ThinkingLiberal

Come In Katherine Harris - Your Time Is Up

In case you don't remember Katherine Harris, she's the oh-so-incorruptible-and-perfectly-even-handed woman who oversaw Florida's disastrous election in 2000. Her tactics won her friends in high places, even if they disenfranchised thousands of voters, and those friends convinced her to run for the Senate this November.

Unfortunately for Katherine Harris, she turns out not to be so incorruptible after all. And she's stupid.

She's under fire for her association with a corrupt defense contractor who gave her $32,000 in illegal campaign contributions. Her campaign staff are leaving in droves. (Believe it or not, I'm quoting Fox News here.) And apparently even Jeb Bush now thinks that she can't win the seat.

Harris needed a pick-me-up... and this was her effort:

In a little-known publication called The Florida Baptist Witness, Harris (remember, she's stupid) is quoted as saying "Separation of church and state is a lie we have been told." She goes on to say that separating religion and politics is "wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers."

And there was me all the while thinking that the voters chose our rulers... I guess this explains Florida 2000.

This is all very well, but Harris (who is stupid) felt the need to continue with this classic line: "If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin."

Ah. There we have the crux of the matter. Christians are the only people who deserve to be in government. And God picked George Bush. (You'd have thought that God could do better, frankly.)

Needless to say, now it's Harris who's being crucified for her comments. Even religious Republicans are turning their back on her, proclaiming that she doesn't represent their values. Ruby Brooks, a veteran Tampa Bay Republican activist, said Harris's remarks "were offensive to me as a Christian and a Republican."

Anyhoo, just another chapter in the Republican Party's increasingly extremist and fundamentalist manifesto. It'll be nice to see a Democrat take Florida this time.

Oh, by the way, in case I didn't mention it - Katherine Harris is stupid. This is not an insult - this is a fact. Only stupid people would give their critics so much good material.

1998: The Iraqi Invasion Was Already Underway

In 1998, people like Donald Rumsfeld, Libby Lewis, Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney, Jeb Bush and other high-profile Bush administration appointees wrote a letter to then-President Clinton. (Cheney's name no longer appears on that letter on the group's website, although it has not been redacted in others.)

In it, they called for military action against Iraq and the removal of Saddam Hussein from power.

"The only acceptable strategy is one that eliminates the possibility that Iraq will be able to use or threaten to use weapons of mass destruction. In the near term, this means a willingness to undertake military action as diplomacy is clearly failing. In the long term, it means removing Saddam Hussein and his regime from power. That now needs to become the aim of American foreign policy." - from the letter to Clinton, Jan 26th 1998.

They continued: "We urge you to articulate this aim, and to turn your Administration's attention to implementing a strategy for removing Saddam's regime from power. This will require a full complement of diplomatic, political and military efforts. We believe the U.S. has the authority under existing UN resolutions to take the necessary steps, including military steps, to protect our vital interests in the Gulf. In any case, American policy cannot continue to be crippled by a misguided insistence on unanimity in the UN Security Council."

These men were members of a neo-conservative think-tank called the Project for the New American Century. Their stated goals:

• We need to increase defense spending significantly if we are to carry out our global responsibilities today and modernize our armed forces for the future.

• We need to strengthen our ties to democratic allies and to challenge regimes hostile to our interests and value.

• We need to promote the cause of political and economic freedom abroad.

Essentially the doctrine described a world in which the USA was both moral guardian and military enforcer. Our 'values', or at least those espoused by the neo-cons, were to be promoted through political, economic and military means around the world.

Now in 1998, none of this seemed remotely likely to happen. Although Clinton failed miserably in Africa, and was too late to prevent the genocide in Serbia, most other foreign policy was successful. Economically Americans were enjoying the most prosperous time in decades. The deficit had been eliminated. In other words, America was looking pretty good.

The idea of nation-building abroad did not occur to Clinton. Exporting democracy was not his prime concern. But the neo-cons plotted and developed their policies. In September 2000, their document 'Rebuilding America's Defenses' was published, complete with the now-famous quote "the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one - absent some catalyzing and catastrophic event, like a new Pearl Harbor."

The response of our government to 9/11 - which, by September 2001 included most of the signatories of these documents - was to immediately wage war against Iraq, despite no evidence to suggest that Iraq was behind, or even involved in the WTC plot. The neo-cons delivered on their promise to remove Hussein from power, hiding behind the 'catastrophic event' that they needed in order to justify their actions.

History however is not on their side. There were no WMD's, there was no link between Iraq and the Saudi suicide bombers, and the democracy they hoped to export has been a miserable failure.

None of this is news. It's written here as a reminder that the neo-conservative Bush administration deliberately and wilfully lied over and over again to secure support for an Iraq war that they had been plotting for at least three years prior to the actual invasion.

The war has cost us well over $300 billion (that's enough to virtually eliminate homelessness in this country) as well as 2500 American lives and countless thousands of Iraqi lives.

If this doesn't make you angry, I don't know what will.

For more scary information on the Project for the New American Century visit their website here.

George Bush: Please Don't Impeach Me

The Washington Post is to report that Bush and his cronies are seeking ways to exempt themselves from prosecution for War Crimes.

In essence, the administration’s proposals would allow CIA operatives, military interrogators and the politicians who approve their actions to break many of the articles of the Geneva Conventions without fear of reprisal.

Practices such as the ritual humiliation of prisoners would be allowed under the new guidelines, even though they are clearly defined in the Conventions as ‘outrages against human dignity’.

Apparently Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told a Senate Committee last week the language of the Geneva Conventions was “too vague” and needed to be better defined by Congress.

The inescapable conclusion that we face here is that Bush and the neo-cons consider themselves above and beyond the law. They are obviously prepared to flout the international standards for the humane consideration of prisoners, and even when the Supreme Court rules that Bush must abide by the law, he simply rewrites it.

How many times must this country’s name be dragged through the mud by these people? How many times must we stand by and watch as our Commander-In-Chief lowers our standards until we are no better than the people with whom we are doing battle?

Torture and pseudo-torture are wrong. It is wrong in every way. And it is clear that Bush knows this, which is why he’s running scared of impeachment for War Crimes. If the Democrats win in November, and he hasn’t already managed to worm his way out of this one, I hope they have the guts to impeach the bastard.

Knowing the Dems though, they’ll probably give him a medal for his service and a nice pat on the head.

Waiting To Get Blown Up: How Our Troops Really Feel

There is very little I can add to this article. But I can try and encourage you to read it.

The reporter is in Baghdad with American troops. They tell a story for once untainted by the whitewashing that Fox News does - it reveals scared, lonely, miserable soldiers who do not believe that what they're doing matters, or is having any effect.

If you truly believe in supporting our troops, as so many of you say on the backs of your oil-guzzling SUV's, it might change your mind as to what supporting the troops really means. Because if this is how they feel, then the only way to support them is to get them out of the hellhole that they're in now.

Here are a couple of direct quotes from American soldiers. Whatever your position on the political spectrum, I believe this article is worth reading.

"Think of what you hate most about your job. Then think of doing what you hate most for five straight hours, every single day, sometimes twice a day, in 120-degree heat. Then ask how morale is."

"It sucks. Honestly, it just feels like we're driving around waiting to get blown up. That's the most honest answer I could give you. You lose a couple friends and it gets hard."

"No one wants to be here, you know, no one is truly enthused about what we do."

" [I wish] somebody would explain to us, 'Hey, this is what we're working for.' " With a stream of expletives, he said he could not care less "if Iraq's free" or "if they're a democracy."

UPDATE: Donald "Never Been In The Military" Rumsfeld has ordered 4,000 soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team to stay an extra 4 months in Iraq beyond the year they've already spent there.

UPDATE: He is also hoping to move an extra 5,000 troops to Iraq. They will be deployed in Baghdad.

George Is Anything But Pro-Life

George Bush’s hypocrisy knows few bounds.

With the same signature that condemned over 135 people to death in Texas, he vetoed a bill that would have allowed Federal funding for new stem cell research.

His reasoning? “It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect," he said. And then, in a moment of supreme arrogance, “I’m not going to allow it.”

Remember, the embryos in question are not farmed or harvested. They are going to be destroyed, whether stem cells are extracted from them or not. So there is no moral quandary here – Bush is simply attempting to create one to appeal to his ultra right-wing supporters.

75% of Americans are in favor of stem cell research. Both the House and the Senate voted the bill through. But George Bush is “not going to allow it.” Once again, the hypocrite’s posturing damages the people he claims to represent.

Bush claims to be pro-life, yet he signed off on the killing of 135 people as Governor of Texas. He claims to be pro-life, yet he won’t allow scientists to research cures for diseases. He claims to be pro-life, but 14,388 innocent Iraqi’s and hundreds of American troops have died as a direct result of his lies, just in the last six months.

George Bush isn’t pro-life; he’s just pro-George Bush.

George Bush vs. The Ten Commandments

George Bush claims to be a Christian. In fact, a great deal of his appeal (such as it is) has been based on his so-called values. But how does George fare against his religion’s rules? I took the Ten Commandments, and analyzed George’s performance against them. Unsurprisingly, the results were not particularly impressive.

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

Actually, Bush had at least one god before God: alcohol. Bush in fact only converted to Christianity when he finally dropped the bottle in his forties and conceded that he was an alcoholic. Billy Graham is credited with persuading George to give up booze and accept God into his liver – sorry, heart – instead.

Conclusion – born-again Evangelicals by definition have something in their lives before God. Bush was no exception.

2. Do not make a sculpted image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above.

All I can say is, check this out. Scary as all hell. But, it wasn’t George who made it, so I guess I have to give him a pass on this one.

Conclusion – Bush takes his first confident stride toward a Christian life.

3. Thou shalt not swear falsely by the name of the Lord.

Wow, where to begin. Bush has sanctioned war and murder in the name of God. "President Bush said to all of us: 'I am driven with a mission from God'. God would tell me, 'George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan'. And I did. And then God would tell me 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq'. And I did." Bush has frequently defended his actions, which are wholly un-Christian in nature, by invoking the name of the Lord.

Conclusion – Bush broke this Commandment.

4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

Sunday, 18th December. President Bush addresses the nation from the White House. This is considered ‘working’, which is expressly forbidden by the Commandments.

Conclusion – Bush breaks this one pretty much every week. Except when he’s on vacation, which is usually around six weeks a year (more than any President in history, as it happens.)

5. Thou shalt honor your father and your mother.

Bush’s Social Security plans would essentially deprive many working Americans of the benefits they have been promised by the country. Those people are our parents. Social Security, in the words of one commentator, "…has been an incredible success. It has enabled our seniors to enjoy independence. And it has enabled our country to obey the commandment: "honor thy father and thy mother." Now Bush wants to create tiered levels of Social Security, so that the rich stay rich and the poor get less. I don’t know how Bush interacts with his own parents – but he certainly doesn’t want us to be able to honor ours (unless we have more money than the average Joe). By the way, don’t get me started on Medicare.

Conclusion – oops.

6. Thou shalt not murder.

Errr… hello? Iraq? Afghanistan? How many dead civilians? On whose orders?

Conclusion – a no-brainer. Killing people is wrong, George.

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Rumors abounded some time ago, but nothing was ever proven. In the absence of proof, let’s give George the benefit of the doubt.

Conclusion – Hey! Bush stuck by one! And better yet, it was the one that Clinton broke! Yee haa! That should distract the American people from the rest of Bush’s transgressions!

8. Thou shalt not steal.

George Bush was arrested in 1966 for theft. Case closed. (Unless you count the theft of billions of dollars from the American people, funneled into his buddy Cheney’s bank account via Halliburton.)

Conclusion – yep, Commandment broken. Indeed, smashed into tiny granite pieces.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor.

George Bush’s 2004 election campaign doggedly stuck to one story that was eminently and demonstrably false: that John Kerry, who was decorated multiple times for bravery above and beyond the call of duty in Vietnam, was in fact a coward and a liar. Bush’s campaign never condemned the Swift Boat liars for their attack ads, and Bush campaign workers were found working for the Swift Boat PAC.

Conclusion – another strikeout for Bush.

10. Thou shalt not covet your neighbor's house.

Or oil? Because, if you substitute the word ‘oil’ for ‘house’, I think the answer to this one is pretty simple.

Conclusion - chalk up another broken Commandment for the Commander.

All in all, that gives George a grand score of eight broken, two (possibly) kept. Not bad going for a guy who wears his faith on his sleeve and claims to embody Christian values.

Not bad? Or not very good?