Bush has joined the "Hear no Evil, See No Evil, and Speak No Evil" Administration, or as I have heard from pundits, the “Faith-based, No Facts” Administration. In a story from the AP Our “Leader” says…

It’s an absurd allegation. The United States is a country that promotes freedom around the world

When asked about the Amnesty International report that compared Guantanamo to a Soviet-era gulag. This is the same thing that was saif my Darth Cheney last night on “Larry King Live”

So this got me thinking, if you do not believe it is true, does that make the facts vanish? I don't believe in Jesus, but Christians won't disappear, what gives?

It is getting too the point where you have to suspend reality to even listen to the President and his administration. If we are to believe you Mr. Bush we need to dismiss the Red Crosses report on the Koran. We need to dismiss the Amnesty International Report, a group that has far more history then you Mr. Bush. We are forced to dismiss the new information, that the AP got from the administration via a lawsuit.

When are we as Americans, in the preservation of our democracy, raise up and demand the truth from this Administration?

This Administration is an embarrassment to our nation. Dangerous aboard, Dangerous at home.

I was born in Dallas Texas, I was raised for most of my childhood in the town of Round Rock, about 10 miles north of Austin. One thing you are taught in Texas is how great Texas is, in fact, I am sure you can recall someone with a sticker on there car, “Texan” or “Don’t Mess with Texas” we are a very proud people, well we were. Many of us “Texans” who have fled are not looking back, because Texas has, for the most part, lost it’s way.

So I was very proud when I read the words of Senfronia Thompson, a legislator from Texas discussing the "Defense of Marriage" amendment that Texas Republicans are so proud of. I urge you to give this a read…

I have been a member of this august body for three decades, and today is one of the all-time low points. We are going in the wrong direction, in the direction of hate and fear and discrimination. Members, we all know what this is about; this is the politics of divisiveness at its worst, a wedge issue that is meant to divide.

“Members, this is a distraction from the real things we need to be working on. At the end of this session, this Legislature, this leadership will not be able to deliver the people of Texas fundamental and fair answers to the pressing issues of our day.

“Let’s look at what this amendment does not do: It does not give one Texas citizen meaningful tax relief. It does not reform or fully fund our education system. It does not restore one child to CHIP who was cut from health insurance last session. It does not put one dime into raising Texas’ Third World access to health care. It does not do one thing to care for or protect one elderly person or one child in this state. In fact, it does not even do anything to protect one marriage.

“Members, this bill is about hate and fear and discrimination. … When I was a small girl, white folks used to talk about ‘protecting the institution of marriage’ as well. What they meant was if people of my color tried to marry people of Mr. [Warren] Chisum’s color, you’d often find the people of my color hanging from a tree. … Fifty years ago, white folks thought interracial marriages were ‘a threat to the institution of marriage.’

“Members, I’m a Christian and a proud Christian. I read the good book and do my best to live by it. I have never read the verse where it says, ‘Gay people can’t marry.’ I have never read the verse where it says, ‘Thou shalt discriminate against those not like me.’ I have never read the verse where it says, ‘Let’s base our public policy on hate and fear and discrimination.’ Christianity to me is love and hope and faith and forgiveness ….

“You want to pass this ridiculous amendment so you can go home and brag — brag about what? Declare that you saved the people of Texas from what?

“Persons of the same sex cannot get married in this state now. Texas law does not now recognize same-sex marriages, civil unions, religious unions, domestic partnerships, contractual arrangements or Christian blessings entered into in this state — or anywhere else on this planet Earth.

“If you want to make your hateful political statements, then that is one thing — but the Chisum amendment does real harm. It repeals the contracts that many single people have paid thousands of dollars to purchase to obtain medical powers of attorney, powers of attorney, hospital visitation, joint ownership and support agreements. You have lost your way. This is obscene. …

“I thought we would be debating economic development, property tax relief, protecting seniors’ pensions and stem cell research to save lives of Texans who are waiting for a more abundant life. Instead we are wasting this body’s time with this political stunt that is nothing more than constitutionalizing discrimination. The prejudices exhibited by members of this body disgust me. …

“I have listened to all the arguments. I have listened to all of the crap. … I want you to know that this amendment [is] blowing smoke to fuel the hell-fire flames of bigotry.”

From Dave Sirota’s Blog.

Atrios posts a 1998 story about the Washington, D.C. Establishment’s outrage at Bill Clinton for his lying about the Monica Lewinsky scandal. What is truly nauseating is not the corrupt and cliquey insiderism - it is the outrage over lying about sex, and the subsequent silence we’ve all experienced from the media/political Establishment when it has come to the current administration’s lying about war.

Here are some choice comments from the 1998 article:

“There has to be a functional trust by reporters of the person they’re covering. Clinton lies knowing that you know he’s lying. It’s brutal and it subjugates the person who’s being lied to. I resent deeply being constantly lied to.” - Hardball’s Chris Matthews

“The deep and searing violation took place when he not only lied to the country, but co-opted his friends and lied to them.” - Reagan/Clinton adviser David Gergen

“What is troubling is the deceit, the failure to own up to it. Before this is over the truth must be told.” - Sen. Joe Lieberman (who hasn’t owned up to his own pre-war role pushing Bush administration lies about Iraq)

“The judgment is harsher in Washington. We don’t like being lied to.” - Washington Post columnist David Broder

“When you lie to the country, you are using your authority to undermine the presidency.” - Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin (who, by the way, had no problem subsequently plagiarizing work and then lying about it).

Where is the outrage from these Beltway Establishment figures over the Bush administration’s blatant lies about Iraq? Oh sure, you can find a scant example here and there, but generally, it’s nowhere, especially considering the purported anger that D.C. elites claim to feel about being lied to.

If ever there was proof that these people are completely and totally out of touch with the rest of the country, this is it. And it will only get worse - the Washington Post is apparently going to run two ‘jumbo’ stories on the Clinton lies, while continuing to relegate Iraq to the back pages. Because to insulated Beltway elites, lying about a personal sex scandal is more offensive than American troops dying for a pack of lies in Iraq.
—- End Repost —-

I have asked the same, where is the outrage? This also show that there is nothing at all left wing about the media. If it were 1/3 Libral as the right leads you to think, then they would be all over this administration like white on rice. They are not…

Is it just me or does this administration pride itself from governing in a paper bag? We have the President going out of his way to dismiss evidence on everything from evolution, global warming, and stem cell research, replacing the facts with nothing more than rumor and misguided opinion. Dick Cheney that he too has joined the "Hear no Evil, See No Evil, and Speak No Evil" Administration.

So Cheney went of the super soft ball "Larry King Live" that will come on tonight and here is what he said…

For Amnesty International to suggest that somehow the United States is a violator of human rights, I frankly just don’t take them seriously.

If you call last week Amnesty International released a scathing report, that says that the United States has lowered the bar on Human Rights. As we race to the bottom, those we have always chastised for there human rights issues have dismissed us, basically saying, "You set the standards, so get off our ass".

CNN has more to this story.

Amnesty International was scathing last week in its criticism of the way the United States has run the detention center at its naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

“We have documented that the U.S. government is a leading purveyor and practitioner of the odious human rights violation,” William Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said Wednesday.

Cheney denied American wrongdoing at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, which Amnesty International compared to a “gulag.”

“Guantanamo’s been operated, I think, in a very sane and sound fashion by the U.S. military. … I think these people have been well treated, treated humanely and decently,” Cheney said. “Occasionally there are allegations of mistreatment.

“But if you trace those back, in nearly every case, it turns out to come from somebody who has been inside and been released … to their home country and now are peddling lies about how they were treated.”

Schulz responded to Cheney’s comments: “It doesn’t matter whether he takes Amnesty International seriously.

“He doesn’t take torture seriously; he doesn’t take the Geneva Convention seriously; he doesn’t take due process rights seriously; and he doesn’t take international law seriously.

“And that is more important than whether he takes Amnesty International seriously.”

Thank god Bush and the Republican Congress are looking out for us, the economy is going well, and we owe it all to Bush. Okay, I am kidding, the economy is in the tank, the only people making money are the uber-wealthy that Bush loves so much.

Here is a story from the Washington Post, which shows that the working class, the ones that bought the lies of BushCo and voted away their own best interests are now losing there houses.

Philadelphia, its suburbs and indeed much of Pennsylvania have experienced a foreclosure epidemic as low-income homeowners take on mortgage debt they cannot afford. In 2000, the Philadelphia sheriff auctioned 300 to 400 foreclosed properties a month; now he handles more than 1,000 a month. Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, had record auctions of foreclosed homes, and officials speak of a “Depression-era” problem. The foreclosures fall particularly hard on black and Latino families.

Foreclosure rates rose in 47 states in March, according to Foreclosure.com, an online foreclosure listing service. The rates in Florida, Texas and Colorado are more than twice the national average. Even in New York City and Boston, where real estate markets are white-hot, foreclosures are rising in working-class neighborhoods.

From Minneapolis Star Tribune

Editorial: Memorial Day/Praise bravery, seek forgiveness

Nothing young Americans can do in life is more honorable than offering themselves for the defense of their nation. It requires great selflessness and sacrifice, and quite possibly the forfeiture of life itself. On Memorial Day 2005, we gather to remember all those who gave us that ultimate gift. Because they are so fresh in our minds, those who have died in Iraq make a special claim on our thoughts and our prayers.

In exchange for our uniformed young people’s willingness to offer the gift of their lives, civilian Americans owe them something important: It is our duty to ensure that they never are called to make that sacrifice unless it is truly necessary for the security of the country. In the case of Iraq, the American public has failed them; we did not prevent the Bush administration from spending their blood in an unnecessary war based on contrived concerns about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. President Bush and those around him lied, and the rest of us let them. Harsh? Yes. True? Also yes. Perhaps it happened because Americans, understandably, don’t expect untruths from those in power. But that works better as an explanation than as an excuse.

There is more, I would recommend giving it a read.

So it looks like the GOP scheme to bilk money out of the hands of State workers is starting to get real good.

Let me give you a quick refresher for those late to the game. The GOP lead state of Ohio funneled massive amounts of state money over to a GOP operative to Mr. Noe, who used the money to invest in rare coins (Note: one of the riskiest investments on the planet, with very little in a way of return). While the coins were in the possession of Mr. Noe, $10 - $12 million in coins/money has vanished, or stolen. Almost all of the "crimes" went totally unreported.

So here is where is gets a little more "suspicious", The Bush-Cheney campaign lists Mr. Noe as a “pioneer” for raising from $100,000 to $250,000 for the President’s re-election campaign.

While this is a huge loss for the state employees of Ohio, this may be a win for Democrats. Ohio and scandal do not mix well, and Ohioans often show their disappointment with their votes (If it gets counted or not is a different story).

Here is some excerpts from the Toledo Blade.

With its intrigue of missing rare coins bought with state funds and campaign cash flowing to Ohio Republican leaders, some are predicting that “Coingate” will be a bigger scandal than the one that led to a near-Democratic sweep of statewide offices in 1970.

But the question now is whether Democrats will capitalize on the growing Republican scandal surrounding the state’s $10 million to $12 million loss in rare-coin investments controlled by Tom Noe, a prominent Toledo-area GOP fund-raiser and coin dealer.

“The people in the state of Ohio are going to want to elect people in 2006 who they can trust will not use their positions to help their contributors,” said state Sen. Marc Dann, a Democrat from suburban Youngstown. “The folks in charge now have shown their willingness to help their contributors at the expense of the state.”

-snip-

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI are investigating whether Mr. Noe violated campaign-finance laws. That probe has focused on an October, 2003, fund-raiser in Columbus that generated $1.4 million for the Bush campaign.

The Bush-Cheney campaign lists Mr. Noe as a “pioneer” for raising from $100,000 to $250,000 for the President’s re-election campaign.

Ohio ended up being the most crucial swing-state win for Mr. Bush in last year’s election, with Democrat John Kerry conceding the race on the day after the election only after it became clear that Ohio’s electoral votes would go to Mr. Bush.

House Armed Services Committee last week voted to strip a provision from the 2006 budget that would have extended Tricare (Military Health Benefits) to more reservists and Guardsmen.

Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California used a little known rule that, as Chairman, allowed him to strip the measure that was introduced by Democrat Gene Taylor of Mississippi.

This means that some actively drilling guard and reservist will not be allowed to buy into the very affordable Tricare system

This is a real disappointment to those men and women who have placed a hold on their current lives so they could defend our country.

Read the Story from “Stars and Stripes”

Found via: Knowthefacts.net

The ACLU has released the following email showing that if the shit hit the fan in the DOD had a plot to blame the FBI for the Torture of detainees.

DETAINEES-2797B

E-mail (from CTD employee to Frankie Battle) noting that sender is forwarding this EC up the chain of command, concerning alleged impersonation of FBI Agents at GTMO

12/05/03

Same document as Detainee-2797 with the following unredacted: “Of concern, DOD interrogators impersonating Supervisory Special Agents of the FBI told a detainee that the FBI…” and “These tactics have produced no intelligence of a threat neutralization nature to date and CITF believes that techniques have destroyed any chance of prosecuting this detainee.” and “If this detainee is ever released or his story made public in any way, DOD interrogators will not be held accountable because these torture techniques were done (by) the “FBI” interrogators. The FBI will (be) left holding the bag before the public.“

See the doc yourself, here

I want to say, thank you George Bush, your actions have once again embarrassed us at home and abroad, thanks to you we are more unsafe them ever.

According to Bush and the gang all the issues that we are having over in Iraq and Afghanistan have nothing to do with the bad judgment of the administration, have nothing to do with the United States lowering the bar on Human Rights, it is all NewsWeeks fault. Like a 4 year old who broke the vase, blame the cat.

To my BushCo friends, this may come has a shock to you, but the Bush Administration messed up big time, and now, another blow. It looks like a judge has ordered that the rest of the images, that were quickly snapped up after the scandal broke, will have to be released.

From the Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge has told the government it will have to release additional pictures of detainee abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, civil rights lawyers said.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein, finding the public has a right to see the pictures, told the government Thursday he will sign an order requiring it to release them to the American Civil Liberties Union, the lawyers said.

The judge made the decision after he and government attorneys privately viewed a sampling of nine pictures resulting from an Army probe into abuse and torture at the prison. The pictures were given to the Army by a military policeman assigned there.

-snip-

She [ACLU lawyer Megan Lewis] said the judge’s findings likely would clear the way for the release of other pictures of detainees taken around the world by U.S. authorities.

“I do think they could be extremely upsetting and depict conduct that would outrage the American public and be truly horrifying,” she said outside court.

I know the right wing whack jobs that read this site will think I am wrong, but it is not me who is saying this, it is the American people.

From CBS News

Four months into his second term, President Bush is increasingly viewed as being out of touch with the American people, according to a CBS News poll.

Six in ten Americans say the president does not share their priorities, while just 34 percent say he does - the lowest numbers for Mr. Bush since the eve of his first inauguration. If there’s any solace for Mr. Bush, it’s that even fewer people, just 20 percent, say Congress shares their priorities.

Overall, slightly more Americans (48 percent) disapprove of the job the president is doing than approve (46 percent).

While Mr. Bush continues to push hard for his Social Security plan, and has recently spoken out on issues like stem cell research and the fight over judicial nominees, the public is far more concerned with the war in Iraq and the economy.

Asked to name the most important problem facing the country, 19 percent of those polled cited the economy, 19 percent the war in Iraq, 7 percent terrorism and 5 percent Social Security.

Democrats stood together and voted “Nay” to cloture on John Bolton. The Democrats have been seeking some information from the State Department, but they will not give it up. What do they have to hide. Even major right winger Pat Buchanan said “If they had nothing to hide, they would give the information up”.

Here is a story from CNN

The cloture vote would have paved the way for a vote on whether to confirm the controversial nominee.

Republicans needed 60 votes to cut off the debate; they fell short by four, with a 56-42 breakdown.

The debate on Bolton’s nomination will now likely resume next month after senators return from their weeklong holiday break.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist had said he wanted a vote on the nomination before the weeklong Memorial Day holiday.

“It does disappoint me,” Frist said after the vote. “It looks like we have, once again, another filibuster.”

-snip-

“The only way to protect that power is to continue to demand that the information be provided to the Senate,” the senators said. “The only means of forcing the administration to cooperate is to prevent a final vote on the nomination today.”

On the Senate floor, the debate was passionate on both sides of the aisle.