During a recent National Press Club luncheon, 14-term congressman John Conyers (D-MI) gave a very candid response about reading the 1,000-plus page health care reform bill currently before Congress. In doing so, he illustrated why he should be voted out of office in 2010.
The following video is courtesy of CNSNews.com.
You don't need two lawyers Congressman. You are a lawyer. And if you need help reading, maybe you could get your wife to help you now that she has more time on her slimy corrupt mits. In case you have forgotten, it is your job to read this stuff.
If you need another lawyer to help you interpret the legislation, maybe Barney Frank could come over for a nightcap and help out.
It's sad Congressman how far you have fallen since your days as a Judiciary Committee bulldog during the 1974 Watergate hearings.
Oh by the way, we are still waiting for those George W. Bush and Dick Cheney impeachment hearings to begin.
You never know when you'll bump into a long-distance Facebook Friend.
While attending the Popular Conference for Palestinians in U.S. in Chicago last month, I ran into activist Dr. Dahlia Wasfi, who was representing the Wheels of Justice touring program. Over a year ago, Dr. Wasfi visited the Lansing, Michigan peace community and brought her unique perspective and analysis of the conditions in Iraq under the U.S. occupation.
At the time of her Lansing visit, I missed her presentation because I was making a 12-hour drive from the upper upper reaches Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I heard rave reviews of her presentation and her friendly, personable nature. Later, she was gracious to accept my request for Facebook friendship.
So it was a surprise to bump into her in Chicago. As any friend would do, I asked Dahlia for an on-camera interview for the Peace Education Center. We talked about a wide-range of topics. The interview is below. (As a warning, there is some sound distortion in parts of the recording.)
This is my first blog post so please bear with me...
What Liberals and Democrats should be saying about the connection between the Russian invasion of Georgia and the War in Iraq:
Russian foreign policy, specifically the recent military invasion of the sovereign nation Georgia would not have been possible in 2002. However, since the full scale invasion of Iraq- a sovereign nation- the united States adopted a strategy of preemptive war, opening the door for other nations to follow. And follow they did:
On October 9, 2003, Putin said that Russia "retains the right to launch a preemptive strike, if this practice continues to be used around the world." Defense Minister Ivanov said Moscow can use preventive military force in cases where a threat is growing and is "visible, clear, and unavoidable". Ivanov added a key detail, saying that military force can be used if there is an attempt to limit Russia's access to regions that are essential to its survival.
Russia also indicated it would act to defend regions beyond its own borders, encompassing large parts of the former Soviet Union, now the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Defense Minister Ivanov has said that, in case of "instability in the CIS" or a "direct threat" to Russian citizens, Russia can "hypothetically" use force if other means of coercion, like diplomatic and economic sanctions, fail.
So, what is clear is that in reaction to the unilateral unprovoked invasion of the sovereign nation, Iraq, Russia decided to follow suit. It is obvious he is speaking of the current administration when saying, "if this practice continues to be used around the world," as the United States is the only nation to use preemption without a nod from the Security Council. What is more telling is the next part of the article.
The notion of preemption - the use of military and / or covert force to disarm an enemy before it can launch a strike of its own - has resurfaced since President Bush declared it a viable approach to the war on terrorism. Only the US has recently made use of first-strike military action, or "preemption", against emerging threats abroad - an explicit part of its foreign policy - in Iraq.
Russia now seems to follow the US' lead and reserve the same preemption rights. What remains to be seen is whether proliferation or the escalation of preemption could eventually ensue.
Well it has ensued, regardless of whether the author could have seen the approach five years ago.
Another important aspect of Russia's foreign policy, post Iraq- dubbed the Ivanov Doctrine- is in another article published around the time:
Defense Minister Ivanov also attempted to explain Russia's position in remarks on 6 October. Speaking at a news conference in Reykjavik, Ivanov said Moscow can use preventive military force in cases where a threat is growing and is "visible, clear, and unavoidable."
Ivanov added a key detail, saying that military force can be used "if there is an attempt to limit Russia's access to regions that are essential to its survival, or those that are important from an economic or financial point of view.
So, economic reasons are a motive for preemptive war as well.
It is important to bring up the fact that the Iraq War has laid the ground work for the current situation in Georgia and that Bush foreign policy is continuing to destabilize the world. It appears as though we failed to ask the most critical question in the lead up to war: what if other nations act in the same way.
I admire and applaud all the people who protested Bush at Monticello, but the one image that undermined the whole thing and that I keep seeing the media and critics on the right pointing to is the one guy who was dressed like Uncle Sam reminiscent of Carl Weathers in Rocky.
Why do people keep doing that at protests? Who thought that was a good idea?
In David Sirota's new book, The Uprising, he makes a very good point about the public protest movement and some of the things they do that hurt their message and their causes. He talks about the WTO protests in 1999 and the antiwar protests before and after the Iraq invasion and how fringe elements were used by the media to frame the entire story to the public. He also talks about the use of protest as an instrument of power and how it can be used most effectively. Yes, protest is mostly theater, but the point of that particular theater is to make the audience empathize with the protesters and I am sorry but nobody is going to empathize with a guy dressed in a gaudy Uncle Sam costume. Quite the opposite. It made many in the audience empathize with the people in the audience who yelled back at the guy to shut up and sit down.
The most effective protests in modern times have been the civil rights protests and if you watch films of those you will notice something about them... all the protesters are dressed in normal clothes. Many of them are even dressed up in suits, like Dr. King usually was. You don't see anybody on stilts. You don't see anybody naked and you don't see anybody dressed up as a gaudy clown version of Uncle Sam.
The leaders of the public protest movement would do themselves a favor by distancing themselves from the most fringe elements that only tarnish their credibility and by adopting a much more mainstream look. The Average American is going to have an easier time identifying with protesters yelling "War Criminal" and "Impeach" when they look like the average American than when they look like performers in costumes.
Good morning my fellow midwestern bloggers. Just in case you were wondering if I fell off the face of the earth, here I am with tidings of good news live from our nation's capital. It seems one of our favorite Bush spin-meisters - Scott McClellan - is publishing a tell all book on the lies, untruthiness and general incompetence of the Bush administration.
And, best of all, Karl Rove is hopping mad and calling him names. I'm quoting here: "Fox News contributor and former White House adviser Karl Rove said on that network Tuesday that the excerpts from the book he's read sound more like they were written by a "left-wing blogger" than his former colleague."
Oooo, goody! This is gonna be so much fun!
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The spokesman who defended President Bush's policies through Hurricane Katrina and the early years of the Iraq war is now blasting his former employers, saying the Bush administration became mired in propaganda and political spin and at times played loose with the truth.
In excerpts from a 341-page book to be released Monday, Scott McClellan writes on Iraq that Bush "and his advisers confused the propaganda campaign with the high level of candor and honesty so fundamentally needed to build and then sustain public support during a time of war."
"[I]n this regard, he was terribly ill-served by his top advisers, especially those involved directly in national security," McClellan wrote.
McClellan also sharply criticizes the administration on its handling of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. "One of the worst disasters in our nation's history became one of the biggest disasters in Bush's presidency," he wrote.
I can only guess how many pills McSame's campaign staff is popping this morning. Can you imagine the terse phone conversations between the WH and campaign headquarters?
"What the f* are you guys doing over there? Can't you get your people to shut the hell up. I'm trying to win a presidency here! What kind of chance do I have if people stop believing our lies?"
Did you know that the grandfather of our President, one Prescott Bush, helped to finance the Nazi's before and during WWII? Did you know that Prescott Bush was part of a plot to overthrow the United States' government in 1933, during the height of the Great Depression, and install a fascist dictatorship on American soil?
It's all documented fact. Keep reading if your unafraid of finding out more about the corrupt, ruthless, treasonist Bush Crime Family and the fascist grandfather that spawned two presidents.
The article comes from the Huffington Post. It is written by Larisa Alexandrovna.
This afternoon, I’m speaking on the Senate floor about high energy prices. Unless something is done to make energy more affordable, the record-high prices will continue to reverberate throughout our economy, increasing the prices of transportation, food, manufacturing and everything in between. Skyrocketing energy prices are a threat to our economic and national security, and the time for action is long past.
One of the major causes of our energy crisis is the failed policies of the current Administration. In January 2001, when President Bush took office, the price of oil was about $30 per barrel. The average price for a gallon of gasoline was about $1.50. Since President Bush took office, crude oil prices have nearly quadrupled, natural gas prices to heat our homes have almost doubled, gasoline prices have more than doubled, and diesel fuel prices have nearly tripled.
One key factor in price spikes of energy is rampant speculation in the energy markets.
...feel free to leave your thoughts/comments/snark on the Fumbler in Chief's State of the Union address this evening. Was it surprising? See any famous Michigan faces in the crowd? Did you particularly enjoy any part of it? Learn anything new? Can the Republicans really do any worse than the status quo?
See this guide on "How to Screw a Country in 8 years or less", oh USA Today, how I love thee.
Consider this an evening open thread/resting period before the next episode of political hoop-la in T-minus 20 hours and counting. Till then, play nice and don't forget to return the toys to their proper resting spots. :-)
One of Michigan's own sons has been pulling together a series that not only will you not want to miss, you could also argue that as a voting population, we cannot afford to miss.
DHinMI, a political insider who now lives and works in Washington D.C., has written a thoroughly researched and well written series called 'Bush Authoritarianism: Blackwater + Amway = GOP' over on DailyKos.
There's a reason so much attention has been paid the DeVos/Amway and Prince/Blackwater conglomerate both here in Michigan and nationally. Partisanship aside, it's a fascinating study in the power of seemingly limitless wealth and what happens when that wealth conjoins with a strict religious-based agenda, the power of a military for hire, and direct access to one of the most powerful government officials in the entire world. Some might say it's the making of conspiracy theorists, others might remind you there's a reason conspiracy theories exist.
Regardless of where you are in your beliefs, I highly suggest you check out the series listed chronically below.
Last night I was sitting down watching the Tigers when I realized why they had recently lost eight of the last 15 games. In an interview with ESPN the President picked the Tigers to win the World Series and do not worry he was not out of character he managed to mispronounce some names along the way.
"I think Detroit will be in the World Series," Bush said. "I think they'll nose out Boston. I know that may be counterintuitive, but their young pitching is great, and they've got the flamethrower Zumala back."
ESPN's Karl Ravech, who was interviewing Bush, told him the flamethrower's name is Zumaya.
"Zumaya ... Zumala, Zumaya," Bush said. "I think they'll be pretty tough."
The Red Sox had the Curse of Bambino it took them 86 years to shake that. The Cubs still have the Curse of the Billy Goat that has been running since 1908. Now we have the curse of the "Decider." After the 2007 Allstar break President Bush once again proved he could F*ck a junkyard. He took one the hottest team's in baseball heading into the break and turned them into the Bad News Bears. The "Decider" must have realized he cannot do anything right and new picking our Tigers to win the World Series would of course send them into a spiraling trend crushing the hearts, of all those, Union loving, Clean air appreciating, Blue Staters in Michigan.
Lets just hope he manages this Curse like he manages the Department of Justice. If that is the case I think Jim Leyland can overcome this.
Amnesty International reports that since 2001, 2500 women and girls have been murdered in Guatemala. In many cases, they have been abducted, sexually assaulted, and mutilated before being killed. Recently, a 20-year old woman was abducted in broad daylight. Witnesses notified her family, who rushed to the police, asking them to set up road blocks. The police told them that young girls often run off with boyfriends, and they wouldn't start a search for 24 hours. Her body was found the next day; she had been bitten over her entire body, then shot four times. And her killers, like the killers of all the other women, are still free.
While this is a blog that focuses on Michigan, every citizen in and out of the Great Lakes State should be outraged.
If this so-called leader is the person that is the masthead of the Republican Party, then perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised when Mike Bishop acts like the pompous ass he is, or when Saul has yet another Open Mouth, Insert Foot moment.
While my first reaction to this news was "You've got to be @#$^! kidding me!", I realize now that Bush is just doing an excellent job of sticking to the Republican M.O. - just hammering yet another nail in their Party's coffin. Too bad the American people are the ones left left cleaning up the mess.
Add your outrage below, and for the sake of being constructive, add your suggestions for where we go from here.
It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made my blood pressure rise and it terrified me. It made me flirt with the idea of moving to Canada, France, the UK and yes, even Cuba.
Say what you will about Michael Moore, but it's hard to distort the facts. Healthcare in the U.S. is just plain rotten. As a frequent flyer who's always been insured, I'm more than qualified to make that statement.
Contrary to what you might have heard or think, this is not a film about the uninsured. It's about the 250 million of us who are insured, and how screwed we all are by the health care and insurance industry. If you read my stuff, you know that my favorite statistic of all time is how medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy, and I bet not a one of us are too surprised to learn that. (Watch the trailer here)
Sicko is Moore's tribute to the trials and tribulations of the average, insured American.
It's about the 9-11 workers who have been suffering ever since and facing denial after denial from the insurance company and the hacks behind the 9-11 fund.
It's about being punished because you went and had cancer, a heart attack, or got hit by that drunk driver.
It's about doctors who are promoted and showered with lavish salaries and bonuses when they purposely deny life-saving organ transplants, expensive medicines, and other treatments that cost the insurance company.
It's about how most members of Congress have been bought and paid for by the Insurance and Pharmaceutical industries.
If you're starting to feel a little sicko just reading this, consider what it's also about -
It's about why universal healthcare isn't a four-letter word.
It's about governments that are saving people, and keeping taxes down while they do it.
It's about doctors who are rewarded when they keep their patients healthy and out of the hospitals.
It's about hope, and what we as a people can do to change our own government and dictate our own healthcare.
If there's one movie that you need to see before you vote in the next election, it's Sicko.
If you thought Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth set off a revolution, Sicko is sure to ignite a firestorm across the state and the land.
They say ignorance is bliss, but with this country's healthcare system, ignorance may just be the real prescription for death.
Why We're in Iraq
Jim Hightower taps into the real reason for the US involvement in Iraq: it's about a new law requiring Iraq to open up it's oil reserves to privatization, making room the Big Oil corporations to plunder Iraq.
First we had McCarthy demanding that people "name names" of people who might have maybe read the "Communist Manifesto" or hung out at the coffee shop with someone whose brother read it - the Red List. Now we have Bush and the terror watch list that more than once stopped Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy at the airport because someone named Edward Kennedy was on the list - the Brown List (though to be fair apparently it includes at least one Irish looking name). Now we have Mike Cox and the Blue List (I call it blue, in keeping with the color theme, because of what used to be called "blue movies").
Today the Lansing State Journal compares the Democratic and Senate Republican plans to replace the Single Business Tax, immediately raising one question:
What in the heck are Senate Republicans thinking?
More LSJ:
This massive tax cut is one of two competing plans now before the Legislature. The Democratically controlled Michigan House adopted its own tax rewrite, a plan that's expected to be revenue neutral.
But Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, said last week it's not as important for a new tax to be revenue neutral as it is to be pro-growth.
State Senator Mike Bishop (R-Tanning Salon) and his Senate Obstructionist Caucus--inexperience, no prior plannning, and no answers for the CAT-5 fiscal crisis facing the State of Michigan. Again, back to the LSJ:
Such statements again remind that Bishop, thanks to legislative term limits, is still in his first year as leader of the Michigan Senate. Inexperience has to be playing a role in how this debate is going so far off course.
Do Bishop and the other Senate Republicans not remember the bitter stalemate over the existing 2007 budget? The Legislature and Gov. Jennifer Granholm have cut hundreds of millions of dollars in spending; and Michigan schools and health providers are on the brink of even further cuts. And all these problems are occurring with a fully operational SBT in place.
Do Bishop and the Republicans want to go into the 2008 budget debate with a $600 million hole in an SBT replacement? Who's behind this thinking?
Q: Who's behind this thinking? A:
Q: What in the heck are Senate Republicans thinking? A: You're doing a heckuva job, Mikey!
That completes this installment of simple answers to simple questions.
Senate Republican Leader Mike Bishop and his Senate Obstructionist Caucus fought for the election of George W. Bush in 2000.
Mike Bishop and his Senate Obstructionist Caucus fought for the reelection of George W. Bush in 2004.
Mike Bishop and his Senate Obstructionist Caucus support the polices of George W. Bush and never criticize the policies of their Dear Leader, George W. Bush.
Visit the Senate Republican offices and you'll see the photos of their Dear Leader, George W. Bush, lovingly and prominently displayed.
That's why the Bishop Plan is the Bush Plan:
1. Cut taxes for the wealthy and corporations, but don't pay for the tax cuts.
2. Change the law to aid the wealthy and corporate special interests.
3. Operate government incompetently.
That approach is bad for Michigan, but great for Michigan Democrats. Look where George W. Bush has lead the Republicans: to the lowest approval ratings in a generation. Lower even than Jimmy Carter. Newsweek reports:
It's hard to say which is worse news for Republicans: that George W. Bush now has the worst approval rating of an American president in a generation, or that he seems to be dragging every '08 Republican presidential candidate down with him. But According to the new NEWSWEEK Poll, the public's approval of Bush has sunk to 28 percent, an all-time low for this president in our poll, and a point lower than Gallup recorded for his father at Bush Sr.'s nadir. The last president to be this unpopular was Jimmy Carter who also scored a 28 percent approval in 1979. This remarkably low rating seems to be casting a dark shadow over the GOP's chances for victory in '08.
If you like George W. Bush, you'll love Mike Bishop and his Senate Obstructionist Caucus.
Since Bush became president, OSHA has issued the fewest significant standards in its history, public health experts say. It has imposed only one major safety rule. The only significant health standard it issued was ordered by a federal court.
A recent article by the NY Times exposes how the Bush Administration
has limited new rules and rolled back what it considered cumbersome regulations that imposed unnecessary costs on businesses and consumers. All at the expense of OUR Workplace Safety.
