Ron Paul's speech of September 8th here:

Transcript of Ron Paul's Speech

Otherwise, I am horrified over what has happened in New Orleans. I am in shock once more.

To hcocdr --- don't waste your time harping stupidity here. If you are a soldier in Iraq --- read the transcript of Ron Paul's speech. I don't think your comments are worth a dime until you do. If you're afraid to search until you find the truth, you aren't a very tough individual. That makes me concerned for your ability to survive in a war environment. It is the soldiers who are brainwashed that end up being cannon fodder.

Representatives that voted against Bill HR3673
aide for Gulf Coast states.
Appreciate any site direction as to why they voted against...could be lack of oversight..which I could definitely understand.
Read this bill and housing has a cap of $26,200
pretty tough to find housing, temp or otherwise with that limit for very long.

Rep Joe Barton - TX
Rep Ron Paul - TX
Tom Tancardo - CO
Jeff Flake - AZ
Steve King - IA
Butch Otter - ID
Virginia Foxx - NC
Scott Garrett - NJ
John Hostetter - IN
James Sensenbrenner - WI
Lyn Westmoreland - GA

This info from Team Hate America - Daily Kos 9/8/05

39 kira

Welcome back. I missed you!

Bluebear 2 - Sounds exactly like something Delay would say...I worked for the City of Sugar Land and he was despised back then...but kept being put back in. Money talks.

You know between Barbara Bush and Delay their mouths just keep running.

People should think about living with NO privacy and with 8,000 others night and day, yeah thats what I'd like to do.

Bluebear 2 - forgot to mention Delay's nickname around here was Hot tub Delay for his antics in the hot tub with young ladies. Wonder if his bible got wet in the hot tub.

Oh and his resume was Pest Exterminator until he got into office. He is outspoken on the need for caps on lawsuits. But that was AFTER his family sued an elevator company when his dad got hurt.
The elevator was at their homestead going down an embankment, they had made changes to the elevator. The elevator didn't hold, the father was
hurt and lingered a few weeks. Got quite a settlement over $250,000 I believe.

Now think what you will about caps on lawsuits but don't collect and then tell me not too.

HCOCDR: Are you intelligent enough to realize that an attack on Bush IS NOT an attack on the troops? And are you intelligent enough to realize that supporting the troops DOES NOT IMPLY supporting Bush?

What are you there for? There's no WMD's, no links between Sadaam & Al Qaeda, no democracy (they're basing their constitution on the Koran).

Do you believe that American citizens should blindly follow our leaders and never question them?

Do you think that our leaders are infallible, and should never be questioned?

If you are a soldier in Iraq, I am as much an American citizen as you are. And I feel sorry for you, because Bush put you in harm's way on the basis of lies.

Bush has ruined the military, recruitment levels are at crisis level, and we cannot secure our own borders.

You will be fighting forever. You can continue to blindly follow your corrupt leader who put you in harm's way. But keep in mind, there's lots of soldiers and veterans who realize how corrupt the Bush administration is.

Long story short, you can't just say you're in Iraq, and expect your arguements to have more credibility.

You better pray you don't get killed (if you're really in Iraq). I feel sorry for you, because you're not fighting for my freedom. Sorry. And it's Bush's fault, not yours. That's what we mean by intelligent people can separate supporting the troops vs. supporting Bush.

Hitler told German citizens they were hurting the troops if they didn't support him. True? Following your logic, German citizens should've blindly supported Hitler and never questioned him.

The most dangerous thing citizens can do is to blindly support and never question their leaders.

Here's what I know:

"Brownie, you're doin' a heck of a (blow) job!"

Kira - welcome back, I was about to ask what had happened to you.

I'm sure it is quite a shock to come back and see all that is going on.

Texaslady, Delay sure is a piece of work. Or a list of other words I prefer not to use here!

I can't believe Arnie Boobengrabber is planning on running again with a 36% popularity rating. Must figure he can buy in again.

Oh I forgot he ran on a "No special interest money" platform.

Ended up being the highest paid by special interest govenor ever. Was even traveling the country last month raising money for a special election he wants to have. 60% of the people don't want to waste money on the election.

Hey, didn't 'ol Hot Tub also disconnect his father's life support? And then go on to become the ringleader of that circus over T Shrivo tragedy.

Nana, you are probably right ! We like Willi too !

Boy they need someone in charge in New Orleans, FEMA won't sign off for companies to begin picking up the bodies, bodies that have been in heat and water for over a week. Just heard it on CNN.

FEMA sent a specialist team from Houston home because they wouldn't sign off.

Now why does my suspicious mind wonder if a reason for this could be, left long enough bodies decompose and can't be counted. Good grief been listening to the Bush crowd too much.

Is this the start of another cover-up?

Fewer Bodies Than Expected Found in Sweeps

In conjunction with Texaslady's info at #48 it makes you wonder.

Bluebear 2

What happened to the bodies in the refrigerated trucks that we heard about a few days ago?

What happened to the 60- 70 people that died daily that doctors were reporting?

And if, they haven't started picking them up how do they know how many are out there?

Do I smell a cover up?

Hi Nana & Bluebear. Thanks for the nice welcome back! I don't know what I'd do without all of you here at Bradblog. I appreciate all the links, blogged articles and input more than you could ever know - & I really missed y'all, too.

I'm still playing catch-up. This whole situation is more than foul. It all stinks.

Someone has to look into the barge(s) which hit the levees and broke them. Stories are reporting that the city wasn't hurt so badly by the storm, but really flooded when the levees broke.

I wonder if there are any journalists who could look into that story.

Welcome back, Kira! We missed ya!

KRAIG - More to the point, it wasn't the "sale" of the idea of WMD's that was so important (I have since come to learn from very high sources) it was the fact that "imminent danger" was needed for a legal justification for the war. There are only certain criteria, apparently, which makes a war a legal one. And "spreading freedom and Democracy" ain't one of 'em.

MarkH, there were also some cellphone interviews (I can't find the link now) with some survivors who reported that they heard explosions and they maintained that the levee's were blown... the person interviewing the survivors said that at that point they were considering it a rumor, but talked to several people who claimed the same thing...

here's a link for that last comment:

http://www.laweekly.com/.../42/after-ehrenreich.php

and here:

http://www.boingboing.ne...atrina_rape_murder_.html

The amount of trolls here seems to be on the uptick. Why? How? Some rightie group must have issued an edict for folks to come here and post.

Righties, LOOK --- most of us, I would venture, have little problem with real conservatives. We have a problem with the fake conservatives, the cabal of "neo-cons" that have taken over America and maintain power through lying, fraud and intimidation. Just look at the deficits, at how much the government has expanded under Bush, at how much the government has intruded into individual's lives. This is not conservatism by a long shot.

We're all patriots here and love America. We can't stand an administration that just lies and lies and lies. And we'd have the same problem if it was Democrats doing the same thing. Most of us have a big problem with the beltway democrats, too, by the way, who suck from the same corporate teat as many of the neo-cons.

In some ways, we all want similar goals. We just don't swallow what the Bush regime regularly tries to foist on us, because it obvious bullshit. Just once I'd like to see Bush or any of his cronies do something that was not blatantly in their own self-interest, that was actually good for the American people. Just once I'd like to see a Bush program actually do what it purports to do and not be a subterfuge for gutting a program or hurting Americans. I call a spade a spade.

Yes a lot of truth here. The President of the US had the levee's in NO blown to kill some poor black people. Please keep those up.

""""MarkH, there were also some cellphone interviews (I can't find the link now) with some survivors who reported that they heard explosions and they maintained that the levee's were blown... the person interviewing the survivors said that at that point they were considering it a rumor, but talked to several people who claimed the same thing... """""

I see the good we are doing in Iraq each day unkike your CNN glasses you see it through. The people here want us here, they are turnning in the Takfiristst and you will see everyone voting Oct 15, Sunnie will control 3 or 4 Provances and will take part in the government. Unlike the example you use below. We took out the Hitler here, you cannot deny that!!!! Why would you not want the people here to vote for their leaders? Are you afraid of who they might pick? They have seen the good things we do here, the new schools, we have brought water where their was none, we have stopped the mass murder by the government, give the good people of Iraq a chance is all we ask, they will supprise you like they have us.

"""""Hitler told German citizens they were hurting the troops if they didn't support him. True? Following your logic, German citizens should've blindly supported Hitler and never questioned him""""

Welcome KIRA ,looking forward to your input again.
Sad times.

Don't forget rove,vote fraud and iraq with all thats happening in the Gulf. For instants...
Former UNSCOM investigator Rod Barton blows the lid on the UK and US governments sexed up the threat reports on Iraqs WMDs.

Bush even offered help with the vote count in Iraq ,bighearted sort of guy he is.
Diebold ,Triad etc. are "enemies of the state" but nobody has precision bombed them .Why is that ,Saddam was dangerous but not "a present danger" where as Diebold ,Triad etc. are ,even today.

Hcocdr,

I would say welcome to this site, since all individuals willing to discuss and explore issues are welcome. However, in reading some of your posts already, I'm not so sure! It's Dr. Levinson, by the way, not Dr. Livingston (of Stanley and Livingston fame).

I felt bad that you were banned from the conyersblog site since I felt that some of your typical rhetoric was claming down, and you seemed to be becomming more reasonable. But you've found a new place to spew, and if you continue to do so here, you might be banned again. You might be better off on sites like blogs4bush, where only the neocon prinicples are spouted. I have been banned from there so many times using so many names because my posts were against the grain. And you know me, I am usually very respectful and mellow in how I present my case. They will love you.

You tend to describe the rosy side of the picture and claim that we progressives see only the bad. Yet no one seems to have explanations for the death toll, the lack of hardware and armor for our troops, the 2, 3, or 4 tours that the "weekend warrior" has been forced to spend in Iraq...the failures of Hurricane Katrina, the economy poised on the brink of collapse due to unbelievable deficit spending, the failure of the administration to enact any self control, the failure of the administration to investigate itself as they continue to appoint republican puppets to head faux commissions, and on and on and on.

Rosy it is not. but you go ahead and tell us that all is correct. maybe if you say it enough, someone will believe you. But I think not. I think you should try blogs4bush. Over there you will be a hero. Over here you will never quite reach that status. Over here you will be considered just another Bush lackey who calls us libs and tells us we see the world wrong. Good luck to you in your travels.

Alan

I'm sending this to a dozen papers across the country!!

INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION
The enormity of the Katrina debacle provides clear examples of multitudes of failures that resulted in the death of potentially thousands of American citizens. Once the rescue and recovery is completed, substantial blame will be spread amongst Local, State and Federal officials for failure to plan, prepare, and act in a timely fashion. The so-called investigation into “what went right…and what went wrong” presents a perfect opportunity for problems to be elucidated and new procedures to be implemented hopefully before the next major catastrophe reaches our shores. This, of course, requires the willingness of the investigators to dispassionately point the finger of accountability towards those responsible.

The proposed investigation of mention will apparently be headed by none other than President Bush. This does appear odd to me since the results of such an investigation may point to failures on his part. Ask me if I am confident that this will occur, and I will have to answer “NO”. Mr. Bush has yet to acknowledge any mistakes in the nearly 6 years of his administration. This is curious in an ironic sort of way as new polls show that 59% of Americans find considerable areas of fault to regard his performance as Commander-In-Chief as poor. For the sake and safety of the American people, Mr. Bush should immediately remove himself from the head of a ‘self-investigatory’ committee (conflict of interest?) and call for an Independent Commission to investigate what transpired. With poll numbers this low, and citizen’s safety at stake, (not to mention his lame-duck status), wouldn’t we hope for a proper investigation without even the slightest suggestion of impropriety?

Dr. Alan H. Levinson

Hello again, Brad & MMIIXX! Thanks for the welcome home. I've spent most of the day trying to read everything I can about the mess in Louisiana. I found this excellent link to a wealth of information at www.yuricareport.com

Directory of a Disaster

The Questions: Did FEMA and the Bush Administration
Deliberately let New Orleans flood? Did they intentionally obstruct rescue operations?

Evidence from Past Performance: Over 45 Articles!

Don't miss one of the great journalistic investigations of the decade!

HCOCDR - Let's try again. If the Iraqi people were, after all, greeting us with flowers and candy (as was promised by Cheney) or if they could, in fact, pay for their own reconstruction from oil revenues (as promised by Wolfowitz), it would still not excuse a Presidential Administration (*any* Presidential Administration!) from lying our country (theoretically still a democratic republic) into a war, failing to support the troops while they're there (not enough supplies, armor etc.) or once they come home (closing VA hospitals, that we'll pray you won't need to use).

Get it yet?

P.S. I don't get my news on Iraq from CNN.
P.P.S. I hope you don't get *your* news on Iraq from Rush.

Somebody said
"...you can bet that we'll never be told how many died in New Orleans."

You got that right. Suddenly, miraculously! it's reported that the body count will probably be far lower than predicted. We believe this implicitly, of course, because it's coming from our "liberal media".

and btw, what exactly is Bill Maher smoking that he can say Roe vs Wade is dead & "they deserve it", "they" being the people who, in his mind, "voted it away" in 2004?
Apparently he is blissfully unaware of the little problem with election fraud we experienced last November. Maybe he's been too busy with his "clubbing buddy", Ann Coulter, to do any research on that?
One of his panelists on Real Time tonight was journalist James Glassman, who opined blithely that "we can afford" the $60 billion in relief funds. Oh really, Jim?
On top of obscene tax cuts for people who already have millions? on top of their promising to repeal the estate tax? on top of massive deficits? on top of the 8 or was it 9 billion they misplaced? on top of pouring billions more into their filthy war?
Hey, maybe he's right: there seemed to be no problem offering 25 million dollar bounties for this or that terrorist, no problem now offering thousands to try & entice kids to enlist...they've just got magical bottomless pockets, probably stocked directly from God!

Oh, and, apologies to Brad & WP & all the other ethical, boundlessly patient folks here who I deeply respect & admire, but Medium Right is an imbecile.

Hit it... right here, baby... do what ya wanna.

http://forums.craigslist.org/?ID=32602298

Yay! Kira's back! Looking forward to your sharing your thoughts with us again! Brad, you're a kind and patient man, in addition to being the finest radio star ever. HCOCDR, please listen to what the people here are saying - there's always hope for even the dimmest bulbs if they open their minds. One thing I know for sure is that, in the words of Vaclav Havel, "Love and truth will win out over hate and lies."

Hey, Joan (#66), I'm not just a "somebody". I'm a unirealist, thank you very much. And you're right, of course, that we CAN'T afford it. Already we are borrowing 2-3 BILLION A DAY, from other countries and our own future.

By the way, RLM (#14). What you say about the reconstruction costs buoying the markets would have been true a couple of decades ago. Not now, because the USA is already so fucking bankrupt that it can't even BORROW enough money to finance the illusion of power it hopes to project.

If you dig deeper, you will probably come to the same conclusion I have: that the ONLY reason the stock markets aren't collapsing is because the PPT (Plunge Protection Team) is supporting the equity markets with borrowed dollars. If you spend a bit of time on Kitco.com, you may find the effort worth it.

I am constantly mindboggled by the inability of babyboomers today to understand that their IRA's and pensions will NEVER materialize. I hope you are not one who suffers this delusion. I like you.

HCOCDR - #17 only this question for you, do you happen to work near jet fuel or chemical weapons, by any chance?

The following only for anyone reading your post tempted to believe much of it and/or that may not recognize schizophrenia when they see it, think it or speak it (resulting in hypocrisy). Not to be confused with Hippocrates - "There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter, ignorance."

A) The founding ideals of this nation bear no resemblance to present-day.

B) The U.S. would have to be 'infallable in faith and morals' to apply it's would-be 'nobler doctrines' justly. It isn't; it can't.

C) Patience is a virtue. And ICBM's are a luxury. I've always said 'spreading democracy' and 'ridding the world of Saddam' is not worth ONE American life. If he ever became an imminent threat, we would be justified (by world conventional wisdom) and capable of long-range missile strikes.

Note: If we have satellites that can read car license plates, I'm pretty sure we could figure out where serious threats were. Does anyone know of this rumored country, 'North Korea' I keep hearing about?...

Would a rogue state be one that acts only in its own self-interest? Is a dictator one who actively (or through negligence) causes the death of hundreds or thousands either in his own country or another (or both)? Someone who starves children or denies them proper education: Dictator, fascist, democrat or capitalist?

Just wondering.... No time for more, or to research where post #17 may have been plagiarized from!

Joan #66 - Saw Bill Maher's show as well..twice actually enjoyed it so much. Especially the last 5 minutes. HCOCDR really needed to see the last 5 minutes...all the "good" Bush has done for Americans in a capsule.

Did you notice tho, the Editor, can't remember her name, made the comment that women she spoke with, of the Republican persuasion argued that Rov vs Wade would never be overturned and thats why they voted for Bush. So thats why Bill said, they deserve what they get.

Just amazing how the religious right will determine what I want to do with my body but will send my kids off to die when they are 18. These are the same people who only care until the child is born but not in foster care.You know if it is a religious thing, let me worry about my soul.

The Jim Glassman debacle was something else, first he believes in the "trickle" down theory, give tax cuts and the poor will eventually get the benefit. Stress on eventually. But at least he says out loud, the Republican's are afraid there will be rioting and maybe break his door down and take some of his property.

Maybe not if we could all share in the economic pie.

Catch the show again if you can...Bill is truly incensed over the way the administration let people die....and yes it was a race thing.

Helicopters would have been in there on Tuesday if it were a white neighborhood.

As I said above, funny how the refrigerated morgues are no where around. And morticians are being sent home without helping. Snafu, no, cover up yes.

To #48 and #50 Texaslady and #49 BlueBear2:

I think you're right, I doubt FEMA will let us see really how many were killed and they'll expect us to "take their 'word' for it". No cameras now, they're saying because "the American people shouldn't have to see the gruesome images"... This reeks of a cover-up. The thought of all those peoples' dead bodies laying around bloating and decomposing in the sun for days and days reminds me of something I'm surprised no-one has brought up yet: Jonestown. Remember that? 17-18 November 1978 in Guyana? Remember how the government first tried to tell us that it was about 400 dead, then a couple days later said "it turned out to be 900" and literally claimed that the bodies of the other 500 previously unaccounted for were somehow laying underneath the other 400 and had remained obscured from view? I saw the footage, there weren't 400 bodies laying on top of another 500, the bodies also looked too neatly arranged with most everyone in the same position. Certainly the other 500 had tried to escape when they saw what was happening to the others (or maybe when they put the medical-type ID bracelets on them) and were killed in the jungle surrounding Jonestown, their bodies not being retreived and gathered up for a couple days. We still haven't heard a straight story as to what went down at Jonestown and the government records regarding it are still classified. Wonder why that might be?...

TexasLady,
I must fess up that I was watching Maher with only half-an-eye, the other being on the computer. I plan to catch the rerun tonight.
Yeah, I recall the woman panelist saying that; but my point is that (imho) bush received MOST of his "votes" in '04 from fraud, not from actual voters, whatever their beliefs about Roe vs Wade or anything else!

But you & I are on the same page, same side in this, so please don't take my bitching & whining personally. You and most of the regulars here certainly have my respect.
Ah loves y'all.

Joan, just to be clear: the exit polls showed a 5.5% discrepancy, which means in reality Bush got in the vicinity of 46%. That's still a lot an awful lot of sadly gullible Americans.

Brainwashed, Jim, for sure. We need to take the media back.