Friday, July 23, 2004
Troops still dying
In Iraq:
More U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq during the first three weeks of July than in the entire month of June, dashing hopes that the handover of sovereignty at the end of last month would ease U.S. losses or bring Iraqis a respite from violence.
During June, 26 American soldiers died in hostile fire in Iraq. As of Thursday, 30 had been killed so far in July, according to numbers from U.S. Central Command.
and in the even-less-talked-about Afghanistan:
A powerful car bomb exploded Friday as a U.S. military convoy passed by, and police officials reported at least four American soldiers were seriously wounded. A U.S. spokeswoman said that according to an initial assessment, one soldier was hurt....
The attack was one of several reported across southern Afghanistan late Thursday and Friday. More than 600 people, including soldiers, international workers and civilians, have died in violence in Afghanistan this year.
Civilians are dying too.
posted by chris at 4:34 PM
Working against his own party
The White House helped to block a Republican-brokered deal on Wednesday to extend several middle-class tax cuts, fearful of a bill that could draw Democratic votes and dilute a Republican campaign theme, Republican negotiators said.
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At issue on Wednesday were three "middle-income tax cuts'' that were a central part of President Bush's tax packages of 2001 and 2003. The biggest was a $1,000 child tax credit, which will be reduced to $700 at the end of this year. The other two big measures set to expire are a reduction in the "marriage penalty," which pushes two-income families into higher tax brackets; and an expansion of the 10-percent tax bracket to cut taxes for more middle-income families.
House Republicans and the Bush administration had sought to make those tax cuts permanent, but ran into Senate Republican moderates who wanted any more tax cuts offset by either spending cuts or tax increases elsewhere.
On Tuesday night, after arduous negotiations, House and Senate Republicans thought they had reached a deal that would extend the tax cuts for just two years but not require that they be offset.
White House officials, though, insisted that the tax cuts be extended for at least five years, without paying for them through either tax increases or spending cuts. House Republicans, who had originally sought a five-year extension as well, backed away from the deal on Wednesday once it was clear the White House was not budging.
How many more examples do we need? The Bush administration serves no one but itself. This has nothing to do with you or me. This is all about getting Bush reelected, the people be damned!
posted by chris at 1:47 PM
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Thursday, July 22, 2004
The ultimate flipflop
John Marshall lets the man speak for himself.
posted by chris at 4:52 PM
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Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Desperate people
In an about face, Ralph Nader decided Monday to accept thousands of petition signatures collected by Michigan Republicans if that is the only way he can qualify for the state's presidential ballot.
Last Thursday, Michigan Republican Party officials submitted 43,000 signatures -- far more than the 30,000 needed -- to ensure Nader could appear on the ballot as an independent.
Republicans began collecting signatures after it appeared that Nader might not get on the ballot as the Reform Party's candidate for president.
Credibility: lost.
posted by chris at 5:09 PM
Helping the homeless help themselves
The Department of Labor (DOL) today launched a Web site to help America's homeless find jobs through mainstream as well as targeted training, education and placement services and to provide a vital link to government- wide resources.
"This Web page furthers the Administration's commitment to helping the homeless, including homeless veterans," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, who serves as vice chairman of the Interagency Council on Homelessness. "The Department of Labor is committed to pooling our resources and working together with Congress, our federal, state and local partners to achieve the President's goal of ending chronic homelessness in 10 years."
I guess no one thought to ask the obvious question. (via Kos.)
posted by chris at 1:57 PM
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Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Talking points - they're true becuase they're said alot
John Stewart shows "convential wisdom" for what it is - strategically placed repetition.
posted by chris at 6:12 PM
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Monday, July 19, 2004
Release the hounds
U.S. military commanders in Iraq authorized the use of dogs for interrogations at the Abu Ghraib prison five months after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld barred the practice for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to classified military documents.
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, then the U.S. commander in Iraq, allowed dogs to be present during interrogations beginning Sept. 14, 2003. In an update of his order a month later, Sanchez allowed dogs to be used at the discretion of interrogators without his specific approval, according to classified documents obtained by USA TODAY. It was in the next two months that abuses at Abu Ghraib were documented, including use of dogs to terrify naked prisoners.
In April 2003, Rumsfeld had issued an order banning the use of dogs during interrogations at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a technique he had allowed there previously. But Rumsfeld's order applied only to Guantanamo, so commanders in Iraq were not told about the restriction.
More.
posted by chris at 5:16 PM
That's I-R-A-.... is that supposed to be an "N" or a "Q"?
The Iranian frontier with Afghanistan is a wild and desolate area of goat farmers and mud-brick huts, the perfect place for illicit opium—and terrorists—to cross the border. But the region is hardly a no man's land. U.S. intelligence believes that in faraway Tehran, the hard-line Islamist clerics who now exercise near total control over Iran directed their border guards to help jihadists coming from Afghanistan. And sometime between October 2000 and February 2001, according to the forthcoming final report of the 9-11 Commission, eight to 10 of the "muscle" hijackers of the September 11 plot were among those who benefited from this Iranian good-fellowship.
That conclusion—the strongest evidence yet of a relationship between Iran and Al Qaeda—is one of the most surprising findings to emerge in the commission's report, which is due out this week. According to a December 2001 memo buried in the files of the National Security Agency, obtained by the commission, Iranian officials instructed their border inspectors not to place Iranian or Afghan stamps in the passports of Saudi terrorists traveling from Osama bin Laden's training camps through Iran. Such "clean" passports undoubtedly helped the 9/11 terrorists pass into the United States without raising alarms among U.S. Customs and visa officials, sources familiar with the report told NEWSWEEK.
The 9-11 Commission report emphasizes there is no evidence suggesting that Iranian officials had advance knowledge of the September 11 plot. Still, the report raises new, sharper questions about whether the Bush administration was focused on the right enemy when it decided to remove Saddam Hussein. The NSA memo adds to a large accumulation of intelligence indicating that Iran has had more suspicious ties to Al Qaeda than Iraq did. Among those who once had a base in Iran: Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, allegedly the No. 1 terrorist in Iraq today. Meanwhile the commission found there was no "collaborative, operational" relationship between Iraq and Al Qaeda.
Story.
posted by chris at 5:11 PM
A little help from his friends?
With the apparent assistance of the state Republican Party, Ralph Nader appears likely to secure a spot on the Michigan presidential ballot. But Democrats are calling for him to withdraw and are threatening to file a complaint against the Republicans, charging that they contributed illegally to the Nader campaign.
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It appears that it was the Republican Party that stepped in to help Mr. Nader. It is widely believed that if Mr. Nader is on the ballot in Michigan and other states, he would draw more votes from John Kerry, the likely Democratic nominee, than from President Bush.
An article from The Detroit News posted on the state Republican Party's Web site quotes the party's executive director as saying, "We are absolutely interested in having Ralph Nader on the ballot," and adds that the executive director, Greg McNeilly, was personally circulating petitions for Mr. Nader.
Mr. McNeilly told fellow Republicans in a recent e-mail message that the Democrats were trying to keep Mr. Nader off the ballot, and that "your help is needed in the next five days to ensure that Michigan voters are not disenfranchised."
So it's come to this. Sadly, Ralph Nader is ruining his hard-earned reputation as a formidable consumer advocate thru this seemingly ego-driven campaign. Allowing the Republicans to help get his name on the ballot only makes it sadder.
posted by chris at 3:34 PM
Tough talk
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said he would be willing to launch a pre-emptive strike against terrorists if he had adequate intelligence of a threat.
Kerry on Friday offered some support for one of the most controversial aspects of President Bush's national security policy, even as he criticized the president for not reforming intelligence agencies after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"Am I prepared as president to go get them before they get us if we locate them and have the sufficient intelligence? You bet I am," he said at a news conference at his Washington headquarters.
Great. Now we're stuck with the preemption model for dealing with potential conflicts. How about acting in a way that avoids these kinds of conflicts in the first place?
posted by chris at 2:59 PM
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Sunday, July 18, 2004
Isn't "terra" enough??
As he campaigned around the country last week, President Bush asked voters to give him another four years to make the nation "safer and stronger and better." But with the election less than four months away, one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the president's campaign is what he would actually do if he wins a second term.
Bush's failure to detail a second-term agenda -- beyond his pledge to keep waging an aggressive war on terrorism -- represents a stark contrast to his previous campaigns, in which he set out a handful of priorities almost from the opening day and rarely deviated from them.
Throughout the year, Bush has focused on Iraq and terrorism and on drawing attention to improved economic statistics, but has barely begun to make the case about second-term priorities. Whether there is room for a bold domestic agenda, given the fiscal strains his first term has created, and whether Bush has fresh ideas on issues such as health care, education and the economy are questions yet to be answered.
Really, why bother with all that domestic stuff when you can just keep the people afraid?
posted by chris at 5:42 PM
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