The Truth Handler

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Tallying Bush progress on democracy

"President Bush projected a more democratic Middle East, a more secure world and a safer America when he launched the invasion of Iraq more than four years ago. Let's tally up the results so far."

Editorial - newsjournalonline.com

U.N.: More than 4 million Iraqis displaced

"More than 4 million Iraqis have now been displaced by violence in the country, the U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday, warning that the figure will continue to rise.

The number of Iraqis who have fled the country as refugees has risen to 2.2 million, said Jennifer Pagonis, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. A further 2 million have been driven from their homes but remain within the country, increasingly in “impoverished shanty towns,” she said."

U.N.: More than 4 million Iraqis displaced - Conflict in Iraq - MSNBC.com

The population of Iraq was only 28 million. Percentage-wise this is just a devastating number.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Pat Buchanan on Bush Starting Cold War II

“By 1988, Ronald Reagan, who had famously branded the Soviet Union ‘an evil empire,’ was striding through Red Square arm-in-arm with Mikhail Gorbachev. Russians were pounding both men on the back. They had just signed the greatest arms reduction agreement in history — eliminating all Soviet SS-20s targeted on Europe, in return for removal of the Pershing and cruise missiles Reagan had deployed in Europe. … on the eve of the G-8 summit, Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia would re-target missiles on NATO. We must, he said, counter Bush’s decision to put anti-missile missiles in Poland and radars in the Czech Republic. Why are we doing this?”

WorldNetDaily: Who lost Russia?

Reagan will be remembered for ending the cold war. Bush will be remembered for restarting it by funding the Russians with oil money, then provoking them into aiming their petrodollar-purchased, high-tech missiles at Europe, again. Did people really vote for this guy twice?

Conservatives Flunk Logic

“Hello. I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.”

Conservatives love to use this line to mock the idea that government can do constructive things for you. Nothing gets a bigger laugh at conservative gatherings. The sentence has two meanings. First, it makes fun of the notion that politicians have your interests at heart and truly wish to serve them. Not so, according to the subtext; politicians are self-serving meddlers.

Second, it implies that even when politicians are well-intended, they aren’t to be trusted. Why? Because (1) they can’t really know our best interests as individuals, and (2) even if they knew them, they wouldn’t have enough information to serve them. Good intentions aren’t enough.

It’s a double-whammy against government solutions. It gets a laugh because we can picture the scene: a pushy politician insisting on helping someone, and that person hurriedly shutting and locking his door to keep the interloper out.

That’s a good attitude to have about government, so why do conservatives refuse to apply it consistently? They see through the state’s propaganda only selectively, say, on the minimum wage or welfare or gun control. But:

• They’re happy when politicians tell recreational drug manufacturers, distributors, and consumers, “Hello. I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.”

• They’re very happy when politicians tell viewers of movies and television programs they find too risqué, “Hello. I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.”

• They’re very happy when politicians send the military to tell foreigners, “Hello. I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.”

This last case is particularly striking. The Bush administration is trying to force a “democratic” welfare state on Iraq and Afghanistan, and most conservatives couldn’t be more enthusiastic. Imperialism always entails using military might to lift up a foreign population — at least in the eyes of the imperialists. It’s “Hello. I’m from the government and I’m here to help you” writ large."

Conservatives Flunk Logic - The Future of Freedom Foundaton

This just sums it up wonderfully.

Governator Spends MORE Than Gray Davis

"State spending under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been growing faster than it did under former Gov. Gray Davis, who was ousted in a historic recall election driven mainly by a huge budget gap."

SignOnSanDiego.com - Governor's boosting his big-spender credentials

Do you guys get it now? Republicans spend more than Democrats. The long-held accusation by Republicans that Democrats are not financially responsible is a lie. How many examples do you need to keep allowing Republicans to continue using the phrase "tax & spend" without challenge? Arnold got Gray Davis RECALLED for this very reason! Recalled! Basically undoing democracy! The deceit is just astounding.

Soviet-Style ‘Torture’ Becomes ‘Interrogation’

"HOW did the United States, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, come to adopt interrogation techniques copied from the Soviet Union and other cold war adversaries?

Investigators for the Senate Armed Services Committee are examining how the methods, long used to train Americans for what they may face as prisoners of war, became the basis for American interrogations."

Soviet-Style ‘Torture’ Becomes ‘Interrogation’ - New York Times

We're becoming what we hated.

One Republican Senator Tries to SECRETLY Block the Freedom of Information Act

"Members of the Society of Professional Journalists, the nation's largest journalism advocacy organization, used the power of the blogosphere to find out whose legislative bludgeon was buried in the back of open government. We called every senator, one by one, until at last - when it became clear he could hide no longer - Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., came blinking and grimacing into the sunlight and admitted that it was he who placed a secret hold ... on a bill that addresses secrecy in government.
You can't make this stuff up."

The Denver Post - Sun shines on Congress' secret

Oh, the irony!

Detainee Abuse Was Well Planned

"Many of the controversial interrogation tactics used against terror suspects in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo were modeled on techniques the U.S. feared that the Communists themselves might use against captured American troops during the Cold War, according to a little-noticed, highly classified Pentagon report released several days ago."

Detainee Abuse Was Well Planned | TIME

I miss the moral highground.

Discontent Over Iraq Increasing, Poll Finds

"Almost six in 10 Americans said they do not think the additional troops sent to Iraq since the beginning of the year will help restore civil order there, and 53 percent -- a new high in Post-ABC News polls -- said they do not believe that the war has contributed to the long-term security of the United States."

Discontent Over Iraq Increasing, Poll Finds - washingtonpost.com

DHS Wants to Use Our Cell Phones to Sniff for Chemicals

"American cell phones can already check e-mail, surf the Internet and store music, but they could have a new set of features in coming years: the Department of Homeland Security wants them to sense biological, chemical and radioactive material."

CQ Homeland Security - DHS Wants Cell Phones to Detect Chemical, Radioactive Material

More Dick Cheney Secrecy

"The Associated Press reported that Mr. Cheney’s office ordered the Secret Service last September to destroy all records of visitors to the official vice presidential mansion — right after The Washington Post sued for access to the logs. That move was made in secret, naturally. It came out only because of another lawsuit, filed by a private group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, seeking the names of conservative religious figures who visited the vice president’s residence.

This disdain for accountability is distressing, but not surprising. Mr. Cheney has had it on display from his first days in office, when he refused to name the energy-industry executives who met with him behind closed doors to draft an energy policy."

Dick Cheney Rules - New York Times

Secrecy defines this administration. Funny, that's how all dictators like to work, too. Democracy and free countries are not about secrecy, they are about shining lights into the dark corners of governmental power. As much as Bush and Cheney talk about spreading democracy and freedom, they do the exact opposite when it comes to their own power.

Former FOX News Employees Describe Bias (video)

OUTFOXED : Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism - Google Video

Monday, June 4, 2007

Iraq Is Korea? Bush's latest appalling historical analogy

"It's no news that George W. Bush and his handlers don't know much about history, but their latest stab at pretending otherwise is among their most ludicrous."

Bush's appalling Iraq-Korea comparison. - By Fred Kaplan - Slate Magazine

Canadian remains in Guantanamo after all charges dropped

"A U.S. military judge today dismissed all terrorism charges against Canadian Omar Khadr after ruling the Bush administration's new war crimes tribunals lacked jurisdiction to hear his case.

The stunning decision throws the controversial U.S. military commission into turmoil yet again and prompted immediate calls for the White House to scrap the controversial tribunals.

But despite the dismissal of Mr. Khadr's charges, the 20-year-old Canadian will remain behind bars at the American military base..."

Khadr remains in detention after all charges dropped

20-years old? Does that make him 15-16 when they imprisoned him?

VFW blasts inquiry into anti-war vets

"The nation's largest combat veterans group urged the military Friday to "exercise a little common sense" and call off its investigation of a group of Iraq war veterans who wore their uniforms during anti-war protests.

"Trying to hush up and punish fellow Americans for exercising the same Democratic right we're trying to instill in Iraq is not what we're all about," said Gary Kurpius, national commander of the 2.4 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars."

Star-Telegram.com | 06/02/2007 | VFW blasts inquiry into anti-war vets

This government's attempts to quell any and all voices against the war is beginning to fail. They know that hearing from soldiers and mothers of dead solders are the most powerful and credible voices out there, so they attack them the hardest. Veterans know better. It's nice to see them stand up the to bullying tactics of this administration and the military.

President Bush has torn the conservative coalition asunder - Peggy Noonan

"The White House doesn't need its traditional supporters anymore, because its problems are way beyond being solved by the base. And the  people in the administration don't even much like the base. Desperate straits have left them liberated, and they are acting out their disdain. Leading Democrats often think their base is slightly mad but at least their heart is in the right place. This White House thinks its base is stupid and that its heart is in the wrong place.

For almost three years, arguably longer, conservative Bush supporters have felt like sufferers of battered wife syndrome. You don't like endless gushing spending, the kind that assumes a high and unstoppable affluence will always exist, and the tax receipts will always flow in? Too bad! You don't like expanding governmental authority and power? Too bad. You think the war was wrong or is wrong? Too bad."

OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Attacks on U.S. Troops in Iraq Grow in Lethality, Complexity

"As U.S. troops push more deeply into Baghdad and its volatile outskirts, Iraqi insurgents are using increasingly sophisticated and lethal means of attack, including bigger roadside bombs that are resulting in greater numbers of American fatalities relative to the number of wounded.
Insurgents are deploying huge, deeply buried munitions set up to protect their territory and mounting complex ambushes that demonstrate their ability to respond rapidly to U.S. tactics. A new counterinsurgency strategy has resulted in decreased civilian deaths in Baghdad but has placed thousands of additional American troops at greater risk in small outposts in the capital and other parts of the country."

Attacks on U.S. Troops in Iraq Grow in Lethality, Complexity - washingtonpost.com

More lovely unintended consequences of this brilliant "war" - we're training them to be better killers.

Friday, June 1, 2007

Republican Senator Blocks Open Government Act

"Dozens of journalism and advocacy groups supporting the Open Government Act say it would speed up the government's response to public requests for information under the federal Freedom of Information law."

Kyl draws ire of open government backers | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Getting a Canadian Quarter in Your Change No Longer a Joking Matter

"The Canadian dollar will reach parity with the U.S. currency by the end of 2007 with the help of high commodity prices, ongoing merger-related interest and higher interest rates, CIBC World Markets said on Friday."

Canada dlr to hit parity with USD by end '07 - Reuters.com

That's the effects of our wonderful "fiscal conservatives" at work! Can you feel America getting more financially sound?

Karl Rove's Right Hand Man Quits AL AG Job over Vote Caging

What the heck is vote caging, and why does nobody care? - By Dahlia Lithwick - Slate Magazine

Russia: Cold War arms race is starting again

"The Russian foreign minister today declared that the Cold War arms race has restarted, 24 hours after Russia announced it had tested a missile capable of breaking through any planned US missile shield."

Russia: Cold War arms race is starting again | International News | News | Telegraph

Reagan is remembered for beating them in the Cold War. Bush will be remembered for starting it back up, then funding their side with oil money.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Gates Favors Residual U.S. Force in Iraq After Most Troops Exit

"Gates said such a force would be necessary to ease the security concerns of American allies near Iraq."

Bloomberg.com: News

Wow. The goalposts just keep moving backward. Get rid of WMD, then regime change, then elections, then democracy, then kill terrorists, then stability, now it's "ease concerns of allies?!" Please tell me you guys are finally beginning to think that the ever-shifting reasoning for extending this occupation to forever is beyond suspicious.

The cost is already at half a trillion. What will it be after 50 years? Is "easing the concerns of our allies" worth trillions of dollars? Can't we figure out a cheaper way to ease their concerns? How about we fly each of them to Las Vegas for a weekend. I think we might save some money.

Amputee soldiers return to active duty

"In an about-face by the Pentagon, the military is putting many more amputees back on active duty — even back into combat, in some cases."

Amputee soldiers return to active duty - Yahoo! News

Ya think they're having any recruitment problems?

Google Maps "Street View" Feature Allows You to Peep in on...well, everyone

"The new Google Maps zoom feature zooms all the way into my living room window. See cat on cat perch.

I'm all for mapping, but this feature literally gives me the shakes. I feel like I need to close all my curtains now. I'm going to look into whether it's possible for a person to have pictures of their home removed from Google Maps. Meanwhile, I'm happy to show bb readers the photo in the interest of illustrating creepy privacy violations. Heck, the whole world can see him anyway."

Boing Boing: Google Maps is spying on my cat, says freaked out BB reader

Privacy concerns?

William F. Buckley, Jr. is a Damn Hippie!

"The congressional initiative to take coal and transform it into a liquid that serves to replace various fuels is going to have a hard time. Coalescing as fighting camps are (l) a public that says we have to devise a means of producing energy without dependence on the Persian Gulf, and (2) a public that says that the coal-based alternative being offered neglects the superordinate demands of our country and of our planet."
...

"The planet is ours, but the planet, for all that it gives us so much abundance, is closing in on the question of energy, so that before long we will need the sun and the wind to keep us mobile."

William F. Buckley Jr. on Energy on National Review Online

For those of you who didn't catch my attempt at irony in the title, William F. Buckley is one of the leading conservative voices in America. He is writing about our country's dependence on foreign oil, the nasty effects of coal on our environment, and the positive alternative energies such as solar and wind. I post it in an attempt to quell conservative voices who seem to use namecalling (such as that in the title of the post) to shout down people who suggest alternative energies as solutions to environmental and energy concerns.

Bush's detention facilities

“Last week, WND reported President Bush had signed May 9 a little-reported National Security and Homeland Security Directive (NSPD-51 and NSPD-20) that granted extraordinary powers to the president in the event of a declared national emergency, apparently without congressional approval or oversight. NSPD-51/HSPD-20, published on the White House website, rescinds Presidential Decision Directive 67 signed by Bill Clinton Oct. 21, 1998, and establishes a new White House office of the National Continuity Coordinator, a position now occupied by Frances Fragos Townsend, the assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Terrorism. The new directive concentrates an unprecedented amount of emergency authority in the office of the president, specifying that the president now has the authority to direct ‘National Essential Functions’ of all federal state, local, territorial and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations in the event of a national emergency.”

WorldNetDaily: Bush's detention facilities

When you read this consider the fact that worldnetdaily.com is one of the most conservative news and commentary websites on the net. The basic "unAmericanness" of Bush's continued efforts to consolidate power in the executive branch is beyond Democrat/Republican, it's just not what our country is about. I think conservatives are beginning to understand this.

Bush's Failed Campaign To Rebrand America

“You’ve probably never heard of a State Department official named Price Floyd (I hadn’t until a few days ago), but his resignation-in-protest, late last March, is as damning a commentary on President George W. Bush’s foreign policies as any of the critiques from retired military officers. Floyd was director of media relations at Foggy Bottom, the most recent of several diplomatic posts that he’d held over the past 17 years, beginning in the administration of Bush’s father. He explained his reason for quitting in a little-read op-ed piece in the May 25 edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (his former hometown newspaper): Basically, he was tired of trying to convince journalists, here and abroad, ‘that we should not be judged by our actions, only our words.’ Ever since Sept. 11, the State Department, he noted, has embarked on ‘an unprecedented effort’ to explain U.S. foreign policy to both American and foreign audiences. His office arranged more than 6,500 interviews, half with international media. On any given day, senior officials were doing four or five interviews. And yet, poll after poll revealed rising animosity toward America. But the problem wasn’t our words; as he put it, ‘What we don’t have here is a failure to communicate.’ Rather, it was our actions, ‘which speak the loudest of all.’”

Bush's failed campaign to rebrand America. - By Fred Kaplan - Slate Magazine

"Actions speak louder than words", one of my favorite pieces of timeless wisdom.

Guantanamo Saudi 'kills himself'

"A statement by the US Southern Command said the inmate was found unresponsive and not breathing by guards, and attempts to revive him failed.

Two Saudis and a Yemeni prisoner were found hanged in an apparent suicide at the camp in June last year.
There are about 380 prisoners at the camp, some held for five years."

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Guantanamo Saudi 'kills himself'

Young men are dying down there. We don't know if they are innocent or guilty of anything because we won't give them a fair trial. We do know that torture methods are used there. It seems those methods are contributing factors to these deaths. Why are these 380 men worth our country's worldwide reputation and credibility?

Bush sees South Korea model for Iraq

"President Bush envisions a long-term U.S. troop presence in Iraq
similar to the one in South Korea where American forces have helped
keep an uneasy peace for more than 50 years, the White House said
Wednesday." (emphasis mine)

Palm Beach Post - News from The Associated Press

If they had tried to sell us this up front, it never would have passed. Can anyone still argue that this isn't/wasn't always about oil?

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

South Korea joins rush to build ever taller buildings

South Korea joins rush to build ever taller buildings - International Herald Tribune

There are 42 skyscrapers in the construction or
planning phase around the world that are over 1,000 feet tall. Only
five are in the United States.

Cheney lawyer told Secret Service not to keep copies of visitor logs

"A lawyer for Vice President Dick Cheney told the Secret Service in
September to eliminate data on who visited Cheney at his official
residence, a newly disclosed letter states.
The Sept. 13, 2006, letter from Cheney's lawyer says logs for
Cheney's residence on the grounds of the Naval Observatory are subject
to the Presidential Records Act."

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Nation -- Cheney lawyer told Secret Service not to keep copies of visitor logs

Russia Says New ICBM Can Beat Any System

"Russia tested new missiles Tuesday that a Kremlin official boasted could penetrate any defense system, and President Vladimir Putin warned that U.S. plans for an anti-missile shield in Europe would turn the region into a "powder keg."

My Way News - Russia Says New ICBM Can Beat Any System

By spending $1 trillion on a war whose only purpose was to keep the oil flowing our way, instead of to China, we have driven up the price of Russia's number one export to levels where they are absolutely rolling in money. As a result, they can afford to make cool weapons systems like the one above.

So, to break this down...we are spending $1 trillion on bullets and conventional weapons which we are using up in Iraq. Other countries are using their defense budgets to build up weapons specifically to use against us.

Do you still feel safer supporting this war?

U.S. Raising Visa Fees 66%

"Among the many fees that will rise is the one for a legal immigrant to apply to become a United States citizen; it will increase 66 percent, to $675 from $405. An immigrant applying to become a legal permanent resident will pay $1,010, a 155 percent increase over the current $395 fee."

U.S. Raising Visa Fees 66% on Average, to Advocates’ Dismay - New York Times

Give us your tired, your huddled masses (as long as they're rich).

Fitzgerald Again Points to Cheney

"Special counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald has made it clearer than ever that he was hot on the trail of a coordinated campaign to out CIA agent Valerie Plame until that line of investigation was cut off by the repeated lies from Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby."

Dan Froomkin - Fitzgerald Again Points to Cheney - washingtonpost.com

Fla. Man Invents Machine To Turn Water Into Fuel

"A Florida man may have accidentally invented a machine that could solve the gasoline and energy crisis plaguing the U.S., WPBF News 25 reported."

Fla. Man Invents Machine To Turn Water Into Fire - News Story - WPBF West Palm Beach

Maybe it would have been worth giving this idea (along with 455 other ones) $1 billion of the $456 we've spent in Iraq so far. Maybe that would have been a better idea than killing hundreds of thousands of people and turning world opinion against us.

U.S. economy leaving record numbers in severe poverty

"The percentage of poor Americans who are living in severe poverty has reached a 32-year high, millions of working Americans are falling closer to the poverty line and the gulf between the nation's "haves" and "have-nots" continues to widen." (emphasis mine)

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 02/22/2007 | U.S. economy leaving record numbers in severe poverty

Another inspiring metric of the great 6-year Republican experment.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Plame was ‘covert’ agent at time of name leak

Plame was ‘covert’ agent at time of name leak - Politics - MSNBC.com

It's official. Republicans tried to suggest that outing her was no big deal because she was not an active agent...but she was. This administration tries to suggest they are tough on terrorists, yet they outed an undercover agent working SPECIFICALLY on anti-terror measures. It takes years and years to get an agent into the position Ms. Plame was in and to build the trust she did. They outed her for purely political reasons. They don't care about our national security, all they care about is retaining power.

Ron Paul Gets 91% in Straw Poll; Not the Work of Spammers

"Popular online web site dedicated to election polls proves that the online support of Ron Paul (news, bio, voting record) is legitimate and not the work of spammers."

Yahoo! News

Nearly 30 DOJ Officials Threatened To Quit After Ashcroft Hospital Visit

Bush’s Monica Problem: The Gonzales Mess - Newsweek

Maybe this country would be better off if all the lawyers in the DOJ came from Pat Robertson's Regent U. instead of Harvard and Yale? When it's not about justice anymore, but about partisan agendas, why would anyone want to join except those on board with the agenda?

Bush: People agree with me

"Confronted with strong opposition to his Iraq policies, President Bush decides to interpret public opinion his own way. Actually, he says, people agree with him."

Bush: People agree with me :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Nation

The lies are right in front of you. You don't even have to dig for them anymore.