Cheney said Sunday on NBC's ``Meet the Press'' that since becoming vice president, ``I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years.''Prior to the asbestos claim problem Halliburton stock had a value of $45.00. The asbestos claim problem caused the stock to plummet to a low of $8.50. If the S. 1125 legislation passes ending Halliburton's asbestos problem there is every reason to believe that the stock will rebound to at least pre-asbestos claim value nearly doubling the value of Cheney's stock options. That is a clear financial benefit to Cheney who retains ownership while pledging the after tax dividend proceeds to charity.
Democrats pointed out that Cheney receives deferred compensation from Halliburton under an arrangement he made in 1998, and also retains stock options. He has pledged to give after-tax proceeds of the stock options to charity
Sep 29, 2003
Sens. to Propose Bill on Iraq Contracts
Two senators proposed Friday that an $87 billion spending bill for Iraq should require competition in most cases for lucrative reconstruction work. The proposal could curtail future controversies over a lack of competition, an issue that has enveloped Vice President Dick Cheney's former company.
Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said their amendment would require that funds would be spent on fully competitive contracts, unless the awarding agency notified Congress and explained - in the official Federal Register - why full competition was rejected. The amendment would do little to stop the controversy over Halliburton, run by Cheney before he became the vice presidential candidate in the year 2000.
The company's KBR subsidiary has received noncompetitive work worth $1.2 billion so far to restore Iraq's oil industry. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has increased KBR's work several times by adding to its oil mission
Iraq Deals Not Helping Halliburton Stock
Halliburton Co.'s business may be booming in Iraq thanks to reconstruction efforts, but the small profit margins there and lingering asbestos liabilities are a drag on the stock, analysts said. So far, the Houston company -- once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney -- has won $1.7 billion in Iraq-related contracts.
Halliburton's KBR engineering and construction division has been awarded a $705 million contract for oil field infrastructure repairs. It has also been awarded a Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) contract, estimated at over $900 million, to build base camps and provide logistical services like delivering mail and providing hot meals.
"The dollar values are huge," said Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who has reviewed the breakdown of the LOGCAP contract. But while the KBR unit is expected to win millions of dollars more in additional contracts, the stock has not outperformed the broader market. The shares, which surged in May after President Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq and said reconstruction of the nation was under way, are down nearly 4 percent since mid-June. The S&P 500 index is up slightly over the same period.
"While the dollar amount of the contracts is large, historically the profits off of them have been very small," said Jim Carroll, portfolio manager of the Loomis Sayles Value Fund which owns shares of Halliburton. "I don't know what the situation is in this particular contract, but I think investors have a fair amount of skepticism about hundreds of millions of dollars in profits."
ASBESTOS UNCERTAINTY
At the same time, Halliburton's asbestos liabilities have weighed down the stock.
The second-largest oilfield services company, behind Schlumberger Ltd., agreed late last year to a $4 billion cash-and-stock deal to settle 200,000 asbestos lawsuits. But since then, Halliburton has asked for and received extensions and last month said it needed even more time to document claims and file prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy plans for its DII Industries LLC unit and KBR.
The latest postponement came as the U.S. Congress debates a plan that would limit the impact of asbestos litigation on companies and would reduce Halliburton's asbestos costs by an estimated $3.5 billion. Wicklund said uncertainty is the top issue for the stock. "You don't know how much it's going to cost them, how much insurance is going to pay them back, when they're going to get it done," he said. "And until they get it done, there's the question if they'll get it done."
Two senators proposed Friday that an $87 billion spending bill for Iraq should require competition in most cases for lucrative reconstruction work. The proposal could curtail future controversies over a lack of competition, an issue that has enveloped Vice President Dick Cheney's former company.
Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said their amendment would require that funds would be spent on fully competitive contracts, unless the awarding agency notified Congress and explained - in the official Federal Register - why full competition was rejected. The amendment would do little to stop the controversy over Halliburton, run by Cheney before he became the vice presidential candidate in the year 2000.
The company's KBR subsidiary has received noncompetitive work worth $1.2 billion so far to restore Iraq's oil industry. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has increased KBR's work several times by adding to its oil mission
Iraq Deals Not Helping Halliburton Stock
Halliburton Co.'s
Halliburton's KBR engineering and construction division has been awarded a $705 million contract for oil field infrastructure repairs. It has also been awarded a Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) contract, estimated at over $900 million, to build base camps and provide logistical services like delivering mail and providing hot meals.
"The dollar values are huge," said Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who has reviewed the breakdown of the LOGCAP contract. But while the KBR unit is expected to win millions of dollars more in additional contracts, the stock has not outperformed the broader market. The shares, which surged in May after President Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq and said reconstruction of the nation was under way, are down nearly 4 percent since mid-June. The S&P 500 index is up slightly over the same period.
"While the dollar amount of the contracts is large, historically the profits off of them have been very small," said Jim Carroll, portfolio manager of the Loomis Sayles Value Fund which owns shares of Halliburton. "I don't know what the situation is in this particular contract, but I think investors have a fair amount of skepticism about hundreds of millions of dollars in profits."
ASBESTOS UNCERTAINTY
At the same time, Halliburton's asbestos liabilities have weighed down the stock.
The second-largest oilfield services company, behind Schlumberger Ltd.
The latest postponement came as the U.S. Congress debates a plan that would limit the impact of asbestos litigation on companies and would reduce Halliburton's asbestos costs by an estimated $3.5 billion. Wicklund said uncertainty is the top issue for the stock. "You don't know how much it's going to cost them, how much insurance is going to pay them back, when they're going to get it done," he said. "And until they get it done, there's the question if they'll get it done."
Sep 28, 2003
Follow if you will this twisted tale of special legislative relief tailored it would seem for the benefit of one specific company. A company already under fire for unsevered ties to the Vice President and preferential treatment in no-bid contracts in IRAQ.
Where does the Government of the United States end and the Corporation known as Halliburton begin? Corporations have always exerted great financial influence in Washington in the form of contributions to candidates and corporate interest lobbys have supported legislation that benefits their membership. But the current legislation known as S.1125 smacks of something quite different. It seems to be specifically beneficial to one particular corporation: HALLIBURTON.
First take a look at S.1125.IS (you must type S.1125.IS in the Bill Number Window)
Under Section 403 at the end of the bill you will find the following language:
SEC. 403. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS AND EXISTING CLAIMS.
(a) EFFECT ON FEDERAL AND STATE LAW- The provisions of this Act shall supersede any and all Federal and State laws insofar as they may relate to any asbestos claim filed under this Act.
(b) SUPERSEDING PROVISIONS-
(1) IN GENERAL- Any agreement, understanding, or undertaking by any person or affiliated group assigned to Tiers II through VI with respect to the treatment of any asbestos claim filed before the date of enactment of this Act that requires future performance by any party shall be superseded in its entirety by this Act.
(2) NO FORCE OR EFFECT- Any such agreement, understanding, or undertaking by any such person or affiliated group shall be of no force or effect, and no person shall have any rights or claims with respect to any of the foregoing.
(c) EXCLUSIVE REMEDY- The remedies provided under this Act shall be the exclusive remedy for any asbestos claim under any Federal or State law.
This means that this Senator Rick Santorum sponsored legislation will RETROACTIVELY superseed all settlements previously made between Halliburton and the 200,000 claimants Halliburton has agreed to compensate with an amount between 2.775 and 4 Billion Dollars:
Halliburton Reaches Agreement To Achieve Global Settlement of Asbestos ClaimsIf the S.1125 passes as is Halliburton's obligation to pay this 4 Billion dollars would disappear. Instead the corporation would be bound by the provisions of S.1125. Here is what Halliburton had to say about that:
Plan covers all present and future asbestos claims, fully and permanently resolving all personal injury asbestos liability.
Plan provides that Halliburton will retain 100% ownership of DII, KBR and all other subsidiaries.
Plan preserves rights of customers, employees, vendors and financial creditors -existing contracts and obligations will be honored and creditors will be paid in full under terms of their agreements.
Up to $2.775 billion in cash, 59.5 million Halliburton shares and notes with a net present value expected to be less than $100 million. (present value of Halliburton shares is $24.03 Sept. 29, 2003 market open)
Halliburton spokeswoman Wendy Hall said if the legislation passes before the company's settlement is finalized, Halliburton's asbestos claims would move to the national fund. The company says it doesn't know if it would save money that way."Halliburton doesn't know if it would save money that way" like we don't know if the Pope is a Catholic. Under this legislation the top contributors to the fund or Tier 1 contributors are bound to pay a percentage based on 2002 "Earnings" as reported to the SEC. Under Section 203 subsection (b) Corporations are to pay 1.5005 percent of the debtor's 2002 revenues in years 1 through 5 and declinging percentages of that amount for the next 27 years. It does not matter if the "settlement is finalized" or not. The legislation superseeds any financial settlement.
So let's take a look at Halliburtons 2002 Revenues to see what the 1.5005 percent will be:
Revenues in 2002 reported at 12,572Billion of mainly taxpayer dollars so 1.5005% is $188,642,860 for the first 5 years or $943,241,300 which is substantially less than the 2.775 Billion in cash and 59.5 million shares (value 1,431,570,000) proposed under the settlement agreement. After the first 5 years the yearly obligation drops to 169million a year for 3 years with declining amounts for the years that follow. So Halliburton is looking at at least a 3 Billion dollar advantage through this legislation over the next 5 years and to top it off Halliburton is substantially insured so effectively the company may pay nothing after collecting the insurance. At 1.5% and falling for 27 years the "loss" will be made up in insurance and 1.5% price increases. Just think how the 51 Republican Senators who have indicated approval of the legislation are salivating at the prospect of a major contributor having billions of extra dollars to spread around in campaign contributions.
Get the backup history here
Sep 27, 2003
Valerie Plame is back stalking Karl Rove.
Remember a definitive piece on the subject? Daily Kos is all over the CIA call for an investigation and John Dean at Findlaw finds the Valerie Plame 'outing' worse than Nixonian. Prometheus Speaks and Cal Pundit have more,
Picture by Jeremy Puma
Remember a definitive piece on the subject? Daily Kos is all over the CIA call for an investigation and John Dean at Findlaw finds the Valerie Plame 'outing' worse than Nixonian. Prometheus Speaks and Cal Pundit have more,
On July 14, Robert Novak's column carried the assertion that Wilson had been recruited for the mission at the instigation of his wife, Valerie Plame. That assertion was sourced to "two senior administration officials," and was accompanied by the unsourced assertion that "Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction." Neither assertion was central to the story, whose thrust was that the Wilson mission was so minor, and handled at such a low level within the CIA, that it never reached the people around the President who decided what would go into the State of the Union Address.From the Valerie Plame Affair by Mark A. R. Kleiman on Open Source Politics
Rove went a'courtin' and he did wrong oh ho
He sang to Novak a secret song oh ho
Rove started talkin just to fan the flame
He said the name of Ms. Valerie Plame oh ho
Mr. Wilson heard Rove and he got mad oh ho
Mr. Wilson knew Rove was very bad oh ho.
He broke the law when he opened his mouth
Frog march Karl Rove from the Bush White House oh ho
Rove got to talkin and he must pay oh ho
When he ran his mouth to Novak that day oh ho
Rove said "In the CIA is Valerie Plame."
Now Rove will have to go down in flames oh ho.
Picture by Jeremy Puma
Sep 26, 2003
Senator Lautenberg Says Halliburton and Cheney still have unsevered ties
A report by the Congressional Research Service undermines Vice President Dick Cheney's denial of a continuing relationship with Halliburton Co., the energy company he once led, Sen. Frank Lautenberg said Thursday. The report says a public official's unexercised stock options and deferred salary fall within the definition of "retained ties" to his former company.
Cheney said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that since becoming vice president, "I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years." Democrats pointed out that Cheney receives deferred compensation from Halliburton under an arrangement he made in 1998, and also retains stock options. He has pledged to give after-tax proceeds of the stock options to charity.
A report by the Congressional Research Service undermines Vice President Dick Cheney's denial of a continuing relationship with Halliburton Co., the energy company he once led, Sen. Frank Lautenberg said Thursday. The report says a public official's unexercised stock options and deferred salary fall within the definition of "retained ties" to his former company.
Cheney said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that since becoming vice president, "I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interest. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had, now, for over three years." Democrats pointed out that Cheney receives deferred compensation from Halliburton under an arrangement he made in 1998, and also retains stock options. He has pledged to give after-tax proceeds of the stock options to charity.
THOSE DARN TAX CUTS STILL ARE NOT DEEP ENOUGH GEORGIE!!!
134,000 Lost Jobs in August 'Mass Layoffs'
More U.S. workers lost their jobs in large layoffs in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday, another sign that employers are continuing to trim payrolls even as the economy strengthens. The BLS tracks what it calls "mass layoffs," or firings of more than 50 workers in a single month by a single employer, by compiling reports on initial claims for unemployment benefits filed with state agencies. The numbers include temporary and permanent firings.
In southern California, motion-picture industry employment is steadily eroding, said Bradley Kemp, a state labor analyst. Since May 1999, employment in that sector has fallen from 155,000 jobs in that region to about 114,200. Many jobs were moved to Canada and elsewhere as movie-production companies seek to work in areas with lower prevailing wages. Hey Ah-nuld?
Does Anybody Need an 80 Year Old Sex Change Doctor? With no Malpractice Insurance?
More U.S. workers lost their jobs in large layoffs in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday, another sign that employers are continuing to trim payrolls even as the economy strengthens. The BLS tracks what it calls "mass layoffs," or firings of more than 50 workers in a single month by a single employer, by compiling reports on initial claims for unemployment benefits filed with state agencies. The numbers include temporary and permanent firings.
In southern California, motion-picture industry employment is steadily eroding, said Bradley Kemp, a state labor analyst. Since May 1999, employment in that sector has fallen from 155,000 jobs in that region to about 114,200. Many jobs were moved to Canada and elsewhere as movie-production companies seek to work in areas with lower prevailing wages. Hey Ah-nuld?
Does Anybody Need an 80 Year Old Sex Change Doctor? With no Malpractice Insurance?
FAUX NEWS in Arabic? You knew they would find some way to funnel a few millions to Murdock.
In an attempt to compete with al-Jazeera and other Arab news channels, the Bush administration expects to start its own round-the-clock Arab-language satellite television network before year's end. An official announcement Thursday said the network will broadcast "accurate, timely and relevant news and information" about the Arab world and the United States. YO Right!!! Fair and Balanced too I bet.
In an attempt to compete with al-Jazeera and other Arab news channels, the Bush administration expects to start its own round-the-clock Arab-language satellite television network before year's end. An official announcement Thursday said the network will broadcast "accurate, timely and relevant news and information" about the Arab world and the United States. YO Right!!! Fair and Balanced too I bet.
CATBLOGGING Friday:
Long-Gone Microchipped Cat Finds Owner
Call it Ted's excellent adventure, with a high-tech twist: A cat with an ID microchip implanted under his skin was returned to his owner 10 years after he jumped out a window and vanished. Chris Inglis' sleek, black feline, Ted, was fitted with the chip back when the technology was still new in the early 1990s. But he was gone without a trace for a full decade before someone found him this week.If anyone out there in California sees Sissy drop me a line. Mandy misses her.
Ted - named for Keanu Reeves' character in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" - was brought to the Peninsula Humane Society's animal shelter, which tracked down Inglis despite outdated information on the chip. The cat was found about 13 miles south of where Inglis used to live in Burlingame. Where Ted spent all those years remains a mystery, but it appeared someone had been taking care of him.
When the pair reunited Wednesday, the cat "rubbed his face on my hand, climbed right up and started purring," Inglis said. "It's pretty monumental. It's almost surreal." Inglis remembers that one of the things he and Ted liked to do was cruise around in his car. On their way home from the shelter, Inglis said Ted "put his front paws on the dashboard," just like in the old days.
Sep 24, 2003
In case you were wondering why George W. Bush and friends are strongly pushing tort reform in class action lawsuits look no further than the case of mega-contributor Halliburton. How can a company contemplating bankruptcy for the past three years donate money to Republicans?
On Monday Halliburton began mailing yet another reorganization plan to participants with a plan to file Chapter 11 reorganization in November. This delay in payments on 200,000 claims for asbestos related injury is entering yet another phase. Is this reminiscent of the Exxon delays in paying settlements for the Valdeze spill? Will it go on for 14 years without a dime being paid until friendly judges can reduce the settlement to peanuts? Stay tuned for more amazing stories of Corporate weasels circumventing the law while benefiting from billions of your taxpayer dollars.
Halliburton/Units: To Mail Disclosure Statement 09-22-03
HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--Halliburton Co.'s (HAL) DII Industries Inc., Kellogg Brown & Root Inc. and other affected units began soliciting claimants in connection with its planned asbestos and silica settlement.Halliburton Abestos filings
Last December, Halliburton agreed to pay $4 billion in cash and stock to a trust that would pay current and future asbestos claims. As part of the settlement, the company agreed to put DII unit, including its Kellogg Brown & Root Inc. construction business, into bankruptcy proceedings.
In a press release Monday, the oilfield-services company said the disclosure statement, which incorporates and describes the plan of reorganization and trust distribution procedures, is being printed and mailed to asbestos and silica claimants for the purpose of soliciting votes to approve the plan of reorganization.
The company expects the mailing process will be completed in less than two weeks.
Remaining conditions to a Chapter 11 filing by the affected Halliburton units include completion of definitive financing arrangements, approval of the plan of reorganization by required creditors, including at least 75% of known present asbestos claimants, and Halliburton board approval. In July, Halliburton warned the cash required to fund the settlement may modestly exceed $2.78 billion, as a result of an increase in the estimated number of current asbestos claims. If this occurs, the company would need to reach an agreement with the claimant representatives to adjust the settlement matrices to reduce the overall amounts or increase the amounts the company would be willing to pay to resolve its asbestos and silica liabilities, resulting in an additional condition to a Chapter 11 filing. If all remaining conditions are timely satisfied, Halliburton anticipates that DII Industries, Kellogg Brown & Root and the other affected units would make the Chapter 11 filing in November.
The Anybody-but-Bush Pledge
We hold this truth to be self-evident:
Having George W. Bush as President has been and will continue to be a disaster.
We will not let our partisanship towards any particular candidate for President cause us to lose sight of this basic truth. As such, we pledge ourselves not to become enablers of any campaign designed to divide us in our struggle to remove Bush from power. We pledge that no more will we be:
Tools of those who would disrupt the Anybody-But-Bush movement.
Partisans who would rather bring down the other guy's candidate than find reason to elevate our own.
Dupes who will automatically assume that anything negative about the other guy's candidate is more likely to be true than the negative things said about our guy.
Fools who lose sight of the ultimate goal: the defeat of George W. Bush on November 2nd, 2004.
We will uphold this pledge to the best of our ability.
We will encourage others to do the same.
This we do solemnly swear.
Pledge originated at Interesting Times
Herein endorsed, agreed to and signed by
Barry Bozeman of Rush Limbaughtomy
We hold this truth to be self-evident:
Having George W. Bush as President has been and will continue to be a disaster.
We will not let our partisanship towards any particular candidate for President cause us to lose sight of this basic truth. As such, we pledge ourselves not to become enablers of any campaign designed to divide us in our struggle to remove Bush from power. We pledge that no more will we be:
Tools of those who would disrupt the Anybody-But-Bush movement.
Partisans who would rather bring down the other guy's candidate than find reason to elevate our own.
Dupes who will automatically assume that anything negative about the other guy's candidate is more likely to be true than the negative things said about our guy.
Fools who lose sight of the ultimate goal: the defeat of George W. Bush on November 2nd, 2004.
We will uphold this pledge to the best of our ability.
We will encourage others to do the same.
This we do solemnly swear.
Pledge originated at Interesting Times
Herein endorsed, agreed to and signed by
Barry Bozeman of Rush Limbaughtomy
A letter in the Kansas City Star. - is nothing sacred in Kansas!
Dear Blue Box:From AWOL BUSH
With great disappointment, I am returning the George W. Bush “action figure,” which you will find enclosed in this package. I am seeking a full refund for this defective toy for the following reasons:
• Despite its billing as an action figure to pair up with my GI Joes, it was obviously not made to be a soldier. Never mind the lack of any scar on its face. The bigger problem is that I cannot find any weapons of mass destruction anywhere in the box. Heck, I can't find any weapons at all!
• When I pull the string to make it talk, the results are muffled and unintelligible or make no sense at all. Is this supposed to be some kind of rotten joke on your customers?
• Every time I turn the doll upside down and shake it, white powder comes out. What's with that?
• Even worse, my GI Joe dolls don't seem to like this one at all, and I'm beginning to understand why:
All last week, during the grueling sandbox battles in my backyard between my GI Joes and the hideous armies of Grog, the GW Bush doll was missing. I thought it was lost for good. But then, after my GI Joes won the day and made the sandbox safe again, there the Bush doll was, front and center, looking splendid and unruffled in pristine army fatigues. Evidently it'd been playing dress-up all week with my sister's Ken doll but was right there to take the credit for the GI Joe's victory.
My GI Joes are all saying that the GW Bush doll is stealing money out of their pockets and giving it to my sister's Ken and Barbie dolls. I didn't believe this at first, but this afternoon I spied a nice, new dollhouse in my sister's room and now I'm thinking it must be so.
I'm certain you can understand my desire to return this toy to you. Your quality control supervisor must be asleep on the job. Frankly, I don't know why you even produced this doll in the first place. If you value your reputation at all, you will recall it immediately.
All this is terrible, but the worst part of all is that this is not the doll I originally ordered! I carefully filled out the order form, yet the toy I received was not the one I expected. I wonder how many other customers ended up with a different “action figure” than the one they requested. I hope the rumor that you cannot correct this error for two more years is untrue. Please either send me the action figure I ordered or refund my money. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sep 23, 2003
Orcinus has two entries that should be read by the serious political junkies
The first is Manipulating the Vote which updates and details from an interview with Bev Harris in Salon and includes more information from Maia at Failure is Impossible
Orcinus also introduces a new project "Manifestly Unfit: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush" that will be like "Rush, Newspeak and Fascism"
Another interesting read this morning is E. J. Dionne's "Anti- Bush Moderates" which delves into the misconceptions of Republicans about Dean and Clark. Democrats simply don't like Bush personally and that's beyond the idealogical differences.
The first is Manipulating the Vote which updates and details from an interview with Bev Harris in Salon and includes more information from Maia at Failure is Impossible
Orcinus also introduces a new project "Manifestly Unfit: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush" that will be like "Rush, Newspeak and Fascism"
As the title suggests, this project is an attempt to catalog the many disasters that have befallen the United States since George Bush's inauguration in January 2001, as well as to give a thorough assessment of his culpability in them. It will also catalog Bush's biography before the 2000 election and assess it in the light of the "character issue" raised throughout Clinton's presidency by Republicans; and it will compile the facts about Bush's behavior during the 2000 campaign, with an emphasis on the Florida debacle.If you have not yet been introduced to Orcinus this would be a great time to get to know his work.
Another interesting read this morning is E. J. Dionne's "Anti- Bush Moderates" which delves into the misconceptions of Republicans about Dean and Clark. Democrats simply don't like Bush personally and that's beyond the idealogical differences.
Latest Poll Results
It is good news that Bush's approval is down
and that less well known Democratic candidates now lead Bush in the polls.
But down the list are three questions that are more interesting:
The biggest shift in public opinion is on the question of the war being over:
16. Based on what you have heard or read about the events in Iraq over the past few weeks, do you think that for all intents and purposes, the war with Iraq is over, or not?
NOW Yes, over 10 No, not 89 No opinion 1
2003 May 5-7 Yes over 41 No, not 58 No opinion 1
This is a shift of 31 percentage points - so something is waking people up.
The next question shows another 8 percent shift and shows we still have lots of work to do.
17. Do you think Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11th terrorist attacks, or not?
Yes, was involved 43 No, was not 50 No opinion 7
2003 Mar 14-15 Yes, was involved 51 No, was not 41 No opionion 8
This trend also spells DOOM for Bush in 2004.
15. All in all, do you think the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over, or not?
2003 Sep 19-21 YES 50 NO 48
2003 Aug 25-26 YES 63 NO 35
2003 Jun 27-29 YES 56 NO 42
It is good news that Bush's approval is down
and that less well known Democratic candidates now lead Bush in the polls.
But down the list are three questions that are more interesting:
The biggest shift in public opinion is on the question of the war being over:
16. Based on what you have heard or read about the events in Iraq over the past few weeks, do you think that for all intents and purposes, the war with Iraq is over, or not?
NOW Yes, over 10 No, not 89 No opinion 1
2003 May 5-7 Yes over 41 No, not 58 No opinion 1
This is a shift of 31 percentage points - so something is waking people up.
The next question shows another 8 percent shift and shows we still have lots of work to do.
17. Do you think Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11th terrorist attacks, or not?
Yes, was involved 43 No, was not 50 No opinion 7
2003 Mar 14-15 Yes, was involved 51 No, was not 41 No opionion 8
This trend also spells DOOM for Bush in 2004.
15. All in all, do you think the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over, or not?
2003 Sep 19-21 YES 50 NO 48
2003 Aug 25-26 YES 63 NO 35
2003 Jun 27-29 YES 56 NO 42
Sep 22, 2003
Labor Day "Executive Excess" Report: CEOs Profit from Layoffs, Pension Shortfalls, and Tax Dodges
CEOs at companies with the largest layoffs, most underfunded pensions and biggest tax breaks were rewarded with bigger paychecks, according to a new report, “Executive Excess 2003: CEOs Win, Workers and Taxpayers Lose.”This is so disgusting I am left speechless.
Median CEO pay skyrocketed 44 percent from 2001 to 2002 at the 50 companies with the most announced layoffs in 2001, while overall CEO pay rose only 6 percent. These layoff leaders had median compensation of $5.1 million in 2002, compared with $3.7 million at the 365 large corporations surveyed by Business Week.
At the 30 companies with the greatest shortfall in their employees’ pension funds, CEOs made 59 percent more than the median CEO in Business Week's survey. The General Accounting Office has labeled the Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation, the federal agency that insures the nation’s private pensions, “high risk.” Meanwhile, many companies are protecting executives with guaranteed golden retirement packages.
The opening scene of “Rollover” begins with a long slow pan of the Great Blue Whale that hangs in the ceiling of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. The film then shifts to the World Trade Center with a long pan up the twin towers to a penthouse suite where a “Master of the Universe” sits at a large desk. A dark figure slips from behind a velvet curtain and blood appears on the desk and it's documents as the scene cuts back to a glitzy fundraiser taking place beneath the great blue whale in the museum. Kris Kristofferson then says to Jane Fonda as they gaze at the giant 100 ft long 150ton whale; “His size and strength must have given him the illusion of security.”
It is ironic that the murder took place in the WTC, the destruction of which has destroyed our “Illusion of Security”. The feelings of the thousands who traveled up those long elevators every day to work high above the streets of Manhattan must have included a sense of invincibility and security to be so far above the teeming streets below. The lesson we may never learn is that there is no such thing as absolute security and we chase the illusion at our peril.
FBI estimates 9-11 attacks cost perpetrators under $250,000.
Investigators have traced the funding for the Sept. 11 attacks to al-Queda accounts in Pakistan, Officials did little to clarify the Saudi role in the funding.
The FBI has estimated the Sept. 11 attacks cost between $175,000 and $250,000. That money, which paid for flight training, travel and other expenses, flowed to the hijackers through associates in Germany and the United Arab Emirates. Those associates reported to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who managed much of the planning for the attacks from Pakistan, U.S. officials said.16 dedicated Islamic Zealots with $200,000, some boxcutters, and 16 airline tickets brought down the World Trade Center and hit the Pentagon and killed 3000 people.
But that was only the beginning of what their actions have cost us Let's add it up:
1) A massive mobilization of military might in Afghanistan costing hundreds of millions a month.
2) A more massive mobilization of military might against IRAQ costing a billion dollars a WEEK.
3) The enactment of the Homeland Security Bill creating the biggest bureaucracy in recent history at a cost of billions.
4) The enactment of the Patriot Act that abridged more freedoms that any act in recent history.
5) The largest deficits in our history coupled with the massive tax cuts by this administration.
6) The removal of Saddam Hussein opening the possibility of an Islamic State
7) The weakened monarchy in Saudi Arabia and removal of our military presence opening the way to a potential overthrow and another Islamic State.
8) This funding news will do nothing to stabilize the relationship between Pakistan and the United States.
9) A brief period of worldwide sympathy and unity squandered rapidly by our leadership to become worldwide distrust.
10) The most bloated military budget in our history with the smallest army.
What an incredible return on an “investment” of a mere $200,000 and 16 lives.
The World Today:
1) North Korea is flexing a nuclear capability
2) China may be preparing to invade Taiwan
3) Iran is approaching nuclear capability
4) Liberia is a new drain on US military and financial resources
5) Afghanistan is requiring attention, manpower and money
6) Iraq is proving difficult to pacify and is draining 1 billion dollars a week. Soldiers are getting sick and reluctant to return.
7) We do not have enough troops to fully cover the current needs.
This administration and this pResident have left us dangerously overexposed and stretched too thin. The headlong dash into Iraq on false pretenses has opened us up to treachery at home and endangered allies abroad. North Korea and China are salivating at our exposure and our weakness. Our real security has never been more at risk than it is today primarily because of our exposure in Iraq - an exposure we suffer because of the deceit and duplicity of our present misleaders.
After all of the expense and effort chasing our illusion of security we fail to recognize the obvious. Only 16 men and $200,000 caused all of this terror and expense. It did not require weapons of mass destruction, or military training, or massive mobilization of forces. It required only boxcutters and airline tickets and a willingness to die. Could anything encourage Islamic Zealots more than this kind of success?
American's suffered through decades of security checks at airports that cost us billions of dollars and that did not stop 9/11 nor do we know if it ever stopped anything. We have spent 100's of billions since 9/11 on Homeland Security and a War of Terror and we have no reason to believe that 16 more men who are willing to die could not do it again. Blinded by our fear we have fed the greed of those who promise something no one can deliver but ourselves. The only freedom from terror is the refusal to be terrified.
NEXT: The only thing we have to fear.
RELATED LINKS:
The Liberal Oasis has the Sunday Bush Talk to keep the fear fire burning.
TBogg leads us to a very important related story.
The futility of the Flypaper Theory on Unqualified Offerings by way of Crooked Timber
Andrew Sullivan is among the few who take Flypaper as a serious way to keep terrorist away from the USA. Of course he bought the Elephant Repellant from the snake oil salesman. "Look it is working no terror attacks in 2 years and we only spent 300 billion dollars" "What a bargain for a few hundred American lives."
For more fakery and illusions try Reality Check
The Cosmic Iguana has one of the best raps on the War on Terrorism today
Sep 21, 2003
Hail Mary! Vols Win - up 4 spots in polls to Eighth
Sample the mornings Stories
BAD-ZOOK! VOLS WIN - In 11 seasons at Florida, Steve Spurrier's offense was dubbed the "Fun and Gun." After yesterday's appalling 24-10 loss to Tennessee, second-year coach Ron Zook's offense will be known as "Dumb and Dumber." New York Post
TENNESSEE 24, FLORIDA 10
A Shocking Catch Tips the Balance to Tennessee- At the end, Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen climbed gingerly into the east stands today at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and began directing the Volunteers' band in their school song, "Rocky Top." NEW YORK TIMES
Draining the Swamp Vols' TD deflates Florida - Before Tennessee could pound the rock on Saturday, a well-timed pebble had to fall from heaven. Memphis Commercial Appeal
Vols swamp Gators-- It was all a bit fuzzy. The expectations, all the hopes, a realistic season outlook. Were we to believe that this is the Florida Gator team that trounced the Miami Hurricanes through one half of football? Or the Florida Gators that blew a 23-point lead and lost that game? Orlando Sentinel
Prayer answered, Vols jump to early lead in SEC east --- Tennessee calls it "Dancer-All Out and All Go," and the Volunteers work on it every Thursday at the end of practice. There's only one problem with the Hail Mary pass designed for the last play of a half. "It never works in practice," said James Banks, the Tennessee wide receiver. "I've never seen it work anywhere." Atlanta Journal Constitution
Shot in the dark ends up shot in the arm Vols needed Tennessee's offensive playbook, it is called Dancer — All Go. It's a catchy name, but usually it ends up with no catch. It's more like Dancer — No Go. Those who have watched the Vols practice this fling and a prayer are painfully aware that it is little more than a shot in the dark, just a long incompletion on the way to the locker room. Tennessean
Fulmer: Don't give up on the Gators Don't tell Phillip Fulmer the Gators aren't a good team. He's not hearing it. Despite Florida's lack of a passing attack and struggles to stop Casey Clausen's big plays, the Tennessee coach said it's only a matter of time before Ron Zook's Gators make a big statement. Miami Herald
If Rush Limbo Mumbo Jumbo can foul the ESPN cable with his viscious blabber on NFL Countdown, Rush Limbaughtomy reserves the right to rant about the Big Orange. Once again dreams of Sugar Plums errr bowls dance in Vol fans heads and a trip to Miami in November looms large - followed by a trip to Atlanta and an SEC Championship rematch with LSU.
The Limbaughtomy's Top Ten
1- Tennessee - until somebody knocks em out the home team is always # one.
2- LSU - The undefeated of the SEC always get top billing from the rabid Vol fan.
3- Arkansas - see above
4- Miami - If you are on the schedule and undefeated you're next
5- Florida State - Hates the Gators as much as Vols do. (our pic for NC foe in New Orleans)
6- USC - Undefeated with a win over SEC foe Auburn
7- Oklahoma- Undefeated with a win over SEC foe Alabama
8- Oregon - Trashed Michigan and we like Ducks
9- Virginia Tech -
10- Georgia - A loss at LSU by 7 is better than beating Bowling Green at home by 7 (see Ohio State)
percolatin under the top 10 - Iowa, TCU, Marshall, Toledo, Northern Illinois, South Carolina,
BAD MONEY PIC OF THE DAY: Florida (-3½) over Tennessee: This game opened at two and has moved up steadily. It looks at first glance like a defensive struggle, but the Gators have too many weapons, led by a good passing game against the Vols' shaky pass defense. Don't see Casey Clausen coming from behind against this D, especially on the road. - don't bet the ranch with this dude Podesky.
Sample the mornings Stories
BAD-ZOOK! VOLS WIN - In 11 seasons at Florida, Steve Spurrier's offense was dubbed the "Fun and Gun." After yesterday's appalling 24-10 loss to Tennessee, second-year coach Ron Zook's offense will be known as "Dumb and Dumber." New York Post
TENNESSEE 24, FLORIDA 10
A Shocking Catch Tips the Balance to Tennessee- At the end, Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen climbed gingerly into the east stands today at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and began directing the Volunteers' band in their school song, "Rocky Top." NEW YORK TIMES
Draining the Swamp Vols' TD deflates Florida - Before Tennessee could pound the rock on Saturday, a well-timed pebble had to fall from heaven. Memphis Commercial Appeal
Vols swamp Gators-- It was all a bit fuzzy. The expectations, all the hopes, a realistic season outlook. Were we to believe that this is the Florida Gator team that trounced the Miami Hurricanes through one half of football? Or the Florida Gators that blew a 23-point lead and lost that game? Orlando Sentinel
Prayer answered, Vols jump to early lead in SEC east --- Tennessee calls it "Dancer-All Out and All Go," and the Volunteers work on it every Thursday at the end of practice. There's only one problem with the Hail Mary pass designed for the last play of a half. "It never works in practice," said James Banks, the Tennessee wide receiver. "I've never seen it work anywhere." Atlanta Journal Constitution
Shot in the dark ends up shot in the arm Vols needed Tennessee's offensive playbook, it is called Dancer — All Go. It's a catchy name, but usually it ends up with no catch. It's more like Dancer — No Go. Those who have watched the Vols practice this fling and a prayer are painfully aware that it is little more than a shot in the dark, just a long incompletion on the way to the locker room. Tennessean
Fulmer: Don't give up on the Gators Don't tell Phillip Fulmer the Gators aren't a good team. He's not hearing it. Despite Florida's lack of a passing attack and struggles to stop Casey Clausen's big plays, the Tennessee coach said it's only a matter of time before Ron Zook's Gators make a big statement. Miami Herald
If Rush Limbo Mumbo Jumbo can foul the ESPN cable with his viscious blabber on NFL Countdown, Rush Limbaughtomy reserves the right to rant about the Big Orange. Once again dreams of Sugar Plums errr bowls dance in Vol fans heads and a trip to Miami in November looms large - followed by a trip to Atlanta and an SEC Championship rematch with LSU.
The Limbaughtomy's Top Ten
1- Tennessee - until somebody knocks em out the home team is always # one.
2- LSU - The undefeated of the SEC always get top billing from the rabid Vol fan.
3- Arkansas - see above
4- Miami - If you are on the schedule and undefeated you're next
5- Florida State - Hates the Gators as much as Vols do. (our pic for NC foe in New Orleans)
6- USC - Undefeated with a win over SEC foe Auburn
7- Oklahoma- Undefeated with a win over SEC foe Alabama
8- Oregon - Trashed Michigan and we like Ducks
9- Virginia Tech -
10- Georgia - A loss at LSU by 7 is better than beating Bowling Green at home by 7 (see Ohio State)
percolatin under the top 10 - Iowa, TCU, Marshall, Toledo, Northern Illinois, South Carolina,
BAD MONEY PIC OF THE DAY: Florida (-3½) over Tennessee: This game opened at two and has moved up steadily. It looks at first glance like a defensive struggle, but the Gators have too many weapons, led by a good passing game against the Vols' shaky pass defense. Don't see Casey Clausen coming from behind against this D, especially on the road. - don't bet the ranch with this dude Podesky.
Sep 19, 2003
Liberal friendly Tailgate - of the RTB on Florida Friday for those who are not up for anything.
BJ and Bustin up for anything at the Big Orange Tailgate
BUGLY - considers the wisdom of certain statistics which could be enough to give BST "alien dreams" The better half of Jay and Jane discovers there truly is a Highway to Hell She should do more of the Ranting.
Paul at The Bully Pulpit and I agree that the rightwingnut glee over Dean in the lead should be encouraged. Dingbust of Davidson Co. plots the Clark- Dean 'strategery' (bushism) and see's no Dean/Clark Clark/Dean in our future. My Quiet Life has the opposite take on Clark & Dean.
Look no further than the Free Speech News for complete coverAGE of the 9-11 coverUP - a piece my favorite Granny, who is radioactive to Republicans, should like. While Jo the Dem Vet's reprise of John Prine's "SAM STONE" is more than worth the price of admission. Thanks for that Jo.
For a break from the current misadministrative disaster go play with the animals at hatamaran or visit Buddy Don the Wandering Hillbilly to learn about wimmin, and Opinari is always good for arcane information like " the discoverey of the world's oldest genitals". But Longmire's flash intro to the Flight of the Icarus is the best trip of all.
The original Tailgate's Titular Two-faced Top-dog proves he's insulting to liberals with this: Michael J. Totten does a different kind of dissecting as he Fisks, folds, spindles and mutilates Ted Rall's latest chickenscratching. And that's insulting to the chicken.... Anyone who would take Totten over Rall gives "liberal" a bad name and I knew all along that THAT was his aim. Mike Reed has a graphic representation of INN's 'illiberal musings' - look for the fecal plume under "whale fart". Barry (and I think I might change my name in disgust) is a liberal like Kevin at Lean Left and Kevin at OSP are "move on" Communists. That is enough reason to boycott that Barry's Tailgate and do my own. Unlike his anti-liberal thing, Long Pauses does liberal morality as it should be done. Inn of the last has more in common with self-important Half-Baked Freeper Houlihan who tried to milk a non-existent Al-Queda - Dyersburg suicide connection for all it wasn't worth.
Pathetic Earthlings will be hosting Carnival of the Vanities # 53 and he will disagree with the Philosophical Scriveners opinion on his State's recall.
I do resonate with Resonance's Another Day at the Front and Katie at Loco Parentis on the family Bush -- I don't with Rich Hailey's Clark Lied Apparently Rich failed to read any of the many posts debunking his Clark Lied story and instead bought the Rush Limbo Mumbo Jumbo/George sWill line - hook line and sinker. At least he is up front about his politics. Like gun loving Say Uncle who posts this odd anti-gun advertisment on the aim of the police, at least these guys stand up in the light. UPDATE: Rich has graciously updated his blog with the correct information. He is a man of honor I have always respected although we disagree on most things. A big tip of the hat to Rich Hailey.
Sick of Bush has so much great stuff that it is hard to select one. Bush 1 v Bush 2 - the kid should've paid attention to his daddy. The true RTB Blogfather SKB shows Bush in a truth revealing pose. Prescott would be proud. The other blogfather says of Isabel "category 2 storm - category 5 hype" hmmm sounds like some bloggers I know. But not Infozo the moron librarian who even has me talkin like a pirate. Thar she blows matey. Shiver me timbers. Even Mark at Laylines is starting to get it.
Clear your mind with a little ZEN from Sugarfused and then focus on the HATED GATORS.
From the Liberal LEFT of the RTB Rush Limbaughtomy reminds you that the only thing we have to fear is this disasterous pursuit of the Illusion of Security.
For more intelligent discussion of the State of the Nation and it's mis-leadership Mark A. R. Kleiman points to a great Eric Alterman piece on Commander "can't keep his story straight" Chickenhawk on 9-11. Further down the blog Mark throws his sizable hat into the ring on the side of General Clark who draws very different reactions across the political spectrum. I intend to maintain a neutrality until later in the campaign and to support all Democrats in their quest to unseat the pRetender in chief. I hope that the Gore/Kerry campaign staff doesn't make the General's campaign anti-Dean vs Anti-Bush. If they do they lose my support.
BUGLY - considers the wisdom of certain statistics which could be enough to give BST "alien dreams" The better half of Jay and Jane discovers there truly is a Highway to Hell She should do more of the Ranting.
Paul at The Bully Pulpit and I agree that the rightwingnut glee over Dean in the lead should be encouraged. Dingbust of Davidson Co. plots the Clark- Dean 'strategery' (bushism) and see's no Dean/Clark Clark/Dean in our future. My Quiet Life has the opposite take on Clark & Dean.
Look no further than the Free Speech News for complete coverAGE of the 9-11 coverUP - a piece my favorite Granny, who is radioactive to Republicans, should like. While Jo the Dem Vet's reprise of John Prine's "SAM STONE" is more than worth the price of admission. Thanks for that Jo.
For a break from the current misadministrative disaster go play with the animals at hatamaran or visit Buddy Don the Wandering Hillbilly to learn about wimmin, and Opinari is always good for arcane information like " the discoverey of the world's oldest genitals". But Longmire's flash intro to the Flight of the Icarus is the best trip of all.
The original Tailgate's Titular Two-faced Top-dog proves he's insulting to liberals with this: Michael J. Totten does a different kind of dissecting as he Fisks, folds, spindles and mutilates Ted Rall's latest chickenscratching. And that's insulting to the chicken.... Anyone who would take Totten over Rall gives "liberal" a bad name and I knew all along that THAT was his aim. Mike Reed has a graphic representation of INN's 'illiberal musings' - look for the fecal plume under "whale fart". Barry (and I think I might change my name in disgust) is a liberal like Kevin at Lean Left and Kevin at OSP are "move on" Communists. That is enough reason to boycott that Barry's Tailgate and do my own. Unlike his anti-liberal thing, Long Pauses does liberal morality as it should be done. Inn of the last has more in common with self-important Half-Baked Freeper Houlihan who tried to milk a non-existent Al-Queda - Dyersburg suicide connection for all it wasn't worth.
Pathetic Earthlings will be hosting Carnival of the Vanities # 53 and he will disagree with the Philosophical Scriveners opinion on his State's recall.
I do resonate with Resonance's Another Day at the Front and Katie at Loco Parentis on the family Bush -- I don't with Rich Hailey's Clark Lied Apparently Rich failed to read any of the many posts debunking his Clark Lied story and instead bought the Rush Limbo Mumbo Jumbo/George sWill line - hook line and sinker. At least he is up front about his politics. Like gun loving Say Uncle who posts this odd anti-gun advertisment on the aim of the police, at least these guys stand up in the light. UPDATE: Rich has graciously updated his blog with the correct information. He is a man of honor I have always respected although we disagree on most things. A big tip of the hat to Rich Hailey.
Sick of Bush has so much great stuff that it is hard to select one. Bush 1 v Bush 2 - the kid should've paid attention to his daddy. The true RTB Blogfather SKB shows Bush in a truth revealing pose. Prescott would be proud. The other blogfather says of Isabel "category 2 storm - category 5 hype" hmmm sounds like some bloggers I know. But not Infozo the moron librarian who even has me talkin like a pirate. Thar she blows matey. Shiver me timbers. Even Mark at Laylines is starting to get it.
Clear your mind with a little ZEN from Sugarfused and then focus on the HATED GATORS.
From the Liberal LEFT of the RTB Rush Limbaughtomy reminds you that the only thing we have to fear is this disasterous pursuit of the Illusion of Security.
For more intelligent discussion of the State of the Nation and it's mis-leadership Mark A. R. Kleiman points to a great Eric Alterman piece on Commander "can't keep his story straight" Chickenhawk on 9-11. Further down the blog Mark throws his sizable hat into the ring on the side of General Clark who draws very different reactions across the political spectrum. I intend to maintain a neutrality until later in the campaign and to support all Democrats in their quest to unseat the pRetender in chief. I hope that the Gore/Kerry campaign staff doesn't make the General's campaign anti-Dean vs Anti-Bush. If they do they lose my support.
Sep 18, 2003
A new leaf for the old Jim?
DOES ANYBODY REMEMBER THE 165,000 POOR FOOLS WHO SENT JIM AND TAMMY FAYE $1,000 EACH?
Well they got their settlement this week and it is hard to tell who is worse.
The Bakker's or the lawyers for the victims.
Out of the 165 Million Dollars they get back:
PTL Victims to Receive $6.54 Each
Lawyers take $2.5 million of $3.7 million settlement.
The 165,000 people who gave $1,000 to Jim Bakker's planned Heritage U.S.A. resort in return for promised four-day vacation stays will receive just $6.54 each.I guess they can be proud of their pierced and tattooed son Jay. Quite a change from his days on the PTL CLUB.
That's partly because attorneys will receive $2.5 million of the $3.7 million settlement fund (created by former PTL accountants years ago), under a July 24 order issued by U.S. District Judge Lacy Thornburg in Asheville, North Carolina. A claims administrator will receive $200,000 to track down people entitled to money. Had the victims been given the entire settlement, it would have amounted to only $22.42 each. Thomas T. Anderson and Associates, a California-based law firm, actually asked the judge for the entire settlement. The firm claimed it would be fruitless to search for all involved in the 16-year-old class action. Thornburg denied that request last year.
Bakker resigned from PTL in 1987 after admitting to an affair with a ministry secretary. He was convicted two years later of a wire- and mail-fraud scheme involving the sale of lifetime partnerships in Heritage U.S.A. in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Bakker was sentenced to 45 years in prison. A judge later cut his term to 18 years. He served 5 before being paroled in 1995. Bakker is on the air again with The Jim Bakker Show, which originates at the Studio City Café in Branson, Missouri. The show's first installment aired on January 2.
Sep 17, 2003
THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU WILL READ ABOUT IRAQ TODAY
from a soldier on active duty and a reporter who is on the scene.
The unfiltered unvarnished unspun truth about what American's are doing in Iraq.
For the past 6 months I have participated in what I believe to be the greatest modern lie: Operation Iraqi Freedom
by Tim Predmore on active duty with the 101st Airborne Division near Mosul, Iraq.
Secret slaughter by night, lies and blind eyes by day by Robert Fisk
from a soldier on active duty and a reporter who is on the scene.
The unfiltered unvarnished unspun truth about what American's are doing in Iraq.
For the past 6 months I have participated in what I believe to be the greatest modern lie: Operation Iraqi Freedom
by Tim Predmore on active duty with the 101st Airborne Division near Mosul, Iraq.
There is only one truth, and it is that Americans are dying. There are 10 to 14 attacks on our servicemen and -women daily in Iraq, and it would appear that there is no end in sight.
I once believed that I served for a cause: "to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States." Now I no longer believe that; I have lost my conviction, as well as my determination. I can no longer justify my service for what I believe to be half-truths and bold lies.
With age comes wisdom, and at 36 years old I am no longer so blindly led as to believe without question. From my arrival at Ft. Campbell, Ky., last November, talk of deployment was heard, and as that talk turned to actual preparation my heart sank and my doubts grew. My doubts have never faded; instead my resolve and commitment have.
My time is almost done, as well as that of many others with whom I serve. We have all faced death in Iraq without reason or justification. How many more must die? How many more tears must be shed before Americans awake and demand the return of the men and women whose job it is to protect them rather than their leader's interest?
Secret slaughter by night, lies and blind eyes by day by Robert Fisk
In the suburbs of Baghdad and the Sunni cities to the north the American military policy of 'recon-by-fire' and the breakdown of law and order is exacting a heavy toll on a war-torn people. In Baghdad, up to 70 corpses - of Iraqis killed by gunfire - are brought to the mortuaries each day. In Najaf, for example, the cemetery authorities record the arrival of the bodies of up to 20 victims of violence a day. Some of the dead were killed in family feuds, in looting, or revenge killings. Others have been gunned down by US troops at checkpoints or in the increasingly vicious "raids" carried out by American forces in the suburbs of Baghdad and the Sunni cities to the north. Only last week, reporters covering the killing of the Fallujah policemen were astonished to see badly wounded children suddenly arriving at the hospital, all shot - according to their families - by an American tank which had opened up at a palm grove outside the town. As usual, the occupation authorities had "no information" on the incident.
But if you count the Najaf dead as typical of just two or three other major cities, and if you add on the daily Baghdad death toll and multiply by seven, almost 1,000 Iraqi civilians are being killed every week - and that may well be a conservative figure. Somewhere in the cavernous marble halls of proconsul Paul Bremer's palace on the Tigris, someone must be calculating these awful statistics. But of course, the Americans are not telling us.
A GENERAL ENTERS THE FRAY Wesley Clark - the short story.
Thirty four years of service in the United States Army,
4-star general
NATO Supreme Allied Commander.
Commander in Chief of the United States European Command.
Commanded Operation Allied Force, NATO’s first major combat action
Commander in Chief of the United States Southern Command, Panama,
Director for Strategic Plans and Policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff
1966 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point
First in his class.
Master’s Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University
Rhodes Scholar.
Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Knighthoods from the British and Dutch
Commander of the French Legion of Honor.
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Commentator for CNN,
Author of the best-selling Waging Modern War: Bosnia, Kosovo, and
The Future of Combat
Licensed as an investment banker.
Managing Director – Merchant Banking of Stephens Group, Inc.
Chairman of Wesley K. Clark & Associates, a strategic advisory and consulting firm.
He and his wife Gert live in Little Rock, Arkansas
That is a serious resume' that spells big trouble for the misleaders who have destroyed our National Security.
Read Jay Bullock and John Williams stories on OSP
SALVADOR ALLENDE was killed in a US backed fascist coup in Chile on September 11, 1973. If I were Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson I would probably make the connection. Thirty years ago this month Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon in their imperial arrogance decided to replace a democratically elected President of a sovereign nation with a military fascist and brought down a 17 year reign of terror on a free people.
Would it not be cool if a "whirlwind" could be made to be politically selective.
This whirlwind Isabel now driving toward our nation's capitol could then be considered just deserts for the Republican Rightwingers who infest the place. Think of the irony involved in the name as 30 years later Allende's revenge through a whirlwind named for his famous author cousin would blow the progeny of American imperialism from D. C. to Hell or Texas from whence they came leaving only good Democrats to run the government.
Hurricane Isabel is on a path that could bring it ashore near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and north along the Chesapeake Bay near Washington D.C., through Virginia, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Isabel is the cousin of Salvadore Allende
Would it not be cool if a "whirlwind" could be made to be politically selective.
This whirlwind Isabel now driving toward our nation's capitol could then be considered just deserts for the Republican Rightwingers who infest the place. Think of the irony involved in the name as 30 years later Allende's revenge through a whirlwind named for his famous author cousin would blow the progeny of American imperialism from D. C. to Hell or Texas from whence they came leaving only good Democrats to run the government.
Hurricane Isabel is on a path that could bring it ashore near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and north along the Chesapeake Bay near Washington D.C., through Virginia, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Isabel is the cousin of Salvadore Allende
Sep 16, 2003
This document recently released from the White House confirms our opinion that oil may have play a role in the attack on IRAQ.
by way of President Moron
Pay them a visit
by way of President Moron
Pay them a visit
Sep 12, 2003
Go rent BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE if you can find a copy.
Bowling for Columbine flash movie
After 3 weeks of daily visits I was finally able to find one of the three copies of BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE on the shelf at my local Blockbuster .......... get the complete story at Open Source Politics
Sep 11, 2003
Remember how the World was with us 9-11-2001 visit:
WHEN WORDS FAIL US
A lot has happened in the two years since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. America's friendships throughout the world have been strained to the breaking point and it's too easy to feel as if we are isolated and alone. This site was revived because it's important to remember, no matter what has happened since, how the world shared our grief and wept with us on that day.
The face of the President of France and this Moscow Embassy scene are among many moving images on the site.
Open Source Politics has three "personal experience" posts on 9-11 that are worth reading
The face of the President of France and this Moscow Embassy scene are among many moving images on the site.
Open Source Politics has three "personal experience" posts on 9-11 that are worth reading
Sep 10, 2003
If this doen't crack you up you are way too stressed:
Bush the Bird tries one last time to crap all over our European friends
Final Bird.mpg
Sep 9, 2003
Leave No Child Behind has become a sad joke for anyone with the ability and the will to read except the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Is C student Bush so ignorant of the tempest surrounding his education statistics in Texas that he innocently bandies the “leave no child behind” BS about on his latest visit to Tennessee? Or is the man a twisted psychopath without any embarrassment or qualms of conscience?
Is the Texas Miracle now the fact that our misleader has gotten away with one of the biggest deceptions of all time? Would the former Governor of Texas have us believe that he and his staff found nothing worth investigating in the reports of ZERO dropout rates in school systems that only the year before reported up to 40% dropouts? Does he expect us to believe that this incredible shift in statistics was simply a matter of revising standards and regulating testing and measurement?
At a Nashville fund raiser yesterday ZERO Dropout Miracleman Bush collected 1.2 million Tennessee dollars for telling feckless Tennessee Republicans that he has a plan to improve education.
“I've heard every excuse in the book why not to measure," the president said. "My attitude is that in order to know, in order to diagnose a problem, you have to measure it in the first place. You cannot solve a problem until you measure it in the first place."Yeah right George just like you “measured” your “success” in Texas education on the basis of ZERO dropout data that any fool could see was impossible.
Our misleader is a man of so little conscience that he can appear in public and spout this bushshit without the slightest hint of embarrassment at what has been revealed in his home state. That behavior is clearly psychopathic. We are in deep deep trouble. With a misleader as willing to cut corners and cook books as this one who is surprised when cheating runs rampant in our schools from both the administration and the students. Read Mark Kleiman's No Child Left Behind for a clear thorough look at the Bush incentives.
Sep 8, 2003
Sep 7, 2003
"The agenda that I've got . . . has one thing in mind," the president said, "to make sure that people can find a job." Bush spoke against a television backdrop illustrated with the words "jobs" and "growth" in bold letters. And he outlined a six-point economic plan described in briefing materials as "a full agenda for the creation of jobs in America."
There were no new elements in the plan. There are measures currently before Congress to ease environmental restrictions on oil drilling, limit payouts in medical malpractice and class action suits, make temporary tax cuts permanent, and creation a sub-Cabinet position “Job Czar”. These are designed to please the corporate contributors to the Bush re-selection campaign and will do little to create jobs.
He credited his tax cut program with preventing a much deeper downturn. "Had we not taken action, this economy would have been in a deeper recession," Bush said. “Instead of hiring additional workers to meet rising demand, employers have been squeezing more productivity out of their existing staffs.”
“Economic growth will also cut the federal budget deficit in half”, Bush said. Although all sides agree that the Federal Reserve's policy of low interest rates probably did more to boost the economy than anything that came out of the White House.
Not counted in the unemployment rate were 1.7 million jobless people who were described as marginal or discouraged workers because they did not search for work in the past four weeks. The number of discouraged or marginal workers was 209,000 higher than August 2002.
U.S. Employers Shed 93,000 Jobs in August
The number of payroll jobs fell by another 93,000 last month, bringing the total job loss since January to almost 600,000, the Labor Department reported today.
Employers Slashed Jobs in August
U.S. employers cut jobs in August at the fastest pace since March.
Sep 5, 2003
This new Economic Policy Institute report by senior economist Jared Bernstein and EPI President Lawrence Mishel covers in great detail the worst hiring slump since the Great Depression. There is no issue of greater importance to workers in these United States in the battle for balance between owners and workers, management and labor, wealth and wages, haves and have-nots, individuals and the good of the community, and, yes, Republicans and Democrats.
In LABOR MARKET LEFT BEHIND the current data are analyzed and problems hidden behind the numbers are discussed. “For too many working families, the current recovery is indistinguishable from the recession,” Bernstein said. “Recent signals suggest growth will improve in the second half of the year, but even optimistic forecasts for unemployment hover around 6%. In other words, we’re looking at little if any improvement in unemployment for at least the rest of this year.”
Among the findings Bernstein and Mishel discuss are these:
How could it be that the nation’s economy is supposedly in recovery, yet the job market is much weaker now than when the recession ended? The explanation has something to do with the criteria used to determine when a recession ends, but the main point is that, although the economy is expanding, it is doing so at too slow a rate to lower unemployment quickly or to generate the needed job growth.
Over the past few years, the Bush Administration and Congress have passed numerous tax cuts purportedly intended to stimulate the weak economy and restart the engine of job creation that was delivering 241,000 jobs per month, on average, between 1995 and 2000, a stark contrast to an average loss of 93,000 jobs a month since March 2001. Thus far, these tax cuts have failed to lower unemployment, much less stimulate private sector job growth. In fact, hundreds of economists, including 10 Nobel laureates, argued that these cuts were poorly structured as a stimulus. George A. Akerlof Nobel Laureate in Economics is one of those ten.
OPEN SOURCE POLITICS has some great reading today. Part II of the Progressive Prescription continues Jeff Alworth's excellent essay on the history of Liberals V. Conservatives during the Reagan years. Lilith C. Devlin's LABOR DAY'S FORGOTTEN ONES remembers that over 150,000 Americans spent August in the sand but not on the beach or golfing in Texas. Jeremy Puma shows us the new face of unions in The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, and if you don't get enough of me here the Rush Limbaughtomy entry is Cooked with Gas and Boiled in Oil
In LABOR MARKET LEFT BEHIND the current data are analyzed and problems hidden behind the numbers are discussed. “For too many working families, the current recovery is indistinguishable from the recession,” Bernstein said. “Recent signals suggest growth will improve in the second half of the year, but even optimistic forecasts for unemployment hover around 6%. In other words, we’re looking at little if any improvement in unemployment for at least the rest of this year.”
Among the findings Bernstein and Mishel discuss are these:
1) In terms of employment growth, the current recovery is the worst on record since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking employment in 1939. Employment is down over one million since the recovery began. Adding in the job losses from the actual recession, payrolls are down by 2.7 million overall—3.2 million in the private sector—making this the worst hiring slump since the Great Depression.Although the recent recession was officially declared over as of November 2001, on Labor Day 2003 the job market remains decidedly weak. Unemployment is high and, instead of coming down in the nascent recovery, it has climbed from 5.6% at the recession’s end to 6.2% in July 2003 (the most recent data available). Tracking the nation’s payrolls reveals the worst hiring slump since the Great Depression. And the weak labor market is not just a problem for those without jobs—wages have been growing more slowly for most workers and even falling in real terms for some.
2) Even if predictions of stronger growth in the second half of 2003 prove accurate, unemployment will stay near 6% through most of 2004.
3) During this recovery, unemployment has risen 0.6 percentage points overall and 1.3 points among African Americans.
4) Real wages of the typical (median-wage) worker, which grew about 2% more than inflation through 2001, stopped growing entirely in 2002.
5) This is only the second recovery since World War II in which unemployment has not yet started to fall this many months into recovery.
6) Employment opportunities have declined more for college graduates than for high school dropouts.
7) Underemployed workers – those working fewer hours that they want to or in a job for which they are overqualified – reached double digits (10.2%) in July 2003.
How could it be that the nation’s economy is supposedly in recovery, yet the job market is much weaker now than when the recession ended? The explanation has something to do with the criteria used to determine when a recession ends, but the main point is that, although the economy is expanding, it is doing so at too slow a rate to lower unemployment quickly or to generate the needed job growth.
Over the past few years, the Bush Administration and Congress have passed numerous tax cuts purportedly intended to stimulate the weak economy and restart the engine of job creation that was delivering 241,000 jobs per month, on average, between 1995 and 2000, a stark contrast to an average loss of 93,000 jobs a month since March 2001. Thus far, these tax cuts have failed to lower unemployment, much less stimulate private sector job growth. In fact, hundreds of economists, including 10 Nobel laureates, argued that these cuts were poorly structured as a stimulus. George A. Akerlof Nobel Laureate in Economics is one of those ten.
OPEN SOURCE POLITICS has some great reading today. Part II of the Progressive Prescription continues Jeff Alworth's excellent essay on the history of Liberals V. Conservatives during the Reagan years. Lilith C. Devlin's LABOR DAY'S FORGOTTEN ONES remembers that over 150,000 Americans spent August in the sand but not on the beach or golfing in Texas. Jeremy Puma shows us the new face of unions in The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, and if you don't get enough of me here the Rush Limbaughtomy entry is Cooked with Gas and Boiled in Oil
Sep 3, 2003
On the occassion when I can stomach a little "cable nuze" I let CNN do the background as I work. Today's fare was surreal in it's own right without the fact that soldiers are dying, Iraq is in chaos, the oil companies are ripping us off, and Halliburton is picking our pockets yet CNN ignors it in favor of this compelling fare.
First we have Tucker Carlson unearthing the political leanings of Ms. Britney Spears in an enlightening interview about her "FAMOUS KISS" with Madonna at the MTV music awards. This stellar Carlson performance rivaled the work of Barbara Walters. There was Tucker eyes wide watching Ms Spears try to talk through a massive wad of Hubba Bubba. Between lip smacks the 21 going on 13yearold said Madonna was the only woman she ever kissed. Tucker sensing a scoop asked the politically astute songbird if she held the same views on the war as the Dixie Chicks. "we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens." (smack, smack, smile) she opined. "We should trust our Presidents to do what is best." Tucker sensing a Conservative entertainment coup asked: "And do you trust this President?" "Yes, yes I do." Later Ms Spears indicated she wanted to live in England because life is simple there. "They still have milkmen who deliver milk right to your door" she sighed "I like that." One is left to wonder if America will suffer a talent gap with Europe after losing both Spears and Johnny Depp to Europe in one afternoon.
On the opposite side of the spectrum is (or was) Paul Hill who went to his reward today at Stark Penetentiary in Florida on the signed order of Jeb Bush. We know the brothers Bush have no qualms about signing the death warrents of inmates, but Paul Hill must have given Pro Life supporter Jeb a moment's pause given the flack he is enduring from the Army of God. Presbyterian Minister Hill is a "True American Hero" to the Army of God and his final words in a television interview in which he expressed no remorse were "I believe in the short and long term, more and more people will act on the principles for which I started." (Hill was understandably nervous) Hill told reporters that he is a martyr in the anti-abortion cause and hoped his death would inspire more clinic attacks. This Pro-Life plea for more death from the soon to be dead will find no shortage of nut cases to heed the call for Abortionist Jihad. "Abortion doctors commit premeditated, cold-blooded murder 10 or 20 times a day,'' said the Rev. David Trosch, a Catholic priest from Mobile, Ala. "What Paul Hill did was absolutely justified. It was not murder. It was taking the life of a murderer who intended to commit further murders.'' Jesus wept as another Minister opined that Hill was now sitting with the Saints and Angels on the right hand of God.
In the end these two have only one thing in common - both are supporters of the Republican Right. At least Hill was before conviction lost him the right to vote and Spears is when she is not in England. I guess that made it easier for Jeb to sign that execution order. It was a good day to be a Democrat in support of the right to choose.
OPEN SOURCE POLITICS a metablog of progressive thought is now available for your reading pleasure. Today's edition features posts on a variety of subjects from a wide variety of authors. Be sure to visit and see the result of some very hard work by a wonderful group. Today Allen Brill of THE RIGHT CHRISTIANS leads with a visit to the John Kerry Campaign Kickoff in South Carolina Kevin Hayden charts the Jobkilla the Hut on his latest of many Ohio trips trying to save his own job while pretending to care about Ohioans. Lilith C. Devlin thinks Someone to Watch Over Me is way off key in this mis-administration. Jeff Alworth's Progressive Prescription reminds us that LIBERAL is not a four letter word and this is only Part 1.
The Rush Limbaughtomy contribution for today can be found with the Worst Hiring Slump Since the Great Depression Mark Kleiman's piece on the Valerie Plame Affair is incendiary. Heed the Call to Arms by Kenneth Quinnell and State of the Union by Paul Heller and get Trapped by Laura Poyneer while Reclaiming Labor Day with Joe Flaherty
JOHN KERRY SHAKES HAND OF SENATOR MAX CLELAND
The launch of Senator Kerry's Campaign with it's soldier/statesman theme in South Carolina was a welcome site yesterday. Regardless of the primary outcome his strong voice in opposition to AWOL Dubya Dumpjobs is a welcome relief. This writer is torn at this time between Kerry, Dean, and Kucinich, and a desire to see Al Gore in the White House. Rush Limbaughtomy will fence straddle until the saddle sores are too many to bear. There is support here for the "anybody but Bonzo the Chimp" campaign. Kerry made a very positive opening yesterday. All Democrats and Bush-Booters should be very happy about that. This fine man is a real warrior and veteran who puts Capt. Codpiece 'Bring em On' Chickenhawk - Air Warrior Of Legend in true perspective.
The Rush Limbaughtomy contribution for today can be found with the Worst Hiring Slump Since the Great Depression Mark Kleiman's piece on the Valerie Plame Affair is incendiary. Heed the Call to Arms by Kenneth Quinnell and State of the Union by Paul Heller and get Trapped by Laura Poyneer while Reclaiming Labor Day with Joe Flaherty
The launch of Senator Kerry's Campaign with it's soldier/statesman theme in South Carolina was a welcome site yesterday. Regardless of the primary outcome his strong voice in opposition to AWOL Dubya Dumpjobs is a welcome relief. This writer is torn at this time between Kerry, Dean, and Kucinich, and a desire to see Al Gore in the White House. Rush Limbaughtomy will fence straddle until the saddle sores are too many to bear. There is support here for the "anybody but Bonzo the Chimp" campaign. Kerry made a very positive opening yesterday. All Democrats and Bush-Booters should be very happy about that. This fine man is a real warrior and veteran who puts Capt. Codpiece 'Bring em On' Chickenhawk - Air Warrior Of Legend in true perspective.
Sep 2, 2003
OPEN SOURCE POLITICS a metablog of progressive thought is now available for your reading pleasure.
SouthKnoxBubba featured a typically entertaining yet unusually caustic post on IRAQ and ROLL - and the attention deficit disorder of the so-called media.
SICK OF BUSH is sick of Bill O'reilly and catches him in another 'whopper of the week'. We agree with SOB - Stick a sock in it Bill.
LEAN LEFT puts the heat on what's hot - all that hot air from O'Reilly, the Press, and the White House may have much to do with the latest global warming report.
RESONANCE and GRANNY RANT both boost the BAGHDAD BURNING bit on BUILDING BRIDGES ballyhooed in Bubba's rant.
DEMOCRATIC VETERAN is on the trail of the totals of wounded in smirky the play pReznit's mission accomplished. He finds the number at 10 a day but you really have to look
LONG PAUSES fullfills an obligation for all RTB East members in his post on the first of 13 Volunteer Victories on the way to the Sugar Bowl and NC 3 in 2003!
TREASON ONLINE fans the flame of the widely spread rumour that Annthrax Coulter is a burning bush - this event is noted by the Peoples Republic of Seabrook and Newsweek Online.
TO THE BARRICADES! Labor Day post suggests a more appropriate name "Corporate Profits Day"
FANATICAL APATHY congratulates the USA workforce as "The most productive in the World" and that must count for something? Right?
Something is terribly wrong in the White House. Something far more twisted and un-natural than interns and cigars. This country is going to the dogs from the top down. Puppy McScrewed-the-pooch is obviously in love. Is Barney a Bitch or is the pReznt involved in a Dog on Man relationship? Where is Senator Santorum? Is Laura in the doghouse? Has Barney raised a leg on the head Bush? Stay tuned as this canine scandal sheds all over the place.Labor Day Weekend update:
SouthKnoxBubba featured a typically entertaining yet unusually caustic post on IRAQ and ROLL - and the attention deficit disorder of the so-called media.
SICK OF BUSH is sick of Bill O'reilly and catches him in another 'whopper of the week'. We agree with SOB - Stick a sock in it Bill.
LEAN LEFT puts the heat on what's hot - all that hot air from O'Reilly, the Press, and the White House may have much to do with the latest global warming report.
RESONANCE and GRANNY RANT both boost the BAGHDAD BURNING bit on BUILDING BRIDGES ballyhooed in Bubba's rant.
DEMOCRATIC VETERAN is on the trail of the totals of wounded in smirky the play pReznit's mission accomplished. He finds the number at 10 a day but you really have to look
LONG PAUSES fullfills an obligation for all RTB East members in his post on the first of 13 Volunteer Victories on the way to the Sugar Bowl and NC 3 in 2003!
TREASON ONLINE fans the flame of the widely spread rumour that Annthrax Coulter is a burning bush - this event is noted by the Peoples Republic of Seabrook and Newsweek Online.
TO THE BARRICADES! Labor Day post suggests a more appropriate name "Corporate Profits Day"
FANATICAL APATHY congratulates the USA workforce as "The most productive in the World" and that must count for something? Right?
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