The Truth Handler

Monday, July 30, 2007

How Much Jail Time Should a Woman Who Has an Abortion Serve?

The man behind the camera is asking demonstrators who want abortion criminalized what the penalty should be for a woman who has one nonetheless. You have rarely seen people look more gobsmacked. It's as though the guy has asked them to solve quadratic equations. Here are a range of responses: "I've never really thought about it." "I don't have an answer for that." "I don't know." "Just pray for them."

Quindlen: How Much Jail Time for Women Who Have Abortions? - Newsweek Anna Quindlen - MSNBC.com

I suggest going further than that, even. Ask yourself what should the penalty then be for a woman who drinks while pregnant? smokes? acts "recklessly" with the unborn child's life by downhill skiing? eats junk food? etc... Is it some form of manslaughter?

When you get the government involved with trying to control others' behavior, it just leads to a litany of regulations and bureaucracy that we just don't want and can't afford.

Interesting: CEO Pay vs. Avg. Employee over 30 years

Business Infographics - Diagrams - Illustrations - Portfolio.com

Move scale back and forth long the bottom to see changes...

Whitehouse Stonewalling California's Effort to Set State Air Quality Standards Stricter than National Rules

"The Bush administration's environment chief drew fire on Thursday from Democratic senators for delaying a decision on whether to let California regulate global warming emissions from cars and light trucks."

EPA chief draws fire on warming waiver - Climate Change - MSNBC.com

Aren't Republican's supposed to be for "state's rights?"

Bush Aide Blocks Surgeon General's Report Because It Doesn't Support the Administration

"A surgeon general's report in 2006 that called on Americans to help tackle global health problems has been kept from the public by a Bush political appointee without any background or expertise in medicine or public health, chiefly because the report did not promote the administration's policy accomplishments, according to current and former public health officials."

Bush Aide Blocked Report - washingtonpost.com

Are you beginning to see the mentality of the Bush administration now? Are you beginning to see why it was not the result of "faulty intelligence" that we're in this war, but every decision made based on politics, not on facts?

Good History of the Questionable Usefulness of the CIA (as it's currently run)

"He paints a portrait of a rogue agency which devoted more time to covert action to oust governments than to gathering information about America's enemies, and which failed to predict every big international event from the outbreak of the Korean War to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 9/11 attacks."

Oops, I'm afraid our guys didn't see that one coming - World News, Frontpage - Independent.ie

Notice the focus of the CIA, "devoted...to oust governments...[rather] than...gathering information..." Keep this in mind when you ask yourself, "Why did they attack us on 9/11?" Ron Paul has it right. We're meddling in their countries. And it's not just dictators that we are attempting to oust. We are attempting to oust democratically elected governments. This meddling does not make us safer. It makes us less safe.

Americans Beginning to Reject Aggressive Foreign Policy

"More adults in the United States question their government’s rationale on foreign affairs, according to a poll by the New York Times and CBS News. 54 per cent of respondents think the U.S. will be safer from terrorism in the long run if it stays out of other countries’ affairs in the Middle East, up five points since October."

Americans Reject Aggressive Foreign Policy: Angus Reid Global Monitor

Good news for Ron Paul. People are beginning to come around to his way of thinking.

Bush's False Claim That We're Fighting Them There So We Don't Have to Fight Them Here

"It's also misleading for Bush to imply that there is some finite number of volunteers for jihadist duty, that they're all being drawn to Iraq and that exterminating them there will bring victory. The daily suicide bombings and other attacks in Iraq, in Afghanistan and elsewhere indicate that, after six years, we haven't diminished the unending supply of jihadists willing to die for their cause. Killing a few hundred or a few thousand of them in Iraq is like whacking the cockroaches you see running across your kitchen counter. It ignores the zillions that are breeding in the walls."

Bush's folly - Los Angeles Times

The above paragraph is key. The whole argument of those who wish to fight terrorism through the use of aggression and occupying foreign countries hinges on the fact that there is a fixed number of terrorists, and once we kill them, we will "win." This is just silly. The longer we're there, the more they will want us out of there. Average Iraqis are turning against us as they see more and more of their family and friends killed by our soldiers and civilian contractors.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Humor of the Day

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Iraqi PM and Gen.Petraeus Threatening Each Other

One Iraqi source said Mr Maliki used a video conference with Mr Bush to call for the general's signature strategy to be scrapped. "He told Bush that if Petraeus continues, he would arm Shia militias," said the official. "Bush told Maliki to calm down."

Iraqi leader tells Bush: Get Gen Petraeus out - Telegraph

Friday, July 27, 2007

Testimony: Filipinos Kidnapped and Forced to Work on $600 million US Embassy in Iraq

Private U.S. Contractor Kills a Bodyguard of Iraqi VP for No Reason. Goes Home, No Charges.

"Nevertheless, Abdul-Mahdi told the ambassador, he hoped the contractor would be brought to justice because Iraqis would not understand how a foreigner could kill an Iraqi and be spirited back home a free man.

Seven months later, the contractor has not been charged with any crime."

HAMPTON ROADS Military (Printable Version)

These are the sorts of things that show that we are making it worse as we are trying to make it better. There are tens of thousands armed U.S. citizens running around Iraq working as private security contractors. They are not being held accountable for their actions. Can the average Iraqi tell the difference between a U.S. soldier and one of these guys?

Electricity Availability Down to Just 1-2 hrs/day in Baghdad. How to fix the problem? Stop reporting to Congress on electricity availability.

"As the Bush administration struggles to convince lawmakers that its Iraq war strategy is working, it has stopped reporting to Congress a key quality-of-life indicator in Baghdad: how long the power stays on.

Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week that Baghdad residents could count on only "an hour or two a day" of electricity. That's down from an average of five to six hours a day earlier this year."

U.S. drops Baghdad electricity reports - Los Angeles Times

Bush: Al Qaeda's Best Publicist

"Like any terrorist organization, al-Qaeda wants attention. It wants to be perceived as powerful. And it particularly wants Americans to live in fear.

Could al-Qaeda possibly have found a better publicist than President Bush?

At a South Carolina Air Force base yesterday, Bush mentioned al-Qaeda and bin Laden 118 times in 29 minutes, arguing that the violence unleashed by the U.S. invasion in Iraq would somehow come to America's shores if U.S. troops were to withdraw.

But the majority of that violence in Iraq is caused either by Iraqis murdering each other for religious reasons or by Iraqis trying to throw off the American occupation. The group that calls itself al-Qaeda in Iraq is only one of a multitude of factions creating chaos in that country..."

Dan Froomkin - Al Qaeda's Best Publicist - washingtonpost.com

Bush Changes Reasons for War Yet Again

"The president then raised the stakes still further by suggesting anything less than that would be a personal triumph for Osama bin Laden. With heavy emphasis, he framed the conflict in Iraq not as a sectarian struggle between long-feuding factions there, but as a duel between two outsiders — the United States and al-Qaida. The forces of America versus the forces of Sept. 11. Us versus them. Good versus evil.

The actual country of Iraq, it seems, is just the unfortunate stage on which this Armageddon occurs. Iraq's own history, religion, politics and culture are of less importance, distractions that were not mentioned in the president's speech."

NPR : Bush Reframes the War in Iraq

Americans now trust Democrats more than Republicans on every single issue, including national security and taxes

"When it comes to National Security, Democrats are now trusted more by 42% of likely voters, Republicans by 40%. This means that Democrats now enjoy at least a nominal edge on all ten issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports to gauge voters' trust of the two major parties."

Rasmussen Reports™: The most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a mid-term election.

Bush Accuses Dems of Trying to shape war strategy in Iraq. But he will allow a DC think tank to formulate strategy over the objections of the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command

"When it comes to the troop surge in Iraq, a bunch of arm chair generals in Washington are influencing the Bush Administration as much as the Joint Chiefs or theater commanders.

A group of military experts at the American Enterprise Institute, concerned that the U.S. was on the verge of a calamitous failure in Iraq, almost single handedly convinced the White House to change its strategy."

Arm chair generals help shape surge in Iraq - Examiner.com

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Taxpayers on the hook for $59 trillion

The federal government recorded a $1.3 trillion loss last year — far more than the official $248 billion deficit — when corporate-style accounting standards are used, a USA TODAY analysis shows.
...
Modern accounting requires that corporations, state governments and local governments count expenses immediately when a transaction occurs, even if the payment will be made later.

The federal government does not follow the rule, so promises for Social Security and Medicare don't show up when the government reports its financial condition.

Taxpayers on the hook for $59 trillion - USATODAY.com

The U.S.'s GDP was $11.7 trillion in 2006.

Fox News Makes Many "Mistakes" Which Favor Republicans

Daily Kos: O'Reilly & the grand FOX Nutwork tradition

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Study: Iraqis May Experience Sadness When Friends, Relatives Die

"A field study released Monday by the University of North Carolina School of Public Health suggests that Iraqi citizens experience sadness and a sense of loss when relatives, spouses, and even friends perish, emotions that have until recently been identified almost exclusively with Westerners."

Study: Iraqis May Experience Sadness When Friends, Relatives Die | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Nearly half of Americans believe that military strength ensures peace, we've always been at war with Oceania, and some animals are more equal than others

"Only about half of Americans (49%) now say they think that maintaining military strength is the best way to ensure peace – the lowest percentage in the 20- year history of Pew values surveys and down sharply from the 62% who said so in the summer of 2002, less than a year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks."

49% - Say Military Strength Ensures Peace - Yahoo! News

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Goldman Sachs Guru Warns of War-Debt Failure

"Foreign banks are dumping dollar reserves, while we gorge on cheap toys and bad pet food. Actually, our biggest "terrorist" threat is internal: Distorted values are downgrading our nation's "creditworthiness." We're like out-of-control kids with stolen credit cards, spending our future with no plans to repay."

Is America becoming a global credit risk? - MarketWatch

We cannot afford to police the world. Overexpansion of empire is how Rome fell, do we wish the same fate? Republicans got control of our government and we found out the truth...they are not fiscal conservatives. Bush is the first president to cut taxes during wartime. Bush is looting the nation, and causing a tremendous burden for our children and our grandchildren. If you believe in the concept of no taxation without representation, how can you think it is ethical to financially burden people who aren't even born yet?

Iraqis Blame U.S. Depleted Uranium for Surge in Cancer

"Iraq's environment minister blamed Monday the use of depleted uranium weapons by U.S. forces during the 2003 Operation Shock and Awe for the current surge in cancer cases across the country.

As a result of "at least 350 sites in Iraq being contaminated during bombing" with depleted uranium (DU) weapons, Nermin Othman said, the nation is facing about 140,000 cases of cancer, with 7,000 to 8,000 new ones registered each year."

RIA Novosti - World - Iraqis blame U.S. depleted uranium for surge in cancer

If Iraqis are being affected, so are our soldiers. I don't know about you, but I don't feel good about making Iraq radioactive for the next 200,000 years.

For Those of You Who Don't Think Ron Paul Is Electable, Look At This

"...in last month's primary, the runoff pitted two Republicans against each other to succeed Rep. Charlie Norwood, who died in February. Poorly funded physician Paul Broun Jr. scored a shocking 50.4% victory over former state Sen. Jim Whitehead, the establishment's consensus favorite. Columnist Robert Novak says Dr. Broun's victory has "terrified those incumbent Republican House members who had thought themselves safe for re-election in 2008"

He prevailed...with a pledge that, once in Congress, he would apply a four-way test before voting on any bill: Is it constitutional and a proper function of government? Is it morally correct? Is it something we really need? Is it something we can afford? He has said that, like libertarian congressman and fellow physician Ron Paul of Texas, he will always carry a pocket copy of the Constitution with him and consult it before voting."

Wall Street OpinionJournal - John Fund on the Trail

An underfunded, Constitutionalist doctor from the south wins big over a well-funded establishment type...hmmm, interesting. Notice the quote from Robert Novak, the conservative journalist. The Neocons are sitting up and taking notice of this ground swell. Voters are sick and tired of being lied to. They want leaders with integrity and who respect the founding ideals of this country.

Monday, July 23, 2007

New Documentary Opening July 27 "No End In Sight"

Bush Has Plan After Terror Attack, But Noone Allowed to See It

"As a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, DeFazio, D-Ore., is permitted to enter a secure "bubbleroom'' in the Capitol and examine classified material. So he asked the White House to see the secret documents.On Wednesday, DeFazio got his answer: DENIED."I just can't believe they're going to deny a member of Congress the right of reviewing how they plan to conduct the government of the United States after a significant terrorist attack,'' DeFazio said."

Newhouse News Service - Congressman Denied Access To Post-Attack Continuity Plans

Bush thinks it his government. It it not. It is ours.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Wow! Must-Read NY Times Article on Ron Paul

There is something homespun about Paul, reminiscent of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." He communicates with his constituents through birthday cards, August barbecues and the cookbooks his wife puts together every election season, which mix photos of grandchildren, Gospel passages and neighbors’ recipes for Velveeta cheese fudge and Cherry Coke salad. He is listed in the phone book, and his constituents call him at home. But there is also something cosmopolitan and radical about him...

This side of Paul has made him the candidate of many people, on both the right and the left, who hope that something more consequential than a mere change of party will come out of the 2008 elections...(emphasis mine)

Much later, after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, he began reading St. Augustine. "I was annoyed by the evangelicals’ being so supportive of pre-emptive war, which seems to contradict everything that I was taught as a Christian," he recalls. "The religion is based on somebody who’s referred to as the Prince of Peace."

The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul

Both Republicans and Democrats seem to be in morass in Washington. They are viewed as self-serving, corrupt, and ineffective. It's very understandable. It's nothing more complicated than our basic human weakness of desire for power and its inherent corruption. I think most people understand this, but feel stuck for a solution.

Ron Paul has an idea, however. His suggestion is very simple, and addresses this root cause directly; limit the consolidation of power in any one entity/individuals' hand, and restore it back into the hands of the individual. By shifting power in this way, individuals can only legally create change through persuasion and mutually-beneficial transactions, rather than force. The result is a moral society based upon respect for an individual and his/her rights and liberties. How can a society built on this basis not command the respect of its people and have integrity among nations?

Drink most to blame for violent offences

"Violent crime is overwhelmingly fuelled by drink rather than drugs, with nearly half of all incidents linked to alcohol, according to the British Crime Survey published yesterday. Just 17% of violent offences are committed by people who have been using drugs, the figures show."

Drink most to blame for violent offences | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics

Maybe the wrong substance is illegal? Wait, we tried that and crime went up.
People who wish to keep "drugs" (and by this they randomly choose those not created by Budweiser, Pfizer, Coke, Starbucks, or Marlboro) illegal always seem to be afraid of ultra-potent versions of them...crack, heroin, etc... But, the fact is, when alcohol was illegal, people drank moonshine, an ultra-powerful and harmful version of alcohol. When it was made legal, corporations (who are within the confines of the legal system, and are therefore able to be sued) decided to produce a "safe" product at much lower doses. Consumer, who are smart, chose the lower dose, safer versions, as well. Why do they not think the same process will occur for cocoa leaves, poppy flowers, etc...?

Bush Shoots Down Children's Health Plan

"President Bush yesterday rejected entreaties by his Republican allies that he compromise with Democrats on legislation to renew a popular program that provides health coverage to poor children, saying that expanding the program would enlarge the role of the federal government..." (emphasis mine)

Bush: No Deal On Children's Health Plan - washingtonpost.com

Bush, now that he doesn't have a Republican congress, is all of a sudden rejecting spending on "philosophical grounds." He didn't veto ONE spending measure that his Republican congress sent him. Spending during those years rose 45%, NOT including war costs. Giant increases in entitlement programs were common. The prescription drug program was the largest increase in an entitlement program EVER. When Bush uses his ideology selectively it breeds distrust. Why are you sticking to it now? Why not before? When one uses government power to play politics and help your buddies' businesses, it's not sticking to your "philosophical" ideals, it's graft and immoral. If you want to see someone making consistent decisions based on philosophical grounds look no further than Ron Paul. Because he is so consistent, his integrity is intact. This is what makes a good leader, one we can respect.

Bush Wrong About Iraq Pullout, According to Pentagon Scenarios

"Supporters of the war in Iraq -- including President George W. Bush -- claim that a withdrawal of US forces would lead to an al Qaeda takeover of Iraq. Yet according to Pentagon war games, this scenario is highly unlikely."

The Raw Story | War games show Bush wrong on Iraq pullout; Qaeda unlikely to succeed

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Extensive Article on Ron Paul in this Sunday's NY Times

Ron Paul 2008: Ron Paul in New York Times Sunday Magazine

Whether the article's overall tone is positive or negative doesn't matter. What Dr. Paul needs right now is name recognition. When people hear him speak, his integrity sells itself.

Canadian Dollar at 30-Year High vs. U.S. Dollar

Bloomberg.com: News

How's that Republican fiscal conservatism treating us, huh?

Turkey Bombards Northern Iraq, Iraq Says

"The Iraqi government said Turkish artillery and warplanes bombarded areas of northern Iraq on Wednesday and called on Turkey to stop military operations and resolve the conflict diplomatically."

Turkey Bombards Northern Iraq, Iraq Says, Iraqi Government Regrets What It Calls Turkish Bombardment Of Iraqi Border Areas - CBS News

The U.S. should really stay. It's really helping keep order in Iraq.

Threat Alert Jesus

Threat Alert Jesus

He glows the Homeland Security threat level!

How the News Works

This Modern World | Salon Comics

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Ron Paul to Place 2nd in Iowa Straw Poll: Townhall.com Prediction

"He leads the second tier in cash-on-hand. He was able to get 1,200 people out to the Hy-Vee (has any candidate done something that big on their own, not at an RPI event?). His home base in Texas isn’t that far of a drive, and his people are motivated enough to come in from out of state for him. And he’s making a big push on his Web site, which for all intents and purposes, is his campaign."

Townhall.com::Blog

All Dr. Paul needs is for people to hear him speak, to watch his YouTube.com videos. His character and his message sell themselves. What will a second do for his name recognition?

Local attorney acquitted on federal income tax charges

"Cryer stopped filing income taxes more than 10 years ago"

The Shreveport Times

TTH in the Ron Paul Database

theronpauldatabase - The Ron Paul DatabaseEvery site, list, and idea organized in one place

This could be a very good resource if it stays updated.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Fiscal Conservatism - Check out Table of Spending for White House

Ben Moseley - Chart of President's Office Spending

1997 - $221 mil.
1998 - $237
1999 - $417
2000 - $283
2001 - $246
2002 - $451
2003 - $386
2004 - $3,349
2005 - $7,686
2006 - $5.379
2007(est.) - $2,677

Pentagon kills Rumsfeld 'propaganda' unit

"Current Defense Secretary Robert Gates has scrapped an institution established by his predecessor Donald Rumsfeld to rapidly counter messages in the press that the Pentagon considered negative, according to a report in Friday's Washington Times."

The Raw Story | Pentagon kills Rumsfeld 'propaganda' unit

Propaganda is bad, right? This is what we verbally attacked the USSR for using, right?

Ron Paul is the US Military's #1 Choice

"Yes you heard me right. Now that all Q2 financial reports from both sides are publicized we can see who is getting money from where.

It has been no surprise that the contributions from the US Navy, US Army, US Air Force, and US Veterans tends to favor the Republican Party but what might be a little surprising is that Congressman Ron Paul leads the pack overall with more contributions than even Senator John McCain. Here are the numbers (in dollars) as compiled by eaglescout over at TheSpinFactor.com:

NAME: TOTAL [ARMY] [NAVY] [AIRFORCE] [VETERAN]
RON PAUL: 23,465 [6,975] [6,765] [4,650] [5,075]
McCain: 15,825 [6925] [6305] [1795] [800]
Romney: 3,551 [2,051] [0] [1500] [0]
Rudy: 2,320 [1,450] [370] [250] [250]
Hunter: 1000 [0] [1000] [0]
Richardson: 800 [50] [750] [0]
Huckabee: 750 [250] [0] [500]
Tancredo: 350 [350] [0] [0]
Brownback: 71 [71] [0] [0]
Thompson: 0 [0] [0] [0]

Units are contributions in dollars by employees of the respective military organizations (all numbers can be found via the FEC Website )."

Ron Paul is the US Military's #1 Choice | Students for Ron Paul