Posts Made By: Rod Kaufman

Jim,
I agree with you, it would be a laugh riot to pick out the pork.
I'll take Alaska and their famous porkers for my picks...

Republican representative Jerry Lewis was irked to no end by a CNN reporter who discovered he earmarked a request for $550,000 for a facsimile of a marine barracks as an improvement to a park in DC.
Trouble is the Republican represents the conservatives in the California desert. So why the money for an improvement in a park thousands of miles away? Could it be the fact that the improvement to the park has anything to do with the fact the Republican owns a house a block away from it?...

Bush was bubbling all over himself today when he proudly announced that 8, yes eight, of the 16 benchmarks congress had demanded on progress in Iraq were, in fact, being met.
Let's take a closer look at those eight whoppers:
1. They formed a committee to review the constitution (again). The Iraqis evidently need to review it because nobody over there is taking the one they've already got seriously.
2. They formed committees to examine politics, the media, economics and services. It's not clear if these committtees have accomplished anything, but if their members are still alive and/or haven't left on their vacations, the committees evidently exist.
3. Established "procedures" for semi-autonomous zones. It's "procedural" at this point, ie nothing really works.
4. Have a plan to keep outlaws out of Baghdad security. Well, at least they got a plan.
5. Plans for "joint security stations" in Baghdad. It's unclear if this means joint security with US iraqi forces or joint security with Shiite/Sunni forces. Take your pick.
6. The Iraqis activiated three Brigades who actually showed up. While that's a start, none of them are capable of fighting on their own.
7. Iraqi minorities will actually have rights in the legislature. Whoppee!
8. 10 billion has actually been allocated for reconstructions projects for rebuilding projects that used to work before the US invaded the place.
We won't yet discuss thos benchmarks that have yet to be met but suffice it to say, there "meat and potatoes" issues..

Eric Barros is suing the military in order to avoid being redeployed for his FIFTH combat tour in Iraq! That's right, that crazy Bush wants this guy back in Iraq again. The poor guy is being bushed over like it's nobody's business. You might think Bush is bound and determined to get this guy one way or another. Too bad Bush doesn't go after Bin Laden in the same manner.
Eric, of course, isn't the only guy to sue the military to get out of Iraq after they've already been there, again and again and again. A military officer did so a few years ago and the military settled with the guy and he apparently made it out alive.
Eric's lawyer has filed a writ of habeas corpus before his client becomes a you know what...

Republican senators Lugar and Warner want an amendment attached to the defense appropriations bill that would declare the 2002 authorization for the use of force in Iraq "obsolete" and in need of revision. They also want contigency plans in place, including troop withdrawl, if (when) the surge strategy fails.
At least some Republicans are thinking ahead...

Iraqi prime minister stated quite plainly that US troops "can leave anytime". He also said Iraqi security forces are now capable of handling the situation, although they need more weapons and rehabilitation. Maliki's top aid also said the US is embarrassing Iraq via human rights violations and Iraq is being treated like an experiment in a "US lab."
Last month, Bush had said Iraq is an independent country and if they asked us to leave we would but he hoped they wouldn't because of the consequences of their own actions.
Well, the Iraqi PM says our troops can leave "anytime". Why wait for September?...

Bush and Cheney: Syria and Iran.
Wrong and wrong.
A senior US military officer, speaking on the condition on anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, told the LA Times today that the largest number of foreign fighters and suicide bombers come from Saudi Arabia. According to the figures supplied by the senior military officer to the LA Times, 45% of all foreign militants targeting US troops are from Saudia Arabia, 15% from Syria and Lebanon, and 10% from North Africa.
Both the White House and the State Department declined to comment on the LA Times article.
Yup, we invaded the wrong country...

You'll be pleased to know Bush has checked-up on his boy, and Roberts will be leaving the hospital, no worse for the experience. While I wish Roberts well, I'm sure Bush is looking forward to his legacy and his age of enlightenment to continue in the vein of more of the same...

For those of you that follow the economy, the dow is in freefall, losing more than 10000 points in a very short period of time. It appears to be worse than the losses that followed 9/11. The losses in the global economy aren't very pretty either.
The reason, of course, is the credit/mortgage debacle with myriads of Americans walking away from their homes, victims of either predatory lending practices or their own egos. Basically, it appears that reality is rapidly deflating the Bush economy which has been propelled by easy-credit terms and corporate greed.
While I feel Bush is correct in denying a government bailout of the mortgage industry and those in default, and I believe Hillary Clinton is wrong in suggesting a bailout, I do feel that the Bush administration could have acted proactively to prevent the looming disaster but, instead, chose to sit back and fixate on Iraq.
In the meantime, the "do-nothing" Democratic congress passed a minimum wage increase so those on the lower economic tiers can get a little more and it passed laws enacting the security safeguards recommended by the 9/11 commission which were ignorantly forgotten by the Bush administration. It has also advanced a bill on ethics, and while incomplete, it still represents a milestone compared to nothing from the previous Republican congress. All of this is, of course, overshadowed by the failure of the Democratic congress to overcome the power of the presidency in determining the course of the war in Iraq.
In my opinion, the Bush presidency will end with the country in an economic recession.
For the upcoming election, it may very well be a case again of "it's the economy, stupid" which will propel a Democrat into office...

As reported in today's LA Times, "a couple arrested at a rally after refusing to cover T-shirts that bore anti-President Bush slogans settled their lawsuit against the federal government for $80,000, the ACLU announced in Charleston."
"Nicole and Jeffery Bank of Corpus Christi, Texas were handcuffed and removed from the July 4th, 2004 rally at the state Capitol, where Bush gave a speech."
"A judge dismissed trespassing charges against them, and an order closing the case was filed in US District Court in Charleston."
An arrogant White House spokesman had this to say about the settlement: "the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing." Yeah, right. Technically he can say that but this case clearly represents Bush arrogance and the tyranny of his reign.
Bush, of course, usually gives his speeches before military personnel who can't protest against him or his audiences are carefully pre-screened in order to prevent any expression of dissent.
It's about time Bush and his cronies recognize people in America still have some rights...