Saturday, March 27, 2004

4/01: focus on Bib Laden "A MISTAKE"! A previously forgotten report from April 2001 (four months before 9/11) shows that the Bush Administration officially declared it "a mistake" to focus "so much energy on Osama bin Laden." The report directly contradicts the White House's continued assertion that fighting terrorism was its "top priority" before the 9/11 attacks. Specifically, on April 30, 2001, CNN reported that the Bush Administration's release of the government's annual terrorism report contained a serious change: "there was no extensive mention of alleged terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden" as there had been in previous years. When asked why the Administration had reduced the focus, "a senior Bush State Department official told CNN the U.S. government made a mistake in focusing so much energy on bin Laden.". The move to downgrade the fight against Al Qaeda before 9/11 was not the only instance where the Administration ignored repeated warnings that an Al Qaeda attack was imminent). Specifically, the Associated Press reported in 2002 that "President Bush's national security leadership met formally nearly 100 times in the months prior to the Sept. 11 attacks yet terrorism was the topic during only two of those sessions". Meanwhile, Newsweek has reported that internal government documents show that the Bush Administration moved to "de-emphasize" counterterrorism prior to 9/11. When "FBI officials sought to add hundreds more counterintelligence agents" to deal with the problem, "they got shot down" by the White House...more [MisLeader.org] Bush gets slaped down by Clarke, and what does the White House do? They focus on character assasination. The funny thing is that Clarke voted for Bush. I love the images of Condi Rice looking like she was sucking on a lime -- of course she has time to go on 60 minutes, but not to testify under oath...mj 9:03:28 PM

Monday, March 15, 2004

!!!VOTE!!! 10:49:01 PM

Sunday, March 7, 2004

Job Growth Anemic in February The U.S. economy added a paltry 21,000 jobs last month, according to a surprisingly weak government report on Friday that turned up the heat on President Bush as he seeks re-election. The February jobs report from the Labor Department was the latest in a string that had fallen far short of expectations, dashing hopes employment would soon turn decisively higher. "The job market is stuck in a cycle of inertia," said John Challenger, head of the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "The fact is, we are going to have to get used to slow job creation in this country." The details in the report were uniformly bleak. Private-sector employment showed no gains. Government hiring was the only reason the non-farm payroll count rose. In addition, job creation in December and January was weaker than previously thought, by a combined 23,000 jobs. And while the unemployment rate held steady at 5.6 percent, that was only because many people stopped looking for work. Employment as measured by a survey of households plummeted... ...The Bush administration released a forecast last month that looked for average job growth of about 300,000 a month this year -- a forecast that looks increasingly pie-in-the-sky... ...An average of just 42,000 jobs have been created each month in the last three months, down from the 79,000 average of the prior three months. Economists say gains near 150,000 are needed each month just to keep pace with labor force growth. In addition, the report showed pay gains have slowed, while the average length of time workers who had lost jobs stayed unemployed climbed to its highest level since January 1984...more [Yahoo News] I am part of those statistics. I move to a new job as of tomorrow. The problem is that I am moving from a private sector job with Verizon Wireless to a Civil Service job at the City of Tacoma. I will have now had four jobs in the past 8 months, as I move up the food chain. The only risk in my new job is its temporary classification. I will know by late October, if I will have to start job hunting again. Bush has so trashed the job economy - i guess he thinks we can all survive on cake...mj 10:28:21 AM

Buffett speaks: Raise My Taxes! Berkshire chairman's annual letter attacks CEOs, funds, Bush tax policies, and the trade deficit. In his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, released Saturday, Warren Buffett sounded a number of familiar themes. The closely watched Berkshire chairman praised his company's managers, accepted personal blame for some miscues, and proudly noted his firm's remarkable 39-year compounded annual gain in book value of 22.2 percent. On the political-economic front, he attacked Bush administration policies on taxes and the dollar, and complained again about wayward CEOs and board members (adding mutual fund companies to his list of offenders). Buffett, who has been a vocal critic of a number of Bush administration tax policies, used the letter to voice his opposition again. "Tax breaks for corporations (and their investors, particularly large ones) were a major part of the Administration's 2002 and 2003 initiatives," he wrote. "If class warfare is being waged in America, my class is clearly winning." Nevertheless, Berkshire's own tax bill has risen dramatically. In 2002, Buffett noted, the company paid $1.75 billion in federal taxes. This year, it expects to pay $3.3 billion, a sum Buffett estimates to equal 2.5 percent of total taxes to be paid by all U.S. corporations...more [CNN Money] Think about two things from this. First, this is a very rich man who understands that the reason you tax the rich more is because they can afford it. Second, if you think about the tax numbers you should be scared. Those numbers simply drive home one of the greatest flaws of the current tax structure, most companies pay next to nothing, Under Bush, the rich are winning....mj 10:05:57 AM

Saturday, March 6, 2004

Stupid Companies...EB Games The Electronics Boutique, better known as EB Games, is a well-known dealer of second-hand video games and equipment. Recently, the EB Games store at the Gulfview Square Mall mistakenly purchased some stolen merchandise. The way it handled the situation has landed that store in the ABC Action News Hall of Shame. The workers at the EB Games store told ABC Action News they're not allowed to talk about the store's policy relative to stolen goods, but longtime customer Michelle Doganis had plenty to say. "I think it stinks, absolutely stinks. I would never do anything like this," she exclaimed...more [F'd Company] This is a gem. A sure sign that stupidity is alive and well, and not only at the White House. So, you're a large company, you've violated state laws, and you traffic in stolen goods. When you find this out, what do you do? Do you try to make the situation right? No, you try to profit off the victim, and then you brush her off. Electronic Boutique is another sign of just how dumb companies and people can be...mj 9:52:16 PM

Friday, February 20, 2004

Bush AWOL or Deserter? Too bad Bush didn't take his service seriously enough to actually do it. The UCMJ still list death as the maximum punishment for Desertion in time of war. Uniform Code of Military Justice: Article 85 Desertion Article 86 Absent Without Leave The bottom line here is that George Bush received special treatment. The issue is his inability to deal with the truth. The result is his lack of credibility as a man sending off people to die in Iraq. It really does matter...mj 10:05:33 AM

Thursday, February 19, 2004

Bush Abandons The Unemployed So much for the so-called "compassionate conservative" in the White House. Parties clash over job migration, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 02/13/04. Bush says U.S. will add 2.6 million jobs in 2004, The Olympian, 02/10/04. Bush Backs Off Forecast of 2.6M New Jobs, ABC News, 02/18/04. President Bush Discusses War on Terrorism with Tunisian President, 02/18/04. Press Briefing by Scott McClellan, 02/18/04. Job Watch. Cabinet caravan touts successes in Northwest swing, The Oregonian, 02/18/04. Bush backs off estimate of 2.6 million jobs, Sun Hearld, 02/18/04. Better times near, Bush officials tell state areas hurting for jobs, Seattle Times, 02/18/04. Accounts of job losses clash, The Oregonian, 02/19/04. America appears to be waking up. The Bush economy is designed to put more money back into the hands of the rich, while ignoring the needs of the unemployed and vets. From sending jobs off to other countries, and cutting training funds, where does it stop? The difficult task will be to get past Bush's massive war chest of special interest, and rich friends money...mj 3:01:34 PM

Bush's "DISGRACEFUL" Treatment of Vets Yesterday at Ft. Polk, Louisiana, President Bush thanked American soldiers for their service, saying, "In the war, America depends on our military to meet the dangers abroad and to keep our country safe. The American people appreciate this sacrifice." And while this tribute is heartwarming, it has not been matched with the kind of resources that show appreciation. On the contrary, President Bush has refused to adequately fund some of the most important priorities to soldiers, veterans and their families. Last year, while troops were at war, the president proposed slashing $1.5 billion from military family housing and tried to "roll back recent modest increases" in bonuses paid to soldiers serving in combat zones. Meanwhile, the president refused to extend the child tax credit to one million children living in military and veteran families. And this year the misleading is only getting worse. While the president rambles on about how much he appreciates troops and veterans, Congressional Quarterly reported on February 4th that Bush's own Secretary for Veterans Affairs told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that the president rejected a desperate request for $1.2 billion in funding needed for veterans' health care. Many lawmakers said the president's decision "only proved the administration's disinterest in supporting veterans' programs." The Veterans of Foreign Wars issued a statement after receiving the White House's budget, calling it "disgraceful" and saying it was a "disgrace and a sham." [MisLeader.org] I can only hope that people figure this stuff out. Bush has so screwed up the budget that other then funding his war mistakes, and tax cuts for his rich friends, there's nothing else left....mj 12:28:51 AM

Monday, February 16, 2004

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! 11:53:46 PM

Friday, February 13, 2004

Why The Guard Matters... I find it amusing that Republicans are running around trying to defend the President on the biggest deficit in history. I find is scary that this administration this week said that outsourcing american jobs overseas is good for the economy. Then he quickly tries to cover his tracks. Then there is the issue of his Guard duty. The fact that his father got him into the Guard to avoid service in Vietnam is not the issue. During that period many young men found ways to avoid duty, including most of the members of the Bush Administration (except of course for Powell). The issue is, did he in fact really perform his duty? The evidence does not support that, If an Air National guardsman today vanished for a year, that guardsman would be transferred to active duty or, be kicked out of the service with a less-than-honorable discharge. The penalty would be especially swift if the AWOL guardsman were a fully trained pilot, as Bush was. Also damning are the statements of the former head of the Texas National Guard, who saw documents related to Bush's service being discarded. Why doesn't Bush release all documents relating to this matter? The reason is, he can't. So here we are with a President who lied to get us into Iraq. He has mismanaged the situation after declaring the victory. He is asking guardsman to serve more then a year away from home for a mistake that he made. Attacking John Kerry for his anti-war activities is a joke. This man served, fought, and saw people die. He earned the right to say anything he wanted when he returned. So what did Bush earn?..mj 12:43:25 AM

Saturday, February 7, 2004

Why I fear Bush... Feds Win Right to War Protesters' Records RYAN J. FOLEY -- Associated Press In what may be the first subpoena of its kind in decades, a federal judge has ordered a university to turn over records about a gathering of anti-war activists. In addition to the subpoena of Drake University, subpoenas were served this past week on four of the activists who attended a Nov. 15 forum at the school, ordering them to appear before a grand jury Tuesday, the protesters said. Federal prosecutors refuse to comment on the subpoenas. In addition to records about who attended the forum, the subpoena orders the university to divulge all records relating to the local chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, a New York-based legal activist organization that sponsored the forum. The group, once targeted for alleged ties to communism in the 1950s, announced Friday it will ask a federal court to quash the subpoena on Monday. "The law is clear that the use of the grand jury to investigate protected political activities or to intimidate protesters exceeds its authority," guild President Michael Ayers said in a statement. Representatives of the Lawyer's Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union said they had not heard of such a subpoena being served on any U.S. university in decades. Those served subpoenas include the leader of the Catholic Peace Ministry, the former coordinator of the Iowa Peace Network, a member of the Catholic Worker House, and an anti-war activist who visited Iraq in 2002. They say the subpoenas are intended to stifle dissent. "This is exactly what people feared would happen," said Brian Terrell of the peace ministry, one of those subpoenaed. "The civil liberties of everyone in this country are in danger. How we handle that here in Iowa is very important on how things are going to happen in this country from now on." The forum, titled "Stop the Occupation! Bring the Iowa Guard Home!" came the day before 12 protesters were arrested at an anti-war rally at Iowa National Guard headquarters in Johnston. Organizers say the forum included nonviolence training for people planning to demonstrate. The targets of the subpoenas believe investigators are trying to link them to an incident that occurred during the rally. A Grinnell College librarian was charged with misdemeanor assault on a peace officer; she has pleaded innocent, saying she simply went limp and resisted arrest. "The best approach is not to speculate and see what we learn on Tuesday" when the four testify, said Ben Stone, executive director of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, which is representing one of the protesters. Mark Smith, a lobbyist for the Washington-based American Association of University Professors, said he had not heard of any similar case of a U.S. university being subpoenaed for such records. He said the case brings back fears of the "red squads" of the 1950s and campus clampdowns on Vietnam War protesters. According to a copy obtained by The Associated Press, the Drake subpoena asks for records of the request for a meeting room, "all documents indicating the purpose and intended participants in the meeting, and all documents or recordings which would identify persons that actually attended the meeting." It also asks for campus security records "reflecting any observations made of the Nov. 15, 2003, meeting, including any records of persons in charge or control of the meeting, and any records of attendees of the meeting." Several officials of Drake, a private university with about 5,000 students, refused to comment Friday, including school spokeswoman Andrea McDonough. She referred questions to a lawyer representing the school, Steve Serck, who also would not comment. A source with knowledge of the investigation said a judge had issued a gag order forbidding school officials from discussing the subpoena. [Miami Herald] My friend John sent me this. It is one of the most extreme examples of this administration trying to stifle dissent. There is only one mission for 2004, the defeat of Bush...mj 10:58:20 PM

Thursday, January 29, 2004

Bush's WMD Lies Continue To Escalate Faced with evidence that no WMD existed in Iraq before the war, President Bush is citing different rationales for going to war. He said this week that the war was justified because "the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein." The president's recent statements, however, are belied by what he's said in the past. A look at the historical record shows President Bush justified an invasion of Iraq by making unequivocal statements that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD that threatened all Americans, even claiming that inspectors had found WMD when they had not. On November 23, 2002, President Bush said a war was justified because there was "an urgent threat posed by Iraq whose dictator has already used weapons of mass destruction to kill thousands." In early January 2003, President Bush said, "The Iraqi regime is a threat to any American. They not only have weapons of mass destruction, they used weapons of mass destruction...That's why I say Iraq is a threat, a real threat." And in his speech announcing the invasion, President Bush said the war was justified because Americans were "living at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder." None of these assertions have since been substantiated. The president and his advisers had been warned repeatedly in the fall of 2002 by the intelligence community, including the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency, that the WMD case was weak. However, ten days after the war began, Secretary Rumsfeld asserted the U.S had pinpointed the location of WMD, saying, "We know where they are. They are in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat." Less than two months later, President Bush went on television to claim that WMD had been found, saying, "we found the weapons of mass destruction" - an assertion that was false. Asked a follow-up question, the president again contended they'd been found, saying, "For those who say we haven't found [them], they're wrong, we found them." The statement has not been repeated since by the Administration or supported by the Iraq Survey Group's months-long search for WMD. Independent observers are speaking out about the administration's pre-war assertions on Iraq versus the reality that's emerging. The respected Carnegie Endowment for International Peace wrote that the administration "systematically misrepresented the threat" from Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. The Army War College called the war "unnecessary," and the President's own Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board believes the White House was so desperate "to grab onto something affirmative" to demonstrate Iraq's weapons that it ignored intelligence reports undermining that claim. [MisLeader.org] You can run from the lies George, but you can't hide...mj 5:02:53 PM

Pelosi rips GOP on job offer Dem charges 'abuse of power' House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called it "inappropriate" for a GOP lawmaker to entertain a job offer from the pharmaceutical industry. The House's top Democrat, Nancy Pelosi of California, strongly criticized a Republican lawmaker Wednesday for his consideration of a lucrative job offer from the pharmaceutical industry -- an offer that came weeks after he helped to negotiate a sweeping Medicare bill that established a prescription drug benefit for America's seniors. Pelosi called it "inappropriate" and an "abuse of power" for Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin, R-Louisiana, to consider the offer from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturing Association (PhRMA), one of the city's most powerful lobbies, to head up the organization. The job would pay him more than $1 million a year, according to sources...more [CNN] If you were wondering how the real "Drug Cartels" managed to pull off the recent prescription drug benefit bill, you need look no further. Republican votes were bought, the old fashioned way. I have said before that this period of Republican power will go down as the most corrupt in American history, and they just keep proving my point...mj 11:52:29 AM

radio beowulf
jardeen.com
my world
my art
my quotes
macandy
macslug
beowulf design
email me

categories
rant, rattle & roll
mac, x and me
one OS to rule them all!

themes
beowulf themes

blogrolling
paul andrews
scripting news
adam curry
doc searls
phil wolff
chris pirillo
wil wheaton
u2 log

misc links
macintouch
macsurfer
macfixit
digital blasphemy
ars technica



cool links
belle and blade
quarlo -- photos ny city
sftv schedule
'24' episode guide
ellis island
eef
anti-dmca
Sincere Choice
jakob nielsen
michael moore