Analysts Behind Iraq Intelligence Were Rewarded

"Two Army analysts whose work has been cited as part of a key intelligence failure on Iraq -- the claim that aluminum tubes sought by the Baghdad government were most likely meant for a nuclear weapons program rather than for rockets -- have received job performance awards in each of the past three years, officials said."

Ok what is it about this administration at all levels that makes them reward incompetence, or more exactly to reward loyalty even over incompetence?

"The problem, according to the commission, which cited the two analysts' work, is that they did not seek or obtain information available from the Energy Department and elsewhere showing that the tubes were indeed the type used for years as rocket-motor cases by Iraq's military. The panel said the finding represented a 'serious lapse in analytic tradecraft' because the center's personnel 'could and should have conducted a more exhaustive examination of the question.'"

Ok so the commission that investigated these intelligence failures are basically saying that this was some serious lapse in judgment. So what does the Pentagon have to say about these awards that these two analysts received?

"In a written statement, the Pentagon, speaking for the NGIC, confirmed that Norris and Campos had received awards, and it said that they were based 'on their overall annual performance -- not on a single contribution -- and supervisors were encouraged to reward individuals on the basis of their annual contributions.' The awards were given as part of a government-wide incentive program to recognize high-performing employees with cash or time off. An internal NGIC newsletter listed Norris and Campos as among those who received performance awards, lump-sum cash payments, in fiscal 2002, 2003 and 2004."

Um. You have got to be kidding me. Saying that these were awards for performance over an entire year, in one year where these analysts had serious lapses of judgment and performance, is just plain stupid. It is like awarding a police officer who was found guilty of serious negligence in a shooting death, with a performance award for the year. It just doesn't make sense. Hold the award for some other year, for god's sakes!

But really it just goes with the overall attitude in this administration that loyalty trumps everything else. Paul Wolfowitz, John Bolton, Condi Rice, and on and on! Its wrong and it is costing this country dearly. I just hope it doesn't cost us more than we can afford. This is the single most destructive administrations that this fine country has ever had.

GN

Washington Post Confirms 'Deep Throat' ID

Ok, not really happy, but I hope everyone has a good Memorial Day. Tomorrow I will be back, with more political posts.

So after nearly two days of floor debate in the Senate over the nomination of John Bolton to the UN, it was assumed that we would have a floor vote today. And it was also assumed that he would sail through on a margin pretty close to party lines.

Well that may still happen, but not until after the Memorial holiday break. Democrats mustered enough votes to delay having a floor vote on Bolton's nomination.

Senate votes to delay Bolton nomination

"The U.S. Senate on Thursday put off a vote to confirm John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, yielding to Democrats' demands that the Bush administration be asked to hand over more information on Bolton's use of intelligence material.

...

The vote is now delayed until after Congress's weeklong Memorial Day recess, marking another setback for the troubled nomination that has become a test of
President Bush's political clout in his second term.

Democrats pressed for the delay, insisting the administration turn over more documents they said were important for establishing whether Bolton tried to misuse U.S. intelligence to promote his hawkish views."

Yes, this info needs to be turned over. Even if you don't think Bolton should be voted down, why not support releasing all the information that is requested?

"From the State Department, they [Democrats] want e-mails on Bolton's preparations for testimony on Syria and transcripts of communications intercepted by the National Security Agency, which they said would show whether Bolton was trying to exact retribution on his opponents.

Connecticut Democrat Christopher Dodd said the Senate action 'increases the likelihood tremendously' that the White House will provide the material. The administration says it has provided enough information already."

How dare this administration be so evasive! If the senate is asking for this information, what right does the administration have to say that the Senate already has enough information? This is called ADVISE and CONSENT! You pompous powergrabbing bastards! More on that tomorrow (hopefully).

Ok another missed Monday post. Please forgive me, my dear loyal readers. I am here today to write about the deal that was struck last night to avoid the "Nuclear Option".

Filibuster deal surprises leadership

"The compromise, which would prevent any changes to Senate rules for the remainder of the 109th Congress, appeared to have caught the leaders of both parties by surprise. But Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) quickly embraced the agreement, noting that it resembled many of the offers he had extended to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) during months of negotiations.

'Checks and balances have been protected,' said Reid, who had worried that a new Supreme Court nominee could be confirmed over the strong objection of the minority. 'The integrity of the Supreme Court has been protected from the undue influence of the vocal, radical right wing.'"

Well ok, so here are the facts. Seven Senators from each party struck this deal on Monday night. There are some good things for the Democrats, and some not so good things. First of all obviously is that we have preserved the Filibuster in the Senate so that the minority rights are not destroyed. The role of the Senate remains as it has been for a long time. An institution that gives the minority a voice.

Now, also of course some not so great things. First three of shrub's nominees that up until this point have been filibustered by Dems because they are judged to be too extreme, will now have up or down votes in the Senate, probably starting tomorrow. So obviously that is not what the Dems were necessarily looking for. They also agreed that the filibuster will only be used for judge nominees, in "extraordinary circumstances". Whatever that means. I am not really sure, who will decide if a particular case is an extraordinary circumstance.

But none the less, the most important thing is that the Republicans, and more importantly the extreme right wing of the Republican party cannot have carte blanche in selecting the next Supreme Court judge. This is of utmost importance. And I think I will leave that as the last word on this issue tonight.

Now on to the stem cell debate.

House Votes to Ease Stem Cell Restrictions

"Ignoring President Bush's veto threat, the House voted Tuesday to lift limits on embryonic stem cell research, a measure supporters said could accelerate cures for diseases but opponents viewed as akin to abortion.

Bush called the bill a mistake and said he would veto it. The House approved it by a 238-194 vote, far short of the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override a veto."

No shrub the bill is not a mistake, it is called compassion for the living. Your culture of life extends in odd directions. It gives more protection and help for a group of cells than it does to a living breathing human being. Your culture is far from one of life. Its more like a culture of control.

"Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said the embryonic research bill would force taxpayers to finance 'the dismemberment of living, distinct human beings.'"

GOD you are F**KING STUPID! This bill would do nothing of the sort. Dismemberment of living distinct human beings?????? Are you kidding me?! This bill allows for the use of embryos that would otherwise be thrown away from fertility clinics. You would rather these embryos be thrown away in spite than to be donated to science to possibly help your fellow man? What the hell is wrong with you?! God I'm so sick of this bullsh*t rhetoric, of the far right wing nuts! You will be brought down.

Go ahead, get drunk with power, you will soon have the political hangover of your LIFE.

Ok why is shrub just so wrong on nearly everything? Why? I don't understand this.

Bush Vows to Veto Stem Cell Legislation

The House has a bill circulating that would, "...lift Bush's ban on using federal dollars to do research on embryonic stem cell lines developed after August 2001."

But ah, shrub has threatened to veto any such bill. What I can't understand is that many Republicans are coming to their senses and realizing that the majority of Americans want embryonic stem cell research to be funded so advances can be made more readily, yet that doesn't deter shrub from being completely stubborn and unwilling to compromise on his ridiculous position.

One point here, this bill is a bi-partisan bill. Drafted by both Republicans and Democrats, and made to compromise some of the more "sticky" points. For instance the bill would "...not allow the cloning of embryos or embryo destruction. Instead, it would let government-funded researchers work with stem cells culled from embryos left over from fertility treatments."

And as the bill's Republican co-sponsor points out,

"'The bottom line is when a couple has decided to discard their excess embryos, they are either going to be discarded as medical waste or they can be donated for research,' [Rep.] Castle said.

[Rep.] DeGette protested too. 'It's disappointing that the president would threaten to use his first veto on a bill that holds promise for cures to diseases that affect millions of Americans,' DeGette said. 'Support for expanding federal stem cell research in an ethical manner remains strong in Congress.'"

This I just don't understand. I have written about this issue many times before, so I will not go on and on about the possible benefits, and how wrong it is to impose ones own moral views on an entire democratic society even when a majority sees no moral issue in that particular matter.

So open your eyes bubble boy! You are in charge of a Democracy, you are not a dictator, you work for US!! We are telling you we want to work to try to help people with diseases and conditions.

Don't veto possible life saving treatments away because you think its better to throw unused embryos out then to have the great injustice of donating them to science.

Yeah ok, so I did it. I was in line last night to see the first showing of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.



Yeah on a sunny day last month sometime I clicked buy, and had me a ticket to see Episode III on the first showing at 12:01AM on May 19th, 2005. Well as the time came I decided to go wait in line right after work.

So I went down to the theater here at about 5PM and there was a line of about 30-40 people there. I thought about it for a bit, and then came to my senses and realized I did not want to wait in line for 7 hours!! So I decided to come back at 8.

Well when I got there at 8 the line was now about 200 people long. So there I sat with my book on the sidewalk out front of the theater as various people snickering, and laughing at our ridiculousness walked by, to 350 pound grown men wearing Obi Wan Kenobi outfits walked by. What a bunch we were. There were light saber duals, and screams of "Let the Force be with you!" So after 4 hours of waiting in line the movie began.

My review? Well it was the best of the 3 prequels. Still George Lucas does not understand how to write dialogue that when actually delivered doesn't sound absolutely RIDICULOUS, and make even good actors sound like complete buffoons. Yes I am talking about Natalie Portman, Sam Jackson, et al. Not that damn hack, Hayden Christianson. Yeah I said it, sorry Hayden fans, this guy sucks.

But having said that I was entertained, although it had many flaws it at least tried to achieve the depth of the classic trilogy. It dovetailed beautifully into Episode IV, for which I give massive credit.

Now some have mentioned that there is a political bent to this movie particularly, that has quite a great deal of resonance in our current political climate. Without giving away any plot details for my loyal readers who want to remain unspoiled, I do believe that it is quite striking how the pursuit of power and being blinded and convinced that doing things that may be considered evil, is valid as long as it gives you more power is quite apt to some certain key politicians in our fine country.

No more for now.

Ah, I missed posting yesterday. By the way I saw the movie Crash a couple of weeks ago. Not the 1996 movie, but the new movie with Matt Dillon, Sandra Bullock, Ryan Phillippe, Brendan Fraser, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Esposito, and many others. If you like movies that make you think, and that don't hold anything back, then you may like this movie. Its about present day race relations in L.A. after September 11th 2001. Its an interesting dissection of our culture indeed.

Now on to some politics. The Newsweek story. If you haven't heard Newsweek had reported that in Guantanamo Bay the Koran had been thrown in a toilet to anger prisoners, apparently in interrogations. Well the Whitehouse vehemently denied this account and demanded that Newsweek retract the claim. They did just that yesterday.

White House: Newsweek Story Did Great Harm

Now the Whitehouse claims that this story caused killings and other damage in Afghanistan, apparently in retaliation, and seeks to have Newsweek somehow work to repair the damage. Problem is I smell a rat. First of all, this story was reported before, in other media channels. Why is Newsweek singled out now that they have also reported it?

And further, where was the outrage in the administration and acceptance of responsibility when the Abu Ghraib scandal broke last year?

And the Whitehouse claims that Newsweek should never have relied on one source to report this story.

OK so tell me, which is a bigger injustice, and danger? A nationally published magazine reporting on a story based on information from a single source, or a government relying on a single source codenamed "Curveball" for nearly all of their intelligence on Iraq's supposed WMD weapons programs?

Which caused the most harm? Wake up!

Oh how about shrub's poll numbers?

"Pew. 5/11-15. MoE 4%. (March '05 results)

Bush approval ratings

Approve 43 (49)
Disapprove 50 (46)

Congressional Republicans

Approve 35 (39)
Disapprove 50 (44)

Congressional Democrats

Approve 39 (37)
Disapprove 41 (44)"

Well ladies and gents, Bolton has passed through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is headed to a vote by the full Senate.

Panel Sends Bolton Nomination to Senate

The panel voted along party lines 10-8 to send the nomination to the full Senate. Of note is that they did it WITHOUT recommendation.

"The Foreign Relations Committee voted 10-8 along party lines to advance Bolton's nomination without the customary recommendation that the Senate approve it. The procedural move spared Bush outright defeat in the Republican-led committee but still represented an embarrassing setback early in his second term."

Republican Senator George Voinovich, who surprised other Republicans by indicating he was not comfortable with voting last month to send Bolton to the Senate, said today,

"The pivotal vote came from Ohio Republican Sen. George Voinovich, who said Bolton was a sometime bully whose short fuse would have gotten him fired in the private sector.

'This is not behavior that should be endorsed as the face of the United States to the world community at the
United Nations,' Voinovich said. 'It is my opinion that John Bolton is the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be.'"

So on to the Senate you go Mr. Bolton. Have a good trip. I wish you all the luck in the world. Not that you will need it. I don't expect many Senators to have the balls to vote their conscience, no they will vote how their party wants them to.

Well it is time again. Looks like tomorrow we will get a vote on whether to send the nomination of John Bolton for ambassador to the UN to the full Senate, for a confirmation vote.

It seems rather assured that Bolton will pass the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tomorrow and end up in front of the full Senate. All I can say to the committee is, please make sure you are voting your conscience and not just voting party line. Because this appointment is of serious consequence.

We NEED the world with us, not resenting us. And if you can't see that, then I am sorry. Get back to me in five years.

Uh, wait, you say who is driving? What? And Putin is the backseat driver? Oh no, we are F*cked!

Ok this is so stupid! What the hell is wrong with you people?

Texas House to cheerleaders: Don't shake it - May 5, 2005

"Texas lawmakers sent a message to the state's high school cheerleaders Wednesday: no more booty-shaking at the game.

The state's House of Representatives voted 85-55 to approve a bill that would forbid sexy cheers and give the Texas Education Agency authority to punish schools that allow 'overtly sexually suggestive' routines at football games and other events."

Texas, seriously don't you have better things to spend your time on?

The governor of Texas today said, "These cheers represent a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States of America, but more importantly to the Republic of Texas, and they must be stopped!"

Ok that wasn't a real quote, I made it up, but funny none the less.

Look cheerleading is what it is. Its for horny guys to watch and get all hot and bothered to counter balance all the manly tights and sweating and hitting each other that goes on on the rest of the field. It all boils down to homophobia, come on everyone knows it. So now what are these men going to do?

They are all going to become GAY!!!! Is that what you want Texas republicans? Is THAT what you want? A bunch of gay men running amok through the streets of your fine republic?

God save us!

Good news on the fight against terrorists. Pakistan caught Al-quada's apparently number three.

Pakistan catches al Qaida number three

Scary eh? Yeah not a great picture.

"Pakistan says Abu Faraj Farj al Liby, whom it has said is a Libyan, was the ringleader behind at least two assassination attempts against President Pervez Musharraf in December 2003...

...'Al Liby is a top general for (Osama) bin Laden. He was a major facilitator and a chief planner for the al Qaeda network'... ...President Bush said Wednesday, before going on to praise Pakistan."

So all you conservatives who claim us liberals are all nay sayers, and that we don't ever admit victories for this president, EAT IT!

So that brings me to this question after reading this article.

Nicholas D. Kristof | Day 113 of the President's Silence

"Incredibly, the Bush administration is fighting to kill the Darfur Accountability Act, which would be the most forceful step the U.S. has taken so far against the genocide. The bill, passed by the Senate, calls for such steps as freezing assets of the genocide's leaders and imposing an internationally backed no-fly zone to stop Sudan's Army from strafing villages."

Mr. President, WHY have you failed to do anything more about the crisis in Darfur?

Why, when you yourself have called these acts of extreme violence genocide, have you not acted with such conviction and urgency that you did in sending our troops to Iraq?

To my readers, if there still are any left, why have we all not demanded that we help to do something, ANYTHING, to stop the killing?

The current estimates of the number of dead range from 150,000 to nearly 400,000. How can we ignore this? Have we not learned from our past? Our RECENT past? If anyone saw Hotel Rwanda you know what I am talking about with renewed relevance and timeliness. The final death toll of the genocide in Rwanda was nearly 1 MILLION! 937,000 to be more precise

Rwanda census puts genocide death toll at 937,000

Part of the reason why the death toll reached this unspeakable cost is because the rest of the world turned a mostly blind eye to the tragedy in Africa. We MUST not do it again.

Well as some of my wonderful Republican friends have told me. Us liberals are so damn reactionary! Well for once you are right, I was way to reactionary. The wonderful AP story that I read and made last week's reaction on shrub's idea to lower social security benefits for more well to do people, left some important details out.

Such as is mentioned in this New York Times article, which I have since read.

Social Security: Help for the Poor or Help for All?

Here are some details.

"Under Mr. Bush's approach of "progressive indexation," a typical low-income worker who earns about $16,000 a year today would be entitled to retirement benefits equal to about 49 percent of his or her wages, the same amount that is promised today.

But those earning an average income, about $36,500 in today's dollars, would see big changes. Instead of replacing 36 percent of that person's working pay, as promised under today's system, benefits would cover only 26 percent of pay by 2075.

And people who earn $90,000 a year in today's dollars would continue to pay as much as ever in taxes but would receive benefits equal to only 12 percent of their pay."

When the wonderful AP said benefits would be decreased for the more well to do, I thought you know around oh I don't know $100,000, $150,000 a year?

The point is that people who make on average $36,500 a year for their lifetime are less likely to have saved enough money for retirement. And the point of the Social Security program was to prevent people, who did not, or were not ABLE to save enough money for retirement to avoid poverty.

So in summation, I jumped the gun. I knew it was too good to be true

Ok first off, I was wrong about agreeing with the prez on his social security idea. More on that later today. Right now I HAVE to address this.

Today on the front page of CNN.com was THIS story!

'Runaway bride' forgoes $250 ice bucket

In this article are such investigative reporting bits such as,

"With 600 guests, 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen, a reception at the ritzy Atlanta Athletic Club and a bridal registry that included a $250 Waterford ice bucket, some experts figure the wedding tab would have run into the six figures....

...As for the spoils of ceremony, Wilbanks and Mason were registered at retailers Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Macy's and Target.

According to her bridal registry at Macy's.com, the couple could have expected to receive a 16-inch Lenox 'Solitaire' Oval Platter, which normally sells for $237 but is on sale for $189.99; the Kate Spade "Union Street" line 5-piece place setting ($55), and the KitchenAid Artisan 5-Qt. Stand Mixer (on sale for $249.99).

The unpurchased items on the registry include the All-Clad Stainless steel lasagna pan ($99.98) and Cuisinart Extra Large Electric Skillet ($130)"

What the F*CK!!!!!!??????? Are you kidding me?! Are you KIDDING me!?

"According to the registry at Target.com, Wilbanks and Mason could have expected Pyrex mixing bowls (set of 3) valued at $9.99. Still not purchased for them at the site is the Panasonic cordless electric steam iron, which goes for $59.99."

There is genocide happening in the Sudan. North Korea is testing missiles and has at least 6 nuclear weapons. There is an epidemic of starvation in Africa. We are in national debt up to our eyeballs. This administration has hidden massive amounts of information from the public to protect their asses. They might have outted an undercover CIA agent.

The list goes on. And CNN is INVESTIGATING what god damn items are on this stupid couple's wedding registry!! How much select items are?! What items have yet to be bought?! What the hell is this person thinking? Who wrote this?

"By David Ellis, CNN/Money staff writer"

Ok David Ellis you are a god damn IDIOT! You are everything that is wrong with the media. You are bringing down our society. And who would approve such a story in the news room? What is going ON!? JESUS CHRIST!! People are f*cking dying! Cover THAT! What the hell is WRONG with you?!