What Dicks Do....
I hate the dubya fuckers. Yup, they're fucking us over with their Midnight Regulations. I hate the fuckers that voted them into office, stupidly thinking that dubya and his dick would somehow serve America's best interests.
Speaking of dubya and his dick..... that's what dicks do. They fuck.
Labels: bush, corruption, dubya, environment, neocons, politics
Griles, Repugs, NOT Gale Norton Too, and Dogfish Head
I think this is amazing stuff. Call it progress if you will, but I call it "it's about freakin' time" on two counts. First of all, Steven Griles has pled guilty. Second, the press is finally reporting stuff that the dubya dummies aren't happy about, and I'm sure it's because we now have a democratic congress.

Lots of people seem to think that it doesn't make a squat of difference whether a person is a dem or a repug. I think it does, and particularly now.
[Geez, I'm having a hard time typing..... one beer and I'm toasted... Yea, Dogfish Head!!!)
I digress...............
Griles pled guilty for "testifying falsely before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on November 2, 2005, and during an earlier deposition with the panel's investigators on October 20, 2005." This according to
CNN. As I said, two counts. A double whammy. I wrote about this miserably despicable piece of crap in January 2006, in an article called
NOT Gale Norton, Too. The writing certainly was on the wall. But, I bet dollars to donuts, if the House and Senate stayed in Repugs' control, this story would have never seen the light of day. Either Griles never would have been prosecuted, and/or the press would not have bothered to write about it. So yes, boys and girls, it does make a difference. Dems in control of the House and Senate, in control of Congress in its entirety, seems to be bringing some modicum of sanity and accountability back to Washington.

Let's not forget, in all this excitement, that Gail Norton, former Secretary of the Interior, appointed by the dumbya dickwad himself, was Griles' boss. There's no way that I could ever believe that Norton is not
complicit in the seedy transactions between Griles and Abramoff. Remember, folks, when Abramoff went down, Norton quietly resigned her post. Gee wizzakers, I wonder why? So, when is that dirtbag-ess going to get indicted?

Let's not get carried away here. DC is still a cesspool of corruption on so many levels, no doubt. But, I do believe that the Dems are more about maintaining their control and their jobs, thereby hovering ever so close to that fine line of corruption, but at least maybe, maybe some of them staying on the good side, whereas the repugs, in their ultimate desire for that selfish, self-serving, and self-enriching power grab, coupled with a virtual lack of concern for society at large, have almost in their collective entirety crossed that line a long fuckin' time ago.

Labels: bush, corruption, dubya, neocons, politics
I Want Justice

One of the strongest arguments for keeping American troops in Iraq is the resulting bloodbath if we just pull up our tents and leave. I've been scratching my head over this dilemma for the past few years, because on the one hand it seems to make no sense, given that the American invasion already unleashed a full-blown blood bath. On the other hand, I wrestled with the notion that maybe, just maybe the argument holds some merit. I sure do not want to be responsible for advocating such a horror. I like to believe that that is not who I am.
As I think about this dilemma, this contradiction, I have been sure that I am not alone in my ambivilence. I have continued to be angry about the whole stinkin' mess. I'm angry that the invasion was based on lies and deceipt. What makes me most angry about this is that I knew before the invasion that the Niger document was a fraud. For that, I hold the mainstream media and press responsible. If I knew, so did they. They had the power to trumpet this lie to the world, but instead chose silence, in deference to the decision made by madmen.

I'm angry that so many American families are forever changed by the death and injuries perpetrated by out dumbass decider. I'm angry that thousands upon thousands upon thousands of Iraqis have died or been maimed or their survivors, like the Americans, are changed forever. I am sorry that I often find myself using the collective "we" when I talk about the American invasion. "We invaded Iraq." But, "we" didn't. I had nothing to do with it. I was a helpless bystander watching a horror unfold before the American people. I'm not one of those who supported the decision. I'm not a "we", but I keep using the term. I am, after all, an American. I am, after all, deeply ashamed by the horrors perpetrated upon Iraq in my name, as an American. I am so angry.
Today, in the Washington Post, is an article written by William E. Odom, called
Victory is Not an Option. It is one of the best bits of writing that I've encountered that describes the ambivilence and the dilemma of staying in Iraq or calling it quits. An excerpt:
1) We must continue the war to prevent the terrible aftermath that will occur if our forces are withdrawn soon. Reflect on the double-think of this formulation. We are now fighting to prevent what our invasion made inevitable! Undoubtedly we will leave a mess -- the mess we created, which has become worse each year we have remained. Lawmakers gravely proclaim their opposition to the war, but in the next breath express fear that quitting it will leave a blood bath, a civil war, a terrorist haven, a "failed state," or some other horror. But this "aftermath" is already upon us; a prolonged U.S. occupation cannot prevent what already exists.
William Odin has distinquished credentials. He a retired Army lieutenant general, was head of Army intelligence and director of the National Security Agency under Ronald Reagan. He served on the National Security Council staff under Jimmy Carter. In my opinion, he's not just some pundit talking head. He's got experience. And, for him to come out and say what he's saying indicates that he also has scruples. He's earned my respect.

I want justice. I want those responsible to be held accountable. I have a somewhat vindictive nature. I don't believe in the death penalty. I don't believe that torture is appropriate under any circumstances. But, I do believe that people should live the lives that they created for others. I would just love to see dubya and his dick, and condi and rummy too, living in the slums of Sadr City, behind bars, and under the authority of the Iraqi prison guards. I cannot think of a more apt justice. Of course, I would also take great glee in being a fly on the wall and watching dubya, his dick, rummy, condi, and all the little generals reading about the failures that they created; the misery they brought upon the world. I'd love to see them grimace over how the historians will be writing about their failed administration.

Labels: bush, dubya, impeach, Iraq, neocons, politics, war
Gas Turbines and War Profiteering?
Maybe I'm back in business here in the blogosphere; I dunno. I've never lost my interest in the politics of the day, but my attention has shifted dramatically from actively blogging to my photography. Ever since I fell into the bay with my old camera, and have been upgrading my equipment, taking my photography to the next level of technical ability and expertise, I've spent all of my time either taking pictures, post processing images, or just plain spending money for the equipment I need.

For instance, you'd think that buying a tripod ballhead clamp, never mind the tripod itself, would be just finding what I like and buy it. But, it's not. I've been researching, asking questions, obsessing, till I finally did made my decision. I've been trying to go on the cheap, modify my existing ballhead, but doing so without throwing good money after bad. Unless you're familiar with the topic, you likely have no idea what I'm talking about. But, more about that later.

As I said, I'm back to blogging, and it's a particular article in Yahoo News that has caught my attention. Of course, it's about the Iraq debaucle. However, I now find that the word "debaucle" does not adequately define or describe the dubya policies and ventures in Iraq. Outright criminality is more like it. War crimes isn't saying too much. What these cockroaches have done is nothing short of criminal, and off the backs of well-meaning soldiers, who are likely just misinformed chumps doing their damnedest to be patriotic. They're heroically losing life and limb for nothing. That's a hard pill for them and their families to accept, but I do believe they are finally getting it. No one, not anyone, not even the most patriotic person wants to venture into that meat grinder called Iraq anymore. Nothing but an exercise in futility, for sure.
Case in point, and the reason for this resurgence in my blogging interests - the Yahoo news article,
Bush Plan's $1B won't go far in Iraq. The article discusses how the $billions$ was never really enough, and the insurgency and sabatage are resulting in just throwing good money after bad.
"It is symbolic, at best, and is unlikely to have substantial impact in Iraq," Gordon Adams, a budget expert at Washington's Woodrow Wilson Center, said of the Bush aid proposal.
But, to really capture what this whole fiasco was about, let's take a look at this next exerpt:
For electricity alone, Iraq needs $27 billion to fully rebuild the grid to meet growing power needs, Baghdad's Electricity Ministry estimates. In a new Iraq oversight report, the U.S.
Government Accountability Office (GAO) says Iraq's electricity demand averaged 8,210 megawatts last year, but peak generation reached only 4,317 megawatts. Baghdad residents got only six hours of power a day on average last summer.
The U.S. reconstruction effort added more than 2,000 megawatts of generating capacity to a system that produced 4,200 before the 2003 U.S. invasion. But the grid has been crippled by toppled transmission towers and other sabotage, insurgent attacks, looting, poor maintenance and poor planning.
The GAO reports that 16 of 35 gas turbines the Americans installed in Iraqi power plants — even though Iraq lacks an extensive natural gas network — are using crude oil or other low-quality fuels, producing as little as half the rated power and causing frequent shutdowns.
"Why did the United States purchase natural gas turbines to generate electricity when the necessary supply of natural gas was not assured in Iraq?" the auditors asked.

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmm.......... It certainly begs the question of who exactly benefitted from the construction of these gas turbines. Was it a no-bid contract to one of dubya's dick's henchmen to line their pockets? My first reaction of course is
OF COURSE! Kind of a no-brainer that should be followed to its source, that being the contract's beneficiaries. Maybe
Greg Palast has some information about this apparent war profiteering venture. Maybe
CorpWatch does. In my few minutes of google research on this issue, I came up with this lil' exerpt from a
ThomasNet IndustrialNewsRoom article, dated March 21, 2006:
Some believe mistakes are more to blame than are extrinsic problems. For instance, Americans installed gas-turbine generators rather than having built or overhauled more of the oil-fuelled, steam-run plants. “Iraq doesn’t have pipelines to deliver natural gas from its oil fields, so plant operators resort to low-grade oil to run the gas-combustion engines, reducing power output by up to 50 percent and potentially damaging the machinery,” notes AP. Meanwhile, demand continues to rise as Iraqis invest in imported air conditioners, washers/driers, DVD players and other power-hungry appliances. To help fill the gap, households or neighborhood groups are buying diesel-run generators, stringing dangerous makeshift wiring around their homes.
If the GAO isn't investigating this, then for sure we have some corruption goin' on in DC. Like that's a big surprise......
Images:
Absolut Corruption from PinkDome
Expose Corruption from The India TribuneLabels: bush, impeach, Iraq, neocons, politics, war
Iraq Body Count

Admittedly, it's not very accurate, that there is a high margin of error. The headline leads with "600,000" as the estimated count. Six hundred thousand dead Iraqis since the 2003 American invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, retribution for 9/11, and to remove WMDs. That's 600,000 dead people in exchange for one lunatic who's "fair" trial is questionable. That's 600,000 dead Iraqis for WMDs that never existed. That's 600,000 dead Iraqis for an act of terrorism that they had nothing to do with.
Oh yeah, the estimate....... According to the
NYTimes,
"But it is an estimate and not a precise count, and researchers acknowledged a margin of error that ranged from 426,369 to 793,663 deaths." Well, excuse those who complain that 600,000 is inaccurately high. The lower end is just above 426 thousand, and climbing. That's then
426,000 for getting one man, for WMDs that never existed, and retribution for an act of terrorism that they had nothing to do with. Oh my freakin' god! Here we are, a few weeks before midterm elections, and these republican dirtbags are complaining that the estimate is too high; that it's politically driven. So, I'd like to know what they feel is an acceptable number for this Iraqi invasion folly. Is 100,000 dead Iraqis acceptable for taking down one man? Is 100,000 dead Iraqis an acceptable count for WMD's that never existed, or for retribution against an act of terrorism for which they had no culpability? Is 200,000 an acceptable number? 50,000? What? I'd like to know.

Of course, let us not forget that
"axis of evil" notion perpetrated by the dubya regime. Remember that? The countries they included were Iran, North Korea and Iraq. So, they attacked Iraq, the ONLY GODDAMM COUNTRY WITH NO NUCLEAR CAPABILITY. That, or course, means that they attacked the one country that could not fight back. Why coudn't they fight back? Well, because the UN sanctions had already crippled Saddam's ability to create WMD's. The neocon dirtbags went after the one country that was the weak link in their axis. All it accomplished was to get those other axis nations to better build up their nuclear arsenals in case the US had notions of going after them. The neocon cockroaches have created a more dangerous world by fueling the fires of hatred against us, and by resurrecting the nuclear arms race.

It's that simple, really.
For those of you repukes who continue to support this evil dirtbag neocon regime, I salute you. I salute your stupidity. I salute your ignorance. I salute your dumbass bullshit asswipe notion that the republicans are the good guys. And, I'll be celebrating over your dismay when impeachment of these neocon crooks begins. I'll be celebrating when they're convicted of
war crimes, crimes against humanity, and for breaking the laws of this great nation and its Constitution to empower themselves to accomplish the demise of what was at least a somewhat sane government before they took the reigns (pun intended).
Fuck all of you republican dirtbags who support, against all evidence of wrongdoing, a government that has gone awry. Fuck you all. I hate anyone who can support this neocon insanity. I hate you all for supporting the regime that will make our children pay for these dirtbags' selfishness, with either their taxes to pay the deficits, and for their lives when the bombs start falling. Your support of the neocons have set our world back to the cold war days. Thanks for fucking nothing.

Labels: bush, impeach, Iraq, liberal, neocons, politics, war
Impeach Bush
Bwahahahahahaha.............. My friend, Pat, sent me the link to this photo. It's great.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2006/10/05/2003291089.jpg
Labels: bush, impeach, liberal, politics