Veterans for Peace Urge Impeachment
“I, too, feel that George Bush does not represent me and the Republican Party.”
– GOP Attendee at a Veterans for Peace meeting in Wisconson.
Month: July 2005
President Bush’s Statements on Iraq
Here we have the conservative connundrum writ large.
Were President Bush’s statements urging the country to war with Iraq meant deliberately to mislead, or do they merely reflect monstrous incompetence on the part of the president and his administration?
President Bush’s statements on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, in chronological order, were:
“Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons.”
– United Nations address, September 12, 2002
“Iraq has stockpiled biological and chemical weapons, and is rebuilding the facilities used to make more of those weapons.”
“We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons — the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have.”
– Radio address, October 5, 2002
“The Iraqi regime . . . possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons.”
“We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas.”
“We’ve also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas. We’re concerned that Iraq is exploring ways of using these UAVS for missions targeting the United States.”
“The evidence indicates that Iraq is reconstituting its nuclear weapons program. Saddam Hussein has held numerous meetings with Iraqi nuclear scientists, a group he calls his “nuclear mujahideen” — his nuclear holy warriors. Satellite photographs reveal that Iraq is rebuilding facilities at sites that have been part of its nuclear program in the past. Iraq has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes and other equipment needed for gas centrifuges, which are used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.”
– Cincinnati, Ohio speech, October 7, 2002
“Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent.”
– State of the Union Address, January 28, 2003
“Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.”
– Address to the nation, March 17, 2003
Source: John Dean, FindLaw
Rove Is Leaker, Possibly Perjurer, in Plame Case
Washington insider and MSNBC political analyst Lawrence O’Donnell has revealed that the soure of the leak that blew the cover of secret agent Valerie Plame is President Bush’s poltical adviser, Karl Rove:
I revealed in yesterday’s taping of the McLaughlin Group that Time magazine’s emails will reveal that Karl Rove was Matt Cooper’s source. I have known this for months but didn’t want to say it at a time that would risk me getting dragged into the grand jury…
Since I revealed the big scoop, I have had it reconfirmed by yet another highly authoritative source. Too many people know this. It should break wide open this week. I know Newsweek is working on an ‘It’s Rove!’ story and will probably break it tomorrow.
Meanwhile, there was this in the MSM:
“The breadth of [special prosecutor Peter] Fitzgerald’s inquiry has led to speculation that it has evolved into an investigation of a conspiracy to leak Plame’s identity,” the Chicago Tribune observed on Friday, “or of an attempt to cover up White House involvement in the leak.”
But why does he need notes from two reporters to whom Rove allegedly leaked Plame’s identity, even though the reporters – Matt Cooper at Time magazine and Judith Miller at the New York Times? Talk Left explains it this way:
Knowing the identity of the source is not enough for a perjury conviction. There must be two witnesses to the perjurious statement. Telephone records would not be enough, because they only provide the number dialed, not the identity of the person speaking. Matthew Cooper’s and Judith Miller’s e-mails and notes may provide that corroboration.
Plame’s husband, Joe Wilson, once said that he wouldn’t be happy until he saw Karl Rove “frog-marched” out of the White House. While that would be nice, what is more important to know is how involved President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other senior White House officials were in the decision to reveal Plame’s identity to media outlets – and of course whether any of them have lied about it under oath.
In the Clinton impeachment, Republicans lowered the bar for impeachment to perjury in a civil case, so any hint of perjury by the president or vice president should automatically trigger Congressional action.
Sure, the corrupt conservatives who run the Congress will balk at the hearings but just think of the hours of new footage from the Clinton era there are showing these same GOP leaders bloviating about the rule of law, honor and decency in the Clinton era. It’ll be fun to revisit those quotes, won’t it?
Another Florida Democrat Smear Mission Accomplished
In what’s starting to look like a pattern, another prominent Florida Democrat has been cleared of bogus allegations that never should have seen daylight.
An official state audit has found the worst thing they could pin on former Democratic Party chair and 2006 candidate for governor Scott Maddox was “poor hiring decisions.”
Must-Have Christmas Gift: Fetal Attractions Troop Ornament
Protect our troops – from the womb to the war. What if the fetus you were going to abort would grow up to be a soldier bringing democracy to a godless dictatorship?
Plastic replica of an 11-12 week old fetus, 3″ long, holding a firearm in its precious little hand, with an assortment of other military paraphernalia, encased in a translucent plastic ornament, with a patriotic yellow ribbon on top. Includes a metal ornament hanger. If only a womb were this safe, attractive and reasonably priced!
Show that you support the “culture of life” by buying and proudly displaying one of these patriotic unborn Americans.
Also available in a “Brown” model
Note to the confused:This is a real product, from a real site. The product is a satire, but it is also a real product – FOR SALE. This is a real store.
To Purchase: MissPopppy.com
(Thanks for the tip, D!)
Sen. Thune in Classic GOP Connundrum: Did He Approve Loans for Bankrupt Crony Or Was He Totally Incompetent?
A reversal of fortunes for a used car dealer in the upper Midwest is about to cause serious blowback on South Dakota’s freshman U.S. senator, John Thune.
First, Dan Nelson Automotive was cited by the attorney general in Iowa for consumer fraud, predatory lending and other things that shady used car dealers are known to do. Now the company has filed for bankruptcy, claiming to have debts of about $30 million, with assets of about $6 million.
According to Thunewatch.com and published newspaper reports, the auto dealer’s largest creditor is “Sioux Falls-based Metabank, which is owed more than $28 million.”
Turns out, the dealership’s owner – Dan Nelson – is a friend of Sen. Thune, and has been a contributor to Thune’s various political races over the years.
Also turns out – and here’s the beauty part – prior to running for the senate in 2004, Thune sat on the board of directors for the bank during the period in which it gave the loans to the auto dealer, despite evidence that the company was in financial difficulties. In fact, Thune sat on the Audit Committe for the bank.
So, once again, we find a Republican in the now classic GOP connundrum: Did Sen. Thune tacitly approve loans to bail out a crony – or he was totally incompentent in his role as overseer of the bank’s fiduciary responsibilities?
