Iraq, 9/11 STILL linked by Cheney

about a week ago i made some comments commending Sen. Kennedy (D, MA) for calling Bush on the Iraq/Sept. 11 connections. He railed against the Bush Administration for carrying this line when they knew there was no credible link...and finally they ADMITTED IT. well around that time, a bush fan came to my site and commented that he wanted me to find ONE instance where the administration linked 9/11 and Iraq (as if we'd all been in some dream). well here you go. read and enjoy...and this one came more recently. someone over there should take the time to get their lies straight before the cameras roll.

Clark looking better than Hillary ticket

This is from the Washington Times. Mr. Mooch pointed out a few things earlier tonite...first, there is a buzz about IF Hillary Clinton will run for president this year. you know who's buzzing? the conservatives. Mr. Mooch and I may live under a rock, but the amount of talk out of conservative quarters seems to be ALL the talk concerning a 2004 run.

I think this is because they cannot let the Clinton years die. never has anything so directed their hatred and they just miss it. IF ONLY they could run a campaign aganist (any) Clinton, they'd show us! you betcha! Mr. Mooch likes the Senator from NY ok enough, but doesn't think she has the legs to run as the Democrat nominee in 2004 or 2008. I tend to agree.

Jackson metro & state news - The Clarion-Ledger

MAN, this is nuts. I don't know what to think, cept that i DO like McRae and that i don't trust Pittman. read this article on our court and see what i mean. i pulled a few quotes (the one about Whipping Pittman is funny whatever way you wanna see it):

"'I have 369 days left in my term, and I intend to have fun on every one of them,' McRae told Pittman in December, according to the complaint. 'I'm going to call you a 'Li'l Tadpole' every day that I can.'

The complaint said McRae threatened violence against Pittman, saying he would 'whip' him, and on more than one occasion 'cursed at staff and colleagues and has screamed at fellow justices.'"

In Mississippi, Justices' Charges Lead to Inquiry Into a Colleague

HOLY CRAP! read that! read what McRae was accused of saying. haw!

READ THIS!! Bush Administration Is Focus of Inquiry: "Yesterday, a senior administration official said that before Novak's column ran, two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife. Wilson had just revealed that the CIA had sent him to Niger last year to look into the uranium claim and that he had found no evidence to back up the charge. Wilson's account touched off a political fracas over Bush's use of intelligence as he made the case for attacking Iraq.
'Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge,' the senior official said of the alleged leak."

AND...It appears this came up at a press conference, and after several direct questions, the Bush Administration still couldn't say no. the article continues...

Bush Press Secretary McClellan, who Rove had speak for him, said of Wilson's comments: "It is a ridiculous suggestion, and it is simply not true." McClellan was asked about Wilson's charge at a White House briefing Sept. 16 and said the accusation is "totally ridiculous."

CIA seeks probe of White House

I first heard of this via Al Franken. He mentioned it in passing on and interview show and i didn’t quite understand what it was he was talking about. Now i get it. If this story really has legs, its going to be a big deal. It is an NBC (and affiliates) exclusive right now. We’ll see how it grows. The Drudge Report is running it as its headline today.

As you know, the president sent an ambassador to Niger to investigate claims that Iraq bought or tired to buy Yellowcake Uranium. His investigation, as well as virtually all involved proved the allegation to be fabricated (as well as partially culled from a nearly decade old grad school paper). That wasn’t good enough for the President. There was a Saddam question to make and facts be damned! The president (in)famously went on to ignore this info and announce the transaction as a reason to go to war in his State of the Union address.

This summer, the gentleman that went to Niger, Joseph C. Wilson IV, wrote an article explaining what he found and how disappointed he was that the President used such a baseless argument in the case for war (that’s a polite way to say he lied). After this, someone in the administration decided to show Mr. Wilson just how much they didn’t appreciate him revealing the truth. What did they do? They outted his wife, an undercover CIA agent working on WMD’s! the administration was willing to compromise the lives and intelligence being gathered worldwide because they got caught in a lie. Suspicions have point fingers at Karl Rove and now at least one member of congress and the CIA is calling for an investigation as to who did it.

Check out the links.

Did Rove Blow a Spook's Cover?

Why isn't Colin Powell in the news for this?

in statements delivered in 2001 we see the administration talking about how harmless Iraq/Saddam was. What happened to change the picture? 9/11? wait, didn't the president finally admit that there was no credible tie between the two? (see posts below)

"We should constantly be reviewing our policies, constantly be looking at those sanctions to make sure that they are directed toward that purpose. That purpose is every bit as important now as it was 10 years ago when we began it. And frankly they have worked. He has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors."

recently someone posted on this site asking me to show him just one quote from bush saying there was work between Bin Laden and Saddam. he asked this knowing that the president has been very careful not to SAY the actual words, but imply it. he didn't want to get caught saying what he knew was untrue, but what he DID was pepper any talk about 9/11 with talk about Iraqi terrorists (and vise versa). this was done daily by the entire administration. add this to the comments like Coni Rice asking if we'd have to get our proof in the form of a "mushroom cloud" before we could be convinced of the nuclear risk of saddam. she didn't SAY he had such weapons, but the implication was more than clear. as it turns out, he didn't have WMDs. he didn't have a nuclear weapons program. North Korea did, but that wasn't going to be dealt with anytime soon.

know why?

that risk was real. the Iraqi risk was fabricated. they knew it. Saddam couldn't send his made up nukes after americans but North Korea could certainly use their real ones.

bush played it safe. he gave us a bad guy, made up facts to show him as a worse threat than he really was (as if he wasn't bad enough), and then got the poll points for beating him. People talked about how much Clinton made policy out of poll numbers...well...he didn't FABRICATE the grounds for war. bush lied, then tried to say we fought for humanitarian reasons after his WMD's couldn't be found.

pathetic.

DRUDGE REPORT 2003®

Take a look but do it quick. Matt Drudge seems to be a bit scared of wesley clark. MANY headlines and links detracting him as a democratic nominee. hmmm...

Billy Joel - Captain Jack : "Captain Jack will get you by tonight
Just a little push, and you'll be smilin'"

a damn good song.

LOOK HERE!

she's joining us in this one! haw!

i'm BARELY in town since Sat. I have so much to talk about i could stay up all nite. more later!

Gen. Clark Leads in the Polls

It seems that General Clark is the leading democrat challengers in a new Newsweek poll. the numbers themselves for all candidates are tiny indicators at this point, but that fact that General Clark is over ALL 9 of these candidates in his first week in the race. I believe MANY Democrats see a General on their side as the way to win back the middle as well as many issues long aped by the GOP

Senator Kennedy stands by claim bush made up the connection between Iraq and 9/11

...And it appears the Republicans are mad at him about it! scan down the page and you can find the link where bush says there was no evidence of an Iraqi-9/11 link! so where ELSE did the idea come from? Do they think someone just TOLD bush to say there's a link? It appears to me there is a profound unwillingness to accept responsibility by this President. the war was sold on its connection to the 9/11 terror attacks and the imminent threat of WMD's. if that did not exist and does not exist (THEIR words) then the president cooked it up. it was based on a lie. you can JUSTIFY it if you want but that doesn't erase the part about it being a damn lie. you know, it doesn't even make me mad...know why? he couldn't make the case to the rest of the world then. why should i be suprised now?

the funny part is that while he's not taking responsibility, bush is SLOWLY telling us it was all BS...as if it was all ok because we won. well, winning isn't the point. i've said it a million times. i'm fine with getting rid of Saddam, but that doesn't mean lying to the world AND doing it the dumbest way i can dream up is a good idea. so now Kennedy finally said the emperor wasn't wearing any clothes and the GOP are crying. Don't waste your time. go talk to some of the families of our dead and explain why their loss built on the president's lies is really ok.

A senior State Department official said:
"To say they were acting in bad faith is quite a serious charge," the official said. "You can take issue with the policy, but to attack character and integrity is serious and uncalled for."

Damn RIGHT! it IS that serious and if the administration's ability to refute this is limited to "don't talk bad about us" then we must be hitting on the truth. I would ask anyone where at what point in the last 100 years have we been held in a lower esteem internationally? i don't know of any.

Random Comments about Cash, King and various...

Great Comment about Johnny Cash:

"I didn't fully appreciate the man until sometime in the early 70's when he was invited to perform at the White House by Nixon, who also requested that Cash sing 'Welfare Cadillac.' Cash respectfully declined because he thought it was uncharitable towards the poor. I believed then, and now, that it took an extraordinarily principled and courageous man, in the face of an invitation any artist would die for, to just say NO. Thank you Johnny."

damn right.

GREAT ARTICLE on Tort Reform in the Jackson Free Press

worth reading even if you aren't in Mississippi because you can count on this coming to your state soon. its GOP doctrine and they've found they can take it to the bank.

HOLY MOLEY!

Where was this guy at Mississippi State when he was needed!?!

Late-Arriving Candidate Got Push From Clintons

Well now, would you look at this!

AP: No evidence Iraq stockpiled smallpox

Well, what do you know?

(today seems to be a newsblurb day for me).

I have no evidence...

...but i think Clinton is secretly backing Gen. Clark. the way he's entered so late, and without a reservation as to the money to be raised...well, i think there is a tie to Clinton. I think there is a certainty that the funding will come and what is the most logical line than with the rolodex of the former president, his former commander-in-chief and fellow Arkansas resident.

Now this isn't to say the backing is elaborate, but i can't help but think that Clinton's favs are Clark, Edwards/Dean in that order. i may be wrong but i'm speculating, so i have a right to be wrong! heh

An open letter

from Michael Moore to Gen Wesley Clark

Damn it all! I'd hoped they'd win this one!!

Bush Disavows Hussein-Sept. 11 Link

From the article:
"No, we've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th," the president said yesterday after a meeting at the White House with lawmakers.

OK, you hear that!?! 70% of americans believe otherwise because of what HIS administration says. now he admits the truth. At every turn the administration has attempted to associate the 2 in order to justify withdrawing military action where the 9/11 terrorists are rooted, in favor of the personal vendeta in Iraq. see this from the day Bush declared victory on May 1st:

"The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September the 11th, 2001." He added: "With those attacks, the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States. And war is what they got."

The administration did everything within its power to project Iraq and an imminent threat and a link to 9/11. If that is not tying the two together, i've lost my ability to read. Most telling is the fact that the president avoided real, justified reasons for action in Iraq in favor of fabricated evidence. actually, lies. they lied. when the lies were found, the justification and the reasons shifted. anything that would take hold would work. just because the president changes his story now doesn't eliminate the lies he told us then.

John Edwards (D, NC)

Poor guy. i LIKE john edwards. i think he has a great future in politics, but (as mentioned below) i think his chances at the white house have slipped away. he's got decent money coming in, but that's tapered off. his message hasn't really connected for a while and he can't seem to create a buzz. all good reasons to quit now to fight again another day.

So what does he do? he does his announcement this week. the week Gen. Wesley Clark announces and sucks up all the press in the room. Edwards is sitting there STILL trying to win us with the 'i spent 20 years representing the everyday people...' line. the problem is that only works if you can get people to listen to whatever else you have to say. Poor John, this is his big week to say "I'M RUNNING" and all anyone wants to talk about is whether Gen. Clark will run. he's about to take himself into the Sharpton-sphere where campaigns go to die.

like i said before, the problem i that he's declared he's NOT going to run for re-election in the senate, where we NEED him. the senate has a razor thin margin and we need all the democrats we can get. mix that with the fact that the NC senate seat is a DOG FIGHT to say the least, so we'll have a nail biter!

I once said "John Edwards will be our next president" with no reservations about a year ago. I'm a General Clark man now.

can ANYONE make a comments program that doesn't go down or give out errors? gahh!

Republicans for Dean

Not Far off the Mark?

GOP still think Dean is the easiest to defeat. i'd like to have a discussion on this with some Dean supporters. I know he's no McGovern in the sense of his vigor and ability to make the right political moves, but i have to wonder if this translates into broad support from the electorate (not just the partisan true believers). is this a reflection of what bush did with the conservatives? can it work? and maybe more to the point, why should it looking at liberal candidates who embrace that word?

HERE WE GO!!

It looks like Gen. Wesley Clark will be in the race come Wednesday! I'm hopefully this will actually help narrow the field of candidates. I'm supporting the General.

Dick Cheney quote from a year ago:

'Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction; there is no doubt that he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies and against us,' he said in August 2002, when others were advocating more U.N. weapons inspections.

--in light of the quote and the developments that followed, it seems he was:
*dupped--because it wasn't real.
*a liar.
*incompetent--to know precisely where the WMD's were then lose them while they were being 'hidden'

take your pick. i don't know the alternatives. feel free to share.

So it begins...?

This may be the beginning Kerry's freefall off the top of the polls. i think that he, lieberman, and maybe gephardt fall if Wesley Clark gets in the race. Gephardt was at a democratic event in (VERY IMORTANT TO HIM) Iowa and declined to speak...sounds like something is up.

USA Today - Christiane Amanpour: CNN practiced self-censorship

New Quote of the Day:

Fox News spokeswoman Irena Briganti on Christiane Amanpour's (CNN) comments about media self-censorship during the war:

'Given the choice, it's better to be viewed as a foot soldier for Bush than a spokeswoman for al-Qaeda.'

U.S. National Debt Clock

this is scary. it calculates the national DEBT (not the Deficit discussed below). we are spending a NEW $1.68 Billion a day. the bush policies would add another $6 Trillion in the next 10 years on top of this daily growth. you have a choice:

*stop the tax cuts;
*cut Social Security, domestic, and millitary programs drastically; or
*send world markets into chaos as we default on our loans.

Dizzying Dive to Red Ink Poses Stark Choices for Washington
How to Cut Spending.

Once i dated this girl who's dad REALLY didn't like me too much because of my political beliefs. he used to try and rile me up with political arguments that put me in an odd position. On one hand i don't like to put up with GOP dogma, but on the other hand i didn't want to fight with my (then) girlfriend's dad. usually i tried to be dipolmatic, but it wouldn't work if he was starving for a fight.

One day he was talking to someone about how you 'fix the government'. his idea was that if you took money away from them (tax cuts, cuts in revenue, whatever achieved it), then they'd have less to spend and thus government would shrink. i wasn't in this conversation. actually i was passing through the room going to the kitchen. however, as i passed he began to explain further "you have to strangle the money out of 'em." turning in his chair to face me as i walked by. he kept repeating it over and louder, turning full to face me. by the time i crossed the room he was screaming at a volume reserved for those in fear for their lives: "YOU'VE GOTTA STRANGLE IT OUT OF THEM!" shortly their after i called it quits with that girl, as i knew i couldn't ever mesh with her family.

The point is...

Some feel that the current deficit (largest in history by dollar amount OR by percentage of the GDP) is perhaps just what the GOP ordered, even if they didn't expect their policies to bring on this budget crisis. For the last 9 years the GOP has been in charge of the legislature. Prior to that time, i would constantly hear about 'tax & spend' democrats, but it would come to pass that (given the opportunity) the GOP would actually spend more than the democrats. this has continued to the point where out 'deficit' spending is soon to rival what our actual DEBT was in the past.

This brings me back to my ex-girlfriend's dad. His screams just may be what the GOP needs to make them follow their own rhetoric. if there's no money to spend, then maybe you DO have to shrink the size of government. in the last 3 years we've seen a movement of more and more programs to the state governments. this is what you do when you want a program to wither on the vine. push it to the states unfunded. it sounds good to 'leave it to the local people to solve their own local problems'. the trouble is, if there's no money sent with the responsibility, the need goes un-met. i think, without meaning to do it, the GOP may have given itself just what it wanted by scoring these deficits. now to see if they can really cut the spending.

i say they can't pull it off.

Clinton Rally Delights Iowa Democrats
GREAT QUOTE:

"What's the sacrifice that's being asked of people who make more than $1 million a year?" --Bill Clinton.

I'll be damned if this isn't it on the head. we've been asked to do something to pull our nation up. Bush has literally said we should go shopping. buy things. we've been told to visit new york. support our troops. make sacrifices. tell me what the richest 1% of our society have been asked to do. those with the biggest ability to 'do something'. what has the govenment asked them to do? take on less of the tax burden. that's what. i don't mind doing my part, but i'll be damned if i'll ever listen to another person that earns more money than i do complain that their civic duty keeps them from prosperity.

in the boom on the 1950's the tax rate for the richest bracket was 90%. NINETY PERCENT, and we prospered throughout the decade. i don't think we should return to that, but my sympathy for the people who cry over millionaires paying a fraction of that just does not exist.

For the record, let me tell you that tax cuts aren't conservative in and of themselves. taking care of your finances so that you don't risk historically high debt is conservative. i wish i had a conservative president.

Divided Loyalty

I am very very fond of my two schools. Mississippi State and Tulane University. Tulane often plays Ole Miss, but rarely State...so here i am, watching my 2 favorite schools play for the first time in recent memory. to be even handed, i didn't watch it at all and waited to see the score. while i tend to pull for state above all, i'm sympathetic to ole Tulane and i want them to do well...add that to the fact that Mississippi State is about to dip in the Rocky Felker (sp?) type era of losing...ugh...i don't even want to think about how hard this season is gonna be for the bulldogs. I AM hoping to go to starkville soon though. i'm way over due for a visit and i've been missing the ole sights.

Johnny Cash died today

very few artists affected me like Cash. his songs were often sung by a voice that had done wrong, accepted it, and then looked for a new place to go. his song "The Man in Black" is one of the most emotionally provocative songs i know. his integrity was unquestionable. he was one of the few celebrities where...well, i really just looked up to him. He will be sorely missed.

Is anyone having trouble posting or viewing this site? i have had one complaint but don't see the problem myself. thanks!

0 comments

Clark Set to Enter 2004 Presidential Race
YEAH!

I say this is win win. he either gets the nomination or becomes Dean's VP. the only other person with a chance is Edwards(D, NC), whom i still like a lot. Unfortunately the senator from N. Carolina has dropped the ball. his problem? too young. too inexperienced at running. i often think that doesn't matter if you are good enough. i thought he was. maybe i underestimate all around?

GO CLARK!

Gen. Clark Reportedly Is Asked to Join Dean

This is pretty extra-ordinary. in 1992 Clinton did not officially declare he was running until October 1991. now, sure, everyone knew he was running by that point, but this article shows just how sped up the whole process is today. 30 years ago the nomination wouldn't be settled until the SUMMER of the election year. we'll be done by early spring at this rate.

I like Wesley Clark, i'd go as far as to say he's my pick for president. However, if he could join with Dean, that would do MUCH to bring dean to the center. i dunno. Gen. Clark is so damn strong. i think Dean sees HIM as his biggest threat at this point and i think he'd be right. the more i see the other candidates, the more i see them as washed up already. this is sorta crazy, but i think its true.

Sharpton, CMB, and Kucinich have slightly less of a chance than me. they are waiting to fall off. Graham is great but can't get a message together. Liberman excites no one but the Lieberman staff. literally. i've never seen ANYONE say lieberman would be an asset and that is counting the 2000 election! he is done ('cept for his senate seat). Gephardt is an alright guy, but he has been trying to do this for 16 years and he's just not gonna do it. the problem is that if you try and fail too many times its hard to get momentum (and THAT is his very problem). Kerry blew his lead and gave it to dean early on. he ALWAYS seems to be playing catch up. he's like another al gore w/ a better war record. he makes amateur mistakes that have cost him (maybe) everything AND simutaneously helped to give dean the spotlight. bush would eat him alive b/c he WOULD foul up. Edwards...i LIKE edwards. he just can't get traction. if i was him i'd call it quits EARLY. now. if he was exploding, no, but that isn't the case. he should stay in his senate seat. seek re-election this year and go for it later. he has a long career ahead of him...except he DIDN'T do anything i said. he announced he'd NOT seek re-election to the senate to pursue the presidency. i think he's locked himself into a BAD decision and it just sucks b/c that will be a battleground and losing another senate seat could be even WORSE!

so who does that leave? Dean and Clark. if they join up now. THIS early...it would be unheard of...and maybe incredible. i think it may be too weird to be real... the likely result will be the winner will ask the other to be VP. if i had to guess at this VERY early date.

Protesters disrupt Rumsfeld speech wow! i have to wonder if the Lt. Chickenhawk will have more of this trouble of if this is isolated. Bush is below 45% in approval right now. the scary part is that he's been able to pull virtually any diversion and the press along with the public will follow along. gotta wonder what is coming next. we have tax cuts, we have war in iraq....so what happens when you get all you wanted and it didn't really work out? I have to wonder what he could move on next to get himself going? i see tort reform in your future mr. president...

SHORT VACATION!

Back again. I’m in Jackson and my house looks like a bomb went off in here! A week ago today I was in San Fran with my pals for a little shin dig I call "my wedding". It went off without a hitch …um, ‘cept for the getting hitched part. My wife has been going through some sort of unholy maelstrom in getting this thing ready. I’ve been here safe in Jackson, MS where I’m somewhat limited in what I can get done. My better half—Fred—has been extraordinary. She, with my bad ass in-laws put on the damnedest wedding I could have ever hoped for. Federica was beautiful in her gown--veil and all! We danced the first song to the BEST wedding song “Ain’t that a Kick in the Head” by Dean Martin. The food was some of the best I’ve ever had. Many of my friends were able to make the trek and we had a great time together. All in all, it was a wonderful time. 2 days later, we left for Jackson, MS. We drove across the country, had a good time and it wasn’t NEARLY as bad as you would imagine. Anyway, I’ve been gone for a bit and I wanted to drop a note to tell you where I’ve been. I promise i'll have this thing back on track. until then, here's your update